bring data from our own research institutes, but also to serve as a convener around these important issues in this country. thank you. >> you can watch all of this online at c-span.org. we'll leave the last few minutes. the house is gaveling in for a brief session of one-minute speeches. legislative work will get under way at 3:30 eastern. eight bills on their calendar today, including four designed to alter in one way or another the 2010 health care law. also a measure calling for additional sanctions against russia for its occupation of cry mia. live house -- crimea. live house coverage here on c-span. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] the speaker pro tempore: the

house will be in order. the prayer will be offered by our chaplain, father conroy. chaplain conroy: let us pray. dear lord, we give you thanks for giving us another day. at the beginning of a short work week, we use this moment to be reminded of your presence and to tap the resources needed by the members of this house to co--- to do their work as well as it can be done. may they be led by your spirit in the decisions they make. may their faith in you deliver them from any tensions that might tear the people's house apart and from worry this is a might wear them out. all this day and through the week, may they do their best to find solutions to pressing issues facing our nation. please hasten the day when justice an love shall dwell in the hearts of all people and rule the affairs of the nations of earth.

may all that is done this day be for your greater honor and glory, amen. the speaker pro tempore: the chair has chammed the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house her approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, the journal stands approve the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from texas, mr. gallego. mr. gallego: 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 requests for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina seek recognition? >> madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for qun minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute.

>> madam speaker, last week we once again saw what prime minister netanyahu described as, quote, the true face of iran. mr. holding: after forces intercepted a shipment of rockets, bullets and mortars reportedly bound for hamas fighters, israel was able to show how iran continues to fund and supply terrorism across the globe. it also demonstrated israel's inherent right and need to defend its people and homeland from neighboring terror groups. madam speaker, while the administration is quick to negotiate terms of a nuclear tehran, the -- with this should be a reminder of who the administration is choosing to deal with and who they're choosing to trust. while the rhetoric has changed, t's clear the iranian's -- iranians' true intentions and end game has not. thank you and i yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> 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. mr. gallego: earlier, i was on the floor and mentioned clay henry as one though elected officials in the district i represent, i referred to him as mayor of terlingua. you would think i would remember that he was actually mayor of lajitas. that's in the big bend country, next to tembings rlingua. i will tell you that one of the most beautiful parts of the world, one i urge everyone to get familiar with is the big bend country of west texas. the rio grande river, the canyons, it is an amazing place and i urge everyone to get familiar with that part of the world as there's nothing like it in the entire united states. thank you, madam speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman

from georgia seek recognition? >> request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, madam speaker. the american people have not received the answers they deserve from the i.r.s. lois lerner appeared before the oversight committee last week and refused to provide insight into her i.r.s. actions in this case. mr. collins: how can the president claim there isn't a smidgen of corruption in the i.r.s. targeting scandal -- the investigation is still ongoing. if the president believes the i.r.s. did nothing wrong, instruct them to cooperate. if lois lerner truly did nothing wrong, which i doubt, she should testify and lay the issue to rest. as the evidence suggests, the targeting was intentional, what would be wrong with her explain whige she refuses to testify and continues to reassert her fifth amendment right. the american people deserve to know if their freedom of speech was abridged for political

reasons and if administration is dedicated to silencing those with opposing views. i call on lois lerner and the i.r.s. to be forthcoming so we can assure this never happens again. i yield back. the speaker: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, madam speaker. today is world plumbing day, it is easy to take for granted that we can simply -- simpley turn on water. and enjoy clean we should not take for granted what it represents. it is imperative to keep improving water infrastructure to guarantee every citizen access to clean water. it is important to clab rat with groups such as the association -- and ing and mccall

mechanical officials that have developed standards that are used around the world as well as ensuring america's public helicopter for our communities. mrs. negrete mcleod: i reck news how -- i recognize how efficient water systems and those highly trained professionals who work in the industry save our country money and precious resources and enhance our quality of living, keeping people safe and healthy each and every day. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> a "washington post" survey released last week shows that 39% of -- mr. smith: that 39% of people

are more likely to vote for meone who supports a path to citizenship. 41% of independents are less likely to back a candidate for congress who favors a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants. considering the media bias in favor of amnesty, these are astounding figures. according to the poll, a supermajority of republicans claim they're less likely to favor a candidate who favors amnesty. this stands in contrast to the 14% of voters who want their candidate to confer citizenship on those who are here illegally. we should listen to voters, not proponents of amnesty. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> i rise today to extend a

special thank you to those across the nation, including in south carolina who dedicate themselves to keeping the lights on during this difficult winter. for so many of us, switching on the light switch is something we take for granted. it's easy to forget the hard work that goes into making that happen. couple of weeks ago, winter storm packs hit south carolina leaving a path of destruction many of the communities in my district without power. it was so dramatic that the director of the south carolina office of regulatory staff said it was the most significant event in south carolina since hurricane hugo and for us that's saying a lot. mr. mulvaney: to give some quick numbers as to what happened, more than 3,000 people went to work in south carolina, the folks from duke energy alone cleared more than 7,000 trees off of the power lines in south carolina. it's these types of efforts these folks put in every single winter to make sure that something we take for granted actually happens when we flip on the lights. in recognition of those effort

the efforts they undertake every single winter, i'm introducing a bill to declare march 31 as national linemen appreciation day. i hope i can count on my colleagues to send this small thank you, it's the least we can do to let these folks know we don't always take them for granted. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, madam speaker. i rise today to congratulation the university preparatory school from read for winning first place in the regional science bowl competition. the national science bowl is an annual competition that brings together some of the best and brightest from across the country. mr. lamalfa: teams face off in a competition with a range of questions from biology, chemistry, either science, physics, chemistry and math.

the event, while competitive, also promotes teamwork and a commitment to bettering our nation's future. we're proud of the north state of all the teams who competed, dozens of high schools did, for the chance to represent california at the national science bowl. their work is testament to their hard work and thoof students, educators and parents across our region. cop garagelations to the team who will be traveling to washington, d.c. next month to compete against teams from across the country in the national science bowl. i know you'll make us proud. good luck. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, i rise to today -- i rise today to once again remind the president that it's congress that makes the laws, not the executive. it's time the president works with congress, not around it, to achieve realistic policy goals to help grow the economy for

hardworking americans. mr. fitzpatrick: they work hard and play by the rules. we need an administration that does the same the president's willingness to go around congress harms the balance between the branches that our founders sought to protect. furthermore it makes both chambers consider whether legislation they passed will be faithfully executed all the time -- all at a time when it's hard enough to come together on critical issues. governing by executive fiat and acting as a congress of one does little to restore the faith of the american people in their government. the businesses and families we represent deserve a government willing to work together. mr. president, it's time to stop the overuse of executive actions and get back to the real work of growing our economy and making our nation a better place for all americans. with that, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. members are remined to direct their remarks to the chair. the chair lays before the house

a communication. the clerk: the honorable, the speaker, house of representatives, sir, pursuant to the permission granted in clause 2h of rule 2 of the rules of the u.s. house of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on march 10, 2014, at 2:19 p.m., pimmitts, public interest declassification board work best wishes, i am, signed sincerely, karen l. haas. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house a communication. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives, sir, pursuant to the permission granted in clause 2h of rule to of the u.s. house of representatives, the clerk received the fol logue message from the secretary of the senate on march 11, 2014, at 9:45 a.m., that the senate passed senate 1917. with best wishes, i am, signed sincerely, karen l. haas. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house a communication. the clerk: the honorable the

speaker, house of representatives, sir, pursuant to the permission granted in clause 2h of rule 2 of the trials of u.s. house of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on march 11, 2014, at 10:45 a.m. that the senate passed without amendment h.r. 2019. with best wishes, i am, signed sincerely, karen l. haas. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house a message. clip the honorable the speaker, house of representatives, sir, i transmit here with the following hard copy volumes of the fiscal year 2015 budget, appendix, analytical perspectives and historical tables. signed, sincerely, barack obama, the white house. the speaker pro tempore: referred to the committee on appropriations and ordered printed. pursuant to clause 12a of rule 1, the chair declares the house

>> as the session got under way late this morning, dianne feinstein said the c.i.a.'s improper search of a stand alone computer network established for congress had been referred to to the justice department, saying that search in january raised concerns that constitutional rights were violated. here's a portion of what she had to say on the senate floor. >> based on what director brennan has informed us, i have grave concerns that the c.i.a.'s

search may well have violated the separation of powers, principles embodied in the united states constitution. including the speech and debate clause. it may have undermined the constitutional framework essential to effective congressional oversight of intelligence activities or any other government function. i have asked for an apology and a recognition that this c.i.a. search of computers used by its oversight committee was inappropriate. i have received neither. besides the constitutional imly case, the -- implication, the c.i.a. search may also have violated the fourth amendment, the computer fraud and abuse act, as well as executive order 12333, which prohibits the c.i.a. from conducting domestic searches or surveillance.

