is a budget that undermines economic growth. that undermines the kind of investments in the skills of our work force by cutting job training, cutting pell grants, cutting early childhood education, programs like head start that actually change the trajectory for those individuals, make them more capable and more able to get into the work force in this competitive economy that we are in rather than investing in our people, what this proposed ryan budget would do would be to cut those essential programs, would not contribute to economic growth. . democrats and republicans areich agree that we need to remr. our infrastructure, our roads, our bridges, our rail systems and our ports. this budget takes us in the wrong direction. mr. chairman, i hope that the congress can come together around this question and

realize in the short term deal with the crisis that families are having, rebuild our economy. the budget we will have come to the floor proposed by mr. ryan will take us in the wrong direction. with that, thank you, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentleman has expired. pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess until n

>> prom and first lady michelle obama are attending a memorial service in texas this afternoon for the victims of last week's shooting at fort hood army base that killed four people, including the gunman and wounded 16 others. president obama among those delivering remarks this afternoon. that will be live on c-span3 as well beginning at 3:00 p.m. eastern. lawmakers yesterday questioned the head of the u.s. agency for international development about the organization's funding of a social media platform in cuba, reportedly designed to stir political unrest, while administeror down played the report saying the program was not designed to spur political opposition but merely allow people to better communicate with each other, he's on capitol hill this morning appearing before the house foreign affairs committee about his agency's 2015 budget. the hearing's been under way for about a half-hour. we take you live now here on c-span. >> later be destroyed by the taliban up in the northwest frontier. i think that the pakistani

american community here in the united states based on my work with them, they see how we can better coordinate efforts to promote education and private sector growth in pakistan. of this a very real trillion in making certain that this radicalization is offset and that the education of girls is advanced. what can be done to better leverage and support investments the pakistani diaspora in education and private sector development in pakistan, and how are you safeguarding u.s. assistance against corruption inside pakistan? >> well, thank you, mr. chairman. i appreciate the leadership the committee has shown especially in taking forward the legacy that was created by using her voice and power of her moral example to advocate for this issue.

usaid has support add large-scale program in pakistan with specific focus on girls and early grade learning and literacy outcomes. we talked at reaching 3.2 million children. we have helped to reconstruct more than 1,400 schools. we have worked with federal and provincial governments in a number of the states to make sure that this issue is a priority, and we have engaged on teacher training, curricula and standards, and perhaps most importantly, the measuring of the literacy outcomes through the learning grade reading assessment which was pioneered and tested. we look forward to working with the pakistani american community on this. we have mechanisms to allow us to do that. that ability to engage the diaspora community, which is something we have enhanced over the last several years, would be quite welcomed to take this program to an even greater level of effectiveness. >> thank you. we'll turn now to mr. eliot engel of new york. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i have four questions i'm going

to try to do it quickly. first something i mentioned in my opening statement, that's tuberculosis. it's usually treatable, as you know, with a course of inexpensive drugs, but it's still the leading -- curable, claiming 1.3 million lives per year and the emergence of multidrug resistant and extensively t.b. strains threatens the public health of the u.s. this year's budget question for usaid's tuberculosis program proposes a $45 million cut from f.y. 2014's appropriated level of $236 million. at a time of tight budgets, pepfar, and the global fund, can you elaborate on how usaid's tuberculosis program could absorb a cut of this magnitude and still carry out its vital mission? >> thank you. i appreciate your leadership on

tuberculosis, i think it's very, very important. and that's part of why we have seen a 50% reduction in t.b. mortality and t.b. is projected to achieve its millennium development goal target. the -- we are very concerned about multidrug resistant tuberculosis which largely has emerged in places like india, south africa, china, brazil, and russia. and we know -- i note a few things. the first is in a difficult budget environment we have had to make some tradeoffs, but what we have tried to do here is recognize we have three fundings for t.b., usaid bilateral program, the money in pepfar that goes to t.b., and the global fund commitment which has gone up over the last several years and where the united states recently encouraged and voted for global fund spending more of its resources, i think 14% to 18% on tuberculosis in particular. in aggregate i think the united states' commitment to

tuberculosis remains at a consistent and strong level. second, we are engaging more in partnerships, especially in countries that can afford to pay for much of the response, but requires some technical partnership with us. i saw this specifically transpire in india where they are very focused on m.d.r. and what they call x.d.r. t.b. third, we look forward to working with you to continue to continue to make sure we are optimizing our program. i think usaid has had a very strong history of supporting the world health organizations, c.d.c., and local country governments around the world to take more of their own domestic responsibility for this issue. >> thank you. let me ask you a couple of middle east questions. the first on syria. the u.n. security council has unanimously approved resolution in demands all parties, particularly the syrian authorities, promptly allow rapid safe and unhindered humanitarian access for agencies.

assad, all kinds of questions about the leader of syria, assad, stealing the food, stealing the aid, not letting it go to rebel areas that need the aid. can you give us a quick overview about syria humanitarianian aid? >> thank you. as you know and members of the committee have really worked hard to highlight, this is an extraordinary crisis with 9.5 million people in need inside of syria, and 2.5 million revenue geese now, especially many in jordan and lebanon, that are taxing those countries' ability to sustain social services nor those -- for those mostly young syrian refugees. the united states is proud of the fact that our aid and assistance more than $1.7 billion over the last few years has reached and continues to reach more than four million people inside of syria. more so than any other country, we reach affected communities even in opposition areas.

surgeons and doctors we support have provided more than 250,000 surgeries, every one of them heroic in the context of being targeted, and many cases having staff lose their lives. we continue to provide support, but i want to say a few things. one is the u.n. security council resolution was reviewed by valerie amos just a week ago, or two weeks ago, and she reported to the security council that in fact the assad regime had not lived up to the terms of the security council resolution in terms of greatly expanding access. second, we know there's specific pockets in communities inside of syria, roughly 220,000 people, that are held in besieged areas where literally the preventing food and water from reaching them is used as a tactic of war. that's in violation of every basic humanitarian principle. including how war should be conducted.

so in this context, this is an extraordinarily difficult problem. the committee's work and your personal efforts to allow for more flexibility and food assistance have allowed us to reach so many more beneficiaries, women and children, especially in jordan and lebanon, that we simply couldn't truck american food to, but now they get a card that has usaid logo on it, it says from the american people, and our humanitarian leader just sat with a group of women in amman who said thank you so much for this card. it is what gives us dignity and keeps us going. that is only happening because you have fought for greater flexibility in food aid and assistance. i want to say thank you for your leadership. >> thank you. i'm wondering quickly i can stay in the middle east and ask you one quick question about the israeli-palestinian negotiations. the administration's requested over $400 million in f.y. 2015 funds for the palestinian authority, and last week palestinian president abbas

announced the palestinians would be joining 15 international conventions seemingly in violation of their obligations. now they are calling for several ew preconditions to talks. the only pathway to a palestinian state and sustainable peace between israel and the palestinians is through a negotiated settlement not a unilateral declaration by the palestinian authority. so let me just simply say, how will our assistance strategy changes if the palestinians pursue a unilateral path? >> let me just say secretary kerry has, i think, very ably articulated the administration's position and extraordinary leadership he has taken to support negotiations and continues to moving forward. we play a part at the secretary's direction in proviggede support in the west bank as you have noted. none of the agreements that were signed last week in danger at

this point that support right now, but we will be looking very carefully to see how this transpires, coordinating our efforts, and with secretary kerry a few months ago when we launch add high impact infrastructure initiative in the west bank, and i think the american people should take some pride in the fact that our assistance in the region helps to maintain stability and create some opportunities for dialogue and negotiation. but the secretary, of course, went into this in much more detail yesterday and i'll defer to his comments. >> thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you. we now go to ileana ros-lehtinen, the chairman emeritus of this committee, and from florida. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. thank you dr. shah, i would like to give you an opportunity to clarify some press reports about the cuba twitter program. first, was the program covert and top secret?

>> no. >> second, does usaid implement similar programs aimed at increasing the free flow of information throughout the world in closed societies? >> we support civil society, yes. >> third, will usaid remain committed to reaching out to people suffering under closed societies and dictatorships? >> yes. >> thank you, dr. shah. so contrary to what the media have reported, the democracy programs for cuba are transparent. they are opened. the cuban democracy program with its $20 million price tag, in fact, is one of the most crute scrutinized programs in our foreign aid portfolio, the real question here is why does the press and some in our congressional family demonize these programs? the freedom house has a report called freedom on the net, and this report lists cuba as the world's second worst violator on

internet freedom, only iran is worse. syria, bahrain, burma, belarus where no one in congress seems to have a problem promoting internet freedom in those countries. why not cuba? some may have a political agenda geared toward supporting the castro dictatorship instead of supporting the people of cuba and wish to put an end to these successful programs. many of us on this committee have spent a lot of time and energy splorting human rights in russia -- supporting human rights in russia, vietnam, egypt, tunisia, ukraine, iran, syria, why not cuba? why does our foreign policy agenda discriminate against the freedom seeking people in the western hemisphere? as you know, dr. shah, i congratulate you for being so sensitive to this, the cuban people have been suffering under the castro dictatorship for more than 50 years. not because of u.s. policy but because the castro brothers continue to harass, to imprison,

