the table congressman luis gutierrez, democrat of illinois. immigration is the topic, and the lead paragraph of the "usa today" story online says hope for immigration reform is all but dead. 47 -- that is the to 247th over jury. that is what the press likes to do. host: you do not believe it is that. guest: speaker boehner said it is hard. welcome to my world. we know it is hard, but we welcome you to this debate and to getting it resolved. it is going to be hard to get it done this year. we did not say could not be done this year. it, thes face

politicians in washington, d.c., do not really dictate when things get done. and when they begin, that is better said that way. the immigrant community is continuing to push forward. it is not that by a longshot -- it is not a long -- dead by a long shot. host: and that is the headline, immigration activists threaten payback. what does that mean? guest: it is not rocket science. take mitt romney. he got 60% of the white vote and lost. why? vote, 20%of the black of the latino vote, 15% of the asian vote -- you cannot have those kinds of numbers because among women voters -- if the

republican party is going to continue to be a party that says ofto large growing sectors the electoral population in the united states, they are going to be a party of provinces and counties, and a few states, there will never be a national party again. somebody wrote, doing an analysis, look at the last six elections, at the states the democrats have won, and they came up with 243 electoral votes, and what is trendy nationally is that the trend will be four more states to look more like those 243. it only takes 270 two when the present and democrats -- residency, and democrats seem to start with 90%. int: you predicted a blowout 2016 if immigration is not pass.

are up that night, you will go home early. it will be a blowout. last election cycle, they tried to play out the drama a little bit more. it was 10:00, and it was over. it will be earlier. the top,you said at house speaker john boehner said it is hard, not that it would not happen. what did you make of the principles the republican party put forth after they had their retreat last week? i want to first say that not only did i respond pelosi,ly, but leader the president of the united states, across-the-board, there was a sense that you are headed in the right direction. this is a set of principles that we can begin to work from, and we were very pleased that they were finally moving forward with

their principles. i know how hard it is going to be. -- an, it took me to get decade to get democrats on board with copperheads a immigration reform. on board democrats with immigration reform. host: would you agree to what chuck schumer put forward, saying that he called house speaker john boehner's bluff on immigration, saying they wanted immigration reform, but they do not want -- guest: that is really what was going to happen anyway because of the president were to sign the bill tomorrow, it would take over two years between the signing of the bill and the moment any benefit -- that is somebody can go to a government

office and apply for a benefit. i think it is a good deal because it is what it was going to happen anyway. it takes at least two years, maybe more. host: what you make of this tweet from kelly ayotte -- i support of the senate bill. theas not perfect, but status quo is unacceptable. i hope the house can find a way forward. guest: absolutely. i think our republican men and women that one comprehensive immigration reform for security reasons, economic reasons, and also for political reasons. i mean, they want to take this off of the table. i say if you believe in social justice, immigration reform is good. tapping 11of on million people and their entrepreneurial spirit. we know what the congressional budget office says about the senate no. it says that actually -- deal.

he said that actually produces a surplus. i think i want $1 trillion in our pocket in the u.s. treasury because what we are doing is bringing people into our system, the we are saying you are going to be accountable, pay all of your taxes, we are going to know where you are, and because you feel safe because you now have a legal status in the united states, you are going to explode in terms of economic activity in the which is good for all of us. phone calls.to john. island lake, illinois. the public and caller. -- republican caller. john, you are on the air. caller: we are a nation of laws like mexican people. they are hard-working people. i like their food.

but, we are a nation of laws. these people have come here illegally. if i were to break the law, i would go to jail. it boils down to money with these politicians, and we are a nation of laws. thank you very much. guest: i want to make them right with the law. we want to put them at the end of the line, but we want to make sure that we know where they are at. look. they are here. they are not going anywhere. i think we have to first of all realized that two thirds of them have been here more than a decade. most of them live with children, in a family setting. they are already here. lots of jobs in america that really nobody else wants to do. why do i say that? i say that because i have been to orchard fields, citrus

fields, where they pick garlic, lettuce, tomatoes, where they pick grapes for the fine chardonnay that we drink in california. we are going to have people in this country work and pick produce, and it will be picked with foreign hands or it will be picked in foreign countries. let's make the decision. meatpacking plants -- there are lots of places where they do critical, essential work, and i want to make them right with the law. many people say they did not use the right way. there is no right way because there is no way for the american economy to supply the service sector. the right way shot down in 1990's. we need a clear path in the future so that people can come to america. host: peggy. lafayette, louisiana. independent caller. you are on the air with congressman gutierrez.

