guidance from you about the information relevant to clearance of investigations, correct? >> we are going to start with the social media efforts with the pilot i mentioned. that will help us understand what kind of guidance we should be putting in place when individuals are conducting social media searches to verify that information to ensure we are focused on the pieces that are relevant to a security clearance not the other issues that are not part of the process. that's why we are going to work this through enduring the pilots we can create standards and processes that will give us reliable information and protect privacy. >> and your current contractors will need robert training in proper guidance to do all of that. >> they will need training, yes they will. >> once the data is collected the human being is necessary to make a judgment and verified that it -- the individual question. >> we are working to find a

processes that will enable us to match individuals as mr. scott described. there are multiple tony scott's so we are working through the pilot and i think this will be an ongoing process and where the places we need human intervention where the places that technology can help with that resolution. >> mr. evanina can you speak to some of the challenges associated with verifying social media data? >> i think challenges cannot be understated in terms of number one identity resolution as my colleagues mentioned the ability to identify mr. scott and all that goes with it and the resources it would take to make sure we are firmly in agreement and mr. scott. is it investigated lee and adjudicated fully relevant? is a make sense to put forward and if it is a gets put in the

same box to make sure it follows the policy procedures and investigative standards and guidelines. i want to reiterate social media the application of information is in the same box as all other tools and take makes. >> even after we have verified individuals account additional manual processing is needed in order to analyze and interpret and contextualize information particularly photographs. is there any way to fully automate the analysis of photographs? >> i want to refer back to my colleague in terms of the ability to maximize any type of automation to facilitate not only at the effectiveness that i want to inform the committee that at the end of the day no matter what we identify the adjudicator is a fundamental government world so they just adjudicator will make the decision.

>> thank you. i yield back the balance of my time. spent the chair recognizes the gentleman from south carolina mr. mulvaney for five minutes. >> thank you all for coming. i just have a couple of random questions. mr. evanina you said something in your opening statement. use the same terminology and maybe i don't understand the issue and full disclosure. we are in the libertarian inning wing of the party so we take civil liberties very seriously and you mentioned there were civil liberties concerns i thank been doing this research in the first place. i don't get that. what is the sole -- what civil liberty of mine could be a risk by you doing research on me? >> i don't think of it in terms of the previous pilots in this particular policy. we had to negotiate strongly to ensure that each individual who

applies for security clearance we are going to protect their privacy and civil liberties and at the same time collect information that. >> i'm not trying to split hairs with you but if we had a similar discussion when it comes to folks who want to the come to the country on various deals but the lady who shot the people in san bernardino came on a fiancée visa and we didn't do any social media and heard why gary kaminsky got from customs enforcement was it would violate her civil liberties to go and do that. if i come to you and i'm asking for job or in my current job to get his security clearance that you just get my permission to look at everything? >> as a matter of fact when he applied for asked -- fs 86 the first thing you have to do is transit to the government searching you. all your financial medical records to consent to do that. >> i have the right to waive

that so they're essentially no privacy issue on the front end when you are doing a background research on me, correct? >> as long as you consent to it or it's. >> we are all the same page because the real privacy concern comes with what mr. lynch mentioned which is what you do with the information and you have to have it as well i consent to let you go and get it i certainly don't consent with you giving it to other people. that's the focus for many of us who are inches in our civil liberties. i want to go deeper and i think mr. lynch properly pointed out what are you doing with mr. massie's medical records when you do research on him especially on massie, right? and get his mental health records. actually i've got it right here. page 17 is kind of interesting. tell me about that because again we all know about the risks. everyone in the country is

hardwired to think my social security thing is important and i hope they are protecting that but what about the stuff that doesn't on its face look at like it could be damaging to us? maybe mr. scott went to a marriage counseling. not illegal and i don't need to know that's true i'm not suggesting it is. it is certainly not the type of thing you want to have public. what you doing to protect that information, not just the social security numbers but the detail the meat of the stuff you might find on anybody you are looking at? >> i will start and i want to ensure the only collection and retention of data will be what is investigative way relevant to completing and operating a background investigation. if it's not relevant to you obtain a clearance or won't be retained. >> puts focus on that one word.

it's an open-ended question. nothing is not retained any more. but once you have that is someplace even if you get an eraser hard drive is someplace so what are you doing tonight sure the stuff that you don't retain really is retained? >> congressman when we get the records of your back round investigation we have a set of rules and guidelines that govern those in that govern the sharing of those so it is used for the investigative decision but there are specific guidelines about how that information is used. we have specific guidelines about her true tension, consistent with there at and their policies and a core element in the cybersecurity design of our system particularly as we are thinking about is to go forward is how we make sure we have the appropriate protection and for all of that information not just social security numbers. there are explicit policies around records retention around rep sharing. both externally within the government. this information was gathered

for specific purpose and that is one of these for and there are guidelines in place. >> just a quick question and i'd honestly don't know the inter. when the data was hacked was it just social security's that were lost or other information as well? >> information that was lost is data so it included a range of information not exclusively social security numbers. >> the chair recognizes the gentleman from california mr. lieu for five minutes. >> my questions are for mr. evanina. first of all thank you for your service. i have a broader concern which is whether race or ethnicity play a role in security clearance denial or granting let me give you some context for this. recently for american citizens were arrested and indicted for

espionage and then all charges were dropped. these were different cases and it turned out the government just got it wrong. one fact was the same in all these cases was the defendant looked like a pretty happen to be asian-americans. the case of -- their lives were turned upside down because of what our government did. "the new york times" has asked the government to apologize but i wrote a letter to members of congress asking for the justice to investigate. since i wrote that letter our office has been contacted by federal employees who happen to be asian-american alleging that their security clearance was denied because of their race or ethnicity so my question to you is this race or ethnicity play a role in a row background investigations? >> absolutely not and it's a critically not. i don't think there has been a

him situation where -- and number two the situation you reference i can say 19 years in the fbi can assure you that the app the eye does not conduct investigations relative to whether your race or -- race or ethnicity comes into play. >> thank you. let me ask you about how they -- let's say a japanese-american federal employee has a facebook page and friends of this federal employee living in japan or relatives post on their face but page. is this federal employee become more suspicious because of that? >> absolutely not and the only issue would need on a public face with page there are derogatory art information relevant to the investigation will result in a follow-up leave but otherwise it would not.

