there's been a substantial body of work done by the federal trade commission in enforcing cyber security expectations of businesses. that's established a decade worth of case law that merchants and businesses all under the authority of the ftc understand what the expectations are. >> am i hearing you say that while the energy and commerce bill has a one-sentence standard, you believe that one sentence incorporates the ftc standards? >> i do. any business that would be forced to comply with it and most businesses today are don't look at the sentence that would be in the legislation but they would look at what the body of work is and the requirements. >> so i'm understanding your objection, is your objection to who the regulator would be? you believe under the commerce bill it would be a different regulator? >> we think the way that the energy and commerce bill is structured and how it builds upon the work that's undertaken by the ftc today, it makes sense and we believe that's the best

way to move the ball forward. >> other members of the panel i don't know if anyone would like to comment on the clarity of the language. >> i would say while we recognize the preventy of it to simply say, go act reasonably, that's a negligent standard. we're all under a duty to act reasonably in our daily lives and not be negligent. when you're facing a threat of this nature, to have the congress say, hey, act reasonably, i think that's underwhemg as a standard and expectation as we enter the age of cyber battles. >> i would agree, particularly when you've got a road map that's worked for 16 years in another industry that you can lean on. i'd like to talk a little bit about how unreasonable delay works in the real world. there's talk about whether a notice should be immediate could you put some specific time frame on when a reasonable

notice would occur. could anyone on the panel comment on whether it's realistic to require a company to notify consumers within a specific set of days? >> i think the challenge of the existing state laws is different states have different requirements for what reasonableness means. obviously all of us in the industry across the payment's ecosystem and retail share an interest in making sure our customers know what happened as quickly as possible. but in some circumstances there are issues that arise. for example, law enforcement may ask that we delay notification because they're pursuing the criminals and they don't want to interfere with the possibility of apprehension. i think that flexibility is important because there are circumstances in which what one may think is reasonable someone else may decide -- >> is that relatively you nonunanimous on the panel? >> one of the problems with having a harm trigger and risk analysis between the discovery of the breach and notification of the consumers is that it can

delay notification to the consumers. one of the reasons that many states have no trigger at all is to ensure the consumers get notification as quickly as possible. >> in my very limited time, can anybody talk about overreporting? it seems to be one of the challenges of what happens in the practical world when you have this big patch work of standards is companies go out and overreport and there's consequences to consumers of that as well. >> once again i would turn to what they're saying on this topic which is in that their conversations with consumers they are not hearing that consumers want to hear less about breach of their personal information. consumers are upset about the fact that they're hearing about so many breach because they're upset that so many breaches are taking place. they don't want to forego the possibility of protecting themselves. >> they want to be notified when they should be notified if there's a real problem. okay, thank you very much. >> we do see in the idle manufacturing retail space dealers and others paying less

attention unfortunately to recall notices because they think they get too many or they're not serious. it's something to keep an eye on. >> thank you. i'd like to thank our witnesses for their testimony today. a little three-hour exercise here. we appreciate your patience. but also i think the panel has been very informative. this is a very important issue to our country. it's very important issue to the americans that use this system on a daily basis that we give them the confidence that they can continue to use one of the most aggressive and progressive payment systems in the world. without objection all members will have five legislative days within to submit additional questions for our witnesses to the chair, which will be forwarded to the witnessing for their response. i would ask the witnesses to please respond as promptly as you're able and without objection all members will have five legislative days in which to submit extraneous material to be in the record.

with that this hearing is adjourned. >> thank you. a reminder that if you missed any of this hearing you

can watch it at any time in our video library. go to our website c-span.org. we'll be back on capitol hill this afternoon for a hearing on sex trafficking. a house foreign affairs subcommittee will hear from utah attorney general shawn reyes and underground railroad founder timothy val ard who joined forces and successfully ended a sex slave operation in colombia rescuing over 120 children. the hearing will examine how government and nongovernment organizations can work together to rescue victims. that will be live at 2:30 eastern here on c-span. later today president obama will welcome leaders and delegations from the golf cooperation council countries to camp david for the gcc summit. he's expected to make remarks at a news conference later on at 5:00 eastern time. we plan to bring that to you live as well here on c-span 3.

in the house today work on the 2016 defense program's bill, politico writes about it. mac thorn bury the new chairman of the house armed services committee will be the man in the middle on thursday as this year's defense authorization bill goes to the floor. liberals will question the size of the $612 billion defense budget. fiscal conservatives will charge that the military spending increases he helped engineer represent a blat end end run around guidelines. it's a key fight over whether the military budget will continue to decline in a period of austerity or return to the media years. you can read more about it in an article in politico. house debate live on our companion network, c-span.

♪ here am i sitting in a tin can, far above the world ♪ ♪ planet earth is blue and there's nothing left to do ♪ sunday night on c-span's q and a, veteran canadian astronaut, chris hatfield produced many videos on his activities on the international space station and shares both scientific and personal aspect of life in space. >> the only time i felt a shiver of fear go up my back was on the dark side of the earth looking at the one side of eastern australia in the darkness and watching a shooting star come in between me and the earth. at first i had the standard reaction of wishing upon a star but then i had the sobering realization that that was, in fact, just a huge rock from the

universe going -- who knows -- 20 miles a second, that missed us and made it down to the atmosphere. if it had hit us it was a big enough one that you could see it. if it had hit us we would have been dead in an instant. sunday night at 8:00 eastern on c-span's q and a. new york city mayor bill de blasio spoke to reporters earlier this week outside the capitol to unveil what he called a progressive agenda to combat income inequality. among other speakers at the event, civil rights activist al sharpton and former vermont governor howard dean. >> good afternoon, everyone. i'm new york city mayor bill de blasio, and i want to thank my fellow progressives who are here, mayors, members of the house and senate and activists labor leaders civil rights

champions and people who have made a big difference in communities all over this country. six weeks ago i convened a small group of progressive leaders at gracie mansion. the idea was to discuss the central challenge of our times income inequality, to bring progressives together to make a difference. we pledge to reach out to hundreds and hundreds of our fellow progressives and start a movement that would reach all the way here to washington d.c. and make an impact so we can finally address income inequality. we knew it would take a bold set of solutions, that no half measures would do. today we're signing the progressive agenda to combat income inequality. these 13 progressive ideas will make an enormous difference for families all over this country, for every day americans. they are bold steps.

they are clear steps like increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour. national paid sick leave and paid family leave laws. universal pre-k and after school and child care. and closing the tax loopholes that hold us back. closing the loopholes that allow ceos and hedge fund managers and billionaires to avoid paying their fair share in taxes. the only way to turn this country around is to have the resources we need and that will take progressive taxation. this is the beginning and there's more to come. i've talked to so many members of this coalition and the next chapter will add additional key planks. we're going to address the expansion of social security, address debt-free college and find ways to make sure we're investing in schools, not jails. and to give people returning

home from prison a second chance at an economic future so this country can be whole again. we look forward to working on these priorities in the days immediately ahead and building this movement all over the country. the progressive agenda comes down to a very simple concept. we need to reward work again. we need to reward work, not wealth. work. and that's a change that will have a profound effect on this country. something is happening in this country right now and i have a lot of good witnesses right here. something different is happening. it's a movement from the grassroots. it's an urgent call for change. we're hearing the voices of people every day, people all over this country. last month we saw demonstrations in 200 cities across this country for $15 minimum wage. something is changing in america. it's time to take that energy and crystallize it into an agenda that will make a difference. it's time to put people ahead of

profits, value work every wealth, as simple as that. we'll be calling on leaders and candidates to address these issues to stiffen their back bones, to be clear and to champion these progressive policies. we know that this cause will grow. people will join -- every day people will join and we're inviting every day americans to be a part of this. sign up today at progressiveagenda progressiveagenda.us. you're going to see what is in effect an invocation for this moment in history by one of the greatest of all americans, a beautiful essay written by toni morrison, one of the founders of this effort who joined with us at gracie mansion, one of the greatest living americans whose words inspire us. she makes clear on the essay on the website today why it is time for a progressive agenda to change this country. now it's my honor to turn to someone who has shown us what it means to build progressive politics in this country whose

commitment to jengenuine grass root politics. former dnc chairman and governor howard dean. >> i'm not really from inside the beltway so i'm going to stick to two minutes and i encourage everybody else to do the same because we have a lot of people here. first i want to thank mayor de blasio for his extraordinary leadership. new york is a great city and the great city now has a great mayor who understands ordinary working people and the people who built this country. so i am fully signed on to this. there's gossip in washington that this is about trying to move a candidate in a certain direction. if you look you'll see she has embraced a lot of this already. 80% of this country have not had a raise in the last 20 years. only the top 20% have gotten that money. i'm not against rich people but i am for america.

