shaheen says the project will bring much needed wirless service to residents and businesses. another round of negotiations is set for today hoping to avoid a strike by local school bus drivers. union drivers at first student's belmont location first authorized a strike nearly three three weeks ago, but talks have continued as the sides try to work out a deal. plans. our spirit of giving toy drive is underway across the granite state. show you live pictures from the toys "r" us store in nashua the need is great this year so come out and meet our news 9 team and donate an unwrapped toy. kevin: chilly weekend, and the breeze continues as well. sean: plus, in today's "cook's corner," we're making some delicious fried chicken in our news 9 got any good gift ideas? ? verizon prepaid is gonna be my gift ? ? no extra charges ? ? cash stays in your pocket ? ? it's got hd streaming others are too stingy... ? ? you wanted more data and look what santa gave ya ? ? verizon keeps you going with that always-on data ? ? 4g lte that's a lotta speed ? ? think about it n' you'll say... ? (deep

shaheen: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new hampshire. mrs. shaheen: mr. president, i'm pleased that i could be here for senator ayotte's farewell address and honored to have had the opportunity to serve with her over the past six years. six years ago i stood on this floor to recognize another departing republican senator from new hampshire, judd gregg. i said then about my rip -- relationship with senator gregg something that is also true about my relationship with senator ayotte, that we always manage to disagree without being disagreeable. i am grateful to senator ayotte for this. i'm proud that we've been able to maintain that civility and bipartisanship even in the course of two very close and very tough election cycles. that's the new hampshire way. putting partisanship aside whenever possible and seeking practical, pragmatic solutions to address people's critical needs. as she said, time and time again senator ayotte and i have teamed up to advance legislation of special importance to the granite state, including strongly advocating for veterans, fo

at the very same time we found common ground with ranking member shaheen and other democrats on the committee. during my tenure as chair we passed 32 bipartisan bills of more than my, 22 predecessors did over a much longer. . eight of our bills have passed through the entire legislative process and signed into law. accomplishments are a fraction of the years of hard work to staff and i have dedicated to the people of louisiana and the american people. i have worked hard to be a champion for them because the government should serve the taxpayer and not the other way around. that includes working hard to stay in touch through 398 town hall meetings, at least five in .ach in louisiana through active, energetic casework and constituent service. clearly, what i will treasure the most about my service here is the people i have been honored to serve with. including bill cassidy, mentors, like former senator rick santorum and senator jeff sessions. most especially, each of the dedicated people that have been part of it. i have come to the senate floor several times this year to thank key departing st

senator jeanne shaheen sent a letter questioning whether flynn shared intelligence inappropriately innistan. senator, welcome. thank you very much. happy holidays to you. >> nice to be with you. >> michael flynn was cleared, i believe, and promoted after this incident. so is it fair to resurrect old history about what happened where he was sharing intelligence apparently with allies in afghanistan? >> well, i think the questions we raised in the letter didn't refer to the afghanistan situation solely. we pointed out that he and his consulting business went to russia, sat next to vladimir putin to celebrate russia today. was paid by the russian government to do that. he's had a consulting business which now he's said he's turning over to his son. it is not clear what interest he will maintain this that. it does business with foreign governments. his tweeting throughout the campaign, his use of classified intelligence restricted information, i think all of that needs to raise questions with the public about what he's going to be doing as one of the top security advisers to the president

whether family or anyone else that the disclosure is being given to and there will be many cases shaheen is the kind of financial future defendants that will illustrate that the insider does benefit financially from the disclosure. >> lets suppose i would like to give a gift to a friend of mine but it's too expensive. i pass a coworkers desk and see a 100-dollar bill sitting there and now i can give a gift i had wanted to give but i couldn't. have i benefited from stealing the 100-dollar bill? >> yes, you have. >> why should the issue be any different if instead of stealing the a 100-dollar bill. >> there are some for example if i have a tradition every once a year at christmas time to give the household employee as a is a bonus and one year it decided to give a tip instead, that would certainly qualify. it's going to depend upon the nature and the evidence and. >> we all have our own interests and purposes. some of those might be very practical and pragmatic, some might be more naturalistic that we give gifts for the individual interest and purposes and here i am stealing corporate info

