Category: US Senate

Source: United States Senator for Nebraska Deb Fischer

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, questioned the following U.S. cabinet secretaries at a hearing today: Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Senator Fischer questioned Secretary Raimondo about the urgent need to rip out and replace risky Chinese network equipment. Senator Fischer recently introduced legislation to address a budget shortfall in the FCC’s program to secure U.S. communications infrastructure. Senator Fischer also questioned Secretary Austin about the benefits of multi-year procurement authority for certain munitions and the importance of boosting domestic munitions production.

Click here to watch video of Sen. Fischer’s questioning

Click here to download audio

Click here to download video 

Following is an edited transcript of Senator Fischer’s questioning:

Senator Fischer: Thank you, Madam Chair. I have a number of issues I’d like to touch on today, so I’m going to try to not make a long statement. I hope all of you will answer with a short response as well. Secretary Austin, Section 1262 of last year’s NDAA required that both the Departments of Defense and State submit a comprehensive report on the Bilateral Access Agreements to Congress. These are the agreements with overflight, basing agreements, agreements for logistics support or refueling support. And that report is due in a couple of weeks. Will it be on time?

Secretary Austin: It will. 

Senator Fischer: Great. How many planned cooperative security locations, forward operating locations, or fuel support points require access agreements that currently do not exist?

Secretary Austin: Well, there are, as you know, a number of agreements that we continue to pursue. And, of course, when the need arises, when an operation is being conducted, no matter what — even if we have agreements — we’ll have to go back in to that country and request those rights. We’ve done some things recently to increase the locations that we’re operating with our allies and partners in the region. For example, the Philippines is a good example of that. We continue to work with countries like Japan and Australia to make sure that we can rotate forces in and out in Australia, for example. So, we are making significant progress.

Senator Fischer: It would be really helpful to have those agreements in place before they’re needed, correct?

Secretary Austin: Yes, that’s correct. 

Senator Fischer: Yeah. Thank you for the work you’re doing on that. Secretary Blinken, are you coordinating with the Department of Defense on these agreements? 

Secretary Blinken: Absolutely.

Senator Fischer: Thank you. Secretary Raimondo, when you were before the CJS Subcommittee, we had a discussion over Rip and Replace being an emergency that we have to be aware of with the Huawei equipment that’s installed and being able to have that removal funded. Do you believe that Congress needs to consider all the legislative options on the table right now in order to address this emergency?

Secretary Raimondo: I certainly believe it poses national security risks. Huawei remains in American networks, including near military bases, and I think that Congress should fully fund the FCC’s Rip and Replace program.

Senator Fischer: Thank you. I’m going to quote Senator Kennedy, ‘I happen to have a bill for that.’ And I hope my colleagues will consider that. Senator Hickenlooper and I have been working on a bill, and hopefully, we can use some of those unobligated COVID-19 funds to fill that gap that exists there. Secretary Austin, I appreciate the prior discussions we’ve had about the department’s fiscal year 2024 budget request and how it addresses munitions production issues that we are facing in this country. And I agree that the current request is a step in the right direction, but I also think there’s more that we can do. And I think there’s more that we have to do. From your perspective, would it be useful to be able to add additional munitions, multi-year procurement authority and help us to remove some of the low value, I’d say, contracting, requirements that are out there when we’re setting up these future contracts?

Secretary Austin: It very much would, Senator, and let me thank you for what Congress is doing, has done, and I hope will do in terms of granting us authorities for multi-procurement actions there. That’s been very, very helpful. And, as you know, we’re asking for some $30 billion to invest in munitions, which is just about the limit of what the industry can produce in this next year.

Senator Fischer: You know, I’ve been very concerned about our munitions requirements that we have for ourselves, the security of our nation, but we also obviously have contracts and supply to other nations as well. Secretary Blinken, you testified recently that the long pole in the tent in providing equipment to Taiwan to defend itself is the production capacity. Do we have the same issue with foreign military sales to other nations as well besides Taiwan?

