mr. blumenthal introduced the case in 1998 when he was connecticut's attorney general. that is live monday, starting at noon eastern on c-span. >> crews in puerto rico are still working to restore power after damage created by hurricane maria lester. on capitol hill, the senate energy and national resources to me held a hearing. along with the ceo of the puerto rico power authority on how much power has been restored. >> good morning, the committee will come to order. we are here today to learn more about the work that has been completed, the work that is still underway as we seek to restore electricity to the people rigo -- the people of puerto rico and discuss moving forward. so much remains to be accomplished. we will also take a close look at the proposal to reform the islands energy sector, such as the governor's proposal with regards to the puerto rico electric power authority and the puerto

mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i request by unanimous consent that my legislative fellow collin anderson be granted floor privileges until the end of jun. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, only in washington, d.c., and perhaps only in the walls of this capitol, is net neutrality regarded as a partisan issue. only here are there accusations that the left or the right favor a position on net neutrality. and the rest of america, net neutrality is bipartisan. in fact, nonpolitical. it is the lifeblood of the internet. it is the animating principle that enables companies and individuals to have equal access to the internet without blocki blocking, discriminating, price gouging, or favoring of some companies at the expense of others. in fact, in legislatures across the country like connecticut's, there have been proposals to do there what we are seeking to do here. that is, to preserve an open internet in accordance with the open internet order w

blumenthal: those memos were instructions -- mr. ylie: instructions, or rather advice, from lawyers to executives. when i was there, i did not see -- sen. blumenthal: in practice, the instructions were not followed. mr. wylie: no. sen. blumenthal: can you provide some specific examples of your direct knowledge of either focus groups or other efforts to suppress voting? mr. wylie: in terms of specifics, i am happy to work with the committee to give a more full explanation. i understand there is limits on time. of research that was being looked at about what motivates and what de-motivates different types of people. if you focus on messaging that de-motivates certain types of people, you decrease the amount of turnout. sen. blumenthal: thank you. dr. jamison, you served as part of the agency landing team in the transition for the federal communications commission for president-elect trump, correct? mr. jamison: yes. sen. blumenthal: during that time, did you have any contact with michael cohen about fcc policy? during the transition? m

mr. wylie: no. senator blumenthal: would you be willing to provide them to this committee? mr. wylie: i will consult my lawyers the best way to get you that information. senator blumenthal: thank you. during your time at cambridge analytica, my understanding is the you are aware of founders or funders, including obert mercer, providing moneys so that they would not be, quote, necessarily considered declareable campaign contributions. are you aware of conversations to that effect by mr. mercer or anyone else? mr. wylie: what i'm referencing is what was explained to me after i inquired as to the relatively convoluted setup that was happening in the united states. with respect to the setup of cambridge analytica. what was explained to me is there was -- this is the primary reason. so it could be an ancillary benefit. when you vin -- invest money as an investor into a company you own, it doesn't necessarily constitute an electoral contribution, which -- senator blumenthal: let me cut to the intent of my question. was there specific explanation to you that the purpose of structuring

mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. i ask that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, the consumer product safety commission is a small agency with a major mission. its goal is to protect the public from the threats of injury or death associated with defective and dangerous products. that mission is more important today than ever before because consumers face dangers from fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazards. not only consumers but their children and families. and so that agency is already resource starved. it is already depleted in terms of the support that it needs in congress, and already it needs zealous and relentless advocacy. the individuals who are members of that board should be dedicated to that mission and to the safety and well-being of consumers above all. that's their mission. and so today when we consider the nomination of dana baiocco, we should keep in mind that no matter how able and skilled and experien

mr. blumenthal introduced the case in 1998 when he was connecticut's attorney general. that is live on monday starting at noon eastern on c-span. ♪ former aide to president carter will join us to talk about his book about the former president's years in the white house. we'll discuss the cold war as part of the 1968, america in turmoil in series. be sure to watch c-span's washington journal live at 7:00 eastern on sunday morning. join the discussion. mike braun is running against joe donnelly in the midterm elections. vice president mike pence was there in his home state. this is just under an hour and a half. [cheering] boy did he make a great choice.

