not the way to go and ought to be replaced. i am hoping any agreement will sequester.lace the i am hopeful that we would get a little deal, not nibbling around the edges so what occurs as we do this every six and we never get to a stability that the majority leader believes and i believe would give confidence to our economy, to the business community and to our people if we got a beginning. deal, but unfortunately that does not seem to be, at least at this point in time, in the discussion. i'm hopeful that the budget committee

so i'm hopeful that the budget committee conference will revisit or at least come up with a product that has not been discussed which will accomplish the objective of putting this country on a fiscally sustainible path for the long term, >> coming up, treasury secretary jack lew on implementation of the dodd-frank regulations. and president obama at the white house hanukkah reception. later, the democratic steering expiring hearing on unemployment benefits. span, washington journal looks at the mission and role of the national institutes of health. starting live at 7:30 eastern with director francis collins on the medical research priorities.

future projects and the impact of sequestration. at 8:00, allergy and infectious diseases director anthony fauci followed by derek green director of the national human genome research institute gave at 9:00, harold varmus. at nine: 30 come i look at the national institute of mental health with director thomas in cell -- thomas insel. all with your comments live on c-span. >> the alliance for health reform will host a discussion on how medicare costs will be patient by new hospital bus vacations. you can see the discussion friday starting at 12:15 eastern on c-span two. and on c-span 3, formal utah governor and presidential candidate jon huntsman and former indiana governor and senator evan by will talk about bipartisanship.

>> i am a combat vet. i served in the navy for seven years before i was medically retired. i contracted a terminal lung disease in iraq and i also crushed parts of my hands and had to have my hands rebuilt. i am 100% disabled in i can no longer work. expectancy now is down probably less than two years. my husband is my primary caregiver. i don't need anything from the v.a. any longer. my complicated claim took four years to adjudicate. not once in that for years that i ever present one single piece of new evidence. the entire claim was submitted fully developed in its entirety before i was even discharged from the navy. i am here not to represent my claim or my issues.

my husband and i are here to make sure that this panel and that everyone that would listen to us will understand that cases like my own and unfortunately like mrs. mcnaught are not isolated. i personally have dealt with at this time a most 1000 cases just in the last six months of veterans and their spouses and children who are dealing with complex claims that are being denied over and over and over again or being lowballed and zero rated. >> this weekend on c-span, the house veterans affairs house meeting on dealing with the v.a.'s log in disability claims. watched saturday morning at 10:00 eastern. stock of theaking grand old party. former gop, as men and morning atw host joe scarborough 12:15 a.m..

50 years ago, as a nation grieved for a nation grieved for the loss president, lbj stepped from the vice president into the oval office, sunday at 3:00. >> former south african president nelson mandela died at his johannesburg home thursday. esther mandela spent 27 years in prison after being did his anti- apartheid activities. after his release from prison, he was elected resident of the country in 1994. serving just one term. current south african president ordered flags to be flown at half staff gave nelson mandela was 95. >> congressman randy not avail discussedoll the bill the latest negotiations on the legislation. you can see his remarks in their entirety at c-span.org.

here's some of what he said. >> what are the chances we can say farm bill before december 31. >> not likely. the bill we can get passed after the first of the year. >> so you will go best your deadline. >> right now we are performing under an expired farm bill.

what happens after the first of the year, farmers and ranchers across the country will begin to plan for next year's crop -- they need to know what the rules of the game are going to be. host: that brings up commodity groups. there was a story recently that there has been intense lobbying threatening the farm bill. the commodity groups, corn growers, sugar folks, soybean folks warring against each other. here is one quote -- this is not helping to get a farm bill. i did not have this in 2008. the attitude among the commodity groups seems to be lineup and shoot. guest: i think one of the things everyone is concerned about is making sure we get a farm bill that covers all of the various crops. that is what chairman lucas' goal has been through the whole process. we cannot have a farm bill for some farmers, we need a farm bill for all farmers. host: explain what is going on for people who do not know. guest: when they look at this new safety net, we are doing away with direct payments. that is a major reform.

host: direct payments to farmers. guest: we are going to more of an insurance-like scenario. what people want to make sure of is that this new safety net is going to provide an actual safety net for them. people want the safety net to be based on income. some people wanted to be based on price of the commodity. what we have been working to do is to try to put something together that meets everybody's needs. i don't think everybody will be happy. generally, a good bill is when not everyone felt like they got their way, but the bottom line is that we did get a good safety net. host: this is a key sticking point for negotiations. explained to people who do not know farm language how much this means in taxpayer dollars. the commodity portion. guest: the commodity portion is about 20% of the farm bill. the food stamps is about 80% of

the farm bill. this farm bill, over a 10-year period, is nearly $1 trillion. we are talking about in the neighborhood of $200 billion over 10 years. >> friday on c-span, washington journal looks at the mission and role of the national institutes of health starting line at 7:30's and with director francis collins on their medical research priorities. the impactects and of sequestration. at 8:00, allergy and infectious diseases director anthony saatchi followed at 8:30 by air green, director of the national human genome which adjusted to. at 9:00, national institute director harold varmus. and in 9:30, a look at the national institute of health with arthur thomas insel.

i am a combat vet. i served in the navy for seven years before i was medically retired. i contracted a terminal lung disease in iraq. , also crushed oath of my hands parts of my hands and had to have my hands rebuilt in i am 100% disabled. myan no longer work here and life expectancy now is down probably less than two years. my husband is my primary caregiver. i don't need anything from the v.a. any longer. my complicated claim took four years to adjudicate. not once in that for years did i ever present one single piece of new evidence. the entire claim was submitted fully developed in its entirety before i was even discharged from the navy. i am here not to represent my claim or my issues. my husband and i are here to make sure that this panel and

that everyone that will listen to us will understand that cases like my own and unfortunately like mrs. mcnaught are not isolated. i personally have dealt with at this time almost 1000 cases just in the last six months of veterans and their spouses and children who are dealing with complex claims that are being denied over and over and over again or being lowballed and zero rated. >> this weekend on c-span, the house veteran affairs dealing on the v.a.'s backlog and dealing with disability claims. taking stock of the grand old party. former gop, as men and morning show host joe scarborough they'd saturday night just past midnight at 12:15 a.m.. ago, as a nation

grieved for a loss president, lbj stepped from vice president into the oval office. sunday at 3:00. lewreasury secretary jack on the implementation of the dodd frank financial regulations law did he spoke at an event hosted by the pew charitable trusts. it is a half-hour. >> good morning, everyone, and thank you very much for this very special event. a little housekeeping before i get started. his secretary lou finishes remarks, please remain seated until he leaves. he has a very tight schedule. we are very honored to host the 76 secretary of the united states secretary jack lew. this has been a tribune to the pew charitable trust which,

under the steady hand of our president, has become a major and influential voice on many of the toughest issues confronting society today. throughout its 65-year history, you has been faithful to the guiding principle articulated -- pew has been faithful to the guiding principle articulated by its founder. the health care, the environment, economic mobility or democratic processes, pew has spoken truth to power to improve the lives of people through out the world. and of course, almost two years ago, along with the cfa institute, pewe cofounded the systemic risk council. it sought to give voice to the people's interest in a saved -- in a safe, stable financial system. i'm especially pleased that secretary lu will be speaking this morning on the importance of completing the financial reform agenda. as a widelyis job

respected expert on budgetary and fiscal policy. he has spent the vast majority of his career in government and once characterized public service as his highest calling. his expertise and knowledge have riven in valuable as he has steered the nation through perilous budget and negotiations. but he has also brought freshness and vigor to the cause a financial reform as chairman of the financial stability oversight council. he has spoken eloquently of the need for regulators to finish the important task that the dodd-frank law has placed before them. he has widely warned about the public cynicism and disillusionment if regulations cannot commonly tell the american people that we have ended to be fail. -- too big to fail. recognizing that the efforts which really lead to a weakening of the landmark law. he has rarely argued that regulators should begin in time and adequate funding to strengthen our financial system through dodd-frank implementation. he has supported tougher bank

tackle requirements and many market reforms and come importantly, he has tackled unafraid the thankless job of alternate he cheering, -- of jeering, chastising and cajoling the finish overdue work on the vocal rule. that thing his mother should have given him the middle name of job is that of joseph, because he has given the patience.-- lou, i commend you for your commitment to protecting the public from lost homes and lost jobs and lost savings. these join me in welcoming secretary lew. [applause]

