select live at the u.s. house now meets or one minute beaches this afternoon. legislative work underway at 3:30 for a debate on six bills on human trafficking. voting has been postponed due to the snowstorm hitting the east coast. later this week we could see work on a bill dealing with natural gas imports. we are live on the house floor here on c-span. we expect members to gaveling in just moments.

the speaker pro tempore: th house lle order. prer today will be offered by our chaplain, father conroye. -- father conroy. chaplain conroy: let us pray. we give you thanks, o god, for giving us another day. we ask your blessing upon this people's house as we are in the beginning days of this new congress. encompass with your power all the walls of this building, truly assembled to the world of unalienable rights and the freedom of people. guide and protect your elected servants in government and all who work in this plays. -- place. may all who visit here be treated with respect and kindness. may the comings and goings of your people be under the seal of your loving care and all work

accomplished here this day be for your greater honor and glory, amen. the speaker pro tempore: the chair has examined the jona of theasdas ocdis oues tthhoe aplo pursuant to clause oful1, the jourl an arod. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. pitts. mr. pitts: will our guests in the gallery please join us in saying the pledge. i pledge allegiance to the a of thuness ari plouge indivisible, with bey and juice r l. the speaker pro tempore: the chairilnow entertain reqstfor one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentlemafr arkansas seek recognion? >> mr. speaker, i seek unanimous consent to address the hoe r one mite. the keteor without objection, the gentleman is recogz onmite. >> mr. speaker, i rise today in remembrance of a terrific leader and public servant in northwest

arkansas rogers arkansas police chief, james allen, who passed away last thursday after a long battle with cancer. chief allen began his law enforcement career in 1977 as a patrolman and emt for the jacksonville arkansas please department. mr. womack: then served with the arkansas alcoholic beverage division before moving to bentonville in 1989 where he enjoyed 22 years of faithful and dedicated service as that city's chief. in 2011, he left betonville to serve my hometown of rogers where his leadership and professionalism were admired by all. he leaves behind a law enforcement community shaped impeccably by a firm but fair leadership standard. our two communities, mr. speaker, mourn with his family and friends and it's with a heavy heart we say goodbye to this respected law enforcent professional.

rest in peace, chief allen. our state and nation are forever grateful for your service. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: e gentlemayidsacth bf s me for whuroe genemm syiaee regn >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognid r onmite. >> thank you, mr. speaker. it's an honor to be here and to speak on this house floor for the first time. i want to thank the constituents, my congssnal district, the 13th of pennsylvania, in philadelphia and montgomery county for giving me this unique opportunity. mr. speaker, i am here to speak about an issue that affects millions of americans in the middle class, myself included. mr. boil: the student loan debt crisis. -- mr. boyle: the student loan debt crisis. while i applaud president obama's announcementth american college proposal, which

would provide two years of community college to responsible students, we do need to make expansion of higher education more enduring through legislative action. according to the federal reser of new york, student loan debt has become the largest form of consumer debt in the united states other than mortgages. the financial load on america's student has more than tripled over the past decade to well over $1 trillion. the formidable costs that aspiring students face as they consider college or trade school poses an enormous obstacle to the personal and professial development. mr. speaker, i look forward to many other occasions to speak about this issue as we clearly have to deal with it as a nation and come together. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlan te s pid. for what purpose does the gentlemafr pnsvaa ek ction mr. pitts: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker proemre without objection, the gentlem recnid r one mine. . pitts: mr. speaker, i rise today to bring attention to the state of religious freedom and

pluralism in india. a very troubling pattern, india's historic pluralisis being replaced with intolerance and majoritytarianism. reports from n.g.o.'s have documented a rise in attacks by hindu nationalists by minority christian populations ithe first 100 days of the new government continuing reports show pattern of targeting religious minorities includi india's notably moderate muslim population. the burning of churches, intimidation and arrests of passers has created a tenuous environment. as the government embarks on economic reforms it should not ignore the plight of minorities. the new prime minister must speak out and act on this violence. furthermore, the obama administration must forcibly speak out on behalf of oppressed populations. human rights should be elevated in the strategic dialog between our two countries.

our governments must display moral clarity in our approach to gross violations of international religious freedom, no matter where they occur. i neal back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has exp. for what purpose does the gentlemafr hawaii seek recogtn? mr. at that kay: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the spear tpetht ctn,heenem i recnir one minute. . takai: i rise today to ask my colleagues to join me in writing a wrong that has existed since the end of world war ii. around 250,000 filipino soldiers fought alongside u.s. forces in world war ii. in 1946, president truman stated that it was, and i quote, a moral obligation of united states to look after the welfare of the philippine army veterans, unquote. 44 years later, president bush signed the immigration act of 1990, which offered citizenship to around 26,000 filipino world

war ii veterans. but it did not include their immediate families. today the number of surviving veterans is dwindling. fewer than 4,000 are still alive. many of these veterans live in hawaii. it is our duty to seek this obligation and to take care of those who have fought for our contry. we must lift limitations on immigrant visas and restrictions for their children. i ask you to join me in making good on our nation's commitment to these service members. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentlemanrotes seek recti? mr. burgess: i ask unanimous consent to rise and address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker p tpo: without objectio t genans nid r e mite mrrg mr. speaker, this past weekend i traveled to mcallen, texas, down to our border to once again tour the intake facilities that are being used to process the tens of thousands of individuals who are crossing into the united states

each year. this problem has not gone away. last summer i spent time at home listening to my constituents at town hall meetings. the number one concern for texans was the influx of illegal immigrants into our state. for texans, this has meant a strain on our classrooms, a strain on our hospitals, major strain on local law enforcement and our economy in general. last year, the president refused to come to the texas border. the president has so far refused to govern. the president has refused to follow the rule of law and continues to turn our once pourous border into a wide open space. as such, we must do all we can to secure the southern border and send a loud and clear message tthe child trafficrs drug smugglers, who are taking children on a treacherous journey from central america of the united states and setting them up for failure once they are here. we must end this human rights crisis and the correct way is to secure our southern border. i yield back my time.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentlan te s pid. for what purpose does the gentlewon om north caroli seek recognition? ms. foxx: i ask unanimous consents are t hse r e nu. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady is recognid r one min . xx: thank you, mr. speaker. last week in his state of the union address, president obama proposed to fund publicly the first two years of community college for all americans. as a former community college president, i'm a huge fan of community colleges and the great educational opportunities ty provide the students from a walks of life. however, i'm reminded of the old peanuts cartoon where linus says to lucy, quote, every time there's a good suggestion someone brings up the budget, end quote. making higher education affordable and attainable for america's students must be a priority. but from's $600 billion proposal is the wrong approach for the federal government to take. rather than yet another top-down federal government boondoggle, we need to focus on new ways to promote innovation access, and

completion, and we need to eliminate federal impediments that prevent institutions from delivering higher education and more creative cost-effective ways i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the house lays -- chair lays before the house a communication. the clerk: the honorable the speaker. house of representat, pursuant to the permission granted in clause 2-h of rule 2 of the rules of the u.s. house of representatives, the crk received the following messe from the secretary of the senate on january 26, 2015, at 12:47 p.m. that the senate adopted senate resolution 38, relative to the death of wendall h. ford. with best wishes i am, signed sincerely, karen l. hs. the speaker pro tempore: the chair announces the speaker's appointment pursuant 22 u.s.c. 3003 and the order of the house of january 6, 2015, of the following member on the part of