america can't work if 80% of the people don't participate in the benefits of our extraordinary economic machine that we have. so all we have's're asking to do is tinker with the machine. we want to make sure that the people who work really hard are beneficiaryies beneficiaries, that their kids can go to college and not fear indebtedness for the rest of their life and everybody has adequate healthcare. there are shome things that we need to the do to make sure that everybody has healthcare at a reasonable price. there are many things on this agenda that bill and his folks have put together that i fully subscribe to and i'm honored by his leadership honored by his example, and i thank him and all of the people here who have spent a great deal of time in their lives fighting for what's right in a place that's not so easy to do that which is right in the building behind us. many of these folks i've campaigned with i'm incredibly proud of them. they are also from the democratic wing of the

democratic party. thank you. >> well done. who's next? senator merckly of oregon, please step forward. >> i am delighted to be here today to stand with mayor de blasio to stand with governor dean to stand with so many champions who are fighting for a better america for working families. my father was a millwright. that's a mechanic who keeps a lumber mill operating keeps the machinery operating. when i was a child in grade school he said to me son, if you go through the doors of that school and you work hard you can do almost anything here in america. that was a vision of opportunity for every child in america to thrive, to pursue their dreams, to give back to society.

and that is a vision that is slipping away and that's why we are here today united in the fight for america where every family and every child can thrive. the component to that we know well, we need a stronger public education. we need good paying jobs. we need the peace of mind that goes with accessible affordable healthcare when you are ill. that's the promise that we are fighting for. and so i ask you, are we united in fighting for a foundation for every family and every child to thrive? are we united in the belief that if you work full time in america you shouldn't live in poverty in america? do we believe that higher education is an opportunity that every child who aspires to it should be able to get through the doors of that school house and that means we're going to have to control the inflation and tuition. it means we need to increase the

pell grants. but so many of our families our working families our struggling families, children are going to have to borrow. and when they borrow, they should be able to borrow at the same low interest rate from the federal government that the big banks get when they borrow from the federal government. it's way past time that we adopt basic standards for working families here in america that are common throughout the industrialized world paid sick leave and paid family leave and affordable child care. and we need to have tax fairness here in america. shouldn't the wealthiest families at least pay the same tax rate that working families pay? is that too much to ask? and we have so many tax loopholes, tax give aways to powerful special interests. 30 of the most profitable corporations in america don't

pay a single slim dime in taxes, and isn't that wrong? shouldn't they contribute to the infrastructure, the public education, the higher education that provides a foundation for a company to thrive? my friends we will not have a middle class if we don't make things here in america. that's why it's so important that we shut down these tax loopholes and subsidize the export of our jobs overseas. moreover, we shouldn't engage in trade agreements that put our workers, our manufacturing workers, in direct competition with workers earning 60 cents an hour. i return to that vision that i was so able to benefit from, from my father and my family that here in america you get a fair chance to thrive. that's not the case for working

families and struggling families today, and we need to change that. why this agenda, this progressive agenda is so important. let's ban together, restore the word and america so every child and worker has a foundation to live a great life and contribute greatly to america. thank you. >> thank you very much. as co-chair of the progressive caucus, i want to thank the mayor, my es steemd colleagues that are here from the caucus and all the leadership before you. working people indeed americans, need a break. they need an economy that's going to return opportunity to families fair taxation, livable wages, and because income inequality is the result of a very privileged economic policy that we've had for the last 30

years. it has not been top down. it has been top up. as a consequence of that, we find many, many families now not being able to sustain and have hope for opportunity for their families. the american people need someone to fight for them. they need someone to stand up for them. they need someone that is willing on a daily basis to fight for them. the pledge, the call to action and it's also a commitment to making sure that this economy and this country works for all of us and it works for the american people. with that thank you and let me ask my co-chair, mr. ellison, for his comments. >> thank you, raoul. today we're not signing a pledge to billionaires, to give more money to people who have way too much. we're not signing a pledge to make sure that the people who ought to be paying taxes don't have to pay them. we're signing a pledge to the

vast majority of the american people who work hard every day and have every reason to believe that their elected officials are going to stand with them and fight for them to have a better life. it's about raising the wages. it's about fighting for the right to collective bargaining. it's about paid sick about fair trade deals, and we are united. we are united. progressive caucus mayor de blasio, we are united with our friends in labor and we are especially inspired by those millions of young people all over this country black lives matter, the union the walmart workers, all these people standing up demanding national domestic workers alliance people who are making beds and emptying toilets and frying chicken at this very moment so they can try to have a life and we pledge to stand with them always, and we are going to work and fight and never give up until we make sure that the american dream is a reality not

just a dream but a possibility and a path forward. thank you. i am proud to sign this and we're doing it right now. >> thank you very much. let me thank mayor de blasio for his very bold and very magnificent and tremendous leadership and pulling this all together to really talk about what the country really knows about and that is the progressive agenda. i want to also thank our governors, our senators, our members of congress. also our mayors of the labor leaders who are here today all of the champions for change and for a progressive agenda, as well as my mayor from oakland, california. i come from oakland in berkeley and we know what a progressive agenda is. i'm proud to be here with you, mayor de blasio. we have work to do to address

income inequality and, yes, racial injustice where we see poverty rates two and three times the rates in communities of color african-americans and latinos than white americans. so we have to address these inequalities head on and fight for economic justice for all. this agenda the progressive agenda, does just that. we lift people off of the floor by raising the minimum wage and fighting for a living wage. we're not talking just about the minimum wage rate. we're talking about a living wage. people deserve to be able to feed their family, pay their rent, buy a home, and live the american dream. that's what the progressive agenda stands for. we support families with educational opportunities from preschool and head start to affordable college. we also advance some basic tax fairness by ending corporate welfare. that's what a pros sieve agenda does.

it combats income inequality and restores the opportunity to live the american dream by investing in families instead of the super rich and the special interests. income inequality economic justice and racial justice that are endemic in our society is unamerican and unacceptable. thank you again all of you for standing tall for a progressive agenda and i'm proud to sign this document today. >> good afternoon. what a day. what a day. thank you so much, mayor. thank you for bringing us together in this effort. today the greatest economic challenge that we face is that people are in jobs that simply do not pay them enough money. any starting point on income inequality has to be wages. wages are stagnant. working families are struggling today.

there are many factors to blame. as nobel laureate wrote in a recent paper, inequality is not inevitable. it is a choice that we make. bad trade policy is a prime example. over the past 25 years a succession of trade agreements have sent u.s. jobs overseas and have depressed wages. right now, just now the senate has just voted to block fast track. but my friends, the fight is not over. the trance pacific partnership threatens american jobs wages and regulations. that is exactly why we must set our public policy on a new path and the progressive agenda is that path. it places working families at the heart of our national conversation. it advances bold progressive

solutions. minimum wage, paid sick days, paid family leave, universal pre-k, immigration reform, restoring the right to organize, and yes, opposing bad trade deals. these are things that so many of us have been advocating for a long time. the mayor and his team deserve our thanks for bringing them together in a unified agenda. mayor de blasio is not just talk. he is action. he's already started a pre-k program for 53,000 students. he expanded paid sick days in his city, and he's raised the minimum wage for thousands of hard working new yorkers. this broad coalition from elected officials to activist to labor leaders to economists shows that there is a hunger in the united states of america today for a genuine progressive agenda

agenda. it is my honor to stand with all of you. thank you. >> mary cohen, president of the workers of america. >> great day, right? terrific. one big step. our progressive agenda is our common story. not just a coalition. it's a story about democracy, opportunity, a fair economy. it's about cutting $1 trillion in student debt that chokes our families. it's about collective bargaining rights for workers not just accepting what we're offering as the stock market soars. it's about that higher minimum wage and raising not cutting, social security. most of all, it's about decent jobs in a global economy with rules that prevent a race to the bottom. our cities cannot survive or thrive just with headquarters sky scraping jobs for the

fortunate few while the rest of us clean up for the 1% or drive them around. fair trade for the 21st century ties together much of what unites us. the senate acted on that today. the $11 trillion trade deficit in the last 20 years not only transfers $20 trillion of wealth to foreign governments, corporations and billionaires but it also impoverishes our cities with the budget deficits that result when the jobs are cut. our nation is badly out of balance. big money and politics, the lowest percentage of our citizens are able to vote of any democracy in the world. the highest prison population. ceos earning 100 times what their workers make. and the list goes on. today the senate in rejecting fast track at least for today says that we won't agree to more secret trade deals. we won't agree to fast track for six more years. the first term of the next

president and then the first year of the president after that or the second term. secret trade deals. this is all about this progressive agenda. it's all about our democracy. it's all about what opportunities really exist. it's all about what we do when we're under attack. we stand up, we fight back. we stand up, we fight back. i'm proud to sign this. thank you. >> thank you and thank you to mayor de blasio for putting this together and all the progressive leaders who are here today. one of the political statements that i remember most of my adult life has been slightly paraphrased to, it's the economy, stupid. this is the meat on the bones for 2015 to give a progressive economic agenda for americans who work hard and play by the rules. we will make sure that you have a good wage and that we will keep jobs in america. we will make sure we support

