i yield to senator wyden. senator wyden: thank you. this is cannabis common sense.nd i am very pleased to be here with the majority leader and my friend senator booker, who has done so much work on this issue. i am here because the current cannabis prohibition, a pillar in the failed war on drugs, has been devastating to millions of americans who seek only common sense and fairness from the government. for example, it defies common sense that small businesses now living in areas where cannabis is legal cannot deduct their business expenses or access the banking system. a few days ago, i saw exactly what cannabis common sense is when i visited a dispensary in astoria, oregon. employees came up to me when i was there and they said, ron, thanks for what you are doing to legalize cannabis back there in d.c. right now, said the employees, we are getting great pay and great benefits, and they want that to be made more available. during the year when most businesses were struggling to keep their doors open, the covid period, the cannabis industry added hundreds of jobs, go

so i great deal look forward to releasing this draft legislation with my colleagues, senators wyden and booker today. we'll speak about how our bill will address the issues relating to updating our federal marijuana laws, not just ending the federal prohibition but how it will ensure restorative justice, protect public health, and implement responsible taxes and regulations. and a final matter, myrna perez. in a moment, i'm excited to head over to the judiciary committee to introduce an outstanding nominee for one of the most important courts in the country, the second circuit court of appeals in new york, and the person i will introduce is myrna perez, one of the foremost election lawyers in the country. the daughter of mexican immigrants, myrna graduated from yale, harvard, columbia law school before joining the brennan center for justice as a voting rights and election litigator. the federal bench has long been occupied by former prosecutors and corporate lawyers. it's about time that civil rights attorneys, federal defenders, and voting rights experts like myrna perez, one of the fo

senators booker, bennett and ron wyden. they will tout the success. in the coming days, we will also hear from people saying, i want to extend this -- it is only for one year now. that was all i could get it for the first time. i want to extend it into the future, have another piece of legislation be voted on soon, to continue this. for the people who say we cannot afford to give the middle-class a break, i say we can afford it by making people at the top and the big corporations, which paid no taxes has to read all, to finally start paying their fair share. we are not going to gouge them, just pay their fair share. the people who are working hard and pay taxes deserve a break. excuse me for all these terms, but my build back better agenda, which still needs to be voted on in congress, keeps this working-class families tax-cut in place for years to come. we should not let taxes go up on working-class families. we should not let child poverty dragged down our economy. i say to my colleagues in congress, this tax cut for working families is something we

chair wyden, and ranking member crapo. secretary yellen, thank you so much for a long morning but a fruitful one and we appreciate it very much. i wanted to start to just follow up on a conversation you had earlier this morning with senator young concerning the r&d tax bill that he and i are co-sponsoring which strengthens tax incentives for start-ups and innovative american businesses. in your hearing we discussed the importance of promoting domestic r&d. that's key for outcompeting china and creating jobs as the economy recovers from covid-19. secretary yellen, will you continue working with this committee to strengthen r&d incentives in the tax code, including by expanding the r&d credit for small businesses and startups? >> certainly, it's a high priority of president biden. we -- it's a priority in the budget. there are some areas that lack specificity. we want to do more to promote r&d and glad to work with you on this and to discuss the specifics. >> well, thank you so much. i look forward to it. another topic, in y

. >> senate majority leader chuck schumer join senator ron wyden and senator cory booker to announce a new bill that is passed by both chambers and signed by president biden within the federal prohibition on marijuana. this briefing is about 20 minutes. >> okay, good morning, everybody. thank you for coming. so today is a big day in the senate.

senator ron wyden of oregon says democrats don't want it to end.pushing. >> to extend the child tax credit for as long as we possibly can. in washington, alexandra le mon. >> tonight, kron 4 is always tracking local stories. and here's a look at what's going on around the bay area right now. >> in the east bay. it is day 6 in the search for phillip cray-chick. the working man went missing during a run in pleasanton at pleasanton ridge national regional park rather the search is officially been scaled back with about 3 dozen people signing up to look for him this morning. the sheriff's office used infrared technology in a plane which picked up a lot of animals but never picked up any sign of crytek drones and helicopters were used yesterday to check out a report of someone hearing a cry for help in a canyon. but that led also went cold volunteers today say they are still holding on to hope that they can find him. >> got pulls off all kin

