the clerk: senate resolution 677, designating august 16, 2020, as national airborne day. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of s. res. 678 submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 678 designating september 2020 as national child awareness month and so forth. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. mcconnell: i further ask the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that the judiciary committee be discharged from further consideration and the senate now proceed to s. res. 659. the presidi

the president will be immediately notified. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the consideration of the following nomination, executive calendar 704. the presiding officer: without objection. the clerk will report. the clerk: federal mediation and conciliation services, richard g. giacolone of virginia to be federal mediation and conciliation director. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent the senate vote on the nomination with no intervening action or debate, if confirmed the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without objection. the question is on the nomination. all in favor say aye. those opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. ymed. -- the ayes do have it. the nomination is confirmed. the motion to reconsider is made and laid upon the table. the president will be immediately notified. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following nominations, exoif calendar 817 and 818. the presiding

convention have complained of being harassed as they left the event senator rand paul says he was targeted and wants the f.b.i. to investigate. i. will the senator claims both he and his wife were set upon by crowds protest the shouted at them and also pushed the officers who were with them ron paul says he felt their lives were at risk. they were shouting threat. to kill us to hurt us but they're also saying shout shouting save her name briana taylor. black clubs might the protesters demand of the senate to say the name of briana taylor black woman fatally shot by police in her home it appears they didn't know that ron paul actually sponsored the justice for briana taylor act which bans no knock warrants by officers like the one that led to death the senator was also behind the stop militarizing nor was my tactic to halt the transfer of military equipment to police political activist brian instructor was also targeted by black gloves might the protesters while leaving the convention is historic. 4 people from this block lives matter mob ended up walking up the street near where my friends and i were as they crossed us they started c

under the previous order, the senate will be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. mr. mcconnell: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. the president pro tempore: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: mr. schumer: mr. president of the senate pro tem. the presiding officer: senate democratic leader. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection, it is so ordered. mr. schumer: now, mr. president, america is living through a crisis more than anything we have seen in generations. others have been able to contain the spread of the disease, but here, the failure of the trump administration to develop or implement a national strategy to defeat covid on the health front and economically has meant that the disease has raged through our country for seven months, is still spreading, and the economy is in very bad shape. we have over five million confirmed cases of covid-19. it just took 17 days to go from four million americans with covid to five million.

now, there's not enough teeth in the hatch act, and i do think this will be a trump legacy. i think the democrats will -- i hope they take the senate, and even if they don't, i'm willing to bet that you're going to see the hatch act enhanced. a little note of irony here, that's what mark meadows was trying to do when he was a member of congress. he was trying to strengthen the hatch act back when he was not this lawless president's chief of staff. so there will be complaints made. there will be investigations done. they're just counting on none of that coming to pass in the next 67 days. you know, but speaking of infecting, i do think it's important to remember why they said they were doing it at the white house. it's too hard to move the president during a pandemic. great. they hold a superspreader event during the pandemic. if anyone wants to believe this president cares about whether america is struck down by this deadly virus, take a look at that shot. do you think he cares? >> right. >> he could care less. and he showed it tonight in the most -- speaking of visuals -- in the most visual way possible. >> michael, if we can put

are concerned that they don't have the money to pay their rent because we've asked them to stay home. now, i have said this before on the floor of the senate. i will say it again. in the middle of the pandemic, housing is healthcare. security in your own home is healthcare. and yet we have millions of people across the country on the brinkf of eviction. in mid-july, a quarter of adults reported that they were housing insecure. that's one in four. and in more than half of the states in america eviction bands have expired. that means across the nation more and more families will have to pack up everything that they can carry in the space of hours. there could be 40 million infections nationwide by the end of the year. and what we have seen amongst the data that comes into all of our offices is that families of color are likely to be the hardest hit. in my home state of nevada experts believe that nearly half 1 million people are at risk of eviction. perhaps as many as 300,000 of them in nevada by september. among renters up to 47% base that risk. now, staving off in nevada evictions could cost no beta $850 billion in rental assistance over the next

