and suggestions for changing the rules. regulators doing much better job of saying that the customer money is in place on a daily basis. host: peter elkind with fortune magazine talking about the last days of mf global. thank you for your time, sir. ho[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] right now, we go to the house of representatives. the clerk: the speaker's room, washington, d.c., june 20, 2012. i hereby appoint the honorable tom mcclintock to act as speaker pro tempore on this day. signed, john a. boehner, speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will receive a message. mayor lee: -- the messager: mr. speaker, a

message from the senate. the speaker pro tempore: madam secretary. the secretary: i have been informed by the senate that they passed an act specifically authorizing certain funds fro intelligence or intelligence-related activities and for other purposes, in which the concurrence of the house is requested. the speaker pro tempore: the message is received. for what purpose does the gentleman from iowa seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i present a privileged report for printing under the rule. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: report to accompany h.r. 5962, a bill making appropriations for the departments of transportation and housing and urban development and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2013, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: referred to the union calendar and ordered printed. points of order are reserved. for what purpose does the gentleman from iowa seek recognition? mr. latham: mr. speaker, i present a privileged report for

printing under the rule. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: report to accompany h.r. 5973, a bill making appropriations for agriculture, rural development, food and drug administration, and related agencies, programs for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2013, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: referred to the union calendar and ordered printed. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 21, points of order are reserved. the chair lays before the house the following enrolled bill. the clerk: senate 997, an act to authorize the secretary of the interior to extend a water contract between the united states and the east bench irrigation district. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the order of the house of january 17, 2012, the chair will now recognize members from lists submitted by the majority and minority leaders for morning hour debate. the chair will alternate

recognition between the parties with each party limited to one hour and each member other than the majority and minority leaders and the minority whip limited to five minutes but in no event shall debate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. the chair recognizes the gentleman from oregon, mr. blumenauer, for five minutes. mr. blumenauer: while there have been occasional steps backwards for equality for all citizens, progressing and understanding have marched steadily onward. as a result, americans are more diverse and it is better for it.

but we must continue to work hard to create a truly equal and just society. discriminating is deplorable and unacceptable. historically, county lgbt community have faced discrimination but they have come a long way in attitude. most americans are more accepting, regardless of sexual orientation. but there are too many areas where society must translate the attitude of most americans into rights and protections for citizens for all. lgbt students should be able to learn in a safe school environment, free of cruel bullying, psychological or physical abuse. the term bullying actually does not capture the behavior and the threat. foster children should be adopted by loving families regardless of the parent's sexual orientation and, of course, most fundamentally americans should be afforded the right of marriage whether they are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transsexual, same as heterosexual couples. i've been involved with these issues since i first chaired the -- a hearing in the oregon house of representatives on anti-discrimination in 1973. right through today advocating

the repeople of doma, i've been proud to work for equality throughout my career, but there remains much work to be done. in the name of extending equal rights to all americans no matter who they love at a minimum we should take the following steps. most important, we should aggressively support marriage equality for all. the respect for marriage act will repeal the defense of marriage act and guarantee that the federal government will recognize any marriage that is legal in the state in which it is performed. the lowest hanging fruit is workplace discrimination. it's long past time to enact the employment nondiscrimination act, enda, which would make it illegal to discrimination in the workplace based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. educational institutions must be safe places for young people to learn and grow without the threat of bullying or the risk

of being denied the chance to participate in extra curricular activities based on their identity. we should pass the safe schools improvement act and the tyler clemente higher education anti-harassment act of 2011. we must stand up for real family values and support the every child deserves a family act. all parents who wish to adopt their foster child deserves the chance to do so no matter their sexual identity. finally, i strongly support amending the immigration and nationality act to grant same-sex partnerships the same rights and privileges as any other partnership. one of the most important milestones in this struggle was the endorsement recently by president obama and vice president biden of marriage equality for all americans. with renewed momentum and with continued hard work, we will not only achieve marriage equality for our lgbt friends

and families, but equality and fairness in all aspects of life. make no mistake, we are not striving just for tolerance. we are striving to make this country more equitable, just and fair so that every man, woman and child has the opportunity to pursue their dreams in a safe and accepting environment. such freedom is the very cornerstone on which a livable community is established, where families are safe, healthy and economically secure. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. reyes, for five minutes. mr. reyes: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. reyes: thank you, mr. speaker. as a parent and a grandparent, i rise today with a heavy heart to take time to remember brandon, a young man who left

us 2 1/2 weeks ago. in our community he will always be remembered for his smile, his personality and his desire to serve as an inspiration to others. brandon, like over 11 million people in this country, was gay, and like so many of his peers, was being harassed and bullied until he took his own life on june 2, after being threatened with being shot and buried alive. his last message echoed his infinity love for his family and his a-- infinite love for his family and his apologies for not being strong enough. his final words said, my name is brandon, joseph, and i couldn't make it. i love you guys with all my heart. high school should be an exciting time with an array of new experiences and challenges, but one thing it should not be is an environment where young

people worry about being bullied. children in high school should be focused on their education, pure and simple. the sad reality, though, is that for many students their primary concerns don't lie in textbooks or the upcoming exams but in fear that they will not be accepted by their peers, that they will be physically abused or in the case of brandon and countless others like him, that they may consider taking their own life to escape the terrible pain. brandon was a young man who exemplified our best in the el paso community. he embodied what this nation looks for in all its young people. he was a best friend, a loving son, an inspiring model and artist and an excellent student. and to a teenage girl who had contemplated suicide herself, due to bullying, brandon was a superhero and an older brother. like so many el pasoans, i feel

a personal connection to brandon and his death reflects the unfortunate truth that many young people today in our community continue to suffer. i stand here in the people's house to ask my colleagues to help me in ensuring that brandon's death was not in vain. i ask my colleagues to join me in support of the student nondiscrimination act, h.r. 998, and the safe schools improvement act, h.r. 1648, to protect lgbt students from discrimination and from bullying in the schools. i also ask that you stand with me in support of the it gets better campaign, a project whose goal is to prevent suicide among youth by having adults and allies convey the message that these teens' lives will ultimately improve. in our country, today, unfortunately, the facts are

clear. 56% of students have personally felt some sort of bullying at school. between the fourth and eighth grade, in particular, 90% of students report being the victims of bullying. nine out of 10 lgbt youth reported being verbal leija rassed in school in the past year because of their sex -- verbally harassed in school in the past year because of their sexual orientation. every day thousands of children wake up fearing for their well-being as they go to school. if the student nondiscrimination and the safe schools improvement act were enacted today, we could provide students a sense of relief and some reassurance that their government is working to improve their lives by increasing awareness about their daily struggles. we owe that to brandon and so many others who are suffering

bullying in our schools. and with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. if no other members seek recognition, pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess until noon today.

>> we'll take you over to another house hearing. this one concerning d.e.a. oversight. >> to get on the house judiciary committee and that this -- the subject that -- about drugs is extremely, extremely critical. and i'm looking forward to a

discussion. i have no problem with holding another hearing or as many hearings as necessary. we don't get any brownie points for having one hearing and no more. the question is how deeply and thoroughly and accurately do we go into these very important social and criminal justice questions? and so i would say to my colleagues and to our distinguished witness that the cost of the war on drugs is more than $1 trillion to date. astronomical. and yet the same proportion of

drug usage, illegal drug usage, continues at the same rate. and what i'm looking for in addition to the distinguished witness giving us a review of what goes on at d.e.a. and what you're doing about it is what kind of changes or what kind of creative, even imaginative ideas can we come up with to really do something about this. it seems to me that there are policies that might actually

reduce consumption that may not have been tried yet. and i'm hopeful that we can examine that. another issue that we may or may not get to today -- >> the gentleman's time has expired. >> can i finish this sentence? >> certainly, without objection. >> it's important to figure out how we can minimize this criminalization and punishment concept by replacing it with health and treatment services. if this is only lock them up and throw away the key, it doesn't -- i don't think, shed much

information or light or work in a substantively important way that this hearing this morning could bring to this subject. i thank the chairman for the additional time. >> without objection all members' opening statements will appear in the record. before i introduce ms. lynnhart, i'm going to get into a lock them up and throw away the key and decide not to charge them situation during the question and answer. maybe that will address some of your concerns. it's now my pleasure to introduce today's witness. michelle lynnhart was unanimously confirmed as administrator of the drug enforcement administration since december. she had been acting since 2007 and served as the d.e.a. deputy administrator since 2004. prior to becoming d.e.a. administrator and deputy administrator she held several positions within d.e.a.'s senior executive service. she was a special agent in charge of the d.e.a.'s los

angeles field division from 1998 through 2003. she previously held the position as special agent in charge of the d.e.a. of san francisco field division in 1997 and 1998. as a career d.e.a. special agent, ms. lynnhart held several key positions as she moved through the ranks of the d.e.a. in 199 she was promoted to the position of assistant special agent in charge of the l.a. field division. between 1993 and 1995, she held management positions within d.e.a. headquarters to include career board executive secretary, office of professional responsibility inspector, and staff coordinator in the operation division. she has been more than 30 years in law enforcement beginning her career as a baltimore city police officer after graduating from college in minnesota with a bachelor of science in criminal justice in 1978.

without objection, miss lynnhart, your witness statement will be entered into the record in its entirety. i ask that you summarize your testimony in five minutes and you know all about the green, yellow, and red lights in front of you. ms. lynnhart. >> thank you. chairman sensenbrenner, ranking member -- >> could you please pull the microphone a little closer to you. >> chairman sensenbrenner, ranking member scott, and members of the subcommittee, it is my honor to appear before you to discuss your oversight of the d.e.a. and our role in reducing crime, protecting the american public from drugs, and increasing our nation's security. before highlighting d.e.a.'s programs and recent accomplishments, i want to first thank you for your continued support of our essential law enforcement mission. your partnership is especially appreciated in light of the ever changing challenges we face. today a hallmark of our many

drug trafficking organizations is the increasingly global nature of their operations. traffickers are using the latest technology to conduct their daily business from sophisticated communication devices and services to laundering money through electronic value transfers. they use innovative transportation methods, moving drugs in everything from planes to tunnels. from wooden can intos, to fully -- canoes to fulfill submersible submarines. d.e.a. partners are successfully dismantling and destroying drug trafficking efforts. our enforcement actions are reducing the availability of drugs and harm they cause and our efforts are integral to our nation's comprehensive drug control strategy. one of the highest priorities for d.e.a. today is stopping the diversion of prescription drugs and precursor chemicals from legitimate use. today, more people abuse

prescription drugs than those that abuse heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine combined. in response the d.e.a. has dedicated more agents to investigate criminal prosecution , prescription drugs diversion than ever before and our regulatory arm is dedicated to ensuring compliance with the law for those who manufacture, distribute, prescribe, or sell controlled substances. we have also helped the public help us reduce the supply of prescription drugs through our national prescription drug take back event with assistance from more than 3,000 law enforcement partners in all 50 states, our four takeback days have collected almost 800 tons of prescription medication that would have languished in medicine cabinets where they could have been diverted. soon we will be implementing the secure and responsible drug disposable act which you passed into law. through this act, d.e.a. will be

providing the nation with a permanent solution to the problem of proper prescription drug disposal. d.e.a. is also at the forefront of another emerging trend, synthetic drugs, and i want to thank you for the committee's leadership in scheduling 26 substances used in products like k-2 and spice which will help us control and prevent these drugs drugs from doing more damage. unlike controlled prescription drug diversion, which is principally a domestic drug challenge, the majority of the organizations responsible for other drug threats operate internationally. most immediate of these threats comes from mexico-based criminal organizations and drug cartels. they are responsible for the vast majority of violence there and increasingly in many countries, including central america. and our operations there and elsewhere, d.e.a. relies on our close ties with our brave international partners, and these relationships extend

beyond on the ground operations and involve training and intelligence and resource sharing. d.e.a. has close deep ties with mexico, relationships that will have an impact in turning what is a threat to their national security and rule of law into a law enforcement challenge. indeed, our cooperation with the government of mexico is at an all-time high. in addition to training, operational, and intelligence bonds d.e.a. and the department of justice has a judicial partnership with the government of mexico that has resulted in nearly 250 extraditions since 2010. and this includes high ranking members from all of mexico based cartels, such as jose antonio hernandez who was sentenced to life in federal prison in april after admitting his role in 1 "500 murders since 2008. including the triple homicide of the u.s. consulate employee and two consulate workers' family

members. we share mexico's responsibility and commitment to confront, fight, and defeat these polydrug trafficking organizations and takeway the drug, money, power, and freedom of their leaders. d.e.a. is also working with the government of afghanistan to counter the drug trafficking twhret there -- threat there. for example just last week a notorious drug trafficker with ties to the taliban was sentenced to life in prison on narcocharges in the u.s. it's estimated that he supplied about 20% of the world's heroin supply. thanks to the work of extraordinary d.e.a. law enforcement personnel, supported by you, he will never be free. i have great confidence that d.e.a. with your support will continue to meet and overcome these challenges and those that lie ahead. and they are not -- insignificant. from the growing list of designer synthetic drugs to the

re-emergence of methamphetamines, from the increasing presence of drug traffickers in west africa, to the emerging financial and communication tools being used by criminal organizations and so many more, we have our work cut out for us. but just because the mission is difficult does not mean we should give up or surrender. some argue that legalization and regulation even at the cost of untold human suffering and misery would strip the traffickers of their enormous profits. both common sense and history have thought us those who are displaced from the drug trade migrate into other areas of criminality and we have a responsibility in a nation of laws to enforce the law, and i have devoted my life to this duty and all the people at d.e.a. are committed to this goal and to this fight, a fight in which with your support we shall prevail. thank you for the opportunities to speak to you today. i ask that my written statement be added to the record.

