Transcripts For CSPAN Key Capitol Hill Hearings 20151009

Live coverage after the conference fetus it finishes on cspan2. I cspan3, the science, space will be airing. Watch that live. Cspany weekend, the coverage is on politics in American History. Marking the 20th anniversary of the million man march, live coverage of the gathering with keynote speaker master louis farrakhan. Sunday at the National Press club, gop president ial candidate ben carson discusses his new book, a more perfect union, that he wrote with his wife. On monday, beginning at 10 00 a. M. Eastern, live from new coverage for allday of the no labels Problem Solver convention including eight republican and democratic president ial candidates. On cspan twos book tv, coverage of the 10th annual brooklyn book festival featured offered authors. Coming up sunday night at 9 00 afterwards, former meet the press host and nbc White House Correspondent David Gregory on his current book about faith and religion. He is interviewed by sally quinn, Founding Member of on faith. On American History tv on cspan3 saturday night at 8 00, San Diego State University Professor elizabeth on alexander hamilton, his role in the Arab Government and his belief in a strong Central Government to mediate the states. Sunday afternoon at 4 00 on real america, the 1982 u. S. Information agency on the first three years of the soviet unions war in afghanistan, and alleged war crimes including the bombing of hospitals. Get the complete schedule at cspan. Org. House Majority Leader Kevin Mccarthy dropped out of the speakers race today. We will hear from him in a moment and other members of the Republican House conference. Volkswagen and missions investigation which the European Parliament took up this week during earlier we spoke to a reporter about the House Republican leadership. Joining us on the phone from the Washington Post newsroom is Amber Phillips who covers congress. Thank you for being with us. This has been a very busy day. It has indeed. We started out thinking we knew the end results. We do it was going to happen. Who would be the next speaker of the house of representatives. That was supposed to be Kevin Mccarthy, from california, the House Republicans number two. And then this morning they had their caucus meaning that allies, mccarthy and his thought they would have the magic number to get elected and replace Speaker Boehner. And then things started developing in a new meeting, with republicans where apparently mccarthy had told republicans, im not going to do this, im out. I dont think i have enough support. From there it went public. He gave us a Public Statement where he said that same thing. He said, i think we need a new, fresh face in congress. And right now, it is chaos. Representative peter king of the new york told my colleague, it is like a Banana Republic on the hill, what we assumed was a sure thing that we would have a new leader of the house of representatives has completely situation that could drag on for who knows how long. One of those head spinning days. Chaos and disarray. Speaker banner was supposed to go to appear on the tonight show , he canceled the appearance. Inl he stay on as speaker the long term . What is next for him and what happens next . What happens next is anyones guess. Is the bottome struggle, conservative factions 30 or 40icans, about Holding Court against the Establishment Group of republicans that john boehner and mccarthy be going to that belong to. The conservative faction did not like mccarthy, and decided they would not vote for him. They put up their own challenger, littleknown congressman from florida, causing dissension. John boehner was going to hand it off to mccarthy at the end of the month when he was expected to retire. Now he says he will stay on for as long as it takes to elect a new speaker. There is also talked the National Republican Congressional Committee chairman greg walden is going to step in as interim speaker until republicans can figure this out, which suggests weeks or months without an actual leader. We heard from Kevin Mccarthy today, he was asked about his interview last week on a fox news channel. And then you had the announcement yesterday at the freedom caucus, and or thing Daniel Webster. How much of this was selfinflicted by congressman mccarthy and how much was outside forces saying he is not the person . Amber if i had to put percentages to this, i would say his comments about the Benghazi Select Committee investigating at most 30 ton was attributable to this. It certainly did not help when he needed to rise as speaker. Some of the dissension among his party. But i dont think it seriously hurt his chances. I think what we are dealing with is a fundamental Division Within not johnlican party, boehner and not mccarthy could close. Host mccarthy says he would stay on weiner says he will stay on as leader, but is that a longterm commitment . Its unclear. I spent my afternoon going back and looking at other times there were House Speaker battles that took the congress into chaos. , or republican speakers speakers elect, once they decided to not go that route, Bob Livingston being an example, stepped down soon after. If history is any indication, mccarthy might not be in the house any longer. Host you and your colleagues have been covering this from all the angles. What has it been like . Think we can draw parallels and comparisons between what is happening in the campaign trail in the republican primary for president , the Donald Trumps and ben carsons and Carly Fiorinas of the world, and the fact that wellestablished, wellliked servative lawmakers signed find no path forward but to step down in the face of this dissent. There really is a revolution happening right now within the republican party. What formuestion is does that take, besides just host to establishment leaders. You had to go back to 1986 when democratic House Speaker tip oneill stepped down. He was the last to do so on his own terms. Everyone else where either forced out or losing majority or resigning. Amber that is exactly right. Ingress has not done easier the decades since and i dont think it will be going forward. Host Amber Phillips, covering congress, heart of the team of reporters covering the story. Thank you for being with us. Amber thank you. Please go outside, ladies and gentlemen. [yelling] rep. Kevin mccarthy come on over. Up. On you, huh . Saw some of listen, we have been going through this campaign, talking to a lot of members. The one thing i have always said to earn this majority, we are servants. We should put this conference first. I think there is something to be said for us to unite, we probably need a fresh face. I will say on as majority leader, but the one thing i found talking to everybody, if we are going to unite and be strong, we need a new face to do that. Nothing more than that. I feel good about the decision. I feel great to have my family here, my colleagues. I think we are only going to be stronger. We fought hard to win the majority and turn the country around. A stepbe a foot forward. Why change it, what happened . Rep. Kevin mccarthy we had our were calls and there into the district. I dont want making voting for speaker a tough one. I dont want to go to the floor and win with 220 votes. I think the best thing for our party is to have 247 votes. If we are going to be strong, we have to be 100 united. You know what, i said lets put the conference first. [yelling] rep. Kevin mccarthy look, i have been talking with the number of members, we have been thinking about this throughout the week. I just think it is best we have a new face. Out comments about benghazi last week, was that a factor . Rep. Kevin Mccarthy Well that was not helpful. I could have said it much better. This Benghazi Committee was only created for one purpose. To find the truth on behalf of the families of the four dead americans. I should not be a distraction from that. That is part of the decision as well. Thank you very much, guys. [indiscernible] rep. Kevin mccarthy the conference should be able to decide. Thank you all very much. I want to make sure we are doing what we told the american people. We had a lot of discussion. That will happen. [indiscernible] love Kevin Mccarthy, he is a good man. That was a tough thing to do. He wants to share the same goal that i have. [indiscernible] [chatter] do you expect new competition . I think the conference needs to have a variety of choices. That is a healthy part of it. I do think there should be a variety of choices. Hes coming to the mic. Jason chaffetz im here with my wife, julie. Absolutely stunned. Kevin mccarthy is a very good always want to put his country before everything else. He and i stand shoulder to shoulder with the same goal. To unite the party and take the thet to the president , to senate and american people. I really do believe it is time for a fresh start. That was the whole genesis of my campaign. But we need to have a lot more family discussions, because we need to find somebody that our whole body can unite behind and do what we were elected to do. I was absolutely stunned, surprised and shocked that this happened. But our conference is going to have to do a lot of deep