of representatives. stay tuned. we will have a couple of hearings of interest for you as well. the house will meet at 10:00 for morning our. -- hour. we now go to the house of representatives. [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: the house will be in order. the chair lays before the house a communication from the speaker. the clerk: the speaker's room, washington, d.c., february 4, 2014. i hereby appoint the honorable john j. duncan jr. to act as speaker pro tempore on this day. signed, john a. boehner, speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the order of the house of january 7, 2014, the chair will now recognize members from lists submitted by the majority and minority leaders for morning hour ebate. the chair will alternate recognition between the parties with each party limited to one hour and each member other than the majority and minority leaders and the minority whip , but in o five minutes mo event shall debate continue -- but in no event shall debate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. the chair recognizes the gentleman from oregon, mr. blumenauer, for five minutes.

mr. blumenauer: thank you, mr. speaker. we're used to a world with gloomy news regarding the jarring impact and threats of climate change. we're experiencing wildfires in the pacific northwest this winter. the snow pack is a small percentage of normal which is not just bad news for skiers now, it means lower river levels in the spring that will affect hydropower production, irrigation for farmers and further damage to every troubled fish runs. california is experiencing its worst drought in 500 years. not really man made, as some of my republican california colleagues claim. although it is interesting, as pointed out in the "l.a. times" yesterday in an editorial. isn't it funny that folks who question man's ability to affect climate change are so quick to assign human causes to

the drought? there's severe strains on the colorado river basin and the 40 million people heavily dependent on that water throughout the southwest. last week we heard about the massive penguin dieoff due to changing weather patterns. of course we've been experiencing the polar vortex and wild weather this winter. with all these bad signs, it was interesting to see a positive message emerge which was featured yesterday in the front page of "the washington post" about air pollution in china. to be sure, chinese pollution still threatens with the most carbon emissions on the climate which portend far worse climate problems in the future for everyone. it causes a million premature deaths a year in china and in fact threatens the health of west coast americans as we

regularly breathe chinese pollution that follows across the ocean. but it's encouraging that china is taking steps to acknowledge the problem, to track and publicize the severe pollution levels when five years ago they asked the united states embassy in beijing to stop publicizing that embarrassing data. not only are they publishing the information itself and even ranking the worst offenders, the 10 most polluted chinese cities have air quality levels six to 10 times the worse polluted american cities. they're more ambitious than anything the united states did in the e.p.a.'s highly successful toxic release inventory that dates back almost 30 years. it's absolutely critical that china acknowledge the problem and hold people accountable for the pollution, but it's even better news hat chinese are

going beyond mere data collection as they unveiled a $280 billion plan to improve air quality, including limiting coal use and banning high-pollution vehicles. isn't it ironic that the leadership in the house of representatives of the republicans is to -- is determined to prevent the united states e.p.a. in taking the next steps in cleaning up our dirty coal plants and protecting us from carbon pollution that's causing such climate disruption all the science?ying the the hopes that the united states comes to its senses while it appears that the chinese are starting to come around. the future of the planet for our children and grandchildren depends upon it. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the chair now recognizes the gentlewoman from florida, ms. ros-lehtinen, for five minutes.

ms. ros-lehtinen: thank you so much, mr. speaker. i rise this morning to recognize alexander montisorri school for 50 years of providing exceptional educational opportunities for generations of children in south florida. 50 years ago, beverly mcgee founded alexander day school in honor of her parents in order to provide an early childhood facility for her two children. from the outset, her school has enjoyed a reputation as a place where kids wanted to learn and where the staff and teachers cared about what they did. within the few years of the school's founding, beverly became aware of what is known as the month sorry method, amed for -- montisorri method, being creative. its environment maximizes independence and has a strong focus and communication and

self-molding for young students. beverly became certified as a preschool teacher and renamed her school alexander school. she gathered teachers from around her who shared her ssion and dedication for providing a quality environment for children, ones with only the highest standards of excellence. from modest beginnings of that single kindergarten class, the school has grown to be one of the largest and renowned schools in the country. today in south florida, two der school has ddler environments, nine campuses. they follow their natural talents and fall in love with learning. an attitude summed up in its motto, to learn, to love, to learn. this independent school remains the only fully accredited american montessori society

school in our community and one of only 10 throughout the state of florida. i can relate to beverly's story, her spirit and her relendless dedication to provide children with high-quality education. i'm a former florida certified teacher and founded and was principal of a small private bilingual school in hialeah. i know the challenges faced by our educators as well as the positive impact that an amazing teacher can have on a young mind and i am a product of the south florida student. i have an associated arts degree from miami-dade college, a bachelor and masters degree from florida national university in education and as n older adult, i completed a doctorate in education from the university of miami. so i'm grateful for the support i received while i was in school and i was certain i will not be -- i am certain i will not be the same person without that support. sown suring our children have the same access to a

comprehensive education has become a top priority of mine. our students deserve the best that we can offer them and that is why i continue to work with strong partners, like alexander montessori school to constantly improve our school system. education is the key to self-empowerment, and teachers, like those at alexander montessori school, are giving our students the tools they need to develop and to excel. teachers have the power to inspire and to open whole new horizons for our youth, setting them up on a positive path with high hopes and expectations for the future. for the professionalism and care that beverly and everyone at alexander montessori school have shown in the pursuit of this most noble of professions, i thank each and every one of them. they have shaped the lives of so many students over the last 50 years and we're truly privileged to have such wonderful individuals taking on this rewarding work in south florida. thank you again, and congratulations on a half

century of great work. good luck in the years to come and, mr. speaker, i kindly ask for unanimous consent so that the names of the remarkable team members at alexander montessori school be entered in the congressional record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. ms. ros-lehtinen: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from illinois, mr. quigley, for five minutes. mr. quigley: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise today to call on my colleagues to join in the effort to pass the fair minimum wage act and raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. 50 years ago, 200,000 americans marched on washington, appealing to the soul of the nation, dr. martin luther king and his fellow speakers charted out the long journey for equality and justice ahead. in a pamphlet promoting the march on washington, they lifted 10 specific legislative demands. a number of these demands would go on to become some of the

most significant achievements of the federal government in the postwar era. comprehensive civil rights legislation, desegregation of all school districts and end the discrimination of federal housing programs. it is clear we have made progress on many of these issues, but for many of us here, the fight for these goals remain unfinished. let us not forget, though, that the march on washington was actually called the march on washington for jobs and freedom. let us remember number eight on that list of demands, and i quote, a national minimum wage that will give all americans a decent standard of living. government surveys show that anything less than $2 an hour fails to do this, end of quote. on whole, the american economy has made tremendous strides in the last half century. many of this congress have been benefactor of that growth. but the american worker has been left behind. the $2 an hour that dr. king

