chairman, welcome to our panel. >> chairman ros lehtinen. thank you for that powerful statement and your consistent support, again not only of the cuban people but people who are dealing with tyrannies all over the world. >> i hope you get your visa. don't hold your breath. >> and mr. cicilline. >> thank you mr. chairman. i particularly want to thank the witnesses here today and thank you in advance for sharing your insight and your experiences. and i know that some of you are bravely joining us to share very personal stories of very difficult and painful experiences. and we are really indebted to you for your willingness do that as we discussed yesterday i continue to have the deep concerns about how the cuban government treats its citizens. but it's clear the united states policy with cuba has not worked either. and i am hopeful that president obama's efforts to engage in really substantive negotiations to more honest ties will ultimately benefit the united states and cuban people. i hope the cuban government will come to the table to -- a

ros-lehtinen. >> thank you so much, mr. chabot. and following up on your thought about the victims of brutality, wherever those victims are, i wanted to give ms. jacobson the opportunity assistant secretary jacobson, to answer the alejandro family. how can she explain to her daughters why their grandfather, who was killed by the castro regime, his life meant nothing and the personal who was in jail as a co-conspirator of the murder of her father was pardoned, set free and returned to cuba and received a hero's welcome, what does she say to her girls? >> let me start out by that i can never bring back her grandfather. and i can never do more than express my sadness and my condolences to her at the start. >> when she was told -- >> this should not have happened. >> by you and others that a trade would not take place, a trade by any other name, this was a swap, was it not? >> but madam chair, i just want to say, an exchange of intelligence agents between two countries is something that this government

chairman welcome to our panel. >> chairman ros lehtinen. thank you for that powerful statement and your consistent support again not only of the cuban people but people who are dealing with ing withing with tyrannies all over the world. >> i mope you get your visa. don't hold your breath. >> and mr. cicilline. >> thank you mr. chairman. i particularly want to thank the witnesses here today and thank you in advance for sharing your insight and your experiences. and i know that some of you are brafly joining us to share very personal story of very difficult and painful experiences. and we are really indebted to you for your willingness do that as we discussed yesterday i continue to have the deep concerns about how the cuban government treats its zens. but it's clear the united states policy with cuba has not worked either. and i hopeful that president obama's efforts to engage in really substantive negotiations to more honest ties will ultimately benefit the united states and cuban people. i hope the cuban government will come to the table t

la congresista ileana ros- lehtinen dijo que aunque no apoya la separacin de familias el fallo era deperarse. s/ ilena ros-lehtinen (r-fl) "esa decisión del juez es algo que no nos debe tomar por sorpresa el mismo presidente dijo más de 22 veces que yo no tengo los poderes para parar las deportaciones'" otros congresistas republicanos se han expresado desde sus distritos en comunicados escritos. coinciden en que este fallo reafirma que el presidente est actuando fuera del marco de la ley. s/ randy serrano @randytelemundo queda por verse qué pasa una vez el departamento de justicia apele la decisión. mientras tanto los activistas que aseguran se trata de un retraso temporal dicen seguirán preparando a personas indocumentadas para llevar a cabo los trámites cesar --mientras que en un comunicado oficial publicado en la pagina web de "ucis" el secretario del departamento de seguridad nacional take vo "jeh johnson" manifest su desacuerdo con la decisin del juez "hanen" de bloquear la extension de la accion diferida. --en el comunicado agrega que maÑana no se comenzarn a aceptar las solicit

ros-lehtinen.>> thank you mr. chabot and following up on your thought about brutality wherever those victims are i wanted to give ms. jacobs and the opportunity secretary jacobsen to answer that questions. how can marlena alejandra explained to their daughters whether grandfather who was killed by the castro regime and his life meant nothing and the person who is in jail as a co-conspirator of the murder of her father was pardoned, set free and returned to cuba and received a hero's welcome. what does she say to her girls? >> let me start out by saying that i can never bring back her grandfather and i can never do more than express my sadness and my condolences to her. it's something that should not have happened. >> when she was told by you and others of the trade would not take place this is a swap is it not? >> madam chair i just want to say an exchange of intelligence agents between two countries is something that this government and previous administrations have done many times. >> but at the