>> u.s. government under the up on the destruction ran something called the insider threat program where federal employees are asked to report another federal employees who may be suspicious. his race or ethnicity allowed to be taken into account under that program. >> sir first of all the task force's house in my shop and again unequivocally race or ethnicity has no part in the entire thread process or the criticality we have across the government. >> are federal employees when they are given training on the threat or-gram and how to report are they given training about race and ethnicity play no part? >> any fundamental training over a santa ethnicity crosses all boundaries. in terms of the past for his race and ethnicity or any type of genre are covered.

it's never a part of the insider task force. our number one mission is to identify potential insiders, spies. those who seek to do harm to others. >> could you provide my office with guidance on how you train federal employees? >> absolutely sir create. >> i have gone to a number of national security events and briefings and i think it's not a secret that our national security establishment looks very non-diverse and there are been added -- articles about them having to work routing people who are minorities and if i'm wondering if that has anything to do with security clearances and the inability of some folks are minorities who might not be able to get them. did you give me data or statistics on to get security clearances based on race and ethnicity lacks. >> i'm sure we can sir. >> great, thank you that i yield back. areas that the chair recognizes himself for a series of questions and i will be very

brief. let me follow up on a couple of clarifying things 3-d of obviously put out this new policy and we applaud then we thank you for that. is there any particular legal reason or practical reason why we would not be asking them for their on line identities? >> well sir as part of the sf-86 application when you run your name it asked do i have any other names are aliases that i go by? >> i'm talking about on line identity, twitterer facebook. i'm not going to give it in a public forum but i have twitter accounts that don't actually have my name associated with them and yet i would tweet out things based on that so is there any reason why we would nass for those types of things? >> i don't believe it's a legal issue. the policy should we have to have cleared differentiation

between what is investigative irrelevant and we can get to those areas. >> havlir talking about social media that would be relevant. there is no expectation of privacy other than well you could perhaps make a case if i'm wanting to be private about it i'm not putting in my name but a few just asked for those on line identities would on line identities be synonymous with an alias? >> it could he sir. snacks i guess that there's no legal or practical reason why we wouldn't do that why would it not be part of a new policy? >> again i would say the policy is a start. >> so are you willing to look at that particular component about asking for other on line identities and maybe report back on your philosophy here within the next 60 days to this committee? >> sir we are looking -- willing to look at all areas. cms specifically a are you

willing to look at them report back? i'm not asking that you give me a definitive answer, but you get back to the committee on what your opinion as for why he should or should not do that. >> yes sir prius hymn ms. cobert i'm going to start with units something in the past i'd like to ask you with regards the cio and ig relationship how would you characterize that from where it has been and where it is today and if he could speak to that. >> thank you congressman. we have been working across the agency to strengthen our effectiveness of our dialogue with the cio and i believe we have made real progress in a number of different areas. we have set up the cadence of regular communication at my level but the inspector general and currently acting inspector general on a biweekly races.

the meeting get an overview of the issues. we have specific teams that were were -- made on a periodic basis as well around the ca ca1 procurement and we set up the same mechanism around the standup of the nbib even the oversight issues and making sure we get those rights i think we have made considerable progress in terms of the dialogue, the clarity of the communications. we welcome their input on what we could be doing better as we welcome input from our colleagues. >> you would characterize it as much improved and your leadership. >> i would characterize it as much improved. cf. the chair recognizes mr. mr. lynch ford closing question or statement. >> thank you mr. chairman and again i want to thank you for being here. i'm going to ask a question sort of off the grid here. i appreciate that your may can progress and that's a good thing and we will work together with dod to secure our systems. there's another issue.

you know these hackers have become so proficient. this morning we got news that the swift commercial bank system , think its 11,000 banks and companies that handle international banking transactions, they were had again. they were just had through bangladesh and the new york fed which is troubling to the tune of $81 million. now we find out there's another hack going on similar to that one so they are being breached. the fdic, chinese hackers news again this morning that the fdic has been hacked and these are entities that have fairly robust protections. and we are about to enter into this, well we are about to debate the transpacific harder ship and one of the provisions in that transpacific partnership

requires u.s. companies to establish databases in foreign countries, about 12 countries. one of them is vietnam so we would have to, the u.s. companies would have to establish physically databases and most companies come in those countries malaysia vietnam and a lot of the banks and companies involved here are very concerned about the security aspect of this overseas. i just wonder especially mr. evanina i know you worry about this stuff all the time and is well ms. cobert you are dealing with mr. scott as well. what about that dimension of this? i know you were prepared this morning to address this question and i appreciate it if you want to take a pass but i'm just worried about that, about stuff enough to protect the data when it's in the united states and now we are being asked to force

power companies dealing with international trade to deposit their data into these foreign countries that don't have the security potentially that we have. mr. evanina to. >> sir i concur with your concern for cybersecurity and the need for us to prepare to at least meet where we are in the whole economy. i'm not particularly familiar with requirements within the policies i can't speak to that but in the purview of national security a cyber threat is real and i think we have to take that into consideration for the thing we do moving forward whether domestically in the united states or any of our business is in government operations overseas. >> ms. cobert or mr. scott you want to take a bite of that? >> i would say one of the lessons learned i think worldwide has been cybersecurity knows no national boundaries and concerns about cybersecurity our

global. physical location is one element that probably in the case of cybersecurity not the most dispositive in terms of concerns i would have. it's more about this secure by design sort of notion, would it be put in place and how well is it implemented and so one? so those would be more my primary concerns. >> my concern is obviously the communist government of vietnam is going to require access. i have -- i will yield back. ..

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on c-span's q&a. >> now, army colonel for inherent result brief reporter on the pentagon on the fight against isis. he confirms that the u.s. did not carry out the strike that killed the top has blood commander in damascus. this is about 40 minutes. >> good morning everybody. happy friday the 13th. steve, you're looking great and were pleased to have you over

you to use your. >> thank you pentagon press corps, it's always good to be with you on friday. tonight i'm going to provide you with a short operational update across the battlefield we welcome the belgium announcement today that they will extend straight into syria and additional combat power to more rapidly defeat our enemy i sold the so-called caliphate relies on their ability to act like estates. the fact of the matter is, they can't do it. one of the reasons they can't do it is we have put a dent in their pocketbook. we have two operations targeting their finances. one is called operation pointblank, which aims

to destroy the cash files that we find. the other is to focus on their oil revenue. these operational have had an impact. we know their total income has been reduced substantially and we know their income for oil specifically is been reduced by about 50 percent. their primary source of income is what they refer to know as taxation. in reality, we note that it is extortion. even their ability to extort money for their own people continues to be reduced with our partner forces liberate more territory. the in addition to choking off funding where scene reduction in foreign fighters on the battlefield. over the last year we assess the number of foreign fighters entering the combat zone each month has decreased possibly by as much as 75%. isil has been unable to deliver

on its promise to create a functioning state that is it diminish the appeal of the so-called caliphate as a destination spot for foreign fighters. as a result, we assess assess that isil is no longer able to replenish its rank at the rate it's a fighters are dying on the ground. we attribute the reduction in foreign fighter to arrange a fight factors including our military gains on the ground as well as active steps by governments to strengthen and enforce border security and counter recruitment efforts. let's talk about what our partners are doing on the ground. and bar as part of operation desert. iraq he forces have amassed to the outskirts of the town of juba which is a town 25 miles of along the euphrates river. that is is the seventh division along with sunni tribal fighters from the beatty, mahal, and jude

