katko: ok. and when do you expect flights to -- to begin between -- the commercial flights to begin between the united states and cuba? >> that's really a question for the department of transportation at this point. i mean, that's really more in their hands. katko: what do -- what do you anticipate? >> we don't know. katko: ok. now, mr. mizell or others that are handling this ssi inquiry that we spoke about, i paused us because i did not understand that to be matters of -- of importance because you did not delineate that when we spoke; we simply sat down and had a conversation in a non-secure setting. so forgive me for raising those questions. but we are going to submit questions to you and you're going to -- and i want you to designate for us which ones you believe to be ssi. now, is it fair to say, though, during that meeting that you had some pretty significant concerns about some of the security aspects at those airports? >> the concerns i had that i shared with you was over a five-year peri

katko: thank you.yracuse is indeed very fortunate to have you at the helm at the airport. and i can tell from you personal experience that it's a generally very pleasurable experience. the only thing that's difficult is when you're trying to get a flight to kennedy and it always seems to be delayed. other than that, i really appreciate your efforts and your forward thinking on getting a kiosk at the airport, you're forward thinking by giving free parking to t.s.a. is like a marketing thing, thinking outside the box, that's all good stuff. thank you very much. i'd like to have ms. mcsally introduce her friend from the tucson airport. ms. mcsally: thank you. i want to say i really appreciate you being my wingman on this issue and many issues. i'm also grateful for you inviting ms. allin to testify this morning. bonnie is the president and c.e.o. of the tucson airport authority, responsible for promoting aviation services and related economic development for southern arizona. including operations and main

chairman katko: thank you, mr. chairman. i now recognize the ranking member of the full committee, the gentleman from mississippi, mr. thompson, for any statement he may have. representative thompson: thank you very much, mr. chairman. thank you for convening this important hearing. i welcome our witnesses, also, to this hearing. earlier this year, the obama administration and cuban government finalized an arrangement that will resume commercial aviation between the united states and cuba. we, as a committee with oversight jurisdiction of transportation security measures, have the great responsibility of ensuring that the transportation security administration, the department of homeland security, customs and border protection, and other relevant agencies are doing their due diligence to ensure that the flights departing from cuba to the united states are secure. although not last points of departure, the recent bombings of planes originating from mogadishu, which one was killed, and sharm el-sheikh, tragically killing every

katko. mr. katko: thank you, great to have you here today. i'm from syracuse, new york. not new york city, upstate new york. i, too, have family in charleston. been there many times. governor haley: beautiful areas, visit often. mr. katko: i want to get a feel from you if i may to what degree has the administration consulted with you or worked with you while evaluating the suitability of charleston for a site for their -- possibly a site for these detainees? in 2015 they did a survey, did he they work closely with you? governor haley: everything that they have done, they have done on their own. the only thing they did was call us and let us know they would be visiting charleston, which was the first we heard of to go look at the naval base. mr. katko: are you telling me here they made no effort to get -- input from you about this possible transfer of detainees? governor haley: no. what that's done to not only me but every other governor, it's left us without any information to share with our constituents or any way to defend ourselves against the possibility of these det

katko: that's good. one of the things you want to do in this bill is untie their hands to some extent from administrative standpoint because i believe they need to have more flexibility with respect to their decisionmaking authority on the front lines. if you get a call from american airlines or chicago and they say, look, we're going to get crushed over the next three days, we just sold a bunch of tickets, whatever, let's work together to figure out how to do that. they have to have the flexibility to granted more overtime. they have to have the ability to bring more people in. so that's part of what we're contemplating in this bill and it's based on the discussions with all of you. i appreciate that. now, mr. cox, is it -- one of the things i've been thinking about when you were talking about some of the staffing issues and the attrition rate is -- if there's some money that's reallocated, if that's the right term, from other parts of t.s.a. to staffing, would it make sense to take a lot of these indiv

katko: i yield myself such time as i may consume. i urge my colleagues to support this strong bipartisan piece of legislation. it is commonsense legislation but it is very important to institutionalized things that are working in the counter terrorism board are going to make it a good firm setting for activity going forward and fighting the counterterrorism going forward. i want to note there has been a lot of bills that came out of homeland security bills that came out of this term and they had bipartisan and i'm proud of the work we are doing on both sides of the aisle and we will continue to do that to keep this country safe. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 4407 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative -- mr. katko: i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taki

katko: thank you, mr. payne. the chair will now recognize other members of the subcommittee and then ms. mcsally for five minutes with questions that they may wish to ask the questions. in accordance with our committee's rules and practices, i plan to recognize members who were present at the start of the hearing by seniority on the committee, as well as ms. mcsally, who is visiting the committee this morning. those coming in a later will be recognized in order of their arrival. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from georgia, mr. carter, for five minutes of questions. mr. carter: thank you, mr. chairman. thank you all for being here. this is obviously a very important subject to us. i'm glad to see y'all because i have some important questions i have to ask you. i have the honor and privilege of representing the first congressional district of georgia. that includes the entire coast of georgia. georgia is unique in that we have a lot of small airports, rural areas. we also, as you know, have hartsfield-jacks

