double conversations] [inaudible conversations]

[inaudible conversations] >> several live events to tell you about. a conference on preventing military suicide. speakers sins include kathleen sibelius and leon panetta. un c-span3 at 8:00 eastern. at 9:00 eastern c-span2 the national housing conference annual symposium look at veterans and housing issues such as foreclosure prevention, access to mortgage credit and homelessness. later looking at the euro zone and the european debt crisis after the recent greek elections. you can see that at 11:00

eastern on c-span. >> how do you approach book interviews differently than news reporting interviews? >> the book interview is gathering history. interviewing when i am working for the news side gathering contemporary information. >> how difficult to remain impartial in reporting and not get caught up in one campaign or another? >> i am going to try as best as i can to give people as full an understanding what is happening in this campaign. it is not that difficult to put your bias to the side. >> how to change your line of work in terms of reporting information? >> twitter in particular is a primary news source for anybody who covers politics and pays attention to politics. twitter didn't exist four years ago for all practical purposes.

>> perdue university students on the newspaper business covering presidential elections once newsworthy and the rise of social media sunday at 8:00 on hart senate office building -- on c-span. >> dea agents accused of misconduct in secret service prostitution scandal have been recalled from columbia. this is an hour and a half. [inaudible conversations] >> the committee will come to order. i would like to welcome administrator leonhart and thank her for testifying before the subcommittee this morning. we all appreciate that the 11's efforts and the strides to increase -- reduce the

increasingly dangerous drug trade. the administrator's testimony comes at a timely moment that the war on drugs open the potential crossroads. on july 1st mexico will elect a new president. by all accounts, enrique nieto is leading the field. p prigovernment has governed mexico for 71 years until 2000. the pre minimize violence by turning a blind eye to the cartel. the current president felipe a. calderon has changed the strategy and confront the organized crime. as mentioned in your testimony the key to the dea's success on the southwest border is our relationship with the government of mexico who have characterized that relationship as at an all-time high but our worries that our relationship could be at the high water mark would be

pending change in the office of president. niwe niwetomr does not emphasize capturing king sins. he told the new york times mexico would continue to work with the united states it should, quote, subordinate -- it not subordinate to the strategies of other countries. he further emphasized his priority would be reduction of violence not dismantling criminal organizations. by all accounts this sounds like a reversion to the pre policies of old. we have no vote in the upcoming mexican elections. we have a deep-seated interest in minimizing organized-crime south of the border. i believe these goals are in mexico's long-term interest and i urge you to press this with the incoming mexican president

and his administration regardless of who it is. i would also like to raise a few instances within the dea. the d service has moved to remove the 12 employees implicated in this incident from

their jobs. another was in the process of losing security clearance. to my knowledge the dea has not taken similar action. similarly it was a major factor in fast and furious but the dea was also involved. the agent in charge, in fast and furious said many field agents knew that it was walking guns to mexico but supervisors told agents to back off when they objected. mr. colson was among the first senior public officials to admit knowing about this botched operation. declaims he raised objections to elizabeth campshot and was told was taken care of. after attending a meeting with the agentaot and was told was taken care of. after attending a meeting with the agewot and was told was taken care of. after attending a meeting with the agent and was told was taken care of.

after attending a meeting with the agent in charge, he knew fast and furious was not a benign pie in the sky publicity stunt. guns were getting in the hands of criminals. as with the colombian prostitution incident i am not aware of any investigation or discipline from within the at the 11. most recently sins last april dea office in san diego literally forgot about 23-year-old in a holding cell. dea agents arrested daniel during a raid on a party in the san diego area where there were illegal drugs. after questioning him the agents told him that he would not be charged before they placed him back into a holding cell. the agents then forgot he was there. mr. chong remained in the holdings of five days with no access to food, water or a toilet. he said he heard voices and yelled for help but no one heard him. after 48 hours he started

hallucinating and drank his own urine. at some point he broke his glasses in an attempt to kill himself. it goes without saying that this is extremely unacceptable and a look forward to hearing what steps the dea is taking to address each of the incidents discussed and to ensure nothing similar happens in the future. i hope these events are anomalies in the dea's record and not an indication of things to come and i yield to the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott. >> join you in convening this oversight hearing on the drug enforcement agency and thank director leonhart for years of dedicated service and for appearing before us today. also mindful that there are thousands of dedicated at the 11 employees who directs us every day many of whom are putting their lives on the line to do so. and a responsibility directing

their efforts to assure their dedication is put to the most effective and productive use. dea is involved in drug enforcement activities all over the world but it is not clear that all these activities are as the effect of more important as others, stopping or reducing the surge of drug abuse. in general there are supply side strategies and demand side strategies for research indicates demand reduction in prevention, education and treatment is more effective than supply reductions through law enforcement efforts. one study showed the cost of reducing cocaine consumption in the united states by 1%, reducing cocaine consumption by 1% the cost is $783 million. three $66 million for general interdiction activities and $250 million for domestic law

enforcement or only $34 million treatment of heavy users. the least costly supply control costs seven times as much as treatment to achieve the same consumption and production. other studies show the drug treatment saved an average of $7 and medical costs for every dollar spent on treatment. one of the big problems in this country with illegal drugs and illegal prescription drugs is there is a huge demand. the history on the war on drugs shows us when there is that demand for the product the buyers find a way to provide it no matter the cost. history also shows no matter how many tons of drugs we interdict or capturing represent only a small fraction of drugs. therefore the evidence suggests our efforts to reduce drug abuse have intensified while the evidence suggests our efforts to reduce drug abuse have

intensified in this country the street price for some of the most dangerous drugs has gone down and the quality has gone up and drug use has increasingly stayed the same during that time. evidence suggests the massive drug enforcement as a result of legions of users and street level dealers being imprisoned for a long periods of time with local budgets of the notice -- noticeable impact on the drug trade. other evidence suggests drug use in all major abuse categories among white americans is as high or higher than produce among black and hispanic americans. the vast majority of those imprisoned for violations are black and hispanic. produce data indicate some 60% of crack cocaine users are white and 94% of those in prison for crack are black. black americans make up 12% of the population but almost 50% of

those incarcerated for illegal drugs are so draconian that many are serving life sentences or the equivalent even for first-time offenders and mandatory minimum sentencing are major contributing factors to the situation. when we consider the and fairness of the burden of drug abuse being heaped on african-americans, the consequences for drug convictions such as loss of voting rights and subjection to employment discrimination drastically lower employment prospects. you can see why michele alexander considers this to issue in the new era of jim crow and she a outlined in her book the new jim crow mass incarceration. we consider the effectiveness of a higher cost of punitive supply reduction strategies compared to many times more effective and cheaper demand reduction strategies such as treatment is

not hard to wonder whether there's a motive beyond drug abuse reduction in our strategy choices. recently i saw a news article, young drug offenders in their 20s in virginia two of whom got sinss of 50, and 35 years respectively. no one seemed concerned about the average cost of $30 a year this represented. $2.5 million warehouse abusers left to wonder whether that $2.5 million should have invested on boys and girls where they were cutting spending in the same area. i look forward to hearing the director's views on public policy implications or agency operations with respect to these concerns. >> the chairman of emeritus, the gentleman, mr conyers for an opening statement.

