>> madam chair? >> you are recognized for seven minutes. >> i appreciate the gentle lady's comments on this issue. i understand it's an emotionally charged issue on all sides of the immigration equation, and i acknowledge that the immigration process is not perfect in in areas it is broken and i'm committed to fixing it. i have experience in my own district in west texas where there are gaps that need to be closed, namely in agriculture where there is a shortage of labor, but before we can undertake major comprehensive immigration reform, we have to prove to the american people that we're willing and able to stop the flow of illegal immigrants and commit the necessary resources to secure our border. the last administration demonstrated just the opposite. whether it was president obama's policies on catch and release, tolerating sanctuary cities or woefully underfunding border security, the message to the american people was clear. president obama was not interested in solving this problem. even worse

madam president, i yield the floor. mr. whitehouse: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. whitehouse: i appreciate the remarks of my friend. i would simply note that nothing that he has said explains why you would want to strip hundreds of millions of dollars out of medicaid, why you would want to deny coverage to elderly folks who get medicaid support for their nursing homes, people who are in the throes of addiction getting medical support for opioid treatment, children are often born on medicaid, why you would want to do all that, nor does it explain why you would want to give big tax breaks to the most welloff people in the country. fine, let's fix the markets if that's the problem, but this isn't really about that. this is about stripping money out of medicaid to give it to very wealthy people who are doing quite well already, in my view. i yield the floor. mr. daines: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from montana. mr. daines: mr. president, karen from missoula county wrote to me about how her

madam chairman. madam chairman, no.>> are there members who wish to vote or change the vote? did you vote? oh, i'm sorry. you voted. okay. i apologize. i didn't realize the members that just came in had voted. if not, the clerk shall report. >> madam chairman, on that vote, the ayes are 12 and the noes are 21. >> the noes have it. the amendment is agreed to. the committee will now vote on the amendment offered by ms. jackson lee. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. >> amendment number two offered by representative jackson lee. >> i apologize. the amendment is not agreed to. the amendment is not agreed to. the committee will now vote on the amendment offered by ms. jackson lee. >> amendment number two, offered by representative jackson lee. >> the clerk will call the roll. >> mr. akita. >> no. >> mr. akita, no. mr. diaz bullert. no. mr. cole. mr. mcclintock. mr. mcclintock, no. mr. woodall. mr. woodall, no. mr. sanford. mr. sanford, no. mr. womack. mr. womack, no. mr. brat. mr. bratt, no. mr. grossman. mr. grossman

buck: thank you, madam speaker. the consumer financial protection bureau has been a continuous example of federal overreach. once again bureaucrats in washington have created a rule that will hurt consumers and make their lives more difficult. the last eight years of overregulation have crippled our economy. today we have a chance to end this anti-arbitration rule and empower consumers with an alternative to spending years in a courtroom. we can't let concerns about the trial lawyer lobby impact the way we treat consumers. trial lawyers love this rule enacted by the consumer financial protection bureau because they'll be the biggest beneficiaries. it they'll walk home with the big winnings while the individuals who have been harmed walk away with little. arbitration allows harmed individuals to receive payouts on the merits of their case without enriching the pockets of trial lawyers at the same time. this legislation is for consumers, it's for the average americans who relies on our financial system every day. i th

>> madam chair? >> you are recognized for seven minutes.i >> madam chair, i reckon i for seven minutes but i don't think will take that long because as a much as appreciate my friend mr. higgins proposal and the sentiments behind them, and i certainly agree with the sentiments behind the need for infrastructure funding, unfortunately they pulled outnd the same kind of sad tale of what they believe are tax benefits, et cetera to finance these expenditure increases when, in fact, what we should be doing is focusing on pro-growthh tax reform, not trying to just incrementally pick one littleust item here or there in order top finance the expenditures that the gentleman suggests. i would also point out to my friends in california that he references the presidents initial budget submission, and yet the nondefense discretionary portion of the budget that the budget resolution contemplates at a level of 511 restores and sustains virtually all of the programs that the gentleman elaborated upon, and our collea

