senator wyden. senator wyden: thank you, senator paul. great to be here with senator leahy, senator danes. what unites our bipartisan coalition is that we strongly oppose an end run on our constitution. we stand united in terms of fighting terrorists on foreign soil. that is not what is at issue. the fact, however, is 702, this law that we're debating, is a whole lot broader than fighting terrorists. it allows warrantless government surveillance of foreigners thought to have foreign intelligence information. that's practically anything that relates to the foreign affairs of the united states. practically everything about foreign countries relates to american foreign affairs. so let me give you an example of the kind of americans who can get swept up, law-abiding americans in these 702 searches. americans who talk to foreigners, for example, overseas like a american -- midwestern steel company investor or a person talking to their contacts or second or third generation american immigrant talking to f

i joined the other senators here today in supporting senator wyden's usa rights act to establish new privacy protections that make sure that our intelligence gathering isfocused on achieving our national security goals without destroying our privacy rights . until we take real, meaningful steps to protect the constitutional rights and privacy's and add more accountability to the intelligence system, the senate should reject reauthorization of section 702. i am pleased to introduce senator daines. >> thank you senator warren. as americans we are grateful we are born with certain rights outlined in our constitution under the bill of rights. one of them is protection from unreasonable searches and seizures for the right to privacy. i think if we were able to speak with james madison or thomas jefferson today and roll out the terms email, metadata, a cell phone, they have no idea what we are talking about. trying to think through the provincials of our constitution, if we told them that meant our government could take information from us citizensor perhaps a letter without a warrant , fr

wyden: mr. president, i want to thank chairman leahy for his excellent remarks, and let me simply say to move forward without amendments surrenders the constitutional obligation senators have to the american people. this issue is important. it is complicated. and the american people deserve to have an opportunity for some real amendments to make sure at the end of the day we have policies that keep our people safe and protect our liberties. a bipartisan coalition of us. i see my friend from kentucky here. he's joined by his colleague from utah, senator lee. senator leahy and i. our bipartisan coalition is dedicated to essentially one mission. we think the country deserves a senate that is very tough on terrorists. we don't take a back seat to anybody in terms of fighting terrorists. what we're opposed to is an end run on our sacred constitution. right now, with the changes in communication systems around the world and communication systems increasingly becoming globally interconnected, we have m

wyden: thank you, mr. president. mr. president and colleagues, chairman hatch was on the floor a bit ago talking about the children's health insurance program, and because his remarks greatly misleading, i thought it was important, having heard my good friend -- my long-time friend -- earlier. i thought it was important to come to the floor this afternoon and set the record straight about the children's health insurance program. the fact is the chairman and i did negotiate an important children's health insurance program extension back in september, bipartisan, and i put in a lot of time both inside this congress and outside the halls of congress in order to line up bipartisan support for that effort. and we did, in fact, in the finance committee have near unanimous bipartisan support. that was months and months ago. the fact is at that point the children's health insurance program could have passed the congress win days, but unfortunately the republicans in the other body had some other ideas. from the moment the senate

>> drug prices are too high, senator wyden. i said that and i said that when i was at lily and every incentive -- >> that is not the question. did you ever lower the price? >> i don't know there is any drug price of a branded product that has ever gone down from any company on any drug in the united states because every incentive in the system is ports higher pricesbe and that is whee we can do things together herking as the government to get at this no one company will pick that system enough i want to be here working with you. >> let the record show that when that specific question for mr. azor was asked when the bipartisan senate finance committee was present did he ever lower the price of a lily drug sold in the united states mr. azor said no. let the record show that is what we were told and now we will go have to make judgments about how you will approach the issues of helping to shrink pharmacy receipts, you and i talked legislation that i have introduced that would ensure that the consumer got the price reduction at the

democrats expressed frustration saying that should have been voted on its own, months ago.sen ron wyden / oregonthe kids became hostage to the republican political agenda.democrats said at the end of the day republicans are to blame or the inability to reach an agreement on a long term spending bill..sen. jeff merkley / oregon i don't see how that does anything but reflect on their leadership or should i say on their complete lack of leadership.colorado senator cory gardner says it's democrats who aren't cooperatingsen. cory gardner it's frustrating and i think that reasonableness tells people to do their job in washington alexandra limon

