quorum call: the presiding officer: under the previous order the senate will proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations en bloc which the clerk will report. the clerk: nominations international bank for reconstruction and development matthew t. mcgwire of the district of columbia to be united states executive director. department of state gentry oz smith of north carolina to be director of the office of foreign missions. the presiding officer: under the previous order, there will be 30

minutes of debate equally divided in the usual form. the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from maryland. mr. cardin: i would ask that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cardin: mr. president shortly our colleagues will have an opportunity to vote on two nominations that are being recommended by the senate foreign relations committee. i see that senator corker is on the floor and i want to thank him for his help in bringing these two confirmations to the floor of the united states senate. both of these individuals are well qualified and i would urge our colleagues to support both nominations. one is the nomination of matthew mcgwire to be the united states executive director of the international bank for reconstruction and development. and the other is the nomination

of gentry smith to be the director of the office of foreign missions. mr. mcgwire is the assistant to the secretary and director of the office of business liaison at the department of commerce where he leads engagement with business community works to strengthen the international economic position of the united states and advocates for u.s. trade and investment. prior to joining the united states government, mr. mcgwire worked as a senior executive in the financial services industry for more than eight years but also has been active with nonprofit and civic organizations throughout his career. working on a range of public policy issues across the country and around the world. in a world where global health, environmental resource and security challenges for outstrip any one country's ability to respond is our clear interest to have a strong u.s. leadership in the world bank. the foremost international organization promoting economic development, poverty alleviation and good governance around the world.

prominent members of the house of representatives emphasized this critical role of the world bank in their may 15 letter supporting mr. mcgwire's nomination. representatives meek, clay, murphy minge rangel and others stated that mr. mcgwire's senior executive experience in the financial service industry and leadership roles with nonprofit civic organizations working on public policy issues around the world make him distinctly qualified for this position. mr. mcgwire's highly relevant experience in his current experience at the department of commerce added to his extensive background working for both for-profit and nonprofit sectors make him an excellent choice to represent the united states at this institution that is so critical for global stability. i am confident that he will serve with distinction. gentry o. smith is currently a senior advisor at the bureau of diplomatic security. the office of foreign missions assists and regulates service for foreign missions in the

united states, negotiates with foreign diplomatic representatives to improve operating conditions for the u.s. diplomatic missions and personnel abroad, assures that the u.s. diplomatic missions abroad receive equivalent treatment with respect to benefits treatments according to the host countries and is necessary to adjust the benefits according to foreign missions of the united states on the basis of the principle of reciprocity. mr. smith has an exemplary record for serving his country for well over a quarter of a century starting with his service as a raleigh police officer. mr. smith's thorough and highly relevant experience as regional security officer for the american embassies in egypt japan and burma and his employment with the director of security for the security programs deputy assistant secretary for countermeasures and a senior advisor gives him the expertise and fortitude to head the agencies responsible for both improving the operation conditions for u.s. diplomatic mitionz and for adjusting the benefits according to foreign

missions in our missions abroad -- if our missions abroad face mistreatment. mr. smith is a trofn b proven leader with extensive management experience and skills, and i am confident that he will be an excellent director of the office of foreign missions. mr. president, let me also point out -- and i know that our committee has been very, very busy. we have been able to successfully steer towards enactment of the bill to review the iranian nuclear agreement for congressional review. we recently were able to report out on a 19-0 vote the state department authorization. and i must tell you there is not a day goes by that our committee is not doing some work on behalf of the united states senate and the american people. but i need to point out that we need to pay more attention to getting the president's nominees to the floor with recommendations from our committee. if we complete these two nominations tonight -- and i assume that we will do that -- i believe that will make four nominees that we have completed

our work in confirmation that the president has sent to us. mr. president, there are nine other recommendations from the senate foreign relations committee, five which are career officers that have been reported out of the senate foreign relations committee and has yet to be brought to the floor of the senate. five of those nine are career people and yet we have had no action on the floor of the senate. more of a concern, there are 35 nominees that are currently pending before the senate foreign relations committee. of these 35, only four have had hearings and 22 of the 35 are career diplomats. i understand that we have had an extremely busy schedule within the senate foreign relations committee. as senator corker and i have talked about this, and i know we're going to use our best efforts to get these nominations moving forward i just really wanted to report that because i think we need to work not only our committee but the leadership of the senate to make sure that the president's nominees are timely considered and are timely

brought forward to the full united states senate, and i know that senator corker has been a true advocate of that process and has certainly worked very well in the last congress to make sure our committee acted in a timely way and i look forward to working with senator corker and this congress to advance those nominees. the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mr. corker: i wanted to rise in support of these two nominations, and i appreciate the ranking member, the distinguished ranking member, senator cardin, reading out their bios. they are in fact, foreign service officers. they have been in government service for -- or they have been in government service for some time. i applaud their desire to serve at this level and certainly plan to support them here at our 5:30 vote and hope other members of the senate will. and to the point regarding nominations, i think our committee in the last year

couldn't have acted in a more speedy fashion in getting nominees out. i know there are some. we're starting a new congress, and there is a little bit of a backlog that takes place. but i can assure the senator and others on the committee and others in this body, i have no desire to hold up especially foreign service officers that have committed their life towards foreign service and have handled themselves in such a professional manner, nor actually other nominees. so i do look forward to working with senator cardin to clear some folks through. i know we've had conversations today regarding moving them across the senate floor just for what it's worth. i know every time there is a recess typically you know, a large swath of people are able to be moved out right before recess and hopefully that will be the case as it relates to some of the foreign service nominations that are here. but i appreciate you raising it, i appreciate the way you work with me, and i look forward to

things picking up speed now that the backlog for the first of the year beginning and so many many other activities that have been under way having been completed. so thank you. the presiding officer: the senator from maryland. mr. concerned: again let me thank senator corker. it's been a real pleasure to work with him on the senate foreign relations committee. he's put the interest of the senate and our nation as the principal guiding force and the appropriate role for the senate foreign relations committee. in that regard, there is an amendment pending that we will be vogue on tomorrow on the national defense authorization act that comes under the jurisdiction of the senate foreign relations committee. let me comment on that, if i might and that's an amendment offered by senator ernst that in me amendment would provide temporary authority to arms directly to the kurds kurdish regional government security forces outside the process established for coordinating

