who are considering amendments to our bill to file them before the july recess. we would then be in a position, both of us, with our staffs to work with senators to clear as many amendments as possible for inclusion in a managers package and to begin identifying relevant amendments that would be likely to be contested. now, we believe if we can develop a list of a few relevant amendments that would require votes to start with when we first take up the bill, that it would help us in getting to the floor. i believe that's the case given the circumstances that the senate is in. we have an awful lot of work ahead of us. we don't have a long time to do it. and if we would be able to put together a proposal to the leaders that we have not only the bill, which is on -- obviously on the calendar that we've worked on a bipartisan basis to pass with a 25-vote majority, just minus one vote in

the senate, it would be our belief that this would have greater practical appeal to our leaders. and so we think this approach would enable us to reach unanimous consent as to an initial set of relevant amendments to be considered so that we could then move forward expeditiously when the senate turns to the bill. i hope our colleagues will help us in this matter. i think it's in everybody's interest, it's in the national security interest that we have a bill before us. we have to pass a bill in order to go to conference with the house or else we're put in the same kind of position we were in last year, where we just simply present what amounted to a conference report before a bill had ever been really debated in the senate. we and our staff, working with colleagues, put together what amounted to a conference report which was not a conference report in technical terms but was in effect the work product

of both the senate and the house and our committees by the process of negotiation. so our colleagues can be very helpful in getting this bill to the floor, meeting the concerns of our nation, doing what we should be doing for our troops and our families. and i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. inhofe: mr. president, first let me say that -- express my appreciation to the chairman, levin. you know, we hear a lot of talk about bipartisanship and people getting along and -- and that's usually just talk. in this case, it's real. i mean, we have a committee of democrats and republicans that are concerned about defending our nation with totally inadequate resources. we have -- i have to say that chairman levin has responded every time we've had some kind

of a controversial thing come up, so i really appreciate t. then our staff, -- appreciate it. and then our staff. peter levine, and jeff bonzo, the staff director for the minority. i have yet -- not been able to call them up when these issues come up and we've been able to get this done. and this is kind of unusual. this doesn't happen in the senate in very many committees. the ndaa and i believe have always said is the most important bill of the year. keeping in mind, we have actually passed one for 52 consecutive years. this is something that has to be done. now, we adopted the ndaa, national defense authorization act, on may 22, as the chairman said, 25-1. that doesn't happen very often around here. and it contains a lot of vital positions that we have to -- things we have to do and it's within the budget caps. so i think it supports the training of the troops, the

maintenance, the modernization, research and development and the pay and benefits. these are tough things to -- to -- to negotiate. we've done it. and we've already got it out on the floor and it's ready for -- for action. so i think that what we don't want to do is do what happened last year. last year we had a lot of them and we on the republican side were mostly guilty of wanting to have all these amendments. i think they're entitled to amendments. we've always -- we did a count last year on how many amendments on the average bill. something like 140 amendments. we didn't have near that many requested but we were able to get them in. if we start now, we could do that. so i want to tell my republica republicans, if they're -- i don't want to you come back and start complaining later on if we don't start getting amendments now so we can hash them out, find out what is acceptable, find out where the opposition would be. but we don't want to wait until the end of the year. it got so close last year, as we were approaching december

31st. we all know if we don't have a defense authorization bill by that time, you've got hazard pay that would be at risk, reenlistment bonuses that wouldn't be paid. and when you stop and think about the cost of these, right now if you were to hire a person and train them to be a -- an f-22 pilot, the cost is $9 million. however, the retention bonus for over a nine-year period would be $225,000. i mean, just look at the economics of it. we don't want that to happen now. , last year we were able to get -- we don't want that to happen. now, last year we were able to get a bill -- it was the first time i actually participated in a four -- actually, we had one no-somehow so there were three. three of us got together at a period of time and tried to consider all the amendments. most people were pretty satisfied with it but that's not the waste it's supposed to -- not the way it's supposed to happen. we're going to have a lot of amendments, we always do. the only way we're going to do this and get this bill out on

the floor. and i think it nesd kneads to be passed before the end of the fiscal year. so i invite my friends on both sides of the aisle to bring down their amendments. and, again, let me say how appreciative that i am personally of having worked with carl levin in this process and with the staff that has been so easy to work with and so competent and professional. mr. levin: if the senator would yield. the presiding officer: the senator from michigan. mr. levin: i want to thank senator grassley for his patience also. but let me just say that senator inhofe and his staff have worked extraordinarily well with us on this side of the aisle. it's a bipartisan bill. it's a bipartisan committee. and senator inhofe has helped in a very, very way to maintain this bipartisan tradition of our committee. i thank him for his remarks and i thank him and his staff and hope our colleagues to listen to what we are both are urging them to do. let us take a look at the

amendments now instead of waiting and waiting and waiting, because if we look at amendments now, we increase our chances of getting this bill to the floor earlier rather than later. i thank the presiding officer and i yield the floor. mr. inhofe: i yield the floor. mr. grassley: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: i come to the floor to address two issues, a shorter issue on immigration and a longer issue on the student loan program, particularly reference to the legislation that was offered earlier this morning. on immigration, this morning secretary johnson appeared before the judiciary committee. we had a chance to ask a number of questions related to the administration's release of 36,000 criminal aliens, for what reasons the department

voluntarily did release them and especially convicted murderers and what they're doing to track down and keep track of where these people are. i didn't get answers but the secretary committed to respond in writing about the matter, and i thank him ahead of time for doing that. i also asked about data on countries that refuse to cooperate in taking back their nationals. today i'm introducing a bill with senator inhofe to fix the situation and allow the government to detain foreign nationals that pose a threat to our homeland. i have already inserted a longer statement in the record on that issue. finally, i want to mention that the secretary of homeland security answered a lot of questions related to the unaccompanied children coming to the united states, mostly from

central america and entering our southern border. i agree with what -- i agree that we do have a humanitarian problem. these are vulnerable children whose lives are on the line. they're escorted by -- with strangers, for the most part, away from their families in some cases, and each of these young people probably not really understanding what lies ahead. when in custody, our government makes an attempt to reunite them with their families. however, sometimes the government is handing them over to the nonrelatives, which concerns me because of the potential of placing them in the hands of pimps and traffickers. as i said this morning in the committee, these children are being lured into these dire

circumstances by false promises. that's evident from the interviews being done with the children. already border agents and intelligence analysts have been interviewing youth to understand why they are migrating at this particular time. today i received a document that summarizes the findings of these interviews -- interviewers. the documents, while it does -- the document, while it does not have any author or official se seal, was apparently done to summarize the interviews of individuals crossing the border along the mcallen-rio grande city and wislosko stations. 230 subjects were interviewed from seven countries -- i should say several countries.

an overwhelming majority said it was -- that they were coming to the united states to take advantage of the new u.s. law that grants a free pass to unaccompanied children and female adults traveling with minors. that so-called free pass refers to a notice to appear document saying that their -- saying they are issued and then released on their own recognizance pending a hearing. now, there is no new law. there's a new bill that passed the senate a year ago but not through the house of representatives and may never be there, so there is no new law granting a free pass to unaccompanied children and female adults traveling with minors.

