ms. sheila jackson lee. ms. jackson lee: i can't thank you enough for the passion you shown here and in the united states congress really speaks to what americans send their representatives to the congress for. to be problem solvers. i'm going to use the word pray. i pray that there's a reformed chairman ryan, congressman ryan, because i've come from my district, you go to your district, and we see the pain. i see the pain of those who have not been able to secure unemployment insurance extension. i have -- i live with the value of the earned income tax credit. i'll spend a little time on that. my sonmark years ago, as a young man, volunteered with the hope project, went to new orleans right after hurricane katrina, and was able to work with the victims, the survivors, they'd like to be called, and they were, of hurricane katrina in applying for their earned income tax credit. it was a lifeline for people who had worked. and so i want to end on this note by thanking you for saying that there are people waiting fo

thank you very much. >> thank you, ms. lee, for your comments and thank you for your support constantly and pointing out how difficult it is. i feel like, you know, a lot of people don't know how difficult it is. i don't know one person, maybe in this room, that can juggle the things that me and my husband have to juggle every single day with having three children on medical disability going back and forth back to work, maybe having to take an under the table job just to bring in extra money. there's not a lazy bone in my body. there are many people who live in the inner city under the poverty level that are not lazy. we want to be a part of the conversation. we want to have full-time jobs and go to school and go to college and things like that. i actually believe that certain people just put that stamp of lazy on us, to put a smokescreen, not really see what's going on, to point the finger at us, to look down at us, to try to humiliate us or twist our words, you know. i feel like we are the most -- people that there is. every

jones and ms. lee and myself, we introduced this concurrent resolution because we strongly believe that congress has to step up to the plate and carry out its responsibilities when our service men and women are once again being sent into harm's way. the time for debate is now. not when the first body bag comes home from iraq, not when the first u.s. air strikes or bomb fall on iraq, not when isil held ded into towns and not when our troops baghdad. shot at in we can weigh the pros and cons of supporting the maliki government or whatever government should maliki be forced to step down. now before we afford to take sides in a religious sectarian war. now before the next addition of troops take place. and make no mistake, i firmly believe we will continue to send more troops and more military -- more military assets into this crisis. now, mr. speaker, before we are forced to fire our first shots, launch our first missiles or drop our first bombs. now, mr. speaker, is when the house should debate and vote

. >> ms. lee?>> i would agree that yes, it's targeting china and i would say that it alarmed china, i don't think this is actually helping relations, because china isn't necessarily trying to withdraw from any of these areas. and in fact, there was no major tension in the whole region. the countries in the entire southeast asia was very integrated into china's economy. these countries have a lot of trade relations with china and china also has very strong trade relation west south korea and japan. -- relations with south korea and japan. in fact they were talking about developing a southeast asian currency. everyone was alarmed that they were being secluded from this very dynamic region and felt they needed to have a reason to go back there and build up their military there. and they came right after we decide that we are going to withdraw from the middle east. when you try away your military from the middle east, where are you going oput it? it seemed like asia was a good idea the at the time. >>

there's a codependency, would you not bra, ms lee? >> absolutely.with the global economy, we have many things that are manufactured in china by u.s. companies. they are very dependent on the chinese economy to run their business. we also now depend on the chinese economy to export a lot of goods and services because their middle class is growing and that helps to build jobs in the u.s. and - so this is a very codependent relationship in many ways, and this is why it's so important to get the character of the relationship right, and by bickering over issues that come up over and over again - things about currency and other things have been going on for years, and it's not like we don't under where the chinese are coming from, we do. they explained their position. >> you bring up a good question. what characterises foreign policy of xi jinping. >> it's been belligerent, hostile. we saw that from november 2012, where china has gone on a bender. that's why countries have been so concerned about the foreign policy. it's not just japan, it's around the re

ms. lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california is recognized for four minutes. ms. lee: thank you very much, madam speaker. first of all, let me thank congressman mcgovern for yielding but also for your tireless leadership on this very important issue. i am proud to join congressman walter jones and congressman mcgovern in introducing this bipartisan resolution and for their consistent support and work as great americans to address these serious issues of war and peace. this resolution simply prohibits the president to deploy armed services our to engage in combat operations in iraq without specific debate and authorization from congress. this resolution also seeks to reclaim a fundamental congressional responsibility, the constitutionality protected right for congress to debate and to determine when this country enters into war. i also am personally concerned about mission creep. we hear many of the same voices who champion the unnecessary war in iraq, once again beating t