u.s. weapons deliveries and training with the government of iraq in baghdad. mr. cardin: not only is at this time u.s. policy to ensure that all armed transfers are coordinated and approved by the government of iraq, it is also the law of our country. i very much oppose this amendment and i just really wanted my colleagues to understand why i hope they will reject this amendment. i know it's well intended but it would undermine the authority of the central government. what we're looking for how we're going to ultimately bring stability to iraq, we need to have a central government that represents all the communities of iraq, the that represents the shias the susans which represents the kurds and if the central government cannot be the coordinating entity we'll have a void in that country which only fuels the ability of organizations such as isis to be able to get recruits and resources for their terrorist

activities. we are sending military advisors and arms to the iraqis and leading a global coalition working every day with the iraqi leaders and communities ought all levels because we have an interest this a stable, unified and federal iraq. to achieve this goal we surplus the confidence of all the iraqi leaders and that is why it is important for us to coordinate our strategy through a central government. i want to make one other point absolutely clear. there is absolutely no evidence that the baghdad government is delaying or denying arms to the kurds. to date the united states and the anti--isil coalition has provided over 47 million rounds of ammunition, thousands of artillery pieces and rifles, 1,000 a.t.-anti-army systems and hundreds of vehicles including mine resistant known as nraps

and the vessels to counter improvised explosive devices. so they have been receiving arms. we have received letters the senate armed services committee from secretary of kerry and secretary of defense carter in opposition to the ernst amendment. let me quote senator kerry where he -- secretary kerry where he says any language that calls for preferred treatment for one region of iraq strengthens voices working against the pragmatic reconciliation policies advocated by the prime minister. it enforces iran's narrative that it seeks iraq's partition and iran is iraq's only true and reliable partner. the as a result the precise opposite of what may have been intend the intended. the language strengthens isis and weakens iraqi voices committed to work with the coalition to degrade and it matterly destroy isil, increases iran's prominence,

erodes state's authority to isolate and defeat extremist actors. what secretary kerry is saying, it should be obvious to diminish iran's influence in iraq you need a central government that has the confidence of the sunni population and the kurdish population. if, on the other hand, we're talking about trying to divide the country we're going to deal differently with the kurdish defense not through the central defense then it just feeds into the point that the united states is not serious about developing a unified iraqi authority. we must have that if we're going to be able to succeed in iraq. what secretary carter said, the secretary of defense i quote directly arming the kurds or other groups within iraq is inconsistent with the long-standing u.s. policy of wroting to maintain a stable, unified iraq. legislative language of this

type risks undermining the government of iraq and undercutting coalition military operations in coordination with the government of iraq to destroy and ultimately defeat isil. so once again we have our two top individuals both telling us that this would be counterproductive and -- is the senator is well intended with her amendment but the only way we're going to succeed in iraq if we can have a government of iraq that has the confidence of all the communities and that a government that believes that the united states is not picking sides among the ethnic communities in iraq, and that iraq does not have to rely on iran for its security needs and that means that this amendment could be counterproductive to those very goals our very goals in iraq. so i would urge my colleagues to -- when this amendment comes up for a vote tomorrow to vote against this amendment. with that, mr. president, i

would suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the presiding officer: the senator from new jersey. mr. menendez: i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. menendez: mr. president it take this opportunity -- of course i'll be supportive of the nomination that will be shortly voted on but to rise on the third anniversary of the deferred action for childhood arrivals program. for all of these young men and

women it has helped men and women who came to this country as young children through no choice of their own parents made that decision -- their parents made that decision for them. the only country they've ever known is that of the united states the only flag they pledge allegiance to is the american flag, the only national anthem they know is " "the star spangled banner"." because of the deferred action for childhood arrivals they've had temporary deportation relief and work authorizations so they could achieve their full potential as young americans. so i celebrate what we call this program called daca deferred action for childhood arrivals program with great pride because i pushed you pushed very hard to make it a reality. i spoke to the president many times about granting long-overdue administrative relief to dreamers who are americans in every day except for a piece of paper. and three years ago the tireless advocacy of dreamers,

the immigrant community community leaders in cities and towns across america and with the help of countless members of congress, the president took action and changed the lives of millions of young men and women living in this country allowing them to fully contribute to the country they call home. so today the dream is still very much alive. now, this deferred action for childhood arrivals has harnessed the talent of hundreds of thousands of young americans in measurable ways since its successful inception and it's a success because of the bold executive actions taken back in june of 2012. in an immigration system that is as flawed as ours the deferred action for childhood arrivals has been a beacon of hope, one step towards a more fair and just reality for immigrants in our great country. and the numbers tell the story. the action gave 700,000 young immigrants a chance at a better

life. it has strengthened our economy and it has generated roughly $422 million in application fees over the last three years. and it has allowed young americans to open bank accounts gets a driver's license, get a job prepare for the future with a growing sense of stability economic security and financial solvency. this program has been a model of sense shaped by the courageous individuals who decided to come forward, register with the government pass a criminal background check work hard and take advantage of the opportunities that deferred action program provides. in my home state of new jersey alone more than 25,000 young people have been granted the peace of mind that comes with temporary protection from deportation and the ability to work. we're talking about young people who attend our schools serve our communities people who dream just like all children dream of becoming doctors or

teachers artists entrepreneurs with a full stake in america. we're talking about people like diarina aldana who graduated essex county college this may. she came to the united states when she was just 4 years old and she now works and lives in new jersey with her mom and dad and intros dr. bro and sister. she plans on becoming a teacher and is grateful for the doors decade has opened to her. like other future americans are part of the rich fabric that forms new jersey's and america's history and destiny. her family represents other where we are as a nation, embody the spirit of american life which has been shaped by the homes and dreams and courage of those who made it to this country and called it their home.

