mr. sullivan: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from alaska. mr. sullivan: mr. president, as you know, once a week i come down to the floor when we're in session to recognize a person or group of people in my state who make it very, very special. the great state of alaska. we call them our alaskans, or alaska -- alaskan of the week. as you know, mr. president, alaska is beautiful, big, special. right now much of the state is gearing up for skiing season. the snow is out. there's nothing more beautiful and invigorating than taking to the slopes in alaska. it's also a glait time to see the -- a great time to see the northern lights dancing in the sky. so i urge everybody watching, come out to alaska winter, summer. it will be the trip of a lifetime. but of course it's much more than snow and beautiful dancing lights. our people are what make us so special. rugged, independent, generous, giving to their families, their communities, to our state, our country. and, mr. president, alaska is a

mr. sullivan: mr. president, i've been coming on the floor, many of us have been actually for the last several weeks to talk about a really important issue for the country, and that is getting administration officials in the trump administration confirmed by this body. there has been a resistance, a desire to not want to move very, very qualified people, unfortunately by my colleagues on the other side, and it's just not helping the country. it's just not helping the country. with each new administration, our great nation sees a peaceful transition of power. it's a remarkable pillar of american democracy, and this doesn't include just the transition with regard to the president and vice president, but also the team of officials in the federal government at senior levels that are required to run this country, in both, whether it's a democrat or republican administration, republican administration, it's not always easy to serve. and what we've been trying to do is help this administration find, get nomin

mrs sullivan i'm in we know the us come of the election put in is set to become president for a fourth term but don't you think that the next six years will be extremely crucial for you in the opposition to be able to sit together get your act together and move forward with a one platform one agenda and a very strong candidate to run for the twenty twenty four elections so you the truth it is already difficult because well as you may know our movement well russian officials are trying to say that our movement is a foreign movement although we are russian movement and there are say trying to say that we are undesirable organization in russia although it breaks even their own law which they invented to you well to to make it easier to ban the print organizations. and you know all the independent resources all the independent best media is being blocked and a lot of opposition leaders are being arrest that they have these eutectic they don't put people into print they don't put people to prison for for a lot of years they just put them constantly for thirty days according to administrativ

mr. sullivan: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from alaska. mr. sullivan: mr. president, as we all know, more and more brave women are speaking out about the abuse that has been reported in the papers, abuse by the powerful in many cases, and i want to say at the outset that the country applauds these women for their courage in setting an example for others. now, some of the stories we've heard about involve sexual harassment, but they also appear, some of the other stories appear to involve even more serious crimes, domestic violence, sexual assault, which is an incredibly important issue that often gets underreported all across the country. and with these news stories, i'm certainly hopeful that these kind of problems, the domestic violence problems we have in america are going to start to receive the attention that they need and deserve. just as we're seeing more men fired from jobs because of sexual harassment and assault, we also need to see more get the punishment they deserve in a court of law for violent abuse, and we need to make sure that victims are

mr. sullivan for all of his work on this project. that is going to bring affordable housing and community benefitss to this area of mid market. and with that, should we start with somebody from the planning department or ms. topier -- who wants to start? richard? >> good afternoon, supervisors. department staff. the item before you is for the project approvals for 1629 market street. on october 19, the planning commission considered a series of actions in support of the project at 1629. included in their actions were recommendations for approval of a general plan amendment to the market activity plan, to amend the plan in support of the project that is before you. a series of planning code text amendments and zoning map amendment to basically realign the zoning map toward new parcels that will be created as part of the project. as well as to increase the height limit for one of the parcels in support of the affordable housing parcel for the associated project and to establish the 1629 market street s.u.d. in addition, the planning co

mr. president is what energy dominance is all about. [applause] senator sullivan: mr.dent, i want to thank you and your administration and secretary zinke. senator murkowski said it very well. this administration has come in and recognized this incredible, incredible resource that we have in our nation. developing our energy is good for jobs, energy security, good for manufacturing, it's good for the environment, because we have the highest standards in the world. and it's very, very good for our foreign policy and national security. mr. president, sir, you released your national security strategy just a couple of days ago and in there, you talked about the economy, which is what this tax bill is all about, but you talked about energy dominance. and i want to thank you and on behalf of all alaskans, and americans, because it's the right policy and we are finally, finally doing it. thank you, sir. [applause] mr. young: thank you, mr. president. i want to thank all these guys standing behind me, these ladies, the people who helped me do this. this is 37 years i tried to

