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lamar alexander saying clearly there. this gets to where the country is right now with this surge. le let's bring in elizabeth cohen. you interviewed dr. fauci about the status of things and the path forward. when dr. redfield said that they're so concerned because hospitalizations are now going up in 12 states, and now they're seeing the death rate now going up, in arizona, what did you take from the tone, the tenor of what you heard from dr. fauci today in when he said that the country's headed in the wrong direction? >> kate, it was a very similar tone to what i heard when i spoke to him a few days ago. he genuinely sounds sad. i have been interviewing him for years. hiv, h1n1 and a man of great energy and a man of great we can do it attitude and you still hear that but i also hear a certain sadness like how did this happen. none of this is surprising, kate. that's so important to remember. experts have been on your show, on cnn for months saying, hey guys, watch out. it may feel like the first wave is over and we are going to hit a lull but that's not the case. this could get m

>> well, we heard from senator lamar alexander and he said essentially this changes nothing.dent trump was guilty of doing what happened quarterback of the quid pro quo in ukraine. this doesn't change that. i just didn't think it was an impeachable offense. so you're starting to see how they're positioning that. we've had others say i didn't read the book. i think you're going to end up with a number of additional sound bites today as republicans walk by cameras and try to do the business they're doing on capitol hill. the reality here, you know, and bolton's approach to this is very telling to me because he has tried very hard to protect himself as a conservative by never actually helping democrats. the book criticizes democrats saying, well, if they had done this investigation differently, maybe they would have actually nailed it. if he had talked to them, perhaps they would have been that information. and then he says, republicans, i'll come and testify. so he set himself up to be anti-pro. that's a very careful needle to threat but, you know, that's kind of the overall po

the chairman of this committee lamar alexander has been very open calling for more people to wear masks, especially for the president of the united states to wear a mask. he's saying as i speak in his opening statement that he wants to see the president wear a mask from time to time. even if he doesn't have to. just to remove the political implications of it, to make it less of an issue of wearing a mask, being something that opponents of the president do. and i expect to hear a focus on the reopening of schools. the last time dr. fauci and cohorts testified in front of this committee there was significant discussion about what it would take to get schools and colleges back open in the fall. as we get into this -- not even a second wave, this increased wave, particularly across southern and western states, i think that will be another major focus of this hearing as it gets under way today. >> garrett, stay with me. dr. gupta, let me bring you into the conversation and get your thoughts about the medical questions that may be posed to as we heard there from garrett some of the leading he

>>chairman lamar alexander told the senate health committee during the pandemic many patients are turning to virtual visits instead of a trip to the doctor's office to cram 10 years worth of telehealth experience in just 3 months and alexander does not expect that practice to change any time soon that would produce a massive change in our health care delivery system alexander wants to see at least 2 of the temporary coronavirus policies congress passed become permanent reimbursing doctors for telehealth appointments, no matter where the patient is located and expanding the number of telehealth services medicare can reimburse. doctor andrea willis with blue cross blue shield of tennessee agreed with alexander it has and down italy improved access to care but willis and lawmakers want to make sure patient privacy is not sacrificed the question of whether to extend the hippa privacy waivers should be considered carefully alabama senator doug jones said telemedicine is especially important for patients with chronic conditions connectivity continues to be an issue and i think that remote monit

lamar alexander, head of the health committee fighting over funding for hbcus, we made it permanent, permanent funding for the hbcus, led by republican chairman of the education committee, donald trump signs it, we've delivered historic funding and permanent funding for hbcus. to the pre-pandemic numbers in minority communities for unemployment not only at a record low but labor force participation rates increasing. let me say that differently. not only do we had more jobs for black folks and brown folks but the number of folks in the community started having an increase in the number of folks working. this is basic conservative politics, it works, 7 million new jobs, two thirds with african-americans, hispanics, and a fool economy that started rising. check your accounts. it looks like covid-19 hit us and with did we do? we not only approved $2.3 trillion and another $500 billion, $3.4 billion would be multiplied in the commercial facilities by probably 7 or 8, $6 trillion relief package but what do we do in that package? we target small businesses to save small businesses and we ad

