patty murray had said that she would have voted for these amendments had she been there but she wasn't there and so we came we came short on this what's fascinating about it is essentially the laws that are now in place allow the f.b.i. and cia to run amok on the internet and signatures did not stop them when they could have all my gosh bad i mean so basically while this pandemic is happening americans are you know out of work they're probably at home on the internet a lot how does this translate to them to the average joe you and me. well it well it translates in a couple very important ways you know it's important for people to remember that this is all part of the continued surveillance of the patriot act this goes back to the patriot act in that it comes out of that continued surveillance of the american citizens so just give you an idea of what this means it essentially means that if the cia or the f.b.i. want to go through your browsing history your eye of history they want to see what you've been looking at what you've searched on the internet what you've read they were able to

that's wgot the federal rnment needs to be doing. >> woodruff: senator patty murray, ranking member, democrat, on the senate health committee. thank you so much. >> thank you. >> woodruff: in the day's other news, the u.s. sreme court heard two cases on whether president trump can ke his tax returns and financial records private. congressional committees and district attorney in new york have subpoenaed the documents. the day's arguments were made over the phone, and we'll have the news summary.oser look after in the presidential campaign, the presumptive demoatic nominee, joe biden, denounced president trump's claims that anyone can get tested for covid- 19. in an interview, the former vice president charged that mr. trep continues to show what called "needless complacency." >> he knew about this crisis all the way back in nuary and february. he's been incompetent, the way he responded. we have 80,000 deaths. we have more deaths, more of the virus, than any nation in the world. what's the story here? mean, come on. this is just fantasy land, what trre-ecteffo rdout.eanwle, th uf w m

contact tracing in relation to one question that was put to dr funk chief by democrat senator patty murray with regard to comments he made earlier this saying that state economies opening too soon could lead to needless suffering and death he said it was dependent on the capability of responding when the inevitability of cases occurs let's go to our white house correspondent kimberly hall could. you just give us an idea of what your take is in all of this because much of fought dr felt she was expected to say we kind of already knew didn't we because he'd sent an e-mail to the new york times. yes dr anthony has maintained a professionalism that is kind of his trademark in these hearings you've seen there where republicans say in their questions and democrats in their questions of trying to sway him in one direction or the other with his responses but his responses thus far have brit been pretty measured there's not a lot that i think the u.s. president should be concerned about in this thus far and certainly it was initially expected that the testimony from dr anthony fat she could be pote

senator patty murray, a democrat said, it is unacceptable. we don't have a strategic plan. what is the white house response. >> first i would note the words of dr. anthony fauci and it is this, we will have enough tests to take this country safely through phase one. i have sat in the task force meetings where the admiral has talked to governors and literally pull out his chart and saying here is your plan and request for testing in order to safely reopen. i can assure you that that will be satisfied this month. i have seen those meetings take place. i can assure the american people in line with what dr. fauci has said. we do have enough for phase one. by the end of the week we'll be able to say that we've conducted 10 million tests. we went from doing 150,000 tests per week to now testing about 300,000. that's an extraordinary effort and to not also note that that's two times what other countries are doing when you look at america's testing. i'd say that's pretty impressive and a testament to the work of this administration and the hard work of the private sector. >> reopen

self isolation following the coded 1000 diagnosis of a fellow staffer washington state senator patty murray was also absent an aide for her says that she would have voted in favor of the amendment securing it enough votes to pass but she'd actually been on her way back to d.c. when the vote was called senators bernie sanders and ben fast were also absent but it's unclear why. well tell me tell me about the a memo ok there was there was an attempt to say we need to revisit what's going. oh and with the patriot act we think it's being used in ways that it shouldn't be used we need to we need to take another look at it and so there was a minute that was attached to the usa freedom reauthorization act is i think it's called it was introduced by senate majority leader mitch mcconnell what can you tell me about that provision and what would it have meant. to take another look at the patriot act in a way that we're honest with ourselves where there is no more privacy and ask for me to well yeah mcconnell's proposed amendment to the usa freedom reauthorization act with essentially allows the f.b.i.