the democrats demonstrate they will never let an agreement materialize. a lot of americans' hopes, a lot of americans' lives are riding on the democrats' endless talk. i hope a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. p. mr. portman: mr. president, i think we're all a little frustrated right now because the negotiations on the next covid-19 package seem to be at a standstill. and if you talk to the negotiators and you even read the press accounts, which are pretty open, what they say is that they're deadlocked. and one of the main reasons they're deadlocked is over this issue of

i have also not voted. we will soon be adjourning the syrian. i want to give senator menendez an opportunity to ask another question and i will ask one pointed question to wrap things up but we will each have to head down to vote very soon. senator menendez. >> thank you, mr. chairman. when you say adjourn you will adjourn the hearing not recess it but adjourn it? >> i will adjourn and recess. at the same time, yes. >> we can come back, is what i am saying? >> no. >> no, the hearing will not continue. >> no, i'm still, you know, i regret the parliamentary stuff. >> i just want to understand. >> i will evidently have some questions for the record and i will say some nominees we will not get to if not for lack of affection but it is because of time. but i do want to go to mr. mccarthy for a moment. the president's election marks the first transfer of power and ran on an anticorruption inclusive economic growth campaign but there is a lot of dissatisfaction increasing scrutiny to high-profile scandals and what is your assessment of the government's willingness and capaci

the senate could be a tough task. we will take back the house, hold the presidency and the fight is harder in the senate, i will be honestnate is tough, we have a couple of people that aren't as supportive of trump as they should be in those people are going to lose their elections because they don't support trump. >> dana: a wildfire in california exporting in size overnight, has spread to her more than 10,000 acres, roughly the size of 8,000 football fields. it's burning about 40 miles north of los angeles. fire officials say it has destroyed several structures and is threatening thousands more. >> this is a major fire. we will be here throughout the night. it's very resource-tasking, this fire is moving without any or minimal wins on it. >> dana: the mayor of chicago calling looting there a planned attack and says criminals and not protesters organized it. they reportedly even broke the windows of a ronald mcdonald charity house. police on monday said they arrested 100 people during the looting. and those are your headlines. the u.s. seeing its deadliest day of the summer so far, nearly 1500 people died of covid-19 ye

the financials of $1.5 billion and how these folks will deal with that. you don't have to answer that now. i will put them for the record, thank you. >> thank you, senator tester. there are no further questions. >> maybe i will just keep going. >> you can take round to around 3 if you like but as your last comments we will be the record open for two weeks as is customary during this time, senators are asked to submit questions for the record with final submission deadline being close of business thursday august 20th of this year. and so the committee asks witnesses, submit your written answers. >> mister chairman. >> let me -- no later than close of business thursday september 3rd, 2020. whose voice do i hear? >> that is jackie rosen. somehow my connection was lost. i want to give a plug for my great service in northern nevada that i want to keep. >> absolutely. you are recognized for five minutes. >> thank you, i sure appreciate it, thank you to everyone for being here today. i will be brief. like everyone else, in nevada we have service as well. amtrak service and i want to tell you how important it is to us. no surprise to our nominees that we do hav

>> yeah, i understand the concern, senator, and without question, we hold our war fighters to a very high standard. if i'm confirmed in this position, i will ensure those standards are appropriately enforced. it's always going to be the president's prerogative as the commander in chief to weigh in on those issues and again i'm not privy to the counsel he's provided in that process. >> just a final point, general clark has undertaken a significant study of the culture of the special operations because incidents like this and some not as serious, but incidents like this have cropped up. are you concerned about as you go into this job, your role of implementing those changes so that the culture is improved? >> yes, senator. i've read that report. i was actually encouraged by it, even more encouraged by the fact that i know general clark and his staff are proceeding to implement those key findings. there were 16 key findings under a number of different categories. i will wholeheartedly support that effort and do my role in assisting him with that. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> mr. hansell, one of your responsibilities, defense counterintellig

