20small potatoes oregon senator ron wyden says america's election systems are still vulnerable. >>and congress must act soon to avert a disaster. >>it will not just be the russians 2020. >>in addition to social media misinformation campaigns us election systems are susceptible to potential hacking senator wyden sits on the intelligence committee and he introduced the pave act which would require hand mark paper ballots and audit of election results senator wyden says audit's are especially important in light of recent revelations that show 2 florida counties were happy by the russians in 2016 the pay that would also require other precautions for example. >>making sure there are no wireless connections. >>the voting machines officials from the justice department the federal elections commission and intelligence agencies as well as special counsel robert mueller all agree action is critical if we don't act.

>>oregon senator ron wyden says america's election systems are still vulnerable and congress must act soon to avert a disaster. >>not just the the russians in 2020. >>in addition to social media misinformation campaigns us election systems are susceptible to potential hacking senator wyden sits on the intelligence committee and he introduced the pave act which would require hand mark paper ballots and audit of election results senator wyden says audit's are especially important in light of recent revelations that show 2 florida counties were half by the russians in 2016 the pay that would also require other precautions for example. >>making sure there are no wireless connections. >>the voting machines officials from the justice department the federal ons commission and intelligence agencies as well as special counsel robert mueller all agree action is critical if we don't act.

senator wyden, please come forward. [applause] just to put this in perspective, senator grassley has town hall meetings in all 99 of his counties. it is described in the state of iowa as the full grassley. [laughter] saying i will make sure this is a filibuster free zone. i see some of my colleagues who will be very pleased about that. i think that you may be here a peoplebecause a lot of here tonight i think really came because they want to talk about the upcoming debate about tax extenders. we may be here a little bit. i have a few thank you's. let's give the historical society another round of applause. [applause] >> giving us a chance to look back at history, and also a little bit of looking forward. we thank her for that. and of course, my friend and inimitable partner, senator grassley, who gets up in the morning at the leisurely hour of somea.m., then runs ungodly number of miles. he doesn't even take time out -- i'm on the intelligence committee, i know a lot of details. [laughter] time outsn't even take for wha

ranking member wyden and i have an enforcement proposal, many of you on this committee mentioned, that will do that. i look forward to working with you getting it coordinated. i know you said to ranking member wyden you would do whatever it takes and that's good to hear. i'll return to china. i have been concerned about china's unfair trade practices for, frankly, 20 years as a member of the house and senate. we know the way china cheats. huge subsidies, state-owned companies don't act like companies at all. their industrial policies urge industrial domination. eir workers can't join unions. we know how many jobs have been lost. in ohio the industrial midwest and all over the country, our manufacturers have closed or struggled to compete. i am supportive of any and all efforts to get tough on china but we need to see results and i'm worried we don't have a plan b. so my questions, if you can get as close as possible, because of the crunch of time. mr. ambassador, yes or no on this. china's steel state-owned industries account for the biggest producers in the country, are part of the pr

senator wyden being the ranking member. just by way of quick summary increasing the number and training of enforcement the u.s. provided capacity building of joint initiatives to promote the enforcement of international recognized labor rights. and also working together to inspect facilities. all of that which i know you are aware of. i wanted to put that on the record for emphasis. with antart today acronym and description. it is known as the bureau of labor -- international labor affairs and -- in our department of labor. here is what their website says in terms of the mission of this bureau. in the general description of their work they say "ilab's mission is to promote a fair global playing field for workers in the united states around the world by enforcing trade commitments, strengthening labor standards and that it goes on from there -- enforcing commit and it's, strengthening labor standards" and it goes on from there. they say it promotes a strongly -- policy by enforcing the labor provisions of u.s. free trade agr

so let me just underscore the point that senator wyden made in regards to enforcement. yes, we are pleased to see mexico change their labor laws and moving towards environmental changes. our observation is that they don't really have the capacity to make this a reality without additional support from the whyed states, and that is we look at the effort in an attempt to make sure we have meaningful enforcement. set up with speaker pelosi a mechanism to deal with the concerns that have been expressed by members of the house, recognize that for those of us who really want to support the usmca, this issue of enforcement is a major issue that needs to be dealt with as we move forward on this process. >> thank you. agreeof all, i completely .ith this point we have to make an effort on capacity building with respect to mexico. and it up, i should say, has canada, i should say, has also announced they will be doing capacity building there. there are very few historical examples of the countries doing that. bargaining agreements, of which they have 700,000. it is great if they ha

