the senator from washington, mrs. murphy. the senator from vermont, mr. leahy. the senator from minnesota, ms. klobuchar. the senator from wisconsin, ms. baldwin. the senator from new jersey, mr. menendez. and the senator from delaware, mr. coons. the speaker: members of the escort committee will enter the chamber through the lobby doors. asst. sergeant at arms: mr. speaker, the acting dean of the diplomatic corps. asst. sergeant at arms: mr. speaker, the president's cabinet. se sergeant at arms: the president of the french republic.

mr. murphy: thank you, mr. speaker. i'm proud to be the lead democrat on this bill and i want to thank my colleague and friend, congressman brian fitzpatrick, for his leadership on this important issue. this bipartisan legislation toughens federal anti-stalking laws by increasing the penalty for convicted defendants by up to five additional years when their victim is a minor. the bill also requires the department of justice to review the enforcement of stalking laws at the state and federal level. and to identify best practices for enforcing such laws. publishing best practices will help law enforcement agencies and prosecutors around the country secure convictions in these difficult cases. there's nothing more important than protecting the -- our children from harm. adults who harass or intimidate minors must understand that the penalty for their conduct will be severe. i'm pleased the house will approve this bill today and i urge the senate to swiftly do the same. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: t

mr. murphy: i ask we dispense with the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. murphy: thank you, mr. president. i come to speak on the pending nomination of mike pompeo to be secretary of state. i opposed that nomination in committee, and i will oppose it on the floor. i have said publicly that this wasn't an open and shut case for me. i frankly would submit that i probably voted for more of the president's nominees that come before the united states senate than many of my democratic colleagues. i do believe in substantial amount of deference to the president and the choices that he makes to serve him in his administration, and there have been a number of applicants for cabinet posts that i have supported, even though i had grave misgivings about the policies that they were going to be articulating and that they were going to be carrying out. i also believe director pompeo when he talks about the morale crisis at the department of state and his sincere desire to try to remedy that and address it. there is a morale crisis at the department of state. after secreta

mr. murphy? -- it seems hard to imagine we're going to see any action on this particular issue. and mr. sessions is being very aggressive, it would seem, in terms of pushing what many say is an antiquated view. still calling it a gateway drug, for example, and things like that >> at acreage, we're trying to change the conversation and having john, the speaker and governor weld joins us in that conversation is changing that conversation 29 states today have medical use cannabis in those states, and those states are growing states are also coming online for adult use. candidly, because states need the money. and given the size of the market today, it's anticipated it will be a $75 billion market soon >> the speaker mentioned this idea of banks not doing your business a lot of these places still have a lot of cash on hand. is that still an issue >> that is an issue for some we bank at a lot of local banks so it's less of an issue for us. it's our job to prove that this money has not come from illici

mr. murphy: do you have any reason to they j.c.t. is father off the mark? dr. hall: yo. -- no. senator murphy: i think that's an important point. something sold as beneficial to the middle class is actually beneficial to the best off. that brings me to the second point which is your analysis shows that from 10 months ago until now, the annual deficit has grown from an estimated $563 billion to an estimated $804 billion or roughly $241 billion increase from 10 months ago. dr. hall: that's correct. senator murphy: and over o10 years i think your numbers were about $1.6 billion. on top of the baseline 10 months ago. dr. hall: yes, sir. senator murphy: how much of that is the tax bill and how much of that is the spending bill? dr. hall: the -- that's a good question. the tax bill is a big part of that i think the tax bill is, i'm sorry, let me look it up quickly. dr. hall: i can tell you he the spending part of it. spending is about 45% of that increase. it's a significant part. but the remainder, probably more than the remainder is the tax bill. senator merkley: so a great share of

mr. murphy, why on everett would he think like that -- why on earth would he think like that?' tax, raise the sales tax? you've got a background of capitalism, goldman sachs. you know how markets work. you know how revenue works. why is he doing this? >> i think he believes it, stuart, to -- i tell people this all the time, i give him credit, this is what he believes in, this is what he's doing. but he has to understand that as democrats in the legislature, we are the same party of him, we don't agree. we have concerns, and we want to have a conversation on fixing new jersey first. you know, again, stuart, this is -- when the governor talks about these, this is the first installment of four installments. this one costs $1.7 billion. where does the money come from next year to make the next installment? it's time to stop talking taxes, and it's now time to talk about fixing new jersey. stuart: sir, that is a sound bite that will live with us for a long, long time, and we're going to use it. steven sweeney, we do thank you for being with us. thank you very much. >> thank you, st