senator jeanne shaheen is holding a press conference today to announce expanded 4-g lte voice and data, calling it a boost for economic development, tourism, and public safety. the network will carry verizonse state economic leaders say more needs to be done to bring young people to new hampshire. new hampshire has the lowest unemployment rate in the country but that means many companies are struggling to find skilled workers and to expand operations so during yesterday's annual meeting for the department of resources and economic development. officials stressed that one of the keys to improving the local economy is to keep the best and brightest here and to attract new talent monster energy will take over as the title sponsor of its top series next year. sprint has held that role for 13 years. it is not clear yet how much monster will pay for the naming rights or how long the deal runs. so get ready for the monster cup. there is winston cup and sprint cup and now monster cup. we're going to have more on that on the show. kevin: as much as i drink coffee, i don't think i've ever had a

senator shaheen is also actively engaged. there are many of us who are working on how we are going to respond to the russia aggression. but this aggression is, again, not just limited to the united states, not just limited to their neighbors. we have seen what russia is doing in the middle east and syria and the impact it is having on supporting the assad regime. they are, what they are doing there affects what iran is doing. iran of course affects the entire region. there are a lot of issues that we could talk about. let me just try to tie this first to the trump administration. i know we talked a little bit before i walked up here. the trump administration has a significant problem. in that donald trump has holdings globally including in russia. his statements about russia have me greatly concerned, have many members of congress greatly concerned because russia is not our ally or friend. they are a bully. they need to be treated that way. you have got to stand up to a bully, and you have got to make sure that they understan

senator shaheen? >> yes. i would echo what's been said. i would also ask that we encourage leadership to bring this to the floor before we go into recess and end this session of congress. i think the best message we could send to russia as they're looking at their future plans in europe is the message that we want montenegro to join the nato and to be part of the european bloc that protects all of europe. >> anyone else? thank you, both, for your leadership on this issue. no further discussion on this, i'd entertain a motion to approve this by voice vote. >> so moved. >> moved and seconded. thank you so much. the question on the motion to aproou the treaty. all those in favor say aye. oppose? with that, the ayes have it. the treaty agreed to. >> i want to thank you for your help in getting this resolution before us today. it's a resolution that i worked with with senators rubio, menendez, kaine, boxer and other members of this committee. its heart wrenching narrative emerged from venz wail ya in which economic unraveling, lack of food and

shaheen: mr. president, i'm here along with a number of my colleagues today to applaud the 21st century cures act as a major milestone and a long overdue initial investment in combatting the opioid epidemic. in particular, i applaud the inclusion of $1 billion in funding over two years that will address this crisis. for treatment providers on the front lines of the epidemic, i'm pleased to say that with this bill, when it's passed by the senate -- and i believe it will be -- help is on the way. now make no mistake, these resources are badly needed. this remains an uncontrolled epidemic and it's still gaining strength, unfortunately. a staggering 47,000 americans died of drug overdoses in 2014. more americans than died in car accidents. and in new hampshire, we are bull's eye for the highest percentage of drug overdoses per population of any state in the country. sad to say. so i'm pleased that this bill includes language to prioritize the allocation of these new resources to the most heavily affec

shaheen: thank you, madam president. i'm pleased to join my colleagues, senator heitkamp from north dakota and senator klobuchar from minnesota. i represent new hampshire, so i think we have the major -- three major regions of the country represented here to talk about why we need to make the appointments to allow the ex-im bank to continue to do their transactions. as my colleagues have said, ex-im has a five-member board of directors, and in order to consider transactions that exceed $10 million, they have to have a quorum of three people. well, right now, again, as senator klobuchar explained and senator heitkamp, there isn't a quorum. so they can't continue to do transactions that are worth over $10 million. and that's having a real impact on companies across this country. in 2016, after a period where ex-im was not reauthorized, where they were not able to do business, we finally got that legislation through. they were able to begin operating again. and in 2016, they were able to support about 52,000 u.s. jobs by au