days after the meeting with director brennan, the c.i.a. inspector general, david buckley, learned of the c.i.a. search and began an investigation into c.i.a.'s activities. i have been informed that mr. buckley has referred the matter to the department of justice, given the possibility of a criminal violation by c.i.a. personnel. let me note because the c.i.a. has refused to answer the questions in my january 23 letter and the c.i.a. inspector general is ongoing, i have limited information about exactly what the c.i.a. did in conducting its search. weeks later i was also told that after the inspector general reviewed the c.i.a.'s activities to the department of justice -- excuse me, referred the c.i.a.'s activities to the department of

justice, the acting council general of the c.i.a. filed a crimes report with the department of justice concerning the committee staff actions. i have not been provided the specifics of these allegations or been told whether the department has initiated a criminal investigation based on the allegations of the c.i.a.'s acting general counsel. as i mentioned before our staff involved in this matter have the appropriate clearances, handle the sensitive material according to established procedures and practice, to protect classified information, and were provided access to the panetta review by the c.i.a. itself. as a result, there is no legitimate reason to allege to the justice department that

senate staff may have committed a crime. it i view the acting counsel general's referral as a potential effort to intimidate this staff and i am not taking it lightly. >> late this morning at the counsel on foreign relations, c.i.a. director john brennan pushed back against dianne feinstein's accusations that the agency had improperly searched the intelligence committee's computers. he said, quote, nothing can be further from the truth. here's part of that hour-long event. >> as far as the allegations of c.i.a. hacking into senate computers, nothing could be further from the truth. we wouldn't do that. that's just beyond the scope of reason in terms of what we do. >> she says there are potentially illegal and unconstitutional breaches by the c.i.a. >> well, there are appropriate authorities right now, both inside c.i.a. as well as outside

c.i.a. -- >> justice department. >> are being laoing at what c.i.a. officers as well as staff members did. i defer to them to determine whether or not there was any violation of law or principle, and i referred the matter, myself, to the c.i.a. inspector general to make sure he was able to look honestly and objectively at what c.i.a. did there. when the facts come out on this, i think a lot of people who are claiming that there has been this tremendous spying and monitoring and hacking will be proved wrong. you said at your confirmation hearing you wanted to restore the trust between the c.i.a. and overseers in the senate. this is a pretty major gulf. is it, if true, that the c.i.a. did do this, would you feel that you had to step down? i am confident that the authorities will review this appropriately. and i will deal with the facts

as uncovered in the appropriate manner. i would just encourage as members of the senate to take their time, to make sure that they don't overstate what they claim, and what they probably believe to be the truth. these are some complicated matters. we have worked with the committee over the course of many years. this review done by the committee was done at a facility where c.i.a. had responsibility to make sure that they had the computer wherewithal in order to carry out their responsibilities. so if there was any inappropriate actions that were taken related to that, either by c.i.a. or the scis staff, i would be the first one to say we need to get to the bottom of this. if i did something wrong, i will go to the president and explain to him exactly what i did and what the findings were. he is the one who can ask me to stay or to go.

>> just a reminder all of the comments from the c.i.a. director, john brennan, dianne feinstein's comments from the senate floor this morning they are available at c-span.org. here on c-span we'll take you live next to a defense subcommittee hearing of the senate. they are looking at the 2015 proposed budget for special operations command. that's michael wlumpkin, also testifying is the commander, admiral william mcraven. just getting under way live here on crn span. -- c-span. >> with their leadership depleting, al qaeda still retains sanctuaries in remote areas of afghanistan, pakistan, yemen, and somalia. terrorist organizations are also expanding in syria, north africa. the threat continues to evolve. we must maintain our pressure on terrorist organizations to protect the homeland. we are in a time of transition. we face a yet undetermined drawdown in afghanistan and new

fiscal realities. it may be more difficult to maintain pressure on al qaeda and their traditional safe havens. i closely monitor how the cuts to the services impact the readiness of u.s. socom. we are assessing the impact of the critical enablers. for example, we are ensuring the codes to the i.s.r. fleet will not erode our ability and capability to find, fix, and finish targets. as we transition in afghanistan and redistribute soft to other theaters, we need to ensure our operation maintenance accounts are resourced to support operations. in accordance with fiscal year 2014 national defense authorization act, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition technology and logistics are strengthening our roles in the oversight of u.s. socom to maximize efeshencies -- efficiencies. these include routine interaction between myself and u.s. socom and frequent dialogue between me and admiral mcraven.

we owe the president the mess strategic options to accomplish our national security objectives. this is conducted in close coordination and honest discussion with the congress as you exercise your oversight, authorization, and appropriations responsibilities. we are moving from a state of perpetual war to perpetual engagement. engaging with partners to build their capacity. engaging problems before they become too big to fix, and engaging in direct and indirect action to disrupt and destroy our enemies. as we move towards a globally network perpetual engagement, our efforts are grounded in the experiences that demonstrate the success of this approach. colombian philippines are case studies in how a small investment of soft resourced for an enduring time frame can have positive results. in the philippines a -- philippines a task force of about 500 special operators and forces helped degrade a serious

transnational terrorist threat. in colombia, we provided counter insurgency training and humanitarian assistance to prevent narcotraffickers from developing sanctuaries. this effort not only resulted in a far more secure and prosperous nation now, it has emerged as an exporter of regional security. we have the same opportunities in africa and the middle east. our support to the french has been critical in stemming the tide of extremism in mali. the -- these discreet activities and operations constitute a global soft network required for perpetual vigilance. i'm proud to represent the soldiers, sailors, maremen, and marines, and civilians of u.s. special operations command. their sacrifices in this war are immense. since october, 2001, 385 special operators have been killed in action and another 2,160 have been wounded. i'm committed to doing everything i can to ensure these

warriors have the best training, equipment, and support we can provide. working closely with congress, we will surely have the right strategies and policies in place to employ them effectively. thank you for your continuing support. i look forward to your questions. thank you. >> thank you, second. admiral mcraven. >> thank you, madam chairman, ranking member fish fischer, distinguished members of the committee. thank you again for giving me the opportunity to address you. this is the third hearing i have been to with this committee in my time as commander of u.s. special operations command. i'd also like to recognize my friend and colleague, assistant second michael lumpkin. we have a great partnership and i value the oversight and support of soft. i'm pleased to say since my last hearing socom has made great strides in dealing with the current conflicts, preparing for the future conflicts, and most importantly taking care of our people. socom continues to provide the world's finest warriors to the fight in afghanistan. as we approach the end of 2014, your special operations forces will be ready to adjust to

whatever decisions are made regarding our future employment in that country. flobally we are developing plans to better serve the geographic commanders who in the past 12 years of engagement in iraq and afghanistan have gone underresourced. socom is a d.o.d. sing kron niesed for the warar -- war on terrorism is helping locally, regionally, and globally. i believe the future of special operations will be in helping to build partner capacity for those willing nations who share our interests. this will mean strengthening our existing allied relationships and building new ones. no nation alone can stem the rise of extremism and we need our friends and allies more now than ever before. our future as a special operations force is also linked to the general purpose force and the interagency. the past 12 years have shown us a whole of government efforts is required to be successful against extremism.

in soft we have always relied heavily on our fellow soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines for support around the globe. finally, we have gone to great lengths to take care of our most precious resource, our people. the preservation of the force and families initiative has already seen a marked improvement in morale and well-being of those who serve in soft. while we still suffer from the tragedy of high suicide rates, i believe we have laid the foundation for keeping our force and families strong and resilient in the future. once again thank you for your interest and unwavering support for the men and women in special operations. i look forward to your questions. >> thank you to both individuals. thank you so much for your statements and what you do for our country. i do want to go ahead and begin the questions and we'll have six-minute rounds. while efforts were made to protect the special operations forces capabilities in the fiscal year 2015 budget, i

understand socom did sustain significant suts to what it had planned prior to the budget control act and bipartisan budget agreement. possibly most notably in your opening testimony, the leveling off of the socom growth from currently at 69,700 person nell, almost 3,000 few than had been previously planned. what is the impact of these cuts to the soft capabilities, particularly with regard to the organic enabling capabilities like combat support and combat service support? and under the opportunity growth and security initiative the department has proposed $26 billion above the 2015 budget request for support activities pending the availability of additional funds. so that in conjunction with both of those how much of that $26 billion would be for socom versus other purposes? >> yes, ma'am.