as ileana ros-lehtinen mentioned there so much showcasing going on but the ability to discern the real facts when others bear witness that is not the case is very large. ms. fonseca. [speaking spanish] >> translator: yes i have something to say. i remember in 1990 i don't have a precise i don't have a precise number. [speaking spanish] >> translator: my youngest son was born prematurely. [speaking spanish] >> translator: when he was born i saw several children however i know the hospital never reported those death nationally or internationally. [speaking spanish] >> translator: i didn't like to listen to fidel castro speeches but sometimes i have to. [speaking spanish] >> translator: fidel castor is the enemy and fidel castro is the enemy of cuba. [speaking spanish] >> translator: i listened to the dictator's speech that year. [speaking spanish] >> translator: and he said i don't know if the specifics were pretty referred to the child mortality rate in cuba being very low. [speaking spanish] >> translator: but having my son i had been into hospitals and i can assure you many more child

ros-lehtinen. the chairman emeritus of this committee. she fled committee -- cuba as a refugee in age eight and her years of work has been marked by a tireless commitment to freedom and democracy for people around the world. >> thank you so much and i strongly second your grave concerns about the way that foreign policy is being run from the white house by secret negotiations with the castro regime while keeping congress, the american people, even our own diplomats in the dark. this decision is in line with the president's other examples of executive overreach and bypassing consultations with congress. just like the taliban and five trade, the president has established a dangerous precedent that the u.s. does negotiate with terrorists, putting a target on every americans back and jeopardizing our national security. ever since the secret negotiations began in june 2013, this is what the castro regime has been doing since they won the talks. just a few examples. july 15, 2013. a north korean flag car

ingle i am going to yield my remaining time to ileana ros-lehtinen. the chairman emeritus of this committee. fled cuba as a refugee at age 8 and her years of work on this committee have been marked by a tireless commitment to freedom and democracy for people around the world. >> thank you so much, mr. chairman. i strongly second your grave concerns about the way that foreign policy is being run from the white house, by secretly negotiateing with the castro regime while keeping the congress the american people even our own diplomats in the dark. this foreign policy decision is in line with the president's other examples of executive overreach and bypassing consultations with congress, just like the taliban 5 trade with berg dal, the president has established a dangerous precedence that the united states does in fact negotiate with terrorists. ever since the secret negotiations began of june 2013 this is what the regime has been doing since day one of the talks as the u.s. establishes diplomatic relations. just a few examples. july 15 2013, a north kore

. >> we go now to ileana ros-lehtinen. >> thank you so much, mr. chairman. as we know, the u.s. has been negotiating in secret with this sadistic dictatorship for now 20 months because it's still secret. for 18 of those months, the white house negotiated in supersecret to trade three convicted spies for an intersent american. even if you say that was not a swap that's just so disingenuous. assistant secretary jacobson, this week in the senate, just yesterday, you testified, quote, this policy is not based on the castro regime changing. you said more or less that now. we have no illusions over that. end quote. let me get this straight. we are tell graphing to the castro -- telegraphing to the castro regime ahead of time it doesn't have to change. we have no illusions that it's going to change. so are we going to get further concessions from this administration? what is the point of negotiations if you say we are negotiating, we have no illusions, let's see where this leads us. media have been reporting just this week that arrests in cuba for last month, in january decreased to on

some gop leaders like congressman peter king congresswoman ileana ros-lehtinen and marco rubio shea ahowdown with the democrats and the white house is not worth having and should pass a clean bill and others like senator ted cruz say republicans should stick to their principles and not back down. thank you so much for coming on. republican senator ted cruz said this if republicans hold firm by pushing for a bill that undo president obama's executive order on immigration and democrats don't support such a bill the democrats will be blamed for the dhs shutdown. could this backfire for democrats? >> you know, i find that pretty hard to believe. there's a lot of factors that are going against republicans who don't want to pass a clean dhs funding bill on this. the republican leadership isn't really into it. you mentioned those folks but actually mitch mcconnell, john boehner and kevin mccarthy the republican leadership isn't into this fight. the media is going to blame republicans. >> what else is new? >> exactly. i think they really do believe the republicans shut down government and pre