wyden and stab now say the move will leave millions of americans without coverage i'm terrified of the high drug prices will face if the affordable care act shutdown pam parker, a retiree who relies on the ac a to subsidize for $6,000 monthly prescription built says its removal said her medical bills through the roof didn't know what do if that happens after this federal pill. the case is likely headed to the supreme court. republicans haven't come up with a replacement for the e c a yet but president trump is calling on congress to find a fix soon regardless of what happened to this court case congress will have to return to this question. >>murray fish pie with the heritage foundation says lawmakers have the time they need to find a solution. >>nothing is going to happen to anyone in near future. instead otherwise is just fear mongering or arguments begin the week of july 8 and washington recall martin. >>in the north bay, a multimillion dollar settlement has been reached in a case involving the sexual-abuse of multiple victims at the hand of boys center in sonoma. kron four's charle

this idea comes from senators ron wyden, who is the top democrat on the finance committee, and chris hollen, who sits on the banking committee. and they're arguing that the new tax system actually encourages companies to build their factories overseas instead of here in the u.s. as a way to lower their foreign tax rate and to fix that problem, they propose closing those loopholes or perhaps creating a new across-the-board minimum tax on foreign profits. they said that a similar proposal under president obama would have raised $300 billion over the course of a decade. now, what would they do with all of that money? van hollen and wyden are proposing creating new federal subsidies that would help provide jobs for the long-term unemployed so you're starting to see this idea of going after foreign profits as a new piggy bank gaining traction on the left we saw it in senator amy klobuchar's first 100 days agenda that she put out this week that was part of that plan we also know that joe biden obviously supported this when he was vice president under obama so, guys, i would not be surprise

i believe we have a real opportunity this time with senator wyden and i working together. whatever from the house wants to do that we can put together a , bipartisan legislation to drive down drug prices. in a do -- addition to what i do on the finance committee, we have both leaders of the health , they have some jurisdictional -- jurisdiction over it and we have been communicating close together and hopefully get products out of both senator alexander's committee, working closely with patty murray, the democratic ranking member and to put together a package from the two committees that can be brought up this year in the u.s. senate floor. bob: why haven't some of -- one of the issues that has been around for a while that this creates is a law where it tries to prevent brand-name manufacturers from stop giving their samples to generics. this seems like low hanging fruit. why does this still exist? if that has not been able to pass, why should we be optimistic this can get passed? sen. grassley: obviously it came out of a committee i chaired last time on a vote of 16-5. it

i have a good working relationship with senator wyden, ranking democrat on the committee i chair, the finance committee and i have had conversations with house members and i believe we have a real opportunity this time with senator wyden and i working together and i have heard from -- what the house wants to do, we can put together a bicameral, bipartisan legislation to drop down drug prices in addition to what i do, on the finance committee, we have had both leaders of the health committee and we havelped, been communicating very close together, hopefully get products senator alexander's committee, working closely with hattie murray, the democratic breaking member there and to put together a package from that to committees that can be brought out yet this year to the u.s. senate four. -- one ofen't some of the issues that has been around for a while, one of the pieces of legislation that has been created that tries to prevent brand-name manufacturers from [inaudible] it seems like low hanging fruit. this is something that, if something like that still has not been able to pass, why s

i have a good working relationship with senator wyden, ranking democrat on the committee i chair, the finance committee. and i've had conversations with house members and i believe we have a real opportunity this time with senator wyden and i working together. and what i've heard from the house wants to do, that we can put together a bicameral bipartisan legislation to drive down drug prices. in addition to what i do on the finance committee we've had both leaders of the h.e.l.p. committee which as health in there. they have some jurisdiction over it, and we've been communicating very close together. hopefully get products out of both senator alexander's committee working very closely with patty murray, the democrat ranking member there, and to put together a package from that two my committee second brought up yet this year in the united states senate floor. >> why haven't some of -- one of issues that's been around for a while, one of the piece of legislation the crates, basically law where he to prevent brand-name manufacturers from stop giving their samples to generic. there's thi