and his colleagues called for would be nearly $15 per hour today when adjusted for inflation. despite this fact, many of my colleagues will call the demand for a $10.10 federal minimum wage unreasonable. many will even say this demand for a reasonable wage is rooted in partisan politics. but mr. speaker, this reasonable demand is rooted in the belief that american workers deserve more. president truman said that minimum wage legislation was, quote, founded on the belief that full human dignity requires at least a minimum level of economic sufficiency and security. the call for a raise in the minimum wage is based on the fact that while a single parent aking a minimum wage earns $15,080 annually. that is still more than $400 below the federal poverty rate. the call for a raise in the minimum wage is based on the fact that working 40-hour

weeks, 52 weeks a year, that parents still struggles to feed their family. think about that during your next vacation. the call for a raise in the minimum wage is based on the fact that a single parent is overwhelmingly likely to be a single mother, because while women make up 47% of our work force, they represent nearly 2/3 of minimum wage earners. and finally, the call for a raise in the minimum wage is based on good economics. i know full well that those opposed to a raise in the minimum wage say that any raise will reduce employment, and in a certain point it could, but a modest raise to $10 is nowhere near this theoretical tipping point and more than six dozen economists agree. in a recent letter to congress, they explicitly said, increases in the minimum wage have little or no impact on the employment of minimum wage workers, even during times of weakness in the

labor market. the economic recovery has been long, slow -- a very long, slow road for american workers and a raise in the minimum wage is a jolt our economy needs. higher wages turns into increased spending and turns into growth. unemployment insurance is mere the minimum mum we should be worker.r the american let's remember that the call for the increase in the minimum wage was number 7, a massive federal plan to train and place workers on meaningful and dignified jobs at decent wages. this body needs to turn its focus on advancing legislation that will create more american jobs and policies that matter to american workers. i urge my colleagues to support the american worker. join me in calling for jobs legislation and a reasonable raise of the federal minimum wage. thank you and i yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from illinois, mr. kinzinger, for five minutes. . everybody who is going to speak this morning is going to speak about important issues, there is no issue more important than we deal with in this body than the issue of american global leadership and the issue of national defense. i just got back from a security summit in munich and i want to share some of my thoughts in talking to our strategic partners around the globe. ladies and gentlemen, there is a decline of american leadership around the globe. there is a perception that america is on the retreat from the rest of the world, america that's tired of a decade of war, which i fully understand, an america that decides the fight is just not worth it anymore. and the decline of american

leadership around the world is not just something that we can't do because it's not good, but it's dangerous, not just to us but to the rest of the globe. think about how we got in this position in the first place. it was the failure of the leadership in the 1990's to pursue a jihadist by the name of osama bin laden, instead this nation and the president treated him as a common criminal and not as a declared opponent and war opponent of the united states of america. what we saw was an attack in the world trade center, attack on the uss cole and khobart towers in scrabe and 3,000 american lives were taken and woke america up to jihadism and terrorism and we have people who live solely for the purpose of killing and destroying people who don't see eye-to-eye with their specific religious ideology. failure to confront those

terrorists led to that big problem we have today and what we have seen lately is the same kind of tree trenchment by the united states. still the most powerful country in the world. our enemies no longer fear us and our allies no longer trust is us. let me label a few of these areas. i'm a veteran of iraq. the u.s. marines fought to take the city of fallujah and took the most casualties that they have taken since vietnam. today, the black flag of al qaeda flies over fluge. he sacrifice of -- fallujah. this president eager to achieve a campaign promise pulled the troops out at the end of 2011 and did not leave a force.

if we left a counterterrorism force in iraq, we would not be facing this problem today. i look at a terrible deal struck with iran, a deal that says iran is allowed to be a threshold nuclear state. the secretary and the president will say we are going from 20% enrichment to 5% and doesn't mean it takes that long and by the way all the surrounding states to iran think that they probably and feel entitled to say they have a right to enrich uranium up to 5% creating a whole hose of threshold nuclear states. and yet, we call this a victory? i look at syria, 11,000 opponents to assad, tortured and murdered and labeled with numbers. 11,000 people, which made the thing that launch america to intervene in bosnia and 11,000

opponents to assad tortured and killed. and you look at assad who is targeting the free syrian army so that al qaeda opposition grows to him and stand in front of the west and say, i am the procketor. if we get to a point where we look to assad as the protector of freedom, god help us. i look at one of our greatest allies, jordan, hosting thousands of refugees and israel surrounded by instability in the middle east, i look at resurgent china that challenges america all over the globe now and i look at a russia that continues to occupy georgia. you contain, people standing up for freedom. haven't heard from this administration. i'm burdened by this lack of american global leadership. i don't care about the politics

of it, i don't care about november, i care about the future of this country and what i see is decline of american leadership, still the greatest country around the globe. yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the chair now recognizes the ntleman from virginia, mr. connolly for five minutes. mr. connolly: there is a decline in american leadership, but it is not overseas, not at all, it's here at home. since the 1970's, american workers have seen their wages fall or stagnate. the wealthiest american incomes have increased fourfold. even after 40 years of economic growth, today's generation takes home less than its grandparents did and high school graduates make 40% less than their predecessors did four decades ago. this problem ought to elicit

bipartisan concern but my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have shown no interest in the consequences. for many of my republican colleagues, even talking about it is uncomfortable. it's time to realize that all too many americans, hardworking americans are falling behind. from 1979 to 2007, wages for the top 1% grew 156%. while the bottom 90% of us saw our wages grow only 17%. since 1983, 75% of the growth in wealth has been captured by the top 5% while the bottom 60% actually suffered a net decline. by 2010, nearly all low-income families have made the same hourly wage they did in 2000 despite having raised productivity during that time period by 22%. that's not how it's supposed to

work. median family income was 6% lower, but this loss decade caps a trend that has been going on in this country for over 30 years. and what is the most telling portrait of low and middle-income americans are being shut out, bloomberg recently reported that 95% of wealth generated since the great recession went to the richest 1%, 95% went to 1%. in real terms, nine out of 10 people control less wealth than they did before the crash. in 2012, the top 10% of earners took home more than half of the u.s. total income. this is the highest level ever recorded. income and wealth haven't been this concentrated since before the great depression and we are beginning to rival the gilded age of the late 19th century.

