standing water. it is the proximity with which people are living as well. >> is it mostly other things? >> some of that is associated with poverty. i don't think it is necessarily contained 2 areas of poverty on an island. >> heat and humidity are important. >> less clear the causal relationship between poverty and mosquito borne disease because historically we had a lot of people living in hot and humid places. you can't say if this is the history of poverty. >> island territories as opposed to the mainland. >> don't know if we even got a

full understanding of that. >> what we have seen with dengue where we had limited outbreaks in texas and florida, living conditions still, the heat and humidity is there, are different enough that we don't get the kind of spread you see in puerto rico or the virgin islands. >> there is a checklist that has to be met. all the things have to be checked up, heat and a number of things like poverty or poor living conditions. when you start to break those links like south in the united states when people moved away where the mosquitoes were you brought that link, disease transmission goes through their. >> we are way behind on questions. >> i had a question for you about you just briefly touched upon failure to pass what could have been in terms of

temperatures, as we are looking to rally more public support and engagement on climate change solutions and leveraging the health frame, importance to our own personal health and in this case children, our most cherished population, what opportunity do you see to highlight this new threat and at the same time not over blow or overstate the connection to climate change? it seems like a really important opportunity to get the public more engaged about how this is personally affecting us especially during a presidential election cycle this summer so i am curious about any of your responses to that but yours in particular. >> a great summary of why we did this event on the topic of zika and climate change. >> one reason i talked about

this, i am trained as an economist and i would say every economist thinks cap and trade is the most irrational way to approach greenhouse gas emissions. here with the bill which is going to do cap and trade, didn't get any traction. that is a lesson in what alan was talking about, what is appealing to people, to understand why is a good way to do things so cap and trade people didn't like these, people dislike the command and control, i just want to tell people not to pollute. that is not very practical in

many cases. trying to do the work to explain to people why this is a reasonable way to proceed is important. on the threat from the cut, zika, this is not going to be an explosive threat in the us but the way i think about it, it is more like west nile where we saw something, it was introduced, we saw it moving up, it follows very much the geography in places with a lot of mosquitoes so we have it in new jersey and not huge numbers of cases of west nile but there are cases every year. if zika takes hold and we see the map of where the mosquitoes are we won't get thousands of cases but there are probably going to be cases every year and there are going to be kids born with these horrible birth

defects so it is important for people to know that so that it doesn't get established and we don't end up having a new equilibrium. >> we ought to keep in mind another opportunity, make the argument and you did, one of the problems is if we are successful it doesn't get big, you could turn that around, you have to be on the offensive to do this, the reason this thing didn't get out of control is we took precautionary measures you could make how many cases of babies with stunted brains you have to have before people think it is worth spending money on something like this.

>> i am molly with clean air force. the link between climate change and health, i have a question about the zika epidemic. i wonder if you think we have any evidence that this epidemic is fueled by climate change or do you see this as an example of how climate change may threaten us in the future and this is important in terms of how we frame he education to our members. >> we are not able to determine the role that climate has played in this outbreak. it didn't happen over time like climate change does and we can't disentangle that from other factors like global travel, living conditions, the virus getting to us, there is not a way for us to know that.

what would help us understand the changes if we had better surveillance data on mosquitoes, on the disease, that is something we would like to do. also understanding the longer-term effects for babies who were exposed is part of what we need to understand, arguments you were suggesting as well, what to avoid by having an effective public health intervention, requires knowing the full range of outcomes. >> for the control group, give me a call and i will put it in control. >> i think deborah's responses appropriately cautious but it is also clear that zika is a tropical disease. the us is becoming more tropical because of climate change. a larger area that is affected.

we know these kinds of vectors are spreading north. so you can't make a solid line connecting the dots but it is clear the dots are connected. >> i would echo that as well. can't say definitively climate change caused the outbreak but it will certainly make it worse in the future because mosquitoes like hot weather. the more hot weather we have the more costly this is going to be to contain. >> standby, there are going to be more like this, it will have impacts like this on the vector and the disease. go down the aisle.