specifically, this report stat states -- quote -- "a high percentage of the subjects interviewed stated their family members in the united states urged them to travel immediately because the united states government was only issuing immigration free passes until the end of june 2014." it states -- the report states that -- quote -- "the issue of free passes was the main reason provided by 95%, plus or minus, of the interviewed subjects. so while i understand there are a lot of factors involved, we cannot ignore the fact that these children are coming or being forced here because of a belief on their part that they will never be deported. and we can say that that's

thanks to the obama administration because this administration has refused to be serious about immigration enforcement. the president needs to send a signal then right away if he wants to stop this catastrophe from happening that the laws will be enforced. instead of reviewing deportation policies and suggesting ways to remove fewer people, the president should task secretary johnson with finding ways to actually enforce the laws that we have on the books. we must send a very strong signal that there is no benefit and no avenue for them to remain in the united states. we must do this so that the children are not lured into dire situations in the future. and even before they cross the border into the united states, they're probably already in

things we would consider a dire situation. now, on another subject, mr. president. in fiscal year 2014, the u.s. department of education will make about $112 billion in federal direct loans to studen students. the federal government already holds more than $1 trillion in student loan debt. so that makes the u.s. department of education one of the country's largest lenders. total student loan debt in the united states is now second only to mortgage debt and about 90% of all student loans happen to be issued by the federal government. so when elected officials say that we have a student loan crisis because too many students owe more than they can afford to repay, we have to keep in mind

who it was and is that made those loans to students in the first place. it was, in fact, uncle sam. what is one of the first things that a federal regulator looks at when a private bank issues a loan? they look at whether the bank has confirmed the ability of the borrower to repay. federal student loans are given out without a credit check or any analysis of the student's ability to repay the loans in the first place. the fastest growing category of student loans is federal unsubsidized student loans which are given out regardless of need. that means that students across the country get an award letter from their college saying that they are eligible for thousands of dollars in federal loans,

even though in many cases they may not need all of those loans to cover their tuition and other costs. colleges are required to offer the full amount of federal student loans for which the student is eligible, even if a financial aid counselor at that university knows that a student is borrowing more than the student needs and even if that counselor realizes that there will be trouble repaying. if a private bank, now, followed this same tactics and gave out loans on these terms, that bank would be accused of predatory lending. these easy money policies may even be helping fuel tuition increases, which then, obviously, makes the problem even worse.

a federal government trying to help students and at the same time maybe giving incentives to increase tuition actually is not helping that student in the long run. now, between federal student loan policies that effectively encourage overborrowing and the lack of good jobs for college graduates in this current economy, it's no wonder then so many college graduates find themselves in over their heads with student loan debt. unfortunately, for all the concerns we've heard expressed on the senate floor about excessive student loan debt, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle decided to play election-year politics with this issue rather than tackle any of the root causes of the problem. in fact, when it cams to

economic growth -- comes to economic growth and job creation, the first rule ought to be do no harm. by including yet another massive tax tax increase, the bill the senate declined to take up would only have added to the list of tax and regulatory burdens currently choking our economy. we should be intensely focused on removing burdens to economic growth, and as a result have some job creation. instead, the policies that we see from the other side of the aisle seem to be based on the old european model of accepting anemic economic growth and trying to make up for it with debt financed government handouts for as long as possible. now, i just referred to an old european model, because many countries in europe have already rejected this failed approach

and instead have sought to reform entitlements, cut spending, and reduce taxes. things that we ought to be doing right here in the united states. our goal should be to expand opportunities for young people and the middle class, and not add them to the welfare state. indensely, the president's recent so-called executive action on student loans shows that he shares the same outlook of assuming a stagnant economy for the foreseeable future. he's talking about making people who graduated years ago retroactivively -- retroactively eligible for programs enacted in 2010 that allows students to lower their monthly payments if they have a lower income. first of all, that happens to be a very transparent admission

that many students who graduated near the beginning of president obama's first term in office still don't have good-paying jobs halfway through the second term. what he doesn't tell you is that when you lower your student loan payments, you will pay off your loan more slowly, and obviously accumulate more interest. in other words, you will eventually end up paying a lot more to uncle sam than you otherwise would have. when banks were offering adjustable rate or interest-only mortgages, they were criticized for taking advantage of borrowers who would be faced with bigger payments down the road. the pay-as-you-earn program may be useful short-term tools for those in real distress, but it will cost every one of them in the long term. that is, assuming you ever get

a job that pays well. however, the second part of the program says that if you still haven't found a job that pays well enough to pay off your loan after 10 years, your loans will be forgiven if you work for the government or a nonprofit or after 20 years if you work in the private sector, which apparently is considered less worthwhile. and who foots the bill when these people get their loans forgiven? the american taxpayers will pay for those people's college loans. creighton university professor ernie goss has analyzed the president's plan and thinks it is a poor use of taxpayers' funds. this is what he said -- quote -- "a lot of these men and women that are out there working don't have kids in college, won't have kids in college, and it's a big transfer of income to those of us who have university

educations or particularly those of us who are in university education" -- end of quote. so increasing federal subsidies for colleges at the expense of the american taxpayers who work hard to pay for their own bills just encourages colleges to keep increasing tuition. furthermore, expanding a program designed to help student loan borrowers who still can't afford their student loan payments 10 or 20 years after graduation looks a lot like planning for further economic stagnation typical of the last four or five years rather than focusing on improving economic growth and resultant job creation. the political messaging bill the senate declined to take up today would also do nothing to address

the problems of student loan borrowing more than they will be able to afford to repay in the first place. now, i have a bill that will help with that problem. the higher education act already contains a requirement for colleges to provide counseling to new borrowers of federal student loans. however, the current disclosure in the law do not -- those disclosures do not do enough to ensure that students understand what kind of debt they will face after graduation. my bill that i have entitled know before you owe federal student loan act strengthens the current student loan counseling requirements by making the counseling of an annual requirement before new loans are disbursed rather than just for

first-time borrowers. my bill then adds several key components to the information institutions of higher education are required to share with students as part of loan counseling. perhaps most significantly, college would have to provide an estimate of the student's projected loan debt-to-income ratio upon graduation. this would be based on the starting wages for that student's program of study and the estimated student loan debt the student will likely take out to complete the program. that way, students will have a very real picture of the student loan payments that they will face and whether they will be able to afford those payments with their likely future income. students will also be provided with information about the higher risk of default if they have a projected loan debt-to-income ratio greater

than 12%. they will be told that they should borrow only the minimum amount necessary to cover expenses and do not have to accept the full amount offered. students will be given options for reducing borrowing through scholarships, reduced expenses, work study or other work opportunities. because adding an extra year of study can significantly increase student loan debt, an explanation will be provided about the importance of graduating on time to avoid additional borrowing and the impact of adding another year of study to the total indebtedness. finally, the bill requires a student manually enter in writing or through electronic means the exact amount of the