mr. blumenthal introduced the case in 1998 when he was connecticut's attorney general. that is live monday, starting at noon eastern on c-span. >> crews in puerto rico are still working to restore power after damage created by hurricane maria lester. on capitol hill, the senate energy and national resources to me held a hearing. along with the ceo of the puerto rico power authority on how much power has been restored. >> good morning, the committee will come to order. we are here today to learn more about the work that has been completed, the work that is still underway as we seek to restore electricity to the people rigo -- the people of puerto rico and discuss moving forward. so much remains to be accomplished. we will also take a close look at the proposal to reform the islands energy sector, such as the governor's proposal with regards to the puerto rico electric power authority and the puerto rico energy commission. a hearing we held last november on hurricane recovery efforts, i suggested at that time that there are essentially three different tenants for the rest

senator blumenthal: thanks to senator klobuchar. mr. wylie, are you aware of services performed by a -- by cambridge analytica for american clients for free or as in-kind contributions at the expense of another entity? mr. wylie: specifically, no, but what i would say to that is that the money invested by robert mercer in the tens of millions allowed the company at least when i was there to work on projects and charge clients substantially less money for the work that was being done. than it would have actually caused if the customer had been paying for it entirely themselves. sen. blumenthal: your response goes back to my earlier question about the commingling of funds as an investment. in other words, characterizing money put into cambridge analytica as an investment rather than a contribution, and thereby used for a variety of different campaigns, but reported as a contribution for none of them, correct? mr. wylie: because, as i understand it, and i am not an expert in this, and as i understand it, one of the ancillary benefits of th

senator blumenthal, mr. smith representatives , wagner, walters, bass and many others who have worked on this. to step back for a moment, i joined the american hotel and lodging association just over four years ago after working on capitol hill. a couple weeks into my job i got , a phone call from a senate office asking what our industry was doing on human trafficking. i was honestly taken aback and confused. i didn't know why they were calling us even though i had worked on trafficking on capitol hill, i hadn't come across the connection to hotels. i told him i'd look into it and get back to them. i did not know what i would find. i started asking around the office, asking our members. i was incredibly pleased to find out we had indeed been very engaged on this issue. i found out very quickly, the most significant single action 2013, the year before i joined the association, we worked with carol and her team at ecpat to design a training program, an online training module geared specifically for hotel emplo

they push through legislation on bills and senator grassley, cornyn, portman, blumenthal, mr. smith, representatives wagoner, walters, bass and many others that have worked on this. step back for a moment, i joined the american hotel and lodging association just over four years ago after working on capitol hill. in a couple of weeks into my job i got a phone call from the senate office. as in whatever industry was doing on human trafficking. and i was honestly taken back and confused. i do not know why they were calling us. why they were asking even though i had worked in human trafficking on capitol hill, i hadn't come across the connection to hotels. i told them i would look into it and get back to them. i do not know what i was going to find. i started asking around the office and asking our members. it was incredibly, i was pleased to find out we had been very engaged in this issue. i found it very quickly, perhaps the most significant thing was most significant single action we took was in 2013. the air before joined the association we work with carol and her team at ecpa

mr. wylie: you will have to ask cambridge analytica and black cube that. >> i will defer to sen. blumenthal: then go after him. thanks toumenthal: senator klobuchar. mr. wylie, are you aware of services performed by a cambridge analytical for american clients for free or as in-kind contributions at the expense of another entity? specifically, no, but what i would say to that is that the money invested by robert mercer in the tens of millions allowed the company at least when i was there to work on projects and charge clients substantially less money for the work that was being done. than it would have actually caused if the customer had been paying for it entirely themselves. sen. blumenthal: your response goes back to my earlier question about the commingling of funds as an investment, in other words, characterizing money put into cambridge analytica as an investment rather than a contribution, and thereby used by a variety of different campaigns, but reported as a contribution for none of them, correct? mr. wylie: because as i understand it, and i am not an expert in this, and as i unders

