quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed

with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: yesterday i joined congressional leaders in awarding three congressional gold medals to the memory of thousands of men and women who perished so tragically on this very day 13 years ago. every american that morning bore witness to terrible tragedy and suffering. but that wasn't all we witnessed. we also saw incredible acts of bravery and compassion and heroism. we saw it in a great city. we saw it on the edge of the capitol. we heard about it high above the clouds. sacrifices of those heroes of 9/11 inspired us then, and they inspire us now. in memory of every man and woman who perished so tragically that day continues to serve as a unifying force for our nation, and we will never stop honoring

them. mr. president, on an entirely different matter, the american people have a lot on their minds these days. among their greatest concerns is the threat of isil, the brutal terror group that recently beheaded two american journalists. isil is growing stronger by the day and it's lethal. every day we wait to confront them is a day they grow more deadly. i and others have called on the president to provide us with a comprehensive plan to defeat this menace. last night he described to the nation what our military intelligence and diplomatic core are doing to confront this threat and outlined ways he'll expand on existing operations. over the next week, following a series of briefings, congress will work with the administration to ensure that our forces have the resources they need to carry out these

missions. specifically, the president set forth a near-term concept of operations to enhance the defense of baghdad and kurdistan. midterm plans for retaking anbar province and mosul from disiesm and a long-term -- from isil and a long-term plan to contain isil from syria. the midterm plan requires a new train and equip program at an increased scale to return the iraqi security forces to the fight at a higher degree of combat readiness. the president also envisions an effort to regain the trust and cooperation of the sunni tribes through a new territorial or national guard, the same tribes and friends we abandoned when we completely withdrew from iraq. and the president's long-term

plan, which is now clear, will be a responsibility left to the next administration. it will be an effort to field a viable indigenous ground combat component to defeat isil within syria. today the president's staff will begin briefing the senate on what will be required of our armed forces and intelligence community to effectuate this indefinite campaign which we now know will include a multiyear air war of attrition. my expectation is that the administration will explain how best to build a moderate syrian opposition capable of defeating isil. i'm hoping the congress will consider what this new campaign will mean for the multiyear defense program, the need to modernize our military, retain dominance of the air and sea in the asian pacific theater, revitalize nato in the face of

russian aggression and how to field combat power into u.s. pacific command now that europe and central commands require additional tactical units and capabilities. our nation must also rebuild the nuclear triad. that said, i'm glad the president has brought a new focus to the efforts against isil. he needs to take this responsibility head on. this congress, the next congress and the next administration have serious work ahead as we consider this multiyear commitment and what it will take to defeat isil. one more point: given the urgency of this situation, i have to say it's a little disconcerting to see the democratic-led senate focusing on things like reducing free speech protections for the american people. at a time when the rest of the country is worried about the threat of isil, at a time when

millions wonder how they're ever going to find a job in this awful economy, at a time when we find out rushing regulations have gotten so out of control that they now cost the american economy more than $2 trillion a year, this is what they choose to make their top legislative priority this week. taking an eraser to the first amendment? and now they plan to devote almost all the remaining time between now and november to what democrats like to call messaging bills. these are bills designed intentionally to fail so democrats can make campaign ads about them failing. yesterday roll call got a hold of an e-mail from a democratic aide who let the truth slip without meaning to. his e-mail said democrats plan to -- quote -- "slam republicans" for blocking the latest design to fail bill or slam republicans for voting to go ahead and debate the bill. how cynical can that be? the e-mail just confirmed what everybody already knew, that

senate democrats have zero, zero intention of passing the bill before us today. passage of the bill would represent failure for them. all they want is fodder for campaign commercials. that's why they refuse to address the growing crisis at home and abroad and that's why they obstruct nearly every good bipartisan bill from the house of representatives. they even bury bipartisan bills that would help create jobs and help struggling middle-class families. it's long past time for the democrats to get serious. we were lucky to get serious things done for the americans who sent us here. we need to let the senate start doing that kind of thing. the good start would be to take up the dozens, literally dozens of bipartisan jobs bills the house of representatives already sent us. let's send those to the president's desk a sap. let's help make it easier to put the american people back to work and let's take up other

commonsense legislation, the bill which is similar to legislation i cosponsored would stop the administration from implementing the so-called waters of the u.s. proposal that would allow it to regulate and fine almost every pothole and ditch in the country. passing this bill is critical to protecting the property rights of every american, especially farmers. one kentucky farmer from shelby county wrote me the other day to explain how the administration's heavy-handed regulation would hurt him. he lamentd the white house clearly wants me to spend time on permitting requirements and less time growing food for american families. let's work together to fix this problem along with the many other serious theadges facing our country. let's address the threat of eiffel together. let's pass serious jobs bills

together. and let's take senate democrats' focus off saving the jobs of democratic politicians and start focusing on the needs of the american people instead. the presiding officer: the senator from missouri. mr. blunt: mr. president, today marks 13 years since the terrorist attacks of september 11, 2001. that moment, i don't think americans would have been surprised that we would still be dealing with that 13 years later, but in the 13 years that have passed there have been moments when we wanted to hope that this had passed from us, that somehow it was no longer a danger, but it is a danger today as it was a danger then.

we clearly should not forget those who lost their lives on 9/11. we continue and should continue to be grateful to our men and women in uniform. mr. president, i appreciate the service that you have provided the country wearing that uniform yourself. intelligence professionals out there doing what they're supposed to do. the first responder community working diligently to be ready to respond in ways that keep us safe. i remember well as others do, one of the things we learned on 9/11 was that those first responders were not properly linked in a twhai allow -- that allow them to communicate with each other like they generally now are able to. the response that they had was probably adequate in washington and new york. it might not have been adequate

in terms of of capability in some other place. but even in washington and new york, we found the firemen couldn't talk to the policemen and the policemen couldn't talk to other first responders and have done a lot to try to really close that gap in a way that further protects those who protect us. as the president acknowledged in his speech to the country last night, there is no doubt that our nation and freedom-seeking people everywhere still face a real threat from terrorist groups and from enemies who wish to do us harm, who can't tolerate our ability to live together in a society where everybody doesn't have to be the same way and everybody doesn't have to believe the same thing. we're reminded on this date that just two years ago four americans were killed during a terrorist attack on the american consulate in benghazi. there's a new book out, "13 hours" that provides some

