senator markey? senator markey: thank you. there is an epidemic in the united states and sources now say that it is clear that china and mexico are the two principal means by which been to know is coming into the united states. the number of opioid deaths has escalated with the single largest addition to that plague been a killer in the country. what is our government saying to mexico about the implication of the drug? it comes from mexico and winds up in massachusetts where people died, but what is it that we are telling the mexicans about this importation? >> it is the state department that has the lead on that dialogue, so i would ask my colleagues to respond. >> thank you. we are engaged in a broad effort to reduce addiction and improve their ability to eradicate poppy cultivation inside mexico, as well as strengthen our border and law enforcement cooperation to prevent those kinds of drugs from leaving mexico. senator markey: are you talking about fentanyl? it is like the chemical concoction that is put together. what are

markey: ok, thank you. of rubio: just a couple points i wanted to raise, why lawrence, massachusetts, why new hampshire? -- wirethese targets these communities targeted? -- why are these communities targeted? there arer: senator, a number of variables, one is the existing structure, the existing trafficking structure in place. in some cases, it is transportation efforts, in some places, there are areas in mexico that have trafficking from particular areas, or the geography of a place lends itself to further distribution. there are a lot of reasons why -- u.s.ubio: but the northeast is very far from the mexican border. why don't we stop them along u.s. 95? mr. chester: we believe the existing structures that were there before, and when we specifically talk about fentanyl , one of the things that we have looked at is that we have tracked the fentanyl crisis and why the northeast? why the northeastern united states? why so much? why not the western united states? and the reason why is that fentanyl is so easil

corker: senator markey. markey: thank you for being here every service or country. foretary baker, thank you recommending to president bush that you not go to baghdad. that stands as the test of historical scrutiny. mr. baker: i don't think you were here when i said shortly after we got of office, for two or three years after we got out, every time i would make a speech anywhere, people would say why didn't you take care of saddam when you had the chance? i don't get that question anymore. senator markey: you have to balance american military might with wisdom. to thatght that decision. we thank you very much. today, welook at iraq can see the rising influence of thisbah, he was behind shia takeover of the parliament. ostensibly, they are calling for reforms. includee reforms changing the role in which the sunnis and the kurds play in the government. in that country. we are already basically looking at sunnis in tikrit wondering when to the she ever let their control over that city go, so they can once again play a role in the government. that's in creating problems

senator markey. >> thanks, mr. chairman, very much. i'm just going to follow up on senator corker's point, which is that while nigeria's people most need help with daunting governance and corruption issues, the united states is planning to sell the government attack aircraft known as the a-29 super takano to nigeria. and it would be to fight boko haram, a group everyone opposes. but the nigerian military has a longstanding history of human rights abuses, including under the current administration. just last month, amnesty international accused of nigerian army of killing hundreds of members of the shia minority sect in december. and unfortunately, that's happening in other countries in east africa as well. so what is your perspective on that, given the fact that the people of nigeria increasingly are seeing u.s. aid move from humanitarian or anticorruption efforts over to more military aid for those who they believe internally are the ones who are greater risk to the security of their families? >> our aid is not moving away from corrup

senator markey? baker,key: secretary thank you so much for recommending to president bush that you not go to baghdad. that stands the test of historical scrutiny. mr. baker: i don't think you were here senator when i said, shortly after we got out of office, two or three years after i gave a speech anywhere, people said, "why didn't you take care of saddam when you had a chance ?" i don't get that question anymore. mr. markey: you brought wit and wisdom to that and we thank you so much. and now as we look at iraq today, we can see the rising alsada.e of takeoverhind the shia of the parliament. he was a stunningly for reforms ostensibly for reforms, and those were firms -- those reforms play towards the government and we are basically takrit andsunnis in they are wondering if they can play a role in the government and that we create problems for the takeover of mosul, for example, so the sunnis in that city would say, it is worth it because the isis sunnis we will he then given back our control of the

