ms. warren: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from massachusetts. ms. warren: thank you, mr. president. i rise to discuss the nomination of john root for the position of undersecretary of defense for policy. i am concerned about the influence of different industries on key positions in government. today the specific problem under discussion is the influence of the defense industry over the pentagon. the defense industry in america is powerful and profitable. the big five defense contractors together represented more than $100 billion in government contracts in 2016 alone. think about that. five corporations, $100 billion in taxpayer money in one year. the defense industry in america is powerful and president trump stopped the pentagon with an unprecedented number of nominees directly from the defense industry. these nominees will oversee all the government contracts. they will influence which companies get billions in taxpayer dollars and what exactly those companies have to do to collect their checks. without strict ethics rules and oversight, these nom

ms. warren: thank you, mr. president. i want to thank the senior senator from washington for her leadership on this important issue and for gathering women to come to the floor today to talk about the republican bill that's been proposed and that we'll be voting on soon. you know, when i was a girl growing up in oklahoma, women got abortions. make no mistake, abortions were illegal back then, but women got them. desperate women turned to back-alley butchers or some even tried the procedure on their own, using coat hangers or drinking turpentine. some were lucky but some weren weren't. so many women bled to death, some died of infection, some were poisoned, and they all went through hell. in 1973 the supreme court stepped up. 45 years after roe v. wade, abortions are safer than getting your tonsils out. a lot of women are had a live today -- a lot of women are alive today because of roe. nearly 70% of americans agree, roe v. wade is worth support something. and i wish i were here today to acknowledge the impact of roe. ins

ms. warren: thank you, mr. president. i want to thank the senior senator from washington for her leadership on this important issue and for gathering women to come to the floor today to talk about the republican bill that's been proposed and that we'll be voting on soon. you know, when i was a girl growing up in oklahoma, women got abortions. make no mistake, abortions were illegal back then, but women got them. desperate women turned to back-alley butchers or some even tried the procedure on their own, using coat hangers or drinking turpentine. some were lucky but some weren weren't. so many women bled to death, some died of infection, some were poisoned, and they all went through hell. in 1973 the supreme court stepped up. 45 years after roe v. wade, abortions are safer than getting your tonsils out. a lot of women are had a live today -- a lot of women are alive today because of roe. nearly 70% of americans agree, roe v. wade is worth support something. and i wish i were here today to acknowledge the impact of roe. ins

ms. warren: mr. president, are would we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: the senate is not. rein reason i ask that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: did you say -- the presiding officer: the senate is not. rein reason i ask to be recreationed to speak. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. warren: i rise to urge my colleagues to vote against the confirmation of alex azar to serve as secretary of the department of health and human services or h.h.s. when congress confers somebody to be h.h.s. secretary, they're putting that person in charge of some of the most important decisions made by the federal government, decisions that touch the lives of every family in america. the safety of the food inside our frigerators, the call of nursing homes where our grandmothers live, the price of our health insurance policy, the government's response to a flu outbreak. on these issues and many, many more, the h.h.s. secretary calls the shots. when congress debated tom price's nomination to be secretary of health and human services one year ago, i said that we should

ms. hirono: madam president, i would like to thank my friend, senator murray, for organizing this block of time for us. you just heard from senator warren and for all the work senator murray has done to fight for women all across the country. today's debate is the latest battle in the continuing assault on a woman's constitutionally protected right to an abortion. as decided by the supreme court in roe and reaffirmed in casey, the right to an abortion is rooted fundamentally in a woman's right to privacy. but the supreme court's recognition of this constitutionally protected right has not prevented continuous efforts to limit that right. i ask my republican colleagues who are on a mission to limit a woman's constitutional right to choose, what is more private than a person's right to her own body? not just to control her body but to literally own her body. what could be more private than that? that's what's at stake as we debate the bill before us today. my home state of hawaii was the first state in the country to legalize abortion and it continues to be at the forefront of protecting, expanding, and preserving this constitutional righ

ms. warren: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from massachusetts. ms. warren: mr. president, are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are. ms. warren: i ask that the quorum call be lifted and i be permitted to speak. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. warren: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i rise today to discuss the trump administration's recent proposal to expand offshore drilling to more than 90% of the u.s. waters. this handout to big oil executives puts short term profits ahead of long-term health and livelihood of america's coastal families and ignores the growing threat posed by climate change. this administration is too weak kneed to stand up for american families, too weak-kneed to say enough is enough when big oil executives demand more. and big oil executives keep demanding more because they don't like being told that any area is off limits. big oil didn't like being told that the extraordinary natural cultural and historical value of bears ears and grand staircase escalante made them off limits, or fossil fuel development.