Toomey, were the only members of the committee to voice opposition to the trade deal which the house passed in december by a vote of 385 to 41. Were meeting today to consider hr5430, the United Statesmexicocanada agreement implementation act. And senator sasse isnt here but hes a new member of the committee, so i would like to welcome senator sasse to the committee. And hes in joining the committee on one of the most important pieces of legislation we can do this year. And im glad to have senator sasse as a new member of the committee. On december 13th, 2019, the senate received or the house of representatives received the bill to implement the usmca agreement. Under fast track rules, the committee cannot amend the bill. We will vote today only on whether to report the bill. Before we vote, senators who wish to make statements may do so. In the interest of time, i ask that the statements be limited to three minutes, and i know that my staff has had a discussion with everybodys staff ab
Committee so i would like to welcome senator sass to the committee. And hes in joining the committee on one of the most important pieces of legislation we can do this year and im glad to have senator sass as a new member of the committee. On december 13th, 2019, the senate received or the house of representatives received the bill to implement the usmca agreement. Under fast track rules, the committee cannot amend the bill. We will vote today only on whether to report the bill. Before we vote, senators who wish to make statements may do so. In the interest of time, i ask that the statements be limited to three minutes and i know that my staff has had a discussion with everybodys staff about that. I hope that that will be satisfactory to the members. We do have a vote schedule at 12 15 so i think its important that we get this done this morning. I think we can. After statements im going to introduce staff and Administration Officials here to provide an overview of the bill and answer an
Mr. Cotton madam president. The presiding officer the senator from arkansas. Mr. Cotton in the next few days Senate Democrats will move to discharge a war powers resolution to tie the president s hands in defending this nation against iran and terrorist masterminds like Qasam Soleimani. Lets think about how we got here and the implications of this reckless action. Qasam soleimani has the blood of thousands of americans on his hands and hundreds of thousands of innocent souls across the middle east. For more than 20 years he was the Supreme Leaders most trusted lieutenant, irans terror mastermind, the man responsible for the deaths of hundreds of american soldiers in iraq and afghanistan by supplying the most deadly kind of roadside bombs soldiers ever faced. He and his proxies and iranian leaders like him are responsible for bombings of our embassies in places like lebanon and kuwait. Theyre in no small part responsible for the ongoing horror of the Syrian Civil War or the civil war in
And i believe senator durbin has some opening remarks. We will dive into the witness testimony as well. 1999, more than 700,000 people have died from a Drug Overdose in the United States. Increased opioid addiction in the production of deadly synthetic opioids has exasperated americans staggering overdose death rates. Than 70,000 people died from Drug Overdoses, making it the leading cause of injury related death in the United States. Of those, 68 involved prescription opioids and illicit opioids such as fentanyl. Americans fared no better against the epidemic in 2018 when more than 10 Million People aged 12 or older abused opioids. 2 Million People suffered from an opioid use disorder, and on average 130 americans tied each day from an opioid overdose. Cost and know the disrupted lives and untimely deaths from widespread misuse of prescription and nonprescription opioids. We know from our family, our neighbors and our friends who bear the enduring imprint of lost love ones that the Op
The hearing will come back to order. And for the outstanding work you have done, thank you this has to be one of the hardest jobs in government to be the impartial watchdog and with those Government Agencies as important as department of justice and fbi i want you to know how much we appreciate your work and your teams work likewise it is important even though we are critical of the leadership of the fbi during the last administration the way they mishandled this counterintelligence investigation and the colleagues need to know that we are there for them and support them in the faithful discharge of their responsibilities. I served that there is no more ardent supporter. And i believe that general hayden when he wrote his book had it right it is called playing to the edge not over the line but up to the edge so that also makes it important for us to root out the illegality and the exercise of those that are given to the Intelligence Community. So let me ask you about that. Because i ca