thank you so much you recognized earlier that this was the most transparent lawmaking in the fcc, is that correct? chair wheeler: that is correct. rep. palmer: you also said he followed with the ex parte filings, is that correct? chair wheeler: yes sir. representative palmer: i have here a copy of your ex parte filing on the president's statement on net neutrality, and mr. wheeler, it is two paragraphs long. three sentences total. are we left to believe that the entirety of the white house's involvement in this process can be captured in just three sentences? chair wheeler: i am now been passed. thank you. this is a letter from november

10? rep. palmer: i believe it has a two page attachment with it think it's quite specific and says what bright line rules should be an things such as that, that wireless should be mr. palmer: i believe it is three sentences. chair wheeler: i disagree that they put in here the entire statement of the president. he was saying this is what i think we ought to stand for. mr. palmer: are you telling us that jeffrey came over to meet with you and just read the president's statement? i will yield back. chair wheeler: maybe i am confused.

i do not think that was the question. mr. palmer: let me be more specific. your calendar shows february 2014, you had two phone calls. one with the white house office of science and technology. is that correct? chair wheeler: if the calendar says that. i do not recall, but if the calendar says that. mr. palmer: you do not recall talking to mr. podesta. do you have any recollection of a phone call? chair wheeler: if the calendar says oh, i will stipulate to it. mr. palmer: do recall talking to the technology office? chair wheeler: i have talked to them multiple times. mr. palmer: can you give us an idea of what was discussed in those calls? chair wheeler: what was the date? mr. palmer: february of last

year, 2014. chair wheeler: i do not know with the specifics of that call were. mr. palmer: do you have a recollection of having those calls? chair wheeler: if my calendar says, i must have. i do not have a recollection of it. there was a whole bunch of things that are going on. that are relevant. but i do not know what we were talking about. mr. palmer: it shows up on your calendar. if you are having a difficult time remembering the calls or the content of those calls should either of those calls have been recorded as ex parte contacts? chair wheeler: i do not recall the content. secondly, as we have discussed previously, there are specific guidelines as far as ex parte as

far as what ex parte is, and thirdly, there is and has been since the first bush administration a ruling that contact with the administration and with congress are not ex par te. mr. palmer: last question. what other contacts the recall that you have had with the white house prior to april 2014 e-mails that have been publicly released? chair wheeler: you have my calendar and my e-mails. mr. palmer: mr. chairman, i yield the balance of my time. mr. chaffetz: i recognize mr. desaulnier. mr. desaulnier: i just want to thank you for your service. i am tremendously proud of not

just your decision but your testimony today and how you have handled yourself considering your background. coming from the san francisco bay area, the importance to innovation for us, having many constituents who work at companies like facebook and apple, we want to make sure we get it right. and having a presence in my district of at&t and comcast, i understand the balance you had to go through and the importance of your independence and expertise of independent commissions and relationship with the administration and congress. i actually think there is obviously a very strong argument to be made that someone like yourself or your staff are more appropriately situated to make these decisions. having said that, i was particularly taken by your comments to one of the questions about whether you were by

appearance looking like you were second-guessing your decision. and your response to that, i thought was very forthright and determined and clear. that was to the decision. knowing the process is probably as important as the perspective of the process and the actual decision-making, how would you respond to the question of are you equivocating about your concerns about the questions you are being asked and the process? chair wheeler: i believe that we handle this, congressman, just as any other issue that comes before us. whether it is exciting like this or much more mundane things we normally deal with. we use the established procedures and precedents religiously. mr. desaulnier: would you say

that your comments about the decision-making, you feel equally as proud of the process. chair wheeler: i think the process works. mr. desaulnier: you commented about the public input of 4 million comments. i have gotten lots of input from average, everyday citizens. would you describe the motivation? chair wheeler: you know, i think that the internet touches people's lives more than any other network probably in the history of mankind. everybody has an opinion about the internet. everybody wants to talk about the internet. when you begin addressing issues such as will the internet continue to be fair, fast, and open those are things it does

not take an engineering degree or computer science degree for people to understand. those are things that affect people individually. and i think that is why we had this kind of response. mr. desaulnier: it is interesting seeing behind you a picture of the connection of the transcontinental railway. when you look from a historical perspective of how government and federal government has handled what considered aspects of the commonwealth and also wanted to be fair to the people that invest in the private sector, whether it is railroads or television or the media, from your perspective, one of the concerns is who benefits and who does not. usually, the poorest americans have benefited the least in the short term. you have a comments about the digital divide? will it help eliminate that? or have sort of an opposite, how

it would affect the poorest of americans. chair wheeler: if you do not have access, free, fair, open access, then you per se have a divide. and so when we come out and talk about how there needs to be, no matter where you are, no matter what legal content it is, that there should be open access to it. that is the predicate to not having a divide. not to say that there are challenges that we will continue to face. but that the baseline is there has to be open this. mr. desaulnier: thank you. mr. chaffetz: i recognize the gentleman from iowa.

representative: thank you chairman wheeler, for being here today and sharing your insight. i admire your tie. it is that day. i have a general question. i grew up with an iowa woman who is big into irish. you make sure you well a green tie. mr. blum: in your opening statement, you mentioned that one of the fcc's goals is to protect the open internet as a level playing field for innovators and entrepreneurs. i am one of those innovators and i am one of those entrepreneurs. my concern, as a small businessman, is i have seen firsthand what happens to private and free marketplaces when the heavy hand of federal government gets involved.

typically, what happens, we see less innovation. lower qualities. we see higher prices, higher taxes. an example of that recently of the affordable care act, which was supposed to level the playing field for small businesses. we have seen that higher prices lesser innovation, higher taxes. my question to you and the question i am asked in iowa often is what steps is the fcc going to take to ensure that the internet remains vibrant innovative, and open? when history has shown us, when the heavy hand of federal government gets involved in a free and vibrant market, bad things happen. chair wheeler: first of all, i would like to identify with you as an entrepreneur to another. i too have been a small businessman.

i have started half a dozen companies. some worked, some did not. mr. blum: you understand that experience well, i'm sure. chair wheeler: for the decade before i took this job, i was a venture capitalist who was investing in early stage internet protocol-based companies. so i know both personally from my own experience, as well as from my investing experience that openness is key. if the companies i had invested in did not have open access to the distribution network, it would have been an entirely different story. the thing that is most interesting -- mr. blum: what will you do to guarantee it? chair wheeler: you can tell your

constituents that openness is the core of creativity. there should be nobody acting as a gateway and saying, you are only going to get on my network if you do it on my terms. and the key, then, is we go to the previous discussion that you make sure you have the gateway not blocking the openness of entrepreneurs. at the same time, that gateway not being retail-price regulated so it can continue to invest. that is the kind of balance we are trying to do. i would urge you to tell your constituents that the opportunity for innovation opportunity for scaling that is required of innovation, has never been greater. mr. bloom: with all due respect many people in iowa would say you are trying to solve a problem that does not exist. during an interview at the consumer electronics show in january, you said you had an aha

moment, when you realize that the title to classifications exempted phone providers from provisions. later in the year, house communications subcommittee chair greg walden said that he met with you in november of 2014 to reiterate congressional republicans' concern with title ii regulation of the internet. in that meeting, he said you assured him you are committed to net neutrality without classification of broadband under title ii. sounds to me like a flip-flop. can you explain the difference? chair wheeler: i respect mr. walden greatly. i will be testifying before him on thursday. i saw that he made that statement. i went back to the contemporaneous notes from that meeting. and we have a completely different set of recollections and, in fact notes. because my notes say that i said

that we would use "light touch" title ii and section 706. i do not know what is going on. i am just saying those are what my notes are. mr. blum: i yield my time. mr. chaffetz: i recognize mr. carter. mr. carter: thank you, mr. wheeler, for being here today. i want to try to get a better understanding of two things. first of all, throughout the process today and through my reading, through listening, it appears the whole process, there was more attention paid to the white house then there was the congress. i just do not understand why that would be the case in an independent a-day like yours. -- body like yours.