markey: i want to say thank you for your work. we've been partnering on eliminating bag fees at the airports since imposed. there's 27% more bags now who go through the baggage clearing with the passengers. if we could just get that out of the way, get ritz of those -- rid of those baggage fees, i just think it would expedite dramatically the ability of people to get on planes in this country. i'm glad we're able to have this moment to be able to speak about the importance of the issue. thank you. mr. blumenthal: as i mentioned earlier, the senator from massachusetts and i have really been partners in this effort, and i hope that we can prevail. thank you, mr. president. ms. collins: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from maine. ms. collins: mr. president, i call up the collins-jack reed-cochran amendment number 3970. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from maine, ms. collins for herself and others proposes an amendment numbered 3970 to amendment numbered 3896. ms. collins: mr. pre

and markey says it would only cost a few dollars per vehicle to fix. >> that's a in brainer.s something that the auto industry should do itself. but if it doesn't, then nhtsa should make them do it. >> reporter: nhtsa says it does not have enough data to support changing the standard, but administrator mark rosekind acknowledged the number of deaths due to seatback failures have likely been underestimated by the agency. >> we need to figure out for anyone that's been lost what else we can do. nhtsa will look at every tool we have available to try to save them. >> reporter: nhtsa and safety experts do agree that the back seat of a car is still the safest place for children. charlie, ought to makers say their cars are safe. they have until june 23rd to respond to the senators. >> rose: thanks, kris. still ahead, we'll be back with more news in a moment. re was almost always on my mind. thinking about what to avoid, where to go... and how to deal with my uc. to me, that was normal. until i talked to my doctor. she told me that humira helps people like me get uc under control and

. >> reporter: today, democratic senators ed markey and richard blumenthal sent this letter to honda6 other automakers demanding answers. the national highway traffic safety administration sets the standard for seat strength, and all cars meet or exceed it, but it's a standard so low this banquet chair passes. >> 200. >> reporter: and markey says it would only cost a few dollars per vehicle to fix. >> that's a no-brainer. that's something that the auto industry should do itself. but if it doesn't, then nhtsa should make them do it. >> reporter: nhtsa says it does not have enough data to support changing the standard, but administrator mark rosekind acknowledged the number of deaths due to seatback failures have likely been underestimated by the agency. >> we need to figure out for anyone that's been lost what else we can do. nhtsa will look at every tool we have available to try to save them. >> reporter: nhtsa and safety experts do agree that the back seat of a car is still the safest place for children. charlie, auto makers say their cars are safe. they have until june 23rd to resp

senator markey, one more question. >> and i appreciate that. i know it's an unwanted intrusion. >> never unwanted. >> but i thank you. last year's surface transportation bill, the fast act, included a provision requiring the irs to hire private debt collectors to collect certain unpaid taxes, attorney general. that means that the irs is going to be hiring many people to go after those who may be unable to pay their taxes. this provision coupled with the tcpa carveout in the budget deal will open the floodgates to private debt collectors, robocalling and robotexting millions of americans. the enactment of the two provisions coincide with the rise of tax and debt collection scams as a serious problem, costing americans millions and millions of dollars. last year bogus tax scams and fake debt collectors topped the better business bureau's list of top scams of 2015 with over 32% of all scam reports about phony tax and debt collectors. so attorney general, will these two changes in the budget and transportation laws on robocalls and robotext provisi

markey says it would cost a few dollars a vehicle to fix. >> a no-brainer something the auto industryld do itself. if it doesn't then ntsa should make them do it. >> reporter: ntsa says it does not have enough data. administrator acknowledged the number of deaths due to seat back failures have laikely been underestimated. >> we need to figure out what we need to do. ntsa and safety experts do agree that the back seat of a car is still the safest place for children. charlie, auto makers say their cars are safe. they have until june 23rd to respond to the senators. >> thank you, kris. still ahead, we will be back with more news in a moment. >>> the italian navy released photos of a boat with migrants tipping over off libya. those on board rushed to one side when they spotted the italian ship. at least five drowned. more than 500 were rescued. today, 11 states filed suit to overturn the obama administration directive that calls on public schools to give transgender students access to bathrooms that match their new gender identity. it is not an order, but states that do not comply could l

