that's what gao has asked us to look at. we'll get that. >> i yield back. >> chairman from new jersey. >> thank you for holding today's hearing. the u.s. is known to have the most vulnerable products to knock off. that's why protecting the investments we have put into it. four years ago, a new jersey family asked me to look at fake products purchased alone line. this recent gao report confirms what i have been hearing from so many of my constituents. now, the trade facilitation and trade enforcement act in 2016 contained report language that i authored with the chairman to raise the enforcement priority for fake products, particularly those shipped as gifts to avoid customs, duties and inspection. ms. smit. does a product package marked as a gift, documented by cbp and other sources as being a major source of counter fits triggered? as the screens process changed since the enforcement of trade enforcingment act? >> senator, i think what we have done is to focus our targeting efforts in this area with specific targeting rules

miss smith p as we have heard from gao, they are on the underlying things. in your written responses you agreed with their written recommendations to explore opportunities for better information sharing with the private sector. what steps do you plan to take to implement these recommendations? >> senator, we think both of the recommendations were very productive for us to focus our efforts. the scope of the challenges, as the other witnesses have laid out, is tremendous. and one of the things we have done to address gao recommendations is to charge our coact e-commerce working group to work with us to work through which information would be valuable to share and who it should be shared with. as you pointed out, tftea provides us good authority to share through proper promulgated regulations and our intent is to address the issue of information sharing through additional regulatory framework. the other thing that we have done to address some of the challenges that gao identified, is to develop and release today an e-commerce strategy to help us focus our effo

as far as this process, gao made purchases from five major e-commerce platforms. after using relatively narrow criteria, gao received at least one counterfeit and one legitimate good of each of the platforms. in the end, 20 of the 47 individual items they purchase were counterfeit. the sample size was small, the results are still telling. investigationthis has started down a path of discovery. on the past, we noticed there are far more issues than we had initially anticipated. today's hearing represents a combination of the initial findings. while we will not be able to fix this at once, i am hoping to discuss some of the meaningful steps that we could take in the near future or near term. before we get to that, i want to talk about what we found as part of this research. as part of this research, gao found that many counterfeit to'scts create a hazard consumers, children and our economy. cpsc have found numerous instances of counterfeit products with major health and safety issues. these issues have included contact lenses that contain dangerous bacteria, cosmeti

is this a problem that merits further attention by the gao? >> it is not an area we looked into but we would be happy to work with you on this issue. sound like an important issue. >> i think it is especially as both of these witnesses answered there's treatment for sleep apnea. it is not an either/or thing but we just need to make sure we are identifying and treating it. mr. anderson, i want to follow up a little bit with you on the issue of what happens to lines that may not be ptc compliant by the deadline and in my case i'm concerned about vermont which serves constituents of mine in new hampshire and as i understand that are exempted from the requirement. to follow up on some of the other questions you have gotten you testified before the house transportation committee and stated you doubted whether service would continue for areas that did not have it in place by 2018. we heard concerns about how this could impact service that travels through new hampshire and constituents are concerned so is there a way you can address safety concerns b

as far as this process, gao made purchases from five major e-commerce platforms. after using relatively narrow criteria, gao received at least one counterfeit and one legitimate good from each of the platforms. in the end, 20 of the 47 individual items they purchase were counterfeit. the sample size was small, the results are still telling. on the whole, this investigation has started down a path of discovery. on that path, we noticed there are far more issues than we had initially anticipated. today's hearing represents a combination of the initial findings. while we will not be able to fix this at once, i am hoping to discuss some of the meaningful steps that we could take in the near future or near term. before we get to that, i want to talk about what we found as part of this research. as part of this research, gao found that many counterfeit products create a hazard to's -- create a hazard to consumers, children and our economy. cvp, ice and cpsc have found numerous instances of counterfeit products with major health and safety issues. these issues have inclu

i know gao too is going to be looking at the bureau. so maybe together we'll be able to figure that out and look at how they plan to do oversight of these programs. >> thank you very much. thank you, mr. chair. >> thank you, senator fischer. senator wicker. >> thank you. i guess members of the panel realize that many members of this committee have two other hearings scheduled at the same time. so we've been coming in and out. thank you for your patience and being here. let me just observe generally, we've had some pretty explicit statements on the part of the committee chairman. and also the ranking member. and i understand the testimony today has not been particularly encouraging about our ability, our collective ability, to have this requirement fulfilled by the end of the year. i do think the chairman and ranking member's statements indicate that on behalf of the congress, they're trying to say that patience is running out. and, i mean, clearly we're going to try not to shut down train traffic around the country. at a date certain. b

