just wanted to ask first if the agency has changed its view of the efficacy of torture or eits because in 1989, apparently there was a report or a correspondence with congress that indicated that the agency believed those techniques were not effective. and then also, your own wording. i was interested if you still stood by it, what you said in 2009. you said that these techniques are a recruitment bonanza for terrorists and increase the determination of our enemies and decrease the willingness of other nations to cooperate with us. in short, they undermine our national security. would you maybe have a different view now? >> i stand by my comments from previously. when i was at the white house, i spoke out on these issues. and it was at the time when

these techniques were band and it was a time when there was a fair amount of propaganda as well as anti-u.s. sentiment related to guantanamo as well as other issues. and so these are things that i think we as professionals in the national security environment tried to take into account. and so this is a feature i think of our past. and one that we have to come to terms with. and deal with. and this agency is determined to move forward. the first part of the question. >> involved with congress in 1996. >> oh, yes. you know, the one thing about -- whether it's the intelligence business or nash security or something, you can always find something that you can pull out and say, the agency said this. or judged this or this was the conclusion at that time. now it's going to be different.

a lot of times there are differences of views. it was one of the things that the wmd commission encouraged there to be, a diversity of views within the intelligence community so there wouldn't be single group think. there have been a lot of studies done over the years about the value of different types of interrogation methods and whether or not coercive methods can lead to useful information that couldn't otherwise be obtained. i tend to believe that the use of coercive methods has a strong prospect for resulting in false information. because if somebody is being subjected to a course of techniques, they may something to have those techniques stopped. and i think this agency has said that individuals who are subjected to those techniques here provided useful information as well as false information. and as our experts tried to pore

through a lot of data and information, that job is made more challenging as you get more false information. thank you. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> one of the tweets raid torture did not lead to osama bin laden. he and tell was in hand before eit's began. she provides a link showing evidence to that claim on her website. of thele, the vice chair senate intelligence committee, saxby chambliss, was on "face the nation" this morning and was asked about intel that might have come from interrogation tactics outlined in the report. >> i have been watching this intel, out of the interrogation program since it was initiated

back in 2002. i have seen it on a regular, daily basis. i was not briefed into all of the eit early on. you have to remember there were 789 detainees sent to gitmo. three out of 789 were waterboarded. abu zubaydah was one of them. there were 766 actionable intelligence reports written from abuse of data sense and logic would tell you some of those reports were the results hestatements he made after went through the eit program. let me say that most of those reports came after that. once he broke, he was a treasure trove of information. that is kind of incontrovertible

from those of us who were there, who heard the intel reports come in. the other thing i would say is with respect to those brave men cia, you and ie know exactly where we were on the moment -- on the morning of september 11. khalid shaikhnd mohammed, to individual subjected to waterboarding, where the masterminds of 9/11. they were the ones who told those 9/11 hijackers take those box cutters, go slit the throats of airline pilots and take over airlines that fly them into buildings. americans were scared to death and frustrated and they were in -- and they ace were scared to death that something like this might happen again. that's when this program was initiated. terminatedarding was

in 2003 and only applied to three individuals, but they were the mastermind of this will stop we gleaned a treasure trove from all three of them. >> beginning at noon eastern, you can listen to all of the sunday talk shows on c-span radio or listen to the live stream online at c-span.org. senator chambliss is one of several members of congress who will not be returning in the next session. he is retiring after two terms in office. last week, senate minority leader mitch mcconnell pay tribute to him on the senate floor. >> mr. president, the republican leader. >> i would like to say a few words about my friend and colleague, senator saxby chambliss. saxby, as we all know, is the ultimate southern gentleman. word, he isof his blessed with the charm and the

drawl only a georgian could possess, and he is far, far too modest. he shouldn't be. he has a lot to be proud of as he look backs as -- as he looks back at his storied career here in congress. we are talking about one of our nation's top experts on intelligence and national security. we are talking about a standout champion for the men and women of our military. we are talking about a senator who became chair of the agriculture committee just two years into his first term. that's quite an accomplishment. but once you get to know saxby, it's not all that surprising. before he came to congress, he was a small town and lawyer. lawyer. town ag he still lives in a peanut and

cotton farming region far removed from the right lights of atlanta. he's got a feel for the issues that could only be acquired from actual, on the ground experience. he understands the real world impact of what we discuss here in washington. and he cares. on top of that, he's got the discipline work ethic of a minister's son, which makes sense because he is one. saxby is usually the first guy to raise his hand when there's an assignment no one else wants. that is what you saw for him on the gang of six, a politically difficult and work intensive committee if there ever was one. saxby came here to get things done, not to posture. projects with the kind of drive and courage you don't often see.

how courageous is saxby? he accepted an invitation to go quail hunting was vice president cheney and lived to tell the tale. the senior senator from south carolina remembers the trip very well. persuaded by saxby to come. he still suspects sexy's real ative was to give cheney second target. it wasn't the only time saxby cheated death with the vice president. a meeting inls baghdad were saxby, joe biden, and the iraqi prime minister -- afterward, they boarded a plane and came under fire. ire is what saxby said -- guess the meeting didn't go that well. so saxby is a comedian, but he's also courageous. he's also persuasive.