Secretary Blinken: We do. I think, let me put it this way. In my capacity as Secretary of State, I have signed out more cases for Taiwan than any of my predecessors. And we’re looking at ways to make our department even more efficient. And I know that our colleagues at DOD are doing the same thing. But, if you actually look at the calendar, the schedule of these things, where we have a challenge is on the production end. And there are a whole variety of reasons, as you know, for that. That’s actually changing. It’s changing as a result of intense engagement with industry. It’s changing as a result of the fact that  — in part because of Ukraine and the Russian aggression — there is a growing demand around the world that is getting production lines that had been dormant, moving again. But, unfortunately, it’s not flipping a light switch. But we’re intensely focused on that. And the Secretary of Defense, obviously, is doing this every day.

Senator Fischer: Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Source: United States Senator for Kansas – Jerry Moran

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Mike Braun (R-Ind.) introduced the Rural Jobs Act, legislation to build on the success of the New Market Tax Credit (NMTC) by bringing hundreds of millions of dollars in private investment to some of the most disadvantaged rural communities in America.

“The New Market Tax Credit has produced meaningful results for underserved areas, resulting in thousands of jobs created and generating new investments,” said Sen. Moran. “It’s time the credit is put to work for rural Americans. Rural Job Zones will cover the vast majority of rural states like Kansas, giving thousands of small towns the same opportunities as larger cities.”

The NMTC provides a modest tax incentive to private investors to invest in low-income communities. The programs’ projects have spurred more than $42 billion in private investment and generated more than one million jobs since 2000, but less than one in four NMTC jobs have been created in rural communities.

The Rural Jobs Act would designate $500 million in NMTC investments for “Rural Job Zones.” These zones are low-income communities that have a population smaller than 50,000 inhabitants and are not adjacent to an urban area. Under the new definition, Rural Job Zones would be established in 342 out of the 435 congressional districts across the country.

The bill would also require that at least 25 percent of this new investment activity be devoted to counties with persistently-high rates of poverty and migration. There are approximately 400 counties in the United States facing persistent poverty.

Full text of the legislation can be found HERE.

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Source: United States Senator for Kansas – Jerry Moran

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) today spoke on the Senate Floor to recognize National Police Week and remember Kansas law enforcement who passed away in 2022. National Police Week was established by President John F. Kennedy in 1962, and this year runs from May 14 – May 20.

“We honor the service and sacrifice of our nation’s fallen law enforcement officers, remember those who have departed and acknowledge and express our gratitude for the sacrifices all law enforcement officers make every day they wear the badge,” said Sen. Moran. “During this week, and really every other week of the year, we should and we do honor those we have lost and remember the families they left behind.”

Sen. Moran recognized four members of Kansas law enforcement who passed away in 2022: Deputy Sheriff Sidnee Carter with the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Robert Craft with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Officer David Ingle with the Iola Police Department and Sergeant Stacy Murrow with the Linn County Sheriff’s Office.

Click HERE to Watch Sen. Moran’s Full Remarks

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Source: United States Senator for North Carolina Thom Tillis

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) and a bipartisan group of senators are calling on the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to take further action to remove barriers to buprenorphine, a lifesaving drug used to treat opioid use disorder.

Specifically, the senators are urging the DEA to initiate a multi-agency evaluation of buprenorphine with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) to eliminate access gaps to the prescription drug to reduce overdose and death from opioid use disorder. 

“According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 106,000 Americans died from a drug overdose in the past year alone. Now more than ever, it is critical that the best treatments are made widely available and barriers to interventions are broken down,” wrote the senators. 

The push from the senators comes as prescribers and patients across the country continue to report difficulty filling buprenorphine prescriptions, despite recent passage of the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment (MAT) Act, which Senator Tillis co-sponsored, in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 that increased the number of medical professionals authorized to prescribe buprenorphine. 

“We recognize that the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the DEA Diversion Control Division jointly published a Suspicious Orders Q&A on January 20, 2023, which explains that the agency does not place quantitative thresholds or limits on the amounts of controlled substances that a pharmacy can order. However, more is needed,” urged the senators. “Without formal guidance from the DEA, the absence of quantitative thresholds has created chilling effects on access to buprenorphine due to the perceived risks of crossing an undefined threshold by the DEA.”