>> thank you chairman sensenbrenner. my first comment is to congratulate ranking member bobby scott on an excellent opening statement that tracks much of what i have been doing in preparing for this. i think the beginning of this discussion on the part of the subcommittee on crime could be one of the most important contributions that the house judiciary committee could make on the subject of the american criminal justice system but before i go any further, chairman sensenbrenner, i noted 14 issues that you raised with our distinguished witness and i stopped counting after that.

the question that i have is are we going to have an additional hearing to give her an opportunity to respond to each and every one of those? >> will the gentleman yield? >> with pleasure. >> that depends on how responsive she is to the issues that are raised. we all would like to get this wrapped up in one hearing including miss leonhart. >> thank you, sir. it was my impression that we could devote the rest of the next couple hours to a discussion between you and her about what you raised in your opening statement. i don't understand -- >> will the gentleman yield again? >> yes, serve. >> the gentleman knows--from years and years -- that the

current chair and forces the five minute rule on himself as well as on anybody else. >> that is what makes it more difficult. that is the problem i am raising. with six members here and probably more to come the person under the five minute rule, there is no way she can ever get to any kind of cogent response to the issue raised which are very serious. i leave that for further discussion as we go on. i am very interested in the subject because i started off my career on the subcommittee on

crime when i first was able to get on the house judiciary committee and the subject about drugs is extremely extremely critical and i am looking forward to discussion and i have no problem holding another hearing or as many hearings as necessary. we don't get any brownie points for having one hearing and no more. the question is how deeply and thoroughly and accurately do we go into these important social and criminal justice questions? and so i would say to my colleagues and to our

distinguished witness that the cost of the war on drugs is more than $1 trillion, astronomical, and yet the same proportion of drug usage, illegal drug usage continues at the same rate. what i am looking for in addition to be distinguished witness giving us a review of what goes on at dea and what you are doing about it is what kind of changes, what kind of

creative, even imaginative ideas can we come up with to really do something about this. it is -- it seems to me there are policies that might actually reduce consumption that may not have been tried yet. i am hopeful that we can examine that. another issue that we may or may not get to today -- >> the gentleman's time is expired. >> can i sent -- finish the sentence? >> without objection. >> it is important to figure out how we can minimize this

criminalization and punishment concept by replacing it with treatment services. if this is only lock them up and throw away the key, it doesn't, i don't think, shed much information or light or work substantively important way that this hearing this morning could bring to the subject. i thank the chairman for the additional time. >> without objection. all members opening statements will appear in the record. before introducing ms. leonhart i am going to get into a lot, and throw away the key and decide not to charge them situation during the question and answer. that will address some of your concerns. it is my pleasure to introduce today's witness, michele

leonhart was unanimously confirmed as he and -- drug enforcement administration in december. she had been acting administrator since november of 2007 and served as dea deputy administrator since 2004. prior to becoming a dea administrator she held several positions within dea's senior executive service. she was special agent in charge of the dea los angeles field division from 1998 through 2003. she previously held a position as special agent in charge of the dea san francisco division in 1997-1998. as a career dea special agent miss leonhart held several key positions as she moved through the ranks. she was promoted to the position of assistant special agent in charge of the l a field division between 93-95 she held management positions within dea headquarters to include career

executive secretary office of professional responsibility inspector and staff work nadir in the operation division. she has been 30 years in law enforcement beginning her career as baltimore city police officer after graduating from college in minnesota with bachelor of science and criminal justice in 1978. without objection, your witness statement will be entered into the record in its entirety. i ask that you summarize your testimony in five minutes. all about the green, yellow and red lights in front of you. >> chairman sensenbrenner the version ranking member scott. >> please pull the microphone a little bit closer to you. >> mr. sensenbrenner, members of the subcommittee, is my honor to appear before you to discuss your oversight of the dea and our role in reducing crime,

protecting the american public and drugs and increasing the nation's security. for violating dea's recent accomplishments i want to thank you for your continued support of our essentials what enforcement mission. the partnership is especially appreciated in light of the ever changing challenges, a hallmark of our organization is the increasingly global nature of their operation. traffickers are using the latest technology to conduct the daily business with sophisticated communication devices and services to laundering money through electronic value transfers and innovative transportation message, drugs and everything from planes to tunnels and submersibles submarines. we cannot let up or we will never catch up. dea and our partners are successfully disrupting,

dismantling and destroying major drug-trafficking network. enforcement actions are reducing availability of drugs and harm they cause and efforts are integral to the nation's comprehensive drug control strategy. one of the highest priorities for dea today is stopping diversion of prescription drugs and precursor chemicals. more people abuse prescription drugs than heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamines combined. the dea dedicated more agents to investigate criminal prosecution of prescription drugs than ever before and our regulatory arm is dedicated to ensuring compliance with the law for those who manufacture, distribute, prescribe or sell controlled substances and also help the public help us reduce the supply of prescription drugs to take back events. with assistance from 3,000

law-enforcement partners in all 50 states for collected almost 800 tons of prescription medication that would have languished in medicine cabinets where they could have been diverted. soon we will be implementing the secure and responsible drug disposal act recently passed into law. through this act dea will provide the nation with a permanent solution to the problem of proper prescription drugs. dea is at the forefront of another emerging trend, synthetic drugs and i thank you for the committee's leadership scheduling 26 substances used in products like k 2 and speights which will control and prevent these dangerous drugs from doing more damage. unlike controlled prescription drug diversion which is principally a domestic drug challenged the majority of the organization's responsible for other drug frets operate

internationally. the most immediate of these threats comes from mexico based criminal organizations and drug cartels. they are responsible for the vast majority of the violence there and increasingly in many countries including central america. operations there and elsewhere at the 11 relies on close ties with our international partners. these relationships extend beyond on the ground operations and involve training and intelligence and resource sharing. dea has deep ties with mexico. the relationship will have an impact turning what is a threat to the national security and rule of law into a law enforcement challenge and cooperation with the government of mexico is a dish resulted in

250 extraditions sins 2010. this includes high-ranking members from all mexico based cartels' such as antonio fernandez who was sentenced to life in federal prison after admitting his role in 1500 murders since 2008 including a triple homicide of the u.s. consulate employee and two workers family members. we share the responsibility to take away the money and freedom of their leaders. dea is working with the government of afghanistan on drug-trafficking there. for example last week, notorious afghan drug-traffickers was sentenced to life in prison on n narco terrorism charges. it is estimated he supplied 20%

of the world's apps supply. thanks to the work of extraordinary dea law-enforcement personnel he will never be free. i have great confidence dea will continue to overcome these challengess and those that lie ahead. there are not insignificant. the growing list of designer drugs to the re-emergence and drug-traffickers in west africa the emerging tools used by criminal organizations and so many more we have our work cut out for us. just because the mission is difficult does not mean we should give up for surrender. some argue legalization and regulation at the cost of human suffering and misery would strip traffickers of their enormous profits. common sense and history have taught us that those who are displacing the drug trade migrating to other areas of

criminality and we have a responsibility in a nation of laws to enforces the laws and i devoted my life to this duty and all the people at dea are devoted to this goal and this fight in which with your support we shall prevail. thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today and i ask that my written statement the entered into the record. >> without objection. thank you very much, this leonhart, for a very comprehensive statement. let me use my five minutes to try to pack in as much as i can. first let's get to the issue of daniel jong -- chong it was in a holding cell in san diego after a decision was made not to charge him. has anybody been disciplined as a result of this? >> thank you for asking about that. that incident, mr. chairman.

i am deeply troubled by the incident and the dea is deeply troubled by the incident. the incident was a mistake. it wasn't malicious and it wasn't intentional and during our 39 year history as an agency we are not aware that anything like that has ever happened. ..

>> i personally have spoken with all 21 of our field of vision staff. we entered into discussion about how to make sure this doesn't happen anyplace else. we have put many different procedures in place already, and all 21 staff have reviewed their policies and their procedures. they had initiated changes to ensure that this never happens again. >> that's nice to know. now, let's talk about cartagena. the secret service has been very public in disciplining, and, in fact, dismissing many of the agents who were involved in the prostitution scandal there. have any of the dea agents who were involved with their been disciplined? >> well, when you say that this -- i'm excellent disappointed by the conduct, allegations in colombia.