additional firsthand accounts of what happened there. it's always been surprising to me that we had that information available to us from the people who were there, and whether it was at the end of the first week or the end of the first year, we've still not heard much of that. beginning to hear that in a way that once again clarifies that that was a planned attack in the ongoing efforts to destabilize the world and move it toward some extremist view of the way people need to conduct themselves. we've seen what's happened with isis, sometimes referred to as isil, but whatever they're referred to, they have managed to get themselves in a more powerful position than any terrorist group ever, a true terrorist army with natural resources that produce income, with looting of banks and financial institutions that produce income, and maybe the most terrifying with people from

our country fighting alongside them who have american passpor passports, who can return here; people from -- in probably many -- much bigger numbers from european countries fighting alongside these extremists who have access, like people have never had and ways they've never had, because they would be the home had grown terrorists, the -- the homegrown terrorists, the terrorists that have access to us in different ways that we've always been most concerned about. these terrorists are clearly not a manageable problem. the president must show and gave real commitment last night to the understanding that this is a group that cannot be allowed to continue to exist, that this is a group that we have to destroy their capacity, their ability to attack us, to impact our way of life, and i'm hopeful that the

president's resolve and his strategy will actually be sufficient in both cases to meet what was his stated commitment to destroy this extremist group. as a member of the defense authorizing committee, as a member of the defense appropriations committee, the armed services committee, and the appropriating committee in appropriations, the defense appropriating committee, i'm going to do everything i can to be sure that those who serve us, that our first responders, that those who protect america have the resources they need. on this day we should remember, and on every day we should remember the innocent victims, the first responders, the families who lost so much on 9/11. and we also need to remember that it is the strength of our society that is what puts the

biggest target on us. it's the ability of americans to live together, the ability of americans to respect other points of view, the ability of americans to share those points of view with each other but understanding you can do that in a free society that puts that big target on the united states of america. we're not a target of these ex-striemist groups because of what we've dhon them. we're a target of these extremist groups because of what we stand for. and may we continue to stand for that, may we stand strong for that. as we do that we should always remember the price that can be paid by individuals and families if terrorism is able to achieve its objectives, which is to scare us away from standing up for freedom, standing up for the kind of society that we live in. and so that's one of the things that certainly 9/11 every year

brings back into focus as perhaps no other date does. now, mr. president, i also want to talk about some things on another topic. i was -- as you were and others were, spent most of august home, the early days of september at home. and i continue to hear from missourians about the impact, their concerns about the impact of the direction we're headed in health care. we're now at the one-year anniversary at the end of this month of the launch of the exchanges last october 1, of the unpopularity of what -- where we're headed continues to grow. just 35% of the people who were polled by the monthly poll of the kaiser health foundation released on tuesday were supportive of the affordable care act. now, how could that possibly be that we'd be a year into this discussion and only have that

level of support? maybe it's not so surprising. freedom costs continue to go up. pricewaterhouse cooper finds the average insurance premium for health care is going to rise by 8% this year. the president's goal was for families to be paying -- in fact, his promised goal was for families to be paying $2,500 less, where it seems instead of that they're paying $3,000 more. that's a pretty substantial missing of the mark. so no wonder they're concerned about this. healthcare.gov was supposed to have undergone lots of repairs, but we learned just last week that at some point -- and my understanding of this is they're not exactly sure how much a win, but a major breach into that system to find out information that people had put there. people trying to verify their

personal information so they can continue to have the coverage they have is a challenge. people having to submit all kind of documents, citizenship, immigration documents, other documents to be able to keep their health care. parntapparently, it would be a e imposition to approve who you were to vote, but not a huge imposition to have to approve who you are to have government-assisted health care. a new center for medicare and medicaid services report offers the latest proof that things are a problem by saying that the combined effects of the affordable health care coverage expansion is faster economic growth and population aging are expected to fuel health spending growth this year and thereafter to where we're going to see 6% per year, according to the administration, from 2015 to

2023. this is one of the things that happens when the government believes that it can do things that rightly people -- wand we d to find better ways for people to do for th themselves. hopefully, this discussion will continue in a way that solves these problems, more opportunities for them to have the insurance they want, the coverage they want, what they believe their family needs and can afford, and i hope we can get back to having that debate on a clear problem for millions of families in america today as opposed to having the debate we're having this week, which is, again, to do things that our friends in the majority know can't possibly happen but here without a single budget, without

a single appropriations bill be passed, without dealing with the problems that the country knows we should deal with, we're again going to spend the last two weeks we're here before the election voting day after day after day on things that can't happen, and the one thing we will have to do is one more stop-gaap efforstopgap effort te government funded. it's a sad commentary on a senate that's not working. i hope we all come back after the elections with a greater resolve to get back to the basics of how the senate and the congress and the country are supposed to work. and i would yield back.

i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. a senator: thank you, mr. president. i ask that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. we gather here today in this remarkable place, a symbol of freedom and democracy for the whole world, to remember the tragic, horrific, unspeakable attacks of september 11, 2001. and we remember the innocent lives that were lost. people of many different ages who worked to help the injured, brave heroes who have fought

terrorism and extremism around the globe in the years since 9/11. and, of course, the victims themselves, many of them from connecticut. this day has special meaning in connecticut because it affects so directly and sadly the loved ones and families of people who sacrificed their lives as a result of that unimagineably cruel and brutal terrorist act. and we remember them with pride. we remember their grace, civility, humanity, dedication to the public good, and their love for their families. we've been striving since that terrible day to strengthen our nation, to live proudly and unashamedly, consistently with

our national values of peace, tolerance and service. and this effort requires commitment and sacrifice. it has required service at home and abroad from countless men and women who have served in uniform -- our police, firefighters, first responders. believing that the best way we can honor the men and women who died on that day is to make america the best place it can possibly be. it is the greatest and strongest nation in the history of the world and it is so because people have always believed it can be made better, freer, stronger, braver. and that is what we have tried to do. today in the united states senate in the committee on the judiciary i was proud to

cosponsor and vote for a measure that will give those victims and their families some additional justice. the justice against sponsors of terrorism act will hold foreign sponsors of terrorism that target america accountable in u.s. courts. obstacles have been raised in our federal courts, obstacles on procedural grounds and technical issues. most recent until a second circuit case in re. terrorist attacks of september 11, 2001, which, in my view, misread federal law to provide immunity to the saudi government and entities that claimed to be associated with the saudi against against the 9/11

