7:00 a.m. eastern. we back at 3:30 eastern. eight bills under consideration. live coverage of the house now on c-span. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the prayer will be offered by our chaplain, father conroy. chaplain conroy: let us pray. eternal god, we give you thanks for giving us another day. as the house reconvenes, we ask your blessing upon deliberations informed by the experiences and interactions of the members with their constituents. we thank you for the time to be together with family and friends as our nation celebrated 235 years of being a marvelous experiment in the self-governance of a people, brought together by ideals and trusting in the ability of a

free people to govern themselves and peace. mindful of this great heritage and the hard work and sacrifices of so many american ancestors to us all, may the members of this people's house deliberate in good faith, mindful not only of short-term interests but of their place in history and of the tremendous responsibility to govern wisely for a bright future for our nation. may all that is done this day, in the wake of our national celebration, be for your greater honor and glory. amen. the speaker pro tempore: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1 the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentlewoman from north carolina, mrs. foxx. ms. foxx: please join in the

pledge to our wonderful flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain requests for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentleman from alaska seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. young: mr. speaker, today i'd like to recognize and thank mr. randy ericsson, a constituent from kodiak, alaska, recently on behalf of the national rule electrical cooperative association's international foundation. he traveled to south sudan. all the way from kodiak to south sudan. while there, mr. ericsson repaired and served power generators for two utilities that provide these towns with electricity. this work is part of the electricfication sustainable program in south sudan, funded

by the u.s. agency for international development. one project was involved in the self-sustaining cooperative serving approximately 1,300 consumer members. the project also serves approximately 550 customers including household, commerce enterprise, public institution, nongovernment organizations. after the 2005 peace agreement with south sudan, the national rural electric cooperative association international sent a team of experienced edge nearing and management staff to -- engineering and management staff to build utilities in that area. the national rural electric cooperative association provided for these utilities to strengthen the director's management employees. civil unrest broke out again last december and many people were evacuated. mr. chairman, i'd like to thank mr. ericsson for his hard work. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, once again, as so many times before, the people

of israel are under missile attack from terrorist hamas in gaza. 300 rocket attacks since june, 150 just over the past few days. forcing children into shelters with a promise of more violence rained on israel. this is the same hamas that has formed a unity government with the palestinian authority, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, some things are clear. mr. israel: when rockets are fired on israel, israel will defend its people. when hamas chooses violence, israel will protect its people. when hamas commits itself to the eradcation and the extermination of israel, israel will do what it must to ensure its survival. today i will be introducing legislation, bipartisan legislation, reaffirming this country's support for the people of israel as it defends itself. with that 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 south carolina seek recognition? mr. wilson: i 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 for one minute. mr. wilson: mr. speaker, last ek it was published titled "immigration crisis: securing boarder is key to stemming the flow of children." extraordinary points were made. quote, failure to secure the southern border, combined with careless messaging by president barack obama, has made the united states an attractive nuisance. the fiasco at the southern border is far more than a political dilemma. obama needs this under control. letting latin americans know in no uncertain terms that the united states the company and will not host una-- cannot and will not host unattended whirn who -- children who illegally cross the border. we can't put these youth in danger and we can't resolve their polite. the lives of restless children -- the lives of these children rest in the balance. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentlelady from north carolina

seek recognition? ms. foxx: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. ms. foxx: thank you, mr. speaker. numbers don't lie. but they can obscure the truth. st week 288,000 new jobs and an unemployment rate by one measure of 6.1%. the lowest rate achieved during mr. obama's administration. there's tremendous human cost associated with a half a decade of unemployment above, often well above 6%. but this is an improvement. our celebration, though, would be tempered by the truth obscured by this statistic. the truth is more than 92 million adults above age 16 are not in the labor force. the truth is, if the labor force were at prerecession levels, the unemployment rate would be 11.1%. the truth is the labor force participation rate has not been

this low since 1978. mr. speaker, some predicted president obama would be the second coming of jimmy carter. nearly six years in, that's looking like a best case scenario. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from oklahoma seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman -- the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, the president refuses to secure the border, ignoring our laws. mr. bridenstine: he has promoted citizenship for anyone who makes it to our country illegally. and in so doing, he has caused mass illegal migration into our country. this has resulted in human trafficking, abuse and even death. the president has turned u.s. military bases into refugee camps and he has denied members of congress access to these camps. he has allowed media tours, but the media can't ask questions, can't talk to medical staff or employees, can't talk to the

children, can't bring recording devices and can't take pictures. very reminiscent of the former soviet union. mr. speaker, the president's lawlessness on the border has undermined our namp sovereignty and security. now the -- our national sovereignty and security. now the president wants our citizens to pay $3 billion for a problem he created. without a secure border, this is just the beginning. members of both parties must demand that the president finally secure the border and faithfully execute the law. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from alabama seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. everywhere i go in my district, from the grocery store to town hall meetings, i hear the same thing over and over again. this president will not stay within the bounds of the constitution of the united states or the laws passed by this body in the senate. and it's time that we stand up to that. that's why i joined in support with the propose albie the speaker of this house, the gentleman from ohio, that this

house bring a lawsuit to bring the president back within bounds. i do so reluctantly. i wish we didn't have to do that. the president's response to this was to say, so sue me. so, mr. speaker, we will sue you. not because we want to, but because we have to defend the constitution you won't abide by and we have to protect the rights of the people of this country that you continue to transgress. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in

on how to appropriately and wisely use taxpayer resources. read more about that at the top of c-span.org. meanwhile, the senate appropriations committee will hold a hearing on the administration's request. that's coming up on thursday. they will hear from secretary johnson, homeland security secretary, and health and human services secretary. we'll have live coverage of that thursday at 2:30 eastern and that will be on c-span3. later, secretary general rasmussen is in washington. yesterday he called on european nations to reverse declines in defense spending and pay nato premiums. he spoke at the atlanta council. today the secretary general

meeting with president obama at the white house to talk about russian aggression in the ukraine and the upcoming nato summit being held in the u.k. in september. >> so, mr. secretary general, a sellout crowd. good afternoon. welcome. i'm president and c.e.o. of the atlantic council. it is a huge privilege for us to welcome you. let me say back to the atlantic council. less than two months ahead of the nato summit this september. which in your own words, quote, will be one of the most important in nato's history, unquote. at a time when peace and stability are put to the test from eastern europe to north africa and to the middle east. this is also secretary general 's last major public visit to

washington in his capacity as secretary general, before former prime minister of norway takes over the role this october. as many of you here may recall, the atlantic council hosted secretary general for his first major public address in the united states as secretary general back in 2009. and while your tenure is not finished, we are extremely honored to bookend your highly successful and distinguished tenure leading nato with this event today. back in 2009 it was then u.s. secretary -- excuse me, u.s. national security advisor general jim jones who introduced the secretary general and we're delighted that general jones has returned today in his capacity as chairman of the center on international security at the atlantic council to introduce the secretary general. general jones, who has prior to his position as national

security advisor led nato's military operations in his capacity as commander of u.s.-european command, leads today much of the strategic thinking at the atlantic council. among his other roles at the council, he's been a dedicated supporter of our young atlantic summits which have over the years become the primary public diplomacy event at nato summits and have been a means to securing a next-general -- next generation of support and leadership for the alliance. we're very grateful nato will partner with the atlantic council this year, as well to link transatlantic policymakers with future leaders from nato member and partner countries of the 2014 future leader summit in wales and the secretary general has not only been supportive of this initiative but has been very much an

instigator and visionary behind the effort to get more young voices and more young strategic thinkers into the conversation. before i turn the floor over to general jones, let me say what one didn't have to say back in 2009. and that is, if you want to tweet, use #futurenato to do your tweeting. and i think you were one of the ground breakers. i think back then you were just starting your own twitter account, if i'm not mistaken. with that, general jones, the floor is yours. [applause] >> thank you. and welcome back to the atlantic council. ladies and gentlemen, it's really a great pleasure for me to be able to introduce secretary general to this audience for his final major address in the united states. depending on world events.