deity tribes. the tigris river valley, operation valley wolf starts this week as well. the 72nd brigade sees the village of kabuki, coalition trained fighters from other tribes establish a blocking in the south. the 72nd brigade attack from the north. they conducted multiple strike and killed 52 enemy fighters during that operation. since then operations there have focused on secondary clearance in and around peru and continue to improve their positions. in syria, operations around l should dottie are static and the line remains contested and with opposition forces succeeding two villages this week. in the tribe area in the south

were syria, iraq and jordan come together, opposition forces continue to improve their defenses and are prepared for future operations there. we have conducted this week 40 strikes in that area against isil headquarters. their facilities and facilities and fighting positions. will continue to apply pressures against their capabilities and function by keeping the pressure on in the southern region. it causes a isil to have another problem. this concludes my prepared comments. without further do i will take your questions. >> barbara starr. >> colonel a couple of things. in baghdad, given that you have had several days of attacks in baghdad and around baghdad, what is your assessment there of what isis is trying to accomplish and the destabilization that it poses to the iraqi government?

>> certainly our hearts are broken for the almost 100 directly citizens were killed or wounded severely wounded in these recent attacks. these are attacks that isil has claimed responsibility for. we know that baghdad is a huge city, city of over 60 people. it is not a city that can simply be zipped up in completely sealed off. so tragically, the enemy is going to be able to get some truck bombs into the city from time to time. these are probably opportunity targets i think. certainly there had been some unrest, some political churn i think here in baghdad over the

past several weeks. we believe they are on the defensive .. on their heels. they still remain a legitimate threat. they are are a dangerous enemy. they are also smart. they have seen an opportunity to create discord to create eight this harmony. the streets on can strikes went into heavily populated areas and really focused on women, children, complete, complete civilians. not in any way, shape, or form someone who could be considered a combatant or threat to iselin anyway. it was obviously the purpose was to create discord. it it was also an opportunity for the enemy to gain international attention. they have lost ground almost continuously for half a year.

they've been taking a beating particularly in iraq. where we seen to see city after city and region after region, we see them lose their money and leaders we've seen them lose their towns and villages in territory. so i think they want to try to make a statement and they know these very high visibility attacks get attention. so i think that is also what they're trying to do. >> two things. can you praise praise up-to-date on the status of additional u.s. forces have been announced for deployment for authorization to go into iraq in the status of the apaches and the additional -- going inches your map talks about isolating rocca. what you see going on there. there's talk that there's talk that isis has declared an emergency there.

they're moving people, what you see happening there and bring us up today on the status. >> so the secretary did announce an additional 217 personnel to come to iraq and serve in various parts. those personal are still flowing. i don't have exact number of how many have come in yet. none of them, none of those have begun to take place yet though. so were still conducting advice and assist at the division level. we have not yet employed the apaches in office so that is still working. it does does take time to get personnel trained and equipped, packed and move so

that is ongoing. in rocca we had seen this declaration of emergency in rocca, whatever that means. we know this enemy feels threatened. as they should. i've detailed all the straits and we've done that over time, they see the syrian democratic forces in all the syrian air coalition maneuver both to their east and west. to the west and to the east that should dottie. although these areas are becoming increasingly secure. the syrian democratic forces are generating their own combat power in those areas. so certainly we are seeing some reactions to this. we have had reports of isil reese positioning both of their combat

capabilities against what they think may be coming next and we've seen reports of them repositioning personnel either in the city or even out of the city. so rightfully isil understands that their days are increasingly numbered. we we are going to continue to keep pressure on them and we expect to see them collapse eventually. >> do you need a quick follow-up? >> to follow-ups, is this a case where you been so focused on the north and the offenses to come that you keep trying the back door of this massive impacts of baghdad, because they declared that these were told to area and access for what they're feeling, and what are you going to do about baghdad, you describe a problem but what's next, the

american people us-led forces patrolling a receipt lead time. and i can zip it up but surely there's more that can be done. >> our focus right now is training and equipping the iraqi security forces in providing airpower in the field. the iraqi security forces have a plan to continue to secure baghdad. they they are going to execute that plan. there is a good efforts around the area last week when there's an increase in protests. those efforts, what cause the demonstrations not happen? i don't know. they certainly snapped into action and created a good security here. i think they will continue to do that. the iraqi security forces understand they have to protect the people and that is what they're trying to do. specifically what the u.s. -- is not involved in baghdad.

>> political instability and the increasing violence in baghdad has it impacted u.s. plans to send in these additional operators in the apaches? other concerns that by increasing the u.s. footprint and might actually insert or incite further instability due to a long-standing unwillingness to some parties interact not having a u.s. presence there? >> no. not at all. our plan to flow additional accelerants remain on track. we do not believe that any of this recent, whether it be isil initiated bombings or the political churn of same place or the demonstration that were seen are going to impact our ability to flow these additional forces in and get them into position to assist the iraqi security forces

and their efforts to prepare for and eventually liberate mosul. >> while it may not impact u.s. ability to flow in forces, have you seen any impact from the political to have u.s. boots on the ground there? >> say that again,. >> on iraq's political will to have additional u.s. forces there? >> no. we have not seen the current impact this government desire to have u.s. and coalition support in the fight against isil. we have not seen that at all. the prime minister welcome the announcement the secretary of defense made a week ago. and that remains. >> next to jim. >> i want to follow up on that, what, are there any indications

or concerns on the part of the u.s. military in baghdad that the iraqi government hits these kind of attacks, the suicide bombing attacks if they continue in baghdad that the iraqi government, the military may lose its result and with draw many of their troops from the fight against isis and bring them back into baghdad for protection? >> right now more than 50% of the iraqi security forces are committed to the defense of baghdad. we have advised the iraqis that that's enough. so certainly is something we have to watch out for but right now we have continue to advise them that their focus needs to remain on defeating this enemy once and for all thereby eliminating it. >> and you said seed jt have is not in the production of

baghdad, but when these kind of suicide attacks occurred, when the u.s. military was present, general betray us lined many of the streets in neighborhood with those giants texas tea walls and pretty much isolated the threat and reduce the threat significantly, is the u.s. at least working with the iraqi government and military in an effort to provide or at least give them guidance on the kind of defenses that may need be needed in baghdad? >> we have advisors in the baghdad operations center. so these are the type of things that get discussed. the iraqi's really do have their plan for how to secure their capital city. we are available to provide them advice, we're interact with them every day. i'm not going to share with you what their plan

is obviously. but they do have a plan to continue the security of baghdad and will continue to work with them and provide whatever assistance we can provide. it's notable that even when there were 150,000 american 50000 american forces here that lined every street, we're never able to completely drive the threat. and like i said said this is a big city, over 6 million population, it's not even feasible to think that you could completely stop individuals who are determined to cause harm. >> any any indication of any growing pressure from the shia elements, even i ran perhaps that there has to be more focused now on protecting baghdad against these attacks, primarily against she neighborhoods? neighborhoods?

