mr. coleman: thank you. [applause] mr. coleman: in closing, let me say how important it is that as americans we understand and appreciate our common heritage. this is not always the case. the congressional district that i represent in northwest missouri included a small community of excelsior springs. it was in excelsior springs at the elms hotel, to be specific, on election night in november of 1948, to which president harry truman slipped away to avoid the press and the commotion associated with such a close election. as david tells the story in his award-winning book "truman," around 6:30 p.m., the president had a ham and cheese sandwich, and a glass of buttermilk. at 9:00 p.m., he went to bed, believing he had lost the election. onmidnight he awoke, turned the radio to his bed, and heard nbc declare "do we know when or." y the winner. he went back to sleep. later, a secret service agent told the late returns and put them over the top. he had won the election. a few years ago in interest of passing on this bit of history

mr. coleman's personal finance class at plymouth whitemarsh high school. mr. leman happens to be my husband he spoke to kids about the importance of financial literacy. >> it's extremely important. i honestly really didn't know the importance until i got to the nfl. had i known at a young are age i definitely would have strived to educate myself a lot better. >> reporter: brooks puts his money where his mouth is. he spends his off season shadowing executives and upon moving to philadelphia enrolled at the blart ton school at the university of pennsylvania to complete his mba. >> knowledge is power. you know, having -- coming from humble begins and even now it's like you can always lose it so it's like understand how to manage it not just for me but for, you knowing my future generations. >> reporter: then it was time for some fun. financial football interactive a game that teaches financial concepts brandon captained one team and i captained the other. >> go man. >> that's what i'm talking about. [laughter] >> come on. >> reporter: in the end brandon's team bea

mrs. watson coleman: thank you, mr. speaker. for what feels like the first time this year, the house got to work on something that will help millions of americans, addressing the opioid crisis. my home state of new jersey is a perfect example of this epidemic in both reach and financial impact. for every four of every five new heroin users, started their drug abuse addictions with a prescription opioid. and by one estimate, new jersey 128,000ome to more than heroin addicts. in the past 10 years, heroin has claimed 5,000 lives in my state. and what we -- and we fall just short of the top 10 in the percent of health care costs, we use on those suffering with opioid addiction. both heroin and prescription painkillers are driving national crisis of lethal overdose with more than 60% of these deaths re attributed to opiate abuse. many have called many have called this an epidemic and they are absolutely right. it deserves our attention and i applaud the bipartisan work we've done this week. but while we've taken a few vital steps, th

mrs. watson coleman of new jersey. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 720, the gentlewoman from new jersey, mrs. watson coleman, and a member opposed, each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlelady from new jersey. mrs. watson coleman: thank you, mr. chair. this amendment would simply ensure that as we address what has rightly been called a epidemic we consider the unique impacts and issues of drug addiction for minority communities by adding an expert on the minority health to the task force status created by this bill. the dangers of opiate addiction are apparent across the board. abusive prescription ole yachts has contributed to a flood of cheap heroin to our communities. over the past four years we have seen 269% increase in heroin overdose deaths in white communities, but also a 213% in black communities, 137% increase in latino communities, and 236% n native american communities. with that in mind, it's important to remember that the opiate epidemic, both heroin and prescription painkill

mr. coleman was the first african-american secretary of a transportation appointed and nominated and confirmed during the ford administration and so he came at a special time and gave me counsel when i was going to the process but is a very dear friend to a judge garland. interestingly they're both honored as distinguished graduates of the harvard school of law and both clerked at the supreme court and they both have a fond and committed respect for the law and rule of law so i lift up his connection as well and finally when my wife and i came to washington we did not know a lot of people headed young daughter we met judge garland who had two daughters and their daughters gave us us a sense of the place to help us become comfortable so over the years we have gone to a host of parent teacher meetings, parent night sporting events, talking but hopes and dreams and aspirations for our daughters so i also come to say this is a good man and as a devoted husband and doting father and engaged and committed parent so i am very pleased to be here in this connected group of individuals to lift my voice

mrs. watson coleman, you are recognized. mrs. watson coleman: thank you very much. and thank you gentlemen for being here. i want to ask one question, i think it was you, mr. brainard, who said there were only a handful of really bad administrative level people. a lot of others have left. you said there is only a handful. is that 10, 12, 5? mr. brainard: less than 20. i do not know the precise number. only the people i deal with in my world. i don't speak -- strictly as an operations. i don't speak for the office of law enforcement, global strategies, or human capital. there are some different divisions women the t.s.a. -- within t.s.a. i can only speak to what i know. operations has the largest piece of the pie. mrs. watson coleman: i'll pay better attention to your organizational chart because i'm confused where people are located. i will do that. dr. livingston, you wrote in a statement you submitted for the record today, and i quote, today t.s.a. lacks the senior leadership courage to make the necessary changes so that the agency can accomplish its mission. right

