mr. cartwright. on may 14, 2013, inspector general russell george released a report stating irs employees used inappropriate criteria to screen out tax-exempt status. republican and democratic members including myself condemn the irs mismanagement identified in the inspector general's report. the concern expressed by some members had even begun to investigate, chairman issa went on national television and declared the irs was involved in the targeting of the president's political enemies. the inspector general has repeatedly refuted this base lot allegation. he reported that senior leaders at the irs said the criteria were not influenced by any organization outside the irs. then on may 17th, 2013, the inspector general was asked before a ways and means committee, quote, did you find any evidence of political motivation in the selection of tax exemption applicants? his response, he responded, quoit, we did not, sir. after interviewing 42 employees in the irs, treasury department and doj and receiving

mr. cartwright said, but we do know ms. lerner gave a speech eight days after that meeting and said everybody is asking me to fix it. >> i thank the chair. since we are putting stuff in the record, i would ask unanimous consent that the full transcript of the staff interview with the director of the election branch of doj -- >> i object. mr. chairman, is not the policy of this committee to put transcripts in the entirety out. i respect the gentleman's right to take any and all pertinent areas, but putting questions and answers of transcripts has proven to be used to coach witnesses, and the coaching of witnesses later on i'm sure mr. cole would tell you is not productive in an investigation. >> mr. chairman, i have a second unanimous consent request. since we do not want to cherry pick around here, i was simply trying to avoid that because i know that the committee chair frowns on that. that this may 29, 2014 interview with the chief of doj's public integrity section also be entered into the record. >> again, i object and l

mr. cartwright. thank you mr. chair. speaking of things that would be nice to know, things not disclosed. mr. koskinen, i asked the chairman of this full committee who the witnesses are supposed to be next wednesday from the irs. he declined to tell me. he declined to tell me who he even knew the witnesses would be next week. have you been informed who the witnesses sought for next week's hearing will be. >> i had no idea that the committee was going to hold another hearing next week. >> would you agree with me that those are among the things that would be nice to know. >> it's always nice to know when i'm supposed show up for a hearing. i didn't even know if i'm supposed to show up next wednesday. >> let's delve into the irs forensic lab together. there were comments about scratches on hard drives. that's not my area on expertise but we did have an analyst from the irs criminal investigation unit said he did not find anything suspicious about how it got an ms. lerner's hard drive. the analyst said he tried to recover he

mr. cartwright said, but we do know ms.lerner gave a speech eight days after that meeting and said everybody is asking me to fix it. i thank the chair. since we are putting stuff in the record, i would ask unanimous consent that the full transcript of the staff interview with the director of the election branch of doj -- >> i object. mr. chairman, is not the policy of this committee to put transcripts in the entirety out. i respect the gentleman's right to take any and all pertinent areas, but putting questions and answers of transcripts has coach to be used to witnesses, and the coaching of witnesses later on i'm sure mr. cole would tell you is not productive in an investigation. mr. chairman, i have a second unanimous consent request. want to cherry pick around here, i was simply trying to avoid that because i know that the committee chair frowns on that. that this may 29, 2014 interview with the chief of doj's public integrity section also be entered into the record. >> again, i object and lets the gentle man can cite ap

mr. cartwright and i have both filed a formal complaint. and i'd be glad to share it with the chairman. >> with all due respect then you should be advocating that we get access to the witnesses. >> maybe a new inspector general is the answer. >> relative to this was somehow miss management. 80% of the applicants in backlog were conservative. the irs did not approve a single tax-exempt application by a tea party groom from may 2010 to 2012. during the same time they approved dozens of liberal and progressive groups. if it was miss management, it was mismanagement in a targeted way. >> mr. chairman, i have a memo from gregory kurtz saying targeted is actually not accurate. i also have materials that were presented to irs for training that have elephants and donkeys, tea party, patriots. they have progressive. >> 298 cases in the irs backlog. only three had the word progressive. none use the word occupy. no progressive word was denied c4 status. hundreds of conservative, tea party groups, and some still waiting, just for the record. >> i guess

