. >> thank you, very much, ms. smith. mr. poole you are now recognized for the purpose of making an opening statement. >> thank you, mr. chairman, and thank you for inviting the department of the interior. the legislation directs the federal energy regulation to approve the pipeline project. the department has concerns with several provisions of the legislation. the proposed $7 billion pipeline project will span more than 1700 miles. an executive order, 1337 all proposed projects that across the border require a presidential permit, including a determination that the cross border pipeline is in the national interest. the state department reviews applications to the presidential permit and consults with eight other agencies. the application was received from the pipeline in september of two -- 2008. it includes 42 miles of scattered parcels of federal land from the blm, blm is a cooperating department to identify pipeline routes across federal lands in montana that would minimize pipeline acts in construction. the final eis wa

ms. gaffney-smith, did they refer the application to the corps? >> no. like the department of interior, the application came from the applicant. >> okay. did blm provide views on the permit application? answer yes or no. >> provide what, sir? >> did blm provide views on the permit application? please answer yes or no. >> we were part of the environmental impact process that was led by the state department and so the mandates that we're, we have obligations with in terms of issuing right of way grant in montana, then we did review the application, in the context of the overall product. >> ms. gaffney-smith, did the court provide views on the permit application? >> in three core districts in galveston, fort worth, received for permit 12, initialled coordination with other agencies and we did provide a response to the applicant in accordance with our nationwide permit rules based on comments received from the department of state. >> so the answer is, yes? >> yes. >> under hl 3548 environmental review process would need to be completed within 30 day, even th

thank you all for being with us this morning, at this time, ms. smith, i would like to recognize you for five minutes for the purpose of an opening statement and be sure to turn your mike tonight -- microphone on, you are now recognized. >> thank you, i'm chief of the the regulatory program for the u.s. army corp of engineer, thank you for the opportunity to discuss the corp's regulatory authority under section 404 of the clean water act and section ten of the rivers and harbors act related to utility line projects and to discuss our regulatory involvement in the keystone xl pipeline. it requires authorization from the corp for the construction of any structure such tas the keystone pipeline, in, under or over any river in the u.s. it requires authorization from the corp for the discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the united states. utility line projects may require permits for temporary fills such as access road ways storage and work ways temporary and permanent impacts. when discharges of dredged or fill material is expected to cause

voters, setting the highest voter registration in both mid temple and -- prior to rock the vote, ms. smith founded and directed young voteer strategies, a nonpartisan strategist and partnership with the glooj wall school of political mblgt at the george washington university. in 2004, she served as national field director for the new prgs. it rocks the vote, and young voters, and before she comes up, speak more specifically about the departments that the state of iowa has put together with rock the vote w the caucuses we had a great event called rock the caucus. we brought to it a high school in des moines. we had 600 kids there, we actually went out of our way to print t-shirts to make it a more special event for them. and i'll just show you, so all the kids got a t-shirt. we had michele bachmann, ron paul, rick santorum and the romney boys all come and speak. it was a great event and i think it was a great way to show h how -- incorporating it with our own iowa education, if you go to the secretary of state's website, www.s -- you'll see on our banner the promotion where we have teachers

ms. gaffney-smith. mr. poole, you're now recognized for five minutes for the purposes of making an opening statement. >> thank you, mr. chairman. and thank you for inviting the department of interior to this hearing on h.r. 3548, the north american energy access act. the legislation directs the federal energy regulatory commission to approve the keystone xl pipeline project. the department has concerns with several provisions of the legislation. the proposed $7 billion pipeline project would spend more than 1700 miles between hardesty, alberta, canada, and multiple destinations in oklahoma and texas. under executive order 1337, all proposed oil pipeline projects that cross u.s. borders require a presidential permit, including a determination that the proposed cross-border pipeline is in the national interest. the state department reviews applications for a presidential permit and consults with eight other agencies including the department of severe your in its -- interior in its review. state received an ap