i also want to take this opportunity to thank senator wyden for his leadership on his wildfire funding bill that was enacted last year, making an additional $2 billion available beginning next year to the agencies who fire fight. i was a cosponsor of the bill because of how important the bill is to my state of west virginia also. each year when the forest service ran short of funds, it would raid the accounts of the eastern national forest. the national forest in west virginia in order to pay for fire fighting. and we understood that. in addition to not being fair, the fire borrowing practice was terribly disruptive to the proper management of these forests. and it directly harmed the surrounding communities that depend on our national forests. so the fire borrowing legislation was a great start, but there is more work to be done. we need to be looking at new, innovative solutions because these are very complex problems without simple answers. so i look forward to hearing from the witnesses about the approach we are taking this year so that our country does not have to repeat the devas

and i believe we have a real opportunity this time with senator wyden and i working together. and what i've heard from the house wants to do, that we can put together a bicameral, bipartisan legislation to drive down drug prices. in addition to what i do on the finance committee, we've had both leaders of the help committee, which has helped in their h in the word help, they have some jurisdiction over it. and we have been communicating very close together. hopefully getting products out of both senator alexander's committee, working very closely with patty murray, the democrat ranking member there. and to put together a package from the two committees that can be brought up yet this year in the united states senate floor. >> so why haven't some of -- one of the issues that has been around for a while, one of the pieces of legislation creates -- basically the law where it tries to prevent brand name manufacturers from stop giving their samples. >> yeah. >> it seems like low-hanging fruit. it seems like something -- it's -- you know, why does it still exist? if something like t

wyden 123. -- i was mr. widen 123. people may not like my party, but they saw a redeeming qualities and keeping me around. it allowed me to be more independent in my voting record, because i had earmarks and other things to fall back on and just voting with the party on certain issues. these numbers now do not have that, so they are judged by their party kid as a result, people are voting party, not person. it continues to advance the movement from a democratic model to a more parliamentary model in terms of how we elect people. it has been bad for government. i would bring them back with more transparency. host: trenton, new jersey, democrat. no ahead. ahead. thank - go caller: thank you for having me on c-span. i am a former republican. i do not agree on anything the republican party stands for right now. i am a vietnam veteran. i did not have no bone spurs. here,ot going to stand listening to somebody defend the aesident, who should not have lawyer that we pay for. bank --ake it to the there are two thirds of us wai

what would do that is the brown-wyden proposal, which will lift labor standards so mexicans can buy the products they make and we make and it will be legitimate, fair trade between and among the countries. mexico and canada should be supportive of these labor enforcement language. i wanted to get a yes to this agreement but i cannot for -- vote for anything that continues to hurt american workers and companies. i saw a general motors just did in my state, increasing production in mexico. that kind of thing nafta needs to stop. this renegotiated nafta does not do this. david: i understand this does not do and -- everything you would like it to do. there are provisions in this agreement that would increase the wages that have to be paid to people in the auto industry in mexico. that would help presumably on jobs going down in mexico if they had to pay higher wages. is that better than it has been? sen. brown: it is better than it has been but we have an opportunity to have a trade agreement that will really stop the bleeding of jobs from the u.s. to mexico. this clearly does not do this.

and ron wyden, the two of them have a proposal that could be the answer for the enforcement piece. t is a way to make sure that enforcement takes place. we will see how that goes. i met with senator -- chairman grassley the other day, and we talked a little bit about that. we would like that to be esolved. it can't be, this is nafta, then nafta with sugar on top. that isn't that much of a change. the president could go out there and say see, we got a better flft are -- nafta when at this time not going to make a difference in the lives of the american people. our people want a better nafta but we have to have enforcement and answer for the three categories i mentioned. then, there will be some dogs and cats. there are some issues that are regional, and i do not say that in a negative way, we love our dogs and we love our cats. linda: the philadelphia nquirer? eporter: there have been suggestions about getting word of the filibuster, using executive action, cooperation. how do you think a democrat could get something done, can mitch mcconnell be coaxed or shamed into action, do you

there was senator ron wyden's payback, then congressman john sarbane's election security act, senator marco rubio's deter act and senator langford's deter election act. each of these bills are stuck in limbo and senate leader mitch mcconnell won't say way. the reason isn't that our country doesn't need them. since the 2016 presidential election, intelligence officials have warned repeatedly that foreign interference in future u.s. elections is bound to happen again. and president trump's shocking admission just days ago that he would still accept foreign assistance has only heightened concern. when interviewed this morning, the president was busy trying to backpedal on those same comments. >> i don't think anybody would present me with anything because they know how much i love this country. nobody's going to present me with anything bad. number two, if i was, and of course you have to look at it because if you don't look at it, you're not going to know how it's bad. how are you going to know if it's bad? of course, you give it to the fbi or report it to the attorney general or somebo