victims' claims alleging its support for those attacks. this new legislation will make clear that terrorism is unsupportable and must be held accountable in our u.s. courts. it will erase the immunity and the procedural obstacles that can be raised and make sure that sovereign immunity as a doctrine provides no safe harbor, no haven for terrorism when victims and their families seek to hold those terrorist sponsors as well as terrorist groups accountable for their horrific actions. that measure was passed with the tremendous leadership and support of its two main cosponsors, senators cornyn and schumer. i thank them for their work, as well as our chairman, senator

leahy, and ranking member, senator grassley, for their willingness to move this matter on september 11 and say to the victims and their loved ones, we will hold accountable the wrongdoers and we will make sure that the courts of the united states are places where justice is provided against terrorism. we can also make america a better place by giving more americans a fair shot. a fair shot is what america promises to men and women who live here now and men and women who come here. a fair shot is part of our basic principled existence. the terrorists struck the world trade center and they hit the pentagon but they missed ameri

america. what makes america great is those principled values. and as we gather today, we should say thank you to the brave men and women in uniform. the presiding officer is one of them and i thank him. i thank my two sons who have served, one in the marine corps reserved, deployed to afghanistan; another now the navy. the fact is that the burden of this longest war in our history has been borne by less than 1% of our population. we owe all of them and their families our thanks. and we can best say thanks by giving them and all americans a fair shot at the american dream. i've just returned from five weeks in connecticut where i had the opportunity to listen to concerns of my constituents. the people of connecticut are proud of this country but they're also concerned about the great disparities that exist.

no one is looking for a free lunch. nobody in connecticut thinks there is a free lunch. but people believe in a fair shot and the chance to make a better life for themselves and their families. and the present disparities are stark and dispiriting, daunting. and at the end of the day, unacceptable and deeply disturbing. our country has made important strides toward recovering from the economic crisis of 2008 but we are far from done. we are still very much a work in progress economically and socially and, unfortunately, as the federal reserve noted just last week, economic burdens continue to fall hardest on americans who can least afford them. the disparities in this country have a particularly severe

effect on women. today women make up 50% of college graduates but in order to do so, they take on an average $30,000 in debt. and they go on to workplaces where they earn only 77 cents or 82 cents for every dollar paid to men. when women are treated fairly, we are all treated fairly. when women are treated unfairly, we all suffer. when college graduates struggle under crushing loads of debt, our whole economy suffers. we are all poorer. and these problems affect real people. there are real, attainable solutions available to us all. i participated in more than a dozen roundtables across the state of connecticut. roundtables at colleges and universities where i've heard story after story from them and also at roundtables in high

schools about their struggles to stay on top of their debt. they understood, every one of them, that they were taking on a significant burden but not one that is insurmountable, not one that will cripple them financially for the rest of their lives. i heard from dillon, an honorably discharged army veteran who is now studying law. he wrote to me to say -- quote -- "despite having done everything that society tells us while growing up is the right thing to do, i'm still saddled with over $132,000 in federal school loan debt. my total monthly payments amount to nearly a third of my take-home salary each month, with no end in sight." dean, who has three children, earned a master's degree to try

to move ahead in his career. a year after graduating, he is $55,000 in debt. and he's struggling to support his family even though he and his wife work four jobs between them. four jobs and he is struggling to make ends meet, to put a roof over his family's head. along with my friend and colleague, senator murphy, i met just last week with susan herps, the president of the university of connecticut and a number of of u. con. students and recent graduates on the campus. they shared with me how excited they are by the vast limitless opportunities afforded them by this great university. and i sensed the excitement while i was there of this great campus making me envious for the

time that they are spending there in studying, in exploring the tremendous reaches of human knowledge, both practical, theoretical and yet the difficulty of affording a college education that has constrained and constricted the professional plan beyond that campus. as heady and glorious as the days on campus may be, there is an overhang of doubt and debt that restricts the reach of their mind. it restricts the reach of our economy because it constricts consumer demand. it restricts the reach of their ambition to start businesses and families, to buy homes and to

move ahead with their lives. and that is a problem for all of us. there are ways for congress to address this problem. we can pass the legislation that i'm pleased to cosponsor with senator warren of massachusetts, which would allow borrowers to refinance student loan debt. we could pass senator franken's legislation to ensure that debt obligations are explained in clear, comprehensible terms so students know what they are taking on. and i'm developing proposals to develop more flexibility to improve the flexibility of loan forgiveness for students who pursue careers in public service such as teaching and public safety and fire fighting. the current program requires students to work a full ten years in these professions for

any job forgiveness, any debt forgiveness hinges on those full four years. i believe shorter periods of work should allow for loan forgiveness in proportion to the time they spend on their job. there are ways to make public service a quicker and easier means for loan forgiveness. and there are other measures as well that we should pursue to enable college affordability. paycheck fairness is basic to america. there is no reason that american women make only 70 cents for every dollar earned by men. male health care workers in connecticut earn on average almost twice as much as women performing the same job. men working on finance earn 61% more than women in the same

position. this shocking gap persists. when you control for education, experience and other job-related factors, the data demonstrates unavoidably and inescapably that women make less than men in 97% of professions. at the event i attended in connecticut, which was a meeting of the connecticut commission on the status of woman chaired by tony warren that highlighted the shameful lag in women's compensation. many women with college degrees told me about their personal struggles. laurie pellinger, executive treasury of the afl-cio

explained how contracts can make a difference but everyone agreed that better laws to address the problem are needed. fortunately my distinguished colleague, senator mikulski who is here on the floor, introduced the paycheck fairness act. it will bring into the 21st century more than 50 years after the equal pay act was signed by president kennedy, the guarantees of full equality. it will improve the remedies available to victims of discrimination. it will prohibit employers from punishing workers who share salary information. it will require any differences in pay to be based only on job-related factors. and it will improve training and education regarding how to take action against discrimination. pay equity is good for families. it's good for the economy. it's good for america. it's a matter of fundamental fairness. and i want to thank my

colleague, senator mikulski, for her great work on this issue. i'm prude to stand here -- i'm proud to stand here with her today and with so many other colleagues because it is basic to a fair shot in the united states of america. i know american people are counting on all of us to help make america better, to keep faith with the great men and women who have served in our military around the world, who have served and sacrificed the loved ones of 9/11 victims, of all the victims of terrorism who have perished since and before 9/11. to make america better is what we can do to keep faith with them, to give americans a fair shot should be our mission today and every day. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. ms. mikulski: mr. president?