the house to the commission on security and cooperation in europe. the clerk: mr. smith of new jersey, chairman. the speaker pro tempore: th chair announces the speaker's appointment pursuant to 22 u.s.c. 6913 in the order of the house of january 6, 2015, of the following member on the part of the house of the congressional executive commission on the people's republic of china. the clerk: million smith of new jersey, chairman. the speaker pro tempore: pursuanto ause 12-aru 1rk the chair declares the house in recess subject to

here is a little bit about ms. lynch. since 2010, she has served as attorney general for the eastern district of new york. she previously held the position from 1999-2001, nominated by president bill clinton. president obama nominated her to succeed as error -- to succeed eric holder. she would be the second woman and second african-american to hold office. she is a graduate of hard to it -- harvard university. she is 55 years old. you can see our confirmation hearing before the senate wednesday morning at 10:00 eastern. tonight on the communicators""

said charlie reclassifying broadband and other issues a thing that communications network in 20 15. >> i believe the bipartisan network has served us pretty well with the clinton fcc in 1998 that decided the infirm -- internet would be information service. it was chairman of both political parties, chairman kennard, martin, who recommended the slight touch regulation was the best way to incentivize broadband deployment. so i stand with members of both parties, the sec and capitol hill who recognized this is the best way to go. as you know, while the debate has taken a turn, starting with the president's announcement in december we now stand poised to consider what is called title ii . in my view the heavy-handed

regulation developed decades ago would be a tremendous mistake for the american consumer. >> tonight at 8:00 eastern on " the communicators" on c-span2. i love republican congressman's deep king and citizens united posted the iowa freedom summit in des moines saturday. several republican party leaders of the 26th in presidential candidate spoke. here remarks about the chairman committee currently the arena. [applause] -- carly feeliorina. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015] thank you so much. so great to be with you. when i was a little girl, my mother gave me and the rest of her sundays class a little plaque. it is said what you are is w

got get to you. what you make of yourself is your gift to god. i did not feel very gifted as a child but i went on to college and graduated with a degree in medieval history and philosophy. [laughter] that is right, all dressed up and nowhere to go. so with apologies to every lawyer here, i went off to lost. i hated it and quit after a single semester. to earn a living i went back to doing full-time when i had done part-time to put myself through school. i was a secretary and was hired by a little nine person real estate firm to type and file and answer the phones. i had traveled and lived all over the world, and i know it is still true in 2015 that it is

only in the united states of america and on woman can start as a secretary and become the chief executive officer of the largest technology company in the world. [applause] that is only possible in the united states of america because our founders knew what my mother taught me, all of us have god-given gifts. everyone has potential, and our founders believed that here everyone has the right to fulfill their potential. now i know how proud all of you words the other night to see your senator joni ernst stand up and delivered the response to president obama's date of the union. immediately after her response emily's list, the pro-abortion women's groups, describe senator

ernst, a mother, a soldier, a sitting senator as window dressing. let us talk, please come about who is waging a war on women. the next morning the very next morning valerie jarrett was on tv and talking about it will pay for equal work. i was on the same program, and i asked mr. it why there was a which camp -- wage gap in president obama's white house and measured by the very numbers he used to politicize the issue and asked her further why she was so concerned about you will pay for it will work why the white house was not tackling this in your nieces, which is in place in every federal government euros to receive and every union job. the señora deese system does not reward performance or merit or

hard work but rewards instead time in grade, the seniority in which disadvantages women. it is this typography, the hypotheses of liberals that enrages me most. -- it is this hypocrisy, the hypocrisy of liberals, that enrages me most. while president obama urges us in his state of the union to invest in infrastructure, he is unwilling still to support the keystone xl pipeline. and while the administration cheers when 7 million people sign up for obamacare, they ignore completely that more than that have lost their coverage or no longer have as good coverage as they once had. liberals will decry crony capitalism, but then they pile

on the rules and regs in dodd-frank, and the result, as we know, is that 10 banks too big to fail have become five banks too big to fail. and meanwhile, community banks the places were family-owned businesses, families, and small business owners get their credit -- community banks are struggling. they are struggling because community banks, like small and family-owned businesses, are not big enough, are not powerful enough to hire all the accountants, the lawyers, and the lobbyists to understand all these rules and regs, or to influence them. liberals call is the party of big business. but then they continue to increase the burden and the complexity of taxes and regulations until only the big and powerful and wealthy and the well-connected can survive. i ran a big business.

i did not like the regulations but i could handle them. i could hire accountants and lawyers. the nine person firm i started out in -- they cannot handle it. now, for the first time in u.s. history, we are destroying more small businesses than we are forming. that is terrible because when small business is crushed -- and small business is being crushed all across this country by big government. small business is the engine of economic growth in this country. it creates 2/3 of the new jobs and employs half of our people. small business is being crushed, because only big business can handle big government. i once lived in the state of california. my husband and i moved back to virginia three years ago. but in the state of california -- that state, as you

well know, is where liberals have been in charge for a very long time. the result? the highest poverty rates in the country. income inequality is soaring the devastation and exodus of the middle class the worst business climate in the nation. and in california, liberals expend enormous energy to protect frogs and fish and, yes, even flies. and it is on the issue of life that the hypocrisy of liberals is at its most breathtaking. liberals believe that flies are worth protecting, but the life of an unborn child is not. the platform of the democratic party -- the platform of the democratic party asserts the right to an abortion at any point in a pregnancy, for any reason. and there are now people in the

democratic party pushing to allow these abortions to be performed by non-doctors. barbara boxer once commented that a life is only a life when it leaves the hospital. we know that science supports those of us who believe in the sanctity of life. when i married my husband, i learned his mother had been told to abort him because her life was in danger. but she was a woman of deep faith and great courage. and so she bore him. she spent a year in the hospital after his birth. but her son, my husband, was the joy of her life, and he is the

rock of mine. and i have thought very often how different my life would have been if my mother-in-law had made a different choice. a woman, any woman, who faces a difficult choice or a prenatal diagnosis, this woman deserves our empathy and our support, never our judgment or our condemnation. she knows she will face difficulty and struggle. but none of us can predict the future. none of us can predict the struggles we are going to face. i know this. i know this, having watched our younger daughter consumed by the demons of addiction, which ultimately took her life. i know from my own battle with cancer that sometimes the greatest blessings in life come

from times of struggle. and that the quality of a life is measured in love, in moments of grace, and positive contribution. i know that everyone has god-given gifts, and every life has potential. we know what separates liberals from conservatives. we know as conservatives that no one of us is better than any one of us. liberals don't believe that. liberals think that some are better than others. some are smarter than others. and so some are going to have to and so some are going to have to

take care of others or decide for others. we know -- we know that work brings dignity family brings purpose, and faith brings meaning to our lives. we know. we know that every person has the capacity, has the desire to live a life of dignity and purpose and meaning. and yet, despite these clear differences, we get frustrated when these clear differences don't seem to translate into a different direction. government has gotten bigger under obama. but government has grown year after year after year under both republicans and democrats for 50 years. i serve as the chairman of a christian-based organization called opportunity

international. we have lent over $6 billion to people in desperate poverty so that they could build better lives for themselves and their families, starting with $150 loans. today i can deliver a loan to a woman in mullally over a cell phone. and yet a veteran returning from battlefields with grievous wounds, a veteran must spend months filling out paperwork and then spend maybe more months waiting for a bureaucrat to check that paperwork and determine that this veteran has -- deserves the benefits they already have earned. and then they have to wait months more to be treated. we cannot tinker around the edges of this problem anymore.

