mr. mcnerney: mr. speaker, this is national small business week and rise to celebrate the more than 27 small businesses in the united states of america and the 31,000 in my congressional district. the men and women who own these firms are truly the backbone of our economy. small businesses create most of the new jobs in the economy, supporting their families, employees, and communities. small businesses want to grow and create jobs but have difficulty accessing capital. furthermore, too many people remain out of work through no fault of their own. we must do more to fight high unemployment rates by helping to ensure that small businesses have the tools they need to succeed and thrive. that's why i introduced h.r. 2313, the small business relief and job creation act. my bill provides tax credits for small businesses to hire people who were previously unemployed, and includes additional tax credits for small businesses located in high unemployment areas. i welcome my colleagues to co-sponsor h.r. 2313 to

mr.uffett: i said, "what do i do with this money?" he said, "investing it is about assigning the right use for the money." i did not want to go to college. my dad wanted me to go to college. i had $175,000. i thought that was all i would need to live the rest of my life. david: did you ever run into that guy again? mr. buffett: he needs protection now. david: when you had your first annual meeting, how many showed up at that? mr. buffett: we had about 12. you have to count my aunt katie and my uncle fred. david: any advice to a young investor who would like to emulate you? >> would you fix your tie, please? david: most people would not recognize me if my tie was not fixed. let's leave it this way. all right. ♪ david: i don't consider myself a journalist. nobody else would consider myself a journalist. i began to take on the life of being an interviewer even though i had a day job of running a private equity firm. how do you define leadership? what is it that makes somebody tick? ♪ david:

mr. raskin: mr. runcie, there has been a documented pat ench of abuse with the student loan companies for many years. lots of scams are taking place. in 2012 the i.g. reported that student loan company improperly accessed student borrower accounts to change the contact information of the borrowers in order to, quote, make it difficult for the borrowers to be contacted by their loan servicers. why would they do that? what's the scam? can you explain to us how that works for them? mr. runcie: thank you. they are commercial entities and they are fee-for-service entities. mr. raskin: these are legitimate businesses. these are not internet scammers? mr. runcie: they are not internet scammers, but the nature of the interaction between those entities and the students involved i can't characterize that, but they are businesses formed by commercial services whether it's loan consolidation or something else. it seems and it appeared in cases where they want to have a level of control to create a transaction or

mr. serrano: mr. speaker, i rise today to introduce bipartisan house resolution 328 with my colleague from florida, frances rooney, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the reunification of jerusalem. for centrist the jewish people learned to pray at the western wall. the only remaining connection to the great temple destroyed in 70 a.d. a cry that infused the daily prayers. 50 years ago in 1967, this mere hope became a reality when jerusalem was finally reunified at the conclusion of the six-day war. of that freshes moment, rabin recouldn'ted, quote, we stood among a tangle of bug rugged battle weary men who were unable to believe their identifies. their eyes moist with tears, speech incoherent, the overwomening desiring was to cling to the wall to hold on to that great moment as long as possible. the reunification of jerusalem restored the city as a beacon of religious freedom for all of the religious. and the rights of jews, uslims, and christians to pray at their respective holy sites. we share the

mr. doyle: mr. chairman, for the past seven years, we have had 62 votes to repeal the affordable care act, but republicans have never once put a plan on the floor for the american people. well, today, we all well, today we get a chance to go on the record from where we stand on this bill. this shameful cruel bill. here are the facts. 24 million americans are going to lose their insurance if this bill becomes law. over $839 billion gets cut out of the medicaid program. the essential benefit package in states wiped out n my state, it's taking care of people with mental illness and opioid addiction, gone. this takes $117 billion out of the medicare trust fund. this is a health care bill -- this is really a tax bill masquerading as a health care bill. the plan here is to take this money out of the health care system and use it for tax cuts. that's what this bill's going to do. this creates a survival of the fittest health care for america. if you are young, if you are healthy, if you are wealthy this bi