>> i see no indication of that gym. i was lead the iraqi government has its own discussions. we have not seen any indication of that. >> next phil stewart. >> a quick follow-up on that i have a question about the packet from the north. >> first on the defense of baghdad, if the iraqis keep about half their forces in baghdad because of this threat, because to defend against the threat, will that slow your plan to go after mosul? secondly on the pocket can you give us an update on where that stand and if isil made some gains with a series of towns, think it was last week or the week before where does that stand now? >> the plan to move towards muzzle takes into account the

fact that 50% of the iraqi security forces are in baghdad. so assuming that situation remains the same there would be no impact. the iraqi government can move units in forces around the battlefield as it sees fit. should they decide to reposition forces into baghdad that is something we will would cause a change. as it now they it accounts for the security of her. like i said in my opening remarks, opposition forces did lose two small villages this week. to an isolate attack. so that remains as i have described it, what you see is a number of small villages along that line that begins in moves up to the turkish border. and the villages are changing

hands almost daily in some cases. some of of these villages have changed hands half-dozen times in the last few months. so it's a shoving match where one force will occupy it down, sometimes on a post and sometimes with some opposition. sometime in the larger fight. it has become a continuous back and forth of the small villages. that aside they are to gain the upper hand to or lose upper hand, so we'll have to see how it develops. >> next to andrew. >> i would like to ask about the troop levels. you talk about troops flowing in , a few weeks ago the secretary raise the cap from 3800's more than more than 4000. it's my understanding the actual official number troops on the ground has been about 3500 for

most of that time. can you help us understand why it's continuing to come in so much under that cat. does that reflect the fact that the iraqis don't really need those forces right now? >> the cap is the maximum that the commander will ensure that he gets the forces he needs on the ground at the time. that's what we have right now. so as re- require additional forces, additional forces will flow in. if we don't require capability the way to require the capability. there is no real trick to it. there is, you're talking about frankly minuscule numbers, plus a minus minus a hundred or two. very small numbers. but this is why we hesitate to get into these number games with you guys because the numbers change daily. they change every single day. somebody leaves, someone comes. someone else

comes in the two people he. it's a daily thing. the commander has the forces that he requires for the operation that he's conducting. as he needs more forces more will come in. the force management level is simply the upper end. it is not a requirement. we are not required to keep 4082, that's her upper limit of how many were authorized to have. it's our management level. so we don't need that many we don't have that. but if people are rotating out, things things are gonna move a little bit. there is no trick to it. other than having what you need when you need it. and and right now, that is the case. >> next to. >> i want to go back to a question. what's the problem in terms of the airstrikes, even though, why

was the position on the ground? >> it's a tough fight there. i think you broke up a little bit on the, i think you're asking what the problem in moss which markets a tough fight there. you have an an enemy that wants to continue to gain ground. it does not want to give up any ground. you have opposition forces around a fairly large front that also want to gain some ground. so that's what you're seeing. you're seeing ground game one day and in some cases lost the next day. it's a continuing process. it's a little bit of a change from where it was six months ago. six months ago we had a static line with almost no movement at all. what you see now probably in

january february time frame is opposition forces me to push and gained quite a bit aground along the line. were talking about that a lot when it was happening. >> really it was the forces, they have struggled to a full the territory that they were able to take back in january february time frame. now you see that it's not static to world war i line of the marra line kinda became became much more fluid after that initial push i can january february time frame, what you're seeing now is that line continuing to fluctuate as the various forces jockeying for position. >> i have a more specific question, do do you have any difficulty to find the groups that you can cooperate with on the ground. there are two separate groups as for as we know, one the group

that are working and the other group working with dod. are you able to contact with the troops were working with -- >> it is difficult to find groups on the marais because we don't have any there. this is something were continuing to work. we will continue to work it. >> i want to ask you about falluja, we seen reports recently of starvation of civilians there and now with these attacks on baghdad sent a perception among them that the attackers are coming from falluja. are there any increase talk among the iraqi government and their communication with u.s. military about going into

falluja before moles old? is that a realistic prospect? can you give give us a sense as to where operations with falluja fit into the picture? >> we have seen a lot of these reports to. i think some of the pressure point may be indicate a situation that is worse than it is. the un reporting that i have looked at certainly indicates there are growing problems that food is becoming scarce and people who want to leave cannot. but you also seem some reporting in areas that indicate that it's a legitimate humanitarian crisis with starvation. it's difficult to know exactly where on that spectrum falluja falls. regardless, certainly there is suffering there. and the suffering is there because of isil.

let's not ever forget that point. but with falluja specifically, we have seen the iraqi security forces begin to chip away at falluja. in fact they are now generally surrounded by iraqi security forces. the first six and seventh division are positioned to the north, all around falluja. and we have seen maneuvers but it's been a very small bites. yesterday yesterday i think it was 340 meters that iraq use of curative forces were able to gain. that that is a very small number obviously. but this is a tough city, it is the very first city that isil gain control of. isil has has been there for more than two years.

so they are dug in deep. so this is a tough nut to crack and a tough not for the iraqis to crack. i i think the iraqis are aware, i'm confident the iraqis are aware that they need to liberate falluja. where it falls into this sequence, falluja, falluja before or after muzzle, it is unclear. the iraqis are working with falluja right now. they haven't surrounded they are pressuring it but they have not been able to make a real move. this will continue to be something we'll watch. we know the iraqis have attempted on several location to open up to humanitarian corridors to allow some of the civilians to come out. those have met with generally not much success. isil isil has done things like set up snipers to go down on those quarters to kill people as they are trying to get out. so that is really discouraging.

it is a difficult problem. but they are coming full circle. to answer your question our sense is that the iraqi certainly understand falluja needs to be liberated. we see some reporting that the iraqis are ignoring it or whatever the case, don't think that is the case. i think they know that they have to go and be liberated. >> do you understand why they would not do falluja before mozilla? what's the plus and minus versus falluja first versus moe's old verse. it's smaller and closer to baghdad, wouldn't it be a logical to do falluja operation first? >> from a military perspective falluja doesn't have much impact on most. you do not need to liberate

falluja in order to get to muzzle. you have to get lazy before, you have to have singe are before you get to mozilla. but falluja doesn't really have any tactical influence on muzzle. so so then it becomes a political decision. there is no military reason to liberate muzzle now. that said, they have military influence on baghdad. its close proximity to baghdad we don't know where these truck bombs came from. we don't know if they came out of falluja or not. that is something that needs to be brought into the calculus as well. >> hi colonel, can you you tell us what the situation is north

of ramadi and reports of counterattack by isis who killed a significant number of iraqi troops. how could this happen given the progress report we have got from you and others on the progress and amp our province. how could this happen? >> jeff, can you signaled to to maybe turn the game down a little bit, everyone is coming in blown out. i wasn't able to hear any of that question. >> so let's try again. [inaudible]