but knowing that that problem has existed for decades -- and that is just one of the problems of our government. the veterans administration has been a problem for decades knowing that these problems have existed for this time. the sad truth is that legislators from both parties declared victory, not when they were able to guarantee a veteran the care that they have earned. they declared victory when they did something they should have done a long time ago. they passed a bill allowing senior executives to be fired if they were not doing their jobs. really? really? is this the best we can do? the majority of americans and the majority of women agree that abortion after five months for any reason is extreme. and yet, politics, apparently,

intervened to prevent the pain capable unborn child protection act from being brought to a vote. it says once again politics has triumphed over principles and expediency has triumphed over courage. this is not leadership of the house. i am reminded -- i am reminded of the difference between management and leadership, between managers and leaders. managers do the best they can withint existing contraints, within the system. leaders change constraints and conditions. leaders see possibilities, and

leaders mobilize others to seize possibilities. leaders do not accept what is broken simply because it has always been that way. you know, in every profession there is a hazard that you are so consumed by your profession that you do not see anything else. and so you start to lose perspective. your judgment is clouded. you cannot see the forest for the trees. you cannot see the principles through the politics. you cannot recognize the dysfunction around you. in business people become obsessed with making quarterly numbers. and they fail in that environment to see the long-term investments that need to be made, or they violate ethics or the law to make the numbers. in politics, people can become obsessed with the back-and-forth, with the tactical advantage, with the vote in front of them, with the

press coverage about them. they fail to see the principle at stake or what is truly broken in our system. people who have been in and around government and politics for their entire lives may no longer be able to see the truth. our government must be fundamentally reformed. the system has to be changed. our politics can no longer tinker on the edges. because, you see -- and you know this -- the bureaucratic monster that our government has become is not simply inefficient or ineffective or corrupt. the truth now is that our government size, its complexity,

its cost, and its power over our lives now work against the interests of the people. the potential of america is being crushed by the weight of government of america. only citizens -- only citizens like you and me can see what must be done. and this will take courage and common sense. it will take character and it will take commitment. ours was always intended to be a citizen government. our founders actually never envisioned a professional political class. they envisioned that people, that leaders would emerge from agriculture or commerce and would serve their nation when she called them to do so.

to accomplish fundamental reform will take an understanding of the technology driving this century and changing our world. it will require an understanding of how the economy actually works. it will require an understanding, a knowledge of how bureaucracies functions and how real change can be accomplished. fundamental reform will take a return to the values that have always been the bedrock of this nation. we must understand our role in the world, which is to lead. and the nature of our allies and especially the nature of adversaries. like hillary clinton, i have traveled hundreds of thousands

of miles around the globe. but unlike her i have actually accomplished something. you see, mrs. clinton, flying is not an accomplishment. it is an activity. i have met vladimir putin. i know that it takes far more than a gimmicky red reset button to halt his ambition. having done business in 80 countries, having served as the chairman of the external advisory board for several years, i know china and north korea and russia are state sponsors of cyber warfare. i know china has a strategy to steal our intellectual property. i know netanyahu. i know when he warns us that

iran is a threat to our nation and to his own that we must listen. unlike hillary clinton, i know what difference it makes that our american ambassador in three -- and three other brave americans were killed in a deliberate terrorist attack on the anniversary of 9/11 in libya. apparently, unlike hillary clinton and barack obama, i know our response must be more forceful than the arrest of a single individual one year later. i am a conservative.

because after a lifetime of experience in all kinds of places and in all kinds of environments, i still know that our principles work better to unlock potential in others. i also know that this is the highest calling of leadership. i have had the great privilege to travel all across this nation and all across the state of iowa. i sense a deep disquiet. americans fear we are losing something, and they know we are missing something. we fear we are losing the essence of who we are. we fear we are losing that uniquely american sense of

limitless possibility, for ourselves, for our children, for our grandchildren. but all of our nation's wounds are self-inflicted. all of our problems can be solved. every american can live a life of dignity and purpose and meaning. we have everything we need to make this time the greatest in america's history. what is required now is citizenship and leadership. and so let us together rise to meet the challenges that confront us. let us together truly reform our government and our politics.

let us together restore the promise of this, the greatest nation the world has ever known. may god bless you all and may god continue to bless the united states of america. thank you so much. thank you. >> steve king cohosted the iowa freedom summit on saturday. sarah palin spoke.

>> thank you so much i'll. thank you. i'm so happy to get to be here. thank you. i thank you so much. it is so great to be back in iowa. we have great memories here. the many trips that we have been blessed to take here. the 2008 campaign. then even more fun, the tea party rally we had. that was fun. we have had fried everything at your state fair. then, one year thinking that after the fair, i was going to work some of it off, we drive up to storm lake.

i think there is a half-marathon going on. i can go incognito and jump into this race. incognito. it means for me no makeup. i'm going to scare little children. i am running the race and jump in there. i'm incognito, i'm thinking i'm running in peace. no one is talking politics. i can't talk anyway. but no press there with suspicious thinking of their signals, she is in iowa, what is she doing? iowa politicos are good at sensing who is coming, who is going, and the significance of your state. i'm running, but no press bugging me if i want to run for president or not. that was the year of that question. jumping into the race, i'm running across the finish line.

boom, there i am accused of running that race for political purposes. and i find out that, ok, i'm in iowa, the race happened to be called the jump right in and run race. plus i got a medal. the press is like you orchestrated that. i'm like, oh, yeah, ask todd. anyway, my best memories are of the wonderful friends we have made here, good people, hard workers, with love for this great country. they show your work ethic. even driving by your homes with flags waving on front porches, where on any given night i think a lot of you may be found out

there on your porch, proudly clinging to your guns, your god, your constitution. it is because of that, because of you the rest of the country knows this part of america as the heartland. last time i was here to campaign, it was for one of those friends whom we have made, and you know her as a soldier, a farmer, a good neighbor, and back then i called her a pistol packing harley riding mama grizzly. now i am thrilled to call her your senator, joni ernst. other friends, too. it was here in iowa that i first met a big, burly, bold, but kind of sheepdog humble type of guy who wanted to help us out with security.

and so happy to get to bring him to iowa and get to know him well. he was a veteran. my heart for the military. it was humbling. we became friends with them over the years, todd and him especially becoming friends. we learn more about his amazing story. it is the story of so many of our veterans incredible sacrifice to protect our freedom. and while we miss that particular friend now, we are so happy the rest of america is getting to know more and more the story of "american sniper," chris kyle. it was here that we were introduced to chris. you know why that movie is breaking records all over this great nation? it is because america needs a hero again. chris kyle has been that man. screw the left in hollywood who can't understand what it is that we see in someone like chris

kyle all of our vets. so the last couple of days, my daughter and i have been at a gun show in las vegas. at the gun show, getting to link up with thea, chris' wife. thea throwing a big party there, honoring veterans now that chris is gone, carrying on her husband's legacy, visiting with the veterans. like those military families having that sincere appreciation for what other military families go through, spending so much time with these other veterans. at this party, it seems that we are always going rogue something always happens.