mr.nyder: the title is what the people who lived there called the house in a self mocking way to characterize their debates. the people in the house that ,here was such a thing as truth and that if you could corral and it -- corral enough experts and get the facts, you could arrive at the truth. brian: you said a couple of things, a salon and dupont circle. what is a salon? mr. snyder: it was a political gathering place. automobiles, no television, little bit of radio. people entertain themselves by having dinner parties. in 1912, some disgruntled members of the cast administration began inviting very prominent and not so prominent people over for dinner to discuss political ideas of the day. their main political idea was they thought that taft was a horrible president, and the way to save the country was to bring theodore roosevelt back to the white house. brian: why theodore roosevelt? mr. snyder: part of it was a cold personality, but also roosevelt saw the wisdom of their ideas about

mrs. black: mr. speaker, i would like to remind the other side that if they read the bill they will see under section 137, it says no limiting access to coverage for pre-existing conditions. nothing shall be construed to limit access to health coverage for individuals with pre-existing conditions. i do not have time to yield. it is now my honor to -- it is my honor to yield four minutes to the gentleman from texas, mr. brady, the chairman of the ways and means committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for four minutes. mr. brady: thank you, mr. speaker. i first want to thank chairwoman black for her leadership on this effort as well as well as chairman and walden for an incredible work. mr. chairman and on behalf of the ways and means committee, who worked along side you, i'm honored to speak in support of the american health care act because it guarantees coverage for those with pre-existing illnesses. it guarantees coverage for those with pre-existing illnesses. the bill takes

mr. scott mr. speaker -- mr. scott: mr. speaker, i yield a minute and a half to the gentlelady from texas, ms. jackson lee. ms. jackson lee: i thank the gentleman very much. i have listened to the debate on the floor, i want to join my fellow colleagues, women and men of democratic caucus on opposing the working families flexibility act of 2017 and i just have one anecdotal story that reflects the constituents that i represent. take that woman who i saw in going to my elementary school's -- elementary schools, visiting them, i saw a mother who got up at 4:00 in the morning to take three bustos drop her young child off at an elementary school and get two buses back to work. an hourly wage maker. she does it because one she's supporting her child and two she's got to work. this bill is a complete undermining of all the hardworking men and women who need their money to pay the light bill, to pay rent, maybe even a mortgage, to pay the normal expenses that many take for granted. and this bill wants to substitute compensatory ti

mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker, i'm delighted to yield one minute to the gentleman from kentucky, the distinguished ranking member of the committee on budget, mr. yarmuth. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from kentucky is recognized for one minute. mr. yarmuth: i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. speaker, the question every member of congress should be asking themselves today is, who in the world is better off because of today's bill? it's not the 24 million people the c.b.o. says will lose their health coverage if this bill becomes law. it's not the seniors who will be priced out of the market by an age tax or millions of families that will see their health care gutted by the more than $800 billion cuts to medicaid. nd it's not the $881,000 nonelderly adult -- 881,000 nonelderly adults in kentucky who will face reduced care. so who is better off? well, certainly corporations and millionaires who will see nearly $1 trillion in tax cuts from this bill. and at least in their minds, a few republican

thank you mr. chairman. mr. director, if you could just take a quick minute before i start with my line of questioning with regards to what happened in manchester to do whatever you can from your best expert opinion to try to reassure the american people that what we do in this country and what we are trying to do what helped thwart and stop any similar activity here in the future. if you could help try to put american minds at ease briefly, i would appreciate any words you might have. mr. brennan: i would say that isis and al qaeda and terrorist affiliates try to continued these outrageous attacks in europe as well as the united states. i can say with great confidence that this country has the absolute best counterterrorism community. the experts from intelligence in human -- excellent security do an excellent job. i have seen a tremendous growth and capability, as all as enhanced national architecture since 9/11 in terms of sharing counterterrorism information quickly. when it is collected overseas or wherever

