u.s. population trends for those under the age of 35. we'll take your phone calls on the first lady's nutrition initiative. ♪ host: it was four years ago that michelle obama began her "let's move" campaign to combat childhood obesity. she is in the forefront talking about that effort and unveiling new food labels. here's the first lady from earlier this week. [video clip] >> be issued a new school wellness guideline to build

healthier learning environments for our kids. part of this effort will be eliminating advertisements for unhealthy food and beverages in our schools. thatnk we can all agree our classroom should be healthy places where kids are not bombarded with ads for junk food. food marketing guidelines are tot of the larger effort inspire companies to think about how they campaign for food to kids. kids watch thousands of food advertisements every year. 86% of these ads are for products loaded with sugar and salt. our kids see an average of just one ad a week for healthy products like water, fruits and vegetables. just one. begun the we have first ever white house summit on food advertising to children,

asking businesses to stop marketing unhealthy foods to kids and do more to get kids excited about healthy foods. should applynciple to our schools. about theant to talk "let's move" campaign. the federal government's efforts to combat childhood obesity. you can see the numbers on your screen. do you think this is a good idea? isn't an area of the federal area that the federal government should not be involved in? it's the fourth anniversary of the campaign. through on the phone lines, try social media. you can make a comment on our facebook page or send an e-mail .o journal@c-span.org

from politico this morning, michelle obama flexes policy muscle. she has shown this week she has the muscle to make big things happen. she's been a stranger to advocacy efforts that back her husband's policy goals, from encouraging americans to sign up for health insurance o under the affordable care act to nudging major corporations to hire military spouses. but the first lady and her office had largely avoided playing a major role in the process of crafting federal policy, focusing on partnerships with foundations and corporations rather than on regulations and interagency coronation. -- interagency coordination. releaseday, the fda repost regulations for nutrition labels more than a decade in the making.

the first lady and her op is working to pushing through both sets of policies, lobbyists, advocates and administration officials say. she has done some amazing work on all these issues as the administration unveiled the nutrition labels proposal. politico, float this goes big on food label changes. -- also on politico, flotus goes big on food label changes. as we go through this morning on the program, we will get more information on that as we go. we will begin with a call from neck in tennessee -- nick in tennessee. we are having a bit of an issue

with the phones this morning. the "let's move" blog. it the anniversary -- four years of showing how we are moving towards a healthier nation. this from the deputy director of the campaign. four years ago, michelle obama launched a national movement to create a healthier future for kids and families. four years later, he has moved a nation and a healthier direction and the station is on the move it become the new norm. it is happening all over the country from childcare centers through high school, m sunup tol, fron sundown. let's move has worked to create more opportunities for physical activity and to improve the overall quality of school meals. let's move has a blog in case you're interested in reading

that for yourself. some of the facebook comments that we've already had -- a couple comments are along the same line that james posted on our facebook page. "when did it become the president or his wife's jobs to tell me what what to eat or when to exercise? this is what happens when people look to the government for their opinions or answers for things that they have no business putting their noses and." nick in tennessee. all, thesest of always call it -- her president, when he was state senator, he voted to times the born alive act. host: any comments with regards

to the let's move campaign? caller: we will move on. here's a look at michelle obama from earlier this week. [video clip]an.or the school grew a garden or installed a salad bar. it's a fast food restaurant that started selling a healthy item or a business offered incentives to exercise more. that was a ". some folks even warned me that taking on childhood obesity might be controversial. they thought kids and parents should deal with these issues privately. others laugh it off as not a real issue at all. that seemslater, like agent history. restaurantshain have whole menus of healthy

choices. and organizations are working to plant school gardens. ed as the mostpass commonly consumed beverage in america. [applause] folks are really starting to think about what they eat and how active they are. they're scrutinizing labels. they're asking questions. they're changing what they feed their families. just as we no longer smoke or drink when we are pregnant, just as we no longer let our kids ride their bikes without a helmet or sit in the backseat of the car without a car seat, today, we know that we can no longer let our kids eat whatever they want because now we know better. we have seen the devastating effects that poor nutrition has on their health. this new approach to eating and activity is not just a fad.

it is no longer just a movement. instead -- host: kevin in idaho. caller: i don't understand what the big deal is. i'm a childhood of the 1970's. all i see is drugs are everywhere. mcdonald's was a once a month treat because we knew it was not the healthiest thing for us. see the pendulum swing the other way to where everybody -- that's all they eat. junkfood. i don't understand what the big deal is. in school, we taught health education and we used to have pe that was structured. is just a babysitting ground where they throw some balls. there is no instruction. i'm trying to figure out, what is the big deal about.

we are trying to get our kids healthy. so we have not just the working force but a healthy working for us, physically and mentally. i'm not a big fan of the obama administration. i think it's better than tackling the drug situation, which is only gotten us more problems. this is an issue that they can of and helpe hold american straight across the board without taking away the junkfood. in moderation. it's not a big bill. host: what do you teach? i teach special education where we learn about the additives and the food diets and everything affecting behavior on mental functioning, the whole nine yards. i'm not supporting obama because of my research. it's just healthier eating. what's the big deal? host: have you seen an increase

in obesity in children check out caller? caller: very much so. we moderate junkfood and make a lot of our stuff fresh. we make everything homemade for the most part. we indulge from time to time and go out. our health has increased dramatically by pulling away from most of that on a regular basis and just going whatever we could. host: thank you for your input this morning. is the president of a group called food nutrition and policy consultants. she joins us now. what is your group? i'm a nutrition policy consultant and washington, d.c. i do a lot of work with government agencies and others. primarily working on educating policy leaders on the importance

of environment will policy change in order to ensure that people have access to healthy choice foods. host: what was announced this week? what changes will we see as consumers? caller: it has been a busy week in terms of food and nutrition. i think probably the two main announcements at the beginning of the week, the first lady and the u.s. department of agriculture announced updates to local wellness policies. school district across the country since 2006 have had to thatpolicy on the books talk about what that district is going to do in terms of nutrition education and physical what types of foods they're going to serve the kids. , these local time wellness policies need to include an address food marketing to kids. it is not enough just to ensure

that meals and snacks that kids have access to at school are healthy. now the new proposal will help market healthy foods instead of having a child by a vending machine. is their opposition to this from some of the companies schools orachines in sell school food? caller: surprisingly, the beverage company has done a good job reducing the sugary foods and beverages in school. they have come this week in support of this proposal. that will not be final yet. we will probably see some ourling about what really

definition is a food marketing. it goes beyond the front of the vending machine. it is what types of book covers kids are able to have. what are some of the other exposures that kids see every single day? not just in the cafeteria. host: i also wanted to ask you about the new labels that will be coming up. how soon will these new labels appear? caller: that was the other big announcement yesterday. is responsible for that label on the back of the package. they made updates to that for the first time. significant updates for the first time in 30 years. in terms of timing, just like the food marketing, this is a proposed rule. what that means is, realistically, the fda is going to have a 90 day comment.

.t is open to the public you can comment on the updated food label. the fda will consider those comments. i will imagine that they will get many comments on this particular proposal. it is such a sweeping change. ann they will consider those interim final rule or regulation. that might not be for another year. then they will get companies within 2-3 years to implement them because they need to use that card stock or whatever. it will be expensive. i don't think you will see the up to for at least 2-3 years. host: ok. just to show our folks at home, we have on the camera the new proposed label where the calories is a lot bigger. one of the new added

categories is added sugars. host: a lot of foods have added sugars in them. you can't really tell what is added and what is naturally occurring. they just has a total sugar line. so this is the first time that fda is hoping to require what iss to parse out added and what is not. you have a container of yogurt that has a little bit of food in of sugar in it. eight ounces probably has anywhere from 10-11 grams of occurring sugar. it could have another 10-15 grams of added sugar. it will be nice to know the difference. that is basically what the label is going to require. serving sizes is also changing. correct? caller: a proposed change.

fda went -- the serving size is easy on the current labels, again, are pretty old and are based on what americans used to eat years ago. fda has gone through and re-looked at all the different serving sizes. i think they have changed about 17%-20% and a looking more realistically at the package sizes like a 20 ounce soda that could be labeled as 2.5 servings. i don't know to meet people that portion out there when ounce into two servings throughout the day. that is the kind of thing that we will see more of. .ost: tracy fox thank you for joining us here.

recent headline in the washington post. children 2-5 in years old down 43%. writes, fat chance. of obesity rates began declining among low-income actualn in 2008. the implementation of let's move came 10 months later. the healthy hunger free kids act was passed in december 2010. obesity rates were well on their current trajectory before let's move had any influence. nor does let's move influence appear to have been positive. the first lady has undoubtedly raised awareness about childhood healthy eating and exercise through her fame and personal example. but outside of these personal

enterprises, almost every government initiative of the let's move campaign has been unhelpful or even harmful. the act included 4.5 billion dollars in funding for the implementation of nutrition standards in schools while giving the usda broad ranging authority to set the standards. usda then impose across-the-board micro regulations on any school that wanted in on federal funding, including a ban on whole milk and white bread, mandatory vegetable and fruit servings, and even specific maximum calorie counts per meal .etermined by grade level unsurprisingly, schools from southern california to new york city dropped the healthy lunch program because kids were going hungry, choosing to throw out the unappetizing vegetables. ." helen is in maryland. thanks for holding. i think it's a wonderful

thing. i think starting at this level is the right place to start. i am a patient navigator. i work with one of the largest cancer centers in america. what i'm finding is, we are getting the cancer and other health conditions at a later stage that started growing at an early stage. if you catch an earlier, it is better than trying to go back and correct some behaviors that were learned while you were a child. it is a condition that we all should be proud of and should be all working toward a healthier country because they will build more and more hospitals to accommodate the onus is that we are coming through in our environment. i think it is time that we look at this as a positive

initiative. mrs. obama is the person with the platform that she can speak s. the masse one on one person cannot tell you what you should or should not be doing or they're going to it's notlitics when about that. it is about eating healthier, getting a healthier country. in the long run, we all pay for it. host: thank you very much. dana posts on our twitter feed. "i have no issue with flotus on the childhood obesity problem. most first ladies have some project they take on." included in the first lady's project, the president and vice president are dissipated in a little video. -- participated in a little video. [video clip] ♪

host: sylvia's in florida. what do you thinnk? small program a in jacksonville, florida.

when i heard about the let's move campaign, i was so motivated because we are teaching children academics but now we are teaching them about mind, body and soul. i strongly feel that the let's essential to is influencing the early stages of development with our children. we are advocating the campaign. we embrace healthy snacks. that includes lunch and breakfast. schools where the children eat most. in terms of where the government should be involved, of course, goes hand in hand. it is her responsibility to get involved in encouraging our students to live a better life so they will contribute to longevity. because of let's move, we are now participating here.