the leveling off at 697 would mean we have to prioritize our efforts globally. we had built the plan based on 72,000. now it's a function of making sure we can continue to meet the priority demands globally. i think we can do that with the current level of effort of 697. the initiative you were referring to, as of the past back, we'll get prob approximately00 million for socom and most of that money i will place back into readiness. it is important for us to make sure we are maintaining our readiness as we continue to project forces around the world. as mentioned, this week we are in 84 countries around the world, we have approximately 7,000 people deployed globally. we think that is -- that and possibly more is going to be an ensuring requirement. i'll add one more thing. the cuts or leveling is important. i think we can prioritize our efforts. where i'm concerned is the cuts

as you otter services poifrpblted out, we get ouriedness support from the services as well. they'll provide us f-18's, ship steaming hours for our seals. things that affect the services -- the y affect the cuts affect socom. >> over the past 12 years the department has built and sustained a number of enduring capabilities using o.c.o. without a transfer of fund interesting o.c.o. to the base budget in the coming years, much of these capabilities could be lost. the problem is especially acute for the special operation forces and admiral, mcraven, you testified that socom relies heavily on o.c.o. funding today with the mission force and today funded with 67% from o.c.o. both of you, given the downward pressures on the base budget, how does the department plan to

transition funding for socom's enduring requirements from the o.c.o. budget to the base budget in future years? >> ma'am, i work regularly with the comptroller and leadership in the department to make sure not only they, one, understand the reliance on u.s. socom on the oversees conincontinue againcy funding, but do whatever possible we can to transition o.c.o. moneys to base moneys to support long-term operations. we are working through the issue. it's quite complicated, but it has everybody's attention. we are doing what we can -- >> can you put that in dollars to me versus percent. how much money are we talking about? >> we got about $2.4 billion of o.c.o. that goes on top of our about $7.8 billion in base. >> 2.4? >> $2.4 billion is what we get in terms of o.c.o. that goes into our total budget. yes, ma'am, that does become a concern when that money's not

available. as you pointed out, the majority of that -- qualify that, the national mission force about 60-plus percent of their readiness, their o. and m. money comes from o.c.o. >> admiral mcraven, in your opening comments you talked about the preservation of force and families. and you focused a great deal on that effort which i appreciate, and i'm sure it certainly has made a difference to the stress on our special operators and their families. i'm proud that fiscal year 2014 we authorized $5 million for up to three pilot programs to assess the feasibility and benefits of socom by directly providing this family support services. do you believe the families of the special operations -- operators face specific operation force unique challenges when compared to other military families? >> ma'am, i would say the challenges that the s.o. families face are similar to the service families.

i wouldn't distinguished between the two. what we have looked at, we are partnered with the services in all our family programs. we work very closely to make sure if a service has a family readiness program or family resiliency program in the area, we will absolutely send our members there. however, what we are finding is because of the increased and sustained rate of deployment for our soft service members, their families over time will face additional stresses as their service members continue to be deployed for the foreseedable future. programs, how are we working? do you have compafrlings? >> we haven't started those yet. we'll start those now. we are beginning to look at the pilot programs. we have a number of resiliency programs that other organizations -- again we are tapping into some of the resiliency programs in the services. with this money we are building the programs and we are beginning to implement them this year. >> thank you. i do think that o.c.o. funding

will be a huge issue. senator fischer. >> thank you, madam chair. if i could i'd like to follow up on a number of the points that you brought up. admiral, when we talk about the size of the force from the where d 72,000 to 697, do you accept the greatest risk? when you're looking at not eeting that original number? >> what we have done we at special operations command have been working with geographic commanters. recognizing the war in iraq was over and we were drawing down in afghanistan, we worked with them sleff a plan to reabortion the forces to support their needs. as i look at the areas where we are centering most of our effort, we'll continue to be heavily focused in the central

reason yodge. derder region. we are reinforcing our efforts in latin america and europe. we are continuing to pivot as best we can to asia. what i'm having to do is to prioritize our resources. what i will tell you is that pryor at thisization is sometimes dependent upon the host nation's desire to accept available force. i will have the available force i think even with the 697. the chalreng will be whether or not the host nation wants to have a soft footprint in their country. that of course is all about the geographic commanders and chiefs of mission and how they are able to work with partner nations to make that happen. i will have an available force of about 12,000 to 13,000 we can deploy globally for 365 days a year. and that is the force that's been built up really since 2001. we have been fortunate as we double the size of the force

from 33,000 coming up to 69,000. there is available capacity out there. we still have to prioritize. >> you're talking about how you are going to prioritize. when you look at the other services and the proposals there that -- to sacrifice manpower, you folks are very dependent on the other forces. you alluded to that in your earlier comments about the planes. we need the guys with the planes. we need the guys with the bases. when we look at the other services cutting manpower, how does that affect you guys? and the added risks that your forces are going to face because of the enablers? >> to be honest with you, i'm not sure we know just yet. i think we'll have to see how the services take their cuts and how those cuts influence support the u.s. special operations. intuitively we recognize it as the service begins to draw down

there will be less of some specific military operational specialties. m.o.s.'s, we think we'll need. i have a tremendous partnership with the service chiefs and geographic commanders. so as they draw down and the g.c.c.'s make their demands known for soft and conventional forces, we are partnered together to make sure we are shaping the force as best we can to meet the demands of the commander. >> you're continuing to coordinate with the other -- >> yes, ma'am. almost daily. >> they take your pryor at thisization -- prioritization -- when they are looking at their future plans, they are tying in yours as well? >> yes, ma'am. >> so that you can still meet the mission that you have? >> yes, ma'am. to clarify, my priorities are based on the priorities from the geographic commanders. i don't prioritize the force. what i do i request input from the geographic commanders. my job as the supporting

commander to provide them forces. there does come a time i run out of forces. i've got to work with the g.c.c.'s and services to do the best we can. >> do you look at those guys and do you discuss with them what that level is that they need to have in order for you to perform your mission? >> yes, ma'am, absolutely. >> you feel confident the numbers being put forward now that those missions can still be performed? >> yes, ma'am. i'm confident right now with the 697 we'll be able to meet the majority of those missions. now, again, it depends -- >> but also with the other -- >> with the services. >> cuts in manpower. >> i think it's unknown at this point in time. i will tell you that intuitively i would say we are going to be strained on some of the key enablers. but empirical i'm not sure i can give you an answer just yet. >> if you are constrained,

that's going to determine, then, where your forces are going to be deployed. you mentioned not just middle east but also africa and the pivot to the far east as well. >> yes, ma'am. >> so that will affect your mission -- >> it will, yes, ma'am. what we are doing, we are partnering very closely with the respective service components in the region. for example, i have a theater special operations commander in africa who is partnering with army africa to make sure that we are able to give general rodriguez the very best capability that he needs. so we are -- we are exchanging things. i may not have enough special operations helicopters, but army africa has a combat aviation brigade that has helicopters that will do the job. so again we are partnering those deflt and we have a they have a surplus. >> senator nelson.

>> thank you gentlemen for your service to our contry. fog up on senator fischer's comments, take for -- following up fischer's comments. it the drone patrols, is that going to be enough for you for your i.s.r. needs? >> if my understanding is correct, the socom requirement is 44 what they call caps, the or bits, the reduction is going to have an effect, the air force reduction on support of u.s. socom. they can source 15 caps orr beganically, u.s. socom, based on repryorization -- lee prioritization. their -- reprioritization. they are looking at what that will look like and the scope and regionally where it will be. one of the challenges we see is the threat disperses globally.

it takes on farther reaches. it makes it harder to get places. so basing those r.p.a.'s become more difficult as you spread them across the globe. your orr bits don't always have the same impact as they do in a concentrated area. >> when we pull out of afghanistan, do you feel confident that you can keep areah s.o.c. forces in the so that, for example, something happened that we had to go back in that we can do it on a quick turn around and get back in? >> thank you, senator. from a policy perspective as we look at the absence of a bilateral security agreement is what i'm understanding you asking the question about, the absence of one will make things significantly more difficult to conduct the counterterrorism operations that u.s. socom and centcom work in conjunction with

the interagency. options are being looked at. but it becomes significantly more problematic on how we would do business to meet the threats to this nation without bilateral security agreement. >> with the new demands that you all have spoken of with regard to africa, latin america, and so forth, how can you take the reduction from 70-some thousand 7, how can you deploy those forces in a way that you're meeting those threats? >> again it comes to prioritization. and access. these are the real two issues. if the geographic commanders has a priority and i have the available force, which at 697 i will have that, i can prioritize it to him. one of the areas where again it becomes a little bit of an unknown for us is that the

access that we may be granted by a particular nation. the great thing about special operations forces is we are a small footprint. we are low cost. you can put a small special forces detachment in there that i think gives you great return on your investment, and if the policymakers decide that they don't like the direction we are heading it's easy to reverse the decision and pull them out. that is kind of fungible across the globe. having said that there are a lot of nations where we are prepared to provide forces to that may or may not be willing to accept them. the plan we developed makes the assumption a lot of these nations will be willing to work with us and partner with us. that's how we have built our plan for the future. if that turns out to be a bad assumption in some cases, then we may have more or less depending upon what the demand is on special operations forces. >> has some of the rough patches of several years ago between special operations forces and

