mr. enzi: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from wyoming. mr. enzi: i'd ask that further proceedings under the quorum call be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. the senator has one minute remaining. mr. enzi: the senator would yield back all time. the presiding officer: all time has been yielded back. the question occurs on the motion to disagree in the house amendment agree to the request

by the house for a conference and authorize the presiding officer to appoint conferees. mr. cornyn: ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

vote: vote vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or change their vote? if not the ayes are 54 and the nays are 43. the motion is agreed to. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arkansas. mr. boozman: i ask for unanimous consent to speak for up to 15 minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. a senator: today we honor the 150th anniversary of abraham lincoln's death. mr. cotton: on the evening of april 14, 1865, the four-year anniversary of the beginning of the civil war and just days after its end in appomattox, president lincoln was shot while attending the theater.

the next morning his last labored breathing ceased. his fanatically unreconciled assassin was enraged by lincoln's achievements, his saving of the union his emancipation of the slaves his forecast as freed slaves would soon be voting, his rededication of the nation to the declaration, to the constitution in which it is embodied. lincoln lived for these things and he also died for them. days earlier lincoln's assassin, in attendance at the second inaugural, had ignored the reelected president's eloquent plea to finish the work we are in to bind up the nation's wounds, doing so with malice toward none, with charity for all. a year and a half earlier dedicating the cemetery at gettysburg, lincoln had said that history would little note nor long remember what he said. here he was wrong or at least falsely modest. for the gettysburg address is among the most beautiful and memorable speeches in history. he called upon us to be here dedicated to the great task

remaining before us a government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not parish from the -- perish from the earth. his words call upon us still to take increased devotion from those at gettysburg and every war since who gave the last full measure of devotion. soon he would be among those honored dead. the final and most poignant casualty in the same war. and his death another reason for us to renew or devotion to our great country. we should think then about lincoln's message which is like the message of our nation. on the question of equality lincoln was as precise as a mathematician and as lyrical as a poet. of equality and slavery, he said "as i would not be a slave, so i would not be a master." this expresses my idea of democracy. whatever differs to this to the extent of the difference is no democracy. of equality and the declaration

lincoln said, "i think the authors of that notable instrument intended to declare all men but they did not intend to declare all meny well in all respects. they did not mean we are all equal in size or social capacity. they defined with tolerable distinctness and what respects they did consider all men equal. equal unalienable rights, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. this they said and this they meant. now, put these propositions together. we are unequal in most respects but we are equal in our rights. we own ourselves and no one else may onus. we own the government and the government does not onus. -- does not own us. we are entitled to our lives with the talents that god gave us. any form of government that interferes with these rates rights is wrong. but in the world today are rogue nations that are growing in strength and violate these principles. they constitute a menace to our freedom and to civilization

itself. at home our government grows ever greater in its size, in its reach in its expense. the law is flouted increasingly by high authority and our people say with increasing intensity that they mistrust and even fear their government. it may be for the people but it is less and less of and by the people. on this 150th anniversary of lincoln's death let us be here reminded and dedicated to that cause for which lincoln himself gave the last full measure of devotion. and let us dedicate ourselves to in lincoln's words to finish the work we are in so that we may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations. mr. president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate stands in recess until 2:00 p.m.

>> tumwater and would. this area presents one of the few fresh water springs in the area around 30 degrees 8 minutes and is also the location of the 1565 first settlement of st. augustine, 42 years law for the settlement of jamestown was funded and 55 years before the pilgrims landed on plymouth walk. >> the hotel was built by henry morrison flagler who is very little known outside the state of florida but he was one of the wealthiest men in america. he essentially had been a co-founder of standard oil co. with john rockefeller. he was a man who always wanted to undertake some great enterprise and as it turned out

florida was it. he realized he needed to bone the railroad between jacksonville and st. augustine to ensure that guests could get to his hotel conveniently. so clearly the dream was beginning to grow on flagler. he was a man who had big dreams. he was a visionary. >> watch all of our events from st. augustine saturday at noon eastern on book tv and sunday afternoon at 2:00 on american history tv on c-span3. >> next weekend in los angeles is the annual los angeles times festival of books and book tv will be alive april 18th and nineteenth from the university of southern california campus. michael neely is deputy publisher of the l.a. times.

when and how and why did the l.a. times are sponsoring this book fare? >> los angeles times started this book fair 20 years ago, the 22 anniversary of the festival of books and it was an important way to engage with the community to provide space for all kinds of people from publishers authors thinkers, but also chefs and artists and actors and actresses to come together to celebrate los angeles as one of the creative capitals of the world. >> what can we expect next weekend in los angeles? >> we will have over 500 authors celebrities, musicians artists, hundreds of booksellers publishers cultural organizations across nine who spaces. there is something for everyone. bring your kids, your grandparents. there's a huge amount of stuff

going on. notable names, candice bergen, sarah geffen, brian grazier, billy idol joyce carol oates jason siegel paul lee per ready, john salvi the science-fiction writer, octavia spencer, it is something for everyone, families, hipsters, more than one hundred conversations on everything from california to digital privacy rights to the future of the american identity. >> at book fest, would you get for the community? >> it has been an immediate success. it started 20 years ago. and people market it all year long and the signature event the los angeles times invites all kinds of folks around the

community, celebrate this great city it has grown to one of the largest festivals of this kind. nothing like it anywhere in the united states. it started very simply as bringing together books and people who love to read them. it has grown into a broader celebration. among other things we have a big book award we give out every year ended this year we are adding something new called an idea exchange where malcolm glad well will be in conversation with the los angeles times film critic kenneth teheran. if you listen you are familiar with his voice as npr film critic. rich: as regular viewers know, book tv will be there, the c-span bus will be there and we parted with the l.a. times festival of books to create a book bag and we will be handling those out from the c-span bus

and if you are familiar with the area, the usc campus, half a block away. is there a cost to attending the festival? >> the events are free. some are ticketed due to limited space but this is the chance to invite the country in, calif. the gateway to latin america to look at the future, challenges the country faces, some in los angeles from climate change to immigration and the multicultural diversity of this nation. across-the-board. rich: los angeles times, l atimes.com, you can follow it on los angeles festival of books,

thank you for being on book tv. >> looking forward to seeing you folks again. peter: rich: book tv will be live all weekend from the los angeles times festival of books saturday and sunday april 18th and nineteenth. go to book tv.org to get the full schedule. a lot of call in opportunities, a lot of panels, lot of nonfiction authors you will be hearing from all weekend on booktv. >> next customs and border protection commissioner bill cul culikowski talks about the use of force by agents and the decreasing number of unaccompanied minors in the southwest border. it is from the brookings institution. it is about an hour. >> good morning.