to torture, to kill the opposition. i'm a political refugee because my family emigrated to the united states when i was 8 years old. we were seeking democratcy. and i remember driving through havana and my father telling me duck down because gunshots were being fired all around us. nd my dear friend, he was 11 came here from cuba and he can also share some of these heart breaking stories, but these tragedies continue today in the daily lives of the people of cuba. one democracy leader is named, s you know, dr. shah, jose perez. he was in castro's jail over 17 years. now that he is freed from one jail to a bigger jail that is cuba, he continues to fight for democracy and for respect for human rights. in fact, just two months ago he

risked his life and went on a hunger strike with no food and liquid. why? all for the sake of freedom. another human rights advocate, she's the leader of an organization called the ladies in white. these brave women are comprised of the moms, the sisters, the friends, the relatives of political prisoners and they march every sunday in peace to mass wearing all white calling for freedom. they march in peace, mr. chairman, as you know with the glad yoleas in their hands. you have broke -- glad yoleas in their hands and you spoke about them. these pro-democracy advocates are the faces of the people that you under your leadership and usaid have been trying to help with these programs. thank you for that, dr. shah. u.s. citizen alan gross, as we know, is on his fifth year of being unjustly incarcerated in

cuba and has begun a hunger strike. according to the cuban commission for human rights and national reconciliation, there were over 1,000 arbitrary and politically motivated arrests in cuba just two months ago, in february. in one month, over 1,000 arrests. does this sound like paradise? if this was happening in any other country in the world, the u.s. would be engaged. so yp should cuba be an exception? there is no independent press in cuba, there is complete control over the cuban airwaves and programming on television and the press to promote the political propaganda spewed by this dictatorship. that is why our state department and that's why you, dr. shah, with usaid democracy programs in cuba, are so important to offer the other side of the story. the side that promotes american values, god given values like freedom, justice, and liberty. and i recognize that some in congress don't think that cuba is a national significance, but

they are wrong. this issue goes well beyond cuba. this issue we are debating, mr. chairman, is whether or not usaid should be taking steps to promote human rights, the rule of law, and democratic governance throughout the world. and i say yes. thank you, dr. shah, thank you, usaid. this is a corner stovene our foreign policy to promote democratic ideals. i'm sorry i'm out of time. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you. we now go to gregory meeks of new york. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you, dr. shah, for your outstanding job in leading usaid. i want to try to do quickly, and i guess if you could write them down, four questions, and hopefully you'll get a chance to answer them. if not we'll talk later. first, usaid plays a significant role in providing trade related assistance, and congress has appropriated funds for this purpose specifically talking to certain countries with which we have trade agreements.

i'm a strong supporter of trade capacity building. i would like to know more about what usaid is doing to enhance trade capacity abroad, and what else you think congress can do to help. that's question number one. number two, as indicated i also applaud what the agency has done in progress in disbursing funding in haiti. however recently the congressional black caucus was at the u.n. and we were told there could be a serious tbreak of could he layera -- colarea. so i want to know do you think that's so? is it under control? what we can do there. third, i am also concerned in regards to funding in colombia, great ally of ours, but particularly there seems to be a real situation in colombia's largest port, center of its

african colombian population, over 90% of the inhabitants are black. they are mired in a crime and poverty and over 80% live by low the poverty line. 30% are unemployed. and none have access to supplies of eagle electricity, water, even basic road infrastructure. so this violence that's going on, i know as we phase out of plan, we want to make sure we are able to address underlying social problems so if there's anything what we are doing there. and finally, on the lines of what ranking member eliot engel has asked, he talked especially about tuberculosis, but thanks in huge part to u.s. investments in global health, the world has cut by 50% the number of children who die before age 5 from whether it's pneumonia, malaria, tuberculosis, the leading killers of children worldwide. we are on the verge of some

exciting breakthroughs and lifesaving potential. for example i know usaid's new tools to prevent and treat malaria. but this budget control and constraints, etc., so i was wondering how you would prioritize these health -- global health needs to ensure we are fulfilling the gaps on current global health needs, especially as it relates to helping children. >> thank you, mr. congressman. i just want to say thank you for your personal engagement and leadership on so many of these issues as they pertain to so many important parts of the world. on behalf of really the world's most vulnerable. with respect to trade assistance and capacity building, the f.y. 2015 request includes $170 million for precisely that activity. in addition to that, we have our feed the future program, which is operational in 19 countries, really focuses on improving the capacity of local businesses to

engage in, in particular, regional agricultural trade. and i would just note that we have done careful evaluations of programs like the east africa trade hub, that have found that our efforts have helped to bring down customs blockages and transshipments across borders, have accelerated the time and efficiency of regional trade in particular and generated $40 of economic value for every dollar we invested in trade capacity building. what congress can do is support strongly the development assistance account, which is part of the budget and is under a lot of pressure. second, with respect to haiti, we have a strong community-based public health program that's focused on all child mortality and will include and does already include an integrated effort with the u.n. to address cholera. i point out right now the fatality rate is under 1% which meets the standards and goals

the u.n. has set, but we are working all the time to make sure cholera is managed. also that the clin nics rural communities are well stocked and suited to serve all children, whatever the cause of disease might be. and that -- building that supply chain and health systems approach has been critical to our efforts to bring down child mortality in haiti. third, with resmect to afro colombia op pew lations, -- population, i personally had a chance to meet with our partners, we are trained thousands of youth and get them placed in jobs. that effort has been very successful. we expect to place 80% of the 4,500 trainees in 2014. and reaching 10,000 by 2016. we have a lot of support from business leaders there. it's part of our new approach to public-private partnerships. finally with respect to global health, i want to say thank you.

your raising that issue is so critical. america has a chance right now to lead the charge to end child death. it will take a two-decade commitment from this committee. it will take resources and we have produced an f.y. 2015 request that has a small increase over the f.y. 2014 request. it requires a new concerted business-like approach in the 24 countries that account for just over 70% of the 6.6 million kids who die. we will be unveiling an investment plan for those 24 countries with a group of other partners later in june. we thank you for your support. i think this is one area where america can accomplish something in partnership with others that is truly extraordinary. >> we go now to mr. chris smith, chairman of the subcommittee on africa and global health. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. dr. shah, welcome, thank you for your leadership. let me ask you a few questions and i have some to submit for the record. the focus on child survival is

an extraordinarily important one. the first amendment i offered as a member of this committee in 1982, more than 30 years ago, was to re-authorize and expand and double the a money for child survivial. it passed, became law, we have been doing as a country take the lead through various administrations, oral rehydration their if i, vaccines -- therapy, vaccines, and the like. i was part after round table discussion with several african first ladies in 2010 and focused on the first 1,000 days of life. their title, very important title and very important initiative. as we all know, you know it better than anyone, i think, unicef estimates that one in four children worldwide are stunted due to lack of adequate nutrition. children who are chronically undernourished as unborn children up to their second birthday of impaired immune systems incapable of protecting them against life threatening ailments such as pneumonia and

malaria. mothers who are malnourished as girls are 40% more likely to die during childbirth, exspirnse debate tating circumstance -- i. speerns debilitating circumstances. i know they are in the works the sooner the bert. how do we expand the first 1,000 days of life. i was in guatemala on the day that they signed a compact with the u.s. we need to do more of those. not just for stunting purposes but mother and child will be healthy. so if you could talk about that. last year a neglected topical diseases -- tropical diseases caused the loss of 534,000 lives. in 2014, 100 million was focused on those horrible diseases. i held a hearing last year, dr. peter hotez tefment i since read his book, forgotten people, forgotten diseases. t is exploding all over.

these horrible diseases, worms, makes people, particularly women, more likely to contrat hiv-aids. the 2015 budget cuts it to $86.5 million. maybe there's other money coming in from a different spigot. that's a 14% cut for something that is extraordinarily important. on ebola, speak to that quickly and more for the record. i know five c.d.c. people arrived in beginny. this is different. doctors without borders says this is unprecedented because it's not small, it's not isolated. it seems to be expanding. finally, something i think is an easy list. i have had two hearings on this whole emerging problem of infectious-based disease. a doctor from harvard sat where you sat gave riveting testimony for the need of neurosurgeons and neurologist. they have cured over 5,000 kids in uganda. i introduced a bill, i don't

know if it will pass, i have asked you if you would look into t. we are talking about $3 million per year to get us involved with great health in general, but this one is -- the situation of kids who are dying, horrible deaths from water on the brain. i have seen the kids. i have met the children. i had one of the neurosurgeons testify from africa. they need more of them. that's part of the vision to grow the capacity of neurosurgeons in africa. one in 10 million in east africa. that's appalling. >> thank you. i just want to thank you for your leadership on all of these global health issues. your chairmanship of that committee as well as your work from the literal 1980's that set a tone for american leadership that i think has borne tremendous results. thank you very much. first on nutrition we will be announcing on may 22 our nutrition policy whichlogical --

this is very important because this is one area where the science and solutions have advanced dramatically in the last five years. and working together with tony lake, who is with unicef, i'm part of the scaling up nutrition, or sun effort, which is designed to take the 1,000 days approach, targeting pregnant women and young children with supplemental foods that can improve their nutritional status so they are not stunted through the rest of their lives. in dozens of countries where the countries themselves make the first commitment, create the plan, make their own investments. we match that. i think you'll see in the policy that we are setting a quantitative target for the will of stunted kids we achieve reduction country by contry. it will be an integrated policy with our feed the future program and larger global health efforts. it will be the operational plan that makes real last year's commitment that i made on behalf of the obama administration at the g-8 summit in london to

commit nearly $1 billion to nutrition specific investments over the next three years. with respect to n.t.d.'s, we'll provide maybe a more detailed answer for the record, but i just want to note that under the obama administration we have scaled up significantly the private sector drug contributions from a number of key partners, as well as scaled up their contributions to do their community training of health workers. and employment of health workers. . there's so much overlap in the countries of greatest need, and i'm confident that while we had to make some tough tradeoffs on certain budget lines, investing in the systemic approach to child survival, bringing these drug donations into an integrated supply chain will help us effectively achieve those goals and we could have more detailed discussion off-line. with respect to ebowla, we have been supporting the world -- ebola, we have been supporting

the world health organization. we're supporting them in the regional office as well as in headquarters, providing personal protective equipment to front line workers so they're protected from disease themselves. and providing emergency financial support as it's needed. i'm glad that you raise it because it does have really dire potential and we'll continue to work with it. and on hydrocephalus, i look forward to working with you a bit more than that. i understand why it's been difficult and part of the difficulty is we've been so laser-like focused on community health and efforts to reduce large -- diseases that cause large-scale mortality and morbidity that we didn't have the resource flexibility given the extraordinarily tight budgets. but if there's something we can do to be helpful, i'd like to make that commitment to you. i understand the data you're citing and the commitment you've shown and i want to thank you for that. >> we go to mr. albio sires of new jersey, the ranking member of the subcommittee on the western hemisphere. >> thank you, mr. chairman.