>> thank you very much for that kind introduction. i would like to thank pew for hosting me here this morning and for the work you do every day. so many important public policy issues. i would like to spend a few minutes discussing how far we have come to repair the weaknesses that trip to our financial system to its core a few years ago. and what we need to do to remain vigilant to make sure our financial system is safe in the future. five years ago, the united states economy was reeling from a devastating economy since the late depression -- since the great depression. our economy was shrinking at an 8.3% annual rate. credit was frozen. our auto industry was sliding toward the abyss. and millions of americans were losing their homes and their life savings. to make matters worse, to contain the damage and keep their economy from melting down completely, american taxpayers

were forced to provide extraordinary assistance to financial institutions and other companies, many of which had taken risks that contributed to the economic crisis. the president faced an economy teetering on the edge. in response, he quickly moved to put out the financial fires, restore growth and get people back to work. but he was also determined to make sure that a financial crisis like this never happens again. produced the most copperheads of overhaul of our financial system since the great depression. bringing our financial system into the 21st century and creating tools to address a complex and ever-changing market -- and set of markets and institutions. these reforms greater the strong as new financial safeguards for consumers and investors in nearly a century. as a matter of law, they stated clearly that no financial institution is too big to fail. five years later, our economy has steadily grown. this is have created nearly a million jobs over the past 44 months.

our housing market is recovering. and our financial system is stronger and once again an engine for economic growth. a lot of progress has been made and one of the main drivers has been extensive work of agencies and regulators to repair a badly damaged financial system. as regulators complete the remaining core element of wall street reform, there are four things we need to keep in mind. first, the rules of the road must be effective and designed to address the modern financial markets. sure that must make regulators have the resources necessary to get the job done and that they are held accountable. third, other countries need comparably strong standards and mechanisms to address risks that reach across borders. and finally, we must remain vigilant to potential new threats constantly monitoring the way risks change and evolve and pursuing reforms to reduce risks stemming from both traditional banking and the shadow banking system. while the process of putting these reforms in place has taken

longer than we hoped, much has been done. and much is being completed. and we are committed to finishing the job. it is notaid before, about writing a set of rules and then walking off the field. this will require ongoing attention, ongoing fact-finding, review, analysis and action. ultimately, the measure of our success will not hinge on how fast regulations are put in place but whether we strike the right talents. -- the right balance. with a completion of the volcker rule, resolution authority and stronger capital and liquidity requirements, the tools are being used to make our financial system safer and hold financial institutions responsible for bearing their own risk without the backstop of public support here regulators have worked hard to find the right balance that protects our economy and taxpayers while leaving room for well functioning financial

markets that fuel growth and help the private sector create jobs. the dodd-frank rules of the road address the root causes of the financial crisis and meet the challenge of regulating today's financial markets. a premium on consumer financial protection, curves on excessive risk-taking, transparency and oversight in a massive over-the- counter derivatives market, and the necessary tools to prevent large financial institutions from threatening the financial system. are transforming the way wall street operates. as we know, some of the greatest damage to both ordinary individuals and major financial firms began with deceptive and harmful practices that left millions of americans owing more than they could ever realistically repay. consumerk created the addiction bureau to provide transparency and choice into the tour abusive practices. the cpb has party taken bold and decisive action. improve quickly to

consumer protections in the mortgage market, bringing payday lenders and debt collectors under supervision for the first time and to provide extra help to those, like the elderly and military families who are targeted by scrupulous -- by scruples lenders. the new mortgage standards which help protect against risky loan features will go into effect in a few weeks. a few weeks ago, the cfpb -- created new disclosure forms that make homebuying simpler and more understandable for all americans. five years ago, most americans did not know what the enormous over-the-counter derivatives market was. but his lack of transparency and lack of oversight put all of them, our economy and our financial system at risk during dodd-frank set forth copperheads of requirements for this previously unregulated market and the commodity futures the space have been

working hard to implement these rules of the road. earlier this year, requirements for trading platforms, center counterparty clearing and trade reporting went into effect in reducing risk from derivatives by creating transparency and moving toward more standardized transactions. in september, g 20 leaders agreed to a u.s.-initiated proposal that establishes global margin standards for uncleared swaps. now regulators here and abroad will make sure that consistent safeguards across borders protect the financial system from external shocks. of ensuring that financial institutions bear their own risk is to make certain they have sufficient capital to absorb the losses that they face. tough capital standards were put in place this summer and banks will begin compliance next month. rules requiring the largest firms to decrease leverage were proposed to this year and will soon be finalized. under dodd-frank, bank regulator's conduct annual stress tests to determine if the

largest and more complex u.s. banks have sufficient capital to withstand severely adverse economic and financial conditions. for banks that do not pass these rigorous tests, change is required, including raising capital or suspending dividends. and the federal reserve will finalize new enhance credential standards very soon that go beyond capital liquidity to impose tougher risk management standards and introduced into connectedness for the most largest and intricate financial institutions. the largest banks are now better capitalized and less leveraged, adding more than $450 billion of capital is the first quarter of 2009. on top of that, dodd-frank restricts the types of high-risk activities in which ranks can participate. next week, regulators will begin voting on the volcker rule, putting in place trust -- based tough restrictions. will put forth a

volcker rule. the rule now before regulators for a vote is a product of much intensive work and analysis and, needless to say, years of effort. it prohibits risky proprietary trading while protecting economically and central activities like market making. the rule prohibits risky trading like the london while that are mass as risks trading hedges. and strong compliance requirements that requires those in charge to make sure that the tone says's the right signal to the whole firm -- tone sends the right signal to the whole firm. it is critical to have an effective resolution process so that individual failing firms do not jeopardize the entire financial system or leave taxpayers at risk. dodd-frank prohibits the use of tax dollars. useequires that we will and

the tools that the law provides. the largest financial companies have already submitted living wills or blueprints for how to unwind firms if they fail. regulators will require firms to rework these plans if they are not credible. if firms are not able to provide a credible plan, regulators can impose remedies, including requiring firms to divest or realign their businesses. -- realtors have ade clear -- and they are continuing to develop strategies and guidance for resolving major institutions with minimum disruption to the financial system. there is still more work to do, particularly to make sure that international rules mess with our own sins, as we know too well, financial crises do not respect national borders. while we will not know how well these tools work for certain until they are tested by a true

crisis, several things are clear. dodd-frank ended too big to fail as a matter of law. tough rules are now in place to make sure that banks have the capital to absorb their own losses. monitoring through stress tests is underway. and resolution authorities and plans are in place. there is a growing recognition of these changes and market analysts are now factoring them into their solutions. put simply, the reforms we are putting in place raise the cost of a bank to be large, requiring firms to internalize their risks and together with resolution authority and living wills to make clear that shareholders, creditors, and executives, not taxpayers, will be responsible if a large institution fails. earlier this year, i said, if we cannot with a straight face we ended too big to fail, we would have to look at other options. based on the totality of reforms put in place, i believe we will meet that test. but to be clear, there is no

precise point at which you can prove with certainty that we have done enough. if in the future we need to take further action, we will not hesitate. an essential part of meeting that test will be to make sure that regulators have the resources necessary to police markets and institutions effectively. even with the best rules, illegal behavior or excessive risk taking will go unchecked unless regulators have the regulars to conduct examinations, monitor suspect behavior and go after those who break the law. not annt is this is either/or proposition. the best rules will fall short without effective supervision and enforcement. effective supervision and enforcement are only possible with sufficient resources. after failing in efforts to block or rollback reform, some in congress would now start regulatory agencies of funding so they lack the resources to do to fundb can failing supervision and enforcement of the new rules amounts to a virtual deregulation and puts americans at risk of financial

