way of information sharing and policy development. but i can tell you that when it comes to a whole range of national security issues, i look at the people who i normally meet with. these are members of the intelligence community, the defense department, the justice department, representatives from the white house, national security staff, these are the kinds of things that we take a whole government approach to. didn't mean we're perfect but i think we're also sensitive to the fact that we need to become as perfect, you know, as we can. we're always trying to fine tune the efforts that we're engaged in. >> thank you, thank you, mr. chairman. >> prison rain elimination act, the budget requests pro cutting the grants by 16%. what's your rationale for that? >> i'm sorry? >> your budget is cutting preas

by 16%. what is your rationale for that cut? >> well, i mean, dealing with this whole problem of sexual violence is something that is obviously -- not on yougsly but is extremely important to us. we're making, i guess, changes here. >> it's a cut. >> as there -- they're fazing out the prison rape review panel. >> these are grants. >> yeah. i mean, there are ways in which -- you know, we have to make determinations about how we're going to use the money that we have. we have a budget that is good, not as great as we would want it to be, so we've had to make some tough determinations about how we spend the money that we have. and to the extent that there were cuts there, we think that they were ones that were difficult to make but nevertheless will leave us with

the ability to enforce prea in the way that was intended. >> i doubt that you really support cutting the grants by 16%. but unicor is beginning to use the authority to allow them to repatriot jobs back to the u.s. increase the products. so that men and women in prison have the dignity to work and learn to be rehabilitated to come out, including new offers like l.e.d. lighting, baseball caps and battery chargers. are you aggressively working with the other department to ask them when they can to use unicor? have you done a let toter to alf the other divisions? you buy a baseball cap or a

t-shirt, it's made in china. are you working -- have you been in touch with the other agencies. >> i think that's a good idea, the notion of a letter that would go to the other agency heads to encourage them to make greater use of federal prison industry products. we reached out to 200 companies regarding potential opportunities. we have 34 currently approved projects, 450 enmates employed. still from my perspective, this is not enough. this issen a area where i think we can have a dramatic impact on the lives of people who are presently incarcerated, increase their chances for being successful out of the prison context, reduce resit vichl. if we can reduce the resources up front we can knock down the

crime rate and decrease the amount of money we spend in the system. >> if you can do a letter to all of the agencies. >> i think that's -- >> the committee appropriated $12 million. how is the research being used to inform the department's response and to refine its counterterrorism mission? you have had 50-something americans leave the united states and go to syria. >> we've had americans leave and go to syria and somalia and we're also concerned about people who don't leave and get radicalized in a variety of ways. this is something that is a priority for the president. it is one he asks the team about and expects reports on a monthly basis. we use that money to try to understand how do people get

radicalized, what drives otherwise seemingly normal people to take the radical courses and to come up in ways that we interact with groups of people, individuals, various communities so that there's a counter narrative to people that would go on the internet and be convinced that there are certain ways of life that they should follow. our u.s. attorneys have been very involved in this action. it's one of the charges that i've given to them to get out into the community and to interact with communities that are at risk so that we reduce the responsibility of these domestic violence, potential domestic violence adherence. >> it was amazing to hear michael moral, former deputy and head of the cia say that two days ago he removed the word islamic because he didn't want to offend anybody when they were

doing the briefing of the attack on benghazi. that is political correctness gone awry when the cia removes that word. and if it's reached the cia, your request on human trafficking to strike language carried the past several years requiring each u.s. attorney to lead or participate in human traffic or task force, why would you ask that? i mean, kneel mcbride, he's done probably better than any other u.s. attorney. now you want to take that language away. why would you want to do that? >> i'm not sure i'm familiar with that. >> is he going to give you -- yeah, it says to strike. >> well, i mean, this whole question of -- >> you didn't want us to strike it then, i assume, because then you would -- >> i'm not just familiar -- >> you're opposed.

that's what we wanted to hear you say. the fbi director the other day agreed that the fbi's national gang intelligence center would be a logical place to assemble and analyze intelligence on rue man trafficking because many times gangs are involved. would you agree that that would make sense? >> i think that would be a good place but as long as we don't think that human trafficking is only done by ganging. >> no. but it would be because in northern virginia part of it was gangs. so that would be -- okay. good. we're running out of time. really until the law and regulation can be aligned with a duty to protect their children, i would hope that you would maybe send a team up to sit down with us and there's language

moving through the house to perfect it in such a way so that it's not a paper passes something people feel goodant it doesn't have any impact. if you could have your team contact the staff and sit down with the people working on it to make sure that whatever is brought up is constitutional and does really deal with the issue. >> yeah, as i indicated in my remarks, and i think as we've said to you in a letter, we'd like to interact with you in terms of legislation that will be effective and that will pass first amendment constitutional muster. >> if you could have somebody come up next week, that would be helpful. on human trafficking in mcclain, virginia, my district, there was a case where a saudi diplomate kept a person in slavery. in new york we saw an indian diplomate under paying a

housekeeper. what charges are you facing in. >> well it is an issue that has become apparent in at least a couple of cases. there are others that we're looking at trying to deal with. it is something that there is an increased awareness of by various u.s. attorneys, not only in new york and in washington, but in other parts of the country as well. >> was that saudi diplomat prosecuted? >> i don't recall. >> could you check and let us know? >> we could. >> i'm concerned that the department is not taking seriously the problem of honor violence in the united states. we saw a case in arizona, 19-year-old arizona, after he was seen talking to a boy, her father put a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her while her mother and sister taped her to a bed and beat her. another person was killed by her

father by refusing to participate in a forced marriage. they collected stricts on honor violence and to examine whether data series such as the uniform crime reporting series spould include day the on honor violence. can you provide us with an update. >> bjis has been charged with that. the national crime victimization should collect report on honor violence. and bjis has collected information on violence against women and nij is projects assessing part of the issue. this includes a project funded by nij that addresses forced marriages. this is a topic that is one that

really tugs at me. i'm the father of two daughters. and the notion that these kinds of activities would occur in our country is simply something that is unacceptable. so we're working to deal with this issue in the ways that i have described. >> i appreciate that. if you could again, have your people keep up with the subcommittee to let us know as we mark up the bill to see if there's something else we should be doing. i'm going to ask you one last issue that hasn't been covered. for 50 years the wire act served as a barrier to gambling operations. then in 2011 the office of legal council ruled that the wire act applied only to sports betting. the result a surge in online gambling. we're now concerned about the process which has made it easier with as many consequences of

expanded online gambling. can you explain why and how the legal warning was made with no consultation with congress? >> the deputy attorney general sent a letter, i guess, that the wire act only covered sports betting. the olc looked at this matter and issue an opinion, i guess, in september of 2011. i'll be honest with you, i don't remember what the circumstances were that precipitated the examination by olc. >> can you find out and tell us? >> i mean i have something that i vaguely remember but i don't want to say something that is not consistent with what the facts are. >> sure. >> i do remember that was an issue that was of note. there was a precipitating event that made olc examine that question and issue that opinion in september 2011 that then precipitated the letter that the deputy attorney general sent out. we can find out exactly what that event was and share that with you.

>> to release something on a friday before christmas, you just know there's something wrong. and i was the author of the national commission on gambling a number of years ago, and there is a difference on the impact for destination gambling and convenience gambling. destination gambling, you're going to go out far away, you take so much and that's it. convenience gambling, around the corner -- the ultimate is to be able to go online in your bathrobe in your dorm at penn state. so, you know, i'd like to find out -- and also senator graham introduced legislation to restore the wire act. will you provide the expertise to create that?

