vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or change their vote? on this question, the ayes are 8 3-rbg the nays are zero. nominee is confirmed. the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid on the table is made and laid upon the table, the president will be immediately notified of the senate's action and the senate will resume legislative session. mr. kirk: mr. president, the ranking member and i have a small package of amendments that have been cleared by both sides. i would ask unanimous consent that the following amendments be called up and reported by number to the senate for a vote on the amendments en bloc: shaheen 2772, heller 2766. the presiding officer: is

there objection? hearing none, so ordered. the clerk will report the amendments by number. the clerk: the senator from illinois mr. kirk, proposes amendment numbered 277 -- shaheen 2772, and heller amendment number 2766. the presiding officer: question occurs on the amendments en bloc. if there is no further debate, all those in favor say aye. those opposed nay. the amendments are adopted. mr. kirk: mr. president, ask unanimous consent that the senate be with a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blumenthal: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. i want to thank senators kirk and tester for their bipartisan

leadership on a measure that is vastly improved since the vote that we had on a similar measure very recently, and i know this topic is very close to the heart of the presiding officer, and i want to thank him for his leadership as chairman of the committee on veterans' affairs. truly a tremendous challenge that we are working step by step to address. about a month ago i came to the floor to help raise serious concerns about the funding levels in the milcon-v.a. appropriations bill that we are now addressing, because it contained serious egregious shortfalls. and, as a result, i could not support it. and veterans in connecticut as recently as this weekend asked me how and why i could vote

against a measure that provided funding for the v.a. and the answer is, it wasn't enough. it wasn't good enough. it failed to do the job. this measure fortunately, is a profoundly important step toward addressing the needs of our veterans and keeping faith with them making sure that we leave no veteran behind. this new version provides what many of us have been fighting to achieve: real help for our veteran. and we're about to consider an amendment that would restore much-needed funding to that department of veterans affairs. the kirk-tester amendment provides a much-needed increase in funding for the department of veterans affairs bringing full funding to that agency -- $71.2 billion. that amount is $2 billion more,

to be precise $1.97 billion over the previous reported bill, which will supplement the v.a.'s medical sferses. -- medical services. this is not window dressing. it is not a convenience or luxury. it will allow the v.a. to more appropriately account for treating hepatitis refuse-c and providing care in the community. dough manned for care from the v.a. -- demand for care from the v.a. has continued to grow in recent months, and i will continue with my colleagues and with the department to enshould you are that -- to ensure that the v.a. is sperchedzing the -- is spending the funds in an appropriate manner to provide high-quality timely health care to our veterans. this bill also fully funds the operation of the v.a. benefits administration. the v.b.a. has been plagued by

problems them attributable to fundunderfunding. and this amount, at $2.69 billion, will facilitate the transition from a paper claims process to a digital one. it will allow the v.a. to hire hundreds of new claims processors speeding the system, streamlining it so that veterans receive the benefits they haveerned, are spared -- they have earned and are spared the rigmarole and red tape that has so often produce add baglog. recognizing increased demands the bill also provides an increase of $20 million for funding v.a. state extended-care facilities. it provides $20 million in rural health care funding; specifically for construction grants meeting the needs of

state-extended care homes in rural areas. we're demonstrating here how the v.a. can partner with states to flex i feel and efficiently deliver long-term care to an aging population. and like other segments of our population the v.a. beneficiaries are aging as well. sparing them the time and expense of constructing and operating new v.a. facilities. i've also filed important amendments to improve the provision of health care and research at the v.a., ensuring that the v.a. is providing gender-specific prosthesis, for example, particularly important as we see more and more women serve in combat zones, as well as ensuring that v.a. research dollars are spent in areas of toxic exposures. these priorities ought to be at the top of the list.

they are for me. the v.a. continues to have a significant need for resources and personnel. secretary mcdonald indicates just last friday that the agency continues to need about 4,300 more physicians and 10,000 nurses. i'm working with the v.a. on legislation to meet this need. and i look forward to working with my colleague the presiding officer, as well as the appropriations committee to address these priorities and others that are so critically important to final passage of this important bill. if i may turn to a no less important topic athe deeply disturbing attacks on civilians that have recently taken place in israel. since the beginning of october palestinians armed with knives, meat cleavers, guns, and cars have carried out approximately

77 attacks leaving 159 israelis wounded and 12 dead. two americans have been killed in these gruesome attacks including richard lochen, who was a connecticut principal and civil rights activist before he moved to israel in 1984. connecticut grieves our dear friend and a colleague to our educators there who perished while seeking peace. that was his goal. that was his mission. the palestinian authority must be held accountable. they must be held accountable for incitement, and it must work to stem this tide of visible violence. repeated reprehensible attacks on innocent israeli civilians

have followed president abbas' dangerous disa disavowel of commitments during the peace process. he has renounced them. these attacks must be stopped with leadership from the palestinian authority. that's why i've introduced bipartisan legislation with senator ayotte and more than half the senate has now joined with us to stand with israel to condemn these palestinian terror attacks, to reaffirm israel's commitment to the continued maintenance of the status quo on the temple mount. i look forward to learning to the floor to have this resolution passed. it's time for the senate to speak out. it's time for the sna the to -- it's time for the sna the to speak out over this violence that engulfs israel and threatens everyday israelis trying to lead their normal lives in peace and it is time for america to speak out as it

doing now day in and day out. i have visited jerusalem israel's capital and seen how remarkable a place it is. in terms of being home to three monotheistic faiths, and how remarkable it is the way israel has maintained respect and proper being a access for all of these religions and all of their practices. israel stands alone as a nation committed to tolerance and respect for all faiths, and this resolution serves and expression of support our support and our solidarity with israel in bringing this violence to an end and our resolve to help stabilize security for both palestinians and israelis. i've said before, and i feel

