toomey: let me unpack this a little bit.eement the administration has negotiated is not as good as the underlying nafta, the original nafta, what it is not terrible. with a few tweaks to move it in the direction of a more pro-trade agreement, it is something i could support. i think the vast majority if not every republican senator could support it as well. i have suggested there is a path to getting this ratified in this congress. it will require that these changes be in the implementing legislation, not reopening negotiations with canada and mexico. path, it seemse to me. the alternative is the administration waits until next year and then begins discussions with nancy pelosi. we have seen that movie before. we have seen what has happened in the past, when the republican president has handed a free trade agreement to speaker pelosi. she never moved it. refused tooff tpa, put it on the floor, never had a vote. it was only when republicans took control of the congress that the colombia free trade agreement and south korea we

scanlon: we do agree we do need significant campaign finance reform i did not know senator toomey was a friend or family or immigrant. [laughter] women have a much harder time and it's not just because we have a wage gap but also a wealth gap women on average have 30 percent of the wealth of men. that makes it much more money for a raisema political campaign. for the last three or four years i have been working to raise money in pennsylvania it is a necessary thing to do buts also why is the system broken? yes. absolutely that's why i have signed on to the pledge and i have been endorsed by citizens united. kim: i do appreciate senator toomey support along with the local republicans that have supported my campaign. the let's be real. [laughter] . >> moving on to the next question. tell us your thoughts on criminal justice reform. scanlon: another area i have been working on the last 15 years. with president obama a rare partisan moment where the cokee brothers agreed with the obama justice department of mandatory spending and what they have done to explode the prison population so my

so that's why i introduced originally with senator toomey a piece of legislation. this represents a pared down version which is designed to try to build consensus. that's what we try to do around here, at least i think we should try to do more of. this is an important policy issue that would, , of course, enable financial institutions to voluntarily recapitalize and avoid total collapse along with the intent to damage to consumers and taxpayers. so i appreciate chairman grassley, you're holding this and so we can talk about chapter 14. we learn from the experiences of 2008 and we're not supposed to resume that the market will always be as robust as it is today. we have to prepare for the future. even as we enjoy these days of prosperity. so thank you for holding the hearing, , and i'll pass it back to you. >> okay. our first witness is donald bernstein. he is a partner at law firm, davis, polk and wardwell. he is former chair of the national bankruptcy conference and serve as a commission on the american bankruptcy commission and director of the american college of

i was writing a letter to my senator, pat toomey. sequestration did not happen by magic. they had this committee in 2011. they did not take the deadline seriously. they were supposed to come up with budget cuts. instead they went home for thanksgiving. i hope my senator responsible because they just gave up and sequestration came in. they knew it would hurt military readiness. now we are just supposed to forget who was on that supercommittee and how they abandoned their responsibilities. why don't we hold these people accountable? guest: thank you for reading defense news. we appreciate that. it is a really good point. when this committee can together the idea was we will set it up so it is so awful we will never let it happen. we all know it is so bad. -- everyonel agree will agree. and then it happened. people seemed surprised by that on the hill. absolutely. the effects wend are feeling now in the military you will continue to feel for some time. it was a self-inflicted point by congress. host: john from new jersey. can you get a quick question and for us? caller: and

. >> senator toomey? >> thanks, senator brown. thanks to both of you for being here. this is very helpful discussion. seems to me icos have featured some incredible scams. there are some that's very obvious. the volatility of bitcoin has been breathtaking. on the other hand, central banks over time haven't had the greatest record of preserving the value of the median exchange that they're responsible for. we've discussed the friction in the payment systems that we have now. i think fintech is offering fabulous new ways to minimize that friction, but there will always be some friction and even if they become extremely efficient, which they are, the payment system will still be in a fiat currency everywhere. dr. roubini, you point out that bitcoin, for instance, is not a yump yu unit of account, not a store of value. i think that's true but it striked me that those are all issues of scale. anything can be a currency if it is acceptable to enough people. it then takes on those characterist characteristics. what i think i hear you say is that it's simply intrinsic to the