your families with sick leave and paid leave and pre-k and we will make sure that we have tax fairness so that everyone pays their fair share. i am very proud to be here with all of these leaders and to sign on today. this is the meat on the bones of a progressive agenda. thank you, mayor de blasio. [ speaking spanish ] >> this is such an honor to be here with so many fighters for justice. i'm an elementary teacher. i have taught in the suburbs. i've taught in homeless shelters, and i know what poverty means to kids. when someone says to me as president of the national education association, what do you most need to make sure that our kids have what they need to succeed, i say make sure their

families can put food on the table. make sure their families can make a living wage. make sure that they have access to preschool and that they're going to end up at the end of that school pipeline with the ability to afford college instead of having college debt. they need to have college degrees. where is their paid time off when their kids are sick? there are so many things that our middle class families now don't have access to. i'm not talking about my shelter kids. i'm not talking about the poorest of the poor. i'm talking about the average kid that walks into that school on any given day. 51% of school children today qualify for free or reduced lunch. that means 51% of our public school children come from families that are struggling financially. and they don't have the right to

even guarantee that there's going to be a roof over their heads. the people that do have the power to give them that right work in this beautiful building over here. they're the ones that have access to all of the things that my kids need. fortunately the most beautiful thing about this building is those guys have a boss and it's the american people. we are their boss. we have the right to demand from the people who work for us what we need to make sure our kids have what they need to succeed. and what they need is a family that has some decent security a hard working family that knows that everything won't be pulled out from under them. i'm a really hard grader. when my kids would turn in their homework and it wasn't good enough, i marked it up and i

sent it back and i said you can do better. right now we know that this congress, this senate, can do better for working people. we're going to sign this and we're sending them back to do their homework. >> first of all, are you ready to fight for this agenda? when you go home are you ready to do something for this agenda? when you go home are you prepared to broaden the coalition for this agenda? because we're not going to change anything just standing here. it's going to take hard work and it's going to talk us making sure that the public understands what's at stake. lift the floor for working people. let me give you a fact that i just shockingly found out today. we're arguing for a $15 minimum wage. is that enough? if the minimum wage had just kept pace with inflation, that's all, it would be 18 bucks today.

productivity has gone up more than 180%. ceo compensation has gone up sometimes 150 or 200%. 400 times more than the average worker. that didn't happen by accident. that happened as a result of an economic system that has been in place for the last 35 years to push us down. i can tell you this. as the president of the steelworkers union, what i've been saying to members of congress the last several weeks on these trade deals is let your history are be your guide. i challenge any member of that congress to come forward and show us a trade deal that resulted in net job increases for american workers and upward pressure on wages. they can't find it. they can't find a trade deal like that because they don't exist. that's part of the pushdown of wages. that's part of us losing 60,000 factoryies

factories. that's part of them telling us you can't afford to have that because we have to compete with china or vietnam. i don't intend for steelworkers to have to compete with 50 cents an hour wages or slave labor from some other country. i don't intend for workers to have to compete with the sultan of burr nye. i intend to fight with mayor de blasio who i thank profoundly for bringing this together. i intend to fight with these people that are here and i intend that we'll never stop fighting until we win. that's why i ask you again, are you prepared to fight for this agenda? i'm proud to sign it. >> thank you mayor de blasio. and to all my brothers and sisters in the progressive movement, the 2 million members of seiu, and the tens of

thousands of coreages activists, we are proud to stand a day and sign this pledge to combat income inequality. we know that the promise of america is being threatened each and every day. it's been undermined by big corporations and the wealthy few who have rigged the rules of our economy and democracy so they can siphon off for themselves most of the money that our work creates and the voices that we each should have in our democracy. that promise is stunted by the persistent existence of structural racism in this economy and democracy that continues to take the lives and futures of black americans in this nation. and by the broken immigration system that persists in keeping millions of immigrants in the shadows of our nation.

the crucial debate that is under way in our nation is being prosecuted in the streets, and we are here today as national leaders of a progressive america to back the courageous courage of people that are growing a movement in this country to insist for a fight for 15 in a union, for working people to have a say and a seat at the table with corporate america for a balance of power, for black lives matters students and working people and communities that are insisting and for immigration reform. we stand with airport workers walmart workers, child care workers, higher education faculty that are insisting in a better america. this agenda is a response to the call of the people in the streets of this nation for an economy that works for everyone not just the wealthy and the corporation. we are obliged to meet with the courage of our own to lead.

thank you, mayor de blasio for our courage in pulling us together, and thank you all very much. >> good afternoon everybody. you've been hearing a lot of speakers, you'll probably hear a few more. they've been talking the good talk. now it's time to not only talk the talk but it's time to walk the walk. 1.6 million members of asme stand shoulder to shoulder with our progressive partners from across the country. we know that stronger unions equal a stronger middle class and a stronger middle class equals a stronger america for all of us. so that's why we're standing together 100% behind the progressive agenda. this isn't rocket science. what we need to do is very simple. it's going back to basic 101 organizing. it's going back to our communities block by block street by street, city by city

county by county state by state, organizing and mobilizing and educating our communities across the country. for too long job security and wages and benefits and requirement security have been disintegrating for most working families across america. meanwhile the very, very wealthy just keep getting richer, commanding an equal share of wealth and power. that's not who we are. that's not what this country is truly about. that's not what progressives stand for. we are all in this together and all of us either rise or we fall together. we support the progressive agenda because it will advance a principle that the working women and men who helped create america's prosperity should also share in america's prosperity. we're ready to roll and ready to fight. thank you.

>> president of the american federation of teachers. >> so like my brother mr. saunders, this 1.6 million member union is also ready to walk the walk. as my kids at clara barton high school used to say it's time to walk the walk not just talk the talk. and the time is well past time and i'm so grateful that mayor de blasio has brought us all together. some folks from labor, some folks from civil rights, some of our incredibly fantastic foot soldiers in congress, people who have actually seen what the effects of trickle down economics have been. people have seen what the effects of a rigged economy has been. what we're trying to say here with this agenda -- and it's not everything. you don't see public education on the agenda. you don't see other things on the agenda but public education

is part of a building block of the economy. when you have these building blocks of lifting the floor for working people of supporting working families, of tax fairness, then we as teachers can do our jobs for children. we can lift all boats when you have an economy like this. so i am proud to be part of this progressive community to say let's not just talk the rhetoric. let's do these tangible things. let's walk this walk for america's working people right now starting today. >> reverend al sharpton. >> thank you. let me say when mayor de blasio had contacted me i had some concerns because i've seen progressive groups come and go.

but because of his leadership and the ability of saying that we could have unity without uniformity, i said that i wanted to work to set what is the goal post for where this nation needs to go. when i was 13 years old i became youth director of selc, operation bread basket in new york, the near dr. king who founded it was killed. i saw robert kennedy go to app latch sha. the movement became plenty and we started fighting over dogma. the results was richard nixon became president in 1968. we don't agree on everything, but we agree that we have got to deal with income inequality and wages and how we get there. we are establishing with this agenda where the goal post is.

we can argue about the plays to get there. in new york we've had debates on policing. you would think from the right wing that mayor de blasio and i are twins. sometimes we're not even in the same crib. but the goal is to protect people and police. we don't agree. i've been a firm supporter of president obama and remain that. unapologetically. i'll fight for that but i will fight for that in the rule. there are debates about trade that we don't agree. there are debates about racial inclusion, even some parts of the union movement that we don't agree. but we all agree where we need to go. so it's in that spirit led by someone that all sides of the debate can trust that i come. i don't come with uniformity but i come with unity that we got to deal with as president obama said the issue of our time, income inequality.

yes, police misconduct or police accountability is not on the list, but when you look at what's going on at the core root of a lot of the reaction is economic inequality, mass incarceration, economic inequality. if you look at some of the things the civil rights community is concerned about economic inequality. and we are not going to agree. when i stand here today, i thought about how howard dean and i ran against each other in washington. he won washington. i beat him in south carolina. but we're here today and we can debate our differences on trade. we can debate our differences on inclusion, but we can't debate that america has to be fair for everybody, and we can't debate that the billionaires are playing games with us and treating us like hamsters on a treadmill rather than people that are focused on the goal line. we will change the debate starting today. we will debate where we think it's best to get there, but the

goals are undebatable and i salute mayor de blasio for being big enough to say get past your dogmas. the goals are more important than any one of our specific opinions. i do not for one minute bow down or acquiesce my opinion but i'm willing to be in the tent to fight for it because the mansion that is outside the tent it has no room for regular working people. let's get in the tent and fight to change the landscape. thank you. i sign. >> the mayor of oakland california. >> good afternoon. i can libby shaft here all the way from oakland california to roast in your d.c. sun. oakland also wants to stand proudly as part of the progressive agenda to end income inequality. a city like oakland is one of the most expensive places to live in this country already and

yet we are the second fastest raising rents in the country. we have done our part in oakland to raise the minimum wage something that the federal government really should do. but we need the federal leaders to help us and do their share so that we can have some shared prosperity. things like quality preschool, 21st century job training and affordable college tuition. how about some reasonable gun laws so that our young people have a pathway to jobs and not to prisons. i'm very proud to sign this pledge today on behalf of cities all over this country that are on the ground feeling the effects of this income inequality, so thank you, mayor de blasio. >> thank you, mayor. the mayor of dayton, ohio. >> thank you, mayor de blasio. in dayton ohio we have the lowest unemployment in 25 years.