soulsearching and we will see what happens. I would support the nominee on the floor, but we dont yet have a nominee. The fact that it is delayed, i will continue to campaign. Absolutely. [indiscernible] chaffetz i think we have a lot of internal fracturing. We need to find a way to unite the party. That is what Kevin Mccarthy wants to do, it is what i want to do and i think that is what john boehner wants to do. There is already a lot of talk coming out of the conference. Do you know about temporary caretakers, why is that not a good idea . Why should they elect a longerterm speaker . Ffetz the conference has to unite behind a plan. We will have that discussion in the coming weeks, but hopefully we are trying to build consensus that can get us to the numbers and get us back to the work we were all elected to do. Will continue along that along those lines. Thank you, appreciate it. [indiscernible] how will you try to come forward unified . Daniel webster that is what we are working on. We had our conference for a couple of hours the other day. We started with rules, yesterday. I think those are key things. Members would like to see, modify the rules and then use them. Right now we dont use rules. We circumvent them. That is the problem. [indiscernible] [indiscernible] webster i had misunderstood the picture of the speaker. The speaker and powers members to be successful. Powerbased system, the speaker and others make all the decisions. That is not my prerogative. What i want to do is make a member successful, and we look at to an answer. [indiscernible] Daniel Webster it is not my job to block him, it is the people in the conference. That is where we are. If we go with a principlebased system, you are going to see a together. Ple coming case, the amendments offered, that the other side would like to do in some cases, and it doesnt matter which side, they would just like to affect change before it gets the chance to. When they dont get the chance at all, then they form a group. How many votes do you think you have . Daniel webster i dont know. Do you feel like the favorite . Daniel webster no, i dont. Think there are other factors here and it would be hard to determine how that is going to play out. [indiscernible] have you spoken to jeb bush . Representative Daniel Webster he knows about it, he leads on principle and he thinks has he encouraged you . I dont think so. If we have moved the debate forward, [indiscernible] we have to step up and say, yes we have to change the way we operate. There are some great inks that happen. Things that happen. We were able to actually get the jump on the senate, we were able to not allow the governor at that time to have the upper hand and leverage, and all we have to stay based on principles, include membership, and take up the most important issues first. [indiscernible] done, thet get that closer we get to a deadline, the less [indiscernible] why do you think hes so abruptly dropped out, do you think this makes the republican republican conference appear chaotic . Daniel webster i dont know why he dropped out. I dont. We were together in the discussion we had in the conference this morning. And he was running. He was issuing questions like he was running. I dont know. Do you think this will lead to a more unified party . Daniel webster it is hard to unify without a leader. But i think also it would be easier because the leadership, no matter who is elected, will have the under leadership helping guide. [indiscernible] [indiscernible] do you think it is a good idea to serve as interim . [indiscernible] we need to get by. Do you think this makes it more chaotic . Daniel webster no, i think he made a decision and congress has to respond to that. [yelling] think all of us want to find someone that can unite us and move forward legislatively. Do you have any information about life . Why . I have to say this, he was microphoneg into the as he should have, so a lot of us did not even hear what he said. [indiscernible] that was not made clear. There, and back in its april. I dont think that is what happened. Did he announce . No, it just happened now. Can you tell us again what happened . Costello tive representative mccarthy went up to the microphone, and said he was not going he was withdrawing his name from consideration for speaker, and he was not going to be running. And with that, he sat down, Speaker Boehner got up and said, based on what was just said, we are going to move to postpone elections for speaker. And then rogers got up and banged the devil and said conference dismissed. What was the reaction . Shock. Wasperson next to me crying. Who is that . None of your business. I like both of those guys. Dan is an old florida friend and jason and i came in together, but i was one of mccarthys lieutenants. He offered no rationality . He did, he said he does not he does not want them to feel like they are going to have are going why they with him. He wanted to make it easier on them. We were prepared to take those arrows for the sake of our party and move forward. [indiscernible] representative will need dont know, it was a shock. He just got up and said i dont want to be there . Rooney yes,e correct. He said the player prayer, and pledge, and that. He said he does not want people to have to defend him in their districts, and he is not going to be a distraction for them and their constituents. He said they would be adjourned the meeting at a later date. I hope that people talk sense and more people galvanize around him. So we can move forward. I think it is pretty obvious that all members of the delegation of the congress that were shocked. Kevin mccarthy had the vast majority of the conferences confidence and votes. But he has made a decision that i believe he could not get to a team. As a result he has taken himself out of the running in favor of a candidate who can get to 18. I believe he will be the most influential voice as to who we can get to get to to 18. Remains ourhy leader. He remains a steadfast part of the leadership and clearly, the man who had the most votes by far for speaker. Know, he is absolutely staying on as majority leader. Kevin mccarthy will be the most important endorsement for whoever ultimately becomes speaker. Dodoes this have anything to with the walter jones letter about possible indiscretions in his past . The leaderi believe will have to speak for himself when he said he wasnt the right person. I understand he felt he could not get to 218, and he wants to make sure whoever does become speaker obviously has the ability to get to 218 on the floor consistently. Ask the candidates that may emerge. I dont believe there was any candidate today you could get to 218 among those who had declared, and i believe that is the reason Speaker Boehner dismissed with the intention to have the field being considered reconsidered for someone who can get the field to 218. [indiscernible] rep. Issa Speaker Boehner remained speaker until he formally steps down. At this point, what we have is a candidate who magnanimously said he did not believe he could unite the conference sufficiently, and he takes running. Ut of the no other candidate came close to having 200 plus votes that Kevin Mccarthy had. Thank you. Washingtonxt journal, the latest on Kevin Mccarthys decision to drop out of the race for House Speaker. I look congressman steve king on gop house leadership, as well as the 2016 president ial race. Then firsttime guest connecticut congresswoman discusseseste esty gun violence. You can join the conversation by phone, facebook or twitter. This monday on landmark cases, in 1830 threat scott was enslaved dred scott was enslaved to emerson. On duty and several free states. Mr. Scott tried to buy his freedom from the widow emerson. Follow the case of scott versus sanford. Historic Supreme Court decisions with our guest Christopher Bracy and martha jones who will explore this Supreme Court ruling by reviewing the life and times of the people who were the plaintiff, lawyers and justices in these cases. Be sure to join the conversation as we will be taking your calls, tweets and facebook comments. , landmarkcomment cases. For background, while you watch, order the companion book available for 8. 