take a second here that i would be remiss if i didn't acknowledge the first lady of our great city ms. lee thank you so much as well (clapping) >> we talk about this great powerhouse and we talk about how many designations we serve out of san francisco i want to remind everybody that the reason we did that is because of you in the room and our customers the great package ridge and the great business community in san francisco we can't thank you enough the hometown cowering in san francisco united airlines and nobody else. folks with that, i want to turn my sights open the ambassador and all the work he and, of course, the mayor's office did this wouldn't be possible not only from the people if china but the mayor's office and frankly we wouldn't be here ambassador you want to come up and join us i'd appreciate it, sir (clapping.) i'm mr. lee and mrs. lee. mr. pacific and distinguished guests it's my great pleasure to be celebrating your airlines a celebration of san francisco. on behalf of the council gentle i'd like to express my congratulations to airlines and thanks to all the guests he

jackson lee: -- ms. jackson lee: are you yielding back? mrs. miller: no, i'm reserving, i have the right to close. ms. jackson lee: i want to again express my appreciation for the work we have done as a houstonian and as the chairman indicated, we are texans, we see this, we have seen it, we've lived with our neighbors, but more than importantly we have lived with our friends on the border. members of congress are our friends, are our neighbors and they are part of this great nation as well. it gives me a special sense of pride and responsibility to be able to work with their needs. as someone who has representation over one of the largest ports, along with some of my other colleagues in houston, the houston port, these are very important issues that i think america needs to realize when we safe forward our ports -- safeguard our port, provide for these agents and give them an infrastructure of authorization, we affirm them, we are securing the homeland. i think the border towns have handled this humanitarian crisis with great valor and a great

ms. jackson lee. the chair: the gentlelady from texas is recognized. ms. jackson lee: yes. can i determine what time is left, please? the chair: 4 1/2 minutes. ms. jackson lee: thank you. first, let me thank the managers of this legislation that have really brought together an important concept. i just want to call the name of the bill, advancing competency-based education demonstration project. first of all, i'm a big supporter of pilots because pilots provide information and information generates a concrete program. mr. polis, thank you so very much for bringing up the amendment. my amendment and thank you, both, for supporting both the chairman and ranking for supporting this amendment. and so let me be very keen on what it is both to chairman kline and to mr. polis. this is to take what you have and add to it. i might say make it better. and the reason is because information is a gift. if you have information, you can do a lot of things. i work with a lot of historically black colleges, and so the jackson lee would direct the secretary of education prior to any deadlines

ms. lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california is recognized for four minutes. ms. lee: thank you very much, madam speaker. first of all, let me thank congressman mcgovern for yielding but also for your tireless leadership on this very important issue. i am proud to join congressman walter jones and congressman mcgovern in introducing this bipartisan resolution and for their consistent support and work as great americans to address these serious issues of war and peace. this resolution simply prohibits the president to deploy armed services our to engage in combat operations in iraq without specific debate and authorization from congress. this resolution also seeks to reclaim a fundamental congressional responsibility, the constitutionality protected right for congress to debate and to determine when this country enters into war. i also am personally concerned about mission creep. we hear many of the same voices who champion the unnecessary war in iraq, once again beating t

lee is with us. direction, mr. o'rourke. ms. newton. ms. jackson lee. mr. lowenthal. thesenyers and individuals have taken time and are here with us today. we are very appreciative. -- as people arrive, we will turn to them for them to -- if they have any questions for the witnesses or reaction to the testimony. with that, let me welcome you. brave, these three fine, courageous young people that are here with us today. dulce.begin with she is 15 years old and from one of allah -- from guatemala. she lives with her younger sisters, her mom, and stepdad. she groped without her parents. her father died when she was two years old and her mother traveled to the united states when she was young because she cannot support her two daughters as a single mom in guatemala. almost sexually abused by a man working on her uncle's house. when she was told what happened, she immediately left the u.s. to bring her daughters the safety. dulce also witnessed attempted murder of a woman who sold food door to door in her street. she was shot by a man right outside of her home. she saw the

