mr. grassley: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from iowa is is recognized. mr. grassley: today marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the nazi extermination camp at auschwitz-birkenau. we commemorate this day to international holocaust remembrance day. today we remember the six million jewish victims as well as the victims of other -- millions of other victims persecuted by the nazis. and we do this so that it is never repeated. i honor the victims, the survivors, and their families by combating anti-semitism and preserving history for future generations. in 2023, simon wiesenthal center approached me about wrongdoing by the swiss bank named credit swiss in its internal investigations into the undisclosed information relating to the banks nazi ties. for decades we've tried to track the nazi confiscation of all kinds of jewish valuables and cash, and we all know that the nazis used swiss banks to hide whatever was confiscated. i went to senator whitehouse, chairman of the budget committee. he and i issued the budget committee's first subpoena since 1991 t

mr. grassley: i do.

mr. grassley: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: everybody knows that except for native americans, this great nation of ours is a nation of immigrants. we're one of the most welcoming nations in the world, maybe the most welcoming to immigrants. because about a million people come here every year legally. my family has been blessed by two -- a daughter-in-law of 45 years from south korea, a granddaughter-in-law of about six or seven years from ethiopia. i've learned much from them, and i think america is great because of the people that come here. but we're also a nation based on the rule of law, and we have not seen that immigration law enforced over the last four years. so i'm going to be voting for governor noem because she's committed to enforcing our immigration laws. i think secretary mayorkas felt in his heart that we ought to give the american land of opportunity, the opportunity to anybody who wanted to come here. he said he was enforcing the laws, but we know that he wasn't enforcing the laws because you saw every

mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper. mr. rowe no. mr. hoeven. mrs. hyde smith. mr. johnson. mr. kaine. mr. kelly. mr. kennedy. mr. kim. mr. king cop. ms. klobuchar mr. lankford. mr. lee. mr. lujan. ms. alumnus. mr. markey. mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. mr. mccormick. mr. merkley. mr. moran. mr. marino. mr. mullin. ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mrs. murray. mr. ossoff. mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts. mr. risch. mr. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. rubio. mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schiff. mr. schmitt. mr. schumer. mr. scott of florida. mr. scott of souths. carolina. mrs. shaheen. mr. she he. miss slotkin. mrs. smith. mr. thune mr. tillis. mr. turberville. mr. vane. hollen. mr. vance. mr. warner. mr. warnock. ms. warren. mr. welch. mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden. mr. young. >> a quorum is present. a quorum is a president present. how to preserve the leadership time is reserve the senate will be in the period of morning businesspe with the senators permitted to speak and they're in for up to 10 minutes each. the majori

mr. grassley: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: i ask permission to speak for three minutes in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. grassley: as the 119th congress kicks off, i look forward to continuing my work for iowans. as president pro tem of the senate, iowa is number one with my leadership. i look forward to working with my colleague senator joany ernst -- joni ernst to represent the people of iowa and bring their views to the policy making tables, we will work with our colleagues congresswoman henderson and congressman finstra across the capitol to represent the good people of iowa. i emphasize the iowa delegation putting iowa first. i do that at the same time we remember the voter mandate of the last election, to put america first. we will work with president trump to bring that goal to fruition. on another point, yesterday january 6, was christmas day for many christians of the orthodox faith. but during the soviet union, if you remember the history of the soviet union, christmas had to

mr. grassley: i do. mr. thune: mr. president, i ask i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to consideration of s. res. 4, which was submitted earlier today. the president pro tempore: the clerk although report the resolution. the clerk: announcing the appointment of a president pro tempore. the president pro tempore: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. thune: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, with no intervening action or debate. the president pro tempore: is there objection? without objection, it's ordered. mr. thune: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to otoconsideration of s. res. 5, which was submitted earlier today. the president pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: s. res. 5, notifying the house of representatives of the election of a president pro tempore. the president pro tempore: is there objection to proceedin

