get ahead. we have a chance to build an economy that works, not just for a few at the top, but for everybody. that is our goal. the idea that no matter who you are, what you look like, where you come from, what your last name is, if you work hard and take responsibility, you can make it in america. that starts with helping businesses create more good jobs. one of the biggest factors in bringing jobs back to america has been our commitment to american energy over the last five years. when i took office, we set out to break our dependence on foreign oil. today, america's closer to energy independence than we have been in decades. we generate more renewable energy than ever with tens of thousands of jobs to show for it. we produce more natural gas than anyone. nerly everybody's energy bill is lower because of it.

so are our carbon emissions that cause climate change. we set new fuel efficiency standards for cars. that saves the typical family $8,000 at the pump. for the first time in 20 years, america produces more oil than we buy from other countries. we are producing more energy and also becoming a leader in the energy sources of the future. we are becoming a leader in solar. the cost of solar panels have fallen 60%. solar installations have increased 500%. every four minutes, another american home or business goes solar. every panel is pounded into place by a worker whose job cannot be shipped overseas.

today, no matter where you live, or where you do business, solar is getting cheaper and easier than ever before. with more businesses and rural cooperatives and homes choosing solar, prices come down. manufacturers get more innovative. more jobs are created. last year, jobs in the solar industry increased by 20%. but we got more work to do. i want to work with congress to do it. unfortunately congress has not been as visionary on these issues as we would like. it can be frustrating. in this year of action, wherever i can go ahead and create my own opportunities for new jobs, i'm going to take it. so far, i have taken more than 20 executive actions. from launching new hubs to attracting more high-tech manufacturing jobs to america.

to reforming the job training programs to make sure more americans are getting the skills they need to get the jobs that exist right now. here at walmart, i want to announce a few more steps we are taking that are going to be good for job growth and the economy and we don't have to wait for congress to do. steps that generate more clean energy, waste less energy, and leave our kids and grandkids with a cleaner planet. we know making buildings more energy-efficient is one of the easiest cheapest ways to create jobs, save money, and cut down on pollution that causes climate change. it can save our businesses tens of billions of dollars a year. they can use that money to grow and hire more folks. it would put construction workers back to work, installing new systems and new technology. this is what you call win-win-win.

i announced the better buildings initiative three years ago. it is an initiative to improve the efficiency of the rings by 20%. we have 190 businesses and organizations that have signed on. they are cutting energy use 2.5% every year. together, they have saved the $300 million in energy cost. we know what works. that is why i have been picking up the phone and reach out to more leaders to get them on board. today, they are stepping up. from cities, school districts, universities, you are seeing folks move on energy efficiency. gm is pledging to increase energy efficiency in 31 plants. university of virginia is doing the same thing. cities like little rock and kansas city are replacing

streetlights with more efficient led's. at walmart, you have committed to reducing energy consumption over 850 million square foot of space. that is enough to cover more than half the city of san francisco. taken together, this will make a difference. it's the right thing to do for the planet. it's also the right thing to do for the bottom line. when you save the money, you can pass it back to consumers in the form of lower prices. or you can use it to create more jobs. folks in the private sector are doing their part to create jobs and reduce pollution. i am making sure the federal government does its part. two years ago, i ordered $2 billion in energy upgrades to federal buildings. i am ordering $2 billion more. these will create tens of thousands of construction jobs and save taxpayers tens of

billions of dollars. the department of energy is putting a new set of standards in place that could save businesses billions of dollars in energy costs and cut carbon pollution. it's the equivalent of taking 80 million cars off the road. i want to thank the secretary of energy and shaun donovan of hud. [applause] that is worth applauding. that is the first announcement. cities, schools, businesses. we will pledge to waste less energy. we have concrete strategies that we know work. second announcement is about more americans coming together to use more clean energy. i called up leaders from a range of industries and made the economic case for why solar is a good idea.

they listened. today, more than 300 organizations from homebuilders to companies like home depot and apple announced they are going to expand the use of solar energy, creating more jobs and cutting carbon pollution. we have public banks like connecticut's greenbank. the treasury department irs are making it easier for renewable energy companies to attract investment. we will support training at community colleges that will help 50,000 workers learn the skills that solar companies are looking for. walmart already has the most installed on-site solar capacity of any company in america. now you have announced plans to double that capacity. it is all part of your goal to buy or produce 7 billion

kilowatt hours of renewable energy by 2020. something that could save walmart $1 billion a year in energy costs. we know generating more clean energy and using less dirty energy, wasting less, can be good for business and consumers. it is good for the world we leave for our children. together, the commitments we are announcing today prove there are cost-effective ways to tackle climate change and create jobs. so often, when we hear about how we are going to deal with his issue, people say we cannot afford to do it. it will not be good for the economy. it will be good for the economy long-term. if we don't, that will be got -- that will be bad for the economy. rising sea levels. drought. more wildfires, more severe storms. those are bad for the economy.

we can't afford to wait. there is no reason we can't go even further than we are so far by working with states and utilities and other organizations to change the way we power our economy. climate change is a real. we have to act now. hundreds of scientists, experts, businesses. they all contributed over the course of four years. what they found was unequivocally climate change is not some far off problem in the future. it is happening now. it is causing hardship now. it is affecting every sector of our economy and society. more severe floods, violent wildfires. it is costing businesses money. here in california, you have seen the effects firsthand. increasingly, more and more americans do. including many republicans outside of washington.

so unfortunately inside washington, we have climate deniers who shout loud. but they are wasting everybody's on a settled debate. it is a fact. we know the shift to clean energy won't happen overnight, but we have to make tough choices along the way. we know that if we do, it will save us money and create jobs over the long term. that is what walmart understands. walmart is good at counting its pennies. that's why this fight is so important. the sooner we work together to adapt the economy to our -- to this reality of climate change, the more likely it is we do right by our kids and leave a more stable world. ultimately, that is what motivates a whole lot of us.

as americans, we don't look backwards. we look forward. we seize the future. we shape it. when it comes to energy, we have a chance to shape that sector that is probably going to have more to do with how well our economy succeeds than just about any other. we are blessed when it comes to energy, but much more blessed when it comes to the innovation and dynamism and creativity of our economy. if we do our part right now to rebuild an economy in transition to a clean energy future, we will create more jobs. we will reduce our dependence on foreign oil. we will leave our children with a better america. thank you very much. god bless you. [applause] we appreciate your leadership. thank you guys. happy mother's day, mom. nancy pelosi talking about

the select committee on benghazi. also, the latest treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder. tomorrow, some of the events from this year's national cable and telecommunications conference in los angeles. including the fcc chair tom wheeler on net neutrality rules, cable tv executives discussing how innovation is impacting their industry, and writers and creators of cable tv programs talk about their creative process. beginning at noon eastern on c-span. let me be clear that i am not defending this. i wanted to hear what ms. lerner had to say. i have questions about why she was unaware of the inappropriate

criteria for more than a year after they were created. i want to know why she did not mention the inappropriate criteria in her letters to congress. but i cannot vote to violate an individual's to the amendment rights just because i want to hear what she has to say. a much greater principle is at stake here today. the sanctity of the fifth amendment rights for all citizens of the united states of america. >> i have never alleged it goes to the president. i have said that the tea party would clearly and fairly be described as enemies or adverse to the president's policies, and i think that is comfortable to understand. they were targeted by somebody whose politics are with the president and was quite frankly trying to overturn the supreme court decision of citizens united in support of the president's position using her power. with that, i yield back and urge support. >> this weekend on c-span, house

debate on holding former irs official lowest lerner and contempt of congress for refusing to answer questions about targeting conservative groups. saturday morning at 10:00 eastern. book tv," regional and international safety, sunday at 7:30 p.m. on c-span two. one american history tv, a look at the newly unveiled restoration of george washington's mount vernon dining room, sunday night at 9:30 on c-span three. book "sundayswest at 8:00," a collection of interviews with top storytellers. >> this country was built on people who have emigrated to this country, some of them legally, some of them he legally. with nose i came documentation or ability to get

a job or education, so when i first came in to the united states and the late 1980's and cross the border between mexico and the united states, i ended up coming into the silicon valley to work as a migrant farm worker. there was no challenge to find a job. there were not a lot of thousands of people trying to heatthe jobs of pulling w with the very same hands i am now doing brain surgery. >> 10 41 unique voices from 25 years of "book notes" and q&a conversations. now available at your favorite bookseller. >> the house foreign affairs committee held a markup on a series of bills. one condemning the abduction of nigerian girls by terrorist am, and another section when a human rights violators in venezuela. -- and another sanctioning human

rights violators in venezuela. this is about an hour. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> this committee will come to water. i will ask all the members if they could take their seats at this time. notice, we meet today to mark up three strongly bipartisan measures dealing with pressing humanitarian issues. because these measures enjoy broad support and because we are looking at a short legislative day, the ranking member and i tend to consider them on block as members were cube easily notified. without objection, the following items which all members have before them are to be considered read and they will be considered on block. 4573, international megan's law, this is altered by mr. smith.