The senators concluded, “The opioid epidemic remains one of the greatest public health crises our nation has ever faced. We must ensure the necessary resources and policies are in place so that every American who needs it can find treatment and lifesaving care.” 

Read the full text of the letter HERE. 

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Source: United States Senator for North Dakota John Hoeven

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Source: United States Senator for Washington Maria Cantwell

05.16.23

NASA Head Agrees to Help Strengthen Aerospace Manufacturing and the STEM Workforce

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, led a Committee hearing with NASA Administrator Bill Nelson on the President’s FY2024 NASA budget. During the hearing, Sen. Cantwell questioned Administrator Nelson on new opportunities to support Washington state’s growing aerospace industry and alleviate the shortage of STEM workers in Washington. 

“In my state alone, we’re looking at a 60,000 STEM worker shortfall by 2026. And this notion of continuing our efforts on material science, I believe, is a key aspect of where we need to go,” said Sen. Cantwell. “So, NASA, [National Institute of Standards and Technology, and] industry need to continue to collaborate on what I think is training and skilling people in material sciences. Do you agree that NASA should help and work on these issues?”

Administrator Nelson replied: “Indeed, I do. And another thing that you are looking at is thermoplastic composites as a new material — that would not only help aviation industry, but also the space industry…At your request, Madam Chairman, NASA, Commerce, Defense are developing recommendations to leverage the manufacturing here in America to accelerate our capabilities in manufacturing aerospace technologies like thermoplastics.”

NASA relies on the aerospace research and manufacturing industries currently thriving in the state. Our contributions include:

1. 42 Washington companies are providing services or components for the Artemis missions to return to the Moon, including General Dynamics in Bothell, Aerojet Rocketdyne in Redmond, Blue Origin in Kent, and Toray Composite Material in Tacoma;
2. Workers in Redmond provided parts of the propulsion system built for the NASA DART mission, which demonstrated our ability to defend Earth from a planet-destroying asteroid;
3. Team Corporation, in Burlington, contributed to testing the James Webb Space Telescope, to ensure it could survive travel into space and complete its scientific exploration mission.
4. NASA astronauts Kayla Barron and Anne McClain, both Washington natives, are among the people under consideration to go the Moon for future Artemis missions.

“It should be clear to every member of Congress: we cannot operate our science agencies on the cheap, and we shouldn’t operate them without clear, multi-year direction,” said Sen. Cantwell. “Stable, growing investments in the technologies of the future—from hypersonic wind tunnels to advanced manufacturing—are the best way to protect our national and economic security.”

In November 2019, Senator Cantwell co-sponsored the bipartisan NASA Authorization Act of 2020, which aimed to recognize the Artemis missions in U.S. law for the first time. To provide certainty and stability for the program, language authorizing the Artemis program for the first time and requiring NASA to establish stringent oversight requirements was eventually incorporated into the CHIPS & Science Act, which Cantwell spearheaded through Congress. The CHIPS & Science Act was signed into law on August 9, 2022.

Video of Sen. Cantwell’s hearing opening is available HERE. Video of Sen. Cantwell Q&A with NASA Administrator Nelson is available HERE, audio HERE, and a full transcript HERE. 

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Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed

***WATCH VIDEO of Sen. Reed questioning former SVB CEO Gregory Becker***

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, during a hearing of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), a senior member of the committee, grilled a trio of executives from a pair of failed banks. 

The former heads of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank, which both failed earlier this year — costing the government’s deposit insurance fund billions of dollars — sought to deflect responsibility for their mismanagement and instead blamed their collapses on financial misfortune. 

Even as their banks were collapsing, the banking executives accepted multi-million payments and bonuses, with former SVB CEO Greg Becker testifying today that he was unaware the bank was in trouble when he sold stock in the months leading up to the collapse.  That’s despite supervisors from the Federal Reserve downgrading SVB in May 2022, so that it was no longer a “well-managed” institution under the law, and criticizing SVB’s management for “deficiencies that put the Firm’s prospects for remaining safe and sound at significant risk.” But Becker enriched himself by selling SVB shares through the first quarter of this year – including a multi-million dollar sale on February 27, less than two weeks before the bank collapsed on March 10, triggering billions of dollars of additional losses to the deposit insurance fund.