despite what gao -- or in addition to what gao is suggesting, at least until last year the department of defense was stressing the importance of the potential of climate change. and i don't know if that's -- >> oh, and they still are. >> i did not know if that might have changed. but just with regard to the answer to the last question, it would be interesting to quantify the work force that's not professional, not well educated. one of the reasons, to the extent that it's been successful in my local jurisdiction advocating for state legislation, is that there are a potential of jobs for people who won't be graduate students who refine their knowledge gained in public, through public universities. so if you could speak to that, it would be interesting. >> i'm not sure what there is to add, i mean, because -- well, first of all, the what to do? that's up to all of us. that's up to you, that's up to all of us. so i'm not going to push anything there. but in terms of the broader work force, that is a direction that we could have taken. we -- well, for a couple of reasons we didn't, but yo

>> my first question would even what to do, despite what gao, or in addition to gao is suggesting, atleast until last year the department of defense was stressing the importance of the potential of climate change and i don't know if that -- >> they still are. >> i don't know if that might've changed. but just with regard to the answer to the last question, it would be interesting to quantify the workforce that is not professional, not well educated. one of the reasons to the extent it's been successful in my local jurisdiction advocating for state legislation is that there are potential jobs for people who won't be graduate students, who refine their knowledge gained through public universities. if you could speak to that, it would be interesting. >> i'm not sure what that is to add. first of all, the what to do, that's up to all of us. that's up to you. that's up to all of us saw not going to say anything there. but in truth of the broader workforce, that is a direction we could have taken. well, for a couple of reasons we didn't. but you're right. as many of the industries that depe

second largest in the world all right let's bring in our guests joining us in beijing we have victor gao director of the china national association of international studies in hong kong political scientist joseph chang a convener for the alliance for true democracy and in canterbury in the u.k. via skype keri brown author of c.e.o. china the rise of xi jinping welcome to all of you victor i want to start with you just how significant a move is it abolishing term limits in china this is one of the most important proposed amendments to the chinese constitution made by the central committee of the communist party of china and i'm sure the m.p.c. will have this amendment adopted was it is adopted to ensure that the incumbent president xi will continue to serve as the chinese president for more than two terms that is ten years how long he will continue to serve after the original a two term limitation we do not know he may serve four years or he may serve even for another couple of decades this will help ensure the stability of the very top of the chinese leadership and i think it is a good t

according to gao many d.o.d. programs fall short of cost schedule and performance expectations, meaning d.o.d. pays more than anticipated by less than expected, and in some cases, delivers less capability to the war fighter." major crisis, what are we doing about it, mr. norquist, cost overruns. >> the disruption to the budget. if you're expecting a program to cost a certain amount, taking this from the perspective of the cfo, goes up over time, you're disrupting other plans and expectations you had. we have organizations whose expertise is cost estimating and trying to bring more accurate discipline to the budget process. >> no, excuse me, i don't think that is the major issue. the major issue, if i work out a contract with you -- i used to be a mayor. we went out with competitive bidding. we had a contractor come in, and we're going to do the streets of the city of burlington for $3 million. three months later the guy comes and says, it's $5 million. we don't say, hey, that's fine, we say, sorry, that's not goi

has the department of education taken steps to address the gao recommendation? >> congresswoman, thanks for that question. the department is committed to following the statute, the i.d.e.a. statute, and making sure that states are complying with the law as written by congress. as you know, with regard to parents getting information in states, those are state programs, and while i fully personally agree that parents should be afforded the widest array of information possible, they need that when making decisions for their children, it is not a federal matter. t not a department of education matter. we certainly will recommend and encourage states to ensure that parents have all of the information possible for making decisions on behalf of their students, but it's a matter for states to grapple with, specifically. >> so, the department of education has not taken any steps to address the gao recommendation? i'm a little puzzled. >> we are committed to following all the i.d.e.a. statutory provisions and we are doing so. >> have you or your department encouraged the

