giving them priority. so the absence of that from the administration that have paid a lot of attention to the army, the army has to try to do everything and that very difficult and it makes it difficult to do what you are talking about. no more political leadership across the board has held the army on what to focus on and where to take risks i think would be a big factor in helping the army achieve more coherence in a modernization plan. laughing i would mention andrew with regard to your report, i think those capability areas are all good ones. we're looking at though thinking where the money would come from because the money is spoken for. it's a lot of those things, largely so if you look at the ground vehicles, they have a lot of money. aviation platforms, you have a lot of money. the army is going to need, it's going to be a biglist, it's doable. they're going to have to essentially move money out of those things . but the $10 billion shortfall being pulled bills which would really make it easier for

those are american priorities and they should be the priorities of this congress and our committee. that, madam chair -- sorry. chairman black, i yield back the balance of my time. >> i thank you, gentlemen. and i yield to the gentleman of indiana. >> thank you, chairman black. i want to thank you for your commitment to produce a responsible federal budget. i appreciate your leadership and the efforts of our committee members. you know, to get to this budget, our committee had to make some tough decisions, and we had to create priorities that elevated those of our fellow citizens who are the most vulnerable, who truly needed help. that was president trump's request, vice president pence's request and they did their job admirably as well. in short, they led. and in short, this committee, at least this budget proposal, is leading. here on the committee, we are familiar with the kind of tough choices, and we will continue to make more of these today so that we are protected of the citizens that are most vulnerable and protected and that the future generations who should be highest on o

giving them priorities. absence of that from administration that haven't paid a lot of attention to the army really, the army has to try to do everything. difficult and makes it very difficult to do what you're talking about. political leadership across the board to tell the army what focus on and where to take risk. it would be a big factor in the army achieve more coherence in modernization. to mention, iant think those capability areas are good ones. was thinking about where the from.would come the money is spoken for. it's not in those things. at the palm, ground vehicles, eat up at the do of money. platform eat up a lot of money. the and is going to need big doable. they're going to have to move absentut of those things $10 billion shortfall being .ulfilled it's something that requires the leadership and secretary mattis working with congress to achieve doable. members across the board support the army broade broadly. challenges.had >> the ndaa just passed house. it set out an approach to funding the de

make modernization a priority. it is on the chief list of priorities. but there is this competition with spending on personnel and spending on readiness. those are important priorities as well. but the army has to really think hard about how to make modernization a higher priority. focus on capabilities, not platforms. make army acquisition more agile by focusing on evolutionary innovation. being able to deliver capabilities rapidly even as you move toward longer-term type innovations along the road. making room within your modernization program to address opportunities and challenges appeared then aligning human capital with this modernization strategy and some of our panelists, i think have , additional ideas to make this approach work. without further ado, i will call them up to the stage. we can hear from them. mr. hunter: thank you for joining us today. i will introduce the panel and we'll turn and get their thoughts. to my right is heidi hue, the former assistant secretary of the army for acquisition logistics and technology. she is currently serv

make modernization a priority, that is on the chief's list of priorities but there is this competition with spending on personnel and readiness, and those are important as well. but the army has to really think hard about how to make modernization, we believe a higher priority. focus on capabilities not platforms. making army acquisition more agile by focusing on revelation, as i mentioned improves capabilities rapidly as we move toward longer term. making room within your modernization program to address emerging opportunities and challenges. and then aligning human capital with this modernization strategy and some of our panelist have additional ideas of what you have to do to make this approach work. so without further adieu i'll call them up to the stage and we can hear from them. >> thank you for joining us today i'll introduce the panel and we'll turn and get their thoughts. to my right is heidi chew, she is currently serving as chairman of the board of robo t north america. she previously worked at raytheon and before that ate hughes. and formally chairman of the air force scien

