fdlp_source_name
stringlengths 9
82
| sequence
int64 0
5.47k
| name
stringlengths 3
228
| text
stringlengths 1
4.1k
|
|---|---|---|---|
lps65523.pdf | 195 | Mr. DAHL. | I agree, it does, and if you can mesh the two together, it goes a long ways to solving any of the debate that is going on right now. |
lps65523.pdf | 196 | Senator CONRAD. | Larry? |
lps65523.pdf | 197 | Dr. SCHULER. | I agree with country-of-origin labeling. I think some of the rules that have been proposed have been a little cumbersome, and I think we need to develop some different rules. |
lps65523.pdf | 198 | Mr. DUPPONG. | R-CALF would be a supporter of COOL. We did a real good job of getting it into the legislation in the Farm Bill. It is not perfect, but we have to realize as time goes on we have to get going at this as things change every day. |
lps65523.pdf | 199 | Dr. GALBREATH. | This is a unique opportunity to implement COOL restrictions along with the national ID system, so by all means. |
lps65523.pdf | 200 | Senator CONRAD. | Let me go to a fifth point I have made, and it is relatively small in terms of cost, but I think there is a principle involved, and that is those ranchers, those producers who have herds that are affected ought to have a substantial part of their costs covered. That is, these people have a potentially catastrophic financial problem through no fault of their own. Certainly that is the case with respect to the herd in Washington, and that as a matter of principle there ought to be compensation. Jeff, your reaction? |
lps65523.pdf | 201 | Mr. DAHL. | I agree. There is precedence for both federally and in state on indemnity for cattle that are put down for disease reasons. So I think it is already, the mechanism is already there. |
lps65523.pdf | 202 | Senator CONRAD. | It is in place. It needs to be implemented. Larry? |
lps65523.pdf | 203 | Dr. SCHULER. | I agree with Jeff. Historically speaking when the other eradication programs, when animals were destroyed because of tuberculosis, for example, those producers were indemnified the value of the animal. |
lps65523.pdf | 204 | Senator CONRAD. | How did it work? Was it a full indemnification? |
lps65523.pdf | 205 | Dr. SCHULER. | Previously, it was a set amount regardless of the value of the animal. In today's world we are dealing with appraised values, yes. |
lps65523.pdf | 206 | Senator CONRAD. | Appraised values? OK. Terry? |
lps65523.pdf | 207 | Mr. DUPPONG. | I think it would be good, and I think one standpoint is because the people that do have cattle from Canada, we don't want to scrutinize them. We want to give them a tool that will bring it to the forefront to admit they have these cattle to identify them. It is estimated that between 15 and 20 percent of the cattle that have come in through Canada have lost importation tags. |
lps65523.pdf | 208 | Senator CONRAD. | Let me stop you on that, and make sure I understand what you are saying. You are testifying here that from what you have learned, that some significant portion of cattle coming in from Canada have lost their identification tags? |
lps65523.pdf | 209 | Mr. DUPPONG. | Correct. |
lps65523.pdf | 210 | Senator CONRAD. | And how does that occur? |
lps65523.pdf | 211 | Mr. DUPPONG. | It just gets ripped out of the ear, the long fence lines, so I think we need a tool to make these people want to come forward and identify these cattle. |
lps65523.pdf | 212 | Senator CONRAD. | OK. Let me just go back to the matter on Canadian boxed beef. What I have called for and what I wrote the into this country, in light of our new safeguard measures, and asked the fundamental question: Does Canada have equivalent measures? You know, none of this is going to work if we have got a system but there is all this leakage—you know what I am saying—across the border, and they have got a lesser standard than we do. In light of that, I would ask the question. the feed ban? We have heard a lot of rumors, and there have been some discussed here today, with respect to there not being close evaluation and scrutiny on the ban they have in place. What have you heard? What is your understanding? |
lps65523.pdf | 213 | Dr. GALBREATH. | All I cite is some of the reference studies that were done back in 2002, when they actually did surveys in the United States and Canada for compliance, and basically, FDA—the United States gave a rather glowing report in favor of the compliance; however, if you look at the numbers, you find that certain feed mills and certain feed establishments were inspected, whereas some of the smaller family operations or smaller industry operations were not inspected. So there is a little problem with that right away. Then as you read the numbers, the initial numbers, you find, if my memory serves me correct, about an 8 percent noncompliance either in terms of labeling or actually having the product in their meat and bone meal, and then extrapolate that to the small mills and the small operations that aren't even inspected. There is a potential for some risk. I can't speak for the Canadian sector because I really don't have any information on those. |
lps65523.pdf | 214 | Senator CONRAD. | Do you think that the same standards that apply here ought to apply there? |
lps65523.pdf | 215 | Dr. GALBREATH. | Yes. The ruminant ban that came in in 1997 is a North American ruling, and needs to be addressed both in terms of the Canadian influence and also the United States influence. |
lps65523.pdf | 216 | Senator CONRAD. | Just to repeat, Larry, your understanding is, from what you have drawn down from the Canadian website, is that they have imposed a ban not only on live animals going from our country to theirs, but also on boxed beef? |
lps65523.pdf | 217 | Dr. SCHULER. | That is correct. And there is no 30-month limit. They will accept boxed beef from Canada on less than 30 months of age. There is no mention of a 30 month restriction. |
lps65523.pdf | 218 | Senator CONRAD. | Well, I tell you, to me it is very clear we ought to impose that precise same requirement on them, and on both sides it ought to ultimately be science-based, and maybe we need to bring them to their senses. This cow came from Canada. This was not a U.S. cow, and they have put at risk our entire industry, $25 billion industry just in terms of cattle sales, in terms of the broader effect in this economy, a $100 billion industry. As we know, agriculture is the dominant part of North Dakota's economy. It is the biggest part of our economy. We have about two-thirds of our agricultural income is crop income, about one-third is livestock. We are talking about a very substantial threat to the economic well-being of our state, and certainly of this industry. And we have got to take the steps to protect our consumers, without question, and to protect our industry, and I hope that message comes from this hearing loud and clear. I want to thank all of you. We have come to the end of our period for this hearing. I want to thank each of you for testifying, it is certainly valuable to the committee, and I believe the U.S. Senate will benefit from the knowledge that you have imparted through this hearing. With that, I will adjourn the hearing. [Whereupon, at 11:55 a.m., the committee was adjourned.] 22427.001 22427.002 22427.003 22427.004 22427.005 22427.006 22427.007 22427.008 22427.009 22427.010 22427.011 22427.012 22427.013 22427.014 22427.015 22427.016 22427.017 22427.018 22427.019 22427.020 22427.021 22427.022 22427.023 22427.024 22427.025 22427.026 22427.027 22427.028 22427.029 22427.030 22427.031 22427.032 22427.033 22427.034 22427.035 22427.036 22427.037 22427.038 22427.039 22427.040 22427.041 22427.042 22427.043 22427.044 22427.045 22427.046 22427.047 22427.048 22427.049 22427.050 22427.051 22427.052 22427.053 22427.054 22427.055 22427.056 22427.057 22427.058 22427.059 22427.060 22427.061 22427.062 22427.063 22427.064 22427.065 22427.066 22427.067 22427.068 22427.069 22427.070 22427.071 22427.072 22427.073 22427.074 22427.075 22427.076 22427.077 22427.078 22427.079 22427.080 22427.081 22427.082 22427.083 22427.084 22427.085 22427.086 22427.087 22427.088 22427.089 22427.090 22427.091 22427.092 22427.093 22427.094 22427.095 22427.096 22427.097 22427.098 22427.099 22427.100 22427.101 22427.102 22427.103 22427.104 22427.105 22427.106 22427.107 22427.108 22427.109 22427.110 22427.111 22427.112 22427.113 22427.114 Æ |
