Chair i would like to thank the members of our committee that served in iraq. We are grateful for your service. Your input today is going to be valuable. I will make an Opening Statement and turn it over to the Ranking Member so that he can make an Opening Statement. Before i begin, i would like to take a moment to express condolences to the families and friends of the sailors killed at Naval Air Station pensacola friday. The three sailors dedicated their lives to serving their country, and were taken from us far too soon. We need answers about the shooter and how this attack happened. The president was quick to share saudi condolences. Certainly at this point, the president must require the kingdom to give full and transparent cooperation with u. S. Investigations so that we can understand what happened, identify problems with the vetting process for military Education Programs and most importantly, bring the killer to justice. Since october 1, tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in cities throughout iraq. These protests, largely driven by youth, call for political reforms, an end to endemic corruption, and greater economic opportunity. Reassuringly, the democrats reassuringly, the protesters have voiced democratic views. These persistent, peaceful protests led to the resignation of the Prime Minister december 1. Unfortunately Security Forces have met demonstrators with violence, leading to the arrest of at least the deaths of at least 400, the arrests of thousands and injuries to 20,000 people. Iraqi authorities have also suspended numerous Media Outlets enclosed others. Iraqi leaders must refrain from using violence against Peaceful Protesters and must hold those who used force accountable, must permit the right of the people to peaceably assemble and ensure continued operation of the media and internet throughout iraq. Protesters in iraq should know congress and the American People stand with them in their calls for improved governance, better Economic Opportunities in a brighter future. After decades of u. S. Involvement in iraq, we must support and iraqiled process support an iraqi iraqiled process. Protesters have chanted, iran, out, out. They have called for the removal of iraqi politicians or militia leaders seen as too close to tehran and have voiced support for the independence of iraq. Iran hastely, accelerated its interventions since the demonstrations again and has urged iraqi officials to crack down on the protesters. In the aftermath of the resignation of the Prime Minister, iran has continued to try to shape Political Developments in baghdad, demonstrated by multiple trips by the commander of the kuds force to baghdad as protests accelerated. Iran is hindering the development of a peaceful and processor rack, just like in lebanon, syria and yemen. The New York Times reported on hundreds of leaked intelligence reports that demonstrate the extent of a rainy and influence in baghdad, and there is a buildup of short range Nuclear Missiles in iraq to threaten the United States, hold american troops at risk and potentially strike our regional allies and partners. This morning u. S. Officials said they now believe iranian led groups are behind multiple recent military attacks on u. S. Military bases housing u. S. Troops in iraq. And there have reportedly been at least nine attacks against u. S. Targets in iraq in the past six weeks. Aven these developments, fullystaffed u. S. Diplomatic president in baghdad is vital to persuade iraqi leaders to forgo violence against protesters, meet the threats posed iran posed by iran and other unhelpful actors and secure u. S. Interests. The state department instructed all nonemergency u. S. Personnel to leave iraq in response to increased security threats. 29ording to the november teen Operation Inherent resolve Inspector General report, as of october 3 there were 350 two direct tire u. S. Citizens and foreign nationals in iraq 563 the day before the early departure, a reduction of close to 40 percent. According to the Inspector General report, the order departure affected all operations in iraq and hindered the ability to help iraq become a more democratic country and to support counterisis efforts. The Inspector General report noted the order departure temporarily delayed vetting of individuals in the u. S. And the iraqi Security Forces for ties to terror organizations which of the state department conducts. Strengthening the isf is crucial. Yet according to the report, these delays severely affected training and equipment of isf personnel. Security threats seriously and him disappointed the state department has not been transparent in why it issued the order departure and how it plans to stabilize iraq moving forward. Protecting diplomats and achieving directives in iraq as a joint duty of the legislative and executive branches. I expect the state department to work better with Congress Moving forward. The state department terminated the order of departure but im hindered the diplomatic presence and tied our hands. Of isisthe researchers and limit the resurgence of iran and other adversaries in a rack. I look forward to hearing from our witness and his suggestions a way forward any iraq forward in iraq. I turned it over to the ranking it over to then Ranking Member. Ranking member since early october the people of iraq have