dickerson is known for nine essays, published anonymously in newspapers during the time that the states were deciding whether to approve the new constitution, in delaware, pennsylvania, the only founding figure present and active in every phase of the revolution, from the stamp act crisis to the ratification of the constitution. >> talking about her book, on ok notes plus with our host brian lamb. it'silable on the c-span now free mobile app or wherever you get your podcasts. >> c-span, democracy unfiltered we're funded by these television companies and more including buckeye broadband. ♪♪

buckeye broadband supports c-span as a public service, along with these other televisi providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> the senate's coming in for more work on president trump's cabinet nominations, the next confirming tulsi gabbard on director of national intelligence and robert kennedy, jr. for health secretary. live coverage of the senate here on c-span2. ...

the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain of the senate, dr. black, will open the senate with prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. gracious god, who reveals yourself gloriously in the rising and setting of the sun. make us good stewards of your blessings. lord, give us opportunities to help solve the problems in our world by using our minds to produce creative solutions.

inspire our senators. as they abide in your presence, make them receptive to your guidance. fill their minds with insights and wisdom. give them resiliency and courage. today, provide them with the grace to think not of what they can get but of what they can give. empower them to practice conciliation without compromise. lord, place your arms of protection around them and their families. we pray in your all-powerful name. amen. the president pro tempore: please join me in the pledge of allegiance.

i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the president pro tempore: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to resume consideration of the following nomination which the clerk will report. the clerk: nomination, office of the director of national intelligence, tulsi gabbard of hawaii to be director.

mr. grassley: mr. president. the presiding officer: i recognize the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: sometime today we're voting on the nomination of tulsi gabbard. she's going to be director of national intelligence after she's confirmed.

until she was nominated, i only knew her from seeing her in media sound bites and what other people wrote about her. she came to my office and we had a very good, very substantive conversation. i determined that she's very smart and obviously an articulate person. in our discussion, we covered many of her past statements on various policy matters, and she was able to clarify what the media got right and what the media got wrong. obviously, since she served in the congress of the united states as a democrat, i and she may not agree on every policy. however, representative gabbard

made clear that she does not see her position as director of national intelligence as a policymaking decision. she understands that president trump is the one who was elected. as director of national intelligence, tulsi gabbard's job will be simply to make sure that the intelligence community is able to provide the best, unbiassed information to help president trump make the proper decisions. she and i also spoke about some of my past oversight work regarding the intelligence community. i have had mixed results in getting legitimate information that i have sought depending upon who was in that particular pos

position. for instance, when granell make the director, i suddenly and surprisingly gotten material that i had asked for after being totally stonewalled by previous directors of national intelligence. based on my conversation, i expect tulsi gabbard along with cia director ratcliffe will ensure that the intelligence community will be forthcoming and fully responsible to congress as we in congress exercise our constitutional responsibility not only to pass laws and appropriate money but to be a check on the executive branch of government to see that a president, whether that's president republican or democrat, faithfully executes the laws as required by the congress of the united states.

on another matter, yesterday i took a minute or two to address the senate to remind my other 99 senators which i do not have to remind the members of the senate agriculture committee that our nominee for secretary of agriculture, ms. rollins, was voted out of committee unanimously. you would think then that if both republican and democrats think that ms. rollins is the proper person to be secretary of agriculture, that she would be quickly approved for that position unanimously here in the united states senate and maybe even be lucky enough to do one on a voice vote. now i know -- i don't knows what' going to happen, but i do know that we're going to be

sitting around the united states senate today for several hours to see whether we're going to vote on ms. gabbard to be director of national intelligence or we're going to have that disposed of very quickly and get down to work. but the people in this country sent us to the united states senate to actually do work. and when you're sitting around just waiting for a decision from the minority of when they're going to allow us to vote on this particular nomination or how we're going to handle mrs. rollins for secretary of agriculture, nothing is getting done. and we're wasting a lot of the taxpayers' time with a lot of important decisions that have to be made, even after we approve all the members of the cabinet. i yield and i suggest the absence of a quorum.

the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. alsobrooks.

>> we are witnesses to restore volatility in the farm economy. for many crop and specialty crop farmers markets up and tied a below breakeven for several inflation and input costs and lower farm

prices. through the foresight of the squeak the american relief act of 2025 provided usda with more than 30 billion to deliver ad hoc financial assistance to farmers expensing economic and natural disasters. when including the ad hoc federal support use inflation adjusted net farm income is projected at $180 billion up 26% from last year. i know firsthand that farmers would rather get the returns from the market but in today's farm economy it's ad hoc support that is propping up their incomes. these economic assistance payments offset only a portion of the farmers negative margins and are lit the bridge into a new five-year farm bill can be authorized by congress. as we've seen for the last decade u.s. agriculture continues to face them unprecedented economic challenges that the traditm bill programs were ill-equipped to face here we have relied too

heavily on ad hoc support. ad hoc support is unpredictable, cannot be counted on during times of economic crisis like we're facing today. the next farm bill can and reliance on tech support with enhanced risk management tools. with nearly 350 million people in the u.s. the cost of critical farm risk management and conservation programs is less than eight cents per meal. ask anyone in america if they would support additional investments into the farm bill to ensure farmers can produce a safer more sustainable and more secure and supply are also being economically sustainable themselves. the ads will be a resounding yes. farm credit is there for the farmers to the highs and lows of the farm economy. we know firsthand the sense of urgency is real in farm country and the opportunity to enhance the five-year contract with agriculture in rural america is now before it's too late.

healing and a link for mr. cotton with a new five-year father would be an important first step for long-run success of u.s. agriculture, are for security international security. thank you very much for the opportunity to offer testimony before you today. i'm thankful to every member of this committee for your time and attention and i look forward to answering any questions you may have. thank you. >> thank you very much. >> chairman thompson, ranking member members of the house agriculture committee i'm too equipped with the opportunity to testify today on the state of the farm economy. i am honored to speak before you as a mother, a farmer, a 2022 chair the american farm bureau federations young farmers and ranchers committee and a texas farm bureau member who serves on the county board. my husband and our third-generation farmers and ranchers mariko cotton, corn

salad, sorghum, we can make it we mention small cow/calf or s.o.b.s directly to local consumers. a primary motivation for working hard to ensure the future of our operation if they choose it are are for young boys ages six, three and one. they are why we do what we do. i know many who share the same passion and vision of the own operations and hopes the legacy can continue. unfortunately without change in the trajectory of the farm economy i were many of us will fall short. farming has never been easy but the past three years is been especially challenging for farm and ranch families. many of us have expressed extreme and unpredictable weather disasters, inflation come supply chain disruptions at the national conflicts also to blame for rising input costs that cuts into the already thin margins we operate under. the farm economy is at a crossroads. for perspective my husbands grandmother passed away two years ago and we came across receipts and invoices from his

grandpas gloss cleaning out her house. his grandpas old is conversation three cents per pound. just two weeks ago we were coded 58 cents per pound. that's five cents less per pound than 60 years ago get in that same time we've seen application cost rfk rfk jr. -- renault f. kennedy jr. to be secretary of health and human services. president trump tapped mr. kennedy to lead the charge in making america healthy again, something that has been a concern of mr. kennedy's throughout his career. mr. kennedy promises to make hhs a collaborative, transparent, and science-driven agency under his leadership. i will say, mr. president, that's good to hear. many americans trust in health authorities has eroded in recent years, with the pandemic being a big factor. a lot of americans grew frustrated with confusing and sometimes contradictory guidance

from government agencies. and measures like requiring tod toddlers, as young as 2 years old, to wear masks indefinitely not only defied common sense, there was no scientific research to back it up. mr. president, our public health agencies do critical work, and i'm a supporter of their research, and i am proud of the contributions that they make to american leadership in medicine and innovation. but if we're going to make america healthy again, the agencies doing this important work have to rebuild some trust with americans. i was pleased to hear mr. kennedy pledge to increase transparency and accountability, including unprecedented level of collaboration with congress that allows for regular and robust oversight of his agency's activities. i was also pleased mr. kennedy acknowledged the importance of vaccines and the concerning reality that vaccine uptake in this country is decreasing. mr. kennedy's pledge that he

will maintain the best vaccine standards. and he's committed to work within existing vaccine approval and monitoring systems and maintain the fda's review standards. mr. president, i look forward to mr. kennedy being a partner to congress on some very important issues. he's brought attention to america's chronic disease epidemic, and i'm pleased that he wants to put a focus on chronic diseases that affect too many americans and cost far too much in lives lost and dollars spent. i'm also encouraged that he's committed to implementing president trump's pro-life policies at hhs. president trump has been one of the most pro-life presidents we've ever had, and mr. kennedy's agency will be critical in protecting life and supporting mothers and babies. mr. kennedy is also committed to working with farmers and ranchers on policies that affect our food supply. america's farmers and ranchers are a valuable resource, and i look forward to working with him

to ensure that the voice of south dakota's agriculture producers is heard. mr. president, i bleep that m mr. -- i believe mr. kennedy's collaborative approach to this job will help restore some of the trust in our agencies that has been lost in recent years. i look forward to working with him as we restore that trust and work to make america healthy again. mr. president, before i close, i want to highlight the nominations process that we're having here in the united states senate. mr. kennedy's confirmation will be the 15th since president trump's inauguration. democrats are obviously trying to slow down the process, but we've been moving right along. we will continue to maintain an aggressive pace until president trump has his entire team in place. mr. president, it's interesting that democrats have saved some of their fiercest opposition for two of our nominees this week,

mr. kennedy and tulsi gabbard, who interestingly enough are both former democrats. i wonder if democrats are unhappy to see the elevation of two individuals who became disillusioned with the democrat party. i think most americans are pleased to see president trump have a diversity of backgrounds in his cabinet. in fact, it's not uncommon. president bush's first cabinet included a democrat. president obama's had two republicans. president trump elevated an obama appointee to his first cabinet. but this trend stopped with president biden. i'm sure the american people are glad to see president trump living up to his promises to be a president for all of america. it's up to democrats, whether they want to participate or just obstruct for the next few years. but republicans will be working to deliver results that benefit

all americans. mr. president, i yield the floor, and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. alsobrooks.