he's good at getting his way. it is kind of what you would expect from a former door to door fruitcake salesman. after hawking loads of spiced though, there's nothing saxby can't sell at this point. we know he was persuasive enough to convince joanne to marry him. i pledge segment cut class sweetheart and soon became saxby's sweetheart. they have been inseparable ever since. ever becomessaxby his own category on jeopardy, here's an interesting piece of trivia. the president of the same pledge class he came saxby's democratic challenger in 2008. the two for turnkey brothers are still friendly and here is how this gentleman remembered saxby from college -- he said he

looked old. but julianne fell for him anyway, and it's a good thing she did. this former schoolteacher is better than anyone at keeping evenentered and she has taught students who would go on to serve on saxby's staff. it is quite a partnership. saxby says the most significant moment of his life is when he met julianne. that's when -- that's something when you consider how much he loves golf. last year, he sank a hole in one against the leader of the free world will stop that's the president of the united states. he got a signed flag to prove it. but golf is more than just a hobby for saxby, it is a way to get eggs done. more than most -- way to get things done. more than anyone around here, he understands the value of the relationship. up votes at whipping

in picking up and tell both sides of the capital. he works across the island is unafraid to stand up when something needs to be said. that's the thing about saxby. he doesn't say a lot, but when he does, you know it's significant. you know there is a lot of careful thought behind it. saxby is a serious legislator who approaches his role as vice-chairman of the intelligent committee -- intelligence committee in that frame. he learns things on the intelligence committee that would keep anyone up at night. it's a grave responsibility but saxby is perfectly suited to it. he has always stood proudly in defense of our nation. his sharpg to miss wit, his integrity, and his judgment. i know saxby's staff is going to miss him also. some of them have been with him since his days in the house. the senate's loss is the chambliss family's gain. looking forward

to spending more time with julianne and i know he can't wait to trade the title of senator for a new 1 -- big daddy. it's what his grandkids call him. he can't wait to see more of them. works sothe reason he hard here, to build a better future for them. for the next generation. saxby will have plenty of stories to share when he leaves, like when they hit the hole-in-one, when he throughout the first pitch for the braves, "d when he made the cover of he that patriot" magazine. so he has obviously had a long interesting career. he deserves some time to focus on his family. we thank him for his dedication to this hottie and the people he represents and we send him every wish for a retirement filled with joy and happiness.

mr. president, yield the floor. harryate majority leader reid offered tributes to retiring senators this week. he spoke about democratic senators tim johnson and tom harkin. from the senate floor, this is 15 minutes. >> mr. president, ernest hemingway said so clearly "man is not made for defeat." if that ever applied to anyone in the world, it applies to tim johnson. it's a testament to his a egg notas he never, -- never, ever acknowledged defeat. he's never lost an election and his servant house for 10 years. he served in the state legislature and they were all easy votes or easy elections

will stop he won his election in 2002 by 524 votes. hundreds of thousands of votes were cast and he won by 524 votes. senator johnson refused to succumb to defeat because he knew he was fighting for the people of south dakota. ,e fought for south dakota jobs , heworth air force base saved it from closing. he worked to this end saving thousands of jobs and preserved a thriving economy based on ellsworth air force base will stop his tenure in house and senate, he fought for water, which is so important. people don't realize that from many states but states like south dakota, and many western important,er is an something you always have to

keep your eye on. he secured funding for the water project, the -- the lewis and clark rural water systems, and combined projects to provide drinking water to 400,000 people. that is half the population of the state of south dakota. usedut question, tim's fight took place in 2006. i can still remember that so clearly. i got a call from his chief of need to go toou the hospital, tim has been taken by ambulance to george washington. i went there because tim had suffered a very bad bleed on the brain. it was something he was born with, this situation, no one knew, but of course, it hit him. lots of people have this condition but most people don't have a bleed on the brain. he did.

i was there in the hospital with him. his daughter was there and his two boys. they came as soon as they could. one was serving in the military after having seen combat duty in the united states army. the other boy is a lawyer who is now the u.s. to -- u.s. attorney for south dakota. it was a very difficult time his family had and he had, especially. he was in surgery on more than one occasion. his life was threatened. many people don't survive this difficult situation he was hit with. i never realized how physically big and strong he was. until i saw him laying in the hospital.

challenges, physical, they were very difficult. 10 months later, he was back working in the united states senate. he was here on the floor. after this incident, his physical body would never be the same, but his mental capacity is better than ever. with the support of barbara, his wife since 1969, their three children whose names i have achieved ahe remarkable account -- remarkable recovery. he had to learn to talk again, he had to learn to walk again, and much of his life is different than it was physically. he a lot of times is now in a wheelchair. he has never asked for any sympathy. he has pushed forward as he always has his whole life. regardless of these changes to

his body, his indomitable spirit was the same. one newspaper said speaking of tim's returned to the senate -- "lost integrity is a greater handicap to any politician. once lost, they can never be regained with confidence. johnson's integrity has never been in question." tim johnson has his integrity. he has this unbreakable determination to fight to do the things he needs to do. after 18 years in the senate and 10 years in the house will stop to say he will be lost by the people of south dakota is a great understatement. he worked here with my predecessor, the democratic leader, tom daschle. they got so many things done for the state of south dakota. they are both missed, but their friendship is something i long admire.