mrs. murphy: thank you, mr. speaker. i'm proud to be the lead democrat on this bipartisan bill which would provide government officials with the timely information they need to prevent and punish fraud in connection with charitable solicitation and the use of charitable assets. i want to thank my colleague and co-lead from pennsylvania, congressman mike kelly, for his leadership on this issue. i also want to thank the chairman and ranking member and the members of the ways and means committee which unanimously approved this bill last week. our bill would require charities to annually file internal revenue service 990 used by tax-exempt organizations in electronic as opposed to paper format and make this available to the public in machine readable format. our legislation has ben been endorsed by the national association of state charity officials which is an association of state agencies that oversee charitable organizations. the purpose of our bill is three-fold. first, it will help law enforcement agencies and governmen

murphy. go ahead. [laughter] >> thank you, mr. chairman. we are belaboring these questions of authorization, and i suspect you know why. many of us have had misgivings about how the executive has expanded the ability to act unilaterally without congressional authorization. both in this administration and in prior administrations. there are differences, though. president obama didn't think he had the authority to launch missile strikes against syria without congressional authorization. this administration believes it does. but the concern spans both. so i'll ask one last question on this subject. the rationale for u.s. military troops in syria has been to fight isis and many of us support that even if we don't believe the authorization exists, we believe in the mission. the administration has started to signal publicly that there is a follow-on mission for our existing presence, which is to combat the influence of iran in the future settlement of accounts inside syria. do you believe that u.s. troop presence is necessary inside syria to try

mrs. murphy: thank you, mr. speaker. when the federal government spends far more than it receives year after year, it threatens the long-term stability of our economy, compromises our children's future, and undermines our security. amending the constitution to require a balanced budget is a serious step, but one that's become appropriate. that is because all other efforts to make congress demonstrate a reasonable degree of fiscal discipline have failed. but not all proposed balanced budget amendments, or b.b.a.'s, are created equal. the b.b.a. we are considering today, and i say this with respect to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, is profoundly cruel and cynical. it's poorly crafted because it's excessively rigid. it doesn't allow federal lawmakers to run small deficits to help a country emerge from a recession or depression. that's bad economic policy. it is cruel because it will allow a federal court if called to enforce the b.b.a. to order cuts to social security and medicare payments, harming seniors wh

murphy. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you, director. good to see you. this is an extraordinary article, i believe, from late last year in "the new yorker" that speaks to china's rise coinciding with an american retreat from the globe. and i think we've all seen that as we traveled the world the presence the united states used to have simply isn't there and other countries are taking advantage. this article in part describes a regular meeting with the wto, and it quotes someone in attendance as saying, for two days of meetings there were no americans and the chinese were going into every session and chortling about how they were now the guarantors of the trading system. the article makes the case that trump is china's biggest strategic opportunity. i've seen this, we've all seen this at multilateral meetings that we used to see major u.s. military presence. there is virtually no presence and other countries are taking advantage of that. what do you think about the scope of our presence at some of these rule-setting meetings and what are your plans for th

senator corker: senator murfifment senator murphy: thank you very much, mr. chairman. admitting you made a mistake is a very difficult thing. and america's biggest foreign policy mistakes come when we make a decision for military engagement and don't allow for facts on the ground to educate us about a mistake that we have made. the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different set of results. i feel like that's where we're five years into an could flict in which nothing has changed except for the worse. the huttis control effectively the same amount of the country they did at the outset. the humanitarian nightmare has gotten worse. we're still sitting here today talking about a peace process blossoming out of a reality on the ground that looks very different. that does not look very different than it did a year or two years ago. mr. satterfield, let me pose this theory of the case to you. i have great respect for you, but i do think that this impression that you are giving the committee that the iranians don't want to come

