bernhardt clear, but if mr. bernhardt is confirmed, one of his most important duties will be honoring our trust responsibility to native americans. on this count i hope he will do better than what the trump interior department has shown us so far. as the vice chair of the senate committee on indian affairs, i want to ensure that the department respects tribe sovereignty and self-determination and engages in meaningful consultation with tribes. the trump administration's record with tribes and native communities is to -- is, to put it lightly, lacking. the tribes in new mexico do not believe they are being properly consulted as leasing pushes ahead close to chaco canyon. and for three years running, the administration has proposed budgets that would significantly cut b.i.a. and b.i.e. funding. those are education budgets and budgets that help native americans on their reservations. congress has historically worked to cross party lines on native issues and congress rejected the administration's proposed cuts for f

bernhardt. i ask my colleagues to consider what we can do to avoid the necessity of despoiling these sacred environmental locations in our country for the oil industry, for the koch brothers. this is a big moment, this vote that we're about to cast. this is one more step by donald trump that will result in far more greenhouse gases going up into the atmosphere, far more danger being presented to places that should be just put off limits to the oil industry because of the risk of environmental danger that would be provided by that permission to drill. that's why we should all pause and really consider whether or not we want to go deeper and deeper into an era that is completely avoidable, if we unleash the technological might of our country. when president kennedy went to rice university in 1961, what he said was we were going to have a mission to the moon, and that mission would require us to invent new metals, new alloys, new propulsion systems that did not exist and that within ten years we wo

bernhardt's lobbying activities. we need answers on whether or not mr. bernhardt used his position at the department of the interior to help former clients. the american people need to see the documents associated with bernhardt's lobbying activities. and most importantly, we should not confirm a former oil lobbyist to lead the very agency that is tasked with protecting our public lands from de-spoilization. let me point to the wheel of giveaways for more oil, more oil. that's the goal of his appointment. the arctic national wildlife refuge is one of our national treasures that is under threat from big oil and the trump administration. this is the wildest place left in america, and it should not be turned into a drilling playground. yet, republicans here in the senate voted in 2017 to hand this special place, the arctic refuge over to big oil. and now, this administration is trying to hit the gas on drilling there, in one of the earth's most pristine wilderness areas. now, last year, mr. bernhardt said that he would, quote, expedite oil development in th

i know that david bernhardt understands that. with states all across the company on - - country that's why the nomination is supported and the association of fish and wildlife agencies. mister bernhardt moved through the committee process and demonstrated the depth of his understanding of the issues and expertise and exceeded expectations with a strong bipartisan vote now the full senate has the opportunity to confirm mister bernhardt. some will make allegations and have done nothing to hold him back. and this is a subject of discussion into layout very clearly that there are stories that are printed and have been printed that has already been reviewed by the committee. there is nothing amiss and no valid reason to delay the process. and that he is in good standing as the interior agency with ethics officials. my committee staff has confirmed there are no open investigations into mister bernhardt. so we need to move forward and to be the next secretary of the interior. and then to fulfill all the missions of the department and th

bernhardt. yesterday i sat down with david bernhardt, president trump's choice for secretary of interior, and i pressed him on some things that we should all know before we vote on his confirmation. i asked mr. bernhardt do you agree that climate change is real, caused by humans, and that we must act? i asked mr. bernhardt will he commit to not opening up the waters off our coasts to harmful drilling, even off the coasts of states opposed to such drilling? and what will he do about his well-documented web of conflict ing interests? i got no answers to these questions. i would remind all my colleagues on the atlantic coast that again i asked him at least to commit that he wouldn't do drilling off the shore of states that didn't want drilling off their shores. he would not commit to that. and there is word that there's a plan in the interior department to allow that to happen. this is the same administration who promised to clean the swamp and rid washington of corruption, and yet it's a twisted p