chairman. >> senator wyden. >> thank you very much. mr.chairman, i have a couple of questions, i want to make two unanimous consent requests if i might to put documents into the record at this point. i think mr. cesar -- mr. azar in response to colleagues has given incorrect answers. senator nelson asked whether he was supportive of the president's position with respect to medicare, medicaid or social security and mr. azar said that the president promised he wouldn't cut it he has adhered to that promis that is simply unue the president's first budget pd about cutting medicaid by hundreds of billions of dollars through proposals like block grants so i would like to put the budget into the record, not the entire budget, mr. chairman, but the part that indicates the answer to senator nelson's questions incorrect and also we've got ten information-- >> we'd be happy to do that, but we should let mr. azar respond to that. >> well, this is just-- >> a response. >> this is just a request to put information into the record. >> there's an earlier

senator wyden is joining us but had to go somewhere else first. i don't remember where, but he shall return. now, republican leaders in the house have offered a continuing resolution that does not address some of the most pressing issues that face our country. instead, it just kick the can down the road. cr after cr. the house republican build a log of our veterans, who wait in line for service, the health they need. it does not make necessary investment to fight the scourge of opioid addiction, which has a stranglehold on so many of our communities, urban, suburban, rural. it does not honor the promise made to over one million pensioners who contributed to an earned every penny of their pensions. it does not fund community health centers or other important health programs that have lapsed. and i would say the defense also the republican side of the house , it does not give our military and our troops with secretary mattis said they need either. and of course, as senator durbin will get into, it does not provide the necessary protection for the dr

the committee's ranking member, senator wyden, and i introduced our initial bill earlier last fall. that bill would have reauthorized chip for five, five years. it was promptly reported out of the finance committee with near unanimous support. then the democrats decided to pretend that bill never existed. as we worked through a crowded legislative calendar at the end of last year, my colleagues were well aware that efforts to reauthorize chip were ongoing. yet, many of our colleagues accused republicans of neglecting vulnerable children. i was leading the fight, as one of the leading republicans, as chairman of the finance committee, the author of the original bill, the one who's always voted for it. i just want a bill that works and not a political brouhaha that it always becomes whenever some of the democrats think they can score some political points. the attacks on this front were fierce and usually at high volume. i was personally attacked by colleagues in committee, here on the floor, and in the media. all kinds of vitriol was thrown in my direction both here in the senate and

before i start, i would like to echo something that senator wyden said. mr. chairman, you have always been a friend, a distinguished member, a mentor to me personally, and always a great leader. and i feel that today's meeting is somewhat bitter sweet for me. sweet so that i can be here to en -- my colleague. bitter to find out that you are leaving this august body. thank you for your service to our country. and thank you for being my friend. >> well, thank you. >> i could not be more pleased or prouder to introduce my friend and former colleague, alex azar. as the president's nominee to be the next secretary of health and human services. alex is an outstanding individual with a great family. his family, jennifer, his two children are both here, as well as his father, alec. i'm here to provide my strongest personal endorsement and to tell you he has the capacity, the capability, the intellect to be an incredible secretary. if confirmed, alex will serve our nation honorably and competently. as i'm sure you know, alex has impeccable academic credentials includi

senator wyden: thank you, mr. chairman for the extra time. >> as i understand it, senator casey has one question, and then we'll wrap it up. you have one, too? >> mr. chairman. >> go ahead. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. mr. azar, i wanted to ask an additional question regarding the approach the administration has taken with regard to implementing the affordable care act, making our health care system work. it came to my attention, and i think the attention of people across the country, a story in politico by efforts made by the administration to what i would argue would be sabotage the affordable care act. i have a report coming out that will outline some of those actions taken. restricting enrollment is one. canceling coverage. all kinds of efforts undertaken that resulted in us pushing to get a document from health and human services. it took months to get. now we're told that there's a new document that we referred to in a letter that we sent december 21 to mr. hargen, the acting secretary. we state, an

