mr. sherman. mr. sherman: i thank the gentleman for yielding. i want to applaud the chair and the ranking member of a tour du force of bipartisan. 32 bipartisan bills with unanimous support all put together in one outstanding package. i thank for including the build act introduced by mr. loudermilk and myself. this bill will help habitat for humidity and other organizations. it says when they provide a zero percent loan, they can use the old or new disclosure forms, whichever is easiest for them and the software to produce. this bill is supported by habitat for humidity international and the national housing conference. it passed our committee with a unanimous 53-0 recorded vote. and i thank the chair and ranking member for including this legislation in an excellent package and urge a yes vote. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from california? ms. waters: i reserve. hifment the gentlewoman reserves. the gentleman from texas. mr. h

dug further into allied wallets and to our surprise and it was actually funnily enough that if mr sherman was truly so concerned about money laundering an illicit illicit financial transaction he should be very concerned with allied wallets because in two thousand and ten they were indicted and they forfeit about thirteen point three million dollars to the u.s. justice department for facilitating an illegal gambling activities oh my gosh well that is see i told all the busters that was worth waiting for it seemed like inside baseball but that was good stuff thank you kristie so definitely some seriously is it some great sleuthing right there you know that's great stuff you know i am not surprised that someone congressman says oh we should ban crip ban my mean though this is a country that once attempted to ban alcohol production and consumption let's never forget that we've got some crazy people in this country it's right. so but look it's absurd this is like banning math or banning algebra you know this is not a bannable activity and if you're going to ban it if you're in london you coul

everybody was very shocked when we heard this so upon digging we found that the top contributor to mr sherman's campaign was a company called allied wallets wallets is a credit card payment processing company and they would be rendered obsolete if digital currency was truly the future of money so that they were very right to be. scared about this hearing and so with that everybody dug further into allied wallets and to our surprise and it was actually funny atlanta that if mr sherman was truly so concerned about money laundering and illicit illicit financial transaction he should be very concerned with allied wallets because in two thousand and ten they were indicted and they forfeit about thirteen point three million dollars to the u.s. justice department for facilitating an illegal gambling activities oh my gosh well that is see i told all the ball busters that was worth waiting for it seemed like inside baseball but that was good stuff thank you kristie so definitely some seriously isn't it some great sleuthing right there you know that's great stuff you know i am not surprised that someone

mr. sherman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. sherman: i thank the gentlelady for yielding. i'd like to thank my colleague from georgia, mr. loudermilk, for working with me on this bill, titled the building up independent lives and dreams, or build, act. this has been a collaborative process and i'm pleased to serve as the chief democratic sponsor. we've heard from a variety of chapters of habitat for humanity, they are having ifficulty dealing with the new tila-respa integrated disclosure form, chiefly because they don't have the software to deal with that form. the new form is a good form, the old form or forms were pretty good as well. but what's really good for the consumer in this case is that they're getting a 0% loan. if you are a nonprofit organization, providing the new homeowner with a 0% loan, you have the flexibility to either use the new form or to use the old form. the new form is good. the old forms were pretty good too. 0% loan is very good for the consumer. so this bill is supported by habitat for humanity interna

mr. sherman -- thank you mr. chairman. >> we wish you the very best, and secretary thank you from rhode island. when we talk about cyber activity from the russians we are focusing on the attempt to hack election systems. also the storm information. -- storing information, what is being done to that and what is the primary jurisdiction? >> as i said early on, we look at things through technical hacking and the operation, we have supporting state and local government leaks. sorry, hacking space. the fbi has encountered foreign interference in the information operation space. we do support the fbi's efforts. across the intelligence community. >> would you like to add? >> they really do have the best information, particularly on information warfare. >> what is the level of cooperation with the fbi? >> recently we had a meeting in february with the office of the director of national intelligence, the fbi, and the department of homeland security. which was incredibly helpful to the secretary states across the country.

mr. sherman for an opening statement, 2 1/2 minutes. >> lot chain is a good technology, but it can be used to track anding target sovereign currency. there is nothing that can be done with cryptocurrency that cannot be done with sovereign currency that is meritorious and helpful to society. the role of the u.s. dollar in an international financial system is a critical component of u.s. power. it brought iran to the negotiating table and then we argue about whether we got a good enough deal or not to the jcpoa, we would have nothing if it had not been for the role of the dollar. we should prohibit u.s. persons for buying or mining cryptocurrencies. mining alone uses electricity, which takes away from other needs and adds to the carbon footprint. as a medium of exchange, cryptocurrency accomplishes nothing except facility narcotics trafficking, terrorism, and tax evasion. some of its supporters delight in that. that if you can disempower the u.s. government from being able to prevent terrorism, narcotics trafficking and tax evasion, you have somehow struck a blow to liberty. that is within e