mr. sullivan: mr. president, i'd like to spend a few moments talking about why my colleagues and why the american people should be supportive of this very important legislation. historic legislation that we're debating now on the senate floor, and it's particularly historic for my state, the dpraigreatstate of alaska. there's been a lot of misinformation on this debate and we're seeing the debate, robust debate which is fine. i don't need to repeat all the arguments on both sides. but i will say to my colleagues on the other side have seemed to focus on one particular point. they're coming down here and they're making this point again and again and again. and that's the point that this bill will supposedly raise taxes on the middle class. we're hearing it. everybody's saying it. well, mr. president, the problem with that argument, it's just fundamentally untrue. and the truth will be in the paychecks of the american people that they'll see in a few months. so let me just talk about some of the provisio

sullivan to come up, from alaska. and don young. senator murkowski: mr. president, i don't know if you recognize this, is a very historic day and this is the beginning of winter solstice. it may not feel it right now, but it is the shortest day, the darkest day. for us in alaska, we had pretty dark days recently. but with passage of this tax bill and with passage finally almost 40 years later to open up the 1002 area, this is a bright day for alaska. this is a bright day for america. and we thank you for that. we thank you for that.

mr. sullivan: mr. president, i'd like to spend a few moments talking about why my colleagues and why the american people should be supportive of this very important legislation. historic legislation that we're debating now on the senate floor, and it's particularly historic for my state, the dpraigreatstate of alaska. there's been a lot of misinformation on this debate and we're seeing the debate, robust debate which is fine. i don't need to repeat all the arguments on both sides. but i will say to my colleagues on the other side have seemed to focus on one particular point. they're coming down here and they're making this point again and again and again. and that's the point that this bill will supposedly raise taxes on the middle class. we're hearing it. everybody's saying it. well, mr. president, the problem with that argument, it's just fundamentally untrue. and the truth will be in the paychecks of the american people that they'll see in a few months. so let me just talk about some of the provisio

mr. flynn. let's bring in sean sullivan and melanie zanona.y cobb's statement specifically referred to flynn as a former obama administration. add it all up, and what does it mean for the president and possible fallout for the white house? >> what you're seeing here is a classic political statement. the white house is racing to distance themselves from flynn. they're saying he's a former obama administration official, that he only worked in the white house for a few days, but i think that argument is getting harder and harder to make. unlike george papadopoulos, who had to plead guilty earlier this year and was a low-level play, and unlike manafort, who was charged with things that happened before the campaign, these charges directly relate to flynn's time in the white house and in the transition. this is a white house official. this is someone who actually worked in the white house. so this is a very big problem for the trump administration and a turning point in the presidency. this probe is going deeper. mueller is working methodically up t

mr. brian sullivan, what's happening there?mcdermott, the actor, it's the energy company, mcdermott international, mdr, doing a deal, basically buyin buying/merging with cbmi, old chicago bridge and iron based technically in the hague, the netherlands here mcdermott buying cbmi. going to combine two infrastructure energy plays here not much of a premiumon cb&i for the shareholders there, they're probably disappointed. here's how the deal is going to go down. mcdermott is going to pay 2.472 shares for cb&i for every stock it gets, roughly $18.40 per share which is about a 2% premium. now, keep this in mind, guys, chicago bridge and iron, which was an old carl icahn investment of a couple of years ago, was a $35 stock a year ago now in the 17s the deal taking it out at about 18.40. 2% to 2.5% premium not a lot. it will be based in that startup oil town known as houston. back to you. >> i've heard of it. good context, brian, thank you very much. brian sullivan. >>> thousands of passengers at the atlanta hartsfield-jackson airport

i want to ask lisa murkowski and dan sullivan to come up and don young. >> mr.sident, i don't know if you recognize this, is a very historic day and this is the beginning of winter sols cities. it is the shortest day and darkest day. for us in alaska, we had pretty dark days recently. but with passage of this tax bill and with passage finally almost 40 years later to open up the 1002 area, this is a bright day for alaska. this is a bright day for america. and we thank you for that. we thank you for that. think about it, 31 years we have been working on tax reform. 38 years now to open up and war. -- anwar. this has been a multi generational fight. and those who came here to be for the vote here tonight and today. [applause] >> to those who live there, to those who raise their families there and to those who are looking to live for generations know that our promise to you today is a bright future, one where we care for our environment and we care for our people and we also care for our country in providing a resource that is needed not only by the united states,