threats that go unchecked. even in tight budgetary times, this is not a budget-driven choice and we must provide regulators with sufficient resources to make the financial revelatory system worked and protect working families from financial harm. how could any of us say to someone who lost their job, home, or retirement security because of lack of oversight that a safe financial system was a luxury we could not afford? it cost americans trillions of dollars in untold human misery. we cannot let that happen again. the worst these agencies do is money well spent. for example, in fiscal year 2013 alone, the cftc imposed more than $1.7 billion in sanctions, including almost $1.3 billion for abusive actions related to manipulation of libor or other financial benchmarks. these sanctions made our system safer and provided disincentive for firms to engage in behavior

that undermines market integrity and americans faith in the financial system. in the near term, it is essential economist provide adequate funding for our regulators. but if annual funding does not meet this goal, congress should consider moving the market regulator budget out of the current budget process as the president of pros and treat them like our -- as the president proposed and treat them like our funding agencies. that way, the chips from year to year, oversight of our markets and institutions will be guaranteed. political wind may shift but the government's ability to protect markets and make sure that they are safe must be constant. there are also ongoing efforts to strip the consumer financial of itsion bureau independence and undermine its ability to protect consumers. in only two years, the it -- the itself anroved effective enforcer. already, it has taken enforcement action that has

resulted in companies refunding hundreds of millions of dollars to consumers and we must make sure that this new consumer agency is able to continue its vital work. you can understand why some out there would want to rein in this agency. it is now harder to to process from unfair, deceptive and abusive practices and it needs to stay that way. and support our regulatory agencies, we also need to hold them accountable. highodd-frank act sets expectations for regulators and gives them the tools they need to protect ordinary americans and the broader financial system. there has been and will be ongoing debate on what are the right levels for capital and liquidity and the size of banks and the structure of markets. in a few moments, i will discuss some of the areas that regulators need to keep their eyes on, including the money market fund industry and the tri-party repurchase agreement market. but one thing is clear. congressators that charge with these duties continue to use the tools to

reduce excessive risk in the system. if necessary, they can and shoot do more. -- they can and should do more. they demand strong compliance and reporting and promote effective risk management systems. in regulators see failures internal controls, like the failures that occurred in the events in the london well and london global, it is crucial that they be held to account. regulators like everyone else must be held to the highest standards. the stakes are high and the standard for performance needs to be justified. the u.s. responded to the financial crisis aggressively and in a wide partisan basis to make a domestic system safer and more secure. but given the global nature of our financial system, we must continue working with other regulators to forge compatible rules so that reforms in other jurisdictions are as strong as our own. crisis, outset of the the time and energy we put into domestic regulatory reform is impaired with efforts to promote

create aity standards, level playing field and reduce risk. we have made her breasts with the g-20 in a more stable financial system. but the design is not sufficient. implementation and policy are key and we must avoid a race to the bottom. i will meet are a, in australia with g-20 finance ministers and i will use it as an -- as an opportunity to call on the world's biggest economies to bear down even more forcefully on implementation. our 2014 agenda is this. we will take steps to make sure that global banks meet the high standards we have set good that means moving swiftly to build strong and high-quality capital, properly weight risk assets, curb leverage, and build strong liquidity buffers to protect themselves in times of crisis. g-20al years ago, the recommended that trading, reporting and clearing of over- the-counter derivatives be replaced by now.

the united states has forged ahead in getting that done. we need to make sure that these recommendations are put in place around the globe. there will be difficult cross- border issues to manage and these are made more complex because other nations are moving far more slowly than the united states. major financial institutions work globally. cross-border resolution must be part of it. the failure of lehman brothers illustrated that the absence of cooperation between domestic and foreign authorities to resolve a financial up may can endanger the global financial system and underscore that in the future new resolution tools will need to work across borders. our agenda in the coming year will focus heavily on completing the work underway on international arrangements that establish out home and host authorities will cooperate, to wind down a globally active firm in an orderly way good the failure -- orderly way. the failure to work that could pose a future risk to our financial system. treasuries -- treasury is

working on this emphasis. working closely with our colleagues internationally to reform national benchmark like libor and make sure that alternatives are developed and in place -- available to be in place. as we have seen with libor and certain spaces around for must -- rates, we we will also prioritize our work with international partners in ways to address the risk from short-term wholesale funding markets and shadow banking. complementing our domestic efforts. in short, we are leaders in the international efforts to develop enhanced measures for all types of financial institutions and work to align these approaches with a strong u.s. framework. our aim is clear. we want a global race to the top . while finishing high standards free-trade agreements present real opportunities to strike a growth and create jobs, we

cannot allow them to serve as an opportunity to water down domestic financial revelatory standards. and let me be clear. we will press other jurisdictions to match our robust and is, including in europe and across asia. and we will do so by continuing to pursue our international regulatory agenda in a bilateral and wetilateral forums will be at the forefront in global financial reforms. this will help prevent gaps in oversight and protect taxpayers from financial risk. implementing the dodd-frank act and internationally agreed-upon basel standards and encouraging alignment with our strong reforms are all this is very steps toward a safer and sounder financial system. but as we take these steps, it is essential to remember that the crisis revealed that regular should and oversight failed to keep up with the rapidly evolving financial system. the fact is that we must remain vigilant to emerging threats

that appear on the horizon. dodd-frank traded to new organizations to help combat potential new risks. the financial stability oversight council and the office of financial research. it brought the community together and charges us to look across our areas of responsibility, whether it is banks or markets or other financial restitution's, and to identify risks that may emerge in the future. the office of financial research is working to understand what data we need to better track risks in the system and what we can learn from that data. there he -- they are leading efforts to create international standards so we can anticipate the next crisis with information that is accessible and usable. part of the current focus of these new organizations is non- bank financial companies and shadow banking. in a lot of ways, they fulfill similar roles in the financial system but without the competence of oversight and safeguards that banks are subject to. it is essential that we understand the risks that they present.

the tri-party repurchase agreement market is a critical source of short-term funding but one with identified structural vulnerabilities, print to early the reliance on intraday credit. desperate to globally the reliance on intraday -- particularly on the reliance on intraday the space credit the council made recommendations for additional reform to supplement changes made by the ftc in 2010. the fcc has proposed additional reforms and is working to finalize them. having new protections goes hand-in-hand with the broader work we are using to safeguard the financial system. the council will continue to work mostly with the fec. the office ofd financial research are

fulfilling their charge to look across the financial system and evaluate risk that may pose a threat to financial stability ufrfor instance, the recently put a study to inform the council's understanding of risk in the sect or. this report provides the council with important analysis to look at whether the industry presents risks to the broader financial system. we also cannot forget the importance of reforming the housing finance system to enhance financial stability. it is important that we work with congress in a bipartisan basis to get legislation to get this done. as the council noted in its most recent annual report, significant housing finance reform is still needed to have clarity to the market and attract more private capital. cannot beard, we afraid to ask tough questions with an open mind and without preconceived judgment. by data and analysis, we should act as necessary to promote stability

across our financial system. we knew from the start that reforming our financial system could not happen overnight. perhaps if we were building our revelatory regime from scratch or if our financial system were less complex, it may have happened faster. our financial system is an elaborate engine that fuels economic growth. it provides credit for homes, cars and education. it helps small businesses by inventory and meet payroll. and it helps large employers hedge risks so that sudden changes to not mean layoffs or shutdowns. we made tough choices and significant progress for reforming our financial system. every day, more change comes not just on paper but in the way banks, private funds exchanges and clearing houses do their business. as we move forward and as new higher standards are phased in, the changes will be even more parent. more apparent. and our financial system will be more secure. he cousin is always evolving,

this is work that, by its basic nature, is never finished and is our ongoing obligation to remain vigilant and responsive to identify best to a dynamic and changing financial system. thank you very much. [applause] >> on c-span tonight, president obama at the white house hanukkah reception. after that, the democratic steering committee overhearing expiring unemployment benefits. later, house majority leader cantor and hoyer on the u.n. legislative agenda. >> kentucky senator rand paul will be speaking at the detroit economic club friday to announce his new proposal on jobs and the economy. you can see a live starting at 12: 35 eastern here on c-span.

