let me now turn and recognize senator thune. mr. thune: thank you, mr. chairman. i, along with many of my colleagues, are deeply concerned about the lack of consumer traryndz transparency and limited accountability of big tech companies. consumers have become increasingly troubled about the way their information is used by social media platforms and how these sites decide what news an information we see. because of the secrecy with which platform pros tech their algorithms and content moderation practices which largely has been and continues to be a black box, consume verse little or no idea how the information they see has been shaped by the sites they're visiting. i urge these two bipartisan bills to address these issues in platform accountability, the pact act and filter act. the pact act would increase transpersoncy -- transparency around platform moderation act, that would provide transparency when facebook removes a post. and the filter act would give users the opportunity to interact with pages without the algorithm. "the wall street journal" recently revea

thune: mr. chairman, i would suggest that as has been pointed out, i think there are a number of things we need to address. congress needs to be heard from in the space and particularly with respect to the use of algorithms and the way users are manipulated and particularly young people, i hope we can move quickly and directly and in a meaningful way to address this issue. thank you. chair blumenthal: i think we have strong consensus on that interview -- issue. similar baldwin. sen. baldwin: i would like to note that the series of hearings began with a revelation that internal research at facebook revealed the negative impact on teenagers' body images from using the company's instagram platform and we learned, based on research by the chairman staff, how quickly someone on instagram can go from viewing content on healthy eating to being directed toward posting that focuses on unhealthy plaque to says including glorifying eating disorders. i know we do not have facebook and instagram before us to

next is senator thune. senator thune: you served 10 years in the california bay area next to san francisco, a well-known sanctuary city that flouts immigration law and refuses to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement agents. if confirmed, you will oversee the enforcement of immigration law at our borders. do you support sanctuary cities and what message do they send to those seeking to enter the united states illegally? mr. magnus: senator, thank you for the question. as a chief for two decades, my priority has always been public safety. i appreciate how decisions around sanctuary cities are ultimately political decisions, but as a police chief, i'm certainly in this position where if confirmed, my first and primary obligation is to follow the law. that is what i has always done in the past and that is what i would commit to doing going forward. sen. thune: the biden administration is issuing these so-called notices to report and leaked documents show that tens of thousands of documents have been i

thune: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican chip. mr. thune: the senate is in a quorum call? the presiding officer: it is. mr. thune: i would ask unanimous consent the quorum call be lifted and i be able to complete my remarks before the start of the vote. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: mr. president, it's another day and another really bad idea coming from the democrats to fund their reckless tax-and-spending spree. it seems like to fund this massive amount of spending, they're trying desperately to come up with new revenue sources, so much so that as of yesterday still under consideration was a tax on unrealized gains. in other words, on income that people haven't received yet. and to just put that into perspective, if carried to its full conclusion, if that became a precedent as part of tax policy in this country and it never has been before, you could -- to put it in terms so people can understand, a lot of people participate in a 401(k). they have some

thune: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are not. mr. thune: okay. the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. thune: as i begin this morning, let me start by reacting to a couple of things said on the floor already by my democratic colleagues. you know, the republican leader when he was down here earlier talked about the impact of inflation on the economy and i have to tell you that's very real, mr. president. the inflationary impact is felt all across the country, energy costs are up, gasoline costs are up by huge amounts. food costs are up in this country, housing costs are up. there isn't hardly any area where people aren't impacted by inflation, meaning that the dollars they earn are stretching less further all the time. and that is not -- it's not a fake thing, it's not a temporary thing. it's a real thing. people are experiencing it in their economic lives on a daily basis. and to hear the democrat leader say well, you know, all the spending that they're going to do is not going to cost anything, it's ■going tobe covered by tack increase

thune: mr. president. the presiding officer: the republican whip. the presiding officer: is the senate in a quorum call? the presiding officer: yes. mr. thune: i would ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: and ask unanimous consent that i be able to complete my remarks prior to the vote. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: mr. president last week president biden's chief of staff retweeted a tweet from harvard economist jason furman, describing our current economic challenges notably the growing supply chain issues as, quote high-class problems. high-class probl i guess working americans struggling to stretch their paychecks for everything from groceries to gas can quote it as high-class problems. the tone-deaf tweet is typical of a white house that minimizes for most of the problems occurring on its watch whether it's the flood of illegal immigration across our southern border or the high prices americans are c

next is senator thune. >> thank you mister chairman and mister magnus, welcome. let me start by asking questions dealing with sanctuary cities. user 10 years at the california bay area next to san francisco which is a well-known actuary city that flout us immigration law and refuses hto cooperate with immigration enforcement agents. you confirm you will receive the enforcement of immigration law at our borders. do you support sanctuary cities and what message do sanctuary cities send to those seeking to enter the united states illegally. >> thank you for the question. and as the chief for two decades my first and foremost irony has always been public safety and so i appreciate how decisions around sanctuary cities are ultimately political decisions but as a police chief and certainly in this position were i to be confirmed first and primary obligation is to follow the law. that's what i've done in the past and that's what i would commit to doing goingforward . >> but the follow-up on the question senator cornyn raised this is similar i think in some respects to s