mr. grassley: i do. mr. thune: mr. president, before i begin my remarks, i want to mention the very well deadly terrorist attack that took place it in new orleans in the early hours of new year's day. this isis inspired attack took the lives of 14 innocent victims and injured at least 30 others. my prayers today along with the prayers of so many americans are with all those grieving the loss of a loved one and with the injured and their families. in vegas, law enforcement agents are working around the clock to understand the motivation of an army soldier who blew up a tesla truck in front much a trump hotel on the same day. we expect our federal, state, and local law enforcement to pursue every lead so that the american people understand what led to both of these attacks. mr. president, i also want to mention the passing of former president jimmy carter who died peacefully on december 29 at his home in georgia at the age of 100. he was governor of georgia, president of the united states, but was perhaps even better kno

mr. grassley: i ask that the quorum call -- last week -- mr.sident, last week you heard me speak in support of the laken riley act, the vote that we're going to have later this afternoon. today i'd like to discuss a related bill called sarah's law. sarah root was a young woman from iowa who had a bright future ahead of her. her life was tragically cut short just one day after she graduated from college with a 4.0 grade point average. she was killed when an illegal migrant who was street racing while heavily drunk crashed his car into this sarah root while she was stopped at a red light. in an outrage of justice, this illegal migrant was released after his arrest. sarah's law requires immigration authorities to detain criminals responsible for a death or a serious bodily injury. illegal migrants shouldn't be here in the first place. everybody knows that it's against the law to enter the united states without our permission. even so, if they come here violating our law, they hurt and kill an american, the federal government must prioritize their

mr. grassley: mr. president. the presiding officer: the speaker pro tem. mr. grassley: i would like to speak for one minute in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. grassley: january 9, is national law enforcement appreciation day. today, as well as every day, we should give our thanks to the nation's men and women in blue. i make this practice. whenever i see a police officer, i always try to stop and say two things -- i'm not for defunding the police, and i proud to back the blue or i say it in another way, thank you for maintaining the peace. as chamber of the senate judiciary committee, you can be sure that i'll continue my work to protect and support law enforcement in both iowa and nationwide. the judiciary committee always accomplishes issues supporting police in a bipartisan series of bills most often in the month of may. to our law enforcement friends, all senators say, thank you for your selfless service. may god bless you and may god protect you. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum

mr. grassley: mr. president. the presiding officer: the president pro tempore grass i speak for a couple minutes in morning business. i'm an advocate through the farm program of having an absolute limit on the amount of money that one farmer can get from the farm program so that we target towards medium and small sized farmers so we don't subsidize very big farmers to get bigger. i got such legislation through the house and the senate in previous congresses, and would you believe it, even though it was exactly the same language in both houses and that isn't supposed to be touched by the conferees, the conferees diluted it to not a very meanable limit. i'm still concerned about limits. so today i come to the floor to say as one of its last official acts, the biden department of agriculture decided to disregard the wishes of congress by using its authority under section 5 of the commodity credit corporation's charter to increase payment limits for especially crop farmers from $125,000 to $900,000 under the marketin

mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono. mr.oeven. mr. husted. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson. mr. justice. mr. kaine. mr. kelly. mr. kennedy. mr. kim. mr. king. ms. klobuchar. mr. lankford. mr. lee. mr. lujan. ms. lummis. mr. markey. mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. mr. mccormick. mr. merkley. mrs. moody. mr. moran. mr. moreno. mr. mullin. ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mrs. murray. mr. ossoff. mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts. mr. risch. ms. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schiff. mr. schmitt. mr. schumer. mr. scott of florida. mr. scott of south carolina. mrs. shaheen. mr. sheehy. ms. slotkin. ms. smith. mr. sullivan. mr. thune. mr. tillis. mr. tuberville. mr. van hollen. mr. warner. mr. warnock. ms. warren. mr. welch. mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden. mr. young. senators voting in the affirmative -- banks, barasso, blackburn, budd, daines, ernst, fischer, graham, hagerty, hyde-smith, johnson, justice, kennedy, lee, lummis, marshall, mccormick, moreno, mullin, ricketts, rounds, scott of flo

mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. good morning, everybody. thank you for coming today to cover this press conference. critical issues to our caucus in congress. i cannot the development and addition healthcare and education. important issues to all of us starting with the first one. executive orders have been issued by administration. three major pieces that are very fundamental. dreamers, farmworkers and family. across the country dreamers the opportunity to contribute in our economy and regular last. in the country where they came from and no family connection that and their status regulated. farmworkers are critical not just to the economy you need to be scared of missing work report, it will show up at the dinner table. did together. and eventually will be a week family. when you have week family, translates read major linchpins are critical and bring us together whether we are progressive i think dreamers and farmworkers, families bring us together so we will speak about these important items and with that want to get the four the vice c

mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono. mr. hoeven. mr. husted. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson. mr. justice. mr. kaine. mr. kelly. mr. kennedy. mr. kim. mr. king. ms. klobuchar. mr. lankford. mr. lee. mr. lujan. ms. lummis. mr. markey. mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. mr. mccormick. mr. merkley. mrs. moody. mr. moran. mr. moreno. mr. mullin. ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mrs. murray. mr. ossoff. mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts. mr. risch. ms. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schiff. mr. schmitt. mr. schumer. mr. scott of florida. mr. scott of south carolina. mrs. shaheen. mr. sheehy. ms. slotkin. ms. smith. mr. sullivan. mr. thune. mr. tillis. mr. tuberville. mr. van hollen. mr. warner. mr. warnock. ms. warren. mr. welch. mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden. mr. young. senators voting in the affirmative -- banks, barasso, blackburn, budd, daines, ernst, fischer, graham, hagerty, hyde-smith, johnson, justice, kennedy, lee, lummis, marshall, mccormick, moreno, mullin, ricketts, rounds, scott of f

mr. grassley: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: today we're confirming former congressman sean duffy as the new secretary of transportation. our nation's infrastructure is essential to the economy, trade, and vitality of each of our 50 st st states, and iowa is fundamental to moving our agriculture products and manufacturing goods and, of course, our 3.3 million people. i have long supported sound, sustainable infrastructure policies that provide certainty to businesses, states, and the transportation community. i agree that businesses and state and local governments need long-term visions and plans to ensure our infrastructure network remains strong and support our nation's economic growth and competitiveness. we are soon faced in this body and in the entire cons reauthorizing our nation's surface transportation laws. i'm glad that congressman duffy understands from representing northwest wisconsin, that rural america has many infrastructure needs, as many as urban areas. i supported the bipartisan infrastructure bill to

mr. grassley: i ask to speak for three minutes in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. grassley:ian is national trafficking and -- january is national trafficking and modern slavery prevention month. so today senator cortez masto and i are introducing a resolution to honor victims and to raise very needed awareness. as i speak, victims are being trafficked across our southern border. we each have a role to play in protecting the most vulnerable among us, especially women and children, from becoming victims of trafficking. as chairman of the senate judiciary committee, i'm committed to making human trafficking prevention a priority in this congress, and i thank the senator from nevada for leading this effort. on another subject, mr. president, on his watch, president biden wiped away student debt for more than five million borrowers, stiffing taxpayers with heavier burdens. that's on top of trillions of dollars in partisan deficit spending that fueled the fires of inflation to 20% during his administration. his failed border p

mr. grassley: i ask to speak in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. grassley: in early february of 1972 when abortion was not the issue it is today and probably after california had changed its abortion laws under then governor reagan, the iowa legislature considered repealing iowa's law about abortion. i cast my first vote in that assembly that year, and our abortion law stayed in place, a vote of 44-44. then one year later everything changed. today marks the 52nd anniversary of roe v. wade. i invite my colleagues to a moment of silence and somber reflection to honor the millions of lives quietly lost to abortion since 1973. i also invite my colleagues to share my heartfelt hope in this new era we're in following the 2022 dobbs v. jackson supreme court decision. since then, we've witnessed the american people in their respective states reempowered to protect lives in the womb. these young lives are precious, vulnerable, and equal in worth to each of our own who are here today and millions throughout this country. i recall with joy the moments i learne

mr. grassley.