and on c-span 3, former utah governor and presidential candidate jon huntsman and former indiana governor and senator evan bayh will talk about bipartisanship. live at 12: teen p.m. eastern. -- 12:15 p.m. eastern. >> things escalate so quickly. a moment that seemed so loving can just turn and flip and be so out of control. this is one of those days and it leavewith adam packing to and going through his things and finding a hidden handgun. he said i just want to take this and sell it if i want some money. on top of the other pressures, they have no money. just held the gun and he went in the room and came out with a shotgun and really tried to jam it at her.

he wanted to get her go so much that she would pull the trigger and kill him. this is based on what she told me -- she wanted to. >> david hinkle follows a man sunday night at 8:00 on c-span's &a." >> the president and first lady anticipated in the lighting of the national menorah. this is 10 minutes. [applause] >> hello, everybody. welcome to the white house. normally, we just have one hanukkah reception. twohis year, we are hosting because we have so many friends to celebrate with. we had to do it twice.

i will be welcoming a whole other group this evening. build -- don't tell them that you are my favorite group. [laughter] it is our own little hanukkah miracle. the party that was supposed to last only one hour will go on for eight. [laughter] you got that one? [laughter] now, this is the fifth time i have celebrated hanukkah as resident. funikah.is my first this has inspired people across america. we are delighted to welcome them here tonight. we have -- a line drive from new york city. asher from-- we have new york city. where is the manurkey?

bring it out here. you have to see this. thank you asher for your spirit and your creativity. katel whoana to actually coined the term thank sgivukah. i will keep this is a special place. [laughter] deborah,h her sister expect this term to catch on across the country. where are they? there they are. let's see them. hey guys, how are you? they had a lot of fun with their project. but there is a serious side to

it because they say they always express their gratitude to america in a place that, no matter who you are, you can always celebrate your faith. that is expressed in the menorah we are about to light. by -- designed manfred escaped and like the maccabees of the hanukkah story, he fought against the tyranny with the australian army. after the war was over, he sought a place where he could live his life and practice his religion free from fear. so for manfred and millions like him, that place was ultimately america. he passed away last year. but during his life, he designed the special menorah with a model of the statue of liberty at the base of each candle.

i don't know if you have noticed that. in a moment, all nine lady liberty's will be shining as a beacon of hope and freedom, wherever you come from, whatever your faith. it beacon stays bright because of families like the one that will join me in lighting the menorah this evening, the schwitters. dad, jake emma could not be here because he is deployed in afghanistan. [applause] joined by his wonderful wife drew, his daughters lanie and kylie. the head and wave, guys. [laughter] i want you to know how proud we are of not only your dad but also of you. thewe are so grateful sacrifices you make on behalf of our country original day. tonight, we give thanks to all

the men and women in uniform and for their families who make tremendous sacrifices on our behalf. on behalf of our freedom and our security, not only of us but our allies and friends around the world, including our friends in the state of israel. and the commitment and courage of our men and women in uniform and their families itself is a miracle for which we give thanks. as the festival of lights draws to a close, let's think of all of the miracles that we have had a chance to expense in all of our lives. their small lyric -- they are small miracles like the invention of the manurkey. [laughter] thanksgiving and hanukkah will not overlap again for another 70,000 years. so it is safe to say that this is a once-in-a-lifetime event. [laughter] unless there is really a scientific breakthrough that we don't know about. never may see again

ukah, if wenksgiv can show the same resilience as manfred and send and the resourcefulness of young asher and the same strength as military families as the schmitters, we will be blessed with many more miracles in your succumb. rabbid like to welcome amanda lehr to say a blessing. [applause] >> hanukkah formally ends tonight as the sun goes down this evening. but it will always be appropriate for us to gather and remind ourselves and the world of the meaning of this holiday. so in that spirit in this wonderful gathering, we now can know the menorah and recite to blessings.

and as we can of the lights, we thankingthe first is god for the miraculous capability to bring light to the darkest corners of the world and for leaders who are dedicated to strengthening religious freedoms in our days as in the days of the maccabees. the second blessing is the simple and our full prayer of thanksgiving for the blessing of life, the gift of lights and a privilege to celebrate hanukkah together. please join me. ♪ [singing in hebrew] ♪ [speaking in hebrew] >> all right.

>> thank you. >> do you need some help? [laughter] >> that's so great. >> that's pretty smooth. >> perfection. >> all right. [applause]

>> well, thank you all again for being here. we hope you have a wonderful celebration. stay to party because i have to go back to work. [laughter] but i do want to make sure that we get a chance to shake hands with all of you briefly as we go by. again, we just want to thank the sure to telld make dad that we thank him, too. [applause] enjoy, everybody. thank you. on c-span, the democratic steering committee overhearing an expiring -- committee will hold a hearing on expiring and implement benefits. later, treasury secretary jack

lew gives an update on the implementation of dodd-frank financial regulation. >> friday on c-span, washington journal looks at the mission and role of the national institutes of health starting live at 7:30 eastern with director francis collins on their medical research priorities, future projects, and the impact of sequestration. at 8:00, allergy and infectious diseases director anthony found she followed -- anthony fauci followed why erica green. green.owed by eric at nine: 30, a look at the national institutes of health with director thomas insel. >> kentucky senator rand paul will be speaking at the detroit economic club friday to announce

his new proposal on jobs and the economy. you can see a live starting at 12:35 eastern here on c-span. it comes to metal mining, the coal mining district surprises -- surpasses anything that heretofore existed. it makes the quarterly mining district the number one mining super mining producer in the history of the u.s. they want to keep the tools anrp and the blacksmith was important job. they can't see very well. when they are drifting back in, they were doing a technique called scaling.

they want to hit that nice and solid sharp sound when they are tapping rocks all around them. if there is a hollow sound, there is loose material. they can see that very well but it sounds funny. that is when they are getting their picks and tools and start scaling off all that was rock, working hard to scale off that the loose rock before they start lasting. they like to hold their hands for safety. that is the proper way for safety. they had tricks. they liked to use their thumbnail to let her off the light -- to glare off the light. that type of injury might put you out of business. so the safeway was to hold them like this. a quartert, turn it of a turn, hit, and that is how they do it by hand in candlelight. thatquarter of a turn like

is really important to maintaining the round hole. drill. called a starter they start in with the short ones and move on to longer hand skills. drilling holes all day. they blow out their lights to conserve them. the quarterly mining district is one of the richest metal mining districts in the world. find out more this weekend as the tv and american history tv look at the history and literary life of court alain, idaho. coe's of court alain -- of idaho.ene, hiselson mandela died at johannes home on thursday. he spent 27 years in prison after being convicted for his anti-apartheid activities. after his release from prison, he was elected president of the country in 1994, serving just one term.

current south african resident said there will be a full state funeral and ordered flags to be fun at half staff. nelson mandela was 95. unemployment insurance benefits are set to expire on december 28. thursday, the democratic steering committee held a hearing where they heard witnesses representing some of the 1.3 million people who will be affected if these benefits expire. this is 90 minutes. >> good morning, everyone. thank you for joining us for this hearing. is that on? good morning, everyone. thank you very much for joining us for this hearing of the most serious matter, striking right

into the heart of the security of america's working families. in the interest of our getting to our witnesses as soon as possible, i will save my further remarks until later but yield to the distinguished ranking member on the ways and means committee who has been a champion on the issue of fairness for america's workers. today, our focus on unemployment insurance, the very distinguished gentlemen from michigan, representative sandy levin. >> thank you all for coming. human and in economic terms, this congress has a mandate to extend federal unemployment insurance. we will, in a few minutes, see the human side from the three americans who are joining us to tell their personal stories.

