thank you, senator thune. senator baldwin. senator baldwin: thank you, chairman blumenthal. i'd like to just note that the series of hearings really began with a revelation that internal research of facebook revealed the negative impacts on teenagers' body images from using the company's instagram platform. and we learned based on research by the chairman's staff how quickly somebody on instagram can view content on healthy eating to being directed towards postings that focus on unhealthy practices, including glorifying eating disorders. i know we don't have facebook and instagram before us today but i'm particularly concerned about the impact that type of content would have on young users. i recently joined senator klobuchar and capito with whom we sponsored the weston act to promote training on eating disorders on a letter to facebook and instagram seeking more details about how they handle this issue. i want to ask each of you, can you briefly outline the steps your companies are taking to remove content that promotes unhealthy body image and eating disorders and direct u

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senator tillis from his office, perhaps? or senator cortez from hers? senator mastoff from his?ator smith from hers? one moment. senator haggerty is just a couple moments out. i will ask one more question to the deputy secretary. the white house gathered, as you know, over 30 nations last week and called for accelerated cooperation to combat international ransomware efforts. this effort shows your focus, the administration's focus on protecting cybersecurity of u.s. companies from such attacks. how does treasury -- how does congress work cooperatively with the treasury to avoid ransomware? >> we made the first of our sanctions to avoid crypto payments. we want to work closely with congress. one of the most important areas is ensuring we have a work force for these issues going forward. we look forward to looking for the authorities to hire the people we need and also to the budgeting increases that are part of the president's fy22 budget to make sure we ever the personnel needed to avoid cryptocurrency, but also the changes in our payment system that are making it harder for our

thank you very much. >> thank you, senator. >> thank you, senator klobuchar. senator hawley? >> thank you, mr. chairman. ms. monaco, i want to come back to this extraordinary letter, this memorandum that the attorney general of the united states issued yesterday. practically every day brings new reports about this administration weaponizing federal bureaucracy. for those of us who missed the mccarthy era, i guess this president is intent on bringing it to us but with new force, new power and new urgency unlike any we have ever seen. are you aware of any time in american history when the attorney general has ordered the fbi to attend local school board meetings? >> i'm not aware, and that is not going on. let me be clear. >> really, this isn't about local school board meetings? i thought that was in the memorandum. >> the memorandum is quite clear. it's one page. and it asks the u.s. attorney community and the fbi special agents in charge to convene state and local law enforcement partners to ensure that there is an open line of communication to address threats, to address vio

senate manchin not only right to be heard but compromises he's a member of the senate. but two people do not have the right to sabotage what 48 want and with the president of the united states once. that to me is wrong. >> you i have a this plan, would it be feasible for you to get into the room with senator manchin and hammer this out? >> we could get in a room. senator manchin is part of leadership i am part of leadership, that discussion has taken place and i think it will continue to take place it. >> your discussion with president biden, have you encouraged him to not scale that number back? >> this is what i think as i've said before. if we are in a room in the caucus were have the people wanted something lower and half wanted something higher, you've got to go somewhere in the middle. you are not in that position. there has to be some give or take. but to ask 48 people to go down to it to people want that seems to be unfair. not to mention poll after poll shows the american people want to be. >> senator your understanding senator manchin is calling for. >> that's

i was >> listening to your discussion with senator angus king, and by the way his speech on the senate floor, today, was one of the greats of this year certainly. but one of the things i really liked about what he has to say was everyone on the democratic side, who is now in favor of changing the 60 vote threshold rule came to that position reluctantly. he came to it, has been coming in to that direction more reluctantly than the rest, but everyone's thinking about this move slowly, and there was that moment where you mentioned -- any mention me and our history with this subject, and i can remember the first time it came up somewhere, you know, in a 2005 or six, the first time i'd heard a discussion about it publicly. and of course you don't change that rule, like angus king and people who work in the senate, i live to on the winning side of votes, where the side i was on had 43 votes in the senate of 100 senators. and did it repeatedly. and so, that's what he was talking about tonight, is that concept of remember if you do this it won't be there when you might want it in a few years d