these allegations are not representative of the 10,000 men and women that work for the dea. and they don't -- >> i'll stipulate that, you know. nor were the secret service agents who were involved in their end of the scandal indicative of people who work for the secret service. most of them are dedicated, but the secret service moved quickly. i have not noticed the dea has moved quickly at all to deal with this. >> well, i can assure you we moved immediately, very quickly. as soon as information was given to me by the director of the secret service, i brought the agents in question out of country and made them available to the oig. now, it's not being investigated by dea because the oig has taken on the investigation. we are cooperating with them and making everybody available, all

witnesses and are assisting them wherever possible. the action that it could take, however, was i curtailed their tours in colombia. they are presently on limited duty. while the investigation is taking place, oig is still completing interviews. so it's not really appropriate for me to prejudge the results, but i guarantee you that they will face, if there was misconduct, they will face our disciplinary process. >> have you investigated mr. coulson's allegations relating to fast and furious? and if so, what's been the result of their? >> well, i can say that that, too, is still on the review by the oig. we are all interested in resolution their so we can find out who knew what, when and where. as far as mr. coulson. you should know that we understand that he retracted his

statement. and so, we are waiting for the oig review -- >> was part of the statement that mr. coulson said quote guns were actually getting in the hands of criminals unquote part of what he retracted? >> i believe he retracted all his statements. he said he was misquoted and retracted it. beyond that, -- >> i think we know guns have been getting in the hands of criminals. so, well, let me say, ms. leonhart, i think your answers have been inadequate in all three. there's been no discipline that the oig works at its own pace. the secret service did take very, very quick action when the scandal came to light. and i will accept the suggestion that the ranking member of the full committee, mr. conyers, has

made to have another hearing. the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott. >> thank you, mr. chairman. ms. leonhart, pew research center has estimated that any incarceration rate over 350 per 100,000 starts creating diminishing returns. over 500 per 100,000 becomes actually counterproductive. you are adding to the crime resident detracting from and. that's at five after 100,00 100f our incarceration rate in the trent it is over 700 some per 100,000. minority communities, in some states it's 4000 per 100,000. what role does dea policy play in over incarceration and racial disparity? and what is dea doing about it? >> thank you, ranking member. i can say that the

administration, our mission is really go after the world's biggest and baddest drug traffickers. we spend our resources, our work hours, going after the largest drug traffickers. the sources that supply, the heads of organizations and the heads of drug cartel, the heads of traffic organization, those that most impact the drug supply on the united states. for instance, -- >> has the dea, any dea policy contribute to over incarceration and racial disparity? >> well, there are federal drug laws that dea and forces. you in congress, he's set the laws. we enforce federal laws. we go where our intelligence takes us.

we go where the evidence takes us. >> what is the policy of the dea on mandatory minimum, found to be discriminatory and ineffective in reducing crime? what is the dea policy on mandatory minimums? >> there is no policy for dea on minimum mandatory spirit we go where the evidence is. if someone is trafficking drugs, we investigate that. we investigate the organization. >> you don't have a position supporting mandatory minimum as a crime-fighting tool since they have been found to be discriminatory and a waste of money and ineffective in reducing crime? you don't have a position on mandatory minimums? >> we do our investigation. we conduct our operations without regard to the sentenci sentencing. but the department of justice -- >> in terms of sentencing, when you're dealing with local, state and federal task forces, the our allegations that some of the task force results have been referred to federal court.

some refer to state court. federal court we have the draconian mandatory minimums have been shown to have a discriminatory impact because all the crack cases get sent to federal court where you can get five years mandatory minimum. and meth cases can be tried in state court where they are not subject to this kind of mandatory minimums. is that dea policy? >> that is not dea policy. again, we -- to federal court. we bring the sources and supply, and those responsible for the drug supply on the streets of the united states and much of the violence. >> that is not the policy -- are you aware of that allegation? >> i'm aware and the department of justice has taken a position on the fair sentencing and the

recent change with crack versus powder. the department has been very supportive of that. our role is, as investigators though, is investigate, follow the evidence, go after the most extreme traffickers. and that's what we do. >> are you aware of the said that shows were about, you can reduce drug abuse by 1% to 35 mind dollars in treatment, and 250 and up for law enforcement side, are you for money with that study? and if so, how does that affect the strategy of the dea? >> well, i don't know if it's the same study. i am for me with studies that show the savings, every dollar put into demand reduction, every dollar put into treatment, and that is why we are very supportive of the very balanced drug strategy that we currently have in the united states. the president to drug strategy

is very clear, that you need intervention and -- >> do you put a lot of resources and both? are you putting similar resources in both? >> actually this past year there was more money spent on prevention and treatment than it was on domestic law-enforcement. >> the gentleman's time has expired the gentlewoman from florida. >> thank you, mr. chairman. let me go back over a couple of things earlier on. the issue with the san diego holding cell where this person was held, as you know, noted in rehashing it all. but i just have a question. i listen to your answer. what which are current policy at the time this happened? >> the policies are different in a different field division. because they have, some don't even have a holding cell. but in san diego, the standard

policy is that anybody, their only detained in her field of vision, for andy thing and processing, that the agents and task force office and the group that brought that defendant in is responsible for him while he is there being processed and is responsible until he is either brought to jail or released. since this incident, the san diego field division very quickly put in a divisional order and policies and procedures that actually spell out what everyone's duty is. and we have shared that with the 20 other field divisions. >> so in other words, there was no one assigned to make sure that that holding cell, or whatever you want to call it,

was empty at the end of the day so that no one was left behind? >> it's unwritten that it is always the responsibility of the group supervisors of the group responsible. >> it's not written down so, therefore, they didn't follow that type of procedure because it's very after by what happened, which is, you know, as a former law-enforcement officer i'm just so a standard and apple by how this could happen. i know you have 226 offices, 85 foreign offices and 65 countries. they are all led by special agents in charge. seven at 20 1-d a field divisions are leaderless and have been for several months, and some for over a year. these divisions include boston, newark, philadelphia, los angeles and the caribbean. the "new york post" reported in april that the new york saic

agencies having a terrific impact on agent morale. although there have been, there is acting saic in these divisions, they may or may not feel empowered to make the decision needed for policy changes needed due to their acting status. now again, i'm a former deputy sheriff, and know how important a stable chain of command is, knowing that your rank-and-file need to have the leadership, knowing that they need to have the direction, knowing that there should be policies and procedures in place, why are so many saic positions vacant? are you doing anything to fill these? >> thank you for asking the question. filling saic vacancies, some are open for extended periods of time, but when a saic leaves, retires or is transferred, there is someone put in charge. it's only recently been that

we've had a confirmed administrator, myself, who rose up through the ranks, and he confirmed deputy, that causes this domino effect. and so, as we move our chief of operations into the deputy position, now we are moving, moving the pieces, we are putting people in place. all of the field divisions that had been vacant have had very, very strong and good leadership. >> so you are working to fill than? i have a lot more questions i want to get my timing. i've a question, -- [inaudible] with what happened? >> not at all. >> okay. usage of different policies for different areas. wouldn't it be easier to set up a major streamline policy for every one of your divisions to follow, and then those that have other things, like if you have a holding cell, you will make sure that before you close that off every day, that you go through

that holding cell, one, you sweep for people, too, you sweet for any contraband, before, you know, i would say that every time you put someone in, before you put the menu make sure there's no contraband in, if you take them taken up utv taxing thing but when you leave every day, there should not be anybody in their to be left behind. one other question i have before run out of time is, is it still policy of not allowing any of our agents that are working with mexico, let's say, to be armed when across the border? and if so, why? because as we know we've lost one of her agents that did not and was not armed and was murdered. i just want to know if it is still the policy, are you still promoting a policy, or are you trying to change that policy so our men and women can protect themselves while on detail? >> having been a former law-enforcement officer, you know that the safety of our agents is more important than anything. and i would say because of their

safety, i would be glad to talk to you, not in this forum, to discuss the safety issues. and i'm hoping that you respect that, and i'd be glad to come see you myself. >> i look forward to it. yield back. >> the gentleman from michigan, mr. conyers. >> thank you, chairman sensenbrenner. i feel, and i appreciate your announcing that there would be continued hearings about dea and its role. you will note, madame director, that i originally pointed out in my remarks that we spend huge amounts of resources, and the

rate of illegal drug activity continues at about the same pace to have you been able to reflect on that in terms of how this keeps going on? and what we might be able to do about it? >> thank you for the question, sir. i think there's a lot of misinformation and misperceptions about actually the drug situation, and especially when it comes to teens. so i want to tell you that 650,000 fewer teenagers are using drugs today than a decade earlier. and that's a 15% decline. the balance drug strategy that would have has played a role. marijuana use by teens has dropped 7%. methamphetamine has plummeted