various . being in locations around the world where the question was a conflict and how all of that relates to the chief of mission, has that been smoothed out in the last two or three years? >> from my personal experience to see where we were when i was in uniform in 2001 to where we re today, the relationship has grown significantly and we are in lockstep, especially when you get outside the peltway. hen you're forward and operational areas, the relationship is good. there is natural tension in the beltway, but relationship with c.i.a. leadership is good. we are -- i see more things playing out in the press than the tensions i feel working with

the leadership here in the city. >> thank you. >> i would even go so far to say our relationship with the c.i.a. is fabulous. i have been on the ground with the agency for the last 10, 12 years and i will tell you they have magnificent intelligence officers. we are partnered not only the chief of station level but chief of mission level in many of the nations we talked about. we have personal and professional relationships that were brought together under fire that i have never seen them this good. and i have a great personal and professional relationship with director john brennan. it's the best i have ever seen in my 37 years of doing this business, sir. >> senator graham. >> thank you both. if we went to the zero option in afghanistan for whatever reason admiral mcraven, what do you think would happen? >> sir, i'm not really in the business of speculating, but if

we go to a zero option, i am concerned that we will have a rise of al qaeda. i think we need to be clear eyed about the fact that al qaeda still operates, admittedly in a much less virulent strain in the federally administered tribal areas. we see some al qaeda pockets up in the northern provinces. i think we are doing a good job right now both the military and interagency of keeping them at bay, keeping their heads down. that requires continuous pressure. i would be concerned if we went to a zero option as secretary lumpkin said, it would make that a lot more challenging. does it mean we couldn't do it? no, sir. we would find a way to keep the pressure on, but it would make it slig more challenging. >> i agree with president obama when he says we can't leave any troops behind without a security agreement. that's a terrible spot to put our folks in. i hope we can get a b.s.a. i would just -- my two cents'

worth, if we don't have a significant fast it for at least a while -- capacity for at least a while in afghanistan, can i see this thing turning pretty badly against us. i hope we can avoid that. secretary lumpkin, do we have the authority legally under the many a.m.f. or other authority to deal with al qaeda threats that are emerging throughout africa and in syria? alif it's again one of those qaeda affiliates, we are given the authority to access. >> are we locked in by their organizational structure? can the enemy use their organizational structure to deny us capabilities to protect the country? >> i think i believe where you're heading with this. i think that if there is an affiliate, an associate and it's been recognized regardless what they call themselves in the relationship, i think that -- of

course we have a lawyers group, but my sense is that we would probably be in a good place to use it. >> does the congress need to do anything from your point of view to enhance your legal standing? >> the aumf has served us very well and gives the department the ability to do what's necessary. currently, however, i think we are at a point where the aumf, there's some point we need to relook at it to make sure we -- it serves us to the best way -- we look forward to working with the congress if the decision is made to go down that road. >> from a general sperspective, admiral craven, secretary lumpkin, is al qaeda defin minnished, about the same, or on the rise? >> i think that if we were to kind of change wait we look at it maybe is that it is much broader. it is spreading. so it's expanding. however as it's doing that,

security vacuums globally, it takes a while for it to fake hold -- take hold and have the ability to organize and attack the homeland. to answer your question i would say currently today it is spreading globally, but its ability to attack the homeland is diminished. >> are you sure about that? >> i believe that to be true. >> libya is an example of it spreading and being lethal to those in libya who serve our country. director of national intelligence said the 26,000 al qaeda affiliate members, whatever you want to call these folks, in syria are beginning to present a direct threat to the homeland. do you agree with that? >> let me take one step back if i may. when i talked about al qaeda being -- i mentioned specifically the homeland as being threat to the ability to attack the homeland. remains a regional threat --

>> but he said they were engaging in plans to potentially attack the homeland. that these are europeans and people from all over the world that are going to syria to get the experience and they'll go back to europe and may come back to america. he thought the al qaeda presence in syria represented a threat to the homeland. does that make sense to you? >> the threat of the number of foreign fighters in syria, if we get in specifics i would rather shift it to the closed session, but it does make significant challenges and increase the threat to europe and the homeland. >> admiral mcraven, you have been at this for a long time and the country owes you and people hike yourself, the best among us, a great debt. if you could, could you give us a spence of where the world is headed in terms of danger and threats to the united states? and i can't imagine that

sequestration is a good thing, but we all imposed it upon ourselves and many of us would like to fix it. is the world more dangerous in terms of the threats that we face as a nation? and s.o.c. people are just super men and women but you do have your limits. what worries you the most at night about the threats we face? >> sir, i'm concerned about the second and third order effects of terrorism as much as i am about the first order of effects. the first order of effects are obviously tragic and another strike on the homeland is something we need to expend a lot of resources to ensure it does not happen. but you raise the issue a few moments ago about isil, about a.q.i. in iraq and syria. the bad actors that are in syria. my concern there is that you are -- syria is becoming an area

where people are coming to get their jihad and more importantly than that, it's creating essure on the people in ways we have never seen before. the number of refugees flowing into wleb none and jordan, a lot of this has created second and third order effects by the al qaeda and al qaeda affiliates in syria. i think it is easier to kind of explain the threat of someone like aqap, we know al qaeda in the arabian peninsula is more threat to the homeland in terms of plots we see generate interesting there. i think we also have to be cautious and concerned about what the extremists can do that create regional effects that have global dynamics and global effects related to them. >> senator man shen. -- man chen. >> admiral mcgraven, i'm concerned about the special ops

with the national guard, 19th and 20th. and how that is going. i know there was a movement a few years back to eliminate that. >> not on my watch, sir. >> how are they performing? >> they perform magnificently. i told the story one of my very first trips through afghanistan, got on a helicopter in bag ram, went down to kandahar, picked up a couple soldiers, spent most of the evening talking to a special forces soldier. we got chatting, it wasn't until the end of the evening i realized he was 20th special forces group guy. the work that they did for us in afghanistan was tremendous. no, sir. there is certainly no move afoot on my end. >> i'm sorry. i didn't refer to your end. there has been a move afoot before. >> they bring great value to what we do. >> we need to get that on record. thank you. let me talk and ask a question about the bit coins and

cyberspace. what's going on. the ability to use this new form of currency, if you will, to cells, terrorists, armed things of that sort. are you following that pretty close? do you have concern about that? >> yes. we do track. the counter threat finance program is a tremendous return on investment that we -- small amount of money we can put to follow the money of terrorists organizations. and we have cells that focus on each of the geographic gadant commanders, one at u.s. socom. it's a very tight night group that works together -- tight knit group that works together. >> the kidgal -- didgal currency like bitcoin does that cause you concern about how this money is -- >> how any currency moves between terrorist organizations wants to do us harm causes us concern. >> bitcoin --

>> it is a trend. >> we have asked --i have been very outspoken on this. i'm concerned. i sit on the banking committee, i am concerned about the lack of oversight, if you will, and volume tillity of this. -- volatility of this. the ability to use this whether it be unscrupulous people using it for the wrong reasons. i would say that's a great concern for our security. i'm going to have to run. thank you so much. sorry. >> senator reed. >> thank you, madam chairman. admiral mcraven, can you give us, i know this is an open session, sort of a response to how you're adapting socom to batfield that's increasingly dominated by cyber? operationally in terms of deferring to equipment that you have -- use your superiority, the whole spectrum? can you give us a sense of that? >> our approach has been to stay closely partnered with the national security agency and now cybercommand as we look at our

cyberrequirements. so national security agency and cyber command have done a great job for the last 12 years that i have spent time kind of intimately the cybersupport teams that come from cybercommand, that come from n.s.a. in supporting us. what we do, we provide our demands. if we are looking for a particular individual, then we will make sure that we are linked with the n.s.a. they will through their technical means figure out how to identify that person. instead of us at u.s. socom building an additional capability to conduct cyberoperations, we use the experts at cybercommand and n.s.a. to do that. what we do have, we have a small element at all of the combatant commands now that help us with the planning and access to n.s.a. and the cybercome. >> you emphasized the serve access of cyber, can you comment on planning or consideration of

operations involving socom and cyberthreats? >> sir, i would prefer to hold that to a closed meeting. >> more than fair. the other issue we are at a transition point in many places. one transition point might be sort of shifting from active preemption activities that socom undertakes against threats either to our forces or to the homeland, to more of training of indigenous forces so that they can be capable of that. can you comment upon how you are trying to navigate that transition point? >> absolutely. as we look forward for u.s. special forces operations command and trying to provide the combatant commanders, we look how we balance the two. it's building capacity so the host nation can take care of security problems. if we need to, we need to be postured to conduct unilateral or partnered operations that only we and potentially our partners have the capability to

do. at the end of the day my feeling is we need to continue to keep pressure on al qaeda and the associated movements, extremists out there. we do that by partnering with the host nations where there is an extremist problem or where they are bordering on extremist problem, and being postured to conduct direct action if authorized to do so by the president. >> this also raises a question that senator fischer and others have raised, which is the resources you need from the non-socom commanders to do that, the training, running ranges, all those things that would help you train local forces and also train your own forces. and again you have commented on that. do you see that as a particular concern in terms of your mission to train local forces? >> sir, most of the training we will do with the host nation will be in their own country. when we go down, we find -- we use their range facilities if they don't have range facilities through various authorities, we

help build those to modest milcon approach. but all -- not all but the bulk of our train something done in-country. we don't have a conflict with the big services in terms of ranges for training locals. . >> i want to ask a question this concerned senator bram, too, he asked me to mention you might want to take this on the record, it may require a more extensive answer. is it a clear pathway to get a person through our system and into the afghani system, outside of that a.l. can you comment on the policy or obstacles to successfully detaining someone as a threat? >> i'm going to take your advice and take that one for the record. >> that's a good response.

