Government. Sen. Corker mr. Ranking member, i am not going to ask any more questions. I think it is perfectly clear. Were not going to know what truly is at hand here. Speech on the floor, which i rarely do, nothing really happens on the floor that is worth noting, speech wise speechwise. I know there is a lot of discussion going on right now but the president ial races of the anger that the American Public has at the u. S. Government and some of the andalies taking place, there is question about why some candidates are getting traction and both of those are on both sides of the aisle, i might add. It was the time we pass the highway bill and we engaged in intergenerational theft and we created all these gimmicks because lets face it, congress doesnt have the courage to deal with the issue head on, and i said this was exhibit a as to why americans are so upset with the government. I will have to say that anybody watching this would have to say , asthis is like exhibit a to why the americans should be a set with the american government. What were hearing today is a reflection on us. And im very disappointed in the testimony and again, i dont want to take it out on the thrust intoas been having to read these comments that were put together by bureaucrats at the state department, but i do hope that we will take actions here. This is obviously not something that reflects the great nation that we are. I will think anybody listening to this could think that america is really serious, at least at the state department level, regarding trafficking in of persons trafficking of persons. We do have a new person here who has been nominated who does care about these issues, and potentially we could bring some balance here. Side,ld see the political in other words, the expedient need of money, those things have one out in this process over the this side won out in process over the human side. But i am not going to say anything more because i am going over time here, i dont want to do that, but i do want to say that we can all see that we have created something here that is not working properly, and this process to be has been extremely inappropriate, especially this tor, and i look forward working with you and others on this committee to try to figure out a way to rectify something that has gone amok, and has been pulling back from balances here, we can ensure that human beings lives can come into some kind of balance relative to other equities, if you will, that our government has. I want to thank the witness for here,llingness to come but i am not going to ask any more questions, because i realize i am going to get bureaucratic answers that dont really get to the essence of what the problem is. Mr. Chairman, if i may, the tip report is a very valuable report. The rankings have extreme significant, not just in the spotlight of shaming and nations to do better, and that is an important factor because it is not what you want to be, on a watchlist are on tier three, it also has financial implications, it has implications on our federal partnerships, and it has ramifications on private companies and their participations economically in other countries. So it is a very important tool. Hireountries lobbyists to try to influence suchcountry, and things as their tip reports, and that is one of the reasons why i am particularly concerned with the 2015 report. And let me just sort of whetherre this point, politics played a role or not in the determinations, the perception is that it did, and it is going to be a much more open season for countries to try to influence the tier rankings through the political process. That is not good. That is not good. And if the reuters report is accurate, and i dont know if it is or not, and i am not going to inquire further of our witness on this, but if the objective a recordre overruled number of times by those were more politically engaged in other issues with countries other than trafficking, that also undermines the confidence that this report will be done in the future based upon the objective standards that are in the statute, which has been why this report is so invaluable. Point thatack to the i really do believe we need to revisit statute. To take awayafraid some of the discretions of the higher levels of the state department, in looking at making sure that there is a more objective analysis on how these or atre done, and least, putting more transparency interactions at the higher levels of the state department so that we have a more accountable system in how these decisions are made. And i regret that. And i am not yet prepared to reach a conclusion as to how these were done, other to say that there is certainly a perception out there that politics, other than the objectivity of the standards and statutes, played a role in some of these determinations, and that is not healthy for the future of this report, and my interest as a United States senator is to protect the integrity of the trafficking persons report, u. S. Leadership globally on fighting trafficking, and it is one of the great horrors of the corned time current time. Combatg we can do to trafficking, we need to be aggressive in that area. Sen. Corker sen. Menendez, anything you want to say in closing . Sen. Menendez we thank you very much for allowing us to have this than you, and i do realize once youve burnished to us all of these emails and phone conversations and letters about this, we may reach a that this process was full of integrity. My. Corker that is not thinking today, but i certainly will await all of the information coming to us. I want to agree with the ranking member. I dont ask a clean know what actions we need to take, and i know whatever we take will be done in a matter that is very bipartisan in nature and