thank you very much. >> thank you, ms. lee, for your comments and thank you for your support constantly and pointing out how difficult it is. i feel like, you know, a lot of people don't know how difficult it is. i don't know one person, maybe in this room, that can juggle the things that me and my husband have to juggle every single day with having three children on medical disability going back and forth back to work, maybe having to take an under the table job just to bring in extra money. there's not a lazy bone in my body. there are many people who live in the inner city under the poverty level that are not lazy. we want to be a part of the conversation. we want to have full-time jobs and go to school and go to college and things like that. i actually believe that certain people just put that stamp of lazy on us, to put a smokescreen, not really see what's going on, to point the finger at us, to look down at us, to try to humiliate us or twist our words, you know. i feel like we are the most strategizing people that there

>> well, prior to that, i had went down and ms. leeloor and let's see he'll come up. i never thought he would come up. ms. lee made it possible and he came up. he walked over and went to give me a hand shake. i said, absolutely not. have you to give me a hug. it was very empowering and a great hug. just the opportunity -- i'm trying not to cry. >> your babies are so beautiful. they're very emotional. i want to say thank you so much to ms. barbara lee for making them -- when we sat here at this table, you said it and it became true. i'm so grateful to her and very thankful that i had the opportunity to speak out for so many americans. >> congressman lee, let me turn to you. it was your idea. you were at this table when you pitched it. you stuck to it for more than a year. i want to play you sound from one of your colleagues talking to tianna gaines-turner because i don't want my audience to go away thinking this was an easy process. i want to listen to one of your colleagues from south carolina and then get to you respond. >> if they ar

ms. sheila jackson lee, three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for three minutes. ms. jackson lee: let me thank the ranking member and the chairman of the full committee. we seek opportunities on judiciary to compromise and work together this legislation would have been an excellent opportunity to be able to work together. and i appreciate the position of my chairman but i know that mr. conyers and myself worked on a compromise that i think and hope that as we ultimately watch this bill make its way through the process that we will be table draw upon the conyers-jackson lee comp midse that makes this internet tax freedom act extended for a certain period of time. we understand that there are frustrations on all sides. this bill would make permanent the internet tax freedom act which imposes a moratorium on taxing internet services but as written would delete the existing grandfather clause that's been in place since the original passage of the bill in 1998 that allowed a number of states with u

ms. lee: and also, let me remind you during last month, we debated the defense appropriations bill. over 150 bipartisan members supported my amendment that would have prohibited funds from conducting combat operations in iraq. but this resolution, which is bipartisan, merely requires the president to come to congress should he decide to engage in an escalated combat role in iraq. the pretty is, though, there's no military solution in iraq. this is a sectarian war with long-standing roots that were flamed when we invaded iraq in 2003. any lasting solution must be political and take into account all sides. the change iraq needs must come from iraqis rejecting violence, in favor of a peaceful democracy and respects for the rights of all citizens. madam speaker, the american people agree -- mr. mcgovern: i yield an additional one minute to the gentlelady. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. lee: thousands of american lives and billions of dollars, the american people are r

ms. jackson lee of texas, an amendment by mr. roskam of illinois, an amendment by ms. moore of wisconsin, an amendment by ms. waters of california. the chair will reduce to two minutes the time for any electronic vote in the series. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on amendment offered by the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee, on which further proceedings were postponed and on which the noes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by ms. jackson lee of texas. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a two-minute vote. two-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is ex

ms. lee, for purposes of a unanimous consent request. ms. lee: i ask unanimous consent to enter a story of a 12-year-old girl who was trafficked for sex, escaped with her baby. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from colorado will be charged. mr. polis: mr. speaker, i would -- mr. speaker, i would like to yield three minutes to the gentleman from california, the ranking member of the appropriations subcommittee on agriculture, food food food, related atecies, mr. farr. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized for three minutes. mr. farr: thank you very much, mr. speaker. thank you for yielding. i stand today in the well to appeal to my republican colleagues about this debate which isn't about the underlying bill, it's about the rule. you ought to all be worried, we all ought to be worried. this rule is a sham to the institution of congress. i'm an appropriator. i'm proud to do that. we respect the jurisdiction of all other committees. that's