we're at the party, we are signing books. in the back this young, very energetic, very bold young veteran holds up a sign, and it was a four-letter message to michael moore. i call him up front. he is holding the poster. i am looking at it. he shows it to me. pictures started snapping. i'm giving the poster the old thumbs-up. it was my thumb, not any other finger. that poster, though -- you have heard the term swear like a sailor. i think this guy was a soldier. same thing. someone snapped that photo and we have taken a lot of heat over the last two days for being seen with it the message to michael

moore he deserves. i was thinking we will take that heat. that is ok. what the poster said is what the rest of us are thinking. what it really came down to was our message to those who don't understand again the opportunity they have to do whatever the heck they want to do even if they are jerks, because it is our veterans, our active service members who are protecting their right to be jerks. if you love freedom, you think of vets. i'm glad to be in iowa because i'm amongst friends who understand that foundational aspect of america. we appreciate our vets. ok. one other connection to iowa. someone else who hails from the hawkeye state, speaking of bristol, maybe you have seen her

in the news recently because photos of her were posted. they were candid photos of her au naturel, just nothing on but leather, beautiful leather. she was trained here in iowa. another scandal with the palins. these pictures were posted of her because she has been trained as a companion for my youngest child, trig, the less special needs. this healthy labrador, jill, she was trained by the same talents at the puppy jake foundation that train service dogs for our vets. so we have an honor to be a part of that organization and that charity and our dog. we are happy she is from puppy

jake. these pictures, it was just scandalous that i would show our big, strapping, healthy lab letting my little boy use her as a stepping stool to get to reach the kitchen sink. i took a picture and said this is what turning a stumbling block until a stepping stone is all about. who would have thunk it would have become a scandal? they just let loco. they went absolutely crazy. this rest of the tinderbox of a world, everything that is going on in it, and yet this was the most outrageous thing that had happened. peta, barking their tired old death threats against us. and i say, get in line, weasels.

yeah. they are howling to the press. cruelty to animals, sarah palin, which surprised me, considering what it does. what joni ernst does to those iowa hogs. yeah, and not to mention, but the president admitted to doing to those innocent indonesian puppies. jill adapted. she is another connection to iowa. her motto is better a stepping stone than a snack. yeah. better stepped on been scarfed up. and yet the media crucified us. we are getting used to that. thank you some much, citizens united, awesome group. thank you for the invitation and steve king, very strong.

he is going rogue in d.c. for being one of the brave to pull the lever for change in congressional leadership so we can have new energy and conservative movement, the policies that will get the country on the right track. mostly, i thank you for being here. thank you. today you are hearing words for -- from many different people. one thing is in common. we believe what ronald reagan believed, that we are a people who have a government, not a government that has a people. it was jefferson's warning, when the people fear their government, that is tyranny. but when government fear the people, there is freedom. we are here on the name of freedom. so we are here in that name of

freedom and, you, even you get to decide who will fight for it. you will caucus to help choose our next president a year from now. it can't come soon enough. it's about dang time. and candidates will come here to earn your votes. the rest of america watching and trusting iowa to put them through the test to ensure they are ready for war. and it is war. it is war for the future of our country, it is war for the sovereignty and solvency of the united states of america. the other side, the far left they see a need for change. but it is by offering real change, again? coronation, rinse, repeat. clinton, rinse, repeat.

these leftists are promoting these ready for campaigns, ready for hillary. well, these hopey changey d.c. businesses disguised as grassroots, but don't you wonder what the white house things of them out there prancing around squealing they are ready for someone else? they have to admit it even. because they know that he who was the one, now with tea time on the mind, he is so over it. america, he is just not that into you. the $18 trillion question, though is.

do the candidates think they are ready for represent any hope or change? or is it more of the same old failed state-ism that we suffer from? what can they do differently to put an economy on the side of the middle class instead of the side of their crony capitalists? will they worry more about securing our borders and less about securing a primo tee time? how will they protect our standing across the world when they cannot protect an ambassador? when will they listen to concerns of we the people instead of listening in on our phone calls? how will they -- [indiscernible] when will they let us control our own care? what will they do to stop causing our pain and stop

-- start feeling it again? well, in other words, is hillary a new democrat or an old one? now, the press asks, can anyone stop hillary? this is to forego a conclusion. it is to scare us. that a pantsuit can crush patriots? that is what this is all about. hey, iowa, can anyone stop hillary? yes, we can. and it starts here. and it starts now. from back comes good. that has been one of my mantras. from very backing come very good. as we look back on history, the last time that we suffered under

such an out-of-touch presidency, where we were lifted out by a charismatic solution oriented conservative who so loved this country and put his faith in her people. we can't have the gipper back. but we can offer that study, smart, stiff-spined leadership that reagan did. and that's our challeng. to give the people real hope now is the time for conservative colors, not establishment pale pastels. we need to ask who carries on reagan's legacy? who will lead our freedom movement to victory to begin the restoration of america? you answer that by making the gop primary a competition, not

coronation. our party is at a crossroads. and many voters -- some in my family even -- they have lost faith in the gop machine. they are registering as independents. so many voters, independents. they are looking for principle and patriotism over political party. the good news is, in our party our bench is deep. that's a good thing. it is primary competition that will surface the candidate who is up to the task and can unify. and this person has to because knowing what the media will do all throughout 2016 to all of us, it is going to take more

than a village to beat hillary. here is how we do it. we go on offense. we go on offense now. we expect gop leaders in d.c. to get on offense. we the people, we realize this is war, it is war for the sovereignty of the united states america. we don't sit on our thumbs this next time when one of our own is being crucified, and falsely accused of whatever the hit accusation of the day happens to be, racism, sexism, whatever. it is orwellian observing how that works, that rule that the left employs. disgusting charges from the

left, reverse them. it is they who point a finger, not really -- they have tripled the amount of fingers pointed back at them. revealing they are the ones who really discriminate and divide on color and class and sex. we call them out and we don't let them get away with it. on gender, this one, it is they who deceive women. they shackle them to the good old boys running washington, and this promise that they have to provide for the little ladies every need because they are there, a woman, she is just not capable. it is the left that does that. it isn't the right. it isn't conservatives. so we go on offense, and we reveal the real war on women

with truth, because we can handle the truth. we give back and we give hope. we give a real choice. we walk it, don't talk it. by proving to voters what works. we do that by supporting those who have actually done the job who have cut government, and incentivized the private sector, and never compromise on freedom. proof that that works? look at the conservative governors. they are accountable. they administer. they have these results all across the united states and conservative governor's offices that results can be argued. we don't underestimate the wisdom of the people when we on offense give them the truth and the true state of the union,

especially showing young people what is actually going on, and teaching young people there ain't no such thing as a free lunch. there is no free college. there is no free birth control. there is no free phone. someone pays. someone always pays. so we undo that leftist thinking and teaching the enabling. we counter it with reality and empower young kids again and bring them on our side, and make them know to get a buck, you get off your butts. we teach that again. we get honest on national security. we give hope to the people that we need not, we will not succumb to evil. and we call it as it is. we address it.

that must be, that 800-pound elephant in the room of the white house that the radical left won't even name, they won't even name the threat to our way of life today. we will hit it, we will name it. it is any muslim who would choose evil, whose loyalty to a death-cult perversion has so darkened and has deceived their soul that they actually think they are welcome here, to transform here? no. what we do, we strengthen our military. we respect our troops. and we let them, our troops and our gatekeepers, we let them tell jihadists, uh-uh, this is our house, get the hell out.

and amnesty. we have to be candid. and the people deserve the candidness. amnesty, no. the left and rinos, they would report those whose first action is to break the law? we win with the wonderful immigrants who have built the country legally, and we secure their rights and their hard-fought opportunities. together we show the deserving middle class that we will be decimated under this unconstitutional executive amnesty. we also have to school our president, i guess, on the rules. an impatient president doesn't just get to trample our constitution and ignore congress just because he doesn't get exactly what he wants every time he wants it. with all due respect to the office of the presidency, it is like an overgrown little boy who

is just acting kind of spoiled and moms -- we don't put up with that, do we? or dads either. it reminds me of bristol. she can testify to this. she came home from preschool and her cruel teacher, a sharp woman, whose family had gone from that come from mexico and bristol said her mother and dad are so happy they got to come to america, and the daughter she became a teacher. they are so happy. they love this country so much. they named her after our country. my teacher's first name is land. i thought land? i thought that would be a name maybe a palin kid would have to suffer through that name the rest of their life. but bristol hasn't got it right. the teacher's real name was america.

the parents had named her america. i was explaining that to bristol. it is not land or globe. she taught bristol, so many kids, a lesson that our president must have missed, when students would whine about something not getting their way exactly as they wanted in that class, she would sing this little mantra, america said you get what you get and you don't throw a fit. that is what our president must have missed growing up. because this insistence, this lawlessness of he trying to get his way tramples our constitution. i won't even get into the details of everything. but from debt, when you are in a

hole you don't want to be in, the first thing is they stop digging. i don't know what is wrong with the leaders in this country who understand we are in a hole we don't want to be in and they keep digging. from debt to energy, proving the inherent link between american-made energy and prosperity, and energy insecurity to solutions like the flat tax that we need, to stop this unhealthy new obsession that we are hearing about, even on our side of the aisle, the subjective income gap we are supposed to be so obsessed with, no, we don't have to be obsessed with it, not when everything rises together, with conservative, proven free-market principles that incentivize pursuing capital and investment for innovation so it results in lasting prosperity for everyone. and so stop this overreaching bureaucracy which we get on offense. and we drive in solutions and we be bold.

i remember, it was here in iowa that i put forward in a speech some years ago -- i guess they didn't listen because they didn't do anything about it -- i said why don't we decentralize the federal government? we have to be bold. move what is remaining across the country to the people. if there was to be a department of energy, put it where the energy is located. pack it up in a u-haul. what better place for the department of agriculture than in agricultural countries so they see how policies affect the farmers and ranchers who feed our country? things like that. it must change. government. -- things must change for our government. look at it. it is not too big to fail. it is too big to succeed. so we can afford no retreads, or nothing will change.

the same policies that got us into this status quo. another latin word. status quo. it stands for, the middle class, everyday americans are really getting taken for a ride. that is status quo. gop leaders, by the way -- the man can only ride you when your back is bent. strengthen it. then the man can't ride you and america won't be taken for a ride. maybe just the next standing of theirs and the next election. we are not in the mood to get policies to pass because they have a party initial next to their name. evidence of this that it is not just us thinking this, but across the country. look at the governor's elected without a majority of the vote. that is the result about independent and strong

third-party candidates. it is at its highest level in the last hundred years. alaska just elected a very strong conservative who formed an independent ticket to prove that he be beholden to the people, not to party politics that result in the titles and hierarchies and problems that come with that. being beholden to the people. it is their record then, not their standing in the party, but their record that needs to be considered. and we cut them if we want a fired-up, unified base to get the gop over the line to thwart the lies of the left and their politics of destruction, we have to cut candidates who don't fit the bill of being beholden to the people.

see, we will vote for those who have a record to prove it. and voters of all stripes are desiring something to vote for this time. for their american dream, not just against tired failed policies. we -- they will vote for the american dream for their kids and their grandkids. we have to be careful going through the primary process not to marginalize any commonsense conservative. let's take the sign off the door to the oval office, the one that said no girls allowed. take that off the wall. and we remember what margaret thatcher would always remind her constituents, that if you want something said, you ask a man. if you want something done, you ask a woman. and america is ready to get stuff done.

so we take the ball and we drive to victory. and we give real hope with real solutions grounded in time-tested truths. these solutions that will be brought to you by a competitor with a record to prove it. and then we are ready for hillary. now i'm ready for hillary. are you? are you coming? it was a few summers ago -- my final thought here -- a few summers ago, after a great day with friends and farmers and farm animals at your iowa state fairs that we loaded up the motor home and drove some hours over the border to illinois and stopped along the way the because my daughter had never got to run through a maze in a cornfield.

that shows you how exciting my life is. piper and her little cousin get to run through this maze for the first time. it really is like this all americana thrill for our family. and then driving through the small towns around here that glorify our nation, again, with those homes proudly waving the flag from the porch. and we pulled into dixon as we crossed that state line, dixon illinois, and we turned on a street. we stopped at a modest home, and it had a pair of rocking chairs out on the front arch, and a neighbor came over and told us about the house. he told us about the little boy who used to live in that house. then his family could not afford the house, so they rented it. the little boy had a little tiny vegan off the front of the house. that is where he would listen to the radio.

he would get his news and he would learn from that. he played football in the front yard and ride his bike up and down the sidewalks. just real life. as a teen he was there working as a lifeguard on rock river where he saved 77 souls. and he grew up to save a world from communism. he inspired a nation to once again believe in itself. this little boy from humble beginnings that wasn't that far from here was, of course, ronald reagan. he never forgot where he came from, those roots in the heartland, and his story is our story. it embodies the american dream. it is a dream that we all must be willing to sacrifice for and to fight for, now more than

ever, dreaming it, living it. working for it. we can make sure the dream lives, and that we know that our best days are still ahead. and i have every confidence that when we, when conservatives rise to that challenge and offer a real choice, we will have a rebirth of successful conservative leadership like reagan gave us. the american people will once again be inspired and be united as proud, secure citizens of the greatest nation in the history of the world. and i thank you iowa for being a center of that. i say god bless you, iowa. god bless the united states of america. thank you. thank you, guys.

>> some news, a small drunk at the white house lawn before dawn, triggering an emergency response and raising more questions. the drone secret service is still trying to corroborate his story. this week in washington, a confirmation hearing for loretta lynch, the pic to replace eric holder. she will be on capital hill -- capitalold on wednesday. today at 3:30, the house. the senate will resume work on

the keystone xl pipeline. debate is expected to continue throughout the week. while we wait for the house to return from there is a conversation with his the national taxpayer advocate. >> at the table is nina olson the national taxpayer advocate to talk about budget cuts and customer service. remind us what your job is. what does a national taxpayer advocate do? guest: the national taxpayer advocate leads an organization within the irs that is start with helping taxpayers solve problem's with the irs and make administrative and legislative suggestions the congress. -- to congress. host: how long have you done this job? guest: since march, 2001. you put out this annual report

to congress so we can take a look at it here. one of the headlines that came from it is from the new york times. need help from the irs? it may take more patients this year. what does it tell us about the conditions this year in taxis and? guest: what we have tried to identify is the impact on funding cuts to the irs on the taxpayer service side. the way most communicate with the irs is by phone or correspondence. what the irs is projecting this year is that it will not be able to answer about half of the phone calls they are trying to get through to talk to a live a sister and they are so far behind -- a live assistor, and that they are so behind in their correspondence that it is over age in terms of being answered. if they get through on the phones they are likely to have a ready minute wait.

-- 30 minute wait. host: did you expect it to be this severe? guest: i did because i have been projecting this for years seeing the trend on the taxpayer side. there isn't a solution other than having more human beings to answer the calls. the irs gets about 100 million calls per year on average and 10 million pieces of correspondence for year. host: the piece points out that callers who managed to get through are expected to be on hold for an average of 30 minutes, that is a decline by 61% from 2013. when the weight is too long, the agency offers what is called a courtesy disconnect, otherwise known as hanging up. guest: in our report we have a flowchart, we try to make a

phone call and get through to a particular part in the irs after six minutes and nine seconds my staff received one of those courtesy disconnects. which is polite saying we are unable to handle your call at this time, please call back. i think the diagram shows the craziness of what you have to go through to try to find your way around. >> our guest will be with us for 15 and its. nina olson, the national taxpayer advocate. , we try to make a phone call and get through to a we have lines on the bottom of the screen. i'm sure we will have lots of calls coming in here but tell us more of the takeaways from the report. >> some of the things we have been trying to say is that i do recognize that congress is very unhappy. taxpayers have a high distrust with the irs. i think not giving them sufficient funding actually

harms the taxpayers themselves. i don't think people recognized -- when i say taxpayer service it is not just answers to tax law questions which the irs is no longer doing in any significant fashion. also people getting notices from the irs that says you own money the same number you are calling and the same people are answering -- answering to help you unwind that notice to stop something bad. you want a penalty abated, you have a notice saying the social security number for your child is incorrect, you are to give them the correct number and you cannot get through and the irs will disallow your dependency exemption or any refundable credits. that is harm to the taxpayers tangible harm. >> here is a picture from one of the business publications.