bernhardt. appreciate your comments this morning. let's go ahead and begin with a round of questions. i have noted in my opening statement i was reaffirmed by senator manchin as well as senator gartner that in terms of qualification, experience within the interior department, you really come to us with a set of qualifications and again experience that we really seldom see i think is unparalleled in terms of the time and the extent of your background in these areas. so i would begin my question then was something that is not related to the experience, that may be experience of the time you worked within the department. you are not the first nominee who has worked somewhere else in the past and has had refusals as a result. but for whatever reason you seem to have outside groups working harder again your nomination than most anybody else we've had in front of us. i'm sure we'll hear some discussion about that here today. so at the outset, i will ask you how you handle or how you will handle aspect

david bernhardt's love -- david bernhardt loves his country. david has already been confirmed twice by the u.s. senate. mr. biggs: once to be the solicitor and top legal mind of the country on these issues, and the second time to be the deputy secretary. just last week the senate e.n.r. committee advanced his nomination with a strong bipartisan vote of 14-6. during his tenure with d.o.i., david has worked diligently to increase hunting and fishing access, ensure clean water for future generations, and empower local decision making. david is a champion for sportsmen and rural communities. mr. gosar: mr. bernhardt is the most qualified candidate ever had at the secretary of interior. simply put, david bernhardt is the leader of the democratic and that the american people deserve. i urge my colleagues in the senate to vote tomorrow baseded on david's credential, leadership and principles and if that occurs i have no doubt he'll be confirmed with a strong bipartisan vote. confirm bernhardt. with, that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what

the new secretary of the interior, david bernhardt, is being investigated for potential conflicts of interest just four days after the senate confirmed him to the position. the interior department's inspector general said it received multiple complaints against former oil lobbyist bernhardt when he was deputy secretary of the interior. cnn reported last month that bernhardt made at least 15 policy decisions that directly benefitted former clients since joining the agency in 2017. bernhardt's predecessor, ryan zinke, stepped down in december amid multiple scandals and ethics investigations, two of which are still ongoing. in environmental news, democratic presidential candidate senator elizabeth warren announced she would ban any new fossil fuel drilling on public lands or waters on day one of her presidency. in a post on medium, warren also vowed to increase the production of renewable energy, restore protections to national monuments targeted by the trump administration, bring in local and tribal leaders to help manage public lands, and create thousands of jobs via a youth and veter

that was day one of david bernhardt serving as secretary. of the interior department.vid had -- the event was closed to the press so we don't have a picture to show you, but on the occasion of his ceremonial swearing in, we did get this, which seems like a perfectly appropriate gift for this occasion. we got the news that six of david bernhardt's senior colleagues at the interior department are also being under -- are also being investigated by the inspector general of that department for potential ethics violations relating to work for their former employers or former clients. all of the six are appointees of president trump. nothing says welcome aboard like an ongoing ethics investigation for you and six senior members of your department on day one. that's how the swamp works, though. that does it for us tonight. we will see you again tomorrow. now it's time for "the last word" with lawrence. good evening, lawrence. >> good evening, rachel. remember when they used to do the ethics investigations of cabinet members before they were appointed and then maybe not appoint

the senate has confirmed former oil lobbyist david bernhardt to head the interior department. he replaces ryan zinke who stepped down in december amid multiple scandals and ethihics investigations. since joining the interior department in bernhardt has 2017, worked to make the approval for land and offshore drilling projects easier and proposed limiting protections for endangered species. democratic senator bob menendez said a vote for david bernhardt is a vote for offshore drilling. the institute on taxation and economic policy has found that the number of large u.s. companies who paid nothing in federal taxes has doubled in recent years. the institute named over 60 companies that did not pay federal taxes in 2018 despite many making billions in profits. the compmpanies include amazon, netflix, general motors, ibm, chevron, eli lilly, delta, occidental petroleum, honeywell, prudential, halliburton, whirlpool, and goodyear. meanwhile, democratic presidential candidate senator elizabeth warren has introduced a proposal called the "real corporate profits tax" to force companies

no, during the shutdown, secretary bernhardt spoke numerous times about the park services dual mandate, and mentioned they need to balance and resource protection, congress, the court, even the park services own internal memos note that resource protection has to take privacy. so, isn't it up to the service to determine that resource protection comes first, rather than suggesting that there is some coequal balance? i mean, you're talking about suggesting that 35 days of access, is of equal priority to the permanent protection of antiquities, like joshua tree national resources, that cannot be right. >> congress man, it is a difficult dual mission. as i have said to you, these parks, most of the hundred, or plus or minus that have stayed open, are accessible anyway, they would've had people entering it at some juncture. the use of the funding, would have been not be a fun problem, because, we always have a law enforcement stuff that is there, but we would have the additional staff to provide basic services in some of these parks. >> are you at all concerned that the park service potenti