we need congress to enact a comprehensive bipartisan bill that invest in long-term competitiveness of our industry. our proposal for the farm bill includes funding for research and development, and sinister technology that supplement and enhance human labor, resources to make our operations more resilient to extreme weather and commonsense changes to the crop insurance that would provide the majority of our growers with the functional safety net for the very first time. i don't have a time to walk through each of these proposals in my testimony but we have submitted written testimony for record which includes a copy of

our 2023 recommendations. we will provide updated recommendations to you in the coming weeks. the alliance stands ready to work with each of you on the next farm bill. thank you and i look for to answering any questions. >> thank you very much. >> chairman thompson, ranking member craig, members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today in front of the house at committee. ice of executive director of the corn grows and marketing board but it also grow corn and sos in rural illinois and in her today as a farmer. i have farm for the last 26 years following my father, my grandfather on the same plot of land farming for the same landlord family since 1912. my wife and i begin transitioning our farm to her

oldest daughter gracie and this process has highlighted the challenges facing the next generation of family farmers. today the farm economy is struggling. i believe to make the middle issues are driving the downturn. lack of demand and rising costs. regarding demand. our first movie is to -- not from the government. to that end we consistently invest in an advocate u.s. government invest in development of three major markets, livestock, ethanol, and exports. last years house committee farm bill included an increase in funding for foreign market development and the market access programs. targeting demand, growth from international buyers. investment could be very impactful to the ag economy as we face a fifth consecutive annual trade deficit in seven years. export markets generate demand and profitability. given more time i would love to dive into the opportunities

available for family farmers if the u.s. built vibrant high octane cleaner burning fuel standard which would allow the sale of more corn-based ethanol. growing demand with drastically impact the profitability proposition for the u.s. corn farmer. the second issue, input costs rose during the time of high commodity prices and have not yet return to levels to allow family farmers to be profitable. over the past wishes would reflect on to opportunities for the committee. crop insurance and transparency and input costs particularly fertilizer costs. i struggle to understand how nitrogen costs have risen dramatically over the past years despite the relatively stable price of the primary feedstock natural gas. i understand we operate in a global market and that the russian invasion of ukraine has created supply challenges. however throughout my career the fertilizer . schumer: i ask unan

consent the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: now, mr. president, in his first three weeks in office, donald trump has waged a scorched earth campaign against the rule of law. now, we all know donald trump, of course, won the election last november, and as we all know he campaigned on a platform to cut back large parts of the government. but nothing, nothing in the constitution, nothing in our grand tradition of american separation of powers, allows donald trump to break the law in order to achieve those goals. let me repeat that. nothing -- donald trump campaigned on cutting back the government. that's true. but he is not allowed, not allowed to break the law to achieve those goals. that is not how america works. you campaign, you put your ideas

forward, in this case donald trump won. but he did not campaign on breaking the law, and the american people don't want him to break the law. the reason we have a system of checks and balances is so that even when one side wins an election, there's a check, there's a balance. that's what america's been all about for over 200 years, and at this point donald trump is trying to break that tradition. in area after area after area. and so, the court have begun to speak, and their message is very simple -- the law is not optional. not even for a president of the united states. yesterday at least five rulings were handed down in federal courts against the president's brazen conduct in office.

court rulings against his attempt to freeze trillions in federal funding at omb, court decisions against his heartless, cruel decision to stop billions in medical research funding through the nih; courtses ruled against his unlawful attempt to hollow out the federal workforce regardless of the job they do t to be sure, these five decisions and maniers like it, i think there are over 50, are all temporary, preliminary, and it's one step in the long process that will play out in federal court. but the trend is clear -- donald trump is not free to bulldoze his way through the rule of law. donald trump is not free to bulldoze his way through the rule of law. he is an executive, not a monarch. he swore an oath faithfully to

execute the duties of his office. and when the courts speak, donald trump must accept their judgments and honor the constitution. now, there are some on the hard right who think donald trump should ignore the courts. even the vice president seems to suggest the courts can't, quote, control the powers of the executive. with respect to the vice president, the issue here isn't the courts trying to control the president. it's the president trying to control the law. he wants to decide for himself what the laws are, which ones should be applied, which ones shouldn't, and what they mean. congress makes the law, courts interpret the law. we all learned that in grade school. that's how checks and balances work in a constitutional republic. donald trump does not reign supreme. when the courts speak, the president must adhere to their judgments.

that is what his oath demands. the courts will be an important venue for holding donald trump accountable whenever he breaks the law and breaks his promise to the american people. it's one tool in the toolkit for how democrats and all americans who care about the rule of law will make sure that donald trump does not break the law and do just what he wants. our courts will be just one resource of several, but they will be among the most important. and as we've already seen, they're a critical front from the struggle to uphold the rule of law and prevent the america -- prevent america from sliding into utter lawlessness. on the shutdown, in five weeks, funding for the federal government will run out. let us remember, when there is talk about a shutdown, trump and republicans are already shutting down large parts of the

government. democrats do not want a government shutdown. it is the republicans who are in charge. it's their responsibility to avoid a shutdown. the idea -- the idea that democrats want a shutdown is laughable. republicans who say this should look in the mirror. let me repeat. let me repeat when there's talk about a shutdown, republicans are already shutting down large parts of the government. democrats do not want to shut the government down. it's the republicans who are in charge. it is their responsibility to avoid a government shutdown. since the inauguration, unfortunately, president trump and republicans have been actively working to shut down parts of the government entirely on their own. they've shut down funding to chc's, they've shut down funding for research institutions, shut down exports sponsor farmers, fired government watchdogs. republicans are make being plans

to force medicaid work requirements on americans, even with disabilities, who can't work. they're making plans to harm social security recipients. they're trying to cut any sort of oversight so that corporations can run rampant. nobody -- nobody, unfortunately, is working harder right knew to shut down the government -- right now to shut down the government than donald trump and congressional republicans. nobody is working harder to shut down the government than donald trump and congressional republicans. now, on two upcoming nominations -- this week senate republicans will force two nominees through the senate that they know perfectly well do not merit confirmation. but republicans, it seems, are going to confirm them anyway because donald trump is strong-arming them into submission. last night 52 republicans voted to advance the nomination of tulsi gabbard to serve as

director of any intelligence. there is no question whether ms. gabbard is qualified. by every objective measure, she is not. how could they choose of all the people who might be available, who could president trump choose her? the director of any intelligence must be fluent in the truths, above all. the intelligence, by its own definition is a fact-gathering agency. it depends on facts. but instead of speaking fact and truth, ms. gabbard repeatedly speaks the language of falsities and conspiracy theories. the director of any intelligence must be strong against america's adversaries, but ms. gabbard has spent her entire career sympathizing with the likes of vladimir putin and bashar al-assad. on the night that russia invaded ukraine and launched the first full-scale invasion of a nation since world war ii, what was ms. gabbard doing?

spending her energy blaming nato. gabbard blames the u.s. for putin invading ukraine. how can we put this kind of person in head of dni? that alone should be disqualifying for anyone seeking to become the top intelligence advisor to the president of the united states. and when ms. gabbard has the opportunity to repair her image before the senate intelligence committee and ease the deep worry of senators on both sides of the aisle -- we all know alt senators on the intelligence committee believe she doesn't believe in office. but what did she do? she only exacerbated those worries. they know her judgment is off the mark, way off the mark. they know her troubling history of pushing conspiracies and spreading propaganda. so, deep down this nominee is

really about one very simple question -- what do senate republicans care more about? doing the right thing for national security, for american national security, or doing what is necessary to keep donald trump happy even when they know how badly he is wrong? the american people will know the answer later tonight after the senate votes on the gabbard nomination. and after that, we'll move to another equally unqualified nominee. it's a parade of unqualified nominees. robert kennedy jr. is nominated to serve as the secretary of health and human services. to state the obvious -- the very, very obvious -- putting a very wealthy, vaccine skeptic and conspiracy theorist in charge of america's public health would put every single american in danger. mr. kennedy is neither a doctor nor a scientist nor a public

health expert nor a policy expert of any kind. in fact, he is the face of the modern antivaccine movement. and he has spread other outrageous claims, like saying antidepressants cause mass shootings or that aids might not be caused by hiv and that covid spared certain ethnic groups. rfk has not made a living by promoting public health but, rather, by actively fighting -- actively fighting. is rfk really who republicans want running hhs? again, the same question as mr. ms. gabbard? how did donald trump end up choosing him? once again, an agency that depends on science, evidence, and impartiality to ensure the health of over 330 million americans. that vote, the vote on rfk, is about one simple question, one

simple question -- will republicans do the right thing for the american public health or will they do whatever is necessary to keep donald trump happy, no matter how misguided? he the american people will know the answer to this very soon also. i yield the floor.