ms. jackson lee, ms. han, ms. barb are lee, mr. conyers and -- [inaudible] all these individuals have taken time and are here with us today, and we're very appreciative. as the panel -- [inaudible conversations] as people arrived, we will turn to them for them to if they have any questions of the witnesses or any reactions to the testimony. with that, let me welcome you and welcome these three fine, brave, courageous young people that are here with us today. let me begin with -- [inaudible] 15 years old, she's from guatemala. she lives on long island with her two younger sisters, her mom and step dad. she grew up for much of her youth in guatemala without her parents. her father died when she was just 2, and her mother traveled to the united states when she was young because she could not support her two daughter cans as a single -- daughters as a single mom in guatemala. she was almost sexually abused by a man working on her uncle's house. when she told her mom what happened, she immediately left for the u.s. to bring her two daug

ms. lee: thank you very much. let me thank to our ranking member on approps, mrs. lowey, for yielding and your steadfast leadership. madam speaker, i rise in strong opposition to this woefully inadequate republican response to the humantarian crisis along our border. let me start by saying that as an appropriator i am very troubled by the shameful inadequate funding levels and misguided offsets in this bill. i'm also deeply concerned by the dangerous policy riders that strips protections for vulnerable children, protections signed into law by a republican president, mind you. let's be clear. this crisis has nothing to do with the lack of funding for immigration enforcement. we don't do anything to help these children by pouring tax dollars into the further mill tarization of our border. and -- militarization of our border. that's what this bill does. our response needs to put children first. in a hearing this week we heard first hand from central american children who had fled violence in their home countries and had passed through our broken detention system. thes

ms. jackson lee, one question.i hope it's a yes or no. >> i am sensitive, the chairman's responsibility is we must be out of this room, but i felt it was just very important, mr. ryan, just very quickly. as you well know, the bill is going to put these children through the border patrol and then straight to a court maybe in a minimum of seven days. and let me also say to congresswoman schakowsky, i can tell you the light put on the border patrol agents, there are many who are caring and concerned, and the training is what they need and the facilities is what they need. i think we're going to make a difference -- >> and turn the heat on. [laughter] >> and the message will go about the heat. would you just say what will happen when the seven-daytime frame imposed -- day time frame imposed, what is going the happen as you see it as a lawyer? and thank all the witnesses very much for their testimony. >> the children are absolutely going to be unprepared for the legal gauntlet that they're going to be pushed through. ma

ms. lee is babbling. she makes absolutely no sense.one who doesn't fault the administration for the border mess and the rise of terrorism in the middle east is a moron. moron, moron. finally, let's deal with the compassion issue. today the u.n. is lobbying to designate many of the children and guardians who enter let me tell you something, central america has been out of control for decades, i covered the el salvador war. and the u.n. knows it is out of control. but that body would love, would love to dump the entire problem of incompetent and corrupt governments and central americans right into the lap of the american taxpayer. if you watch the factor, you know we have had intense debates with those who believe we should accept every child who lives in dire circumstance around the world. if you disagree with that opinion, you are a mean person, unchristian. the harsh truth is that america simply cannot assimilate the oppressed populations of the world including the poor children. our own poor children are getting short changed because

ms. lee: it's been three long, painful months since girls were kidnapped from their classroom by the terrorist group boko haram. since the kidnapping, the terrorists refer to the girls as slaves and threaten to sell them in the market. i thank our congresswomen for continuing to beat the drum to bring our girls back. while some girls have escaped, more than 200 are still missing and boko haram continues to terrorize villages across northern nigeria and surrounding countries. today i stand here as a mother and a grandmother to reaffirm our demand to bring our girls back and to make it clear that mass kidnapping and threat of human trafficing are human rights violations that cannot be ignored. every child has the right to live, every child has a right to receive an education in a safe and protected environment. maifa,ester, just a few of these girls being traumatized and terrorized by boko haram. we callen the international community, especially african nations and the african union to work tog