a recent poll shows the concerns into quality have moved the public consciousness. two out of three americans are dissatisfied with income and wealth distribution in the united states including 54% of all republicans and 70% of independents. many americans worry about their ability to find future opportunity and 54% believe that one can get ahead by working hard. what does that say about the merican dream? justice brandeis once said, we may have democracy or wealth concentrated in the hands of a few but we cannot have both. letting a generation of americans remain underemployed, underpaid and despair about their future creates social destruction and damages democracy. nations whose citizens believe that the game is rigged against them are not beacons of

democracy. civil culture cor roads. we have seen that here at home. the new pope, pope francis, lamented that the world's inequality is quietly undermining political and social institutions. he gets it. last week, the president highlighted how our nation's wealth and income gaps have become too large to continue to ignore. congress cannot continue to stand by. i urge my colleagues to consider the many bipartisan proposals that would jump-start growth. we need to be investing in america's infrastructure. my bill would give local governments another tool to jump start the economy and infrastructure projects. generations of americans starting with our founders made their way to america's shores attracted by the promise of opportunity and with the belief that through hard work they can get ahead. unfortunately, that dream is at

risk today. i urge my colleagues to join all of us in preserving opportunity for all americans and prevent our nation from becoming a nation of stark divide between tvs and tv nots. i yield back. nots. haves and the have yield back. mr. barr: the president described an economy which inequality has deepened and upward mobility has stalled. unfortunately in many respects, he's right. the poor are worse off today than they were when president obama took office. nearly seven million more americans live in poverty today as compared to 2008. a record 47 million americans receive food stamps. 13 million more than when

president obama assumed office. median household income has fallen. over $2,000 in the last four years. 76% of americans live paycheck to paycheck and the percentage working-aged people has dropped to the lowest rate. 92 million americans are not part of the work force, either not employed or not actively looking for work. they are so frustrated with the obama economy, they have just given up. when taking account workers who are unemployed but want a job, workers who are working part-time jobs, the jobless rate is over 13%. mr. speaker, five years after this president took office, the state of the union is not strong. but instead of admitting that

his policies have failed, the president offered more big government and more class warfare. but mr. speaker, a lack of government isn't the problem. and class warfare isn't a solution. the president says we need to raise the minimum wage, extend emergency unemployment insurance yet again for the 13th time in his administration. but we should stop thinking small in this country. we are americans. we should think big. we don't need minimum wages, we need maximum wages. we don't need more unemployment insurance and government dependency. we need jobs and self-sufficiency. the best way to combat income inequality, to restore upward mobility and the american dream and create a healthy economy is for washington to get out of the way, whether in a doctor's office, in the job market or at the gas pump.

that means replacing obamacare that will lower the cost of health care without growing government. it means cutting wasteful spending and put the nation on a path towards a balanced budget and means comprehensive tax reform and allows individuals, families and businesses to keep more of what they earned. it means rolling back provisions of d.o.d.-frank that allow bureaucrats to take away choices, services and products and limit access to credit and take those away from the american people. end the war on coal and approving immediately the keystone pipeline and means giving the poor a hand up rather than a handout, giving them a job instead of a government check and giving them the skills they need to escape dependency so they can achieve their god-given potential. we can do all this and restore the american dream and restore

opportunity and economic growth and i stand ready to work to get america back on track. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the chair now recognizes gentlewoman sfr alabama, ms. sewell for five minutes. ms. sewell: i rise in recognition of black history month and contributions made by notable african-americans. i proclaim the month of february as a time of reflection for alabama's 7th congressional district. in honor of black history month, it would befitting to pay tribute to the native sons and daughters of alabama that made significant contributions not only to the state of alabama but to this great nation. as representative of the civil rights district and beneficiary of the sacrifices of so many, i have committed to sharing the stories of these extraordinary men and women throughout the month of february so their contributions will forever be

recorded and referenced in our nation's history. today, i begin with a tribute to virgil ware and johnny robinson. these american heroes and birmingham naturetives lost their lives within hours of the of the bombing. while many of us have heard the stories of the four little girls that perished in that bomb, many are unaware on that same day virgil and johnny were also victims of unspeakable and senseless violence. the third s of six children. one of his surviving brothers, melvin ware, describes virgil as a special child who was exceptional in his educational endeavors. while his brothers were preparing for social

gatherings, virgil could be found reading a good book or r rusing the en-- perusing the encyclopedia. he expressed his siblings that he was looking forward to joining them at the local high school the next year. he fell victim to a tragedy that would change the ware family and this community forever. virgil, who sat on the handle bars of his brother's bike, was headed to a paper route on the outskirts of birmingham in september of 1963. the brothers rode past a group of men who just left a segregationist meetings in the city. one of the then were told to shoot at the ware brothers to scare them. the man shoot two in their direction, one struck virgil in his chest and the other in his cheek. tragically, the young boy that loved to read and help his

family, he was the sixth young person to lose their life on that sunday due to blatant violence. just one hour prior to virgil's death, johnny robinson joined a group of young boys at a local gas station. johnny was born on february 25, 1947, to martha and johnny robinson sr. his younger brother, leon, described him as a kid who loved playing baseball and basketball. ironically, his favorite subject was history. even at the tender age of 16 he snood that he and his -- understood that he and his siblings were living in an historic era. the afternoon that johnny went to the gas station tensions remained high as local citizens were still reeling from the news of the church bombing and the death of the four little girls. according to accounts that were published in the birmingham news article, johnny and the other young boys were being taunted by white teenagers with

chants of opposing integration. there was also reports of rocks being thrown in retaliation. and hours after the bombing in the midst of all the chaos, johnny was killed by a police officer. some of our nation's biggest heroes are those that fought on the front lines in pursuit of equality and justice. however, young virgil and johnny serve as symbols of the heroes of the movement that we don't always recognize. johnny and virgil should be remembered for their important sacrifices that were made, and this history of our nation should not forget them. as we celebrate black history month and the notable contributions of african-americans to this country, i ask my colleagues to join me in remembering these brave young men during the month of february and beyond. their short lives serve as one of many catalysts for the transformative change in our country. while we know that their destinies were cut short, far too short, we remember them for

their impact on the civil rights movement. during their short time on this earth, these young souls should be counted in the number of -- of our nation's biggest heroes and i hope that my colleagues will join me in celebrating the life and legacy of virgil ware and johnny robinson jr. during this black history month period. thanks. the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentlewoman has expired. the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. fitzpatrick, for five minutes. mr. fitzpatrick: mr. speaker, today, february 4, is world cancer day. it's a day we remember those lost to this disease while recommitting ourselves and our efforts toward eradicating it. this world cancer day, people across the globe will speak out in one unified voice in hopes of improving knowledge about cancer and its symptoms while shattering the stereotypes and misconceptions that stand as barriers to the treatment. by debunking the myths and bringing the fight against cancer to the global stage, we

can make meaningful strides to address an issue that touches individuals, families and communities worldwide. this year alone, 1.6 million americans will be diagnosed with cancer and many of them will be children. as a member of the childhood cancer caucus and a cancer survivor myself, i know how important it is to support each one of those cases with dedication and with care. so today let's recognize the thousands of oncologists, support staff, researchers and families tackling this diagnosis from start to finish. if we work together from government organizations like the national institutes of health to hospitals and cancer treatment facilities in my home state of pennsylvania, to passing bipartisan legislation, like the gabrielle miller kids first research act, we can make this world cancer day a success and put an end to cancer in the not-so-distant future. with that, mr. speaker, i yield

back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new york, mr. higgins, for five minutes. mr. higgins: i join with my colleague from pennsylvania in recognizing that today, february 4, is world cancer day. a day in which we raise awareness of the impacts of cancer worldwide and join forces to work together to find a cure. if america does not lead the world in cancer research, there is no leadership in cancer remp in the world. a newly released report from the american cancer society says that the death rate from cancer has decreased by 20% over the past two decades. 30 years ago, less than 50% of those who were diagnosed with cancer lived beyond five years of their diagnosis. day, it's 65% for adults and 80% for children.