i have installed the water coolers here with the children can get more access to water all times of day. inther children are walking or just watching the president and vice president run, they are excited about that. and theo support it let's move campaign should be limited. host: that is sylvia in florida. --s is rob, who writes for this is on google. americans would give up tv before internet. this is a new survey. americans have become so enamored with the internet they would more readily forego television than online access. thesurvey showed that results ahead of the 25th anniversary of the world wide web found 53% of u.s. internet users would find it very hard to

give up web access, up from 38% in 2006. even when counting those who don't go online, 46% of all adults would find it hard to give up the internet. by contrast, the survey showed 35% of all u.s. adults television would be very hard to give up compared with 44% in 2006. jenny is in ohio. i thought that video was really cute of the president and vice president jogging in the white house. that was cute. host: what do you think about the let's move campaign? caller: why not. . have lost 16 pounds i would like all the help i can get. i don't see anything wrong with of them doing that. are you aware with her

?of her efforts caller: i'm a republican but i love that. host: where do you live? caller: lancaster, ohio. host: this is a new poll that's out that has been reported that children to-five years old, their obesity rate has dropped 43%. , 27.1% in., overall 2013. north carolina. .aller: let's move is fine but if the government really wants to do something about ampsity, they need to rev the food stamp program. on food stamps come you can buy soda, potato chips, sugary cereal -- you can even buy a ready made, $25 per day cake.

i think the food stamp program should be more like the wic program. only the certain things you can buy. i was a cashier and i cannot tell you how many mothers came through with that children and baskets loaded with sugar and soda and cake and potato chips and everything else. i don't understand why they do not revamp the food stamp program. them to move, but in the meantime, they have a grocery cart full of garbage. it i don't understand why you can't buy a fresh baked chicken from the grocery store on food stamps but you can buy a ready for $25.hday cake host: you can buy a cooked

chicken? caller: no, you cannot. you cannot on abp. you can buy hot food. i don't know why that is. -- you can't buy hot food. host: i think we learned a few , if it contains corn syrup comments allowed to be bought with the ebt card. thanks for that input. caller.from the daily duringnt out an e-mail michelle obama's announcements. it from the americans for food and beverage choice. , do youcerned american think politicians are better qualified than you were to decide what you should be eating and drinking? we had americans for food and beverage choice say

absolutely not. if you agree, sign the petition for food and beverage choice. whether it's a soda tax or portion size restriction, government regulations like mayor michael bloomberg's soda ban won't make americans healthy. and exercise, diet nutrition education can do that. that is just a little bit from the e-mail that was sent out, soliciting signatures or this petition. ashley is in california. good morning. caller: good morning. before i start off, i want to say, this is a public health issue. not a political issue. i am pro-let's move program because childhood obesity causes cardiovascular disease.

it causes rectal cancer. these are problems. people don't like their president, that is one thing. obesity isod serious. i find it interesting that people are having problem with something focusing on getting children healthy. i found that article really interesting that you just read , she is not a politician. she worked at the university of chicago hospital and restoration program. qualified tos very talk about children's health because she is a mother and she will understand how diet and exercise work. host: thank you very much. kathleen sebelius talks about obesity this past week. [video clip] >> there may not be one silver

bullet in the fight against childhood obesity but the of date being proposed today is one of the many steps we're taking to reach our ultimate goal on better health outcomes for all her kids. we have all heard the statistics. obesity in children tripled from the 1970's to 2008. reports project that by 2030, half of all the adults in the nine states will be obese. this epidemic hurts our economy as well as our health. obesity related medical conditions consternation nearly $150 billion every year. by 2018, experts believe that obesity will make up 21% of all the health costs. with that being said, there is some very important new data trade and some progress that is being shown. data showsas recent

that collective efforts are beginning to work. especially among re-school or is, where the 2012 rate of childhood obesity is at its lowest point since the peak of the epidemic. dj tweets and -- "what's next echo childr? obese will beare taken away from their parents to enroll in a special government school to lose weight." bill says, "nutrition facts 7000 found that roughly products with a $2 billion recent cost industry who gets to "ifthis in a down economy?" you think new labels are interfering in your liberty and freedom, do not read new labels and just eat, drink and be happy." anna connery is now joining us. she runs a website called

today's mama. what is that? caller: it's a website that .ngages moms across the country we have 100 mom bloggers in regional markets in cities. .e talked directly to moms moms talking to moms about issues affecting their daily lives. host: you recently wrote an open letter to the first lady on the huffington post. thinkingy letter is the first lady for her efforts. i interviewed the first lady magazines at parenting couple years ago. i sat down with her to talk about the campaign, which was two years old at the time. i was very inspired by it because in my line of work, i talked to moms everyday. it is very hard to fight childhood obesity. they're coming to our kids from

all areas that we have no control over. i'm disappointed in a lot of the critics of the program. here is why. there is no silver bullet solution to a problem like obesity. it takes something like school lunch programs amortizing more positive changes the last couple of years than we have in quite a long time. this is a federally funded program. like it or not, this is not the administration setting it. this is something that the federal government funds and therefore sets the agenda and has for a long time. the fact that when our kids go to school, they finally have to find nutrition. it is not a political issue. i think that people are overlooking the fact that nobody is telling you what you can and cannot do. if you want to send your kids to school with brown bags filled with two dozen soda, you're more than welcome to do that. this is not a mandate.

it takes a village to raise kids. i'm a single parent and i can tell you that i need all the help i can get. i don't want anybody telling my kids what they can and can't do except me. i don't think that these changes do anything like that. host: have you seen public or peoplen reacting to the let's move campaign? caller: i do. moms are feeling better about letting the kids he what is provided at school. they feel better about it. they're happy that when they go to restaurants, kids menus no longer just have chicken fingers and macaroni and cheese. campaign hasy's had a hand in that working with the private sector and a lot of restaurant chains on that. act on think anybody

that. there is aat it is huge step in the right direction. as is the fact that people are talking about these issues more than we ever have. the first up to action is conversation. the first lady is really spar ked the conversation with kids themselves. i saw some parents and kids responding to this first lady. she's one of the most relatable first ladies we have had in a long time. i can't think of a better person to have to tackle this issue. et.t: we have a tweak "why not make stronger pe iandards in school?" host: believe that the first lady's initiatives are addressing fitness. personal opinion is that we

hear more about the food changes because we are able to control when it comes to schools what is served. we can't really force kids to exercise outside of the school or anything like that. if you look on her initiatives website, there are lots of partnerships between the american council on exercise and 60er organizations like play and programs that she is working with to really address not just the food issue but the fitness issue. it has been for years. not 40 years. the change takes time. obesity is a catastrophic health taxed ourat has health care system and economy. the stuff will not happen overnight. i don't consider for years that long of a. period of time. -- four years.

we are taking great strides in the right direction. host: anna connery. today's mama. thank you for your time this morning. caller: they do so much. host: from the daily caller, whispers persist that hillary won't run. health may be worse than this closed. this is alex writing, "if you listen to the clouds in the sea, hillary clinton is a virtual certainty for the 2016 democratic nomination and the front runner in the next presidential race. in private, rumors persist that the former secretary of state may not even be capable of making it to iowa and new hampshire. clinton will not run for president again because of health concerns." clinton and mike huckabee are in the lead in the 2016 iowa poll. this is a new poll put out.

those two are in the lead. there is the headline. back to your calls on the fourth anniversary of the let's move campaign. judy is west virginia. -- judy is in west virginia. caller: i'm so excited about the let's move campaign, especially about the changes in the lunch program. the school i am in now. the labeling helps. i do see the children eating more healthy food than they had in the past. -- it has taken time. they resist change. these two not want to eat the vegetables. -- they used to not want to eat vegetables. they used to throw them away but now they are starting to eat them. we have had resistance not just from the children but from the e teachers and parents.

they object to the idea that anything will be thrown away. that is bad. it takes time for the kids to look at their food and say, ok, i will need that today. it is just resistance to change. i'm very excited about it. little kids eating green peppers. tomatoes.ittle cherry those kinds of things were never on the tray before. host: what kind of school do you work in? caller: i am at a elementary/middle school. host: is it a public school? caller: yes. host: west virginia has often been at the bottom when it comes to healthy living. as far as stats go. are you seeing that change? caller: we still have a large population of children who

really cannot afford the healthy food to bring to school. also, we have a long period of cold here. uneven terrain. places where there are no sidewalks. getting out and moving for many people, old and young alike is difficult. dedicated to get out there and exercise. it is not encouraged by a lot of the parents and grandparents. yes, we do have a lot of children that are in trouble. in the schools? do they still have pe? caller: yes. aey have pe and they have luncheon where it is like a team sport or something that you can go on an individual basis and you can do for the rest of

your life. running and walking. things for people like me who are not particularly athletic team players. can still participate and be active. the kids resist that. think that we are seeing more ways to participate. more things they would like to do. and im very encouraged think that the food is the key. i think the kids will grow into this. four years is not long enough. it needs more time to take hold. your thank you for sharing experience with us. will ferrell participated in a video regarding food and nutrition with the first lady. [video clip] >> thanks for being here today.

we are having a focus group. onwanted to get your opinion how you think we can get kids and you to eat healthier get more exercise. i have my friend will. let's get this going. >> can you tell me some of your favorite fruits and vessels? >> strawberries. -- fruits and vegetables. >> cucumbers. >> bananas? cola.t is that a vegetable? [laughter] >> no. >> you're funny. >> you're funny. is there one trick to having a great beach bod for the summer? >> it's not about tricks. getting a good body and staying healthy is about dedication and consistency and eating right. >> so, no entire honeybaked hams

? >> what kind of music you like to dance to the echo=? >> my favorite is body moving. body moving. ♪ yourat if you guys for lunch at school had a krill oil supplement sandwich? does that sound good? we will take that off the list. diet and thent eat candy on sunday, is that ok? >> no. it can get you sick. >> then i will stop doing it. >> you did it? >> yea

for about two years now. >> we want to know what kind of celebrities you like. who is your celebrit favorite comedian? >> jimmy fallon. that's mine to. too. ?> anybody else will ferrell and michelle obama in a focus group with kids. from the hill newspaper this morning, ed pastor is retiring after 33 years. .he democrat from arizona his daughter is a potential candidate. mitt romney and chris christie

raise $1 million for the republican governors association last night in boston. back to your calls on the fourth anniversary of the let's move campaign. mike in iowa. all, thisrst of campaign that she has -- it's another classic government overreach. government needs to stay out of our lives. government is not responsible for what my child eats. me and my wife are responsible for what our child eats. sell this thing with kathleen sebelius here. how can we believe anything she says? obama care was shoved down our throats. more government overreach. you can keep your policy and your doctorate if you like. i cannot keep my doctor.