jacob sullivan, cheryl mills, william burns that threatened grave damage to the national security. >> well, as i said, mr. chairman, the handling of the investigation and whether or not in particular, whether or not decisions made in that investigation were the product of any improper considerations is precisely what the outside independent inspector general is investigating. and when we get his findings, i will look and see what appropriate action we can take at the fbi in response to that. >> can anyone on this committee set up a private server now and conduct classified business on it since not a single person has been prosecuted or held accountable for the clinton e-mail investigation? >> no. >> thank you. director wray, what are you doing to ensure that the top ranks of the federal bureau of investigation are cleared of individuals who are tainted by bias or those who have exhibited indiscretion by failing to demonstrate the integrity that americans expect from their top law enforcement officials? >> well, the first thing i'm doing is respecting the outside independent investigations that are under

and some of the details here, alaska's dan sullivan says, if these sickening claims are true, mr.re should step aside. nevada's dean heller says roy moore should do what's best for the conservatives of alabama and step aside. north carolina's richard burr, if any aspect of the story is true, he should withdraw. west virginia's shelly moore capito, if the allegations are true, roy moore should immediately step aside. and colorado's cory gardner, roy moore will never have the support of the senatorial committee. we won't support him, wolf. that's what phil's talking about. a lot of republicans have already created a very chilly atmosphere for this man. >> certainly have. could the senate actually, tom, refuse to seat him amid all of this controversy? or is it actually possible for him to be ejected? >> reporter: now it's down to the rules. under the rules, they must seat him, if he is legally elected. they have to swear him in. they could immediately launch an effort to investigate him and vote to throw him out. perfectly legal. it would take two-thirds of this chairman voting to th

alaska's dan sullivan says if she's sickening claims are true, mr. moore should step aside.best for the conservatives of alabama and step aside. north carolina's richard burr says if any aspect of the story is true, he should withdraw. shelly moore caputo, if the allegations are true, roy moore should immediately step aside. corey gardner going further, saying roy moore will never have the support of the senatorial committee. jake? >> is it possible for him to be ejected? >> no. he cannot be refused to be seated. he's legally elected if he wins. he has to be seated. they could immediately launch an effort to investigate him and then vote to throw him out if they want to do that, they're going to have to have 2/3 of this chamber voting to throw him out. that is a rare occurrence. happened in the civil war when more than a dozen democratic senators were thrown out for supporting the confederacy. hasn't happened since. they tried it a couple of times, in each case they resigned before such a finding could be made. here the really important point in all of this, if moore wins an

jacob sullivan, cheryl mills, william burns, that threatened grave damage to the national security? >> well, as i said, mr. chairman, the handling of the investigation and whether or not in particular whether or not decisions made in that investigation were the product of any improper considerations, is precisely what the outside independent inspector general is investigating and when we get his findings i will look and see what appropriate action we can take at the fbi in response to that. >> can anyone on this committee set up a private server now and conduct classified business on it, since not a single person has been prosecuted or held accountable for the clinton e-mail investigation? >> no. >> thank you. director wray what are you doing to ensure that top ranks of the federal bureau of investigation are cleared of individuals who are tainted by bias or those who have exhibited indiscretion by failing to demonstrate the integrity americans expect from their top law enforcement officials? >> well the first thing i'm doing is respecting outside independent investigations that are under way. my preferen

sullivan to come up. if don young is here and he is around here, come here. dan, get over here. >> mr. president.u recognize, it is of course a historic day but it is also the beginning of oyster salt -- winter solstice. it does not feel like it now but the winter solstice is the shortest day, the darkest day. for us in alaska, we have had recently some dark days. with the passage of the tax will, with passage finally almost 40 years later, to allow us to open up the 1002 area, this is a bright day for alaska and a bright day for america. so we thank you for that. [applause] think about it. 31 years, we have been working on tax reform. 38 years. this has been a multigenerational fight. i look to some of our friends from alaska who have come 5000 miles to be here for last night and today. there, toho live those who raise their families, to to those who are looking live for generations, know that our promise to you today is a bright future where we care for our environment, where we care for our people, and we also care for our country providing a only by theded not united states and alaskans, but