mr. hensarling: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, over the weekend a very destructive storm system moved across my home state of texas, the midwest and the southeast, killing 15 of our fellow citizens and destroying whole communities in its wake. in van zandt county in the fifth congressional district of texas which i have the privilege to represent, four constituents lost their lives in a series of four violent tornados that shattered homes, shattered lives and devastated neighborhoods. in the fifth district and the fourth district of texas. these storms tragically killed seven people in washington, carol and madison counties in arkansas. two people in rankin and holmes counties in mississippi. one person in nashville, tennessee. one person from billings, missouri, and many more, mr. speaker, have been hospitalized. joining me here today are some of the members whose communities from affected. congressman womb ack and congressman crawford of arkansas. congressman harper of mississippi. congressman thompson of mississippi. c

mr. goodlatte: mr. speaker, at this time it's my pleasure to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from wisconsin, the former chairman of the house judiciary committee and the chief author of this legislation. mr. sensenbrenner: mr. speaker, i thank the gentleman from virginia for yielding. rapid d.n.a. is a promising new technology that allows for the almost immediate d.n.a. analysis of an arrestee. unlike standard d.n.a. practices which require sending d.n.a. samples from arrestees out to labs with the result taking weeks to ascertain, rapid d.n.a. results take only a few hours and can be done right at the booking station. like fingerprinting, photographing and other booking procedures which at the time were novel but now have become routine, rapid d.n.a. will soon be standard procedure in police stations across the country. there's only one problem with rapid d.n.a. technology -- federal law. our law written in 1994 when d.n.a. technology was still in its infancy, prohibits the use of ra

mr. president. this morning the democratic caucus met to discuss the circumstances of mr. i come's -- of mr. comey's dismissle by the white house. there are many actions to be taken. we will pursue many things in the coming days and weeks that we decided in our caucus and we will have more to say about that in the days ahead. there are three things that our caucus agreed must happen right away. first, mr. rosenstein should not be the one to appoint a special prosecutor. that responsibility should gl to the highest-serving career civil servant at the department of justice. second, mr. comey is needed more than ever to testify before the senate. third, attorney general sessions and deputy attorney general rosenstein should brief all senators on these events separately and in a classified setting, if necessary, and they should do it soon because the questions are just swirling about. there are more every day, almost every hour. let me go over each. first, it is the overwhelming view of my ca

mr. ross: mr. speaker, i move the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 1293, to amend title 5, united states code, to require that the office of personnel management submit an annual report to congress relating to the use of official time by federal employees, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 71, h.r. 1293, a bill to amend title 5, united states code, to require that the office of personnel management submit an annual report to congress relating to the use of official time by federal employees. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from florida, mr. ross, and the gentleman from virginia, mr. connolly, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from n. -- the chair recognizes the gentleman from florida. mr. ross: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material

mr. poliquin: thank you, mr. speaker and mr. chairman, to speak on behalf of h.r. 1329 and i salute congressman bost from illinois and congresswomannesty from the great state of connecticut for their great work in a bipartisan fashion to help our heroes. i think, mr. speaker, it was our first commander in chief, george washington, who said in effect that we can never expect our young men and women to step forward and serve our country in uniform unless and until we make sure we take care of those who have already returned from the battlefield. now, in the state of maine, mr. speaker, we love our veterans. we have about 125,000 of our heroes in our state of maine, more than half of which in the rural part of our state, the second congressional district of maine that i'm honored to represent. and i think it is a great idea and about time that we make sure that we come before the american people, republicans and democrats together, to make sure our veterans receive a cost-of-living adjustment, those who have been disabled as a resu

mr. tiberi: i'd like to introduce members on my slile and recognize ranking member levin to do the same on his side of the aisle. i'll introduce members who are here right now and then we'll recognize members as they get here later. so to my right, mr. adrian smith from nebraska. lynn jenkins from kansas. mr. kenny marchant from texas. with that i'll yield to the gentleman from michigan. mr. levin: thank you very much. mr. thompson is next to me, a veteran member of this institution. and brian higgins, we welcome you back doubly. and others will be coming. we have votes at 2:15, i think, so i guess each of us will make a brief opening and then we will vote. i yield back. thank you. mr. tiberi: thank you, mr. levin. i look forward to working with members. mr. levin: we're introducing ourselves. mr. tiberi: with that i'll tell you i look forward to working together as we have talked about before and i'd like to recognize our staff and i'll recognize mr. levin to do so on his side of the ais