the senate? >> well, look, the senate -- if the house passes a bill and i expect they will, the senate should justpass it right away. hopefully by unanimous consent. get everyone on board. we have to -- the post office is one huge mess. i met this man, mr. dejoy. he wouldn't meet with me. i called him three times, he wouldn't meet with me, so nancy and i with mnuchin and meadows said we don't want to go -- have him come in here. it was clear to me that his dole was to dismantle the post office, brick by brick. that the concerns of especially during covid when you need the post office more than ever, elderly people can't go to the pharmacy. they depend on the mail for their medicines. i'll be talking about the veterans, our veterans get 80, 90% of their stuff, the drugs, through the mail. to have these delayed, all these special things delayed and at the same time to sort of try to make the post office dysfunction so the elections will be dysfunctional that's despeckcal. we'll do a elevator of things. elizabeth warren and i wrote to the postal board and they can undo what dejoy has done. and there'

mixing political business with that in critical swing states like florida, so you will see senator harris doing the same but i forefront of this campaign. what you saw today was a changing of the guard if you will going from the biden obama coalition to the biden harris coalition. she is 55, he is 77, she represents a new generation of the democrat party and is able to bring new blood into that coalition ahead of november. we are getting a sense of how the republicans are going to attack kamala harris. how much of a problem is she for them? i've been talking to sources and experts today and the biggest thing she talked about was her attraction to women across the board, not only women of colour and democratic women which are very much riled up right now but also suburban women and women in the suburbs may be voted forjohn mccain and mitt romney in 2012 but have ship the way from president trump and towards democrats. republicans are worried kamala harris will complete —— we are getting a sense of how the republicans are going to attack kamala harris. how much of a problem is she for them? i've been talking to

i yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: mr. casey: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from pennsylvania. mr. casey: mr. president, i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. casey: thank you, mr. president. i rise tonight to talk about a couple of issues that i know we'll be considering -- at least i hope all will be considered in the negotiations that are under way. i know later in this hour we'll be joined by three of my colleagues, senator whitehouse, senator blumenthal, and senator duckworth. each of us will be talking about these issues from a different perspective, but all focused on those in our society who are most at risk in the midst of this worldwide pandemic, in the midst of this economic and jobs crisis that we're confronting right now. we know that this is the most difficult public health crisis in a century and one of, if not in the top two job -- crises that we ever faced. when we talk about americans who are most at risk, older americans, and tonight i will talk about older americans in nursing homes who are

that's why i will not be radjourning the senate for our august recess today as has been previously scheduled. i've told republican senators they will have 24 hour notice before a vote but the senate will beconvening monday and i'll be right here in washington . the house has already skipped town what the senate won't adjourn for august unless and until the democrats demonstrate they will never let an agreement materialize. a lot of americans hopes, a lot of americans lives are writing on the democrats and was talk. i hope they're not disappointed. >> c-span has untruthful filtered coverage of congress, the white house and public policy events. watch all our public affairs programming on television, online or listen on our free radio comey app and be part of the conversation through washington journal or through our social media feed. c-span : created by america's cable televisioncompanies as a public service and brought to you today by your television provider . >> binge watch book tv this summer. saturdays at 8 pm eastern settle in and watchseveral hours of your favorite authors . a we're f

the senate will proceed. mrs. loeffler: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mrs. loeffler: i'd like to note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: ell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: it's been one week since senate democrats forced the additional federal benefit for jobless americans to expire. senate republicans tried everything to prevent the lapse. that monday we rolled out a comprehensive proposal for another rescue package that would have kept extra federal benefits flowing. democrats refused to act so we tried to force the issue. one of our senators requested unanimous consent to continue the benefits through the end of the year at a still historically generous level. this plan would have also corrected the b