by individuals like those named in 2016 jacob sullivan, cheryl mills, william burns, that threatened grave damage to the national security? >> as i said, mrling of the investigation or whether or not -- in particular whether or not decisions made in that investigation were the product of any improper considerations is precisely what the outside independent inspector general is investigating. when we get his findings i will look and see what appropriate action we can take at the f.b.i. in response to that. >> can anyone on this committee set up a private server now and conduct classified business on it since not a single person has been prosecuted or held accountable for the clinton email investigation? >> no. >> thank you. director wray, what are you doing to ensure that the top ranks of the federal bureau of investigation are cleared of individuals who are tainted by bias or those who have exhibited indiscretion by failing to demonstrate the integrity americans expect from their top law enforcement officials? >> well, the first thing i'm doing is respecting the outside independent investigations that are underway. my preference is to be

sullivan to come up from alaska. they have been really working. if don young is here. he's around here. the three of them. come here. dan, get over here. >> yes, sir. >> lisa. >> thank you. mresident, i don't know if you recognize, this is a very historic day. it's also the beginning of winter solstice. doesn't feel like it right now. the winter solstice is the shortest day, the darkest day. for us in alaska, we've had some pretty dark days recently. but with passage of this tax bill, with passage finally almost 40 years later to allow us to open up the 1002 area, this is a bright day for alaska. this is a bright day for americans. we thank you for that. [applause] we thank you for that. think about it. 31 years we've been working on tax reform. 38 years now to open up anwar. this has been a multi-generational fight. i look to some of our friends from alaska that have come 5,000 miles to be here for the vote last night and today. [applause] to those who live there, to those who raise their families there and to those who are looking to live for generations know that our promise to you today is a bright future. one where we care for our environment, where we care for our peo

individuals like those named in 2016, jacob sullivan, cheryl mills, william burns, that threatened grave damage to the national security? >> well, as i said, mr. chairman, the handling of the investigation and whether or not in particular whether or not decisions made in that investigation were the product of any improper considerations is precisely what the outside, independent inspector general is investigating. and when we get his findings, i will look a see what appropriate action we can take at the fbi in response to that. >> can anyone on this committee set up a private server now and conduct classified business on it since not a single person has been prosecuted or held accountable for the clinton e-mail investigation? >> no. >> thank you. director wray, what are you doing to ensure that the top ranks of the federal bureau of investigation are cleared of individuals who are tainted by bias or those who have exhibited indiscretion by failing to demonstrate the integrity americans expect from their top law enforcement officials? >> well, the first thing i am doing is respecting the outside, independent investigations that are under way.

mr. sullivan: will you yield for a question? mr. brown: i will yield for a question if it is a question. mr. sullivan: do you believe that the new normal is ^1.5% like c.b.o., like the obama administration said, for the entire future? is that what you believe? and if you don't, how do we get to faster growth? mr. brown: of course i don't believe that's the new normal. it's the same old game they played before. if you're not for our tax plan, then you're not for tax reform. nobody believes that. i'm not -- of course we don't think 1.5% is the new normal. but you know what else we know? we know the last time 20 years ago when we focused on the middle class and cut taxes on the middle class during the clinton years, the economy exploded. 22 million private-sector jobs. but you know what happened a dozen years ago? president bush did two tax cuts for the wealthy under the view that it trickles down and everybody will do better. eight years of president bush, no economic -- no net job growth. yeah, the president during the last few years

mr. sullivan: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from alaska. mr. sullivan: madam president, i ask that following disposition of the balash nomination the senate proceed to consideration of executive calendar 167 as under the previous order. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. sullivan: madam president, i have five requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the l approval of the majority and minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. sullivan: madam president, today i'm gratified that we are finally debating and going to be voting on the nomination of joe balash to be the u.s. assistant secretary of interior for lands and minerals. i've been coming down on the floor, like a lot of my colleagues, making the case about how it's taken too long to get good people into the federal government. i'm sure i'll have to give that speech maybe a few more times. i hope not. but to finally get people who want to serve, been nominated by this president, who have been confirmed by the senate, to move them.

mr. sullivan: mr. president, every week i come down to the floor to talk a little bit about my great state, about the wonders of its natural landscape, a land that everybody should see for themselves, and we call -- we talk about special people. i know the presiding officer looks at this as one of the favorite times in his long week. we talk about these people who have made a difference in alaska as our alaskan of the week. it's one of the best things i get to do here as alaska's senator because i get to talk about alaska's beauty, the people that make my state so special, the kind, generous people full of rugged determination, full of patriotism, full of drive, full of life. living in the north in some of the most difficult terrain and extreme conditions of the world breeds competition in the best ways possible. it also sparks creativity all across the state. and when creativity meets competition, great things can happen. you saw great things happen on the basketball court late last month when the uni