there could be others. i've had the privilege of introducing the secretary general here at the atlantic council for his first public speech to the united states nearly five years ago, in september of 2009, while i was still national security advisor. i recall fondly that when secretary general addressed the council in 2009, he also spoke to a packed crowd in the council's old headquarters across the street. there were so many people in the room that you could hardly turn around. very happy to notice that the council is able to welcome him back this time to its new headquarters and while there may be more elbow room in these more comfortable quarters, i'm not surprised to see that he's still able to command an overflow crowd in washington. when the secretary general spoke here in 2009, the obama administration was in the midst of a rigorous strategic review concerning the war in afghanistan and a debate about how many additional troops would be necessary for the

united states, its nato allies and partners to achieve mission success. the administration invited the new secretary general to visit washington for consultations about the ongoing u.s. review and to assess possible contributions of nato allies to the u.s. surge. it was a challenging time for nato. and for the alliance. and its allies. including the united states, who were becoming worried from their -- wearied from their already long commitment to a difficult conflict in a fan-away land. but despite these challenges, when the secretary general came to washington in september, 2009, and spoke here at the atlantic council, the administration had great confidence in his ability to lead the alliance through this difficult phase. and he has certainly lived up to that challenge. at the lisbon summit in 2010, nato's 28 members vowed to stick together through 2014 in

afghanistan, at which point responsibility for security would shift to the afghan forces. under his leadership, nato has stood by its commitments taken at lisbon. the alliances today concluding of combat mission, transitioning responsible to afghan forces and preparing to take on a post-2014 mission to train and advise afghan forces. secretary general will go down in the history books as having led the largest and longest combat mission in nato history in afghanistan. as the secretary general returns to the atlantic council in 2014, the strategic context is quite different than a mere five years ago. when afghanistan was a dominant challenge for the alliance. to confront these evolving strategic realities, secretary general appointed nato's group of experts, ably chaired by former secretary albright, to undertake a strategic review of

nato that would inform a new alliance strategic concept. the secretary general led nato's response to not only the threat of extremism, civil war and instability on its southern flank, but also to the challenge to the liberal post-cold war order in europe, all during the greatest financial crisis cincinnatiow's founding in 1949 -- since nato's founding in 1949. in libya in 2011 the secretary general skillfully positioned the alliance to respond to rapid events and to enforce u.n. security council resolution 1973. nato's quick action demonstrated the alliance's unique capability to act quickly a in a crisis and to integrate regional partners into alliance operations. in the aftermath of russia's annexation of crimea and destableation of ukraine, -- destabilization of ukraine, the secretary general has provided decisive leadership of nato in what is europe's most serious

crisis since the end of the cold war. in doing so, he has reminded our public that nato remains a critical insurance policy for all members and remains relevant well into the 21st century. this september in the united kingdom, nato heads of state and government will convene for what the secretary general himself has called one of the most important meetings in nato's history. it will be the secretary general's last nato summit before former norwegian prime minister takes over in october. but while the secretary general's tenure is not yet complete, we can be confident that he's left behind a rich legacy of accomplishment for which nato member nations owe him a debt of gratitude. as many of you will know, the atlantic council recognized the secretary general's rich accomplishments by awarding him the atlantic council's distinguished international leadership award in 2012, where he delivered a moving testimonial about his own

personal investment in the transatlantic link. i'm delighted that the atlantic council was able to welcome him once more to this stage on his visit to washington, perhaps his last as secretary general. ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming the 12th secretary general of the north atlantic treaty organization. thank you. [applause] >> thank you very much for that kind and very generous introduction. it is really wonderful to see you again and thank you for your remarkable service over the decades, as a marine, as a supreme commander of nato forces, and as national security advisor. and i remember with great pleasure our cooperation during

your term as national security advisor. you know nato from the inside, you know what it takes to keep the alliance united and your commitment to the transatlantic relationship is firm and strong. thank you very much. and also a very big thank you to fred and damon and your dedicated team here at the atlantic council. i truly value your strong commitment and service to the transatlantic community and to nato. it is a great privilege and pleasure to work with you. you've done an amazing job in making the atlantic council such an interference forum in international affairs in washington and worldwide.

the atlantic council shapes and informs and -- an important debate, on the challenges we face and the opportunities we must grasp, in a world that is more competitive, dynamic and disorderly. through your tireless work, you play a key role in keeping the bond between north america and europe strong. now and into the future. we recently marked the 70th anniversary of the d-day landings. a stark reminder of the horrors of war. but also of what is possible when our nations unite against tyranny. since then the nato alliance

has underpinned freedom, peace and prosperity across europe and north america. protecting our values, individual liberty, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. today those values and our way of life are once more under threat. e're surrounded by conflict, danger, disorder and autocratic regimes. an act of instability from the middle east to north africa and the sahara. rising tensions and territorial disputes in asia. and revisionist russia breaking international rules and undermining trust. but russia is not just trying

to recreate a sphere of influence. it has dealt a dangerous blow to the international rules-based system we have built up over decades. and its illegal and illegitimate actions encourage other autocratic regimes to follow suit. the best way to face such threats is clear. we must be confident in our alues, reinforce our readiness and strengthen the transatlantic bond that remains the bedrock of our international order. since world war ii, the solution to every strategic challenge has been transatlantic. be it the cold war, the balkans, afghanistan, or the

financial crisis. america and europe working together, training together, and when necessary, fighting together, this is how we have protected our nations and promoted our values. but even the most successful relationship needs work. we cannot take our transatlantic bond for granted. we must renew our commitment and continue to invest time, energy and resources to keep it strong. to me, the challenges we face, we need a truly integrated transatlantic community, a truly integrated transatlantic community. and i believe there are three

things we must do. , nforce our economic ties deepen our personal and ultural links and strengthen ur security. first, the economy. trade encourages the creation of wealth. it discourages conflict and conquest. it generates greater prosperity and this in turn leads to greater security, as people do not want to put their prosperity at risk. so, a healthy economy and sound security create a virtual white house circle -- virtuous circle. in today's interconnected

world, the link between economics and security and between peace and prosperity is stronger than ever. and it is particularly strong in the relationship between europe and north america. together we represent the most powerful economic block the world has ever known. but with the global competition, we need to work harder to ensure our prosperity for the future. a transatlantic free trade area is a unique opportunity to reinforce our economic ties. and to lock in our prosperity. the trade deals currently being negotiated between north america and europe are the next step. and the right step.

the transatlantic trade and investment partnership will eliminate tariffs, cut red tape and open up new markets. it is potentially the biggest trade and investment deal in history. well, as a former prime minister, i know just how difficult trade negotiations can be. but we must look beyond the technical details to see the g gains within our reach and to move forward, because this is an opportunity we cannot miss. to promote growth, create jobs nd improve our quality of life . we also need to focus on energy

security. much of europe is now reliant on russia's oil and gas. we have so to speak burned our way into dependence. and as we see in ukraine, russia is quite capable of turning off the taps. putting an end to that dependency is now of the utmost trategic importance. european nations are already doing more to reduce this dependency. they are increasing their storage reserves, engineering pipelines to redirect energy to where it is needed, and bringing in energy from other sources.

we must also find new ways to generate, extract and distribute energy, be that oil and gas or renewables. and we need to open our markets to each other. because if you have to depend on anyone, it is better to epend on your friends. must be friendships fostered. so this is my second point. we have to deepen the personal and cultural ties that bind us so closely. 30 years ago i came to the united states as a guest of the international visitor leadership program.

