mr. mcgovern: i yield to the gentlelady from california, ms. lofgren, 130ekds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from california is recognized for 130ekds. ms. lofgren: mr. speaker, i'd point out that the legal experts in the country have urged that we not change the anti-slavery law. we do recognize the need for resources to make that law work. i can't help but notice that the republican majority is denying the resources to actually adjudicate these cases in the bill that was before us yesterday. i think it's ironic to say it doesn't work and then say we won't give you the resources to allow you to enforce the law. it's hypocrisy at its worse and i yield back to the gentleman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentleman from oklahoma reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: may i inquire if the gentleman has additional speakers or will give us time? mr. cole: i'm prepared to close if the gentleman is prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts with 1 3/4 minutes remaining.

mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker, i urge all of my colleagues to vote no on this terrible martial law rule. we have no idea what the hell we are going to be voting on. this is a rule that allows them to bring up anything between now and september 5. i'll ask my colleagues to vote no on the previous question and if we defeat the previous question i'll bring up h.r. 15, which is a bipartisan senate-passed comprehensive immigration reform bill. and mr. speaker, mr. speaker, we're talking about kids, poor kids, most of them fleeing terrible violence. i'm ashamed at the insensitivity and the lack of compassion from the other side. america is a better country. let's not lose our humanity in this process. if the united states of america stands for anything, it stands out loud for human rights. we're better than the angry mobs yelling at children. the anger and the nastyness and insensitivity is not the face of america we want to show the

rest of the world. we are better. i urge my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to act like it. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the entleman yields back his time. the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. mr. cole: mr. speaker, i yield myself the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. cole: we've had a very passionate and frankly in many cases compassionate debate. and i want to recognize that quality and many of the speakers and my friends on the other side. i have no doubt about their passion. i frankly have no doubt about their compassion. i know they want to do the right thing. i also want to point out, mr. speaker, that this bill actually is, as my friend from massachusetts suggested, a mechanism to keep us in session and working on the problem. so that we have the ability between now and september 5 to actually act and act quickly. i think that's a very important

thing. it's important, too, to think back about the nature of the problem that we're dealing with. in the last three years, the number of unaccompanied juveniles arriving at our borders has gone from about 6,000 to the estimates i hear this year will be somewhere like 90,000 and may well reach 150,000 within the next year or two. the administration, according to news reports and testimony, was actually warned about this in 2012 and 2013. frankly, they didn't prepare for it. i'm quite certain they didn't anticipate it. they actually submitted a budget this year that called for cuts in many of the areas that we clearly are going to need to deal with this huge and unanticipated, i guess, on their part of influx of unaccompanied juveniles. worth noting for the record, we actually restored a lot of those cuts in the foreign

operations bill that has now cleared the full appropriations committee. glad we did. the administration then when confronted with this crisis which did not anticipate told us this was due to the 2008 sex trafficking law. frankly, i'm somewhat skeptical about that because this influx didn't happen in 2009 or 2010 or 2012. it only begun to be re-- 2011 or 2011. it only begun in 2012. this began with the president's abrogation of immigration law. i think that's probably more likely to be the cause but regardless, the administration pointed to the 2008 law. the president has done that. the secretary of homeland security has done that. so far they've offered no formal solution, although in testimony, the homeland secretary before the senate said he would like the law changed so that people arriving

at our borders are treated the same way as canadians and mexican juveniles. that was his request. not a repeal of the law, but that was at least in testimony his suggestion. and the president has said that regardless the majority of these children, the great majority of these children will eventually be returned home. he sent us a request recently to deal with the crisis in terms of the financial resources that he needs. did not send us a fix, did not send us proper legislative solution, just simply a mechanism for money that would go around or go outside of the ryan-murray budget agreement that we agreed upon. what's been our response? well, first i'd be the first to acknowledge this is a difficult problem to deal with. that's why the administration, i presume, has not offered us a solution. that's why the senate, which

tried to pass one yesterday, gave up and went home. indeed yesterday we weren't able to bring legislation to the floor that would actually address the problem. difference between this body and the other body is this body decided to stay here and continue to work on it and try to come up with a legislative response. that response undoubtedly will include a fix, a tweak, an amendment to the 2008 law. now, if my friends have a better solution, then i would hope the administration or the senate or somebody offers that. so far it's been as if we blame the problem on the 2008 law but we're told you can't change the 2008 law. that position is was intelligentually and politically unable to fix the problem. if it doesn't then we'll suggest one and that's what we

did. we looked -- there's no question, no question additional resources are needed to handle this influx to secure the border, add additional judges, to add additional courtroom facilities to handle enormous backlog so we said, ok, we're not going to give you a 13-month blank check, but we will redirect resources from within the existing budget toward what we agree is a more urgent problem and we'll help you get through this fiscal year and this calendar year. and then let's sit down and talk about what's necessary for fiscal year 2015 and try to do that within the ryan-murray budget agreement. i think that's what we're going to do. so we're willing to work with the administration in these areas. i'd also suggest at the end of the day, the worse thing we can do is go home and not do anything. my friends have suggested -- and i think appropriately so --

that you can't tell the president he's overreaching in one area and then beg him back in another without providing legislative authority and legislative guidance. i think they're absolutely correct in that position. i made that point myself both privately and publicly. but that's what we're going to try and accomplish. hopefully we can accomplish it today. if we do that -- or this weekend -- we will have done our part of the job. the senate then, by the way, could reconvene and do its part of the job. . we can go to conference working with the administration and come up with something. somebody has to do their job and that's what this house and majority is absolutely determined to do. mr. speaker, there's not much more that can be said on a resolution that's only 10 lines long. this resolution is important so that we can consider possible legislation related to the border crisis in a timely fashion. i would urge my colleagues to

support the rule. mr. speaker, i yield back >> the house approved a rule early today that allows them to bring up the border security funding bill later today. that bill has not gone to the rules committee yet. it has not been reported out. we are in a bit of limbo on c-span, waiting for word on when the house will gavel back end. the house rules committee has meet, so we will obviously tell you about that, and show you that. no word so far on when that will happen. we just found out the president will be making a statement at the white house at 2:35 eastern. we had to land take you to the white house briefing, that has been canceled. we will have that live for you here on c-span. we are going to the phones to hear now from you on this,

republicans call join the conversation on facebook, or twitter. this one says -- witchhunts are preferable to the clown act by house gop on the floor. on that first item, he's talking about the tuner $25 million approved by the senate today for the israeli missile defense system, iron doma. we are hearing word that the house too is likely to take that up this afternoon. that was approved by the senate unanimously earlier today.

to let you know where we are, in terms of the legislation -- the border security legislation, things really haven't changed in the last couple of hours. d to emma fortalke preview. she writes this morning about the latest news on the border security bill. your reporting indicates that the house is going to go back to this dual track method of yesterday. what are you hearing after the gop conference this morning? >> the current plan right now, and this remains in flux, would be yes, a dual track plan. the first vote would be on the border funding appropriations bill. -- $659$59 million million, plus an additional $35 million to bolster the president -- the presence of border

patrol. make it easier for children apprehended by themselves at the us-mexico border to deport themselves back to their own home countries. contingent upon passing that bill, republicans would get a chance to vote to stop the expansion of the 2012 executive daca, known as dr., -- which allows children brought in undocumented as children some amnesty. they were concerned that ling was was not strong enough, it was quietly weakened. the republican support was not there. who were holdouts before are coming out of the meeting this morning saying they are ready to go. but everything could change. whipping, we are

still standing by. columns -- the headline is gop plan to address border crisis remains in flux. you point out that the two measures pointing out of that gop conference tacked more to the right than yesterday's bills. is that what house republicans leadership helping had to do to get them to that 218 or more number? >> it is. the challenge for some members is that there is very little they can give them to make them feel comfortable. they feel the president can't be trusted to enforce the law, no matter what is on the books. they feel the senate will go to conference on a piece of legislation, and make it less conservative. left thanr to the they want, then jam the money goes back to the house. that fear has somewhat dissipated. the senate just yesterday. it will not be voting on it this