[inaudible] >> we cannot hear you either. >> it's clear now, i can hear you perfectly. >> what can you tell us about the situation on north and west of ramadi, reports of a major attack killed a significant number of by iraqi troops. how could this happen given all of the reporting coming out from over there about isis being on the defensive, specially the progress in and our province. how could this happen? there was an attack in romani. there is some truck bombs who came in and it was kind off to the north, it was kind of on the suburbs are xers of ramadi. there are still pockets for the

enemy you call it an attack i call it a terrorist attack. it was a lesson military taca more of a terrorist attack almost of what was on baghdad. it was truck bombs. in this case it was truck bombs plus truck bomb supported by some technicals and infantry. notable, certainly attacked caused casualties in the iraqi military which is tragic. but all of the attackers are dead now. it was an unsuccessful attack. the iraqi military did not give up an inch of ground.

so it's still a war and there's still a legitimate enemy out there. in this case from where they're able to generate small bits of combat power and glory to the ramadi suburbs. but it certainly is not an indicator of anything except what i just said that there still an enemy out there. >> kinney speak to the overall impact of things like this, however you want to characterize what happened in ramadi we had the attack last week, it's going on in baghdad, you have the unusual circumstance earlier this week of the white house almost rooting for the russians in the syrian regime to turn back isis from moving towards palmyra again.

all they showing more resilience than you expected? >> no. they're not showing more resilience. they are showing resilience, but resilience is to be expected. we've never underestimated, not for one moment. we know they will remain capable of these rates and limited attacks. mixed in with terrorist attacks. again, from a military perspective they have not been able to seize or gain a square inch of ground. particularly in a rack. they. they have not gained an inch in iraq. they've conducted these raids, and almost every case the raiders are wiped out or nearly wiped out.

so yes, you're going to see, it's a war. so they're going to fight. but this does not mean that they are gaining strength. it does not mean that something has gone wrong. what this means is there is an enemy in iraq that has to be defeated. and this is is what the iraqis are working on right now. >> colonel, just one if i could please we're talking about the apaches, but you said they have not yet employed the apaches in an offensive role is there such a thing as a defensive role. basically are the apaches flying missions now? >> apache helicopters have been here since day one, nearly two years. they have flown missions escorting vips who commit et cetera. so that is not change. >> feel sort. >> i want to ask a separate question not exactly tied but

were tight about the commander in syria that was killed in the explosion and i'm trying to find out what your assessment is of that on hezbollah is one of the many actors in syria that you have to factor in when you're going through and also do you know anything about the strike? >> i am aware of it. it's really too soon for us to assess right now what impact is going to have. you are correct has blitzen actor on this stage. and they have been for some time. we know they have suffered heavy casualties over the last two or three years fighting in syria. as part of their efforts. in regards to the specific strike, who took it and what the impact, what the downstream

impact, is simply too soon to tell. >> and they did not carry out the strike obviously. >> that is correct. >> just cleaning up one detail you mentioned a few times the iraqis have 50% of their forces dedicated to the defense of baghdad. if you say 50 percent, can you you tell us what the number is, how many troops? >> roughly half, maybe i should have said, i do not have the troop numbers, it's probably an appropriate for me to give out iraq information anyway, even if i had it i would not give it to you. >> if the has a blow is not on your strike list you know who strike lizzie was on? >> i do know who strike list, we are not striking hezbollah. >> okay steve, thank you you very much for your time. we wish you a pleasant weekend.

>> thank you ver good to see everyone. we'll see you next week. >> the defense department has released its yearly report on china's military operations. abraham denmark the deputy assistant defense secretary for east asia briefed reporters about some of the details of the report including china's mayor time activities, it is a growing global presence and insurance military personnel are politically loyal. this is about 30 minutes. >> good afternoon. i am the deputy secular denmark for east asia. today the department of defense made the 2016 report to congress on the valve in the people's

republic of china. this annual report mandated by congress highlights china's defense strategy of military developments. the report is intended to be factual, descriptive, and analytical. let the facts speak for themselves. the report describes such china continues to invest in programs and weapons to improve power productions, operations in emergent domain such as cyberspace, space and electromagnetic spectrum. china continues to focus on preparing for potential conflict in the taiwan strait, additional missions such as contingencies in the east and south china seas and on the creative print peninsula are important. china's leaders, even as china's economic growth decelerates. in march, china announced its military budget will grow 7.6% to $144 billion in 2015. for 2006 - 2015 china displayed

military budget an average of 9.8% per year in inflation-adjusted terms. china's publish military budget, amid several major categories of spinach or such as rnd, the procurement of form weapons and equipment. the true expenditure dod estimates in terms of total military spending for 2015 if they exceeded one 80,000,000,000 dollars in 2015. 2015. as a result of these investments, they continue to make strides. for for instance, china's military. last year china unveiled the day of 26 missile, a system that could produce ground straits to the asian pacific. beyond beyond this there program entered a new phrase phase in 2015. i will highlight three key security department. the first is that the first is there maritime

activities. in 2015, china used tactics to assert its claim in the south china sea reclaiming vast acreage on existing outpost and instructing military facilities. their leadership leadership did demonstrate a willingness to tolerate high levels of in terms of their maritime claims. their strategy is to secure its objectives without jeopardizing the regional peace which in turn has maintained the chinese communist script on power. the second trend is the increasing global presence. they are leveraging the country's power to power to expand its international influence. its military footprint overseas. you have the november announcement that they were doing a military facility, this is a big step forward which had never had a facility before. the third trend to highlight is a sweeping reform to make a more capable and political loyal poa.

they unveiled a plan to enhance their ability to conduct joint operations by replacing old regions with new geographic commands and also seek to strengthen communist parties control over the pla by establishing new bodies to overseas military. the united states will seek cooperation in areas of mutual benefit and manage competition with china from a position of strength. while seeking ways to reduce the risk of misunderstanding and galatia. as united states builds a stronger foundation for military to military relationship with china, will continue to monitor their evolving strategy i'm a dr. and a force development.