i can tell you, a life-changing experience. it helped me to know and appreciate this great country nd its people. as many people as possible should have that same opportunity. i want to further strengthen the personal bonds across the atlantic. so, in preparation for our summit in wales in september, i asked young emerging leaders from all nations of the alliance how they think we should do it. and i would like to thank the atlantic council for facilitating this work. the results have been truly enlightening and valuable. one of the main recommendations of the emerging leaders is to enhance mutual understanding between the nations of the

alliance through personal ties. and i think they are right. we need to increase our transatlantic student scholarships and exchange programs, to increase our scientific and cultural cooperation, to appoint honoree ambassadors to spread the word about the value of the transatlantic bond and of nato, and to form those life-long relationships that have bound our people together for so ong. now, my third point, on the pinning everything we do, we need to strengthen our security. the english philosopher thomas

hobbs wrote of a world without rules. a world without security. he described this world as having no industry, no movement, no culture, no society. nothing but the continual fear of a t violent death, world where the life of man was asty, brutish and short. security is necessary for us to live free from fear. ut security takes work and for 65 years, that work has been led by the countries of the nato alliance. in today's dangerous world, nato must be ready to respond

o whatever threats we face, to act quickly whenever, wherever and how ever needed. this means europe and north erica consulting together, acting together and sharing the responsibility together. this very well that from side of the atlantic, it can appear that european allies expect the united states to defend them, but they are not prepared to defend themselves. but i have to say, this is simply not true. remember, during the cold war, european soldiers were confined

to barracks. not so now. europeans have placed themselves in the line of fire, in the balkans and over libya, in afghanistan. for every true american soldier who have served, one european soldier has served with them. and many paid the ultimate sacrifice in our common cause. responding to russia's aggression in our eastern neighborhood, all 28 allies have stepped up to the plate to reinforce our collective defense. from the balance tacks to the black sea -- baltics to the black sea, we have more planes in the air, more ships at sea and more troops on the ground. the united states took the lead

and its continuing leadership remains crucial. but most of the planes are european, most of the ships are european and many of the troops re european. this is nato solidarity in action. truly, all for one and one for all. but, we must also plan for the future. and be ready to deal with any threats from wherever they come . so for our wales summit, we will ensure that nato is always prepared through our new readiness action plan.

we're looking closely at how we deploy our forces for defense and deterrence. what combination of forces we need, where they should be eployed and their readiness. we also are considering reinforcement measures such as necessary infrastructure, the designation of bases and prepositioning of equipment and supplies. we are reviewing our defense plans, threat assessments, intelligence sharing arrangements and early warning procedures. we also are developing a new exercise schedule adapted to the new security environment. and we want to further

strengthen our nato response force and special forces so we can respond more quickly to any threat against any member of the alliance, including when we have little warning. but readiness requires resources. so i welcome president obama's proposed $1 billion european reassurance initiative. it shows the united states' enduring commitment to the security of europe. now other allies need to .trengthen their commitment and i am the first to say that some european nations can and hould do more.

an is an insurance policy, insurance policy against instability. and all members must pay their premiums. and that premium has just gone . at our summit in wales, i expect all alliance leaders to commit to change course on defense spending. to reverse the decline and to back off that commitment with concrete -- back up that commitment with concrete action. estonia, as an example. estonia has shown that despite a severe economic crisis it can be done. estonia has joined the united

states, greece and the united kingdom as allies that invest at least 2% of the gross domestic product in defense. and i welcome the commitments f latvia, lithuania, poland, romania and turkey to do the ame. and if all the european allies spend 2% of their international income on defense this year, we billion another $90 to spend. that is the equivalent of day's defense budgets of germany, italy, netherlands and norway combined.

now, i'm not naive. i know we will not achieve this overnight. , we the summit in wales need to turn a corner. to start to see defense spending in europe rise in real terms for the first time since the end of the cold war. of course, national budgets have been under incredible stress. but things are changing. public finances are coming under control and our economies are beginning to grow. i know very well that increasing defense spend something never easy --

spending is never easy. but in light of the threats we face, it has become a necessity. but of course this is not just about what we spend, it is also about how we spend. we need to focus on what we really need to keep our nations afe in the 21st century. from capabilities and skills for the future, and we must do more together as allies and with partners. in afghanistan we fornled the biggest coalition in recent -- forged the biggest coalition in recent history. 50 nations from many continents nited in a single cause. in and in our operations, from

the balkans to libya, partners have made invaluable contributions. so we must maintain our political and military cooperation with them to build stability in the world. we must also do more to help those who require our assistance to reform and develop effective local forces. in wales, we will launch a defense capacity building initiative. this defense capacity building initiative will allow us to help other nations build up effective defense structures and forces of their own. so that they are better able to take care of security in their own region. and so we can project stability

without always deploying large numbers of our own troops. so, our wales summit will , ure that nato stands ready robust and resolute to face the uture. ladies and gentlemen, we are ortunate to live in lands that are free. but freedom is not a natural state. it has been fought for, uffered for, died for. to safeguard the flame of freedom, we must stand ready to

protect and promote our values, stay strong, confident and united, and strengthen our transatlantic community. thank you. [applause] >> thank you very much, mr. secretary general. that was just terrific. i'm damon wilson, executive vice president here at the atlantic council. we have about 25 minutes to continue the conversation with the secretary general. first let me echo the warm welcome from fred and general jones for coming to the atlantic council for this. .e're especially grateful and to remind everyone who is covering this either online or our television audience of the #futurenato for those covering on twitter. and finally, before we begin our conversation, thank you for your shoutout to the nato

future leaders. i think we have two of them with us today. one of our american delegates and our turkish delegate. they're both over here. terrific. thank you for being with us today. really important program and thanks for your leadership on getting that off the ground. mr. secretary general, you just delivered a pretty strong message about how to strengthen the transatlantic bond and in many respects captured sort of the spirit of the atlantic council mission. that the solution to every strategic challenge has been transatlantic. i think interestingly for secretary general of nato, you began the strategy by talking about the economy and energy. talking then about people to people ties, cultural ties. and, third, only getting into security components of that. so let me just start there and then i want to get into today's crises. as a nato secretary general, i think that's an unusual message, to hear your leading that. policy point being

>> the nato treaty. if you read in the nato treaty, you'll see already that the founding fathers stressed the importance of close economic , and i don't lies think we have reached the full potential of that economic cooperation. of course you could see the european union as part of that strengthening of economic ties among aliles. but i would very much like to see a strengthening of the transatlantic economic ties. i think that's very much in accordance with article two in the nato treaty, so it's legitimate for a nato secretary general to also speak about the transatlantic trade and investment partnership. because economics and security are interlinked.