mr. coleman: good evening, it is in german. i am the chairman of the board of the u.s. capital historical society and a former member from thst

watson coleman for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. good morning, gentlemen. thank you for being here. a lot of these case all the cases we are discussing were either resolved in 2014 or 2015. so these are kind of old cases. right? and so since then we have had changes in our policies and practices at the e.p.a. that would at least address allegations of misconduct that come before them in terms of resolving them and as well as administrative leave policies. is that not correct? >> yes, congresswoman, that is correct. we feel like in the last year we've made considerable progress moving forward. i would agree with the ranking member that we can always do better but we feel like we've made considerable progress in having better communication with the office of the inspector general and clearer policies on the use of administrative leave. >> could you explain sort of briefly what specifically has changed that you've informed the rank and file and the supervisors and what the process for holding them accountable, aside from just interacting with the oig. >> the i

mr. william t. coleman. he was the first african-american secretary of transportation. he was appointed, nominated, and confirmed during theford administration. and so he, too, came to the fore at a special time and he gave me counsel when i was going through the process. but he's also a very dear friend to judge garland. interestingly, they both are honored and distinguished graduates of the harvard school of law, they both clerked at the supreme court, and they both have a fond and committed respect for the law and for the rule of law. and so i lift up his connection as well. and then finally i'd just like to say this. when my wife and i came to washed -- washington, we didn't nope a lot of people. we had a young daughter, her name was bridget, and we met the garlands, who had two daughters, merrick and lynn and their daughters, rebecca and jesse, gave us a sense of the place and helped us become comfortable in the place. and so over the years we've gone to a host of parent-teacher meetings. we've gone to parents' nights, we've gone to sporting events, we have talked

mrs. watson-coleman. >> thank you mr. chairman. thank you, administrator neffenger. you have an incredibly difficult job and i'm glad you're the one that's in it. i'm very concerned about the wait times. i really do believe that the airlines by allowing people to carry two or three bags instead of one bag carrying them on the aircraft contributes to the wait -- the amount of time it takes to go through the lines. i know you need additional resources. i'm interested in knowing at some point the answer to mr. thompson's question about how many do you think that you need. i know it's uneven sometimes going through even the precheck lines where they're telling you take your shoes off and belt off. i'm like, i thought that's why i was in precheck, that i wouldn't have to do that. i'm happy that you have an academy and that you're training people now. i've got a question about this issue of partnerships. there have been a few instances where airports have threatened to privatize as alternative to federalized screeners, which i'm more comfortable with. there are articles an

mrs. watson coleman. rep. watson-coleman: thank you, mr. chairman. one quick statement to administrator mccarthy. even in the state of new jersey we have issues with high lead content, and children are being exposed. i don't know what you are doing, but i hope that when i called back to new jersey, you all are doing something there. thank you. governor, how long have you worked with chief of staff? how long has he been your chief of staff? governor snyder: i have a relatively new chief of staff. rep. watson-coleman: the chief of staff that was in this position when this occurred? governor snyder: since january 2011. rep. watson-coleman: and before that did you have any relationship with this chief of staff? governor snyder: no. rep. watson-coleman: did you have any knowledge of the serious water problems in flint, michigan, the first time he knew? governor snyder: i can't answer that question, i don't know a specific date. rep. watson-coleman: d relay on your chief of us rely on hours most of our lives to give us heads up and make sure nothing confro

mr. william coleman. he was the first african-american secretary of transportation. he was appointed, nominated and confirmed during the ford administration. so he, too, came to the ford a special time and he gave me counsel when i was going through the process. he's also a very dear friend to judge garland. for the law and for the rule of law. so i lift up his connection as well. finally, i'd just like to say this. when my u wife and i came to washington, we didn't know a lot of people. we had a young daughter. her name was bridgette. we met the garlands, who had two daughters. and their daughters gave us a sense of the place and helped us become comfortable in the place. so this is a good man. he's a devoted husband. he's a doting father. he's an engage and committed parent. so i'm just very, very pleased to be here in this connected group of individuals to lift my voice in support of judge garla garland's nomination to the united states supreme court. >> thank you very, very much. the justice nominated by ronald reagan and the other just briar nominated by preside

mrs. watson coleman: you have a very difficult job and i am glad you are the one who is in it. i'm very concerned about the wait times. i really believe that the airlines by allowing people to carry two or three bags rather than one bag contributes to the weight and the amount of time it takes to go through-line. i know you need additional resources. i'm interested in the answer to mr. thompson's question. i know that this uneven sometimes in going through the pre-check lines where they are telling you take your shoes off and take your belt off. i thought that's why i was in pre-check. so i wouldn't have to do that. i'm happy that you are training people now. i have to question about the issue partnerships. there have been a few instances where airports have threatened to privatize. as an alternative to federalize screeners which i'm more comfortable with. they're also been articles and statements that they provide marginal if any benefits in terms of providing wait times. programs versus federalized screeners. can we be certain that they would be equally as concerned with the