to show you the type of person by 524the person he beat votes him back the next election and endorsed him. a republican, longtime member of the house and senate endorsed tim johnson in his reelection. that is the kind of integrity tim johnson has. people admire him very much. tim johnson leaves the senate undefeated and i will miss him very, very much. my wife will miss barbara and .heir book club i have seen their exchange of e-mails back and forth as to what book they should read. so we will mr. johnson's. south dakota will miss the johnson's. he will be a great blessing to

the state of south dakota and to his family. i ask unanimous consent for the statement i made to appear in a different place in the record. "i want itcoln said set of me by those who knew me best that i always looked the out of the flower where i thought a flower would go." for just a few minutes to honor a man by the name of tom harkin, who throughout his time in the senate has planted many flowers, so many that you can't count them all. forin's legacy of fighting all americans, particularly those who are disadvantaged will never be forgotten. fact, no one in the history of this institution has done who havepeople physical disadvantages and emotional disadvantages and mental disadvantages and disadvantages generally been tom harkin.

was not easy. his father was a minor and his mother a slovenian immigrant who died when he was 10 years old. his family pushed forward and lived in a house without hot water or a furnace. difficult use his upbringings as an excuse, tom harkin pushed himself very hard and came to iowa state university. borrow -- he came on a navy rotc scholarship and on graduation and listed in the navy and became an active-duty naval pilot. i have such admiration for naval ,ilots, i have for all pilots but thinking of landing on an aircraft carrier in the middle of the ocean, a postage stamp sized that you have to find out there is something navy pilots do and tom harkin did this. was elected to

represent ohio. when he came to the senate in 1984, he encountered many systems. he was especially motivated to help americans with disabilities. "re's what tom harkin said -- i heard stories from individuals who had to call on their hands and knees to go up a flight of stairs, who could not ride a bus because it wasn't a list or cannot cross the street in a wheelchair because there were no curb cuts. millions of americans were denied access in their own communities to the american dream." tom did a lot to make sure people that have the ability to dream. what did he do? an injusticed faced by millions of americans and responded by offering the americans with disabilities act. whate don't realize now those disabled people had to go through.

it was a big dispute here in the senate and house as to whether members of congress should vote for this. it created a lot of problems for business. from nevadalbreath was given a lot of pressure not to vote for this, but he voted for this and here is why he voted for this. solace longm harkin would saw this long before we did, he had a friend and daughter who was confined to a wheelchair. ais man wanted to visit congressman here in washington dc. they could not find a place for hotel rooms, had trouble getting airline reservations -- it was extremely difficult. said i'm voting for this. this landmark legislation that

was pushed and pushed by tom removehas helped barriers to employment, public services, transportation, for people with disabilities. his work to protect the disadvantages has not just been reactive, it has been preventive . he has lost both of his siblings to cancer and response to that heartbreak, the things he has done -- you got to double the funding for groundbreaking medical research. he had a partner in this for many years, arlen specter from pennsylvania. they worked on that subcommittee , hhs and appropriations, and some will remember this was an unbelievable thing they did to force us to spend more money on medical research. blessingght, what a this was for america and for members of the senate.

it was good for us and good for the country. that nih hads gotten in that landmark effort to sure cancer, heart disease and many other diseases, -- we have a long way to go -- the fund raising has not been adequate in the last six years. money -- thegot in first few months of the obama administration where we got additional money, that was written by harkin and arlen specter and that money now is not there. we need to do more. but tom harkin has been tireless. he worked to triple the funding for the centers of disease

control. in obamacare, he is the one responsible for the prevention guideline in that bill. coming tois career the defense of the defenseless. a longtime defender of human rights, he has worked to fight child labor will domestically and abroad. tom harkin has also had, in my estimation -- i have spent much of my life here on the senate remember, i i can would look and i would see one of his staff come to the floor and i thought oh, no, i knew we were in for some trouble. his name was richard bender. i have such admiration for senator harkin's staff, but it is up to richard bender walking

in this door because i knew harkin was going to be doing something we had not planned. it took a lot longer to get things done. but in the end, it was always better for our country. after a lifetime of service, tom will pop -- tom will finally be able to spend his post senate time in another direction still involved in a form of public service. ruthe great and ration for , who i know extremely well. i don't know his daughters, but i do know they will be able to spend a little more time in -- a little more time with their dad and husband. one short side note -- tom harkin is one of the few senators who has into my home in searchlight. i was there one day and got a call and said are you going to be home? do you mind if we drop by?

within the now are, he was in my home in searchlight. a chapterkin closes of service to the american people, i salute tom harkin on a job very well done. he has become the longest-serving democratic senator in ila possis three and he will be greatly missed. iowa congressman tom latham is another retiring member of congress. he's leaving after serving 20 years and house of representatives. after he made his farewell remarks, several fellow legislators offered their tribute and best wishes. this is 30 minutes. >> thank you, mr. speaker. we are here because this time of year, at the end of a session, we have members that are retiring. members that deserve recognition and members of other members of the house would like to talk about for a few minutes. and today, we have one of the

best who is unfortunately retiring at the end of this year. he's a gentleman i have known since i came to congress and have become good friends with and have had many entertaining times. i'm sorry to say the thing people are going to wish -- going to miss in washington most my rendition and of roy orbison duets. i don't know how much they will miss it but we certainly had fun with those at various events. before i say anything, i would like to recognize the general and from iowa for his recognition of esther latham. -- mr. latham. know you did "pretty woman" and all of these other songs will stop i can't wait to see you back in iowa. up herean honor to be to speak about tom latham.

