Chairs this subcommittee. The committee will come to order. Welcome to the fiscal year 2021 labor hhs subcommittee markup. Joined by my dear friend tom cole. I want to welcome mrs. Lowey, Ranking Member granger and the subcommittee members here in person and those by a secure video teleconference. Just to mention we have in person chairwoman lowey, Congress Woman lee, Congress Woman clark, Ranking Member cole, Ranking Member granger, Congress Woman butler, congressman graves. Those participating remotely are Congress Woman frankle and bonnie coleman. Before i give an opening statement, im required to offer a brief explanation how the markup will woman. Todays room has been configured for the six foot distancing between the staff and members and the press corps. And some have used security video teleconferencing to participate remotely. Video teleconferencing, once you start speaking there will be a slight delay. Speaking into the microphone activates the camera. Displaying the main spe
Chairwoman lowey consideration of the interior environment appropriations bill, fiscal year 2021. I will not recognize to present the bill. Thank you, madam chair. I am pleased to prevent the 2021 appropriations bill. It reflects the hard work and participation of our Committee Members as well as the good ideas we have received from many sources including my colleagues and outside experts. The bill provides increased funding to support staff and other resources that Congress Needs to do its job well. The bills analytic capacity in the legislative branch and to address high priority Information Technology and security. For example, the bill provides a 25 million increase for the which covers staff, office space and other facilities. I believe it is sufficient to express our new normal as members move into a new means of interacting with constituents. It turns out to an average of office. Per member of our bill creates a new house modernization initiatives account and provides a down pay
President acts like its not there the coronavirus numbers are terrible. I think larry the way i look at this and im not a doctor im not a Health Care Professional i look at most of these public issues through the lens of commonsense and history and i suspect that this thing is going to go up and down now it will cease fire alleys and spikes and valleys for some time so you know i dont think that its a major crisis that we see some of these numbers going back up well probably see him go back down and maybe go back up again until things settle down for the year though you were an analyst for the cia whats your reaction to reports that russia has offered bounties to delegate channeling forces for killing Coalition Forces and includes american troops. If somethings fishy in this larry it just doesnt make a lot of sense to me 1st of all i have not seen any information that the intelligence if it is accurate intelligence has been verified so i think its has been released for political purpos
Is accurate intelligence is really just doesnt make any sense why would russia become involved in trying to go after u. S. Troops indirectly when the u. S. Under the trumpet ministration is taking steps to extricate itself from afghanistan if it doesnt ring true larry well who could explain putins. Well i guess. We do have some folks at the at the cia where i used to work years ago who are expert in trying to figure out what goes on inside the kremlin and inside the you know the minds of these former k. G. B. Officials. But it just doesnt make sense from russia standpoint to do Something Like this and the timing doesnt fit and you know you get reports back when i was with the agency years ago you get all sorts of raw intelligence reports but you know every time you get a report even if it is somewhat alarmist you dont go running to the president and you dont go running to the congress you wait until you can verify it one way or the other and then you notify the officials youre the pres
A partisan political person answer when i use the term the west what i mean is 2 things one are geo political entities are generally u. S. Led you know western countries naser the western alliance and the u. S. But i also include in that definition countries that fight in the same way that the us fights and its really a military definition which a couple of years before was his testimony was the basis for the u. S. Victory in the 1st gulf war and i kind of argue in the book that that victory actually force pretty much everybody else to adapt and evolve in response to u. S. Military dominance and the u. S. Perhaps has become a little bit stagnant because it hasnt had to face an adaptive landscape that others have had to deal with each side just a moment ago that are in your book here. Specifically building our game and around the fact that after 99 to wind the west was left to fly be snakes while the dragons lay down once and watched closely from baghdad how to fly the west and now the