i didn't know senator toomey was one of our family friends. when men have a much harder time raising money for campaign throh campaign-finance and it's not just because we have a wage gap but also a wealth gap where we have 30% and that makes it much more difficult to raise money in the political campaign. the last three or four years we've been working to raise money for women running in pennsylvania. it's the necessary things we need to do but it's also why is our campaign finance system broken, yes absolutely is. they signed to make that the new order of business and while i've been endorsed in citizens united. >> 30 seconds to support the local republicans who have supported my campaign lets be real. moving on the next question. can you tell your thoughts on criminal justice reform. >> that's the area that i've been working on the last 15 years. under president obama there was a moment where the coke brothers agreed with the obama justice department and that was on the issue of mandatory sentencing and what it's done to explode the populat

. >> and was senator casey's record and also senator toomey who has been there has 50 percent more bills passed. senator santorum had double the amount of bills passed and senator specter had 30. senator heinz had 26. hour senator casey has four. in fact, the report card is so bad voted one of the least effective senators not once but twice. it's amazing to support the bill with another $12000 on top of the $15000 limit and then to put another 12000 belt. casey: it is interesting to see those numbers at least 45 bills that are enacted into law that have far-reaching effect. i asked that the congressman just between the two of us with the new administration and claims to work on a number of fronts but here we have legislation that i have passed and with grandparents who are raising a child of the opioid crisis but now that is the law of the land. that is signed into law. so in the recent past by president trump. >> and you respond to the question what you have done? . >> i have saved four. $4 billion in the private sector to shrink the federal footprint. but the proudest thing that i did

but pat toomey, republican senator from pennsylvania came out to say with other republicans, sign thisa vote on or before the end of the congress. is this realistic? >> probably not. a senate majority leader, mitch mcconnell says is just not time. and a lot of them look at that way. everything would have to be lined up. as you know, there are many other items on the agenda for the lame-duck session. paul: i will tell you what, it looks to me that the politics of this are not going well for the next congress. you're ready hear democrats saying well, okay. this bill, this nafta deal, we will look at it but you have to do several things before we even consider a vote. for example he has to tighten up the enforcement provisions, yet to do more labor protections and environmental protections. the environmental lobby is lined up totally against it and the cio is lukewarm on it. i guess my question is, will this have a hard time passing a democratic house? >> there certainly will be a lot of wheeling and dealing. and a lot of talk about how to enhance the enforcement provisions in the agreeme

. >> toomey is heartbreaking. to still see those signs in this modern age. >> reporter: in this modern age, antioch police released these images of the vandals got -- caught spray painting vehicles outside of city hall. private vehicles were also hit. we found this truck owned by the parent of a marine defaced outside a better in the store. >> we put our hearts and souls and finances into the downtown area and this is very disheartening to get the negative. >> reporter: city crew spent the day removing graffiti at the church. they also cleaned up this mural showing scenes from antioch's past. >> it sad. it's sad that people have to destroy other people's property. this mural has been here for a long time. my business got it also. and for what reason? >> reporter: all told, 20 locations were vandalized. code enforcement workers cleaned up all of them as a courtesy. >> these are victims and we don't want to victimize the victims by issuing citations or signs even though it is technically a muni violation did have gr

toomey: thank you, mr. president. i rise this afternoon to say a few words about a colleague, a friend, a mentor, and a man that i admire very, very much and have so much respect for, my colleague senator hatch. you know, in pennsylvania, as in many states, along the sides of the roads in various towns you often see these commemorating plaques of historically significant places. in pennsylvania there are these beautiful cast aluminum, they are painted blue and there's gold lettering and they tell you something unique about little burrows, towns, villages, or sometimes sites in big cities all across the commonwealth. there is such a commemoration at the house where betsy ross made the first american flag. there is a -- a marker that signifies the spot where president lincoln gave the gettysburg address, there is the site of the first world series in pittsburgh, pennsylvania. now, i'm not a member of the commission that makes the decision about these things, but if i were, i think you could make a great case for a curre