this is authored by mr. smith. and the smith amendment number 53, the bipartisan amendment in the nature of a substitute to hr 40 587, the venezuelan human rights and democracy promotion ,ct, authored by congressman the same and amendment. the salmon amendment and the third bill house resolution 573 condemning the abduction of female students by boko haram authored by congresswoman frederica wilson. and the royce amendment to house resolution 573. without objection all members may have five days to submit statements for the record and any extraneous material on today's items. and after opening remarks by myself and the ranking member i'll be glad to recognize any

member seeking recognition to speak on the en bloc items. this morning we are considering subcommittee chairman smith's hr-4573. it is the international megan's law to prevent demand for child sex trafficking. this bill deals with an issue i know all of us want desperately to address, the horrendous exploitation of children overseas by adults traveling for purposes of engaging in so-called sex tourism. unfortunately this has become a growing industry in a number of countries which are ill-equipped to deal with an influx of child predators, including from the united states. this bill codifies existing law enforcement efforts to combat child sex tourism by establishing the angel watch center. within the department of homeland security's child exploitation investigation center.

the angel watch center currently operates by combing through massive amounts of data from multiple agency sources to analyze foreign travel by convicted child sex offenders, and determine whether notification to u.s. officials or foreign governments is warranted. this bill improves vastly the speed of the information that the center receives and the staffing at the center. right now there's one lady doing this and it's often after the fact. this rectifies this and will allow the center to better detect and report the travel of child predators so that that is prevented. it also requires the center to maintain records of its work so that we have more information about how other countries are combatting child sex tourism. listen, i think all of us here who have worked with congressman smith over the years know we all owe him a debt of gratitude for his heartfelt commitment to this

issue and i want to thank him for his leadership, and a long-standing dedication that i think has surpassed what anybody else has ever put in to trying to track and do something about this issue. and i'd note that there was very close collaboration with the judiciary's majority and minority on this bill, and ranking member engel and i look forward to working with our colleagues on this committee and the judiciary committee as we move forward to ensure that the bill's notification provisions are effective, and satisfactory. now we also consider house resolution 573 on the recent boko haram abductions. this sunday is mother's day. but for hundreds of mothers in nigeria, this will be another day of horrendous grief. their daughters are missing. kidnapped from school by an islamist terrorist group. this resolution puts the committee firmly on record in

condemning this atrocious abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls. many around the world are just learning of the evil of boko haram. unfortunately for the communities in northern nigeria, the terror there has existed for years. sadly, boko haram lives up to its name. that name translated loosely is western education is a sin. they have killed more than 600 students and teachers. they have destroyed some 500 schools. they have denied more than 15,000 young nigerians an education. they've killed many other people, as well. but their focus has been on killing teachers, and going after students and killing students or abducting them. despite knowing the dangers, these young women were committed, they were all committed to their education. and they took that risk of trying to go to school.

boko haram has been a focus of this committee for which subcommittee chairman smith and ranking member bass deserve credit. members will recall that it was pressure from this committee that was critical in convincing the state department, forcing the state department, to des ignite boko haram as a terrorist organization, a foreign terrorist organization as the designation today. indeed the administration made that announcement in this room under pressure from the members of this committee, and it should not have taken so long. commanders at the pentagon have stated that boko haram is, quote, a threat to western interests, and one of the highest counterterrorism priorities in africa. that's especially the case given nigeria's position as a continent's most populous country and the largest economy in africa. this resolution reaffirms our support for the assistance that the administration's offered to

help the nigerian's find these girls, but more needs to be done. i'm pleased that we are considering an amendment i've authored and the ranking member supports to encourage more aggressive assistance. it's clear the nigerian forces are struggling in this fight. direct u.s. security assistance, intelligence, and advisers in the field can make a big difference in rescuing these girls, and combatting this threat. years ago a key military assist from the british was key in ridding sierra leone of a rebel insurrection. if you remember the revolutionary united front, and the amputations of children that they used to conduct. more recently, french efforts in mali have been key to combatting that al qaeda threat there. historically the nigerians have been reluctant to receive such outside aid. luckily, that seems to be changing. we should be pushing on the nigerian government to accept as much help as they can, to save

these young women now, and to e eliminate the boko haram threat soon. this resolution is part of that push. and lastly we are also advancing hr-4787 to impose targeted sanctions on venezuela's human rights abusers. since february, thousands of student activists have taken to venezuela's streets to highlight rampant crime and lawlessness. these peaceful protests have grown in size and frequency, and the response from their government, president maduro, who was hugo chavez's hand-picked successor, has unleashed a heavy-handed, and violent response that has resulted in many senseless deaths, countless casualties, and the jailings of thousands, including many senior opposition leaders. in fact, a new human rights report released this week found a, quote, pattern of serious abuse carried out repeatedly by

multiple security forces in multiple locations, unquote. just yesterday we learned of fresh reports of hundreds of more students being rounded up and tossed in jail. this legislation opposes targeted sanctions on those individuals who've carried out human rights abuses or who ordered the violence against those peaceful protesters. while the obama administration has been supporting political talks in caracas, there unfortunately has been little progress there. if the maduro government is to agree to true reforms, to reverse the dissent, its leaders must feel the pressure. targeting those officials who have directed this repression is a good place to start. chairman emeritus ros-lehtinen should be recognized for her efforts on this legislation, and i appreciate her and chairman salmon working in a bipartisan way with the democratic members, mr. sires and other members on the committee.

i will recognize our ranking member mr. engel of new york for his remarks. >> mr. chairman, thank you very much. for holding today's markup on these important pieces of legislation, and as usual, for working with us in such a bipartisan manner. firstly i'd like to commend our colleague mr. chris smith of new jersey for his leadership on anti-trafficking issues, and for his hard work on hr-4573. there were a lot of negotiations going on with this bill, and mr. smith was of one purpose, wanting to have an effective law to combat child trafficking. and was willing to make the necessary compromises to truly receive bipartisan support for this bill. so i commend him for his tenacity, his sincerity, and for his hard work. this legislation, called international megan's law, aims

to prevent child sex offenders and traffickers from exploiting vulnerable children when they cross an international border. in reality is that some sex offenders are traveling overseas to exploit children in a practice known as sex tourism. in some of these countries extreme poverty and inadequate law enforcement protocols enable sex offenders to continue their victimization of children, often unbeknownst to the local government or with local law enforcement turning a blind eye. international megan's law establishes an angel watch center within immigration and customs enforcement that would provide advance notice to foreign countries when a convicted child sex offenders travels to that country. the bill also calls on the president to negotiate memoranda of understanding, or other bilateral agreements with foreign governments that would encourage information sharing on known child sex offenders.

worldwide, it is reported that over 2 million children are sexually exploited each year through trafficking, prostitution and child sex tourism. 2 million children. that's just staggering. we need to do all we can to encourage the international community to address this scourge. mr. chairman, i'd like to thank you for working with us to move this important legislation forward. i also want to thank the judiciary committee for working with us in a bipartisan manner. to come up with a practical and effective mechanism which will serve the twin goals of deterrence and prevention. i understand that there is one outstanding provision in the judiciary committee's jurisdiction regarding actual notice that will be worked out in good faith prior to floor consideration. next i'd like to thank my good friend miss ros-lehtinen for authoring the venezuela human rights and democracy protection act. i've been privileged to work with her on this important legislation. it's very important in the eyes of the world are on venezuela.