government needs to stay out of our lives. for the last 50 years or so, the first ladies have had a cause. illiteracy, sting of drugs, this drugs -- there is no federal mandate on this. it is just her promotion. what do you think about that ? caller: don't use your position push something. that is exactly what she is doing. if she wants to go push something, teach our kids english. bush things like that. as far as what i feed my child, is not her business. rematchngel will face of top 2012 primary. el.rang

ranglely deposed charles . he said he will challenge him again in the primary in june. this is an article in the new york times this morning. caroline is calling from texas. caller: hello. host: we are in texas are you? caller: central texas around san antonio. campaign -- it will be very hard to say anything against it unless you are born in texas. texas is such an obama hating including his wife. nobody wants to have anything to do with them. priority our very last is education and welfare of our children. in texas, we higher private

companies to come in and help our public school kitchens. they are only interested in profits. thanare a lot cheaper non-processed foods. again, texas is lacking. host: that's caroline in texas. ago,s in 2011, 3 years university of colorado professor paul campos wrote this piece for the daily beast. michelle obama's let's move campaign is helping bullies. why did you write this and why do you think the let's move campaign helps bullies? campaignhe let's move focuses on trying to get fat kids to be thinner. program's central idea is that fat kids have something wrong with them that will be

fixed if they improve their nutrition. that just happens to be false. this is tested extensively. the current intervention of the let's move campaign does not produce thinner children. people who are advocating better nutrition and improved activity levels are advocating things that are desirable. if you advocate those things for the purpose of making fat kids thinner come you are advocating something that is not going to topen and is stigmatizing people that you are supposedly trying to help. that is the focus of the program. it is misguided. host: you write that this will be the equivalent of the first lady making an assault on the childhood homosexuality epidemic. caller: that's right. if we stigmatize a particular characteristic that is for the , we aret unchangeable

doing damage to the people who we stigmatize and that way. for no good reason. in theory, if we can make fat kids thinner, that might be something we will want to pursue if we can show that that will actually improve their health. we have not done that either. we can't. the kinds of things that let's move is advocating are desirable to the extent that they are not connected to trying to lose weight. activityt's improve levels and nutrition is a good thing to advocate for. make fat kids thinner is a terrible idea. tweet from peg has come in. "why criticize the first lady for doing what every first lady is always done?" caller: don't think every first lady is advocating thinning fat kids. i don't understand the comment.

host: let's go back to nancy reagan's campaign when she was first lady. the just say no campaign. is that different from this campaign? caller: that was also a terrible idea. we are not talking about the responsibility of the first lady being involved in public affairs. thehould be judged on particular initiative. i'm sorry that michelle obama on improving take nutrition and activity levels. distorting it in a socially damaging way by making the focus on childhood obesity. host: that's paul campos. thank you for your time this morning. back to your calls. susie is in west virginia. caller: hi.

host: what do you think? caller: first of all, in a way, is athink the president good thing. i am a grandmother of three special needs children that i am raising. my grandchildren. they do have certain needs, heart conditions, and one of them is not really obese but he is bordering. .e does move the program is helping. where we live, it is hard for him to get out and the other kids to get out. programs -- it is pretty good. my grandchildren are the type of children that like vegetables and fruits.

program -- she advises that you get out and land the garden and so on. the garden and so on. i don't have the opportunity nor the finances or the ability to plow a garden and dig it up. i can't afford to pay somebody to do that. she lives in the white house. she can do that. that said, is the campaign a good idea? caller: it is and it's not. it's a good idea if you can afford to purchase these fruits and vegetables all the time. yes it is. sometimes, it's very expensive.

if you can do something about the cost of the fruits and vegetables, it is a fantastic idea. most people, once they begin to eat healthy, they will like it. family,rd for a large when they have to work a lot -- -- it i became disabled .s hard to cook a healthy meal it is very hard for three children. host: susie in west virginia. thank you for your input this morning. fifth anniversary of the tea party. here's the front page of the washington times this morning. "tea party throws five year

birthday party." five years after the movement began, it remains relevant to american politics, even at a time when its legislative a couple spins are slipping. it's candidates are struggling in republicanon primaries. members of congress and activists who turned out to the celebrationtriot's held at the hyatt regency in washington said that they are still a major faction in congress and hope to add to their limited government faction in november. senator cruz was there and senator paul as well. here's the new york times take on the fifth anniversary. fifthng us fo anniversary, tea party is happy but restless. jeremy peters writes that the key names on hand was testament to the growing clout of the movement.

patriotshe tea party commemorated five years from the day rick santelli livered and on-air tirade that helped spark the political movement. there was a sense of dejection d restlessness. the 2012after election, the two parties really fighting its own identity," said judd saul. michael, a speechwriter for president george w. bush, has an opinion piece in the washington post. tea party."om the the evidence acumen lights that soberinglican party is up and slightly disoriented from its recent ideological bender. the tone of some rhetoric on the ,ar right, no mercy to enemies

was pressed to a nap or and extreme by ted nugent who called president obama a subhuman mongrel. right recoiled at such viciousness and bigotry. no political movement can persuade a great democracy without displaying a measure of democratic race. grace.cratic any movement that claims to be inspired by faith and morality is discredited by language that dehumanizes its opponents. the sobering also proceeds on matters up local strategy. the serious prospect that the gop might gain control of the senate has highlighted the fact that many tea party leaders and groups view this goal as relevant. -- as irrelevant. their objective is to weave out the heretical. that is a bit from michael's column this morning. back to your calls on the fourth

anniversary of the let's move campaign to fight childhood obesity. bill from illinois. caller: good morning. michelle's -- this is just a small start. a good start. thate have to understand companies have to be held responsible. for example, the susan g come in fundraising this past summer -- susan g come in fundraising this past summer, the number one sponsor was potato chips. ips withl potato ch three grams of trans fat per serving. have --ocker and duncan a person would be healthier eating a can of crisco. the volunteers who come into all the major high schools once a week for half an hour should teach label reading to the children.

i believe that obseity is killing our children and will kill them as adults. jerry brown is seeking a ca.th term as governor in

physicale need to have education in the school. will beornia, everyone skinny. they do not have the water. you need to get involved in the common core. we have got to have vegetables to get sand, why don't i let the water come out to the farmers in california? there is going to be a starvation. ohio.that is kay in

bolan --s for congress balloon. many of the nonprofit groups paying the bills have a distinct public policy agenda. the main group is an influential pro-israel lobbying group.

lead story, "usa today." here is the lead story in "the washington post." conservativeness press on despite defeat in arizona. tammy bruce has and op-ed in "the washington times." tammy bruce out of california.

it has been disgusting to watch supposedly a leadership drag young gays and lesbians through an indoctrination that insists that in order to have equality, you must force people to do your will, make them betray who you are, and punish them if they offend you. the gay civil rights movement has morphed into a gay gestapo. back to your calls. the fourth anniversary of the let's move child obesity campaign. lottie in oklahoma. caller: good morning. start?od, where do i

let me tell you something, we are a healthy nation. i am american here and i live here. this law professor, what do you expect from a pot smoking stay? -- state? host: when it comes to obesity -- i am born in 1952. i will be 62 years old this summer. school fromise in kindergarten on. it is normal food, healthy food. this nation, lord have mercy, beautiful united states, beautiful america, kind and patient people -- what is wrong

that you will not have your children healthy? young people, you stand up to this older generation that has lost all sense with reality. i am appealing to all of the young people of our glorious nation. do your exercise, you eat good. host: where are you from? ir.ler: austria, s as proud as our mountain stand, so do we as a people. all right? host: thank you for calling in. chris in maryland. caller: thank you for taking my call. i think this was a great color to follow because she is telling us about the older generation messing up the younger generation. my daughter is in middle school. they run a mile and they get to

run against boys. she really enjoys the competition. she has always finished in the top five in nine mile. -- that mile. they are not going to do it anymore. i called the school and they said that they did not have control of it, that the central office did. host: they stopped the running? caller: they stopped the one-mile run. the kids could track their progress. now they have stopped that. with this initiative going on, i could not believe it. i live in montgomery county and the state of maryland, a very liberal state and county. this't believe that after initiative, they actually stopped the move and it was done by the central office. host: thank you, chris. from "the wall street journal."

youtube video sets precedent. mr. newkirk was arrested under a

federal law considering harangue in a court of law. he pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges and was released. you are seeing the video there on youtube. you can watch it for yourself. this is an e-mail regarding the let's move campaign. i am a high school senior against the let's move lunch program.

sincerely, a worried american. karen in florida. what do you think about the let's move campaign? caller: i believe it is a very good program. ares unfortunate that they taking something positive and putting a negative spin on it. , not onlyod program for obese children, but regular children who are not obese. what happens when you get older and you cannot eat anything. i think people need to really look at what she is talking about doing, teaching children to eat healthier, teaching them to enjoy healthy food, teaching

them to plant the run seeds. .- their own seeds it is not as expensive as people think. it is an enjoyable thing, especially for children. host: thank you. sharon in alabama. caller: good morning, c-span. i want to echo the lady who just went off. i have health issues. it is very inexpensive to grow vegetables, fresh much doubles. -- vegetables. $20 for a large flowerpot, miracle gro, and you can go to walmart and get tomato plants for two dollars or three dollars, put them in the plot were fought. i grew tomatoes.

cucumber, bell pepper, collard greens. in flowerpots. it does not take a rocket scientist. stop looking for the negative. this is healthy eating. processed foods are not good for you. the article you just read about talking aboute wheat. healthy.start eating it is not expensive at all. host: thank you. from "the washington post." cuccinelli starts a gun rights firm. partners have launched the virginia self-defense law firm, focused

on defending self to map -- defending self-defense rights. randy is: from tennessee. go ahead. i am calling from kentucky, sir. host: ok. where are you? caller: eastern kentucky. host: go ahead. what do you think about the let's move campaign? caller: ok. i think a lot of the obesity comes from what is put in our food. processed to grow, the meets, the steroids, what people put in their gardening stuff to get it to grow has to affect human body, as well as

the defects the animals. -- affects the animals. host: do you avoid processed foods? caller: there is nothing out there to avoid. host: thank you sir. start them young with a healthy diet. today is friday. every week and beginning at 8:00 a.m. on c-span two, book tv and american history tv,

respectively. 48 hours of books and 40th hours of history on 2 and 3. this week, we are featuring a visit to salem, oregon. you can watch that this weekend on book tv and on american history tv. next up is sharon in illinois. caller: hello. i am all for the program. let's move. i have something to say about how hard it is to move where they do not put a sidewalk in the winter. street, several apartments. the sidewalks will have 6-7 inches of snow on them. the people that walk to the store can't get to the store. i am 73. i go out in zero weather and i

am not cold. and say, get on tv stay and, stay and, stay in, it is cold. i am here to tell you that if you dress warm, you can go out in five below and you are not cold. a lot of older people do not drive would like to get out and move. , to me it just seems a little bit like discrimination not to clear sidewalks for pedestrians. host: where do you get your exercise? caller: walking all the time and i walk a lot. host: do you walk outside even when it is below zero? caller: that is usually when i don't walk. but i walk to the store every day. i walked to the library. it is very, very hard in the winter and there are a lot of people who do not have cars and infortunately, even though

live on a bus line, they have to stand in the street to get to the bus. i have her driver's, why are people standing in the street? i will say, look at the sidewalks. they are trying to get the bus and they are standing out in the street. host: you have shared your age with us. do you remember -- did you grow up in the city? caller: i grew up in a small country town in indiana and we did not have all of the snow days. i live in a town where there is a college and they closed the college two days this year in a row, one day, just because of the cold. i walked to the store that day. i said, this is laughable that these young kids can go to school today -- can't go to school today and most of them

were on campus, so they just walked to the dorm. i am 73 and walked to the store and back. i just think they could carry the let's move a little farther and make it easier for people to move that don't drive. host: thank you for calling in. james, from washington state. caller: hi. we were talking about this problem. i think the real problem in this country is not obesity, it is hunger. ebc are notple on getting enough and they are trying to put limits on what you can buy. i think there should not be any more limits. in problem is not obesity this country, but people who were not getting enough. host: thank you, sir. a couple of last tweets.