at this time in 1807, he doesn't think, in part it's the highest , priority. it is also because in the senate, the issue of the 3/5 hasse has lori come up -- already come up in the massachusetts legislator and they asked him to present that criticized slave power, they were beginning to call it, domination of that institution and of congress more generally. he had spoken about this and also written a speech that he probably did not deliver, but it is there in the earlier collected writings that were published early in the century. andoes not reflect on those that writing in the diary come but the context for his avoiding the subject -- diary, but the avoiding theis subject as he does not want to be typecast as a new england federalists who is starting to a -- of object to marginalization and national politics due to the dominance of the jeffersonians. this is actually come at the -- actually at the moment when he is starting to identify with , and he istration going to be a lawn among the massachusetts federalists to support that embargo. he is going to switch

so we need to keep the priorities and push the priorities i would not be here if it wasn't for immigration and i don't think you would be in canada if one's from immigration unless you're into it or i'm a native american legal. form these are countries and we us and we need to work and that's what's happening now these immigrants who are who we have responsibility to are illegally attempting to get away from issues that are caused by western countries there's no doubt that we've had support in syria there's no doubt that we caused that issue in iraq and there's no doubt that we're supporting saudi arabia in causing now seventeen million perhaps immigrants around yemen that is our responsibility to deal with and we should deal with it and there is money to do it if we decide to do it. whole the continent the u.n. has shown that sorry. go ahead lauren. well i'm just saying the u.n. says it's have shown that the majority of these people coming over illegally through boats or otherwise through turkey three eastern european countries in the different routes are not in fact syrian or people that

this is a priority for our president to deal with right now. we have a deep commitment in this country to work to forward peace and stability so people don't have to become refugees. the united states has been and will continue to be the largest provider of humanitarian aid in the world. we aren't >> certainly we aren't isengaging with foreign aid. we should continue to support that in any way we can especially in those places where we're seeing famine as a result of man made conditions. but this administration has reduced the ability of refugees to come to the country, in particular syrian refugees fleeing violence and a horrible situation in their own country. is this something you think we can work with pope francis and he holy sea to try and ensewerure we can help those refugees trying to get into the country? >> i think we can communicate our commitment to help those most in need, yes. >> thank you. professor sales, secretary tillerson has spoken repeatedly about the possibility of increased cooperation with russia and syria. we have a cea

that is the highest priority. my highest priority. you just issues you have raised, we have included in our redesign efforts, the redesign consists of an executive steering committee of which i chair. in the five working groups that i described. among them, the working groups would address the conditions abroad, allowances, treatment of the foreign service officers. and this redesign, all of the input is coming from our career, foreign seer and civil service officers. all of the working groups, there are very few noncareer participants. in fact, for the working groups there is only one noncareer participant. all of the other members are either from state or aig with proportional requisition between state and aig. they are stationed in washington or abroad in a different level of seniority. so we try to cover the whole gamut of the department and aig.so that those issues you raised will be raised by the people most affected by it. >> if i might come into my quick questions. i realize you may not have the full time to answer them and i

but we must also raise the caps on important domestic priorities. playing politics with the bill that funds the troops by inserting the toxic border wall to it is really beyond the pale. why not include the f.b.i.? or the entire homeland security bill? if the intention is to pass security-related bills, securing our homeland goes beyond the department of defense and our own budgets in the legislative branch. the republican approach to funding our government for f.y. 018 all but guarantees a short-term, if not a full-year, continuing resolution. just like every year democratic votes will be needed to enact appropriation law. and i really do hope we will soon start to work together in to invest responsibly both defense and nondefense priorities, to grow the economy, create jobs and secure the country. as i conclude, i want to thank our distinguished chairman, mr. frelling -- mr. frelinghuysen. his outstanding staff. as well as my outstanding staff. can i have an additional minute? the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. mrs. lowey: --