mr. issa: i already said joe lieberman would work fine for me. it has to be somebody senior enough to understand how the system works and to lead it and with the confidence of the american people and then with enough tenacity and energy to live out a 10-year term if possible. thank you. reporter: what did you make of the briefing? ms. jackson lee: i don't think i learned much. and the confidence in the investigation is very limited. it does not reflect on my respect for director mueller, but i believe there are a number of cover-ups that i question whether or not all of them can be investigated pursuing the directions given to director mueller. i think it will be very important that all of the congressional committees continue their investigation. i think we are still puzzled about the memorandum. we are still puzzled about who gave the directive to fire mr. comey and the reasoning for that. it may be a criminal case, but it may also be the responsibility of congress to fix the process in

mr. rosenstein's decision to appoint a special counsel to lead that investigation. the briefing was behind closed doors but afterwards, several members of congress spoke with reporters. we'll show that now, starting with california republican darryl issa. >> did you learn anything new in there? how was the briefing? mr. issa: the briefing was very good. what i learned and am very satisfied with is that the special prosecutor will have the breadth of scope necessary to follow any and all leads directly and tangential to the russian attempt to influence our election. that for me, clearly unclassified, that for me is the most important question there is, will the special prosecutor have the responsibility to follow any and all leads. i was satisfied that that was answered with no hesitation, that director mueller will have that ability. >> do you understand that this is now a criminal investigation? mr. issa: i understand that it has always been a foreign intelligence investigation that incl

mr. royce: mr. speaker, i move the house suspend the rules and .ass h.r. 1644 as amended the clerk: a bill to enhance sanctions with respect to transactions relating to north korea and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. royce, and the gentleman from new york, mr. engel, each will control 20 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. royce: mr. speaker, i'm going to ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and and to heir remarks include extraneous material to this measure in the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. royce: i also ask unanimous consent to place in the record exchanges of letters with the other committees of referral on this measure. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. royce: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for such

mr. sanders: before we go further, i find it a little bit unfair that mr. mulvaney and many people in the trump administration disparage the director of the c.b.o. when it was tom price, the former republican chairman of the budget committee, who appointed -- who appointed dr. hall in the first place. let's get that clear. mr. mulvaney, as you know, the united states today has more income and wealth inequality than any major country on earth. top .1% now owns almost as much wealth as the bottom 90%. 52% of all new income today is going to the top 1%. but your budget thinks that it is good public policy to provide $52 billion in tax breaks to the wealthiest family in this country, a family already worth $128 billion. you think that a family like the walton family, where one guy there owns four ferraris and one maserati that are worth more than d 65 million, are just in desperate need of massive, massive tax breaks. en think that shelled aidleson, who among other things contributed $5 milli

to second, mr. rosenstein signed his name to a highly political memo, arguing for director comey's dismissal and made no involvement of the attorney general to recuse himself with more investigation. in recommending the firing of a man he met. ses retired without iis or to allowo citizens -- to be part of this. delivering such a mama which seems highly political and not in the kind of language, not the kind of imitation that prosecutors normally. these facts make it clear thateh decision to the highest ranking civil servant at the theirs.tmef mr. rosen time and other political appointees appointed by the president who they are i supposed to investigate should not be the ones making the call on us -- the prosecutor. less that decision be seen as influence or worse may at the direction of the administration. we need to ensure the american people they cannot confidence in the criminal justice system towu impartially. the best and only way to do that would be for a career civil servant at the department

mr. leahy: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: mr. president, i note that the chairman and i are well aware of how well it does when we can each take one of these bills. that's what we should do. you know, i mentioned this when the vermonters were here last weekend, when marcel and i hosted them. so many had driven through the night to join the hundreds of thousands of people in the nation's capital for the climate march. and many of them asked, why can't we do it the way we used to? i told them we were ready to go to all the bills in november. and i'm sorry that leadership said no. but things now we have done a lot in here. and those of us on appropriations committee have ready this bill. and we've been -- read most of it since last november. the e.p.a. in it provides funding to improve the ecological violent crimecy of our great state, the jewel of new england. it also includes funding for similar partnerships all over the country. i'm also pleased to report what's not in this bill. in a bipartisan way, we got rid of more than 160 p

