as you now know, i'm tom donohue and i'm president and c.e.o. of the chamber of commerce of the united states. i'm really pleased to testify today on behalf of our three million small and medium-sized businesses, state and local chambers of commerce as well as large companies that are members of the chamber and national federation. i'm also pleased to be here with my friend, rich trumka. we appear quite often together on matters of immigration, infrastructure and a whole lot of things we agree on. when we retire we'll get a mike and ike show and go on the road. we think we can make a good deal out of it. the chamber strongly supports the bipartisan congressional trade priorities and accountability act of 2015 which will renew trade promotion authority. t.p.a. is critical because economic growth and job creation at home depend on our ability to sell american goods and services abroad. after all, 95% of the world's consumers live outside the borders of the united states. why does trade matter to our country? in a word, it comes down to american jo

as you now know, i'm tom donohue and i'm president and c.e.o. of the chamber of commerce of the united states. i'm really pleased to testify today on behalf of our three million small and medium-sized businesses, state and local chambers of commerce as well as large companies that are members of the chamber and national federation. i'm also pleased to be here with my friend, rich trumka. we appear quite often together on matters of immigration, infrastructure and a whole lot of things we agree on. when we retire we'll get a mike and ike show and go on the road. we think we can make a good deal out of it. the chamber strongly supports the bipartisan congressional trade priorities and accountability act of 2015 which will renew trade promotion authority. t.p.a. is critical because economic growth and job creation at home depend on our ability to sell american goods and services abroad. after all, 95% of the world's consumers live outside the borders of the united states. why does trade matter to our country? in a word, it comes down to american jo

chairman, by , stipulating that tom donohue is an expert of presidents. he goes back to abe lincoln's days. [laughter] i think he is ably qualified to be an expert on those presidents. i want to thank you, chairman hatch -- senator hatch: you're goings to have that white hair before it's all said and done. mr. trumka: i want to thank you, members of the committee, and tom donohue. for strengthening labor and environmental provisions, for reforming investment rules, for finding the appropriate balance and regulatory measures and intellectual property protections, for fair rules of origin and finally including meaningful currency provisions among many other issues. far from being opposed to trade on principle, we have supported trade deals when warranted. some examples would be the jordan trade agreement, the african growth and opportunity act, the generalized system of preferences and the re-authorization of the import-export bank. key to reforming our trade policies we believe is abolishing the outdated, unaccountable and un-democratic fast track process.

trade policy with chamber of commerce president tom donohue and a fnkfl-cio president richard trunka. you can find that shortly on our companion network, c-span. just waiting for this hearing to start about the state department. we'll be hearing from the inspector general about states' efficiency and effectiveness. >>> meeting will come to order. both of us are in order, so we will proceed. this hearing of the subcommittee on state department and usaid management, international operations and bilateral international development is entitled "improving the effectiveness of the state department." i'd like to begin by welcoming our witness, inspector general of the state department and broadcasting board of governors steve linick. steve, thank you for being here today. i understand you changed your schedule to be here today, and we very much appreciate that and look forward to your testimony. the lyg is dedicated to assessing the state department's programs and operations and making recommendations to strengthen its integrity effectiveness and accountability. as such, the oig is dedicated