. >> bernhardt said the park service currently faces s service currently facess $12 repairs. backlog >>> and operating in spotsylvania county, improving a plan to put nearly 2 million solar panels on five square miles in the rural western part of that coun c. thmpany says the project will bring hundreds of construction jobs and at least two dozen full-time jobs and bring in millions of tax dollars to that county. opponents fear it is too big and will bring noise and water republic the area. >>> and cleaning up several parks in maryland and the district part of the anacostia watershed society's earth u cleday. picking up trash as marvin gay park and the anacostia river itself. starting at 9:00 this morning, rain or shine. reminder that later this month, news 4 working for you with an in-depth look a our changing climate. we're going to show u how it hapacted your family, your money, your health, even your spmmute. our primetimeial airs on earth day that is april 22nd at 7:30 right here on news 4. >>> all right. talk about the caps. >> >> it. they need to win 16 playoff games t

and the funding this received a great deal of attention during the shutdown when acting secretary bernhardt using the revenues from entrance fees to perform day-to-day operations to keep the parks open to the public but congress enacted those to enhance the experience that use of the funds also contradicted internal policies and guidance to address deferred maintenance so did the improper use during the shutdown diver from addressing park services from the 12 million-dollar maintenance backlog quick. >> going through another 35 day lapse of appropriations i have been through six lapses in my career. actually the authorization has high very specific categories that include maintenance and repair of facilities and we followed through on those five policies and use them appropriately. i was directed by the acting secretary to carry that out we did comport with the authority to keep the parks open for visitation and i would be glad to write detail and how those decisions were made. >> do you have a list of funds you have during the shutdown? . >> we will be glad to provide that list to the cong

. >>> senate has confirmed former oil and agricultural industry lobbyist david bernhardt as the new secretarynterior. democratic senators joe manchin along with angus king voted in support. democrats called for formal investigations into his past conduct. and concerns over whether a information oil lobbyist should actually oversee public lands. during his confirmation hearings last month two activists as you see there dressed up like swamp creatures and they sat behind bernhardt silently protesting his nomination. >> one of president trump's expected picks for the federal reserve board is facing growing republican opposition casting doubts over his ability to actually be confirmed. four gop senators have suggested they would vote against herman cain if they were actually nominated citing his lack of experience or sexual harassment allegations against him which he denies. that list includes senator cramer, lisa murkowski, mitt romney and dory gardner. joe manchin of west virginia said he was unlikely to support cain. that would leave him shy of the 50 votes needed. and senate majority mitch mc

tell them to vote against david bernhardt. host: how long have you been tracking his work?s like you're interested in this topic. caller: i am heartbroken to see our beautiful public lands in utah being destroyed. i think everybody is familiar , monumentsnd grab being shrunk, they were beautiful areas that all of us in utah and everybody in the world could have enjoyed for years to come but now this administration has reduced them in some cases like 70% to 80% of now available to the oil companies to put up oil derricks and they cannot be mitigated after the oil companies have destroyed them, after the oil goes out, they are permanently destroyed and we need public lands in utah as we thrive on the tourist economy, especially in the southern half of utah. , davidot just utah bernhardt will pollute the entire country. today is our last chance to avoid having that happen to us. host: we are expecting a vote on david bernard -- david bernhardt's nomination about -- and to learn more about him go to our website and search him and watch his confirmation hearings last month. she

