We are going to get started. Reason for the early hearing is we have votes and people go back to the district today. I wanted to make sure i got this hearing in. Other members will be walking in as the hearing is progressing. Come to order. Ll we are focusing on the extent to assistance has been effective in strengthening section protecting human rights. Objection, all members may have five days to submit questions and materials for the record. I will now make an Opening Statement and then turn it over to be Ranking Member for his Opening Statement. Before i open with my statement, i want to thank everybody that is here early. It is miserable outside and i want to thank the witnesses for being here. Good morning. Thank you for being here today. In reading the news over the last few weeks, the shocking headlines from mexico have been impossible to escape. Last week i saw kids as young as six are arming themselves to defend their families in a rural part of the United States. As cartels
Vote vote vote the presiding officer are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or change their vote . If not the yeas are 83. The noes are 9. The motion is passed agreed to. Mr. Grassley madam president . The presiding officer the senator from iowa. Mr. Grassley ive got a couple of issues i want to speak on. One would be trade and section 232 issue. That would be my second one. The first one, i want to speak about commonsense entitlement reform. In the past year weve seen a flurry of drug pricing proposals. Im encouraged by efforts from my colleagues here in the senate, especially Ranking Member wyden, colleagues in the house that agree in the house of representatives who agree with this effort to reduce drug prices and the president of the United States who has already been involved for a year and a half in lowering drug prices. All have made lowering Prescription Drug costs one of the Core Principles of our efforts and particularly a core principle for this administration
President trump condemns White Supremacy, but fails for acknowledge his own ratist rhetoric t that was echoed in t man necessary owe of the antigunman who killed 22 people in el paso. Trump proposed no new major gun control measures but instead blamed video games and Mental Illness for the spike in Mass Shootings. President trump Mental Illness and hatred pulls the trigger, not the gun. Amy well get response from two leading gun control advocates, plus well speak to manny and Patricia Oliver. Their son joaquin was killed last year in the Mass School Shooting in parkland, florida. They just happened to be in el paso on saturday to unveil a mural near the u. S. Mexico border on what would have been joaquins 19th birthday. And we will get an update on the political crisis in puerto rico. All that and more, coming up. Amy welcome to democracy now, democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. The death toll in saturdays massacre at an El Paso Walmart has gone up to 22 people
Supremacy, but fails for acknowledge his own ratist rhetoric t that was echoed in t man necessary owe of the antigunman who killed 22 people in el paso. Trump proposed no new major gun control measures but instead blamed video games and Mental Illness for the spike in Mass Shootings. President trump Mental Illness and hatred pulls the trigger, not the gun. Amy well get response from two leading gun control advocates, plus well speak to manny and Patricia Oliver. Their son joaquin was killed last year in the Mass School Shooting in parkland, florida. They just happened to be in el paso on saturday to unveil a mural near the u. S. Mexico border on what would have been joaquins 19th birthday. And we will get an update on the political crisis in puerto rico. All that and more, coming up. Amy welcome to democracy now, democracynow. Org, the war and peace report. Im amy goodman. The death toll in saturdays massacre at an El Paso Walmart has gone up to 22 people after two more injured victims
Rolls off my tongue. And the Migration Policy Institute on u. S. Border crisis where we hope to generate more light than heat. A serious discussion by serious people about a complicated issue. Six weeks ago in his style, President Trump reacting to a flood of Central Americans trying to enter the United States illegally on our southern border threatened to impose sanctions on goods from mexico until our southern neighbor did more to interdict wouldbe migrants. Many complained he was bullying an important economic partner and misusing tariff authorities. Others asked what leverage does he have to get mexico to do more to respond to a genuine migrant crisis . And they will point to mexicos accommodating response as evidence that trumps tactics worked. There was a recent poll i noted last night that said among respondents, they said 75 said we should deport Central Americans. 67 agreed with the idea of, quote, militarizing the border. Whats interesting is that was a poll in mexico, of mex