and later this week senators will take up a bipartisan job training bill. live now to the senate floor here on c-span2. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. eternal god, who spreads the lightning against the dark clouds, your name is holy.

your blessings continue to sustain this nation and all who labor for liberty. may our senators never take for granted their privilege to serve both you and country. give them such gratitude that their actions will reinforce their thanksgiving. lord, provide them with wisdom to become your hands, feet, and voice in these challenging times. be with those who support our lawmakers, particularly the family memebers who routinely sacrifice for america's good.

may these often unsung heroes and heroines know that you're aware of their faithfulness and will reward their efforts. we pray in your great name. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington d.c., june 23,2014. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable tim kaine,

a senator from the commonwealth of virginia , to perform the duties of the chair. signed: patrick j. leahy, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i move to proceed to calendar number 384, the hagan sportsman's act. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion. the clerk: s. 2363, a bill to protect and enhance opportunities for recreational hunting, fishing and shooting and for other purposes. mr. reid: mr. president, following my remarks and those of the republican leader the senate will be in a period of morning business until 5:30 p.m. today. following morning business the senate will proceed to executive session to consider a series of four cloture votes; three district court judges from florida and one from vermont. so, mr. president, we tried all last week, sorry to say,

unsuccessfully to consider three very, very important appropriations bills. these bills are very significant because they provide this great government of ours with resources it needs to serve the american people. i think we've had enough sequestrations and government shutdowns that i hope my republican colleagues aren't headed in that direction again. given the importance of appropriations legislation and the need to keep our government operating, i had hoped that we could have a cooperative agreement on an amendment process and participation from all senators. our vote last tuesday on the motion to proceed was promising. 95 senators voted to move forward on these important three bills. i do say this, however, mr. president. it's a shame we had to do cloture on that. 95 senators voted to do what we

should have done and save three days worth of down time here doing nothing. but that's what has happened for many years now with the republicans blocking, obstructing, and misdirecting basically everything we do here. but on this bill that we had last week, unfortunately the republican leader stalled the senate's progress on these appropriations bills with its recent conversion to the idea of insisting on simple majority votes. now he's doing majority votes or nothing. over the past five years virtually everything we've done here in the senate has been subject to a 60-vote threshold. virtually everything we've done. why? because the republican leader has insisted on it. almost 50 times since president obama took office the republican leader has employed the 60-vote threshold in order to block legislation, and good legislation.

bills pertaining to the treatment of 9/11 responders, funding our military, disclosure of campaign contributions and small business jobs bills, all received the majority of votes but were blocked at one time or another but the new mcconnell rule. the mcconnell rule, everything 60 votes. he's called himself the proud guardian of gridlock. he's even gone to great lengths in defending the use of the 60-vote threshold. so allow me to share, mr. president, as i did last week, but i'll do it again because i think it's worth repeating, a few of the republican leader's past statements on the importance of 60 votes. the republican leader said, "now look, we know that on controversial matters in the senate, it has for quite some time required 60 votes." that is a direct quote. another direct quote, the republican leader said "requiring 60 votes particularly

on matters of this enormous importance, is not at all unusual. it's the way the senate operates." the republican leader said, "matters of this level of controversy require always 60 votes." so i'd ask my friend, the majority leader -- that's me, if he would modify his consent request to set the threshold for this to 60 votes. on july 30, the republican leader said again, you know we're running through the months here, for him to suggest that a matter of this magnitude in the body that requires 06 votes for almost everything is going to be done with 51 votes makes no sense. again he said, "so it's not at all unusual that the president's proposal of this consequence would have to achieve 60 votes. that's the way virtually all business is done in the senate." so, mr. president, the republican leader holds himself

as the person who has established this rule so, called mcconnell rule, holds himself out to, boasting about this, insisting on 60-vote threshold time and time again over the past five years. so it is without logic and it would deviate from the norm that he, the republican leader, has made. so i guess that's where we are. we are now operating under a 60-vote threshold. and that's from the norm that he, the republican leader, has made so established around here. the republican leader's newfound support of 51 threshold is timely given his proposal to curb e.p.a. regulatory powers. he wants, because of an issue that he thinks exists, even though there's been no rule