senator manchin wants to pack. the house committee has a proposal to $2 trillion doing away with tax breaks. not good enough to be vague and i do not understand how this time in world history we cannot talk about the crisis of climate change what we want to do. it is inexcusable. i said many times and i say this is a grandparent, i do not want my generation to have to look their kids and grandchildren in the eye and say we failed you the plan is not uninhabitable. >> talking about specificity here -- [inaudible] that's not a realistic number, the present setback. are you willing to concede that we .5 is too much right now? >> no, i do believe too little to be frank with you. what i have said, it's going to be a different take. >> you and senator manchin just cap different amount of use of government control and the site, how do you resolve these differences? >> i'm not here to disparage senator manchin, i respect him. what i would say is this, i know media talks about compromise and all that stuff, we got 48 senato

senator markey: thank you, senator thune. i call on senator lujan. mr. lujan: we heard from you today and from others that facebook contests the "wall street journal's" reporting on internal research rather than argue detail, i have a simple question. yes or no. does facebook have internal research indicating that instagram harms teens, particularly harming perceptions of body image which disproportionately affects girls? ms. davis: senator we have released the two studies in relation to this. what our resoarnlg showed was for people who are struggling with these issues that actually more of them found their engagement on instagram helpful than harmful. and in fact of the 12 issues we looked at, 11 of those were the case for young girls and 12 of 12 for teen boys. mr. lujan: one of the challenges i'm facing here, ms. davis is that there's two sides to this story. the problem is, facebook is telling both sides. you're seeing your own internal research as misleading and taken out of context so please help us get to the bottom of this. yes or no, will faceb

senator sullivan. senator sullivan: thank you, mr. chairman.l: i'm so glad you're here. senator sullivan: thank you for holding this hearing. i think it's a really important hearing, and i know you care a lot about it. i care a lot about it. so ms. davis, i won't ask you but i have three daughters. and when i read the -- when i read "the wall street journal" story, i was shocked but, you know, in some ways not surprised because i think we've seen a lot of this. when you're looking at your applications, your services, do you balance the mental health needs of americans versus the addictive nature of the products that you sell? ms. davis: thank you, senator. i do have a 23-year-old daughter. first of all, i don't agree with the characterization of our product. in fact, we do think -- senator sullivan: sorry. i'm going to interrupt here. what don't you agree with what i said, addictive nature? ms. davis: yes. senator sullivan: addictive nature or mental health, which two phrases -- phrase do you disagree with? ms. davis: i don't like our product i

senator why -- senator warren. i know in the push for negativity, there is a temporally end to the border patrol's use of horseback units in the area. but i see this as a symptom in a broader problem in recent years. will you make a top priority to ensure that all cbp personnel treat migrants and asylum speakers with the dignity as human beings they deserve and with proper respect for all of their legal rights, including the legal right to seek asylum? mr. magnus: sen. warren: thank you -- mr. magnus: thank you for that question. i believe we have asylum obligations as a nation and therefore even as we seek efficiency and to be as effective as possible in working with individuals to seek asylum, we could never bypass the criticality of treating people humanely. these are fellow human beings and they have to be treated humanely. sen. warren: we will work together on that. i will hold you to that. another concern i have is about the effect of the covid pandemic and immigration -- at immigration detention facilities.

senator menendez: thank you. senator shaheen. senator shaheen: thank you, deputy secretary mckeon, for being here this morning. and for your willingness to respond to our questions. i know you have offered to sit down with me on the havana syndrome attacks, also known as anonymous health incidents. i would be remiss if i didn't raise some of my concerns today at this hearing because i continue to be disappointed by the state department's response, even though i heard from both you and secretary blinken that you are committed to ensuring that people who have been affected get the medical care they need. but what i'm still hearing from victims is that is not happening always. so there's clearly a disconnect between what's happening at the top levels at the state department and how people are being treated in some cases. so let me ask you a couple of questions. ambassador spratlan left in september. i think it's been 40 days since she's been gone and the secretary said that he was committed to ensuring someone would replace her. so

you arrive in the senate 20 years ago it was a 50-50 senate as well. what about you set the stage for us by contrasting those two moments. what's different about 50-50 senate today versus 50 years ago? >> i'm not sure there's a difference in terms of how it would work. having 50-50 means that at least in terms of the numbers, you have to get somebody to switch over across the i from the other party to vote for something you want or the vice president is thetiebreaker . i think the senate back 20 years ago was less divided than it is today. a hyper- partisanship again somewhere between 20 years ago and today, roughly maybe 10 years ago in earnest. so it's a hyper- partisanship i think that is different today than it was back then. the other thing that occurred is that 9/11 united it, united the country which may have accounted for more or less partisanship and more bipartisanship in thinking of finding solutions but the same thing could be the case today with the outside influence on the united states right now by foreign interests of being discussed fr