katko: thank you, mr. payne.embers of the committee, are reminded that opening statements may be submitted for the record. we're pleased to have a very distinguished panel here to testify before us today on this very important topic. ms. callahan serves as executive director for syracuse hancock international airport in syracuse, new york. ms. allin is president and c.e.o. of the tucson airport in tucson, arizona. ms. beairsto serves as managing deputy commissioner for security in the department of aviation for the city of chicago. ms. philipovitch, senior vice president for customer service at american airlines, and mr. david cox, national president of the american federation of government employees. thank you all for being here today. i now recognize ms. callahan for an opening statement. ms. callahan: security committee. thank you. thank you for inviting us to today's hearing on an issue that requires both immediate attention and long-term sustainable solutions. how to handle growing lines at t.s.a. checkpoint

katko: the committee stands adjourned. thank you all very much. >> coming up on c-span, center for disease control director tom friedman on efforts virus.t the zika and that is followed by the house debate on the zika response. later, hillary clinton in san jose, california. c-span's washington journal, live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. theng up friday morning, criminal justice policy director for the center of american progress will join us to discuss criminal efforts to reform the system. an author and george mason school of law foundation professor will talk about his new deal which will detail americans efforts to move up the economic ladder and what has hampered that. he sure to watch c-span's washington journal beginning live at the clock a.m. eastern. join the discussion. carteretary ashton speaks at the u.s. naval academy commencement in annapolis, maryland. we will have live coverage of his remarks to the graduating midshipmen at 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. this sunday night on q&a, u.s

katko of new york. after the dollar amount insert reduced by $3 million, insert increased by $3 mill yop the chair: the gentleman from new york and a member opposed each will control five minutes. mr. katko: the board of regional commission. for what purpose does what is the amendment the gentleman is offering? the clerning will rereport the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by mr. katko of new york, page 47 line 1, insert reduced by $3 llion, page 7 line 9 insert ncreased by $3 mill yop. the chair: the gentleman from idaho is recognized. the gentleman from new york is recognizeded. mr. katko: there are resources to new england and new york. there are a number of that are aimed at springing economic development and increasing access to health care. this region like many other communities has experienced severe economic challenges in recent years. mills and factories have closed and some industries are particularly hard hit like the nuclear industry. for example, vermont nanchingey power plant is c

mcsally. >> thank you, chairman katko. i really appreciate you being my wingman on this issue and many issues and letting me join this hearing today. i'm grateful for you inviting bonnie allen to testify this morning. bonnie is the president and ceo of the tucson airport authority responsible for promoting aviation services and related economic development for southern arizona, including operations and maintenance of the tucson international airport and ryan airfield where she has firsthand experience on the challenges related to tsa staffing. bonnie began her career in aviation in 1976 with the tucson airport authority then moved to texas where she worked for corpus christi international, ending her tenure as director of aviation. she holds the designation of accredited airport executive and is the past chairman of international association of airport executives. glad to have bonnie with us today and i yield back. >> ms. allen, you're up. >> thank you, representative mcsally, for the introduction. good morning chairman ka

mcsally. >> thank you, chairman katko. i really appreciate you being my wingman on this issue and many issues and letting me join this hearing today. i'm grateful for you inviting bonnie allen to testify this morning. bonnie is the president and ceo of the tucson airport authority responsible for promoting aviation services and related economic development for southern arizona, including operations and maintenance of the tucson international airport and ryan airfield where she has firsthand experience on the challenges related to tsa staffing. bonnie began her career in aviation in 1976 with the tucson airport authority then moved to texas where she worked for corpus christi international, ending her tenure as director of aviation. she holds the designation of accredited airport executive and is the past chairman of international association of airport executives. glad to have bonnie with us today and i yield back. >> ms. allen, you're up. >> thank you, representative mcsally, for the introduction. good morning chairman ka

katko: i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. speaker, let me start by thanking judiciary committee chairman goodlatte for his efforts and his committee's efforts in shepherding this bill through the committee, where it received unanimous support. i also want to thank my colleague across the aisle, representative rice, we have partnered together on many bills that have passed the house, to help keep our country safe and to keep it free from drug trafficking. both of us having a background in -- as prosecutors on a federal level, it's sometimes really helped us going forward. will help us going forward. this legislation makes important changes that strengthen the kingpin act and enhance the protection of classified information. the kingpin act has played an important role in our nation's efforts to fight drug trafficking for nearly two decades. in the last two decades, i was heavily involved in drug trafficking as a federal organized crime prosecutor so i understood the importance of the statute. the act established a process to s

