democratic representative karen bass of california. and republican senator ron johnson of wisconsin. let me turn first to congresswoman, if i might. i can't believe i'm doing this. but i'm going to end up quoting maureen dowd of "the new york times." now, i have to confess, this for me is a new start. she said, "especially now that we have this scary world war iii vibe with the russians, we expect the president, especially one who ran as babe ruth, to hit home runs." now, as you know, he was quoted i think in manila as saying, well, he gets occasional singles. >> right. >> don't you think that standing up to putin requires babe ruth more than a guy hitting singles? isn't this really the big leagues? >> well, i think it's the big leagues. i think president obama is used to the big leagues and i think that his leadership on ukraine has been strong. the europeans now are stepping up to the plate and clearly it's going to take all of us. it's the sanctions from the united states, but it is also the sanctions -- >> i have to ask, if this ha

i want to thank ranking member engel of new york and ranking member karen bass of the africa subcommittee for working osely with me to craft the elect -- mr. royce: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank ranking member engel and ranking member karen bass of the africa subcommittee for working close he with me to craft this bill. china has stepped in and we are speaking at a time when the premiere of china son the ground -- premier of china is on the ground right now in africa. china is directing $2 billion to africa. this bill will counter china's growing influence. what else will the bill do? unlocking the constraint on african economic growth means a continent less reliant on aid. the bill promotes an all of the above approach to electricity that includes natural gas and clean coal and hide row. the c.b.o. estimates that -- and hydro. the c.b.o. estimate this is a this bill will save the u.s. treasury $86 million. electrify africa imposes permanent reforl on the overseas corporation, focuses opec on promoting electricity in africa, forces oversight, demands transparency on the institut

. >> joining us now is california congresswoman karen bass, who skits on the subcommittee for africa, other members of black caucus she met with nigerian officials and secretary of state john kerry to help find the women. congresswoman, it's great to have you with us. less than 10 people will be involved in any kind of rescue. what did you discuss with the secretary? what can the u.s. do? >> well, first of all, it was a very positive meeting. we discussed many different places in africa as well as other parts of the world. but what he assured us was that the united states was going to work in cooperation with the nigerian government and that their request thus far has been for assistance in intelligence. we have the fbi on the ground, we have the military on the ground from an advisory point of view. so sharing intelligence information is absolutely key. i felt very strong that the united states is doing all that we can. i will bring your attention, though, that there are many women in both the house and the senate that are now calling on the united nations to make sure that boko hara

democratic representative karen bass of

i yield back. >> we'll go to karen bass of california. >> thank you very much, mr. chair. thank you always just as my colleague just mentioned for such a bipartisan way that you conduct this committee. i do want to say that i have a lot of concern about what is going on in venezuela, but i am concerned that we might be acting a bit prematurely especially since the administration has said that this might be a little premature as well as other countries in latin america. but i want to acknowledge the continued and tireless work of chairman royce and smith in combatting human trafficking around the world. i've had the great privilege to work with both of them and the bill before us today is just one example of the work that can be done to protect people around the world from trafficking and sexual assault. i look forward to continuing to work with all of my colleagues on this important issue. secondly, i want to thank the chairman and ranking member as well as chairman smith and for all their good work protecting the students from bow come thko. and we know the kidnapping has

. >> i want to bring in congresswoman karen bass who is the ranking member of the house committee on africa, and good morning. >> good morning. >> what and if anything can the u.s. do? >> well, we should employ all of the u.s. forces in this regard. we are assisting as described, but in both the house and the senate, we are work on resolution, and i know that the undersecretary is over there in africa right now to see how we can assist them especially with the intelligence. that is a big issue. one of the other problems, too, is that if they have moved them out of nigeria into the areas they are talking about, it is very hard in the for ests to find anyone, but this is just as your guests have said, it is really an opportunity for the whole world to come together and put an end to somebody who is really a psychopath. boko haram needs to be e l eliminated. >> that is the militant group behind the kidnapping and the leader and some of the things that he has said, and he has described killing humans to slau slaughtering animals, and talked about believing that allah is telling him to se

