ms. rice? i now recognize ms. rice for five minutes of questioning. ms. rice: so i just want to assure all of you that this is not a criminal inquiry, much to the, you know, to the -- the -- the tone that the questions have taken so far. i like to think that this is an information-gathering hearing, that all of you clearly feel that you have some information that would be good to see exactly how this whole process is being set up. and one of the questions that i have for you, mr. mizell, which i think you'll be able to answer is: is it -- is there -- has there been a statement on behalf of the cuban government that they are going to be investing in infrastructure to be able to deal with the increase in tourism and flights and cruise ships and everything else, in terms of now that, you know, the -- there is this new relationship? >> the investment into the cruise ship industry i'm not familiar with. ms. rice: i'm just talking about in terms of what -- what chairman katko was just asking about, in terms of does the -- can the infrastructure handle this. has

ms. rice seem the differ. one of them about is the boat trip to about himmany. >> yes. >> you said you spent the night because the customs office as closed. the customs office said that makes no difference. >> i will tell you what i know. when the boat arrived it was late afternoon, coming on dusk -- i don't know what time it was but it was very late afternoon. the point was to go over the boat which was there, had been repaired and return to miami that night. mr. rogers told me that the captain told him -- we waited around on the dock for about half an hour, 45 minutes, there was no customs, the captain went in search of the customs. i was not involved in any of this whatsoever. i actually was talking to some boat people, people on other boats that were cooking their dinner. i had my picture taken with them. i was not hiding or skull,ing around. there was people all over the place. we went finally without anyone coming and stamping any papers we filled out some forms. over to mr. rogers boat.

ms. rice seem the differ. one of them about is the boat trip to about himmany. >> yes. >> you said you spent the night because the customs office as closed. the customs office said that makes no difference. >> i will tell you what i know. when the boat arrived it was late afternoon, coming on dusk -- i don't know what time it was but it was very late afternoon. the point was to go over the boat which was there, had been repaired and return to miami that night. mr. rogers told me that the captain told him -- we waited around on the dock for about half an hour, 45 minutes, there was no customs, the captain went in search of the customs. i was not involved in any of this whatsoever. i actually was talking to some boat people, people on other boats that were cooking their dinner. i had my picture taken with them. i was not hiding or skull,ing around. there was people all over the place. we went finally without anyone coming and stamping any papers we filled out some forms. over to mr. rogers boat.

i did not see ms. rice between what was i guess new year's or the day after new years and the day she came on the boat where mr. broadhurst and i were in march. absolutely do not. >> who was in the booth with you that night? >> well, there were more than four people. and my recollection is that they were people with the convention. i had had dinner with about 40 or 50 labor leaders in that complex. it was right across the hotel. i can't remember the name of the hotel. we'll get it for you. it was a large shopping complex. after dinner a group of about -- my recollection was six or seven -- i'll try to find the names for you. >> sharon bar hart -- >> sharon bar hard, yes. >> there is a new poll out that's going to be released at 6:00 by the boston herald to the new hampshire democratic voters. one week ago in that poll you were leading governor dukakis, tied with him, 32-32%. you have dropped today to 17%. he is holding at 27% with 74% of those surveyed saying they think this whole issue will have a very neg

i did not see ms. rice between what was i guess new year's or the day after new years and the day she came on the boat where mr. broadhurst and i were in march. absolutely do not. >> who was in the booth with you that night? >> well, there were more than four people. and my recollection is that they were people with the convention. i had had dinner with about 40 or 50 labor leaders in that complex. it was right across the hotel. i can't remember the name of the hotel. we'll get it for you. it was a large shopping complex. after dinner a group of about -- my recollection was six or seven -- i'll try to find the names for you. >> sharon bar hart -- >> sharon bar hard, yes. >> there is a new poll out that's going to be released at 6:00 by the boston herald to the new hampshire democratic voters. one week ago in that poll you were leading governor dukakis, tied with him, 32-32%. you have dropped today to 17%. he is holding at 27% with 74% of those surveyed saying they think this whole issue will have a very neg