tennessee republican lamar alexander's comments came as he chaired a hearing of the health, labor, andons committee. >> the president has plenty of admirers. they would follow his lead. it would help end this political debate. the stakes are too high for this political debate about pro trump, anti-trump masks to continue. around here, senators and staff wear masks because we don't want to make each other sick. mark: cdc director robert redfield said, "it is all critical that we take -- it is critical that we all take the personal responsibility and embrace the use of face coverings." lawmakers of both parties called on the trump administration to provide more information about intelligence that russians put a bounty on u.s. troops in afghanistan, with democrats questioning why trump has not responded. the new york times reported today that officials had evidence of large financial transfers from russian think accounts to a taliban linked account. secondly, it was reported that the national security agency disputed the pound -- the information about the bounties made by other agencies.

. >>> coming up when we return, tennessee senator lamar alexander will join us here on "squawk box" ahead in congress on lessons learned so far from this pandemic and how the country gets ready for the next one. as we head to a break, take a look at shares of starbucks. the company rolling out its impossible breakfast sandwich. in stores today jumping head first into the plant-based meat wars you don't want to miss an interview tonight on "mad money. stay tuned, you're watching "squawk box" on cnbc can i find an investment firm with a truly long-term view that's been through multiple market cycles for over 85 years? with capital group, i can. talk to your financial professional or consultant for investment risks and information. wherever you make go, lexus will welcome you back with exceptional offers. get zero percent financing and make no payments for up to 90 days on all 2020 lexus models. experience amazing at your lexus dealer. >>> welcome back to "squawk box" this morning take a quick look at futures going to open 1% higher across the board. 1 1/4 percent higher when you think about

the chairman of the committee, senator lamar alexander of tennessee, i was speaking to him last week and he said one of his biggest focuses on an upcoming covid relief bill and everything that congress does is going to be about getting kids back to school. he says it's going to take a lot of money to do so and that congress needs to address that. but at this hearing today, we're still having a debate that was happening months ago on this issue of masks. you heard from republicans and democrats bringing up the issue of masks and how important they are. again, senator alexander opened the hearing saying the president himself needs to lead by example and start wearing a mask. because there's so many people who follow him and would take his lead. but while this issue of masks was a big highlight of this hearing, you also heard, as you paid some pretty devastating news from dr. fauci saying that if things continue down the path that we are currently on, the high of cases that's currently at 40,000 will reach as many as 100,000 cases a day, ayman. so this hearing was not a lot of good news

lamar alexander, the chairman of our health committee, we were fighting over funding for hbcus. we made it permanent funding for hbcus, led by a republican we -- chairman -- public and chairman of the education committee. president trump signs that we have delivered historic funding and permanent funding for hbcus. i'm not going to get to the pre-pandemic i'm going to run out of time. unemployment not only at a record low but we had labor force participation rates increasing for it let me say that differently. not only did we get more jobs for black folks and brown folks, the number of folks in the community have started having an increase in the number of folks working. basics called conservative politics. jobs, twomillion new thirds african americans, hispanics -- [indiscernible] in a full economy, all boats started rising. don't believe me check mark -- don't believe me? check your accounts. that's what it looks like. covid-19 hit us. what did we do? we approve $2.3 trillion and another 500 so billion dollars $3.450 billion that's multiplied in the commercial facilities by pr