>> madam chair? >> you are recognized for seven minutes. >> i appreciate the gentle lady's comments on this issue. i understand it's an emotionally charged issue on all sides of the immigration equation, and i acknowledge that the immigration process is not perfect in in areas it is broken and i'm committed to fixing it. i have experience in my own district in west texas where there are gaps that need to be closed, namely in agriculture where there is a shortage of labor, but before we can undertake major comprehensive immigration reform, we have to prove to the american people that we're willing and able to stop the flow of illegal immigrants and commit the necessary resources to secure our border. the last administration demonstrated just the opposite. whether it was president obama's policies on catch and release, tolerating sanctuary cities or woefully underfunding border security, the message to the american people was clear. president obama was not interested in solving this problem. even worse

madame chancellor, cani same yardstick. madame chancellor, can i come back to turkey.t the concert but met turkish ministers and there were tensions because being able to speak or not, what happens over the summit with mr urdu one, was there any tension? we had a bilateral meeting on his request. i would say turkey showed a lot of commitment. i was very much engaged on the agenda and gave his contribution. we gave contribution to what turkey did towards the refugees and supporting the migration agenda today, but we clearly pointed to the many differences we have. the large number of arrests, the fact that members of parliament were not allowed to visit the base. we haven't lost them over or swept them under the carpet. gentleman in the middle of the glasses, but to wait for the microphone. madame chancellor, when it comes to ukraine, we are told there will be a new range of negotiations in the normandy format. in your talks with vladimir putin, did you feel anything was changing and is there anything was changing and is there any reason to feel optimistic a solution ca

. >> madam chair, and mr. yardmouth, i'm not sure that the committee would agree with that characterization exactly, but i think it's fair to say that as andy described the pro growth policies of our budget when implemented will generate more economic growth, more job creation, more people -- >> so that by definition is dynamic scoring? i'm trying to get you to that point. >> i think for a budgetary perspective, dynamic scoring refers to a piece of particular legislation or in the spending or revenue world where it is projected that that particular legislation has a macroeconomic feedback effect. we're talking more broadly, it's more than dynamic scoring i.'s more of a pro growth agenda to get more people working, paying taxes, thus more revenue is generated to the federal government. >> but inclusive of dynamic scoring a component? >> we're budget guys so we like to look at things from the budgetary perspective rather than the broader, you know, economic perspective. >> let me tell you what my concern is. >>

thank you, madam president. a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. merkley: madam president, the first three words of our constitution are we the people. and indeed our entire system was set up to be a government that produces results of, by, and for the people. but certainly right now this is not what we're getting. we're getting a secret plan that has not yet been put on this floor with the promise there will be a debate in the middle of the night. no chance for a committee hearing on it. no chance to consult with experts. no chance for us to go home and talk to our constituents. this is about as far away from a deliberative democratic republic as you can possibly get. it makes us think of 1787 when ben franklin came out of the constitutional convention, and he was stopped by someone in the crowd and they were -- he was asked, what do we have? a monarchy or republic? and he answered, a republic if you can keep it. well, we're not keeping it right now through this secret middle of the night noncons

thank you, madam president. and i would yield the floor. a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. whitehouse: madam president, something else happened this afternoon in washington that i wish to relate today on the floor -- relay today on the floor. and that is that the american enterprise institute hosted the launch of senator schatz's and my american opportunity carbon fee act. i am delighted that the american enterprise institute did that. their conservative credentials are rock-solid, but they don't fear debate, and they were extraordinarily helpful and open-minded in allowing us to make the announcement and in hosting a discussion on the bill that followed. virtually every person on the republican side who has thought the climate change problem through to a solution has come to the same place -- a revenue-neutral, border-adjustable price on carbon. that means that all the revenues are returned to the american people. former treasury secretaries baker, schultz, and paulson, all republicans; former e.p.a. administrators

and with that, madam president, i would yield the floor. >> madam president. m >> was the senator from kansas madam president, i have five request for commits to me during today's session of the century there been approved by the by majority and minority leaders. >> duly noted. >> madam president, i come to speak about health care and i began by paying tribute to ourna colleague from arizona, senator mccain on his return earlier this week, and i wish him the very best as he begins the process of cure and treatment, e and invite -- a bright future in his life. i appreciate the marks hend indicated that were so heartfelt to his college here in the united states senate, and we welcome them back and thank him for service to the united states senate, to the people of arizona, to the people of america. but also thank you most especially for his service in the united states military. another great hero in my life that in our country's history is my predecessor in the united states senate, senator bob dole, who earlier this week celebratei his 94th birthday. service t

thank you, madam chairman. >> thank you, sir. >> madam chair and ranking member, i want to thank you so much for holding this hearing. it is very timely. it is difficult for many of us to untangle all the complicated issues that come up in this region. we don't have the background the witnesses do, and that's why we're appreciative of them being here today. between the religious disputes and the historic disputes and people's economic interests, it is different to untangle who the different parties are. no one in the region has clean hands and we need to figure out how to promote our agenda in america and throughout the west, which is that we have to stand strong and hard against people who use propaganda and hate speech and economic warfare to promote extremism and violence. i'm excited to be here today and hear what the witnesses have to say. thank you. >> the chair recognized mr. sdelson for one minute. >> i'm very much looking forward to today's hearing, listens to our witnesses. a lot of great thoughts have already been shared. i especially like the ranking members opening testi

madam chairman. in addition to the massive cuts to programs that keep americans healthy and prosperous, this budget res louisiana puts our national security in jeopardy by making shortsighted investments in defense spending that set up a false choice between the military and other sources of national strength security such -- there is a small price to pay compared to sending our servicemen and service women into harm's way. with that, i yield back. >> i yield three minutes to the gentleman from california, mr. carbajal. >> thank you. today's republican budget proposal is full of dangerous revenue given -- revenue given its -- revenue gimmicks. rises inense's funding in 2027,740 billion stays proposal cuts nondefense funding for the domestic programs, including education and food security by over $100 billion over the next 10 years. this budget simply walks away promotingtments economic security, job creation and innovation. not other we funding defense at an even higher level than the president reque

think you madam chairman. >> thank you sir. mr. suozzi of new york. >> think you madam chairman. i want to thank you for holding this hearing. very timely. it's very difficult for many of us to untangle the complicated relationships that exist in this region. isn't it on at the background for the witnesses do and that's why we are so appreciative of their being here to testify today. between the religious disputes in the tribal and family relationships to the historic disputes in people's economic interests is sometimes difficult to untangle who the different parties arpad no one in the region really has clean hands and we need to figure out how to promote our agenda in america and throughout the west which is that we have to stand strong and hard against people who use propaganda and hate speech and economic warfare to promote extremism and violence. i'm excited to be here today and to hear what the witnesses have to say. thank you. >> the chair now recognizes mr. delfin for one minute. mr. delfin you are recognized. >> think you madam chairwoman and very much looking forward to

thank you madam chairman. with several floor votes expected later today and other committee markups, i would ask unanimous consent that the chairman be authorized to declare recess at any time today. >> without objection, so ordered, consistent with the agreement i ask unanimous consent that each side be allocated 45 minutes to make presentations in lieu of opening comments. each side then make presentations out of the remaining time. members have seven days to submit additional statements for the record and after these presentations we proceed to opening presentations on the budget resolution. without objection, so ordered. once the opening presentations have concluded, we will have one hour staff walk-through during which the majority staff will briefly summarize the chairman's mark. members will then have the opportunity to ask questions. after the staff walk-through, we will consider amendments according to the structure that i have worked out with the ranking member. today we've decided to roll votes. we

johnson, you're recognized. >> thank you, madam chair. and chairman pai, commissioner clyburn, and commissioner o'reilly, thank you all three for being here today to talk about such an important issue. chairman pai, a lot of questions have already been asked. but i'm going to give you an opportunity here to talk more in a broad context. what has the fcc done during your time as commissioner, in the commission to facilitate the deployment of broadband networks? >> boy, a lot. we've been pretty busy on this front. number one, in february we kicked off the process for the connect america fund phase ii as well as mobility fund phase ii. next week we'll be voting on the next steps to make sure those auctions happen in a timely and effective way. number two, we've taken a very aggressive stand in terms of modernizing our rules to recognize that broadband deployment is our top priority. weicked off, for instance, a wireless infrastructure item, voted on unanimously, i would add, that would add deployment of nuts and bolts of these wireless netwo