broadhurst told you the facts, ms. rice has told you the facts. that's the best we can do. >>> next on road to the white house rewind, democratic candidate gary hart withdraws from the 1988 presidential race less than a month after his campaign began. the former colorado senator facedle gagss of a extramarital affair with a miami woman named donna rice. in this ten minute event in denver, the former colorado senator continued to deny the affair saying he was quitting the race to spare his family and friends from quote further rumors and gossip. michael dukakis won the 1988 democratic nomination but lost to george h.w. bush in the general election. >> thank you very much. [ applause ] apologize fore being late. there was a little traffic coming down bear creek canyon this morning. i intended, quite frankly, to come down here this morning and read a short carefully worded political statement saying that i was withdrawing from the race, and then quietly disappear from the stage. and then after frankly tossing and turning all night, as i

with that, i now recognize the ranking member of this subcommittee, the gentlewoman from new york, ms. rice, for any statement she may have. representative rice: thank you, mr. chairman, and thank you for convening this hearing. i want to thank our witnesses from dhs, cbp, tsa, and the state department for coming here today to discuss the decision to allow scheduled commercial air travel between the u.s. and cuba. i know that the state department played an important role in arranging the civil aviation partnership with cuba, and i hope that principal deputy assistant secretary tong can give us some insight into the process that led to this agreement. right now, as we know, only chartered flights operate between the u.s. and cuba, but under the terms of the agreement that was announced in february, at some point this year american air carriers will be allowed to operate more than 100 scheduled flights each day in addition to the chartered flights. before that can happen, tsa, dhs, cbp, and other relevant agencies must verify that cuban airports meet international security standards and are f

broadhurst told you the facts, ms. rice has told you the facts. that's the best we can do. >>> next on road to the white house rewind, democratic candidate gary hart withdraws from the 1988 presidential race less than a month after his campaign began. the former colorado senator facedle gagss of a extramarital affair with a miami woman named donna rice. in this ten minute event in denver, the former colorado senator continued to deny the affair saying he was quitting the race to spare his family and friends from quote further rumors and gossip. michael dukakis won the 1988 democratic nomination but lost to george h.w. bush in the general election. >> thank you very much. [ applause ] apologize fore being late. there was a little traffic coming down bear creek canyon this morning. i intended, quite frankly, to come down here this morning and read a short carefully worded political statement saying that i was withdrawing from the race, and then quietly disappear from the stage. and then after frankly tossing and turning all night, as i have for the

i recognize ms. riceuch to the tone the questions have taken so far. this is information gathering hearing that all of you clearly feel it would do good to see how this process is being set up in my the questions i have for you mr. mizell which i think you'll be able to answer it is, has there have been a statement on the half of the cuban government that they are going to be investing in infrastructure to be able to deal with the increase in tourism and flights and cruise ships and everything else in terms of there is this new relationship? >> the investments of the cruise ship industry i am not the money with. >> in terms of what chairman katko was asking about in terms of the infrastructure handle that. to your knowledge has been there have been a commitment to put money into the infrastructure to be able to handle the increase in flights if it comes to that point? >> as i mention they have a project underway at terminal three from international flights other than u.s. flights whether or not the cuban

ms. rice. you're recognized. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i'm going to direct this question to ms. mccarthy. i have heard from many veterans who separated from the military with what's called an other than than honorable, right, discharge. we all know that, that was their designation. and these veterans were often the ones who are the most difficult to reach out to because depending on the discharge, they are not able to access many v.a. services like health care, housing or employment help. .. test test test test test test test >> underutilized and how can we expand them if they are being, if there is that demand there? because they certainly are not just for those with that paper but with families as well. their criteria is much more broad than the v.a., and they can do a lot more. >> ms. ruocco, if i could just make a comment. i applaud you. i would imagine how i difficult it must be for you to get past what must have been enormous anger and to be able to deal with that and be sitting here and be such an advocate. i was at an event last night with an organization called penn fed

ms. rice. you're recognized. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i'm going to direct this question to ms. mccarthy. i have heard from many veterans who separated from the military with what's called an other than than honorable, right, discharge. we all know that, that was their designation. and these veterans were often the ones who are the most difficult to reach out to because depending on the discharge, they are not able to access many v.a. services like health care, housing or employment help. because they certainly are not just for those with that paper but with families as well. that is about as big a red flags you can have, someone who has suicidal issues because of that designation. doing tohe the a to increase the outreach other than , have we looked at -- and suicide and attempted suicide, and i think your ability to improve the characterization of the discharge process is limited because the air force or the what if anything have you done to address this issue? >> let me start by saying it is indeed a problem and we have identified it in partnership with a v.a. working to come