the presiding officer: the senator from maryland. ms. mikulski: thank you very much, mr. president. first, i'd like to thank senator -- the gentleman from connecticut, senator blumenthal, for his words really on what the middle class is facing and his particular advocacy in behalf of women. it's well known and really much appreciated. mr. president, i come to the floor today to really talk about middle-class people who are trying to go by the rules. but before i do on this auspicious day -- september 11, 2014 -- i would like to pay my respects once again and express my heartfelt sympathy to the families of people who died on september 11 throughout this country, at the world trade center, at the pentagon, in pennsylvania, to the wonderful first responders who risked their lives and they themselves

perished, to those who were wounded or sick and bear the permanent burden of their response to that awful tragedy, and to the families of the loved ones who live with it every single day, that have that absent chair at christmas or thanksgiving or hanukkah or whatever is your faith holiday where families gather and remember. so the nation cannot forget what happened that day and it cannot forget why it happened. and we cannot forget the people who were there and just paid this terrible, terrible price for terrorism. so i wanted to express my sympathy, my condolence and to say that we want to honor them; is to make sure that we don't have another terrorist attack in the united states. but really what they were doing that day to believe in america. and that that belief brings me

to what i wanted to talk about today. yes, you know, people talk about when we're out on our break we're on vacation, but i've been moving around maryland. and one of the things that i see and hear, it was so clear is that, number one, the middle class is worried whether it's going to stay middle class. those who want to be middle class worry is there going to be an opportunity ladder for them to achieve middle class status, where they can earn a decent living, raise a family, and make a contribution to their community. and they are repeatedly told if you work hard and go by the rules, you'll do okay. they're becoming increasingly skeptical of that because they feel that the very rules of government work against them, and the very climate of government stops any change to be able to help them. they feel that we are not only -- they either feel that

we're irrelevant or we're working against them. and that's why they say all we want is for america to be america again. where if you work hard, go by the rules, you can have a pretty good life and make a pretty good contribution to this great country of ours. so when they talk about these issues, if you talk to the old timers, particularly those who are facing families in long-term care, they worry about the very cruel rules of government that tell them to spend down their life savings until they're eligible for medicaid. that if you worked hard and you saved, you're actually penalized for that, except legislation i passed 25 years ago that if they had gone and squandered their money, they would be better off and more eligible. then there are the young people, the young people who want to be able to go to school where they can make something of themselves

and make america a better place to live. i held student round tables along with my colleague senator cardin. people talked to us, young people talked to us about the careers they wanted. at bowie, four of the young people who were part of the round table want to go into nursing. men as well as women. they wanted to think i can help people. so we have a nursing shortage in this country, and yet the very obstacles to them being afford to pay for their education were prohibited. why is it that education is so expensive in this country when you look at tuition, books, fees? and then what is it that we do? first of all, we make sure that the pell grants aren't year long. you can only go two semesters. but if you want to go during the

summer to ace that class that you have to do for compliance purposes, for graduation, or that especially hard class -- you only want to take one class a semester. your government won't help you finish sooner or finish better. we won't help you. we can give tax break earmarks, but we can't give tax breaks or help there. and then when they look at their student getting the interest rate that's carried, they ask me, senator mikulski, why is it that you can refinance a yacht, but i can't refinance my student loan? and i say, well, you know, we're stuck on the motion to proceed, and we were two votes short of the filibuster, but then we'll go backward and redo this. they don't want to hear this parliamentary wonky stuff. they don't want to hear it. what they want to hear is we

believe in them and we need them and we want them, and we're going to help them for what they believe, we're going to help them achieve to be able to get a student loan. but underneath it all is that work should be worth it and work should be rewarded. and that brings me then to paycheck fairness. one of the other rules that they feel against them sthawrt -- the rules are rules are rigged against you if you want to fight for equal pay for equal work. if you want to fight for equal pay for equal work, you can be retaliated against, you can be humiliated, you can be harassed, you can be fired simply because you're asking the person standing next to you at the water cooler or the computer printout machine, how much do you make? that simple question -- how much can you make -- can trigger a whole retaliatory effort against

you. that's the rules being rigged against you. all it is you want to know, what kind of dough the next person is making. so this is why we once again are bringing up the paycheck fairness act. now, the paycheck fairness act is to fulfill and close the loopholes that came about in the original civil rights act of equal pay for equal work. we've been at this for 50 years. and when this fight started under lyndon johnson, women made almost 50 cents for every dollar we make. and after 50 years, gee, we're up to 77 cents for every dollar. and for latino women, african-american women, other women of color, it's even worse. now people might say, well, senator barb, didn't you fix this when you did the lilly ledbetter bill? the lily led better ter bill --

the lilly ledbetter bill is updated. it deals with this whole issue of retaliation. the lilly ledbetter lilly ledbetter bill related to employees who illegally share information. this bill stops employers from suing employees for sharing wages. it also helps restore congressional intent, which is to change how discrimination courses are late aggregated andt makes sure that employers who claim that differences in pay are based on something other than sex are dealt with. this legislation limits employers' ability to exploit this loophole by requiring that this defense can only be used when it's related to job

performance and is necessary for business. this closes the loopholes. this creates a fair playing field simply to know what the next person earns and to be able to work and to negotiate to equal pay for equal work. paycheck fairness act would have helped lilly from suing in the first place. this bill puts incentives into the legislation that causes employers to think that paying women less is a cost of doing business. this bill closes the loophole in the law which allows pay discrimination to occur in the first place and it gets rid of the secrecy that makes it harder to undercut -- to uncover pay differences. why should pay be such a secret unless you're ashamed to say what it is? why would you want to keep it a secret? maybe it's because you don't want to bral brag that you pay e

men more than the women. maybe you're too ashamed. and maybe you think it will lead you with an e.e.o. lawsuit. we want to end the secrecy at the job place where you know what the next person next to you, you have a right to ask. mr. president, i've heard from people all -- women all over america and i've heard from men. men. men who work so hard particularly for their daughters. men who have jobs that they hate so that their girls could go to school and have the jobs that they love. men want equal pay for equal work. they want it for their spouses. they want it for their widowed mother. and they want it for their daughter. and when we listened to the cases, donna smith in maryland's eastern shore worked as a retail clerk. she was told not to discuss her pay. when she found out she was being paid less than a male clerk and was doing the exact same job, she filed an e.e.o. complaint and what did happen? well, she fought for her pay.

