mr. higgins. >> thank you, mr. chairman. an iranian political and terror ethose there is the near enemy, israel, but there is also the far enemy, the united states of america. the topic of this hearing is iranian terror operations on the american soil. so, i commend my khraeg, jeff duncan, for his bipartisan resolution to include as an area of focus the western hemisphere and our nation's counterterrorism efforts. i think it is very important. hezbollah, the party of god, is a shia terrorist group highly committed to violent jihad. hezbollah acts as a proxy, as a pawn, as a tool, for venezuela, syria and iran. hezbollah has a presence estimated to be between a few hundred to a few thousand in a 16-country region of latin america. hezbollah also has a presence in 15 american cities including four major cities in canada. we were told at previous hearings that, while the confirmation of hezbollah's presence in north america is indisputable, that we should not wor worry, that they are just here for fund-raising activities. hezbo

mr. higgins also of new york is recognized. >> thank you, madam chair. the lord's resistance army emerged from a no. you've done this in the 1990's. -- from northern uganda in the 1990's. it has killed and mutilated tens of thousands of people. john kony was indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity and the tribunal at the hague. connie is also dignity -- kony is also designated as a special global terrorist. some 3000 fighters originating out of uganda, now more prevalent in central africa -- i mean, the united states the ploy's 100 military advisers to happen to be special forces. i think we should call this what it is. it is a killing capture mission. i would ask you to comment on that. >> congressman, i think we certainly are trying to enhance the capacity of our partners to capture or kill joseph kony and other commanders, but they will be doing the actual military mission on the ground. we will be advising and assisting them so that they will be more effective in doing it. yes, i do not disagree with you in terms of one of the end results

mr. higgins. >> thank you, mr. chairman. and iranian political and terror ethos, there's a new enemy, israel but there's also the far enemy, united states of america. is iranian -- so i commit my colleague jeff duncan for his bipartisan resolution to include a certain area of focus the western hemisphere in our nation's counterterrorism efforts. i think it's very, very important. hezbollah, the party of god, is a shia terrorist group highly committed to violent jihad. hezbollah acts as a proxy, as a pawn, as a tool for venezuela, syria and iran. hezbollah has a presence estimated to be between a few hundred, to achieve thousand pashtun to a few thousand in latin america. hezbollah, also has a presence in 15 american cities, including four major cities in canada. we were told in previous hearings that while the confirmation of hezbollah's presence in north america is indisputable, that we shouldn't worry, that they are just here for fund-raising activities. hezbollah, a terror group committed to violent jihad, i don't make th

mr. higgins, for five minutes. mr. higgins: mr. speaker, i rise today to celebrate the national trust for historic preservation's 65th national preservation conference which will be held in my community of western new york next week. over 200,000 people from across -- over 200,000 people from across the country and around the world will converge on buffalo to be immersed in our considerable architecture. what makes this unique is our national historic preservation assets is the reason that the conference is being held there. the centerpiece will be the numerous buildings, homes, parks, neighborhoods that were remarkable upon their construction and will help grow us in the future. this conference will provide international validation to what many in western new york have long known and understood, that our ability thrives lies in recapturing the potential on what we have built in the past and we are doing just that. buffalo is home to the nation's first park and parkway system, designed in the 19th century by the famed landscape arc

mr. higgins. >> thank you, mr. chairman. and iranian political terror ease those. there's the near enemy, israel but also the far enemy, united states of america. the topic of this hearing is iranian terror operations on american soil. i commend my colleague, jeff duncan, for his bipartisan resolution to include as an area of focus the western hemisphere and our nation's counterterrorism efforts. it is very important. hezbollah, the party of god, shea at terrorist group highly committed to violent jihad. hezbollah acts as a proxy, as upon, as a tool for venezuela, syria and iran. hezbollah has presence estimated to be between a few hundred to a few thousand in the sixteen country region of latin america. hezbollah also has a presence in 15 american cities including four major cities in canada. we were told that previous hearings that while the confirmation of hezbollah's presence in north america is indisputable, we shouldn't worry. they are just here for fund-raising activities. hezbollah, a terror group committed to violent jihad. i don't make the distinction bet

