be successful for fisma will not, you know, we're not going to have people go away. and in point of fact, given the various responsibilities that we have under these rules, that we need every single one of those people to be successful in implementing this. and so from the standpoint of what we've been doing with our field force and what we have been doing with our laboratories, those responsibilities don't disappear under fisma. >> okay. dr. ostroff, thank you for your testimony, mr. taylor, thank you for being here, mr. tootle. anything you'd like to make certain is included in the record before we close this hearing? >> well, i will just close by saying i'm the eternal optimist, and, you know, we -- the request that we made for this fiscal year for fisma implementation from my perspective is

absolutely critical to its success. and, you know, to make this have it maximal imact which we end -- impact which we hope that it will have to change some of these graphs that yo see here on the right and the left, every component of that request is vitally important to the success of this endeavor. and so we will have some incredibly difficult choices to make if if we cannot get that particular request. and so i recognize that you have been an ardent supporter of the success of fisma, and we certainly are totally appreciative of the efforts that you've made to this point, and we're very, very appreciative of the resources that did show up in the subcommittee's and the full appropriation for fisma implementation. all i can say is that there will

be some significant shortfalls that will result with that particular number which will make it very challenging for us to be able to put in place right from the get go what we need to do to be successful in this endeavor. >> doctor, thank you very much. appreciate your testimony. thank you for being here. i appreciate the presence of my colleagues and for members of the subcommittee, either those that were here or who were not, any questions that they'd like to submit for the record should be turned into the subcommittee staff within one week, wednesday, september the 23rd, and we would appreciate having a response back from fda within four weeks subsequent to that point in time. and, again, thank you for your testimony. thank you for the way that you have answered questions today and presented testimony, and please express my gratitude to the folks at fda for the outreach that has occurred in the development of these orders of control. with that, the committee stands

adjourned. >> thank you, senator. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> today former cia directer and retired general david petraeus goes before the senate armed

services committee answering questions on u.s./middle east policy and combating isis. we have it live at 9:0 a.m. eastern on c-span3. a senate subcommittee considers the consolidation of health care companies today. witnesses include the heads of anthem and aetna, two companies currently trying to merge. you can see this hearing live at 10 a.m. eastern on c-span. >> the pope's visit to the u.s. c-span has live coverage from washington, d.c. can, the first stop on the pope's tour. today beginning at 3:45 on c-span, we're live with the president and mrs. obama to greet the pontiff on his arrival at joint base andrews. wednesday morning on c-span, c-span radio and c-span.org, the welcoming ceremony for the pope as the obamas officially welcome him to the white house. and later that afternoon starting at four, the mass and canonization at the basilica of

the national shrine of the immaculate conception. thursday morning at 8:30, c-span's live coverage begins from capitol hill as pope francis makes history addressing congress. and friday morning at 10, live cover average from new york as the pope speaks to the united nations general assembly on c-span3, c-span radio and c-span.org. and later, at 11:30, follow c-span's coverage of the pope's historic trip to the u.s. live tv or online at c-span.org. >> tuesday the senate scheduled to formally begin work on bills that would ban most abortions after 20 weeks. next, debate on the floor starting with senator tom cotton, a supporter of the legislation. this is 40 minutes. >> over the last year, i've learned a lot about the magic of

human life from conception to growth in the mother's womb to childbirth to newborn development. this wasn't a part of my legislative work or my public duties. my newfound knowledge didn't come from a course of study, reading scientific journals or consulting with medical experts. instead, like many parents, i learned through experience. the blessings of my first child. my wife, anna, gave birth to our very own little angel, gabriel, almost five months ago. since then gabriel has join ised me on this very floor at this very desk. many of you have met our little man and happifully agree that he appears -- happily agree that he appears to take after his mother. gabriel has been a part of our family from the beginning, long before he was born. i remember when anna and i first discovered that she was pregnant. we were so excited, yet like so many new parents, also apprehensive for his health and safety. then, a year ago this week, we had our first appointment with

the ob/gyn in russellville. we couldn't believe when we heard his little heartbeat on the ultrasound at barely nine weeks. anna recalls that she almost started crying, though i don't recall an element for either one of -- an almost for either one of us. just four weeks later, as the first trimester concluded, we saw gabriel in profile lying on his back, hands near his face, feet and legs kicked up into the air. we now know how many of his personality and habits had developed at that point, because that position is how we usually find him when he wakes up from the his nap. soon after he started to flip around, kick and hick i cup, which he also likes to do. all these things happened before the halfway point in anna's pregnancy, before gabriel reached 20 weeks. and while he's precious and one of a kind for us, it's quite normal for a typical baby as