. >> madame chancellor, you talked about violence. my question is to what extent have the guests, the presidents, the heads noticed the violence? what about the protests, violent and peaceful? have they had any impact on the ability to go up with a general shared communiquÉ? >> i believe in the many activities of a civil society, and i would label these peaceful demonstrations on the margins of this summit civil society engagement. i think they have contributed to our observing that when we meet here, many, many people are expected to come up with results. a citizen at the beginning of this meeting. i also set it in public. on the other hand, the guests obviously also saw that. some of them had first-hand experience because they were not able to leave their hotels or get to their hotels and also they watch television, so you may rest assured they were familiar with what was going on, but they were impressed also by the work of the policemen and women, and this is why they asked me to pass on their gratitude to the police forces and se

and thank you madam chair.i don't know if i'll have the chance to public is senior committee meeting out very, very sad i am that you decided to retire and leave us. you have been an incredible leader. >> i'm going to miss all of our colleagues. >> your wonderful leadership on this committee at this chairman of this committee has been extraordinary. first woman to have had this chair. where very proud of you. >> thank you, ms. maloney. thank you so much. and feel free to come back to our subcommittee. you are a valuable member, make you an ex officio member. thank you. i just have one last wrapup question. i know you gentlemen have been testifying for hours now, but mr. schanzer, this tension has been going on for such a long time. why do you think that it's neighbors decided to take action only now? is or something else that you believe reciprocated his? >> madam chairman, thank you for the question. it's with a one of the questions that are think we all should of been asking all along. i think when you talk t

chesler. -- madam chancellor. a question. how do you see the future of d g 20 is a powerful international organization that andotes openness interconnectivity against the high winds of isolationism? the chinese president just had a very successful state visit to germany. you are also a european leader who visited china with often. calculate the relationship between china and germany under your leadership? chancellor merkel: as you know, we have a very special cooperation with china going beyond bilateral cooperation. china was hosting the g 20 last year. already addressed issues that we felt were very important. for example, health. we included that in the statement come in the declaration. we built on that. there is a clear link. this will be continued by argentina. see many areas -- there are also differences of opinion in other areas. we have a good set of issues that we want to discuss together. we were very much supported by china in development in africa. they also feel it's important for the african states

madam speaker, the g.i. bill and i used it for two years after i got out of the military, 10 years you could no longer use it. this is a lifetime commitment to our veterans if they can exercise their g.i. bill benefit at any time. for the first time in history of our g.i. bill, future beneficiaries and veterans can carry these benefits throughout their life. the bill would have significant funding for reservists and guardsmen but do not accrue g.i. eligibility as well as surviving spouses and depend events and it would provide 100% g.i. eligibility for post 9/11 purpose will heart recipients and it would increase opportunities for veterans to complete a high technology program. particular issues that i know leader mccarthy and privilege to have him as an original co-sponsor. the provisions i just mentioned only scratch the surface of veterans and survivors will receive. the amendment to this bill before the house today provides technical and conforming changes to ensure the bill is budget neutral that studen

madam, chair. >> and mr.lture, recognized for five minutes. >> thank you very much, madam chair. i have five minutes, and i have three points. one about the open internet. number two broadband and number three the rural fund. just to comment on the open internet, everybody says they're for the open internet. the question i have is why change the existing regime where everyone agrees there isn't an existing open internet? a lot of folks in the public are concerned that that won't be the case. so that's a question i think the proponents of change have to answer, why change it? second, rural broadband, chairman pai as you know it's incredibly important to those of us in vermont, working with mr. kramer as well, to have open internet. in the promise of the 1996 act has been broken. rural internet is not the same speeds and the same capacity as we have in urban areas. there's now a potential opportunity with the repacking in the white space as you're aware. and there's a challenge, because we want to make sure tha

i yield back, madam chair. >> thank you, mr. tocano. mr. allen, you are recognized for five minutes. >> thank you, chair woman fox, and thank you for being here with us today. you know, essa was a significant bipartisan achievement that we initiated to empower state and local education decisionmaking while attempting to restrain some of the authority of the secretary of education, particularly at the local level. since the law has been enacted my state of georgia has been diligently working with over 140 stakeholders to create a state plan. of course, we call this the bottom up approach rather than the federal top-down approach. georgia has gone to great lengths to maximize the flexibility provided by essa to support its vision of offering a wholisting educati wholisting wholisting -- holistic vision in our state. of course i look forward to working with the department in its interpretation of essa, does not exceed the intent and limits of the law. our goal is to achieve every child succeeds. dr. wright, have you been encountering some of t