bernhardt, a former lobbyist for the oil and agra business industries was confirmed by the senate toave expressed concerns he may have had conflicts of interest involving former clients while he was intoorier iie ieier -- interiord he continued working as a lobbyist after filing paperwork he had stopped do so and he intervened to block the release of a scientific report of a scientific chemical on a certain species. >>> a day after tiger woods won his fifth masters championship and 15th career major after an 11-year title drought, president trump announced he would award woods with the presidential medal of freedom, quote, because of his incredible success and comeback in sports and more importantly life. coming up, axios's jim vandehei has a look at this morning's "one big thing" and tragedy and grief after the devastating fire at the notre dame cathedral. and the justice department announces a release of a redacted mueller report. and former governor william weld will join the discussion to discuss his decision to join the field to beat trump. the field to beat trump. to look at me

secretary bernhardt is a former oil lobbyist who's been accused of making at least 15 policy decisions that directly benefited former clients since he joined the agency in 2017. his predecessor, ryan zinke, resigned in december as he faced at least 17 federal investigations into his suspected ethics violations and corruption, including a criminal probe into whether he lied to interior d department investigators. in a growing scandal engulfing the boy scouts of america, it has been revealed that nearly 8000 troop leadersrs have been accused of sexual abuse over the span of 72 years. these findings were announced tuesday in manhattan by jeff anderson, a lawyer representing sexual abuse victims. according to records known as the "perversion files," boy scout volunteer leaders abused more than 12,000 victims between 1944 and 2016. anderson named 130 scout leaders in new york state who had been accused of sexual abuse at tuesday's news conference, noting that state law had recently changed to extend the statute of limitations for childhood sex abuse. in florida, prosecutors have dropped cha

. >> what role did acting secretary bernhardt play in the decision aboutparks remaining open ? >> he discussed that and reviewed it with the solicitors, called me in. after his review he said we're going to use these funds, we knew we had 250 million available and we started to make a plan to use those . >> but he didn't direct you to issue the memo. >> yes, he directed me but i wasglad to carry out the direction . >> now, during the shutdown secretary bernhardt numerous times about parks services will mandate and mention the need to balance access and resource protection but congress, the courts, even the parks service memos note that resource protection have to take primacy so isn't it up to the service to determine the resource protection comes first rather than suggesting there's some co-people balance? you're talking about suggesting 35 days of access is of equal priority to the permanent protection and antiquities like joshua tree national resources. that can't be right it is a difficult dual mission. these parks, most of the plus or minus is stayed open are accessible an

bernhardt had been leading the department as acting secretary. he is also a former oil and gas lobbyist. his predecessor, ryan zinke, resigned in december amid ethics investigations. retired pope benedict has penned a rare essay addressing the sex abuse scandal in the roman catholic church. it was published today in a german church magazine. benedict said the sexual revolution of the 1960s and "homosexual cliques" in seminaries were largely to blame for the crisis. he also sa during the 1980s and '90s, "the right to a defense was so broad as to make a conviction nearly impossible" for priests.ne ct has been criticized for not doing more to investigatee the abaims. in india, at least four people v were killed lent clashes, as the first phase of voting began in the country's national election. the vote is seen as a referendum on prime minister narendrainodi, who's sea second term. nearly 900 million people are eligib to cast their ballots. the process is expected to take about six weeks to finish, before results are announced on may 23. and back in

the senate is expected to vote on bernhardt's nomination soon. it could be potentially this week.this is an indication for a president who promised to drain the swamp, which of course means getting rid of swamp creatures, there are big substantive questions about whether the creatures are out in force. force.[leaf blower] you should be mad at leaf blowers. [beep] you should be mad your neighbor always wants to hang out. and you should be mad your smart fridge is unnecessarily complicated. but you're not mad, because you have e*trade which isn't complicated. their tools make trading quicker and simpler. so you can take on the markets with confidence. don't get mad. get e*trade and start trading today. don't get mad. everything we have, we've earned. we got no free pass. the unmistakable lexus is. lease the 2019 is 300 for $329 a month for 36 months. experience amazing at your lexus dealer. you wouldn't accept an incomplete job from any one else. why accept it from your allergy pills? flonase sensimist relieves all your worst symptoms, including nasal congestion, which most pills do