wyden: mr. president, i want to thank chairman leahy for his excellent remarks, and let me simply say to move forward without amendments surrenders the constitutional obligation senators have to the american people. this issue is important. it is complicated. and the american people deserve to have an opportunity for some real amendments to make sure at the end of the day we have policies that keep our people safe and protect our liberties. a bipartisan coalition of us. i see my friend from kentucky here. he's joined by his colleague from utah, senator lee. senator leahy and i. our bipartisan coalition is dedicated to essentially one mission. we think the country deserves a senate that is very tough on terrorists. we don't take a back seat to anybody in terms of fighting terrorists. what we're opposed to is an end run on our sacred constitution. right now, with the changes in communication systems around the world and communication systems increasingly becoming globally interconnected, we have m

wyden: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. wyden: i ask unanimous consent to vacate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. wyden: mr. president, before i start, i ask that my law clerk jeff gary, be granted floor privileges for the remainder of this congress. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. wyden: mr. president, i believe the american people should be deeply concerned about the vote senate took yesterday to invoke cloture in effect ending real debate and preventing the senate from considering any amendments to the foreign intelligence surveillance act reauthorization. this isn't what we call regular order, this isn't how the senate ought to operate. in fact, it isn't even how the senate has handled surveillance bills in the past. even in the weeks after the horrendous attacks of 9/11, the senate considered amendments to the patriot act. and in 2008, when the senate first considered section 72, the foreign intelligence surveilla

joining us now, senator ron wyden, wyden, thanks for coming out. the president says he's anxious to speak with the special counsel under oath. what would stop him? >> he's been all over the map on this. initially for it, then wasn't. now he's back. i mean, the point is this is a dually appointed prosecutor we have. bob mueller. decorated war veteran. he's looking into potential criminality in the administration and with respect to the election. it just seems to me it's a pretty low ethical bar for the president to be available to answer questions and if he's not, the question will be what he hiding. >> he said he could do it within the next two or three weeks. does it concern you that the president says he's simply fighting back in the midst of these allegations from the special counsel's investigation. and he says that people consider his fighting back obstruction. >> well, the reality is he has calleded this a witch hunt from the beginning. the fact is people have pled guilty. i mean you've got a number of people who pled guilty, a number of peop

the ones on the right side this such as senator rand paul and ron wyden. educate their colleagues, educate the american people and fight. do everything you can to fight this. if people at home aren't engaged and members of congress aren't engaged, they will vote to reauthorize. we have to make sure they understand the issues and understand the importance of protecting people's rights. kennedy: how does section 702 make us less safe? >> if it's misinterpreted and you collect people's data like they are doing currently, and it's american data and you are searching without a warrant, it puts us at risk. if our liberty is at risk, our privacy is at risk. kennedy: i'm sorry the vote didn't go your way. we were looking forward to that amendment's passage. we have to keep up the good fight and you are doing tonight d.c. thanks so much for that. let me take it to my fire and ice panel, it's a man's panel tonight. pete hegseth is here along with "reason" magazine's peter suderman and ned ryun. you saw this happen today. the president seemed to be at odds with himse

wyden: thank you, mr. president. mr. president and colleagues, chairman hatch was on the floor a bit ago talking about the children's health insurance program, and because his remarks greatly misleading, i thought it was important, having heard my good friend -- my long-time friend -- earlier. i thought it was important to come to the floor this afternoon and set the record straight about the children's health insurance program. the fact is the chairman and i did negotiate an important children's health insurance program extension back in september, bipartisan, and i put in a lot of time both inside this congress and outside the halls of congress in order to line up bipartisan support for that effort. and we did, in fact, in the finance committee have near unanimous bipartisan support. that was months and months ago. the fact is at that point the children's health insurance program could have passed the congress win days, but unfortunately the republicans in the other body had some other ideas. from the moment the senate