mr. chair. >> senator kaine, want to thank you for participating in the marine spouses meeting yesterday morning. appreciate your focus on the issue. senator blumenthal. >> thanks, mr. chairman, and i want to reiterate my thanks to all of the families as the numbers of deployments have increased and the proportion of americans involved directly in these wars over the last 15 years has diminished. we've been fighting a longer period in time in our history than ever before, a small part of the population that exacts a heavy toll on the families and i appreciate your efforts on those issues and we need to do more and better to support them. mr. secretary, in last year's ndaa i required through an amendment that i offered or the nda did, the navy to submit a report on how the maintenance backlog will be addressed. i know there's been some discussion already this morning. the report delivered in fbi stated, quote, the navy intends to execute all the workload program at the naval shipyards with no availabilities moving from public to the private sector. in the house armed services committee just last month, you stated and acknowledged that private yards ha

mr. chairman. >> thank you senator. i need to apologize to senator hassan. she should have been recognized before senator bloomenthol. -- before senator blumenthal. >> you can blame it on me mr. chairman. >> okay. and so, senator you are now recognized. senator hassan: thank you chairman wicker and ranking member shots. i am having an afternoon where i would like to have roller skates so sitting still for a couple of minutes is a good thing. to all of the panelists, thank you very much for being here. it is excellent to hear from all of you about what the future holds for the mobile economy. jobs, new efficiencies. we really do hold great promise. and that is why i work with senator gardner and we are working with others who introduced the airways app and creating the safe pipeline for the resource the economy needs on. this will make major investments broad band promote inknow nation. the air waves act will ensure that the united states is prepared to engage in the global race. do you agree the additional spectrum is necessary for the mobile economy of the future? and if you do, do you agree the steps were necessary for the mobile economy to thrive and for

that have pushed through legislation on the hills and senator grassley and portman blumenthal and a house in addition to mr, representatives wagner, walters, bass, and many others who have worked on this. so to step back for a moment i joined american hotel lodging association just over four years ago after working on capitol hill. and i think a couple of weeks into my job i got a phone call from a senate office asking what our industry wases doing on human trafficking. and a i was honestly taken aback and confused i didn't know why they were calling us why they were asking even though i had worked on huge trafficking on capitol hill i hadn't come across to connection to hotels so, you know, i told them i would look into it and get back to them and i dtack to them and i didn't know what i would find but first i was asking our members and in the office and it was incredibly pleased to find out that we indeed have been engaged in this issue i found out -- very quickly perhaps the most significant thing or most significant single action we've taken it was in 2013, the year before i join ared the association w

mr. chairman. >> well, thank you. thank you, senator. senator blumenthal in this group can do a lot with seven seconds, right? i can't. but i've got five minutes, and i want to thank all of you for being here. i'm a longtime supporter of this measure, the omnibus bill, and i want to thank senator hatch and my colleagues on this committee and all of you for being here. as this committee considers legislation that aims to bring more certainty and fairness to the music licensing marketplace, i understand that the head of the department of justice antitrust division macon deller home, is considering terminating the ascap and bmi consent decrees. as you know, these consent decrees form the foundation of the public performance licensing marketplace. they are extremely abstruce and incriminal to most of the fans who consume these products, but they are central to the structure that we have right now, and i have serious concerns about the department of justice undertaking that kind of action. particularly if it does not first work with congress to ensure we have a