go ahead. caller: i have a wonderful hispanic son-in-law that we think the world of, and this is his problem. salvador, 15om el years ago, legally, under a system called temporary protective status. the problem is apparently that status has to be renewed from time to time, and in the immigration talks i have not heard that talked about. it has been a nightmare. attorney.d to hire an i wanted to be sure that the people will not be forgotten ok, in this reform. guest: they will not be forgotten about, and let me just say that if you are down in chicago, you could visit our congressional office instead of visiting an attorney so that we could explain to you. there should be no reason you

need an attorney. it has been reinstated time and time again. i see no reason why the barack obama administration is going to sell the dorians, other central americans, and asians that he is going to somehow and the program. it is an important part -- i'm happy she brings it up because a lot of people think, well, you know, it is just about those illegals out there and whether they are going to be citizens of the united states. there are a lot of people legally in this country in limbo , as her friend is, that we need to sort out. host: how does it work, this protective status? guest: there was an incredibly, ugly vicious earthquake in haiti . there were haitians here in the united states, so we made a decision we were not going to under people to haiti

those conditions, and that is called temporary protective status. what happened in el salvador was a similar crisis. the difficulty with the system is how do you then integrate them when it is temporary, so we want to find a permanent solution. >> is that a pathway to citizenship? -- host: is that a pathway to citizenship? guest: no. it has to be continually renewed. host: from twitter, tell us how you will verify taxes owed, do background checks from all over the world, collect money from people? one, they are here. we do not have to go all over the world. undocumented the have been here for 15 years. a lot of people think of immigration reform and they she is so i'm happy bringing this up, here is a

system that we want -- and employment verification system. what does that mean? before you or i could get a job in the united states, it has to be verified that they are legally in the country and that has to happen to the federal government. if you are an employer that hires somebody without going through that system, we will lock you up and put you in jail just as if you did not pay your taxes or violate any other law of the land. we have to make sure that everybody goes through the verification system. -- in 5-to-hat in-to- seven years. i want to put them on the books. they are already paying taxes. tax pay sales tax, gasoline . i am not quite sure all of those taxes are making it back to the government. i want to put them on the books.

when the congressional budget office says if you legalize 11 million people, what happens to the treasury -- it is to the good. $100 billion in the first 10 years, $1 trillion after 20. host: we are talking to luis gutierrez, who represents the chicago area. he has been a leader on pushing for immigration reform. in his 11th term. collected with 83% of the vote -- with elected in 1992 80% of the vote. first elected in 1992. republican caller. caller: i want to tell the whole country that there are 25 jobs in durham, north carolina, in a burger king, and it is all mexican nationals that are not supposed to be here. host: how do you know that?

guest: -- caller: they do not speak english. host: why's that evidence that they are here it -- legally? if they were here legally, they would probably speak english. from: a lot of people come all over the world. it is the third caller has referred to mexicans. 40% of the undocumented are here came here legally to the united states on a visa, a student visa, a tourist visa, and employment visa. this constant reference to one group of people is not a reflection of the reality. i know that has been the talk , but when we talk about the 11 million pimco -- 11 million, we're talking about millions of people from poland, ireland, the philippines, all parts of the world.

i do not know about the burger king. here's what i could tell you. if you fix the system and put an employment verification system into it, the guy that opens up the burger king must go on -- i am pretty sure he checked their social security cards, right? greta, let's be real. ,y granddad back in the 1930's i could imagine when he got in the mail to social security card. i do not know how he laminated it, but my dad got one, same thing in the mail -- a flimsy social security card. i got one. my children got one. my grandson got one. we could do a lot better after 70 years, 80, 90 years of having social security cards. we could do a lot better. we have more information on your debit card about who you are, or

any other credit card. when he to do better. if we want to have -- we need to do better. if we want to have a nation that controls who works here. host: what do you use? guest: you could use metrics. is always funny because you and i both know this, if you swipe the card and the credit card company says he was in chicago, and he swiped in san francisco, all of a sudden the merchant tells you you have to call your company. why can we not have that kind of verification system when you are going to work? they verify if you are not in the right place geographically. should we not be able to know who is working in america and have a verification system? -- immigrationr would be easier to take if it was not part of the engineered plan of government to lower u.s. wages for corporate greed."

guest: let me say this, when you immigrants economy, play a key role, and there are other sectors of the economy that are not meatpacking plants, not working in agriculture. let's take the high-tech industry. if we want to be competitive as a nation, we were need people in mathematics, to come to america for jobs that exist in america, but for which unfortunately there are no qualified, talented americans to take. let me give you my take on jobs first. i believe that any job created in america should first go to an american, if the american exists with the qualifications. i believe that. then, after we have satisfied the needs of those born in this country, then we have

opportunities for employment, for others to come here. we always have. that has been the cycle of immigrants coming to america. a lot of people say those 11 million, they are here taking jobs from other people. well, you know, i do not know that there is a long line, even at burger king to take those jobs. i do find as i travel lots of immigrants fulfilling very low-wage. someone said we have to pay people more to pick lettuce and tomatoes. the republican party will not increase the minimum-wage, but they will replace the minimum-wage that we pay people to pick lettuce and tomatoes? that will not happen. we should have an economy where capitalism is at work. all i am saying is i did not send my two daughters, and i am sure your viewers did not send their kids to college so that they could go and pick

something. somebody will have to do it, but at the same time, it is critical work, backbreaking, dirty, filthy, work. i have been out there to watch them work out in the field across america. it is hard work. saying isould be those people are doing hard work, they are keeping our economy strong, and keeping us safe. you are going to get your food picked here in the united states by foreign hands, or by foreign hands in foreign countries. you decide where your security lies. host: kate, evansville, indiana. democratic caller. yes.r: this goes back to trying to get immigration reform done. you are trying to get unemployment benefits restored. ,he jobs are all going overseas so, you need to back up, put

everything to the side, and let's get the jobs going. so, if you want these immigrants to have jobs -- there are no jobs, so why are you trying to work on this? that is a stall tactic. you need to concentrate on one item because you're never going to get anything done. you are not getting anywhere. you are slipping in the mud. host: all right, keith. guest: i think it is critical and essential that we have a modern, 21st century immigration in united states. we have 11 million people in the shadows. we should register them with the government and have them pay their taxes. they should pay fines, they should learn english, learn about our way of government, we should incorporate them fully. i believe they should begin in a pathway to citizenship because it is the right thing to do, and i want them to fulfill every last responsibility and obligation to this country and i

have as a citizen. iwant somebody saying maybe do not have to do everything everybody else has to do, and i do not have the same commitment that everybody else has. host: are you able to go to the democratic retreat? thet: i am not going to democratic retreat. i am going back to my congressional district immediately after this before the snow hits washington, d.c., so i could get back to chicago. i have things to do back in the district and i going to get those things done. host: what you think the strategy should be for house democrats going forward to push on immigration reform? guest: it took a while, greta. it was not like back in 2007, 2008, 2009 -- democrats were in charge of the house of representatives but we did not propose immigration reform because we did not have the vote, even though we were 240, 250-strong, but we worked on that.

now there is a large group of people -- 90% of the democrats in the house of representatives would support the bill as it is put forward in the senate proposal, but i want to take a moment to talk about the senate proposal. there is this thing that has become -- it takes 13 years from the moment you join the legalization process, if you are undocumented -- host: in the senate bill? guest: 13 years before you have the opportunity to apply for american cynosure -- citizenship. it is a long road. you have to pay fines, learn english, cannot be unemployed, have to get right with the law. it is a straight and stringent road there, as well as should be, and the immigrants are ready to take that on. plus, you know what if you eliminated 11 million

people from the united states of america, they would stop going to stores. wher been to towns they have bee i find -- and you know what i find? i find ghost towns. all you have to do is go to post ville, iowa. it is a ghost town now. all of the immigrants were buying clothes at the clothing store, building up empty apartments, creating more -- i mean, look from 75% of all economic activity is what? when people go by something. one go back to mexico second. mexico is the second-largest trading partner of the united states. second. why is that important to jobs? they are buying our goods, greta. by buying our goods they create millions of jobs in the united

states for people who live here. let's look at how jobs are created and not try to build a moat around ourselves. if we do that we won't have economic activity does businesses every two keep us destroy mission that we are. host: you have been working in the house with a group of republicans and democrats in pushing for immigration reform similar to the gang of eight in the senate. rollup door, congressman, was part of your group that got together. r, congressman, was part of your group that got together. here is a headline from fox news latino. guest: i think that is regrettable. intelligent and very knowledgeable about immigration policy. suffice to say, i spent 5 months with him crafting the legislation. it seems a little ironic that someone i spent 5 months with

drafting the legislation now says don't do anything or you shouldn't have a job. i hope raul comes back to the table because i think he can be an important part of not saying no. you have a lot of people in washington who say no. democrats propose something, republican say no. republicans propose something, democrats say no. let's try to learn how to say yes in washington, d.c. host: kathy in texas, republican caller. high, kathy. caller: how are you? i live in texas and we have lots of mexicans, and they hard-working, very, very kind people. the problem is, we live in a country of laws. i say that is a problem because we must get a handle on this by shutting down the border first. there is just so many people here illegally, not even just mexicans. into so many. it has nothing to do with their nationalities. we came from europe, our families came from sicily, we did it the legal way, we have

the american dream. but i feel democrats are giving this country away. it really is sad that they are turning people against each republicansing, oh, don't like mexicans or republicans don't want to help these people. we do, but we have to do it in a legal way and i think they are very kind and everybody needs a chance. we had the chance here and our kids are all doing excellent. a -- but follow the law, thank you. guest: i think that is exactly what we are trying to do. we are trying to make them right with the law. at the same time, our system is broken. we want to fix it. now, we can say that we can go about the business of trying to deport 11 million people. number one, that is not a realistic alternative. you are not going to deport him 11 million people. barack obama has deported more people than any other president in the history of the united states. , barackh enforcement

obama, 2 million people have been deported, a devastating effect on our community. but what we must understand is there is still millions and millions -- even if you kept this up at the space, you are not going to do put yourself out of the problem -- you are not going to deport yourself out of the problem. look, nobody in the congress, ugliest in thet, house in the senate has ever proposed a system that says, here is the money, go out there -- can you imagine trying to ?ound up 11 million people those people are married to american citizens in many cases. they have relationships with of those of us who are here, not only from mexico, but from poland and ireland in the philippines. most of them have been here more than 10 years. the system is broken. i want to fix the system in a

realistic manner that helps drive our economy. host: should the president stop the deportation -- guest: i think the president co should continue to ex his ex -- expand his executive authority to stop the deportation of immigrants roots in the country. there are millions of american citizen children who, through no fault of their own, have parents who are undocumented in this country who are working. if you are a gang banger or drug dealer or criminal, put you in the front of the line and out of this country. first, we will punish you right here in the united states, but then we want you out. look, there are 2 types of people who come here. there are foreigners who come here and there are immigrants. i make the distinction between the 2. the immigrants come here to do valuable work should valuable, essential, critical work. i wish for just one moment i andd show the lady in texas the other person in alabama what the landscape would look like in

america if the 11 million were just to disappear. who would be working in the fields in georgia, alabama, mississippi, south of this nation? not to speak about who would be working the fields in california. look, you can go across this country and you can say what you want, but nobody wants to do the dirty, backbreaking, filthy the work of working in agriculture in america. and americans are sending their kids more to college, more and more each day, graduating from high school and college. that is a good thing. sends their kids so that at the end of the day we will give you an artificial salary of $15 an hour. ain't gonna happen. in the high-tech industry, we need people with math skills and science skills so that america can be the kind of competitive nation it has always been. host: here is a tweet. guest: i don't care. i have worked with the

republican party. greta, you know better than most that every time i have proposed immigration legislation, i did it with john mccain, with 2004 a, back in 2003 and i have always been bipartisan and moving forward. i sat down with the group of eight. i believe that this should be an american solution. i think part of the problem here -- i will say this for george bush was the last republican president elected. of the latino vote in that election. he won. but if you are going to continue to criminalize all of us, because when you pass a law in arizona like to show me your papers law, i will tell you right here on this program, they are not asking you for your papers, greta, when they pull you over.

in this country, and i resent any law that stereotypes me and promotes that kind of stereotype. i think it is wrong and it is un-american. host: we talked about this a , but yout at the top predicted that if congress doesn't do anything about immigration reform, democrats will win in 2016. guest: it is clear to me that the demographics are such that that is going to happen. host: what about chris christie? if you becomes the nominee -- let me point out that when he won reelection, this past year, he carried 51% of the latino vote. that is in new jersey. that is that election. that is not a presidential election. that is a local election. the other thing is that chris christie also says he would support the dream act locally in new jersey. he was being very kind and doing outreach work to the latino community. i guess my answer is twofold. number one, he tried to show a

new face of the republican party. george bush got latino votes, too, because he showed a different face to the immigrant community in this country. my point is, republicans can do well. --they can just be a party you want the republican party to be a national party? you want to gain the presidency of the united states? guess what, you've got to change her politics on immigration, because if you don't, you will always be a party of provinces, towns, and localities. if that is what you want, to never be a player again on the national scene, just continue with your anti-immigrant rhetoric. you will not be able to reach sufficient number of communities in america to win the national election. host: kathy in florida, a democratic caller. caller: good morning. good morning. say americawant to

is a land of laws, and it really because if anything we do, we go to jail. it doesn't matter. trespassing, whatever, you go to jail. if these people broke the law, how can they not go to jail? face toa slap in the the ones who go to jail for anything -- walking, trespassing, anything could get to go to jail for breaking the law? are you kidding me. they need to go to jail. host: ok, kathy. congressman? civil offense to work in the united states work undocumented. it is a misdemeanor. i don't think we are going to fill our jails with people who commit civil offenses and misdemeanors. those who engage in criminal activity should have the full force of the law brought against them. we want to get that done.

again, no one has ever proposed preparing the kind of system with the requisite resources necessary for today. let's go out and have the federal government with all of its agencies using all of its police powers to go up and around 11 million people. i want you to close your eyes and think about that. nobody has ever proposed that because they know it is not realistic. i have a realistic solution to the problem and i have a bipartisan solution to the problem. republicans and democrats, let's look at the issue of immigration. the afl-cio, labor movement, got together with the u.s. chamber of commerce. those 2 institutions fight in washington, d.c. everyday, spending tens of millions of dollars lobbying against each other. the farmworkers union, created by cesar chavez, that together with the largest growers and they agreed on how they would and futureurrent

agricultural workers. "the new york times" and "the wall street journal" couldn't be more different in their editorial positions. i have seen divisions among religious leaders -- as deterrence and lutherans and evangelicals -- presbyterians and lutherans and evangelicals in very conservative protestants with catholics and muslims and jews altogether. it seems to me that the only place where it will can't -- where people can't find common ground -- and the rest of america we can find common ground, and every other spear of society and influence we can eptd common ground, exc the house of representatives. the fact that the republicans put forward their principles tells me that there is common ground. boehner didn't just wake up one day and write those down and scribble them on a piece of paper. those were thoughtful, well

thought-out principles that they put in black and white. he must have believed that there were certain that she was a certain currency, leadership in the republican party behind. -- that there was a certain currency, readership and the republican party behind that. the first battle is to say that this is something we want to move forward. they knew it would be difficult, but you have a very extreme right wing of the republican party that is selling them no, no, no. small,ou know what, in thetic right wing republican party and he will always be a part of localities. host: you are on the air with congressman gutierrez, democrat from illinois. go ahead. caller: thank you for taking my call this money. i would just like to say that i .upport legal immigration i am not a racist in any way. our country was founded on immigration so i fully believe in the legal process of --igration for it in my town

legal process of immigration. in my town, aberdeen, we've experienced a huge loss of jobs after the logging industry , with the mass -- and now with the mass influx of immigrants, from all over central and south america, i am not just going to label them as mexicans or colombians or whatever or they are latinos. it seems to me the tend to do a lot of shopping at their own stores, that they are not going to go and shop at a regular american store or they are going to go and buy food that came from their own country instead of foods that come from our country. host: is that a concern? caller: it is a concern of mine. that is one concern, yeah.

people come here and immigrate to our country and then spend money they are making in our country on stuff that is coming from their own country. host: ok. congressman? guest: i'm sorry, i'm just at a loss here. i like chinese food. does that make me un-american to go to a local chinese restaurant? or a thai restaurant? or greek restaurant? it is part of america, eating different foods from different countries. if i only each these burgers and hotdogs, that makes me 100% american? thing -- if you are upset that the immigrants are eating ethnic food, you should and thesesafeways large american corporations that have their ethnic aisles, ok? let's not kid ourselves. target does it come every major

american corporation, you know what they do -- he says, "oh, they don't buy." that is nothing but a pack of lies. on a spanish and ethnic tv and you know it you've got? ford and gm and every major corporation in the language selling those products. back at the plant, they are americans speaking english producing those cars and goods. commerce -- if i want to communicate and i want to sell something, then it is ok. unless it is a group of people going over there and eating food that they are used to from their country. the fact is that i am happy that italians and greeks and chinese cap that -- italians and greeks and chinese kept their delicious culinary menus because i continue to enjoy them and that is part of the diversity of america. host: the caller started by saying "i am for immigration reform" and "i am not a racist"

-- guest: against it. host: do you think that people against immigration reform are racist? guest: no, i have not said that could i have heard racist comments from people who are against immigration reform. look come here is the fact. every survey that has been done, the wall street journal" or cnn, says that two thirds of american people are for legalizing the 11 million and giving the pathway to citizenship. the vast majority of american people believe that, and they are white and black and hispanic and of every color. i think that when you go out to america and speak to the american people, they want to fix our broken immigration system. i'm telling you, it is only the house of representatives where there is a problem. part of the problem is -- you have addressed this issue before on this program -- part of it is

we come from these congressional districts in which all we're thinking about is the very next election. there will be immigrants and s and europeansno that they will be in the southern district so people say, i would just disregard that. of themselveshink as being an american representative. they think of themselves as being the representative of that congressional district in and only that congressional district and not the broader views of the american people, and they want to get elected. and then you have these primaries, republican primaries, in which the influence of a very conservative sectors of the republican party outweighs the rest of the republican party. i think that, unfortunately, is what is pushing a lot of things. host: congressman, we need to let you go because you need to catch a flight before this storm comes to washington. guest: showing up to work

to statement

pending --. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mccain: i rise today to appeal to the conscience of my colleagues and my fellow citizens about the mass ro atrocities that the assad regime is perpetrating in syria. when the images and horrors of this conflict occasionally show up on our television screens, impulse of many americans is to change the channel, but we must not look away. we must not avert our eyes from the suffering of the syrian people. for if we do, we ignore, we sacrifice that which is most precious in ourselves, our ability to empathize with the

suffering of others, to share it, to acknowledge through our own sense of revulsion that what is happening in syria today is a stain on our collective conscience of moral peoples every there. i appeal to my colleagues today not to look away from the images i will show you, and i want to warn all who are watching, these are graphic and disturbing pictures but they're the real face of war and human suffering in syria today. a war that our nation has the power to help end but which we are failing to do. these images are drawn from a cache of more than 55,000 photographs that were taken between march, 2011 and august, 2013, by a syrian military policeman whose job it was to document the horrors that the assad regime committed against political prisoners in its jails.

this individual essentially -- essentially defected along to the opposition along with his photographs which were meticulously reviewed and verified by three renowned international war crimes prosecutors and a team of independent forensic experts. they compiled their findings in a report late last month that provides direct evidence that the assad regime was responsible for the systematic abuse, torture, starvation, and killing of approximately 11,000 detainees in what amounts to war crimes and crimes against humanity. these are just a few of those pictures, and far from the most disturbing. i urge every member of congress and the american people to read the full report which can be found on both ?an.com and -- cnn.com and the guardian.com.

although only a handful have been released publicly the authors have provided their own startling commentary on what they reveal. david crane, the first chief prosecutor of the court for sierra leone and the man responsible for indicting former liberian president charles taylor for crimes against humanity stated many of the photographs show groupings of bodies in a way that -- quote -- "look like a slaughterhouse." crane characterized the syrian government as callous industrial machine grounding its citizens that is guilty of industrial age mass killing. professor sir jeffrey nice, lead prosecutor against milosevic at the hague reported the way the bodies were catalogued and the effort to obscure the causes of death leads one to infer this is a

pattern of behavior for assad's forces but most chilling of all, desmond desilva stated that the amayberry yaited bodies revealed in these thickets are -- quote -- "reminiscens ent of those found still alive this the nazi death camps after world war ii. yesterday in a hearing of the committee on armed services, i asked the director of national intelligence, james clapper, whether these photographs which depicts ghastly crimes against humanity are authentic. the director said he has -- quote -- "no reason to doubt their you authenticity." the united nations is now doing its own assessment of these images and all of shus fully support -- us should fully support that. it's important to have the broadest possible validation of these images and i'm confident the u.n. team will validate them. after all, does anyone