ms. jackson lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from texas is recognized. ms. jackson lee: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to bring up, and i'm pleading to bring up h.r. 377, the paycheck fairness act, to jump-start the middle class instead of this partisan lawsuit attacking the president of the united states of america. the speaker pro tempore: the chair understands that the gentleman from florida has not yielded for that purpose. therefore, the unanimous consent request cannot be entertained. the gentlelady from new york. ms. slaughter: mr. speaker, for the purpose of unanimous consent request, i'm pleased to yield to the gentlelady from connecticut, ms. delauro. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from connecticut is recognized. ms. delauro: i ask unanimous consent to bring up the paycheck fairness act, men, women, same job, same pay, to jump-start the middle class instead of this partisan lawsuit attacking the president of the united states. the speaker pro tempore: the chair understands the gentleman from florida has not yielded for that purpose. t

to support this critical work, ms. lee bradley has begun an assignment. she is a former general counsel at v.a. and most recently at the department of defense where she has direct responsibility for their ethics portfolio. shifting gears, an area of resources. i believe that the greatest risk to veterans over the intermediate to long term is additional resources are provided only to support increased purchases of care in the community. and not to materially remedy the shortfall in internal v.a. capacity. such an outcome would leave v.a. even more poorly positioned to meet future demand. today, v.a.'s clinical staff and space capacity are strained. between 2009 and 2013, the number of unique veterans we treat annually has increased by over half a million and the typical veteran we treat today has on average nine major diagnoses. in just the last three years, 40 veterans health care facilities have experienced double digit growth in the number of patients who come through their doors. as an example, at the fayetteville, north carolina, v.a. center, which i

ms. barbara lee, representative lee. comment or question? ms. lee? >> thank you very much. ellison, leader pelosi. just associate myself with all of the remarks that have been made and say to you that first of all, we appreciate and seeing the united states of america as a refuge from fleeing such terrible conditions. secondly, listening to your ashamed., i felt are youy colleagues -- talking about america? where you fled and treated as you were. youo want to just say to is a countryntry that stands for liberty and justice for all. as our statue of liberty says, give me your tired, your poor, your old masses yearning to be free. presencefor words and and testimony today really have reminded us of what we stand for and who we are as a country. i look forward to working with and tomy colleagues here you a way forward so that and all of the children will and safe and secure reunited with your families. just know that we as americans once again appreciate your voices and communicating with us the tragic realities of what is taking place in your country. thank you, again. >> tha

ms. jackson lee: how much time do sniff the chair: 30 seconds. ms. jackson lee: let me say to my colleague, i don't think there's much more i can say than the store roif the 33-month fight by this little girl, it's $100,000 we're asking for to help these parent whors desperate and mourning. i ask my colleagues to spend a moment in the shoes of those mourning parents to help avoid the identity theft that comes from a child, because a child is dead, and they have a social security number and so i ask my colleagues again to support the jackson lee amendment and i would ask both sides of the aisle to consider the pain of parents who experience this. with that, i yield back. the chair: the this gentlewoman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman seek recognition? >> to oppose the amendment. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. crenshaw: i want to say one final thing. in terms of taxpayer services this bill already provides $2.1 billion for taxpayer services. as i point out, that is an increase over last year. ppt 3already cut it by $

ms. jackson lee, for five minutes. ms. jackson lee: i thank the speaker very much. over the last couple of weeks many of us have visited my home state to places where i have gone over the decades of service and living in texas, and that is to our great neighbors that live on the border. many great citizens of the state of texas and of the great country in which we live, they have lived and worked and played and they have created an economic engine. cities like brownsville, mcallen, and many others. and they have, in fact, experienced over the years an influx of individuals coming to do harm. as a member of the homeland security committee, senior member and member who served as chairwoman and ranking member on a number of subcommittees, we have made great strides. reminded of the low number of border patrol agents many years ago, and now we are upwards to 25,000. hardworking americans that serve on both the northern and southern border. they have met the challenge of a number of serious influx. first the drug cartels, the violence on the mexican side of the border. w