did you serve on the transition team? that is correct? it is true to say you have a close relationship with the president? representative: chair wheeler: i am not sure i have a close relationship with the president. mr. carter: you served on his transition team. i do not think he would have someone on the team that was not close to him. agreed? he did not ask me to be on his transition team. well after the rule, the day after the rule, the vote for the rule, did it strike you as being interesting that of fellow commissioner called the new rules president obama's plan? chair wheeler: everybody is entitled to their own opinion. and, you know, i think it is appropriate to state something very clearly.

in response to what you are saying. since taking this job, i met with the president in the oval office. it was the first week on the job. mr. carter: i understand that. chair wheeler: in that meeting he said to me, you need to understand, i will never call you. you are an independent agency. mr. carter: then why do you think of fellow commissioner made the comment fixes president obama's plan for the internet? chair wheeler: he has been good to his word, sir. mr. carter: why do you think the democratic national committee made the statement it is president obama's plan? [laughter] chair wheeler: i have noticed occasionally, over time, both committees will engage in hyperbole. mr. carter: you think it is

hyperbole? do you agree with the dnc's statement? chair wheeler: i believe this is a plan put together by the fcc. mr. carter: so you do not agree with the statement that thiss president obama's plan?et's get specific. he did not have section 706 in what he sent. secondly, he did not cover interconnection. thirdly, he talked about forbearing for rate regulation not the 26th other things. i think we produced a plan that is uniquely our plan. and is a plan that is based on the record that was established before us and that, when the president joined the 64 democratic members of congress and millions of people and said he too thought this made sense that he was piling on rather

than being definitive. mr. carter: all that is fun. through the process of the evolution of the plan, did your thought process change at all? initially, it appeared you had in mind what was referred to as a hybrid 706 plan. chair wheeler: you used the right were there. my evolution of this plan, i started out with pure 706, but said that would not work because of the commercially reasonable test. mr. carter: did anyone lead you in this exploration? chair wheeler: yes sir. all kinds of commenters and a lot of work. mr. carter: do you think any of those commenters were influenced by the white house? chair wheeler: i have no idea. mr. carter: do you feel you paid as close attention to the white house as you did to congress? chair wheeler: sir, i believe i

have spent more time discussing this issue with members of congress then -- than the administration. mr. carter: do you feel like you listen to the input of congress more so than the white house? chair wheeler: i pay full attention to the record established in this proceeding. that included members of congress saying, do not do title ii and saying, do title ii. mr. carter: do you feel like you paid us close attention to congress as the white house? chair wheeler: i think my responsibility is to be responsible to all the people. mr. carter: i cannot tell whether that is a yes or no. chair wheeler: i was responsive to congress. mr. chaffetz: i appreciate the gentleman's commitment to st. patrick's day, but the chairs prepared to rule he has only been outdone by the gentleman

from wisconsin, who is clearly wearing his colors. i will recognize that gentleman for five minutes. representative: last month the wall street journal had an article reporting that the white house spent months in a secretive effort to change the fcc course. does this come as a surprise to you? chair wheeler: there is a standard process, i believe, where the white house works on developing their position. i was not a part of it. representative: did it surprise you? chair wheeler: it is not a surprise that something like that goes on. representative: last spring and summer, you had various meetings with white house officials. did you become aware at that time that the white house is working on an alternative to your original proposal? chair wheeler: i had heard rumors that the white house was looking at this like they look

at all other issues. to develop an administration position. representative: the white house apparently, in forming this alternative had dozens of meetings with online activists startups traditional telecommunication properties -- companies. participants were allegedly told not to discuss the process. were you aware of these meetings at the time? chair wheeler: i knew there was a process, this group. i did not know who they were meeting. representative: i yield the rest of my time. mr. chaffetz: i recognize mr. cummings. mr. cummings: we wind down this hearing. i want to thank you again, mr. chairman, for your testimony. when decisions are made by

various bodies commissions quite often, people are indiscriminate -- in disagreement with those decisions. i do not think there is anything wrong with looking behind the curtain to figure out what the process was, because one of the things that we have been pushing hard on in this committee is the whole idea of transparency. your testimony has been enlightening. i think we need to keep in mind, you know that these decisions are made by people who come to government -- and they do not have to do that -- they come to government trying to bring their own experiences to the table. their concerns and their hopes

of bringing us to a more perfect union we talk about. so i want to thank you for all that you have done and continue to do. and i want to thank the other commissioners. i think a lot of times in these circumstances, we forget that there are employees who have worked very hard on these issues , trying to do it right. so, that is very important. i hope you will take that back to your commissioners and the employees. and i am hopeful that we can move forward here. again, i have listened to you very carefully. there was a moment, i mentioned to my staff, that kind of touched me. when you are asked whether you were backtracking on your decision.

and the passion that you expounded, saying absolutely not, this is a decision you all made and you are proud of it that is something that is very important to you. you cannot fake that. you cannot fake it. and as a trial lawyer, i am used to watching people testify. another thing that you said, and you are very clear, is that you are here -- adhere to the rules. and i appreciate that. and i believe you. so we look forward to continuing to work with you. again, i want to thank you for your testimony. mr. chaffetz: mr. chairman, i appreciate you being here today. we were made aware of the

inspector general has opened an investigation of the process. are you aware of the investigation? chair wheeler: no. mr. chaffetz: it is my understanding it is not an audit by an investigation. are you willing to cooperate? chair wheeler: of course. mr. chaffetz: i think one of the key things brought up on both sides is that the process of openness and transparency. my personal opinion, there could have been a lot more done to maximize the transparency and openness. the rules allow you latitude to give it more transparency than you did. i think one of the things our bodies should look at is compelling the openness and transparency rather than making it discretionary. that is something we will have to take back, because there are rulings that go one direction. some people happy, some people are not. but the idea that the public

could have a 30 day opportunity to see the final rule rings true with a lot of people. this notion that nobody outside the commission was allowed to see the final product does not lend itself well to maximizing openness and transparency. that is just a comment, not a question. i think a 30 day window would do that. i also think the interactions with those who have an opinion is fine. but the lack of disclosure about those reap overly redacted e-mails leads one to believe that there was a secret communication going on. i think you can understand, at least i hope you can appreciate, why some people would come to that conclusion. particularly given the dramatic

change in policy that you took. nevertheless, i think this is a good, healthy hearing. we appreciate your participation. that is what this process is about. i appreciate your participation here today. we have a number of outstanding requests from the fcc we would appreciate your providing that information. some take longer, some are fairly easy. we appreciate your staff, who have to do a lot of this work and thank them for their efforts. this committee is adjourned. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> fcc chair tom wheeler will be back on capitol hill tomorrow. we will have more about live coverage in a moment.