one that only seeks to have integrity within this program, but i think certainly that this meeting raises Major Concerns about whether this is something that has run amok, but we and sometimes, i just want to state that when companies and realize that they can affect the process to benefit it, financially, lets face lying occurs. It occurs in departments. We need to make sure that we understand this fully. I have hope that voluntarily all begin information will for this and that the secretary will followup in one way or another, and i guess the record will remain open until monday afternoon for people to ask questions. And with that, would you like to say anything else in closing . Undersecretary no, and i think americans can be very proud of the tip report as it has made a difference for millions of people around the globe and it will make a difference in the future, and i certainly as an american and very pleased to be a part of it and im proud that we have elevated this issue on the global agenda and made a difference in so many lives. Sen. Corker well, thank you so much. The meeting is adjourned. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2015] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] announcer next, cspans congressional profile series continues. We begin with congressman Brendan Boyle of pennsylvania, and then continue with representative Radel Abraham of louisiana and representative Brenda Lawrence of missouri. We continue with cspans freshman profiles, conversations with the newest members of congress. Brendan boyle is the son of an irishman and he discusses his views on government and winning a tough primary. Representative Brendan Boyle, democrat from president , tell is one thing that has surprised you the most since you have been in washington. Fortunately, not too much has surprised me. I was a state legislature before coming here. Many of the procedural things i was familiar with. I was familiar with the lifestyle and the pace. Actually has pleasantly surprised me, and this will be contrary to everything you hear, most members get along pretty well. I know i am coming against the grain in saying that. I have relationships on both sides of the aisle. Jim helps. He members gymttending the members helps. Things are more constructive than what appears on tv. They would feel better about the process and the system we have if they saw as operating as colleagues. Widernslates out to the world as being worse on besides ver. Host you talk about personalities. Rep. Boyle in terms of the way the town functions, once you get into the capitol complex, early in the morning, you are here all of, throughout the buildings the capitol complex. One thing after another. Before you know it, it is 10 00 p. M. At night. The constant fastpaced and trying to squeeze everything in in a few days because everyone rushes to get back to their district. I wish we had more time here in d. C. The opposite of that is that i want to be back home in the district and wish i had more time there to see people. That is always the biggest challenge. You have been here a few months, how did you learn your way around the building and the capitol hill and the town . In aboyle every once while, i am still taking the wrong walkway or turning left when i should be turning right. Despite it is much larger than the state legislature where i was serving. It is pretty remarkable to get to be here and to serve and especially in an area where these buildings have such history themselves. Host to your biography. We read that you are the son of an immigrant janitor. You are the first in the family to attend college. What does all of that mean to you . Tell us about how you got here. Rep. Boyle it is an integral part of who i am. Normal is a relative term. I wouldnt know what it is like to grow up any different way. To me, that was the norm. That feel feel of that way about our own experience. That her parents were immigrants and she grew up in philadelphia. She worked extremely hard to provide opportunities for my brother and i. I never felt poor. We always had a roof and food. By modern standards, we did not or middle to upper class. That said, the most important things in the upgrade in the upbringing or love and support from our parents. And a firm believe that if you work hard, get good grades, your homework before you play, and you will be able to accomplish a lot in life. I always grew up with that optimism and believe that things were possible. In terms of how it affects me now, as a legislature where my views, i have to admit that even subconsciously, i probably see the fairness of certain issues and the justice of them through the lens of my dad and my mom as ordinary workers. And hardworking folks who were attempting to do it right. Consciouslyometimes but more often subconsciously look at issues through those eyes first. Host where did your parents come from . Rep. Boyle my dad came from County Donegal in ireland and my mom came from county sligo in ireland. Host where did your interest in politics come from . Early as i can remember, i remember loving sports and politics. I remember it being allowed to stay up late to watch the results of the 1984 president ial election. Going into class the next day and impressing the teachers by reciting the electoral votes for different states. I was always fascinated and loved politics. That just up through. It did not necessarily mean i wanted to do this as a candidate and as a public servant. That went back and forth as i was growing up. I have always been very interested in it. Host sports as well. Where the comparisons between sports and politics . Rep. Boyle the competition. The competitive drive is a part of it. You either win or you lose. I would say that an election is