>> i am here for interest but i have two question questions. the first is hawaii has had a big outbreak of dengue fever but you have not talked about zika being a problem in hawaii which everyone on the west coast goes there and the second is what happens if hurricane katrina happens in two years, how does fema work. >> they are one of the places where we have concerns about transition, global transition of zika. you are absolutely right about that. one thing the cdc's role to help the health department's prepare, what is better likely to occur, with all the hurricane prone areas supporting their emergency response efforts and one of the areas we are prepared for his

center control. >> we make this the last question. >> i am with the congressional research service. i wonder if you could talk about any emerging technologies that may be helpful in combating the spread of zika. >> i am not expert at the emerging technologies but i do know where interested in innovative vector control technologies. you heard us say how challenging it is to control this vector and different methods we have to combine to reduce the risk. we have lots of media reports and interest in technologies. we have to use what we know

works. we do work with industry, and the diagnostics area, has a big effort on vaccine development. >> i have a comment, and new technologies, making sure you don't have standing water, a lot of room for that type of thing, it is possible to reduce the number of mosquitoes by doing things like that. if people did that on a larger

scale we would have an impact. >> thank you for coming. we have been an attentive audience, join me in thanking the panel. [applause] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations]

[inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> booktv has 48 hours of nonfiction books and authors and here are the programs to watch for. saturday morning at 10:00 we are alive for the gaithersburg book festival. others include a j dion with

where the right went wrong, conservatism from goldwater to the tea party and beyond. annette gordon reed and peter onus on the patriarchs, thomas jefferson and the empire of imagination, juan williams with his book we the people, the modern-day figures to have reshaped the founding father's vision of america. james ryman on pay any price, greed, power and endless war. kristin green on her book something must be done about prince edward county, a family, a virginia town, civil rights battle. joann banburger with her book love her love her not, the hillary paradox. john noris on his book mary mc worry, the first queen of journalism. marlene cressman talking about fair labor lawyer, the remarkable life of new deal attorney and supreme court advocate bessie mark a list. >> the worst thing i have ever

done was committed an act of murder in 1991. caused a man's death. by far one of the worst things you can do. i made that unfortunate decision at the age of 19. devastated a family, took somebody's husband, son, brother, father, family. it was one of the things that stays with me to this day. the reason i do the work i do in the city because i never want another child to grow up with that type of burden. one of those burdens that never goes away. >> the author of writing my wrong discusses 19 years in prison and his life after. go to booktv.org for the complete weekend schedule. >> the senate is about to gavel in to continue work on the combined 2017 transportation

housing and military spending bill. later this morning they are expected to vote on the merry blunt amendment providing $1.1 million in zika virus research funding. final passage of the vote could be later this afternoon. now live to the senate floor on c-span2. . the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. god of all nations, strengthen us that we may meet the challenges of these times.

enable us to live so that we will bring honor to your name. be merciful to our nation, for you are our hope. today, empower our lawmakers with the music of your wisdom that they may bring hope out of despair and joy out of sadness. lord, teach them to celebrate even in the darkness, because you are the god of our salvation. we celebrate your mighty acts and take solace from your providential guidance. we pray in your sacred name.

amen. the president pro tempore: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the 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 presiding officer: the democratic leader. mr. reid: i come to the floor today not to talk about a political issue in the real sense of the word, not democrat versus republican, but a very difficult, sensitive issue. it's hard to talk about, but we as a nation can't keep ignoring

this important topic. it's been more than 20 years since i learned about something called female genital mutilation known as f.g.m. since then i've spoken often against this awful procedure and the devastating effect it has on women and girls around the world. a number of people warned me 20 years ago this isn't a subject that i should talk about, was taboo. they thought it would be untoward for me to do so, but i told them i had to because no one else was talking about it. so i'm going to continue to do everything that i can to bring attention to this issue and fight to end this horrible, awful, brutal practice that is

perpetrated against women and girls. mr. president, it was 1994 cable news program that introduced me to this practice. one of my friends in has -- in las vegas said you can't imagine this. this was a young woman who -- anyway, she sent it to me. i didn't expect getting this from her or anyone else. we were friends, and i watched this. she said you have to, and i did. a ten-year-old little girl in a party dress held down by two men, her legs spread apart as she was brutally mutilated, her genitals cut away. these images have continually haunted me over the years, and i'll never ever forget that picture that i saw. there are different forms of

female genital mutilation around the world, the most severe and atrocious type is one in which the girl's genitals are cut away, but then the little girls are literally sewn shut leaving only a small opening for urine and menstrual blood. though f.g.m. is performed for different reasons around the world, one thing is this practice is for control and pressure of women and girls. mr. president, in addition to the psychological impact, this form of genital-based violence is a serious medical risk including death, of course. it is recognized by the united nations as a human rights violation, as it should be. but f.g.m. is still happening. as we speak, 200 million women and girls worldwide have undergone f.g.m. 200 million.

women and girls who are alive today who have undergone that procedure that i watched on cable news, or something like it. more than two decades after i first saw that program, women and girls are still being hacked, mutilated. it's not done in a hospital, an operating room. it's done in done very unsanitay conditions most of the time. this practice remains prevalent in at least 30 countries, in some places the rates are higher than 90%. 90%. in many of these countries, girls are cut before the age of five. in most places they are cut between the ages of 5 and 14. in many of these countries, girls -- well, enough. imagine that, mr. president.

