charles: senator cassidy, thank you very much. appreciate it. >> thank you. charles: the delta variant triggering a wave of restrictions we talked about. next the woman who told us this would be a looming problem over a month ago. she told investors to be ready for it. now the question is, what do we do now? i'm going to discuss what we call the best earnings season ever. we'll be right back. ♪. it's a thirteen-hour flight, that's not a weekend trip. fifteen minutes until we board. oh yeah, we gotta take off. you downloaded the td ameritrade mobile app so you can quickly check the markets? yeah, actually i'm taking one last look at my dashboard before we board. excellent. and you have thinkorswim mobile- -so i can finish analyzing the risk on this position. you two are all set. have a great flight. thanks. we'll see ya. ... the insulin it's already making. trulicity is for type 2 diabetes. it isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. it's not approved for use in children. don't take trulicity if you're allergic to it, you or your family have medullary thyroid

senator cassidy said he read it, he must be a speed reader. congressman jordan, some republicans including rob portman, what is going on here really? it is obvious that this is not infrastructure on its own. what is going on here? >> only 10% is infrastructure. what is in the bill is the word equity mentioned 60 times was my guess is all-time speaker gingrich was in congress he never saw transportation blood infrastructure will focus on equity. that is the problem, the left-wing spending is part of what i call the democrats crazy economic plan which is lockdown economy, spend like crazy, pay people not working for all of you who are working they are getting ready to raise your taxes. what these republicans are thinking i don't know. step one of the bigger spending bill coming later and you pointed this out last night in your interview with senator cassidy. it is part of the crazy economic plan and why we are going to win. if the election were held today, we are going to win next year and take back the house. >> you give away your principal aut

louisiana senator bill cassidy speaking to cnn over the weekend. alongside tom keene and lisa abramowicz, i am jonathan ferro. down seven points on the s&p, negative zero .16%. all-time highs through much of last week on the s&p 500. the yield higher through friday, lower through this morning. down by about a basis point to -- and the euro-dollar not doing much. the story of the morning, where the price action is, is in the commodity market. crude down to 65.50. tom: gold with some dynamics as well. the tradable readjustment is profound off what we saw friday in jobs. it is august in washington. leading the headlines at the washington post is fallout boy will not appear at the national stadium with green day and a bunch of others. and we heard during -- annmarie hordern actually -- absolutely crushed. is a perceived in washington that the senate infrastructure is a waste of time, because all they will do is get to the house and face huge stumbling blocks? annmarie: it is a good point. i do not think people view it as a waste of time, because obviou

we saw bill cassidy saying things like that. but house republican leader mccarthy and others do what desantis and abbott are doing and politicize this and turn it into something that you know, is very dangerous for public health, frankly. >> it's going to be fascinating to watch as we go through this surge now which happens to be taking us into an election here. how covid and politics align. appreciate it. >>> up next, being aoc. dana bash goes one-on-one with alexandria ocasio-cortez. well, would ya look at that! it was an accident. i was— speaking of accidents, we accidentally left you off the insurance policy during enrollment, and you're not covered. not even a little bit? mm-mmm. no insurance. no. when employees can't enter and manage their own benefits enrollment information, it can be a real pain. not even— nope! with paycom, employees enter and manage their own hr data in a single, easy-to-use software. visit paycom.com and schedule a demo today. front desk. yes, hello... i'm so... please hold. ♪ i got you. ♪ all

still ahead, scott shellady, brian kilmeade and the senator from louisiana bill cassidy. listen to this, elizabeth warren has a new plan to take your money to help find her socialist paradise. i will take that on in "my take" which is next. ♪♪ . . we have to be able to repair the enamel on a daily basis. with pronamel repair toothpaste, we can help actively repair enamel in its weakened state. it's innovative. my go to toothpaste is going to be pronamel repair. [engine revs] ricky bobby, today the road is your classroom. [engine revs] now let's go borrow a boat and make some bad decisions. [engine revs] time to go incognito. [zippers fasten] [engine revs] i love you, ricky! i love you, cal! what's the next stop? it's time for your extracurriculars. ¡vámanos, amigos! woo-hoo! it's time for your extracurriculars. ♪♪ (vo) the rule in business used to be, "location, location, location." now it's, "network, network, network." so you need a network that's built right. verizon business unlimited starts with america's most reliable network. then we add the speed of veri

