mr. griffin: will the gentleman yield? mr. kelly: i will yield. mr. griffin: seniors are thinking about it. they're think being that they're on a fixed income. they're looking at rising prices, whether it's at the gas pump, we talked about today, solid american energy issues but they're thinking about the rising commodity prices. i brought with me a bank note. this is an official currency note from the bank of zimbabwe. it's a $100 trillion bank note. how to turn $100 trillion into a $5 and feel good about it. it drives home the point that policies of this administration are increasing the cost of commodities, the cost of fuel, devaluing our currency and that applies to health care as well. seniors are concerned, they've got every right to be concerned. one of the things about the republican budget and one thing the gentleman from arkansas is trying to point out, that we're trying to solve the problems of this nation here in this body, this republican freshmen class is taking the bull by the horns to bring home the issue to the american people and let

mr. griffin. i would like to quickly point out that what this does is it makes sure that the tide of information sharing and conversations hopefully are occurring lakeshore they have been at a high level, and also summit samples of the tide of individuals that this is intended to address at duals chollet, the underwear bomber, the times square bomber and the eshoo bomber, richard reid, those are good examples of the type of people that we are trying to address. thank you. .. as those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the amendment is agreed to. if you hear some gentlemen ask for -- you are not asking for a recorded vote? good decision. very some noise outside. if you hear it is a demonstration and has nothing to do with us. just part of life on the hill. the gentleman from california, mr. garamendi is recognized for an amendment number 282. with the clerk please pass help bill? without objection reading of the amendment will be dispensed with the gentleman is recognized to explain his amendment. >> i

mr. griffin. ..eld to my colleague. >> i want to shift gears a little bit and talk about russia some. on the judiciary committee, we have looked into the issue of piracy, and a lot of that, it seems, stems from activities, illegal activities, in russia. some of it by organized crime, and when i look at some of the official cooperation with european countries on terrorism and law enforcement and the many different areas that we cooperate with our european allies, i often see russia included in some of those agreements and relationships that sends a signal that russia is helpful and a partner on a lot of these issues. i have -- i would just like to get your take, both of you, on issues of russia, how they are on issues of piracy, and if they've cooperated with us. and i'd like you to also address the role of organized crime in russia, and we're not hearing as much about it as we did maybe five years ago. i think it's fair to say, just in terms of press coverage -- i don't know if that's because it's become so routine or maybe it's decreased -- if you could comment on the role of organiz

mr. griffin, and now we'll hear from my colleague from ohio, mr. smith. >> [inaudible] >> she yields back her time. let me grue deuce the witnesses today. i thank you for being here and thank you for your patience. daniel benjamin was sworn in at the department of state with the rank of ambassador at large on may 28, 2009. from 1994 to 1999, mr. benjamin served on the national security counsel staff, and in 1994 he was the foreign policy speech writer. before entering the government, mr. benjamin was a foreign correspondent for "time" and the "wall street journal" -- that must have been an interesting switch from "time" to the "wall street journal," and someday i'd like to talk to you about that. mark is at the department of homeland security and responsible for coordinating the department's international programs for policy to achieve the international strategic objectives. he's served as director for european and multilat roll affairs in the department of homeland security office of international affairs from june 2007 to august 2008. prior to jo

mr. griffin, my old buddy, from arkansas. >> your old staffer. nk you. >> and he was a good one, too. >> thank you, mr. chairman. first of all, i want to say thank you for holding this hearing and thank you to the witnesses for coming. i think that this topic is as relevant or more relevant than ever in the wake of the killing of osama bin laden. what i am particularly interested it in and maybe i can get to follow up with some questions, but i just want to throw this out there so that the witnesses will maybe be able to address it in the context of the other questions. is the impact that a leaderless al qaeda has on the disparate terrorism yets spread throughout the european continent and what, if any, changes we might see in terms of an increased or decreased threat. i could make the case in the absence of one leader that there could be an increased threat and increased independence of the disparate groups on the continent. i ask you to keep did in mind and if you could address it, i'd appreciate it. thank you. >> thank you, mr. griffin. now we'