“I heard a lot of empty excuses and deflections today and I didn’t buy it.  The bottom line is: There must be stronger oversight of these banks and accountability for failed executives who gamble with other people’s money and the U.S. economy.  They never want any scrutiny or supervision when times are good, but as soon as things go wrong they need the government to clean up the mess and for healthy banks and their customers to pick up the tab.  It’s not fair to hardworking Americans.  We need stronger tools to prevent bank directors and senior executives who mismanage these institutions into the ground from enriching themselves when their risky bets destabilize the financial sector and saddle the public with the costs,” said Reed, a senior member of the Banking Committee.

To improve accountability at big banks and ensure managers of failed banks don’t profit from their mismanagement and negligence while taxpayers shoulder the burden, Senator Reed called for failed banking executives to repay prior years of their big paychecks and be barred from similar employment in the financial industry. 

In April, Reed, along with Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), introduced the bipartisan Bank Management Accountability Act (S. 1181).

During his questioning of witnesses at the hearing today, Senator Reed focused on SVB’s executive compensation policies that incentivized risk-taking and the fact that the bank consistently breached limits for interest rate risk and liquidity risk.  He also asked Mr. Becker about SVB lacking a risk officer in the months leading up to its collapse.

A transcript of Reed’s questioning at the hearing follows:

U.S. SENATOR JACK REED (D-RI): Gentlemen, this is a moment in which the American public wants some very direct answers. Let me turn first to Mr. Becker. The Federal Reserve report found that SVB repeatedly breached its internal risk limits for interest rate exposure for years. SVB also had persistent shortfalls in its liquidity positions, following repeated poor performance on internally conducted stress tests.  Mr. Becker, did you know about these breaches and shortfalls?

FORMER SILICON VALLEY BANK (SVB) CEO GREGORY BECKER: Senator, as far as the interest rate risk breaches, I don’t recall. I do recall the liquidity breaches, and it really came from the feedback that we received from the regulators towards the end of 2021 and as previously stated, to my memory, the majority of those were resolved, and in fact, in February of 2023, my recollection is the breaches were all remediated with the exception of one that we expected to remediate in the short term.

REED: But you had no knowledge of interest rate exposures that were reported by the Federal Reserve?

BECKER: I know we received the MRA [Matters Requiring Attention] towards the end of 2022. That is my recollection, and I remember our team was working on resolving that.

REED:  It’s hard to conceive of a CEO of a bank not being attuned on an almost minute-by-minute basis to interest rate exposures, since that’s one of the essentials of banking. I am not an expert, but I don’t think I’d be contradicted. So, you did not share with the board any knowledge of interest rate difficulties?

BECKER: Senator, any regulatory finding was disclosed with our board of directors. So all of that information would have been shared with them, and the specific committee that was involved in interest rate risk management in the decisions around investments would have been our finance committee.

REED: And who chairs that finance committee? Who chaired it the last year?

BECKER: The chair of the finance committee was Joel Friedman.

REED: But you claim that you have no knowledge of these interest rate difficulties?

BECKER: Senator, we treat all regulatory findings seriously. That was a matter requiring attention which is the lowest level of feedback that we would receive. And, yes, we were in the middle of addressing it. From our standpoint, it, was again at the lowest level of feedback.

REED: I understand that you did not have a risk officer in place for the last year in the operations of the bank, that that officer resigned early in the year and there was no replacement, is that accurate?

BECKER: Senator, it was a mutual decision for the CRO [Chief Risk Officer] to leave the organization in April. And we covered that in two ways. One is by putting together an office of the CRO, which had the leadership team and risk manager reporting into me as well as the Chair of the Risk Committee. We kept our chief risk officer on board as a consultant in case questions came up, to make sure we didn’t have any gaps during that period in time. We hired our new chief risk officer in October of 2022, and she started in December.

REED: Was the focus of the disagreements the fact that the risk officer was warning you of the dangers that you were deliberately running, and as a result, you wanted that person to be removed from the bank and that the consultant fee is a convenient way to pay someone to go away?