>> without objection. thank you very much, ms. leonhart, for a very comprehensive statement. let me use my five minutes to try to pack inasmuch as i can. first let's get the issue of daniel chong, who as a 23-year-old who apparently was forgotten in a holding cell in san diego after a decision was made not to charge him. has anybody been disciplined as a result of this? >> thank you for asking about that. that incident, mr. chairman. i'm deeply troubled by the incident. d.e.a. is deeply troubled by the incident. the incident was a mistake. it wasn't malicious and it wasn't intentional. and during our 39-year history as an agency, we are not aware anything like that has ever happened. and like you the entire agency was shocked by what happened and no one's more shocked than the

agents that were actually the task force officers involved in the incident. immediately upon learning about the incident, i soared add review of our detention policies . we are currently fully cooperating with the office of the inspector general for department of justice, and they are conducting the investigation . but in the interim i ordered the assessment. i felt compelled to send a management team from a neighboring field division, los angeles, down to review what had happened. and i personally have spoken with all 21 of our field division staff. we have entered into discussion about how to make sure this doesn't happen any place else. we put many different procedures in place already, and all 21

s.a.c.s. have reviewed their policies and procedures. they have initiated changes to ensure this never happens again. >> that's nice to know. now let's talk about cartagena. the secret service has been very public in disciplining and in fact dismissing many of the agents who were involved in the prostitution scandal there. have any of the d.e.a. agents who were involved there been disciplined? >> let me say that this -- i'm extremely disappointed by the conduct allegations in colombia. these allegations are not representative of the 10,000 men and women that work for the d.e.a. and they don't -- >> i'll stipulate that. nor were the secret service agents who were involved on their end of the scandal indicative of the people who work for the secret service.

most of them are dedicated. the secret service moved quickly. i have not noticed that the d.e.a. has moved quickly at all to deal with this. >> well, i can assure you we moved immediately. very quickly. as soon as information was given to me by the director of the secret service 8 -- secret service, i brought the agents in question out of country and made them available to the o.i.g. now, it's not being investigated by d.e.a. because the o.i.g. has taken on the investigation. we are cooperating with them and making everybody available. all witnesses, and are assisting them wherever possible. the action that i could take, however, was i curtailed their tours in colombia. they are presently on limited duty. while the investigation is taking place. o.i.g. is still completing interviews. it's not really appropriate for

me to prejudge the results. but i guarantee you that they will face, if there was misconduct, they will face our disciplinary process. >> have you investigated mr. coalson's allegations relating to fast and furious? and if so, what's been the result there? >> well, can i tell you that that, too, is still under review by the o.i.g. we are all interested in resolution there so we can find out who knew what, , when and where. as far as mr. coleson, you should know we understand he retracted his statement. we are waiting for the o.i.g. review -- >> was the part of the statement that mr. coleson said, quote, guns were actually getting in the hands of criminals, unquote, part of what he retracted? >> i believe he retracted all his statement.

he said he was misquoted and retracted it. beyond that -- >> i think we know that guns have been getting in the hands of criminals. well, let me say, ms. leonhart, i think your answers have been inadequate in all three. there's been no discipline. the o.i.g. works at its own place. the secret service did take very, very quick action when the scandal came to light. and i will accept the suggestion that the ranking member of the full committee, mr. conyers has made, to have another hearing. the gentleman from virginia, mr. scott. >> thank you. thank you, mr. chairman. ms. leeonhart, pew research center has estimated that any incarceration rate over 350 per

100,000 starts creating diminishing returns, and over 500 per 100,000 becomes actually counterproductive. you are adding to the crime rather than detracting from it. that's a 500 per 100,000. our incarceration rate in the united states is over 700 some per 100,000. and in minority communities in some states it's as high as 4,000 per 100,000. what role does d.e.a. policy play in overincarceration and the racial disparate? and what is d.e.a. doing about it? >> thank you, ranking member. i can tell you that the drug enforcement administration, our mission is really go after the world's biggest and baddest drug traffickers. we spend our resources, our work hours going after the largest drug traffickers. the sources that supply the heads of organizations and the

heads of drug cartels, the heads of traffic organizations, transportation organizations, those that most impact the drugs lie on the united states. for instance -- >> has the d.e.a., any d.e.a. policy contributed to overincarceration and the racial disparet? -- disparity? >> well, there are several drug laws that d.e.a. enforces. you as congress, you set the laws, we enforce the federal laws. we go where our intelligence takes us. we go where the evidence takes us. >> what is the policy of the d.e.a. on mandatory minimums? they have been studied and found to be discriminatory and ineffective in reducing crime. what is the d.e.a. policy on mandatory minimums? >> there's no policy for d.e.a. on minimum mandatories. we go where the evidence is. if someone is trafficking drugs,

we investigate that. we investigate the organization. >> you don't have a portion supporting mandatory minimums as a crime fighting tool since they have been found to be discriminatory and a waste of money and ineffective in reducing crime? you don't have a position on mandatory minimums? >> we do our investigations. we conduct our operations. without regard to the sentencing. but the department of justice -- >> in terms of sentencing, when you are dealing with local, state, and federal task forces, there are allegations that some of the task force results have been referred to federal court, and some referred to state court. federal court we have the draconian -- federal dort where you have the -- court where you have the draconian federal minimums have been shown to have a discriminatory impact because all the crack cases get sent to federal court where you get five years mandatory minimums.

and meth cases tend to be tried in state court where they are not subject to those kinds of mandatory minimums. is that d.e.a. policy? >> that is not d.e.a. policy. again, we bring our most significant cases to federal court. we bring the sources and supply and those responsible for the drug supply on the streets of the united states and much of the violence. >> so that is not the policy -- are you aware of that allegation? >> i'm aware and the department of justice has taken a position on the fair sentencing and the recent change with crack vs. powder. the department has been very supportive of that. our role is investigators, though, is to investigate, follow the evidence, go after the most extreme traffickers. that's what we do. >> are you aware of the study that shows for about -- can you

reduce drug abuse by 1% with $35 million and treatment and 250 and up for law enforcement side, are you familiar with that study? if so, how does that affect the strategy of the d.e.a.? >> i don't know if it's the same study. i am familiar with studies that show the savings, every dollar put into demand reduction, every dollar put into treatment. and that is why we are very supportive of the very balanced drug strategy that we currently have in the united states. the president's drug strategy is very clear that you need reduction and prevention. >> putting the same amount of resources in both? >> i'm sorry? >> you are putting similar resources in boat? >> -- in both? >> actually, this past year there was more money spent on prevention and treatment than there was on domestic law enforcement. >> the gentleman's time has

expired. the gentlewoman from florida, mrs. adams. >> thank you, mr. chairman. let me go back over a couple of things earlier on. the issue with the san diego holding cell where this person was held, as you know, no need to rehash. i just have a question. i listened to your answer. what was your current policy at the time this happened? >> the policies are different in the different field divisions. because they have different -- some don't even have a holding cell. but in san diego the standard policy is that anybody that is detained, and they are only detained in our field divisions for interviewing and processing, that the agents and task force officers and the group that brought that defendant in is

responsible for him while he's there being processed and is responsible until he is either brought to jail or released. since this incident, that field division moved very quickly to put in a divisional order and policies and procedures that actually spell out what everyone's duty is. and we shared that with the 20 other field divisions. >> so, in other words, there was no one assigned to make sure that that holding cell or whatever you want to call it, was empty at the end of the day so that no one was left behind? >> it's unwritten that it's always the responsibility of the group supervisors, of the group responsible for the defendant. >> that's a no. it's not written down. so therefore they didn't follow that type of procedure because it's very apparent by what

happened, which is, as a former law enforcement officer, i'm just so astounded and baffled by how this kohl happen. i know you have -- how this could happen. i know you have 226 domestic offices and 21 field divisions throughout the u.s., and 85 foreign offices in 65 countries. they are led by special agents in charge called s.a.c.s, seven of the 21 are leaderless and have been for several months and some for well over one year. these divisions include boston, new york, philadelphia, st. louis, san diego, los angeles, and the caribbean. the "new york post" reported in april that the newa, s.a.c. has had an significant impact on agent morale. although there have been many -- there's acting s.a.c.'s in these divisions, they may or may not feel empowered to make the decisions needed or policy changes needed due to their acting status. i'm a former deputy sheriff.

knowing how important a stable chain of command is, knowing your rank and file need the leadership, they need to have the direction, knowing that there should be policies and procedures in place, why are so many s.a.c. positions vacant? are you doing anything to fill these? when will they be filled? >> thank you for asking the question. filling s.a.c. vacancies, some are opened for extended periods of time. but when a s.a.c. leaves, retires, or transferred, there is someone put in charge. it's only recently been that we have had a confirmed administrator, myself, who rose up through the ranks and a confirmed deputy that causes this domino effect. and so as we move our chief of operations into the deputy position, now we are moving the pieces, we are putting people in place.

all of the field divisions that have been vacant have had very, very strong and good leadership. >> so you are working to fill them. i have a lot more questions and i want to get my time in. i have a question, was the impact of there being an acting s.a.c. at san diego an issue with what happened? >> not at all. >> ok. you said you have different policies for different areas. wouldn't it be easier to set up a major streamline policy for every one of your divisions to follow and then those that have other things, like if you have a holding cell, you will make sure that before you close that office every day that you go through that holding cell. one you sweep for people. two, you sweep for any contraband. before you -- i would say that every time you put someone in, before you put them in you make sure there is no contraband in. and every time you take them out you do the exact same thing. but when you leave every day there should not be anybody in there to be left behind. one other question i have before

i run out of time is, is it still a policy of not allowing any of our agents that are working with mexico, let's say, to be armed when across the border? and if so, why? because as we know we have lost one of our agents that did not and was not armed. and was murdered. i just want to know if it is still the policy, are you still promoting that policy? or are you trying to change that policy so our men and women can protect themselves while on detail? >> having been a former law enforcement officer, you know that the safety of oufer agents is more important than anything. -- safety of our agents more important than anything. i would say because of their safety i would be glad to talk to you not in this forum to discuss those safety issues. and i'm hoping that you respect that. and i would be glad to come and see you myself. >> i look forward to it. i yield back. >> the gentlelady's time has expired.

the gentleman from michigan, mr. conyers. >> thank you, chairman sensenbrenner. i feel and i appreciate your announcing that there will be continued hearings about d.e.a. and its role. you will note, madam director, that i originally pointed out in my remarks that we spend huge amounts of resources and the rate of illegal drug activity continues at about the same pace. have you been able to reflect on that in terms of how this keeps going on?

