. >> senator merkley. senator merkley: did wells fargo create a sales pressure cooker that put -- between a rock and a hard place? mr. stumpf: i do not believe that. senator merkley: let me continue. a branch manager says regional bosses required hourly conferences on the florida branch's progress on accounts suchelling managers extras as overdraft protection. employees that fell behind had to stay late and work weekend and then came threats, anyone falling short after two months would be fired and we were constantly being told we would work with mcdonald's or it if we did not meet sales quotas we had to say for after school detention it felt like on saturday. is that a pressure cooking situation putting tellers and bankers in an impossible situation? mr. stumpf: that has no place in our culture and it has no place and it hurt to read that. senator merkley: it says managers coast -- coached members on how to inflate sales numbers and the use the database for customers who had been preapproved for credit ca

senator merkley. enator merkley: i showed interviews. employees who were given daily quotas for, quote, daily solutions. that's sales of accounts that they had to stay late or come in weekends if they didn't meet them. high pressure sales meetings. bonuses that were tied to meeting those -- the threats of being put on probation or being fired because they did not meet those quotas. in some cases, managers conducting coaching sessions on how to meet the quotas through meeting those accounts. our regional sales meetings conducted on an hourly basis to keep checking in. in this whole structure that was established in the wells fargo culture of how to do intensive cross-sales, was this a high pressure sales culture for the people who were the person bankers and the tellers? just each of you of your opinion on that? mr. curry: yes. i think that's what we were addressing in our supervisory letter in june of 2015. those were all deficiencies. senator merkley: thank you. do both of you agree to that? mr. clark: it was excruciating he lie pressur

senator merkley, the ranking member, is en route. and his proxy is -- at least he's described himself as the senator merkley's proxy is here. we'll begin. i'll give my opening statement, and perhaps by then senator merkley will be here, and then we'll go to testimony. and the senator from montana has a scheduling issue. we'll try get to him very quickly. we are pleased to have with us -- and i thank dr. janet woodcock for joining us. she is at the fda center for drug evaluation and research. and their mission, that agency's mission, is to make certain that the public has access to safe and effective drugs. earlier this summer, kansans and people, families with allergies, children had allergies, they had allergies, were faced with the dramatic increase in the cost of the epinephrine injectors or epipens. and in my view, that raises issues for us as appropriators for the food and drug administration in this sense -- the food and drug administration does not have jurisdiction over cost or price of drugs. they're be a regulator in that r

merkley: it is yes or no. mr. stumpf: there were 2 million accounts we could not rule out that had a possibility of being authorized. rep. merkley: did you ever disclose the systemic problem of fraudulent accounts to investors? mr. stumpf: it was not a material event. rep. merkley: you brag about the intense ability to get cross-selling and how it would be beneficial, but the problem that came from that strategy, the very problems that dozens and dozens of people have shared their stories about, how it was on the ground, and you can blame them for the ethical lapses, but you never disclosed there was a problem. you signed the reports personally paired didn't you think that that -- personally. it you think that was material? this is our big win, the cross-selling strategy. and not disclosing there was a dark side. mr. stumpf: there was a lot of things our customers do and a lot of businesses we have. this is one ratio. most were off the books. they went on and off in the same corporate having a product they do not

merkley: your rise. you have a scheduling -- sen. merkley: when he arrives. have a scheduling issue. >> that the doctor have a statement? sen. moran: yes. dr. woodcock, the floor is yours. you, mr.ock: thank chairman, for this opportunity to testify. fda has no role in setting drug pricing. there to enhance competition, which has been shown to decrease drug prices. would like to go through some of the actions we do take that enhance competition. we often approve multiple drugs in a therapeutic class. they are separate drugs. for example, there are a lot of antibiotics out there, and so , and there a class may be a lot of drugs that compete in the market. also, we often approve different versions of a marketed drug once passions of exquisite -- once patents of exclusivity have expired. it is part of the legislation. these copies also can compete with the marketed drug. under the generics program, multiple more or less exact copies of a branded drug can be produced once all exclusivity patents have expired. recently, very recently, we cr oved eight generic drug

merkley's questions. senator merkley's questions. you know, one of the things that we need to do is get a process for generics where we give advice to complicated generics before they come in and send in an application. that's what we negotiate under the prescription drug user fee act for the new drugs. and that's something that there's great interest in. and having a program so that for these complicated things, it isn't just a pill, we can interact with companies and give them advice and tell them what to do. so both this workload -- let's not call it a backload, but our large workload we have now, part of which is inherited from the things that are cycling multiple times, is on everyone's mind. and it's definitely part of our discussions is how to deal with that. >> can you report anything about the status of those negotiations, or is that beyond your -- >> i can say, with the industry, they've concluded, and, obviously, there are many other steps. we'd have to have a public meeting as described in a statute and, of course, we'll

. >>> the merkley head into indiana for the wnba playoffs with prism on the go from centurylink, you can get your favorite shows right on your devices pretty much everywhere you go. um, paul, that was great. i like how you can walk around and watch your shows. meets "un giorno nella vita." or early film noir. like "whispering city." but the french version. i'm just gonna take a drumstick there. hmm, it's a bit derivative. mom: and your suggestion? "the pottery maker"? son: no. "the summer of my despondency." >>> about a quarter to 5:00 here as we take a look at the town lake, beautiful stuff, 81 degrees and iris is working on the most accurate forecast to send us into the weekend as well. we'll have to see what the next couple days hold for us. christopher? >>> dan, listen to this. isis may be upping the game against the u.s. and iraqi troupes. the terror group is suspected of firing a shell filled with mustard gas that landed at an air base in troops there had to go through the decontamination process. one called the shell poorly constructed. >>> the department of veterans affairs t