BECKER: Senator, the feedback on making a change with the chief risk officer was actually from our regulators and from our board of directors. So, no, from my perspective that was not the reason behind it.

REED: Well it just seems that for a whole year, almost, preceding the collapse of the bank, you had an ad hoc risk organization when you were facing serious challenges, which have been identified here in terms of your assets, in terms of your uninsured deposits, in terms of a host of things. So it gives the impression that there was not a lot of sensitivity or interest in fixing the problems that you faced. And, consequently, the U.S. Government had to bail out you and many of your uninsured depositors and that can’t happen again. Thank you.

Source: United States Senator for California – Dianne Feinstein

Washington—Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) today introduced the bipartisan Help Independent Tracks Succeed (HITS) Act, a bill that would allow independent music creators – including musicians, technicians, songwriters and producers – to deduct 100 percent of recording production expenses in the year they are incurred, rather than in later years.

Representatives Linda T. Sánchez (D-Calif.) and Ron Estes (R-Kan.) previously introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.

The federal tax code already allows film, television and theater productions to fully deduct production expenses in the year they are incurred. Under current law, music production expenses do not qualify for the same treatment. Implementing this change would help level the playing field for many small, independent creators and labels.

“Our tax laws should apply evenly to musicians as they do to other content creators,” said Senator Feinstein. “As we continue to recover from the pandemic, many creators are still struggling to make ends meet after being unable to play live shows for so long during the pandemic. Our bill provides relief by allowing independent musicians, technicians and producers to deduct their production expenses in the same year they occur, rather than forcing them to spread those deductions out over several years.”

“The music from Nashville strikes a chord with folks across the nation,” said Senator Blackburn. “However, the unique burdens faced by the arts community forced many to stop writing, performing, and producing altogether. The HITS Act will provide targeted tax deductions to support our musicians and allow them to get back to work.”

“Music is a fundamental part of our lives, shaping our memories and seeing us through both good times and bad. Yet the reality is that many small creators are struggling to make ends meet, especially after the pandemic,” said Congresswoman Sánchez. “That’s why I was proud to re-introduce the HITS Act in House of Representatives in February. This bill will make it easier for independent creators to keep doing what they love most, without having to worry about putting food on the table.”

“Regardless of background, language or experiences, music moves our spirits and connects us to one another,” said Congressman Estes. “While talented writers, musicians and producers are creating the sounds that bring joy, reflection and growth, they should be able to deduct their expenses in the year they are incurred. The bipartisan HITS Act is sound, common sense legislation that supports our creative communities throughout the United States and encourages music makers of all sizes and notoriety.”

The bill would allow up to $150,000 in recording production expenses to be deducted in the year they are incurred, rather than in later years. As recording artists continue to recover from festivals, tours and studio sessions postponed by the pandemic, this investment in countless music small businesses across the country is more important than ever.

The HITS Act is supported by the following organizations: the Recording Academy, the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM), Music Artist Coalition, Artist Rights Alliance, Recording Industry Association of America, National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), SoundExchange, Global Music Rights, SESAC, National Independent Venue Association, National Independent Talent Organization, Future of Music Coalition, Digital Media Association, Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI), American Society of Composers, Black Music Action Coalition, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), Gospel Music Association, Christian Music Trade Association, Songwriters of North America, SAG-AFTRA, Songwriters Guild of America, Church Music Publishers Association, and Society of Composers & Lyricists.

“At last month’s GRAMMYs on the Hill, the Recording Academy gathered music makers and leaders from across the industry to advocate for the rights of creators, speaking to lawmakers about key music legislation like the Help Independent Tracks Succeed Act,” said Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy. “As the HITS Act is reintroduced in the Senate, the Academy celebrates Senators Feinstein and Blackburn for joining their House colleagues, Reps. Sánchez and Estes, to advance this legislation that is essential to helping independent artists, songwriters, and producers create the music we love.”

“The HITS Act is common sense legislation that will help music creators and create jobs,” said Dr. Richard James Burgess MBE, president and CEO of A2IM.  “Recording artists, their label partners and songwriters often encounter cashflow issues that slow down creative and economic output, and we know from experience in other creative sectors that changing production expensing rules would make a huge difference.”