promulgated by the white house, he's looking way off into the future. we have months and months of people offering their opinions, suggestions as to how, if at all, this proposed rule could be changed. but he wants to do something about it, even though there's nothing to change right now. so it's patentlien fair to give the republican leader a simple majority vote on his amendment when there's so many other pieces of legislation he blocked with 60-vote thresholds. however, mr. president, we democrats are willing to meet the republican leader and his caucus halfway. here's a suggestion. we will agree to a simple majority vote on the republican leader's e.p.a. amendment in exchange for a 51-vote threshold on bills important to american families, such as increasing the federal minimum wage. the vast majorities of american people -- democrats, republicans and independents -- want this to

be raised. or how about a vote on equal pay for working women? the vast majority of the american people want their wives, their daughters, their mother or sisters to have the same paycheck when they do the same work as a man. or legislation permitting student borrowers to refinance their loans. they blocked us on that by 60 votes. energy efficiency legislation, they blocked that many times. or how about a simple majority vote on disclosure of campaign contributions? how about a simple majority vote on updating voting right protections the supreme court did away with. how about simple majority on background checks for gun purchases. 85% to 90% of the american people support that. over half the n.r.a. members support that. so what i'm saying, okay, mr. republican leader, if you want a vote on your e.p.a. amendment,

fine. you want a simple majority, we'll take that, but let's have simple majority on these other issues we feel are extremely important to help the middle class. in exchange for simple majority on legislation, i repeat, legislation, mr. president, that is so timely -- minimum wage, student loans, equal pay for men and women, energy efficiency legislation, background checks for gun purchases. so in exchange for a simple majority on those votes, why don't we have simple vote on those, a majority vote on those and on your e.p.a. amendment. it's only fair that bills blocked by the mcconnell rule be granted the same treatment as the republican leader's own legislation. to do otherwise would be unjust to the many senators who introduced legislation important to american families. i hope we can come to quick agreement on this offer and move to an open amendment process on these appropriations bills.

the republicans would be happy. they say they want amendments, they can have amendments. would the chair announce the business of the day. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. under the previous order, the senate will be in a period of morning business until 5:30 p.m. with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

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a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from new hampshire. mrs. shaheen: madam president, i ask that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. shaheen: madam president, it's with a heavy heart that i rise this evening to honor the life and service of u.s. marine corps lance corporal brandon garabrand. brandon was a native of greenfield, new hampshire, who sadly was killed in action on friday in afghanistan. lance corporal garabrand was serving his first tour overseas after completing basic training at camp le jeune last year. in the days since we learned that brandon made the ultimate sacrifice for his country, we have been touched by the selfless devotion with which he lived his life and which defined him as a citizen and a marine. his dedication to our country was so focused that he completed

his basic training at camp le jeune just one day before he graduated from campbell regional high school. brandon also served throughout his high school years as a volunteer firefighter with the temple volunteer fire department. and although he was just 19 when he deployed to afghanistan, brandon faced the enormous task of defending our nation with unshakable conviction. brandon's thoughts on the eve of his april deployment most aptly demonstrate his devotion to his country, to his community and to his fellow marines. brandon wrote, and i quote -- "fighting for our country, our brothers to the left and right, our friends and families back home, so that you can have the right for freedom and to live the american dream without fear of anything. here comes a long journey into the unknown."

this is certainly a very long journey for brandon. brandon is survived by his mother jessie, his father john and his younger siblings jacob and mikala. it is my hope that during this extremely difficult time, brandon's family and friends will find comfort in knowing that americans everywhere appreciate deeply his sacrifice and defense of our country so that the rest of us may continue to live in peace and freedom. brandon epitomized the best new hampshire tradition of service, and his example will not soon be forgotten by those who are fortunate enough to have known him. i ask my colleagues and all americans to join me in honoring the life and service of this brave young american, brandon garabrand. thank you, madam president. i yield the floor. and i ask that we go back into a

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mr. coats: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from in. mr. coats: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. coats: madam president, i just returned a couple of hours

ago to washington from indiana, and over the last several months, as i've been visiting and talking to hoosiers, i continue to hear concerns about -- and i am concerned, frankly -- about this widening trust deficit between the american -- at least the people that i represent and i think i can say pretty much across this country -- and washington, confidence in washington, confidence that they're getting the straight story, the hard truth. not a lot of good things have over the last several months come out of either this body or a number of washington agencies. this trust gap is ever-widening, as we kind of careen from scandal to scandal and incident to incident, broken promises made by top officials, false