>> we'll look at the statute. i frankly don't know what the administration's policy determination would be with regard to that question wu we'll certainly look at the statute and provide the technical assistance that will be required. >> if anybody on either side wants one last -- yes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. attorney general, you've been very outspoken about your concerns about the broader issues in the criminal justice system and in particular inequities which fall disproportionately on many minority communities. we have the do you know rouse d distinction of some of the highest incoarse ration numbers in the world. it remay understand me of something church hill said, now that we're broke, we have to be smart. we feel that in california with

our prison budgets bankrupting the state. when we step back and look at the justice system in the u.s. and our rate of incarceration, racial disparities, prisons are pouzing thousands of americans with substance abuse issues and mental illnesses, there has to be a better way. and i think the efforts you' made to change that way are going to be among the proudest achievements of your term as attorney general. i want to compliment you on the funding for the honest appropriate yagss and the justice reinvestment. regrettably, my own state of california has not and i look forward to working with you on it. i wonder if there were any thoughts you wanted to share on the overall direction of the criminal justice system. >> i look forward to working with you and other members of the committee in that regard.

think what we've tried to do on the crime initiative is to look at the world as it exists and look at the criminal justice system as it exists. and also examine what some states have done. very interesting experiments that have been done in states, in red states, texas, kansas, kentucky, whereby emphasizing prevention, emphasizing rehabilitati rehabilitation, emphasizing reentry programs, states are spending less on prisons. they're having a positive impact on their crime rates. so that -- it's something that i think people don't necessarily equate. it is possible to spend less and keep people safer if you are smart in the way in which you structure your criminal justice efforts. that's what we're trying to do in the federal system, the program that i announced, i guess, last august. we have money in our budget

requests to support these efforts. i'm actually optimistic that -- there's also legislation that's pending set up by senators durbin, senator lee, that we supportive of and hopefully will be passed by the senate and hopefully passed by the house so that we can institution allize some of the changes i've made with regard to how the justice department prosecutors are supposed to be conducting themselves. >> if the gentleman would yield for one comment. >> this is a very important effort that the committee supported. we just had a veteran in an overheated cell in a prison somewhere in america, i can name the place but i'm not trying to den ingrate the location. i want to say that he would die in a cell 100-degree plus heat. we want to have more veterans

courts, more drug courts. we won't to be more focused on this. i say that because my legislation would in part fund for justice rehabilitation programs using these settlements. i want to make that point. >> thanks, chairman, i dwreeld back to you. >> thank you. judge carter. >> thank you. thank you, mr. chairman, i'll try to make this a little short, any way. mr. attorney general, i'm going back to a subject matter we were just discussing but only briefly. my colleague raised the issue of immigration reform. my friend to my left here, mr. diaz balart worked on what started as a gang of 20 and reduced to a gang of seven that met every week and worked on drafting a bill on immigration reform. so i think vi a fairly reasonable credential to say that i have worked hard to try to come up to a solution to immigration reform.

give me -- and i want -- i've got more to say that this. how can i feel confident there are laws on the books today that would fix immigration reform but they're not being enforced? so how can i feel confident after five years of work and the battering we're going to take when we ultimately do immigration reform, that not maybe you as attorney general but the next attorney general -- now the president has said i will enforce the law as i want to enforce and i won't enforce the laws that i won't. how can i be sure that that work is not going to be for nil. that's the real issue and the question being asked by people all around the country that are just simple folks that say look, don't tell me they're enforcing the law. don't tell me 60,000 kids come across the border and they're enforcing the law. i mean, why aren't they doing

something about the parents that pay these coyotes to bring the children across the border. i had a girl walk up to me at south southwest in austin. he told he her story, picked up at 16 years in gat mall will. the cartel had her work her way across mexico. i didn't ask her how she worked her way across mexico. ultimately they had her working in a hotel room which she thought was in mexico, they left me alone a minute and i went out the world and discovered that i'm in brownsville, texas. i'm now a college student. that's a 13-year-old girl, a

child that we ought to be talking about here. and so the issue -- i'm for immigration reform and folks in my district know it and i deal with that issue. but i'm not for writing a bunch of laws that an individual could choose not to enforce or a group of individuals could choose not to enforce. i come from a world where the law is the law. if you need for prosecutors i'm willing to give them to you so you can enforce the law. if you need staff, i'm willing to give them to you because i believe the law should be enforced. and if that's what you need, please tell us. the real question here, do we need to write into the law that those things you're just not capable of doing because you're overwhelmed by the caseload that you have, then maybe that it will automatically revert to the state and you will waive any priority that the federal government has so the state can

go forward and prosecute the case. maybe that's a solution. maybe we ought to writing that into our immigration laws and drug laws. but at some point in time not enforcing the law becomes a crisis in a place where we say the rule of law is the glue that holds or society together. if you would like to comment on that, i'd appreciate it. >> that's what i was driving at. >> okay. all right. well again, i would, you know, take issue with the notion that we're not enforcing the law. but i would say that the administration obviously remains firmly committed to common sense immigration reform and doing so in this year. our immigration system is in question, broken. there is a bill that was passed in the senate that talks about an earned path to citizenship, hold employers accountable, brings our immigration system into the 20th century.

that's the path that e could follow. this is something that the department will certainly work with congress on. the administration really has called for and has been supportive of immigration reform. as i said, the bill that has passed the senate is, i think, an appropriate way to proceed. >> and i disagree on the senate bill as does most of the republican members of congress. there will be alternative bills drafted and ultimately we'll let the process do the way it's supposed to do under regular order and come up with a solution to this. if that's the argument, then it's a bad bill and i'm not going to vote for it. >> judge, let me -- the gentleman would yield. what the president said he could support the senate bill but he would be willing to look at whatever the house would act on. the issue for the house, you say most member don't support the

senate bill, we should have a vote on the floor. tights people's house. >> i support that. >> if you come out with what you might have, that might pass. >> and hang on. >> then we would be in regular order and get an actual bill. >> the year goes until december 31st of next year. you may see something yet. >> i'm going to walk the path with you. >> i think the problem with our side and many people in america is there's a lack of trust in the administration. >> some people don't think he was born in america but we still have to run the most important country in the world whether we agree with who got elected president. >> i think -- >> thank you, mr. chairman. i yield back. >> -- enforcement issues, there is. and i think, you know -- we should probably. >> yeah, we need to wrap up. >> it really goes to the hart of what's in the constitution duty of the president to take care of the laws that we've fatefully executed. >> all i'm saying is this

administration has acted in a way that's consistent with the provision that you just read, i'm proud of what this administration has done. generally i'm proud of what the justice department has done specifically. we've acted consistent with our obligations. we've been fair. we have done things appropriately. where we've made mistakes we've had mitted them and tried to correct them. the notion that we are somehow been darrel lick is inconsistent with the facts. >> thank you, mr. chairman. and again, interesting discussion but i think sometimes we don't take it into context of history then it becomes a circle of discussions and arguments. on the issue of minor sex trafficking, the subject of human trafficking and how we ca members of our society, our

youngsters, we know one of the best opportunities for identifying intervening cases of domestic minor sex trafficking is when these victims of these youngsters appear in juvenile court. and just wondering whether the county, state and tribal judges would need training how to identify these victims when appropriate and place them in situations where they can be safe, rescued, and helped. and we're just wondering whether a any kind of training from your division and what the department is doing to ensure that the county state and tribal courts are trained to recognize the child victims of sex trafficking so that these youngsters can gain access to the appropriate services and intervention and dependency courts as opposed to being treated as criminals in delinquency courts. i'm wondering what kind of training are you doing there,