and ms. smith come to washington. tell us about your first year as a member of congress.peo from the fourth district of kansas. [ applause ] congresswoman ann marie buerkle of the fifth district of new york. [ applause ] and congressman tim huelskamp from the first district of kansas. welcome all of them. so you've all been in congress for a year, and we want to hear about that. but first we want you to tell us a little bit about yourselves, about your district, and the moment or the issue that made you decide that you wanted to run for the house of representatives. so congressman pompeo, i'll start you. >> great, thank you, cleta. it's great to be here this afternoon. i'm mike pompeo. i represent south central kansas. it's a district centered on wichita, where we grow most of this country's great airplanes. the thing you should know about me is i'm a deep believer in small government and freedom. it's why i decided to run for congress. i went to west point. i served on active duty for a little over five years. [ applause ] >> thank you. i then went to harvard law school,

and ms. smith the folks next door ♪ >> tonight on "smash," the search begins for a joe dimaggio to play opposite marilyn monroe. plus, karen will take a detour from the lights of broadway to her hometown of iowa. you can watch at 10:00 here on nbc 4. >> or record it and watch it later. >> like we do. >>> 37 degrees right now. 6:10. and going to have changes from the weekend. tom's here to take a look at our forecast. >> it's getting hard to keep track, are we winter, spring again, what's going on? >> it's going to be in between the two today. good morning. around the region, partly cloudy sky. winds will settle down later this afternoon. highs near 40 where there is no snow. sunset at 5:51. midnight, down to the upper 30s. i'll show you the forecast for the rest of the week and weekend in ten minutes. how's traffic, danella? >>> still looking really good. chopper is live over i havana 270 heading toward -- i-270 heading toward the beltway. heading to the beltway nice and clear. travel speed, 58 mil

ms. gaffney-smith, thank you for being here. mr. pool, thank you for being here. we will recess or about i would say 35 or 40 minutes and then we'll come back and we will begin with panel two, thank you. we are in recess. [inaudible conversations] >> [inaudible conversations] >> [inaudible conversations] >> i will call veering back to order, and before i introduce the witnesses, as we were finishing up with the first panel that was a lot of back and forth about whether not we're going to release the first panel. and in consultations with the majority, a decision was made to release them but i had already told mr. bilbray, before he left, that he could come back and ask some questions. and since they are not here, i am going to recognize mr. bilbray for three minutes to say whatever he wanted to say about the corps of engineers. >> thank you, mr. chairman. and mr. chairman, i appreciate you giving me the time. it is frustrating that you, you know, think you have an agreement, and i think some of these questions are important but i will raise them with the army corp

ms. gaffney-smith, a like to recognize you for an opening statement. -- i would like to recognize you for an opening statement. you are now recognized. >> thank you. i am the chief of the regulatory program for the u.s. army corps of engineers. thank you for the opportunity to discuss the regulatory authority under section 404 of the clean water act and section 10 of the rivers and harbors act related to utility line projects and to discuss our regulatory involvement in the proposed keystone xl pipeline. section 10 requires authorization from the core for the construction of any structure in, under, or over and navigable waters of the u.s. section 404 requires authorization for dredged or discharged material into the waters of the united states. utility projects may require a approval for work areas, storage areas, and permanent impacts associated with stabilization or crossing. when materials are associated with activities that are expected to cause no more than minimal effects, they may be authorized by general permit. activities that do not meet the criteria for a general permit for pr

ms. yvette smith, and his daughter, who is with us today. i want to say in closing that his life is truly a testament to what is possible with opportunity, when you take opportunity, and with so many resources. jacques' life, he lived it by the favorite quote he always would say, service is a price we pay for the space that we occupy. it is with tremendous pride and privilege and great honor that today i get to recognize the life and legacy of attorney jacques smith on the floor of the united states congress so that all of us can remember that we must pay our fair share -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. -- the gentlelady's time has expired. members are reminded not to make reference to visitors in the gallery. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from florida, mr. nugent, for five minutes. mr. nugent: mr. speaker, we in the house of representatives need to start restoring the trust that the american people gave when they elected us to this office. last night 100 members voted to give themselves a pay raise. is t