. >> dana: it's senator lamar alexander saying the debate on wearing a mask is turning political, butven legal to make it mandatory? 21 states and the district of columbia require masks for people and/or add in public spaces. let's get some insight from a former u.s. attorney brent tolman. great to see you again. we don't have your excellent city background, your room looks great as well. i know a lot of people have been wondering this, but we try to be respectful, we want to do what the government says we need to do to flatten a curve and not overwhelm the hospital. under legal authority is the government allowed to do that to us? >> your state and city governments do have the ability during an emergency to issue rulings in essence, orders that are temporary. and there meant to stave off some existing emergency. the problem we really have here is where getting and consistent messages and inconsistent treatments across the country. everybody is noticing it. >> dana: one of the things that i brought up yesterday was when you have a mandatory evacuation and a hurricane area, the governm

republican lamar alexander of tennessee says it would help if he wore one from time to time as nancyi takes a dig at the president saying, quote, real men wear masks. jillian: this comes as vice president mike pence pledges additional resources and testing to texas as the lone star state seans over 53 -- sees over 5300 new cases as of su sunday. >> there has been a swift and dangerous turn in texas over the past few weeks. >> this is a moment where we have to put our arms around and protect the most vulnerable among us. rob: this as more than a dozen states are pausing the reopening plans because of these coronavirus spikes that we're seeing across the country. jillian: texas congressman michael burgess joins us to discuss the next steps for the state. good morning. thank you for being here. let's take a look at the number, 5,357, the number of new cases in texas on sunday on this covid-19 surge. do you think texas opened too soon, do you think that's why we're seeing the spike right now. >> >> of course, that's why you do phased reopenings, because if the conditions change you can d

the democratic plan was temporary and we made it permanent in negotiating with lamar alexander.ou can try to spin things as much as you want, with all due respect to him and then with the opportunity zones, 75 billion to distressed communities across the nation. what we need is local leadersh leadership, the places he's talking about that's gentrifying, these are localities where you have local leaders who aren't allowing for people to be the beneficiaries of growth in their communities. if we can get local policy change i think it'll work out well for all communities. >> bret: ja'ron, the other thing congressman clyburn said and a lot of democrats have said today is this executive order on police reform is not enough. fall short. here's the senate minority leader, chuck schumer. >> one modest, inadequate executive order will not make up for his decades of inflammatory rhetoric and his recent policies designed to roll back the progress that we have made in previous years. now is the moment for real lasting comprehensive change. we cannot merely make changes around the margins. >

lamar alexander came and opposed on the floor the unanimous consent i asked. and they opposed kamala harris and cory booker's legislation against lynching. how can you not support legislation opposing lynching in this day and age? >> in the middle of all of this they would not reform lynching and vote on your case. >> exactly. this is systematic. it's also inequality when it comes to the environment. we put our most toxic substance and industry into black neighborhoods so our black kids grow up with higher rates of asthma, they don't have access to health care, which makes them more susceptible to covid-19. if we want to move on and be a leader of the free world, which we should be, then we need to address this and make our nation stronger. >> if you're black or people of color, i can't breathe happens in many dimensions of american life. thank you, senator, for being with us. joining me now is the mayor of chicago, lori lightfoot. she will lead a task reform as part of the u.s. conference of mayors. madam mayor, thank you for being with me this evening. tell

>>tennessee senator lamar alexander asked the question on many minds in washington following the death of george floyd in police custody and nationwide protests against police brutality will not be as easy as passing laws. it will take changing behaviors but for congress it's a start the senate's lone black republican tim scott is leading the gop effort on police reform legislation that includes incentives for police to reduce their use of force in tracking these cases across departments, we need a lot more funding for body cameras and make sure officers safer and it makes the for fellow republicans like louisiana senator bill cassidy said they like the direction scott is going in cassidy points to a specific ethical policing policy in new orleans topple the shoulder and say sarge on new on the job. >>but you're out of hand, let me take over it minneapolis that had out which new orleans has george floyd would be alive scott will have to convince the white house and enough democrats that the gop measures should become law president trump announced thursday he's finalizing an executive o

if you look at lamar alexander, he basically said i didn't need to hear from john bolton because i already believed trump guilty. he was already proved by the house guilty. why did we need another witness to just add on to what had already been proven? you know, even though people like alexander should not have wanted to deprive the country of hearing about the president's guilty and anything else that john bolton might have had to evaluate his fitness for office, how many other votes would have been affected, i don't know. i think the bigger risk for the president was not john bolton's testimony alone but the fact that john bolton's testimony may have led to other witnesses and an unraveling of the trump defense. that's what mitch mcconnell was most concerned about. but you are absolutely right. these senators were not trying to shield the country of john bolton because they thought he would exonerate the president. exactly the opposite. >> and chairman schiff, i want to get your reaction to john bolton basically criticizing you, criticizing nancy pelosi by saying that the impeachment inq