mr. higgins. >> thank you, mr. chairman. the theme of this hearing is emerging threats, and it's important to know where terrorist activity exists. it's as important to know where it will exist in the future, and with a lot of these terrorist organizations, include including hezbollah, it's a new generation. they are younger, more aggressive, more technologically sophisticated, and in the 12 country region of latin america, estimates are that there's about 138 hezbollah operatives. this concerns me because hezbollah is a proxy or acts as a proxy for venezuela, sierra, -- syria, and iran. it's estimated hezbollah has a presence in the united states in 15 major city, and also in four major cities in canada. my concern is that they have the presence there, and some will say, well, they're not really a threat because thigh have a presence. well, again, it's an organization committed to violent jihad. it's an organization that we identify as a major threat, so i ask each of you to assess the concern of the hezbollah presence. ..

mr. higgins: mr. speaker, i report to the house today on the agreement reached by the ford motor company and the united auto workers and its positive impact on the nation and in western new york. under the agreement ford will increase its work force, its plant in hamburg, new york, not only will they offer to rehire 120 workers who were laid off earlier this year, they will create 400 new jobs and create $136 million in investment in the facility. this is a substantial and generational commitment. how can can did this happen? it was the recognition that western new york has a highly dependable work force with a long history of labor and management working together in cooperation. it is also the result of labor and management working diligently to get a deal done. their goal was business growth and job creation and they accomplished it without the brinksmanship and manufacturing crises that have become far too common in washington this year. perhaps congress can learn from ford and the u.a.a.w. when tw

mr. higgins. >> thank you, mr. chairman. theme of this hearing is emerging threats, and as important as knowing where terrorist activity exists, it's as important to know where it will exist in the future, and with a lot of these terrorist organizations including hezbollah, it's a new generation. they are younger. they are more aggressive. they are more technologically sophisticated, and in the 12 country reaming of latin america, -- region of latin america, there's an estimated 138 hezbollah operatives. this concerns me because hezbollah is a proxy or acts as a proxy for venezuela, see ya, and iran. it's estimated that hezbollah has a presence in the united states in 15 major cities, and also in four major cities in canada. my concern is that they have the presence there and some will say, well, they are not really a threat because they have a preps. -- presence. well, it's an organization committed to jihad, and it's an organization we identify as a major threat. i ask each of you to address the concern of the hezbollah pr

mr. higgins: american society of civil engineers gives our sfrarbg a d grade. and world economic forum ranks the united states 23rd in infrastructure quality. our infrastructure is suffering from a lack of investment and our country is falling behind because of it. mr. speaker, the united states has spent over $62 billion nation building in iraq. it is time to do some nation building right here at home. there's work that needs to be done and a lot of americans need the work. so i implore this house, pass the jobs bill that includes $60 billion for infrastructure. pass a six-year transportation bill, use innovative ideas like the infrastructure bank to create public-private partnerships. and do it now. given the state of our infrastructure in our economy, we can't afford to wait. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from indiana seek recognition? . mr. burton: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempor

mr. higgins of new york also is recognized. >> thank you. it emerged from northern uganda in the 1990s. since that time has murdered, killed, mutilated tens of thousands of people coney was indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity and the tribunal at the hague. coney is also designated as a specially designated global terrorist. some 300 fighters originating out of uganda, now more prevalent in central africa. i mean, the united states deploys 100 military advisers who happen to be special forces. you know, i think we should just call this what it is. it's a kill and capture mission. i would ask you to comment on that. >> well, congressman, i think we certainly are trying to enhance the capacity of our partners to capture or kill, but they will be doing the actually military mission on the ground and advising and assisting them to be more effective in doing it, so, yes, i don't disagree with you on terms of the end results of this if it work, but i think it makes sense from the united states point of view to enable partners to act when they have the capability to do so. they