month. they come back in september. focus then will really look to a continuing resolution to avoid another government shutdown at the end of september, which would be disastrous for the republicans going into the midterms in november. whatever the house is able to pass today, it will mostly be them putting their marker down, making a statement. no one wanted to go home yesterday without having done something. telling their constituents that they were able to do something. right now, the strategy is to attack as far to the right is is going to take to get certain members on board. hopefully, convince the members that are inclined to do nothing, to do something. >> lastly, without extra money they are reporting for the national guard, boosting that total package to close to $700 million, our members ok with that extra money? have they talked about how

they're going to pay for that? >> it will continue to offset at the same way we have seen the other offsets. the original amount, unused funds from prior year appropriation bills goes into a sort of coffer. that money that hasn't been used, is going to go towards those offsets. it is a little hard to understand, it is a little arcane. the answer is, yes, it is fully offset. members are ok with it. report $7ested billion. this is far less -- $3.7 billion. this is far less than he requested. it is far less than they expected to move forward on before they did not receive the right amount of votes. >> the latest on the house border security spending bill from cq roll call. you can follow retweets -- her

tweets on twitter. since our conversation this morning with emma, things that move forward just a bit. it's we hear from politico regarding the rules theory meeting. we understand it will be at 3:15 p.m. eastern. we'll have live coverage coming up for you and about 20 minutes. the president making a statement at the white house. we'll go there live. in the meantime, let's go to your calls. lagrange, georgia. larry is our democrats line. can you hear me? host: yes, go ahead. ago, it wasyears actually told these republicans -- itr. obama was indeed

was told indeed that he was the messiah. i don't understand why these republicans cannot understand -- why can't they accept this man as the messiah? it was said he was here to save us. i don't understand why religions understand that? guest: margaret on her public in line. caller: i have been watching this on c-span. embarrassed to be a republican. attending two not children who are helpless and anna defend themselves. -- cannot defend themselves. why would we not put political sides aside, and take care of children? that is a christian value.

i am really disappointed that the republican party is not rasping. host: we are asking your thoughts on border security funding bills. the effort yesterday by the house failed, they withdrew that bill from the floor after debate on the bill. they didn't allow a vote on that $659 million measure. the president requested $3.7 billion. senate democrats came up with a plan that was less, plus money for fighting wildfires and the iron dome defense system. the house measure yesterday at $659 million. let's go to phoenix, this is scott on our independence line -- independents line. caller: is this me? host: yes, it is you. caller: i lived in california my

whole life. i have been in arizona for two years. border control is necessary. i don't care who these kids are. i really don't care. pretty much -- [laughter] humanitarian -- we have been dealing with everybody's issues. for the last 20 years of my life. maria is next out of west palm beach, florida. let's see, where to start. the house of representatives, they represent us, the american people. it is not a christian value, it is a human value. to address children in turmoil, in need, in danger.

i'm not saying all of these children are refugees, but i'm saying a good percentage of them are. i think the house of representatives on both sides -- somebody has to step up and reach a compromise. be a leader. this is embarrassing, humiliating, and the world is watching us. i'm ashamed of them. host: we are hearing a rules committee meeting in the house, and about one hour. 3:15 p.m. eastern. the president coming up that you: 35 -- making a statement. we will have that statement for you live here in about 15 minutes. houseo the potential measure that may be coming up before the rules committee this afternoon. emma ends republicans leaving their meeting this morning.

the latest plan will still require the house to vote on the border funding bill. before being allowed to vote on language to stop the expansion of the deferred action for travel -- childhood arrivals. daca order, that's the dreamers -- the children of immigrants who entered the u.s. illegally. the pasadena, california. caller: i appreciate c-span for airing this, and allowing people to voice their concerns about the border crisis. i think the general crisis has to be asked whether or not we are nation of laws, and if our sovereignty is to be overrun by these people coming from anywhere else in the world? for american people talk about compassion, we could search the globe to look for children that are suffering. does this one place, the united

states, have the money and the capacity to rid every child of any pain they are suffering? this is wrong for the american people, and one last comment i wanted to make with regard to the black caucus -- i met him at -- i'm a black african american, and all the members to give voice to concerns for hispanic causes, and nothing for the black community. this is an absolute outrage, and they should all join the hispanic caucus. each and every one of them. host: members of that caucus talk to reporters an hour ago or so, you will find that news conference on www.c-span.org. he says join the hispanic caucus, house democrats .

rep is that of mcgovern -- humidity is public safety not $7,000 for illegal alien child taxpayers money. potus needs to an invite. boehner, americans approve of do nothing house of representatives. sherry, florida. caller: language to be a propaganda tool. most of these immigrants are portrayed as children. only 17% are children. 83% are young men, teenagers, who say they are below the age of 18. but they have offered no proof. i'm calling about an associated press survey. the associated press is not a conservative voice. i think most people would consider it liberal. they show disrespect for anyone.

they not use the word illegal or immigrant. this poll which was taken july 24 through july 26, 89% of the american people think immigration is the most important issue in the united states right now. americans think that what is happening on the border is a direct threat to them, and their families. blame president obama, and the democrats. that everyone should be deported, immediately. that we have no moral obligation to take care of people from other nations, when we have so many in this nation from all over the world, if you need help. host: let me ask you something. even the speaker has called this a humanitarian crisis on the borders. it seems like common line which between democrats and

republicans. what is the best way for the u.s. to react or respond to this humanitarian crisis on the border? caller: i live in florida. we have a huge cruise industry. tohusband and i have been honduras 12 times. we have taken the ferry and to see the mayan ruins. we have been in guatemala. you have the banana coast. you have cruise ships leaving from new orleans, you have cruise ships leaving from -- where are they headed? central america. you have 40 million tourists a go from here in the northern hemisphere, and then you have people from the southern hemisphere. if i had put you on a ship, and gave you video camera, and send you there, would you see? you was a very sparsely populated areas. you would see a lot of tropical growth. most of the gang members are in el salvador. and it did not start in el salvador. it started in los angeles. and then it went back there. i heard a congressman stated in

honduras, they cut off the heads of people and put them on cars and drove around. i'm sitting here thinking -- i feel safer in a private cab on the island there than i do in atlanta, georgia. have you ever heard of the tourist being killed? host: sherry, thank you for your comments. we are waiting to hear from the president. he is supposed to make a statement at 2:35 eastern. we have a house rules committee meeting at 3:15 eastern. that will be live here on c-span. they have to meet so they can create the rule for the debate on the border legislation that is due to come up on the house floor later. they are not done by any stretch. for theected to be off next five weeks, until september 8. clyde is in lancaster, pennsylvania. a, lancaster,

california. go ahead. i'm just trying to figure out what it is the democrats have against mexicans? 2008 billefending the as strongly as they can. that bill specifically says if you are canadian kid, or a mexican kid, and you come across the border, and they pick you up -- you go directly back. judicial nothing. every other country in the world, the child comes across the border, he is sent around until he get a court hearing date. i don't understand why the democrats don't like mexican children? host: politico reported earlier today that multiple sources were saying that leadership as will propose language offered by john carter of taxes, and alabama, to tighten the 2008 law that made it harder to poor children from

countries other than then canada and mexico. republicans will also include languages meant to send the national money -- the national guard money. about $35 million. chicago next, derek. welcome. caller: thank you for having me. i am really embarrassed to call myself a democrat. i am disappointed in president obama. originally asking for $3.7 billion -- come on. we had to on our children here at home. before we can go international. weekend, 84 people shot. 15 killed. and you mean to tell me we don't have a crisis in the united states? let's focus on our children home. and then let's focus on the children abroad. i'm just really disappointed in president obama in the democrats.

