retirement and have been doing that for a variety of reasons. that is an enormous, industrial and economic opportunity for mexico and central america, but that requires skill. not just nursing skills, but also technology in delivering health care and things like that. somebody spn >> you have the needs and costs of health care getting larger and larger and will be more of a draw in central america and that's going to be a major economic opportunity for that region. >> dmitri? >> yes. let me say three things. the one follows exactly on what jim said.

people very often think about talent and still see zero sum games. this is a positive sum gain we're promoting, more nurses, increasing the supply of nurses since the example is in nurses. not only because the united states is aging but because before mexico knows it, it will be aging. mexico is at the end of its demographic transpigs. -- transition. two things have happened. not only will fewer and fewer new workers be entering the labor market of mexico, but more and more workers will be leaving it as they age out of the work force. these people will need nursing services, and that's extremely important. but because of the way the health costs have been going in the united states and mexico

and other parts of the world, one of the greatest opportunities that i am sure smart people in mexico have already figured it out is to actually provide in strategic locations, also to medical services, not just for the aged, the same way that people today go through all sorts of different parts of the world, they go to india to have an operation at a cost of 1/5 or 1/10 of what it costs to do so in the united states, and often they're operated upon by people who have grutted -- graduated from american universities. the world is changing. that's what we're trying to emphasize here. that is why english is important. that is why common standards are important. that is why we have to be thinking in a very near future at a time where mexico and us are likely to be competing for other workers from the region

rorne us worrying about mexicans coming to the united states to work outside of legal framework. >> and mexico is already an immigration country and on its way to becoming a significant immigration country. if recent history around the world has taught us anything, that used to take 30 or 50 years to happen, is a country leisurely becoming an immigration country, those things now take 10, 15 years. once the opportunity -- in other words, once the basic ingredients for a country to become a major immigration country occur, and mexico already has most of them, the country fills up with immigrants, seeking the same kind of opportunities the mexicans have sought in the united states in the last 30 or 50 years. >> ok. we're going to have to have

that been the last question, i'm sorry to say. so we'll invite the rest of you who might want to ask questions to come forward after the event and we'll have one-on-one conversations. but i'm going to turn to andrew to give us a concluding sendoff. >> thank you to doris and demetri and everyone who put this together. it's been a great privilege. let me say a special thanks to the co-chairs and members of the study group and say this was a very dynamic group. over time we had two processes going on, one was the group coming up with all sorts of ideas on what needed to be researched and the research going on and then bringing this to a close and thinking what are the recommendations here that you've seen today. there's a great body of work which if you haven't seen it yet, go to the research reports which are stand-alone exercises which deal with the specific issues in the report but look at the report itself that bring the cutting edge issues here. let me finish with a few of the

words that have been spoken by the other panelists here. we'll start with hope. dmitri said hope, it's an opportunity of hope. opportunity is a word you heard several times. this is a time demographics are changing in mexico and central america, economic prospects are changing, perhaps violence patterns are changing, it's less clear but there's a moment of hope and opportunity in those countries, not without challenges as we've heard from the panelists but also a moment of hope and opportunity in this country, a moment where we are talking about these issues and there's a time where there's hope and opportunity to think together creatively about how do we get beyond migration as a problem and begin thinking of migration as an opportunity to enhance our competitiveness and create jobs in all of these countries. positive circulation, you heard from secretary gutierrez the notion we can create positive circularity among our countries and people will still immigrate. and we want to be a emigration

country but circularity that allows people to come and go and perhaps develop skills along the way and economic growth. and i will come back to hope. this is a time we can start having some of the big conversations. yes, we will be for the next few months embroiled in specific conversations in the u.s. congress about immigration reform in mexico and the central american countries. there are very specific conversations going about real challenges people face and real challenges for policy but this is a moment of hope and opportunity where we can begin to think big and hopefully this report put some ideas on the table that are creative, a little bit out of the box and are worth a conversation within this region and that we're only starting to have so thank you again to the co-chairs and to the members of the study group and thank you to all of you for attending. [applause] captioning made tobble my

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captioning copyright national cable satellite corp.2013. . now to live coverage of the u.s. house here on c chance. vo postponed question will be taken later. for what purpose does the gentleman from alaska seek recognition? mr. young: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 588. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 16, h.r. 588, a bill to provide for donor contribution acknowledgments to be displayed

at the vietnam veterans memorial visitors center and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from alaska, mr. young, and the gentleman from arizona, mr. grijalva, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from alaska. mr. young: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. young: i yield myself such time as i may consume. mr. speaker, last year jan scrubs, president of the vietnam veterans memorial fund, came to my office and told me about a fundraising problem he had. he told me that in order to build a much-needed education center at the vietnam wall he had to raise nearly $100 million of private money. normally this is this would not be a big problem. however, in this case, vvmf had to raise all of this $100 million without the ability to recognize their donors because current law did not allow donor

recognition. mr. speaker, i i think question agree that this is a ridiculous -- that it is ridiculous to force any organization to raise money without recognizing donors. how are we supposed to raise money? even the national park service understands the importance of donor recognition. i've seen hundreds of plaques all across this country thanking people for the generous donations. in spite of current law and this donor recognition handicap, they've raised over 25% of the nearly $100 million needed to build this education center. my ability -- my bill will give them extra pulling power they need to quickly compensate their fundraising and finally cross the $100 million finishline. overall my bill is very straightforward. it merely provides them the ability to recognize the donors. this recognition will lead to larger donation, a faster fundraising pace and quick construction of the education center. it would also make an act of giving more personal and more rewarding, put simpley, every donor deserves a thank you. and my bill will finally allow

vvmf to give the thank you to their donors so rightly deserve. also in order to assure donor recognition is met, i made sure that h.r. 588 dovetailed with existing park service guidelines. this regulatory overlapse is to ensure that any donor recognition will be discrete, unobstructive and not contain any advertising or company logos. this is supported by the v.f.w., the american gold star mothers, the iraq and afghanistan veterans of america, the military order of the purple heart, among many others. i urge my colleagues to support the quick passage of this bill and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from arizona. mr. grijalva: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. grijalva: and i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. grijalva: thank you, mr.

speaker. i want to thank congressman young for his work on this legislation. and i'm very proud to be a co-sponsor. h.r. 588 allows the vietnam veterans memorial fund to acknowledge donor contributions to the vietnam veterans memorial visitors center. the memorial fund has raised $45 million in private funds and anticipates the cost of the center to be approximately $85 million. this legislation is specific to the vietnam veterans memorial visitors center and deserves immediate attention. i am hopeful that subcommittee chairman bishop and i might explore whether a broader amendment to the commemorative work stats, setting donor acknowledgment for all memorials covered under the act, would make sense. but the project should not slow down this particular legislation. again, thank you to congressman young, his leadership, the leadership of the foundation and others who have worked very hard on this issue for the past two years. mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. mr. young: i have no further speakers. does the gentleman have any other speakers? mr. grijalva: mr. speaker, i have no further speakers. i yield back the balance of my time. mr. young: and i. the speaker pro tempore: the chairman yields back. mr. young: i yield back too. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 588. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. mr. grijalva: mr. speaker. on that i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this otion will be postponed.

for what purpose does the gentleman from alaska seek recognition? mr. young: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 291. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 14, h.r. 291, a bill to provide for the conveyance of certain cemeteries that are located on national forest system land and black hills national forest, south dakota. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from alaska, mr. young, and the gentleman from arizona, mr. grijalva, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from alaska. mr. young: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. young: mr. speaker, at this time i'd like to yield to the author of the bill, mrs. noem, for explaining the bill. mrs. noem: thank you, mr.