will continue to encourage china to be more transparent about its military modernization program. our approach focuses on reducing risk, expending common ground, and maintaining our military superiority. to reduce risk, the dod and the pla expended on and the pla expanded on the understanding reached in 2014 when then secretary of defense signed to confidence building measures. they include first behavior and safety of air and maritime encounters. second. second notification of major military activities and review. in 2015, we expanded upon the mo use with annexes on air to air interactions in crisis communication. these confidence building measures are enhanced efforts to reduce risk and misunderstanding. we have including documents and dependencies in this report. we also continue to make progress for the poa to develop the capacity to cooperate international public roads

including humanitarian disaster relief, peacekeeping operation, search and rescue, and military medicine. in short, this report illustrates the complexity of the issues at stake. despite china's capacity about its military the report documents the kind military china's building. we hope it contributes to the public's understanding of the pla and with that i'll understanding of the pla and with that i'll be happy to take questions. >> i wondered if you could bring us up-to-date on the infrastructure development in the reclamation that has been completed, in terms of the building, have they been completed yet? on defense spending, as i understand there's an announcement in march of this year that is actually the slow down in growth for the first time in some time. do you expect that trend to continue? >> in terms of u.s. about

china's and tension in terms of militarization. for that i actually have to refer you to the chinese government terms of the overall objective. we have watched very closely and we have seen them conduct construction and reclamation. we've been watching the issue very closely. we are aware of the issues and we see them as out of step with the rest of the region. in terms of where they go from here, what their next steps are all referring to the chinese government. >> so bring us up-to-date for. of the report from today, next from today, next to where they have got to building. the report mentioned airstrips

and says that they're being completed, are they now completed for example? >> the trends in terms of construction have continued through the lifetime of this report. i don't have anything specific for you right now. the trends that we saw in 2015 in terms of military construction have contribute continued for a bit. in terms of certain assets i do not have anything specific for you. >> china said that it is actually the u.s. freedom of navigation operations said to further bolster these reclaimed islands, i was wondering if thoughts about that in in general if this report to anticipate that having actual numbers out there about what china is developing and spending will see strategic dialogue like the shang rely dialog?

>> these operations are nothing new. we have been conducting operation around the world since the 1970s. we have been operating according to international law for a lot longer than that. these operations are intended to acknowledge and demonstrate that we do not abide by the claims to international law. they they demonstrate our commitment to uphold international law and is the president said and the secretary said, that we are going to -- so there is nothing in terms of these operations. so why china is developing these capabilities in the south china sea, i think come from a wide variety of other factors but the fact that they been doing these operations for decades suggest to me that the specific

operations are not the cause. >> and on shangri-la? >> these issues, think the discussion that we've had not specific to the upcoming dialogues but discussions we've had across the region for several years often center around issues related to the south china sea. again the reason were talking about this is not because of the united states continuing to operate we always have but rather because of new things, i would argue new things that china has done in terms of reclamation in terms of construction and militarization. in these disputed features and behaviors and assets. that is what driving concerns with the region, and i and i think that's what's driving these discussions. i cannot predict what conversations may happen in upcoming dialogues.

i can say that in past dialogues on the south china sea it's really has been an issue of discussion. >> he referred to china using coercive tactics. can you explain what that is with what you're referring to? >> we talk about the report but we see china and their forces using tactics such as reclamation, at times some of their vessels and coast guard's acting in unprofessional or assertive manners in the divinity of military forces are fishing vessels with other countries in a way that is designed to attempt to establish a degree of control around disputed areas. as we know to the report it seems to us that these activities are designed to stay below the threshold of conflict and gradually demonstrate and

assert claims that other countries dispute. >> have a question not related. for years, this report has seen as a benchmark between china and taiwan's relative military constraints. you said china on average spend 9% or so. has taiwan kept the pace, i have seen statistics indicate of the last decade that it's been relatively flat where china is exponentially increase. what is your take their and is the u.s. going, not pressure but encourage the new regime in taiwan. >> we've been monitoring for a long time. we continue to monitor the situation. we have encouraged and we have encouraged taiwan to continue to

increase its defense spending and invest in innovative concepts. we focus -- on the obvious imbalance of this year's time. because of that we believe taiwan does need to increase its spending but also needs to make investments in asymmetric capabilities that would account for that natural disparities they pay for those out of its own defense budget other than financing from the united states? >> i'm not going to get into the financing of these things. taiwan does use a spoon funds spend on its own. we believe they need to spend

more. in order to maintain the ability to defend themselves. >> the second question, for the last three or four years the pentagon has anticipated in its report that the chinese would be at a nuclear deterrence patrols, we anticipate by the end of the year the nuclear deterrence missions will start but they haven't started yet. can you give us insight as to why they have not started, is that more likely this year, by the end of this year the next are that they will? >> i really cannot begin to speculate as to why there trend continues to sustain over the years. i can't definitively say that they conducted the arms-control yet nor can i comment on what china may consider a deterrence patrol. i think it's a question to defer

to them. we have not yet seen them conduct, with this form will not seen them conduct what we would consider a can control. >> i it am not a submariner, i'm i can't really get into the specifics of it. but as best as we can tell but in terms of what's going on underneath this issue i would have to refrain from that. >> how significant will that be for the region in terms of chinese capability. >> i really cannot get into hypotheticals like that. >> i want to drill down more in europe the remarks when he talked about the budget which was a hundred 80 billion and a much higher number than they disclose. then the issue they disclosed a

budget of one 35 billion. how do you see that number in actuality and whether other outlets have described that spending, obviously that doesn't include the areas you mentioned before. is that really a decline, and where do you see the number this year? >> it is a decline in growth. as mentioned over time the budget has raced on an average of 9.6% per year. this time i believe it was seven something%. >> ..

>> %. >> does that include those areas? >> yes. it is in the report. i believe our estimates were $180 billion we haven't made that estimate yet and every report is about the your previous settlement of the up date in terms of what they're spending.

>> just to drill down about the building cahow -- can you provide the assessment and what the u.s. has seen over the past two years with growth and changes there? both an increase and as well as your assessment and the scope of your facilities? >> in terms of specific i don't have the number in front of me but we have to see that construction we don't have anything anything more specific.

>> can you give any estimate or scope? >> and to take us look at the report stick is there any way u.k. and verbally say to go from tens to 100 besides the debt the pitchers on the map? >>.

>> but are they more driven? >> i couldn't speculate on the mind of the chinese military planners but that being said talking at that specific section of the united states. but as an authoritative the answer on these issues i have to refer you this is the best understanding. >> with the chinese activities in the indian ocean?