they were fighting her and the agitation and humiliation. latoya weaver dime came to a hg that i had. a single parent of three children working at guest services at a hotel. she found out that her pay of $8 an hour was $2 less than the males doing the same job. $2 when you're at bare minimum makes a pretty big difference. she filed an eeoc lawsuit. although she only received compensatory damage for her discrimination, the company's policy against discussing pay means that it could happen in the first place. mr. president, i could give example after example. i've been talking about this for a number of years. it's time. you know, in the senate, after all was said in done, more gets said than gets done. but this time in the next 72

hours, we could actually vote to move the bill to the floor, to continue the debate and discussion and actually right the wrongs by -- of pay -- equal pay for equal work. this is why the american women want a fair shot. all they want to do is be paid exactly the same as equal pay as their male counterparts. so, mr. president, knowing of your own steadfast advocacy for the middle class in this country and an opportunity ladder in this country, we've got to stop to make sure that the rules that government creates is -- does not rig the game against people who are working hard and trying to play by the rules. the rules should work for the people and not for the government or for those who want to hold down their wages or their opportunity. mr. president, i look forward to

working with my colleagues to see if there are amendments, whatever we could do to move this process forward. i would love a unanimous vote out of the united states senate to have paycheck fairness finally in our law books and in women's checkbooks. mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. cornyn: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. cornyn: mr. president, today is the 13th anniversary of 9/11, a day that will be burned into all of our collective memories. i remember two events like this in my lifetime. 9/11 being one. the other is when john f. kennedy, our president, was assassinated. i remember wear i was, what i was doing and i remember the feeling of horror as the reality

of both of those events became more clear. and i bet i'm not alone. i bet there are americans all around the country who remember where they were and what they were doing and what their first thoughts were when those planes hit the world trade center in new york, the first and then the second. and then only to learn that there were other planes that were flying with terrorists that had other targets. of course there was the pentag pentagon, where many americans lost their lives. and then there was the plane that was brought down in pennsylvania that i'll talk about just a little bit more. but this is one of the defining moments in our nation's history, a day when -- that proved that our love of country and our fellow americans will always prevail. i remember the overwhelming sense of unity that the american people felt when this tragedy

unfolded, and it is entirely right that we do so. nearly 3,000 americans lost their lives on that terrible d day, many in the attempt to save others from harm. as usually happens in moments of tragedy, there are sparks or hints or bright lights of the triumph of the human spirit, people rising to the challenge, showing some of the very best qualities that we exhibit as human beings. so today we pause with heavy hearts to remember those we lost and pray to god that he will continue to comfort the families of those who still mourn. 13 years may seem like a long time to many of us, many of us who did not have the personal tragedy of losing somebody who

we were close to or a family member, but i'm confident that for many who did lose family members and loved ones, friends, that 13 years seems like just yesterday. we also continue to keep our military along with our intelligence professionals, our law enforcement officials, first responders and others who've dedicated their lives to that fateful day to keep them in our thoughts and in our prayers. because it is they who help keep us safe and who have helped us avoid another similar attack on our homeland over the last 13 years. none of them should ever doubt for a moment our gratitude. i wasn't serving in this body when those attacks came on september the 11th, but as i said, i remember exactly where i was. like many other americans, i was at home in austin, texas, preparing for work when i heard

the terrible news. i remember my wife called my attention to, after the first plane hit the world trade center -- i didn't actually see that. of course i saw it time and time again as that was replayed. but i turned to the television set as my wife called my attention to this, just as the second plane hit. and, of course, we all wondered what in the world was happening. and then, of course, when the -- when the towers actually fell and the people jumped out of the towers to avoid, they hoped their death -- in fact, they did jump to their death -- it was all too vivid and it is still today. we should never forget and that is perhaps the most important lesson we should learn, we should never forget what happened on that terrible day. it's said that those who forget history are condemned to relive it and i believe that to be tr

true. september the 11th is a solemn reminder of what can be taken from us in the blink of an eye and why we must never waiver in our efforts to protect this great nation and the freedom it embodies. two simple words were spoke than will be remembered in history as one of the most courageous and powerful phrases ever uttered. and, of course, i'm referring to the words spoken by todd beamer aboard flight 93. when they heard that the terrorists were in command of the controls of the airplane and perhaps heading to the nation's capital perhaps to attack either the white house or congress and to knock out large portions of the u.s. government, todd beamer's response, along with other brave patriots, were "let's roll." and then they attempted to overpower the terrorists in the cockpit. those brave passengers on that flight did more than just save the lives of innocent americans

here in the nation's capital. absent their sacrifice, it's likely that that flight would have claimed even more lives than just those onboard. the passengers on flight 93, along with every american who died on september the 11th, 13 years ago, were men and women with jobs, with families and, of course, with dreams. i'm sure that all -- like all of us, many of them made promises to their loved ones before they boarded that plane or left for work today, promises to be home in time for dinner, to make a child's soccer game or birthday party. some promises don't come cheap. others cost us absolutely nothing. others require that we risk everything we have and everything we are, even our very lives to fulfill those promises.

their acts of courage offer us comfort even today, inspiring every american as we have rebuilt from the day -- from that terrible day 13 years ago. the acts of courage displayed on 9/11 mark their last promise, in a sense, a promise carried on to the nation, to their children and other loved ones left behi behind, a promise that says the story of freedom will not end in the violent acts of evil men. it will endure and it will not be destroyed. early this morning, i had the privilege of joining my colleagues on the senate judiciary committee in approving a important piece of legislation called "the justice against sponsors of terrorism act," which will now be eligible for movement across the floor. it's appropriate that we pass that piece of legislation on the

anniversary of 9/11. by amending the current law to hold foreign sponsors of terrorism potentially liable in u.s. courts for acts that injure or kill americans. this bill will allow the families of the victims of the attacks of 9/11 and others to proceed to court against those responsible for those horrific attacks that took place 13 years ago. of course, part of the attack against international terrorism has to be to go against the money that finances it and this will provide another tool for those families to attack those who fund and finance international terrorism. this bill, not surprisingly, is strongly supported by the 9/11 family victims and it would allow their litigation to proceed on its merits, and i'm hopeful it will receive prompt consideration here on the senate floor that it deserves. americans have always been

deeply concerned about the kind of country and the kind of world we leave our children. as parents, that's what keeps us going somedays. of course, grandparents have other reasons to keep going and to keep fighting for a better world. and, of course, this remains true both abroad and here at home, in our own communities, in our schools and at work. we must continue to push on undeterred, always confident in the pursuit of our ultimate go goal -- a just, free, and peaceful world. not just for ourselves but for our allies and, of course, for future generations. part of that mission involves stopping evil at its source, running it down and eliminating it for good, because we learned one thing else on 9/11, we can either take the fight to the source of the evil where it exists or we can defend it here on the homeland. speaking for myself -- and i'm

sure others -- i want to go fight it at its source and not just defend on the homeland. the minions of terror have shown their capacity for inhumanity and we've seen recent reminders of that with the beheading of two american journalists by isis. and we must never underestimate the capacity and desire of these evil people to do so again and again. we have recently been reminded of this, and of course the president spoke to the nation's commitment to deal with this sort of horrific activity and dangerous and extreme ideology last night. as we adapt to new threats and new challenges, americans must maintain a sense of vigilance, a sense of purpose and a sense of moral clarity. we must never forget why we fight, and we must always make sure that our brave men and women in uniform have what they need in order to take the fight

to our nation's enemies. the greatest honor we can give those we lost is to live our lives worthy of their sacrifice. to relish the freedoms guaranteed by our constitution and to ensure the promise that those freedoms shall not perish for future generations. mr. president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i appreciate very much the distinguished senator from texas yielding. i now ask unanimous consent that all postcloture time on the motion to proceed to s. 2199 be considered expired. the presiding officer: is there an objection? without objection. all postcloture time has expired and the question occurs on the motion to proceed. all those in favor say aye. all those opposed say no.

the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the bill. the clerk: calendar number 345, s. 2199, a bill to amend the fair labor standards act of 1938, and so forth and for other purposes. mr. reid: in regard to this, mr. president, i have an amendment that is at the desk. i ask the clerk to report if so ordered by the chair. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. reid, proposes an amendment numbered 3800. mr. reid: i ask for the yeas and nays on that amendment. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the yeas and nays are ordered. mr. reid: i have a second-degree amendment at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. reid, proposes an amendment numbered 3801 to

amendment numbered 3800. mr. reid: i have a motion to commit s. 2199 with instructions. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion. the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. reid, moves to commit the bill to the committee on health, education and labor and pensions with instructions being amendment numbered 3805. mr. reid: i ask for the yeas and nays on that motion. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the yeas and nays are ordered. mr. reid: i have an amendment to the instructions. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. reid, proposes an amendment numbered 3803 to the instructions of the motion to commit s. 2199. mr. reid: i ask for the yeas and nays on that amendment. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the yeas and nays are ordered. mr. reid: i have a second-degree amendment. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. reid, proposes an amendment numbered 3804 to

amendment numbered 3803. mr. reid: mr. president, i have a cloture motion that i ask the chair to -- i'm sorry -- the president to order reported. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the cloture motion. the clerk: cloture motion. we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, hereby move to bring to a close the debate on s. 2199, a bill to amendment the fair labor standards act of 1938 to provide more effective remedies to victims of discrimination and payment of wages on the basis of sex and for other purposes, signed by 17 senators as follows -- mr. reid: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the reading of the names not be necessary. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the mandatory quorum under rule 22 be waived. the presiding officer: is there an objection? without objection. mr. reid: i now move to proceed to calendar number 409, s. 2432. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: motion to proceed to

calendar number 409, s. 2432, a bill to amend the higher education act of 1965, and so forth and for other purposes. mr. reid: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule 22 of the cloture vote with respect to s.j. res. 19 occur at 1:45 p.m. today. the presiding officer: is there an objection? without objection.

mr. coons: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from delaware. mr. coons: mr. president, this is an uneasy time in our world. there is no shortage of crises that demand our attention and our action. the president called on us last night to step up to the very real challenge posed by the terrorist group isis in iraq and syria. russian aggression in ukraine also demands our attention. a fragile cease-fire since betweenhams and gaza. there is the central american exodus to our southern border that rivetted the attention of many this summer. and continuing negotiations to seek an end to iran's illicit nuclear weapons program. but behind all of this, there is another and equally important challenge that i wanted to draw thissed about's attention to for a few minutes today, the spread of a quiet and vicious

virus throughout west africa. while the nation's attention today for good reason is on remembering the tragic events of 9/11 and the president's strategy for combating isis today, i'd like to speak on another urgent challenge to our country and our world. that's the need for us to dramatically increase our support as communities across west africa struggle to confront and combat ebola. i've met and spoken with librarian president ellen johnson surleaf, nobel prize winner, an impressive leader, a woman who has brought her country back from a terrible civil war and was making huge progress toward the development of liberia, who i have had the honor of meeting with here and visiting there. in my role as the chairman of the africa yafers committee, i have met few that impressed me as much as president johnson-surleaf. leaders throughout this region are doing everything they can to staunch the spread of this virus

and save lives, but in my most recent communications with president johnson-surleaf, it is clear that ebola is rapidly getting beyond the capacity, the ability of these communities and countries to contain it and to recover from it. they need our action. individuals on the ground from groups like doctors without borders and sam tear an's purse have done remarkable, heroic, extraordinary work, putting their own lives on the line to help others, and they have borne the overwhelming majority of the risk and the service and the sacrifice so far. and news has just been announced that the gates foundation will contribute $50 million to this fight, critical as public funds alone aren't going to be enough to end this crisis. mr. president, our own people through the united states government can and must do more. it need not be the role of the united states alone to resolve this problem, but it is our responsibility to stand side by side with those working tirelessly to stop it. it is our responsibility to not

just lend a hand but to help lead in ways that only we can, to use our unique capabilities to address this crisis. mr. president, if ebola's spread reveals one thing, it's that we are more interconnected today than we have ever been in our human history and the disease truly knows and respects no borders. we need to continue to act, not only because we are morally compelled to help the tens of thousands who are facing immediate threat but also because we have a direct stake in the resolution of this crisis. this is a manageable public health crisis that we know how to solve, but doing so requires our focus, our attention, our resolve and our resources, tools that only the united states has. let me briefly out line five specific steps i believe we should take now. first, i think it's critical. the united states has one leadership point, that the white house designate a coordinator to oversee the u.s. whole of government emergency response.

there are many ways the u.s. is currently helping across many agencies from the department of defense to the centers for disease control to the state department and usaid. those agencies are doing great work as part of the disaster assistance response team on the ground. but at a time when the u.s. government is also facing and addressing crises in iraq and ukraine and elsewhere, i think we need one organizer, one coordinator, one responsible figure addressing this crisis who is appointed by the white house to coordinate all of our resources and all of the people necessary from the u.s. government for this growing effort. president obama should designate an official to manage our country's response, both overseas and here in the u.s., including preparing us for the remote chance this virus might reach american soil. our ambassadors on the ground in the three most affected countries are playing the primary role in coordination right now and they are doing remarkable work, but let me remind news this body that in sierra leone, there is no currently confirmed u.s.