jacqui: all right, we will be catching, senator cassidy, thank you very much for joining us. senator: thank you, jacqui. griff: more to talk about details and what to expect when it gets to the house democratic congressman from massachusetts and long-standing member of the transportation and infrastructure committee steven lynch. congressman, thank you for taking time. let's pick up where your colleague in the senate left off. it appears that this will pass eventually one way or the other. what do you foresee happening when it gets to the house? congressman: well, a lot depends on what is actually in the infrastructure bill that the senate sends over. there are about 20 amendments that are pending, so some of those deal with the crypto policy issue and some deal with other broadband, other aspects of the bill so we will be able to assess what they send over when they send it over and, of course, i think there is a general consensus that we want to see something passed, but we -- you know, this balancing act between the 3.5 trillion has to be weighed against what's in the infr

tried to senator cassidy tried to debate me on this i'm sorry now he looks like a fool. your response? >> this is just insane. we are trying to win back majorities in the house andhe senate. how do you do that when republicans act like democrats? how do we convince them toot give]n.ij6'kkt℠e#&tn like ths happen today. we know that inflati to lead when they see stuff like this happened today?on inflation is on the rise the price of everyday goods cost more and real wages are declining and america will only get worse it is a along with it a republican senators that went along with this infrastructure deal only 9 percent is actually 9 percent is actually infrastructure the same senators that deniedas donald trump the infrastructure deal for half of this all of it went to infrastructure they would not let him accomplishet that under donald trump's watch why do they go with democrats to give joe biden a win on bidens watch? i don't get it?.ke >>laura: nancy pelosi speaker of the house reacted to the passage ofse this bill. >> all the respect in the world to the senaten bill

we have romney, mcconnell, portman, bill cassidy, etc. supporting what will ultimately lead to another tax on americans and the $3.5 trillion bill which is joined at the hip with this. why is mcconnell doing this? >> he will have to speak for himself. i can only speak for myself. they will say it is only a pilot project but a pilot project is a little like a pilot light moving forward. there is no way it can develop into a full-fledged program about massive intrusion into private family interests the american people hold dear. when you add this to all the other problems with the bill including the fact that it would make it more difficult for first-time homebuyers to get home when utah and all americans are struggling with the high price of housing and healthcare and gasoline and groceries this is not fair, we shouldn't be doing it. laura: you don't want to criticize your fellow senators, i understand the senate protocol but this infrastructure bill contrary to what senator cassidy said on this program a few nights ago is going to pave th

but this infrastructure bill contrary to what senator cassidy said on this program is going to pave the way to the 3.5-trillion dollars permanent entitlement nightmare that is the squad's dream legislation. they are happy with it. what does this do-or-die -- do to the republican party. why are these 17 senators doing this? >> it's horrible for the brand. it was not long ago before both parties would have recoiled at the idea of a 1.2-trillion dollars spending bill. they came the 550-million dollars is paid for. it's not. that's fake. the committee for responsible federal budget concluded that over half of the pay force are fake. there is no pay. as a result of that we are inflating our way through this. the reason we have to rely on that committee's report is because the congressional budget office hasn't issued a score. that's wrong too. we should not vote on it without a score and we won't have one by the time we vote on it. >> laura: do you think republicans have lost -- if they go forward with this infrastructure bill, have they lost their leverage in stopping the 3.5-trillion dolla