jeanne shaheen and richard blumenthal have requested an official review of flynn's security clearance citing today's report in a separate incident in which he disclosed information to pakistan and that he, and i'm quoting, had technicians secretly install an internet connection in his pentagon office even though it was forbidden. he's become the main funnel for security information to a president who you'll recall has been skipping his intelligence briefings because, as trump said, i'm like a smart person. joining me now, michael steele, former chair of the republan national committee. the lock her up thing, i mean, it's amazing the parallels, right? >> yeah. >> so hillary clinton does this thing that violates protocol. she's investigating. the finding is, yeah, she violated protocol but she didn't knowingly compromise national security, she's okay. >> but the argument was that she knowingly violated that protocol -- >> right. and general flynn did the same thing. >> no. they said he did not know he had violated this protocol. and that's the difference. >> you think it's perfectly fin

have introduced this and it's the public health crisis in the united states and we join with senator shaheen resolution calling for its passage. just to give you an idea how bad this is right now we will have 2,000 people died from opioid overdose is this year. of them 1500 will have fentanyl in their bloodstream. massachusetts is 2% of america's population. multiply that by 50 and this epidemic is hitting the whole country at the rate it is having massachusetts, new hampshire, florida and several other states. that would be 100,000 deaths of which 75,000 would come from fentanyl so what we are trying to do is get ahead of the storm, this classified hurricane already in certain states and ready to hit. it calls for the government to work much more closely with the chinese government which is the source of this substance that has been created and is coming into the country and with the mexican government where it is fabricated and turns into a product and then comes into the cities and states in the country so this is something that in my opinion is going to wind dwarfing anupdwarfing any oth

shaheen: thank you. today the senate foreign relations committee approved the resolution to allow montenegro to become a member of the north atlantic treaty organization. you'll here -- i'm here this afternoon to urge that the full senate take up this issue and give a prompt vote to the ex-session -- accession before we bring the 114th done a close. a top priority of the historic nato summit that happened in warsaw in july was bolstering the alliance's resolve and capacity to deter russian aggression against the baltic states and the rest of nato's eastern flank. also at the warsaw summit nato formally invited montenegro to become its 29th member nation. all 28 member states must now ratify the accession protocol according to our own procedures. in the united states, that means the senate must ratify the protocol. in the decades since the end of the cold war, nato has been a tremendous force for stability, democratization and freedom in europe. that's exactly why more countries, including those created b

senator in a deep purple states shopping by flies, how to jeanne shaheen coming become reelected?e.t to the deep v ads,state, same tbs everything. the difference, there is one community actually be other in the turnout was different. why the heck is that? it was how many local people were actually knocking on the doors and making the phone calls. it worked again this year. we really only purple state to pick up the u.s. senate seat. we do that because of what we do on the ground in new hampshire and that is what we need to do in every single state. we have fought back. i want you to know every time republicans in new hampshire have success we ticket right to them and we danced back the next election. that is what we should do to donald trump and every single one of the republican elected officials weather in the state legislator, government or the white house, we need to stand up and fight back and not be shot. we need to be bold when we push back. i record is about inclusion and fairness. was saying bernie sanders cannot be on the ballot in the new hampshire primary because he wa