mr. sherman, welcome back to the show, sir. >> thanks, chuck. >> so let's start with why didn't bill shineet a job after fox and before the white house? >> well, you know, he -- sean hannity has been lobbying the president to bring shine into the white house. it has been something that hannity has pushed for. shine was reluctanreluctant, ac to my sources close to shine. his family was reluctant about him stepping into the public eye after so publicly leaving fox news under a cloud of scandal. but the president remained determined and courted him and ultimately of course was successful in bringing him in this week. >> this is a relatively new relationship, though. the president's relationship was with rupert and roger. >> yeah. >> how did -- i mean so this was a sean hannity sort of connection here. >> yeah. >> when did they connect? when do you get the sense that the president said, yeah, to borrow a pun, took a shine to bill shine? >> going back to the campaign, of course, trump had a relationship with shine. it wasn't close. his primary relationship was with roger ailes. but through the

mr. sherman. >> thank you for the comments about i insurance and i will probably disagree with many of these things. thank you for returning where you will be independent and accountable, tall and short but plays an interesting role. first is the crypto currencies. you and we should have the courage to ban them. they are an investment with no investor protection and they take the willingness to invest in favor to them and engage in gambling but the currencies don't pay gambling taxes. as a medium of exchange, they offer no advantages over the regular currencies unless you are a terrorist, narcotics dealer or tax evader there is no positive role. role. a lot of discussion in here about who deserves credit for the good economy. let me point out since dodd frank, 17 million jobs have been created, 15 million of them under obama and 2 million under trump, that is 15,000,002,000,000. the trump administration claims credit for the last three months of the obama presidency that obama was president until january, 2017 but the policies remained all through 2017. dodd frank, the tax sheet and be enfor

mr. sherman, ms. bass and ms. frankel all have talked about horrific abuse of gang violence in honduras and guatemala, in el salvador and mexico. i don't think these countries are full of gang violence, are they? they're not all gang members, right? >> of course. >> and yet we've heard horrible stories. in fact, we heard about jose and brian whose mom was raped and murdered, so they came to this country because, quote, so much was available. the people there are good people, right? likewise what we haven't heard of is that any gang members might leave that scope and took here. do we have reason to believe that some of the people coming into this country illegally could also be gang members? could that be? mathematically speaking, just. >> do you think it's possible. >> i mean, in the realm of possibility, a lot of things can remember. just like a door being closed skppsd -- it might also be part of a solution, while it's not a pani cea rgs por these just over 100 poechl under the age of 5, but not within the purvi

mr. sherman.me just note from some of the comments we've had so far that this condemnation of our president for the policies that we now have in terms of people who are coming to our country illegally and separation of families, let us note that policy was in place and put in place during the obama administration. i consider that thing going out of president today is very political. i didn't hear any of the complaints coming from that side of the aisle during the obama administration when the policies were exactly the same. with that said, i have somewhat of a disagreement over the idea of using the word migration. maybe we could tell me what is the population of latin america. >> i don't know off the top of my head what the population of latin america is. >> okay. >> i think these are fundamental that people need to know when they're talking about migration. were talking about, were not talking about 10 million people, were not about 50 million peopl people, were talking about hundreds of million

here mr.you for being sherman. -- mr. chairman.ere having aere conversation with secretary mnuchin. when i raise issues, they relate representfact that i a rural part of the state of missouri. i had a town hall meeting in missouri two weeks ago and bought in the canadian council general to talk with the farmers in my district. standing room crowd. nobody supported what was going on. many of the farmers are questioning whether they should allow beans to just stay in the fields this year. the prices continuing to fall since the tariffs were implemented. concerned about whether or not the harm could spread and do damage to the economy. it stands to reason at the damaged, if the crop is , as it apparently is, there has to be a rippling effect. aboutondering, talking some farm products from our state, china buys 60 billion a year in soybeans. just soybeans. from us. from the united states. feel -- just deal with the 60 billion, is there thee to be concerned about damage other parts of the economy could experience? >> the answer would be

mr. sherman. >> thank you for being here, mr. secretary.eople in my district face very high housing costs in the greater los angeles area. and they long for that time when they can actually own a home. and the fha is what they rely on, and there's been discussions at fha to lower the total amount you can get on a mortgage, what is sometimes called the loan limit and basically make that program unavailable to people in the san fernando valley. please tell me this isn't going to happen, that you'll at least keep the loan limit where it is. -- high cost areas around the country, including the ten biggest cities. >> right. as you know there's a formula for determining the high and the low level of the loan limit, you know, 150% versus 65, but the good news for you is those loan limits are set by congress and not by hud. >> can i count on you to guide congress to at least keeping the loan limits where they are? >> i have no problem working with you on where the loan limits should be. >> i will take that as a yes and go on. [laughter] >> there's

mr. sherman is now recognized. >> thank you for being here, mr. secretary.people in my district face high housing costs in the greater los angeles area and they long for that time where they can own a home. the fha is what they rely on and there has been discussions at the fha to lower the total amount you can get on a mortgage what is sometimes called the loan limit and basically make that program unavailable to people in the san fernando valley. please tell me this is not going to happen that you will at least keep the loan limit where it is. >> as you know there's a formula for determining the high and the low level limit. the good news for you is those loan limits are set by congress and not by hud. >> can i count on you to guide congress to at least keep the low limits for they are smart. >> i have no problem working with you on where the loan limits should be. >> i will take that as a yes and go on. there has been a source of confusion for lenders with regard to the eligibility of various down payment assistance programs particularly those that involve