are you monitoring it and how much do you plan 0 focus on this? >> well, the determinations that are made are largely made by state courts, local courts. and so the justice department role in that is really supportive not necessarily of primary concern. we have done an awful lot with regard to tribal lands where we have spent huge amounts of time as well as dedicated specific resources to dealing with the issues that are unique to native lands to indian country. we also try to encourage training of judges and of prosecutors who are involved in these matters. these are issues again that are largely the responsibility of our state and local counterparts and the role that we have to play is to support them, help train them as you indicate and there are requests in our budget

for the training of judges and also making funds available to states that make requests of us for in a whole variety of contexts so that i think our budget would go, our grants budget in particular would put us in a good position if enacted to be of assistance in the way you have described. >> mr. honda is right though. i'm going to give you this video before you leave. there needs to be and i think we need a conference this year to bring everyone together because there's apprehension but it's what do you do when you find a young person in and you just cannot allow that person back out. so he's exactly right. we have the joe gibbs home youth for tomorrow here. but i think he's exactly right. there are three legs of these stools. if you don't deal with the rehabilitation what do you do afterward, it really doesn't help that much. in closing, we're going to follow up with your staff. i'm sure mike's been writing down every promise you made. and you'll do the same thing to

us. i appreciate your testimony. with that, the hearing issed adjourned. >> thank you.ed adjourned. >> thank you.d adjourned. >> thank you. adjourned. >> thank you.

mr. coats: mr. president, i come to the floor today to discuss the passage and the vote that's about to occur on the

unemployment insurance extension bill. i have repeatedly said that the senate should have a full and open debate on this important issue, and that that debate should include the opportunity for those of us in the minority and perhaps those in the majority to offer amendments, changes that would in their view represent their people's view that they represent here in the congress, amendments that could strength ten bill, make it something better, something perhaps the house could consider since they have not taken up this legislation. clearly, for those truly in need, for those who have played by the rules, the issue of extended unemployment is a legitimate issue for debate and for many here, for passage. i have worked with not only my colleagues here on the republican side of the aisle but

also with my democrat colleagues to secure two things that would give me a better sense of where we're going and i think provide for a better legislation and legislation that perhaps could work its way through the congress and on to the president's desk. those two things were a legitimate pay-for, clearly we're in a situation fiscally we can't offset new spending with spending on programs that have not proven their worth, then we're going to continue to spend more than we take in, we're going to continue to add to our national debt, going to continue to trod down the precipitous road to fiscal crisis. $17 trillion plus ciewntding in terms of -- and counting in terms of everacliewm lating debts. you can only run a business, only run a family, only run a government so long when you do not make ends meet by having

your revenues there to pay for your expenses. and so having a legitimate pay-for was one of the criteria that i was trying to address along with my colleagues. and secondly, it was reforms rft program. it was the president himself that acknowledged publicly that the unemployment insurance program needed reforms. there were abuses of the program, it wasn't reaching the people -- all the people it was intended to reach, it had some flaws, it needed to be fixed. yet once again all those attempts not only by me but by a number of my colleagues in order to provide what have been deemed i think even on a bipartisan basis as reasonable reforms, they've been rejected, rejected not because we had a vote, debate, and it didn't achieve the requisite number of votes for passage, but rejected because the majority leader simply used procedures once again to deny the minority any

opportunity -- of course, that includes the majority also -- any opportunity to stand on this floor, offer up an amendment and debate that amendment, have it voted on, accept the result and then move forward. so the two that i had mentioned, the two reforms which i thought made eminent sense, i didn't find much opposition to either one of them, one was simply to end a process that was resulting in a waste of taxpayers' money by violation of the law. the law requires that if you apply for unemployment benefits, you must prove that you are able to work and thawblg -- sthawblg -- that you have been seeking work but most importantly that you're capable of working. the social security disability insurance program requires by

law that you are unable to work. and therefore, cannot be eligible for those benefits unless you can prove that through medical process or evidence of the -- your inability to work. and yet the government accounting office has found that a significant number of those here in our country are receiving checks from both programs. now, you can't have it two ways. you can't say you're not able to work and therefore receive a disability payment at the same time in the same mailbox receive a government check for unemployment insurance where have you to prove you are willing to work. i don't know what amendment -- what provision might be more logical than that in terms of reforming the program. it saves taxpayer money, it eliminates the fraud, and it simply puts the program on a better footing. given our fiscal plight today,

it's the least we could do. but yet i have been denied, my colleagues who tried to offer the same amendment have been denied the opportunity to do just that. now, had we had that opportunity to come down here and offer that amendment, we could have had the debate, those who sought another way or didn't agree with what we were saying had every opportunity to vote no and turn down this amendment. they would then be accountable for their no when they went back home or accountable for their yes, one way or another. there are people on both sides of the reform issues. but that is how the senate is designed to work. the senate is not designed to simply shut off a debate, to deny the minority the opportunity to offer amendments. we're not asking for passage, we're simply saying give us a chance to make our case and we'll have to accept the outcome. and then every member of this body will be responsible for how they voted and they'll go home and tell their folks this is why

i did such and such, and that's the way the system is designed to work. and yet we find ourselves here in a dysfunctional situation where there is no opportunity to have this debate and no opportunity to vote and let people know where we stand. maybe it's designed that way. maybe we don't want people to know where we stand. i don't think anyone this body here could go home and tell the people that they represent, their constituents, oh, we're not going to tell you how we really feel about that. i didn't want to put my vote on record and therefore we're not going to have an opportunity to even do that. so it's a black mark on the senate. it's a dysfunctional situation. it's no wonder that the american public holds us in such low regard. this body which was created by our founding fathers, enshrined in the constitution has been labeled as the greatest deliberating body in the world,

has simply turned into something totally different and totally opposite from that. we're a rubber stamp senate depending on what the majority leader decides he wants or doesn't want. swrt it's a great -- i think it's a great disservice to the american people, it's a great disservice to this institution. having had the opportunity to serve here in two different occasions, the contrast between my two tenures here in the united states senate couldn't be more stark. when i first came, the rights of the minority were recognized by a variety of majority leaders who simply said this is the senate, you take tough votes, you have the debate. you allow the minority their rights. and as a consequence, we functioned as the senate has functioned for nearly -- well, for more than 200 years. suddenly we're now in a situation where that is not the case. and we have turned this into simply somewhat of a fiefdom

here where the majority leader has the full power to deny the minority their rights. i think we'll come to rue the day when this practice was first initiated, rue the day it has been accepted because it denies those of us who have had the great honor and privilege of representing our states the opportunity to do just that. so, mr. president, along with the amendment i had for suitability which simply gives states more flexibility in terms of providing suitable work for the unemployed which if it's provided to them they have to accept it or they don't receive the unemployment checks, those two amendments, two of the many suggested reforms here i think that would make sense but whether you agree with that or not, shouldn't we have the opportunity to present to the american people an honest, intellectual, rational debate

on legislation so that whether it fails or it passes, we have a full understanding and they have a full understanding of how to measure us in terms of whether or not we were true representatives of those that sent us here? mr. president, having said that. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. levin: mr. president, i hope for and expect a strong bipartisan vote today for legislation to extend emergency unemployment benefits through the end of may, and applies retroactively from the point that emergency benefits expired in december. this is an important victory that i wish had come much, much sooner. sooner for the 80,000 michiganians who have gone without unemployment benefits and the thousands more who stand to lose them if congress fails to act. these benefits keep food on the table and a roof overhead for

families affected by job loss through no fault of their own. the idea that some of our colleagues have advanced that unemployment insurance gives workers an excuse not to find a job is as inaccurate as it is insulting. for all but a handful of recipients, unemployment benefits are not a free pass from working, but the economic lifeline that keeps them going while searching for the job they so desperately want and need. i want to commend senators on both sides of the aisle who have not given up on this issue and who work so hard to forge a compromise, led by senators jack reed and dean heller. republicans have joined with democrats on the procedural votes necessary to move this bill forward, and i hope the bipartisan support for this measure in the senate will prompt speaker boehner to bring it to a vote in the house.

