D. H. S. Accountability enforcement act. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk h. R. 4038, a bill to amend the Homeland Security act of 2002 to reassert article i authorities over the department of Homeland Security, and for ther purposes. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from texas, mr. Mccaul, and the gentleman from texas, mr. Vela, each will control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from texas. Mr. Mccaul mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and including r remarks, any extraneous materials on the bill under consideration. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Mccaul mr. Speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore time yielded. Mr. Mccaul thank you. Mr. Speaker, i rise today in strong support of bipartisan d. H. S. Accountability enhancement act. Mr. Speaker, the current threats confronting our homeland continue to evolve each and every day. They come from international terrorists, drug smugglers, human traffickers, hackers engaged in cyberwarfare, transnational gangs like ms13, and natural disasters. To best address these threats, the American People need a department of Homeland Security that is effective and accountable to the people it protects. The Founding Fathers Gave Congress the authority to write laws and give direction to the executive branch under article 1 of our constitution. Today we have an important opportunity to reassert that constitutional authority. The legislation before us eliminates an outdated provision that gives d. H. S. Overly Broad Authority to act on its own and reorganize without congressional approval. It is authority that was wellintentioned when it was first provided right after 9 11, but time the time has come to rebalance this legislative equation. Mr. Speaker, as you may be aware, it is the only authority of its kind in the entire executive branch. As members of congress, we have a solemn obligation to help protect the American People from anyone who wishes to bring us harm. In the wake of 9 11, we reached across the aisle and worked together to create the department of Homeland Security and demonstrated that the security of our homeland is not a partisan issue. This is not just an act of democratic exercise. D. H. S. Used its authority for the first time in many years. We also want to work with d. H. S. To support them but continue use of this authority is not the best way to make the department stronger. Im proud to say the committee on Homeland Security on which i chair has a strong bipartisan track record. This year we came together as republicans and democrats and passed the firstever comprehensive reauthorization of d. H. S. Through the house with an overwhelming majority support. Lets continue that progress today and pass this legislation, and i call on the senate to pass our reauthorization of d. H. S. As soon as possible so our country can be more secure. Id like to thank Ranking Member bennie thompson, congressman vela, all of the staff on the committee for their hard work on this issue. I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and with that, mr. Speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from texas, mr. Mccaul, yields. The chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. Vela. Mr. Vela mr. Speaker, i rise in support of h. R. 4038, the d. H. S. Accountability enhancement act, and i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore youre recognized. Mr. Vela thank you, mr. Speaker. H. R. 4038, or the d. H. S. Accountability enhancement act, strikes section 872 of the Homeland Security act. Section 872 grants the secretary of Homeland Security unilateral authority to reorganize the department as long as the secretary Notifies Congress 60 days in advance. H. R. 4038 rescinds this unilateral authority. As authorizers of the department of Homeland Security, the committee on Homeland Security is ultimately responsible for reorganization of the department. H. R. 4038 reinforces this responsibility. The separation of powers doctrine compels the elimination of the provision which gives the department of Homeland Security unilateral Decisionmaking Authority to reorganize the department. Moreover, it should be noted this bill is not without precedent. While considering h. R. 2825, the department of Homeland Security act of 2017, in june, the committee on Homeland Security unanimously approved eliminating the language found in section 872 of the Homeland Security act of 2002. I believe this was just legislation not only ensures this committees involvement in reorganizations at d. H. S. But affirms the responsibility of congress as authorizers. With that i strongly urge support of this Bipartisan Legislation and reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from texas yields. The chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. Mccaul. Mr. Mccaul mr. Speaker, i have no other speakers. If the gentleman from texas has no other speakers im prepared to close once the gentleman does. The speaker pro tempore the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas. Mr. Vela mr. Speaker, im prepared to close. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Sorry. Mr. Vela mr. Speaker, h. R. 4038 is necessary, commonsense legislation. Action as significant as the reorganization of an entire department and its components should be subject to the appropriate vetting and approval measures of this congress. I thank chairman mccaul for working with Ranking Member thompson on this issue both during the consideration of d. H. S. Authorization act and now on this measure. As such, i encourage my colleagues to support h. R. 4038, and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields. The gentleman from texas, mr. Mccaul, is recognized. Mr. Mccaul thank you, mr. Speaker. I once again urge my colleagues to support h. R. 4038, and i will say that this committee has passed over 50 bills out of the house that are currently sitting in the Senate Waiting action. I urge the senate to take action on this important legislation. All 50plus bills that will help better protect the American People. And with that i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields. The question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the ill h. R. 4038. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. For what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition . Mr. Katko mr. Speaker, i move the house suspend the rules and pass h. R. 3328, the cuban Airport Security act of 2017. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk Union Calendar number 220. H. R. 3328, a bill to require a study regarding security measures and equipment at cubas airports, require the standardization of federal air Marshal Service agreements, require efforts to raise International Aviation Security Standards, and for other urposes. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new york, mr. Katko, and the gentleman from texas, mr. Vela, each will control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from new york. Mr. Katko mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and and their remarks include any extraneous material on the bill under consideration. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Katko mr. Speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore recognized by the chair. Mr. Katko mr. Speaker, i rise today in support of legislation that will address the critical need to enhance security at airports in cuba and across the globe. Last week i had the preverage to lead a congressional privilege to lead a congressional delegation overseas to see our partners in europe and the middle east have made to enhance Aviation Security. We face an unprecedented Threat Landscape and they are clearly responding to it. In order to keep americans safe, we must advance collaborative counterterrorism efforts with our allies and make a more stringent and riskbased approach with countries that are more hostile to the United States. In leading this delegation to examine Aviation Security at airports, i had the opportunity to meet with many members of our Foreign Service and military who all work tirelessly on behalf of all of us to advance americas interests abroad. Unfortunately, it has recently come to light that more than 20 of our american diplomats were working at the United States embassy in havana where the victims were the victims of an attack. As a result, many of these members have been diagnosed with serious injuries, dangerous symptoms and in some cases even permanent brain damage. Reports indicate these attacks started as early as may of 2016. Exactly one year after the Previous Administration removed cubas designation as a state sponsor of terrorism. Our government told our diplomats cuba was safe. The reality was quite the opposite and because of that mistake, some of our diplomats will pay a permanent price. These horrific attacks on members of our dedicated Foreign Service raise numerous questions about how much trust and indeed how much confidence we can have in the cuban government. We have to ask ourselves, if cuba is unable to ensure the safety and security of foreign citizens and diplomats working in the embassies there, how can it possibly prevent terrorists and other nefarious actors were from accessing its airports and flights bound for the United States . I recall last year when the Obama Administration entered into opening up flights to cuba. They creeded so much authority to the they credited so much authority to the cuban government who they would fire, who will work with american agencies and who will be in charge of security and we have very little control and indeed very little oversight over anything to do with those airports and yet americans are going there possibly facing danger. Thats a real concern. The legislation today requires cubas airports be subjected to additional security to ensure inbound flights to the United States are secure. I am not here today to relitgait the policy to the relitigate the policy to cuba but i want to make sure they are held to the Security Standards that are sufficient in these modern times to respond to the evolving and sometimes grave threats that the aviation sector faces on a regular basis. The International Civil aviation authorization standards, which currently serve as a benchmark minimum requirements for all airports with flights to the United States are simply too weak and i would commit they are becoming outdated given the fact terrorism aspects nationwide and indeed worldwide routinely are adapting and these standards are not. This legislation we are considering today requires the Trump Administration to take steps to raise minimum standards which will elevate american and Aviation Security around the globe. No matter how strong our domestic airport and aircraft security is, we must continue to raise the standard of global Aviation Security for Foreign Countries and last point of departure airports. It is imperative that Aviation Security standards are robust and that these standards are commonplace in Foreign Countries, especially those with flights to the United States. It is also imperative that these countries meet these standards, not just say they are going to meet these standards, but they are in fact meeting the standards. Something we found out recently is not always the case. Confidence in Aviation Security at home begins with the they are that enforcing these standards abroad. We need to see this as critical because raising the Aviation Security abroad will obviously and ultimately keep us safe at home. Id like to thank chairman mccaul and chairman sires for joining me in championing this important piece of legislation. Id also like to thank all the members of the Homeland Security committee and their staffs for putting politics aside as we often do on this Great Committee and supporting this bill unanimously. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important piece of legislation to enhance our National Security. At this time i request an exchange of letters between the committee on Homeland Security and the committee on Foreign Affairs and the committee on Homeland Security and the committee on transportation and infrastructure be inserted into the record. Before i close id like to note and echo the sentiments of leader mccaul. There are 50 bills, more than 50 bills now sitting over in the senate that passed the house from the Homeland Security committee. The very words Homeland Security should not be of question. They should not be something that should serve as an impediment of keeping our country safe. It should be just the opposite. So i therefore join mr. Mccaul and urge my colleagues in the senate to move swiftly on passage of these bills to keep our country safe. With that, mr. Speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas. I rise today in support of the cuban Airport Security act. The speaker pro tempore youre recognized. Thank you, mr. Speaker. The United States and the Global Aviation Community faced an adaptive and agile enemy. Terrorist groups continue to target passenger aircraft and pursue new attack methods. With those threats in mind, the legislation before us today focuses on raising the level of security in cuba. Mr. Vela h. R. 3328 will ensure that congress is able to continue its oversight of t. S. A. s efforts to ensure the cuban government adopts Aviation Security initiatives and makes important security advancements. It is critical that the gains achieved are not eroded. With that, i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from texas yields. The chair recognizes the gentleman from new york. Mr. Speaker, i yield three minutes to the gentleman from texas and chairman of the Homeland Security committee, my friend, mr. Mccaul. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from texas is recognized. Caller caller thank you, mr. Speaker. I rise mr. Mccaul thank you, mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of the Cuban Security airport act. Airports are critically important to our Homeland Security. One only looks at the latest laptop ban that was instituted to departure airports, given the fact that terrorists have learned to turn these into explosive devices. The American People should have grave concern about the level of security in place at any foreign airport where the host government refuses to allow strict inspections of airport. Curity members by congress it was just last year that mr. Katko and i applied for visas to the government of cuba to inspect these airports to see how safe they were and the cue began governments from cubans cubans government cuban governments response to that was to deny our visa applications. Over the course of the last year, the United States government personnel in cuba have been targeted and subjected to harmful sonic attacks, which in some cases have caused ermanent brain damage. This must not be tomorrow rated too. Many questions remain when it comes to cue bass airports. Congress is largely in the dark of cubas security equipment, training procedures and other parameter of security. This bill takes an important step forward to shed light on current inadequacies and help to ensure proper overseist inbound flights from cue oversights from proper oversight of inbound flights from cuba to the United States. Id like to thank mr. Katko for his continued leadership on Aviation Security and departure airports which has been critical in bringing these issues to the forefront and urge my colleagues to support this bill. With that i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. Recognizes the gentleman from texas. Mr. Vela mr. Speaker, im prepared to close. The house Homeland Security committee passed h. R. 3328, cuban Airport Security act of 2017, by a voice vote in september. While the legislation is focused on raising the level of Aviation Security in cuba, it has broader implications. H. R. 3328 includes a Provision Requiring t. S. A. To develop a template for agreements with foreign partners for federal air marshals to carry out Security Operations on flights departing or arriving on foreign soil. As mr. Katko mentioned just last week, the there were news reports that d. H. S. And t. S. A. Had acknowledged the intelligence indicates that terrorists are plotting another massive attack on u. S. Aircraft. In the current climate of Aviation Security threats, the United States has a Critical Role to play in raising the baseline of global Aviation Security to keep the traveling public safe. In cured nation with our International Partners in coordination with our International Partners. I urge support for this bill and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The chair recognizes the gentleman from new york. I yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I urge my colleagues to support this bill and for the reasons ive already spoken about. Mr. Katko but i want to note there are two things in this bill that are very important. One is to examine give us the ability to examine whether or not the airports in cuba are indeed safe. As you heard from the statements earlier during this colloquy from my steph from myself, mr. From vela and mr. Mccaul, there are gaps in our knowledge of cuba that are unique to other aviation community. Its incumbent upon to us find out whats going on down there. As my colleague, mr. Mccaul, stated, we were denied visas because they knew they were women coming to look at their airports they knew we were coming to look at their airports. They or someone in their country has attacked our embassy employees. The communist cuban partner controls the vast majority of what happens with aviation with very little knowledge of what the internal workings of that are. Theyre not collaborative partners at all and that is a major concern. The other part of the bill is reviewing the International Aviation standards. Already keeping up to date with the threats such as a laptop threat and others that we know around the world. Are they adhering to the standards that are set by those and are those standards sufficient Going Forward . Those are all things we need to take a look the and i urge my colleagues to spass this look at and i urge my colleagues to pass this bill because it is a Homeland Security bill. I hope my colleagues in the senate, including senator rubio, my good friend who is a champion of the companion bill, i hope he pushes it over there qukly and i hope we get this to the president s desk for signature. Because we cants me with things that involve Homeland Security. We cant mess with things that involve Homeland Security. With that i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, h. R. 3328. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is pass and, without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. For what purpose does the gentlewoman from arizona seek recognition . Mr. Sali mr. Speaker, i move that the house s p sal ms. Mcsally mr. Speaker, i move the house suspend the rules and pass the bill as amended. The clerk h. R. 3551, a bill to amend the security and accountability for every port act of 2006, to reauthorize the Customs Trade Partnership against terrorism program, and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from arizona, ms. Csaly, and ms. Mcsally, and the gentleman from arizona, will be recognized. Mr. Sali i ask that all members ms. Mcsally i ask that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. I yield myself such time as i may consume. Mr. Speaker, i rise today in support of h. R. 3551, the Customs Trade Partnership reauthorization act of 2017. The Customs Trade Partnership against terrorism or ctpat is the u. S. Customs and Border Protections flag ship Global Supply Chain Security program. Ctpat is recognized throughout the world as the premier cargo prevetting program. My legislation reauthorizes the program for the first time in 11 years. To ensure that the program is ready to meet the dynamic threats currently facing the Global Supply chain. And that ctpat participants receive tangible benefits for their partnership with c. B. P. When a Company Joins ctpat they agree to work with c. D. P. To protect the sploy chain, identify security gaps, and implement specific security measures and best practices. In order to receive benefits such as shorter wait times and fewer inspections at ports of entry, applicants must enhance security throughout their supply chain by undergoing vetting and a site visit by c. B. P. While the safe port act of 2006, which first established the program, set a Strong Foundation for the current success of ctpat, this bill not only cot fice the structure of the current codifies the structure of the current program, but makes sure ctpat remains a true partnership. This it will be required to ormally liase, with industry stakeholders when implementing new criteria and provide tangible benefits to all participants at various stages of the vet prague sess. My legislation also reduces redundant inspections and provides. If they fail to abide by security requirements or pose a threat to national scumplete furthermore, it establishes a process for c. B. P. With congressional oversight requirements to continuously vet participants. Review their security measures, and conduct site visits of their facilities to ensure complains with and continued dedication to security measures. Reducing wait times and inspections for participants who enhance the flobal supply chain greatly enhances crossborder trade and Economic Growth. While we redeucing the work load of an already overworked officers at c. D. P. Ctpat achieves this in a way that also strengthens our National Security through rigorous initial and recurrent background checks and site visits. Im proud to sponsor the reauthorization of this highly Successful Program in order to expand its reach and increase its benefits to private industry. I ask unanimous consent that an exchange of letters between the chairman of the committee on Homeland Security and the chairman of the committee on ways and means be inserted into the record. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Ms. Mcsally i urge members to join me in supporting this bill and i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady from arizona reserves. I recognize now the gentlelady from california. Mr. Speaker, i rise in support of h. R. 3551, the ctpat reauthorization act of 2017, and yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the chair recognizes you. Thank you, mr. Speaker. S. Barragan mr. Speaker, h. R this reauthorizes the ctpat. Ctpat is a voluntary publicprivate Sector Partnership program where c. B. P. Works with the trade community to provide high level accordingo security through close cooperation with the principle stake hold principal stakeholders of the International Supply chain such as consolidators, licensed customs brokers and manufacturers. Today more than 11,400 certified partners spanning the gamut of the trade community have been accepted into the program. C. B. P. Prevets and certifies ctpat partners they consider to be lowrisk in exchange for benefits such as fewer examinations and access to expedited or dedicated lanes. This bill incorporates democratic amendments, including one of my own, that establishes a standard system for ctpat partners to report suspicious activity instead of the patchwork system that exists now. Another important amendment offered by my colleague, mr. Correia, was adopted in committee to ensure that when c. B. P. Changes up the rules and security criteria for ctpat, stakeholders are given adequate notice to comply. Furthermore, i would like to thank the majority for working with us to recognize that suspension and expulsion from the ctpat program has serious economic and repudiation ramifications for companies. The majority agree to you democratic language supported by the Border Trade Alliance and other stakeholders that urges c. B. P. Not to publish suspended ctpat participants as it is the current practice. Until appeals and complete due process is carried out. We found some cases where companies were reinstated in the appeals process but since they were tagged as a suspend company by c. B. P. In the federal register, their businesses suffered. This language would prevent that from reoccurring. Mr. Speaker, at a time when u. S. Ports like the port of los angeles in my district are experiencing c. B. P. Staffing shortages, the ctpat Program Helps to supply chain be more efficient and safe and i support the programs reauthorization. With that, i urge my colleagues to support this bill and i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. The gentlelady from arizona is recognized. Ms. Mcsally i have no more speakers and if the gentlelady from california is ready to yield, i am prepared to close. Ms. Barragan i am prepared to close. Mr. Speaker, h. R. 3551 is an important piece of legislation that has strong support on both sides of the aisle and a broad range of stakeholders. Ctpat offers importers and other partners a winwin situation where they voluntaryly allow c. B. P. To prescreen them in exchange for benefits such as shorter wait times and dedicated services. The more we know about our supply chain, the safer we will be. Ctpat is a big way we stay informed. As such, i encourage my colleagues to support h. R. 3551, and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. The gentlelady from arizona is recognized. Ms. Mcsally i yield myself such time as i may consume. Mr. Speaker, i once again urge my colleagues to support this legislation and i appreciate the bipartisan support and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. The question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, h. R. 3551. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, ms. Mcsally i ask for the yeas and nays. I request the yeas and nays. The speaker pro tempore the yeas and nays are requested. All those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. A sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this uestion will be postponed. For what purpose does the gentlewoman from arizona seek recognition . Ms. Mcsally i ask that the house suspend the rules and pass s. 504. The clerk s. 504, a bill to permanently authorize the asiapacific Economic Cooperation Business Travel card program. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from arizona, ms. Mcsally, and the gentlewoman from california, ms. Barragan, each will control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentlelady from arizona. Ms. Mcsally mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material on the bill under consideration. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Ms. Mcsally mr. Speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized. Ms. Mcsally mr. Speaker, i rise today in support of s. 504, the asiapacific Economic Cooperation Business Travel cards act of 2017. The asiapacific Economic Cooperation, or apec, has been an economic catalyst for the asiapacific region since 1989. They have trade cooperation in the region that promotes inclusiveness and sustainable growth. Specifically, this bill reauthorization the Business Travel card program. The Program Began as a pilot in 2011. This bill would implement best practices found throughout the sevenyear pilot program. Issued travel card is to travelers who are part of the economies. Valid for five years, the card eliminates the needs for its holders to have a visa when visiting other countries as long as preclearance has been obtained. Our partners in the asiapacific region are more important than ever before. The free and open trade promotes economic integration, enhanced Border Security and has a Sustainable Business environment. It enhances border integrity applicant s each against watch lists of other participating economies. It provides cost savings to travelers and moves frequent travelers who have been prescreened through the International Travel process more efficiently. The apec card is currently set to expire on september 30, 2018. Now is the time to reauthorize this Important Partnership between the United States and our friends in the apec region. Id like to thank my colleagues for introducing the house bill as well as ms. Hirono and mr. Daines in the senate for moving this legislation forward. Id ask my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill and i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time. The gentlelady from california. Ms. Barragan i rise in support of 504, the asiapacific conomic cooperation, apec, cooperation Business Travel cards act of 2017 and i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized. Ms. Barragan this act permanently reauthorizes the asiapacific Economic Cooperation Business Travel card program. His trusted Traveler Program provides fast track travel leans. Apec is a forum for 21 countries including the u. S. And australia to support sustainable Economic Growth and prosperity in the asiapacific region. U. S. Customs and Border Protection started issuing cards to eligible americans in 2011 after we passed the travel cards act in 2011. Today the program facilitates americans who work the authority to issue those travel cards to americans is set to expire on september 30, 2018. S. 504, the apec Business Travel cards act of 2017 is supported by a diverse range of stakeholders including the u. S. Chamber of commerce, the asiapacific council of american chambers of commerce, the u. S. Council for international business, the u. S. Travel association and the American Hotel and lodging association. On the house Homeland Security committee, house companion legislation was championed by Kathleen Rice of new york. With the leadership of miss rice and others, her bill was passed unanimously by our committee. I would like to ask unanimous consent to enter into the record a statement by miss rice. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Ms. Barragan allowing a. B. T. Cards to expire would be a mistake that puts american businesses at a disadvantage. With that i urge my house colleagues to support this Bipartisan Legislation and reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady from arizona. Ms. Mcsally mr. Speaker, i have no more speakers. If the gentlewoman from california has no more speakers i am prepared to close once the gentlewomans time has expired does. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from california. Ms. Barragan mr. Speaker, i am prepared to close. S. 504 is an important piece of legislation that has strong support on both sides of the aisle. He a. B. T. Card prals allows programs allows Business Travelers in apec countries to access fast track processing leans at apec airports. The program saves an estimated 43 minutes per trip according to u. S. Customs and Border Patrol and operates entiring on user fees. Costing taxpayers nothing. Importantly it preserves authority for the department of Homeland Security to revoke or suspend an individuals card for security reasons at anytime. This is a commonsense bipartisan bill and i encourage my colleagues to support s. 504, to ensure that the bill gets to the president s desk. With that i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. The gentlelady from arizona. Ms. Mcsally mr. Speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized. Ms. Mcsally mr. Speaker, i once again ask my colleagues to support this legislation and yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. The question is will the house suspend the rules and pass senate 504. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. The yeas and nays are requested. Those in support of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. A sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this uestion will be postponed. For what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition . Mr. Fitzpatrick mr. Speaker, i move the house suspend the rules and pass h. R. 2142, as amended. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk h. R. 2142, a bill to improve the ability of u. S. Customs and Border Protection to interdict fentanyl, other synthetic opioids, and other narcotics and psychoactive substances that are illegally imported into the united tates, and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. Fitzpatrick, and the gentlewoman from california, ms. Barragan, each will control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania. Mr. Fitzpatrick mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and tend their remarks and include any extraneous material on the bill under consideration. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Fitzpatrick mr. Speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Fitzpatrick mr. Speaker, as communities across my district and across our nation continue to deal with the crisis of opioid abuse and addiction, it is incomprehensible to imagine a synthetic drug up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. Fentanyl is a manufactured opioid which in its versions have contributed to tens of thousands of deaths. This fact is especially concerning given this drug can be ordered online and delivered via mail or express consignment occuriers from places like china. Fentanyl highly potent in trace amounts and this problem is exacerbated being fentanyl being extremely difficult for our authorities to detect. Thats why congresswoman tsongas and i introduced the interdict act. Scientific support to the synthetic opioids before they can cause more harm. Mr. Speaker, the interdict act will ensure c. B. P. Will have screening devices at ports of entry as well as additional fixed screening Devices Available in c. B. P. Laboratories. It allows c. B. P. With sufficient resources, personnel and facilities including scientists available at all hours. To interpret Screening Test results from the field and authorizes based upon personal expertise the appropriation of 9 million for hundreds of new screening devices, laboratory equipment, facilities and personnel for support during all operational hours. Combined, the additional chemical screening devices, scientists and other resources will help safeguard c. B. P. Personnel from exposure to fentanyl and other deadly opioids and narcotics and prevent their unlawful importation. As an e. M. T. And Law Enforcement officer, i have seen addiction in our communities and understand the increased danger added by synthetic opioids like fentanyl. Illicit fentanyl being trafficked in the United States continues to pose a threat to the American People. By passing this legislation, this body can follow through on its promise to the American People and align our policy with the president s commission on combating drug addiction and the Opioid Crisis which has prioritized regulating the flow of fentanyl in its interim report. I urge all of my bipartisan members of this house to join me in supporting this bill and i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentlelady from california. Ms. Barragan mr. Speaker, i ise in support of h. R. 2142, the interdict act of 2017 and i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized. Ms. Barragan h. R. 2142, the International Narcotics trafficking Emergency Response by detecting incoming act, band with technology or the interdict act, is an important piece of legislation in our ongoing fight to stop the flow of illicit drugs like fentanyl from places like china or mexico. According to the c. D. C. , the death rate from fentanyl 2014 ed from 72. 2 from to 2015. In 2016, c. B. P. Seized nearly 200 pounds of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids primarily from along the southwest border. This is a 25fold increase over seizures from the previous year. The interdict act before us today ensures that c. B. P. Will have the necessary tools to better combat the flow of these opioids. More specifically, this bill provides c. B. P. Hightech chemical screening devices to help detect fentanyl and other illicit opioids. It provides for the la are atory equipment, facility, personnel for support during all operational hours. This bill was passed by our committee unanimously and i commend the sponsors of this bill, ms. Tsongas of massachusetts, and mr. Fitzpatrick of pennsylvania, for their leadership on this issue. With that i urge my colleagues to support this bill and i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from pennsylvania. Mr. Fitzpatrick mr. Speaker, i continue to reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady from california. Ms. Barragan mr. Speaker, i yield as much time as she may consume to the gentlelady from massachusetts, ms. Tsongas. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady from massachusetts is recognized for as much time as she may consume. Ms. Tsongas i thank the gentlelady from california for yielding me the time. I rise in support of her 2142, the interdict act, legislation i was pleased to introduce with congressman fitzpatrick. Whenever i meet with local Public Safety officials in my district, they explain the urgent need for resources and support to combat drugs like fentanyl which can be up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. In massachusetts, the proportion of Overdose Deaths attributed to fentanyl is rising at a meteoric rate. In 2014, fentanyl was present in 18 of opioidrelated deaths in massachusetts. But by 2016, fentanyl was present in the staggering 69 of the states opioidrelated deaths, resulting in 1,400 fentanylrelated deaths in the commonwealth, a staggering number. Although pharmaceutical fentanyl can be misused, most fentanyl deaths are linked to illicitly manufactured fentanyl and illicit versions of compounds. The primary source of fentanyl is outside the United States in mexico or china. The drug is smuggled in across the u. S. Border or delivered via mail or express consignment couriers. The interdict act will provide u. S. Customs and Border Protection with the latest in chemical screening devices to deploy across the United States, to better detect and intercept fentanyl and other synthetic opioid. Furthermore, this legislation will ensure that customs and Border Protection has the resources, the personnel and facilities, including scientists available during all operational hours to interpret Screening Test results from the field. These high tech devices will also protect Law Enforcement officers and their fourlegged counterparts on the front lines from exposure to the deadly narcotic which is so powerful that coming into contact with just a few grains can be fatal. I would like to thank the chairman and Ranking Member of Homeland Security committee of the Homeland Security committee for their support. I also want to thank mr. Fitzpatrick for his partnership on this legislation as well as our colleagues in the senate, senators markey, rubio, brown and capito, for their bipartisan work on the Senate Counterpart legislation. The federal government must do its part to ensure our First Responders have the tools they need in this greatest of Public Health fights. The interdict act provides important and powerful resources in this endeavor and i urge its adoption. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from pennsylvania. Mr. Fitzpatrick mr. Speaker, i have in other speakers. If the gentlelady from california has no other speakers i am prepared to close once the gentlelady does. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady from california. Ms. Barragan mr. Speaker, i am prepared to close. Mr. Speaker, h. R. 2142 is an important this has strong support strong bipartisan support. Passage of this bill will go a long way. As such, i encourage my colleagues to support h. R. 2142 and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back. Mr. Fitzpatrick i urge my colleagues to support h. R. 2142 and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the question will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h. R. 2142 as amended. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended and mr. Fitzpatrick i request a recorded vote. The speaker pro tempore is the gentleman requesting the yeas and nays . Those in favor say aye. A sufficient number having arisen, yeas and nays are ordered. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this uestion will be postponed. For what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . Ice is is i move to r. Issa i move to pass h. R. 4010 as amended. The clerk h. R. 4010, the bill toll amend the revised statutes of the United States and title 28, United States code, to enhance compliance with requests for information pursuant to legislative power under article 1 of the congress stution and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule the gentleman from california, mr. Issa and the gentleman from new york, mr. Nadler, each will control 20 minutes. Mr. Issa i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on h. R. 4010 currently under consideration. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Issa mr. Speaker, this bill comes to you after having been unanimously on a recorded vote out of committee, but it has been a long time in coming and it has a long history of its need. Both under chairman conyers during the last years of the Bush Administration and under my chair manship on the oversight committee, we discovered a flaw in congress subpoena power. Congress has and has always had and has been supported all the way by the Supreme Court, the need to do oversight. With that, we issue subpoenas. The enforcement of those subpoenas has come into conflict over the last several years. Both during mr. Conyers chair manship when he subpoenaed Harriet Myers and during my time when i subpoenaed records by the department of justice, both cases, the stations decided it was appropriate to question the standing and to delay. Those delays were unfair to the body, unfair to the American People, because it denied them in any reasonable period of time the effect of factfinding. This is not a partisan issue. It is, in fact, an issue that has already been decided for the American People. Under the freedom of information act, if you do not receive documents within a reasonable period of time, you have the right to go to the court, you have standing as a private citizen or an interest group, and the court will decide what documents are appropriate for you to receive. And yet, this very question that was not once, but twice defended by two different administrations of two different parties, calls into question the ability in a timely fashion for congress, the house or the senate, to receive the information or the appearance of a witness it needs. We do not seek any new power under this legislation. We only seek an expeditious review by a federal judge of a claim either for the appearance of an individual or for documents appropriate to our oversight. For that reason, i am pleased that both republicans and democrats within the committee saw fit to unanimously support this legislation. We believe it is measured and also time and i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from new york. Mr. Nadler thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Nadler mr. Speaker, i rise in strong support of h. R. 4010, the congressional subpoena compliance and enforcement act of 2017. My support of this legislation is to my view of our committees responsibility to conduct oversight of the executive branch. Nearly a century ago, the United States Supreme Court framed this responsibility this way. A legislative body cannot legislate in the absence of evidence in which the legislation is intended to effect or change and when the legislative body does not possess the information, recourse must be to others who do possess it. It is our responsibility to ask for the information and the constitution empowers to enforce those requests if he we are denied. We should be clear. Congress does not require a statute in order to enforce subpoenas in federal court. We know this, of course, in 2008, the House Judiciary Committee went to court to defend that authority and ruling in favor of the committee, the court held that the Bush Administrations claim of absolute immunity from our process is entirely unsupported by case law. In effect, both government officials and private individuals have the legal obligation to comply with a duly issued subpoena. Still, this legislation is useful as a means to codify certain practices and expedite subpoenas in federal court and puts the house on equal footing with the senate which has had a statute in place since 1978 allowing that body to have subpoenas in federal court. We need to strike the right balance. This bill protects our existing authority and hit gates many concerns about abuses of subpoena power. I want to thank the gentleman from california for his leadership on this issue. We often disagree about the issues, but i suspect we stand together on the importance of oversight both to our committee and the congress as a whole. I ask my colleagues to support the measure. I thank the speaker and i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from california. Mr. Issa i want to further echo the gentleman froms comments. Mr. Nadler is right. We will often, almost unanimously find a way to disagree in what to look into at various times as a body. But whether it is a democratic chairman or republican chairman looking into something, whether its a Republican Administration or a democratic administration, it is clear that we must, in fact, if a subpoena is issued, be able to enforce it in a timely fashion. Under this legislation, it has a number of safeguards, but the most important one is the threejudge panel that will review these, followed by an expedited process to the u. S. Supreme court. I might note, the interesting history of the two cases that mr. Nadler and i are talking about is one in which a democratic chairman enforced ar subpoena, but had to go to a recently appointed republican judge, who in a clearly reasonable period of time reached the conclusion, that, one, the committee had standing and the house had standing and two, it was really without merit for the Bush Administration to claim this immunity, this newfound immunity. Similarly, in a slightly longer period of time, but ar republican chairman went before a freshly minted appointee of the president refusing to comply and she reached the decision that the documents were unfairly withheld and ordered them released. I think the interesting thing to all of us, the independence of the judiciary has worked not once but twice. We warrant to codify that would cause the judiciary to have that in a timely fashion and the peoples right to know and be recognized in that fashion. And as mr. Nadler said, the senate has for a long time has had a portion of what we are doing it today. It is an oddity that two coequals hasnt had it. And with that, i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new york. Mr. Nadler if the gentleman from california has no further speakers, im prepared to close. I again yield myself such time as i may consume. I want to share one last thought before closing. A markup of this bill, the gentleman from california, had this to say about a recent experience in the intelligence committee, quote, we interviewed a witness two weeks ago with respect to our russian interference investigation. After the interview and said he withheld information from the committee because he was not under subpoena and he also stated that he felt like he had certain privileges to assert that allowed him to withhold that information. I saw right there, even under a subpoena, individuals believe that without having a legal bases for privilege they could assert it. The public is starting to perceive that our subpoena power does not have the weight that it should. That was a quote from mr. Swalwell. Whatever the investigation lands, we have a great deal of work to do. Given our challenges, it is more important than ever for the house to conduct oversight of the executive branch. This bill contributes to that effort and i urge my colleagues to support it. I thank the speaker. And i yield. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california. Mr. Issa i urge the house to pass this bill, move it to the senate in a timely fashion and create an equal standing between the house and the senate. I join with my colleague from california, mr. Swalwell, in the frustration that individuals off earn feel that they have privileges in the vague sense that are not to be asserted but simply not to occur. In the last administration, we have even had individuals claim that they basically lied as little as they needed to to protect some question of a classified nature. Hese kinds of claims, in addition to the Law Enforcement sensitive, confidential and other security clearance claims that are not codified in statute and often are the reason for delay or outright refusal to deliver documents flies in the face of the ability, sometimes behind closed doors and sometimes in public, for congress ability to conduct oversight and i look forward to this legislation becoming law. And i think ill close with just one more item. Mr. Nadler and i have served together as chairman and Ranking Member for a number of years. We share something, which is the many years that we have been here in congress, we have seen the frustration of both parties trying to do their job against another branch that often takes advantage of the natural rivalry between two different parties. This legislation is designed to reduce that, to reduce the ability for the executive branch or other outside groups, to, if you will, take advantage of the Natural Division between the two of us. And after so many years of being here, one thing i have learned, to diminish the house and senates ability to represent the American People is to diminish our republic. With that, i urge passage and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h. R. 4010 as amended. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. 2 3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended and the bill is passed and the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. Pursuant to clause 12a, rule 1, the house is how are you . Good to see you. President trump congratulations. Congratulations. How about the two signers . Why dont you introduce yourselves . Im president and c. E. O. Of oeing commercial airlines. [indiscernible] and very happy to celebrate 7810 gning and 19 aircraft. We are the launch customer. President trump total in terms of the order is 13. 8 billion and about 70,000 jobs. Those are all jobs in this country. [laughter] great planes. Thank you, mr. President. President trump congratulations. [applause] thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you very much. Thank you for witnessing this. Means a lot. Thank you, mr. President. President trump interesting, right . We look forward to the lunch. President trump they do serve good lunch here. Thank you very much. Its a great honor to Prime Minister lee of singapore with us and his representatives at the highest level. We just signed an order with boeing for 14 billion worth of airplanes. We do a lot of business with singapore and the relationship is at its highest point and it will continue. It will continue. Mr. Prime minister, thank you very much. Its an honor to have you in the white house. Thank you so much for inviting us and like the relationship with the united tates. Find the best airplanes. President trump you are talking about boeing. Thank you very much for being here. Thank you, everybody. Thank you. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2017] captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org tonight on the communicators russias involvement in the 2016 election. People have said they learned that a bunch of ads placed during the election were placed by russian outfits under anonymous accounts. And they were politically divisive ads, not necessarily seemed like aimed at one andidate or another but sowing divisiveness. Watch it tonight at 8 00 eastern on cspan 2. Joseph dunford announced new information in the attack in niger africa that left four soldiers dead. He gave a time line of the ambush including when the call for help went out and when support arrived. This time line including the u. S. Mission were part of a News Conference at the pentagon. Thanks for the opportunity to speak to you about the recent events in niger which claimed. He lives of four lives and i begin by offering my condolences to the units and the fallen. The anniversary is the anniversary of the 1983 beirut bombings and we will never forget them. After speaking to speaker mattis, i decided to address you because there has been speculation about the operation in niger and perception at the department of defense has not been forth coming and it would be helpful for me to collar file for you and what we hope to find out in the ongoing investigation. Secretary mattis is in asia. Our soldiers are operating in niger to build the capacity of cal forces to defeat violent extremism. As we have seen many times groups like isis and al qaeda pose a threat to the American People and their allies, they are a global threat to fighters and resources and seek to operate where they can exploit weaknesses in local government. If you think of those enablelers as connecttive tissues, or strategy is to cut that tissue and deal with the challenges within the countries and region. We can be proud of our progress today, our work is not done even and raqqaall of mosul and tonight im going to welcome representatives from 75 Different Countries to improve the effectiveness of our network to defeat terrorism. Well focus on improving information sharing between nations to defeat attacks before they occur and improve the support we provide to nations that are confronted with violent extremism. And thats what our forces in niger were doing. The United States military has had forces in niger for more than 20 years. Today, 800 Service Members work as part of an International Effort led by 4,000 french troops to defeat terrorists. Since 2011, french and u. S. Troops have trained 5 thoirks west African Force and to fight terrorists and affiliated with isis, al qaeda and boko haram. Let me address the specific events in niger that took place earlier this month. On the 3rd of october, 12 members aexpped 30 Nigerian Forces from the capital city to an area near the village. Approximately 858 kilo meters. On the 4th of october they moved south. To their base, the patrol came under attack to 50 enemies using grenades and technical vehicles. What i want to do now i want to walk for you the time line that we have and what i would categorize is what we know about the incident. Early in the morning, u. S. Forces accompanied that unit on a mission to gather information. The assessment by our leaders on the ground was contact with the enemy was unlikely. Midmorning on october 4, the patrol began to take fire as they were returning to their operating base. One hour after taking fire, the team requested support. And within minutes, the aircraft arrived overhead. Within an hour, french jets arrived on station and later