. >> thank you, senator markey. senator nelson, anything for the -- okay. let me just ask one last question. and, again, this kind of gets to the point of other regulatory bodies. and i think you indicated that some don't have the same views as the fcc when it comes to communicating with consumers via cell phone. have other regulators seen consumer benefits in communicating with consumers via mobile phone or text message? >> oh, sure. yes, thank you for the question. the consumer financial protection board has an early intervention rule that encourages outbound communications. the home affordable modification program, the federal deposit insurance corporation, the federal trade commission, the consumer product safety commission have all discussed the benefits of outbound communications both by call and by text. there are also state laws that require outbound communications because they see the value in that. for example, with utilities. >> okay. well, i just want to make kind of one final point, and that is i don't -- nobody proposing that consumers shouldn

messages democrat edward markey and connecticut democrat said tuesday they axa executives at 12 airlinesdrop check that these this summer. the senate to say system in the fis will not eliminate lines but it is a start. >> pam: retell giant wal- mart is selling these up over the way it handled chipped debit cards. wal- mart filed a lawsuit and the new york supreme court today same visa's map that is not secured. , says visa allows customers to just use a signature to verify transactions with these particular debit cards. the company's dependence in using penumbras are more secure and less expensive for the retailer to conduct visa has not commented on this matter. (male announcer): it's now time for gary radnich with sports!. >> gary:steph curry, is the first unanimous mvp in the national basketball association history. that means all 131 voters agreed that he is the best player and a leak. curry accepted this court this afternoon at a ceremony on the floor of oracle or may not. --oracle >> this is something that i do not even know how to put into words. i do not even know what to say. th

. >> reporter: and who could forget these markey mark ads from the '90s. now, a newer and more social media friendly generation of celebrities want in on the game. kendall jenner, justin bieber and nick jonas, some of the brand's newer faces. >> these ads are meant for people in control of their own sexuality. you can see yourself within the ad because those photos look like photos that you've taken of yourself. >> reporter: we reached out to calvin klein for comment about the campaign. but they haven't responded. linzie janis, abc news, new york. >> coming up, the international wait till you hear what caused it. should we be worried? >> and wait till you see what happens when is a monkey steals food from a sloth. for dog hair and dirt i use resolve pet foam. spray it on evenly. rub it in. and then i vacuum. it's like i have a brand new carpet. and, rigby is enjoying it as well. when i have a pet stain, i use resolve pet expert carpet spray. it just takes a couple of sprays. and then you dab it up. smells nice, stains gone! because you can't beat zero hear

senators richard blumenthal and ed markey say that those fees make the security lines even worse. they argue that getting rid of the fees could reduce the lines this summer at a time of year when passengers don't carry on as many belongings. those fees are a key revenue source for the airlines. >>> another common complaint for travelers, those airline reward programs often aren't very rewarding. consumerwatch reporter julie watts on the best and the worst frequent flyer programs. >> reporter: how easy is it to redeem airline award miles? >> really hard. >> it could be easier than it is. >> holiday period is complicated but generally it's not. >> reporter: a new survey finds booking with airline miles is slowly getting easier at least for certain types of flights. a survey found available seats on 61% of the long haul flights searched up from 54% last year. although overall, customers say they are still struggling to use miles during peak season and idea works only found rewards seats available on one out of four searches of the busiest route. >> you always seem to have a difficult

connecticut's richard blumenthal and edward markey of massachusetts sent a letter to 12 major u.s. airlines. they say canceling the fees would speed up inspections and would mean fewer carry-on bags. an industry spokesman said it would be better if there were more tsa screeners. >>> critics contend president obama's upcoming visit to hiroshima will be viewed as an apology no matter how the white house frames it. later this month, mr. obama will become the first sitting president to visit the japanese city where during world war ii the u.s. dropped the first atomic bomb. it's estimated 140,000 people were killed. the white house says the president will not revisit the decision to drop the bomb. >>> the brazilian senate is scheduled to vote today on whether to impeach president dilma rousseff. her supporters set fires and marched through the streets of sao paolo yesterday. she allegedly broke fiscal rules in managing the national budget. >>> the justice department has decided not to seek the death penalty against the suspected libyan militant charged in the attack against the u.s. di

markey: mr. president, president obama will make an historic visit to hiroshima, the sight of the first atomic bombing. he will become the first sitting president of the united states to do so, and i commend him for this long overdue presidential recognition. having traveled to hiroshima in 1985 to witness the commemoration of the 40th anniversary of that atomic bombing, i know from personal experience that any visit there serves as a powerful reminder of america's responsibility to reduce the risk of nuclear war. that risk remains as real today as it was nearly 71 years ago when we dropped that bomb that killed 140,000 people. -- in one day. in the last few decades, important progress has been made to reduce the threat of nuclear war. the united states and russia have reduced the size of their nuclear arsenals and the beginning of an additional change is going to happen in 2018 when both the united states and russia will have no more than 1,550 deployed strategic warheads after implementation of

