but for gao to begin a report, which is gao typically brings us with the bad news first, and gao led with good news here, and a lot of changes and adaptations. we had hearings two years ago talking about the h.r. system and how difficult this has been for dhs, now i'm hearing that the numbers are changing as far as the time period for hiring. used to be for customs and border patrol, about 350 days plus. it got up closer to 400 days for a while to be able to hire one agent. where are we now in that process? >> so those numbers are definitely coming down. and the other thing that we look at is the number of applicants. we need to hire a single -- single person, and that number was well into triple digits. we have that now into double digits, which is still way too high. but using a combination of streamlined processes, meaning combining multiple steps in a single site at a recruiting event, and other actions that we've taken, we've been able to drive that down. it is still too long. one of the things we're looking at is we have been taking the -- keeping the numbers as a complete aver

there are so many interest points in this gao report.the gao tolls us that they couldn't even spot the difference between the real and fake urban decay cosmetics. they ended up having to send it back to the company to figure out exactly which was real and which was not. frances, back to you. >> all right, jo ling,hank yo >>> just ahead, whichollywood not ce but twice? >>> plus, why even oprah has to spell her name at starbucks. you're watching "early today." thou hast the patchy beard of a pre-pubescent squire! thy armor was forged by a feeble-fingered peasant woman... your mom! as long as hecklers love to heckle, you can count on geico saving folks money. boring! fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. ayep, and my teeth are yellow.? time for whitestrips. crest glamorous white whitestrips are the only ada-accepted whitening strips proven to be safe and effective. and they whiten 25x better than a leading whitening toothpaste. crest. healthy, beautiful smiles for life. mitzi: psoriatic arthritis tries to

to begin a report which is gao typically brings us all the venues first in gao led with good news here and there's a lot of things that are changing and making those adaptations. we had hearings two years ago talking about the hr system and about how difficult this is been for dhs and now i am hearing the numbers are changing as far as the time for hiring. used to be for customs and border part 350 days plus and he got up to closer to 100 days for a while to hire one agent and where are we now in the process? >> those numbers are definitely coming down and the other thing we look at is the number of applicants we need to hire a single person in that number was wellin the triple digits. it's now the double digits and that is way too high but using a combination of streamlining processes meaning combining multiple steps in a single site at recording event and other actions that we've taken we've been able to try that down and it is still too long. one of the things we're looking at is we've been taking keeping the numbers as a complete average on a metric and in some cases an individual

some of the fake chargers, the gao, said posed a risk of lethal electrocution. the counterfeit mugs may have high levels of lead. >> if it is an electrical item, could it catch on fire. if it is a bued product, it could have toxic chemicals in it. >> the real and the bogus look doirntal. >> it was very difficult to tell if it was real or not. >> in some cases the gao couldn't tell the difference and had to ask for assistance from the plfrer to identify the fraud. loreal which owns urban decay, said they're working to keep customers safe. they started selling products, they all say they strict will he for bid the sale of counterfeit goos and are taking swift legal action against the counterfeit sellers. mostly coming from china is that hong kong. but the amount of counterfeit goods onshrine exploding. customs and border patrol seized in 2016. they recommend thoroughly inspecting what you buy before you use it. >> look for spelling errors, look for missing safety certification labels, look for flimsy or rushed packages jobs. if you have any concerns that it is not

for gao to begin the reports, which as -- gao typically brings us the bad news first.ao led with there's a lot of good news here. there are a lot of things that are changing in making this adaptation. we had hearings just two years ago talking about the hr system and how difficult this has been for dhs. now i am hearing that numbers are changing as far as the time period for hiring. it used to be for customs and border until it was threaded 50 plusplus, it -- 350 days and it got closer to 400, where we now in the process? -- where are we now in that process? downose numbers are coming and the other thing we look at is the number of applicants we need to hire a single person. that number was well into triple digits. we have that now into the double digits, which is still too high. combination of streamlined processes, combining multiple steps in a recruiting event and other actions that we have taken, we've been able to drive that down. one of the things we're looking --is, we have been taking keeping the numbers as a complete average on a metric. in some cases an indiv