student loan funding the student desires to borrow. the current process almost makes borrowing the maximum amount the default option. if you want to less than you borrow, you have to ask for less. students may wrongly assume the federal government has determined this is the appropriate amount to borrow when in fact the government doesn't know anything about that student's situation. surely the federal government would not lend them more than they could afford to repay, right? no, that's wrong. this provision will ensure that students make a conscious decision about how much they borrow rather than simply accepting the total amount the federal student loans for which they are eligible. i should add that good college financial aid counselors can and do advise students not to borrow

more than they need but the process itself needs to be reformed to give them the proper tools. in fact, the reforms that i've outlined were inspired by efforts already underway in my home state of iowa. grand view university, des moines, iowa, has a financial empowerment plan where students and families construct a comprehensive four-year financing plan. under this plan, borrowing is based on the student's future earning potential in the student's field of study. the four-year plan also helps ensure students graduate on time, and tuition is capped at 2% a year over those four years. iowa student loan, our state-based nonprofit lender, also has a program called student loan game plan, which is an outline, interactive

resource that calculates a student's likely debt-to-income ratio. it walks students through how their borrowing will affect their lifestyle in the future and what actions they can take now to reduce their borrowing. so as a result in the past year, over 15% of the students who participated decreased the amount that they had planned to borrow by an average of $2,536, saving iowa students over $1 million in additional loan debt. finally, my own alma mater, the university of northern iowa, has a program called live like a student program. this involves a number of resources to help students learn to manage their finances better, including three-week courses, one on one counseling

and workshops. we often tell prospective college students they will earn on average $1 million more over their lifetime. it's true that college is generally a good investment. however, when students' academic creams dreams become a nightmare and usually upon graduation that happens because they borrowed more from the the federal government than they can afford to repay on their starting salary, they understandably feel they have been had, and by whom, their own government. the federal government as the lender making these loans then has a responsibility to at least ensure that students know what they are getting themselves into before they get in over their heads. this legislation that i described to you that will be introduced will do that.

so i would urge my colleagues to take a look at that piece of legislation. i would ask them to support it, join as a cosponsor, so collectively we can help prevent more students drowning in the federal student loan debt. i yield the floor. mr. whitehouse: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. whitehouse: mr. president, i appreciate very much the efforts of senator mccain and senator sanders to get the v.a. health care bill through the senate. however, it was somewhat disappointing how abrupt and abbreviated the amendment process was; to wit, there was none. and, as a result, i think some very good amendments never had their chance to be considered.

and one of them was mine, and i would like to discuss it briefly, because i think it's something that the senate should pursue. i would note that everybody i spoke to about it -- republican and democratic alike -- liked the amendment and thought it made sense. so let me describe it. a little background: some time ago, as we entered the computer age, we figured out that there were better ways to maintain health records than in cardboard file folders stuffed away in file drawers. and one of the leaders at solving that problem of lost information buried in file folders was the veterans administration. they developed one of the best electronic health records in the country. and for years they were leaders in the technology of electronic health records. and to that day, the v.a.

electronic health record system is one that they can be proud of. it has one flaw, and that flaw is that it's limited to veterans administration medical facilities and veterans administration medical providers. so if a veteran in rhode island is walking through providence and trying to cross the plaza in kennedy square and gets hit by a vehicle and rushed to the rhode island hospital emergency room, the rhode island hospital emergency room has no access to that veteran's electronic health record. now, at the same time, a number of states have really stepped up to not only have electronic health records but to have a hub that exchanges the information in an electronic health record, so that when you go to get an m.r.i., or when you go to see a specialist, or when you're taken to the emergency room, or when

you have a lab test, the results of that encounter are loaded automatically into your electronic health record that. can only work if you have the whole system -- that can only work if you have the whole system pulled together. now you have the difficult situation that there are states that are building an information network for health records and the veterans administration, which has one of the best electronic health records in the country isn't participating in that local effort to tie the medical system together for the benefit of local folks. and that's an oversight that needs to be corrected. and my amendment would encourage and support the veterans administration in taking its electronic health records and connecting them to the information exchanges that are growing. in rhode island, it's called

current care. it's run by the rhode island quality institute. it does a phenomenal job. we are reaching out to veterans to do it voluntarily. but it's been a real chore to work with the veterans administration to move this along. it's taken an enormous amount of time, despite the good will of the people involved -- the goodwill of the people involved. and there have not been much in the way of resourcesessourceses- resources available. we've had to go to charitable and nonprofit resources to try to fund this which doesn't make sense. it is particularly important on this bill, where we're providing more out-of-network access for veterans, more ability to go to doctors who will not be in the electronic health record network. in that case, it's even more important that we try to connect the very good electronic health record of the veterans administration with these emerging electronic health record information networks.

it simply is leaving veterans behind to leave them out in these circumstances. so i hope that i'll have the chance to move this legislation on some other vehicle, but i have to say, as important as this bill was, it was disappointing that a piece of legislation as simple as mine, an amendment that i think would have enjoyed extraordinary bipartisan support, probably would have been one that was agreed to in a voice vote, never had the chaiens to see the light of -- the chance to see the light of day because, as i said, of the apreeiveiatio abbreviatid abruptness of the amendment process. i yield the floor.

brume blummr. blumenthal: mr. p? the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. blume thank you. --mr. blumenthal: thank you. i want to begin by thanking a number of our colleagues, especially our good friends and very active members of this body, senator sanders and mccain for acting in a very bipartisan and courageous way to enable us to reach a compromise and vote on a truly historic step fiewrksd a forward, as we y

to bring to a close the crisis -- the beginning of bringing to an end this crisis in our health care system in the v.a. i also want to thank my colleague from rhode island for his amendment, and i hope that it has support in some form, as it deserves, and others do as well, in this process because, as commendable as the bill is, certainly it does not solve all of the problems in the v.a. health care system, let alone the v.a. let's recognize that the disability claims backlog persists. the bureaucratic rigmarole and sclerotic bureaucracy of the v.a. in many parts of the country continue to plague our veterans. and we need to recognize that

top-to-bottom the v.a. needs an overall in its culture as well as its management. but this bill represents a good-faith and effective way to respond initially, the beginning of a solution to a health care crisis that is decades-long in building. the delays in the v.a. health care system are well-known and longstanding. i spend a lot of time as a member of the veterans' affairs committee, as well as the armed services committee, in listening to veterans. i have a veterans advisory council that gives me extraordinarily insightful and important advice. i make a point of visiting the v.a. health care facilities all around connecticut, and i spend a lot of time in places where veterans gather, such as the veterans of foreign wars and with the american legion and many others, and listening to them is a faith source of -- isr

source of information for me in forming my judgment about what should be done about the v.a. health care system. what i hear from them, most commonly, is the health care is good, but it takes too long to get it. the doctors and the nurses and health care providers do very good work, but it takes too long to see them. the delays are what our veterans find most troubling about this system. and what we've seen, as disclosed first by cnn and then others, is not only delays but false record keeping to disguise those delays. and falsification of documents and lists to hide a failure to meet deadlines.