i'm working with senator wyden and senator warner to fix that. the agreement you secured at the g7 can help us reverse that race to the bottom on corporate taxes. if you would, speaking of that, how would that help workers in my state, especially workers that live in fear that their factory will be shuttered and their jobs shipped overseas? >> i think workers, senator, in ohio are right to worry that our tax system contains incentives that make it profitable in some cases for american firms to move jobs overseas, and also to move sometimes income overseas to deprive the u.s. of tax revenue we could use and absolutely need for things like the child tax credit and for education, research and development aid to manufacturing and other things that would be very positive for them. so i was pleased that at the g7 we were able to get unanimous support on the part of our allies for creating a global minimum tax of at least 15%. we are hoping that by the time this is finalized, we can get countries to agree to a higher rate than that. what we have had is

it's a joint effort by senate majority leader chuck schumer, finance committee chair john wyden and coryd among other things it would remove marijuana from the controlled substances act. it would also expunge federal criminal records of nonviolent pot offenders. nbc news national political reporter sahel kapur is on capitol hill. the bill would need every democrat plus ten republicans there in the upper chamber to pass. does it have a chance at all? >> craig, in the next year and a half or so, this bill is unlikely to become law, and i say that not to be a buzz kill, but because the simple, mathematical reality is steep in terms of getting to that 60-vote threshold. democrats do not have unanimity amongst themselves and there are democrats that are not in favor of this. president joe biden has not come out for legalizing this either and it should be said that congress is lagging behind the american public on this issue. two-thirds of this country according to multiple polls now favors legalizing marijuana and support has risen about 30 points. it's roughly doubled from the year 2000. our

on weed senate ma jord liter chuck schumer, new jersey senator cory booker and oregon senator ron wyden said that western civilization was going to pretty much end. what we have seen in terms of the actual facts is we've generated more than six times the predicted revenue. >> reporter: is this one of the top prioriies for democrats? >> it's one of the high priorities. we have a lot. >> reporter: at the same time you haven't gotten infrastructure done yet. why bring this up now? >> we have to move forward on a lot of things. >> reporter: the marijuana industry is growing too fast critics say and marketing hypotently pot to kids. >> i think we can expunge records, not prosecute low-level use, not give someone a criminal recovered but we don't have to go to the other extreme of pot gummi bears and 99% thc dabs. >> reporter: supporters argue communities of color are disproportionately incarcerated for a drug already legal in many states. 18 states plus d.c. allow recreational pot use. 37 plus d.c. allow medical marijuana. >> the war on drugs has not worked. >> reporter: stephanie shep pafrd

senator ron wyden of oregon says democrats don't want it to end. we will be pushing. >> to extend the child tax credit for as long as we possibly can in washington, alexandra limon. >> now to south san francisco where the city council has approved a guaranteed income program. 135 eligible families will receive $100 a month for a year. here's which applicants will be prioritized foster youth transitioning out of care single heads of household families with children living under 8 families with children under 18 living with them and those living in the city's lowest income areas. if more than 135 people apply. then the recipients will be selected through a lottery system. the program is expected to launch in mid october. state lawmakers today approved spending 12 billion dollars to try to help california's homelessness and housing problem. the majority of that money will go towards bolstering the state's project homekey which allow cities and counties to turn hotels. vacant apartment buildings and other properties into housing for the homeless. anoth

weed are senate majority leader chuck schumer, new jersey senator cory booker, oregon senator ron wydenof the finance committee. >> we legalized adult use in 2014 and oh my goodness, the skeptics said that western civilization was going to pretty much end what we have seen in terms of the actual facts is we've generated more than six times the predicted revenue. >> is this one of the top priorities for democrats >> it's one of the high priorities we have a lot of priorities, obviously. >> but at the same time, you haven't been able to get infrastructure done yet. why bring this up now? >> we've got to move forward on a whole lot of things. >> reporter: critics say the marijuana industry has been going too fast and it's marketing high-potency pot to kids. >> i think we can expunge records, we can not prosecute low-level use, not give someone a criminal record. but we don't have to go to the other extreme of pot gummy bears and 99% thc dabs. >> reporter: supporters argue communities of color are still disproportionately incarcerated for a drug already legal in many states 18 states plus d