girls who are, haven't even started school yet, kindergarten age or younger being subject to this horror because of these millions of girls, i've spent more than 20 years trying to do something about it. i've worked hard to pass legislation outlawing the practice in the united states and banning so-called vacation cutting, which goes on where young girls are shipped overseas because it is illegal here because of the laws that we passed. they take them overseas to be cut. there was bipartisan support, obviously, for this. it's not a partisan issue. and we were able to have a few victories, certainly not enough, but some. still this brutal practice continues around the world and it's clear there must be much more done, much more done.

that's why at my request the general accountability office began a study on that, american government's efforts to stop this practice. the g.o. has completed the report about our government's international efforts. it wasn't much of a report. it was kind of short. it is shameful of what we have not done. the title of the report says it all: female genital mutilation/cutting. the united states has assisted to combat this awful practice abroad is limited. close quote. and limited is an understatement, mr. president. aoeup -- i'm releasing this report today which outlines the u.s. government's limited, limited efforts. i'm embarrassed that the state department u.s. agency aren't

engaged in dedicating resources to put an end to this. according to the g.a.o., usaid and the state department each had one active stand on the project focused on stopping female genital mutilation. one of these projects is gone, already ended. and less than $2 million has been spent on these projects combined. the g.a.o. also found the united states has never contributed, never contributed a penny to the world's largest international effort against this horrible, awful practice. it's called the joint program on f.g.m. it's embarrassing. we have not put one penny into this. during the course of the g.a.o. investigation, state and usaid both began to take action. they were embarrassed, i assume. if they weren't, they should have been. but they haven't done much. usaid, for example, decided to

update the guidance that would released 16 -- that was released 16 years ago. secretary kerry announced the u.s. would be contributing to the joint program for the first time. bravo. i commend this commitment, but i understand that these funds are not in dedicated funding source and are a onetime very limited pledge. maybe we'll have to get another g.a.o. report before we can get a few more bucks into that program. it shouldn't take a g.a.o. investigation for state and usaid to act. the united states should prioritize ending this practice, but it hasn't. this is shameful. it's a tragedy that our great government is not doing more. it's inexcusable that the united states, a nation with wealth and power, is standing by while such sickening violence against women and girls is occurring. as we speak, mr. president, 200 have undergone this in the world.

200 million. the state department and usaid should end or do everything they can to make female mutilation a priority. it's a cause. it should be. it isn't. the united states can and must do far more to eliminate this practice worldwide. we still have problems here in the united states. this shameful g.a.o. report, i hope is a wakeup call. something had to wake us up because we have done almost nothing as a country. the report should be a turning point in the fight against f.g.m., a moment when the most powerful nation in the world commences to stopping a brutal form of abuse. the united states should be a leader in this fight and not a bystander.

we must put this brutal practice to an end. america must lead the world in stopping these assaults on little girls and big girls and women. i hope that the senate will join me in these efforts. mr. president, i don't see anyone on the floor. i would ask the chair to announce the business of the day. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of h.r. 2577, which the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 138, h.r. 2577, an act making appropriations for the departments of transportation and housing and urban development, and so forth and for other purposes. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the time until 11:15 a.m. will be equally divided between the managers or their designees. mr. reid: i would note the absence of a quorum, mr. president.

the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

quorum call:

a senator: mr. president?

the presiding officer: the senator from new jersey. mr. booker: it's good to see you in that chair. it's good to have a cory presiding over the united states senate. i ask the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. booker: i pressure that very much, sir. i rise to speak against an amendment that is now pending to this bill that would block a rule that seeks to fulfill the promise of the fair housing act. this is an issue actually that's very deeply personal to me and one that really has defined my own personal history. i'd like to start by telling a story about 1969, just one year after the passage of the fair housing act, there was a couple here in washington, d.c., married with two boys that decided to move to new jersey. and in new jersey, they encountered a lot of what was called the practice called real estate steering where black couples were steered away from certain neighborhoods. they grew frustrated, realizing that they were being steered

away from white neighborhoods, and they sought the help of the fair housing council. they set up an elaborate sting operation where my parents would go look at a home or this couple would go look at a home. they would then be followed by a white couple. the couple was told that the house was sold or not for sale. the white couple would then appear and find out if that was indeed true. and most often for this couple from washington, d.c., yes, they would find out the house was still for sale. eventually, this couple found a house in a small town called harrington park, new jersey, that they loved but they were told that the house was not for sale. they were told that the house had been pulled off the market or sold. they left and the white couple came behind them and lo and behold the house had not been sold or was not pulled off the market and the white couple pretended as if they loved the house like the black couple did and put a bid on the house. the bid was accepted. on the day of the closing, instead of that white couple showing up, the african-american gentleman from the black couple