. >> senator thune. >> i've been arguing for some time that it is time for congress to act and i think the question iss always what is the correct way to do it in the right way to do it consistent with our first amendment right to freest speech. this committee doesn't have jurisdiction over the antitrust issue. that's the judiciary committee and i'm not adverse to looking at the monopolistic nature facebook and i think that's a real issue that needs to be examined and perhaps addressed as well but at least under this committee's jurisdiction there a couple of things i think we can do. i have a piece of legislation and senator blackburn and blumenthal are both co-sponsors called the filter bubble transparency a.c.t. and what it will do is give users the options to engage with social media platforms without being manipulated by the secret formulas that essentially did take the content that you see when you open up an app or log onto a web site. we also i think need to hold big tech accountable by reforming section 230 and one of best opportunities to do that in a bipartisan way is the pl

let me turn and recognize senator thune. >> thank you, mr. chair. i along with many of my colleagues are deeply concerned about the lack of transparency and limited accountability of big tech companies. consumers have becomely increasingly troubled about thee way their information is used by social media platforms and how they decide what information we see. because of the secrecy with which they protect the algorithm practices that largely continues to be consumers have little or no idea how much information they see on the sites they are visiting. i urge the these bills for the platform accountability and transparency with the pack act and filter transparency act. this would increase transparency around the content moderation for the consumers and more due process and the level gives the option to engage with and turned platforms without being manipulated by these opaque algorithms and i would like very briefly to discuss those with you today. "the wall street journal" recently revealed facebook toorithm 2018 in the efforts postoo meaningful socia

we are joined by senator thune and senator amy klobuchar and senator ed markey. they have all been extraordinary leaders in this effort, and today i should note is the first time that tiktok and snap have appeared before congress. i appreciate you and you do for your testimony this morning. means a lot. our hearing with facebook whistleblower francis haugen was a searing indictment along with her documents of a powerful, check in a a corporation that ps profits ahead of people, especially our children. deafening drumbeat of continuing disclosures, about facebook -- they have deepened america's concerns and outrage. and have led to increasing calls for accountability, and there will be accountability. this time is different. accountability to parents and the public, accountability to congress. accountability to investors and shareholders, and accountability to the securities and exchange commission and other federal agencies. because there is ample credible evidence as we start an investigation here. but today, we are concerned about continuing to educate the amer

thune: madam president? the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. thune: madam president, i understand we're in a quorum call. the presiding officer: yes, we are. mr. thune: i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: unanimous consent that i be allowed to speak for up to 15 minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: madam president, work continues on democrats' social spending spree and the senate seems on on -- to be on track to vote on their bill in the near future. well maybe. it depends on who you ask at any given time around here these days. just to highlight the high level of uncertainty surrounding this process, president biden was on capitol hill just this morning. his second visit this month to twist the arms of still undecided democrats. as they continue to see what sticks to the wall, it's good to know that priorities for government jobs -- tax credits for justice programs at college universities and $200 million park in speaker pelosi's district may soon come

thune: mr. president, democrats continue to negotiate with each other on their reckless tax and spending spree. democrats are currently working to lower the topline number in an effort to meet some of the demands of the few moderate democrats who have reservations about unchecked government spending. now, mr. president, you might think that lowering the topline number would involve deciding what programs and spending to eliminate toll bring the bill in at a lower cost. not exactly. yes, democrats are reportedly eliminating some spending. but the word is that under pressure from progressives who are dead set against curtailing their plans for expanding government, democrats are planning to keep a lot of their most expensive proposals but simply shorten the funding window to make the cost of these programs seem lower. take democrats' fantastically expensive child allowance. democrats have every intention of turning their child allowance into a permanent government welfare program. but in order to

thune: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that i be able to complete my remarks and that senator burr also be able to complete his remarks before the vote starts. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: mr. president, there are a few, quote-unquote winners under democrats' $3.5 trillion tax and spending spree. unions, for example, and electric vehicle manufacturers. but there are a lot more losers like middle-class families who will have to stretch their paychecks to cover higher inflation and higher energy bills, workers who will see jobs and opportunities shrink and farmers and ranchers. mr. president, agriculture is the lifeblood of my home state of south dakota, and so ag issues are always pretty much on my mind and i'm pretty concerned about democrats' tax and spending spree will mean forked south dakota farmers. for starters, i'm worried that democrats' bill could mean the end of some farms thanks to the bill's expansion of the death tax. now, mr. president, i have long cr

thune: in just a few minutes we're going to take another vote, just an ordinary vote senator most of us unless you're susan collins, because this next vote we're going to take in the senate will be susan collins' 8,000th consecutive vote. the leader described it. she is the cal ripken of the united states senate. he played 2,632 consecutive games and susan collins has been showing up every day for work and bringing her a-game literally since 1997. it is an extraordinarily number but what it represents is what really matters a. that's susan's work ethic, her tenacity and unshakable commitment to the people of maine. if there's one thing that the people of maine can depend on is that susan collins will be there to represent them, not just on the big days or for the big votes but every day on every single vote. mr. president, i'm also proud to stand up today and to recognize susan. susan, congratulations on this incredible milestone. you truly are the workhorse of the united states senate. here is the next 8,000. -- here is to the next 8,000. the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr

thune: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, on september 25, president biden tweeted, and i quote, my build back better agenda costs zero dollars. that's right. according to the president, a series of new, permanent entitlements and a massive expansion of government, the biggest expansion of government at least since the new deal, is going to cost zero dollars. that from the president of the united states. and the president has now been doubling down on that claim. on monday, he once again tweeted the fact of the matter is my build back better agenda costs zero. well, no, mr. president, the fact of the matter is that your build back better agenda costs $3.5 trillion at least. that's the minimum number. the committee for responsible federal budget where the president's treasury secretary served on the board before joining the administration estimates the cost at $5 trillion or more. believing -- but leaving that aside, mr. president, even if the president has been merely trying to claim that his plan is fully paid for