mr. padilla mr. president, i've read the measure that is being attempted to be brought up by this motion. i want to make one thing perfectly clear. it is already a federal crime for noncitizens to vote in federal elections. every member of the senate should know that. mr. padilla:in fact, any noncitizen convicted of even registering to vote could face up to five years in prison. and every single state has a law prohibiting noncitizens from voting in federal elections. and the consequences for noncitizens go beyond prison time. claiming to be a u.s. citizen under penalty of perjury while registering to vote or while actually voting are deportable offenses. so it's already against the law with significant consequences for violations. and in fact experts have found that voting by noncitizens is exceedingly rare. a study of the 2016 election, for example, found that noncitizen votes accounted for -- let me get this ri right --.0001 percent. doing the math, that's about 30 incidents of suspected -- not ev

mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts. mr. risch. mr. romney. ms. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. rubio. mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schmitt. mr. schumer. mr. scott of florida. mr. scott of south carolina. mrs. shaheen. ms. sinema. ms. smith. ms. stabenow. mr. sullivan. mr. tester. the clerk: mr. thune. mr. tillis. mr. tuberville. mr. van hollen. mr. vance. mr. warner. mr. warnock. ms. warren. mr. welch. mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden. the clerk: mr. young. senators voting in the affirmative -- barrasso, casey, collins, cornyn, fischer, grassley, lummis, marshall, peters. senators voting in the negative -- bennet, markey, ossoff, padilla, warren. the clerk: mrs. gillibrand, aye. the clerk: mr. johnson, aye. the clerk: ms. butler, no. the clerk: mr. welch, no. mrs. murray, no. the clerk: mr. sanders, no. vote: the clerk: mr. romney, aye. the clerk: mr. crapo, aye. mr. vance, aye. the clerk: mr. kelly, aye. mr. schatz, no. ms. baldwin, no. the clerk: mr. hickenlooper, aye. the clerk: mr. kennedy, aye. the clerk: mr. fetterman, no. ms. ernst, aye. the clerk: mr. w

mr. padilla, aye. the clerk: ms. ernst, no. vote: the clerk: mr. young, aye. the clerk: mr. mcconnell, aye. the presiding officer: the yeas are 66. the nays are 28. the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the motion to reconsider is considered made and laid upon the table and the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action. the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of executive calendar number 571, dena m. coggins of california to be united states district judge for the eastern district of california signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of dena m. coggins of california to be united states district judge for the eastern district of california shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays ar

mr. padilla, aye. the clerk: ms. rosen, aye. the clerk: mr. graham, no. mr. sullivan, no. clerk: ms. cortez masto, aye. the clerk: mrs. murray, aye. the clerk: mr. fetterman, aye. the clerk: mr. warnock, aye. the clerk: mr. hagerty, no. mrs. shaheen, aye. mr. coons, aye. the clerk: mr. lujan, aye. the clerk: mr. wyden, aye. mr. kaine, aye. the clerk: mr. ossoff, aye. the clerk: mr. schmitt, no. the clerk: mr. merkley, aye. the clerk: mr. paul, no. mr. cornyn, no. mr. mullin, no. mrs. gillibrand, aye. ms. stabenow, aye. the clerk: mr. schatz, aye. the clerk: ms. baldwin, aye. the clerk: mr. cardin, aye. mr. thune, no. mr. reed, aye. mr. scott of south carolina, no. mrs. britt, no. the clerk: mr. budd, no. the clerk: mr. peters, aye. the clerk: mr. rounds, no. the clerk: mrs. blackburn, no. mr. booker, aye. the clerk: mr. welch, aye. the clerk: mr. schumer, aye. the clerk: mr. wicker, no. the clerk: mr. romney, no. the clerk: mr. moran, no. mr. murphy, aye. the clerk: ms. lummis, no. ms. duckworth, aye. the clerk: mr. tester, aye. the clerk: ms. murkowski, no. the clerk: ms.

