mr. thune? is that what happens? >> i'm not sure of the detail behind all of the subscribers. the numbers are -- the direct relationships we have to customers related to distant signals and those numbers are combined with dishes and i assume they use the same measurement and have the same number of -- or they apply the same standard in gathering their numbers. but those are the relationships combined between the companies that we have. >> could you look into that more and provide it for us, maybe, for the record, after this? >> we'll have our team work with you guys. >> our friend at the end talked about the importance of net neutrality. and i'm curious what net neutrally regulations might mean if they were restored. >> obviously, we do not favor reinstating title ii. that classification for us do not support you all enacting open internet legislation. no one should be able to block internet access service from accessing lawful content and no one should be able to engage in unreasonable discrim

smith, mr. thune, your testimony you detailed the history of stelar and now congress always meant for it to expire. some point in the future. i know that mr. walton, a member of the head of our committee has said that it's an open question as to whether we should be authorized it is will. and sandra smith we all know your colleague very well, in in this is you is it's easy to kill a vampire in a bad government program. so my question is, if we defer to stelar, it's a bad government program that should be killed or allowed to expire, how that impacts local tv during the time of crisis? >> i would just remind the committee and thank you for the question congressman, broadcasters have every incentive to be viewed on as many platforms as possible. we don't want disruptions. we are there in good faith, we've never been found to be otherwise. and your question perfectly points out how vital a lifeline my numbers are in times when my wonderful at&t apple phone crashes and the only thing you can get is your l

mr. thune: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. thune: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: madam president -- i am ape sorry, mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the first-degree filing deadline for the cloture motions filed yesterday be at 2:30 p.m. today. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: mr. president, i have seven requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. thune: mr. president, later today we will hopefully be taking up legislation to address the humanitarian crisis alopping our southern border -- along our southern border. 2019 has seen an overwhelming flood of migrants. so far this year roughly 600,000 individuals have been apprehended at our southern border. 600,000. that's approximately 200,000 more people than were apprehend ed during f

thune: again, small versus large. mr. powell: we have many small cable operators that have faced the challenge. i think senator smith is right. in a part of the problem is asymmetry of bargaining power. i think many small cable operators have attempted to solve that through fine ncta, workingke with that collective entity. there was testimony yesterday by ae ceo of boy come, herself leader of the cable company, a challenge from a small operator's perspective. sen. thune: i am going to wrap up. i have got to go vote. but in previous committees, the congress have taken a look at overdue forms, which there are intend to continue some of the discussions that we started during the day, and i've always consumers -- and i for one believe consumers are smart, and we should be able to make informed choices while also recognizing the critical service that is provided by local broadcasting in our communities across this country. is givenat as stelar additional consideration in the coming months, we can work together to find ways to

thune? >> thank you, mr. chairman. i want to thank you for holding this holding this important hearing. look forward to working with you as we build on the accomplishments of the fast act. there are few states that impact south dakota more than highway bills. rural states like south dakota rely on federal investment and transportation infrastructure to ensure the efficient flow of goods to domestic and global markets. the fast act required the d.o.t. to designate a freight network meant to provide a comprehensive representation of the national freight transportation system. the interim network published in 2016 was widely criticized by nearly every state as incomplete since it excluded important highway and rail freight corridors across the nation. mr. sabbat can you commit to thoroughly reviewing comments from states to ensure that allstaal all state corridors including those in rural areas are representatived? >> yes, i can commit that we will. i can go beyond that to commit that we already are. as of the end of the comment period in 2018 we had received 123 total comments from states

mr. mike thompson, is always bragging that in california, 5,000 of our teachers are daca, are dreamers. 5 thuned of our teachers -- 5,000 of our teachers. we want to give back to them. the courage, patriotism and determination to succeed of those young people, strengthen our nation, they must be allowed to stay. there's nothing partisan, political, or -- about protecting dreamers and t.p.s. and d.e.d. recipients. if a dream act had been brought to the floor in the last congress, under the republican majority and leadership, i do believe that it would have passed under a republican majority. by a strong bipartisan support. every president in recent memory, democratic and republican, has understood the value of immigration to our nation. in his last speech as president of the united states, president ronald reagan said, i have an important message to communicate to the country i love. he went on to say, thanks to each wave of new arrivals to this land of opportunity where a nation forever young, forever bursting with energy and new ideas and always on the cutting edge, always leave the world to th

mr. thune: let me just say the plans to which the senator from wisconsin is referring are plans that thousands, tens of thousands of people are buying. and one of the reasons they're buying them is because it allows them to buy the insurance they want at a price they can afford. and i can tell you as i'm sure the presiding officer can and probably everybody here can that when they travel across the country and you talk with farmers and ranchers and people who are buying their insurance on the individual market, the individual market has blown up. it's exploded. people are paying bdz 3,000 -- $3,000 a month, $36,000 a year with hugedeductibles. they're dropping coverage because they can't afford it. there are so many mandates and requirements it drove up the price. you had the skyrocketing premiums, higher deductibles, higher copays and that's precisely why the administration, i think, decided let's take these plans and give people the opportunity to buy the insurance they want at a price they c

mr. chairman, as well as to ranking member cantwell for your support of legislation that i'm writing and working closely with senator thune related to the deployment of self-driving vehicles. i appreciate your interest in that topic and your willingness to work closely with us. i'm glad that we've been able to have some bicameral, bipartisan discussions with colleagues in the house as well and i look forward to our continuing work together through the surface reauthorization effort to make some meaningful progress in this area if possible. my first question is to deputy administrator i think can. i understand there are now at least three petitions to nhtsa for exemptions from federal motor vehicle safety standards for self-driving technologies and i'm sure you're going to have many more to come in the weeks, months and years ahead, but i'm concerned that under current law and the currently available exemption process will not enable the agency to acquire the robust data that's needed to inform safety regulations in the future, nor does it provide a stable regulatory signal to help spur business investment in this rapidly