mr. grassley: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from from iowa is recognized. mr. grassley: today is the 52nd annual march for life, right here in the nation's capital. folks from all over the nation and world are in washington to offer joyful witness to the beauty and dignity of every human person. they will march in the cold in solidarity with babies in the womb. they will march in solidarity with mothers who deserve better than abortion, mothers who deserve love, support, and encouragement. they will march with the hope that the day is coming when all people will see babies as a blessing -- as the blessing they are, the day when abortion is unthinkable. the signs the march ers carry reveal the hearts of each one, a popular sign each year reads, quote-unquote, love them both. the pro-life movement's desires to affirm and restore the bond between mother and child. this sacred bond exists even before a baby is born. so i say thank you to the pro-life march ers. i say thank you for your thankful example of what it means to be pro-life. god bless you. i would yield. i

mr. grassley. mr. hagerty. ms. hassan. mr. hawley. mr. heinrich. mr. hickenlooper. ms. hirono. mr. hoeven. mr. husted. mrs. hyde-smith. mr. johnson. mr. justice. mr. kaine. mr. kelly. mr. kennedy. mr. kim. the presiding officer: mr. king. ms. klobuchar. mr. lankford. mr. lee. the clerk: mr. lujan. ms. lummis. mr. markey. mr. marshall. mr. mcconnell. mr. mccormick. mr. merkley. mrs. moody. mr. moran. mr. moreno. mr. mullin. ms. murkowski. mr. murphy. mrs. murray. mr. ossoff. mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts. mr. risch. ms. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schiff. mr. schmitt. mr. schumer. mr. scott of florida. mr. scott of south carolina. mrs. shaheen. mr. sheehy. ms. slotkin. ms. smith. mr. sullivan. mr. thune. mr. tillis. mr. tuberville. mr. van hollen. mr. warner. mr. warnock. ms. warren. mr. welch. mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden. mr. young. the clerk: mr. young. the presiding officer: a quorum is present. the question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of pete peter hegseth of tennessee to be secretary o

mr. grassley and to establish these over the years. our process is rigorous and shows how seriously members on both sides of the aisle take our constitutional responsibility of advise and consent. ms. bondi, thanks for coming to my office last week to discuss your nomination. the importance of the attorney general charge justice system cannot be overstated as our nation's chief law enforcement officer, the attorney general oversees the department of justice which is responsible for protecting the civil rights of americans, economic freedom and opportunity, public safety and of course, national security. in short, the attorney general has real impact on america's everyday's life. it is critical that any nominee for this space be committed first and foremost to the constitution and the american people. and not any president or political agenda. but president trump claims he has, quote, an absolute right to do what he wants with the justice department. and that's how he conducted his first term. he interfered with the criminal cases of hi

mr. chairman. sen. grassleysenator graham. sen. graham: thank you. congratulations. i am from anderson, by the way. i'll give you a pass on that. from anderson, by the way. so, listen, president trump asked a bunch of us, who would you pick for attorney general? how many of you got asked that on our side? probably didn't ask dick, but he asked me. i said, "pam bondi." that's like an easy decision. i couldn't think of anybody more qualified that he knew that he trusted. you were his lawyer, right? ms. bondi: yes, sir. i represented him when they tried to impeach him the first time as part of white house counsel, office of special counsel. being trump's lawyer prepares you for many things. so, yeah, you have a longstanding relationship with the president. he trusts you. that's a good thing. that's probably why president kennedy picked his brother, bobby kennedy. i guess you can say no to your older brother. i'm sure he would. but this idea there's something bad is ridiculous. who do you pick? you pick people you k

mr. chairman. chair grassley: a question for both the nominee and you, senator booker, you talked about this one to one equation. if your implication to her was it could be done through her actions, then it seems we have been wasting our time trying to find a compromise between you and me on that subject for legislation. sen. booker: tkeupbts prepare for this hearing. i didn't know i would be asked questions. i look forward to working with you. i do believe that it should be done judicially as well with prosecutorial discretion. thank you. >> thank you, mr. chairman. general bondi, i concongratulate you -- congratulate you. sen. cruz: i the want to go back to the topic of the politization of the department of justice. we talked about the department of justice under joe biden and kamala harris being used to targets the president's political enemies. we talked about it being used to protect the political friends and allies of the white house. there is another asecretary of politicization and lawlessness. that is re