>> defense secretary ashton carter and general martin dempsey will give an update on efforts to combat isis. they will also take questions on the u.s. defense programs at the house armed services committee. we will have live coverage at 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span3. later, the commissioners of the fcc and tom wheeler will take questions about net neutrality rules. we will have live coverage from the senate committee at 2:30 eastern on c-span3. >> the house budget committee will begin work on the 2016 gop uttered resolution tomorrow.

republicans on the committee spoke to reporters about the budget plan. that is next on c-span. then president obama meets with the irish prime minister to mark st. patrick's day. republicans onlater, the head of the secret service testifies about security issues at the white house. here are some of our featured programs for this weekend on the c-span networks. on c-span2 saturday at 10:00 p.m. eastern, pulitzer prize-winning historian eric foner on the efforts of white abolitionists to help fugitive slaves and the formation of the underground railroad. sunday night at 10:00 journalist hassan hassan on the rise of isis in the middle east. and throughout the day on c-span3, american history tv joins historians at the abraham

lincoln symposium at four theater. and on american artifacts, a visit to the museum of health and medicine, to view items related to president lincoln's assassination. find our complete television schedule at www.c-span.org. call us. e-mail us. or send us a tweet. join the c-span conversation. like us on facebook. follow us on twitter. >> republicans on the house budget committee laid out their 10 year budget plan, which includes repealing the affordable care act and increasing defense spending. tom price of georgia chairs the committee.

>> the best laid plans of mice and men. top of the morning to you. happy st. patrick's day to all. i'm very, very proud to join my colleagues, members of the house budget committee to present a balanced budget for a stronger america. when i talk with folks back in my district, back in georgia and talk with folks around the country, they are very concerned. some are angry. some are really frustrated about the direction of our great country. they feel we are adrift. that washington seems incapable of addressing their concerns. that the federal government is getting in the way and impeding the very spirit of the american people. and the president's response in his budget, more taxes, more spending, more borrowing, more debt, more stagnant growth. remember that every single dollar, every dollar that's taken for taxes or borrow money

is a dollar that can't be spent to buy car, pay the rent, to send a child to college, or to technical school, to buy a house, to expand the business, or grow a business, create jobs. we think there's a better way. the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, admiral mullen, said a few years ago, when asked what the number one threat to america's national security, the number one threat, he said the debt. the debt. what he knows and what the american people know is that unless we have economic security we cannot have national security. instead of the insecurity and uncertainty of the president's plan, we think there's a better way. we believe in promoting the greatest amount of opportunity for the greatest number of americans so that the greatest amount of success can be realized and the greatest number of american dreams can be found. in doing so, in a way that demonstrates real hope and real optimism and real compassion and real fairness without washington picking winners and losers. our balanced budget for a

stronger america saves $5.5 trillion. gets to balance within 10 years without raising taxes. we responsibly lay out a plan for a healthy economy. an opportunity economy. one that opens the doors for people not subjects them to the dictates of washington, d.c. we save and strengthen medicare and medicaid instead of allowing them to continue on the path of insolvency which is what the president's plan is. we recognize the imperative of providing for the military men and women and their families the resources needed to protect our national security and respect their service. in fact, our budget spends more on national defense than the president's and we do so in a responsible way that addresses current law and lays out a path to address the ongoing concerns of the military so that they are better able to plan and prepare to meet current challenges and those in the future. we believe in america. we believe in americans. we understand our problems are

significant and we hear the people of this nation crying out for leadership here in washington, d.c. this balanced budget, this balanced budget, for a stronger america, will result in a government that is more efficient and effective and accountable. one that frees up the american spirit, american optimism, and enthusiasm to do great things and to meet great challenges. and we encourage our colleagues and fellow citizens across this nation to join us in this exciting opportunity. go to budget.house.gov and download our blueprint budget. got a few members of the house budget committee who will make some comments about some specific areas of our budget. first up is the gentleman from indiana, the vice chairman of the budget committee, mr. rokita. mr. rokita: thank you, chairman. vice chairman of the committee. i want to first say how proud i am to stand in front of my fellow colleagues here. we have taken our job very seriously. hours of member meetings

putting this responsible and accurate document together. not hours of staff meetings, hours of member meetings. we each have been actively engaged in this process. i think that's worth noting. first and foremost it's important to know that this balance, this budget balances within 10 years. now, that is the quickest of any of the recently passed house budgets. and it's also important to note that it's a very stark contrast to the president's budget. that never balances. how can we begin to pay our debt if we can't even get to balance under the president's plan? our plan does that. it does it in a responsible way. after that, after we balance, we begin to pay down our debt so that future generations aren't saddled with irresponsible decision that is have been made in the past.

a balanced budget is crucial to giving individuals, families and businesses greater certainty for the future and it shows the american people and frankly the rest of the world that we are ready to make the tough decisions and hold government accountable in how it spends our hard-earned tax dollars and why america should be the financial leader for years to come. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you, mr. chairman. my name's rob woodall, from the seventh district of georgia. mr. woodall: i want to talk about the job opportunities in the budget. the budget a moral document t talks about where your values are. and what this committee values what this conference values is the opportunity for job creation. i happen to be with a group of manufacturers this morning completely unsolicited, well you can give us bad news or give us good news, but what we need is certainty. if we can have certainty, then we can get back to the business of creating jobs. in an uncertain economy, in a

world where the president's budget purports to borrow not just next year, not just 10 years from now but 20 years from now, 30 years from now, and 40 years from now job creators know there is no certainty. this budget balances in a responsible way. provides certainty on issues of interest rates and borrowing because we know america's government will no longer be that dominant borrower. provides certainty from a tax code. how many state of the union speeches have we all sat through where we talked about the importance of reforming the tax code in order to create american jobs? how many proposals have we seen come forward from downtown? this budget, this budget anticipates that fundamentally structuring of the tax code that allows us to be the absolute magnet for job creation around the globe. from streamlining regulations to focusing on energy production, item after item you will see that commitment to certainty.

i'm very proud of what budget committee has done. i'm proud of what the last four budget committees have done. but we never had an opportunity to partner that the senate provide that certainty for good. i hope you look carefully at what is different this year when folks are playing with the opportunity for the first time in my short congressional career to actually bring a budget to the united states of america. i'm grateful to the chairman for his leadership. i look forward to being a great i look forward to being a great part of it. thank you very much. mrs. black: thank you, mr. chairman. good morning to all of you. let me say that it is an honor to be here with my members of the committee and each of you as we unveil this, a balanced budget for our stronger america. i'm pleased to tell you this budget repeals all of obamacare. the taxes, the mandates, and

regulations that are wreaking havoc on our health care system and our economy. we additionally end obamacare's $700 billion-plus raid on medicare and we put forward a proposal to save and strengthen the program for today's seniors and future retirees. further, our budget empowers states by giving them the flexibility that's needed to tailor their medicaid programs that fit the unique needs of their populations and we call on policymakers to start over with with health care reform that puts patients, families, and doctors in charge not washington bureaucrats. i'm very proud of this budget and i look forward to future action to put this budget in action and pass it into law. thank you, mr. chairman. mr. price: we are enthusiastic

about the future of our great country. we recognize there are huge challenges and know that economic security is the key to national security, and the key to a brighter more hopeful future for all americans. again, our budget, a balanced budget, for a stronger america is a bath forward to that brighter future. for government lives within its means, for washington is efficient, effective, and accountable. we embrace the challenge and opportunity and we call again on our colleagues and our fellow citizens across this great country as we move forward together. a balanced budget for a stronger america, budget.house.gov. i'm happy to take a few questions. >> dr. price, which committees do you intend to issue reconciliation instructions to and what do you plan to use reconciliation for? mr. price: the great opportunity we have with a senate that is now in republican hands is that we have an opportunity to have a unified budget between the two chambers and do something called reconciliation, which is an opportunity to pass a piece of