one of the priorities of this process. throughout, from the beginning. >> is he going to push it over the cliff? >> this is already going over the cliff and doesn't need a push by the president. >> sarah, when you spoke to the president earlier today, said that this system will continue to collapse and get to a point where democrats have to come back to the table and join and try to find a way to fix it. what specifically does the administration think would be that point? to get a group conversation and not have them -- >> that's a question you have to ask the democrats. they're the only ones that are going to bring it to the table. >> you're the one that keeps saying there's going to arrive a place where the system is at such a level that they're not willing to compromise. >> i can't imagine that this program, as he laid out, goes deepernd deeper off the cliff. >> you don't go deeper and deeper off a cliff. [laughing] what is the point you are describing? >> obamacare is unsustainable. we have said this 100 times. it's no

on budget priorities. but overall, talking about 3% growth is just what we in my area in southwest washington need. we need, like you said, job -- as you travel the country with the president on the campaign side you heard from people talking about wages and wage stagnation. that is a picture of some areas in my district. we need to change that and turn that around. so i think reg reform and tax relief are huge. an i'm also excited and encouraged to hear you talk about trade and your efforts with secretary ross. i think it needs to be a priority. i'm from washington, we're one of the most, if not the most, trade dependent state in the nation. i want to make sure, just like you said, fair and free trade continues to be a priority. i did want to mention a couple things that raised your attention. credit unions, community banks, small community lenders, the folks that help those medium and small-sized businesses grow and thrive and invest in communities. as we traveled across my district in southwest washingt

of thell be a priority hours. >> thank you. one of the benefits we have fighting terrorism at home is engagement from the communities that terrorists have often come from. making sure that there are good relations with people in the muslim community here has been very helpful. how would you see and proving those kinds of relationships? >> i could not agree more, senator. it is absolutely critical to maintain strong relationships with domestic populations as well as international populations because often times these are the groups of people who have the first insight into the fact that a problem is taking lace. it is critically important for us to have open lines of communication such that our friends are confident that they can tell us, we think that something is amiss foot without fear of stigmatization or any other sort of negative repercussions. so i strongly agree with the sentiment behind a question and look forward to maintaining those strong relationships, senator. >> thank you. i have other questions for the panelists

one of our common priorities will be the development of trade , commerce, and investment links. in this regard, in the technology, innovation, and knowledge economy sectors, the expansion and deepening of cooperation is also in our priorities. towards this end, we shall take steps to further strengthen our successful digital partnership. friends, we're not just partners by chance. we are also partners in dealing with current and future challenges that we may be faced with. today, during our meeting, we discussed the serious challenges of terrorism, extremism, and radicalization, which are the major challenges facing the world today. we have agreed to enhance our cooperation in fighting against these scourges. fighting terrorism and doing away with the safe shelter of their sanctuaries and safe havens will be an important part of our cooperation. with respect to our common concerns on terrorism, we will also enhance our sharing of intelligence and exchanges of information to deepen and expand our policy coordination as far as possible. we also spoke at length on regional issues.

do you commit to cutting wasteful spending and making it a priority? >> yes. >> do you commit to working with me to combat and prevent military sexual assault in the marine corps? >> most definitely. >> would you provide me with advanced notice? >> i will. >> do you commit to holding an unbiassed and transparent approach throughout the acquisition process. >> i do. >> absolutely. thank you so much. i appreciate the fact that you took some time last night -- excuse me, last month to sit down and visit with me about the needs of the navy and the marine corps. and one thing that i was very encouraged about is the fact that you said in order to move the needle we're going to have to perspire a little bit. and i don't want to speak for other members in congress, but i will say that i think here on this committee we are ready to perspire a little bit and get things moving. so if you could, if you are confirmed, how do you envision the department's relationship with congress, and what is your plan to enhance that relationship? and how do we work together to m