67%. ecstasy use has been slashed 42%, and cocaine use is down 40% since 2006. method has dropped even more, 50%, since 2006. so we do see these drops in teen drug use. would also see the same corresponding drops in untold drug use. so we are doing something correct with our drug strategy. and we believe the three, their prevention, the treatment, the enforcement, you need all three, and that is one of the causes that we are seeing changes in drug use. obviously, we are concerned with the uptick in prescription drugs, legal drugs, but we have been able to change the use,

drug use. we've also been able to use availability of drugs on the streets, especially cocaine. and since 2006, since partnering with the calderón administration in mexico, we actually have had sustained increases in the price of cocaine, and we have seen the purity plummet. >> well, this goes contrary to your statement, which is, i'm happy to hear it, and, of course, you know, you coming back before us so i'll have a chance to check what you were telling me against information that i have not validated yet. the statement that bothered me here was that the drug addiction

rates at currently 1.3% in this country are the same ratio as in 1971. and that we spent over a trillion dollars in appropriations, fighting this war, and it's pretty stagnated. are we just citing different pieces of information to support our positions? or is there some correctness in the citation that i just gave you? >> the figures that i am using are from the monitoring the future study, which has been

used to look at and to track trends in teen drug use. it also comes from the statistic from qwest on workplace drug testing. and if you're using the year 1971 and comparing it with this year, you have to remember that the highest rates of drug use, those years were 74, 75 and 76. they spiked significantly after 1971. it's undisputed that we actually are having the lowest rate of cocaine use in this country in 30 years. >> the gentleman's time has expired. thank you. >> mr. chairman, can't i just point out that i want to continue this discussion outside of the hearing room between now and the next time we have the distinguished witness in?

>> statement will be in the record. the gentleman from puerto rico, mr. pierluisi. >> good morning, administrator. thank you again for meeting with me in february to go over the public safety crisis we are facing in puerto rico and the u.s. virgin islands. you, as much as any other federal official, have an intimate understanding of how serious this problem is. the number of drug-related homicides in puerto rico in recent years would be considered a national emergency if it were occurring in in state. that's not just my opinion. that's what senator rubio also stated during a hearing in december. since our meeting there have been several important developments. first, the house approved a cgs appropriations bill that knows the federal efforts along the southwest border have affected trafficking routes, and crime

rates in the caribbean. and that direct a attorney general to address these trends by allocating the necessary resources to u.s. jurisdictions in the caribbean come and report back to congress on the specific steps that have been taken to second, about two weeks ago attorney general holder was sitting where you are now. i asked him why he would not be, it would be appropriate for doj to increase the resources in puerto rico, even if it is only a temporary surge just as the federal government did when he was a spike in violence on the u.s. side of the southwest border. i acknowledged current budget constraints, since this is a matter of prioritizing limited resources and making sure they are being allocated to these jurisdictions where the need is the greatest, the agb spot that doj is starting to embrace this surge concept, injecting agents and resources into what he called hotspots. that is, areas that have seen a

rise in violent crime. the attorney general says puerto rico would certainly be a candidate for such a surge because of the island violent crime rate. i just hope that action follows those words. third, that homeland security committee just approved a bill today, basically saying, this was that we should have a counter-narcotics strategy or the caribbean border. just along the same lines as the ones we have for the southwest and the northern border areas. that's great. i've been fighting for that, and it's about to happen. do it within 180 days from the

time the appropriations bill becomes law. now, your men and women in puerto rico are doing terrific work as you know. several weeks ago you had your agency let in operation that we saw the arrest of dozens of airline workers in puerto rico were smuggling drugs on flights to the mainland u.s. however, despite the recent staffing increases that you briefed me on when we met, i remain absolutely convinced that the dea does not have enough agents in puerto rico. according to data provided to my office, there are nearly three times as many agents assigned to the miami field office as there are to puerto rico. even though the island's population is 7.5 times greater than miami's. and our drug-related violence is off the charts. i want to be clear. i'm not saying miami doesn't have significant problems that you need to do with.

i'm just providing this comparison because it brings into sharp, you realize how underresourced puerto rico is when you see this stats. so i would like to hear your view, in terms of what you can do or not in staffing our office in puerto rico. >> thank you, sir. we have met, and you know that the whole caribbean region is of concern to the dea. when we moved resources in 2002 from our other field divisions down to the southwest border, we left the caribbean region alone, because we knew if we were successful on the southwest border, that we would start seeing impact in the caribbean. so san juan, the surrounding, that field of vision has been very important to us but anna

actually have an increased resources there. so let me talk about those increases. in 2009, there were 83 agents assigned to san juan. i increased it to 95. in fact, i have done what we can to make sure that agents graduating from the academy, seemed agents from foreign offices are assigned there. we will continue to try to give as many resources to puerto rico as possible. on the surge, know before your discussion with the attorney general about searches, that dea actually was surging in puerto rico a couple years back when you needed help with housing projects. the drug trafficking, the murder rate and the violence there. we've responded by sending

agents from around the country into puerto rico for periods of time to help with that. and we will continue, even though we no longer have that program. we will look for ways to assist our agents and our fellow law enforcement officers in puerto rico with additional resources. >> thank you. >> the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from virginia, mr. goodlatte. >> thank you, mr. chairman. ms. leonhart, welcome. wanted to ask you about reports that dea field agents in southern arizona were unaware of the gun walking being done by atf. tony coulson, the dea agent in charge of southern arizona during fast and furious said that many dea field agents knew

that the atf was walking guns to mexico, but their supervisors told them to back off when they objected. have you investigated who within the dea knew what about fast and furious, and why they did so little to stop gun walking to mexico? >> thank you, sir. as i mentioned earlier, those statements, as i understand from mr. coulson, were actually recanted. he said he was misquoted and he has recanted that. we are very excited, and we are waiting on these results from oig. because prior to mr. coulson's statements, we were not aware that, that dea was aware -- dea agents in arizona were unaware

of the tactics that atf was using. so the investigation is being done by oig. that should answer. we have made all our people available. that should answer the question about who knew what from my agency. in the meantime -- >> did mr. coulson explained why he would recant, why he made the statement in the first place if he later recanted them? >> i have not had any discussions with mr. coulson. i just know that right after there was a reporting of what he had said, he called our headquarters to say he did not say those things. he said he recanted his statements spinks and he denied saying them what he didn't say them and take them back? >> i heard both. but hopefully the oig is going to interview him.

>> so you're relying on the office of the inspector general to investigate his statement and whether or not it is true that agents working under him were unaware of the fact that government was taking place. so, in fact, we know it was taking place, so it's not all that surprising that some dea agents might know what's going on with regard to atf activity, in the same region. but at the same time, our greater concern is why supervisors might have told the agents to quote, back off when they raised concerns about the wisdom of sending guns to drug dealers and others in mexico that ultimately resulted in the death of a border patrol agent. so you will report back to this committee once year from the oig, and let us know what actions have been taken to make sure that when people find out

that wrongdoing is taking place, that they're free able to report it to their superiors, and then have some interagency discussion between atf and dea to say hey, guys, what are you doing here? intends to people we're trying to stop from smuggling drugs into united states is not a good idea. >> boh he report will answer the questions about what our folks new. the oig was given the unilateral authority to investigate speed we woke welcome that. in my last minute i want to get in another area of interest. what assistance does the dea give to state and local law enforcement to combat synthetic drugs? >> thank you for that question. since synthetic drugs is a new emerging, very troubling probl problem. i personally have been working with the chiefs and sheriffs of

both the national sheriffs' association, but also of the icpd. they're the ones who brought to my attention that synthetics is a problem. so we have given them considerable assistance, both in training classes. would also offered our chemists -- >> what additional tools do you need that would make the dea better able to combat synthetic drug abuse? >> actually, this committee did help, and that was the scheduling of so many of those chemicals. that was number one. number two, you have given us, you know, the support, our funding, our agents, workforce, and that has allowed us to teach our agent workforce about this new and emerging trend. it's also allowed us to teach our state and local counterparts about the emerging trends.