in fact, to provide timely care. that kind of falsification of records and destruction of documents and, in effect, cooking the books and then covering it up goes beyond simply delaying health care; it is, in effect, a form of fraud. and we've taken a first step here to meet the immediate needs and help end the delays. this bill will enable veterans to seek private health care at private facilities or private clinics or private hospitals, if thethey have to wait too long or live too longway to make use of the v.a. facilities -- too long away to make use of the v.a. facilities. it also provides more doctors and fill the 400 vacancies that exist right now. that resources are important not

only to provide more providers but also to rebuild and renovate and construct new health care facilities. and in providing more resources, this bill will also aid 26 v.a. facilities, such as the arera clinic and facility in west haven. it also imposes accountability. it makes sure that officials in the v.a. who are incompetent or corrupt can be fired more easily and that bonuses or promotions can be stopped for those officials who betray the trust. and it shows that what's necessary here is more money and better management, not one or the other; both together are necessary to really serve our veterans with the health care they deserve, which is first-class, world-class health care, nothing less.

that's what our nation's heroes truly deserve, and more and more of them will be making use of that health care. 2 million more over the past five years and millions more over the next five years. that burden is not something to be addressed at the margins. it has to be addressed head-on and fully and generously, because that's the promise we made to our veterans: first-class, world-class health care; nothing less. let me close by sthaig -- let me by saying that accountability means more than firing officials. it means holding them responsible for criminal culpability, when they cook the books, in effect, lie to the americaamerican people as well o their sponsors. and that will require a criminal investigation by the department

of justice, which is the only law enforcement agency that has the resources and expertise and authority to conduct a prompt and effective criminal investigation on the scope and scale that is required here. there are more than 50 locations where evidence of criminal culpability has been found. 13% of v.a. schedulers have indicated to the auditors that they were coerced or threatened into adopting, in effect, improper practices. another 8% kept secret or unofficial lists, and many at those facilities and others may have cooked the books. i'm not jumping to conclusions. i'm not rushing to judgment. that's why an investigation is necessary and appropriate. only the department of justice can convenient convene a grand.

the v.a. inspector general has 165 investigators for the whole country, and that is not enough. that is simply not sufficient for this investigation. the v.a. is overwhelmed and overworked in its health care facilities, in the caseloads, the needs that v.a. clients and patients are bringing to these facilities. the v.a. does some things very well. when it comes to amputees, post-traumatic stress and brain injuries, many injuries associated with the battlefield, combat medicine is more advanced than it's ever been before. they are part of a very aggressive effort to increase and make more efficient health care delivery to that population.

but the population of veterans who have fought in the longest wars in our history, although they may be a smaller part of our population than before in our wars, have been through multiple deployments, many of them, and they deserve the kind of intensive and comprehensive health care that the v.a. has committed to provide. and that will take more resources. this bill is a beginning. it's only a down payment on what we owe our nation's finest and bravest. we owe them the best that we can provide in health care. nothing less. that's part of what we promised and that promise must be fulfilled. thanks to the action of this body today, we've begun on that path. i urge the house of representatives to adopt this measure and to help us fulfill that promise. and i hope they will do it soon.

thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be terminated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i now ask unanimous consent that on thursday, that's tomorrow, june 12, at 11:30, the senate proceed to executive session and -- for the purposes of consideration calendar number 523 under the previous order. further, that following

disposition of that nomination, the senate proceed to consideration of a vote on calendar 710, 782, and 776. further, that if any nomination is confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid on the table with no intervening action or debate, no further motions be in order to the nominations, any statements related to the nominations be printed in the record and the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to calendar number 244, s. 1681. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 244, s. 1681, a bill to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2014 for intelligence and intelligence related activities and so forth and for other purposes. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure.

the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: mr. president, did the chair accept the passage of this calendar number 244? the presiding officer: the senate has proceeded to the measure. mr. reid: okay, the motion to proceed to it. okay. that -- we can do that. that will be fine then. that will be okay.

mr. reid: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to -- oh, i'm a little ahead of myself, which is such a surprise. mr. president, i further ask consent the substitute amendment which is at the desk be agreed to, the bill as amended be read a third time and the senate proceed to vote on passage of the bill as amended. the presiding officer: without objection. if there's no further debate, all those in favor say aye.

those opposed? the ayes appear to have it. the ayes have it. the bill, as amended, is passed. reimr. reid: reid the language f title 4 of s. 1681 as amended, the senate proceed to the consideration of the resolution, that the resolution be agreed to and the motion to very are made and laid on the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed s. res. 471. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 471, honoring former president george h.w. bush on the occasion of his 90th birthday and barbara bush on the occasion of her 89th birthday and extending the best wishes of the senate to former president bush and mrs. bush.

the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider considered made and laid on the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask we proceed to s. res. 472. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 472, honoring dr. james schlessinger, former secretary of defense, secretary of energy and director of the intral intelligence. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent when the senate complete its business today it adjourn until tomorrow at 89:30 a.m., june 12, following the prayer and pledge, the journal be approved, the morning business deemed expired, the journal of

proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two leaders reserved for use later in the day and the senate 24 a period of morning business until 10:30 with senators permitted to speak therein for ten minutes each with republicans controlling the first 30 minutes and the majority controlling the next 30 minutes. at 10:30 the senate proceed to executive session to provide calendar number 533 under the previous order. and the batta nomination, the senate be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for ten minutes each with the time equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. at 1:45 the senate proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 769 as provided under the previous order. finally upon disposition of the fischer nomination the senate resume legislative session. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: so, mr. president, there will be a series of votes at noon tomorrow and another series at 1:45 p.m. tomorrow.

if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask the senate stand in adjournment. the presiding officer: the the presiding officer: the

this is a common sense bill that would help more than 500-2000 but minnesota's who have student at. that is a lot of people. student debt has become a macro economic issue and in our country. you can refinance a home on. you can refinance a car loan, you can refinance business debt. why not allow the 44 million people in america to refinance their student at? i have been doing college

affordability round tables from the moment i got into the senate. it is very different for people now than it was when i went to college. i met my wife my freshman year of college. she lost her father when she was 18 months old leaving her mom widowed with five children aged 29. every one of those kids has made it into the middle class. my brother-in-law went to the coast guard. all four girls went to college. the debt and a combination of pell grants and scholarships. up held grant at that time paid almost 80 percent of the public college education. now it pays less than 35%. these kids have to take out loans. the, democrats, increased the level of programs in 2010 when

we went to direct loans, saved $60 billion. if you go to college round table these days these kids have this load of debt and are working 20, 30, 40 hours a week will going to college. we got 57. the castle. this was not a political stunt. helping millions and millions and millions of americans and doing it in no way that just made sense. and i once the laws of this and i have been working on this.