that afternoon, french attack helicopters arrived on station and a force were in contact with the enemy. During the fire fight, two u. S. Soldiers were wounded and evacuated and consistent with the casualty plan that was in place for this particular operation. Three u. S. Soldiers were evacuated on evening of 4 october and sergeantla David Johnson was still missing. On the evening of 6 october, Sergeant Johnsons body was found and evacuated. From the time the fire fight was initiated until sergeant onons body was recovered, forces remained in that area. We owe you more information. More importantly, we owe the families of the fallen and thats what the investigation is designed to identify. Did the mission of u. S. Forces change during the mission . Did our forces have adequate intelligence, equipment and training . Was there an assessment of the threat in the area accurate . How did u. S. Forces become separated, specifically Sergeant Johnson . And why did it take time to find and recover Sergeant Johnson . The investigation is designed to identify this. I hope in this brief overview, i have outlined why our forces with niger, what they were doing at the time of the incident, what we know and again the questions that remain that we will work on the next several weeks. And with that, im happy to take your questions. General dunford, thanks very much. We have reported that Sergeant Johnsons body was found one mile away from the nirl site of contact. Is that consistent . And is there any assessment as to why that was the case . And i have a brief followup. We feel pretty confident in what took place before this patrol moved out. We know the general route that the patrol took before they came back in. What happened from the time the patrol went out on the operation until the time they returned, there has been a lot of speculation and reports and i want to baseline what we know and dont know. What you are asking is a fair question, but we dont know it definitively. What im trying to do today is ing very candid and i will share with you where we have seen speculation. And the questions we are asking, this is a very complex situation they found themselves in. And what tactical instructions that the commander gave on the scene that caused troops to maneuver, those are all questions we will identify during the investigation. Youre aware that some of the administration when faced with tough questions about this information and informationstaring about the investigation have said members of the press shouldnt ask tough questions particularly of people until uniform or recently in uniform. And im curious if you have a reaction to that, do you share of that . Let me share information with the media. I dont know what you are referring to. Im not going to benchmark my comments against that. First and foremost, we owe the families as much information as we can find out about what happened and we owe the American People about what the men and women were doing at this particular time. When i say that, men and women in harms way, they should know what the mission is. Those are all fair questions in my judgment. Thats why we are out here today is to take your questions and provide as much information as we have. The only thing im asking for today is a bit of patience to make sure what we provide to you is factual. And the other thing that is also important, when this information is available, we will visit the families in their homes, should they welcome us and we will have a team go in as experts, a team of experts go into the family and share with them all the facts that are available as a result of the investigation and give them an opportunity to ask questions. As soon as we are done with that, well come back and share that exact information we shared with the families. When i tell you today, we dont know, it will be a fair answer, we dont know. And ill tell you everything definitively what we do know and the investigation in the coming weeks. With regard to being transparent, i think we owe the families and the American People transparency in events just like that. General, a quick followup on the time line. You said they didnt call for air support until an hour in contact. That would make the arrival of the french 0 minutes, which conflicts what we have been told. Let me walk you through the time line. The best we know how and i have a agree of confidence, about an hour after the initial contact was made, they requested support. When they requested support, it took the french, the frimp were ready to go in 30 minutes and took them approximately 30 minutes to get on the scene. So, from that, i think its a fair conclusion to say that about two hours after the initial contact was made, the initial french mirages arrived. When they didnt ask for support for the first hour, my judgment is is that unit thought they could handle it without Additional Support. We will find out why it took an hour for them to call. We shouldnt conclude. It may have well have been and i have been in those situations where you are confronted with enemy task you can deal with it and some point in the firefight they concluded they needed Additional Support. The confusion of the 30 minutes which is a danger of coming out and sharing information. I think what you were told in the past that the french were there in 30 minutes. They responded within 30 minutes and they were overhead of this unit within 30 minutes. So thats where the 30 minutes came from. And the clarification, you said they were ambushed when coming back to their outpost. We were told they were ambushed is there a discrepancy. They are leaving the village and going back to their operating base and moving south. I dont have the exact details. The investigation will go out there. These investigations for those that havent been involved in the past. There will be people on the ground that will look at where this took place and measure the differences and get the details and we will provide the family of detailed graphics of how this unfolded. I dont want to talk about numbers. The contact they made with the enemy was outside of the village, south of the village as they were heading back to their operating base. You said they did not call for support until an hour after first contact. That is putting pressure on those team members. Can you say without a shadow of the doubt, they didnt call out for support . The time line that we have is the first indicator that the unit called for external support was one hour later. Now i will tell you, the information im providing to you today is the complete information i have available. We may well find out this is the difficulty in finding this out before the investigation is complete. One thing i will push back hard on, im not putting any pressure on that unit. I make no judgment as to how long it took them to ask for support. I dont know that they needed support. I dont know how this attack unfolded or their initial assessment was. Logs indicate that an hour after the contact, approximately, they requested support and then i talkt about the time line of the french response. That is what i know right now. Im not going to tell you in the investigation we wont find they attempted to get support and it didnt come. Everything i told you would be beyond speculation. Is there good enough intelligence and i. S. R. And equipment. The general in african command he said the economy is bitter. Clearly he doesnt have enough. And the french have to help out, doesnt that raise the question . Is there enough equipment there. And secretary mattis said he wants to expand and lean forward more. Can you do that without sending more equipment i. S. R. Over there . Fair question, and i think i would distinguish what the commander needs to do the full range of missions he believes need to be done and what missions are being done with the equipment they have. The general may need more capability to do more mission or expansive mission. The responsibility is to employ the force within the resources they have available. We shouldnt confuse the need for more capability to expand the mission with what capabilities are provided to a particular unit at a particular time if you understand the distinction. Look, there are two reasons to do the investigation. One reason is to make sure we inform the families and the American People and the congress, of course. The second is, every time Something Like this happens we do an internal look at ourselves and find out what we did and what can we do better and make changes after consideration of an afteractive review. The Southern African command and some who think that the special forces are taking too many risks over there. I think that would be speculation. Im very clear on the framework in which this operation took place, in other words, what do the orders say. I dont have any indication right now to believer or to know that they did anything other than operate within the orders given. Thats what the investigation is all about. Anyone who spec lates about what special Operations Forces did or didnt do. Special operators in africa are taking too many risks. That is the sense of people in this building . Its not my assessment they are taking too many risks. Although i talked about enemy contact being unlikely, the reason we are in west africa is the concentration of isis and al qaeda. The special Operations Forces are operating in libya, there is a threat of isis and east africa and al qaeda and a smaller isis presence there. To the extent they are taking risks, we have sent them to operate within areas in which there are extremist elements that if we were to conduct an operation, they have the. Apability to cuct operations are they taking risks . They are. Are they taking risks that are unreasonable . I dont have any reason to believe that. By the way, ill stay to answer questions. Ill get to you all. Thank you, general. Can you please describe they had to defend themselves. Trucks . Go out in ill answer the second part because i know and give you in general the first part. They did not expect resistance from this particular patrol. What happened subsequently will be the investigation. Because the rules in that part of west africa are that we will only accompany forces when the chances of enemy contact are unlikely. With that, they were equipped with machine guns, small arms nd obviously had the ability with communications capability. Have you learned what type of fire they came under, smallarms fire, i. E. D. s . I havent seen reports of i. E. D. s. Small arms, rockets and machine guns. When did you alert the white house . There are indications they did not know until 10 hours after the attack began and members on capitol hill, members of the Armed Services Committee Said they didnt know we had troops in niger. Two separate questions. We notified the white house as soon as we had a soldier that was missing, was the first report. They would have received an initial report, probably at the same time to me, that we had a report of three killed in action and we made specific calls when we had a soldier that was missing and we didnt report properly because in the process of trying to recover him. I spoke to the general that night when we got the initial report. It was probably around 9 00 or 9 30 washington, d. C. Time, the night of the 4th and knowing that we had a missing soldier, we had a decision to make sure all of the resources were available for the recovery of that operation and we maintained Operational Security to not put at risk our operations to recover Sergeant Johnson at that particular time. With regard tore congress that we are not providing information to congress, if the congress doesnt believe that they are getting sufficient information, i need to double my efforts to provide them with information. Without going through what people may have known at any given point in time about this operation or any other operation, secretary mattis and i will satisfy the information to congress to provide oversight. We are looking in the mirror and saying we thought we were doing all right, which most important is how the congress feels. We need to double our communications efforts. You mentioned the recon aceance mission. There have been conflicting accounts, has the nature of the mission changed . No. Heres what we know. It was planned as a recon naysance mission. Did the mission change, that is one of the questions being asked, its a fair question, but i cant tell you the answer to that question. But yes, we have seen the reports and seen the speculation. Given what happened, its a fair question to ask. If the enemy situation was unlikely, we had four soldiers lost and two wounded and some point the intelligence changed . Did they do Something Different with the forces, those are some of the key questions that the investigation is looking to uncover. Germ, are you satisfied overall with the response times, including the fact that it took two days to recover Sergeant Johnsons body . And more broadly, what does it suggest to you comb how you go about things going ahead . Is it a more dangerous area other than tgs may have indicated . And do you change things as you go ahead . Do you increase security patrols . All of the questions that you asked, the answers are going to be formed by our reading of the investigation. Well ask every question you just asked and well make adjustments. I think its an important point, this area is inherently dangerous. The judgment of contact with the enemy was made about a particular operation at a particular location at a particular time. So is this a dangerous area . Yes. Were there because of isis and al qaeda operating in that area. With he are providing assist tore local forces to help them deal with that particular challenge. With regard to our equipping and responsiveness and sole forth, those will be questions that we ask ourselves at every level because it is important to baseline what support was requested, when did it arrive, was it what was needed. But i would ask for your patience and just giving us the time it takes to do the investigation. And one of the questions we havent asked is how long does it take to do the investigation. We have expressed a sense of urgency to get answers to the questions you have asked and the families have asked. We want those answers as quickly as possible but we want to prioritize making sure the investigation is accurate and when we go to the families and tell them what happened, that its based on fact. So were trying to balance the need to do this quickly with the need to be accurate. Should there have been other forces involved in finding his body rather than relying on the niger forces . There were u. S. Forces, niger forces and French Forces involved in the operation. There were u. S. Forces involved in the recovery. As i mentioned, without going into detail, as soon as the general contacted me that night, i spoke to the secretary of defense. It was a 2second phone call when i told him what i was asking for, and immediately called the general and said his request for Additional Support was approved and we started putting the wheels in motion to deliver that once we found out Sergeant Johnson was miss, we put the full weight of the u. S. To bear to try to recover his body. The 800 troops in niger is that the high point or did we have do we have more . Thats the largest number in africa right now. We have more in east africa but in any one country, thats the most. Ill tell you what ill do, ill have the team come back and just make sure that, you know, take a look at all the countries. It also is a high in this particular area, weve been there off and on for over 20 years. We established a joint special Operations Task force in 2011. 