the chair now recognizes dr. meeks for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chair. you know, it is interesting listening to the panel and i agree this is a global pandemic so all of our panelists would agree this is a global pandemic. yes? all of them agree that we need to have immunity and we know that we can acquire immunity through two different sources. one through vaccination, and the second way that we can acquire immunity is through infection acquired immunity which we have heard discussed already. it is frustrating to me to share that the response from some of our panelists is that if the united states forces the u.s. companies to give up intellectual property rights and patent protections to allow more dosages to be developed, one is that, are there facilities that can develop vaccines immediately and with the safety requirements and then, would, is there a public health infrastructure in order to deliver vaccines? three, while we're waiting for this individuals are developing covid-19 and developing immunity so perhaps talking about immunity would be extra

>> yes, mr. chairman. chair menendez: you very much. all the nominees have responded yes to all questions. the chairman for reserve his time. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. ms. gutmann, one of my pet peeves is the of money flowing to higher education from china. i work with the chairman as we try to rein this up and we will continue to do that and i went to get your thoughts while you are here. i was shocked at this number of $86 million from your institution. i was also shocked when you indicated you did not know much about this. what do you know about that? do you supervise that at all? dr. gutmann: thank you, then please let me put this question in the context. your excellent report of november 2020 on transit and cooperation on china. the focus on the p.r.c.'s use of american institutions of higher education by having confucius institutes asking american universities to restrict freedom, control faculty hiring and threaten core values is something that i share great concern about. at a time when confucius institutes were prol

. >> thank you mr. chair. gives me great pleasure and i'm honored to introduce david kim, secretary of california transportation agency. many colleagues are familiar with mr. kim's distinguished career, having worked for the federal highway administration, the governor of california, the mayor of los angeles, and our former colleague. mr. kim has been transformative leader of our strait's transportation agency working for hard for local communities to reduce congestion, improve freight movement and provide for cleaner transition system. and by the way, mention he's been very accessible to me. thank you for your work on behalf of our state and your testimony today. thank you mr. chairman, yield back. >> thank you. next witness is mr. corbett, president of ceo of the new jersey transit and co-chair of the northeast corridor commission and here on blafl of the northeast corridor commission. and then ms. julie white. deputy secretary of mobile transportation north carolina. and department transportation and missio

mr. comer: thank you, madam chair. i yield four minutes to the gentleman from illinois, the ranking member of the house administration committee, mr. davis. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. davis: thank you, madam speaker. thank you, my good friend, the gentleman from kentucky, for yielding. the bill we're debating here today, the so-called protect our democracy act, is another attempt by the outgoing majority to relitigate many of the democrats' sham investigations. many of the bill's provisions are unnecessary and recycled attempts to take away individual state sovereignty. if we were really here to talk about our protecting our democracy, then we would focus on the importance of voter rolls list maintenance to ensure only eligible citizens are able to vote in federal elections. congress passed the bipartisan national voter registration act in 1993. that's almost 30 years ago. this law requires states to conduct regular list maintenance to ensure their voter rolls are kept up to date. this si

rice for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chair. it is important for us to remember that, the last time both houses of congress agreed to change internet liability laws, was in 2018, when the stop sex trafficking act was passed. even though not much time has passed since then, i believe our understanding of how online platforms operate, how they are designed, has evolved with this conversation about section 230 liability protection in recent years. ms. goldberg, as an attorney specializing in cases relating to revenge porn and other online abuse, can you talk about how this act has affected these cases? >> basically, it has come to be a bit problematic in my practice area, because it relates -- conflates child sex trafficking consensual sex work, but i did plea that act in the omegle case i told you about, which basically says that omegle did facilitate sex trafficking on its platform when it matched my 11-year-old client with a 37-year-old man who then forced her into sexual servitude for three years. they are going to still claim

chair stevens: thank you, dr. blevins. mr. grimm. mr. grimm: good morning -- good morning, chair stevens, ranking member waltz, members, and subcommittee. i'm michael grimm and assistant administrator for risk management for the federal insurance mitigation administration. thank you for opportunity to discuss the supporting role with the national windstorm impact reduction program. fema's mission is helping people before, during, and after natural disasters. mitigating the impact of binned storms damages from events such as hurricanes, tornadoes and others is as important aspect of this responsibility. the risk of extreme windstorm varies across the country, no state, tribal nation, locality, is immeund. as a result of climate change, natural disasters are more frequent, more intense, and more destructive. in 2020 a powerful der recho went across the midwest. earlier this year hurricane identified yeahs win stredz went to 155 miles per hour in less than 24 hours. when ida made landfall, it remained much of its strength as it crossed over