i have known those with now for nynex and years. >> seems like water. [laughter] >> to you, maybe. and i think -- thank her for her lead on this. it was too bad. i think we will revisit this. we will revisit this. it will get done. >> thank you. no one could ask for a better partner on this. we have been working hard, all democrats have been working hard, and i stand here with those. you know, today is a good day for billionaires', for the 40 million people dealing with student on that it was not such a good day. this raises the fundamental question, who does washington work for? does it work for those who can hire armies of lobbyists to make sure that every single loophole is the tax code is protected or

does it work for young people who are trying to get started and live? despite bipartisan support for this bill the republicans voted to block it. i want to be clear in this process. we have said over and over and over to the republicans, just give us a chance to talk about it. if there is something you don't like, come in and not talk about it. give us a chance to get the support of the united states senate in debate this bill. if you want to offer an amendment, let's talk about what that would be. republicans have said they don't like howard is paid for, closing tax loopholes on billionaires'. if they have an alternative plan to bring it forward. that is will be asked for. we have three republicans who acknowledged that there is a serious problem with student loan debt, and it is time to refinance and give those kids a

fighting chance to move forward. it is time to have a fair shot in building their economic futures. the republicans said no and decided to block it. the way i see this is that we are not giving now. after all, we did get bipartisan support today, and we still have 40 million americans out there who are trying to deal with over a trillion in student loan debt. homeowners are refinancing. small businesses are refinancing we just want young people to have their shot and refinancing. we are going to keep working. democrats are going to keep working. we will pull in as much brought by -- broad bipartisan support as we can. we will prove that washington can work for american families. you do not have to have an army of lobbyists to get your weight. what the people care about is getting a fair shot, and we are

going to give it to them. thank you. >> today's vote is part of an ongoing pattern. it is a memo from the house and senate republicans to middle-income and working families across america off. the memo is very short. the issue, raising the minimum wage. the issue, gender fairness in the workplace. the issue, an employment benefits. the issue, refinancing dollars loans. a message to republicans and working families in america, get lost. get lost. today 20,000 millionaires one on the floor of the u.s. senate and 25 million people who are paying off student loans lost. it was a decision by the republicans not to even join us in the debate about whether or not we should refinance college and student loans across america people say, well, this is an

off-year election. historically that has been true almost every time. i want to tell you something. unfortunately we are creating a very strong message. whose side are you on? when it comes to voting for working families, middle income families, tried to do something. we have created the agenda of opportunity which the republicans have stopped at every stage. they did it again today. i don't know how many republican senator can go back to their home state. you pick a college campus, invite the students to come out and justify a no-vote they use some cast on the united states senate today. i have met with the students and their families. it is heartbreaking. we need bipartisan cooperation on this issue.

>> first, i would like to thank elizabeth warren, al franken, jack reed, john larkin. this is going to come back several times and it will pass. the american people feel so strongly about it. now, we know there are anglers. i would argue there is far more anger immigration reform, even 72 percent of the people were for immigration reform. have not seen polling data. without question the bottom line is simple. people out there on the hard right. we are aimed at average folks,

and we have a broad support of the american people. that is going to play well for us as we move toward november. that is the bottom line. the republicans are making a huge mistake, a far greater mistake than on almost any other issue. up to now on the house and immigration, including immigration. and so we are going to keep at it. this is vital to america. 40 million people who have loans at exorbitant is to cut interest rates are hoping that our entire economy, the anchor around our economy cabals. the delayed buying a car. the delay starting in the business. in may even delay starting a family. one final point. our republican colleagues have revealed their true colors today

they say they block bills because we would not allow amendments. on this one recent show us your eminence. we are open to whatever proposals he sure was. it did not even try to get on the bill. there are so much afraid of hurting the millionairess. even more so as having the government do good for people that they just run away from it. don't let the excuse of amendments for you. they are against having the government help average people. we are for the government helping average people. we will see which side prevails. >> this is really a sad day for america. it is a really sad day for a lot of people across this country who are counting on us to do the right thing to much help them have a fair shot rarely and our

political careers alysian issue that crosses some in the lines, ages, men and women, single and married people. every event i have been to every laura had been for quite a while now and i talked with the issue of student loan debt. what are you going to do? they're worried about how they will send them to college because they themselves are still paying back their roster and loans. we have a budgetary last week that a really highlighted the economic impact of this this is an issue that resonates it's a sad day when the republicans think that is a political issue.

this is a political issue. a young woman who set all the live of low-income family. the need teachers steakhouse signals caution. she has been struggling to pay back as soon mom's boston's three jobs at the time. her dream job of teaching our kids. this is what we're doing the families. this is not a political issue. this is a real economic issue. i say to my leader and every one year, as we all have agreed, this is not the end. we will keep fighting because it is the right thing to do. >> questions. >> the outcome of the primary in virginia.

>> my personal feeling is no. i think there is such a wide support for this legislation, and it is live. all over the country is the same thing the speaker has a very easy decision to make as far as i'm concerned. john mccain came out and said on less lead to the immigration reform, tom donahue said there is no need to run anybody for president on a republican side. i believe the glasses more than half full. >> administration leverage. >> you should ask him.

>> possibility for democrats to over nationalizes resolve. the far right. do you worry that they might. [inaudible] >> i believe the republicans should believe in it and the gramm. part of a gang of eight. he never backed down to one backed up and kept going for it. south carolina is not known as a price of state. we cannot over analyze what has taken place. here is right here.

we know who he is now. the republican party has been paying too much attention to wall street and not enough attention to main street. >> they interpret this as more conservative. >> i don't think it took this situation have the republicans be afraid of their own shadow. we need more republicans who are lindsay gramm. a very conservative man. i have worked with him on a number of issues. some of the most important legislation down in history --

during my many decades year in congress, done by people now. they did something of a bipartisan basis. i think that we should do the right thing and not be worried about who is nothing on her heels. >> did you feel he was a good and trust with initiating partner? >> we talked on a number of occasions. the first one i called. everyone knows. a wonderful man that i think he is. the first one i called. won't you help me get a congressional gold medal. i have always had good relations . >> work with the republican

leaders. >> i think that is a decision that they have to make. we don't have a problem. i think that if they were -- they should ease off and try to let things move a little bit. the same thing every year. rafsanjani as we have all set up here today student loan debt, higher than credit card debt. the united states senators of said. it is our in our country. people cannot -- people are not getting married. they're discussing what are not they should try to get an education. don't want to be burdened i think it is will the republicans, not us.

last question. [inaudible question] >> of the turnaround in the viejo was higher than two years ago. i think that is significant. but i think that they will have to take more analysis. we have done all the abundance. i stayed up last night someone might be reacting this stage is fair to say no one knows what happened. thank you very much. >> the day after losing his republican house press marry race majority leader eric cantor ellen is conference of the capitol today.