it's appropriate that these deferred action beneficiaries the children of immigrants we referred to as dreamers have the chance to fully contribute their challenges and live the american dream because of the deferred action program. in the absence of comprehensive immigration reform, daca allows them to live with dignity and fulfill their full potential. because of the deferred action for childhood arrival hundreds of thousands of dreamers no longer have the fear of deportation and family separation hanging over their heads and now are our newest college students, teachers and small business owners. if we look at who they are we see it's about about families like this one. by removing the fear of deportation, being torn out of your loved one's at a moment's notice more people can live with dignity. three years later we see how our nation as dreamers and

aspirations are more attainable when dreamers can achieve their full potential. deferred action for childhood arrivals is living proof that all of america benefits when an undocumented individual steps out of the shadows is able to contribute to the economy through their ingenuity skills and hard work. we need to build upon programs like daca, not turn our backs on extending opportunities to hose who are willing to work hard for them. it's long past time for us to replace the lingering anxiety and fear in immigrant communities with smart policies that make good on america's providing opportunity for all. with many it began with daca. for others that dream is still delayed. i look forward to the delay the president's more recent executive actions for parental accountability and standed daca are implemented. despite the obstructionism of some i am confident that justice

will prevail and the president's actions upheld by our courts. i'll continue to fight not just for daca recipients, their parents and other dreamers and immigrant families. i'll continue to fight for comprehensive immigration reform that will fix our nation's broken immigration system once and for all. not just because it makes good economic sense but because it is the right thing to do. and i'm not alone. 72% of americans believe undocumented immigrants currently living in the united states have a path towards permanent residency and ultimately to legal citizenship. americans continue to overwhelmingly support fixing our broken system and the deferred action for childhood arrivals success should further encourage congress to move forward fortified by the conviction that comprehensive immigration reform is a fight worth fighting for. let me close by saying i join my colleagues in commemorating daca's anniversary as a day that marks three years of smart

successful policies, as a step in the right direction as a foundation upon which we can continue to build. it's an opportunity for the american dream to be realized by some of the youngest and best and brightest that we have in the nation, many of these young men and women i've met them are valedictorians. we need to use their internet, energy and creative talents to build a better america. with that, mr. president, i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. menendez: mr. president i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. all time has expired. the question occurs on the mcgwire nomination -- mcguire nomination. is there a sufficient second? there is a sufficient second. the clerk will now call the roll.

vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: all senators voted or any senators wishing to change their vote? if not on this nomination, the yeas are 62, the nays are 24 the nomination is confirmed. the question now occurs on the smith nomination. if there's no further debate, all those in favor say aye. all those opposed say nay.

the ayes appear to have it. the ayes have it. the nomination is confirmed. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: under the previous order the motions to reconsider are made and laid on the payable. the president will be immediately notified of the senate's actions and the senate will resume legislative session. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: 800 years ago on this very day at the field of runnymeade along the river thames in england king john granted the document that came to be known as the magna charta. in our language, great charter. this was the result of negotiations between king john and rebellious barons who objected to what they saw as violations of their customary marry privileges. by affixing his great seal to

the document 800 years ago today, the king accepted limits on his power to impose his will on his subjects. it was a momentous occasion, as evidenced by the fact that four original copies of the magna charta remain carefully preserved. but its significance has grown over time. it's true that the original magna charta was only in effect for a couple months before king john then at that time got the pope to annul it. but subsequent kings voluntarily reissued the charter as a way of gaining the support of the barons and portions still retain legal force in england today. while many of the specific

provisions in the magna charta dealt with very medieval concerns like how heirs and wills of deceased barons should be treated a couple clauses resonate very strongly this very day. quote -- "no free man shall be seized or imprisoned or stripped of his rights or possessions or outlawed or exiled or deprived of his standing in any way or or -- any way, nor will we proceed with force against him or send others to do so except by lawful judgments of his equals or by the law of the land to no one will we sell, to no

one deny or delay justice or right or justice" -- end of quote from the magna charta. now, in these clauses you can see the specific right of habeas corpus that was included in the u.s. constitution as well as the right to a speedy trial by jury in the sixth amendment. you can also see references to property rights. moreover what comes through is the overarching theme of the mag that carta something very basic to the united states governance the rule of law or what john adams called -- quote -- "a government of laws, not of men end of -- quote --." in the 17th century the magna

charta was increasingly cited to criticize the king's exercise of arbitrary power in the tug of war for accept press -- supremacy between the king and the parliament. it became a symbol of inviolable liberties for englishmen. for instance when william penn was put on trial in england for practicing his quaker faith he used the magna charta in his defense. he later wrote a commentary on the magna charta for a work printed in philadelphia called "the excellent privilege of liberty and property, being the birthright of the freeborn subjects of england" which contained the first edition of the magna charta printed in the new world. in this work william penn

explained the significance of the english tradition where the ruler is bound by the law in contrast to countries like france where the king was actually the law. he wrote -- quote -- ," again quoting william penn, "the law is both the measure and the bound of every subject's duty and allegiance. each man have a fixed fundamental right born with him as to freedom of his person and property in his -- in the property in his estate, which he cannot be deprived of but either by his consent or some crime for which the law has imposed such a penalty or forfeiture." end of quote. it is in this environment that the english philosopher john

locke developed his theory of natural rights, which so -- which was so influential in the drafting of the declaration of independence. the natural rights philosophy went a step further than the ancient rights of englishmen, positing that the rights are god-given and self-evident and that the very purpose of government is to secure those rights. however, you can clearly trace the lineage of the notion of limited government and consent of the governed to the magna magna carta. in fact, the original version of the magna carta contained a clause limiting the ability of the king to levy certain taxes on the barons without first consulting them and i think you

can easily see that that's an early version of what we say "no taxation without representation." while that provision didn't last the custom of needing consent for taxation eventually led to the evolution of the parliamentary system and representative government. still, it is important to note that representative government grew out of even more fundamental principles, like rule of law limited government, and the notion that citizens retain rights that the government may not in any way violate. our founding fathers thought that representative government was the best way to guard against tyranny and preserve the rights of citizens but that isn't sufficient because without a strong tradition of

respect for the rule of law even duly elected governments can descend into tyranny. now, remember the history of germany pre-world war ii. hitler came to power as a result of a democratic process and then proceeded to act in the very definition of "tyranny." in more recent times vladimir putin was elected president of russia then stifled opposition and consolidated power to himselfment, essentially putting himself above the law. when sergei magnitsky stood up for the rule of law in russia and exposed corruption at the highest levels in that country he was imprisoned in appalling conditions where he died a slow, agonizing death. by contrast the 800-00-year-old