i would also like to recognize chairman grassley, ranking member wyden and their staffs, who are our senate partners on this necessary effort. in particular, i would like to thank our staff for their hard and great and good work. mr. speaker, i'm proud of the process and the product. the record must be clear, members of the house and the senate spent many years reaching ideas to help taxpayers. the oversight subcommittee held 14 hearings and round tables to reach out to taxpayers and stakeholders. we asked questions and listened to the responses. we asked democratic and republican members to provide feedback and even opened a public comment period on the draft bill. we came together. we studied, we listened and we respected the taxpayer. mr. speaker, this has not been easy. we work hard to correct misinformation that this bill would tie the hands of the i.r.s. and hurt taxpayers. at a time when there is so much tension and rush to judgment, our coalition remains thoughtful and fair. after the house passed this legislation earlier this year, new information came out and am proud that

wyden: currently working on it? a day ago you said what you are working on is trying to rollback environmental rules. that was the statement a day ago. why don't you get back to me because my time is almost out telling me exactly how you are going to make sure you reduce the backlog and it does not get oflaid in a whole new array -- what i call the litigation where everyone shows up and sues each other and you do not get the work done? how soon can i have that? can you get that to me within a week, how you are actually going to get that backlog, the 2 million acres i am talking about, how you're going to get that backlog done and get that done first, before we chase these rollbacks? ms. legarza: absolutely. sen. murkowski: senator gardner. ms. legarza, given the wet weather we have enjoyed in colorado, if you're still interested in skiing you can go again this weekend. -- how is thest forest service approaching fuel reduction projects right now for the rest of the year? how does the recent passage of the supplementa

the supplemental package to pay back the fire service back with that approach and also what senator wyden was talking about that comes up under other accounts to affect the ability to spend the money on the fuel reduction project. >> absolutely. i would love to go skiing anytime in colorado. we are very grateful for those authorities you have given us to cross boundaries but time is against us we are in a continuous state of operational emergencies because we cannot get ahead of where we need to be. i know that my colleagues are working hard talking about the san juan national forest on the front country to be as prepared as they can. . >> i assume this was in effect and as we get this fixed this problem will solve itself quick. >> yes. thank you for getting that back to us we will get back in alignment for that money to go back out to the field. >> i visited a timber meal in southern colorado the manager said the force to sustain the timber industry is here to sustain the forest the point being that if they reduce fuels to save forest for future generations that's important to make 63 mi

i don't necessarily want to ask you to respond to a specific proposal, but the underlying of brown wyden might be a starting point to work on this issue and i wonder if you might be willing to commit to work with myself and others who are interested in this area to ensure that enforcement will be done in such a way that it won't hurt the autoworkers that i represent that feel like they are just getting their feet under them. >> i will, i have enjoyed working with you very much on this issue as you know, the effect of this is one of our principal motivators. we have to turned around. i have enjoyed working with you on that. you are a good spokesman for the pointed view. they are the biggest single beneficiaries of this agreement and they were the ones who are punished the most and this is going to be a binary choice of seven point. you go with this agreement and you go with the agreement that is either spectacular or really good. >> it will be a binary choice of one point and that distinguishes it from others and our issue is making sure it is the best binary choice that we can possibly h

point you to something ron wyden, democratic senator from oregon, top democrat on the senate finance committee a bit ago. he said you have to have a veto-proof supermajority. we hear these rattlings of republicans on a lot of issues from time to time, that they fold. what that tells me, neil, its about the math, it is about the math, it is about the math. they will not pull the trigger if they don't think they can get 67 votes in the senate, 2/3 vote and 290 in the house of representatives. that will be key. lindsey graham, republican senator from south carolina, he argues maybe the whole issue is to force the mexicans to the table. listen to this. >> give us a chance to work something out with mexico. i doubt if any republican will say that mexico is doing all they can. they have definitely done things better but if i were the republican senators i would give the president a chance to see if he can get better action out of mexico before i undercut him. >> house speaker nancy pelosi met with the mexican foreign minister at the capitol yesterday. she just had a press conference this m