madam chair, i yield back. >> thank you. mr. garret, you're recognized for five minutes. >> thank you, madam chair. -- said i think 35 years ago the nine most frightening words from the government and i'm here to help. essa is a 50--year-old precursor to the johnson administration war on poverty. and we've seen money spent on -- candidly from a state where we rank anywhere between fourth and sixth of regulation outcomes of the 50 states on a regular basis, i wonder why we're competing against 49 other states as opposed to other nations because that's the playing field on which our children will ultimately compete. it's often said the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and i've seen far too often -- if you don't support this, you don't care. if you don't support this, you don't like children. if you don't support this, you're not interested in finding solutions to poverty and expanding opportunity. it's all horsefeathers. what we need to be focused on as opposed to intentions is outcomes, results, what happenmizech and i

. >> thank you, madam chairman. the republican budget cuts the supplemental nutrition program by $150 billion, turns it into a block grant program. i open my remarks this morning about a constituent of mine who is trying to survive on $33 a week in step benefits or raising a nine-year-old son. without that $3 $33 she's indicd she is not able to afford the most important food for her son, food with meats, with proteins and iron in them that she needs to keep her child healthy. but this is just one story and the cuts in his budget will harm an estimated 43 million americans who receive snap, almost half of whom are children. in fact, over 80% of snap households are living at or below the poverty line and almost 90% of these participants live in a household with a child under 18, an elderly person over 60, or and individual with disabilities. in addition, one in four children at the department of defense schools are eligible for free lunch. in 2016, $67 billion in food stamps was spent at our commissaries, and 1.5 mill

i yield back, madam chair. >> mr. allen, you're recognized for five minutes. >> thank you, chairwoman fox and thank you for being with us today. e.s.s.a. was a significant achievement we initiated to empower state and local education decision making while attempting to restrain some of the authority particular at the local level. since the law has been enacted my state of georgia has been diligently working with 140 stakeholders to create a stake plan. of course we call this the bottom up approach road and the federal top down approach. georgia has gone to great lengths to maximize the flexibility provided by e.s.s.a., to provide its vision. of course i support this vision and our state's commitment to engaging georgians in this planned development. of course, i look forward to working with the department if the interpretation of e.s.s.a. does not exceed and the attempt and limits of the law. our goal here to achieve the every child succeeds. so dr. wright, have you been encountering some of the same problems georgia

lew for five minutes. >> thank you, madam chair. on june 9th, our secretary of state rex tillerson stated we call on the king of saudi arabia, the uae, bahrain and egypt to ease the blockade on qatar. later that same exact day, donald trump referred to the decision to initiate the blockade as hard but necessary. and then as you know, a few days later, the united states sold $12 million worth of fighter jets to qatar. so my question is to the panel. what is your understanding of the current u.s. position on this so-called blockade? do we support it? do we oppose it? what is the answer to that? >> isle start i guess and think others also have comments. from my perspective, i think we have disagreement inside the administration and for the most part have seen this disagreement. i'm not 100% sure. i do think that what it does do, it causes some confusion because you can't really secretary tiller on is clearly trying to act as a mediator and he's going out there and trying to do that. he had a trip just last week or a couple weeks back t

reed: thank you, madam president. again, let me join the democratic leader in expressing my dismay on what has been going on on the senate floor this week with respect to health care. for over seven years, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have been talking about how they intend to repeal the affordable care act in order to replace it with something better and improve our health care system. president trump has said time and time again that he would provide better health care at lower costs. he said that everyone would be covered. yet, we have seen no solutionses from the other side that would accomplish these goals. we have been trying to work with republicans, not just this year but for the last several years to improve our health care system. in fact, we worked with them to craft the affordable care act in the first place. holding public hearings and meetings with both democrats and republicans around the table, and the affordable care act included well over 150 republican amendments. yet, they refused t

thank you, madam chair. ms. nowicki, did the gao conduct a compliance review on plant components or policy decisions made by states like ohio or california? did gao making value judgments concerning the plaintiff elements or did you just make an observation of those plans? >> just an observation of those plans. we did not make a complaint judgment. >> thank you. and we heard complaints from some representatives of civil rights groups that flexibility could result in an abuse of equity compliance. your plan didn't comment on equity as i understand it or did you contact representatives of parents, state-level advocates, advocates of children with disabilities or civil rights groups? >> generally not for this work we were primarily engage with national stakeholder groups who were working with states. >> thank you. mr. lovell, the whole point of essa is to eliminate achievement gaps providing educational opportunities. you kind of have gone around this but can you show how subgroups so far have addressed equity? >>