95 plus shipping at cspan. Org. Every weekend, the cspan Network Features programs on politics, nonfiction books and American History. Cspan, liveing on coverage of the justice or else gathering at the National Mall with keynote speaker mr. Louis farrakhan. Sunday, gop president ial candidate ben carson discusses his book, a more perfect union. Sunday, we are live from New Hampshire for our allday coverage of the no labels Problem Solver invention which includes eight republican and democratic president ial candidates. , book tv, coverage of the brooklyn book festival. Mona on dwight on why the middle east needs a sexual revolution. Coming up, David Gregory on his current book, how is your faith . He is interviewed by sally quinn. On American History tv on cspan3, San Diego State University Elizabeth cobbs on alexander hamilton, his role in the creation of the Central Government and his role to mediate between the states. Sunday afternoon at 4 00, the u. S. Information agency film on the soviet u. S. War on afghanistan including the bombing of hospitals. Get our complete we schedule at cspan. Org. The European Parliament talked about the volkswagen emissions data. This session was held at the European Parliament in strasbourg, france. Thank you madam president , and commissioner. Today we are talking about a very sad story. Thatgislators, we thought over the years we had contributed in a practical emissions ofducing cars. We thought that we had reached important targets to ensure that european citizens would be able to live in a cleaner environment. Fact, we find ourselves confronted with a different situation. We guarantee clean air to breathe for our citizens. We are now certain that our legislative wishes were illusionary, we were not able to identify the fraud that had been carried out. So these organizations have been deliberately been exceeded by one of the largest carbon factories. Concerned just like my colleagues who will be speaking after me, and i turn to the European Commission asking whether there have been other particulates, co2, or is thisxide, or the only pollutant . Is it true that the emissions were 40 times greater than the limit allowed . We need to know the truth. We ask you to keep us abreast of the outcome of your investigation. We thank you for coming immediately to the committee, as soon as the scandal erupted, but we would like to know if it is true, as has been declared by many Car Manufacturers apart from volkswagen, that these tests for emissions were not manipulated. Be some like there to form of independent scrutiny. This is really important. It has to do with the health of our european citizens. It has been a sad story for many reasons. How is it possible that the authorities did not discover these illegal devices over such a long. Of time long period of time . What are the tools used . What is the equipment . The American University discovered this fraud but we should ask Member States who is in charge responsible for this . How is it possible that these cars passed the tests . What is the position of the commission here and what does the commissioner think about there being a surveillance authority, which would be able to check what has been carried out . The localthinking of authorities in the municipal authorities who are not able to reach the air quality requirements. That the European Commission has said that they are violating the provisions but now they know what was going on. There were people that were not sticking to the rules and they perhaps have been erroneously considered to be responsible. So, commissioner, we discovered emissionsn monoxide can be different on the road compared to what is calculated in a laborde tour he laborious tree laboratory. That is why they are carrying out realtime in missions to test real driving conditions. , byuld like to know whether 2017, will the commission use these tests or attempt to use a random cycle system . To know exactly what is happening in this area. We need to know if this is isolated or if several companies are doing the same thing. I would like to know why the European Unions has to wait for a scandal to corrupt before acting. It happened with the food sector before we imposed traceability for meat. Unfortunately thousands of people had to die in the mediterranean before we came up with a proper migration policy. Now we are faced with this scandal. Did we really need this scandal to realize the system has to change . Mrs. Ford has the floor for five minutes. For the vast majority of consumers, buying a car is the single biggest purchase they make in their lives after they have bought a home. This scandal is not just about money. It is also about health. Cheating the standards brings a massive and fundamental breach of trust. For the market to work properly, there must be trust. A trust in a service or a good that it is what the supplier claims it is. Trust that it complies with the relevant laws or regulations. Trust that your competitors are acting honestly and trusted that official bodies have done their jobs properly. This principle has to apply all across the market. All across all 28 Member States. And each of these standards must be applied in every country. Because once we lose the trust of consumers it cannot easily be restored. Volkswageneave customers to face chaos. I dont know if the car that they own will be recalled or upgraded or whether they will be paid. And consumers looking to buy new cars from another company are also very uncertain. They want to know whether or not it is just volkswagen who have used the devices were are there other Companies Involved. They want to know why officials did not act sooner. Who knew what. They want to know why it was discovered in the u. S. Before the eu. The Consumers Want answers to those questions and i agree with them. We need drivers to use diesel cars and to have confidence that when they purchase one they have made the correct choice. And we cannot let the actions of one company tarnish an entire sector. So we need a full investigation. Cannvestigation that people trust in across the entire single market. I know it is not possible to regulate the way forward but proper oversight can minimize it. A National Regulator is required by law to enforce legislation. If our Member States agree, they must implement them. Because the strength of any approval across the eu is only as strong as the weakest link. The sameg must work to High Standard otherwise there is a race to the regulatory bottom and turning a blind eye and one member state means that can be sent across all 28. Our mother states must Work Together in a coordinated fashion. We know that the emissions tests are already being updated. We have known for many years that the emissions tests and fuel efficiency claims did not represent realworld experience and that is why the commission is already due to announce new testing processes by the end of this year and early last month, the Commission Officials came into my committee to discuss what they were doing. But without any details. Needs to make these announcements soon because manufacturers need to know what they have to deliver. They have to deliver to these new tests by any new cars that are approved after the end of next year but the Commission Must also keep the parliament involved. The parliament has a role to scrutinized allocated acts and 500 Million People expect us to do our job properly. I get a bit fed up with secondary legislation being written in the commission but then arriving in the Parliament Last minute with some comment about, dont worry it is just detail. People expect us to do our job and to scrutinize both the primary and secondary legislation and we must get the details right. We need time to understand it and to listen to both consumers and manufacturers and expert advice if necessary. Parliament talks a lot about better lawmaking. The commission is trying to deliver better lawmaking and we need to make that happen. We cannot let this happen again. Thank you, very much indeed. Thank you madam president , madame commissioner. I agree with my colleagues from both committees. I originally sent the question to the commission but let me add, the general reputation of eu carmakers and the whole European Industry. Say that what happened is completely unacceptable. We expect a full investigation and a full accountability of those who are responsible. It happens while we are negotiating a very sensitive issue with our relations with the usa. The case shows that we should not be afraid that it will lower our environmental standards. Shares our standards and perhaps is even more advanced in scrutinizing them. Ago we saidyears testing must be improved and harmonized. Together with tackling the misleading information on fuel consumption. The issue has not yet been solved. The open commission and Member States must also investigate if the case concerns just one manufacturer, or whether we might be facing a much broader problem. If that is the case it will be necessary to look. We like to talk a lot about ambitious standards but if they are not technologically realistic it cannot be committed costeffectively or controlled. They are not worth very much. Thank you. Thank you, you have the floor. President , ladies and gentlemen, the transport committee is affected by this scandal because we know that without a change in mobility we will not be able to stop climate. Hange 24 is what transport accounts for. Since 1990, in industry we have seen a decrease of 2 but entrance transport and increased to the tune of 28 . Transport is gobbling up everything we are spreading elsewhere. Without a change in mobility we will not be able to stop Climate Change, but we have to stop Climate Change for the sake of our children and our grandchildren. That is the reason why in that white paper of 2011 we took a between now and 2030 when it comes to urban transport, 15 of the conventional flow would be reduced and by 2050, we would have no conventional fuels at all in the city. We decided that would be our target and we would achieve this target to greater efficiency, new engines, new fuel and new combustion levels. Of course, it cannot do that through cheating or