and i first like to associate myself with the words by my colleague, ileana ros-lehtinen, and i will not bore you with some of my experiences as a young boy, but i want to talk about the issue with the tweeter. i understand if you still feel that u.s. aid is still the appropriate vehicle to carry out these programs. and quite frankly, what are the potential negative effects on u.s. aid programs going forward in cuba and elsewhere? because we have the issue of venezuela. >> well, maybe i could suggest three things. the first is, you know, it's clear that this program, which is directed and mandated by congress and implemented within pretty tight direction is a part of our portfolio of activities. i do want to have a conversation with congress about how we're managing this, about what the long-term

approach ought to be. i do take note that the g.a.o. report that reviewed our management complimented us for making management improvements and how the program is executed. and i note that in countries all around the country, standing up for democratic values, improved governance, anti-corruption, open civil society, access to information is critical to achieving a broad range of goals. that said, we're open to the dialogue you're suggesting and i'd like to have that. i'd also like to note right now that because allen gross raised earlier, and i just want to be clear about something. alan should be released by the government. he shouldn't have been arrested in the first place. he should be freed and returned to his family. he's a husband, a father. he's facing health issues. he had a 50-year career of providing support to vulnerable

populations be an we are going to and the entire u.s. government is working aggressively to secure his release. as you know, it's important for us as an administration to eak with one voice on this and i and u.s. aid will continue to work with the state department and under its leadership as they lead the effort to secure his release on a diplomatic basis. >> and my last question is regarding colombia. you know, at a time when they're negotiating with the farc, we seem to be cutting our assistance to colombia. do you feel that's a good message that we're sending? >> well, we are doing everything we can to maintain levels of support throughout the region and throughout the world. in an environment where the budget is very, very tight, we had a top line reduction in the 150 account overall. we had a reallocation of resources to make significant security investments and implement the findings of the review that was conducted on

security for state and aid personnel. and given that that's creating significant pressures. we have less overseas contingency operation resources in the f.y. 2015 request. so that's all creating downward pressure. in that context, i think we're doing our best to prioritize colombia. we recognize how important that is. i visited personally, met with the president and leaders there and private sector and civil society and we're embracing new partnerships. we launched a big new effort with starbucks to reach 25,000 small-scale coffee farmers and to help connect them to a high-value market. and these are specifically farmers in post-farc affected communities as an effort to kind of get the economy going in precisely those rural areas where we know that peace is ten with us and -- tenous and we want to make sure it sustains. this is a difficult year budget-wise. i hope that congress can provide greater resources for

america's foreign engagements around the world because i believe this is the front line of our own security, prosperity and peace. >> i'm just concerned that colombia has been such a staunch ally of ours and we had success working together that at a time when they are negotiating we are cutting. and i don't know if that sends the right message. but thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you, mr. sires. we'll go down to mr. dana rohrabacher, chairman of the subcommittee of europe,ure asia and -- eurasia. >> mr. administrator, can you tell us -- you're asking for $20 billion for your budget this year, is that right? >> $20.1 billion. >> $20.1 billion. how much of that is disaster assistance? and how much of that is, let's say, long-term country-building

aid? >> well, sir, it depends a bit on how we count the accounts. one of the things we tried to do is use disaster assistance to support longer term systemic developments. in the philippines, we got the energy system and the water system back up and running within a few weeks, and we did that using a combination of disaster funds and development assistance. but in general, our humanitarian accounts are called international disaster assistance, food for peace and a number of other accounts and they probably total maybe $4 billion, $3 billion to $4 billion in total depending which accounts. >> 0% would be disaster assistance of what you're asking for in the budget? >> i wouldn't state it that -- 20% would be disaster assistance of what you're asking for in the budget? >> i wouldn't state it that way. it's a portion of the $20 billion. let me say i believe that the

we can people do not -- have a heart for people that are suffering anywhere in the world. certainly when people go through natural disasters or even disasters that are caused by human action, lending a helping hand to get over that emergency is certainly something that none of us, and i think the american people would oppose, the america people would support, even though we're $500 billion in the red every year, our overall budget. we're spending $500 billion more. so every cent we're spending we're in a way much of that is borrowed money from somebody else in order to give it to somebody else. for disaster assistance, that's understandable. long-term country-building aid, however, at a time when we are borrowing this money for -- to

have our own economy survive doesn't make as much sense to me or i believe to the american people. and often it's done in a way that is just absolutely atrocious. and i would like to challenge one aspect of that today. and that is the money that we plan -- i see that the administration is planning to provide -- at least you're requesting $882 million in aid for pakistan. and let me just note that pakistan arrested and is still brutalizing dr. afridi who helped us locate osama bin laden who was responsible for slaughtering 3,000 americans. and his r his arrest

continued incarceration to be a hostile act by pakistan against the united states, and i don't see how anybody else could see it as anybody else. but worse than that, we have apparently since 9/11 we've iven pakistan over $25 billion and of that $17 billion have gone to pakistan's security services which we know how has been in can hoots with terrorist -- cahoots with terrorists who killed americans, and we're providing these billions of dollars to pakistan security services and they are using billions of dollars of military equipment that we've been giving them in order to conduct a genocidal campaign against the people of balochistan and part of pakistan as well.

how can we justify providing more people to aid to a country like pakistan that is using our military aid to murder in great million the people of balochistan and the repression singhi people? >> the majority of the remainder is spent in child survival, hiv-aids and treatment for aids patients, food and hunger, including the president's feed the future program, our education effort which specifically focuses on girls and getting girls basic education in early years and water and getting water to people who otherwise suffer without. and for each of those areas we have strategies, goals, metrics, we measure outcomes and i believe we can speak about the effectiveness, both in terms of achieving those objectives and creating the basis of stability and opportunity so we live in a

more peaceful world because of this effort. with respect to pakistan in particular -- >> we are borrowing the money from other people in order to achieve very fine objectives like that and perhaps in the past we could afford to be benevolent toward other souls that are not in an emergency situation but at least helping some people out, we could be benevolent and think borrowing money is ok, perhaps we've reached a point now that it threatens our whole economy. pardon me for interrupting. >> and with respect to pakistan, the u.s. aid program focuses on five sectors, health, education, agriculture, stabilization program in the fasa that's built schools and community clinics and road infrastructure and energy and electricity. in each of those areas, in energy we put 1,300 megawatts on the grid, we believe those

efforts are building -- are helping to move communities towards a better perspective about how to engage in the world, are giving people who otherwise wouldn't have opportunity, basic opportunity. and our goal, as is our goal for all of our efforts all around the world, is to succeed at having local capacity replace external -- >> we're putting our money -- well, we're putting our money into those wonderful goals, they put their money into murdering their own people and helping terrorists kill american troops. thank you very much. >> we go now to mr. ted deutch of florida, ranking member on the subcommittee on middle east. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you, dr. shah, for being here today. will he me join my colleagues in commending you for the work you've done to make usaid more efficient, more transparent over the years and the tremendous work that's been doing to promoting american interest around the world. the america gives foreign aid

not because we like one country or another, we do it to provide stability, food secure, global health, all those things that have a direct impact on our own security and i commend you for your efforts. i'd like to follow-up on an exchange i had last year with assistant administrator lindh borg who is doing challenging work. on the branding of usaid in syria, at the time we were seeing a stream of press reports that the syrian people have no idea that the united states is the largest provider of aid. we heard reports that in u.n. refugee camps that were flags of other countries on the tents , on the blankets but hardly any u.s. flags at all. i understand the risk that branding inside syria places on aid workers. i am sensitive to that. i believe it's appropriate in refugee camps. they gave us a number of examples of nutritional bicts

and also to broadcast on arab media into syria i wonder if you can give us an update on efforts of letting the syrian people know that we are there and that we are helping? >> well, thank you, sir. you know, i think we've tried to do our best to make sure that the work that we are doing and the partners who are conducting this work are appreciated for the -- america's generosity and for the results they're achieving and we tried to balance that with some of the very specific risks that some of our partners, in particular, syrian american doctors and medical facilities, for example, face because we know that they've been targeted by the regime. so with that, you know, few examples would be, as we're moving to providing these voucher and debit cards to refugee families that are registered in jordan and lebanon and turkey, those are branded. i noted earlier, for the

chairman, nancy just sat with a group of women in ahmad who said this represents our dignity in an environment where we've lost our homes, we've lost our husbands, we've lost our assets, our kids are not in school and thank you to the american people. in other context -- >> sorry. branded -- how are they branded? >> they have a usaid brand on them and from the american people which is part of our branding effort which has been actually studied and is quite effective and sometimes represented in both local language and our own. there are other -- anytime we provide sort of cash assistance or food items or nonfood items like the plastic sheeting, those things are branded and identified. we have expanded over the last few years efforts to use broadcasting and other tools to help people see what we're doing and also to kind of learn what needs are so that we're both projecting an american image that's more effective

from a public diplomacy perspective and frankly gathering information that helps us improve our response, communities in need or changes in that context. and in general, i think it's now recognized that america provides a lot of critically need and life-saving humanitarian assistance in syria and certainly in the communities i've been with in ahman, in lebanon, in turkey. >> great. i appreciate that. i hope the issue that we've heard about last time that -- those include american flags as well. let me tell you. i want to commend the good work of american schools which helped american organizations to start and maintain programs around the world. in the past few years the administration has usually recommended a level of around $15 million in their budget.