legislation out of the house and out of the senate with just 51 votes in the united states senate and put it on the president's desk to put forward good policy and to provide a contrast for the american people to see who's trying to solve these challenges and who might be standing in the way. our reconciliation directives will direct eight or nine different committees to identify areas of savings and have the flexibility to be able to address the issue of obamacare repeal, has flexibility to address other items should the conference desire to do so. we have specific language that identifies calls on the committees of jurisdiction to identify ways in which obamacare might be able to be repealed. >> to follow up on that. looking at the instructions it looks like it's about $5 billion which comes a lot short than the $5 trillion are you talking about. why not go for a hire number on reconciliation? mr. price: the amount of savings

we find in the budget ourself and demonstrate over a 10-year period of time are two different things. the reconciliation instructions given to the committee are put an appropriate level that allows them to go above it. that's a floor not ceiling. so we are able to address the kind of deficit reduction that we might desire. again, it's also an opportunity to provide a positive solution an appropriate level that allows that the american people desire, put it on the president's desk and encourage him to sign. >> you it assumes the c.b.o. baseline which assumes the expiration of tax extenders which would amount to a $900 billion revenue increase from current policy. secondly, you claim that you're repealing all of the obamacare taxes, but you have a baseline on revenue. can you square those two things? mr. price: we believe in the american people and believe in growth. the amount of spending that's done here in washington we believe to be at a level that we can rein in, just decreasing

spending or reining in spending will not get us to the kind of economy we want or allow the american people to get back to work and realize their dreams. the tax reform we have identified and the proposals we put forward we believe will result in significant increase in growth. it's important for people to appreciate this. the congressional budget office has decreased its estimate on growth in this country from 3% four years ago to 2.3% annually over the next 10 years. 2.3%. recognize the average for the last 40 years has been 3.3% growth. what's that difference mean? what's that 1% difference mean? that means over $3 trillion, $3 trillion over that period of time in greater revenue to the federal government because of the greater increase in economic activity. so as i mentioned before, we believe in the american people. we believe in the vitality of their enthusiasm and the vitality of an economy. if you let it loose. if you let it go. that's what we embrace. >> are you claiming that

economic growth just magically matches the c.b.o. baseline and that that $900 billion for the extenders -- mr. price: we not only believe it will, we believe it will exceed it. it isn't accounted for in our budget in numerical values because we believe if you increase growth the increase will be over $3 trillion over that period of time. more than covering the baseline of the c.b.o. estimate. >> over the $5 trillion in savings, could you -- is -- has that blank not been filled in yet? mr. price: let me encourage you to take a peek at a balanced budget for a strong america, i encourage you to go there and courage the american people to go there.

if you go through the document themselves, there are very specific notations where that comes from. the welfare programs. we encourage working as a component of participating in a welfare program for abled body adults. the snap program we believe is better run at the state level as opposed to the federal level. the good news is that all of them result in significant savings to the american people so we can get the economy rolling. >> on tax reform. your intention that tax reform will be revenue neutral. you wouldn't be capturing any revenue from closing any of those loopholes? mr. price: we don't account for any revenue because of the question that andy asked. how can you plug a number in there when you don't know what's exactly going to be? we however feel strongly and confidently, as has happened every time that federal

government reduced taxes for the american people it's increased revenue to the federal government. so we believe that a strong and vibrant economy rests are on progrowth tax reform. we allow a path to make that happen. >> why does the c.b.o. only give you $147 billion in sort of deficit reduction effects from the economic growth, why is that number not bigger? mr. price: because the process they go through to score is by and large static scoring which doesn't recognize the feedback that happens in the dynamic way that our economy works. we're excited about the opportunity that we have. i can't tell you how proud i am of the men and women standing behind me and the work they've done in the budget committee. we look forward to having it in markup tomorrow and having it on the floor next week. and we are happy to answer any questions after this press conference. thanks so much. god bless. >> chairman price, about the c.b.o. score --

>> house minority leader nancy pelosi weighed in on the house republican budget plan. there is nothing new here, she said, just more of the same republican agenda to protect special interest by ransacking the future of america's hard-working families. we will have more budget coverage later. >> president obama met with irish prime minister enda kenny at the white house to march -- mark's and president day. the two touched on a number of issues, including trade and security. president obama: everybody ready?

well it is a great pleasure to once again welcome my good friend and colleague, prime minister kenny back to the white house and oval office is -- along with his delegation. this is always one of my favorite affairs, as it allows me to trot out my irish heritage and brings back incredibly fond memories of my visits to ireland. and it allows us to reaffirm the incredible friendship and family ties between our countries. the visits are the time when ireland is on the move. after a very challenging financial crisis. and economic recession.

under leadership, the economy has stabilized. there are terrific opportunities for us to collaborate in creating jobs both in the united states and in ireland. one of those areas is a potential for a transatlantic trade partnership between the united states and the european union. and we had discussions about how we continue negotiations on those fronts. and i was able to hear from europe's progress in trying to strengthen its economy as a whole. what happens in europe has a great impact on what happens in the united states as well. we had the opportunity to talk about northern ireland. and although the recent framework agreement that has

been put in place offers great hope for resolution of long-standing challenges there there is still more work to do. we very much appreciate the leadership they have shown in this process. and the collaboration with united states is encouraging both parties to arrive at peaceful resolutions that can lead to more prosperity and growth in northern ireland. we had an opportunity to talk about domestic issues here. the greatest being immigration reform. i indicated the executive actions i have taken, some of which are currently tied up in court. and we share the view that the great strength of the united states has always been its willingness to welcome new immigrants to our shores. that is what has made us unique and special. nobody has a bash contributed to

the growth and dynamism of the u.s. economy then our irish immigrants. that continues to be the case. and we had a chance to discuss broader security issues that we face in common. the importance of having a firm and resolute position with respect to ukraine and russian aggression. we need to maintain strong sanctions and ensure that the misnk agreement is respected. we had a chance to discuss the challenges and importance of stemming the flow of foreign fighters to ireland and the united states and the rest of your. and increasing cooperation counterterrorism in countering the foreign fighter force. we appreciate the information provided there.

as usual, the biggest challenge is finding something we disagree on. it is very hard, because we are great partners. he is a great friend. we look forward to welcoming everybody to the white house for some st. patrick's day cheer. later this evening, we will be going over to congress for some friendship and fellowship on a bipartisan basis. i should mention i was hoping for a little luck of the irish as the republicans put forward their budget today. unfortunately, what we are seeing right now is a failure to invest in education and infrastructure, research and national defense, although things we need to grow to create jobs. tuesday at the forefront of innovation and keep our country

safe. it is not a budget that reflects the future. it is not a budget that reflects growth. it is not a budget that is going to help ensure that middle-class families are able to maintain security and that people who are trying to get into the middle class have rungs on the latter to get into the middle class. we are going to be talking more about this tomorrow, have a robust debate. my hope is that we find some compromises together to finance the education, research, and training, the building of roads and bridges and ports. railways and all the things that we need to grow so people can get back to work. and make sure the incredible momentum of our economy will last several years and continue for future generations. i will keep my four leaf clover

in my pocket and see if the speaker and mitch mcconnell and others are interested in having a conversation. all right? prime minister kenny: thank you. it is a privilege to be back in the oval office. i wished the president a happy st. patrick's day and say troubles to the far east. ambassador kevin o'malley is doing an outstanding job in our country. the issues we discussed here, i have given him a rundown on the purpose of ireland in terms of our growth. the progress in respect to our economy. the deficit and so on. and reminded him is a fragile

progress. a work not yet completed. our challenge is to manage that future -- for the future. i have given the president an update in respect to europe, with elections. issues that might arise. the potential for referendum. the need for britain to stay in. and our support for that. and the comments of the prime minister. i referred to the situation in greece, where the prime minister was clear he wanted to produce sustainable programs for the future. he did not want to default or leave europe. time is obviously short. we referred to the transatlantic

agreement. we are big supporters of this. i commended the president on his forthrightness in making decisions. and having his team in gauge with the european teams. we want that to happen. and therefore, the next six months are critical. i will speak to president tusk on thursday. about moving this along. we referred to immigration and the issue that affects us here. i commended president obama on his executive action. the question of visas and all of that. i would hope that at the end of the day, leadership here in washington in the greatest nation in the north, will

actually deal with this particular problem. by having courage and leadership to act, they can make this happen. i referred to one of the recipients of the scientific metal i awarded yesterday. he became head of one of the best-known astrophysicists in the world. that kind of contribution is part of what immigration has brought to the u.s. we hope that can move through the system. that they will work with president obama on this. particularly the road to legitimacy.

that is an essential part of this. obviously, there is a court process. we discussed the issue of talks on the isis situation. middle east in general. the challenges that face many countries and humanity in that part of the world at the moment. we discussed the ukraine, the necessity to have clarity about strength in respect to sections. i have reminded the president that europe has been very clear on this and wants to be very clear in coordinating activity with the united states in respect to sanctions being enforced in russia. all in all, it has been a very constructive visit. very inclusive conversation. pleased to be here on behalf of the irish people. it is quite unique for a country

as small as ireland to have this reach right to the center of influence here in the white house. thank you, president obama. i wish you the very best for the future. president obama: i just want to point out that he got me a book by yates, one of my favorite published -- when my favorite poets. >> thank you. president obama: thank you, guys. >> defense secretary ashton carter and joint chiefs chair general martin dempsey will give an update on combating the group

isis. they will also take questions on defense programs at the live -- at the house armed services committee. we will have coverage at 10:00 a.m. eastern time. later, fcc chairman tom wheeler will take questions about the new net neutrality rules. that is on c-span3 at 2:30 p.m. eastern time. the secret service has been under scrutiny because of the number 6 -- because of a number of security breaches at the white house. the secret service director testimony is next. then fcc chairman tom wheeler. later, house republicans layout their budget plan. here are some of our featured

programs for this weekend on the c-span networks. on c-span2's book tv, pulitzer prize winner historian eric fon er on the effort of abolitionists to help fugitive slaves. in sunday night at 10, abu dhabi-based journalists hassan hassan. and saturday morning, american history tv joints historians and authors at the abraham lincoln symposium live for theater. some evening at six, a visit to the national museum of health and medicine to view items from their civil war collection including artifacts related to president lincoln's assassination. find our full schedule at c-span.org and tell us what you think about the programs you are watching. e-mail us or send us a tweet

@cspan #comments. >> this weekend, the c-span cities tour has partnered with media, to learn about the --mediacom. >> here are the remains of a confederate ironclad. it was built here in columbus during the war. those oval shapes are the gun ports. the jackson was armed with six brooke rifles. the particular brooke rifle that we are firing today was one of the guns built specifically for the jackson. it was cast at the naval works in alabama and completed in january of 1865. the real claim to fame is

directly connected to the fact that there are only four ironclads from the civil war that we can study right now. the jackson is right here and this is why this facility is here. it is first and foremost to tell the story of this particular ironclad in show people that there are just more than one or two ironclads. >> watch all of our event from columbus on saturday at noon eastern on book tv and saturday at 2 p.m. on american history tv on c-span3. the head of the secret service face questions from members of congress about a recent incident where agents allegedly crashed into a security barrier on the white house grounds. director joseph clancy tells the panel he wants a new training facility built. representative carter of texas chairs this committee.

rep. carter: today we welcome joe clancy. his first appearance before our subcommittee. director clancy, welcome. thank you for your willingness to serve dhs and our nation. fiscal year 2016 budget of the secret service is $1.9 billion. an increase of $273 million from fiscal year 2015. this increase is due in large part to the preparations for the upcoming presidential campaign cycle deployment of obama detail, and additional funds based on recommendations of mission panel -- the mission panel that reported out of december on the need for significant reform and service. director, we look forward to the

discussion of these increases with you, learning whether you plan to adjust the recommendations today with various reviews of your service that have occurred over the past few months. i want to address an instance that was news last week. according to reports two senior secret agents arrived at the white house public checkpoint in a government car after allegedly consuming alcohol. have agents proceeded through the checkpoint and drove to the scene of an active investigation. the violation of behavior was not reported to headquarters until days later. for an agency tried to restore its reputation three years after well-publicized scandal, this leaves embarrassment and renewed scrutiny of the secret service.

simply put, this conduct should not to be tolerated. congress is disappointed to see it on display again. director, i look forward to hearing your comments. first, i would like to recognize our new distinguished ranking member. representative: congratulations on your appointment as director. you make efforts to make the secret service the best it can be. the agency has in do it significant criticism over the last several months, indeed over the last few years. unfortunately, most of it has been justified. i would like others on that committee -- i and others on the

committee were disappointed with conduct. this time it included senior personnel, a member of the presidents protective detail allegedly after consuming alcohol. perhaps more disturbing, if true, it is an allegation that a supervisor overruled an initial decision by officers on duty to conduct a sobriety test. i applied your quick notification of the inspector general in this case, but hope you won't wait for the conclusion of the ig investigation to start addressing what went wrong. if the allegations of this conduct are accurate, i worry that they may be indicative of a larger cultural problem at the secret service. we will be discussing that incident this morning. i don't want to overshadow the good work that the vast majority

of secret service officers and agents are doing every day. i saw that work firsthand when i visited your los angeles field office last week. i was impressed by the quality of a staff briefing in which u.s.s. personnel were discussing the final security plans for the presidents visit to los angeles the next day. and interest of time, i won't elaborate on everything i saw. i want to have at one program the los angeles field office is implementing in an impressive way. bell essentials electronic crimes task force. -- the los angeles electronic crimes task force. they are to investigating and deterring cyber crimes. it is a roundtable concept comprised of local, state, and federal law horsemen partners. -- enforcement partners. they shared common strategies.

i'm proud to say they were selected out of 80 nominations to receive the 2015 award for excellence in investigations from the peace officers association of the los angeles county. director clancy, we want to help the secret service on behalf of our country. thank you for joining us this morning. i look forward to discussing your proposed budget for the coming year, as well as your plans to point the secret service in the right direction. rep. carter: now i would like to recognize the chairman of the appropriations committee, mr. rogers for any comments. mr. rogers: thank you for being with us this morning. this constitutes the first

hearing of this subcommittee. i'm immensely pleased that we finally managed to pass a full your spending bill for the department to support our men and women on the front lines and bolster critical agencies and fund the joint anti-terrorism and law enforcement efforts on our home turf. unquestionably, your organization is a vital piece of this. a dual mission of protection and investigation. the investigative component of your charge is essential for the financial infrastructure of the country. your mission is to protect our president, his family, and other dignitaries from a host of potential threats. that requires discipline and dexterity, unparalleled skill and professionalism.

unfortunately, service has been beleaguered by a series of embarrassing and on acceptable lapses in security and other missteps. this will not stand. just when we think we have assessed the problems associated with september's white house incident and developed a plan to close existing gaps in security moving forward, news broke that two agents drove around a security barricade at the home where the president lives during inactive bomb investigation. -- an active bomb investigation drunk. you personally committed to me and others and leveraging your lifetime of service to this organization to restore the service to its once stored reputation. i want to take you up at your word.