i am vice president of governance studies and director of the center for technology innovation at the brookings institution and i would like to welcome you to this forum on u.s. customs and border protection and this event is being broadcast live by c-span so we would like to welcome our national viewing audience. as many of you know, customs and border protection is the largest federal law enforcement agency, provides the second largest revenue collecting source for the federal government. on a typical day, seizing 10,000 pounds of drugs $650,000 in illicit currency, and $3.4 million of products with intellectual property right violations. needless to say this agency is working hard to safeguard america's borders and also enhancing legitimate trade and commerce. future speaker of today is

commissioner gil curlikowski. he will discuss his insights from the first year of leading this agency and he will look at some of the highlights in terms of his vision for moving forward. the agency has put out a new vision and strategy 2020 document that lays out what the agency would like to do in the future. the commissioner was nominated by president obama and sworn in last year. in this position he oversees the dual mission of protecting national security objectives while also promoting economic prosperity and security. he brings four decades of law enforcement experience, drug policy experience to this position. before he took on his current position he served as director of the white house office of national drug control policies and formerly served nine years as chief of police in seattle, washington. our format the commissioner

will offer his reflections on the past year and his thoughts on the future and we will move to the q&a period so please join me in welcoming the commissioner. [applause] >> thank you very much. a great pleasure to be back at brookings and to have this opportunity. brookings has such a remarkable history. this tremendous public policy resources we have here, the analysis you all do that shakes debates, wide range of economic social political issues, the opportunity i had talk about growth policy a few years ago to the beaches around weapons to trafficking and tax reform. something on everybody's mind. get ready to celebrate your 100th anniversary next year and the theme the brookings program governance and renewal is one that if we can really embrace.

i have been in office for just over a year and i appreciate talking a little bit about the complexity of the mission because oftentimes i think see bp is looked at as an organization that is only focus on border security issues. we will talk about it a little bit but when you think about revenue collection, and think about the huge role we play in our economic security, it is important to recognize and understand that complexity so customs and border protection was created in 2003. just before that, every border function was somewhat separate. different agencies perform different inspections so you had immigration, disability, customs inspectors for imports and exports and agriculture inspections for items that could harm the nation's crops and livestock and national, natural

resources and like all bureaucracies i think the communication had difficulties among three different port directors at every port. it just wasn't the greatest system so we have a unified border agency as a result of 9/11, the 9/11 commission and the creation of see bp under the department of homeland security and allows us to craft a comprehensive strategy to secure our borders and support our economy. we have 60,000 employees on the ground, water and air. sepias one of the largest law enforcement organizations, the largest law enforcement organization in united states. the primary mission of course is to keep terrorists and their weapons out of the u.s. while facilitating lawful international travel and trade.

we enforce 500 laws for 47 federal agencies from the food and drug administration to the consumer product safety commission said this wide array of laws that we have a responsibility for in partnership with all these different organizations, law enforcement ranks include officers customs and border protection officers did you see when you come into a port of entry and agricultural specialists who do those inspections. they are the ones with the little beagles that are really cute and we try to do that a lot. and our work, they work at our ports of entry and between ports of entry we have the united states border patrol and chief mike fisher is here with me today. they secure our border between those ports of entry, we also have air and marine interdiction agents who control the size fancy's supporting the border patrol as well as supporting

state and local law enforcement and we have thousands of non uniformed individuals, professionals who manage trade issues, international affairs cybersecurity and other important facets of our complex mission. i am a good fed so i will give a few more statistics to add on to that. just in a typical day we process 1 billion people, free 28 land, air and sea ports of entry, we screened 70,000 truck, rail and sea cargo containers, process $4.4 billion in exports and $6.8 billion in imports. we see is $650,000 in unrecorded or illicit currency, we discover 4 and interest of 4400 prohibited plant and animal materials that could hurt these crops. we see $3.4 billion in

counterfeit products and 1300 inadmissible people at ports of entry. week of rest on a daily basis 20 unwanted criminals to attempt to enter the united states we identify 548 individuals with suspected national security concerns. we intercept 76 fraudulent documents, we fly 213 enforcement missions in the united states and we seized 5 tons of drugs, 550 pounds of cocaine, 81 pounds of meth and that means 15 pounds of heroin 9,000 pounds of marijuana. that is the typical thing. then toss in the unexpected. last year's surge and a rival of unaccompanied minors and the families on the southwest border and then the outbreak of ebola that required in hanse screening at five major airports so really what you see is no typical day. ..