more passionately and deeply now than ever before, that palestinian political goals will never be achieved through violence. as efforts to deescalate this situation move forward -- and i support them -- this resolution calls on all parties to return to the negotiating table immediately and without preconditions. israel is already committed to peace negotiation without preconditions. i continue to support a two-state solution that is acceptable to all parties involving direct negotiation with the active and sustained support of the united states and the international community. and my hope is also that the united states will continue to support israel by reaffirming our unshakable commitment to israel's security. today president obama met with prime minister netanyahu, and i hope that meeting will serve to bolster the bonds between our

two great countries. i understand it went well. i certainly hope it did. i join senator bennet along with 14 other senators in writing to the president urging him to prioritize discussing with mr. netanyahu the historic renewal of the memorandum of understanding on united states military assistance. and to help israel prepare for and respond to the threats that are more pressing and dangerous than ever to assure a qualitative military edge. i note that my wonderful friend and colleague from illinois is waiting to speak so i will end here just to say the current m.o.u. provides $30 billion in assistance to israel through fiscal 2018 as threats in the region continue to evolve, including iran's potentially

malign influence. the administration must engage at the highest levels to continue to develop a shared understanding of threats confronting israel by strengthening the m.o.u. that serves as the foundation for our bilateral security efforts. i will always fight to uphold israel's security and i am committed to opposing efforts to delegitimize israel. question stand together on a bipartisan basis and this cause must always be bipartisan, must always be above politics. and i will continue to work toward ensuring that the partnership in this body and the partnership between the united states and israel is strengthened and enduring. i thank you mr. president. i yield the floor. mr. durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: mr. president first let me thank my colleague from connecticut, senator blumenthal.

i join him in condemning the violence that is taking place in the streets of the middle east, jerusalem and other places. i also join him in calling for a two-state solution so that we can have both the palestinian people and the people of israel living safely and securely without fear of any kind of military action from one against the other. that should be our ultimate goal and we should renew that goal regularly. i join him in what he has had to say. mr. president, on another topic topic -- you can't serve in the united states senate without some level of patience. it takes forever to get things done around here. that is the big things. 15 years ago i introduced a bill called the dream act. 15 years ago the year 2000. what were we going to do with these young people who came to the united states, brought here as babies infants toddlers, children what were we going to

do with them when they finished high school and were look to the future -- look to looking to the future? the dream act said if they have no serious criminal issues, if they've finished school, we'll give them a chance, a chance to work their way toward legal status and citizenship. i introduced that bill 15 years ago. it's had its ups and downs. at times it's passed in the house. other times it's passed in the senate. we've never been able to align those two bodies to pass the bill at the same time. it was june 27, 2013 almost 2 1/2 years ago when it last passed in the senate. it was part of comprehensive immigration reform. 68 senators voted for that bill, 14 republicans and 54 democrats a bipartisan bill, comprehensive immigration reform. we took the bill and sent it to the republican-controlled house of representatives. they refused to call the bill or even debate it on the floor of

the house of representatives. it was frustrating. after months, a group of us who worked for months to put that bill together, the house would not even consider it wouldn't even debate it, didn't offer an alternative. they were silent. vittervirtually allof them were silent but not every one of them. this was an historic meeting in the city of chicago. these two gentlemen are my friends. one, my colleague from illinois, congressman luis gutierrez the other, the thou speaker of the house of representatives -- the new speaker of the house of representatives, congressman paul ryan from jaynesville wisconsin. they appeared in a famous setting in chicago the city club, and talked about immigration. let me read to you what congressman paul ryan said as a visitor joining congressman gutierrez in 2013. "we all must acknowledge that we have an immigration system that's broken, it is not serving our interest as a nation.

our broken immigration system does not serve our national security interests. our broken immigration system does not serve our economic security interest. our broken immigration system does not serve our family interest. "congressman ryan went on to say, "and so when republicans and democrats look at the situation and see something that's broken, we need to fix it. we have to offer people a path to earned legalization. we have to invite people to come out of the shadows. "thoofsshadows."that was an extraordinary statement. it was heralded not just in the city of chicago but around the county, as a statement a leader would make, trying to lead his party into a positive view toward immigration reform. it was a statement made by congressman paul ryan in the year 2013. i applauded it praised it, many of us did. but now we have another statement by the new speaker of the house paul ryan.

and he has basically said that the republicans are going to do nothing -- nothing -- on immigration. he says he can't trust the president. and as long as he can't trust the president he's going to do nothing as the new republican leader of the house. so he's going to consider absolutely no legislation to fix our broken immigration system. why did president obama take the actions that he did creating a program known as the deferred action for childhood arrivals, or daca? it was the president's response to the failure of republican leaders in the house to even consider the issue of immigration. and what is daca? daca is a program created by executive order that gives to these young people who qualified as dreamers temporary stat us in the united states so they cannot be deported. they have to come forward

submit themselves for a criminal background check pay a fee and be monitored. if they should get in trouble commit a crime they're gone they're deported. but so far 700,000 of these young people have come forward as part of the daca program. the house republicans have tried to stop the program eliminate the program. i assume that like some candidates for president, they want to deport all these young people. that's unfortunate. because many of these young people who now have at least temporary protection by daca are doing some absolutely extraordinary things. i'd like to talk about one of them this evening. this young lady's name is maricella aguillar. she is from speaker ryan's home state of wisconsin. in 1995 when maricella was just

three years old her mother brought her to the united states to give her a better life. her family settled in milwaukee wisconsin. she worked hard and excelled in school. during high school, maricella was on the honor roll of course, a member of the national honor society, captain of the cross-country team. at the same time she was active in her community, a volunteer at a homeless shelter. when it came time to apply for colleges, she wanted to stay closer to family. she wanted to stay in speaker ryan's home state of wisconsin. she applied to a lot of schools. she was offered a full tuition scholarship to marquette university in milwaukee. that's an extraordinary school. my son went there so i'm partial partial. but it's an extraordinary school because it gave her her chance. keep in mind this young lady, because she is undocumented doesn't qualify for any government assistance, none. and so sacrifices had to be made