senator peters: senator lankford. senator lankford: thank you all for your work, we appreciate the work and ecourage you to stay on it. inspectors general deal with waste, fraud, makes recommendations, brings up ideas of greater efficiency. so inspectors general that are leaning into an agency and proposing ideas helps us all, helps the nation. there's an expectation of that work. let me be one of many to say to you lean in. we need you working well in that task. i've got a whole litany of issues and questions i want to walk through and address. we've talk through the several things. i would tell you what i hear most from people at home when they talk about inspectors general and issues they see in government is, why does it seem like no one is held to account? we all know that's not correct. there are some people held to account but it becomes a big deal when we see someone like andrew mccabe who we mentioned earlier, found he clearly ride, was fired and now has been added back in, his pension is now recovered, back

i partnered with senator and we put together a bill with 62 senators the past the senate overwhelmingly. some thought we should water it down to make it easier and i understood with the survivors and victims professionals who called for legislation to protect all victims regardless the membership and failed to reauthorize the violence against women act since 2013. we've already passed since i joined with my friend senator feinstein introducing the last reauthorization was also passed the house with strong votes of republicans and democrats. we are set to introduce support of the bill very soon. but it's not about politics. it's listening to survivors and making sure that they are working to prevent domestic and sexual violence and have all the tools they need. seeing women that have been beaten to death and then we find this has been going on for some time. we probably still remember those like it was yesterday. social distancing living with their abusers were struggling for increasing housing and economic needs. the programs make a difference and if it's a strong bipartisan bill thank

and when you arrived in the senate 20 years ago it was a 50/50 senate as well. how about you set the stage of force by contrasting those two moments what's different about a 50/50 senate today versus a 50/50 senate 20 years ago. >> i'm not sure there's a real difference in terms of how it would work. having 50/50 at least in terms of the numbers you would have to have somebody to switch over across the aisle from the other party to vote for something you want. or the vice president is the tiebreaker. i think the senate back 20 years ago was less divided than it is today. hyper partisanship began somewhere between 20 years ago and today, roughly ten years ago in earnest. it's a hyper partisanship that's different today than it was back then. the other thing that occurred is 911 united the country. which may have countered for less partisanship and more bipartisanship when you think of finding solutions. the same thing could be the case of today by foreign interests as discussed time to time. the basic reason why the senate could not perform if there is a trust, i

senate. guest: really? caller: so back to the bills, the infrastructure bill, i strongly believe we need those bills to bring the necessary relief to the people, especially poor people. when do we talk about the affordability? i strongly believe we can default. what is lacking is the will in washington. as you realize, not too much gets done for everyday people, the poor people, but a lot gets done for the rich and the corporations. regarding the politics of the senator, how can we get that man out of politics? he has corrupted our people in washington. they are spending so many years there, do so much for themselves, do so much for the corporations, but down to the ground if you go through communities across the nation. the thing much is happening. affordable housing is a crisis. then they want a bill regarding town limits. do you think that could be something that may reduce the corruption? as more time, members go to washington and get entrenched in the swamp and the dark politics. host: a couple of item

today we will hear from senator ernst, working closely with senator feinstein to prepare the senate's own version of the vawa we authorization act of 2021 for introduction. senators, thank you so much. we will also hear from senators leahy, hyde-smith and capito. we will also hear from the deputy attorney general, lisa monaco, who has voiced strong support for this legislation as well. i had a conversation on the phone last night with lisa where she mentioned that she started as an intern on this committee working on the original vawa, which inspired her to go to law school and embark on her career of public service, which has been remarkable. lisa, i am glad you are back home again. i want to thank senators ernst and feinstein for their work. senator feinstein could not join us this morning due to a serious illness in the family but she is here in spirit. and we salute all her leadership. senator leahy, we expect him to be here momentarily. senator klobuchar has also been invaluable. i am grateful for their shared commitment to produce a strong bipartisan bill. in march, the house on

