senator cochran: senator graham. senator graham: thank you, mr. rosenstein. why isn't jeff sessions here today? mr. rosenstein: well, senator, my understanding is consistent what was in the attorney general's letter. i don't know any reason other than what he said publicly. senator graham: it's 13, june. do you know any reason for cause to fire mr. muler as of this date? mr. rosenstein: no, i do not, senator. senator graham: and that would be your decision if that ever happened, is that right? mr. rosenstein: that's correct. senator graham: and you are going to make the decision? mr. rosenstein: if i am in this position it is my -- senator graham: is [inaudible] from serving in the special counsel's office? mr. rosenstein: no, it's senator, it's not a disqualification. senator graham: in states judges and prosecutors are elected, donations are part of the system, is that correct? mr. rosenstein: yes, that's true. senator graham: would it be a disqualification for somebody in the special counsel's office who misrepresented ms. clinton in the past to serve? mr.

senator hatch: senator carper. senator carper: i commend you for something you did 24 years ago and what you did is you co-sponsored legislation authored by john chafee that stablished marketplace exchanges. you established the market exchanges in every state. but to also say in order to make sure that the insurance companies had a healthy pool of people to insure, that there would be an individual mandate. can't force people to get coverage. and fine them and incentivize them. i want to congratulate you for co-sponsoring legislation for an employer mandate and providing for the idea that nsurance can't deny coverage to people who have a pre-existing condition. all those ideas are part of romneycare in massachusetts and all those ideas are part of the affordable care act. and part of the affordable care act that republican colleagues like the lease are -- least are those ideas. i like those ideas. i like market forces and harness to make market forces work. you came up with a good idea in 1993. and i just wish that

senator franken. senator franken: thank you, mr. chairman. mr. blanco, in my state of minnesota, former minneapolis police chief ken dolen used to say crime victims are far less likely to dial 911 if they know that the police officer who responds to that call is going to check their papers. and statistics bear this out. a 2013 study from the university of illinois found that 44% of latinos report they are less likely to call the police even when they are the victim of a crime because they believe that officers will use the interaction as an opportunity to check their immigration status. 45% say they're less likely to volunteer information about crimes they've witnessed. and this here isn't confined to immigrants. 28% of latinos born in the united states say they are less likely to call the police when they are the victim of a crime because they fear police will ask them about their status or the status of people they know. now, that study was conducted before the 2016 campaign, a campaign in which then-candidate trump made scapegoating immigrants

senator mccain is on the floor, senator graham, senator rubio, senator menendez, senator shaheen. so many members that have gotten us to this place. this is a great moment for the united states senate. this is the way the senate is supposed to function and this is the way the senate is supposed to exercise its per prerogatives it relates to foreign policy. a great moment for our body. senator cardin. mr. cardin: well, first to senator corker. there's a reason why members want to conserve -- serve on the senate foreign relations committee. we had a long list ofle members who wanted to -- of members who wanted to join the committee. the reason they wanted to join is not only because of the issues we have globally, but this is a committee that is bipartisan and respects the views of every single member, both democrat and republican, that is on the senate foreign relations committee. the bill we have before us reflects that in the best tradition of the united states senate and the foreign relations committee. that is due in large part pause of the -- large part because of the chairman

senator blunt: thank you, senator rubio. senator capito. senator capito: thank you, chairman blunt, secretary acosta, it's nice to see you. thank you for your service. my companion senator from the great state of west virginia asked a couple similar questions as to what ways going to ask, particularly on the mine safety and health administration. obviously it's important for us who have a lot of coal miners in a dangerous situation that they remain safe. and so i appreciate your efforts there to continue -- continuous funding to fund that office and the challenges. i am happy to report that in west virginia we have 1,034 more coal miners working than we did at the end of 2016. the administration's efforts in that regard are very much appreciated. in the context of losing so many jobs, tens of thousands of jobs, program was created within the labor department to help dislocated workers from the coal industry to readjust and it's been funded at $19 million and $20 million in retraining and i believe this is still very much needed. insights no