taken to the streets expressing democratic rights guaranteed by the iraqi constitution. Citizens of iraq across the country have been protesting rampant corruption that has paralyzed the country and prevented iraq from realizing its full potential. They are asking for the government to work for them, as it should have from the very beginning. Protesters have been clear from the first protest that they intend to take back the country from iran. Chants have been heard almost daily, but for too long the iranians have been exerting an outsized influence in iraq, fostering corrupt influence fostering corrupt politicians and militia leaders to do the ayatollahs bidding. They have acted with impunity and acted outside the formal iraqi chain of command. These armed militias serve only, and answer only, to tehran and pose a challenge to iraqi stability. Tragically, iraqi Security Forces and the ironic highaligned Popular Mobilization units, formerly under the iraqi minister of interior, reacted to these democratic protests in a brutal, repressive fashion. Sensing a threat in iraq and lebanon, where antigovernment protests tinged with antiiranian sympathy have broken out, iran decided to reinforce its interference. We know the pmf and Iranian Revolutionary guard corps established a joint operating selling baghdad in october. Since then the crackdown has presided over the killing of civilians and wounding nearly 20,000. Only wayf course the the theocratic, tyrannical regime knows how to do with expressions of democracy, as we see from the supreme leaders violent crackdown on protests in his own country. My two oldest sons served in iraq and developed a warm appreciation for its citizens. We want a vibrant future for iraqi families. The iraqi Prime Minister tendered his resignation last anth, describing it as peaceful handover of power in a democratic system, but the new Iraqi Government may be hard to form and would likely be just as corrupt and beholden to iran as the current one. It does not appear the protesters in the streets of iraq are satisfied by this announcement. It a prioritymake to stand for human rights, accountability, and meaningful government reform in iraq. We have been handed a golden opportunity in which the people of iraq have stood against corruption and iranian influence. We must seize the moment. That is why my colleague, Tom Malinowski and i, have introduced hr 50 to 76, the iraq human rights and accountability act. Sends aortant bill strong message by requiring a state Department Review to determine if certain pmf and interior Ministry Leaders recruit. For imposition of sanctions pursuant to the Global Human Rights and accountability act. I was grateful to see the Trump Administration moved to impose human rights sanctions on three pmf leaders, including the two mentioned in the legislation, seniorasury designated a iraqi politician for widespread corruption at the expense of the iraqi people. This is a good story and must be followed up with more action. I urge the administration to continue making a strong stance on the issue and hope this committee will take up the iraqi human rights and accountability act. Thank you to our witnesses, Principal Assistant deputy joey hood, for being here today. The situation in iraq and across the region is complex and we trust you know you have your work cut out for you. I look forward to hearing how congress can play an effective role in demanding human rights for the people of iraq and holding those who are violating them to account. Thank you. Ive and extend to your sons our thanks for their service. I will recognize members of the subcommittee for one minute Opening Statements, should they choose to make one. Mr. Joey hood is the Principal Deputy secretary of state for near eastern affairs. He has spent much of his career in the middle east and deputy chief of the missions in iraq and kuwait as well as consul general and principal officer in saudi arabia. Prior to the assignments, mr. Hood was acting director in the process of Iranian Affairs in the department of state. In the Foreign Service mr. Hood served in riyadh, yemen and qatar. Thank you for being with us today. Please limit your testimony to five minutes. Your whitten your written statement will be made part of the hearing record. We are grateful for your participation today, and you are recognized. You. Ood thank let me also recognize and thank you for the service of those on the committee, as well as allen and Addison Wilson for their service to our country in iraq. I know from firsthand experience, it is not easy there. But i am honored to be with you today to discuss u. S. Policy in iraq, and where we go from here. Seen, demonstrations have swept baghdad and southern promises in what began as a wave theraqi youth reacting to firing of a respected war hero and soon grew into a movement demanding an end to endemic corruption and demanding greater opportunity, with demonstrators spanning religious sects, gender, and occupational lines. The demonstrators are rightfully tired of living under bad governance and want more from their leaders. Hundreds of iraqis have been killed and as many as 20,000 injured so far, prompting the u. S. To speak out loudly and frequently to say, stop the killing, bring the killers to justice, and protect the peoples right to express themselves freely, including