wyden: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from wyden. mr. -- the senator from oregon. mr. wyden: before he leaves the floor, i want to thank the senator for his eloquent remarks and our colleague from pennsylvania, senator casey, my seatmate on the finance committee, senator stabenow. i will be making some remarks. we may have another colleague or two come and then senator stabenow on behalf of all of us will be making a motion with respect to these health programs. but for my three colleagues on the finance committee, thank you for your commitment months and months of commitment around the proposition that senator brown just said that this program should have become law a long, long time ago. mr. president, it is heart breaking to see these chip families put through the political wringer, and there is no other way to describe it because they come up to us. moms, families, and they talk about how they are being told that, well, maybe this program isn't going to be around pretty soon, and they heard that at the end of the year, there was

other than that extra year of funding, the bill we passed was identical to the one senator wyden and i introduced last year. i know we have colleagues already talking about adding additional years, and i know a number of stakeholders would like to see that as well. i'm definitely open to having a conversation with my colleagues on how we might move forward to support an additional four years of funding for chip. in my view, if we can work together to pass a bill adding four years to the sixlready in place, that would b simply fantastic. but for this moment let us not overlook the success we've achieved this week. a six-year chip extension gives security and certainty to millions of american families and allows states to plan their budgets for several years into the future. that's a big deal, madam president. let us keep that in mind as we look for ways to do more. i'd like to thank senator wyden, my partner on the finance committee, for his efforts on developing this legislation. i'd like to thank other members of the senate finance committee who supported us all the way. thank you t

immigration in particular is a sticking point for democrats senator ron wyden of oregon says his gueststo the speech are oregon's dream team.two brothers one a daca recipient one a u-s born citizen.ron wyden / oregon dthe two of them have always worked to support each other. sometimes one of them worked to support the other. sometimes one would be in school. sometimes one would be working. but they just embody america's special values.alexandra limonin addition to talking policy both republicans and democrats hope the president can also address unity.rep. jacky rosen / nevada dall this devisice talk all these things about pitting one group against another its not good for our country it's not good for our democracy and i want to see him outstretch his hands and try to bring everybody back together.but the road to unity - especially among the political parties may be a long one rep. barbara leethis president has not honored nor respected the office of the presidentcy and has showed total disregard for our democratic institutions.about a dozen or so democrats are skipping the state of the

wyden: mr. president, the odds are quite good that when this republican-controlled congress closes up shop in december, time spent attacking the health care of women is going to be right up at the top of how this congress spent their day. they're back at it again, and this latest attack that will be -- that we will be discussing this week goes after women's essential health care decisions. in my view, and i want to be very clear about this point, mr. president, this of the trumf health care discrimination, and this time it's going after women , and this entire agenda is what the republicans are doing their best to blast through the congress into law. it's not just a one off either. so i'm going to spend a few minutes now to put this particular health proposal that discriminates against women in the appropriate kind of context, and to do that, i think it's important to describe what has happened on health care since day one of the trump administration. the administration and republicans in the co

>> drug prices are too high, senator wyden, i said that. i said that when i was at lilly-- >> that is not the question. did you ever lower the price? >> i don't know if there is any drug price of a branded product that has ever gone down, from any company on any drug in the u.s., because every incentive in this system is toward higher prices, and that is where we can do things together, working as the government. >> woodruff: azar warned that allowing medicare to negotiate drug prices directly could restrict consumer choice. a panel of federal judges today threw out a congressional districting plan in north carolina. the court ruled that republicans drew the plan to give themselves an unconstitutional advantage over democrats. a previous plan was struck down after a finding of racial bias. the government of syria is charging that israel attacked inside syrian territory again today. the syrian military says missiles hit an army depot in a suburb northeast of damascus early this morning. israel would not confirm or deny the claim. in the past

wyden: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. wyden: i ask unanimous consent to vacate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. wyden: mr. president, i come to the floor this afternoon to mark a milestone that no senator can be proud of. a milestone that every senator should regret. that milestone is -- it has now been 100 days since the congress failed to extend full funding to the children's health insurance program. and the congress has always looked at this in a bipartisan way. this is for the millions of families where kids walk an economic tightrope and their families, the families that balance the rent bill against the fuel bill, the fuel bill against the grocery bill. mr. president, i have to say that there was present effective of time in the last congress to carry out the priorities of the multinational corporations. the people who are well connected, the people who are powerful. they got permanent substantial, really massive new tax br