and we've been able to expand our investigation now internationally to go after the sources and supply their actions applying the chemicals, showing up in our neighborhoods and then eventually being sold as spies and k2. >> thank you very much. >> the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from tennessee, mr. cohen. >> thank you, mr. chairman. ms. leonhart -- >> think of the of being silent. >> thank you. thank you, ms. leonhart. what is your budget speak as well, currently -- >> approximately. >> 2 million -- >> 2 million? >> i'm sorry, $2 billion is -- >> what about -- >> then have additional with if you got part of version program, so total budget is -- >> it is over $2 billion. do you get any money from

confiscation? >> i'm sorry? >> do you get any money from confiscation of property is? >> your talk about asset forfeiture? >> yes. >> there is money that the department of justice gets from the asset forfeiture -- >> how much money do you get from that? any idea at all? >> if you give me a moment speed i would rather not take the time for you to researcher files if you don't know. may be one of your staff members can give it to you. let me ask you this. what is your number one drug you're fighting? what is your priority? >> well, our priority right now is pharmaceutical drugs. >> what is your second priority is? >> we don't prioritize specific drugs because the organizations that we're going after our poly drugs speak so you're not going after the drugs upon to do but you're going after the drugs because of the effect it has on these organizations and you're going after the organizations, is that right? >> we're going after the organizations that are have the most impact on our communities.

the most drugs and the most violent. >> right. the fact that meth or crack or heroin is causing the most damage to individuals. if that's not the number one choice, it's not your number one choice. your number one choice is the crime syndicate, not the fact that heroin and meth and crack are destroying people's lives? >> no, not correct. the organizations now have, they are poly drugs. for instance, the colombian cartels which are priority are the primary source for methamphetamine, cocaine, and a good amount of heroin on the streets. >> right. >> they are a priority stick so that is your number one priority going after the cartel. >> going after, our number one priority is going after those that most impact the united states. >> and most of those cartels, what are the drugs they emphasize in their arsenal?

>> the mexican cartel, poly drugs. it's cocaine, meth, heroin, marijuana. >> marijuana is number four. would you agree that mayor wanted causes less harm to individuals and meth, crack, cocaine and heroin? >> as a former police officer, as a 32 year dea agent, i can tell you that i think marijuana is an insidious drug -- >> that's not the question i asked you to does it cause less damage to the american society, individuals and meth, crack, heroin? doesn't make people have to kill to get their fix? >> i can tell you that more teams enter treatment -- >> can you answer my question? answer my question, please. >> i am trying to. it causes harm because it's young people that are using it. if you're talking about -- >> it's not just young people that you're trying to answer the question like i'm jeff sessions. i'm not senator sessions. i'm asking you a question.

does meth, does crack, heroin, cause more damage to society and cause -- does meth and heroin cause more deaths than marijua marijuana? >> all drug trafficking causes of death. i don't have a breakdown of how many -- >> does aspirin cause of death speak with i'm talking of the illegal drugs. i don't have a breakdown for you of how many deaths are caused by cocaine and how many -- >> let me ask you this but have you ever seen a person who had cancer and use marijuana to help indeed or believe the condition of some suffering from terminal, terminal cancer? >> no, i have not. >> and if you had, and i have, and seen that it helps them with their appetite and makes them smile. would you agree that it has some benefit to society for somebody who is dying, maybe a navy s.e.a.l. has been this watt light working and i think this -- makes them smile, according to his 80 year old mother.

is the nutty situation there? >> i think that's between him and his doctor. >> well, if it's between him and his doctor why does the dea take position that medical marijuana is wrong, which have taken what should take the position is not between him and his doctor. you have a publication, on page six, has the most insane but passionate paragraph to the legalization movement is not simply a harmless academic exercise. moral danger -- >> the gentleman's time has expired. the gentlewoman from california, is recognized. >> thank you, mr. chair. ms. leonhart, i represent a district in los angeles county were three years ago a young rising star, an elected official in my district was murdered by the mexican drug cartel when he was simply relatives there. this tragedy is why my colleague, mr. cohen, and i work on legislation that would allow

u.s. law enforcement to more easily freeze the illicit proceeds of criminal organizations in u.s. financial institutions in hopes of preserving those assets for future seizure. a situation where the u.s. could only freeze assets of those engaged in criminal activity. once the final decision was being made, and our legislation which was signed into law allowed u.s. courts to freeze assets once there was evidence of criminal activity. so, -- played in assisting dea's financial investigation, and enter guiding them of laundering operations. >> first, let me thank you for bringing this legislation. it is, it has helped already. i'm aware that more than $50 million has been frozen because of that.

so we want to thank you for it. and know that with dea, especially our international investigations, regularly are investigations, regularly are conducted. it's essential to our efforts that we have a way to freeze those assets. in the middle of an investigation, and during an investigation. we must be able to freeze the money for these foreign countries. and this has allowed us to do it. >> thank you for that. i wanted to follow up on your statement that cooperation between the united states and mexico is at an all time high, and that in particular the dea is grateful for the extra relationship that you have with mexico, because it's an important to us to ensure that criminals are brought to justice in this country. i want to know what you mean by the relationship is at an all

time high, and also the extradition, you talked about the extradition of 94 and 93 individuals from mexico in 2010, and 2011 respectively. i wanted to know also what the status is of those who have been extradited. >> the relationship with mexico is at an all time high, and i say that because we now are working investigations jointly. we are able to develop partners in mexico that we can share intelligence with, and they can add should take action on that. and vice versa. they develop intelligence and are sharing it with us. we have representatives from the mexican federal police, and from the pdr that are even sitting in our el paso intelligence center. so that is a true partnership. we, especially working the

violators a cartel as the most important mexico, working within, we have doubled the number of high-value targets that they've been able to arrest and mexico by sharing this intelligence. on the extradition's, a number of these extraditions, folks authority been prosecuted and are serving sentences in the united states. the other thing that mexico has done, like extraditing them to us, is those that cooperate after being incarcerated are really giving us a clear picture as to how the mexican cartels are operating. and that has helped us in mexico because as we show that information, determine the best way to go after those cartel and those traffickers. >> how many have been sentenced and convicted? >> i can teach those numbers. i don't know.

many have pled guilty. so a good, a good number of them have pled guilty, and many have been convicted. >> and how has it impacted the drug trafficking and violence along the border? >> well, especially of the high-value targets, the heads or lieutenants of the cartels that we've been able to incarcerate. it has helped mexico because they have been able to take the people that have been able to have the power to corrupt mexican officials, they now are in jail cells in the united states. no longer able to run their operations. so it is affected, it has affected the drug supply as well. we have done, together, we've done such damage to the cartel that is why you see these drops in the availability of cocaine

on the streets of the united states, and the price up and the purity down spent gentlewoman son has expire. the gentleman from colorado, mr. polis. >> thank you, mr. chair. i like to begin by following a because i don't, on mr. cohen's questions, and i want to try to get a clear answer to make sure that drug administration enforcement administration is aware of some of the evidence. is crack worse for a person than marijuana? >> i believe all illegal drugs are bad. >> is methamphetamine worse for somebody's health than marijuana? >> i don't think any illegal drug -- >> is heroin worse for someone's health than marijuana? >> again, i'll -- >> either know or i don't know. if you don't know, you can look this up. you should know this as chief administrator for the drug

enforcement agency. i'm asking a straightforward question. is heroin worse for someone's health than marijuana? >> all illegal drugs are bad. >> does this mean you don't know? >> heroin causes an addiction, it causes many problems, it's very hard to kick. >> so does that mean for health impact of heroin is worse than marijuana, is that what you're telling? >> i figure ask a subjective question. >> no, just look at the science, this is your area of expertise but i'm a layperson but i've read some of the studies. i'm just asking you as an expert in the subject area, is heroin worse for someone's health than marijuana? >> and i am answering as a police officer and as a dea agent, that these drugs are illegal because they are dangerous because they are addictive, because they do hurt a person's health. >> so heroin is more addictive than marijuana. is heroin more addictive than their one of?