burr burr senator rubio. -- senator burr: senator rubio. senator rubio: i understand the need the president can talk to those particularly in a classified setting and i understand the ability of this community to function depends both on its credibility, the work that it's doing is in the national security interest of the united states and also the importance of its independence, that it's not an extension of politics no matter which administration is at play. in the absence of either one of those two things impacts everything we do, including this debate we're having here today. and the challenge that we have now is that while the folks here with us this morning are constrained in what they can say, there are people who work for you that are not and are constantly speaking to the media about things and saying things and it puts the congress in puts the congress in a very difficult position because the issue of oversight on both your independence and on your credibility falls on us. and i actually think what is being said to the media is un

i guess senator mcconnell 100 senators need in the old senate chamber to have a discussion. it was all rejected. they did not want us to be involved because i suppose their number one goal was for tax cuts on the wealthy in our party doesn't go for that. i'm going to start it over to patti and ron. i have to go downstairs. [inaudible] >> i think that is the question we will do what they've become to it. the question asked whether or not republicans are going to vote for a bill that puts 22 million people at risk of losing their insurance increases cost and charges seniors more. we will see if they take that vote. >> let me add one thought to that. i talked to the leader about this and senator murray at the health care committee and the finance committee will certainly be our colleagues. our colleagues have plenty of ideas for material amendments, amendment that are hugely important and frankly i think generate bipartisan support. i will continue to consult with my colleagues. i can tell you on our side we have a number of senators who have really important material amendment

i'm a united states senator. i remember my conversations with ambassadors from different countries and what i discussed. this whole thing to me is just another example of a person that should not be the attorney general. >> all right. senator cory booker, thanks for your time. >> thank you. >>> later, senate republicans continue to hide their trumpcare bill. i'll talk to a democrat who is talking about shutting down the senate before any vote can happen. >>> and more rumors and reporting swirls about the president's intentions over the future of the special counsel investigating russia as one republican goes to the house floor and says, get rid of mueller. he's dirty. that story after this two-minute break. new neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair with the proven power of retinol. reduces wrinkles in just one week. neutrogena® lwho's the lucky lady? i'm going to the bank, to discuss a mortgage. ugh, see, you need a loan, you put on a suit, you go crawling to the bank. this is how i dress to get a mortgage. i just go

a decade under the senate plan. the lawmakers say, well, they will vote against even beginning debate on this. that's a move that would kill the measure. let's begin with brian nobles on hand for the beginning of the press. it's pretty clear what paul ryan is going to say this morning. he was previewing it. >> reporter: that's right. they are not putting much stock in the cbo score. republicans are casting doubt on whether this is something that should be relied upon and whether or not the bill should move forward. we want to hear what the house has to say if the senate bill does make it through that side of the capitol and make it back over here. are they going to push through a vote as quickly as friday and have the health care bill done before everybody leaves for the fourth of july break. they have a lot of hand wringing to do before they get to that point. because there are so many changes, it's a much different bill from when they left this side of the capitol. is house leadership concerned with the changes? t

that's senator grassley, the chairman of the senate judiciary committee. and i'm sure senator murray has similar accounts of the process under the late senator kennedy. that legislation was online for days as well. that's what the legislative process is supposed to look like. it's a process that starts from the bottom up. and it is out in the open. sunlight has always been the best disinfectant. you get hearings, you get study, you get debate. you marry the best ideas of both sides. i've always felt the bipartisanship is not about taking each other's lousy ideas. bipartisanship is about taking each other's good ideas. but because of the process that the republican leader is insisting on, that is not what the majority has on offer. what's in the works, hidden away so that the public and americans across this country who might be sitting in a coffee shop and would like to pull up a proposal on their laptop, they can't do it, and there aren't any hearings on what might be going as well. that in my view is the wrong way to build a sweeping, massive proposal li

senator burr: mr. comey testified at length before the committee about his interaction with the president, highlighting your presence at the meetings, and you addressed the meeting where all were asked to leave except director comey and he had a private meeting with the president. you said he did inform you of how uncomfortable that was and your recommendation was that the f.b.i. and d.o.j. needed to follow the rules limiting further correspondence. did director comey ever express additional discomfort with conversations that the president might have had with him? because he had two additional meetings and i think a total of six phone calls. attorney general sessions: that is correct. there's nothing wrong with the president having a communication with the f.b.i. director. what is problematic for any department of justice employee is to talk to any cabinet person or white house officials, high officials, about ongoing investigations that are not properly cleared through the top levels of the department