>> i can hear you perfectly. >> thank you, chairman. >> just a follow-up on what senator was talking about, i introduced the act which will require online retailers and i joined with senator baldwin to introduce the labeling online act and the authority over the laws. the prime act would require that stores to display the country of origin in the marketplace, when consumers know what apps they download so funds are developing they can make good decisions. we have seen this just recently with tiktok. i am concerned and i think all of us are about companies influencing control by the chinese government like tiktok because under chinese law they have to adhere to the demand user data and content the government wishes and we've seen that with tiktok. . . >> our 100 -year-old statute is based where here is where we are doing and then they don't do it. >> have you proposed legislatio legislation? >>. >> have you seen what has been proposed. >> we have assistance on a bunch of statutes and i'd be happy to provide that to you. >> what senator baldwin and i are doing. >> do you think it's the right approach that our goals have bee

how to get the job done and who will do what they say they will deal and look out for the american people. agenda deed biden and harris team runs on -- i will handed over to my friend, senator booker. senator booker: you described it well. next point.o the >> jessica. the campaign put out a statement about the secretary of state pompeo's remarks that he will make from jerusalem. we had a spokesperson from the state department saying he was doing this on his private time, the taxpayer funds will be used -- no taxpayer funds will be used. i am curious what you all think. >> you mentioned earlier some thoughts. the fact that a sitting secretary of state would give a speech like this is flat-out disgraceful. it is an abuse of taxpayer money . this is part of official travel. taxpayer money got him there. taxpayer money is paying for his protection. what this does is fundamentally undermine the incredibly important work done by the state department edit politicize is the historic bipartisan support we have had. it is the latest example of a president and administration that puts politics ahead of anything else, even when it undercuts alliances and weakens our understanding abroa

to changey i am moved the new voting rights act, to change the name to the john r lewis voting rights act. i would hope it is passed through the house, i hope the senate will pass it, because what we are trying to do is restore the efficacy of the 1965 voting rights act which was restored by a court decision that came in years ago. v.the case of shelby county holder. worked, and an bipartisan way with jim sensenbrenner, a republican from wisconsin. they worked together to put out a new format and updated the way the court asked us to. that's what we did when we passed the law. the senate is refusing to pass that law. this will be the first election since 1965 that there won't be the protections of the voting rights act. think you hear so so manythere are shenanigans going on in washington today, because people know that voting precincts can be changed the day before the election. that's what they did in louisville, i think it was two days before the election in louisville, kentucky. they have done the same thing in south carolina. you tod laws, forcing provide your full social security number if you wanted absentee ballot. these are suppression tactics tha

will take the first question first. senator markey will take the second one. throughout this campaign i heard questions from voters.hat is the difference between the two of you? what is the most important difference between you and your opponent? >> thank you. thank you for being here tonight. i believe you deserve more out of your senator. government that is disconnected from its people. economy that has made it impossible to be middle class, a health care system where the sick cannot afford care, a justice system where black and brown lives are stolen, and politicians in washington think these problems are going to be solved in some back room, not in our communities at home. that is why i am running. senator markey does not live here. he spent less time in the state then elizabeth warren did when she was running for president. he says he needs to be in washington voting for us, but he missed over 50% of the votes during this critical time of catastrophe. we need more out of this seat. i will give it to you. >> same question, senator markey. >> thank you. votersso many of the sitting at home right now with the bal

senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. ms. klobuchar: mr. president, i rise today to talk about a focus subject which is access to broadband. i will say that i know the negotiations between the house and the senate and the white house are continuing. i think it is very important for the american people that we do this in good faith. i disagree with my colleague from texas on a few of the descriptions of the bill that came over from the house which, you know, i think the fact that the bill that was first introduced here in the senate had only 20% of the funding for testing, that the house bill had is very concerning. when you look at people waiting to get test results. the fact that there was no money to keep our elections safe. you can just go through line by line so the issues and differences in the bill. but my interest today is not actually emphasizing those differences. it is how can we come together, would are the things we can agree on and the fact we cannot just pass a band aid for the american people when we have learned that the g.d.p. annualize is going to be down 30%. when we've learned so many people are losing their h