among them is senator bill cassidy who calls it simply good politics. here is cassidy. >> it's good for jobs, good for quality of life, good for the economy, as one of my colleagues said, what's not to like. >> reporter: in total, the deal includes $550 billion in new qj" for roads, bridges and major projects, $66 billion for rails, $65 billion for broadband. but it also includes 2.75 being for achieving digital, $500 million for including reflective sidewalks and money for vehicle charging stations. that is why senator hawley opposes it. >> it's a radical left woke policy bill, the radical equity agenda, the green new deal, that's all in the bill. >> reporter: will it make it to the president's desk? we'll find out. speaker pelosi is holding firm that the senate, once they pass this $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill we saw on the senate floor she wants it together to send to the white house. here's what she says. >> they passed this but until we see the budget, it goes in the senate first, then it goes to the house, then we send it back at recon

i'll speak with a republican negotiator, senator bill cassidy, next. >>> attempted coup? an investigation by the top senate committee digs deeper into the plot to push trump's

republican senator bill cassidy who helped negotiate the 1.2 trillion dollar deal said he's optimistic it will make it across the finish line by tuesday with some republicans on board. we've had about 17 or 18 of indicated that they're going to vote yes, i think it's time for us. to come together on the senate floor sunday, ohio republican rob portman push back against his republican colleagues who argue the plan will add billions to the federal deficit. it's good for the country. it builds our core infrastructure. it doesn't raise taxes on the american people grow the economy lead to more tax revenue coming in. >> to the treasury and yet includes responsible pay for us. senate majority leader chuck schumer says republicans have until the end of the day to propose additional changes to the legislation. >> i hope they will cooperate so we can move more quickly. otherwise will proceed by the book and finish the bill. schumer says the senate will remain in session for as long as it takes to get the bill passed. will keep proceeding until we get this bill done. what's the bill passes in th

samuel cassidy. since then trains have been out of service as employees grieve and recover from that tragedy as of today, all 42 miles of the light rail tracks have been inspected in more than 300 employees were retrained and recertified trains will begin running a test routes this week. and if all goes well service could be restored within one to 2 days. bt officials say they're aiming for a limited service by sunday for the forty-niners versus raiders pre season game at levi's stadium. in the north bay. sonoma county is moving up its deadline for teachers and staff to prove they've been vaccinated by 3 weeks. sonoma county, teachers and administrators. well, now need to show their proof of vaccination by september 24th. that's 3 weeks earlier than the state deadline, which is october 15th now someone does not get the vaccine, then they will need to be tested once a week for the virus, the county health officer said it was important to move up the deadline because of the rising covid cases in sonoma

senator cassidy tried to debate me on this. sorry he ended up looking like a fool. your response. >> this is just insane, laura. we are trying to win back majorities in the house and the senate, how do you do that when republicans act like democrats? how do we convince the american people to vote to give republicans trust once again to lead? when they see stuff like this happen today. we know that inflation is on the rise. the price of everyday goods cost more, and real wages are declining. america is only going to get worse because of this deal and it's a travesty that republicans would go along with it. also you have to recognize that the same republican senators that went along with this infrastructure deal that only 9% of it is actually infrastructure, the same republican senators that denied donald trump and infrastructure deal the cost half of this that half of it went in for structure, they wouldn't let him accomplish it under donald trump squad, what are they there with democrats and give joe biden a win? >> laura: nancy pelosi, the speaker the house, reacte

we were able to do this thanks to the efforts of the prize administrator at gettysburg college and cassidy, the events manager at the gilder lehrman institute and thanks also to tht stamina and good nature of the lincoln prize jury who agreed to serve two years running professors caroline and university of virginia and the university of texas and the chair, professor and former president at the university of richmond and a trustee of the gilder lehrman institute. thank you all for making thee ceremony possible. normally, when we hold this event at the club of new york city, only about 250 people were able to attend. so, the silver lining to being virtual is that tonight we have more than 1,000 people in our audience. many of them are teachers and students tuning in the from every state in the union and a few from abroad. tonight the viewers will be able to hear two great historians, receive 50,000-dollar prizes and talk about their award-winning books. we owe this to lou lehrman who 30 years ago working with the professor at gettysburg college had the vision to create a 50,000-dollar book

