On january 19th, 2010, massachusetts elected a new senator to represent them here in washington. The result was just as shocking to democrats as last nights result was to republicans. It also came when we were in the middle of another historically important policy debate here in washington, health care. A lot of people thought that democrats should ram through the final version of their bill in congress before brown could be seated. Now, i could stand here and review quote after quote after quote from republicans who now control the t senate, talking about how unfair that would be. How core result that would be. And how antidemocratic that would be. I could go on and on how todays Senate Majority leader Mitch Mcconnell said this would be gamesmanship but i want to talk about what democrats actually did. Democrats rejected the idea of rammingra through the bill befoe brown could take his seat in the senate. Almost immediately jim webb, a democratic senator from virginia, called for a suspension of any health care vote, until after brown arrived. The day after the massachusetts election. Senate majority leader harry reid said publicly, were going to wait until the new senator arrives, untilnt we do anything more on health care. Massachusetts democratic senator, john kerry, held a joint press conference with republican scott brown that same week where he said, quote, seating scott brown as expeditiously as p possible is important. We want to respect the election results, andod nobody wants to delay this process. And president obama, whose entire Health Care Agenda was on the line, said this. Heres one thing i know and i just want to make sure that this is off the table. The senate sternly shouldnt try to jam anything through until scott brown is seated. People in massachusetts spoke, he has got to be part of that process. This wasnt an easy decision. Waiting for brown slowed down the adoption of health care for two additional months. More importantly, it meant that democrats lost their filibusterproof majority. And as a consequence, the final bill, couldnt achieve nearly as much as democrats had hoped for. But we did it anyway. We did it because democracy matters, even when it means that it might slow down a president s agenda. Democracy matters even when a senate seat held for decade by a liberal lion is taken over by a conservative. Democracy matters especially when it is inconvenient. If were honest, we know that there hasnt been a lot of democracy around this tax bill. This is a bill that was written and rewritten in the dead of night beyond closed doors. It is filled with errors and unintended consequences. It is animated by a rotten wealth transfer for millions of hardworking americans to a handful of corporations and billionaires. But up until now we have at least respected the principle each state getset to pick its senators. Those senators get to vote for or against the final product. This afternoon, were being told that republicans have a final tax deal. Nobodys seen it but we could be voting on it in the next couple days. There is no reason to ram through that kind of massive restructuring of our Economic System before alabama gets its new senator. Unless republicans are concerned that their deal wont with stand a couple of more weeks of public scrutiny. The election of doug jones will not change which Party Controls the senate. The election of doug jones will give him or democrats the power to block the tax bill or any other piece of legislation. But it will respect the people of alabama and their choice. It should not happen before anymore tax votes take place in the senate. Mr. President , id like tot, spk on another matter now and i ask consent that my speech appear in the appropriate place in the record. Without objection. Mr. President , almost 50 years ago america entered the space age. We s pushed whoops. Let me start. My apologies. Mr. President , almost 60 years ago america entered the space age. Wedg pushed the bound of Human Knowledge to do see, create things and fundamentally changed the way we live our lives. The government was right smack at the center of all of it, dedicating resources and manpower to explorations of science, medicine, engineering and technology. Advance Research Projects agency or darpa was a product of that commitment and it was there at darpa that a bunch of government and governmentfunded researchers created the g internet. In the intervening decade what started in that Government Agency provided the Building Blocks for what we experience as the internet today. Creative mind in government, colleges, universities, businesses in homes, garages all across the country toyed and tinkered and pushed us into the digital age. Today internet use is nearly universal. Although Internet Access remains limited in many rural and lowincome areas, students of allo ages go online to access educational tools and conduct research for many school assignments. Entrepreneurs and smallnd businesses sell goods and transact business online. Families come together to watch their favorite movies or shows. The internet and Broadband Services have become an important part of our lives. Government is just as important now as it was back when the internet was created. By enforcing and implementing Americas Communications laws and rules, the federal communications commission, the fcc, plays a Critical Role in making sure thatri the internet remains fair and open. In 2015 the t fcc enshrined that commitment in an open internet order, establishing Net Neutrality rules. Strong, Public Interest rules that prevented Big Companies from deciding how or when we use the internet. Rules that had overwhelming support of vast majority of americans, republican or democrat but Big Internet Companies dont want the fcc to work in the Public Interest. They want the internet to