democratic leader chuck schumer and senators cory booker and ron wyden unveiled legislation to remove marijuana from the federal controlled substances list and give cannabis businesses access to banking and regulate and tax marijuana sales revenue generated through legalizing cannabis will go directly to support restoration of the life of those most harmed by the war on drugs as well as public health and safety outdated color. most tougher to get a job tougher to get credit tougher to live a normal life. the proposal would expunge the records of people with nonviolent marijuana convictions, allow people who are serving time to be re sentenced and provide grants to minority entrepreneurs who want to start marijuana businesses looking for otto's with smart approaches to marijuana says decriminalizing marijuana will be harmful. it's invested in by tobacco alcohol and pharma. >> the drug is much more potent and much more addictive than it's ever in washington. alexandra le mon. >> coming up here on kron, 4 news at 10 new details about a man who killed 9 people at the vta rail route railya

senate majority leader chuck schumer is spear heading this effort along with ron wyden and cory bookerolled substances act, clearing the way for the industry to get full access to the nation's banking and financial system it also establishes 21 as the legal age to buy marijuana already canopy grow ceo is getting behind this effort in a statement he said that his company is thrilled to support this important legislation we're ready to work with congressional leadership to establish a thriving and safe well-regulated adult use cannabis market in the u.s., but this proposal could bring additional costs for company because democrats want to impose an excise tax on the industry. it would be 10% in year one, then climb to 25% by year five and after that the tax would be calculated based on weight and on concentration democrats say this new revenue is critical to reinvesting in disadvantaged communities. >> i will lay myself down to do everything i can to stop an easy banking bill that's going to allow all these corporations to make a lot more money off of this as opposed to focusing on the r

congressman richie neil, and torez and senators bennett, brown, and booker and ron wyden.l probably hear from our republican friends who voted against this, but they'll tout the success as it helps working families in their states and districts. but in the coming days, we're also going to hear from them saying i want to extend this tax cut. it's only for one year now. that's all i could get it for for the first time. and so i want to extend it into the future now. have another piece of legislation we vote on soon saying we're going to continue this. to the people who say we can't afford to give the middle class a break, i think we can afford it. by making people at the top and the big corporations over 50 of which paid no taxes last year at all. finally just start paying their fair share. i'm not going to gouge them. just pay their fair share, because people who are working hard and paying taxes deserve a break. that's why -- excuse me for all the terms i'm using, but my build back better agenda. it needs to be voted on in the congress. it keeps the tax cut for working fam

wyden which i reserving the right to object. the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. wyden: first i want to say i very much enjoyed talking health care with the senators from indiana, the lead sponsor of this, we have had a lot of very productive discussion about the role of health care in america. i strongly support the proposition that the federal government doesn't know all the answers here. sometimes my friends say i'm the senator for innovation because i'm always trying to promote innovation, that's what section 1332 is all about. my other colleague from indiana is a very valued member of the finance committee, so i want it understood that i think indiana senators, they are 100% straight shooters who i enjoy talking health care with. let me say respectfully why i have a difference of opinion with respect to this issue. my sense is that what my colleagues from indiana want to do is based on a premise. it comes from the trump administration, which i think is flawed. the premise is that those on medicaid really don't want to work and having run the legal aid program

this was an issue that came up in 2009 when senator wyden and i and others pushed for a big increase in funding for hazardous fuels reductions and the contracting process was one in which crews were recruited out of state, required out of country, required foreign languages, never consulted with the 5,000 people on the list who wanted to do this work inside oregon. we need to make sure h2b is a backup for workers when americans are not ready to fill these jobs, can we get full transparency from the forest service on this issue? >> yes, sir, we are happy to work with you on this and we are providing information already. i'm really drilling into the implementation of the great americas outdoors act and 70% of that work will be done through contracts and agreements. but we have a special focus on small businesses and minorities in the local area and the other piece of the work through the agreements is some really important work being done by the civilian conservation corps, the conservation corps, so we are working with ngos there. i'll be happy to track with you how we're doing on gao