but our families have lost 20% of their yearly earnings. it's time for this progressive agenda where work is rewarded not wealth for dayton for ohio, and for our country. thank you. >> very special guest, the dean of the entire house of representatives. >> john conyers reporting. brothers and sisters what we're doing here is going to change things. it's got to change things. we're here with mayor de blasio and so many of our close friends to launch the progressive agenda. give all the members of congress in the progressive agenda a round of applause for putting this together. income inequality threatens the

character of the country as well as our economic future. 95% of the gains since the great recession went to the top 1% of the economic ladder, and wages for the nation's working families remains stagnant. this cannot continue. the discrepancy partially results from the ongoing crises in the job market. that's why i propose a full employment legislation for everybody in america to either have a job or get trained for a job, full employment. that's the way out of what we're in right now. despite all of the progress made by this administration and

sometimes by us we've got 20 million americans that are unable to unable to find full-time employment. that's got to change. an economist and other top economists emphasize that full employment is essential not only for the well-being of american families but the economy as well. so i am proud to sign as a supporter of our progressive agenda. i look forward to working with every one of you to achieve full employment in america. thank you. [ applause ] >> congressman, thank you. you get your coat back. all right. >> and my pen, too. >> thank you congressman.

maria. >> thank you, mayor for your proactive leadership and pulling us all together. in new york's harbor, the statue of liberty is a beeacon for the world to see. on it is inscribed give me your poor. it doesn't say so we can keep them poor. for immigrants in america, that is exactly what we are doing. 30% of all immigrants in america are working as custodians and grounds keepers. 80% of immigrants are working in low-wage jobs. in my union's jurisdiction, we have nearly 200,000 immigrants working as hotel housekeepers and 600,000 cooking food. think about who these people are. they're among the bravest of all of us. they came here with nothing. they brought only their name with them. they left everyone. they left everything behind.

they didn't come to get welfare or social services. they came to work. the last five words of our national anthem are the home of the brave. who better than immigrants who were brave enough to come here, should we want to stay here. there's so much written about the millennial generation. all that talk paints a stereotype of who the millenials are. we picture them as white, college educated, digitally hip, socially connected. but 43%ostomy len of theostomy of the millenials are non-white. 40% of the children have a single mom. 30% of all the low wage workers in america are millennial women of color. in ten years, these millenials of color will make up 75% of the global work force. no one will escape their

numbers. while it's much to talk about income inequality and low-wage jobs, i think it's time to shift the focus away from the issue and on to the politicians who vote for tax breaks that create the low-wage jobs. politicians who give speeches and do nothing. it's time to focus on low-wage politicians and told them accountable with our votes. the dreamers that pointed the way, those young men and women, are the new beacon. they stand as the example. shining the light for all of us to follow. the light that demands equality and points to a brighter future and will guide america. [ speaking foreign language ]

muchas gracias. >> i want to thank a dear friend from labor the president of 1199 george gresham. now i'd like to call up janet the president of the national council of harasa. >> hello, we are together with different constituencies but common goals. latino families have a stake in the future of america, and america has a stake in the future of latino families. we support nclr this aggressive agenda because we understand that this is an agenda for all americans. a common sense agenda for all americans. thank you. >> thank you. van jones. >> it's an honor to be here. first thing i want to say, i've been reading in the media, people asking a question who

does mayor de blasio think he was, to be pulling all these folks together? he's a mayor. >> that's right. >> i want to say very, very clearly, i want to say very, very clearly, a mayor in the middle of the national security crisis giuliani, brought this country together and led as america's mayor. we are now in an economic security crisis. it is highly appropriate that america's mayor bring us together again. thank you, mayor de blasio, for your leadership. i also want to say how much i appreciate his commitment as the underscore to include schools, not jails, as a part of this agenda as we move forward. young people who are marching across this country the overwhelming majority of them peacefully, are heartbroken about the doors that have been closed to them. they can't talk about income

inequality because many of them can't get a job. many can't get a job because they have a felony conviction. african-americans use marijuana at the same rate as whites, but go to jail six times more often. that's an economic issue. it's not just a justice issue. when you can't get a job because you have a felony. you can't get a student loan because you have a conviction. when you can't even rent an apartment. that's not just a racial justice issue, it's an economic justice issue. it's impossible for us to raise the floor on the working and middle class when there is a hole cut into the floor called mass incarceration. i am proud to be a part of a movement that when it says equality for all, it includes everybody. the poor kids in anppalachia who don't have a future, the kids on native american resurrections with no hope. the latino kids in urban america who want a job, but we have to invest in schools not jails for them.

i a i salute this mayor and plan to work with him and reverend sharpton and others to make sure we have economic justice in this country. >> heather. >> thank you mayor, de blasio. thank you to my brothers and sisters in the progressive movement for this visionary agenda. we believe that we all need to unite at this historical movement. we want to work for an america where we have an equal way in democracy and equal chance in our economy. today, a cashier making $7.25 an hour not only gets to buy $7.25 an hour worth of education for her children. $7.25 worth of food for her family. but she also seems to merit just $7.25 worth of respect in our political culture. only $7.25 worth of voice in our democracy. people may ask where this agenda came from.

it came from the voices and the hearts and the feet and the arms of the people who have been pushing for a more progressive vision of this country. from the fast food workers who have been fighting for $15, along with adjunct professors and child care workers. from the walmart workers, workers lying in the streets to say that black lives matter. from the students who said that debt free college was good enough to create the middle class at the middle of the century, and it's good enough for the greatest most diverse generation the world has ever seen. i'm proud to stand in partnership with mayor de blasio, a visionary leader of my hometown in new york, and sign this agenda. thank you. >> thank you. congressman of illinois. >> thank you. i represent the district of illinois. when i'm home and i'm in the grocery store, very often people will come up to me and my progressive district and say how can you stand it? they mean, how can i stand

what's going on in this congress. i say, the reason i can stand it is because the american people agree that they are ready to support a progressive agenda. we are ready to fight back because the american people agree with all of these items. they know what is happening to them. i am very proud to stand here to fight to wage raises support unions and to protect and expand social security, medicare and medicaid. thank you, mayor de blasio. >> congressman of the new york delegation. >> mr. mayor, labor leaders, my colleagues and friends, when i marched from selma to montgomery, i had no idea there could be dramatic changes made in our constitution. that constitution did not include disparity in wages. it did not include blacks. it did not include women. it did not include middle class poor folks.

changes were made because americans thought it should be made. blacks and jews and mormons and muslims came together and said, it's time for a change. this is a patriotic opportunity for us to say, what is it that we can do? the president is talking a lot about tpp and tpa, which mean it is a trade agreement. it is not a secret. the multinationals know exactly what's in the trade agreement. they also know about the millions and the trillions of dollars they will be able to make. they don't have a commitment to working people or disparity. one thing is clear, they're not talking about infrastructure, roads and seaports and airports. they're not talking about training our work force, which means scientists and people that are able to compete. so if theiry're talking about trade, let them talk about not making certain that the rich continues to receive 95% of the profits, which this trade agreement is going to bring but start talking about the pulse of

the united states of america. the people that made it great. the people that fought its wars. that's the middle class. mr. mayor this could be the beginning of a resolution -- a revolution. i hope our spiritual leaders will know that if our communities crumble, so will their churches synagogues and temple. let us move forward and be the patriots i know we are. thank you. >> amen, brother. >> congressman thank you. congressman of michigan. >> i want to say that i stand here today as a former mayor, so i absolutely stand here in such awe of the leadership of mayor de blasio. i'm a freshman to congress, and i represent the city of detroit. the comeback city. we cannot come back as america. we cannot come back as a citybraceing the issues, the real issues the

core of our economy. this is the time for all of us to stand up and work together. i join the other members of the progressive caucus as a member of congress as being one of those politicians that understand the work that we must do. that if we truly, truly want to make a legacy and make a difference in my tenure as a congresswoman, i will be fighting hard so that those women, and i'm passionate about those women who are working every day, have children to take care of also have children that they must provide and get education for. provide child care for. we are all in this together. when you raise the wages of women, you raise the wages -- quality of life for women across this country and families. when you raise the quality of life for families you're going to raise the quality of life in america. so i'm proud to stand here today with these progressive leaders and to sign. thank you so much.