this growth is supported about 280,000 new american jobs. these travelers spent more than $220 million in 2014 alone. we are mindful of that direct correlation between travel and tourism and to help the american economy. our first mission of course is

border security. it remains our highest priority. we constantly strive for more efficient risk-based strategies to successfully execute that dual mission of achieving the most secure border while facilitating lawful travel. we are committed to innovation automated passport controls which some of you might have seen in some of our airports. they have been proven to reduce wait times at these airports by as much as 30% and these apcs these automated passport control technology sympathize the process of international travelers. using kiosk eligible travelers enter the united states more quickly, more efficiently, with no charge and no special role the. last may we set a goal with apcs to have been in 25 international airports here in the united states by the end of last year, and through partnerships we met that deadline in october. today, 34 airports use acps and that's tremendous process --

progress in less than the. travelers are embracing apcs and a reporter traveler decide to review the technology when she arrived at jfk. she stated thanks to the apc she of the shortest way time she ever had at the airport. i'm sure you've expensed the same thing at jfk. another example of our commitment to safe secure and streamline travel is a mobile passport control out. evanescent ab and said we. it lets the troubles that the passport information and toughens declarations from the smart phones or tablets when they run. last september the mobile app was recognized with the future travel expense award and those are given to organizations that are gone the extra mile to improve passenger experience. i've been a chief and all of his we think as our trusted traveler programs. through these programs would expedite the processing of low risk travelers while allowing our officers to concentrate on

and focus on high-risk travelers. since the beginning of 2014 an additional 1.5 billion people are involved in the trusted traveler programs through global entry as well as through century on the border with mexico and as well as through nexis on our northern border. global entry allows expedited clearance for preapproved road -- low risk travel to members be a fee to undergo a background screening and intimacy front of the line privileges and automatic membership in our precheck program. cbp's primary goal of course remains keeping those borders secure, preventing people who would do us harm from coming, but we continually look at our risk-based strategy as well as a layered approach to security. extending our borders out pushing the borders out focusing our resources on the greatest risks a preclearance having cbp officers at for an

international airport to inspect travelers destined to the united states that provides us with the best means of identifying and addressing threats at the earliest possible point. cbp cleared in fiscal year '14 17.5 million passengers out of that 106,000,019 in. that 70 million people who did not have to wait in line at the airport at customs when they arrive. they pick up the baggage package and they departed. we have preclearance facilities in a dozen for locations including several in candidate. this year we intend to expand that preclearance operation to new locations around the globe extending our reach in pushing our zone of border security outward. let me talk about trade for a minute, turning now to the cbp's role in trade. during the past year i've had this great opportunity to travel all over the united states, really all over the world, and i've got to see firsthand how

integral our mission is to the nation's economic health and vitality, as well as to the safety and security of our global supply chain. and in fiscal year 2014 we cleared $2.5 trillion in imports, $1.6 trillion in exports. we did 26 million cargo containers and that's an increase. just as travel is increasing so was cargo. global commerce involves hundreds of different types of forms, numerous federal agencies. the system actually can be quite time-consuming and it can be costly for both government and private stakeholders. outside forces can have a significant impact on our operations. in the last week for example, i met with manufacturers of the retail and manufacturing industry who praised customs and border protection for reducing the maritime weight cargo backlog in the wake of the slowdown on the west coast. that was very impressive to see,

as you read over and over about a ships that were stacked outside of oakland or long beach, et cetera. we make sure that we have the people and the processes in place so the ones that labor issue was settled, we were not going to be a stopgap for the cargo coming into the country. first, we have accelerated a deployment also in import export processing and it's called automated commercial environment, ace system. it's a huge shift. women for all these paper-based faxes, original signatures to a cost effective electronic submissions form, and it is the core of the presidents executive order that he signed in 2013, and it's called the single window. it's going to all relevant federal agencies to review and respond to cargo movement to reduce costs and speed the cargo process. there's another important change e-bonds, they let custom

brokers and other trade stakeholders i don't retransmit monsters to be. they receive our answer in about four to five days. today they get an answer in 10 to 15 seconds, that's good for business. it's good for us. let me take a little bit about the center of excellence and expertise. they are transforming the way that we are doing business by consolidating particular industries. instead of having to communicate with dozens of different ports of entry, at least over 300 ports and perhaps getting dozens of different responses, an importer can contract -- contact the sender designated for their particular line of business. right now whether it is a peril or footwear in san francisco, electronics in los angeles pharmaceuticals in new york they can go to one virtual center and get an answer on those imports. these centers improve our ability to identify high-risk cargo. they increase consistency and

predictability which is what we hear from over and over again in the industry, the predictable entity consisting. so it helps our trade stakeholders in their business decisions. in the traveling via but we have a risk-based system for trade area 2 just as we do in the travel environment, and has called our trusted trader program so i talk about global entry and century and mexico with a trusted trader program to make a couple of examples. acas, air cargo advanced screening, as we know this was launched as a result of a true terrorist threat comes explosive that were hidden in winter toner cartridges they were intercepted and expressed the shipments from yemen and they were destined for the united states back in 2010. acas enables us along with our partner in the transportation security administration to jointly target and medicaid air cargo and high-risk before it is loaded onto the u.s. bound aircraft.

the cargo into she recognizes the value of this program and helped to improve security but it helps to improve the integrity of the supply chain and prevents major business disruption. acas membership has expanded by 15% in the year at the cbp we now 51 participants. our customs trade partnership against terrorism c-tpat, we have lots of items. if you think that defense department has acronyms listen, i think we can match them, and we have a lot. we continue to build cooperative relationships with trade stakeholders and it will strengthen and improve that security. we focused on apple to our international engagement. we have a container security initiative. we deploy teams of officers to foreign seaports to address the threat to border security and global trade, owned by the potential use of maritime containers by both terrorists and smugglers. these programs foster information between cbp and our

foreign counterparts and it pushes out our zone of security it pushes out our border. finally a word about the international engagement, the security integrity of the global supply chain depends on these international partnerships. a trusted trader programs which i described a few minutes ago aligned effectively with something called authorized economic operator programs that are being implemented in other countries. and these are often done with our input and our training which we are happy to provide. cdp is active in or position called the world customs organization, and i believe that our participation in wco plays a critical role in helping build and foster ties but i could not be more proud to nominate and he knew joseph, our deputy assistant commissioner for international affairs to be a united delicate to the wco as the director of compliance and facilitation. she goes to an election process process