congress typically appropriated around $23 million. the f.y. 015 budget request for this program has been reduced again, and it would be helpful if you could just walk us through the reasoning for this continued reduction. in what is a successful program, at least to my understanding. >> well, thank you. and, again, you know, we really respect the american schools and hospital abroad effort. since 1961 provided almost $1 billion in health and education assistance to more than 300 organizations, continues to be a critical vehicle for us and we hosted their international conference just a week or two ago here in washington, d.c. we know we reach more than 10,000 students and health professionals every year with this effort. you know, we have had to make tough budget determinations, especially because of the dire humanitarian consequences of what's happening around the world right now and the downward pressure on the overall account that comes from both the budget agreement, the

control levels and the efforts to make the security investments to implement the p.r.b. reports. so, you know, this is one of those tough tradeoffs. we recognize how important this effort is and, you know, i -- i think these are important efforts. we just had to make very, very difficult decisions. this is a program that i respect and value and i think over time we'll absolutely sustain. >> i thank you. just -- mr. chairman, i just point out, i appreciate the tradeoffs that have to be made. e -- you consider the merits of this program relative to the relatively small investment that's being made in it that that analysis ultimately be a determining factor. and i thank ward you. i yield back, mr. chairman. >> thank you.

we go to mr. steve chabot of ohio, chairman of the subcommittee on asia and the pacific. >> thank you, mr. chairman. and as we continue to see government spending grow across the board, it's critical that we ensure that taxpayers are not being wasted on ineffective assistance programs or end up in the hands of our corrupt governments or any other organizations like that. so administrator shah, i have a few questions. in february i had the opportunity to visit the philippines with chairman royce and a number of other members of this committee in order to assess the devastation which was caused by typhoon high yen. while there -- haiyan. while there we learned that said is juicing goelocators to detect precisely where aid is being delivered and by whom. it will help reduce the overlap

of aid. effort ctive has this been and how has this technology been used in other countries and if so where and what are the cost benefits of implementing this type of tracking method? >> thank you, sir. i don't have the data to speak to the cost benefit of that specific strategy at this point, but one of the efforts we -- >> could you provide that? >> absolutely. >> thank you. >> one of the things we've done over the last few years is to really work hard to improve coordination and our lead role in coordination with the u.n. and with a range of other partners. that's actually why i went out to co-chair with secretary hagel the defense minute steerial assistance because often coordination is about coordinating with civilian and military actors, as we saw with typhoon haiyan. this is one technology. we've used others as well to help make sure that we're kind of coordinated and swift and

aggressive in how we respond to things, and that we have data back so we know who's receiving aid and where their pockets of need in the midst of a crisis where data is often difficult to come by. >> thank you. if you could provide that cost benefit information i'd appreciate it. >> sure. >> my next question, the asia pacific subcommittee where -- which i have the honor to chair, did work in approximate cambodia in the runup to elections which not surprisingly we believe were vote rigged and overall unfair elections. at the time i introduced legislation calling for more accountable foreign assistance for cambodia. that legislation stated that if the elections were not deemed free or fair, cambodia should be ineligible for direct u.s. assistance to support its military and police. and that the state department and usaid should jointly reassess and reduce if appropriate assistance for

cambodia. the consolidated appropriations act of 2014 contained restrictions on aid to cambodia due to the human rights situation which has not improved. has usaid begun the process of reassessing assistance to cambodia? and also, would you please describe what u.s. assistance in cambodia have actually achieved and which areas aid has been least effective and how have the actions of the regime impacted the effectiveness of u.s. aid and the assistance from other countries, if you know? >> well, thank you, sir. on the asia pacific in general, this has been, as part of the president's direction to pivot to the region, we have, despite all the difficult tradeoffs we have made, we have had modest increases in budgets through that region. and in aggregate for asia and the pacific.

with respect to cambodia in particular, the strategic direction we've taken -- and we appreciate the guidance you've provided -- has been to increase support for democracy programs, for civil society, for efforts to improve governance. in the f.y. 2015 request includes more than $12 million for democracy, governance, civil society and transparency efforts inside of cambodia. >> how much resistance from the regime do you get on that sort of assistance? principles upport as part of partnering with america we should be engaging with all parts of society and not exclusively and just the government. these are open programs. they are notified as we've discussed and we get from time to time some degree of comment but nevertheless, we have support for civil society as one of our core values and our programs around the world.

i say with respect to effectiveness, these efforts have in the past directly engaged over 22,000 young cambodians and indirectly reached tens of thousands more. and they do provide support for them to document what happens during elections to mobilize young people and stand up for a set of values about open society. and we will continue to provide that support should congress provide the resources. >> thank you. my time has expired. >> thank you. we go to mr. david cicilline of rhode island. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you, dr. shah, for joining us today. i want to begin by complimenting on your powerful and very moving words at the national prayer breakfast. you obviously were not instructed not to upstage your boss but you did. i thank you for that. and thank you to you and your excellent team at usaid for the work that you're doing in particularly challenging times and often in the face of diminishing resources. we are also very proud to welcome you to rhode island.

i want to thank you for your the last year to production of nutritional products. and i want to thank you for seeing how they treat and prevent malnutrition for the most vulnerable children and creating jobs in my state to do it. they are creating a larger facility in rhode island they hope can reach over two million children each year worldwide. i know they'll want you to help cut the ribbon in that facility next year. i want to recognize usaid's efforts to ensure development, especially for the rights of lgbt individuals. and i know the coordinator for usaid started a few weeks ago and i look forward to hearing the great things he'll do and look forward to working with him. as you know, this had is an especially important issue right now as uganda and nigeria have both recently passed discriminatory anti-lgbt laws

which could significantly hamper our public health efforts. just this past week, there were press reports of a police raid on a u.s.-funded h.i.v. project and reaching key communities and is a critical component to reducing the transmission of h.i.v. and creating an aids-free generation worldwide. so i have three questions which i'd like to go through quickly and i'll give-on-opportunity to answer. first, would you talk a little bit about what usaid is doing to ensure that lgbt individuals continue to have access to pepfar's life-saving interventions and medications as well as other global health programs? second, in 2010, usaid launched a procurement reform initiative that promised to increase the number of contractor awards to small businesses and n.g.o.'s to streamline procurement processees to provide more funds directly to host countries and to ensure that the products being purchased are the highest quality. could you talk about the progress that's been made on these initiatives? and finally, how does usaid

work with intergovernmental organizations and n.g.o.'s worldwide to combat horrific, very serious problem of gender-based violence, particularly against very young children and girls? >> well, thank you, congressman, for your unwaivering and incredible support. i love remembering what those employees at adisa told me, which upon learning that their work and their products were reaching families throughout syria and helping women and children, they were just so proud to be part of america's engagement in the world. and those are great new jobs in that community. so thank you for having me out there. with respect to uganda, i very much appreciate your comments. these retrogressive laws that have been passed have a chilling effect on the lgbt community's access to care. quite simply put, we are not going to achieve our goals of an aids-free generation if they are allowed to hamper the

effort for our program beneficiaries to receive services in an environment that is safe, that is open, that respects their dignity and that understands that this is a critical point of access to critically needed and life-saving health care. so we are currently undergoing a review of all of our uganda assistance programs and how best to engage. we made some adaptations already to programs based on particular organizations and their behavior with respect to all of this. i have talked to my counterparts in the u.k. and other european capitals that we have a coordinated response that carries more effort force as we talk through how we're going to deal with the consequence of this. but our commitment is to make sure we're able to reach the lgbt community in uganda with basic services for health and hiv-aids and that we are, you know, working to, as secretary kerry has noted, you know, work

to highlight how regressive and repressive this law is. with respect to small businesses and n.g.o.'s, you know, i'm proud to report that over four years we have nearly doubled our commitment to new partners and n.g.o.'s in particular, the percentage of funds which used to be 9% going to those partners is now 18%. with respect to small businesses, we get a score every year, a grade. when i started it was an f. then it went to an a. i think it came down to a b and we're hopeful for another a. but i will knock on wood and not commit to that until the scoring comes out this year. but our teams have been -- the reason we pursued this effort is we believe we should have a diversified base of partners, that all of our partners should have access to the opportunity to take this mission forward. and that small businesses, n.g.o.'s, civil society can often add a lot of value at a very efficient price point. and so we want to engage in