criminal activities and that is something we must speak out against very strongly. This was not a technological shortcoming it was a financial deficit. This is why volkswagen made this decision. They decided rather to cheat then be honest. If they have been honest the car wouldve been more expensive. Unfortunately the technological abilities were there but were not used in this case. Here in the eu we have targets in the field of transport, ambitious targets set by the commission and we have supported those ambitions targets here in parliament. The transport committee for us did not go far enough. We talked about a third step and we needed three steps in succession and that is why we decided to look at 2020. We look at levels for the 1990 co2 emissions and we wanted to cut them by 20 . They brought majority supported that decision. Andwe have new white paper the whole thing is documented. The testing cycles need to be revisited. There is no point having the best values in the Laboratory Environment. We have to gauge things according to how they pan out on the road. The commission needs to analyze this. Why is it that nobody noticed before . You need to analyze the mistakes that may have been made by the commission. What mistakes may have been made by the member state . All of this needs to be investigated and of course we want to make sure we have a full and open investigation into the automobile industry. We cannot have a repetition of this. That is why we want proposals and we expect proposals from the commission. Once you have time to process this i would like to know your proposal for the future and how do we make sure this kind of criminal activity is not repeated again in the future. This was a way of deceiving customers as well. Cheating customers in terms of the fuel being consumed. This is a bad thing for taxpayers. And car taxation and many country is calculated to co2 emissions. This is wrong and we cannot turn it around. The environment has been hard hit by this and we cannot afford to damage the environment in this way. And weriminal activity fear that might be happening in other sectors, too. Be ant what that to little. A loophole. Loopholes should be closed. We need to investigate all of that, we need to be thorough and we must make sure this doesnt happen again in the future. Indeed. You, very much now you have the floor on behalf of the commission. Madam president and honorable members. Im grateful for having the opportunity to have this point of agenda and to explain to you the actions of the European Commission for the last 10 days. We face a very difficult case of fraud. A fraud of one company. Put in the state public trust in european cars. It put at stake the credibility of our legal system and the potential to affect consumers and the environment. These are backbones of the european actions and regulations. I believe that we will be able to overcome it. I think the European Parliament for giving me the opportunity to share this information, and those at the beginning i want to say im ready to continue providing every piece of information to ensure this will not happen again. The commission and Member States quickly andto act collectively. This means three points. One, investigating and establishing the facts. The second point is accelerating the toxin of the regularity framework commission and changing the survey ants system so this cannot happen again Surveillance Systems so this cannot happen again. I will speak of each of these in turn. I want you to know that the commission will play a full role in sorting this out. Let me touch on the first point. Establishing the facts. From which weing have to stop. We must start by establishing the facts. You asked me how the commission will investigate any potential wrongdoing. Have thession does not power to carry our own investigation in the authority sector. We rely on the authority of the Member States. These institutions are professional. Lets not jeopardize what we have built together so far. A widespread feeling of mutual suspicion is not helping coherent and effective european action. Beentigations have already launched in several Member States and the commission has encouraged all others to do the same. Every member state and every manufacturer. The commission is providing a platform for the exchange of information between Member States. In this sense, we have already had several meetings with authorities. We have discussed this matter in detail at the council on the first of october. The National Authorities are together, exchanging information with the commission. Is organizing a meeting with the National Approval authorities. We need to have clarified as soon as possible from the extent of the front. Vehicleance, how many motors are involved . How many vehicles in total . On which conditions have vehicle sales been banned . Once we have the facts, we must act guest act. We have zero tolerance for fraud. We have a very clear message today on the enforcement of existing rules. Those rules must be strictly reflected. Again, National Authorities have a crucial role to play. We need to be clear about what and when we will do. What action will be taken to remedy the situation and when it will be carried out. Asneed to do it as quickly possible to restore Consumer Confidence. I think this is a real damage and we need to apply the rules even if it means section. We over this to the european citizens we owe this to the european citizens. I think uncoordinated National Action will only make things worse. We will only succeed if we act together. Of course because the question was whether we noticed that something was wrong. Testinged the system of emissions and laboratories is not the right one and the Commission Proposed regulation on the real driving emission testing two years ago. The first was voted in may but i think we have to accelerate. The new legislation will include process toactice directly assess real driving conditions. And the new testing procedure will eliminate the possibility to your devices. And it will ensure that regulatory emissions limits are actually met. Package of the procedures setting up exact timing and level of the socalled conformity factors is meant to be voted this year. And will do it. Improvingird point is Surveillance Systems so it cannot happen again. Where should we act . Where list those actions action is needed urgently. Support isour full really essential. Approval system for Motor Vehicles in theyearold lies in the premarket testing and approval of vehicles. This is the system used in almost the whole world and has been studied and evaluated in detail for several years. The conclusion of our studies has been that the system has been efficient to ensure safe and environmentally friendly cars on the road. Ensured that the market is fully harmonized and every time a Member States it can be proof bought and registered in 20 Member States. This has the obvious advantage to the citizens and industry. Our staff conclusion also indicated that we can improve the system, especially in governance and market surveillance. In working on a new Commission Proposal for the last year on the eu type per approval system of Motor Vehicles. In light of volkswagens problem, we will analyze our proposal again and will suggest further things to prevent events from happening. I hope to prevent it to the commission as soon as possible. Be presentedwill to you and the council and we suspect that our common work will be quick. We expect that the resulting to morel contribute effective market surveillance and will improve safeguard measures and recall procedures. Let me say it again. European consumers must be reassured that nonconfirmed products are not circulated on the eu market. All, we a message to us need to ask ourselves what lessons we draw from this problem and behavior. We have to remind companies that they should respect the letter and spirit of the law. Socially and environmentally responsible companies have been one of the europes biggest assets. I hope that we can Work Together for this to continue to be the truth. Thank you very much. Thank you, very much indeed. We now move to speakers on behalf of this group. Thank you very much. Adam commissioner. The volkswagen scandal by the american authorities really was like able from the blue. There are so many issues that we can learn from this and in particular seek the truth. It is unacceptable and it needs to be sanctioned. They want to cheat people and they lost and that is what we have to become aware of. It is the betrayal of consumers as well. Their health and environment is at stake. And the public authorities and who like me stand up and defend responsible European Industry which create jobs and this could cast a shadow across the entire automobile industry. At length it will affect the credibility ofyearold industry throughout the world of European Industry throughout the world. Present this ford scandal from spreading. Be a good idea to protect the end of diesel engines. Snd, and farmers who use vehicles. We know that we have technological advance in europe with clean diesel. Andould be a mistake here now to condemn diesel and the car industry that uses diesel. Madame