through public demonstrations, and free access to the media and internet. Not surprisingly, another element of iraqs protest movement has been rejection of irans corrupting influence, including anger at iraniansupported Political Parties and groups. As you pointed out, and the last couple of weeks, the head of forcingocalled kuds chief exporter of terrorism, was widely reported to be in baghdad threatening uncut joel and politicians. This is the type of unacceptable interference iraqis are protesting in the streets. Demanding anlso end to mobster rule. Groups manipulate Political Party leaders, flooding the market with cheap, low quality foods, hocking counterfeit and expired pharmaceuticals, dumping illicit narcotics on the markets as well. At the same time, many iraqis have been rejecting being painted as tools of american influence. Although many protesters are too young to remember saddams tyranny, they are all familiar with the shortcomings of the political elites whose rise to power many attribute to the United States. So in that context, it is imperative the United States remain, as secretary pompeo said, a force for good across the region. We offer a partnership that is unmatched that reflects our values and contributes to the security and stability people need to address the aspirations of the protesters. Pompeo said, the u. S. Welcomes any serious effort to address their demands, but nothing will change until political leaders decide Government Agencies should provide public services, rather than serve as atm machines for their parties. And until that happens, the peoples demand for an effective, clean government will not be met, no matter who serves as Prime Minister or in the cabinet. At our use all the tools disposal, including designations under the global magnitsky act, just like we did last week, to hold people accountable. Remain theo countrys largest humanitarian donor. Since 2014 alone we spent more than 2. 6 billion on aid like food, water, medicine and shelter. We are the largest donor to stabilization, rehabilitating more than 500 schools, 100 Health Centers in 50 Water Treatment plants. Toare the largest donor clearing over 86 meters of square lansons 2015 so that more than 4 million displaced iraqis could go home and live in safety. When we say we mean we are a force for good in iraq. Our relationship with iraq remains vital for u. S. National security. Bolstering iraq as a sovereign, stable, united and democratic partner of the United States continues to be our objective. The administration believes a strong curtis dan Regional Government within iraq is essential to iraqs longest term longterm stability, so we will continue to work to resolve outstanding sources of tension. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. I look forward to your questions. Thank you very much, mr. Hood. I appreciate your being here. We will turn to member questions, subject to the fiveminute rule, going to the Ranking Member next. Hartman believe believetate department the drawdown of u. S. Diplomats has hindered our policy objectives in iraq and put the country on a positive trajectory . And what specific steps has the thank you for the question. The short answer is, no, we dont believe the change in Staffing Levels has hindered our abilities to do our jobs. When we went on order departure in the middle of may, it was due to credible new and very serious threats. When any posts goes on order of departure, there is a large reduction in staff or a temporary period of time. In this case, it went until the beginning of november. During that time, between middle may and the beginning of november, we continued to take a serious look at our staff, a look that had begun many months what the decide minimal level of staffing was required to achieve our objectives. Level we implemented after the lifting of ordered departure, something we have consulted Congressional Staff on, and we notified the congress recently. I am willing and available to come and talk in classified session about specific numbers. We dont tend to get into those discussions for security reasons in an open setting. I would also urge you to visit as soon as you can so that you can see for yourselves the great doing. Team is by any measure, in terms of cables written, in terms of meetings conducted, in terms of advocacy conducted, in terms of , we see thisations effective incredibly at getting the job done. Offer and i the believe we will take you up on the opportunity to have a full discussion in the appropriate setting. In the november statement, seven demands. Ed amendment of the constitution, early elections, and accountability for those implicated in killing protesters. What is the state departments opinion of these demands and how was the Department Working to move forward to help ensure they are met . Carefulnk we need to be because one of the unique features of this movement is that it does not have defined leadership. There is not a revolutionary committee or coordinating committee that can issue statements on behalf of of the thousands of people in the street. Our embassy team is in contact with Civil Society organizations, with a broad range of people from academia and from the media and all across Iraqi Society and the demands we are hearing from them as well as people in the streets are demands we have