senators for the ability to close the deal -- the inability to close the deal, senator senator -- senator cinema and senator manchin. >> look, i need 50 votes in the senate. i have 48. >> schumer has said you will not raise the debt ceiling through the reconciliation process. if push comes to shove, what is more important? the position senator schumer has or raising the debt ceiling? i also have a question for you in ethiopia. president biden: number one, the issue of reconciliation, which is, what is reconciliation? there is a process that i understand the republican leader is willing to initiate and go through that would require literally up to hundreds of votes. it has nothing to do directly with the debt limit and can be from anything from ethiopia to anything else. it has nothing to do with that limit. it is fraught with all kinds of potential danger for miscalculation. it would have to happen twice. so, you could literally have several hundred votes over the next number of days. everything else would come to a standstill. but, you would still find yourself in a situation where the e

talk to nearly every senator. he considers almost all of them friends he wants to work with him. he tries to find a way to work with everybody from you know, ted cruz to elizabeth warren. he teams up with him when he can, so i don't think he views anybody's as his rivals, but he has a vision for what he thinks is best for his state of west virginia, which is always top of mind for him. and then what he thinks his best for the country, and that may differ from a lot of the democrats, but as he always said, he's a west virginia democrat. now the national democrat or a dc democrat. so how many democrats within the democratic party? cuz that's what we're getting at today is really the divide in the party. how many people are with him? a, in that vision of pragmatic centrists, some fiscal responsibility. you know, let's have infrastructure, but let's not spend the whole bank. you know, how many of the caucus are, are quietly there, or overtly there versus say a oh c's side of the equation or bernie sanders side of the

on the democratic side of the aisle, and i'm thinking about senator sinema and senator manchin, senators who have been reluck land to allow for any other new change to the filibuster rule even on issues like this, are they open to persuasion on this issue? i wanted to talk to you tonight in part on your credibility on this issue because you've not been somebody who has been willing to throw out the rule or wanted to change the rules from day one. you're a constant on this. >> the reason for my reluctance is that what is, you know, this is a doubleedged sword. what we view as obnoxious obstruction two, four, six years from now when the few hsu is on the other foot, we might view as a precious shield to protect important environmental laws or, you name it. this is a hard call. once it goes, it goes. but i think joe manchin and kyrsten sinema may be open to change the rule and to change it in such a way that it forces debate. it allows debate. that's the whole idea. it is supposed to be unlimited debate, not a tool of simple obstruction. so i think we're going to be searching jeff murphy of

two republican senators, wisconsin senator ron johnson and utah senator mike lee are currently blocking president biden's nominee to be the u.s. attorney in washington, d.c. it's the u.s. attorney's office in washington, d.c., who will be responsible for overseeing hundreds of prosecutions of people who participated in the january 6th attack. that's also the office that would head up the prosecution of steve bannon for criminal contempt of congress if the justice department tries to do that. republican says they're holding up president biden's nominee to be that u.s. attorney because the justice department hasn't responded to a letter of theirs that equates the january 6th attack to the mostly peaceful protests that followed the murder of george floyd last summer. so there can't be a u.s. attorney in washington? in practice it's not like the u.s. attorney's office in washington is empty right now, while papers keep stacking up on the desk there's something in that job in an acting capacity who will continue to perform the duties and responsibilities of that office until the president's

i will tell you, when i came into the senate in 1980 nine, there was 100 senators.end of sessions, some of the journals in washington sort of measured votes, liberal conservative. it was always true at the beginning, roughly speaking, that there were 40 of the 100 were conservative, 40 were liberal, and there was the 20 in the middle, democrats and republicans that were mixed up. by the end of my time in the senate, you could not find a democrat who had a more conservative voting record than any republican or republican who had a more liberal voting record than any democrat. so unfortunately what the caller said, where used begins to determine -- where you sit begins to determine where you are. host: what about the current senate? are there any centrists left? you've been critical about chuck grassley. what about friends and allies of john mccain? are there republican centrists? guest: chuck grassley, really i was more disappointed that he felt seeking reelection that he had to be so supportive of president trump. i believe he said he would square -- support him for