mr. brad sherman of california. >> good to see you, acting assistant secretary and ambassador. raises the question, when is that administration going to appoint a permanent assistant secretary for south and central asia as the administration indicated that? >> secretary pompeo and he testified indicated that he would be moving soon to make appointments including for that-- >> did he criticize or apologize for the fact that throughout the tenure of his predecessor no one had been nominated to a position as important as the one you are acting in? >> i'm grateful both under secretary tiller's and then secretary pompeo i've been given full-- >> but still the word acting in front of your title undercuts what you do, the uncertainty of whether you will keep doing it if the administration doesn't have the wisdom to simply give you the position. i would be asking this question. as i understand some 30 personnel positions were cut between the south central asia office and the special representative for afghanistan and pakistan. is there any question those cuts will be restored? >> is th

mr. sherman. >> i commend the gentleman from wisconsin and the chair of the fed about their comments about insurance and i'll probably disagree with many other things. thank you for returning where you'll be independent and accountable, tall and short, the fed plays an interesting role. first is the cryptocurrencies. you and we should have the courage to ban them. as an investment, they're an investment with no investor protection and they take the animal spirits, willingness to invest, divert them from the real economy and instead engage in what is basically gambling. many jurisdictions support gambling only if there is local taxations but cryptocurrencies don't pay gambling taxes. as a medium of exchange, cryptocurrencies offer no advantage ises over regular currencies unless you're a terrorist, narcotics dealer or tax evader. there is no positive role for us for cryptocurrencies. a lot ref discussion in here about who deserves credit for the good economy. let me point out. since dodd/frank, 17 million jobs have been created. 15 million of them under obama, 2 million under trump. that's

mr. jack edward sherman a longtime resident of shelby, illinois, in my district, an advocate for former military men and women throughout the nation and chairman of the veterans advisories committee and i'm proud to say, my friend. mr. shimkus: he joined the navy in 1959, rose that the to the rank of yeoman third class before disability cut short his service hsm made his way to illinois nand 1976, married nancy, and they raised two daughters. as chairman thoif veterans advisory committee he's led our meetings for years, being a valuable experience and perspective. unfortunately his health declined to the point where his mobility is limited and doctors declare he should no longer live on his own which is what he has done since his beloved wife passed away in 2016. jack is now in mississippi, thanks to the u.s. department of veterans' affairs, which located a suitable residence for him near the home of one of his daughters. members of my veterans advisory committee and i will miss jack. we want to thank him for his tremendous service throughout the years an wish him the best of health an happiness

mr. president? will you publicly contem vladimir putin? >> all right. joining me now is nbc's hans nichols. live at the without and gabe sherman. again, i want to be careful here, hans. we were talking yesterday when it happened. i truly don't believe the president clarified anything. he further muddled it. because if you were listening to the whole press conference, it's no the believable that if the president meant to say wound instead of would, as katie said to you and me yesterday afternoon that would assume the rest of us were listening to the press conference with ear plugs in. there's nothing-dp -- what he s about russia not being responsibility was consistent with everything else. >> he reviewed that press conference transcript once and watched the tape. so by implication, the president has endorsed everything else he said in that press conference. let's take a look at some of the sames th statements that came out. do they believe president trump has clarified the position. when you say i hold both countries responsible, i think that the united states has been foolish. there's one on the mueller probe. it's a disaster f

mr. stewart: i grew up to believe all people are equal, all people are born equal, my father was a line sherman, i grew up in a working-class family. there is not a racist bone in my body. i'm an eagle scout, i believe in a equal opportunity for all. someone came out, i did not know at the time, i meet hundreds of people. you should know that. i disavowed them. everyone of them. every single time we have come across someone like that but you know what? he has not. the same standard has not been held, you in the media have failed, you have not held them accountable for the people who are anti-semitic and bigoted. he has someone in the city of charlottesville who is an open racist. congressmen, a democratic nominee for congress in the fifth district, leslie cockburn, who wrote a book where she actually believes, she stated that somehow jewish people in this country of taken over america's foreign policy. she said that jewish people were a menace, israelis were a menace, she congratulated saddam hussein for attacking israel with scud missiles and killing israeli children. and yet, not only has he

mr. trump won the election and he is going to win again. take ae are going to break and when we come back, we will talk to brad sherman, democrat of californiand member of the foreign affairs committee and then later on, republican congresswoman claudia tenney. we will be right back. ♪ >> sunday night on cue and this woman discusses her memoir, "daughter of the cold war." >> i met putin. i was running my business consultant firm, i had a client that wanted something to do with the st. petersburg firm. they substituted the deputy mayor. was annoyed that i was not meeting with the mayor, but i knew that putin had been kgb and i was negative. he came in, he was equally negative and did not want to meet with some american woman who ran a business. he was very suspicious. he had no gallantry and he was the coldest -- he had the coldest eyes i've ever seen. very big, blue cold eyes. all i can think of was, i wonder what would happen if he was interrogating to me. >> sunday night at 8:00 eastern on c-span. washington journal continues. host: back at our table this morning, democrat of california. congressman, the president said he was clarifying hi