mr. leon leon rodriguez. mr. rodriguez is the director of the office for civil rights in the department of health and human services. we also have professor mark rothstein at the louisville brand is school of law and the school of medicine. he holds a herbert f. old chair of law and is the founding director for bioethics health policy and law at the university of louisville. make sure your microphone is on ample it close to your mouth. thank you. you may begin. >> good morning mr. chairman, ranking member degette and members of the subcommittee it is an honor for me to be here today in my capacity as director of the office for civil rights at the u.s. department of health and human services and i thank you. hhs is an enforcement agency for civil rights and health agency rights. osi of handles development and education for compliance of the laws in those areas. our office plays an important role in ensuring that an individual sensitive health information remains private and secure and individuaindividua ls are able

mr. rodriguez. mr. rothstein for five minutes. isn't on? poet will close. can you tell at the microphone is on? daily go. these are government mines, said during a sequestered during a sequestered they are down 20%. >> as is my voice. mr. chairman and members of the subcommittee, my name is mark rothstein. on the faculty of university of louisville and i testify today my capacity and again that they apologize for laryngitis. in my testimony this morning i want to make the following three points. first, the privacy rule is essential to patient care and public health and safety. second, exceptions to the rule permit disclosure of health information for important public purposes and to come additional measures could enhance the effectiveness of the privacy law. first, ever since the hippa, they've established positions to maintain confidentiality of patient health information without assurances of confidentiality, patients are reluctant to divulge sensitive information about physical and mental health,

mr. rodriguez. can you hear me? >> hello. >> mr. rodriguez taqueria me? hello? >> man, we're listening.e go ahead. i want to say thank you very much for your buck. i really admire you. the fact that you survived alter your childhood and managed to get over all the things you're dealing with. i really wanted to set thank you so much. my husband who is deceased was a return to seven years. he was an alcoholic. he is just amazing. i think your in the same category as him because he was a really great man. i just want to thank you you are now helping others. you are real inspiration. thank you very much. >> i appreciate that. i guess the message is that it is possible to overcome these things. it's just all be easy, we have to recognize that there is a way to get through all the addiction in the rage in knowing how to turn it into art, beauty, poetry, something amazing, even if your mechanic map you can turn that into an art. people have to of turn their pain and will listen to something that turns out to be beautiful and positive and impact to and the community. thank you for that because

mr. rodriguez. an example from my own time, i know how he was one of the chief negotiators in the discussion over agriculture and i would note again that everyone involved in this has had to give something. i hope people realize that this committee did a lot of giving on both sides. >> you think? on thisne area, though, area of legislation how will it prevent the exploitation of undocumented farm workers? all, i want to thank the people from the agricultural industry that we worked with. they are thereith us and d tohion the discussion in such a way that we really talked about these various issues. i think that all of us i and the end, the senator wanted to make sure that we had an agricultural industry in this country that was viable and that we could all respect and be proud of here in our nation. it was very important for us to establish that agreement to honor the farm workers and the work they do, as well as ensure that the agriculture industry will have the supply of labour necessary for skill

mr. rodriguez, first of all i want to congratulate you on working with each other. mr. connor, one of the aspects on this bill is the delayed phase-in of the employment verification requirements. aquaculture employers are not required to participate in the e-verify -- agriculture employers are not required to participate in the e-verify program, five years after the passage of the bill. it will prove to be very important for farmers in minnesota. lots of our farmers run pretty small operations. it is going to take time for these programs to get up and running. can you, mr. connor, identify why this delayed implementation of e-verify it is important for agriculture? >> a great question, senator franken. i think the important aspects to the heart of the program. that is, we really are creating in many ways -- in some ways, almost three brand-new programs. the blue card program, and then you have the year-round contract part of the guestworker program, and then you have the at-will part of the guestworker program. we know there will be bumps and bruises along implementatio