mr. brian mast and chump's war on sanctuary cities with senate judiciary chair chuck grassley and first up lawrence live at the white house. edward, so what do you make up today, edward? what's happening down here? reporter: boy, can we try ask keep up is the issue here. two full days in the trump administration and companies are starting to flock and want to invest in the united states and latest announcement is star gate and data centers that will be based in texas and dealing with artificial intelligence on the first investment to this is $100 billion and that investment is today to expand to $500 billion and this commitment by softbank, open a and i recollects oracle to expand that and 500 billion and ceos with the white house and the reaction is positive. >> we're in a race against communist china and ai and best ai. i think it's my time that we pour money into it. it's the way that it'll -- it's the wave of the future and look, it's the way that battles will be fourth quartering in the future. >> president trump also expressing intent to renegotiate usmca early and it's an agreement

chair grassley: your time is up. sen. hirono: mr. chairman, she is clearly not going to answer that question so let me get on -- for the second round. ms. bondi: you will have a second -- chair grassley: you will have a second round. would you like to speak for going on to senator cruz. senator cruz: thank you mr. chairman. welcome, thank you for your long career in public service and thank you for your willingness to take on this incredibly important office. you know, i have to say, i don't know if there is a more important position in this new administration than the position to which you have been nominated , attorney general of the united states. i thought the exchange just a moment ago with senator hirono was illustrative. she asked you how you would respond if the president asked you to target his political enemies. it is rather striking because it is not a hypothetical. it has happened over the last four years. and i think perhaps the most tragic legacy of the biden harris administration has been the politicization and weaponiz

mr. chairman. chair grassley: ok. it is time for senators to introduce the nominee. the first and will be senator scott, at the table as you see and senator schmitt as a member of this committee at his place on the dais. senator scott, please proceed. sen. scott: mr. chairman, ranking member, it's an honor to be before you to introduce my good friend pam bondi for her nomination hearing. i would like to recognize important people. appearing in support of her today. her husband john, mother, father, sisters, family members. many more would surely be here if space allowed. i can tell you wholeheartedly president trump could not have a better leader than pam bondi for attorney general. she is undoubtedly qualified, brilliant and committed to defending and protecting the laws of the nation and has a track record to prove it. it's no secret the doj is facing a public trust crisis. after democrats spent years weaponizing the justice system and the entire federal government. it's become an agency that attacks the american people instead of defending and protecting them. tha

mr. grassley: i'd like to speak for two or three minutes. the presiding officer: the senator is recognized. mr. grassley: the jewish people have faced many libels and many libels over their history. in their case for millennia. today the jewish state faces the dirty libel -- can you believe it? -- of committing genocide. all while defending themselves from hamas. remember, hamas has pledged to destroy the jewish people in their homeland. now, that happens to be real genocide. israel's accusers cite large civilian casualty numbers traced to hamas self-reporting. now as we know, hamas has a history of inflating numbers, not distinguishing fighters from civilians, and listing male soldiers as women or children. a recent report by the henry jackson society confirms that the widely cited gaza casualty statistics suffer from all forms of fornication. still, as we'd all agree, any civilian death in gaza is a real tragedy. while israel goes out of its way to issue warnings to civilians, hamas actually encourages civilians to ignore evacuation warnin

mr. brian nast and trump's war on sanctuary cities with chuck grassley but first up, edward lawrence live at the white house. edward, so what are you making up today, edward? what's happening down there? reporter: yeah, boy, can we try and keep up is the issue here. larry, yeah, you said it, two full days into the trump administration and companies are flocking in to invest in the united states. the latest announcement is star gate and data centers based in texas dealing with artificial intelligence. the first investment to this is $100 billion. that investment is today and it'll expand to softbank, open a and openaiand oracle and today e reaction is positive. listen. >> we're in a race to see who is going to pour money into it and that's the wave of the future and also going to look. >> it's going to renegotiate the mca early and agreement he ratified if the first term and renegotiations and starting after july 1, 2026. canada's minister of intergovernmental affairs looking forward to working with president trump's administration to further strengthen collaboration between our two countr