in june and if you like to bring 28 years of considerable experience including being a port director commander leadership and strengthen our work with a key trade partners. last year i signed a mutual recognition arrangement, three of them. mexico, israel and singapore. last month some of you know that secretary johnson signed the preclearance agreement with canada and that country that will have to act to put that agreement in place. mutual recognition of arrangements are critical to an online standards to the international community, and these arrangements provide a platform to exchange trusted trader information and to try to harmonize the reciprocal supply chain security program throughout the world. we have 10 of these agreements that are in place since 2003 and other countries now recognize that our leadership in harmonizing these regulations in securing our borders is to everyone's benefit. but niche in the third,

transparency. i'm taking steps to make transparency and accountability hallmarks of my tenure at cbp. publics trust depends on. the vast majority of cbp's employees do the right thing. they do the right thing every day and their dedicated public servants and they are committed to our mission. but there are times and law enforcement with the level of force must be used to safeguard the public or protect an officer or agent. and historically our default position after something was to occur was to circle the wagons and say, no comment. one of the first things i did as commissioner was to change this to me our policies and processes more transparent to the people we serve. for every law enforcement agency it's part of an ongoing and intense debate right now, about how and when and where officers should use force. and the use of force conclude a physical restraint, the use of an alternative device, or the application of lethal force.

cbp, particularly the united states border patrol, has come under increased scrutiny and criticism for using force during apprehensions. march 31 marks the midway point for this fiscal year, and we recorded 385 uses of force. that means that right now we are on track to reduce our use of force by nearly 30% compared to fiscal year '13 -- or is clear 14. this reduction in use of force is encouraging and it's considering that the assaults against our border patrol agents are trending up. as i said a moment ago there are times when some level of force must be used, and in those instances the force must be justified and within our policies. and with that in mind with implemented a unified formal review process for use of force come incidents evolving deaf or serious bodily injury. the review process will help us resolve use of force incidents

in a timely and transparent manner. training is critical when it comes to the use of force. we've issued new guidelines for all personnel and we revamped our entire training curriculum to agents in simulated field situations so they can practice their responses when they have to make a split-second decision. and technology is extremely important here too. we haven't agencywide working group to evaluate the feasibility of incorporating body worn cameras into law enforcement operations in each part of our cbp environment air, land, at sea in between a ports of entry. we've also equipped and trained agents with less lethal devices that can protect them tools that would be practical in the rugged terrain that the border patrol and forces. these include things like taser's and equipment that can incapacitate an aggressive the we've implement these options because no apprehension, no seizure, no arrests, no pursuit

is worth the risk to an agent or a member of the public being injured or killed. that brings me to something that is too often forgotten when we discuss the use of force. there is a personal toll for every officer or agent who uses deadly force. and for many it's a burden they don't anticipate. they don't anticipate it because it is very rare and law enforcement, but when it does happen it can stay with them forever, and does stay with them forever. in a recent op-ed in the "seattle times" last august a friend of mine, former king county sheriff said something that really hit home to me. she said we need police officers with the skills and tenacity of a warrior but the mindset of a guardian. well certainly this issue, placing in a democratic society, remains front and center for all law enforcement agency. cbp is no exception. one of the primary ingredients

of transparency of course is integrity and it's one of our core values. last september secretary johnson delegated the cbp the authority for the first time ever to police our own ranks come investigate our employees for alleged misconduct. reimplementing this authority and we're doing it in a transparent way. secretary johnson also supported me in forming and integrity advisory panel under the dhs homeland security advisory council. and the panel is co-chaired by the head, former head of the drug enforcement administration care and candy and new york city police commissioner william bratton to the panel is comprised of some the best and law enforcement -- karen tandy. i am confident they will make a significant contribution. sometimes law enforcement agencies have to respond to

difficult situations that grab the attention of the media. they generate interest from all kinds of stakeholders, and transparency is critical in these situations. that it's also important in other circumstances, i do want to give one example during my first year here last spring and summer there was an unprecedented surge in the number of unaccompanied immigrant children and their families, tens of thousands of them, primarily from central america who arrived at our southwest border. these children are vulnerable to trafficking schemes by adults who were either to take advantage of them. our agencies response to that surge, and the response by the department of homeland security in general, really illustrates our commitment to transparency and openness and that ultimately benefits the relationship with the public that we serve. this was a border management issue. sincerely all these people we encountered turned themselves

over to the to a border patrol agent or a customs and border protection officer. it was not a border security issue. first, we never lost sight of our primary mission, to maintain the security and safety of the border. we deployed asked agents to the areas most affected. we continue to stop smugglers and disrupt transnational criminal that works. second, we treated the children and families with professionalism and compassion. we recognize the situation as a humanitarian crisis, and i'm proud of how the agents and officers conducted themselves many of them having donated clothing from their own families to these kids. and 30 we develop a multimedia multi-country strategy awareness campaign called know the facts. it's about how dangerous it is to make the journey north to the border, and in that campaign we emphasize that no legal papers or path to citizenship awaits those who cross illegally.

and we took those actions under heavy public scrutiny, after up the process make a full disclosure to the press and the public while maintaining the privacy of the children who are in our care. and our actions were supported through the inspection process by the inspector general, and the department's office of civil rights and civil liberties. this was stressful and difficult experience for our employees but they showed the world have cbp respond to this kind of crisis. i could not be more proud of those individuals. those are some highlights from my first year, but what's ahead, what is cbp's future? it's called a vision and strategy for 2010 that was mentioned. it's a milestone for our agency but it represents the first comprehensive strategic plan for cbp in nearly a decade. clearly recognizes that cbp must balance border security with enhancing our nation's economic competitiveness. these are really two sides of the same coin.