when i got elected in 2006, tom had been here for some time -- not a long time, but for 12 years. i knew about tom from what i had read. i did not know him personally. i was one of those folks who came to congress with no one expecting me to get here. that many folks in this body before i got elected and when i got elected, one of the first things i did was try to find out as much as i could about tom latham and meet with him and worked with him on a number of issues because i knew the had a reputation for working across the aisle. i knew he was good friends with at the time with mr. boehner who subsequently became speaker of the house. so i knew it was probably in my interest to get to know tom latham a little bit if i want to get things done for iowa, even though speaker pelosi took over when i came. i job since i came here

believe is to work with both sides of the aisle and tom latham is a model for doing exactly that. when i first came, we had a lot of tough issues to deal with in congress will stop one of the things that happened very early on when i first got elected was the issue of the national guard came up. i was on armed services. a lot of those guard folks were being deployed multiple times and it was very difficult for their families. a number of us recognize what we needed to do was build more facilities, upgrade facilities, get rid of those old national guard armory and replace them with readiness centers that would not only be there to train" our troops in the event we had to send them overseas, which we did many times and iowans have served many times over the years in iraq and

afghanistan and other places. those needed to construct facilities for their families, their spouses, their children. on the armed services committee, i did what i could in terms of authorization to make sure the funds were there. on the appropriations committee, tom latham make sure we had the funding to make sure we built those facilities. we were able to work on that issue together. hit the great flood of 2008 across iowa, but mainly across the eastern half of iowa, including a lot of tom latham's district and about half the damage was in my district alone. i worked with tom and steve king and we did a great job working on a bipartisan basis to make sure what we needed in iowa, we got. we worked very hard on that. issues, when we heard about the scandal in unix, the first thing i did was

contacted -- the scandal in phoenix, the first thing i did was contact tom latham. go to des moines together and talk to the folks there about the facility. i've been to the v.a. facility in my district many times, but i want to go to des moines and i want to go with tom and i knew he would work with me on that to make sure everything is right. and if it is right, we fix it. he was open to that and not hesitate for a second stop that's the kind of person he is, and that has been the kind of legislator he is. in this body, we have seen a lot of ugliness over the years will stop it seems as though our politics in america has just gotten uglier by the day sometimes will stop even in the middle of all of that, tom latham has stood tall and has stood proud as an island -- as an island. he has a lot of common sense and

he works with the other side because he knows the job is to get things done. to miss you, tom. there's no question about that and i think you know that probably better than we do. i know you have heard that from a lot of folks. guylatham is a humble iowa and he has been able to get a tremendous amount done for his district, for my alma mater, iowa state, before he lost that to congressman king, and to any number of folks in his congressional district over the years. kathy and i i honor look forward to seeing you later tonight and thank you for everything. farewell and good luck with whatever you end up doing. >> i think the gentleman from iowa for a statement. now i would like to yield to another gentleman from iowa, mr. king. >> i think the general and from idaho for yielding to joe and from iowa and there are about

four people on the floor now who do know the difference. i rise today, madam speaker, to give a great message of gratitude and thanks to congressman tom latham. and to tell a little of the narrative of how this unfold from the perspective of iowa, and that is this -- we are all politics all the time. there is no off-season for us. caucuses are concerned, there's a big emphasis on politics. that is where i first met tom latham and became aware of his commitment. i would want to let the body know that tom latham did not come from a place that was a magnificent megalopolis, less you want to describe alexander, iowa with 160 people. that's the pop the elation of

alexander island. -- alexander, iowa. toon't have to explain this people from idaho or iowa, but all new wealth comes from the land. it regenerates itself every year in the form of corn in our you seehood, but when where the origin of wealth comes every year and you see the wealth that came as a -- that came across the prairie and they put their roots down into the soil and took the family farm and from the farm, to the town, to the city, and you see a family business with multiple brothers engaged in it and three generations now, you know they are tied to the heart of the isrtland and good with what about america and the heartland.

catching that wave, the 1994 wave and being elected to the united states congress 20 years ago. i take a look at him now and think he's no worse for wear. it's the same tom latham that came here 20 years ago going off into retirement today. he hasn't lost his enthusiasm. kingis a steve perspective. everybody that comes to this place has their own style and their own way of getting things done. but the people that have worked with tom latham for these years an issue.t always it doesn't necessarily come with lights and blaring horns, but against done in a quiet way, with a slow persuasion, with holding a network of people who

want to work and want to get things done. when i was elected to this congress in 2003 and inherited lot of the real estate and it formally and constituents that had formerly been represented by tom latham, i noticed there were ribbon-cutting ceremonies taking place in my district and i wasn't necessarily the lead guy when it came to the ribbon-cutting. it was tom latham who had laid the groundwork for that for years will stop they do that and they still know it and the friends and relationships were doing a good job representing constituents throughout those years and they still exist. easy because it was well taken care of. i just want to remind the body that tom latham today is the only iowa member on the house appropriations committee and he has done a good number of

things with projects, natalie transportation projects but the -- not onlyl guard transportation projects, but the iowa national guard, housing and urban development and related agencies. he serves on appropriation for agriculture, rural development, food and drug and homeland security. that is an influential footprint in this congress. the people who arrive your us freshmen and sophomores recognize that. i recognize also this man that is rooted in iowa soil, that is the continuation of the family farm in the family business that relies upon the very foundation of our economy, that all new wealth comes from the land and ,here's a core of family, faith neighbors and neighborhood that tom latham has brought to this congress and wherever he ends up at his retirement, we all want to congratulate him and say to

tom latham, congratulations, you have earned it. you have picked your time and you've done it your way. there are only three ways to leave this congress and one of them is to get beat, one of them is to die in office, and the others to choose your time to retire. i'm glad you are fit and vigorous and prepared for a fit and vigorous retirement. forould not be appropriate me to conclude my portion of this without saying into this congressional record a deep and heartfelt thank you to kathy latham. it is for me personally as well a lot of reasons across this hill the work she has done. you oftentimes got two for the price of one with tom and kathy latham. she has sacrificed a number of times it has made my life easier and make things work better for iowa, the house of representatives, and for this country. i think the best interests of all of us have always and what made the decisions in the latham family.

