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thune. we appreciate your work as well. next, i want to introduce our witnesses, and then we will hear from them. i want to welcome mr. chris lewis, ceo and president of public knowledge, leading one of the predominant public telecommunications organizations and former staff at the fcc and here at the united states senate. next, the honorable meredith baker, ceo and president of ctia , representing the wireless association's largest spectrum of users of the spectrum. next, we have the director of physical infrastructure at the government accountability office , with years of experience evaluating spectrum management over at the fcc and end tia -- and ntia. then we will hear from our fourth witness today, dr. b azlan, with knowledge of wireless options, spectrum management, and competition policy, and formerly an anise -- an analyst at cio. i look forward to your testimony here as well. >> thank you, mr. chairman. ranking member thune, ranking member wicker, thank you for having me here. i would like to summarize four guidep

maria: senator john thune joining us. up next, federal reserve chairman jay powell says he's going to keep hiking interest rates until inflation is under control. but ark invests cathie wood says this is the wrong way to go. you'll hear from her as well a this thing, it's making me get an ice bath again. what do you mean? these straps are mind-blowing! they collect hundreds of data points like hrv and rem sleep, so you know all you need for recovery. and you are? i'm an investor...in invesco qqq, a fund that gives me access to... nasdaq 100 innovations like... wearable training optimization tech. uh, how long are you... i'm done. i'm okay. ♪ ♪ we all need a rock we can rely on. to be strong. to overcome anything. ♪ ♪ to be... unstoppable. that's why the world's largest companies and over 30 million people rely on prudential's retirement and workplace benefits. who's your rock? maria: welcome back. now look at where the markets ended the week after federal reserve chairman jay powell said the fed will continue to raise rat

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thune. >> great, yes, we do expect senator thune to be here very soon. today, for the first time in more than two, years the subcommittee can be as to discuss the status spectrum policy in the united states. thank you to chairman lujÁn and senator thune for holding this important hearing. i welcome our distinguished panel of witnesses, can't wait to hear your testimony. this conversation is particularly timely, as the chair noted, with the expiration of the fcc statutory auction authority in less than two months. spectrum is a critical component of enabling innovation in our modern wireless economy. we've seen time again how unleashing spectrum for commercial use generates new, cutting edge technologies and applications for consumers. however, although appetite for commercial spectrum continues to grow almost exponentially, there's also growing demand from federal agencies. the resources are scarce and effective spectrum management has become essential. auctions have proved to be a winning solution for allocating frequencies. not only do options provide

thune. >> yes we do expect senator thune to be here soon. it convened to discuss spectrum policy. thank you for holding this important hearing is welcome the distinguished panel. this conversation is timely as the chair noted with the statutory options. spectrum is in the modern wireless economy. tell me how unleashing spectrum, with cutting edge technologies. it grows almost exponentially and growing demand from federal agencies, resources scarce and effective spectrum management has become essential. they are out locating frequencies, not only do options provide a market mechanism. with sufficient revenues as the distinguished chair stated, the advent of spectrum options, $230 billion has been collected and used including funding, and reducing the federal deficit. the statutory authority to conduct options is set to expire september 30th. if we do not act swiftly the agency removes its ability through that. this is especially important for the recent start at 2.5 gigahertz. that is ongoing when the authority expires. to finish the proceeding. not sure if spectrum options have be

senator stabenow: senator thune and then senator booker. senator thune: thank you for holding today's legislative hearing. i want to thank both of you for your leadership on this legislation and legislation on digital commodities. technology continues to transform and the federal government has the proper tools to regulate and provide certainty when it comes to digital and i'm the original co-sponsor of the bill. it would clarify the regulatory uncertainty surrounding cryptocurrency and to establish rules and regulations to oversee commodities and establish guardrails for the market. so i want to thank all the witnesses who are here today for your input and look forward to advance what i think is important legislation. in your testimony, you highlighted the role that cftc has played. can you walk us through, a lot of time through the experience and successes in regulating digital commodities? mr. behnam: wife futures contracts, bit coin and others and we are continuing to see even in the past few years native or incumbent firms purchasing c