. >> reporter: today, senator ed markey along with senator richard blumenthal will send this letter toa and 18 other automakers demanding answers about seat back failures and deaths they've caused. >> because the auto industry has refused to fix these seat backs, we have tragedies like this that happen all across america, month after month, year after year. >> reporter: marquis also wants action -- markey also wants action from national transportation safety board which regulates the automakers. >> we had warnings on air bags for years, ntsb did nothing. we've had warnings on seat backs kimming children in the -- killing children in the back seats. northeast has done nothing. -- ntsb has done nothing. this is history repeating itself. it has to end. >> reporter: ntsb and car make verse known about the problem for decades. one automaker said fixing the seats would cost on the order of a dollar or so. there's little incentive to fix them. they all meet or exceed the federal standard for seat strength, a standard so low -- >> 1.50 -- >> reporter: this banquet chair passed. ntsb says it do

there was a hoopla and the mayor asked questions and senator markey of massachusetts demanded answers. as of today, amazon have that track and said roxbury will be getting this one-day service now. david: in the global economic section, a he's about wild cap minors going after amber in going afteriners amber in ukraine. >> ukraine is a bit of a mess area they have rebels backed by russia fighting in the east. there is a lot of tension still going on and the attention is -- economy is really bad. in certain areas, people are illegally trying to mine amber which is made of resin from ancient trees and it's the is veryrange gem that expensive. when authorities are around, they are trying to make a living with the amber, and they scatter around.horities are it's a messy process. >> it really is, you have to dig into these ancient pools of water and sometimes these gems are getting damaged and cannot be polished properly. the gems are not as valuable. it's a desperate attempt to replace lost income. david: what is the ukrainian government doing about it? >> costing them a lot of money. so

i think we should -- >> thank you, senator markey. >> -- tread carefully. [laughter] >> we do very much thank you for being here, taking the time and responding to our questions. and we will keep the hearing record open for two weeks during which time senators are asked to submit any questions for the record, and upon receipt we would ask all of you if you could submit your written answers to the committee as soon as possible. so thank you all for being here. this hearing's adjourned. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> virginia senator tim kaine, a member of the armed services committee, discusses cybersecurity policy and the importance of intelligence sharing today. he's part of an event hosted by the center for strategic and international studies, live starting at 8:30 a.m. eastern on c-span3. >>> today house oversight committee chair jason chaffetz testifies on the conduct of irs commissioner john koskinen surrounding the irs target

there was a hoopla and the mayor asked questions and senator markey of massachusetts demanded answers. as of today, amazon have that -- backtracked and said roxbury will be getting this one-day service now. david: in the global economic section, an amazing piece about wild cap minors going after amber in -- wildcat miners going after amber in ukraine. >> ukraine is a bit of a mess . they have rebels backed by russia fighting in the east. there is a lot of tension still going on in the economy is really bad. in certain areas, people are illegally trying to mine amber , which is made of resin from ancient trees and it's the lovely orange gem that is very expensive. they are going in there with their equipment, and whenever the police is around or authorities are around, they scatter and they are trying to make a living doing that because it is so hard to make a living in ukraine right now. david: it is a really messy process. >> it is an messy process. you have to dig into these ancient pools of water and sometimes these gems are getting damaged and cannot be polished properly. in a way

it's a little hard when the presumptive nominee of our party was little markey, lying ted -- >> would know, george, it's not personal. he had to get them out. >> but going after them on issue after issue is fine. but it got very personal. in ryan's case you really have to say he is a policy wonk. seriously, i think if he had just said donald says i've got to go and talk to him, we have got to talk about policy, he can do it move on. >> you know what they are goc to talk about, let me tell you, you and i know it. it's the shake down. don't give me paul ryan is a policy wonk. hog wash. he cams out and says sanctuary cities are not going to be funded by the federal government and then passes it in the quiet of the night. get rid are of that. and then they want to flank donald trump far not being conservative enough. ? i'll let you answer, jeff. >> back to your original question, you know, i think donald trump ran a brilliant campaign, but it was an irreverent campaign. >> yes. >> and that is making the coalescing around him a little bit more difficult. and it's going to take a little bit