senator general. now live coverage of the u.s. senate on c-span2. the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. almighty god, teach us the mystery of life. help us not to be victims but victorious in this season of challenge and shame. lord, lead us to a place of understanding in spite of trials and tribulations. empower us to triumph because you love us. today instruct our lawmakers as they seek to do your will. inspire them to focus on the priorities of your providence. lord, show them your truth so that they will be instruments of your purposes. transform their lives from a hurried succession of days into a walk with you that brings enduring peace. we pray in your mighty name. amen. the president pro tempore: please join me in the pledge of allegiance. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the president pro temp

senator inhofe, please. senator inhofe: thank you, mr. chairman. one of the many confusing things about this whole thing is that we really don't know how many americans were left in afghanistan. the administration's number of u.s. citizens left in afghanistan keeps changing. we all understand that and it's very confusing. the administration always said 100 to 200 u.s. citizens left in afghanistan. has already withdrawn 234. and is in contact with 363 others. 176 of whom want to leave. i'm speaking slowly because i'm trying to put this together at the same time. the administration, by its own count, left 600 americans behind. over 400 of whom want to leave, not the 100 to 200 that has been referred to several times. there are still thousands of americans unaccounted for based on secretary blinken's earlier claim that there were 10,000 to 15,000. mid-august, secretary of state blinken tells senators -- we were all there -- that so,000 to 15 -- 10,000 to 15,000 americans were in afghanistan. on the 31st of august, the administration claims it withdrew

>> yes, senator. i don't agree with the way the wall street journal when around that. -- went around that. we have made improvements to the way people can have control of the algorithm and have age-appropriate content on tiktok. >> what are those changes? are kids completely protected from this content? >> the content related to drugs, as you are pointing out, violates our community guidelines. over 97% of violent content is removed proactively. we want to get to 100% and that is what we are working on. -- something that we are constantly working on. >> are you we are of research your company has conducted about pushing content promoting eating disorders to teens? >> no, senator. >> did you offer studies before testifying? >> not that i'm aware of, but we work with outside experts understand the issues. i think it should be done in a transparent way. i would like to see the act passed so we can have additional research in the public domain we can all learn from and improve. >> i will save my questions

she attended a news conference that senator blumenthal and senator grassley held and as you know, senator blumenthal, senator feinstein had both written a letter to you and the attorney general asking serious questions for you to appear at the hearing we held three weeks ago. ms. raisman, one of the victims of repeated sexual assault by the olympic team doctors said the message by them not showing up sends the child -- sends the message that child abuse doesn't matter and she's talking about the department of justice and she's talking about you. it's shocking and disturbing they didn't think it was important. what is your response? >> senator, i think women who came and testified here last month are exceptionally brave. their voices were powerful >> they are talking about you not showing up. it was essentially a disrespectful act which did not view the allegations they have made against mr. nasser as sufficiently significant for the justice department to show up at the hearing. >> i am deeply and profoundly sorry for the fact that the victims and courageous survivors and the women who tes

i am so proud and honored to be with my colleagues senator leahy and senator durbin, senator warnock, all of this the senate version of the john r lewis voting rights advancement act. i think any of us would be honored to be spearheading a bill name for one of our heroes. this bill has particular significance to all of us because we lived through the time, the summer of 1965 when the state troopers mercilessly attacked john lewis and 600 others as they cross the edmund pettis bridge in selma, alabama and peaceful protest she protect their right to w vote. in the wake of that attack, as the nation came together to grieve, president johnson joined with congress to pursue as he put it, quote an end to voting discrimination in america. ". roughly a week after the attack president johnson called for comprehensive voting rights legislation. two days later congress announced it would take up that legislation. and so by earlyft august, just five months after bloodied sunday in selma the voting rights act was passed by congress with broad bipartisan support and became again in the words of pre

that really does not happen in the modern senate. every senator is a king and queen on their own. it is very difficult to pressure them to do things they don't want to do. i think the president and other democratic leaders are doing everything they can to keep kyrsten sinema at the table. i think this bill will be passed eventually but it is tougher to do -- to try to persuade. host: is there a best way forward for moderate and progresses to come together to hash out these issues internally ? guest: yes, and i think that is essentially what is happened. -- happening. the president needs to be in the center of negotiating and i think he is. he met with a group of moderates yesterday. this ping-pong negotiation is the way these deals get done. it is what happened when senator nelson was unhappy about one thing and others were unhappy about others. just checking things off the list is only way to get it done, particularly when these bills are big and super complicated. host: from fred in florida, republican line. caller: thank you so much for taking my call. i have a quick question.

