the term that is the continuous fñ debate about the question you've been talking about,[y0ç/l#ñ about refugees. >> host: one issue congress is very much being involvedtyi ines wonton mulberry cuba, the prisot there. whitema9$ house efforts to shutt some news that might've gotten lost in the shuffle from over the weekend, the pentagon transferred by detainees have been held for morei=zzty than d -- >> follow the energy at c-span.org. congress is comingq&ñ in. the house on c-span. the senate here onr$ eternal god, our shelter in the time of storm, in an anxious, troubled, and violent world, we turn to you seeking light and life for our day, faith and

freedom for our world, and triumph and truth for this generation. abide with our lawmakers. make them mindful of your presence, eager to do your will, and committed to serve this land we love of th. lord, use them to work for the triumph of truth. strengthen them with your spirit so that they will meet today's challenges with daring faith and transcendent wisdom. hasten the day when justice shall reign in the relationships of people and peace shall

regulate the affairs of nations. and, lord, bless the people of france. we pray in your sovereign name. amen. the president pro tempore: pleae join me in reciting the pledge f allegiance to our flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

mr. reid: mr. president? the president pro tempore: the minority leader, the democratic leader. mr. reid: as we convene today, the world faces yet another horrific terrorist attack, this time against america's oldest ally, france. across our great nation, americans have displayed the french flag across buildings, montanamongmonuments, facebook . we, too, have felt the searing shock of terrorism on our own soil. just as france stood with us after the 9/11 attacks, we stand with france today.

i personally express kwon dolens -- condolences to those in france to the mothers, fathers, grandparents, children, friends and rille relatives, we mourn wh you. to all those in the midst of caring for loved ones, those injured in these evil attacks -- and hundreds were -- our hearts and mind thoughts are with you. there are no words to describe the barbarism of isis. this organization carried out this attack, mowed down ingest -- mowed down innocent civilians. as we know, the attacks in paris don't stand alone. isis has viciously attacked innocents in beirut, syria, iraq, libya and other places. they beheaded americans, beheaded others, issued a policy

of rape and violence against women. isis does not worship islam. isis worships death p. isis practices killing and torture and violence. instead of guiding its followers to the straight and narrow path, isis guides them to hate. as pope francis said yesterday, "the road of violence and hate does not resolve the problems of humanity. using god's name to justify this is blasphemy." the pope is right. law-abiding muslims, many of whom have also been the innocent victims of terror, must not allow these radicals to be the face of their religion. we can't allow it. they can't allow it. i know i speak for the senate in saying that we're all exphittedl

committed to stopping isis. we're enighted with france as they move forward after these attacks. i repeat, as the pope said yesterday, "the road of violence and hate does not resolve the problems of humanity. using god's name to justify this is blasphemy." would the chair announce today's -- do we have some work to do? the president pro tempore: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. under the previous order, the senate will be in a period of morning business until 5:00 p.m. with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. mr. reid: i would note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

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quorum call:

>> >> ms. mikulski: it's presented to individuals who especially made contributions to the security and national interests of the united states, to people who have done world peace, who found cures for incredible diseases, who have done cultural and other significant things of public or private endeavors. to join that group is indeed so honored and for the president to

do this is just been something that i could have never anticipated. i've been very deeply honored to serve the people of maryland and to this nation. for the people of maryland, i thank you because i could have never had the opportunity for such an -- to serve in the public in such a way, had they not honored me with their confidence and trust by voting for me. i'm so thankful for the opportunity that they've given me to actually serve my state and my country. yes, i am the longest-serving woman in the senate, but for me it's not how long i've served but how well i've tried to serve. to me, service is about being connected to my constituents, to staying close to them, to make sure they don't fall between the cracks, to look at their day-to-day needs for their social security check or helping the veteran, working on issues

like college affordable care act. for me, service has been routed in values that i learned in my home and in my community. i think today of my father and mother who worked so hard that my sisters and i would get an education. they own add small neighborhood grocery store and every day at 6:00 in the morning, my father would walk across the street from our row house home and open up the door of his grocery store and say, good morning. can i help you? well, that's the way i was raised, and that's what i carried with me every single day, which is "good morning, can i help you?" but they also saw that my sisters and i had a fantastic education. i had the opportunity to go to catholic schools, and there the sisters taught us em leadership and service, but actually they focused on the values of our faith. love your neighbor, care for the sick, worry about the poor,