to do this thanks to the indefatigable he effort offered diane brennan the prize administrator and cassidy hook are events manager at the institute. and thank you also to the stamina and good nature of the lincoln prize jury who agreed to serve two years running, professors caroline janney of the university of virginia, and steven mints of the university of texas and at the chair express former chair of the university of virginia, eds ayers. thank you for making this ceremony possible. >> normally when we holding this event at the union league club in new york city, only about 250 people are able to attend. so the silver ling to being virtual is tonight we have more than 1,000 people in our audience. ... at a time when it's only 5000. the boldness of their vision to shape the field of history and more broadly the whole landscape ever since. we lost nick in may of last year when he died three weeks short of his 80th birthday but we will hear message tonight from his son thomas. as many in the audience know not only is he a civic leader and philanthropist he is himself a historian and why di

cassidy: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that elizabeth kay, an intern in my office, be granted floor privileges today, august 5, 2021. the presiding officer: without exception. mr. cassidy: thank you. mr. durbin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: mr. president, this week the senate will vote on eunice lee's nomination to serve on the second court of appeals. if confirmed, ms. lee would be the only, the only black womannened a the only former public defender to serve on the second circuit. with her nomination the biden administration and senate democrats are continuing our efforts to build a federal judiciary that looks like america. i'd like to take a moment or two to discuss ms. lee's qualifications and what she will bring to the bench. a perspective that is sorely needed. ms. lee has dedicated her entire legal career to public defense work. most recently as an assistant federal public defender with the federal defenders of new york. graduating f

senator bill cassidy of louisiana in fact just tweeted, a good guy most of the time but tweeted this defense of the bill's equity provisions. "critical race theory is not in this bill. equity is not a catch phrase for critical race theory. equity is the whole justify case for critical race theory. it's important to know what you're talking about before your weigh-in on social media. one of the only republican senators that we can find that is doing anything to stop this bill is bill haggerty of tennessee. we're happy to have him joining us. thanks for coming on. some of your colleagues that you work with closely are supporting this bill and actively defending it in public. but you are doing exactly the opposite. why? >> well, this bill has become obvious what it is. it's been shielded with the veneer of bipartisanship. what it has become is the open gate way to lead into this $3.5 trillion package that bernie sanders transformation package of america they're trying to set up. they gave us a 2,700 page bill. in a few days to look at it. the very afternoon that we get the cbo score tha

senator bill cassidy of leary isaiah tweeted this. a good guy most of the time but he just tweeted this defense of the bill's equity provisions calling, equity is not a catchphrase for critical racee theory. of course, equity is the whole justification for vertical dell that critical race theory. important to know what you talk about before you weigh in on social media. it's one of the only republican senators we can find doing anything to stop this bill is bill hagerty of tennessee and we are happy to have them join us tonight. thanks so much for cominge on. so many of your colleagues who you work with closely and lots of other things, some would you like personally, are not only supporting this bill but actively defending it in publicu but you are doing the opposite. why? >> this bill has become rather obvious, what it really is. it's been gilded with a veneer of bipartisanship but what it has really become as the opening gateway to lead right into this $3.5 million package, the bernie sanders transformation package they are trying

there's so excited predict and watch the skype cassidy, the most appalling think that i've uever seen. from louisiana, they're very self-righteous, these 18 republicans about how important this is that we have shown we are bipartisan. the democrats appear there about 5 percent or not, they have reconciliations and lined up to go baby, this is just part of a strategy for them and they play sure ball and they play longer ball, will i think our guys from the left field the stands. i don't even think they have the foggiest idea what is going on and they certainly don't have the guts to fight it. money ask youhe about this. something within the republican party, just something need to happen. we are facing the most radicalized of a party lifetime, and i would say in the last hundred years and i would say everrs actually. and i don't think the republicans are up to this in the sand and i would be interested in your taken we will be right back. fasenra is a different kind of asthma medication. it's not a steroid or inhaler. fasenra is an add-on treatment for asthma driven by eosinophils. it'