wyden: talk about job growth in his infrastructure proposal, live coverage from the white house state dining room at 11:30 eastern here on c-span pretty can also watch online at c-span.org or visit live on the free radio app. >> this weekend congress, the house returns from the break. later in the week, a bill that would speed up the visa process for afghans that work with the government as u.s. troops withdraw from that country. in the senate majority leader schumer plans to move along a measure with the key vote possible as early as wednesday. he also said the wednesday deadline democrats should agree on the budget resolution. watch the senate live on c-span2 and the house live on c-span. >> scientists testify on efforts to investigate the origin of covid-19. they discussed the lack of cooperation from china, misinformation about the virus and what a proper investigation into the origins would look like. chairman: good morning. welcome. i guess i don't have to remind people about the importance of the topic that we are discussing today, the origins of covid-19. for the past year and

con man ritchie kneel, congressman ritchie kneel and torrez and ron wyden.hear from our republican friend who voted against but they will taught the success and helps working families in their states and districts. in the coming days i want to now extend this tax. it is only for one year now. all i could get it for the first time. and so i want to extend it into the future now. i have another piece of legislation to be voted on soon. we'll continue this. to the people who say we can't afford to give the middle class a break, i say we can afford it by making people at the top and the big corporations, over 50 of which paid no taxes at all, just start paying their fair share. we will not gouge them. just pay their fair share. people working hard and paying taxes deserve a break. that's why i have, excuse me for all these terms i'm using, my build back better agenda, which still needs to be voted on in the congress, keeps this tax cut for working families in place for years to come. we shouldn't let taxes go up on working families. we shouldn't let child povert

so that's why senator wyden and i have introduced legislation to tackle both ends of the problem, that generating resilient energy efficient network communications act or the green communications act. legislation will create a new $5 billion program at the ntia which will fund projects to increase network resiliency as well as initiatives to reduce the environmental footprint of communications technology. mr. adelstein, do you agree that we need to invest in both network resiliency and carbon reducing technologies as part of any broadband infrastructure package? >> absolutely. our industry stepped up to reduce the carbon footprint of everyone of our major members. look at all footprint and what we done to reduce it and i can put in the records of stones which are impressive but the bigger picture is that internet enabled solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 16.5% of current independent experts. that's a third of a third of the way by 2032 the goal of 50% we're shooting for. this is an enormous contribution. i don't know of any other technology that's more important. importan

wyden: talk about job growth in his infrastructure proposal, live coverage from the white house state at 11:30 eastern here on c-span pretty can also watch online at c-span.org or visit live on the free radio app. >> this weekend congress, the house returns from the break. later in the week, a bill that would speed up the visa process for afghans that work with the government as u.s. troops withdraw from that country. in the senate majority leader schumer plans to move along a measure with the key vote possible as early as wednesday. he also said the wednesday deadline democrats should agree on the budget resolution.

safety of these families given the current circumstances and the letterer concluded by urging the wydeninistration to quote racket nice the crisis and take swift action. mr. secretaries of the letter was addressed to you i'm not going to ask you if you read it because you get a lot of mail but i do direct you to that letter and i describe some of that letter so this brings me to my first question with units based on the proposition that i don't know for sure if there are any programs in the department of agriculture that canan help these farmers and i don't know even if these farmers asked for anyca help but is the usda currently taking any action to help farming families who've experienced damage to their -- as a result of the border crisis and if i not do you have a plan to to that? we are asking your folks to take a look at whether or not the conservation programs we have could potentially provide assistance and help in terms of debris removal and repair offenses and so forth that have been damaged. i have seen the letters i read the letter. president duvall whose the president of th