murphy. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you, director. good to see you. this is an extraordinary article i believe from late last year in the new yorker what speaks to china's rise coinciding with an american retreat from the globe. i think we've all seen that as we traveled the world that the presence the united states used to have just simply isn't there. and other countries are taking advantage. this article in part describes relatively routine meeting of the wto in which they were negotiating trade rules for agricultural and seafood. something the united states used to is a big role at. it quotes someone in attendance saying, to two days of meetings, there were no americans. the chinese were going into every session and charteling about how they were now the guarantee p tors of the trading system. the article makes the case that trump is china's biggest strategic opportunity. i've seen this. we've all seen this at multilateral meetings that we used to see major u.s. administration presence. there's virtually no presence. and other countries are taking

murphy. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you, director. good to see you. this is an extraordinary article, i believe, from late last year in "the new yorker" that speaks to china's rise coinciding with an american retreat from the globe. and i think we've all seen that as we've traveled the world, that the presidents of the united states used to have just simply isn't there, and other countries are taking advantage. this article in part describes a relatively routine meeting of the wto in which they were negotiating trade rules for agricultural and seafood, something that the united states used to have a big role at. and it quotes someone in attendance, saying "for two days of meetings, there were no americans, and the chinese were going into every session and chortling about how they were now the guarantors of the trading system." the article makes the case that trump is china's biggest strategic opportunity. i've seen this. we've all seen this at multilateral meetings that we used to see major u.s. presence there. there's virtually no presence and other

the gentleman from massachusetts mr keating the gentleman from new york mr meeks the gentleman the gentlewoman from florida ms murphy and the gentlewoman from connecticut miss s.d. . does it is this thing of the delegate. being named a now. let's take a look why were atmospherics and during this visit so important was this visit lupul for trouble from a crawl i think that this is more important from a crime to be quite frank because there are two deadlines looming for things that france really cares about and he needs to deliver that he has to move trump not the other way around he got a lot of optics the content is still to be seen what we just heard read was a list of all the leadership on the republican and democratic side coming into the chamber a lot of pro pomp and circumstance very similar to france the u.s. and france have these deep democratic traditions these deep ceremonial procedures that both countries are pretty and that hold it in very high regard so we're seeing that a little bit here with the vice president and the speaker of the house speaking here . now of course we have to reminded that this is i

murphy. go ahead. >> thank you, mr. chairman. we are belaboring these questions of authorization, and i suspect you know why. many of us have had misgivings about how the executive has expanded the ability to act unilaterally without congressional authorization. both in this administration and in prior administrations. there are differences, though. president obama didn't think he had the authority to launch missile strikes against syria without congressional authorization. this administration believes it does. but the concern spans both. so i'll ask one last question on this subject. the rationale for u.s. military troops in syria has been to fight isis and many of us support that even if we don't believe the authorization exists, we believe in the mission. the administration has started to signal publicly that there is a follow-on mission for our existing presence, which is to combat the influence of iran in the future settlement of accounts inside syria. do you believe that u.s. troop presence is necessary inside syria to try

murphy. executive director chang, i saw you don't want to add. mr. abbey, has there been any analysis of stacking the tunnels on top of one another? >> we have not looked at that. as i mentioned, the verityal alignment -- vertical alignment is pretty much retrained. most of it is kind of shallow. that may be technically difficult to do. we have not studied it, however. >> okay. at the risk of opening a can of worms and maybe this is a rhetorical question, but it's a serious question, which is who ultimately is going to be in charge of this project? maybe that's not -- do you want to take this? >> that's above my pay grade, vastly. >> it's a vexing question. >> it's a question to me, supervisor. >> i bet it is. >> the tgpa is currently in charge. i wish for them to continue to be in charge. as i mentioned to you before and to our partners, this project is going to be delivered collectively by all of us. as it moves forward, it will be in coordination and partnership with smta, planning, san francisco planning, and caltrain and high speed rail. it will

murphy. >> thank you, mr. f chairman. it looks like i'm the last woman standing on the side.hank you all for being here today and for your patience. as you know the national defense strategy concludes that the interstate strategic conference competition is not terrorism as a main primary concern in the u.s., and u.s. national security. while i agree the department must focus more on account of the growing threats from russia and china, i represent a district in central florida that was significantly impacted by terrorism in june 2016t a gunman who swore allegiance to isis, killed and wounded over 100 people, the deadliest terrorist attack in the united states since september 11. fortunately the pulse nightclub shooting serves as a tragic reminder of the violence motivated by ideological extremism is in entering threat to our security at home and abroad. how do you think the department should polish itself to continue protect the homeland against imminent threat from terrorism while also addressing this transition to an interstate strategic competition in the long-term? >> you