mr. trump did not break any campaign finance laws. joining us to talk about this and more we have democratic senator richard blumenthal of connecticut.thanks for being here. >> great to be with you. >> so giuliani's newest version of events is that when he himself saw in whatever financial records there are that president trump had been paying michael cohen $35,000 a month as a retainer, he, giuliani, said aha, there is the reimbursement. and in fact kristen welker of nbc spoke to giuliani last night and tweeted this at midnight. giuliani said he made the president aware of paperwork that showed payments were actually reimbursements for stormy and that's when the president replied, oh, my goodness, i guess that's what it was for. gee whiz! i inserted the gee whiz. what do you make of that version of that events? >> gee whiz! i have a lot of trouble believing that version of events. it's clearly damage control, but i think it's going to backfire because there are records that have been seized from michael cohen. and those documents and bank statements and recordings of conversations if there are any are going to tell a very compelling

mr. mueller. no penalty legally for that. >> dana: take a listen to vice president pence on the mueller probe and then we will play for you senator blumenthal, his reaction to that. >> it's been a year since the investigation began. we have provided a million documents and we fully cooperated in it. in the interest of the country it's time to wrap it up. i would very respectfully encourage the special counsel and his team to bring their work to completion. >> that statement by vice president pence is truly chilling. it is ominous. not only as to the special counsel robert mueller but also as to rod rosenstein. i have begun to think that the threat to the deputy attorney general who controls mag my nude and the scope and the timing of this investigation is as dire as it is to bob mueller. >> dana: what is happening here? >> a lot of street theater, actually. on the pure legal front, the ability to preserve evidence will go on no matter who is in charge of d.o.j. or the probe. so if mueller were to walk away or be fired from the probe. it's not every interview report, or every piece of physical evidence or pen register from a telephone disapp

mr. speaker terry. since the majority in the minority if agreed the conclusion of their remarks of senator blumenthal will be adjourned. senator blumenthal is recognized. >> am i recognized? >> yes you are. >> thank you. i want to first and foremost apologize for being absent for a large part of the hearing. a lot has been going on in this committee and other committees and i will ask one brief question and perhaps supplement the record with others. have you seen any change in north korea's cyber activities since the diplomatic discussion concerning a meeting between kim and president trump? >> we have not seen a change. i didn't specifically go and look at this in the last week or two but i get the reports routinely, frankly so i cannot give you a good answer on that, straight answer so i can get back to you. >> because i have the impression over the years i've been on the armed services committee that the cyberactivity has mounted over the years. i would be very adjusted to hear your response. as i say i have other questions that i would like to put to you and in light of your very long and valuable and

mr. blumenthal: thank you, madam president. i ask that the quorum call be lift fundamental there is one. the presiding officer: the senate is not in a quorum call. the senator is recognized. mr. blumenthal: thank you. one year ago today, the president of the united states did the unthinkable. he did at least what many people thought was unthinkable. he fired the director of the federal bureau of investigation james comey. shortly thereafter, he acknowledged the reason. he told nbc leicester holt that he fired james comey because he was thinking about, quote, this russia thing with trump, end quote, and how unjustified he thought the investigation was. he later told officials of vladimir putin's government. in the oval office, he said this firing relieved him of the pressure he was feels as a result of the russia investigation. the one-year anniversary of jim comey's firing might well be permitted to pass without notice. but little did we know at the time that it would be part of a relentless and repeated denunciation of profess

mr. oldon and miss vitter, unfortunately, have expressed a number of sentiments that would put him on the political extreme, including troubling statements about women's health care rights. asked separately by my colleague senator blumenthal if they agreed with the decision on brown v. board of ed, both of them demurred. can you believe that? they would not say they supported brown v. board, and this is who our colleagues are nominating to put on the bench? it shouldn't be a tough question. segregation and the false paradigm of separate but equal was a national disgrace. it remains a stain on our history. it has been widely discredited from one end of america to the other. and yet the nominees for the fifth circuit and the eastern district of louisiana could not say they agreed with the idea that we as a nation should have one school system for all races. the judiciary committee will vote on mr. oldon and miss vitter's nominations on thursday. 64 years to the day since brown v. board was decided and segregated schools were deemed unconstitutional. in honor of this anniversary, the 64th anniversary of brown v. board, my senate republican colleagues aren't rolling out a new education policy or a new civil rights policy. the