always insist that neighbors should help neighbor. and that it was better to let one -- light one little candle than to curse the darkness. we were also raised to believe in the american dream. my grade-grandmother came to this country in poland, had little money in her pocket. women didn't even have the right to vote when she arrived. but she had a big dream in her heart: that if you worked hard, played by the rules, life would be better for you. i never -- she never thought coming as she did that her own great-granddaughter would one day be a united states senator, but then that's only in america where my story would have been possible. o'only in america do we have this incredible right to speak your mind. i got into politics as a protester. they wanted to put a highway through the neighborhood in which i grew up and some other neighborhoods in the city. i organized the "hell no, we

won't go. and we took on the city. in other countries, they put you in jail and beat you. in this country, they sent me to city council and i beat the political bosses. this is an amazing country. our constitution, the freedoms garn guaranteed in it the freedom of assembly, the freedom to speak and most of all the freedom to serve to be all that you can be has a marvelous gift n a few days i will be honored by the president of the united states, but the honor has always been to be here. i never dreamed such an hoon would come my -- such an honor would come my way nor did i seek it. i am deeply honored to be touched by this. i'm honored to be among the people that will get the reward. one is the dearly beloved shirley chisolm whom i served

with in the house. there will be willie mays who always brought it home and knew where home plate was. there's barbara streisand who always hit the high notes. and of course even yogi bera is going to be honored at this who shared my love of language. then there are distinguished americans like catherine johnson, who was one of the first african-americans in space. lee hamilton, who worked both in congress and in the private sector to bring about world peace. what a distinguished group of americans, and i will be glad to stand with them. mr. president, i want to thank president obama for the tremendous honor. i want to thank the people of maryland in this tremendous opportunity to serve. and i want to thank the united states of america who enables people like me to follow her dream, and i hope in getting this award i continue to make my pledge to be of service. mr. president, i thank you and yield the floor and note the

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

quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. grassley: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: i ask that the calling of the quorum being suspended. the presiding officer: without objection.

morning business is now closed. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to consider the following nomination, which is the clerk will now report. the clerk: nomination, the judiciary committee. lashann moutique dearcy hall of new york to be united states district judge. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session, as we have said, and under the previous order, there will also be 30 minutes of debate prior to a vote on the nomination. mr. grassley: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: if it is not out of order, i ask to speak as if in morning business for six or seven minutes. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. grassley: i want to express my deepest sympathies to the people of paris and all those affected by friday's terrible attacks on islamic extremists. as we all know, hundreds of

innocent people were killed or injured in the attacks, including at least one american citizen. no one should be faced with who are roughic violence -- horrific violence a tending a soccer game or simply carrying on their daily lives of the on behalf of iowans, i stand with the people of france. i offer our support in recovering from and responding to those attacks. unfortunately, there is fear that similar attacks could soon take place on u.s. soil. there is even a video that isis released earlier today threatening to attack america. moreover, if we follow the administration's announced plans to bring in thousands of new syrian refugees, we could very well be letting in similar extremists who want to harm americans.

that is because it appears that at least one of the isis terrorists in paris had recently registered as a syrian refugee in the country of greece. until last friday, he appeared to all the world to be no different from any other thousands of people fleeing the chaos in syria. but this could happen here, too. the number-one responsibility under the constitution of our federal government is to protect the homeland and to secure the country against all threats. we must do all we can to prevent a paris-style attack from happening here. but under the administration's proposed plan, we may not be able to stop such an attack. we cannot tell who among the thousands of syrian refugees the

administration wishes to resettle here are terrorists. one particularly alarming statement to this effect came from the director of the f.b.i. james comey, and he was in a hearing before the senate committee on homeland security and governmental affairs just october 8 of this year. director comey said this: "there are certain gaps in the data available to us," in screening syrian refugees. this data, which includes fingerprints, background, and biographic information is crucial for an adequate screening of potential refugees entering the united states. director comey continued in that hearing saying -- quote -- "there is risk associated with bringing anybody in from the