you had republican senator lamar alexander on sunday who said it would help if president donald trumpore a mask because it would sort of lessen this political stigma around wearing it, that we have seen more and more. for whatever reason, though, he does not do that. do you think the president's actions or inactions on this has an effect, a correlation with the wearing of mask and cases? >> you forecastknow, i can't sp all of his staunch supporters. when our public health officials are recommending wearing masks, the top leader in our country does not, it does trickle down to the people who are going to follow and not wear a mask just because he isn't. so i'm concerned. i really think that he should reconsider looking at the evidence and all the evidence is supporting that masks will prevent this virus from transferring to other people and possibly prevent you from contracting the virus. so it's something that he really needs to look at. >> dr. birx saying, you know, there is now evidence that you -- wearing one helps you not spread it, but there is evidence now that it helps you not

>>committee chairman lamar alexander issued recommendations he wants put into legislation this year to put a better prepare for another wave of covid-19 and future pandemics a concern from some democratic lawmakers ensuring racial disparities in access to testing don't carry over to access to vaccines some major warnings coming out of a hearing today in washington on the coronavirus the nation's leading infectious disease to doctor fauci cited institutional racism for the impact of the virus on african americans force to resist asio has the latest on that. >>if you look at how we've been we've been hit badly doctor anthony fauci director of the national institute of allergy and infectious diseases. and member of the white house coronavirus task force spoke on capitol hill tuesday about where the country is as it fights covid-19 all of this as the country is seeing an uptick in cases in several states, including texas, florida and arizona, however, in other areas of the country we're now seeing. >>a disturbing surge of infections. >>doctor fauci also emphasize the importance of wearing

>>chairman lamar alexander told the senate health committee during the pandemic many patients are turning to virtual visits instead of a trip to the doctor's office to cram 10 years worth of telehealth experience in just 3 months and alexander does not expect that practice to change any time soon that would produce a massive change in our health care delivery system alexander wants to see at least 2 of the temporary coronavirus policies congress passed become permanent reimbursing doctors for telehealth appointments, no matter where the patient is located and expanding the number of telehealth services medicare can reimburse doctor andrea willis with blue cross blue shield of tennessee agreed with alexander it has and down italy improved access to care but willis and lawmakers want to make sure patient privacy is not sacrificed the question of whether to extend the hippa privacy waivers should be considered carefully alabama senator doug jones said telemedicine is especially important for patients with chronic conditions connectivity continues to be an issue and i think that remote monito

where just one symptomatic person lead to 87% of the singer's getting infected republican senator lamar alexander stressing the importance of mast, arguing president trump could be the key convincing more people to wear. >>i wish the president would wear a mask when it's appropriate because millions of americans as meyer him and they would follow his lead. >>well that was randi kaye reporting for us this morning a vice president mike pence traveling to some of those states that are seen surges in coronavirus cases, he'll be visiting 2 more hard-hit states in the coming days, both arizona and florida. now even though events with the public were canceled in both of those states because of concern over the virus spread. and this morning doctor anthony fauci has a warning for young people who may be more likely to attend large gatherings or just hang out with their friends. he says that they could be part of the reason that states across the country are seen an increase in virus cases. >>when you have a young person who has little chance not 0 because and young people are getting into trouble too. bu

