mr. carney. do you want to maybe try the one next to you, mr. carney? there we go. we have a live one. >> me or the mic? >> both of you. >> i hope this doesn't mean i have to sound as smart as mr. foster. mr. chairman, ranking member waters, thank you for opportunity to ask a few questions. mr. director, welcome back to the committee of we certainly miss your common sense and straight talk here and personally, i miss your north carolina drawl over my right shoulder most of the time during the hearings. you have said several times that you're not going to comment on the specifics gse reform, that is a legislative responsibility but you have made some public comments on whether it is necessary or not. could you comment for us now about the sustainability of the current situation what we should be concerned about and your thoughts on that without going into any specifics about what we should do? >> well there is nothing worse i found in area of the market than uncertainty and, the longer this drags out, the more uncertainty there is. so you have that risk. and imperati

mr. carney? >> there we go. we've got a live one. >> me or the snik. >> both of you. >> i hope this doesn't mean i have to sound as smart as mr. foster. mr. chairman, ranking members, thank you for the opportunity to answer a few questions. mr. director welcome back to the committee. we certainly miss your common sense and straight talk here. and personally i miss your north carolina drawl over my right shoulder during the hearings. you have said several times you're not going to comment on the specifics of gse reform. that's a legislative responsibility. you have made public comments on whether it's necessary or not. could you comment for us now about the sustainability of the current situation what we should be concerned about and your thoughts on that without going into specifics about what we should do? >> well, there's nothing worse i have found in this area of the market than uncertainty and and the longer this drags out, the more uncertainty there is so you have that risk and imperative for congress to do

mr. carney: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to honor the 50th anniversary of the voting rights march from selma to montgomery and to urge my colleagues to pass voting rights legislation in congress. in 1960 there were only 66,000 african-americans registered to vote in alabama. in 1965 there were 15,000 black residents where selma is located, but fewer than 200 were registered to vote. african-americans who attempted to vote faced intimidation discrimination and worse. the voting rights act of 1965 and the unrelenting efforts of heroes like our colleague, john lewis helped correct these unjustices. but the fight isn't over. state legislation, ballot initiatives and court cases across the country in recent years have jeopardized the voter registration protections that john lewis and others fought so hard for. so we need to stay vigilant and we need new legislation today. so as we celebrate black history month, let's recognize how far we've come let's pass voting rights legislation in this congress for the good of th

mr. carney: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker i rise today to urge my colleagues to pass legislation that limits the role of money in politics. since the citizens united decision in 2010, the role of fundraising and spending in political campaigns has gotten even more out of control than it was before. that's why i introduced the constitutional amendment, h.j.r. 24, that allows congress and the states to rein in campaign contributions. it's also why i co-sponsored the disclose act the government by people's act and the democracy for all amendment. all designed to limit the influence of money in our political system. the american people need to know that their elected officials are here to serve them and not big campaign contributors. the overwhelming amount of money spent on campaigns weakens people's faith in our political system. mr. speaker, i urge house leadership to take up legislation to address this issue. we need to change our laws to get money out of politics and keep our focus on where it belongs, doing the righ

commissioner carney. >> thank you. mr.n sort of rural areas and were on reserve duty. it wasn't tricare exactly. it was more like try to find care. and this takes care of that. what we're offering now is a system that provides a network that is robust enough to care not only for the member when they are on their civilian side but also for the families when the member is deployed. that's exactly what we're trying to do here and do it in a way that is fiscally sustainable. medical readiness are critical as sects of the overall readiness mission. if we can do this with a tricare choice system, then i think this is a good step forward. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. >> thank you, mr. chairman. >> to my good friend steve buyer who i used to sit next to i agree with you except i'm more concerned about today's war than i am the war after next. right now is when we're having the problems that we're having. and we had a hearing last week. we had slesen jer, we had george schultz, madeleine all bright. and they reminisced abo