>> i think generally the properties of heroin, yes, more and to give? >> is meth more addictive than marijuana? >> well, both are addictive. >> is methamphetamine more highly addictive than marijuana? >> i think some people become addicted to marijuana, and some people become addicted to methamphetamine. >> you mention at the top, your top 30 is abuse of prescription drugs. is one of the main classifications of prescription drugs painkillers that you're concerned about? >> that's correct. >> are those painkillers addictive? >> yes, they are the very addictive. >> are those painkillers more addictive than marijuana? >> all illegal drugs are common in schedule one, are addictive. >> again, this is, i'm going to help these questions, and i know you're of law enforcement background but i'm sure you also the mayor given your science --

given your position with the science of the matter. your top priority, is that therefore an indication that prescription -- that prescriptive drugs are more addictive than marijuana? >> all -- >> you've indicated as much to us. does that mean that prescription drugs is a greater threat to the public than marijuana? >> because it's an emerging threat, because people are turning to drugs faster than any other drug, that is why we prioritized it. >> well, in many states including my home state of colorado, we have a legalize and regimented regime of medical marijuana. with and dashed up we have found success i'm making sure the patients have access to medical

marijuana, which science indicates, and i would certainly encourage you to look at the science, is less addictive and less harmful to human health and some of the narcotics, prescription drugs that are abused, and also whether use on label they can be very harmful to health as well. would your agency consider supporting medical marijuana provisions when they can be used to, in pursuit of your top priority, which is prescription drugs? if it can be documented the use of medical marijuana help reduce the abuse of prescription drugs, is that something you're willing to pursue? >> well, congress has determined that marijuana is a controlled substance. and dea is tasked with enforcing -- >> you mention priorities though. is a top priority, reducing abuse of prescription drugs. one tactic to do that would be medical use of marijuana. topper in pursuit of your top priority, are you willing to

look at medical marijuana as a way of easing the use of prescription drug? >> we will look at any options for reducing drugs, drug addiction. >> the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from texas, ms. jackson lee. >> thank the chairman and the ranking member. administrator leonhart, thank you for your parents are today. having been in phoenix a couple ago, let me express my appreciation for the service of the drug enforcement agency officers, their professionalism, and as well the work that is done in houston, texas, where we are at the center point, if you will, for a number of issues dealing with gun trafficking, and as well the confluence, if you will, money, drugs and guns. so we are well aware of the

importance of collaboration. i'm going to ask a series of quick questions, and appreciate helping me get as much in the record as i possibly can. what is the importance of collaboration between the major federal law enforcement? i'll use as an example, fbi, atf, and others, along with those that a rep sent on homeland security, what's the importance of that? >> well, let me start by saying that state and local participation has been dea's bread and butter for 39 years we've been an agency. and you combine that partnership with partnerships that we have developed with other federal agencies. i don't think there's anything stronger, anything more effective at attacking violent crime, attacking drug trafficking than having task

force. so, to answer that, especially in the -- >> my question is, is the collaboration strong, positive, continuing? and do the administrators of the respective agencies encourage that collaboration? >> yes. we're probably collaborating now more than ever before. >> great to let me move to fast and furious for a very brief question to has there been any thorough investigation of dea's contact or involvement by the oig? >> yes. we made all of our employees in the phoenix field of a -- >> so any questions regarding supervisor direction, if they don't say anything, all of that has been investigated, is that direct? >> it is being investigated. >> and all documents will be able to assess or the final report will be assessed on that issue? >> yes. we're all awaiting the oig is finalizing the investigation, and the report. >> would you be able to submit

that to this committee once it is finalized and? >> yes. i would have to defer to the inspector general, but usually the oig reports are made public. >> let me move forward, and as i said, quick question. what is the extent of drug trafficking on tribal land? can i just get brief answers for that? >> yes. there's a series of substance abuse problem on tribal land. especially in the last five years with prescription drugs. the big problem used to be alcohol and methamphetamine, but more recently -- >> and what, so what are we doing, the dea have a focus on the? i want to know that we have a problem, and i believe it is. do we have a focused? >> absolutely. we have established a very good relationship with the other law enforcement agencies, both the

fbi and bureau of indian affairs, and other tribal law enforcement, and have done joint investigations. we depend on them to tell us, you know, you are the traffickers, who are those most impacting the supply on indian land. and then jointly work with them, sharing intelligence. and we've had many successes on those lands. >> let me ask you, there have been many requests by members, how is the right republican budget, the budget that would cut resources, how devastating would that be? and let me follow up please, seek an answer these questions but i'm very concerned about -- focus on bath salts and particularly the impact that it just had in houston, texas, the story i will refer you to channel 11, specifically talk about a heinous incident with

bath salts with an individual, david peterson, who died on a galveston street. he was found disoriented, and in extreme physical deterioration. and then i would appreciate your comments about dea officers and physician officers and pay bills and whether or not the response as excessive, whether you think we're being fair to doctors on that, on those investigations? >> do you have all points of that multifaceted question. >> the last question i had a hard time -- >> the ethics -- thank you, mr. chairman. the ethics with dea officers dealing with physicians and pain pills, there's been sort of a surge of closing physician offices, arresting them. i'm wondering, are we being excessive? are we being careful? because you are literally shutting down professionals who may be legitimate issuing -- >> okay.

the witness will answer. >> i will start with, you asked about the budget. you know, these are austere budget times, and we will work with this, money that is given with us and we will prioritize accordingly. as to the synthetic drugs, and i'm glad you bring that up, in the emerging problem that concerns us. can help give us the biggest to we can, and that's controlling some of those knuckles, substances. , in your area, for instance, our agents have opened a number of investigations, both on bath salts and on k2 and spice. they been pretty successful in assisting state and local offices on those types of investigations as well. your third question about, you know, physicians and pill mill's

and pain clinics, houston is very troubling because they have a pill mill problem. and it's not like in florida with oxycodone, it is hydrocodone that is the problem there. they have got many investigations, successful investigations, and we have, we have arrested and prosecuted some very egregious doctors. and let me say that the doctors that are affiliated in operating these pill mill's, working within these pill mill's, there is no, they're not practicing medicine. they are not giving examinations to patients. these pill mills are just open for field distribution. and those are the physician, those are the clinics that we have targeted using our

intelligence, using undercover investigations. and we've been very successful in the houston area. >> the time of the gentlewoman has expired. >> mr. chairman, let me thank you for your courtesy. but i put a question on the record to be answered in writing, please? >> yes. and that will be taken care of with aucs i'm about ready to profound. thank you, ms. linhart, for coming. we look forward to seeing you come back here. you might look forward to seeing us again. might not. but thank you for your testimony today. i think it's been helpful to all the members. without objection, all members will have five legislative days to submit to the chair additional but questions for the witnesses which we will forward and ask the witness to respond as probably as they can so that their answers may be made a part of the record. without objection. all members while five legislative days to submit

additional materials for inclusion into the record. and with that, again, i think ms. leonhart but and without objection this hearing is adjourned. [inaudible conversations] >> several liberians to tell you about this morning. a national housing conference annual symposium looks at a veterans and housing issues such as for closer prevention, access to mortgage credit and homelessness. that's here on c-span2 at 9 a.m. eastern. and on our companion network, c-span, the atlantic council looks at the future of the euro

zone and the european debt crisis. you can see that at 11 a.m. eastern. ..

>> this weekend on c-span3. >> more now from an atlantic magazine forum on developing new energy sources. one of the speakers, deputy energy secretary daniel potman, called on congress to extend renewable energy tax credits that expire at the end of the year. this is a half hour. >> now it's my pleasure to introduce our final keynote address of the afternoon. we have with us today daniel punman, deputy secretary of the united states. he was nominated by president obama to be deputy secretary of energy in april 2009 and was confirmed by the senate in may of 2009. under the leadership of steven chu, punman also serves as chief operating officer of the department. from '93-'96, he served as special assistant to the

president for non-proliferation and export controls at the national security council. prior to assuming his responsibilities as deputy secretary, he served as principal of the scowcroft group for eight years. he's a member of the council on foreign relations and has been published widely on national security issues. his third book, "going critical," received the '05 douglas dylan award. please join me in welcoming deputy secretary daniel punman. [applause] >> thank you, alisha, for the kind introduction. i was flighted to have anything to do with the thick. i'm a -- the atlantic. i'm a student of history, and as we're coming in here, i'm saying, wait, wasn't that ralph waldo emerson who founded the atlantic? and it was. it's a pretty high bar to

measure out when you think of your predecessors and likes of oliver wendell holmes sr., harriet beecher stowe. so i will not aspire to their literary elegance, but i will try to offer commentary or something that -- on something that may be as important to our era as the issues that animated the foundation of that august magazine were to those years in the middle of the last century, back in 1857. energy, no more important issue, i think, can we think about in terms of what's going to shape our future than energy, and i'm talking in terms of our prosperity, i'm talking in terms of our environment, i'm talking in terms of our security. and while there is no silver bullet, i think that it is clear already, and the president has made it abundantly clear, that the one thing we need to do to succeed in this very challenging moment is to diversify our approach. and we have committed our nation