those are american priorities and they should be the priorities of this congress and our committee. german black, you'll back. >> i think the gentlemen. i now yield two minutes to the vice chair the committee, the gentleman from indiana. >> thank you. i want to thank you for your commitment to produce a responsible federal budget. i appreciate your leadership in the effort of her committee members. to get to this budget our committee had to make some tough decisions and we had to create priorities that elevated our fellow citizens were the most vulnerable and truly needed help. i -- that was the president and vice president's request and they did their job admirably. they led and in short, this committee is leading. here on the committee we are familiar with the tough choices and we will continue to make more of these today so that we are protected in the future generations who should be highest on our list are protected from what is now a 20 trillion-dollar debt. it is critical that we continue our dedication to push this budget through committee. : >> >> madam chairman on the kerr

it is his highest priority, it is my highest priority. to address the issues you have raised, we have included in our redesign effort both -- the redesign consists of an executive steering committee of which i chair, and then the five working groups that i described. among them, the working groups would address all of the issues you raised about conditions abroad, allowances, you know, the treatment of our foreign service officers, the support that we provide to them. the most significant aspect of this redesign is this is -- all of the input is coming from our career foreign service and civil service officers. all of the working groups -- there are very few non-career participants. in fact, for the working groups there's only one non-career participant. all of the other members are either from state or from a.i.d. with proportional representation between state and a.i.d., foreign service and civil service, stationed in washington or abroad, and at different levels of seniority. so we tried to cover the whole gamut of the department and a

i can't think of any priorities -- unfunded priorities list if we were given money, sir. that would be a decision by you. i have to represent the president's budget since he's having to deal with a wider portfolio than just defense. >> let me put it this way, will this 3% increase give you the confidence that we need that we are doing everything we can to make sure that our men and women serving in uniform are adequately equipped and trained and ready to fight? >> chairman, it took a good many years to get in the hole we're in. it will not be enough in itself to take us where we need to go. it's going to be a campaign, as i laid out, it started with our request for an additional $30 billion during this fiscal year the growth that we have in the 2018 budget and when i get done with the defense strategy and review that, we'll be coming back to you for more and probably along the lines of close to 5% growth, 3% to 5% growth for 2019 to '23. but, no, it will not take us the whole way. it's in the right direction. >> now, mid june congress hasn't passed a fiscal year 2018 budg

financial regulation has become a top priority for xi jinping's government.at a meeting of regulators in beijing where he called for the country's central bank to take a bigger role in managing financial risks. the fallout from a major cyberattack could have as big an economic impact on the global economy as some of the worst natural disasters. that's according to the world's oldest insurance market — lloyd's of london. in a report on cyber crime, lloyds estimated that in the most likely scenario, a malicious hack would take down a cloud service provider, with estimated losses of $53 billion dollars. provider, with estimated losses of $53 billion. that's roughly the same cost as superstorm sandy, the hurricane that hit the east cost of the united states in 2012. but that's just the average estimate. lloyd's believes that because of the uncertainty around calculating cyber losses, the damage could be as high as $121 billion or as low asjust $15 billion. that would outstrip the damage wreaked by hurricane katrina in 2005 which was estimated at $108 billion. the

at the first of the year, the major priorities this year, one was healthcare, one was regulation, one was the supreme court. we're moving on but most of those but right now even if we get through healthcare in the next week, between now and the end of the fiscal year we only have 31 working days left and we had the debt ceiling to get through, budget for 2018, the reconciliation that goes with that and the appropriation process upon the government before september 30 and then even if all that were to get done we got tax which is the last thing in the president's agenda we want to get to and we want to make sure that we have the time to get all that done so with that i'm going to open it up to the person on the left, just going to go out and i will ask him to make an opening comments. >>. >> steve baines from montana, thank you for posting the press conference today. many of us here on the state came from the private sector, there's a lot of private sector experience here. one of the great gaps between the private sector and what goes on in washington is the word that senator perdue us