mr. mcconnell: now, mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the senate -- the committee on the judiciary be discharged from further consideration of s. 917 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 917, a bill to amend title 36, united states code to designate may 12 as -- may 1 as silver star banner day. the presiding officer: without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the committee on homeland security and government affairs be discharged from further consideration of h.r. 657 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 657, an act to amend title 5 of the united states code t

mr. wilson: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. wilson: mr. speaker, may marks military appreciation month, a special time to recognize the tremendous support and encouragement families offer their service members. as a son of a flying tiger who served in india and china and as the grateful father of four sons who all served overseas and as a 31-year veteran of the army reserve and guard, i know firsthand the commitment of our troops, veterans and military families. last week i was honored to join senator blunt, senator gillibrand and kristen davis to introduce a -- the military families stability act which provides greater flexibility by allowing them a six-month option of moving to the next start of their next assignment. the happiness and success of our military families is critical to overall troop readiness and retention and i'm confident this legislation wil

mr. secretary, for attending today. this is secretary mnuchin's first hearing since being sworn in in february and we look forward to our discussion. many of this committee's priorities fall within the jurisdiction of the treasury department, including housing financial reform and development of policies to encourage a healthier economy. we look forward to working with you and your staff on these priorities and improving the lives of americans. housing finance reform remains the most significant piece of unfinished business following the crisis and it is important to build bipartisan support far ath forward. last week, we received testimony from director nell watt. the hearing reinforced why conservatorship is unsustainable, namely g.s.e.'s having zero capital, tax pay ornse the hook for losses an the government taking all risks. a number of groups released proposal in recent months, including the milkin institute, several writing jointly for the urban institute and many others. three yea

mr. well: i think it is supported by 1201 g. it says a visa does not entitle you to enter. it is a travel document that says you can come to the united states, that we can look at the willr and see whether we admit you. a customs official can deny you intrigue. that ifports the view the suspension is valid under 1182 f, we should not read 1182 to force the government to give you a visa. a differenttify injunction from this one. it would just be an injunction that says for the 30% of aliens and seeking immigrant visas, we would be forced to give them visas and would not have to honor when they showed up at our borders. we would say harsh and fruitless. world terms, what does this injunction stop you from doing that you could have done otherwise if these folks go through the normal process? does it mean they get on a plane somewhere and can get off the plane at the customs area? what is the real net gain under this injunction? yes, iran, sudan, somalia, libya, yemen, with the injunction doe

mr. brennan: mr. putin's political standing in russia is certainly well supported by key oligarchs who control billion-dollar industries and parts of the russian economy. he is, i think relied on them for support and they are reliant on him. they obviously have a lot of international connections, business connections that they will use to the event that there is interest. russiansee that intelligence agencies did not hesitate at all to use private companies and russian persons who are unaffiliated with the russian government to support the objectives. >> we talk about americans in russian now and these couple of minutes. who are suborned in such a way, and russian whoarchs that are recruited are suborned, do they necessarily need to know that they are doing russia's bidding? times they: no, many do not. many times they do not know that the person they are interacting with his russian. many times they know the individuals may be russian officials, but they do not know that there is an intelligence conn

mr. president the dismissal of director coming has raised troubling questions over the last few days. the president of the united states fired the man in charge of an active investigation about the president and his campaign ties to russia. the truth is, the dismissal of director coming as part of a much longer pattern of this administrations interfering with, or removing the people who are in a position to conduct an independent investigation of the president and his t administration.. the administration requested the chairman of the house and senate intelligence committee's help them be back reports in the press about russian probes. the administration picked to the attorney general, then senator jeff sessions to lead a justice department that was supposed independently conduct thism investigation. attorney general sessions, of course, has since had to recuse himself from the russian investigation after he misled congress about his meetings with the russian ambassador.ing the administra

