and it turns out that we've got a super hero in our midst in tilly chang, who is the director of the transportation authority. and because we're a city and a county, we have an m.t.a. and a c.t.a., and the c.t.a.'s function is really that long-range planning, the delivery of large-scale capital improvements and undefunding. and so we work a lot with the c.t.a. on grants. would we work on long range projects together. it's a very complicated landscape, and she has been incredibly generous with our team. last week, her colleague, warren logan came to the policy committee and was talking about their draft he mernling mobility evaluation report. i like to call that what do we do with the network transportation company's report, and it was verien lightening and interesting. she has a lot -- very enlightening and very interesting. she has a lot on her plate, and i just thank you so much for being here tonight. >> thank you for your kind words. president bermejo, and commissioners, i'm tilly chang, director of san francisco county transportation authority. i want to thank you for allowing m

chairman, senator tillis noted, my own life changed when my father returned from his second combat tour in vietnam. i was seven when we received the word he had been terribly wounded. he came home after year in army hospitals. he weighed less than half of what he did when he left. i watched the agonizing recovery from that experience was on my mind when i was asked to come to the aid. as i did secretary of veterans affairs i visited five va hospitals in eight weeks, met with the combined leadership were three major va component, benefits, health and cemeteries and visited our claims processing center in baltimore as well as the maryland veterans treatment court. it was clear to me that the veterans population is changing faster than we realized. for the first time in 40 years, half of our veterans are now under the age of 65. of america's 20 million veterans, 10% are now women. the new generation is computer savvy and demands 21st century service. service that is quite, diverse and close to home. for the va to thrive as an integrated health care network, must be agile and adaptive. more

of a shift from tillis into pompeo that we can begin to nudge back into a traditional expansion of american thought and mind? dr. bremmer: i don't know that pompeo is such a dramatic change from tillerson in the way that those two gentlemen actually see the world. i think they both see the world as it is. i don't think neither of them are in any way neocons. both need to believe america needs to maintain robust diplomatic and military capabilities. but, pompeo has a better relationship with trump. that is clearly very important. pompeo is not trying to gut the state department. that's very important. but in reality, foreign policy is being driven much more right now by the president than it is by either of his two secretaries of state or three national security advisers in just a year and a half. tom: to finish here on china and to move on to dr. bremmer's book at the end of this half hour and extend back to president trump and the rest, your wonderful book is a circuitous look around the south china sea. if you wrote it today, what would be the next chapter on asia's caldron? mr. kaplan: it would be a chapter on how china is moving in micro-steps. each step is so minor

senator tillis said about this judge is qualified, previous qualification has been about or what thetials governor said about the left would oppose anyone. this is about a president who changedthe game when he put a litmus test on a supreme court justice and the american people therefore have high anxiety that their fundamental freedoms and rights are at stake. that is why we have seen such an outpouring of energy to block to discount enough. -- justice kavanagh. what makes you think that the next nominee will be any better? >> we get that question a lot. seen because what we have is where the american people have stood up and the senators have done their job and listened to their constituents we have gotten more fair-minded justices because we have to have enough senators and the american people on board or else we lose the crucial credibility of the court kennedy andstice even in this administration when parts are went down for his cabinet position, we got a's are -- azar. i don't think that's a talking point the american people we accept or that we should demand what's best for the country. shery: is there anything you can -- that can be done to drop your opposition to ju

keep at this and keep raising this issue until we get the positive change that these students and their families deserve. i yield. mr. tillis: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from north carolina. mr. tillis: thank you madam president. i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 477, senate 3093. i ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed, and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: is there objection? a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from hawaii. ms. hirono: madam president, reserving the right to object. this bill being offered by my colleagues on the other side of the aisle is a partisan political stunt designed to distract the american people from the crisis created by donald trump's zero tolerance policy. almost 3,000 children have been ripped from the arms of their parents and traumatized by the president's cruelty. this bill would allow the trump administration to continue to traumatize children by forcing them possibly in

certainly working with members of congress, i am open to changes and that structure that will make the agency more accountable and transparent. tillis: for those who won't support your nomination, this is a great time for us to come together and actually move that accountability and funding back into congress, so they can have some safeguards. you, like mick mulvaney, don't have to care but for your and yourin democracy respect for congress. you don't have to care one bit about our opinions on your activities. -- unless we get that we get to the point where it is accountable to congress, that is going to continue. think he should clawback regulations that on the surface look like they are passed for protection of the consumer, but in many cases they are harmful to the consumer, in terms of cost or access to capital. i look forward to supporting your nomination. i welcome your family and friends here. i look supporting -- i look forward to supporting both of you. warner: welcome, to the witnesses. , i look forward to supporting you. you are a lucky witness this morning since your colleague is receiving most of the attention. senator

working with members of congress, i am very open to changes in that structure that will make the agency more accountable and transparent. sen. tillis: i for one, for those who are not going to support your nomination, i for one think this is a great time for us to come together and move that accountability of funding back into congress so they can have some say because the fact of the matter is, you like mick mulvaney, don't have to care but for your interest in democracy and your respect for congress. you don't have to care one bit about our opinions about your activities. and unless we get to a point where it is accountable to congress, that is going to continue. and i for one hope that you go out there and you work on clawing back regulations that on the surface look like they are passed for protection of the consumer, but in many cases they are harmful ultimately to the consumer, either in terms of cost or access to capital. i look forward to supporting your nomination. i also welcome your family and friends here. the nominees are doing just fine and i look forward to supporting both of you on the floor. senator warner. sen. wa