>> congresswoman sheila of texas. >> thank you, mayor. thank you very much. i'm glad and well to stand with a man that is 6 feet plus and still growing. the reason is he's standing tall for those who cannot speak for themselves. i'm delighted to be here with my colleagues. let me just say this. two days ago was mother's day. the breaking news was that mothers of america were living in abject poverty in misery. worse than mothers in third world countries. why? every day, they are struggling to make sure their children eat when they can't eat. what a disgrace in a prosperous country like this. the progress you have agenda is standing for redemptiveness. making sure these mothers can stand under the sun and live a quality of like where child care, a salaries over $15 an hour. making sure they're not making 78 cents on the dollar that

they've been making for more than 30 or 40 years as women. to make sure the tax fairness and the guy making billions for his paycheck -- notice i didn't say millions -- billions as ceo can reach down and get the least of those, the mothers who are surviving. last year, i stood on this campus and held up an empty chair. it was child care. which this congress was cutting and slashing child care and families were begging to have their children in child care. thank you, mayor for understanding the core values of abiding early education child care. i'm eager that i signed already and i'm going to make leave sign again the progress v ai agenda. as we lift the votes of all people, we're right in the middle of criminal justice reform because we're taking people in the poverty of their life and lifting them up, so they can steer themselves to a

positive, better quality of life. we're working together on these issues. thank you very much. sign again! >> congressman of new york. >> thank you very much. let me begin by thanking the mayor for bringing us here. for setting us this coalition to push the progress i agenda. and push against income inequality. many people in this country will tell you it's not a legitimate objective. it's inevitable in a capitalist society, and they're right. but it doesn't have to be as great. even those people who say income inequality is fine will tell you, but we demand equality of opportunity. the system in this country for the last 35 or 40 years has been rigged not only against income equality, but against the equality of opportunity. any reasonable opportunity for middle income people and low income people. when productivity goes up, the amount the worker produces goes up by 180% and wages go down that is not equality of

opportunity. certainly promotes income inequality. when someone will be fired for daring to say let's form a union, and the laws are not enforced, that leads to income inequality and inequality of opportunity. when you don't have child care leave for working women, when you discriminate against pregnant women in the job, that leads to income inequality and to a lack of equal opportunity. all the things we're talking about today, from tax fairness. when the hedge fund manager pays a lower tax rate on histhan his secretary does on her earnings that's income inequality and leads to inequality of opportunity. all we ask is a fair shake, that this country work for everybody. that's what this is all about. i thank everybody for joining this. when you have a trade pact, as

we've had the last 20 years that make workers compete with people making 30 cents an hour, or 30 cents a day, and the company says, if you demand a decent wage we'll move to vietnam, that's income inequality. it's inekbaultquality of opportunity. that's produces the benefits of the recession going to the top 1%. we will not stand for it, and we are glad the mayor brought us together today to begin this campaign for progressive change. thank you. >> thank you. congresswoman of brooklyn. >> thank you. let me first of all say what a wonderful day it is here in washington d.c. mayors from around this nation, includeing the mayor of my great city, new york, whose leadership brought us to this point, to the colleagues of the congressional progressive caucus. the calvary has arrived. we have been talking about income inequality at nausea.

now, it's time to make action happen. to the generation xors out ers, generation y and millenials, this is your agenda. when we talk about what's happening to college students and those paying student loans right now, we know that income inequality can be something of a legacy that stays with you until the end of your days. we want to make sure that college is debt free for students. college is debt free for the next generation. that is what this agenda is all about. we know what is happening in urban centers across this nation, and we know the toll it's taking on this society. this is a forward moving agenda. it's an agenda that americans can recognize at the core of their being what this nation is about, opportunity. as a child of immigrants, i know

that had this type of inequality been in existence when my parents came in the 19 50s50s, i could not stand before you representing the congressional of new york. the calvary has arrived. labor on one side and civil rights on the other. progressive cities across this nation are rising up to say we're going to close this gap. we're going to put policies in place to put our people back to work. make sure their human dignity is preserved. thank you very much to mayor bill de blasio. we want to see you in d.c. as often as you want to be here. i hear talk in new york but i'll let them know you are pushing an agenda that our city will benefit from. thank you. i'm signing up. >> i want to thank congressman of massachusetts who signed but had to leave. and jimmy hart. we're about to take questions from the media. anyone else who has not yet signed, please sign.

if you have a sentence to add, do it now. otherwise, we'll take questions from the media. just signing. going once? >> i have a couple comments. >> go fast. >> i will. i promise. it's hot. folks, my name is jean ross. a registered nurse and co-president of the registered nurses in the united states. nurses are patient add vo it kas s -- advocates for patients and those in the streets. we support this platform because too many people are suffering at every level. the quality of the health care is damaged. people are suffering because of the vast divide of wealth in this country. too many are suffering due to wall street and corporate america's strangle hold on our economy and politics. it's time for us to unite to change and make it a better america and a better world for us all. i thank you. >> don't forget to sign.

>> thank you. >> last few and then we're taking questions. >> good afternoon everyone. my name is marva wade, and i'm a registered nurse. the vice president of the nurse association. when the mayor was running, we were the first group to step out and support him. we stood up for him then. certainly, it's not a stretch to stand up for him today. for the people of this country that needs to get a fair shake in this country, there's no reason to work every day, hard working people and still have welfare. still be on food stamps. we are better than this. i want to ask you and beg you to go back home and tell everybody we are better than this and work towards that. thank you. >> i'm larry with the economic polity institution. i want to echo the mayor from the beginning. we need to honor work not

wealth. that's basically it. raise the wage. thank you very much. >> amen, brother. you win the prize. last but not least. >> i'm robert the campaign for america's future. you've heard a lot about the agenda. i want to talk about action. i'm here for an alliance of four major national groups representing 700 organizers. 2 million members. we're prepared to join with the mayor and drive this agenda into the early primary states and make certain that every candidate has to respond to it. thank you. >> don't forget to sign. >> thank you. all right. we are ready for questions from the media. >> how are you? >> reporter: a lot of your colleagues talked about the trade deal. clinton has been memorandum ourksmum on it. should she oppose it? >> here is a clear agenda to address income inequality. one of the elements here is we should make sure there are not trade deals that hand power to

corporations at the expense of american workers. all leaders need to address the issue in their own way, but it has to be addressed. >> reporter: should she say it now? >> i've been clear that i believe people running for president, governor senator, should either agree with this or offer their own version on how to address it. one of the issues in this nation is how we do a trade deal properly that does not make the same mistake of the famous trade deals of the past. we can't have another nafta. i would say any candidate needs to address the issue in their own way. go ahead. >> why are you backing the wealthy over the workers? workers over the wealthy, you said. >> [ inaudible ]. >> the issues here have an impact on the people of new york city. when you think about what's happening in this city 46% of the people of our city at or near the poverty level.

that's in the bloomberg administration statistic you ss. we're trying to do this at the local level with the affordable housing, living wage and other measures. but we need national policyies to change. i'm also going to be here tomorrow working for the new infrastructure bill in congress. the transportation bill. new york city and cities all over the country need the federal government to address income inequality. we can't make the progress we need without it. >> reporter: the perception is in new york, even though you think you're doing this for new york, the voters don't think that. >> again, i think the fact is, this has to happen for our people. none should get lost in perceptions. we deal in facts. everyone understands the federal government has a huge impact on the future of our roads, highways, mass transit, education, affordable housing, things we're crying out for solutions for in new york city. it's obvious a lot of what we need is right here.