and difficult taxis and lies ahead. -- tax season lies ahead. it will make you want to ask about collections and the conditions were setting. guest: i think people need to not give up contacting if he irs sends a letter. the worst thing you can do is ignore it. i honestly think you have to be prepared to wait and get through because the consequences mean that the irs will assume that you agree and they will start taking money out of your account or paycheck. the irs says they won't be able to do as many audits or as much collection. this is where i make a distinction between taxpayer service or enforcement. i spent my life examining the irs and that is my job.

four years, i have been critiquing the way the irs conducts audits and collection activities. i view this as an opportunity to see how we are doing it and get revision and some very taxpayer friendly burden off the taxpayer on the enforcement side. on the service side there is no substitute for having more people to answer the phone. last year, the irs limited the scope of tax law questions it was willing to answer. it said it would only answer simple tax law questions. it would no longer answer a question like, my child has a bank account, how should i report the interest income? that is too complex for the irs to answer. when you get to that level, that is just absurd. to ask taxpayers to continue to

comply with the laws when we are not giving them that kind of assistance you have to rethink what you're asking. >> what has the head of the irs said about dealing with the service? >> he has said, the patient. -- be patient. he has said, this is where we are. i am concerned the message is to go out and pay for assistance. we have a lot of qualified return preparers but there are a lot of unqualified preparers. i am concerned that what will happen as a result of these cuts and the consequences, is that taxpayers will go to people who are not qualified to give them advice and they will do things wrong. >> before we get to calls, one big thing we are talking about

is the affordable care act. how will this complicate tax filing season? guest: this year is the first year that people who have got the advanced premium tax credit, the subsidy to help a for health insurance, will have to file and reconcile the advance payments they get with the actual payments they should have gotten based on their actual income. when they qualified these advance payments they are using old income information from their 2012 return. you really don't know until the end of the year when you file your taxes what you should have gotten. that is a complicated process for taxpayers and the irs. this is also the year where we will be issuing the first individual shared responsibility payment, taxpayers who should have got health insurance and did not or who may have had

enter exaction but did not claim it in advance, all of this is happening in the crunch of the filing season when we are short staffed as it is. it will take a lot of patience to get through the filing season. >> nina olson takes calls now first from bob.

not a subject to the individual shared responsibility payment either. you don't have to worry about that. caller: good morning, i just want to say i think you do very good work and i read your report year every year, but i'm curious with the recent budget cuts that have occurred, i see their funding keep going down.

generally every year i see reports that x number of billions of dollars are lost or fraudulent returns. what is your take on that as far as the resources being used to combat fraud with tax returns. -- returns? guest: there has been an explosion in two areas. let me say that one of the reasons why that is occurring is because the government enacts laws that run a lot of social programs through the internal revenue code programs. like the earned income tax credit, the number of credits on the business side -- that makes it very attractive target for organized crime or even random

criminals who think they can try to game the system. there is that aspect of fraud and then there is identity theft which we have seen an explosion of in thecriminals who think they can try to last few years. the irs has spent a lot of time building filters in their filing seasons and systems so that every return that comes in asking for a refund moves through that system and tries to identify characteristic fraud. over the years, i think we have done a very good job in identifying fraud. having said that, criminals are very clever and are able to move very quickly and there always be stuff going through the system. what i am concerned about is, there will always be some false positives, when you free up refunds and the taxpayer is entitled to that refund or there is an legitimate taxpayer whose refund as been frozen. if you don't have the right staffing to help those victims then you are re-victimizing those victims and the have to wait up to six months or even

longer. we are seen that in my own organization, refund fraud is the fastest growing category of cases that we have for helping taxpayers with significant hardship. identity theft cases make up 20% of my 240,000 case receipts per year. host: what can people do to prevent fraud? stolen social security numbers are used to file stolen tax returns, how can folks protect themselves. first of all checking your credit report on a regular basis is very important. secondly the irs -- if you have been a victim, once you get through the process, the irs will give you what they call an ip pin which is a separate number.

that will let your return move through quickly. they're doing a pilot this year and several locations including the district of columbia. not only will you have your social security number but also this unique number that you can put on that the identity thief would not know. host: payback from the irs. the irs screens but not being at issue your refund in a timely matter for answer phones or provide easy access for the elderly because they want their 350 million back, i can stop wasting billions of dollars every year.

in 2013 the newspaper reported that the irs paid $13.6 billion in bogus claims, the income tax credit and as much as 132.6 billion over the past decade. guest: i will talk about the income tax credit but i will say that i do not scream, i am a moderate voice and i try to make clear what the impact is. it is an asset for the working poor which comes out out of the very first dollar that you earn. over the years with bipartisan

support, it has been expanded to the major antipoverty program for the working poor in the united states. so, the idea of running it through the crowed was if you dashcode was -- code was, if you work but didn't pay anything in it would raise you above the federal poverty line and ensure that able did not pay income taxes. the issue is that there is a lot of over claim. it is a very complicated law. i am a tax lawyer with several advanced agrees in taxation. it is right up there with advanced trade for pricing. it deals with language mobility, trans and see, that population is -- transiency that population is unregulated. a lot of it dealing with

repairers who are facilitating fraud. let me make one other point which is that the earned income credit, as a benefits program that is administered through the internal revenue code, the inspector general has estimated that it really only has about 1%. you'll see very high administrative overhead costs because they are dealt with appointments and person-to-person. some fraud and very low dissipation rates. i would suggest that we will not

just you and over claims with the cost of administrative when we decide it is a successful program. >>caller: good morning, thank you for taking my call. miss olson, i commend you for the job you have been trying to do sincerely. i must tell you that all of this makes a strong case, a really strong case for radical tax reform in this country. specifically the flat tax which would eliminate the irs and you could retire. [laughter] just amiss olson, i commend staggering number of calls, millions of calls >> we do have to leave this conversation but you can watch it in its entirety at c-span.org. 6, 2015 regarding morning hour debate not apply tomorrow.

the speaker pro tempore: witut objecon. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i move that the house suspend the rules and -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman will suspend. pursuant to clause of rule 20, the chair will postpone further proceedings today on motions to suspend the rules on which a recorded vote or the yeas and nays are ordered or on which the vote incurs objection under clause 6 of rule 20. record votes on postponed questions will be taken later. for what purpose does the gentleman from california se recognition? mr. royce: i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 514. the speaker pro tempore: th clerk ll report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 514, a bill to prioritize the fight against human trafficking within the department of state according to congressional intent in the trafficking victims protection act of 2000 without increasing the size of the federal government and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rulet gentleman from california, mr. royce, and the gentleman from rhode island, mr. cicilline,

each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. royce: mr. speaker i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislate i days to revise and extend their remarks and to include any extraneous material into the record they may wish to include. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. royce: thank yo mr. speaker. i yield myse such time as i might consume. the speaker pro mpe: the gentleman is recognized. mr. royce: as our house of representatives continues its fight against human trafficking, i rise in support of this legislation it is called the human trafficking prioritization act. this legislation will elevate consideration of trafficking issues within the department of state to ensure that they receive the same attention as other diplomatic concerns. now this is a struggle we've had for some time trying to elevate these issues so that they're on