that wraps up our comforts this morning of the first lady's let's move campaign and the fourth anniversary of that to combat childhood obesity. left this minutes morning. the houses coming in at 9:00 a.m. to do some work. we will be ending the show early. a newl be looking at census survey on citizens and noncitizens in the u.s. and their populations.

hope this a technique you [indiscernible] ? >> i don't think that's any of your business. >[applause] [laughter] >> it was not the glamour of hollywood exactly. andad to do with the skills the grace that he acquired as an actor. he made fielding those questions

look effortless, which is another aspect of glamour. people who were likely to support him politically could the ideal candidate, the ideal representation of did notews because he make them embarrassed in any way, they were not waiting for him to fail. as he became older, that became more of an issue. in those early days, he had this he was a successful politician of the day. ,> defining and using glamour sunday night at 8:00 on q&a. the new c-span.org website makes it easier than ever for you to keep tabs on washington, d.c. and share your finds via

facebook, twitter, and other social networks. easy search functions let you average -- access our daily coverage of events. you can send links to your video clips via e-mail. find the share tools on our video player or look for the green icon links throughout our site. watch washington on the new c-span.org and if you see something of interest, click it and share it with your friends. heart disease, hiv, strokes continue to decline. deaths from all summer seven increased almost 70% in the last 15 years. disease haves increased almost 70% in the last 15 years.

i am here to show people that they are not alone. i know that if me and my wife saw someone like me talking about this, it would make us feel a little less alone. americans whisper the word alzheimer's disease because the government whispers the word. although a whisper is better than silence, it is not enough. he needs to be yelled and screamed to the point that it finally gets the attention and funding it deserves and needs. i dream of a day when my charity is no longer necessary and i can to being the lazy, self-involved manchild i was meant to be. this weekend on c-span, actor seth rogen on capitol hill. saturday morning at 10:25 eastern.

peniel joseph will take your calls on black power studies. tv visits thery national gallery of art to learn about the 54th massachusetts volunteer infantry. sunday at 6:00 p.m. this morning on the washington journal, we want to look at a new u.s. census study on noncitizen populations. joining us is the former commissioner of the u.s. immigration and naturalization service, doris meissner, and elizabeth grieco, with the u.s. census bureau. , what is thisco new study? guest: it is titled "noncitizens under age 35: 2010-2012." a little confusing

to people. these are people who are not yet citizens. they may have green cards. they may be here on temporary visas. they also could be the unauthorized. host: what is the importance? guest: it is a unique group. these are the young people that years -- here 4, 5, 10 many of these people will eventually become u.s. citizens, many of them. this research is about the potential or possible future of citizens in the united states. host: this is the first known study on this topic. guest: on this particular topic. host: doris meissner, now head of the migration policy institute. , when youicy position think about noncitizens under the age of 35, what of the policy implications?

guest: there are a lot of implications. the first i would point to is that this is a fact that this is a younger population that we want to be looking ahead to make sure they are as productive as possible, contributing to the society as fully as possible and where we recognize that they represent a larger share than do the nativeborn. they are very important to us, in terms of the demographics of this country. from our nativeborn population, we are not producing as many younger workers as we are through immigration. host: let's look through some of the numbers now that we have that out of the way. "noncitizens under age 35: 2010-2012." --3 citizens total noncitizens under the age of 35.

guest: for the total population, it is 22.3 million citizens -- noncitizens. 7% of the population under 35. old.re between 18-34 years 64% are from latin america. 23% are from asia. 55% live in the big five. percentage of the 10.3 million are here illegally? guest: the census does not collect data on legal status. we only have data on citizens and noncitizens. data tot have specific separate out who are here

legally and illegally. , according meissner to the census bureau, 52% of those 10.3 million and to the u.s. before age 18. agentered the u.s. before 18. guest: that leads to inferences we can make. the census bureau does not collect these numbers or validate them, but lots of scholars try to do so. i would think that it is fair to say that perhaps about half, from the best that we can tell analytically, perhaps about half of the sage group is an unauthorized status. is in ange group unauthorized status. the other half is a mixture of lawful permanent residents, foreign students, longer visas, temporary status.

this does have a real connection in policy terms to broader debates that are taking place and what the congress has been looking at and we hope they will look at again in the future, in terms of immigration reform. host: what is the u.s. policy when it comes to underaged unauthorized illegal citizens? is there a special policy? guest: they are treated just as everybody else is. there has been a big debate about possible legislation ."lled "the dream act many will have come here with their parents. they did not, themselves, choose to come in and authorized -- an

unauthorized fashion. they are graduating from high school and then they are blocked from going to college because they are prohibited from paying in-state tuition, they are in unauthorized status, and yet they are an important source of talent and productivity for us as a country in the future. host: we have put the numbers up on the screen if you would like to participate. .ast and central time zones, mountain and pacific. and noncitizens, we would like to hear your stories. , 52% enteredeco the u.s. before age 18.

what do you mean were enrolled in college? collected data were in the past. we normally write in the past tense. were in the civilian workforce. what kind of work did you find that these noncitizens under age 35 -- did you do anything on their english-speaking abilities? guest: no, we did not. we did look at their occupations. -- so aow a scheid slide -- show a slide. bar at the top of the slide is information for noncitizens. the blue bar is information for citizens.

natural as, foreign-born, and nativeborn. over half of the employed noncitizens are in the service and management occupations. 27% in service. 25% in management and related occupations. percent in natural resources, construction, and maintenance. this is considerably different than young citizens. 39% work in management. 25% in sales and office. only nine percent of the citizens work in natural resources, construction, and ofntenance, compared to 20% the noncitizens. host: doris meissner, what does this tell you? guest: it is a very typical immigrant picture. a very representative depiction of what our economy is today,

where the foreign-born, vis-à-vis the nativeborn are working. emigrants tend to be -- immigrants tend to be complementary to the nativeborn workforce at the higher-end and lower end of the labor market. produced verys large shares of service-oriented jobs. immigrants tend to cluster in those occupations. this is not really a surprising picture at all. it does show you how people progress in upward mobility terms across the labor market legalb letter as they get status and become naturalized citizens, which goes back to the point of where it is that we have a very compelling national interest and the possibilities

of these people advancing and being as productive as possible. host: two thirds of young noncitizens were from latin america, with about one fourth from asia. europe, africa, and other regions. ,ny reasons, elizabeth grieco that these regions were higher percentages? guest: if you look at the green bar underneath, this is just the we have always had a lot of immigration from latin america. if you look at the comparative distribution, foreign-born latin americans and caribbean's naturalized at a lower time than the asian foreign-born. asians are more likely to

naturalized. that is the difference in distribution between the noncitizens and naturalized citizens. host: if a child is born here , ishis parents are illegal that child a u.s. citizen automatically? anyone born in the united states is automatically a citizen, nativeborn. host: as long as it is within the property, borders of the united states? guest: that's correct. host: let's begin with kathleen in colorado. caller: hello. i am in boulder, colorado. i just recently moved back. i wanted to ask the definition between noncitizen and illegal immigrant? to ask -- here in boulder, i am not rich, i am not a pot smoker -- i talk to a lot

noncitizen, immigrant maids, ,hildcare, construction workers a lot of construction going on fromand a lot of people sure america -- how are we -- some of these women who are doing childcare and cleaning are making pathetic wages. how can we make sure they are getting paid good wages? you seldom hear about fines who are people -- for people who are illegals? employing host: elizabeth grieco, do you want to start? guest: sure. this table shows citizenship.

the second column is numbers and millions, the third column is percent distribution. the foreign-born is made up of naturalized citizens and noncitizens. citizens are foreign-born and came to the united states and have become u.s. citizens. manytizens include those different legal statuses. green cards, temporary workers and students, humanitarian -- they also include the unauthorized. in the totalzed is of noncitizens. host: 22 million noncitizens in the u.s.. u.s.,n-born in the

currently, the population is about 40 million. guest: yes. ,ost: doris meissner noncitizens, 22 million. what number would you put at illegal or unauthorized? about 11obably million, somewhere between 11-12,000,000. closer to 11 million. unauthorized in the country. in this study, the census is looking at the portion that is under the age of 35. there is a substantial unauthorized population and we need to fix that. host: how would the dream act affect the unauthorized? guest: it would touch only a certain worsham of the unauthorized population. possibly 2fect million of that 11 million,

depending on how it would be written. whos trying to touch people are under the age of 35 and who are studying and in school and give them a faster opportunity for legal status and citizenship. it has not been enacted. , any elizabeth grieco estimate of this population's contribution to gdp? guest: i don't have those numbers with me. host: doris meissner, does your group put together those numbers? host: i don't know if one could know that. know if oneon't could know that. people are more productive and able to pay more taxes with legal status. you will get greater contributions from naturalized citizens. call from north carolina. semantics that are

being used by the two guests are truly mind boggling. the dream act? can be anotheram person's nightmare, particularly if you're a construction worker trying to get a job and you get outbid on contracts because all of the guys i know in construction, every time they show up there is another crew of illegals and workers who will pay half price. american workers cannot compete because they get paid cash under the table. me,uld like to know, excuse , it enter a bank illegally is not called unauthorized entry into a bank, is that? host: we got your point. doris meissner, dream act,

unauthorized versus illegal. guest: dream act is a name that congress gave to a piece of legislation. that is what the sponsors have called it and that is why it is referred to in that way. as for the broader question , iut level playing field think the caller has a very important point. as long as we have an economy where it is possible for and pays to hire people them at the bottom of the wage scale, there will be unfair competition. that is a symptom of a brokenness in our symptom that can only be addressed i immigration laws that are more -- by immigration laws that are more suited with today's economy and congress has been stuck on passing anything that deals with those problems. illegal,uthorized,

undocumented. guest: the term unauthorized is the official term for the census. they tend to get used interchangeably. come to theave country illegally have definitely broken the law. they are in an illegal status. the phenomenon is one of an unauthorized population. the language does bother some people, but those are the official terms. host: elizabeth grieco, california had the greatest number of citizens under age 35 -- noncitizens under the age of 35. california had 2.3 million. texas next. illinois.florida, why? statesthese top five

that hold over half of the younger noncitizens also hold over half of the foreign-born population of the united states. young noncitizens tend to go where the rest of the foreign-born are. guest: this is an enormous concentration, but it is much less of a concentration than it would have been 20 years ago. ago, about 75% of the foreign-born would have been in these locations. we are seeing a much broader distribution of immigrants and foreign-born populations throughout the country. great in california. go-ahead with your questions and comments. caller: good day. come aboute ladies with the term noncitizen when we all know that the majority are

illegal immigrants? americaamazes me when can arrest its own citizens and give them a felony and hear young, so-called noncitizens, which are illegal immigrants, have already broken our laws, what is our government doing with these lawbreakers? if you break the law you are rewarded? it is amazing how president act, he is his dream giving these lawbreakers and advantage over the disadvantaged citizens minority is. on top of that, jobs. these people are taking jobs from americans. host: i think we got your point. doris meissner, the same spirit we got from north carolina.