so much about protecting the children. we have to make sure they aren't being killed or raped. well, look at what is going on right here in urban america. for god sake, we call chicago chiraq. to send $3.7 billion just to take care of this border crisis, it's completely ridiculous. i have never been embarrassed to call myself a democrat up till now. the democrats need to stop. resident obama needs to work with democrats and republicans in order to get this thing done. i'm just really disgusted right now. host: that's derek from chicago. in about five minutes we are scheduled to hear president obama getting a statement at the white house. mary, good afternoon. caller: good afternoon. host: what do you think of the situation with the border bill in the house? caller: thank you for c-span.

i, is regarding the democrats had stood there together. frommment is, hatemongers chicago. the crime capital. how dare he not begin clash -- english, so show his financials, along with all of the democrats, do show what you have done to help your own ethnic group in this country. when you have given until you no longer can pay your bills, do not ask america to do more. things for your call. the president and about five minutes. in about 45 minutes, the house rules committee meeting to consider the next step in the emergency border security funding. about $700 million as a came out of the house republican conference this morning. and we are posting the bill --

we're posting those bills at c-span.org. a quick word on the dreamer's act, the delayed action on deportations, a member of nbc says the new republican language appears to step the ability to newly authorize referred action for anyone after july 30. so republicans trying to tighten up some of the language on the executive order the president made back in 2012. south carolina, democrats line. caller: yes, hi. want to talk about president obama, but like you said, he cannot do this alone. was compromise, maybe things would work better. [indiscernible] these are young kids. the bible says do not suffer them. have some heart.

they need help. yes, we do need help in america also. anyway, get yourselves together. >> west virginia, republican line. afternoon, and thanks for c-span. i have a comment. is there anyway that the democrats in the house do not realize that they are being told to shut up and sit down? i mean, it is like they do not get it that they are being told -- like their republican colleagues in the senate, the same thing, and i agree wholeheartedly with what the representative said, that we need to analyze this, and we need to stop and slow down, take all of the emotion off the table, and literally and figuratively figure out a way to do this in the best possible way. host: do you think the best possible way here is to do this today? is there a necessity, do you

think, for them to do this on what should be the last day before their august recess? caller: if there would be a way for them to cut into their august recess and if the democrats really want to show that they are interested in the health and welfare of these children, then they should be able to, in a willing way, come in and cut their august recess short and get down and roll up their sleeves and do the work. host: the house is in this situation because they pulled the bill yesterday am of the six under 59 million dollar measure -- the $659 million measure at that time, for border security funding through the end of september of this year. it is a far cry from it the senate measure is, which is 2.7 billion dollars. there is a measure on top of that it includes money for fighting the wildfires out west providingg with

additional money for israel for the iron dome missile defense program. earlier today in the senate, they approved that $200.5 million, and it is possible but the house will also take up that measure in some form this afternoon before they are done. alabama, democrat -- independents line. this is george. yes, i was watching c-span this morning, watching the democrats and republicans. what i cannot understand was the republicans were making a lot of sins. the democrats are just wanting to jump into a whole not knowing where the bottom is at. they make halfway sense of this and know what is going on before they rush in to do anything, and they need to do the responsible thing. and the hispanic caucus on there, giving the people trying to protect their own

little towns crap over this. they need to go to mexico and these other towns. i mean, they are here. we have done something for them. -- a goodcould country. they need to go to mexico or guatemala or honduras, wherever they are coming from. host: next up, patricia in georgia. thank you for taking my call. i think a big problem is the language. these are not refugees. refugees are supposed to be case. cases case per that is the problem. i think the media is giving everybody the impression that this is nothing but a bunch of poor little children coming over when border patrol has already through 20%t 12% are children. the rest are adults. and they continuously report this is 50,000 children. peopleere over 220,000

that came across just in the last six months, but nobody is reporting that. i think there is a big problem with the language. as well, border patrol is reporting that over 600,000 crimes of been committed in the last five years by illegal aliens. these are not refugees. until it is proven case by case, we cannot refer to them as refugees. they need to be deported. from their own country, they need to apply for asylum if that is the case. everybody knows that they were coached, trained by coyotes who are making the money to bring them here to say what they need to stay in order -- with a need to say in order to stay in this country. the democrats are very off-base. i do not think any of them have been to the border. some of the republicans, especially from texas, have seen the border. they have seen who they are. they see that they are 17 year

old children, not five-year-olds and six-year-olds. the augusttedly over recess, there will be a number of congressional bipartisan delegations going down to the -mexico border. we are waiting to hear from president obama, scheduled to make a statement to the press. he is also likely to take some questions. we will continue to take your calls until the president comes out. following that at 3:15 eastern, we will take you live to the rules committee in the house. louisiana, this is charles. caller: hello, how are you doing. of hit ont to kind some things i heard from c-span this morning, a lot i have heard other people talk about. i am a registered democrat. i listen to these democratic people get up there, and all they spoke about was the children, the children. criminalre is a

element coming across, and it is not a good thing. we just need to get this under control. there is a legal way to come into the united states. people have done it for years, and we need to get back to that. they need to be deported, and then we can work on it from there. i think it is a crying shame the way the democrats are running this country into the ground, along with president obama. it is a shame. when i go to the polling place in november, i cannot vote democrat with a good heart. texas,ommy in el dorado, independent line. yes, i have been watching c-span also, and the polls are saying american .amilies do not want this

president obama will not even go to the border to check this out. yes, the democrats are sitting here saying that we want to do this and do that, and it is all about the children. i have a question for nancy pelosi and all her democrats. what are they going to do to end the unmitigated slaughter of innocent children because they will not pass a bill to deal with abortions? texas?here is alvarado, >> about 30 miles south of fort worth. tot: a friend of mine went dallas-fort worth a couple weeks ago and met with governor perry -- the president went to dallas-fort worth a couple weeks ago and met with governor perry. do you think you should have gone to the border? >> absolutely. our governor here in texas has done the right thing.

he is sending troops to the national guard down to the border to alleviate the situation. .e need to take care of this the american people do not want this to go on like it is. and president obama need to do something here. the republicans need to do something at least two alleviate the situation and get it back under control. host: let's hear from a democrat. , i want tost of all thank you for c-span. it is wonderful, although i get so upset. host: we do not want you to get too upset, but i guess you are upset over the issue. caller: yes, yes, not at c-span. believe what it just heard from the previous callers.

are they really americans? i have difficulty believing that. the major problem in this bentry right now seems to that some americans have some awful attitudes. these are children coming over the border. are wildfires that need to be addressed. we do have to support our allies. what in the world is wrong with americans these days? ambe it is not new, but i praying and hoping and even a can come that we together as americans and not -- whew, spew off this hatred. host: we do not want you to get too upset, but thanks for

calling. san jose, california, republican line, go ahead. yeah, i just, wanted to comment -- i am a republican, and i think they should definitely come together and get this resolved. i would like to point out that when democrats had control of the house, they certainly did not do much to get this resolved. obama'sflecting back on chief of staff, telling him never let a crisis go on wasted. this administration has gone from one crisis to the next. every time it comes to a vote, it is about a crisis. it is a serious situation, sending does need to be done, -- they nancy policy will just have to vote on it, yes, and agree what is in it afterwards. host: democrats called on the

house to bring up the senate legislation, the house version of the senate immigration bill which passed a year or go or more in the senate. we have a call on our republican line. caller: yes, hi. my only concern is that the house and the senate need to get it together, please. do not leave without fixing everything. especially the border. it belongs to us and needs to be secure. host: the rules committee meeting in about half an hour, c-span is waiting to take you live to the white house for president obama. the senate has been in today for we understand that the senate will return tuesday. no votes, but they will be around to act on legislation if need be.