i think they will be in a sense very personal. they represent more than one million other americans with similar stories who will lose ofry dime, and every dime this support instantly on december 28 if this congress fails to act. a further 3.6 million americans will lose access to federal unemployment insurance next year if they exhaust their state coverage. year as they exhaust their state coverage. we strongly believe that if every member of congress would take even a few minutes to speak personally with unemployed workers, there would not be any question at all about the need to extend the federal ui program.

more than anything else they want a job, but finding work remains very difficult in an economy that still has 1.5 million fewer jobs than before the recession started six years ago. we have never had anything close to such a sustained job deficit after any recent downturn. it has been said in opposition to an extension that the federal emergency unemployment compensation program was adopted, and i quote, for extraordinary circumstances that are disappearing. no, no. these extraordinary circumstances continue adds indicated in the report issued just this morning by president obama's council of economic advisors, that highlights that

the current long-term unemployment rate is at least twice as high as it was at the expiration of every previous extended ui benefit program. the extraordinary circumstances in a few words continue. the report also sets out the economic impact of a failure to act. it occurs with cbo, wall street analysts and other economists, that allowing the federal ui program to expire who cost our economy at least 200,000 jobs next year because of reduced consumer demand. for this congress to ignore the national economic impact would be shortsighted. to ignore the human, the individual human impact would be cold hearted.

that is not the better nation, the better nature of our nation. and i trust of this congress. thank you. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman for championing this issue. i wish this hearing were not necessary, that we were not faced with what representative levin presented to us, but i am grateful to the co-chairs of the steering and policy committee for bringing us together to hear from our very special guests. i will yield in a moment but first i want to acknowledge that we've been joined by congresswoman barbara lee of california, congressman david sis linney of rhode island, congressman hank jordan of

georgia, our distinguished democratic whip of the house of maryland, steny hoyer, our ranking member on the small business committee, nydia velasquez. our co-chairs will more fully introduce our witnesses. i want to thank you all for honoring us with your presence. we look forward to hearing your testimony. with that, i yield. >> a member of the house republican leadership said this week, quote, there is no appetite for extending unemployment benefits in the republican conference. today we're here not to hear about appetite, but about hunger, about the hunger that people across this country, 1.3 million of them have for the dignity to work, the literal hunger that many of these families will suffer on the 28th of december if benefits are not

extended and the hunger we should have as a country, as an economy for putting people back to work. the statements we hear this morning will be more than eloquent. i thank the witnesses for being here. we look forward to getting to work to extend unemployment benefits. >> thank you, madam leader, and i want to welcome our guests here as well. it's been five years since the financial crisis precipitated a great recession. it destroyed millions of american jobs and trillions in household wealth. we've got many families in this country who are struggling to get back on their feet. unemployment at 7.2%. one out of every six americans amongst us lives in poverty and one in six is battling hunger. in the face of the need, congress needs to be doing everything that we can to create jobs, grow the economy, help those that are struggling. it is a moral responsibility that we have. and over the past few years, we have seen a majority do nothing to address this issue.

the fact of the matter is, if we do not extend ui before the end of the year, 1.3 million men and women will lose their benefits right away. another 1.9 will lose their benefits by july 1st, 2014. this is bad news for families who are already struggling. failing to extend the benefits ripples throughout the economy. it will cost us about 310,000 jobs next year. i just want to quote someone. the speaker held a hearing five years ago on the financial crisis, and it was about discussing how we stimulate the economy. one of the witnesses was mark zandy, the economist and adviser to the john mccain campaign. we asked what was the fastest way to increase the demand and employment and get our economy woving again. he talked three things, e panned access to food stamps, continue to provide refundable tax credits and extend unemployment

benefits. today we hear from a panel who will explain exactly how unemployment insurance benefits families and the american economy and why it is imperative for this congress to move and act before the year ends. thank you, madam leader. >> we'll go to introduction of the witnesses. mr. laurel and i are going to share. i'll start with ms. owens who has been the executive director of the national employment law project since january of 2008, and she's seen the efforts that that institution oversee the effects of the great recession. she's worked at the afl-cio, focused on minimum wage, living wage hikes, pay equity for women, many issues we're pursuing around this country. ms. owens we welcome you. we want to introduce each witness first or have them testify one at a time? >> okay.

we'd ask you to make your statement brief so we can get to all witnesses. >> thank you so much. we appreciate the committee holding this important hearing today on what is an urgent matter for millions of americans who will lose their unemployment benefits over the holidays, more than 3 million by the first of july if congress fails to act to renew the emergency unemployment program. a written statement is in the record. i will keep my remarks brief. i want to emphasize as congressman levin stressed, that although the economy has improved, it is far from a healthy economy that provides job opportunities for all who need and want to work, particularly the long-term unemployed. unemployment remains higher than it was before the recession. it has ticked down a little bit since the last time the program was renewed, but in reality that's because of labor force dropouts as opposed to a real decline in unemployment. if we included all the missing

workers in our unemployment count, unemployment today would be 11%. this is not the kind of economy in which people struggling with long-term unemployment can find jobs. there are still officially three unemployed workers for every single job opening which means even month two out of three unemployed workers is completely out of luck when it comes to finding a job. secondly, i want to talk a little bit about the demographics of the long-term unemployed because i think this is really important. the demographics are partly a function of who lost jobs first and have suffered the most. while unemployment has cut across every demographic group in our economy, the workers most affected by long-term unemployment have been older workers, workers of color and workers with less education. and that's not particularly surprising because these are the workers who, even in a robust

economy, experience the greatest difficult in getting jobs in the first place for a variety of reasons including discrimination. the very fact of long-term unemployment is affecting these workers' ability to get new jobs. i know many of you are co-sponsors on legislation that would prohibit discrimination against the long-term unemployed which is certainly a measure we would also encourage you to take up as soon as you can. but today's focus is obviously on extending the benefits. finally, i want to stress again the importance of renewing the program, not just because of the workers who will be affected, and you will hear from them, but for the economy overall, for the labor market overall and for our society overall. as congressman levin again pointed out this morning, we know that unemployment insurance is one of the most effective economic stimuli that we have.

cbo said if the program is renewed, it could account for as much as .3% in gdp growth next year and an additional 300,000 jobs. obviously if it's not renewed, it will have the opposite effect. that's very damaging to our economy. estimates are that every dollar invested in unemployment insurance pays back 1.6 to $2 in added growth of gdp. secondly, we know that unemployment insurance is an effective anti-poverty tool and we care about that in this country. the census bureau reported that in 2012, unemployment insurance alone kept 1.7 million americans out of poverty including close to half a million children. as congresswoman del lore row said, it is scandalous that in the richest nation in the world that one in six americans is living in poverty.

and the least that this congress can do is make sure that it doesn't exacerbate that problem by cutting off the vital income that millions of americans rely upon. finally, i want to just put to rest the kin nard that long-term unemployment insurance keeps people unemployed. number one, that reflects that people who say that don't understand how unemployment is officially counted. one is only counted as unemployed if one is looking for work. the long-term program requires people to look for work. so, in fact, it has the opposite effect. it keeps people in the labor market. it causes them to be more aggressive in their job search, and it gives them the resources they need to stay afloat while they are looking for jobs. if we want to reduce unemployment, sure, cut off this program, but we will reduce unemployment then by having more people completely drop out of

the labor force, and ha is not the recipe for a prosperous economy that works for all oufs. thank you very much. >> thank you, ms. owens. one of our guiding principles and commitments in the democratic caucus is when women succeed, america succeeds. one of those success stories is lisa floyd. she's a sales and service professional from hunting ton, west virginia. she spent the last 14 years working as director of volunteer services as a hospice, very hard work indeed, making sure the sick and elderly were able to die at peace and with dignity. she's a success story. lisa exhausted her state benefits without finding a job, but the extended benefits that we support and believe should be supported again help her keep her head above water long enough to find a new job without losing her job or going des tut. lisa, you're not invisible. you're important. we're glad you're here.