i had requested that the gao examine the infant plan for safe care improvement act and what the gao found was a lack of guidance from hhs how states should be implementing the law. so we're going to continue to work on full implementation and sufficient support for states and being able to carry out the responsibility on plans of safe care. so i guess i ask you as a neonaytologist on the front lines when it comes to identifying the substance affected infants, many of the them i guess burdened by the so called, nas syndrome, neonatal absen ens syndrome. have you identified any best practices for a multidisciplinary approach for this. >> just as the gao report suggested, there's confusion at the state level of what defines a safe plan of care and what it should look like and resources to be able to carry those out. there are a couple of models. one is called charm in vermont, they proactively engage families in substance abuse treatment well before birth. meet through family throughout and develop plans throughout the preg man si and work towards a safe discharge. what i see is reactive. th

so no one seems to be disputing the gao conclusion, the word does not appear to be getting out.ou agree rules are rules and guidance is guidance, and guidance is not binding? >> yes, mr. lukemeyer. in the case of lending guidance, we do accept and understand that that's non-binding guidance. since the gao ruling, we have made a point to go out to make sure the message is getting out to supervisors in banks. and we're also thinking of -- we're in discussions and thinking about ways we can underscore that, perhaps putting it out for further comment >> well, i just left another meeting before i got here of a group of bankers from one of the states around the country. and we were discussing issues similar to this with regards to the culture within agencies and the ability of change to be taking place even though we changed the head of the agency, sometimes the message up doesn't get all the way to the bottom. and when i made that comment, i saw a lot of heads nodding in the audience there's concern that while the leadership has changed, good intentions may be there, that again this

china's national defense military buildup and i spoke earlier to international relations analyst victor gao he says that nuclear proliferation is making world a more dangerous place. the united states has the largest the defense budget in the world larger than the next ten countries military budget combined together if it needs this as a defense measure is completely inaccurate and is misleading the whole world i think in the world we live in today we need peace we need stability we need development we need to have responsible global countries like the united states for example taking up their responsibility rather then spending money more and more saw all developing and improving their nuclear weapons which are eventually a major threat a menace to world peace and stability. and other headlines the international olympic committee has rejected the requests of thirteen russian athletes as well as two coaches for invites for the upcoming winter games the sportsmen and women were recently ruled not to violate a doping rules by sports highest court the i.o.c. whoever still has the power to deci

and so that's something we asked the gao to look at, that's something we're continuing to investigate. i'm not opposed at all to it as long as there isn't some sort of interference issue. that has to be first and foremost. but, look, we're scouring every bit of spectrum we can to do the kinds of things that you're talking about as well as look at unlicensed, what the appropriate amount of that is. it's attention we had in the 2012 act. we're going to try to get millimeter spectrum out there. there's a lot we're doing. there was a time i would say in 2012, and i may be wrong on this, but where we thought some of the upper-end spectrum , people weren't really sure what that would be used for and did it have much value, and now we know that's some of the new beachfront, if you will. we're looking at how do we maximize use of that as long as there isn't an interference issue. mr. mcdowell: time for one more? mr. walden: yeah, sure. mr. mcdowell: just wait for the microphone and identify yourself. >> [inaudible] can you say anything about any opportunity to update the 1996 telecommunicatio

stakeholders, even if they don't know it yet.w we believe that in combining the talents of communities coming gao's and the technology sector, we can drive non-governmental responses to terrorist recruitment and r radicalization that are authentic, more scalable and more sustainable. we can create and disseminate more powerful counter narratives and alternative narratives. the truth is the government doesn't have great credibility in the online space. for good reasons i believe. we arend too old, too big and to square. we need credible voices especially for our community partners. so it's important that we help empower those groups with the information, hardships and resources they need to be successful. this is not ainer fight dhs or e u.s. government can do on their own. our enemies are dispersed and they are crowdsourcing their activities. fortunately, our allies are fighting with us in the same space. in the past year there's been tremendous progress, particularly in the technology center. last july the united kingdom home secretary amber rudd and i travel to silicon valley to meet with the new

international relations analyst victor gao says nuclear proliferation is endangering the whole world the united states has the largest the defense budget in the world larger than the next ten countries military budget combined together if it needs this as a defense measure is completely correct there is misleading the whole world i think in the world we live in today we need peace we need stability we need development we need to have responsible global countries like the united states for example taking up their responsibility rather than spending money more and more saw all developing and improving their nuclear weapons which are eventually a major threat a menace to world peace and stability. now the price of bitcoin continues to plants but the cryptocurrency crazy showing no sign of dying down moscow has hosted a major summit on all things but cheney an r.t.s. miguel francis santiago was there. welcome to our weekly digest on everything in the world the block chain this is our cheese could tell you i mean your breasts and. this is the w.b.c. the world blog chain and could still cu

my first hearing we got a report from the gao that there were hundreds of va employees who were union members who spent 100% of their time on union activity, 100%. now, there could have been more because the tracking was terrible and we'd been asking for data since the 1970s. but the people back in west texas and my veterans, 40,000 in 29 rural counties, they find it outrageous that somebody would spent 100% of their time on something other than the job they were hired to do. could you please tell me how you feel about that? i've got a bill, what could we do to help you? is that i chal fleng changing t -- challenge in changing the culture? and after this i yield back. >> i come from the private sector, i've run institutions with very, very large unions and i've not seen that before where the time that is spent on union time is usually supported by the union dues and the union itself. i do believe that our unions are productive partners with us and i do really appreciate the collaboration that we have because i believe they care about getting the right services to veterans. but i do be

representative's gao plantsequest, look at their reliability of some of the advanced net neutrality public comment. what would you say about how much you relied onthe public comment in making the decision? what are you doing to ensure the reliability going forward, in you think any legislation is needed in that regard, reliability and verificationwise? >> in terms of what we relied upon, you can see for yourself in the text of the order that we adopted. we relied on what the courts have consists of called substantial evidence, comments that are substitute and meaningful grappled with the issues that we teed up in the notice of proposed rulemaking. in that regard, decision-making process relied on those comments that were in the record that were substantive. going forward we will assess and , consider ways, if there any reforms necessary to the process, but as far as the december order goes, i'm confidence that we relied on that. >> is legislation needed not just for your agency but for other agencies to prevent or ensure the reliability? >> to the extent we are talking about legislation, t

we have this gao report that came out yesterday. it examineested that the infant plan for safe care improvement act. what the gao found was a lack of guidance from hhs on how states should be implementing the law. we're going to continue to work on full imitation and sufficient support for states and being able to carry out the responsibility on plans of safe care. neonatologist who was on the front lines when it comes to identifying these ubstance infants -- inflants,effected have you found a multidisciplinary approach to this? >> as the report suggested, there is a lot of confusion on the state level of what would define a state of care and what that should look like. and resources to be able to carry. . , one that i'mls familiar with is called charm in for much. they engage families that are in substance use treatment well meet with the families without, develop plans drop pregnancy, and work towards a safe discharge. what i experience is far more reactive. there is no action taken until the time of discharge. it tends to be reac

the products tested by the gao tell nbc news they forbid the sale of counterfeit goods and are takinglegal action, from counterfeit sellers coming from china and hong kong. but the amount of counterfeit consumer goods is exploding. customs and border patrol seized more than $1.4 billion worth of products in 2016. to protect yourself, retail experts recommend you look before you use it. >> use for flimsy or rushed packaging jobs. if you have concerns that the item is not authentic, contact the retailer and get a refund. >> reporter: we have some of the products and these are authentic. but the yeti mug there is a fake. it's nearly impossible to tell what is real versus fraudulent, even in person. to minimize the danger of buying a fake, shopping experts recommend ordering from the brand's website or from an authorized retailer. or doing it the old-fashioned way and swing by the store in person. >> now, you're talking crazy. >>> coming up next, are your >>> coming up next, are your passwords for sale on the my name's dustin. hey, dustin. grab a seat. woman: okay. moderator: nice to meet

my first hearing, we got a report from the gao that there were hundreds of that bank employees that were union members who spent 100% of their time on union -- hundreds of va employees that were union members who spent 100% of their time on union activity. the people back in west texas, 49 thousand rural counties, they find it outrageous that somebody would spend 100% of their time on something other than the job they were hired to do. can you tell me how you feel about that? and what can we do to help you? after this answer, i yield back. sec. shulkin: i have come from the private sector. i have run institutions with large unions. i have not seen that before. the time spent on union time is usually supported by union dues. i do believe the unions are productive partners with us. i do really appreciate the collaboration we have. i believe we care about getting the right services to veterans. i believe the time spent at the government pays for should be to serve veterans in direct veterans services. this is not an antiunion position. i believe strongly we need to work with them. i believe

wednesday, we'll be at the gao, and then next thursday, we'll be at the full board for consideration of the project. so i'd like to introduce jack behr to continue on with the project. >> thank you, phil, and my name is jack behr with the san francisco jients development team. good afternoon, supervisors. for more than ten years, we have worked in partnership with the port of san francisco and our neighbors to develop the land use plan before you today, and as a result, it's inspired, weaving parks, retail and housing in a way never done before. our proposal received 74% of the vote citywide and more than 80% of the vote in the surrounding community. we look forward to kratransforg a huge surface parking lot into a collection of parks, an eclectic array of shaps aops a cafes. we will make mission bay a more vibrant place to work and live. the parks are front and center. our waterfront park will be one of the most celebrated open spaces in the city, with views back to the ballpark and the bay bridge. the square in the heart of the project will become the social hub for not only missio

and small towns as part of their out reach and recruitment but the best number i could find from a gaoand this is for the 2017 and it has outreach budget at $191 million. so the pentagon, yes, they are asking for some $700 billion, they spent a lot on outreach, not in the billion dollars but millions in outreach, part of having an all volunteer force so that america can fight the next generation of wars. >> interesting point. and they've had difficulty because of the force we've had to keep up. hans nichols at the pentagon. >>> well the trump administration may be open to a possible meeting between vice president mike pence and north korea during the winter olympics in seoul. last night secretary of state rex tillerson left the door open for possible talks when he was pressed for a meeting. >> we're there to first support the successful olympics by the south korea government and there to support the united states athletes competing. we expect to bring home a lot of medals. and whatever happens while the vice president is there, we'll just have to see. we'll wait and see -- >> but are y

i believe we need to do more to reform the broken security clearance system which gao recently placeds list of high-risk government programs in need of reform. we've seen close to 700,000 folks now waiting in line, folks that need to serve our country, whether in government or in the private sector who have just been waiting way too long to get their security clearances. it's obviously hampering your recruitment and retention, and it's costing us millions of dollars in inefficiency. again, thank you to all of you for your service. please convey our best wishes to the men and women who work with you. i look forward to our hearing. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you, vice chairman. i'm going to recognize director coats. he is the only one who will give official testimony. all members of the panel are open for questions. i will recognize our members by order seniority for up to five minutes. with that, director coats, the floor is yours. >> mr. chairman, thank you. i want to start by apologizing for my raspy voice. i've been fighting through some of the crud that's going around that s

in the case of a leverage guidance, we understand that's nonbinding guidance and since the gao ruling we've made it a point to go out and make sure that that message is getting out to supervisors of banks and we're also thinking of -- we're in discussions and thinking about other ways we can underscore that, perhaps putting it out for further comment. >> just left another meeting before i got here of a group of bankers from one of the states around the country, and we were discussing issues similar to this with regard to the culture within agencies and the ability of change to be taking place, even though we changed the head of the agency, sometimes the message doesn't get all the way to the bottom, and when i made that comment, i saw a lot of heads nodding in the audience. there's concern that while the leadership as changed, good intentions may be there, that again, this needs to filter down all the way through the entire agency and an understanding needs to take place by everybody that this is a new way of doing business, that guidance is guidance, rules are rules, and there's a bi

we are also regularly overseen by the gao. that is a good thing. rep. tsongas: to you have the ability to refer a case back? how often have you had to do that? >> i don't have the exact numbers, but there are times where we do that. if we reached a conclusion that is not supported by the evidence, we refer to them for the additional work. rep. tsongas: i don't know if you would like to comment how you do your job in a way that you feel is fair-minded, given that you come out of the service you are overseen. -- you are overseeing. cidy last job, i was a commander, and i had three friends. this one, i have no friends. this one, i have no friends. something it is a highly sought-after job -- it is a very fair process. the majority of my cases are civilians. many of them have extensive years of experience. one of my officers has 18 years. of another has 10 years. we have many levels of legal review of these cases, both for the complaint and the subject. once an investigation is done, legal review. after that, it goes to my lawyer. after that it goes to the

so although no one seems to be disputing gao's conclusion the word does not appear to be getting out.ould you agree that rules are rules and guidance is guidance and guidance is not binding? >> yes, mr. luetkemeyer, i would agrew absolutely with that in the case of average lending guidance we do accept and understand that is non-binding guidance. in fact since the gao ruling we made it a point to go out to make sure that message is getting out to supervisors of banks and we're also thinking of, we're in discussions and thinking about other ways we can underscore that. perhaps, putting it out for further comment. >> just left another meeting before i got here, group of bankers from one of the states around the country. we were discussing issues similar to this with regards to the culture within agencies and the ability of change to be taking place, even though we changed the head of the agency, sometimes the message doesn't get all the way to the bottom. when i made that comment, i saw a lot of heads nodding in the audience. there is concern while leadership is changed, good intentions

there are gao reports from years ago, analyzing all the options, including the option that you're proposing here today to demolish the current building and rebuild. there have been hearings in the house and senate on this issue for years. and the testimony is all there on the record. i'm looking forward to, mr. chairman, having a conversation and question for these witnesses, because representatives from the gsa and fbi have made statements repeatedly on the record that are totally at odds with the position that these agencies are taking today. and that is something that does not give the public any confidence in how their federal government is operating. so, i hope, mr. chairman, we can get to the bottom of all this. all of us want an fbi building that allows them to complete their mission and ensures their security. and is it the best cost for the taxpayer. and i'm hopeful that we will arrive at a sensible solution. i appreciate your holding this hearing. >> thank you, senator van hollen. we have dan mathews, the commissioner of the general services mer services administration and richard

i want to follow up on the gao, which determined that agency leverage lending guidance is a rule under the congressional review act and is therefore ineffective because it was never submitted to congress. the same would presumably be true for other agency guidance. i've reports from banks that many of this have outstanding matters requiring attention or mra's based on such guidance and that they're still being told either by examiners or the compliance departments to treat guidance as binding regulations. so, although no one seems to be disputing the conclusion, the word does not appear to be getting out. would you agree that rules are rules and guidance is guidance and guidance is not binding. >> yes, mr. luetkemeyer, i would agree absolutely with that. in the case of a leverage lending guidance, we understand that's nonbinding guidance and since the gao ruling we'vemade it a point to go out and make sure that message is getting out to supervisors of banks and we're also thinking of -- we're in discussions and thinking about other ways we can underscore that, perhaps putting it out fo

on the icbm force i think we can delay it, the way gao has examined by finding a way to shrink it somewhat so is missiles become a repository of test missiles because there's a certain amount of test flights you have to do per year. do a combination of refurbishmen of the minute man force and down sizing can you buy another five, ten, 15 years before you replace it. if resource get tight we need have these kind of option in mind. that's my little sermon for the day. without further ado, there's a lot on the table already. i'll ask my colleagues up here to offer any further thoughts they would like before we get into a discussion and just work down the row. >> one thing you forgot is also the f-35. it has an important role in terms of being dual capable aircraft for delivery of the nonstrategic war heads. like the bomber it has two important missions. it's part of this mix. and as you mentioned, and probably one more you forgot at some point we have to come back around and do something with the d-5 which is the missile that's on the columbia class and will transition or on the ohio class an

the morality of the liheap proposal, senator. 11,000 dead people got that benefit the last time the gao looked at it. that's not moral. to take your money, to take my money, to ma mon-- >> 11,000 people, we should correct that, but seven million people get the program. to say that 11,000 out of seven million, deal with that. i grow with yagree with you. >> all 50 states now have programs designed to prevent the cut-off of utilities during winter in the north or summer in the south which is what the program was originally designed to do. >> mr. mulvaney, when it gets 20 below zero, i come from a state which tries to do its best. vermont and other states around this country including wyoming don't have the resources to keep people warm when it gets 20 below zero. you have just created a situation, not you, the president must take responsibility for this budget, created a situation where people will go cold, some may freeze to death. that is not what we should be doing in america. >> senator grassley? >> in all my years in the united states senate, i have never seen such positive results j

