[House Hearing, 115 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES
APPROPRIATIONS FOR 2018
_______________________________________________________________________
HEARINGS
BEFORE A
SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE
COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
_______
SUBCOMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE,
AND RELATED AGENCIES
JOHN ABNEY CULBERSON, Texas, Chairman
HAROLD ROGERS, Kentucky JOSE E. SERRANO, New York
ROBERT B. ADERHOLT, Alabama DEREK KILMER, Washington
JOHN R. CARTER, Texas MATT CARTWRIGHT, Pennsylvania
MARTHA ROBY, Alabama GRACE MENG, New York
STEVEN M. PALAZZO, Mississippi
EVAN H. JENKINS, West Virginia
NOTE: Under committee rules, Mr. Frelinghuysen, as chairman of the
full committee, and Mrs. Lowey, as ranking minority member of the full
committee, are authorized to sit as members of all subcommittees.
John Martens, Jeff Ashford, Leslie Albright,
Colin Samples, Aschley Schiller, and Taylor Kelly
Subcommittee Staff
_________
PART 7
Members' Day.................................................... 1
Statements of interested individuals and
organizations................................................ 115
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U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
26-140 WASHINGTON : 2017
COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
----------
RODNEY P. FRELINGHUYSEN, New Jersey, Chairman
HAROLD ROGERS, Kentucky \1\ NITA M. LOWEY, New York
ROBERT B. ADERHOLT, Alabama MARCY KAPTUR, Ohio
KAY GRANGER, Texas PETER J. VISCLOSKY, Indiana
MICHAEL K. SIMPSON, Idaho JOSE E. SERRANO, New York
JOHN ABNEY CULBERSON, Texas ROSA L. DeLAURO, Connecticut
JOHN R. CARTER, Texas DAVID E. PRICE, North Carolina
KEN CALVERT, California LUCILLE ROYBAL-ALLARD, California
TOM COLE, Oklahoma SANFORD D. BISHOP, Jr., Georgia
MARIO DIAZ-BALART, Florida BARBARA LEE, California
CHARLES W. DENT, Pennsylvania BETTY McCOLLUM, Minnesota
TOM GRAVES, Georgia TIM RYAN, Ohio
KEVIN YODER, Kansas C.A. DUTCH RUPPERSBERGER, Maryland
STEVE WOMACK, Arkansas DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Florida
JEFF FORTENBERRY, Nebraska HENRY CUELLAR, Texas
THOMAS J. ROONEY, Florida CHELLIE PINGREE, Maine
CHARLES J. FLEISCHMANN, Tennessee MIKE QUIGLEY, Illinois
JAIME HERRERA BEUTLER, Washington DEREK KILMER, Washington
DAVID P. JOYCE, Ohio MATT CARTWRIGHT, Pennsylvania
DAVID G. VALADAO, California GRACE MENG, New York
ANDY HARRIS, Maryland MARK POCAN, Wisconsin
MARTHA ROBY, Alabama KATHERINE M. CLARK, Massachusetts
MARK E. AMODEI, Nevada PETE AGUILAR, California
CHRIS STEWART, Utah
DAVID YOUNG, Iowa
EVAN H. JENKINS, West Virginia
STEVEN M. PALAZZO, Mississippi
DAN NEWHOUSE, Washington
JOHN R. MOOLENAAR, Michigan
SCOTT TAYLOR, Virginia
----------
\1\ Chairman Emeritus
Nancy Fox, Clerk and Staff Director
(ii)
COMMERCE, JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR
2018
----------
Tuesday, February 28, 2017.
MEMBERS' DAY
Mr. Culberson. Good morning. The Commerce, Justice, and
Science Appropriations Subcommittee will come to order. This is
our first hearing and it is especially appropriate that we
would start out with a Members' day to hear from our colleagues
on their top priorities, projects and issues that they are
working on that are important to them and their districts.
It is a particular privilege for me to Chair this
Subcommittee. It is one that I have always loved to serve on.
The issues that we cover, from helping Federal law enforcement,
to economic growth in this nation through the Department of
Commerce, and ensuring that the American space program is the
best on Earth, and that we fund and support cutting edge
scientific research are all issues near and dear to my heart,
and they are to each and every one of you. I know this
Subcommittee also has a long tradition of working together arm-
in-arm on behalf of the country. And regardless of party we all
are focused on ensuring that we get our bill done in a
bipartisan way in support of our men and women in uniform and
law enforcement, combating crime and terrorism, and promoting
trade, forecasting the weather, and investing in basic
research, and exploring space. It is a goal we all share and it
is a privilege for me to work with each and every one of you on
this.
For our hearing today, we have each member who is coming in
and testifying has about five minutes. And I will do my best to
stay, we will do our best to stay on the clock. I appreciate
you being here spot on, Mr. Posey. And we will make sure to
listen carefully to everyone's concerns, do our best to
accommodate you in every way that we can, and working together
I am confident we will make great progress.
I am especially pleased to have my good friend Jose Serrano
back as the Ranking Member. We have worked together for many
years on this Subcommittee and done a lot of great things for
the country, and had a lot of fun. The important part is the
fun. We get along great and are good friends. So glad to be
working here with you, Mr. Serrano.
Mr. Serrano. Thank you.
Mr. Culberson. And it is a privilege for me to recognize
you.
Mr. Serrano. Well, I look forward, first of all let me
apologize for being late five minutes. It is one of those
interesting modern stories. I was in the building at ten
o'clock, ready to come in here at ten o'clock. Then I reached
in my left pocket and realized my cell phone was not with me.
So I had to backtrack my whole morning to find my cell phone.
So much for the lack of importance of a cell phone. Otherwise I
would have had to go hit find my phone, and that would have
been----
Mr. Culberson. Yes. Right.
Mr. Serrano. But I found it. It was next to your locker.
Anyway. I am looking forward to working with you, Mr. Chairman.
I know you and I are not naive. We know that we have, there are
party differences. These are difficult times. But this
Committee is very important to me. So much so, that I gave up
the ranking membership on Financial Services in order to be
Ranking Member over here. Because I have always said that this
Committee traditionally does not hurt anyone. On the contrary,
it helps people. It helps our law enforcement people. It
explores space. It takes our space program and brings them into
the schools to teach kids about math and science and so on. It
does a lot of other things. It has got the Justice Department,
the Census Bureau, which we may have differences on, but it is,
you know, a constitutional mandate. So I look forward to
working with you.
And at the minimum, Mr. Chairman, what I am looking forward
to is that our friendship remains. And even during these
difficult times, and they probably will be very difficult, if
we do not agree, we do not have to be disagreeable.
Mr. Culberson. Absolutely.
Mr. Serrano. We can be, still be friends and realize in a
democracy you disagree. You know, I will close with this. I may
be the only person who defends gridlock. And I say it this way,
in China the budget is always on time. In a democracy, there
are disagreements. Some people want the budget on the day it is
supposed to be. It does not work that way. He gets elected. He
gets elected. You get elected to represent our community and
our thoughts, and sometimes those things clash. But that is
what makes this country the one where people are still knocking
on this door to come in everyday.
Mr. Culberson. Absolutely.
Mr. Serrano. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Culberson. Okay. Thank you. Thank you very much. Well
Mr. Posey, we are delighted to have you with us here this
morning. Let me make sure, does anybody else have any opening
comments? Ready to roll, Bill. We appreciate you being here
today. Your written statement, of course, will appear in the
record and I am pleased to recognize you for five minutes.
----------
Tuesday, February 28, 2017.
WITNESS
HON. BILL POSEY, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF FLORIDA
Mr. Posey. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and Mr. Ranking Member,
and Members of the Committee. I appreciate the opportunity to
come before you today as you consider funding priorities for
fiscal year 2018. I ask for your continued support of our
nation's space programs, particularly our exploration programs,
and including the Space Launch System, the Orion spacecraft,
and exploration ground systems.
American dominance in space is no longer a given, as all of
you know. I see your heads going like that, the two of you.
Rival powers such as Russia and China continue to develop their
space capabilities. Ceding our dominance in space, the ultimate
military high ground, to any other nation is unacceptable on
both national security and military readiness grounds.
As we look beyond to the future of American leadership in
space, we are reminded of the words of our recently departed
friend and colleague, Senator John Glenn, the first American to
orbit the Earth, when he said, ``the most important thing we
can do is inspire young minds and to advance the kind of
science, math, and technology education that will take us to
the next phase of space travel.'' With that in mind a refocused
NASA with sights set high on a mission to Mars and with an aim
towards establishing a lasting American presence on the Moon,
can invigorate and inspire the entire nation, including the
next generation of science, technology, engineering, and math
leaders.