there is a strong bipartisan majority for passage in the house. it is now up to speaker boehner to respond to the will of the american people who understand that people who are unemployed don't want to be unemployed. oh, there may be a few exceptions and a few stories and a few anecdotes, but that's about it. the unemployed in this country are suffering. they suffered for too long. the job growth that has come as a result following the recession has been weak. and the least we can do is respond. there's a bipartisan majority to do that here. it will be strong. my hunch is it will be well over 60, perhaps over two-thirds of the senate. and there is no excuse for speaker boehner not to bring this bill to the floor of the house. i hope that he does so. i hope that he does so.

and they're getting potentially college level credit for it, which is good because they may be young people who discover a cure for some disease down the line that we don't even know about yet.

i know are brilliant scientists at the national institutes of health and the centers for disease control, they'd be proud of you. they like looking at bacteria. and i got a little worried when i went into the classroom. everybody was wearing goggles and pass, and i didn't have my goggles. but they assured me it was safe. but some of you mustangs are pushing yourselves to get industry recognized certifications in nursing, while other students on this winning team are studying cutting edge technology and getting hands-on internship experience at local businesses. we know these are skills that will be in demand. companies will come looking to hire you because of the experiences you've got here. if you're focused, if you're working hard, you now have a platform so that by the time you get out of high school you're already ahead of the game,

you're already in a position where you got some skills that make you employable. and then you can just take it for the, whether it's a two-year college or a four year college, or graduate school. or there are a couple of young ladies in their who said they want to be no restrictions, psychiatrist. so you can build in these careers, but the point is you have a baseline where you know if you're focused here at this school doing your work you're going to be able to find a job. and the grants that you point in this youth career connect competition mean that the programs are you've started are going to expand, and you're going to get more college and career counseling to help get you a jump on your post high school plants. so a little over four years from now, bladensburg and your partner schools will graduate hundreds more students with the knowledge and skills that you need to succeed.

and that's what we want for all the young people here. we want an education that engages you. we want an education that equipped you with a rigorous and relevant skills for college and for a career. and i'm confident, beating these young people, they were incredible. and a couple of them giggle a little bit when i walked in, but after the kind of settle down, they were, they knew their stuff, and they were enjoying it. and that's part of the message i've got for all the young people here today, is your potential for success is so high as long as you stay focused. as long as you are clear about your goals, you are going to succeed. and my message to the older people here, like me, is we've got a collective responsibility to make sure that you're getting those opportunities.

and there are resources out there that we've got to pull into the school setting. businesses, foundations around the country, they want to fund more career connect programs because it's in their interest. they want good employees. they are looking for folks with skills. when you can say, hey, the math that i'm doing here could change the way the business operates. or, i see how this biology experiment could help develop a drug that cures a disease. that's a door opening in your imagination. it's also good for our economy. it's good for our businesses. that's a new career path you're thinking about that allows you to pursue higher education in the field, or the very training you need to get a good job, or create a new business the changes the world. that's good for our economy, it's good for business, it's good for you, it's good for america. as a country we got to do everything we can to make sure that every single young get person here can have that on how

moment, that light bulb goes off suddenly you're not just studying because your parents tell you to your teacher tells you to, you are studying because you know you've got something to offer. i want to make sure every student in america has a chance to get that moment, that realization that you education cannot just unlock your future and take you places you never imagined, but you're also going to be leading this country. that's the chance that this country gave to me and michelle. and that's the chance i want for every single one of you. from preschool for every four year old in america, to higher education for everybody who wants to go, every young person deserves a fair shot. and i'm going to keep on doing everything i can to make sure you get that shot and to keep america place where you can make if you try. i'm proud of your principal. i'm proud of your superintendent. i'm proud of everybody who got involved in making sure that you guys are already doing the right thing before you won this new grant.

and i know it's going to be well spent. most of all, i'm proud of the students. thank you very much, everybody. god bless you. go mustangs. all right. [cheers and applause] ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> secretary of state john kerry will be on capitol hill today. secretary kerry is expected to

take questions on syria, iran and ukraine. you can join the conversation on facebook and twitter. our live coverage on the senate foreign relations committee starts at 10 a.m. eastern on c-span3. and later in the day a senate panel will hear from u.s. coast guard commandant nominee and two nominees of the consumer product safety commission. watch live coverage from the senate commerce committee at 2:30 p.m. eastern also on c-span3. >> i think what we need is something, during the reagan administration for the bride commission, the base realignment and closing commission during i think the clinton administration. an outside group with integrity, former members of congress, no for an elected politician coming into a complete audit of government from top to bottom to every agency of government has a piece of legislation or a chart that created it.

it has a purpose. but that's not the filling of purpose or not doing it within reasonable budget, it should be cut or eliminate. let's take head start. this came in with highest motivation. do you know, and i didn't until i researched it, there are now three head start, early head start, enhanced head start and there's regular head start. why do we of the other two? because the person was a working. why did we have the third one? the second wasn't working. >> cal thomas on fixing a broken washington saturday night at 10 eastern and sunday night at nine, and following, a heritage foundation book party as he signs his book and chats with guests. also this weekend on booktv, hoosiers national black writers' conference saturday at noon eastern announce andrés, power and politics, literature and shipping activities in africa. sunday at to strengthen communities, a historical narrative plus a panel on publishing.

booktv every weekend on c-span2. >> now come u.s. trade representative michael froman talks about a future trade deal with the -- he testified last week. congressman dave camp of michigan is the chairman. >> good morning. there is a mechanical difficulty on the mechanical difficulty on this mechanical difficulty on the seventh floor mechanical difficulty on the seventh floor of this building could have spoken directly to the superintendent's office. they're trying to repair it as we meet but it's going to be a little chilly this morning in here. welcome, ambassador from. thank you for coming back to the committee. we are very aware and and appreciative of our jupiter dedicate staff have worked to advance use trade policy. a trade policy that opens markets for american exports, enforces international rules and ensures a level playing field for american workers is proven

to promote broad economic growth and job-creation in the united states. the success of american workers, businesses, farmers, and ranchers is directly linked to finding new markets, expanding existing ones, effectively dealing with market access barriers, and strictly enforcing our existing agreements. u.s. trade policy is at an important crossroads. congress passed the trade agreements with south korea, colombia and panama on a strong, bipartisan basis last congress, and in the process the united states recaptured its leadership role in global trade negotiations. this past december, u.s. leadership was critical to ensuring that the wto ministerial in bali produced the trade facilitation agreement, the first multilateral agreement since the wto was created nearly twenty years ago. we are in the midst of several major trade negotiations. the trans-pacific partnership is nearing conclusion, and i hope it will be completed as soon as possible this year. progress in the eu negotiation is encouraging. the trade in services agreement negotiations are well underway in geneva, with 50 countries