senators senator susan collins t against as it was written. told reporters, she is not sure if any changes would make the bill passed. >> difficult for me to see how any tinkering is going to satisfy my fundamental and deep concerns about the impacts of the bill. >> shep: senator collins and every other republican senator is heading to the white house and the next hour to meet with the president. big picture, republican lawmakers have them promising to repeal and replace obamacare for the better part of the decade. president trump put it on the top of his to-do list on the campaign trail. he promised no cuts to medicaid. this bill would break that promise pitts is the president has taken obvious with majorities in both timbers of congress, house republicans failed on the first attempt to pass health care. then, they barely passed it in the house. now, senate republicans are struggling. no compromise insight and town hall meetings coming over the holiday recess, they are expected to be attended by constituents who are opposed by the bill or any

senator reid. senator reid: thank you, senator mccain. i want to welcome our witnesses to testify on the programs for the department of the navy for fiscal year 2018. we are grateful to all of you for your service, particularly grateful to the men and women you lead and express our consideration and thanks to them. senator reed: i want to thank senator stackley for his service, this may be your last appearance as secretary, thank you very much far job well done. senator mccain: i'm sure this is a sad moment for secretary stackley. senator reed: he was very upbeat before. thank you again, mr. stackley. witnesses face challenges, they eed to balance maintaining readiness. the department of the navy faces serious readiness problems caused by deferred maintenance, canceled training and deployments. the continued emphasis on readiness in this year's budget will address some of the navy's most serious readiness problems and i'm interested in hearing the witnesses' views on this matter. i'm most interested in hearing what the navy is doing for t

senator shaheen. >> thank you. i share the concerns that senator schumer could hear these concerns when i talk to people in new hampshire. it is outrageous that we have won six of our economy being written in secret in the health care bill by 13 men and nobody else in the senate can be part of those deliberations. i was here when they pass the affordable care act. i remember we had almost 100 hearings and roundtables. we had 20 days of one of the longest sessions ever in the history of the senate. we had the longest markup in the finance committee in many years and people had a chance to weigh in. we had republican amendments. by contrast the process is both shameful and shameless. shameful because the american people are being shut out in their democracy and shameless because the republican leadership seems to have no qualms about ignoring the voices of the american people. i hear from frequent providers in new hampshire that if medicaid is reduced dramatically which is what we think they are talking about it will

senator hatch and senator wyden, the chair and ranking on finance, senator alexander and senator murray on help. put it in the committees. let's hear from the public about what works, what doesn't, and what can be fixed, and then let's dialogue and listen to one another and come up with solutions just like in that budget deal, just like in the rewrite of no child left behind. mr. president, you know the next thing i'm going to say, i bet, i'm in a minority on those committees, so i have some amendments like reinsurance that i want to put up, but i can't get them accepted unless i can convince some in the republican majority that it's a good idea. i've got to convince republicans it's a good idea for my amendment to be accepted. i mean, shouldn't i have that opportunity? why would anybody be afraid of being open to an idea that might actually improve the bill? just this morning, i came out of a markup that you're very familiar with, the markup of the ndaa. we finished it this morning on armed services. and we went back and forth across the table, 27 democrats and republicans. we traded a

it was senator jon thune and senator barrasso coming to the mics talking about how the senate health care bill is not dead. also, talking about how obamacare is failing and that it needs to be repealed and when asked whether or not mitch mcconnell would be willing to work with the democrats to propose something different, he said basically no, the democrats are not interested. kasie hunt, we are hearing something different from senate leadership than we are hearing from rank and file. specifically senator murkowski who says we need bipartisanship. >> reporter: sounds like from what mitch mcconnell just said here, what they are going to try to do is stay on the same path but spend a little more time trying to do it. i asked him whether or not this meant that this effort was finished and done, and he seemed to say no, this is something we are going to continue to try to push forward with. that of course expected. but the line he delivered about potential bipartisan negotiations is what we have been hearing from him so far which is that democrats have declared they have not interested i

senator murray. senator murray: senator schumer, thank you. today this has become clear why exactly why senate republicans have been hiding this trumpcare plan from patients and families from democrats and even from many republicans because based on what we are now learning, their trumpcare is ever bit as bad as what the house passed. it is mean, to quote president trump, meaner, it is heartless and it is an enormous broken promise for people across the country. they are ashamed of their plan and rightly so. after seven years of refusing to work with us as democrats on actually helping families get better health care of obstructing progress, playing partisan political games even when it hurts their own constituents. what republican leaders have put forth is truly shameful and needs to be stopped. and i have to say it speaks volumes with only today with days they plan to vote on the trupp care bill, the republican leaders think it might be a good idea to release their health care plan. just today. now of course, senate republican leaders have d