outside but especially from a conflict zone like that." end of quote. director comey has also previously acknowledged that despite a large pool of data on iraqi refugees, our past program for admitting refugees from iraq inadvertently allowed into our country -- quote -- "a number of people who were of serious concern, including two that were charged when we found their fingerprints on improvised explosive devices from iraq" -- end of quote. our ability to screen individuals from war-torn syria is extremely limited by comparison. several states' governors have recognized this difficulty and have accordingly moved to suspend cooperation with the administration in settling

syrian refugees in their states until those security concerns are addressed. i share such concerns for protecting our country against terrorists who have clearly infiltrated the syrian refugee population, so i recently wrote a letter to the leaders of the senate appropriations committee. in that letter, i asked that taxpayers' funds be used effectively to properly and securely screen refugees entering the united states. i also requested in the letter that as part of the appropriations legislation before the committee, it require a comprehensive plan on how security will be achieved. i requested this be a condition for any funding for refugees resettlements for syrian refugees. i said then and i emphasize now that not one dollar should be expended until stringent

parameters for vetting these refugees are established. i would also suggest to president obama that he reconsider his plan to admit syrian refugees until the dust settles and we get to the bottom of the paris attacks. we need to analyze what happened. we need to figure out how we can better screen these refugees and ensure that terrorists among them are not evading proper screening. we need a timeout before we press forward. i stress that the united states remain -- does remain an extremely generous country when it comes to refugees. this year alone we will allow 75,000 refugees fleeing persecution around the world to enter our country. but we have to set our own citizens' security as a top priority. i call on congress to act to

ensure that this administration certifies that the most stringent security standards are in place before allowing anymore of the syrian refugees into our country. it's our responsibility to do everything we can to prevent friday's attacks from happening here. i yield the floor. mrs. gillibrand: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new york. mrs. gillibrand: i rise to urge my colleagues to vote to confirm this highly qualified judge, lashann moutique dearcy hall to the united states district court for the eastern district of new york. ms. hall is anstositn. after decades of service in both the public sector and the private sector, ms. hall's breadth of knowledge and depth of experience will guide her t e before her. 4 in her current role in a major

international law firm, ms. hall specializes in high-stakes, complex commercial litigation, and during her years of public service, including her time serving as a commissioner with the new york state joint commission on public to help make her community a more fair ms. hall serving as judges in our federal court system. ms. hall is a graduate of howard university school of law and she served in the united states air force. she's a highly accomplished lawyer and who i has devoted her career to irhave aious forms of -- to various forms of public service. she cares deeply about this country. lashann moutique dearcy hall would make an excellent federal judge and she would add much-needed diversity and another female voice to the federal bench.

mr. president, i urge all of my colleagues to vote to confirm her. i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call:

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from kansas. mr. moran: i ask the quorum call be lifted by unanimous consent. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. moran: mr. president, i have one unanimous consent request for a committee to meet during today's session of the senate. it has the approval of the majority and minority leaders. i ask unanimous consent that this request be agreed to and that this request be printed in the record. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. moran: mr. president, i also ask unanimous consent that all time remaining on this nomination be yielded back. the presiding officer: without objection. the question occurs on the hall nomination.

mr. moran: mr. president, i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be a sufficient second. the clerk will now call the roll. vote: vote:

vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: on this

vote, the yeas are 39, the nays are 1. the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the motion to consider is considered made and laid upon the table, it is president will be notified of the senate's action and the senate will resume legislative session. the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. inhofe: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. inhofe: and, mr. president, the president acting right now and i want to pay tribute to army sergeant joshua wheeler. joshua was born in roland, oklahoma. he was deployed to kirkuk province, iraq, in support of operation inherent resolve. and i remember -- didn't remember him at the time but i was there during that time. he was deployed in -- to kirkuk