which ranks and about the top three of iowa political families. speaker.tention, madam they are not done yet but they have a patriarch who's going to write off into retirement. thank you for serving our country. god bless you. i yield back. >> let me say, mr. speaker, that mr. king just mentioned the difference between iowa and idaho. i will tell you a funny story -- when i was first elected, tom had been here for four years and these to have a function with a lot of the d.c. reporters and the washington hilton. they would select of freshman republican and democrat from both the house and senate to give little speeches and they were supposed to be funny speeches. i did not know what to do. they selected me, so i decided i would explain the difference between iowa and idaho. because there is a difference.

so i went through all the differences and of course i recorded it. i got home to turn on and see how i had done and underneath it -- on c-span, it said congressman mike simpson, republican, ohio. with natalie get mixed up idaho not only get confused between iowa, idaho, but also ohio. it was mentioned, he was chairman of the transportation committee -- committees important to iowa, idaho, and the country. we have been able to work cooperatively to address issues that affect our country, and estates. always noticed

most about tom, and both mentioned ave already it -- the way he works. the way to get things done. noticed that tom takes the job he is selected to do they seriously, but he never take himself too seriously. working ave enjoyed with him on both sides of the aisle. -- have enjoyed definitely enjoyed working with him. we will miss them. and has decided to retire, not only are we in congress his friends going to miss him, but country will also miss him. i note yield to the gentleman from california. gentleman to the from idaho.

tom does not see the limelight, but he seeks to get things done. he is my good friend, and he will bring me about this later, get eally does try to things done. you don't see him running out trying to shows, hold press conferences, what you do see is someone who works. numerous opportunities -- when i first arrived to washington, tom was one of the first people who came up to me talk to me. he asked if he could help in any way. he was a farmer from the great state of iowa. he knew i was a farmer from the great state of california. we shared what we had in common, and that he asked how he could be helpful. from day one, tom has been one of my best friends here. i don't think there has been a came to congress when we had not spoken.

when tom came numerous times to california to visit my district and do some good quality work, meeting with my constituents. same time, talking about tom's work ethic, he has had me out to his district in iowa several times. typically, you think you will do a short,, little meeting some folks, but i can tell you, when i went out there, tom put me to work. we spent a full day working. i remember, tom, you put on a conference with your community your business leaders, and you have people from all state of iowa that session a full-day about how his office could better serve the constituents. that is really what this is about.

tom worked very hard for his constituents. he did not try to get press out of it. he did not try to make a big deal out of it. you can tell, when i was on the ground that, it was about working. it was about working with people, his constituents, and to represent them here in washington the best way he could. i know the people i what will miss him. i think you represent almost the whole state of iowa. his district has moved around so much over the years. his family is great people. kathy is a special, special deal with -- not only to deal with tom, but to put up with the tough things that people stay.

mr. latham has been too many tough election. it's a contact person to deal with the things that come out in political campaigns. i know tom is very proud of his children and grandchildren. he served his country and did the best thing he can do. he has a long tradition of serving the people of iowa. his parents were community leaders and iowa. his brothers -- i think he had wanted to brothers who served with distinction in vietnam. be s a sad day for me to down here, but also happy day for tom and his family because he will be able to spend time

with his family and grandchildren. when we are here in washington, it is hard to do. with that, i yield back to the gentleman from iowa. >> the gentleman from california mention something that is very important. it takes a very special individual, and special your spouse with husband or wife. many people do not really coming nights he's been away from your family when you're here. with most spouses, this was not something that they got ned on when married. with to -- put up that -- the separation it causes and the pressure put on a family is extremely difficult. -- a is truly present

person that is special. we're honored to have spouses keep that support us and us going. asked for i acceptance for people to insert their comments is because tonight is the white house christmas reception. there will be many people getting ready to go down to the white house. one of those people that has that responsibility that wanted to be here is the speaker of house, h was one of tom's best friends.

this process goes on. i would like to yield to my good friend from iowa, tom latham. >> thank you very much for your

kind words. i'll miss most are my good friends here. and that part of it really is hard, because it becomes an extended family over time and people who you know, who you work with, who you trust on a day-to-day basis, i will miss that. there is a lot of other stuff i won't miss here. but the personal relationships and the friendships and mr. simpson mentioned the speaker. and i'll just tell you there's no one who could be a better friend and someone that i owe so uch to john and debey. we love them and will continue

to that friendship as i will with all the colleagues that we have come to know and love. anyone who does this job for any period of time understands you are never going to be successful or accomplish anything without the great work of your staff. and i have been blessed both in iowa and here in washington with tremendous people that have worked so hard for me and committed themselves to the people of iowa and to this country. and all of them are very, very special to me. one person, chief of staff, who happens to be in the chamber tonight, has been with me since day one, the year before i got elected. so 21 years he has had to put up with me. thank you very much. thanks to all the members of my staff. it has been a pressure for me, a great, great honor to have the

privilege of serving with them, because we have all done it on a cumulative basis and try to do the best job possible for the people of iowa. i have to say thank you. i have represented a lot of the state, having the different districts, starting with the th rd rict, 4 tl district, 3 district, but it is the honor of my life to serve the people of iowa and have that opportunity to be their representative in washington to try to accomplish things for their good, for the good of the country, and again, just to say thank you. verybody knows the sacrifice

those in congress knows the sacrifice of your family. and my parents who were such great role models taught me so much. i have four brothers and their families. , my daughter and her husband, keaton, mason and carson and jill, my daughter and her husband nick and their son will, love them. and what they have done to support me over the years is tremendous and will always be appreciated. obviously, there's one person you could never be successful if you didn't have the support of your spouse and kathy has been just exceptional, putting up

with all the back and forth, having two residences, having to travel here, keep everything going at home while i'm away. the first 19 years we were married, i was on the road with our family business. the last 20 years, i have been gone being in congress. and so obviously, her love, her support has meant everything in the world to me and thank you, dear. let me just say in closing, it's been an amazing ride for 20 years and a kid -- grew up like mr. simpson said and mr. king said, grew up on a farm outside of a town of 168 people. to come to washington and represent iowa here is obviously a huge honor from that

background. and anyone -- any member listening -- but if you ever get to the point when you walk across the street and look at the dome and get your chill up your spine, you probably should go home. i still get that chill, but it's time for myself and my family to go a different course. i'm extraordinarily proud to have served here. this is a great, great body. it's something is an incredible institution. it is truly a slice of america when you come here and you meet the different folks. all you learn about this great country, having to take into consideration a lot of different iews and constituencies from all across the country is an amazing experience. i'm very, very proud of that and will always feel that my time was well spent here.

but more so today, i'm excited about the future, because we are going to have an opportunity to spend more time with the family, with kathy, the kids and grandchildren and do some things that we haven't been able to do before. i'm proud of the past, excited about the future and i just thank god i have had the opportunities i had to grow up in this state like iowa and community, parents like i had and brothers and the support of the family, but this is the greatest country in the world. will always be because of our system of government as hard as it is to get something done, as difficult as it is, it is the right thing. i never learned -- i never learned a thing when i'm talking. you learn things when you listen to other folks and maybe step

back and listen to each other more and maybe we would be better off. with that, let me say thank you to everyone. it's a great country. god bless america and i'm excited about the future. i yield back to the gentleman. mr. simpson: i thank the gentleman, and again, we're going to miss you. don't be a stranger. you still have another week or two to serve before we sine die and now that you call file for medicare, you wish you and cagget youy the best in this next journey of your life and make sure you get out to idaho and we'll take some famous potatos and iowa corner and put them together with steak

set a record for 60 years and privilege for me now, mr. speaker, also to be in this well to deliver what is my last speech on this floor. it has been a privilege and honor of a lifetime for me to serve as a member of the united states congress, serving as the first woman ever elected from the state of minnesota in the capacity of being a republican. it's an honor and it's a ride of a lifetime. and as i stand here in the well of this house, i'm fulfilled with joy and so much happiness and understanding that the privilege that i have is one of

being really a link on a chain, that's gone on for hundreds of years. and i stand right here on the soil in the square feet that are the freest square feet in the world, because you see, mr. speaker, it is here where any ice that holds an election certificate can speak forth the words, words that maybe the president of the united states would agree -- disagree with, words that maybe colleagues from one's own party or other party may disagree with, words that might have people go to riot. but words, nonetheless that are free, free, free because a price was paid so that speech could be given. it's an honor. where else could we find this level of freedom anywhere in the

world? and that's why at the very top of this capitol on the rotunda dome, standing a full 20 feet tall is a statue called freedom. it's a woman and her name is freedom. and she stands as the upper-most point in this part of our nation's capitol. and she faces east, because she faces towards the sunrise, so that every day freedom's face looks into the morning son and happily we begin yet one more day of liberty in this country. you see, i'm so proud to be a part of this nation. i'm so proud to be an american citizen, because i recognize the costs that my freedom was the price that was paid for it by those who have gone before and so thrilled to have this opportunity.

just behind me mr. speaker, above where you are standing is our nation's motto, and it says in god we trust. what a fabulous motto. could any better motto be written for any nation to declare full voice that it is in god that we as a nation put our trust. what other more trustworth venue could there be? what other trustworthy vehicle could there be than a holy god. these words were mouthed by the founders of our country, those who decided to leave the comforts of their home to come here to what was essentially an untested, untapped world where there were people, the native americans who populated this land, but where a brand new culture was about to be born. one that would be blessing the entire world.

where people knew they could come from any portion of the world and find a new birth of freedom, as individuals but also as a nation. we have so much to be thankful for, so much to be grateful for. for people who have never been in this chamber before, this is the room where the laws of our nation are formulated. our founders meant that the house of representatives would be the most powerful form of government. why? because it would be these 435 members that we eventually became, we would hold the power of the purse, we would hold the nation's credit card. and it would be us to decide what we spent money on and what we didn't. we would formulate policy with -million w 300-plus

american people. we are the law givers. the people have given us the privilege of the election certificate to make the laws. we must never forget that it is by the consent of the governed that we rule and we decide our laws. as i look about this chamber, we re ringed with the sill wet. various law givers throughout all of time, law givers for whom veneration is required and yet only one law giver has the distinction of not having it but having the full faith being revealed by the artist. that law giver is moses. moses is directly above the double doors that lead into the center-most part of this chamber. and in the face of moses, his