wyden: mr. president, the odds are quite good that when this republican-controlled congress closes up shop in december, time spent attacking the health care of women is going to be right up at the top of how this congress spent their

bill is virtually identical to the bipartisan extension legislation introduced by senators hatch and wyden the pass by the finance committee last year. we have now included an additional your funding. . . sed it, it was a five-year authorization. the one that we will have in front of us this evening includes a six-year reauthorization of the children's health insurance program. that would mark the longest extension of the children's health insurance program since the program was created back in 1997. it would provide six years of guaranteed funding so that care for children and pregnant women can continue without disruption. it's extremely difficult, mr. president, to understand how the same democrats who have strongly advocated for this program are now opposing legislation to extend it and seeking to shut down the government. in fact, mr. president, democrats are now >> in fact mr. president democrats are actively bragging that they have the votes to shut down the government. and nobody thinks it is a deal that we would much rather have a long-term agreement and eventually weun will. but

that's why senator wyden and i engaged in a bipartisan process following regular order back in the summer. we came to an agreement together. we reported a chip bill out of committee, on a voice vote, with plenty of time to pass it through both chambers. and since that time, i have worked with leaders to ensure that the program was sufficiently funded in the short term until we could bring up and pass our long-term extension. so, mr. president, the idea that we would have let funding lapse is absurd and the senator from ohio knows it. moreover, the accusation that republicans have ignored chip is false on its face. give me a break. our work is on the record, and anyone who tells you otherwise is either severely misinformed or playing political games, something that's not usual around here, especially now. speaking of clinical games, democrats are now saying that both chip and daca are a package deal, and there is no fixing one without the other. it sounds like real support, doesn't it? but, mr. president, that just simply isn't true. we're imposing imaginary deadlines on ourselves that wil

senator wyden has been a leaders said other communications that are purely between two people in america they could, cause this and he's been given a variety of answers. we suspect americans are caught up in this database. should they be able to prosecute for not paying your taxes. absolutely not. this information is gathered without a warrant or without any constitutional protections. rashly okay with the lower standards americans get caught up in the, protects of the constitution. thus most accurately heard. meet the standard zero. we never said that were going to gather foreigners information the top name and find out we've been talking to. realize he can listen to the conversation bring in for an interview and if you say anything have now committed a felony. we really want all of our phone calls recorded and then have the ability of the government to bring you in and ask questions about the phone call. if you're not accurate you could go to prison. all are asking for is that for americans constitution be in order. it should not get rid of it or throw it out, it should protect us all.

democrats expressed frustration saying that should have been voted on its own, months ago.sen ron wyden / oregonthe kids became hostage to the republican political agenda.democrats said at the end of the day republicans are to blame or the inability to reach an agreement on a long term spending bill..sen. jeff merkley / oregon i don't see how that does anything but reflect on their leadership or should i say on their complete lack of leadership.colorado senator cory gardner says it's democrats who aren't cooperatingsen. cory gardner it's frustrating and i think that reasonableness tells people to do their job in washington alexandra limon (grant) here's a closer look at who is affected by a shutdown.... 700-thousand undocumented immigrants who are part of the daca program are included...since there's no fix in place ahead of the march fifth deadline. nine million children who are under the children's health insurance program...or chip...will have more uncertainty about the future of their health care. chip helps parents who earn too much to qualify for medicaid...but not enough to affor

. >> one week ago you interviewed senator wyden of oregon. your interest view was terrific. he pointed to all the constitutional impediments. and he says it doesn't work. it produces information overload. more data than the government has time toll sift through before the tragedy like san bernardino or orlando or the new york bike path actually happens. now we have this information in the hands of congress. kennedy: keep us posted, judge. the politicization of the intelligence community may run deeper than fisa warrants. a tbhu cache of text messages contain many damning information in the messages. but attorney general will rrl ay general loretta lynch may have known she was not going to charge hillary clinton. so are strzok and page just outliers or should we be worried. katie pavlich, rob mosque and editor-in-chief of "reason" magazine cat rip mangu-ward. -- katherine mangu-ward. there are concerns civil libertarians have about intelligence communities assistant overreach and abuse. but here you have two people in a romantic relationship exchanging texts messages. you sho

