udall: thank you, madam president. madam president, i wanted to rise today to talk a little bit about something very obscure that's buried in this budget bill but something that's very, very important to me. i -- first, before i talk about the specific policy issues, i just wanted to talk about a personal exploration i had, and this is with regard to the arctic wildlife refuge and this area called the 1002 area. i had the opportunity in the 1980's to take a raft trip down across this arctic coastal plain and down to the sea. and part of the reason was that many of the alaska senators at the time said if you're going to make policy in alaska, you ought to see that part of alaska. i took the opportunity to see it and took a raft trip down the river called the houla river which flows into the beauford sea there. i can say from my personal experience this is one of the wildest, most magnificent places on the earth. and to talk a little bit about the creatures and critters that we saw there. we saw the beginning of the cari

stuart udall during the kennedy and johnson administrations. and then representative mo udall succeeded in doubling the size of the refuge protecting even more of this untrammeled wilderness, protecting this special place has always been a special issue that rose above party lines. and it should continue to do so. in 2015 the interior department recommended that congress designate this area as a wilderness, not open it to drilling. in making that wilderness recommendation, the department of interior concluded that the arctic refuge exemplifies the idea of wilderness, to leave some remnants of this nation's natural heritage intact, wild and free, to control or manipulate the order. the coastal plain is the biological heart of the refuge. the fish and wildlife service has called it the center for wildlife activity in the refuge. it supports more than 250 species, including caribou, polar bears, migratory bird. but that is precisely the area where this republican legislation would allow big oil to drill forever spoiling this ecosystem. two years a

udall: thank you, madam president, for the recognition. madam president, today is a day of mourning for las vegas and for america. my heart goes out to all those touched by the ruthless and cowardly shooting last night. one of the victims was lisa romero, a secretary at a lie school in new mexico. the on -- high school in new mexico. the students knew her well by miss lisa and she was adored by everyone at the school. her loss will be deeply felt. i send my condolences and prayers to her family as well as her school family and to everyone in gallop, new mexico. i also want to recognize the true bravery of first responders, the police, the firefighters, the e.m.t.'s, some of whom risked their own lives to save others. there are heroes in america and we saw them in action last evening. madam president, las vegas, nevada, and new mexico share a long kinship. nevada is a sister western state. many new mexicans have family in las vegas. and new mexicans are reeling because of this tragedy. as westerners and as americans, we must all come togeth

udall: thank you, madam president. madam president, i rise in opposition to the renomination of mr. ajit pai to the federal communications commission. mr. pai both as f.c.c. commissioner and now as chairman has not been a vigorous watchdog for free speech. he has not put the people's right to information first. in fact, he has put corporate interest first. and he has opposed policies outright that ensure underserved communities have access to essential technology. i strongly oppose his renomination to the commission. let's begin with his responsibility to guard first amendment rights. president trump has relentlessly attacked nbc, cbs, abc, cnn, "the new york times," and "the washington post." he called these established and esteemed news outlets fake news. he even called them the enemy of the people. earlier this year in february during a senate commerce hearing, this was an oversight hearing, i asked chairman pai point blank whether he agreed with the president that these mainstream news organizations were itself enemy of the people -- were the enemy of the people. he refused to a

duckworth and senator udall. senator crapo is a good friend of mine. he's doing his duty and defending his position well, but no other republican senator, no supporter of this resolution. nobody wants to come down here and speak. why? because they don't want to be seen at home as defenders of wall street and they don't want to be defenders of the most powerful people in this country. so they stay in their offices quietly, come meekly on the floor, then they'll vote yes and go home and hope nobody really knows about it. they're not willing to give. senator crapo, whom i admire and respect greatly, he knows that. he means it. he's doing his duty as chairman of the banking committee. none of the rest of them want to join him. i think that tells you a whole lot. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. mr. franken: thank you, mr. president. i rise today to discuss the consumer financial protection bureau's recently finalized rule to limit the use of predispute forced arbitration clauses in contracts fo

udall: thank you, madam president for the recognition. madam president, republicans have spent months trying to repeal the affordable care act. they knew tens of millions of americans would lose their care. they knew it would betray our federal trust responsibility to native americans. and they knew twho throw one -- it would throw one-fifth of our economy into chaos. trumpcare failed because the american people opposed it. americans spoke out against it in record numbers. trumpcare failed to pass four times. we hope now we've put that to bed and we can move on. but rather than listening to millions of americans, president trump has responded by sabotaging the affordable care act. his reckless behavior is already causing chaos in the marketplace. his actions have hiked up the cost of premiums, he has sent out-of-pocket costs through the roof. and instead of helping americans get better health care, he has put it out of reach for millions. i commend my colleagues, senator alexander and senator murray. they have found a bipartisan solution