that cbp is going to continue to mature and advanced the following strategic themes. first, collaboration. the complexity of our mission which i really outlined this morning to you requires that the agency serve as a global leader in delivering border security and expanding strategic partnerships. innovation. cbp must remain vigilant through innovative initiatives to continually advance and transform the agency so that we are more agile and that we are more adaptable organization. and integration. cbp must lead in the department of a seamless global network to integrate border enforcement capabilities and meet the demands of a constantly evolving landscape. these three strategic themes collaboration, innovation, and integration had surfaced in various ways in the form of many of the accomplishments i outlined for you earlier. they continue to permeate our

culture, that should be in our way of thinking, these things are essential to meeting our missions goals. specifically we have four goals, combat terrorism and transnational organized crime advance comprehensive border security and border management, enhanced u.s. economic competitiveness i enabling lawful trade and travel and promote organizational integration, innovation and agility. that vision and strategy outlines how we plan to enhance both our agility and our ability to meet these increasingly global and increasingly complex challenges. we intend to lead and aggressively championed strategic partnerships that facilitate that integrated, risk informed intelligence driven law enforcement operation. this requires a whole of government approach as well as an international unity of effort. we are committed to transforming

our trade and travel processes through technology, through public-private partnerships, and civil fine and integrating processing capabilities. to do that we have to harmonize processes across ports of entry including operational approaches to risk management. and we must continue to expand our risk-based strategy and constantly refined our information and data collection capabilities. effective border management requires layers of security that must consider point of origin modes of transit, the actual arrival at our borders, even routes of the egress or departure from the physical border to a final destination. and finally cbp will strengthen its culture and that culture depends on our ability to recruit, train and retain exceptional people. accomplishing our mission director depends on our workforce, and we're committed to getting the very best people for the job. that includes placing women in frontline positions to remain

competitive with the modern, professional law enforcement operations. women comprise about 70% of the united states marine corps, for example, but only about 5% of the 21,000 agents in cbp's border patrol are female. and with that in mind we sought and obtained approval from the office of personnel management for the legal authority to specifically recruit women for entry-level border patrol positions located on the southwest border, and to date we have received 5500 applications. in closing let me emphasize cbp intends to be a standardbearer for a customs and border security administrations around the globe and our core values of vigilance, service to country, and integrity will continue to serve as a bedrock of our culture ensuring unwavering commitment to the highest levels of professionalism. our vision is crystal clear to serve as the premier law enforcement agency, enhancing

the nation safety, security, and prosperity through collaboration innovation, and integration. i appreciate the opportunity share that vision with you here today, and i thank you and i look forward to the discussion. thank you. [applause] >> thanks. so thank you very much for sharing your thoughts with us both on the past and the future. you mentioned some of the travel innovations that you've helped to government and sprint. i am a use of the global into

program and the tsa precheck the they are what will programs to i highly recommend them and thank you for your work on them for making them. you mentioned in your remarks occasions does a lot beyond border protection. that is an important priority but you're also that actively involved in promoting trade and commerce. i know you travel to there is countries around the world. what are they doing and how are they helping to promote trade and security? >> in your opening remarks you talked about the revenue collection, which was important. the revenue that we collected actually is what made us a free country for funding the revolutionary war. many customs organizations around the world only see themselves as revenue collectors. that is changing markedly as we see the changes in the world right now when it comes to security. so here we are at both locations, both on the border and at these ports of entry. and we need to be able to not only fulfill our economic and customs duties, we need to be

able to help those countries understand the importance of sharing information and recognizing the importance of border security. we are very proud to share with them not only what we think has worked and was been successful for us, but we also tell the what hasn't worked as well and where we could improve upon. i think they value that level of honesty and dialogue. >> you also imagine some of the use of force initiatives that are underway, edited you specifically mentioned possibly adding body cameras to some of the offices use of tasters and so on. so i'm just curious what's the implementation schedule on this? where are we now and where are you wanted to go in this area? >> so the border patrol has made particularly significant changes in their training.

they are reviewing their entire training curriculum right now but for instance, in the train centered in artesia, new mexico, there are a variety of different kinds of things that exist along the border now. this gives those agents in training an opportunity to practice. we have a field test going on a different types of body worn cameras to take a look at those, though seem to be very popular right now in law enforcement. oftentimes of course that evidence can't exonerate an officer but it adds a different level of transparency. along with that at our advanced training center in harpers ferry, west virginia come we're also experimenting and looking at a bright at different mechanisms, thinks it can help to stop pursuits because oftentimes people will flee in vehicles, along with a variety of less legal tech knowledge. we think that would be of tremendous benefit to the united

states border patrol, but also a customs and border protection officers. >> so one of the big challenges and border protection is getting information in real-time and having it be actionable to the officers. information that arrives two days too late or two weeks too late obviously is not very helpful. so what have you done to get information to the frontline agents in real time so that they can improve decision making? >> i think when you go to those points of into it now and you see using the abcs that it mentioned or the mobile passport control, you go through customs and you see a customs officer in a blue uniform and they're busy entering data and looking at a computer screen. when that information is already out on the computer they can send spend time asking the right questions and verifying the information rather than merely doing data entry. so that's particularly helpful. the other of course is pushing

the borders out so that when someone is entering the united states and clears customs or attempts to clear customs where we have foreign locations, we can actually make a recommendation whether or not that person would be declared inadmissible should they arrive in the united states. that's a huge time savings, but it's also a huge security savings. so our technology and our improvements in technology while still having a long way to go, are an important consideration for us. >> so i have one more question and then will open the floor to questions from the audience. it seems like workforce development is key in your agency as well as in most agencies. some bureaus are having difficulty recruiting workers, retain and. what are some of the new initiatives you have underway? you mentioned kind of diversifying the workforce bringing more women in. what are you trying to do to deal with some of these workforce developer challenges?