more exciting than the super bowl because if the team loses the super bowl, the careers of the players are not necessarily over and they can come back next season. Big difference also is that in politics, who wins or loses an election has reallife consequences in determining public policy. Obviously, sports does not have that. Take us back to the democratic primary in 2013. The front runner was endorsed by bill clinton and had many more resources. You prevailed. How did you do that . Rep. Boyle i started in april of 2013. That is when the campaign really kicked off for all 4 work for all three of the four of us. Aarted our first poll pollster came back and said i have good news and bad news. The good news is that out of four candidates, you are in second. The bad news is that your 32 points behind the person who is in first. The first place person was related to the clintons. I knew that the odds were against us. It was daunting. Looking at it realistically, i felt we had a legitimate shot to win. If i just worked incredibly hard , with the right team together, and i really felt strongly that was the message that would best resonate with my voters in my area. We went to work pounding the pavement. People who think that you just need money to run for office and win our campaign and victory is a great example that that is not the case. We did need to raise money, i raised the least, but going going to overnd 225 Community Events where we were meeting every single day. We identified primary voters and taking questions. Without that there is no question we would not have one. Host you came here. What are your Committee Assignments and what would you like to accomplish . Rep. Boyle i am on the Foreign Affairs committee and the middle east subcommittee. It is boring because the world is perfectly at peace. There are never any issues. Unfortunately, it is really quite the opposite. It makes it exciting but also very sobering knowing that the decisions that one makes are going to have such a norm is consequences. In addition, i am on the Oversight Government Reform Committee which often does tend to denigrate into a partisan food fight. Youre not supposed to like one committee more than another but i will admit that i do tend to prefer the Foreign Affairs committee more than the oversight. Not that the issues themselves thatot less important unfortunately the way the committees are structured, the Foreign Affairs committee seems to be much more bipartisan in its approach in attempting to solve real problems whereas the Oversight Committee it tends to be about the political scandals. Host what are you hearing from constituencies days . Rep. Boyle generally, since the great recession, by far the economy and jobs. Rather thanback specifically saying the economy or job creation or education i would put all of these in the same category of middleclass angst. I spoke a moment ago about how i was brought up to believe that if you work hard, play by the rules, you will be able to get ahead and be what you want to be in life. I think that there are a lot of hardworking american middle class that are really questioning that. A lot of people believe that their children will have a worse outcome in life and they have. That is contrary to the American Dream and the american spirit. Whether it is Higher Education affordability, quality of it quality of education, wage fairness they all fall into the same category of a feeling that the american system that that that we all believe in is broken. Host is book about the dual roles of the congressman. Legislation legislating here in washington. How do you find the balance between those two . Rep. Boyle there was equally important and i have to say that if we were having this discussion 15 years ago, i would have underappreciated the importance of the constituent service side and what you do in your district. Being a state legislature was great experience as far as that goes. There was equally important. What i do here in the capital in terms of voting the right way on legislation and on policy that is important. The districtck in and helping a constituent with a tical issue is oftentimes you are often the place of last resort. Both are very important and sometimes when the legislative part of it can get frustrating and seem bogged down, you will have a real win in one persons life. I can think of an elderly couple that we saved thousands of dollars in inaccurate insurance payments. A couple walked into our Statehouse Office and had nowhere to turn. It turned out they were incorrectly built. This was a couple in their 80s that had no ability to pay the inaccurate charge. They were crying. We were able to fix it. Those are the kinds of feelgood moment that do not necessarily happen every day on the legislative side. Host fundraising. Big of a challenges that for you . When you think of the Campaign Finance system . Rep. Boyle let me be blunt and in elegant. The campaign and finance system we have in america is insane. A patchwork of postwatergate reforms that largely worked for a certain. Of time. They were chipped away by Supreme Court decisions, first in buckley versus layout in 1976. It has left us with a campaignfinance system in which you have to spend an raise too much money to run for office. You have to spend too much time doing it. Each and every single text pair taxpayer pays my salaries. Have thatch rather person working legislation and policy and not having to spend so much time to raise money to run for office. In a system we have in the u. S. That does not have Public Financing elections since they are ardently financed. This is how it has to happen. Privately financed. Right now, we have a system in which the individual who is capped inr office is terms of the amount of