well, we have a set of immigration policies where historically large numbers of people are being deported from this country. we deport 400,000 people per year. almost 4 million people will have been deported from the country. this is being vigorously root and forced. -- enforeced. a the end of the day, we as country need immigration going into the future because of demographic changes, growth and productivity issues, laker market -- labor market competition. you need a modern immigration laws that reflect our economic needs, that certainly balance out where foreign-born and nativeborn can mutually be

productive, but until we have more national, modern laws, all of the enforcement in the world is not going to matter to deal with this problem because we have a mismatch between the laws that are being enforced and the economic realities on the ground that we are facing as a country. host: elizabeth grieco, two maps. let's explain what we are looking at. the first map is the percent total population and a metro area that are under the age of 35. the metro areas have the highest population of younger noncitizens. a lot of the california coast. the darker areas are 8% or more of noncitizens of the total

populations that are under the age of 35. that is pretty substantial. the metro areas of san jose, santa barbara, and los angeles. you also see some of the new destination areas. these are in metro areas in georgia, north carolina, atlanta , chicago. chicago is a traditional area of immigration. atlanta, charlotte, northern virginia, d.c. -- these are the newer destination areas that have been appearing after 1990 and after 2000. host: why those areas after 2000? guest: economic growth and job opportunities. host: we have one more map to use as comparison. populationeign-born

by area. how was this map different and why is it significant? guest: this map is really fun because it shows the percent of the foreign-born population that is from the young noncitizens. most of the dark areas are in the midwest and the south. most of the dark areas are also college towns. iowa state. college station. bloomington, indiana. host: i see purdue right there, it looks like. guest: if the cup. thaca. these are relatively speaking smaller areas, but a higher percentage of young noncitizens. alabama.urn, what are these younger noncitizens doing in auburn,

alabama? most of them are college towns, so a lot of them are internationalist students. a lot could be researchers or teaching classes at the universities, young professors. that goes to the point that the earlier caller made. is a very mixed population. one tends to draw on the unauthorized element of this. but this is made up of lots of different categories of people. rv sayse categories that have to do with either important, are particularly in math and science and innovation areas, as well as foreign students, international students who are studying here. phenomenon is a clear indication of that part of this population. host: ken, kentucky.

caller: i have a question and a comment. i was in the military for 28 years. one of the things we worried about was stretching ourselves too thin based on our finite resources. i am talking about health care services, schools, and everything like that. my question is -- and that is what i worry about with the immigration, we need controlled immigration. he should be able to choose the best of the best coming in. we don't need to take everybody. a specific question and i will get out of your way. you say you have a kid and the ratio of students was one to 20. now you have millions of poor people in this country. now it is one to 40. would you accept that? we need to control the growth and influx into our country rather than say 10 million people, now you are part of it. what is next?

you used to weigh 45 minutes to go to the emergency room, now you might be waiting two hours, three hours, or two weeks to see the doctor rather than three or four days. that is my concern, to control the growth. we need immigration, but we have to control the influx and we have to be smart about it. we cannot give a blanket statement to everybody that you are welcome here, but you are welcome here as long as you follow the rules. host: ken in kentucky. doris meissner. guest: i think the caller makes a very good point. we should be doing immigration in a controlled fashion, in a way that serves what we determine to be our needs. we do not have that kind of system in place at the present time and only congress can fix it. , how didis meissner you get into the world of immigration? guest: [laughter] by accident. the way most people fall into

what they do. i have been working with immigration since 1975. host: under the gerald ford administration. i was asked to look at some immigration issues. host: it was just by happenstance or not your background? guest: i was a policy analyst. it stuck with me. host: you became the ins commissioner during the clinton administration? guest: yes. fw librarian tweets in -- what would be the policy implications of that? i think that is not going to happen. congress will not do that. a durable system for a long time. if people are here illegally for , they are eligible to

apply for citizenship as long as they have not violated any laws, have learned to speak english, and are familiar with the civics and system of government of our country. that is a system that has proved very, very effective. people whoe putting are here as noncitizens into a legal framework where they can do that. right now, we have a very large population that is prevented from doing that. yes, they have violated the law. yes, they should be accountable for that. but at the end of the day, it is unrealistic to imagine that we can remove them all from the country and a large share of them are contributing to our economy, to our communities in positive ways. of thelizabeth grieco

census bureau, from all of the stats you have gathered here, what are the trends going forward? do you do that kind of work as well? thet: i do not do projections work, but we have projections. say that since about 1990, 2 thousand, the noncitizen population has declined a bit. i have some numbers over here. that i brought with me. for example, the number of noncitizens has increased for decades, but the percent of the total population, it was about -- by 2012 it2000 was about 54% of the total population. as a percent of the foreign-born population, the noncitizen population is coming down. continue, well

will have to see. it is hard to predict immigration, because it is so dependent on what we decide to do legislatively. it can be changed overnight by even policies by mexico and canada, immigration, depending on how many people want to come in. host: roger is calling from iowa. caller: hi. ladies if ask the they know a gentleman by the name of chris crean? he is president of the national ice counsel. , iee weeks ago tomorrow asked to see him on an interview and because of the order of the dream act by the president, he receiving upe are to 50,000 children across the

border, whether it is called the parent dump, they put their kids across the border because of the executive order that the president issued, were you cannot ask these kids for ids or anything. that pretty much get a free pass. two, remember when president reagan gave amnesty in 1986. -- back then there was one million that was supposed to be here illegally. host: we are almost out of time. doris meissner nodded her head when you mentioned that gentleman's name. i do know who chris crean is. about a phenomenon taking place on the southwest border right now. is the only real increase in

illegal crossings, particularly now in texas it is coming from people from central america. an important share of that our young people, unaccompanied minors. it is a dire humanitarian situation and the whole increase in numbers from central america are really an indication of increasing violence and increasing gang activity and a lack of protection and defense of government presence in the of the and el salvador, guatemala and honduras particularly. this does not have to do with u.s. border policies. this has to do with dire circumstances in countries to the south. unfortunately, it is one of the elements of illegal immigration that is very difficult for government authorities to

respond to. , i wantizabeth grieco to go back to this chart. we have one minute left. i want to go over the numbers one more time. 10.3 million noncitizens under the age of 35 in the u.s.. that represents 3% of the total population. tell me if i am wrong. 311,000,000.6 is the current population. -- 92.8% are u.s. citizens. that, 271n of million. 87% are native born. naturalized citizens, 18 million. the population. when you combine that with the

non-foreign-born -- noncitizens is 40.5 million. are under the age of 35, the group we are talking about today. of 35lion under the age noncitizens. over the age of 35 is 12 million. 3.8%. .hat is a lot of numbers i just wanted to get those back on the table. head of theieco is foreign-born populations branch at the u.s. census bureau. doris meissner from -- former ins commissioner. thank you both for being on "the washington journal." the house is in session. boehner, speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: the prayer will be offered by our chaplain, father conroy. chaplain conroy: let us pray. loving god, we give you thanks

for giving us another day. as we meditate on all the blessings of life, we especially pray for the blessing of peace in our lives and in our world. we pray, especially, for the people of ukraine and venezuela, but know that you are aware of those worldwide who suffer from violent unrest. cover all with the balm of your healing and peace. may your special blessings be upon the members of this assembly and the important, sometimes difficult, work they do. give them wisdom and charity that they might work together for the common good. nd bless all peacemakers for their work. may your eternal spirit be with them and with us always. may all that is done this day in the people's house be for your greater honor and glory,

amen. the speaker pro tempore: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1 the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentlewoman from florida, ms. ros-lehtinen. ms. ros-lehtinen: please join us in our pledge. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain up to five requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from florida seek recognition? ms. ros-lehtinen: request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. ros-lehtinen: thank you so much, mr. speaker. this week is national eating disorders awareness week, a time to learn more about eating disorders, what causes them, how to best treat and prevent them. eating disorders are widespread, affecting at least 14 million americans and are so common among our youth that at

least one to two out of every 100 children in america has an eating disorder. research has shown that while many eating disorders are caused by a genetic predisposition, environmental factors like peer pressure and false advertising can be overriding contributors. by the time our children turn 17, they have been exposed to over 250,000 television commercials depicting unrealistic body sizes. too often this exposure leads to an eating disorder. i will offer legislation to look at how advertising can closely resemble true human form and i look forward to working with my colleagues to fight this tragic epidemic of eating disorders. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from washington seek recognition? >> thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker.

today i rise to commemorate a friend, judy harris, a home care worker who passed last week. mr. kilmer: the most glorious part of the job i have is the opportunity to meet and learn from people from all walks of life. i met judy on her doorstep and over several years she became someone i cherished. her commitment to serving, her passion and hered a vow cassy. despite her small frame, judy had an enormous presence as she fought fiercely for justice in the community and in the halls of government. judy's advocacy and work with the service employees international union led her to traverse the nation, to make sher those depending on care and -- sure those depending on care had a voice and had dignity and had respect. i will remember until my last days the afternoon i spent with judy for a day in her shoes. by the end of the day i was exhausted, physically and emotionally and i was so grateful to judy and to caregivers who do the work they do to help people live with

dignity. andy stern used to say that the power is the way that ordinary people can accomplish extraordinary things and the way that the powerless can become powerful. no one demonstrated that better than judy. i will always be grateful for her tireless work. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina seek recognition? mr. wilson: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from south carolina is recognized for one minute. mr. wilson: mr. speaker, the american people have lost faith in the president and the administration's ability to serve in an unbiased scandal. the i.r.s. is targeting organizations who disagree with the president's big government agenda. we should never have to worry that our first amendment rights are in jeopardy because the government opposes our beliefs. based on last year's revelations, it is clear that these actions were deliberate. the founding fathers treasured their rights of freedom of

speech to petition the government, which is why they were protected first in the constitution. on wednesday, the house acted in a bipartisan vote to prevent future abuse by passing legislation that bans the treasury department and the i.r.s. from implementing new requirements targeting political groups. i hope the senate will take action on this bill so we can ensure that every citizen's first amendment rights stand protected. in conclusion, god bless our troops and we will never forget september 11 and the global war on terrorism. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from texas is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i use some time to talk about the 23rd district. it comprises nearly a quarter of the land in texas and people talked about the character

popeye and spinach. the spinach capital of the world is crystal city, texas. a statue of popeye was erected there in 1936. mr. gallego: the spinach festival is one of the biggest and best festivals in texas. it started in 1936, stopped during world war ii and didn't go back up until the 1980's, but it has grown significantly over time. crystal city also occupies a unique spot in texas political history in that it was the birthplace of the first latino political party in texas, the raza nita party which at the time qualified for a statewide ballot. crystal city has long been known as a core of civil rights activism and its rolling fields are now sharing space with the booming eagle shale. come see a gem of the garden

area, crystal city, texas. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i respectfully request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, today i rise to bring attention to an issue that affects millions of american citizens. a rare disease is defined as a disease that affects fewer than 200,000 people. there are over 7,000 rare diseases that affect close to 30 million people. my family knows the difficulties of dealing with rare diseases. my daughter, chloe, has uffered from cystic fibrosis her entire life and it's a threatening disease that causes mucous to build up and to build organs. as a rare disease, c.f. requires specialized care that could cost an individual hundreds of thousands of dollars over the lifetime.