by her family and others to help her go to marquette. she went there. she was on the dean's list. double major -- political science-english literature. she worked part-time as a waitress to make ends meet and to pay for her college education expenses. she became involved in advocating for immigration reform. in december 2010 maricella was here in the senate gallery along with hundreds of other dreamers when the senate failed to pass the dream act due to a republican filibuster. we got a majority of votes. we couldn't get 60. i met maricella in 2011 when she came to washington to talk about her concerns about dreamers just like herself who faced deportation. in 2012, maricella graduated with honors in the top 10% of her graduating class at marquette university in milwaukee, wisconsin. later that year, president obama

created the deferred action plan that gave her and hundreds of thousands of others a chance to stay here and not be deported. and so she was able to apply and go to graduate school at brandeis university in boston. she continues to work i'm graition reform -- immigration reform as a leader of the students' immigration movement of massachusetts. she's going to return to milwaukee when she graduates she promises. she wants to become a public school teacher so she can use her education to help young people in the city where she grew up. she's a loyal wisconsinite a loyal member of the milwaukee community and i would say to speaker ryan, she wants to be part of your state for the rest of her life. maricella and other dreamers have so much to give america. can we use more public school teachers with her talent? of course we can. but speaker ryan and other republican leaders in congress have made their agenda clear.

they want shut down this program and tell maricella she can't stay to continue her education. they want to deport her back to a country that she hasn't been to since she was three years old, has no memory of. she would be deported back to mexico a place that she may have experienced experienced as a toddler but a place she can't even remember. in america be a better country will wisconsin abe better state will milwaukee be a better city if maricella is now told to leave after she's obtained her bachelor's degree and is working on a graduate degree? i think the answer is clear. if she stays we'll all be better for it and she will be better for it. instead of deporting dreamers like maricella speaker paul ryan should support daca and work with the democrats to pass comprehensive immigration reform so fix our broken immigration system.

mr. president, i ask that the statement i'm about to make be placed at a separate part in the record from that previous statement. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: thank you mr. president. this wednesday americans all across the country will gather to honor all those who fought for freedom and thank them for a debt that we can never fully repay. whenever freedom is threatened, our brave men and women of america have answered the call. in honor of veterans day on wednesday, i'll take a moment to recognize an amazing illinois veteran part of what we call the greatest generation. it's december 7 1941 as f.d.r. said just a few steps away from us in the house chamber a day that will live in infamy. the imperial japanese forces launched a surprise attack on pearl harbor. it also happened to be the 22nd birthday of tony gargano and it was the day that he decided he would enlist in the

united states navy. tony was assigned to a ship disguised as a merchant marine vessel. he and hisshipmates didn't wear navy uniforms or carry i.d.'s and the ship had no guns. in november of 1942, a german ship, also disguised as a merchant vessel sank the ship that tony was on. tony survived and was taken as a prisoner aboard the german ship. then he was turned over to the japanese where he spent the next three years as a prisoner working in a coal mine. every day he'd come out of the mine covered head to toe with coal dust. in those three years tony never had a chance for a shower never even could wash his hands. three years. and he worked more than 10 hours a day on less than eight ounces of water six ounces of spoiled rice. here's how he described his experience. quote -- "they torture you they beat the hell out of us, you'd

try to get up and they'd beat you back to the ground. you prayed to god that they would kill you." by the time the war was over and the red cross arrived tony couldn't believe that he was still alive. after arriving in the united states they quarantined him for weeks, couldn't even call his family to tell them he was alive, but he made it and he came home. now fast forward 70 years. tony's 95 years old and he marvels at his good fortune. after the war he came home and married julia elliott the love of his life. they worked six days a week. he was merit do at elliott's pine log restaurant in skogie, illinois. he watched his son and daughter grow up, enjoyed the arrival of five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. what a life. last month tony gargano came to washington with the honor flight. he visited the white house and the world war ii memorial and he shared his story with the veterans history project at the library of congress. they asked him what do you

think of when you look back on your life? and here's what tony said. said."everything turned out pretty good. i met a nice young lady. we got married and spent 60 beautiful years together. i have no complaints." isn't that an amazing statement? for a man who served three years as a prisoner of war and was nearly killed in the effort? the joys of tony's life outshined the horrors of the war. if you ask tony if he's a hero, he said there are those who suffered much worse. the people we should honor are the ones with the white crosses. tony's right but tony is a hero too. tony gargano faced unspeakable evil with grace and determination. he lived his life with love in his heart and makes him even to this day a true american hero. it's the service and sacrifice of people like tony that we'll honor on wednesday. but not just wednesday. we should honor them every day.

too often our service members return home only to find themselves facing a myriad of challenges. physical mental wounds of war struggling to find work, education, and a home. we can't simply commemorate their service wave our flags march in their parade and forget them. we have to ensure our veterans and their families have access to the best: health care, education, jobs and housing. i've been committed to this effort and i have one program i'm particularly proud to have been part of. it's called the v.a. caregivers program. it provides the families of severely disabled iraq and afghanistan war veterans the support they need to keep their veterans home with their families. thousands of veterans and their caregivers in illinois and nationwide participate. it's a big successful program. i introduced legislation to expand it so that it covers all veterans. we know veterans face unnecessary delays and claims, processing and reimbursement and

i've worked hard to cut down on that backlog. i've also tried to make our v.a. hospitals and medical centers in illinois and across the country the best. it's the new method of medical service being provided to our veterans and it has to be the best. i'm proud to sponsor bills to strengthen post traumatic stress disorder for veterans and their families as well as improve orthotics and prosthetic research and education. i've been proud to help veterans get homes and jobs. for example just this year the u.s. department of housing and urban development and the u.s. department of veterans affairs awarded more than $674,000 in grants to assist homeless veterans in my state through a tenant-based voucher program. let me say a word, mr. president, about a program that i visited just this last week in chicago, which is an extraordinary program. this is a program called rags of honor. rags of honor. it was created by my friend, matt doyle.