mr. grassley: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: this week our nation mourns the loss of our 39th president, jimmy carter. with grief comes reflection on his life, a life well lived. there's no doubt president carter made an impact on scores of americans. as for this senator, in 1976, i was on the ballot as a congressman for iowa's third congressional district and, of course, jimmy carter was on that same ballot. now he and i were bit by different political bugs, but we have a similar foundation. two small town boys anchored in our faith. as the only sitting member of congress today who served with the carter presidency, i remember him fondly. maybe a couple of times to remind you about, i don't know exactly what year it was, but i was in iowa. he made a phone call to me asking -- he was on his way to nicaragua to observe whether or not a presidential election at that time was going to be a fair election. he asked me if i would go along with him, and i said the work of the senate doesn't allow me to do it at that particular

mr. grassley: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from iowa grass i ask to speak in morning business for two or three minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. grassley: on sunday, january 12, it was national pharmacist day. i think it's quite appropriate that we pay attention and give reward to the work that pharmacists do. i'd like to extend a warm thank you to iowa pharmacists for their dedication and for their service. now, while we commonly know pharmacists as someone who fills our prescription needs and educates us about medications, pharmacists are typically the most accessible health care provider, and that's especially true for rural america. do you know what? nearly 90% of the u.s. population lives within five miles of a pharmacy. now, for several congresses, i've been leading a bipartisan effort that's called the pharmacy and medically underserved areas enhancement act. this bill encourages farmers or pharmacists only where they are licensed and trained to do this to offer th

mr. chairman, thank you. sen. grassley: thank you for not going over five minutes. i will start with you mr. ehrenberg. my staff gives me information that may be you don't mind telling people you vote for democrats and voted against president trump. you probably don't mind us saying that or you would have not told us. you clearly have political differences with ms. bondi and i am sure you disagree with her on many issues. what would you say to critics of ms. bondi that i she is "too partisan" to serve as our nations attorney general? judge aaronburg: those critics should talk to her political opponents in the past like me and dan gelber, the democrats have beaten me that ran against her in the general election. they are friends. it is rare these days you see people who battle in a general election remain friends. she had a relationship with the wrong we are all under the florida legislature. i know because i was before i ran for attorney general. i saw it up close. some of the criticism comes in that she is loyal to president trump and she is. she is. but, i never be

mr. grassley and to establish these over the years. our process is rigorous and shows how seriously members on both sides of the aisle take our constitutional responsibility of advise and consent. ms. bondi, thanks for coming to my office last week to discuss your nomination. the importance of the attorney general charge justice system cannot be overstated as our nation's chief law enforcement officer, the attorney general oversees the department of justice which is responsible for protecting the civil rights of americans, economic freedom and opportunity, public safety and of course, national security. in short, the attorney general has real impact on america's everyday's life. it is critical that any nominee for this space be committed first and foremost to the constitution and the american people. and not any president or political agenda. but president trump claims he has, quote, an absolute right to do what he wants with the justice department. and that's how he conducted his first term. he interfered with the criminal cases of hi

senator grassley? >> mr. bessent, congratulations. i wanted to tart out with something you and i talked about in our office and you remember that tongue and cheek thing i said to you that you were going to be asked by all the chairmen will you answer all of our letters and i said maybe you better say maybe because most people don't keep that promise. so if i write you a letter on oversight responsibility, i'd appreciate it if you'd answer. now to my first question. my democrat colleagues believe the only solution to our unsustainable debt and deficit is higher tax rates and that end up being on job creators and families alike. however, history proves that high tax rates fail to raise significant revenues. taxpayers, workers and investors are smarter than that. ford, they're smarter than we in congress that thinks that at one time a 93% marginal tax rate would bring in more revenue than a 70% tax rate or a 50% tax rate or a 30% tax rate or a 40 pbs takes rate and so on but as you can see from this cart, congress isn't too smart because

