mr. walberg: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. walberg: i want to thank thank my colleague from iowa, congressman tom latham, for introducing this very important legislation. representative latham is a longtime advocate for farmers and agri business and his leadership in congress is greatly appreciated. according to a report, a new site for my home state of michigan, parts of the country are experiencing the worst drought in more than 20 years. jim, a fifth generation farmer from liberty township, said this, it's going to be one of the years that separate those that are positioned well financially and those that are not. unpredictability in the weather and harvest are not new challenges for american farmers. quite the contrary. it's a way of life. farmers work each day under difficult circumstances, growing the food and resources necessary to power this nation and this world. and often the presence of a son or daughter wor

mr. walberg. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan is recognized for two minutes. mr. walberg: i thank the chairman and, mr. speaker, my friends across the aisle decry the fact that we've now voted over 30 times to defund, dismantle and repeal the law. but, mr. speaker, isn't it right to challenge a tool of destruction of the american health care system, the economy and personal freedom of choice? in michigan, the law has stifled economic growth and hiring and raised health care costs for everyone. it would impose 21 new higher taxes, 12 of which directly affect the middle class, workers and families. it would lead to a yose tax increase of almost -- gross tax increase of almost $75 billion over 10 years. it will cost $1.8 trillion over the next 10 years, nearly double the original estimate. meanwhile, the obama administration has failed to decide what government-approved health insurance will look like, leaving employers uncertain of future expenses and taxes they will face. white cassel in a hearing prior to this -- castle in a hearing prior to this they have not hire

mr. walberg. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan is recognized for two minutes. mr. lberg: i thank the chairman and, mr. speaker, my friends across the aisle decry the fact that we've now voted over 30 times to defund, dismantle and repeal the law. but, mr. speaker, isn't it right to challenge a tool of destruction of the american health care system, the economy and personal freedom of choice? in michigan, the law has stifled economic growth and hiring and raised health care costs for everyone. it would impose 21 new higher taxes, 12 of which directly affect the middle class, workers and families. it would lead to a yose tax increase of almost -- gross tax increase of almost $75 billion over 10 years. it will cost $1.8 trillion over the next 10 years, nearly double the original estimate. meanwhile, the obama administration has failed to decide what government-approved health insurance will look like, leaving employers uncertain of future expenses and taxes they will face. white cassel in a hearing prior to this -- castle in a hearing prior to this they have not hired

mr. walberg, for five minutes. mr. walberg: thank you, mr. speaker. despite talk of political gridlock in d.c., republicans and democrats can't can at least agree on -- can agree at least on one thing, the economy is in rough shape. the unemployment rate has not gone below 8%, causing worry, uncertainty and frustration for many families living in michigan and across the u.s. but unfortunately things can still get worse. it's time for president obama and the senate to stop pushing their failed agendas and start applying commonsense policies that work. my republican colleagues and i in the house have been listening to the american people and remain committed to policies that spur job creation, reduce costs and restore power back to the people. last month's employment report showed that millions of americans still are without a job and the unemployment rate is stuck at 8.2%. meanwhile, the anemic job growth is even worse in my district where some areas show an unemployment rate of over 9%. nationwide, the rate of real unemployment, which includes the une

mr. walberg: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, for the record americans -- america's businesses and innovators do not need the administration mandating how they run their companies. yet it regularly does. and in the form of burdensome and costly regulations. we all share the responsibility to find the balance of making sure employees have the safest working conditions possible while allowing them to have a job to come back to every day. burdensome, onerous regulations place such a heavy toll on businesses that hiring slows and they are forced to start cutting from their work force. part of protecting employees' jobs is making sure that business they work for is still able to grow and create more good-paying jobs for those in michigan and across the country. over the course of this congress i have had the opportunity to speak with numerous small businesses, owners and workers who state unequivocally that they would rather washington hand out less regulations and more certainty. according to a chamber of commerce small busi

mr. walberg is recognized for five minutes. >> thank you mr. speaker and thank you to our panel today. i was hoping that your kindly goodness would produce something for the future for me as well, but thank you mr. chairman. let me go back and, there have been leaks in this administration. we don't know who and we don't know why but there have been and just to rehearse a non-exhaustive list, these leaks have included information about strikes against al qaeda and pakistan, somalia and yemen. we have leaks concerning reported cybercampaign against iran's nuclear arms program, weeks that included terrorist plans to destroy american airlines, leaks and details of cia and special operations forces efforts to kill osama bin laden, and others. i guess what i want to ask madam secretary and director olsen, were dhs or in cts consulted in advance of these disclosures? >> we certainly were not consulted. in other words, there was no, as far as i know nothing at nctc involved in any of the leaks that you referred to. i think the main point for us congressman is that the specifics of the allegati

mr. walberg, is recognized for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. speaker. and thank you to our panel today. >> don't let john boehner hear that. >> well, i was hoping your kind goodness would produce something for the future for me as well. but thank you, mr. chairman. let me go back to leaks. there have been leaks in this administration. we don't know who. we don't know why. but there have been and just to rehearse a nonexhaustive list, these leaks have included about drone strikes against al qaeda in pakistan, somalia and yemen. we have leaks concerning reported cybercampaign against iran's nuclear arms program. leaks that included terrorist plans to destroy american airliners. leaks and details of c.i.a. and special operations forces efforts to kill osama bin laden. and others. i guess what i want to ask, madam secretary, and director olsen, were d.h.s. or ncts consulted in advance of these disclosures? >> well, we certainly were consulted. in other words, there was no -- as far as i know, nothing within nctc were we involved in any of the leaks that you