commissioner carney. >> thank you. mr. reed, those of us who lived in sort of rural areas and were on reserve duty. it wasn't tricare exactly. it was more like try to find care. and this takes care of that. what we're offering now is a system that provides a network that is robust enough to care not only for the member when they are on their civilian side, but also for the families when the member is deployed. that's exactly what we're trying to do here and do it in a way that is fiscally sustainable. medical readiness are critical as sects of the overall readiness mission. if we can do this with a tricare choice system, then i think this is a good step forward. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. >> thank you, mr. chairman. >> to my good friend steve bouer who i used to sit next to, i agree with you except i'm more concerned about today's war than i am the war after next. right now is when we're having the problems that we're having. and we had a hearing last week. we had schlesinger, we had george schultz, madeleine al

and i'm going to ask commissioner carney to talk to the specifics of that. >> thank you mr. chairman. once again, you know, with my colleague right here to my right the holistic approach that we took to consider the retirement and to make sure that we first of all did no harm. was one of the mandates given us to. and and senator kerrey also mentioned something very important. and that is that we don't try and balance the bank on the backs of the military. and we tried to not do that. so in terms of specifics, some of the programs that we -- and we could talk about this in further committees later on if you want to. but when we talk about ramp programs. so we don't transition automatically into something that might cost a little more to a retiree or the service member. that they would be built you will over 15 years for example. but one of the things that we thought was vitally important in all this things we recommend is a good sense of financial literacy. so if our recommendations are adopted there would be a very robust financial literacy component for all the troops. and

and i'm going to ask commissioner chris carney to talk to the specifics of that. >> thank you, mr. chairman. once again, you know, with my colleague right here to my right, the holistic approach that we took to consider the retirement and to make sure that we, first of all, did no harm, one of the mandates given to us. and, you know and senator kerrey also mention the something very important and that is that we don't try and balance the bank on the backs of the military and we try not to do that. so in terms of specifics, some of the programs, and we can talk about this in further committees later on if you want to, but when we talk about ramp programs, we don't transition automatically into something that might cost a little more to a retiree or service member that there would be build ups over 15 years for example. but one of the things that we thought was vitally important, in all the things that we recommend, is a good since of financial literacy. so if our recommendations are adopted, there would be a very robust financial literacy component for all the troops. and that start

i'm going to ask commissioner carney if he would respond, and then very quickly, senator i would like to add mr. higgins to follow up as well. >> i have just one final question to add to that as well. i would also be curious, if you were to limit fssa, how many service members would be enrolled in snap and if we have any kind of estimate what the increased cost would be. >> senator, right now the number of enrollees is somewhere between 2,000 and 22,000. that's the best information we received. on the ssa i think there are 285 people altogether in the military in fssa. there is also kind of a stigma attached to it as well. you have to go through your chain of command to get it, so does that impact your career somehow? a lot of things that make it probably less attractive and. now, for overseas, it may still serve a purpose. the -- it need to exist for some of our military. it's something that's easy to get, it provides nutritional value for families that require it. so either phasing out or reducing the ffsa program is not a bad idea, because snap fills in the gap very nicely. >> thank you, mr.

mr. michael higgins gentlepeter chirle, and -- general peter chirle. and i understand that senator bob kerry is snowed in in new york. and the honorable christopher carney. this year a signature issue for this committee will be thoughtful conversation of the commission's recommendations to modernize military compensation and retirement benefits. as we do, i encourage the members of this committee and my colleagues in the house and senate to keep an open mind. we are also here to hear from any military or other organizations that have constructive ideas to improve the current system. no one has a monopoly on good ideas and we all come to this debate as patriots who love our nation and its armed forces. we want to improve the quality of life for all who serve and their families. we honor the service and sacrifices of service members and their families, active duty, guard, and reserve, and we pledge to keep their well-being foremost in our thoughts. as we deliberate the commission's recommendations. upholding our sacred obligation to them does not mean resisting change. we must not shrink from the opportunity before us to create a modern system of compensa