chairman. -- mr. chairman, for your work on these important issues and i appreciate it. today i rise in support of h.r. 291, which is called the black hills cemetery act. this bill is of great importance to the communities in the black hills area of south dakota. the black hills of south dakota are home to a number of historic cemeteries. many of these originated in old mining towns dating back to the 1800's and they have a unique significance to the communities surrounding them. these include the englewood, the galina, the hayward, mountain meadows, nimo, rockerville and the cold springs cemeteries. these cemeteries are currently being managed by local cemetery associations and community groups in the surrounding areas but have technically been owned by the u.s. forest service since the 1900's'. this causes unnecessary liability for the u.s. forest service because the responsibility for upkeep and dealing with possible vandalism or damage to property in these cemeteries. at almost no cost to taxpayers, the black hill cemetery act

would transfer ownership of these cemeteries and up to two acres of adjacent land to the care taking communities. they have managed them for generations under special use permits issued by the forest service. it also makes clear that these cemeteries will continue to be used for the same purpose as they always have been in the past. i sponsored this bill at the request of these communities and the current care takers of the cemeteries and in consultation with the u.s. forest service. in fact, this bill was introduced and passed last year by the house with broad bipartisan support. i look forward to seeing this bill pass again this year and pass through the senate this time so that we can resolve this matter for the communities in south dakota. i'd also like to thank the communities and local residents for their help in working with my office and for advocating for this bill. i'd also like to thank chairman hastings and bishop and their staff for pushing this bill forward for the second time. these communities have been asking for a solution to this situation for a number of years and as their representative,

i'm glad that we have the opportunity to pass this bill again in the house today. i want to thank chairman young for his leadership as well and i urge my colleagues to support and pass this bill for these communities in south dakota and with that, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. mr. young: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from arizona is recognized. mr. grijalva: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. grijalva: h.r. 291 conveys cemeteries currently on forest service lands to the communities in south dakota. these local communities already manage and maintain these cemeteries and the legislation requires that these lands continue to be used for cemetery purposes. we have no objections to the legislation, and with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. mr. young: mr. chairman, i have no further speakers. mr. grijalva: mr. speaker, i

yield the remainder of our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. mr. young: mr. speaker, i yield back the remaining time. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 291. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative -- mr. grijalva: mr. speaker, on that i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this otion will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from alaska seek recognition? mr. young: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 508. the speaker pro tempore: the

clerk will report the title of the bill. to lerk: h.r. 507, a bill provide for the conveyance of certain land inholdings owned by the united states to the pascua yaqui tribe of arizona, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from alaska, mr. young, and the gentleman from arizona, mr. grijalva, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from alaska. mr. young: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. young: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. mr. speaker, h.r. 507 directs the secretary of interior to take two 10-acre parcels into trust for a trust in arizona. they were owned by the tribe. before the parcels can be taken by trust, they will first need to relinquish the interests in one parcel. the school district no longer

needs the land which had been previously received under the recreational and purposes act. the secretary of the interior need to ok a lease agreement between a transportation facility on the tribe land. it will be part of the golf course under construction. neither parcel is necessary for construction of the golf course, but if the tribe does not require and use these parcels, they will be of no use to the tribe or to the united states. the bill includes language to prohibit any gaming on the two parcels to be taken into trust. finally, i'd like to commend the gentleman on his bill and urge adoption and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from arizona is recognized. mr. grijalva: thank you, mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. grijalva: thank you, mr.

speaker. this bill will remove two isolated, undeveloped parcels of land from the bureau of land management responsibility. two 10-acre parcels are trapped federal lands surrounded by pascua yaqui on both sides. the tribe is developing a golf course in this area and conveying these two parcels to the tribe will make managing the land easier for the tribe and for the federal government. without this they will have to design around the parcels, slowing down the construction, weakening the economic development that will hurt the entire pascua yaqui community. it will enhance tribal trust resources. i want to thank my colleagues and the leadership within the natural resources committee for making this bill a priority for passage this session. i urge my colleagues to support h.r. 507 and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. mr. young: i yield at this time.

the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 507. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative -- mr. young: mr. speaker, on that i demand the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this otion will be postponed. pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess until approximately

>> basically it would allow a private sector employer to ofoer worker comp time as opposed to paying for half for comp time work and allow the workers to accrue the comp time and cash that later or just take time off when needed. it's the republican agenda to push to be more friendly to female voters, minorities, things like that. but democrats are not thrilled with this idea and objected to t in the past. they is say it would unfairly strip workers of pay and a half a lot of workers need and live on and have a lot of pushback from unions and others like that. >> why is this bill a top priority for house majority leader eric canter and others? >> eric cantor rolled out a new agenda, make life work. and they were drubbed at the

polls when it came to female voters and things like that so are making a big p.r. push particularly on this bill hosting roundtables with workers and things like that. they're really pushing this as a bill that would allow women to stay at home with their children if they're sick or go to patient--- parent-teacher conference and are trying to put on a more friendly face to those types of demographics they have not done well with when it comes to voting day. >> later in the week, house republicans plan to bring up a bill dealing with spending priorities in case the statutory debt limit is reached. can you tell us about that? >> sure. this is something hanging over congress now. the debt limit is approaching pretty rapidly. the republicans have this idea of the debt prioritization bill so that if we do indeed default or pass over the debt limit without extending it, this would allow the treasury

secretary to pay off interest on debt and the deficit with any tax revenues that come in, whereas, other programs would, i guess, fall by the wayside. and that is the primary problems the democrats have with it. they called this thing called the pay china first act or pay some of our bills act. it would allow the debt and interest on that to be paid so we wouldn't technically default but other programs, social programs, things like that would not be paid. >> how are the fiscal talks between the house leadership and president obama going? >> you know, i'm not sure there is too much communication right now. everyone is in a wait and see mode. this is the first volley and messaging i think from the house republican. it's very unlikely senate democrats would take this bill up but it's possible that we'll go right up to the edge of the debt limit like we have done so often these last two years, but

everyone is kind of waiting to see exactly how this will all progress. >> daniel newhauser writes for "c.q. roll call." we thank you for your time. >> thank you. >> the c-span networks will cover a number of congressional hearings this week on capitol hill including the new chairman of the securities and exchange commission, mary jo white and testify before congress tomorrow about the s.e.c.'s budget request next year and appear before a house appropriations subcommittee. we'll have that live on c-span-3 at 2:00 eastern time. on wednesday, a hearing on the attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi, libya last year and the witnesses are two previous year posted in libya last and the secretary of counterterrific, live on c-span-3 at weapons 11:30 a.m. eastern. then thursday a hearing on the

boston marathon bombing. the house security committee will hear from the boston police commissioner, the massachusetts homeland security director and former senator joseph lieberman, live, thursday morning, 9:00 eastern on c-span-3. also thursday morning the senate judiciary committee takes up the bipartisan immigration bill from the so-called gang of eight, streaming live starting at 9:30 app eastern on our website at c-span.org. >> mrs. grant was also interesting. you know, they had this extraordinary roller coaster existence for most of their he said her husband was not able to provide for their family then in no time at all he was suddenly the most important man in the country, the man who saved the union on the battlefield and then

president of the united states. >> julia loved her time in the white house, she said in the memoirs it was like a bright and beautiful dream, most wonderful time of my life. so i think it gives you how much she enjoyed being first lady and how she felt that her husband had finally achieved the recognition he deserved. >> be part of our conversation on julia grant with your questions and comments by phone, facebook and twitter, live tonight on "first ladies" at 9:00 eastern on c-span and c-span-3 and also on c-span radio and c-span.org. >> white house press secretary jay carney today said the obama administration believes syrian president assad's regime, not the rebel opposition, was behind any use of chemical weapons in the country's civil war. at today's white house briefing, mr. carney also took questions on the u.s. consulate attack in benghazi and the president's golf game with three senators today.

we'll show you as much of the briefing as we can when the house reconvenes in about an hour, 6:30 p.m. eastern time. >> hello, everyone. thanks for being here. i hope those of you who traveled with us to mexico and costa rica had a little time off yesterday. i spent it at six flags for my daughter's eighth birthday. >> ahh. >> i don't recommend some of the rides. 'm still recovering from the crick in my neck. i don't have any other announcements. i think you saw the president is being joined, as we speak, by three senators in a round of golf, which i know he was looking forward to. and that is happening as we gather here now. the associated press, jim.