senator brown and senator crapo. but it does in effect provide that there will be notice to congress before the administration can give any sanction relief to russia so that there could be transparency and a discussion and a debate. and then there is a process that congress, if we feel strongly and can get the necessary support, can disapprove of that sanction relief. so i think that's the proper way for us to deal with one of the most important bilateral relationships in the world between the united states and russia. and it's appropriate that it's going to be an amendment to the iran sanction bill because the review process came out of the iran agreement. now, the review process would be triggered if there is action taken by the president to give relief, but the legislation also includes additional sanctions, as the chairman pointed out, with russia. it does that in a way that codifies the president's executive orders so that they're now congressional support -- there's now congressional support for executive order

i asked senator mcconnell that 100 senators meet in the old senate chamber to have a discussion. this was all rejected. they did not want us to be involved. because i suppose their number one goal was for tax cuts on the wealthy and our party doesn't go for ta. i'm going to turn it over to patty and ron. i have to go downstairs.

the presiding officer: the senator -- the senator from michigan. ms. stabenow: before the distinguished majority whip leaves, what is being talked about here is like having a hole in the roof of your house, and instead of patching it, they want to burn down the house. what we are not willing to participate in is burning down the house. we are more than happy and in fact have proposals and anxious to work with the majority to improve health care, not rip it athe part and take tens of millions of people's health care away, but improve it. before asking a question of the majority whip, i want to indicate for all those listening, we have the bill and we can read pretty quickly. it has been out. and even though it is considered a rough draft, we have it, we are analyzing it. what our leader -- the democratic leader -- indicated is that we have read in the discussion draft, which is not only the same, but it is worse for seniors, for those in nursing homes, for children in emission, and a -- for children, for those in -- for children in michigan. i ask the m

senate. that means majority leader mitch mcconnell has about $200 billion to work with, money to hand out, perhaps more medicaid spending for senators worried for medicaid-expansion states that aren't happy with the gradual phaseout. any number of different issues -- opioid funding, those things. that's something mitch mcconnell can work with. the question as they try and target a vote by the end of the week, can they get 50 votes? as of monday, as of tuesday morning, they're not there yet, guys. >> thank you very much. >>> the white house also conceding repeal and replace is in deep trouble. a west wing official admitting last night, "we're right on the threshold of losing health care." the official saying if the effort to replace obamacare collapses in the senate, the white house would simply move on to tax reform. >>> all this following a direct white house attack on the congressional budget office right after he put out new analysis. for the latest, jim acosta's at the white house. >> rep

the senate health care plan.s saying optimistically he will get the vote but will they? and now we have the head of heritage action for america michael needham. bob woodward of the "washington post", fox news national security correspondent jennifer griffin. and josh holmes mcconnell's former chief of staff. and the republican strategists. let's start with this question. there down five, they cannot afford to lose more than two. maybe others waiting in the wings who may oppose the measure.what are the chances, michael? >> it will be very tight as you mention. probably seven or nine senators who have concerns. i'm optimistic but i think the different camps are looking at different parts of the bill. conservatives are looking at what's going on with regulation. the ability to bring in premiums. some moderates are looking at medicaid expansion. and in a negotiating situation when people want different things change there is an optimal. there is an outcome where people can, the presence of his money may be not like t

look at this senator by senator, state by state. paul who has become an opponent of mitch mcconnell's proposal. kentucky has seen the largest improvements in the uninsured rate of any state since 2010. back then about 20% of the kentuckians lacked insurance today but 7 and a half% do. rand paul -- rand paul's vote is concentrated in the southeast corner of the state. coal country. he gets staples over 80% of the vote. that's also where the states medicaid population is concentrated. those same counties giving rand paul 7 oh be 75%, 85% of the vote. a fifth of the population would lose coverage under medicaid if the aca were repealed what is rand paul doing he wants to protect the aca. he needs to find a conservative sounding reason for opposing the repeal. that's what he is doing. you see that with senators from arkansas. senators from pennsylvania. they -- they have been pushed by the national party into an untenable position. where they are compelled to oppose something that they're constituents get benefits from. it's not surpris