do you swear the testimony you are about to give will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you god? >> i do. senator cruz: do you swear the testimony you are about to give before the committee will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you god? >> i do. senator cruz: we will start with the prepared testimony. go, you are recognized. please make sure you have turned your microphone on, which is this which on the -- is the switch on the base. mr. ngo: thank you chairman cruz and members of the committee. antifa is not a myth. i have been reporting on its activities since 2016, its threats to my family and me have proved all too real. as any good journalist knows, the most important stories are those not being told. this story is not being told. the american public knows little insurrectionolent group medical ideology -- group and its radical ideology. its followers regard the aporting of my threat -- as threat to their mission. first they tried to discredit me, falsely bringing me as a white supremacist. i have been to be gay and son of a the emmys refugee, -- of vietnamese

i want to ensure there is also oversight of that as well. >> will you commit that you will review it and come back to meet with the position, hopefully supporting it? >> senator, as discussed on the phone i think with a very transparent and honest conversation and i will absolutely have those discussions with you and come back to you with a decision. >> mr. hensel, over the last few days members of this committee and others have received classified briefings about foreign threats to the security of our legislation briefings and the documents we have and joan have been absolutely chilling. i find them shocking and appalling. would you agree with me that the america people need and deserve to know more about these security threats? >> senator, i agree that the foreign activity aimed at undermining our democratic process will continue and the best disinfectant or misinformation is sunlight and work to inform this. >> will you authorize steps to be taken to declassify some of this information? >> senator, at this time i don't have access as to the classified information to make an informed opinion but i do think a principal in order to counter disinformation is e

i consoled the victims. and i would say one of the odd things, our democratic colleagues repeatedly refer to what they call right-wing and cite whilet supremacist and could certainly cite the klan. i will say what senator graham. they are big on thed, violent monsters and should be thrown in jail. i condemn anyone who engages in violence whether they are right on the left. sadly what is missing, too many in the democratic party refuse senator antifa, hirono has said no one was killed from that side of the aisle. i was in 2016 in dallas when police officers were murdered by a black lives matter protest. nd this shouldn't be a political game. don't kill people. don't set police cars on fire. mr. cuccinelli, those who are engaged in rioting in portland, the 277 officer injuries that have occurred, who's doing it? mr. cuccinelli: well, as i said rioters are not protestors and protestors are not rioters. the violent behind behind the people and use them for proper text using lasers. we have had more eye injuries. this is commercialally available laser that you see and you are seeing them used in portland to a degree that we have never seen before. if i hold my hand in front of that laser, it's hot. this is

the law. i hope they will do that, but we will ensure on saturday, and i would ask senator mcconnell -- senator mcconnell will pass this. the postal service has decided they are going to do it. my request to you is, you don't have to call all senators back, just hotline it. see if there is a single senator who says, "no, let's cut the postal service, no, let's slow delivery by the postal service, no, let's not ensure that somebody who has a disability, a pre-existing condition, and will be at danger going to the poll, has not only the right to mail their ballot from home, but to have an expectation that it will be counted, because it will be delivered on time." we will yield for a couple of questions. it is hot, you are hot, i am on, everybody here is hot. >> do you suspect there to be any legislative text changes to the bill on saturday? rep. hoyer: i don't. the reason being what it essentially says is to do what he has now done. by the way, on tuesday, over 18 states, including maryland, and the attorney general for virginia, would be filing suit on tuesday. while i don't want to be too cynic

will recognize. and that corrupt election, that fraud is not going to change guaido's status. don't think you'll find anybody in the opposition leadership who will claim otherwise. also i just like to say, senator, that was not the vote of df dense in thepolicy. senator murphy: i will stipulate to that. i think that that's a fallacy to suggest that no one is going to step forward and replace guaido. i think we have to sort of at least think through the criteria by which we may recognize somebody else. let me ask a quick second question which is this. guaido's prewreck wits for participating in the lection did not including maduro stepping down. you said the only thing we want to talk to maduro about is his removal from power. are we open, the united states of america, to a discussion with maduro in which he stays in power as a transition to an election that is actually free and fair? frankly, even if he's not in power there is no guarantee that his allies couldn't rig an election. why aren't we open to that as a possible path forward? mr. abrams: because we do not believe that a free election in venezuela is possible with maduro in power. in control of the army. in control of the police. in con