he wanted to do something to create jobs, good-paying jobs for homeless veterans. and so he decided to make t-shirts print t-shirts. and he just hired homeless veterans to do it. it's on its third year now. my friend is basically underwritten it. the fact is it's a success. these men and women who were living in their cars or living on the street now have good-paying jobs making t-shirts. t-shirts made by homeless veterans all-american product all-american made, and they're selling. and people are buying them. northwestern university decided they would have them do the t-shirts for some of their needs at the university. i used them in my campaign, rags of honor t-shirts. it's an example of what can be done to help our veterans just by one man who is willing to dedicate a big part of his life to do it. there are so many more like it. i'd like to thank all those who

have risked and given the family of those who have given their lives for this nation and for the wounds they've suffered, the sacrifices they made and the freedoms we enjoy that they secured. we remember and honor the service of every american veteran not only at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month but every day of the year. because even though service members and veterans like tony gargano may shy away as being labeled as heroes they are l truly deserving of that honor. mr. president, i yield the floor and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from kentucky. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the judiciary committee

be discharged from further consideration of s. 1004 and the senate proceed it to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 1004, a bill to amend title 36, united states code to encourage a nationwide observance of two minutes of silence each veterans day. the presiding officer: without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the bill be read a third time and passed, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: now mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today it adjourn until 10:00 a.m. tuesday, november 10. following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in date. further, following leader remarks, the senate resume consideration of h.r. 2029, with the time until 11:00 a.m.

equally divided in the usual form. further, that at 11:00 a.m., the senate proceed to the consideration of the house message to accompany s. 1356 with all other provisions under the previous order remaining in effect. finally, that the senate recess from 12:30 to 2:15 to allow for the weekly conference meetings. the presiding officñ without objection. mr. mcconnell: if there is 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

the story says senator grassley has blocked nearly two dozen nominations, including foreign service officers. cite a slow response from the administration over clinton's use of a private e-mail server and a state department programs. >> boldly opposed to forced internment of japanese americans during world war ii. after being convict for failing

to report for relocation, he took his case to the supreme court. >> this week, on c-span's landmark cases we'll discuss the historic supreme court case of koromatzu verse the united states. after the attack on pearl harbor president roosevelt issued an evacuation sending people of japanese origin who live close to military installations to internment camps through the u.s. >> this is a recreation of one of the barracks. they were 20 feet wide and 120 feet long and divided into six different rooms. they didn't have sheet rocks of ceilings or masonite on the floor. it was freezing even in the daytime. the only heating would be a pot-bellied stove. this would not have been able to heat the entire room in a comfortable kind of way.

>> challenging the evacuation order, fred koromatzu defied the order and was arrested, and his case went to the supreme court. fine out how the court ruled in view of the war powers of congress, with off guest author of "justice at war: the story of the japanese-american internment indications" and karen korama us, daughter of the plaintiff. we'll explore the mod of america and the u.s. government's policies during world war ii, and follow his life before, during and after the court's decision. live at c-span, c-span3 and chance radio. order your copy of theland mark cases companion book at c-span.org/landmark cases. >> next, a portion of today's

"wall street journal" on campaign 2016. >> a politics reporter with the "washington examiner" here to talk to about campaign 2016, after spending time in south carolina. gabby, from the primetime debate the near constant polling, there's a national vibe of this election so many stories that get caught up in the national cycle. what's happening on the ground in a key primary state like south carolina that's non -- national stores are missing. >> the fight among the democratic candidates to earn the black vote in south carolina which is a large proportion of the vote that goes to democratic candidates in the primary there. so over the weekend all of the democratic candidates, martin o'malley, hillary clinton bernie sanders they arrived in south carolina for the

presidential forum and much of the message by senator sanders was tailored to black voters, and on saturday he spoke to an all-white audience of white democratic women when hillary clinton was in what they call the corridor of shame rural area in south carolina, heavily populated by african-americans. reaching those voters, getting to the heart of the issues they are concerned with. so you're seeing different approaches to reaching that demographic, to earning their trust, earning their support and hillary clinton really did an amazing job this weekend doing that. whether you agree with her or not, she is getting in there talking to voters, making sure their issues are addressed whereas senator sanders is just right now pandering to the typical crowd he has surrounded himself with. >> there is a winner of the forum? such thing as wins over forums and debates -- winners of forums and debates. >> debates there is but the for

um was filled with soft bawl questions and wasn't really an opportunity where either candidate could stand out. they weren't forced to address each other directly. it was one-on-ones with rachel maddow so there were shirt strengths and weaknesses for every candidate but in the days that followed, hillary clinton demonstrate she is serious about her ground campaign in south carolina. >> we talk about softball questions and scrutiny of the immediate and hoy they're treating candidates weapon showed a clip of men carn son on "meet the press" yes. here's a front can page story from the "washington times." carson and rubio strike back at the media. talk through the carson campaign strategy in dealing with these latest questions about his biography. >> well, the strategy has been, this is an effort on behalf of the liberal mainstream media to

attack my campaign, to go after my strengths right no, which is his favorability ratings and the fact that voters in nearly every area primary state view him as a trustworthy and honest candidate. so, to break that down to get through that, there are constant attacks being launched on him right now regarding his -- the scholarship he was allegedly offered from west point some of these claims he has made about instance where he was at a popeye's chicken and had a gun pulled on him. just other -- several comments he made over the jeers the books he published. the carson campaign is trying to spin this and say this is an unfair amount of scrutiny. this is nothing like the scrutiny that president obama went through when he was being vet fled 2008. nothing like several other candidates, hillary clinton has gone through. and i have to disagree with that. i think that if you're return opening your autobiography which he is because he doesn't have any political experience, you have to be -- you have to