>> that's an important point to point out for folks who wouldn't have understood what article two covers. let me turn to the issues most immediately at hand. you've been work on the wales summit agenda for a while. you've beening about preparing nato to be -- you've been talking about preparing nato to be set for a purpose. ever since it would be clear that the alliances would be drawing down its forces in afghanistan and move away from being an operational alliancement and now you have two pretty compelling crises on nato's frontiers. one in the east with russia undertaking aggression in ukraine and you've been pretty plain-spoken about that. but also on turkey's frontier, another nato member, with what's happening not just in syria but in iraq and isif. i think you said in your remarks here at beginning that e're surrounded by conflict, danger, disorder and autocratic regimes.

so these immediate crises which weren't part of the planning horizon for wales, how are these impacting your agenda and shaping your agenda heading into the wales summit? >> both of these crises will have a major impact on our agenda in wales. obviously russia's aggression put a lot ine will of emphasis on the need for a strong, collective defense. that's why at the summit i hope we will adopt a rtness action plan which will -- readiness action plan which will improve our ability to respond swiftly if needed to defend and protect our allies. so, maybe you would expect then the summit to be very much focused on the situation in the east. but at the same time we have seen the evolving crisis not only in syria but now also in

iraq. but i could also mention libya and north africa as examples that the alliance must never become a one-dimensional alliance. it's of utmost importance that while we focus on strengthening collected defense to protect alliance against a potential threat from the east, we should not forget other security challenges from the middle east, from north africa, even from cyberspace. so the wales summit will focus on the broad range of security challenges and address all three nato core tasks. total defense, crisis management and cooperative security. >> if you think about what's playing out in east -- in the east, in ukraine, it's clear that the alliance has taken quite a few moves to reassure and reposition forces to many of the eastern allies. but what about ukraine itself?

what about the eastern partners, if you will, right now? it's clear that the focus from the kremlin is on ukraine or moldova or georgia. and less so on romania where the alliance is taking actions. how do you grapple with what are essentially nato's eastern partners? >> we have decided to step up our cooperation with our eastern partners. ukraine, we have a nato ukraine commission and we have had several meetings recently also with the new foreign minister and we have adopted a comprehensive cooperation program. so you will see enhanced cooperation between nato and ukraine in the coming years, including military to military cooperation. it remains to be seen at the summit how far we can go.

but personally, i'm very outspoken about it, personally i hope our defense capacity building initiative could also apply to ukraine. we will see. >> what would that entail? what is the military to military type relationship you would expect as part of a defense capacity initiative? >> i think it's clear to everybody that the ukrainian armed forces needs more organization and further capability development. i think nato has expertise at its disposal that could be used to reform and modernize the ukrainian armed forces. but we have also decided to enhance our cooperation with moldova. by the way, recently we saw moldova take a significant step our viding troops to

operation in kosovo. we have decided to develop what we call a sub stantive package of cooperation elmment -- element with jog. so with all our eastern -- with georgia. so with all our eastern neighbors we want to step up cooperation in recent years. >> but we're not ready for enlargement, is that the message? >> now you put it in a negative way. i would put it in the positive way that we continue to take steps within our open-door policy. our door remains open to european countries that fulfill the necessary criteria. and of course it will be the summit, it will be for the summit to take decisions. but we are preparing, as i said, a substantial package for georgia and as regards month negro -- montenegro, we have

decided to open focused and intensified talks and important ministers will assess the situation at the latest, by the end of 2015, and decide whether time is ripe for inviting montenegro. so i think it strikes the right balance, to ensure that our open-door policy remains credible. but at the same time we don't compromise on criteria. >> let me just follow up on the defense capacity initiative. in libya. is this a initiative in part reflections learned from the alliance in libya? this is an operation after all that nato wasn't planning for. and at the end of the operation we've obviously seen real difficulties in libya. we've got a terrific amount of work taking place here at the atlantic council on the challenges of governance and security in libya today. has that directly informed this new effort this new initiative

that you announced today? >> yes, indeed. but i would broaden it and also add afghanistan as one of the essons learns in that respect. seen rerpt speculatively i think we started our -- retrospectively i think we started our training plan in afghanistan too late. we didn't start it in earnest until 2009. i think we should have started much earlier. it's much better to train and develop local security forces, politically it's better to give the defense of afghanistan, for instance, an afghan face and economically of course it's a better deal to make local security forces capable to take responsibility for security than to deploy our troops for a very long time. so afghanistan is an example of what we have seen in libya is an example and actually last year we received a request from

the libyan government, a request for assistance to help them build their security sector. we responded positively. but for well-known reasons, it's been a bit difficult to implement that positive response. but we stand ready so once the libyans are ready, we're ready to assist them. >> let me shift the gear for a moment to the transatlantic part of the regulationship. the risk premium, the premium has just gone up. i think what i took away, the pretty strong statement that you offered, that at wales you expect all alliance leaders to commit to change the course on defense spending. that's a pretty big goal that i think you've laid out for the alliance. you mentioned president obama's announcement of a $1 billion european response initiative. it's been clear to us as we spent time up on capitol hill that there's a strong sort of political instinct that it resonates.

people understand the challenge that we're facing from putin's russia, there's rationale behind that. i think they've been skeptical and concerned about whether european allies will step up to the plate with their own investment and resources. you've just put -- raised the bench pretty high in what you articulated here. do you see the momentum, do you think you are on a path of actually now recovering from the bottom of where we've been in the recession on defense spending and reversing that trend? >> i see a momentum. i wouldn't suggest that it would be easy. on the contrary, i think it would be uphill. but because many countries are still struggling with weak economies, and it is of course important to cut deficits and stop indebtedness. because indebted countries are also too volatile. so it is parts of security policy, a sound security

policy, to also pursue sound fiscal policies. but having said that, i see a positive development in europe. i mentioned in my introduction countries that have already decided to reverse the trends. and that's not just hot air, it's really commitments based on broad political agreements in parliaments. estonia has already achieved the 2% goal. latvia, lithuania, poland, romania, turkey have promised to work in the same direction. within a time frame spanning from 2017 to 2020. and i think more will follow. in addition to that, it would also be important if nato alights would commit to fulfill -- allies would commit to fulfill the nato benchmark of spending at least 20% of their efense budgets on future

development. so it's not just the size of the budget but also how money is spent that is important and we will focus on both issues in the summit. >> i think while the hill deliberates how to respond to this $1 billion request, it's important to get that message up there. let me turn to the audience and take in some comments and questions in our remaining time. let me start here in the front and then i'll pick up a few. let me maybe collect a couple if i may. please introduce yourself as well. >> i'm the former conductor of the orchestra but i also happen to be an advisor of culture and i was in iraq for nine years or so as an advisor. my question concerning the current situation in the middle east and focusing on iraq, if and only if there was an initiative of awakening similar

to the situation back in 2006, under the control of the central legitimate government in baghdad, and if such an initiative requires the assistance of nato directly, uld that be something that would be of up for discussion or consideration? . >> thank you. then you pick this up as well. >> i like the idea that you started with economics and moved to security later on. but as you know, the relationship between the nato and the e.u. sl imperfect. is there any chance between now afterwards to get -- maybe this is a strong phrase -- to get the three

recalcitrant countries, great, turkey, and cyprus, to get the institutions to work together, and an idea that has been around a long time, to have an extra half day after the nato summit to bring the european union leaders in so there can start being some kind of active, serious coordination between the two institutions for common purposes? >> trimbing. maybe take these two and then we'll pick up a few more. >> ok. first on iraq, if i understood the question correctly, it was, in essence, could we imagine nato assist iraq upon request? >> and awakening. the tribal system to the social populist community ighting back against isis. >> i don't see nato engaged directly in iraq.

but as you know, the iraqi government has requested assistance from individual nato allies, primarily from the united states. as regards to nato, we are focused on providing effective defensive protection of our allies. in this case, of course, turkey in particular is very much focused on the security ituation in the region and i visited ankara recently and discussed in depth. we have also had consultations in nato upon request from turkey. that is how i see nato right now. on nato-eu, you are right. we have not reached the full potential of a nato-eu cooperation.

but having said that, i would add that we have made a lot of progress during recent years. when it comes to operations, we coordinate and cooperate seamlessly in theaters where the e.u. and nato operate together. so from a practical point of view, it works quite efficiently. when it comes to capability development, we have achieved a lot of progress. the european defense agency and allied command work very losely together. i think i could safely say that we avoid duplication and waste of resources through close coordination. i would say an efficient division of labor. finally, on clinical conservation, here i think we have the biggest problem.