. >> thank you, mr. chair. mr. chopra, thank you for being here. i would like for you maybe just a moment to look around the room for members in the chamber and the senate members in the chamber and based on their appearance and names can you provide me with the person's ethnicity and race? >> senator, i understand that may be a reference to the section 1071 notice of proposed rule making. i understand that there are some guidelines there where a borrower has not filled out the form appropriately or completely, that it allows i believe in the proposal the lender to comply by making an yassertation. obviously that is something we will collect comment on. i think this is trying to strike a balance of finding ways for lenders to be able to comply, but i have heard these concerns. i understand these concerns. we will need to take these concerns into account when crafting any financial rule. i hear you loud and clear. >> but it does sound like you may be forcing a lender to guess ethnicity and race based on appearance? it does seem to be a good way to g

mr. gibbs: thank you, mr. chair. i also want to thank representative dusty johnson, garamendi for their work on this bill. while i rise in supporter this bill, do i have concerns about the process under which it has been brought to the floor. whether by itself much impact on the supply difficulties we are currently facing. neither hearing or markup was held on this bill. given the complexity i believe a hearing and markup would have given members a better opportunity to splifully understand and perhaps improve the bill. the bill gives the federal maritime commission enhanced authorities to prevent ocean carriers who operate ships in the container trade from engaging in anti-competitive activities with regards to shippers and gives shippers enhanced input into the process. i have concerns about giving bureaucrats at the federal maritime commission more authority to insert themselves into privately held contractual agreements. however, it appears to a great extend the delays port congestion, and higher shipping prices

mr. chair? >> chair haney: thank you. we have [indiscernible] to present the item. >> thank you. i am [indiscernible] requesting the community to approve a new contract. as you know, we issued a request for proposal in april. although we received only one proposal, we conducted a thorough investigation by subject matter experts from the california legislative analyst's office, contra costa administrator's office and a member of the board to ensure we're hiring a qualified member for the board. the item before you is a resolution approving an agreement between harvey m. rose associations, l.l.c. and the board of supervisors for the budget and legislative analyst services for an initial term of four years from january 1, 2022 through december 31, 2025. thank you, and i'm available for your questions. >> clerk: i think we hear a caller. caller, you may begin your comments. >> yeah, supervisors, i was listening to the previous gentleman and, i think when whoever these people are that placed in positions because the mayor wants them in that position so that they can carry on their cro

the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from iowa, mrs. miller-meeks, for five minutes. mrs. miller-meeks: thank you, mr. speaker. today i rise to recognize a man from my district for his commitment to keeping iowa beautiful and preserving some of our most treasured historical site. mark mowan was recently presented with the iowa architectual foundation's 2021 community enhancement through architecture and design award. it recognizes individuals, organizations, agencies and communities outside the arc secture -- architecture profession who has continually championed the cause of architecture in ways that better iowa. he advocated to save the first brick house in iowa city from being raised and began restoring the building instead. since then, mark has made iowa city the beautiful city it is today. thank you for your dedication to our community and our state. mr. speaker, today, i rise a man from my district for continuing his family legacy of leadership in iowa agriculture. this year, louis payne was awarded the heritage award by the iowa

. >> chair mandelman: present. >> commissioner mar: present. mr. chairman, i am present. >> clerk: haven't got there. melgar absent. >> vice chair peskin: present. >> commissioner preston: present. >> commissioner ronen: present. >> commissioner safai: present. >> commissioner stefani: present. >> commissioner walton: present. >> clerk: we have quorum. >> chair mandelman: great, thank you, madame clerk. you have announcements. >> i would like to make an announcement about public comment. to make public comment on the item -- i'm sorry -- public comment is available for each item by calling 1-415-655-0001 and when accessed to press the access code 2492 822 2026 # #. once you join, you will be in the meeting as participant to make public comment on the item when it is called. press star 3 to be added to the queue to speak. the live operator will -- be allowed to speak. when your two minutes are up, the calls will be taken in the order received. the best practices is to speak clearly and turn down televisions or radios behind you. that concludes my an

mr. cook, do you have any announcements? >> clerk: yes, mr. chair, the minutes will reflect that the committee met via video conference and public access to city services is important. public com