and what we might be able to do about it? >> thank you for the question, sir. i think there's a lot of misinformation and misperceptions about actually the drug situation and especially when it comes to teams. i do want to tell you that will 650,000 fewer teenagers are using drugs today than a decade earlier. that's a 15% decline. the balanced drug strategy that we have has played a role. marijuana use by teens has dropped 7%. methamphetamine has plummeted 67%. ecstasy has been slashed 42%. and cocaine use is down 40% since 2006. meth has dropped even more, and that's 50% since 2006. so we do see these drops in teen

drug use. we also see the same corresponding drop in adult drug use. so we are doing something correct with our drug strategy. and we believe that it's the three, the prevention, the treatment, enforcement. you need all three and that is one of the causes that we are seeing changes in drug use. obviously we are concerned with the uptick in prescription drugs, legal drugs, but we have been able to change the use -- drug use. we have also been able to change availability of drugs on the streets, especially cocaine. and since 2006, since partnering with the calderon administration in next corks we actually have had sustained increases in the price -- in mexico, we have

actually had sustained increases in the price of cocaine. and the use plummet. >> this goes contrary to your statement, which i'm happy to hear it, and you are coming back before us so i'll have a chance to check what you are telling me against information that i have not validated yet. but the statement that bothered me here was that the drug addiction rates at currently 1.3% in this country are the same ratio as in 1971. and that we spent over $1 trillion in appropriations

fighting this war. it's pretty stagnated. are we just citing different pieces of ngs to support our positions -- of information to support our positions? or is there some correctness in the citation that i just gave you? >> the figures that i am using are from the monitoring the future study, which has been used to look at and to track trends in teen drug use. it also comes from the statistics from quest on workplace drug testing. if you are using the year 1971, and comparing it with this year, you have to remember that the

highest rates of drug use, those years were 1974, 1975, and 1976. they spiked significantly after 1971. it's undisputed that we actually are having the lowest rate of cocaine use in this country in 30 years. >> the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from puerto rico. >> mr. chairman, can i just point out that i want to continue this discussion outside of the hearing room between now and the next time we have the distinguished witness in. >> ok. the statement will be in the record. the gentleman from puerto rico, mr. pierluisi. >> good morning, administrator. thank you again for meeting with me in february to go over the public safety crisis we are facing in puerto rico and the u.s. virgin islands. you as much as any of us, an

official, have an intimate understanding of how serious this problem is. the number of drug related homicides in recent years would be considered a national emergency if it were appearing in any state. that's not just my opinion. that's what a senator also stated during a hearing in december. since our meeting there have been several important developments. first, the house approved the c.j.s. appropriations bill that notes federal efforts on the southwest border have affected trafficking routes and crime rates in the caribbean. and that directs the attorney general to address these trends by allocating the resources to the caribbean and reporting back to congress on the specific steps that have been taken. second, about two yankees ago attorney general holder was sitting where you are now. i asked him why he would not be

appropriate -- it would not be appropriate for d.o.j. to increase the resources to puerto rico even if it's only a temporary surge, just as the federal government did when there was a spike in violence on the u.s. side of the southwest border? i acknowledged current budget constraints, but said that this is a matter of prioritizing limited resources and making sure they are being allocated to the u.s. jurisdictions where the need is the greatest. d.e.a. responded that d.o.j.'s starting to embrace this surge concept, injecting agents and resources into what he called hot spots. that is the areas that have seen a rise in violent crime. the a.g., attorney general said that puerto rico would certainly be a candidate for such a surge because of the island violent crime rate. i just hope that action follows those words.

third, the homeland security committee just approved a bill today basically saying, this was -- that we should have a counter narcotics strategy for the caribbean border. just along the same lines as the ones we have for the southwest and the northern border areas. that's great. i have been fighting for that and it's about to happen. ondcp will be told to do this and do it within 180 days from the time this appropriations bill becomes law. now, your men and women in puerto rico are doing terrific work, administrator. you know several weeks ago you had -- your agency led an operation that resulted in the result of dozens of workers in puerto rico who were smuggling

drugs on flights to the mainland u.s. however despite the recent staffing increases that you briefed me on when we met, i remain absolutely convinced that the d.e.a. does not have enough agents in puerto rico. according to data provided to my office, there are nearly three times as many agents assigned to the miami field office as there are to puerto rico. even though the island's population is 7.5 times greater than metropolitan miami's. and our drug related violence is off the charts. i want to be clear. i'm not saying miami doesn't have significant problems that you need to deal with. i'm just providing this comparison because it brings into sharp -- you realize how underrye sourced puerto rico is when you see this stat. i would like to hear your view in terms of what you can do or not in staffing our office in

puerto rico and the v.i. >> thank you, sir. we have met and you know that the whole caribbean region is of concern to the d.e.a. when we moved resources in 2002 from our other field divisions down to the southwest border, we left the caribbean region alone because we knew if we were successful on the southwest border that we would start seeing impact in the caribbean. so san juan, the surrounding -- that field division has been very important to us. and i actually have increased the resources there. let me talk about those increases. in 2009 there were 83 agents assigned to san juan. i increased it to 95. in fact, i have done what we can

to make sure that agents graduating from the academy and senior agents rotating in from foreign offices are assigned there. we will continue to try to give as many resources to puerto rico as possible. on the surge, know before your discussion with the attorney general about surges, that d.e.a. actually was surging in puerto rico. a couple years back when you needed help with housing projects on the drug trafficking and murder rate and violence there, we responded by sending agents from teams around the country into puerto rico for periods of time to help with that. and we will continue even though we no longer have the meth program. we will look for ways to assist our agents in our fellow law enforcement officers in puerto rico with additional resources.

>> thank you. >> the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from virginia, mr. goodlatte. >> thank you, mr. chairman. ms. leonhart, welcome. i wanted to ask you about reports that d.e.a. field agents in southern arizona were aware of the gun walking being done by a.t.f. tony coleson, the d.e.a. agents in charge during fast and furious, said many d.e.a. agents knew the a.t.f. was walking guns to mexico, but their supervisors told them to back off when they objected. have you investigated who within the d.e.a. knew what about fast and furious and why they did so little to stop gun walking to mexico? >> thank you, sir.

as i mentioned earlier those statements as i understand it from mr. coleson were actually recanted. he said he was misquoted and he's recanted that. we are very excited and -- we are waiting on these results from the o.i.g. because prior to mr. coleson's statements, we were not aware that d.e.a. was aware -- d.e.a. agents in arizona were aware of the tactics that a.t.f. was using. so the investigation is being done by o.i.g. that should answer, we have made all our people available. that should answer the question about who knew what from my agency. >> did mr. coleson explain why

he would recant -- why he made the statements in the first place if he later recanted them? >> i have not had any discussions with mr. coleson. i just know that right after there was a reporting of what he had said. he called our headquarters to say he did not say those things and that he recanted his statements. >> so he denied saying them. he didn't say them and take them back. >> i heard both. but hopefully the o.i.g. is going to interview him -- >> you are revying lige on the office of the inspector general to investigate -- you are relying on the office of the inspector general to investigate and whether or not it's true agents working under him were aware of the fact that gun running was taking place. we know it was taking place. it's not all that surprising that some d.e.a. agentses might

know what was going on with regard to a.t.f. activity in the same region, but at the same time our greater concern is why supervisors might have told the agents to, quote, back off, when they raised concerns about the wisdom of sending guns to drug dealers and others in mexico that ultimately resulted in the death of a border patrol agent. so you will report back to this committee once you hear from the o.i.g. and let us know what actions have been taken to make sure that when people find out that wrongdoing is taking place that they are freel able to report it to their superiors and -- superiors and have inter agency discussions to say hey, what are you guys doing here? giving guns to people we are trying to stop from smuggling drugs into the united states is not a good idea. >> the o.i.g. report will answer

the questions about what our folks knew. the o.i.g. was given the unilateral authority to investigate -- >> we will welcome that. i want to -- in my last minute i want to get into another area of interest. what assistance does the d.e.a. give to state and local law enforcement to combat synthetic drugs? . since synthetic drugs is now a new, emerging problem, i personally have been working with the chiefs in both at the national shippers association but also of the iecp. they are the ones that first brought it to my attention that synthetics is a problem, and so we have given them considerable assistance both in training classes. we've also offered our --

>> what additional tools do you feed that would make the d.e.a. better able to combat synthetic drug abuse? >> actually, this committee did help and that was the scheduling of so many of those chemicals. that was number one. number two, you have given us, you know, the support, funding our agents, work force, that has allowed us to teach our agent work force about this new and emerging trend. it's also to teach our local and state counterparts about the emerging trends, and we've been able to expand our investigations now internationally. go after the sources of supply that are actually supplying the chemicals showing up in our neighborhoods and then eventually being sold as spice and k-2. >> thank you very much. >> the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from tennessee,

mr. cohen. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mrs. leonhart. >> then of the o being silent. >> thank you, ms. leonhart. what's your budget? >> well, currently -- >> approximately? >> $2 million. >> $2 million? >> i'm sorry, $2 billion. and then we have additional wsh -- with the fee account. so total budget is -- >> over $2 billion. do you get any confiscation moneys? do you get any money from confiscations from properties? >> are you talking about asset forfeiture? >> yes. >> there is money that the department of justice is from the asset -- >> how much money do you get from that? >> i would have to -- >> do you have any idea at all? >> if you give me a moment?

>> maybe one of your staff members can give it to you. let me ask you this. what is your number one drug you're fighting? what's your priority? >> well, our priority right now is pharmaceutical drugs. >> all right. what's your second priority? >> we don't prioritize specific drugs because the organizations that we are going after are polydrug. >> you are not going after the drugs for the harm they do, you go after the drugs because of the affect on the organizations and you're going after the organizations, is that right? >> we are going after the organizations that are having the most impact or our communities. >> right. >> the most drugs and the most violence. >> it's the fact that meth or crack or heroin is causing the most damage to individuals, if that's not the number one choice of the crime syndicate, it's not your number one choice. your number choice is the crime syndicate, not the fact that heroin and meth and crack are

destroying people's lives? >> no, not correct. the organization's now, they're polydrug. for instance, the colombian cartels, which are a priority, are the primary source for methamphetamine, cocaine and a good amount of the heroin on the streets. >> right. >> they're a priority. >> so that's your number one priority is going after that cartel? >> going after -- our number one priority is going after those that most impact the united states. >> and most of those cartels -- what do the drugs they emphasize in their arsenal? >> the mexican cartels is polydrugs, it's cocaine, meth, heroin, marijuana. >> right. marijuana is fourth. would you agree that marijuana causes less harm to individuals than meth, crack, cocaine and heroin? >> as a former police officer, as a 32-year d.e.a. agent, i

can tell you that i think marijuana's an insidious drug. >> does it cause less damage to the american society and to individuals than meth, crack, cocaine and heroin? does it make people have to kill to get their fix? >> i can tell you that more teens enter treatment -- >> so answer my question, please. >> i'm trying to. it causes harm because it's young people that are using it. if you're talking about the -- >> it's not just young people. you're trying to answer the question like i'm senator sessions. i'm asking you a question. does meth, does crack, heroin, cause more damage to society? does meth and heroin cause more deaths than marijuana? >> all drug trafficking causes death. i don't have a breakdown of how many -- >> does aspirin cause death? >> i'm talking about the

illegal drugs. i don't have a breakdown for you. how many deaths are caused by cocaine and how many are -- >> have you ever seen a person who had cancer and used marijuana to help them eat or to aleve their condition -- alief their condition -- alleave their condition? >> no. >> i have. if it makes them smile, would you agree it has some benefit to society who maybe is dying, maybe a navy seal, who defended this country and that marijuana is the only thing that makes him eat and according to smile, according -- according to his mother, smile, is there not an he havecation there? >> i think it's between him and his doctor. >> why does the d.e.a. take a position that medical marijuana is wrong which you've taken? you've taken a position that it's not between him and his

doctor. on page 6 your publication in 2007 has the most insane and banal paragraph. the legalization movement is -- the moral danger of -- >> the gentleman's time has expired. the gentlewoman from california, ms. chu. >> thank you, mr. chair. ms. leonhart, i represent a district in los angeles county where 30 years ago an elected official in my district, bobby salcedo, was murdered by the mexican drug cartels when he was visiting family there. this is why i worked on legislation that would allow u.s. law enforcement to more easily freeze the illicit proceeds of international criminal organizations in u.s. financial institutions and hopes that preserving those assets for future seizure and corrupted the situation where the u.s. could only freeze assets of those engaged in criminal activity once a final disposition was being made and

our legislation was signed into law, allows those courts to freeze assets once there was evidence of criminal activity. so the preserving foreign criminal forfeiture -- how has it played into d.e.a.'s financial investigations and laundering operations? >> first, let me thank you for bringing this legislation. it is -- it has helped already. i'm aware that more than $50 million has been frozen because of that. so we want to thank you for it and know that with d.e.a., especially our international investigations, that regularly are conducted. it's essential to our efforts that we have a way to freeze those assets in the middle of an investigation and during an

