lamalfa: thank you. i appreciate the comments and thoughts of my colleague from virginia there and didn't mean to startle with the podium here. these podiums and microphones aren't set for the right height for some of us around here. , at said, on this amendment not the catch-all on the whole bill here, we are sticking to the exemptions that have been provided for in the law by congress for farming activities. and we do have the need for this amendment because the enforcement by army corps is happening out in the field. in my own district even on these issues. and we have a screen shot right here from the army corps' website that lists some of the things i mentioned earlier. as i said, these activities must be part of an ongoing operation or there cannot be a crop change without requirements put forth by the army corps, them giving you permission or denying that permission. so it is indeed necessary because there's overzealous regulation and enforcement of something that doesn't exist in the law, as pass

lamalfa you are recognized. >> thank you mr. chairman and committee. first, mr. jolly mentioned a few minutes ago to general hickey, we here have the same concerns that people step forward to provide information in the oakland office that have been retaliated against or interviewed were practically harassed about other issues when they thought they were coming forward to help instead they are called in for review hearings on things that they actually were helping on and made to feel like they were in trouble over that. i would like to have an opportunity to approach it later as mr. jolly mentioned with some of these folks. they were retaliated against and i think one has been under suspension or even let go so i would like to have that opportunity. as well we talked about the bonuses. i think you reward people who are grinding out the work at the ground level making veterans claims be finished and finished accurately and with good quality. that is what we are talking about with bonuses especially catching up on the backlog. when you start getting into the top lev

lamalfa: thank you, mr. chairman. this bill brings a portion of the endangered species act back into the 21st century and much-needed transparency. under this bill, the public wants access to determine which pecies are endangered. secret data is a sort of policymaking you might find in the soviet union or communist china, not the united states. astoundingly, you will hear that this data should remain secret. it's which americans can build a home on their own property, simply go hiking in their own national forest. the bill includes much county data used in e.s.a. decisions that's key. it's important that all this economic information is available so locals get a fair shake. had this bill been in place, my district would have -- this measure tracks and caps attorneys' fees paid in e.s.a. lawsuits. 10 tracked their payout to the center for biological diversity. mr. chairman, i happen to think americans deserve to know how their government makes their decisions. let's pass h.r. 4315, to bring transparency and fairness ba

i hereby appoint the honorable doug lamalfa to act as speaker pro tempore on this day. signed, john a. boehner, speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the order of the house of january 7, 2014, the chair will now recognize members from lists submitted by the majority and minority leaders for morning hour ebate. the chair will alternate recognition between the parties with each party limited to one hour and each member other than the majority and minority leaders and the minority whip imited to five minutes each, but in no event shall debate continue beyond 1:50 p.m. the chair recognizes the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. mcgovern, for five minutes. mr. mcgovern: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. mr. speaker, being poor in america is hard work. despite what some of my colleagues and many right-wing pundits may think, it simply isn't easy to be poor in america. mr. speaker, week after week i come to the floor to talk about how we can end hunger now. it's a simple concept. we can end hunger if we muster the p

lamalfa: i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from new york seek recognition? the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. miss -- mrs. maloney: it was three months ago that the terrorist group boko haram attacked and kidnapped 276 female students. they were children, some 12 and 13 years old. since then more have been kidnapped. this congress has a role to play. a positive role to play, by supporting u.s. and u.n. efforts to bring these girls home, to bring peace to nigeria and africa by supporting investments, to bring development to africa, and by encouraging all involved to do all they can to bring these frightened children home. the air force can leaders have a role to play. they should be leading -- the african leaders have a role to play. they should be leading the effort to rescue these children. i can never forget how the world came together in one brief moment in the wake of 9/11 to support america. we are all americans, the world said, as one. i would wish

lamalfa. >> i appreciate the opportunity to be able to sit in on this committee here tonight. i represent far northern california, very large district with very significant veterans population who have been very frustrated, as has our office with just trying to get answers for vets. greatly appreciate this whistleblower panel being here tonight and having the guts to do that. and you should not ever feel like you can't speak. so i'll try and keep it quick here. to all three of you, have you ever been told, and this is redndant. my apologies. have you ever been told not to take your concerns to members of congress or to hear from members of congress on how to handle issues, whether it's an individual claim or just the overall system? have you ever been told not to deal with us? don't talk to those members of congress? >> we're told that if we don't bring our issues internally, we were sent an e-mail it was an improper avenue of redress. when we got our yearly whistleblower e-mail, we got another e-mail that said recently a lot of employees have been contacting the under secreta

