mr. murray, how easy would it be for a foreign entity government, and to ask mr. dueweke the same thing, to final virtual money -- final -- into a shell corporation if russia never cooperated with us in terms of the transparency you're looking at come looking for or china? do you need russia and china to make this work? >> know you do not need rush or time to make this work and, in fact, you wouldn't need the virtual money. he may just need the shell company. it is a sizable vulnerability in our financial transparency regime, that the anonymous copies, and it's one that meets the be closed off not just for campaign-finance purposes but for general financial transparency purposes. this is a vulnerability that undermines our anti-money-laundering regime and dynamite our sanctions. >> but you don't need a corporation of a foreign government to have the transparency that mr. dueweke spoke of, is that right, mr. dueweke? >> no, you do not need the cooperation of a foreign government to use the systems, whether it is to funnel money into a shell company which you can ea

mrs. murray: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from washington. mrs. murray: mr. president, reserving the right to object to the senator's request, families should have access to simple, straightforward information so they can make the food choices that are right for them. so i was very glad to see that after seven years of delays and foot-dragging, seven years of objections from republicans who didn't want to allow this commonsense law to be fully implemented, in may of this year we finally saw this law implemented by a republican administration no less. yet today before us now is a proposal that however well-intended it may be, would take us backwards. this bill would undermine nutrition labeling. it would punish businesses along the way that have already fully complemented the law and would carve out an entire category of businesses from providing labeling in their stores and bar f.d.a. from conducting the oversight that we all count on them to do. it would weaken consumer protections as well as protections for states and localities. and, frankly, why? this is

mrs. murray: i ask unanimous consent to speak in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. murray: i come up to the floor today to discuss my strong opposition to the nomination of judge kavanaugh for a lifetime appointment on the united states supreme court. mr. president, there are few issues i take more seriously sasse a senator than my duty to consider and vote on supreme court nominees. it was watching the clarence thomas hearings and seeing how my voice and the voices of people like me all across the country were not being heard that got me to run for the senate in the first place. and i believe it is one of the most important jobs we have on behalf of our constituents. mr. president, my time in the senate, i've had the opportunity to consider nominees from democrats

thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. mrs. murray: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from washington. mrs. murray: i ask unanimous consent to speak in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. murray: i come up to the floor today to discuss my strong opposition to the nomination of judge kavanaugh for a lifetime appointment on the united states supreme court. mr. president, there are few issues i take more seriously sasse a senator than my duty to consider and vote on supreme court nominees. it was watching the clarence thomas hearings and seeing how my voice and the voices of people like me all across the country were not being heard that got me to run for the senate in the first place. and i believe it is one of the most important jobs we have on behalf of our constituents. mr. president, my time in the senate, i've had the opportunity to consider nominees from democrats and from republicans, and for each one of these nominees, i made my evaluation and i based my decision on their experience and record and on

mrs. murray: thank you. thank you, mr. president. i do come to the floor today to join my colleagues in making it clear just how high the stakes are when it comes to our nation's highest courts for our families, for our communities, for our country, and for our future. mr. president, since the day he took office, president trump has made one move after another to turn the white house and the entire executive branch into a tool for those who have the most power, the most money, and the most influence to get even more power and more money and more influence. from our public schools to our public lands and more. it's hard to find any trump administration decision where the bottom line didn't come first. but it's not just his administration. president trump has systematically worked to roll back decades of progress through our courtrooms, from the supreme court on down which will have long lasting impact stretching far beyond his time in the white house. mr. president, i know some of my colleagues were here last night to talk about the a

mrs. murray: thank you. madam president, i want to start today by sharing a story that is very personal to me and that has informed my work and my values ever since it happened. when i was in college, a friend of mine -- we were close and lived together in the dorms -- went out on a date. she was raped, she got pregnant. she didn't know where to get a safe abortion, and she wasn't wealthy, so she knew she couldn't afford it either. the botched procedure she ended up having left her at a very

mrs. murray: thank you, mr. president. just yesterday the world watched as president trump standing in front of the american flag side by side with vladimir putin not only betrayed the dedicated men and women of the u.s. intelligence and law enforcement communities, but then showered praise upon the russian president, the man who directed the interference of our elections. this prompted outcry from members on both sides of the aisle, as it should. i read statements from my colleagues that were very strong in condemning president trump for putting russia ahead of the u.s. using terms like shameful and disgraceful. and not just from republicans who bravely stood up to this president before. i heard from members of congress and even some fox news contributors unable to twist themselves into defending the president in this moment as he so clearly undercut our own country. and i am glad they spoke up, because words matter. but you know what also matters? action. and so now i ask what will congressional republicans do about it?