chairman you have always been consistent just like chairman iliana ros-lehtinen and i want to but thank both of you that i just want to make a couple of comments and the ranking member of was very kind in her introduction and mentioned how some of this might have some family history. the issue of human rights has nothing to do with family history because i for one am opposed to oppression in communist china, and north korea, in vietnam and i don't know i was a very young man when we had sanctions against south africa and i supported the sanctions in south africa. i'm assuming the ranking member was also opposed to sanctions in south africa because i'm assuming obviously she is also less consistent as the chairman is on these issues. i supported as a young man the sanctions against south africa because doing business with the apartheid regime was not the folks that were struggling for freedom. all it does was help prop up that regime in south africa. mr. chairman i could let this time slaiby. >> and i asked the gentleman to yield for a minute? >> i really was on to trying to acknowledge

ros-lehtinen: to address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. ros-lehtinen: mr. speaker, today we commemorate the murder by the cuban regime of three u.s. citizens and one u.s. resident, carlos costa, armando alejandro and pablo morales. 19 years ago today, the castro brothers ordered the shootdown of the civilian brothers to the rescue planes and blew them out of the sky over international air space during an unarmed humanitarian mission. these volunteers were devoted to search the florida straits to aid those who risked their lives on rafts to flee the oppressive yoke of the castro regime that continues to rule over the island. it's shameful that this same regime that is responsible for killing these innocent heroes is now sitting across the table from u.s. government officials and will be hosted by their own department of state later this week. not a proud week for strong american values, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: job. -- th

chairman ros-lehtinen and i had the saudi arabia flag and other flags and we didn't see a lot of u.s. flags and we understand of branding inside of syria and we wouldn't want to put aid workers at risk but in communities have we increased u.s. branding so the syrian people know they have the full support of the united states? >> yes thank you very much for that question, ranking member deutch. it is an issue we continue to discuss with our partners. as you mentioned, inside of syria it is dangerous and so we don't require that. within the surrounding countries, we are asking them to step up their branding. it may not be on every bag because some of that goes into syria and some doesn't because it is difficult to differentiate and to put up more signs around and portray that and also just to -- in discussions with the officials who are working in those camps to make sure they understand where the assistance is coming from and we are able to do that even within inside of syria in a quiet way to let people know the local organizations where it comes from to get the word out. miss clement

ros-lehtinen: thank you, mr. speaker. today i rise to remind everybody that february is heart month. according to the american heart association, heart disease is the most common form of mortality among both men and women. in fact, one out of every four deaths in this country is cardiac related, and yet many of these deaths are preventable. small changes in diet and exercise can have an enormous and positive impact on your heart health and life span and we must not forget america's amazing medical researchers and practitioners who are doing their part by pioneering innovative treatments that save lives every day. so please remember to love your heart this valentine's day and every day. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from washington seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. smith: thank you. i rise in support of the president's

congresswoman bass in saying that i have been touched by their testimony and congressman sires and ros-lehtinento talk about their families and some of the impacts but having said that i am very supportive of our re-engagement and a restoration of diplomatic relations. i say that not because i support many of the repressive issues but i say that as someone who represents one of the largest if not the largest vietnamese american communities in the united states. people who escaped intolerable situations who i believe are certainly very against the existing regime in vietnam, have benefited by having greater ability to communicate the sum of their concerns and they have had it by having the u.s. ambassador to vietnam, to a unity which is not at all supportive of the government didn't really have a dialogue and be able to express some other concerns. i see that as a very positive step. my question actually going forward will there be a strategy to reach out to the cuban american community in the united states who have been suffering a great deal and as my first question. >> absolutely sir. we have

ingle i am going to yield my remaining time to ileana ros-lehtinen. the chairman emeritus of this committee. she fled committee -- cuba as a refugee in age eight and her years of work has been marked by a tireless commitment to freedom and democracy for people around the world. >> thank you so much and i strongly second your grave concerns about the way that foreign policy is being run from the white house by secret negotiations with the castro regime while keeping congress, the american people, even our own diplomats in the dark. this decision is in line with the president's other examples of executive overreach and bypassing consultations with congress. just like the taliban and five trade, the president has established a dangerous precedent that the u.s. does negotiate with terrorists putting a target on every americans back and jeopardizing our national security. ever since the secret negotiations began in june 2013, this is what the castro regime has been doing since they won the talks. just a few examples. july 15, 2013. a north korean flag carg