Since the retirement of the shuttle, the U.S. commercial
space companies have successfully transported cargo to the
International Space Station and with sufficient support
American commercial crew companies will launch American
astronauts from America by 2019. Let us resolve to keep this on
track and break our dependence on the Russians at a cost of
over $80 million per seat.
The Space Launch System, the most powerful rocket ever
built, is a critical component in maintaining our nation beyond
the Moon and on the mission to Mars. Thousands of skilled
workers from hundreds of companies in nearly every State across
the country are building the hardware and technology for this
system. In order to prevent delays to Exploration-Mission 2,
the first crewed mission of SLS and Orion set for 2021, the SLS
requires a fiscal year 2018 appropriation of $2 billion.
With its successful first flight in December of 2014,
Orion, humanity's first interplanetary spaceship, is on track
for a mission in 2019 aboard the SLS rocket. The Orion
spacecraft is the key to a manned mission to Mars and beyond
and is the only spacecraft capable of taking humans to multiple
destinations in deep space and returning them safely back to
Earth. Fully developed, Orion will be able to support missions
to the Moon, Mars, and everywhere in between. In fiscal year
2018, welding is scheduled to begin on the EM2 crew module, as
well as completion of the design crew systems for the first
crewed flight. We need an appropriation in fiscal year 2018 of
$1.35 billion to see that actually happen.
Along with the manned and unmanned spacecraft, ground
systems are an indispensable part of the infrastructure of
space exploration. Much of the existing ground systems at
Florida's Kennedy Space Center date back to the 1960s Apollo
era. The material we use for tracking rockets from the Kennedy
Space Center still has some vacuum tubes. Half the people in
this room do not know what vacuum tubes are, not because it is
a lack of knowledge it is just before they were born. And that
is the technology we are still using for telemetry in some
cases at the Space Center, and we must upgrade that telemetry.
Kennedy is hard at work finishing preparation for Launch
Complex 39B, the former shuttle pad, where SLS will launch. The
ground systems team is on schedule having completed 80 percent
of the structural changes. A fiscal year appropriation of $635
million is needed to keep these activities on track.
Modernizing the ground based infrastructure is a key to
continued U.S. dominance in space. As I have been very
frequently known to say, no ground systems mean no launches.
For over 50 years the United States' leadership in space
has benefitted our economy's national security, our economy,
strengthened our international relationships, advanced
scientific discovery, and improved life here on Earth in many,
many ways. I ask for your continued support of our nation's
space programs as the Committee crafts the fiscal year 2018
Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Bill. Thank you
for the opportunity to appear before you today. Thank you.
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Mr. Culberson. Thank you, Mr. Posey. NASA is one of those
areas where all of us are in agreement in the Congress on how
important they are. And we will look forward to working with
you on this. Any questions?
Mr. Serrano. No, we are in agreement. It is not only in
terms of space travel, in terms of space program, but I always
keep looking at the schools.
Mr. Posey. Yes.
Mr. Serrano. And there is a lot that our children can learn
from the space program. That is one of the things, I always
keep pushing NASA to get more involved in our schools.
Mr. Posey. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for your kind
comments.
Mr. Culberson. Thank you very much. I am pleased to
recognize Representative John Faso of New York's 19th District.
We are glad to have you here with us this morning.
----------
Tuesday, February 28, 2017.
WITNESS
HON. JOHN J. FASO, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW
YORK
Mr. Faso. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The last time I was at a
committee meeting with the Ranking Member Mr. Serrano, he was
the chairman in the Education Committee at the State Assembly
in New York and I was just a lowly young minority member in
that committee. So I, it is a pleasure and a privilege to see
Mr. Serrano.
Mr. Serrano. I am excited to see you.
Mr. Faso. There are other factors involved with that, Mr.
Serrano. Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee, I just wanted
to call your attention to the Economic Development
Administration and ask your consideration for appropriations
legislation. The EDA is the only Federal agency charged
entirely with economic development. The grant programs that
they employ are intended to secure long term economic growth by
leveraging regional assets. EDA was appropriated at $261
million in fiscal year 2016.
The issue to me is U.S. manufacturing. We have clearly a
skills gap in our country. The manufacturing sector is expected
to outperform the U.S. economy, growing by three to four
percent compared to just two to three percent in the U.S.
economy as a whole. But according to the Manufacturing
Institute this economic growth will lead to the creation of 3.5
million new manufacturing positions over the next ten years,
but nearly two million of these positions will remain unfilled.
The thing I heard from manufacturers and businesses in my
district over this past year and a half was that they had jobs,
they just could not find the right people to fill those jobs.
We have a real skills gap. Hudson Valley Community College,
located in my area and actually located specifically in Mr.
Tonko's district immediately adjacent to me but it serves both
of our communities. They are committed to closing the
manufacturing skills gap by training dozens of highly skilled
advanced manufacturing technicians every year. Currently they
have a program that trains 144 students a year. They are
looking to try to expand that to 228 students, almost twice
their current enrollment. Virtually every single one of these
students in this two-year program has a job before they leave
the program.
When I toured the Hudson Valley recently they told me that
we could build 50 to 75 of these type centers around the
country and every single one of the people that graduates as an
advanced manufacturing skilled technician would find a job in
our economy. They quickly advance in their fields. They often
earn $18 to $25 to start. And by expanding its advanced
manufacturing program Hudson Valley estimates that it will
place over 1,200 skilled technicians into the workforce and
generate an additional $286 million in salaries just in our
capital district region in Upstate New York over the next ten
years.
The great thing about this program as well is they have a
private sector partner. And all across the country the Haas
Foundation has been supporting manufacturing centers like
Hudson Valley. They have assisted similar colleges and
technical centers across the country providing over $50 million
in private sector grants to manufacturing programs. The Haas
Foundation is dedicated to closing the manufacturing skills gap
because manufacturing is an important backbone of our economy.
So Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, I encourage
you to look closely at the grant programs that go to train
young people in advanced skills manufacturing, advanced
technology manufacturing. Because the jobs are out there. We
just cannot fill those jobs because we do not have enough
qualified people. A program like this which helps train them is
essential to that.
And I would ask, I have prepared remarks I will ask to
include in the record. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
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Mr. Culberson. Without objection, your written statement
will be included in the record. And we look forward to working
with you on this. Thank you. Any questions?
Mr. Kilmer. Not really a question. I just want to thank you
for bringing this forward. We have got areas in my neck of the
woods that have kind of long term economic distress and they
are seeing real opportunity in new waves of manufacturing,
whether it be composite technology or cross laminated timber
and a lot of stuff we did not even know about five or ten years
ago. And I think the EDA programs are such a drop in the bucket
but can really be a substantial impact for those areas that are
facing economic distress. So thanks for bringing this forward.
Mr. Faso. Thank you. And these people that are trained in
these programs, they go and work in other businesses where they
train local technicians too based upon the skills that they
learned in programs like this. So these are really at the
cutting edge and it is really important for us to help us
restore manufacturing in our country.
Mr. Kilmer. Thanks.
Mr. Faso. Thank you, Members of the Committee.
Mr. Culberson. Thank you very much.
Mr. Faso. Thank you, sir.
Mr. Culberson. I am pleased to recognize Congressman
Pittenger of North Carolina. Glad to have you here with us,
Robert.
----------
Tuesday, February 28, 2017.
WITNESS
HON. ROBERT PITTENGER, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF
NORTH CAROLINA
Mr. Pittenger. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member,
Members of the Committee. I deeply appreciate the time,
offering me this time to speak. I want to also thank you for
including my request of a study on the National Weather Service
radar coverage gaps in last year's Commerce, Justice, and
Science Appropriations Bill. Although last year's language was
not signed into law, I appreciate the signal support from the
Committee today as I ask for your continued support.
Many major metropolitan areas rely on the National Weather
Service to detect and provide warning for severe weather, such
as thunderstorms and tornados. Some cities, however, must rely
on radars that are far away and provide weak and inaccurate
readings due to the curvature of the Earth. The City of
Charlotte, for example, relies on radar almost 100 miles away.
In 2012, this resulted in the National Weather Service issuing
a tornado warning ten minutes after the tornado touched down.
As reported in the media, a seven-year-old Jamal Stevens was in
his bed when the tornado tore through his house, tossing him
into an embankment alongside Interstate 45 hundreds of feet
away from his room. In 2013, the current system provided a
warning but for citizens in an entirely wrong neighborhood.
More recently a tornado in December, 2015 struck neighboring
Union County with no warning from the National Weather Service.
Fortunately our region has not suffered any fatalities due
to the inadequate coverage but we should not wait for tragedy
to act. The Charlotte region is just one example of dangerously
inaccurate weather radar coverage. Additional areas of
inadequate coverage include Columbus, Ohio; Northwest New
Mexico; and Washington State.
