mr. heller: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from nevada. mr. heller: mr. president, first of all, happy tax day, three words that probably don't go together. but i'll share that with you anyway because the reason that i am up here is for the first time in three decades, congress overhauled our tax code and that's what distinguishes this tax day with the withs that uncame before it. this is the last time that nevadans will file their taxes under the broken system of the past. you don't have to look too far to see the positive impacts of our new tax laws and that they're willing having an impact on the people of nevada. nevadans and people throughout the country have already benefited from keeping more of their hard-earned money. more than a million nevadans have seen their paychecks get bigger because we doubled the standard deduction, doubled the child tax credit and taxpayers in every income category received a tax cut under this bill. furthermore, mr. president, since president trump signed the tax cuts and jobs act into law just a few months ago, moor t

mr. heller for five minutes. mr. heller: mr. chairman, i am disappointed, disappointed in the broken process that got us here to this markup, disappointed that this committee has been pushed away from its bipartisan legacy. mr. chairman, we asked time and time again to open up the process and allow this transparency to members and the public. i am most disappointed this bill doesn't come close to doing enough to help rural communities and promote rural economic development. this is unacceptable and a huge loss for rural america. mr. o'halleran: i came to congress, committed to bipartisanship and finding common ground. and i have the record to prove that. that's why i asked to join the agriculture committee. with this legacy of working together on behalf of america's farmers, ranchers, and rural communities. while there are always going to be some places where we find disagreement, the ability to reach consensus on the majority of things we agree on has long been the hallmark of this committee. our shared values of a strong and r

mr. heller: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from nevada. mr. heller: madam president, today i rise to honor major steven del bagno, a u.s. air force pilot who was killed when his f-16 fighter falcon crashed at the nevada test and training range. at just 34, major del bagno's life was cut too short. but his life i have leadership and service to our country will be privileged by those who had the privilege -- will be preserved by all those who had the privilege of knowing him. i'd like to begin by saying that my wife lynn and i offer our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones. we join the thunderbirds, necessarily list air force base -- nellis air force base in mourning this loss. he graduated from utah state valley university. he received his commission when he graduated from maxwell air force base. he was in his first season with the thunderbirds. the thunderbirds are also known as america's ambassadors in blue. they are an elite team of fighter pilots. only 325 officers have had the honor of wearing the distinguished thunderbirds patc

mr. chairman, thanks. >> senator heller. mr. chairman, thank you. i want to thank the committee for putting together this particular hearing as it is , important. it is important for my states, across the country, and i'm pleased that we have this opportunity. for me, in nevada substance , abuse hits close to home. i read about it in constituent letters and calls to my office. like many of my colleagues, i've heard from those struggling with addiction, or those who have lost loved ones to this epidemic. in my home state of nevada, there were 665 drug overdoses, deaths in 2016. in the same year, opioids were involved in over 40,000 american deaths. statistics you are well familiar with. opioid abuse is a major public health concern. more steps need to be taken, and i'm sure we are in agreement of that to make sure our communities are equipped to address this crisis. i'm pleased to have the panel before us. ms. brandt, welcome back to the committee. it is great to see you. i want to thank both of the witnesses for taking a few moments of your time to

>> senator heller is up next. >> mr. chairman, thank you. appreciate the time. thank you for being here. thank you for taking time. i know it's been a long day. i think you are in the final stretch here. i'm glad you are here. yesterday facebook sent out a notification to 87 million users that information was given to cambridge at cambridge analytica without their consent. my daughter was one of the 87,000,006 of my staff, all from nevada, received this notification. can you tell me how me the veterans were among the 87 million that received this notification? >> senator, i don't have this broken out by state right now. i can have my team follow-up with you to get you information. >> okay. i figure that would be the answer. if after hearing, going through this hearing and that's -- my daughter does not want to have a facebook account, if that's the case, if a facebook user deletes their account, do you delete their data? >> yes. >> my kids have been on facebook, instagram for years. how long do you keep a users data? how long do you keep a users data after they

. >> senator heller is up next >> mr. chairman, thank you appreciate the time, thank you for being here and thank you for taking time -- i know it's been a long day. i think you're at the final stretch here but i'm glad that you are here yesterday facebook sent out a notification to 87 million users that information was given to cambridge analytica without their consent. my daughter was one of the 87 million and 6 of my staff ultimately received this notification can you tell me how many nevadans were among the 87 million that received this notification >> senator, i don't have this broken out by state right now. but i can have any team follow up with you to get you the information. >> i figured that would be the answer if after hearing this -- going through this hearing and nevada is no longer going to have a facebook account if that's the case, if a facebook user deletes their account, do you delete their data >> yes >> my kids have been on facebook, instagram for years. how long do you keep a user's data >> sorry >> ho

. >> senator heller. >> mr. chairman, thank you. i want to thank you in the committee for putting together this particular hearing. it's important for my states and across the country and i'm pleased that we have this opportunity. for many nevadans, substance abuse is an issue that hits close to home. it's an issue i read about in letters and i hear about and calls to my office. like many my colleagues, i haven't heard from those who are struggling with addiction or those who have lost loved ones to this epidemic. in my home state of nevada there were 665 drug overdoses in 2016. in that same year opioids were involved in over 40000 american deaths. those are statistics i'm sure you're well familiar with. opioid abuse is a major public health concern, more steps need to be taken and i'm sure we all agree to ensure our communities are equipped to address this crisis. i am pleased to have the panel here before us and i want to welcome me back to the committee. it's great to see you. i want to thank both were witnesses for taking a few

>> senator heller is up next. >> mr. chairman, thank you, appreciate the time. i'm over here. thank you for taking time. it's been a long day and i think you're at the final stretch here. i'm glad that you are here. yesterday facebook sent out a userscation to 87 million that information was given to cambridge analytica without their consent. was one of the 87 staff, all six of my from nevada, received this noisks. me how many nevadans were among the 87 million that received this notification? senator, i don't have this broken out by state right but i can have my team follow up with you to get you the information. that would be the answer. going r hearing this, through this hearing and nevadans no longer want to have a facebook account, if that's if a facebook user deletes their account, do you their data? mark: yes. >> my kids have been on facebook and instagram for years. user's do you keep a data? a user's o you keep data data, after they've left? if they choose to delete their keep t, how long do you their data? mark: i don't know the answer to that off the top of my head.

mr. secretary. before i begin my questions, senator heller has asked that a letter that he has provide today the committee be part of the record. so we will include that. and you will see a copy of that as well, mr. secretary. senator cantwell has mentioned in some detail here the cyber security issue and the joint alert from department of homeland security and the fbi regarding russian government cyber actors and how they have targeted critical infrastructure here in this country, including our electric and generation sources. know that i share senator cantwell's concern on this. i want to make sure the doe is cooperating with dhs and the fbi with implementation of action in response to this. but, also, to make sure that doe is taking the lead as the sector specific agency. and mr. secretary you and i had a conversation yesterday just about making sure that doe which does have this legislatively designated authority as the lead in the energy sector when it comes to cyber, that again that continues. so i'd like you to speak specifically to that with regards to doe's role. and then i have one more quick qu