. >> this as the republican chairman of that senate republican, republican senator lamar alexander of tennessee, said the president should wear a mask from time to time even if he is protected, in order to take the politics out of the public health debate. as the pandemic surges in the south and southwest, here are the facts at this hour. across the country, levels of the coronavirus are spiking in 29 states, with cases in 11 of them rising by more than 100% in the last two weeks alone. the spikes are now forcing 16 states to pause or partially reverse their plans to reopen. california governor gavin newsom has ordered bars to close again in seven counties there after cases rose by nearly 50% in the last seven days. and in arizona, governor ducey is shutting down bars, gyms, and movie theaters for at least one month. even in new jersey, which is on the downward slope of infections, new jersey is backtracking as the governor there says he will not permit indoor dining to reopen this week as had been planned as a result of these dangerous spikes. the european union know officially annou

i think you saw that on the senate side, as well, with lamar alexander. this is an issue for members of congress that crosses their roles as officials for a local area representative of their constituents and the national conversation. there aren't as many issues that fit that quite so neatly as this one and i think for each member it was important to be seen taking this seriously in front of the constituents they face in fall. they have hospitals in the district, doctors, they need ppe and trying to scrounge it up in the past with those problems so yeah. i think the tone was different and for a good reason. >> getting us started on capitol hill, i think the president undere underestimates that issue for fellow republicans on the ballot with him this cycle. thank you. joe, set the scene for us right now. the president is arriving. the state is literally the hottest of hotspots in the country right now. we've got the hospitalization issue in arizona which is bordering on a crisis situation so set the scene. are you seeing people take precautions? what are

where just one symptomatic person lead to 87% of the singer's getting infected republican senator lamar alexander stressing the importance of mast, arguing president trump could be the key convincing more people to wear. >>i wish the president would wear a mask when it's appropriate because millions of americans as meyer him and they would follow his lead. >>that randi kaye reporting for us this morning vice president mike pence is traveling to some of the states that are seeing surges in cases, he'll visit 2 more hard-hit states in the coming days arizona and florida, although events with the public were canceled in both states out of concern over the virus. >>and this morning doctor anthony fauci has a warning for young people who may be more likely to attend large gatherings or just hang out with their friends. he says that they could be part of the reason that states across the country or see no increase in virus cases. when you have a young person who has little chance not 0 because young people are getting into trouble too. >>but have little chance of getting seriously involved. it's being

. >> so the secretary -- sorry, the chairman of the senate health committee, senator lamar alexander, republican from tennessee, he just told manu raju on inside politics before the show that it would be helpful if president trump sometimes wore a mask so that the idea of masks was not seen as a pro-trump or anti-trump step but a healthcare step. you talked about the importance of wearing masks. don't you think it undermines the message that you are trying to give that the surgeon general is trying to give, doctors bi s and fauci are trying to give, when he makes fun of people who wear masks and holds rallies where no one is social distancing and no one is wearing a mask? doesn't that undermine the message that you are trying to give? >> well, i am the president's health secretary and i am telling people just what president trump has said from day one in the reopening guidelines. social distance, wear facial covering where you can't practice social distancing, engage in appropriate personal hygiene. people in the last several weeks, we have seen people engage in mass gatherings for an

republican senator lamar alexander stressing the importance of masks, arguing president trump could be the key to convincing more people to wear them. >> i wish the president would wear a mask when it's appropriate. because millions of americans admire him. and they would follow his lead. >> reporter: and there you heard the vice president urging texans to wear face coverings. that's a markedly different tone if t from the vice president who just on friday was suggesting that this country had flattened the curve. meanwhile, the vice president will be traveling to other stayses that are seeing a surge in cases, including arizona, and yes he will be coming here to florida. >> we're going to speak to the mayor of palm beach coming up a little bit later to talk about the explosive growth of cases in that state. randi, thanks to you. what's driving the coronavirus surging in this country right now? in a new interview with cnn's elizabeth cohen, too many people are ignoring the guidelines of social distancing and requests to wear mask. >> what has happened, i guess, understandably, fwhunbut