and a volunteer lawyer came to confront the real estate agent. the real estate agent in fact was so upset that he stood up and punched the lawyer representing the black couple and siced the dog on the african-american man. the law was on their side, the law from the united states of america, the federal government was on their side. eventually that black couple and two kids moved into that home in harrington park, new jersey. that was 1969. it was the year i was born. that couple were my parents. that's my origin story. legislation that this body passed empowered my family to move into the home of their dreams in an all-white neighborhood with incredibly good schools that i went through from k-12. i am the beneficiary of work that this body did to ensure that our american values were -- are preserved, to make sure our values of inclusion, of integration, to make sure fair

hoifg is the law of the lapped. that work gave me my start in life. it defined my path. the activism of local activists combined with the law of the land that's passed by us. after decades of struggle in communities across the country, we have largely been successful in banning overt housing discrimination. we should be proud of our work. but that legislation that we passed should not become a relic of history. it's not something for us to turn and admire. we all know on many issues the cause of freedom, the cause of justice gestates constant vigilance. i rise today with the knowledge that while major pieces of civil rights legislation like the hair focusing act have had a significant impact on millions of americans white and black, latino, asian, disabled, it's had a full impact. we still have work to do to continue that vigilance to make sure that those values, those ideals and the law of the land is made real for families.

for nearly 50 years, unfortunately, there has not been real guidance or direction or tools to help local officials achieve the goals of the fair housing act, which is interfreighted housing, fair housing, equal access. in 2010, in fact, the general accounting office found that the department of housing and urban development, h.u.d., failed to properly administer oversight obligations under the fair housing act and failed to monitor its guarantees for compliance with the law. so in 2013, h.u.d. proposed affirmatively furthering fair housing, a new rule that would seek to fulfill the promise of fair housing act and eliminate a lot of the historic patterns of segregation that still go on in america today. the vision for the rule is to institute a data-driven analysis of localities and develop federal grant programs for housing and economic inclusion.

when i was mayor, people came to me with passions and accusations and the like, but i used to always say in god we trust, but everybody else bring me data. it's important to look at the numbers, to know what really is going on. and so h.u.d. brought about this idea of making sure we have that data, not in a rushed process. the administration engaged in a diligent two-year rule-making process with public inclusion, participation from others, lots of public comment periods and finalized that rule in july, 2015. now, it's unfortunate right now that one of my dear colleagues, somebody who i value very much because we do a lot of work across the aisle, but he's introduced an amendment that would block this rules implementation, and i must respectfully disagree with the intent of this amendment. the fair housing act and really the entirety of the civil rights act were meant again to be real today, not just relics of

yesterday. they were meant to be guideposts and standards by which we hold ourselves accountable for the values that we put forth. the affirmative -- this affirmatively further fair housing rule is a measure of accountability for h.u.d. and for ourselves. you cannot change what you cannot measure. let me say that again. i learned this as a manager. if you can't measure it, you can't change it or affect it. the rule will arm communities most in need with knowledge and numbers so that they can make the most, they can make intelligent local decisions and best apply their resources. it's what everyone who has to manage something needs, accurate data. it will improve the access of quality data on multiple demographics and streamline the process for analyzing local fair housing impediments, helping grantees establish their own local fair housing priorities. this rule does not interfere with local zoning or housing

laws, and it prevents further taxpayer dollars from being used to discriminate. every stakeholder, every one of us is afforded an opportunity to comment on the rule that h.u.d. made, and as a local leader, former local leader, it empowers people at the localities to do justice by their communities. this is a balanced and it's a measured rule, and it takes up the cause of the work to make our country more and more justice. so i know personally that so much of the character of our country comes from the values we have as a whole. there are rare times in our history where this body is called upon to affirm those values. this body's history, the noble history of this body, is something i have benefited from personally around fair housing, and now we have more tools

necessary with big data and analysis to more effectively affirmatively assert our values and ensure injustice is not being done. i want to make sure that we defeat this amendment for those reasons. i believe and know the values of my colleague who proposed this. i do not think it achieves the end that we want to see by disempowering people to try to help families like mine. i was a child in d.c. moving to new jersey and found justice, found a pathway towards integration. indeed, i i doubt i would be hee right now if it wasn't for the laws of our land. i hope that we can defeat this amendment and ensure that our nation becomes more fair and more just and that more families like mine can find the america that we hail when we pledge allegiance to the flag and say

that we are a nation of liberty and justice for all. mr. president, thank you very much. and i don't yield yet, mr. president. i want you to know i will not yield. mr. president, i would like now to ask unanimous consent that the time during the quorum calls be charged equally, fairly, like fair housing, fairly to both sides. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. booker: i suggest now the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call: