They could have been negotiated with. Here is what the groups on the ground tell us is actually happening in malaysia. In a press release, any upgrade of this juncture would be a hollow victory. The lives of untold individuals bear testimony that malaysia has yet to earn any upgrade. The uns special repertoire in trafficking in june of this year in referring to the same time covered by the 2015 tip report said the rate of prosecution of trafficking cases also remains very low, which perpetuates the impunity of traffickers and obstructs access to justice. David abramowitz of the alliance against slavery and trafficking said recent press reports recommend kerry take a principled stand by concluding the government of malaysia is making significant efforts, it is simply not sustainable. I could go on of the universe that has a different view. I have questions about cuba and i hope there will be a second round. Sen. Corker i have no objection to you continuing. I want to move to india. Think everyone in the audience pretty well understands why malaysia was upgraded. I am not sure i understand what competing equities were on india. I think we have established what happened with malaysia. I think there will be further investigations that will occur, but i do hope we get to india. It is hard to understand how india could possibly be a tier two entity, i hope the secretary will explain to us what competing equities were there. If you want to go on with cuba for a moment. Secretary kerry announced you have a primary supervisor responsibility for it. According to an article published monday, the tip office disagreed with the Diplomatic Bureau on 17 rankings. Representing the worst ratio in the tipping report. Is that accurate . Sarah sewall we do not comment on internal regulations. Deliberations. The reporting done the state department was thorough and factbased. Sen. Menendez it seems to me that it at least confidentially should be transmitted so that if in fact the article is true, that out of 17 disputes that the tip office supposedly said his countries should not be elevated, that they lost 14 times, the worst ratio if it is true, that is Something Congress should know. Sarah sewall the department does not comment on internal deliberations. Sen. Menendez when did you begin to engage with cuba since we did not formally establish relationships until after march 31, 2015, the end of the reporting period . Sarah sewall let me get that information. Cuba sent two to participate in a Leadership Program in june of 2015. This is the first time any government of cuban officials participated in the program and participants learned about the u. S. Perspectives on the problem and observed how we site trafficking in person. Sen. Menendez so that was an informative process. Sarah sewall over the course of the last two years, the department has begun sharing information with cuba, asking cuba for information regarding its antitip measures. The significance of the engagement cannot be overstated, which is to say we previously had no information from cuba at all on the trafficking situation in cuba and now we receive information from the government. That has enabled us to provide more concrete sen. Menendez the providing of information is sufficient sarah sewall no. Sen. Menendez let me ask you this, did the ustr of the white house communicate to urge a specific outcome in any of these rankings . Sarah sewall not to my knowledge. Sen. Menendez let me ask you this. Serious concerns about politics having influenced the decision to upgrade cuba. There has been no progress on issues of force labor. We all know the castro regime is complicit in nearly all cases. The cuban government prescription thousands of doctors, including combating ebola in africa. In addition to the fact the regime grabs 70 of the wages paid by the World Health Organization to ebola medical mission participants, there are more troubling considerations that did not make the tip report. For example, the madridbased News Platform reported cuban doctors were forced to list the cuban government and not their families on provided Life Insurance policies. The two of the 2015 tip report states that cuba is a sourced country for adults and children. Many children in cuba are second or Third Generation and in some cases as young as four years old. In a country with virtually no reporting data on human trafficking, the willingness to allow International Human rights organizations or ngos to conduct investigations, how does the state department measure progress . How can you help us understand how the administration quantifies any advantages, given the restrictions provided by cuba today . Sarah sewall you are right. We remain concerned about labor trafficking in cuba. Where we have seen change in cuba is on the question of sex trafficking. The condition of sex traffickers sexe conviction traffickers have been significant in the context of cubas history and the region. The provision of services to sex Trafficking Victims is something positive that we have seen on behalf of the cuban government. They have provided training to recognize it. Sen. Menendez given the fact the castro regime takes 70 of wages to doctors, Life Insurance policies over to the government and in many cases, passports are taken away so they cannot flee, did the state department consult with the World Health Organization about those incidents . Would you get that back formally for the committee . Mr. Chairman, i will not go on. I will close by saying, i took to heart what secretary kerry said when he released the report. He said, we have to be true to the principle that although money may be used for many things, we must never ever allow a price tag to be attached to the heart and soul and freedom of a fellow human being. I do not know if we did not pervert the lofty goal by a report that clearly seems to me has been politicized in a way that is not justifiable and cannot be justified. I look forward to continuing to be engaged with the chairman in this