“We thank Senators Feinstein and Blackburn, and Representatives Sánchez and Estes for their work on this important legislation,” said David Israelite, president and CEO of NMPA; Elizabeth Mathews, CEO of ASCAP; and Mike O’Neill, president and CEO of BMI. “We are pleased to support the HITS Act because it will help songwriters, composers, and music publishers expedite expensing the cost of demos they create in the process of bringing their music to fans. On behalf of America’s independent music creators, we urge Congress to swiftly enact this legislation.”

“The Nashville Songwriters Association International supports and encourages adoption of the HITS Act,” said Bart Herbison, executive director of NSAI. “Independent creators, including individual songwriters, face unique financial challenges. Allowing them to fully expense the cost of new studio recordings on their taxes in the year such expenses are incurred eases the financial burden and benefits the public because it encourages new recordings for music lovers to enjoy.” 

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Source: United States Senator for West Virginia Joe Manchin

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Source: United States Senator for West Virginia Shelley Moore Capito

Watch Senator Capito’s questions by clicking here or the image above.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today participated in a hearing on the president’s Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Request and how it affects the United States’ current relationship with China. Witnesses appearing at the hearing were Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

During the hearing, Senator Capito pressed Secretary Blinken on the deadly drug crisis as Chinese actors manufacture illicit precursors to deadly fentanyl, ship the chemicals and manufacturing equipment to Mexico, and assemble the final fentanyl product before it is smuggled over the unsecured southern border and distributed.

HIGHLIGHTS:

ON SEC. BLINKEN’S INTIAL ANSWERS ON FENTANYL EARLIER IN THE HEARING:

SEN. CAPITO: “I come from the state that has the largest amount of overdose deaths per capita than any other state in the union, and a lot of this is directly attributable to fentanyl. What I heard in your answer was highly insufficient because I don’t have the impression that we’re pressing hard enough. I don’t know, we were in Mexico several— about a month ago, talking to the president there to try to help with that. You said things going on at the border. We all know that this drug is flowing across our southern border. Can you give me a better answer here and give us some hope that we can really clamp down on this illicit killer of a drug?”

SEC. BLINKEN: “Thank you very much, Senator. And first of all, let me be very clear that I could not agree with you more on the imperative of this challenge, as you know very well. This is the number one killer of Americans aged 18 to 49 and as we also know, last year, we seized enough fentanyl to kill every single American. That’s what we seized.”

ON IF SEC. BLINKEN IS TALKING WITH THE CHINESE “EVERYDAY” ON FENTANYL:

SEN. CAPITO: “Are you communicating with [the Chinese] now? Every day?

SEC. BLINKEN: “Every single engagement. I think I can say that without fear of contradiction. I think every single engagement I have had with a Chinese counterpart-”

SEN. CAPITO: “When was your last engagement?”

SEC. BLINKEN: “Last engagement was in Munich. This was a couple of months ago… I’m not the only one. Every official that we have who’s engaged with China, including officials in my department, [fentanyl] is at the top of the agenda… In the absence, though, of cooperation, we have already sanctioned a number of Chinese enterprises and entities for engaging in the transfer of precursors for fentanyl.”

ON STOPPING FENTANYL AT THE PRECURSOR STAGE:

SEN. CAPITO: “We know if we can stop the ingredients from getting to where they’re produced, much less the pill presses that I didn’t realize China is now sending into Mexico. If you look at methamphetamine when it first came onto the drug scene, probably 20 years ago, what did our state governments do? Our state, you know, stop the flow of Sudafed. You had to get it behind the counter because that was one of the ingredients… And guess what? It worked. If you can get rid of the ingredients, you can really make a huge difference here. So your whatever we can do, I think it’s just horrifying what we see happening. Well, I understand we have a demand issue. I understand we need to work on prevention, that stuff we can do and will do. But I would just press you, and I know you’re pressing hard, but we just got to press harder here because this is this is a national disaster.”

SEC. BLINKEN: “I share your concern, thank you.”

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