even though there have been advancements in medicine, a c.f. sufferer may only survive into their 30's. this is much different than it was 50 years ago where a child was lucky to live to the age of 10. today we observe c.f. and all other rare diseases to stress the importance of funding for rare disease research. hopefully we can make rare diseases a thing of the past and i yield back my remaining time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from illinois seek recognition? without objection, the gentlewoman from illinois is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, sir. i rise today to talk about the urgent need to raise the minimum wage for hardworking americans just struggling to get by. mrs. bustos: cost of living has increased but wages have not. in illinois alone, more than one million people, a full 20% of our work force could benefit from an increase in the minimum wage. it could also lead to close to

$1 billion economic shot in the arm to my state. currently, my state's small businesses are at a competitive disadvantage because in our neighboring states of wisconsin and iowa the minimum wage is lower than in ours. raising the federal minimum wage could help level this playing field and make small businesses in my region stronger. increasing the minimum wage is a win-win situation for the people i represent and for our local economy. i believe strongly that anyone who works full time should not have to live in poverty. let's work together and get this done. thank you, mr. speaker, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. for what purpose does the gentleman from alabama seek recognition? >> request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from alabama is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, yesterday the house foreign affairs committee passed h.r. 2548, the electrify africa act of 2014. mr. brooks: another day in

washington. another boondoggle in the backs of american taxpayers. i am flabbergasted in the week our secretary of defense warns severe defense cuts caused by america's deteriorating will ial system, congress help build electrical powerlines in africa. financial prudence dictates we reduce our deficits by not spending the money at all. if we must spend it and must choose between africa or america, mr. speaker, i choose spending it in america. america spends more than $40 billion a year on foreign aid, money we do not have, borrow to get and cannot afford to pay back. mr. speaker, if financial irresponsibility and economic insanity have a home, rest assured they live in washington, d.c. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from massachusetts seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the

gentleman from massachusetts is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, two months ago emergency unemployment benefits expired for over one million americans, including 20,000 veterans and yet this house has not taken up legislation to provide these workers and families with necessary relief. mr. tierney: i rise to ask immediate action on the unemployment compensation act which provides three months of extension of benefits. over 90% of the democratic caucus have signed onto this bill. constituents from across my district and i'm sure across the country have been sharing heartbreaking stories of hardship and pain because these benefits have expired. one constituent wrote to me and said, and i quote, i am one of the people whose benefits expired at the end of last year. my husband and i have tapped out all of our savings and i'm beside myself with worry wondering how to make the little we have remaining last longer. it's a mistake to end this crucial safety net for those struggling to get back on their

feet, closed quote. we should not leave those like her out in the cold a day longer. in the moral imperative to act is not enough, mr. speaker, perhaps we should consider the economic benefits of extending unemployment insurance. economists across the spectrum agrees that unemployment benefits delivers $1.52 in economic activity for every dollar spent. this house should pass that bill immediately. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> seek unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from california is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, sadly i'd like to acknowledge the loss of a good friend and a great patriot and have his name entered in the record. mr. charles swim of paradise, california. mr. lamalfa: charlie, quite a character, one thing. if he picked you as the person he thought was going to win that virtually guaranteed your

election. more importantly, what we know him for in northern california is that his service to his nation and to his community. he was born in 1927 in detroit, michigan. although he claimed kentucky. true age at the time he served in the army, when he enlisted in the army was 15 and when they finally caught up to him at 17 and soon enlisted in the navy. he served six years in the navy. this was during world war ii. and soon after those six years went back into the army. he also served as a california state parole agent for 27 years, very successfully fought for the rights of parole agents to carry under their second amendment rights. many accredit charlie's efforts to saving lives. after retirement, charlie's extensive knowledge and experience in the field continued to affect those up in california's first district and became the first historian for the beat county sheriff's office. he's survived by his wife,

eight children, three great grandchildren. charlie's valiant efforts to make our public safety better for our nation and for our neighborhood will always be remembered. we're very grateful for it. i thank you for the opportunity to speak about charlie today. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> i seek unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. . >> i rise today to pay tribute toal val door and jesus, two heroes who after decades being overlooked will be award the medal of honor. he aggressively led his rifle squad in neutralizing many enemy strong points. as his company returned the attack, latta sussstaint a severe leg wound but did not stop to receive wade.

jesus served in vietnam and saved several americans on a mission in 1969. according to his son his platoon was in a fight and a lot of guys were killed. he thought he was going to be left for dead so he decided to take the m- 0 and unload, unquote. unfortunately, mr. speaker, these heroes are no longer with us and will receive their medals of hopor posthumously. we must never forget their sacrifice because it is because of their bravery we are able to continue spreading freedom throughout the world. thank you, i yield back. for what purpose does the gentleman from oklahoma seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h.r. 899. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. pursuant to house resolution 492 and rule 18, the chair declares the house in the committee of the whole house on the state of

the union for consideration of h.r. 899. the chair appoints the gentleman from illinois, mr. hultgren, to preside over the committee of the whole. the chair: the house is in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for the consideration of h.r. 899, which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: a bill to provide for additional safeguards with respect to imposing federal mandate and for other purposes. the chair: pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered as read the first time. the gentleman from oklahoma, mr. lankford, and the gentleman from maryland, mr. cummings, each will control 30 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from oklahoma. mr. lankford: thank you, mr. chairman. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. lankford: the last congress the oversight and government reform committee that i chaired began studying the effectiveness of the unfunded mandates reform

act enacted in 1995. we held three legislative hearings and inquired with the congressional budget office and the office of information and regulatory affairs about various um bra provisions and possible improvements of the law. during our hearings representatives from state and local governments, private sector they came to testify about many of the burdensome mandates that are actually not characterized and not protected under the original unfunded mandate reform act. the analysis often failed to capture the heavy burdens of those regulatory mandates. umbra's limited coverage is a concern because as the chief economist of small business and entrepreneurship council testified, unfunded mandates in regulations continually stifle private sector growth and economic expansion. to help raise awareness about unfunded mandates, to ensure more are captured from the act, introduced by representative virginia foxx. it's bipartisan legislation that

will close the existing loopholes in the law and bring more transparency and accountability to the regulatory process. the legislation has the support of the national federation of independent businesses. small business and entrepreneurship council, the u.s. chamber of commerce, and the national conference of state legislatures. the american action forum, which is headed by former c.b.o. director doug and supports the concepts of this bill. h.r. 899 requires that independent regulatory agencies comply with the unfunded mandates reform act. independent regulatory agencies are currently excluded from review, but the regulations they promulgate can impose significant costs and burdensome requirements. currently regulations issued by agencies such as the securities and exchange commission, the national labor relations board, they are excluded from cost benefit analysis otherwise required of other agencies. the congressional research service, bound between 2010 and 2012, nine independent agentcies issued 57 major rules, those are

rules with a cost to the economy of over $100 million. 78 but none of those agencies monetized both cost and benefits in estimating the impacts of the rules. h.r. 899 codifies the principles of regulation in executive order 12866, issued by president clinton, and reaffirmed in executive order 13563, issued by president obama. it would also codify executive order 12866 requirement that agencies conduct a cost benefit analysis. h.r. 899 requires agencies to consult with the private sector prior toe promising a major rule. currently this requirement only applies to state, local, and tribal governments. in light of president obama's emphasis on early stakeholder input on the development of federal regulations, there is no reason to exclude private sector stakeholders from early consultation in this requirement. h.r. 899 allows the chairman or ranking member of any congressional committee to request that an agency conduct a retrospective analysis of an existing federal regulatory

mandate. again, president obama even has acknowledged the need for retrospective review. stating that each agency should periodically review its existing significant regulations to determine whether any such regulation should be modified, streamlined, expanded, or repealed to make the agency's regulatory program more effective or less burdensome in achieving the regulatory objectives. this change would ensure existing regulations are actually reviewed. h.r. 899 extends judicial review to ensure that agencies carefully consider the least costly or least burdensome regulatory alternatives. according to the small business and entrepreneurship council, the current judicial review provision included in the original umbra lacks teeth and offers no real incentives for agencies to deal with legitimately with the unfunded mandates reform act requirements. h.r. 899 ensures that federal agencies in the congressional budget office estimates the entire cost of the federal mandate, such as foregone profits, costs passed on to

consumers, and behavioral changes as a result of the mandate. the administration said they are strongly supportive of the first generation of the unfunded mandates reform act. i'm glad we're here today to make the unfunded mandates reform act even stronger. i have stated before and i'll state again, making these reforms is not an attack on the current administration. many of the issues we are here to deal with today did not originate in this administration and the solutions we propose will extend well beyond this administration. it is the role and responsibility of congress to ensure regulations are consistent with legislative intent and they are written to cause the least amount of burden in the greatest possible benefit. i encourage all members to support this bill. mr. chairman, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oklahoma reserves the balance of his time of the gentleman from maryland is recognized. mr. cummings: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the chair: the gentleman from maryland is recognized. mr. cummings: i rise in opposition to h.r. 899, the unfunded mandates information and transparency act.

this bill is the second major piece of legislation being considered this week. it will add needless and counterproductive red tape to rule making process. had a privilege of serving as the ranking member of the committee on oversight and government reform. the oversight committee has jurisdiction over the executive branch, and legislative jurisdiction over governmentwide policies. it is our duty and responsibility to ensure that the federal government is operating effectively and efficiently. it is also our responsibility, the responsibility of every member of congress, and we must hold that dearly. this legislation may be well intended, but it would have unintended consequences that would make government less efficient and less effective. we rely on agency rule makings to protect our children, protect our workers, and protect our

economy. the coalition for sensible safeguards, a group of more than 150 good government labor, scientific, faith, health, and community organizations sent a letter to the oversight committee. here is just a portion of what that letter said, and i quote. the wall street economic collapse, the british petroleum oil spill catastrophe, various food product safety recalls, and numerous industrial disasters including the upper big branch mine explosion in west virginia, and the fertilizer plant in west texas have all dramatically demonstrated the need for a stronger regulatory system that is more responsive to the public interests. public interests.