matter. Thank you. I deeply appreciate your sincerity on the issue here as a champion for human rights. I just want to say to the secretary, im putting you on notice. Any destruction of emails or letters from 11 19 a. M. On could have significant consequences. I know we will discuss how we go forward and trying to understand what has really occurred here i think it is an understatement to say the testimony does not cause us to have a lot of faith in what is occurring. I would say again, the administration is not serious about carrying out issues of this type. I think certainly with other issues before us, certainly, it creates concerns. Think we understand what happened with malaysia. Talk to me a little bit, if you can, in india, it is an amazing thing. As i understand it, the government of india seized passports of Trafficking Victims and families who were issued t visas, reserved for Trafficking Victims by the u. S. In other words, were trying to get Trafficking Victims here to safety. We understand the government of india seized their passports. Tonight International Travel to others. Can you tell me what the internal rubs would have been in the department . In other words, i think if we fully understand with all asia, that would have caused the department to not need any death be anymore pursuant on india . Thank you, mr. Chairman. Indias tier two ranking indicates it does not fully comply with minimum standards but is making efforts to do so. The significance of those efforts, relative to training of prosecutors and judges, and launching upon the order of the supreme court, to trace the whereabouts of lost and abandoned children, including potential Trafficking Victims, we remain concerned about the t visa issue. It was in february, july of 2014 the government of india began confiscating the passports of nationals that had received, as you noted rightly, these were provided by the u. S. Government to Trafficking Victim family members. These were the key derivative visas. I court has ruled in favor of petitioners that had had passports confiscated. They cited a violation of the rights guaranteed under the constitution. The government has not appealed the case. The actual disposition of the case is affected by the policy and remains pending at the close of the reporting time. This is a concern and one we repeatedly raised with the indian government. I will not ask any more questions. It is clear that until we get into internal documents, we will never know what truly is at hand here. I gave a speech on the floor, which i rarely do. Nothing happens on the floor that matters most of the time. Speechwise. I went down, i know there is a lot of discussion right now about the president ial races and anger the American People have at the u. S. Government. Some of the anomalies taking place, people were making comments about certain candidates and why theyre getting traction on both sides of the aisle. It was a time when we passed the highway bill, when, in essence, we engaged in generational theft, where we basically took 10 years of spending and three years of payout and created all of these gimmicks because lets face it, congress does not have the courage to deal with the issue headon, i said, this was exhibit a as to why americans are so upset with the government. To anyone watching this, they would have to say this is like exhibit a plus. That is why americans should be upset with government. It is a reflection on us. What were hearing today is a reflection on us. I am very disappointed in the testimony. I do not want to take it out on the person who has been thrust in to having to read these comments. I hope we will take action here. This is obviously not something that reflects the great nation that we are. I do not think anyone listening to this could think america is really serious, at least at the state department level, regarding trafficking and persons. I know we have a new person that has been nominated that i do think cares deeply about the issue and potentially could bring about some balance here, i think we could see that the political side, and otherwise, the expedient things for our country, especially involving money, money, those things sort of won out in this process over the human side. But i am disappointed and i do hope, i will not say anymore for regretting going over the top. I will not do that. But i do think we could all see we have created something here that is not working properly. This process to me has been extremely inappropriate, especially this year. I look forward to working with you and others on this committee to try to figure out a way to rectify something that has gone amok. And pulling back some balance here, so we ensure human beings lives at least come into some kind of balance relative to other equities, if you will, that our government has. I want to thank the witness for the willingness to come here. I will not ask any more questions. I realize i will get bureaucratic answers that do not really get to the essence of what the problem is. If i might, the tip report is a valuable report. The rankings have incredible significance, not just in the spotlights of shaming nations to do better, and that is an important factor, because it is not what you want to be on a watchlist or tier three. It also has financial implications, implications on our federal partnerships. And it has ramifications on private companies and their participation economically. It is a very important tool. Countries hire lobbyists to try to influence this country. And things such as tip reports. It is one of the reasons why i am particularly concerned about the 2015 report. Let me sort of underscore the point. Whether politics played a role or not in the determinations, the perception is that it did. It will be a much more open season to try to influence tier rankings through the political process. That is not good. If the report is accurate, and i do not know if it is not and i will not inquire further of our witness on this, but if the objective keepers