ms. jackson. second speaker will be francisco da costa. and the third -- supervisor mar: we're going to limit it to two minutes per person. supervisor cohen: then it ruben santana. and then eric smith. >> thank you, supervisors piteously from bayview-interest point. too bad you have given me two minutes. this is a toxic area there. there is no bus stops there. there have been groups that want to build their across the street for many years, and we have opposed because of the sewage plant. there has not been in eir dun, environmental impact than in that area. when i tried to talk to about a month ago, to meet with you, i wanted to explain to you because i heard this was coming up, and wanted you to know about that area. i have lived there since 1948, so i know the community. i know what has been there over the years. this -- that is the most toxic areas. they have all the tracks running through there. there are other businesses based there. you might not even find a parking spot if you go to the meat company over there, because there's no parking. i do not understand why people always want, that do not know the committee, will not call for a community meeting, and have the community

>> smith: it was a westwood recruiter who told jason longmore, a navy vet, that he could earn a bachelors degree in just three years. after his wife's mssed her to lose her job, longmore needed to get one quickly. >> it felt like this was the right path, especially with my situation with my wife and my baby, and a whole new life... a whole new life starting. this was going to be the right foot to set on and... and continue. >> smith: but six months into his program, he learned from a prospective employer that his westwood degree wasn't worth much. >> so if i was applying for a jobs and i went against somebody with a construction management degree from colorado state university and i had my degree from westwood college, i wouldn't be on par with that same person, although that's what i felt i was supposed to be getting through the education that they giving me. >> smith: and when longmore went to transfer to a state school, he hit another snag. his credits were no good. we asked westwood about this, and they told us they never made any promises about credits. they pointed out longmore had initialed a box that read, "westwood college mak

ms. slaughter and mr. walz, and i'm proud to be one of the original nine. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from texas. mr. smithmadam speaker, i'm pleased to yield one minute to the gentleman from virginia, the majority leader, mr. cantor. the speaker pro tempore: the majority leader is recognized for one minute. mr. cantor: thank you, madam speaker. i thank the gentleman from texas. madam speaker, our government was founded on a promise. this promise was built on the trust between the people and its elected officials. we all have a duty to honor the trust of the american people and to work faithfully on the behalf. madam speaker, it is unacceptable for anyone, any elected official or their staff to profit from information that is not available to the public. people in this country have a right to know and trust that officials at all levels of government are living under the same rules they are. if there is en the slightest appearance of impropriety we ought to go ahead and prevent that from taking place. it is incumbent upon each of us to start restoring the trust between the people and their elected represent

ms. slaughter and mr. walz, and i'm proud to be one of the original nine. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from texas. mr. smith: madam speaker, i'm pleased to yield one minute to the gentleman from virginia, the majority leader, mr. cantor. the speaker pro tempore: the majority leader is recognized for one minute. mr. cantor: thank you, madam speaker. i thank the gentleman from texas. madam speaker, our government was founded on a promise. this promise was built on the trust between the people and its elected officials. we all have a duty to honor the trust of the american people and to work faithfully on their behalf. madam speaker, it is unacceptable for anyone, any elected official or their staff to profit from information that is not available to the public. people in this country have a right to know and trust that officials at all levels of government are living under the same rules they are. if there is even the slightest appearance of impropriety we ought to go ahead and prevent that from taking place. it is incumbent upon each of us to start restoring the trust between the people and their elected rep

ms. slaughter and mr. walz, and i'm proud to be one of the original nine. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from texas. mr. smithmadam speaker, i'm pleased to yield one minute to the gentleman from virginia, the majority leader, mr. cantor. the speaker pro tempore: the majority leader is recognized for one minute. mrcantor: thank you, madam speaker. i thank the gentleman from texas. madam speaker, our government was founded on a promise. this promise was built on the trust between the people and its elected officials. we all have a duty to honor the trust of the american people and to work faithfully on their behalf. madam speaker, it is unacceptable for anyone, any elected official or their staff to profit from information that is not available to the public. people in this country have a right to know and trust that officials at all levels of government are living under the same rules they are. if there is even the slightest appearance of impropriety we ought to go ahead and prevent that from takg place. it is incumbent upon each of us to start restoring the trust between the people and their elected represent