statements being made. the latest of which is now this resurrection again of the i.r.s. scandal. the -- it's -- let me say this. it's been said that no agency in washington is less forgiving than the internal revenue service. no agency in washington has more power over the american people than the internal revenue service. if there's an agency that needs to be apolitical and not engage in anything that could be even deemed political, it's the i.r.s., given the power that they have to destroy you. destroy your reputation, destroy your finances, destroy your business. you see, the way they work is, is that they determine that you're in violation, you're, in a sense, reversing what is sacrosanct in america, that you're innocent until proven guilty. well, under the i.r.s., you're guilty until proven innocent. you're going to have to go out

and hire lawyers. you have to go out and hire accountants and you have to sit down with them and prove that you are not violating their rules. and so that's upside-down. you know, one of the founding principles that sets the united states apart from every other nation, almost every nation, and that makes i think -- i think makes us an exceptional nation, is the first amendment to the constitution. and under that first amendment, americans are guaranteed, constitutionally guaranteed, the right to organize around issues and values the they believe in d the right to disagree with their government. we look around the world and we see that's not the case in very many places. but in america, a -- that cherished right to take a position opposite of your government, to -- to proceed pes -- toprotest, to organize at and to seek changes as a result

of that organization, this liberty is part of what energizes and fuels our very -- the very spirit of america and everything we stand for. so when a so-called independent agency of the federal government attacks average american citizens for expressing their beliefs, a fundamental trust is broken and it's very hard to repair. and, again, an agency that has perhaps more intimidating power over american citizens, none has more of that power than the internal revenue service. we owe it to the american taxpayer to reveal the truth, the full truth, of what has happened here at the i.r.s. and repair the damage of this agency's reckless actions in regard to those who have organized for political purposes to protest, to assert their first amendment rights, to

follow the law and exercise those first amendment rights. without having an agency of the government targeting them and intruding on what they're trying to do. it's clear now that in 2010, when the i.r.s. targeted conservative groups, including one in my home state, for extra scrutiny based on political leanings, and the agency displayed a stunning abuse of power and complete disregard of our constitution in taking this action. lois learner, the former director of the i.r.s. exempt organizations unit and the official at the center of this ongoing congressional investigation, refuses to testify before congress on the advice of her attorney. yes, she has the right to plead her fifth amendment rights to not answer questions, but we're getting stonewalled by the i.r.s. in terms of getting to

the bottom of this and determining just how -- what kind of abuse has taken place against the american people. we're trying to reach the truth but we're being denied that opportunity to reach the truth because those who know the truth refuse to testify under subpoena from the congress. last friday my house colleagues heard testimony from i.r.s. commissioner john koskinen -- and i think i'm pronouncing, hope i'm pronouncing his name correctly -- about missing e-mails from learner and six of her i.r.s. subordinates. now, isn't this a coincidence? here is someone that western has been targeting groups, attacking their first amendment rights and the house oversight committee seeking to find out whether or not this happened -- i.r.s. is

denying it, lois learner refuses to testify -- i.r.s. commissioner that i just mentioned comes in and says this is not true. okay. let's prove it. i.r.s. asked the taxpayer to prove that they didn't violation -- violate their rights under the i.r.s. rules. but when we ask the i.r.s., can you prove whether you -- that what you're saying is the truth, that you were not targeting these organizations, "oh, gosh, we lost all the e-mails, we lost the evidence. you know, the hard drive, the server crashed and so we had to discard that." and "oh, my gosh, all the e-mails that we could trace back to determine the truth of this, they're lost, they're gone." every american knows that, you know, forensically you can get into their hard drive and find out everything they ever put in there.

isn't it strange that only the i.r.s. determined that, well, this whole thing crashed so let's get rid of the hard drives. and now none of the six, including lois lerner, oh, those are all gone. those thousands of e-mails that could have led a trace to allow us to find the truth, disappeared. what a coincidence. do you think the american people buy this story? i mean, it -- it defies -- it -- it defies incredulity. it is almost -- it would be laughable if it wasn't so serious. to claim that two years of e-mails were completely inadvertently lost? laughable on its face. so no e-mails, no backups, a crashed server, assertions made long before -- long after, excuse me, members of congress requested the information

demonstrates at best a troubling lack of transparency and potentially criminal negligence. after all, the i.r.s. is required to archive these e-mails by law. so but let's put all this in perspective. the very organization that companies busy, hardworking -- that companies busy, hardworking americans to maintain meticulous financial records and complete extensive confusing tax forms each year, that agency can't find two years worth of e-mails sent by its own employees and, most likely, destroyed. even though we live in a day and age where virtually nothing ever disappears from the internet, the i.r.s. wants us to believe that these e-mails are lost for good. and maybe they are. if they took those -- all the steps that they've taken. so to echo the comments of my colleague, chairman paul ryan, the i.r.s. owes every american taxpayer an apology. but an apology is not enough. we need answers and we need to find the truth.