eyes look straight upon not only our nation's motto, in god we trust, but moses' face looks full on into the face of the speaker of the house. daily the speaker of the house, as he stands up in his authority and in his podium, recognizes that he, too, is a man under authority, just as moses was a man under authority. because you see, mr. speaker, moses is given -- for the full honor of the greatest law giver in this chamber, because he was chosen by the god that we trust to be entrusted with the basis of all law. the basis of all law as was written by blackstone, the famous english jurist was the 10 commandments that were given none other by the god we trust

on mount sinai. we know those laws. those are the fundamental laws of mankind. and here in the united states, the 10 commandments that god gave to moses is the very foundation of the law that has given to happiness and the rise of the greatest prosperity that any nation has known before. r. speaker, it could be no coincidence that this is nation knowing great prosperity, that it could be built upon that foundation of the 10 commandments and the laws given by the god in who we trust. what a privilege we have been given. what an unparalleled foundation. we have so much to be grateful for and thankful for. and before i continue my remarks.

i want to also say to thank you to people in their individual capacity who have done so much to help me in my service in the ouse of representatives of --. i thank the people of the 6th congressional district of minnesota who gave me the election certificate that i have been privileged to hold for these four terms that i have served in office for eight years. had the people not elected me to serve, i would have never known what a privilege it would be to serve them here in this chamber. and i thank the great people of the 6th district. it is known as the greatest people in this country as far as i'm concerned. people, where all the men are good looking and the children are above average. it is a state unlike any other. and it was a privilege to serve. i thank the numerous volunteers

who worked on my campaigns to send me here. without their tireless works and making phone calls, it never would have happened. i was a home maker at home, with our family. i have been a federal tax litigation attorney. i had the privilege of starting a charter school and my husband and i started our own examine. -- company. i want to thank the people of the 6th district and the volunteers who sent me here. and i thank the donors who gave their money also so i could be here. i had very hard-fought campaigns. i was the top nemes is and millions of dollars were spent to make sure that i would not have the privilege of standing in the well of this house. but i want to thank those who

gave me the money to be able to come and who sacrificed so i could be here. over the years, my races were so expensive that at one point, mine was the most expensive race in the country and that was done on an average donation of $41 per donation. millions and millions of dollars with an average donation of $41. i'm so proud of that, because real people across the united states saw in me an authentic credible voice who was here to speak for them. i had people who said to me, thank you, you speak for me and i'm so thankful that you fought for me here in washington. they knew i wasn't here to speak for special interests and knew i wasn't bought and paid for, and knew i was speaking for them. and i want to say to those who did donate money to my campaigns, i'm the same person today as i was when i came here

eight years ago and i fought for you and for the values that you sent me here to fight for. . i also want to thank the god who created us. the creator god, the god that jefferson pointed to in the declaration of independence. it is because of him and because he created me in his image and likeness as he has each one of us that i even had the possibility of coming here to be able to serve. i also thank my parents, my father who has passed away, i thank my mother, jene, and my step-father, for their love and their support over the years as well. i am thank tolve my brothers, david and gary and paul and my step-brothers and my step-sisters. i'm thankful to my husband, marcus, of 36 years. to to our five wonderful children, lucas and his wife, christine, harrison, elisa,

caroline and sofia. and also to our wonderful 23 foster children that we were privileged to raise over the years. as i often joke, yes, i am the old woman in the shoe. i've raised 28 children and i'm so grateful for each one of them. i'm thankful for my very dear friend over the years who prayed for me and stood by me and helped me to get to this position, to my supporters from the great state of minnesota. and most particularly to the prayer warriors. the very first committee that we formed every time i ran for political office was our prayer committee. and i thank you to the intersessers who prayed routinely for me, those prayers i believe were answered. i also say thank you to the men and women who serve today in our armed forces. it was the privilege of a lifetime for me to go and travel across the world to iraq, to afghanistan, to germany and various places around the world where i was able to meet you in your service and i thank you for

allowing me to meet you there. i say thank you to our veterans who have gone before. you know how near and dear you are to my heart. i'm the daughter of a veteran, step-daughter of a veteran, sister of a veteran. and i am so grateful because i recognize we would not be here today if it wasn't for our veterans and i thank you for your service to our country. because you answered the call. i want to also say thank you to my staff, my longest serving staff member, kim ruben, who came with me on day one and who has served me every single day so superbly as my scheduler. there is no one quite like her and i have absolutely no idea how i will order my life once i leave here without kim ruben. i say thank you to my chief of staff, robert bowlen, who has stepped in and done a wonderful job with our well-organized machine and our office. he makes it a joy for everyone in our office to serve.

i say thank you to my press communications director, dan, who has done such a wonderful job every day, challenging know make sure that i can be as good as i can and to keep me from making the mistakes that i'm all too prone to make. for mckayla hall who keeps me on the current edge in absolutely everything that she does, with a brilliant career in front of her. for renee doyle, my dear long-time friend and legislative director, who has a heart of gold and who has served tirelessly in every form of her capacity. for jason fry, sergeant fry, who has served our nation as a veteran, but who now will be a legislative director for my successor and he will do a wonderful job serving. for kevin wasaki who has a tremendous future and has served me so well. i thank him, mr. speaker, for the brilliant, high-quality man of integrity that he is. for jessica cah limbings, l who what -- cahill who has always