participating, as is the newly kicked off wto negotiation on environmental goods. we are trying to conclude an expansion of the information technology agreement, assuming china acts more constructively. we have an active bilateral investment treaty negotiating agenda with china, india, and others. all these initiatives hold the promise of significant economic gains, supporting more good jobs that pay well here in the united states by dismantling barriers to u.s. exports and creating robust enforcement mechanisms to prevent future barriers. these agreements will tackle both tariff and non-tariff barriers, including 21st century issues like state-owned enterprises, cross-border data flows, forced localization, regulatory coherence, and trade facilitation. they will create more opportunities for u.s. companies by integrating them more deeply into global supply chains. to conclude and implement these negotiations, we need to pass trade promotion authority legislation. that's why, this january, i introduced h.r. 3830, the bipartisan congressional trade priorities act, along with then-finance committee chairman

baucus and ranking member hatch, as well as rules committee chairman sessions and trade subcommittee chairman nunes. tpa is how congress sets its priorities for trade agreements and instructs the administration on how to achieve them. every president since fdr has had some form of this authority. the legislation establishes specific rules for how the administration must consult with us, and ensures congress the final say in approving any trade agreement. this tpa bill is the strongest in history and includes new provisions to keep members informed and provide a formal process to guarantee that members' views will be taken into account. if the administration does not meet our objectives or keep us informed, the bill provides that we can strip tpa. the need for this bill is resonating powerfully among members and key stakeholders they know that tpa helps our negotiators get the very best deal and realize the economic benefits of our trade agreements. but while the president called for tpa in his state of the union speech, he has been silent since. ambassador, i know you have been

working hard but if we are going to get tpa done, we need full engagement by the president himself and his entire administration. this is an all-hands-on-deck moment for the administration to engage with congress and the american people on this bill. i look forward to hearing from you, ambassador, about the administration's plan to bring tpa across the finish line. in addition to negotiations, we must also address the challenges and opportunities presented by trading partners around the world, including the major emerging economies, china, india, and brazil. they provide enormous potential but also significant, and growing, barriers. we must engage these countries constructively but firmly and address trade and investment barriers, such as through an expanded bilateral investment treaty agenda. i'll conclude by pointing to a recent pew study on america's place in the world, which found that 66% of americans see benefits from greater involvement in the global economy because it opens up new markets and opportunities for growth. with 95% of the world's consumers outside our borders, americans are keenly aware of the need for strong u.s. engagement abroad. let's seize this opportunity on the trade front.

i will now yield to ranking member levin to make an opening statement. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i hope you will find out of order for me to say a few words censure public announcement -- since your public announcement. i think we all felt the same way, mr. chairman, your dedication to public service has been unswerving for your district, fourth estate, and i think you -- and i think for this country. you have brought dignified and warm touches to your leadership, and we're all grateful for that. and -- >> we will need that warmth today. >> well, i think it may overcome the lack of heat. it won't be too hot,

mr. ambassador. >> thank you. >> but we feel, mr. chairman, and you've let this committee in a way that i think is very much in keeping with the tradition in this committee that goes back long, long before any of us served. and so we listen to your announcement with very mixed emotions and we look forward to working with you. >> thank you very much for those very gracious comments. i appreciate it very much. mr. lewis. >> i would like to be identified with the comments the gentleman from michigan, my neighbor upstairs in the cannon building, and to my friend, you're not just the chairman, and i want to thank you for your years of service, from your openness and for all that you've done to make

michigan better and to make our country better, and your service will never ever be forgotten. >> thank you very much. >> mr. chairman? >> yes. >> i think it's really -- say kind things about you before this session is over. but i can tell you that you have been a breath of fresh air, and it's been a tremendous disappointment to so many of the members who have served here, but you've managed notwithstanding the differences in our parties always to be a professional, always to be a gentleman. it in my case, always to be a friend. it's deeply appreciated. >> thank you. i think we better get moving before i start performing john boehner. mr. levin is recognized. [laughter]

>> okay. we've talked privately editing a lot of us wanted to say something publicly. publicly. >> i really appreciate it. thank you very much. >> a notice advising this hearing focused on trade promotion authority, specifically the tpa legislation introduced in january by you, mr. chairman, and former senator baucus. i believe that legislation is deficient, but let me suggest that the focus today should not be on tpa but on the critical ongoing negotiations with tpp countries. the tpp represents both major opportunities and major challenges. the opportunities stem from the dramatic economic growth in asian pacific nations. we are at a critical stage in those negotiations, but the outcome of a long list of

fundamental issues remains uncertain. some of these challenges reflect that this is the most complicated multi-party negotiation in 20 years in terms of the issues involved and the number of countries that individually present negotiating challenges. for example, the 12 trading partners include japan, the third largest economy in the world with an export-dependent and notoriously closed market. the korea agreement was hard, and remains hard with a number of disturbing implementation issues outstanding, and in some cases growing. japan will be harder. important markets in japan are even more closed and its economy is bigger. for the united states, tpp is unique in that there are involved one-to-one negotiations

with one of the largest industrial nations and competitors. the negotiations also include vietnam, a communist country with a long-standing command economy and a very poor record on labor rights and the rule of law. the colombia agreement was hard, and remains hard with a deeply troubling record of compliance with the labor action plan. vietnam will be harder. the fact that the communist government believes it, and not independent labor unions chosen by the workers themselves, represents workers in the workplace creates a new threshold issue. and brunei, malaysia, and mexico also present challenges with respect to the implementation of the labor commitments. the list of major outstanding issues in tpp is too long to recite or describe here, but includes currency manipulation,

environmental protections and labor standards, access to medicines, food safety rules, state-owned enterprises, tobacco controls, cross-border data flows and privacy protections, and investment issues. i hope all of us today can discuss these issues. the tpa introduced by chairman camp and senator baucus would not effectively guide our negotiators to get these outstanding issues right. indeed, in a number of key respects, the tpa doesn't provide a lot of guidance. for example, on currency manipulation, it provides no real guidance, instead leaving it to the administration to determine what is appropriate. there is also no guidance as to how to ensure that vietnam implements its commitments. on the pricing of pharmaceuticals, the bill calls for the elimination of price controls and reference pricing,

but neither the united states nor any other tpp country is supporting such a proposal. and the bill provides little guidance in determining what an acceptable outcome is with japan on automotive or agricultural market access. nor would that tpa bill provide much guidance as to how to improve consultations and transparency in the tpp negotiations. it largely does two things. it codifies the current procedures and requires the administration, not congress, to develop new guidelines for consultations and transparency in the future. indeed, the bill would require the administration to develop new consultation guidelines four months after congress passes tpa. that would not help tpp. i believe that congress needs to be fully involved right now. congress needs to be a full

partner in these negotiations. my message to our trading partners is clear, the u.s. congress will support an agreement that expands trade if and when it does so in a way that benefits u.s. workers and business, effectively addresses critical new issues, strengthens our economy and protects our values. getting the substance right is what is key now. i therefore hope we focus this hearing on the wide-ranging substantive issues embedded in tpp. we also need to discuss other important negotiations, including the trans-atlantic agreement and the services agreement. and we need to act on other legislation, including trade adjustment assistance, the miscellaneous tariff bill, preference programs, and customs enforcement and facilitation. mr. ambassador, we deeply appreciate your hard work.