mrs. watson coleman. >> thank you mr. chairman. thank you administrator, you have an incredibly difficult job and i am glad that you are the one that is in it. i am very concerned about the wait times. i really do believe that the airlines and by allowing people to carry two or three bags instead of one bag went there caring one onto the aircraft contributes to the weight, the amount of time it takes to go through the lines. i know you need additional resources and i am really interested in knowing at some point the answer to mr. thompson's question about how many do you think that you need. i know that that it's uneven sometimes and going through the pre-check lines with her telling to take you to take your shoes and belt off and i thought that's why was in pre-checked i would have to do that. i'm. i'm happy that you are training people now. i have an issue in a question about this issue partnerships because there been a few incidents where airports have been to privatize as an alternative which i am more comfortable with. there h

mr. chairman. i yield back. >> the chair recognizes ms. watson coleman. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank administrator neffenger. you have an incredibly difficult job. i'm glad that you're the one that's in it. i'm very concerned about the wait times. i really do believe that the airlines by allowing people to carry two and three bags instead of one bag when they're carrying one to the -- on the aircraft contributes to the wait and the amount of time it takes to go through the lines. i know you need additional resources and i'm really interested in knowing at some point, the answer to mr. thompson's question, about how many do you think that you need. i know that it's uneven sometimes in going through even a precheck lines where they're telling you take your shoes off and take your belt off. i thought that's why i was in precheck. i wouldn't have to do that. so i'm happy you are training people now. and i've got an issue. i've got a question about this issue of partnerships. because there have been a few instances where airports have threaten to privatize as an alternative to feder

watson coleman for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman and thank you gentlemen.ll of these cases we are discussing were either resolved in 2014 or 2015. these are old cases, right? since then, we have had changes in our policies and practices at the epa that would at least, address allegations of misconduct that come before, in terms of resolving them, and as well as the administratively policy. is that not correct? >> yes, congresswoman. that is correct. in the last year we made considerable progress moving forward. i would agree with the ranking member that we can always do better, but we have made considerable progress with having better communication and clear policies on the use of administrative leave. >> can you explain briefly what specifically has changed. you informed the ranking file and the supervisors. what is the process for holding them accountable, aside from just interacting with the interaction -- we discussed with all of our employees the importance of first-line supervisors and their conduct and discipline cases. usedde sure this cannot be whe

mr. sullivan, my time is running out but ms. coleman asked you about where we go from here. clearly, what would you like to see done so that we can be effective and efficient and so that we can put you out of a job? >> mr. cummings -- >> not trying to get rid of you but you understand what i am saying. >> thank you, sir. i appreciate that. i am concerned when we have an investigation, and because i don't have enough special agents to investigate allegations, we eventually get to them but the old saying justice delayeded is justice denied. i am concerned i don't have enough to adequately and immediately address the allegations. that is why i have so many cases in the pipeline. in the special unit i have at head quarters, they average 9.5 cases each and the agents in the field average approximately seven cases each. and lot of the cases in the field are multi-million cases with a lot involved. so i don't have enough to investigate every thing on the plate. >> will you continue to work with us to come up with solutions? i get the money piece, but you and mr. meiburg have been w

watson coleman for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. good morning gentlemen, thank you for being here. a lot of these cases, all the cases that we're discussing were either resolved in 2014 or 15, so these are kind of old cases, right? and so since then, we've had changes in our policies and practices at the epa that would -- that would at least address allegations of misconduct that come before in terms of resolving them and as well as administrative leave policies; is that correct? >> yes, congresswoman, that's correct. we feel like in the last year we've made considerable progress moving forward. i'll agree that we can always do better. we've made considerable progress and having better communication with the office of inspector general and clear policies. >> could you explain sort of briefly what specifically has changed that you've informed the ranking foul and the super visors and what's the process for holding them accountable, aside from just interacting with the oig. >> we've discussed with all of our employees the importance o

mr. william t. coleman. he was the first african-american secretary of transportation. he was appointed, nominated and confirmed during the ford administration. and so he, too, came to the fore a special time, and he gave me council when i was going through the process. but he's also a very dear friend to judge garland. interestingly, they both are honored and distinguished graduate of the harvard school of law. they both clerked at the supreme court, and they both have a font and committed respect for the law and for the rule of law. and so i lift up his connection as well. and then finally i would just like to say this. when my wife and i came to washington, we didn't know a lot of people. we had a young daughter. her name was bridget, and we met the garlands who had two daughters, merrick in lynn. and their daughters, rebecca and jesse, gave us a sense of the place and helped us become comfortable in the place. and so over the years we've gone to a host of parent teacher meetings. we've gone to parents of nights. we going to sporting events. we've talked about the fo