she raised modern slavery and human trafficking and it was a priority to the uk government to ta ke prioritye on that. she reiterated the uk is committed to the paris climate agreement and she has told donald trump here in hamburg, she regrets his decision to leave the paris agreement. angela merkel said earlier, she did not share theresa may's optimism that donald trump may reverse his decision. 0n free trade, this is one of the most important issues in the context of brexit. she said she is a leading advocate of free trade and brexit offers exciting opportunities. to create those exciting opportunities once the eu has left the eu —— uk has left the eu and standing alone, you'll have to bilateral arrangements. she said while the 620 is committed to fighting protectionism, angela merkel acknowledges the role of bilateral deals within the context of free trade. and theresa may will have been glad to hear that. bilaterals will be crucial to brexit being a success. and interestingly, theresa may acknowledged that some, and i think she feels, globalisation has left some people behind. quite a lo

chairman corker and other members of this committee have made it a priority as well. the holy see is a value partner in this regard and the pope has lent focus to this issue. if confirmed i look forward to working with the white house, the congress and the holy see to combat human trafficking around the world. >> my appreciation to all of you for putting yourselves forward in what can be a complex, difficult and trying nomination process, and with that i will yield back the rest of my time. >> thank you, senator merkley. kind of looking at my list of questions when i do some follow-ups of some of the other senators questions i pretty well covered it. the question to everybody except for mrs. gingrich. let me just give you an opportunity. george santiana, i'm probably mist pronouncing it, made a statement that those who do not remember history are going to repeat it. i know your study of pope john paul ii, your documentary "nine days to change the world" from my standpoint that puts you in a very good position to understand exactly the power of leadership and i believe

so he's kept all of his prioriti priorities. i would like to say that he achieved something that i always wanted to achieve. our distinguished chairman got the navy wings of gold, and he got the marine corp wings of gold. spent one whole tour as a pilot of a helicopter. he did his wing time, i'm sure, before he got there. he loved the marine corp, and he loved the military life, and he looked forward to that day when he might be able to return and become more active. and this is one of the most interesting and wonderful positions in our entire establishment of the federal government, secretary of the navy. so i would like to say that i'm not a stranger to the proceedings we're undertaking, but there is an aspect of this particular confirmation proceedings that i had never encountered before. on his own initiative, he reached out and counselled with ten secretaries of navy to ask of them what they thought of challenges of today, how best he might be able to fulfill those challeng challenges, and we have us today will ball was one

doctors gottlieb and obviously this is a good opportunity to talk about fda's priorities for the upcoming year. congratulations on your confirmation. we certainly want to welcome you. in your first appearance before the subcommittee and we look forward to working with you. the agency you had has authority over approximately 20 cents of every dollar spent in america. americans expect that the food they eat and the drugs they take will be safe and effective. fda's reach is vast. the agency has authority over more than 300,000 foreign establishments and 185,000 domestic establishments ranging from food processing plants to facilities that manufacture lifesaving medications. in addition to facilities themselves fda is tasked with the regulatory responsibility of individual products. in delivering these regulatory responsibilities your private sector partners expect transparency and certainty from the fda. when i speak to small businesses and ag producers in north dakota their overwhelming concern is overburdensome regulations coming to washington, d.c. can stifle innovation and hinder their a

cyber is absolutely priority number one. i had the honor of giving a guest lecture at harvard law school two years ago to identify what were the major megatrends we're seeing in our markets. and i identified cyber as the number one and most important. it is an enormously challenging threat, because it is threat that comes from so many different directions, everything from rogue individuals all the way up increasingly to nation states using cyber as a threat tactic. therefore, our response must be as multifaceted as well. it comes down to -- it ranges from individual firm defenses all the way up to public and private defenses. government certainly has a role to play in making our markets resilient and indeed durable in the face of ongoing attack. since i've come into the cftc, i've redoubled the number of areas. i monthly meeting with our head cyber officer to walk me through the attacks we've seen not just in our own agency but what we're seeing in the marketplace. we have resources built into our budget request. if we're no

