mr. blumenthal: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. blumenthal: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: no. mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. we are at a critical point in our investigation in russia with their meddling and obstruction of justice that may have occurred. those issues are under investigation by the judiciary committee which has a unique responsibility because we exercise oversight concerning the department of justice and the f.b.i. so the firing of james comey, among other actions that raise issues regarding potential collusion and obstruction of justice is very much appropriate and necessary for our inquiry to determine. and we also have a unique responsibility because only the judiciary committee can make public for the american people to know and understand what happened that may involve obstruction of justice and equally important, what can be done to prevent it in the future. the committee on the judiciary of the united states senate can legislate. there are other investigations swro going -- ongoing

mr. blumenthal: mr. president? the presiding officer: the distinguished senator from connecticut. mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. i thank my colleague from alaska for yielding, and i want to begin where he finished on the need for a bipartisan approach, one that combines different points of view, one based on compromise. compromise should not be a dirt ity word. compromise is not a four-letter word. neither is bipartisanship. and yet our republican colleagues have insisted on a republican plan, on plan that they first have rammed and rushed through the house of representatives and now in the same way have sought to do on their own, without consultation or compromise. and that's why the process has reached this point. it has stalled. my republican colleagues are scrambling for a solution to an overwhelming, oppressive debt that they would force on the american people, not on ourselves but on our children and our grandchildren, generations to come, searching and scrambling for a so-called trigger, another gimmick to be inserted in this bill which already underestimates the addi

mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. unlike past occasions when i have spoken here on the topic of gun violence prevention, i'm actually pleased to talk about some good news. a powerful alliance across the aisle has enabled us to introduce this morning a measure that will be a modest but significant breakthrough. it is a breakthrough in hopefully providing better data, more complete information for the database that provides for background checks. it is essential that more accurate and thorough data be provided in the database because background checks are no better than the information provided to them, as we have seen again and again and again in sutherland springs most recently but also charleston and blacksburg where individuals legally barred from accessing pharma were permitted to do so because of gaps in the nics system. each of those killers walked out of a gun store having purchased firearms from a federally licensed dealer, even though they should have been ineligible because of gaps in the reporting system. th

mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, the magnitude of this moment should be apparent to all. a sitting united states president's campaign chief and his protege have been indicted for conspiring against the united states. another campaign advisor has pleaded guilty for lying to the f.b.i. about meetings with russians. at those meetings, he illegally discussed obtaining dirt on the president's political opponent and e-mails that had been stolen two points need to be underscored for the american people. first, these indictments and conviction are a sober, shattering moment in american history. second, all of us on both sides of the aisle should come together to support the work of the special counsel and assure that he is able to follow the facts and the law and all of the evidence wherever they may lead. this moment will stand as a landmark in american history just as many of the moments in watergate did as well. this investigation has proceeded more quickly than watergate did. john mitchell was indicted in 1974

mr. blumenthal, we're talking about the hard working americans in your district that gets a $2,333 tax cut. that's a medium four person household estimate. $2,333. what you're saying this amendment is, if we can't cut spending, if we can't balance our budget, if we can't do what we're asking hard working americans to do, then we're going to take that back away from you. shame on us. because that hard working american needs that 2,333. my friend from texas, is getting $1,208. what we're saying, if we can't balance our books and look at the real problem with our deficit we're going to take that back from you because we need it. that is what the american people are sick and tired of hearing. they're sick and tired of hearing a federal government that keeps spending more money than they're bringing in and they're the ones paying for it. and yet this, we talked about this yesterday. the amount of money they're going to get back will help them. but you keep want to talk about the fairy dust people. let's talk about the middle american people. let's talk about the firefighter, the police officer,