expect people to go and scour through the books you have written and look into every story that is part of that auto eye -- autobiography so it's interesting for him to say this is unfair. you're running for the highest office in the country. you should expect to be vet. >> ben carson get something sympathy from perhaps an unexpected source yesterday. here's bernie sanders on "meet the press." >> let me ask you about there is ben carson stuff but you have seen some people leak out stuff you wrote 30 and 40 years ago. is this fair game? >> no. look. i listened to the interviews with dr. carson, and it's interesting, but you know what, chuck? the american people want to know why the middle class of this country is disappearing, why we are 47 million people living in poverty, why we have massive income and wealth inequality,

when you look at dr. carson to the best of my knowledge, this man does not believe that climate change is cautions be human activity. this man wants to abolish medicare impacting tens of millions of seniors, and this man wants to give huge tax breaks to the rich. i think its might be a -- i know it's a crazy idea but maybe we focus on the issues impacting the american people and what candidates are saying, rather than just spending so much time exploring their lives 6040 years ago. i think the reason -- 30 or 40 years ago. the reason so many people are turned off with the political process has to do the the fact we're not talking about real issues impacting real people. >> the frustration bat lack of focus on the issues, also shown by republican chris christie this week, after there was so many media stories about whether he would and then would not make the primetime next republican debate. how much focus has there been from the candidates just asking the media to focus more on these

issues than sort of the day-to-day horse race? >> a tremendous amount. especially after the last republican debate that we saw with cnbc. a number of the republican candidates nearly all of the candidates in fact, said that this debate didn't focus on the issues that are -- the plight of middle class americans. we need to address our economic platforms. a number of the candidates are requesting they be given at least a minute and a half to two minutes to discuss their tax plan during the next debate. so really, as you mentioned governor chris christie -- during the last debate and previous debate he went after marco rubio, jeb bush, carly fiorina, donald trump for focuses on their achievements as opposed to their platforms and policy prescriptions. so there is a tremendous amount of concern that the messages are getting over -- swept under the rug under all of those antics happening on both the republican and democratic side, and going forward, that we have the next

debate this week, i think all of these candidates hope to have more of an opportunity to really share their vision for the country as opposed to bickering with each other. >> let's bring' some callers. gabby is our guest for the next 40 minutes. a politics reportser with the "washington examiner." fine lines democrats. >> line for independents, patties wait -- patty is waiting for you. >> caller: in morning, my comment is about scrutinizing the candidates. ben carson is not opposed to scrutinizing -- and i believe he believes like me, that all presidential candidates in fact all political candidates, should be scrutinized. what he is opposed to, as i'm opposed to, as much of the public is opposed to, they don't believe the media because the media lies.

>> caller: right. well ate earlier this week we saw ben carson hold a press conference after these claims were made about his admittance to west point where he took questions from handful of reporters so he is on top of that and addressing these concerns that the media is raising, but at the same time he says the scrutiny he has been subjected to completely lacks when you look at barack obama look at hillary clinton other candidates running for the democratic nomination in past years. certainly ben carson understands every presidential candidate needs to be vetted. he claims the extent to which he is being vetted is more unfair than any other candidate in the past. >> how much since is he the republican front-runner, other republicans jump on this issue in the upcoming debate? i don't think this is anier -- issue that republicans will address dawes they prefer

to not bring up the subject that candidates should be vetted. we have seen a number of candidates, donald trump particularly have to answer to stories about his history of supporting higher taxes and things that are imi compatible with a conservative agenda. marco rubio over the weekend has faced questions about his spending when he was in the florida g.o.p. -- florida house of representatives. so all of these candidates understand that this is a normal part of the political process they're going to have to face, but ben carson has specifically raised that issue saying that republicans are perhaps looked at a little bit more closely than the democratic candidates. >> host: for a look at how ben carson has risen in the polls this is real clear politics' chart, of polling numbers from june of last year. you can see all of the different

lines. the two lines to keep in mind here the top line here, the blue line, donald trump's polling numbers and the red line of ben carson catching up to donald trump. i should note that donald trump ahead in the most recent cnn iowa poll that is out there. that poll having trump at 25, carson at 23, followed by rubio at 13, cruz at 11, bush as five, and so on down the line. we're taking your calls in this segment of the "wall street journal." phone lines are open. i want to talk about jeb bush and his reboot of his campaign. "jeb can fix it" has been the theme of the reboot. i want to show viewers a bit of the video about the reboot. >> that's the only way we fix this. the president has to lead. the president can't say it's somebody else's fault. can't say you're fired and good to commercial break. a president hat toll roll up their damn sleeves and get to

work to fix the thing that are absolutely broken. we're the most extraordinary country on the face of the earth. our federal government is holding us back. and i know how to fix it, and i will do that. i promise you that. >> as far as reabouts of a campaign what do you of the eye "jeb can fix it pie. >> out in much a reboot in terms of his message. is in this "jeb can fix it" he is talking about his record and so far we haven't seen that work for him. he has gone after several candidates. that hasn't worked for him either this fundraising numberers down elm he is currently facing crossroads where he has to overcome the hurdle of marco rubio rising in the republican field. somebody who he mentored and is now courting donors that previously supported bush, and he has to ensure that he is taking those donors and making sure they are aware he is doing what he can to increase this