that community effectively. finally, on n.g.o.'s and gender-based violence, i was in eastern congo a few months ago and the use of rape as a commonplace practice of conflict in war in that environment is just devastating to interact with. and to meet young girls and young boys who had been part of this is just -- it's just extraordinarily difficult. i'm very proud of our teams that have not just had targeted gender-based violence programs to reach survivors and to protect them, to make sure they get fistula repair operations and other critically needed and specialized services, and this is happening in difficult context. but also to really look at the broad range of what we do on humanitarian efforts, on agriculture programs, on health programs and ensure we're focusing on reaching girls, protecting girls, giving girls an opportunity because we know that in many of these parts of

the world, doing that will change the character and sufficiency and prosperity of society over time and every bit of effort we can make which while by its definition is not enough i think is an important manifestation of america's values. >> thank you, i yield back, mr. chairman. >> we go now to judge ted poe, chairman of the subcommittee on terrorism, nonproliferation and trade. >> thank you, mr. chairman. dr. shah, it's good to see you again. thank you for what you do. i want to talk about money, taxpayer money that is spent through the state department, specifically then through usaid. when americans think of foreign aid, they think of all the money that the state department spends. but there is a state department budget and then there is foreign assistance money that goes to foreign countries. but let's start with the state department and why so many, including me, people are frustrated about american money. the state department

understands -- i understand, has an arts division that buys art for its embassies. this is $1 million stack of bricks, in my opinion. i know nothing about art. that is at the london embassy that taxpayers spent -- state department paid for it and we spent it on ourselves at the london embassy. it's $1 million. to me, that's quite a bit of money. recently, the state department has decided to purchase this camel and send it to islamabad and put it in the embassy in islamabad. this is about $400,000 and the state department said, well, it could have been more but we got a discount. so we got the camel, the stack of bricks. i understand that's not foreign assistance. but that's money that goes to the state department, and little concerning that we would spend american money that way. if we want art in our

embassies, why don't we get school kids to paint pictures that we can put in all of our embassies throughout the world? i think our school kids could do that. it would be better. anyway. so let's narrow it down to foreign assistance. recently, the associated press has reported that the state department cannot account for about $6 billion over a period of years. some of that money is foreign assistance. some of it's not foreign assistance. it would be security assistance. for the record, i'd like to put the associated press article into the record, mr. chairman. >> without objection. >> not sure where all the money came from, what accounts, but it's about $6 billion that the state department says, well, we just can't find it. which is a little concerning as well. that's according to a report that the office of inspector general did in the state department, and that frustrates me as a member of congress. it frustrates citizens, too.

$6 billion. we're talking about real money. even for the federal government. which leads me to the comment i'd like to get from you. accountability is to me very important. how we spend taxpayer money. representative connelly and myself have introduced legislation, the foreign aid transparency and accountability act, which basically says, when we give foreign assistance, we need to be able to measure if it's working or not working. programs that work, let's maybe keep them. programs that don't work, let's get rid of them. as you know, many nongovernment organizations support the legislation. even organizations that would sort of be audited by the state department or by usaid support a review, an audit, is what i call it, of foreign assistance overseas. i personally think that would

bring some credibility to how we spend our money. maybe we shouldn't be buying art. i know that's not foreign assistance. in - and you've commented the past on this specific piece of legislation. as om your point of view, the administrator of usaid, talking about foreign assistance, not talking about state department money, do you think if we eliminate the security portion of it and just evaluate at this time foreign assistance, security, that's a different issue, weigh in on that for me, if you would? then i have one other question. >> as we discussed before -- and i very much appreciate your comments on evaluation and monitoring, we have taken the percepts that underlies the legislation and implemented them. over the last four years we put out a new evaluation policy. we trained 460 of our staff.

we have increased the number of evaluations that we do and publish every year from about 73 to in this last year 234, and the quality of those evaluations, which we now track and measure, has also gone up significantly to be consistent with our new policy. >> i'm running out of time, dr. shah. excuse me. i'll have questions that i'll submit for the record. since you respond, i appreciate that. and one last question if i may, mr. chairman. i understand we give foreign assistance to armenia and belarus. those two countries specifically voted against the united states in the u.n. they agreed with the basically the invasion, in my opinion, of the russians into crimea. maybe we should re-evaluate giving money to countries that support russian invasion. just a thought. and i'll submit the questions, mr. chairman, for the record for dr. shah. of e go now to dr. ami bera

california. >> thank you, mr. chairman. and thank you, dr. shah, for your testimony. it's good to see you here again. also, thank you for your leadership in transitioning usaid from just being a donor organization to one that's actually capacity-building organization. india is a good example of a country you that we built capacity and now they can actually donate and help develop countries in africa and other places. as been mentioned before, you know, when we look at our overall budget, we're spending less than 1% of the federal budget on foreign aid. so we should keep that in perspective. we also know these are remarkably important investments that not only extend the good will of the american people, globally, but also have dramatic impact on health and release of human suffering. as a reflection of our values

as americans. i simply want to focus on the $8.1 billion usaid and state department allocate for the global health programs. particularly the $538 million on family planning and reproductive health. as you already mentioned, usaid has a major focus on maternal and child health in 24 countries where more than 70% of the maternal child deaths occur. quoting another senator, former senator -- another physician, former senator bill frist. he talked about family planning as being a key engine for additional global health achievements. he also noted when women space their pregnancies out by more than three years, through the use of voluntary family planning, they're more likely to survive pregnancy and childbirth. their children are more than twice as likely to survive

infancy, and as doctors, we know that pregnancy spacing is incredibly important. we also know that research has shown that addressing the current unmet needs for modern contraception, if we're able to meet that need, that we'd prevent 79,000 maternal deaths and over 1.1 million infant deaths. from your perspective, how is usaid ensuring we better support effective better family planning tools to advance our goal of ending maternal and infant deaths? >> well, thank you, congressman. thank you for your leadership on these issues and global health in particular. we do have a significant proposed investment in family planning and voluntary family planning. this has been a part of america's global health and foreign assistance legacy for now more than four decades. and it has been extraordinarily successful in bringing down and taking up the contraceptive

prevalence rate and bringing down the total fertility rate in country after country. one of the biggest successes of the program is most of the programs transition to country ownership, management, funding and implementation after the capacity is built. as you point out. over years. president obama has been very committed to this issue, increasing budgets relative to the prior administration significantly, and we have a very careful process to ensure that everything we do follows the very strict letters of the law. i think there are three things i'd highlight. one, this is one of the most effective ways to save women's lives during childbirth and most cost-effective way to do it. the second is we don't achieve the end of preventable of child death unless we make these investments. and the third is the demographics shift that comes with bringing down child death and bringing up voluntary family planning together is what gives countries the capacity to be more stabilized from a population perspective

and then to grow their economy. and all these things have been proven which is why we've engaged in this administration in partnership with the private sector, with all-star, with the u.k., with the bill -- with australia, with the u.k., with the bill and linda gates foundation. >> great. you know, playing off of a hearing we had last week about empowering them -- particularly on the education front, we know as we're prone to say in our own country domestic eally when women succeeds, society succeeds. in the remaining few seconds just what usaid is engaging in. >> thank you. we put out a new women and gender policy a few years ago. we now really take a pretty aggressive approach. we have a new gender coordinator coming onboard. and we have really restructured the way we do this work so that we support the national action

plan on women, peace and security and critically important in all of our major programs, we try to measure whether the benefits of our efforts are reaching women. so in the feed the future program, which works to reach seven million households, we easure whether the income on farms going to women? and the reason is they're doing most of the work. and you know a dollar of additional income for a woman in that context is far more effective of getting kids into school, reducing child death rates and improving community development outcomes than if that same dollar goes to a male. so by measuring and reporting on those trends, we've actually helped to leave this on this issue. not just for our own foreign assistance but in the community of our partner, country, agencies. >> the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from illinois, mr. kinzinger, for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you, mr. administrator, for being here.

thank you for serving your country in a difficult time in world history, i believe. i appreciate you having here. i want to touch on two different areas, iraq and afghanistan. when america withdrew its forces from iraq after 2011, i think usaid and state department was kind of left scrambling. i will say i've been critical of the administration. i thought the withdrawal from iraq was probably the biggest blunders in a decade on foreign policy. with that said, you were left with kind of a presence in which you had to figure out, k, with no u.s. troops

mferings in partnership with the private sector, with all-star, with the u.k., with the bill -- with australia, with the u.k., with the bill and linda gates foundation. >> great. you know, playing off of a hearing we had last week about empowering them -- particularly on the education front, we know as we're prone to say in our own country domestic eally when women succeeds, society succeeds. in the remaining few seconds just what usaid is engaging in. >> thank you. we put out a new women and gender policy a few years ago. we now really take a pretty aggressive approach. we have a new gender coordinator coming onboard. and we have really restructured the way we do this work so that we support the national action plan on women, peace and security and critically important in all of our major programs, we try to measure whether the benefits of our efforts are reaching women. so in the feed the future program, which works to reach seven million households, we measure whether the income on farms going to women? and the reason is they're doing most of the work. and you know a dollar of additional income for a woman in that context is far more effective of getting kids into school, reducing child death rates and improving community development outcomes than if that same dollar goes to a male. so by measuring and reporting on those trends, we've actually helped to leave this on this issue. not just for our own foreign assistance but in the community of our partner, country, agencies. >> the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from illinois, mr. kinzinger, for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you, mr. administrator, for being here. thank you for serving your country in a difficult time in world history, i believe. i appreciate you having here. i want to touch on two different areas, iraq and afghanistan. when america withdrew its forces from iraq after 2011, i think usaid and state department was kind of left scrambling. i will say i've been critical of the administration. i thought the withdrawal from iraq was probably the biggest blunders in a decade on foreign policy. with that said, you were left with kind of a presence in which you had to figure out, ok, with no u.s. troops here, how are we going to go forward? it seems like since that kind of opening day, opening salvo

of a no u.s. military presence, the u.s. and aid has been trying to -- what lessons can be applied to afghanistan as we're going ahead and looking to the post-2014 and what's the lesson you will -- >> we have to review our programs to ensure that the security context and the underlying economics. second is we have to protect our people. so we have to make sure that we can get eyes on projects, that we're using third-party monitors, that we're using in some cases satellite data to look at crop fields and other ways to track outcomes. but we are -- our people need to be evaluate programs and also be safe. and that the third is that the cost of operations goes up, so i would just say with respect to iraq, one of the things we very much focused on is as we take down our presence and investment, which we've done, we transition the responsibility of paying for programs to the iraqis. and there's been an extraordinarily successful set of transitions where major programs have been picked up and continued with iraqi local resources. i think in afghanistan, we are implementing those lessons and we recognize that for the 2% to 3% of the cost of the overall war that was usaid's component of the investment, we have the fastest reduction in child mortality, maternal deaths, the largest increase in human longevity anywhere in the world over the last decade. and the 2,00 kilometers of road we built out -- 2,200 kilometers of road we built out, all of those, sustaining those gains is critical to capturing the promise of peaceful and more secure afghanistan for the future. and so that's what our focus is right now. >> i'd like to say, too, i visited south waziristan and pakistan and used usaid completion of dams, road building and it seems -- although there is huge problems in pakistan, as we know this, and significant things that the pakistani government needs to address, we've seen success. as we bring economic prosperity

to people, you give them an opportunity to sell their fruits and goods, they turn away from terrorism and extremism and turn towards peace. i think ultimately that's the key here. what's the current usaid footprint in iraq? are your personnel presently able to go outside of the wire and visit projects? what do they do in terms of security and stuff like that? how would that apply to afghanistan as well? >> well, in iraq it's diminishing and that's by design. the goal is to transition the programs to local investment and ownership. and we're on the path to do that successfully. in afghanistan, it's different because in afghanistan we have large-scale programs and investments. the f.y. 2015 budget calls for sustaining at a slightly reduced level over historic terms, those investments. and we really are working with the community of international partners, according to something we call the tokyo mutual accountability framework, so if the afghan government makes right

decisions, free and fair elections, domestic revenues that are collected and transparently provided, we'll continue to work with the international community to make sure they have the resources to sustain these important gains and that's important for women and girls in afghanistan. that's important for rural communities that have been part of the sbir national solidarity program that's been e-- international solidarity program that's been evaluated by harvard to be successful. and it's important to build civil society and civilian capacity in the afghan government. so we're encouraged by these efforts. we know it can be very, very tough. and our people in that context, as you know, sir, take tremendous risks every day to carry out that mission. >> yeah. again, my travels i've seen a lot what your organization does in terms of helping rescue women and girls in situations that none of us could ever ponder, you thought exists 100 years ago, 200 years ago, exist in parts of the world. thank you for your hard work. i know we're going to look at the budget and we do that in a

very big way, but i think your organization is a force multiplier. thank you, mr. chairman. i yield back. >> thank you. the gentleman's time has expired. mr. connolly is recognized for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman and welcome, mr. shah. can you bring us up to date -- we asked questions, last time you were here, the relationship of aid to sort of the proliferation of other aid-like entities in the united states government, the millennium challenge, the africa aids initiative and so forth, all of which seem to have the effect of diluting the centrality of a.i.d. as our lead development agency, that is of concern to a number of us on the committee, a concerned shared with you last time you were here, can you bring us up to date on how that's going coordinated and perhaps reassure us that aid's in fact dilute

role in the u.s. government? >> thank you and thank you for your development of foreign assistance. >> does that mean you're endorsing my a.i.d. reform bill? >> i -- >> did i take that -- >> we've talked about this and i value the underlying concepts of that bill. i will say over the past -- president obama started this administration, issued a policy directive and said we were going to commit ourselves of rebuilding usaid to be the world's premiere development institution. the time will test whether we've done that, but i believe we are strongly on that path. we have rebuilt our policy, reclaimed and designed our budget. we take accountability for our decisions. we have shut down 34% of all of our programs around the world to create the space to invest in food security and child survival and education and water in a more

results-oriented way and did all of that during the period of relative bugte neutrality. we measure and monitor our programs, and we lead in many international -- including next week's big global conference in mexico. our ideas on a new model of development that brings private sector, civil society, public sector together to tackle really big challenges, are leading the sector in this space. so i feel confident that we've rebuilt usaid's capabilities, including with your support, the hiring of nearly 1,100 new staff that's given us all kinds of new technical capacity that's deployed around the world. with respect to m.c.c. and pepfar, you know, we work in close partnership. i feel that partnership is a lot better now than it was when i started. and that's true whether we're working in liberia with m.c.c. to figure out who does what and to get our timing and sequencing right. it's true whether we're assessing each other's programs and sharing information. and it's true with pepfar where

we have a joint goal to create an aids-free generation and to bring technology and science to the front lines of that fight. so usaid implements about 60% of pepfar. so we're doing our best within the institutional constraints that are already defined and exist to ensure we operate as one team. we deliver one set of extraordinary results. we are clear about our leadership around the world. and we project that this is an important way for america and the obama administration as it was for the bush administration before to project leadership, to protect the world's most vulnerable and extreme poverty. >> i appreciate that. it sounds like everything is sunny in the neighborhood. but when you ask yourself what can go wrong, mr. shah, when you don't have clear organizational lines of responsibility in the chart, maybe you and your colleagues get along just fine but maybe the next team won't. and frankly from the united

states government's point of view, it seems to me, it ought not to be up to only the relational capacity of those who hold these jobs. there ought to be clear lines of responsibility and authority and who reports to whom. now in some cases maybe a dotted line responsibility is what we're going to have to settle for. i asked you a year ago whether you'd meet with us and work with us on the reform bill that our former chairman, howard berman, and i worked on. i haven't heard anything from your agency. not a word in a year. and the intent of the legislation is to be helpful and to try to streamline and to remove the encrested barncals at have built up in 50 years -- encrusted barncals that have built up in 50 years. we need a new and streamlined legislative framework for moving forward that takes doing any sans of what you're --

cognizance of what you're doing and the changes in the world in the past century. i reinvite you to please come sit down with us and go over that legislation so that we can move forward together. >> the gentleman's time has expired. >> would the chairman allow mr. shah to respond? >> yes. >> let me say i endorse the concept. we do need a new framework, and i think enough has changed in how we all operate, especially embracing science and technology, private partnership, innovation. the world out there has changed dramatically. it used to be our agencies were the bulk of investment going in the countries. now we're the minority of investments. if we're not structured well to work with the private sector, other local revenue and resources, we won't succeed at the mission which is to end extreme poverty, to keep our country safe and secure. and to that end, i will personally sit with you. i'd be eager to do that.

i know my colleagues at m.c.c. and pepfar will also beyingtory have that conversation. and we're also realistic about, you know, the timelines it takes to produce long-term outcomes on that basis, but we value your leadership. and i and my colleagues will come speak with you about it. >> i very much appreciate that. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you. the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from north carolina, mr. holding, number two, is recognized for five minutes. >> dr. shah, the request, your request for the office of transition initiatives, o.t.i., has around a 17% increase. i looked at o.t.i.'s website and it states their mission is to, quote, help local partners advance peace and democracy and riority -- in conflict-prone countries, o.t.i. works on the ground to provide fast, flexible, short-term assistance targeted at key transition needs, end quote. now, if you go to the state

department's relatively new bureau of conflict and stabilization operations, c.s.a., it states -- c.s.o., it states, quote, they provide conflict analysis in countries where massive violence or instability looms, end quote. c.s.o. hopes -- helps develop, prioritizes strategies to address high-risk periods such as election or political transitions. and c.s.o. also, quote, moves swiftly to mobilize resources and civilian response, conflict response. the state department's inspector general issued last month from what i understand to be one of their most critical reports ever issued citing problems of mission management, staffing, accountability and more and most importantly, in this report, it states that

usaid's office of transition initiative has a mission statement almost identical to that of c.s.o. and from a comparison of the websites of o.t.i. and c.s.o., it appears that both organizations are currently working in burma, syria, kenya and honduras. so it would seem there's a lot of overlap between these two offices. and even when we consider the fact they both work in very difficult and, you know, unstable situations. so i'm wondering if you could lay out the differences between o.t.i. and c.s.o. and herp us determine whether there is a duplication of effort going on here -- and help us determine whether there is a duplication of effort going on here and what warrants that. >> well, thank you, sir. i'd have my team follow up across the range of programs. if you look at syria, for example, o.t.i. is helping support the governance needs of

some of the local coordinating councils under the syrian opposition council. d they provide support on an as needed basis that is civilian support, efforts to help them stand up, local governance. i saw this firsthand in haiti after the earthquake when the government was in really difficult situation years ago, o.t.i. helped the office of the president set up -- >> i appreciate the good work they do. >> and those type of efforts are not very large and are time bound and play a unique role. in syria, c.s.o. does things in a coordinated manner but a different set of things. i think, you know, they have worked hard to make sure that they're not duplicating but are coordinating and in fact usaid -- >> are you in the process of doing any study or interagency review to look for overlaps

between the two organizations? is that something going "encore booknotes" an official basis? >> -- is that something going on on an official basis? >> i'll look and i know we did that last time during the qtvr. >> that's something you commit to do, look for overlap? >> yes. >> and one -- >> we're going to break away here with a reminder you can continue to watch -- continuing watching this hearing at c-span.org. it is one of several 2015 budget hearings we are covering today. again, a number of those at c-span.org. the house is coming in momentarily. they'll gavel in for legislative work. resuming consideration of the house republican 2015 budget proposal. the so-called ryan budget would cut $5.1 trillion from the federal budget over 10 years. they'll also today consider five alternatives as well as a bill that weeks empty ex-patriot health care plans from the individual and employer mandates. meanwhile, the senate is in and

they just a short while ago, republicans blocked a measure -- democratic measure that uld curb -- aims to curb paycheck discrimination for women. it failed to move. they needed 60 votes to move forward on that. continue to follow the senate here on c-span2. we'll take you live now to the house floor. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] the speaker: the house will be in order. prayer will be offered today by our guest chaplain, reverend darius pridgen, true bethel baptist church, buffalo, new york. the chaplain: let us pray. to the grand architect of the universe, meticulously and purposefully placed each star and planet into a predestined

position in the universe, the result, such methodical placement, has caused tranquility in the universe and mars does not clash with jupiter, venus does not war with saturn and the sun does not compete with the moon. as you have done in the universe, you have also done in this house of the people. may those whom you have perfectly placed in these hallowed seats remember they, like the perfectly planned universe, that they have been placed here by you, not to clash, crash and war, but to work together for the good of their constituents, the country, the world and indeed the universe. in the name of the god we serve, amen. the speaker: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1 the journal stands approved. the pliege of allegiance today -- pledge of allegiance today will be led by the gentleman from north carolina. mr. pittenger: 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: without objection, the gentleman from new york, mr. higgins, is recognized for ne minute. mr. higgins: mr. speaker, i'm proud to welcome pastor darius pridgen to the house of representatives today from true bethel baptist church in western new york. pastor pridgen is well known and well respected in our community for his passionate and inspiring leadership. we could all benefit from adopting his style of cooperation in uniting people of different beliefs and ideologies. his contributions to our region are many. in addition to being a role model, he also works through creative ministry to create jobs, care for those in need and influence good in his church and far beyond. this is most notable by his

expansion of true bethel's reach from east buffalo into the city of niagara falls. pastor pridgen is also a family man and encourages strong families. in addition to his ministry, pastor pridgen has served our nation as a veteran of the united states air force and currently serves as president of the buffalo city council. pastor pridgen is the embodiment of buffalo's reputation of the city of good neighbors and i'm honored to have him here today to represent our community. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina -- the chair will entertain up to 15 further requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina eek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> madam speaker, i rise today in honor of will greer who is quarterback of the daveson day school, led them to three

consecutive championships. over his high school career, will threw for 195 touchdowns, averaged 383 passing yards a game and once threw 10 touchdown passes in a single game. for his exploits on the field, will greer was named parade magazine's fourth all-america player of the year and was selected as america's top high school football player by football u.s.a. mr. pittenger: he graduated from high school a semester early and is already attending classes at the university of florida where he will continue his football career. while i congratulate will for his football accomplishments, i also want to congratulate him for remaining focused off the field. at davidson day he chose to be a positive role model, regularly spending time with younger students and always reading to the elementary classes. please join me in congratulating the davidson, north carolina,'s will greer for his accomplishments and commitment to serving others. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. veasey: madam speaker, i rise today to pay tribute to a dear friend that recently departed this earth last week and i know is headed to glory of the great things you did in tarrant county for working men and women. the president of the tarrant county central labor council died after a long battle with lung disease, and t.c. was such a tireless advocate for men and women. he served as the -- before he was president of the central labor council, he was the treasury -- the treasurer and secretary of the communication workers of america, and t.c. just believed in people. he was someone that helped me very early on in my career, before i was in congress, and helped so many people that he believed would do the right

thing for so many workers and so many families in tarrant county. even as i watched t.c. struggle the last couple years of his life i said, t.c., you don't need to be here. you need to be home resting, because he had such a hard time walking and breathing because of the lung issue that he was having and he just wanted to be there for people that he believed in. i want to thank his family, friends that he leaves behind and want to say that t.c. was a dear friend and a great man for so many people in tarrant county. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from north carolina eek recognition? mrs. ellmers: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. mrs. ellmers: madam speaker, i rise today to honor my friend, where lly godwin henshaw

she fought battle. her spirit will truly live on within all of us. kelly was a friend who inspired me and her strength to go forward even on the worst of days. she was a strong, loving, caring woman with an incredible sense of humor. she was a daughter, sister, wife and mother of two beautiful boys, kenneth and cannon. elly had adnoid carcinoma, a rare form of cancer. despite this terrible disease, kelly and her family chose to use this as a platform to do good. kelly's crew successfully organized and grew a 5-k race hat has raised well over adnoidcystic carcinoma and brought our

community together. beauty truly comes from within. she will be forever loved by her family, her community and me. i yield back the remainder of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from rhode island seek recognition? mr. cicilline: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. cicilline: madam speaker, i rise today to speak about the most important issue facing our country, and guess what, it has nothing to do with repealing obamacare. it's about jobs. instead of bringing the american jobs act to the floor, which would create nearly two million new jobs, my republican colleagues remain obsessed with trying to repeal obamacare. this may be the only job in america when you can try to do something more than 50 times and still have a job. it's time to move on and pass a bill that will help create jobs. in my home state of rhode island unemployment rates remain unacceptably high and it's time to stop rehashing old get ical battles and

people back to work. the jobs act will invest in infrastructure and education and it's fully paid for. why would my colleagues on the other side oppose a bill that independent analysis, including moody's analytics would say create up to 1.9 million new jobs? madam speaker, it's time to take up this legislation, to get our economy back on track and help americans get to work. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition? mr. desjarlais: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. desjarlais: madam speaker, i rise today to recognize my constituents who work at the free tradeo lay manufacturing facility in fayetteville, tennessee, for helping to win the c.e. dulin award for operations of excellence for an unprecedented fifth time. this annual nationwide award, named for the frio lay's co-founder, is the most

prestigious award and is a testament we place on honest, hard work in tennessee's fourth congressional district. i've had an opportunity to meet and visit with numerous workers and always leave with an admiration to their sincere dedication to not only their jobs but the community in which they work. it's no wonder that tennessee continues to attract some of the best businesses in the world. we have some of the best workers in the world. congratulationses to the outstanding, hardworking individuals who received this tremendous honor and continue to make the great state of tennessee proud. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. sanchez: thank you, madam speaker. this morning a productive meeting took place with the secretary of homeland security and the congressional hispanic caucus with respect to the

deportations going on in our nation. this issue is critical to my district of orange county which heartbreakingly accounts for 43% of the california i.c.e. detainer requests on juveniles, which often leads to deportation. that is why are i have advocated for comprehensive immigration reform to ensure that no one is living in fear in the shadows. as a senior member of the house homeland security committee, i will continue to urge the department of homeland security to continue to keep in mind the harmful effects that these deportations have on our communities and the trauma that they introduce into our families, into our young people, into our children. as a c.h.c. member, i join my colleagues as we continue to act for the inclusion of the

voices of community stakeholders so that their stories are not neglected. and madam speaker, the time is now to vote on a comprehensive immigration reform package. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? >> i rise to ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, madam chair. this month of april is sexual assault awareness month. pat of tallahassee, florida, lost her 23-year-old daughter, payton on february 24, 1999. payton was sexually assaulted and brutally murdered by a criminal on unsupervised probation. mr. southerland: three months after her daughter's death, she was determined to get better, not bitter. she quit her job and became a public speaker and an advocate

for victims of violent crime. she has traveled the country lobbying policymakers to support legislation that strengthens monitoring and supervision of criminals on parole and probation. last year her dream became a reality with the implementation for the first national automated standardized victim notification system. i had the honor of meeting with her this morning in my office, to congratulate her on receiving the ronald wilson reagan public policy award in recognition of her efforts by the department of justice. as a father of four daughters, i thank her for her tireless effort. i thank her for her courage and her service to others, and i can think of no one who is more deserving of this award. and with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from new hampshire seek recognition? >> madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address

the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. kuster: thank you, madam speaker. as we continue the long process of bringing our troops home for more than a decade of war, i want to recognize activists in my district and all across this country who are taking action to improve the lives of our returning heroes. for many of these brave men and women, the invisible wounds of war present unique challenges as they return to civilian life. thousands of these veterans come into contact with our nation's criminal justice system every year. of we our heroes a debt gratitude and every american who has worn the uniform deserves to thrive after their service is complete. that's why i've signed on in support of h.r. 2187, the salute act, legislation that would allow for grant funding to support the establishment and improvement of veterans'

treatment courts for nonviolent offenders. activists in my district have already begun the process of establishing a veterans justice track, and i commend them on their efforts. it's time for us to recognize the sacrifice our service members have made on behalf of this great nation and to recommit ourselves to serving our heroes as they have served us. thank you, madam speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina seek recognition? mr. wilson: i ask nab could -- unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. wilson: madam speaker, today i appreciate the opportunity to recognize beverly collie, the administrative assistant for the second district of south carolina. she will be departing the midland's office on friday to serve as the town clerk of blathewood, south carolina, led by mike ross in a dynamic council. since joining the office in october, 2004, beverly has served the people of south