anglo american tradition of rule of law acts as a crucial safeguard to our liberty. not only that but it is also an essential foundation for prosperity. an organization called world justice project has ranked countries based on various factors that indicate how a strong rule of law is in that particular country. the countries at the top tend to not only be ones we recognize as very free but also tend to be much more prosperous than countries ranked at the bottom of the rule of law index. now, maybe to us in america that means common sense. i think it is common sense. you are less likely then to work

hard to generate wealth or invest in a business if you can't be sure that the law will protect what you worked for. still, we shouldn't take this 800-year-old document and tradition for granted. it will continue to preserve our liberty and provide for our prosperity only so long as it retains the reference it has built up over the generations. human nature being what it is, there is still always a temptation for those in power to think that they are above the law. for instance, in the famous frost interviews after he resigned the presidency over the watergate scandal, richard nixon was asked about the legal limits of what a president can do.

nixon answered -- quote -- "if the president does it, that means it's not illegal." end of quote. he couldn't have been more wrong from the standpoint of the u.s. constitution and the fundamental principles on which it is founded, going all the way back to the magna carta. still the danger doesn't just come from megalomaniacs or others who seek to use power for their own purposes. those entrusted with power who would act outside the law even when they think it is good for their people, as they see it, end up eroding the bulwark of liberty that is the rule of law. every since the progressive era there has been a powerful school of thought that our system is divided and limited government is somehow inefficient that we

should have evolved beyond the need for limits on governmental power, and that power concentrated in the right hands can be used to help people. this is a temptation for every president and one i fear the current president is particularly susceptible to. in fact modern presidents have tools at their disposal that go far beyond anything envugsed by -- envisioned by the framers of the constitution. the constitution says that the role of the president is not to write laws but to -- quote -- "take care that the laws be faithfully executed" -- end of quote. we now have a massive administrative state made up of departments and agencies to which congress has delegated enormous power that make religions with the force of law

-- regulations with the force of law. moreover these agencies have the power to enforce their own regulations and the primary role in interpreting their regulations in individual cases. thus they exercise legislative executive, and judicial power all in one. but this concentration of power in the executive branch agencies creates a strong temptation for presidents to use it to implement their agenda irrespective of congress or the law of the land. i've been very critical of president obama for a number of actions that i think exceed his legal authority from using the clean water act to trying to regulate land use decisions in virtually every county in our country, to enforce -- to forcing states to adopt his preferred education policies in order to get funding and waivers, to granting a massive amnesty from our immigration

laws which even he previously admitted he didn't have the legal authority to do. i think these are bad policies, but even those who see these as short-term policy victories should be very wary of the long-term consequences of anything that erodes our tradition of respect for rule of law. now, as i finish, it took 800 years to build up, and once it is eroded, it will not be easy to restore. it is vital that presidents exercise restraint out of respect for the rule of law. congress should also work to reclaim much of the power it has delegated to the executive branch in order to reduce the temptation and the opportunity for abuse of executive power. and it isn't just up to elected officials. our ancient tradition of rule of

law draws its authority from the fact that generations have demanded that their leaders adhere to the rule of law. as such, this 800th anniversary of the magna carta is an occasion for americans to remember our heritage and to rededicate ourselves to this bedrock of liberty the rule of law. i yield the floor. mr. brown: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. brown: thank you. the for most children around the country, the school year has ended, the summer has begun some 700,000 children in ohio, my home state during the school year receive free or reduced-price school lunches on an average day some 700,000

children. these children might not have access to a nutritious meal when school cafeterias close for the summer. summer break shouldn't mean a break from good nutrition. that's where the summer food service program steps in. the united states department of agriculture works with state departments of education to ensure that every child has sufficient adequate, nutritious food to keep growing and learning after the final school bell rings. this year in ohio there will be 1,500 summer food service program sites across the state. last year these sites served almost 4 million meals. last week i spoke with winnie brewer who runs these sites in marion county, ohio, about the size of the city where i grew up. more than one in four kids in her county are school secure. she talked to a volunteer who

came to her in tears after watching a 6-year-old boy clean the shelves in a feeding site and then start digging through the trash. he was just that hungry. that's why the work winnie does and her volunteers do is so important. right now too many families don't know about this critical program. too many families miss out on receiving assistance once school lets out. winnie reports that just one in ten children who receive breakfast or lunch during the school year comes to summer feeding sites. that means in my state almost 700,000 children on any given schoolday will be getting a free- or reduced-price lunch. but during the summer months, only about 70,000 of those children get these meals or snacks. we need to do all we can to raise public awareness of these

programs so that families know that the end of the school year doesn't mean an end to food services for their children. in marion, where winnie runs her program, she anticipates she will triple the number of meals she serves this year compared to five years ago. that's because she and other community partners have submit committed -- have committed to making this program a success. schools and churches and synagogues and community centers and pools and recreation centers, volunteers and organizers have ensuring that children have the healthy food they need to succeed. these sites often offer more than just healthy meals. they provide summer enrichment activities for kids. we know that low-income children whose parents typically have less education in the months from school closing in late-may, early june until school returns late-august, early september tend to fall back on their

education so that in districts like that where the parents have less education less ability or know-how to read to the children to take them on field trips that might make their minds more active, we know those children start every fall having to catch up just to get back to where they were in the spring. that's one of the beauties of the summer feeding program. so you're not just giving these children nutritious meals. you're also giving these children library activities and sports activities and other kinds of organized activityies at churches and at community centers and at schools and at libraries that can matter. the sites in marion county partner with the ymca to offer exercise. they run a literacy program that provides free books to kids. getting a new book, unwrap ago new book, getting a new book can turn a child on and get that child more excited about reading.