congress should be moving forward to protect the public from harm not rolling back the clock and weakening important safeguards. end of quote. mr. chairman, now is not the me for us to be adding unnecessary burdensome requirements to the rule making process. our constituents expect us to make them safer. not to make it harder for agencies to keep them safe. the bill would give private industry an unfair advantage in the rule making process. under this bill, agencies would be required to consult with corporations before consulting with customers who would be protected by the regulations. in fact, the bill requires agencies to consult with private industry, quote, before issuance

of a proposed rule making, end of quote. this means that, for example, if the department of agriculture planned to propose a new food safety rule, corporate agriculture urel interest would get advance access to the rule. and the opportunity to shape it before food safety groups, children health groups, doctors, or independent scientists are able to participate in the process. i believe that businesses should have the opportunity to provide comments on proposed rules. i think it's very important. they should do it through the normal public comment process. however, just like other stakeholders, the bill also would put independent agencies in jeopardy of political

interference. the unfunded mandates reform act currently exempts independent agencies from its reporting requirements. this bill removes that exemption. that would mean that an independent regulatory agency, like the securities and exchange commission, would have to submit their rules to the office of management and budget for review, which could undermine their independence. i plan to offer an amendment to strike that provision, and i hope it will be adopted. this is a well intended bill with serious negative consequences. i urge my colleagues to pose it. with that, mr. chairman, i reserve. the chair: the gentleman from maryland reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. mr. lankford: i'm submitting for record letters of exchange between the committee of oversight and government reform and others. the chair: those requests are covered by general leave.

the gentleman is recognized. mr. lankford: i'd like to yield three minutes to the gentleman from california who is the chairman of the oversight and government reform committee. the chair: the gentleman from california is recognized for three minutes. mr. issa: thank you, mr. chairman. let me start off on a positive note. the positive note is the regular order in which we bring this important legislation. we have held 11 full committee hearings, 30 subcommittee hearings, produced three full staff reports between the work of chairman jordan, chairman lankford, and congresswoman foxx on this legislation, there have been countless thousands of hours of hard work to figure the right way to say it, to make sure it's narrow, and consistent with multiple presidents' policies of both parties. this legislation is filled with bipartisan support on each of

the bills. this is in fact not a republican or a democratic idea. mr. chairman, that ends the positive part. i just listened to my ranking member in opposition, and i was shocked. shocked they would talk in terms of rule making shouldn't have the interference of the private sector. customers should not look at the actual -- their supplier being involved in the production of the regulation. locking out people who have to manufacture the goods, produce the labels, comply with the law in the process is exactly what's wrong in government today. mr. chairman, the american people know and know full well that a regulation is a law. a rule is a law. the idea that laws are produced

in private with often special interest groups on one side only at the tainl, and then put out as a take it or leave it, fight it if you can, is the absurdity of the regulatory state. mr. chairman, this commonsense reform is perhaps too little rather than too much. mr. chairman, the lawmaking that's gg on in the executive branch -- that's going on in the executive branch, including independent agencies, is independent of our responsibility as members of congress. we are supposed to make the laws, and we are supposed to make them in the clear light of day with all sides having an opportunity to be heard. rulemaking for too long has in fact been done in secret, shown up without any input and then those very manufacturers and producers and growers, the

regulated, have the option of trying to come here and asking us to strike down or slow down the speed of some ill conceived regulation. so this important legislation, something that president obama supported, something president clinton supported, something that people in the executive branch understand needs to happen needs to pass here today. i strongly urge the passage of this bill, a bipartisan legislation. i thank chairman lankford, i thank congresswoman foxx and i yield back. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from oklahoma reserves. the gentleman from maryland is recognized. mr. cummings: i yield to the gentleman from missouri, mr. clay, four minutes. the chair: the gentleman from missouri is recognized for four minutes. mr. cummings: distinguished member. mr. clay: i thank the gentleman from maryland for yielding and i rise in opposition to h.r. 899, the curiously named unfunded mandates information and transparency act. as a senior member of the

oversight and government reform committee, which passed this ll conceived omnibus, lobbyist gift bag on a strictly partisan vote, i can assure you that the only thing transparent about this bill are the invisible benefits it promises to help our economy. it is shameful that the majority would advance reckless legislation like this which would seriously obstruct and weaken the federal government's air, y to protect clean water, ensure a safe workplace, ensure the security of our food supply, provide safe medication and medical devices for the sick and injured and protect consumers from predatory practices that have already caused so much pain across this country. this bill puts corporate profits ahead of protecting

workers and consumers. it would shackle key federal agencies like osha, the f.c.c., the mine safety administration and the cfpb. it assumes that the ability to regulate is always an evil to be evaded, delayed or defeated. it would give business interests advanced notice of proposed regulations but would exclude workers and the public from deliberations. my friends, that is not transparency. that is not good for our economy and it is a prescription for more fraud and abuse. more environmental disaster and more workplace accidents. h.r. 899 would greatly undermine the independence of federal agencies that the

american people depend on to keep them safe at home and at work and to give them a fair shake in the economy. this bill is not a job creator. it is a gift wrapped offering to special interest lobbyists who advocate for no new rules, no regulations and no consequences for their clients. regardless of how much damage they cause. h.r. 899 would not only delay our halt the rulemaking process adding time-consuming and redundant procedures, it would also strip away the public's right to petition agencies when they fail to act. these proposals would severely undermine our nation's ability to establish and enforce reasonable health, safety and environmental standards. given the multiple health and

safety disasters in communities and workplaces across the country that have occurred since the beginning of the year, it is hard to believe that the majority would attempt to weaken standards and safeguards for the public. u know, mr. speaker, a recently -- recently, the director of the cfpb, richard chord ray, -- cordray, came before congress and testified before congress and told us that he knows there are no perfect rules in this -- in government and there is a process for members of this body to challenge those rules and to appeal for changes in the rule and we should follow that process and not come up with flawed legislation like this and i yield back.

the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from maryland reserves. the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. mr. lankford: mr. chairman, i'd like to yield since minutes to the gentlelady from north carolina, who is the author of h.r. 899, and has worked on this concept for years to try to repair the inconsistencies in the original law. the chair: the gentlewoman from north carolina is recognized for six minutes. ms. foxx: thank you, mr. chairman. i thank the gentleman from oklahoma for yielding and for shepherding this bill through the committee. i'm especially grateful to mr. lankford for his tireless efforts on behalf of this legislation. not only i but the people of this country owe him a great debt of gratitude. i also want to commend him for employing such a wonderful staff. they have been a real pleasure to work with and have been devoted to getting this legislation passed. and i want to recognize the efforts of chairman issa and his staff at the oversight and government reform committee, including his eloquent comments

today. they have provided my office with five-star service. and finally, i want to recognize my esteemed democrat colleagues, loretta sanchez, mike mcintyre and collin peterson. i'm grateful for their support nd wise counsel. they realize that this legislation does not stop the government from developing regulations, and i'm frankly shocked from colleagues on the other side who will say it will stop the government from regulating and putting in commonsense rules and regulations. if you had the straw dog in the dictionary and wanted to look up the definition, the arguments against this legislation this morning would fit the bill. every year, mr. chairman, washington imposes thousands of pages of rules and regulations on america's small businesses and local governments. hidden in those pages are

costly mandates that make it harder for companies to hire and for cash-strapped states, counties and cities to keep streets safe and parks clean. republicans and democrats alike agree that each regulation the federal government hands down -- ld be deliberate are a deliberative and economically defensible. this should have an awareness about the cost in dollars and in jobs that federal dictates pose to the economy and local governments. there's bipartisanship on this issue. in 1995, members from both parties supported and president clinton signed the unfunded mandates reform act, umra, which sought to expose washington's abuse of unfunded federal mandates. the 1995 bill was designed to force the federal government to estimate how much its mandates would cost local governments and employers.

not to prevent it from regulating but to make sure its regulations were fair and efficient. for the most part, the 1995 law has worked very well, but over the years weaknesses in that law have been revealed. weaknesses that some government agencies and independent regulatory bodies have exploited. my bill, the unfunded mandates information and transparency act, will create these oversights and put some weight behind umra to make sure no government body purposefully or accidentally skirts public scrutiny when scarce resources are at stake. h.r. 899, mr. chairman, has bipartisan d.n.a. it codifies administrative fixes championed by presidents clinton and obama and promotes good government, accountability and transparency, something we

all believe in. for these reasons i urge my colleagues to support this commonsense bipartisan bill, and i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentlewoman from north carolina yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from oklahoma reserves. the gentleman from maryland is recognized. mr. cummings: mr. speaker, i yield 3 1/2 minutes to the gentleman from virginia, a member of our committee, mr. connolly. the chair: the gentleman from virginia is recognized for 3 1/2 minutes. mr. connolly: thank you, mr. chairman. i thank the distinguished member of the oversight and government reform committee, my good friend, elijah cummings. mr. speaker, i was listening to my good friend, ms. foxx from north carolina, and i don't doubt her commitment to try to rein in unfunded mandates and i certainly supported the 1995 effort as somebody working at that time in local government because local governments are burdened with many unfunded federal mandates. no child left behind, for example, comes to mind. this legislation, however,

before us today, is not a simple extension of unfunded mandates. it's something else. mr. chairman, any lingering doubt about this week's republican assault, which is orchestrated on the regulatory process is designed to benefit corporate interests should be laid to rest with this bill. agencies are already required to consult with any interested party during the rulemaking process through a robust public participation and comment period. this bill, however, would single out private sector special interests and give them special treatment an unfair advantage by requiring agencies to consult with them before a rule is even proposed. the bill further subverts existing law by opening the through elay

frivolous litigation. current law expressly prohibits the courts from blocking a new rule based on the adequacy of an agency's analysis. this bill would expand judicial review to give for-profit special interests a new tool to tie up regulations with unnecessary litigation. i would remind my friends on the other side of the aisle that agencies are currently required by existing law an executive order to consider all regulatory alternatives to promote flexibility and to promulgate regulations based on a reasonable determination that benefits, in fact, justifies the costs. that's already in existing law. agencies are also required to conduct cost-benefit analysis and to increase public participation for all interested parties, not just corporate special interests. of course, house republicans also fail to acknowledge that the obama administration has directed agencies to harmonize