ambassador. the nominee john hoover has been waiting almost eight months to be confirmed. just one painful reminder that the dysfunction of this body has prevented us from confirming nominated ambassadors to dozens of countries around the world, to be effective, we need to coordinate our u.s.-based and our field-based efforts through ambassadors on the ground. second, we must begin to deploy u.s. military support to the maximum extent possible. let me be clear -- i don't mean combat capabilities. i mean the unique logistical capabilities of the united states military, their ability to deploy through their logistical capabilities resources that no other country can bring to bear as quickly and as successfully as we can. i was encouraged to hear an announcement this past week from the beginnings that they plan to use our military to establish a new hospital facility in liberia, to distribute equipment, to provide infrastructure and transportation support, but i will admit i'm concerned it will take weeks to deploy. on my visit to liberia last

august, i was struck at just how desperately poor and underdeveloped this nation of brave and inspiring people currently is, how paved roads and the ability to move at any speed rapidly ends just a few miles from the capital and how strained the infrastructure, the public health systems are by this rapidly growing crisis. this is not everything we can and should be doing. we need to build more field hospitals for civilians in liberia and beyond so there are facilities for health workers and civilians fighting the disease. we also can and should provide airlift of supplies from private donors. i've heard from organizations that have worked to transport donated supplies and can fill cargo plane after cargo plane but are having difficulty getting it from here to west africa. we need to deepen our coordination with foreign militaries. other nations possess similar advance capabilities as we do and we will be able to combat this crisis more effectively if we all work together. i very much appreciate, for example, ghana's efforts and

partnership is that it allows us to use some of their facilities as an air bridge for logistics. as more air resources are poured into this fight against ebola, we need other countries in the region to lend a similarly open hand. my third point is directed to our private sector, to international organizations, to the american people and to citizens of other developed nations. we need your support and your generosity and we need it now. this is a letter that liberia's president ellen johnson-surleaf sent to president obama this week. i want to read from it briefly. "mr. president, as you know, the outbreak has overwhelmed the containment and treatment measures we have attempted thus far. our already limited resources have been stretched to the breaking point, and up to now, only a private chairity has responded robustly in all the affected countries, but they, too, have finally reached their limit. my friend, president surleaf, is right. it is time for the rest of us to step up. the world health organization

has issued an ebola response road map that calls for 10,000 additional health workers and $490 million, and we are far short of reaching these goals today. the u.s. government has contributed so far more than $100 million and has announced a commitment of another $88 million that we in this body will hopefully approve before we end this session. the gates foundation, as i mentioned, has also made an impressive and incredible, generous addition of another $50 million, but the fact remains we need more. i have heard from many in my state and elsewhere across this country eager to offer support if you have the means, i would urge you to go to usaid.gov/ebola for links to some of the impressive nongovernmental organizations that are doing what they can on the ground to stem this humanitarian crisis. as much as this crisis needs money and equipment and supplies, it most importantly needs nurses and doctors and

paramedics and other medical professionals, thousands of them literally. the health systems of these countries which were already among the least well resourced of the world are overwhelmed, and so i'm asking today for your help. we're asking for you to save lives. if you are a trained medical professional and you're willing to help, i urge you please go to usaid.gov/ebola and consider how you might serve to help in this crisis. fourth, we need to develop and deploy a treatment and vaccine as rapidly as possible. here's where in some way america's talents and strengths in terms of the development and discovery of new parliaments, of new treatments and of a new vaccine is a unique contribution we can make. american scientists are making progress on both fronts but the reality it will be hard to confront and end this disease in the long term without either. much of the $88 million president obama has requested from congress will go towards

this most important goal. it's critical we support that funding in this chamber on a bipartisan basis and prepare for the reality that this is only the first investment we will need to make to quickly develop and deploy these life saving drugs and these critically preventive vaccines. lastly, mr. president, we need to invest in the governing and economic institutions in the countries that have been so devastated by this disease. it's not a coincidence that this outbreak has emerged in countries with some of the weakest health systems on earth. countries that face severe shortages of health care workers , labs essential for testing and diagnosis, clinics and hospitals required for treatment and the medical supplies and protective gear such as latex gloves and face masks that are commonly available in the united states but are now completely exhausted in the countries of sierra leone, guinea, and liberia. we know how to combat this disease with isolation, good

public health and burial practices, case eggs investigation and contact training. but all these things, all these things require trained personnel and many more resources than are currently available. in the short term, we absolutely can fill many gaps with the additional resources i've outlined but we need to act quickly and in the long term think more deeply about why investing in local health systems and institutions in the developing world is so critical. why a little preventive investment can go a long way to making a country more reslient in the face of a crisis like this. as we do now to stop ebola we need to consider the actions we can and should take together to prevent the next public health crisis. that end yesterday i introduced a resolution here in the senate with my colleague senators menendez and flake, durbin and corker outlining some of these very steps and recognizing the severe and real threat that the ebola outbreak poses to west africa and if not properly

contained to other regions across the globe. mr. president, here is the bottom line -- we have what it takes to halt the spread of ebola in west africa and to save tens if not hundreds of thousands of lives in the process. unlike other foreign interventions, doing so will take neither bullets nor bombs but rather, our willingness, our compassion, our generosity and our determination to act. the lives of thousands and the stability of entire countries is at stake. it is my hope and prayer that we will rise to this occasion with everything we have. thank you. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from delaware. mr. coons: i have five unanimous consent requests for committees to meet during today's session

of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and minority leader leads. i ask unanimous consent these requests be agreed to and printed in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. coons: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from delaware. mr. coons: i've come to the floor this morning to speak about our military's critical mission to defeat and degrade the islamic state of iraq and syria, a terrorist organization that threatens the stability and security of tens of thousands across these two nations. mr. president, as we consider more deeply involving the united states military into a new combat mission, i'm reminded of

the brave young men and women who will carry out that mission with unparalleled courage and professionalism. this past saturday i had the opportunity to join hundreds of fellow delawarans to welcome home and celebrate 70 men and women of the third battalion of the 238let national national guard aviation regiment who were returning from a year of service in kuwait. many of them were returning not just from one tour of duty but from what was their second or third deployment, having previously served in both afghanistan and iraq. yet these volunteer citizen soldiers were and remain willing to continue serving. i have the honor of knowing several current and former members of this unit and my heart was heavy this weekend thinking about how many more units like these, how many soldiers and airmen and their families will be asked to continue serving in combat or in distant and difficult places supporting combat missions in