investigation. must be able to freeze the money for those foreign countries, and this has allowed us to do it. >> thank you for that. i wanted to follow up on your statement that cooperation between the united states and mexico is at an all-time high and that in particular the d.e.a.'s grateful for the extradition relationship that you have with mexico because it's important that criminals are brought to justice in this country. i wanted to know what you mean by the relationship that is at an all-time high and also the extradition of -- you talked about the extradition of 94 and 93 individuals from mexico. i wanted to know what the status of those who have been extradited. >> the relationship with mexico is at an all-time high and i

say that because we now are working investigations jointly. we're able to develop partners in mexico that we can share intelligence with and they can actually take action on that and vice versa. they develop intelligence and are sharing it with us. we have representatives from the mexican federal police, the s.s.f., and from the p.t.r. that even sitting in our el paso intelligence center. so that's true partnership. we -- especially working the violators, the cartels that are most important to mexico, working with them, we've doubled the number of high-valued targets that they've been able to arrest in mexico by sharing this intelligence. on the extraditions, a number

of the extradition, folks have already been prosecuted and are serving sentences in the united states. many significant sentences. the other thing that mexico has done by extraditing them to us is those that cooperate after being incarcerated are really giving us a clear picture as to how the mexican cart dells are operating -- cartels are operating and that is helping us and mexico because we share that information, determine the best way to go after those cartels and those traffickers. >> how many have you convicted and sentenced? >> i can get you those numbers. i don't know. many have plead guilty so a good number of them have plead guilty and many have been convicted. >> and how's it impacted the drug trafficking and violence along the border? >> well, especially of the

high-valued targets who are the heads or lieutenants of the cartels that we've been able to incarcerate, it has helped mexico because they have been able to take the people that have been able to have the power to corrupt mexican officials they now are in jail cells in the united states. no longer able to run their operations. so it has affected -- it has affected the drug supply as well. we have done -- together we have done such damage to the cartels that that is why you see these drops in availability of cocaine on the streets of the united states and impurity down. >> the gentlewoman's time has expired. the gentleman from colorado, mr. polis. >> thank you, mr. chair. i'd like to begin by following up because i don't -- my colleague, mr. cohen's, questions and i want to try to get a clear answer to make sure

the drug enforcement agency's aware of some of the evidence. is crack worse for a person than marijuana? >> i believe all illegal drugs are bad. >> is methamphetamine worse for somebody's health than marijuana? >> i don't think any illegal -- >> is heroin worse for someone's health than marijuana ? >> again, all -- >> either yes, no, i don't know. you should know this as chief administrator for the drug enforcement agency. i'm asking a very straightforward question. is heroin worse for someone's health than marijuana? >> all illegal drugs are bad. >> does this mean you don't know? >> heroin causes addiction which causes many problems, it's very hard to kick. >> so does that mean the health

impact of heroin is worse than marijuana, is that what you're telling me? >> i think you're asking a subjective question. >> just looking at the science, i'm a lay person but i read some of the studies and aware of it. i'm asking you as an expert in the subject area, is heroin worse for someone's health than marijuana? >> and i'm answering as a police officer and as a d.e.a. agent that these drugs are illegal because they are dangerous, because they are addictive, because they do hurt the person's health. >> so heroin is more addictive than marijuana, is heroin more addictive than marijuana, in your experience? >> generally, the properties of heroin, yes, more addictive. >> is methamphetamine more addictive than marijuana? >> well, both are addictive. >> well, is methamphetamine more highly addictive than marijuana? >> i think some people become addicted to marijuana and some

people become addicted to methamphetamine. >> you mentioned your top priority, i believe, you indicated to us is the abuse of prescription drugs. is one of them painkillers that you're concerned about? >> that's correct. >> and are those painkillers addictive? >> yes, they are, very addictive. >> are those painkillers more adickive than marijuana? -- addictive than marijuana? >> all illegal drugs are schedule one are addictive. >> well, again, this is a health-based question and i know have a law enforcement background but i'm sure you are also familiar given the science of the matter and i'm asking, again, clearly your agency's established abuse of prescription drugs as the top priority, is that therefore an indication that painkillers are more addictive than marijuana? >> all illegal drugs are addictive. >> your agency has established abuse of prescription drugs as the top priority.

you've indicated as much to us. does that mean that abuse of prescription drugs is a greater threat to the public health than marijuana? >> because it's an emerging threat, because people are turning to prescription drugs faster than any other drug, that is why we prioritize it. >> well, in many states, including my home state of colorado, we have legalized and regulated regime of medical marijuana and we have found some great degree of success in combating the abuse of prescription drugs by making sure the patients have access to medical marijuana which science indicates and i would certainly encourage you look at the science is less addictive and less harmful to human health than some of the narcotic prescription drugs that are abused and also when they're used on label they can be very harmful to health as well. would your agency consider

supporting medical marijuana provisions when that can be used to -- in pursuit of your top priority, which is reduce abuse of prescription drugs, if medical marijuana helps reduce abuse of prescription drugs, is that something you are willing to pursue? >> well, congress has determined that marijuana is a controlled substance, and d.e.a.'s task was enforcing that law. >> you mention priorities and you said top priority, reducing abuse of prescription drugs. one tactic to do that would be use of medical marijuana and i wanted to make sure, again, top priority, in pursuit of your top priority, are you willing to look at the use of medical marijuana as a way of reducing the abuse of prescription drugs? >> we will look at any options for reducing drugs, drug addiction. >> the time of the gentleman

has expired. the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee. >> i thank the chairman and the ranking member, administrator leonhart, thank you for your appearance today. having been in phoenix a couple weeks ago, let me express my preeks for the service of the -- preeks for the service of the -- aappreciateiation for the service of the drug enforcement agency and in houston, texas, we are the center point, if you will, a number of issues dealing with gun trafficking and as well the confluence, if you will, money, drugs and guns. and so we are well aware of the importance of collaboration. i'm going to ask a series of quick questions and appreciate helping me get as much on the record as i possibly can. what is the importance of collaboration between the major federal law enforcement -- i use example, f.b.i., d.e.a., a.t.f. and others along with

those that i represent on homeland security, what's the importance of that? >> well, let me start by saying that state and local participation has been d.e.a.'s bread and butter for the 39 years we've been an agency. and you combine that partnership with the partnerships that we've developed with other federal agencies. i don't think there's anything stronger, anything more effective at attacking violent crime, attacking drug trafficking than having task forces. so to answer that, especially in the houston -- >> so my question is, is the collaboration strong, positive, continuing and do the administrators of the respective agencies encourage that collaboration? >> yes. we are probably collaborating now more than ever before. >> great. let me move to fast and furious

for a very brief question. has there been a thorough investigation of d.e.a.'s contact or involvement by the o.i.g.? >> yes. we made all of our employees in the phoenix field division. >> so any questions regarding supervisor, directions to say don't say anything, all of that's been investigated, is that correct? >> it's being vected. >> and all documents -- -- >> it's been investigated. >> and all documents will be able to be accessed? >> we are waiting for the o.i.g. finalizing the investigation and the report. >> and would you be able to submit that to this committee once it is finalized? >> yes. i would have to defer to the inspector general, but usually the o.i.g. reports are made public. >> let me move forward and as i said, quick questions. what is the extent of drug

trafficking on tribal land? can i just get brief questions because i have a series here? >> yes. there's a serious substance abuse problem on tribal land. especially in the last five years with prescription drugs. the big problem used to be alcohol and methamphetamine, but more recently -- >> and what are we doing, the d.e.a. have a focus on that? i want to know we have a problem and i believe it is and do we have a focus in some of your -- >> absolutely. we have established very good relationships with the other law enforcement agencies, both the f.b.i. and bureau of indian affairs and other tribal law enforcement and have done joint investigations. we depend on them to tell us, you know, who are the traffickers, who are those most impacting the supply on indian lands and then jointly work

with them sharing intelligence and we've had many successes on those lands. >> let me ask you, there's been many requests by members. how is the ryan republican budget, the budget that would cut resources, how devastating would that be? and let me follow-up so you can answer these questions. i'm very concerned about bath salts. i know we talked about synthetics. particularly the impact it just had in houston, texas. i refer you to kou 11. a heinous incident with bath salts and an individual, david peterson, who died on a galveston street. he was found disoriented. and in extreme physical deterioration. and then i'd appreciate your comments about d.e.a. officers and physician officers and pain

pills and whether or not the response is excessive, whether you think we're being fair to doctors on that -- on those investigations. >> you have all points of that multifaceted question? >> the last question i had a hard time hearing. >> the efforts with -- thank you, mr. chairman. the efforts with d.e.a. officers dealing with physicians and pain pills, there's been sort of a surge of closing physician offices, arresting them, i'm wondering, are we being excessive? are we being careful? because you're literally shutting down professionals who may be legitimately issuing -- >> ok. witness will answer. >> ok. i'll start with the -- you asked about the budget. you know, these are as you tare budget times -- austere budget times. we will work with the money that's given with us and we will prioritize accordingly. as to the synthetic drugs and i'm glad you bring that up, an

emerging problem that concerns us. this committee has helped give us the biggest tool we can and that's controlling some of those chemicals, those substances. we -- in your area, for instance, our agents have opened a number of investigations both on bath salts and on k-2 and spice. and they've been pretty successful in assisting state and local officers on those types of investigations as well. your third question about, you know, physicians and pill mills and pain clinics. houston is very troubling because they have a pill mill problem and it's not like in florida with oxy cotin. it's hydrocould he doan that's a problem there. -- hydrocodone that's a

problem. we have investigations, successful investigations and we have arrested and prosecuted some very egregious doctors. and let me sayhat the doctors that are affiliated and operating these pill mills, working within these pill mills , there's no -- they're not practicing medicine. they're not -- they're not giving examinations to patients . these pill mills are just opened for pill distribution. and those are the physicians, those are the clinics that we have targeted using our intelligence, we're using undercover investigations and we've been very successful in the houston area. >> mr. clarme -- >> joments. -- the gentlewoman's time has expired. >> mr. chairman, could i put a question on the record that could be answered in writing?

>> yes and that will be taken care with the u.c.'s that i am about to profound. thank you, ms. leonhart, for coming. we look forward you coming back here. thank you for your testimony today. i think it's been helpful to all of the members. without objection, all members will have five legislative days to submit to the chair additional questions for the witnesses which we will forward and ask the witness to respond as promptly as they can so that their answers may be made part of the record. without objection, all members will have five legislative days to submit additional materials for inclusion into the record. and with that, again, i thank you ms. leonhart and without objection, this hearing is adjourned. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012]

>> as this hearing comes to a close, the u.s. house will

return at noon eastern and they will begin their main business today and that will be debating a bill dealing with oil and gas production and that seeks to reduce regulations on the energy industry. the chamber could debate up to 27 amendments on that measure. also today, work on the house-senate conference report that reduces user fees to support f.d.a. regulatory programs and a motion to instruct house negotiators on the highway and surface transportation conference report. current authorization expires at the end of this month. you can see the house once again live on c-span as they gavel back in at noon eastern. right now on capitol hill, live over on c-span3, the house oversight and government reform committee is meeting to vote on whether to hold attorney general eric holder in contempt of congress. the attorney general met with committee chairman, darrell issa, yesterday afternoon but they have failed to satisfy

their request for more documents on fast and furious. the committee is still meeting despite moving forward -- actually, despite in order of executive privilege from president obama that was requested by the attorney general and invoked this morning to protect those documents. again, that meeting is under way and you can see it live right now on our companion network, c-span3. yesterday, the state department released its 2012 human trafficking report and according to the u.s. ambassador at-large to monitor and combat trafficking, the number of victims identified around the world increased 28% to more than 42,000 over last year. it's a sign that government are seeking out victims and attempting to prosecute the guilty. we spoke with luis cdebaca today about that report. host: joining us onset, luis cdebaca. he serves as their apple

ambassador. welcome. guest: thank you. host: tell us the purpose of this report. guest: well, each year the u.s. government issues the trafficking report each year since the year 2000 when we updated our postslavery numbers. each year since president lincoln said slavery should not happen again. what this report does is look at the countries of the world and says, how are they doing on that? host: can we define what human trafficking is in this case? guest: as secretary clinton said yesterday, when issuing the report, human trafficking is the euphemism which in some ways confuses the issue. we should just call what it is, it's modern day slavery plain and simple. human trafficking is a word we looked to in the 1990's because

a lot of people who were being enslaved were moving from the soviet empire over into western europe. and because of that we grabbed for this word trafficking but a it's not about movement at all. it's just about exploitation and slavery and it's happening sadly here in the united states in our own back yard. host: in what forms? guest: everything from prostitution of american girls and foreign women to the folks that are picking our fruit, people that are working in the households of the wealthy or diplomats as domestic service. we also have teachers who found themselves in an exploit ative situation trapped and can't leave. host: so it's done against their will? guest: indeed. in fact, we often have people who know exactly what they're going to do here in the united states or when they're in another country but once they're trapped, once they can't leave freely then it's

considered human trafficking. many of the viewers may be familiar with the movie "taken" which was dramatic, wonderful movie. unless you look at what human trafficking manifests itself as in the real world which is not being kipped in a foreign capital and -- kidnapped in a foreign capital and sold to someone in a third world country, usually it's people who have hopes and dreams and they think they are going to have a better life. the pimps that are preying on 14 and 15-year-old girls in the united states, you are not kidnapping them as much as finding out what they want out of life and say, come with me, i love you, i'll give you glamour, i'll give you everything you're not getting at home and instead they give them a life of misery. host: when it came to convigses of cases that dealt with -- convigses in cases that dealt with -- convictions in cases that dealt with slavery, 141. what's the different of the

number of convictions and the cases that are investigated? guest: i was a prosecutor in the civil rights division before i went to the state department and i know every conviction represents countless man-hours by federal agents, state and local police departments, federal prosecutors but also by nongovernmental organizations, by the legal aid lawyers helping these victims. so these numbers, they seem low and they are low considering the 27 million people that are enslaved worldwide. and the worldwide prosecution numbers have gone up but it's still only around 4,000 successful prosecutions. but every one of those prosecutions is at a level of complexity like doing a great mafia case. this is organized crime. this is very complex litigation. and so we need more people who are trained to do that, not just in the united states but we have to share those things around the world. host: does your office engage in the prosecution process?

>> to some degree although mainly what we do is we support that through police training, through prosecutor training, working with the judicial system in other countries. we are part of the interagency process here in the united states by statute. i'm the chair of that process and so we're able to identify, what is it folks over at department of justice, department of homeland security need, but also at the same time, what are the people over at h.h.s. and other places need to be able to care for the victims? prosecutions are important. i didn't spend 15 years as a prosecutor to not think that, but prosecutions are are just one of the steps in the healing process. the victim needs to be able to see their abuser brought to justice. they also need to be able to have a better life. the life that they were hoping for and that is like rehabilitation, school, social services. wonderful story that we told last year in the report that i'll update and that is a young

woman named shamya hall, i think we showed her picture on c-span. trafficked from egypt to the united states at age 11. held in servitude in a suburban house in orange county. they made her sleep on the floor in the garage, take care of the other children who got to go to school. when the federal agents came through the door, she didn't know what was happening. she was terror find as any young child would be when armed men come running in. now few years later she's in college. she wants to be a federal agent. she wants to help other people. and just a few months ago she stood in another courtroom, not to testify against her traffickers like she did before but to raise the right hand, take the oath and become a u.s. citizen. that's the kind of thing we want to see for all these people, the hopes and dreams that they had, we can deliver on those. host: human trafficking, our subject based on new state department report. we're joined by the ambassador

at large to monitor and combat traffickers, that's luis cdebaca. we'll take your questions. here's the numbers. 202-737-0002 for republicans. 202-737-0001 for democrats. and 202-628-0205 for independents. you can send us a tweet at c-spanwj and email as well. what kind of support did you get on it? guest: we got bipartisan support. paul wellstone tragically dying in 2002, sam brownback, going to another stage of his political career in kansas, but we still have chris smith, one of the original crowe sponsors on the republican side and we have more and more voices on both sides of the aisle. everyone from your durbin, boxer, debbie wasserman schultz. certainly the big guns like john conyers and lamar smith.

something that chairman smith and conyers have a consensus on this. no matter what they think on other crime policy, no matter what they think on immigration policy, when it comes to the notion that victims of trafficking deserve to be helped, even victims who might have been here as illegal aliens, there's a consensus on that. and something we think is special. one thing i will say there is a bill that ron wyden has out there that would for pilot projects increase the ability of us to help the u.s. citizen victims. this is something that, you know, we recognize that foreign victims often need more help but the welfare reform law of 1996, they are not he believe eligible for business ben fits. a girl that is coming out of a situation with a pimp, she doesn't have anybody to walk her through the system. she doesn't have anybody to say, what's in the best interest of the child, and ron wyden is definitely looking at

that and something we are very interested in the bill that he's got for our pilot projects. host: republican line, go ahead. caller: on the debate team from college, our topic was human trafficking. [inaudible] my question is -- the visa to help the women of sex trafficking get their citizenship. [inaudible] you mentioned a second ago was to have an all-inclusive center to help psychologically and possibly the s.t.d.'s these poor girls got and to help become citizens. thank you and i'll close on that. guest: i think that's wonderful. you know, this is one of the things that we very much are trying to work with in the era

for lack of a better word challenging budget times. how is it that we can support things like you dribe, you know, centers for rehabilitation, ways to help these. in the meantime, though, people are coming together, whether it's through churches, community groups and i think the american spirit are coming together on behalf of modern slavery. we in government need to catch up what you're seeing in the field. host: what aspect of force is there? aren't people deciding to be trafficked? guest: one of the things that we see from the united nations protocol in 2000 and the u.s. slaw of 2000 is that there's a requirement that you prove force, threat of force or threat of legal coercion such that the person believes they have no alternative but to remain in service and in both legal instruments it is specifically not relevant that they initially chose to do that. kind of like marital rape.

you agree to marry someone. it does not agree that you be raped for the rest of your life. your initial agreement to do that type of work or to work for that employer does not then bind you for the rest of your life. this is a legal concept that's been settled in the united states since the late 1800's. we've been doing these cases in the u.s. for years, whether it's in the first roosevelt administration, the second roosevelt administration, the carter administration or now through clinton, bush and obama. i mean, it really is a bipartisan effort and it's something that we saw such great leadership on from the brucks. we've been trying to -- from the bush administration. we've been trying to continue that. host: democrats line, florida. caller: i am from the beautiful indian river area. yeah, approximately eight to 10 years ago i called and was speaking to this very issue. and the problem i was having at that particular time was that

there's more or less a commercialization of this on your computers. i was watching "the montell williams show" one day and there was a fellow on "the montell williams show" who had a website called vulgargirls.com dealing with russian girls that you could purchase a wife for $5,000 to $10,000. this is on "the montell williams show" and obviously the audience -- people were clapping and everything else because they made light of the fact that, hey, who wouldn't want to have a nice blond or wife to do this or that, blah, blah, blah, and i thought that department of homeland security would have done something about this particular issue since it's all over the web. guest: you know, i think your caller is particularly appropriate because some people look at this and say, this is a

women's issue and this is something that we should be dealing with. but it's not going to change until men are upset about this. we have to reject the notion of boys will be boys and prostitution or mail order brides or sex tours to other countries are somehow funny or somehow appropriate. and absolutely look at them for the exploitation that comes in their wake. i think it's when men start standing up and looking at this that we reject it not just with law enforcement, not just d.h.s.'s problem but it's all our problem. something that idea of guys need to step up too. so i'm really glad to hear your comments and the indian river area of florida has been a place where we've seen, unfortunately, this situation. out in the orange groves. so it's happening overseas, it's happening with these websites but it's also happening in our own back yards. host: when you come to ranking, areas of the world, including the united states about their level, you use the tier system,

one, two, three, four. we can show the various levels but what's the point of ranking by tier? guest: well, one of the things that congress recognized in the year 2000 is that a lot of the human rights norms out there are not enforced. they're on paper but they are not actually doing anything. so by having an annual report where we actually rank countries where we give countries a grade, it's true what's called the minimum standards on finding -- fighting trafficking and persons and it comes down whether a country's compliant, not compliant, not compliant but trying to do something or just not doing anything and not complying at all. what's important i think is to remember that tier one on this report is not the equivalent of getting an a in class. this is an equivalent of getting a c. it's saying that a country is meeting the minimum standards to fight trafficking. and so every tier one country

has problems. the united states we got more recommendations for ourselves in this report than we have for any of the other countries because we recognize that while we're doing a pretty good job of fighting this problem at home, we also have a long way to go, whether it's victim care, victim identification or getting the state and local law enforcement to be able to be future partners with their federal agencies. host: we showed the first two tiers. we showed countries where governments do not fully meet minimum standards and maybe making significant efforts but the country has a particularly large number of victims and that's tier three, countries that do not fully comply with minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so. that's the worst tier to receive. guest: indeed. what we've seen just as tier one is not a reprieve from action. it's a responsibility to work harder. at the same time tier three is not a parking lot. we don't have countries that are put on tier three forever.

this year, for instance, we actually saw some activity and some movement on the part of venezuela, and they had been on tier three. they moved up to tier two watch list which is the next stage up. but that really comes down to activity on the part of congress, training for the police officers, things that haven't been happening in the past. so i think that what we see is there is no permanent tier. it's something i'd have to say since we didn't rank ourselves

for the first six or seven -- seven or eight years of the report, this is something that secretary clinton felt strongly about we should be applying the same standard to ourselves as we do the other countries of the world. so as a result we have had those seven or eight years in which to address a lot of these issues. so when we came on the report we did the numbers, we did the tatea, we did the analysis and the united states came on as tier one. host: and then this morning's papers, syria joins the list the worst of offenders. guest: they had been on tier two watch didn't rank ourselves and unfortunately there's a lot of red on that particular map. you know, this is a situation where we recognize that we have a lot of work to do in the middle east. it's an area that has a lot of economic growth fueled by migrant workers from other parts of the country. you may remember during the libya revolution last year the three million migrant workers that were trying to get out, many of those people couldn't leave because their bosses had taken their passport. they found them in their factories. so the humanitarian crisis was also a crisis involving human trafficking. but getting to syria, one of the things we'd seen a couple years ago is that syria had

open shelters for trafficking victims. it was a very good thing that the assad government had done, but then all of that forward progress they threw away in order to go after people would bring reform to syria and in doing that, especially, again, because of these foreign guest workers, we had some real crises this year, for instance, several -- tens of thousands of filipinos who were domestic servants and other jobs, trapped in homes and other cities that were attacked under government forces. host: do you think the issue of trafficking could be helped by a coordinated international effort? guest: i think one of the things that the report has done over the years in absence of a fully coordinated effort by the united nations or any other international body is that the u.s. report and the diplomacy that we're doing in our

embassies around these issues of the minimum standard to combat trafficking have started to have a coordinated approach. we had more 140 countries now passed modern laws, ratified the united nations protocol and we've seen countries doing the first cases they've ever prosecuted. two years ago ber inside said there was no trafficking -- bernay said there was no trafficking in the kingdom of bernay. we saw people being brought to justice and people being held. we see the upward trend we are starting to identify. host: john, republican line. go ahead. caller: please let me finish here. it's being reported that 3/4 of the farm workers and agriculture workers is illegal aliens. it's also been reported these coyotes are charging $4,000 to $5,000 to bring these people in the country. i would like to know where they

get their money. and our dictator obama will make the executive order that will allow more illegal aliens in this country. host: mr. ambassador. guest: first off, the executive order the other day, the work that the white house is doing on the immigration issue is not for farm workers. it's not for new undocumented immigrants who will be coming in the united states. it's for children who brought in by their families years ago and have been living as u.s. residents, have been living, going to high school, being really part of our communities. i think that's very different than what we're talking about today with the human trafficking situation. you know, when i was a prosecutor i was classed in sebring as we were liberating about 400 men from an orange grove where they had been held by slaves there in that central florida area and one of the things we saw is the lack of

enforcement over time had resulted in a zone of impunity. you really did have a situation where the federal law enforcement wasn't out there in the fields, wasn't looking at those illegal aliens, not just for the fact that they were undocumented and in the united states but also whether or not they were being abused, whether or not they were being exploited. for whatever reasons that was happening, because of, you know, is it covered out of orlando, is it of, you know, is it covered covered out tampa, is it covered out of port st. lucy, all of those things, -- port st. lucie, all of those things is something we have to work on, something we have to fix.

when we made the commitment to address to governments -- to countries' broken immigration systems, one of those things was enforcement. hopefully compassionate enforcement and we've seen that as well. but the notion that we would close down these zones of impunity, and we think we've done that. host: jim fry asks off of twitter about adoption agencies and how they've been caught in the act of human trafficking. guest: well, adoption agencies are -- it's an interesting topic. adoption is not technically human trafficking because the person is not then doing an economic function so it's not buying and selling a human being for a job or buying and selling a human being for prostitution. on the other hand, we certainly see the adoption issue as a related issue to human trafficking and we want to make sure that unscrupulous brokers in the adoption field are truly uniting those children who need a good home with loving parents and doing so in a way that doesn't violate the rights of the birth parents. when somebody signs those papers and puts their child up for adoption, it needs to be a real transaction. something that is done for the best interest of the child, for the best interest of all

involved. not a commercial transaction. host: we are talking with luis cdebaca of the state department. he's the ambassador-at-large at the office to monitor and combat trafficking and persons. flushing, new york. ted, independent line. caller: good morning. i have a very simple question. trafficking in the middle east, especially -- is a legal transaction. our women are forced to leave their country. once they go -- their passport is taken and they are being abused. many of them are killing themselves. no one is exposing these things. maybe the united states doesn't wish to expose this. [inaudible] women is not safe in the middle east. we want to fight this thing.

our women are suffering. they are killed in broad daylight when no one is defending them. this is trafficking between governments so this has to stop . we need to fight this.

thank you. guest: you know, i'd actually agree with the caller in that -- perhaps if we could show the picture of this young lady who's featured in the report this year. this is a young woman who we were able to help escape from libya last year and get to malta for medical treatment from the horrible, horrible burns that she had suffered when her employers, the qaddafi family, had tortured her because she refused to use corporal punishment against their children. she left ethiopia, as the caller mentioned, she left ethiopia hoping for a better life, a better job overseas, traveled to libya and was working as a maid, as a nanny, and the passport taken, physical abuse, etc., in this case a cnn reporter and his crew was at the qaddafi palace literally for one of fight this. our women are those classic postrevolution stories of filming the dictator's residence. and huddled in the corner horribly burnt was this young woman. you see the smile on her face now. it certainly doesn't excuse what happened to her. but i think to me that's a picture of hope. it's a picture of hope and it has to be a picture of hope for all the east openian women we see in the -- ethiopian women we see in the middle east. bag la derby and indonesian women we focused on previous years, the abuse they suffer whether in saudi arabia or other places, we don't want to clean up that situation simply to open up another set of equally vulnerable,cally exploitable people from ethiopia. i think the caller has a very good point.

we have to remember these aren't statistics. when we talk about 27 million people, we are talking about 27 million individual stories like this young lady who just wanted a better life when she went to libya. host: new orleans up next, tony, democrats line. caller: good morning. first off, thank you for c-span. second off, thank you, mr. luis, exploiting the ignoreant person and getting back to the facts. here in louisiana, a lot of people aren't aware that we still live under the napoleonic codes which is the law of napoleon. we have a law on the books here called white slavery. i remember quite a few men that worked -- girls dancing in the clubs. the threat if they didn't behave they were going to get sent to the country. when they got sent to the country they were sent away for an average of four to six

weeks. they weren't allowed to come back until whoever sent them. >> you can see "washington journal" every morning at 7:00 eastern here on c-span. the u.s. house is about to gavel in for legislative business, we'll have live coverage in just a moment here on c-span. the house government reform and oversight committee is still meeting right now and moving ahead with contempt proceedings against attorney general eric holder on those unproduced fast and furious documents. president obama has a privileged report on those documents. we are learning that charles grassley said the justice department retracted a statement made to the senate judiciary committee. eric holder said michael had been briefed about gun walking in operation wide receiver. now, the department is retracting that statement and claiming that mr. holder inadvertently made that claim to the committee. you can see that committee

hearing under way right now on our companion network, c-span3. we will also take your phone calls after the conclusion of the hearing. now live to the house floor.

the speaker: the house will be in order. the prayer will be offered today by our guest chaplain, reverend richard haynes, salem missionary baptist church, lilburn, georgia. the chaplain: our father in heaven, we thank you for a brand new day. for all the opportunities and possibilities that come with

this day. we thank you for another opportunity to be better, thank you for the blessed opportunity to do better. we thank you for yet another chance to correct mistakes and make critical legislative adjustments for the betterment of this country and the world. with a heart of gratitude for the many possibilities that this day brings, we declare with the song of david that we will rejoice and be glad in it. may i our rejoicings manifest themselves in good works, that others may see and that you may be glorified. in the name of your darling son we pray, amen. the speaker: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1 the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance today will be led by the gentleman from georgia.

>> i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker: without objection, the gentleman from georgia is recognized for one minute. mr. woodall: i thank you, mr. speaker. the house is fortunate today to have reverend dr. richard benjamin hayes as our guest chaplain. he's a life-long servant of the lord, growing up as son of a baptist minister. he is in my home county of gwenette. he's a fisherman but he's a fisher of men. in the 23-plus years that he's led salem missionary baptist, that church has grown from 100 to 4,500 in that congregation.

beyond the pulpit, reverend hayes is active throughout our community. he's been past chaplain of the sheriff's department, director of the statewide minister's commission and currently board of education advisory board, to name just a few. i'm honored to have him in washington, d.c., with me today. him, his wife, beverly, is with us today and is his daughter, sheena, and his two grandsons, benjamin and bashon. reverend, thank you for your prayer today. thank you for your ministry every day, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain 15 further requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina rise? mr. wilson: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. wilson: madam speaker, the bureau of labor statistics announced yesterday that the number of job openings is at its lowest point in five months. the number of available jobs dropped from 3.7 million in

march to 3.4 million in april. this fact shows that the president's failed policies are destroying jobs across our nation and undermining families. unemployment has been above 8% for 40 months, not including the millions who are underemployed or who have lost hope and no longer looking for a job. yet, the president still believes that our private sector is doing fine. in fact, sadly now the president's offering work permits to illegal aliens to take jobs from hardworking americans. it's past time for them to pass the dozens of bipartisan job-creation bills which are stalled in the senate graveyard. in conclusion, god bless our troops and we will never forget september 11 11 and the global r on -- september 11 and the global war on terror. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlelady from new york rise? >> to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend

my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady is recognized. ms. -- >> did you have any effort of what brought the wholesome breakfast to your table? i did. ms. hochul: i went to the largest producing dairy farm in the united states. i didn't have milk. i went to listen to their concerns. i saw mother, father, brother, sister getting us before we see the light of day to do their work, tremendously hard work but there's a lot of pride in what they do. we proudly salute the millions of families across this country. in particular, the dairy farming families during national dairy month. we need to do more for these stewards of our national food security. we can give out proclamations

and pay lip service to the 51,000 families across this nation who supply us with these products or we can actually listen to them and do something to help. first off, they want a farm bill. they want certainty to know what the deal is going to be, not later, not later this year but now. second, they want labor. that's the number one issue when i'm hearing the noble, the other farmers. let's give them what they need. thank you very much. yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. dold: thank you, madam speaker. i join with many others in the greater chicago area in recognizing the life and recent passing of a tremendously respected, selfless and inspirational leader in our community, richard shonsteth. richard no doubt made a difference in this world with his tireless dedication to strengthening the u.s.-israel relationship. his sweeping passion for an energy for pro-israel advocacy set a very high bar which both elevated and advanced the commitment of so many good

people to pro-israel causes. richard believed in engagement and activism and he lived his life knowing there was only one way to do things, the right way. he served his community as an outstanding example of leadership and earned a reputation as brilliant and committed mentor to many, many people. like so many who were lucky to know him, i feel i was given a special gift in richard's friendship. my thoughts and prayers go out to his family, certainly his wife, cindy, his daughters, carly and kate, and the entire extended family. may his memory continue to inspire us to action and may we in this congress now and forever remain dedicated to advancing the principles that richard so proudly stood and fought for throughout his life. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey rise? mr. sires: ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. sires: madam speaker,

access to affordable higher education is one of the reasons that our country's so great. as someone who lives in the gateway to america, i have seen firsthand the transform agsal power of education. however -- transformational power to education. however, access to higher education is being threatened. in two weeks the interest rate in student loans is scheduled to double from 3.4% to 6.8%. this will make extremely burdensome for students and families with limited financial resources to attend college. just in the past 10 years, college tuition has increased 28%. middle class families are struggling to send their sons and daughters to school. for many americans, a college education is essential to future success. over a lifetime it is estimated that a college graduate makes an average of $2.27 million. in contrast, those with only a high school diploma is estimated to make $1.3 million.

the clock is ticking and we must act now. congress should not block access to affordable education. let us work together to keep student loan interest rates low and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from west virginia rise? >> madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. mckinley: the state of west virginia is celebrating its 149th birthday today. celebrations are being held as we speak throughout the state. i'm a proud seventh generation west virginian honored to serve the state that i love. being a west virginian comes with great honor, tradition and pride. in concert with a restored state of virginia, president lincoln on april 20, 1863 proclaimed that west virginia could be admitted to the state, the united states as a separate state. 60 days later on june 20, 1863,

west virginia became a member of the union. the only state created during the war between the states. every year millions of peopl travel across our country roads of our great state and view the beautiful scenic mountains, from the shenandoah river to everything in between. madam speaker, i hope everyone enjoys this time-honored tradition of west virginia day and celebrates our wild and wonderful state. happy birthday, west virginia, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from california rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady is recognized. ms. chu: 30 years ago, vincent chin, a young chinese american engineer, was celebrating his impending wedding in michigan when auto workers shouted to him, it is you, japanese, who is taking away our jobs.

they chased him down and bashed his head in with a baseball bat. his murderers got off without spending a day in jail and a fine. instead of going to his wedding, vincent's family went to his funeral. this injustice led to the emergeans of a national asian pacific american identity movement. this week, as chair of the congressional asian pacific american caucus, i will be introducing a resolution on the significance of the 30th anniversary of vincent's death. his story remains an important reminder of why we must always combat the dangers. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. johnson: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. johnson: thank you, madam speaker. most of us just returned from a week talking with our constituents back home. in the third district of texas, folks only had one thing on

their mind -- the president's disgraceful decision to grant amnesty to a million illegal immigrants. americans across the country are outraged. amnesty rewards people for breaking our laws and encourages others to do the same. entry into the united states is not a right. it's a privilege. since taking office, the president has time and again taken reprehensible steps that weaken our border security and undermine the rule of law in america. by sidestepping congress, the president is now single handedly rewriting our immigration policies, violating the trust between the congress and the president to uphold the laws of this land. just did it again today. enough is enough. this administration needs to stop putting politics ahead of the rights and privileges granted to him in the constitution. i yield back. spoipt chair will remind members to refrain from engaging in

personalities toward the president. for what purpose does the gentleman from rhode island rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. cicilline: madam speaker, i rise today to honor devon beck, a native of my home state of rhode island. devon set a goal to raise $2,000 for executives without borders, a nonprofit organization that works to engage business professionals in solving humanitarian challenges across the world. so on january 11 of this year, devon left saint augustine, florida, with a goal of cycling to san diego, california, a destination more than 2,000 miles away. on february 25, 46 days later, devon arrived in san diego completing a journey that spanned 232 hours, 17 minutes and 44 seconds on his bike. in the end desken exceeded his goal to raise $6,000 for executives without borders to benefit a program that is helping haiti to build new recycling centers to recover from the devastating earthquake it suffered in 2010.