>> reporter: i notice on your plan, you have refinance student loan debt take advantage of lower interest rates. progressives are pushing nationally debt free student loans. >> we've heard that from a lot of members of the coalition particularly the progressive caucus. it's something we're going to work to add into this coalition effort. >> reporter: incarceration rate is a concern. there's a report saying that the murder rate in new york went up 20%. there was just a robbery over in manhattan. shots were fired at a police officer. right now, the nypd is concerned the primary is going up in d.c. >> the crime, overall crime rate is going down in new york city. even compared to last year which was a record year for crime reduction. there are areas we have to do better.

we're implementing a host of new strategies including freeing up an immense amount of police time to address serious crime because we're not doing the stop and frisk policy of the past. we're not arresting a huge number of young people for marijuana arrests. a lot is being done to put additional resources out to address the problems we have. the fact is and check with the nypd overall index crime in new york city has gone down from this time last year. >> reporter: could you talk a little more about implementing the bucket rule and what that involves. also i notice a lot of new york congress members are on this list, but a number aren't. could you talk about the people who aren't on the list? have you reached out to them and do you expect all new york members of congress to sign on to this? >> we started with the congressional progressive caucus, reaching out to a number of the new york members. some people don't sign pledges. there's a lot of folks in the congress that make it a policy not to sign pledges. the folks i reached out to, the

response was positive. a number of them were here today. what you've seen in the first few weeks the first meeting on this initiative was april 2nd. less than six weeks later, we're here. there's been a tremendous response response. it indicate that is a lot of people who work in this building are looking to join a coalition to make a change at the fundamental level of the politics. here's the problem, they can't change the policies in the current political environment. we have to change the basic political debate. we've got to put income inequality at the front of line of the issues we discuss. we think this agenda will help. >> reporter: mayor, one of the claims is raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour. it's something you're looking to do in new york. you haven't been able to do it yet. you haven't gotten the reception i think you wanted from albany, running out of time on the clock there. how do you attempt to make this happen nationally if it's having a sticking point in new york? >> i point to the four states

red states, that in 2014, the general election, voted for minimum wage increases. the efforts of the fight for '15 demonstrations in 200 cities simultaneously two weeks ago. a lot is happening on the ground. i'm hopeful we're going to get change on this issue in al baabany. >> reporter: a lot of the gains over the last 50 year ss came at the cost of strikes, work stoppages, hitting the bricks. i didn't hear any talk of that today. in other words there was no talk of okay, you're not going to give us this. we're going to shut it down. we're going to really assert our power and close it up. and hit you in the pocketbook. there was no talk of that. i'm wondering why. >> i'm appreciating your militancy, henry. it's quite clear. >> reporter: it's the fact of the last 100 years.

>> right. i think what we're talking about is a coalition that we think can change the national debate. it's important to look at how intense the grass roots organizing efforts have been around these issues. again, the fight for '15 is not your garden variety organizing effort. it's been extraordinary and vibrant. it's made an impact. major corporations are proactively increasing their wages. that didn't happen by accident. there's been pressure on state legislatures to act and here on the congress. i think you're seeing something different than what you describe, but clearly, an energy level that's rising. an organization level that's rising for progressive change. >> reporter: you're going to need more than democrats to get your agenda passed. donovan is being sworn in today. did you congratulate him? >> i did and we look forward to working together. i certainly can work with him in my past experiences, and he's looking out for the interest of staten island, new york and brooklyn. i talked to him about the fact we're going to need the help of

congress members from both sides of the aisle to achieve what we need for the city. i think he understands that. >> reporter: what do you think of the president's attack on elizabeth warren and other democrats opposing him on trade? is he wrong, are they wrong? >> i couldn't agree more with elizabeth warren and progressives saying they're deeply concerned about this trade deep. we all live in the shadow of nafta. it's as simple as that. we all saw a deal that was supposed to strengthen the economic hand of american workers and undermine workers profoundly. there's honest concern this trade deal could do the same. put aside the very real concerns about information and processing, and go to the substance of the deal. there's tremendous concern, as this plank makes clear. the real empowerment will be more corporations and not american workers. i agree with elizabeth warren.

>> reporter: the president is attacking democrats for not supporting him. what do you think? >> we haveyou see more and more energy among progressives to not accept the status quo and to fundamentally change the political debate. >> reporter: i'm wondering why the criminal justice reforms you talked about so much in new york city are not included? >> we've implemented the changes on stop and frisk, marijuana arrests. what we're doing to reduce the jail population, bail reform and a number of other measures. we are going to go back to the coalition literally starting tomorrow and add a couple pieces, with the agreement of the coalition partners, that people want to include. mass incarceration is having a huge negative impact on the economic potential of young men of color in particular. it is exceedingly pertinent to income inequality and how we

address it. i think with the agreement of coalition, we'll be adding several more planks including that one. >> reporter: three people were hit on the head with hammers in union square. what do you say to critics who say to focus on home? >> i think mayors of new york city for generations had to speak up for our city here in washington, around the country. i remind people the greatest of all my predecessors laguardia, one of the co-founders of the u.s. conference of mayors. it did not exist. he realized that mayors need a stronger voice in washington. he gave us the u.s. conference of mayors. i don't know of a mayor of new york city who hasn't spoken out on issues nationally. a lot of the things my city needs happen right here and right now. the political environment here won't allow us to get the changes we need. we have to change the debate. change the political environment. the way you do that is by

building a coalition of leaders that push the debate in the right direction. we have to walk and chew gum at the same time. i have to achieve these changes while making sure my city is safe, we're improving our schools and the host of things we do every day. commissioner bratton is doing a great job. the overall crime index shows crime going down. thank god. we have to achieve both. we cannot have new york city and cities around the country abandoned by the federal government. >> reporter: are you concerned at all about the experience that craig went through with the labor party shifting to the left? >> it's a different dynamic. i was entertained by gingrich's analysis and it's different for a variety of reasons. one of the factors was the growing desire in scotland to be independent. that shifted the electoral context. second of all, we've got an

income inequality here. it's grown since ronald reagan took office. joseph's analysis this morning i commend it to everyone here. it points out this is not a new problem. 35 years of declining possibilities for american working people. this is now structural. it has gone unaddressed here in this capital for years. so i think our situation is different. i think right now, people all over this country are shocked there is not a set of solutions on the table in washington to address income inequality. these are the ideas that are going to win the day in this country. >> you have the two leaders of messaging and policy in the senate and the house on the democratic side. have you talked to them about the messages you just said failed to address in income inequality? >> they're valued colleagues and we talked about a host of issues. to me, we're seeing now, literally before our eyes, a change in our national politics.

again, this fight for '15 movement is not like anything we've seen in years. this consistent pattern all over the country. the referendum on minimum wage increasing minimum wage and sick leave, something is happening that's different from a few years ago. our politics are fundamentally different since the great recession. this is a plan to address the america of today. that's why such a cross section of progressives are with us. thank you everyone. >> when are you going to meet with them? when are you going to stop taking the workers of new york city? why won't you meet with them? what kind of progressive are you? you're a phony. we're live on capitol hill, where coming up shortly a hearing on sex trafficking. a house foreign affairs subcommittee will hear from the utah attorney general and operation underground railroad founder. they successfully ended a sex

slave ring. today's hearing will see how government and non-government institutions can work together to rescue trafficking victims. the hearing is scheduled to begin at 2:30 live on c-span3. until it does, we'll show you a portion of today's "washington journal." he's the vice chair of the

general black caucus. a frequent rider of the fast train from here to new york. what's your initial reaction to the crash in philadelphia? >> it's a terrible tragedy certainly. we mourn for the loss of lives, the innocent individual americans who died. to date several others experienced significant injuries. hopefully, we'll continue to stand behind those families as they deal with the loss of life. we also are going to have to figure out not just the cause of the accident whether it involved human error whether there were structural issues that could be put in place to prevent this tragedy moving forward. and to figure out overall what is the best way to have a functional rail system that benefits the american people and taxpayer. >> is amtrak doing well managing what they have received from

taxpayers? >> i think amtrak has done the best that i can. there's always room for improvement. certainly with respect to the northeast corridor, which is the section of amtrak that i regularly take here to washington, d.c. the section that runs from boston to washington d.c. it is extremely profitable. there are financial challenges with respect to other areas of the country that need to be evaluated and looked at. but i am not one that thinks we need to pull the plug onprivatize it. it's not clear that any passenger system in the world is profitable. the reason why amtrak requires government support is that the use of public money in this instance is designed to create a public benefit, which is the capacity to travel from city to city, from state to state, from different parts of the country via rail. >> it's operated a loss every year since 1971. why should congress give it even

more money because of what happened in philadelphia? >> we want to make sure that we protect the safety of those passengers, those americans who utilize amtrak. we do need to reevaluate whether there are routes throughout this country that make sense in present day 21st century america. certainly as it relates to the northeast corridor it's extremely profitable. other routes throughout the country may be outdated and maybe we should reevaluate their usefulness. >> you're on board with possibly shutting those routes down? >> i'm not necessarily on board with it. i'm saying it's reasonable to make a look at the present day usefulness of some of the routes that have been unprofitable since their onset, or in recent times. but i'm not going to rush to judgment in terms of shutting amtrak down, pulling the plug and/or privatizing it. that would not be the appropriate approach.

the men and women who work on amtrak are hard working individuals. they do a tremendous job. we want to continue to support them. they provide a great service. by and large that service has got to continue unimpeded. >> what's the situation in baltimore, appearing to have calmed down. there is now protesting happening in madison wisconsin. what do you make of that situation there, the case there, and the unrest we have seen in many cities across the country of late? >> throughout the country, we've seen in place of place, whether it's in madison, wisconsin baltimore, staten island, new york down in north charleston and tulsa, oklahoma there is a rising concern with the police violence. the overwhelming majority of police officers in new york city and beyond are hard working individuals there to protect and serve. we want to continue to support those police officers and what they do. their sacrifice and service.