chairman. >> senator wyden. >> thank you. thank you very much. mr. chairman, a couple of questions. i want to make too unanimous consent request of the might to put document into the record at this point because i think mr. azar has come in response to colleagues, given incorrect answers. senator nelson, for example, asked whether he was supportive of the president position with respect to these issues, medicaid, medicare or salsas goodie. mr. azar said the president promised he would not cut it and he is s here to that promise. that is simply untrue. the presidents first budget proposed cutting medicaid by hundreds of billions of dollars for proposals like block grants. i'd like to put the budget into the record, not the entire budget, but the part that indicates the answer to senator nelsons question isn't great. also, we have just gotten information -- >> will be happy to do that but we should let mr. azar respond to that. >> this is just a request to put information into the record. >> your earlier statement, i wonder if he has any comment about that? >> i think this has to do w

and rand paul agree --the reforms are necessarysenator ron wyden / oregon (d)it is possible for theamerican people to have policies that promote both security and liberty, we understand that those two are not mutually exclusive.sen. rand paul / kentucky (r)the bill of rights requires that information be gathered under the 4th amendment with probable cause, and naming the person, naming the papers.congressman brian fitzpatrick of pennsylvania, a former fbi agent, says reforms to fisa aren't necessary fitzpatrick / pennsylvania (8th-r)section 702 is a critical tool that the intelligence community uses properly to target non us person outside of the united states that is vital to us security.opponents of fisa reform say rules would give more rights to terrorists and criminals. in washington alexandra limon. (vicki) coming up... safety concerns at an east bay starbucks... after a customer is pistol whipped. we'll explain what happened. (grant) plus... james franco is accused of sexual misconduct. and tonight he his denying the allegations. her why he says the stories are not true. (vick

joining knee for the first time on the show, oregon senator ron wyden. i hope there is a way of reversing the house's horrible decision on this garbage legislation. in your ideal world, i now and senator rand paul have authored almost identical version in the senate of what jaws continue amash authored in the house version. >> what we want to do is make sure there is no end run on the constitution. we don't take a back seat to anybody in terms of going after terrorists overseas. but what has happened now that communication systems around the globe have become interconnected, more and more law abiding americans are getting swept up in those searches. so you could have a business person here in the united states talking to a foreigner and they might have their the emails swept up in that collection. what we want to do is say that unless this an emergency, that business person's data can only be searched if you get a warrant. kennedy: now with this legislation that will probably also pass the senate about collection return, that was the one where the fisa c

>> representative amash's amendment is identical to senator wyden and myself's bill. we are excited that this is really a bipartisan. we have right and left. there will be over 100 democrats in the house and may well be over 100 republicans. this is a chance for the liberty movement to have a victory. the liberty folks who watch your program, you need to call your congressman. this is a big fight. kennedy: if there is going to be bipartisanship in congress, this is where it should rest. it's not on infrastructure and immigration it's right here where we have to be so mindful of our civil liberties. what concerns me is devin nunes is trying to find a middle ground. but my worry is it becomes a creep toward eroding our rights. >> what they are calling middle ground is worse than the existing law. it says explicitly you can use information from this foreign data to convict americans domestically for domestic crime. it specifically allows what we are trying to prevent. there is no warrant requirement. there is a little bit of a tweak of a reform. but be wary when the esta

judge andrew napolitano and ron wyden and the season of premiere of ""strange inheritance"" is coming

brad: boats including this police boat are frozen in place, but the wyden pushes through. >> you can feel vibration through the boat. the thicker the ice, the more it shakes, and at times, you wonder how the boat stays together. brad: the captain rolls the boat up against this gas dock. believe it or not, they are trying to sell some fuel and gasoline through the winter. if you take a look over here, there is a workgroup that needs to get around. they need the icebreaker, as well. at this gas stopped, the operator waves. the widener motors on. too. their boat arrived in annapolis last night. all will be battling the cold until the ice thaws. brad bell, abc seven news. adrianna: an update on a bizarre story out of houston, texas. a sports journalist reported missing over the weekend is safe and sound. courtney rowland was spotted at chick-fil-a restaurant near the mall.ia a customer at the restaurant recognized her from the news reports and called 911. texted her she roommates saturday to say a suspicious man was following her in a blue truck. she and her friend intended to meet up la