mr. cartwright? >> thank you, mr. chairman. i agree with dr. miller's analysis. i think the mail volume, especially for the standard mail, is so sensitive to prices that the postal service is not about to try to jack up that price. you know, the notion of a monopoly position is -- it's not as much, it's not as hard a monopoly as some monopolies are. i applaud s 1486 for the reforms in the price cap. i'm on record in previous writings for lifting the price cap and making adjustments. i think the postal service needs that flexibility. i think the postal regulatory commission has a role to play in reviewing the reasonableness of those, but to do it ahead of time is just, as vicky kennedy was saying, we need to be nimble enough, the postal service does, to make the adjustments. fuel costs can go up. we saw surcharges put on fed ex and ups when there was a spike in gasoline prices. the postal service doesn't have that flexibility. i think they need it. i think it's fine to review it after the fact and i think the new legislation has that exactly right. >> thank you, s

mr. cartwright? >> thank you, mr. chairman. i agree with dr. miller's analysis. i think the mail volume, especially for the standard mail, is so sensitive to prices that the postal service is not about to try to jack up that price. you know, the notion of a monopoly position is -- it's not as much, it's not as hard a monopoly as some monopolies are. i applaud s 1486 for the reforms in the price cap. i'm on record in previous writings for lifting the price cap and making adjustments. i think the postal service needs that flexibility. i think the postal regulatory commission has a role to play in reviewing the reasonableness of those, but to do it ahead of time is just, as vicky kennedy was saying, we need to be nimble enough, the postal service does, to make the adjustments. fuel costs can go up. we saw surcharges put on fed ex and ups when there was a spike in gasoline prices. the postal service doesn't have that flexibility. i think they need it. i think it's fine to review it after the fact and i think the new legislation has that exactly right. >> thank you, s

mr. cartwright? ms. duckworth? >> thank you, mr. chairman. i'm reading the opening statement of the above ranking member card right. and also thank you deputy general call for testifying today. on may 14, 2013 inspector general russell george released a report stating that irs employees had the use and deployment -- tax except status. republican and democratic members including myself condemned the us this management identified in the inspector general's report. despite legitimate concerns expressed by some members before this committee that he began to investigate, chairman issa went on national television to declare the irs was involved in the targeting of the president's political enemies. the inspector general has repeatedly refuted this baseless allegation. he reported that senior leaders at the irs said the criteria were not influenced by any individual or organization outside the irs. then on may 17, 2013, the inspector general was asked before a ways and means committee, quote, to find any evidence of political motivation in the selec

mr. cartwright. >> i would like to associate myself with the words of the ranking mechanical b ining memb. >> miss duckworth. >> no. >> miss kelly. >> absolutely not. >> mr. davis. mr. welch votes no. mr. cardenas. >> no. >> mr. horseford. >> no. >> miss grisham votes no. >> all members voted? the clerk will call -- >> on that vote, sir, 14 -- 19 ayes. 14 nos. >> the resolution rejecting the claim that david psimos is immune from being compelled to testify before congress on matters related to his official duties is approved and we stand adjourned. >>> now a live picture from capitol hill as a house foreign affairs subcommittee is meeting to discuss u.s. policy toward north korea. among the witnesses this afternoon, two state department representatives we do expect this to start in just a moment. live coverage on c-span3. >>> good afternoon and welcome to the afternoon subcommittee hearing. i want to thank ami for serving as today's ranking member again. also thank our distinguished witnesses from being here this afternoon. it's taken six months for our schedules to align so we hope this

mr. cartwright just referenced. ms. lois lerner said, everyone, fix it now before the elections. what we do know is that there was a speech eight days after that meeting. >> mr. chairman, unanimous consent request. >> i thank the chair. since we are putting stuff on the record i would ask unanimous consent that the full transcript of the staff interview with the director of the election compliance manager at doj -- >> i object. it is not the policy of this committee to but transcripts in entirety. i respected temin's right to take any and all pertinent areas, but putting the questions and answers in transgress has been proven to be used to coach witnesses. in the coaching of witnesses later on, i'm sure mr. kohl will tell you, is not productive and an investigation. >> the gentleman from california >> mr. chairman, i have a second unanimous consent request. i would further ask sense we do not want to cherry pick around here -- i was simply trying to avoid that because i know the committee chair frowns on that. may 29, 2014, interview with the chief of doj public integrity section

mr. cartwright just referenced. miss lerner said, everyone's screaming at us right now, fix it now before the election. what we do know is that miss lerner gave a speech eight days after that meeting and said, everybody's asking me to fix it. >> unanimous consent request? >> i think the chair -- i would ask it's a full transcript of the staff interview with the director of doj. i object -- >> it is not the policy of this committee to put transcripts in their entirety out. i respect the gentleman's right to take any and all pertinent areas, but putting the questions and answers of transcripts has been proven to be used to coach witnesses. and the coaching of witnesses later on, i'm sure mr. cole would tell you is not productive in an investigation. >> gentleman from california? >> i would just. i have a second unanimous consent request. i would further ask, since we don't want to cherry pick around here, i was trying to avoid that. i know that the committee chair frowns on that. the may 2014 interview would also be e