i understand you've worked so hard that your wife had to come here today to listen to what you're going to say, and so we welcome your wife, nancy. you have enjoyed some important enforcement successes lately. we welcome your parents today. >> thank you. >> thank you very much, mr. levin. welcome back to the ways and means committee, ambassador from. we have your written statement. it's made part of the formal record. you five minutes to summarize your testimony. >> thank you very much, chairman camp, ranking member levin, members of the ways and means committee. they give any back here and for this opportunity to testify on the 2014 trade policy agenda. but they also taken a to associate myself with mr. levin's comments about the chairman and underscore a much we try to the working relationship with that and how we look forward to continuincontinuin g that working relationship over the course of this year. the core of the obama decisions

economic strategy is to create jobs, promote growth and strengthen the middle class in america. our trade and investment policy contributed significantly by opening markets for made in america products, leveling the playing field by raising standards so our workers could compete fairly and enforcing our trade laws and our trade rights. trade policy creates opportunities for american workers, farmers and ranchers and manufacturers and service providers, innovators, creators, investors and businesses. this is his of all sizes and very important to small and medium-sized business. trade policy promotes not only our interest but also our values. it gives us the tools to make sure others play by the same rules that we do. the obama admin station has a strong record of one u.s. exports and grading jobs here at home. over the past four years u.s. exports have increased to a record high of $2.3 trillion. a third of our total economic

growth is attributed this increase of u.s. exports and exports and jobs. each $1 billion in increased exports supports 545900 u.s. jobs. 11.3 million americans now own their jobs to exports. that's an increase of 1.6 million in the last five years. and those are good jobs. jobs at page 13-18% more on average than on export related jobs. the increasing exports and the well-paying jobs that pay support is a critical tool for digging with inequality in this country. in 2014 will work to conclude negotiations on the tpp agreement, a key pillar of a rebound strategy to asia. tpp is be negotiated among 12 countries, some of the largest and fastest growing economies in the world representing 40% of the global gdp and a third of global trade. we are working to ensure the final agreement will provide comprehensive market opening for goods and services, strong and enforceable labor and

environmental standards, commitments on intellectual property that promote innovation in crafty baby as well as access to information and life-saving medicine. groundbreaking new rules designed to ensure fair competition between state-owned enterprises and private companies. for the first time obligations that will address the issues of the digital economy. we are working to complete parallel negotiations with japan to address long-standing issues related to autos, insurance and other nontariff barriers. him we expect to make significant process of this year towards the ttip agreement with the european union. this will strengthen the world's largest trade and investment relationship and further underscores the importance of the transatlantic relationship. agriculture is vital for the american economy. in 2013 u.s. farmers, ranchers and growers export a record $148 billion of food and agricultural goods. this year this admin station aims to help them build on that record performance. u.s. manufacturing plays a key

role today and in the future. as american manufactured increase our capacity to produce more advanced and value added goods, consumers continue to place a high value on products made in america. 2012 years exported nearly $1.4 trillion in manufactured goods and in 2014 we aim to build on the strength of our manufacturing sector. the u.s. is an innovative economy and the obama administration is committed to protecting intellectual property which is vital to promoting and encouraging innovation and creativity. millions of americans jobs rely on intellectual property. at the wto we will capitalize on the success of a ministerial meeting in bali last year. in march we notify congress of

our intent to endanger negotiations on an environmental goods agreement with the world's largest traders and environmental goods representing 90% of its $1.4 trillion market. a woman this year towards conclusion of negotiations on two major agreements, the trade services agreement and expansion of the deputy of information technology agreement. the obama administration has placed unprecedented emphasis on trade enforcement. this administration has filed a 17 wto complaint and doubled the rate of cases filed against china. just last week the u.s. scored an important victory for american workers and manufacturers and for upholding wto rules on fair access to raw materials that are essential to maintaining u.s. manufacturing competitiveness. to our ongoing enforcement agenda of leveling the playing field, aircraft workers and manufacturers of wind turbines and high-tech batteries across the country. as we work through this agenda we will continue to consult

closely with congress and seek input from a wide range of advisors, stakeholders and the public. we felt over 1200 meetings with congress about tpp alone and that doesn't include the meetings with the ttip, and other trade initiatives. our congressional partners per year our proposal and give us critical feedback every step of the way to ensure that any member of congress can review the negotiating of sex and the opportunity to see detailed briefings by our negotiators. we are increasing the diversity of trade policy input we received through the creation of the public interest traded by public interest traded pfizer committee to include cichlids focus on consumer, public health and other public issues. consistent with the statute, the administration is soliciting qualified candidates to serve on our industry advisory committee to ensure that they're represented of industry, agriculture and services and labolabor interest. finally let me say a word about trade promotion authority. the last legislation was passed over a decade ago and much has

changed since then. there's been a may 10, 2007 bipartisan agreement on labor, and firemen, innovation and access to medicine driven by key members of this committee. the emergence of the digital economy and increasing role state-owned enterprises in the global economy. these issues should be reflected in the statutory negotiating sector of a new tv a bill. we've heard from many that tv needs to be updated and we agree. we look forward to working with this committee and congress as a whole to secure trade promotion authority that has broad bipartisan support as possible. we also look forward to renewing trade adjustment assistance which expires at the end of this year. the ambitious trade agenda i've laid out crates opportunities for new well-paying jobs, higher growth and a stronger middle class. it intensifies individuals and businesses to bring back, expand and start new production here in the united states. this trade agenda emphasizes

strong enforceable rules that promote u.s. values and u.s. interests. and, of course, we could only accomplish these goals and priority through strong bipartisan cooperation between congress and the administration. thank you for the opportune to testify. i'm happy take your questions. >> thank you very much, and bachelor from. earlier i introduced a bipartisan bicameral trade promotion authority legislation and it sets out specific negotiating objectives that congress wants to achieve. in our trade agreements. is a robust framework for congressional consultations and ensures that congress has the final say on consideration and implementation of any trade agreement. i believe this is absolute essential legislation to negotiate and conclude the best agreement possible and it strengthens frankly ustr's hand at the negotiating table. mr. ambassador, are you committed to meeting the objectives set out in tpa and we comply with the extensive consultation with congress and

information sharing provisions set out in tpa? >> mr. chairman, we very much look forward to working with this committee and congress as a whole to get a trade promotion authority bill that's got broad bipartisan support. are and very much look forward to meeting the negotiating objectives and consultation procedures included in such a bill. as you said tpa is the way the congress gives us our negotiating objectives, our marching orders from dell's help it wants us to work with congress before entering the negotiation and what procedures congress would use to approve or disapprove any trade agreement we bring back. we very much think that having authority over time helps open markets and increase exports which helps drive job greece in the united states. >> you and i previously discussed this. it's very important for commerce and particularly this committee to know the details of negotiations to we can consult any meaningful way.

we can provide or guidance to you and administration as we move forward because consultation without the appropriate information really cannot be consultation. our level of access to information with prior administrations has always been complete and thorough. do you commit to working with this committee to provide us the most updated information including access to all the text anytime and completely? >> idea. >> thank you very much for that. i very much appreciate your tireless efforts on the hill, a meeting with both republicans and democrats to talk about trade in tpa. we do need strong support from the white house and the president and as i said in my opening statement we need to be all hands on deck. what is the administration doing to build congressional support? >> we have a whole of government approach to this. the president talked about this in the state of the union. the vice president has talked about it. they have met with members of

the democratic party as those with the republican leadership on this issue. we've had the chie chief of staf the president up here talking about it as was the secretary of treasury, secretary of commerce, secretary of agriculture, secretary of state, secretary of defense, has been writing op-ed on the boards are rebalancing towards asia including tpp at the crib component -- component of that. we work with all our partners in the cabinet and the white house level on down to build support for our overall trade agenda. as you noted, we're all of your a great deal. we have had more than 1200 consultations on tpp alone, over 450 have been with this committee and its staff. so we are very much involved in making sure that members of congress know what it is we're working on, have input, give us feedback and we are answering the questions and building support, giving them culpable with our trade agenda so we can move ahead.