mr. rodriguez. you should go over there with me and see about investing with him. it's a great deal. 's what i'm getting." >> narrator: soon, mdn financial has more than 100 investors. and in june 2009, rodriguez moves into a gated community along the coast. he appears to be a real success. >> his wife is driving a bmw. his kids are attending private school. he's supporting his own children and his stepchildren. so this is someone who is living a very good lifestyle while in 2008, 2009, 2010, a lot of the country is really suffering. >> narrator: next... friends of the miracle money-maker discover he's really a two-timing taxman. >> i mean, this was a friend that we trusted. and for him to do this to us, it's really, really shameful. >> narrator: see more testimony from rodriguez's best friends at americangreed.cnbc.com want inside information from behind the scenes of the show? join the "greed" social network. like us on "american greed's" facebook page. like us on "american greed's" facebook page. we'll be right back. transit fares! as in the 37 billion transit fares we help collect

mr. rodriguez. mr. driguez, following the newtown tragedy president of what took action providing to clarify in writing to the law enforcement authorities of threats of violence. first of all, is that true? >> that is true. i signed the letter but it was at the presidential election. >> that was going to lead me to my next question. was it a letter or executive order? >> the letter was really a reminder of the existing duties under the law. and also, of the administration's emphasis that these authorities and duties to bourn should be fully exercised to protect public safety. >> has that action had any impact? >> it has an impact in that there's been renewed discussion on these issues, there was extensive industry coverage of the letter and so therefore we believe there are the folks that needed to reach which are those as particularly the mental health providers. there were posted on the website and disseminated by a press release and through the various that serves in the hhs to it >> can you describe

mr. rodriguez. i've been so impressed by your work and you can imagine that some people still get concerned about what this could mean for american jobs with the guest worker agreement and that someone with immense credibility in the labor movement and others fighting hard to protect american workers can you summarize what you think this bill is a good thing for american ag workers? >> first of all, senator klobuchar the workers that are currently here now and the united states are going to have an ample opportunity to gain legal status first of all through the blue card program and secondly for legal residency. secondly there is clear language in the bill that calls for no discrimination against u.s. workers and we have lots of discussions with the employers with regards to that. they are also in agreement that they want to keep experienced farmworkers that have the ability and have the skills to grow their crops as ms. eastman mentioned earlier. it doesn't help the workforce to have rotating membe

mr. rodriguez. >> mr.irman, -- >> pull the microphone close to you, if you would. >> [inaudible] >> still not on. is it on? pull it close. >> [inaudible] >> can you -- >> how about now? >> these are government mics, and in the government sequester, they are down 20%. >> as is my voice, i'm afraid. mr. chairman, members of the subcommittee, on faculty on the university of louisville, but testifies today in my individual capacity, and, again, i apologize for my larn guy tis. it's seasonal, i'm afraid. in the testimony this morning, i make the following three points. first, the hipa privacy rules is essential to patient care and public health and safety. second, permit disclosure of health information for important public purposes, and, third, additional measures could affect the effectiveness of the rule. first, since the hippocratic oath, medical codes of ethics maintain the health information without assurances, patients are reluctant to divulge sensitive information about their physical, mental health, th

mr. rodriguez. >> as did senator feinstein. >> well, thank you, chairman leahy, ranking member grassley, and members of the subcommittee. thank you for the opportunity to testify today. my name is arturo rodriguez and i have had the honor of being the president of the united farmworkers of america. tomorrow will mark the 20th 20th year since our founder, cesar chavez, pass away so we think it's appropriate we're here today on this historic day to talk about the future of american agriculture. i wanted to give a special thank you to senators feinstein, who we worked with for years to solve this problem, and senator hatch. unfortunately couldn't be with us here today. with whom we have worked close can i with, especially over the last several months. that helped news forging this agreement and bringing together and dealing with the crisis that we face in american agriculture, and that we'll hopefully -- this will be able to provide some stability in the years to come. last week, both chuck conor to my

mr. rodriguez's testimony. not hearing this testimony there's no way that er physician has no way she can actually be as facile with the information we are demanding her to be. what suggestion would you have for mr. kelley? >> one of the things we had a lot of conversation about. when i said i learned something from director rodriguez this morning, how the concept of incapacity plays in the capability to share information with family members. which is not contingent. but circumstance under which mental health professional can make a judgment about talking to a family member when they a believe it's in the best interest of the patient. in circumstance when the spaishtd not around to object or incapacity and, you know, looking to the guidance that is right in front of me, about the ability to talk to family members, the issue of the incapacity which is in fact our regulatory language is not explored in much detail. it does leave a lot of uncertainty on the part of providers about how how do they comply with that.

