Richard Blumenthal

How would you suggest that we should address the Iranian destabilizing influence of this regime?

But when we complain about the Iranians--and all of us probably in this room would agree with you that they are the major destabilizing influence in that area--we are talking as much about the Russians as we are about the Iranians.

Much more aggressive not only sanctions but warnings and actions against their partners in this effort, most prominently the Russians.

Their conduct there has been destabilizing--the word you used was 'destabilizing'--and abnormal.

Broadband Internet access service is marketed today primarily as a conduit for the transmission of data across the Internet.

You've withdrawn proposed reforms of the business data service market and pay TV set-top box market that would have saved consumers money.

You've undone the enhanced transparency rules that ensure broadband ISP consumers know what type of service they're getting.

In the time so far that the Trump administration has been in office, you've, unfortunately, unwound many of the rules and regulations that, in my view, were designed to protect consumers.

My time has expired, and if I can engage in another round, I will.

I'd like to know from you what possible rationale there can be for enabling cable companies to continue profiting by renting cable boxes.

You've moved to block commonsense broadband privacy rules.

I want to ask you, first, with respect to the Time Warner-AT&T merger, your standard is a different one for reviewing mergers, in fact, taking account of the public interest.

Mr. Pai wants cable companies to keep making a mint from renting cable boxes--a revenue stream that totals nearly $20 billion a year.

If he doesn't, I will oppose him.

He has to make a commitment to follow the evidence where it leads. And that can be done only by a special prosecutor.

He should know better than anyone how important it is to have an independent, credible special prosecutor in this role.

The president must understand the political consequences of what he's doing. Anybody who's campaigned for president and won is no longer a neophyte.

These statements are really surreal and strange and scary. They are scary because we're dealing here with wiretapping and surveillance, which goes to the core privacy rights of all of us as citizens.

I believe, as Senator Graham said at that hearing and both of us have said recently, that the Russians will continue to attack us--2018 is not very far away--as long as they are not made to pay a price.

We ought to give South Dakota--and I'm with you on that one--more say and more resources to improve its roads and rail.

As a nation, we have to establish goals and we need to prioritize those goals.

It's a matter of national security. Wouldn't you agree?

There's no endless pot of gold. So if the choice were yours and you had to sacrifice road building in Utah...

I believe strongly that infrastructure, whether it be broadband, roads, transit, is critical for our Nation.

Preserving peace, not fighting wars.