rulemaking across agencies and conduct a systematic review of existing regulations to reduce outdated or redundant rule. mr. chairman, if my republican friends really want to do something meaningful about unfunded mandates, they could work with us to correct the historic failures of the federal government to meet its financial obligations to our cash-strapped state and local partners rather than catering to big special corporate interests with well-paid lobbyists. i yield back. the chair: the gentleman from virginia yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from maryland reserves. the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. mr. lankford: mr. chairman, i yield three minutes to the gentleman from georgia. the chair: the gentleman from georgia is recognized for three minutes. mr. woodall: i thank my friend from oklahoma for yielding, mr. chairman. i appreciate his leadership on the government and oversight reform committee. he haddest' been in this institution for three years but he's brought his heart of

service that he's been applying for a lifetime and that's that heart of service that's made him work across the aisle. i say it's not without a heavy heart, mr. speaker, that i hear folks talk about a republican assault, a majority this, conservatives that. there are some things that happen in this institution that are party line events. there are things that happen in this institution that are republicans driving in one way and democrats driving in another. but this is an openness bill today, and by its very -- by its very introduction, mr. speaker -- i have a copy of the bill here. it's available for anyone to read online. and the very first thing they'll see when they open up this piece of legislation are the men and women who came together to offer it. now, one of those people is my good friend, the chairman of the subcommittee, mr. lankford from oklahoma, but so, too, is the gentlelady from california, loretta sanchez, who believes

n this piece of legislation. believes in be part of the process, driving this forward. we heard from virginia foxx, republican from north carolina. but also among the original co-sponsors to bring this legislation forward, mike mcintyre, democrat from north carolina. mr. speaker, this bill is about one thing and one thing only and that is providing more information and more transparency to all the stakeholders in the process. there are things worth doing and things worth using the power of government to do. but if we are proud of what those things are, we should be proud of sharing that information. you get in the car today, mr. speaker, there are air bags everywhere. i can't count the number of air bags when i rent a car these days. old cars that folks drive, they don't have them. new cars do. i don't know what it costs to put that air bag in. i don't know what it costs to promulgate that regulation, i'd like to know but i promise you

we'd look at those numbers and say it's worth it. it's worth it. regulatory burdens on this economy, and we are seeing g.d.p. revise the down -- revised down again today, mr. speaker, are undeniable. baub they are worth it, but the burden -- maybe they are worth it, but the burden is undeniable. let's tell the folks what that burden is and come together and decide whether or not this is something worth doing. this is not a partisan bill today, mr. speaker. this is a bipartisan bill. this isn't about hiding the ball today, this is about transparency. this bill is not about dividing folks, this is about again what my friend from oklahoma has been about since the day he showed up in this institution, thanksgiving bringing -- that's bringing people together around tough challenges but challenges this institution can rise to do. i'm proud of the many hearings that have been held, the many hours of effort that have been invested, and i am pleased to support this legislation on the floor here today, mr. speaker. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from oklahoma reserves.

the gentleman from maryland is recognized. mr. cummings: may i inquire how much time each side has? the chair: the gentleman from maryland has 18 minutes. the gentleman from oklahoma has 15 minutes. mr. cummings: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the chair: the gentleman from maryland is recognized. mr. cummings: mr. speaker, one of the most problematic provisions of this bill is the section that expands judicial review under the unfunded mandates reform act. also known as umbra. umbra currently allows a party to challenge in court whether an agency performed the written statement required describing the agency's analysis. a court may require the agency to prepare the writ yield back the balance of my time statement -- written statement if the agency failed to do so. the law specifically provides, however, that a court cannot use the inadequacy of an agency's umra statement or agency's

failure to prepare a written statement as a basis to hold up a rule. here's what the statute says, and i quote, the inadequacy or failure to prepare such a statement including the inadequacy or failure to prepare any estimate analysis, statement, or description, or written plan, shall not be used enjoining, or invalidating or otherwise affecting such agency rule, end of quote. the bill would change the statute to allow courts to review the adequacy of an gency's analysis under um a -- umbra and allow the rules to be delayed or inval kated based on the inadequacy of an agency's statement. this clearly contradicts the

intent of the original statute. the add consideration issued a statement of administration policy just yesterday. saying that if h.r. 899 were presented to the president in its current form, he would veto the legislation. the statement said, and i quote, h.r. 899 would unnecessarily add the already robust, analytical and procedural requirements of the rule making process. in particular h.r. 899 would create needless grounds for judicial review, unduly slowing the regulatory process, and in addition it would adaliers of procedural steps that would interfere with the agency's priority setting and compliance

with statutory mandates. there's another allegation that's been made that i want to address, and that's the allegation that there has been a tsunami of rules issued under president obama. this is simply inaccurate. 14,387 bush issued rules in his first four years in office. president obama issued 13,238 in his first term. that's over 1,000 fewer rules than president bush issued in the same period of time. according to the government accountability office, agencies published the lowest number of rules in 2012 since g.a.o. began

keeping data in 1997. g.a.o. found the first half of 2013 was also on face to be another record low year. the office of management and budget in its draft, 2013 report to congress on benefits and costs of federal regulations, compared rule makings across the four years of the clinton, push, and obama presidencies. rules issued in the first four years of president obama's administration had a net benefit of approximately $159 billion. net benefit means the benefits of the rule minus the costs. rules issued in the first term of president bush's administration had a net benefit

f $60 billion, and rules under president clinton's first term had a net benefit of $30 million. that means that the rules under president obama had a bigger net benefit than the bush administration and the clinton administration combined. with that, mr. chairman, mr. speaker, i continue to reserve. the chair: the gentleman from maryland reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. mr. lankford: mr. chairman, i want to make a few brief comments. i yield myself such time as i may consume. i'd like to yield -- the chair: the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. mr. lankford: i want to have the opportunity to be able to dialogue a little bit about some of the things we just heard about. things like judicial review. it is a belief of many people on this side of the aisle and the other side of the aisle that agencies are not infallible. he they do make mistakes at

times. -- they do make mistakes at times. there are times an agency will make an estimate on a cost and it's let's say $90 million, just under the $100 million threshold. someone wants to challenge it and say how did do you the math on that? that you ended up just under the major rule threshold? there is a reason to be able to go back and evaluate some of these things and have the opportunity to go through a judicial review, there can be a conversation to say let's check the math before these decisions are made. to be able to evaluate it. because there's been a large increase in major rules. while i understand that around election time there was a slowdown of regulations that came up, if you look at the first five years of this administration, of their 13,000 rules promulgated, 330 are classified as major rules. 330 of those, major rules, defined as having an estimated

annual economic impact of $100 million or more. some very serious issue to be able to put that many new rules with that large of an impact. it does have a change. while i understand some would say this benefits the economy, what's happened is year after year for the last several years c.b.o. comes back and looks at our long-term economic forecast and gives a he slower forecast in 2014. again they have come out and said in its current economy with what is happening, it is another slowdown and another over $1 trillion loss in our economy that bow has estimated over the next 10 years because the economy continues to slow down. we are just asking the question, is it possible, because so many major regulations are coming out and no one has had a check on that. with that, mr. chairman, i'd like to yield three minutes to my colleague from north carolina. the chair: the gentleman from north carolina is recognized for three minutes. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman from oklahoma for his leadership and for his passion. this is one of those areas that quite frankly as we look at

unfunded mandates that is taking the power from washington, d.c., and giving it back to the elected officials in our statings, our county governments, and cities. the gentleman from virginia, from the other side, earlier said that certainly he supported this when he was a local official elected there in virginia. and rightfully so because i can share a personal story, mr. speaker, from a senator, jim davis, from my home state who was a county commissioner and now a state senator. mr. meadows: i asked him why do you have such a hard time balancing the budget here in the state? and he gave me two words -- unfunded mandates. and why is that? because we continue to pass regulation after regulation after regulation, send them down to the states, ask the states to deal with them, the states say, well, we don't have money to implement this, they send it even further to the county government, so what happens?

property taxes go up at the local level. state income taxes go up there. all because we believe that we know what is best here in washington, d.c., on how to implement rules and regulations. mr. speaker, i would suggest that during the first term of the obama administration we saw a 10% increase in regulatory budgets. now, that's a 10% increase in regulatory budgets when the average american hardworking taxpayer saw their budgets go down. there's something wrong with this, mr. speaker, and as we start to look at that, there was a study in 2011, a study in 2011 that said with each 5% reduction in regulatory process, you can create 1.2 million jobs. well, mr. speaker, we have a problem with creating jobs here, and this is a commonsense solution to rein in what is

happening here in washington, d.c., and allow that control to go back to the states and local governments. so the bottom line, mr. speaker, is this. to vote against this is a vote against that says we know better how to do business here in washington, d.c., than the elected officials in state and county and local governments. i can tell you the best decisions are made at those local and state levels. i think it's high time that we come back and roll it back in this simple process to make sure that these regulatory reforms and the unfund n mandates that accompany them -- and the unfunded mandates that accompany them, truly are not a burden on the hardworking american taxpayers. with that i yield back, mr. speaker. the chair: the gentleman from north carolina yields back. the gentleman from oklahoma o reserves. the gentleman from maryland is recognized. mr. cummings: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the chair: the gentleman from maryland is recognized. mr. cummings: i would like to inquire as to whether the other side has additional speakers. i yield to the gentleman. mr. lankford: we do not.

we are prepared to close. mr. cummings: therefore, mr. speaker, i'll close. the chair: the gentleman from maryland is recognized to close. mr. cummings: in closing i want to go back to the legislative history of the unfunded mandates reform act of 1995. the law that would be amended by this bill today. the reported on a bill signed into law said, i quote, the primary purpose of s. 1, the unfunded mandate reform act of 1995, is to start the process of redefining the relationship between the federal government and state, local, and tribal governments. in addition, and this is the quote continuing, the bill would require an assessment of legislative and regulatory proposals in the private sector. the bill accomplishes this purpose by ensuring that the impact of legislative and

regulatory proposals on those governments in the private sector are given full consideration in congress and the executive branch before they are acted upon, end of quote. the bill we are considering today goes far beyond the purposes of the original law. the bill goes beyond simply ensuring that the federal government considers the potential impact of a regulation on state and local governments or the private sector. instead, the bill would put the interests of corporations ahead of the interests of our own constituents. something is wrong with that picture. members should vote on this bill and i yield back, mr. speaker, to vote against this bill. i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from oklahoma. mr. lankford: thank you, mr.

chairman. i do support my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this bill. it's a simple, straightforward bill that asks a couple of quick questions. do the people of america work for the federal government? or does the federal government work for the people of america? it's a straightforward question. this bill requires that they have a conversation with the people they regulate to make sure they understand what they're doing when they regulate. i understand full well. there are plenty of well-meaning people here in washington, d.c., that are serving our nation faithfully, but they don't know every state in the country. they don't know every business in the country. that's not what they do full time. they manage things here for the federal government full time, but they're given the responsibility to be able to promulgate rules and regulations that they may or may not have any idea even how that will be accomplished when they get there or the real costs to that. in the estimates that occasionally come up for the different costs, we find out lar