mr. padilla, aye. mr. cardin, aye. the clerk: mr. coons, aye. the clerk: mrs. hyde-smith, aye. the clerk: mrs. shaheen, aye. the clerk: mr. tuberville, no. the clerk: mr. braun, no. mr. wicker, no. the clerk: mr. markey, aye. the clerk: mr. wyden, aye. the clerk: mr. ricketts, no. vote: the clerk: mr. boozman, no. mrs. murray, aye. the clerk: mr. ossoff, aye. mr. lee, no. mr. carper, aye. the clerk: mr. warnock, aye. the clerk: mrs. gillibrand, aye. ms. warren, aye. the clerk: mr. welch, aye. the clerk: ms. cantwell, aye. the clerk: mr. lujan, aye. mr. sanders, aye. the presiding officer: mr. casey, aye. the clerk: mr. kaine, aye. test vote: the clerk: mr. whitehouse, aye. the clerk: mr. booker, aye. the clerk: mr. hickenlooper, aye. the clerk: mr. durbin, aye. the presiding officer: on this vote the yeas are 56, the nays are 38, the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, department of defense, melissa grifen dalton, of virginia, to be under secretary of the air force. a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from

mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts. mr. risch. mr. romney. ms. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. rubio. mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schmitt. mr. schumer. mr. scott of florida. mr. scott of south carolina. mrs. shaheen. ms. sinema. ms. smith. ms. stabenow. mr. sullivan. mr. tester. mr. thune. mr. tillis. mr. tuberville. mr. van hollen. mr. vance. mr. warner. mr. warnock. ms. warren. mr. welch. mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden. mr. young. senators voting in the affirmative -- baldwin, bennet, blumenthal, butler, cantwell, cardin, carper, collins, cortez masto, duckworth, gillibrand, hassan, heinrich, kelly, lujan, merkley, ossoff, padilla, reed, shaheen, smith, tester, van hollen, warner, warren, welch, whitehouse, and wyden. mr. schatz, aye. senators voting in the negative -- brit -- britt, ernst, grassley, johnson, lummis, marshall, moran, paul, rounds, schmitt, sullivan, tuberville, and wicker. mr. warnock, aye. mr. peters, aye. mr. scott of florida, no. mr. hagerty, no. mr. rubio, no. mr. fetterman, aye. mr. romney, no. the clerk: ms. rosen, aye. mr. cruz, no.

mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts. mr. risch. mr. romney. ms. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. rubio. mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schmitt. mr. schumer. mr. scott of florida. mr. scott of south carolina. mrs. shaheen. ms. sinema. ms. smith. ms. stabenow. mr. sullivan. mr. tester. mr. thune. mr. tillis. mr. tuberville. mr. van hollen. mr. vance. mr. warner. mr. warnock. ms. warren. mr. welch. mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden. mr. young. the clerk: senators voting in the affirmative -- baldwin, bennet, blumenthal, buicker, cantwell, capito, cardin, carper, collins, cortez masto, crapo, daines, durbin, hine -- heinrich, kelly, king, klobuchar, lujan, lummis, markey, marshall, mcconnell, merkley, murphy, ossoff, padilla, paul, peters, risch, rosen, rounds, schatz, schumer, smith, stabenow, tillis, van hollen, warner, warnock, warren, welch, wyden, and young. mr. coons, aye. mr. graham, aye. the clerk: senators voting in the negative -- barrasso, brit, cornyn, cotton, cruz, earns, grassley, johnson, kennedy, lankford, lee, paul, rubio, and thune. the clerk: mrs. mur

mr. padilla: mr. president, i believe that our democracy works best when as many eligible people as possible participate in our democracy. that's not a controversial stance or a partisan talking point. it's actually the bedrock of our democracy. and something that i assume we all learned in high school civics class. that's why in march of 2021, president biden issued executive order 14019 directing federal agencies to take commonsense steps to promote nonpartisan voter registration and participation, including by partnering with state voter registration offices. voter registration offices, by the way, are recognized and charged by federal law. we have the national voter motor law as one example from 1994. i'm very familiar with this because prior to joining the senate, i served as california secretary of state where i -- in that lens from that perspective, i enthusiastically support the administration's efforts to ensure that all eligible americans are able to participate in our elections. nobody shou

mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. the clerk: mr. padilla, mr. paul, mr. peters, mr. risch, mr.y, mr. sanders, mr. schatz. being mrs. shaheen. ms. sinema. ms. smith. ms. stabenow. mr. sullivan. mr. tester. mr. thune. mr. tillis. mr. tuberville. mr. van hollen. mr. vance. mr. warner. mr. warnock. ms. warren. mr. welch. mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden. mr. young. the clerk: mr. lee, no. the clerk: senators voting in the affirmative -- brown, butler, cassidy, collins, cortez masto, crapo, heinrich, murray, padilla, sinema. senators voting in the negative -- barrasso, britt, cotton, grassley, lee, sullivan, vance. the clerk: mr. young, aye. the clerk: mr. markey, aye. ms. stabenow, aye. vote: vote: the clerk: mr. romney, aye. the clerk: mr. scott of florida, no. ms. hirono, aye. mr. mullin, aye. mr. kennedy, no. mr. kaine, aye. the clerk: mr. casey, aye. ms. ernst, no. mr. whitehouse, aye. the clerk: ms. baldwin, aye. the clerk: mr. peters, aye. mr. sanders, aye. the clerk: rounds, aye. mr. coons, aye. mr. graham, aye. mr. reed, aye. mrs. capito, aye. ms. rosen, aye. mrs. gill

mr. padilla: mr. president, when i was a kid growing up, the last thing i thought i'd do when i grew up was to be involved with government and politics. but when i returned home from college, i came home to california to find hateful tv ads warning of an invasion at our border. these were in support of a measure demonizing immigrant families like mine. a jen of la teen -- a generation of latinos in california grew up knowing that officials who were to represent us were more than happy to scapegoat our families as the root cause of the state's challenges. but instead of just putting our head down and waiting for the political tides to turn, my generation decided to get involved, and we started a movement that put more people from our communities into positions of power. now, three decades later, the state of california is not just home to more immigrants than any other state in the nation, we also represent the largest economy of any state in the nation. that's not a coincidence. but, sadly, today we'r

mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts. mr. risch. mr. romney. ms. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. rubio. mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schmitt. mr. schumer. mr. scott of florida. mr. scott of south carolina. mrs. shaheen. ms. sinema. ms. smith. ms. stabenow. mr. sullivan. mr. tester. mr. thune. mr. tillis. mr. tuberville. mr. van hollen. mr. vance. mr. warner. mr. warnock. ms. warren. mr. welch. mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden. mr. young. senators voting in the affirmative -- baldwin, blumenthal, cantwell, carper, casey, coons, hickenlooper, kaine, king, ossoff, shaheen, stabenow, tillis, warner, and warnock. senators voting in the negative -- blackburn, braun, cassidy, cramer, cruz, fisher, hoeven, hyde-smith, johnson, kennedy, mullin, scott of florida, scott of south carolina, and vance. the clerk: mr. lankford, no. the clerk: mr. romney, no. the clerk: mr. lujan, aye. the clerk: mr. cotton, no. mr. marshall, no. mr. fetterman, aye. ms. ernst, no. the clerk: ms. butler, aye. the clerk: mrs. murray, aye. mr. graham, aye. the clerk: mr. cardin, aye. the clerk: mr.

mr. padilla: mr. president, when i was a kid growing up, the last thing i thought i'd do when i grew up was to be involved with government and politics. but when i returned home from college, i came home to california to find hateful tv ads warning of an invasion at our border. these were in support of a measure demonizing immigrant families like mine. a jen of la teen -- a generation of latinos in california grew up knowing that officials who were to represent us were more than happy to scapegoat our families as the root cause of the state's challenges. but instead of just putting our head down and waiting for the political tides to turn, my generation decided to get involved, and we started a movement that put more people from our communities into positions of power. now, three decades later, the state of california is not just home to more immigrants than any other state in the nation, we also represent the largest economy of any state in the nation. that's not a coincidence. but, sadly, today we'r