i congratulate this young man, devon, as well as his parents, donald and kathleen, on his truly impressive accomplishments and wish him continued success. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise? >> madam speaker, request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. thompson: madam speaker, on june 4, america's natural gas alliance issued a report contesting the e.p.a.'s recent study on green house gas emissions and -- greenhouse gas emissions and natural gas development. methane emissions from shell operations are 86% lower than e.p.a. estimated. further, methane doesn't remain in the atmosphere for long relative to other gases. unfortunately some energy alternatives receiving government subsidies have worse emissions than what we thought. the new book, "green illusions," shows that building solar cells releases substantial qualities of emissions like sulfur which lot ofs which lasts 267 times in the atmosphere and has nearly

doubled since 1998. according to a report from the international energy agency, u.s. carbon emissions are down more than any country. in fact, since 2006 u.s. emissions have fallen 7.7% with the increased use of shell gas as a key factor in the drop according to the agency's chief economist. this leads to a conclusion that many might find paradoxcal. if global warm something a problem, we need to address, then we should welcome the increased production and use of natural gas as a prime energy source. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. baca: madam speaker, in these tough times we should make every effort to increase access to higher education for all americans. making college more affordable doesn't just help students, it strengthens our economy. unfortunately if congress does not act soon, interest rates on student loans will double over

seven million students in less than two weeks. july 1 is around the corner. it's time for a serious solution to help our nation's children. instead of working towards a compromise, -- republicans have put forward a plan to cut health services for women and children. republicans just don't get it. once again we're too busy cutting taxes for millionaires and billionaires instead of working for our middle class. republicans are showing the priorities are out of touch with hardworking americans. we need to react now on student loans. let's help all of these students have access to education. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from illinois seek recognition? mrs. biggert: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady is recognized. mrs. biggert: madam speaker, i rise today to salute the hardworking individuals who striving every day to protect

the safety -- strive every day to protect the safety of air passengers. these are the men and women of the national air traffic controllers association, naca, who yesterday celebrated their 25th year as the guardians of the u.s. national air space system. on june 19, 1987, the federal labor relations authority certified naca as the exclusive bargaining representative for the federal aviation administration air traffic controllers. naca now represents more than 20,000 air traffic controllers, engineers and other aviation safety professionals. they have the safest record in history, guiding 70,000 flights per day and protecting over 700 million passengers per year. madam speaker, i would ask all of my colleagues in the house today to join naca in celebrating a quarter century of hard work, keeping america's air space system the safest in the

world. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? >> address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. >> mr. speaker, the great lakes are our most threatened national assets. yet they are the largest source of freshwater in the world and account for $7 billion in economic activity annually. in my west new york comme community, the resurgence of our inner and outer harbors along lake erie is an important reminder of the relationship between the health of the great lakes and our region's economic future. the state department is finalizing a revision to the demrakes water quality agreement with canada. mr. higgins: this important adwreement expresses a joint commitment to protecting and restoring the great lakes ecosystem. mr. speaker, i recently joined my congressional colleagues in the great lakes region in asking the state department for the status of this agreement and have offered to host a signing ceremony between the united

states and canada in buffalo, new york. it is important -- it is more important than ever before to affirm our commitment to protecting the health of the great lakes. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentlelady from washington seek hecknition? >> i wish to address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, madam speaker. it's with a heavy heart today that i rise to honor the life of lieutenant -- first lieutenant matthew lazari. he is a 25-year-old american hero. mr. rogers: he's a native -- mrs. mcmorris rodgers: he's a native of with a la with a la -- walawala, washington. he was member of the prestigious 82nd airborne and he gave his life in serving and defending our country. he lost his life on june 6,

2012, when a helicopter was shot down by enemy attack in afghanistan. he lost his life in the name of america, americans' freedom. and he lost his life to protect all of ours. he leaves behind a community who admires him, a country who pays homage to him and a family who's before forever changed by him. he was a son, a brother, a husband and a father. he says goodbye to a family that got the call they hoped they would never. madam speaker, i thank you for this time. we mourn his loss. we celebrate his life. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: we thank the gentlelady for yielding back. for what purpose does the gentleman from missouri seek recognition? >> i request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized.

mr. carnahan: thank you, madam speaker. i stand here today frustrated by determined. frustrated because i've heard from so many people in st. louis, missouri, who i represent, small business owners, veterans, students and others. they're all saying the same thing. put me to work. they want to help rebuild our economy. they want to help create new american jobs. they're not saying, kill me a sea lion, they're not saying, allow corporations to pollute my air and water. they're not saying, give more breaks for the well-off americans and more burdens for seniors. they're saying, put me to work. they are determined and so am i. so i say to you, put us to work passing the student loan interest rate extension to protect students who are graduating into an unstable marketplace. put us to work passing the senate transportation bill that passed overwhelmingly with bipartisan support and would create thousands of jobs. put us to work passing the startup act to create new opportunities for american innovation. listen to our constituents.

they want to go to work. they are cheering for our country to succeed and to work and they expect and deserve their congress to do the same. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from tennessee seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady is recognized. mrs. black: madam speaker, the president recently said that the private sector is doing just fine. but for millions of unemployed and underemployed americans and millions more struggling with higher food and energy prices, there's nothing fine about the state of the u.s. economy. that's why the house has passed more than a dozen bipartisan bills and this week the house will consider the domestic energy and jobs act. this package of domestic energy

production bills of which i am a co-sponsor will not only reduce energy costs for hardworking families and small businesses, but it will also get government out of the way so that american job creators can do what they do best. that is grow the economy and put people back to work. madam speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from connecticut seek recognition? >> address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. >> thank you, madam speaker. madam speaker, today this house takes up the cynically named domestic energy and jobs act which is the latest republican installment in their mad dash to allow polluters to dump garbage and poison into our air and water. if i had more times i would point out that this bill would gut the clean air act which was signed into law in the early 1970's by a republican president before that party abandoned the value that we should be stewards of our environment. mr. himes: i would talk about my daughter who suffers from asthma. that asthma and the asthma of millions of others young people will get worse if this bill becomes law. and i would point out that the idea that this is about jobs is

bologna and i would say that a study that said that 1/3 of 1% of jobs and layoffs were because of government regulation. instead, i have a question. what happened to personal responsibility? what happened to the idea that we clean up our own mess? madam speaker, why are we asking the entire american public to pay the cost of polluting our air and water? that i don't understand. and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentlelady from north carolina seek recognition? ms. foxx: permission to address the house for one minute, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. ms. foxx: thank you, madam speaker. summer is upon us. traditionally this is the season when americans pack the family car to head out for a well-deserved vacation. unfortunately this year many will not be able to do this because gas prices are too high due to the failed economic and energy policies of this administration and lack of action from the senate. house republicans have crafted

and passed many bipartisan bills to address this issue but senate intran generals -- but the senate has kept us from moving forward. today house republicans will offer another solution, h.r. 4480, the domestic energy and jobs act. this legislation promotes job creation and addresses the high energy costs which are burdening so many families and small businesses across america. madam speaker, the may jobs report and the high cost of energy demand immediate action. house republicans are answering the call from americans with this act. i urge my colleagues to support this very important legislation. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. for what purpose does the gentlelady from texas seek recognition? ms. jackson lee: i thank the speaker and i ask to address the house for one minute, unanimous consent. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady from texas is recognized for one minute.

ms. jackson lee: madam speaker, the constitution is an enormously important document. the oversight of congress is an enormously important responsibility. lives lost in the course of various activities of our law enforcement are issues that we take with great concern. as a member of the judiciary committee, it has been my responsibility over the years from impeachments to waco to issues beyond to look deep into the facts and i respect that. i'm appalled, however, when the chief law enforcement officer of the united states is called a liar. and i stand on this floor to reject any thought that a u.s. -- a united states attorney that takes an oath of office would lie. we can find a resolution to the facts of fast and furious that

have been reinvestigated and reinvestigated, started under the bush administration. but we do not have to malign general holder for doing his job. and i would ask this congress to ultimately reject any contempt charge against the chief law enforcement officer. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition? mr. broun: ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. broun: madam speaker, obamacare has not taken full effect yet, but it is already crippling our country and our economy. businesses are shedding jobs. doctors and patients are constantly dealing with a third party making health care decisions and that's the federal government. fortunately, the supreme court

has some of these same concerns about obamacare, and hopefully they will strike down both the individual mandate and the entire law. however the court rules, though, obamacare must go. in the g.o.p. doctors caucus, we know that the american health care system needs some serious surgery. we have brought forward many ideas to do just that. for example, my patient option act will revitalize american health care, not through government interference by by giving doctors and patients full -- interference by giving drrts and patients full control. when obamacare falls, my legislation will help their wants and needs. i hope my colleagues will look to the option act to see what real reform looks like. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlelady from california seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to

address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady is recognized. ms. hahn: thank you, madam speaker. you know, i grew up in los angeles in the 1950's when the smog was so bad that we actually had to stay inside the classroom during recess. and when you tried to inhale deeply, the pain in your chest was so severe from the pollution and the smog. but thanks to government intervention, we have made huge strides, not only in los angeles, but throughout this country in cleaning our air for the health of our children. we made progress but we need to make a lot more, and fortunately to continue to combat this problem, congress must take bowled steps to have clean energy, clean vehicles. my republican friends are denying not only los angeles

but all cities in this country to continue to improve our air and improve our health. this bill would rob the e.p.a. of the ability to effectively enforce clean air laws and deepen our dependency on dirty fossil fuels. thank you. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from maryland, for purpose does he seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is so recognized. mr. bartlett: madam speaker, tomorrow is the 15th anniversary renewable energy expo from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the cannon caucus room. it features more than 50 exhibitors including six from maryland and 30 speakers including members of congress, the executive branch and private sector. come and learn the present state us and their potential of the cro has section of new energy which is geothermal, solar, wind and energy efficiency technologies are

creating jobs and meeting 11.7% domestic energy production and 12.7% of net u.s. electrical generation. i encourage members, staff and visitors to have the 15th annual congressional renewable and energy efficient expo and forum. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentlelady from california seek recognition? the gentlelady is so recognized. ms. speier: sunlight is the best disinfectant, one said, and sadly in citizens united the court turned its back on this wisdom and has given corporations the power to influence government from its shadows. to say these are not dark days for our democracy is not an understatement. millions upon millions of dollars are flowing into our political system through super pac's but the donors that supply this money remains hidden.

let's not fuel ourselves, let's not full ourselves in thinking the identity of these donors is a secret to the politicians are being helped by their money. to ignore the potential for unseemly influence here is truly naive. when one donor can decide the fate of a legislator's re-election, they clearly wield a great deal of power. we must come together and pass the disclose act which allows the public to see who is making these megadonations, and together we can let sunlight back into our democracy. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is so recognized. mr. cos: thank you very much. since 1982 the congressional art caucus recognized the importance of art in our classrooms. today i have the pleasure of

recognizing our art competition for helping her overcome her learning challenges. sarah struggled with reading and math and excelled with a sketchbook and pencil in hand. once her teachers at bakersfield south high tapped into that talent, sarah's life changed. she became excited about school and her grades improved. sarah's mother, kerry, said art was and i always suspect will be her refuge. it was her place to begin to shine and her place in school to belong. kerry and sarah are more than mother and daughter. they are best friends. as i welcome her and her family to washington this week, i applaud sarah's artistic feat. but more importantly her perseverance through her challenges is what i find more

impressive about this young lady. the art and life she has created is something any parent or teacher can and should be proud of as she continues to add value to our nation's fabric. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from utah seek recognition? mr. bishop: madam speaker, by the direction of the committee on rules, i call up house resolution 691 and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house calendar number 138, house resolution 691. resolved, that at any time after the adoption of this resolution the speaker may, pursuant to clause 2-b of rule 18, declare the house resolved into the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of the bill h.r. 4480, to provide for the development of a plan to increase oil and gas exploration, development, and production under oil and gas leases of federal lands under the jurisdiction of the secretary of agriculture, the secretary of energy, the secretary of the interior, and the secretary of defense in response to a drawdown of

petroleum reserves from the strategic petroleum reserve. the first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. general debate shall be confined to the bill and amendments specified in this resolution and shall not exceed two hours equally divided among and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on energy and commerce and the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on natural resources. after general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. in lieu of the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the committee on energy and commerce now printed in the bill, it shall be in order to consider as an original bill for the purpose of amendment under the five-minute rule an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of rules committee print 112-24. that amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be considered as read. all points of order against that amendment in the nature of a substitute are waived. no amendment to that amendment

in the nature of a substitute shall be in order except those printed in the report of the committee on rules accompanying this resolution. each such amendment may be offered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question in the house or in the committee of the whole. all points of order against such amendments are waived. at the conclusion of consideration of the bill for amendment the committee shall rise and report the bill to the house with such amendments as may have been adopted. any member may demand a separate vote in the house on any amendment adopted in the committee of the whole to the bill or to the amendment in the nature of a substitute made in order as original text. the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with or without instructions.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from utah is recognized for one hour. mr. bishop: madam speaker, for the purposes of debate only i yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from colorado, mr. polis, pending which i yield myself such time as i may consume. during consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. i ask that all members have five legislative days during which they may revise and extend their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. bishop: this resolution for vidse for a structured rule of h.r. 4480, the strategic energy production act . and it makes in order 27 individual amendments that are specified under the rule. 2/3 of which are democrat amendments. the rule provides for two hours of general debate equally divided and controlled by the