they did earlier today in the senate approved the iron dump money, $225 million to support the antimissile defense system for israel -- the iron dome money. houston, hello. know, harry reid said that the border is secure, and we have mexican drug cartels now in 200 american cities. we have drugs coming in by unbelievable amounts. and this man declared that the border is secure. democrats do not want a border. they want to do away with the border. they want to make honduras, guatemala, and the united states all one country, i guess. border fence in 2006.

they call it martial law. they are hysterical. they say they are going to solve the problem, but they manipulate people. it is all about emotions. they have to use common sense. it is all about emotions. the children, the children. we have half a million children in this country who -- host: here comes the president now. >> good afternoon, everybody. happy friday. i thought i would take some questions. first, let me say a few words about the economy. this morning we learned that our economy created over 200,000 new jobs in july. that is on top of about 300,000 new jobs in june. so we are now in a six-month 200,000 newat least jobs each month. that is the first time that has happened since 1997. over the past year, we have added more jobs than any year

since 2006. and all told, our businesses have created 9.9 million new jobs over the past 53 months. that is the longest streak of private sector job creation in our history. and as we saw on wednesday, the economy grew at a strong pace in the spring. companies are investing. consumers are spending. american manufacturing them allgy, technology, autos, of them. thanks to the decisions we have made and the resilience of the american people, we have recovered faster and come farther from the recession than almost any other advanced country on earth. so the good news is the economy, clearly, is getting stronger. things are getting better. our engines are raising a little bit louder. and the decisions that we make right now can sustain and keep that growth and momentum going. there are ay,

series of steps we could be taking to maintain momentum and perhaps even accelerate it. there are steps we could be taking that would result in more job growth, higher wages, higher incomes, more relief for , and solass families far, at least, in congress, we have not seen them willing or able to take those steps. i have been pushing for commonsense ideas like rebuilding our infrastructure in ways that are sustained over many years and support millions of good jobs and help businesses compete. i have been advocating on behalf of raising the minimum wage, making it easier for working folks to pay off their student loans. fair pay, paid leave. all these policies have two things in common. all of them would help working families feel more stable and secure, and all of them so far have been blocked or ignored by

republicans in congress. that is why my administration keeps taking whatever actions we can take on our own to help working families. the congress was able to pass legislation to strengthen the v.a., and i want to thank the chairman and raking members who were involved in that. it is good that congress was able to at least fund transportation projects for a few more months before leaving town. although it falls far short of the cut of infrastructure effort that we need that would actually accelerate the economy. thefor the most part, big-ticket items, the things that would really make a difference in the lives of middle-class families, those things just are not getting done. just take a recent example, immigration. ishave all agreed that there a problem that needs to be solved in a portion of our southern border. and we even agree on most of the solutions.

but instead of working together, instead of focusing on the 80% where there is agreement between democrats and republicans, between the administration and asgress, house republicans we speak are trying to pass the most extreme and unworkable versions of a bill that they already know is going nowhere. they cannot pass the senate, and if it were to pass this in a, i would veto it. they know it. they are not even trying to actually solve the problem. this is a message bill that they cannot quite pull off yesterday, so they made it a little more extreme so maybe they can has it today. just so they can check a box before they leave town for a month. this is on an issue they all insisted had to be a top priority. so efforts administratively far have helped to slow the tide of child migrants trying to come to our country. but without additional resources and help from congress, we're just not going to have the

resources we need to fully solve the problem. while their vacation, i am going to have to make some tough choices to meet the challenge. with or without congress. and yesterday, even though they had been sitting on a bipartisan immigration bill for over a year , house republicans suggested i had a cook to actually pass a bill that i can find, that i actually should go to solve act on my own the problem. keep in mind that just a few days earlier, they voted to sue me for acting on my own, and then when it has a statement suggesting i should act on my own because they cannot pass the bill. collaboration has not gotten has notso immigration gotten done. a student at low bill that would help those with student loan debt to consolidate and

refinance at lower rates, that did not pass. the transportation bill that they did pass just gets us through the spring when we should be planning years in advance. states and businesses are raising minimum wage for their workers because this congress is failing to do so. even basic things like approving career diplomats for critical ambassadorial posts are not getting done. last night for purely political reasons, senate republicans, for a certain amount of time, blocked our new ambassador to russia and raised such an uproar that finally they went ahead and left our russian abbasid or -- we aredor at a time when dealing with a crisis every day in ukraine. they are still blocking our ambassador to sierra leone where there is currently an ebola outbreak. they are blocking our ambassador to guatemala, even as they

demand that we do more to stop the flow of unaccompanied children from guatemala. there are a lot of things that we could be arguing about on policy. that is what we should be doing as a democracy, but we should not be having an argument about placing career diplomats with a partisan support -- with bipartisan support in countries around the world where we have to have a presence. bottom line is this, we have come a long way over the last five and a half years. our challenges are nowhere near as haunting as they were when i first came into office. as daunting as they were when it first came into office. but we need a strong and focused effort on the part of all of us to keep moving the country forward and to focus on their concerns. and the fact is i'm a we could be much further along and we could be doing even better and the economy could be even stronger, and more jobs could be created if congress were doing the job that the people sent them here to do.

and i will not stop from trying to work with both parties to get things moving faster or middle-class families and those trying to get into the middle class. when congress returns next month, my hope is that instead of simply trying to cast partisan message bills on party lines that do not actually solve problems, they are going to be willing to come together to at least focus on some key areas where there is broad agreement. that we have had to overcome, our congress should stop standing in the way of our country's success. with that, let me take a couple of questions. i will start with roberta of readers. >> i want to ask about the situation in the middle east. why do you think israel should embrace a cease-fire in gaza when one of its soldiers ?ppeared to have been abducted

have you seen israel on your calls? >> first of all, i think it is havetant to note that we and i have unequivocally and thed hamas palestinian factions that were responsible for killing two araeli soldiers and abducting third almost minutes after a cease-fire had been an announced. condemned them, as well. and i want to make sure that they are listening and if they are serious about trying to resolve the situation, that soldier needs to be unconditionally released as soon as possible. i have been very clear throughout this crisis that

israel has a right to defend itself. no country can tolerate missiles raining down on its cities and people having to rush to bomb shelters every 20 minutes or half hour. no country can or would tolerate tunnels being dug under their land that can be used to launch terrorist attacks. not only have we been supportive of israel in its right to defend itself, but in very concrete terms, for example, in support for the iron dome program that has intercepted rockets that are firing down on israeli cities, we have been trying to cooperate as much as we can to make sure is able to protect its citizens. at these same time, we have also been clear that innocent civilians in gaza caught in the weigh on oure to

conscience, and we have to do more to protect them. a cease-fire was one way in ,hich we could stop the killing to step back and to try to resolve some of the underlying issues that had been building up over quite some time. 22-hourdmitted to that cease-fire, and it was violent. trying to put that back together is going to be challenging, but we will continue to make those efforts. let me take this opportunity, by the way, to give secretary john kerry credit. he has been persistent and has worked very hard. he has endured really a fair ,riticism on many occasions simply to try to get to the point where the killing stops and the underlying issues about also thesecurity, but

concerns of palestinians in gaza , can be addressed. we are going to keep working towards that. it is going to take some time. i think it is going to be very hard to put a cease-fire back if israelis and the international community cannot feel confident that hamas can follow through on a cease-fire commitment. and it is not particularly relevant whether a particular leader and hamas ordered the subduction. the point is that when they sign on to a cease-fire, they're claiming to speak for all the palestinian factions. it they do not have control of , and just moments after a cease-fire is signed you have israeli soldiers being killed and captured, then it is hard for the israelis to feel confident that a cease-fire can