2008. And we probably had 500 or 6 00 forces there some months ago this happened to be a high of 800. I wonder about Mission Creep, november 23, blackhawk down is this Mission Creep . Let me talk about the mission, its important for me to go back to my Opening Statement and talk about what were trying to do. In our judgment were dealing with Global Threats in al qaeda and isis and other groups. The theory of the case of our strategy is to be able to put pressure on them simultaneously wherever they are. As importantly to anticipate where they will be and to make sure that where we are and where they will be when they get there, theyre confronted by local Security Forces that have the ability to meet the challenges associated with al qaeda, isis, and other groups. So we are working with partners on the ground in west africa. We are working with partners on the ground in other parts of africa. Same thing were doing in iraq and syria and what were doing in afghanistan. But if you look at the numbers, 800 americans, 4,000 french and 35,000 local Partners Operating there. If you look at the numbers in afghanistan, approximately 11,000 americansen the ground, 300,000 afghans. So with the American People what the American People need to know is, with a relatively small footprint, were enabling local forces to deal with these challenges before they become a threat to the American People and to help them to deal with the challenges so they wont further destabilize their local area or region. The information about the enemy k. I. A. , were there enemy k. I. A. And do you know how many . I dont know that. As soon as we get that, well provide that information. We did lose five nigerian partners. Thats important to point out. Have there been patrols of u. S. Forces in niger . Were back conducting operations as normal. I dont have Information Available right now to tell you whats happening today but our intent is to continue operations there and continue to train, advice and assist our parters in. Every unit that goes out, every patrol conducted makes an assessment of the mission and the operating environment in which that mission will be conducted and prepare themselves accordingly. I just expect that that continues to be what the general and his leadership are doing. Do you have any more information about who the attackers were . We were told initially they had rebranded themselves and they were local tripe, and if you do identify who they were, will you go after them . Our assessment right now is it is an isis affiliated group. What you bring up is what were dealing with in many places. Isis and al qaeda, they try to leverage local insurgencies and connect those local insurgencies globally. This is the challenge were dealing with. Our initial assessments is these are local, tribal fighters that are associated with isis. Will you go after them once you locate where they are . I think well enable our local partners to go after them as a matter of priority. Thanks for your time. Particularly when it comes to do ones brought on scene, you think anything has changed since youre back doing operations . Is there any shift what theyre allowed to do with their authorities . How quickly can you an issue of authorities, just want to make it clear that u. S. Forces and Coalition Forces in the area, when it comes to an issue of force protection, selfdefense, dont have any limitations. They dont have any limitations. Thats something thats been discussed. So you know, with regard to employing fires if theres an issue of selfdefense, we have the inherent right to do that and well do that. Were they there last night that night . Im not aware of limitations on that particular night. If there were, the investigation will certainly tease that out. Ive seen open source reporting to that effect. I dont have any information in the operating chain to indicate that there were limits as. When i say limitations, part of the requirement is obviously the ability to integrate and i dont know if there was challenges integrating, i dont know why the mirages didnt drop bombs in those initial passes, i dont know if the unit on the ground asked them to do that. These are those are things well find out in the investigation. A couple of points, you mentioned r. P. A. Was on the scene in minutes. Was that french . American . It was american. It was operating in the area anyway we were able to retask it, thats why it was available in minutes. It was in the area and we were able to retask it directly in support of that unit that was in contact. What system did it strike . It did not strike. It did not strike. Did it have the possibility . Im not going to talk about what our capabilities are in the rebut that capability that was there within minutes did not trike. On president trip to south who t month, the made this issue and is the korean government or the u. S. Government . I dont know the details of the president s itinerary later this month or what decisions hes made about the d. M. Z. As commander in chief of the ofted states, do you approve that . Im going to leave it to President Trump and president noon decide whether or not the president ought to be in the d. M. Z. About the drone, did you have complete visibility of the situation, there was a drone above in minutes . We had a remotely powered vehicle in the area, as soon as they asked for help, within minutes, it was retasked to provide Intelligence Surveillance and reconnaissance, full motion video, one of the capabilities, right over the scene of the troops in contact. How long was it able to stay above . I dont know how long it stayed but i certainly can get that for you. I dont know how long it was on station at that particular time. Did they request i. S. R. Or did they request help . They would have in the normal course of event. I havent seen the logs. In the normal course of events they would have asked discreetly for Intelligence Surveillance and reconnaissance and also supporting fires and specific effects they wanted to achieve. I think theyd have had a more detailed request. Do you have the video . I have not viewed the video. On the evacuation, did the the wounded evacuate first and then killed in action. Do you know whether anyone did a head count on either of those aircraft or after those evacuations were done to be sure that everybody was accounted for . I dont have that level of detail in terms of who counted, i know what the procedure would normally be i cant tell you if those procedures were followed at that particular time. Thatll be something thatll come out in the investigation. Increasing the tempo of missions in africa, do we expect to see more deployment of troops in africa . I think its premature to talk about what additional troops or changes in r. O. E. Would make. Were watch very carefully with the fall of iraq and mosul what the enemy will do. I have 75 defense lawyers here tonight is to talk about the next phase of the campaign. I described it as inflection point. One of the places we know isis has aspirations to establish a larger presence is in africa. We know how important libya and the sigh nye have been to the islamic state. We know how much they have tried to get into east africa and of course the scenario were talking about here today in west africa. Were watching that very carefully and we are going to make recommendations for the secretary and the president for allocation of forces that meet what we see as a threat, what we anticipate the threat to be. But i certain certainly wouldnt talk about what we would do tomorrow at this moment. For now, have the Combatant Commanders or chiefs made recommendations to the white house to change any of to change troop numbers, tempo . The white house, no, but you know, one thing i would tell you to make sure were clear, we get requested for capabilities on a routine bay stharkse come to me. Then we frame those for decision by the secretary of defense. So this constantly requested for capabilities that go back and forth between the Combatant Commanders and the secretary. Theres not a week that goes by when we dont work a request to do that. Sometimes its a question of reallocating capability, if you were talking africa, reallocate from europe or central command, and reallocate. But that kind of activity happens all the time. What youre talking about is a much more sustained presence with a larger footprint. Theres been no discussion nor a request for that. Troops on the ground right now, has there been discussion of increased tempo . There has not. There has not. Sorry for cutting you off earlier. You said they overnighted the patrol from october 3 to october 4. Was that part of their mission plan they had put up and that headquarters understood would happen . I dont have the details of that. You know, i dont know whether it was intended that they would, how long it was going to take or if they planned to stay overnight and just to be clear, i think probably more accurate description than stayed overnight was, they caught a couple of hours of sleep after the third and before tai completed their mission on the fourth. Is there an investigation beyond the 156 into the troop deaths and then whats the significance of the n. P. I. . First case now theres an investigation thats being conducted by general officer at the United States Africa Command into the incident itself. So thats the only investigation u. S. Military. With regard to f. B. I. , its fairly normal in counterterrorism cases to conduct investigations to get information, intelligence that may be related to threats to the United States and i believe thats the capacity in which the f. B. I. Is conducting investigation right now. Quick followup on who whether the twroorps wearing body armor, u. S. Forces. I dont know how the soldiers that day were equipped, if equipped, if they were wearing bdy armor. You talked about the difficulty of next of kin notification. Theres a political discussion about we right way to do that. Can you talk generally on the difficulty, the challenge, of conveying to American Families when their loved one is lost what they died for . I think what you just zeroed in on is one of the things we try to do when we do this. Ive certainly had to do it myself. You want the family to understand the why. So i think one of the most important things that we would try to do in this particular case is be able to explain how what their love how what their loved ones was doing was remitted to the protection of the homeland an dealing with the connections. I think in this particular case ell be table do that. Following up, Sergeant Johnsons widow said this morning in an interview she had asked to see her husbands body but had been told no. Is that this case . Is there a reason why . First of all, i did hear that this morning. What typically happens and again, ive been involved in these cases myself, is there are time when we make a suggestion to the family that they may not want to review the remains. At the end of the day, the policy is its the familys decision as to whether or not they do that. I can tell you what the policy is. I dont know what happened in the case of mrs. Johnson but well certainly find that out. I did hear her say that today. Certainly from a policy perspective we would defer to the familys desire, but i dont know exactly what happened in the exchange with mrs. Johnson and what would have normally been the casualty assistance officer that would have been supporting her. As a followup if it does turn out she was not given the option to view the husbands body is that something youll be looking further into . I dont want to speculate whether, that causes me to speculate, what exactly happened but i can assure you that if mrs. Johnson or any of the families of the fallen are unsatisfied with the support theyve had to date or have additional questions, were going to go to every last length to satisfy their concerns an answer their questions. Thats what we do in each and every one of these cases. With mrs. Johnson, with all four of the fallen in this particular case and anyone in the department that gives their lives on behalf of our country, were going to do everything we can to answer those families questions. Just a followup who found Sergeant Johnsons body . Initial reports, and again, you know, my understanding is the body was reported by Nigerian Forces to u. S. Forces. Im going out a little bit on that one because i feel pretty comfortable that thats what the reporting was but again from the investigation well get the final details but thats the initial report. So as isis decentralizes and u. S. Military looks to partner with a number of nations to attack across the tpwhrobal network you described, should the American People expect to start hearing about incidents like this in countries outside of iraq and syria and places theyre maybe not familiar with . Again, in this particular case weve been operating there for many years. And this is a tragic incident but it hasnt been a matter of routine. If youre asking me is it going to be a matter of routine that we suffer casualties in places other than niger or outside of active hostilities, ill tell you no, it wont be a matter of routine well suffer casualties. We will unfortunately in a war thats been described as a generational war have additional carnalities in the future and well do all we can to mitigate it. Were conducting these type of operations, train, advise, and assist, we dont under normal course of events accompany local forces when contact with the enemy is expected. So we do one of two thing, either stay back to what we call the last cover position, before enemy is made, or we dont go on an operation if enemy contact is made. Outside of active hostilities our focus is to enable local forces to be able to conduct perations against the enemy. Would you say the war of isis is shifting to africa . I think its shift, im not sure im ready to say its shifting just to africa. Were dealing with a challenge that exists from west africa to southeast asia. Weve seen manifest cases in europe and attacks here in the United States. Were dealing with a tpwhrobal challenge. I believe that isis will attempt to establish a physical presence outside of iraq and syria now that they have launched their caliphate in iraq and lost their caliphate in iraq and mosul. Thats why were conducting the kind of operations were conducting in niger to make sure that will call forces have the capability to prevent that from happening. Does part of the afghan investigation include interviewing the wounded and soldiers we were there at the attacks here in the u. S. . Well have to get back to you. I dont know the details of the f. B. I. Investigation. Im very familiar with the u. S. Military investigation and the general ops the general officer assigned to do that investigation will interview everyone that was there and everyone who has any knowledge of what took place but i cant talk about the f. B. I. Investigation. Can you give us an estimate of the time from the initial contact until the americans were taken out of the area that was the what was the total time of this entire engagement . What i can tell you is that it was mid morning, local time. In niger. On the 3rd of october when this all began. And it was the evening, local time, on the 6th of october, when Sergeant Johnsons body was recovered. So there was on fwoing operations throughout that period of time. In the back there. Thank you very much for doing this. If i can have one and then a followup. Would the investigation be able to look into what french intelligence or French Military activity there was or may have been in the area of the attack leading up to the attack . Absolutely. Our investigating officer will engage our french parters in and interview the french soldiers involved. Im sure hell interview the crews called in to provide support, including the rotary wing attack helicopters as well as the fixed wing. I dont have any dut that all the information the french have available will be shared with our investigation. Classified intelligence on their side sf thats happening every day. No doubt about it. We are integrated in conducting operations with the french. We are partnered with them there. We have complete transparency and sharing information in west africa with the french. If i can follow up quickly, you mentioned National Assets that deployed from the United States. Without specifying what those were, can you say if any reached niger before the situation was resolved . Im not going to address that. I do want you to know that we have things, many of you are familiar with those things but we have National Assets and as soon as we had a missing soldier we brought those assets to bear but im not going to talk to details of the type or capability. Should the American Public be prepared for the loss of more u. S. Troops in africa . What i would tell you is the majority of our operations in africa are designed to support the training, advising, and assisting of local african parties. We mitt kate we mitigate the risk to u. S. Forces with specific guidance that well only accompany those force whence the prospect of prospect of enemy contact is unlikely. There are other areas in africa where we have a different construct. What i described is the construct that exists in west africa. Clearly, and you seen it in recent day, we have a different al qaeda organizations inside east africa. We tailor the conduct of u. S. Forces based on the threat. The bias in africa is to support local forces in dealing with the threat. Where there is a threat to the u. S. Homeland, American People, or our allies, were going to do whatever is necessary to address that particular threat. Let me just be clear. Use an example. If we have a specific threat to the homeland and local forces are unable to deal with that threat, the United States forces will deal with that threat. But the bias is toward enabling local african partners to conduct operations in africa. Where are you on the timeline on the med vac. How long did it take before the casualties were medevac and how long before the dead americans were returned on the flight . What i outlined for you rlier was the evening of during during the fire fight, this is probably sometime late in the afternoon, into the evening, is when the two soldiers who were wounded were evacuated. What i dont have is the specific time when they were wupeded. So if youre asking for a time between when they were wounded and when they were evacuated, i dont have that. In terms of soldiers killed in action, there were evacuated in the evening, local time , in niger, in the evening on october 4. Do you have any idea how long the fire fight lasted and did the mirages play any role in disrupting that fire fight . Anything i would tell you about the mirages would be speculation. I need to hear from the guys on the ground, who were employing those mirages before i make a conclusion about what effect those had. The time of the fire fight, do you have a general sense of how long it took place . Zsh only that it took several hourks well into the evening on the 3rd of october. One last. 4th of october, thank you. Can you last us know how many u. S. Forces are serving in africom total, west and east africa . Sure, i can give you a range, we have on the order of 6,000, a little over 6,000 forces in africa and theyre in about 453 in about 53 Different Countries. On the search for Sergeant Johnsons body, how many u. S. Troops took part in that and how many allied forces and describe not just the drone that went in to look for him but other assets . Thats down to a level of detail that will require the investigation to lay that out. How many u. S. Troops took part in the search . I cant tell you, i know how many u. S. Troops were part of the original advise and assist mission, i dont know what each of those troops were doing at any given time. Anything i would tell you at this point i would be speculating. To clarify you said that u. S. Forces dont go out if they expect enemy contact they wont go out. The exact language, again i dont want to be im not correcting you but when we say chances of enemy contact unlikely, we would go out. You also said that they wont go out, or remain at the last cover and conceal different locations with different rurals in those locations. What i described to you were the rules that were in place at the time this operation was conducted in niger. Ill take one more. Someone said this is trumps benghazi. I know you dont like getting into political muck. How did you figure that out . You have a track record of not wanting to. But its out there whats your resnax i see no utility in comparing this incident to any other incident. What i would tell you is we lost four americans in this incident. We had two others wounded. That makes it a big deal to me. That gives me a sense of urgency to identify exactly what happened, to communicate exactly what happened to the families and the American People. So i personally am not comparing this to any other incident. Whats most important to me, aside from getting the facts, is identifying those things we can do better in the future. Thats my focus. Ok. Thanks. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2017] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] and in just a couple of minutes, the house will come back for votes, including one on cargo security. As always, live coverage of the house here on cspan. In about a halfhour, live on cspan3, a discussion of press coverage of the Trump Administration that will include White House Press secretary sara sanders and white house correspondents from fox news, cnn and the new york times. Thats live in a halfhour at 7 00 p. M. Eastern on cspan3. You could also see it online at cspan. Org or use the free cspan radio app. Tonight on the communicators, russias involvement in the 2016 election th propublica senior executive. Facebook said they learned a bunch of ads placed during the election were placed by a russian outfit under anonymous accounts and they were politically divisive ads, not necessarily aimed at one candidate or another but aimed at sowing divisiveness on some really charged topics. Watch the communicators tonight at 8 00 eastern on cspan2. The cspan bus is traveling across the country on our 50 capitals tour. We recently stopped in frankford, kentucky, asking folks whats the most important issue in their state . My name is gerald atkins, i live here in frank frd, kentucky. One of the more important issues in kentucky right now is public pensions. Legislators are here in kentucky getting ready to call a special session to try to fund our special excuse me, our pensions and its very important to all the Public Sector workers and all of their families, we have a coalition called the Kentucky Public Pension Coalition which includes firefighters, Police Officers, retired stateworkers and various other members that have joined us and are partners with partnering with us. It is very important and our coalition is trying to fight and make sure the legislators here in kentucky do the right thing and find a Funding Source for our pension. My name is jerry freeman. One of the biggest issues of this state is the drug problem. Even in rural kentucky, the drug problem is rampant, so thats definitely one of the biggest issues. Hi, my name is dede mccroskey, i work for the commonwealth of kentucky and the most pressing issue right now in the commonwealth is the employees retirement. Voices from the states. On cspan. C spns washington journal live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. And coming up this tuesday morning, a look at the future of the Affordable Care act with California Democratic congressman ruiz and the federal budget tax reform effort and nafta negotiation. Joining us will be texas republican congressman jody arrington. And issue ones Meredith Mcgehee talks about regulating political ads on social media platforms. Watch washington journal live at 7 00 eastern on tuesday morning, join the discussion. Live now to the floor of the house just back for a couple of votes. 3551. The motion to suspend the rules and pass senate 504, and agreeing to the speakers approval of the journal. The first electronic vote will be conducted as a 15minute vote. Remaining electronic votes will be conducted as fiveminute votes. The Unfinished Business is the vote on the motion of the gentlewoman from arizona, ms. Mcsally, to suspend the rules on pass h. R. 3551 as amended which the yeas and nays are ordered. The clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk h. R. 3551, a bill to amend a security and accountability for every port act of 2006, to reauthorize the Customs Trade Partnership against terrorism program, and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill as amended. Members will record their votes by electronic device. This is a 15minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc. , in cooperation with the United States house of representatives. Any use of the closedcaptioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u. S. House of representatives. ] the speaker pro tempore on this vote, the yeas are 402, the nays are 1. 2 3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is pass is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. The Unfinished Business is the vote on the motion of the gentlewoman from arizona, ms. Mcsally, suspend the rules and pass senate 504, on which the yeas and nays are ordered. The clerk will real port the title of the bill. The clerk senate 504, an act to permanently authorize an Asia Pacific Economic cooperative Business Card program. The speaker pro tempore the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill . Members will record their votes by electronic device. This is a fiveminute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc. , in cooperation with the United States house of representatives. Any use of the closedcaptioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u. S. House of representatives. ] the speaker pro tempore on this vote the yeas are 401. The nays are two. 2 3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and, without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the Unfinished Business is the question on agreeing to the speakers approval of the journal on which the yeas and nays were ordered. The question is on agreeing to the speakers approval of the journal. Members will record their votes by electronic device. This is a fiveminute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc. , in cooperation with the United States house of representatives. Any use of the closedcaptioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u. S. House of representatives. ] the speaker pro tempore on this ote the yeas are 236 and the nays are 158. Two are answering present. The journal stands approved. For what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition . Mr. Speaker, i send to the desk a privileged report from the committee on rules for filing under the rule. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title. The clerk report to accompany House Resolution 577. Resolution providing for consideration of the bill, h. R. 469, to impose certain limitations on consent decrees in settlement agreements by agencies that require the agencies to take regulatory action in accordance with the terms thereof and for other purposes. And providing for consideration of the bill, h. R. 732, to limit donations made pursuant to settlement agreements to which the United States is a party, and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore referred to the house calendar and ordered printed. For what purpose does the gentlewoman from wyoming seek recognition . Ms. Cheney mr. Speaker, i submit a privileged report to accompany House Resolution 555. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title. The clerk who were to accompany House Resolution 555, resolution of inquiry requesting the president and directing the secretary of the superior to trbs mitt interior to transmit respectively certain domente documents and other information to the house of representatives relating to the executive order on the review of designations under the antiquities act. The speaker pro tempore referred to the house calendar and ordered printed. The house will be in order. All members would please take conversations outside. The house will be in order, lease. For what purpose does the gentlewoman from wisconsin seek recognition . Without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized. Ms. Moore mr. Speaker, i rise along with the wisconsin delegation to honor the former congressman, jerry clitch can, my predecessor, who passed away on october 8, 2017, at the age of 73. He was a very, very serious, hardworking legislator, served on the ways and means committee. He had a strong work ethic and he was particularly a fantastic steward of our seniors. And he was proud to serve the people of the wisconsin fourth Congressional District. Im pleased to stand here with my colleagues from the wisconsin delegation to honor his service to our nation, to the state of wisconsin, and to the fourth Congressional District. And i ask our colleagues to join us in a moment of silence. Thank you. I yield back the balance of my ime. The speaker pro tempore the chair will now entertain requests for oneminute speeches. For what purpose does the gentlelady from florida seek recognition . Without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. Ms. Roslehtinen thank you, mr. Speaker. It is with my deepest sympathy that i rise today to recognize the tragic loss of sergeant ladavid terrence johnson. One of four brave u. S. Special forces soldiers, and you see them here, listed. Killed during an ambush in niger on october 4 as a result of enemy fire. Sergeant johnson was a proud south floridian, a decorated soldier, having been awarded several honors, and well loved throughout our community. Sergeant johnson was a loving husband to his wife, maisha, and a devoted father to their wonderful children, alicia jones and laDavid Johnson jr. He leaves behind a baby girl due in january. Sergeant johnson will always be remembered as a loyal family man, a dedicated soldier who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. I offer my deepest sympathy to Sergeant Johnsons mourning family friends, and loved ones family, friends and loved ones. God speed to sergeant ladavid terrence johnson. Thank you, mr. Speaker. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition . Permission to address the house for one minute. The speaker pro tempore without objection. The gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Speaker, recent media reports have suggested that the house will consider a plan to. Ap employees 401k i urge my colleagues to reject this proposal. This cap on contributions would place a crippling and unnecessary burden on families y making it harder to save for retirement. There is growing bipartisan op cyst as President Trump tweeted against it this morning and in september the majority leader said this plan would punish people when they are saving for their own retirement. I agree with the majority leader. Working families face enormous challenges and this would will be another challenge and i urge my colleagues to oppose it and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota seek recognition . Mr. Olson i recognize the good carmave in maple grove and their rescue efforts. After harvey made land fall, they made two separate rescue attempts south of houston to the communities of rock port. And lisa booth rescued animals and brought them back to minnesota to be treated for ailments and prepared them for adoption. E community loves rescue animals. And find homes for these pets that were left behind. I rise to honor the life of a local hero, a native and firefighter killed in the line of duty fighting fires in Northern California at the age of 38. I gue up with with garretts family. He put others above self willing to rush towards danger and traveled to Northern California with firefighters to battle the deadly fires. Being a firefighter was his lifelong dream. He was humble, hardworking and devoted to his family and always smiling and laughing. He had an adventureous nature and he was doing to do, i join my wife and the entire district to mourn this heartbreaking loss. To his wife, daughter and garretts parents and the rest of the extended family, we support you and we honor garretts dedication. His life and sacrifice will never be forgotten. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentlewoman from new york seek recognition . Ten teng address the house for one minute and revise and stepped my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Ms. Tenney i rise today to recognize the boy scouts of america leather stocking council. They have molded young boys into men of character, compassion and commitment. I attended their dinner where were honored outs as timists for the eagle project of the year. They represented 120 new eagle scouts who gave over 125 hours. It was an honor to present with the Eagle Service project of the year award. Omprmp. Wall dec after beginning his project, the buildings Structural Integrity was at risk. His project was critical in ensuring that they would return to normal operations. They offer a glimpse into service and commitment to community. They are a testament to the strength and next generation of leaders, i yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentlewoman from texas seek recognition . Without objection the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Ms. Jackson lee go astros, after the aftermath of hurricane harvey, so many impacted and we brought it home. With their season on the line, the astros grew the familiar grouped and the sea of noise and the will that exemplifies the way they played. Astros strong, houston strong and im so delighted to have a friendly wager with a dear friend, i dont know for how long. I think he represents the los angeles dodgers. I would like to yield to the gentleman from california and whether he will accept. Barbeque, texas jimmy gomez. I accept the gentleladys gentlelady wager. The astros with 101 widges but the dodgers are better with 104. And the astros stumbled but it will issue a hell of a game. D if we lose, i will bring ole french dip sandwiches from los angeles. So let the best team win, play ball. Ms. Jackson lee where there is a will, there is a way. Go astros. Yield back. The speaker pro tempore does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition . Without objection the gentlewoman from is recognized the. Ms. Barragan i congratulate the los angeles dodgers. They will appear in the world series for the first time. I hope they win it all. I had the honor of wearing the dodgers uniform to the congressional baseball game. And im a huge fan. En i was a kid, as my father battled parkinsons disease, it was our bonding time. As we watch the game this week, may every kid enjoy our National Past time with a loved one. Go dodgers. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentlewoman from virginia seek recognition . Without objection for one minute. Today i rise in honor of the 100th anniversary of the United States army for the lee. It began as camp lie in 1917. Camp lee served as a Training Base for hundreds of our bravest as they prepared for world wars 1 and 2 and in the late 1940s, camp lee was the home of the Training Facility for women who wird to serve their country. Forth lee continues men and the for their service, u. S. Ordinance school and the Quarter Masters school and roughly 20 other organizations and units. Today, and every day, we are grateful to all those who severed at fort lee for did occasion and honorable service. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentlewoman from ohio seek recognition . Ms. Kaptur permission to address the house for one minute. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Ms. Kaptur friday marked one month since Hurricane Maria devastated puerto rico. Current conditions are as follows. Million americans are not getting access and nearly 80 of the island still lacks ict. Struggles are everywhere, where there is help, there are lines, always lined supplies arent enough. Medical facilities are running on hope. People cannot even register for aid. Entire communities are cut off. Millions desperately assistance. President trump to play a round of golf and went to the wealthiest. And he granted himself a perfect score but he continues to fail our fellow citizens. 3. 4 millions live in puerto rico and deserve our full support. Can you not air drop, food provisions and telephones. Our military, anywhere in the world, why not puerto rico. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . Permission to address the house the speaker pro tempore without objection. The gentleman is recognized for one minute. Thank you, mr. Speaker. Northern california where i am from has been suffering. Mr. Lamalfa devastating fires and i think it is very appropriate to point out incredible efforts of our First Responders and firefighters in saving so much valuable property and the lives that have been saved and the citizens. We see the best in americans in these times of crisis and has not got unnoticed. Our hearts with those folks that have suffered loss. Firefighting apparatus and prevention we have, still, you have to have preparedness and Defensible Space and have to be ready at any given time. Hats off to our First Responders properties they have been able to save. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentlewoman from washington seek recognition . Pay allone tomorrow is pay i want to recognize the 40th nniversary of the known as promote. Path is heat quartered in seattle. It has been appear incredible force for good and i had the opportunity to work for years. Path works in more than 0 countries in improving health for 150 million. Path has made a difference from stopping preventable deaths frrl keeping people safe. Path has make Washington State a Global Development for health equity. In 2013 alone, this industry generated 5. 8 billion and employed more than 12,000 500 people. It collaborates with ng omps to vance technologies and saved 4 million in things like undamaged vaccines. Congratulations to path and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition . Permission to address the house for one minute. This house and its committees mr. Cohen being told to the American Public as a middleclass tax break. Its a con job. Its a tax giveaway to the wealthiest people in this country like never before and lesser incomes will not get benefits and if they do, thats chump change, its a change to give somebody in a restaurant. Billionaires will get away without having to pay an estate tax. Billions of dollars not fund pell grants, liheap. That is something they will not come off of it. They may say we will put a higher rate on the wealthy and may say they will give the local income taxes but not go back on the estate taxes and thats who this is for. Wake up, america. Its a con job. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore are there any further oneminute requests . Under the under the speakers announced policy of january 3, 2017, the gentleman from texas, mr. Veasey, is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader. Mr. Veasey mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include ex train combrouse extraneous material on the subject of this special order. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Veasey it is with great honor that i rise today to coanchor this c. B. C. Special order hour. And also i want to acknowledge the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, mr. Cedric richmond from the state of louisiana. And other members that are here to participate. For the next 60 minutes we have a chance to speak directly to the American People on issues of great importance to the congressional black cawculls. The constituents that caucus. Constituents that we all represent in our various districts. And for this particular special order hour, i am going to open it up and begin to talk about something that is very important, has been widely discussed within the Congressional Black Caucus, and hat is civil rights. And the and some of the things that were worried about that are going on within the Justice Department. And we have several important, again, members here to speak on these on this. And before we go any further, i want to go ahead and recognize them. The first speaker we have is from the state of South Carolina , representing the states sixth Congressional District, and also our caucus assistant leader, that is mr. Jim clyburn. Representative clyburn, thank you for joining and being a part of this special order hour, to talk about this subject that is very, very important to so many members of the plaque cawculls black cawculls. Caucus. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman may proceed. Mr. Clyburn i that i moo i thank my friend for yielding me this time and thank him and our colleague, Eddie Bernice johnson, for joining me at the center for africanamerican studies at the university of texas at arlington. Last thursday evening. It was a wonderful experience r me and president vista cabari, dr. Jason skelton, and my longtime friend, dr. Marvin delaney, were perfect hosts. Mr. Speaker, earlier this month sergeant la david t. Johnson died a heros death in a distant land on a mission few americans now about or understand. This weekend his grieving family, including his pregnant wife, took him to his final resting place in florida. Sergeant johnsons tragic death leaves this young family fatherless. Mr. Speaker, in his second inaugural address, president Abraham Lincoln called on our nation to endeavor to care for him who shall have borne the hisle and for his widow and orphan. Unfortunately rather than confront conform sergeant hnsons grieving family comfort Sergeant Johnsons grieving family, the current occupant of the white house has chosen to use them as a prop in the constant effort to sow discord and division in this country. The president and his white house chief of staff, john kelly, who happens to be a four star general, have insulted and smeared an honorable Public Servant who happens to be a fivestar conchwomanment and in effect congresswoman. And in effect called her and the , her constituent, liars. Congresswoman frederica s. Which willson has been a champion for the people which willson has been a champion for the people wilson has been a champion for the people of south florida for decades. She was accompanying ms. Johnson and her family to receive her husbands remains. She had mentored Sergeant Johnson throughout his childhood. I have participated in several of conchwoman wilsons events and have spoke foreign one of their graduatings. I often wear this red tie to this floor, helping her highlight their efforts and her passionate work on behalf of those kidnapped girls of boko aram is unmatched. As a husband of a fivestar africanamerican woman for more than 56 years and the father of three africanamerican daughters who are working hard to earn their stars every day, i feel compelled to respond to general disregard mpletely his concocted misrepresentations. Mr. Speaker, we can have political differences here in washington. That comes with the territory. But people need to have the common decency and basic humanity to refrain from exacerbating the pain of those already suffering so much. I was taught from childhood that silence is consent. I want the white house to know this. I and the members of the Congressional Black Caucus will not be silent and we will not be silenced. I yield back. Vees voice thank you very much for your mr. Veasey thank you very much for your comments. Very timely comments. Very serious comments. And i hope that all of the members that are here on both sides of the aisle realize the seriousness of the comments. Theres nothing humorous about them at all. Nothing to be smiling or laughing about. This is very timely in light of the unfortunate incident that happened with our colleague. And thank you very much for bringing that to light. Now id like to recognize my colleague, my fellow texan from the 18th Congressional District in houston, thank you very much representative very much, representative Sheila Jackson lee, for joining us this evening. We look forward to your words. Ms. Jackson lee i thank the nager, mr. Veasey, for his leadership, but his sensitivities and sensibilities and empathy. Knowing his distinguished wife and the leadership she gives to the congress Congressional Black Caucus foundation, im sure that there are many women in your family and i know that you have a great honor and respect for them. It is appropriate to follow the leader, mr. Clyburn, who is vested in the storied history of africanamericans from the east to the west and north to the south. He often diminishes his status by saying he was raised in a parish house. But when he eloquently rises to the floor to defend, all eyes and all ears are tuned to him. Now, i want to adhere to our discussion today, because it is extremely important, and to also acknowledge my colleagues. So let me hurry through my comments. I do want to acknowledge the chair of the congressional black ucus, and that is cedric richmond. And thank the caucus for the eloquent for the women of the caucus, for their eloquent statement, regarding the series of events that have occurred. Let me first of all said say that our topic today say that r topic today deals with retracing the horrible history that was perpetrated under f. B. I. Director hoover. For the decades that he served in that capacity. So as i label what it is, let me just for a moment deviate for what happened this weekend. I believe that the f. B. I. Personnel, through much of its history, were mostly men, fine men, who wanted to protect this nation. But you see, mr. Speaker, i have firsthand knowledge of the devastation of f. B. I. Surveillance. Way before the word terrorism became part of our normal discussion or language. So i want to put a pause there and say that in the history of africanamericans, we have been subjected to name calling. Thats what happens to you when in the constitution youre not a complete human being. Thats what happens to you that even after the emancipation proclamation and the shortlived reconstruction, the nation rushed toward the hanging fruit, jim crowism, and the rampant murder of africanamericans in the deep south. Some of the very states of which the president stood and called young africanamerican men son of a bs thrafment another name calling bs. Theres another name calling. So it seems even as we have gone through the transition of freedom, and we came through the 20th century with civil rights, then affirmative action, that me calling seems to be welcomed and accepted tactic to use with people of color, and in this instance africanamericans. What would be the explanation r the unseamly events that occurred around a grieving mother, aunt and aunts and uncle, and a grieving widow, with beautiful children who no longer have their dad. I offer my sympathy to sergeants asght and black and johnson, well as sergeant la David Johnson. So, how their loss, through no fault of their own, and the battle for this nation turned into an ugly name calling i am baffled. Except for the fact that it is easy to call africanamericans names. It is easy for some white mericans to call after to call africanamericans names. When were on the floor of the house and we say things that are untoward in some segments of the population, our phones ring off the hook with the word n, n, n. I dont know how many of my friends who are not people of color, im sure we all say things that people disagree with and i dont know whether they call up and call them white, white, white. You see, race is something were fearful of discussing. And that is because the thought would be, here she goes again. But there is a great love, my interaction, my lifes history is with the diversity of this world. From white, caw cautions caucasians, angelo and texans, latins, africanamericans, asians and so on, various religions. I feel comfortable in my soul. But this weekend was the most difficult time. And for africanamerican women o in the category of cavetting, the cavet system at the bottom of the casing, the caste system at the bottom of the totem pole. Even today. Barbara jordan, doctors, lawyers and others, we are at the bottom. So there was much latitude, uncontrolled latitude in name calling. 45, mentioning untoward words about our colleague, congresswoman wilson. Name calling. Theres no retribution or reprimand. None of his constituents would give a hoot. But it was name calling. Mr. Speaker, you dont know how many people stop me in airports and along the road, hurt and appalled. Let me just come to a close on that. First of all, congressman clyburn has already given atry beauts of congresswoman attributes of congresswoman wilson. Shes a principal. Shes an oldfashioned principal though shes a young woman. She implemented this. But she took the children as family. And this sergeant la David Johnson was one of those. If people dont understand the addition tinching shon, we are aunts and uncles without blood line, we are family. Her presence in that car wasnt an interlow pressurer. She was in there as family. Eavesdropping, the phone was on as indicated by mrs. Johnsons interview. She asked the phone to be put on speaker. And it seems that her offense in breaking down moved the representative to articulate, probably seeking some humidity to say can you just, if you hear my words, just apologize. That never happened. The untruths spread all over. As an africanamerican women, we bs arious names, son of a and we have disturbing situations that we can be called. And thats what this white house did. And my friend, that is what happens when you are here. His great leadership and the loss i was here when that happened. And i dont want to spend a moment to diminish his stalt tuesday as a gold star parent. He has a right to mourn and to speak of his loss. But then when you are forced to step from that humbled position over to the untruth, you can do it to a black woman. They have no power. I can talk something that hasnt any truth, because i have to defend and this was said lovingly, a white man who happens to be in the oval office. We dont count. Largest groups of women, there is something done, i love them all, but you see the africanamerica women, she is in there there scrubbing and teaching and happened willing the religious institutions and standing by young babies and a civil rights activist, a doctor and a president of various organizations. Shes just in there. And thats what happened that has brought me to this point that what we have now is so dangerous. I hope before the end of the week shes maybe before the end of tomorrow, my good friend, general kelly, seeks to apologize for the distortion. He didnt have to defend a person who does it in his own way and talk bad about the gold star families and this young mother who has not been able to see and mr. Per, i know those who have severed in this nation and congress and seen those, what is it like for those not to see the body, the body was not found or the peshr person not found for 48 hours. Im going to end. I just want to say this. There are those of us who know about the african command. The Congressional Black Caucus and need to stand up when they were killing citizens in liberia. L those countries were connected. People have had deaf ears, maybe we will wait. Congresswoman wilson knew that. She has been there. We have been there. Why dont people listen to black women that they know what they are talking about along with our distinguished colleagues. So this document that i hold in my hand, the black identity, target. Likely to as a member of the judiciary committee, this is name calling. We just got through a reckless weekend of name calling. Of a distinguished member of congress, that this is name calling. This is the f. B. I. Defining, b. I. E. Who seek through force or violence to perceive racism and injustice. You know what will happen . This will be a big fish net. The cop student who is rallying around the opposition to racism. The students down in charlottesville that they should stand up and be counted. I know this. Im young going backwards but i served on the committee that looked into the assassination of Martin Luther king. I was immersed in the fouls. I saw how the f. B. I. Solved a and t, a modernday profit and believed and yes he was human. And you can find someone when you dog. R. King was subjected to the program. It was devastating and may have been the basis of the loss of his life. If he was subjected to the program, we always wondered why couldnt he have been in another hotel. And so the danger of this document that has come under donald trump, not under bill clinton or george bush or president obama, it came in august under President Trump, the same president that could find nothing distinctive between the altright and talking about jews and plaques and everybody else in charlottesville, file this will document. What other names are black activists still fighting the war of civil rights that may be caught up in this large net . I say my respect for the service of f. B. I. Agents. They are friends of all of us. We continue to salute their service. Riotous ocument is a document. I clause with this and i ask unanimous consent to place this in the record. The history of surveillance in the black community that goes into the discussion, it says we mention that dr. King was one of the targets of the targets that led to the formation of the first church committee. We should many activists who were targeted, serve as cautionary terms for expanding the surveillance of the state, where are the conservatives to stand up against this document . We can be safe and have the First Amendment and we can speak on different issues, but now we are going to entrap africanamericans, young men who are kneeling, because of their oncern for Police Reform and violence that have taken the lives. There are Law Enforcement officers that agree with me on Police Reform. We are not divided but we will stay divided with a document that will label us. Where is are the White Supremacists, where is that . And when are we going to understand that the calling of names in our community, we say calling our name, by the majority of the community is a carry over of jim crow and im saddened by the last couple of days of steering away of the heroes who reflected the greatness of america and what young men and women are willing to sacrifice that lives in recognition of what color and we honor them with no distinction and thats the loving care of that widow and the other young men. Yet in the spirit that may be the downfall again of those of us trying to heal and not reflecting on how the best way us al with those who deal harm, we are in the midst of name calling and i go to my seat, mourning, mourning, mourning, mourning. When is america going to change . Mr. Veasey i thank my colleague Sheila Jackson lee. I would like to bring my friend and classmate from new jersey, donald payne, from new jersey. And thank you for your participation this evening. Thank you very much. Mr. Payne mr. Speaker, i would like to i want to thank the gentleman from lone star state, my classmate, congressman veasey, for hosting tonights special order hour. And mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate that we find ourselves in this position where the lives are being lines are being so blurred that gold star into this e come political discussion. Willing ged into this un ingly over the past several days. I have Great Respect for general kelly. And was very delighted for him to get the job as chief of staff, to maybe bring some semblance of calm and normalcy to the white house. But it seems like he has been infected by the disease. And that is a scurge in the white house. To e is there no reason fabricate what one of our colleagues said. The videotape is there. Ever did she do one thing that general kelly said she did in at dedication to that f. B. I. Building. I dont know whats going on with he people these days, but these are the times we find ourselves in. Mr. Speaker, as much as we would like to live in a colorblind society, in america, where people should be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin, we arent there yet. Race, unfortunately, still matters. Juries value black lives by punishishing ofede ebbs when their vick tips are white. Police are more likely to use force when sbrling acting with blam people than interacting with white people. Emergency room are less likely to prescribe pain medication go to black people to bhite. And results from studies of more bias has shown that than 90 of white people in the United States have taken the that T Association test very taken the test white people over black people. We have got to talk about it. It should not take a crisis for the United States to discuss ace and the effects ofster y types that are baked into our national culture. We should not have to wait far Police Officer to shoot an unarmed black man before we discuss how negative stereotypes about black people affect snap judgments. It should not take mass murder in a bible study to get us talking about how negative stereotypes of black people in social media help White Supremacists rationalize their racism. Professor jody david warned us that bad octoberors would try to make racism seem reasonable. The professor wrote a book called negrophobia. In it he predicted that perhaps the gravest threat today toward progress toward Racial Justice comes from right wing ideologues bent on convincing white people of