that is likely your first priority. guess what. it is my first priority as well. president trump has told us all that it is his first priority. we all have this in common. this challenge. how to ensure benefits of commerce and trade are more broadly shared so that every family can look forward to a brighter future is among the most fundamental of our time. coreiends, i believe to my that the most important challenge we face as elected leaders is that of creating lasting conditions for prosperity and security for all our people in this, our shared north american home. our geography, by virtue of our interlinked economies, this is work we are together, within a modernized, renewed, and strengthened north american free trade agreement. so i will leave you with this. let us meet this challenge. as neighborsalking and friends should. let us roll up our sleeves. let's get to work. and let's keep making history together. beaucoup. [applause] >> good morning. sorry, we are starting a little bit late. we just had a lively discussion with the secretary. we are a bit delayed

acquisition is one of my highest priorities and i think it's also deputy secretary duke's highest priority and hopefully soon to be undersecretary for management grady's highest priority. us have worked together before. from my perspective, i would really like to see greater technology insertion in what we do in t.s.a. and getting that technology insertion to the work force faster. i think that too, for the work force, will help them do their jobs from a morale perspective. being title of the bill use something that really is much more useful than perhaps what they're using today. and seeing the agency be response to have what they, i'm sure, have articulated as need in putting it out in the field and getting it in place. t.s.a. has an innovation task force which i've been breeched to -- briefed on. i have a lot of experience on innovation. i led the innovation effort for coast guard when i was the vice commandant. that would be a key priority of mine. mr. lankford: speed is exceptionial important. when we determine what a threat is, we can't wait four years before we distribute that out t

we have the responsibility for global governing coverage but will create new priorities. i have two new mission centers aimed at putting a dagger in the heart of the korean problem and the iran problem. the makes clearly we understand that the president asked us a pick set of pieces of information he needed critically to perform against the tasks he views as most vital to our nation's security. they remind me of when i ran a small business. many task wes had to perform at a very high level of excellence and had meet tasks, if we failed the company might not continue to exist. the government is a little different. this immediate feedback loop isn't always there but at the same dynamic, agile organization i tried to run as a business owner, sits before me today. i'm demanding excellence from anyone at all times times and fg that everyone there wants to achieve it. we won't always succeed. there will be bad days. but we have to accept some risks in our agency in order to be successful. if you're not coming short of time, you're probably not reaching hard enough and we're goi

years ago, our key strategic priorities is delivered superior customer experience.le up from digitization. it is becoming a big part of our business. three, diversify income streams. you can see the first half results, we have been able to diversify income streams and bring more income and reduce less dependence on interest to income. we are continuing to reduce the use of the balance sheet and extend other capabilities to build on other types of income. shery: when you say diversifying -- ahmed: yes. shery: sorry, when you say diversifying, you also mentioned islamic banking a while ago but for your business, your only 4% of revenue last year. does that mean you will try to expand that? ahmed: absolutely. the islamic banking window has affirmed so well in the first half of the year. in the meantime, they have been able to maintain superior asset quality with a ratio of just 4% despite conditions. if i could actually talk about overall performance in terms of the profitability, return on assets returns on the high side compared to our peers locally and regionally. -

cotton: they need to move faster and be clear about priorities. some of the priorities as i mentioned in my speech are currently prohibited by treaty obligations but we need to be prepared to move quickly should that treaty become obsolete in the meantime, we should do everything we can within the context of our obligations internationally to increase the legality and survivability of our land-based systems whether that's active armor systems or increasing the size of cannons or what have you. in addition, we simply need to expand the strength of our military, our army in particular. >> thank you, you spoke of assisting u.s. allies with developing weapons that the inf prohibits the u.s. from doing. wouldn't that be going around the treaty and ignoring the principle of it? sen. cotton: vladimir putin has violated the letter of it so if someone accuses the u.s. of violating the spirit, i am not that concerned about it. >> would it be a better step to possibly renegotiate the treaty given that it is 30 years old and times have changed? sen. cotton: w