mr. padilla, aye. the clerk: mr. hawley, no. the clerk: mr. schmitt, no. mr. mcconnell, no. the clerk: mr. kelly, aye. mr. kennedy, no. the clerk: mr. van hollen, aye. the clerk: mr. braun, no. the clerk: mr. sullivan, no. vote: the clerk: mr. king, aye. the clerk: mr. marshall, no. vote: an creepy loud our goal is to have an environment that allows technologies including ai to germinate, to bloom and to flourish. and so we think that is the major road to widespread human prosperity. we are excited to tackle the bigger problems that we think are in the united states right now. click so much so that make you a director policy specifically to that. that reflects the concern they have. >> ai has huge potential to create widespread human abundance. this new set of tools new and i have talked about in the past. but this new set of degenerative ai creates a whole new set of tools that empowers individuals to create new and powerful types of communication with each other. we think it's one of the big tools. as ai continues to be used throughout the economy we think is going to crea

mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts. mr. risch. mr. romney. ms. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. rubio. mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schmitt. mr. schumer. mr. scott of florida. mr. scott of south carolina. mrs. shaheen. ms. sinema. ms. smith. ms. stabenow. mr. sullivan. mr. tester. mr. thune. mr. tillis. mr. tuberville. mr. van hollen. mr. vance. mr. warner. mr. warnock. ms. warren. mr. welch. mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden. mr. young. the presiding officer: senators voting in the affirmative -- britt, cantwell, capito, carper, cramer, crapo, cruz, durbin, graham, hassan, heinrich, king, klobuchar, lankford, marshall, murray, peters, reed, schatz, smith, stabenow, warren, wicker, young. senators voting in the negative -- cardin, ernst. mr. budd, aye. mr. risch, aye. mr. tester, aye. mr. scott of south carolina, aye. ms. cortez-masto, aye. mr. schumer, aye. the clerk: mr. vance, no. the clerk: mr. schmitt, no. mr. lee, no. mr. whitehouse, aye. the clerk: ms. duckworth, aye. the clerk: mr. tuberville, aye. mr. menendez, aye. the clerk: mr. ricketts, aye. the cler

mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts. mr. risch. mr. romney. ms. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. rubio. mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schmitt. mr. schumer. mr. scott of florida. mr. scott of south carolina. mrs. shaheen. ms. sinema. ms. smith. ms. stabenow. mr. sullivan. mr. tester. mr. thune. mr. tillis. mr. tuberville. mr. van hollen. mr. vance. mr. warner. mr. warnock. ms. warren. mr. welch. mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden. mr. young. senators voting in the affir affirmative, blumenthal, brown, coons, cortez-masto, durbin, hassan, heinrich, hickenlooper, king, merkley, murphy, peters, reed, schatz, schumer, shaheen, smith, tester, warner, warnock, welch, whitehouse, and wyden. senators voting in the negative, barrasso, blackburn, budd, capito, cassidy, collins, cramer, crapo, daines, fischer, hyde-smith, johnson, kennedy, lee, lummis, marshall, padilla, romney, rubio, sanders, schmitt, scott of florida, sinema, sullivan, tillis, wicker and young. mr. markey, no. . mr. cotton, no. mr. vance, no. mrs. gillibrand, aye. ms. rosen, aye. mr. thune, no. the clerk: mr

mr. padilla, senator padilla you will being allowed 30 seconds. >> senator kennedy. >> i think weed we shoulda second round. i'm appealing the ruling of the chair. >> i have no intention on allowing a second round of questioning. this is a hearing, i have the gavel. >> senator kennedy. >> tried so hard to protect the witness and avoid answering why she just lied on the stand with her own words, her own opinion. >> laura: i love the staffer whispering get out of this as soon as -- oh my goodness and hazy mazi comes in for the rescue attempt of the novice chair. >> we have a witness to -- witness badgering and bang jerg of the chair, some of us would like to get on with this hearing. >> i'm sure you would. >> can we get on with it, madam chair? >> so does every democrat senator want to cover up the facts here? is any. >> senator, we will be returning to senator padilla's questioning or we'll adjourn today's hearing. >> if you want to adjourn go ahead you can do that the question are you most handsome or beautiful or brilliant and let's avoid the facts. >> laura: don't let the facts get in the w