>> i think one of the things that we see with our employees is the value that a place in working for customs and border protection. on a flight are very best recruiters are the people that work within the organization. -- obviously -- have friends, family members. we work closely with colleges particularly community college. we were just down in brownsville at ute brownsville and others to talk about the benefits and what you can get back to your country, to be very frank about it and what you can get back to you country by joining customs and border protection and being a part of this important mission. >> why don't we open the floor to questions of comments from the audience. if you can raise your hand we have a microphone. is the question up front here. there's a microphone coming up to you if you just give us your name and your organization. >> thanks. magyar chaska. id congressional correspondent

with the hispanic public and higher education. a couple of questions, what about foreign students. i wonder what kind of data the customs people have from the foreign student database because i think there's been some slips and i wonder if you've improved event. and the other is pregnant women. i had thought it was some kind of restriction if someone who is seven or eight, highly productive, is not allowed to come in, but maybe i'm wrong about that. but i know where the problem with this berth tourist so if you could talk about those two. >> there is no prohibition to someone that is allowed to enter the united states regardless of whether or not they are pregnant or giving birth. so there is no prohibition at all. the student is information i think was highlighted during the

boston bombing information -- student visa. there's a fusion center of state, local, and federal law enforcement in boston. the discussion was how can more of that information, if someone is a longer a student -- said it on a student visa but then he dropped out of school or the never interschool et cetera -- had would be more attentive to that? that is both a state department system and also with our uscis part of the department of homeland security. so we actually have to work in conjunction with them, but i think you're exactly right. more attention is being paid to that now and more information is being shared then have been in the past. >> other questions? another question right here, this gentleman right here. >> ten worn with international trade today. i saw that cbp recently released

statistics on the fiscal year 2014 seizures for intellectual property rights violations and i noted that there were fewer of them in the previous year and i wondered if cbp had any thought on why the decrease? >> the report that's issued talks about not only the value by the number of seizures for violations of the intellectual property rights. and we do that in conjunction with i.c.e. immigration and customs enforcement investigations. so we jointly staff in intellectual property rights command center for information coming in. over the past few years those numbers and the value of those seizures have increased quite dramatically. only within this last year did it kind of plateau out. we want to make sure that we are going after the things that can cause most harm to people in the

united states, counterfeit pharmaceuticals, counterfeit airbags, counterfeit computer chips, those types of things. so we are concentrating on that, and we continue to make progress. but i wouldn't look at it when you're slight decrease as being really demonstrative of what's going on. >> near the back there's a gentleman with his hand up. >> hi, commissioner, good to see you again. eric coolidge with american shipper magazine. you've been praised for your outrage to the trade community, the industry. it's been a year or more sensitive than a trade symposium that customs typically host. just wondering when you were planning to host or have another trade symposium to bring together the trade community and then update the. and second with all that budget constraints that cbp and dhs have, have you been under any

pressure to privatize any of your missions or use some kind of third parties to outsource certain functions, and maybe i'm thinking in the c-tpat every but maybe there is other functions. >> when it comes to betting those organizations and those travelers because we want to make sure that the people at the trade communities that have the least amount of risk -- batting -- is reviewed i want that done by employees of the united states government that are representatives of customs and border protection. so there's no intent to outsource that. we do use a number of contractors. we look at a number of different databases in that setting, but if you're going to do that trade group the kind of good housekeeping seal of approval, i want to be assured that it was done thoroughly and completely

and professionally. i think that's particularly important when it comes to another trade symposium, as you know the federal government has been under a lot of scrutiny for certain conferences. and so we look at that very carefully. that's why before you that's why before when you got lunch now you get a bottle of water if you're lucky. so we will be looking at putting it together within the guidelines of making sure we're good fiscal stewards. but bringing people together with us is just a key element of the relationship and the mitigation that's needed. >> smart move. you can't be too careful on the conference from around the. right here is the question. >> thanks. at least fully with having to post that you spoke a bit about the unaccompanied minor situation last you. i was one if you give us an update on what you are sinking ship and get the response or the way border patrol is handling it this year is any different from

last year. >> as i said it could have been more impressed. the first week that i was sworn into office i was in mcallen texas, advocacy perhaps in a room the size literally dozens and dozens and dozens of kids sleeping on concrete floors, because we didn't have the contracts in place to remove them. we didn't have the nongovernmental organizations available. all that changed dramatically. so one can we are in much better shape today because of having those contracts, having additional detention space and having food and medical care available, should we see that. the good news is that certainly so far this year, and if you remember, march and april were certainly high points of the influx of kids last year. those numbers are down significantly, and we are very pleased with that. but we are certainly keeping a watchful eye on.

so perhaps it will be down to the levels of 2012 fiscal year 2012 under the weight it's drinking a. so we're glad about that. >> so you mentioned -- so we are glad about that. >> you mentioned problem of counterfeiting, and we have counterfeit pharmaceuticals, computer chips. you mention airbags. how big of a problem is this and what of the most effective ways we can deal with this? >> one, is a significant problem, and when he mentioned you know how much are you actually seizing, how much are you identify, you certainly know and i certainly admit we are not seizing or identifying all of the counterfeit material. but first we really experienced people, really knowledgeable people. we have people that can examine women's issues. and my wife wondered about my new interest in women's shoes. but we have people that can examine these things and really

have come and really determine whether or not these things are counterfeit. but then with other experts that can look at the computer chips and airbags and those kinds of things. so that's important. but i think the second probably most important part of all of this is that the more we expand our international footprint and the more we are in other countries, then the more we develop relationships and pass for litigation in those other countries, the better we are at identifying something before it ever gets in the container before it ever gets headed to the united states. i think that's helpful. >> the gentleman writer on the aisle has a question. >> my name is -- correspondent from japanese -- [inaudible] sorry, my english capability is limited. i raising risk to -- terrorism in japan i have to request to questions to you.