. >> senator bill cad cassidy of hard hit louisiana says he disagrees with ron desantis. we'll look at where the virus is spret spreading the most and the toll it is taking on hospitals. plus how the new rise in covid is impacting the economy. we saw a strong jobs report on friday but not everyone is feeling the recovery. and former president barack obama throws a birthday bash that's raising eyebrows as the pandemic makes a comeback. we'll talk to a new york times reporter about the details of that. plus taliban fighters have captured three key cities. >>> and we'll go to tokyo. where the united states edged out china for the most gold medals. >>> good morning and welcome to "morning joe," it is august 9th. joe is off. we begin with the united states hitting a milestone amid a surge in covid cases. more than 165 million americans are now fully vaccinated against the virus. that's half of the total u.s. population. more than 193 million have received at least one dose. vaccination rates are still low in several states across the south. but

second round of negotiations the president was involved n it started a couple months ago with bill cassidy in a phone call. he said i want $600 billion of new spending on infrastructure. 19 republicans joined all 50 democrats. this is just vet first step. and now it gets even more complicated. because what is also happening in the senate as we speak is the senate is starting this process on this $3.5 trillion human infrastructure bill. and speaker pelosi said she does not want this bipartisan traditional infrastructure bill until the senate completes all of its work on this $3.5 trillion process and that is going to take weeks if not months, ayman. so the president might not see this bipartisan bill on his desk until late september, maybe even october at the earliest. we still have a lot of steps to go that involve different factions among house democrats who want different things with this $3.5 trillion bill. so it's very complicated moving forward. >> yeah. so it raises the questions -- this has been kind of billed as the hard infrastructure. there is, of course, the house democrats who

from within, and the republicans act like it's another day, so they are so excited -- watch this guy cassidy on -- it was the most appalling thing i have ever seen, from louisiana and the others. they are very self-righteous, these 18 republicans about how important this is, and we've shown we're bipartisan. you know, the democrats don't care if they're bipartisan or not. they got reconciliation. they are lined up to go, baby. this is just part of a strategy for them. they play short ball. they play long ball. well, i think our guys are in the left field stance. i don't think they have the foggiest idea what's going on, and they certainly don't have the guts to fight it. i want to ask you about this, does something within the republican party, does something need to happen? i mean, we're facing the most radicalized democrat party in my lifetime, i would say in the last hundred years, i would say period, actually, and i don't think the republicans are up to this in the senate. i'd be interested in your take. we will be right back. what? it looks like a face. ...hearing about it 24/7 is painfu

roy blunt, richard burr, shelley moore capito, bill cassidy, susan collins, kevin cramer, mike crapo, lindsey graham, of course, chuck grassley, john hoeven, mitch mcconnell, lisa murkowski, rob portman, jim risch, mitt romney, thom tillis, and todd young. now, a few of these people plan to retire soon, thank heaven, but most of them intend to get reelected at some point. and it might be good if voters made that impossible. a youtube personality called chris chan has just been arrested in virginia on, of all things, incest charges. authorities say he was having sex with a 79-year-old member who is his grandmother. they classified chris chan as a female and that means chris chan, and accused sex criminal, would have been housed in a women's prison. chan is now being considered a man by the jail. but this is not an isolated incident. many prisons in this country do housed biological men with women. this is something we predicted -- many predicted -- and were laughed at. one of the people who predicted this, the president of the u.s. chapter of the women's human rights campaign, and she

dana bash talks to senator bill cassidy, dick durbin, cori bush and anita dunn. and you can also catch me saturdays and sundays starting at 6:00 p.m. eastern. i'm pamela brown in for jake tapper. our coverage continues now with wolf blitzer in "the situation room." have a great weekend. ♪ >>> happening now, the u.s. reaches a milestone in the fight against covid. half the u.s. population is now fully vaccinated. but the other 50%, more than 160 million americans, still unprotected as the delta variant pushes new cases to the brink of 100,000 per day. >>> also tonight, fresh evidence of former president trump's attempted coup. we have new details on a high-level intelligence briefing given to a top trump ally at the u.s. justice department as he schemed to overturn the election. >>> and attorneys for the new york governor andrew cuomo, they are now fighting back after one of his current former staf