poll numbers to really get out there and get his message heard but as far as his reboot goes so far, it hasn't done much, and i don't think we'll see it do much unless he has a stellar performance in the next debate. but really, it's not doing much for him. >> jeb bush the former governor of florida marco rubio senator from florida. let's go to florida where frank is wait only the line for republicans. frank, good morning. >> caller: good morning. i was watching hillary clinton's talk last couple of days at that black college in south carolina, and she said something -- one of the students asked her a question about gun control and how innocent people are being killed in some cases by these guns that are in people's houses and are loaded. she said, yes these innocent people have -- their lives are

precious, they have dignity they have potential and have a right to life, which i agree with wholeheartedly. however, she does not apply these same standards to the unborn little black girls and boys who she advocating allowing to be killed in their mother's wombs. i just don't understand how she can say that about those who are born and not about the little black girls and boys who are unborn but she advocates allowing their mothers to kill them in the womb. >> that is one of the biggest years disconnect that republican candidates point notice terms of the message on behalf of democrats. carly fiorina has been a leading critic of hillary clinton on her record regarding women's issues, regarding equal pay abortion, reproductive rights, and she compares that, again as you mentioned to her remarks on gun rights and gun control and gun safety legislation and

protecting innocent children, protecting innocent persons across the country but not having the same stance when it comes to protecting the unborn. this an area of criticism that hillary clinton has had to answer to in the past and will continue to have to answer to that especially when she goes up against the republican candidate if chev is the democratic nominee. >> host: your story clinton woos black voters in south carolina and sanders sticks to his normal crowd. gabby is our guest. taking your calls for the next half hour. pat from pennsylvania, line for democrats. >> caller: good morning. i just wanted to take exception to the statement that both parties do it. >> host: referring tot what? >> caller: both -- your guest stated that the ridiculous campaign stunts by both parties and with ben carson being under

scrutiny everything is -- that he has written has been -- they're just proving that he is embellished the facts. he has some really crazy ideased, and if that doesn't need to be out there in front of the voters, i don't know what does. thanks. by. >> guest: well, there are certainly issues on both sides of -- that republicans and democrats have failed and had to answer to but i will point oui out, after the concerns were brought up regarding ben carson's explode some of the claims he has made, held a press conference-fielded questions addressed the concerns, whereas hillary clinton on the democratic side has really not held any sort of long press conference where reporters have been able to ask her about her e-mail scandal about some of the concerns there. she has actually shut down a press conference a couple months ago when jed henry from fox news asked her about that. so ben carson -- some of these

claims may prove to be true, some concerns the immediateways raise make prove to be true but he is out there and addressing these concerns, which is something that he conclude honestly say -- can honestly say we haven't seen from hillary clinton. >> is hillary clinton's camp said that the 11-hour grilling they had before the house committee, did they say that has been enough to address some of these concerns? >> guest: that's certainly the way they spin it. these a committee before -- i'm sorry -- the testimony before congress you. also need to speak to members of the press and hillary clinton has been one of the least willing candidates to do so. she -- earlier this summer we saw her corral reporters at an event. she has done a couple of interviews over the summer and most were softball interviews so is not taking hard questions and that's one reason why her favability numbers are down and a number of americans view her as dishonest and trust bury. she could boost those numbers

and could improve her image if she were perhaps more willing to speak to members of the press and openly address the concerns that many americans have. >> host: line for democrats freddie, good morning. >> caller: good morning. how are you doing. >> host: good, go ahead. >> caller: okay, i would just like to say ben carson -- the lady -- can't say it right now -- and donald trump have no record so why is it not fair for the media to build them a record? everybody else get it done and your guest seem to be squaring a little more toward the right because hillary clinton has a record a real long record, and it's a real good one but ben carson has no record. you see him getting mad now because they're choking him -- checking him out. he is staying stuff that makes no sense and you keep trying to stand him up and i think you're

trying to do it because he is a republican. not because he is black and he has no agenda. he said something about -- to the president a few months ago about -- slavery and then people have pushed him to run for president and he doesn't want to be there. >> guest: i would say that i'm a firm believer in every candidate being forced to answer to the tough questions and i think that ben carson and hillary clinton and every a democrat and republican 2014 the office of the presidency needs to face a point where there are concerns being raised and where they have to answer these tough questions. but ben carson again has been open to answering them. the may be criticizing these comments being made about him in

some of these claims about at least he's us there addressing them and addressing them one-on-one with reporters speaking to members of the press. going on some of these networks and talking about the issues, which is something -- and this is stated matter of factly, something we haven't seen hillary clinton do. i'm neither defending nor criticizing ben carson but i do want to point out that he is actually fielding questions and answering to some of these tough concerns being raised. >> in terms of the policy issues that candidates ask reporters to return the focus to, what is ben carson expected to release more deeper policy position papers? >> guest: that's one of the criticisms he doesn't have substantial policies right now. his campaign has not mentioned when they plan to do that. we have yet to see a firm tax plan from ben carson, which is something that marco rubio donald trump, jeb bush, nearbily

every other candidate has released. he has spoken on his tax plans and on his economic message but it's very vague, and i think that's something perhaps in the next debate that he'll need to bring up to address. another issue is foreign policy. you have a number of candidates with significant foreign policy -- carly fiorina and marco rubio specifically, when the talk shifts to policy, and unfortunately ben carson, that's an area where he doesn't have a lot of expertise and is going need to prove he is capable of handling america's foreign affairs. >> host: roberta, line for independents good morning. >> caller: good morning. enjoy this show. what i wanted to say was i have never seen in all my years of watching politics anyone delving into like ben carson's childhood

friends and people in school, 40 years ago. my question is, why don't you ever see a reporter on the liberal side delving into what happened in benghazi, questioning all the people that were on the ground, questioning people as to whether or not they thought they could go in and help the ambassador. i feel that it's because he isn't a politician, they always want to get these gotcha questions because he isn't a politician. i haven't made up my mind yet but i have never seen this happen. i'm 77 years old and i don't ever remember seeing such slanderous questions. i am really, really upset. i feel that there are candidates -- when barack obama was coming up, i never saw them