mr. blumenthal: thanks, mr. president. i'm honored to follow my distinguished colleague from new hampshire and begin actually where she finished. this massive tax cut has indeed so many ticking time bombs that are unknown at the moment because it has been rushed and rammed through this body as well as the house, without the kind of regular order that should be given, the intense scrutiny and attention that is due an historic massive measure of this kind. and the idea that it has regular sponsored absolutely absurd. if this is regular order -- and the idea that it has regular order is absolutely absurd. if this is regular order, it is surely regular order-light. there have barely been the most cursory of hearings, no real markup, no real opportunity for the public to be heard, no real scrutiny of the complicated and numerous provisions that will affect people for years, decades, maybe generations to come. the last tax cut was in 1985, the last so-called reform passed in the mid-1980's involved scores of hearings and meeting

mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. we are here in the wake of yet another senseless mass shooting. again we continue to watch in horror a community torn apart and families seeking solace and comfort, loved ones deprived of people close to them forever. we know about that feeling in connecticut because we have been through it at sandy hook just five years ago almost to the month. next month will be the fifth anniversary. but every day in america in communities across this great country there are senseless similar acts of violence one by one, person by person. every day there is a mass instance of people dying of gun violence. so the danger is that this kind of incident will become a normal way of life in america. we cannot allow ourselves to become desensitized. we cannot lose hope that action is possible. we cannot allow ourselves to become used to this supposed normal and we cannot be complacent or hopeless. our hearts and prayers are with the brave souls who are enduring this unspeakable grief and pain. again, we kno

mr. blumenthal's amendment. we would've gladly accepted this for the of affordable care act. it was fully paid for a fully offset and still is today. was spending offsets and revenue, it's a $300 billion surplus of that bill. so, yes, let's also remind ourselves that in 16 of the last 20 years in congress, you have been in charge. during the four years the democrats were in majority, the only bill that came forward that wasn't fully paid for was the american recovery act because you're not withdrawing liquidity from the economy when you're trying to pump simon. there was only bill not paid for during the four years of democratic majority. we are getting tired of cleaning up the fiscal mess that the republicans leave for the next generation. it's happening again today. it is a missed opportunity. not everyone is going to benefit. the new york times said the republican plan would raise taxes on millions. this was based on an analysis. a washington organization and their analysis of the senses put business data. in fact, in the joint committee on taxation they said by 2023, over

mr. chairman. blumenthal. >> thank you mr. chairman. thank you for having this hearing. thank you to the witnesses for today.ere i think almost every american consumer at this point is aware risks thatceptable are entailed in many of our risk to theirices privacy information that they expect and reasonably anticipate be safeguarded by companies with them.iness where they are customers. breach in particular federalhe limits of the trade commission ability to protect customers and impose companies that negligenceata with and recklessness. why of the examples security can be met only with and promises to do time. next the real deterrence will come imposedse penalties are on executives like one today. our data can'td be trusted, then the government the tools to go after hackers and thieves and accountable.s common sense legislation i've breachced the data accountability enforce amount of 2017 would ensure that the ftc any data breach by any company or organization that hold sensitive consumer data including nonprofit and penalties that are actually sufficiently strong to mot

mr. chairman. >> senator blumenthal. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i want to join the comments of my colleagues calling attention to the importance of personnel for all the extraordinary equipment and advanced technology we bring to bear at the battlefield. it is at the end of the day our people who are our greatest resource. i would second senator the remarks made previously about the excellent qualifications of these nominees and i want to thank and congratulate each of you. before i ask any questions, i want to just raise for the committee's consideration news about the ruling in a case now pending in guantanamo, in fact, camp justice, as it is perhaps incorrectly called there, a ruling by air force colonel vans spate presiding over a case holding in contempt of course brigadier general john baker, a 28 year marine corps veteran, second highest ranking marine corps lawyer sentencing him to 21 days of confinement and a $1,000 fine simply for raising the issue about a potential conflict of interest or ethical problem with the three lawyers who were