work forr them. Long before the fcc passed Net Neutrality rules, those giants were working to establish control over the open internet. Andd avNet Neutrality rules were passed, they stepped up their attack deploying armies of lobbyists and lawyers, investing massive amounts of money to bury Net Neutrality rules. Now they got the champagne chilled and ready to pop open. They have a president and Gopcontrolled Congress that is more interested in stuffing the pockets of thec rich and powerl thanin taking care of the worke, Small Businesses and entrepreneurs, students, children, the sick, the the elderly and just about everybody else. President trumps choice to lead the fcc, ajit pai, is dedicated to transforming the fcc from an age that works in the Public Interest into a big business giveaway group. Pai has been a vocal opponent of Net Neutrality rules for a very long time. After President Trump won the election pai gleefully declared that Net Neutralitys days were numbered. Pai claims that nondiscrimination rules harm giant Big Internet Companies, making it more difficult for create new and better products. Ew and better he thinks if these giants can discriminate against Small Businesses or individuals, then these giants can pick who gets the fast lane into your Television Set and who is stuck off on the dirt roads. If these giants dictate which startups get a food hold and which ones are left on the ground, they were the giants will be better off. Of course he is right. The giants will be better off but everyone else will be worse off, a lot worse off. Chairman pai is so committed to these internet giants that he is willing to rewrite the federal rules to help them out. He is willing to rewrite the so that state and local governments wont be allowed to pass any consume Protection Laws to protect their own citizens. Chairman pais notion of a fair and open internet is one that works to the highest bidder and it just leaves everyone else behind. Tomorrow, the fcc will vote on whether to eliminate the protections that ensure that the internet remains fair and open to all americans. Protections that the vast majority of americans support. Pai has barreled full speed ahead, despite disturbing reports that potentially hundreds of thousands of comments submitted during the Public Comment period were fake, and he has ignored the fccs responsibility to turn over documents of consumer complaints about discriminatory behavior by internet providers. If the fcc eliminates Net Neutrality protections, giant Internet Companies will pop open shows champagne bottles. They will have the power to to charge moore, three powerful ways they will pick the next round of americas winners and losers. Yeah, that is just not the way it should work in america. The internet doesnt belong to Big Internet Companies. It belongs to all of us, and all of us should be part of this fight. Net neutrality matters. For the entrepreneur working roundtheclock on a shoestring budget to build an invention that can change the world, Net Neutrality matters. For the small Family Business that depends on on line customers to keep its lights open and its doors open, Net Neutrality matters. For the blog writer or local journalist who works each day to bring us Important News about our communities, our government and our world Net Neutrality matters. For every american who uses the internet for any reason, Net Neutrality matters. Ingenuity is americas dna. It is that spirit of curiosity and adventure that has put us at the forefront ofas the search fr whats t next. Government works best when it makes sure that b everyone has equal access to the resources that make that possible. In massachusetts free press, the massachusetts chapter of the aclu, fight for the future and countless other groups have led the fight to defend Net Neutrality and helpne citizens make their voices heard. I urge every american to speak out about why Net Neutrality matters, and i urge the fcc to abandon its plan to kill Net Neutrality rules and instead ask our fcc to defend an internet that is fair and open to all. Thank you, mr. President. I yield. Watch cspan3, thursday at 10 30 00 a. M. Eastern for live coverage of the fccs vote on Net Neutrality. The vote is to roll back Net Neutrality rules passed during the Obama Administration and intended to reduce regulation of the internet. Live thursday, then 30 a. M. Eastern on cspan3, cspan. Org, or listen to it live with the free cspan radio app. Cspans washington journal, live, every day, with news and policy issues that impact you. Coming up thursday morning Ohio Republican congressman Warren Davidson discusses the Alabama Senate race, and upcoming fiscal battles. Democratic congressman Henry Cuellar talks about reforms and government spending. Watch washington journal live 7 a. M. Eastern thursday morning. Join the discussion. Coming up tonight on cspan2, Deputy Attorney general rod rosen stein testifies about the russia investigation. Then debate from the senate floor on Net Neutrality and upcoming fcc vote. After that, an oversight hearing for the Nuclear Regulatory commission. [inaudible conversations] the Judiciary Committee will come to order we are authorized to declare a recess at the time. Welcome to this mornings hearing on the oversight hearing with Deputy Attorney general rosenstein. I will recognize myself for an opening statement. They give for appearing for the first line in front of this committee will afford to your testimony and answers your questions. As chairman with primary oversight over the fbi and department of justice i have supported the department and the fbi and performing their valuable missions to keep our nation safe and to hold individuals accountable for criminal conduct. Yet i and many on the committee find ourselves in
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