commission chairman claiming that the crypto world is filled with digital versions of jessie james, butch cassidy and billy the kid, but what does gary gensler plan to do about what he sees as these new wild west robbers and what does it mean for the future of the crypto craze? charlie grass, breaks it, next, we're coming right back. (vo) while you may not be a pediatric surgeon volunteering your topiary talents at a children's hospital — your life is just as unique. your raymond james financial advisor gets to know you, your passions, and the way you give back. so you can live your life. that's life well planned. this isn't just freight. these aren't just shipments. they're promises. promises of all shapes and sizes. each with a time and a place they've been promised to be. a promise is everything to old dominion, because it means everything to you. and there you have it - wireless on the fastest, most reliable network. wow! big deal! we get unlimited for just $30 bucks. i get that too and mine has 5g included. impressive. impressive is saving four hundred bucks a year. four bucks? that's toug

infrastructure is just desert senator bill cassidy says in mike lee calls an inflation bomb larry summers, robert rubin, warren buffett, what do you say. >> wasting the inflationary spending that was in the american rescue plan, there's more to come on thela reconciliation bill, they promised the highest level of government spending over a ten-year period relative to the economy including world war ii this is an enormous increase ins the scale and scope of the federal government and it comes with a lot of taxes this is a rescue for bad growth and a recipe for additional inflation i think infrastructure bill is a different animal, done right and takes inflation out because of productivity enhancing and it increases the size of the economy this is not done right we have to acknowledge that but. it may be under better than nothing and maybe not that the call we have to make. elizabeth: that's a great point the national bureau of economic research is not going to stimulate so we've been here before will be back here with both of you, you will come back on, thank you for joining us it's good t

roy blunt, richard burr, shelley moore capito, bill cassidy, susan collins, kevin cramer, mike crapo, deb fischer, lindsey graham, chuck grassley, john hoeven, mitch mcconnell, lisa murkowski, rob portman, james risch, mitt romney, dan sullivan, thom tillis and roger wicker of mississippi. that's what they're doing in your name. are they defending you, standing up for your country? no, they voted for pete buttigieg's fake infrastructure bill. that's it for us. a new book. it's a pretty good book called "the long slide." order it from tuckercarlson.com. you can cut the big tech out of the way. have a great evening. and we head over to sean hannity. >> sean: the reckless spending on capitol hill, it continues, yeah, the rino republicans that you just heard. inflation skyrocketing. all across the country and we are literally stealing money from our own children. republicans are helping to enable it. the $1 trillion down payment on the green new deal just passedld the senate with republican support. senator john kennedy said the bill was full of stupid stuff. keep in mind the 1 trillion i

louisiana republican bill cassidy stress. the legislation also protects against extreme weather and provides more jobs. this help make the economy more efficient, more productive and therefore it actually returns and investment to the american people. ohio republican rob portman applauded. how senators propose to pay for the investments, including untapped covid-19 relief and unemployment states returned but not all agreed with him. the fact that infrastructure is a good thing and that we need it is a different question from whether we can afford the infrastructure plan, fellow republican utah's mike lee expected more senators to side with him in the coming days. but senate majority leader chuck schumer is nearly ready for the final vote. schumer says he believes the senate can quickly process relevant amendments aed pass the bill in a matter of days. >> in washington. i'm jessi tenure. >> just 3 days into the brentwood union school district new school year and is already over every time nacho fries came back, that bold seaso