lps71406.pdf | 0 | Senator CORNYN. | [Presiding] The Committee will come to order. I want to thank Chairman Specter for scheduling today's hearing. This hearing involves three very important positions, and this is the first step to getting those positions filled. If confirmed, each of these nominess will fill a vital position in our Government, and I hope we can get these nominations voted out of the Committee in the near term and to the Senate floor as soon as possible. The Homeland Security nominations are particularly relevant in light of the hearing held this morning by Chairman Specter, which concerned the issue of comprehensive immigration reform. And of course the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and the Secretary of the Department of Labor, Secretary Chao, testified. At that hearing we heard about the need to restore integrity and the rule of law to the U.S. immigration system. And while there is a growing consensus that the system is badly broken, there is not yet a consensus on the path ahead. What we can all agree upon is that if these nominees are confirmed, that they will play critical roles in implementing the reforms that Congress adopts and in evaluating any proposal from the standpoint of the resources and capabilities of the Department to respond to Congress's mandate. With that background, I look forward to discussing with each of the nominees the challenges that they would face as well as the role that immigration reform will play in either hurting or helping your respective agencies' abilities to accomplish their missions. What I want to do is say a few words about Ms. Myers by way of introduction, then I would like to recognize my colleagues, Senator Martinez and Ms. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, to say a few words about Mr. Gonzalez. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's mission—ICE—is to prevent acts of terrorism by targeting the people, money, and materials that support terrorists and criminal activities. This is the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security. If confirmed as Assistant Secretary for ICE, Ms. Julie Myers would oversee a budget of several billion dollars and manage approximately 20,000 employees. She would be responsible for coordinating a wide range of enforcement efforts, including alien smuggling, financial crimes, and the apprehension, detention, and removal of illegal aliens. The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee recently approved the nomination of Ms. Myers to be Assistant Secretary. Ms. Myers's nomination is supported by the Fraternal Order of Police and by the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association. She also has the support of Senator Warner, the former Secretary of the Navy and the current chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, as well as Larry Thompson, the former Deputy Attorney General of the United States. work as a prosecutor and manager over several sections within the Department of Treasury's Office of Enforcement. As Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Department of Treasury, she supervised both the counter-narcotics and international money laundering sections of the Department of Treasury. She then worked as the Assistant where she oversaw a law enforcement agency whose mission is to combat the illegal export of sensitive U.S. technology. She has also served as chief of staff to Secretary Chertoff when he was at the Criminal Division at the Department of Justice. As I indicated, I would now like to recognize my colleague, Senator Martinez, for any introductory comments he would care to make. PRESENTATION OF EMILIO GONZALEZ, NOMINEE TO BE DIRECTOR OF THE BUREAU OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, BY HON. MEL MARTINEZ, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF FLORIDA |
lps71406.pdf | 1 | Senator MARTINEZ. | Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is a real honor and privilege to be here with you today, and thank you for allowing me a few moments to share with you the great honor I feel in being here today to introduce my good friend Emilio Gonzalez to the Committee. The President has chosen a great person to lead our Nation's Citizenship and Immigration Services. Emilio Gonzalez will bring a great deal of depth of international and domestic policy experience to this position. His dedication to our Nation began early in his life when, many years ago, as a young man, he enlisted in the military, in the United States Army, making the rank of colonel. As the Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs for President Bush, he served as a key national security advisor and trusted advisor to both President Bush and Dr. Condoleezza Rice, who served as National Security Advisor at the time. I mention this point out of the fact that of the President and his key advisors and will be able to hit the ground running in this very, very important position. As an immigrant to this country himself, Mr. Gonzalez and I share a common heritage, both of us immigrating here from Cuba at early ages. I understand from my own life experience that he understands the meaning and the value of a United States citizenship, the meaning and the value of what it means to live in a society that is free and that is open and, at the same time, also understands the national secretary requirements that go hand in hand with immigration and citizenship policies. He will know how to balance this important responsibility with compassion and understanding. Emilio is a man of character and competence. He is also a man committed to his faith and to his wonderful family that is here with him today. We are currently debating and discussing, as the Chair pointed out, the very important issue of immigration reform. Our country is at a point where we need to address the immigration issue in a way that recognizes the economic contributions that immigrants are making and have made to this country, while at the same time also balancing the very important need for strong border enforcement and the enforcement of the rule of law. I know that Emilio, a colleague during our time in the administration and also a friend of mine, will serve our country well in this position and I urge my colleagues in the Senate to join me in a swift confirmation of Mr. Gonzalez to this very important post. Thank you. |
lps71406.pdf | 2 | Senator CORNYN. | Thank you, Senator Martinez. PRESENTATION OF EMILIO GONZALEZ, NOMINEE TO BE DIRECTOR OF THE BUREAU OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, BY HON. ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF FLORIDA |
lps71406.pdf | 3 | Representative ROS-LEHTINEN. | Thank you so much. Thank you, I have had the privilege of serving with him in the House. He ignored me then, too. [Laughter.] |