mr. varney, it is all yours. >> let's see now. you've got murphy, that lady right there, you know, they used to be on our show all the time. but now total desertion? do they like getting up at 2:00 in the morning, i might ask. >> you are a trouble maker. >> i am. but thanks, dagen. i'll take it from here. don't worry about it. on monday, everyone wants to know how their money's doing. good morning, everyone. a modest gain. that's what we're going to see a half hour from now. the dow up 140, s&p 11, nasdaq about 40. a lot of talk today about the big profits that will be reported starting this week. we're hearing gains of 15 to 17% or even more. surely, that is a plus for stocks. we'll see about that. the news backdrop. frankly, very hard to take. a gas attack in syria blamed on assad, the ally of iran and russia. well, that was saturday. last night, a missile attack on a syrian base, 14 dead, including iranians. russia blames israel. says israel did it. the u.s. denies any involvement. but president trump says there will be a high price to pay for t

mr. varney, it is all yours. >> let's see now. you've got murphy, they used to be on our show all the time. but now total desertion? do they like getting up at 2:00 in the morning, i might ask. >> you are a trouble maker. >> i am. but thanks, dagen. i'll take it from here. don't worry about it. on monday, everyone wants to know how their money's doing. good morning, everyone. a modest gain. that's what we're going to see a half hour from now. the dow up 140, s&p 11, nasdaq about 40. a lot of talk today about the big profits thawi b

murphy, and others to promote a center at the state department that coordinates all of the efforts and particularly focuses on the online effort. it is called the global engagement center. i spoke with mr. pompeo privately and also in public testimony about this issue, and he has expressed his strong support for that global engagement center and for having a more effective and robust response. so i think he is the right person at the right time. i think he is qualified for this job as well as anyone i can imagine out there and, again, talking to my colleagues, some of them have said that they disagree with president trump's positions and that's why they are opposing mr. pompeo. you know, their favorite person who would probably be in the other party and have different views will not be nominated by president trump. president trump is going to nominate somebody who does support him on most of his basic approach to foreign policy and who he trusts. that's just how it works. again, when we supported john kerry with a 94-5 vote, it's not that we agreed with all of the policies from president obama, it's that we believed president obama should have the right to have his secretary of state,

mr. fasman: last week you mentioned there was a sports betting case for the supreme court that could have ramifications for the cannabis business. now it is murphy vs. is new jersey wants to legalize given. there is a lot at the if you do not have sports betting man, you r.nnot do it now, eve new jersey says that is unconstitutional. they can tell us individuals, they can say, marijuana is illegal, and states should not be able to legalize it because of the supremacy clause. that is not what the gambling law did. it adjust it at the state legislature -- it addressed it at the state legislature. should new jersey when, the say -- would bolster the case for a legalization of marijuana. it would not be a culture, but it would raise the profile of the idea federalism. mr. fasman: 280e, to give the audience a brief explanation, what does it do and why is it there? forbidding, the law -- the law that bars marijuana businesses from claiming tax deductions? ms. minton: that is what you are going to have to ask the tax experts. mr. fasman: tell me where the sports betting case is now. ms. minton: the court heard arguments in december. i was there. surpri

miss murphy, coming in late, do you have a scintillating question that is just going to change the world? >> i'm not sure that my question will change the world, mr. chairman. but i do want to get it in for the record if that would be okay. >> it's recognized. >> thank you. first i want to thank you all for appearing before the committee today and thank you the ranking member for holding this hearing on important issue. i agree that the transition process is too slow and cumbersome especially given the lifecycle of tech today. secretary esper, i appreciated the opportunity to meet with you many and i know the army is potentially knew futures command. can you elaborate on the search pros stes and high lieltlight af the things for the new headquarters. >> yeah, course action future command and that has completed that task. they are now developing a set of criteria upon which we will consider locations for the actual futures command. so that will be coming to me sometime next week or two for approval. and then beyond that point, we'll start putting locations through that filter and seeing how things come out. there will be a number of factors. i thi