served me. for our intern, julie, for our district director, deb, who has been so faithful to me during my time and service. for barbara harper, who has been with me through thick and thin, through 16 years of activism and political life. for nicole receiverson-pe -- receiverson--- severson-pelzer. i'm so grateful for the capitol police for all that they've done to secure my safety. for the sergeant at arms, for our chaplains, our bible study leaders, for the clerk's office. i want to give a special shoutout to james who runs the railroad car in the basement of the rayburn building. james has become a wonderful friend, a man of god, and we literally have tears in our eyes when we are saying good-bye to each other in these last days. he has brought joy to my heart and i thank him, as well as i thank maria, who stands right out here outside the door. she has to fetch me all the

time because i'm usually the last one in the chamber, trying to get more business done. maria says, it's time to go, congresswoman, and i thank god for maria and what a darling she's been. for the committee staff from financial services committee of which i've been privileged to serve for eight years. for the committee staff on intel committee. no one knows how hard they work and what a vital service they play to our nation. to bonnie, the elevator lady, who's always so happy. i'm so grateful for her. and for the two ladies that are at the lunch counter back in the cloakroom. to ms. pat and ms. doirs. you are such good cooks, you make wonderful sand witches. and i always knew that if i was short $2, you'd see me through to the next day. so thank you for believing in my credit worthiness. more than anything, i want to say thank you to the founders of this nation who gave us the most incredible ride by believing in us and in our future, by recognizing that these truths are self-evident,

that all men and all women are created equal, that we are endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights, that among those rights are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. and what that means to me is this. no government gave me rights that only god can give. and no government can take away the rights that only god can give. the only reason that we even have a government and the only reason it was instituted among men is to secure for me and for you the rights that god gave us. life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. beyond that we rule by the consent of the governed. this is a pretty simple gig to figure out here. there are things that government can't touch. would that we would learn that. but there are things that we do . and those things that we do should be for the happiness of man kind. you see, it is our job not to

think only of ourselves but to think of the generations that are yet to come. my favorite americans are people who didn't know they were americans. they were the pilgrims. they came here before our nation was founded. and i love the story that was written by governor bradford. he wrote in his journal, which i have read in the kings english mument approximately times, it's one of my favorite groups of people, the pilgrims. governor bradford wrote that with the sorrow and the sacrifice that the pilgrims made, you know, vet first year when they came over, fully half of them died in that first starving winter. governor bradford wrote that it was worth it all because the pilgrims saw themselves in his words as stepping stones. he said, they willingly laid down their lives and sacrificed themselves because they looked

into the future, mr. speaker. and they saw you and they saw me and they saw all of the american generations that would come after them and they saw what a marvelous land filled with natural resources, the ability to have freedom, a completely new covenant, a completely new promise that we could make with the future and with the god that we trust. we could have here a brand new ordered experiment in liberty and we did. and the generations benefited. and our generation has benefited like nothing before. and that's what we too must do. and as i wind down my remarks, i say thank you, mr. speaker. thank you that i could have that privilege of also being a stepping stone, to look to the future, so that the next generation would live better than w

>> it's a great question.

i think for all of us who use a computer every day, we have certain expectations -- who we are sharing information with. -- are tions i have shifted. i realize there's another party who may see what i'm doing. message example, a pops up. certain lines that we don't know we have crossed them until it is too late. that's true for researchers, it's true for companies. there is not a clear sense of is t is creepy, because that culturally specific. person talking loudly, with to them right next listening is not strange.

we're not just dealing with the cultural context -- individuals preferences nt around privacy. at 8 est.ght state john y of for the stified that senate foreign committees on force e of military against isis. he also talked about the strategy against isis in syria. >> no more war. no more war. come to committee will order.

mr. secretary, we welcome you back to the committee. >> thank you for coming to talk most important e topics that congress must deal with. when you last appeared before committee in september, you talked about the use of force against isis. you to e are asking provide the administration's views on this text, and on your of ategic planning countering isil. most important vote that any member of congress can take, vote that potentially sends american sons and daughters into harms way. we do not take that lightly.

requires our full attention on three issues -- whether it is to counter isil, i believe it is, and i doubt anyone on the committee would disagree. i believe the risk of isil a safe haven could create operational capacity to attack american interest. need to understand the political and military this operation -- how we expect to achieve them, and the timeframe of this campaign. i know some may see this as of the , but at the end not americans will authorize -- they do not want but krugman allowing take the hard, that

to ances their ability recruit fighters. in my view, the use of ground at this time, would be just like iraq again. frankly, what we undertake today is not what i_. i hoped to undertake this conversation weeks ago. that did not happen. we are here today to begin the process of taking action. i think the american people that congressional leaders -- as i've said many times, i'm not comfortable with the nstrations reliance on

aumf. 9/11 a -- aumf was created then, no one would expect us to acting under it 13 years later. under ferent countries, completely different circumstances 13 years later. congress has the responsibility and the authority to authorize military action and declare war for these reasons. we are the checks and balance on the power. if we have abandoned the small, a great disservice to the american people. white house d the kitchen limit

activities of our forces so there will be no large scale ground combat operation. if the president thinks he needs that, he should ask for congress can consider. it should be authorized for three years, and require a report every 60 days. in the draft, authorization the be limited for protection of u. s. soldiers. the authorization would be limited to three years. the president has said this will be a multitier campaign. not believe the aumf

should be unlimited. the timeframe will allow the president to make responsible decisions. that said, mr. secretary, we would like to hear from the administration, wwhat the what you see.and i do not believe that placing on this aumf sends a message of weakness. this is meant to authorize the do our er-in-chief to part in the combat against isil. isil not just an american problem, it is a global problem. no strategy can rely on americans alone.