. >> senator shaheen. >> yes. i would echo what's been said. i would also ask that we encourage leadership to bring this to the floor before we go into recess in this session of congress. i think the best message we could send to russia as they're looking at their future plans in europe is the that we want them to join the nato and to be part of the european block that protects all of europe. >> anyone else? thank you both for the leadership on this issue. the note for the discussion on this i would entertain a motion to approve this by the volt. moving second and i thank you so much. all of those in favor say aye. with that we have aye's and then we have the resolution and senator, do you have any comments? >> well, mr. chairman, i want to thank you for getting the help to get this before us today. i have worked with the senators r rubio, kaine and other members, and it's heart wrenching narrative emerged from venezuela and then the lack of food and medicine and the rising level itself of corr ruchlgss have created a situation where they face

senator in a deep purple states shopping by flies, how to jeanne shaheen coming become reelected? how did maggie hassan get reelected as governor? we went to the deep dive. small state, same tv ads, everything. what was the difference? there is one community actually be other in the turnout was different. why the heck is that? it was how many local people were actually knocking on the doors and making the phone calls. it worked again this year. we really only purple state to pick up the u.s. senate seat. we do that because of what we do on the ground in new hampshire and that is what we need to do in every single state. we have fought back. i want you to know every time republicans in new hampshire have success we ticket right to them and we danced back the next -- bounce back the next election. that is what we should do to donald trump and every single one of the republican elected officials weather in the state legislator, government or the white house, we need to stand up and fight back and not be shot. -- shy. we need to be bold when we push back. my record is about inclusion

[applause] >> jeanne shaheen, maggie hassan, and others will also be the first all-female democratic congressional delegation. [applause] how did we do that? well, we had the success because it was about the grassroots. in 2014, it was mentioned that turnout was down. it wasn't down in new hampshire because we invested in the grassroots. we didn't wait for the money from somewhere else. we knew nobody was coming in on a white horse and we decide we're going to raise the money ourselves and we're going to invest and do it. and what we discovered after the election when his senator after u.s. senator and the deep purple states are dropping like flies, how did jean jean become only the second democrat elected u.s. senate? how did maggie hassan get elected when she was outspent two to one? we went and did a deep dive. so small state, saying tv as, say mail, everything. what everything. what was the difference? the difference was we would look, there's one committee right next to the other and the turnout was genetically different. why the heck is that? it was how many local people were a

. >> senator shaheen today renewed her call for congressional hearings into the subject of russian meddling in the u.s. election. does the white house support that and look at whether russia was deeply involved in trying to meddle with our leelection? >> ultimately this will be a decision for congress to make. i don't think we would weigh in one way or the other. obviously congress has legitimate oversight over these kinds of questions, and i know that the intelligence community in particular takes seriously the responsibility that they have to maintain an open line of communication with relevant congressional committees. i know that's something that director brennan and director clapper and other leaders in the intel community in the obama administration have taken seriously. sometimes there have been disagreements, high profile disagreements between leaders of the intelligence community and some members of congress, but given the nature of that work and given the fact that in most cases significant public transparency is not possible, that kind of congressional oversight is particularly i

introduced this resolution this is a public health crisis in the united states, and we join with senator shaheenon this resolution, calling for its passage. fentanyl, just to give you a little bit of idea how bad this is right now, we will have 2000 people die in massachusetts from opioid overdose of this year. of them, 1500 will have fentanyl in the blood system. 75%. now, massachusetts is 2% of america's population. so if you multiply that by 50 and this epidemic was hitting the whole country at the rate educatinitis hitting massachusee rate is hitting new hampshire, the rate it is hitting florida and several other states, but not the country, that would be 100,000 deaths, of which 75,000 would come from fentanyl. what we are trying to do with this resolution is to get ahead of this storm, this classified hurricane already onshore in certain states but it is ready to hit. and what it does is a call for comment to work much more closely with the chinese government which is the source principally of this chemical, this artificial substance which has been created and is coming into our country. a

jeanne shaheen, garcia porter will also be the first all-female democratic delegation. how did we do that? well, we have success because it's about the grassroots. in 2014 it was mentioned in turnout was down. it wasn't down in new hampshire because they invested in the grassroots. we didn't wait for the money. we had to raise rates. we decided we were going to raise the money ourselves and invested do it and what we discovered after the election and u.s. senator after u.s. senator were dropping like flies . how would they get reelected governor outspent two to one. what was the difference? the difference was that as one community next to the others. where the heck is that? how many local people are actually knocking on the doors and making the phone calls? they weren't again this year. we were the only purple state to pick up the senate seat. we did that because of what we do on the ground in new hampshire and that's what we need to do in every single state. we have sought back. i want you to know that every time the republicans in new hampshire of success we take you