been hearing for quite a while, which is an corruption,ic elected representatives who represent the will of the people and not just the same faces year in and year out no matter what the Election Results are. You now see the council of representatives taking up new legislation for electoral reform. We applaud that. The United NationsAssistance Mission to iraq is providing advice and assistance. We think that is essential for for there to be real change. Remark,d in my opening if the political leaders, not just those elected, but the Political Party leaders, if they dont fundamentally accept the changes necessary and vital, then nothing is going to be different no matter what faces they put. How best can they exhibit their understanding . What would be the most significant step . Electoral reform is important. There are other measures. We say this is up to the iraqis to decide how they want to move forward and how they meet the demands of their own people. What we say is we have a hand we are putting out to you. We will help you whenever we see incredible partners in the government who want to make positive change. Fighting corruption, reforming the Civil Service, the electoral reforms i have talked about, ending their dependence on Iranian Energy. It makes no sense for the iraqis to be flaring gas up into the atmosphere and losing billions of dollars while also importing gas and electricity from iran in order to make electricity. It is literally like carrying coals to newcastle. We, in our technical teams, are ready and waiting to help them make these changes as soon as we see a credible desire to do so. Mr. Wilson, you are recognized. Thank you for your service. It is very impressive. The iraqi people want to take their Government Back so it works for them and not for their iranian domination. If we determined that any u. S. Foreign assistance has ended up in the hands of iranian back militias, and does our current framework have safeguards that we can use to ensure the a does not support the iranian influence in iraq or endemic public corruption . Qa for the question. Thank you for the question. Yes, we have a lot of systems in place to make sure our assistance excuse me, does not go to the arms groups supported by the iranians and outside the control of the Central Government. We have fulltime staff dedicated to overseeing these vetting efforts and i would respectfully push back on that oig report that said there was a lapse in that oversight. It is one of our Top Priorities to make sure all human rights vetting, all security vetting is done fully. Humanitarianur assistance, we have a dozen layers of oversight that i can explain in more closed session to you or your staff to make sure our assistance goes to the right people. Level, when we are in the country, we go to these locations to make sure our projects are being done, being branded so that people can see this assistance is coming from the American People. That is very encouraging. I am grateful the Trump Administration has taken a strong stance against iranian backed militias in iraq. Can you explain to the subcommittee, like other groups are not designated as terrorist groups . Internalot get into deliberations about these things and i certainly dont talk about designations before they happen. These are issues we obviously take very seriously. We are always taking a new information and always evaluating it to see what can stand up to the evidentiary standards. The global act has a high and serious level of evidence yeary standard and evidence yeary standard and we need to make sure these designations can stand up in court. I know you asked about terrorism designations. Likewise, though our sitter those are very serious. We have to make sure that well go that route, it is an open and shut case. We appreciate the thoroughness of what you are doing. The Prime Minister tendered his resignation late last month but the people in iraq are still in the streets. What kind of government response is required to begin to meet the demands of the iraqi protesters . That is a good question, congressman, and it is one that i do not have a full answer to because it really depends on what the iraqi people perceive from their government. They have to believe the government and Party Leaders that put representatives into that government are ready and willing to make substantive changes. It is true that many of these changes cannot happen overnight but certainly, with an and byion of credibility taking some initial measures, they can certainly reassure the people that they are on the right path. First and foremost, they can stop having him come to baghdad and meet with him. I want a normal relationship with tehran. I want to have normal bilateral trade, tourism, normal relationships. Maybe talking to the iranian abbasid are and not talking to a special forces iranian ambassador. They could also start by issuing clean contracts to Reputable Companies from iraq and around the world. Corruption and iranian involvement when they see it and they would also see it if their government and leaders starting pushing back on it. Thank you for your extraordinary diplomatic service. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I am actually going to begin offtopic for a second to follow up on the chairmans reference to the horrible shooting in saudi arabia. I want to ask you about a specific aspect of that. That is vetting of saudi officers under the lahey law. You may not be able to give me a detailed answer but i am curious to know whether this particular officer had been vetted. Why do we have saudi airmen trading training in the United States given the widespread commission of human rights abuses by the Saudi Air Force and the conduct of its air operations in yemen . Have we denied training s asrtunities to any saudi a result of their conduct in yemen . This whole tragic incident has program and on this that is something immediately leapt to my mind and i would appreciate it if you had anything to say now or if you could come back to us with detailed answers. There are some aspects i can answer now and some i will have to take back to get more information. To the victimsut and their families of this terrible tragedy in pensacola. The killer is dead. And so, there is no more information we can get from him but i know the authorities are following up with a number of his classmates and others to get to the bottom of what happened and why. I can say with confidence that we fully implement the lahey law. I do not know exactly what level of scrutiny this individual underwent but i can say with confidence that the lahey law was applied. I will get back to you on the questions, the other questions you asked about. International luke perry Education Program is one of our international Education Program is one of our crown jewels. It is always part understood. We want to make sure they are the right leaders. Let me move back to iraq. I want to challenge you a little bit on the staffing situation. The ked about order of order departure is something that has to be done and is never something anybody wants to be done because we believe our people should remain in place. Im not sure if i find credible the explanation that following an ordered departure, the departure decided they did not need those people there in the first place. I wonder if that is really what you are suggesting. That you decided that we did not need those people doing network and if not, then why are we sending them back why arent we sending them back . Is this what the department has decided . Congressman, let me take it back a number of months. The suspension of operations in basra happened in the fall of 2018 and the order departure happened in may of 2019. No diplomat ever wants to implement ordered departure because it feels like a failure. I felt that very keenly because i was the one in charge of the mission of the time and i was the one who requested it from washington. I did it with a very heavy heart. I did it because i was convinced these threats were very serious. Understood. Why arent people going back . You are suggesting that following a difficult solemn decision, the department underwent a review and decided, maybe we did not need those people there in the first place. I was not finished with my explanation. Immediately, we started to look at the question of what if these threats remain at a high level . We will not be able to remain at ordered departure forever. What is the smallest number of people we can have here, making our target as small as it can be so as not to give the enemy too much of a target, but also to get our mission done. This followed on work we started in january and even previously but more formally in january to look at exactly what our Staffing Levels ought to be the iraqi december, government had declared all of its territory liberated from isis. This was in december of 2018. We knew that our mission was evolving. Staffing admission iraq has gone up and down over the years in conjunction with the changing environment around it. Our staffing in 2014 looked very waserent in 2015 once isis 60 miles from the inviscid. Likewise, from the embassy. Processs a review already underway. Decided the correct number for basra is zero. I will get to basra in a second rate it took on new urgency i will get to basra in second. It took on new urgency and we realize we eat to quickly decide the minimal number we needed to quickly decide the minimal number of staffing it would take to get the job done. In basra in the fall, there were serious and Credible Threats there as well that proceeded the ordered departure that led us to suspend operations there and that is where things remain for now. Thank you for being here. For the good work country. A lot of times, are diplomatic core and diplomats do not get the credit they deserve. That. To thank you for iran is a huge problem in iraq. I am a veteran of that conflict and we operated against both terrorists and iranians and we know that a quarter of american soldiers were killed directly or indirectly by iran. Yemen was mentioned earlier. We know why yemen is destabilized, because of iran. Cities. Re weapons in civilian casualties increase. I am deeply saddened by the instability we see across iraq over the past three months. These protests have claimed more than 400 lives. Sentiment. Onalistic introduced the the ofventing of destabilization iran act heard because of one or two specific senators, it did not pass the senator senate. I hope we can learn from our mistakes. Disengaging or using rhetoric about bring everybody home is a mistake we made in iraq. We know that was extended under president bush so the next president