house majority leader eric cantor announced wednesday afternoon he will resign his post-game when. effective july 301st will be stepping down. his defeat has already touched off a massive scramble to replace some. kantor said he would back his fellow youngbear mccarthy if he runs for a leader with his full support. that is from roll-call. you can watch the news conference at our website. >> we will need to learn how to work together, how to compromise , how to make pragmatic decisions. in the upcoming midterm elections americans will have choices to make about which path they want to go out and whether it will make the investments we need in our people. i will leave the discussion

others. but for a lot of fuss in the private and nonprofit sectors we have work to do. government does not have a monopoly on good ideas obviously. even if it wanted its contention try to solve the problems by itself. we have responsibility to do what we can. >> hillary clinton's latest book called hard choices about her time as secretary of state and our experiences their share purview of the future friday live on c-span2. once book tv coverage of secretary : starting a 6:00 p.m. eastern fallen seven morning. both events will be airs saturday night. >> david cameron was asked about extremism and schools and

passport delays. this is 35 minutes. northern ire economy in northern ireland. >> questions to the prime minister. >> number one, mr. speaker. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i'm sure the whole hous wll >> join me in wishing the english the very best, the very best of british before their first world cup game this saturday in brazil. mrmr. speaker, this morning i hd meetings with ministerial colleagues and others, and in addition to my duties in this house, i shall have further such meetings later today. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i wish the football team in the world cup -- [laughter] >> less than a quarter of people who have applied for the new independence payment have received decisions. if we continue at this rate it's going to take more than 40 years

to get to the point where everyone gets a say. does the prime minister think that's acceptable, and what is he going to do about it? >> first of all, it's important when we introduced these new benefits that we make sure it is done in a way that works well. so i would say it's very important not to have an artificial deadline of replacing one benefit with another. the whole point about the personal independence payment is it is more accurate and more targeted than disability living allowance. it will need more help for those with the greatest disabilities and are determined we get it right. >> would've the prime minister join me in congratulating the foreign secretary on organizing this weeks important global summit to end sexual violence, and agreed indeed it is time to act? >> i think it's huge credit to the foreign secretary for the work that he has done but also i'd like to pay tribute to all of the ngos across various

countries of the world who all come together for this extraordinary summit in london. it is absolutely vital that we never forget about the victims of sexual violence in conflict. this is something that is still far too prevalent in our world, but real advances have been made by having a declaration that countries are signing up to and then even more important, an action plan of how to gather evidence, prosecute the rockers are make sure they're properly punished while helping the survivors and listening to the testimony of survivors of yesterday in downing street was immensely powerful. >> mr. ed miliband. [shouting] >> mr. speaker, let me first join the prime minister in wishing the team the best of luck in the world cup. the whole of the country well i'm sure to be behind them. now thank you, everybody will have been concerned about what is been happening in certain schools in birmingham including girls being sent to the back of the class and the forced removal of head teachers. mr. speaker, at the heart of

this story is a failure of accountability locally and nationally. but the key question for parents is this. if there is a serious problem at their school, where do they go to get it sorted out? >> first of all let me echo what the right honorable member has said about how important is to get a grip on this issue. the problem of extremism in our school is series. the situation not just in birmingham and elsewhere is action is serious and i'm will be determined as is the home secretary, ma as it is of the education secretary, to make sure this is unacceptable in our country. people should be being taught in our schools in a way that makes sure they can play a full part in the life of our country. in terms of where you go to, if you're concerned about what is happening in your school, the first place to go is to the headteacher into the chair of government. and while i hope we can forge real unity across the house of

commons on combating islamist extremism in our schools, i hope that it isn't used as an agenda to try and knock down successful school formats, whether academies greater under the last government or free schools created under this government. >> mr. speaker, they're certainly a degree of common ground on what our kids are taught in schools and having a proper upholding of value but the prime minister said that people should go to the headteacher or the chair of governor. in this, in certain cases the headteacher was removed and the governing body was part of the problem. and the truth is it's a very hard question to answer as to who parents can go to because we have been incredibly fragmented school system where no one is properly responsible. now some of the schools, some of the schools are local authority schools and some of the schools are local authority schools, and some of the more academy. but what parents want is someone responsible on a day-to-day basis who can intervene quickly

now doere need tog .. be one service of accountability for all schools for the education of our children's? >> as i said the first protocol is the headteacher and the chair of governors. if people believe there is a real problem, there is one organization that has responsibility for checking standards in all of these schools and that, of course, is off state. that is why one, why it's a important what education sector has said about no notice inspection. with one of the opposition just asked is how can this happen quickly. it will happen quickly if it is no notice inspections. the point i would make to the eader of theop when it will happen quickly if n we have these inspections. the point i would make to the leader of the opposition is thia is an important debate. this is an important debate. if we are saying there is only one model of accountability that will work and some people in hia house believe the only model of accountability is local government accountability it is

worth making the point thatd earning ham city council failedn in their duty to these parents. >> indeed. when we look at what it was that caused action to happen it was only when the department of education was contacted and proper action was taken so yesan let's learn the lessonsd andrih listen to the permanentso secretary at the education department when it reports but let us learn the right lessons. >> ed miliband. >> is worth making the point and that's why i made the point thah only in the inspections they may happen only once every five years.e that's not the kind of system of accountability you need.d u here's the thing i think we should be able to agree on. nobody surely believes the department of education can rob 20,000 schools from one. i didn't think you could possibly really believe that but nobody is even your are going --

arguing to go back to local authority system. in the meantime. in the meantime -- isn't it time if they would just listen to the question. isn't it time for proper system of local oversight separate from councils responsible for standards at all schools to prevent what happened them birmingham happening elsewhere. >> i have to say i listened very carefully to the proposals but it sounds like creating a new local bureaucracy when we need to make sure that the resources are going into the schools for the teachers and the computers in the books and the equipment. and he says an obstinate inspection can only debate place every five years. the point about about these no notice inspections if we are going to get give this issue the attention it deserves the report and a suspicion are studded by these problems could result in an instant inspection and instant action. let me make just one other point

because it's often said that some of these new formats for schools, preschools or academies which i thought the body opposite still supported that they don't act as fast as local authority schools. in fact completely the opposite is the case read when there has been a problem and free school school -- preschools or conversion. categories -- many schools have been left in the failure for far too long. >> ed miliband. >> he has no answer on this question of accountability. is it realistic to do a centrally and inspections are not going to do the job. everybody knows it. mr. speaker i want to talk about the failures in education department. can he update the house on his latest estimate on the backlog of people and applications to be processed? >> the situation with the passport agency is extremely important that we get it right

because i understand people are anxious. they want to get their passport. they want to be able to go on holiday. let me give them the facts. we have 300,000 extra applications that is normal at this time of year. we have increased massively this staff. the level of applications outside the normal three-week limit is less than the 10% of that 300,000. >> ed millibanmilliband. >> mr. speaker the truth is that tens of thousands of people who are fine -- finding holidays are being canceled because they can't action get a passport. he said the increased resources of the passport agency is not the case. there are greater responsibilities in 2010 and fewer resources. will the prime minister tell us when did the government first know about this problem and hasn't has it been allowed to develop? >> the government has taken action to deal with this probles

gone past. we have 250 staff already redeployed to the frontline prioritizing all outstanding applications. that would allow for an extra 25,000 examinations weekly. he asked the questions. people will be concerned about this. they will want to hear the answers. >> that is certainly true and can i say to mr. robertson you do have something of a lion's roar. i can hear very clearly it's you and as for you mr. lucas i told you you need to go to some sort of therapeutic training course if you are to obtain the level of statesmanship to which you aspire. prime minister. >> the government has made sure 250 extra staff deployed longer opening hours of the passport office seven nights seven days a week 650 extra help staff to support customers in the home secretary has been asked today that new offices will be opened in liverpool next week with

additional 100 staff. the home office have been -- from the very start that it begins with 300,000 extra people applying for passports compared with the previous time last year. those are the actions that have been taken. i hope you will be careful not to try and frighten people in the way he did with his opening question. >> ed miliband. >> mr. speaker he says the government is sorting out the problem but there are tens of thousands of people that we understand are waiting for their applications to be processed. we are finding that the holidays are being canceled. the truth of the picture this government is we have the home secretary fighting with the application secretary and not paying attention to the business of government. and here's the thing mr. speaker to add insult to injury people are being told if they want their applications processed in the three-week target they have to pay 55 pounds extra. can the prime minister get a grip on the situation and tell

families when is the backlog going to be cleared? >> we will be clearing this backlog not least because we are not wasting time with a national identity cards here. from the party opposite. isn't it interesting, isn't it interesting mr. speaker not a word about the unemployment figures. he simply cannot bear the fact that in our country we have now got 2 million more people who work in the private sector. he cannot stand the fact that unemployment has gone up yet again. he is absolutely allergic to good news because he knows that as our economy gets stronger he gets weaker. >> thank you mr. speaker. it's now 28 years since the devastating accident happened in chernobyl and the effects are still being felt today particularly by children. last year we cease to supply --

two children from the affected reasons for respiratory care where many were dying. will you look at our policy since charging for these visas we have seen a 50% reduction in these young people being able to come to the u.k.. >> i'm happy to look at the casey raises and we all remember the appalling incident that took place at chernobyl in the long-term effects that it had on people. obviously we charge for visas because we have to cover the cost of the visa operations to make sure we are protecting ourselves from people who shouldn't come here but to come here and that's important but i'll look carefully at what he said and perhaps i will write to him. >> mr. speaker will the prime minister agree with me that now more than ever we need to defend our efforts to build a strong robust civil society? 100 years ago the war broke out that killed 60 million young men and devastated communities. the lack of active participation in politics is declining

rapidly. at least 34% of the people voted in the recent euro elections. cannot he agree with me to meet on a cross party basis to look at citizenship in this country in a serious way so we can look at how we build a society that encourages active citizenship? >> i agreed with the right honorable gentleman says. the turnout in some of these elections is depressing. these institutions are rather distant from the relevance of them. of course i'm happy to look at what he says about citizenship but i would report -- prefer that we put our resources and effort into practical programs things like national citizen service which is i think now a superb service that many young people are taking part in so they can see the importance of engaging in the communities and engaging in the world. that will lead among other things to greater political participation. >> will the prime minister

germany and welcoming the 2 million new private-sector jobs. jobs that have been created since 2010. will he continue with the long-term economic -- will go up. >> my honorable friend this is an important milestone that we have reached which is there are now 2 million more private-sector jobs than when this government came to office. that is 2 million reasons for sticking to the long-term economic plan that we have set out. can i thank them particularly for the work he has done for his constituency in terms of running job club after job club to help make sure the businesses that need more workers are put in touch with the people looking for a job. it's a vitally important service that members are delivering and he is leading the way. >> mr. speaker given the revelation about the prerogative of mercy granted in at least 16 cases related to terrorism in the days and weeks immediately following the belfast agreement

stretching back to the 1980s with the prime minister agreed in the interest of transparency and not the least ineffectiveness and ireland -- here in britain itself that he should be intervening to ensure that the circumstances of these exercise prerogatives for mercy should be revealed as it is in the rest of the united of the united kingdom so people know the facts of these cases? >> i will look at seau is to very carefully at what the honorable gentleman says about this but what i would say is the last government to have to make difficult decisions try to get the peace process started on track and working. i don't want to unpack all of those decisions or second-guess those difficult decisions. in northern ireland we have difficulties in many issues that still need to be settled but we have the basic architecture of devolution and historic parties

working and i don't want to put that at risk. >> thank you mr. speaker. today's employment figures show that unemployment in kingsley is down by 37% since 2010. in kingswood since 2012 i have held a job as advertising hundreds of local jobs. just some of the 2 million private-sector jobs have been created since this government but there are still more to do. together with the kingswood job center i launched the kingswood challenge today where local business leaders will be paired with local people looking for work to provide support. speak and i think my honorable friend for what he is doing in terms of these job fairs to put people who want work in touch with businesses and this is absolutely key because there is no complacency on the side of the house. youth unemployment long-term unemployment, we still need to remove the scourges from our country. we have a goal of full employment and the way we will

achieve that goal is not simply through a growing economy growing faster than other countries in the g7 but also making sure we help people and train people and get them all that's necessary to get a job and add security and stability into their lives. >> thank you mr. speaker. shockingly one in three children in the northeast are now living in prague -- poverty. significantly to out of three young people who were living in poverty are living and working households now. with the prime minister agree with me that something has gone wrong with regard to child property and can he see it, please please tell me where it all went wrong in the first place. >> what i would say to the honorable gentleman is the best route out of poverty is work and if we look at the northeast of the number of people employed in the northeast is up at 47,000

over the last year. that is what is happening in the northeast. i know that labor wanted to have this narrative in our country but let me give them some facts. inequality is at its lowest since 1986. there are 300,000 fewer children in child poverty than when i became prime minister. there are half a million fewer people in relative poverty than at the election. that is what is happening but above all. >> mr. campbell when you are eating curry in the pending 10 ken derrig you don't yell across the restaurant. do not yell across the floor of this house. prime minister. >> what we need to do is tackle the causes of poverty underachievement at school homelessness lack of fork drug addiction. that is what drives his government. that is what we are dealing with in their 250,000 fewer children in failing schools than when this government took office. >> mr. allen reed. >> mr. speaker it has taken

longer to carry out assessments for applicants of disability benefits than people living elsewhere. this is because they are reluctant to send assessors a distance. i'm sure the prime minister will agree this is unacceptable but he must not discriminate against people living this way and must receive their assessments as people in the rest of the country. >> obviously there are challenges and particularly far-flung rural constituencies like his with violence within it. we have to make sure that those people get their assessments properly carried out. these assessments are important. the whole point of our program is we don't want to leave people on unemployment or other benefits year after year. we want these assessments properly carried out so we can see whether they are applicable for benefits and help many to get work. >> dr. allen whitehead. >> is at the prime minister's

intention to help people with the cost of renting their homes? to ban plastic eggs. do you perhaps not have any proposals in the first place? >> what this government is doing is making sure we build more houses. that is what we absolutely need to do to help either those that are renting or buying. yes we need greater transparency in terms of what letting agencies do and we are delivering that is part of our program. i'll believe a policy of more foreign controls which the royal institute discharging and letting agents themselves put up rents is --. >> mr. speaker hydraulic fitters cnc turner's mechanical engineers vehicle maintenance apprenticeships are just some of the real jobs for local people offered by jobs fairs.