,mentes to work with them, but i know senator manchin talked about getting senators together. maggie. >> thank you. >> welcome. >> thank you. what is the president's level of involvement at this point in terms of trying to push the bill forward or not? can you give us a sense of whether he's making calls. >> he's not -- he's had a couple calls with majority leader mcconnell. as you recall, i think, last week we had six senators here. i wouldn't be surprised to see that continued involvement. as you recall, it's a very similar situation as to what it was in the house, right, that he has several house members come in and out prior to the lead-up of the vote and as the vote got closer, in working with the whip team and the house and the legislative affairs team here, he identified members that had concerns or continued to call them. i expect a similar process at this point. but he's had meetings with members. he's on the phone with senator mcconnell, but also, secretary price, the legislative affairs staff, the chief of staff and others are intimately engaged in this, having conv

host: senate's work on healthcare. the topic of our next discussion, the longer look at what healthcare might look like in the united states. two guests joining us. we're joined by sarah kliff of the website vox. also joining us for this discussion from the "washington journal" reporter louise radnofsky. ms. radnofsky, you didn't write this story. your colleague say there's a planned vote on healthcare. especially on the senate side for next week. could you give a sense of the white house's role and what they like to see happen if it does happen? guest: the time line, the text is expected this week. cbo score early next week and a potentially a vote on thursday. the white house said is it is not yet aware it has the 50 votes. they'll have a firmer sense by end of the week. they are confident things are heading in the right direction. host: sarah cliff kliff of that confidence. they want to take a gamble on this voting. guest: we seen the house charging towards a vote back in march. they are getting ready. paul ryan say

senator murray. senator murray: thank you, senator schumer. after weeks of secret negotiations between 13 male republican, after keeping democrats in the dark and hiding the details from patients and from families, all the while claiming the senate version of trumpcare would somehow be better, today's c.b.o. report makes it clearer than ever just how mean trumpcare is and why. the bottom line is, trumpcare is a minefield of higher health care costs for patients and families and it is a massive giveaway to special interests in the health care industry. depending on what state you live in if you're a senior, trumpcare will spike your premiums. if you need maternity care you could pay as much as $1,000 more per month on top of the rest of your coverage. if you need mental health care, care for a substance use dised or ore prescription drugs, you could see your costs go up by thousands of dollars a year. that means, despite what so many of our republican colleagues claim, i want to be very clear that trumpcare guts protections for people with pre-

last month i along with my fellow cochairs of the senate tourism caucus, senator amy klobuchar and senator heller and senator brian schatz led the senate in passage of a resolution recognizing the week of may 7 as the national travel and tourism week. there are really good statistics whether it's missouri or west virginia or the country at large on this topic. one out of every nine jobs in the united states depends on travel and tourism. it accounts for over 15 million jobs nationwide. international travel to the united states is our single largest export industry, the single largest thing where people bring money into our country is tourism to the united states. it generates a trade surplus of roughly $87 billion. and of that trade surplus with foreign travelers, foreign travelers stay longer. they spend more. and they like us better when they leave virtually 100% of the time than they did when they got here, even if they thought they were going to like us a lot, they wind up liking us more. if they question whether they were going to like us at all, they almost always wind up on the very

certainly things like senator rand paul and i expect someone like senator mike lee will probably jointhis. i don't see them moving easily towards anything that is not a full obamacare repeal. >> if this bill dies, what's next? >> i think it's going to be more squabbling and back to the drawing board. will mitch mcconnell actually call a vote if he doesn't have the votes? that's the question i'm watching. >> why would he? >> why would he lose, exactly. maybe this vote isn't going to happen next week if there's too much opposition. >> that's one of the big stories coming out of d.c. today. the other big story involves house minority leader nancy pelosi, a lot of folks there on the hill, folks within her own party, blaming her for jon ossoff's loss in georgia earlier this week because millions of dollars were spent on ads tieing him to pelosi, ads like this. >> you think nancy pelosi is more toxic than donald trump? >> you know what, the honest answer is, in some areas of the country, yes, she is. >> nancy pelosi was a great speaker. she is a great leader, but her time has come and gone.