out though that we do expect this to get political if you listen to the comments from senator patty murray there the top ranking democrat on that committee she did not hold back in her criticism of the trumpet ministrations rambling of this crisis thus far she said that americans are not getting the truth from president trump she called the response so far disaster she said that delays put americans behind to on not just personal protective equipment but also on testing and she also criticized donald trump for promoting unproven treatments so expect the line of questioning particularly from democrats will be sharply critical of this administration and of course what we'll be watching very carefully for will be the answers from these public health officials to some of these very challenging questions indeed our white house correspondent kimberly how history will be bringing you those questions from that hearing live and also obviously all the reaction from the white house thanks very much company. well moving on briefly now on the movements of americans jury this lockdown are being revealed

not show up to vote and there was a 3rd senator who had actually said that she would vote for it patty murray said that she would vote for these amendments but they didn't show up at. so we actually saw this fail by one vote what this ultimately means is that the f.b.i. and cia can essentially access your browsing history and they can search your i.s.p. history they are able to basically take all that information and they don't need a warrant they don't need the presumption of a crime being committed they don't need to know that you were doing something nefarious they just can access it at any time now a lot of people would look at that and say but why would they unless you were doing something wrong the problem is is that that's not how the constitution is is designed it's not designed to say it only protects people at the moment when they might need it or only protect people who are doing good things the constitution is there to provide protections for all of us and checks and balances for law enforcement and this is just another example where the patriot act over the last 20 years continue

washington state democratic senator patty murray took that as an opportunity to slam the president and offer her own opinion. >> donald trump is trying to ignore the facts and ignore the experts who have been very clear we are nowhere close to where we need to be to reopen safely. >> reporter: except that's not the expert consensus, anthony fauci believes essential vaccines are promising but not imminent and students may have to go back to school without them. admiral gerard says testing is now on schedule but not the key to opening the country. >> having testing even widely does not nullify the need to change our practices in terms of sanitation, personal cleanliness, distancing, facemasks, things like that given what the dynamics could be. >> reporter: instead of waiting for a vaccine or additional testing senator lamar alexander who chaired the hearing from his tennessee home says we will likely just wait for the governors to decide what is appropriate for their respective states. >> it just got real out west, thousands of barbers and her stylists taking legal action against the sta

republican senator lamar alexander, also in self-isolation because of possible exposure, and senator patty murray appearing at home. those two senators agreed that testing so far in the u.s. has not been merely enough. republican senator mitt romney of utah went so far as to admonish admiral brett giroir for his claims about testing as he stood next to president trump yesterday in the rose garden. >> yesterday you celebrated that we had done more tests and more tests per capita, even, than south korea. but you ignored the fact that they accomplished theirs at the beginning of the outbreak while we treaded water during february and march. i find our testing recording in to celebrate whatsoever. >> indeed, as romney pointed out, south korea lost 258 citizens to this virus. as of this moment the united states has lost at least 81,805. all of the testimony today serving to contradict president trump's "mission accomplished" declaration just yesterday about testing. >> we have met the moment. and we have prevailed. >> and as cnn's kaitlan collins reports for us now, dr. fauci also said today the death

the top democrat on the panel washington senator patty murray has been working from home after the bigger nursing home outbreak in her state. last week alexander said lawmakers back and forth to washington, the senate majority leader mitch mcconnell focus on another lawsuit. >> this will be about the wot time in living memory to let trial lawyers lined their pockets at their expense of the rest of our country. the senate will play a strong role in ensuring that what does not happen. >> also hears something to look for. let's talk about how this hearing is going to look different than most of the hearings of most of the senators being in remotely. they talked about the steps that need to be taken to reopen the united states. >> important information and we will be all over it. >> sandra: for more on all days let's bring in senate member kelly loeffler. thanks so much for being here. this is obviously a big day for the country to listen to what those witnesses have to say in the hearing room. first i want to get your reaction to the headlines that are being made by dr. fauci is reported wor