mr. cartwright, not at all. this is not something we would be doing. we are looking if there are criminal cases to be made or not, that's it. >> not aware of any screaming? >> no screaming. >> and you didn't do any screaming yourself? >> i did not. >> when the president of the united states makes a speech, does that have bearing or influence? >> on a criminal investigation by the department? >> the president gives speeches all the time. he will sometimes talk in a way even with foreign heads of state. when the president talks, does that have meeting or influence? >> as a basic matter, it it certainly can. a president gives an interview in his not telling a joke, he is commenting on a serious matter, that has influence, that has impact, that has significance, correct? >> not on a criminal investigation. >> i'm just asking in general. you are a smart guy, you are at the justice department full stop on the president talks, it has impact. >> it can. is thehould, he president of the united states, the greatest country in the world. they should have impact.

mr. cartwright and i filed a formal complaint. i'll be glad to share with the chairman. >> with all due respect, then you should be advocating we should have access to the witnesses. >> well, maybe a new inspector general is maybe the answer. >> well, other than mismanagement, 80% were filed by advocate groups. according to the ways and means committee, the i.r.s. approved every single group with the word progressive in their name. the i.r.s. didn't approve an application filed by a tea party group from may, 2010, to may, 2012. they approved dozens of liberal groups. if it was mismanagement it was mismanagement in a targeted way because none of the treatment to conservative groups was given to -- mr. chairman, i have a memo from gregory kurtz saying targeting was not accurate. i have materials that were presented to i.r.s. that have elephants and donkeys, they have tea party, they have patriots -- >> 98 cases in the i.r.s. backlog, only three had the word progressive. four use the word progress, none use the word occupy. no progre

mr. cartwright. >> thank you commissioner for coming here today. we schedule these things on these little do hick e doo hick and it asks if you want to make be this a recurring thing and at this point i want to say yes. i am concerned that the hearings are no longer using these hearings for what happened in the report. this seems to be something different. and i want to say, we all ought to agree that the point of this committee, the oversight in government reform committee is not publicly to harass federal agency heads, mr. koskonen. it is to conduct responsible oversight of the legitimate, critical issues within our jurisdiction. i believe that these repeated hearings that we're seeing today are both an abuse of authority and a dereliction of this committee's duty. i think it's abundantly clear that chairman issa and chairman camp are in some kind of taxpayer funded footrace over who can make the first headlines about lois lerner's lost e-mails. and we heard about a go for a timeline. and we ought to look at that timeline, because it was on june

mr. cartwright. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you for coming in today. we schedule these things on these little things. it asks you if you want to make this a recurring entry. [laughter] when i see the commissioner, i want to say yes. is the conduct responsible oversight of the legitimate critical issues within our jurisdiction. i believe these repeated hearings that we are seeing today are both and abusive authority and a dereliction of this committee's duty. i think it is abundantly clear that the chairman are in some kind of taxpayer-funded foot race over who can make the first headline about lthe lost e-mails. we ought to look at that time line because it was on june 16 shortly after chairman camp of the ways and means announced he would be holding a hearing with you, commissioner, on june 24 that chairman issa of this committee issued a unilateral subpoena. chairman camp move his hearing up to june 20. it is something like a children's fairytale that we are looking at here. chairman issa is no longer allowed staff on the ways and means committee to

. >> thank you so much, general cartwright and mr. wehrey. >>> how does the u.s. prepare to keep our personnel safe on the ground despite the threats they face? earlier this year, my colleague martha raddatz got a rare inside look at the intense training. >> we have a hallway down here. >> reporter: in the fictional country of erehwon, that's nowhere spelled back wards -- >> all vehicles down. all vehicles down. >> reporter: they're in the tenth and final week of hostile environment training. even though this is an exercise, the memory on benghazi hangs over it all. the training is challenging. physically and mentally. agents must prove themselves in 160 essential tasks. from the hard skills like shooting. and driving. to the soft skills. communications. >> go for concert. >> reporter: planning, and preparing for every possible threat. >> guys, we have to move. >> hesitation kills in an attack. their actions need to be crisp. and this training brings it all together. >> move it! >> reporter: agents must work through stress and fatigue, solving complex problems wit