and first of all, mr. vernin abrams to my immediate right. twice in february we talked a lot about the safety culture alertness, what we all need to do to improve our safety of the system. and mr. abrams is the embodiment of that twice in the month of february. while, operating in the subway, first at powell and then at civic center and encountered a person in the track way. one of the most challenging things for an operator was to make sure that they are able to see things and react quickly, fortunately for all of us, mr. abrams did in those two cases and we had a very positive out come and the prevention of any kind of a serious problem. so, again, not once, but twice, i want to recognize him for his alertness, and safe driving actions. also, to my far right, is mr. delfin and he is one of those operators who has been with the system for 15 years. and he has worked in three or four different divisions. and as very much the embodiment of the customer service initiative that we all talk about. he is currently on the f-line, where he has lots

and, again, i want to say what mr. abrams testified before our committee. he said that case continues a view of free speech rights by unions and corporations that was expressed by president truman and liberal justices in the 1950's. what the citizens united overruled was the departure from precedent, and citizens united did not give rise to unfettered campaign spending. the supreme court case in 1976 in buckley versus vallejo ruled that independent expenditures could not be limited. that decision was the work of a supposeed conservative judicial activist. wealthy individuals have been able to spend unlimited amounts since then, and corporations and others have been able to make unlimited donations to 501-c-4 corporations since then as well. as mr. abrams wrote to the judiciary in questions for the record, -- quote -- "what citizens united did do, however, is permit corporations to contribute to pac's that are required to disclose all donors and engage only in independent expenditures. if anything, citizens united is pro-disclosure ruling, which brought corp

we can drive an abrams tank and change the engine out in a matter of hours. mr. chairman, i have a real problem with billion dollar designs and costs when contractors are making $500 million profit on some of our most expensive embassies. thank you very much. i yield back. >> thank the gentleman. >>> now recognize the gentleman from vermont, mr. welch, for piv minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. you've got a pretty hard job. it really is. but two things. one, mr. lynch indicated gratitude for your cooperation in turning an a codel. secondly i know the chairman of the subject committee sent a request for some information. it is helpful to the committee, a burden on you, but it makes for better life all around if there can be as much cooperation as possible in a timely way. but i do want to acknowledge the hard work that you have to do. one question i have is -- how much -- the costs are high. how much of the complications that you face day to day in making decisions about an embassy, wherever it may be, have to do with the enormous security requirements that now

capturing the powers of light and space, mr. turrell builds experiences that force us to question reality, challenging our perceptions not only of art, but also of the world around us. [applause] national humanities medal recipients -- m.h. abrams. [applause] the 2013 national humanities medal to m.h. abrams for broadening the study of literature. as a scholar, writer and critic, dr. abrams has expanded our perception of the romantic tradition and explored the modern concept of artistic self-expression in western culture, influencing and inspiring generations of students. [applause] accepting on behalf of american antiquarian society, ellen dunlap. [applause] the 2013 national humanities medal to american antiquarian society for safeguarding the american story. for more than two centuries, the society has amassed an unparalleled collection of historic american documents, served as a research center for scholars and students alike, and connected generations of americans to their cultural heritage. [applause] david brion davis. [a

an an walk -- go into abrams tank and change the engine out in about an hour. mr. chairman, i have a real problem with $1 billion designs and costs when contractors are making $500 million profit on some of our most expensive embassies. thank you very much. i yield back. >> i thank the gentleman. i now recognize the gentleman from vermont, mr. welch, for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you. you got a pretty hard job. really is. but two things. mr. lynch mentioned gratitude for your cooperation and turning around a codel. secondly, i know the chairman of the subcommittee sent some request for information. it is helpful to the committee. it's a burden on you. but it really makes for better .ife for all around i do want to acknowledge the hard work that you have to do. one question i have is how much -- i mean, the costs are high. how much of the complications that you face day-to-day in making decisions about an embassy, wherever it may be, have to deal with the enormous security requirements that now seem to be part of everything. i'll ask you, ms. m