, the protect reporters from exploitive state spying actea which i've been working on with senator wyden sometime along with my colleague mr. lieu. this billl is an update of the flow of information act that i probably introduced in the last congress with our colleague the ranking member mr. jordan in the 115th. itit will prevent federal law enforcement from being able to obtain information from covered journalists through worker devis and accounts as well as personal devices and accounts and will also prevent the government from conducting an end-run around the prohibit ikss by preventing them from seeking third party communications power by e communicating and communications services exceptt in narrow exceptional circumstances. i hope thet colleagues on both sides of the aisle as demonstrated by what appears to be broad b consensus today will join us in cosponsoring this bill and work to defend the freedom of the press against these practices. miss burton a and miss oberlander i'd appreciate if you expound onn the need to address the secrecy orders used by law enforcement to prevent ta

the protection will reporters from explorative state spying act which i've been working with senator wydenr some time alone with my colleague mr. lieu. this bill is an update of the free flow of information act but i am proud to releases and less colic with mr. jordan in the 115th. it will prevent federal law enforcement from being able to obtain information from journalists to the work devices and accounts as well as personal devices and accounts and also prevent the government from conducting an end run around these prohibitions by preventing them from seeking third-party communications compelled by computing and -- held by services except in their exceptional services. i hope colleagues on both sides of the aisle have demonstrated by what appears a broad consensus today will join us in cosponsoring this bill and work to defend the freedom of the press against these practices. ms. oberlander, ms. bird, i would appreciate if you could expound on the need to address the secrecy orders being used by law enforcement to prevent targus of even being aware that their information is being sought

so i great deal look forward to releasing this draft legislation with my colleagues, senators wyden and booker today. we'll speak about how our bill will address the issues relating to updating our federal marijuana laws, not just ending the federal prohibition but how it will ensure restorative justice, protect public health, and implement responsible taxes and regulations. and a final matter, myrna perez. in a moment, i'm excited to head over to the judiciary committee to introduce an outstanding nominee for one of the most important courts in the country, the second circuit court of appeals in new york, and the person i will introduce is myrna perez, one of the foremost election lawyers in the country. the daughter of mexican immigrants, myrna graduated from yale, harvard, columbia law school before joining the brennan center for justice as a voting rights and election litigator. the federal bench has long been occupied by former prosecutors and corporate lawyers. it's about time that civil rights attorneys, federal defenders, and voting rights experts like myrna perez, one of the fo

i look forward to working with these new colleagues and our caucus cochair, senator wyden of oregon, as we continue our joint effort to make sure the whistleblower laws and protections we have in place next year and the year after are even stronger than the ones that we have in place today. i yield the floor and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: i ask consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: the senator is not in a quorum call. mr. cornyn: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, it's 2:00 o'clock on a friday afternoon and we've taken two votes on an infrastructure plan that hasn't been written yet, finally. we know -- i ask consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: mr. president, it's 2:00 o'clock on friday afternoon and it looks like we're going to grind through this bipartisan infrastructure bill this weekend as senator schumer has ordained. we've now had a couple of v

senators bennet of colorado and senator brown of ohio and senator booker of new jersey and senator wyden of oregon and so many others who fought for this issue and helped make it a reality that today is going to happen. so we say to the parents of america, starting today help, real help, significant help is on the way, not just for the wealthy as the republicans like to give it but to the poor and the middle class. i yield the floor. mr. mcconnell: madam president. the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: throughout my career i've been proud to amplify the voices of freedom fighters around the world. brave men and women working to secure the blessings of liberty that we enjoy here in america. and i've repeatedly shined a flood light on the oppressive regimes that stand in their way. i championed the pro-democracy in burma, the brave advocates for freedom in hong kong. right now the loudest cries for liberty are coming pretty close to home. after dealing with socialist tyranny 90 miles from american soil, the people of cuba are telling the world they've had enough. had

in 2013, joined by michael bennet, senator booker, and since he came, senator warnock and senator wyden, the chair of the finance committee, the joy of this is to see how this affects individual families' lives. a couple of weeks ago before the bill -- before the checks were sent out, i did a series of roundtables in brian and finley and cleveland andton and thread -- dayton and toledo and youngstown and cincinnati. i asked what are you going to do with this? many families didn't know it was coming. i heard some interesting comments. after the checks were sent out, i also heard stories. here's what it means to families. one mother said, you know, for the first time i can now send my son to camp for a week, to a summer camp, first time in her life. a father said, you know, i'm now going to be able to buy for my daughter, she loves fast pitch softball. she's really g. i'm going to be able to buy her the equipment to do that. a number of families said we're now in a position where we can actually without scrounging -- so many american families can barely afford their rent. 25% of american