cancer research needs to be sustained if it's to be effective. 10 years ago, 25% of all those grants that came in to the national cancer institute were funded. today it's less than 8%. we're not only losing important research, but we're also losing talented researchers who leave the field because of a lack of public funding for cancer research. historically, there were three ways to deal with cancer. you could cut it out through surgery, you could burn it out through radiation or you could destroy it through toxic chemicals or chemotherapy. chemotherapy was developed in buffalo in 1904 at roswell park cancer institute. after those traditional cancer treatments with some debilitating side effects, a new generation about 15 years

ago was developed to treat cancer called targeted therapies. these are therapies that attack fast-growing cancer cells without destroying healthy cells. these targeted therapies led to a promising new therapy in breast cancer. herceptin, a very difficult late-stage cancer. also one that was effective in treating leukemia. today, the prestigious journal of science just declared that in 2013, the most important science discovery was something called immunotherapy. it uses several strategies, including vaccines, to treat the body's immune system to naturally fight cancer. what the promise is, and many clinical trials throughout this

nation, including at buffalo's roswell park cancer institute, is longer remissions without the debilitating side effects. we have a lot to learn about cancer. it's not one disease, it's hundreds of diseases. lifestyles plays a very important part in the incidences of cancer, both here mountain country and throughout the world. -- in the country and throughout the world. lung cancers are due to smoking, 80%. 30% of lung cancers are -- cancer is through tobacco use. one in two men will develop invasive cancer because men smoke more. but we need to know that early detection is also important as well. less than 10% of cancer deaths are attributed to the original tumor. it's when cancer moves, when it

advances, when it metastasizes to a vital organ is when cancer becomes lethal. the cancer cells crowd out healthy cells and render that organ which we need to live useless. so today on world cancer day, we are reminded about all the work that has been done, all the progress that has been made and all the progress still yet to be made. we also learn that while it's orld cancer day, america has a unique role in the history, currently and perspectively in developing the next generation of cancer treatments. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from illinois, mr. roskam, for five minutes. mr. roskam: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, in december of last year, the american studies association did a shameful

thing. they decided to call on an academic boycott of one nation, and that is the state of israel. now, think about that. they looked over every other country in the world and they said basically by admission, oh, you're fine and you're fine and you're fine and you're fine. doesn't matter what's happening there or what's happening there, but we're being to go after one country, israel, and we're going to call upon a boycott. the former israeli ambassador, michael orrin, after that happened asked this question, will congress stand up for academic freedom? and the answer is yes. i was pleased, mr. speaker, to join with 134 colleagues, myself included, to send a letter to the american studies association to admonish them on what is clearly an anti-semitic effort on their part. i know that's a very harsh thing for me to say, but

there's no other way to say it. it is anti-smetic. intend to move forward -- anti-semitic. i intend to move forward entitled protect academic freedom act which will prohibit federal funds to universities that boycott israeli academic institutions. said another way. these organizations are clearly free to do what they want to do under the first amendment, but the american taxpayer doesn't have to subsidize it. the american taxpayer doesn't have to be complicit in it and the american taxpayer doesn't have to play any part in it. in fact, what we're doing on a bipartisan basis is calling on congress to defend academic freedom because we understand that academic freedom is at its very root of our own freedom. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california, mr. era, for five minutes.

mr. bera: mr. speaker, i rise today to speak in opposition of r. 3964, the so-called sacramento-san joaquin emergency water delivery act. mr. speaker, california is suffering its worst water crisis in modern history. this is a one in 500-year drought. for the third year in a row, dry weather conditions and drought-like conditions are hurting so many families in so many communities, farmers, small businesses. if you need to see how bad things have gotten, look at folsom lake in my district. it's dry. er 500,000 residents in my folsom lake.y on we're doing everything we can to conserve water but you can't

take water when it doesn't exist and that's why h.r. 3964 is such a bad bill. it is a bill that is taking what doesn't exist. it doesn't create any new water. it just tries to move water from one community to another, but it doesn't exist. you can't take water that's not there. in fact, let's show you how bad things have gotten. is the source of water for over 20 million californians. it's our biggest reservoir. now, you can see what the snow pack looked like january, 2013. here it is. it has snow right here and this is our biggest reservoir and this is in the middle of the drought. here's what it looks like today. january, 014. it's not there.

the snow is not there. so h.r. 3964 suggests taking water that doesn't exist. it's a bad bill. you know, you can't, you know, falsely promise water deliveries that doesn't exist. the water's not there. now, here's what my suggestion is to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. water's not about democrats or republicans. this is a solution that we have to come together. it's about protecting our communities. . california is going to go through a devastating summer if we don't come together as democrats and republicans looking how to save water and we have to do this together not pitting one region against another, not pitting one community against another. we have to come up with creative

solutions. we've got to do that. but we've got to start discussing the future of water in california and looking at issues like storage and water recycling. look at creative solutions, because it's dry. with that, let's come together as democrats and republicans, folks from the north state and south state and not pit one community against another. let's solve this issue today and for our children. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. thompson, for five minutes. you, mr. n: thank speaker. mr. speaker, last week, the house of representatives passed the agricultural act of 2014. five-year farm bill re-authorization with bipartisan support by a vote of 251-166.

this farm bill is a big win for the nation's economy. it will support jobs across the commonwealth of pennsylvania while making necessary reforms that will save taxpayers billions. mr. speaker, not only does this bill deliver for taxpayers, it's good public policy. we spend over four years crafting the measure through dozens of hearings and audits and other forums for input. the bill was produced by house-senate conference committee upon which i served, that was charged with resolving differences between the house and senate-passed farm bills. throughout this process, members of the agriculture committee have proved that positive movement on important piece of legislation can be achieved. this bill repeals direct payments and limits producers to risk management tools that offer protection when they suffer significant losses. under the measure, limits on

payment are reduced. eligibility rolls are tightened and means test are strengthened to make farm programs more accountable. the measure provides historic reforms to dairy policy by repealing outdated and ineffective dairy programs. it supports small businesses and farmers and ranchers with training and access to capital. the agreement re-authorizes numerous research, extension and education programs including programs for land grant universities, national institutes of food and health and agricultural research service. this farm bill makes the first reforms to the food stamp program since the welfare reforms of 1996, while maintaining critical food assistance to families in need. it closes the heat and eat loophole that increases benefit levels with states provide nominal liheap assistance. the bill also includes the