>> thanks, jay. i wanted to talk to you about syria and the events over the weekend, the syrian government, the foreign minister of cnn said the air strikes delivered over friday and saturday amounted to a declaration of war. i wondered if the president has any concerns this might exchange into a regional conflict quickly? and has the president been in touch with any leaders in the region to discuss these latest developments? >> first of all, i would refer you to the israeli government for any action they may or may not have taken. what i can say is that israel ertainly has the right to be concerned about the transfer of weapons to hezbollah and that has been a concern of israel's for a long time. to

hezbollah. a concern for a long time. the transfer of weapons to hezbollah is a concern and threat to israel, and they have a right to act on their own interests in response to the concern. thefact of the matter is, terrible situation in syria le\/ of assad.ponsibility he is murdered tens of thousands of his own people. he had acted with impunity like a tyrant to hold onto power. it is the rightful demands of the syrian people that they be

rid of this tyrant and that they have a say in their future and we have worked with partners to help bring about that opportunity for the syrian people. >> was the administration forewarned? >> i am not going to comment on any actions the israelis may have taken. >> i did not say israel. >> we are in close coordination as a matter of course with israelis. we continue to be. i am not like to comment specifically on actions they may or may not have taken. >> some discussions at the un war by one member of a commission. perhaps chemical weapons and activities conducted by rebels

something we at something on where it stands. do you have a view on where that stands? >> the inquiry on this has put up a statement clarifying that the commission has not received this in terms of chemical weapons in syria. the fact of the matter is we are highly skeptical that the opposition could have used chemical weapons. thatnd it highly likely any chemical weapon used in syria was done by the assad regime. that remains our position. >> secretary kerry is going to russia to be with putin. is the administration optimistic that something might

happen with that? >> we have seen an escalation by al-assad by the brutality he is forcing honest people. they appointed clearly to the behavior as proof that further support for that regime is not in the interests of the syrian people or the country that pass support to him. we make that repeatedly. we're consulting with them with syria as are other nations. we believe it is in the interest of the syrian. it is in the interest to

dissociate from al-assad and support political transition in syria. that is a conversation that is ongoing with the russians and chinese and others. we have been disappointed with their opposition to security council. >> regardless of who is at all, it is their worry about more developing in the middle east? >> we have been clear that one of the reasons we need to bring about the political transitions is that the violence, stability and the broader region. it continues to release. it is in everyone's interest to

bring about the transition. >> mentioned the al-assad regime has murdered tens of thousands of people. does this go to the level of genocide? >> it is a level of violence against its own people that is worthy of content in condemnation. the terminology that may be used by courts or the united nations i will be to them. it is heinous. it is the kind of action that

long ago rendered assad incapable of maintaining power with any kind of legitimacy. >> when can we expect the administration to announce the next steps? ofyou heard the president justice several times. address thisent several times last week. it is essential that we continue to gather enough evidence and that we work with our partners as well as the opposition about the use of chemical weapons. we're continuing to work with our partners in our efforts to provide assistance to the opposition.

we have stepped up our system. we are continuing to coordinate. what i cannot do is put a time line on the end of an investigation. we have made clear that we support the united nations investigation into the use of chemical weapons in syria. backll on the regime to its own call for an investigation and allow it to take place. we are not waiting for the action alone. chemicalking at a weapons used to affirm a chain of custody in the full consequences of that. this does take some time.

>> is there pressure for greater involvement in syria? >> you have seen this administration engage in this terrible problem from the beginning. we have not waited for developments before acting. we have been acting through sanctions and other means, isolating him and his regime. the assistance is flowing as we speak to the opposition. thell point to what president said about this problem and the actions that we are taking. saidnter john mccain unlike the president, they saw a red line and they acted on it.

president obama will not act and that is a tragedy. president to say obama has avoided involvement in syria much to the "shame and disgrace of the u.s." portrayal accurate for how the president has been handling it? >> we strongly disagree with those comments. the fact of the matter is jumping to conclusions and acting before you have all the facts is not a good recipe for weighty policy decisions. we have seen in the not too distant past the consequences of acting before we had all the facts. that is why this president insists we get all the facts. the assessments we have are

extremely valuable and significant. it is not sufficient to make the kind of determinations that the president will make if and when we can say clearly that a red line has been crossed, that the assad regime has deployed them against the syrian people. the most significant donor with other partners in assisting the opposition organizes itself. taking the steps we have to recognize the coalition as we have. we have continued to step up our opposition and the effort against.

>> what is the strategy in moving forward? realistically, what can be done? >> the president made clear that the absolute necessity of the vast majority of the american people to reduce gun violence. they're insisting their voices be heard. be -- madenate may the unfortunate choice of siding with the 10% over the 90% when it came to expanding background checks, and the 90% needed to be heard. they needed to let their representatives know how disappointed they were in their failure to represent their own constituents. we you remain optimistic. optimistic.

the president does that when it comes to background checks of this will happen. we cannot say when the legislation will pass. we in the president remained convinced it will. the american people have said it is a sensible thing to do. background checks exist. it works. it has prevented a significant amount of people who should not have weapons because of their criminal backgrounds. the expansion was simply to close a loophole that existed in a system that works. law-abiding citizens who want to buy weapons encounter this every time they purchased weapons at a gun store. it is extremely fast and efficient. that system ought to apply more broadly. these loopholes me to be close

so we can reduce the number of cases where a filing criminal has no right by law to obtain a weapon can get one by going through these loopholes. that is something americans and red and blue and purple states support. it will happen. we're working to pursue more legislative action. we are continuing in the implementation of the executive action that the president laid out. we are looking for other ways to reduce gun violence. >> how exactly is he working? is the working with the senate to tweak the bill in some way that will bring on board some of the senators who voted

against the bill the first time? how soon? >> when it comes to the next step, i would suggest he asked the senators who are engaged in the process. we are working with them. we're talking to other stakeholders from the president on down. the president he has been having with lawmakers have obviously had the economy and our budget challenges and the need to reduce the deficit in a balanced way. it included extensive conversations to actively reduce gun violence. we will work with congress in terms of attempting to pass legislation that unfortunately did not pass recently.

>> the mentioned several times you mentioned several times that this is an ongoing investigation. are there any suspicions they may have used these chemical weapons? >> it is very important that we establish conclusively the evidence about chemical weapons used in syria. that means who has used them and where. we are working through the united nations and other means to gather evidence. related to that is that we are highly skeptical of any acquisitions the opposition

news. to the point of your question about why we need to be thorough, we have to be sure about the case information. it makes unclear about his statements and the answers he gave. >> did he go further than he the staff had discussed? >> the term redline was

delivered and based on u.s. policy. the world knew it the syrian government possessed chemical weapons and we have concern that it might use chemical weapons against the syrian people in desperation. the message was the same message that he was delivering in private. it was one he and others have reinforced by multiple occasions ever since. it was consistent with what we're saying to the assad regime and others. game is by definition a changer when chemical weapons use their international conventions that prohibit the use of chemical weapons and international norms that are violated when chemical weapons are used. it is a game changer. when the president talks about

the use of chemical weapons enhancing the prospects of proliferation, by extension that creates further threats to be indicted sets and their allies. that is why it is such a significant event. he reiterated it on numerous occasions. >> is there no concern that you're raising concerns for some kind of action? >> the president made clear it was a red line and unacceptable and that it would change his calculations. the use of chemical weapons represents a kind of escalation and threats i just described. what he never said is that if x happen y will happen. he never said what reaction he

would take to be proved crossing of the red line in syria. simply that he would consider it a red line that had been crossed and he would take appropriate action. as the investigation continues, he is looking at a range of options. he is not removing any option from the table. hewill take action that thinks is in the interest of the nine states and our united states and ou rnational security as well in the interest of the syrian people.

>> you said he will take action if and when that he will take action? >> the president made clear that he considers it a serious transgression and that is why we need to assemble all of the evidence to insure we have a case that chemical weapons have been used and that he will look at an array of options that are available to him. >> the scene all the evidence before he acts? >> as a mentioned earlier, there is a reason enough example of why we need to have our facts in matters like these. we do not need stories like this one to make the place. the president is very clear about how serious he is when they have all the evidence

before we make policy decisions based on the use of chemical weapons. >> how is it a red line if there's nothing specific tied to it? >> we have this several times. >> we made it clear that we are concerned that assad would resort to the use of chemical weapons. it was essential that we made clear both in private communications to the regime as well as in public how seriously we would view the use of chemical weapons. we're not in the process of gathering the facts.

it is what the american people would support residents a precipitous action based on strong but limited evidence. >> is israel reacting too quickly too military action? >> i will not comment on the actions that israel may or may not have taken. >> they may not have taken action? oni am not going to comment the actions. israel has been justifiably concerned about the sophisticated weapons to hezbollah. it is certainly within their right to take action to protect themselves.

