Ed Markey

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Baldwin. Thank you so much.

The atmosphere within this Administration is very aggressively negative on science and technology

Science must be conducted without political influence, and I believe that that includes the things that you mentioned.

Do you agree with the overwhelming scientific evidence that human activity is the dominant driver in the warming of the planet?

Are you considering new sanctions?

I was pleased to see this morning sanctions against Russia for aiding North Korea.

I think that it is time to have the interagency meeting that makes the decision as to whether or not we increase those sanctions.

Obfuscation in the defense of interjection of a foreign power into our elections is an obvious strategy.

We have to make sure, especially in the final 4 weeks of the election, that the sanctions are in place.

So if that is the case, how--how much more authority do you need to ratchet up the sanctions against Russia.

I think this administration has been clear that we are prepared to take additional steps.

We have gone more deeply into the territory of going after those individuals than previous administration.

I think your broader question is apt. There is a certain calculus, I think, on Putin's part that he and those around him can weather, to some extent, sanctions, because of the insularity of the regime.

Yes, comprehensive privacy legislation would be one way to protect the privacy of broadband consumers.

I want to work with you on this children's television----so that we get the right answer for every child in America.

I'm the author of the Children's Television Act of 1990. Ultimately, it requires 3 hours a week of educational and informational programming for all children in America on free over-the-air broadcasting.

That's why I authored the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 so that we would have rules that could protect people from just--especially around supper time--just having their lives interfered with in a way that drives them crazy.

I would hope that as we're going through this whole re-do of the children's television rules that we're mindful of those children.

Net neutrality has been the governing principle of the Internet up until now, until the FCC overturned those rules.

Will you commit to releasing this report?

Well, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, freezing the standards would cost American drivers an additional $20 billion alone in 2025 due to higher spending on gasoline.

Well, you are wrong. Freezing the standards would mean an additional 2.2 billion metric tons of global warming pollution by 2040, equal to 43 coal fired power plants.

Well, Pruitt committed to releasing it, and I hope that you put it at the top of your list. I expect you to and get it released so that the public can understand what those dangers are.

When you look at the $1 trillion that big oil will never receive from American consumers and the 12 billion barrels of oil that they will never produce under the current standards, it becomes pretty clear why big oil would want to attack…

That is the simple formula for fuel economy, you save consumers money, and you save the planet at the same time, and that is why big oil is attacking these standards.