earlier this month i was in youngstown a city in northeast ohio, to get the word out about the summer 2350eding program -- summer feeding program. i met with mark who runs a site and a couple other dozens sites in mahoning valley. i also met with a woman who has children and grandchildren in the program and now is working a few hours a week as a paid worker to help get this program up and running. families need to know about these sites the dedicated folks who run them, summer break shouldn't mean a break from good nutrition. mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. blumenthal: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. blumenthal: thank you mr. president. tomorrow we'll vote on a really

important amendment to the national defense authorization act, the military justice improvement act introduced by my colleague and friend, the junior senator from the state of new york. and i've worked with her been privileged to help craft this very important legislative measure not because sexual assault is a uniquely military problem. in fact, just the contrary. sexual assault afflicts our campuses, our workplaces, the battle against sexual assault is hardly limited to the military. but we have the opportunity to take a step that will set a model and send a message to other places where sexual assault is a problem and where underreporting because lack of trust and confidence in the prosecutorial system or the administrative apparatus is a major reason that sexual assault

continues without confidence and trust in effective results and protection of privacy and physical safety. survivors will simply not come forward. if they don't come forward there will be no discipline or prosecution. and that is the fundamental reason why i believe that the amendment we'll address tomorrow is so important. i've held round tables on campus sexual assault all around the state of connecticut, more than 12 or 13 of them, and worked with a bipartisan group of senators including not only senator gillibrand, who is the major sponsor of this amendment but also senator mccaskill who has been an extraordinary leader in this area having been a prosecutor herself; and senator heller, as well as others on both sides of the aisle to devise a solution to

tamp sexual assault. not just a single panacea but a set of measures that, again addresses one of the major obstacles to effective action against campus sexual assault which is the underreporting of this heinous horrific crime. it is a crime whereever it occurs whether in the military or on campus. and that is why we have to combat and conquer it, just as we do an enemy that preys on our men or women in uniform or on campuses or elsewhere. we went through this debate last year. we reached a solution last year, which we hoped would in fact be a solution. but the simple, plain fact is

that this insidious pernicious epidemic of sexual assault in the military continues unabated, or at least unreduced by the amount that we should regard as minimum for judging this supposed solution a success. the fact is that the department of defense's own research shows 52 unwanted sexual contacts occur every day on average across the military. that's the same rate as it was five years ago in 2010. the fact is in fiscal year 2014, the department of defense estimates 62% of service women

experienced retaliation for coming forward. the same percentage as 2012. service members who report assault are 12 times more likely to experience retaliation for reporting their cases than seeing the assailant convicted of a crime. retaliation is more likely than effective discipline or punishment against the perpetrator. the amendment that we have offered, the military justice improvement act seeks to address this issue through explicit codification of punishment for any person -- any person -- deciding to retaliate against anyone who reports this crime of sexual assault. explicit punishment for retaliation will not only send a message, but it will deter what

is in civilian terms one of the most severe crimes known as obstruction of justice. and the reason why retaliation or obstruction of justice is so insidious is it prevents the justice system from working from reaching a just result. and it not only deters victims and survivors from coming forward regardless of the crime; it also permits perpetrators and criminals to go free and feel they can commit again the crime of sexual assault or other crimes. but in the case of sexual assault, it is particularly pernicious because we know also from statistics that this crime

is recommitted. there is recidivism at a higher rate than many others. a large proportion of sexual assaults is committed by a very tiny fraction of members of the military. what happens in effect on campus or in the military is there are serial rapists serial perpetrators of sexual assault. and if they feel they can do it without consequences, they will continue to commit this crime. we've learned through many survivors that the anxiety to come forward stems not only from the fear of retaliation but from the bias and inherent conflicts of interest entrenched in the chain of command. the fact is the department of defense estimates that 60% of cases involve a supervisor or a unit leader. think of that number. 60% of cases involving alleged

sexual assault are committed by the supervisor or the unit leader in the united states military. the mgia, military justice improvement act the amendment we offer tomorrow and will vote on will address this obstacle by amending to design a power regarding sexual assault to an independent trained prosecutor or actually a team of professional military prosecutors while leaving decisions to the chain of command regarding purely military crimes. there is an argument, i recognize it, that good order and discipline requires the chain of command to work as a source of explin -- discipline and punishment and justice. but where retaliation bias,

conflicts of interest are so prevalent and so inherent in the process, where the chain of command is making decisions about the perpetrator who so commonly is in that chain of command, these decisions should be made by independent trained military prosecutors. and the type of crime involved here -- sexual assault -- is one that is very difficult excruciatingly daunting to prosecute simply because of the nature of this crime the nature of the evidence, the nature of the testimony. and so, trained professional military lawyers are in a better position to make these decisions about whether to go forward. not just about what evidence to introduce, but whether the evidence justifies the prosecution, whether proof can be presented that will do just

ice, not just reach a conviction. our amendment will entrust military lawyers with specialized training in prosecuting complex cases to make those prosecutorial decisions. removing the commanders from the prosecutorial process will also protect the privacy of victims when reporting these crimes. typically they involve some of the most intimate of details. a trained independent military prosecutor and removing the commander from those decisions will protect privacy and encourage reporting. i believe that this step is a critical next step in this effort to improve the military justice system. i have immense respect for colleagues who disagree with me. some of them are seasoned

prosecutors, extraordinarily talented and dedicated lawyers and we may differ on these issues. many of our allies, including the united kingdom canada, israel germany norway and australia, have already taken steps to remove sexual assault reporting and prosecution from the regular chain of command. and military leaders there report no particular change in their ability to maintain good order or discipline. the facts are there to justify removing these decisions from the chain of command but colleagues who disagree with me, i hope, will continue this effort. i know that they will, to improve our military justice system.

we can agree to disagree on this step. we should agree to move forward on other steps where we can reach consensus because we have in common much more than we have in conflict, that this heinous crime should be rid of the greatest strongest military in the history of the world. that's our military. and we owe it to the men and women who serve in uniform to have a system of justice that matches their courage and strength and skill. thank you mr. president. i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader of the senate. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to immediate consideration of calendar number 101 s. 565. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 101, s. 565, a bill to reduce the operation and maintenance costs associated with the federal fleet. the presiding officer: is

there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent that the bill be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid on the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the consideration of s. res. 201, submitted earlier tid. today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 201, designating june 19, 2015, as juneteenth independence day. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid on the table, with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: now i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of s. res. 202 submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 202, designating june 15, 2015, as world elder abuse awareness day. the presiding officer: there

objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask that the resolution be be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid on the table, with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: so, mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today it adjourn until 10:00 a.m. tuesday, june 16. following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day. following leader remarks the senate thfn resume consideration of h.r. 1735, with the time until 11:30 a.m. equally divided in the usual form. further, that the filing deadline for all second-degree amendments to h.r. 1735 and the mccain substitute amendment number 1463 be at 12:15 tomorrow. the senate recess from 12:30 to

2:15 to allow for the weekly conference meetings. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: if also no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until 10:00 a.m. tomorrow. >>

>> 97% of the people sued have to settle because they don't have the three a million dollars to defend themselves. they pay an average of $300,000 to those that are suing them. whenever reaches that settlement they are locked into the nondisclosure agreement that says they are never allowed to tell anybody what happened to them. so to have legislation on the topic we will speak to as many congressmen as possible for the best way to help those entrepreneurs to run their businesses from those demand letters that currently exist.