it is what i would refer you to the israelis for any actions that have been associated with them. as a general matter this is a concern they have had. it is certainly within their right to take action to prevent the pressure of the actions. >> last week he said the state and defense departments said they were not aware of anyone wanting to come forward and say anything about this. now it looks like there are witnesses speaking publicly at issa's hearing this week. have they told the whole story? >> we have said we are not aware of anyone who has been

blocked to speak to congress if they want to. >> not blocked over the last eight months -- >> not aware of anyone. i would point you to the fact that there is an accountability review board shared by two of the most distinguished experts in our national security establishment, admiral mullen and ambassador pickering, who oversaw this review and it was critical and help people accountable and made a series of recommendations for action that could be taken to improve security to reduce the potential for these kinds of events from happening in the future, and every single one of those recommendations has been or is being implemented by state. >> why is grant hicks now

wanting to tell the american people that there were u.s. special forces in tripoli, that had gone to benghazi, and were told to stand down? >> in terms of that issue, what the department of defense took and in response to what was happening, i would refer you to defense. admiral mullen, ambassador pickering, the former chairman of the joint chiefs, one of the most respected diplomats, served under presidents of both parties, oversaw an investigation that reached conclusions, including the fact that action was taken

immediately and appropriately and that action saved american lives. >> grant hicks is challenging the white house. are you saying he is lying? >> two people oversaw a process that was rigorous, that was critical in some areas, and that produced a series of recommendations that have all been acted on by the state department, as the president insisted be the case. what he made clear from the very onset in the wake of

benghazi, he wanted action taken that the responsible people were brought to justice and that we implement steps necessary to improve the security of our diplomats around the country so this kind of thing cannot happen again. >> there is another gentleman from state who will testify at his hearing that former secretary clinton tried to cut the counter-terror unit in the hours after the attacks. is that accurate? do you have concerns about that? >> i have heard of that charge and i would refer you to a statement put out today by the former head of that bureau, the counter-terrorism bureau, daniel benjamin, who says, "it has been alleged that the bureau was cut out of the discussion in the aftermath of the attacks. i ran the bureau then, and i

can say with certainty that this charge is untrue. at no time did i feel the bureau was being left out of deliberations that it should have been part of." i refer you to that statement. >> has the power vacuum that followed in libya affected the white house's calculus in decision making regarding syria right now? >> an excellent question, and we have said with regard to all the countries that have been affected by the arab spring and the turmoil and upheaval that we have seen across the region, that we look at them each distinctly and take action according to and make policy decisions according to the distinctions we see. not every country is the same.

their makeups are different, their circumstances are different in terms of states we have seen in the arab spring. it is impossible to draw too many parallels between libya and syria, as we may be clear on with regard to syria when some of these parallels were drawn. the circumstance that confronted the president in libya was one where he had the opportunity to take action with our international partners to prevent the imminent attack on a city that would have led to countless deaths at the hand of the gaddafi regime, and he took actions that were available to him that he believed could be successful. the circumstances in libya present a different array of

challenges, including when it comes to countries in the international community and how they viewed the situation and the action they believe they should be taking. specificallying with the challenges in syria, with our international partners, with the opposition, using all tools we have available to sanction assad, to press for action, and to take action elsewhere. >> it may be impossible to access it, assad not allowing you to go into that country and the chain of custody, which is washington language for it is unclear, who held this evidence

when it got to the folks who are able to see it in neighboring countries like turkey. if you are able to meet that standard, does that mean that the red line will not have been crossed? isthat nothing is happening not actually accurate in terms of u.s. policy. and that we have, in the weeks and months preceding the revelations about chemical weapons use, stepping up our assistance to the opposition and changing the nature of our assistance, and that process had been under way and continues to be under way, and you have seen a civilian increase in our engagement. and so, i want to challenge the premise there, when it comes to assisting the opposition or taking action to help bring

about the end of this assad era, that chemical weapons is the only deciding factor, the provable use by the regime is the only issue here when it comes to the action that the united states can take. >> is the white house satisfied that if they are not able to meet that standard, if there is a high likelihood that chemical weapons would be used, there is not a game-changing element -- >> i am wary of -- i can say it is absolutely the right thing to do and the smart thing to do on behalf of the american people and our interests to be sure when these kinds of allegations are made and when an issue of such seriousness as the use of chemical weapons is on the table that we get our facts right. the american people justifiably and expect that when it comes to the policy decisions that a president makes on their behalf, decisions that could be

potentially putting americans at risk -- i am saying only in a sense that all options remain available -- that we be sure we have our facts straight, that the evidence can be corroborated and reviewed and that there is acknowledgment that what we have presented is solid and true. >> one last question. there's now new video evidence that another individual has proven with 3-d printing he can manufacture a gun that can fire off six bullets. given the conversation of the white house's position on background checks, that you do not need one, you can create these guns in your own home, whenever conflicts this causes in terms of new technologies -- >> i have not been at part of any discussion on that. i can say that the actions that

the president proposed, including the executive actions he is acting on and legislative actions he urged congress to act on and that he hopes congress bill will pass, even if all implemented, and the scourge violence in america, the president believes and experts believe that they would result in a reduction of gun violence, they would save lives, that, certainly, there would be children in america who would be alive because of these actions, and that is alone well worth the effort. >> should people be able to make guns at home? >> i do not know enough to make a comment on that. i simply make the point that

the fact that we can prevent every act of violence does not mean that we should not act to prevent some. >> can you tell about what is on the agenda for the meeting tomorrow -- [indiscernible] will they be working to design a new strategy? >> the president looks forward to meeting with his new counterparts from south korea at the white house, and there is a full range of topics that will be discussed in this important bilateral negotiation we have. north korea will be one of those topics, as will the states' overall strategy with engagement with asia, our ties with the region, so i do not have anything more specific other than that. we will be able to talk to you about this more tomorrow after the meeting.

this is an important relationship on a security level as well as economic and cultural. the president looks forward to the visit. >> is this an opportunity to reevaluate the posture to north korea? >> we work closely with our allies in seoul on the challenges provided by the north korean regime, the provocations north korea has the coordination between our two nations has always been strong and will continue to be. notto suggest that this is presenting a new strain of conversation, it is one that is going on at the leader level and also lower levels of foreign ministers and defense

ministers and professionals. >> [indiscernible] noncommissioned officers at the white house -- [indiscernible] can you tell us how you see that affect the operations at the white house? case results, as is in the across the government when furloughs are implemented, in a reduction of staff, which limits what you can do. everyone here works hard, and when we are a man or woman down in a certain department, that affects what we can do, but we are doing our best, as is the case across the government. >> is their political agenda the -- [indiscernible] >> the president looks forward to discussing with and is probably discussing as i speak with senators a range of topics. this is in keeping with his

engagement with lawmakers of both parties and republican senators to see if he can find common ground on the challenges that confront us. when it comes to reducing our deficit, getting the fiscal house in order, helping the middle class grow and expand, there is a broad-base consensus in the country about how we should do that. there is a broad bipartisan consensus outside of congress about how we should do that. there is even some consensus among at least at the high- altitude democrats and republicans in the senate, or lease some consensus among some republicans with some democrats. he has been engaging in conversations to find out if there really is a willingness to move forward with a compromise on deficit-reduction that allows us to reduce our

deficit in a responsible way that does not overly burden seniors and the middle class, allows for the investment in infrastructure and education that are essential and would achieve the kind of deficit reduction that republicans have long said they seek. it bears remembering that this president has signed into law over $2.5 trillion of deficit reduction. thee now in the midst of most precipitous decline in our deficit since demobilization after world war ii. it bears remembering that the goal of $4 trillion over 10 years in domestic production is achievable if there is a willingness to compromise on capitol hill, if there is a willingness to do what the president has done, which is put forward proposals that represent some difficult choices

by everyone, and that includes republicans. that means that revenue has to be part of the deal, has to be part of the question, because otherwise you have to do deficit reduction on the backs of seniors or students or middle class families alone, and that is in the president's opinion neither appropriate nor fair. >> does the president believe this is conducive to this kind of discussion? >> he is willing to try anything. [laughter] whether it is a conversation on the phone or a meeting in the oval office or dinner at a restaurant, he is going to have the same kinds of conversations. thatll test the theory

this kind of engagement can produce results that everybody in the country, at least a majority, who care about and pay attention to these issues wants to see. insidesked a lot about game, outside game. he has long engaged in that. he had group conversations, meals, golf games, hard-headed negotiations with the legislators, and he is talking to regular folks about issues that matter to them and the need for them to speak up and engage the process, to demand that congress takes action and do the responsible thing to help the economy grow, to help the middle class. theo follow up, what is objective there? are there specific things that

he wants congress to do? toit is an effort demonstrate in spite of some of the obstacles we face in washington to doing the right thing and helping our economy grow, or the inaction that washington thinks that wounds our economy. there are positive things happening and that that only reinforces the need of washington to do simple things to help facilitate economic growth and job creation, to help enhance the prospects of the middle-class rising and thriving, and we are in a situation where on friday we had another month of positive private sector job creation, numbers that exceeded some expectations, but by no means were what we need to in the end

to get where we want to go, which is what the president said, as long as there is someone out there wanting a job and cannot get one, he will keep working to improve the economy and the lives of the middle class, and that is what the trip will be about. it will highlight the fact that we need to -- you remember the president talking in his state of the union address about the need to ensure that good jobs for the middle class are available in this country, and that includes the kinds of improvements we have seen in manufacturing that represent the future of the economy here and around the world, it means making sure americans have skills to fill those jobs and that reflects the education component.

why we need to continue to invest in education to insure our people have the skills necessary to take these jobs that are available and will be available in the future, and we need to make sure that those middle class jobs provide a decent living so that the american dream can be achieved by americans in the middle class. taken as a whole, the proposal the president has put forward, including the key investments in the future he has talked about, as well as the reasonable balance deficit reduction that is part of it, will help bring about a stronger middle class. sayingnt to -- are you from what i am gleaning, the red line for the use of chemical weapons --

>> the president made clear when he first discussed this i want to clarify. you are right, that the use of chemical weapons by whomever is a red line. the proliferation, the transfer of chemical weapons, is also a red line. one of the concerns we have and our allies and partners are around the world and in the region have is that these kinds of weapons would get into the hands of terrorist organizations, other non-state actors who mean nothing but harm to the u.s. and our people and allies. both are of a concern. the relevant question you are raising is the use by assad issue. we find it incredible, not credible, that the opposition has used chemical weapons. that is a matter under

investigation, but we think any use of chemical weapons in syria is almost certain to have been done by the assad regime. but any use would be a red line crossed. >> what is happening weekend in syria, is there a thought and the white house, gas prices are going up -- are you looking at that, that there are high gas prices? >> we monitor oil and gas prices regularly. that are a host of factors go into the rise and fall of prices, as you know. the instability in the oil- producing regions is one of them. i do not have any comment about where prices are now, but we monitor them regularly and are concerned about oil prices.

that general concern we have and every american has reflects the need or reinforces the need to take every action we can improve our energy security, to make sure we are producing as much energy as we can in the united states and taking every action we can to reduce our dependence on foreign imports. we have reduced our imports of foreign oil similarly, as we have hit new levels of production in the united states and as we have made significant inroads into the production of alternative energies in united states, which helps create industries that create jobs of the future. >> there is talk that syria will retaliate. with gas prices going up, with the economy right now, there is a possibility of gas prices

affecting us here. >> no question that instability in this part of the world is something we'd watch and that is has an impact global oil prices. i do not have a comment on the current price or the level of impact of the situation in syria is having on prices now. >> on the explosion in west, texas, is the president still focused on this, and is he asking questions about whether regulators did everything they were supposed to do to prevent this? >> he is, and you saw on a number of occasions, because of everything that was gone on, and the attacks in boston, make sure that he was speaking about tragedy in west, texas, that those families know that they were not and will not be

forgotten. from what i understand, the issues involved of the industrial facility there are being investigated, so i do not have insight to share on the process or progress, but when it comes to doing everything we can at the federal level to assist texas and the town of west to deal with this tragedy and rebuilding, the president is committed to that. he spoke with the governor and other state and local officials as well as families of victims. >> when you talk about industry, is the president expected to talk about this in any way, the responsibility of the federal government? >> i do not have a preview of his remarks. he will be speaking about growth and development, but i do not have specifics.

>> when [indiscernible] will he be talking about that to senators -- will those issues come up? >> anything is possible. the focus will be on economic matters. he would encourage those senators and every senator to embrace the kind of common- sense deficit reduction that allows for the investments in the economy that are necessary that the president supports. >> will he do that publicly? >> i will not preview the remarks. >> has the president gotten any information other than from the media on what is happening in bangladesh with the factory there that has killed four times as many people as the

shirt company, since there are so many u.s. retailers who get their goods from there? >> he has been kept up on the tremendous loss of life, and thoughts and prayers go to the victims of that tragedy. i do not have more information about issues you raised that go into questions about how this happened, but he is being kept abreast of that development. >> so we did not misunderstand, does the president choose these partners because there were specific issues -- [indiscernible] or senator udall because --

[indiscernible] >> i did not know that. maybe he did. it is fair to say that there are a host of relevant issues, policy issues, that the president would discuss with any one of the 100 members of the senate. he looks forward to these discussions that he will have today and it will probably range across a set of issues that he and the senate are dealing with. he well i'm sure make a pitch for his policy agenda, a pitch for the kind of action that poll after poll show the american people support when it comes to our economic policies or reducing gun violence or a comprehensive immigration reform, actions to enhance our energy independence. these are all things that have brought support from the

american people. they are very common sense. he is looking for partners anywhere he can find them, including on the eighth hole. >> to follow up on the dinners and golf game, they have become up just a fascination in washington, the outreach to republican senators. could you give us a sense of the frequency? other than what we hear about, this is a mix of restaurants. does he come to republican senators on a daily basis? how intense is this effort other than the -- >> i do not have a running list of every conversation he has. he speaks frequently with lawmakers, senators, including republican senators, and i would say certainly not weekly, but more than that.

is engagement you have seen only part of the picture, and that is true of his involvement as well as that of the other senior officials in the administration, the vice president and others. thingsooking to get done, and he wants to talk to anyone who has that as his or her objective, too. and is willing to accept that they may not get everything they want out of a compromise. by definition, they will not, and they can live with that. partisan purists are not what he is looking for. he is looking for people who want to go about the business of building the economy, helping the middle class, responsibly reducing our deficit, reforming our immigration system in a way that

will help our economy and the middle class, and taking action to reduce gun violence. if anybody who meets that standard, anybody willing to say i accept that i will not get my dream partisan agenda, i accept i will have to give a little bit, that i may have to compromise in order to achieve these objectives, then he wants to have that conversation. >> at least once a week he has talked to republicans? >> thanks very much, everybody. >> [indiscernible] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> the house is in recess,

expected back in about five minutes. earlier today they debated 3 bills. one that would transfer cemeteries in south dakota to local communities. another would put land in trust for a tribe. the third would allow donors to the vietnam veterans memorial be allowed to display their names. today, a vote on legislation requiring on-line retailers to collect taxes. that vote is under way now, where you can watch it on c- span2. the house is back at 6:30 eastern townime. at themeantime, i look

week ahead with a capitol hill reporter. after house is back today a break. what can you tell us about this, bill? >> this is one of the major bills that we will see this week. the comp time bill, a republican idea that was pass in the 1990's, but never went anywhere because democrats objected. private sector toloyers to offer comp time, a crew that time and cash it out later or take time off whenever they leave it. it was part of the republican agenda the are trying to push to be more friendly to female voters, but democrats are not thrilled with this idea and they

have objected to it. they say it would unfairly strip workers of that pay and a half that a lot of workers need and live on. it has a lot of push back from unions and other groups. >> why is this bill a top priority for eric cantor? >> he has rolled out his new agenda this congress, called make life work. they got drubbed at the polls to femaleomes voters. they're hosting roundtable with workers. they are pushing this as a bill that would allow women to stay home with their children if they are sick or to go to parent- teacher conferences. they are trying to put on a more friendly face to those types of demographics that they have not done well with when it comes to voting.