the presiding officer: the chair recognizes the senator from wyoming. mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i just heard senator schumer, the minority leader, say that democrats don't want a government shutdown. well, i would recommend that the minority leader actually ought to read the newspaper. he's going to see that democrats

are threatening and actually calling for a shutdown of the u.s. government. so here's "usa today" today. picture senator schumer, right there. a big picture in color, fist in the air. democrats open to shutting down government. so the senator that just was on the floor saying oh, no, they don't want it. he's calling for it across the country in the "usa today" this morning. that's what we're seeing across this country, democrats so much in disarray after the fact that they've lost the house, a lot of the senate, lost the white house, that the democrats now want to shut down the government. here's a headline in "the new york times" on sunday. democrats hint at government shutdown to stop trump's axing

at government agencies. president trump is doing what people elected him to do, to get the wasteful washington spending to end. those in the "usa today," "new york times," what about "the washington post"? democrats say they will not help avert a shutdown. democrats are calling for a shutdown. "usa today," "new york times," "washington post," the list goes on. what are democrats saying on television? well, "meet the press" this sunday, senator andy kim of new jersey, he said democrats in congress would shut down the government. he says if we have to, in order to obstruct president trump. not to help the country, not to provide services for the men and women in uniform, not to provide needs around the country. no, because they want to obstruct president trump. that's why chuck schumer and the democrats are calling for a government shutdown. c

cory booker of new jersey, a member of the leadership of the democrat party. he was on cnn this weekend. what did he say? democrats will use every tool possible to stop president trump. the democrats want to stop the president, who was elected with 312 electoral votes, won every one of the battleground states. and the democrats just want to stop him. the american people want the kind of action and the urgency that we're seeing right now out of president trump. jeff merkley, the senator from oregon, he is open to shutting down the government. he said, no more business as usual. shut it down. president trump is doing exactly what america voted for. but here the headlines -- there are the pictures and those are the democrats in the united states senate saying, we don't care what the american people say. we're going to shut down the government. president trump is shrinking the size of government. we know that government is too big. we know it spends too much.

president trump is accounting for every single penny. and we're not going to make pennies anymore, as a result of the fact that it costs three cented to make a penny. -- three cents to make a penny. democrats want to shut down the government. they don't like the success that america is having today. they don't like the optimism that is pervasive throughout our country. once again, if there's going to be a shutdown, we're talking about a schumer shutdown of our country because they lost the election. additionally, mr. president, here we are on the floor of the senate. the senate will vote soon on the nomination of tulsi gabbard to be the director of national intelligence. she has the right background. she has the right experience. and she has the right per h. -- perspective to keep our nation safe and secure.

con congresswoman gabbard deployed to the middle east several times. she was recently promoted to lieutenant colonel. she served on the armed services and the foreign affairs committee. her experience handling highly classified information is extensive. as director of national intelligence, she will handle classified information properly and lawfully. congresswoman gabbard is more than qualified to serve as the director of national intelligence. now, we've heard a lot of debate about her, but not one senator has disputed the simple fact that she took a hard line on russia and on iran. in 2013 congresswoman gabbard cosponsored the nuclear iran prevention act. she wanted severe sanctions on iran. why would the democrats not like that? oh, because they were part of the group with president obama who wanted to appease iran.

no wonder they oppose her now. she opposed the iran deal. she viewed it as a threat to both america and to israel. and she was right. in 2014 russia annexed crimea. president obama rejected sending tank-busting missiles to ukraine. remember what he sent? he sent blankets. blankets. the sanctions that he imposed, president obama imposed against russia were terribly weak and congresswoman gabbard argued for u.s. military assistance to ukraine back then. and she called for painful sanctions against russia, things that the democrats and their president obama at the time were unwilling to do. tulsi gabbard never sought war with russia, yet she never kid herself. never would look back about the aggression -- aggressive nature of russia's ambitions. she worked to stop wars even

though she served and was ready to fight in them. she knows what it means when we talk about peace through strength. democrats attacked her patriotism. they attacked her loyalty. it's disturbing. no evidence to support that. the attacks on her are another case of democrats' equating political disagreement with disloyalty. washington wants to trust our intelligence agencies again. we need to take an ax to the weaponization of these very agencies. congresswoman gabbard will keep politics out of intelligence gathering. she wants to return odni to original size and scope and its mission. as she wrote in "newsweek," i promise to provide unbiassed, timely, and accurate intelligence for those making decisions to protect the people of our country. that's exactly what we need, mr. president.

tulsi gabbard is the right choice to be the director of national intelligence, and i look forward to voting to confirm her later today. now, mr. president, on a different matter, one critically important to my home state of wyoming, under the constitution most decisions affecting our lives are meant to be made at the local or the state level. but for decades unelectioned, unaccountable, heavy-handed federal bureaucrats have taken away decisions from the states. they've centralized power and ignored the local experts. we need to put the power back into the hands of the people and the states. that's where it belongs. that's what our founding fathers envisioned. and a perfect example of this is the status of grizzly bears in yellowstone national park. the yellowstone population of grizy bears -- grizzly bears has been fully recovered, put on the endangered she shes list years and years ago but has been fully

recovered for more than 20 years. in wyoming we've invested more than $50 million in this effort to make sure that grizzly bears did fully and safely recover. both democrat administrations and republican administrations have moved -- have taken action to take the grizzly bear off of the endangered species list. wyoming is a strong prove -- has a strong proven track record of science-based tracking of the bears. today grizzly bears in yellowstone, they are thriving. they're thriving so much that they're now doing great damage to our livestock and to our wildlife. in 2022, the u.s. fish and wildlife service said that there was, quote, substantial scientific or commercial information to warrant local control, not the heavy hand of washington but local control. yet the grizzly bear remains under washington's control and that is despite the best data

and our state's success. this issue isn't science. it's politics. there are partisan liberal judges who refuse to listen to scientific evidence. the evidence shows that the grizzly are fully recovered. the previous administration didn't want to give up control. it's kind of how the biden administration did it. so on its way out the door, the final weeks, it threw sand in the gears of change. the biden administration reject ed at the midnight hour wyoming's good ghaith efforts and management plans. they did it just before leaving office. the decision was wrong. it was wrong for the grizzly bear population and it was wrong for the people of wyoming. it's time for wyoming, not washington, to be in charge of managing the grizzly bears. in congress senator cynthia lummis and congresswoman harriet

hagueman and i sgroused legislation to delist the grizzly bears. our legislation would restore state management. it would put power back into the hands of the people who understand the situation the best. we're also working with the trump administration to take immediate action. interior secretary doug burgum is a supporter of delisting the grizzly bears. he agrees that local communities and states should be in control of these decisions. as he said in his confirmation hearing, there's a belief that when they come off of federal protection, that they're unprotected. no, he said. they're managed as they are all of the other species in the state by the locals who got the closest data. secretary burgum is right. and i'm glad that we finally have an administration that is ready to work with the people of wyoming. so i'm going to continue to work closely with the secretary of interior on a path forward that allows the people of wyoming to make decisions for wyoming.

thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: i recognize the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that following detailees in the senate judiciary committee be granted floor privileges for the remainder of the 119th congress. allison kent and dorothy allay. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: thank you, mr. president. i listened to my colleague and friend if wyoming, and i'm struggling to understand his point of view. he announced at one point that the republicans were in the majority in the house and senate. well, that's a fact. i know it. you do as well. and so to say that you're in the

majority suggests you're in charge and also suggests that if there's going to be a budget for the united states government which we need next month, the majority party in both the house and the senate has that responsibility to come forward with a budget. that's a simple fact of life. it's a fact of political life. to blame the minority for no budget is to ignore the obvious. the majority of votes in the house and the senate belong to the republican party. if there's going to be a budget, it is fair to assume that they would have to lead in that effort. i look forward to seeing that leadership. we've seen precious little of it so far. mr. president, on a separate -- completely separate note, i realize that the president made these statements during the course of his campaign, but it still came as something of a shock when the first day of his

presidency, donald trump decided to issue a blanket pardon for those who had been convicted for the january 6 riot that took place in this building. for those of us who were physically present, it's a moment we'll never forget. the vice president of the united states was sitting in your chair presiding over the united states senate as we addressed the constitutional responsibility of counting the electoral votes. it was roughly ten minutes after 2:00 in the afternoon when someone came along in a suit, walked up to the vice president of the united states, grabbed him by the arm and pulled him off of the chair. those of us who were here wondered would was going on. well, we came hear the demonstrators outside but we didn't understand why the vice president was being removed from this chamber. a member of the capitol hill police then walked up to where you're sitting and announced that this was going to be a safe room. yes, there were demonstrators outside, even some in the building but stay here. the senate chamber will be a

safe room. and be prepared for others to come into this safe room to avoid any conflict with the demonstrators. that instruction lasted for about ten minutes and them the same officer came up and stood before us and said change of plans. everybody evacuate this room as quickly as possible. we all headed out that door going into another building on capitol hill that we thought might be safer, away from the demonstrators. think about that, mr. president. the capitol of the united states of america taken over by demonstrators. the united states senate and house of representatives stopped in progress of doing their constitutional responsibility of counting the electoral votes. and we've seen the videotapes. oh, there are plenty of them that show these mob demonstrators breaking the windows to get into the capitol building, knocking down the doors, and then beating up on the police officers. mr. president, when you and i came to work this morning, there were men and women, some in uniform, others in plain clothe,

standing in the corridors of this building. their responsibility is to keep us safe and to keep those who visit this capitol safe. they are prepared, many of them, have to be prepared to risk their lafshs to do it -- lives to do it. and to think what they went through on january 6 is outrageous. they were beaten up by these mobsters, these thugs, these demonstrators who were egged on by the president of the united states to come up and go wild in the united states capitol. oh, they went wild, spraying bear spray into the face of individual policemen, beat be up on them with poles and pieces of furniture. yes, it was a pretty wild occasion and a criminal occasion and let to the most extensive criminal prosecution in our country. some 1600 people were prosecuted for their conduct on january 6. and i will tell you as someone who witnessed that and went

through that experience, they deserved it. it just strikes me as outrageous. if you heard on the news this afternoon that the house parliament in london had been invaded by a mob, beaten doup the doors of the house of commons and took control of it, you would have said that's impossible. that doesn't happen in a civilized country like england. well, it certainly should not happen in the united states and it did and i witnessed it. then came the president of the united states in his first day of office and would did he do? he decided that every sipping gal person arrested for a crime related to january 6 should be released with a full and unconditional pardon and that's would he did. i asked my staff, let's keep track of these people and see what happened to them. in the three weeks that had passed since the president made that decision, there's some interesting stories. sad stories. emily hernandez pleaded guilty to entering and remaining in a

restricted building in relation to her actions at the capitol on january 6. ms. hernandez was seen holding a stolen broken name plate of house speaker nancy pelosi. she served 30 days in federal prison and was released. days after being pardoned by president trump, days after being pardoned by president trump, she was sentenced to ten years in prison for a 2022 deadly drunk driving crash in missouri during which she collided with a couple, victoria and ryan wilson who just left dinner celebrating their 15th wedding anniversary. victoria died in the crash and ryan sustained serious injuries. s that -- then there's daniel ball arrested for throwing an explosive device that detonated on at least 25 officers and forcefully shoving police at the capitol on january 6. daniel ball was in possession of a gun and ammunition as he came into the capitol, which was

illegal considering his criminal background. the department of justice dismissed ball's charges following president trump's pardon. i have a long list here. i'm not going to read them all but there's one in particular, released with a full pardon by president trump for the january 6 crimes he committed. guy reffitt, the first defendant to stand trial on charges related to january 6 capitol insurrection was sentenced to 87 months in prison for bringing a firearm into the capitol on january 6, 2021. reffitt's 19-year-old son jackson turned him into law enforcement after the attack. jackson also indicated that reffitt had threatened to shoot him and his sister peyton if they reported him to authorities. after receiving a pardon from president trump, guy reffitt attended kash patel's senate

nomination hearing. kash patel is president trump's nominee to be the director and head of the federal bureau of investigation. reffitt attended that committee nomination. here's what he posted on social media afterwards -- remember, a man who was released after he was -- full pardon, after he was convicted of bringing a firearm into the capitol on january 6, 2021. certainly not a casual tourist by any means. here's what he said on social media, quote, present and in support of kash patel as the l leftist commies continue to spew lies, misinformation and disinformation. my man, clean house, kash. end of quote. so he certainly seems like he learned his lesson, right? served time in jail, released with a pardon by the president, he's at it again, defying the authorities, defying anyone who disagrees with him politically.

full, unconditional pardon from donald trump. the reason i wanted to make a note of mr. reffitt's history is it is apropos of what i'm going to speak to this morning. mr. president, this thursday, the senate judiciary committee is scheduled to consider whether to recommend kash patel's nomination to be director of federal bureau of investigation to the full senate for consideration. so far, my republican committee colleagues have chosen to ignore the myriad red flags about mr. patel, especially his recurring instinct to threaten retribution, political retribution, against his and president trump's perceived enemies. this is a dangerous characteristic for a person who wants to lead the nation's most powerful domestic investigative agency, the fbi. i hope what i reveal today from credible whistleblowers at the highest levels will give my republican colleagues some pause

before it's too late. multiple whistleblowers have disclosed to my staff highly credible information indicating that mr. kash patel has been personally directing the ongoing purge of senior law enforcement officials at the fbi. let me remind you, mr. president, mr. patel at this moment in time is not on any public payroll nor does he have any authorities by our government. on the morning of january 29, the day before kash patel's confirmation hearing, there was a meeting between the acting leadership of the department of justice and fbi. notes from that meeting read k.p. wants movement at fbi, reciprocal actions for doj. let me say that again. quote, notes from the meeting, k.p. wants movement at fbi, reciprocal actions for doj. acting deputy attorney general a

mrnch uel -- amuel bove yea said he had received multiple calls from stephen miller the night before. miller pressured him because kash patel, k.p., wanted the fbi to remove targeted officials faster as doj had already done with prosecutors. the list of officials identified for termination was in the possession of a group of individuals who, according to our sources, were personally interviewed by mr. patel to be on what was known as the director's advisory team. this advisory team at the fbi is a group of political appointees brought in to prepare for mr. patel's arrival. fbi leadership understanding of the team was, quote, a lot of names were of people in the crosshairs. according to my whistleblowers sources, mr. patel is receiving

information from within the fbi from the director's advisory team. mr. patel then provides direction to stephen miller, who relays it to the acting deputy attorney general bove. it is unacceptable for a nominee with no legal or current role in government to personally direct the unjustified and potentially illegal firings of dedicated, nonpartisan professionals at the fbi. if these allegations are true, then mr. patel may have committed perjury before the senate judiciary committee. the day after the meeting i describe, where mr. patel's desire for fbi officials to be fired more quickly was discussed was mr. patel's confirmation hearing before the senate judiciary committee so the morning after, he's putting the heat on the leadership at the fbi to dismiss more people more quickly, he testifies before the judiciary committee, under oath. during the hearing, senator cory booker of new jersey asked

mr. patel, and i quote, are you aware of any plans or discussions to punish in any way, including termination, fbi agents or personnel associated with trump investigations? yes or no? end of quote. mr. patel answered that he was, quote, not aware of that, and continued, quote, i don't know what's going on right now over there, but i'm committed to you, senator, and your colleagues, that i will honor the internal review process of the fbi, end of quote. yet, if these whistleblower allegations are true, just two days before, stephen miller, at mr. patel's direction, had ordered doj leadership not just to terminate a specific list of officials, but to speed up those terminations. mr. patel seems unable to wait for senate confirmation to carry out retribution against his perceived political enemies. patel is a private citizen today, and he was when he

testified. no current role in government directing baseless firings of career public servants. this speaks directly to the fact that mr. patel is not fit to be entrusted with government authority, which is evident to anyone who has seriously reviewed his record. let me remind you, mr. president, he is not seeking a term of two years, four years, but ten years as director of the fbi. the ramifications of these terminations at the fbi are dangerous. they go way beyond mr. patel's fitness for office. because these terminations have greatly weakened the fbi's ability to protect the country from national security threats and have made america less safe. this hollowing out of one of the major law enforcement agencies of the federal government by the new trump administration is at the risk of making america more dangerous and people in america more vulnerable to criminal and terrorist elements. among those who were removed so far, so far by the trump

administration, are the top officials who oversee the fbi's work combating international domestic terrorism. think about that. the trump administration starts off by going to the department of justice, the federal bureau of investigation, and comes up with a political list, and among those people eliminated are the people in charge of combating international and domestic terrorism, cybersecurity threats, human and drug trafficking, and violent crime. does that make us any safer? mr. patel's need to punish his perceived enemies is apparently greater than his interest in protecting the american people. given the serious nature of these allegations and the need to protect the identities of my sources, i've asked the department of justice inspector general today, in a letter, to investigate these specific claims. i believe they're true. let the inspector general make his own conclusion. i'll urge my republican

colleagues to please take these allegations seriously, and at least pause for a moment and consider whether kash patel is the person you want to put in charge of the federal bureau of investigation for ten years. ten years. if this man is so fast and loose with the truth before our committee now, imagine what he will do if given the protection of office. we need to pause in this consideration and consider what we already know about mr. patel. he has pledged to, quote, shut down fbi headquarters, in writing, and, quote, come after the president's enemies. he's even published the enemies list that he will target. i know. i've read it, and anybody can, in the book he's published. he falsely claimed that the fbi, quote, was planning january 6 for a year. and has even sold musical recordings of a song performed by january 6 rioters who vi

violently assaulted police officers on january 6. he's left behind a trail of grievances throughout his life, lashing out at anyone who dares to disagree with him or fails to respect him sufficiently. you want to give power to this man, the power of the investigation of the federal bureau of investigation? i think not. now, these credible allegations that he has personally orchestrated, a purge of senior fbi law enforcement officials. the fbi plays a critical role in keeping us safe from terrorism, violent crime, narcotics and other threats. our nation needs an fbi director who understands the gravity and the mission, not someone focused on settling a political score. i yield. i suggest the absence of a, quorum -- i yield.

mr. grassley: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: after the gabbard nomination, the next issue up for consideration by the senate is cloture on the robert f. kennedy nominee to be secretary of health and human services. this cabinet position is responsible for implementing the administration's health agenda. as secretary, mr. kennedy must spend his time focused on improving the health of all amer americans, ensuring hhs is

transparent and accountable to congressional oversight, and respecting whistleblowers. i think kennedy has made it very clear in life as a citizen talking about improving the health of all americans. soy i would -- so, i would like to outline some of the priorities that mr. kennedy should focus on at health and human services. and obviously, i'm asking him to focus on things and issues that are very dear to my heart and take up a lot of my time as a senator from iowa and a person very concerned about the quality health care in rural america. our country spends more than