mr. scott: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield three minutes to the gentleman from california who has been working on juvenile justice issues since he was in the california legislature, los angeles city council, mr. cardenas. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. cardenas: i want to take the opportunity to thank my colleague for all of his diligence and incredible effort to make sure that we are here today with the success of this passage of this important legislation. the-r the bill we're considering today, the -- the bill we're considering today is a bill that puts congress back in the driver's seat of evidence-based reform of our nation's juvenile justice system. for far too long congress has failed to re-authorize the landmark juvenile justice delinquency prevention act passed in 1974. the most important federal juvenile justice statute has expired for almost a decade. i came to congress to affect change at a national level to serve the people of my district and all of the peop

mr. cardin: mr. president, i was to say the least shocked last night when i heard that president trump dismissed f.b.i. director comey from his position as the director of the f.b.i. to me, this decision by president trump crossed the line. i have looked at and tried to understand what was going through the president's mind at the time he dismissed mr. comey, and it's clear he had memorandums written by the department of justice that were released at the time, but there is also a clear indication that president trump was considering this decision for over a week, that after he had reached the decision to fire mr. comey, he needed grounds from the department of justice, and that information was supplied to mr. trump for his decisionmaking. this was mr. trump's decision. at the time he dismissed mr. comey, president trump's associates were involved in the investigation being done by the department of justice. this is a criminal investigation being done by the department of justice because of russia's i

mr. kelly: mr. speaker, i'm humbled to rise today in the memory of united states marine corps lance corporal mark lucas tucker who was killed on june 8, 2005, in a nonhostile vehicle accident on alternate supply ruutu rain yum in iraq. a mississippi native was assigned to the ninth engineer support battalion, support group third marine expeditionary force okinawa, japan, and attached to the second service support group of the expeditionary force forward. his mother, donna bagwell, is seated in the gallery today. she says her son wanted to be a marine from the time he was a little boy. he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather who also served in the marine corps. in 2003, lance corporal tucker enlisted in the united states marine corps. in 2005, he volunteered to go to iraq and to protect our nation during operation iraqi freedom. mrs. bagwell said her son planned to stay in the united states marine corps until retirement and make it a career. he loved america, mrs. bagwell said. he lov

mr. hatch: mr. secretary, the president's budget envisioned increased economic growth that eventually reaches 3%. as i understand it, that vision relies on the implementation of a number of policies, including pro-growth tax reform, cutting unnecessary regulations, building infrastructure, reforming health care, boosting energy production, and reducing deficits that would significantly improve the supply side of the economy. of course it is not unheard of that an administration places belief in the efficacy of its policy proposals. for example, in former president obama's fit can -- fiscal year 2010 budget, growth was assumed to get to as high as 4.6% and was assumed to average 3.le% over an extended eight-year period. that was premised on the administration's belief in its policy prescriptions, particularly the impact of a so-called, quote, stimulus, unquote. now, mr. secretary, could you spend a little bit of time explaining why the administration believes that its policy proposals, including but

thank you, mr. secretary. thank you, mr. chairman. mr. secretary, we appreciate the opportunity to visit with you today. i'd like to talk about just a couple of items. i would like to go back to an insurance related issue if i could. and that has to do with the u.s.-eu covered agreement. we may be getting into the weeds a little bit on it, and if you'd like to take it for the record , that would be fine. i'm curious there are different types of insurance carriers that do business in the united states. some do business in europe as well. they all want to be able to or at least a number of them want to be able to do business both within the european market, but also within the united states market. some only do business here, a lot of our property casualty carriers do, but they have reinsurance connections with the european market. the concern in many cases there's a little bit of a discrepancy between some of the reinsurers who want to basically have full access and capability to do business in all of the eu markets. and because of that, t

mr. gibbs: mr. speaker, i say the comment about this amendment would allow states to do it, i don't think it would stop states from doing it now. if states want to do more to protect water quality in their state they can do that. under the clean water act it says the states will implement and enforce the clean water act under the guise of the federal government but they have to be at least the standard of the federal government. they can exceed that standard if they want. i don't think there's anything stopping it. i urge my colleagues to defeat this amendment and support the underlying bill. i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from california. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the noes have it. the amendment is not agreed to. mr. huffman: i request a recorded vote. the chair: pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from california wil