to support the inherent resolve operation. and that was his 14th deployment. 14th deployment in combat operations in iraq and afghanistan. josh's unit, along with iraq and the kurdish forces, raided a compound near the city of kirkuk, freeing 70 prisoners from captivity and josh died of injuries sustained in that firefight. he would have turned 40 this month. josh attended and graduated from muldrow high school in 1994 and a classmate of his, miss trilb moreland said this about josh. this is a quote. she said -- quote -- "if you would have asked me 20 years ago would he be the man, the kind of man to do this, to give his life for everyone else, i would say most definitely. i wish everyone could have known him." josh enlisted in the army straight out of high school. during his military career, he

served in the 24th infantry regiment, the 75 ranger regime regiment. and from 2004 in the events that bring us here today, he was assigned to the united states army special ops command, where he served as a delta force. i think we all understand what delta force is all about. it's a unit of the elite, the very best of the best. that was josh, the best of the best. josh was the epitome of a selfless and patriotic soldier. mr. lance hunter, sergeant wheeler's friend for 30 years, said that josh was the kind of person who would stop and help a stranger change a tire on the side of the road and always dedicated himself to challenges. when he enlisted, i knew that he would go as far as he could go. he made it to be -- he was made to be a soldier, unquote. and a soldier he was. during his career, master sergeant wheeler earned 11

bronze stars, including four with valor, devices and countless other medals. he was post human osly awarded the purple heart for his actions during the raid on the isis prison. he's a true american hero. secretary of defense ash carter expressed just how selfless sergeant wheeler's actions were, stating -- quote -- "they weren't part of the original rescue mission but were critical to the mission's success." in other words, he did something he didn't have to do. still, the secretary is just one of thousands that know just what a hero josh really is. i was honored to hear that his hometown honored him by engraving his name in a stone monument and releasing hundreds of balloons in his memory. on top of being highly deck indicated, he was -- decorated, he was the consummate family man, father of four.

josh's grandfather said his grandson loved fishing and hunting and was a family man and always taking care of everyone else, including his four half-sisters. his brother zach said -- quote -- "he was a soldier but i didn't realize he had all of these accomplishments, all these achievements. it just blows my mind. he's an american hero. he just wanted to take care of other people." mr. april assa, a classmate of josh's and an english teacher now at the old high school, sais funny. even mischievous. but always the guy who seemed like he had your back." most of our class has -- was clicks but he just wasn't. he was one in a group with everyone. he was friends with everyone. josh lived the life of love and for his family and friends and i had occasion to talk to ashley and i found out that he's a rea.

this is one that didn't -- didn't -- he loved everyone and he knew what was going to happen to him. and we know where he is today. he'll be remembered for his commitment to and belief in the greatness of our nation and his memory and legacy will continue forever in the love of his wife ashley, his four son sons zach e rye aa, math -- zechariah, matthew, josh jr. and the youngest davis, just three months old. fight that took josh's life was tragic. but make no commitment, his life will continue to make a difference not just in iraq but in the security of our great nation. we are safe in our country and is secure because of josh and our servicemen and women, we must continue our unwavering support of them. i extend our deepest gratitude to -- and condolences to josh's family.

and senator lankford and i are honored to pay tribute to this true american hero who volunteered to go into the fight and to make the ultimate sacrifice of his life for our freedom. it's my sincere hope that his family takes solace in knowing that their husband, father, brother, grandson and friend is a true american hero and won't be forgotten. and we'll just say god bless you, josh. we'll see you again. with, that i'lwith that, i'll yr and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call: a senator: mr. president? mr. president, i ask for the quorum call to be vitiated. i come to talk about the sacrifices of one of oklahoma's own, master sergeant, sequoia

county, oklahoma. the presiding officer today is senator inhofe. we come to recognize a life of someone who put down their life. small-town american patriotism still thrives. it's a land of tall trees and very strong churches. josh was killed in action on october 22 while liberating captives held by isil in northern iraq. josh was part of a team assisting kurdish commandos to rescue 70 hostages that were about to be executed by islamic state militants. there was aerial reconnaissance that had shown a newly dug mass grave at the prison where these 70 prisoners were being held. when the kurdish attack on the prison where the hostages were being held was stalled, master sergeant wheeler responded. he could not watch the kurdish forces face the attack without help. he would not allow those men inside the facility to face