according to gao many dod programs fall short of schedule and performance expectation meaning dod can buy less than expected to the warfighter. what are we doing about it? cost overruns? >> one of the challenges you have with any of these programs is the disruption to the budget. it goes up over time and you are disrupting other plans and expectations you have. we have organizations whose expertise is cost estimating to the budgeting process. >> excuse me. i don't think that is the major issue. i used to be a -- so we dealt with competitive bidding and we had a contractor come in and do the streets in the city's for three lu dollars in three months later the guy comes in and says it will be $5 billion. we don't say hey that's fine. what are we doing to deal with these outrageous cost overruns? >> is good to break down the challenges of the three parts. the first one is on the government side the estimate as to what the work is going to cause. we can fix that and we have organizations that expertise that can deal with that. >> if i tell you it's going to cost us a billion and i come ba

>> my first question would have been what to do despite what gao or in addition to what gao is suggesting. at least until laster year, the department of defense was stressing the importance of the potential of climate change and i don't know if that is changing -- >> they are. that still are. >> i didn't know if it had changed, but with regard to the last question, it would be interesting to quantify the workforce that is not professional or well educated and one of the reasons that the extent to which it has been success successful in my local jurisdiction advocating for the state legislation is that there are potential jobs for people who want to be graduate students, and refine the knowledge gained in, into public universities and if you could speak to that, and it would be interesting. >> well, there is that, and first of all the what to do. that is up to you and to all of us, and in terms of the broader workforce, that is a drek sthaun we could have taken and well, for a couple of reasons that we didn't, but you are right, as many of the industries that depend on this federally suppo

>> senator, i'll start. >> i'd like to start with the gao. >> okay. >> thank you. that's okay. there's -- we have, in the past, recommended that d.o.d. and its components, the services as well as the agencies, evaluate their positions that require clearances to make sure that the clearance is required in the first place. and then have procedures in place where they periodically reevaluate those positions to see if those clearances are still necessary. that would be a way to make sure that the requirement is correct, and most people think that clearances follow people. clearances don't follow people. they follow the position. >> ma'am, i want to be respectful. i know of your recommendations. i'm curious as to whether you think the government is moving effectively and expeditiously on actually doing something about i, because this strikes me, this excessive number of skurt security clearances and your recommendations are always to have these reduced. i've been on this committee with senator feinstein, we're the longest-serving members, and i've heard this again and again. so what

>> i like to start with the gao.>> thank you. we have in the past recommended that dod and its components, services as well as agencies evaluate their positions that require clearances. i'm sure that the clearances are required in the first place. and then have procedures in place where they periodically reevaluate those positions, see if those clearances are still necessary. that would be a way to make sure that the requirement is correct and most people think clearances follow people, clearances don't follow people. >> i want to be respectful, i know of your recommendation. i'm curious as to whether you think the government is moving effectively and expeditiously on actually doing somethingabout it because this strikes me , this excessive number of security clearances. >>. [audio lost] you're calling into question.>> i like to submit some questions in writing as well.>> in the quarter. >> thank you mister chairman. with the hack of opium a couple years ago reportedly by how hostile foreign power, countless americans have had th

we have this gao report that came out yesterday. i have requested that it examine 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 implementation and sufficient support for states and being able to carry out the responsibility on plans of safe care. i ask you as a neonatologist who is on the front lines when it comes to identifying these substance-effected inflants, 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. -- carry those out. 's there are models, one that i'm familiar with is called charm in for much. they engage families that are in substance use treatment well before birth, meet with the families without, develop plans drop pregnancy, and work towards a safe discharge. what i experience is far more reactive. th

we'll hear testimony from federal officials representing the gao, customs and border protection,

third time we are now hearing this item, but supervisor sheehy did request that we bring this back to gao, and i know that we have sharon johnson from supervisor sheehy's office as well as tim frye from the historic preservation to present on this item, and my understanding is the owners, steven mooney and patrick tom is here as well, and i also want to thank supervisor malia cohen and supervisor aaron peskin. mr. frye? >> thank you, supervisors. tim frye, planning department staff. 6062 carpal medicalita street is a contributor to the duboce landmark district, and it was ordered and prioritized as part of the landmark district as part of the octavia plan. it is a concentration of homes built by the master builder fernando nelson in the unique setting of duboce park. at its october 4th hearing, the commission unanimously approved the maintenance plan for said property with an amendment to remove the scope of work to install a garage. since then, the project sponsor has been amenable to making that exclusion, and at this committee's meeting on november 21st, 2017 they requested some over j