jiado, which we're all familiar with, has been a critical institution in terms of protecting our forces against improvised explosive devices. they're sort of being reformulated. it would seem to me that in your role, particularly, not only protecting your forces in the field but training and protecting forces, it's going to evolve what do you see the relationship with jiado, could you take that into your command? it's an o.s.c. office, want to just get those away or gets distributed, do you have any views on that? because i think you would be at the point of the spear -- no pun, but the point of the spear when it come it is to these weapons. >> we haven't looked into bringing that into u.s. socome -- socom, but we work daily with jiado. we have liaison officers up

there they have liaison officers with us, they have done a tremendous service for this nation over the last decade-plus. what they ended up doing, the same methodology they used to find i.e.d.'s a network analysis methodology, is very helpful as we look at bad actors and other networks around the globe. so as they have, rightfully so i think, gone shift their focus, they continue to focus on i.e.d.'s, but they also have the networks, we k at are tapping into the great expertise they have to make sure they understand what the problem on the ground looks like, they are a valued partner. >> given the fact that your forces are the most forward deployed of any forces we have and will be more so in the future, you're probably the first point at which you'll see different developments in i.e.d.'s and different behaviors, you will, i assume have a feedback loop wherever it ends up, if it ends up any

place. >> i expect so, sir. >> senator mccain. >> thank you, madam chair, thank tours witnesses. just to report back from the field, senator king and i did a co-dell to israel, lebanon, and egypt and heard a lot of positives about the work of special forces and for purposes of a massive budget, even a massive defense budget, i think the training we do with other nation mace be one of the best investments we make, not knowledge short-term building capacity but in long-term relationship building, the people we train end up being prime ministers and presidents, that's an investment that works, i wanted to praise you on that. i just want to look, page 3 of your testimony you had a state thament caught my eye. we are ending the longest prolonged period of war in our nation's history. is that your personal opinion or is that the administration's

position or both? >> when i look at the number of years we have been engaged in conflict, direct conflict since 2001 until today, you're looking at those long periods, i use that as kind of an absolute from my perspective. >> the word i was interested in was ending. i think it's -- i know it's the case that the administration -- that administration witnesses before this committee, i'm not sure if it was you or not but we had a heerning the authorizeuation for military use in may about how long will this work go on through that authorization, there was some testimony it would go for a decade more, there was some testimony it might go for another 25 or 30 years, but the way i read this testimony, it sounds like there's a suggestion that at the end of our sort of 2014 activities in afghanistan, as we move to the next level, that the war is ending. is that how the administration

now sees the end of the afghanistan theater operation, that the war is ending? >> the president has given clear guidance that he sees us coming off a wartime footing, that we're moving forward to look at the threats will be there but direct conflict in the sense of a traditional war, we see that coming to an end. >> if, you know, just wrestling with what congress should do, if the war is ending at the end of our 2014 activities in afghanistan, should the authorization expire? >> again, as i mentioned to senator gram earlier -- senator gramm earlier, while the a.m.f. has supported the needs of the department in order to execute the missions at hand in order protect the homeland and american interests, i think we're at an inflection point it may be a time to look at the aumf to see if it does need adjustment to better serve this country. >> whether there might be a need

to consider a chapter two version. >> potentially. i look forward to working with the congress as they consider and shape these issues. >> it was interesting this morning we had a hearing about a nominee, very qualified nominee, i'm proud to support him, rogers, to be head of cybercommand and n.s.a., it was an interesting hearing because he's he the nominee, not the acting, but we were running into terminology questions about what are we in, is it a war, is it a counterinsurgency? for example, he testified that edward snowden's active twirs wrong and violated the law and cost american lives but he wasn't sure if he would call him a traitor. senator gramm asked him if we're in a war he, said, we're in engagements, i'm not sure it's a

war, i mean, we're not in a sign war right now. when pressed about what cyberactivity has to do with whether we're at war, he testified that if cyberactivity led to the need for armed conflict, that would be a war, but then when i asked him, what about cyberactivity that would knock out our power grid and disrupt our economy and we do the same to the other side with no armed conflict is that not a war? he acknowledged these are pretty big, important questions we dent have a current definition of. just -- my chair and ranking member, senator gramm, and i talked about these issues, i'm troubled that the aumf has no temporal limitation, i think it is being used in way this is a may be appropriate for the nation's defense butic we're beyond the contemplation of the members of congress who voted for it at that time. i think the end of u.s. operations in 2014 in afghanistan, hoping there will be a second chapter because of

the successful negotiation of a bilateral security agreement, that is an excellent time to try to devise a chapter two. i think continuing to leave an aumf that is completely open ended, i think it poses real significant challenges for our oversight, if members who are qualified to do great jobs have a hard time with the terminology about what it is we're doing, i think it creates challenge on the battlefield, i think it creates significant challenges for our citizens who try to understand what we're new york i think the controversies about programs like n.s.a. are less about the four corns of the n.s.a. program than they are about what is it in fact that this particular program is supporting, is it a war, is it a half war engagement, is it counterterrorism, is it something else and i think the special forces side of our military are going to be probably uniquely necessary to be at the table to try to determine what in fact this chapter two is.

one last question if i might, madam chair, i know my time is almost up, but if the aumf were to expire, the president would still have significant powers, the traditional powers, the commander in chief, powers to defend the nation and powers to create -- powers created by international law, there are accept at statute this is a deal with counterterrorism activities. has there been work done to the extent of your knowledge to determine in the absence of the current aumf would the d.o.d. or defense establishment have the tools necessary to wage the battle against terrorism that is needed circa 2014? >> clearly the president does have constitutional authorities as the command for the chief. we have previously al qaeda, prior to 9/11, has been engaged, you know, in the past. so it can be done. i think that we are at a natural inflection point. i think it's a good time to sit back and look and see where

we're at, look at the threat in the future and make sure we clearly craft something that has left and right flanks, that has a program time to make sure it serve ours interest and gives us the ability to engage the threats that face us not only today but also tomorrow. ? admiral, would you have any additional thoughts on that? thank you, madam chair tpwhrsm one more quick round of six minutes and then we'll proceed to the closed section. i want to ask about section 1208. admiral you pointed out that 08 authority has been in the of military operations, why is this important and do you believe an increase of the authority above the $60 million is necessary and if so why? >> i can tell you that wherever we are training forces to

conduct counterterrorism operations, we are using the 1208 authority. it is just an authority, it is an authority right now for me to use up to $50 million to provide training, equip, minor milcon, important things as we build this force. i'll defer to secretary lumpkin. i know they'll increase -- requesting an increase in the authority for the reasons you laid out. our execution rate of that authority already this year is closing in on the $50 million because the demand signal out there for this kind of training and support is so great and frankly i think as we move forward and find that we need to continue to put pressure on extremist groups that are out there, we will need more training and probably more authority but i'll defer to the secretary. >> secretary, i want to ask you, how do you differentiate support provide under section 1208 versus other support provide

under more traditional security force assistance? >> let me go back to the 1208 firth and then i'll come back to that. as you're probably aware, i'm not only assistant secretary of defense but also pmping the duties of undersecretary of defense for policy so i have the ability to look across the entire policy enterprise beyond he solic world demained. you see beyond that program and what it does to create operational forces in support of u.s. interests. it's a tremendous capability. we do have other authorities, and this goes back in your opening statement about the patchwork. we have the 1206 which does the global train and equip and is in support of counterterrorism operations and things of that nature, we've got counternarcotics authorities, we have the global which -- section 1004 which gives us the ability to help u.s. law enforcement in

support of their operations in counternarcotics operations which is a real nexus between narcoterrorism and even al qaeda and how they merge the fungible moneys and how it passes across the different bodies. we have the global security con tinsen ji -- contingency fund, a new fund we have availability, dual key authority with states, we're working through that. one of my jobs is to grab these different authorities and to make sure we're leveraging them to the best of our ability to support u.s. interests. and that is truly a -- no small endeavor to make sure we're getting the best bang for the buck and the best return on investment for the american people. >> you mentioned the global security contingency fund. do you think that ukrainian assistance will come under that area to help build the exass i have to its security forces?