from alarms to g-p-s trackers -- the markei >>> a growing number of people are using smartphone apps for safety from alarms to gps trackers. the market is flooded with programs designed to save you from an attacker, but julie watts shows us if you're not careful, they could do you more harm than good. >> reporter: over a decade jared arthur has specialized in self-defense, but in addition to teaching the left, right combination her trainings now include technology. >> lately i've been getting a lot of questions about safety apps. >> reporter: like be safe, circle of 6, red panic button and guardly are among a growing number of programs designed to instantly alert authorities or friends in an emergency. >> i'm going to put my finger right on the button and now i'm walking to my car. >> reporter: jarrett likes apps like safe track that notify police of your location with the tap of a button. >> i get hit, tackled. i have to fight back and ditch my phone. then that phone call is being made and the signal is being made automatically to the authorities. >> reporter: cindy yotohama likes t

i wouldn't to follow up on some of the questions that senator markey asked regarding the interaction of security assistance and assistance provided by the state department in 2014 it was the first time that dod funding for security assistance in africa surpassed that provided by the state department and it comes through a lot of different places, but in particular a rather opaque fund that the pentagon runs which is called building partner capacity which is about $10 billion globally is increasingly the source of dod funds to help promote military sales and standup military capacity. embassador i wanted to ask you about to what extent the state departments and the african bureau has read in to spend building partner capacity dollars. this is $10 billion. a lot of it is spent in africa. to the extent to which you are read in and to the extent that individual embassadors have a say in how that is spent and make sure it isn't counteracting the work on the ground and your broader thoughts on this long-term transition away from the majority of money in these countries being state departme

senator markey? >> thank you, mr. chairman, very much. i enjoy this conversation. because we're kind of in the way back machine to a certain extent. holds up a cell phone from 1992. because when i authored this law in 1991, i am the author of it, it was because there was an epidemic of calls that were going into people's homes. there were no laws. so people were almost afraid to look at their phone at night because it would just start to ring at 6:00 and it wouldn't stop until 9:30 or 10:00 at night. so we had to put a law in the books so i was the chairman of the telecommunications committee. and to senator dane's point about the primitive nature, i also knew we were putting in 200 mega hertz of spectrum to create the sixth cell phone license in america that everyone would have one in their pocket by the year 1995. so that's how quickly that all changed. so we were building in, i was building in consumer protections. now when people hold this phone in their pocket right now and it starts to ring, people say, it's probably somebody i know. i think i'll take the cal

. >> my name is sean markey. i have a question about craft and some of the questions you made and it might be a way to open it up a little bit. what was one of the harder things you struggled with and how did you work through that, or ultimately, what was the best you got from the outside reader reader -- whether it was an editor or a friendly reader that help to us something that wasn't working. >> the best advice i got early on was to make a timeline. it was so simple, but it literally, the book takes place in a fairly short two year period. from and i did a day by day timeline for those two years. that's when you start to see these patterns emerging. what's incredible is that these leaders, in the months after, there was 1 million things going on. they were just focused on the rise, there was an uprising in kashmir. there was things that were all happening in the same day. most accounts treat them all separately, you don't realize that you wake up and you go to meeting about this and bad and he was operating o

senator markey? >> i thank you for being here and for your service to our country. secretary baker, thank you so much for recommending to president bush that you not go to baghdad. that stands the test of historical scrutiny. >> i don't think you were here, senator, when i said shortly after we got out of office for two or three years after we got out, every time i'd make a speech anywhere, people would say to me, why didn't you guys take care of saddam when you had the chance? i don't get that question anymore. >> you have to balance i think what you did, american military might with wisdom, and you brought that to that decision. we thank you so much. >> thank you. >> and so now as we look at iraq today, we can see the rising influence of el sadr. he was behind this shia takeover of the parliament. >> yeah. >> ostensibly they're calling for reforms but those reforms include changing the role in which the sunnis and kurds play in that government in that country. and we're already basically lacking at sunnis in tikrit wondering when do the shia ever let their control