mr. padilla, aye. ms. hassan, aye. the clerk: mr. mullin, no. mr. bennet, aye. the clerk: mr.ramer, no. mr. schmitt, no. the clerk: mr. van hollen, aye. mr. johnson, no. mr. casey, aye. ms. collins, aye. the clerk: ms. murkowski, aye. the clerk: mr. warnock, aye. the clerk: ms. rosen, aye. mr. markey, aye. mr. scott of florida, no. the clerk: ms. smith, aye. the clerk: mr. lee, no. mr. vance, no. the clerk: mr. marshall, aye. the clerk: mr. whitehouse, aye. the clerk: ms. hyde-smith, no. the clerk: mr. sullivan, no. the clerk: mr. lujan, aye. the clerk: mr. marshall, no. mr. kelly, aye. mr. mcconnell, no. the clerk: mr. boozman, no. vote: the clerk: mr. durbin, aye. the clerk: mr. romney, no. mr. hickenlooper, aye. the clerk: mr. cassidy, no. mr. warner, aye. the clerk: mr. budd, no. mr. schumer, aye. mr. booker, aye. mr. young, no. mr. peters, aye. the clerk: mr. rounds, no. the clerk: mr. blumenthal, aye. vote: the clerk: mr. murphy, aye. the clerk: mr. hoeven, no. the clerk: mr. brown, aye. the presiding officer: the yeas are 52. the nays are 40. the nomination is confirmed

mr. padilla, aye. the clerk: mr. cotton, aye. the clerk: mr. lee, aye. vote: the clerk: mr. sanders, aye. mr. lujan, aye. mr. coons, aye. the clerk: ms. duckworth, aye. the clerk: mr. warnock, aye. the clerk: ms. stabenow, aye. vote: vote: vote: reserving the right to object too. i appreciate the passion of my colleagues. i have served with both of them for 12 years senator kaine and i both were elected together in 2012. he and i have worked together on many issues i anticipate we will work together many issues going forward. on this issue he and i see the issue very differently. this bill that is before the senate, as a build move for the right way. it move forward away i wish a lot more legislation proceeded in the senate. this bill proceeded through regular order. it began in committee. the commerce committee took it up. we did a series of markups scheduled over several months. in the process of drafting this bill we solicited the input initially every senator on the commerce committee and every single center democrat and republican has priorities that are reflected in th

mr. padilla, aye. , no. the clerk: mr. johnson, aye. the clerk: mr. rubio, no. the clerk: mr. manchin, no. mr. sanders, no. the clerk: mr. lee, aye. the clerk: mr. kennedy, aye. the clerk: mr. markey, no. the clerk: mr. cramer, no. mr. risch, no. vote: the clerk: mr. sullivan, aye. the clerk: have all senators voted? does any senator wish to change his or her vote? if not, the yeas are 12, the nays are 85, and the motion is not agreed to. mr. kaine: madam president. the presiding officer: the junior senator from virginia. mr. kaine: might i inchoir if -- inquire if we're in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are not. mr. kaine: madam president, i rise today certain that some of the desk staff interest memorized the speech i'm about to give, because it's the third time i will have given it in the last few weeks, on a topic really important to virginia, the faa reauthorization bill that's now pending before the body. i want to thank chairwoman cantwell, ranking member cruz, and members of the commerce comm committee, because as a general matter this is a necessary bill wit

mr. padilla, aye. the clerk: mr. lee, no. the clerk: mr. lankford, aye. the clerk: mr. scott of florida, aye. mr. paul, aye. the clerk: mr. risch, aye. mr. vance, no. mr. kennedy, no. mrs. fischer, aye. the clerk: mr. rounds, aye. the clerk: mr. schumer, aye. the clerk: mr. mcconnell, aye. the clerk: mr. hagerty, aye. the clerk: mr. tuberville, aye. the clerk: ms. cortez masto, aye. ms. sinema, aye. mr. scott of south carolina, aye. the clerk: mr. romney, aye. the clerk: mrs. capito, aye. the clerk: mr. budd, aye. the clerk: mr. lujan, aye. the clerk: mr. sanders, no. ms. lummis, aye. the clerk: mr. welch, aye. mr. schmitt, aye. vote: the clerk: mr. cramer, aye. ms. smith, aye. the clerk: mr. sullivan, aye. the clerk: mr. ossoff, aye. the clerk: mr. hawley, no. the clerk: mr. cardin, no. the presiding officer: on this vote the yeas are 89. the nays are 10. three-fifths of the senators duly chosen and sworn having voted in the affirmative, the motion is agreed to. a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from virginia. mr. kaine: madam president, i