>> because it's a dual key authority in conjunction with state, i have not engaged with folks at the state department on this issue but i'm more thanning o do so, absolutely. -- more than willing to do so, absolutely. >> in the 2014 defense appropriation act, it is included an expanded human rights vetting requirement for the d.o.d. training, equiping and assistance program. to both of you, do you agree with the intent of the lengthy vetting requirements and will the changes that have taken place impact training and other engagement activities conducted by the combatant commanders? >> we support both the letter of the law and the intent of the leahy legislation. most of our programs involve a training component as well as an equiping exopet so we were already -- the equipment addition that the most recent legislation is not going to have a significant impact on what

we're doing. and just far scope, i was just briefed that the state epartment does ability 170,000 leahy voting line items per year. it is a massive undertaking. i have had some initial discussions to make sure they can accept this additional -- >> how many more additional do you think -- >> i'm trying to quantify that now but from the department and within solic, i don't think it's going to be that significant as we go forward. most of our pieces already have a training component so the equiping component usually comes along with it. >> in my opening remarks i mentioned about the remediation process and so, you know, do you have any recommendations for improving the vetting process or for a remediation process? and what are the other partnering -- what do the other partnering nations actually do for remediation? >> the remediation process is an

area where we have an interagency working group getting together to see how we can improve the process. as secretary lump kin said, i'm support i have of the leahy human rights vetting, always have been. my concern has been the process and how expeditious the process is for us to get to a solution whether or not a particular unit has in fact committed gross human rights vileses or has not. therefore we can either continue on with training or not. that process, i think, needs improving between state department and the department of defense. so -- and capitol hill. we are working with all three of those in an effort to figure out how do we adhere to the let ore they have law and the spirit of the law but do so in a manner that allows us to get back into a training venue as rapidly as possible if we can confirm that no gross human rights violations have occurred. i think there's a good faith effort going on amongst the agency to get to that point. >> the 170,000, do you have any

percent or number of people that don't make the vetting? and is domestic violence included in any of these? >> if i may, my understanding is that 2% don't pass the vetting requirements of the 170,000. i don't have the answer on the domestic violence but i can take that fun were -- that one for the record. >> senator fisher. >> thank you, madam chair admiral you used the term irreconcile to believe characterize the most extremist elements of our adversaries, the terrorists. how do do you separate those who are reconcilable with those who are not resconsilesnble what's the difference in >> i think it requires thorough analysis. we don't take any steps to go after anyone unless we know for a fact that they are kind of on the irreconcilable, on the counterterrorism part of direct action. and i'm not sure i can give you

a great example of who somebody -- i know who we think is irreconcilable, whether or not they are irreconcilable remains to be seen but we do look at a the of people, al qaeda on arabian peninsula, core alchi dark al qaeda in the islamic lands, we know the leadership there is irreconcilable. no amount of negotiations new york amount of pla case is going to put them in -- of placation is going to put them in a position to support universal values as we know them. as we look at the threats out there, i know a determination is made as we go through the process of determining whether or not an individual needs to have action against them and that is again a very, very well defined, thorough process to get to that point. but there are a lot of irreconcilables out there. >> thank you, mr. speaker, do you have anything to add to

that? >> no, ma'am, i don't. >> ok for both of you gentlemen, last week i discussed this growth of extremists in syria who want to attack us here in the united states with general austin at a hear and his response was, and i quote here, they've grown at an exponential rate and unless we do something to retard the rate a wit and prepare ourselves to counter this threat going forward, i think we're going to have a significant issue. to both of you, do you agree with his assessment? >> i do. left unchecked, the problem is only going to get worse. >> yes, ma'am, i do. >> and at what point do you see these extremists in syria becoming a threat to the united states? to the homeland? >> the threat is already bleeding over beyond the borders of syria as we're having spillage into the surrounding nations which increases, as the admiral mentioned, the pressure

in the levant. i can't give you a date when the homeland is in direct threat but it's in the not too distant future. >> admiral? >> yes, ma'am, i agree with the secretary. concern about the threat in syria, while we can talk about some of the threats in the closed session, i do think one of the greater threats is the pressure they are putting on the levant and the pressure on lebanon and jordan and how that will have a cascading effect across that area which will have a cascading effect across north africa, southern europe and the eventually thee united states. >> and you speak in open session about how we address those threats? >> i cannot, i'm sorry, ma'am. >> thank you. general rodriguez last week described eastern libya as the fastest growing area of extremism and also stated that his biggest intelligence gaffe

was from northern -- gap was from northern mali to eastern libya. can you describe the extremist threat we're seeing now in eastern libya, either of you? and how does that compare to other regions, where does it fall on a scale there? >> i think that's kind of the important part is where does it fall on the scale. my sense is that libya isn't where syria is today but again, without theed, left proper engagement in building the partnership capacity with the nascent libyan forces we could end up in a situation where it's not too dissimilar if no attention is paid to it. >> i would agree with the secretary. >> and where do you see, i guess, our gaps in this region? can you speak about that in open session? >> again, i prefer to do that in

closed session. >> ok, thank you very much. thank you, madam chair. >> all right. i had one or two more quick questions. you can have time too. but going back to the leahy vetting, this is an area i know the chairman is interested in, so i hope that socom will continue this conversation with us. one question on the rapid acquisition authorities, admiral mcraven, socom is unique in that it not only generates requirement bus provides solutions to these multiple needs to these problems. for urgent requirements i understand the capabilities and other systems can be used when the soft units identify a time sensitive capability gap or a requirement related to loss of life. do you believe it would be

advantageous for socom to have additional or more flexible rapid acquisition authorities and if so what would you suggest? >> the come bags -- the combat mission needs state suspect what a soldier will submit to the process. if he has a requirement that is, again, very urgent, loss of life, or it puts us in a position to have a comparative advantage over the enemy, as soon as that combat mission needs statement comes in, we convene a group after u.s. socom, we turn this within 24 hours to determine whether or not we can meet the needs of the soldier down range. the only issue we have is it is procurement money. we can procure a system for him. but we don't have any rdt&e authority within the combat mission needs statement. so if there was something that required development, it may mean we couldn't get it to him on the battlefield in, you know, in the shortest period of time but we might be able to give him

a better product if we had a little money to apply to the authority of the combat mission needs statement, do the rdt&e and get it down range to him. >> it's still a timeliness factor. >> yes, ma'am, it is. >> and ma'am, if i may, we work with u.s. socom within the secretary of defense, we have the counterterrorism technical support office and what we do is we have the ability, we do have research and development dollars in order to support when we can and where we cap, we also support the interagency as well as well as requirements on state and local law enforcement and there's an international component to it as well where we work with our partners and allies. we can help but there are limitations still. >> let me ask one question on syria. do you agree that absent a change in the balance of pow thorne battlefield that the assad regime won't come to the negotiating table in a good

faith manner? and in your view are there a sufficient number of moderate and vetted elements of the syrian opposition to change the balance of pow thorne battlefield? and do you believe we're in position to conduct a larbling enough training and equip program for the vetted moderate elements of the syrian opposition force to have a type f impact if we chose to do so? >> a lot of questions there. >> i can go back. >> let me -- >> the question is traping the moderates and vetted elements of the opposition force. >> i would prefer to talk about that in a closed session to be honest with you. >> senator, i can tell you i have the capacity to do that if the decision is made to train mod ralt syrians -- to train moderate syrian, we have the capacity to do that. >> final question on attacking

the financial network of the -- the financial network of the hakani network. major support for the afghan -- they provide support in terms of conducting cross border attacks against the u.s., against the coalition and afghan forces, and in terms of providing financial support and equipment to the insurgency, they have a widespread financial network that supports their numerous liss it and illicit activity. to both of you new york your view, do we have an in depth understanding of the banking and business relationships loath ill list and licit that finance the network? >> i would submit it's a work in progress. we're working to get that because it changes and it adapts. we're working on that. >> how are we doing to track the financial network and go of their business and support the network and what are the businesss? >> that's a closed session item, to be honest with you, ma'am. to be honest with you. >> i can tell you we work with

f.b.i. and the treasury and we have the counterthreat finance piece, we have folk whors looking at how the network functions. i think we understand the basic structure of it. the hard part is i'm not sure we understand the exact mechanism this is a if we interdicted would make a difference. a lot of people don't fully appreciate that it doesn't cost a whole lot to train and equip a hakani fighter to move from pakistan into afghanistan. so you would have to undercut a very large portion of their funding, i think, in order to have a significant impact on the fighters we see and the area in afghanistan. >> thank you. well, no other questions? then, we're going to adjourn and -- do you want to go to closed session? we'll adjourn and very, very this y proceed to sbc-217

session is adjourned. thank you. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] >> one of a number of fiscal year 2014 budget hearings we cover, you can see it later in our program schedule and at c-span.org. >> the gentleman from tennessee. >> mr. speakering on this historic day the house of representatives opens its proceedings for the first time to televised coverage. i wish to congratulate you for your courage in making this possible and the committee who has worked so hard under the leadership of congressman charles rose to make this a reality. television will change this institution, mr. speaker. just as it has changed the

executive branch. but the good will far outweigh the bad. from this day forward every member of this body must ask himself or herself how many americans are listening to the debates which are made? when the house becomes comfortable with the changes brought by television coverage, the news media will be allowed to bring their own cameras into this chamber. in the meantime there is no censorship, every word is available for broadcast coverage. and journalists will be able to use and edit as they see fit. the solution for the lack of confidence in government, mr. speaker, is more open government at all levels. >> find more highlights from 35 years of house floor coverage on our facebook page. c-span, created by america's cable companies 35 years ago. and brought to you today as a public service by your television provider.