give you every chance to achieve that goal. incidents like these demonstrate just how far you have got to go. and how short of a time you have got to do it. we will find the adequate funding for your agency. we expect results. your fiscal year budget request includes 1.9 l.a. and dollars -- 1.9 billion dollars. in addition to the presidential protective service the supports the services network of 42 domestic field offices, 60 resident offices and president agent offices and 24 offices abroad. notably, this request includes a significant increase to accommodate the responsibilities leaving -- leading up to the '16

election and when present obama transitions out of office. $87 million pursuant to the recommendations of the protective mission panel. mr. director, we look forward to hearing how you intend to use this money right the ship, so the sick or service can focus. thank you for taking on this chore -- so the secret service can focus. thank you for taking on this tour. rep. carter: thank you. now the distinction ranking member of the appropriations committee. representative: thank you very much for holding this important hearing today. welcome, director clancy. thank you for joining us.

the secret service has had a long and start history of professionalism. recent incidents have diminished its reputation over the last few years and raised serious questions about its ability to protect the president. clearly we have a lot to discuss. last july through a report accompanying the house funding bill, and this committee expressly stated that it was "deeply disappointed of recurring allegations and misconduct within the secret service. you withheld a substantial amount of headquarters funding in the fy-15 appropriations bill until new guidelines were submitted. it is hard to believe here we are again. not only were we rocked i the white house fence jumper last september, but now we are confronted by yet another

unfortunate incident that appears to entail significant misconduct. on march 4, two intoxicated agents drove a government card through an active investigation. according to news reports, no righty test was administered. the agents were not arrested. they were allowed to leave the scene. the president's budget request nearly $87 million for protective mission enhancement in the wake of recent secret service missteps. i agree it more resources are necessary for security enhancements. hiring, training, and funding alone won't be enough to solve the secret service problems. this latest episode seems to be more evidence of a cultural issue that has not been

adequately addressed by changes in senior management. director clancy, you recently assumed your position, but you have been with agency for an impressive 30 years. we want to work with you to restore the public's confidence in the secret service. we want to support you with the resources that you need, but the responsibility is ultimately yours. you must provide the leadership and insists on the accountability that is necessary . i look forward to a productive discussion this morning. thank you, mr. chairman. rep. carter: director clancy -- is this on? we recognize you for your opening statement. i will ask you to keep it to five minutes. director clancy: thank you. that morning, chairman carter,

ranking members, and distinguish members of this committee. i'm pleased to appear before you to discuss the president's 20 16th budget for the secret service. as the newly appointed director, i'm honored to lead the men and women of this important agency through this challenging time despite allegations of miss conduct involving -- misconduct involving two agents, i have been impressed by the selfless dedication of the workforce as a whole and our people's willingness to take on necessary reforms in the betterment of the mission. with respect to these recent allegations, the secret service has turned over the investigation to the department of homeland security office of inspector general to ensure a thorough and independent review of this incident. i have committed full cooperation and eagerly await the oig's findings. turning to the budget, i want to

thank all members for your work on the 2015 department of homeland security appropriations act. this subcommittee worked diligently to provide the secret service with additional resources to support our staffing, training, and operational needs. in addition, the 2015 bill includes $25 million to begin the necessary enhancements associated with the protective panels recommendations that were included in a report to secretary johnson on december 2015 -- 2014. the recommendations rot focus to training and leadership deficiencies in the -- brought focus to training and leadership deficiencies. however, the secret service mission -- uncommitted to -- i'm committed to determine the full extent of our operational requirements. the 20 16th budget bill -- 2016

budget bill -- my statements provide a euro overview. i would like to highlight a few areas. $86.7 million for quested to adjust specific -- could be broken down into four categories. training center improvements. white house security infrastructure improvements. protective technology upgrades. my priorities are to staff the agency at a level commiserate with the man's -- with the demands of the mission. this includes critical and service training for agents and ethics and leadership development. one of the biggest missions demands will be associate it with the campaign protection to less than two years remaining before president obama's term in office comes to a close. the secret service is preparing

for campaign protection requirements. during every campaign, the secret service budget temporarily grows to accommodate the search in protection requirements. of the money requested in 2016 for campaign protection and related items simply reflects anticipated time special agents will work in protection hours in support of the campaign. when people ask how it is the secret service can protect multiple candidates traveling which are different cities and states in a matter of hours, i point to special agents who serve in the field offices around the country. without the support of highly trained special agents have experience with investigations and protections, the secret service would be unable to handle the surges associated with presidential campaigns and other major events. securing the two nominating

conventions is one of the most challenging aspects of campaign protection. these typically last three to four days and attract thousands of participants each. the secret service began to work months in advance to plan comprehensive security operations to identify and mitigate threats. a good cause harm -- it could cause harm to those attending these events. to mitigate the risk of cyber attack on critical distance a key infrastructure that could affect the security plans special agents have trade in the critical protections -- i'm sorry there are responsible for protecting venues that are automated and interconnected. the secret service recruits from within the agency's electronic crimes special agents program. the computer forensics responder disciplines. special agents trained in these

areas are responsible for the successful investigations into many of the largest known data breaches in recent memory. last month, secret service services led in the arrest of a russian national who will face charges as he allegedly conspired in the largest hacking and data breach scream -- scheme in that u.s. we need superior leadership. i have worked open the lines of communication between the rank-and-file and their supervisors. i made significant changes in top leadership positions across the secret service to inspire a renewed focus on staffing, training, protective operations, investigations, and professional responsibility. i'm in the process of restructuring the secret service second and leadership to better leverage the expense of civilian professionals while allowing law enforcement arsenal to focus on their core areas of expertise.

with the support of the department and congress over the next several years, i'm confident you can put the secret service on a path to success for many decades to come. chairman carter, ranking members, this concludes my testimony. i welcome any questions you may have this time. rep. carter: thank you for that report. let's start with the 800 pound gorilla in the room. what happened the other night at the white house? i was in ukraine with a subcommittee of this body when we learned of this back home. considering the discussions we have had -- first of all, give

us a picture of what you think happened. it sounded like they crash through a barrier or a gate and ignored crime scene tape due to intoxication. it requires -- it may not be that picture. give us a picture of what happened. i'd like to talk about protocols that may or may not have been violated and what protocols are in place to cover the situation here. alcohol is part of a stressful world a lot of people live in. there was a cartoon on the wall. the judge is addressing a young trial lawyer. the most important due diligence of the law relative to trial work is caffeine by day, alcohol

by night. it was meant to be a joke. it is a tragic truth. stressful jobs. those two become a major part of how people get through the day. but alcohol as we all know messes up your judgment. there have got to be protocols that address this. we have to deal with it. sometimes it is part of the life we have. we are protecting the face of the earth. it is your job whoever sits in the white house, he or she is the most important person on earth politically in this world. more power than anybody else. therefore, more enemies. talk to me about what happened. let's talk about protocols. director clancy: yes mr. chairman. on march 4, 2015, our understanding is two

senior-level special agents came to the white house. the initial report -- i do not hear this incident until monday -- on wednesday night i found out -- on monday i found out. once i found out monday, the initial report was from an anonymous report. two senior-level agents had crashed into the white house. they were inebriated. i had not heard about that. i asked my staff if they had heard about that. they had in. i asked them to get as much -- they heard -- they had not heard about it. i asked them to get as much information about it. i decided to send it over to the department of homeland security office of the inspector general. i thought it was important we have an independent investigation. there be no perception that we

were involved. we wouldn't do any interviews. we would give that case of the investigation to the ouig. i will also say that i brought my staff in on monday. we discussed why i did not know prior to monday of this of then. we had a good, stern talk about that. i instructed his staff to go after their management to ensure that these events, any event of misconduct or operational hours have to be relayed up to the chain. i will say that it will take time to change maybe some of this culture. there is no excuse for this information not to come up the chain. that is going to take time. i will have to build trust with