senator shaheen is also actively engaged. there are many of us who are working on how we are going to respond to the russia aggression. but this aggression is, again, not just limited to the united states, not just limited to their neighbors. we have seen what russia is doing in the middle east and syria and the impact it is having on supporting the assad regime. they are, what they are doing there affects what iran is doing. iran of course affects the entire region. there are a lot of issues that we could talk about. let me just try to tie this first to the trump administration. i know we talked a little bit before i walked up here. the trump administration has a significant problem. in that donald trump has holdings globally including in russia. his statements about russia have me greatly concerned, have many members of congress greatly concerned because russia is not our ally or friend. they are a bully. they need to be treated that way. you have got to stand up to a bully, and you have got to make sure that they understan

senator shaheen are actively engaged. many of us working how we respond to the russia aggression but this aggression is not just limited to the united states. not just limited to their neighbors. we see what russia is doing in the middle east and syria. the impact it is having on supporting the assad regime. what they're doing there affect what is iran is doing. iran of course affects the entire region. so there are a lot of issues we can talk about. but first let me tie this to the trump administration. we talked a little bit as i walked up here. the trump administration has a significant problem in that donald trump has holdings globally, including in russia. and that, his statements about russia have me greatly concerned, have many members of congress greatly concerned because russia is not our ally or friend. they are a bully and they need to be treated that way. you have to stand up to a you will aboutly and you have to make sure that they understand that the leader of the free world will be there with our democratic

senator shaheen is also actively engaged. there are many of us who are working on how we are going to respond to the russia aggression. but this aggression is, again, not just limited to the united states, not just limited to their neighbors. we have seen what russia is doing in the middle east and syria and the impact it is having on supporting the assad regime. they are what they are doing , there affects what iran is doing. iran of course affects the entire region. there are a lot of issues that we could talk about. let me just try to tie this first to the trump administration. i know we talked a little bit before i walked up here. the trump administration has a significant problem. -- in that donald trump has holdings globally including in russia. his statements about russia have me greatly concerned, have many members of congress greatly concerned because russia is not our ally or friend. they are a bully. they need to be treated that way. you have got to stand up to a bully, and you have got to make sure that they under

at the very same time, we found common ground with ranking member shaheen and other democrats on the committee. during my tenure as chair, we've passed 32 bipartisan bills out of the committee, which is 22 more than my predecessors did over a much longer period, and eight of our bills have passed through the entire legislative process and been signed into law. these accomplishments are but a fraction of the years of hard work my staff and i have dedicated to the people of louisiana and indeed the american people. i've worked hard to be a champion for them because the government should serve the taxpayer and not the other way around. and that includes by working hard to stay in touch through 398 town hall meetings, at least five in each parish of louisiana, through 231 telephone town halls and through active, energetic casework and constituent service. but clearly what i will treasure most about my service here is the people i have been honored to serve with. my colleagues, including my fellow will youians, senator bill cassidy, mentors like former senator rick santorum and senator je

. >> senator shaheen. >> yes. i would echo what's been said. i would also ask that we encourage leadership to bring this to the floor before we go into recess in this session of congress. i think the best message we could send to russia as they're looking at their future plans in europe is the message that we want montenegro to join the nato. and be part of the european block that protects all of europe. >> anyone else? >> thank you both for your leadership on this issue. no further discussion on this, i entertain a motion to approve this by voice vote. >> so moved. >> moved and seconded. thank you so much. the question on the motion to aprofit treaty, all those in favor say aye. oppose? with that, the ayes have it. the treat ji agreed to. we consider s.res. >> i want to thank you for your help in getting this resolution before us today. it's a resolution that i worked with with senators rubio, menend menendez, cain, and boxer and other members of this committee. and it's heartwrenching narrative emerged from venezuela in which economic unravel