mr. walberg. you notice we do a lot of that go blue, go red, i don't know, maybe it's the education committee, we can't stop ourselves. it's my pleasure now to introduce our second witness, co-panelist, governor rick snyder. he was sworn into office as the 48th govern -- i'm sorry. we just introduced that guy. >> i think i did that well, didn't i, chairman? >> actually, you did it extremely well. i'm not sure about the go blue thing, but very, very well. governor dannel malloy took office as the 88th governor of connecticut 2011. prior to that, he worked as a prosecutor in brooklyn, new york, serving four years as assistant district attorney. in 1995 governor malloy served as mayor of stamford, connecticut. welcome to you both. before i recognize each of you to provide your testimony, let me once again briefly explain our lighting system. you will each have five minutes to present your testimony. if you go over, i will not be gaveling you down. if i start to get nervous up here you'll hear a gentl

mr. walberg mentioned i'm the relentless positive action person. we have many problems in michigan that are much more pressing that i want to find common ground issues we can work together on before we get into divisive issues. and we're showing great success. we're balancing the budget. we showed tax reform. important items this year i would prioritize include the transportation package i mentioned abtd infrastructure. we have a package on public safety. we need to do a better job on that area in our state. so right to work is an issue that may have its time and place, but i don't believe it's appropriate in michigan during 2012. >> because we've had to deal with that issue, as you probably know, on this committee as it relates to south carolina. and do you think that -- i don't want to put you on the hot seat. but do you think there's evidence out there to show that it creates -- that it helps states compete not only with other states within the united states, but compete globally for -- for businesses? do you think the right to work type situati

mr. walberg: thank you. i appreciate the opportunity to stand with my colleagues tonight to speak on an important issue. it was an amazing experience for me this morning to be part of the oversight and government reform committee and to have a hearing where we had numerous members of religious organizations, including leaders in the catholic, the jewish, the protestant faiths, in front of us. men who were appealing for rights that should be taken for granted in this country, the rights of religious freedom. it brought back to me the thoughts that i experienced just a year ago almost this very day. when i was in israel and had the opportunity to hear from the prime minister of israel as he spoke with glowing admiration for america. he talked about the religious liberty that was unlike any other place in the world in israel today based upon, as he said, the experience the value and the documents of america and its foundings. and so today to hear our religious leaders speaking for their religious liberty was un

mr. walberg, for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman, and thank you, mr. attorney general, for being here today. i'm tempted to ask your opinion on former penn state coach joe paterno. might be an interesting conversation but we don't have time for that in the question, but i would state that joe paterno reported allegations of child molestation to his superiors but did nothing else. because he didn't want to jeopardize university procedure. jason weinstein, a senior official in the criminal division, knew about gunwalking as early as april 2010. after a single meeting with atf about it, he then failed to follow up or take action. joe paterno, a legend in his sport, and yet he was unceremoniously fired. weinstein continues on in his current position, even the fast and furious has held deadly consequences, most importantly the agent brian terry, a proud son of michigan, my state. my question for you is, what's the difference between the case of joe paterno a penn state and the justice department under your leadership? >> well, i'm not going to get into pate

mr. walberg, for five minutes. mr. walberg: thank you, mr. speaker. during a district work period i had a chance to catch up with my constituents in michigan's seventh district. people invited me in their facilities, eagerly to talk about their economic climate as well as what is done to promote growth. these conversations went into coffee shops and restaurants. but whether i was being given a tour by the owner of a manufacturing plant or having a cup of coffee with an engineer, a similar theme kept cropping up. people are worried about excessive big government regulations. in particular, how they impose unreasonable costs on businesses, create uncertainty and in turn affect job growth. this time many of my constituents expressed outrage over a new youth agricultural labor rule program. the department of labor proposed regulations to restrict the types of activities young people can participate in. while the rule includes an exemption for children on nonincorporated farms owned by their parents, it could prevent kids from working on incorporated farms

mr. walberg: thank you, mr. speaker. with michigan's unemployment rate consistently higher than the national average, i remain committed to thoroughly reviewing the implications of burdensome regulations that have the potential to overwhelm my states and country's job creators. a current effort by the department of labor is a new standard being considered by occupational safety and health administration called the injury and illness prevention program, or i2-p2 it will require all employers to, quote, find and fix all hazards in their workplace, even those not otherwise regulated. this regulation could potentially impact every employer covered by osha, unless osha exempts small employers or those with less hazardous workplaces. many employers who voluntarily issued safety and health programs have improved their workplace safety culture, but there are serious problems about this standard that osha has not addressed. the moment this regulation gets issued, safety and health programs will go from being a good idea to a lega