mr. chairman. >> senator blumenthal. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i want to join the comments of my colleagues calling attention to the importance of personnel for all the extraordinary equipment and advanced technology we bring to bear at the battlefield. it is at the end of the day our people who are our greatest resource. i would second senator the remarks made previously about the excellent qualifications of these nominees and i want to thank and congratulate each of you. before i ask any questions, i want to just raise for the committee's consideration news about the ruling in a case now pending in guantanamo, in fact, camp justice, as it is perhaps incorrectly called there, a ruling by air force colonel vans spate presiding over a case holding in contempt of course brigadier general john baker, a 28 year marine corps veteran, second highest ranking marine corps lawyer sentencing him to 21 days of confinement and a $1,000 fine simply for raising the issue about a potential conflict of interest or ethical problem with the three lawyers who were

richard blumenthal saying today he feels duped by mr.oss' lack of transparency. >> he came before us and he apparently deliberately concealed these ownership interests. there ought to be hearings. if he fails to provide a convincing and compelling explanation, he ought to resign because this stake in a company with such close ties to putin's son-in-law, the russian oligarch subject to sanctions raises profound questions about whether he can put the nation's interest above his own. >>> wilbur ross told cnbc today he did properly disclose his interest in the russia-linked company navigator three times on the required disclosure form. the panel is back with us along with phil rucker. what makes this a story every time is that it's never that anyone -- i think we have a graphic of eight or nine or ten connections now between the trump campaign and russia. there we go. in the family, it's donald trump jr. and jared. in the business, michael cohen. on the campaign, papadopoulos, manafort, carter page, michael flynn and jeff sessions. and we'd

blumenthal. >> thank you mr. chairman. thank you to the witnesses for being here today. i think almost every american consumer at this point is aware thate unacceptable risk are entailed in many of our business practices, risks to the privacy. expect,ion that they and reasonably anticipate will be safeguarded by companies that do business with them. and where their customers. the equifax breach in particular the vulnerability to trade commission, and impose civil penalties on companies that treat our data with negligence and recklessness. under current law, even some of the most egregious examples of lack security can be met only with apologies. and promises. to do better next time. not fines or other penalties or real deterrence that provide incentives to business executives to actually do better. the real deterrence will, windows penalties are imposed on executives like the ones before us today. if the entities that hold our data cannot be trusted to protect it, then the government needs to have the tools to not only go after hackers and thieves, but also hold companie

mr. mueller puts a pall on the entire process when he ignores this conflict that he obviously has. >> shannon: i want to read something from senator blumenthalof course a democrat in the senate side. he has this to say about where we are right now with the indictments this week and the one plea deal we saw. "there are clearly facts and evidence that show collusion by the trump campaign with the russians, at least individuals involved in the trump campaign. we are nowhere near the end of this investigation. there is a lot more to be known." obviously, there are congressional investigations going along with for the special counsel. this is the first time i have heard someone step up and say that they have evidence of collusion. >> we need to see that because we certainly haven't seen it yet. the one collusion evidence we have seen is the uranium one deal. if you really want to look at that clearly, the same month that the uranium one deal was accomplished, bill clinton was paid a half a million dollars. for just one speaking engagement. five times as much as the russians spent on their famous facebook ads and half of those ran after the electi

mr. chairman. speaking in opposition to the amendment even though we get along very well blumenthal. in two years not good, four years not good but unfortunately down here we look at ten-year periods before we actually score thin things. it makes it a little bit difficult. let me say what i want to speak on. one of the things we're leaving out is not about this tax bill or believe it will make american lives better or not going to make american lives better. truth of the matter is it's going to create new jobs, more money in the pocket of every day american taxpayers. as it goes on, will we look at things and say, boy, i wish i had done that differently. but the one thing i don't hear is our belief in the american people and their understanding of opportunity and their understanding of what's out there that i can actually act on and make a better life for my wife, my children, my grandchildren and future generations. we all agree that the status quo is not acceptable. we want to see things change. but i can tell you from my experience, and i've heard mr. teeberry talk about this, i w

mr. blumenthal: i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: