ms. pritzker. thank you for allowing us to come here today to introduce the nominee the president has offered to this committee and the congress for the important position of secretary of commerce. i know you are leaning in our direction, mr. chairman, because of your wonderful illinois-born wife and your connections to our great state, and we thank you for that. but it is that you are in the leadership, and i do not want to mess around with you. [laughter] first. will be a mr. chairman, it is an honor to introduce penny pritzker. she is here that her family wit whom she will introduce. what you see when you consider her is not only decades of business and civic experience, which make her a strong candidate for this position, but also a warm, compassionate, worsen who has given back to the community in illinois and across the nation. fiveritzker has built businesses from scratch, served on numerous report for us, and have been an effective leader of major corporations. she ranks as one of the most

ms. penny pritzker. i fully support her nomination and look forward to working for her as she becomes the secretary of commerce. >> thank you, senator. >> mr. chairman, i want to say i am very enthusiastic for penny's nomination. i see her as a voice for business that the president will have to heed. let me point out a few things that the senator mentions, that she started a new business from the ground up that already employs 3500 americans. i have a letter for you that i would like to summit for the record by the former chairman of the fdic, william isaac, that i think will help you, and say to my republicans -- >> that will be included. >> i will hope that this voice for business becomes our next commerce secretary. >> great. you two distinguished senators have a choice. you can listen to senator rockefeller and senator thune. we appreciate that offer. >> that is the correct answer. >> senator thune and i will give our opening remarks. and then what we will do is what we did yesterday, and that is oth

ms. pritzker. shared with you, i have been disappointed that the current administration has been less than a vigorous in pursuing free trade. if you are confirmed, i hope you will be an effective voice for making the administration far more vigorous going forward. a second area that we talked about that i would like to discuss is the area of regulation. as you know, my top priority in office is restoring economic growth in this country. i think that is the most critical elements to ensuring our long-term strength and to also expanding the opportunity in this country for the least well-off among us, to climb the economic ladder and achieve the american dream. and we talked quite a bit about the impact of overly burdensome regulation and how that can harm businesses and especially small businesses that they're just starting and struggling and generate 2/3 of new jobs. yesterday in confirmation hearings in this room, the nominee to be secretary of transportation, i had a similar conversation with him

ms. pritzker i have one question. actually two questions to ask. about eight months to a year ago , oliver washington by which admit the white house, here and other places we were celebrating something called first nat. there were virtual cheering sessions at the white house everybody was so pleased and they loved the idea because it involved a voluntary action that would cost the taxpayers a dime. they finally got the house to agree to push them up to 7 billion. it really is about 11 billion that it would cost. but then it comes to layout the whole network. none of it comes to the taxpayers. one problem. the reason for this is you know firefighters goes back to the kuwait and the army would communicate with each other and a save situation. i just live in that situation and stovepipes, where people will not share. the first is way past, the first law was embarrassing. the law allows the fbi and cia to talk to each other. not that they would do anything, but they have to talk about to each other. rapid response, real-time, all the rest of it. we cam

ms. pritzker said it was an omission that was a clerical error on their fault. labor groups also upset about her nomination because of the hyatt hotel chain's relationship with its unions, those issues aside, even senator grassley says she is likely to be confirmed. >> labor groups early on weren't pleased that the president made this decision. all right, jim acosta, thank you so much. >>> ahead on "starting point," parents of one of the young victims of the disaster, recall the moment they knew their daughter was gone forever. >> i just started screaming and running and screaming and saying no. >> the full, heart-breaking interview, top of the hour. >>> and a crime so horrific, hard to describe, on the streets of london. a man butchered in broad daylight on a public road. what we're learning about the attack and motive. top of the hour. you're watching "starting point." ) bye bye! made a best friend forever. the back seat of my subaru is where she grew up. what? (announcer) designed for your most precious cargo. (girl) what? (announcer) the all-new subaru fores

ms. pritzker. >> thank you, senator schumer. mr. monk and the floor is yours. >> ranking members and members of the committee. i am honored to be considered for secretary of the united states department of commerce. with me today is my husband to, my rock and my best friend, doctor brian traubert. as well as my son and daughter. over the past few weeks, i have had the privilege to meet with many of you to discuss the department. and how we can work together to give entrepreneurs and businesses the tools that they need to create jobs and keep our economy growing. thank you for your valuable time and insights and perspective. american entrepreneurship is at the heart of my family's history. my great grandfather came to the united states from russia, dirt poor, at the age of 10. he taught himself english, worked several jobs, and earned his law degree at night and opened a law practice at the age of 30 or so. what is it healthy to work with his work with him at a motel on weekends. i would play on his adding machine to his office and h