. >> sean markey. i have a question about and some of the choices you made and maybe a way to just open it up a little bit. what was maybe one of the harder things you struggled with in the work through that? or alternately, what was the best advice he got from an outside reader, either at editor or just a friendly reader that help you fix some in the west are working. .. was moving towards independence. these things are all happening in the same day. most books, most accounts treat them all separately. there's a chapter -- you realize one simple cup of what he went to wendy about this and another me about that. he was operate onto his -- two hours of sleep and they got a letter from his girlfriend. you can kind of get into the had a little bit more and understand the pressures they were under and why the would've made certain decisions. there are certain decisions made that i haven't seen explained before. you realize he made a decision at the end of his three-hour meeting with the talked about someth

to talk about one particular example, the waxman-markey bill of 2009, which was not passed -- so, 2009, only seven years ago, already seems like a long time ago -- if it had been passed it would have reduced carbon emissions by 83% by 2050, so that would have made a really significant impact on what is going to happen in the future. now, of course, it wasn't passed. after going through the house, it didn't make it through the senate. and -- so, this is just one illustration of a history of failure to address the issue. so, that is all i have time for. you would like to take a look at the issue, i think you can get copies at the back, or it is all online at this website. [applause] mr. haskins: thank you, janet. i appreciate it. as i said before, whenever we published a volume twice a year, we write a 3000-word policy brief trying to seize upon some issue that is implied in the volume, but to play it out a little bit, especially in a policy sense, and we try to pick things that are actively under consideration in washington, and we were quite forward -- fortunate this time that zika app

just wanted to make one comment about the heavy lift to talk about one gig of example, the waxman-markey bill 2000 which was not passed, the 2009, that's only seven years ago, already seems like a long time ago. if it had been passed it would have reduced carbon emissions by 83% by 2050. so that would make a really significant impact on what's going to happen in the future. now, of course it wasn't passed. after going through the house it didn't make it through the senate, and so this is just one illustration of sort of a history of failure to address the issue. so that's all i have time for your if you'd like to take a look at the issue, i think you can get copies at the back, or it's all online at this website. [applause] >> thank you, janet. appreciate it. as i said before whenever we publish a volume twice a year we write a 3000 word policy trying to seize upon some issue that is implied in the volume a to point out all of it, especially in the policy sense, and would try to pick things that are actively under consideration in washington and we are quite fortunate this time that zika

cassidy: i will now defer to senator markey to introduce. i'm eager to get to testimony as well. i will have to step out for another hearing but i'm excited to introduce the expert of experts at the end of tables -- of table. this is dr. shelley shape its. she has a long list of titles including the codirector of the gale center for dyslexia and creativity. she is one of the leading researchers in this field. her position has been on neurobiology and epidemiology providing a scientific basis for understanding dyslexia. she has written more than 200 journal articles, chapters in books on the topic. she is a great source of counsel for both the chair of this hearing and myself. i'm glad to have her with us. >> i will enter -- introduce mr. amir. a mere -- in prison -- he was an actor -- he is an actor. i am eager to hear how he has used his stardom, he is now an actor to steer children off the path of incarceration and i defer to you senator mikulski for dr. eaton and dr. mahone. sen. mikulski: i would like to .ntroduce dr. guenevere eden she is a nationally recognized expert. in o

to talk about one particular example, the waxman-markey bill of 2009, which was not passed -- so, 2009only seven years ago, already seems like a long time ago -- if it had been passed it would have reduced carbon emissions by 83% by 2050, so that would have made a really significant impact on what is going to happen in the future. now, of course, it wasn't passed. after going through the house, it didn't make it through the senate. and -- so, this is just one illustration of a history of failure to address the issue. so, that is all i have time for. you would like to take a look at the issue, i think you can get copies at the back, or it is all online at this website. [applause] mr. haskins: thank you, janet. i appreciate it. as i said before, whenever we published a volume twice a year, we write a 3000-word policy brief trying to seize upon some issue that is implied in the volume, but to play it out a little bit, especially in a policy sense, and we try to pick things that are actively under consideration in washington, and we were quite forward -- fortunate this time that zika appea

senator markey, as the subcommittee ranking member brought enormous depth of knowledge and leadership to this process and was instrumental in the negotiations. and finally, i special want to thank senators whitehouse and booker who teamed up with me to push for important changes before the markup in committee and who have been tremendous partners ongoing through the process. there are many others, of course, in the senate and in the house on the republican side, the democratic side who have played a role in getting this bill to where it is now. a few small steps from being signed into law. i would like to specifically thank the environmental defense fund. on any project like this, you need forces inside the building, but you need forces outside the building marshaling expertise, creating a conversation among grass roots proponents, bringing their expertise, their insights to bear. their lead senior scientist richard denison played an instrumental role in the preparation of this bill. many americans do not know that the chemicals in their household products are completely unregulated.