seriously believe the assad regime does not have the means, motive and opportunity to murder 11,000 people in its prisons? indeed, this kind of inhuman cruelty is a pattern of behavior within the syrian government. according to a detailed u.n. report issued at the end of january, assad's forces have systemically as part of their dock strin -- doctrine used children as human shields and thred threatened to kill the children of opposition leaders if they did not surrender. the u.n. detailed the torture and sexual abuse of thousands of children by government forces. i will spare you the remaining details as they are unspeakable, but again i urge you to read the entire report which can be found on the united nations' web site. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i would ask my friend if he would allow me to do a

unanimous consent request, just to get us through the day. as usual, i very much appreciate his courtesy and his stunning delivery on this horrible situation going on in syria. and i ask this report not -- record not appear interrupted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent enhancing the lack of the receipt of papers if they have not arrived from the house it be in order for the majority leader or his designee to concur in the house amendment to s. 25. if a 345e7b8g has arrived before 1:30, the chair before the house at 1:30 and i be recognized to recognize to coburn combur in the house amendment to s. 25, there be up to 30 minutes of debate, upon the use or yielding back of that time, the senate proceed to vote on the motion to concur, with all of the above occurring

with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. mr. reid: quickly, mr. president, we'll have up to four votes starting 11:30 and coming back at 1:30 we'll finish the business of the day and hope to have a lot of votes today. i'm aware as i mentioned last night or following the storm on an hourly basis and we should know within the next few hours howe how accurate the reports of the snowstorm, good or bad, will be. the presiding officer: tax the gentleman from arizona. mr. mccain: i recommend my colleagues read of the war crimes human rights watch has been documenting. they report on how who are authorities have deliberately used explosives and dull bul dozers who demolish thousands of residential buildings for no military reason whatsoever just as a form of collective

punishment of syrian civilians. human rights watch watchers from documented the air campaign against aleppo and damascus and in particular the regime's use over the past few months of what has become known as -- quote -- "barrel bombs." for my colleagues who are not aware of them, barrel bombs are oil drums or large containers packed with explosives, fuel, shrapnel, glass, and all manner of crude, lethal material. their sole purpose is to maim, kill, and terrorize as many people as possible when they are indiscriminately dropped from syrian government aircraft on schools and bakeries and mosques and other civilian areas. in one stark video of a barrel bomb's aftermath, a man stands in front of a child's body and cries out, oh, god we've had enough, please help us.

these are just some of the many reasons why our director of national intelligence referred to the syria crisis yesterday as -- quote -- "an apocalyptic disaster." and with more than 130,000 people dead, after more than one-third of the syrian population has been driven from their homes, no truer words were ever spoken. but this apocalyptic disaster in syria is no longer just a humanitarian tragedy for one country. it's a regional conflict and an emerging national security threat to us. the regime's war crimes are being aided and abetted by thousands of hezbollah fighters and iranian agents on the ground, as well as russian weaponry that continues to flow into the assad government even as russia works with us to remove the assad regime's chemical weapons, a truly orwellian situation. the conflict in syria is

devastating its neighbors. lebanon is suffering from increased bombings in crossborder attacks by both the syrian government and opposition fighters in response to hezbollah's role in the fighting. unofficial estimates suggest that half of lebanon's population will soon be syrian refugees. similar estimates suggests that syrian refugees now represent 15% of the population in jordan, which is straining to manage the social instability this entails. turkey has been destabilized. and perhaps most worrisome of all, the conflict in syria is largely to blame for the resurgence of al qaeda in iraq, which has grown into the larger and more lethal islamic state of iraq and syria, which now possesses a safe haven that spans large portions of both countries. nowhere is this more threatening or more heart breaking than in

fallujah. iraqi city, where hundreds of u.s. troops were killed and wounded, fighting to rid it of terrorists and extremists but where the black flags of al qaeda now hang above the city. the sanctuary that al qaeda now enjoys thanks to the crisis in syria increasingly poses a direct threat to u.s. national security and that of our closest allies and partners. the secretary of homeland security, mr. jay johnson, said -- quote -- "syria is now a matter of homeland security." the director of national intelligence has referred to the al qaeda sanctuary in syria and iraq as a -- quote -- "new fatah." the tribal areas of pakistan and afghanistan where al qaeda planned the september 11 terrorist attacks. indeed, director clapper has warned that al qaeda affiliateed terrorists in syria now aspire

to attack the homeland. if the september 11 attacks should have taught us anything, it's the global terrorists who occupy ungoverned spaces and seek to plot and plan attacks against us can pose a direct threat to our national security. this was afghanistan on september 10, 2001, and that is what top officials in this administration are now warning us that syria is becoming today. the conflict in syria is a threat to our national interests, but it's more than that. it is and should be an affront to our conscience. images like these should not be just a source of heartbreak and sympathy. they should be a call to action. it was not too long ago, just a few months after the revolution in syria began, that president obama issued his presidential study directive on mass

atrocities. in it, he stated, and i quote -- "preventing mass atrocities and genocide is a core national security interest and a core moral responsibility of the united states." he went on to say -- "our security is affected when masses of civilians are slaughtered, refugees flow across borders and murders wreak havoc on regional stability and livelihoods." last year, speaking at the u.s. holocaust museum, the president said -- quote -- "too often the world has failed to prevent the killing of innocents on a massive scale. we are haunted by the atrocities that we did not stop and the lives we did not save." just last september in his address to the u.n. general assembly, president obama said this, and i'd like to quote him at length -- quote -- "the principle of sovereignty is at the center of our international order, but sovereignty cannot be a shield for tyrants to commit

one murder or an excuse for the international community to turn a blind eye. while we need to be modest in our belief that we can remedy every evil, while we need to be mindful that the world is full of unintended consequences, should we really accept the notion that the world is powerless in the face of a rwanda, a srebrenica? if that's the world people want to live in, they should say so and reckon with the cold logic of mass graves." that was our president. that was the president of the united states. and i agree with every word of what he said. but how are we to reconcile these stirring words with the reality of these images from syria? how are we to explain how the leader of the free world who says that it is a moral obligation of the united states

to do what we can to prevent the worst atrocities in our world is not doing more to stop the atrocities that are occurring every single day in syria? where is that president obama today? where is the president obama who has spoken so movingly of the moral responsibilities that great power confers? where is president obama who said he refuse toss accept that brutal tyrants can slaughter their people with impunity while the most powerful nation in the history of the world looks on and stands by? where is the recognition that the -- quote -- cold logic of mass graves is right there, right in front of us, syria, today. yet our government is doing what we have sadly done too often in the past. we are averting our eyes. we try to comfort our guilty

consciences by telling ourselves that we're not doing nothing, but it is a claim made in bad faith where everyone concedes that nothing we are doing is equal to the horrors we face. we are telling ourselves that we are too tired or weary to get more involved, that syria is not our problem and that helping to resolve it is not our responsibility. we're telling ourselves we have no good options, as if there are ever good options when it comes to foreign policy in the real world. we're telling ourselves that we might have been able to do something at one point but that it's too late now, as if such words from the leader of the world's only global power will be any comfort for the syrian mother who will lose her child

tomorrow. we're telling ourselves what neville chamberlain once told himself about a different problem from hell in an earlier time. that is an equal, and i quote neville chamberlain, a quarrel in a foreign country between people of whom we know nothing. where is our outrage? where is our shame? it is true that our options to help in the conflict in syria were never good, and they certainly are worse and fewer now, but no one should believe that we are without options even now, and no one should believe that doing something meaningful to help in syria requires us to rerun the war in iraq. that is an excuse for inaction. that is not a question of options or capabilities. it is a question of will. these images of the human disaster in syria haunt me, and

they should haunt all of my colleagues and all americans. but what haunts me even more than the horror unfolding before our eyes in syria is the thought that we will continue to do nothing meaning bfl it and how that deadens our national conscience and how it calls into question the moral sources of our great power and the foundations of our global leadership and how many years from now an american president will stand before the world and the people of syria as previous presidents have done after previous inaction in the face of mass atrocities in faraway lands, and that president will say what all of us know to be true right now, that we could have done more to stop the suffering of others. we could have used the power we possess, limited though it may be, we could have exercised the

options at our disposal, imperfect though they may be, and we could have done something. it is to our everlasting embarrassment that we did not. and that future president will apologize for our current failure. shame on us if we let history