>> good morning representativs.s >> good morning. >> we're here. >> thank you. thank you for having me here to share my story. my name is lisa floyd, and for nearly 14 years i've worked as director of volunteer services for an area non-profit hospice which serves both west virginia and ohio. i have worked my entire adult life having had three jobs my whole career, and i had never been as i lost my job, i immediately began my furious search for employment and began navigating the world of online boards, job boards and diligently networking. my goal was to place my resume

in the hands of everyone i knew. i have spent the majority of my waking hours looking for work. during this time, i was able to support myself because i received those vital unemployment insurance benefits. i not only was looking for jobs in my field or only for jobs at the same salary level. i'm smart enough to know that most likely i would be changing careers and taking a pay cut. i applied for everything and anything. eventually, i began applying for entry level call center jobs. jobs that would have resulted in a $30,000 a year pay cut or to

put this another way, a 42% reduction in my pay. that was monday of this week. in a box on the floor by my desk i have a stack of job application receipts, job descriptions, research and various forms of my resume and cover letters. this stack is two feet tall. and i know because i measured it. in addition, my online network connections have literally gone viral. my regular state unemployment benefits ended in early november and i immediately began receiving federal emergency unemployment compensation. i wouldn't hey been able to pay my mortgage, and i would have

been at risk of losing my beloved little house. i was raised by my mother, a single parent. we never owned a home, but we lived in apartments. so i'm especially proud of my home and i know that my deceased mother would have been proud to know she raised me right. i am somebody. i own a home. now in the eighth month of my job search, i'm happy to say that i have secured a job just three days ago. thank you. again, that was monday. although my new job pays much, much less than what i was making, it is a good job with a

liveable wage, and for that i am very grateful. without unemployment insurance and the federal emergency benefits, i would have not been able to sustain myself in my job search. so for me, these programs have done what they are supposed to do. they kept me in my home. i could still buy groceries and pay my bills. my anxiety was kept to a manageable level and i was able to keep sending out applications and going on interviews. if it had not been fortunate in finding this job, i would have

faced the year end cut off of federal emergency unemployment compensation benefits absent congressional action. for millions, that would be devastating. for me, it could have meant the loss of my beloved home. i am so relieved and grateful that i won't have to face that now, but i know millions of others are at the same risk that i was just two days ago. again, monday. i am here on their behalf pleading with congress to renew the federal emergency unemployment compensation program for 2014. and please give the other 1.3 million americans a fighting chance to become re-employed.

i am an emergency unemployment compensation success story. won't you please allow this to be america's story? thank you. >> lisa, your mother is proud. and you are somebody. and you reverse that view that people who are unemployed want to stay unemployed. we are all defined by the jobs that we do. we take pride in what we do. and that's why we're with you today to tell you that we are going to do everything in our power to make sure that these benefits get extended.

thank you for your courage. and vera, another story, thank you for your courage in being here. vera, a long-time biotech professional from lynn, massachusetts. she is going to talk about how failure to extend unemployment insurance benefits would impact her directly. she has been searching for work for the last seven months. thank you for being here and for sharing your story this morning, vera. >> thank you for inviting me here today. thank you for the opportunity to speak on behalf of millions of unemployed americans across this country who, like me, face the year end shutdown of the federal emergency unemployment compensation benefits if this congress fails to renew this act prior to 2014, my name is vera may volk. i live in lynn, massachusetts. i have earned a bachelor's degree in microbiology, a

masters degree in immunology. i worked over 20 years in the biotech pharmaceutical industry in various positions and under various functions both in academia. i invested four years with a company developing a very vital diagnostic tool for cancer and test development. i was laid off in may 2013 due to lack of funding that was complicated by the sequester earlier in the year. i am deeply engaged in job searching, spending at least eight hours a day in front of my computer networking, searching job boards, being involved in professional groups. i have posted over 50 resumes on job searches and to companies.

i am applying to jobs like lisa at all levels, even including entry level. i'm actively engaged in wind networking group which consists of professionals throughout the massachusetts area. i have attended job search workshops, pursued job postings. as the seventh month of my job search begins, i continue looking for employment within the biotech pharmaceutical industry. i have also applied for seasonal jobs and i applied for part-time jobs within service and retail industry. my husband is self-employed business consultant m.i.t. because his business is failing due to the economic sequester, we have very little appreciable income coming in. that is my state unemployment.

that will end at the end of this week. i am going to be one of those 1.3 million americans on the euc in 2013. to face the fact those benefits end at the end of this year is truly creating distress in me. i have very sleepless nights. i wake up with fears and tears. i just don't know what i'm going to do. we also need health assistance, food assistance, heating assistance, home assistance, just like my friend lisa did. this fear is keeping me from moving forward and pursuing these activities and from pursuing my job search, but today i think i'm getting a new spark. this lack of funding coming up will exacerbate my crohn's condition because i'm making the

choice of having to eat less quality foods that contain ingredients that i cannot eat. therefore, my health will suffer even more than what it does. i don't even know what i'm going to do for medications for both of us. i am asking congress to renew the euc benefits for 2014. it is the least this congress can do. it must do this for america. please invest in america. that's where you get, you'll get results for the economy to grow. thank you very much for your time. >> every member of congress should hear and head what lisa and vera have said. we are here to try to amplify your strong and wise voices. we thank you. stan is an electrician. he is a journeyman wireman.

on july 3rd of this year, a project on which he had worked for an extended period of time finished. since then, he's been looking for work. stan gets up at 4:00 a.m. every day even though he's not working. what he spends most of his time doing is trying to find work, especially with construction season, cold weather coming up. his state benefits in maryland will expire, as i understand it in early january. when they expire, if we do not extend the federal benefits, he will be without an income when looking for his next job. stan, we hope the next time you get up at 4:00 a.m. is because you're working. in the meantime, we want to hear what you have to say today. >> thank you for letting me speak today. i'm from baltimore, maryland, journeyman, wireman electrician and have been one since 1975. i've done electrical work ever since i was a teenager. i'm 67 years young and i'm

capable, fully able and eager to work. i need the work, i love the work. it's who i am. i tell you this, i hate being unemployed. it's a waste of my time, my abilities. during the recent recession and early part of recovery, i was fortunate to have continuous work for a three year period on a job. my industry can be sporadic. i put away money and i saved. a five-month job ended earlier this year on july 3rd. the unemployment insurance, which is my only income, and i used my savings that i put away. i'm in the 20th week of my regular state unemployment benefits and they'll end in january. unemployment benefits helped me scrape by week to week and even with them, i'm not able to pay my portion of expenses for the apartment i share. i'm trying to find a job is a

very difficult thing. construction work is a hard find in the winter. outside of my industry, from what i've seen potential employers see my age and look right past me. i still get up 4:30 every morning, that's saturdays and sundays. i'm out pursuing work in my union and elsewhere things should pick up for me this spring. i'm looking every day for hopes to getting something sooner because i hate not working. so here i am facing the end of unemployment benefits in january. if this congress does not act to renew the federal emergency unemployment compensation program, there will be no federal benefits available for me and people like me. if that happens, i'm still unemployed. i won't be able to pay the basics. if congress lets the uec program shut down, i won't be able to put gas in my car to look for a

job. tell me how that's going to help me and others like me get back to work. don't allow them to shut this down. thank you. >> the final witness, 1.3 million demonstrated by the three witnesses that have just spoken are not just a statistic. they live, they breathe, they have families. it is our obligation in the congress to make sure that they have the opportunities to live their lives. father schneider, it's wonderful to have you here with us today. since 2005, you've been president of catholic charities and you oversee local catholic charity agencies nationwide and help 10 million americans a year struggling in poverty, regardless of their religion, social or economic backgrounds. father schneider is the author much "think and act anew, how

poverty in america affects us all and what we can do about it." father schneider, we are counting on you to make sure that we all keep our moral responsibility front and center in our policy discussions. you can help to make that case your voice, your perspective are critical and important for not just those of us here this morning, but for all members of congress to hear. thank you for being with us. >> thank you. madam leader pelosi, representative delaura and other members of the house here today, good morning and a real sincere thank you for holding this important hearing that will focus on the issue of extending the emergency unemployment compensation benefits. i'm grateful to have the opportunity to make a few remarks. also bringing the perspective of nonprofits to provide help to