>> with regard to tpp, i'm committed to working with you to complete tpp. i think clearly robust agreement would benefit, significant benefits for the u.s. economy, for job creation and better paying jobs. but i'm concerned that japan significant holding up progress on tpp. while japan has been helpful in many of the rules areas in japan's position to exclude or limit inclusion of a significant number of important agricultural products from the scope of tpp has become a serious impediment. japan stands as contrary to commitment frankly that japan made when it joined tpp to put all issues on the table. it's also giving countries like canada an excuse not to meaningful open up their markets. so adequate addressing our bilateral relations with japan is critical for my support. in the country is not ready to make a commitment to join tpp as an ambitious high standard agreement, then in my view we should complete tpp without that country and allow it to join

later if and when it's ready to make the necessary commitment. but first what is your strategy for ensuring that japan adequate opens up its agricultural and auto markets? do you agree that country should not be in tpp if it can't make sufficient ambitious commitments? >> mr. chairman, at this juncture in the tpp negotiation, all eyes are on japan. not just the u.s. but all the tpp countries are focused on looking at japan to make sure that they provide comprehensive access to the market, both the cultural side and other parts of its market. we are reminding japan what it at all tpp members agree to when they join tpp, but this is intended to be high standard, ambitious, comprehensive agreement. can have one country feeling entitled to take off the table and exclude that areas of access while of the country are opening on the table more ambitious offers. japan is not the only country.

we all have sensitivities and we're working together to great agreement in that context. we are reminding japan of the benefits of a successful tpp agreement and what that can bring to its economy, particularly at this critical time in its economic recovery. how future prosperitprosperit y could be tied to the structural reforms that tpp can help, now completing tpp can help enhance its leadership role in the asia-pacific region. we are well aware of political sensitives japan has on a number of issues. this isn't an issue of us being more flexible. we are being created in coming up with ways to ensure comprehensive market access to japan that addresses political sensitivities as well but it's time for japan to step up to the plate. that's not just argue. that's the view of all the tpp countries. we are pressing them on the automobile fraught as you suggest. we have agreements before they came into tpp on tariffs and on access to the market, and expedited approval of our

imports into the market do with jesus of other issues dealing with the financial incentives, standards, distribution, transparency of the regulatory process that we are pursuing. we are making some progress but the gap still remains both on the agricultural side and on the auto side. we are very much focused on trying to bridge those gaps. ultimately, it is japan's decision and it looks to its own future as to what it is prepared to take the bold steps necessary to be part of the groundbreaking agreement. let me assure you we are remaining very focus on assuring that they open their agriculture markets and automotive markets any meaningful and substantive ways consistent with a high ambitious -- ambitions of the tpp. >> the pressing need to include currency discipline in tpp. are you considering including provisions on currency in the agreement and what with those proficient look like and what factors should be taken into account in determining the u.s. positioned? >> currency is a sears issue and

we have heard from members of your. it's a serious issue for the administration itself. the treasury department of course has the lead on this issue for the administration but from the president to the second of treasury, to the rest of the administration it has been a high protein from day one of this intersection to press our trading partners to move more market oriented exchange rates. for example, with china to the imf, g20 where appropriate with other countries to the g7 we've been pressing countries towards market liberalization and market extermination which. with china we've made some progress. in june 2010 we begin to liberalize the exchange rate again and it is the 18% in real terms since then. not thought enough, not fast enough but we continue to press them at every occasion as we do. secretary of the treasury, myself are consulting with members of congress with stakeholders to determine how

best to address the underlying issue. >> mr. levin. >> thank you. mr. chairman, you raise japan, and i think it illustrates the work yet to be done i think it illustrates the need for continuing a major congressional involvement in often says congress sets the terms of negotiations and that's been done in tpa. there is no tpa. tpp is in the medal of its negotiations. and i think that means that there has to be a way found to be sure that this congress, this committee broader our deep involved in negotiations in

discussions. i think that's the only way an agreement can be past year. and i think our involvement will send a signal to us that trading competitors and those with negotiating with that as you perceive, there will be support from this congress. only passionate relationship between the congress that will really work here. and i think we talked about this. much of the work remains to be done. what was agreed to, this kind of conceptual, japan, this is the first one on one negotiation u.s. has had with a country the size of japan. and it has the most closed market in the automotive sector

of any country surely of its size. and the same is true of agriculture. so let me just ask you, you've raised, mr. chairman, currency. that's another example why they need the most active involvement of congress in these discussions. so far currency hasn' has been n the cover -- table. there's a letter from clear majority of the senators insisting that this be address addressed. let me cite another example, vietnam. the command economy that we've had difficulty enforcing our trade agreements. i'll just say a few words about how you think it's possible to work out an agreement with a

very close economy in terms of its basic markets as well as its labor markets. and be sure that we are asked to act that they would be very effective change within vietnam to make the commitment to real. if you would comment on that. >> thank you, congressman levin. with regard to vietnam and visitor of the other countries but you pointed out correctly the mt. pleasant particular challenges within tpp given the level of its development, structure of its economy. we have made clear throughout negotiations and before vietnam joined tpp the kinds of standards we be expecting through tpp and the kind of changes and reforms that would be necessary to bring down to conformity with those standards. for example, on state-owned enterprises which played a significant role in the

vietnamese economy, we would be working with him on a path consistent with the obligation we are negotiating in tpp. the same is true on labor issues, on environmental issues. they see tpp as a potential mechanism for helping support what they determine their own domestic performance agenda. >> changes would be in place before the final negotiation, or a lease before we were asked to act? >> i think each of these cases went to work through what the staging of the changes are and how it relates to when we submit to congress approval, when it goes into force, et cetera. vietnam is likely to transform itself overnight but we need to make sure we have mechanisms for ushering they meet their obligations consistent with the standards of the agreement. >> thank you. >> mr. johnson. >> thank you, mr. chairman.

appreciate you being here. you know the expansion of information technology to include additional products would have significant benefits for u.s. manufacturers and consumers. by one estimate updating the ita would boost global gtp i wanted $90 billion increase u.s. exports by 3 billion, creating 60,000 american jobs. ida expansion has strong bipartisan support in congress and i hope you'll continue to press for a robust and ambitious agreement as soon as possible. i'm a little frustrated by china's refusal to engage productivproductiv ely in these negotiations, and understand that top already this year for u.s. high-tech companies, including the semiconductor industry is a presumption and successful conclusion of an ita expansion negotiation. and what opportunity do seek to

move that agreed to forward? >> thank you. first of all we agree completely with your assessment of the importance of information technology agreement and the implications for the u.s. economy and share the frustration that you expressed about the position of china in the negotiation. we have got countries around the table representing about 90% of the global market for information technology products, and the other coaches run the table to put on the table pretty ambitious offers in terms of opening their markets. china's offer did not meet that standard and as result wasn't just the u.s., the u.s., eu, japan and the rest of the countries around the table decided to suspend negotiation until china would return to the table with a more appropriate offer your we have made proposals to try to try to get them back to the table with what we think is a reasonable path for. they've yet to respond positively to that. we continue to raise this at every one of our level meetings from the most senior leadership

to the joint committee on commerce and trade meeting that we had in december. secretary panetta and i co-chaired with her counterpart in china and we will continue to press that and try to get them to the table so we can complete that agreement. >> you anticipate china talking to his? >> resort helps a. of a lot on our agenda with china but we made clear that there constructive engagement in ita is one of our highest priorities and is a litmus test run into a want of the negotiations. >> thank you. thank you, mr. chairman. >> mr. rangel. >> thank you, mr. chairman. and welcome once again ambassador. and let me join with those people that congratulate you for your tenacity and the ability to bring people together so you can bring the public -- the

republicans and democrats together on this bill. when you say trade, to a lot of americans it means jobs. throughout your testimony, you talk about not only creating jobs through exports but providing incentives for manufacturing. many people, including those in the congress, believe that trade means we are losing jobs. so it seems to me that an international agreement, everyone should walk away from the table knowing that they did the best they could for the country. my question to you is, do you have any idea as to the geographically or industrywide or servicewide where these new jobs are going to be created?