pat toomey and ron johnson were in tightly contested reelection bid in states that donald trump carried. he brought up democrats to pull republican ballots the first time in their lifetime. otherwise chuck schumer would have been majority leader of donald trump had not brought out another 100,000 working-class middle-class voters. >> democrats stayed home in pennsylvania because hillary clinton did not -- if you combine what hillary clinton and donald trump in pennsylvania got it did not equal what barack obama got in his reelection in 2012. >> i think donald trump not hillary clinton lost. we can talk about that because, in the part of america that has been ignored for 30 years. >> you can't say they all turned out for him. >> democrats nominated the worst person they could have run. >> they didn't turn out for him either. >> the only one who was on the campaign ran the state of pennsylvania. the president won pennsylvania, hillary clinton's numbers in pennsylvania would have won any other year. the numbers were extremely high in southeast pennsylvania. charlie's point -- >> it is impo

. >> this is something that was so fascinated toomey would think no one would have less in common than somebody wrongfully convicted and the person who testified against them. what's interesting is they shared this 360-degree view of the system that they were branded as a perpetrator and revealed to be a victim. it was led in a series of procedures and good faith that made them feel ultimately like a perpetrator because they contributed to somebody being sent away so they can both see it from the same sides and opposite sides and in a weird way they are the only person in the whole world can understand the catastrophe. >> there is a great book written about this that people in the audience might have seen, picking cotton which is the story of jennifer thompson got this book really takes it to a step up and some of it the work jennifer does with katie Álvar . you picked the one that right now i could ask you to put it up so many of them. maybe the haynesworth story would be a good one. >> this young woman, and it's pretty close to my heart because i literally just came from an event whe

that's right and even some of these senators signing on the letter originating actually with senator toomeyo urged president trump to change some of the provisions in the trade deal, so that it's more friendly to free-trade. i think it's going to be difficult to do that balancing act, to get, you know, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle on board with this deal, but it's something that's worth doing ultimately because you want to have positive trade relations with canada and mexico and importantly, this deal updates the previous deal nafta so that we now have better provisions in place for protection of intellectual property and digital trade provisions, sort of bringing it to the 21st century, so ultimately this is going to be one of many priorities that lawmakers are looking at in lame duck section but a very important one. >> susan: so hadley, i would say the 12 republicans include a long list of high profile senators that includes ted cruz is on board, rob portman, but you know, the rest of the republicans would probably argue look, we have other issues to worry about like funding the

initially i would like to thank senators toomey and casey, my home state senators for supporting andadvancing my nomination to the president. senator leahy, i appreciate you entering into the record senator casey up statement in support. i apologize to senator casey for missing his phone call this morning. i was time my daughter's shoe when he calls. i think the 20 members of the bipartisan commission back home who worked tirelessly in this selection process and i would like to thank donald trump for the honor of this nomination. i introduce my family who are here today and others watching at home. my wife of 15 years is here with me today, she was a speech language pathologist at the pittsburgh the a hospital working with veterans who suffered strokes and traumatic brain injuries, more recently serving the family and even more difficult job as a stay at home mother with 3 kids. i'm thankful for her love and support throughout the years, she is a wonderful wife, mother and best friend and she is wearing a beautiful black and gold dress in the city of champions. my oldest daughter is

