mr. shimkus: thank you, mr. speaker. and as rob departs the chamber, let me thank him for his service and for his family's service as obviously the first republican member to be able to respond to your comments, let me say what most of us always know, that although many of us isagree on public policy, no one's ever questioned your commitment, your sacrifice, your focus and your tenacity. i think i value that more than almost anything we do. your words are very important for us and for the american people to understand that spirited debate is not bad. it is a part of this process. a former high school teacher and government -- in government history, we would relish this in our classrooms, to have this type of exchange between our students. so thank you for that, and i'm just fortunate to be here when you made your comments. now, mr. speaker, i'd like to ocus and turn my comments to sochi, russia, as the world focuses on that area of the world, let me talk about what's going on on the southern side of the caucus' mountain

mr. shimkus, five minutes for questions. >> mr. chairman, thank you for being here. obviously a follow-up to the g.a.o. report. a few comments before i begin. we're never going to have enough money to do whatever we want to do and more people and more money assumes that will make things better but this really -- it's important for me to always remember the whole budget pie. when 65% is mandatory spending, 35% is discretionary spending. if we don't get control over mandatory spending, spending stays the same, discretionary keeps shrinking which will affect all agencies. the military and the like. so in this budget debate, as people say, and we hear the discretionary part of the budget, we are ill-advised not to always talk about the problems of mandatory spending. i'd also say that f.d.a. is one of the few agencies that got additional money through these budgetary fights than a lot of other agencies. so with that, sidney, can you put up this -- because a lot of the questions i think are pertaining to this that's in the g.a.o. report. and i have it on -- that's why i'v

mr. shimkus here to carry the load. >> to hear quickly the republican congress there was alive chair in the room. >> i can comment on that. i was asleep at the time. >> we have a big interparty battle coming up. it's not going to happen until 2015 but we are to have an su and frank pallone diving and announcing that they want to run for the top democratic spot whether it the ranking member. who do you support at this point? >> i think gene and i feel the same way if mr. dingell wants to come back and take back the chairmanship which we hope it will be he certainly is entitled to it. anybody who has listened to him questioning a witness lately knows he is still out there and sharpest attack trade as joe said he knows where everybody is buried and can take full advantage of that. i'm waiting to see what mr. dingell will do and i'm ranking member on the oversight and investigations subcommittee so if mr. dingell decides not to i can sit down to my friends frank and adam both your friends and as joe says wonderful members of congress. i am here to say i'm not going to run for chairman. >> congr

mr. shimkus, for five minutes. mr. shimkus: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. you, mr. s: thank speaker. mr. speaker, i first want to recognize anna and michael, reporters from "the new york times," because will i summarize their article and plagiarize other portions of it in talking about ukraine. the world watched in wonder, concern, excitement, and sometimes horror and marveled at the tenacity and the resiliency of the ukranian people. however ukraine is in desperate need now of billions of dollars, and quickly its economy is shrinking, its government treasury is empty, its foreign exchange funds are low, and its banklingcies -- banking system is fragile. which brings to point what are the next steps? and the first step is for the ukranian people to organize an interim government. i call upon them to do it as rapidly as they can so that the international community has someone, then, to negotiate with and deal with some of these ressing matters. and they are into a positive direction in doing that. the s

mr. shimkus, five minutes for questions. >> mr. chairman, thank you for being here. obviously a follow-up to the g.a.o. report. a few comments before i again. we're never going to have enough money to do whatever we want to do and more people and more money assumes that will make things better but this really -- it's important for me to always remember the whole budget pie. when 65% is mandatory spending, 35% is discretionary spending. if we don't get control over mandatory spending, spending stays the same, discretionary keeps shrinking which will affect all agencies. the military and the like. so in this budget debate, as people say, and we hear the discretionary part of the budget, we are ill-advised not to always talk about the problems of mandatory spending. i'd also say that f.d.a. is one of the few agencies that got additional money through these budgetary fights than a lot of other agencies. so with that, sidney, can you put up this -- because a lot of the questions i think are pertaining to this that's in the g.a.o. report. why have it on -- that's i've been

mr. shimkus to carry the load. >> the republican conference when they got the news, there was a large cheer? >> i can't comment. i was asleep. >> we do have a big interparty battle that will be coming up here and won't happen until 2015 but we have representative eshoo and frank pallone saying they want to run for the top spot. representative did he get, who do you support? >> gene and i feel the same way, if mr. dingell wants to take back the chairmanship, he certainly is entitled to it. anybody who has listened to him questioning a witness know he is all there and sharp as a task. he knows where everybody is and will take advantage of that. i'm waiting to see what mr. dingell will do and i'm ranking member member on the oversight subcommittee and if mr. dingell will not go down i will talk to my friends. and as joe says, wonderful members of congress. >> are you interested in throwing your hat in the ring? >> i'm not going to run for chairman. i respect the minority. >> congressman green, are you leaning towards john dingell? >> he has been a mentor to me and we worked together. my wife a