commissioner, you have made certain proposals and of course we are awaiting the test results as quickly as possible on real driving conditions. I am also wondering how realistic are our environmental legislation is. Are we not sometimes too ambitious . When we are talking about air quality and health, we need to be ambitious and pragmatic. Let me conclude, our Major Industrial company has to play the game of transparency and respect the rules people are going to continue to trust them. Thank you very much. Criminal behavior from any company at all, the matter the size, is absolutely intolerable in the European Union. It not only breaks the public trust it undermines the quality of our european products. In this case it damages the health of our european citizens. As we all know, air pollution across the eu is already causing more than 400 premature deaths per year. The mere fact that the epa in the u. S. , and not our interNational Approval authorities, discovered the devices is embarrassing. I do not share your confidence in our National Authorities. I think the european system today where carmakers pate National Testing organizations if they can choose themselves where they want them to be tested, is not working today. Mrs. Commissioner, we would like to ask you to establish an independent eu approved authority. There is also a very inconvenient truth. Even the cars that passed the testing in a proper way lets presume in a proper way, are losing much more than they should. Evidence that we advocated and to come up by september 17 at the latest and without any loopholes. So with the conformity factor of one and not more. Colleagues, let me conclude by never waste a serious crisis such as this. It is not about being against or in favor of dsl. What we have to do is make a leapfrog to clean diesel into the electric area. We need to make sure that we have a European Union that supports our makers making solutions instead of problems. Thank you. On behalf of ecr. Ladies and gentlemen, regarding volkswagen. A lot of correct things have been said but also some things that are not correct. Emission values were indeed manipulated by volkswagen but it has also been alleged several times that this has something to do with the normal difference between the tests in the Laboratory Environment and transfer to the road. Sot is not entirely right to far, we can also say that this is the biggest scandal that we have known since the Second World War here in europe. To say that this is typical of the German Automobile industry would be incorrect. Is a special case and i want to make that clear. If you have trade Union Officials or politicians with a majority on the board and if that majority also decides to appoint autocrats is the head of the business and if you have involved orgetting interfering with the daytoday running, then unfortunately, you have a culture where you simply turn a blind eye to things and at the end of the day you have this kind of problem arising. Trade Union Leaders and corporate managers and went on trips with lots of villages, unfortunately some of them were bored with visits to brussels. Even without this scandal im afraid the volkswagen has terms problems in terms of free structuring. Now we are talking about a company that needs to be overhauled. My final comment, i would defer you to europe which needs to be abolished in my view. On behalf of them, two minutes. 11 million buyers of volkswagen diesel cars have been cheated, of which 8 million are in europe. Exposed toave been severe air pollution due to the initial emissions of one million tons of nox. We do not know if this is the tip of the iceberg but all signs point to that direction. Obviously the Companies Involved are the first to blame. They deliberately manipulative the tests and they should not be rewarded for these illegal actions by again watering down the european standards or allowing further delay in their enforcement. I expect the commission to stop stalling the process and to have a real driving emissions test up and running within six months. I also expect the commission to change the surveillance system. The Current National approach is apparently not working, therefore a european independent oversight body must be established with the means to test cars themselves. There is another important political question that has to be answered. Were the commission and certain member state authorities aware of achieving . Of cheating. Of existence has been known for more than a decade. Several reports, including one from the commissions Research Body reported about unexplainable differences between real emissions on the road and Laboratory Test results. Why did the commission never initiate any investigations into the matter . I ask the commission here today was the commission aware of the practices by the car industry. Is the commission willing to disclose internal documents on this matter including correspondence with certain Member States. Jrc and the International Council of clean transportation. Thank you. On behalf i will now passive toward to thank you mrs. Chair. Volkswagenis act of totally shameful and unacceptable and a serious breach against consumers but also against European Environmental legislation. And 11 million car owners. In the fraud. The european people will be largely affected as citizens because of this very Harmful Health effect. And the excessive air pollution and also as consumers. They falsified results in these tests have been reported to up for the times. As the legal maximum. Volkswagen is by far the biggest car manufacturer in the eu market. With a market share of around wifi percent but not the only one. Is this the only company which has the same problem or are there other ones . And what is the commission doing with these . Are we only checking out for volkswagen. Offeran standards protection of european citizens and consumers. Wasver this massive fraud released in u. S. Markets. About the think government in paris and how it affects and how will the Commission Advance the emissions test requirements to improve the markets in europe. Madam has agreed to it three minutes. Colleagues, environmental and consumer policy, things we have been discussing for the past 10 years and we have been striving for better and cleaner air, Environmental Protection and we have been discussing this and we got used to the fact that the Auto Industry representatives usually see our rules as an attack on their corporate strategy. Despite all of the negative experiences i have had with lobbyists from all of the car industries, what i did not company thatat a is as strong and powerful as volkswagen when it cannot itp an ambitious cycle, takes criminal steps and systematically for years all over the authorities eyes. Something i still cannot grasp. This old thinking that environmental policy is seen as something not acceptable. I got used to this, but this readiness to commit fraud and crime is something i cannot understand. What gave rise to this . I would like to turn critically to the commission, but also my own federal government in germany. I dont know any further sector of regulation in which the federal government has tried so play thecally to interests of the Major Companies and protect them against regulations being imposed from brussels. Time and time again, we dont only have a climate chancellor, we have a car chancellor in germany as well. Up the reason it is picking for lower thresholds of these questions of the test cycles and i think that this type of aggressive protection it pushes the companies into a situation where they can act in as criminal a way as we have seen. Shouldmission, i think, accept that things were not as much as a bolt from the blue as people say they are. The German Government and the commission always aimed at not having this test cycle working. It doesnt only apply to the diesel standard, it also applies to fuel efficiency proficiency. Stop being naive. Look at the facts. Check them through. What you said to us today is very far removed from what needs to be done. Our weak positions are threatening jobs in europe. It is not environmental rules that threaten industry but industrye way that the is working at this level. Do you accept a blue card . Yes, of course. Mr. Edward. He seconds. I listened with interest to many of the things in your speech. I was wondering, in your opinion is the volkswagen scandal a one off or, from your critical remarks about the German Government, that they were the commission may have some way conspired with other companies to break their own rules . What are your views on this . Do you think this is more widespread than you know . The type of criminal action shown by volkswagen i dont know. I have not seen it happening for other of the large concerns. Vehiclent know any concern which does not have a problem with these test cycles. I am not aware of any of them which does not need to be checked. That is why it is so important that we should be talking about a european inspection. We need european instruments to arm ourselves with them so that we can really do our jobs perly in this type one minute. Colleagues,ner and we wish to highlight the fact that the consequences of this case which