he's a member of the senate. but two people do not have the right to sabotage what 48 want and what the president of the united states wants. that to me is wrong. >> reporter: when you listed off the measures that are popular that you seem to think manchin is opposed to, is it your understanding that senator manchin is calling for significant cuts to be pulled out of this or is this still a conversation about means testing? >> that's a great question. ask him. that's exactly my point. we need some specificity here. it's not good enough to be vague. you want to cut childcare? how much do you want to cut childcare? do you want to cut climate? cut climate. how much do you want to do that? tell us with some specificity what you want. >> that's exactly my point. we need some specificity here. it is not good enough to be vague. tell us with some specificity what you want. senator bernie sanders there appearing to be frankly at the end of his tether, fed up. and everybody watching this process has known senator joe manc

wyden: we go now to senator cassidy and then senator bennett. senator cassidy. sen. cassidy: thank you. i enjoyed our phone conversation. i know there's been a discussion of this recently earlier, but as regards to immunization, why are we not requiring those who are being allowed to come into the united states to be vaccinated for covid before being released to the united states? particularly the context of the biden administration is asking they have an excess to inquire their employees to get vaccinated. i'm not quite sure i understand the exception for those being allowed to come here illegally. mr. magnus: senator, thank you for the question and i think any of those individuals migrants coming in should be immunized. sen. cassidy: and should be required to be allowed to continue? mr. magnus: that's something i definitely want to explore. it seems reasonable to me. sen. cassidy: a couple other issues. your law enforcement background is without parallel. on the other issues for example we discussed the jones act. cbp has jurisdiction over the jones act. the trade

i see a nod. >> yes, senator. >> yes, senator. sen. cantwell: thank you. do any of you share location data with the company that is in this article, huk? their major data? >> i have never heard of that company and i'm not aware. mr. beckerman: i'm not aware of the company but we do not collect gps data. sen. cantwell: you would be affiliated with them in some way. they are getting this information in any way. . >> i am also not aware of the company. sen. cantwell: maybe you can help us for the record on this so that we know but this is exactly what the public is frustrated about and concerned about particularly when more can be done. they go to a website and don't want my sensitive information to be shared and then there is a conglomerate of data gathered on top of that that is not honoring those wishes as it relates to the interface. this is exactly why we need a strong privacy law and why we should protect consumers on this. in the facebook hearing, we had a discussion about advertising and the issue of whether advertisers knew the exact -- exactly what

we are joined by senator thune and senator amy klobuchar and senator ed marquis. they have all been extraordinary leaders in this effort. and today, i should note, is the first time that tiktok and snap have appeared before congress. i appreciate you and youtube for your testimony this morning. it means a lot. our hearing with facebook whistleblower frances haugen was a searing indictment, along with her documents of a powerful, gigantic corporation that puts profits ahead of people, especially our children. there has been a definite and deafening drumbeat of continuing disclosures, about facebook -- they have deepened america's concerns and outrage. and have led to increasing calls for accountability, and there will be accountability. this time is different. accountability to parents and the public, accountability to congress. accountability to investors and shareholders, and accountability to the securities and exchange commission and other federal agencies. because there is ample credible evidence as we start an investigation here. but today, we are concerned a

the presiding officer: the senator from new jersey. mr. menendez: madam president, in may of this year, terrorist groups in gaza launched more than 4,000 rockets at innocent israelis. for 11 days, hamas and others fired off thousands of various rocket systems with little guidance into heavily populated areas across israel, with no regard indeed, likely with the intention of killing civilians. in the face of this the barrage, once again israel deployed the iron dome missile defense system which intercepted 90% of these incoming attacks. because of this purely defensive system, israel is able to protect its own citizens and also direct its response to more carefully target those in gaza who are responsible for launching this brutal attack. now, i have been clear. we should all mourn the loss of innocent israelis and palestinians during this conflict. hamas further endangers palestinians by hiding their stockpiles and themselves in densely populated areas. but i'm not here today to relitigate thousands of years of conflict. i'm here to point