ms. jackson lee, for five minutes. ms. jackson lee: i thank the speaker. mr. speaker, good morning. i rise today to talk about children and to talk about children around the world, here at home, and i guess what's most on many americans' minds because of the visuals that they've seen, unaccompanied children coming into my state, the state of texas. i was down at the border some weeks ago, maybe just two weeks ago, and i looked at the reality of what many people see on television. and what i looked at was impoverished, frightened children, 12 years and under, hildren with diapers, children who were frightened and without their parents. in addition, i saw the lovingness of volunteers from catholic charities to save the children to many residents in the border community reaching out and helping. now we are about to engage on a debate based upon the president's recommendation on what they need to humanely treat these children. frankly, i believe that many in america have gotten the wrong information through various excerpts and commentary that have been made by people that are uninforme

ms. jackson lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from texas is recognized for one minute. ms. jackson lee: i thank the gentlelady very much. nd i rise to oppose h.res. 676, which is seeking an unconstitutional right to sue the president for doing a duty and following the law. the underbelly of this resolution would in essence put fire, fire in the hearts and minds of americans when we find out that this legislation is to undermine the president and any of his officers and employees from doing their job. this is a failed attempt to impeach the president. i'm willing to say that word, because the president has been following the law. the law passed that gives him discretion to interpret the affordable care act, to make it best work for the american people. as has been stated, if you want to change the law, go to the floor of the house. but in actuality, this resolution smacks against the constitution which says there are three equal branches of government. therefore, the executive has a right to perform his duties. i ask my colleagues to oppose this resolution for it is in fact a

ms. jackson lee: would you yield? mrs. brooks: i will yield. ms. jackson lee: i want to say that i support all of the bills, including yours. i want to talk something about the preclearance bill. i want to thank mr. payne for his leadership. mrs. brooks, i want to thank you for yours. just make the point that we have worked in a bipartisan manner on homeland security very effectively, and i wanted to make mention in particular of a bill i worked on extensively, h.r. 3488, preclearance authorization act, and to indicate that this is a bill under which the homeland security -- secretary of homeland security may establish and conduct preclearance operations and it's imperative as we seek to push out our nation's borders. so we've had this discussion and we've had a vigorous discussion about how you utilize these preclearance sites. i think it comes to mind some of the sites in the mideast and in light of where we are today, with t.s.a. having to put in place new requirements because of the potential threat, i think this is a very positive step. as i do

ms. jackson-lee. >> let me thank both the chairman and the ranking member for the spirit of this hearing. in the combined recognition that this is a humanitarian crisis way beyond our imagination, we might use hindsight, mr. secretary, and look at this and say why did we not see it. i think the variables of the world would argue that the world remains in crisis in many areas, and it makes it very difficult, even when individuals are your neighbors, to be able to spot crises maybe before they begin to show themselves. so i am grateful for the response of the border patrol and the agencies and the president who is recognized that we have come. let me, first of all, acknowledge that this should not be political grandstanding. and i would commend some of my colleagues to read -- i'll hold up this article that says "why 90,000 children flooding our border is not an immigration story." in a survey of 404 by the united nations, they found that 58% of these children were forcibly displaced. and to a degree it warranted international protection. meaning that if the united states breached its respo

ms. jackson lee: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. ms. jackson lee: often the american people hear the term congress. i think it's important to let all of my colleagues know, and remind them what the republicans will be doing over the next 48 hours. it's important to know that there will be a resolution a bill, on the floor of the house, h.res. 676, and it says that they're looking for the power to intervene in one or more civil actions. to file suit against the president, seek any appropriate relief against the president, the head of any department or agency or any other officer or employee. let me be very clear. the republicans are looking to sue the secretary who didn't order enough paper clips. and indicate that we need to sue the president for not doing his job. while veterans are suffering and need reformation in a new bill, while people are not getting their unemployment insurance, while we're not able to expand medicaid to help those who nee

ms. jackson lee: mr.peaker, this morning i heard on the radio a palestinian mother who said, i wish the bombing would stop so that i could get food for my children. i don't expect that that mother ould in any way deny israeli mothers and fathers from their ability to live in peace. i rise today to stand with the right of israel to exist and to defend herself, and i rise today to call upon the redoubling of peace efforts by the united states to ensure that there is a peace resolution. i also hope as egypt is negotiating now a cease-fire that the terrorist group hamas can be isolated, that the people in the palestinian area in gaza, in the west bank would come together as one with mr. abbas leading out for a peaceful region. it is time now for the rockets to stop, unprovoked, and it is time now for people to come together in a coalition of peace. i have been to israel. i've seen the iron dome. it is an iron dome of protection, and i've listened to the president of israel who has argued for peace. let us sta