forest fairness products act, a bill i introduced which would open new market opportunities for forest products by allowing em to qualify for the u.s. department of agriculture. it contains langed certifying the authority to exclude noncontroversial day-to-day activities of the national environmental policy act or nepa assessments and provides that nty by collar filing forest roads will not be treated as a point source of pollution under the clean water act and there will no longer be subject to frivolous lawsuits. it improves the conservation title flew the consolidation of 23 duplicative programs. overall, the package reduces deficits by $16.6 billion over 10 years. mr. speaker, for family farms

and agribusinesses that drive the economy, this bill is a big win. mr. speaker, for individuals and families in my home state that are looking for that next job or a little more take-home pay, this bill is a big win. mr. speaker, for the families and individuals that rely on safe and affordable food every day, this bill is a big win. mr. speaker, i urge the senate to quickly pass this bill and get it to the president's desk for his signature. americans deserve as much. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house

other agricultural programs. the house passed the bill last week, the senate -- scheduled to take it up this afternoon. today, robhe house andrews who represent southern new jersey, announces he will retire from the house at the end of the month, reportedly taking a job at a law firm in philadelphia. that makes 13 democrats and 20 republicans on the house side inouncing they would leave 2014, eight senators planning to retire or leave in 2014. now we go to an intelligence hearing underway on the house side, testified before a house panel on global threats to the

u.s.. this got started about 40 minutes ago. >> could you address that issue? >> virtually all of us have had dialogue with our colleagues and counterparts, foreign countries, and yes there is a political dimension to this. they each have their own domestic agendas they have to contend with. but in the confines of intelligence discussions, and our intelligence partnerships, the vast majority of our allies want to get on with business. want to make sure, if there seems to be any confusion in policy, you are the director of national intelligence. it is important to focus on that issue and deal with it directly. that is your job as coordinator. there is one thing that i will quickly go through that not many people talk about but we have to

continue to keep our eye on the ball as it relates to space. with all of the issues with iran,n, syria, huron, -- space is one of the most important aspect that we need to focus on. we became the strongest country in the world mainly because i believe our investment in our space program. i am concerned china has been conducting tests, conducting an anti-destructive satellite test. the rebuild as a result of this was troubling into our satellites and space missions. these activities reveal countries are working on the ability to destroy our on which so much of our daily lives in the terror capabilities depend. including gps, something that the public does not really understand how important is. could you explain the counterspace threat and what we

can do to protect ourselves? in wonderingrested if chinese leadership understands the ramifications of disabling one of our satellite systems/ that is why i intentionally brought this up in our closed session yesterday evening. theous recognition of importance that the u.s. places on space assets, not talking about reconnaissance efforts, but for many other reasons, as you alluded. other countries, potential adversaries, recognize that heavy dependence on space. ,s we described last night there are countries who are pursuing very aggressive, very impressive counterspace capabilities, which i cannot go into here because of classification restrictions. suffice it to say, we have

documented and projected ahead what those potential threats are and are taking appropriate them.s to deal with that thertainly think nationstates in question here, russia and china, will understand the implications as an act of war, to do something destructive against any of our satellites. >> i yield back, mr. chairman. thank you. if we can move to another region of the world for discussion. i'm interested, as we draw down in afghanistan, pakistan's influence. do you see them as a stabilizing or destabilizing force in the region? i will ask mr. brennan to help me here, but one imperative for the pakistanis always is

their primary concern, which is india. pakistan has the potential to be , stabilizing force particularly with the new administration there. instinct.at is their they would like to be. let me ask john if he would add more to that. more individuals have died at the hands of terrorists in pakistan than any other country worldwide. them, sometimes there are different points of view in how to deal with extremism, particularly in northern parts of pakistan, but it is a partnership in counterterrorism that must improve and get better. >> can you talk about our continued relationship with afghanistan regardless of the rate of troop withdrawal? >> and we hope what ever the troop size, we hope there is a positive relationship with afghan government, whatever form

that takes after karzai. of course, one of our major interests there, apart from peace and stability in afghanistan, is the continued ability to survey land conduct counterterrorism operations. doesat happens if assad not go in syria? >> the prospects right now is he is in a strengthened position, then when we discussed this last , by virtue of his agreement to remove the chemical weapons, as slow as that process has been. and in thenot go, absence of some kind of a diplomatic agreement, from geneva or follow-on discussions, i would foresee more of the same

, where neither the regime nor the opposition can prevail. >> has the regime given up all of its cable -- chemical weapons capability? >> not in the sense that they are out of the country physically yet. >> are they complying with all the terms? have initially in terms of all the decorations they were required to make. we think they did reasonably well. there has been a slow pace of the removal, since there have been only two shipments totaling three metric tons. it is somewhat difficult to parse out which is a genuine concern from a security or the adjusted standpoint, versus what is contrived, in the interest of prolonged the process. you called on

snowden to return all the documents that had not been disclosed. is there any reason to believe the russians are not in possession of whatever else he brought with him? >> that is a reasonable assumption but we do not actually know that. >> you also talk about political issues at play as it relates to other countries. thisems you believe administration is not political when it comes to intelligence, is that true? >> it is, as far as i am concerned, yes. question, can anybody tell us when somebody will be held responsible for the murders in benghazi? what i can tell you, congressman, this is a top priority of the fbi. we have made progress on the matter. i am not at liberty to talk about the details of that

progress. it is a difficult investigation but one that we have invested a lot of resources in and have made headway on. >> when can we expect movement? >> by movement you mean? >> we will never give up on this matter until we have the people responsible in our custody. >> no matter how long it takes? >> as long as it takes. we do not ever forget that the fbi. thank you, mr. chairman. director clapper, i like to follow up. do you feel our country is more at risk for terrorism because of the obama administration's policies? not.do

i do not think it has anything to do with the policies of this administration or any other. i think it has more to do with the transformation of the terrorist threat. we are not confused or obstructed by any policy coming out of the administration. >> shifting gears to russia, over the last couple of years we have seen russia support the regime in syria and provide limited information regarding the boston bombers, provide a safe haven to snowden, and now provide limited cooperation regarding the terrorist threats to u.s. olympic athletes and visitors to sochi. are these isolated events? do you see eyes -- russia

returning to a cold war posture toward the u.s.? >> that is a great question. i think this is reflective of the current leadership in russia. athink there is clearly desire to return to great global power status. i think that colors the behavior of the they areovernment. competitive with us. on the elliptic's in sochi, do you assess that the russian adequatet is taking precautions to protect athletes and visitors? on.f i may, pass that he has been working this problem intensively. congressman. we

are very focused on threats to the elliptic's. -- olympic games. threatknow, the primary from a terrorism perspective comes from the most prominent terrorist group in russia. it made its intent clear to seek to carry out attacks in the run-up to the games. we think a greater danger from a --rorist perspective is in outside the actual venue itself. we are sharing information with the russians and they are sharing information with us. there is more we can do in that regard. as of right now, i would characterize that level sharing as good. >> do know that a specific ?hreats question mark > >> there are a number of

threats. this is similar to the run up to prior olympic events. is it safe for americans to travel to sochi question mark >> i would say americans should follow state department guidelines. cupe have an upcoming world and the 2016 olympic said brazil. we fully monitoring the safety situation in regard to those two events? for all these types of events, we helped organize the intelligence community to share information within united states and have relationships with our partners, making sure there isn't it -- is an integrated approach. >> with respect to the ukraine,

do you assess that the pro-democracy opposition will prevail? >> that is hard to say. i hope they do. i am struck by the depth and breadth of their opposition. it has spread to the eastern part of the ukraine. that is traditionally been russian leaning. now we are seeing signs of demonstrations and opposition in the eastern part of the country, i think that is an interesting turn of events. >> thank you, mr. thompson. >> thank you for being here. i want to talk about china's in the south china sea.

