mr. berman: such time as he may consume. mr. conyers: i want to thank the gentleman for including my remarks on the record and i'm glad that we can make this change of bringing together these deserving countries, and i hope the bipartisan efforts coming from the committee on the judiciary from both chairman smith and from senior member hourled berman, will be a foundation -- senior member, hourled berman will be a foundation to consider additional reforms that are desperately needed to help families and businesses this country. and i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. berman: from your lips -- i thank you very much. and i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. smith: we have no more speakers on this side and we are ready to yield back. if the gentleman from california doesn't have any other speakers either. mr. berman: madam speaker -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from california. mr. ber

mr. berman, if you would like to ask your question. >> a very specific question about syria. the security of chemical and biological record in syria should the assad regime fall. how real is the danger of these horrific weapons and substances leaving syria and falling into the hands of terrorists and nonterrorist group what about nonluger program to dismantle chemical weapons and technology from syria. >> keystone, what i said in 2010 was that energy security considerations exist and needed to be taken into account but that it had to be part is the legal and regulatory requirements for evaluating any pipeline application that crosses an international boundary. the state department was in the process of making determination. when it became necessary to make a decision, we did not recommend that the president say no but rather that the presidential permit for the project be denied. and with respectth interest, what we were working on was a resolution of the very strong concerns expressed by one of the states through which the pipeline would move, a state that did not have its o

mr. berman. >> thank you very much. the obama administration is the first administration to use congressionally mandated sanctions on iran in a robust way. and you deserve considerable praise for that. i know that the president and you and numerous officials at state, treasury, defense have put in literally thousands of hours trying to persuade foreign officials and foreign thousand of hours trying to persuade foreign officials and foreign business men to help isolate iran all for the purpose of implementing a policy intended to lead iran to abandon its nuclear weapons program. in that regard. i think it would be helpful to put to rest concerns of some observer s that the administration is resigned to iran becoming a nuclear threshold state. i think it's important for us to be reassured on that point. based on my understanding of the administration's policy, i think you should be able to do that. three months ago, secretary of state burns -- a joint statement was spoken of -- and a pentagon publication said that u.s. se

mr. berman? if you would like to ask your question. >> a very specific question about syria. the security of the chemical and possibly biological weapons in syria should the assad regime fall? how dangerous is it that these weapons leave syria and fall into the wrong hands and what about dismantling biological weapons from syria? >> what i said in 2010 was that energy concerns and securities needed to exist and taken into account, but it had to be part of what is the legal and regulatory requirements for evaluating any pipeline application that cross s an international boundary. the state department was in the process of making such a determination and when it became necessary to make a decision, we the did not recommend that the president say no, but rather that the presidential permit for the project at the time be denied. and with respect to the national interest, what we were, working on was a resolution of the very strong concerns expressed by one of the states through which the pipeline would with move, a state that at that time did not have itself own process, that nee

mr. berman. >> at the outset, there's some differences in our view, i would like to commend you for your hard work on north korea. today's announcement that pyongyang has agreed to freeze long range missile launches, nuclear tests and uranium enrichment seems to be an important step on the long and difficult path. we all know we have been down this road before and it does remain to be seen whether the north will keep its promises this time. but in a more general sense, i would like to -- re-establishing the united states, not just as an indispensable power, but as an indispensable partner. you have made it your mission to show the world the best of who we are as americans. eloquently and consistency -- you have elevated development alongside diplomacy and defense as a pillar of our national security. within the administration and in the halls of congress, you have fought to ensure that our diplomats and aid workers receive the recognize they need and the respect they deserve. they risk their lives every day to face -- it is important to remember that these civilian efforts are much more

mr. berman. >> thank you very much. the obama administration is the first administration to use congressionally mandated sanctions on iran in a robust way. and you deserve considerable praise for that. i know that the president and you and numerous officials at state, treasury, defense have put in literally thousands of hours trying to persuade foreign officials and foreign businessmen to respect our sanctions and to help isolate iran. in that regard, i think it would be helpful to put to rest concerns of some observers that the administration has resigned to iran's becoming a nuclear tl threshold state. three months ago the israeli deputy minister issued a joint statement that spoke of preventing iran from developing a nuclear weapons capability, end of quote. and a pentagon publication last month also said that u.s. seeks to "prevent iran's development of a nuclear weapons capability." so when senator graham yesterday asked whether the administration seeks to deny iran the ability to become a nuclear threshold state,

mr. berman? >> thank you very much, madam chairman and madam secretary. the obama administration is the first administration to use congre congressionally mandated, and you deserve considerable praise for that. i know that the and you and numerous officials president at state, at treasury have put in thousands of hours trying to persuade foreign officials and foreign businessmen to respect our sanctions and to isolate iran. all for the purpose of implementing a policy intended to lead iran to abandon their weapons program. i think it would be helpful to put to rest concerns administration is resigned to iran becoming a nuclear threshold state. i think it's very important to reassure us on that point. based on my understanding of the administration's policy, i think you should be able to do that. three months ago, on december 1, secretary of state burns and israeli deputy foreign minister issued a statement and i quote preventing iran from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability. and a pentagon publication last month says that iran seeks to, quote, prevent

mr. berman, for his opening statement. >> well, thank you very much, madam chairman, and madam secretary, welcome. thanks for being here. at the outset, there were some differences in our view. i would like to commend you for your hard work on north korea. today's announcement to pyongyang has agreed to freeze long-range missile launches, nuclear tests, and uranium enrichment activities and allow the iaea back into the country appears to be an important step on a long and difficult path. you know, the chair knows, i know, we all know that we've been down this road before, and it does remain to be seen whether the north will keep its promises this time. but in a more general sense, i'd like to recognize the tremendous commitment and dedication you have shown to reestablishing the united states, not just as an indispensable power, but as an indispensable partner. you have made it your mission to show the world the best of who we are as americans. eloquently and consistently, you have spoken up for women, for the poor, and for those who human rights and dignity had been trampled. you have el

mr. berman. >> thank you adam secretary. the obama administration is the first administration to use -- sanctions and a robust way and you deserve praise for that. i know the president you and numerous officials have put in literally thousands of hours trying to persuade foreign officials and foreign businessmen to respect our sanctions and to help isolate iran all for the purpose of implementing a policy intended to lead iran to abandon its nuclear weapons program. in that regard i think it would be helpful to put to rest concerns of some observers that the administration is resigned to iran becoming a nuclear threshold stay. i think it's important to reassure us on that point based on my understanding of the administration's policy. i think you should be able to do that. three months ago on december 1 secretary of state burns and israeli deputy foreign minister ioloni it should joint statement that spoke of in a quote preventing iran from developing a nuclear weapons capability end of quote in a pentagon publication last m