mr. griffin: it is time we give them a clear interpretation. i urge my colleagues to join me in opposing this amendment. thank you, mr. chairman. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. amash: may i inquire as to the time remaining? the chair: the gentleman has four and a half minutes remaining. mr. amash: ill like to recognize the distinguished gentleman from new jersey for one minute. the chair: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for one minute. mr. andrews: we support those who -- the ability to hunt down those who attacked us on netch but we do not support the ability to have the president to wage war anywhere at any time. i believe that's what the upside lying bill does. the underlying bill says you can engage in the curn armed conflict against a nation that's substantially supported al qaeda. there is a record that suggests that iran has substantially supported al qaeda in iraq. i don't think the members of this body think that we have the power to attack iran without further congressio

mr. griffin, my old buddy, from arkansas. >> your old staffer. thank you. >> and he was a good one, too. >> thank you, mr. chairman. first of all, i want to say thank you for holding this hearing and thank you to the witnesses for coming. i think that this topic is as relevant or more relevant than ever in the wake of the killing of osama bin laden. what i am particularly interested it in and maybe i can get to follow up with some questions, but i just want to throw this out there so that the witnesses will maybe be able to address it in the context of the other questions. is the impact that a leaderless al qaeda has on the disparate terrorism yets spread throughout the european continent and what, if any, changes we might see in terms of an increased or decreased threat. i could make the case in the absence of one leader that there could be an increased threat and increased independence of the disparate groups on the continent. i ask you to keep did in mind and if you could address it, i'd appreciate it. thank you. >> thank you, mr. griffin. now

mr. griffin, and amendment by myself regarding industrial preparedness, amendment by mr.courtney regarding submarine research and development, an amendment by mr. courtney regarding advanced submarine system development, an amendment by ms. hartzler for bomber mixed conventional load development, amendment by mr. smith regarding shallow water mine. amendment by mr. blaz pseudo regarding ship feasibility studies. an amendment by mr. long vin for ship anti-warfare. an amendment by mr. mckeon regarding attack air u.s. launched, amendment by mr. mckeon regarding electro foe tonic type ability, and amendment by mr. run i don't know for airborne reconnaissance systems. >> is there any discussion on the amendment? >> all those in favor say aye? any opposed no. the ayes have it and the amendment is agreed to. the chair now recognizes mr. akin for the purpose of introducing an n block amendment. >> i ask unanimous consent to call up an n block package for policy legislative amendments that have been worked and approved by the minority side compliesing of the following, an amendmen

mr. griffin, my old buddy, from arkansas. >> your old staffer. thank you. >> and he was a good one, too. >> thank you, mr. chairman. first of all, i want to say thank you for holding this hearing and thank you to the witnesses for coming. i think that this topic is as relevant or more relevant than ever in the wake of the killing of osama bin laden. what i am particularly interested it in and maybe i can get to follow up with some questions, but i just want to throw this out there so that the witnesses will maybe be able to address it in the context of the other questions. is the impact that a leaderless al qaeda has on the disparate terrorism yets spread throughout the european continent and what, if any, changes we might see in terms of an increased or decreased threat. i could make the case in the absence of one leader that there could be an increased threat and increased independence of the disparate groups on the continent. i ask you to keep did in mind and if you could address it, i'd appreciate it. thank you. >> thank you, mr. griffin. now

mr. griffin of arkansas for monday, may 2. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the personal requests are granted. who seeks recognition for one-minute speeches? the speaker pro tempore: under the speaker's announced policy of january 5, 2011, the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee, is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the my mortgage lead -- ms. jackson lee: i'm delighted to have the opportunity to be on the floor for such an important issue and joined by my colleague. i'm holding the time until mr. -- my colleague arrives, but this is an enormous crisis when nine of our soldiers are killed and the way they were killed in afghanistan. and for many of us who are concerned about the continuing conflict and the next step, it is important to be able to offer our sympathy to their families and as well, to be able to ask for an investigation as to the basis of their loss. so it is important tonight that we educate our colleagues about the challenges that those brave soldiers faced, the conditions under which