acting interior secretary david bernhardt. what do all these people have in common?y all took classes at darius lighthouse's acting secretary school of acting. hello. i'm darius lighthouse. are you interested in acting like you're a cabinet member in the white house? then enroll in my school today. you'll learn such techniques as motivation. you're afraid of immigrants. ey

to confirm the >> to confirm the president's choice to serve as secretary of the interior david bernhardt is no stranger to the department

the interior inspector general's office says it is looking into multiple complaints about david bernhardtossible critical violations since he joined the agency. democrats had tried to stall the vote over the nomination because of the mounting requests for government investigations into his behavior as acting secretary. egypt's parliament has overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment that would allow president el-sisi to remain in office through 2030. the change is expected to easily pass when it is put to a national referendum. the likely extension of el-sisi's tenure has upset egypt haswho contend become even more intolerant under the former general than it was under ousted president hosni mubarak. iranian lawmakers have approved a bill labeling american forces in the middle east is terrorists. the move comes after the u.s. terrorism designation for iran's revolutionary guard took effect. the label makes it a crime for anyone subject to u.s. jurisdiction provide the the revisionary -- the revolutionary guard with material support. global news 24 hours a day, on air and @tictoc o

i also want to recognize secretary of the interior, david bernhardt, what a job he has been doing.id, thank you. thank you. a great friend of mine, kentucky governor matt bevin. [applause] thank you, matt. house gop whip, a man with more courage than most of us here today. shots, some very severe you know that. by a madman. better.ronger and i told him backstage, you are much more handsome than you were two years ago. i don't know what is going on. he is. steve scalise, a lot of character. thank you. most importantly, i want to , the proudf you card-carrying members of the nra. every day you stand up for our god-given rights without exception, without fail and without apology. together, we are fighting for the timeless values that have built and sustained our nation. todayr nation is greater than it has ever been. stronger, richer, we are doing better than ever before. we are great americans. you are doing a great job. [applause] thank you. lawelieve in the rule of and we will always protect and defend the constitution of the united states. there are some people that are running ri

they were green peace protesting bernhardt due to his work and allegations that he kept lobbying afterring he stopped and he used it to push for a policy by a former lobbying client and he blocked the release showing the effect of pest sights on endangered species. he has so many conflicts of interests, he has to carry a small card listing them all according to the "washington post." seriously. he keeps a card in case he needs a cheat sheet about his conflicts. none of that stopped every republican senator and a few democrats from confirming him last thursday. yesterday just four days later, the internal watch dog opened an investigation into the brand-new secretary. come on down. welcome. that follows request from eight senators and four government ethics watch dog groups. >> we need to finish exactly what we came here to do. drain the swamp! i'm alex trebek, here to tell you about the colonial penn program. if you're age 50 to 85, and looking to buy life insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three p's. -the three p's? -what are the three p's? the three p's of life insurance on a

>>y eporter: from the first on the job, the new secretary of interior david bernhardt expressed support for saving the cove. >> we're trying to eliminate thm ntenance backlog for the canal. >> reporter: maryland congressman jamie raskin took to the river himself today was cautiously optimistic. >> i hope that the secretary will commit to work with us to make sure that the whole area stays usable and friendly for recreation and for wildle and for the fish. e >> reporter: wked the secretary what the federal government is committed to doing at fletcher's. >> we're committed. been here a long time with our partners and will give it our best effort. f>> reporter: the good ne now, the shad population like the other wildlife in the potomac river gorge is thriving at fletcher's cove mark segraves, news 4. >> thank you, mark. >>> a reminder, later this month news 4 is working for you with an in-depth look at our changing climate. how o's impacting family, your money, your health and even your commute.ur rimetime special airs appropriately on earth day april 22nd at 7:30 rightere on news >>> a li