par and given the seriousness that we have tried to drive here in congress. congress created the department of state's office to monitor and combat trafficking and persons. we created that institution a decade and a half ago. we did it in the trafficking victims protection act of 2000. the purpose of this office was to better communicate and coordinate u.s. government efforts to combat both domestic and international trafficking. in line with this mandate, the office prepares the annual trafficking in persons report which details anti-trafficking efforts of other countries and clatsdzfis countries as falling into one of three tiers, based on their efforts to combat human trafficking. and these reports and their tier rankings have proven, as you

know, extremely useful in helping our diplomats fight human trafficking. it allows us to transform the -- this issue into a global policy priority. we know that foreign governments have made real improvements in their work to combat trafficking as a result of these t.i.p. reports. the reason this is so, of course, is because, as you talk to foreign governments, they are very concerned about the threat of a low-tier ranking. that gets international attention today. that's sort of the rev ladge that we have -- the leverage that we have on these governments to pass laws that are serious about going after trafficking. but we also understd that this annual exercise is periodically constrained by the department's regional diplomats who fear we may agitate foreign governments when hard truths surface. a former ambassador at large on

trafficking issues testified before congress that the department sometimes holds its punches and defers to regional specialists on the t.i.p. reports' tier rankings rather than the t.i.p. experts. this is what we want to counter because what we want is the maximum pressure for foreign governments to follow through on their international commitments to try to abolish human trafficking. by elevating the trafficking office to a bureau, this measure will give these experts the bureaucratic standing they need to ensure their concerns are fully heard. effectively leveling the playing field for this annual process. i want to thank the gentleman, by the way, from new jersey, mr. smith, the chairman of our human rights subcommittee, for his years of leadership in this fight against human trafficking

and for reintroducing this bill which passed this house last july. i also thank mr. cicilline and i want to thank him specifically for his efforts as we have traveled in asia to pressure these governments to end human trafficking and i urge the members to support this important measure and i'm going to reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from rhode island. mr. cicilline: i rise in strong support of h.r. 514, the human trafficking prioritization act and yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlans recognized. mr. cicilline: first let me thank our chairman, chairman royce and ranking member engel for their leadership on this issue. i want to particularly thank my outstanding colleague from new jersey, congressman chris smith, for introducing this important piece of legislation and for the work he has done for so many

years on this issue. this bill will elevate the office to monitor and combat trafficing to a status of a bureau within the state department. put simply, human trafficking is slavery. victims of human trafficking a deprived of their individual freedoms and suffer unimaginably harsh coercive heartbreaking conditions. reports indicate there's no place in the world where children, women, and men are safe from human trafficking. that means that every government in the world has a responsibility to combat this problem. the united states has made significant progress toward responding to these crimes within our borders d abroad since congress passed the trafficking victims' protection act in 2000. mr. speaker, today we can take the next step for elevating the state department's ofce to monitor and combat trafficking persons to a bureau this office is already doing incredible work. the annual trafficking in persons report has become the gold standard in studying how

well governments around the world are meeting this challenge and how seriously they take their responsibility to eradicate this horrific practice. their work is driving innovation on how to best approach this problem. the office plays a key role in coordinating our government approach to this problem. elevating the traffic office to a bureau sends a strong message to the world that the united states is committed to combating modern day slavery. this is not a problem we'll solve quickly or easily. however, every step we take enhances our ability to prent these crimes, protect victims and punish those responsibility. mr. speaker, we passed the same bill last congress. i urge my colleagues to support and pass this important legislation and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlem reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. royce: thank you. mr. speaker, i yield four

minutes to the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith, chairn of the foreign afs subcommittee on africa, global health, global human rights and international organizations. the author of this bill but also frankly the architect of a long-running strategy in this institution, in this congress, abolish this form of human slavery. when i think of william wilber force, the one member i -- wilberforce, the one member i know who exemplifies that spirit today is chris smith, who has worked on this mightily since the late 1990's and we are pleased that his bill is up before us today. mr. smith of new jersey. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlans recognize f minutes. mr. smith: i want to thank chairman royce for his leadership and his very kind words and for working to ex-p diet the consideration of these important bills. this is an historic week in the house as we seek to pass 12

bills to fight human trafficking. as a prime author of the landmark trafficking victims' protection act of 2000 as well as re-authorizations in 2003 and 2005, i believe the bill under consideration by the house today will further prevent the horrific crimes of human trafficking, protect and assist the victims, and aid the prosecution of those who exploit and abuse. i would also like to offer my profound appreciation to majority leader kevin mccarthy for ensuring that all the hard work done in a bipartisan way in the house in the 113th session is not lost, nor will it be delayed, but rather immediately sent back to the senate for action. leader mccarthy has explored numerous ways in meeting after meeting with members on both sides of the aisle to find ways to prevent prosecute traffickers and to protect victims. his deep, personal commitment to ending modern day slavery has

and will continue to make a major difference. mr. speaker, i'm very proud to say, and i offer this bill on behalf of myself and ranking member karen bass, the chief co-sponsor, i'm proud to say the united states continues to lead the world in our trafficing responses at home and abroad charting a course of best practices for other countries to follow. one of the most successful ways the u.s. transmits our best practices and ensures accountability for the minimum standards to eliminate human trafficking is the office to monitor and combat trafficking in persons in the u.s. department of state. for the last 15 years, this office has been led by talented and dedicated ambassadors who have produced -- produced including the most recent one, lucy debaca with whom we have worked very closely, who have produced reports laying bare the

record of each country for the world to see and coming up we the tier ranking. they established tier one, the ones that fully meet the minimum standards. tier two don't make min -- don't meet minimum standards but are making efforts to do so. tier two watch list are in a grace period, in danger of becoming tier three without re action, not just promises of action. tier three countries do not meet the standards and are not making significant efforts to do so. along with the embarrassment of being listed on tier three, tier three countries are susceptible to sanctions by the u.s. government. since the t.i.p. report's inception, mr. speaker, more than 100 countries have enacted anti-trafficking laws and many countries have taken other step required to significantly raise their tier rankings, citing the

t.i.p. report as a key factor in new anti-trafficking efforts. it's a very robust effort in our embassy and every country in the world are part of it. we have found a system that works but tragically it is sometimes misguided, muffled and marginalized by unrelated bilateral concerns and by the internal structure of the u.s. department of state. . as my dear friend, the chairman of the committee said ago, it was the ambassador who talked about how they produce a great report but then typically due to regional specialists rather than the t.i.p. office's dedicated experts the rankings and the process goes awry. the human trafficking prioritization act, h.r. 514, will remedy this problem by thwarting to keep the fight against human traffickingei lost in the politics of other u.s. interests.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman te s pid. .thcai t another two minutes? mr. royce: i yield two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for tw minutes mr. sm tou mr. speaker, for yielding. h.r. 514 will ensure that leadership of t.i.p. is present and has an equal voice at meetings and with other bureaus and the secretary of state. former colleague john miller and ambassador at large from 2002 to 2006 said upgrading the status was office to a bureau will not create additional bureaucracy, it will simply give jtip any ambassador at large that heads it understanding with regional and functioning bureaus. that is essential but remains a priority especially when multiple u.s. interests are engaged, closed quote. we are not authorizing jtip office to be larger but for the excellent work of the office to be consistently heard at a higher level. in addition, it stops

countries, the bill and other state department bureaufr gaming the tier ranking system by limiting the time problem countries can use promises of action to avoid a tier downgrade. currently a country can sit on the tier two watch list for up to four years for presidential waivers, essentially stringing the u.s. along, promises of taking action but not no longer taking action. after four years the country must be automatically downgraded to tier three. the law worked very well in the three reporting cycle. but we -- 2013ic reporting cycle. china was upgraded from tier three to tier two watch list. china can game the system with promises of no action -- mr. royce: i yield such me as he may consume to the gentleman from new jersey. the speaker pro tempore:he gentlem iregned . h:nkou mr. speaker. the human traffickin pitatn llold

countries like china accountable by limiting to one year the amount of time a country can stay on the tier two watch list after the country was previously auto downgraded to tier three. the human trafficking prioritization bill bills on the success of jtip and the tier ranking system for the sake of the approximately 21 million people still living in modern day slavery and, again, does so without increasing the cost of government. the u.n. -- the human trafficking prioritization a will ve jtip the integration. it will give it the voice it deserves within the state department and ensure accurate accountability for countries failing to meet minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and i urge my colleagues to support this bill. and, again, i thank my friend. the speaker pro tempore:he gentlem fm w rs yields. the gentleman from cifnia reserves. and the chair recognizes the gentleman from rhode island. mr. cicilline: mr. speaker, seeing i have no further requests for time, i yield the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlanies back.