schumer: thank you, madam president. now, as soon as tomorrow, we could be voting on a motion to proceed to the republican health care plan. what that plan is, i'm not sure really anybody knows. my friend, the majority whip, when reporters asked him if his own members would know what they would be voting on, said that's a luxury we don't have. we have been on the topic of health care for seven months. republicans have been talking about repealing and replacing the affordable care act for over seven years, and yet here we are one or two days from a vote on the motion to proceed and we don't even know what the republicans plan to vote on. we are potentially one or two days away from a vote on a bill that would reorganize one-sixth of the american economy, impacting tens of millions of american lives, and no one knows what it is. it's sort of like alice in wonderland around here. we're potentially -- it comes down to this bizarre game where the republican leader has basically said let's spin a wheel and see what we're going

madam president, i yield the floor. madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from hawaii. ms. hirono: i notice the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. flake: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. flake: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are. mr. flake: i ask unanimous consent that it be vacated. the presiding officer: is there objection? hearing none, the senator from arizona. mr. flake: mr. president, it's been two months since ambassador lighthizer notified congress of the administration's intent to enter into negotiations with mexico and canada on the north america free trade agreement. during that time i launched something called nafta for az, an initiative to allow arizonans to share their is stories about how nafta changed their lives for the better. i heard from arizonans from across the state working in industries from dairy farmers to call center employees, and the responses that i received are overwhelmingly positiv

smith for texas. >> thank you, madam chair. thank you all for your expertise and your dedication to our country. it really is a privilege for us to hear you all today. you're on the front lines, you know first hand what's going on. mr. luck, before i address some questions to you, let me preface the questions by saying that when i was first elected i represented over 10 miles of texas/mexico border. and that sort of riveted my attention on the particular subject. and over the years i've seen some examples of what works and does not work. and we all know we need a combination of physical structure, personneland technology. in san diego, for example you have a double fence that has succeeded in stopping illegal immigration by about 95%. years ago i know you were inthe el paso seccer chief operations but former member of congress was once the border section chief in he stationed border patrol agents very close together. yearst know if it was 100 but it was, personnel stepped he dopd illegal immigration almost entirely. that was an

thanks to all of you and thank you, madam chair.i yield back. >> at this time i recognized the chairman of the subcommittee on judicial commerce and consumer protection for five minutes. >> thank you very much, madam chair and thank you to our distinguished panel. we appreciate your testimony today. if i could start my question with you, commissioner riley. on the thank you again for coming out to speak to our folks this past year. it is important that folks back home understand and are truly listening to their concerns. i recently introduced a bill, h.r. 3289 that would require the fcc to list and describe all items adopted on delegated authority 48 hours prior to actually being taken. those items are given the delegated authority, it will ensure the commission is appropriately delegating and not passing decision-making and two others were items both new and of policy. i'm pleased to see my bill has been included. based on your statement of support of my bill in the last congress, i believe you agree with the policy. however come i

thank you, madam chair. mr. secretary, good to see you. >> as you know montana is an incredible state known for fly fishing and elk hunting, glacier national park, yellowstone and we're an energy state and we have more recoverable coal thanny state in the united states. i think we strike a pretty good balance. one that believes in the importance of developing our national renatural resources, without doing that, we don't have jobs and low cost, affordable reliable energy sources tax receive news for schools and teachers and as monta montanans may we always be a state where mom and dad can go down to walmart a buy an elk tag, where only the rich and famous can afford to live there. coal, oil and gas are an important component and we balance out a large amount of hydroelectric power and some wind. we have these large deposits of coal. we have critical minerals which we develop responsibly and safely. and i really do believe we can bring this montana balance on a national scale. i think clean coal technology wi

that's what i hear but i can't tell you that madam president because there hasn't been a hearing on the issue to answer that question. it was devastating the entireity country. what will this bill due to our ability to present and treat the opioid crisis that is decimating the country. how will people get the treatment they need today which is inadequate. in my state it is inadequate and i don't think there is a state in the country that today is providing the necessary t treatment for prevention capabilities to deal with this opioid and heroine crisis that is ravaging america.on what impact t do the cuts on tht i understand there is some money going into opioid treatment. but how do you do that without the framework of allowing people the access to get healthcare. what will the additional opioid treatment money mean? in this though there are hundreds of billions of dollars, for the large health insurance companies, the drug companies the medical device companies. in as a nation, are we really interested in giving significant tax breaks to large insurance companies and then throwing chi