chair and ranking minority member of both the committee on energy and commerce as well as the committee on natural resources. so this structured rule is very fair and it will provide for a balanced debate on the merits of the bill. madam speaker, i'm actually pleased to stand before the house today in support of this rule as well as the underlying legislation, h.r. 4480. the lead sponsor of this legislation, the gentleman from colorado, mr. gardner, is to be commended for his hard work and leadership in putting this piece of legislation together. i also commend the chairman of both the energy and commerce committee and the natural resources committee for their support, their hard work as well on this particular act as well as other important pieces of legislation aimed at making our nation more energy independent. madam speaker, this bill is another reminder that this administration is not doing enough to develop our own domestic energy resources which are plentiful in many parts of our public lands. my own state of utah, for example, there are vast amounts

of oil and oil shale reserve that remain untapped largely due to special interest group politics that keeps these lands locked up even as we go abroad and increase our dependence on foreign sources as well as increasing our trade deficit. energy is an absolute prerequisite to our economic engine and creates jobs. if this administration ever hopes to get unemployment down during its tenure then developing more domestic energy is the key. this bill, h.r. 4480, stands for a very commonsense proposition. proposition is whenever the president of the united states authorizes the release of oil from the strategic petroleum reserve, the secretary of energy will be required to develop a plan to increase the percentage of federal land oil production by a commensurate percentage. so the data that was released from the reserve. the reserve is a reserve, reserved for emergencies. fortunately this administration is using our reserve to

accommodate common daily life. it is important and the purpose of this legislation is, number one, to develop our resources. number two, to make sure that we can streamline the process so we do not delay the development of our resrces. number three, to keep the reserve for real emergencies. number four, organize a plan to make sure that will be in effect and, five, recognize clearly that energy is needed for job creation. without that energy we will not create the jobs that are necessary for this country to move forward. this bill would actually limit the total amount of federal lands to be leased only 10% of the total of all public lands. 10% is very reasonable. the bill also excludes national parks, obviously, and federally connelly designated wilderness -- congressionally designated wilderness areas. it's a good bill. it's a commonsense bill but when passed will be a key part of our comprehensive energy strategy.

i urge adoption of the rule and the commonsense bill and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from utah reserves and the gentleman from colorado is recognized. mr. polis: thank you, madam speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. polis: madam speaker, i rise in opposition to the rule and the underlying bill, h.r. 4480, the so-called domestic energy and jobs act, what is really a death and destruction act, an act that will directly lead to the death of american citizens from various health-related causes including cancer and destruction, destruction not only of our environment but of our quality of life, including our quality of life in my home state of colorado that is such an important part of driving our economy forward and creating jobs. here we are where several controversial, highly partisan bills have been packaged together. seven bills.

but while there is an attempt to dress this up as a jobs package, it's really a wish list for the oil industry that has no chance of becoming law, a huge giveaway to the oil industry at the expense of the health of american families, the health of our environment and our enjoyment and recreational opportunities and economic opportunities on public lands. instead of allowing prudence for this bill, the house majority has blocked many amendments offered by republicans and democrats alike. under this restrictive rule, commonsense amendments were blocked, including an amendment i offered that would have directed a study on the impacts of oil shale development on agricultural and municipal water usage. my colleague from arizona, representative napolitano, offered a similar amendment in committee. and those of us in the west, where farmers, ranchers and community leaders consistently keep us abreast of water issues

and water is our most precious resource, know that we need some commonsense and objective data. with regard to how energy production impacts resources, particularly our most precious resource, water. what lies at the heart of this death and destruction bill today is simply a false premise. it's the false premise that somehow the united states is failing to make good on its natural energy resources. now, the fact is as a result of president obama's all-of-the-above energy strategy, our nation's dependence on foreign oil has fallen drastically and crude oil production in the united states is at an eight-year high. president obama has increased production of crude oil substantially over the bush administration lows. the president's policies are demonstrating that we can have an approach to energy in the united states that boosts oil and gas production and invests in the next generation of cleaner, job-creating, renewable energy technologies such as

wind, solar and geothermal. now, in contrast to the president's all-of-the-above approach which will lead to reductions in gas prices and a sustainable energy future for our country, this death and destruction bill before us today is an oil above all approach. this death and destruction bill hands public lands that we all value over to the oil and gas industry and undermines the laws and rules that have made our air and water cleaner and safer over the past 40 years. one of the scariest provisions in this package would gut important health-based standards provided for in the clean air act established in a bipartisan basis in 1970. now, the clean air act's base standards are especially important for protecting children, the elderly and others who are susceptible to harmful air pollution. many nonpartisan public health and medical organizations have recognized that this bill would override clean air standards that have protected american people and families from harmful pollution in the past 40 years.

that's why on this bill, which the majority purports deals with energy, we've heard from pediatricians, we've heard from doctors, we've heard from health care providers that this would lead to death as well as the destruction of jobs, as well as the destruction of our environment and recreational opportunities. another controversial partisan provision in this bill would open up vast quantities of public lands to drilling. the bill sets an arbitrary re-- requirement on the department of interior to offer oil companies at least 25% of onshore areas that industry nominates each year. so let me say that again. the department of interior wants to open up more lands to industry even though oil and gas companies hold more than 25 million acres of public lands onshore where they're not producing oil and gas. in addition these companies are sitting on 6,700 drilling permits that have been approved that they are not using. they need to explore lands where they already hold energy leases. now, this is not a sensible

energy policy. it's called an old-fashioned land grab, an old-fashioned water grab. they're coming up after our land in the west and they're coming after our water in the west and we're not going to take it sitting down. another extreme provision in this bill would overturn the federal land policy and management act to elevate energy production above other public land uses. now, my constituents in colorado are tremendously concerned that somehow oil production would trump job creating activities including hunting, fishing, recreation, grazing, conservation, main stays of jobs in the economy in my district, would be overridden in the name of oil. destroying jobs, destroying the health of colorado families. and families across the united states. another provision in this bill turns the review of applications to drill into nothing more than a rubber stamp. the secretary of the interior doesn't make a decision within 60 days, it's automatically approved. automatically approved with no

process. at the same time the many proponents of this bill are attempting to gut the budget of many of the agencies needing to review these applications, effectively ensuring that no application can probably be dealt with and evaluated with in 60 days and they would automatically be approved, regardless of the impact on the health or economic opportunities and jobs. now, there's so many troubling provisions in this bill. another one, and this one would likely violate our constitution, which we began this session of congress by reciting very publicly in this body, it would limit a citizen's right to participate in the discussion of leasing and drilling by making all dissenters pay a $5,000 fee. now, imagine you're a coloradan, an arizonan, a pennsylvanian, a textan, who's concerned about -- texan, who's concerned about drilling near your home or school or ranch. you understand this death and destruction bill, opening your mouth would cost you $5,000. free speech would no longer be

free. if this bill passes. madam speaker, public lands are just that. public. we all own a share of them. we all benefit from them. they're not the private play ground of oil and gas companies. they're owned by all americans and all americans should have a say in how they're used. not just americans who cough up $5,000. well, this bill would grant the oil and gas industry's wish list by opening up public lands and rolling back public health safeguards, hurting the health and killing american families. one thing this bill will not do is lower the price of gasoline. economists agree this bill has no impact on the price of gasoline. there's actually now more drilling rigs in operation in the united states thanks to president obama's leadership today than the rest of the world combined. in addition the number of drilling rigs has doubled, doubled since 2009. president obama's leadership has doubled the number of drilling rigs since 2009. now, research going back more than three decades show that there's very little correlation

between the volume of domestic oil and the price of gasoline at the pump. go ahead and tell the american people that we want oil and gas companies to drill anywhere they like, no regard to public health is that the message that we want to send -- health. is that the message that we want to send? this death and destruction bill would not only lead to the deaths of americans, but would destroy jobs, destroy economic opportunities, destroy recreational opportunities. it's nothing short of a federal land grab and a federal water grab. and representing my constituents in colorado, i encourage my colleagues to say, heck no on both the bill as well as the rule and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado reserves. the gentleman from utah is recognized. mr. bishop: i'm pleased to yield three minutes to the gentleman whose home state has provided a program of death and destruction which has led to a 3% or less unemployment rate, jobs and energy production. the gentlelady from north

carolina, mr. berg. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. berg: i thank the gentleman for recognizing me today. madam speaker, i rise to support the underlying bill. the domestic energy and jobs act. my my home state of north dakota, we're -- in my home state of north dakota, we're seeing unprecedented growth. at 3%, as it was mentioned, north dakota has the lowest unemployment rate in the country. we have a nearly $2 billion budget surplus. we have stabilized our finances and we have created certainty. and i couldn't be more proud of our state. a large part of our economic success is due to a comprehensive energy policy. and a commonsense regulatory environment. this in north dakota is known as empower north dakota. in north dakota we know that all energy production is good energy production. rather than picking winners and losers in energy, this empower

act creates a stable business friendly clite. it does this by encouraging all energy production. north dakota embraces all energy production, natural resources capabilities across our state. in north dakota it's really proof that all of the above really does work. and there's no reason why we should not be taking this proven approach to developing energy and domestic energy production and applying it nationwide. there's really the goal of this legislation that's being considered here in the house today. and i'm proud to offer my strong support of this legislation and i encourage all of my colleagues to do the same by supporting this rule. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from colorado is recognized. mr. polis: thank you, madam speaker. i yield three minutes to the

gentlewoman from florida, ms. castor. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for three minutes. ms. castor: thank you, madam speaker. colleagues, i rise to oppose the rule and the underlying bill for three primary reasons. first, the package is very poor public policy. second, i offered a commonsense amendment and the republican majority blocked it from being debated so it will not be heard today, unfortunately. and third, the house of representatives shouldn't be wasting its time on a package that's not going anywhere. instead we should be focused on job creation, especially passage of the transportation bill where we can create thousands and thousands of jobs across the country. but first as we marked up part of this package in the energy and commerce committee, it became apparent that this package is chalk full of detrimental policy decisions for america. it creates new bureaucracies when it comes to energy policy and undermines the nation's

energy security. it rolls back policies that support the continued growth of safe and responsible energy production in the united states. and it improperly removes protections that we enjoy under the clean air act. that protect the health of american families all across this great nation. second, if my colleagues recall, following the b.p. deepwater horizon blowout in the gulf of mexico, a major flaw in the law came to light. that the department of interior's maximum penalty for companies violating offshore drilling laws is limited to $40,000. and for a major onshore drilling violation it's only $5,000. so these amounts are not enough of a deterrent for bad behavior. that's why i offered an amendment to give the secretary of interior the authority to increase civil fines against oil companies who violate the law while drilling. unfortunately my republican colleagues have once again blocked sensible policy in order

to protect big oil. the deepwater horizon disaster was a major economic blow to my home state of florida. if our laws do not establish appropriate deterrence, then you put our jobs at risk. our tourism industry, small businesses, restaurants, fishermen and the military rely on clean water and clean beaches and our laws should protect american families and businesses and not just big oil. finally, i strongly disagree with the republican majority's decision to block the transportation bill and the thousands and thousands of jobs that are dependent on it. the republican inaction on a bill that passed the united states senate in a bipartisan way with over 70 votes is being blocked here on the floor of the house and people should be up in arms. at a time wheve when we've got to make -- and ath a time when wheeve -- at a time when we've got to make greater progress in getting people back to work, this is causing great economic harm all across the country and that is what we should be debating today. i yield back the balance of my

time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from colorado reserves. and the gentleman from utah is recognized. mr. bishop: madam speaker, i yield three minutes to the gentleman from louisiana, a state that truly understands what it means to have an all-of-the-above policy for energy production and what energy means to job creation, the gentleman, dr. boustany. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. boustany: thank you, madam speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding time to me. the sad fact today is that this country does not have a coherent energy strategy. pure and simple. i can tell you, i come from louisiana where we know firsthand, probably more than any other state, that good energy policy can march hand in hand with good economic boil and good environmental policy. we've lived that life. we know that energy, the energy

sector, american energy production creates good paying jobs. many of these jobs go to people who -- a family that's never had anyone that's had college and they've been able to pay for college for the next generation. these are good paying jobs. better paying than most. the first step in energy policy, the first step is, number one, don't punish your current energy production. don't punish american energy production. that's what we've seen from this administration. from four straight years of proposing high taxes, new taxes on independent small energy companies, small oil and gas companies. new taxes. at a time when we ought to be developing our energy production . make noes sense at all. secondly, what's our transition strategy? we clearly have an abundance of oil and gas, new reserves, new technology. we have led the world in this. we have led the world in this. we ought to be developing