the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. mr. joyce: mr. speaker, i rise to address the house and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. joyce: mr. speaker, this week we saw new data that revealed who is truly being harmed by the biden's economic crisis. the short answer is that those who can least afford it are being left behind. last month the u.s. economy added only 200,000 new jobs. not enough. it's not enough to sustain any sort of recovery from the covid-19 pandemic because of this poor response. because of this poor showing many industries lost workers, including manufacturers and retail stores. in november labor force participation actually declined among those with less than a high school diploma or some college education. simply stated, the biden administration's failures are leafing americans behind -- leaving americans behind at a time when the price of essential goods are skyrocketing. inof addressing the crisis that liberal policies have created, democrats are doubling down on the failed legislative

the chair recognizes the gentleman from new york. mr. meeks: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h.res. 837, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. meeks: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. meeks: i rise today in support of h.res. 837, as amended, expressing the sense of the house of representatives that beijing should immediately guarantee the safety, the freedom of peng shuai. former wimbledon doubles champion peng shuai accused the vice premier of state council of the people's republic of china zhang gaoli of sexual assault. the first sexual assault to implement a high-ranking chinese official, peng seemingly vanished into thin air. deleting the original post, censoring any mention of peng, of peng's name or discussion or her or discussion or her allegations online. we know that here in america, sexual assault and gender-based violence are serio

[no audio] >> the chair will be in recess subject to the call of the chair. mr. chairman, i apologize. >> that is all right congressman carter. you are now recognized for approximately five minutes. >> thank you mr. chairman. ranking member davis. it is extremely and i appreciate it. i am disappointed the hearing is not before the full committee on house administration but i am honored to appear before you today to discuss the importance of protecting the integrity of all federal elections and voter faith in outcomes. the next selection will likely bring a change in control of this house. it is wharton voters know they can trust results. when republicans take control of the house, we will focus on reopening our capitol to the american people in a transparent manner. before i go any further, i want to thank mr. butterfield for your friendship and your service on the energy and commerce committee. that is a very important committee that does great bipartisan work. i submitted is the most bipartisan committee in congress and i am proud of the work we do. i want to t

mr. comer: thank you, madam chair. i yield four minutes to the gentleman from illinois, the ranking member of the house administration committee, mr. davis. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. davis: thank you, madam speaker. thank you, my good friend, the gentleman from kentucky, for yielding. the bill we're debating here today, the so-called protect our democracy act, is another attempt by the outgoing majority to relitigate many of the democrats' sham investigations. many of the bill's provisions are unnecessary and recycled attempts to take away individual state sovereignty. if we were really here to talk about our protecting our democracy, then we would focus on the importance of voter rolls list maintenance to ensure only eligible citizens are able to vote in federal elections. congress passed the bipartisan national voter registration act in 1993. that's almost 30 years ago. this law requires states to conduct regular list maintenance to ensure their voter rolls are kept up to date. this si

. >> thank you, mr. chair. mr. chopra, thank you for being here. i would like for you to maybe just a moment to look around the room to members in the chamber and the senate members in the chamber. can you provide me with the person's ethnicity and race? >> so senator, i understand that may be a reference to the section 1071 notice of proposed rule making. i understand that there is some guidelines there where a borrower has not filled out the form appropriately or completely, that it allows, i believe, in the proposal the lender to comply by making ans aertation. obviously, that is something -- we will collect comment on that. i think this is trying to stroke a balance of finding ways of lenders to comply. i have heard these concerns. i understand these concerns, and we will need to take these concerns into account when crafting any final rule. i hear you loud and clear. >> but it does sound like you may be forcing a lender to guess ethnicity and race based on appearance. it does seem like a good way to get accurate information. and you're forcing

. >> thank you, chair, my first question for mr. there is no one size fits all. >> it could be in theory. if i heard your testimony correctly, it could exceed $6. >> it could. there are some that do. according to financial health network, that's the range. >> i want to move on. i'm going to reclaim my time. $6 is the high. if you're a low wage worker earning a minimum wage of 7.25, then that fee is almost an hour's worth of work. it's almost one eighth of a workday. that strikes me as excessive. does that not strike you as excessive? >> no, if it's today and i've worked a week and a half and have accrued wages or a flat tire and need to go to the store i'm not sure why i need to wait until friday for that to happen. does the american trade association for the buy now pay later companies have its own ked of conduct? >> we are working with cfpb and we've been in active conversations -- >> but you don't have one yet? >> we are -- >> okay. >> i'm not familiar with the american trade association. >> is there a trade association for earne

i'm available for any questions. >> chair melgar: thank you so much mr. crawford. i do have couple of questions for you. thank you for explaining the areas of prioritization. i am wondering if you will be open to adding criteria to that? for example, areas in vicinity of senior centers, like laguna honda or places where there's trees and people with disabilities like pomeroy center. to me, it makes sense to also be proactive, places where we know there are vulnerable populations. i understood said high pedestrian traffic and bus stops, what about the other uses? >> that's great question. just in the last week, i got a concern about raised sidewalk that was in the green area. we internally talked about how there was a community center located there where people were going there for meals. it was definitely a high traffic pedestrian site. as inspectors, we take that into account wholeheartedly. it's the right thing to do. it's also a way to minimize trips and falls which is the right thing to do from a city risk benefit. we do take that into consideration. i think th

mr. cordray: i understand, madam chair. you are piling up the homework for us, but we'll get it back to you as quickly as we can. rep. wilson: that lets you know how important your work is and how important this particular issue impacts so many people, and we appreciate your cooperation. and now, welcome. >> thank you, madam chair. appreciate it. and thank you, mr. cordray. i just want to say thank you for your loan commitment to public service, as well. i appreciate that. i have a bill that i introduced back in 2013 that came out of the grassroots of my constituents, refinancing of student loans. as you know, we're kind of historically low-interest rates, yet we have a lot of people paying 6% plus interest rates on old loans. we had introduced a bill to allow people to be able to refinance their student loans at the lowest available current rate. the idea being that would happen in the free market. but somehow, it doesn't happen with student loans. as you know, it's not necessarily easy to do this process. can you think of

chair. >> the gentlelady yields back. >> mr. chair quickly wanted to ask given one of these witnesses would they have the opportunity to respond? >> for 30 r seconds. >> it was ms. st. john. when a business saves money when area won't best another area. it's one of the things that benefits are repeated -- to invest another area on behalf of its employees. >> thank you mr. chairman. first to be clear rape and sexual assault arel serious crimess punishable by serious, serious penalties. is there anything an arbitration agreement that prevents the perpetrator from being charged and prosecuted under these criminal laws ms. perry? >> none whatsoever. >> would ever be possible to write an arbitration clause that would forestall theur ability of prosecutor to bring charges? >> no, it would be legally unenforceable. >> ms. st. john? >> yes, absolutely. >> the constitutional argument we hear is the seventh amount guarantees the right of jury trial in common losses over $20 arbitration clauses violate this guarantee but the constitution r

. >> thank you, mr. chair man you mentioned in your testimony. i think that it was -- how can we help ensure that the counterfeit items never get into the supply chain that they are stopped before they come in and then likewise had removed recently some of their inspectors, talk about those very quickly. >> i will say they are a little bit outside of my expertise but -- >> when it comes to these products a lot of them do come into the ports but a lot of them are sold online. giving customers as much information as we can about who is selling the product as well as making sure that they are monitoring so that they were not purchasing. >> and that will get into the section 230 reforms that i mentioned earlier that allow for that transparency and information share. let's go back to what you all at the toy association can do and how you were sharing information with customers, and chair man cantwell mentioned that we have passed when i was over in the house that dealt with information to purchasers of used cars and maybe using that as a model. to sha

mr. cook, do you have any announcements? >> clerk: yes, mr. chair, the

smith: thank you very much, mr. joe and thank you, director-- mr. chair, and thank you, director chopra. i would like to focus my questions on abuses by structured settlement buyers. over the last few weeks, the "minneapolis start-tribune" has run a series of really alarming stories based on what structured settlement buyers are doing. as you no doubt know, director chopra, there are 750,000 americans who receive some sort of structured settlement, which are periodic payments can usually monthly or yearly, to compensate people for injuries that they or their family members have suffered. these payments are critical for helping families pay for medical care or sometimes just being able to survive after a tragic and that in. --tragic incident. we are talking about stories of people who have experienced a catastrophic injury and in some cases it makes it impossible for them to live independently. then what happens is these businesses come in, realizing that they can make money off of these cap tester fees -- catastrophes, and they take advantage of the