senator lamar alexander, the chairman of the senate's committee focusing on public health issues, lamented that the president will not urge the country to take the most basic of protective measures, like wearing a mask. the presumptive democratic nominee, joe biden, meanwhile, delivered remarks this afternoon, saying that president trump has waved the white flag on this pandemic. let's bring in my msnbc colleagues who are covering the surges across the country. david is in houston, texas. carrie sanders in lauderdale by the sea and erin mclaughlin in manhattan beach, california. david, i do want to start with you. i spoke to you a little bit earlier as you were at that site, that testing site there in houston where there was a long line of cars. tell me how the governor is reacting and how much authority he's given to local municipalities to set rules and boundaries for their own areas. >> reporter: this is shaping up to be a very interesting narrative here in the state of texas. the governor has a lot of control, and so far, he's rebuffed attempts by local officials to get more control ov

sent lamar alexander there to oppose my bill. if they wanted to do this they could have done any of these. my goodness they went out of their way to oppose senator harris's and senator booker's bill against lichlging. they opposed against lynching. i will wait to see what senator scott's bill does. i suspect it is going to be window dressing when what we need right now is systemic change. >> senator, i have to ask you, "new york times" reporting that the biden team has interviewed you as a possible vp candidate, asked you for documents. would you be interested in serving as vice president? >> well, i think the biden campaign have their own process. here's what i do know. i know that vice president biden will choose the right person to serve with him to help our nation move forward to do all the things that president trump not only is not able to do, has failed to do repeatedly. address racism in our criminal justice system. he's going the find someone who is going the work with him on how to lead us out of the economic disaster w

you had republican senator lamar alexander on sunday. he said he thinks it would help if president trump donald trump wore a mask because that would sort of lessen this political stigma around wearing it that we've seen more and more. for whatever reason, though, he does not do that. do you think the president's abs or inactions on this has an effect, the correlation with wearing a mask and, you know, ergo, cases? >> i can't speak for all of his, you know, staunch supporters, but i think when every single one of our public health officials are recommending wearing masks and the top leader in our country is not, i think it does trickle down to the people who are going to follow and not wear -- not wear masks just because he isn't. and so i'm concerned, and i really think that he should reconsider looking at the evidence and all the evidence is supporting that masks are going to prevent this virus from transferring to other people and even possibly prevent from you wearing the -- cracking the virus. contracting the various. so it's somethi

senate health committee chairman lamar alexander says he wants this question to be answered.l there be transfer our medicines this fall. treatment should increase the comp confidence that going back to school and work is safe. right now you're taking a last look at dr. anthony fauci. like a mitten, each witness has five minutes for their opening remarks and then they will answer questions. senator alexander the hearing by talking about the importance of wearing a mask and how it should be a political statement. >> the simple lifesaving practice has become part of the political debate. that's is this. if you are for trump, you don't wear a mask, if you're against trump, you do. that's why is suggested that the president occasionally wear a mask, even though in most cases, it is not necessary for him to do so. the president has plenty of admirers. they would follow his lead. >> he should submit a comprehensive national >> were going to take another life lookout at this hearing it right now is dr. anthony fauci is is speaking we are going to listen and just for a minute on exact

by health education labor and pensions committee is chaired by lamar alexander of tennessee area. >> widespread testing not only helps contain the virus, it builds confidence that the schools are safe. fortunately us assistant secretary for health admiral and you walk all told our committee there e will be 40 to 50 million diagnostic tests available per month by september. at work to five times the number of today's tests and the number in the united states is twice as many as any other country.and doctor francis collins who once led the human genome project and now leaves the national institutes of health needs a competitive shark tank enterprise at the nih to discover new ways to create tens of millions of quick and extensive diagnostictests . covid-19 plans should last for at least a year. the government is pursuing vaccines at what it calls s work speed a, faster than we've ever done that before but no one expects a vaccine this august. the second half of the school year schools should be able to provide more tests, more treatments, better contact tracing and hopefully we should