execution when he could help them escape. master sergeant wheeler breached the wall. he engaged the enemy. the full force of the attack came directly at him, and he saved the day and six dozen men. you need to know that master sergeant wheeler was the best of the best. the most highly trained warrior in the entire department of defense. josh deployed three times as a ranger in support of combat operations in afghanistan and iraq. master sergeant wheeler was assigned u.s. army special operations command in 2004 and deployed 11 additional times in support of combat operations in iraq and afghanistan. master sergeant wheeler was highly decorated. you can see this from his uniform. let me tell you a little bit about his awards. they included four bronze star medals with valor device, seven bronze star medals, the defense meritorious service medal, the meritorious service medal, the air medal, the joint service

commendation medal, the joint service commendation medal, seven army come mend ignores medals, the good conduct medal sixth award, the national defense service medal with bronze service star, the afghanistan campaign medal with three bronze service stars, the iraq campaign medal with six bronze service stars, the global war on terrorism expeditionary medal, the global war on terror service medal, the noncommissioned officer professional development ribbon third award, the army service ribbon, the presidential unit citation, the valorous unit award second award, the ranger tab, the combat infantryman badge, the expert infantryman badge, the master parachutist badge, three overseas service bars and finally posthumously, the purple heart. he did everything his country asked him to do and more. master sergeant wheeler was the first american servicemen killed in combat since 2011.

americans, kurds and iraqis alike owe master sergeant wheeler and his family our deepest gratitude and respect for a life of selfless service. john 15:13 tells us that no greater love is this than one who lays down his life for his friends. josh did exactly that. master sergeant wheeler sacrificed exemplifies the highest virtue in defense of his family, friends and nation. speaking of his friends, they called him a cutup, someone who made everyone laugh, a friend to everyone. i spoke to his wife last week, ashley, and she recounted his faith, his toughness and his passion for his boys, all four of them. he was able to come home a few months ago for the birth of his fourth son. it was a peaceful and joyous respite from the brutal realities of war that josh faced for years. josh spent his life defending the weak and standing up for those who needed help. he spent much of his childhood

caring for siblings. he valued life, freedom and duty. in contrast to master sergeant wheeler's heroism and selflessness, let me remind you who he was fighting against. in the days following the terrorist attack, we understand that the barbarians of isil have no problem randomly killing people at a restaurant, a soccer stadium or a concert. they kill for intimidation and pleasure. they do not even value their own lives much less the lives of the people around them. the islamic state has committed some of the most horrific acts of death the modern world has ever seen. their fight is against all modern society and their goal is to return the world to a medieval state ruled by fear. they have abducted girls and women, called them sub human for practicing the wrong religion, according to them, and sold them as sex slaves. in the world of isil, women can't get an education, drive a car or even have their own rights. they kill and torture anyone who doesn't agree with them. their reach extends to our own

citizens. no one can forget the horrific deaths of james foley, steven sutlof and kayla muller, a 26-year-old woman who wanted to do good for syria but met pure evil when she got there. recently the f.b.i. director spoke about isil's attempts to inspire americans to turn on each other with blind brutality, to go out and kill, they say, it doesn't matter who, just act. good men stand up to such evil. they don't allow it to grow and multiply. we honor master sergeant wheeler's sacrifice and tenacious commitment to confront evil. we humbly thank his family for the sacrifice they made so that we all may live in a more peaceful world. our nation cannot say thank you loud enough or long enough to his family. when i spoke to ashley, josh's wife, she recounted when the doorbell rang early that morning, it didn't even cross

her mind that it was about josh. he was so tough and so dedicated. who would have ever thought he would be gone? the painful and long process of grieving over a lost hero has just begun. master sergeant wheeler was killed in action defending our freedom october 22. his final service will be this week, just a few days before his birthday. the long days of thanksgiving and christmas are still ahead. please join me in praying for the family of master sergeant wheeler as our nation grieves the loss of a husband, father, grandson and friend to those who knew him, a hero to the nation and the many lives he saved a month ago this week. may god bless josh's family. may his boys grow up to be men who remember their dad's love for them and our nation. with that, i yield back.

mr. president, may i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call: mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader.