we are getting now close to the time to vote on the Vought nomination, and it has been a 30-hour discussion, conversation, some of which I think is perhaps instructive. I mean, I would make an argument, honestly, that through multiple administrations, Congress has bequeathed and given up way too much power to the executive branch. But I think, with the all-night vigil-- and a lot of speeches were made over here--there was a lot of high rhetoric, I would argue, about attacks on democracy, attacks on the Constitution. I think it is important when you make those arguments that there be at least some amount of self-reflection because, over the last 4 years, there have been a lot of times when the executive branch went around the Congress or tried to rewrite the laws Congress had passed in ways that increased spending, and I can use a good example. Under the committee of jurisdiction, the Commerce Committee, which is where I spent a lot of my time over the past few years, there was a program called the BEAD Program, which was designed to extend broadband access to people in rural areas of the country, unserved areas of the country, and it passed almost--well, about 3 years ago. I didn't vote for it at the time. But that provision in the bill was designed to deliver broadband services to unserved areas, rural areas of the country.…
On the recordFebruary 5, 2025
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