$4.5 trillion annually on health care. growing health care costs don't just strain americans' pocke pocketbooks. health care is also a major driver of widening budget deficits and the federal government's unsustainable fiscal outlook. we're not getting our money's worth for all of that spending. major health care programs' spending eats up 34% of the federal revenue today, and that will grow to 41% of revenue by 2055. mr. kennedy must, and i think he's committed to ensuring that the key health programs, such as medicare and medicaid, are protected and strengthened by rooting out waste, fraud, and

abuse. the nominee must increase transparency and accountability. these actions will help make our health care system more efficient for the tax perils and the -- taxpayers and the consumers. i'm the author of major and more recent updates to the federal government's most powerful tool in fighting fraud, and that's people that use the false claims act. since the enactment of this legis legislation, i'm talking about reforms to the false claims act, the federal government has recovered more than $78 billion lost to fraud and saved billions more by deterring would-be fraudsters. people in the justice department, both republican and

democrat, say that the false claims act is their best tool to get after these fraudsters. in the one year of just 2024, and attorney general garland reported this to me just a couple days before he left office, in 2024 there was more than $2.9 billion in false claim act settlements and judgments, with $1.7 billion of it involving the health care industry. now, as you know, i listen to a lot of whistleblowers, and whistleblowers were responsible for helping recover nearly all of that $1.7 billion. and i think i discussed the false claims act and the use of

it by soon-to-be secretary kennedy. he seemed to be very enthused about listening to whistleblowers and use of the false claims act, and i think that he was probably being made aware of it for the first time. so i hope he will look into how he can use this act and particularly by listening to reports from whistleblowers of the waste of taxpayers' money e -- money. now, the justice department and hhs in combination need to more aggressively go after health care waste, fraud, and abuse and

empower and encourage whistleblowers. my top health care priority is lowering the cost of prescription drugs. we can start by putting more sunshine on pharmacy benefit managers' practices and holding these pbm's accountable. we should also establish price transparency on prescription drug tv ads. knowing what something costs before buying it is just common sense and very helpful to the consumer. transparency will bring more accountability and lower costs to consumers. mr. kennedy must also protect and improve access to rural health care. the previous administration dragged its feet in opening up

spots for what is termed the rural community hospital demonstration programs. hhs must also listen to the concerns from rural pharmaceutical sis and ensure rural hospitals benefit from additional physician slots that congress has authorized. i look forward to strengthening the new and voluntary rural emergency program to ensure that it's working for rural communities. extending telehealth access and supporting physicians getting a fair reimbursement under medicare. i also expect hhs to support healthy moms and babies by improving care coordination and using telehealth in rural areas.

hhs should work with me to support kids with complex medical needs so these kids and their families are getting the right care at the right time and at the right place. our programs helping support kids with complex medical needs covers probably six or -- we will, depending on how many -- well, depending on how many problems these kids have, but they have to navigate across several different programs, and what we're trying to do through legislation we pass is to have help so that when you have to see five or six different specialists, you have somebody saying what's available and what can we do to help you make access to all this. i also expect hhs to protect the most vulnerable and older

americans. i've spoken at length with mr. kennedy about some comments that he made in regard to agriculture. and i've heard from farmers in iowa and agricultural organizations and commodity groups in the state fearful that mr. kennedy has some radical ideas on agriculture. at the end of the hour meeting i had with him in his office prior to his hearing before the finance committee, i was calmed quite a bit by what he told me about his views on agriculture. i hope that that calm can be maintained, but if it's not, mr. kennedy is sure to hear from me.

so when we talked about this in my office, mr. kennedy preferenced our initial -- prefaced our initial conversation by saying that he, as hhs secretary, will not have jurisdiction over agricultural issues. so you can expect that i will expect him to leave agriculture practices' regulations to the proper agencies and for the most part that's the u.s. department of agriculture and the environmental protection agency. i've also sent letters to secretaries of agriculture and hhs requiring -- requesting they provide information regarding conflicts of interest on dietary guideline advisory committees to increase transparency. the problem there is that there's a feeling among a lot of members of the advisory

committee that they may have an unjustified conflict of interest in what they're suggesting we eat and the type of diet that we have. so i expect mr. kennedy to provide congress with confidential financial disclosure from the advisory committee before finalizing diet terry guidelines -- dietary guidelines, so we know that nobody has a vested interest in however those guidelines are written. on issues of health care and agriculture, mr. kennedy said in his nomination hearing, i agree with all of those provisions -- i'm quoting him now. i agree with all of those provisions, senator -- meaning this senator. my approach to the administration of hhs will be radical transparency.

if a member of this committee or other members of the committee want information, the doors are open. if congress asks me for information, you will get it immediately. now, i don't know whether -- that's the end of the quote. i don't know whether people, even in the senate here but particularly people outside, know how refreshing it is to have a member of the cabinet say, if congress asks me for information, you would get it immediately, because over the years thattive that i have been in the united states -- over the years that i've been in the united states senate -- it doesn't matter whether it is a republican or democrat administration -- carrying out our constitutional responsibilities to see -- checks and balances to see that the executive branch and the president faithfully executes the laws is not an easy process,

and we have difficulty getting answers to our questions. now, i don't know how much of this i've had trouble with hhs in the past, but i know when pam bondi came to my office, i showed her a file of 158 letters that i'd written to the justice department in the last four years to get information and documents in regard to my investigations of wrongdoing, and most of them weren't answered, or if we got answered, it was merely words on a sheet of paper. not very helpful. so, thank you, mr. qu kennedy, r your promise. if congress asks me for information, you will get it immediately. because that's what our job is. every high school student learns

in government about checks and balances of government, that we not only pass laws and we don't only appropriate money, but we have a responsibility to the taxpayers and the citizens of this country to make sure that our president does what the constitution says he should do faithfully execute the laws. and cabinet people are bound by that same thing. every cabinet member that comes to my office, i tell them about the importance of our constitutional responsibility of oversight, answering our letters and listening to whistleblowers, and in regard to answering letters, everybody that comes before a committee is asked by the chairman of the committee, will you answer our letters? and everybody says yes, and i advise them to say maybe so that they aren't -- turn out to be

liars. so i expect mr. kennedy's agencies to provide timely and complete responses to congressional oversight. oversight allows us to hold bureaucrats accountable to the rule of law, and it helps keep faith with the taxpayers. so i look forward to working with mr. kennedy to improve the health of all americans, make our health care system more efficient, and ensure hhs' adherence to kennedy's radical transparency commitment. i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. alsobrooks.

the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the

quorum call be rescinded. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: mr. president, the governor of the great state of texas, greg abbott, has made a request to the united states congress to reimburse our state for the expenses we've incurred in attempting to combat the texas-mexico border security crisis during the four years of the biden administration. i'm proud to support this request along with my colleague, senator cruz, and members of the texas delegation in the house of representatives. securing the nation's borders is the responsibility of the federal government, plain and simple. given the division of responsibilities between the states and the federal government, there's no doubt by that this is a federal responsibility. for four years, though, president biden and vice president harris and secretary

of homeland security alejandro mayorkas intentionally and willfully refused to enforce the laws on the books to keep the border secure and to keep our nation safe. even before his first day in had the office, president biden rolled out the welcome mat to illegal immigrants to speeches during his campaign, inviting -- inviting -- what ensued. early in his presidency, president bidened president trump's very effective policy known as remain in mexico. this very simply provided that those who sought asylum needed to remain outside of the borders of the united states while their asylum claim was litigated and ultimately decided. knowing that only about 15% of people who claim asylum

ultimately are awarded that by an immigration court. the biden administration ended construction of president trump's border wall and instead spent federal funds to store those materials that had already been paid for. squandering taxpayer dollars in the process. and as this crisis was evolving and worsening, the president -- president biden ended title 42 authorities, the covid-era policy that was the last string in place helping to keep the lid on the illegal immigration crisis. so not only did the biden administration turn a blind eye to what was an international responsibility and, thus, a federal government responsibility, they went a step further and actually actively enacted policies to make it worse.

the department of homeland security invited more illegal immigration when it created an app for your phone called the cbp one app which allowed migrants to literally schedule an appointment at a port of entry in order to illegally enter the united states. and of course even if those who did not claim asylum were simply paroled or released into the interior along with a work permit. so here again, there was no matter of deterrence in saying, well, if you want to enter the united states, you need to do so according to the rules in an orderly basis. essentially all the rules were set aside and the big green light and a welcome mat was laid out for anybody and everybody who wanted to come, and come

they did. tens of millions of people. we really don't know exactly how many took advantage of this open border policy by the biden administration. let's say ten million in round numbers. we know about 1.7 million people were got-aways, which is what the border patrol calls those who are evading law enforcement who presumably are up to no p good because they know they can't enter otherwise because they have either a criminal record or they're transporting drugs or engaged in some other illicit activity. at the same time that the biden administration laid out the welcome mat to anybody and everybody who wanted to come to the united states across our border, they issued hundreds of millions of dollars in reimbursements to nonprofits and nongovernmental organizations that helped facilitate this

illegal immigration through fema's emergency food and shelter program. so instead of meeting their responsibilities to secure the border, they essentially funded those organizations that facilitated it. vice president harris was assigned the task, as we know, of being the border czar to help manage this crisis, but she failed to even understand the assignment and failed utterly in l completing that assignment. she visited the texas-mexico border once in sort of what i would call a drive-by during the four years that president biden and vice president harris were in office. it's safe to say she had no concept or clue about what conditions were like on the border and how dangerous this open border policy was. but clearly she didn't care and