the years ahead. after more than a decade of conflict in the exactly 13 years since september 11, 2001, i know americans are tired of war. i know we are weary of war. and as the president spoke last night, it was clear that he is as well. as am i. but i would challenge today my colleagues and my friends as i challenge myself that though we are weary we cannot ignore the very real threats that we face today. we cannot ignore the brutal events that have taken place in northwestern iraq and a in eastern syria and we cannot ignore the threat that brutality poses to america and our allies. isis is a brutal terrorist organization. it has killed innocent americans like the two brave journalists, james foley and steven sotloff whom they beheaded. thousands of innocent iraqis and syrians have perished at their hands and it will continue to do

so unless the world comes together to state of them. -- stop them. let us not forget one of the biggest reasons we first acted against isis militarily this summer was to prevent the imminent genocide of a religious minority, the yazidi people in iraq. images of tens of thousands of yazidis and christians who were hound and persecuted by isis and ultimately retreated to the top of a mountain i think transfixed the american people this august and the action that our president took and that our military executed on to allow them to safely flee courage all of us to know there are places when american military might can and should be used for good. just as the isis terrorist tryst, the yazidis, they threatened the kurds and other ethnic minorities in iraq and the region.

last night with my meeting senator kirk i cochaired the fairs first meeting of the senate human rights caucus and we heard from representatives from iraq's minority communities in a conversation that focused on isis's atrocities against innocent civilians simply because of who they are or how they worship. as we expand our campaign against isis we must continue to engage with the people of iraq and syria and the region to learn from the past and continue to prevent massacres of innocent men, women and children. isis is a group bent on the destruction of all people of whatever background or religion who do not subscribe to their hateful ideology. our president is right. what makes the united states a global force for good is that we are still willing to do what is hard because we know it is right. that's the responsibility that comes from being a nation uniquely founded on principles of freedom, of liberty, and of justice, and of having built up

one of the most capable and powerful militaries in the world. of being a nation and a people borne of immigrants who came from all over this world and remain connected to it and touched by the things that happen in the far reaches of our globe. last night president obama addressed ounce to make the case for expanding military action against isis. and already sadly today there are critics of his strategy just there have been over the past few weeks. in fact, in the four years i've served here i've rarely seen a day in this senate when the president isn't blocked and harried by his opponents. there is always some way he could have acted more quickly or with more strength or critics critics claim a sterner tone or or a more eager finger on the trigger. i must say i was struck when vice president -- former vice president cheney this past week criticized president obama's restraint as he has throughout president obama's tenure.

i would remind my friends we could do better than to listen to the voices of those who misled this country into war in iraq a decade ago. especially when it's clear they have learned none of the lessons of that tragic strag quick blender. -- strategic blunder. as we consider taking expanded military action now we should aflawed our president for proceeding with caution and humility. what sets it apart from past actions is this fact -- we are not going alone. seeking to lead a multilateral coalition is not leading from behind, it is not weakness, a muscular multilateralism is recognizing we are a an indispensable nation but we are not the only nation that should take on and tackle the challenge that isis presents. much of the allure of isis is the illusion they've created that the muslim world is at war

with the west when the truth is that isis does not reflect or represent islam and that isis has killed more muslims than any other people. the president's strategy of building a broad coalition of support including across the arab and muslim world is crucial to our success. this is not just an american problem, it is a regional and global problem and it will not be solved without the hard work of those living in communities and countries most at risk, most affected, most harmed by isis. we cannot and should not do this alone. that is the only way this works. it is a critical reason why i support the president's strategy for expanded action. central to this strategy's success is our military action as well as diplomatic resources and pressure. let's remember one of the reasons this has even happened is because of the abject failure of prime minister maliki and his

iraqi government to act in a pluralistic and inclusive way as he pledged he would and instead has acted as a shia warlord sowing the seeds of dissent with his sunni citizens that created the vacuum into which isis has charged. that's why this administration's diplomatic efforts to build an inclusive iraqi government, to demand one, have been so important. we cannot defeat isis without iraqis working hand in hand on the ground and that requires a united iraq whose future every iraqi has a stake in preserving. now as we deepen our involvement it is necessary that we broaden our strategy. the fact of the matter is we cannot defeat isis by attacking it in iraq alone. as we hit isis from the air, we also need to be cognizant of the fact most of its strength and support is in area syria and the

boundary line dividing iraq from syria is today on the ground largely a fiction. so we need in syria a strong and a moderate and an armed and trained opposition ready, willing and able to fight isis on the ground. the president referred last night to our successful counterterrorism strategy in several places in the world and let me as the cochair of the african affairs subcommittee briefly mention ways in which this strategy in syria is similar to what our strategy has been in somalia in combating an al qaeda affiliate which lass governed much of somalia over the past decade. there has been a similar strategy the united states has convinced combined training, language section and tactical support with an a.u. authorized force drawn from burundi and be

where they have held territory while the somali government get reestablished. in the case of syria, saudi arabia has just stepped up and agreed to to provide the funding and space to equip syrian coalition fighters. in congress we must act swiftly to support that training and equipping mission that the president has asked us to support by granting our president the authority and funding he needs. airstrikes could happen soon, and we cannot make the mistake of taking out isis while giving bashar al-assad the dictator who terrorizes syria the opportunity to rush into the absence. by helping build a cohesive, trained and equipped moderate syrian opposition we can help prevent the expansion of isis and the assad regime. in the long run, in syria as in iraq, it is syrians, moderate syrians who must retake their country from isis and undertake

the difficult and daunting challenge of rebuilding a stable and inclusive and hopefully someday peaceful society after decades of dictatorship and more than three years of a withering civil war. the united states and syria's neighbors and the entire international community needs to be invested and engaged to help them along this difficult path. now, we need to be direct with the american people. this is not going to be easy and it is not going to be swift. we must ensure our military has the resources it needs to carry out this mission. as president obama said last night, the lives of brave american pilots and service members will be put at risk, but we must also be clear, in their courage and service, they will be part of an important effort to eradicate from this earth one of the greatest threats currently walking upon it. last night president obama asked for the support of the american people as our armed forces and our partners begin in combination to carry out this mission. let me say