we are bringing in senator lamar alexander on addressing the reopening of schools in the fall at a hearingrday. he said that 56 million students going back to the classroom will help pave the way for normalcy. senator, you've been talking people through this process. first off, do you see that happening? >> yes i do. everybody understands this, we have to keep kids safe. but they have to learn. parents and kids are about up to here with remote learning. two-thirds of married parents have children who need to go to school and the parents are working. children have been out of school now for five or six months. so i think there is a growing awareness that kids have to go back to school and the only question is, and the only question is how do we do it safely. that was a little bit more front and center than it was right n now. what are the two were three things we need to pay attention and make sure our children are safe going back to school. >> number one, 6 feet apart, never to wash her hands, number three masks. those three things are 90% of them. it's easier to do in college where there

by health education labor and pensions committee is chaired by lamar alexander of tennessee area. >> widespread testing not only helps contain the virus, it builds confidence that the schools are safe. fortunately us assistant secretary for health admiral and you walk all told our committee there e will be 40 to 50 million diagnostic tests available per month by september. at work to five times the number of today's

lamar alexander, the head, the chairman of our help committee, we were fighting over funding for hbcu's. we made it permanent, permanent funding for the hbcu's led by a republican chairman of the education committee, president trump signs it. we have delivered historic funding and permanent funding for hbcu's. i'm not going to go to the -- because i'm running out of time. i'm not going to go through the prepandemic numbers in minority communities for unemployment. unemployment not only had a record low but we had labor force participation rate increasing. let me say that different. not only did we get more jobs for black folks and brown folks, the number of folks in the community started having an increase in the number of folks working. this is called basic conservative politics. it works. seven million new jobs, two-thirds with african americans, hispanic, and women. and a -- in a full economy, all boats started rising. don't believe me. check your accounts. that's what it looks like. covid-19 hit us, and what did we do? we not only approved $2.3 trillion and then another $500 billion

. >> jimmy, this week we spoke with senator lamar alexander on the program and he said he would likee up to snuff and ready to go in this coronavirus age is extra funding from the federal government enough or is there more the states need to be doing and maybe more companies can do to help out, too? >> yeah, look. this challenge is coming from all sides. not only, you know, do some of those things that i just described cost money but also if budgets are down, that's also known in the past from past recessions, that's widely exacerbated achievement gaps as well we think there is a case for investment those learning losses that i described before we think could cost the country up to $100 billion in lost earnings over the lifetime of this current generation of students which could translate into about a $200 billion hit on gdp which is a 1% knock on u.s.gdp. there's absolutely a case for investment here. it's likely going to have to come from all sides. >> what would be an investment that would help bridge the gap what amount? >> we haven't created an estimate, but there are many group

. >> trace: i'm curious, your colleague senator lamar alexander of tennessee was saying he believes thesident should wear a mask and if he wore a mask, they would too and also said this, quoting here, it would help to get rid of this political debate that if you are for president trump, you don't wear a mask and i if you are against president trump, you do wear a mask. the stakes are too high for that. have we gotten to that point where you think it's become a political idea of wearing a mask or not? >> i would hope it wouldn't be because i am for president trump and i wear a mask as well as members of my staff, members of my family, i think it's an important thing to do to protect ourselves and responsible thing to do to help protect others. >> melissa: if you see the problem is that people aren't following the guidelines or they were used too quickly, should there be more of a penalty for having violated these guidelines that people are going out and gathering together? there was a lot of pushback on that thought when you folks were allowed to protest but others weren't allowed to gat

we will, apparently, lamar alexander's darn best today is a success in helping us move in forward. so again i want to thank the prime sponsors of the bill, senator gardner and senator manchin, for their steadfast work on lwcf and parks backlog. i wanted to also thank senator burr, who is a steadfast champion of the land and water conservation fund and helped sponsor with me the permanent reauthorization of the fund and also trying to get the funds spent. this is the effort that has been continued over many decades by many colleagues, including two former senators, senator bingaman and baucus, who were both giants in all of this. so i just thank everybody for their important efforts over the years to get us to this point where we are today. so why are we here? a lot of people would say, why are we in the middle of a pandemic, and economic crisis, a big struggle to energize the need for civil rights and equality, why are we here on the senate floor talking about a public lands bill? well, we're here because, as i said, there's been a lot of history behind the outdoor economy and the