katko: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. katko: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. katko: thank you, mr. speaker. since the tragic events of 9/11, this body has endeavored to better integrate intelligence and law enforcement agencies to react to new and evolving threats and to reduce duplicative efforts and waste. to a large extent, we have succeeded, in producing a more integrated security apparatus that properly reflects the terrorist threats of the 21st century. however, we must continue to make improvements to counter fast-changing threats like those posed by isis. mr. speaker, we are seeing the greatest convergence of radical islamic threats in history with more than 40,000 jihadist fighters travelinging

katko: thank you. syracuse is indeed very fortunate to have you at the helm at the airport. and i can tell from you personal experience that it's a generally very pleasurable experience. the only thing that's difficult is when when you're trying to get a flight to kennedy and it always seems to be delayed. other than that, i really appreciate your efforts and your forward thinking on getting a kiosk at the airport, you're forward thinking by giving free parking to t.s.a. is like a marketing thing, thinking outside the box, that's all good stuff. thank you very much. i'd like to ms. mcsally introduce her friend from the tucson airport. ms. mcsally: thank you. i want to say i really appreciate you being my wingman on this issue and many issues. i'm also grateful for you inviting ms. allin to testify this morning. bonnie is the president and c.e.o. of the tucson airport authority, responsible for promoting aviation services and related economic development for southern arizona. including operations and ma

katko. mr. katko: thank you. during my 15 years as a federal prosecutor in syracuse, new york, i witnessed firsthand on a daily basis a devastating impacts of -- the devastating impacts of drug use in general and heroin in particular and the terrible impacts it had on the well-being of our children, the lives of those directly involved, and the safety of our community. tragically, the impact of heroin and other opioids has gotten much worse in recent years. as a federal prosecutor, i've seen every possible drug known to man on the streets, i've never seen anything with the devastating effects that heroin has on our communities. literally fatal incidents are happening on a regular basis. one of my top priorities during my time in washington has been to facilitate a community dialogue in this public health epidemic to discuss ways of treating and preventing addiction. mr. speaker, at every forum, every town hall, every business i visit, every hospital i visit, i hear from my constituents the devastation this epidem

stodder for joint statement from the department of homeland security. >> good afternoon chairman katko security for border immigration and trade policy. on behalf of my colleagues from dhs as it may cite me today thank you very opportunity to appear before you to discuss the departments role in aviation security specifically as it relates to -- pertains to commercial air service between united states and cuba. i'll be providing a brief opening statement have for myself as well as my three e. h. s. colleagues and we look for to answering any questions you might have. let me again when discussing bhs role in aviation security generally and then i will -- since the 9/11 attacks with the help and support of congress dhs is working to develop a robust strategy aimed at securing aviation against threats while facilitating the flow of travel and commerce across their borders and throughout the aviation system. as repeated incidents are reminded us from the 9/11 attacks to the cells to the recent destruction of flight 9268 of both the northern sinai in october of 2015 the aviation sector remai

reporter: that hearing was led by transportation security subcommittee chairman john katko who put forwardew tsa legislation this afternoon. calls for tsa to share the staffing model with airports and air carriers while establishing minimum staffing numbers. now to highlight here, just how big of a problem this has become, one executive from american airlines testified earlier this morning that 70,000 of its flyers have missed flights this year already due to excessive wait times at security lines. melissa: oh, i bet they were all just thrilled about it. i can only imagine. so frustrating. blake, thank you so much. david? >> thanks. david: oil inching higher towards 50 bucks a barrel just in time for the holiday weekend. it will not cost as much as it did last year to fill up your tank, thank goodness. the national average is up, but down 43 cents from last year. so a little bit of relief from last year's prices. >> hillary clinton on defense. the decision to use a private email server is under heavy fire from all sides right now. david: plus bernie sanders slamming the happiest place on e

katko is not. neither am i. >> but we have a solemn duty to our country to make sure that we do proper oversight of the tsa. >> then don't play politics. ask a question. and ask for an answer. >> that's right. >> that's it. >> there's no politics going on here. weapon simply are trying to get -- >> then don't sound like it. it sounds to me like we're playing politics here and there's no -- >> i'd like to -- take my time. we are trying to get to the bottom of what we concern to be grave concerns bottom the opening of these airports before the rest of the inquiry is done. >> if you were really worried you wouldn't do -- >> we're expecting fully to have mr. mizell tell us the things he told us because we flood idea he was going to claim this stuff was ssi. that was the nature of the inquiry, so i if you take issue with my tone, let me apologize for that but i have the interests of cower country is the biggest think at stake to us and making sure the airline is safe and people are safe, and overlaying