butterfield: the chair will not be in recess subject to the call of the chair. rep. carter: mr. chairman, i apologize. rep. butterfield: i recognize your voice at anywhere anytime. you are now recognized for approximately five minutes. rep. carter: thank you mr. chairman and ranking member davis for holding this hearing today. it is externally important and i appreciate it. i am disappointed that the hearing is not before the full committee. i am honored to appear before you today to discuss the importance of protecting the integrity of all federal elections and voter faith in election process and outcomes. the next election will likely bring a change in the control of the house it is important voters can trust the results. following the next federal election we will focus on reopening the capital for the american people in a transparent manner. before i go any further i do want to thank you for your friendship and your service on the energy and commerce committee. it is a variant -- very important committee that does great bipartisan work. i submit that it is the most bipartisa

ossoff: thank you chair powell. mr. chairman. >> senator daines of montana is recognized for five minutes. >> thank you for being here as well. congratulations chairman powell for your renomination. we spoke last august and congratulations you will have my support. i would like to start by expressing my concern with inflation we are seeing in the economy. my concern with the administration and democratic colleagues continuing to plow ahead with the very reckless tax and spending proposal as if inflation did not exist. back to where we were earlier this year, senator scott made the comments about elections having consequences. the consequences are we have policy outcomes with consequences. even though we had nearly a trillion dollars in unspent covid relief dollars coming in 2021, the democrats march forward with $1.9 trillion purely partisan spending package. this is cash canons shooting across the economy. so we created demand by injecting borrowed money in the economy. now the democrats are looking at jamming through

the chair now recognizes the full committee chair, mrs. maloney, for five minutes. welcome. mrs. maloney: thank you, thank you very much, chairman lynch, for holding this important hearing. and thank you for calling on me. the united states is a force for good in the world. because we take extraordinary steps to avoid civilian casualties when conducting military operations. we are not perfect, the loss of innocent life is a tragic reality of war. but when we harm innocent civilians, we must take responsibility for our errors and investigate what happens so that the same mistakes do not happen again. ms. harris, i'd like to ask you, do you agree that protecting innocent life while conducting military operations is a moral and strategic imperative? ms. harris: thank you for the question. ma'am, i agree wholeheartedly. i think at the center of our very ethos, are accountability and transparency. we abhor the loss of innocent life. we take all possible measures to prevent them. when we have incidents, it's our duty to learn from those and seek to be better. mrs. maloney: thank you. i

chair, we are now in open session for tonight's redistricting task force meeting. mr. chair, your microphone is not muted so we are not hearing you now.

>> mr. chair? i am here. >> good morning congresswoman, claudia, represents new york's 22nd district. good morning. you have approximately five minutes. >> thank you, i apologize for the tech difficulties. thank you, to all of the distinguished members of the committee. the integrity of our elections is essential to the functioning of our republic. we have fought, marched, and died, to pick our sacred right. it is important that americans know that only legal votes are counted. the essential trust has been tarnished. my progressive friends questioned the legitimacy of the election for no other reason than they dislike the individual elected. that is the opposite of democracy. then there is the lack of transparency in politically motivated policies that undermine the trust in the pandemic election. we saw shortcomings firsthand every day. this last year, my congressional race took almost three months to decide. ac rule changes and incompetence led to americans without representation in congress for

thank you, chair powell. the gentleman from texas, mr. sessions, is now recognized for five minutes. senator sessions: thank you very much -- mr. sessions: thank you very much. madam secretary, without being too much as it were that we're fighting each other here over politics, i found it very interesting that your remarks wanted to be in line with the administration of which you serve as a cabinet officer, but it gets confusing for a member of congress -- and i believe the american people -- to speak directly to the facts of the case or the truth that we would decide. you have used the word a couple times "honesty" and "reporting", i believe three times today. your reference to this build back better is being completely paid for -- as being completely paid for but then you put a caveat there, but c.b.o. did not report it that way because of the revenue that might come in from whatever today we're hearing, 80,000 or 87,000 new i.r.s. agents. what am i as a member of this committee to take away the position of the treasury department as th