the presiding officer: the senator -- the senator from michigan. ms. stabenow: before the distinguished majority whip leaves, what is being talked about here is like having a hole in the roof of your house, and instead of patching it, they want to burn down the house. what we are not willing to participate in is burning down the house. we are more than happy and in fact have proposals and anxious to work with the majority to improve health care, not rip it athe part and take tens of millions of people's health care away, but improve it. before asking a question of the majority whip, i want to indicate for all those listening, we have the bill and we can read pretty quickly. it has been out. and even though it is considered a rough draft, we have it, we are analyzing it. what our leader -- the democratic leader -- indicated is that we have read in the discussion draft, which is not only the same, but it is worse for seniors, for those in nursing homes, for children in emission, and a -- for children, for those in -- for children in michigan. i ask the m

senator heinrich. >> thank you senator schatz. i'm normally not one given to hyperbole. but in this case i agree with president trump. the house bill that they are basing this on, i know this because i am hearing from constituents each and every day who are scared. who are literally scared for their lives about whether children's healthcare will come from. where there parents long-term care is going to come from. how their cousin is going to get opioid treatment. we had 1.3 million people hospitalized for opioid and heroin emergencies and inpatient care last year in this country. it is an overwhelming epidemic. and the foundation for treatment for opioid is medicaid. like they can hang the prettiest windows on a house with a crumbling foundation that they want. if you do not have medicaid well-funded to be able to deal with the opioid epidemic you cannot deal with the opiate epidemic. we are going to see hospitals that gave up reimbursement rates, close down if they do not have the funding from medicaid. because no one is talking about going back to the reimbursement rat

the house and senate are out. the senate hoped -- there had been some talk about the health care law replacement bill being submitted today to the congressional budget office. but that is unlikely to happen. president trump tweeting about the health care debate this morning saying, if republican senators are unable to pass what they are working on now, they should immediately repeal and then replace at a later date. we talked about the health care law replacement bill and other issues on this morning's "washington journal." we'll show you some of that as we wait to hear from the two presidents. >> we will have that conversation for you momentarily. again, south lawn of the white house in the rose garden. waiting to hear from president trump and the south korean president, moon jae-in. they've been meeting in the oval office this morning. we'll show you their comments shortly. once they are -- once they come out, obviously. later today, the south korean president will be speaking in washington at the center for str

the senate bill is on the table. >> the senate is going to have a vote at the end of next week or the end of this week and we'll know more on how things shake out once they have an idea of how many votes they think they can get. >> and what if the senate rejects this bill? >> we're back to a starting line. the house rejected the initial version of their bill and everyone thought it was great and it came back and never there is a set back in the senate it would seriously hamper the potential for something get dung this year. >> and what if something is done? let's say the senate does pass the bill this week or meets the july 4th deadline which is the deadline that's been thrown out there. >> the senate is successful and they pass the bill out they'll get a conference assuming they try to mesh these two different versions together and whatever comes out of that conference committee both will have to vote on and assuming both shame bermudas a agree and pass it it will go to president trump for a vote. >> you have already explained i think pretty clearly that there's issues that need to b

senator chuck schumer is speaking. let's listen one more time. >> to stop from sabotaging the bill, and we're going to move to do that quickly. if our republican colleagues want to see the system stabilize, they can't keep sabotaging it. the insurance industry itself says make permanent sharing, and you would stabilize the markets and reduce premiums. those are some of the ideas we have. we're willing to listen to their ideas. but it's not going to be a negotiation of how big of a tax cut should we give to the rich? how much should we cut medicaid? they've done an amazing thing. they changed medicaid into a very popular program. their dramatic attempt to cut it has actually now made it far more popular with the american people where 60, 70% support medicaid. one of the few good things that has come out of their proposal. . >> well, democrats do the days after the recess? >> well, we're going to be working with -- first, we are so grateful of so many of the groups that normally didn't take such pointed positions to help