lps71406.pdf | 4 | Representative ROS-LEHTINEN. | I am so pleased to be here today with our wonderful Senator from the State of Florida, Mel Martinez, to support a constituent of my Congressional district and a dear friend, Dr. Emilio Gonzalez, in his nomination to the position of Director of Bureau of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services at the Department of Homeland Security. As you heard from Senator Martinez, throughout his professional career Dr. Gonzalez has remained committed to protecting and defending our National security. He completed a distinguished military career with the rank of colonel, spanning nearly three decades in the U.S. Army, and is considered one of the most accomplished foreign area officers in the Department of Defense. Dr. Gonzalez also served as Director of Western Hemisphere Affairs at the National Security Council during President George W. Bush's first administration. And it is in this capacity that he served as a key national security and foreign policy advisor to President Bush and to then-National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. So clearly, Dr. Gonzalez's experience is beyond that of an average nominee. His predecessor, the current U.S. Ambassador to Spain Eduardo Aguirre, made significant and measurable progress at the Agency toward eliminating the immigration backlog, improving customer service, and enhancing national security. I am certain that Dr. Gonzalez will not only continue in Ambassador Aguirre's tradition of excellence but that he will propel the Department of Homeland Security to new heights by bringing his expertise in foreign affairs, his knowledge of international security policy issues, and his unwavering professionalism to the position of Director of the Bureau of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. nominating outstanding members of the Hispanic community to Federal posts and he continues to do so by recommending an individual, Emilio Gonzalez, who is so devoted to protecting our precious homeland. So it is therefore my honor to join President Bush and my friend Senator Martinez in offering my utmost support for And he is joined here today by his wife, Gloria, and his daughters Gigi and Vicki. It is a pleasure to have them here. Thank you, Emilio. Thank you, Senators. |
lps71406.pdf | 5 | Senator CORNYN. | Thank you very much for those introductions. I know members of Congress on both sides of the Capitol have a lot of conflicting commitments, so we will be glad to excuse you if you will then let us proceed now. As our colleagues leave, let me say a few words by way of introduction about the third nominee, who has been nominated to be Deputy Director for Supply Reduction at the Office of National Drug Control Policy, Mr. James O'Gara. position is charged with implementing the President's national drug control strategy in the area of supply reduction. If confirmed, counterparts at other agencies, including the departments of State, Defense, Justice, Homeland Security, and Treasury, as well as the Central Intelligence Agency. of National Drug Control Policy and is responsible for advising the Director on matters of intelligence, interdiction, and international affairs. For the last 4 years, Mr. O'Gara has been the principal drafter of the President's national drug control strategy, with responsibility for soliciting input from Congress, executive agencies, State and local governments, as well as the private sector, in the development of the strategy. He is also a former Judiciary staff member for Senator Hatch. And we won't hold that against you. [Laughter.] |
lps71406.pdf | 6 | Senator CORNYN. | I know Senator Leahy is going to be here in just a moment, the Ranking Member, but I would be happy to recognize Senator Coburn if he has any preliminary remarks he would care to make. |
lps71406.pdf | 7 | Senator COBURN. | I don't have an opening statement, Mr. Chairman. |
lps71406.pdf | 8 | Senator CORNYN. | Thank you, Dr. Coburn. May I please ask the nominees each to come forward and have a seat. And if you will, before you sit down, raise your right hand and repeat after me. I, James O'Gara, Julie Myers, Emilio Gonzalez, do solemnly swear that I will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God. Thank you very much. Please have a seat. to hear any opening remarks that you would care to make. DRUG CONTROL POLICY |
lps71406.pdf | 9 | Mr. O'GARA. | Thank you very much, Chairman Cornyn. Senator Coburn. I would like to thank Chairman Specter and Ranking Member Leahy for holding this hearing today. I would like to thank the President and Director Walters for giving me this opportunity to be part of the team that is helping to drive down drug use in the United States—17 percent, over the past 3 years, reductions among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders. The Office of Drug Control Policy, where I serve, is in fact a creation of this very Committee. I would like to thank Senator Hatch, whose quick action during the 1990's saved the office from elimination, and I would also like to thank Senator Biden for his intellectual authorship of the law that created the Office in the first place. From my time at the Drug Enforcement Administration to the Committee staff that you alluded to, to my time at ONDCP, I learned that when we push back against the drug problem, we can make it smaller. My focus, if confirmed, will be our international drug control efforts in Colombia and the Andes, in the Transit Zone, in Mexico and Afghanistan. Thank you for the opportunity to testify, and I look forward to answering your questions. [The biographical information of Mr. O'Gara follows.] 27442.001 27442.002 27442.003 27442.004 27442.005 27442.006 27442.007 27442.008 27442.009 27442.010 27442.011 27442.012 27442.013 |
lps71406.pdf | 10 | Senator CORNYN. | Thank you, Mr. O'Gara. you care to make. SECRETARY FOR IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY |
lps71406.pdf | 11 | Ms. MYERS. | Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Senator Coburn. I am honored to appear before you today. I want to begin by thanking the President for his faith in me and for nominating me for this position. I also want to thank Secretary Chertoff, with whom I've had the privilege of working with in the past and, if confirmed, I would look forward to working with again. ICE is a tremendous agency. I know this because I have worked with the agents first-hand, as an Assistant United States Attorney, Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Treasury Department, as chief of staff for the Criminal Division, and most recently, as Assistant have seen first-hand what ICE can do, but there is much more that must be done. If confirmed, here is my vision for ICE: First, to echo the Secretary's comments this morning, ICE must effectively engage in interior enforcement and removal of aliens. I hope very much that Congress passes comprehensive immigration reform. But if confirmed, I will not wait for that to begin enforcing all the laws on the books and streamlining our removal processes. Second, part of the reason that the Department of Homeland Security was created was to connect the dots to ensure that we were harnessing all available intelligence. If confirmed, I would work to make sure that ICE is using all the intelligence data bases that it has, all the information that it has to track those who want to harm our country. Third, I would work to expand ICE's great work in terms of strategic investigations and financial investigations. They have done great things there in the Cornerstone Program and others, but much more must be done. And finally, but very importantly, I would work on Agency-building to build a new ICE culture. Much must be done in the way of building morale, improving infrastructure both financial and otherwise to make ICE into the truly great agency it will become. I thank the Committee for its consideration of my nomination, and I will be pleased to answer any questions that you have. [The biographical information of Ms. Myers follows.] 27442.014 27442.015 27442.016 27442.017 27442.018 27442.019 27442.020 27442.021 27442.022 27442.023 27442.024 27442.025 27442.026 27442.027 27442.028 27442.029 27442.030 27442.031 27442.032 27442.033 27442.034 27442.035 27442.036 27442.037 27442.038 27442.039 27442.040 27442.041 27442.042 27442.043 27442.044 27442.045 27442.046 |
lps71406.pdf | 12 | Senator CORNYN. | Thank you, Ms. Myers. SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY |
lps71406.pdf | 13 | Mr. GONZALEZ. | Thank you, Senator Cornyn. I would like to thank Chairman Specter, Ranking Member Leahy, and other members of the Committee for allowing me the opportunity to appear before you today as you consider the President's nomination of me to be the next Director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. And I also want to thank you for affording me such an expeditious hearing date. In addition, I would like to thank President Bush and Secretary Chertoff for the trust and confidence that they have placed in me to lead U.S. CIS. I would also like to acknowledge and thank my wife of 27 years, Gloria, and my daughters Gloria and Victoria, who flew up from Florida to be with me today. I also want to thank Senator Mel Martinez and Ileana RosLehtinen for their kind introductions. Both are dear friends who have served this great Nation with honor and distinction, and their public praise, particularly in this special setting, means more to me than they will ever know. I am humbled by the opportunity to be here, in part because I am a product of the U.S. immigration system. My parents came to this country in 1961 fleeing the horrors of Fidel Castro's rule in Cuba. Immigration is not new to my family. My grandfather left his home in Spain in the early 1900's, so therefore I am the third generation of my family to have lived in as many countries. My parents arrived in Tampa, Florida, with little more than the clothes on their backs but with high hopes for a better future for their then-7-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son—a son who sits before you today. I am and always will be an immigrant, an American not by birth but by choice. For me, the President's nomination to be Director of U.S. CIS is more than just an honor. It is an opportunity to return to a life dedicated to public service that began when I was 20 years old and commissioned as 2nd lieutenant in the United States Army. For almost three decades I served in a variety of roles that included troop leader, staff officer, intelligence analyst, intelligence collector, instructor, military attache, personnel manager, regional specialist and policy advisor. I later served on the President's National Security Council. Should I be confirmed, I would look forward to bringing my leadership skills, understanding of national security, and my own personal immigrant experience to bear on the issues that lay before U.S. CIS and the Department of Homeland Security. For the sake of brevity, I will end it here, Senator, and I will submit the remainder of my remarks for the record. |
lps71406.pdf | 14 | Senator CORNYN. | Without objection. [The biographical information of Mr. Gonzalez follows.] 27442.047 27442.048 xxxxxxxxxx 27442.049 27442.050 27442.051 27442.052 27442.053 27442.054 27442.055 27442.056 27442.057 27442.058 |
lps71406.pdf | 15 | Senator CORNYN. | Very good. We will proceed now with the rounds of questioning, although given the fact that there are only two of us here, we will take a little bit of liberty with that. As I always tell nominees, the fact that we don't have a full phalanx of Senators up here is not necessarily bad news. Some might regard it as good news. But let me begin first with Ms. Myers, we have heard an awful lot of testimony, and you alluded to it in your comments, about the expedited removal program, this morning from Secretary Chertoff. I was delighted to hear him say that it had to end—the catch-andrelease program, that is—and that we had to make sure that the deterrence effect of expedited removal was real. So I would like to hear from you. We have gone from roughly 90 days through the ordinary process down to in the 30's, but we still have 20 days just for giving the proper travel documentation and other what I would call more bureaucratic requirements. Do you have any suggestions for us or any thoughts on how we can reduce that time even further to a shorter period of time so that the threat of detention and removal is a real deterrent? |
lps71406.pdf | 16 | Ms. MYERS. | Thank you, Senator Cornyn, for that question. I certainly agree with your sentiment that the threat of detention and removal should not be a threat, it should be something that we are actually able to enforce. When we detain someone, we should be able to remove them at the end of the day. In terms of cutting down that time period, I think it is important to look at the business cycle of removal and look at where are there choke points, where are we as the U.S. Government, ICE, the Border Patrol, other points, taking too long in doing our parts of the job, and where are our other partners in the system, such as foreign governments, taking too long or taking too many days to respond to certain requests. I think that the Department's first look at streamlining this has some good potential for progress. One of the things that they are doing is looking into video conferencing. Many countries require an in-person interview with a consular officer before they will issue travel documents. Can we do this interview on video conferencing? I am pleased to say that Honduras has agreed to video conferencing. That can significantly cut down the amount of delay. Obviously, video conferencing cannot be it alone. We need to look at every single piece, every single place along the way and search for improvements there. I would like to just add that I don't think expedited removal can handle this alone. In instances where we will have to release individuals, we should look for alternatives to detention that actually work. We should take a look at the intensive supervision appearance programs, electronic monitoring, or other methods. And finally, we should look at what are the incentives and disincentives for people to abscond if they are released. I think if we looked comprehensively at our bond situation, that might be an area we could improve. If people knew that if they absconded they would be removed back home very quickly if they were caught, that might be an area we could also improve upon. |
lps71406.pdf | 17 | Senator CORNYN. | Ms. Myers, I know that management experience is one important qualification for the position that you have been nominated to. You have quite an accomplished resume and you have held several high-profile and important positions, and it appears you have excelled in all of them. |
lps71406.pdf | 18 | Ms. MYERS. | Thank you, Senator. |
lps71406.pdf | 19 | Senator CORNYN. | But can you assure the Committee that you have the experience necessary to take on a job of this magnitude with the responsibility for such a large part of our law enforcement efforts at the Department of Homeland Security? |
lps71406.pdf | 20 | Ms. MYERS. | Absolutely, Senator, I can assure you that my experience qualifies me for this job. First, in terms of law enforcement experience, I have had the opportunity to manage a nationwide law enforcement agency—not only any law enforcement agency, but one that dealt with sophisticated cases, in fact, enforcing a form of border security, our export control laws. In addition to my work at the Commerce Department, when I served as chief of staff to Secretary Chertoff, I had the opportunity there to manage very sophisticated cases and show the kind of judgment and skill that is needed in order for ICE— Hello, there, Ranking Member Leahy. I appreciate hosting this Committee on my behalf and on behalf of the other nominees. While I was serving as chief of staff for Secretary Chertoff, I had the ability to manage a large number of sections in the Criminal Division and to move the agenda forward, and to do this in a short time. I am someone that, when put in place, will find out what consensus is, find out what the agenda needs to be, and achieve results. I have done that at the Commerce Department, at the Justice Department, at the Treasury Department, and I was successful as an AUSA. If confirmed as Assistant Secretary for ICE, I would do the same thing there. But management experience alone is not enough. One of the additional reasons that I should be confirmed as Assistant Secretary is my vision for the Agency, as described previously in my opening statement, and I would be happy to answer any additional questions you have about that. |