that is one of the main priorities of many of my colleagues and eight priority of mine. i ran a small business for 25 years and one of the main reasons i wanted to serve the country -- the community i grew up in was where i saw firsthand how our texas to him was holding back job creation and economic growth. time for the united states and at progrowth policies that will improve the lives of the people we are here to represent. we have been going from one funding crisis to the next and i am glad the committee with this budget is beginning to restart regular order. this is a step toward fiscal sanity. it will reignite the american dream. two wide madam chair. >> the german yield spec. the gentleman from florida, mr. gates is recognized for two minutes. >> thank you. my previous experience was in the florida legislator. ways, it was terrible preparation for coming to washington, d c, because in this town we spend too much, our focus is often disjointed, and we continue to drive our nation into debt. there has been much written world.he roman our lack of strategy to constrai

we have responsibility for global coverage but we will create priorities. i have created two new mission centers aimed at focusing and putting a dagger in the heart of the korean problem and the problem in iran. this sets priority and make sure set ofrstand a specific information the president needs critically to perform against the tasks he views as most vital to the nation's security. it reminds me of when i ran a small business and had to perform at a high level of meetlence but also had to tasks that if we failed to do we might not exist. the government is a little different but it does have an immediate feedback loop. i am so proud to be leading this organization. immediate feedbacki am demandinm everyone at all times and i am finding that everyone there wants to achieve it. you know, we will not always succeed. there will be bad days. but it we have to excessive risks in our agency in order to be successful. not coming short sometimes, you are probably not reaching hard enough. and we are certainly going to do that. day.rge, every i have seen first ha

my highest priorities and is also a highest priority and hopefully soon to be undersecretary for management for claire brady's higher priority. >> the three of us have worked together before and from my perspective, i would really like to see greater technology and assertion and what we do in tsa. again, technology and assertion to the workforce faster, that to for the workforce will help them do their jobs morale perspective, being able to use something that really is much more useful than perhaps what they are using today and seeing the agency responses to what they have articulated as a need and putting it out in the field and getting it in place. tsa hasn't novation tax force, i haven't been briefed on, i have a lot of experience and innovation, i led innovation for the coast guard when i was vice, not that will be a key priority. >> speed is exceptionally important, when we determine what the threat is we can't wait for years before we distribute to the locations so thank you. >> senator harris. >> thank you. >> mr. glawe, good to see you again. sorry i don't see your beautiful childre

the victim is always our highest priority. they, we are receiving title hero, but in fact, we do not possess any supernatural powers. we are here because of the hard work and teamwork of many heroes. , when facing the evil of human trafficking, we're all confronted with a choice. something.or do when looking at this choice, i of a late king who died less than a year ago. as thailand's longest reigning often referred to as the father of our nation. he truly look at the time people .s his children having compassion for their suffering and working hard to improve their lives. today, i call upon the , leadership, and ordinary citizens of every country to follow the late thai example and look after the people as their children. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, ms. mosby. we're so grateful for the work that you do and i truly inspired by the work you do today. also want to thank our colleagues in the bureau of education and cultural affairs for sponsoring the heroes' visit to the united states. after they leave today, they will b

and he wants to set up something called "priority lanes." what it basically means is people with deep pockets will get that prime lane and everyone else would probably have to wait for their content. and what they need. now, the big lobbies are really pushing this, and so i put a link up on my website. if you share the view that we ought to be protecting net neutrality, you can weigh in by just going to that link. here is the most interesting argument. these big companies that constantly keep merging, they don't like to stand up in front of a crowd like this and say that they are against net neutrality. so they say they are for "voluntary net neutrality." and so what i said, that has got about as much chance to work as my saying that william peter wyden, age nine, will voluntarily limit himself to one dessert. [laughter] sen. wyden: isn't going to happen. and to me, some of these issues like ensuring that the internet stays free and open, and that's why i asked how many heard about this meeting online or through facebook or social media. thi