mr. burgess: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. burgess: mr. speaker, after seven years we have heard the stories from our constituents, from our patients, from our friends, from our families who have suffered under the affordable care act. today, we'll have a chance to vote on a plan that will rescue and revitalize the market and lower costs and increase flexibility for patients to choose and keep a health insurance plan that works for them and their families. however, before we can do that, we have to pass a bill that will insure that members of congress and their staffs are treated the same way as the rest of america. so let's be clear. we firmly believe that members of congress should live by the same rules as everyone else. period. the bill we're considering now will make a simple technical correction to insure that the american health care act and its amendments apply equally to everyone when signed into law. over the

mr. beckerman: we are a trade association that represents internet companies, as providers, all the app and websites you visit. peter: name some. mr. beckerman: amazon, facebook, ebay, etsy, twitter, netflix. pretty much all the major websites you are visiting. peter: do they have shared concerns in washington? mr. beckerman: absolutely. the internet economy is incredibly important. that is what ties all of our members together. everything from net neutrality to trade policy to so many other issues, there is very much alignment. peter: how did you get active in this area? mr. beckerman: i worked on the hill for 12 years, a lot of work on telecommunications, internet tech policy. i was fortunate in 2012 when the companies wanted to start this is the asian. there are a lot of -- wanted to start this association. there are a lot of tech companies. us, we are just internet companies. 2012 and wet in in started the association with 10 or 14 members, today 40 companies. peter: you used to work

mr. schumer: thank you. mr. president, last night deputy attorney general rod rosenstein appointed former f.b.i. director robert mueller as a special counsel to oversee the investigation into russia's interference in the 2016 elections. this was a very good fers step. -- first step. mr. rosenstein has done the right thing. i applaud his decision for its correctness and courage. a special counsel was much called for in this situation. and former director mueller is the right kind of individual for the job. i now have significantly greater confidence that the investigation will follow the facts wherever they lead. additionally, as special counsel, mr. muller must have broad latitude to pursue the russia investigation. in the appointment order, it stipulates the special counsel is authorized to investigate, quote, any matters that rise directly or indirectly from this investigation, unquote. that's a really important power, given the recent reports about an active f.b.i. investigation into general flynn. i am heart

so, mr. president, let's get to the bottom of this for once and for all for the people we represent and for the integrity of our elections and mr. durbin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: this is a photograph that was taken of president trump and sergei lavrov. the meeting was closed to the american press. the second photo is of mr. trump and the russian ambassador to the united states. his name is sergei kisliov. he was in the oval office to meet with president trump. this ambassador is familiar to many americans. it's familiar to me because president trump's national security advisor michael flynn resigned because of communications he had with this ambassador that he tried to keep secret and misrepresented not only to the american people but to the vice president of the united states. the warm smiles and harty hand -- hardy handshakes s

mr. comey and the reasoning for that. it may be a criminal case, but it may also be the responsibility of congress to fix the process in which the president has authority to make these kinds of decisions. i believe this goes to the very constitutional separation of powers. i think questions of abuse of power and public trust are still vital and i don't believe any answers came today, and i think the american people are still puzzled and we're still guided and i think that is a very difficult place for us to be, very hard for us to work because of that and i want to pursue further hearings by the united states congress to get to the bottom of it. i also don't want to be stymied by the special counsel's investigation preventing congress from doing its work. we have a role to do and i want us to do it. ms. jackson lee: the problem is he kept speaking to the special counsel. this is a classified hearing. that's all he was able to say. i don't find much substance in the briefing today. reporte

mr. reason, mr. poole is this. >> my understanding is that this would still be the faa as a safety regulator that would have to approve procedures or deny new procedures. if procedures are changed so that noise goes up, it would be the faa to say yes or no or how to modify it. it is not the corporation's discretion do those things. >> i can answer that question also. >> yes, sir. but it will not take from my time, i hope. >> if there is a noise issue or flight patterns change there is a need for process and need for major actions that the faa will continue to have. this organization is not going to control the air space. it's going to operate in the air space with the faa control over it. so they have to go through this federal process by need the faa sets up a review process and approvings significant air space changes. they're going to have to go to the faa, conduct a review and any action taken will have to again be approved through the faa. once again, this is not given away willy-nilly, the air