is detrimental to the environment and citizens, that these consequences will cease to magically spread across the entire european standard and test system and this will undermine the credibility of any type of sophistic certificate. Who can trust the certificates . There are two solutions. One is to do nothing and recognize that it is just a joke. Legislative or future legislative effort pointless. The second would be to react, to adopt exemplary punishment for those responsible and the brand ,oncerned, not just high fines it is quite clear to me and citizens that the time for the test to circumvent is over. We need to review directives, to identify the legislators shortcomings and the loopholes. Could i remind you that the Commission Center had already identified the diesel problems for volkswagen in a document which dates back to 2013. Recently in france there have been reports of violation of legislation of samsung part product. The british and the swedish warned the commission about this about the Samsung Television sets that there were problems with regard to consumption tests. Bells , only alarm will the commission do something and act . For the europe of nations and freedom. Thank you, madam president. As far as the volkswagen case is concerned, we need to be blunt. There has been manipulation, cheating, software manipulation. All of that is known. We are talking about a large corporation. There is a great responsibility as well. All of the damages will be sustained by many and first of all it will be the consumers who will suffer damages, also the environment, and the company itself. And the staff working for this company. Employees will be suffering as well. For consumers, we have to make sure there is some compensation. Not just an apology, but genuine compensation. Compensation for the damages sustained. As is very often and life there is a flipside to this coin and once again i dont want to embellish things or gloss over anything, but we need to look at the issue of fuel conception by cars and vehicles. The data given by manufacturers are not ever real when it comes to fuel consumption. The values we are given are given in a laboratory experiment. It has an impact on the environment and the consumer as well, the wallets of our consumers. As a second aspect, United States of america. We are talking about a u. S. Case because they have a regular missions and they always bring down the levels every time. Look at trucks we are talking about emissions which are three times higher than for cars. So who stands to benefit from all of this . Far, we have had no deaths as a consequence. Thank you. Minute. The evidence is clear. The eu and the German Government were aware of volkswagens dirty policy and in affected other corporations as well. Revelations of the scandal did not come about through transparency, but through competitive u. S. Monopolies seeking to increase market shares. So what does that mean in terms of our trade agreement . Have seen that all of the there are separate aspects of the european policy that have one single objective. T is to make profits to profits. We have a role to act as a type ofor here and this scandal is a way of operating. It shows the character of the European Union. The capitalist system it serves and monopolies. It is basically a rotten situation on the economic front and throughout our lives. That is what people can expect from europe. We now have individual statements to please statements. Please, stick to the time allotted for you. There will be 45 speakers. Much. Nk you, very the fact that it was the americans rather than ourselves covering the fact that the eu companies are not complying with the regulation is shameful. Member states are not and forcing the eu law and the European Commission does not have enough control insurance at hand. Yet again we are talking but something that our internal market and Consumer Protection committee has been looking at on a number of occasions. My colleague was injured in report from several years ago. Need a lot of commitment from the European Commission but also from the eu Member States to rectify this. With a veryt noxious nitrogen oxide coming from vehicles. A relevant situation, more power should be given to that European Commission. But back then many colleagues were against it. Listening to you today, dear colleagues, i hope that you have changed your mind now. Negotiations are only just beginning. Let us not panic, however. I agree that we need to thoroughly look into the eu market and to see how regulations are complied with. We need to rebuild Consumer Confidence among the business people. To make sure they are not cheating us. And information in vehicle specifications may be needed to restore the confidence to the eu and nationally to see that they truly oversee the eu law. The commission needs to be able to measure the actual use of carbon. Testsot a secret that car failed to meet that test requirements. One minute. I must say that i am a little surprised. You seem very relaxed regarding this council. Your approach is a very relaxed one. You seem to have a lot of trust in terms of the types of approval authorities in Member States. This is not how i see competition. Lowestho have the standards are given private place that is not right. What do i european type of institution, surely that would be a logical conclusion. I hope we will be able to talk about this in connection with revolution before this chamber. We aim to put this on paper. We know this from the field of medicine, approval of medicines, you have european authorities cooperating and the u. S. Authorities working together with us on this. When and why. When were you informed of the scandal, at what point in time, how, etc. Our colleague made a very valid point in that respect. Environmentalhe agency that should have been looking at this. The National Authorities and the german authorities, zero tests were implemented in the right way. What about israel and joint research center. What about the possibility of testing vehicles . I am asking if . Any tests were carried out and what happened . President and commissioner. Let me remind you that the information we have shows that suchan appealing manipulation using cheating devices at the time of the test concerns nearly 11 million vehicles by vw, but it could be much wider than that and i would concernsrprised if it other companies as well. The question remains, whether it is not a result of our ambition to reduce emissions in transport. To reduce the Carbon Emissions in all of the sectors of European Industry. The largest and Richest Companies manipulated and cheated during tests and that is harmful to the health of our citizens and the environment. That is unacceptable because the costs are borne by consumers. The average citizens pay out of their own pocket for the ambitious environmental standard, but also for our ambition to gain as much as possible. Users and citizens should know the truth and find out what really happened with volkswagen. We need proper investigation but we also need to draw conclusions to avoid such situations in the future. Two minutes. [speaking foreign language] is everything ok . Can we hear the english interpreting . Commissioner, it is in judgment. Ladies and gentlemen, obviously what has happened is not justifiable, but it is not place a verdict on the european car industry or eliminate the sector, what we have to do is to renew consumer trust. Are in all of those who the eu or who would like to buy a car have totally Accurate Information about it. In order to do this, not only in the european car industry but also across the institutions and we also have to try to rationally calm down those provoked by this problem and to put down very clear and practical solutions. Your ideas to put together a stricter and more accurate rules for initial testing which at the same time take into account also the interests of car industry and also our consumers. Why i call for the commission to place as soon as possible finalized proposal regarding procedures for real driving emissions and to propose results that include requirements and elements for these tests. Legislation for the syria should not leave for this area should not leave any room for interpretation. Important to Pay Attention if we are unable to consistently require that our laws are strictly respected, they will find it very difficult to explain to our citizens that we are capable of defending their rights and our interests. Iq. Thank you. Gentlemen, i would like to say that this need not have happened. , we haveech republic had intervention in place for a number of years that eliminates 70 of Motor Vehicle emissions. It can be applied to any vehicle type regardless of age. Even old vehicles will then comply with the relevant emission norms. The European Commission the European Commission has not seen this. I have tried to propose it for several years to no avail. Then, there are double standards. , they had to replace 11 million gearboxes throughout the world and Nothing Happened . How come there was the airbag ndal which killed people how come indiscriminate volkswagen has deliberately broken the law. Is clear that volkswagen has deliberately