lps71406.pdf | 21 | Senator CORNYN. | Well, thank you very much. There will be some, I am sure, some additional rounds, since 5 minutes goes by very quickly. So we will come back for additional—I will have additional questions of Mr. O'Gara and Dr. Gonzalez. At this time, I will turn to our distinguished Ranking Member, |
lps71406.pdf | 22 | Senator LEAHY. | Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It has been a tad busy today. We are trying to work out a schedule for another major nomination in the next few weeks or months. I was thinking of that when I saw your name, Ms. Myers, but your name is spelled differently. Let me ask you about the Law Enforcement Support Center. I am sure you expected that I would ask a question about LESC. It started off as a pilot project in one county in Arizona and now it fields more than a half million calls annually from law enforcement officers around the Nation seeking information about the legal status of immigrants. It is manned 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. The reason, Mr. Chairman, that I am somewhat interested in this, is that it is located in— |
lps71406.pdf | 23 | Senator CORNYN. | Vermont. |
lps71406.pdf | 24 | Senator LEAHY. | Yes. ICE has assigned the LESC to work on the Absconder Apprehension Initiative, tracking down the aliens who have been ordered to leave the country, but fled instead. Operation Predator, focused on alien sex offenders issued 16,000 detainers last year. The government is trying to cross-link LESC with NCIC at the FBI. How do you envision using the LESC? |
lps71406.pdf | 25 | Ms. MYERS. | Thank you, Senator, for that question. I agree with you that LESC has really been one of the great successes in ICE's short history. As you mentioned, it has answered more than 500,000 calls in the past year alone. I think that LESC has been effective as serving as a major point of contact, but I think we can really expand it working, for example, through the new Fugitive Operations Support Center, which is proposed and we hope to be fully up and running by the end of calendar year 2005. If confirmed, I would work to ensure that the LESC, as well as the Fugitive Operations Support Center, get all the support that they need and are known as a single point of contact to State and locals throughout the country. They should know where to call, who to contact, and know that they can reach someone on the other end of the line. |
lps71406.pdf | 26 | Senator LEAHY. | Thank you. your 25 years in the military. I am looking for expertise in immigration matters. When did you work in the White House with the National Security Council? |
lps71406.pdf | 27 | Mr. GONZALEZ. | Sir, that was in 2002 and 2003. |
lps71406.pdf | 28 | Senator LEAHY. | Were you on detail from the Army? |
lps71406.pdf | 29 | Mr. GONZALEZ. | I was, sir. |
lps71406.pdf | 30 | Senator LEAHY. | The Web site of your current employer states you were the Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the National Security Council. What were the responsibilities in that position? |
lps71406.pdf | 31 | Mr. GONZALEZ. | Sir, I had the responsibilities for—the way we were divided up is geographically and functionally. So I had responsibilities for Central America, the Caribbean, and I also had functional responsibilities for defense issues and also immigration issues, matters such as temporary worker status, planned/unplanned migrations, particularly Haiti, Cuba. |
lps71406.pdf | 32 | Senator LEAHY. | Is that the sum of your immigration experience? |
lps71406.pdf | 33 | Mr. GONZALEZ. | Sir, my immigration experience—from your perspective, that would be it. My immigration experience happens to be the fact that I am a product of the U.S. immigration system. So not only do I bring my personal story to bear on this position should I be confirmed, but also the fact that I have 30 years of progressive management experience throughout my career. I am not an immigration attorney, no, sir. |
lps71406.pdf | 34 | Senator LEAHY. | I was going to say my maternal grandparents emigrated here from Italy not speaking any English, but I don't consider myself an expert in handling the Immigration Service. I will have other questions for you, especially about the St. Albans Service Center that I am sure you are aware of, and what they have done to reduce backlogs and to make other improvements. I hope that you would work closely with them to ensure that those improvements continue. |
lps71406.pdf | 35 | Mr. GONZALEZ. | Sir, I can tell you that in all the briefings that I have been—I don't want to say ''subjected to,'' but that I have had, only the highest comments have been made about the service centers in Vermont. And if confirmed, I look forward to visiting there. |
lps71406.pdf | 36 | Senator LEAHY. | I will go with you. |
lps71406.pdf | 37 | Mr. GONZALEZ. | Yes, sir. It would be my pleasure. |
lps71406.pdf | 38 | Senator LEAHY. | Thank you. |
lps71406.pdf | 39 | Senator CORNYN. | Senator Coburn, if you have any questions? |
lps71406.pdf | 40 | Senator COBURN. | I do. I had some confusion about the scheduling that we had arranged. Are we needing to do that or not? |
lps71406.pdf | 41 | Senator CORNYN. | My conflict has not yet arisen, so we will play that by ear. |
lps71406.pdf | 42 | Senator COBURN. | Thank you very much. Well, I don't have any questions for Ms. Myers. She came before the Homeland Security Committee and I chaired the Subcommittee that had that. So I will direct most of my questions to Dr. Gonzalez and Mr. O'Gara. I am really interested in Plan Colombia and what it has really accomplished. It has been a tremendous cost to this country. Can you kind of summarize what the American taxpayer has gotten for Plan Colombia? |
lps71406.pdf | 43 | Mr. O'GARA. | Thank you, Senator. I think we have gotten a tremendous amount. The Plan Colombia, which has received tremendous support from bipartisan majorities in the Congress on both sides of the Capitol, has done a number of things in Colombia— which I will come back to in a minute—because our charge from the President on down has been to focus on the narcotics piece. In 2001, the last full year before President Uribe took office, Colombia produced over 900 metric tons of export quality cocaine, mostly destined for export to the U.S. Through an aggressive program involving the Department of State, obviously the Colombia national police and the military in the lead, and the United States Agency for International Development, we have been able to reduce that through an aggressive eradication program to just over 500 tons. That is about a 33 percent reduction in four years. Another positive development as a result of Plan Colombia has been the ability to finance interdiction efforts off the north coast and the Pacific coast of Colombia, which have interdicted increasing amount sort of cocaine bound for the U.S. Of that 515, roughly, tons available for export last year, we seized 248 tons en route to the United States. And that is seizures in Colombia, off the coast of Colombia, and in the Transit Zone. So we have had, I think, tremendous success, and a lot of it, frankly, has been the dedication and aggressiveness of the Uribe administration, which has really taken this mission very seriously. |
lps71406.pdf | 44 | Senator COBURN. | Is there a balloon effect to the other countries that neighbor Colombia, and what are we doing about that? |