were overruled a Record Number of times by those more politically engaged in other issues with countries, that also undermines the confidence this report will be done in the future based upon the objective standards in the statute, which has been why the which has been why this report has been so valuable. Point that io the believe we need to revisit the statute. Some ofid to take away the discretion at the higher levels of the state department. Making sure there is a more objective analysis on how the reports are done. Transparency on the interaction so we have a more accountable system for how those decisions are made. I regret that. Not repaired to reach a conclusion other than to say there is a perception out there that the standards and statute played a role. That is not healthy for the future of the report. My interest is to protect the integrity of the report. It is one of the great horrors of current times. Anything we can do to combat trafficking, we need to be aggressive in that area. Menendez, you want to say anything in closing . Menendez i want to thank you for letting us have this venue. The emails and phone conversations, we may reach a conclusion that the process was full of integrity. Today, not my thinking but i will await all that information coming to us. I want to agree with the ranking member. I dont know exactly what actions we need to take a read i know what ever we take, we will do so in a way that is bipartisan and seeks to have integrity in this program. Certainly this meeting raises Major Concerns about whether this is something that has run amok. Sometimes around here, lets face it. One companies and countries realize they can affect the process to benefit them financially, lets face it. Loving occurs. Butjust in congress departments. We need to make sure we understand this fully. I hope voluntarily all the information relative to this will be forthcoming. I look forward to following up with the secretary in one form or another. The record will remain open until monday afternoon for people to ask questions. That, would you like to say anything else in closing . I think americans can be proud of the report. It has made a difference for millions of people around the world and will continue to. I is an american and pleased to be part of it. Im glad we have made a difference in so many lives. Senator corker the meeting is adjourned. This weekend on the cspan networks, politics, books, and american history. Next, politicos playbook breakfast. He spoke with mike allen, politicos chief White House Correspondent on current policy, politics and news. This is 45 minutes. [applause] thank you very much for coming in. Secretary mcdonald it is a pleasure to be here. Mike we have va employees across country. Maybe you should say hi. Secretary mcdonald they do a great job taking care of our veterans and there is no higher calling. A number of them are veterans caring for veterans, or as i like to say, heroes caring for heroes. Mike you were at the top of the corporate world and people at the v. A. Hq knew things would be different from the first day. A little disruptive. Talk about the conversation in the elevator. Right when you got the job. Secretary mcdonald at the time i was nominated, i was going back and forth to capitol hill with senators, making sure they knew what i wanted to accomplish. I was in the elevator on the which my opposite. I saw a gentleman there and i said, hows it going . I like to talk to people in the elevator. You learn what is going on. He said, im breathing. I said, well, i am kicking ass, and you better be, too. I just felt that we were not providing good service to veterans and all of us need to be kicking ass to provide better service. Mike you were in the job for a year and we appreciate you marking it with us. One of your innovations has been my va, bringing the Customer Experience mindset to serving veterans. How is it going . Secretary mcdonald we are in the beginning. As we speak, our Leadership Team is offsite working with noel. He is a dear friend at the university of michigan. He was jack welchs mentor. We are working with him. It is the longterm transformation we need at the a. Strategies. Number one, put the veterans first. We are learning about Customer Service, the very best Customer Service organizations in the country. People like disney, starbucks, others. Number two, we have to do a better job taking care of the employee. There is not a good Customer Service organization in the world that does not care for its employees. You have no hope of caring for the veteran if you do not care for the employee. We have not done a good job at that. Number three, our internal support services. Our language is in cobol, a language that i wrote back in 1973. It looks like green screen ms dos. We need a culture of continuous improvement. We are training so they can lead the change in the systems that they work on and last but not least, number five, we are creating strategic partnerships. There is tremendous goodwill out there to care for veterans and were trying to embrace that. We are in the midst of our summer of service. We started with 75,000 volunteers. We want to get up to 100,000 volunteers. Theres another ethical reason for this as well, which is by law, we are not allowed to care for 15 of veterans who got less than honorable discharges. Chuck hagel, ash carter are looking at all of those discharges to see if they should be reevaluated. In the meantime, we need those external partners because we want those veterans cared for. Mike if you are watching us and live stream land, tweet us your questions. We will ask your questions. What was the very best tip that starbucks gave you about Customer Experience . Secretary Mcdonald Howard schultz is a dear friend. Mike is he going to run for president . Secretary mcdonald i dont know. Im not a political person. My Political Party is veterans. All i do is think about caring for veterans. Howard, in his book onward, he writes about his experience of when he came ba