lamalfa. thank you to the members. thank you to the witnesses. both the first and the second panel. i think, miss hickey, what -- the concern that we have is the american public, when you say you have cut the backlog in half, they think that half the veterans have gotten their disability. but that's not true. because the veteran board of appeals, going through their process, there are other machinations that are being handled. so what we're trying to do is get to the bottom of how many veterans are actually receiving a check for their disability claim? not how many you have moved out of the va because we know that you don't have -- you don't count them when they two to tgo court. is that true? >> congress -- or chairman, we have three different processes. >> no, ma'am, yes, or no. when it goes to the veteran court of appeals -- >> the veteran court appeals is not counted in any va metric. it's not a va organization. >> well, but understand there are still veterans -- >> absolutely. wholly agree with you on that. >> so it is true to tale the american people that the backlog that vete

lamalfa: mr. speaker, the continued attacks by hamas on our ally israel makes them live under the daily threat of rocket attacks at any given moment. our closest ally in the region must defend against the vicious attack. the united states must not understatement how serious these -- underestimate how serious these attacks are and continue to support israel. mr. speaker, i'm shocked the obama administration intends to continue to fund the palestinian authority. their decision to form a new government with hamas is appalling. we must respond appropriately. how can we possibly support a foreign government that embraces a terrorist group that is attacking our closest ally and continues to refuse to look at their right to exist? mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from rhode island seek recognition? mr. cicilline: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objec

i hereby appoint the honorable doug lamalfa to act as speaker pro tempore on this day. signed, john a. boehner, speaker of the house of

lamalfa: a couple weeks ago i mention how'd the e.p.a. has overreached on making every drop of water in the united states its jurisdiction. whether if falls on the field, in your driveway or is collected in a rain barrel or puddle, they want to be in control of it. before indiana holiday the other day, they entered another rule where they seek to be the judge, jury and executioner on deciding what the fines are going to be and how they're going to carry them out, without jurisprudence, without having an oversight by an independent party. they seek to instead be the ones that collect the fines after finding somebody guilty of a possible alleged violation. e.p.a. has already nearly triple the -- tripled the amount of fines it has taken in since 2009 so is this about the environment or revenue generation and putting people on the defensive? i think they need to pull back this rule and they need to hear from the american people, mr. speaker, about how devastating this is for the economy and for the well-being of americans. mr. speaker, i yiel

lamalfa: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. five alfa: mr. speaker, million americans have given up on their search for a job. for 59 months straight, invisible unemployment has remained above 10%. the number of long-term unemployed americans has doubled the prerescission figure. mr. speaker, among the 294 bills the democrat-controlled senate has failed to act on are over 40 house-passed bipartisan pro-jobs bills that would help put americans back to work. we passed legislation to help the long-term unemployed get training for new jobs, a measure to restore hourly wages cut by the 30-hour workweek mandate and regulatory reform bills to cut the red tape, holding back key energy and construction projects that will help create jobs and boost our economy. these measures are commonsense solutions our economy needs right now, policies that provide america to be self-sufficient. where are the jobs, where are the jobs bills? we hear that over here on that side of the

lamalfa: mr. speaker, i stand to address the crisis occurring along our southern border, which is a direct result from the president's failure to uphold the laws of our nation. illegal aliens apprehended in texas are being shipped and flown to california, my home state, as well as other states on the taxpayer dime. allegation states were on the first three flights into san diego. causing a flood of our state with these illegal aliens not only creates a humanitarian crisis that must be dealt with, but it cross lines that the american public will not and should not tolerate. we cannot continue to stand by, allow this administration to continue to pick and choose what laws will be enforced. these policies resulted in what we're facing now, unlawful immigration, they're getting a mixed message and signal from this administration. i believe they may receive some form of amnesty from this administration or at least have a chance to stay in this country, regardless of the laws of our nation. unless this