i was writing a letter to my senator, pat toomey. sequestration did not happen by magic. they had this committee in 2011. they did not take the deadline seriously. they were supposed to come up with budget cuts. instead they went home for thanksgiving. i hope my senator responsible because they just gave up and sequestration came in. they knew it would hurt military readiness. now we are just supposed to forget who was on that supercommittee and how they abandoned their responsibilities. why don't we hold these people accountable? guest: thank you for reading defense news. we appreciate that. it is a really good point. when this committee can together the idea was we will set it up so it is so awful we will never let it happen. we all know it is so bad. -- everyonel agree will agree. and then it happened. people seemed surprised by that on the hill. absolutely. the effects wend are feeling now in the military you will continue to feel for some time. it was a self-inflicted point by congress. host: john from new jersey. can you get a quick question and for us? caller: and

the county supported democrat hillary clinton and republican pat toomey.ng to make an edge. they have 18 seats, wanting 23. and, of course, they want to shift that power today. the voters will be the ones to decide what happens. steve: a rainy day in jameson, pennsylvania. just like in new york. thank you for the live report. ainsley: one election reporter forgetting to hang up the telephone, revealing how she really feels about the g.o.p.'s senate candidate john james. listen. >> man, if he beats her, jesus. [bleep] john james. that would suck! i don't think it's going to happen though. steve: well, that reporter got fired. brian: why? steve: the aggressive rhetoric from the left stemming all the way from the top. this one from nancy pelosi. >> we are not them. we do not act the way they do. but i do think that when you are in the arena and somebody throws a punch, you better be able to take a punch and throw a perch. brian: here to weigh in if that makes any sense on any last-minute dirty tricks that we might expect today. he is fox -- this is his new ti

our bill the manchin-toomey bill was a dream bill. it was a dream come true bill any other time.o divisive and divided that these social issues are drawing the line. take the abortion issue. i have -- i said i was born in a pro-life family. i was raised pro-life. with the exceptions and i have always voted pro-life with the exceptions of rape, incest and life of the mother. which i think is reasonable, which most pro-life people accept and that's what they judged themselves by. they gotten to the point now, there is no exclusions. no exceptions whatsoever. so all side have gone to the extremes and just driven these social wedges to people pushed apart. i kept talking about things that people said, oh, you can't talk about that joe. i said, i'm the same person i have always been. people are trying to make it that i'm somebody different. i haven't changed. i'm not changing, joe. i'm coming back to washington on tuesday. we've got to sit down and work through this. i've said, jeff sessions should not have been fired. mueller should be protected. we've got to get this investigation d

toomey: today 11 three-t tall wooden stars of david -- they make up a sidewalk memorial in the city's squirrel hill neighborhood, and they will be brought inside the tree of life synagogue to protect this display of the city's grief from the snowstorm. pittsburgh, the jewish community, and our entire country were shaken by a horrific anti-semitic attack that occurred on october 27 during shabat morning services. members of three jewish congregations were present. the tree of life, dora hadash and new light congregations. 11 innocent people were senselessly slaughtered in the attack. six others were wounded, including four police officers who responded to the attack. even within this act of evil, there were displays of amazing courage and humanity, of first responders who rushed into danger to apprehend the shooter and protect others. the jewish doctors and nurses who cared for not just the victims, but the shooter as well. like dr. jeffrey cohen, president of allegheny county hospital, who is actually a member of the tree of life synagogue, and he displayed an amazing, remarkable cour

responding to a question senator toomey posed about the bureau's potential impact on small businesses, ms. kraninger said, i absolutely believe that there is a limited intent for the bureau to be engaged in small business oversight or engagement there, so that's something that should be limited. senator moran asked ms. kraninger about providing greater calculator -- clarity to company's overseeing by the bureau to which she responded i agree it is critical to have clear rules so that lenders, creditors and consumers themselves know what the rules are, that they are not somehow told after the fact that they broke a rule they weren't even aware of or that they had somehow changed without any proper notice and comment process. to really understand the impacts and the opportunity to tailor. in addition, numerous key stakeholders have written to the banking committee in support of ms. kraninger's nomination, and to emphasize the positive attributes that prepare her to lead the bureau. ms. kraninger has received widespread support from the community banks and credit iewns, -- unions, consum