. >> ms. rice are, you're recognized. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i'm going to direct this question to ms. mccarthy. i have heard from many veterans who separated from the military with what's called that an other than honorable discharge, we all know that, that was their designation. and these veterans were often the most difficult to reach out to because depending on the discharge, they are not able to access many services like health care, housing or employment help. the v.a.'s characterization of discharge process is, we all know, very messy. it often takes years before a decision is made on whether or not a veteran can have reclassificationing so that they are eligible -- reclassification so that they are eligible for these benefits. and i want to just take a moment to thank our colleague, mike coffman, for introducing the veteran urgent access to mental health care act to insure that all veterans, regardless of their discharge designation, can access the care they desperately need before something tragic happens. i mean, it seems to me that tha

ms. rice? >> thank you, mr. chairman. i'll direct this question to ms. mccarthy. i've heard from many veterans who straighted from the military with what's called other than an honorable discharge. we all know that. that was their designation. these are the veterans who are often the most difficult to reach out to because depending on the discharge, they are not able to access many -- access many va services like health care, housing or employment help. the va's characterization of discharge process is we all know very messy. it often takes years before a decision is made on whether or not a veteran can have a reclassification so that they are eligible for these benefits. and i want to just take a moment to thank our colleague mike coffman for introducing the veteran urgent access to mental health care act to ensure that all veterans, regardless of their discharge designation, can accession the care they desperately need before something tragic happens. it seems to me that that's about as big a red flag as you can have for someone who might be -- have suicidal iss

ms. rice? >> thank you, mr. chairman. i'll direct this question to ms. mccarthy. i've heard from many veterans who straighted from the military with what's called other than an honorable discharge. we all know that. that was their designation. these are the veterans who are often the most difficult to reach out to because depending on the discharge, they are not able to access many -- access many va services like health care, housing or employment help. the va's characterization of discharge process is we all know very messy. it often takes years before a decision is made on whether or not a veteran can have a reclassification so that they are eligible for these benefits. and i want to just take a moment to thank our colleague mike coffman for introducing the veteran urgent access to mental health care act to ensure that all veterans, regardless of their discharge designation, can accession the care they desperately need before something tragic happens. it seems to me that that's about as big a red flag as you can have for someone who might be -- have suicidal iss

ms. or the rice? >> no. >> mr. lamafa? >> no. >> mr. dunham? >> no. >> mr. gug? >> no. >> mr. cook? ms. caps? >> no. >> mr. westerman. >> yes. >> mr. graves? >> no. >> mr. clay? >> no. >> mr. newhawes? >> no. >> mrs. hice? >> yes. >> mr. macarthur? >> no. >> mr. mooney? >> mr. hearty? >> yes. >> mr. lahood? >> yes. >> is there anyone who hasn't voted or wants to change? clerk will report. mr. chairman, on this vote, the 16-23. >> amendment is not agreed to. but -- but, mr. fleming, i would like to still see if we can explore some way going forward on that one. 80, mr. fleming, next ones from here on in are yours so let's go with 80. should say i think we have three more to do. right? they're all mr. fleming's so let's go with number 80. >> okay. >> you're recognized. >> mr. chairman, thank you. azumi staff and i researched this bill and how we got here, it quickly became apparent that something was fishy. you see, puerto rico, like other territories and states, has a balanced budget requirement. yet, they've continued to grow their debt in at an astronomical rate that shouldn't be possi

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ms. what's yours?illion ways to top your kids' rice krispies. ♪ a dash of fruit in their favorite colo♪. ♪ a bunch ofyday sort of way. because with a name like smucker's, it has to be good. and exquisitely delicious in an everyday sort of way. ifor all the wrong reasons.gical you may be muddling through allergies. try zyrtec® for powerful allergy relief. and zyrtec® is different than claritin®. because it starts working faster on the first day you take it. try zyrtec®. muddle no more®. try micellar water want a dfrom garnier skinactive. the micelles attract dirt like a magnet to: 1. remove makeup 2. cleanse and 3. soothe. no harsh rubbing, no rinsing. micellar water from garnier skinactive. jane likes to mix things up. that's why she loves new light & fit greek non-fat yogurt mousse. so fluffy and airy it's her new 80 calorie obsession. light & fit feel free to enjoy. >>> it is no joke, mentalist oz pearlman amazed audiences all over the world, including us. now, he's with our military servicemen and women to play his magic of the mind on them. >> absolutely. it'll be fun. >> oz, here we go. >> i wan