expecting parents can tell you and as modern medical science can now document. while anna carried gabriel to term and he was born happy and healthy, many babies aren't as lucky. but thanks to the miracle of medical science, babies aged just 20 weeks after fertilization can increasingly survive if born at that a extremely premature age. a remarkable study published earlier this year in the new england journal of medicine concluded that babies aged 20-22 weeks could not -- could survive with skilled and proper, though not extraordinary medical intervention and treatment. likewise, advances in medicine have made fetal surgery more successful, sometimes as early as 16 weeks. these wreak throughs can help -- breakthroughs can help correct or ameliorate certain fetal conditions. so not only can 20-week-old babies survive outside the womb, but they can also undergo

successful surgery inside the womb. and it's common practice in these surgeries to administer an seize ya not just to the mother, but specifically to the baby in utero to prevent both from feeling pain. in other words, medical science increasingly confirms the common experience of parents and the religious and ethical belief of aegis, an unborn baby is just as much a person as you, as i, as each of us. only more innocent, more helpless and, therefore, even more deserving of protection. especially by the halfway point of a pregnancy, they feel pain. and they seek life. so it's particularly heartbreaking that such babies are killed in our country. by some estimates 10,000 babies 20 weeks or older are aborted each year. by this point most americans have seen the gruesome videos of planned parenthood officials

callously discussing the dismemberment of babies to harvest and sell their organs. they cavalierly talk about using, quote, less crunchy procedures to preserve the organs, subjecting the baby to excruciating pain and death for profit. this is a sad reality in america today. just two miles from where i stand, just five blocks from the white house is an abortionist who advertises on his web site for abortions without restriction up to 26 weeks, right up to the third trimester, far past the medically-accepted point of viability. who knows how many other abortionists do the same is, just more discreetly. it's past time to end this barbaric practice and protect these innocent babies. i, therefore, strongly support the pain capable unborn child protection act and urge my fellow senators to do the same. this would stop the abortion of

babies 20 weeks and older with widely-supported exceptions. i understand that abortion provokes strong feelings on both sides of the question. i acknowledge that reasonable people of good will disagree about the wisdom and morality of early, first-term abortions. but i'm mystified as to why we cannot come together and agree to protect babies who feel pain and who can survive outside the womb. and it's not just i and large majorities of the american people who feel this way. the civilized world overwhelmingly rejects this kind of late-term abortion. only seven countries allow elective abortion after 20 weeks. including communist dictatorships like china and north korea which also inflict forced abortion and sterilization on their people. by contrast, countries to our left like france and germany heavily restrict or ban abortion after the first trimester.

so does belgium, home of the european union. even russia bans elective abortion after the first trimester. our abortion policy is one case where we should with ashamed of our international isolation and follow europe's lead in protecting innocent life. in our country, founded as it is on the equal rights of mankind and the unalienable right of life, it's deeply disappointing that the laws don't protect those most innocent lives among us. particularly when medical science now has the ability to do so. these scientific advances, like life itself, are miracles. these days it may seem like a miracle when a law passes around here. if that is the case, as a father, as an american, as a lawmaker, i think a miracle is called for now if it ever was. >> i rise today in strong

opposition to continued attacks on women's access to health care. today the senate majority leader is attempting to advance a bill to ban abortion after 20 weeks. this is a blatantly unconstitutional proposal that injects politics into a private and deeply personal decision, one that should remain between a woman and her medical provider and her family. this bill the latest but not the last, i know, in a series of unrelenting attacks on safe and legal abortion in this country not only represents a cynical affront to well-settled law, it

poses a serious threat to women's health. let me tell you why. nearly 43 years ago the u.s. supreme court held that the constitution protects as a fundamental right a woman's ability to decide whether and when to start a family. this bill is plainly at odds with that holding and plainly at odds with the constitution which is why federal and state courts have found laws like this one unconstitutional time and time again. but our colleagues on the other side of the aisle are now pushing forward with this bill and doing it at the expense of women who need medical care in the most desperate of circumstances.