. >> ladies and gentlemen, it's deejay cassidy. we're about three hours into the show. it's torrential downpouring outside, torrential. the killers are still here. ♪ the love you could never put down ♪ >> what's the game plan? >> what time is it? >> it is now 8:54. >> we'll kind of wait and see. >> we're in the killers' tent. >> therein is the greatest -- ts the greatest party of the night. new york city! >> turned into an impromptu thing. barry manilow was just about to sing "i made it through the rain." that was his next song coming up. nobody really knew what was happening. >> yeah. >> this is the thing -- those artists stayed because everybody thought we could still go on at 10:00. clive davis, god bless him, closed to 90, sitting in the rain in a poncho looking at the sky saying maybe we could still pull this off. >> turned out -- >> it was a magical, magical, special night. >> turned out as a metaphor for the covid era. you think maybe it's over, but it's not entirely. >> now clive trying to think how can we do a part two? bruce springsteen was waiting -- >> p

you look at his record and his resume, the other senders involved -- mark warner of virginia, bill cassidy of louisiana, these are -- kyrsten sinema was the lead negotiator with senator portman. these are senators who are part of the congress committee that handles freight and rail. the hew committee handles service transportation. a quick footnote, the highway authorization bill is part of this senate package. so they do have a staff that is very well, you know, fluent on these matters. as well as they are working with the leadership and the leadership of the committees that i mentioned. in crafting this, not only were they crafting this, but also they were relying on what the u.s. house did on their how a bill that on their highway bill to emulate certain provisions and also to enhance other provisions and determine a path forward on how they put together the legislation. when the bill was debated on the floor, during the amendment process and the full consideration, it would be the leadership, the chairman and the ranking member of the ep w committee managing this bill, and again, there

the other republican members in addition to myself were senators murkowski, cassidy, and romney. on the democratic side, in addition to senator sinema, were senators manchin, shaheen, warner, and tester. and all of us worked very hard, and we're grateful for the ideas and the input that we had from so many of our colleagues. i also want to thank and day. they haven't had a weekend off in a very long time. so, madam president, it is essential that we make this historic investment, and i urge all of my colleagues in voting tomorrow morning for final passage of this long-awaited, much-needed, bipartisan legislation. thank you, madam president. i yield the floor. a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from california. mr. padilla: madam president, i rise today because my home state of california ■isonfire nearly half a million acres have burned in the last month by the dixie fire alone. that's more than ten times the size of the district of columbia. it's larger in size than the city of los angeles. thousands of californians have been forced to flee their ho

. >> thank you, cassidy. guys, this has only been the first hour. you should see what's happening backstage. in the beginning of the show we were crying with andrea and the philharmonic and jennifer. now after carlos and rob thomas, everybody is dancing. listen, that's just in the first hour. we're just getting started. oh, i can't wait, you guys have a treat tonight. but now, this is somebody we thought you should meet. this is johnny g. they know you, johnny g. very nice, very nice. johnny has a hot dog carton 46th and broadway for 40 years. he's part of new york's backbone. we all know people like that. he took a corner and he built a life. and now we build our recovery on that. johnny, we thank you. we thank you for being part of new york. johnny wants you to know the hot dogs are open for business on 46th and broadway. don't you want them to know that? what do you want to say? >> i'm ready. we are back. and i will be waiting for everyone. >> all right. [ applause ] as someone in this section right here said, johnny g! i just met johnny five min

kennedy: madam president, with respect to my amendment, i offer it on behalf of myself and senator cassidy. the last 18 months have been challenging for louisiana. first, there was hurricane laura. then there was hurricane delta. then there was hurricane z zada. the hurricanes alone did about $25 billion of damage. madam president, then we had the historic freezes. then we had historic flooding. the total amount of damage was $47.1 billion. my people are tough but they are tired. this amendment would appropriate $1.1 billion in community development, block grants to help my people recover. i bring you a problem but also a solution. thanks to the efforts of senator cantwell and senator schatz and myself, three years ago we convinced the f.c.c. not to give away the spectrum auction which belongs to the american people and instead to auction it off, and there's now $80 billion sitting in treasury. the money for these block grants would come from that $80 billion in cash. thank you, madam president. a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from michigan. mr. peters: madam