mr. pittenger: thank you. for the leadership and the vision and the task force for ranking members. this would be very important and meaningful hearing. understanding the link between terrorism and crime is a vital step towards understanding the efforts to deter the terrorism financing. how are terrorists working with drug lords and what are the benefits? how they are working with the trans-national criminals to move through the financial system? should we be preparing for, for today. and the bigger question is what are we going to do to stop it? there are strong concerns that we do not have the capabilities in the intelligence and effective in the goals. i also have concerns about the current effects of the intergovernmental cooperation of the flow of money to terrorists. and i look forward to hearing from the witnesses on the issues and continuing a task force to counterterrorism financialing. thank you, mr. chairman. i yield back. ms. waters: thank you very much. mr. chairman. i applaud the bipartisan effor

mr. pittenger. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i appreciate the curtsy of each of you.there is a settlement with a bank related to there being complicit in money laundering what happens to the proceeds of those settlement funds? could those funds be used for counterterrorism efforts? how could we designate that? who would like to take that? it's an open question. >> the u.s. marshals manages those. there is freezing but the see sure -- seizure of assets. the dea and their raids and going after the cartels. it is divided among the agencies involved in the operation. it's actually an interesting u.s. model that we're exporting to other partner nations. who are looking at asset forfeiture as a useful tool. two things the cartel leaders are worried about. extradition to a solitary cell without a cell phone in the united states, and the appropriation of funds, that their children will live a less luxurious lifestyle than themselves. the fines that are levied to the banks and institutions that are violateing known sanctions regimes. and laundering money. there should be a por

mr. pittenger, for five minutes. >> thank you. dr. asher, last march i asked secretary lew about the effectiveness of our intergovernmental communication and coordination as it relates to stopping the financing of terrorism. specifically, u.s. customs in their full access of data with limited access by finn sen. should we be looking more seriously and in better coordination as it relates to trade based financing should we be looking and targeting this type of better cooperation? >> actually, first u.s. customs is an awesome organization. everyone deserves to take a look at what they do. they don't get enough credit. i have been so impressed by their data systems. however, sharing data is very important. they're very good at receiving data. i think that the ability to take some of their data and use it for example in organizations like finn sen would be very proper and to the greater good because so much of the trade based money laundering is going on in a way that's difficult to measure. one of the only ways to measure it is is throug

mr. pittenger. mr. pittenger: i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from tennessee mr. fincher, is recognized for one minute. mr. fincher: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in support of the pastor who gave our opening prayer this morning, brother larry kendrick, who breeches at my home urch -- who preaches at my home church. i just want to tell him how much we appreciate his service to the kingdom, his wife and daughter, karen and vicky, are here with him also. and their service to god's kingdom and we wish them the best. god always be with you and thank you for coming today and opening us up with prayer and with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois -- sorry. the chair will entertain up to 15 further requests for one-minute spe

mr. pittenger: congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion. we dare to up uphold the free exercise of religion and ensure that no church or religious institution in the district of columbia is forced to violate their convictions. yes, we have a solemn obligation to support our commitment so i urge my colleagues to support h j. resolution and block the d.c. of bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. ms. norton: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from tennessee is recognized. mrs. black: i'm pleased to yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from louisiana, mr. fleming. the speaker pro tempore: drr fleming is recognized for 30 seconds. mr. fleming: madam speaker, the question tonight is clearly the aadvice ration of the u.s. constitution of the district of columbia. don't take my word for it. even the mayor of d.c. who agreed with the council warned his colleagues that it was illegal insufficient and raises concerns and other freedoms. it discriminates located in the nation's impinging on the freedom of religi

mr. pittenger: thank you. i yield back. mr. hill: i wanted to follow-up. there are so many members are concerned about the iranian negotiations that are underway between the administration and iran create when we had our last hearing, so many of us were shocked at the magnitude of money that would flow back to iran for the proposed treaty to be successful. $50 billion signing bonus and the freeing up of cash in the accounts that had been frozen and then the flow as was noted by the professor of future trade capability. in your role of interdicting terror financing and stopping the expansion of terrorism, how would you rank that $120 billion that may flow to iran if this treaty proceeds? if one is of low importance to our national security and the ability to stop expansion of terror finance and 10 is critical or important, how would you rank the freeing up of that $120 billion? we will start with dr. asher. dr. asher: i do not think it is 10. it may be five. it may be three. the big thing is iran's revolutionary regime and its externalization of the regime

mr. pittenger. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you for hosting this hearing. and thank you, each of you, for being with us today. governor pawlenty, according to the identity theft resource center, financial institution's responsible for less than 6% of breaches in 2014. some could draw the connection with this fact that the financial institution has been subject to the graham-leach-bliley act since 1999. do you think this is fair? >> i do. i i don't think there's disputes that the financial sector has the best defense and capability and resiliency in the space. as everyone knows in the room, even financial institutions get breached. relative to other sectors, we're more advanced and get breached less. that's not a bragging point, it's about what caused that. it caused investment, caused by investment, hard work, technology. and i believe that graham-leach-bliley set a standard, and people tried to adhere to the standard. plus, we get examined by our regulators to the standard. i would say that contributed to the state of the industry's cyber-defenses in the r

mr. pittenger, for one minute. >> thank you, chairman hensarling, in establishing this task force and to ranking member waters and chairman fitzpatrick for your leadership and mr. lynch. i would like to thank the witnesses for joining us today. this will be a very important and very meaningful hearing. understanding the link between terrorism and crime is a vital step towards understanding what efforts we can to deter the financing. the drug lords and for what benefits, how are they working with transnational criminals, to move money through the financial system. how are they utilizing the same smuggling routes today that have been used for years in past? and what means have they been previously not been utilized like cyber warfare should we be preparing for today? and the bigger question -- what are we going to do to stop it? knowing that we have ended the threat finance cell there are strong concerns that we don't have the capabilities and

mr. pittenger of north carolina. mr. hultgren of illinois. the speaker pro tempore: the chair announces the speaker's appointment pursuant to 22 u.s.c. 3003 and the order of the house of january 6 2015, of the following members on the part of the house to the commission of security and cooperation in europe. the clerk: mr. aderholt of alabama. mr. pitts of pennsylvania. mr. hultgren of illinois. and mr. burgess of texas. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain requests for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentleman from arkansas -- arizona rise? arkansas rise, excuse me. without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, with this being national infrastructure week, i want to call attention to the crisis facing the federal highway trust fund in my home state of arkansas, the highway department has cancelled several projects due to the depletion of the trust fund. we need to finance the trust fund for a long term and keeps our roads and highways safe for travel and commerce. this is why next