>> yes, senator. and that has been the position that omb has taken in its guidance on the new executive orders. >> correct. do you believe that incorrect cost and benefits should be taken into consideration when conducting cost benefit analysis? >> i do, and that is again part of the long-standing practice of the agencies, to take those -- >> do you believe that there's a role for qualitative and non-monetized benefits in cost benefit analysis? >> yes, i do believe. >> do you believe in the principles set forth in executive order 12866 should be reaffirmed by the administration? >> yes, i think those principles are very solid and have in fact been reaffirmed by this administration. >> the same thing with circular a 4 given that it's only guidance, if tasked with drafting a new guidance to instruct agencies, would you reaffirm the same principles that are in circular a 4? >> i think the basic core of that is solid. >> one more question. and this goes to the very important work, there's no one on this d

welcome, senator sheen, my senator and friend from ohio, senator portman nice to see you. thanks for holding this hearing. i look forward to hearing the views of the two witnesses on economy, housing, community development. ms. patenaude comes to us with a long resume of development programs, hud management and housing advocacy. more recently housing america's families in a report entitled the silent housing crisis, the foundation report of having access to safe and affordable housing has long been recognized as a part of america's critical compact with his citizens. i look forward to hearing her views particularly since her past advocacy seems at odds with the approach that hud has taken in its budget proposal. mr. hassett has done important work related to the policies that drove manufacturing out of ohio communities and others like it across the country. i hope that his work at the council of economiced a vieszers will focus on improving education in workforce development and actually rebuild infrastructure. that's what's needed to strengthen the economy. we've seen the

>> i do, senator. at the same time i raised the point about enforcement, the paragraph before that i talked about compliance assistance and the point i was making is compliance assistance i think is very important. we need enforcement to go hand in hand. compliance assistance at the end of the day i think can bring about sometimes greater compliance. when i was united states attorney, i would talk to chambers and say, look, we can prosecute cases, but preventing wrongdoing in the first place is more successful. isn't it better to have a traffic light that prevents accidents rather than give people tickets after the accident has occurred. so the current budget requests an increase in compliance assistance within osha, for example. just this morning, the department also announced the return of opinion letters within the wage and hour division. opinion letters had been in use for 70 years up until 2010, and they're a mechanism by which small businesses can write and ask a question, how does this work? som

here we are again in the senate, but bringing this back in the senate will be even harder than it was to bring back in the house, but you're right. it is not over until it's over, but this is a very big day for people who want to preserve obamacare. and tactically, it's interesting to have seen the senators learn from the house. the house did it openly, crashed and burned, amended it secretly and that's how they got it through. the senate started off doing it secretly. they also crashed and burned. the question is what can they now evolve to to try to pass it after this recess and we just don't know yet. >> i think now we know there were probably a handful of republican senators who were so happy when it crashed and burned in the house the first time and thought, okay, it's not going to come our way. we dodged that one. >> guess what? it followed you home. >> thank you, rachel. >> thank you, lawrence. >>> today president trump invited all the republican senators up to the white house to convince them to vote for the republican health care bill they had just decided to not vote for. in

senator murray. >> thank you senator schumer. after weeks of secret negotiations, keeping democrats in the dark and hiding details from the patience and from families, all the while claiming the senate version of familial wouldsomehow --trumpcare reporter, today's cbo makes it clear just how mean trumpcare is and why. the bottom line is trumpcare is a minefield of higher health care costs for patients and families, and it is a massive giveaway to special interest in the health care industry. depending on what state you live then, if you are a senior, trumpcare will spike your premiums. if you need maternity care, you could pay as much as $1000 more per month on top of the rest of your coverage. care, need mental health care for substance abuse disorder, prescription drugs, you could see your costs go up by thousands of dollars a year. that means that despite what so many of our republican colleagues claim, i want to be very clear that trumpcare guts protections for people with pre-existing conditions. as any family will tell you,

>> senator schumer, thank you, senator wyden. today it has become abundantly clear why senate republicans have been hiding this trumpcare plan from patients and families from democrats and even many republicans because based on what we are now learning, their trumpcare plan is every bit as bad as what the house pass ed. it is mean, to quote president trump meaner. it's hardless and it is an enormous broken promise to people across the country. they're ashamedover of their plan and rightly so. after helping families getting better health care, they're obstructing progress, playing partisan political games even when it hurt their own constituents, what republican leaders have put forth is shameful and it needs to be stopped. and i have to say it speaks volumes that only today with just days to go before they plan to vote on their trumpcare bill did republican leaders think it might be a good idea to release their plan which would impact the health and well-being of people nationwide and nearly a sixth of our economy. just today. no