chairman, to submit for the record the january 2018 gao report. it's entitled highways and transit products. 99% of highway projects are are not being held up why administration officials, but gao notes that it had previously reported that 99% of highway projects are not being held up by complex reviews. meanwhile, federal highway administration officials expressed that, quote, categorical exclusions still constitute the vast majority of reviews for i would projects. senator: without objection, so ordered. the time is now expired on the vote. we need to get over there to the floor. i do want to thank the members who have attended. i especially want to thank our esteemed guests. madam secretary, as well as assistant secretary james, i want to thank you for your time. i want to thank you for this crucial discussion regarding the administration's infrastructure plans. people may submit additional questions for the record. the record will be open for two weeks. thank you again for being here and joining us. with that, this hearing is adjourned. [capti

and so gao published a study last year on the cost estimates hud developed for select i.t. investments. and only one project more than minimally met jo's well documented accurate and credible cost estimates. we know how desperately hud needs to revitalize its i.t. system. you have been obviously keen on that, investing in new technology. but obviously we can't keep spending good money after bad money. now you have brought your -- your new ceo brings a great deal of experience and expertise in his new role. i commend, frankly, your decision to conduct a top to bottom analysis on the i.t. system before deciding where to target funding and where to target investment. so this is something you have inherited, mr. secretary. much of the i.t. issues. but now that you've had over a year or basically about a year to assess hud's information technology system, do you have any plans to revitalize hud's i.t. infrastructure? >> yes. >> how can we ensure that the implementation will actually be successful and that dollars this committee provides will be well spent? again, this is a frust

a gao official testified about positive train control, or

we talked about the need to get rid of it because the gao has said the barbers are illegal. they've also contributed to record low uranium prices and coworkers in wyoming as well as states were producing uranium out of work. last year u.s. uranium productions are at the lowest level since 1950 and we are on the cusp of losing our ability to produce our own nuclear fuel. the administration in terms of our national security cannot let that happen. so can you commit to ending these partners, funding the cost of cleanup in decommissioning services exclusively with the congressional appropriations? >> senator, thank you it's a privilege to be back here in front of you and miss you and i have had conversations about privately and as i've stated publicly, i think this uranium bordering process has to be on my list of one of the most poorly designed policies i've ever come across since becoming secretary of energy. it pits two very important object is against each other and it doesn't serve either one of them very well and personally i would like to see it stopped completely. we rea

they provided adequate notice and opportunity for comments required under existing law requiring the gao to give estimates for specified regulations. tell me how could this help the economy to continue to grow? how can it provide more opportunities for more business owners to invest in hiring new workers rather than spending so many resources complying with existing regulations? >> i think one of the surprising things for me about consumer and business sentiment is how quickly it went up really, really fast even that wasn't clear the tax bill would pass and taking around i understood better that i have in the past how regulations quashes innovation one of the main problems with new regulations firms have to stop to hire a bunch of lawyers and engineers to figure out how to comply and it can be quite costly. one thing takes adjusted literally millions and millions of man-hours saved because people were not looking at all these new regulations but firms figure out how to deal with them but then it is a barrier to entry if you are a big rich firm you can deal with that somebody who might wa

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

the gao released a report that said nationally just 3% registered facilities are operating to take back programs. so i am wondering as you know in the primary challenges to the registered as for the states when they try to operate the program is there something we can do with it you can do what we can help you do to make the program more robust? >> i appreciate your endeavors to expand because it is critical getting this off the street. i know what keeps me going during the day is talking about diversion and making sure anything that is taken from our citizens and getting it out of the hands of the kids is paramount to me that i have to make sure that it goes to the right person and that it's not being diverted so it goes to an entity where it is secured and it's not going to be stolen. >> but those are called dea registered facilities and they are supposed to be implementing this program but only 3% of them are. thank you mr. chairman. you mentioned in her testimony that thyour testimonythat the ds and substances act. as the current process satisfactory. i was impressed with the people