>> me do detailed tied its interest in are more global as it grows more sophisticated their interests are going lower global. it is understandable there would be operating in these areas but that this assessment is not of value statement or the effect of these actions. recently busying india having a very positive

action to enhance the bilateral engagement. because the dna is the increasingly important player by itself. >> white if they decided with that infrastructure? how does that look of the neighboring countries like india? >> if between china and india. as it continues to fester over the years -- over the years.

with the increase of capability with the chinese military. but it is difficult to been tallied internal stability. and expecting that to pop up around the globe. but our bases are a critical component lead to enable us to fulfill our global responsibilities.

end it is a facility of support for operation of the mainland. i couldn't speculate as to what they come considering the interest that china has those of you will continue to monitor. >> the development of china's military technological superiority. is the biggest holder ability. is there a member one area?

at the risk of losing the superiority of the near term >>. >> that report as we're watching china's military modernize and document these reports. and to read teide the military capabilities. >> he took my first question that my other blood was in the report you mentioned in the opening remarks and with

the threshold of conflict. and with the south end east china bessie. so we keep monetary for changes a doctor in. what are you concerned about? or watch will love it in those areas holiday are interacting sirica i cannot coladas specific area and it is included on the back of his reports that detail with the military to voluntary

relationship. and as there river is in close proximity of one another. with that misunderstanding. and ed to be reduced as much as possible. >> bad interaction does a yield more positive results prestige see a decrease to rules or behavior are becoming further away? >> it has to be a positive trend with detractions between the two forces. with those areas they will continue to pursue

missteps in american history. go to book to be.org for the complete schedule. >> next, house hearing on efforts to protect you from sports concussions. then a house hearing on the government accessing social media is part of background checks for some employees. after that, pentagon briefing pentagon briefing on the fight against

isis and a briefing on the annual report on china's military. >> now, to mother's testify before a house energy and commerce a subcommittee about concussions in youth sports. their sons died after suffering multiple concussions. the hearing also addressed current research and efforts to protect young athletes from injury. this is two and a half hours. >> we are on a tight schedule today with votes. >> the morning and welcome to the oversight and investigation hearing. we're we're here to continue the ongoing examination of concussions. the hearing follows an initial table we had in march but we had a constructive dialogue with leading experts on how to address the challenge of concussions. we'll focus on youth sports, specifically the areas of prevention and research. there is always risk of injury participate in sports, particularly at a young age it is shown to have many benefits. the benefits of youth sport participation include better health, increased activity, improved academic achievement. physical skill building and social development to midfield. the number one health risk of youth is increasing rate of epidemic portions of childhood obesity, we know that leads to increase adult risk for diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other problems. we want children to pay attention to nutrition and be active. more than 30 million children five-18 participate in sports. despite despite this it is the most underserved population when

it comes to head injuries. we want to examine what is being done today to reduce the incidence of head injuries to young athletes, policies and guidelines are currently in place to eliminate the risk of injury. how do they develop and do they go far enough? how does a large number of leagues, teens, and reaction while opportunity available to young athletes complicate efforts to improve injury prevention? while youth sports are not as far along as many professional leagues, progress has been made in recent years. all 50 states and the district of columbia have an active king question laws in sports such as pop or football, hockey and soccer. they have implement policies to reduce the amount of had contacted past this at games. others such as usa football provide education and guidance to enhance training and awareness to coaches, parents, and applets. a number of the groups are represented today and i look for to hearing from other efforts are affecting her sports. based on experience is so far, are are we doing enough and what designs tell us? last question is particularly interesting and important.

there is a lot we do not know about concussions in general but pediatric populations including youth sports are severely unrepresentative in research. therein lays the challenge. the public wants answers, science is not ready to provide it. we have much to learn about how concussions and repetitive head injuries affect others immediately and later in life. therefore interested in learning how youth sport organizations develop, review, and update and update their policies and educational efforts in lou of rapidly evolving research. we don't how it affects our youth and make that more challenging to protect them. adding to the challenge we currently lack any form of effective injury surveillance including concussions for athletes younger than high school age. given the large number of applets, teams, leagues and other recreational opportunities this is a daunting task. if we do not understand the magnitude of the challenge, how different factors such as age, gender, sports, socioeconomic

status affects outcomes how can we make sure we're making the best decision for kids. this morning we are joined by two mothers, ms. kelly jansen, ms. karen siegel both of whom tragically lost their son as a result of of injuries sustained while playing youth sports. one son was a promising athlete in colorado, mystical son patrick was a star running back of elizabeth ward high school in my district and played football for the moment he could pick up a ball. we greatly appreciate your willingness to share your story as it reminds us of why it is so vital we continue to examine this issue. in our second panel will have dartmouth had football coach and representatives from sports organization, usa football, usa hockey, and usa lacrosse, to

oversee and provide guidance to youth sports leagues. really hear from practices like pros to find out options to keep athletes a. we are prominent researchers in the field, they'll be able to speak on how we can approve research and surveillance, better monitor injuries, and better monitor injuries, and minimize the risk of injury aced upon science. i appreciate all of our panels for joining us this morning. it is an important issue. your perspectives are perspectives are important to advance the public dialogue on these complex injuries. i want to thank ranking member for her support in this initiative and i look forward to continuing our efforts together in this endeavor. i now recognize the raking member for five minutes to deliver her own remark. >> thank you so much mr. german for having this follow-up hearing on our roundtable that we held on concussions and brain trauma earlier this year. i'm very please that we are discussing youth sports through official hearings because studies have shown that children and teens are more likely than adults to get a concussion and they take longer to recover. athletes at the professional college levels can make their own decisions about undertaking the risks associated with certain sports. we need to ensure that children

and their parents have enough data to make informed decisions about participation in youth contact sports. part of that discussion needs to be the recognition of how valuable these sports are both for physical fitness and team building as you so well stated mr. chairman. we also need to have an open discussion about how to make them safer. i approach this issue as a policymaker and a parent. as i said in the roundtable, i support evidence based policy making and i am very encouraged that we're having ongoing research to better understand brain trauma. at our roundtable, the expert said they are going to have answers about what the protocol should be in seven-ten years. what i said at that hearing is, as a mom when i am deciding if my kid is going to play peewee sports, cannot afford to wait

seven-ten years. by then they will be in high school, so we need to take whatever evidence we have right now and we need to figure out for now what we should tell parents and what we should tell leagues that they should be doing as the best practices, as far as we know right now. for example, at what age should children start plane tackle football? comedy times times a week should children be engaging in full context practices? when they do begin to play, how do we teach them to tackle safely and to protect their heads and the heads of other players? how do we ensure that coaches are educated in teaching the skills to young players? i am am sure that we can ask other questions and all youth sports not just football. i agree, that most if not all parents would agree that it is better to air on the side of caution. the risk case scenarios

that we would discover later that some of these safety measures may have been unnecessary. but, as a mom i always want to have more safety rather than less safety. especially when you are talking about our children's brains. as we implement changes in sports now this is not a reason to stop researching our gaps in knowledge. we need to understand the long-term effects of concussion and sub concussion injuries. we need to analyze whether the rule changes are being implemented or having the desired effect. we need to do study how to prevent brain injury in the first place. i am also interested in hearing from our witnesses on the second panel about the distant differences there seen in girls and boys sports and how race of concussion different. i know there have been studies suggesting that women and girls report concussions at higher rates thing boys in similar sports. i want to know about that disparity and also if there's any disparity about the actual effects on brain. both of