actually be honored. i am in costa consultation with prime minister netanyahu -- i am in constant constipation with prime minister netanyahu. we have constant communication with the israeli military. i want to see everything possible done to make sure that palestinian civilians are not being killed, and it is heartbreaking to see what is happening there. i think many of us recognize the dilemma we have. on the one hand, israel has a right to defend itself, and it has got to be able to get at those rockets and this tunnel networks. on the other hand, because of the incredibly irresponsible actions on the part of hamas to often times house these rocket launches right in the middle of we endn neighborhoods,

up seeing people who had nothing to do with these rockets being hurt. part of the reason why we have been pushing so hard for a cease-fire is precisely because israel'sd to reconcile legitimate needs to defend withf with our concern those civilians, and if we can pause the fighting, then it is possible that we may be able to arrive at a formula that spares israel's also ensures security. but it is difficult, and i do not think we should pretend otherwise. >> president, like that cease-fire, you have called for diplomatic solutions not only in israel and gaza, but also in , to very little

effect so far. has america lost its influence in the world? have you lost yours? common theme is a that folks bring up. apparently, people have america, as the most powerful country on earth, still does not control everything around the world. so our diplomatic efforts often take time. progress andll see then step backwards. that has been true in the middle east. that has been true in europe and in asia. that is the nature of world affairs. it is not neat, and it is not smooth. but if you look at, for example, ukraine, we have made progress in delivering on what we said we

would do. putinnot control how mr. thinks, but what we can do is say to mr. putin, if you continue on the path of arming armamentss with heavy that evidence suggests may have resulted in 300 innocent people and that filing its law and undermines the integrity and sovereignty of are going to you face consequences that will hurt your country. there was a lot of skepticism about our ability to coordinate with europeans for a strong series of sanctions, and each time we have done what we said we would do, including this week when we put in place sanctions that had an impact on key

sectors of the russian economy. their energy, their defense, their financial systems. it has not resolved the problem yet. i spoke to mr. putin this morning and indicated to him, just as we will do what we say we will do in terms of sections, we will also do what we say we will do in order to resolve this issue diplomatically if he takes a different position, if he respects and honors the right of ukrainians to determine their own destiny, then it is possible to make sure that russian arerests are dressed -- addressed that are legitimate and that ukrainians are able to make their own decisions. and we can resolve this conflict and end some of the bloodshed. but the point is though that if you look at the 20th century and the early part of this century, there were a lot of conflicts that america did not resolved. that has always been true. that does not mean we stop

trying. and it is not a measure of american influence on any given day or at any given moment. there are conflicts around the world that are difficult. northern ireland raged for a very long time until some thing finally broken the parties decided that it was not worth killing each other. the palestinian-israeli conflict has been going on even longer than you have been reporting. [laughter] you know, and i do not think at there is a suggestion that america did not have influence just because we were not able to finalize an israeli-palestinian peace deal. you will recall that in situations like kosovo and bosnia, they raged on for quite some time, and there was a lot more death and bloodshed than there has been so far in the

, before itituation ultimately did get results. so manyognize with different issues popping up around the world, sometimes it may seem as if this is an aberration or it is unusual, but the truth of the matter is that there is a big world out there, and as indispensable as we are to try to lead it, there is still going to be tragedies out there and conflicts, and our job is to make sure that we continue to project what is right, what is just, and that we are building coalitions of like-minded countries and partners in order to advance not interests,urse and but the interests of the world as a whole. >> do you think you could have done more? >> on which one? what any of them. , the nature of

being president is that you are whats asking yourself, more can you do? but with respect to, let's say, the israeli-palestinian issue, this administration invested an enormous amount to try to bring the parties together around a aamework for peace and two-state solution. john kerry invested an enormous .mount of time in the end, it is up to the two parties to make a decision. we can lead them to resolve some of the technical issues and show them a pass, but they have got to want it. with respect to ukraine, i think that we have done everything that we can to support the ukrainian government and to russia from moving further into ukraine.

but short of going to war, there are going to be some constraints in terms of what we can do if president putin and russia are ignoring what should be their long-term interests. right now what we have done is impose sufficient costs on russia that, objectively speaking, they should, president putin should want to resolve this diplomatically and get these sanctions lifted and get their economy growing again. sometimes people do not always act rationally, and they do not always act based on their medium or long-term interests. but we just have to stay at it. president, republicans point to some of your executive orders as reason they say they cannot

trust you to implement legislation as they pass. even if you do not buy that argument, do you hold yourself totally blameless in the inability to reach agreement with the republican-led house? >> you know, let's just take the recent example of immigration -- a bipartisan bill passed out of by notate, cosponsored just democrats but some very conservative republicans who recognize that the system and if, ins broken fact, we put more resources on the border, provide a path with which those undocumented workers who have been living here for a long time and may have ties here are coming out of the shadows, paying their taxes, paying the fine, learning english, if we fix the legal immigration system

so it is more efficient, if we are attracting young people who may have studied here to stay here and create jobs here, that all is going to begin at for the economy and will reduce the deficit. forestalled some of the problems we are seeing now in the rio grande valley with these unaccompanied children. so we have a bipartisan bill, bipartisan agreement supported by everybody from labor to the evangelical community, law enforcement. so the argument is not between me and the house republicans. it is between the house republicans and senate republicans. and house republicans and the business community.

and house republicans and the evangelical community. people theye of the seem to disagree with on this issue. comprehensivethe bill. so now we have a short-term crisis with respect to the rio grande valley. they say we need more resources, we need tougher border security in this area where these unaccompanied children are showing up. we agree full zip so we put forward a supplemental to give funding toources and do exactly what they say we should be doing, and they cannot pass the bill. they cannot even pass their own version of the bill. so that is not a disagreement between me and the house republicans, that is a disagreement between house and houses

republicans. the point is that on a range of these issues, whether it is tax reform, whether it is reducing the deficit, whether it is rebuilding our infrastructure, we have consistently put forward in previous years and previous administrations would not have been considered radical or left wing. they would have been considered pretty sensible, mainstream, approaches to solving problems. i include under that, by the way, the affordable care act. that is a whole another conversation. and in circumstances where even , plainommon sense

vanilla legislation cannot pass because house republicans compromise somehow a of their principles are giving obama a victory, then we have got to take action. otherwise we are not going to be making progress on the things that the american people care about. supplemental -- >> we do not have enough resources. we have already been very clear. we have run out of money. and we're going to have to reallocate resources in order to just make sure that some of the basic functions that have to take place down there, whether it is making sure that these children are properly housed or making sure that we have got enough immigration judges to , that thoser cases things get done. we are going to have to

reallocate some resources. thathe broader point is is, in fact, house republicans are concerned about me acting independently of congress, despite the fact that i have taken fewer executive actions than my republican predecessor for my democratic predecessor before that or the republican predecessor before that, then the easiest way to solve it is to pass legislation. done.ings -- thesupple mental supplemental, we agreed on 80% of the issues. there were 20% of the issues that perhaps there were disagreements between democrats and republicans. as i said to one rep public and colleague that i was briefing about some national security issues, why wouldn't we just go ahead and pass the 80% we agree and tried to work to resolve

the differences on the other 20%? why wouldn't we do that? he did not really have a good answer for it, so there is no doubt that i can always do making including additional calls to speaker having more conversations with some of the house republican leadership, but in the end, the challenge i have right now is that they are not even on what they say their priorities are. and they are not able to work and compromise, even with senate republicans, on certain issues. and they consider what has been

traditionally republican-supported initiatives , they consider those as somehow of the cause. take for example the export-import deal. this is an interesting thing that has happened. this is a program in which we toped to provide financing sell american goods and products around the world. every country does this. i is traditionally championed republicans. for some reason right now, the house republicans have decided ,hat we should not do this which means that when american companies go overseas and are trying to close a sale on some oring planes, for example,

some other american product that has all kinds of subcontractors behind it and is creating all kinds of jobs and all sorts of small businesses depend on that ise, that american company going up against a german company or a chinese company, and the chinese and the german company are providing financing and the american company is not, we may leave that sale. somethinghat become that republicans oppose? it would be like me having a car dealership for ford and the toyota dealership offers somebody financing and i do not. and we lose business will lose jobs if we do not pass it. some big there are issues where i understand why we have differences.