our work orders. the best way for me to earn that trust with our workforce is by my actions. i know i'm eager to hear the results of this investigation. i don't know how long it will take. i'm committed to due process. i have removed those two senior-level agents to nonsupervisory positions. they're not working at the white house. they're outside at the offices. we will leave the findings of the oig. rep. carter: on the issue of drinking, are the protocols set up to discuss the fact that everyone of your people are carrying a weapon? this is purely hearsay. someone told me that the person they knew -- if you know you are

going to a place where alcohol is going to be consumed and it is a retirement target were more than one drink might be consumed, they expect their agents to report that to their superiors to leave their weapons at home and tell their superiors that they will no longer be available on call. they may not be in a condition to be available for call. i don't know if that is true or not. that is something that was told to me. this was a retirement party for a member of your group. it was a party. people were expecting there would be drinking at the party. do you have any protocols like that in the secret service? >> we do have a 10 hour rule. you are not permitted to consume alcohol 10 hours prior to your duty assignment. off-hours, we don't have

protocols for off our -- going to party or perception -- reception or what have you. our protocols for driving a government vehicle. you cannot be under the influence. you cannot be exhibiting any indication that you are under the influence of alcohol and driving a government vehicle. that will be looked into with the office of inspector general. i saw a short video footage of the incident that evening. i saw the vehicle the agents traveled in. they drove it at a low speed. that is something the oig will have an investigate. rep. carter: going forward, when you look into protocols that

affect the situation like this? director clancy: yes. anytime we have an incident of this level, with a look at total calls, policies. are they sufficient? -- we have to look at protocols policies. are they sufficient? they will have to be addressed. even after having one beer or one glass of wine, that is something we will have to address. rep. carter: dui laws are pretty rough. director clancy: yes, sir. rep. carter: it breaks my heart to think that one of the agencies that has been a legend among the american people in the last six years has just come downhill substantially. it's a crime.

our people need heroes. you are an agency that was considered heroes that protected every president matter what party they're in and did it in an effective and efficient job. this is heartbreaking to have this continued misconduct. i know you are new but i told you, you have a big job. you'll have to make heads roll. if there's a place to send people, the home hobby desert -- the mojave desert, so they know their behavior is unacceptable. inc. about all that. -- think about all that.

the chairman has got plenty of hearings to attend. rep. rogers: why did you not learn of this incident immediately? director clancy: that is what we are trying to find out. rep. rogers: you are in charge. this is an administrative problem you have got. why did you not get word from your subordinates about this incident for five or six days? director clancy: yes sir. not knowing all the facts -- first of all, you are right. i should have still been informed of what transpired that evening.

when a senior detail has allegedly come through a secure area, i should have been informed. we are following up on that. there will be accountability. our workforce is listening today. they're waiting to see how people are going to be held accountable. this is my first test. we will wait for these facts to come out. we will go back to the reports that were written that evening and the oig will interview these supervisors and going up the chain. you are absolutely correct. this goes through a culture of trust. do you have the trust in your leadership that you can bring this to your leadership's attention? i've got to work to earn that trust and i will do that to my actions. rep. rogers: your actions should be punishment.

termination. firing people who have subordinated their command you cannot run an agency like this, for god sakes, or any agency. you need discipline in the ranks. this is a breakdown, to put it mildly, of discipline within the ranks of your agency. that is a cancer. it will consume you. were these people given a sobriety test? director clancy: they were not from my understanding. rep. rogers: i cannot answer that. director clancy: who said to do that -- rep. rogers: who said to do that? director clancy: i cannot answer. i have -- do not have the facts

of that e-mail. typically an event like that there would be some chatter. there would be discussion if it occurred the way it had been described. rep. rogers: who was the agent in charge at the time? director clancy: a watch commander. they would have been in charge of the white house complex at that time, certainly during the incident. rep. rogers: who is that? director clancy: by name? rep. rogers: bronson? director clancy: brawn. i believe the staff can correct me if i am wrong. rep. rogers: he was in charge at that time? is that correct? director clancy: yes sir. rep. rogers: did he report any of this activity to anyone else? director clancy: no, sir. rep. rogers: have you talked to him? director clancy: i haven't.

it is frustrating to me to have to wait to do this. rep. rogers: why do you have to weigh? director clancy: i don't want to interfere with this investigation. in the past when we sought investigations were different people interviewed witnesses stories were perceived differently. i don't want to have any impact on that investigation. rep. rogers: have you asked around on what happened? director clancy: i have asked to see the report and i have seen nothing that indicates any written report indicating that this event as described had occurred. rep. rogers: what kind of their kid was it that they broke -- what kind of barricade was it that they broke? director clancy: an orange type barrier. on 15th street and e street

this orange barrier didn't allow the vehicle to go through. they nudged this barrel out of the way. it didn't fall over. they moved up to a checkpoint when officer typically would be positioned. it appeared they were showing their badges to go through the checkpoint. that is the extent of the video we saw. rep. rogers: why were they there? director clancy: my understanding is the passenger in the vehicle was returning to get his vehicle. they had been at a reception. they left together. the passenger had his vehicle

parked at the white house complex. rep. rogers: needless to say you want to get to the bottom of this right away. and is appointed that you haven't raise your own figures tough investigation -- your own vigorous, tough investigation. the agents appeared to be inebriated. to say you are not investigating and one the inspector general to investigate is hogwash. what do you think? director clancy: sir based on my limited experience and i came back, i read the report on 2011. the shooting on constitution avenue, one of the officers --

this individual was interviewed three different times by our agency, by the oig, by the federal bureau of investigation. my recollection is each of those interviews was different. if distorted the facts. what were the facts? what did that opera are truly see and hear? -- that officer truly see and hear? i didn't want any perception that -- it can be intimidating if someone from my staff goes to one of these officers and what to do here and see? what happened? they may tell me and my staff one thing and another to the oig and they may have a different perception of the spoken word. i'm frustrated.

i'm very frustrated that we didn't know about this. frustrated that i cannot act until we get all the facts. i don't want to act improperly too soon. the president's family is safe. we have moved these individuals to non-supervisor positions. we can still get work out of them. rep. rogers: they are still getting paid. director clancy: yes. rep. rogers: no penalties financial or otherwise, right? director clancy: no financial penalties. sir, i would say i'm sure they're playing -- paying a penalty right now.

rep. rogers: unfortunately, this is the last in a long line of episodes somewhat similar -- drinking, on and off duty, that this agency has suffered these last few years. it is not working right. we have got to have some changes. you have got to be the one that makes those changes. i don't sense at this moment that you have the determination to make that happen. am i wrong? director clancy: sir, i would disagree with you with all respect. there is an element within our agency that does cope with the stresses that many of you have mentioned today by using alcohol . there's no question we have that element. you also have other element's in

our agency that go a different route. some exercise. some go to the family. some go to religion to cope. we do have a section that goes to alcohol. we kicked off an initiative of work life to look at the stresses that our people are under. they are considerable. there is no excuse for these actions. there needs to be self accountability. we have got to find a way to help some of these people who are going towards alcohol to solve their coping mechanism. rep. rogers: i'm concerned about their health as well get a more concerned about the health of the president of the united states and who is protecting him from harm. if we have got special agents on the grounds at night in the white house ramming a barricade drunk -- it seems to me that the only discipline that you could

exert would be caused by the ability of you and your staff to did -- to terminate so that every other agent knows, i don't want to go there. that director will fire me. that is what makes the mind work. what do you think about that? director clancy: i agree. i think deep down within our agency and others, people want to see discipline. people want to be disciplined. people want to be held accountable. i want to respect the due processes cause frost -- as frustrating as it is. the let my actions speak for how we're going to move forward. rep. rogers: we will be watching and waiting. director clancy: yes, sir. rep. lowey: thank you.