first, what kind of a corporation ship between u.s. and japanese governments to border protection from the terrorists? [inaudible] which agency is counterpart in japan for cbp? second question, for that means, how u.s. and japan government sharing data? >> so, i think on equipment issued to our to kind of parts onon the. one is equipped that the border patrol would use in our air in the rain agents which is between the ports of entry -- air and marine agents. so we have tethered era stats, many of which have come to us from the department of defense the department of defense,

advanced infrared cameras and high technical surveillance equipment in these tethered aerostats. with unmanned aircraft, a uas program that's also very helpful. we also things like ground sensors that can be triggered information for alerts to the border patrol agents. and in the border patrol agents have a variety of equipment in their trucks and also the ability to have night vision goggles and things like that. so that's between the ports of entry. at the ports of entry are kind of different pieces of equipment. one is radiation portal monitors saw the cargo coming through can be analyzed to see if in fact there's a dangerous level or some concern about radiation. the other is something we call nonintrusive inspection devices. really it's just big x-ray machines, both portable extra machines but also those that are mounted within. and they can scan a piece of

cargo coming through and kind of look inside. and then of course, the last thing both of these areas is the knowledge and experience of our personal. one of our agriculture inspectors the other day was looking at a ballot of fresh vegetables that had coming. but he was looking, he looked at the ballot itself, the wooden pallet and he said, you know, i think that palette is thick fixed on what i've seen in the past not by much, just a little bit. and, of course when a canine checked on it sure enough it was filled with drugs. so the level of expertise and experience that our people have is particularly helpful. i'm not sure at the agency that we work with. i was recently in tokyo but only for a short period of time. but i know that our relationship with the government of japan on these issues is very close and very strong. thank you.

>> i was in aruba last year and discovered that the u.s. customs office there is actually on the island, so you basically go through the customs process before you get on the plane as opposed to arriving here. is this a model that you are seeking to expand? are people happy with that? i was just reaching your thoughts on that. >> i think the agents in aruba are -- >> they seemed very pleased. >> they seem happy about that. but we are in canada, in abu dhabi, in ireland, in bermuda and the bahamas also. so we are in negotiations with about 25 airports right now around the world who have an interest in this. one come a really improves border security. but number two what most people don't recognize is that those governments for airports by 85% of the salary and benefits of the people that are assigned there. so that 17 million people that i talked about him when they

landed at jfk or dos or "los angeles times" they just picked up the back and got to go. they didn't clog up in the customs line. so we see a real benefit in that. we'll see how it goes spent right here is a question. >> i have a question about the joint task force that were created in november. i wonder if you could speak to some of the successes you've seen or hope to see from these groups especially since cbp is leading one of them in collaboration with some of the other agencies? >> the joint task force are secretary johnson school for his unity of effort, essentially taking ice-hsi homeland security investigations, customs and border protection, and the united states coast guard and saying how can all three of you work better together, operate, and collaborate. and the coast guard is heading out out of florida come is heading up the caribbean, the

florida gulf area. customs and border protection is heading up the land border from texas to california. and then homeland security investigations is really concentrating on going after particularly the human smuggling networks. so quite often the arrest of just a young person who's involved in smuggling a couple of people doesn't really get to the network. they have started but they are not in operation. we believe that i think sometime around july the joint task force is will work but the secretary gates myself, the coast guard commandant and the i.c.e. director an opportunity to really be a part of forming a unity of effort collaboration. so i think we are looking forward to that, and i think he's really to be commended for pushing that. >> in the very back there's a gentleman with his hand up.

>> just. i'm paul with mundofox commissioner. regarding the issue of apprehensions of miners and any company miners and family dinners at the border, you mentioned that you expected drop towards the 2012 levels. this is a larger dive compared to, for example a projection made by the migration policy institute that thinks that it's going to go to the 2013 levels. so you expect a larger dive? >> i'm hoping that we will be at about the 2012 level, and kind of looking at the numbers so far. we have much better information now about predicting that we perhaps did in the past. the earlier early warning from march of last year was the information that the border patrol presented on the apprehensions. now we have very good relations

and interaction with officials in those three central american countries. we also think that that dangers our awareness campaign that i mentioned is pretty helpful. by the way we've almost always issued back and said it's a very dangerous thing to try and enter the border, to cross the border. we know from the number of people that perished or suffer really hard fiscal conditions that it's dangerous. but the second part of the campaign was unique last year and it said even if you did here, you going to be allowed to stay. and i think that was an important message. >> i think we have time for one more question. i have a question about the global supply chain. you know, seems like a lot of security issues concerned that, as i know your kind of focus a

lot on trade and commerce issues. how are you going about identifying high-risk shipments and what are we doing to make sure that supply chain is indeed secure? >> i think besides having people assigned in foreign ports and making those relationships with other governments, and being at the ports themselves and wanting to you and being willing to demonstrate to other governments how we go about identifying these things. there's a second part of that and that is what we need to make sure that we are exchanging information in areas that may be at risk. we're not going to examine 70,000 individual 20-foot equivalent, as they're called, containers that can come in every day to our ports of entry. so everything we do is based upon risk. we are always seeking and certainly have the rule of law and certainly have the authority

behind us to be the regulator, to be the enforcer. but quite frankly to the trade community we work as open to developing relationships and communication with the trade community. we are the regulator and your the trade community and we're on opposite sides. that really is not true. the trade community wants to make sure that what they are bringing into this country is as safe and as secure as what we wanted to be. and when we really opened ourselves up to having for instance, a federal advisory committee made up of a wide array of customs brokers traders, shippers, retail manufacturers, et cetera when we open ourselves up we expanded our network of eyes and ears. because, frankly, if if you're a shipper and someone comes to you and says, gee, i'd like to ship this that i don't want to really go into much detail and on and on, and the shipper says, you

know what i'm a c-tpat authorizer. i'm not going to do that. i'm not going to put my risk, my organization at risk. we want that shipper to call us and say, you know darrell was just here in were a little concerned about, we don't know much about him and we're a little concerned. we love and values that exchange of information. with all the technology it still gets down to that human factor. >> i like that exchange information until you involve me in it. thank you very much for sharing your thoughts on travel, trade and transparency. we appreciate hearing about your new initiatives, and good luck in the future. >> good. thank you all very much. [applause] >> [inaudible conversations]