i also want to recognize secretary of the interior david bernhardt. what a job he's been doing.avid, thank you. thank you. a great friend of mine, kentucky governor matt bevin. [cheers and applause] thank you. and the house g.o.p. whip, a man with more courage than most of us here today. he took some very, very severe shots. you know that. by a mad man. and he is stronger and better -- i actually told him backstage, i said, "you are much more handsome than you were two years ago. i don't know what's going on." and he is. steve scalise. a lot of courage. thank you. [cheers and applause] thank you, steve. and most importantly i want to thank all of you, the proud card-carrying members of the nra. [cheers and applause] every day, you stand up for our god-given rights without exception, without fail, and without apology. together we are fighting for the timeless values that have built and sustained our nation. our nation is greater today than it has ever been. stronger, richer. we are doing better than ever before. we are great americans. you are doing a great job. thank you. [cheer

acting interior secretary david bernhardt. what do all these people have in common? they all took classes at darius lighthouse's acting secretary school of acting. hello. i'm darius lighthouse. are you interested in acting like you're a cabinet member in the white house? then enroll in my school today. you'll learn such techniques as motivation. you're afraid of immigrants. they're brown! they're coming! and you! you're the caravan. and act! and weathering insults. you suck! you're a loser! you have a pencil-neck! your daddy shot j.f.k. so sign up for darius lighthouse's acting secretary school of acting today. and you can trust me, because i'm not just the theatre's director, i'm also the acting deputy secretary of housing and urban development. >> it's "the late show with stephen colbert." tonight, separation anxiety. plus, stephen welcomes michelle williams and emily bazelon with a special appearance by oscar the grouch, featuring jon batiste and stay human. and now, live on tape from the ed sullivan theater in new york city, it's stephen colbert! ( cheers and app

these are supposed the represent swamp mast here's are a phaneuf david bernhardt who are here to support fellow swamp monsters. and it is a way to show solidarity. >> do you travel with the mask? >> no. i have had it on the metro and no one has stopped me, thankfully. >> do you have it with you? >> i do have it with me. would you like to see it? >> sure. it is your thing. >> my little friend here. a little mouth, some eyes, very cute. >> and what is most satisfying to you? the reception, you call it trolling. trolling is about upsetting your opponents whether or not there is a change of outcome. >> right. we need to be the troll that's we wish to see in the world. folks are out there filled with moral outrage and indignation. this is a way to show some humor. the only way we'll get through this is by laughing. >> did you apply gandy social activi activism? >> my body was shaking so i had to meditate in there. being really peaceful, nonviolence is always on my mind. >> sure. i think we know one thing. that you hit your mark. a lot of people noticed this. and as up, i think we can learn so

david bernhardt since january second. jonathan cohen.acting white house chief of staff. there's just so many people who are not in jobs they are staying in or are supposed to be in these jobs for a small period of time. because there are so many leaks from a staff perspective. i mean just people, attrition, constantly leaving, leaving, leaving. there are too many holes and jobs for donald trump to fill and he's not doing a good job of filling them. as a result, you just have a lot of empty jobs and too much work for the people who are in those jobs to do. >> it is quite a picture that you paint. chris, thank you. >> thank you. >>> cnn political commentator tara set meyer joining us. we heard nielsen had some concerns and one of the reasons she may have stayed on is concern about getting a job. there's concern once you're part of this administration, it's either a reputation or career killer. is that valid? i would say so. look at what people are forced to do. kirstjen nielsen served dishonorably. there were so many opportunities for her

then senators debate the nomination of david bernhardt who was confirmed today as the next secretary of interior. later, senate commerce looks at ways to regulate robo calls. agricultural secretary sonny perdue was on capitol hill to testify on the president's 2020 budget request. he also talked about the impacts of tariffs on agriculture and industry in the trade agreement between us and mexico. when asked about the southern border secretary produce pushback on the idea of closing the border and suggested by the president warning it would be detrimental to us commerce. >> we will call this hearing to order. i'd like to invite or think our agriculture secretary for being here this morning. secretary perdue, we appreciate you being here before the committee and also doctor johansson thank you as well. thank you very much for joining us. today the purpose of today's hearing is to discuss the fiscal 2020 budget request and i hope this discussion will clarify the ministrations support for rural america and production agriculture. reduction would directly impact small rural communities ma