>> later in the week, house republicans will bring up a bill that has to do with spending priorities. tell us about that. >> this is the big damocles sword hanging over the congress, that the government is approaching. republicans had the idea of the debt prior toization bill, that if we default or pass over the limit without extending it, this would allow the treasury secretary to pay off interest on debts in the deficit with any tax revenues that come in. whereas, other programs would get thrown by the wayside. they derisively call it the page china first act. it would allow interest on that to be paid so we would not technically social services and

other things like that would not be paid. >> how are the talks between republican leadership and obama going. >> i and not sure there is too much communication now. everybody is in wait and see mode. this is the first volley of messaging. from the house of republicans, it is very unlikely that senate democrats would take this till up. -- this bill up. everyone is waiting to see how this progresses. >> we thank you for your time. >> thank you. expected backse any moment now. they are scheduled to vote on some bills being considered under suspension of the rules. they did it date those bills earlier today, three of them. one would transfer federal land in south dakota to local communities. another would put land in

arizona into a trust and a third for the vietnam veterans of moria. following order. 507,588, h.r. 291 and h.r. in which each case by the yeas and nays. the first electronic vote will be conducted by a 15-minute vote. remaining votes will be conducted as five-minute votes. the unfinished business is the vote motion of the the gentleman from alaska, mr. young, to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 588 on which the yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 6, h.r. 588, a bill to provide for donor contribution acknowledgements to be displayed at the vietnam veterans memorial visitors center and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill. members will record their votes by electronic device.

this is a 15-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of epresentatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 39 , the nays are two. zero recorded as prbt. 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the unfinished business is the vote on the motion of the gentleman in alaska, mr. young, to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 291 on which the yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 291, a bill to provide for the conveyance of certain cemeteries that are located on national forest system land in black hills national forest, south dakota. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill? members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote.

[captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 390 ks the nays are two, zero recorded as present. the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. unfinished business is the vote on of the motion of the the gentleman from alaska, mr. young, to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 507 on which the the yeas and nays are ordered were ordered. click clerk union calendar 515, a bill to provide for the

conveyance inland in holdings to the tass cuea yaqui tribe of arizona and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: 9 question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 401, the nays are 2, zero recorded as present. the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that the committee on transportation and infrastructure be discharged from further consideration of house concurrent resolution 32 and i ask for its immediate onsideration in the house. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the concurrent resolution. the clerk: house concurrent resolution 32, concurrent resolution authorizing the use of the capitol grounds for the national honor guard and band exhibition. the speaker pro tempore: is there objection to the consideration of the concurrent esolution?

without objection, the concurrent resolution is aagreed to and the motion to -- is agreed to and the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from north carolina seek recognition? ms. foxx: mr. speaker, i send to the desk a privileged report from the committee on rules for filing under the rule. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title. the clerk: report to accompany house resolution 198, resolution providing for consideration of the bill h.r. 1406, to amend the fair labor standards act of 1938, to provide compensatory time for employees in the private sector. the speaker pro tempore: referred to the house calendar and ordered printed.

the chair will now entertain requests for one-minute peeches. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from missouri seek recognition? without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent -- today i want to honor a legendary man, a loyal soldier in the battle for freedom in this great country. chip gurgess of my neighboring of state of illinois. chip suddenly passed away this morning in his home where he was a loving father and a devoted husband. he was a loyal friend to me and

to my family and a faithful patriot to so many. chip is the type of person we all strive to be in politics. he reached across all divides to bring people together for a common purpose. mrs. wagner: i know chip is smiling down on all of us today, cracking a joke about how serious we are about a man who never missed an opportunity to lighten the mood. and who would always fire up the room. chip will be missed by many but his memory and his fight will continue. we love you, chip. we already miss you and we will never stop fighting for what you devoted your life to defend, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. rest easy, my friend. we've got it from here. yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i seek to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from california is recognized for one minute. mr. waxman: mr. speaker, i rise today to continue the work of the safe climate caucus in focusing on the threats posed to our nation by climate change. the world's top scientific institutions are allteling us that we have a rapidly closing window to reduce our carbon pollution before the catastrophic impacts of climate change cannot be avoided. the world bank recently answered the question of why we should address climate change. their report described what the world will look like if we continue on our current path. according to the world bank, a world that warms by four degrees celsius would suffer

from unprecedented heat waves, flooding of coastal cities, increased risks of food and water scarcity, severe drought and irreversible damage to ecosystems. coral reefs would dissolve due to ocean acidification, unmatched in the earth's history. extreme heat waves would be likely the new normal for summer time. with impacts like these it is clear we cannot allow four degrees of warming to occur. there is widespread agreement that we must act. members of the house must take action. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman rom illinois seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman from illinois is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today without prepared

remarks but to join my colleague, ann wagner in honoring a great friend, chip gurtiss. chip died this morning way too young. 41-year-old who leaves behind a beautiful wife and a beautiful daughter and is someone who was larger than life in illinois and in illinois politics. chip, you never knew what that phone call was going to bring when his name popped through on your caller i.d. it's a phone call that i sadly stand here today to say i will never be able to take again. but it was my friendship with chip and friendship that he had with others like ann and many throughout illinois and missouri, it's that friendship that made us stand here today and honor him and honor his legacy. mr. davis: chip gurtiss, you were a friend to many and a foe to none. chip gurtiss, rest in peace, my friend.

and i will say this on the floor today in your honor, roll tide. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california eek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> last week amateur valley high school from california in my congressional district, competed in the national we the people competition held right here in washington, d.c. and i'm proud to report that the students of amateur valley high school's we the people competition team took second place out of 44 participating teams representing their states across the country. the we the people competition is held annually where each state can send one team to washington, d.c., to compete in mock congressional hearings that test the high school students' knowledge of u.s. history and the constitution. i met with amateur valley's we

the people team while they were here and i was thoroughly impressed with their participation, preparation and knowledge of our history, government and political system. the students love -- the students' love of history and civics was something to see. i also want to recognize their coaches, brian lad and marui who worked tirelessly to prepare the students for this competition. congratulations again to amateur valley high school and their students from the we the people program. you make me, our region and our country proud. and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? mr. poe: ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. poe: mr. speaker, benghazi happened a long time ago. what difference does it make? let's get done with this, folks, i don't think anybody lied to anybody. i do not want to spend the next

year coming up here talking about benghazi. mr. speaker, these are statements made by the president's pinocchio puppet press secretary, jay carney, and both the current and former secretaries of state. americans are learning the white house bungled benghazi, now it faces accusations by whistleblowers of intimidation and hiding the facts. fearful of a terrorist attack, ambassador steveness asked for more security, called for -- stevens asked for security, calls for help were ignored and he and three errs were murdered. but the white house spin master said after the attack it was a spontaneous protest cause bade video. that was a made-up yarn. the attack was a carefully coordinated, calculated terrorist attack. so why did the administration intentionally and knowingly mislead americans? the president told a graduating class over the weekend to reject those who say our government can't be trusted. well, mr. speaker, benghazi's a perfect example of why the tional motto is not in the

government we do trust. and that's just the way it is. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman rom illinois seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. davis: thank you, mr. speaker. on friday of last week, i had the opportunity to attend the city colleges of chicago's graduation. seven city colleges with more . an 4,000 graduates so i congratulate the mayor of the city of chicago, the chairman of the board of the city colleges, dr. paula wolf, the chancellor, cheryl himen, and all of the faculty and staff. this was the highest number of individuals who have ever

graduated from the city colleges of chicago at one time . i congratulate them, all of the administration and all of those who made it happen. i thank you, mr. speaker, and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, it was recently in the beautiful spectacular booming country of colombia in part reaffirming our relationship with our ally and friend. i was also there to make sure our investments are safe. our investments are safe. and they're paying off by growing the colombian economy and for you, the hardworking american taxpayer, growing our economy right here in the united states. free trade and economic freedom mean that both countries prosper. now, their economy is growing

in the -- growing and the income equality gap is growing smaller and smaller. when colombia does well, the united states does well. while we may have differences with countries in latin america, colombia is a bright shining example for all of the world when we work together. and so to our friends all over your native ng language, let's continue to share our common dream of opportunity, liberty, opportunity and freedom for all. yield my time, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? mr. thompson: ask 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: mr. speaker, this

past saturday i had the honor of participating in the walk to create a world free of multiple scler owe sills. this event provided hope for people living with m.s., their families and loved ones. nationwide the walk m.s. 2013 campaign will include 250,000 participants across 700 cities. to raise awareness and support for research and services for those living with m.s. now, more than any time in history, there are more therapies in development for m.s. basic and clinical research has led to the development of many of the approved disease modifying drugs for m.s., including new oral medications. congratulations to the national multiple sclerosis society for having trained or funded many of the leading m.s. researchers, creating these life-changing breakthroughs. mr. speaker, i also want to thank lori and tommy straw for inviting me to be a team of team walk a mile in my shoes. together we will continue to

work towards a world free of m.s. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from texas seek recognition? without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. jackson lee: mr. speaker, i want to congratulate and thank the community of north forest and the north forest independent school district. this has been a tumultuous week. this school district, undeserving, has fallen prey and victim to the closing of public schools and the public school system. this district that has acceptable schools, this district that has homeowners who have taxed themselves to ensure excellence in the teaching of these children, 7,500 students happy to be in a small pond and being a big fish. it is sad that the administrator has undeservedly offered to close without