ms. jackson lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for onemy. ms. jackson lee: i thank the gentleman very much, on behalf of the state that has one of the largest populations of veterans, including those in my congressional district, i say thank you. to the chairman and ranking member, thank you for allowing me to sit in on a hearing, thank you to the conferees, thank you for understanding that when our soldiers put on the uniform have any of us ever had them question why? and therefore we should never question why are we not giving the best service that we can give to our veterans. i am grateful for the $5 billion, it allows us temporary flexibility, if you cannot getter is vess, you're aloud to go to civilian doctors. professionals that are going to be added with primary and specialty doctors, the housing the ptsd, sexual assault, all these are making a difference. in the name of the world war ii veterans i saw in normandy, in the name of curtis a veteran in my district who had an appointment in 2013 and never heard back from the hospital, in their

ms. lee? >> thank you very much. first let me thank you mr. chairman and ranking members for this very important hearing and this very important panel and i want to thank both of you for inviting these witnesses, especially miss gaines-turner because it's so important that we hear from americans who are most impacted by the policies that we discuss at this committee. so i want to thank you very much for this. let me thank all of the witnesses. i just want to mention, mr. chairman, and to the ranking member that next tuesday i'm co-hosting a bipartisan poverty similar tlags will allow members of congress and their staff just a small glimpse into the lives of families living in poverty everyday. it will be just a brief example of what this experience is like. we're trying to raise awareness around if country as what ms. gaines-turner, what her life is like so we're inviting democrats and republicans to participate with us and we'll get you the information. we'd love for your participation. let me first to mass gaines-turner. let me talk to you -

to support this critical work, ms. lee bradley has begun an assignment. she is a former general counsel at v.a. and most recently at the department of defense where she has direct responsibility for their ethics portfolio. shifting gears, an area of resources. i believe that the greatest risk to veterans over the intermediate to long term is additional resources are provided only to support increased purchases of care in the community. and not to materially remedy the shortfall in internal v.a. capacity. such an outcome would leave v.a. even more poorly positioned to meet future demand. today, v.a.'s clinical staff and space capacity are strained. between 2009 and 2013, the number of unique veterans we treat annually has increased by over half a million and the typical veteran we treat today has on average nine major diagnoses. in just the last three years, 40 veterans health care facilities have experienced double digit growth in the number of patients who come through their doors. as an example, at the fayetteville, north carolina, v.a. center, which i

to support this work, ms. lee bradley has begun a four month assignment as special counsel to the secretary. she's a former general counsel at v.a., and most recently, a senior member of the general counsel team at the department of defense where she had direct responsibility for the ethics portfolio for dod. before i conclude, let me briefly address the need for additional resources. i believe that the greatest risk to veterans over the immediate -- the intermediate to long term is that additional resources are provided only to support increased purchase care in the community and not to materially remedy the historic shortfall in internal v.a. capacity. such an outcome would leave v.a. even more poorly positioned to meet future demand. we have been working closely with the office of management and budget for several weeks to develop the request for funding. while the amounts under consideration are large and the context of v.a.'s size, scope, and existing budget, they represent moderate percentage increases and a

ms. jackson lee: thank you very much, mr. speaker. besides wishing this wonderful nation a happy birthday for the fourth of july and to all of america, over the last week i spent time in brownsville, ton and mcallen. visiting the detention sifters but most importantly seeing the faces of children, innocent children who have come because of fear of their life. a hearing in homeland security, listening to state officials and to a bishop from el paso who indicated that the world is watching. these children need our help. they're not america's enemy, they're not a threat to national security. and i want to thank those many cities who have offered places. i believe the president is right to seek the amount of money to enforce the border, to provide more lawyers, more judges and immigration lawyers and to resources for cities and resources for these children. i believe that we have it in our heart to do and we can protect the border. i will say as well, mr. speaker, that children come in all sizes and i want to say that the crisis in nigeri