mr. babin: thank you mr. chairman. my amendment is similar in nation to the one just -- nature to the one just offered so i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks to ensure that my strong support for the nuke -- excuse me, for the defense nuclear proliferation program and the good work of the committee to properly fund it is once again reflected in the record. the chair: without objection, so ordered. mr. babin: i rise to offer this second amendment to the energy and water appropriations bill, to make clear to iran that -- and the world that the complete intrusive inspections of all iranian sites are non-negotiable and must be part of any deal with iran. my amendment adds this section to the end of the bill. none of the funds made available in this act under the heading defense nuclear nonproliferation may be made available to enter into new contracts with or new agreements for federal assistance to the islamic republic of iran, except for contracts or agreements that include authority for the internatio

chairman smith: thank you, mr. babin. let me thank all of our witnesses today. this has been an exceptionally good hearing. i want to say to you all, it is a credit to the significance of the subject that we had 20 members here at this hearing. that is probably a new record any time but it is certainly a new record for a 9:00 in the morning hearing. again, i appreciate your presence. hydraulic fracturing has occurred safely for decades and is largely responsible for an improved economy, less reliance on middle eastern oil. given its history and importance to our economy attempts to regulate the process should be based on sound science and not science fiction. the record will remain open for two weeks for written questions and comments from members. again, i thank the members and the witnesses and we stand adjourned. >> thank you mr. chairman. >> she was considered modern for her time. called mrs. president by her detractors and was outspoken by her views on slavery and women's rights. she provides a unique window into colonial america and her personal life. abig

chairman smith: thank you, mr. babin. let me thank all of our witnesses today.s been an exceptionally good hearing. i want to say to you all, it is a credit to the significance of the subject that we had 20 members here at this hearing. that is probably a new record any time but it is certainly a new record for a 9:00 in the morning hearing. again, i appreciate your presence. hydraulic fracturing has occurred safely for decades and is largely responsible for an improved economy, less reliance on middle eastern oil. it attempts to regulate should be based on sound signs and not science fiction. the record will remain open for witnesses and mex. we stand adjourned. -- witnesses. we stand adjourned. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015] captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption contents and accuracy. visit ncicap.org >> there will be a new attorney general later this morning. today's swearing in makes her the first african american woman

. >> thank you and the other gentleman from texas, mr. babin is recognized. >> thank you, mr. chairman, appreciate it. and chairman craddick for your leadership. thank you all you witnesses for being here today. thank you ms. craddick for your leadership of the railroad commission of texas. texas has provided about 50% of the jobs in the country over the last six years. and i think fracking has been a huge contributor to that. in more ways than one. but i represent the 36th district in texas, in southeast texas. there was an incident in 2012 where an individual claimed that the water from their garden hose lit on fire. as it turned out, a texas district court found out that the individual had coordinated this stunt with an environmental activist to deceive. in this case the hose was attached to the gas line. how does your commission respond to these types of claims when you hear about this? >> if somebody complains that they believe their well -- water is on fire, we're going to go out there and inspect it first and foremost. get the facts. if there really is a problem, we're

the clerk: amendment number 1 offered by mr. babin of texas. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 223, the gentleman from texas, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. babin: thank you, mr. chairman. i rise to offer an amendment to terminate the v.a.'s abused appraised value offer program. so that these funds can be used to better serve the needs of our nation's veterans rather than v.a. bureaucrats. the v.a. spent nearly 300,000 -- $300,000 of taxpayer money to move a v.a. employee 140 miles. specifically from washington, d.c. to philadelphia. that's $300,000 that could have been used to care for numerous deserving veterans who have served this nation in uniform. but instead was spent to move someone 140 miles. at the request of the house veterans' affairs committee, the department of veterans affairs office of inspector general is investigating this abuse. and here is what we've learned so far. under the v.a.'s appraised value offer program, the v.a. paid more than $80,000 to one of

mr. babin: today the house will pass a series of bills to end this abuse and we invite the u.s. senate and the president to join us. our bills will protect the hardworking taxpayers and hold the i.r.s. employees accountable. we create a taxpayer bill of rights, ensuring the american taxpayers are treated with the respect that they deserve. we will take steps to end the politicization of the i.r.s. which abusively and illegally targeted conservative american citizens from lost emails to refusing to testify before congress the i.r.s. abuses must end. i urge my colleagues to support these commonsense bills to bring transparency and accountability to this run away agency. thank you, mr. chairman. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. hahn: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in solidarity with the nigerian people who are still

mr. babin: as we celebrate 179 years of freedom, let us remember the brave texas heroes who concurred the mexican forces -- conquered the mexican forces this day. may we also remember the significant sacrifices made by so many during the texas revolution. to achieve the freedoms and liberties that we proudly enjoy today in our great lone star state. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. pascrell: as the united states continues to work with japan to promote peace and prosperity throughout the asia-pacific region, and the broader global community it's my hope that the prime minister visit his -- his visit next week will lay the foundation for healing and humble reconciliation by addressing the historical issue of the comfort woman. i looked for to hearing from the prime minister as japan is a close friend and ally