you know, republicans want to maintain some corporate loopholes i think need to be closed because i think we should be giving tax breaks to families that are struggling with child save for aing to college education. on health care, obviously, their view is that we should not be care,g folks get health even though it is through the private marketplace. my view is that a country as wealthy as ours, we can afford to make sure that everybody has access to affordable care. legitimate policy arguments. but getting our ambassadors confirmed, career diplomats, not , making surees that we pass legislation to

strengthen our borders and put more folks down there, those should not be controversial. you would be hard-pressed to find an example of where i would not welcome some reasonable efforts to actually get a bill passed out of congress that i could sign. last question. >> thank you. you made the point that in certain difficult conflicts in the past, there is a point where they get tired of the bloodshed. do you think we are actually far from that point right now, and is it realistic to try to broker a cease-fire right now when there are still tunnel operations? >> keep in mind that the cease-fire that had been agreed to would have given israel the capability to continue to dismantle these tunnel networks, but the israelis can dismantle

these tunnel networks without going into major population centers and gaza. so i think the israelis are entirely right that these tunnel networks need to be dismantled. there is a way of doing that while still reducing the bloodshed. right that in past conflicts, sometimes people have costs. deeply the anybody who has been watching , i wouldhese images like to think they should recognize the costs. you have children who are getting killed. defenseless who are getting killed. you have israelis whose lives are disrupted constantly.

and they are living in fear. those are costs that are avoidable if we are able to get a cease-fire that preserves israel's ability to defend its self and gives it the capacity to have an assurance that they are not going to be constantly threatened by rocket fire in the future. and conversely, an agreement that recognizes the palestinian's need to be up to and the average palestinian's capacity to live a decent life. but it is hard. it is going to be hard to get it. i think that there is a lot of anger and there is a lot of despair, and that is a volatile mix. but we have to keep trying, and

it is -- bill asked earlier about american leadership. part of the reason why america remains indispensable, part of the essential ingredient in american leadership, is that we are willing to plunge in and try wherever countries do not bothered -- where other countries do not bother trying. the fact of the matter is that in all these crises that have been mentioned, there may be some tangential risks to the united states. in some cases, as in iraq and isis, those are dangers that have to be addressed right now, and we have to take them very seriously. but for the most part, these are not, you know, the rockets are not being fired into the united states. the reason we are concerned is because we recognize we have got

some special responsibilities. we have to have some humility about what we can and cannot accomplish. we have to recognize that our resources are finite and that we are coming out of a decade of war. our military has been stretched very hard, as has our budget. nevertheless, we try. we go in there and make an effort. and when i see john kerry going out of their trying to broker a cease-fire, we should all be supporting him. bunch of not be a complaints in second-guessing about, well, it has not happened yet, nitpicking before he's had a chance to complete his efforts. because i tell you what, there is not any other country that is going in there and making those efforts. more often than not, there is a consequence of our involvement that we get better outcomes.

not perfect or immediate outcomes, but we get better outcomes. going to be true in the middle east and also with respect to ukraine. that will be certainly true with respect to iraq. and i think it is use will for me to end by reminding folks term you know, in my first , if i had a press conference like this, everybody would want to ask about the economy and how come jobs were not being created, how come the housing market is so bad, you know, why isn't it working? well, you know what, what we did worked, and the economy is back. we just haday that six months of more than 200,000 ins which has not happened

17 years, you know, that shows you the power of persistence. it shows you that if you stay at it, eventually you will make some progress. all right. i thought that you guys were going to ask me how i was going to spend my birthday. i will address two points. hold on, guys. have been giving you questions. the cia, the rdi report has been transmitted. the declassified version that will be released at the pleasure -- ie senate committee

have full confidence in john brennan. i think he has acknowledged and derrek lee apologized for senator feinstein -- directly apologist that cia personnel did not properly handle an investigation as to how certain documents that were not authorized to be released to the senate staff got somehow into the hands of the senate staff, and it is clear from the report is a very poor judgment was shown in terms of how that was handled. keep in mind that john brennan was the person who called for the ig report, and he has already stood up to ensure that lessons are learned and mistakes are resolved. with respect to the larger point itself, evenport before i came into office i was in the immediate

aftermath of 9/11, we did some things that were wrong. we did a whole lot of things that were right, but we tortured some folks. things that were contrary to our values. i understand why it happened. important when we appalled andhow how afraid people were after the attack of the twin towers and the pentagon had been hit and the plane in pennsylvania had fallen and people did not know imminent,tacks were and there was enormous pressure on our law enforcement and national security teams to try know,l with of this, you it is important for us not to

sanctimonious in retrospect about the tough job that those folks had. and a lot of those folks were working hard under enormous patriots.nd are real but having said all that, we did some things that were wrong. and that is what that report reflects, and that is the reason took office, one of the first things i did was to ban some of the extraordinary interrogation techniques that are the subject of that report. and my hope is that this report that thes once again character of our country has to whatasured in part not by we do when he things are easy but what we do when things are

hard. when we engaged in some of these enhanced interrogation techniques, techniques that i believe and i think any fair-minded person would believe were torture, we crossed the line. understoodeds to be to, asepted, and we have a country, take responsibility for that so that hopefully we do not do it again in the future. i gave you a question. u.s.-africa -- >> we have a u.s.-africa summit coming up next week that will be an unprecedented gathering of african leaders. the importance of this for america needs to be understood. africa is one of the fastest-growing continence in

the world. six of the 10 fastest-growing economies in africa. we have all sorts of other countries like china and brazil and india deeply interested in working with africa, not to alone, natural resources which traditionally has been the relationship between africa and the rest of the world, but now because africa is growing and you have thriving markets and entrepreneurs and extraordinary talent among the people there. africa also happens to be one of the continents where america is most popular, and people feel a real affinity for our way of life. and we have made enormous progress over the last several just providing traditional aid to africa, helping countries that are suffering from malnutrition or

helping countries that are suffering from aids, but rather partnering and thinking about how we can trade more and do business together. that is the kind of relationship that africa is looking for. i have had conversations over the last several months where u.s. businesses, some of the biggest u.s. businesses in the world, and they say that africa is one of our top priorities. we wanted to do business with those folks, and we think we can create u.s. jobs and send u.s. exports to africa, but we have got to be engaged. this gives us a chance to do that. it gives us a chance to talk to africa about security issues, because, as we have seen, terrorist networks try to find places where governance is weak and security structures are weak, and if we want to keep ourselves safe over the long-term, one of the things we can do is to makes sure we are partnering with some countries that really have pretty

effective security forces and have been deploying themselves in peacekeeping and conflict resolution efforts in africa. that can ultimately save us and our troops and our military a lot of money if we have strong partners who are able to deal with it is going to be a terrific conference. bad in will be washington. everybody has been warned about that. what we are looking forward to this and i think it will be a great success. say abouthing i will this, because it has been on people's minds, the issue of utilized -- ebola. have takenething we very seriously. as soon as there is an out of then any place

world that might have cd ficant effects, the have ande sure we appropriate response. this has been a more aggressive than we have seen in the past, but keep in mind it is still affecting parts of three countries, and we have got some 50 countries represented at this summit. we're doing two things with respect to the summit itself. we are taking the appropriate precautions. folks who are coming from these countries that even have a marginal risk or infinitesimal risk of being exposed in some fashion, we are making sure we are doing screening on that end as they leave the country. we will do a additional screening when they are here. we are confident that the measures we have taken our

appropriate. health and the various agencies are going to be working tly withenn sure that weke have resources there and organizations there so that we can start containing the problem. is not mind that ebola something that is easily transmitted. that is why generally outbreaks dissipate. identifying,s quarantining, isolating those who contract it and making sure that practices are in place that avoid transmission. it can be done, but it has to be done in an organized way, and that means we are going to have to help these countries of commerce that.