, i would expect us to place high priority on it. my understanding to the second part of your question as there are a number of oversight mechanisms built into the statutory framework, both the executive branch, multiple levels of oversight, the legislative branch. and of the court, the fisa court itself. i think that is appropriate and i would look for ways to make sure the tool is appropriate. >> i want to talk about leaks, the fbi has often failed to answer this committee's questions but then the same information gets leaked to the media were produced in the freedom of information act litigation. is it appropriate for the fbi to ignore requests from this committee and provide the same information to the media in a third-party litigation, if not, what would you do to ensure that this committee's request is received? i asked the same question of comey at his last oversight hearing a couple of weeks before he left the directorship. i said, how do you justify citizen grassley getting more information then senator grassley can get and

you take that as one of your priorities? because as i recall, in our hearings here over the last four years, 2017, or 2018 is supposed to be the target for the department of defense to be ready for an audit. >> you have my commitment to start the audit in september. and it is one of the highest efforts in terms of priorities for me. >> could you repeat that? >> the audit -- i believe it's september or it could be october is when we will begin the audit for the department of defense. >> thank you. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you. i appreciate that very much. last week we had a hearing with the cno secretary stackly and general necessarily general neler. we talked a little bit. i just want to tag onto what senator king was saying about how we procure items and going through that process. i asked if they needed additional authorities. they stated that they believed they had all the authorities they needed to speed up the procurement process, but there were a lot of regulations that got in the way. so tagging onto his comm

look forward to hearing your priorities outlined before the committee this morning. and i turn to our ranking member senator cantwell. >> thank you, madame chair, for holding this hearing. and welcome back, mr. secretary. the department of energy is a global leader in science and technology with an unrivalled network of national laboratories. it is also key to our national security when it comes both to nuclear and cyber threats. the president's budget proposes to slash many of the doe's essential programs and it would devastate emerging clean energy jobs in our economy. it would kill science and innovation in the jobs that d.o.e. supports. the budget would raise electricity rates in the pacific northwest, i guarantee you a number of people on this committee will not be supportive of that by auctioning off federal utility assets. the budget would undermine u.s. energy leadership in a sector that is posed to grow millions of jobs around the world, and according to the international energy agency more than $30 trillion will be invested in new renewable energy facilitie

spencer: i will commit to you, senator, it will be a top priority. to address the second part of your question, one of the things that became apparent, is the board is an amazing problem-solving machine. some of the problems that result is they do not actually share the solution among the building. it is fairly siloed. i believe that working with my fellow service secretaries if confirmed, that is one of our key issues is to start sharing best practices. sen. ernst: very good. finally in my remaining time, we have talked a little bit about the number of ships. i am not so concerned about the number of ships, just to ensure that the platforms are doing what they should be doing, but the types of ships are important as well and making sure we have an optimal navy and a navy that will support our marine corps. we know the marine corps has and -- has been playing a critical role, most often in an infantry type of role. we see them in the desert quite frequently. but amphibious ships seem to be an afterthought. can you explain to me what your direction mi

should focus limited resources on more important border security priorities. this includes upgrading and hiring more personnel. the main path for illegal drugs. this could include better technology so that border security agents could have a better idea of what's happening. the border wall will be dangerous. y grants will continue the come. we need to do our job, mr. speaker and come to together as a congress for a comprehensive immigration plan. at the least, reform of our immigration policies, building a wall sends a toxic message to one of our closest neighbors, a country of which we, the united states depends on. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yield back. for what purpose does the gentleman from arkansas seek recognition? >> request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from arkansas is recognized. >> mr. speaker, i rise today to honor a young man whose thoughtfulness and generosity has stirred the hearts, souls and patriotic spirits of people across my dis

>> what i would say is the president's first priority is for the senate, the house to pass the plan, and i know you have senator ted cruz on right after me, and i'm very hopeful that his plan and his changes will get supported. and i think we'd like to get health care done. if we don't get this passed then the president as he said will go to the next plan. >> secretary mnuchin, thanks for your time this morning. >> thank you.