madam president, bills like this one demonstrate a callous disregard for the risks that women face during pregnancy, women like danielle dever from nebraska who went to the doctor in a desperate attempt to save her pregnancy when her water broke at 22 weeks. tests revealed that daniel's amniotic nude had ruptured -- fluid had ruptured, and her doctors explained that the baby could not be expected to survive. but that wasn't all. the rupture also put danielle at risk. at risk of an infection that could jeopardize herrer if estimate. -- fertility. and her ability to have children in the future. together danielle and her husband made the heartbreaking decision to terminate her

pregnancy. but because danielle lived in a state with an abortion ban that made no exception for a woman's health and had not been challenged in court, her doctor was unable to help. danielle endured eight days of severe pain and infection before delivering a daughter who survived for just 15 minutes. christy zinc of washington, d.c. was 21 weeks pregnant when an examination revealed that her pregnancy suffered from a severe fetal anomaly, meaning effectively that an entire hemisphere of the brain was missing. christy and her husband consulted her physician and other doctors in an attempt to save her much-wanted pregnancy.

but after learning of the near inevitability that if delivered, their child would not survive, she and her husband ultimately made the very difficult personal decision to end her pregnancy. the bill we are discussing today has no exception for cases where a woman's pregnancy experiences a fetal anomaly. if a ban like this were to become law, families like christie's would have no options. as a father of two grown children with one grandchild and another on the way, i know what it feels like to celebrate the news that your wife or your daughter or your daughter-in-law is pregnant. to accompany them to doctors' visitses and check-ups, to look forward to welcoming a child or a grandchild into your family and to look on with hope and

worry as a pregnancy progresses. but, madam president, my family has -- we've been very fortunate. and i can only imagine the pain and heartbreak that a family experiences when they are faced with the kind of tragic news that danielle and christy received when they learned that something is wrong. but the idea that congress should insert itself into those moments and act to limit the difficult choices available to women and their families confronting unimaginable pain and sorrow is unconscionable. this bill ignores women like danielle and christy. it ignores the unique

circumstances surrounding every woman's pregnancy, and instead it substitutes the judgment of congress for that of medical professionals, even going so far as to threaten doctors with a five-year prison sentence for providing women with the care that they need. .. mistake, this is an extreme proposal. and unfortunately, it represents just the latest salvo in an unending campaign to make safe and legal abortion virtually impossible to access. since the 114th congress was gaveled into session, we have seen no fewer than 65 legislative attacks on the right to choose. just last month the senate voted on a measure that would have defunded planned parenthood, a

health care provider that serves oflth care provider that serves a health care provider that serves millions of americans, including more than 54,000 people in my state of minnesota. that legislation failed, but as the end of the fiscal year approaches some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle both in the house and here the house and hear innocent have pledged not to sport a spending bill that continues funding for planned parenthood. they prefer to see the government shutdown rather than allow a single penny to support the family planning services, they cancer screenings and tests for sexually transmitted diseases that planned parenthood provides. my good friend from alabama, senator sessions, and he is a good friend, suggested that we

could instead send that money to community health centers. they do not have the staffing. they did not have the capacity to provide these needed services for the millions of people that planned parenthood serves. and that's why, madam president, the public does not agree. according to a poll released last week, more than seven in 10 americans oppose shutting down the government to defund planned parenthood. and one of the reasons that the public doesn't buy into these tactics is that they understand that access to reproductive health services, including contraception and abortion has a powerful effect on the decisions women and families make every

day. decisions about whether to start a job or how much a family can afford to save for college. for the vast majority of americans, madam president, this is not political. this is personal. and it is not a place for congress to interfere. i urge my colleagues to oppose legislation that would restrict the ability of women and families to make their own reproductive choices. thank you, madam president. i would suggest the absence of a quorum. >> the clerk will call the roll. >> mr. alexander?

>> [inaudible conversations] >> senator from texas. >> madam president, tomorrow this chamber -- i ask the quorum call be speeded without objection. >> tomorrow this chamber will vote on something called the pain capable unborn child protection act. legislation is cosponsored that would recognize a woman have a

legal right to have an abortion up to the point of five months gestation. that is, after five months gestation and unborn child is beginning to grow hair on their head. their fingernails are growing, and by the time this time in development, mothers are beginning to feel the baby kicking and moving for the very first time. in other words, this is the point at which the child literally becomes viable, becomes a human being capable of life outside of the mother's womb. now obviously, typical period of pregnancy is 40 weeks. so obviously we would hope that in most cases a child remain in the womb until it is fully developed. but the fact of the matter is, talk to any neonatologist, talk to any physician. they will take that the point around 20 weeks, certainly five months of gestation, you have no

longer a child dependent upon their mother for life, but somebody who can actually lived independently and, indeed, as many of you, as many of us have done, to go into somebody's nurseries where they have literally babies that weigh a pound or less to see what medical science is able to do to actually save the life of sometimes premature babies in a way that will allow them to grow up healthy and productive business in -- is nothing less than a medical miracle. but in 20 weeks of gestation, which is five months, and unborn child is without a doubt a life, a life worth defending and protecting. this is something that is commonly accepted around the world. i don't know how many people realize that actually this legislation would bring a united states in line with the

developing countries around the world. as a matter of fact, that united states is just one of seven countries worldwide that permits access to an elected abortion after five months of gestation. and we are in some pretty, pretty tough company. right now we are in company with china, vietnam and north korea. the u.s., china, vietnam, north korea basically permit an abortion up until the time a child is born naturally. this bill is also important because it would significantly curtail the horrifying practices depicted in the video that we've seen of planned parenthood's operations over this summer. i'm surprised to see in the

press that only about 49% of the american people have actually seen these videos. because they are so horrific, but they also i think are shocking. and perhaps it is that people would rather just turned their gaze and look away rather than see the barbaric practices depicted in these videos. but indeed these beauties show planned parenthood executives callously discussing the value of an unborn child's organs. and it is truly, truly morally reprehensible. i think unfortunately it reveals the dark side of humanity, one that prizes the organs of an unborn child over the potential life that child could have. and i've asked myself, how did we get here? out did we become so desensitized to this practice? and if there's anything these

figures have done i hope is awaken the conscience of the american people as well as members of congress to realize exactly what's going on, and to conduct the investigations that are now underway by four committees of this congress, and to do what we can like passing this pain capable unborn child protection act, which would make out of bounds this sort of late-term abortions that apparently this sort of enterprise depicted in the video depends upon. this legislation is a unique and powerful opportunity for us to act and to defend the lives of unborn children across the country. it's the best chance we have to advanced a culture of life in this country. now, i'm not suggesting it's going to be easy, or that we will have this vote and we are finished. we are not. i remember a long road to passage of the partial-birth

abortion ban act over a decade ago. and i think that establish majority leader who set this matter for a vote recognizes that this is the beginning of raising the visibility of this horrific practice, and asking the american people -- account at the scene depicted on the status of whether we are to think again about whether we want to be part of a company, a coalition of china, vietnam and north korea when it comes to sanctioning these late-term abortions after a baby has literally become a viable in the womb. so if this bill becomes the law of the land it would be the first time in congress is significantly and meaningfully advance the pro-life agenda over decades. it took a long time for us to get the passage of the partial-birth abortion ban act a

decade ago, and i don't think we should underestimate the difficulty of passage of this legislation and other pro-life legislation. but we need to start. these videos have given us the opportunity because they have awakened america's conscious come at this legislation, if passed, would save the lives of thousands of unborn children. and make impossible the sort of organ harvesting practice that we've seen on fully developed, unbor babies that we have seen depicted in these videos. so tomorrow the senate will have a unique opportunity to stand up for the most vulnerable. and if we are not here to stand up for those who cannot speak for themselves, the most vulnerable in our society, not the least of which are the unborn, what are we here for? to help my senate colleagues will vote to advance this

legislation, and in doing so vote -- moving this bill fortunes be seen as immoral inherited by every member of the chamber. we can unite behind an understanding of obvious right and wrong and save thousands of lives by making the pain capable unborn child protection act our reality. madam president, i yield the floor. >> madam president? >> the majority leader. >> i know many americans are looking ahead to the visit of pope francis this week with a great deal of interest. thousands will gather on the capitol grounds for the chance to hear him speak. i think i can speak for every college when i say the senate welcomes him with open arms. we look forward to his visit. so it's obvious going to be a

busy week in a city. that's true of the legislative issues before us as well. what is covered by the court earlier this year and the majority took office with a different outlook on overnment funding from the previous majority. we thought it made sense to actually pass a budget, and then to fund it. so we passed a budget for the first time in six years. then we passed all 12 appropriations bills to committee for the first time in six years. democratic colleagues voted for it, praised the appropriation bills in committee. had been passed the 12 appropriations bills on the floor would've funded the government without the dramas of the past. but democrats been changed her mind and decided to pursue every credible love buster summer strategy of blocking all government funding for months. some block bills they had just praised. all with the aim of pushing washington and another one of these come into another one of these manufactured crises.

