mr. torres: thank you, ranking member. mr. speaker, i'm proud to partner with my colleague, the gentleman from new york, representative lawler, on a matter of urgent importance to our nation. the united states is entering an age of ever-escalating political violence. as evidenced by the violent assaults on the united states capitol on january 6, and as he wassed by not one but two attempted assassinations of a former president. on july 13, the difference between an attempted assassination and a completed assassination was not the skill of the secret service, it was luck. if the gunman had been slightly more precise in his shooting or if the former president had moved ever so slightly to his right, the former president would have been killed. the fact that america stood inches and seconds away from a national crisis is itself a crisis. the security of a major presidential candidate, when it be the democratic nominee, vice president harris, or the republican nominee, former president donald trump, cannot be left to chance. hopin

mr. torres, associate commissioner with the puerto rico energy bureau from san juan, puerto rico. mr. sakai, chief executive officer for living energy from san juan, puerto rico. and mr. mackle money, chief executive officer from san juan, puerto rico. if you would all join us at the table, that would be wonderful. let me remind the witnesses that under committee rules that must limit oral statements to five minutes but their entire statement will appear in the hearing record. to begin your testimony, please press the talk button on the microphone and we use timing lights. when you begin it turns green, then yellow and at the end turns red. i will ask you to complete your statement. i will allow all witnesses to testify before the members begin the questioning. the chair recognizes mr. rivera for five minutes. >> thank you. chair, vice chair and members of the subcommittee, good morning, thank you for the opportunity to testify on puerto rico's recovery and the critical efforts to rebuild our electrical grid. i am the executive director of the central office for recovery, reconstructi

mr. torres previously served as director of economic and workforce development where he played a pivotal role in supporting businesses and workers through the challenges of covid-19 pandemic. his unwaivering dedication and fostering growth and creating opportunities has made a profound impact across san francisco. benefiting small businesses and local nonprofit and the community. it's been a pleasure to work with jacque win and please welcome to the stage. [cheers and applause] >> gracias. buenas noches a todos. [speaking spanish] it's great to see so many brown faces here in city hall, is it not? of course i want to say a very good big and heartfelt congratulations to our honorable consul general ana. if he will i --felicidades. thank you so much. all of us tonight are honored to be here to join not only the mexican consulate but also senators as well as all the nationals in the region to celebrate this cry of dolores el grito. the we look forward to see you on the 15th to celebrate the real el grito. we also want to take a moment, please por favor. yes, i am. [applause] we also want to

mr. torres: thank you, ranking member. mr. speaker, i'm proud to partner with my colleague, the gentleman from new york, representative lawler, on a matter of urgent importance to our nation. the united states is entering an age of ever-escalating political violence. as evidenced by the violent assaults on the united states capitol on january 6, and as he wassed by not one but two attempted assassinations of a former president. on july 13, the difference between an attempted assassination and a completed assassination was not the skill of the secret service, it was luck. if the gunman had been slightly more precise in his shooting or if the former president had moved ever so slightly to his right, the former president would have been killed. the fact that america stood inches and seconds away from a national crisis is itself a crisis. the security of a major presidential candidate, when it be the democratic nominee, vice president harris, or the republican nominee, former president donald trump, cannot be left to chance. hopin

mrs. torres: thank you, madam speaker. and thank you to my colleague, dr.er, and also assistant leader joe neguse for holding this wildfire special order tonight. i rise to speak on the devastating impact that wildfires have in my district, in the inland empire, southern california. right now there are two devastating wildfires surrounding my entire district. the bridge fire that has burned over 4,000 acres so far and the line fire that has burned over 27,000 acres to date. my heart goes out to the families and to all of the communities affected. and i want to thank our firefighters and first responders for their selfless sacrifice, putting themselves in harm's way to save lives. i also want to thank the city of fontana and all of their employees helping to evacuate as they host families at the center. as our region continues to experience record breaking heat waves, extremely dry conditions and other unprecedented weather, it is so important to ensure the public has the resources necessary to prepare for these disasters. in 2005, i lost my own home to a fi

mr. de la torre's management at glenwood and other facilities across the country, including, by the way,hospitals in utah, was it reprehensible, and never should have happened. steward was operating in my state from 2017 to 2023. they understand healthcare facilities, they didn't pay for required medical equipment. they failed to meet minimum operating standards. they refused to pay a number of vendors to the tune of about $40 million to vendors in my state. most importantly, they endangered lives. it is hard to get delay precisely how many lives have been seriously affected, or worse as a result of is and is meant their mismanagement. clearly, this kind of unusual setting, thorough federal review, hhs at the federal levels, responsible for conducting oversight to combat waste, fraud, and abuse, it approved appears all three were involved at steward. i appreciate sanders and ranking member cassidy for bringing this before our committee. i regret we do not have someone hear from administration, either this administration or the prior administration to talk about what should hhs be doing?

torre in contempt. with that, i yield to my colleague. mr. sanders: i thank senator cassidy.enator markey has played a leadership role in the investigation of this whole process. i'd like to yield to senator markey. mr. markey: thank you, mr. chairman, very much. thank you for your great leadership on this issue. thanks to senator cassidy. we've made this bipartisan from the very beginning in order to ensure that the american public can completely understand what has happened to this steward health care chain, and i thank them for their leadership in holding dr. ralph de la torre accountable for his greed and shining a light on the deadly consequences that result from the involvement of for-profit forces in our health care system. steward health care declared bankruptcy in may. it was a culmination of a financial tragedy. over the past decade, steward, led by its founder and ceo dr. ralph de la torre and his corporate enablers, looted hospitals across the country for their own profit. and while they got rich, workers, patients, and communities suffered. nurses paid out of poc

torres, thank you. >> a man suspected in what is believed to be a second assassination attempt on former president donald trump, has now been charged with federal gun crimes. it happened yesterday while mr. trump was playing golf at his club in west palm beach. the secret service reports one of its agents saw a gun poking out of a fence. yesterday, the secret service fired a gunshot at the man, who then ran away and got into a vehicle. he was eventually captured. it's unclear if the man actually fired any shots. former president trump was not hurt. >> the bushes where this guy was is an ak 47 style rifle with a scope, two backpacks, and a gopro. >> the suspected gunman, ryan wesley ruth, has had previous run ins with law enforcement. he's 58 years old, has been arrested for drug possession, driving without a license in 2002. he was involved in a three hour standoff with police. in more recent years. he posted several negative comments on social media about former president trump. >> commuters in san francisco may have trouble getting in and out of the city tomorrow mornin, starting tonight to eastbound lanes of interstate 80 and two westbound lanes will be closed between 10 p.m. and 6 a