Our language request would require that the Commerce
Department identify weak coverage areas and formulate a plan to
resolve the problem, whether that be by constructing a new
radar or by improving existing government radars. Far too many
lives are at risk for a problem that the Federal government can
easily address.
So I do thank you for your consideration and I appreciate
the time to come before your Committee.
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Mr. Culberson. Thank you very much. We look forward to
working with you on this. It is a good thing you point out and
we appreciate you coming in.
Mr. Pittenger. And I submit my testimony for your record.
Mr. Culberson. It will be included in the record, without
objection. Any questions?
Mr. Pittenger. Thank you very much, sir.
Mr. Culberson. Thank you very much. Next I am pleased to
recognize Representative Jared Polis of Colorado. Glad to have
you with us.
----------
Tuesday, February 28, 2017.
WITNESS
HON. JARED POLIS, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF
COLORADO
Mr. Polis. Thank you, Chairman Culberson, and Ranking
Member Serrano. I appreciate your punctuality as well. For
those of us with other committee meetings it is really very
helpful, and I appreciate the Committee working on time.
I want to thank you for giving this opportunity to Members
to come before you.
I want to first encourage the Subcommittee to continue to
move forward and not backwards on important science funding for
our country, including priorities like the National Science
Foundation, our national labs, our research institutions.
Science, frankly, is one of the most important aspects of
making our country great. In my home State of Colorado, we are
home to 30 Federal labs, including the National Renewable
Energies Laboratory, NOAA, NIST, NCAR. But the results go far
beyond Colorado and my district. If you decrease funding for
sciences, it is not only research and knowledge that you take
backwards but also the billions of dollars of economic benefit
that come out of our Federal research. And that is why I
encourage you to protect funding for science.
On the other hand I want to address some other needs that
we hope that you can include in your Committee mark. Last week
the President's spokesman indicated that they may spend
Department of Justice resources to try to disrupt legal
recreational marijuana sales in States that have set up
successful regulatory systems. And I point out in States where
about 60 percent of the American people live there is some form
of legal and regulated and taxed access to marijuana, and
frankly this would create a lot of chaos in States like mine.
Frankly we have a solution. You can include in your Committee
mark some language that I have worked on with Mr. McClintock
and others that would ensure the Federal government does not
waste its very limited resources prosecuting men and women who
are acting in full compliance with State law. The DEA clearly
has more pressing and urgent concerns. Many of us are concerned
with the opioid epidemic, with meth, and of course other
illegal drugs. And we encourage you to make it clear that the
DEA should focus on those priorities. And of course continue to
focus on prosecuting marijuana offenses where they run afoul of
State law. I urge you to include language that would prevent
the DEA from using resources to take action against regulated
recreational or medicinal marijuana in States that have
legalized and regulated it. And potentially find some savings
and would decrease funding for the DEA as a whole to this
effect. The money that they would have put into those areas you
can either issue back to DEA for other purposes, or I know you
are looking for savings, that can be an area you can look to
save.
In a series of revelations from 2013 to 2015, another issue
that came to light is that the DEA has been gathering a vast
database of information on personal communications of
Americans. As you know, there was no congressional authority
for this program, no oversight for Congress. We were able to
include language on the floor last time this bill came up to
protect the privacy of all Americans from the NSA and the DOJ.
I would simply encourage you to include that language in your
Committee bill, that prohibits the DOJ from using Federal funds
to engage in both data collection of Americans' phone records
or other data. It is time the Congress put an end to these
abuses perpetrated by our own intelligence community and by the
DEA. I am hopeful that this Committee can in the Committee mark
provide reasonable guidance to the States with regard to the
priorities of the DEA with the limited resources they have.
I am happy to yield back for any questions.
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Mr. Culberson. Thank you very much. We look forward to
working with you on each one of these. Thank you. Any
questions? Thank you. Thank you, Jared. I see Mr. Donovan is
here, and we will be pleased to recognize you.
----------
Tuesday, February 28, 2017.
WITNESS
HON. DANIEL M. DONOVAN, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF
NEW YORK
Mr. Donovan. Thank you very much, Chairman.
Mr. Culberson. Your written statement will be entered into
the record in its entirety, without objection.
Mr. Donovan. Thank you very much, Chairman. I would like to
thank you and Ranking Member Serrano along with the additional
Members of the Subcommittee for allowing me this opportunity to
testify in support of funding for the costs associated with
protecting the President of the United States and his family
starting on November 9th, 2016. Specifically, I ask the
Committee to fully reimburse local jurisdictions for the costs
associated with protecting the President-elect and his family
from November 9th, 2016 through January 20th, 2017. I also ask
the Committee to fund the continuing costs of protecting the
first family and when present the President of the United
States for the period beginning January 21st, 2017.
Mr. Chairman, the security burden on local police
jurisdictions like the City of New York's Police Department
between President Trump's election and inauguration was
unprecedented. President Trump worked and resided at one of the
busiest intersections in the world, an area through which
thousands of vehicles and pedestrians pass every hour. And it
has become the City's number one tourist attraction. The
location of Trump Tower in the heart of America's largest city
requires more complex security arrangements than had been
needed for past Presidents. To effectively protect him the
United States Secret Service required logistic input from the
New York City Police Department, along with uniformed and non-
uniformed officers to manage traffic and provide additional
protections. I think we can all agree that protecting the
President of the United States is a national priority and
honor. But circumstances have dictated that the cost of such
protection fall disproportionately on the local jurisdictions.
As a Member of the Homeland Security Committee, I am deeply
appreciative of the $7 million reimbursement the Appropriations
Committee included in the short-term Continuing Resolution
passed last December. However, over the past several weeks my
staff and I have collaborated directly with one impacted
jurisdiction to compiled detailed actual cost figures to inform
an appropriation request for the full cost of protecting
President Trump between Election Day and Inauguration Day, and
for continuing expenses incurred thereafter. While I recognize
that other local jurisdictions may also face funding
challenges, I have outlined the actual cost figures provided to
me by the City of New York, including rationales for their
input.
The City analyzed 25,000 patrol log entries to determine
precisely the amount of man hours spent by the New York City
Police Department and the Fire Department of the City of New
York over that 73-day period. The City then referenced relevant
collective bargaining agreements, overtime wages, and fringe
benefit requirements to determine the cost of each working hour
spent in defense of the President and his family according to
rank and tenure of the committed personnel.
I served for 12 years as district attorney of Richmond
County and I am very familiar with the wage and benefit
packages of the City's police officers. I personally reviewed
the figures provided to me by the City and I believe them to be
wholly accurate and reasonable. In my opinion the below figures
represent the City's best effort to quantify exactly the costs
incurred in protecting President Trump and his family. I
further believe that the estimated cost of ongoing protection
represents a good faith approximation and should be considered
the best data available.
Of course, should you or your staff have any questions
concerning these figures my staff and I are available at your
convenience to facilitate prompt answers.
The New York City Police Department's daily average rate
from November 9th, 2016 to January 20th, 2017 was about
$308,000 per day. Collective bargaining agreements were about
$1,323,000, and New York City's total cost between November
9th, 2016 and January 20th, 2017 was $23,825,000. New York
City's total cost was $25.5 million, and that includes the cost
for the New York City Fire Department as well. The cost of
continuing expenses after Inauguration Day, the average daily
rate for the New York City Police Department for the First
Family is between $127,000 and $146,000, and the average rate
for protecting the President and First Family is about
$308,000. The New York City Fire Department has a fixed cost,
annual fixed cost of about $4.5 million.
So again, I thank you for this opportunity to testify, Mr.
Chairman. I sincerely respectfully request that the Committee
fully reimburse State and local jurisdictions for the costs
associated with protecting the President of the United States
and the First Family from Election Day to Inauguration Day, as
well as the costs incurred thereafter. I thank you very much,
sir.
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Mr. Culberson. Thank you, Mr. Donovan. We all admire the
courage and character of New York City's Police Department and
the superb work that they do. We all admire them immensely and
look forward to working with you on this.
Mr. Donovan. I will certainly relay that message, Mr.
Chairman. Thank you.
Mr. Culberson. Thank you. We are very, very proud of them.
Any other questions or comments? Mr. Serrano?
Mr. Serrano. Mr. Chairman, this is an issue that the whole
New York delegation has been working on with Mrs. Lowey, Mr.
Donovan, and all the folks realize that this is a real problem.
It is an issue. It is not a problem having the President with
us. That is kind of a thing that New Yorkers can brag about.
But it is not like he picked a certain part of a certain State
somewhere. It happens to be in the vicinity of St. Patrick's
Cathedral, not far from where the Christmas tree is going to be
pretty soon at Rockefeller Center. And that whole area, there
is no more traffic in New York City. And it costs a lot of
money to protect the family. And lastly, for good or for bad,
it looks like this President may spend less time at the White
House than other Presidents have in the past. So he is going to
be somewhere else. And I suspect that that somewhere else will
be a lot in New York. So I think we need to put our heads
together and see how we can help localities with this cause,
especially in New York City. Because it is going to cost money
and it may not go away.