it is clear we have a problem with the police use of excessive force that has to be dealt with if we want to bring the constitutional promise of equal protection for everyone. i'm unfamiliar with the wisconsin case though there seem to be facts in dispute. i assume the department of justice will take a look at the facts and decide whether a federal investigation is appropriate to try and bring justice to the family of the victim. >> president obama was just speaking earlier this week about the ties -- good afternoon. it's an honor to be here with you today. focusing on the fight against human trafficking. insidious human rights abuse that tlooi that thrives in secrecy. a mind set that says, it is somebody else's business. the truth of the matter is, combating modern day slavery is everyone's business. we are in this together, cooperation and coordination are

key in ending this. progress has been made since i offered landmark legislation known as the trafficking victims protection act of 2000, to combat sex and labor trafficking in the united states and globally. the trafficking victims protection act of 2000 and its 2003 and '05 reauthorizations which i also sponsored, launched a bold new strategy that included sheltering, political asylum and other protections for the victims. long jail sentences and asset confiscation for the traffickers, and tough sanctions for governments that failed to meet minimum standards prescribed in the legislation. for the first time ever, the law recognized -- and this is a seat change -- the exploited women, children and men as victims not as perpetrators of the crime. since 2004 the trafficking victims protection act has resulted in anti-human

trafficking task forces in 42 cities across the u.s. these task forces identify potential victims of human trafficking, coordinate local and federal law enforcement to rescue victims. assist with referrals for victim care and train law enforcement. today's hearing will concentrate on rescue and refuge. in january of 2000 i received actionable information that eight ukrainian women were being exploited by sex traffickers in two bars in montenegro. the women were lured there with promises of legitimate work, then forced into prostitution. one desperate victim called her mother for help using the phone of one man exploiting her. when informed, i called the prime minister of montenegro who personally ordered an immediate raid on the bar. as a result i was told don't

let the local police go. they're on the take. they exploit the women. they're getting money from this establishment. so he sent his own police to rescue. as a result, seven of the eight women were rescued and returned to their families in ukraine. tragically, the eighth woman was trafficked to albania prior to the raid. we know organized crime, street gangs, picks s pimps around the world, have expanded into sex trafficking at an alarming rate. it's an extremely lucrative undertaking. a trafficker can make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year off one victim. a human being can be held captive and sold into sexual slavely over and lyry over and over again. pornography and devaluation of women are driving this demand. while the department of justice

and homeland security work with law enforcement aboard in sting operations to catch american ped pedophile sex tourists, but they cannot run operations outside of their jurisdiction. nevertheless, there are victims someone's young son or daughter, being cruelly exploited. to this gap steps non-governmental rescue operations. some of the best are staffed by former navy seals. or a city member of a state govrm. government. that's what we'll hear about from witnesses that include a former cia agent, now involved in rescuing the most vulnerable as well as from a sitting attorney general. we'll hear from a former member of the mexican congress that fought trafficking her entire career. we'll hear from a victim of trafficking who will also tell

us about the importance of refuge and rehabilitation following the rescue. operation underground railroad made it their business to identify children being sex trafficked into other countries and to partner with the foreign governments and their entities for the rescue and rehab of those children. operation of underground railroad members frequently pose as american sex tourists, who enlist traffickers to host sex parties for them. this is a common occurrence in many latin american nations that it provides the cover for operation underground railroad to lure the traffickers with the children for sale to a preset location. then have the local authorities ready to bust the traffickers, as well as to rescue the kids. operation underground railroad trains the local governments on how to conduct sting operations on traffickers and on the rehabilitative needs of those trafficking victims.

i want to thank our witnesses in advance. for their extraordinary and courageous activity on behalf of these vulnerable people. especially kids. especially women who are at risk. you have made an enormous difference in the country, the united states, the congress and the world really needs to hear what you're doing so these great actions can be replicated so more people will be rescued. i'd like to yield to my good friend and colleague the gentle lady from california, ms. bass. >> thank you mr. chair. as always, for your leadership on this issue and so many other issues. i also want to thank our distinguished guests who took the time to be with us today. during this hearing, i look forward to discussing strategies to address sex trafficking assen an issue we're dealing with in the united states and aboard. hopefully we can have an inclusive approach that

acknowledges the international nature of this. it's also important to note unfortunately, that u.s. nationals are also perpetrators of sex crimes aboard andal ali'll be interested in hearing about that, since i know a couple of you are involved in that. we know the issue affects millions of adults and children, men and women, worldwide, who are victimized across sex and forced labor schemes. in the united states and in my congressional district and some cities the population that's particularly vulnerable the child population, to sex trafficking, are kids in the child welfare system. that's an issue that we're concerned about in my city. we've also worked on in a bipartisan basis. i had an experience a couple of years ago of having a young foster child former foster child, who told me that her experience being in the child welfare system actually, she

felt prepared her to be trafficked. because she was so used to being moved around place to place, and people who were involved with her were all paid to be with her. so we know that the story here is far too common. in a bipartisan effort to decrease the foster youth who experience this horrible exploitation, i know i've reproduced legislation strengthening the response to child welfare act. it passed in the house and the senate. the language from the bill was put in a bill. mr. chair you might know it's coming back our way next week. we hope to have it on the president's desk very soon. i look forward to your testimony today and how we can learn from what you've done around the world and how we can apply your experiences and lessons here in the united states. thank you. >> thank you ms. bass. i'd like to recognize mr. emmer.

>> thank you mr. chair. also ranking member bass for holding this important hearing. i can think of no better place than this subcommittee when it comes to highlighting the atrocious crime of human trafficking. you should both be commended for your leadership on this issue. when boko haram terrorists kidnapped hundreds of teenage girls with the intent of selling them into slavery, the offense sparked international outrage and inspired action here in the halls of congress. i want to thank the ranking member and robin kelly from this committee, as well as congresswoman jackson, lee and wilson for their leadership on that front. unfortunately, not all trafficking cases make the international news. every day, children across the world are taken from their family, from their homes and sold and enslaved. forced into labor and prostitution against their will. as a father of seven children myself, i cannot begin to fathom the agony their families must be

experiencing. the united states to our collective shame is not immune to this tragedy. in america alone, hundreds of thousands are trafficked in by transnational drug cartels and criminal organizations. the justice departmentest estimates more than 200 children across the u.s. are quote at risk of trafficking. it's a $30 billion per year criminal enterprised with thousands of children trafficked yearly. i'm pleased that the obama administration and congress has made strides in combating trafficking, but much work is to be done to prevent men women and children from being targeted by predators. this body must do everything within its power and authority to stay one step ahead of those involved in these crimes against humanity. as a congress, we must prioritize funding to support

the ngos, non-profits and state and federal prosecutes to see the beth methods of protection and prosecution. safe harbor laws have been instituted across the country included my home state of minnesota. by protecting victims and assisting prosecutors, by pursuing safe harbor laws at the national level we can better respond to this national crisis. the words spoken here today cannot be nearly symbolic gestures. they must be followed by action and vigilance. our children deserve nothing less. i want to thank our witnesses and the concerned citizens in attendance for your continued efforts in this fight. with that, i yield back, mr. chair. >> i'd like to recognize my good friend and colleague from florida. >> thank you, mr. chairman and

ranking member for doing this hearing about such a tragic, global situation. it's hard to even fathom. i would like to reiterate the words of my friend, mr. emmer. i think it's time to bring home the african kidnapped girls. bring home the girls. i know that's not the topic today, but bring home the girls. we need to do everything we can on that. to the guests you are doing more than just talking. and i respect action. so thank you for what you all do and the example that you set. we ought to learn from that, and others ought to learn from that. and to karla. [ [ speaking foreign language ]

thank you. >> thank you very much. i'd like to introduce our distinguished witnesses and invite them to testify. beginning first it is my very high honor and privilege to recognize and welcome the honorable shawn reyes, who is the 21st attorney general of utah. first appointed and then elected, but first appointed in 2013. attorney general has received attention locally and nationally for transports the attorney general's office and involvement in bringing traffickers to justice, both in utah and in south america. last year, for example, he traveled with operation underground railroad to participate in a covert sting,

where he posed as a bodyguard and translator to help liberate over 100 children from a sex trafficking ring. a public official who doesn't just implement or enforce the law, but actually gets right there, face to face with the horrific tragedy, preventable tragedy of sex trafficking, and helps to rescue the heads. timothy ball lardard, the founder and ceo of underground railroad. he has worked as the central intelligence agency and is a special agent for the department of homeland security where he was assigned to the internet crimes against children task force. deployed as an undercover operative for the child sex trafficking team. he worked every case imaginable in the united states and multiple foreign countries in the fight to dismantle, disrupt and bring to justice these

terrible child trafficking rings. thank you. then we'll hear from ms. karla who is now 22 years old and a survivor of human trafficking. when she suffered from the age of 12 to the age of 16. today, carly is a happy and successful mother of who beautiful childrens, wife, student, and activist. she shared her message with the mexican house of representatives, in the united kingdom, rome, as well as in the vatican vatican. she helps rebuild the dreams of other human trafficking survivors by both her words and by her example. encouraging them to overcome and to love life and trust their neighbors again. we'll then hear from rosie, who is currently the president of the commission united versus human trafficking since 1990. she has worked to defend human