mrs. lourdes rodriguez deflores of el salvador, former prime minister silvio berlusconi of italy, former primeinister tony blair and mrs. sharri blair of the united kingdom, former prime minister and mrs. john howard of australia, former prime minister and mrs. ehud olmert of israel, former -- current secretary-general of nato, mr. mr. mr. rasmussen, his royal heiness bandhar al sultan of saudi arabia, abdul al chalifa of bahrain, former ambassador to the united states and absof india, current ambassadors to the united states, ambassador salim al saba of kuwait, ambassador patilja of indonesia and ambassador hakimi and mrs. hakimi of afghanistan, ambassador of botswana, the german chief of mission, mr. janz hannefeldt. please join mow and acknowledging our global leaders. i would now like to acknowledge the governor of texas, rick perry. the governor of arizona, jan brewer, the governor of new jersey, chris christie and mrs. mary pat christie, the former governor of alabama, bob riley, and the former governor of michigan john engler and his wife michelle. i want to greet the following members

mr. rodriguez, is when an american worker will not do the job after you advertise at a competition wage. until the system is under control, we don't know. is it because why are there almost no native born workers in agriculture? is that because the work's too hard and we moved on a as a people, or the wages are too low and most are illegal immigrants? we don't know until we get order out of chaos. i think the other thing that people have come to grips with, and that's where we disagree is that the 11 million will not go away, and most people are okay with a pathway to citizenship, 70%, if it's earnedded. if you don't cut in line of those who have been patiently waiting, if, as a condition of staying here, you have to go through a criminal background check, you have to pay a fine, if, as a condition of staying here to become a citizen, you have to learn the language, and hold a job. we're talking about a 10-year minimum before you can even apply for a green card, and the conditions on the pathway to citizenship are that you have to learn our language, pay a fine for the crime committed, g

rodriguez,hank mr. mr. connor, ms. eastman, for being here. each one of you have been a very, very helpful in putting this together. in putting this together. and i wentnto than -- wanted to thank senator feinstein and others for working so hard in the agricultural part of this. would like to make a final point, go ahead. >> i want to thank the committee for all the hard work in the senator for all the due diligence in this. one closing thought. i think what we tried to do here in working together over the past few months and years is to really do something that would honor from workers and the work they do because it has been a discussion about that. secondly, that we have an industry that will maintain the viability. i'd think all of us in america want to see products produced here. >> having had the honor of serving as chair and drank and member of the senate i want aral committ vibrant east to west, north to south agricultural committee. thank you very much for being here. smith.hanging to brad fred benjamin. please come forward. we will s

my heart goes out to those like rosa rodriguez and especially to her who sooner or later had to face the question from her baby daughter, mommy, where is my arm? oh, mr. speaker, it begs human imagination to try to take in the crushing emotional burden that the abortion industry in this country has heaped upon so many american mothers. madam speaker, i will not expound upon the cases of dr. scott rickey or abortionist roy wise berg in wooden hills, california. however i will tell you that they involved thousands of unborn children, many of them in their third trimester which can be described as a december creation of unborn babies. would it be too much to hope for that members of this body and americans in general might research these tragedies for themselves, given the implications for any society who turns a blind eye to such atrocities against the most innocent and helpless of its members. if our society is to survive with our humanity intact, our moral impulse to our fellow human beings must first survive. it's so important for people to see for themselves the inhumanity of what is being done to these little victims. maybe it would not change e's