could have the courtesy of making the decision. And we did not and we see the result of that now. Hopefully, that is a mistake we dont make again. I want to ask you specifically, ensuring the stabilization of iraq is key to our National Security strategy. Parties have made promises to make electoral reforms. I am not suggesting we cut off iraq from iran entirely. I do not think that is feasible. We must work with the authorities in iraq to push back against irans destabilizing actions. Leadership feel pressure from these protests and if so, what steps are they taking to shore up their support and how can we counter that . I believe they do feel pressure from the protests, which is one of the reasons why they deployed so quickly and for such a long. Of time long period of time. They are having trouble figuring out how to reinstate the influence they feel they are losing. Armede it in the form of people who are infiltrating the protests, especially at night. I saw reports of armed men going around and shooting in a particular area. If they think they are going to win the hearts and minds of iraqis with that, they are sadly mistaken and if they believe i think this young generation is fed up and they feel they have nothing to lose. What we need to do is we need to make sure those iraqis havestand that once they leaders in place who are willing to change, we are willing to work with them. We have a 22 trillion economy and amazing businesses who work not on the basis of corruption, we have got Security Assistance barn on the best in the world and we have a very bar none the best in the world and we have a very generous public willing to provide humanitarian assistance and all sorts of help. Is there any counter about then, you talk killings blaming it on somebody is it well understood that it is the iranian services coming in to do this stuff . People refer to the thirdparty as a euphemism. It is not the Iraqi Government and it is not the iraqi people. You do have, unfortunately, armed groups starting to fight each other and that is a recipe for disaster. Beenow the protesters have trying to make an effort recently to make sure armed infiltrators cannot make their way in but they can only do so much. The iraqi Security Forces must protect the people and their right to protest peacefully. We think they are capable of doing it. Thank you for your service. With the Iraqi Parliament beginning to select the new Prime Minister, while the United States work with that new iraqi Prime Minister if we believe iran has had too much influence and is too close to that individual . We will work with anyone willing to make real change in iraq. That thet possible iranians may think they have e but candidate in ther that person may stand up to say i am in iraqi patriot and i am on the side of my people. That is always possible. We are not going to try to call the horse now and say, we will back that one and not this one. What theait and see iraqi people decide. If there is a credible leader, we do not care what his or her name is. We will be willing to work with that person to give iraqis a Better Future because that is in our interest. Lets talk about usaid i usaid. They reduce their staffing by 80 in iraq yet they have dramatically increased including a new Stabilization Assistance in the myanmar province. 7 million to support ethnic religious minorities. Why do such significant staffing reductions make sense . Especially when the programming is going to help small new untested governmental organizations. We only have five usaid staff left in the entire country. How is that going to work . I would respectfully disagree with all the numbers you put out there. They are not accurate and i would be willing to talk in closed session about what the numbers actually are and what they were and what we think they will be moving ahead. Nobody believes in those programs more than i. I was a huge champion of the assistance to myanmar because i went out to fallujah. Yes, we wanted to kill you before but now we want to be partners. I said, ok. If that is the bargain, we will be here to help. That is the partnership we offer. The religious and ethnic minorities, i cannot tell you what a feeling it is to be in a half destroyed monastery and know that our money is going to restore that from what isis tried to do. , am reminded every single day this is the lords prayer, to be sitting in a mass among chaldean christians and to hear them recite this prayer in the language of jesus. It is one of the most moving experiences you can have in your lifetime. We want to protect those programs and make sure those people can go home and live their lives. We would never agree to staffing cuts so severe that they would put those programs in jeopardy. If you could help us get the right numbers. 1. 