accepting an offer of compromise. this is time for the secretary of education to act on the massive closings of public schools throughout america. this is time for the u.s. department of justice to act on preventing the elimination of elected school board members and utilizing section five. but more importantly, i want to sbudsman coalition, the presidents of the ministers alliance who carried on a prayer vigil this last week. i do believe the prayers will be answered. the children will be saved and we will stop closing public schools in america. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from arizona seek recognition? >> permission to address the house for one minute and revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> this is one of those moments

when you stand here in front of he house with a happy story. mr. schweikert: 160,000 volunteers have had an issue for years if now. they bring in homeless families and often the homeless families would have a pet. setjust this week, petsmart up petsmart promise and i got to see this firsthand in scottsdale, arizona, where they are taking care of that homeless family that needs to get their life back in order. petsmart gets a call out. families doing amazing things and you are proud of a corporate entity stepping up and working with family promise to help the homeless families around the country. i yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house the following personal requests. the clerk: leaves of absence war lorski r mrs. for today. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the requestions granted. under the speaker's policy of january 3, 2013, the gentleman from nevada, mr. horsford, is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader. mr. horsford: thank you, mr. speaker. we are pleased to come to this body at this time for this hour of power with the congressional black caucus. this evening, we would like to focus on eliminating health disparities in america.

health is a cornerstone of equal opportunity which is why access to quality affordable care is important. sickness not only decreases social productivity but without access to health resources, many get sick and many truly never recover. over the next hour, members of the congressional black caucus will discuss our priorities working together with the president, our colleagues on the other side and throughout this body and in the other chamber, to address the needs of health care for all americans and specifically to eliminate the health disparities in the african american communities. i would like to recognize the hair of the chair of the caucus, the gentlelady from

ohio, chairwoman fudge. ms. fudge: i want to thank my colleagues, both congressman horsford and jeffries for leading the congressional black caucus special order hour. this hour is to discuss health disparities. you have done an incredible job and i thank you. mr. speaker, the health disparities between african-americans and other ration national and ethnic populations are striking. when compared to the country as a whole, african-americans are three more times to die from diabetes and account for 44% of all new-infections despite representing 13% of the u.s. population. african-american men can expect o live six years less. african-american women are giving weight to low-weight

infants and our children are five times to be hospitalized for asthma. health disparities manifest in many ways, lower life expectancy and the root cause is poverty. where you live have a direct effect on how long and how well you live. until we address the persist at the present time poverty that plagues our communities, the debilitating costs will continue to rise. according to a recent study, health disparities collectively crossed minorities more than 1.24 trillion from 2003 to 2006. we must create and maintain a path toward greater health equity in america. we can't afford the status quo.

thankfully, a path to equity has taken shape. a path that reduces illnesses and premature death and access to quality health care, the solution was and is the affordable care act or as it is known to many, obamacare. we are proud to call it obamacare, because it proves that the president and many in this congress really do care about the health of americans. obamacare has already begun to lower the cost of health care by providing financial relief for consumers, increasing insurance options, investing in preventative and primary care and placing a focus on minority health. the a.c.a. helps decrease health disparities by collecting data, strengthening cultural training and increasing diversity in the health care field.

these investments are critically important and will strengthen america's financial future. some on the other side of the aisle believe the status quo is sufficient and health disparities aren't real, and some don't believe ith is devastating. that's why a number of republicans are again calling for the repeal of the a.c.a. how many times do we have to play this game? the c.b.c. will continue to stand up, speak out and defend the affordable care act against all of those who oppose it for political or ideological reasons. attaining health equity is to the benefit of all americans and not only with the american promise of opportunity but critical to the future of black america. i thank you and i yield back. mr. horsford: i would like to recognize the vice chairman of the congressional black caucus,

a leader on a number of key issues that the congressional black caucus is fausing, the gentleman from north carolina, mr. butterfield. mr. butterfield: thank you for your leadership not only here in the congress but in the congressional black caucus. you have come to this congress and done so much in a short period of time. thank you ms. fudge, for your leadership. mr. speaker, i want to start this conversation this evening by talking about a 1985 report. president reagan was president at the time and department of health and human services issued a statement. they called health disparities in the united states of america an afront, both to our ideals and ongoing genius of american medicine. it is dust gisting, mr. speaker, that in this year, 2013, health disparities exist in the richest

and most powerful country in the world. african-americans are facing high blood pressure and diabetes. oftentimes african-americans that live in rural communities like the one i represent in north carolina don't have insurance and they have difficulty finding a regular primary care doctor and they go without an annual physical or annual check-ups. sometimes their only interaction is when they call 911 because their unchecked blood pressure resulted in a heart attack or stroke. by then, it's too late. if that same person suffering from a stroke would have access to care, their high blood pressure may have been diagnosed early and put on medication meant to regulate their condition making a heart attack or stroke less likely. many african-americans play an active role in their health care

but the quality of the care they receive are much worst widening the gulf of disparity. a significant drive is the lack of health insurance and that's what the gentlelady spoke about. african-americans make up 13% of the entire population and account for more than 50% of all people who are uninsured. african-americans are likely to have diss proportionately lower access to primary care and receive poor quality care and face more barriers in seeking treatment for chronic disease treatment. the affordable care act was designed to put a premium on quality of care and encourage and reward good outcomes. i'm a strong supporter of the affordable care act and my constituents in north carolina are as well. every person should have access, regardless of who they are, where they come from or how much money they have in their bank

accounts. before the affordable care act was signed into law, 50 million people live without health insurance. an additional 38 million people had insurance but it was inadequate and charged them huge co-pays and completely imunimaginable out of pocket expenses. that means one-third of all americans were without the basic insurance needed to see a health care professional and receive care at an affordable price. when president obama proposed and congressional democrats introduced the affordable care act, republicans stirred up for a battle and would scream in the town hall meetings and even right here on this house floor about how the bill would create death panels would decide if a person is worthy of receiving treatment for a particular disease. that was not correct. they would insist that the bill would gut hundreds of millions

of dollars from medicare, not correct. in fact, the affordable care act specifically prohibits cuts to the guaranteed medicare benefit. they would bring out charts on this floor and graphs that showed how the affordable care act would be a job killer, worst than we ever experienced before. that turned out to be a lie. the cost of health care has risen. insurance coverage has decreased horsford, nd mr. here's a statistic that really stands out with me. in 19p 70, the united states spent $75 bill in health care. 7.2% of g.d.p. in 2010, health care spending represented 17.9% of g.d.p. and if not for the affordable care act was expected to reach 20% by the year 2020. the u.s. spends more of its dollars for health care-related expenses than any other country

in the world and the uncontrolled rise in the cost of health care would have been completely unsustainable if not for obamacare. president obama signed the act into law and with a stroke of a pen revolutionized health care. insurance companies can no longer deny health care or charge them more than anyone else. there is no lifetime dollar amount on what insurers will play per claim. prevent tative visits to health care providers are free and include free vaccines. young adults can stay on their parents' policy until 26 andal new group health plans have to cover all recommendations by the u.s. preventative services task force. millions of people in our country and in my congressional district and mr. horsford, your district, who are living without

health insurance can benefit from the most advanced health technologies in the world. my only disappointment is that some of our republican governors and state legislatures across the country are refusing to participate in the expansion of medicaid, shame on them. mr. speaker, in closing, i'm confident that because of the affordable care act, the delta of health disparities in america will begin to shrink. no matter the color of your skin or amount of money, each and every american deserves high quality health care so they can live long and prosperous lives. i thank you for yielding time. at this time, i yield back my time. mr. horsford: thank you, mr. vice chairman and thank you for your commitment on these issues and i know we will continue to fight and advocate for the preservation of the affordable care act and as you indicate the proper implementation of that act with the expansion of medicaid and the other key provisions of the law, which we

need, our local and state partners to work with us in providing quality health care for all americans. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the subject of this special order. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. horsford: i would like to submit a statement by the honorable mrs. johnson for the record. the speaker pro tempore: the statement will be included. mr. horsford: i would like to recognize the chair of the congressional black caucuses health brain trust, the gentlelady from virgin islands, doctor in the house, the person who knows more about health care than most, the honorable gentlelady from the virgin islands, mischristensen. . . mrs. christensen: thank you. it's been with great pride that we've watched our young new