grassley: so, you will be watching that regulatory process to make sure loeper is followed? mr. vought: yes. sen. grassley: another thing that irritates me about -- by the way, these problems i am talking about not just are democrat problems, they are republican and democrat problems we have to deal with. another one would be not answering our letters. i don't know if i got a lot of letters. when pam bondi was in my office, i gave her her stack of 158 letters that the justice department in the last four years have not answered. it was somewhat the same over obama and trump previously. we have a constitutional responsibility to make sure the executive branch faithfully execute our laws. so, we want to make sure that these letters are answered. on september 15, 2023, i sent president biden's omb director asking a simple question -- where is the implementation guidance for the open government data act? just one example. at that point, omb was five years late in issuing the guidance. the guidance was intended to make government information more open and available. in the final days o

mr. bessent: senator grassley, we are in complete alignment on this program. chair crapo: next would be senator cornyn. sen. cornyn: welcome to washington, d.c.. forgetting a taste of what it's like here which is an out of body experience for most people who are not acquainted with it. i happen to represent a state that has the eighth largest economy in the world. we think we understand the formula for economic growth and prosperity and opportunity. we can lower taxes, a modest regulatory footprint and opportunities for people to prosper and by prospering, invest and create opportunities for other people to pursue their dreams. we think there is a lot washington can learn from that formula and that sounds to me like you agree. one of the strange experiences i've had here is so many of our colleagues, principally on the other side thinks that the money you earn is not actually yours. it's the federal governments and you just get to keep it. conversely, i believe the money people earn is theirs and they have a responsibility to pay taxes, but as you point out, a

mrs. rollins: thank you sir. sen. grassley: another thing is, we had the first trump administration, we had a couple times in the biden administration use money from the commodity credit corporation that i don't think should have been used, and the power of the purse, as you know, rests with congress under article one of the constitution. and money can't be spent without authority of congress, and billions have been wasted that way, and i hope you don't get involved in wasting those dollars. i will end with the passage of stockyards act. i think it is stronger than anything the justice department can do under antitrust laws to protect the welfare of the farmer to make sure that the marketplace is working. and thank you god just before he left office he put out some regulations that will help enforce the package of stockyards act, particularly to protect lost livestock producers in highly concentrated areas of agriculture or the poultry grower payment system, the capital improvement pavement system or the american farm bureau f

mr. chairman. ms. bondi, as you're aware, criminal justice reform has been an important part of my role on this committee. i worked for the better part of a decade with senator durbin, chairman grassley, senator whitehouse, senator cornyn, senator booker and others who passed the first step act which president trump signed into law in december of 2018. the first step act, as the name implies, was intended to be the first of multiple steps, much remains to be done, including with the implementation of the first step act. the credits available under the first step act are still being implemented. i assume you'd be willing if confirmed to help us continue to implement first step act. ms. bondi: yes, senator. and also, i just learned it's my understanding, i don't know for fact, but it's my understanding that a lot of those beds for halfway houses, for re-entry, have not been filled under the first step act. so if that's true, i want to look at that right away and figure out why. sen. lee: right. and i think other reforms like the safer supervision act, i whh i'm a co-sponsor, can also be helpful on that front. it's always important to make sure that we're running -- although ours is not

grassley, we are in complete alignment on this program. >> thank you. next would be senator cornyn. >> well, thank you, mr. chairman. mr. chairman. mr. bessent, welcome to washington, d.c. you're getting a taste of what it's like year,r, which is an ot of body experience for most people who are not acquainted with it. i happen to represent a state that has the eighth largest economy in the world. we think we understand the formula for economic growth, prosperity and opportunity. we can lower taxes, reasonable and modest rental footprint and opportunities for people to prosper. and by ross bring, invest and create opportunities for other people to pursue their dreams. we think there's a lot washington can learn from that formula. that sounds to me like you agree. one of the strange experiences ipad i've had here is that so many of our colleagues pensively on the other side think that the money that youou earn is not actually yours. it's the federal governments and you just get to keep a little bit of it. conversely, i believe the money people believe is theirs and they have a responsibility to pay taxes. but as you pointy out, and ove