when this scandal first surfaced, the president promised americans that -- quote -- "he will work hand in hand with congress to get this thing fix fixed." that's his quote. "i will work hand in hand with congress to get this thing fix fixed." so how are they fixing it? they're sending their employees who were engaged and involved in this up and they basically either take the fifth amendment, saying they won't answer the questions, or they say, "gee, we lost all this stuff. i'm sorry. each of our six hard drives collapsed and, therefore, we can't retrieve any kind of evidence that would prove where they are." i -- i'm not a big fan of special prosecutors. i think giving them that power is not always -- has not always proven to be the best way to get to the bottom of something. but in certain cases when there

is such clear evidence that the truth is being withheld, that potentially the evidence is being destroyed that could lead us to a conclusion, it now appears and the reluctance of -- not reluctance, the complete denial of these individuals who worked at the i.r.s. to testify is going to -- i think the only way we're going to get to the bottom of this now is to have a special prosecutor with subpoena power to get to the bottom of this mess. we need to start restoring the trust of the american people to their government agencies, to their government. and until we get to the bottom of this, this -- this widening gap, this widening trust gap is going to continue. appointing the independent investigator would allow us access to federal computer records to determine whether copies of these missing e-mails can be found on the government i.t. network.

perhaps they've scrubbed the thing in a way that that won't happen, but at least it would allow us an independent assessment of what's going on. we can work to restore trust, but doing so is going to require answers and honesty from the internal revenue service, which we're not getting. answers and honesty from the i.r.s. hopefully getting that is not irretrievable. madam chairman, with that, i yield the floor. and i see my colleagues are i think ready to take the floor. mr. leahy: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: has the senator completed his remarks? mr. coats: yes, i have. mr. leahy: madam president, next

month colonel michael coburn, who's the director of the u.s. marine band, retired after nearly 30 years with a history rich in perio federated organiz. we like the marine band, of course. his son is a marine. but it's especially nice here because colonel coburn is a native vermonter. and his appreciation for the band known world wide as "the president's own," began decadessindecadesago with the td you're phony yum playing st. alban's native -- uphonium playing st. alban's native at a band camp in vermont. in 1937, colonel coburn joined "the president's own" as a uphonium player. he then ultimately became the

band's director, a post he's held for the last decade. now, his tenure has taken him around the world and back again. he's played for presidents and foreign dignitaries, at state dinners and inaugurations and regular performances that thousands have witnessed here in washingtonal 8th and i, at the marine barracks during their weekly -- washington at 8th and i at the marine barracks during their weekly parade. i've veptd the stat representedf vermont longer than anyone in the history of the state. so you can understand my enthusiasm when i see a vermonter here in washington, all the more so when i have the opportunity of aperturin capturn image like this, of colonel coburn directing the inauguration of president obama. i was standing up to the stands

where the president was being inaugurated and i took that picture of colonel woe burn. you'rof course, the whole worlds watching the colonel and watching the president. you'ri joined with the proud cis of vermont and the people of a grateful nation in thanking colonel coburn for his service and his many, many memorable performances conducting "the president's own." following in the footsteps of john philip sousa, making his own giant footsteps for others to follow. so i wish him the very best as he begins the next chapter of his career as the director of bands at the university of indianapolis. and i want to share with the senate an interview with colonel coburn published in "the marine corps times" in february. i ask it be made part of the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. leahy: and, madam president, i have another matter i wish to

bring up. mr. leahy: while we're speaking about vermont, the judges that fill the two federal district court seats in my own state have an extraordinary impact on the lives of vermonters. so when i learned that one of my dearest friends, judge william sessions, was to take senior status after 18 years of distinguished service to the vermont district court, i took seriously my responsibility to ask swiftly to identify a candidate to recommend to president obama for nomination. i worked with senator sanders and representative welch and the vermont bar association. we convened a merit commission, a nonpartisan merit commission, to find highly qualified

candidates. so again, i want to thank the nine members of the nonpartisan vermont judicial selection commission under the leadership of peter van ute, for the time, the effort, the insight they invested in the screening process. we are fortunate in our small state of vermont to have so many highly qualified lawyers in the field of applicants willing to serve in such a demanding post. we we had a number of people, highly qualified. but after being vetted and recommended to me by the commission, i recommended justice geoffrey crawford to president obama. and afterward i told the president i was not surprised that after the american bar association standing committee of the federal judiciary

finished its vetting of him that they gave him the highest rating of unanimously well qualified. justice crawford has significant criminal and civil experience. he became -- he was a vermont trial court judge for 11 years. he recently became associate justice on the vermont supreme court. he formerly was partner in a burlington law firm. he earned his b.a. from yale university, and his j.d. cum laude from harvard law school. following law school he served as a law clerk to judge albert coffran, a dear friend and wonderful judge of the u.s. district court for the district of vermont. madam president, i didn't know justice crawford personally, i knew of his reputation but didn't know him personally before this process. but when i did meet him, sat

down to interview him, i was struck by his brilliance, his compassion, and his humility. justice crawford earned a stellar reputation in vermont's legal community and frawls those who appeared before him as a careful jurist who understands the effects legal rulings have on people's lives. i have no doubt he'll bring that same understanding and impartiality to the federal bench. incidentally, madam president, the judiciary committee favorably reported justice crawford's nomination unanimously by voice vote to the full senate. the distinguished presiding officer was a member of that panel that so voted. and justice crawford, like the three other nominees we will vote on today, has been nominated to fill an emergency

vacancy. he's a qualified, uncontroversial nominee with the full support of his home state senators, and he and the three other nominees deserve to be confirmed without delay. i thank majority leader reid for bringing these nominations up for a vote. i urge senators to vote to defeat any filibusters and get these nominees working for the american people in courthouses around our nation. i know that justice geoffrey crawford will serve vermont well as a federal district judge and i look forward to his confirmation. madam president, i don't see anybody else seeking recognition at the moment, so i will suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

ms. ayotte: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from new hampshire. ms. ayotte: madam president, i

ask that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. ayotte: thank you, madam president. madam president, i rise today to honor the life and legacy of lance corporal brandon gerbrand the t a proud marine from greenville, new hampshire, who was tragically killed in action in afghanistan last week. the last corporal was an extraordinary young man who cared deeply about his country. before he even graduated from convelle regional high school last year, he had already graduated from marine boot camp at per it's island. -- perris island. he followed in the footsteps of his great grandfather and grandfather in joining the military to serve our country. long before he joined the marines, brandon had already earned a reputation as someone who was passionate about serving

others. volunteering with the temple volunteer fire department starting at age 17, he became a full-time member of that fire department when he turned 18. the fire chief in temple, george clark, was quoted as saying that brandon was all about helping people, adding that no matter what needed doing, he was always the first guy there. chief clark said that even when brandon was home on leave, he'd get in touch and i would ask how could he help. a true reflection on brandon's commitment to serving others, as reflected in his service to our country. lance corporal gerbrandt was proud to be a marine and enjoyed the important work he was doing. he was a big-hearted young man with a bright future ahead of him, and he represented the very best of new hampshire and

the very best of our great nation. brandon was taken from us far too soon. as we mourn his tragic loss, we commit ourselves to forever honor and cherish his memory, and to carry on the proud legacy of service that he leaves behind. brandon was a true american hero for the sacrifice that he made, for our country, for our freedom. at this very sad time, we also support and comfort his family, who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country. in the difficult days and weeks ahead, my thoughts and prayers will remain with his mother jessie, his father john, as well as his brother, jacob, and his sister, michaela. may god forever bless lance

corporal brandon garabrant. may we honor his selfless sacrifice for our country. if it weren't for people like brandon, we would not enjoy the freedoms that we enjoy in this great country. if it were not for marines like garabrand, who stepped up to serve his country and volunteered on behalf of our great nation, we would not have the free speech rights we enjoy or any other rights we enjoy in this country. my thoughts and prayers will remain with his family. my thoughts and prayers will remain with all of his fellow soldiers who have lost a friend, and my thoughts and prayers will remember -- remain with all of those in the greenfield community, with the fire station with chief clark, and all of those who have lost a

great american hero. thank you, madam president. i ask that we be placed back in a quorum call. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

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