>> joining us to talk about those issues david jackson of "usa today." he covers the white house.day. he cov thanks for joining us. could you tell us why the administration is taking this effort today? spent because it is tax day. midnight is the deadline for people to file their federal tax returns and like me there are millions to wait until the last day so it's a good day to highlight economic issues. today people are paying the taxes. >> host: as was the headline this morning saying it's women that is specializing come reaching out to. talk about that aspect that's been a big part of his political coalition since the beginning of this group sort in his presidential campaign a lot of it on appeals to women from working in a particular, single women as well. this is been a constant theme for his inauguration.

obviously the present election coming up next year ago to limit will be a key state so it's an appeal to women. >> host: talk about the specifics. what is he going to tell to the audience today? >> guest: basically stressed the fact his agenda is more confidently than the republicans. he will promote the fact he has proposed tax credit for things like child care and education and second owners and working families. is plans will cut taxes for the middle-class whereas the republicans are only interested in cutting taxes for the very, very wealthy. >> host: tell us he launches this effort this weekend were clinton launches her efforts in iowa. is there coordination between the two as far as -- >> guest: they say there's not much you can have dashed the you can't help but wonder. hillary clinton drop by the white house to his weeks ago at a private conversation with president obama. we don't know what they said. the white house could only confirm that commitment it's

interesting to she had a meeting and they can vote after getting just a few weeks later. the issues do seem to dovetail with each other. i don't think there's any overt but there is a limit of interest in what the president of what candidate clinton is doing uzbek us was going and women as far as battling this administration but the presidential race how important will be played in this upcoming race? >> guest: very important because there's a huge gender gap in voting these days. it's been evident for years and seems to be growing. more women seem be voting democratic rather than republican. i think whoever the nominee for the democratic party and the republican party as well. i think both nominees will make very strong pitches to women particularly working with. >> host: that's david jackson and covers the white house for your city to talk about that event and charlotte, north carolina, particularly talk about issues related to women. thanks for your time this morning. >> guest: thank you. >> at age 25 choose one of the

wealthiest widows in the colonies and during the revolution while in her mid '40s she was considered an enemy by the british who threaten to take her hostage. later she would become our nation's first first lady at age 57. martha washington, this sunday night at 8 p.m. eastern on c-span's original series "first ladies." examined the public and private lives of the women who fill the position of first ladies and influence on the presidency from martha washington to michelle obama "sundays at eight" p.m. eastern on american history tv on c-span3. and as a complement to the series sees this new book, "first ladies"." providing lively stories of these fascinating women trading and illuminating, entertaining and inspiring read. it's now available as a hardcover or e-book for your favorite bookstore or online bookseller. >> earlier today president obama

met with presidents from liberia, new guinea and sierra leone to talk about efforts in combating ebola. here's a quick look. >> well i want to welcome president sirleaf and all. the united states has a long partnership with liberia and sierra leone and guinea, partnerships that proved to be critical in the fight against ebola. we are here to assess progress today and look ahead. we begin by noting the incredible losses that took place in all three countries more than 10,000 people have died from ebola, men, women and children. on behalf of the american people we want to express our deepest condolences to the families and recognize how challenging this has been for all countries involved. under extraordinary

circumstances the people of these three countries have shown great courage and resolve treating and taking care of each other, especially children and orphans. the united states has been proud to lead an international effort to work with these groups, three countries in a global response. last week there were fewer than 40 new cases so we've seen major progress. in liberia right now there are zero cases. in sierra leone and guinea combined they were fewer than 40 new cases last week and that's around the lowest number in a year. now we're focused on a shared goal, and that is getting 20. we can't be complacent. this virus is unpredictable. we have to be vigilant and the international committee has remain fully engaged in a partnership with these three countries until there are no cases of ebola in these countries. health systems also have to be rebuilt to meet daily needs vaccines for measles, delivering

babies safely, treating hiv/aids and malaria. and with our global health security agenda, we intend to do more to prevent future epidemics. so that people epidemic has been also an economic crisis. that's part of the reason why these three presidents are here. they are going to be meeting with a number of the old allow institutions, the imf and world bank here in watching them. there is the challenge of restoring markets and agricultural growth, promoting investment and develop an. so i'm going to be looking forward to hearing from them on how the united states can stand shoulder to shoulder with them to work hard to take this crisis and turn it into an opportunity to rebuild even stronger than before. to strengthen administrative systems, public health systems, to continue the work that they've done in rooting out

corruption, reinforcing democratic institutions, all of which will be the foundation stones for long-term progress and prosperity. so madam president, mr. president's, we are very grateful for the hard work that you have done. we are proud to partner with you and we intend to see this through until the job is done. thank you, everybody. thank you, everybody. >> c-span2 providing live coverage of the senate floor proceedings and key public policy fans. ended the weekend booktv now for 15 years the only television network devoted to nonfiction books and authors. c-span2 created by the cable tv industry and brought you as a public service by your local cable or satellite provider. watch us in hd like us on facebook and follow was on twitter. >> a little bit of a commotion going on on the west front of the capitol today. steven dennis of roll call

reports a man has been reported -- arrested after flying a small child row gyro helicopter. the man has been arrested. the flag at the u.s. capitol today flying at half staff. todd ruger with cq roll call this weeding out today as the 150 anniversary of abraham lincoln's death. capitol hill is marking the occasion. use and is returning after a break for a bipartisan luncheon. it was the second one of the year and now back to live coverage of the senate. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order.