as president nicolas maduro and his security forces crack down on peaceful protesters, it's an absolute tragedy that 41 people have been killed and over 100 injured at protests throughout the country. you know, i just came back from ukraine with the chairman, and what's going on in venezuela reminds me a lot of what was going on in ukraine with the protests. i am grateful for president obama and secretary kerry's strong statements condemning the maduro government's represe reprehensible actions. at the same time i'm disappointed by the silence of oas member states many of which suffered repression at the hands of their own governments in the not so distant past. while i'm pleased that negotiations are under way between the maduro government, and segments of the opposition, i'm concerned that not enough progress has been made. this bill has been crafted to impose targeted sanctions on human rights violators in venezuela, while not harming average venezuelans who are

already suffering as a result of terrible economic mismanagement by first by hugo chavez and now maduro. i hope that this committee and the house leadership will work closely with state department in determining when it is appropriate for this bill to be considered by the house of representatives. when we return to washington the week of may 19th, i believe we should assess the state of negotiations between the venezuelan government and opposition, and the situation on the ground in venezuela, before deciding whether to bring this bill before the full house. again i thank miss ros-lehtinen, chairman royce for their leadership on this important legislation. and urge my colleagues to support its approval by the committee. finally i strongly support hrs-573, a resolution offered by my former committee colleague miss frederica wilson of florida. this important resolution condemns the abduction of more than 200 schoolgirls in northern

nigeria by the terrorist group boko haram, an act so heinous that it's even been criticized by some supporters of al qaeda. this is only the latest in a long string of grisly and heartless attacks that boko haram, which has burned schools and killed students, attacked churches and mosques, murdered christian and muslim religious leaders, and set off bombs in the capital city of abuja, hrs-573 strongly condemns the abduction of the girls and supports u.s. and international efforts to assist in their recovery. while i hope these efforts are successful, we must also recognize that nigeria's approach to countering terrorism has not been very effective. there is extensive reporting on human rights abuses, committed by the nigerian military, which compound the fear experienced by citizens of the north, and alienate the very community that could be providing valuable intelligence on boko harem.

i hope the nigerian government will see this kidnapping as a wake-up call to re-evaluate their counterterrorism strategy, and that we can work with them to share expertise on civil and military relations, and development for the long neglected northern region of the country. in closing i'd like to again thank chairman royce and our colleagues on both sides of the aisle for working in a bipartisan way on these important pieces of legislation. >> thank you mr. ingle. do any members seek recognition to speak on any of the en bloc items? congresswoman ros-lehtinen? >> thank you so much, mr. chairman. and thank you to our ranking member eliot engel for working with my office and mr. salmon's office, and mr. sires, to bring up this bill on the venezuela situation to mark up this morning. i'd like to recognize the many venezuelan americans who have made a long trip from new york, michigan, ohio, florida, to be

here and to witness this day, and like to point out in the audience maria conchito alonzo who is a wonderful actress. i loved her role in moscow on the hudson with robin williams. it's good to see her. thank you all for being here. for three months now as both of the gentlemen have explained the maduro regime in venezuela has committed human rights violations as it seeks to muzzle the students who are peaceful, and they have been marching with a clear call. they're calling for the respect for human rights, and democracy to really take hold in their nation. so far they have been over 40 people killed, nearly 60 reported cases of torture, more than 2,000 people unjustly detained. hundreds more injured, and let's look at what has happened just this week, mr. chairman, and members, just this week, 250 teenage protesters who had camped out in public squares to

protest were rounded up at 3:00 in the morning yesterday. also just this week the venezuelan intelligence agency picked up and has put in detention rodrigo diemante, the leader of a world without muzzle. censorship continues. this week another prominent independent radio program was pulled off the airwaves. this week, newspapers are saying that they have about two weeks left of newsprint. maduro has restricted newsprint coming into the country. the government has put many challenges in their way to provide information to the people of venezuela. and lastly, opposition leader leopoldo lopez was supposed to have his day in court yesterday, and all of a sudden his hearing was simply postponed without reason, without discussion, without explanation, simply canceled. all of this happened just this week. but even with all of this repression, mr. chairman, the students and the student unions

on several campuses in venezuela continue to show bravery and courage in standing up for democracy, and for freedom of expression. that is all they're asking. now mr. chairman, ranking member, and members, some opponents of this legislation have claimed that we must give peace a chance regarding the talks, and just two notes about that. first of all, the violence is only on the government side. the students are not the violent ones. why create the violence and then say we have to have a dialogue for peace. here's a solution for peace, stop shooting the students. also, the uno team members are in the pockets of maduro, they're followers of maduro so how can you have any real discussion taking place there. and after several rounds of so-called negotiations, the talks have yielded no results, and it's not the u.s. that is derailing the process,

venezuelan leader maduro and his goons are the ones that are derailing the process because they have the weapons, and their allies are using them against the people, the unarmed peaceful protesters. other opponents believe that we should wait and see what the peace process can resolve. well, i ask, when is it a good time. how many more people have to be innocently killed for the time to be right? it will dmefr be right. maduro is the one whose perpetrating the violence. it's simple. another topic i would like to clear up is the authorization funds in the bill. this is not new money. we already direct $5 million to civil society programs in venezuela. so the bill just ensures that we do not fall below that number, and that we do not preclude assistance for democracy, and human rights issues. which is what it should do. and again, i commend our committee, thank you mr. royce,

our chairman, for your leadership. thank you mr. engel, and mr. salmon, and mr. sires, and for shining a light on the atrossies committed in venezuela, i urge my colleagues to support the bill, the venezuelan people are counting on your support. thank you, mr. chairman. >> other members seeking -- mr. meeks? >> thank you, mr. chairman. first let me give a word on, and thank miss frederica wilson for her resolution on boko haram. you know, being the father of three daughters, this is just unbearable. and it is time for the world to unite, to make sure that those young girls are returned home, and that also those that committed this heinous act is brought to justice. and this bill, this resolution,

joins with the rest of the world the focus that should be on this horrendous group that now has killed, and has these three -- almost 300 young girls and a number of others that they have killed as the chairman indicated in his opening statement, i know of young boys that have been murdered. it is -- this resolution is kindly and i highly support it. i also thank mr. smith, because we do have to, you know, one of the most heinous acts is these sex crimes that's going across borders and all over the our place that we all earth. it's timely, and it's a resolution that i strongly support. moving on to hr-4587, the venezuelan human rights and democracy protection act. let me first say that i am deeply troubled by the violence that erupted in venezuela at the

onset of protests months ago. and that i joined the people of venezuela in mourning the loss of so many lives. i remain committed to doing everything in my power to supporting a positive outcome in that nation for its people. however, i strongly oppose hr-4587, and i believe vehemently that unilateral action is not the answer. this bill does not advance u.s. interests. it will not help the people of venezuela. and it sends the message to our regional allies that we don't care much about what they think. moreover, the obama administration has the authority to do what this bill calls for, and has shown its willingness to use its authority. so, then, what is our objective? is this intended to push venezuela to the brink? what would that do for the venezuelan people? i've had the opportunity to speak with most of our major allies in the region, and all of

venezuela's neighbors. who are our allies. and i have yet to hear any support for sanctions. but there is strong support for multilateral engagement. our allies do not want to see the situation in venezuela worsen. the unilateral sanctions bill we are considering this morning is misguided. it is, in fact, an unfortunate reminder of the history of the united states' arrogance in the western hemisphere. we have a legacy in the americas that is riddled with the long-lasting consequences. that legacy left us with a trust deficit. today, we are considering a bill that does nothing to help build trust. our standing in our own hemisphere will never improve unless or until we build that trust. while we pursue these sanctions our allies are actively supporting dialogue. members of this very committee have made it a point to denounce and even condemn regional organizations.