why are they doing it? ifwe have any insight as to we have some trigger that ?ccurred is there some sort of interference that looks like an act of war? why is china reciprocating these tensions in that area -- precipitating those tensions. views itself as a global player as well. they feel they have his store to the historical claims south china sea. concerns of our representsheir mind an attempt to contain them.

they have been quite aggressive about asserting what they believe is their manifest destiny, if you will. a potentialte flashpoint. having traveled in that region recently, i can attest that it is of great concern. >> you talked about the traditional region of the south china sea, do you see china going the on that area? >> overtime they will try to project themselves globally. they have an interest in the

indian ocean. they are reaching out and participating in more humanitarian and peacekeeping operations. i think over time, they intend to project locally. are ourccurate projections of their increase in military spending? research theve to exact assessment of spending. i can describe ended last night what to me is a very impressive amount of modernization across every sphere that has a military application. this includes space, ciber, and all of their armed forces. they have not done that in the past. across the board, whether it is missiles, submarines, aircraft,

it is a very impressive military modernization program. designed to in their minds address what they feel are our strengths. our naval strength, bases, command and control, etc.. that has influenced a great deal what they do. >> can you give us insights into threatsterpretation of and unrest among the populace? tenants isheir major internal control. it they go to great lengths to control access to the internet and information exchange among their citizens. >> thank you. you, mr. schiff.

my apologies. i appreciate this open hearing. let me be clear. do you have any intelligence of a relationship between snowden and the russian government in regards to the stolen documents? >> that is best discussed in a closed session. as we discussed last night. >> i want to thank you director clapper for your defense of dance parents he. that is been characterized as a potential threat to our security or dismissed as politics. i call it democracy. national debate on domestic surveillance has been valuable, but unfortunately it

was a leaker who initiated it and not the government. anothere program as example of the significant activity at the public is trying to discussed that has been forded by a lack of transparency. both amnesty international and human rights watch have conducted research and raised concerns about the consequences of the drone program. the government has not responded. the intelligence committee take to increase transparency into the drone program and foster a responsible national debate? speaking of activities that are conducted covertly. that is one area that being where we are not going to be able to be as fully transparent as some might like. housen i was at the white

and listening to the president, i spoke repeatedly about the drones. they become an estimate of war. i spoke about that to the extent that i could. this is something that i think has been discussed quite broadly. >> does the intelligence community way or consider how signature strikes, strikes agenst unnamed military could generate hatred to americans? from an intelligence perspective, we are always analyzing. to include any counterterrorism activity we might be involved in

to see what the impact is, i think the feeling is we have have greatly in mitigated the threats to u.s. persons. >> do believe that the signature is adopted by other countries that are can being drone programs a threat to the united states? >> it could be. theuld have to comment on great care that is exercised by the united states. i would hope in being very precise about what targets to strike. i would hope as other countries acquired similar capabilities they would follow the model that we have for the care and

precision that we exercise. question, the bill includes an amendment that i sponsored requiring a written plan for each covert action program to prepare ahead of time for the potential leak of that program. it increases the threat to u.s. sources. reality is that any covert action can potentially be disclosed unexpectedly. without disclosing classified details, does each program have a written plan to deal with leaks of significant activities in that program? takeat is an issue that we into account whenever there's a covert action. it takes into account what the implications would be in the event of leaks.

there are too many disclosed leaks about a lot of things that the united states is involved in. it becomes a normal part of our business to anticipate those. >> i yield back. >> thank you. mr. king. >> i want to thank each of you for your service. clapper. thank general there is terrible damage that snowden has cause to our country and the men and women of the armed services. it is unfortunate that he is been laura fied in some aspects of the media. is given a distorted view to the american people that think he is some type of vote whistleblower.

he sold his country and put americans in terrible danger around the world. to follow-up about retro, -- diplomatically the role in syria is more than they have had in that region in more than 40 years. egypts transactions with , they're moreia aggressive in the ukraine and scandinavia. as the chairman pointed out, they have used the situation in the past, can you express concern about snowden in their custody? he is only allowed to stay in russia. ofinst this backdrop

aggressive russian behavior, how damaging could any information be that they get from them? >> it could be quite damaging. don't specifically know. it would be out of character having observed the russian security services in my 50 years of intelligence. they are very capable. his gun believe to me that they would not take it vantage of the opportunity to control snowden. commentary, this --a part of rushes -- rushes russia's image of itself. it has long had serious as a

client in the middle east. they have done what they can to sustain that toehold. they of take advantage of opportunity where they can with the egyptians. they want to extend their influence. >> as far as what we would expect in the future from russia, to me it is significant that putin has this idea of a return to glory. he is a former kgb person. informationextract he can to use against us in many ways, including trade agreements, undercutting us with our allies. >> i could not disagree with that. >> i yield back. thank you. >> thank you, mr. king.

mr. schiff. brendan, you know spoken frequently about vehicles the president gave a detailed account of the criteria that is used in those drone efforts. you try to increase transparency in the program. one way that would increase transparency and public accountability is if we could publish an annual report that identifies how many compounds -- combatants were killed and how many noncombatants were killed. that seems a limited value in terms of information to our adversaries. accountability, there are misleading lames about

casualties. it may be beneficial as well. is that something you could support? is that something that we can make? view, it would be of little value to our adversaries? >> it would have to go to the administration. we would discuss the advantages and potential disadvantages of it. it is a worthwhile recommendation if you would like to work that. oncan you share any thoughts the costs of that? if it were done at the end of the year, if we had categories so you could pinpoint any incident, is it your sense that the cost in terms of giving our advertising -- adversaries any

pertinent information? this would be for you to discuss with the administration, with policymakers and we would take a look at it. we would determine whether this was something that the u.s. government feels would be worthwhile to do. there is a lot of debate about the basis of those determinations and those numbers. it is something that i would defer to the administration on. >> i will follow-up with you on that. the president indicated that there is a wide disparity view regarding those numbers. i think for transparency and public accountability it would be beneficial. clapper, leading to the privacy issues, the tech companies are in and a possible situation.