and since we also have to deal with retraining of workers that lose their job as a result of trade, could you give us some idea of the areas that we expect to lose jobs as a result of this agreement? >> let me start by saying that as you say, increasing exports support more jobs here in the u.s. but these trade agreements are also a key part of driving investments in manufacturing and other sectors in the u.s. i've been visited by several businesses, particularly from europe who come and said the u.s. is a great market, you've got the rule of law, your entrepreneur. you have a skilled workforce. now you have and sources of affordable clean energy which are giving the united states a

comparative advantage, particularly vis-à-vis your. when you complete these trade agreements, tpp and ttip, the u.s. will have free trade, unfettered access to two-thirds of the global economy. that makes the u.s. the production platform of choice but it makes the u.s. a place where manufacturers want to put their necks investment and produce the stuff not just for this market but to stand to asia, to latin america, europe. supporso part of our trade polis also to make the u.s. a more attractive place to locate businesses, for manufacturers to use as a platform for the rest of the country. we do that i opening markets but also how we use rules of origin, et cetera to drive manufacturing here. our market as you know is quite open. our average up like characters 1.3%. we don't use regulations as a disguised very to trade but we don't discriminate against

foreigners to regulations but that's not true around the world. a lot of major markets around the world that have higher tariffs and to just nontariff barriers to keep out our products. the purpose of these agreements is to lower those barriers disproportionately that we can increase exports america to over have access largely to our market. the question is whether our workers and our firms will have access to theirs. i don't have specific data for you on which industries here or there will gain or lose but we can work with that as we conclude the agreement. i think your point though underscores that we need to make sure we're providing our workers with the support they need and the skills they need to transition as necessary and that's one reason why in the president's budget with a comprehensive worker reaching program and why we think it's important that the trade adjustment assistance be renewed as well. >> it's my understanding that trade union leaders or

representatives in some way involved not in direct negotiations but, say, as observers. that they shared in the of the things you just said in terms of a dramatic increase in exports and, therefore, the increase in jobs so that they can increase their membership? >> it is a critical group of stakeholders for these negotiations. we have a labor advisory committee where 23 union president serve on that committee. for a concert on the president's advisory committee on trade policy. as i mentioned in my testimony, we are now inviting applications for the other industry trade advisory committees. they've had tremendous input from the beginning not only on labor chapter but in other chapters, state owned enterprise data, market access issues. we're still in the midst of negotiating but we have tried very hard to take into series

consideration and negotiate successor on behalf of those issues. >> mr. nunes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. ambassador, great to see again. could you give us a quick update on your negotiations with solving or dealing with sps issues, specifically dispute resolution in both the tpp and eu negotiation? >> in the tpp negotiations which are further along, we are negotiating a strong sps chapter and we anticipate making sure that that chapter is subject to dispute settlement, either wto or tpp itself. >> detail comparable, do you think we're making progress? several members of congress have expressed a strong interest in making sure we do have dispute resolution. do you feel progress -- >> is not a fully resolved issue

but i think we're making progress and we are doing so in a way that ensures that our regulatory agencies can do what they need to do as necessary in terms of risk assessments and equivalency determination to implement their mandate or their obligations to provide for food safety and temperament the food safety modernization act. >> because with a great working relationship, if there's anything we can do to peace to make it easier for you to negotiate, we're willing to help we will make ourselves available. the status of the president's proposal for consolidating our trade agencies, there's quite a bit of concern over this, moving ustr under some secretary level. we have this long-standing arrangement with ustr that's worked very well. can you update us on the president's proposal? >> i think any such reorganization requires reorganization authority to be granted to the president by

congress and that would require a great deal of consultation and coordination with congress in terms of how to proceed. >> i know you know that would be quite controversial i think for many of us here but appreciate you keeping us updated on a. just briefly, brazil, could you talk to us about where that is at? >> with the passage of the farm bill, the brilliant government as i understand is assessing what was done in the farm bill on cotton to determine whether they believe that meets obligations under the wto case. we are in dialogue with them now to see whether we can settle the case based on the changes in the farm bill or whether they're going to seek compliance are sitting at the wto and those discussions are ongoing. >> i think those of us in congress to work on the farm the specifically with the cotton provision would give you like it does meet wto so hopefully our

brazilian friends will put this to bed so we can move on with our relationship with the brazilians. just briefly on ukraine, and as it relates to lng exports from the united states and we're going to hold a hearing next week on this issue. have you put much effort into looking at the long-term fundamentals of having a strong export policy as relates to lng? >> there's nothing that specifically that we're currently doing in ttip or tpp that directly bears on export of natural gas. that's governed by action of natural gas act which determines how the department of energy should make its findings with regard to public interest for free trade countries and non-free trade countries. >> we will have a hearing next week and we will be glad to share some of that information that we gleaned from airing but i want to thank you for your

continued effort to keep the congress informed and i hope we got a great working relationship and hope that that continues. i yield back. >> mr. mcdermott. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i want to add my voice to those who will miss you. mr. bowman, good to see. as you know five minutes is a very much time to talk about a lot of issues but i can talk about rebar done in the united states out of the mix and other things that might be interesting i want to focus on agriculture. white noodles in asia, most highly prized white noodles are made from white weed that grows in washington and oregon and it is shipped through the northwest ports. it's been going on since the '30s. the companies, co-owned by cardinal nchs, have employed longshoremen for 30 years under a union agreement.

recently, two japanese companies, conglomerates have come in, bought places, are now operating in washington and oregon. and have demanded a concession agreement from the labor unions. now, at the same time car deal in chs have been negotiating and they came up with agreement that was approved 75% of union members. the japanese conglomerate, their agreement they forced on the people was rejected by 95% of the people in the genius. and it seems to me when companies are coming in to do business with our labor unions, and they are now demanding concession agreements and have locked the members out, they are running with scab labor and with their administered people. that's how they're running their

business, seems like a strange time for them to want to calm and negotiate labor agreements in a tpp. i understand the ustr has been working with the japanese on this issue, and i would wonder it could give us some idea of what the status is of the resolution of this? because it's a pr problem for them to come in to do unionbusting, at the same time they're talking about negotiating a trade agreement. >> thank you, congressman. thank you for raising this earlier, last year. you and some other members of the washington delegation raised his and we races, made it clear exactly the point you made that it was important for this issue to get results. my understanding is that it's not yet been resolved and we are encouraging the parties to come together and get it resolved as

a limited issue. we will continue working on that. >> do you see that as being an impediment giving votes in congress because these kinds of issues are out there? you've already heard from the chairman talking about automobiles, and then you are talking about the docs, were you got dockworkers. how are you going to get around that in your negotiation? >> i think we will make clear to our trading partners on a number of the issues that members of congress have that making progress on issues, resolving those is part of grading the environment in which this agreement is going to be considered and considered favorably. it's early continued to the overall atmosphere around this. >> i have a major steel plant. people think of washington state, they think of boeing and starbucks. that is not all washington to