. >> thank you, madam chair. my opening remarks, i talked about this news story about the north koreans working on the world cup and figures, that i read, 3,000 any article who talked about the possibility of whether they could be militarized. and this is a scenario that is kind of scary. we talked about the fact that we have our largest military base right there. which is as you said, insane. can you just comment on that possibility, where this is another dimension and another threat to this. because every week it seems that we have to re-evaluate, which is the number one dr. leavitt. could you start? >> i don't want to comment on a report i haven't seen. other than to say the north korea issue is very important and pressing issue and in some ways much more important than this one to be sure. but in general, i think we need to learn ways to be able to leverage conversation, and if necessary pressure on qatar, on a wide array of issues that we have with them and this would be one more. you have to do that in a wa

i cannot tell you definitively madam chair go because of the hearing onut this issue. i don't know how you don't have those of administrators come before the committee or the finance committee toha answer that question.m a the president's comes from a state with the major opioid crisis it is devastating the entire country.il what will this bill do for our ability to prevent and treat the opioid crisis decimating this country from one end to the other? what happens if you cut a hundred billion dollars of medicaid? hata they get the treatment they need which isth inadequate? i don't think there is a state in the country to provide the necessary treatment or prevention and capability to deal with what is ravaging america. but and to have additional money going into a treatment but howard you do that without the framework to get access to health care? in this bill there are still hundreds of billions of dollars of tax breaks to large health insurance companies with medical device companies and tanning salons. are we really interested to get significant tax breaks to large

madam president, i'm frequently asked, well, what should we do? isn't the affordable care act -- doesn't it have problems? doesn't it need to be fixed? well, the affordable care act has done a lot of good. it's given people coverage who never had coverage before. it's reined in the discriminatory practices of insurance companies. it's made a dramatic improvement on dealing with minority health and health disparities. it has provided essential health benefits so that we deal with mental health and addiction. it's done a lot of really good things. but, yes, we could improve it. there's never been a major law passed without us coming back and revisiting it. so why haven't democrats been part of this process? well, madam president, we could not get engaged in this process because the way this bill came to the floor, it didn't come through the health, education, labor and pensions committee. it didn't come through the finance committee, the two committees of jurisdiction that deal with the health care system in this country. instead, it came in through

>> madam chairman?madam chairman, no. >> are there the members who wish to vote or change their what? mr. higgins. how has mr. higgins been then recorded? >> mr. higgins, i go. >> are there any other members opposing? if not the clerk will call the roll. >> mr. chairman on that vote the ayes r. levin and the nose or 20. >> the no's have it the amendment is not agreed to. the committee will vote an amendment offered by ms. lee. the committee will now vote on the amendment offered by ms. gershom. the clerk will read designate the amendment. number 17. we are skipping offered by representative lujan grisham. >> call the roll. [roll call] [roll call] [roll call] [roll call] [roll call] [roll call] [roll call] [roll call] [roll call] >> are there any members who wish to vote or change their vote click seeing none the clerk shall report. >> mr. chairman on that vote the ayes are 12 and the nays are 20. >> the no's have it. the amendment does not agreed to. we will vote on the amendment offered by mr. moulton

madam chair, i yield back. >> the gentleman yield back. mr. doyle. >> thank you, madam chair. i'd like to request unanimous consent to introduce into the record of document with quotes from a number of isp executives claiming that the open internet order will not affect broadband investment as well as a report by the public interest group free press on broadband investment and online video markets that shows investment is thriving under the current rules. >> without objection, so ordered. and mike and i been sitting up here discussing privacy and data security, and solving all of those problems. argue all thrilled? [laughing] and i'm glad we just are so appreciative of you all taking your time. there are no other members in the queue to ask questions of the panel, so pursuant to committee rules i remind all members that they are ten business days in which to submit questions for the record, and we do know that there are additional questions that are going to be submitted to you all as we did miss a hearing we planned for the first quarter. and then we will ask for your respons