mr. higgins: it brought to light serious deficiencies in federal aviation standards including our rules to prevent pilot fatigue. congress passed legislation to reform these rules. yet, despite broad congressional support, it is more than two months overdue. yesterday 102 of my colleagues and i sent a letter to the administration urging implementation of these reforms. mr. speaker, the old policies still in place does not prevent fatigue or protect the traveling public. we must implement the overly far teeing rule. and i yield back -- fatigue rule. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida rise? mr. stearns: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. stearns: although we have achieved the american dream today, some face unfairness in the workplace under a provision that allows employers to pay workers with disabilities less than the federal minimum wage. protection for disabled workers were excluded in the fair labors act and the mistaken belief that they would no

mr. higgins and i have sent aid dear colleague letter around on, and that basically urges the administrationto include the western hemisphere in the administration's 2012 national strategy for counter- terrorism area of focus. because we are aware of peace -- of the region, we are aware of venezuela and the stronger working relationship between hezbollah and the mexican cartel and the quds force and the drug cartels. i would urge you to appreciate that. knowing our southern border, a colonel, and knowing there is a working relationship that has been revealed, what could we be doing differently as a sovereign nation on our southern border to keep any infiltration of personnel or weapons into this country? >> i live in arizona. it has gotten better, no question. it through the efforts of a lot of dedicated people. but i have to look back from a historical standpoint at how these things develop and what we can do and what impact they have. they are always hard to measure, particularly in real time. and it is delayed reaction that is usually after an attack. i use as a sample of that from person

mr. higgins: as a result, heap assistance will be smaller, later, and benefit fewer new yorkers. at a time when western new york heating oil prices are expected to increase, these cuts would force seniors and families to choose between heating their homes, putting food on the table, or purchasing prescription drugs. i urge congress to reject these cuts which threaten to leave many of the 235,000 heap recipients in erie out in the cold. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from illinois. >> request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> mr. speaker, yesterday we learned that by the end of this year another ratings agency may downgrade our nation's sovereign debt. why? because they don't believe that there's a plan to return our nation to fiscal health. they are not entirely right. in july we passed the cut, catch, and balance. it was a commonsense solution that would have maintained our nation's strong credit rating. the bill went to the cul de sa

mr. higgins also of new york is recognized. >> thank you, madam chair.rmy emerged from northern uganda in the 1990's. since that time, it has murdered and killed and mutilated some tens of thousands of people. john kony was invited -- indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity at the tribunal at the hague. connie is also designated as a special global terrorist. some 300 fighters are rigid and out of uganda -- some 300 fighters are more prevalent in uganda. we employ advisers to happen that the special forces. i think we should call of what it is. this is a killing capture mission. i'll ask you to comment on that. >> congressman, i think we certainly are trying to enhance the capacity of our partners to capture or kill joseph kony and other commanders. but they will be doing the actual military mission on the ground. we will be advising and assisting them so that they will be more effective in doing it. yes, i do not disagree with you in terms of one of the and results of this if it worked. but it makes sense for the united states point of view

mr. hull took the test. he didn't take the test. >> with his first line of defense shot down, higgins pivots to explain ziggy's actions. >> richie,ow many times have you been up for parole in the last 18 years? >> twice. >> what's happened each of those times? >> they've continued me because of something i've done. >> why would you purposely try to ditch your parole? >> because i'm scared of getting out. >> you've been at the program before? >> yes, sir. >> if you didn't want to make parole, could you say, i don't want to go? >> i don't know if you would understand, but a convict saying that he's not ready to get out, i'd feel like i would be ostracized. >> is that it? >> yes, sir. >> the lieutenant's decision comes swiftly. >> guilty of the charge of refusal, attempt to alter a drug screen, recommend five days penal segregation, assess a fee of $25, $4 fine. recommend a job drop. you want to appeal this? >> yes, sir. >> yes, sir, i don't think the $25 is appropriate. >> i can suspend that. i will suspend the $25. >> okay. >> and richie would like a little time to get his affairs in order before he has to go away for five days. >