lps71406.pdf | 45 | Mr. O'GARA. | Well, that is an excellent question. I mean, the balloon effect—and Senator Biden has talked about this at length— is something we need to be very mindful of. The balloon effect, obviously, being when you push down somewhere, it pops up somewhere else. The neighboring cocaine-producer countries of Bolivia and Peru produce, respectively, on the order of 100 and 165 metric tons of cocaine a year. And we've been able to keep that relatively stable. I think Peru was down a little bit last year, Bolivia was up a little bit. Ninety-nine percent of Bolivia's cocaine doesn't come to the U.S. market, and in the case of Peru it is only about 16 percent, so we have been able to, I think, protect our market from being accessed by those. We have to be very careful. We have seen evidence of Mexican trafficking groups making inroads into the Peruvian market. We need to keep on top of that. But so far, so good. |
lps71406.pdf | 46 | Senator COBURN. | One followup question. One of my concerns is we spend a lot of money in interdiction and stopping the flow of drugs, but we don't spend the same amount of money in terms of drug treatment programs. One of the ways you stop demand for drugs is to get people off drugs, and one of the things that I would like to see us doing—I would like to see more emphasis placed by the administration, is that we know very well-run drug treatment centers free about 65 to 70 percent of the people for life from their drug addiction. And, you know, one of the ways to decrease demand is to do that. What are your thoughts on drug treatment as a component of decreasing the demand for the product that you are trying to destroy? |
lps71406.pdf | 47 | Mr. O'GARA. | Absolutely. I mean, we see it as a virtual circle, where drug treatment reduces the demand and therefore the impulse of the American drug consumer to bring the drugs into the country, law enforcement can make drug treatment work better by referring people to mandatory treatment through drug courts, interdiction makes the drug more expensive and makes it harder for people to use as much as they want. So we think that they all work together. The President's request for fiscal year 2006 contained—I want to say 23 percent drug treatment. It was probably the second-biggest single element of that, including the access to recovery initiative, which is $100 million, to give access to community, faith-based, and other groups to provide drug treatment services. But you are absolutely right. Drug treatment is a key element of a successful strategy, and one that is balanced. |
lps71406.pdf | 48 | Senator COBURN. | Mr. Chairman, I will yield back for another round, if we have it. |
lps71406.pdf | 49 | Senator CORNYN. | Mr. O'Gara, let me ask you about the connection between illegal drug trafficking and terror. As I have looked more and more into human smuggling and that sort of organized crime activity that we know occurs south of our border but literally internationally, I have been impressed with the fact—or should say, maybe, depressed—with the fact that, more and more, these organized crime syndicates are really just concerned about making money. And they will smuggle drugs, they will traffic in people, they will traffic in weapons and the like. Can you enlighten us any about the connection that you have observed between illegal drug trafficking and terror? |
lps71406.pdf | 50 | Mr. O'GARA. | Mr. Chairman, indeed there is a connection. It varies. I think the Department of State identifies 40 listed FTOs at this time. Our last scrub identified 12 of them, which had some significant role in either producing drugs, guarding cultivation, traffic, and so forth. The connection is perhaps clearest in Colombia, where you have three foreign terrorist organization groups, the ELN, the FARC, and the AUC. All of them are heavily involved in the drug trade—cultivating, monitoring cultivation and processing, in some cases even off-continent distribution of those drugs. With respect to the FARC, I think the U.S. Government supports the efforts of the Colombian Government to target and marginalize and take back Colombia. One of the ways we have done that—and I don't think anybody really saw this coming—was, frankly, by hitting them in the pocketbook as aggressively as we have. We have cost them hundreds of millions of dollars annually in drug revenues. Similar with the AUC and similarly with the ELN. In terms of other terrorist groups, there have been linkages that have been frightening to many. Certainly the al Qaeda-affiliated group that perpetrated the Madrid bombings, they made their money by selling hashish. So it comes in different forms and contexts. |
lps71406.pdf | 51 | Senator CORNYN. | Thank you. I will have some other questions in writing for Ms. Myers and Mr. O'Gara, and I just have a couple of questions for Dr. Gonzalez and then I am going to turn the gavel over to Senator Coburn. that will achieve the President's goal of 6-month processing times for all immigration benefit applications? |
lps71406.pdf | 52 | Mr. GONZALEZ. | Thank you for the question, sir. The backlog reduction which you are talking about is obviously something that is key to everybody that works in U.S. CIS. And I think we can safely say that so far the backlog reduction has been a good-news story. We are not where we need to be, we need to work harder to get to the President's stated goal, but at the same time I think that the accomplishments to date have been noteworthy. Personnel have already been shifted to locations that have the greatest influx of documents, resources have been dedicated, new technologies are coming online soon, which will help facilitate, create efficiencies. But at the same time, sir, as much as everybody wants to talk about backlog reduction and everybody wants to achieve that as an end state because the 6-month period, I think, is a fair and acceptable period, I don't think we want to do that at the expense of security. And I think we need to balance good customer service, letting an individual, a client who submits his paperwork, have a feeling about how long it is going to take. And I think that is a fair request of a client. But at the same time, there is a national security imperative, and I would just as soon come here at a future date to have to explain to you why we did not meet a particular target because there were Homeland Security imperatives than have to come here and explain to you why we naturalized somebody that we shouldn't have, or why we adjudicated in a positive way somebody that was unworthy of that benefit. |
lps71406.pdf | 53 | Senator CORNYN. | I appreciate your answer, but you realize that Congress is getting ready to make a hard job probably even more difficult. |
lps71406.pdf | 54 | Mr. GONZALEZ. | Yes, sir. |
lps71406.pdf | 55 | Senator CORNYN. | If we take the 10 or 11 million people who are currently living here out-of-status, who come here in violation of our laws, and if we create some legal mechanism for a temporary worker program and have to some way—and I don't know exactly how we are going to do it yet—transition that population out of the shadows into the mainstream of American life, and obviously all without granting amnesty, you are going to have a huge challenge, not just dealing with the current population that you have to deal with in terms of immigration applications, benefit applications, but obviously a tremendous challenge in terms of trying to correct what I think is a lack of attention that this country, and particularly the Federal Government, has historically given to this immigration problem, which has now risen to crisis proportions. I am not going to ask you for a definitive answer on how you are going to do that today, but I will ask you to respond to a question I will submit to you in writing that I would like to get the benefit of your thoughts in that regard. I will turn the gavel now over to Senator Coburn. |