>>tennessee senator lamar alexander asked the question on many minds in washington following the deathnd nationwide protests against police brutality will not be as easy as passing laws. it will take changing behaviors but for congress it's a start the senate's lone black republican tim scott is leading the gop effort on police reform legislation that includes incentives for police to reduce their use of force in tracking these cases across departments, we need a lot more funding for body cameras and make sure officers safer and it makes the for fellow republicans like louisiana senator bill cassidy said they like the direction scott is going in cassidy points to a specific ethical policing policy in new orleans topple the shoulder and say sarge on new on the job. >>but you're out of hand, let me take over it minneapolis that had out which new orleans has george floyd would be a lot scott will have to convince the white house and an of democrats that the gop measures should become law president trump announced thursday, he's finalizing an executive order on police reform. >>but didn't

last november help committee chairman lamar alexander of tennessee and i released a draft plan to form -- reform the multiemployer pension system, also protect retirees and at the same time secure the pension benefit -- the ppgc's and fund. we received many thoughtful and constructive comments and we've worked over the past several months to address those comments and to make our reform plan as effective and balanced as possible. so what is standing in the way? the usual thing is you've got to have bipartisanship to get anything done in the united states senate. so the short answer is that the democratic leadership doesn't seem to be very interested in working to find that bipartisan solution. they seem to think the no strings bailout that they tried to force into the cares act in march and that now appears in the house's heroes act is somehow either take it or leave it proposition. that doesn't work very well, particularly in the united states senate where it takes bipartisanship to get anything done. and i would also hope that they're not playing election-year politics. and if they a

senator warner, who i talked about earlier who has been a champion on this issue, but also senator lamar alexander and senator king, senator angus king. senator warner was involved for many years. he was on the -- he was on another commission about the great outdoors which deals with this issue. if we can pass this legislation, $6.5 billion over the next ten years for our parks, this will be historic. this is in a sense a teddy roosevelt moment. this will help us to right the wrongs, fix the problems, get our parks back on track so they will be there for future generations. i also want to thank the president of the united states and his cabinet. the secretary of interior, the office office of management and budget, and president trump increased the size of this program by saying let's not just include our national parks, let's include our wildlife areas and our national forest. this is even an broader program than just the national parks now. this is really important and it was in the president's budget each of the last three years. i appreciate that and that gives us a chance how to get this not

i was proud to work with senator lamar alexander on a bill called every kid outdoors.this is a bill that is going to allow us to make sure that every kid is within walking distance of a neighborhood park. so, mr. president, i'm going to yield back the remainder of my time, but i just hope that all of our colleagues can find it in their heart to support this legislation today and send a strong message to the house of representatives to take this legislation up quickly. i yield back. the presiding officer: under the previous order, all postcloture time is expired. the clerk will read the title of the bill for the third time. the clerk: calendar number 75, h.r. 1957, an act to amend the internal revenue code of 1986 and so forth. the presiding officer: the question occurs on passage of the bill as amended. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote: ( vote: vote: the presiding officer: have all senators voted? does any senator wish to change their vote? on this vote, the yeas are 73, the nays are 25. the bill as amended is passe

richard burr and angus king and joe manchin and martin heinrich, maria cantwell, rob portman, lamar alexander have worked so diligently on. we talked about the legacy that theodore roosevelt has and now this letter from his great grandson securing that legacy for this country. madam president, i ask unanimous consent that this letter from theodore roosevelt iv be submitted for the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. gardner, thank you, mr. president. i know tonight we'll have continued legislation about -- conversations about the legislation and the cost of the legislation. there are some who will say this bill isn't paid for or perhaps the revenues aren't accounted for properly but i would speak to the contrary. again, i'll be speaking about this later this evening. if you look at how this bill, great american outdoors act is funded, it doesn't cost the taxpayer money. it comes from that offshore oil and gas revenues. it's revenue generated from oil and gas production on federal land in fiscal year 2019 which totaled $11.6 billion which is an example. one of the years of fu