-- an impossible situation. they have international business which is increasingly difficult to come by. there is a settlement with the justice department for some transparency which is helpful for them. -- can we gogo beyond that? are there ways we can help them make the international business case because it is very much in our interest to do so? >> thank you for signing the agreement that was struck with the providers. they can now make disclosures.

the administration has a commitment to improve that situation. population relative out there, how in frequently these capabilities are called upon. -- in the features of speech was assume we could do to protections to non-u.s. citizens. that is unique in the world. we are looking at that. we will have to weigh the list -- risk versus gain and how much that infringes on the value of our intelligence. we're not in a position today to see how that will all come out. wherever we can enhance transparency to the benefit of

our commercial partners, we certainly will. >> i yield back. >> thank you, mr. schiff. >> thank you to our panel for being here today. before i start, i have a quick comment. i read schiller returned from africa. women, af our men and help -- heartfelt thank you for volunteering to be in a very difficult circumstance in some places that are not very nice to protect the interest of the united states. it is very motivating. they are extremely patriotic and making great sacrifices. they do not get thank you's very often for what they do. it again pass on our thanks for the great job they are doing. >> absolutely. thank you for those kind words.

youram interested to have take on recent developments in egypt. ,hether the muslim brotherhood we can expect them to have a resurgence with the recent act -- attack their. is that the first of many? can you give us any idea where this is all headed? groupse are a number of that are active inside egypt. there is one group that is carried out -- has carried out many attacks. they have credit for attacks in cairo. there are some in sinai carried out attacks against egyptian security. there are also a lot of violence being carried out by increasing numbers of activists. some of them may have a relationship with a mutt -- muslim brotherhood.

attacks ofrrying out violence with guns or ied's. the government has been trying to deal with that as effectively as they can. the number of attacks have gone up over the past six weeks. some senior-level egyptian officials have been killed at the hands of these terrorists. bit to west little africa, it seems that some of my , thesevisits in nigeria countries are anxious to understand the threat. anxious toery cooperate with us. they have limited resources. do we have the resources necessary to prosecute the fight against terrorists in that part of the world? >> one of the things we are

trying to leverage is to work closely with the french. that was the case in other areas. many of us met with the french minister of defense. we have an excellent strategy with how to do the counterterrorism in that area of the world. the french have a long history there. they have access, they have insight and understanding and a willingness to use the forces they have there now. they will pursue counterterrorism. are part of this is to do what we can -- our part of this is to do a we can to strengthen that

engagement through the provision of intelligence. >> we are dedicating adequate assets to the fight? >> we can always use more. in everything you do in africa, there is intelligence. this is what the economy calls of -- and economy of force operation. my point -- part, partnering with the french is andway to compensate embellishing our effort there. mr. landrigan. >> i want to thank all of our witnesses today.

you mentioned in your opening statement the importance of cybersecurity. i want to focus on that for a minute. here in the united states we work to create security framework that effectively defends the nation and our critical infrastructure. while we are arguably among the global leaders in this regard, much more work needs to be done. your statement this morning references the cybersecurity as an international problem. i agree. i believe the united states has an opportunity to leverage its knowledge of cyber expertise. can you describe for us the intelligence immunities outreach to the international cyberspace community and what can be done

to facilitate the mentation of international cybersecurity to address the threat of today and tomorrow? this has been in working with our partners -- our cable partners that have the capability in the cyber arena. our allies.t to that extends out to others. has a bit of a chilling effect, these revelations. that does not detract from the importance of our getting on our partnering. specifically of

intelligence relationships. >> thank you. nsaing to the issue of the contractor who disclosed classified information, the damage has had a great impact on national security. the range of secrets compromised is astounding. our mentions have laced and women in uniform at risk. fieldople who work in the and it has cost us resources. to can this be compared traditional sources like nuclear proliferation or cybersecurity? >> that is a tough question. you annother i can give

answer to that. the problem is because potential revelations affect so many different aspects of our intelligence efforts. the other problem frankly is we or't know the full extent impact of these revelations. it is a good question, it is just one that is hard to answer. >> amassed something related to this. i was asked in a radio interview about the nsa contractor and the information that has been released. isthe things i focused on the vast majority of the data that has been stolen had very

little to do with just surveillance. most of it is in other areas that copper mines national security. he talked with percent that we know of? terms touch ond some of the other areas that you believe have been compromised by these disclosures? >> that is difficult. , vastider the vast majority of what has been goes wayly compromised beyond the revelations about domestic surveillance. that was his primary concern. and he potentially accessed made off with, transcends that. it is quite serious.

--can you say >> it is hard to give a number. >> is a 10%? i would say less than 10% has to do with domestic surveillance. but that is a ballpark figure. information being released targeted? >> i do not know. we looked at that. sometimes a pattern of the timing of some of these revelations. i don't think we have enough evidence to make a hard case. i know my time has expired. i want to thank you for your appearance today and for the work you do. >> for the purpose of clarification, you call the

domestic surveillance. my understanding is there was no mystic surveillance program. i should have put that in quotes. surveillance -- domestic surveillance programs. you are referring to section 215? -- popularly characterized that way. i was referring to what the context of the question as to what mr. snowden claimed was his "imary concern, which was domestic surveillance." for director brendan.

these are the bin laden documents. in less than two dozen files have been released. you are both aware of that? there have been less than two dozen that have been made public. questions. i would like to have both of you independently send those responses to the committee. we can take these later. one, what is the status to exploit ubl documents. how many can be released publicly? when will i be briefed? what leads on financial support has been identified? ubl received reports from other terrorist groups?

how many messages did he send to other terrorist groups? move -- wouldo you answer those questions? >> absolutely. everything that we do and has been exploited, we are going to school on that. we are learning from that exploitation of that raid. we are applying a lot of what we are doing in our current effort against terrorists. it is basement information. >> i look forward to your response. i don't how long it will take to get the answers to the s.estion we will follow up on it. to benghazi.switch

are you aware of any claims that e-mails regarding cia involvement were destroyed? >> no i am not. tripoli in october of 2012? no. i do not recall what i was there. i was not there after the attack. i don't believe that is correct. >> i know you're from later with this. the survivors were made to sign a nondisclosure forms. there was some confusion on an issue. have you had time to clarify why they had to sign the closure forms? there were a number of

contractors whose contracts are being updated and amended. anytime there is an amendment to a contract, there is a requirement for agreement to be re-signed. it was not to deal specifically with any effort to discourage anybody coming forward. i actively and explicitly encourage them to cooperate with this committee and with the congress. general dempsey said u.s. forces are perhaps it from killing the perpetrators of the attack. the simcity -- there seems to be all qaeda. about could you say what the all qaeda iscore