Mr. Culberson. I look forward to working with you.
Mr. Serrano. Thank you.
Mr. Culberson. I am pleased to recognize the Gentle Lady
from New York.
Mrs. Lowey. Okay. First of all, I want to thank you,
Chairman Culberson and Ranking Member Serrano, for holding this
meeting. We are so appreciative and it is good to see you.
Mr. Serrano. Good to see you.
Mrs. Lowey. Fellow New Yorker, thank you, Dan Donovan, for
being here and expressing to all of us your concerns and the
needs of New York. I am very appreciative. In fact, I drove by
that area yesterday just to take another look. And there are
about six metal grids that are set up. There is obviously a lot
of traffic going to see where the President is residing in New
York, as you very well know. And these security costs during
the presidential transition period and beyond are quite frankly
unprecedented in New York.
President Trump held meetings with heads of state, CEOs,
other security risk individuals in the middle of Midtown
Manhattan. I really wonder how those stores are even doing
business there. Millions of people go by there everyday and
post-inauguration security challenges continue in New York and
other areas like Palm Beach creating increased demands on first
responders in many local jurisdictions.
The New York Police Department, as you expressed, has
served the President while continuing to protect millions of
residents and visitors. This dual role is not sustainable
without additional resources. So I just want to, Mr. Chairman,
echo my friend Donovan, Mr. Donovan's sentiments. Hope that the
Committee will consider our bipartisan, multi-region concerns
carefully. No local jurisdiction should be left on the hook for
extraordinary security costs like what we have seen in New York
to cover what frankly is the Federal responsibility of
protecting the President. And so whether he is in New York, or
Florida, he may be playing golf in New Jersey, we are not quite
sure where he travels to. But we know how important this is,
because we know what the New York Police Department has done.
So thank you very much and thank you again for your
consideration, Mr. Chairman and Mr. Ranking Member. We look
forward to working with you. Thank you.
Mr. Serrano. Thank you.
Mr. Culberson. Thank you very much. Mr. Jenkins? Any other?
Ms. Meng? Anyone else? Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Donovan.
Mr. Donovan. Thank you, Chairman. Thank you all.
Mr. Culberson. I see we have been joined by Mr. Panetta of
California and we welcome your testimony. Thank you. You
succeeded Sam Farr?
Mr. Panetta. Correct, sir.
Mr. Culberson. That is great. Give Sam our best wishes.
Mr. Panetta. I will. I will. He is enjoying his time
retired, that is for sure.
----------
Tuesday, February 28, 2017.
WITNESS
HON. JIMMY PANETTA, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF
CALIFORNIA
Mr. Panetta. Good morning. And thank you, Mr. Chairman
Culberson. I appreciate this opportunity.
Mr. Culberson. Without objection, we will enter your
written statement into the record.
Mr. Panetta. That is fine.
Mr. Culberson. In its entirety.
Mr. Panetta. Please. Thank you. Mr. Serrano, thank you. It
is an honor to be here. I appreciate this opportunity. And this
opportunity to testify in front of this Committee as I also
appreciate the importance of the Appropriations Committee's
annual check on our nation's priorities.
So I thank you for this chance to talk about something that
is very important to me and very important to all of us, and
that is our National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's
programs that promote stewardship for our nation's marine
resources.
I represent the Central Coast of California, and a
coastline that I believe, and if you ask most people that drive
down Highway 1 and Big Sur and go to the Monterey Bay, will
tell you is the most magnificent meeting of land and water in
the world. In my congressional district there on the Central
Coast we are fortunate to have the Monterey Bay National Marine
Sanctuary. I call it basically a national park. It is a part
that protects 276 miles of shoreline and reaches a depth of
12,700 feet down the deep Monterey Bay Canyon. People call the
sanctuary the Serengeti of the Sea because of its 34 species of
marine mammals, over 500 species of fish, and more than 180
species of sea birds and shore birds.
All of our nation's marine sanctuaries are managed by
NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. That management
helps spur economic growth and generate approximately $8
billion for the local economies that surround our national
sanctuaries. Moreover, marine sanctuaries provide public access
for research, exploration, education, and ocean tourism. If you
go to the Monterey Bay region you will understand with its
aquarium, with its, many outdoor recreation vessels that enjoy
the Monterey Bay.
But also something that I believe that people do not know,
on the Monterey Bay there is close to 24 research institutions
that surround that bay and are managed by such schools as
Stanford, Cal State University Monterey Bay, San Jose State,
University of California at Santa Cruz as well.
Based on that, I am respectfully requesting $65.5 million
for fiscal year 2018 for the Office of National Marine
Sanctuaries. More specific within that account I urge $57
million to the sanctuaries in marine protected areas and $8.5
million to the marine sanctuaries construction program. I
believe, I submit to you that it is an investment in our
largest natural resource, the ocean. Something that provides
food, medicine, employment, scientific research, and of course
national security.
Another area I would like to talk about is NOAA's education
program Bay Watershed Education and Training, otherwise known
as B-WET. That is an environmental education program that
promotes authentic experimental learning for K-12 audiences and
their nearby watersheds. This program utilizes local STEM
professionals as guests for classrooms and provides
professional development to educators to enhance their skills
in environmental education. Over the past five years, dozens of
programs in my district have received B-WET funding. With
grants as small as $20,000 environmental educators expose a
diverse group of K-12 students to the importance of diverse
watersheds, basic scientific research methods, and
environmental stewardship.
As a prosecutor I worked a lot with youth in Salinas,
California. And I can tell you that there are many children who
live less than 20 miles from the ocean yet never have the
opportunity to see what I have just talked about. And I believe
that B-WET provides them an important chance to do that, to do
something which I feel is something that many of us take for
granted. That is why I am respectfully requesting the
Subcommittee allocate $20 million for B-WET in fiscal year
2018.
The fisheries data collections, surveys, and assessment
programs supports the eight regional fishery management
councils that develop and enforce management plans, conduct
data research and fish stock assessments, as well as national
fish surveys. That information is used by eight regional
councils, NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service, and three
interstate marine fisheries commissions. The councils rely on
these fisheries surveys to determine annual catch limits for
the fisheries management plans and to monitor the health of
fish stocks. Therefore I respectfully request $164.7 million
for fiscal year 2018 for those programs.
The Observers and Training Program. Now that is, although I
realize that fishing regulations set forth by the regional
councils are meant to prevent depleted U.S. fish stocks, the
United States imports 90 percent of its seafood. Some of this
seafood may be obtained by illegal overseas fishing activity,
such as mislabeling products and overtreating products with
water retaining chemicals. The funds of the observers and
training program, they are designated within their fisheries
science and management. And it would support operations that
inspect and enforce import restrictions on illegally harvested
and improperly documented seafood and marine resources.
Training is necessary to conduct audits on incoming seafood
deliveries and enhance overall seafood traceability. In order
to support these operations I would request respectfully $45.5
million to be appropriated to the Observers and Training
Program.
I strongly urge this Subcommittee to invest in our nation's
largest natural resource, our ocean. It is important that we
not only protect our oceans for recreation purposes, but for
our $282 billion blue economy as well as our future. These
programs help educate our youth, protect our seafood that
reaches our tables, preserve the marine environment, and employ
thousands of Americans along our coasts.
I thank you for your time, your consideration, and
hopefully your investment in these crucial programs. Thank you.
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Mr. Culberson. Thank you very much, Mr. Panetta. Our marine
sanctuaries are national treasures and we appreciate very much
your testimony. I look forward to working with you.
Mr. Panetta. Thank you, Chairman. Likewise.
Mr. Culberson. Any questions? Yes, Mr. Kilmer?
Mr. Kilmer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, I just want to thank
you for raising the issue around some of NOAA's programs and
the NMFS programs in particular. I had not fully appreciated
until I got here how big a deal those programs are to economic
development in communities that depend on an active fishery. We
have had multiple disaster declarations in my neck of the woods
and, you know, we face the potential of hatchery closures if
NOAA and NMFS cannot get the job done. So I just appreciate you
coming in and highlighting the importance of these programs.
Mr. Panetta. Thank you, sir.
Mr. Culberson. Mr. Serrano.
Mr. Serrano. Very briefly, NOAA has been very much involved
in my community. In fact there is a quick story that I will
tell you, one that got written up in National Geographic and
everywhere and throughout the world. And that is the fact that
there is actually a river called the Bronx River that runs
through the Bronx for 23 miles up to Westchester County. And
there was cement on one side, and cement on the other, and a
polluted river in the middle. So polluted that when NOAA got
involved and the Army Corps of Engineers got involved, a lot of
agencies, the first thing we took out was a jeep, a jeep that
was in the river. Today that river has fish, that river has
boating, and for the first time in 200 years, New York City,
which used to be a beaver pelt colony and that was its main
business, a beaver came back, and now a second beaver came
back. There is a reason for that. And do not say it is we had
earmarks. And when you have earmarks you get the beaver named
Jose.