americans in need each and every day. catholic charities throughout this country serves about 10 million people every year. that's about one in four persons living in poverty. that's why this is such an important issue for us because we don't want to see those numbers increase. in less than 20 days, millions across our country will gather with family to celebrate christmas and the holidays, yet only days after marking the holiday with family and loved ones, more than one million americans may lose that vital benefit if it is not renewed and their ability to provide for their families may be in jeopardy. unemployment insurance benefits are a vital life link for unemployed workers and their families. it can make the difference between continuing to have housing and also having enough to eat. this will affect especially children and some veterans. it serves as a bridge when a temporary job loss is

experienced. without it, individuals can easily slip into poverty. extending this benefit is simply a wiser investment of dollars until our economy is robust enough to create sufficient employment opportunities for those who spend so much time looking for work. behind the statistic of millions of jobless workers are men and women, as we have heard this morning, who have worked their whole lives and who take pride in being a contributing member of their community. they are our neighbors. they are our extended family members. let there be no mistake that the people who receive this benefit are people who have worked every day and want to work. they want and need the dignity of work to allow them to provide for themselves and their families. unemployment is not the life these individuals seek, nor is it the one they want. they want to continue moving

toward the american dream. it is uncouple bent upon all of us to do everything that we can to ensure a robust economy and good paying jobs are the long-term solutions. at catholic charities we see first hand what choices unemployed americans face as they look for work. leaving them and their families vulnerable as they continue their job search. the impact of unemployment extends beyond individuals and families to communities and neighborhoods as well. high unemployment and poverty go hand in hand. the characteristics of poor neighborhoods amplify the impact of unemployment. this benefit is an investment to keep our communities healthy. when the work force and economy take a hit as we have seen these last several years, social service agencies are often the first to feel the impact. for example, within days of this fall's government shutdown,

catholic charities agencies were immediately reporting the increased need in their community as a result of the changed employment situation of federal workers. while catholic charities remain committed to helping families get back on their feet as they search for work, we can only be a part of the solution. it is understandable this benefit should not be extended permanently, but as a nation, we should not pull the rug out from under the americans who continue to look for work in this economy that is ever so slow to recover. we can understand having limits, but we have to take into account the reality of the depth of the current setback in the economy. our catholic tradition teaches us that society has a special obligation to consider first the needs of the poor. pope francis called on us numerous times to recognize the needs of our neighbors and make

responding to those folks a priority. he said in his recent exertation thought is vital government leaders around financial leaders take head and broaden their horizons working to make sure all citizens have dignified, work, education and health care. i am firmly convinced that openness to the transcendent can bring about a new political and economic mindset which would help to break down the wall of separation between the economy and the common good of society. i urge congress to do the same. the challenge here today is for congress to work together and support a bipartisan effort that our neighbors do not go without by extending this benefit in this time of great need for so many. thank you.

>> madam leader? >> i want to thank our witnesses again. as a tribute to all of you, i am so pleased many members have come. some have to go back to their committee work, but to pay respect to you. we've been joined by congressman of puerto rico, ohio, minnesota, new york, california, alabama, california, new york. chris val the list goes on and on. while we are talking about a major statistic, 1.3 million people by the end of the month,

every single one of those stories, their million stories out there are important to us. you are the personification of that. you are the personification of the great work ethic of america, and that's what we want to see upheld with this. i'm pleased to yield to our distinguished witness for comments he might wish to make. >> thank you for being here. we talk in washington about big numbers, billions, millions of people. too infrequently we talk about individuals, the stans, the veras, the lisas of america that our actions affect immediately and directly on a daily basis. i thank you for being here. it takes courage to come here. to express a polite that i think

was said when we see one another, first thing we say is what's your name? my name is lisa, my name is vera, my name is stan. what's the next question we ask? what do you do? what do you do in our society? what do you do to occupy your time from 4:00 a.m. on productively that makes you feel worthwhile? not only is this an extraordinary economic damage we are inflibt iing but also psychological. you talked about that, as well. stan, obviously evidenced that. we appreciate the fact that you're here to bring home the personal individual impact that our lack of action has. we are scheduled to leave here on the 13th of december, friday the 13th of december.

i'm hopeful that we will not vote to adjourn the congress of the united states for the year 2013 without taking care of this issue, to ensure that the lisas and veras and stans of our country, our neighbors, our friends, our daughters, our sons, our fathers and mothers know that we care and that there is that floor that help, that hand that reaches out. father, that's what jesus told us to do, of course, is to reach out and lift up. and help, and hopefully we'll do that. your testimony i think will make a difference in us doing that. thank you very much. >> thank mr. hoyer and our colleagues for being here. what we are going to do now is turn this to questions. in order to accommodate all the members here with their questions and answers, what we

are going to do is try to take three questions at a time and members will be called on in order of appearance. i'm going to ask my colleagues to make the question very short and poignant, and we'll get the answers we want. we anticipate there will be votes. we want to get all the questions in. i will ask the questicongresswo lee -- did congresswoman lee leave? mr. hoyer left? >> good morning, everyone. i've been in congress almost 20 years and participated in many

congressional hearings. this is the toughest one and i'm a tough lady. i just want to take this opportunity to thank every one of you, stan, vera, lisa, for your grace and your dignity. and i hope, father i pray, that those americans that are being ignored by the other side that are paying close attention to what is happening here in congress. vera, lisa, i would like to ask you a question. the last seven months have clearly been very tough on you. you persevere and now you are on a brighter path. where would you be today if it wasn't for the unemployment compensation emergency?

>> if i had not had the extra time, because unless you have experienced how the job market is today and the incredible amount of research, and you may spend three hours preparing for an interview. you have no idea what it is like to go through the world of the internet job boards. i was facing a decision of taking, actually i enrolled. i have a bachelor's degree and i had enrolled in my local community college with all the young millenials to go back to school to get an associate's degree, to go to night school and work during the day on a minimum wage job or a little bit

more and then i would, my plan was to have to dig into my retirement and have 30% of that taxed and then taxed again and just pray that my tenacity would get me there. the anxiety level, i can't even explain to you the insomnia, the tears, the mood swings, the ups, the downs. it ranks with me as one of the five most tragic things to have ever happened in my life. what it does to you emotionally and psychologically, you feel like hester prenn with the letter "a" when you're jobless very long. you soon become a member of the lost world. people look at you when you don't have a job yet like there's something wrong with you.

that's where i would have been. >> thank you. >> i have no questions, but i would like to let you all know that for a period of about three months, i was unemployed -- this was back many years ago. it was really during, between school -- it was summer break. i'm used to working and i could not find a job that summer, the whole summer. i can't tell you how -- i can tell you but i'm sure your feelings about being unemployed and searching for work and being unable to find anything, the

effect that has on you mentally is just very -- you wouldn't know it unless you went through it. i think that's the problem with a lot of our colleagues here in congress is that, you know, many were born with a silver spoon. so they never had to encounter times where it was hard to make ends meet. but you have a lot of representatives here who feel your pain and we are going to do everything under the leadership of our caucus leaders to remedy this situation for you. last but not least, our dear pope, father, has brought it all home at such a wonderful time of the year where we are sharing, we are thankful for all that we

have been given and we are trying to give back and share a little bit of that good tidings with our neighbors and our friends. that's the spirit that we should have. i just want to applaud the pope for taking that direction and thank you all for being brave enough to come here today. thank you. >> congressman? >> thank you all. i'm here because i represent puerto rico in congress. puerto rico is an american territory and its unemployment rate at present is 14.7%. it has the highest unemployment rate pretty much in america. at the same time 80,200 puerto ricans, american citizens, will not continue getting unemployment benefits if this legislation is not, and this

program is not extended. your accounts have moved me quite a bit. i know anybody with any kind of sensitivity would be moved by your accounts. i am sure that most, if not all those 80,000 constituents i represent would have similar accounts. now, i'm going to address my question to father snyder. some colleagues of ours here in congress believe our government has no responsibility, the federal government has no responsibility, no business in dealing with poverty, hunger, homelessness and unemployment in america. they believe that just charities should take care of it all. what's your response to them? >> i think charity has a role to play, without a doubt. charity cannot do it alone. our tradition in this country

has been that charity partners with the government and we work together. because we both have that as a common goal. especially the most vulnerable. as far as saying government has no role it in, i'm not sure what their faith tradition might be, but i think those of us who certainly are christian, are jewish, and even in the muslim tradition, there is that very clear responsibility to your neighbor, especially your neighbor in need. i would encourage them to go back and look at the roots of their faith tradition because i think the very things we are talking about here today you will find an answer there. >> thank you. >> thank you. we are going to hear first from congressman joyce beatty of ohiohi ohio.