5 million individuals remain displaced in iraq and iraqi officials have identified 88 billion in recovery needs. How will the u. S. Be able to help iraq . What is the state department doing to assist the Iraqi Government and restoring civil documentation for more than one million idps, many of whom lost their identification, confiscated, destroyed by isis and cannot access Vital Health Care and Education Services without it . We have a lot to offer in that regard. For the reconstruction needs of the country, of course, we dont rebuild countries. We do provide stabilization so there is water and electricity and essential services so that businesses can do their work. Iraq is a middle income country. Theyre one of the Largest Oil Producers in the world. They do not need, nor should they want, our aid money to provide reconstruction. They should be ready and willing to hire competent, Clean Companies to do that. Unfortunately, we are not seeing that just yet. For many of the reasons we talked about here earlier, there is endemic corruption that is preventing this from taking place. Our companies are ready and we are there advocating for them. They need a good reliable partner in the Iraqi Government. I know that is true for other governments as well. Kuwait, we come with other governments, provided investment guaranteesand loan of more than 30 billion for these reconstruction efforts. Almost none of it has been taken advantage of because the government has not been willing to come forward and Fund Projects that are companies would be willing to go in for our companies will be willing to go in for. Mr. Vargas, you are recognized. Thank you for holding this hearing. Thank you for your service. I appreciate it, we all do. I want to ask you some questions about the kurds and curtis dan. The kurds. I had the opportunity to meet with the kurds. What they were asking for at the time was the ability to defend themselves. It was moving to hear you talk about jesus in the lords prayer in aramaic. We have a number of chaldeans who have moved to san diego and they are wonderful citizens. I have relationships with them because ive been to iraq a few times now. When i went there, it was interesting to see how hardworking the people were within that difficult situation. They were doing quite well. Andsaw cranes everywhere there was a lot of optimism. What is happening there right now . Thank you for those kind words and for writing for reminding me of darrell issa. He was part of the first to visit that country in 15 years. It is important for us to see you out in those countries and we hope you will come and visit baghdad. There is a lot going on in that region. They have their challenges. We are helping them to overcome those as much as we can through dedicated assistance. We are trying to help them convert them from Party Militias to combine forces responsive to their Central Government and to the Regional Government and the Central Government. We are providing a lot of assistance for them to help deal with the refugees from syria and internally displaced people. They are going home there going home requires an agreement on how to administer their homeland. So far, we have not seen that progress and we keep pushing for it at every level very frequently. What about the issue of the oil . There were discussions going on, trying to get to some arrangement with the Prime Minister and that seem to fall by the wayside. Is there some reconciliation . What is going on there . There are a lot of talks, one of the promising things we saw with the administration. We did have a lot of confidence from the kurdish leaders and we received reports frequently that there was progress being made. It is easy to get a little cynical when you hear the reports over and over but no actual results. It is true that now the talk seemed to be paused with the resignation of the Prime Minister and the focus of the government in baghdad on the protests. We hope new government will take up those negotiations with the kurds as quickly as possible and sincerely as possible to get a deal so that the different parts of iraq can be helping each off the dependence on Iranian Energy because that does not serve anybodys purposes. I wish you the best. We want to see the transition from this government to Something Else successful. I am very afraid of the influence iran has and that is very problematic. Important foro chaldeans and christians. I yelled back. You are recognized for five minutes. Curious, the protests are centering about many issues, the influence of iran being one, and the Economic Conditions and the fact that young people do not have a lot of opportunity or hope. That is a recurrent theme around the world. What about some of the developmental money that can be used where we might want to put more emphasis . We have an interest in stability and that is one way we could add where there is a vacuum. Programs art our programs are focused on the areas we think the demonstrators are most interested in, which is ending endemic corruption and improving the ability of the government to provide essential services. That may take the form of Technical Assistance in getting rid of ghost workers from the Civil Service payrolls. That may be learning how to do trash pickup better throughout a particular province. Programsad successful like this administered by usaid and others and have tried to work with willing partners within the government. It is an uphill battle because es have seenl parti government offices as atm machines for their parties and not as agencies that must provide services to the public. Until we have partners like that throughout the government, we are not going to be able to make much progress. Military remember the in afghanistan and the afghan security, when they went to Digital Payments, that was something that took an avenue of corruption away. Are they doing that in