And so, so--then but here is where I messed up. When the
new beaver showed up, the Bronx Zoo called me up, because they
were involved here, and said, name the beaver. I said, I do not
want to be a wise guy, you know, arrogant. Okay, we will do a
`name the beaver' play on the Internet. You know what they
called the second beaver? Justin Beaver. But all that is to say
that this river is alive, doing well, it is a model, and it was
because these agencies got involved. And with the children
left, there are now about 25 community programs from after
school education and math programs and music programs that came
from that nucleus which was the revival of the river.
Mr. Panetta. Well in Monterey we do not have a lot of
beavers, but we do have a lot of sea otters. And I can tell you
because of these programs the population is flourishing and I
am sure there are lots of naming opportunities as well.
Mr. Culberson. It is a great story and it is going on
nationwide. The Houston Ship Channel used to be terribly
polluted and it is cleaned up now, and you are actually seeing
porpoises coming far up the channel. So it is a great story.
And I know everybody would love to hear about the beaver, too.
I am glad. Thank you very much. Thank you.
Mr. Panetta. Thank you, sir. I appreciate the opportunity.
Thank you.
Mr. Culberson. And I see Sheriff Reichert is with us,
Congressman David Reichert of Washington's Eighth District. We
are glad to have you with us and your written statement will
appear in the record in its entirety, without objection.
Mr. Reichert. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Culberson. I am glad to have you here and to recognize
you for five minutes.
Mr. Reichert. Thank you.
Mr. Culberson. Thank you.
Mr. Reichert. Before I get started I would like to ask
unanimous consent to have a letter written by two Law
Enforcement Caucus Chairs, myself and Bill Pascrell, that has
been sent to the President regarding the topic of the COPS
grants.
Mr. Culberson. Yes, without objection.
Mr. Reichert. Thank you.
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Tuesday, February 28, 2017.
WITNESS
HON. DAVID G. REICHERT, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF
WASHINGTON
Mr. Reichert. I do not know how I follow Jose Beaver and
Justin Beaver, but I am going to give it a shot. I have lots of
stories, too. But, you know, it is a great story that you told,
sir, about animals returning to a clean river. This is really a
story when you talk about law enforcement and community it is
really a story about, you know, human beings who can function
in a community, who come back to neighborhoods who have been
sort of a dirty river in the middle of, some pretty productive
parts of our cities across the country.
Part of the success in allowing that sort of thing to
happen has been the COPS program, has been the ability for
police officers, police chiefs, and sheriffs across the country
to come to the COPS office and make application for hiring
grants.
Now when I was the sheriff, my last eight years of my 33-
year career in Seattle, I used the COPS grants on a number of
occasions. And yes, it is true the Chairman and I have had
these discussions. It is very, very difficult for us to apply
for a grant and three years later come up with the full cost of
the employees. But it does give you an opportunity to work with
your council and your State legislators to come up with those
funds.
You know, after 9/11, I think it is one of the great
success stories of the COPS office. It provided an ability to
adapt and respond quickly to critical law enforcement incidents
or emerging issues in the field, and they have done so many
times including providing $92 million to the City of New York
shortly after 9/11 for officer hiring and making hiring grants
available to Orlando, Dallas, San Bernardino in the aftermath
of mass shootings. And there are other stories that I could go
into. And I know the controversy around COPS grants in that
local, you know, cities and counties and States should be
paying for these police officer positions on their own.
However, today there is a great need, an emergent need for
this sort of help. And I think that, again as the Chairman and
I have visited on many occasions, on what does the future hold
for supporting local law enforcement across this country? And I
know moving money to Byrne JAG is one way to do that. But
unless there is some specific language that directs that some
of the money be actually spent on hiring police officers, it
is, I do not know if it is going to happen.
The other thing I will, I want to thank the Chairman for
and Members of the Committee is their commitment to increase
the funding on Project Safe Neighborhoods, which is the project
that was specifically designed when I was a sheriff and I was
an integral part of developing Project Safe Neighborhoods, a
$20 million increase in that budget and I appreciate that.
There is more to do in the area of gangs and gun violence
and drugs, as you know. But I think today my message is we need
to keep intact some form of COPS hiring grants and transition,
begin a transition to supporting police departments and
sheriffs and police chiefs across the country in other ways so
that they can free up money to actually hire officers. So I
think it is important to look ahead to 21st Century solutions
to assisting police departments and sheriffs' offices in
becoming accredited, to having training programs that are top
notch, to having evidence rooms that are operating at the
highest level of expertise in collecting evidence, storing
evidence, preparing it for court, to hiring. So this
accreditation process to me is one of those most important
things. But first and foremost we have got to make sure that
today, in this most critical time of keeping our neighborhoods
safe so that real people come back to our neighborhoods. It is
absolutely critical that we keep intact for a while the COPS
grants program.
Thank you and I yield back.
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Mr. Culberson. Thank you very much, Mr. Reichert. You know,
we admire and respect our men and women in uniform. And I was
so pleased to hear when President Trump came to the Republican
retreat to tell us that one of his top priorities was to ensure
that our men and women in blue and our men and women in uniform
around the world are respected as they should be for the great
work that you do. Thank you.
Mr. Reichert. Thank you.
Mr. Culberson. Thank you very much. Mr. Kilmer.
Mr. Kilmer. Thanks, Mr. Chair. I just want to thank you for
speaking about the importance of COPS grants, certainly around
the hiring issues. But maybe you can just speak briefly to the
importance of those grants also in trying to enhance the
relationship between law enforcement and the communities in
which the work? In our neck of the woods, you know, for example
Tacoma has undertaken this Project Peace initiative to try to
kind of lower the temperature around some of the potential
concerns and, certainly COPS grants can be really vital in that
regard, too, if you want to speak to that?
Mr. Reichert. Yes, I think that is a critical point to
make. I spent a lot of time in the Tacoma area back in the days
when I was investigating the Green River case and know the
neighborhood and community pretty well. One of the critical
tools that law enforcement can use today our store front
officers, our school resources officers, our officers who are
engaged in the Police Activities League, the PAL program. Any
outreach that police officers and the community can do together
to go into those neighborhoods that may not have the most
positive view of law enforcement, once they get to know the
police officers the neighborhood begins to change, believe it
or not.
I will tell just a short story about Baltimore. I am sure
they will be proud to hear that I have shared this story,
because it is great work that they are doing in Baltimore. One
of the programs that they have recently instituted after some
of the violence that has occurred in their city, tragedies,
they planned an outing with, out into the outdoors and a hiking
and camping trip with some inner city youths. And they spent a
week in this, up in this camp. And at the end of the week,
everybody is in plain clothes, but at the end of the week there
was a gathering of the young people and the counselors around a
campfire. But there was something different about this
gathering versus the gathering that has occurred the entire
week with this group. This time the counselors wore their
police uniforms. And surprised and shocked all of the young men
and women who were members of gangs, or were about to be
affiliated with gangs, they were shocked and amazed and
surprised. They had just spent the entire week and had a ball
with a bunch of cops. So they made tremendous progress as a
result of that interaction.
The COPS office gives police departments and sheriffs'
offices and State police officers across the country the
opportunity to build this sort of program when they do not have
the funds right now to do that. And it is absolutely critical
and I think will and can result in the reduction of crime and
building neighborhoods.
Mr. Serrano. Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Culberson. Mr. Serrano.
Mr. Serrano. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you for your
testimony and for your support of the COPS program. I was here
when President Clinton worked closely with Congress and vice
versa to create this program. And it was never the intent that
localities pay for it. The intent was for the Federal
Government to be involved in augmenting and helping the local
communities with all the issues that they had. So those people
that now make it controversial, as you stated in your opening
statement, by saying that localities pay for it are forgetting
what the reason for creating a separate program was. Otherwise,
why would you need a Federal program if you are just going to
tell localities to pay for it? It was to create a better
situation and a better atmosphere. Because God knows, there
might be five, ten, 15, 100 issues in this country that merit
immediate attention. One of them is for the community to
understand who law enforcement is and for law enforcement to
understand who the community is. They both need each other, and
they need to know that as soon as possible.
Mr. Reichert. If I could comment real quick, Mr. Chairman?