welcome, madam chair. my friends across the aisle seem to be relatively excited about lower unemployment, an economy that's picking up. cited the stock market and people's 401-k's are improving, and they want to give you a a lot of high-fives and back slapping. you get all the credit. what changes have you made since november 8 to kick-start this economy and make it grow that you weren't doing before november 8? ms. yellen: what changes have we made to kick-start the economy? mr. duffy: yes. ms. yellen: we have continued on the course that we have been on normalization the path of monetary policy as the economy continues to recover. duffy: the real change has been -- mr. duffy: the real change has been made is we have a new president in the oval office. not get too excited on who improved the economy. i do want to follow-up on what my friend, mr. huizenga, was asking about the gentleman from michigan in regard to the role the fed is playing on corporate board rooms and our financial institutions. you'd ack

. >> madame tussaud's museum. is it mariah? kate gosselin? a drag queen from the abbey?that is supposed to be, drum roll, beyonce. no. no. no. the twitterverse just exploding. accusing the artist of whitewashing the star. >> it looks a little, it is missing some of the >> she's missing the curves for sure. >> it is a little lighter, but it might be the lighting. you never know. maybe. no, it looks like britney. i'm sorry. >> looks like kate gosselin with long hair. >> madame tussauds is fighting back. blaming the lighting saying that lighting within the museum combined with flash photography may distort and misrepresent the color of their wax figures. >> oh. >> that's it. >> still, this is bringing to mind some other wax celebrity catastrophes, including this frightening version of mel gibson. it looks like a hybrid between mel gibson and tom cruise. i don't know what to say about that. >> prince william doesn't exactly look like himself. ooh, somebody was hating on prince william when they put that together. >> that is horrible. okay. >> so madame tussauds strikes again

madam chair i look forward to hearing your answers to our questions. thank you. >> i'll begin and first chair yellen, in a sh

but i can't tell you definitively madam chair -- madam president, because there hasn't been a hearingthat issue. so i don't know how you go forward with legislation without having administrators from rural hospitals coming before the committee -- i'm on the health, education, labor committee; or the finance committee -- to answer that question. the president comes from a state and i come from a state where we have a major opioid crisis. it is devastating the entire country. what will this bill do to our ability to prevent and treat the opioid crisis which is decimating this country from one end of america to the other? what happens if you cut $800 billion in medicaid? how will people get the treatment that they need today, which is inadequate. in my state it's inadequate. i don't think there is a state in the country which today is providing the necessary treatment or prevention capabilities to deal with this opioid and heroin crisis which is ravaging america. what impact will $800 billion cut on that? i understand there is additional money going into opioid treatment here, but how do

cornyn: thank you, madam president. i know we're all glad to be back in washington, d.c. at work after a few days back home, and i know many of us are eager to continue our work to rescue the american people from the failures of the affordable care act, otherwise known as obamacare. the failures of obamacare are well dowcted and while they don't -- documented and while they don't necessarily apply to everyone, in particular individuals and small businesses in the so-called individual market have seen a meltdown of the insurance exchanges. the presiding officer in her home state of ie warks you've had insurance -- iowa, you've had insurance companies pulling out to the point people can't find an insurance carrier that will sell a policy that qualifies under the affordable care act. that is because the affordable care act was, unfortunately, a partisan exercise and a failed big government experiment that has failed. all you have to do is look at the promises that were made at the time that obamacare was being sold back in 2009 and 2010. but the president himself said that i

madam chair, thank you for your service. when you were here last in february we discussed the economic impact of loss to access to health insurance. you said then that large scale loss of access to health insurance could have a significant impact on household spending for goods and services. that could also impact job mobility, make it more difficult for people to leave jobs for new positions or start a new business because they would be risking their access to health insurance. is that a view you still hold today and why? >> i really can't quantify any of those effects, but clearly spending on health care is an important aspect of household budgets and changes there could have an effect on spending on a wide range of goods and services in the economy. access to health care is important. i think research suggests that a certain amount of so-called job lock reflects a desire of workers to hang onto employer provided health care. i can't tell you quantitatively, however, how important that is. >> in your testimony you mentione