important medications, social security checks, and all the other things, you will not commit the american people to be transparent? postmaster dejoy: senator, i will go back and get the truck schedule, the analysis that -- sen. rosen: can you commit to transparency? postmaster dejoy: yes. sen. rosen: that means you would provide analysis. if you are transparent, ergo you would provide the data that you used to base these important decisions on that impact people's lives. i want you to look in the camera, millions are watching who are impacted every day by what you do. please understand that. i want you to commit to the american people, to transparency, and provide the data that has been used to create these decisions. postmaster dejoy: i do not accept the premise and i will provide you with a transportation schedule that i directed the organization to adhere to. yes, i will do that. sen. rosen: we appreciate that. i look forward to seeing that and having future discussions with you. my time is up. chairperson johnson: is the senator available? sen. paul: do you have me? chairperson johnson: yes. sen. paul: thank you for your testimony. and th

the anarchists. i do ask unanimous consent to enter her statement into the record. senator cruz: the letter will be entered into the record. without objection. senator graham? senator graham: thank you. to put this into perspective, to those who accuse the united states of being a totalitarian state, i do not buy it, because i do not remember this in germany. calling the gestapo in and who you are beating up and why. i don't remember open press of what is going on and talking about the press. these things have been covered. i want to live in america that cops are held accountable. do both of you agree with that? >> yes, sir. senator graham: you wear a gun and badge you have a lot of power and your actions need to be judged and monitored, correct? you both agree with that? >> yes. graham senator graham: you want to live in a country where they have got your back? right? >> yes, sir. senator graham how many people : have been prosecuted -- any prosecutions in the making for the 200 something injuries? mr. cuccinelli: there are. the exact number, i do not know the exact number of cases. ms. cox: ye

do you swear the testimony you are about to give will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you god? >> i do. senator cruz: do you swear the testimony you are about to give before the committee will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you god? >> i do. senator cruz: we will start with the prepared testimony. go, you are recognized. please make sure you have turned your microphone on, which is this which on the -- is the switch on the base. mr. ngo: thank you chairman cruz and members of the committee. antifa is not a myth. i have been reporting on its activities since 2016, its threats to my family and me have proved all too real. as any good journalist knows, the most important stories are those not being told. this story is not being told. the american public knows little insurrectionolent group medical ideology -- group and its radical ideology. its followers regard the aporting of my threat -- as threat to their mission. first they tried to discredit me, falsely bringing me as a white supremacist. i have been to be gay and son of a the emmys refugee, -- of vietnamese

i think the american people can feel comfortable that the postal service will deliver on this election. >> thank you. >> thanks senator lankford. senator hasan. >> well, thank you, mr. chair. thank you ranking member peters for having this hearing, and thank you, mr. dejoy, for your willingness to appear before my committee today, and my time is short and because i've been told you're not staying for a second round of questions i would appreciate brief responses. >> mr. dough joy, i september you letters last week detailing stories about granite staters about delays in their mail and i will indicate a huge spike of calls to my office for such delays. for many of our service members, veterans, people who experience disabilities and rural americans, their local post office is their life looirngs and i'll note that the change in volume you are seeing doesn't change the need for timely delivery of the essential necessary items that the american public relies on post office for. for example, one manchester couple fills prescriptions through their v.a. benefits and they wrote, quote, there's been a noticeable slowdown in ma

senator from illinois and. charles: right who will get the nod? >> i think it is senator harris. s: who will get the nod? >> they have a relationship. i think it wit be senator harris. she is very close with the former vice president's son bowe biden when they were attorney generals of. their spouses are close. my money is on kamala harris. charles: liz peek, i did not know that they were close when i watched the first debate but apparently they have mended the fences if you will. liz, i don't know the whole process has been almost complicated as a goardian knot. this is tortured process. they don't know where to go with this thing, liz? >> i think it is interesting, it has been postponed a couple times about the announcement who his pick is. the problem he got himself into a box. he committed having a woman run with him many, many months ago. because of various gaffs he has made, because he is very, has a lot of african-american support, i think it has to be a woman of color. i don't think there is any question about that. so the problem is that the two best contenders, i would s