acknowledging the experiences and passionate leadership on cuba-american relations by chairwoman ros-lehtinen and mr. sires and thank you for being so open with your experiences with this committee. i think it adds to our understanding of these really complicated issues. i think many -- i think all members of this committee are equally and deeply committed to help the cuban people achieve freedom and democracy and i think the difference of opinion is what is the best strategy for bringing that about. and i really thank the witnesses for being here today. i expect you'll continue to keep congress informed throughout these discussions with the cuban government. and i am hopeful -- i think most americans are hopeful that president's efforts to engage in real and substantive negotiations with the cuban government will ultimately advance the national security interests of the united states and benefit the cuban people. but i think like most americans i remain very deeply concerned about the long record of human rights abuses and the denial of basic freedoms that have been caused at the hands of th

i want to thank ileana ros-lehtinen and mario deezeblart. she has been such a leader for so long in raising the truth of what is going on in this ghoul ag island. i have much more to say but i will put the rest of it into the record. but i do want to thank our witnesses again and i look forward to hearing --. >> mr. chairman, i just want to take a brief moment before we turn to the very serious topic to respond to a statement from this subcommittee's last hearing that had troubling interpretations. while discussing your position on marriage equality you made comments that some understood as suggesting that lesbian, gay, bye sexual and transgender people do not have basic human rights. after exchanging letters to you i think it's important to note that while we have very different opinions, we both agree that unequivocally lgbt people have the same rights as all other people to live lives freeve free from violence and persecution. in your letter and your public statement you said that you "unequivocally oppose acts of violence against anyone

ros lehtinen and she has been such a leader for so long in raising the truth of what is going on in this gu log island. i have much more to say but i'll put the rest of it into the record. i want to thank our witnesses again. i look forward to hearing thinker testimony. -- >> mr. chairman [inaudible]. >> mr. chairman i just want to take a brief moment before we turn to the brief topic of the human rights in cuba to respond a topic in last committee meeting. you made comments and enfwajd in line of questioning some understood as suggesting that lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans gender people do not have the basic human rights. after exchange exchanging letters with you that i think it's important to note that while we have very different preponderances on the marriage equality you oppose i, i support it. we both agree lgbt people have the same rights as all others to live free of the violence and persecution. you said quote unequivocablely oppose acts of violence against anyone and believe human rights apply to all. and all individuals including lgbt persons should be treated with respect

ros-lehtinen: this week is national eating disorders week. this time it's time to educate parents and children about the causes and serious health conditions and consequences of eating disorders. eating disorders affects more than 15 million americans and have disproportionate impacts on teens and young adults. beyond genetic links factors such as consistent exposure to misleading advertising that distorts one own's body image can go to eating disorders. we need to spread awareness and promote healthy body images. along with a bipartisan coalition, we have urged the federal trade commission to uphold their duty to protect the american consumer by working with health professionals and the advertising industry to promote fair and responsible advertisements, especially for products geared towards children and teens. if you suspect your child has an eating disorder, please seek professional help. there are many resources available to families. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: are there any further requests for one-minute speeches?

ros-lehtinen. >> thank you. we all are deeply saddened by kay la's apalling murder by isil terrorists. she made it her mission to care about humanity in a region that seems to no longer value human life and our prayers go out to her family. the brutality of isil truly knows no bounds and this cancer continues to metastasize throughout the region. the president has finally given us a draft umf that may actually limit our engagement in the region. so i look forward to a row bust debate here in our committee on it. but i firmly believe that no matter what happens with the aumf solving the problem of isil cannot happen without simultaneously solving the problems of assad, and iran and the partnership continues syria will be a terrorist breeding ground and we will never be victorious that way. a big part of the administration's isil strategy is to train and equip a program that seeks to enhance the capability of moderate syrian opposition leaders yet mr. chairman that program hasn't really started yet. the administra

but i do question if i could on an issue in a way you'll to my good friend and colleague, ileana ros-lehtineneen working come as a leader in the area of combating human trafficking. no prime author. it is our landmark law to combat modern-day slavery. the state department -- they put an annual listing of countries using what we contain in the law called minimum standards. the worst designation is tier three. cuba again is a tier three country, and egregious violator of trafficking with full complicity of the castro brothers and the rest of the government making money hand over fist by forcible prostitution, and by child prostitution. in 2004 frank calzone had documentation and was working the human rights commission in geneva. he had documentation of the complicity of this dictatorship with child prostitution and child explication. he was knocked out cold, hit in the face by cuba and so-called diplomats, thugs. freedom house came to defense and and made a very strong statement against it because he was bearing witness to the ugly truth of child prostitution. and again the state department chr