finally on the icbm force, i the they we can delay it with the way that the gao found to shrink it somewhat so that some of the depleting missiles are a repository of test missile, because there is a certain number of flight tests that you need to do. do a combination of refurbishmen of the minute man force and down sizing can you buy another five, ten, 15 years before you replace it. so if resources get tight, we might need to have these kind of options in mind. that's my little sermonette for the day, and so woit further ado, and there's a lot of questions already, i would ask my colleagues to off any thought s they would like to discuss before we get into the discussion and just work downb the row. >> one thing you forgot is also the f-35. it has an important role in terms of being dual capable aircraft for delivery of the nonstrategic war heads. like the bomber it has two important missions. it's part of this mix. and as you mentioned, and probably one more you forgot at some point we have to come back around and do something with the d-5 which is the missile that's on the columbia clas

i believe we need to do more to reform the broken security clearance system, which gao recently placed on its list of high-risk government programs in need of reform. we spent close to 700,000 folks now waiting in line, folks do need a her country whether in government for the private factor. we've been waiting way too long to get security clearances. it's obviously hampering your recruitment and it's costing us millions of dolla in a efficient day. again, thank you to all of you for your service. please convey our best wishes the men and women who work with you and i look forward to our hearing. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i am going to recognize direct or code and he is the only one who was given official testimony all members of the panel are open for question. i will recognize our members by seniority for up to five minutes. with that, director coates, the floor is yours. >> mr. chairman, thank you. i want to start by apologizing for my raspy voice. i've been fighting through the crud that's going around that several of us have endured. i may have to clear

another issue.e i believe we need to do more to reform the clearance system, which gao recently placed on its list of high risk government programs in need of reform. folks in serve our company are waiting on line. they're waiting way too long to get their security clearances. it is obviously hampering your recruitment and retention. it is costing us millions of dollars in inefficiency. thank you to all of you to your service. please convey our best wishes to the men and women who work with you. i look forward to our hearing. >> thank you. i am going to recognize director coats. he is the only one who will give official testimony. all members of the panel are open for questions. will recognize our members by order of seniority for up to five minutes. with that, director coats, the floor is yours. >> i want to start by apologizing for my raspy voice. i have been fighting through some of the sickness that is going around. i may have to clear my throat a few times. i apologize for that. it strikes me listening to your opening remarks and the vice-chairman's opening remarks -- excuse me. w

we're also regularly overseen by the gao. so there is oversight over us and we provide oversight over them and that's a good thing. >> do you have the ability to refer a case back if you think it hasn't been appropriately investigated? >> yes, we do, and we do that. >> and how often have you had to do that? >> i don't have the exact numbers, but there are occasions when we do that. we review the report and if -- and there's times where we think they have not fully investigated or reached a conclusion that is not support bid ted by the evid we refer it back to them. >> i don't know if each of you would like to comment how you do your job in a way that you feel is fair minded. given that you are represent and come out of the service you're overseeing. >> yes, congresswoman. number one, my last job, i was a cid commander so i had three friends and after this job, i have no friends. so the fact that, you know, this is not a highly sought-after, well, for some, we make hard calls with the d.o. o d. igo oversight. it is a fair proc

or hud or like gao for example be helpful in understanding the hud vash's efficacy, and where there are still issues in deliverance of services? >> absolutely. i think if we can bring transparency to the goals of the program as opposed to what is actually happening would be invaluable. i've not seen such a study. that oig study that i referred to was specific to the western -- specific to the california area. so i think a nationwide study would be excellent to make sure that they're providing that -- the service based on the model which they say it's based on, the housing first. >> mr. chairman, i'd like to make sure we look into getting such a study ordered. it's about the use of most effective and efficient use of taxpayer resources. if we could work with you on that, i'd appreciate that, mr. chairman. mr. peck, i want to continue with a line of questioning. in 2016 riverside county, which i represent, as you know, reached functional zero for veterans homelessness. but just because there has been some progress in our area, i know that next door in los angeles county, which is got a mu