ron wyden also from morgan holdinghis 9 -- oregon, his townhall and interacting with his constituentsn the state. one more from congressman john curtis of utah, republican, saying we are not done yet, enjoying the beautiful scenery. you see the setup for his townhall on the 28th of this week. some scenes from town halls this week. have you attended one this year? republican,a, norcross, georgia. is in: my representative the seventh district, i have attended a townhall, most of his are over telephone. essentially, i found them to be a complete waste of time. i asked him some questions, what specifically was the republican from 2016,ngress 2017, what they had passed, what they had done, he could not say anything. most of the time they are advertisements for how good they have done. host: what it have been waste of it was sometime had it been a person? caller: not really because then they pick the questions. they did that a few years earlier and usually they ask you to write your questions and take questions most of the have nothing to do with your congress. they are about sosa security

booker, harris, warren, gillibrand, klobuchar, sanders, heinrich, udall, markey, smith, cardin, murphy, wyden, merkley, and hirono. it has been introduced in the house by congressman eric usd(at&l)well and it now -- stalwell and it now has 30 exorns, including jerry nadler. i invite my republican colleagues to join me in passing this legislation. republicans ought to stand up for the rule of law. they ought to speak out for our national security. they should refuse to tolerate these kinds of words and behavior from an american commander in chief. i yield the floor. a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator. a senator: i rise today to emphasize the importance of this year's national defense authorization act. mr. cramer: it is important and what we must accomplish this week while we are still here. madam president, the primary obligation of congress is to provide for the common defense. for the past 57, 58 years, congress has met this obligation primarily through passage of the ndaa. with this bipartisan legislation, we provide our armed forces the resources and authoritie

wyden 123. -- i was mr. widen 123.ple may not like my party, but they saw a redeeming qualities and keeping me around. it allowed me to be more independent in my voting record, because i had earmarks and other things to fall back on and just voting with the party on certain issues. these numbers now do not have that, so they are judged by their party kid as a result, people are voting party, not person. it continues to advance the movement from a democratic model to a more parliamentary model in terms of how we elect people. it has been bad for government. i would bring them back with more transparency. host: trenton, new jersey, democrat. no ahead. ahead. thank - go caller: thank you for having me on c-span. i am a former republican. i do not agree on anything the republican party stands for right now. i am a vietnam veteran. i did not have no bone spurs. here,ot going to stand listening to somebody defend the aesident, who should not have lawyer that we pay for. bank --ake it to the there are two thirds of us waiting

i know you said to ranking member wyden you would do whatever it takes and that's good to hear. i'll return to china. i have been concerned about china's unfair trade practices for, frankly, 20 years as a member of the house and senate. we know the way china cheats. huge subsidies, state-owned companies don't act like companies at all. their industrial policies urge industrial domination. their w

wyden: i appreciate my colleague. i am in such strong support of your legislation, the no junk plans act and will speak briefly on it after you've concluded your important remarks. but apropos of what the distinguished senator from south dakota just said, isn't it correct that of course a plan is more affordabl affordable if itt cover anything. i'd be interested in my colleague's reaction to that because she's the lead sponsor. i remember being in wisconsin, seeing the wonderful support that folks there have for my colleague because she's been a leader on these issues. and i'm just curious because certainly my friend from south dakota, the distinguished member of the finance committee, works with senator cortez masto and myself often works with us on matters but unless i'm missing something, he said that what he's interested in is care that's more affordable but it doesn't cover anything. what's my colleague's thought on that? ms. baldwin: well, i would concur and say that the reason they've earned the nickname junk p

wyden: thank you very much. i would ask unanimous consent that i be allowed to speak after the chairman, senator inhofe and after the ranking minority member senator reed. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. reed: i was just asking to speak after senator inhofe and as the ranking member and comanager of the legislation. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. inhofe: mr. chairman. mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma is recognized. mr. inhofe: first of all, i thank my colleagues for voting yes on the motion to proceed so we can start our work on what i consider to be the most significant bill of the year and we can do these things in earnest. this will be the 59th ndaa for 59 consecutive years. we're pretty sure it's going to go ahead and pass and we start the process of considering amendments. i hope we can have an open amendment process. i know i speak on behalf of myself and senator reed. we've been wanting to do this for a lon