all right? somebody finally wish me happy birthday. it is not until monday, you are right. thank you so much. all right, guys. in that news conference the president expressing his displeasure over the proposed republican emergency order funding measure. house rules committee has been meeting for 10 minutes live. we will take you there right now. the supporting role for work for the appropriations committee which i strongly support them and i support the changes, both in the dollars and the policy, changes that are incorporated in the amendment that he is pouring forward to they. i think this is a very fiscally responsibile package. it is paid for. it is limited because as we all know the resources of the united states, with the enormous national debt, are limited as

well. if you're going to spend money, you have to be successful in the effort that you are undertaking to spend the money on, and that is to stop the surge of the legal immigration at our -- of illegal immigration out our border and make sure that the people in the central american countries do not make the journey to the united states and are told ahead of time if they come here they are going to be returned home. that is not being done as effectively as it should be right now. so we have come forward with the chairman in his package, with some very targeted improvements to the law that will make it easier for our border patrol and agents and others responsible to be able to do their jobs, and i thank you for the opportunity to be here, and i look forward to answering any questions. >> thank you very much and for your brief comments. could share, if you

that with one of your colleagues of the. i see on a regular basis. i talked to you and listen every time. thank you for your help destroyed. i they wanted me to be here on time. >> had i known i would have been better this way. >> the gentleman is recognized. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i want to take a moment to try to put the current moment that we live in some context. i river soon after november elections of 2012 i began to speak to members of the republican caucus, including you, mr. chairman, and we had rich cover stations about the way forward, the way forward on immigration and the way forward on the republican party. there were times that i was even chastised by members of my own arty by saying you are a little close to those republicans and you are being a little but too helpful. i said i want to be helpful to america, and the way to be helpful to the america is to be

respectful to the majority of the members of people who were elected to the congress, and i figured the guys with the most votes -- right? so i was respectful of that. i worked really, really hard for a year and a half until the speaker said we would not do immigration reform. that only because we were working so richly and in an environment in which we were moving forward. it was not that we were all in agreement. but how could we have come so far? you, germant only sessions, but other members, mr. cole, mr. bishop, congresswoman inx, i know we were here 2007, and when we did not have a crisis of the border, the people wanted to exploit, all of you and i, all of you and i, and every member of this rules committee voted to protect the children. voted toocrat

protect the children. how is it that today we can show such a reversal when we had such a bipartisan spirit about protecting children that came to our borders in 2007? there was a bipartisan bill. it was not a democrat or republican bill. today we want to undermine the basic fundamental protections, the men and women and the levelheaded environment, without a crisis to exploit, without a president they do not like, without fanning the fuel of anti-immigrant sentiment here in this country. i come here to say let's not do this. we are better and we are greater, not only as an institution, but the republican party and the democratic party are greater as an institution than the bills we have before us. he got the protections that men and women in the house in 2007 unanimously decided that children should be afforded.

was a all know that bipartisan bill, there was a bill in 2002, and in that built the army found that it was right to protect -- dick armey found that it was right to protect chairman. they should be in the custody of the police agent. within 72 hours, that child was supposed to be in the least restrictive setting. that that child was supposed to get their day in court. a drug traffickers from a child that needed our country's help, that child will get its date in courtroom and today we are undermining, expediting, and crippling the very rights of those children we thought were i voted against the legislation because it was a partisan bill. it was your bill.

it was a republican bill. it was a republican, partisan bill that dictated the fundamental right against the objection of democrats that today we are undoing. in 2007, and i share with you how could we have steered this so dramatically different? i see my good friend, the chairman of the judiciary committee, congressman goodlatte, he knows that i could. ocrats to put me on the judiciary committee. i resigned and chairman good atte was kind enough to want to meet when i can hit if you go to, go right now, and look at all of the hearings that chairman goodlatte held in the first 15, 16 months, they were all positive hearings about how we fix our broken immigration system. there were so many witnesses i

thought we were in the majority some days. i work with the chairman. the minority gets one witness. the majority gets three. that is the way the democrats do it, i'm not criticizing. i thought we were all there. i tried to refrain from being partisan, but i just got to tell you that the phone calls in my office have changed, and we have to be cognizant of that. they call me and they say 90% of them are criminals. bola,are bringing e diseases we cannot control. they are drug dealers. they got lice. they're going to destroy my communities. they're using words like invading and swarm. and you know what? if it was simply what we heard on the news network, they

were once we were hearing from a result congress. you cannot change that predicate which brought us to today. that predicate has been established or weeks. i just want to share with you -- for weeks. i want to share with you, there's a reason that 75% of the immigrants in the latino community voted democrat, and it was not because we had a president that was deporting people and we were not mindful of that and were not hurt by that, but to tell people that you think that they are criminals, that you think they are simply bringing diseases, that they are bringing drugs, ,nd you treat them as invaders they are going to think you do not like them. they are going to believe you do not like them. and they are not going to vote for you. i believe in a two-party system. today may be a good day for politics, but why must we reduced to the most common denominator, the person who wants to do the most damage and

show that they are the most strident against those that they believe are invading our country and bringing diseases and gangs and drugs and criminality? why must be reduced to them? we all know better. i came here to say i know better. i have spent countless evenings and days with the republican members and i know there are many who want a different pathway forward. let's find a different pathway forward. i know that pathway exists. 2007, or i know nobody says here they do not read the vote and did not put forth? for it?ot vote there were protections for children. let's not undermine the basic fundamentals. 2012, the president

decided to exercise his executive authority, and he said child, i'mhere as a going to make you a low priority and i will not deport you. he created a class of people. the're called daca, dreamers, the young immigrants who came here, brought by their parents, and we said we should grant them this pathway because they came here as children, they did not have adult faculties, and so they should not be criminalized. but the last thing i want to say is you agreed with us. i remember, you only help them out for a few days, but you had principles that you put out in january, and in those principles, i remember chairman goodlatte, one of the principles of the republican party was that the children would go straight to a green card. we should not punish the children. maybe he did not win the election as majority leader, but

he said we should not punish them. there were many leaders of the republican party who said that. we are telling the president of united states that he should defined it. you cannot defund something that the very young people have funny with their $475. there's not a single cent of money going to the funding of daca. do not take document the children and place them in a place of illegality inactive. they pledge allegiance to our fight, i assure you, each and every day of their lives. thank you very much. >> thank you very much. i'm delighted all four of you have had time to be here today, and in fact, the packages before us has been widely debated and widely discussed. and i believe i understand the package. i believe our members are given the chance to see the package. i believe not only what all four of you have spoken about some of the truths and the perspective that you have and your strong

feelings, are important, and that is what this body is your four. i want to say one thing, however, and that is i am it texan, in texas is faced with a tremendous undertaking right now, from tens of thousands of people, perhaps some 70,000 people, who have come to the state of texas. i believe governor perry, my bright young leader, who is been hard governor for a long time, is attempting to protect the loss of this country and our state. and i believe -- the laws of this country and our state. and i believe it should be mandatory that we addressed this important issue. we have been working for years on it, as all four of you know. it has been a working group within the republican party, and i believe the president should not have changed the balance of that by doing what he did. i think it changed the balance.