mrs. murray: thank you. madam president, i want to start today by sharing a story that is very personal to me and that has informed my work and my values ever since it happened. when i was in college, a friend of mine -- we were close and lived together in the dorms -- went out on a date. she was raped, she got pregnant. she didn't know where to get a safe abortion, and she wasn't wealthy, so she knew she couldn't afford it either. the botched procedure she ended up having left her at a very young age unable to bear children. i saw my friend hurt and frightened, alone and unable to get the care she needed because someone else's beliefs mattered more under our laws than her health and her future. that impacted me a lotters and it stayed with me until this day. let me tell you a few other stories. this is a story of a woman who i met just a few weeks allege -- weeks ago. when she was 23,she became pregnant while working paycheck-to-paycheck while in a volatile relationship. she had and her partner realized the

mrs. murray: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i want to thank the senator from connecticut, and i too join him in being very proud, as we were a year ago, to see congress stand with families across the country who didn't want to see their health care rolled back. a year ago, as he said, president trump tried to make good on his campaign promise to repeal the affordable care act and jeopardize the health of millions of people. congress tried to jam this through congress that would have gutted medicaid and scrapped protections for people with preexisting conditions which would put families back at the mercy of big insurance companies. but people across the country stood up, they spoke out, and they made it absolutely clear they did not want president trump to take away their health care or give power back to those insurance companies. and during that debate i heard personal stories from patients and families all over my state of washington who wrr concerned about -- who were concerned about trump care because it would ma

we're all delighted for mr. murray and guido the pug. >> and for guido. he investigating an early morning house fire in east oakland. the fire on hayes street was put out >>> good morning, it's 5 minutes before 9:00. i'm anne makovec. crews are investigating an early-morning house fire in east oakland. the fire on hayes street was put out in less than an hour. but it destroyed the house. six people are homeless. >>> in walnut creek, firefighters are investigating the cause of this fire that destroyed a vacant house overnight. it broke out about 1 a.m. on first avenue near hall. >>> and an immigration protest has grown to about 50 people in san francisco. they are camped outside the u.s. immigration and customs enforcement building. they claim they want to see ice abolished. weather traffic and weather coming up next. ( ♪ ) pixar pier has arrived! prepare to be awed. prepare to be moved. prepare to make a mad dash... ( ♪ ) ...because with the incredicoaster, pixar pal-a-round, and a bunch of your favorite pixar characters, it's going to be pretty incre

mrs. murray: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from washington. mrs. murray: mr. president, in february, the help committee passed a bill to reauthorize the animal drug and animal generic drug user fee programs at f.d.a. that bill was the result of months of bipartisan work. during markup, we worked together to put aside differences and adopted an amendment from senator murphy increasing innovation in animal drug trial designs to advance more medicines for o pets and livestock similar to the work that we did for humans in 21st century cures and an amendment from senator paul to clarify the regulatory process for animal feed additives. now, we worked together because this bill has to pass by august 1 to avoid disruptions to the hardworking employees at f.d.a. who ensure that our pets and food-producing animals have safe and effective drugs. now, last month, the house energy and commerce committee took our bipartisan bill that we worked on together and added a controversial amendment that expands the conditional approval pathway for animal drugs. now currently the f