>> we will continue our house coverage momentarily here on c-span, eight bills set for debate this afternoon, including four designed to alter the 2010 health care law and a measure that would call for a additional sanctions against russia for its occupation of crimea. votes expected this evening at 6:30 eastern. live coverage here shortly. the senate is also in this afternoon. they've been working on a number of judicial nominations with procedural votes on that earlier today. also earlier today, they passed a republican backed bill that would repeal the taxpayer funding for political conventions. now live here on c-span, let's go to the house floor. of rule 20, the chair will postpone fu rthedings today on motions to suspend the rules on which a recorded vote or the yeas and nays are ordered or on which the vote incurs objection under clause 6 of rule 20. will be postponed

and votes will be taken later. for what purpose does the gentleman from arkansas rise? mr. crawford: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 31. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 311, a bill to direct the administrator of the environmental protection agency to change the spill prevention, control, and countermeasure rule with respect to certain farms. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from arkansas, mr. crawford, and the gentlewoman from the district of columbia, ms. norton, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from arkansas. mr. yaufered: thank you, mr. speaker. -- mr. crawford: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on h.r. 311. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. crawford: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. crawford: thank you again, mr. speaker. the farmers undertake environmental land stuartship act, or the fuels act, brings much-needed relief to the

nation's agriculture community. it has 73 co-sponsors from members on both sides of the aisle. it passed the house unanimously last congress in an amendment to the house farm bill. it has gained support including every major farm group. the spill rules requires that oil storage facility with a capacity over 1,320 gallons makes infrastructure modification without the possibility of a spill. these mandatory improvements along with the necessary inspection and -- will cost farmers tens of thousands of dollars. the program dates back to 1973, and in the last decade it has come down harshly on agriculture, and the rules have been delayed and changed,

creating confusion. the fuels act is simple. it revises the spcc regulations to be reflective of a producer's spill risk and their financial resources. the exemption level will be adjusted upward from an unworkable 1,300 glistens, to an amount that would protect small farms, 10,000 gallons. it would also place further restrictions on farmers and ranchers if they exceed that level. the producer must demonstrate he or she has no history of oil spills. the university of arkansas conducted a study that concluded that this bill would exempt producers from spcc compliance, saving up to $240 million in arkansas aloe, for the entire country, it could save small farmers $3.6 billion. the last thing the government should be doing is imposing an

expensive regulation on farmers. they can't provide data or even anecdotal evidence of a spill. more than 99% of farms surveyed haven't experienced a single incident. in fact, one year after this report was published, e.p.a. endorsed the 10,000 gallon exemption threshold i'm proposing in this bill. unfortunately, they moved the goal post again a few years later. by nature of their occupation, family farmers are careful stewards of the land and water. no one has more at stake than those who work on the ground from which they derive their livelihood. i urge the support of the fuels act and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentlelady from daniel "d.c." cormier is recognized. ns -- the gentlelady from the district of columbia is recognized. ms. norton: i rise to express my concern on consideration of h.r.

311. this would weaken environmental safeguards for one specific sector of our farms. under current law, any facility that stores certain quantities of oil is required to take precautionary steps to prevent the discharge of oil into u.s. waters. these requirements apply across the board,s bied on the quntity of oil stored in the facility which can range from an industrial facility to a service station to of course, a farm. these steps outlined in the e.p.a.'s implementation regulations, known as the spill prevention control and countermeasure, spcc, rule, require facilities to put in place measures to prevent any spilled oil from entering the water which can include both

construction of containment systems or more simplistic measures to capture small leaks. the spcc rule requires such facilities to have a plan in place in advance that identifies additional measures to clean up any oil that might otherwise escape such containment. these provisions generally have been in place since 1974 and have been enforced for farmers since may 20, 13. since that time, all farmers who fall within the guidelines of the sb -- of the sbc rule should have put in place appropriately scaled countermeasures base thobed size of their facility and the likelihood of an oil spill reaching u.s. waters. yet h.r. 311 would modify existing obligations of farmers to comply with the rule. in many instances, h.r. 311 would alleviate existing

obligations for farmers to develop oil spill contingency plans. especially for those farmers who store less than 10,000 -- 10,000 gallons of oil in aboveground containers. in summary this bill would tell farmers that currently have these measures in place to stop taking precautionary efforts to prevent spills. why does this legislation make this change? is it because the oil stored on farms is less likely to spill tore pollute u.s. waters than other facility this is a store oil? there is no empirical evidence in the committee record that this is the case. is it because the oil stored on farms is any different from oil stored at other facilities? again the answer is likely no.

the stated reason for the regulations is that these safeguards cost too much for american farmers. but the reality is, many of these costs have already taken place, especially in capital costs that might have been required for containment structures. so in reality, many of the compliance costs concerns expressed in this bill may well be overstated as annual compliance costs may now be reduced simply to cover periodic maintenance. i would like to include in the congressional record a letter i received from the national resources defense counsel expressing -- council expressing concern with this bill. mr. speaker, again, i have concerns with this legislation and i hope that as we continue to work through this issue, we will come up with a more sensible way of addressing the protection of our american farms as well as the protection of our

u.s. waters. mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves her time. the gentleman from arkansas. >> i reserve. ms. norton: i have no additional requests for time and yield back the balance of my time at this ime. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady's request to insert documents is granted. mr. crawford: i would say that the 10,000 demron threshold we ve described here is taken from e.p.a., we want to work with them and use the thresholds they see as viable, or that they did see up to that point. the other thing is in agriculture, it's not a one size fits all scenario. there are different scales of production and different levels

of production, the economies of scale are certainly better equipped and use lots more fuel on their farm system of we're trying to implement some guidelines that do respect the financial resources as well as the size of the operation and again, there is no empirical evidence that there have been any kind of spill this is a would warrant this level of regulation for farmers and certainly not to the degree that 1,320 gallons calls for and that could catch up virtually every farmer in the united states. what we're trying to do is implement some commonsense into this in a way that the e.p.a. has agreed to and passed rules. i would again urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important legislation. this will be, i believe, in total, the sixth time we will have passed thisous -- out of this ise and so i think good commonsense legislation.

i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting h.r. 311 and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 311? those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the preponderance of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended -- in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended and the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

for what purpose does the gentlewoman from michigan seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and agree to house resolution 506. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: resolution 506, onoring the life and legacy of va'clav havel by directing the house of representatives fipe arts board to provide for the debaseplace of a bust of havel in the united states capitol. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from michigan. mrs. miller: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the resolution. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mrs. miller: i yield myself such time as i might consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. mrs. miller: i rise in support of house resolution 506 directing the house fine wards va'clav place a bust of

havel in the capitol to honor him. he was a man of many talents and contributions to the world testimony a check slow vackian play right and -- playwright and poet. he and his family were among the countless who fell into oppression when the communists came to power and confiscated their property. yet he carried on, finding his way professionally working in the arts. but he knew he had more to give. his contributions to society are without measure. havel used his gift of the written word to rally his countrymen behind the true meaning of freedom and the need for the human spirit to break free from the clutches of the communist empire. within his well known essay "the power of the powerless requests he insightfully pointed out how citizens under communist regimes were forced to live within a

lie. and he stood as someone who would not be oppressed and served as the lead negotiator, actually, in what would be the end of more than four decades of communist rule. many remember him for his instrumental role in the velvet revolution where he became a dominant figure in the final push for a democratic government. havel fought for his home, czechoslovakia with words and ideas and aided the fight for the oppressed and he won. he became a leader when his countrymen and women needed him most. he was so respected by his peers in czechoslovakia that he was chose ton lead post-communist czechoslovakia, first as interim president and then voted unanimously to become president of czechoslovakia in december of 1989 by its parliament. in today's environment, it's somewhat awe-inspiring that he was so respected he was unanimously elected to president. you don't find that too often these days. six months later, havel was