mr.etraeus: luckily it went over the a in contrast rather than the a in army. david: you did 50 push-ups. mr. petraeus: the only time i ever stopped at 50. david: you had people who worked directly for you killed in combat. mr. petraeus: it was a chilling experience. if the president calls on you to do something, i think you do it. david: people wouldn't recognize me if my tie was fixed. let's just leave it this way. all right. ♪ david: i don't consider myself a journalist. nobody else would consider myself a journalist. i began to take on the life of being an interviewer even though i had a day job of running a private equity firm. how do you define leadership? what is it that makes somebody tick? ♪ david: thank you very much for coming. mr. petraeus: pleasure. david: you served our country honorably for quite a while in government. we will talk about that. you are in what i consider a higher calling of mankind, private equity. [laughter] how do you compare being in military and leading

mr. issa: the special prosecutor will have the breath of scope if necessary to follow any and all leads directly to the russian attempt to influence our election. that for me clearly unclassified, that for me is the most important question there is, will the special prosecutor have the ability to follow any and all leads? i was quite satisfied that that was answered with no hesitation that director mueller will have that ability. reporter: do you understand this -- the criminal investigation? mr. issa: i understand that it has always been a foreign intelligence investigation that included people looking for crimes both foreign and domestic and i don't think anything's changed on that. reporter: did you get guidance how congress needs to handle all of its ongoing probes? mr. issa: you can never get guidance from the executive branch on how congress is to do something because there's inherently always going to be tension. congress is going to want to look over the shoulder of this investiga

mr. wilson: mr. speaker, i am grateful to express appreciation for annie richardson, first assistant of south carolina's second congressional district. a native of alexander, virginia, annie has called south carolina's second congressional district home since 2004. a distinguished graduate of hammond school and pest byetarian college. she has fastefully served on the staff. her expertise in photography, graphic design has made a positive difference. and her sunny disposition is always recognized by constituents visiting the office. it is with mixed blessings but great happiness that i bid annie farewell. she is offing on next week to serve as the digital assistant for the house republican conference. fortunately to be working with conference chair, kathy mcmorris rodgers. i know she'll do a remarkable job supporting the conference. i know her father and brother join me in recognizing her achievements. she has served with distinction in the tradition of her late beloved mother, holly richardson, who w

mr. speaker -- thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i recently attended the 24th honors banquet for the national wrestling hall of fame. nine new members from inducted into the hall's membership, including paul packard, he was the last 95-pound state champion in 1972. he had an undefeated season that year of 23-0. he started wrestling in elementary school for hall of fame coach joe humphreys who continued to coach paul into junior high. at the varity level paul wrestled for hall of famer dick rhodes. he was the first state champion. after his competitive wrestling career was over he became a referee. he was a highly respected and outstanding officialment during his 37 years as a referee, paul spent more than a dozen years officiating district and regional championships, as well as five state championships. paul's retired and resides in pennsylvania. he is active in his community and was a coach for the bald eagle wrestling club for several years. from one hall of famer to another, congratulations, paul, on this well deserved h

mr. corbin and mrs. garza, is that correct and can you describe what the improvements were that enabled you to stop this other attempt? >> congresswomen, forget tran transcrip transcripts. we took that application down and did an assessment level of risk and we put in place what we call secure access authentication. it is a higher level of authentication that requires i.d. proofing, financial verification, and then an activation code in order to be able to get access to your transcript. we continue to take the dollars that were provided by congress, the $290 million to invest in additional cyber tools that allowed us in this case to be able to detect when there was activity occurring on tools that we have that are outside the irs netwo network. we looked at that and again identified that that would be a vulnerability. the e-file pin application is not back up. we eliminated the e-file pin application and now require agi or the self-select pin which taxpayers have. >> after the 2015 incident, you did a re