. >> mr. murray this is adam shapiro, ied a mire coal workers i had honor going to a coal mine in kentucky a year and a half a ago two years ago the fact we have not built a new coal-fired electricity plant in what is it over 20 years newer testimonies are bringing down the cost electricity has not skyrocketed natural gas is cheaper so -- >> you are wrong, mr. shapiro the cost of electricity from coal-fired plant 4 cents a kilowatt hour. over last 10 years has been 15 cents a kilowatt hour. >> natural gas comprehensive with coal not entire kin windmill solar panel mr. shapiro 20 cents kilowatt hour another study shows 50% cheaper to keep coal-fired plants operating for consumer of electricity than to close them the numbers sir 4 cents -- 40 dollars i'm seeing kilowatt hour versus 80 dollars kilowatt hours. >> utilities have not built coal-fired plants. >> they haven't because they want to be politically correct. as long as they can pass the cost of this higher cost gas generation other renewab

you will have that chance. >> thank you, mr. chairman. >> senator moran. >> chairman, thank you very much. thank you for your presence with us today. thank you for your service to our nation and as a public official. you've been through a few hearings and i'm delighted to have you back have a conversation. when i judge whether the va is working for veterans, i do so by what we call casework which is when veterans seek help from my staff to solve problems for the number is increasing not diminishing. it suggests to me that we need to do more into make certain that those who need our help receive our help. right now we have 80 open veteran cases with us that he stream of about 30 cases each month. you indicate in your statement that when a veteran comes to the va you want him to employ a team, excuse me, he ought not employ a team of lawyers to get the va to yes but i want to commend you on that and work with you to make certain you have the best opportunity you can to get the va to a position of yes on the half of those you are t

. >> so i think it is important to know that mr. wheeler's positions are very much like mr. pruitt's was. he was a lobbyist for a long time for bob murray, who is the head of murray energy and very strongly opposed to most of the, if not all of the policies that you outlined a few minutes ago. he spent years working for senator james inhoff, a fierce critic of climate regulations. the difference with mr. wheeler, i think, is going to be in the approach. he's really very widely respected on the hill and, you know, many people inside the agency say that they have gotten a better feeling from him even if they don't perhaps like his policies. >> this is interesting, because murray, for whom andy wheeler worked, is a coal executive. it's a coal company. scott pruitt as attorney general in oklahoma and prior to that has been very, very chummy with the energy industry. oklahoma, like texas, is a big energy-producing state. it's just kind of weird, because the epa really has as its main mission the idea that energy companies and other big industry in america, if you don't provide re

and a senate committee agrees that russia tried to help mr. trump win the election. my guest this morning, president trump's lawyer, rudy guiliani. danielle letca of the american enterprise institute. nbc news, senior political editor, mark murray, and susan page, washington bureau chief of "usa today." welcome to sunday. it's "meet the press." >>> from nbc news in washington, the longest-running show in television history, this is "meet the press" with chuck todd. >> good sunday morning. boy, do we have a lot to get to. the troubled nuclear talks with north korea, president trump's upcoming summit meetings, both with nato and vladimir putin, a one-on-one from there. i have my interview with mr. guiliani and a lot of russia developments. and the biggest of all of president trump's announcement in the next week, of course, is his pick for the supreme court, which we will find out tomorrow evening. but we're going to begin with a story that the entire world is watching right now. and that is the rescue attempts to get those 12 boys and a soccer coach out of caves in th

> michael cohen says his family and country have loyalty and the senate agrees russia tried to help mr. trump win the election. my guest this morning, president trump's lawyer rudy giuliani. joining me for insight and analysis is washington post columnist eugene robinson and daniel and nbc news mark murray and susan page, washington burro chief of "usa today." welcome to sunday, it's "meet the press." >>> good sunday morning. boy, do we have a lot ocho get to. the troubled nuclear talks and president trump's summit meetings with nato and vladimir putin a one on one there. i have my interview with mr. trump's lawyer and russia developments and the biggest of all in the next week is his pick for the court which we'll find out tomorrow evening but we'll begin with a story the entire world is watching now and that is the rescue attempts to get those 12 boys and a soccer coach out of caves in thailand. let me go to bill neely where it appears we have a good news ending so far. bill, what can you tell us now? >> reporter: good morning, chuck, from a very rain know northern thailand and a few