delve into this childhood friends, and his mentor, who was a communist. this to me -- this man is such a reputable, honorable man. i can't believe that this is going on. i disagree with the last caller. i feel that given the chance to state his policies, not his childhood friends on whether he did or didn't do something. i just feel that is totally wrong. >> host: do you want to jump in? >> guest: just briefly say that's the leading scrimp we have heard from ben carson's campaign it's unfair to ask him about childhood friends he claims to have trouble remembering, and i will say that we did hear a lot of about jeremiah wright when president obama was being vetted in 2008, but ben carson is raising these concerns. he is delivering the same message you just said, and none of the other candidates are being forced to answer to some

of these claims that date decades past. so it's definitely one of the main defenses on his behalf. >> host: we talked about what ben carson's camp is saying and what the candidate's saying of let's she the sewers o been carson on "meet the press" answers the questions. >> vetting is a normal part of the process. did you not expect this? >> i have always said that i expect to be vetted. but being vetted and what is going on with me, you said this 30 years ago you said this 20 years ago i just -- i have not seen that with anyone else. if you can show me where that's happened with someone else, will take that statement back. >> i think almost every person who has been president -- >> not no like this. i have never seen this before. and many other people who are politically experienced tell me they've never sign the before

either. >> you don't think that bill clinton or the president with his birth certificate people who still -- >> no not like this. >> -- refuse to believe -- >> not even close. >> what do you think is going nonwhy you? >> because i'm a threat. >> to? >> to the progressives the secular progressive movement in this country a very big threat. they can look at a polling data and can see that i'm the candidate who is most likely to be able to beat mchillary clinton. they see that. >> host: gabby ben carson's said if there's an upside to the scrutiny it's been in the in fundraising department. talk us through the donors. >> guest: he has raised a little over 3 million in the past week since the last debate and since these claims have been made, and ben carson has fundraised off of controversial comments he made in the past and off of things that the media has brought up. we saw him make comments about

having a muslim president back two months ago and his fundraising numbers shot up after that. so really, if anything, this is beneficial to ben carson's campaign in concern e terms of fundraising, but it could have an impact on independent voters are looking at him as an honest candidate and perhaps questioning now after some of these claims have been made and media reports whether or not he is in fact a truly honest individual. >> host: stories turning the mirror back on the media. here's a for xtreme the "washington times," noting 7% of gorgeousist say their republican. the story noting that a study found 28% of journalist call themselves democrats and 7% call themselves republican. both numbers are down from the 1970s. if you want to read more, that's in the "washington times." back to callers paul in indiana. line for independents. >> caller: morning, thank you for taking my call. i just wanted to point out that

i think dr. carson is right. if you listen to rachel maddow yesterday on "meet the press" she was carrying on about his obviously unqualified to be president because he said you get a scholarship to west point where everybody gets full pay -- gets a full ride at west point so number ever gets a scholarship to west point. but really, what are they picking on? stuff that happened decades ago that is very minor. nobody hays ever said he was actually born to wealthy parents from the hamptons or that he wasn't a brain surgeon or he didn't save lives or run a hospital. all this stuff is minor and just -- the press -- certain branches of the press are trying to tear down his credibility by attacking very small points and pretending that have some meaning.

dr. carson is right they're desperate to stop this man. thank you very much. >> host: paul you might be interested in thedder toal board of "the wall street journal," they have a piece today they carson crucible crucible. they say mar carson says voters want someone who is not a professional politician and the polls show g.o.p. voters enter taryning the idea but as primaries rife voter will be looking for policy and political competence as well as personal character. they want who can beat in hillary clinton and they can picture in the oval office. agree with that? >> guest: most definitely. carson has to back up his message of running off his autobiography with policies. right now he is ahead of hillary clinton in a number of polls but in order to maintain that lead he is certainly going to have to deliver some more in-depth policies and address these areas

where he has a lack of expertise because as we have seen from not just fellow republican candidates but democratic candidates there-some concerns among them, among voters-that these three outsider candidates leading the republican field right now -- these two, donald trump and ben carson -- really don't have enough experience to be commander in chief. so it's something he is going to continue to have to address and more thoroughly as we go on. >> host: darlene in st. paul, minnesota. line for republicans. good morning. >> caller: hi. good morning, thank you for taking my call. i have a couple of things and just take a second here. first of all you mentioned about president obama being scrutinized about his relationship with jeremiah wright and things like that. well, i'd like to point out that it was only fox news that was vetting that as an issue. you never heard to my knowledge to this day anything from the left-wing media about that.

and let me ask about obama's college transcripts that have been sealed since 2008 when he started running for president. i've never heard anything from any left-wing media outlet criticizing that. and with regards to ben carson, he is okay with being scrutinized and i think that's what people need to understand that he is okay with being scrutinized. what he doesn't like it being lied about and politico had to go back and change the headline of their story and the information in it, and people aren't hearing that. they hear the initial story and go away right away and believe that. it's not okay for media outlets to make up lies about a candidate, and then when they go retract it, oh, well, oops, sorry. they didn't seen say they were sorry. and with regardses to west point and the scholarship it has come

out now that west point has actually had brochures -- self of them that -- several of them that say specifically, free scholarship or scholarship to west point even though it's always been paid because it's paid by the federal government. so nobody pays tuition another -- at west point. in addition to that ben carson said he never applied to west point. he met with this general and they had dinner together and he talked about him getting a scholarship or going to west point. these nitpicky things they're picking out is just absolutely ridiculous and is it okay for the media to spin things like that into lies? i just don't agree with that. >> guest: well politico has since -- changed the headline on that story. they erasessed the word fabric

kuwaited and had to address their reporting with regard to the claims about ben carson's admission to west point and again, ben carson's campaign would certainly agree with you. there are a number of little issues being brought up that other candidates haven't had to address... - thought in a clip recently, he has invited examples of the same level of scrutiny towards president obama, hillary clinton, and other candidates to be brought to attention because he claims that so far that has not been seen. host: market is waiting in connecticut. good morning. caller: good morning. i wanted to first call in about the abortions and women's health . we find that most of the clinics being shut down are in lower income.