they just can't seem to shake. it's truly unfortunate but it succeeded in making this a reality we now face. so we have to push forward and we will. i will have more to say on the issues as the week progresses, discussions on the best way forward our ongoing, discussions about the character of our country continue as well. that's why tomorrow we will take up a bill the house of representatives has already passed. it's legislation that would allow america to join the ranks of most civilized nations when it comes to protecting the most innocent and vulnerable of life. we along with countries like north korea are one of just seven nations to allow late-term elective abortions after 20 weeks. in other words, five months, when science and medical research tells us that unborn children can feel pain.

as the father of three daughters i found that both tragic and heartbreaking. many americans feel the same way. polls show both men and women support protections for innocent life at five months. i'm asking colleagues to open their hearts and work with us to help defend the defenseless. help us pass the pain capable unborn child protection act. i'll have more to say about this important bill before we take a vote on it tomorrow. >> the senator from utah. >> tried to i rise today in strong support of the pain capable unborn child protection act. this bill recognizes the indisputable fact and stands for indefensible principle. the fact is that each of us was a human being before birth. the principle is that each human

being has inherent dignity and worth. the supreme court's decision in roe v. wade to created the constitution and the regime of virtually unrestricted abortion that it spawned continues to degrade our culture. integrated the constitution by reducing it to little more than a prompt and using it as a cover for opposing the individuals justice. this decision is perhaps the best example of what justice benjamin chris ward about his dissenting opinion in dred scott versus stanford. he wrote that when the opinions of individuals control the constitution's meeting, quote we have a government which is merely an exponent of individual political opinions of the members of the supreme court, unquote. that is exactly what roe v. wade is. in addition to degrade the constitution, the abortion regime spawned by grow and maintain but its progeny

continues to degrade our culture. this effect is inevitable because that regime is built on a dark proposition that humanity itself has no inherent worth that demands respect advocate such a move of the human family can be killed for any reason at any time before birth. it was not always like this. is 25 years before roe v. wade, the pain capable unborn child protection act photo for universal declaration of human rights. the very statement in its preamble recognizes quote the inherent dignity and equal, inalienable rights of all members of the human family. article iii states set everyone has the right to life. just two years after the supreme court created an unlimited right of abortion in roe v. wade the federal constitutional court of germany came to a very different

conclusion than redoing a lot that allow abortions in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, the german quote said that human life is the supreme value in the constitutional order and quote the vital basis for human dignity and the prerequisite of all other asic rights, unquote. what a contrast the united states has degraded human dignity by striking down a law protecting pre-born children. germany promote human dignity by striking down a law endangering pre-born children. our supreme court said that a pre-born child is not a person under the u.s. constitution and would not even address whether that child is a living human being. the german court said that every human individual possessing life is covered by the german constitution, including pre-born human beings.

one of the most successful coverups of legal and social history has misled americans into believing either that abortion is not legal for any reason at any time in this country, or that this radical abortion regime is the norm around the world. there is a true. today the united states is one of only seven nations in the entire world to allow elective abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy. other members of that club including china and north korea. the bill before us will present unjustified killing in the womb of human beings who can feel pain. the bill recognizes three justifications from three justifications went abortion is necessary to save the life of a mother, and when the pregnancy resulted from rape or from incest against a minor. this bill would do nothing more than the united states step away from the most extreme abortion position in the world.

the supreme court may be preventing us from upholding a law the inherent dignity of all human beings before birth. that doesn't mean, however, we should not defend the dignity for as many members of the human family as we can. that is why i support the pain capable unborn child protection act before us today. this bill is consistent in two different ways without the supreme court assembled for abortion regulations in the past. in roe v. wade the court drew a line at certain points in pregnancy reflecting something that the court found to be medically meaningful. the end of the first trimester, the court said, was related to the relative safety of the abortion procedure. the end of the second trimester, the court said, marks the time when a pre-born child could potentially live outside the womb, at least with artificial leg. the court said that these lines which identified with certain

abortion regulations are permissible should be drawn quote in the light of present medical knowledge, unquote. that is exactly what this bill does. as its findings a state there is substantial medical evidence that a pre-born child is capable of experiencing pain by 20 weeks after fertilization, if not earlier. if this -- i might add this is not a recent discovery. americans united for life published a monograph more than 30 years ago reviewing the medical evidence. doctor vincent called comp professor of anesthesiology at the university of illinois, wrote that the entire sensory nervous system is functioning well before the 20 week point. more recently dr. maureen condit, associate professor of neurobiology and anatomy at the university of utah school of medicine has testified before

congress and written that the scientific evidence regarding fetal pain is undisputed. that evidence shows that the brain circuitry responsible for the detection of response to pain is established well before 20 week marked. this bill is consistent with residents in another way. the supreme court has approved, actually printing abortion after a point when the pre-born child takes on an important quality that justifies protection. in roe v. wade that reality was viability or the ability to survive outside the womb with artificial leg. in this bill, that quality is the ability to feel pain which has been universally recognized as compelling. both medicine and the law, for example, impose a duty to relieve or to avoid pain. just look at the website of the national institutes of health. it includes an article by dr.