I think it is absolutely critical, though, that the community,
the local community, has some skin in the game, and they need
to be a part of this process and eventually, I think, need to
take responsibility for it. So I am in agreement with you on
the initial intent of the COPS office. But I have found that
unless you, when you go into communities, and now I am talking
about my local community as I served as the sheriff and as a
deputy detective and SWAT commander, hostage negotiator, when
you go into the communities and you begin to work with the
community, it is all about the police are going to do this, and
the community is going to do that around you. And it is not the
community involved and engaged with us, there is no success. So
I do think that there is a responsibility by local governments
to be, to have some skin in the game and be a part of the
process.
Mr. Culberson. I have always felt that the single, most
important part of our law enforcement, the entire law
enforcement community in the United States, from our men and
women in uniform, a good heart, good common sense, dealing with
the situation in neighborhoods that you know better than
anybody else. So I really appreciate your service.
Mr. Reichert. They just need to know now they have got
backup.
Mr. Culberson. That is right.
Mr. Reichert. All right.
Mr. Culberson. We want to make sure they all know we have
got their back. Thank you.
Mr. Reichert. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you.
Mr. Culberson. Thank you. Good morning, Congresswoman
Moore. We are delighted to have you here with us and your
written statement will be entered into the record in its
entirety, without objection. We are pleased to have you with
us.
Tuesday, February 28, 2017.
WITNESS
HON. GWEN MOORE, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF
WISCONSIN
Ms. Moore. Thank you so much, Chairman Culberson and
Ranking Member Serrano, and my colleagues and distinguished
Members of the Subcommittee. I want to thank you for this
extraordinary opportunity to testify on the importance of
investing in the cost effective, life saving Violence Against
Women Act programs and the Victims of Crime Act. I am the
representative from Wisconsin's Fourth Congressional District
but I am also here as a survivor of both domestic and sexual
violence.
The crimes of domestic and sexual violence are pervasive
and life-threatening. The CDC's National Intimate Partner and
Sexual Violence Survey revealed that domestic violence affects
more than 12 million Americans each year. Approximately 15.5
million children are exposed to domestic violence annually.
Every day in the United States an average of three women are
killed by a current or former intimate partner. In my own home
State, 68 lives were lost due to domestic violence in 2016, the
highest that we have seen since we started counting.
Likewise sexual assault is a national scourge requiring
local VAWA supported resources. Nearly one in five women have
been the victim of rape or attempted rape, and half of all
women have experienced some sort of sexual violence. These are
not pretty data. And over 1.8 million individuals in Wisconsin
have been raped or sexually assaulted.
But with VAWA funding, Wisconsin rape crisis centers helped
over 12,000 survivors in 2015. And I am incredibly proud of the
Wisconsin programs and I know there are programs around the
country, in all of our districts, because of Violence Against
Women funding.
It was only a few years ago that we worked tirelessly in
this body to reauthorize the passage of a bipartisan VAWA. We
worked tirelessly to ensure the law meets the needs of all
victims, including landmark provisions that granted survivors
additional protections, safe housing and justice for Native
American women. Our nation has made such phenomenal progress in
understanding and addressing violence against women because we
have made a national, ongoing, bipartisan annual investment.
Before the passage of VAWA these crimes were family
matters, in the shadows. With the passage of VAWA the infusion
of Federal funds fostered unprecedented coordination between
front liners responding to domestic violence and sexual assault
crises. In communities VAWA driven coordination urged
professionals out of their silos and brought them to a common
table. VAWA's national scope ensures that successes in
individual communities are brought to scale and they continue
to be replicated across the country.
VAWA's work is complimented by VOCA, which funds direct
services to victims of all types of crimes, including dating
and stalking. Together VAWA and VOCA have fueled our undeniable
national progress. VAWA saved an estimated $12.6 billion in net
averted costs in its first six years alone. Cutting funding
would erode this progress and jeopardize lives. Law enforcement
officers, prosecutors, such as Mr. Reichert, judges, would not
have the training and the tools they need to ensure victims'
safety and to hold perpetrators accountable.
An overwhelming need still remains. According to the
National Network to End Domestic Violence violence survey
count, in just one day, although we have done such a great job,
11,000 requests for services are unmet due to lack of funding
and resources. More than a third of the nation's 1,300 rape
crisis centers have a waiting list for critical services, while
over 40 percent have faced a reduction in staffing over the
past year. For those individuals who are not able to find
safety the consequences can be dire, even fatal.
We know that when immediate services are available victims
can escape life threatening violence and rebuild their lives. I
urge you to support full funding for all VAWA programs and
increased release of VOCA funds are you work on the fiscal year
2018 CJS bill. Our Federal resources create vital cost
effective programs that help reduce related social ills and
save our nation money now and in the future. And I yield back
the balance of my time.
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Mr. Culberson. Thank you very much, Congresswoman Moore. We
share your support for the importance of these programs and
appreciate your personal passion and commitment to help victims
of violence all over the country.
Ms. Moore. Well, Mr. Chairman, you know, I always say that
it will just be a great day when we can defund this program and
we will not need it anymore. We can just work our way out of
this problem. And unfortunately that is not on the horizon
right now.
Mr. Culberson. Something we can keep working towards,
rebuilding stable families and ensuring people respect each
other. Do all we can to instill those core American values in
every new generation that comes along. Thank you very, very
much for your testimony.
Mr. Serrano. Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Culberson. Mr. Serrano.
Mr. Serrano. I want to thank you for your testimony. It's
not every day, if you will pardon me bringing it up again, that
you can get a person before you who not only represents
victims, but was a victim himself or herself. And so your
testimony is very powerful.
I also want to congratulate you on the fact that you never
give up on this issue. I mean, every time you speak, you could
be speaking about a trip to the moon and you bring this issue
up. And I say that not in a jocular way, but seriously and with
great respect, and I thank you for that. And to walk away
thinking that you just made a statement and that is it, we take
seriously and we hear and we take notes, and all these folks
remind us of what we heard during these hearings.
Thank you.
Ms. Moore. Thank you so much. And, you know, if I can just
respond to that, Mr. Serrano. I'll be 66 God willing in April
and so I was sexually assaulted in my life long before there
was a Violence Against Women Act, before there were any--there
were no calls you could make to anyone. And before there was
mandatory reporting, you know, I was sexually assaulted as a
child, sexually assaulted as a teenager, as a college student.
And I have even gone to court, even dared to go to court where
I was on trial, you know, what kind of underwear did I have on,
did I have any on, and the perpetrator got off. So this is very
personal for me. It leaves indelible marks on you; maybe that's
why I bring it up, it changes who you are.
But I do remember some of the first people that rescued me
from a violent situation where I was almost killed. I mean, and
it was a woman from Jamaica who was a CNA and another white
woman who was a CNA, and they whisked me off. They were people
who just barely knew each other, but they joined together for
me. And we can't rely on those informal systems, because like I
said half of all--I just don't know any women, to be honest,
who haven't been beaten or raped or held hostage by their
immigration status, and that's unfortunate.
Mr. Culberson. There is just no lower form of life on Earth
than someone who would hurt a woman or a child. I just admire
you immensely and appreciate so much your testimony. And
obviously because of those two women that helped rescue you,
look where you are today.
Ms. Moore. Here I am.
Thank you so very much.
Mr. Culberson. What a great country. And God bless you and
this great testament to your character and courage, and we look
forward to working with you on this.
Thank you.
Ms. Moore. Thank you, colleagues.
Mr. Cartwright. Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Culberson. Mr. Cartwright.
Mr. Cartwright. I would like to weigh in too with my
thanks, Representative Moore. It has been a pleasure to get to
know you and to serve with you. And to hear you bring your
characteristic passion to this subject, it was a treat for me.
Thank you for doing that.
And thank you also for the written submission. This is
really an erudite treatise on the things that you are talking
about. It gives extensive references to authoritative sources
that back up every single thing that you have said.
I come from Scranton, Pennsylvania, birthplace of Joe
Biden, and I am going to be reporting back to Vice President
Biden about the work you have done to stand up. Scranton was
his birthplace, but the birthplace of VAWA----
Ms. Moore. That is exactly right.
Mr. Cartwright [continued]. Was in his senatorial office,
and he will be pleased to hear what I have to tell him.
Thank you so much.
Ms. Moore. I love Joe, I do.
Mr. Culberson. Thank you very much.
Ms. Moore. Thank you.
Mr. Culberson. We are pleased to have with us today
Representative Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania's 8th
District. And your written statement will be entered into the
record in its entirety without objection, and we thank you for
taking the time to be with us and look forward to your
testimony.
----------
Tuesday, February 28, 2017.
WITNESS
HON. BRIAN FITZPATRICK, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF
PENNSYLVANIA
Mr. Fitzpatrick. Thank you, Chairman Culberson. Thank you
Ranking Member Serrano and the entire Committee. And I am here
representing today the members of Pennsylvania's 8th
Congressional District in support of robust funding for the
Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, also known as CARA.