and our path to an all of the above strategy. we're pursuing it with great vigor, and i think you've already seen a great deal of progress over the last several years. and the traditional oil and gas sector, we see oil production at levels it hasn't reached in nearly a decade. we see our oil imports have declined to under 50% for the first time in many, many years, and can we see that our oil products exports have gone from deficit to surplus for the first time since 1949. the other changes we've seen in that sector are, also, extremely impressive in terms of natural gas where our production has now led us to the number one place in the world in terms of global production of natural gas. in the area of nuclear energy, we've seen the first commercial nuclear power plant license inside three decades down in vogel, georgia. we have also made important headway in addressing one of the

critical issues that has been of concern to anybody in these issues, and that's what to do at the back end of the fuel cycle. the president asked secretary chu to assemble an august panel of the blue ribbon council such as former congressman lee hamilton and retired lieutenant general brent scowcroft. they put together a blue ribbon commission that has come up with a set of possible recommendations -- responsible recommendations and how to do with the critical issue of what to do with fuel coming out of chemical reactors. i would like to thank senator feinstein, senator myrrh cow si, and -- myrrh kousky, of course, senator bingaman's firm leadership, trying to think of ways that the u.s. congress can take some of those recommendations and implement them in the form of legislation. energy efficiency is, obviously, a critical priority for all of us. as secretary chu often says, energy efficiency isn't

low-happening fruit, it's fruit that's lying on the ground. we can save enormous amounts of money. the other thing secretary chu says i favor energy efficiency because i'm cheap. in fact, we can look back with satisfaction in recent years to see the real progress we've made. when you take into account the cooperation between the department of energy and hud, we've got over a million homes that have been weatherized. you can look at the better buildings initiative, and we have now 1.6 billion square feet under roof that have committed to reduce their energy usage by 20 percent by the year 2020. every day they're helping americans save energy and save money. and lastly, because of the largest investment in history in clean energy, we have nearly doubled the amount of electricity generated from renewable sources such as wind, solar and geothermal. last year, as probably everybody

in this room already know, the united states reclaimed the mantle as the leading investor in clean energy around the world. so today i'm going to focus my remarks on that last area, but i thought it was very important to see it in the context of the overall energy strategy the president is pursuing. the president has said it very clearly, we have to outeducate, outinnovate and outbuild the rest of the world when it comes to clean energy. everybody else is pitching in, and this is not an area we can afford to leave behind. last year year over $260 billion was invested in clean energy, that's a figure that continues to grow. according to the international energy agency, over 80 nations have clean energy policies, and it is a competitive world out there with countries such as china, germany, italy and many others vying for leadership in the clean energy race. the good news is that the investments that we began under the recovery act are already making returns not only keeping america competitive, but also

creating opportunities for new industries and jobs for american workers. for instance, this is a large number, but the recovery act has already underwritten on the order of 20,000 projects including the world's largest photovoltaic farm, one of the world's largest wind farms and many other projects beside. i saw that my friend and colleague eric was here just a few minutes ago. i think one of the real legacies of this administration is going to be the advanced research projects agency for energy which has already done an incredible job of seeking transformational and breakthrough technologies in a wide area of areas, biofuel, efficiency, critical materials and more. i think what's very important to remember about arpa-e is that it is a seabed of technology investment, but it also attracts private capital. that's part of what we're trying to do. we're trying to coax capital in

off the sidelines, and i think it is noteworthy that the 11 projects last year that around around -- arpa-e funded have secured $240 million to help take those technologies forward. this includes companies such as general compression which is developing energy storage technology to enable low-cost grid storage and help make intermittent renewable power such as solar and wind fully dispatch bl. the company received just a small $750,000 grant to test its technology. following that, they received over $12 million in additional funding from existing and new investors. there's also a company called envy systems which in partnership with our arkansas gone national -- around gone national laboratories received $4 million from arpa-e and has now received $17 million to plus that up. they have developed a

rechargeable list onion battery. that's not enough, however. we are looking beyond specific investments to how to transform our energy economy through mechanisms that will create the right kind of incentives to invest. and in that respect i note the president's call in his state of the union address to double our share of clean electricity to 80% by 2035. one of the mechanisms by which we can achieve that is by passing into law the clean energy standard that the president has called for. we need to create a healthy ecosystem where the forces of supply and demand can meet in the marketplace to help drive transformation of our energy economy. twenty-nine states, as probably most people here know, have already continued renewable -- adopted renewable portfolio standards supporting significant expansion of electricity from clean energy resources.

our own energy information administration has done analysis that shows that a clean energy standard could increase current projections of nonhydrorenewable generation by more than 40% by 2025 from 374 billion kilowatt hours to 530 billion kilowatt hours with the greatest increases in wind and biomass. now, it's very important to remember that when it comes to a clean energy standard, we're not picking winners and losers, we're not picking technologies, we're putting in place a mechanism that will provide a market draw for those forms of energy. it will stimulate investments, create jobs and make us more internationally competitive. in addition, the president has called on congress to extend the production tax credit and expand the advanced energy manufacturing credit to support towns and cities across the country. and i can tell you from personal

experience this is working in the field. i went out to newton, iowa, to a wind factory a few years ago that had been shut down as a maytag factory, and the building was abuzz with people who were all working, smart, capable people all of whom had been out of a job. and when i was out there a couple of months ago, one of the foremen said, listen, you cannot let this production tax credit lapse. this is what's keeping us in work, this is what's going to let us lead in the international competition for wind energy by creating markets, creating markets here at home and, yes, creating markets abroad for innovative clean energy technologies. we will unleash the ingenuity of the american people, unleash the capabilities of our entrepreneurs and insure that america leads the world in clean energy. i'd also like to pause for a minute because it's not just about power generation, it's not even just about managing demand. we've got to make sure that we've got a modern electrical

grid to support all of this. was just think about -- because just think about it for a second. you have in the integration of intermittent sources of energy such as wind and solar variability in what's going into the grid at the front end. you have got to manage that load and, frankly, there are tariff-setting challenges that are very difficult to manage when you have got, for example, multiple sources of intermittent energy where the water may be rushing for hydro when the wind's not blowing or vice versa. so there are very complex issueses at that end of the grid. and on the demand side we're looking at a prospect of electrical vehicles being deployed in large numbers. they can both charge and draw from the grid. you're looking at the deployment of smart meters across the country, and you're going to have people -- and i visited a place down in houston, texas, where they have tested out the deployment under the recovery act of the smart meters, and it

really empowers consumers. and it has led to a real variability in load usage at that end. it will not due to have sclerotic, old grid system to support all of the changes that have happening both ends of the grid. so the investments we have made under the recovery act, over $4 billion of investments, are critically important. much of that has gone into a better sensory technology being apply today the transmission lines themselves with all of the thousands of pmus that we are deploying across the country. we're allowing a greater sense of self-awareness in the grid so some of the critical challenges that are faced, for example, when you have a massive blackout of a kind that occurred back in 2003 can be avoided because you have a grid that has become increasingly self-aware. where i live, i still have to call my power company and tell them my lights are off, and we're going to have to do much better than that and bring a

21st century grid into being to meet our 21st century energy technology. the other thing i think we have to consider as you are increasingly looking at grids that are supported by technologies and computer-drech systems is each one of these things is an empowering element in a grid could be another point of vulnerability. so as we look at a smart grid, we have to also make sure that the cybersecurity challenges that are presented are adequately met. and in that respect, as many of you may have seen a few weeks ago with strong leadership from howard schmidt at the white house, we ran a series of tests, grid security risk maturity model that helped identify where the different utilities were strong, where they needed assistance and helped calibrate how we can improve our grid security so that we can, in fact, have a grid that is as reliable as the needs that we place upon it.