iraq . Some of the civil work that is being done, are they paying people digitally . Congressman. , it is one of our highest priorities that we convey to the minister of finance and to the , who areime minister partners with us and who are working toward Digital Payments as much as possible. Is there a technological barrier or do they not want to do it . There is a psychological element for people who have been at war in one form or another, they like the cash and they like to put it in their mattresses so that if they have to flee, theyve got it. In,f another dictator comes they are not so beholden or if the banks get robbed, they dont have to worry. Nascent to system is nonexistent and that is another big part of the problem. Do we help at all in that regard . Works oneasury attache this as a fulltime job. We are working with his excellency, the deputy Prime Minister, on these very issues through a usaid program. Lastly, something you just said about peoples dissatisfaction and the corruption that surrounds the. Ispensation of local services is it possible that as you are looking at those kinds of actions, that that could be a window in for isis . Areas whend other corruption,mpant they would slowly ingrain themselves with the community and start to build up trust and eventually try to influence those things and get a foothold into the community. Any opportunity to do that that isis might take advantage of . Think that was the case in 2014 when people were completely fed up with their government. Saw at time, many of them difference with isis. That is absolutely no longer the case. There is no longer any iraqis who would fall for that. United inirtually their hatred for this organization and while there are pockets here and there, just like in other countries, the iraqi Security Forces, backed up by support from people in Intelligence Networks and the International Coalition led by the United States, they are taking a fight to those isis remnants. In writing, i can ask you the question i talked about, the banking infrastructure. Perhaps private entities in the u. S. Could work in dealing with that. Thank you. Thank you for being here. Thank you to the members for participating. Thank you for your service to the country. Have additional questions and we ask that you respond to those questions in writing. Submit them to the subcommittee clerk within five business days. The subcommittee is adjourned. Thank you. House democrats move ahead with two articles of impeachment against president trump, charging it with abuse of power and obstruction of congress. Read the text from the articles of impeachment now on our website, cspan. Org impeachment. Wednesday, at 7 00 eastern, members of the Judiciary Committee will convene to write the final language. Debate on amendments and the vote to move the impeachment proceedings of the house floor. Follow the process live on cspan 2, online at cspan. Org or listen live on the free cspan radio app. Our cspan campaign 2020 bus team is traveling across the country asking voters, what issues should present a candidates address . A top issue for this Election Campaign cycle is the national debt. It is not being talked about enough. I think it does need to be addressed. Over 22 trillion. I think it should be. I would like to see washington address some of the Foreign Policy issues with a more analytical approach. I am currently pleased with president trumps choices in that area. I do not want to follow him blindly. Think what the candidates should address, the crises going on in the United States. Climate change, gun violence. Overalled states an humanity, we are at a crossroads between a potential disaster and a result that could work out for everyone in the end. I want candidates who will push forward to resolve to make everything better for everyone. Voices from the road on cspan. Cspans washington journal live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. Coming up wednesday morning, we will talk about the Justice DepartmentInspector Generals report on the fbi with jerry dunlevy. A discussion about the articles of impeachment introduced by House Democrats with the university of baltimore law professor. Alabama republican congressman will be on to talk u. S. Policy in afghanistan. Be sure to watch washington journal live at 7 00 a. M. Eastern on wednesday morning. Join the discussion. Studentcam 2020 competition is in full swing. All across the country, Middleton High School students are hard at work creating their short documentaries on the issues they would like the 2020 candidates to address and we would love to see your progress. Take us behind the scenes and share your photos. Still working on an idea . We have resources on our website to help out. Our Getting Started page has information to guide you through the process. Cspan will award 100,000 in cash prizes, including a 5,000 grand prize. All eligible entries must be received by midnight on january 20, 2020. Dont be afraid to take your issue seriously. You are never too young to have an opinion so let your voice be heard now. For more information, go to our website, studentcam. Org. Trump and Vice President pence were in hershey, pennsylvania, tuesday for a campaign rally. The candidate urged pennsylvania voters to put them back in the white house in 2020, touting the administrations successes