yet one of those organizations has managed to be the facilitator of engagement between some and the opposition and the government of venezuela. we don't know yet if the mediation will lead to the effective dialogue. but the effort does deserve a chance to succeed. it is my sincere open that those talks are successful, but at moments like this, i wonder if we prefer that dialogue fails. unilateral sanctions would be another policy mistake. i believe a very costly policy mistake. we mursz learn to work with our aol lies and individuals in the region and work collectively on this hemisphere and not be unilateral actors which further isolates us and causes us to have problems with our allies. and i yield back the balance of my time. >> we go now to mr. chris smith. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. i want to thank you, chairman

royce, for not only scheduling this but being so supportive. our staff here, we had 12 staffers working on this. both sides of the aisle. three committees, homend security and judiciary and of course our own foreign affairs staff. so i want to thank you and the best council on the hill mark ines did multiple rewrites. this truly is a bipartisan bill and to remind some members who may not have been here years ago, we did pass the international megan's law back in 2010. and like so many of our initiatives, died in the senate and never even got a vote. hopefully this one will speed to passage over in the other body. you know the idea actually came from a meeting that i had with members of the tip trafficking persons from thailand back in 2007. as i often do i meet with people as they're traveling in, particularly countries that are on watch lists or tier three, and i ask them, if you knew that

a convicted pedophile, a felon, was coming to bangkok or anyone else or phuket or anywhere else in thailand, what would you do? they said they wouldn't get a visa. and if they got in, we would watch them like a hawk. that afternoon we began putting a framework together for an international megan's law. note parenthetically that megan kanka, the precious little 7-year-old who was brutally killed by a pedophile who lived across the street from her, nobody knew this man had been convicted and spent time in prison for sexually abusing children, he houred this little 7-year-old megan kanka into his home, brutally raped her and then killed her, and that led to the explosion now all 50 states and all territories, have a megan's law. a registry that has made a serious difference in preventing the impunity and the secrecy with which these people operate. international megan's law would notice countries of destination,

stand up to angel watch program. we have worked with i.c.e. and others who have done a great job, but with extraordinarily limited resources. there was a case out in california where they had actionable information of several pedophiles heading to south korea. they noticed south korea, and they didn't let them in. so these men were unable to abuse little children in korea. the legislation also seeks to establish a reciprocity. not unlike we did -- unlike what we did with the trafficking victim's protection act back in 2000. we want megan's law everywhere. there are some places like the uk that has a megan's law. but we don't want pedophiles coming here again convicted, not the allegation, these are convicted individuals, to abuse our children. there needs to be a watch attitude globally and that plays in to one of the major three ps of all efforts that we do on trafficking, prevention, prosecution, and protection.

this will prevent, this could have a serious chilling effect on all this. finally, you know, and thank my two distinguished colleagues for explaining what is in the bill. in 2010 chlt gao found that in 2008 some 4500 u.s. passports were issued to registered sex offenders. and these men travel. and they travel under secrecy and they abuse little boys and little girls, then come back and go back to their jobs, whatever else they do. so this hopefully will at least at as a deterrent. let me shea mr. chairman very briefly on the issue of boko haram, we've had several hearings on boko haram, and have raised repeatedly with the administration, and finally in november they actually did it, that is to designate boko haram as a foreign terrorist organization. greg simpkins our staff director and i traveled there in september of last year.

we went to a place called joss, a place where boko haram had firebombed churches, several churches, killed people, we met with the people who had been the survivors, and we learned, frankly after meeting with the imam and others that it's not just christians that they target, they target muslims, as well. i had heard that but we heard it in great detail while we were there. these people are pathological. they are killers. they're like joseph kone and mr. chairman you have done so much in trying to combat that man who has killed so many and allowed his people to rape so many girls, particularly young girls. so this legislation i think helps put us all on record to express our outrage, it is good, i think the administration has deployed a number of people, including the head of africom, fbi, justice, u.s.aid, human rights bureau, they're en route as we talk, and as we made and hopefully there will be an all-out global effort, the french have stepped up, many

european countries, the uk, china has even signaled their concern about this so i think hopefully those girls will be rescued and brought back to their grieving parents. thank you mr. chairman. >> thank you, mr. smith. we go now to albio sires of new jersey. >> thank you, mr. chairman. let me stirs start by recognizing the hard work of frederica wilson from florida and my colleague from new jersey, chris smith. i've known chris smith many years, this is a passion of his, and i'm very proud of the fact that he represents new jersey, and especially his hard work on sex trafficking. and of course, i'd be remiss if i didn't mention my colleague from florida ileana ros-lehtinen and her hard work that she has always, always put forward in efforts like this. and mr. chairman, i thank you for holding this markup. for holding this markup and authorizing the administration to impose targeted sanctions on individuals responsible for

ordering and carrying out the warranted violence against empty government demonstrators in venezuela that began three months ago. since the anti-government process began in february, at least 41 people have died. hundreds have been jailed. beaten, and injured at the hands of venezuela's government forces. and armed supporters as they express their frustration to the deteriorating conditions in their country. just this week human rights watch released a scathing report detailing the oppressive tactics by security forces and pro-government armed groups against demonstrators while noting the implicit nature of government prosecutors and judges in tolerating abuses while prosecuting. while mr. maduro has engaged in mediation talks with the opposition, such talks have thus far been of little substance. more importantly, however, promising these talks are they

do not exonerate the ruthless acts of violence and human rights abuses that have been carried out against the demonstrators. this bill which i proudly support is a testament that the united states would not condone acts over aggression limiting the freedom of assembly in our hemisphere and it equips the administration with the appropriate tools necessary to act accordingly. i thank chairman royce, ranking member engel, and ileana ros-lehtinen for their leadership and their efforts in advancing this bill, which i urge my colleagues to support. thank you. >> mr. rohrabacher are you seeking recognition? >> yes, i am. >> mr. rohrabacher of california. >> i would yield one minute of my time to mr. smith. >> i'll only take about 30 seconds. i just want to make clear, too, some of our friends on the democratic side on the judiciary committee, again, they have worked very closely with us, but

i would commit to working with them toward an additional amendment before the bill gets to the floor that would alert the child sex offenders when they arrive at the airport of an angel watch's notification action. so they're fully apprised about what has happened, regarding them. so that will be something we will do. >> thank you. yes, i would like to rise in support of this amendment, all three of them are fine examples of legislation based on those moral values that guide all of us here, and that we are so proud of that america officially stands behind. especially i'd like to thank miss ros-lehtinen for her leadership, and in providing us a vision of what goes on in venezuela and cuba and other countries, where we have such repression. president maduro is obviously

synonymous with repression, corruption, the impoverishment of his people, cronyism, brutality and yes, even murder. and we join today, we join the people of venezuela, in demanding a respect for human rights, and yes, demanding -- demanding with them free and fair elections to try to make sure that this malady that they suffer will be removed from them. i commend -- commend you very much, and commend my colleagues for supporting this legislation, which will hold accountable people who are committing crimes against their own people, and in this case, in venezuela. i would hope that we all are

committed to those principles, but we use this as a vehicle, number one, holding those who are committing the crimes accountable, but also reaffirming that human rights and the democratic the democrat unite the people of the world. and how this issue should be involved eventually will be a democratic election in which we join the people venezuela to help them ensure that as we did in various election s elections sure that there is an honest process to choose their own government. thank you very much. . we foe now to mr. ted deutsche of florida. >> thanks to you and the ranking member for holding today's markup.