the chair recognizes the gentleman rhode la -- california. excuse me. mr. royce: i thank you mr. speaker. you know mr. speaker i'll yield myself such time as i might consume, but i've already mentioned the impact that these t.i.p. reports have and i want to point out that it's not every day that we can claim this kind of impact for a u.s. government report. those of us who have traveled and tried to enforce these laws know how effective this is. this legislation here would make the t.i.p. report an even more influential diplomatic tool and i, again, want to thank subcommittee chairman smith for authorizing this bill, for his authoring the legislation and moving it through committee and i urge members to support it and i yield back the balance ofy time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlanies ck. the questions llheou suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 514.

those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 hinreond t afiv t resre suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider ilan the tle. for what purpose does the gentlemafr cifnise recnion? mr. royce: mr. speaker, i move the house suspend the rul and pass h.r. 515. the speaker pro tempore: the clerkilrertheit o bi. the clerk: h.r. 515, a bill to protect children from exploitation, especially sex trafficking in tourism, by providing advance notice of intended travel by registered child-sex offenders outside the united states to the government of the country of destinati requesting foreign governmes to notify the united stat when a known child-sex offender is seeking to enter the unit states, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, . royce, and the gentleman fr rhode island mr. cicilline, each will control 20 minutes.

the chair recognizes the gentlem fm lifo. hohot ao mr. speaker. i'm going to ask five legislative days so that all members may revise and extend their remarks and to include any extraneous material. the speaker pro tempo witht jeio mr. roha mr. speaker. i am also going to urge unanimous consent to place io the rord letters b myself and chairman goodlatte of the judiciary committee regarding this bill. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. royce: tha y mr. speaker. i yield myself such time i may consum the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. royc mr. speaker, the international megan's law to prevent demand for child sex trafficking will strengthen law enforcement efforts to combat this rather horrific crime, the damages hundreds of thousands of young children worldwide every year. this bill before us today, which passed unanimously by the house in the last congress in

substantially the same form. this year we hope to engage the senate and get it to the president's desk. and over the years congress has passed laws, including megan's law, and the adam walsh child protection and safety act to require the registration and require the public notification of convicted sex offenders. and these steps have helped families and communities protect their children and have helped law enforcement officials investigate and certainly prosecute domestic cases involving repeat sex offenders. a growing problem however, is the appalling industry of child sex tourism in which adults travel overseas to exploit children in other countries. unfortunately, a significant number of americans are engaging in this practice and engaging it while the countries of destination lack sufficient resources to deal with the

rising number of child predators. many children victimized by this terrible crime have also been trafficked and that is recruited or transferred to be exploited for someone else's profit. the international megan's law helps us fight back. at present, there are multiple u.s. agencies seeking to combat human trafficking and combat child sex tourism. by better coordinating their efforts we can be more effective. and by being pro-active identifying child predators will encourage us to alert them when those convicted of sex offenses against children attempt themselves from ernting the united states. in -- entering the united states. in particular, this bill officially recognizes an angel watch center within the department of homeland security's child exploitation

investigation center. operation angel watch originated as a partnership with the u.s. customs and border protection and currently collects and analyzes the foreign travel date of convicted child sex offenders to determine whether notification to u.s. officials or foreign governments is warranted. last year alone, angel watch sent over 2,000 leads to nearly 100 countries as part of this effort to proactively and strategically alert international law enforcement. so this bill solidifies the angel watch center as an important part of the u.s. response to child sex tourism and importantly it improves the timelines of the informatn that the center receives by requiring the justice department to share its travel records promptly. this will allow angel watch to better detect and report the travel of child predators.

now, we do have one change in this bill from last year and that bill is an additional rule of construction which states that nothing in this act will impede any investigations being carried out by the department of homeland security. this was added at the request of nongovernmental organizations who were concerned that the bill's activities could divert resources from the department's other investigative work. to avoid any confusion, i want to make clear that this rule of construction does not supersede the bill's general notification provisions which require the department of homeland security to attempt to alert a convicted offender whose travel is reported to their country of destination. these general notification provisions were the product of a bipartisan agreement, and i want to state my appreciation for the good work of those staffers who came together from

across the aisle and from different committees to develop them. and i want to thank the bill's author the gentleman from new jersey mr. smith, for his persistent leadership, his persistent dedication to th issue. and i would also like to recognize the chairman and ranking member of the commite on the judiciary as well as ranking member engel and mr. cicilline for their collaboration on this bill which i encourage all members to support. i reserve the balance of my time. the speakeo teor the gentleman. the chair recognizes the gentlemanrorhe la. cille:r.peeri rise in strong support of h.r. 515 known as international megan's law and yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlans coiz. on

this important piece of legislation. around the world as many as 27 million people are victims of human trafficking. the office of drug and crime reported that incidents of human trafficking, onen three is a child. many sex offenders -- low levels of law enforcement and prosecution. these repulsive acts violate our deepest moral values and we have a responsibility to respond appropriately. international megan's law would help prevent child sex offenders and traffickers were exploiting vulnerable children when they cross the international border. the bill would establish an angel watch center within immigration and customs enforcement at the department

of homeland security that would provide advanced notice to foreign countries when a convicted child sex offender travels to that country. the bill also calls on the president to negotiate agreements with foreign governments that would encourage information sharing on known child sex offenders. mr. speaker, it's importa to encourage goptgovets around the world to devote their respective resources toward combating this issue. protecting trafficked children, placing victims in a safe environment and providing them with widespread support services, such as physical and mental health care, educational opportunities, legal assistance and reintegration with their families and communities. unfortunately, a single law cannot abolish child sex tourism or child sex trafficking but international megan's law represents a huge step in the right direcoby protecting victims and potential victims from terrifying harm. mr. speaker, we passed the same bill last congress and i encourage my colleagues to do so again and with that i

reserve the balance of my te. the speakeo teor the gem reserves. the chair recognizes the genenm california. mr. royces mr. speaker. i yield six minutes to the gentleman from new jersey, mr. smith, chairman of the foreign affairs human rights subcommittee and author oth bill. the speaker pro tempor the gentleman from new jersey is recognid forix minutes. mr. smith: thank you very much, chairman royce. i thank you again for your leadership, for marking this bill up in the last congress. we went through it regular order, you and eliot engel were outstanding and i do appreciate that and staff. i also want to thank bob goodlatte who has been a very strong proponent of this legislation. mrs. carolyn maloney, mr. poe of texas, ms. mccollum and mr. yoho. mr. speaker, there is no higher duty or responsibility of government than to protect children from violence and predatory behavior. we have a duty