thune. we appreciate your work as well. next, i want to introduce our witnesses, and then we will hear from them. i want to welcome mr. chris lewis, ceo and president of public knowledge, leading one of the predominant public telecommunications organizations and former staff at the fcc and here at the united states senate. next, the honorable meredith baker, ceo and president of ctia , representing the wireless association's largest spectrum of users of the spectrum. next, we have the director of physical infrastructure at the government accountability office , with years of experience evaluating spectrum management over at the fcc and end tia -- and ntia. then we will hear from our fourth witness today, dr. b azlan, with knowledge of wireless options, spectrum management, and competition policy, and formerly an anise -- an analyst at cio. i look forward to your testimony here as well. >> thank you, mr. chairman. ranking member thune, ranking member wicker, thank you for having me here. i would like to summarize four guidep

thune. >> miss baker, mr.is, congress has never let the fcc's auction authority laps, what is the impact if auction authority lapses and how does that impact our ability to lead the impact of the next generation communication services? >> i agree, it would be a shame to see the authority laps, that would be the worst-case scenario. i fear that the impact would signal that we are not committed to removing or even moving away from this structure that has allowed us to create greater competition and greater diverse uses of spectrum. so that would be a shame. it's also why i am advocating for a longer authority to signal that we want to continue to do this in the future with the right studies and the right data. >> miss baker. >> i appreciate the question, senator. it would cause uncertainty, for certain. we don't know about licenses, we don't know about options, if they are not able to hold options, we are not going to be able to continue to build out 5g, that has an effect on our global competitiveness. so we al

senator john thune joins me now.he greens at a loss for america, do you see it that way? >> we don't. we think there's a better way to do this. manchin reforms were very limited and in many ways sort of moved us away from what we were trying to accomplish in true meaningful permitting reform so there's an effort on the way now. joe manchin has incorporated, his foe senator from west virginiait 50 republican cosponsors, they can find a path forward for equal permitting reform, the manchin bill did not get is -- stuart: if republicans do retake the house and the senate, what can you do with a massive tax-and-spend bill? can you reverse any of it? >> my hope would be if we get the majority where we prioritize the biden agenda items, clearly we've got an economy that is wobbly, 40-year high inflation, energy crisis in this country, border crisis in this country, we are going to have to start from ground 0 and do what we can to reverse the harm that has been done through massive spending bills and steer point the 87,000 n

senate minority whip john thune says it is the key to taking the majority. let's watch and i'll get your reaction. >> this election has to be about the biden agenda. it has to be about holding them accountable and putting a check and balance on the radical, extreme left wing administration that we have right now. >> harris: what would you add to what senator thune is saying? >> it just will be about these things. the media can't hide a 40 year high inflation and record gas prices. they can't hide open borders or the rising crime. and so this will be a referendum on democrat policies and democrat governance that caused all of this. it is not like president biden is unlucky he came to office when all these things happened. his policies caused it all. he is the root cause of all the pain being experienced by wisconsinites and americans throughout the land caused by his policies. it is naturally going to be about -- referendum on democrat governance and policies. >> harris: quickly i want to pop it on the screen and ask my team. the gop saying what americans is

and i think you have to remember people like john thune, i've known john thune a long time. thom tillis, these are old school republicans. they know and understand why the classification and declassification of documents is so important. someone like trump obviously doesn't know and care. some of the marjorie taylor growns or lauren boeberts don't know or care. it's true maybe some of his voters, trump voters, don't know or care. but these old school, you know, republicans who have been here a long time, they know exactly why it's important. and i think they're personally offended by it, which is why they're talking on the record about it. >> norm, i want to get to this filing from the special master, raymond dearie, in just a moment, because it seems like some of the president's comments outside of the formal proceedings are now getting into what he's asking for from trump's attorneys. but does this claim of you can even declassify it by thinking about it complicate the job that his attorneys have to do? >> victor -- >> where do you start, norm? >> having been an attorney f

thune: thank you. madam president, i thank the senator from rhode island for yielding and appreciate his kindness. i know he has a lot to say on this subject. hopefully he'll be able to get back to it. madam president, i want to speak just a minute about the issue of high energy price, high grocery prices. they've become a distinguishing feature of the biden economy. electricity prices increased 15.8% in august, the largest year over year increase since 1981. 1981. i wasn't even married the last time we saw electricity increases like this and now i have grandkids. utility gas service was up 33% from a year ago in august. 33% increase year over year from august. and the price of home heating oil which many households in places like new hampshire rely on to keep their homes warm in the winter has soared. all told the national energy assistance directors association estimates that home heating costs for the winter heating season will average $1,202, a 17.2% increase from last season. and i haven't even me

one of the highest ranking senate republicans, john thune, responds today.ve chairman jay powell says he's going to