because of these well-known topics and disputes, it is sometimes difficult to organize oint nato-eu meetings. there is one area we are allowed to discuss informal meetings, namely bosnia. because the e.u. operates a so-called berlin plus operation which means that the e.u. can use nato assets to conduct their operations. so in operations we are allowed to have formal nato-eu meetings. while bosnia is important, i can easily think of other issues that warrant close nato-eu cooperation. but even in this area, we have seen progress recently. actually, we have had two joint nato-eu meetings on ukraine. so it's an example that when

the situation so warrants, it is possible to find a pragmatic way forward. so all in all, i wouldn't provide such a bleak picture as you did, ambassador. see -- i see -- yeah. i see some light. i see some light. there is still progress to be made. of course, ultimately we need to find a solution to the cyprus conflict. >> let me move from a nato ambassador to wes clark. >> wes clark here. it looks to me like in ukraine, they are fighting back pretty effectively right now. what is nato able to do to help the other countries deal with the internal challenges that

are present in the baltics and countries like bulgaria? do we have a role in that or are we ceding that to the e.u.? >> let me move to the other side of the room. is there a mic on that side of the room? >> thank you. leandra bernstein. my question is, you have created quite a narrative as far as russia, giving it an enemy image, and it is questionable whether creating that image of russia is intended to reinvigorate somehow the nato alliance, which has seen a lot of, in certain analysts' views, defeats in the 21st century in particular, and significant

struggles economically and likewise. s this creation of russia as a boggyman an attempt -- a defensive attempt to try to pull the alliance back together? >> let me go ahead and pick up he ambassador as well. >> secretary general, you mentioned the necessary conditions for the enlargement of nato. could you describe more specifically what the necessary conditions are? are they measurable and will enhance cooperation cover those necessary conditions? and as a result, will it pave the way toward the nato membership for the other countries? thank you.

> first, to wes clark, what we are witnessing is maybe not entirely a new kind of warfare, but we call it hybrid warfare. a combination of traditional methods and more sophisticated covert military operations combined with sophisticated information and disinformation perations. and you are right in pointing o the risk that hybrid warfare could be used against some nato allies. for instance, in the baltic states, taking into account of the russian doctrine that they preserve the right to interfere

or intervene, to protect what they consider the interests of russian-speaking communities. as we all know in particular in estonia and latvia, we have substantial russian-speaking minorities. bulgaria is another case, but still we know from historical reasons that there are special ties. so it's relevant. it's a highly relevant issue. we are dealing with that. we will address this particular issue as part of our readiness action plan, because it is also necessary to be ready to counter such hybrid warfare. having said that, and in response to your question, is it surely a nato issue? no it is not. it includes propaganda,

information, and disinformation perations. and that goes beyond traditional nato operations. so i think it's an excellent example of an area where we need close cooperation and coordination with all organizations like the european union. but i could also think of other organizations. but it is of utmost importance that we improve our ability to ounter that kind of warfare. now on russia, there is no -- first of all, there's no need to develop or create a specific picture of russia to reinvigorate our alliance. i think it's quite obvious to everybody why nato is needed. we need a strong collective defense to protect our populations against any kind of

hreat. but i would argue that it is russia herself that creates a particular picture right now. let me remind you that in november, 2010, at the nato-russia summit in lisbon we decided to develop a partnership between nato and russia. we have done a lot in the last more than 20 years to develop a constructive cooperation with russia. because we do believe that a positive engagement with russia is the right way forward. russia sees it differently. if you read the russian military doctrine, they point to nato not as a partner but as

an adversary so it's russia that creates this particular picture. finally, on the open-door policy, let me put it this way. at the end of the day it is a olitical decision whether time for membership. we are in close dialogue with applicants. countries. for some of them we have developed a membership action plan. within that plan we define certain reforms to be carried out. certain criteria must be fulfilled. montenegro as --

an example, we have pointed to forms of their security sector. we will focus and intensify our talks with montenegro on that issue. so the aspirant countries know very well what is needed. to enter the door. >> mr. secretary general, if i may -- we are coming to the end of an hour -- i would like to ask you a question. to wraup up our conversation today, as we talk about looking forward to the fall at the end of your tenure when you step down, you have an enormous agenda still on your plate. but i wanted to ask, as you think back on your time as secretary general, when you first came to the atlantic council in 2009, you said something that struck me, as i was looking back at your original remarks, you have to straddle the atlantic with one foot in europe and one foot in north america. when europe and north america

come together i'm comfortable. when they drift apart, i am the one who feels the pain. [laughter] if you think back over your tenure, where have you felt the biggest pain? what has been the biggest challenge for you to manage as you represent both sides of the atlantic at the same time? >> i am quite comfortable. because we have -- i would argue we have seen a closer trans-atlantic relationship during my tenure as secretary general. you have of course seen our operation in afghanistan. and as jim mentioned in his introduction tonight, we decided on a search in late 009.

the american decision was followed by a european commitment and also the europeans searched in libya in 2011. you saw the europeans take the lead actually for the first time in the history of our alliance. and i have experience during my tenure as secretary general that we have had more political confrontations in the nato council than we had in the past. also followed -- following the new strategic concept in which we declared that any ally can request consultations on any issue of interest. so we have had a lot of consultations on issues where we did not have any intention to intervene as a nato alliance. but we have seen the north atlantic

council as a forum tore a very sensenbrennerive trans-atlantic dialogue. so both when we're speaking about operations and when we are speaking about the trans-atlantic dialogue, i think we have seen a closer cooperation develop during those five years and that's why quite feel pain but i'm comfortable. >> terrific, terrific. i apologize for the questions i was not able to take. i do want to remind those of you that are watching online or through transportation, if you want to join the secretary general in wales and if you are under 35 we are recruiting for nato future leaders. you can get your application in. go to www.atlanticcouncil.org. thank you to your team who is been great to work with. it's a delight to have you at the atlantic council on the eve of the summit. so please join me in congratulating the

secretary general. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] and this morning anders rasmussen discussed ukraine and the upcoming nato summit being held in the united kingdom in september. after that meeting he spoke to reporters in the white house driveway. >> a discussion with the president on ukraine. in the readout from the president's discussion with the president yesterday, it sounded as if the president, other european leaders, are becoming convinced that perhaps additional sanctions may be necessary against russia.

did your discussion get into that area with the president? what exactly was discussed when it comes to ukraine? >> we discussed ukraine. we discussed the dramatically changed security environment in europe, but let me stress that it's not for nato to impose sanctions. that's rather the european union, the united states, g-7, but i have personally no doubt that if russia were to intervene further in ukraine or if if russia continues to destabilize the situation in eastern ukraine, russia will be met by a broader and deeper economic sanctions that will really hurt the russian economy. >> and your sense of the cease-fire and the volatile situation in eastern ukraine right now, where does that

stand right now in nato's eyes? we do appreciate that president shinko has taken a number of initiatives to find a peaceful solution to the crisis in ukraine, including -- including a unilateral cease-fire. armed ly regret that angs didn't respect that cease-fire, but i think the president deserves all support for his efforts to find a peaceful solution. >> on afghanistan, the president spoke with presidential candidate there abdullah last night and essentially warned all parties in afghanistan that if there is election fraud and if there is a further destabilizing situation there around those allegations that the u.s. may pull back financial security,

that may follow nato, i gather, is that correct? >> it is a matter of grave concern to see the allegations of widespread fraud, and we urge both presidential candidates to work constructively with the electoral authorities of afghanistan to find a solution that ensures a credible outcome of the presidential elections, an outcome that truly reflects of the afghan people. it is a prerequisite for our continued presence in afghanistan after 2014 that the bilateral security agreement between afghanistan and the united states as well as the nato security agreement are signed and hopefully they could be signed before the nato summit in wales in september.

do they put that security agreement in jeopardy, you think? >> yeah. if the electoral process drags out and if there is no clarification of this process before the nato summit in september, then of course it's hard to see how the security agreements can be signed before the summit and in that case we would be faced with severe problems as regards planning for a training mission after 2014. thank you. >> ok. thank you. >> the secretary general following his meeting today with president obama around noon today on capitol hill the

senate armed services committee finished up a meeting with defense secretary chuck hagel and general martin dempsey. senators john mccain and claire mccaskill spoke to reporters about what they heard in that closed door meeting. >> classified briefing, so i will not provide any details of that briefing except to say very clearly, there is no strategy for countering the largest enclave of terrorism that -- in the history of the iraq-syria border. they have no strategy nor could they articulate a strategy that could encounter what our intelligence estimates. over time will be a direct threat to the united states of america. >> did they outline any plan at all? >> no, no plan whatsoever.