tomorrow senators return to debate and vote on bernhardt to be interior secretary.that is live on c-span2. meanwhile the house has finished its work for the week and they remain out of session during easteeaster and passover holida. and they begin to break in virginia. legislative business resumes on april 29. as always, you can follow the house live on c-span. >> the cspan is stopping at middle and high schools across the country to present prizes and awards to the winners of our student cam video competition. you can see the top 21 entries every morning before "washington journal" and watch every documentary along with those honorably mentioned and behind the scene winners online at student cam.org. >> president trump traveled across texas on wednesday to sign to executive orders on energy infrastructure development including one that gives him the authority as president to decide whether permits should be issued for cross-border projects such as pipelines. before the signing president trump spoke to local officials and members of the international union of operat

lobbyist as interior secretary, senators voted 56-41 largely along party lines in favor of david bernhardt'sonfirmation. ,oe mansion of west virginia senator kyrsten sinema of arizona and -- supported mr. by heart -- also yesterday in the senate from the wall street journal, there was a hearing on capitol hill before the senate armed fervor is -- armed services committee on this idea coming out of the white house for a space force, a separate military branch that would solely focus on space. the headline in the wall street journal, senators bring proposed force down to earth. we covered that hearing and if you want to watch and listen, go to our website, c-span.org. let's go back to our calls, beth in pennsylvania, republican. good morning to you. tell us about your thoughts on the house democrat in control of that chamber. caller: yeah, hi. i would definitely give them an f mainly because they seem to just resist everything the president has tried to do, but mostly because up until this president came in, they were for some kind of border patrol and -- i should not say border patrol, but fo

bernhardt read them in. and elizabeth zach offers a piece looking at the influence .f tax preparers be sure to watch c-span's washington journal live at 7:00 eastern this morning. join the discussion. congressman tim ryan of ohio will launch his presidential campaign at a rally in youngstown, ohio. you can watch coverage today starting at 2:00 p.m. on c-span. online at c-span.org or use the free c-span radio app. president trump held a roundtable discussion in california on border security. this is just under one hour.

lawmakers are expected to continue work on the nomination of david bernhardt to become the next interiorecretary replacing ryan zinke. he's been the acting secretary since mr. zinke resigned in january. now live to the senate floor on c-span2. the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. black, will open the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. almighty savior, the way, the truth, and the life, shed your light today upon the pathway of our senators.

bernhardt. some will continue to make allegations over ethics, but the fact of the matter is we have reviewed those charges. we found nothing that should hold him back. i know this has been a subject of discussion here on the senate floor, so i want to lay out very clearly. there are some news stories that are being printed and have been printed that are filled with old information that's already been reviewed by our committee staff. news stories, old facts. they don't contain anything new or anything disqualifying. there's nothing amiss here, and there's no valid reason to delay this process. the office of government ethics has certified that mr. bernhardt is in good standing, so has interior's designated agency ethics official. my committee staff has contacted interior's inspector general. it's been confirmed that there are no open investigations into mr. bernhardt. so i would -- i would tell folks that what needs to happen here, we need to move forward. we need to reject the last-minute rheto

bernhardt's nomination. both sides have scrutinized his record carefully as we should, considering the enormous responsibility and trust to the secretary of interior. whether it be payments for healthcare benefits, processing permits for the privilege of energy production on federal lands or ensuring the u.s. geological survey can conduct its critical work of collecting and analyzing data, on our changing climate, the department of interior has a huge amount of responsibility and diverse jurisdiction. further more, the secretary of interior is the guardian of our nation's greatest natural resources. the department of the interior manages nearly half a billion acres of federal land or about 20% of the nation's land. one of every five acres in the united states is under their control. these lands include some of our most special places, our national parks, trails, seashores and historic sites. in addition, the department manages another 1.7 billion acres of submerged lands on the outcontinental shelf. -- outer