>> thank you senator thune for that question. nasa has really done groundbreaking effort and work in this area to move forward we need to create a bridge from that nasa work into the actual regulatory requirement. how do you change all the technology, all the answers that nasa has provided into the regulatory structure at least below 500 feet? you t m is critical and it's absolutely going to be the backbone to deal with all of the increased activity and small uas operating beyond visual line of sight below that for 500 feet. i would say that that would need to be part of the reauthorization act, to establish the regulatory framework and support edm going forward. >> hopefully it will be part of the realist authorization, thank you. chair >> thank you senator thune, recognize cher cantwell for five minutes. >> mr. davis, i want to congratulate you again on yesterday and the flight of alice. very exciting news! [inaudible] main comment to earlier. this is no small achievement. i know the work has been ongoing by you in many others.

thune: we're not. okay. well, thank you. madam president, yesterday i came down to the floor too talk about where we are after two years of democrat control of congress an the white house. we're in the midst of an inflation crisis in no end in sight. our economy is weakening, our energy security has diminished, violent crime has increased and we're dealing with record waves of illegal immigration and a security situation at our southern border. that's where we are, madam president. the question is how did we get here? the answer lies with democrats' priorities. madam president, the democrat party has moved sharply leftward over the past few years. democrats have always been on the left side of the political spectrum. but over the past few years, what was once far-left ideology has become the democrat mainstream. and democrats swept into office determined to enact a far-left, big government agenda. didn't matter to them that their majorities in the house and senate were extremely narrow or that president biden had been electe

here is senate minority whip john thune taking aim at the president's student loan forgiveness program>> the democrats demonstrated once again they don't care about fiscal responsibility. they don't care about deficit reduction. now they care about one thing and that is buying votes going into another election. yamiche: joining the conversation is nbc news correspondent dasha burns. she's been running all across the country. let's discuss the races to watch ahead. you have been crisscrossing the country, going to battleground states including pennsylvania. talk about what your reporting has shown about what is at stake in this midterm election, what voters are talking about, and how pennsylvania is a microcosm of what's going on. dasha: i have been spending a lot of time in pennsylvania, so have you. we are about to spend a lot more time. all of our lives are regarding more absorbed with this estate and the races we see. not just because it is probably the democrats best shot of picking up a senate seat that president biden was pointing to, but also it really is pretty representative o

expect but it it have thats, if, and this country did not begin with british colonialism just over it 2 thunein its constitution. that is growing frrngs and at some point during his rain. he thinks there shut be at now, unless then we it frnls the trmt sfrmt and they will are on. >> all right, thank you very much. we appreciate that. richard qwest is here with us in am and pour and max ibtor. >> why don't we bring you in awe await the arrival of the queen's arrival at the palace of holyrood house. what is going on right now? >> it ratification of charles being king and being recognized and on the other hand we're seeing the slow procession of the queen's hearse to edinburgh. i couldn't help after seeing the scenes right next to balmoral, how many times she traveled there and how many times she got to know the people who live there. they know a lot of the ordinary people who surrounded balmoral castle. and it's a place where they spent so much time where their roots and she's going to edinburgh and again places where she spent many, many visits. she with have my mind took me back to the first

together with my partner senator boseman and with colleagues senator booker, thune, and hildebrand, there's the customer act and this gives the commodity futures, trading commission oversight. digital assets that act like commodities such as bitcoin and no federal oversight and hole in our financial system and il believe we must close it. our bipartisan will require they register with the cfg. our bill focuses on consumer protection and requires that theye segregate and safeguard assets and hold sufficient capital, and abide by rigorous cybersecuritycy standards. it will eliminate in this market and it will mandate that platforms speak truthfully and don't engage in misleading advertising it's the rights regulator. congress gave the agency oversight into the markets being a mainstay for all the producers during recent supply chain disruptions and elevated commode can i did prices. commodity prices and how the ctfc leaders and this week we receive add letter from former republican chairman expressing his support for the bipartisan bill. this bill gives the agency additional resources to get

. >> cheryl: again, as market fell, musician james taylor performed and senator john thune had this reactionete split screen you see in this country between the white house celebrating a victory lap this afternoon and the american people dealing with the reality. >> cheryl: as far as the report, white house releasing statement saying data shows more progress bringing global inflation down. that is welcome news for american families with more work to do, which is not true, month to month, a lot of things jumped. senator joe manchin trying to defend the new law. >> inflation reduction act looking at cpi that goes up. >> we have a chance to fight inflation. >> cheryl: president biden is heading to -- to push his agenda. >> todd: executive director of texas public policy foundation. robert, with optics like that on the white house lawn, going into triple digit losses, thousands, it was insane. how can the white house claim it feels the plight of the average american? >> it can't. good morning, todd, thanks for having me, yesterday's news was gut punch to american workers at same time you had sla

one of the highest ranking senate republicans, john thune, responds today.ederal reserve chairman jay powell says he's going t