misled both regulators and consumers. Must understand the Regulatory Environment in which this scandal has emerged. Byislators were consumed climate hysteria and carb ophobia, so we pushed to diesel. Emissions are only marginally below control, and co2 is not a pollutant. As we are now realizing, diesels other pollutants, are highly toxic and our dashboard diesel has done more harm than good. Tofound that it was unable meet emissions targets so we decided to cheat. It was wrong to do so but so were we combat legislators, wrong to impose conflicting demands on the industry. I see a parallel with our ill judged rush to promote biofuels before we understood the impact of indirect landuse change. Biofuels and10 then rolling back later, we said confused to singles said confused signals to industry. This is not a time for shade and hadenfreude. R sc with the prospect of multimillion dollar fines in several countries, recall costs, class actions and so on, it is not think it is not inconceivable that vw should fail. That is an outcome we should all seek to prevent. I do apologize, i missed your name. Can i summarize your speech we are ontes top of it, sleep well parliament. That is how i summarize your speech. I really have problems there. The epa in the United States, when they were investigating, was there no contact at all between washington and brussels what they were doing and the staff did not know anything . It is really hard to believe. You have to be really precise on the actions you are taking now. First of all, on the investigation, can you confirm that this investigation is broader to the areas like co2 where you see a growing gap between tests and reality. Now, because of this scandal, were going to look at it again. Where exactly are you going to look again . Thirdly, on the new tests, kenyon please deny can you please deny that at this moment they are the commission is putting forth a test of 1. 6 . Cards. T in the of the eu is 80 milligrams per kilometer. In the u. S. , it is 43, in california, 35. Who is more ambitious now . Card . Ld you accept a blue 30 seconds. Thank you very much, madam president. I would like to argue with you. Why do i disagree with you . These are manmade standards so we have to be very careful. If you comply with these standards, youre a good guy, if you dont, you are a bad guy. If youre a carmaker and you burn fuel, should europe move toward nonpetrol cars or not . It is very simple. We oppose the standards for our safety, for public health. If the car industry cannot comply with it, then maybe they should not going to diesel. On the basis for the standards for our own safety the standards we agreed upon, for example this 80, which is not very ambitious, was done in 2007 and they already knew that tests would be coming. The car industry knows this for eight years and they have not done anything apart from cheating with the software that should be addressed with the software. That should be addressed. Thank you, president. A turbodiesel, which i bought after the european standards the others were to pollutant. I had to go to volkswagen. Volkswagen is the first and foremost car manufacturer in the world at the moment. If mrs. Merkel, who commands the whole globe, i wondered she should explain to me how this all works. Could she come here and tell me what has happened . Did she not know what is going on with volkswagen . Did she or not . I think, in the history of europe i dont think that the tshirt you are wearing is apt to this. Apt for thisis not at all. Dear colleagues, the is anagen scandal environmental one but also a political one. We need to find the number of cars circulating with this software and we are also wondering whether volkswagen was the only company that installed such software and what measures are we to take to this does not happen again. Despite the fact that there are connections between volkswagen and the German Government. Is supportingkel the car industry, but perhaps that might mean that they are also supporting companies that are deceiving the european citizens and the european institution. Supporting these companies, despite numerous scandals, at the same time asking for austerity. It is unacceptable to see germany. We have to punish volkswagen as soon as possible. Thank you. You, president , commissioner, ladies and gentlemen. Those responsible at vw wanted to save money but they were saving money at the cost of the environment. For ozone inuses the atmosphere and it leads to other health problems. Some of the people there are responsible for that. There is an Economic Cost to that, which of course is outweighed, by far, the money they saved. It has also harms people who are innocent. There, theho work suppliers, and the consumers. I think they need to be punished, those who are responsible. , the ceo, still makes a claim for his bull pension and in the his full pension, and in the Volkswagen Group he is still active. How come they had uncovered this fraud when there are 8 million active in the eu and only 400,000 in the u. S. . Use a bit of energy, not just rely on the National Authorities. Just denigrate diesel. Some people use it because they drive for long distances. In economic terms, i dont think we can just leave diesel behind. Terms, we needl to look at making it clean. It is possible. If vw kept euro 6, it would be fine. The euro 5 was the problem. The final point, we need to think of local authorities as well. Please . You wind up thank you, president. We are dealing with a series of scandals here. The fraud perpetrated was a scandal. Invest the investigated and perpetrated investigated and investigated. We have to rely on the u. S. To reveal what is happening. Thater scandal is the fact the epa did not notify the european condition the European Commission, or indeed, it is a scandal if the European Commission was notified and kept still. We would like to hear from you, our commissioner, as to what exactly happened here. As for the other issues that arise, we need to put an end to labbased tests alone. We need reallife tests that are actually reflective of what happens on the roads. Road tests will not be enough. We live in a digital world. We have so many Different Software devices. It is not enough to have on road testing. We need to look at the various software that can be installed. Commissioner, i would be interested to know what you plan to do along these lines. You did not mention anything about such software in your introduction. That is something we would need to consider as it comes to organizing such tests. Thank you, madam president. This is a very complex issue but i want to talk about it very simply from the perspective of the nec vote. This will be at the next session of plenary in a couple weeks time. You might think it closes into disarray. Far from it. We know all of this. Bit that is a surprise is just quite how devious and criminal volkswagen has been. We know the testing doesnt work. Fact, a presentation up from the Commission Set out quite graphically in numbers how it hadnt worked over the last three iterations of euros standards. This is no surprise to anyone. Member who the only is actually pleased this has pleased, because i am and everybody is now talking about one of the major issues, one of the major scandals that we need to deal with. Highlighted our it as itaction with currently stands and we have put into our report that we expect the commission to come up with new proposals on approval that actually work in real life, immediately. It is with some disappointment because while she is not personally responsible, she would have had the rtunity here and now joining us on the phone from the Washington Post amber phill. 8 30 this morning, republicans had their caucus meeting. Mccarthy and his allies seem convinced that he would have enough votes. The magic number is 218 to get elected and replace Speaker Boehner. Then, things started devolving in a new meeting with republicans, where apparently mccarthy had told republicans, i am not going to do this, i am out. There, it went public. He gave us a Public Statement where he said that exact same thing. He said, i think we need a new, fresh facing congress. Right now, it is just chaos. Representative peter king of new york told my colleague, robert costa, it is like a Banana Republic on the hill right now because what we assumed was a sure thing, that we would have a new leader of the house of representatives by the end of the day, has turned into a situation that could drag on who knows how long. We have her descriptions of chaos and disarray. Speaker boehner was supposed to travel to new york city to appear on the tonight show with jimmy fallon. He canceled that appointment. What is next for him and what happens next . Amber what happens next is anyones guess. Basically, we are doing with conservative factions of republicans come out, sometimes 40, kind of Holding Court against the more Establishment Group of republicans that boehner and mccarthy belonged to. That is our sense that the conservative faction didnt like mccarthy, decided they were going to vote against him, and even put up their own challenger. That cause the dissension among the republican party. Boehner was essentially going to hand this off to mccarthy at the end of the month. Now, he says, he will stay on for as long as it takes to elect a new speaker. There are also talks that the Republican National committee asirman is going to step in interim speaker until republicans can figure this out, which suggests weeks to months without an actual leader. We heard from Kevin Mccarthy today. He was asked on the sean hannity show. The House Freedom caucus endorsing Daniel Webster. How much of this was selfinflicted by congressman mccarthy and how much of this was a series of outside forces . Amber if i had to put percentages to this, i would say his comments about the benghazi 20 ,t committee was like maybe at most 30 . It certainly didnt help mccarthy when he needed to rise as speaker. Some of the dissension for his party. I dont think its seriously hurt his chances. The fundamental Division Within the republican party, not boehner and clearly now not mccarthy. Congressman mccarthy saying he will stay on as the leader. Do you think he will stay in the gop leadership in the house over the next year and a half . I spent my afternoon going over other times where there were House Speaker battles that took the congress into chaos. Most republican speakers or stepped down soon after. Indication,s any mccarthy may not be in the house much longer. You and your Washington Post colleagues have been covering. His from all the angles amber this is a victory for the conservative caucus in the house. A second victory in almost as many weeks for this caucus. I think we can draw parallels and comparisons between what is happening out in the campaign trail with the republican track with the republican primary for president , the Donald Trumps, ben carsons, Carly Fiorinas of the world, and wellestablished, wellliked conservative lawmakers find no path forward to step down in the face of this conservative dissent. There really is, as my colleague wrote, a revolution happening in the republican party. The next question is, what form does that take besides just saying no to establishment leaders . You have to go back to 1986 when a Democratic House leader tip oneill stepped down. Everyone since then either forced out or losing a majority or resigning from office. Amber that is exactly right. Congress hasnt done a better way to govern in the decades since. Part of the team of reporters covering todays story for the Washington Post. They give for being with us. The House Budget Committee will work on a budget deal tomorrow that would eliminate federal funding for planned parenthood. The committee will try to reconcile proposals from the ways and Means Committee and the education and workforce committee. We will have live coverage after the House Republican conference finishes its meeting on cspan2. , space, andience Technology Subcommittee will hold a hearing on space exploration. I think every first lady should do something in this position to help the things she cares about. I think everything in the white house should be the tech should be the best. The entertainment that is given here. Good, in a world when there is quite enough to divide people, that we should thewe should cherish language that combines us all. Political spouse, young mother fashion icon, and advocate for the arts. Age, itision came of was ultimately the tragic images of kennedys assassination and funeral that cemented her in the public mind. Jacqueline kennedy, this sunday night at 8 00 p. M. Eastern, on first ladies influence and image. From Martha Washington to michelle obama, sunday at 8 00 p. M. Eastern on American History tv on cspan3. Volkswagen executive michael horn apologized for the companys software that allows vehicles to cheat admissions tests. This house energy and commerce subcommittee hearing ran three hours 10 minutes. [indiscernible] could members of the media move out of the way . I could take that thing apart and putting together and he continued to work. The beetle and the volkswagen had a legacy as the peoples car for being people friendly. I love that car a lot. I trust the car to get me around in a trusted volkswagen to continue to build a reliable car. Factor. A key that trust is what helped volkswagen, because we believe the company looked up for customers first. Just three weeks ago, car owners around the world were shocked to learn that volkswagen ag admitted to installing software for a number of years that effectively defeated emissions controls during routine driving. This news follow the epas public announcement on september 18 that had to they had sufficient evidence that vw was cheating on admissions tests. Reported, the diesel vehicle switched into an operational mode designed specifically to pass the tests and then switched back to a different mode during different driving, a mode that emitted nitrous oxides of june 10 240 times the limits. Some 408 2000 oaks like in an audi models were affected 482,000 volkswagen and audi models were affected in the u. S. In the wake of this apparently massive deception, the committee opened an investigation. This investigation will seek to understand the facts and circumstances surrounding the actions, the impact of its decisions, and related issues about emissions compliance generally. Hearing, weings will receive testimony from the head of volkswagens american operations, mr. Michael horn, and from epa officials. Smitty n, this sub this subcommittee intends to answer questions concerning the troubling actions. What happened, who was involved, and most importantly, why . Let me acknowledge that mr. Horn and iearing voluntarily expect that he and the volkswagen organization will continue to operate. This means inviting documents and information to the committee as quickly as possible, including documents that party been discussed publicly. As i said before, there are a number of core questions that we will begin to pursue today, both volkswagen and epa. Most critically, what happened, who was involved, why were these actions taken . I hope today, mr. Horn can provide some important context and expand upon the facts he represented in his testimony. What exactly was done to these engines and was it done to deliberately risk to liberally deceive regulators . What is vw doing to fix the problem and make hold those affected by the actions . At some point prior to 2009, vw made a choice to move forward with engines that evidence now suggests were not compliant with u. S. Emissions standards. The software was initially deployed in a first generation of these engines, which account for approximately 340,000 of the affected vehicles. However, despite advancement in the vehicles, into future generations, the software made in place. If technology was improving, what did the company understand about the software cheat . What does this mean for fixing this vehicles . , we have, for epa questions about some compliance and recall programs. I hope we can get some clear answers. Why did epas standard compliance tests and audits failed to detect problem, especially Older Technology . What is epa doing to ensure that it does not affect vehicle performance . There is some need for a sense of proportion regarding this matter. 480,000 or so vehicles represent only. 2 of cars and trucks on u. S. Highways. I hope our witnesses for vw and epa can understand why our confidence has been shaken. The behavior represents fundamental violation of public trust and reverberations of his violation can be seen across the United States and across the world as people grapple with the implications. We need to develop a clear understanding of the facts and circumstances in this case and this hearing will be a first important step towards that goal. I now recognize the ranking member. Subcommittee for five minutes. Thank you, mr. Chairman. And the spirit of bipartisanship in the investigation, i want to you my first car was also a volkswagen. W beetle that i hertha from my grandmother. I will tell you that i still miss that car. It did not have any lines of computer code required to operate it. In this situation, fastforward to today, we know some things. But we do not know enough. That is why im glad we had this investigation. We know that in may of 2014, West Virginia University Published a study commissioned by the International Council on clean transportation that found that on road commissions were well above standards. They also did not match the emissions under testing conditions. We know that volkswagen try to justify the discrepancy with excavations of technical issues and unexpected inuse conditions. We know that in december 2014, volkswagen initiated a voluntary recall of nearly half a million vehicles. Yet, when the California Air Resources Board tested the fixed vehicles, they found emissions were still above the legal standard. And we know that by july of this year, the epa told bw that they would not approve the model year vehicles for sale unless the emission details to be explained. Volkswagen was forced to come clean. And they ultimately confessed that they had installed a defeat device and diesel cars designed to circumvent epa emission standards for certain pollutants. We know this defeat device sets when they were undergoing