eric -- professor of public health at the cornell university medical college. he writes that the obligation of physicians to relieve human suffering stretches back into antiquity. and he calls relief of suffering quote one of the primary ends of medicine, unquote. for clinical guidelines for acute pain published by the federal government state that quote the ethical obligation to manage pain and relief to patients suffering is at the core of the health care professionals commitment, unquote. the american academy of pain medicine has publicized an ethics chapter, or charter i guess you would say, which outlines how physicians must implement quote the ethical imperative to provide relief from pain, unquote. if medical professionals have a medical obligation to relieve human suffering, they should be

prohibited from imposing human suffering before birth. in its most recent abortion decisions the supreme court acknowledged that certain ethical and moral concerns can justify a specific abortion prohibition. the prevention of intentional pain and suffering, the very core of one of the primary ends of medicine certainly qualifies and justifies the policy in this bill. turning to the law the eighth amendment of the u.s. constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. federal courts across the country are considering whether the drugs used in legal injection caused extreme for unnecessary pain and, therefore, violate the eighth amendment. some have said that it does. at the infliction of pain can make executing the guilty unconstitutional, i believe that the infliction of pain should make aborting the innocent the legal. look at the civil side of the

law. juries award multimillion dollars verdict against medical physicians and facilities for failing to relieve pain in their patients. one article in the western journal of medicine reviewing such cases concluded that quote, there is a standard of care for pain management, a significant departure from which constitutes not merely medical malpractice but gross negligence, unquote. if failing to prevent pain can make a physician liable, physicians should be prohibited from inflicting pain on healthy children before birth. madam president, i began by saying that roe v. wade and the abortion regime that it has fought has degraded both the law and our culture. i am echoing the thoughtful words of president ronald reagan who, in 1983 published an essay

entitled abortion and the conscience of the nation. he wrote that abortion is not a right granted by the constitution, but was an act of raw judicial power. eddy wrote quote we cannot diminish the value of one category of human life, the unborn, without diminishing the value of all human life, unquote. the american people have embraced this view by more than two to one americans support what this bill would do. prohibiting abortions after 20 weeks and the percentage of women supporting a 20 week been is even higher than the national average. i think that opponents of this legislation oh the american people an explanation. why does a physician's ethical duty to prevent pain begin only when someone is born. why shouldn't that duty began when someone can feel pain? why do we care so much about

preventing even the most despicable criminals from feeling pain, but turned a blind eye to the pain inflicted on innocent pre-born children? the supreme court has said from the beginning that the right to abortion must be balanced with other compelling interests. why does medical knowledge matter when it facilitates abortions not when it can prevent back pain caused by abortion? this bill recognizes the indisputable fact that each of us, including each individual member of the u.s. senate, was a living human being before we were born. this bill reflects the indispensable visible that each individual number of the human family has inherent dignity and worth. prohibiting the killing of innocent human beings that can feel pain is only a small step in the right direction. but it is a step that we must take, and i don't think there's a legitimate excuse for not

taking that step. it's horrifying to me that some in the senate don't understand this, or if they do, continue to march down that path of indiscriminate abortion on demand, which i think they are going to have to pay a price for that someday. it's a shame that this has come to this type of a standard where you can't protect pre-born children who can feel the pain of abortion. can feels some of the pain. madam president, i suggest the absence of a quorum. >> the clerk will call the roll. >> and the u.s. senate is about to travel in, and then in our senators will vote on whether to move forward with a late-term abortion bill which would ban most abortions after 20 weeks and find doctors who violate the ban. senator lankford of oakland

begin a process to fast track to build to defund planned parenthood. we did see debate about today. also a second attempt advance the defense appropriations bill, just wonderful government spending bills that need to be passed by the end of the fiscal year. the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. eternal lord god, our hope for years to come, as we approach yom kippur, the holyiest day in the jewish year, inspire us to strive to live godly lives. lord, remind our lawmakers that you call each of us to flee from impurity and to live with integrity.