lps71406.pdf | 56 | Senator COBURN. | (presiding) I just have a couple of questions. With unanimous consent we will enter into the record a statement by Senator Pat Roberts in terms of the support of Julie Myers. I also would note that the record will be left open for 1 week for written questions by other members of the Committee or other Senators. It will close next Tuesday, the 25th, at 5 p.m. you weren't an attorney. I think that is great. Being a physician myself, I like to see something besides attorneys in some of our positions. |
lps71406.pdf | 57 | Mr. GONZALEZ. | So do I, sir. |
lps71406.pdf | 58 | Senator COBURN. | I don't think it is necessarily a deficit. And that is not to reflect negatively on attorneys. I love my son-in-law. What challenges do you see in front of the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services in the future? You are looking at this. If confirmed, you are going to have to measure and assess those challenges. What do you see as those challenges, and what are your answers to them? |
lps71406.pdf | 59 | Mr. GONZALEZ. | Sir, in no priority, but some priority, I think we just discussed the backlog reduction. I think that is a key challenge across the board. But I don't want at least people in U.S. CIS at some point to feel that that is what it is all about, that we are only here to do backlog reduction and we are not here to do other things or we are not concerned with other matters. Again, the backlog reduction is being addressed. Resources and technologies are being dedicated. We hope to get there by the end of September of next year. If confirmed, I will be tracking that progress regularly just to make sure that we not only get there, but we get there the right way. And we don't need to sacrifice national security just to be expedient. I think we can do both and we should do both, and we should hold ourselves to that standard. Another would be IT modernization and transformation. Quite frankly, from what I have been exposed to, the IT systems at U.S. CIS are very, very antiquated. In addition to what the Senator just porary worker program, I don't think the systems—in fact, I know the systems that exist right now wouldn't be able to handle it. So as a result, getting the right technology, using the very best technology available to be able to capture all that information for whatever piece of this temporary worker program is allotted to U.S. CIS, I think, is important. Again, that is being addressed as we speak, although obviously, when you are talking about IT modernization, it is a very expensive situation to have to undertake. But that having been said, it is a priority for me and a concern which I will follow up, if confirmed. The other thing I would like to also address is fraud detection. U.S. CIS has fraud detection capabilities, and I think it is incumbent on all of us as professionals—and again, I come from a national security background—I think we should service customers that come to us in a dignified and honorable way. For many of these people, U.S. CIS is the first real face of American bureaucracy that they experience. In fact, most people that come to this country are fleeing oppressive bureaucracies somewhere else. So I think it is incumbent on us to have a very, very professional staff. But just like I would require the staff at U.S. CIS to handle themselves with decorum and integrity, I think I would also require clients to handle themselves the same way, with making sure that the documentation that they give is correct; if it is not correct, to produce a correct document; if it is a fraudulent document, to do what we need to do at that point. But again, I want to not just emphasize customer service, but I want to emphasize the national security aspect of the mission that U.S. CIS has. And the other has to do with the temporary worker program. Whatever comes down the pike in whatever fashion, shape, form, label, whatever we want to call it, if there is a piece—which I will be—for U.S. CIS, we need to start preparing for that now, as opposed to waiting four, five, six, 7 months from now. |
lps71406.pdf | 60 | Senator COBURN. | All right, thank you. You might be surprised to learn that in 2004 the Federal Government spent $66 billion on IT. And we don't have what we should to show for it. So I will promise you that you will get to come before the Federal Financial Management Committee in terms of how you spend your money on IT— which happens to be my Subcommittee—so we can make sure that we get our value for what we are spending on that. |
lps71406.pdf | 61 | Mr. GONZALEZ. | Yes, sir. |
lps71406.pdf | 62 | Senator COBURN. | And I think your comments in terms of starting to plan now for some type of way on a temporary worker program, it is incumbent so that you will be ready when the changes—The changes are coming. The Congress is going to do it, the American people demand it, it is going to happen. We are going to control the border. We are going to repatriate those people to their home countries who are here illegally, and then we are going to work out something for those positions in our country that can't be filled by American workers, the opportunity for others to come here and work. |
lps71406.pdf | 63 | Mr. GONZALEZ. | And we would hope to position U.S. CIS to be able to undertake whatever missions Congress sets out for us. Again, whatever piece of that pie will go to U.S. CIS, we want to be ready. |
lps71406.pdf | 64 | Senator CORNYN. | All right. Thank you. I have no additional questions. We have no other members here. The record will be left open until Tuesday, the 25th, at 5 p.m. I thank each of our nominees for being before the Committee and I look forward to working with you in the future. The hearing is adjourned. [Whereupon, at 3:19 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.] [Questions and answers and submissions for the record follow.] 27442.059 27442.060 27442.061 27442.062 27442.063 27442.064 27442.065 27442.066 27442.067 27442.068 27442.069 27442.070 27442.071 27442.072 27442.073 27442.074 27442.075 27442.076 27442.077 27442.078 27442.079 27442.080 27442.081 27442.082 27442.083 27442.084 27442.085 27442.086 27442.087 27442.088 27442.089 27442.090 27442.091 27442.092 27442.093 27442.094 27442.095 27442.096 27442.097 27442.098 27442.099 27442.100 27442.101 27442.102 27442.103 27442.104 27442.105 27442.106 27442.107 27442.108 27442.109 27442.110 27442.111 27442.112 27442.113 27442.114 27442.115 27442.116 27442.117 27442.118 27442.119 27442.120 27442.121 27442.122 27442.123 27442.124 27442.125 27442.126 27442.127 27442.128 27442.129 27442.130 27442.131 27442.132 27442.133 27442.134 27442.135 27442.136 27442.137 27442.138 27442.139 27442.140 27442.141 27442.142 27442.143 27442.144 27442.145 27442.146 27442.205 27442.206 27442.207 27442.208 27442.147 27442.148 27442.149 27442.150 27442.151 27442.152 27442.153 27442.154 27442.155 27442.156 27442.157 27442.158 27442.159 27442.160 27442.161 27442.162 27442.163 27442.164 27442.165 27442.166 27442.167 27442.168 27442.169 27442.170 27442.171 27442.172 27442.173 27442.174 27442.175 27442.176 27442.177 27442.178 27442.179 27442.180 27442.181 27442.182 27442.183 27442.184 27442.185 27442.186 27442.187 27442.188 27442.189 27442.190 27442.191 27442.192 27442.193 27442.194 27442.195 27442.196 27442.197 27442.198 27442.199 27442.200 27442.201 27442.202 27442.203 27442.204 27442.209 Æ 27442.210 |
lps84433.pdf | 0 | The CHAIRMAN. | Thank you very much, Secretary Lowery. Let me just begin with a general overview question. Infrastructure can be an important investment to reduce poverty in developing countries, particularly infrastructure that allows people access to energy, water, communications, and transportation. However, the committee has become aware of investments in infrastructure that unfortunately diverted resources from the needy and caused negative impacts on the poor. The revenues apparently were not put to the best use. Now, as the MDBs are supported by taxpayer dollars from donor countries, their projects are expected to reduce poverty and improve growth in the developing world. In your judgment, are the MDB banks carefully evaluating infrastructure projects based on their development impact from the beginning of consideration, as well as through the working out of the projects? |