>> mostly we are concerned with publicly are those that make it difficult to report their property rights

available through your favorite bookstore or online bookseller. >> welcome to the national press club. i am an editor for bloomberg first word day -- located here in washington and president of the national press club. our guest today is actor and screenwriter matt dylan who will be joint by the

president of refugees international. first one to introduce my colleague at bloomberg news sitting to my left and she is the speaker committee member that helped to organize this event. thank you. also the c-span and public radio audience. follow the action on twitter. even though it is not lunchtime we're using # npclunch. you may remember matt dylan as the star of the film the outsiders and if you do you might say his appearance with us today is appropriate , 35 years into his acting career he is turning his attention and our attention to a group of people who are

of long the ultimate outsiders the muslims of myanmar. dylan recently visited of and how the state spending time touring the of a refugee camp that the muslims call home no country claims these people. they have been stateless for centuries descendants of people that now living in bangladesh and are unwanted both in the land of their distant ancestors and myanmar. this decade their plight turned from state business to persecution with long-simmering tensions between the of buddhist and their muslim neighbors have exploded into violence.

mobs on and with machetes prompted more than 100,000 to flee they thought they would find freedom through traffickers that instead they ron votes on the sea or buried in shallow graves in nearby malaysia and thailand. this level of despair might tempt us to look away but matt dylan is making it his mission to make sure we do not. speaking to the press after his recent visit to the rohingya refugee camp he said clawback no one should have to live like this they are being strangled slowly with no hope for the future and no where to go.

teeeighteen is no stranger to refugee issues in the company here am here today is the president of refugees international since september 2010 and he hopes to work and refugees and displaced people worldwide. dillon has continued his acting career that has included movies such as beautiful girls, a personal favorite of mine of wild things, something about mary thomas city of coast. he picked up an oscar nomination for his role in a crash that was selected as best picture 2006. dillon is currently starring in the fox miniseries reword pines. please join me to give a warm national press club

welcome to matt dillon. [applause] >> thank you. that was a lovely introduction and also into every buddy here at the national press club before hosting michelle and myself the rohingya of myanmar a the current largest stateless group in though world estimated somewhere 100 million people i'm sorry 1 million people, at least. after having served on the board of refugees international the last seven years i have heard about the

rohingya during that time a group of great concern going as far back as the early '90s or maybe longer. but six weeks ago here in washington d.c. that the rohingya really got my attention. as an advocate for his fellow rohingya was honored at refugees international and defense that he made a powerful speech there is an urgency you don't typically hear it was the immediate desperate plea of of someone who was accepting an award for something they have done the first words out of his mouth were i don't exist. i learned later at the very moment he was making that speech, and many rohingya

were suffering and dying at sea. my decision to go to myanmar was spontaneous and not something that i play and. and at that time more stuff was coming out about rohingya and induce induce, horrendous pitchers pitchers, people crammed into the holes of the votes like cargo and talk about human trafficking and ships turned away by countries in the region and i wanted to find out more why these people were forced to flee. i had been on a mission before i met and spoke with displaced people in the

eastern kong go in and sudan and i feel the best way to learn about what is going on is to see it for yourself. so i called michele and said i think i am going to burn up. he said i think it will be very good. it will not be easy because there is the number of ngos working there. but it is never a good sign with you were chased away but to wit i thank you can make a difference and take a lot of pitchers. i've met up with a few journalists for those who were more familiar with the crisis there and i am and we went to the main city.

as you might know the rohingya muslims are an ethnic minority the vast majority of people living there are buddhist who also are the ethnic minority and in the today's we were there we visited i dp camps once i get one i like to use it but for the displacement the ibp camps and one rohingya village near the of coastline that many of the inhabitants living there were forced to live there after they were destroyed the first impression right

away is nobody would live there if they have the choice. it is hot and dry. people seem to be thoroughly defeated. you could see that in their eyes but they would look down to see. there were signs of malnutrition people tried to escape unsuccessfully spending months at sea to be starved and beat his then return for ransom. a lost everything and would end up back in myanmar others homes were burned to the ground watching their neighbors being murdered as the police did nothing.

during the today's meager there we did not see any aid workers in the camps. there were signs there were plenty of construction but we did not see anybody. that was strange because i have been in refugee camps before and i did not see anybody. i was only there for a few days but from what i understand ngos can now working in the region in the health clinic that revisited serviced 30,000 people with two hours a day. this isn't enough obviously. it says a lot about the desire to help these people the conditions are bad but

it is much worse with they are more blatant but it gets less attention because you cannot visit it easily you have to go by boat. this is where 90 percent of them lived. the population is almost entirely 86 yet they are for betted to have administrative positions and treated as second-class citizens and controlled by the police. it is not easy to access. i could not go there. but the last 86 neighborhood in the town back in this city is where nobody is allowed to enter the people living there are prisoners the economic life has been shut down with no access to

services. if they want to get out they have to pay a fine. it appears to be like other residential streets in the town except there is a barbwire checkpoint. we don't really know what is going on. i tried knowing it was off-limits and he insisted that i the if -- that i be repeated the. to put his hand in front of my camera. i got the point when a truck pulled up with more police so we left. myanmar has of a neighborhood that is blocked off like the polish ghetto

where people are contained and trapped. is said area of concern that if the violence flares up again that the neighborhood and inhabitants will bear the brunt and that is a real concern to so they feel like sitting ducks so with all the news of the rohingya turned away it has taken in the heat of the myanmar government turning into the international issue. a few weeks ago there were media reports of myanmar navy intercepted a ship of 600 refugees off the shore