i give you my word. ifou entrust me with the presidency, i will draw on the best of us, not the worst. i will be an ally of the light, not the darkness. robert: senator a former prosecutor, spoke about hre history and oning. senator harris: l's be clear. there is no vaccine for racism. wewo have got to do th. for george floyd, for bree anna taylor -- brioni taylor, for the lives of too many others t name. we have got to do the work to fulfill that promise of equa justice under law. robert: beyond those speeches, former president barack obama made history. the formereader of the free world warned that american democracy is at risk. president trump: they are counting on your cynicism. -- president obama:hey are counting on your cynicism. they are hoping to make it as hard as possible for you t vote and to convince you that your vote does not matter. that is how ty win. that is how a democracy withers, until it is ndemocracy at all. robert: a lot there, so let's get right to it. joining me are four terrific reporters. yamiche alcindor, whe house correspondent for the pbs newshour , molly ball, national political correspondent, for time magazine , hallie

the senate will proceed. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that the duckworth amendment at the desk be agreed to, the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and passed, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: now, mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 11:00 a.m. thus day, august 11. further, following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day. final lurks following leader remarks, the senate be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up it ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: so, if there's no further business to come before the senate i ask it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until m?

i think that is what the administration is doing. senator leffler is doing a tremendous job with rallying the troops. tour and is going on another tour that willove her around the state. i know senator scott be in georgia this coming friday. opponents and her as of senator purdue, he is facing a challenger who through $30 million in the race when he ran against karen handel in the sixth district and still lost. he is the stronger candidate. he has a bigger platform. senator purdue is a proven later -- leader. i think that people are seeing that. i feel confident that georgia will be fine. georgia is definitely the state to watch. it is an exciting time to be in politics. , theron, is a florida congressman's home state, a must win for trump in november? ron: absolutely. president trump when it last time and it is a key state for him to get to reelection. i think it is entirely possible and i think he is going to absolutely when the state of florida, no doubt about it. bob: congressman, do you believe that? janelle: -- rep. curbello: the polls give joe biden a slight advantage. it is a crucial time. two key blocks in the state of florida will mo

i will submit those for the record. if you could give me a response, i would appreciate it. i yield back to you. sen. young: they could, senatorms. higgins -- ms. higgins is still with us. have one line of questioning that will be fairly brief, then we will be adjourning this hearing. i will be submitting questions for the record. following the recent elections in burgundy that resulted in a new president and the death of , you andr president the state department have made a case for taking a look at --ooting the u.s.-for monday ndy relationship. how do you envision this working? ms. higgins: thanks very much, chairman. the new president came and asked came in -- came in. it is the first time there has been a peaceful transfer of power since its independence. there is less that remains to be done. each president has had important steps such as talking about his willingness to fight corruption and fight covid. we want to use those opportunities where we can find common ground to see how we can work together. you are right that the trafficking victims protection act precludes much of our assistance, such as training of the milit

will get done, and that is why the last thing i will say. i was criticized by saying i will campaign and states for senate and house members and states i am not likely to win. everything shows, and you know this inside-out when the national party does not invest in areas where there is a tight race, it hurts the local officials up and down the list. we got to build a bench here. that is what this is about as well. i am hoping people will take a look at what i have done, what i am proposing, why it is in their interest that they move in the andction i have suggested, i think that is what we are seeing some response to. quick covid question. the florida marlins today announced they have to suspend their season and you get briefings on how covid should be dealt with and society should comport itself. sports leaguesf that are starting to play again? schools make of considering. all of this. the president said he would withhold federal funding from states and school districts that don't reopen. you must have thoughts on all this. >> i do. i have laid it out. i will get you a copy of my school reopening plan what is required. there are some circums