patty murray had said she would be conferencing in.ll of this turns this hearing tomorrow into the nation's most anticipated zoom meeting. it is highly anticipated because for senators in both parties this, is their first real opportunity to ask questions of dr. fauci and of these other top public health officials away from the white house, away from the podium, away from a president who occasionally likes to cut them off in their answers and try to get answers on issues like testing, on reopening, on tracking and tracing, all the same things that the rest of the country is obsessed with, so too are lawmakers on capitol hill. they are being deeply affected in their work and personal lives in how they're trying to manage their own response to this crisis. >> garrett haake on capitol hill. geoff bennett at the white house. >>> joining me now is a democrat who will participate in tomorrow's hearing, senator tina smith. she sits on the senate health committee. thank you so much for joining us. let's talk a little bit about what we can anti

several senators, including patty murray and bernie sanders, were absent during the roll call. the amendment was co-sponsored by oregon senator ron wyden who told reporters -- "getting access to somebody's web browsing history is almost like spying on their thoughts. this level of surveillance absolutely ought to require a warrant." republican senator richard burr of north carolina stepped down thursday as the chair of the senate intelligence committee one day after fbi agents serving a search warrant seized his cellphone. burr is under scrutiny for a series of stock sales he made after he received privileged briefings about the threat of the coronavirus. burr's brother-in-law gerald fauth also dumped tens of thousands of dollars' worth of stocks on the same day in february that burr unloaded a large number of shares. georgia republican senator kelly loeffler said thursday she's turned over documents to the justice department, the securities and exchange commission, and the senate ethics committee. loeffler and her husband jeffrey sprecher, who's chair of the new york stock exc

patty murray will testify virtually. she plans to go after the president's handling of this, criticizing him, in her words, of going after the truth rather than going after the virus. there will be some sharp questions on both sides. one spokesman i talked to yesterday, bill cassidy, who sits on the committee is going to question why there is not a plan yet to reopen schools. he said that is a concern of his. tim kaine, a democrat on the committee, plans to question why the u.s., in his view, is doing much worse than other countries. expect a lot of pointed questions, a lot of pushback against the administration claims, and we'll see what these witnesses ultimately reveal, how much some of these witnesses, including anthony fauci, break from the message at the white house. >> john, the president has chosen to focus on many other things this morning, other things not focused on this critical testimony, it seems. >> no, he's quite distracted. he's under pressure from both the public health fallout as well as the economic f

ranking senate health committee democratic, patty patty murray, address the need for more moneyn today'searing. let's watch that and i will get a response, jose. >> including the white house, say they don't mike we have already provided enough economic relief. my question them is what i goods a bridge that only gets you to the middle of the river? we don't need to wait around to see if people need more help, we know they do pay we need to work quickly on another aggressive release package and we need to make sure our priorities in that bill are protecting our workers, our students, and our families and addressing this public health crisis, not bailing out corporations or protecting big business from accountability. >> harris: jose, republicans have pushed back and said that this is a lot of money. that senator mcconnell might want to hit the pause button on this. what do you say? >> jose: there's a lot of people, harris, without jobs. americans that are out of jobs that are connected to the coronavirus, we need to come together as democrats and republicans and continue to help. this is p

the top-ranking democrat, senator patty murray, had already been planning to be skyping from washington state. no explanation on why. hhs secretary alex azar, who has been largely missing from public view, is not on the witness list. >>> and in a rare rebuke to his successor, former president obama has sharply criticized the trump administration's response to covid-19, telling members of the obama alumni association on a private call this weekend that the effort has been an absolute chaotic disaster. joining me now, nbc white house correspondent geoff bennett, former obama white house press secretary robert gibbs and two former health and human services secretaries, former kansas governor kathleen sebelius and former congresswoman donna shalala. geoff bennett, first to you. the new safety protocols. you saw dr. deborah birx arriving today with a face mask. what about the challenges, especially to the national security staff? these are very small offices, downstairs in the white house basement, over in the executive office building. how are they going to accomplish this safely? >> report