senator kaine: i first would like to acknowledge senator blumenthal and senator nelson. the one principal thing is the chairs there are less comfortable than the chairs here. welcome to the hearing. mr. comey a. broad question, was the russian activity in the 2016 election a one-off proposition? or is this part of a long-term strategy will they be back? director comey: it's a long-term practice of theirs. it's stepped up a notch a significant way. they'll be back. senator king: that's very important for the american people to understand. this is very much a forward-looking investigation in terms of how we understand what they did and prevent it. would you agree that's a big part of our role here? director comey: yes, sir. it's not a republican thing or democratic thing. it is an american thing. they are going to come for whatever parity they choose to try and work on behalf of. they are not devoted to either in my experience. they are about their own advantage. they will be back. senator king: that's my observation. i don't think putin is a republican, or democrat. he's

i know my colleague, senator collins, and senator murkowski, have expressed real concerns about these kinds of medicaid cuts in their states of maine and alaska, which also have big rural populations. in my state, medicaid covers one-fifth of our total rural population, about 20% of our rural population. these cuts could cause the rural hospitals that serve this population to close. this doesn't just threaten health care coverage, it threatens the entire local economy. that's a big deal for rural hospitals, which often have operating margins of less than 1%. and these rural hospitals are on the front lines of the opioid epidemic that is hitting communities across the country. deaths from prescription drugs in my state now claim more lives than homicides. they claim more lives than car crashes. well, there is more work to do to combat the epidemic. i want to recognize that progress. yes, we've passed the blueprint bill that i just mentioned with the help of senator portman, whitehouse, and ayotte. but, unfortunately, we're moving ourselves backwards. medicaid expansion has helped 1.3 m

[speaking in native tongue] by democratic senators as well as all senate session on our website

senator susan collins of maine, senator lisa murkowski of alaska, two of the most vocal critics of this bill were sitting on either side of the president. republican senators arriving by bus at the white house tonight, struggling to find a way forward on their biggest promise. >> we'll discuss health care. we have really no choice but to solve this situation. >> reporter: overhauling the nation's health care system. >> this will be great if we get it done, and if we don't get it done, it's just going to be something that we're not going to like. >> reporter: president trump trying to unite fractured republicans, holding what aides describe as a session held by the board with a gop defeat. >> i think we have the chance to do something very, very important for the public. >> reporter: republican senator susan collins whose opposition helped delay the vote said it's time the president heard directly from the senators. >> personal relationships do matter, and i think the president is smart to bring the members of the caucus. i think it would have been more effective earlier in the process.

is senate leadership?ector karen finney, former congressman david jolley. we trotted out the big hitters this afternoon. let's start with, again, also, reportedly, according to politico, there's this 4:00 meeting at the white house, all senators have been invited to this meeting. again, this is according to politico. we haven't confirmed that just yet. david, it would seem as if president trump is now decided he's going to lead this health care fight. >> well, i think he's going to lead some negotiation but understand what's going on here. there are some senators concerned about the content but virtually every republican senator concerned about the president's credibility. we can't overstate the impact of what president trump did on sunday when he threw every house gop member under the bus, saying it was a mean bill. there were irate house members on sunday who have to answer to that. senators know, look, this is just history repeating itself. what if they walk the plank on this, what if they pass it, how

senator paul: myself and three other senators are releasing a statement as we speak. the statement says that we cannot support the current bill. we are open to negotiations, but we want the bill to look more like a repeal. we are afraid that when we read the bill, it actually looks more like a reiteration or a keeping of obamacare. as we estimate the cost of the

senator durbin. for the last several months with the new republican majority in the senate and house, we have really seen a national -- spiel we are looking at your screen on the right, sean spicer leaving capitol hill. >> what brings you here, sean? >> it is an important subject. >> is the present talking to senators are listening to their concerns? >> it is a two-way street. he must to hear their ideas. we look forward to hearing what they have on their minds and figure out how we can repeal and replace obamacare. >> was he up to negotiate on? >> watch your step. it's an opportunity for senators to voice her concerns and hear his ideas. >> is it it a delay? >> he wants it done right. >> is the president negotiating on his own? >> it is a team effort. >> thank you, sean. >> does a press secretary, sean spicer. we heard, he was going to miss the white house press briefing in the briefing room, because he was here on capitol hill. you can see, we caught him on his way out. you want to let senators bef