rights through several associations particularly preventing human trafficking, crime prevention social development and strengthening families. she's also acted as federal deputy and the president of the special commission for the fight against human trafficking in the mexican house of representatives. and was the main proponent of the law initiative to prevent punish and eradicate the offenses on trafficking in persons and to protect and assist the victims of the crimes, which became law in mexico. to a fellow lawmaker, welcome and sthaing forthank you for your leadership. >> members of the committee it's an honor to be here with you today, along with these distinguished witnesses to address what i consider one of the greatest evils plaguing our world today. specifically, the trafficking of children for sex exploitations. as the attorney general of the great state of utah, i'm the

highest ranking prosecutor in our state and familiar with all manner of crimes. i oversee approximately 80 certified peace officers who serve as investigators for the state, either full time or from partner agencies affiliates of our internet crimes against children task force. both teams under the ag's office focused on combating crimes such as child sexual abuse, child pornography and exploitation. while i believe trafficking of persons is one of the most insidious of the many crimes we confront, sadly, it's also one of the least understood and least recognized by the public. as a father of six children, i want to change that. i know they are looping behind me, or to the side, some of the footage of the mission from october of last year, when we went down to cartagena and other cities in columbia. if i have time i will address

and give you a little context for that. as mr. ballard may also. in addition to offering my support for the international bill, hr 515, sponsored by the chair and passed by the house, i'd like to paint with a slightly broader brush in giving text texture to comprehensive issues dealing with sex trafficking. i'll give some statistics. there are an estimated 20 million to 30 million modern day slaves. people are lured in and held against their will. that is twice as many or more modern day slaves than there were during the transatlantic slave trade. which was 10 to 13 million people. i'm not saying that in my way to diminish the blight that is on world history but to underscore the severity of what is going on

today. human trafficking has become the second most lucrative enterprise internationally, arms dealing and counterfeiting. generates an estimated $150 billion or more annually but is very, very difficult to quantify because of how little is reported. the united nations often on drugs and crime estimates that 18% of the victims are forced into hard labor others are conscripted into military servitude, recruited for terrorism, forced into acting as suicide bombers, part of illegal adoptions, or even killed to harvest their organs on the black market. but the overwhelming majority approximately 80% are forced into sex slavery or sex exploitation. sex exploitation includes forcing victims into prostitution and compelling victims to commit sex acts for the purpose of creating pornography. a few more statistics particularly on sexual slavery. trafficking women and children for sexual exploitation is the

fastest growing criminal enterprise in the world at this time. this despite the fact that international law and the laws of 134 countries criminalize sex trafficking. about 2 million children are exploitsed every year in the global commercial sex trade. that number is about 5 million if you're just talking about trafficking in general. women and girls make up 98% of victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation. anecdotal estimates from survivors are only one in ten victims caught up in the life ever make it out alive. that's 90% of the victims that will never make it out of the life alive. according to the u.s. state department, 600,000 to 800,000 people are trafficked across international borders every year of which 80% are female and half are children. briefly, a quote from a young international sex trafficking victim. they forced me to sleep with as many as 50 customers a day. i had to give the pimp all of my money. if i did not earn a set amount, they punished me by removing my clothes and beating me with a

stick until i fainted, electric cuting me or cutting me." when i heard experiences such as these i thought they were not humanly possible to endure. i'm dreadfully sorry to report i was wrong. having heard from so many more victims that corroborated the fact these children can be raped dozens if not scores of times each and every day. in february of 2014, in my own home state of utah, based on a tip from our immigrant community and a brave man who wore a wire to help us gather evidence my office arrested victor manual rax, a central-american individual base on evidence of trafficking children, raping numerous young boys and forcing them to sell drugs in junior high schools and high schools in our area but even elementary schools in the salt lake county area. we consulted with our federal law enforcement partners upon arrest who indicated they knew rax, had tried to make a case against him for many years but witnesses became too intimidated or disappeared in the past.

they also indicated rax had been deported six times where he spent time in prison for drugs and child sexual abuse and was a member of a notorious international gang. rax had come back into the u.s. after each deportation. we were not willing to let him escape again. we with the cooperation of our federal counterparts made the decision to prosecute mr. rax in the u.s. justice system and keep him here rather than deport we had over 60 victims and witnesses come forward to testify by the time we filed information and charging documents. with such overwhelming evidence rax took his own life during the pendency of the trial. with an international meagan's law and attended mrkts eded mous and bilat ral agreements gaut ss guatemala or el salvador could have warned us about the monster within our

midst. the experience we have in the u.s. and readily shared to operations like underground railroad there never would have been a victor rax coming to utah as they could have handled his case in his country of origin. the rax case opened my eyes to the violations being perpetrated upon some of our most vulnerable. we have cigsignificantly increased in our state the number of investigations and prosecutions of trafficking cases during my administration. just within the past two weeks i participated with my strike force team on an undercover sting and raid of a massage parlor we believe to be a front for sex trafficking. it was a site that i personally surveilled over a period of a year with my men. in utah we have worked closely with legislators to enhance penalties for trafficking and treat victims as victims rather than perpetrateors. during the rax case i heard of an organization based in utah called operation underground railroad. which was just starting up. when i folk to the founder tim ballard i told him i was extremely impressed by three things. one, the emphasis that ou.u.r.

puts into providing resources, counseling, training and stability to victims they liberate from trafficking and the involvement of groups and people like elizabeth smart in their organization. two, i was impressed by the focus on training of local law enforcement partners in the various countries where they do operations to give or enhance the skills techniques, and tools they need to replicate the operations again and again. some of the most gratifying moments is hearing from law enforcement partners after we've done missions in their countries telling us they had success on their own using the techniques they learned. number three -- having participated as a partner and member of o.u.r., i would add two more quick points. the talent dedication of mr. ballard's team former successful cia, hsi, navy s.e.a.l. special forces and law

enforcement personnel and lastly the effectiveness of the stings they set up. as you alluded to, mr. chair how do i know how effective the stings are? because i've seen them up close and personally as you might be watching them on the sides here. if it comes back to looping, i'll perhaps editorialize a bit. in october of 2014, i joined an undercover sting operation in carta hena colombia, organized by operation underground railroad. there were two other simultaneous jumps in armenia, other cities in colombia. because of the success of this organization had and here you're actually seeing on the side the table at which the transaction occurred where we were making the offer to buy and have a sex party, i believe at this very moment, our law enforcement partners, cti, the colombian equivalent of the fbi, are swooping in to make arrests. i think the timing of some of the clips is not sequential, but

this is -- this occurred on a group of islands off the coast of carta hena. we isolated the operation to minimize the danger to anyone else and to maximize the opportunity to cut off escape by the traffickers, and to make sure that we could assure the safety of those young girls and boys that we were liberating. so we had set up on an island there the site for the party the traffickers believed they were going to come and bring all of these young children to have a sex party with an affluent american businessman. again, i was playing the role of the translator and bodyguard. the mean and menacing player which i thought was a bit unfair. you see our law enforcement partners including coast guard, local police and cti, very well coordinated. after months of work in

excruciatingly detailed cooperation and coordination, we isolated the young ladies and the couple of young boys that were with them in one of those huts and transacted at the table upon the successful transaction a large amount of cash in exchange for the sex party. you'll see law enforcement here now coming to take us down as we were posing as the sex participants, and local law enforcement, when they finished processing the traffickers, they allowed us to leave to head back to the airport. it was very touching to be able to say good-bye to those young girls knowing that many of them would be heading back home to families who had likely prayed for their safe return for a number of years. in other cases the families had no idea that they were actually

being trafficked, they had been dooped into thinking they were participating in a modeling agency and so this is the type of work that operation underground railroad does. very precise with buy-in from the highest levels of our sister nations. it's something that they welcome with the credit all going to their local law enforcement. and i'll let mr. ballard finish out explaining more about that as i have a few more things to address before -- before i summarize. you see there we saw upclose the horror and helplessness in the eyes of young girls ages 10 to 16. after the drugs the traffickers had given them that very morning to take the edge off of what they were about to experience. and during those very moments now where it's being frozen around that table, they offered up these young girls as if they were desserts to be had for a

minimal price and the fear and again, helplessness in their eyes was something that i will never forget. contrasted with the sense of liberation just a few minutes later and the hope that they had that they were going to potentially get home and be back safely with their parents. all i can say is thank goodness that we were the ones there that day instead of real sex predators. not only did we liberate over 120 innocent girls and boys that day, couple la tiffumulatively with the three missions done simultaneously and reunite them with families and get them much needed resources to start the long road to recovery, but, again, we trained local law enforcement with investigative techniques and soft ware and they've called us numerous times to report on their