chairman, i thought a critical moment was when the democratic ranking member patty murray pressed dr.t some point and said if we open up too fast, you think the consequences will be dire. and dr. fauci testified, no i think they will be serious. so we have to take this seriously but how do we find the balance do not open too soon but also make sure we get this economy going >> president trump: >> well, we do it state-by-state. governor cuomo does it his way in his state and governor lee has ramped up testing, is testing every nursing home and testing every prison. we have drive through testing and you can get a test of the public health department. his motto is when in doubt, test. so if you are thinking about going back to school in august based on what you heard at the hearing yesterday, you should be feeling better because there should be 40-50000000 tests available which means he might test everyone at a school or everyone on a college campus and then isolate anyone who might be sick. that would help everyone else feel better about being safe. >> sandra: thanks so much for being o

patty murray and i sent this letter and most of our democratic colleagues signed it.never thrive if workers do not consider themselves safe, when they go back to work and that means scaling up testing. it means providing the right equipment, it means invoking these strengthened osha standa standards. this president has never shown any interest in protecting workers, he's betrayed workers, secretary perdue is doing his bidding of course, the bidding of the large meatpacking plants, no regard for food safety, no regard for worker safety. >> let me put up what is in the heroes act that the house of representatives has passed. a trillion dollars to state and local governments, hazard pay for essential workers, $75 billion for virus testing. $175 billion for rent and mortgage utility assistance, additional money for the u.s. postal service, second round of direct payments of 1200 per person. i think most of our viewers would want those things done. it is not moved as of yet in the senate. but what mitch mcconnell has vowed to do is to end the enhanced unemployment benefits

a lot is due to lamar alexander and patty murray, the leaders. they do a good job working together.had shared health priorities in general. they may be ideological opposed but philosophically they are close. i would say i'm listening to this hearing. on the one hand you're very encourage everyone is dealing with the same set of facts, whether a republican asking the question or democrat. this is a reminder in some ways, lester, as uncomfortable as it is to say it, president trump doesn't -- his presence seems to create more chaos, create more issues in a given moment. take him out of the equation, and you have sort of a clear if, i would say, tough picture we're facing. we need a lot more testing. i want to pick up on what geoff bennett said, the admiral said we'll have tests by september. we have to have tests by september or we're not opening anything up, the university of tennessee, my kids' middle school or 30 rock. so we've got a ways to go. i will say this, part of me is oddly encouraged by watching this group of senators work together. this is probably the more high functioni

patty murray has always be on the forefront of this effort and i back them every way possible. we had 30% or more increase the last four years in research at the n.i.h. so i believe in the n.i.h. and i've made it a major part of the job that i've undertaken here in the united states senate with my bipartisan colleagues. clinical trials we know are under way at n.i.h. for vaccines. i want to commend that agency. dr. fauci, a friend of more than 20 years, and dr. collins the same, for their tireless, unwavering and inspired effort. but it's plausible, as i mentioned earlier, that the best vaccine candidate may turn up in some other country, not in the united states. it will be some overseas company that decides to initiate and lead the production of the vaccine. in a rush to research and value date a vaccine, ramp up production, address global allocation and supply needs and ensure affordability and access worldwide, where will the united states stand in the fray, in the battle, or on the sidelines? last week we decided to stay on the sidelines and not to work with global partner

several other senators including patty murray and mitt romney also participated from home, while the few attending in person maintained significant physical distance. tim kaine was there in the hearing room. he appeared with a bold hank handkerchief covering his nose and mouth. thr while the president often uses the podium to tell people to ignore his experts, today dr. anthony fauci was able to clearly talk about the virus and in many instances contradict the president's favorite talking points. >> the idea of having treatments available or a vaccine to facilitate the re-entry of students into the fall term would be something that would be a bit of a bridge too far. when you talk about will this virus just disappear? and as i've said publicly many times, that is just not going to happen because it's such a highly transmissible virus. what we have worked out is a guideline framework of how to safely open america again. and there are several checkpoints in that with a gateway, first, of showing depending on the dynamics of an outbreak in a particular region, state, city or area, that