. >>> joi us now is senator jeff merkley, a democrat from oregon who demanded answer from wells fargooday on capitol hill. welcome. >> good to be with you. >> it seemed to me that senators from both side of the aisle were really grilling stumpf today and concerned about accountability. you, for one, also believe he should resign. do you also believe he should be criminally investigated? >> i think -- not as a criminal expert, but i believe what happened under his watch, and the fact that he signed statements to investors that indicated none of this, disclosed none of this, does suggest there is a lot to be investigated here. but here's the big picture. wells fargo set up a high-pressure sales operation. they proceeded to have daily kwoets for people. they had to come in the evening, on the weekend. they got lectured, got hourly calls at regional level, establishing how man counts had set up in a particular day. individuals were threatened with being written up if they didn't meet their total or being fired. very high pressure. and what the president of the bank came in today, the ceo

chairman: senator merkley. >> thank you. mr.mpf, did wells fargo create a pressure cooker sales culture that put personal bankers and tellers in a possible situation between a rock and a hard place? mr. stumpf: i do not believe that. you know, the vast majority. rep. merkley: that may continue. you got your answer, thank you. so rita murillo, a branch manager, says, regional bosses required hourly conferences on her florida branch's progress toward daily quotas for opening accounts and selling customers extras, such as overdraft protection, an issue that hasn't been addressed yet. employees who lagged behind had to stay late and work weekends. then came the threats, anyone falling short after two months would be fired. we were constantly told we'd be working for mcdonald's. if we did not make the sales quotas, we had to stay for after school detention, it felt like, or report to a call session on saturdays. is that a pressure culture situation, putting tellers and personal bankers in an impossible situation? mr. stumpf: senator,

merkley: today i rise to discuss an issue vital to our country and planet, climate change. when president kennedy told the nation we would land a man on the moon by the end. 160's, he said "we choose to go to the moon in this decade and do other things, not because they are easy but because they are hard, because that challenge is one we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win." it was an ambitious goal, one that many believe was beyond reach. the technology was not all in place. but on july 20, 1969, america and the entire world watched neal armstrong take one giant leap for mankind and become the first human to walk on the moon. it was a powerful moment. we achieved president kennedy's vision. we accomplished the improbable. we accomplished what many people thought was impossible. because america and the american people are known for overcoming great challenges and achieving the impossible and because we set an ambitious goal that inspired us to push past the limits of what we had previously thought achievable, and now we ha

. >> senator merkley? >> thank you, mr. stumpf, did wells fargo create a pressure cooker sales culture that put personal bankers and tellers in an impossible situation, between a rock and a hard place? >> i do not believe that. because 98 -- the vast majority -- >> let me continue. i got your answer, thank you. so rita morrilla, a branch manager says "regional bosses required hourly conferences toward daily quotas for opening accounts and selling customers extra such as overdraft protection, an issue that hasn't been addressed yet. employees who lagged behind had to stay late and work weekends. then came the threats. anyone falling short after two months would be fired. we were constantly told we'd be working for mcdonald's. if we didn't make the sales quotas, we had to stay for afterschool detention, it felt like, or report the a call session on saturdays." is that a pressure culture situation? putting tellers and personal bankers in an impossible situation? >> senator, that has no place in our culture. i read that and it

that would be heller 4981 and merkley 4991. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. the clerk will report the amendments. the clerk: the senator from oklahoma, mr. inhofe, proposes four other senators, amendments number 4981 and 4991. mr. inhofe: i ask unanimous consent that the senate now vote on these amendments en bloc. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. inhofe: i know of no further debate on these amendments. the presiding officer: there is no further debate. all those in favor say aye. opposed, nay. the ayes appear to to have t the ayes do have it. the amendments are greed en bloc. -- are agreed to en bloc. mr. mccain: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. mccain: madam president, the last few weeks, my home state of arizona has been thrust into the national spotlight. i wish i could say it's because of the success of our sports teams or the strength of our universities. instead, it's because arizona has become ground zero for the collapse of obamacare. leaving most of our citizens

merkley: mr. president i rise today like many of my colleagues to express frustration and outrage that we are once again considering leaving town without helping the people of flint michigan, without helping people in other communities afflicted by lead poisoning across our nation. it is the height of irresponsibility and it is neglecting our duty as representatives of the american people. it has now been over a year since doctors first reported high levels of lead in children's blood caused by flint's water supply, and nine months of health officials report an increase in cases of legionnaires' disease connected to the city of flint changing its source of water. but still the 100,000 residents of flint are unable to drink the city's water so they're still tied to bottled water for use after use. and up to 12,000 children living in flint now have to live with the specter of what their future might be after being exposed to lead in their water and we know what lead does to developing brain cells. i

senator merkley and i will be there in a few days. we understand the families and the friends of those lost, injured, students, faculty and staff. this anniversary is going to be a painful remierpd -- reminder of an extraordinarily difficult day. senator merkley and i are so proud of that community. we call it ucc strong. and yet we want to remember those individuals whose lives were ripped away that day and all in the community who have been suffering. other goanans every -- oregonians everywhere have those families and victims in their thoughts. senator merkley and i have spent a lot of time in rosenberg over these last fuel months and folks there will tell you they do all they can to go forward, but the trauma doesn't really disappear, whether it's a walk past snyder hall or the sight of a student running on campus, the painful memories just keep rushing back. as the school presses on, there are a lot of exciting developments on the campus. a new college president hard at work. the school just opened their doors to the new bonnie f