>> will they change anything about afghanistan? >> i cannot give any details. >> any word on how the assessments are going? >> were you any more or less reassured after the briefing? >> well, it's very complicated. active in iraq . at the same time they're active in syria trying to help assad. and that complicates what we should do and can do, and it's very clear to me the problem in iraq is iraq's government and maliki refusing to acknowledge that he must include all of iraq in the government, and until he is willing to do what is politically necessary, it's going to be a clog. > do you -- did you hear a

strategy? >> i think there is a strategy. if the american people are looking for some simple sound bite it would be irresponsible to give one because it's complicated. as i said, we got iran on different sides, and we're talking about neighbors here. so what we've got to do is make sure we are working with our allies, that we are continuing to appeal to the moderate sunnis who ultimately will reject a kind of government that will cut off your finger for smoking a cigarette. that's what this extreme organization presents. so ultimately their extremism will not help them govern, but i think we have to be and i think the administration is being appropriately cautious and careful that there is not one size fits all in the middle east right now. >> did you have any -- >> also in washington today, the republican national committee site selection

committee chose cleveland to host the party's 2016 presidential convention. they were up against dallas. both cities going into today's final session as strong contenders with loyal advocates. the associated press says the full 168-member r.n.c. is expected to ratify the choice next month. some reaction from the congressional delegation on capitol hill. marcia fudge from cleveland tweeting, i'm helping to welcome the r.n.c. convention to cleveland. it will benefit our economy while highlighting what makes cleveland great. senator rob portman saying, great news for cleveland. an opportunity to show the rebirth of cleveland as one of america's great cities. and john boehner, who represents close to cincinnati says, simply, congratulations, cleveland. u'll find more twitter.com/cspan. in washington yesterday, the white house announced a new initiative on education policy. we'll get more details on what the white house is proposing, part of today's "washington

journal." good morning. guest: good morning, thanks for having me. host: could you give us the essentials of the program? guest: sure. so under this new program the administration unveiled they will be required to summit plans ensuring that students in underperforming schools have access to as many great teachers as students in more advantaged schools. it is actually not all that new. this has been a requirement of the no child left behind act, which was signed way back in 2002. some states have plans on file with the department of education , but many of those have not been updated for years. advocacy groups have found them to be lacking, that states are not following through on their promises. this is an effort to put some

teeth in an older requirement. host: is there any reason for states not updating these plans, as you talked about? guest: the department has not really put the pressure on them to do this. also, it is really just a tough thing to do. it is really hard and they have limited authority to make hiring and placement positions, so they are usually made by local districts. but there is only so much states can really do on this. what i think the secretary and the president are trying to do is start a national dialogue and put a lot of focus on this issue, which sometimes gets swept under the rug. ast: according to the paper, $4 million-plus price tag attached to this. where does the money get spent? guest: it is a really small number, right, in terms of the federal budget, almost a rounding error. it sounds like the department

will use that money to provide technical assistance to states, give them some sort of guidance in this area. presumably they will hire advisors and folks like that or -- for that sort of thing that the department. amount of money and this is a huge problem. in order to get those highflying teachers to go to these underperforming schools, districts have offered h teachers bonuses of $10,000, $20,000. it is unlikely it will come out of that tiny $4.2 million pot. the administration offer specific ideas on how to put teachers in these districts? guest: they haven't really been too specific about what needs to be in these plans. some of the things that have worked in the past ensure that

teachers have access to a really good principle, that they have time to plan and collaborate with each other, and they have a chance to work with other colleagues who really believe in the mission of turning around low performing schools. host: what has been the reactions from teachers unions? guest: generally the reaction has been very supportive. that is because the isn't being too specific about what it wants to see in these plans. they're hoping that they can p withith states to come u equity plans that will include some things that teachers want anyway, some of the things i just mentioned, like more time to collaborate with their peers. klein, tell us why the union wants arne duncan to resign. guest: that is a great question. the secretary has done a lot of things over his tenure that have

been controversial. he has been one of the loudest voices in federal policy calling for teachers to be evaluated based on student outcomes. that is something that states and districts are working their way through. a lot of teachers are skeptical and their job to be on the line if the students don't do well on these standardized tests. host: tell us about initiatives we've heard over the years -- common core, race for the top. how have these done since the administration has highlighted these policies? nott: so common core is actually something that the administration came up with but they have certainly been boosters for it. statesow more than 40 and the district of columbia are using these standards for preparing students for college and careers. some states are beginning to walk away from the standards.

oklahoma and south carolina were the most recent states to ditch them. but most states are sticking with the standards. the question is what will happen to common core as the obama administration, which is been julie before it -- which has been a big cheerleader for it, as their time in office comes to an end. the states that originally got the money still have it. there have been improvements in the states but congress is reticent to give the administration any more money for the program. host: what has been the reaction from arne duncan as far as what the nea wants? guest: he has been pretty dismissive -- not dismissive us in not seeming to care, but like "they are a partner, we have enjoyed working with them." he sort of brushed off the comments. he really downplayed that particular vote. ein withyson kl

"education week >> here on c-span we take you live to the house floor as they gavel in for legislative work. . for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 1528 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 33, h.r. 1528, a bill to amend the controlled substances act, to allow a veterinarian to transport and dispense controlled substances in the usual course of veterinarian practice outside of the registered location. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. pitts, and the gentleman from texas, mr. green, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. pitts: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to

revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials in the record on the bill and i would like to include an exchange of letters between the committee on energy and commerce and the committee on the judiciary. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. pitts: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. pitts: mr. speaker, i rise today in support of h.r. 1528, the veterinary medicine mobility act of 2014, introduced by representative kurt schrader of oregon. this is a commonsense bill that is supported on the veterinary community -- by the veterinary community and will bring clarity to the sometimes conflicting guidance from the drug enforcement administration, the diarra -- d.e.a., relative to the controlled substances ability act and the ability of a licensed veterinarian to transport and dispense

controlled substances in the usual course of veterinary practice outside of the registered location. simply put, the bill allows the veterinarians to legally carry and dispense controlled substances in the field. this bill has a direct impact on my district, home of the university of pennsylvania's school of veterinary medicine. vets are often required to provide ambulatory services in the field. especially in rural areas and for the care of large animals such as crowes or horses -- cows or horses. sometimes it is not feasible for owners to bring the an hallucinate to a hospital or clinic. and -- for an animal to come to a hospital or a clinic. this allows vets to transport and administer and dispense controlled substances outside of their registered location, whether to provide pain management, anesthesia or euthanasia.