joining me now is democratic congresswoman karen bass hosting the e rent and toni washington who spent in the foster system. thank you for joining us. the quite an honor. >> you and i both know, we see the headlines from time to time and they just -- it's like a punch in the gut when you hear that a foster child or a child that's been adopted has been abused and in some cases killed and people wonder how these things can happen. what do you want to hear today or what do you believe will be uncovered today to improve the system and ultimately in some cases, rare cases save a life? >> well, actually today is a very inspiring day because all of the young people that are here today are absolute successes. >> yes. and they have lots to teach and they're shadowing members of congress and they're telling them about their personal experiences and telling them what needs to be done to improve the system so we began our morning at the white house and they did breakouts and talked about health care and education and they have very specific suggestions to make that we'll follow up on. >> toni, you

congresswoman sheila jackson-lee, and congresswoman karen bass and our ranking member on the africa subcommittee, congresswoman janice hahn and myself, we sat down with the nigerian officials and we actually talked about what we need to do to bring our girls back. it was a productive meeting and it was very clear that we have to work very closely with the nigerian government and also with the united nations to insist that our young girls be brought back immediately, that they not be harmed and furthermore, we have written, myself and congressman honda a letter asking the united nations to declare boko haram a terrorist country. this organization for many years now have been engaged in terrorist activities. they've wreaked havoc on the lives of thousands of nigerians. >> what would happen, congresswoman? what would that mean and the practical impact be? >> one, sanctions could be enacted. the entire world needs to come to grips with the fact that this is a terrorist group and so we need an international response, not only from the united states. the united states has already declared boko haram a

i yield to karen bass for any opening comments. >> thank you, chairman smith.thank you for your leadership of this committee and also this hearing on the central african republic and the ongoings that the conflicts there might intensify side., into general oh i'd also like that thank our distinguished witnesses jackson andbassador ann richards from the u.s. department of state, as well as prominent expert from nongovernmental development and advocacy organizations. yourk forward to hearing perspectives on the ongoing africanrythe central public, including getting an humanitarian situation and the u.s. and international efforts to address the challenges, including the the africann with union and what's ultimately at stake if efforts to quell the are not implemented with sufficient resources and speed. the honor of traveling to rwanda, and the republic as part of the presidential delegation to the recent onto attend the of the rwandary genocide. while on the central african of the journey, i witnessed firsthand much of the the lackthe chaos, and of economic oppor

congresswoman karen bass isn't with us today, as the ranking subcommittee member. she's in africa. so we'll go to -- we'll go to mr. brad sherman, chairman of the subcommittee on terrorism, nonproliferation and trade. >> boko haram is but one of many organizations using terror to try to impose a contorted version of ninth century islam. it touches our heart to see the victims from north africa through the middle east and south asia. but it's also a threat to the united states. whether these groups claim to be affiliated with al qaeda, or don't claim the al qaeda franchise, whether their chief focus is local and their secondary forces -- focus is worldwide jihad, or the reverse, the war against violent extremism is not one that we can declare to be over just because we're tired of it. it has been one of our longest conflicts, exceeded at this point only by the cold war. but it has to be won. we have to turn off the money to groups like boko haram. and i hope that we'll get some testimony as to the gulf oil, and state and other money that is or is not being detected, going to these g

how wonderful the democrats and republicans can come together not only around this amendment by karen bassbut also around the bill itself. the upgrade of the federal charter school program, taking into account the learning of the last 15 years to make sure our investment has the maximum possible impact in increasing student achievement and increasing transparency and accountability for public charter schools. i thank representative bass for offering her amendment and i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. mr. kline: i yield back. the chair: the gentleman from minnesota yields back. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentlelady from california. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the amendment is agreed to. it is now in order to consider amendment number 6 printed in part a of house report 113-444. for what purpose does the gentleman from indiana seek recognition? mr. messer: i have an amendment at the desk. the clerk: amendment number 6 printed in house report 113-444 offered by mr. mess

but yesterday myself, barbara lee and marcia fudge, karen bass, janice hahn, as women of the united states congress, went to the nigerian embassy to stand and reject the $12 that he wants to now sell these girls for. we ask that we have a concerted effort, victims fund, and in the immediating, as we spoke to those in -- meeting, as we spoke to those in nigeria, we asked president johnson to stand up and say he would find these girls and bring these terrorists to justice. we ask today because no one knows where they might be. close by calling two names. i'll be calling these girls' names throughout this week to remind us that they must be found now. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina eek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. wilson: mr. speaker, the american people have known since april 23, 2012, over two years ago, by a letter of 63 members of congress to the i.r.s. commissioner, that the i.r.s. has targeted political organizations which question the pr