>> thank you so much. let me just join all my colleagues in thanking you for coming and giving your testimony. let me just say that that's courageous to me. this is very difficult as i sit here and i think of how you represent the many faces in my district of people who are writing me and people who are calling me with very similar stories. certainly, we are here because we are concerned. we are your advocates so i wanted to be able to personally say that. lisa, your story like the others was very compelling. you mentioned ohio and that touched me being in the heart in the capital city of ohio. i'll be brief. the question is almost a follow-up to my colleague's

question, but not as it relates to the church or faith-based. so often people in my district will say go to the church and they'll take care of it and that doesn't happen. when you need a loan in my district, the churches can't sustain new a home or with medical or groceries. if there was one thing you could say to us, i'm a so-what person and a resolve person. we're here and we heard you. what's the one extra thing you would like me to do, whether it's in my district or legislatively or here in a committee, what's the one thing? >> for me, and i've been asking myself what congress is doing and what they are doing for me as an individual and a community. i know you're not my representative.

you do represent me in other ways. i think it's to find a way to resolve these issues that are facing our nation. help the people that are under yo your -- my husband and i were talking on the way to the airport that this is the congress that has done the least amount for the american people as a nation of all of them that have been thus far. that's one of the reasons why i rarely listen to the news any more is because of how depressing it gets that there is just no talking with you. even i have to talk with my family or my friends to negotiate and with my husband to negotiate issues and negotiate what we are going to pay or what we are going to eat. sometimes we make concessions. sometimes one makes the

concession, sometimes the other, but usually we both makes a concession on what we are going to do in this situation. to me, i don't understand why our congress is not -- we're all here to earn a living, to be responsible to our communities and to our nation. and how can -- i'm asking myself that as lisa and stan have what can i contribute back to my community as a stem professional, what can i do? as a home gardener, what can i do? as a daughter of a veteran, what can i do for the veterans of our community? and soon i may be homeless. every time i see a homeless person, i'm actually giving them whatever little change i have in my purse, in my hand or my pocket. i'm starting to make an effort

to hold, keep coins in my pocket so that i can give something to someone. because whatever we can give to the least of us we do for ourselves. i don't know if that's really what you're asking. >> that is very helpful. thank you. >> if somehow this congress and future congress persons come together and work for us as people as a nation. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. first i want to thank you, mr. co-chair and co-chair delauro for holding this very important hearing. this is why i came to congress was to hear and listen and represent constituents and people in america like you who expect this congress to address the important issues of our time. nothing can be more important

than employment and job creation and growing our economy. so you have put a perspective that i have been waiting to hear now for 11 months as a new member. you've provided me some hope that i came to congress to do the right thing and to fight for people who need us to be champions on your behalf. i'm from nevada. my state has the highest unemployment in the country at 9.3%. in a state with fewer than 3 million people, we have some 20,000 individuals who will lose their emergency unemployment benefits on december 28th if we don't do something about that. if the republican leadership continues to sit idly by, by next june that number will double to 40,000. so it is real. i want to thank each of you

because as my colleagues have said already, we're listening and we hear you and we know that you represent so many other people. to lisa, vera, stan, the other witnesses, thank you. stan, i want to ask you a specific question because one sector that has been hardest hit in my state is the construction sector. i have building trade workers in unions and a lot of other trades who have been unemployed now for more than a year. there really are no jobs in that sector coming back any time soon in my community because of the sustained recession. the construction industry was our number two sector behind gaming so it's been hardest hit. it's good to hear a union perspective. i want to ask you as a building trades worker, what about the quality of the job that you're

looking for? you come from a sector with good, livable wages with good benefits with pension and apprenticeship to come back and retrain. what happens to you if the jobs that they're trying to put you in don't really provide for family-sustaining wages for you and your family? >> as you sit down and work, you start questioning your ability to do a job. your worth drops, your self-confidence drops. it takes quite a bit to build it back up. it's hard to be unemployed. i am a craftsman.

i build. i enjoy building. i like to look back on what i built and say, "i did that." that's my pride. when you don't have a job, you feel worthless. it's a feeling i don't like. i've been in the trade 43 years. i worked everything from bridges to steel mills, to car plants, and i've always give them the top notch job i could. the quality is what my pride is and that's what i'm trying to give. to do anything else is unfulfilling. it doesn't give you a feeling of

worth. doesn't make you feel good. it's hard to do something else, not after all these years of training, continuous training we go under. i don't know. >> beautiful answer, stan. congresswoman grace napolitano. >> i join my colleagues in thanking you for being here and being so honest with us. i just wish my colleagues on the other side were sitting here listening to you. they're not. one of the areas that covers mental health. i'm sure all of you understand that this is something you are not getting assistance to deal with the pressures of the feelings of worthlessness, the feelings of despair and the questioning of yourself and your abilities to get back in the job market. somehow we are missing the point

of being able to help you to sustain that mental attitude to be successful in your ability to achieve re-employment. so that's an area -- pardon me, i get excited. that we are not focusing on in congress either. the ability to understand the position it places you in as an additional side effect of not acting and extending unemployment benefits. it is something that just affects the family. you might lose your homes. now we have another home on the market. it might or might not move. it adds to the recession. so we must begin to also understand that we need to help you be able to sustain your mental capability to move forward and be successful, and being able to tell you you're worth it. every one of you. you've done your work, you created this economy in the united states, and we owe it to you. the other area is of course the

unemployed vets. you know a lot of them coming home to nothing. the suicide rate is 22 which is unacceptable to our veterans. there are many things we need to work on. the problem has been the budget is not big enough. the economy is not growing fast enough. why are we not focusing on bringing the jobs back here to the u.s.? why are we not looking at being able to hold employers accountable for things -- they're making money. i can start off with a few i can think offhand. you understand. you feed to be aware and you need to tell other people to be aware of how this works here in congress. because if you don't support what we are trying to do and increase the budget, understand the benefits and bring companies back here to do the job creation and take care of you when you need it, to be able to help you back on your feet, then we are not doing your job. it's only half the job because we don't have the power to do it

as it stands now. any comments? >> i just want to say one thing, representative. what i was feeling on monday morning was pure unadulterated fear. fear. i gave my christmas tree to a friend. wasn't going to put it up. no christmas. i had no idea what i was facing. ing. your emotions go up and down, up and down because you go on a face-to-face interview. you think it went great. because the competition in our area is very high because of unemployment. people don't understand -- what i want you to understand is get rid of that wrong impression that people who are on long-term unemployment are coasting along, singing a song and they're all laying in front of the tv

watching "jerry springer" and eating junk food. that is not what we're doing. we are out there every day. i want to say something. you have to step aside for a moment every now and then because you're going to drive yourself insane, but pounding it hard. the majority of americans want to work. we are the exception. not we are the exception. we are the rule. we want to work. understand that. please. >> we get it. the problem is my colleagues on the other side don't get it because they may never have been unemployed. california has the highest -- well, we are over 35 million now. our affected unemployed will be close to a million in california if we don't extend this. you understand it is critical for all of us and we all