it's a challenging time. it's an exciting time. nothing is foregone here. the tests lie before us. when you go around the country, when you see batteries getting built in a factory in kansas city, batteries which could go to power either electrical vehicles or a new joint strike fighter, when you go to fayetteville, arkansas, and you see companies that are being environmentally responsible, disclosing fracking fluids using very clean technologies to take advantage of this prodigious new resource that has tremendous opportunity for this nation, when you visit -- as i have -- our national labs and seen people who are figuring out lower compression calculations for diesel carburetors to improve emissions and thousands

of innovations besides, it's an incredibly exciting time. this truly is a sputnik moment. and just as back in 1957 the 100th anniversary of the atlantic's founding, the united states rose to the challenge. this time the united states is rising to the challenge as well. it's something that involves people all across this country. it's something that involves our scientists, that engages our industries, that takes advantage of the unique resource that is available in our national laboratories. and we're not doing this in splendid isolation. we're doing it in a competitive world where the stakes are high. and we can choose at this critical moment in our history either to lead or to follow. we can choose at this critical moment in our history to roll up our sleeves and do what americans have done for generations which is come up

with the most ingenious ideas, translate those ideas into innovations, then into products, then into market share, then into global leadership, or we can retreat. for me, frankly, i think it's an easy choice. i know the choice that has led america to the place where it is today in the world, and it has not been by shrunking from challenges -- shrinking from challenges, but by embracing them. just as the founders of the atlantic embraced certain challenges of their day, just as president kennedy calls for a moon shot to send a man to the moon and return him safely to earth within a decade, and now secretary chu has called for a sun shot to bring solar prices down to grid parity in a similar amount of time. the challenges are great, but the reward will be greater still, and it will be a reward that is felt by our children, by our neighbors, by generations yet to come. but only if we grasp the task with enthusiasm and fire and

determination and working together, i know that we can. thank you. [applause] and i can take some questions if people speak up. yes, sir. i don't know if they're handing around microphones. >> listening to your questions or talks about utility scale development, what about homeowners and what not? we haven't really talked about homeowners. you talked about the 2003 power outage, i remember that one. i was in palm springs in '98 when california went totally black. it was 105 that day, and at 3:00 in the morning it was still 90 degrees. but i'm not seeing any development towards, um, having -- not homeowners, but home builders make not only more efficient houses, but putting

panels on those homes that would also spur r&d and more production of panels on there. where are we going in that direction? >> well, there's a lot of stuff that's being done at the level of the homeowner. first of all, before you get to the rooftop we have the weatherization program which has already hit over a million homes. we also have got into effect a number of new appliance standards which benefit homeowners. it actually turns out to be a win/win/win because unlike some of the common wisdom, you end up with greater efficiency standards for refrigeration and air cooling and so forth driving down both costs, driving up profits and providing more choice at lower cost for the consumer. that's putting money right into their pockets. everyone knows that the most productive investment we can have in our national growth is putting more consumption into the economy, so that works that way. there are also things that we can do in terms of making sure that those modest investments

which are still to a homeowner significant somehow have an easier way of getting amortized. so if somebody might shrink from putting out a few thousand, two, three thousand dollars for a new furnace, if you can start to do things which, for example, people are refinancing their homes, if you can have just as you normally have a termite inspection have a home energy inspection, you can, a, demonstrate the savings that would be available where you can recoup your money in a very short period of time at a rate when you amortize it over a 30-year mortgage of pennies per month. so there are a wide variety of things. you know, we're doing a lot in the area of solar not just in rooftop, but i think it's important to think not only of the conventional way of tax credits that might be available for rooftop solar in a conventional sense, but some of the things that are done to take advantage of the fact that in large cities you have miles and

miles of flat rooftop that's unused, okay? so, for example, the challenge that people have read about in the newspaper of long transmission lines being needed to get solar energy from the open expanses of desert where you can put miles and miles of mirrors over to the population loads, you get rid of the transmission issues, you get rid of a lot of the problems of disturbing local environment by aggregating potentially hundreds or even thousands of these roofs. that, in turn, does two things. number one, it allows solar to compete with rooftop solar to compete with ground-based power generation assets and, secondly, it provides the scale that is critical for solar to drive the marginal cost per unit down. so there's a whole host of things from the micro to the macro that i think are going to end up bringing benefit to the homeowner. >> [inaudible] >> well, it is happening.

and those are just some of the few examples. we have been working very closely with shaun donovan over at hud on some of these questions in terms of the mortgages and the refinancing and so forth. i was just out in arkansas a few weeks ago talking to some of the home builders about some of these programs that they may actually benefit from. so it's, it's always better to see more faster, but it is happening, and we would encourage, you know, any further ideas you have on how we could do it even better. we'd be very open to that. there was one right next to you. >> t.j. donahue, i'm a aaas fellow and -- at the engineering directorate. in real life i am a public school high school teacher, science, and i would love to think that we have a sputnik moment right now, that somehow there's a chrome basketball flying over our country and

scaring everybody into doing what we should be doing. but i don't i don't know if i be that's true. the engineering of the future is going into eighth grade today. what are we investing in our future? the person who's going to man the wind farms is going into fifth grade today. what are we doing? so at the national science foundation, at doe, at ed what's our role with this extremely tiny pot of money compared to local educational money? what's our, where's our bully pulpit, where's our leverage point? because, um, you said in the beginning outeducate, outinnovate. yea. what are we doing? so, um, what can we be doing is maybe a better question. >> yep. well, it's a great question and thank you for what you in your

real life in addition to your aaas fellowship. look, we, there was a cabinet meeting just a few weeks ago, and of the things that the president said he was going to be focusing on over the next six months, two of them were education and energy. you see what he's been doing on student loans. we have got to make s.t.e.m. education, science, technology, engineering and math, exciting in a way that it hasn't been certainly when i was a kid. and i think i see anecdotally through my kids and others, i think this is happening. what can we do? there are things that we can do with our convening power. there are things that are as simple as the science bowl that gets people really buzzed. there are things like the solar decathlon. you've seen the look on these kids' faces. and so we have to be, i think, appropriately modest and humble about what we can do at the federal level given the vastness

of the enterprise. but we shouldn't hide our light under a bushel, we should do those things that we can, and in the programs the president has proposed in terms of student loans, in terms of what we've done -- and the department of energy, as you all know, used to watch magic school bus. and i used to wonder at the end, why does it say supported by department of energy? now i understand, okay in so we can do significant things, and then by the force of the example and getting out there and by people like you returning to commitments, i think that that's one important stream of activities. secondly, there are different things that motivate different people. you know, we could have a long conversation that would probably empty the room about what really happened at sputnik and what it meant and what it should have meant and what it ended up really meaning, okay? is. [laughter] the missile gap that wasn't and so on is and so on. doesn't matter. what matters is it drove u.s. conduct, okay?

and what you see today whether you're animated by whatever set of objectives, if you want this country to be competitive, this is the place to invest. if you want to improve our energy security, this is the place to invest. if you want to see your neighbors get good jobs, this is the place to invest. we're not alone. and if you require a competition to get your juices flowing, look at china, look at germany. they're doing it too. so it's not something that one person talking is going to ever be able to effectuate. the president, secretary chu have shown great leadership, but the mantle is being picked up all across the country. the best part of my job is when i go to different states and different cities. this is a conversation that is awakening across the country. can i tell you the most popular sessions i go to are the colleges. these are standing-room-only groups, and they're forming energy clubs, they're starting to talk to each other. who knows where the next innovation's going to come that's going to be a

breakthrough on battery density. could be from one of these kids. so i think we've got to keep at it and recognize don't sugar coat it because it's a huge challenge, but i think we don't need to fear it or shrink from it either. yes, ma'am. >> i think we're going to have to -- >> oh, sorry. i was too long-winded. >> [inaudible] i just went to your -- [inaudible] you know, i mean, how do we motivate, how do we get more of the diversity there? try to say something about that -- [inaudible] what do we do? >> good.

the question, for those who could not hear, is what can we do to get more women, to get more diversity into the energy field. it's very important. i could not agree more. this morning i met with the deputy foreign minister of poland talking about energy. she's a woman, she is deeply committed to getting more women in energy. one of the secretary chu's flagship initiatives is a set of clean energy ministerials. one of the very important areas of activity under that that was spearheaded by undersecretary christina johnson at the time is women in energy. my good friend, minister of energy of south africa, she's all over this. so it's like anything else. i will give you the same answer. let's not curse the darkness, but let's light a candle. we've got a long way to go. we're making progress, and we'll keep at it. thank you. [applause] >> we're going to take you live in many just a moment to the national housing conference where a series of p