the committee's ranking member, senator wyden, and i introduced our initial bill earlier last fall. that bill would have reauthorized chip for five, five years. it was promptly reported out of the finance committee with near unanimous support. then the democrats decided to pretend that bill never existed. as we worked through a crowded legislative calendar at the end of last year, my colleagues were well aware that efforts to reauthorize chip were ongoing. yet, many of our colleagues accused republicans of neglecting vulnerable children. i was leading the fight, as one of the leading republicans, as chairman of the finance committee, the author of the original bill, the one who's always voted for it. i just want a bill that works and not a political brouhaha that it always becomes whenever some of the democrats think they can score some political points. the attacks on this front were fierce and usually at high volume. i was personally attacked by colleagues in committee, here on the floor, and in the media. all kinds of vitriol was thrown in my direction both here in the senate and

wyden: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent to speak for up to 15 minutes. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. wyden: mr. president, very shortly the senate is going to take two votes on the president's nominees. the first is to confirm jerome powell as the next fed chair. once that vote wraps up, the senate will vote on whether to begin debate on the nomination of alex azar to be secretary of health and human services. this is one of the key roles in our entire federal government in caring for america's sick and vulnerable. let me begin by saying that had mr. azar does not come with the staggering ethical challenges of his predecessor, the first trump h.h.s. nominee tom price. here is my concern. mr. azar's nomination is a clear symbol of the president's broken promises on prescription drugs and pledge to secure better and more affordable health care for all americans. at the outset of my remarks, i'm going to start with the issue of skyrocketing prescription dru

wyden: mr. president, i will object here in a moment, but i just would like to say that because here on our side we feel so strongly about getting this resolved, we now are seeing a whole host of discussions between members on both sides of the aisle here in the senate, we're hearing about discussions between this body and the other chamber, and it would be my hope that with the good faith that we have seen since last night -- and i know the distinguished president of the senate is involved in some of these discussions -- that with those kind of good-faith discussions, we would have a chance to get this resolved, address the concerns the american people have in a matter of days rather than several weeks. so for that reason, mr. president, i object. the presiding officer: the objection is heard. a senator: mr. chairman? the presiding officer: the senator from maryland. mr. cardin: mr. president, i take this time, i'm going to ask unanimous consent request concerning our federal workforce and the

he may filibuster along with democratic senator wyden of oregon but don't think they're going to be able to stop this from happening. >> so we're a little over a week to the deadline for the budget, any chance that fisa will be somehow attached to that? >> it's entirely possible. at least in the senate. i think the house is going to vote on it as its own stand-alone, which something that was a requirement from the conservative notice house freedom caucus and others. what the senate does is unclear. if they're going to do stand-alone or attach it to the next c.r. the leaders of the senate intelligence committee, republican richard burr and democratic mark warner have both given nominal lip service to this bill saying that they don't really have a problem with it because these tools are so important to national security. so what the senate -- where the senate places it remains to be seen but it's going to be a stand-alone vote in the house at least. >> lastly this fisa debate always brings the clash of privacy concerns versus national security. where does the 115th congress stand in relate

that would be another unprecedented senate hearing if ron wyden gets his way. >> it's one unprecedented thing after another. but wray had stood by steadfastly and suggested he would resign if they tried to oust mccabe but as julia said. there's apparently something in the -- another shoe to drop in this ig report that hasn't issued yet and you know the ig has been called up to the -- by the majority by nunes' committee to talk to them tomorrow about it. we'll see what he reveals. but there's going to be something they use to try to lam baste mccabe. >> special act andrew mccabe stood tall over the last 8 months when small people were trying to tear down an institution we all depend on. he served with distinction for two decades is what james comey tweeted. and president trump will take that as proof he should have been fired he was a james comey guy. >> can we say how demented it is. the trump administration trying to shut down an investigation -- the reason we're firing all these people is in order to avenge some wrong against hillary clinton. and this is maybe a point where hillary cl