>> yes, mr. chair. we're checking to see if there are callers in the queue. for those who wish to speak on this item, please call 1-415-655-0001. enter the meeting i.d., 2486 673 7933 # #. when connected, press star 3 to enter the queue to speak. system prompt will indicate you've raised your hand. we do not have any callers in the queue, mr. chair. >> chair mar: great. public comment is closed. i would just move that we continue this item to the next meeting at the public safety and neighborhood services committee. which i believe is january 13th. >> and i'm sorry, just a quick question, would that specific amendment be adopted so we can still be working on it? >> chair mar: oh. >> we have to adopt that, right? >> chair mar: yeah. why don't we do that? >> on the first motion to accept the amendment to item number 3 on page 4, lines 1 through 5, which is subsection f, vice chair stefani? >> member stefani: aye. >> member haney: aye. >> chair mar: aye. >> would you like me to call the roll on the continuation of the ordinance as amended? >> chair mar: yes, ple

last but not least mr. knox ross, mississippi chair of the rail commission. thank you for joining us today and i look forward to your testimony. without objection our witnesse'' full statement will be included in the record. since your written testimony has been made part of the record subcommittee requests you limit your oral testimony to five minutes. mr. gardner, you may proceed. >> good morning, chairman defazio, chairman payne, ranking member crawford, members of the committee and my colleagues. thank you for inviting me to testify. let me begin by acknowledging chairman divides io for his years of public service -- chairman defazio for his years of public service. 's work has shaped the nation for decades with the enactment of this infrastructure law and will do so for many years to come. thank you. we will sorely miss your leadership as you leave congress. amtrak has described how intercity passenger rail could benefit the nation if it only received the adequate and reliable funding it needed like other modes. today i would like to say something differ

the chair now is pleased to recognize mr. guthrie, our ranking member, for his five minutes of questions. >> thank you so much. and i appreciate all of y'all for being here. i'm still stressed that doj chose not to be here. in september i had an opportunity to host law enforcement round tables, kentucky's attorney general daniel cameroon was with us, i think dea had -- dr. gupta, i met with him the other day, i know you're not -- mr. chester, i met with dr. gupta the other day, i was encouraged by the enthusiasm he brings to the job and i look forward to fighting the plague against us. the biden administration's recent proposal doesn't impose mandatory minimums for trafficking these deadly substances. there's debate about what we should do about mandatory minimums but eliminating or not applying mandatory minimums to the scheduling of the analogues. does the biden administration have data or other relevant research it can share with members of this committee that suggest excluding mandatory minimums will lead to less fentanyl

the chair now is pleased to recognize mr. guthrie, our ranking member, for his five minutes of questions. >> thank you so much. and i appreciate all of y'all for being here. i'm still stressed that doj chose not to be here. in september i had an opportunity to host law enforcement round tables, kentucky's attorney general daniel cameroon was with us, i think dea had -- dr. gupta, i met with him the other day, i know you're not -- mr. chester, i met with dr. gupta the other day, i was encouraged by the enthusiasm he brings to the job and i look forward to fighting the plague against us. the biden administration's recent proposal doesn't impose mandatory minimums for trafficking these deadly substances. there's debate about what we should do about mandatory minimums but eliminating or not applying mandatory minimums to the scheduling of the analogues. does the biden administration have data or other relevant research it can share with members of this committee that suggest excluding mandatory minimums will lead to less fentanyl

mr. chair, can you see my slide. >> >> chair mandelman: we can. >> great. the first request to present to you this morning is from the transportation authority. there is for $3.5 million in prop k funds to support the ongoing work that transportation authority staff is doing for progress management -- program management, oversight and support of the downtown rail extension. the work we're focused on right now involves the lead -- the tasks that we are lead or colead for, including the funding plan, delivery strategy and demand forecast work in addition to the technical oversight we're doing for design, cost and risk activities. the funding request is in support of a request for entrance into the federal new start program, a capital investment program that is one of the primary sources of federal funding for major transit projects or transportation projects in the u.s. and we are working -- we were just accepted into the program for entry into the program, so moving in that regard, planning support and oversight for the rail yard preliminary business case is

the chair now recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. sessions, for 5 minutes and 30 seconds. >> i would like to see if you have an opinion about something that has been an issue the earned wage access program, and previously we've had cfpb directors you viewed disfavorably, and it presumptively was a positive part of the ability for people to use this. i wonder if you had an opinion about this and the success of the model and what you think of it. i should have said mr. tate earlier. did you hear my question, mr. tate, about the earned wage access? thank you, sir. >> back in 2017 the director when he released what is now known as the tay day rule set aside provisions within that rule, earned wage access products as a way, as an alternative. and then he laid kind of a framework or foundation for these products to thrive and grow. and director craniger in 2020 expanded on the ground work the director cordray laid out in 2017. and in fact director cordray when he released the rule gave a speech or made a statement talking about how these p