was unwilling to do anything about it. on her one and only visit to the texas border, she steered clear of the hot spots like the rio grande valley which is at the very epicenter of the border crisis at the time. instead she went to el paso for a sanitized made-for-tv visit. different parts of the border are very different, and instead of going to the place where she knew the action would be, she went to a place that was relatively calm and sedate. but she did it for a tv hit and no other reason. in 2024, when the democratic party deposed president biden as their nominee and coronated vice

president harris as presidential candidate, she suddenly found herself to be campaigning for president of the united states, b but she shirked from the responsibilities president biden had given her as the border czar and claimed she was never tasked to oversee the migration crisis. suffice it to say that theed biden administration's handling of the border security was an unmitigated disaster. as a consequence, the state of texas, which has 1,200 miles of common border with mexico, was basically left up to its own devices. we had no choice but to pick up the slack to try to secure some semblance of basic safety for texans and the rest of the country. everything the state of texas did to fill the gap inured not just to the 31 million people

who live in texas but the entire nation. governor abbott initiated something called operation lone star which resulted in the apprehension of more than 500,000 illegal immigrants by texas law enforcement. thanks to operation lone star, law enforcement arrested more than 50,000 criminals trying to make their way across the border. texas also built 240 miles of border barriers when the federal government refused to do its job, and officers across the country have seized more than half a billion deadly doses of fentanyl, which is the number-one cause of death for young people between the age of 18 and 45 in this country. as a result of operation lone star, without any help at all

from the federal government, texas was able to reduce illegal immigration into the state by 87%. unfortunately the state had to spend nearly $4.8 billion, again, on money that should slb provided by the federal government, texas taxpayers had to foot the bill for $4.8 billion on walls and barriers, local grants to counties and cities, processing criminal arrests and moving migrants out of small texas towns. the state also spent $3.6 billion to deploy the national guard for building border barriers, guarding and constructing those bar p yers and assisting border patrol and customs and border protection. another $2.25 billion has gone toward personnel costs for texas

state troopers, law enforcement, who are responsible for repelling additional illegal immigrants, arresting those who were committing crimes as well as transnational l gang members, cartel members, human smugglers and human traffickers. but this was just the start. there were costs associated with the prosecution of border crimes at operation lone star's criminal processing centers. state game wardens had to pitch in to help patrol the rio grande river on the border to help prevent illegal entries. and criminal processing centers required health and safety services. we're all familiar with the saying that there's no such thing as a free lunch, but president biden and vice president harris failed to pony up for four years, and then asked texans to pick up the tab

for their bill. all told, governor abbott and the state legislature had to spend more than $11 billion to make up for the biden administration's blunders and malfeasance and nonfeasance when it came to border security and immigration. so it's not particularly complicated. securing a country's borders is the function of the federal gove government. $11 billion is no small amount of money for a state, particularly one that doesn't have an income tax, to provide that benefits the rest of the country. but this is no different than when the federal government steps in to help states who have to deal with extraordinary expenses during the wake of a natural disaster, as they did for texas in the case of

hurricane harvey. but instead of a natural disaster, what we had during the four years of the biden administration was a man-made disaster. while every state became a border state during the last administration, there are costs that texas had to shoulder that our neighbors have not. it's just fair and right and just for texas taxpayers to be made whole for the border security responsibilities it took on as a result of president biden's dereliction of duty. so i'm proud to support governor abbott's request for the state to be reimbursed. my colleagues on the house and senate appropriations committees should expect me and senator cruz and the entire texas delegation to be strongly advocating for reis reimbursement for texas in the

coming weeks, and i look forward to working with them in order to make this a reality. mr. president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from alabama.

mr. tuberville: i come to the floor today to talk to you about president trump's tariffs. the media is in full meltdown. they're in a full meltdown mode after president trump imposed duties and ret t t t tall -- retaliatory tariffs on countries that have been ripping the united states off. globalists and other countries are fine with imposing tariffs on the united states but when it comes to president trump trying to equalize it up, establish a level playing field for domestic producers, well, that's a bridge too far. no one has been paying attention

to president trump -- if they haven't been paying attention to president trump, they should remotely not be surprised. he campaigned on this platform three times and has been crystal clear on his intentions. now he is following through on his campaign promises. but in the corporate media, it seems to still be confused about all these tariffs. let me spell it out. president trump's view on tariffs both a negotiating tool to get other countries to do a few things that we ask them to do, a way to boost american manufacturing and put american workers and businesses first, not last. president trump has his work cut out for him after the disastrous four years for our small business and our corporations

under the biden administration. the biden administration made it clear to our friends and foes alike that globalists, the globalist agenda would take precedent over the safety and well-being over the american people. it's mind-boggling. thankfully those days are he over. the american people gave president donald j. trump a clear mandate to restore our country's super power status and put all americans first, all businesses first. everybody that does something in this country, and that starts, number one, with securing our borders. like i've said many times, if you don't have a border, you don't have a country. and we have really struggled in the last four years. that is changing. that's why the master negotiator in chief, president donald trump, threatened to impose 25%

tariffs on mexico and canada in just the last couple of weeks. over the last four years the mexican government basically turned a blind eye while caravans of illegal aliens overran our borders, coming from mexico, coming from central america and all over the world, just overrunning our country. thousands of women and children were trafficked, raped along the way. drug cartels made an absolute for fortune. absolute fortune not just with drugs, by the way, but for the payments of these illegalsfirstl businesses first. coming through central america or south america through the united states with a big tariff of their own, charging these people to come to the united states. lawlessness had become the status quo under president

biden. nobody cared. democrats, they didn't care. they just let them all come in. we lose 300 people just about every day in this country with overdoses. but let's not worry about that. let's worry about controlling our country the way they want to. it's been a disaster. mexico showed zero signs of willingness to negotiate when president trump took office. when he did take office january 20, they woke up real quick. president trump correctly understands that mexico's economy is heavily dependent on the united states of america and the citizens of this country. in fact, more than 80% of mexico's exports come to the united states. 80% come here and the american citizens buy those products made in the united states. mexico's economy would almost

instantly -- instantly feel the effects of a 25% tariff, leaving mexico's president claudia sheinbaum no choice but to come to the negotiating table under the master negotiator donald trump. that's why he uses tariffs, to get his point across. because people across the world take us for granted. as a result, within hours, hours of president trump's announcement of tariffs, mexico caved. they saw real quick. obviously they're not stupid. they agreed to help the united states secure the border border and crack down on the cartels and illegal drugs come in. which we could have done immediately with the past administration but it just showed you they couldn't care less with what happened at the border. our neighbor to the north also caved to president trump after a

25% tariff was threatened on canada. not only are elicit drugs like fentanyl coming into our country from mexico, but there are also about 2,000% increase in drugs coming across the border in 2023 and 2024 from canada. a 2,000% increase. enough fentanyl was seized to kill 9.8 million americans. to me that would be a very, very serious problem. do you think the democrats cared? nope. there was no action at all by the biden administration on canada, no action on mexico. thanks to president trump's leadership our north american neighbors from the north and south are making changes daily that will protect american citizens from drugs, criminals,

and human traffickers. the number one job for the president is to protect the people in the united states. in addition to using tariffs as a negotiating tool president trump also used tariffs as a way to right the wrongs of the past in effective trade deals. that's why this week he's imposing a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports including those of canada and mexico. contrary to what the media's telling you, this isn't unprecedented. it's not unusual. in fact, president trump has helped shine a light on the fact for the fact that u.s. exporters face more tariffs than anybody. among our major trading partners, china applies higher tariffs on 85% of u.s. products and 90% on u.s. -- and 90% on

u.s. products from india. think about that. we are paying tariffs on things coming into this country but when we send things out, we get the heck tariffed out of us from other countries. it is not fair. these imbalances don't just impact bottom lines, they also discourage domestic production. we have got to produce more in this country. we have got to build more things in this country and that's what president trump's trying to do. if we don't cut back on spending and start producing more in this country, thb will not be -- this will not be the united states of america much longer because we will be bankrupt and we'll be reporting to somebody like china who is buying our resh ri bills right and -- treasury bills right and left, or they were. one report conducted by the department of commerce found that excess production capacity,

particularly china has been a major factor in the decline of domestic aluminum production. woe are getting overwhelmed by aluminum made in china. president trump built one of the strongest economies in modern history in his first term. democrats failed to notice that and they wanted to change it. they almost destroyed our economy. jobs and wages were up. americans had more money in their pocket. thanks to president trump's strategic tariffs along with the 2017 tax cuts and jobs act, companies were reshoring businesses back in the united states right and left. they were come back because they could make profit. that's what it's all about when you have a corporation, you have to make a profit and president trump was able to, because of tariffs, make more money for manufacturing in this

country going out of this country. you had companies like ford canceling plans to build in mexico back in president trump's first term. and instead opening one in michigan. this turned out to be extremely important when covid hit and we were forced to rely on goods manufactured here in the united states. we found out pretty quick just from drugs alone, we make very little drugs in the united states. where are they made? they're made in india and china. they have to come back here. we have to be self-sustaining, no matter if it's steel, aluminum or anything else, it's up to us. we are the number one country in this world and have been in the future in manufacturing and production. america is some of the best and brightest manufacturers, best

and brighters, producers, farmers and business. we take second to none. from a national security perspective, it is dangerous to be reliant on other countries who may not have the best interest of the united states in mind. you can't blame them. they're looking out for themselves first. well, we need to do the same thing. not to mention the fact that u.s. produces the cleanest steel in the world, you'd think the democrats and the climate cult would at least be happy about that. think about that. we just -- president trump just put tariffs on steel and aluminum. a lot of the steel and aluminum comes in and because of how they make it, it's some of dirtiest steel in the world many we make the cleanest. and why in the world would we want to import something that is going to be detrimental to our country alone with its environment? the tariffs being imposed this

week are an important step in president trump's plan to restore fairness to trade, boost domestic manufacturing and put consumers and producers first. it's about time. three weeks into his presidency, president trump is keeping his promises. president trump's strategic tariffs will strengthen and revitalize our nation's economy, stop the flow of illicit drugs and illegal immigration and make sure our trade deals are fair to both taxpayers and american manufacturers, america first. president trump is utilizing every tool at his disposal as we speak, including tariffs to usher in the golden age of the american economy. we have to make that change. if we don't, we will not survive as the number one country in the world. we will not regain that status, and we will be losing our

national security. mr. president, i yield the floor, and i notice the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the clerk: ms. alsobrooks.

thank you, mr. chairman thank you to the witnesses for coming. let's start posting the fifth district including rural counties 7 billion, a member from virginia, murmurs and ranges across the area.

programs. help. now and really class this area.

tackle this? and your will provide and market has three responsibilities american stone cold great american body armor's rangers in the economy without question is national security. my an article outlining across the country on a program. mass murder unanimous consent. >> is unfortunate.

>> one of the president's first executive orders in the reduction act repair required percentage of the cost. if you examples in maryland inflation. a cattle farmer at 240,000 december and the incentive program for equipment, who thousand dollars for 50 feet back by the u.s. rate and

commerce already operating, say what you think capital. ... the uncertainty goes away and we move forward on reimbursement. it really will depend on how using the term wounded that farm family is relative to what they've been losing the last couple of years relative to what extent of the impact is going to be.

>> briefly, do you anticipate if the phrases lifted in 90 days that are still bills to pay during that time or projects that are part and whole, with a have an on farm? >> i expect most of them will have good lenders backing them. those relationships have probably been long-term and i would expect most of them to be able to maintain their current equity position on projects. >> it's clear current policy is only increasing uncertainty and making it hard for farmers to make ends meet. with that, i yield back. >> i think we can all agree many conversations we have as americans in recent years is how can we become healthier as a country. becoming more healthy citizens needs to start with having access to the most highly nutritious high-quality american grown food. entering the american farm economy is strong love venture

where raising healthier families and protecting national security. we cannot make america great again without making sure those feeding america are supported in their mission. as a former business owner i know that uncertainty and calls inputs and uncertainty elsewhere can cause strain and stress. not knowing if you can continue operating a business that has lasted generations let alone passing down to the next generation is not a musician inv. i look forward to begin my work on this committee and learn how we can provide our american farmers and ranchers more certainty in a rough agriculture economy so they can plant the seeds for us to make the healthiest decision for our americans. and families. old and really make american agriculture great again. i would like to think that you're putting on this hearing today and all the witnesses for sharing more about your operations today. quick question, dr. newton. tell me about exports. is that something, are we in a deficit and surplus?

what's the state as relates to canada, mexico, china and otherwise? >> absolutely and fantastic question. mexico is our top i googled export market. candidate is number two. china is number three. you round up the top six with japan, south korea and the european union. agriculture exports have fallen sharply over the last few years. we are now in a situation where for fiscal fiscal year 2d of an agricultural trade deficit of nearly $46 billion. that's. that's the largest trade deficit in agriculture history. but we had record agriculture exports in 2022. largely on the back of record purchases by the chinese under the phase one agreement. usmca's that was renegotiated and renegotiated agreement with japan all contributed to very, very strong agriculture exports several years ago. >> what has happened in these last two years?

>> the value of our products with lower corn prices, lower cotton prices. that's contributes to a lower value of agricultural exports. at the same time agricultural imports continue to set new records every single year. we are importing spirits, imported peers, horticultural products. americans want your ground axes to fruits and vegetables. our imports i believe i have the number but are exceeding $200 billion this fiscal year. >> do you think we could do better negotiating for a year and fair trade as relates to a culture around the world? >> absolutely. >> this is i'm very excited to be understood on thi. i do see though the partisan of coming in and talking about this current administration for only several weeks and making all of

these things that happen that a think this is been something, issues working with today have happened, it's been far longer, right? these have not happened in two weeks. i agree with your thoughts and we should be investing more in specialty crops and we have unique opportunity to grow in this sector. you mention you grow both conventional and organic with concern for the farm economy. can you paint the picture as to how your family decided to move into this organic layer? >> originally we were, we were completely conventional and so it was decision we make to step into the organic arena when we started our csa program which is direct to consumer like a harvest box program, prescription, or subscription-based program were we do delivery. we found through research people were looking for more organic

oriented in that cost sector where they wanted organic produce. we serve the needs of our clientele. it's been a wonderful operation. now were in partnership s.n.a.p. where we are able to really open up that new market for people who couldn't necessarily afford fruits and vegetables in the organic nature. now they are able to enjoy the fresh fruits and vegetables. like the statistics we come nine out of ten ten americans dot enough fruits and vegetables. to serve listserv population with our box program organic programs has been a tremendous benefit to us and hopefully our clients. >> thank you for all you do in feeding america and i yield back. >> thank the gentleman. now recognize the gentlelady from michigan for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chair. this question is directed to mr.

weinzierl. apologies on the name butchery. i'm from michigan and live in the heart of sugarbeet country. my grandfather was a farmer and so much of our economy in michigan depends on our farms. but in michigan with canada being only a breach trip away, many of our farmers rely heavily on the accessibility of trade for things like potash and other fertilizers. with plenty for many of our farmers right around the corner, we've herd a lot about that today, , they're navigating the field of uncertainty when making business decisions for the future. can you share with me and the committee how the uncertainty of what terrorists are going to go into effect will play impacts on the decision for you as well and of the farmers and what impacts have you seen with trading partners? >> yes thank you, congresswoman.

so candidate again we import 90% of our potassium fertilizer, or potash, from canada. i believe the impending terror is for 25%. a soybean or corn farm is probably putting on around 100, $125 with a potassium per crop. and so right there that would be $25 an acre impact. mentioned earlier over, from 2023-2024 and projected 2025 we are estimating we will lose about $288 per quart acre across those three years. 140 some dollars for a been acre. that $25 across all those acres in one sense doesn't seem a lot but farmers make their money on

a margin and we're already have a negative margin in that negative margin would be larger. so it is very worrisome. hopefully things will get worked out before we're all putting a lot more fertilizer on our expected crops in the future but it does that a lot of uncertainty to our profitability. >> so we're in the middle of february. when does planting season start? >> so from our standpoint we start planting beans in early to mid april. we will follow with corn. we've already put down our potash or potassium last fall. there's probably some operators that are probably going to put someone in the spring but it's probably already booked. our concern would be as our agri- tears begin to replace their stocks of fertilizer as a going to the summit that they will be building in those higher prices for us this coming fall.

>> thank you. in michigan 60% of our jobs pay less than $50,000 a year. i say that because of the context of what families have to spend on food. not to mention income our family farmers actually need with their crop production. so very concerned about the uncertainty and instability as well as the very real potential of putting some of our family farmers out of business with his rising cost with tariffs. thank you so much for being here today. i yield back. >> gentlelady yells back. now recognize the gentleman from indiana for five minutes. i don't think your mic is on. >> now i've got it. thank you, chairman and thank you all for your insight and sharing your time with the committee. i'm also happy to be with a

fellow alumni from purdue. as i i talk too much you shoud back up your time and time again looking to pass down the generational farm in an effort to keep the family farm in the family to fight against to succession that mainstream business owners may never encounter. you mention your boys are your driving reason for efforts to preserve your operation. which explained how the policies that promote farm succession like those in the farm for the national security act would help ensure the future of your family farm? >> yes, if they so choose our boys would be fourth-generation farmers for operations come started by my husbands grandfather and his father and now him. we want to do everything we can to provide them the opportunity to be able to continue the farming operation as is today.

to answer your question, there so much that goes into that. there's the tax that invention, huge, huge deal for farmers and ranchers because it's a the capital the because in the m operations and expenses we have an essentially the assets we acquired over time. handing that down or passing them from one generation to the next becomes problematic with things like the excess tax it is not appropriate positioned to address farmers and ranchers and assets that we do have. additionally there so much as things that go into as well. i mentioned we are currently having challenging conversations with our maker to acquire creditors to login credit for the upcoming farming and ranching season pick something that's a a easy to do and it's very humbling to be having a conversation to be in the situation but it's important in the conversations we have programs we can reference such as a modernized farm bill

ensuring crop insurance programs are set in place for us. certainly ad hoc payments are helpful but they don't provide the certainty in those conversations with our lenders. again modernized farm bill that reflects current market situation is helpful to have this conversation with our lenders in hopes of maintaining an operation we can pass down to the next generation. >> now want to shift to input cost. he spoke so much about. the usda estimates in 2023 fertilizer costs occupied the fifth-largest expense line in the average farm budget just can't labor cost. in the midwest lesson one-third of ammonium demand is supplied by producers within the region. instead farmers depend on in my district a high cost to import fertilizer from foreign producers or transport ammonia from domestic producers outside the midwest. nitrogen base fertilizer is critical. olson or supply chain and forms