. >> dear senator cardin, dear senator thune wicker, dear commission members, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your convictions in keeping ukraine. .. taira paievska. my friends call me taira. i originally was a resident in one of ukraine's federation. my grandfather was a world war world war ii hero, now as my country is at war, i'm a paramedic. my mission is saving lives. russian call me nazi, like they call everyone, every who defies them or simply doesn't want russia in ukraine. the first 20 days of this war, i spent in mariopol which was hell and russian captivity with -- i'm not the one to make politician speeches. i'm not a politician. let me just tell you the stories of which i was witness. one of the residents along with -- excuse me, and confidence in one likeness which allowed me to survive in hell. when my tormenters advised me to commit suicide, i thought no, i will see that happen tomorrow. i wonder how far they can go in their madness and anger and then, one day, when it seems there was no hope, someone looks into the peephole and called my name. get your things and get

thune: we are not? okay. thank you, mr. president. last friday president biden said the following during a speech, and i quote, we have a process in place to manage migrants at the border. we're working to make sure it's safe and orderly and humane, end quote. safe and orderly and humane. well, i have to ask, has the president visited the border lately? that's right, he hasn't. in fact, if other than a driveby, by the border when he was a candidate for vice president, and by driveby i mean his motorcade literally drove by, the president has never visited the border. never. although, i have to say, even reading the news should be enough to make it clear to the president the situation at the border is neither safe nor orderly nor humane. mr. president, in case the president isn't clear about what's happening at the border, let me just read from one news story from last week. this was from nbc news. i quote, a new surge of migrants is overwhelming the border patrol and shelters in el paso, texas, where nearly a thousand have been release

ranking member thune, ranking member wicker, thank you for having me here.e brief time i have are like to summarize for guidepost for national spectrum policy that can drive innovation and promote equality access to communications for all, first guidepost is that we should center interest set by congress in a national spectrum strategy, telecommunications act congress directed the fcc to design spectrum options to protect public interest and fill the goals of its foundational purpose to make communications service available for all americans. public -- includes promoting competition economic unity, excessive consolidation, providing opportunities for small businesses especially minority and women owned businesses and ensuring their limited spectrum airways effectively and efficiently serves the public's communication needs. we need congress, the fcc and ntia to think creatively about how to best advance all these objectives. for example, rural and tribal areas can benefit from small but creative policies. just last month, the ranking members mentioned and mo

reporter: senator john thune says on gas prices we shouldn't be here any way. >> the heavy hand of governmenthas been imposed by this administration, that needs to be replaced with lighter touch. let's get incentives out there for investment to increase supply in our economy and hopefully that will start to equalize with demand. we can see inflation start to moderate. as of right now, yeah, it is a five-alarm crisis. reporter: so the aftermath of this storm will be very telling as to what has to happen if anything for the national strategic petroleum reserve. back to you, neil. neil: edward lawrence at the white house. thank you, edward. want to go to daniel turner, power of the future ceo. daniel i want to talk to you everything that it is doing to protect the oil and gas infrastructure in response to acts of sabotage. i would be remiss not to pick your fine brain, tapping the reserve or filling it up again, it is getting pretty low by historical standards. what do you think should be done? >> should have never gotten to this point to begin with, right? it is a strategic reserve. the biden a

john thune came -- for my bill today. we are with the american people. >> lindsey graham has divided his party yet again. and he is not backing down on this. what in the world is going on? this is an issue that i have never even heard him care about before. >> right, right. >> when he says he has americans on his side, i remind the senator that 66% of americans want wide access to abortion. so, he is wrong there. i thought the only bet that he is trying to make here is about the fact that he is trying to play to his base, he's trying to play two male republican voters. he is trying to play two antiabortion voters who, in his mind, could potentially be mobilized or excited at equal levels as pro choice advocates, pro-choice voters. but the reality is, the data does not back this, up stephanie. newly registered voters are heavily trending towards democrats, i think, at above 60%. you also have what we saw in kansas, an amazing historic turnout. you also have the fact that independents are also sliding towards democrats on t