then day secretly offloaded all of rohingya refugees in myanmar there were 300 and 400 or offloaded in secrecy than the navy escorted their remaining to bangladesh. when they arrived they could prove there are no refugees from myanmar on the ship and gave credence to the assertion that they were not from myanmar but they don't use the word to six they did not even acknowledge that they exist. but that doesn't hold water because and for me because i

spoke to several people that were on that ship including one woman that was desperate to escape with her four children how men had boarded the ship at night or read them to get off the boat. roll over 100,000 rohingya have taken to the seas in a desperate attempt that is indisputable but though woman with the four children told me she would do it again if she could despite three months of misery while she waited in the bay of ben mccall. because the traffickers will not leave until they are filled to the brim so that is when it is a horrible situation people are tricked to come onto the ships promised a better life so

she suffered but she said she would do it again if she could. that is how desperate the situation is. the reason this is happening is they are stateless and not recognized by the government despite the fact they were born and raised for many generations longer than my descendants have been so is in 1982 stripping of basic services of health care education the right to vote clear signs of ethnic cleansing their permitted jews travel to get permission to very. a new law was passed there

is a gap three years between childbirth that maybe that is not such a bad thing but in this particular case obviously it is an indication of ethnic cleansing to control the population. coming from that source it is a bad thing. people choose to do that we learned that in south sudan they encourage people when they are struggling in the camps it is hard enough to take care of one. but this is not that. is ethnic cleansing. the feeling that i was left with was one of oppression people being trapped with no options but it is not something can and must be done.

i look forward to hearing from the cholon what can be done and your questions as well. thank you. [applause] >> good morning what has been widely reported the most manifestation of day ordeal and i am grateful that matt went back to see where the problem really was because they were given the impression that it is the international crisis which it is not a when confronted with the accusation of persecution in when we describe that it is not

communal violence to seek that mechanism of reconciliation in this is not happening so to give more of a profile to what is happening there. i was there one year ago but things are getting worse dieted did segregation from the rest of the population they cannot move out of their village from the local police station they are in the camps that are increasingly like get those to endure tremendous difficulties to get there to put them into the position to have more access said of course, they toned down the criticism of which where

these people are kept. we have talked about the restrictive policies the government has enacted the edict that the word rohingya is prohibited in their request for earners do not use the name and they cannot sell to identify day will only can look at them if they say they are bengali but that is the admission they are not from the country of those that were mentioned five but from those that had documentation others say we will verify something that they have not told us. but we have seen that threats of hate speech provided by a radical group and that has been tolerated by the government to be

promoted with no attempt to encounter that hate speech has spread well beyondia of the country into the attitude to move the rohingya out of their states so they are faced with the year and i remember talking to women who would say will we survive the next round of violence? no hope of all for the children the economy is completely stalled there were some homes where they could not go all-out war could not work but they are destroying their homes so they can move into the camps

or take to the votes. so we see a slow hemorrhage of the rohingya people through the process of ethnic cleansing and remember after the violence in 2012 the president told the united nations you can resettle them also the president said take the people of this country which they refuse but it does state quite clearly what the government once. so what can we do? that is a long process because of the relationship because of that hate speech campaign that every -- and the process would be so long but we want access to the people of the camps so is

the living conditions to a minimum of activities to sustain their livelihood. but if we only ask for humanitarian access we ask for better treatment of people with that international community cannot accept that so to put forth another version of the narrative that is promoted by the government and that will take some time. but for the time being they are scared to get out of the camps so you need to have strict instructions that

they have to protect those fundamental rights for whoever believes the country and eventually with the citizenship law that that will take some time it will take pressure with sustained international pressure over the coming years. and one last before we open for question they themselves as the minorities may say to have legitimate grievances it if these are not addressed with the reconciliation that will not have been so to say all could hear or all bad there but how do we reduce that impact on the population?

but they are of peter with diplomatic messaging but that is the neck step to be considered to push the government to run much better attitude toward the rohingya. >> thank-you. we will start with questions about rohingya and i thank you will jump in on those and we will pivot with questions i have gotten about matt's and movies and television. you can just come up of what got you interested in this cause? there are so many you could devote your time to.

why this one? >> i guess the question is refugees your refugees international which that is a laundry cancer. with regards to rohingya was a speech i remember he spoke at the gala and it was the gripping it speech because it was so a media with desperation and he came the next day to address the board and i remember feeling , like to help him somehow if we could lower the cause because they would seem so desperate.

but a lot of stuff was coming out in the media of with the ship's turned away the human traffic paying them mass graves and this was something i wanted to do. with the refugees international i am pleased to be a part of that i have been on the board seven years that working with them longer. >> how do you get involved in the first place? >> actually richard holbrooke introduced me to the organization after robert janeiro introduce me to richard holbrooke. [laughter] and i wrote and directed a movie i was trying to get bob to do it and it was set

in cambodia and richard was fascinated because he spent time in the foreign service during the war a unit he centcom to one of our defense and i did and i met a woman who was an advocate and was very inspiring individual. that is how i got interested i did not join the board until son years later but unfortunately event died in a horrible accident in close ago as her truck went off a cliff and she is reuniting families with refugees on a mission from refugees international. i was heartbroken because i

love this woman. she inspired me to get involved and i am glad that i did. >> this is for either/or both but is the ultimate solution with rohingya to keep pressure on the myanmar government? is that the party that is in the best position to end this crisis? it'd be the focus? >> yes. for many reasons nobody knows exactly the number but hundreds of thousands of rohingya and bangladesh are not recognized they live on the border in miserable conditions and the government is not one international aid to help them so nobody wins them but

with me in more or burma for centuries they all have different histories to except that any country that has the power to decide a section does not matter what type of precedent they think it will be complicated but it cannot be helped if they don't change their narrative for their language. >> this is a question that was a veiled. myanmar is a hot spot for international tourism this brings in desperately needed development hard currency and revenue. why not hit them in the pocketbook to launch the international call for a tourism boycott until the persecution of rohingya is ended and they are accepted into the fabric of the

country as contributing members of society. if this happens the weekend hope tourist would flood into the country again. the one about a tourism campaign? >> i think any pressure the international community can put on the myanmar government to reinstate citizenship to these people. any pressure that can be put on the government to meet the people's human rights and ultimately to change their status to give them citizenship pass to be done

and pressure has to be put on them. what do you think? >> it seems myanmar has opened up with the business interests and political interest they're all human rights. so far the pressure of myanmar is applied by the u.s. government is in diplomatic ways for the assistant secretary of state for human rights they said the right things publicly musset's stronger things privately but the u.s. that the european country they are subdued in addressing the issue of the rohingya.