carolina's second district with respect and diligence. her genuine bright smile and desire to help those in need has significantly impacted lives across the district. being first person to welcome citizens to the office. beverly's dedicated staff work has made a difference and i look forward of hearing of her success as she embarks on a new professional career. i wish beverly, her son and daughter and granddaughter all the best in the future. i know that the people of blythewood will continue to benefit from beverly's extraordinary constituent service as she serves her hometown community. in conclusion, god bless our troops and we will never forget september 11 and the global war on terrorism. god speed, beverly. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? ms. hahn: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. hahn: thank you, madam speaker. you know, we know that when women succeed, america succeeds. but unfortunately our mothers, our car daughter -- our

daughters and our sisters are not exceeding. when women on average earn just 77 cents to every $1 that a man makes. and one in three women end their families -- and their families are living on the brick of poverty. across this nation women are facing unprecedented economic insecurity. pay inequity, combined with the lack of affordable child care or paid family leave means women are burdened with an unfair disadvantage and struggle to support their families. pay discrimination means that african-american women are expected to earn just 64 cents to every $1 earned by a white man. and la tinas earn just 54 cents. yesterday i was proud to join president obama and lilly ledbetter at the white house to mark equal payday. we witnessed the president sign two critical executive orders that will empower women to fight pay discrimination. it's a simple principle. equal pay for equal work. i was disappointed that our senate colleagues failed to pass the paycheck fairness act and address this situation. i urge them and hope that they

reconsider to address this injustice of paycheck discrimination. thank you, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? mr. thompson: request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. thompson: madam speaker, i rise today to bring attention to the timely issue of behavioral a health in our military. currently our soldiers under go comprehensive medical and physical examinations during recruitment to ensure that they're fully fit and capable of performing their military duties. however, currently no similar examination for mental health competency exists. this is a serious information gap as our military continues to address issues such as postdramatic stress dizz, traumatic brain injury and suicide. madam speaker, the issue of military mental wellness should be on the mind of every member of congress and not just when this issue is back in the news. prior to the fort hood shootings, i introduced h.r.

4305, the medical evaluation parity for service member act. which will institute a preliminary mental health aelse isment at the time recruits are first joining the military. the bill, which was reported on today by the pittsburgh tribune review is not an end-all solution but it is an important step in tackling a well-established information gap in the realm of service member behavioral health. i encourage members to join in co-sponsoring h.r. 4305 and i yield back. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired -- 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 and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> this week is national victims rights week. therefore it's appropriate that we raise the awareness of survivors' challenges and the advocates who help rebuild their lives. in the face of the victims'

trauma, there are countless individuals across the nation committed to making things right. mr. costa: such as the incredible staff at the community action partnership in my county which i represent. as co-chair of the victims rights caucus, i will have the honor tomorrow of presenting the ed stout memorial award, for the outstanding victim advocacy group. programs operated like these by the community action partnership have met all types of crime victims' needs and reduce the barriers that sometimes prevent victims from accessing services that are so important. in addition, individuals like darius and his family have shared time and treasure to haven t a 24-hour safe for women and children. each of us has a voice that can speak out against violence and listen to those who have suffered as a result of violence. we can all do our part and we

all should. until the day when there are no more victims, we will all be with those who have suffered. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? >> ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. >> i thank the speaker and i rise today in grateful recognition of the youth leaders who are taking action in their communities to make our world a better place and those who help them get involved. this week right here in our nation's capitol, thousands of students have gathered for the 25th annual national service learning conference. their time on the hill will be used to visit with their elected officials and share how important service is to their district and our country, as well as the personal impact of service learning on their lives. mr. fitzpatrick: a group from my district will be led by joan, a tireless leader for positive change, and a woman whose commitment to service learning and societal

advancement is without question. at this week's conference, she will be presented with the service learning practitioner leadership award which recognizes those who have equipped young people to lead and serve both through their direct work with youth and by nurturing other practitioners. i've been proud to speak at this conference in the past and to work closely with joan's youth action council on projects that advance awareness and involvement among teens. the work of people like joan and countless young people around the country who are ready to make the world a better place is nothing short of commendable. i wish them the best at this week's conference and i look forward to working with them at pennsylvania's eighth -- in pennsylvania's eighth district. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from arizona seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. barber: thank you, madam speaker. i rise today in opposition to the ryan budget proposal which would balance the budget on the backs of seniors, middle class

families and students. we must balance the budget, but this is the wrong way to do it. the ryan budget would destroy medicare's guarantee for arizona seniors that i work for and for seniors across this great country. it would implement a voucher system and ask seniors to pay -- and future retireows to pay more. prescription drug -- retirees to pay more. prescription drug costs wine crease by nearly $1,200 a year. and medicare premiums would soar. this is just plain wrong, madam speaker. and i stand today against a reckless ryan budget plan because it undermines the promises we have made to our seniors. it hurts middle class families and it would slash funding for students who want to go to college. i urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to stand with me in opposition to this irresponsible budget. thank you, madam speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from kansas seek recognition?

without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, madam speaker. kansans and americans are exhausted by a job market that is failing them. this most recent report in march showed absolutely no improvement in employment and in fact for women we saw an increase in unemployment. mr. pompeo: madam speaker, the president's latest attempt to redefine the workweek from 40 hours to 29 has already proven detrimental to millions of americans. there are 7.2 million americans working part-time -- part time for economic reasons. this will leave them with less money to take care of their families. the president's policies have hit kansans hard, things like identifying the lesser prairie chicken as an endangered species, trying to redefine navigable waterways such as a puddle will come under the e.p.a.'s control. this hits pocket books and paychecks and families. republicans have advanced hundreds of solutions that will get americans back to work.

madam speaker, we're five years into this administration and it is no longer anything but a joke to blame president bush for these challenges in our economic workplace. we need the president to join us, we need the senate to join us in providing solutions so we can create freedom, so americans can get back to work. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from american samoa eek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. faleomavaega: madam speaker, i rise today to congratulate governor and the people of american samoa for the next week. we will be celebrating 114 years for the commemoration of the raising of the american flag on april 17, 1900's. madam speaker, it was this historic occasion when our samoan traditional leaders had the foresight to sign the treaty of session with the representatives of the united states. our bond and relations is part of the american family, today

is stronger than ever. as we celebrate, this -- celebrate this, we must reflect on the sacrifices of people who served honorably in our nation's military forces. our samoan sons and daughters have been an important part of our military forces here and throughout the world. [speaking foreign language] i ask unanimous consent, madam speaker, for the inclusion of relevant materials related to this historic event and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman from texas is recognized for one minute. >> every american family has to live within its means. it's time for washington to do the same. the house republican budget deals with our debts and builds an economy that rewards americans who work hard and

want to get ahead. mr. marchant: i support the conservative budget for three simple reasons. the plan balances the budget within 10 years, cuts wasteful government spending over 10 years by $5.1 trillion. and pays down the national debt. in addition, the republican budget propose al grohs the economy, repealing obama -- grows -- proposal grows comet, repeals obamacare, secures social security for the long-term, simplifies the broken tax code, promotes energy production and enhances national and diplomatic security. in contrast, president obama's budget never balances, hikes taxes by $1.8 trillion, add as $8.3 trillion more to the national debt of $17.5 trillion . my constituents know that we can't afford more of the same big government spending that has buried our economy and our country in debt.

i encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting the house republican budget and getting our nation's fiscal house in order. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from kentucky seek recognition? mr. yarmuth: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. yarmuth: madam speaker, budgets don't heal the sick or solve century-long medical challenges. what the program's budgets prioritize can. in my district, medical researchers at the university of louisville have made an incredible break through. thanks to an electronic implant that simulates the spinal cord, four paralyzed men are now moving their legs on command. with continued therapy, they're confident they will walk again. the human locomotive research center in lieuville is funded in part by investments made by the national institutes of health. more than 80% of n.i.h. funding goes to the broader research community, fueling the

innovation that makes breakthroughs like those in louisville possible. the republican budget reduces the number of new n.i.h. grants by 1,400, on top of the hundreds of projects n.i.h. has already had to turn down because of last year's reckless across the board d spending cuts. madam speaker, when you see a man paralyzed for years lift his legs, you can't help but share in the enthusiasm for breaking boundaries we once thought impossible. but if we approve this republican budget, if we approve these cuts, we extinguish that enthusiasm and the hopes of millions of families waiting for the next medical break through. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from connecticut seek recognition? the t objection, gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. courtney: thank you, madam

speaker. madam speaker, the state of connecticut is bursting with husky pride this morning as the yukon men and the yukon women basketball teams did what was i think almost unmanageable, they both won a national championship. it would be great to stand here today and talk about how the women accomplished a perfect season and beat a team who was undefeated until last night. or the men, who defied every pundit, every odds maker, every ncaa know-it-all and won the national championship against all odds. but i want to really focus for a second on the fact that geno, his women's program over the years, has almost a perfect graduation rate in terms of the women who have played in that program. and kevin has three deans list players on the starting five, his all-star is going to graduate with a full degree, he's an amazing person and i'm glad the country got a chance to see him. i want to conclude by reading his final comment that he said to the press the other night. basketball is second to me. i want them to be better people once they leave the campus. if i did that, forget forget about the wins and losses, national championships, all that stuff i think i've done my job. you've done your job, we are so proud of