still ahead, senator john thune, attorney general of florida ashley moody, martha maccallum, and thechris sununu. the 10:00 hour of "varney" is next. ♪ .. stuart: chatting away our method of dancing, liz he suggested i was jiveing. very true. it is 10:00 eastern. the money, the dow is up 118 points, 3:00, 4:00, down 300

the senate minority whip john thune says it begs the question why he's approving other pandemic relatedrgiveness and cancellations. and senator john cornyn says if it's over, then i wouldn't suspect they need any more money. the white house has pushed for $22.5 billion in additional covid aid to help with vaccines, testing, and therapeutics. the house majority leader defended the president and explained why he believes some covid relief is still necessary. >> some of this is for places that it's not over. we don't want to see it reintroduced in this country. i guess over is subjective in terms of what does over mean. >> house speaker nancy pelosi seemed to disagree with the president. so the number of deaths from covid has decreased significantly since the last big spike in march, but more than 400 people a day are still dying from the virus. joining us now, independent senator angus king of maine. he's in the armed services and intelligence committees. i wanted to talk to you first about this move to dispense with some relief funds for covid. what do you thing about that? and do you --

this is john thune saying if the pandemic is over, mr.ou asking for all this money? >> they use the pandemic as a rationale for extending the bailout of student loans and to the tune of blowing up about a trillion dollars in spending, but if he's going to argue the pandemic is over, i think getting additional covid support will be a very heavy lift. >> you are right and he is right. the republicans never wanted to do more money anyway and they were going to fight it. this just gives them a strong rationale. i will say this, i do think, although scientifically, you know, his comment was bad, people are thinking that, right? he's sort of reflecting what ordinary people are thinking if there's not another variant, well, you know, everybody is kind of going back to the office. i see where it came from but it created a big problem that cleanup on aisle covid now for the next week or so. >> and up see that. this is axios covid indicator, their tracker, if you will, index. if you go back to the beginning of the year 15% of americans said they we

his top deputy, john thune, the republican senator from south dakota, told me just a few days ago hee look at a big vote in the senate to pass this bill which has headed for a mark up in the senate rules committee just later this afternoon. and it's expected to get a vote on the floor of the senate later this year. most likely in the lame duck session, although that hasn't been set yet. but mcconnell's support has been key. he encouraged these negotiations every day about election law, not about voting rights, which he wants nothing to do with at the federal level and they tailored this to win republicans over. it looks like they're well on track to get this done. mcconnell has been crucial as we have seen over the last year and a half at making sure legislation gets to 60 votes. when he is there, usually enough members of the republican caucus find their way there. if he's against something, then they struggle to find enough support to move forward. this is a very positive sign for proponents of this effort. >> thank you for coming back to a camera with that news. >>> now to a new n

john thune came on for my bill today. we're on the right side of this issue. >> martha: you think those in your party want you to be quiet, wait until after the election, what would you say to them? >> we're naive. here's my position on crime, inflation, abortion, taxes, a strong national defense. we owe it to the american people to tell them who we are. here's who we are as a national party. at 15 weeks, we've drawn a line to put us in line with europe and the civilized world. we reject chinese abortion policy. stacey abrams is trying to change science. she's trying to deny that the baby has a heartbeat when it does because if you understand how the baby develops, you're going to reject abortion on demand up to the moment of birth. they're trying to marginalize me. i'm a pro life guy. i'm not a single issue voter. i'll vote nor a pro choice person. if i was in colorado, joe o'day, he would change things. but stand up for the baby in a reasonable way. they need you now. it's good to be pro life. there's no bad day to be p

and you heard for example from senator thune, there is a process for declassifying documents, he said it ought to be adhered to and followed and that should apply to anybody who deals with classified information. and senator tilles says there is a formal process to go through, et cetera. explain why it is important for former president trump to have his base believe that just thinking it can be declassified to be true. >> and the former president and his allies have leaned on this whole case as it unfolded and that the president, that he had the capability to almost wave a magic wound and declare all of these papers that came down into mar-a-lago as declassified but it is something we have heard repeatedly from people in law enforcement, those who deal regularly with declassified documents, there is a very tight system for declassifying things that deals with the intelligence community, that deals with the federal government, that zeals with, you know, these -- that deals with, you know, these potentially state secrets that are so closely held for a reason. and while trump would like