mr. griffin. >> aye. >> mr. pa lot sew. >> aye. >> mr. west. >> no. >> mrs. roby. >> aye. >> mr. brooks. >> aye. >> mr. young. >> aye. >> mr. rogers. mr. courtney. >> no. >> ms. giffords. >> mr. chairman, on that vote, the ayes were 54, the nos were 5. >> the amendment is agreed to. the chair now recognizes mr. cooper for the purpose of an amendment. >> thank you, mr. chairman. amendment number 164, i would ask to be distributed. >> the clerk will please distribute the amendment. without objection, the reading of the amendment will be dispensed with. >> gentleman from tennessee is recognized to explain his amendment. >> thank you, mr. chairman. this amendment has to do with the joint strike fighter but only the f-35b, the short takeoff and vertical landing variant of it. so in this vast program, this is a very small aspect. what the amendment would do is, the committee remembers that this year we have funded three of these and next year my amendment would propose that we fund four. now, the committee work says we should go ahead and do six. i would like to cut that back by two fo

mr. griffin is recognized for five minutes. >> thank you mr. chairman. i just want to say to my friend, representative west i commend what he's doing here. the murder that he referred to in little rock is in my district, and that case is a criminal matter still pending. but needless to say, much has been reported in the press about the circumstances surrounding that and i would look forward to working with representative west on this matter. thank you. >> the gentleman yields back. >> the gentleman from california mr. hunter is recognized the purpose of an amendment. >> i asked the court to distribute the amendment to hundred one. >> clerk please pass of the amendment. without objection the reading will be dispensed with. [inaudible conversations] >> i figured you of all people couldn't be. >> the gentleman is recognized to explain his amendment. >> thank you >> it's a long controversy lament but i'm sure. >> we will have it done by 2200 tonight. mr. chairman as we all know how and when the repeal of lescol kuhl was passed last year with the lame-duck co

mr. griffin: in hot springs village, i saw the damage left in the wake of the latest round of storms that claimed the life of an 8-month-old boy there. he's one of the 22 arkansans killed by the storms in april. i ask my colleagues and all americans listening today to keep the families affected by this tragedy in their thoughts and prayers. i yield back. m -- the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition? oofl a to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker, when the president sought to take out "america's most wanted" and dangerous enemy, he called on an elite team of the united states navy to execute the mission. the 10th district of illinois is home to an important navy base. the naval station great lakes is the first stop of every single naval recruit. it is likely that those who executed the mission in pakistan on sunday started their training at this base. today i want to recognize those who got the job done and the

mr. griffin. >> aye. >> mr. pa lot sew. >> aye. >> mr. west. >> no. >> mrs. roby. >> aye. >> mr.ye. >> mr. young. >> aye. >> mr. rogers. mr. courtney. >> no. >> ms. giffords. >> mr. chairman, on that vote, the ayes were 54, the nos were 5. >> the amendment is agreed to. the chair now recognizes mr. cooper for the purpose of an amendment. >> thank you, mr. chairman. amendment number 164, i would ask to be distributed. >> the clerk will please distribute the amendment. without objection, the reading of the amendment will be dispensed with. >> gentleman from tennessee is recognized to explain his amendment. >> thank you, mr. chairman. this amendment has to do with the joint strike fighter but only the f-35b, the short takeoff and vertical landing variant of it. so in this vast program, this is a very small aspect. what the amendment would do is, the committee remembers that this year we have funded three of these and next year my amendment would propose that we fund four. now, the committee work says we should go ahead and do six. i would like to cut that back by two for a reason. i

his wife, jennifer griffin, the co-author of this book, as well. greg, mr. with you. let's start with what is really best palestinian conflict continues today. guest: it has been going on for six decades. tenures ago, they were close to an agreement. but they have worked backwards -- 10 years ago, they were close to an agreement. we wanted to emphasize how they dug a deeper hole for themselves. hamas is in control of gaza. relish solomons have expanded from 100,000 to 300,000 today so. a lot of the problems have multiplied and become even larger. that is one thing we wanted to emphasize. it's a deepening of the conflict. >> this includes your personal stories. you have live there. you have raised two small children. you there from 1999 to 2007. you said that israel has a thriving economy. but they cannot solve this problem. guest: one reason we wrote this book is we felt that there is a lot of talk in washington if we could just give back to the peace process. we always hear, if we just can go back to the peace process and get the israelis and palestinians talking as