disservice to the people of america and they want stronger measures like the ones that i and senator markey have composed that give consumers more control over the calls they receive. that's essentially it. whether it's from government authorities, there's no question there is no question in my mind that the present law neither to be updated and to provide better, swifter, stronger protection. because this problem is only going to increase. you do what i used to do for 20 years. a lot of your man dade is consumer protection are you finding an increase in the number of complaints as i have received, for example, from a 76-year-old woman in dayville connecticut who says to me i'm weary of all the robo-calls i receive, can't the senate -- a 76-year-old research scientist, i have reams of complaints from people who are upset about these calls, quote, every day i get unwanted robo-calls, most annoys. i have recorded these to the no-call list, but nothing is done. that's the reason we have a private rite of acts. you all remember the days we had some protection. we literally had quiet at home, so

tonko, and the senate sponsor of the treat act, ed markey, for their work on this important initiative. and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> mr. speaker, i rise today in recognition of national police week, a week we set aside to thank the 780 police officers who put on a badge nationwide and risk their lives to protect our communities. we thank them for their brave service. they play an essential role in our community, keeping us safe and responding to emergencies. mr. bost: the 18th district of illinois is home to many self-sacrificing police officers. mr. speaker, we also take time this week to mourn the loss of our fallen officers whose lives were lost in the line of duty. mr. lahood: one officer is killed in the line of duty somewhere in the united states every 61 hours. that's why i wanted to extend the bull he have proof vest program. we need to ma

senator markey. >> thank you, mr. chairman, very much. i'm going to follow up. while nigeria's people most need help with the daunting governance and corruption issues, the united states is planning to sell the government attack aircraft known as the a 29 super takano, to nigeria. and it would be to fight boko haram, a group everyone opposes but the nigerian military has a long-standing history of human rights abuses including under the current administration. just last month amnesty international accused the nigerian army of killing hundreds of members of the shia minority sect in the semper. and, unfortunately, that's happening in other countries in east africa as well. so what is your perspective on that number given the fact that the people of nigeria increasing our sink usaid move from humanitarian or anticorruption efforts over to more military aid for those who they believe internally are the ones who are greater risk to the security of their families? >> our aid is not moving away from corruption. the new president of nigeria has made clear that corrupti

markey: thank you, mr. president. i further ask unanimous consent that the following congressional fellows in my office be given floor privileges for the remainder of this session: alyssa hesky, jeanette roberts, karen hoskowski, aaron bagdanoff, and hugh o. donnell. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. markey: thank you very much, mr. president. i want to open my remarks with congratulations to the police assistance addiction recovery initiative based in gloucester, massachusetts. since it began less than 11 months ago, this program is now working with more than 100 police departments in 24 states around the country to help people with opioid addiction to get the treatment they need. the program's approach is simple but it is also revolutionary. having law enforcement work with those suffering from the disease of addiction by removing the stigma surrounding it and placing them into treatment instead of behind bars. i thank the founders of this program, gloucester police chief leonard campenella and urge ever

i want to follow up from the question senator markey asked regarding interaction of security assistance and assistance provided by the state department. in 2014 was the first time dod funding for certain security systems in africa surpassed that provided by the state department it comes through a lot of different places. in particular, a rather opaque fun at the pentagon runs called opening partner capacity, which is about $10 billion globally. it's increasingly the source of dod fun to help promote foreign military sales and standup terry capacity. ambassador thomas greenfield, i wanted to ask you about to what extent the state department and the africa bureau is ready in the decisions made at the department of defense to spend other partner capacity dollars. there's a huge amount of the current $10 billion to the extent to which individual ambassadors have a say as to how that money is spent to make sure it isn't counteract in the work they are doing on the ground. you know, you're broader thoughts on this sort of long-term transition away from the majority of money in this country is