there are so many hearings today. i want to follow up weekly. with all due respect, i'm shocked by your testimony. first of all, you said it wouldn't have been reported to you other than a whistleblower. there was an someone in the chain of command that reported it to you. and you said what really shocks me is it will take time to change the culture? i don't understand this one bit. it seems to me it should take time to help people who think this is the culture to go get another job. how can we as members of congress have respect for an agency that feels it is ok? we're not talking about someone drinking and partying. we're talking about a respected member of the secret service who was absolutely drunk. how many people do you know, how

many friends do you know who go to a party and then take a car and ran it into a fence or some other barricade? i find this testimony shocking. following up on my colleague, i don't understand it. i would think it would take five minutes to change the culture before you even know the facts. based on allegations, if you are not aware of this kind of activity is inappropriate for a member of the secret service you better get it now and go find another job. i cannot believe you said it would take time to change the culture. can you explain to me why it is ok remember the secret service to get so inebriated that they can take a car and run it into a barricade? director clancy: if those are the facts and they may come out exactly as you stated them, then

you are correct. we have a panel of -- table penalties of how they can be disciplined. when i said the culture will take time to be changed specifically i'm talking about if there was an event as described. why wasn't that reported? why wasn't that reported to my office? i think that is a long-standing process possibly where people don't want to relay that information. we have to prevent that. to your point, we are right that my actions will determine how that culture is changed. i don't have the ability to just fire people at will. my understanding is you cannot do that. it doesn't mean --

rep. lowey: maybe my statement is not clear. i understand due process. but think of the inappropriate -- but do you think it would be appropriate that this sending out a message that this kind of behavior is inappropriate, can you do that? director clancy: we have reference that. we put out a statement saying there is accountability. this activity is not tolerated. we have got to shape the future of the service. rep. lowey: i guess i don't understand. and my time in congress, which is 26 years, i have had enormous respect for the secret service protecting so many of our people in public life, including members of congress. i don't understand even off-duty

how a respected member of the secret service could get so inebriated that may would take this kind of action going into a fence and knocking down a barricade. item get why it would take time to change the culture -- i don't to get why it would take time to change the culture. i hope it is clear that if they are off on a thursday and not on duty, they can get so inebriated that they can go into a fence when they are on duty, they understand this behavior is unacceptable. i don't want a member of the secret service frankly who is capable of getting so inebriated that this kind of action can be accepted. it can be expected when off duty, but not on duty. this is why i'm puzzled. there is no doubt that this action took place. is that correct? director clancy: correct. rep. lowey: is it clear now that

it will not take time to change the culture? do you understand why that doesn't make sense to someone like myself has respect for secret service? we don't want this person in the secret service. whether on duty or off duty. you don't want them behaving this way at any time. that is not the person you want in the secret service. they can find another job frankly. can the culture change immediately? or do you still believe it will take time to change the culture? director clancy: i cannot terminate people this afternoon. rep. lowey: i understand, can there be a clear directive that if you are a distinguished member of the secret service whether on duty or off, you cannot get so in neighbor rated -- enumerated that you are

taking a car and going into a fence and possibly killing someone on the street. these are people with guns. director clancy: i agree with everything you are saying. the workforce is hearing a message loud and clear today. we have been stressing this through training, mentoring, coaching. this discipline we put an one-year xhosa people know the rules. it is up to individuals -- to conduct themselves in a professional manner -- one year ago that people know the rules. it is up to individuals to conduct himself in a factional manner. rep. lowey: i hope you send -- and a professional manner. rep. lowey: i hope you send a message and make it clear that it should be business as usual even if they are off duty because i know to go get so

inebriated that you are going to take a car and go into a fence you need to be pretty enumerated out there -- integrated -- inebriated out there. i understand you cannot accuse anyone until an investigation is complete, but you can make it clear whether under their off this kind of behavior is unacceptable for distinguished member of the -- whether on or off, this kind of behavior is unacceptable for a distinguished members of the secret service. representative: i have to say i'm equally concerned by some of the responses you have given today. i hope i miss understood you in

terms of use saying that you needed to wait for the ig report to take action. it seems to me there are many things that can be done now and actions that you can take now before that ig report. it is quite obvious there are lots of problems within the secret service that the incidents at the white house and other incidents are indicative of those problems. i want to give you an opportunity to elaborate a little bit on your opening statements. i think it is important that we in the public hear loud and clear that you not only acknowledge that there are problems in the secret service, but that you are actually implementing an effective plan in turning things around, things you can do now. right now you can demand a

discipline that you are immediately notified of any other incidents. hopefully there won't be such an incident. there are things that you can do now. as your answering that question, ask what you'll be doing over the next weeks or months to reassure the secret service personnel, white house congress, and the public that you are moving in the right direction. if you could also talk about what you are doing in terms of sending a message of discipline, in general, that certain things are not acceptable and that there will be consequences. as reported in the paper, if true that the incident at the

white house, those involved were given a less stringent approach, then the service has taken in the past -- if that is true, why? i want to give you an opportunity to respond to that as well. director clancy: consistency is very important. i'm not aware of how the discipline or action that taken so far will differ from the past . i have been briefed on some recent incidents. i talked to our legal counsel. to see what options we have in the first steps in regards to this incident. i will tell you in general we are going through a restructuring within our organizational chart. that will be a subject may be later during this hearing. the idea of discipline -- before

every trip, every agent on that trip is given a briefing on ethics and what is expected of them before our personnel meetings in any city. agents working that visit our briefed on professionalism as well as operational aspect of the visit. these topics are constantly brought up. unfortunately, we have an element and i would argue it is a smaller element. we have an element that is causing the agency great distress. i can tell you those agents and officers and our personnel who go home to their families, go to their church, exercise, or as distressed about this as all of you. it is the reputation. they worked 8-10-12 hour days under great stress.

it is a stressful environment. then you go home. you see the immediate reports that we are alcoholics. that is something that -- we have a work life initiative that we kick off a few weeks ago to try to adjust the stresses and how to handle people that go in the wrong direction. ultimately goes back to what actions do i take? what actions does agency take? rep. roybal-allard: that was my question, director clancy. what are your plans now to address these issues? separate and apart from the incident? how are you getting that message across? i want to highlight what chairman rogers said. the best way to make sure these things don't happen and to weed out those who are the bad actors

is a hard and swift disciplinary action. it could mean immediate dismissal. what is it that you are doing now to start addressing the problems within the secret service? specifically, what are you doing now? director clancy: some of these measures were put in place prior to my arriving. for example, the office of integrity reports directly to the director. rather than in the old days, if there's an issue of misconduct in a local field office, there may be inconsistencies on the way discipline was handed out. just over a year ago, this office of integrity stood up to ensure consistency. within that office of integrity is a table of penalties. it is modeled after other agencies so we are not stand

alone. we're looking at the best practices in the industry. rep. roybal-allard: can i stop you right there? obviously whatever has been done a year ago is not working. things are not working. the question is, what is it that you are planning to do to make whatever the systems that are in place? to reevaluate them to make sure they are working so we don't have incidents like this so the message is loud and clear? the secret service agents drinks or whatever the violation is that there will be immediate and quick disciplinary action. something like you are dismissed. period.