so, if you're john thune, here's a serious person, or mike rounds, you're being asked to defend someday. well, who's to say the excuse won't be different tomorrow and you're left hung out to dry with your ridiculous statement. so, i mean, it strikes me they've probably seen enough and they know enough now that tomorrow the rug could get pulled out from under them. >> thank you guys so much. you're going to stick with me. >>> we need to turn to another serious legal matter. an ugly case gets uglier. coming up, the explosive moments at the alex jones defamation trial in connecticut. is the judge losing control of this courtroom, as sandy hook families dissolve into tears and look on? that is coming up next. welcome to allstate where anyone who bundles their home and auto insurance saves. isn't that right phil? sorry, i'm a little busy. what in the world are you doing? i'm in the metaverse, bundling my home and auto insurance. why don't you just do that in the real world? um, because now i can bundle in space. watch this. i still don't get it. save up to 25% when you bundle home and aut

was going to do this and mitch mcconnell, the senate minority leader, and senate minority while john thuneid to us yesterday that they thought this issue should be up to the states, there shouldn't be a federal abortion ban. now, i think this was, you know, this is exactly what democrats have been saying. this is where if the republicans are in charge, they're going to do this, and i think that, you know, i think there's no question about it, if the republicans have the house and senate, they will vote on this. they will push it, you know, kevin mccarthy, who would be the speaker, if republicans have the house, we be under pressure to bring this up, mcconnell would be under pressure to bring it up in the senate, i think there is no question they'd bring it up. can they pass it? probably not. but i do think there is no question, if republicans have the congress, they will bring this up, and i do think this is the way that, the timing for what graham does to get here, it is an absolute gift to the democrats. >> why don't they just own it? this they're going to do it, saying yes, this is what

thune: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: madam president, august inflation numbers came out this week and they weren't good. inflation was higher than expected and it was clear that soaring prices will continue for a while. it doesn't seem to concern democrats one bit. the president was asked on tuesday if he was worried about the august inflation report worse than expected. his answer, he was not. on tuesday, the president and democrats gathered at the white house to con grat themselves for having passed their so-called inflation reduction act, a bill that will do nothing -- nothing to reduce inflation. and that's not just my opinion, madam president. that was the conclusion of the nonpartisan penn wharton budget model and of the democrat chairman of the budget committee who referred to the bill as the so-called inflation reduction act on the senate floor while admitting it would do nothing to help with the inflation crisis. that didn't stop the democrats from celebrating

thune: mr. president. the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. thune: mr. president, on sunday the president appeared on 60 minutes where he was asked what he was going to do to help alleviate inflation. in light of august' continued grim inflation news and the resulting stock market nosedive. the president's response? and i quote, well, first of all, let's put this in perspective. inflation rate month to month was just -- just an inch. hardly at all. end quote. let's put this in perspective? mr. president, that might be something to say if the inflation rate had ticked up from, say, 2%, the target inflation rate, to 2.1%. but i'm pretty sure that's not the appropriate thing to say when you're talking about the sixth straight month of inflation above 8% and the ninth straight month of inflation at or above 7%. and the 11th straight month of inflation above 6%. and even more concerning than august consumer price index rising 8.3% from the same month a year ago was the increase in core inflation, a measure of inflation minus the volatile categories of food an

i want to thank senator grassley, and senator cardin and senator thune. we are going to have lots of members interested in this. i see senator warren as well and i want to think ever witnessed panel for joining the community -- the committee today. >> today we want to discuss about the u.s. organ procurement and transplantation network. and the government contractor overseeing this program, the united network for organ sharing. in 1984, congress passed the national organ transplant act, a bill cosponsored by the late senator warren hatch, a friend of mine and a former chairman of this committee. a few years later in 1998, the federal government contracted with the united network for organ sharing to oversee the transplantation network. the network performs three critical functions on behalf of the federal government. policymaking, technology delivery, and oversight of member compliance with its policies and its procedures. however, more than a decade now, government watchdogs and the media have questioned the advocacy of the networks oversight. that is be

senator thune >> welcome to our witnesses this morning. mr. konter we are here to tug about tax incentives in affordable housing. i they like to start out by asking you about tax related incentives to affordable housing specifically i'm talking about paris which are taxes on lumber from imports from canada. softwood lumber is critical to construction and the tariff rate on these imports increases u.s. homebuilding costs harms affordable housing and pills to to to increase supply. earlier this week senator menendez and i sent a letter to the department commerce and the ustr urging the biden administration to prioritize lumber trade to reduce housing costs so mr. konter you agree reducing tariffs would make home construction and homeownership more affordable? say i thank you for the question. and thank you and senator menendez for your leadership on this issue. yes i do believe reducing tariffs on canadian softwood lumber would help to make homeownership more affordable. lumber represents one of the most significant material inputs for the const