regardless, i wish that more people would pay attention to the quality of life after that child is born, and see them through hard times and good times, rather than just focus on whether that woman should have a child or not. i would never have participated in a child of mine being aborted, but that is my decision. you know, i think we should be doing more for each child as they are born. host: on that subject i want to ask you about the supreme court expected to take up an abortion case at some point this term. how do you think that will impact and be played out, not only in the supreme court, but also on the campaign trail? guest: it will become a huge topic on the campaign trail. it will cycle through the news cycle, and it is something that candidates will either piggyback off of, or oppose.

based on what we have seen with the oral argument and what the case ends up turning out like. recently, with the defund planned parenthood effort, abortion has always been a huge issue, when it comes to presidential election cycles. it is one of the most divisive social issues. it will certainly play a role if you have a president shall election cycles simultaneously occurring when you have a case like this being brought to the supreme court. host: steve from missouri is up next, by for democrats. caller: first of all, the lady said that been pr ben carson has not come out with a tax plan. his tax plan will be the same as everyone else -- we have paid the taxes always will always

will never going to change always the same. america, in my opinion, is the dumbest people that vote. the only vote for one thing basically guns and religion. i live on a farm, i have guns. the whole thing is just crazy. it's all about special interests, lobbyists, everything is screwed up right now. it is not -- it's a lot of things going on that i don't agree with. i just think ben carson has thin skin. kennedy was attacked for being the first catholic president. every president gets attacked. another thing, when you start talking about pharmaceutical companies, all the art are drug cartels for america. have a really nice day. host: internet segment, we will

be joined by sarah ferris of "the hill" newspaper to talk about pharmaceutical drugs. we are joined by gabby morrongiello. linda is in new albany, ohio line for independents. caller: good morning. i want to talk about the way the media covers campaigns these days. i'm in a swing state. we have been inundated over the last several elections of people pounding on the door everything on t single night, claiming to be bipartisan, and then they had you a picture of the candidate that they support. we have had coverage of the quintessential example of media bias. it is not just bias, it is marketing. they choose a candidate and promote them. i would like to have a record of how may times they say hillary clinton's name or donald trump's

name everything all day. we are being manipulated. i would just like personally to hear the candidates, what they have to say about taxes, health care, about all those things. we have to hear about whether jeb bush's candidacy is losing money. i don't care about that. i care about what will make a decision for my life. that's all. host: donald trump, one of the candidates who is taking his message right to the voters via his own ads that he has purchased. here is a bit from one of his first radio ads. [video clip] -- (202) 745-8002 [audio clip] >> my opponents have no experience in making jobs or creating deals. i will bring jobs and money back

to the united states. i will take care of our veterans, and make our military so strong that no one will mess with us. i will secure our borders, and yes, we will have a wall. you cannot have a country without borders. i will make sure the second amendment and are religious liberties are protected. obamacare is a total disaster. it will be replaced with something much better. if the people of iowa vote for me, you will not be disappointed. i never disappoint people. together, we will make america great again. i'm donald trump candidate for president, and i approve this message. host: donald trump taking a kitchen sink strategy. guest: right. if you listen to some of the signature make america great rallies that he has held, that commercial is everything he says in a 45 minute-one hour rally in

one minute. a really packs and this idea that donald trump is reaching so many voters and drumming up so much support among republicans because he speaks at a fourth grade level. take that as what you will, it seems to be working in his favor. he dumped down -- dumbed down his message, and is resonating. speaking in these platitudes donald trump is somebody who knows what he wants to get across, and he is getting that across. he continues to do that and media appearances. he does not stray from his message. host: the latest iowa republican polling on the caucus there. the cnn poll has trombetta 25,

carson at 23 -- trump at 25 carson at 23. let's go to mark, california, independent. caller: good morning. talking about ben carson, didn't he write this stuff in the book about himself? stuffed the knife with his but belt buckle. why shouldn't we be able to check on them? the other thing is on the republican side, they are all against the right for a woman to choose if they can have an abortion or not would take a pill. to me, leave it up to the woman.

she has to deal with that later in life. they don't have to support that kid, she does. leave it up to the woman. thank you. host: talking about ben carson's book. guest: he has written a number of these things in his book and some publications have reached out to some of his former classmates and other people who are involved in some of the claims he is making in order to corroborate the story. so far, they have not been successful in doing so. that is certainly something that ben carson's campaign is had to answer to. if a number of these people he claims to have these experiences with our and able to come forward and substantiate these claims, that is going to ultimately diminish his persona

as being trustworthy and honest. i'm sure that reporters, myself included, are working diligently to ensure that some of these stories and concerns are addressed. it would help to cooperate -- to corroborate his stories that that's something we are not seeing so far. host: clinton township, michigan, line for democrats good morning. caller: ben carson said things about himself. he is promoting himself in a way. he should be questioned about that. why shouldn't we be able to question if those things are true? if he makes this stuff up, that goes to his credibility. so many callers have said this is something that's being done by the left to people on the right. the way that the swift boat affected john kerry, let me

remind you. guest: ben carson is somebody running on his autobiography. he does not have political experience or a voting record in the senate or the house or in a state legislature. a lot of these concerns being brought up are because that is the only thing that reporters and members of the press can go after him on and make sure he is telling the truth and he is an honest individual and fit to be president of the united states. whereas on some of the other candidates like jeb bush or donald trump who has been vocal in candidates, these candidates have to address the more political statements they have made and issues that are tied to their policies. ben carson really has to answer to his life experiences. host: you can see all of her

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