mr. enzi: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from wyoming. mr. enzi: i want to begin by thanking my friend from pennsylvania, senator casey, for his commitment both to the students who will benefit from this reauthorization of the carl d. perkins career and technical education act and to the bipartisanship that helped us to reach this point. i also want to thank chairman alexander and ranking member murray for prioritizing the effort to reauthorize perkins c.t.e. their recognition of the importance of this work was key to getting past an impasse that only a few months ago looked unlikely to break. senator casey and i have had a lot of hours working together to come up with a bill that would make a difference to people who want to work with their hands, to people who want to work with computers. i have a favorite book that talks about from cowboys to coal miners, the people who get their hands dirty every day to provide what you need. this is a segment of the economy that we really need, and i know that if you need an electrician or you need a plu

mrs. may flew to germany yesterday to try to get some support from the german government. what we heard yesterday was that this proposal is not going to fly. i don't have enough time to explain the details of it. it has never been tried before. it breaks some of the roles that europeans are trying to protect in terms of the single markets. the germans have said that this proposal is pretty much dead on arrival. well the british government argues amongst themselves, what are they arguing for? europe may actually reject this thing. whether the proposal is agreed on or some sort of compromise is reached, then the ball gets kicked over to europe. tom: what happens in the summer besides francine taking her seven-week vacation? excuse me. what happens in the summer? do we just wait until september? >> we will have a recess in parliament in the u.k. a lot of europe like to take the majority of august off. that is why today is significant. the next big milestone is october. that is when the next big european council summit is when there has to be an agreement on the withdrawals so

mrs. murray: i ask unanimous consent to speak in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. murray: i come up to the floor today to discuss my strong opposition to the nomination of judge kavanaugh for a lifetime appointment on the united states supreme court. mr. president, there are few issues i take more seriously sasse a senator than my duty to consider and vote on supreme court nominees. it was watching the clarence thomas hearings and seeing how my voice and the voices of people like me all across the country were not being heard that got me to run for the senate in the first place. and i believe it is one of the most important jobs we have on behalf of our constituents. mr. president, my time in the senate, i've had the opportunity to consider nominees from democrats and from republicans, and for each one of these nominees, i made my evaluation and i based my decision on their experience and record and on my understanding of whether or not they would uphold the constitution and protect our rights and freedoms. i voted for

mrs. murray: thank you, mr. president. i have come to the floor to oppose the nomination of james blew as the assistant secretary for planning, evaluation and policy development at the department of education. i'm opposing this nomination on behalf of the millions of papers, students, and teachers who made it clear during secretary devos' confirmation process that they believe the department of education's top priorities should be helping to educate our students and supporting our public schools. they made it clear when they posted on social media voicing concerns about secretary devos' lack of experience and knowledge during her hearing in front of our help committee, when they overwhelmed the senate switchboard urging their senators to vote against her nomination, and when they took to the streets to protest her nomination and her ideological agenda. they made if clear they believed every student has the trite a high-quality public education no matter where they live or how they learn or how much money their parents make

mrs. murray: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: we're not currently in a quorum call. the senator is recognized. mrs. murray: i come to the floor today in support of scott stump as assistant secretary of education for career, technical and adult education. as secretary devos continues to make it easier for predatory for-profit colleges to take advantage of our students, students need someone at the department who will remain committed to putting them first no matter what secretary devos tries to pressure him to do. although most of the nominees president trump has selected, i believe mr. stump will be different. if confirmed, mr. stump would be responsible for advising secretary devos on career and technical education, adult education and literacy and community college education. while overseeing over $2 billion in funding to provide our students and workers with the education and skills they need to compete and get ahead in the 21st century. mr. stump's resume shows he is a nominee qualified for this positio

eastern this morning. >> mr. president, i come to the floor today to discuss my strong opposition to the nomination judge cavanaugh for a lifetime appointment on the united states supreme court. mr. president, there are few issues i take more seriously as a senator than my duty to consider and vote on supreme court nominees. it was watching the clarence thomas hearings and seeing how