lps84433.pdf | 1 | Mr. LOWERY. | My belief is that the MDBs, to a large extent, do exactly what you just asked if they did. They try very hard to figure out how these infrastructure projects are going to actually help the people of these countries. There are times when we have concerns that the MDBs might be moving in a way that is too fast, or the incentives are wrong. The incentives sometimes can be to actually ''let's get a project on or a program financed,'' as opposed to ''let's see what results we're actually going to achieve with those programs.'' We have tried to focus our attention on—our voice and arguments have basically been toward making project selection much more targeted and selective based on performance in terms of policies. We've tried to make sure that the MDBs are striving to have the best environmental, social safeguards, as well as procurement and fiduciary standards. And, finally, we have tried to really focus on measuring the results of these things. That said, there are going to be mistakes made. This is a very, very risky business, and we just need to correct those mistakes when they happen. |
lps84433.pdf | 2 | The CHAIRMAN. | In your continuing analysis of these projects, have you developed metrics that offer you some basis of comparing results? In other words, these are always clearly value judgments, but after you have been through a good number of them, there may be some characteristics that lead you to have some standards. |
lps84433.pdf | 3 | Mr. LOWERY. | I think that it's a good question. The metrics that we try to look at are—first of all we try to look at the broad, macro picture in terms of macroeconomics but also microeconomics. What are the countries doing to actually try to reduce problems in their policy environment? That's the first metric we look at, and there are a number of indicators that go with that. Second, I think, is to try to look at more specifics in terms of the actual projects themselves. Are the results' frameworks being put in at the front that are monitorable and quantifiable, or are they basically kind of things like, ''Well, we seek to do something,'' which is kind of amorphous and you're not really sure what they're trying to do. So that's something that we focus very hard on. In fact, just the other day there was a loan in the Inter-American Development Bank which was a loan for very good purposes, and it was going to help a country that's important to the United States. And we were very concerned that the measuring results agenda wasn't there, that we weren't sure what was going to actually be achieved. And actually, to the IDB management's credit and their staff's credit, they actually went back and tried to find us more metrics about how they were going to—it was a competitive loan, so how were they going to reduce the days in terms of red tape and bureaucracy that was involved, so that basically we could actually find out whether or not we're actually achieving something with this loan, or is it just money into a budget? |
lps84433.pdf | 4 | The CHAIRMAN. | I like your expression of these metrics up front to begin with, that you look for some indication there, as opposed to an editorial after it's all over. Some good things happened, but not necessarily either anticipated or planned. |
lps84433.pdf | 5 | Mr. LOWERY. | Right. |
lps84433.pdf | 6 | The CHAIRMAN. | Now, a number of the infrastructure projects focused on energy generate revenue for the developing country, rather than improving the overall infrastructure of the country. Now, if the infrastructure project's main development impact is revenue generation, what can be done to ensure that those revenues are used for development? |
lps84433.pdf | 7 | Mr. LOWERY. | I think that there's a variety of different things that the MDBs try to do. The first is probably just a broader perspective of the MDBs, actually, and the IMF on this one, work to help increase the transparency of the budget so that we actually have a better understanding of where the money is going, and more importantly that the people of the country have a better understanding of where the budget is going. And second is, the MDBs work on capacity-building within the governments themselves, so that they have the capacity to handle these resources in a more effective way and that they can put in controls. And third, in some projects, and this is more case-by-case, we look and see if there are mechanisms that can be set up, such as the Chad-Cameroon pipeline, which has had some problems, but one thing that has been set up was an oversight committee called a college. The college actually is made up of NGOs. The chairman of the college is actually the opposition leader. And Treasury actually has provided technical assistance to the college on budget transparency. The college is basically looking at the revenues that are flowing toward a certain portion of the Chad-Cameroon pipeline, to see if they're going toward health projects, education projects, and basic infrastructure. And the college has actually said at times things are working, but at times there have been problems. But in the past, there's a good chance we would not have known that, but now we do because of this mechanism that was set up. So it's kind of we try to do it on a variety of different levels. |
lps84433.pdf | 8 | The CHAIRMAN. | Well, the transparency idea that you have expressed, I think, is tremendously important. I was in Baku last August, at the beginning of the bubbling of oil through the BakuCeyhan pipeline, and had a visit with President Aliyev of the country. He pledged to be very transparent from the beginning about the revenues coming to his country, so we welcome that. I hope to return this year and take another look, and President Aliyev, in fairness, has come to our country, and had a visit here within the last 2 months. But this is a very important issue, and this is not a project of the MDBs. This is by and large investment by British Petroleum and a large consortium, including some oil firms from our country. But at the same time, the principle is the same, in terms of what is going to occur in that country with regard to schools and houses and roads and so forth. |
lps84433.pdf | 9 | Mr. LOWERY. | I agree with you completely, and as I mentioned, the IFC and the EBRD actually were helping on the financing of that project. In terms of President Aliyev's commitment, I know that our State Department has been working very closely with them on kind of a transparency initiative because of energy, to basically capture what's actually happening with energy revenues and what's happening on the other side of the equation, energy expenditures—or not energy expenditures, budget expenditures. |
lps84433.pdf | 10 | The CHAIRMAN. | Well, I look forward to working with you and State Department officials prior to our visit this time, so we all are on the same page asking questions, because this is an important policy for us. Let me note that, as you mention in your statement, the January 30, 2006 World Bank publication entitled ''Scaling Up Infrastructure: Building on Strength, Learning From Mistakes'' identified a number of lessons learned. Now, how are these lessons being integrated proactively in World Bank projects, in your judgment? And how are those lessons being integrated into the infrastructure projects, particularly finance, by other multilateral development banks? |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.