good faith that negative stereotypes of black people are justified. The professor told us to look out for people trying to prove that blacks are inherently less intelligent and more violent than whites and he explained that these people would try to make racism seem rational by using discredited studies, unscientific experiments, and cooked statistics. What have we seen on our social media over the past few years . We have seen that negrophobia is alive and well in the United States and social media is its enabler. People like the president have used social media to spread cooked statistics and outright lies, to rationalize the racist stereotypes that black people are inherently violent the speaker pro tempore members are reminded to refrain from engaging in personalities toward the president. Mr. Payne countries like risch have used social media to fuel racial tensions in americas communities. And White Supremacists have used social media to organize their hate. We must not be afraid to ask, what role has facebook played in ing negrophobia; negrophobia in america . It was born in an age of diversity, but it was not born with a commitment to diversity. Only three never 100 facebook employees are africanamerican. The company has no black executives. It has no black board members. The companys global director of diversity has said that hiring women and people of color is complicated. Its chief executive officer, sheryl sandberg, promised that daysbook would hifere a black board member sometime soon you would would hire a black promised that facebook would hire a plaque board member sometime soon. Why has it taken so long . Why have minority voices been left out of social Media Development . Has face be b. C. Facebooks ilure to thereon diversity inside the company made them racist outside the company . Facebooks algorithms have the power to affect how americans think about black people for better or for worse. When facebook accepts money from foreign actors who want to exploit racial tensions in the United States, facebook perpetuates negrophobia. By the same token, facebooks algorithms could weaken negroph; bia but in by enhancing positive messages that challenge people to reexamine and reassess discriminatory responses. That would require facebook to fully commit to diversity right now, not sometime in the future. Mr. Speaker, we the Congressional Black Caucus met ith facebook a week ago in terms of these negative ads that were found out to be bought by russian actors and spending 100,000 in doing so and buying ake black lives matter responses and ads and antiblack lives matter ads to continue to fuel this division in our country. If countries are able to see a weakness in our fabric in this nation, then they will exploit it. We have to come together as americans and understand that our issues are something that we have to deal with and look each other in the face and have honest, honest discussion about. No one is perfect. No one is saying that one side is worse than the other. But we need to come together as a unit, as this great experiment called the United States was meant to be. That all men are created equal. And endwoud certain inalienable rights. All americans. Not just some. And we continue to strive toward that goal, toward that utopia in this country. This is the greatest country in the world and we all know it here because we benefit from it. Ut we have a long way to go in terms of reaching the ultimate goal. With that, mr. Speaker, i yield back to the gentleman from texas. Mr. Veasey thank you very much. Id like to thank the gentleman from newark, new jersey, for his comments. And also to talk about the fact that im glad you mentioned facebook because one of the things that really surprised me was that, the fact that some of those ads were purchased in rubles and no one seemed to notice that. It seems absolutely amazing to me. We need to again just continue to have discussion and talk about these things. Thank you very much for your comments tonight. Now id like to recognize my friend and colleague from the great state of michigan, representing the states 14th Congressional District, bren ka lawrence and again, want to thank brenda for participating. She participates often in this hour and just really appreciate your comments, your district appreciates the comments, your state and our country, around appreciate you joining us this evening. Mrs. Lawrence thank you. Mr. Speaker, i want to thank congressman veasey for his leadership, for his dedication. Today, i am at this mic for a number of reasons. One is that we have witnessed over the weekend another time in history that will be written for many to read. For generations to try to understand what exactly happened. Most of us are raised that in a time of grieving and mourning, that you are sympathetic, youre patient, and most of all you try to be understanding. I am for a loss in trying to understand how the dialogue was reduced to name calling and then just unfactual information. But what i had hoped and what i feel that, as an american, as a member of congress, as a citizen, that if someone gets it anng that at least i deserve im sorry, i didnt get the information right. Or maybe i spoke out of turn and youre grieving the loss of someone you love dearly, someone that was serving this country, someone who, as the family of a military service person, gives a sacrifice as well for them to represent our country. I would hope, i was hopeful that that would happen but it did not. There comes a point in time, mr. Speaker, that as american citizens, that we begin to stand up and say as our country, there is an expectation, theres an expectation for those we elect, theres an expectation for those in leadership, and truly theres an expectation of civility. And at minimum, truth. As we know, the f. B. I. Has a long, troubling history of using its broad investigatory powers to target black citizens. Its not a myth, its a fact. Its been written. During the 1960s, director hoover used the Counterintelligence Program to surveil and discredit civil rights activists, members of the black panther party. For example, the f. B. I. Falsified a letter in an attempt to blackmail the reverend dr. Martin luther king into silence. So the Congressional Black Caucus is concerned by the assertion that coins that coins the new term black identity extremists and claims with high confidence that they are likely to target Law Enforcement. Based on perceptions of Police Brutality against africanamericans. In august, f. B. I. Counterterrorism division issued a chilling and outlandish warning to its agents, all hidden behind the veil of an internal report never meant to be seen by the American People. It worries me because in 2017, such a misguided and hateful and dangerous report exists at all. Released just nine days before the hateful violence in charlottesville, this report targets socalled black identity extremists by falsely linking peaceful and necessary calls for justice from americans, from the africanamerican community, to entirely unrelated acts of violence against Law Enforcement. Mr. Speaker, i served as mayor of a diverse city for 14 years. And had the responsibility of the entire police force for a city. I have such respect and honor for those who serve us. I understand how when theres trouble, the police run to that trouble to protect us. But i also know that the power hat is held on the shield of a police force can be used for other than protection of their people. And that in this great country that we live in, time and time again in history, and some people will use the comment, dont be so sensitive about everything that happens, but history has shown us, every change that we have made in this country in freedom and rights have come from people who had the courage, the political courage, to stand up and fight for that. Is that extremism . Ll you say the right to vote were black extremists . Would you say the women who protected and march sod women could have the right to vote, were they extremists . Or were they americans who believed in this country and had the courage to stand up not just for them but for generations to come . Our Social Security when we looked at, and we looked at hunger in this country and people repeatedly have shown of all ethnic groups that nothing in america happens without protest and the courage to stand up, are they extremists or are they part of this amazing democracy that we have . And the threat of being labeled by our f. B. I. , souf permission to now treat these individuals who have the courage to stand up as unlawful villains and terrorists and you have the permission now by the f. B. I. To attack and to imprison them. We must as a congress and a country learn to understand the power of our words. And im going to close with this. Your words mean something. If this administration has not taught us anything, the words of those who are elected to leadership does matter. Whether its the truth or whether it is a lie. It matters. It fuels anger and hatred in people. It tells people that its ok to disrespect others. Words mean something. Aened for me to be a black woman in america and be labeled, if i stand up and fight for my rights, if i stand with others, if black lives matter has not just been black people standing up, its been all members of the United States citizens saying that all lives matter and that e will not tolerate criminal injustice against black people and the murder rate that we see of those who are of color. This has been in this has been a movement in our country and now we see internal labeling by our Law Enforcement in our country. Does that cause me to feel afraid in my own history is going to repeat itself because words have given permission for this to happen . Hen you legitimate mies lightize people who are standing, their only purpose to stand in a position in your community is to say you have no value and there are very fine people there. Being a black person in america, i can tell you we have had fine days. I wouldnt be standing here if this country didnt give me the opportunity but came on the protests and the deaths and the riots who would not sit down and be quiet. Are we being told that we are ot, to use our rights to say you are now being appear extremist. M not going to allow it to happen. And dont label me pause those who deposit have the political courage, not just for plaque people but for americans in this country, and that is something that this report strikes a cord. I stand in the opposition. I understand, when someone takes their freedom to stand up and oppose something that is happening in america and i want to protect that persons First Amendment right. But if we can avoid the hateful speech, we will be stronger as a country. Mr. Speaker, i call on congress to condemn this report and standing with us for more peaceful and more accepting and more equal country, where we could really mean where we stand up and stand the pliege of pleages. And for all of us we have a name. We have a name that we were given at birth. And we expect our leadership, our president , our congress, our chief of staff, our military, to address us by our name. It is not acceptable. It is embarrassing for us as a country to reduce ourselves to that level. And i stand here on the record that im a american and member of congress, im a woman and africanamerican and i deserve respect and i expect all of our colleagues to conduct themselves the same way. I thank you. Mr. Veasey i appreciate your comments in light of what is happening right now. Mr. Speaker, i would like to interinto the record, from of my colleagues who were not able to oin us this evening and fellow texan, congressman Eddie Bernice aboutn also has a concern to have she would like permitted and congresswoman bash rar lee from california. She was subject to this probe before she was a member of congress. I thank you to her for smithing this statement and very important that both of these get on record because of everything in a is going on right now. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Observation, general leave is granted. Mr. Veasey one thing i would ike to make note of, what is going on right now, we take this very seriously and everybody who is listening, we talk about extreme ift groups and we talk and altright and kkkk white supremacist groups, but one thing in the 1960s when gr king was coming to town, he wasnt treated like he is right now. I heard about how they admire and respect dr. King because he earned the respect of the admiration of what he has now in this count true try. I dont think anyone would argue that, if we could travel back in time to the 1960s. He was not that welcomed. Nd lets put aside the white supremacist or the altright and the forces that we agree on that these are bad people. When dr. King came to southern towns, he was not welcomed and he was not welcomed at the lions club or the metho deficit churn. Hey thought he was bad and stiring up trouble and not keeping his place, that he had come into these communities to stir up a lot of trouble. And because every day regular but every the klan, keepers, these concerned individuals that represented all seeing mepts of r society didnt feel he was out of place. And the nation reacted and one of those people that reacted against dr. King and malcolm x, the student nonvial ernst committee and many, many others, they ran Domestic Intelligence Counterintelligence Program. And it became a weapon that was used to spy on individuals. And you heard mention earlier from our colleague, barbara lee, but this this was happening to every day africanamericans that were out there trying to make sure we could vote and our water fountains and our schools werent segregated. And our regular town folk, that were good folks, that they were trying to prevent this from happening and j. Edgar hoover stepped in and decided that he was going to discredit, disrupt and neutralize these organizations that was trigse to make sure that africanamericans were no longer a secondclass citizens. And i think these individuals within the black community that were willing to be part of that circle, i know i wouldnt be re serving because of that surveillance and i wouldnt be here without them putting their lives on the line because of that, mr. Speaker. And so, would i would like to say, its important that we monitor everything that is going coming out of the Justice Department in relationship to any announcements they will make about the organizations that they disagree with politically because it is dangerous. And we dont want to go back to those times and dont end up in a situation where the organization is doing any sort of domestic spying on people that is practicing the First Amendment rights and free speech. And mr. Speaker, i would like to inquire how much time is remaining on the clock . The speaker pro tempore about seven minutes. Mr. Veasey well, mr. Speaker, thank you very much for the time this evening. Just again e also again out very briefly some of the thidges that people are concerned about in regard to civil liberties. During the cold war, the f. B. I. What started running these Counterintelligence Programs and dr. King was always very high on the list. And so, and thats what people are concerned about. Their concerns are concerns that are very warranted because of what happened. And i know the people say, those things happened a long, long time ago. But in reality, there are a lot of people that serve with us in this body that sadly, they remember those days so it nt didnt happen that long ago, they are active, still long ago, very active members of society and they are now and saw this up front and saw this in a very personal way and thats important. Also, one of the things that was mentioned by representative payne from new jersey, he talked about the social media. Social media has been convenient and it has brought us together like never before, but consider ear us apart if we let it. If we have a attorney country that doesnt like our values and they have been open and plate ant that says you cant have a Multi Cultural Society that exists when you take that threat seriously. And mr. Speaker, as i get ready to transition here, i mentioned earlier, my colleague that was subject to some of the things, this cointell probe and i would like to yield time to her and she can tell it morel quently than i can, bash rar lee and representative who is very familiar with this. Ms. Lee thank you very much. I want to thank the gentleman for yielding and congressman veasey for your leadership and hosting this very important special order. I rise along with my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus for a message to the American People. Wake up. Its on the rise. Mr. Speaker, in the report there was never supposed to see the light of day dow, the f. B. I. Counterterrorism branded africanamericans as black identity extremists that pose a threat to Police Officers. I have witnessesed many covert tactics to suppress. But the revelation of this report is one of the most troubling details that i have learned about. I remember have clearly the days under j. Edgar hoover. S a Community Worker and 10point platform which made programs like free breakfast for children possible and breakfast for lowincome children, the lives of people doing good work ere being destroyed. Its not only alarming but fright thaning. How they describe young men and women. According to the f. B. I. And i quote, black identity extremists, their perceptions of Police Brutality has been sponsible for an increase in premeditated retall tower violence gention life law formente. We know that all officers are not bad actors. Thousands of officer the majority of officers go to work every morning to protect our community and provide Public Safety for everyone. But i want to be clear about two things, mr. Speaker. Police brutality is not, as they said in this f. B. I. Report a perception. Police brutality is a reality. Africanamericans grapple with every day. Africanamericans are three times more likely to be killed by police than white people. Thats a reality. Thats not a perception. The facts speak for themselves. Despite being only 13 of our population, nearly 25 of those killed by police in the United States each year are africanamericans. Thats a reality. Thats not a perception. And nearly 99 o
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