mr. padilla. mr. paul. mr. peters. mr. reed. mr. ricketts. mr. risch. mr. romney. ms. rosen. mr. rounds. mr. rubio. mr. sanders. mr. schatz. mr. schmitt. mr. schumer. mr. scott of florida. mr. scott of south carolina. mrs. shaheen. ms. sinema. ms. smith. ms. stabenow. mr. sullivan. mr. tester. mr. thune. mr. tillis. mr. tuberville. mr. van hollen. mr. vance. mr. warner. mr. warnock. ms. warren. mr. welch. mr. whitehouse. mr. wicker. mr. wyden. mr. young. the clerk: senators voting in the affirmative -- baldwin, booker, butler, cantwell, cardin, carper, coons, cortez masto, duckworth, durbin, gillibrand, hassan, king, lujan, merkley, murkowski, murray, padilla, peters, schatz, schumer, shaheen, sinema, stabenow, warner, warren, wyden. senators voting in the negative -- barrasso, blackburn, cassidy, cornyn, cotton, crapo, daines, ernst, fisher, grassley, johnson, kennedy, romney, thune, tillis. mrs. britt, no. mr. hickenlooper, aye. the clerk: mr. risch, no. the clerk: mr. sanders, aye. mr. reed, aye. mr. casey, aye. the clerk: mr. braun, no. ms. hirono, aye. mr. fetterman, aye. th

mr. chairman. chair whitehouse: senator braun followed by senator padilla. senator braun: thank you, mr. chairman. this question will be for mrs. call. i'm going to preface it with these comments. colleagues before me have had questions about the nature of life and human essence. i think it made the point that it's hard to distill that into economic terms. when you try to do it, especially through an institution, that is now become one that has no problem with borrowing and spending money from future generations, just to tell you where we are at there, this is the budget committee, we are now borrowing $1 trillion every six months. you know whose back that's going to be upon? our kids and grandkids. that's to what we're talking about today. on the subject matter here, that has no good ending to it. that's about as bad a business plan as anyone would ever want to be a part of. but here, to try to speak about this in economic terms, i think from the state i'm from, this is a question of being pro-family, pro mother, and that would be a place i think would be a legitimate place to have a di

quick senator padilla for. >> think it mr. chair. chief moore, great to see it.hank you for always taking my calls we just think thank you for the great work you have been doing. obviously when we are in a pinch dealing with some challenges there is no shortage of it in the state of california. i want to begin by thanking you and your entire team at the forest service for your work and ingeneral but more specifically and more recently for your support in the expansion of the national monument in northern california and the san gabriel mountain monument in southern california which includes additionalal acreage in the national forest. it's a majoran accomplishment, appreciate your partnership working together and thank you for the support of beverly who isis with this the celebration this last saturday doing to turn to anur issue that was touched n earlier in the hearing of federal firefighter pay i was approach introduced to a wildland firefighter protection act together with senator's sentiment which would protect the pate rays secured for wildland firefighters

our next witness will be introduced by senator padilla of california pre-have the floor to make your introductions. >> think it mr. chairman it is certainly my pleasure to introduce my friend and our witness today a fellow engineer, a fellow angeleno fellow immigrant chief executive officer for the metropolitan water district of southern california. the largest wholesale drinking water supplier in the country that provides water to 26 member public agencies. which collectively serves 5%, not just at the los angeles pop not just california population but 5% of our nations population. roughly 19 people rely on the metropolitan water district. just to put that into context for my colleagues, that is more people served by his agency alone then the entire population of every other state represented on this dais. under mr. hagekhalil leadership is entering a new era of sustainability and resiliency in the face of climate change. and other threats to southern california's water reliability ap for joining metropolitan he was executive director general manager of the city of los angeles bureau of street services where he