pattages a -- passage of this important legislation will allow veterinarians to complete their abilities, to provide care for their animal patients beyond their clinics. this will protect the health and welfare of the nation's animals, ensure public safety and safeguard the nation's food supply. a companion bill passed the senate by unanimous sconet on january 8 of -- consent on january 8 of 2014. h.r. 1528 includes 185 co-sponsors. and is supported by the american veterinary medical association, the saspca, the american animal hospital association, the american association of equine practitioners and a veterinary coalition coordinated by the avma of over 110 organizations. i urge all of my colleagues to support this important bipartisan legislation, reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance

of his time. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. green: mr. speaker, i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. green: mr. speaker, i rise in support of h.r. 1528, the veterinary medicine mobility act. this bipartisan legislation will permit veterinarians to treat animals in the most appropriate setting. this is particularly important during emergencies or working in rural areas. h.r. 152 amends the controlled substance act to allow veterinarians to legally carry and administer controlled substances in states this which they are licensed so they can provide care at the location of the animal patient. the senate unanimously approved a companion bill and i'm pleased the house is voting on this important legislation. veterinarians must be able to legally provide complete veterinary care in a way that best protects animal welfare and public safety. i'd like to thank the sponsors, both representative kurt schrader and ted yoho, and i'd also like to acknowledge the leadership of chairman upton, chairman pitts, ranking member waxman and pallone and the work of the committee staff, in

advancing this bill through the energy and commerce committee. and bringing it to the floor today. i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting h.r. 1528 and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. pitts: mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to the gentleman from florida, mr. yoho, who is a veterinarian himself. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida is recognized for two minutes. mr. yoho: mr. speaker, i rise today in full support of h.r. 1528, the veterinary medicine mobility act. i want to thank my cliges, chairman upton, chairman goodlatte, mr. pitts, for helping bring this important measure to the floor and a special thank you to my friend and fellow vet, kurt schrader, from the state of oregon, who laid the initial groundwork. i also want to thank the senate for unanimously passing this important piece of legislation out of that chamber. i spent over 30 years in the veterinary profession and the passage of this bill will allow for the continued use of drugs necessary to perform the work we do for our four-legged

patients. the animals i've helped on ranches and in the field have no voice of their own and they require a certain degree of service that only veterinarians can provide. vets must have the ability to treat animals onsite and in the field. limit that ability and you hurt a profession, you cripple ranchers acrolings the country and most of all you unfairly restrict life-saving treatments for the animals, the patients who need them the most. imagine what it would be like if the cattle ranchers were required to bring their cattle in or the horse owners to bring their horse to the vet every time they needed services. it directly affects their patient and their livelihood. my friends, take it from me, i practiced veterinary medicine in the field and if anything, we need more vets in the field, not less. this bill simply allows those in our profession to continue to do the life-saving work that we were trained to do on the animals that so badly require it. join me in voting for this commonsense measure.

thank you, mr. speaker, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. green: mr. speaker, i yield to my colleague from oregon, congressman schrader, as much time as he may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oregon is recognized. mr. schrader: thank you, mr. speaker. i appreciate it. this really was a truly bipartisan, bicameral effort, including, as you already heard, impressive coalition ranging from farm bureau to the spca and 50 state veterinary medical associations. it's nice, i think the public should be reminded that while we have great differences in this body on many issues, there are also a lot of issues we agree on. this first six months has been a very productive session for this congress and this particular bill i think is noteworthy. it's a little bit of a shame we're actually here. in the early stages of drug enforcement agency's efforts to control the distribution and abuse of controlled substances,

-type ssued a very blanket of rule that unfortunately scooped up veterinary medicine and animals that we've been able to avoid this issue for many, many years. it's one of those where for the last 100, 150 years, vet nearns have gone out to the farmers and ranchers. nowadays, even going home to home with mobile veterinary clinics, making sure those patients got the care with the appropriate medication that they deserve to be treated humanely. d.e.a. and in its exuberance unfortunately was unwilling to grant a waiver, a commonsense waiver administratively, and forced congressman yoho and myself to go to a statutory change. lots of taxpayer money, lots of time by the committees. but it unfortunately is necessary and the good news is i think for america, common sense does prevail a lot of times in this great congress. we have over 185 co-sponsors of

this legislation. veterinary d.e.a. mobility act, allowing veterinarians simply to do what they've done before which is carry controlled substances safely, to treat, dispense, to protect their patients in the field. i think america would wonder why we're here. i think america's glad we are here. making sure that their pets, their livestock get the care and treatment they need so they can have safe food and fiber and take care of the pets that they live, they love and live with on a daily basis. i'm not going to go into the bill itself. i think mr. pitts did an excellent job about outlining things, as did mr. green. i want to recognize a few folks who have been critical in the role here, in getting this to the floor. first and tore most, my good friend and -- first and foremost, my good friend and colleague, ted yoho from florida, and his right-hand man, larry calhoun, did a job in making sure this was a good bipartisan effort. chairman goodlatte and his staff for the unwavering support throughout the crosess. chairman lucas and ranking member peterson were

invaluable. we had all but four of the members of the agriculture committee sign on. republican, democrat, city, rural, this is a great bill. senators moran and king for their efforts on the senate side. chairman upton, ranking member waxman on energy and commerce committee. and finally, my personal gratitude, very special thank you to dr. ashley morgan at the american veterinary medical association. her tireless efforts through several years worth of time to make sure that this bill actually got to the floor, got the vote that our animal friends actually deserve. and frankly on behalf of all veterinarians in this great country and i yield back the balance of my time. thank you very, very much. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. pitts: i'm prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. green: mr. speaker, we have no other speakers and we're prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. green: i just urge passage

of the bill, mr. speaker, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. pitts: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to ask all of the members to support this commonsense bill that is on behalf of the life and safety of our animal patients and the safety of our food supply. i urge bipartisan support and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 1528 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and, without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 4653, the united states commission on international religious freedom, re-authorization act of 2014, as amended, authored by chairman frank wolf of virginia. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 4653, a bill to re-authorize the united states commission on international religious freedom and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith, and the gentleman from minnesota, mr. peterson, each will control 20 minutes.

the chair recognizes the gentleman from new jersey. mr. smith: thank you very much, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, h.r. 4653 demonstrates, again, introduced by our distinguished frank understand -- friend and colleague, frank wolf, the strong bipartisan support that exists for religious freedom, with nearly an equal number of republican and democrat co-sponsors of the legislation. i believe this makes a powerful statement in a world where we see the rights of religious minorities and conscientious objecters being trampled on in countries where intolerant ideologies, be they of sectarian or secular nature, seek to crush moral and spiritual thought and conscience. . it is filled with examples in country after country around the world. a 27-year-old mother in sudan was imprisoned and faced a death sentence in sudan because under shahrya law she was considered and apostite as a child of a muslim father, even

though the only religion she practiced was christianity. to date she remains unable to leave sudan. anti-semitism pervasive in the middle east have spread like a cancer in europe and surfaced in ukraine with shocking and iolent attacks following the ousting of the former president. in india, religious believers are tortured, even executed for attempting to practice their faith. in china today, there is a pernicious escalating war on believers made worse by the anton brutality of the regime's ubiquitous secret police. with christians in particular subject to what human rights observers have termed genocide, dying by the tens of thousands from starvation and torture in concentration camps holding true to their conscience that

inner most sanctuary of the individual. tragically, countries around the world are a long way of achieving the human rights recognized by article 18 of both universal declaration of human rights and the covenant of political rights. mr. speaker, in 1998 with great legislative skill, commitment and driving passion, chairman frank wolf pushed a somewhat supportive congress but a highly reluctant white house into enacting a significant lahrly important human rights law, the international religious freedom act of 1998. for the first time ever frank wolf's law made the protection and promotion of religious freedom a serious priority in u.s. foreign policy by creating an ambassador at-large for religious freedom, by establishing the office of international religious freedom at the department of state, which among other duties,