i'd like to commend mr. smith for his important legislation involving sex trafficking. i'd like to commend ms. wilson for her resolution that aims to take on the tough issue of the abduction of these female students by boko haram. anytime we have an opportunity to stand up against terror and in support of children's rights, we should do it. but i really want to thank my friend and colleague chafor her work in moving the act forward and for doing it swiftly. i'm proud to be an original co-sponsor. this bill will empower the administration are w. tools to crack down on human rights abuses taking place against those seeking basic freedoms in venezuela. people in venezuela have the democratic right to supreme of speech, to freedom of assembly,

on do process and the democratic right to a responsive government. tragically the madura regime has trampled over each of these rights. this government has continued its repressive policies. journalists are imprisoned, protesters are subjected to serious abuses, torture and even death. and for what? simple li becauy because of ven demanding greater security where 2500 people were murdered for the first two months of 2014. or is it because people are suffering from serious food scarcity and lack of access to basic supplies. these are simple basic demands from the citizens of a democratic state. the unlandfall and unjust use of force can the not be tolerated. there is no justification for the abusive tactics used by the security forces against mostly

n nonvie lolent protesters. gangs use aggressive crackdown tactics. with a judiciary clearly in the pocket of president maduro, these gangs and security forces have been free to repeatedly commit human rights abuses with impu impunity. this this behavior exposes the true colors of the madura geem. regime. i strongly support the bill before us today. it would impose sanctions on individuals that have contributed in anyway to the violent crackdown. i thank the administration's strong stance on this issue and i believe that this bill will provide more diplomatic tools to convince madura to reach a peaceful resolution. the voices of the people must be heard.

and their fundamental freedoms must be protected. we must make clear to president madura and his cronies that he has to respect the democratic rights of all venezuelans and proet them fr protect them from undue suppression. there are a lot of issues that we grapple with around the world. but human rights matter. they matter to us and they matter to us wherever those rights are trampled anywhere in the world. this is not an issue that the venezuelan people alone care about, that venezuelan americans alone care about. this is an issue that if we care about those democratic ideals that we like to talk about time and time again in this congress, then we should all care about it. that is what this bill does. i commend my good friend. it is not that long ago that we first learned of the s.o.s.

venezuela signed. the people of venezuela have sent us an s.o.s. signal and today is the first step in a serious way that this congress will respond. thank you and i yield back. >> mr. sams salmon of arizona. >> thank you. i want to thank the gentle woman for always standing on the right of freedom and liberty. thank you for holding this markup, a truly bipartisan effort. and for those watching this hearing out in america and across the world, this is the most bipartisan committee i think that exists in the entire congress aand it's such a

tribute to all the members and realize that we try tone act theed a damage that partisanship ends at the water's edge. and we're fighting for the principles we believe in. i hear some say that maybe we could just accomplish what we need to with dialogue. dialogue doesn't get it done. and that is why when it comes to causes of human suffering and basic human freedom and human rights, this committee has tried to be very, very clear time and time again anywhere on the globe that we stand for freedom and we stand for basic human dignity. and think that a good thing. i'd like to thank the members on the committee that helped me with the technical amendments. thank you for your commitment to

this effort. and i'm pleased to be an original co-sponsor of this piece of legislation which seeings to send an important message that the united states will always stand with those that seek freedom. for months we've seen the government venezuela use violent tactics to silence opposition killing up to 41 citizens and improperly detaining protesters. and according to human rights watch, there are at least ten reported cases of protester detention that could be classified even as torture. . even children have ba been pick up and subjected to humiliating body searches. the report released this week found compelling evidence of serious human rights violations. citizens shot with rubber bullets, some at point blank. i believe due process rights

have been denied and the judiciary is knowingly c compliscent. this violence and repression has gone on way too long. and it's happening right here in our own hemisphere. and while we see a lot of folks talking about all the different things happening in our globe, shouldn't we be more coming any santa of what is happening in our own neighborhood? if we don't standany santa of what is happening in our own neighborhood? if we don't stand against these atrocities in a big way, what do we stand for. i yield back my time. . >> before i go to the next speaker, i've heard the last

votes on the floor have been moved up to about 11:10. so we'll need to move to a final vote before that. so let's see how many speakers we can fit into the next ten minutes or so. but remember all members have leave to put statements in the record if you so wish. i think we go now to mr. sacili. >> thank you for having this hearing. i'd like to recognize the work of congresswoman ros-lehtinen and thank her for her strong leadership throughout this this crisis. today's markup show this is committee is committed to protecting human rights in all regions of the world. and doing so in a swift targeted and effective way. made gur radiculopathy geem has engaged in hideous human rights violations and we must add our voices loudly in condemning this and do all that we can to impose

costs for those responsible as the best way really to end these practices. and i really just want to thank my colleague for her great work and leadership. as a member of the african subcommittee, i'd also like to thank the committee for scheduling a vote in a timely manner. abducting innocent young girls and foorcing children into marriage or slavery is unconscionable and no child in any part of the world should live in fear of that kind of treatment. we have to send a strong message that these agents are unacceptable and we must be united and strongly condemning them in the strong he is terms. in addition, i want to end by thanking my colleague congressman smith for legislation before us today. as we all agree, subjecting children to the kind of inhumane

un up con shenkable acts is of grave concern. mr. smith has led on it for many years and i applaud him for this legislation today which will help protect presumably thousands and maybe millions of children all over the world. i look forward to supporting all three bills. >> we'll go first to congressman sto stockman and then congresswoman karen bass. >> venezuela is a nation that has abundance of oil. and also had an abundance of middle class. and under this socialist policy, they have destroyed the middle class and destroyed a nation. they can't even get toilet paper now. they have a shortage of toilet

paper. and we're getting blamed up here in the united states for making it happen. that is nonsense. think we need to take action. we don't need anymore talk. they have had enough talk. the people are suffering. we need to take action. and i'm sorry for my colleagues' view point and disappointed in that view point, but i feel the pain in venezuela. s wrong what is happening to those people and we need to be vocal about it and i'm glad this committee is doing this and i appreciate the chairman's action. also on our friends in nigeria, people forget they locked before the kidnapping, they locked young children in a building and burned them to death. this is something we need to take action. if anybody has a heart, look around the world. united states is a leader. i'm tired of leading from behind. i yield back. >> we'll go to karen bass of california. >> thank you very much, mr. chair. thank you always just as my colleague just mentioned for

such a bipartisan way that you conduct this committee. i do want to say that i have a lot of concern about what is going on in venezuela, but i am concerned that we might be acting a bit prematurely especially since the administration has said that this might be a little premature as well as other countries in latin america. but i want to acknowledge the continued and tireless work of chairman royce and smith in combatting human trafficking around the world. i've had the great privilege to work with both of them and the bill before us today is just one example of the work that can be done to protect people around the world from trafficking and sexual assault. i look forward to continuing to work with all of my colleagues on this important issue. secondly, i want to thank the chairman and ranking member as well as chairman smith and for

all their good work protecting the students from bow come thko. and we know the kidnapping has been heinous, however we also know that boko haram has been slaughtering male students an conducting suicide bombings in the nigeria capital as well as many other parts of northern nigeria. it's imperative that the u.s. congress condemns boko haram and its violent acts in the strongest terms an assumsupport people of nigeria and the parents of the an ducted girls with calls for their immediate return. it is my hope that this legislation will lay the ground work to the not only bring back the kidnapped girls, but also if anything can come out of tragedy, it is my hope that this begins to mark the end of boko haram now that the rest of the world is aware of their terror. i yield back the balance of my time. >> we're going now to randy

webber of texas followed by c. e >> sometimes when you want to lead the orchestra, you have to turn your back on the crowd. we should take the lead on this and step out and do the right thing and denounce this and make sure that this this is condemned everywhere we see it and i commend the chair and i commend you all for bringing this up and i fu fully support it. thank you. p. >> mr. castro. >> thank you to all my colleagues who worked on these three resolutions. with respect to the venezuela resolution, thank you congresswoman ross for your work. our job is as to stand up for democracy and human rights without regard to what kind of political leaders are perpetrating human rights abuses.

