Please come to order. ,odays hearing is on alex azar the nominee to serve as secretary of the department of health and Human Services. The committee will vote on the nomination. Senator murray and i will each have an Opening Statement and then the former secretary and governor of you call who we younge today, and senator who is a member of this committee, will introduce mr. Azar. Senators will each have five minutes of questions. We have a lot going on today in the senate but we already have a good turnout, so i anticipate a good, vigorous questioning. Hes confirmed to lead the department of health and Human Services, you will run a 1. 1 trillion organization, that almost signals the total of 12 Appropriations Bills that Congress Passes each year to find everything from National Parks to National Defense to national laboratories. You will be overseeing medicare and medicaid. Our nations government run Insurance Programs for the poor and elderly, Mental Health and substance abuse, or yo
Vote on the nomination. Senator murray and i will each have an Opening Statement and then former secretary and former governor Michael Leavitt who we welcome today good to see you and have you back and senator young, a member of this committee will introduce mr. Azar. After his testimony, each will have five minutes of questions. I anticipate a good, vigorous questioning time. Azar, you will be running a 1. 1 trillion organization. That almost equals the total of the 12 appropriation Bills Congress passes each year to find everything from National Parks to National Defense to national laboratories. You would be overseeing medicare and medicaid, our nations Insurance Programs for the poor and elderly. Mental health and substance abuse, where you will have to address the europe your crisis other issues. The National Institutes of health where with Francis Collins excellent leadership the United States is leading efforts to develop a cure for new treatmentd for cancer. The fda, where Scot
And whats been left out. Also tonight. Clashes in the west bank pit palestinians against Israeli Soldiers during protests against Donald Trumps recognition of jerusalem as the capital of israel. When the rain is blowing in your face, the anorexic teenager whose death could have been prevented, failed by every nhs organisation that should have cared for her. The changing face of television are the newcomers stealing the crown jewels of traditional broadcasters . And snow across parts of the uk causes chaos on the roads, and theres Colder Weather on the way. Coming up on sports day on bbc news, british and ireland lions captain Sam Warburton will miss the six nations. The Wales International had knee surgery ruling him out of the tournament. Good evening. Stage one is done. Next stop the beginning of talks about our future relationship with the eu including trade. After through the night negotiations, a deal was struck first thing this morning between the uk and the eu on key areas inclu
After three days of cajoling, compromise, and criticism. It was a good morning for theresa may. A deal to pave the way to brexit round two, the jargon she had longed to hear. Sufficient progress has now been made on the strict terms of the divorce. This was a difficult negotiation for the european union, as well as for the united kingdom. After breakdown on monday, blocked by her allies at home, a huge weight off the governments stressed shoulders. I very much welcome the prospect of moving ahead to the next phase, to talk about trade and security, and to discuss the positive and ambitious future relationship. Are you going to be celebrating, mr barnier . No. Cracking open the champagne . Were still working, no. Still more work to do, 0k. No celebrations for either side. There have been many compromises, and more to come. The agreement implies it will cost between 55 59 billion to settle our accounts as we leave. There is no finalfigure, and it could be more, but paid over many years.
Labor and pensions will come to order this morning. We are holding our third of for hearings on stabilizing the cost of premiums and ensuring americans are able to purchase insurance in the individual Insurance Market in 2018. This is the market were 6 of insured americans, that is 80 Million People by their insurance. Those who dont get insurance through medicaid while on the job. For the past fee years, the cost of premiums in the individual market copays deductibles up and skyrocketing in many states. Half of these 18 million americans have government subsidies to cushion the blow of the rising prices. Many of those who find themselves in the other half are being priced out of the Insurance Market that they simply cannot afford. That is why these hearings have a narrow objective. Congress and the president do between now and the limit the month to help premium increases in 2018 and lower premiums after that. We heard in our hearings last week that there was also a danger that if we