the big challenge at all. i am not anticipating a 100 to nothing vote in the senate this time. i said that at the very beginning. i don't think we will have a total consensus in this round. the atmosphere is much more partisan than it was back in march and april. that much closer to the election. so i don't think the definition of success here is whether we have a unanimous vote. i think the definition of success is, is the product something that will actually make a difference? liability protection, kids back in school, ppp replenished, healthcare, something that would actually make a difference. in addition to a solution to this unemployment problem, we know it is going to be unacceptably high for a long time, we have a role to play in that. we argued about just how generous it should be in terms of getting people back to work. and we are advocating sending check to those people who have been really hurt by this. a significant percentage of whom are in the hospitality field. they work for hotels or restaurants. so we are ready to help. as other we can, speakers have pointed out, get rid of the trillion dollar that's unrelated to th

i can't swing and i couldn't get into harvard i admire you even more. >> you should come down to the senate gym and i will give you some lesson. >> okay, thank you. senator booker. >> i want to say thank you to the gentleman on the right, ranking member and chairman farr line me too speaker disability issue that is very personal for me and i want to associate myself with your overly gracious estimations of my football career. i was an all-american but actually i was the most highly overrated athlete in the history of the ncaa. and got into stanford because of a 4.0, 1600 receiving yards -- >> i have nothing in common with you either. [laughing] >> 1600, you doubled me. >> 1600 receiving yards, not on my sats. i'm just grateful to have spoke to say and opening statement and means a lot to me personally because this is an issue i have worked on, talked about literally since i was a college student. i wouldn't be sitting here today if it was not the time i spent as an ncaa division i football player at stanford. the lessons i learned from experience i had are absolutely invaluable. i stand on that foundation

feel the same on a lot of issues regarding the challenges that china poses and with that i will turn to the ranking member for his opening statement. senator markey. >> thank you mr. chairman. thank you so much for appearing and for your continued hardship on the subcommittee and i want to thank our witnesses for their willingness to participate today. the ranking member i believe meeting the china challenge should he have bipartisan priority. we must defeat beijing's efforts to unfairly tilt the playing field against american workers and businesses. those actions include support for companies as well is increasingly using multilateral institutions to set standards that privilege chinese companies and technology appeared china also uses economic tools to threaten freedom around the world. beijing is already exploiting the size of its market to coerce american citizen sent business leaders as well as foreign governments. to self-censorship to protect official chinese government messaging. we know china is using exports and foreign assistance including the initiative to in bed around the world not only surveillance technologies but also the

consider but it is on the table spirit that gets back to senator young the best offense is a good b defense the last i checked i think they have 90 percent market share. >> we will have a hearing on that topic. >> and i will say senator sullivan is right in order to ban the product that we do it in this country because that's the only way to defend or protect our civil liberties. because those in the market share and to squelch competition sound like to know from you in the future when you say it's on the table am hoping you will report back to us. >> you got it. you are absolutely right and the chinese subsidizes it takes capital andnd many and it all comes out and we deeply appreciate what congress is doing and with the semi conductorot business we started and invented it. we were able to get the taiwan semi conductor and that many goes for the entire semi conductor industry to bring it back on the shores because only that is done in the united states as part of the equipment manufacturers. and this is the tipping point. >> turning to senator cruise. >> thank you for your testimony today. i want to start with something discussed with supply chain issues. i am

will do should they assume the white house. hopefully we will get senator kaine back in a minute. i remember being in new hampshire with joe biden during one of my last tips before the pandemic hit. joe biden does have unique the capability -- the unique ability to break the gridlock. what is the theory of the case behind this gridlock? what is the theory of the case that he is uniquely suited to break this gridlock? i'm not sure there is a case. i'm not sure it will cool off because joe biden and kamala of theare at the top ticket. the other dynamic, which i think is really important to think about, is, the first two years, when we talked briefly about is there some, sort of -- what is biden going to do with his first two years in the presidency? either get as much done, illuminate the filibuster if democrats control the senate, and kind of jam through a democratic agenda, or, will he follow in his promises or his a sort ofbuild bipartisan constituency? a bipartisan governing agenda? i think that will be the driving them shouldtion for they win the white house. >> to build off your