our panels contain excellent witnesses and it is so important to have them today. i am really proud to welcome two witnesses from colorado. kelly janz, as you heard tragically lost her son jake to a second impact syndrome in 2004. kelly, i'm i'm so proud of you because what you did was you were instrumental in ensuring that concussions are taken seriously in youth sports and that parents and coaches have the information they need. as the chairman mentioned, in 2012 the governor signed the jake snake and bird youth concussion act. doctor don -- is our second panel, she is on this colorado school of public health and a colorado native. she is one of the leading experts in sports injury,

epidemiology. her database gathers information on injury exposure and incidence among high school athletes. she looks at injury patterns like examining the correlation between you can strengthen concussion risk to inform prevention and litigation strategies. i want to thank you also for making you the sports safer. i want to thank everybody who is here today to help us figure this out. i also really want to say, we want to see sparks succeed. i cannot let this hearing go by without congratulating the world champion, denver broncos for example, which i have season tickets. i also want to say as i have said before one of my great sadness is is that i was unable to persuade either of my daughters to play ice hockey and they took up dance instead. but the point is, every child in this country should be safe. we

love sports, we want to see sports succeed but that means we have to do our utmost to improve player safety and guarantee that participation in sports does not mean you'll have long-term health consequences. i know mr. chairman you intend to have more hearings, i think this is the perfect place to start. i want to thank you again, i yelled you again, i yelled back. >> thank you, go steelers. [laughter] >> okay because the penguins are in the playoffs and we wish everyone the best. i recognize -- i want to say that opening statement of mr. ottman will be included in the record. i recognize mr. hudson for opening statements. >> thank you mr. chairman, i thank you for your focus on this issue as painful as it is to hear talk about the broncos is representing charlotte north carolina home of the panthers, there's always next year. i would like to thank the panel

is for your report and testimony today. your experience and expertise of the committee better understand the gravity of concussions and you sports. what we need to do to prevent concussions and the long-lasting effects in future generations. unfortunately pediatric traumatic with concussions and traumatic brain injury as part of the number one killer of kids. p*untran pediatric trauma has become a focus of mine. i partnered to examine what we can help our children. the the children's institute was started by my dear friend, richard childress his wife judy with the discovering the best way to prevent and treat injuries in children. the childress institute funds initiatives to prevent and treat injuries in youth sports. promising research is being done to prevent and treat trauma broadly and also specific issues like concussion it takes a particular importance to me as a father of a seven month old baby boy. i'm thankful for awareness be brought to this issue by discussions like today. as one trauma surgeon said to me, it is not a life estate, it

is a lifetime say. i also i also want to know to my fellow north carolina red representative, hurt with the energy and commerce committee on tuesday, may 24i will encourage anyone who is interested to please a template i look for to today's discussion. with that i yell back. >> anyone else have anything to add at this point? then i recommend the ranking member for five minutes. >> thank you mr. chairman. i want to thank all of our participants for joining us today additionally i would like to think the chairman for his commitment to this committee's examination of concussions in brain trauma. earlier this year we had an initial roundtable on this issue. at this issue. at the time i requested the chairman hold a series of hearings on concussion in sports related head trauma. i proposed we look at head impacts in youth sports and i'm gratified we are here today to discuss that very topic and i look for to the additional hearings on this important issue.

parents across the country are concerned with the risk of concussions and with good reason. i have my own expense is apparent in dealing with my daughter's concussion and deciphering the medical advice provided. as challenging as it is to balance the latest research against the value of our children's participation in sports, concert may relate to parents and their confusion about how to make the right decision for their children. there is compelling research that suggests the effects of repeated head trauma, even those received during once you can accumulate and cause serious consequences. these consequences can stem from injuries once considered minor known as sub concussive hits or repetitive hits to the head. purdue university researchers led by one of our witnesses today, doctor tom -- had significant changes to the brain of high school football players even those were not diagnosed with a single concussion. what is particularly troubling is that these changes persisted even 12 months later suggesting lasting damage. many other studies documented an

association between sub concussive hits and changes in brain chemistry, decreased brain functioning and behavioral changes. a recent study by a group of researchers at boston university found exposure to hits regardless of whether concussion occurred was associated with a higher likelihood of mood disorders like depression. researchers also found evidence of the linkage between head in pit impacts in cte, a degenerative disease. cte is found in athletes as young as 25 and adults who never played football beyond high school level. there remain a number of on answer questions about what risk factors make individuals more susceptible to these debilitating conditions. we debilitating conditions. we also need to understand what happens with the brain when it's hit and how many hits trigger these neurological hits. while research still needs to be done that should not be an excuse for in action. what's not in dispute is the association between head trauma from contact sports such as football and lasting brain

damage and degenerative diseases such as cte. even the nfl acknowledges this link. some researchers suggest that we should wait on the science before making changes to the rules in youth sports. i respectfully disagree. we cannot ask children and parents to wait 10, 15, 20 years for the signs to catch up before he take up before you take measures to make sports safer. we need to be asking questions right now. and implementing appropriate changes. they are put up red flags about the dangers of competitive head trauma and to take every effort to make the games as safe as possible. earlier earlier this month the subcommittee ranking member, join me in sending

letters to collegiate in youth football leaders. we asked them to explain what rules are policy changes they are considering to address the risk associated with both concussive and sub concussive hits. i expect that we'll have a response by may 20 fifth. 25th. i commend pop warner for announcing yesterday that it will be in games this fall. >> last, i want to express my deep thanks to both kelly janz, i can't imagine the loss of you and your families have experienced. think of your willingness to share your experiences with this committee. we can learn from you as we pave a path forward. thank you again for all of our witnesses for your country fusions for helping us with our comprehensive review of concussions and head trauma. i hope you continue to work together to work together to address the situation. >> we are going to try to get

through testimony before votes. the first witness on today's panel is ms. kelly janz. she is the mother of jake's and a convert. jake passed away after suffering from second impact syndrome, following her son's death. ms. janz has become a dedicated activists, committed from raising awareness for youth sports. we thank you for your testimony and we look for to your insight on this matters. i also want to welcome ms. karen's eagle, she is president of the patrick cte awareness foundation. the foundation was foundation was created in memory of her son, patrick who i enjoyed reading about and his football career. he passed away after suffering from cte. thank you for your testimony today, we look for to your comments. i think you're think you're where this committee is holding a hearing and in doing so has the practice of taking testimony under oath, do any of you object from testifying under a? >> see no objection we advised that under the rosa housing committee you are entitled to be advised by counsel. do either of you wish to be -- i

will swear you and. >> do you swear the testimonies the truth, the whole truth, nothing but the truth. >> thank you. both answered affirmatively and you are now under oath. your subject to the penalties set forth in title 18 of the united states code. i will ask you to give a five minute summary of your statement there'll be a light in front of you that will turn red when your time is up. turn your microphone on and bring it close. >> chairman murphy, and ranking members and members of the subcommittee, good morning and thank you for this opportunity to provide testimony on the important issue regarding youth and youth related sports concussion. i commend you and your colleagues on the work of this committee to shed light on this critical iue