Communities across this nation have been devastated by
opioid-related addiction. Drug overdoses have increased
substantially and it is now the leading cause of accidental
death in the United States. And the opioid epidemic continues
to claim lives in my district, as well as pretty much every
Member of Congress' district across this country.
From my district, from Levittown to Lower Salford, there is
no part of our district that has been left unaffected. Last
year in Bucks County, which is the largest part of my district,
opioid-related deaths rose by a staggering 50 percent last
year. In neighboring Montgomery County, opioid overdoses
claimed a staggering 240 lives, a 36-percent increase from the
previous year.
In Chairman Culberson's district, two Houston-area
newspapers found Harris County had 275 prescription drug-
related deaths in 2015. And in the New York City area, in
Ranking Member Serrano's district, Bronx County had the highest
rate of heroin-involved overdose deaths and the largest
increase of opioid-related deaths.
With the passage of CARA last year, we now are at a pivotal
moment in decreasing opioid-related death trends and targeting
unlawful distributors through appropriations.
With thoughtful design, CARA utilizes a balanced strategy
encompassing six pillars: prevention, treatment, recovery
support, criminal justice reforms, overdose reversal, and law
enforcement. The Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Grant Program
provides $103 million annually in grants to States, local
governments, and tribal enforcement agencies.
Specifically, in fiscal year 2017, the 2017 funding bill
released last May, Appropriations funding would allow the
Attorney General to make grants in the following sections: $42
million to drug courts, $12 million to mental health courts and
adult and juvenile collaborative program grants, $12 million
for grants for residential substance abuse treatment for State
prisoners, $7 million for veteran treatment core programs, and
$14 million for States to expand or improve prescription drug
monitoring programs.
This month I had the opportunity to discuss the opioid
epidemic in my home district with the Bensalem Township Police
Department, Bucks County government officials, and members of
the Pennsylvania General Assembly, and each stakeholder
emphasized the need for more and fuller funding for CARA, but I
highlight two groups specifically.
First, State officials found it necessary to make
significant enhancements to prescription drug monitoring
program, the PDMPs. The PDMPs could incorporate the same
principles of other monitoring programs, including real-time
data, interoperability, and incorporate a user-friendly design.
I cite the Emergency Department Information Exchange and the
National Precursor Log Exchange as existing systems that
incorporate these principles successfully.
Second, our law enforcement officials, and they touted the
need for additional funding to do the following: expand
overdose reversal capacity, expand prescription drug take-back
programs across the country, investigate illicit activities for
heroin and fentanyl, and improve efforts in seeking out
unlawful distribution of prescription opioids.
And in my discussion with Public Safety Director Fred
Harran of the Bensalem Police Department, I learned that that
department had reported a 233-percent increase in fatal
overdoses between 2015 and 2016, which is unbelievable. The
Bensalem Police Department, this police department is the
ninth-largest police department in Pennsylvania and the largest
police department in Bucks County, and they have minimal
funding to combat this program and this problem and they
strongly believe that increased funding will enable them to do
more, especially save lives.
And as a CPA in my former life, I fully understand the
challenges that the Appropriations Committee faces with regards
to allocating resources and being mindful of the budget, but I
am confident that there will be a positive economic and more
importantly positive social returns by investing money in
saving lives, where families can stay together and live
productive lives together.
And I want to applaud Representatives Rogers, Carter, and
Jenkins for their continued efforts as Members of the
Congressional Addiction Treatment and Recovery Caucus, and
personally as a member of the Bipartisan Heroin Task Force I
ask this Committee to fully fund CARA for this fiscal year, for
2018.
And I want to thank you for your time and consideration,
and just ask that when you are considering the appropriations
process, this is an issue that literally affects people's
lives, it is a matter of life and death, and it is an epidemic
across all districts in this country.
And I thank you for your time and I yield back.
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Mr. Culberson. Thank you very much, Mr. Fitzpatrick.
This is an absolutely horrible, out-of-control epidemic
that has just swept the country and we appreciate very much you
coming in to testify on behalf of this important program.
And obviously it is something that we need to do all that
we can to help local law enforcement and help deal with the
fentanyl in particular. In visiting the DEA recently, I was
horrified to see the explosion in fentanyl, which is so deadly
and so powerful that officers going in and cleaning up these
labs, leaving a speck on their skin they can get an overdose. I
mean, this stuff is just pure poison.
So we really appreciate your bringing this to us today.
Mr. Fitzpatrick. Thank you, Chairman.
Mr. Culberson. And we look forward to working with you on
it.
Mr. Fitzpatrick. I appreciate it.
Mr. Culberson. Any questions? Thank you very much.
Mr. Fitzpatrick. Thank you for your time.
Mr. Culberson. I am pleased to recognize Congressman Danny
Davis of the 7th District of Illinois.
We are pleased to have you with us here today, Mr. Davis,
and we will enter your written statement into the record in its
entirety without objection and look forward to your testimony.
Thank you.
----------
Tuesday, February 28, 2017.
WITNESS
HON. DANNY DAVIS, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF
ILLINOIS
Mr. Davis. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman and Ranking
Member Serrano.
I am here today to advocate for a critical program that is
reconnecting families and stabilizing communities, the Second
Chance Act.
The Second Chance Act, which passed with overwhelming
bipartisan support and was signed into law in April of 2008,
authorized $165 million for programs that has improved
coordination of reentry services and policies at the State and
local level, nonprofit organizations which mentor other
transitional services to adult and juvenile offenders
reentering the community.
At the end of 2014, Federal, State, and local correctional
facilities held more than 2.2 million people. This amounted to
at least one in every 200 residents. Unfortunately, most
individuals face numerous challenges when returning to the
communities from prison and research indicates that over half
return to prison within three years of their release.
At least 95 percent of the people incarcerated in State
prisons will be released back to their communities at one
point. Research suggests that without support more than two
thirds will be rearrested within three years of their release
and half will be re-incarcerated. However, when individuals
returning from prison are able to access the services they need
to rebuild their lives, the families and communities they
return to are stronger and safer.
There have been more than 700 grants awarded in 49 States
allowing reentry programs to expand. Second Chance grantees
have served more than 137,000 participants since 2009 with 83
percent of all adults serving receiving mental health and
substance abuse treatment services and referrals. Also 60
percent of all adult participants have received cognitive-based
services.
Major Second Chance Act grant programs, including those
awarded to community-based organizations, are prioritizing the
use of grant dollars for independent program evaluations. State
and local government and nonprofit organizations around the
country have been eagerly launching innovative reentry
programs, and families and communities are desperate to access
the services the Second Chance Act provides.
Mr. Chairman and Ranking Member, I am hopeful for full
funding of the Second Chance Act and I look forward to working
with you on this request.
I would also like to submit for the record further
information on the success of the Second Chance Act.
I thank you and yield back.
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Mr. Culberson. Thank you. Without objection, the written
documents that you have offered to the Committee will be
entered into the record.
And I appreciate very much you bringing this important
program to our attention today and thank you very much for your
testimony. We look forward to working with you.
Mr. Davis. Thank you.
Mr. Culberson. Mr. Serrano.
Mr. Serrano. Thank you very much.
Mr. Davis. Thank you.
Mr. Culberson. Thank you.
I am pleased to recognize my neighbor and good friend,
Congressman Ted Poe of Texas' 2nd District.
----------
Tuesday, February 28, 2017.
WITNESS
HON. TED POE, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF TEXAS
Mr. Poe. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Mr. Ranking Member, Mr.
Serrano.
As the Chair knows, I have spent most of my life, if not
all of my life, in the criminal justice system, first as a
prosecutor for eight years in felony court, 22 years at the
district court in Houston trying felony cases, and now in
Congress I am proud to serve with the Co-Chairman on the
Victims' Rights Caucus.
I want to talk about two things. And over all of those
years I have seen not only defendants, but victims of crime,
and some of those victims, mainly sexual assault victims, still
contact me from time-to-time just to check in and I want to see
how they are doing, because crime especially to assault
victims, many of them never recover, they just don't; we would
hope they would, but they don't.
So there's two programs that are just excellent. There is
the Victims of Crime Act that Congress in 1984, Mr. Serrano may
have been here, I know you weren't, but passed with bipartisan
support that was a great idea. It allowed Federal judges to
fine convicted criminals in Federal court and the money went
into a fund for crime victims. Make the criminals pay rent on
the courthouse, pay for the system they created. And it is not
taxpayer money, it is money that goes to victims, at least it
is supposed to.
And a very novel, wonderful idea, and now that fund is $12
billion. And that is a lot of money even for us, you know, and
only a fraction of that money is spent each year on crime
victims. And in all due respect, the rest of that money, the
other 80 percent is used as an offset to fund other things that
have nothing to do with crime victims. That is very
unfortunate, I will just use that word.