members come to the floor and present the case so forcefully and so effectively to the american people on the disparities in all areas that african-americans and other people of color and poort are facing -- and the poor are facing. before i start i want to also ask unanimous consent for barbara lee to enter a statement in the record. she could not be with us this evening but her work in h.i.v. and aids and other areas in health care, but specifically in h.i.v. and aids, both, in the united states, and across the globe -- both here in the united states and across the globe is worthy of recognition and i know she'll be entering a statement for the record on some of the issues around h.i.v. and aids. i want to just go back a little bit and present a little bit of an historical context on just w long this battle to e-- to

eliminate health disparities has been going on. i want to go back -- of course it goes back to slavery but i want to go back to 1899. when he said, and i'm quoting, there have been few other cases in the history of civilized peoples where human suffers han been -- has been viewed with sum of -- suffering has been viewed with such peculiar indifference and 25 or so years later, and this was mentioned by congressman butterfield, in 1985 the heckler report where it was said, and i'm quoting here, there was a continuing disparity in the burden of deaths and illness experienced by blacks and other minority americans as compared to our nation's population as a whole. he said, the stubborn disparity remains. the stubborn disparity remains as an affront to medicine. and surgeon general heckler was very surprised by those -- by what that report found. but when she asked her researchers, well, why is this? the only answer that they can

give her was, it's always been that way. so that stubborn indifference 1899 e mentioned in continued as far as 25 years later. almost 20 years later, the i.o.m. issued its unequal treatment report which said, in unassailable terms found that even when insurance and income are the same as those of whites, minorities often receive fewer tests, less sophisticated treatment for ailments, including heart disease, cancer, diabetes and hiv-aids. so when -- even when you have insurance, even when your educational level and income is the same, you are still not getting the same treatment. and so it's no wonder that african-americans and other people of color have suffered from disparities for so long. so in 2003, led then by jesse

jackson jr., we insisted that there be a report every year on health disparities, a national report. and the very last one, so we're in our 11th year now, we're in our 10th year now, and the very last report shows very little change. it showed that blacks receive worse care. this talks about equality. than whites for 41% of quality measures. hispanics receive worse care than nonhispanic whites for 39% of measures. asians and american indians and alaskan natives receive worse care than whites for nearly 30% of quality measures and in terms of access, blacks had worse access to care for 32% of access measures, asians for 17% and american indians and alaskan natives for 62%. and hispanics, 63% of the measures. so, as we look over the years

from 1899 to 2011, which is what this report is on, there has been very, very little change. and among the themes that emerge from the report, health care quality and access are suboptimal, especially for racial and ethnic minorities. this is in 2011. and i'm sure the report this year is not going to be any different. quality is improving but disparities are not improving. there are several areas where disparities are worsening over time between minorities and whites. and those are maternal deaths in the black population. breast cancer diagnosed at an advanced age for women in the black population. children zero to 40 pounds, their families are not getting advice in the asian population about seatbelts. adults over 50 not receiving colonoscopies or anything in the american indian and native and alaskan native populations.

and so when looking at these reports coming back the same way year after year, the tricaucus, the black, hispanic and asian caucus, when we began to debate the affordable care act and to write the affordable care act, we came together and said, health equity had to be a major -- a core goal of health care reform. and we were able to insert into the bill many of the provisions that we had worked on for many years to create health equity and begin to eliminate health disparities. so we call on all of our -- all of the people across the country to support us and make sure that all of those attempts to repeal the affordable care act, which would close the door that we have been able to open for so many who have not had access to quality health care for so long, would not be closed again. and so with that i'm going to yield back the balance of my

time. mr. horsford: thank you again to the gentlelady from the virgin islands anded chair of the congressional black -- and the chair of the congressional black caw's -- caucus' health brain trust for laying out the hard work that we've been involved with in many years for getting to the point. with the affordable care act now on the cusp of being fully implemented in january of 2014. so when our colleagues on the other side spend time bringing up legislation to repeal the affordable care act, now, for more than 30 times, after this legislation has been approved by congress, it's been upheld by the courts, it's been signed by the president and the american people are desperate for quality health care. and that is why we are coming here today, to say enough is enough. 30 times to repeal affordable care act, how many more times will we waste the people's house and our time bringing

these issues forward when we need to be working together to implement the affordable care act in the way that it's sbenleded? at this time i'd like to -- intended? at this time i'd like to yield to the second vites chair for the congressional black caucus. she's a strong leader for her constituents from new york, the gentlelady from new york, ms. clarke. mr. clarke: thank you -- ms. clarke: thank you very much, congressman horsford, and i thank you for your leadership, along with congressman jeffries and in leading this special order hour for the congressional black caucus. mr. speaker, i rise today to join my colleagues in the congressional black caucus in raising awareness about health disparities that continue to affect racial and ethnic minorities in the united states of america. despite medical advances that save many lives in our country, there has been very limited progress in ending the racial

and ethnic disparities in health. in a 1985 report, the united states department of health and human services called health disparities in this country, quote, an affront both to our ideals and to our ongoing genius of american medicine, understand quote. now decades later health disparities still exist between black and white, rich and poor. a primary reason for these disparities is quite frankly the lack of health insurance that has been a problem for all these many years. for instance, african-americans make up 13% of the entire population but account for more than 1/2 of all people who are uninsured. blacks also have disproportionately lower access to primary care and face more obstacles in seeking treatment. across our nation, health

disparities continue to persist and widen in communities historically marginalized as a result of poverty and other social, economic and environmental barriers. these communities are experiencing a high burden of life-threatening diseases and poor health outcomes. population-based approaches such as recent efforts to reduce childhood obesity rates while showing evidence of success have been primarily focused on white children and affluent communities. for example, in a report released in 2012 by the c.d.c., new york showed an overall decline as much as 10% in obesity rates for kindergarteners. however, for poor black children the decline was only 1.9%. and for hispanic children it was 3.4%. in my district in brooklyn, new york, i represent a very large number of immigrants, close to 40% of the residents are first

and second generation americans. culturally significant and linguistically tailored education is required to address health disparities. this education is one of the building blocks upon which improvements in early detection and screening in these communities have been built. health disparities are a serious matter. according to the national urban league state of urban health report in 2009, health disparities cost the united billion. nomy $82.2 i firmly believe in prevention and addressing health disparities and that it will go a long way in bringing these costs down. it is important that we fully engage in a full implementation of the affordable care act. this will lead us to closing these disparities, this health disparity gap. i look forward to working with my colleagues in the congressional plaque caucus and

quite frankly all members of goodwill to find solid solutions for addressing health disparities in communities of color across this nation. having said that, mr. speaker, i thank you for the time, to my colleagues, mr. horsford, i yield back the balance of my time. mr. horsford: thank you to the gentlelady from new york and appreciate again all of her hard work and her commitments on these issues and her willingness to again reach across the aisle as you said. we're hoor to -- we're here to work with anybody who wants to work with us to find solutions to the health care crisis that exists in america. but we need them to understand that voting to repeal the affordable care act is not that solution. and there are many more things that we can do together to provide access to health care than we can by repealing this very important legislation. at this time i'd like to recognize, mr. speaker, the

gentleman from illinois, mr. davis. mr. davis: thank you very much. and, mr. speaker, i want to first of all commend our colleagues for coming here every week, raising issues and pro hoting -- promoting awareness. tonight is health care. health care disparities. you know, i believe that the big problem with the eradcation of disparities is the fact that we as a nation have not committed ourselves to the concept that health care ought to be a right and not a privilege. as the most technologically proficient nation on the face of the earth, as the wealthiest quality of life for large numbers of people

that is commendable we still have not reached the point where we take the position that every person, no matter what their status or circumstance, deserves the highest quality of health care that our nation can afford for them. and so until we reach that point we will continue to have studies and reports and we will continue to look at disparities and we'll keep doing it and doing it and doing it and doing it again. we will have legislation like the affordable care act that is designed to close some of the gaps and it does in fact close some of the gaps. and it's commendable that we have done that. but i maintain that we have a

health care system that really is a sickness care system. and we do a good job of treating illnesses and sickness when people can get to the places where they get the treatment. you know, i had a call yesterday from a person who suggested that they had gone to the emergency room of a two tal and were given tylenol and sat in a room for a good period of time and that when they inquired of the hospital why they had done that, they told them, well, it's because of the obamacare. that ork is causing this to happen -- that