i think it changed the balance for people back home. they changed the balance of people back in dallas, texas, where i'm from, and i think working together, you stick to the table. you do not decide you want to do just because you are the president of the united states. but what we are here to do today is to make sure that we can do as all three of you said, that we have an obligation to get this bill done work with senate and either body has an obligation to day until they get it done. that does not mean we have to stay here and wait for the senate. i mean, i think the senate should get there built them, and we should come back if we need to. that is what we're doing here today. so i want to thank all four of you for being here. i am proud to call you colleague, friends, and share ideas with you, but we are going to get our bill done here today and we will speak i think very clearly and give the senate the

opportunity, and i think that our bodies need to speak, act, or to gather and we need to engage the president, and i have including our leader, the chairman of the judiciary, and appropriations, to do that. we have got to engage the white house, because what is at risk is exactly what was before this committee yesterday, and that is mr. john tierney from massachusetts was here with a 60-day $180 million appropriations request or schools in this country to take care of these children. that we are believe prepared to deal with the implications of 60 days or 365 days if this administration does not face up to what we got to do, and i am well past the point of simply throwing money at the problem. we better understand what we are doing because we got 25 million

people that are unemployed and underemployed in his country, and i think my obligation is to those people first, and it is to the schoolchildren of this great nation. so i have strong feelings, also. i thank each of you for being here. gentlewoman is recognize from north carolina. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i want to thank our colleagues for being here also today. i do think that this is an issue that we need to deal with. i'm disappointed that the senate has gone home and refused to stay in town to deal with an issue that i think needs to be dealt with. but i am proud of my colleagues, and i want to thank particularly the staff that has worked on this legislation, because i know that it has been a real challenge to come up with what i good pieces of legislation that we are going to be dealing with today.

and i hope we can minimize the rhetoric on this, deal with the reality of what we are facing on the border. i am not anti-immigrant. i am not anti-children. continue to be the most compassionate people in the world. we are. we always have been, and i believe we always will be. and i believe that what we are going to do today -- or what i today --ill do later will send the message that we are going to continue to be compassionate and that we want to continue to live by the rule of law, which is what i believe makes this country the greatest country in the world, along with our judeo-christian beliefs and our willingness to be compassionate. i thank you all for being here. i have no questions, but i very

much appreciate all the hard work has gone into this legislation. thank you, mr. chairman. i yield back. >> the gentlewoman yields back. the general woman asked the gentlewoman from new york is recognized. >> i have to say i've never seen a chair gavel down a member of congress before the rules committee -- >> will the gentlewoman yield? >> yes. bethe gentlewoman could also correct. most committees have a five-it minute rule. the gentlewoman is well aware of that. the gentlewoman is well aware that the chairman stated upfront efat we would make bri remarks, and everyone did. the gentleman gave everyone 10 minutes of the time, and i was to do this, and i am very proud of saying this we're going to stick to this to get this done today. i have many members of congress that are trying to make

decisions, get out of here. the general woman is recognized. >> it is almost impossible to talk sensibly about this. on the one hand, we are compassionate but we are going to a bill that is going to deport people and break up families. children -- honestly, i saw a picture of a little girl who is the very image of my granddaughter tried to put on a sweater, and it was all i could do, i want it so hard to help her put that on, and how in the world we can have people shouting and screaming at children. -- children? maybe we are not the same people we were in 2007. i've been so impressed with all the people i've heard from from the ribs is committed. what they are extremely worried about about what is going to happen with the children who are -- thew is the fact that 2008 will. they do not want that sex

trafficking bill done away with. we have heard from the baptist i need to apologize to them, frankly. the baptist church wanted to buy a hotel in west waco texas with their own money, $3.9 million. the hotel has been anti-for a couple of years. they were going to rehab it. they were going to bring children in for 15 days at the time, make sure they were fed, have health care, recreation, and some kindness, some decency, but the misinformation that those kids were living in a resort and all the information that went around about that forced the baptist church to pull out of that thing and drop it -- now, this is not the thing you want to go back home on sunday and have people ask about it, what was that all about? but we have heard about that, and the ebola.

ebola is not indigenous to central american and nobody coming from central america would have it. that travelsation so much faster than the truth in this country is really awful, but one misinformation that we are supposed to believe today is that the senate will just come right back into this bill. we have worked on this, what was it, 380 days with nothing done? the senate was absolutely sure that yesterday we were going to vote for the bill, right? and everybody understood today that we would start this important period, we were going to be going home, and have all these things to go. to think that the senate would do its job -- we did not do our straight there were 11 bills that were pulled out because you cannot get the votes for them, since boehner has been speaker, and we with said it again, i will say it yesterday,

tomorrow, the democratic party is perfectly willing to work with you on all this legislation as we are elected to do. we are all members of the committees that you're on. we would like to participate in it. there is not a fingerprint of a democrat anywhere on any of this is a session. -- this legislation. we were asked to hurry up because we wanted to finish today. and then we were all -- where is the senate? i was told the reason the senate cannot get cloture last night -- i have not talked any senator -- the reason they cannot get cloture was because the bill had not been voted out of here yesterday and because we probably -- republican senators did not want to send that out on a bill that the house had not taken any action on. that may be true, maybe not. as the fact is this jumble, it was called a haphazard way to

bring legislation, does not benefit this country in one sick way. the most important thing here i think is the president of the united states -- this is more than -- i wish i could think of something that i could really describe went on here this year. in addition to putting this aside that in the water and the voted -- you we did, we do not -- to sue the president of the united states for doing things because nobody in covers would do it. anybody knows this house what it has done. it is appalling. to see the chart. truman calledy the congress a do-nothing congress, they had passed 970 bi lls. come on. that was certainly a do-nothing

congress. the president was called to task, nothing was getting done in the country. he took action and he was totally entitled to do it, and it caused us no harm in the congress by doing so. so it is not bad enough that you want to sue him. god knows how much money on top of $3.2 million for this hearing, the 14th one, and then the speaker yesterday blames this on the president of the united states who did not do what he was not able to do when he was supposed to do, what he without have done congressional action. it is a direct conversation on everything that was said on wednesday, when that came up on thursday. it was the strangest thing i bet in the history of the republic. i will stick my neck out that far. and even joe knows that, right? no sense.

i hope the president, having read that yesterday, will say, the house of representatives wants me to go right ahead and get all this done, and i shall do that. i would encourage him -- we are going to vote here today, we are going to vote this, and you got more votes than without, and you senateon yell why the does not come back. they had no reason we will ever get anything done here. i do not know if they are going to come back into this. but i am not going to be able to let you all get away with the fact that it is their fault and not the fault of the house of representatives if nothing is done here. i yield back. it -- therman gentleman from utah is recognized. >> may i thank you for being here and making the presentations on the bill. with all due respect, i think the issues in the bill are very clear. i do not have any questions that

would clarify any of the details. i will reserve the speeches on this issue from the four because that will be covered by c-span as well, and i will yield back. make oneyou like me =-- >> the general woman is recognized. thate one thing i've -- gentle woman is recognize. >> the one thing i want to point out, i hope you all that wonderful program on cnn recently where four undocumented boys in high school built an underwater robot that beat the engineers at mit. did you see that? four of them, they were incredible. they cannot get jobs. one went into the military so he could get his citizenship finally. to deport those guys that are that smart from the they could eat the best engineering -- they could beat the best engineering school in the united states? to see what they had to do to

put together their robot, it was astonishing. the country cannot afford in any respect to lose a mind like that, all those minds. we better rethink this thing. >> the gentleman from massachusetts is recognize. >> mit. >> massachusetts, of course. [laughter] >> you took the words right out of my mouth. thank you. i want to thank all of you for being here today. i agree -- i want to associate my remarks with those of mr. gutierrez who began by saying he thought there was a moment where we actually might come together in a bipartisan way and get conference of immigration reform right. and i are member i was more hopeful and i was reading a "washington times" article

priebus, saying i am unveiling a postmortem, rnc committee chairman promised gop that will, not write off voters. that can with hispanic voters and immigration reform. end quote. i thought that meant that something was going to happen, something that was going to be respectful, something that was going to be compassionate, something that we could come together on. it may not be everywherththing i want, but something. and during my times of doubting achieve -- mr.d gutierrez said, no, no,