elected as president at a popular election in july of 1990 and through his leadership and influence, mr. havel helped guide states from underneath the soviet regime to their place as respected democracies in europe. he helped bring down the iron curtain and he aided his country's transition into a free market economy. he certainly deserves to be honored with his bust in this building to sell -- that celebrates our own democracy and supports democracy and liberty and freedom across the globe. i urge my colleagues to support the resolution, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia is ecognized. mr. miller: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. -- mr. moran: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. r. moran: vaclav havel was a

protector of human rights and an inspiration to people all over the world in their struggle to assert the human rights as a universal freedom. his writing and his activism were essential in bringling democracy to a region long plagued by the authoritarianism of communist dictatorship. in 1990, mr. havel was elected president of the former czechoslovakia and later in 1993 the czech republic. under mr. havel's administration, the czech republic became and remains until this day a staunch ally of the united states. after his time in elected office, mr. havel continued to serve as a voice for the oppressed throughout the world and a champion of freedom until his death in 2011. this is a very fitting tribute, this bust of vaclav havel in

the united states capitol, because a man's works reshaped the map of the world and the hope for freedom and human rights throughout the world. i urge all the members of this body to support house resolution 506 unanimously, and i'll reserve the balance of my time, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from michigan is recognized. mrs. miller: mr. speaker, at this time it's my privilege to yield four minutes to the gentleman who is the distinguished chairman of the foreign affairs committee from california, mr. royce. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized for four minutes. mr. royce: mr. speaker, as the author of this resolution, i rise today to honor the life of a rather extraordinary man, vaclav havel, and as we watch the crisis unfold in ukraine, i think it's important to reflect upon the life of a man who led the people of czechoslovakia

out from under the thumb of the toe toll tarian system -- totalitarian system he had grown up and played a very key role in the founding of not one but of two vibrant european democracies. one of them the czech republic and the other the slovak republic. i remember a young croatian journalist with tears in his eyes saying if only we had had someone, someone like vaclav havel, when it came to the divisions in the former yugoslavia, because as he -- as he stated, the ideals that enuciated had political pluralism, democratic capitalism, the way forward, the same way forward as was broadcast by radio free europe, radio liberty, broadcast by the way were never heard in

yugoslavia. we never broadcasted there. but he said those themes managed without the loss of a single human life, for vaclav havel not only to bring independence from the czechoslovakiaian people but a accept rate czechoslovakia. and as a playwright, vaclav havel revealed the absurdity of the toe tail tarian -- totalitarian system he lived under, he discredited the communist regime and following the brutal soviet oppression of the 1978 practicing spring which was a movement for greater political liberalization, havel was banned from the theater. their attempt to silence him was to not allow his words to be heard but instead they greatly underestimated his passion for freedom.

because instead of succumbing to their intimidation, vaclav havel became the voice increased -- increased his political activity. havel played the central role in drafting the now-famous charter 77 manifesto and was a founding member of the dissident organization based upon those very principles. and in 1979, he founded the committee for the defense of the unjustly persecuted. these and other opposition efforts earned him multiple stays in prison. as a so-called guest of the communist authorities. but havel and the cause of freedom prevailed. following the successfully velvet revolution of 1989, vaclav havel became president of czechoslovakia and that was by unanimous vote of the federalist assembly and that ended 41 years of repressive communist rule. the following year,

czechoslovakia held its first free elections in four decades, resulting in overwhelming support for havel to retain the presidency. as leader of an independent czechoslovakia, havel presided over the peaceful separation of the czech and slovak republics, moment usus and challenging task. as president of czechoslovakia, he paved the way of the country's entrance both into nato and into the european union. president havel invited this u.s. international broadcaster to move to practicing, offering the former parliament building as a headquarters for them. and when some questioned the broadcaster's role after the fall of communism, havel stated, -- mrs. miller: mr. chairman, i yield the gentleman as much time as he may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for as

much time as he may need to take. mr. royce: we want to see events from a broadcast perspective. his zeal of liberating oppressed people did not diminish in his later years when he continued to advocate for democratic reforms in places such as belarus and burma, cuba and iran. in reference to his role as a democratic activist, havel simply wrote, we never decided to become dissidents. we simply went ahead and did certain things that we felt we ought to do, that seemed decent for us to do, nothing more nor less. the legacy of this freedom fighter serves as an inspiration for peaceful democratic activists today. it is fitting, therefore, for us to pass this resolution and provide for a bust of vaclav havel to be displayed in the capitol building, the workplace of our great democracy. there, alongside similar images of the great champions of reedom, winston churchill,

raul, his statue will remind future generations of the impact one man can have in the advancements and in the protection of liberty. mr. speaker, i want to thank the original co-sponsors of this resolution as well -- majority leader cantor, minority leader pelosi, majority chip mccarthy, minority whip hoyer, appropriations chairman rogers and ranking member lowey and the ranking member of the foreign affairs committee, eliot engel, with whom i worked particularly closely in trying to advance the values of vaclav havel and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from virginia is recognized. mr. moran: mr. speaker, we want to thank mr. royce, the chairman of the foreign relations committee, for introducing this resolution and promoting the idea of having a bust of vaclav havel in the

u.s. capitol. and we completely agree with his motivation and the words that he has shared with us today and with that we would yield back the balance of our time and we would urge unanimous support for this resolution. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentlewoman from michigan is recognized. mrs. miller: mr. speaker, i would simply close by saying vaclav havel passed away on december 18, 2011, in the czech republic. he was 75 years old. what an incredible life this man led, and i think certainly displaying this bust in the united states capitol is certainly an appropriate and fitting tribute. so i would urge my colleagues as well to unanimously support this resolution. i would yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass -- and agree to house resolution 506. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is

agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. mr. royce: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? mr. royce: i'd like to move that the house suspend the rules and pass house resolution 499 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 499, resolution condemning the violation of ukrainian sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity by military forces of the russian . deration the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. royce, and the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. keating, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. royce: i'd like to ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and

extend their remarks and to include extraneous material in the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. royce: i also ask unanimous consent to place into the record letters between myself and the chairman of the other house committees of jurisdiction on this bill. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. royce: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. royce: mr. speaker, i rise in support of house resolution 499, a very important declaration of support for the people of ukraine in this time of peril. this measure condemns russia's unprovoked regression in clear and in unmistakable terms. the u.s. has a strong interest in a democratic and prosperous ukraine, and a ukraine with its territorial integrity intact. i would -- i would like to take this time to recognize also

ranking member engel for co-authoring this bipartisan resolution, and i would also like to thank the members of the committee on foreign affairs for their work to strengthen this legislation at last week's markup where it passed unanimously. this resolution is an important part of a larger effort to aid ukraine and impose real costs on russia, to give russia something to weigh in the balance, something to take into account for its unacceptable action in the cry mia section of ukraine -- crimea section of ukraine. the resolution condemns the violation of ukrainian sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity by military forces of the russian federation and it declares that the ukrainian people have the right to determine their own future free from outside interference.

importantly, the resolution calls on the administration to work with our allies, to impose visa and financial and other sanctions as appropriate. russia's actions cannot go unchallenged. to show moscow how isolated its aggression has made it, world leaders are speaking out. today the house of representatives is joining those voices. ukraine's new government is confronting an economic and financial crisis brought on by years of mismanagement and corruption by previous government officials, and it is doing this while under military invasion and economic coercion by neighboring russia. the new government in kiev cannot succeed without strong and rapid support without the international community. last week the house acted quickly on a loan guarantee provision. this is conditioned on ukraine undertaking fundamental economic reforms to stabilize its economy. addressing ukraine's energy security must be part of our

response here. while the united states recently became the world's largest producer of natural gas, russia is still the largest exporter. moscow freely uses its energy resources to advance its foreign policy goals, including by blackmailing countries which are dependent on russia. russia has repeatedly used its natural gas to pressure crane economically and politically. it recently announced that it will significantly hike its plies pryces, a deliberate effort to squeeze ukraine, to control it politically. fortunately, we have a readily available option to help counter this threat. namely, reducing the current impediments to exports of american natural gas to ukraine. while vladimir putin is selling oil and gas around the world, we still maintain major

restrictions on selling our energy to all but a handful of countries. we should end the self-imposed sanctions on our energy exports to ukraine. this would undermine putin's influence. it would bolster our allies throughout europe and create jobs at home and i urge all members to support this important measure. i'll reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from massachusetts. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i rise to express my strong support for house resolution 499, a resolution that condemns the recent violation of ukraine sovereignty and territorial integrity by russia. i want to begin by thanking chairman royce for his leadership on this issue, as well as ranking member engel for their introducing this resolution. as ranking member on the