with the news that 2 million private-sector jobs have been created since 2010 will the prime minister continued to support -- who are creating real jobs and quality apprenticeships? >> absolutely will and the point mineable friend makes is a good one. we are seeing a rebalancing of our economy. just this week seeing manufacturing figures with the growth in manufacturing. we have seen all those elements of gdp construction manufacturing growing and what we want to see is a recovery that is broadly based across the different sectors and every part of the country. when it comes to the figures today you can see pay levels in industries like manufacturing and services rather than financial services on the rise. >> thank you very much mr. speaker. my uncle said people in the european have not yet felt any sense of recovery rate today the own as confirmed in the northeast full-time workers are

worse off than they were last year. does the prime minister agree with this inequality? >> the point it would make to the honorable lady is like i said there were 47,000 more people in work in the northeast and there they were a year ago. what that needs to be followed by are the tax reductions that this government is bringing on to make sure we are better off in work. that is going to make a difference. >> mike freer. >> thank you mr. speaker. in my constituency they increased their turnover by 10% to over 2 billion pounds last year and increase their work more significantly contributing to the 2 million private-sector jobs. on top of that they have just been voted european family business of the year. will my right honorable friend join me in congratulating and

agree to visit a this success story? >> i'm sure i will be visiting my honorable friend's constituency and i believe they came with my and my visit to china where we were pushing. >> does as hard as we could. including getting them on the vital chinese equivalent to amazon to make sure that they make up an example. this is part of the success story and an export success story of our country. >> thank you mr. speaker. on monday i'm going to the united nations to address a number of member states and to present a cross party petition in support of the inclusion of the rights to healthy early childhood in the new post-2015 pollinium development goals. this petition has been signed by people from 117 countries around the world. can i therefore ask the prime minister to support with his

efficacy and the support of his government this leadership by the united nations to create benefit for at least 200 million of the world's poorest children? >> i pay tribute to the right honorable lady in what she's doing in this area. britain is china played a leading role in making sure that the world has a good replacement for the millennium development goals and i came up with a report with others about what should be put in the place. at the heart of this was the idea of better maternal health and better health services particularly for women in childbirth rate i'm very happy to look at the proposal that she makes to make sure we put the full weight of the british government behind it. >> thank you mr. speaker. could i join my right honorable friend in wishing them every success but can i also raise one of the darker aspects of youthful gain? mr. speaker my constituents was

seriously assaulted while -- he was seriously injured. and as the prime minister what the steps the government is taking to ensure violence whether it occurs off the field or on the field is treated with equal seriousness and is never tolerated? >> my right honorable friend makes an important point which is above all of course we all support it but it's important that we crack down on all forms of bad behavior whether on or off the football pitch. referee should have the full protection of the law. i pay tribute to the fa for all the work they have done in terms of training but also explaining the importance of respecting good behavior in our game but we need more of that in the years to come. >> thank you mr. speaker. i'm afraid i may have nightmares this evening about the prime minister on his world tour.

on a much more serious note mr. speaker in scotland alone since the prime minister took office the number of people deporting forced into -- using loan sharks is up 57% and it's estimated that 85,000 people in scotland and that's a predicament. can i ask the prime minister what his government is going to do and does he think this is acceptable? >> first of all let me assure the the honorable lady that speedo makes shorts as well as they do. >> does. let me clear that mind. on this issue, look there is a series of issues that honorable members quite rightly raise that we need to properly tackled to make sure that we help everyone in our country benefit from economic recovery. on the minimum wage which was declining when i became prime minister it is now increasing.

zero hours contract nothing done on the glass government to get where the get where that get where the exclusivity. on payday lending nothing under the last 13 years now being properly regulated with a cap on payday lending. on minimum wage we have also major that the penalties in paying the minimum wage have quadrupled under this government. i'm absolutely determined to make sure that everyone who wants to work hard and do the right thing can benefit from the economic recovery now underway. see the prime minister must know that every member of this house collectively and gently shares a repugnance for the young woman sentenced to 100 lashes and the death penalty simply for wanting to practice her faith. will will my right honorable friend request the u.k. delegation to the united nations council on human rights to press the case that the concept is in direct in total conflict with article xviii of the united nations convention on human rights and will my right

honorable friend assure the house the sudanese government will be left in no doubt the accordance -- a bore and for which sentence is given. >> i completely share his abhorrence about the way this case has been treated and it's absolutely barbaric and has no place in this world. i confer we will be raising this case for the forthcoming human rights council. sudan is on the agenda at this council and i think we should bring the full weight of everything britain can do to make clear to the country in acceptable way this woman is being treated. >> with his cabinet split in his coalition fractured should he not be picking up the phones of roy hudson and asking for some tips on team discipline? >> i wouldn't want to offer roy too much advice but what i would

say about his government, what i would say about his government we have had the same chancellor for four years and we have had record growth in our country. we have had the same home secretary in our country and we have had record of crime in our country. we have the same education secretary and we have fewer children in failing schools. i say if you have a strong team with a strong plan and stick with the team stick with a plan and keep on putting it in the back of the net. .. independent inquiry on the model into organized child sexual abuse in this country. can he truly be satisfied that currently to investigations are sufficient for the public to

have confidence that we are both willing and able to get to the truth? >> i think my honorable friend makes a very important point and i've looked at this carefully with mr. collins because of course we have a series of inquiries taking place into what happened in various hospitals and care homes and, indeed, media organizations and i think it's important the government keeps a clear view about how these are being coordinated at how the lessons are being learned. if there is a need for anymore over arching process to be put in place i'm very happy to look at that but at the moment i think led by the home secretary and our colleagues we do have a proper view of what's happening at all of these organizations. >> analysis has shown the labour policy to allocate funding based on house needs actually reduced -- by 85%. why, why should the government scrap it?

>> what this government has done is actually to make sure that the public health budgets are properly -- and to deliver the money according to need to the various areas of the country. the only part of the country i am aware, where labour policy is put in place, is in wales where they haven't actually had a health target since about 1989, and were experts are saying people are dying because of the length of time they spend in waiting list. so issues concerned about labour health policy, i think that would be a good place to start. >> thank you, mr. speaker. youth unemployment today stands at 50, not a% of the total. and it is down 83%. it reflects the 2 million new private sector jobs great and so will my right honorable friend be building upon the success by providing more opportunities and skills with young people in our area by expanding apprenticeships? >> i think my honorable friend is absolute right that even

though 50 is a very small number of people to be young and unemployed, it is still 50 to me. are ambition and the next parliament should be to make sure that everyone has the chance either of going to university or taking on the petition and we leave out fully no one behind as they leave school and look for the stability and security that a future and work provides. >> thank you, mr. speaker. this government said it was going to recruit 11,000 reserves to make up for the cuts to the regular army. what in fact has happened is the number is declined since 2012. is -- if he continues to reside not only the passports but as for the example of governments in competence and, frankly, -- spent i'm afraid to say what we inherited in terms of defense is not only a 38 billion pounds black hole but a situation where the military reserves, where

they have been under resource and undervalued fo four years. we now have a five year program for building them up. the program is underway. it is gathering pace and what we're going to see is the strongest possible professional army with all of the best equipment that they could have and a very strong reserve force backing up, making sure