compiles the international religious freedom reports on every country in the world and by crafting the independent-minded u.s. commission on international religious freedom, the subject of today's re-authorization. importantly, frank wolf's landmark law also created a system for naming and taking action against country of particular concern or c.p.c.'s. history has shown that when the u.s. elevates religious freedom and that priority is conveyed to countries of particular concern, conditions often change for the better. prisoners of conscience gain their freedom and progress is made in the free or at least a freer exercise of religious liberty. according to the commission, three themes guide commissioners, and there are nine of them -- discussions on priority countries with severe violations of religious freedom. hostility, ponsored

repression. two, ideology and education. and the state's failure to punish religious violations or a sense of impunity. several of these c.p.c. countries that systematically violate religious freedom fall into all three of these categories. mr. speaker, when an administration, be it republican or democrat, demodes or trivialize religious freedom to a talking point, at that, human rights abusing nations construe this as license to harass and exploit persons of faith. since its founding, the international religious freedom commission has 14 special reports covering 76 countries. of these the commission has identified 16 of these as countries that ought to be designated as countries of particular concern. i would also point out that the

commission has acted as a true watchdog, recommending with decisive commentary -- and i read the reports. i know frank wolf reads them and many other members in this chamber. and in their common tears and recommendations -- commentaries and recommendations have recommended twice as many countries as c.p.c.'s that the state -- than the state department has designated as countries of pick concern. and our hope is that the state department will say other issues need to be subordinated and just call it the way it is. if a designation is warranted, then name them a country of particular concern and begin a robust intervention to try to get them to mitigate and hopefully end such egregious practices. this includes the list of eight that are not on the list currently. such nations as vietnam, which is an egregious violator. the commission always calls it like it is and it pulls no punches. i would hope and would add this

that when members travel they ought to look up on the website and read what the country where they're going to visit has said about religious freedom violations. read it, own it and bring that up with the countries you are going to. it is unfortunately that while c.p.c. designations remain, personality penlts are associated with the designations have lapsed. the last designation by the obama administration were in 2011. as two years have passed, the sanctions directly linked to the international religious freedom act sanctions authority have expired. this failure to implement our law on religious freedom sends a deeply troubling message to violators of this fundamental human right. it is thus even more important than ever that we in the congress speak with a clear and loud voice today. 2 1/2 years ago, after passing the strong bipartisan support in the house, re-authorization of the commission did get

bogged down in the senate eventually through, again, the tenacity of chairman wolf, the bill was passed and signed into law. we hope such bogging down and such difficulties will not present themselves this year. mr. speaker, let me also point out in the house there has been tremendous cooperation on both sides of the aisle. this is, as i said at the out set a truly bipartisan piece of legislation and we have had excellent input from the commission itself throughout this process, including testimony from then-chairman dr. robert george of princeton university who told my hearing in -- on may 22 and laid out in long detail and very, i think, precise detail what needs to be done to combat the intolerance that exist today. i would point out paraphernalia heycally that a new chair, happens frequently, about

almost every year, i would point out that members of the religious minority community, muslim, baha'i, christian, jewish spoke out about the work, in countries like pakistan, iran and china, hoping to shine a light on the serious abuses that take place in all three countries. of course, they raised other issues as well. i therefore ask all of our colleagues to join us in supporting this fine bipartisan piece of legislation, sending a very important message to the world that the united states of america values -- and i mean deeply values religious liberty and that it should continue to be a cornerstone of u.s. foreign policy. mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. patterson purn thank you, mr. speaker. i -- mr. peterson: thank you, mr.

speaker. i i yield myself such time as i may consume and i rise in support of h.r. 4653, legislation that re-authorization the u.s. commission on international remember lidgeous freedom. i'd like -- international religious freedom. i'd like to commend chairman wolf along with representative chris smith for their leadership on international religious freedom issues and hard work on this bill. everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. this right includes the freedom to manifest his religion. yet, every day religious communities around the world are subject to escalating violence, persecution and discrimination. in sudan, a woman just faced chilly and was initially sentenced to death. china was banned -- china has band fasting during ramadan. in nigeria, christian and

muslim communities live in fear of the terrorist group boeck boeck. and in iran, the regime continues to persecute communities of the baha'i faith. these and many other examples of religious intolerance around the world are unacceptable and keeping with our values, the united states has the responsibility to speak out against violations of religious freedom wherever they might occur. the u.s. has worked to defend religious freedom ranges from conducting research and publishing reports and analysis for public consumption to offering advice and guidance to lawmakers on religious freedom violations around the world. i believe religious freedom is a cornerstone of a strong democracy, and democracies, especially the united states, have a responsibility to support religious freedom around the world. mr. speaker, i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting h.r. 4653, and i reserve the balance of my time.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. smith: mr. speaker, i yield such time as he may consume to the author of this legislation, again, as i said in my comments, the man that pushed this bill to enactment, the prime author of the original international religious freedom, the co-chair of the lantos human rights commission, frank wolf. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia is recognized. mr. wolf: i thank you, mr. speaker. i'd like to begin by thanking speaker boehner and majority leader cantor and their staff for prioritizing house consideration of this important re-authorization as well as house foreign affairs committee chairman ed royce and congressman chris smith for shepherding this legislation through the committee process. i will say publicly what i've sead many times privately. no person that i have served with in 34 years has done more for human rights and religious freedom than congressman chris

smith. he's my hero. when i look and see the giants that i have served with in the 34 years, and when you go abroad, whether it be in boeck boeck territoryy in nigeria or china where -- territory in nigeria or china where no one has a voice to speak out. i want to thank chris smith. and i want to thank elise smith from my staff. from the start this bill has enjoyed, as mr. smith said, strong bipartisan support. including the co-sponsorship of foreign affairs committee ranking member eliot engel, and i want to thank mr. ingle for his -- mr. engel for his strong support. the broad support for this bill is fitting for an issue so central to america's own grand experiment in self-governs. the protection of religious -- self-governance. the protection of religious freedom, which is often

referred to as america's first freedom. sadly, one need only to pick up the newspaper today to see how religious freedom is under assault globally. the terrorist islamic state of iraq and syria, isis, is gaining territory in iraq, and before our eyes is threatening the very existence of ancient faith communities in the region, including the centuries' old christian communities. tens of thousands of iraqi christians have fled mosul and the surrounding region of what the christian science monitor recently characterized as a cataclysmic restructuring of an area that was home to some of the early yes, sir christians, end of quote. -- earliest christians, end of quote. religious minorities are marginalized and imperiled in egypt and syria. the government of vietnam restrict activities. and religious minorities face governmental and social harassment in pakistan, saudi

arabia and indonesia, countries that we give aid and support hrough that they cannot even vote. these persecuted individuals of these communities look to the u.s., above all others, to champion their cause and to raise their plight with repressive governments. in may i introduced h.r. 4653, the bipartisan legislation before us today, which re-authorizes the u.s. commission on international religious freedom for five years. first in 1998 through the international religious freedom act, it is an independent, bipartisan federal governmental commission that monitors the universal right to freedom of religion or belief abroad. reviews the facts and circumstances of religious freedom violations based on international standards and makes policy recommendations to the president, the secretary of state and congress. with that -- without this commission there would be nobody around to point out what is taking place in these

groups. since its inception, the commission has been an invaluable watchdog for global religious freedom and conditions. the commission has been a voice for the imprisoned baha'i leader, languished and unjustly behind bars in iran. and many baha'is are behind the bars in iran. if it wasn't for the commission, no one would know. the commission has been a voice for the fearful iraqi nun, in the land of her birth. a more biblical activity took place in iraq than any other country of the world other than israel. abraham is from iraq. ezekiel is buried in iraq. jona. without the commission there would be nobody speaking out for the iraqi nun who's fearful for her life and fearful for the future of her church. the commission has been the voice of the buddhist monk, 130 of his fellow tibetans have set themselves