too often we've not attended enough to issues in latin america. there are things that happen in latin america that if they had happened in another part of the world, we would jump on them more quickly. so i think this is quite frankly long overdue. and i do think that there is merit to the concern that mr. meeks raised that there is a process, in other words, this is a more aggressive step that usually we've done -- in other parts of the world, we would have done other things first. but now this has gone on for months so we must act swiftly at this point. and i want to say particularly with respect to latin america, first, we'll l rk, we realize e is unique and different. but we can't overlook the history of the region and the fact that in the '70s and '80s,

you had leaders who disappeared thousands of people throughout latin america. and we can never let that happen again. so we have to be swift in condemning it and making sure that they know that the united states will take real action. with respect to the resolution that mr. smith put forward on sex trafficking and sexual tourism, thank you mr. splmith r your work on that. the one i guess thing that i would suggest is that on the angel watch center on the leadership, that we include somebody from the justice department if we could. right now i think it's otherwise and border control. f i'm in agree with all the support for venezuela. as some of the members have mentioned that we're acting too fast, i want to remind them that this is not something that

happened overnight, this has been a 15 year process. hr 4573 protect children from exploitation, strong support of that. hr 573, this is a time to stand up to the boko haram and renouncing what they have done. and i think these are all important bills and they can be summed up best by what martin luther king said. in justice anywhere is injustice everywhere. and i'd like to add to that that tolerance of injustice anywhere would be tolerance of injustice anywhere. or everywhere. i'm proud to be on this committee. i yield back. >> any other members seeking to be recognized? if not, hearing no other speakers, or no requests, the question occurs on the items considered on block. all those in favor say aye. all those opposed no.

in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. and the measures considered on block hr 4573, hr 4587, and house resolution 573 are agreed to as amended. and without objection, each of the measures as amended is ordered favorably reported as a single amendment in the nature of a substitute. staff is directed to make any technical and conforming changes. and that concludes our business for today. i want to thank ranking member engel and all our committee members for their assistance in this markup. the committee is adjourned.

so ordered. mr. cantor: mr. speaker, americans have watched in horror this week the atrocious news reports coming out of

nigeria. hundreds of young girls have been kidnapped with the intent to be sold into slavery or marriage simply because they had the courage to seek an education and better life. just this past weekend i watched my daughter, not much older than these girls, graduate from college. as a parent i cannot imagine the suffering of the moms and dads who merely wanted a good education for their daughters. the obama administration has taken initial steps to help assist efforts to return these girls to freedom and to their families. i thank them for their efforts and i know all of us stand ready to provide whatever assistance is necessary. members should be aware that upon our return we will consider a bipartisan

resolution being considered by the foreign affairs committee regarding boko haram and these kidnappings. additionally, when we come ack, we will also consider five bipartisan bills to take steps toward our ultimate goal of ending human trafficking. together these bills provide resources and authorities to fight domestic human trafficking, provide services to the victims and take steps to deal with international human trafficking. the atrocities in nigeria have awakened the global conscience and have reminded us all of the evil of human trafficking. it is also important to note that the underlying threat posed by extremist groups in nigeria and throughout the

region is growing. hether it is boko haram, hezbollah, hamas or al qaeda, it is critical that we in the house work with the administration to confront the growing threat these violent extremists pose to international peace, security and the protection of innocent lives. in the coming days, as we focus on finding and returning these girls to their homes, m.i.a. may god watch over them -- may got watch over them and those seeking their return. and with that, mr. speaker, i will yield to the gentlelady from california, the democratic leader. ms. pelosi: thank you, mr. leader, for yielding. thank you, mr. speaker, for giving the house this opportunity to speak this afternoon about this despicable crime. in starting i will thank the

distinguished majority leader for his remarks and i associate myself with his remarks and their entirety -- in their entirety. that's how important all of this is. i want to commend congresswoman wilson for her resolution, h.r. 73, which says, condemning the abduction of female students by armed militants from the terrorist group known as boko haram in the federal republic of nye screeria -- nigeria. mr. speaker, it is clear that what happened in nigeria is outside the circle of civilized human behavior. it is unconscionable and these demissble acts must be condemned -- despicable acts must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. the capture and captivity of these girls challenges the conscience of the world in a very specific, in a very

different way. and perhaps that difference can make a difference. i wholeheartedly support the decision by president obama, secretary kerry and the dministration to deploy aid, personnel, law enforcement and military experts to nigeria to partner with local authorities to find these girls and return them home. i commend the women members of , in a bipartisan way, 100% of the women, have signed a letter condemning these actions. i absolute the first lady for her -- salute the first lady for her bring back our girls tweet and hope that members will also be doing that. because the most horrible form of torture for someone who is held by terrorists is when

their captors tell them, nobody knows you're here, who you are and is even worried about you. we want to remove all doubt, every minute of every day. , d as we go into mother's day think of those mothers. think of those fathers, think of the siblings of these girls. our thoughts and prayers rest with mothers and fathers and siblings, of each girl kidnapped and separated from her family and all the victims of human trafficking around the world. as horrible as it is, unthinkable as it is, it's happening all the time, this trafficking issue. so maybe this horrible, heinous rime will give the attention

that human trafficking needs in order for us to end it. and so let us all subscribe to #bringbackourgirls. mr. speaker, i thank you again for giving us the opportunity to focus on this despicable action, but to do so prayerfully, hopefully and determined to bring back our girls. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back to the distinguished leader and yield back -- yield back? i yield back our time. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker: the house will observe a moment of silence for these young women. the members will rise.

>> house speaker john boehner announced the committee that will serve on the benghazi attack. the other republican members are indiana.oks of >> the democratics can place five members on the committee but nancy pelosi has not made any announcement yet. she called it a political stunt. she plans to meet with john boehner on what role they will play in the committee. this is about 20 minutes.

>> good morning. sorry to be behind schedule. this is not going to last long. some of the subjects i wanted to talk to you about, we had our weekly yesterday. but the vote on the tax credit postponed it -- some change this as it is -- changes necessitated his. republicans brought a bill on the floor that takes us once -- 156 billion dollars in debt. we have all been for making r&d tax credit permanent and modernizing them. every district has that ntrepreneurial spirit. yes, it is very appealing.

the very wrong the way the republicans brought it to the floor. i am proud that the president has issued a subpoena that there will be a recommendation of a eto. a veto threat. i know that we will will be able to sustain the president's eto. the fact is there is an opportunity in the senate is handle it so much better. our members have included not only the r&d tax credit, but ind and solar. the child tax credit.

in any event, again it is political move to bring that to the floor. it is hypocrisy to talk about deficit reduction and bring a bill to the floor that takes us 56 billion dollars in debt unpaid for well saying we have to pay for unemployment insurance benefits extension. the extension. as many of you know but none of you wrote about, they threw us out of the room. we had a room to listen to people who had had been unemployed through no fault of their own, telling their stories about how this extension has hurt their families. we had the room for it for tuesday. we got here to do it. they said, you no longer have the room.

we no longer let you have the oom. we took to the steps of the capitol and thought that might provoke some interest. can you imagine if i had done that to them? what they would be doing if we said, you can't have a room because we don't like the subject matter we are talking about. a matter before the congress that has passed the senate. in any event, that is what that is. you are interested in the newly important committee that the speaker, up until last friday, was rejecting. in his own words saying -- there are four committees that are investigating benghazi. i see no reason to pick up that work and take months to create a select committee. something happened in his

caucus. lo and behold, the rumor was talking to spread friday. we didn't get information until the rule was filed on tuesday night. now the question is, what are the terms under which democrats could participate. we have made it clear our caucuses clearly among those who say don't have anything to do with it. it is a kangaroo court. though dignify what they are doing. others have said, just send one others have said, just send one person so we can see what they are doing to the witnesses and have access to that testimony. the third option is, let's see what they come back with in terms of engagement. what we have asked for -- we have rejected an evenly divided committee. we would have liked to have had that. we must have standards for democrats -- a democrat needs to concur in the issuance of

subpoenas. the decision to interview witnesses. the decision to release a report document. by the staff of the committee. these are places where in the regular order of the standing committee, we had been led magnificently that these are places where we did not get the respect of the minority. the speaker called me and said, i am serious about this. i want this to be no circus. we should sit down and come to terms on it. i said, why don't the stuff go back and forth? so when we sit down, we will see what that is.

then we will make a decision as to how we proceed with that. very sad. for stevens. sean smith. tyrone woods. two of their families have called us and say, please don't take us down this path again. it is really hard. it is very sad. that is what that is. here we come upon mother's day. when women succeed, america succeeds. same as valentine's day. equal pay for equal work. raising the minimum wage. affordable, quality childcare. that is what we want for moms. we want flowers and roses and brunch or whatever. mom not having to do the dishes.

but we also want to unleash the power of women whether they want to be entrepreneurial and start their business. create jobs. they want to have a job and be treated fairly. to be able to do so in a way that has a proper balance between family and work. it is hard to go into mother's day without picking about the little girls in nigeria. can you imagine how it must be for those moms? how wonderful that the whole world has taken up the cause of these little girls? bring back her girls. we will do something on the floor in a bipartisan way, i am pleased to say, to take up the resolution passed in the foreign affairs committee this morning by -- submitted by frederico. that will come to the floor. what a horrible thing.

it is diabolical. we all have to do whatever we can to make sure those little girls are returned home. the idea that these terrorists could go out and say, we will sell them into marriage or whatever, it is a stunning thing. outside the behavior, the circle of civilized human behavior. happening at mother's day. it intensifies the concern and love for these girls we have. yes? my favorites are regulars, the ones who are here all the time. >> if you have full participation -- how you expect the numbers to contort

themselves. they call susan rice and there are no democrats there to defend them. can you walk those -- through those machanizations? >> i thought i just did. the fact is this is a stunt. this is a political stunt. issa just is damaged goods. they had to move from into another venue with another chairman. that is what this is. is there at least a level of decency in terms of respect? even in the regular order. does the minority have a right to call witnesses. they try to use the climate and

energy select community. it was only established that we can have a couple of bills duns. the record there was there is only one subpoena in four years issued and it was unanimous. it was unanimous. this is a completely different setup. i think the chairman has already called it an investigation. i think he called it a trial. a trial. a trial. does that tell you everything you need to know? then he says i don't want this to be a circus. i think he is saying something that are looking circus like.

i have evidence that not only are they hiding it that there is an intent to hide it. i cannot disclose that yet. there was a decision to withhold certain documents from congress. is that the statement? i have a great respect for the speaker. to the extent that he is able, i think he was trying to have this. it serves them better than to let them be themselves. they say just let them show who they are with all of this. any of our witnesses can hold their own. there is another school of thought that we are seeing how

they operate. we think we should be there. any of our regulars, and then i will come back? thef they stick with what resolution was that was passed in the house, would democrats not participate at the committee? >> when i speak to the speaker, i will give you an answer as to what that will be. >> would democrats not participate? >> when i spoke to the speaker, they already have those rules out there. so the inference to be drawn from the conversation is we would go to a different place with more clarity about what the rates might be with more specificity. we'll see. are on a spectrum of don't go in there, said one person, go with a give us an

respect our rights, it doesn't matter what they do. just go in the room. so there is a full range. when we see what they have said, and as i have said, this is all interesting, we have our history, we & what we are dealing with, but we really don't know yet with the speaker is going to say, so let's find out. talked about the specter man your caucus. you are somebody who has judgment lyrically and otherwise, what do you think should be done? >> it depends on what the speaker tells us. i have confidence we have extraordinary talent to go into the room to get the job done. another quote from auch mckeon. "i think i have been satisfied that given where the troops were, how quickly the thing

happened, how quickly it dissipated, we probably could not have done more than we did. we had been working on this for a long time. we issued a preliminary report. at some point when we run out of people to talk to or talk to two or three times come at some point will have as much of the story as we are going to get in move on." so there is that. what is the purpose of this? what is the manner in which they will proceed? how is that manifested in respecting the rights of the my nordic? -- of the minority? and then we'll make a decision about where to go. again, this is one week old. you would think we had been talking about this for a very long time. no, if they cared about the presidential, they would be passing an immigration bill. this is all about them. i think it's pretty clear. their focus on the affordable care act has run its course.

now they have to find something else to talk about that isn't about how we create jobs, how we build the infrastructure of america, it is simple as abc. let's create jobs, american-made, stop having tax cuts that send tax breaks to send jobs overseas instead of investing in america. build the infrastructure of america. the sense of community about how we educate our children, protect our neighborhoods, secure our nation, all of that. how we honor of our responsibility to the american people. they don't want to talk about that. don't believe in governance. they don't believe in science. they want to stop barack obama at every step. i don't think this hurts clinton at all. i think this is about the republicans in 2014. if they cared about presidential, we would have long ago passed in immigration bill

just as the senate did. we had the votes to pass the immigration bill, we had the votes to past into which passed the senate as well, we had the votes to pass gun safety, the brady background check legislation, the background check legislation. we had the votes to pass, bipartisan votes for for the voting rights act. what are we doing instead? spending a week getting attention on the subject, which by the way the american people care about jobs. they care about their families and their education and children and the health of their families. as somebody said to me yesterday, either people have gotten tired of benghazi or they never do about it in the first place. it's not be accomplices to this diversionary tactic. it is all subterfuge they don't want to talk about what our responsibilities are here. we have to make a judgment as to

how dangerous we think they can be with their misrepresentation of the facts of the committee. the speaker says he does not want to go to that place. i hope that is how it will go. when i speak with him, we'll see. again, we've been there, done that. why are we doing this again? why are we doing this again? i am going to have to go to the floor and vote. no, i have not had a conversation. no, no. ok, we have the next foe coming up. -- we have the next vote coming up. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute]

>> we talked with a capitol hill reporter about what is ahead for congress next week. timothy cama rights for the hill. the houses off next week but the senate will be in monday evening with a procedural legislation on energy. the headline to the article says it is crunch time. what is the status of that measure? statuses they have scheduled a vote on monday for that will. -- for that bill. it is mainly holding things up right now is that the republicans really want to get some amendments into that that are really energy related. includingmocrats, senate majority leader harry reid, have essentially blocked

those amendments. one of the amendments would be to force the approval of the keystone xl pipeline. having a vote on a separate bill just for the keystone xl pipeline, but he does not want these other five energy-related amendments to be considered for this bill. week he used a procedure called filling the tree to prevent any amendments from being considered. of thetors on both sides aisle calling for a vote on the pipe line. what seems to be the mood of the country on building the keystone xl pipeline? >> a lot of recent polls have shown that the country supports this pipeline. for the most part, the polls have shown that the possible jobs that are going to come from

the construction and from the operation of the pipeline are really outweighing some of the environmental concerns that environmentalists have brought up about the pipeline. really, it's something that the american people support. senators on both sides of the aisle, do they support a separate vote on that? >> all of the republicans do in the senate, and i believe there were about 11 democrats also support that. is sort ofy landrieu leading this fight for the democrats, saying most recently she had 58 votes to approve the pipeline, which of course you need 60 votes to get a filibuster-proof majority. she believes she will have that many votes within the next week, essentially, to pass that. of course, she only has 58 now.

we'll see if that actually happens. >> tax extenders legislation is also on the agenda next week. what is in that bill and what senators are leading that effort? >> yes, the tax extenders bill as far as we are expecting to see a floor vote on the next week. really what that would do is extend basically around 50 tax breaks for almost all for two for i.t., energy, there are a number of very popular tax credits that encourage alternative fuel, encourage energy efficiency, and things of that nature. as i said, they are pretty popular. those expired at the end of the last year, and this would extend those for two years. the senate finance committee approved that bill in the

beginning of april, i believe it there is a lot of bipartisan support for a lot of .hese tax extenders we'll see where that goes. >> how does the senate bill on extending tax credits compare with the house's karen efforts on the issue? >> on the house side, they are really taking the different approach where they are doing sort of a few tax breaks at a time. the most recent one i believe was at the end of april, and that was around -- it was largely six tax breaks, excuse me, including some research and development ones that the business community really likes. that has bipartisan support. however, the house republicans and the majority have not really been shown to be receptive to of thiste's strategy

big tax extenders thing, so obviously if the senate passes it, it will go to the house for their consideration, but really at this point the house's tactic has really been smaller bills at any particular given time. cama, and tweet tim you can read his work at thehill.com. thank you for being here today. >> think you for having me. >> -- thank you for having me. >> next, the latest discussion about treating posttraumatic stress disorder. in president obama on energy efficient buildings. then long-term unemployment insurance. on the next "washington hqrnal," conservative discusses the tea party's influence in the midterm elections.

sarah jane: for the center for american progress with federal policies that directly affect working mothers, including the maternity leave and the pay gap between men and women. and a talk about preparing for the advanced placement u.s. government exam and what will be on the test. plus, e-mail, facebook, it's, and tweets. "washington journal" live at 7 a.m. eastern on c-span. let me be clear that i am not defending ms. lerner. i wanted to hear what she had to say. i have questions about why she was unaware of the inappropriate criteria for more than a year after they were created. i want to know why she did not mention the inappropriate criteria in her letters to congress. but i cannot vote to violate an individual's fifth amendment rights just because i want to hear what she has to say. a much greater principle is at stake here today.

the sanctity of the fifth amendment right for all citizens of the united states of america. >> i have never alleged it goes to the president. i have said that the tea party would clearly and fairly be described as enemies or adverse to the president's policies, and i think that is comfortable to understand, and they were targeted by somebody whose politics were what the president and who was trying to overturn the supreme court decision of citizens united in support of the president's position using her power. with that, i yield back and urge support. >> this weekend on c-span, house debate on holding former irs official lois lerner in contempt of congress for refusing to answer questions about targeting conservative groups. saturday morning at 10:00 eastern. of attack," in point john hugh argues the obama

administration's foreign-policy will harm regional and international safety. sunday at 7:30 p.m. on c-span2. on american history tv, a look at the newly unveiled restoration of george washington's mount vernon dining room, sunday night at 9:30 on c-span3. you can now take c-span with you wherever you go, with our free c-span radio app for your smartphone or tablet. listen to all three c-span tv channels or c-span radio anytime . there is a schedule of each of our network so you can tune in when you want. showsodcasts of recent from her signature programs like "afterwords," the communicators, and q&a. take c-span with you wherever you go. download your free app online for your iphone, android, or blackberry. over 35 years, c-span brings public affairs events

from washington directly to your, putting you in the room of congressional hearings, white house events, briefings, and conferences, and offering complete gavel-to-gavel coverage of the u.s. house, all as a public service of private industry. we are c-span, created by the cable tv industry 35 years ago, brought you as a public service by your local cable or satellite provider. watch us in hd, like us on facebook, and follow us on twitter. >> the american association for the advancement of science discussed treating posttraumatic stress disorder. retired armyuded general peter correll he who led the pentagon's efforts in treating posttraumatic stress, traumatic brain injury, and suicide prevention. and a pennsylvania congressman who is a ranking member of the subcommittee on science. this is one hour and a half. >> i walked up to the front and everybody was quiet. good afternoon. >> good afternoon. >> that wasn't too bad. considering it has just turned

afternoon, that was good. i am the chief executive and the executive publisher of the journal science. i get to welcome you to the first of our series of neuroscience and society briefings for this year. this one is focusing on the treatment of posttraumatic stress. a topic of increasing interest. phenomena that has been around for decades. which was ignored for decades and has received more and more attention over time. it is a major public health issue. about which there is much needed good policy. you will hear from a variety of speakers with expertise, focusing on identification and sort of epidemiology of posttraumatic stress.

then focusing on treatment as well. we will be joined by congressman fattah. we will pause when he appears so he will have the opportunity to say some things. he is one of the best supporters of science and neuroscience in the u.s. congress. the way we will work to date is each of the three speakers will speak for about 15 minutes. i apologize for the fact we do not have a giant screen. hopefully you can strain your neck. we will have a panel discussion.

in typical fashion, i would like -- for those of you who have not been to our events -- repeat what a question is. a question is short, it does not have a preamble. your voice goes up at the end. when it gets too long, i guy that looks like me will make noises and embarrass you. as you are thinking about your questions, please try to keep that in mind. let's start, the first of today's speakers is general peter chiarelli. a retired general with the u.s. army. he is the chief executive officer of one mind for research. one of the most important nonprofit organizations focusing on ptsd and traumatic brain injury. it will be interesting to get his perspective to general, please.

[applause] >> for those of you who assume that because we have a slide projector and slides, it is because the general is speaking. generals can't speak without a lot of powerpoint. i have no slides. therefore, the clinicians who will speak to you about therapy for traumatic brain injury. as for me, no slides at all. i want to put this in context for you. i served 40 years in the military. you have to remember that everything you hear come out of my mouth today is from a liberal arts major. i'm not a neuroscientist. i'm not a psychiatrist or psychologist. this is all homeschooling on my part.

it started when i became the vice chief of staff in the army. i spent two tours in iraq in 2004-2005, and all of 2006. on the fourth day as vice chief of staff -- for those of you who do not know what that is, the vice is the coo out the army chief operating officer. the one who is to come up to this building area that is why am shaking. i had to testify 21 times one the chief is flying around pontificating and doing the fun things. i would fill in for him for the things he did not want to do. on the fourth day in that position, my surgeon general, the head of army medical command came in and did a reprieve for me. at that time we were fighting two wars in afghanistan and iraq.

he put a chart in front of me and it showed the most prolific wounds. i was sure what i would see were the soldiers who had lost arms and legs and had been shot. soldiers with physical injuries. instead, two percent had spinal cord injuries. 10% had lost an arm leg or multiple limbs. a combination of 36% with traumatic brain injury and posttraumatic stress. i had no idea what pts was. i had spent two tours downrange.

i knew that i had combat stress teams. somebody somewhere in my career had told me the importance of getting combat stress teams to men in combat who had gone through traumatic events. for some reason, i gave them a priority of aviation assets. they were always there when i had a platoon that had a bad day and lost comrades in battle. i knew about tbi, for my football coach had told me. shake it off and get back in the game. we had more soldiers wounded, 36%, with dramatic brain injury and posttraumatic stress than the physical wounds i had seen in my two tours in iraq. if i jump forward, that number increased to 67%.

67% had traumatic brain injury and posttraumatic stress. i don't trust those numbers. i don't trust those numbers for a number of reasons. i have learned that the instruments to diagnose, i would call them blunt instruments. i would say you need to transport yourself around two years into the past three that is where we are today. think what we knew 50 years ago, that is where we are. we don't understand the biology of it. we do not have markers from blood. if you think you have posttraumatic stress, you see a professional, depending on what kind of professional you see, they are supposed to go to the american psychiatric association esm 5. it used to be four. it had 17 questions.

five came out in 2013. it has 20 questions. i look at that and say, that is what research has got us. three more questions. spending $500 million of dod money. we have three more questions. i think a better test, because if you don't have any the symptoms come you get a score of zero. before coming to 17, which i never understood. if you fall down or get in a bike accident, you would be given what is called a coma test. when we look at the mild to moderate people, some are told they have severe brain injury. they are back at work on monday and do not have problems.

there are others that are told they have mild injury and have cognitive issues and are never able to go back to work. i call these blunt instruments. i want to close by telling you the things i have learned. posttraumatic stress is treatable. it is difficult for me to mention it without mentioning traumatic brain injury. they share the same symptoms and people that have accommodation of both conditions. for me, it is a complex problem. it is not as simple as a sports concussion or posttraumatic

stress. these things are combined and that makes it difficult. it is treatable. you will hear two of the evidence-based treatment today. we have young warriors going all over the country on the claims of some that there are other ways to treat this. some of you may have heard about hyperbaric oxygen. there was a big push by certain individuals who showed up in my office when i was vice. they said the army was making a mistake by not putting everybody into a tube and giving them 1.5 atmospheres of oxygen. you hear a lot about service dogs. i think dogs are great. we need to do the research necessary so they become evidence-based. and that they are covered.

all the organizations that are training them and providing comfort, 10 years from now the dog will be dead and the organization will be disbanded. i wonder what would happen then. i did not know what i was vice and i was handling the suicide issue that all the drugs we prescribed for posttraumatic stress, none were brought to market to treat posttraumatic stress. they are off label. that is a doctor making a determination that they will repurpose that drug based on their professional experience that they believe it will help control your symptoms. that is a good thing in many cases, but a bad thing in others.