That money belongs to crime victims, it doesn't belong to
other programs, but it is so tempting to take that money and
use it as an offset. Remember, it is not taxpayer money, it is
money that belongs to the victims.
So I first want to say I would encourage this Committee to
spend more of that money. It is a little over two and a half
billion that is spent, but the needs for crime victims,
especially in the day of trafficking that we have, is
increasing every year. And some of these shelters are doing
great just to keep the lights on and yet here is this money
that maybe could go to them to help crime victims.
So spend more of that money and send it to where it
belongs, that is to crime victims, not to other projects that
have nothing to do with crime victims.
The other one is the Violence Against Women Act that was
re-authorized in 2013. This program--of course, we all know
what's going on--helps Federal funds, it goes to grants to
domestic shelters and also to rape crisis centers. Some of that
money is the only money that rape crisis centers get is the
Violence Against Women Act funding, and it is done through
grants that goes through the grant process and all of that
stuff. Some VAWA money--I say VAWA--VOCA money goes to that
program, but not all of it. It is primarily grants by the
Federal government.
So those are two programs where we can speak for victims.
Victims do not have a high-dollar lobby to come up here wanting
something, you know, wanting anything. They primarily, the
people that come up here, I call them the victims' posse, they
are made up of victims just trying to help other victims and
most of them have had some tragedy in their life that they are
trying to deal with.
So only Congress can speak for victims, there is no one
else. VOCA money belongs to victims, spend more of it because
it is their money. The VAWA grants are something that we do
that is excellent. And I know there are a lot of programs and
we do a lot of things, and we spend money on everything from
the military to bridges and roads, but what better way to spend
money is take care of American citizens who have been crime
victims.
And with that I will answer any questions that you have and
that's just the way it is.
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Mr. Culberson. Thank you, Judge.
I think you are exactly right, only Congress can speak for
victims; they don't have anybody else. So I deeply appreciate
it. And I like your description of this money as rent on a
courthouse.
Mr. Poe. Yes.
Mr. Culberson. That is a good way to think about it. Make
these bums pull their own weight, pay their freight.
Mr. Serrano.
Mr. Serrano. I appreciate your testimony with knowledge
that you come before us, firsthand knowledge of how these
programs work and where the dollars should be going after it is
collected.
So I think that you make an impact on what we have to go
through when we make these decisions, and I thank you.
Mr. Poe. Thank you, sir.
Mr. Culberson. And it is important to remember too that
Houston, unfortunately, has become a hub for human slavery. The
sex trafficking is just awful, and I really appreciate your
leadership and work on that.
Mr. Poe. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Culberson. And I will do all I can with our
Subcommittee to work with you and help.
Thank you, Judge.
Mr. Poe. Thank you all.
Mr. Culberson. Good afternoon. I appreciate having
Congressman Patrick Meehan from Pennsylvania's 7th District
with us here today. And your written statement will be entered
into the record in its entirety without objection.
And thank you for your testimony today and being absolutely
spot-on-time at noon. Thank you.
----------
Tuesday, February 28, 2017.
WITNESS
HON. PATRICK MEEHAN, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF
PENNSYLVANIA
Mr. Meehan. I want to thank everyone with the opportunity
to take up a few moments of testimony to testify before you and
Ranking Member Serrano, and this message goes back to the
entire Subcommittee.
I appreciate the opportunity to testify about the
importance of providing funding to continue to address the
problems of opioid and heroin addiction. It is a special honor
to be here because many of you have been leaders on these
issues long before opioid and heroin addiction and overdoses
became a nationwide epidemic.
As you know, Section 201 of the Comprehensive Addiction and
Recovery Act authorizes $103 million annually for the
Department of Justice to combat the opioid epidemic. The DOJ
funding will be used to support State efforts to prevent and
respond to the opioid epidemic.
The law authorizes a comprehensive opioid abuse grant
program for States that enables them to use Federal funding to
implement or expand treatment programs as an alternative to
incarceration, provide training and resources to first
responders to administer opioid overdose-reversal drugs, and to
investigate unlawful distribution of heroin, fentanyl, and
opioids. The fentanyl problem, as you know, is out of control.
The grant program authorizes States to use Federal funding
to implement or make improvements to their Prescription Drug
Monitoring Programs. PDMPs reduce doctor shopping, change
prescribing behavior, and decrease the time spent on drug
diversion investigations and they reduce prescription drug
abuse. The effectiveness of PDMPs can be enhanced through
interstate data sharing; however, not all States with PDMPs
share data with other States.
Just more than half of the States were able to share data
with at least one other State. This funding authorized by the
Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Grant Program will enable States to
improve the utility of PDMPs, an issue where I have brought
states together just bordering my district.
States may also direct grant funding to divert veterans
with addiction away from the criminal justice system into drug
treatment courts. More than two million young men and women
have served our country in Iraq and Afghanistan and other duty
posts overseas, and many face a difficult readjustment to
civilian life after serving overseas. According to the Rand
Corporation, one in five veterans returning from Iraq and
Afghanistan will experience a stress-related mental illness,
and many others fall victim to drug and alcohol abuse.
The symptoms and subsequent behavior associated with post-
traumatic stress, mental illness, drug abuse, and alcohol
dependency bring many of these veterans into contact with the
criminal justice system. Veterans account for nine out of every
100 inmates in U.S. jails and prisons. That is a remarkable
statistic.
As a former district attorney and Federal prosecutor, I saw
firsthand the struggles facing many of our veterans. Troubled
veterans who commit small offenses deserve a chance to break
free of the cycle of dependency and mental illness, not an
irrevocable ticket to a jail cell and a loss of important
veterans' benefits. That's why in 2008 a judge in Buffalo, New
York opened the nation's first Veterans Treatment Court.
Modeled on the successful drug court's program, Veterans
Treatment Courts divert offenders from traditional criminal
justice systems. Veterans Treatment Courts promote sobriety,
recovery, and stability through a coordinated response that
involves cooperation and collaboration with the traditional
partners found in drug and mental health courts.
The courts also team up with the United States Department
of Veterans Affairs health care networks, the Veterans Benefits
Administration, volunteer veteran mentors, and family support
associations. They are all key to getting that veteran back on
track.
Access to Veterans Treatment Courts is a simple bipartisan
way that we can support our veterans. Instead of a retributive
instrument of justice, the Veterans Treatment Court is seen as
a restorative instrument of justice. Veterans Treatment Courts
have already developed a track record for low recidivism rates.
More than 200 Veterans Treatment Courts have opened since 2008
and more are slated.
I commend this Subcommittee for its past support for
Veterans Treatment Courts and I ask for continued funding.
We all know the statistics about the epidemic's effect on
our communities. As the Subcommittee makes decisions regarding
our nation's spending priorities, I ask that you think about
the individuals and families in your districts whose lives have
been turned upside down or sacrificed as a result of addiction.
There is still much more to be done to address the opioid
addiction crisis, but CARA and the funding it authorizes is a
big step forward in helping our communities cope and respond.
I thank you for your consideration.
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Mr. Culberson. Thank you very much, Mr. Meehan.
It is a wonderful program. The Veterans Treatment Courts
have had a great success record, and I deeply appreciate you
coming in to remind us of that fact and to keep it in the
forefront of our mind. I look forward to working with you on
this.
Mr. Meehan. I thank you, Congressman. And I note for the
record that it was in this room and with your Committee that
the first real commitment to them has been made and they have
made a huge difference in the lives of our veterans, and I
thank you for that leadership.
Mr. Culberson. Thank you.
Mr. Serrano.
Mr. Serrano. Yes. I want to thank you for your testimony.
This is an issue that has taken on some life, if I may use that
expression. Before, our Congress was not paying attention to
it, neither were the American people, in all honesty. It was
happening and unless you were affected, it wasn't happening.
This epidemic that is running throughout this country is
being confronted, and people are aware. And I think when
Americans become aware and its representatives become aware,
things begin to happen, and that is what I am hopeful of and I
think is going to happen.
I thank you.
Mr. Meehan. Well, I thank you, I thank you for your
attention to it and the appreciation.
I remember running for office and seeing a young man across
the street on the corner with a bottle in a bag at 9:00 a.m.
And I asked about him and they said he was there every day. And
I made a commitment that if I ever got here I was never going
to forget that young man. And with the old military, we never
leave our war fighters behind on the battlefield and this is a
battlefield that too many are facing.
And I thank you for your leadership in helping us pay
attention to that and to put them into a system that allows
them to get the support to help them see it through.
Mr. Culberson. Thank you. That's a great story. Thank you.
Mr. Meehan. Thank you, Congressman. Thank you for the
chance.
Mr. Culberson. All of the Members who were coming to
testify personally have done so. We have a number of statements
for the record and without objection we will have those entered
into the record in their entirety.
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Mr. Culberson. So the Subcommittee hearing is adjourned.
Thank you very much.
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