if diplomatic pressure is on suffice then this is not for us to decide but if course the west cannot be alone to see the of one of the engagement with tools at their disposal to not be imposed by government by companies individually. >> it seems like the current crisis comes after democratic reforms in d.c. any connection in-betweens the events?

is the conflict based on religion? are muslims living in a buddhist country is that the trouble? >> what is happening with the process of the democratization is populated by a those that are not from burma they all have the issues the central government with the process there is the aspiration to have the better say in the political life there has ben war protester demand to

lower those strongarm policies these become stronger so it is the process of the democratization but the language that has been used against rohingya the fact that they are ethnically different but rohingya so there is a difference there there is a difference in religion that makes the narrative more conflictive a lot of people tell you in the past they have lived peacefully although there has been tension those that have been stopped by politicians but there wasn't

much better understanding but it was used politically and my fear is the attempt of the government to pacify on the back of the rohingya and this should be denounced >> your obviously taking your message to the press. are you meeting with anyone else while you are in town? you've visited the situation in a couple weeks ago. day you have plans to make any other visits to reach out to other communities? >> not presently. actually this is great to carry the message here with the national press club and

we are trying to get the message out that it is very difficult thing and has been and under reported. i have heard about rohingya i am on the board of refugees international but not until i heard them speak six weeks ago, i had read reports of people's villages being burned to the ground that is very disturbing so i just want to get the message out there. and as far as meeting with anybody else with refugees international that our better first in the crisis than i am that has met with people of the hill.

i am not doing it while i am here. i have to get back to new york i have a few more appearances to talk about with this crisis. >> have you tried to reach out to the opposition in leader to try to encourage her to speak out? >>. >> the leader of the opposition is the nobel peace prize but we did feel the pressure when she came to talk a couple of years ago but she has declared she is primarily politician although the world sees her as a human rights advocate but she declares herself talking for the rohingya will not own -- will not urge you votes.

but talking too much then we divert the speech what the government should do. she is not responsible for the policies the government is we should address those issues with the government we could talk about then. >> myanmar has a tradition to drive ethnic minorities to because refugees more than 100,000 from burma remain in refugee camps in thailand some have been there more than 30 years to think the thai government experience has made the thai government more reluctant to respond to the rohingya crisis? >> they have received

refugees in the hundreds of thousands from the mid-70s though i would be worried to be seen as a country so certainly it is a factor of the current movements. >> maddow we have questions about your career and right now you are starring in a way word pines that seems like a modern day twin peaks. is that a fair comparison? and what can you tell us about your feelings how the show is being received? >> it was an interesting experience because i had been done long formed television before because i was speaking to a board

member it is like the "twilight zone" and i kind of agree. i felt the tone felt like the "twilight zone" while i was doing it. if it was an enjoyable experience stressful and challenging for me. i am not crazy about surprises in the best of circumstances and with television you get new scripps all the time so that can be tricky because if i have thoughts i will speak up and i did. it was good i think that is what makes this show could do was an incredibly talented group with the rest of the cast in the director's so it was a different environment in that way from television.

>> it seems you have cut a different path than your contemporaries as you op -- opt for the individual takes more than blockbusters. is that conscious and if so, why? >> the industry has changed since i have been in the business, as several times and i never consciously consciously, said they did not exist when i started. of course, they did but not really, not this type of independent film division with studio pictures. the first film would have been very much independent but it was distributed by a warner brothers backed by orion it would have concurred ben and considered a studio picture. i tend to gravitate to more

character driven material. i look foray a good script grey a good character and that is what about for. >> you have worked without wide range of directors so compare and contrast francis ford coppola with the shallow. >> we're here to talk about rohingya. what is going on. comparisons are never valid. i saw at working with him as a director in a very talented director with good leadership skills i enjoy the experience tell the wish he would have directed more than the first episode. i obviously learned a lot

from france is. any more questions about the rohingya refugees? [laughter] >> i do have some more questions. have you see the role of the un in this crisis in china and are there being some of members of congress? maybe you can talk about reaching out to the hill or the u.n. or china or other powerful political forces to address this crisis. >> a thank you should address that. >> i am not quite sure. it is a huge question that as a member of the security council says of member of the political process.

but on the rohingya issue i am not sure where the question goes. perhaps i can anticipate the things we would like to see given that level of persecution we see one and a useful mechanism to have that commission of inquiry and this is how you respond to the event i am afraid it is stopped by other members and there is your answer. >> when conflicts arose in indochina there are historical efforts by refugees to find a safe haven abroad not only in neighboring countries but western counterparts

usa, austria and canada. that being said and taking into account southeastern asian countries have refused of rohingya what is your opinion of refugee policy should it change to accommodate this crisis? >> i would like to say refugees international started with the indochina conflict during that period of time with the boat people of vietnam and also on the thai cambodian border. and it is difficult to say that southeast asian refugees were expected and welcomed into the united states and other communities and australia. i think what i was getting

from the question is shouldn't they return? but in fact, they are no longer part of those countries so i don't know. there is a disconnect. but what is most troubling about rohingya is that it seems nobody wants them. they are damned if they do or if they don't and they are attracted is no way for anybody to live. they cannot move internally and when they tried to flee on the votes they are turned away. many have died at sea. when we came back there was of reports in the myanmar newspaper that said there

were 700 some bengali refugees that were intercepted on the ship. 50 people were dead on the boat so you can imagine is the conditions. but it was all about bengali. no mention of rohingya obviously because they don't use the word. . .

do you know about this and is this publicity over the fraudulent photos doing any damage to get the message out about this? >> i don't know anything about it. i don't know anything about it, but obviously that's -- you know that doesn't do anything to diminish the fact that people are suffering and a human