of artistic foldable to market volatility, , input scarcity and price hikes to which the family farm budget really has no room. for the farmers here today, would you share how much of input cost are devoted to fertilizer expense and to what extent you your operation wd benefit from greater availability of american made fertilizer within our region? >> so from a corn acre standpoint probably about 42% of our input costs are fertilizer. soybeans is around 15%. but the largest share of that 42% would be nitrogen fertilizer. >> thank you. >> my numbers would be similar. specifically in california were rico specialty crops i would say our cost would probably be around that 35% and basically nitrogen-based as well. >> i agree with much has been

set for cotton. fertilizer input cost is roughly 20-30% of our overall input cost for fertilizer in particular. very similar to what has been stated already. >> all right. for any witnesses here today, if congress fails to pass the committee's farm bill and an accident extension in september, what would that mean for your operation? >> failure to pass a modernized farm bill provides so much uncertainty for us and to realize were running out of time here, but so much has changed since 2018. 22 was a good a good farm bill but so urgent during this time with commodity prices with at an input price was at that we received some relief through a farm bill that provides certainty. thank you. >> i'm excited to get to work

and and i yield back my ten. >> the time of the gentleman has expired. now were going to go to the state of new york. >> thank you, chairman and thank you ranking member for holding this important meeting. i would be remiss if i didn't mention that i left the room briefly and when i returned i came in with a distinct smell of fertilizer as i entered. i'm not blaming anybody, but it was clear. it was representative of a large committee and -- on the state legislature. coming from a family of farmers i understand the essential role that agriculture plays in our economy, , in our communities. farmers work titles you to make sure there's food on her tables, that will jobs are provided and that we drive innovation for sustainable agriculture. i was also an ap biology and

chemistry teacher for almost 30 years i taught botany,, lifecycles, ecosystems and that means physiology, ecology, evolution, nitrogen fixing. so i will say this. there is no better scientists than a farmer. michael, macro scale. you understand the scientific method. you understand the impact of variables. you understand that stable systems are essential to your success of the overall agricultural success. what we seen over the past several weeks is an input of multiple variables at the same time which create disruption to systems. those variables include unpredictable labor markets,

tariffs, changes in workforce, commitments that are not going to be potential he followed through on. i'm going to start with workforce. upwards of a third of the workforce are individuals that are undocumented, , under documt or have overstayed their visa. dr. newton, in the past few weeks do we have any data regarding absences of members of the agricultural workforce, or anecdotes related to that? >> i'm not aware of any. >> with any other members of the panel chair any details that you might have regarding absences in the workforce as a result of new executive orders? >> certainly. i had an experience with our cruise after trump got elected. i went around and basically kind

of highlighted what his policy was in that he is going to deport criminals, felons, that sort of thing. i personally visit along with our supervisor and went around to each crew, given the message and the message was actually well received. they actually supported the fact that we want to get rid of felons and criminals and the bad actors sort of thing. in all honesty we haven't missed a day in any of our crews, even i believe that was a week or two ago that was kind of a strike if you will in our area, life in a day without an immigrant worker where all crews were encouraged to stay home and we had 100% attendance that day. >> i will say in my district whether it's a dairy farmers or onion farmers there are a great relationship that exist between the farmers and their employees. in that vein you mention the

h-2a program at the increasing costs to it. what adjustments in my conversation with my local farmers the seems to be like some logical adjustments that would enhance the program. do you have any ideas, mr. talley, for the h-2a program and have adjustments could be changed to make it more favorable for both the farmers and workers? >> yes. as i started to state earlier today about a meeting i had with then labor secretary sue, and the conversation that we had, and basically my opinion was listen we need to tap the brakes. it's becoming economically unviable. i mentioned the fact each dollar rise for us personally on our farm is a million dollars in labor costs additionally offer

bottom line. i would definitely be a proponent of freezing that because if you recall we are also in charge of the housing as well as transportation. depending on who you talk to that adds an additional five to ten dollars an hour on top. >> thank you all so much. i appreciate it. >> thank the gentleman. now we will go to the gentleman from north carolina mr. harris for five minutes. >> thank you mr. chairman and thinks each of you on the panel that is, to share with us today. i must say as as a freshman r it has been eye-opening to witness how this branch of government often neglects to do its job year after year. we failed to conduct proper oversight and offers programs which leads to where we are today. producers are only seeing a rise in income because of federal disaster spinning spine accumulation of ad hoc spending far exceeded exceed ane farm bill programs. even now we're two years behind

on the farm bill. i want to ask one of our producer witnesses, ms. schwertner a go to you. with timely reauthorization of the farm bill actually improve your ability to do your job? if so, how so? >> thank you for your question. certainly timely reauthorization would help. times change the quickly in a world we live in. it's been roughly six, seven your since we can update to the farm to 28 farm bill was good. however reference prices are outdated. programs include in the farm bill or outdated. some of things included, nasa's good actor going to be helpful so some of the pulses we appreciate increase in reference prices, the increase in expanded market access programs are certainly helpful. reevaluating those more frequently gives us an opportunity to better reflect current market conditions which is always helpful for us.

>> mr. talley or mr. weinzierl, would you offer any thoughts to add to that? >> absolutely. for us it's the mechanization, labor has been often discussed here. it's a real issue for us when close to 50% of our costs has to do specifically with labor. that consistent flow, that consistent investment in specialty crops is imperative to us. i always say consistency always beats intermittent intensity. it's that consistent drip of, i was going say spending but actually spending, no. because when i spend something i don't expect a return. but when i do something i expect a return. to your point, and investment. because it's needed and agricultural industry. >> mr. weinzierl? >> the only thing of the emphasis of the party mentioned

on expand timing for former -- acts as program. we all see exports are really in the news right now and having those resources to maintain discussed relationships customers are important to market demand. >> thank you. dr. newton another top priority for me is making sure we respect taxpayer dollars and spend responsibly. let me ask you do you think timely reauthorization of the farm bill would help control federal spending on agriculture and lessen the need for extra ad hoc disaster or emergency spending? >> thank you for the question. timely reauthorization is one element of it. the second element is is it enhanced? the farm bill is a five-year contract with agricultural and rural america. as we've herd the programs and support levels are outdated. the support we have funding has been stagnant for years just a

regular farm bill will not cut it. it has been an enhanced farm bill. that's with agriculture needs. >> if the farm that was supposed to fight a safety net can we really say that our safety net is working if we're spending twice as much on supplemental aid? >> absently not. in my previous role in the senate we had a producer tell us our safety that is not two inches above concrete. that's what are today. we need to make those enhancements. >> very good. one final question. mr. talley on what you come to you. thanks or bigoted and sharing the challenges that your farm is totally facing. can you please in the last few seconds we have as a picture of how much capital you put at risk year after year and how the infected even a small change in your profit margins can affect your ability to secure an operating alone?

>> that's a great question. as you all know agriculture is a very capital intensive industry. and and land costs offer input cost the way they've escalated over the past four or five years has been nothing like i've ever seen before. and it really hamstrings are availability of financing to get loan when everything is just costing 30 to 60% more, the available funds are no longer available. >> gotcha. i yield back. >> now recognize the jennifer north carolinians. >> thank you, mr. chairman and ranking member for organizing this meeting and thank you to each of our witnesses for your testimony. i want to shout out to dr. newton as a also earned my phd from the ohio state

university which is especially relevant now that a mother research subcommittee and it would be nice to see some more 1890 graduate center but i don't think i'm about to say that anymore. what we say the economic crisis in farm country spans the food, fuel and cyber supply chains even in my most urban district. like many here today i have received hundreds of calls over the past two years, two weeks in response to the top administrations memo from omb announcing a pause in all federal funding. focus on the lawsuits filed to stop the nonsense and how this memo was rescinded. the funding pauses at the time of this hearing remain in effect including at usda. i fear these pauses are really just cuts by another name.

for example, a food have in my district has not been able to get its awarded funding under programs like the local food promotion program which operates on reimbursement basis. so even with signed contracts, organizations are in the red for spending money, usda was on the hook for to cover. and it's affecting the crucial services they provide to hundreds of small-scale diversified farmers in the carolinas. it's been nearly impossible to get answers from -- adding more uncertainty. if it's all right with the chairman of want to enter this letter from the food have in charlotte in my district into the record. let me ask my first question to mr. talley. thank you for your testimony expressing support for title x

for the horticultural programs. as i just shared, president trump's funding freeze has impacted the dissidents in programs like elvis tp who are expanding regional food economies, building new market and prevent food safety. i understand your farm does not export internationally. as a representative of specialty crop farm bill can you tell me more about the importance of domestic market access for your operation? >> that is of utmost important very obvious we do. specialty crops, we basically the majority of our products stays within the united states. it's imperative that we continue to harbor that and really have access channels for all of our

farmers in the u.s. to have access to theseus markets. and to continue to be able to flourish within the united states. r the previous order, th senate stands in recess until 2:15 p.m. recess: ext also been confirming national intelligence and on hhs secretary. results happen overnight at 12:30 a.m. eastern unless the earlier period of the all nominations in the queue for voteard lutnick to serve as commerce secretary, brooke mueller for agriculture

secretary and kelly loeffler to lead the small business administration. as always live coverage of the senate here on c-span2. >> c-band, democracy and filtered. we are by these television companies and more including charter communications. >> chart is proud to be recognized as one of the best internet providers and we're just getting started building 100,000 miles of new infrastructure to reach those who need it most. >> charter communications supports c-span as a public service along withhese other television providers giving you a front row seat to democracy. >> hearing on ways to modernize american healthcare by focusing on prevention, flexible insurance and tech innovations.

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