? >> this is the ideological center of the original al qaeda movement. of there the remnants leader of the global al qaeda movement. to me, that is my working definition. they are the core al qaeda in inistan and primarily afghanistan. >> if you get communications from those groups across the then just anu affiliate? are you just some of the terrorist group? not understand the -- i

do not understand the question. there are five affiliates. the franchise in yemen is the primary thread of all the franchises in terms of threat to the homeland. >> let me be more clear. the reason we have not been able to get the benghazi attackers is because they are not designated al qaeda. >> that does not have any anding on the investigation prosecution of the perpetrators of the attack. libya of october of 2012. i just checked with my staff. thank you mr. chairman.

for being here with us today. i know people have suffered a blow to their morale as a result of the disclosures we have talked about. while the route by which we got , ithis discussion was awful almost certainly put americans at risk. i think it is an important conversation for a democracy to have. that it is simply a pr exercise. this is obligated stuff. forget what we say and do, to judges have ruled in opposite directions on the legality of the 215 program. this is a good debate. i want to set that aside in

favor of a question about utility. there's been a great deal of misinformation. a question, in testimony in the for theo -- you said fbi the primary value of the program is agility. it allows us to do in minutes what would take hours. is that the strongest defense of the utility of the 215 program that can be mounted? is there something else we should keep in mind question mark >? >> is useful tool for that reason. -- it is a useful tool for that reason. plots foiled is necessarily the only metric that to be used for the potential

value of the 215 metadata. it is an important tool. had a numberhen we of diplomatic facilities in the mideast that were closed because of what appeared to be potential terrorist threats, it turned up some number of selectors that pointed in the direction of the united states. using this tool, we were able to eliminate the fact that there was no terrorist nexus and there was no domestic plotting going on. mind, there are fewer slots -- lots foiled. 9/11, it is a low probability but very high impact

tool. i would like to follow-up on a different topic. iran.taining to are we seeing compliance on the part of a ram -- iran russian mark are we seeing noncompliance? >> they are complying with the agreement. the evidence is in the declaration of their compliance with provisions of the jp away. that is not to say they won't take advantage of that which is not prohibited. they will. moreombination of the intrusive inspections and surveillance coupled with what we are able to do, they will be watching for that. we have intelligence which suggests that the regime is not acting in good faith at this

point? deception?y >> no. kang yourd senator opinion that right now the deposition of more sanctions of be counterproductive. the president said he would veto sanctions. that is likely off the table. what about resolutions are other measures that would come out of the congress threatening additional sanctions? said, the iranians are students of us and our government. they clearly understand how the system works here. vantage, right now additional sanctions would be a poke in the eye. they understand.

decides foress whatever reason they are not in compliance and one more sanctions, is a policy thing. from the iranian perspective right now, they do appear to be implying with the provisions of poa.jp a do they believe that if there governmenttion the would impose other sanctions? there are various opinion pockets about things. it is very hard to find a monolithic view. >> thank you. thank you for appearing and for all you do. mr. west moreland.

flynn, afghanistan, --t is our counter terrorism where are we at with our counter terrorism in afghanistan? probably the best to talk for the group about the scale and scope of the terrorist threat. i would say for the posture of we intelligence offered with have going on. we have focused on the most serious threats. highlighted,s been

we will continue to have that intelligence capability there until such decisions are made about size and force. >> i would just add from a terrorism perspective, our ofgest concern is the number core al qaeda individuals. aey may seek to provide possibility of being capable there. i guess my question is we see what happened in iraq. we talked about the terror training camps in both iraq and syria. we know they are in libya also. have thelike we don't -- make what we

are doing last. we lost a great number of men and women. approachlike with the that karzai has taken, it might make your ability to get because of thess pullout that we are going to do. i think people see what is happening in iraq. date that we are pulling out, does that hinder your intelligence in any way as far as some assets or whatever that we have their? here? robustave a very

counterterrorism program. we're are working with afghan services. complications. on our military colleagues of the type of support that we need in order to continue our intelligence mission. it is not just all kind but others that pose a serious threat. we have to rely on intelligence with our afghan colleagues. be don't think we are losing credibility with some of these assets? leave they could be in great danger? >> there is concern in the area about what the future holds.

that is why it is important that security agreement be signed. the afghanhink national army and their security of continuingable on? do you feel like there is going to be terror camps that are eventually going to be set that up in afghanistan? we will be back where we were before 9/11? >> that is a concern.

i think over time the army will have its challenges. there'll be a loss of a lot of the enablers. in virtually every scenario, there will be -- they will be able to maintain security. clearly, the taliban and has gone to this -- has gone through this before. i am surmising here. they will think twice about allowing the resurgence of al qaeda back in afghanistan. -- they will pause before they allow that to

happen. >> i yield back. that therejust add an international commitment to sustain the capability of this afghan security forces been billed by an international community over the last decade. there is concerned that this may not be there. thatr estimate, we believe it is of the major concerns that they have. actively, they have the capability at the forefront of the things we are addressing with them. these are all important issues. as a force, they are respects ang in some

pretty good ability to secure some of the area that they operate within. >> thank you. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i want to thank our panelists. my question is about our preparedness. my question is how to characterize the probability of an al qaeda sponsored attack > inst the homeland? >> there is a much lesser capability. the capability of al qaeda to attack onmplex, large the scale of 9/11 is greatly degraded. regard the aqap pose

the most dangerous external threat to us. internally, the most frequent threat will continue to be homegrown violent extremists. >> how has sequester affected this preparedness of your organization? it is having an effect. >> as i said in my statement, the combination of compromises and decisions we have made and is the effectons of all this is that i worry about. capacity.ion in our it is not as great as it was a

year or two ago. cuts,continue with these we will have a negative impact. particular a capability that is most at risk? asset isst important our people. that is why i am concerned about the effect of the morale of the workforce. with shutdowns and pay freezes , i am concerned. we want to be able to recruit the people we need. our attrition is around 4.4%. those two factors begin to be

affected, that will become a manic of our challenge. the thing i worry most about is the impact on people. may, from a preparedness perspective, the integration of we intelligence community, have exemplified the agencies represented here, it has made is much better prepared to deal with the terrorist attacks and we were 10 years ago. we share intelligence and bring to bear all the capabilities of these organizations. the integration of this community is a real change from 10 years ago. >> i would like to turn to cybersecurity. last year, the threat assessment hearing led to a discussion about ciber. yber. the news routinely reports cyber

fraud and cyber crimes. security ofy, the .arget and neiman marcus the threat is domestic but also international. there are threats to our sovereign nation. the private sector in alabama have really come together to try and respond to this. auburn university leads a consortium. get work in concert to ongoing outreach as well as guidance with respect to ciber. this online. the houses gaveling in.

we expect a debate on th early . live to the house floor here on c-span. compassionate and merciful god, we give you thanks for giving us another day. bless the members of this people's house. give them strength, fortitude and patience. fill their hearts with charity, their minds with understanding, their wills with courage to do the right thing for all of