without plans for the day after, have created space for isis to expand and grow like nobody has ever seen before. these actions along with our disastrous iran deal have also reduced our ability to work in partnership with our muslim allies in the region. that is why our new goal must be to defeat islamic terrorism, not nation building, no more nation building, it's never going to work. ..

all americans living here and following are not, not that their lives will be protected. [cheers and applause] thank you. we are going to be topped and we are going to be smart and we're going to do it right. america will be a tolerant and open society. america will also be a safe society. we will protect our borders at home. we will defeat isis overs these.

we have no choice. we will ensure every parent can rates their children in peace and safety. we will make america rich again. we will make america safe again. we will make america great again. thank you. thank you very much. thank you very much. thank you. thank you very much, everybody. appreciate it. [cheers and applause] sharemarket imac >> donald trump speakman response to the massacre in

orlando speaking specifically of immigration. the live shot of the capital with the flag at half staff. reporter with the national public radio, npr. i'll political reporter calls for an expansion of immigration to countries with proven history of terrorism against the u.s. all of the speech later and we covered hillary clinton, too. we will show that to you later in our schedule as well. the u.s. senate in about an hour 4:00 p.m. eastern to finish up work on the defense authorization bill final passage tomorrow. they will hold a moment of silence for the victims of the orlando shooting this afternoon. the house will as well. 645 eastern over in the house than you can follow the house over and these men when they gavel in for debate this afternoon. midday today after the meeting

with his national security advisers, the president spoke to reporters briefly about their discussions on the shooting over the weekend. >> the opportunity with the latest briefing from fbi director comey as well as deputy attorney general gave and the rest of my national security team about the tragedy that took place in orlando. they are going to be doing a more extensive briefing around noon, a little bit afternoon over at fbi headquarters. so i will allow them to go into the details, but i was thinking it was important for you to hear directly from a peer first of all, our hearts go out to the families of those who have been killed. our prayers go to those who have been wounded. this is a devastating attack on all americans and one not that it's particularly painful for

the people of orlando, but i think we all recognize this could have happened anywhere in this country and we feel enormous solidarity on behalf of the families did. the fact that it took place at a club frequented by the lgbt community is also relevant. we are still looking all the locations of the killer, but it's a reminder that regardless of race, religion, faith or sexual orientation, we are all americans and we need to be looking after each other and protecting each other at all times. and the faith of this terrible act. with respect to the killer, lot of reporting has been done for it's important to emphasize that we are still at the preliminary

stages of the investigation. there's a lot more that we have to learn. the one thing that we can -- that terrorists invest edition appears that the shooter was inspired by various extremist information that was disseminated over the internet of those materials are currently being searched and exploited so we will have a better sense of the pathway that is tailored to and making a decision to launch this attack. as strict or comey will indicate at this stage, we see no clear avidin that he was direct dead and externally. it does appear at the last minute he announced a legion to

isis. but there's no evidence so far that he was directed and there's no direct evidence that he was part of a larger plot. it appears to be similar to what we saw in san bernardino, but we don't yet know. this is part of what is important in terms of the investigation. as far as we can tell right now, this is certainly an example of a homegrown extremism that all of us have been so concerned about for a very long time. it also appears that he was able to obtain these weapons legally because he did not have a criminal record that in some ways would prohibit him from purchasing these weapons. it appears that one of those weapons is able to carry out of the store and assault rifle,

hand and, in lock which had a lad of push the net and was apparently required to wait for three days under florida law. but it does indicate to the degree of which it was not difficult to obtain these types of weapons. director comey will discuss the fact that there had been some investigation of him in the past , but as direct or comey will indicate, the fbi followed the procedures they are supposed to. at the end of the day, this is something that we are going to have to grapple with, making sure that even after we go after other extremist organizations overseas, even as they hit their

leadership, even as they go after their infrastructure, and even as we take key personnel off the field, even as we disrupt external plot, one of the biggest challenges we are going to have is this kind of propaganda and of islam that you see generated on the internet and the capacity for that tcp into the mind of troubled individuals or weak individuals, seeing them motivated to take actions against people here in the united states and elsewhere in the world. and though, countering this extremist ideology is increasingly going to be just as important as making sure that we are disrupting more expensive plots engineered from the

outside. we are also going to have to make sure we are thinking about the risks we are willing to take cell lab in how we make very powerful firearms available. this is something obviously i have talked about for a very long time. you know, my concern is that we start getting into a debate that this has happened in the past, which is an either or debate. the question is either rethink about some pain with terrorism that we ignore, the problems with easy access to firearms or all about firearms we ignore the very real role in organization like isil has been generating extremist views. it's not an either/or. it is both and. we have to go after these

organizations and counter extremism. but we also have to make sure that it's not easy for somebody who decides they want to harm the people in this country to obtain weapons. my hope is over the next days and we that we are sober at how we approach this problem and look at the facts and our investigators, but we also do some reflection in terms of how we can best tackle what is a very big problem not just here in this country but around the world. again, my final point is to extend our deepest sympathies to the families of those who are affected, to send our prayers to those who are surviving and are

in hospitals right now, their family members hoping they get better very soon. in the meantime, you can anticipate sometime around noon that director comey and deputy attorney general gates will provide you with a full briefing. thank you. [inaudible] >> i think we don't yet know the motivations. here is what we do now. organizations like isil or organizations like al qaeda or those who have converted islam and created these radical and nihilistic vicious organizations , one of the groups that they target our gay and

because they believe they do not abide by their attitudes towards sexuality. these are organizations that think it is fine to take cap two women and enslave them. so there clearly are connections between the attitudes of an organization like that in their attitude towards tolerance and pluralism in the belief that all people are treated equally regardless of sexual orientation. women being empowered is threatening to them. so yes, i'm sure we will find that there are connections regardless of the organizations of this killer, there are connections between ms. ideology

in general attitude toward gays and lesbians. unfortunately that is something that the lgbt community is subject to not just by isil, but by a lot of groups that purport to speak on behalf of god around the world. [inaudible] mac april, i seem to know what i'm going to say. the fact that we make it is challenging for line were smacked, for example, even take at -- to get, that somebody who

they are watching has purchased a gun. and if they do get alerted, sometimes it is hard to stop them from getting a gun is crazy. it's a problem and we have to i think do some soul-searching. but again, the danger is it into being the usual political debate and the nra, obama doesn't want to talk about terrorism. if you talk about terrorism, then people say why aren't you looking at the issues of gun control. the point is if we have solved radicalize individuals in this

country, then they are going to be very difficult oftentimes to find ahead of time. how easy it is for them to tape weapons is in some cases going to make a difference as to whether they are able to carry out attacks like this are not. we make it very easy for individuals who are troubled or disturbed or want to engage in violent acts to get very powerful weapons very quickly and not the problem. it is a problem for a young man to walk a church in south carolina. other people offer to pray with them. it is a problem when an angry

young man on a college campus decides to shoot people because he feels disrespected. it is certainly a problem when we have organizations like isil or al qaeda were actively trying to promote violent and are doing so effectively over the internet because we know at some point they are going to be at a 300 million people, there will be some individuals who find, for whatever reason, that kind of horrible propaganda and tasting. if that happens in that persons can get a weapon, that's a problem. [inaudible conversations] >> president obama after a late morning meeting with his national security team. house speaker paul ryan has requested a closed briefing for members of the house. here is: because reporting on

it saying they will get a briefing tuesday afternoon from fbi director james comey on the homeland security secretary jeh johnson and counterterrorism senator risk mass -- rick rasmussen. the houses in this afternoon. both later on. the senate in 40 minutes or so. and now that, we'll show you today's white house briefing almost all of which dealt with the shooting in orlando. >> good afternoon, everybody. we would have started this afternoon. obviously it has been a difficult 36 hours for our country and you've had an opportunity to hear from the president of the last 24 hours about her in, both in terms of continued to do what is necessary to get to the bottom of what happened and to make sure that our country continues to be united and that in the

face of this unspeakable act of violence that we don't give into the temptation to turn on one another. that's why you've heard from them a couple times the last 20 or hours and i suspect to have an opportunity to hear from him again tomorrow when he commences national mall security team and to get an update on our counter isil efforts. this is a previously planned meeting, but a timely one for tomorrow. this afternoon you had an opportunity to hear from director comey that the fbi with the ongoing investigation to the terror attack in ireland over the weekend. i will not be able to share many details. i'm not going to get ahead of what the fbi is doing, but if you have questions on a range of other aspects of this situation i'm happy to do my best to answer them. the questions about the investigation will have to be

directed to the fbi. kevin, do you want to start? >> share. >> the president resigned and a prospect of that benighted state and resigned to the prospect -- >> not at all. the president is quite intensely frustrated that we haven't seen that congressional action that would have an impact on the ability of individuals to carry out these mass shootings. there is no one lot we can pass that would prevent every aspect of violent, but there are some common sense things congress could do that would make it harder for individuals who should not have guns from being able to get them. there were certain things congress could do that would make it harder for any individual to get their hands on a weapon of war. the president has been quite

frustrated and in some cases even angry about congressional inaction on commonsense steps that can be taken to make our communities safer that would not undermine the basic constitutional rights of law-abiding americans. that has been a source of some presidential frustration. when it comes to countering violent extremism and fighting isil another extremist terrorist organizations looking to do harm to the united states, that's the president's number one priority. protecting the country and the american people. that is planned friday afternoon at his podium, the president's special envoy to our counter isil coalition spend half an hour with maps about the important progress you all have made. that was a briefing scheduled in an ad of this terrible incident. but it is an indication of how intensely focused the president in his team by encountering isil

to degrade the organization and that's something the administration is focused on even when a lot of other people aren't and that's okay. that's the responsibility of the president of the united states and some in the president and his team are considering their number one priority. >> is frustrated about the prospect of doing anything about congress about doing anything, but is this really changing anything as far as the dynamics of getting some demand? >> that is difficult to assess. a lot of people suspect seen 21st graders getting massacred in their classroom that might have sufficient: the nation's conscience and the conscience of individual members in the united

states congress to get them to change laws than they did. i don't know whether this profound tragedies will have more than an act undermines the members of congress. hopefully it will. the president continues to believe the only way we will see the kind of change to our gun safety laws that we would like to see will be when individual americans make clear to their representatives in congress that this is a top priority and the president has made clear he's a single issue voter on this issue that he's not going to support money for candidates including democrat who are clear about their support for commonsense gun safety legislation. and it is not until we see the same intensity of opinion for the same intensity of expressing

commonsense and safety legislation as the intensity expressed by those in the minority. i feel that way will bring about the change would like to see in congress. >> does he have to go to amanda later this week? >> i don't have any updates on the president's travel at this point. the campaign event the president and secretary clinton had planned for wednesday in wisconsin has been postponed. if we have any travel to orlando to add to the schedule, we will be sure to let you know. >> donald trump -- [inaudible] said the president has quote something else in mind. he said he doesn't have it. he said the president doesn't want to see what's happening.

i wonder if the president -- [inaudible] >> i haven't spoken to the president about these comments. i don't know whether or not he's seen them. when you are focused on some team as big as helping the country respond to the worst mass shooting, when you are focused on something as big as safeguarding the country and combating violent extremism, it's important not to get distracted by things that are so small. >> did you interpret those comments against the president or how do you respond to that? >> i took my own advice and i've been focused on not being distracted by something so small >> we heard from fbi director looking to see if there's something we should have done

differently. the fbi interviewed via windows shooter two separate inquiries in a monetary way. in answering his own question were looking to see. so far the answer is i don't think so. i don't see anything worth doing our work at our agent should done differently. does the president share that called him that after this horrible shooting that's been on the fbi's radar, does he share that they shouldn't have done anything differently? >> again, you can speak to the fbi about the comments, but obviously the president has been briefed by director comey on a couple different occasions including the fbi's investigation into this terrorist. the president has been briefed that the fbi followed all the

rules and procedures on the books or how an investigation like this is supposed to be conducted. now, the obvious question that raises than the one you are raising is does that mean the rules and regulations on the books i read sufficient and i think that is what director comey is referring to when he says we're going to take a close look to see if we should have done something differently. >> so far the honest answer is i don't think so. you have 50 people dead. this is the worst shooting in american history. some then went wrong here and this is something that has been on the fbi's radar not once, but twice, interview three different times. >> this is an individual at the most recent investigation according to director of the fbi had been closed two years ago. one of the particular risks associated with radicalization

that it can happen in a very compress time period. that is what makes it difficult to counter talked about how this is an evolving threat has been the president top counterterrorism and writes lisa monaco is talk about that kind of risk that is posed by individuals who are radicalized online is different than what we had previously confronted yet again, as the fbi delicious -- based on what we know now is not part of a broader terror network, but rather essentially a lone wolf, an individual who was radicalized i am carried out a heinous act of terrorism on his own. that's what we know so far. i certainly don't want to get ahead of that. that is what makes this kind of threats that difficult. that is why an investigation of the sort that director comey has

initiated is looking forward and backwards to learn as much as possible about the individual and what may have motivated them and who the individual communicated with and it includes review of past interactions to determine if there's something investigators should have done differently that could have prevented something like this from happening. >> are you aware of reports that he celebrated the attacks of 9/11, you know, getting out is celebrating attacks. >> i've not seen those reports. but i suspect is likely to happen over the next few days is that they may be aspects of the investigation that leak out into the public. part of this is an indication that a large number of federal law enforcement officials are working closely with a substantial number of state and local law enforcement officials

and in order to protect the integrity i'm going to let the fbi talk about what they learned in a way that the fbi director committed to being as transparent as possible. i think people have an understandable desire to learn what the fbi is learning. i don't want to get ahead of any work they may be doing. [inaudible] given this killer's allegiance expressed to isis, given the occasion he has been radicalized by propaganda online, is it fair to say that this is an example of radical islamic terrorism? >> john again, as the fbi director said, their

interactions, their investigation has uncovered references to a number of extremist organizations and they are still trying to evaluate what impact any terrorist organization may have had. i will answer your question because what is true is many of those organizations -- their religion of islam to justify their murderous nihilistic agenda. the president said that on many occasions. he's been very blunt about what those organizations are trying to do. but they are also trying to do is to claim the mantle of islam, to describe themselves as holy warriors are religious leaders

engaged in a conflict with the united states of america. they are wrong about that. that is a false agenda. that is a myth. that is not true. this administration and the previous administration have gone to great link to debunk that the inmate cleared that these organizations are seeking to perpetuate a form of islam. how do we know this? we know this because the united states is actually working closely in partnership with a significant number of countries in the muslim world to combat this organization. this organization carries out acts of violence around the world. the vast majority of the term are innocent muslim men, women and children. we know that there are american

muslims that serve this country loyally, patriotically in our armed forces and intelligence community to combat this threat and protect our country. the united states of america was founded on the principle of religious freedom where people of all religions are welcome here, which makes it impossible to united dates could be out for what any one religion. this administration has gone to great lengths to debunk that myth because to perpetuate that myth only gives terrorists what they want, which is legitimacy and its only harder for us to mobilize the muslim world to fight this threat. it's only harder to mobilize a muslim religious leader to make their voices heard on mine as they have a response ability to do, to counter that messaging and it's only going to make it likely that some members of the muslim community in the united states feel isolated and

stigmatized, which only makes it harder to run the threat that we face from individuals who might be radicalized. it's a long answers your question, but it's an important one. thank you for the opportunity to share. >> josh, a couple questions. how is the country identified and how -- >> well, a pro, this is obviously found in the president and national security team are quite concerned about. the president and i believe on a number of occasions have noted that the most challenging threat they say in our homeland security officials is disrupting the activities of a lone wolf. by definition this is an individual communicating with too many other people and it's

hard to get a sense of exactly what they may have planned. i think it does go to some of the messaging that you saw from director gavel today. it's important to be vigilant. he cited the experience at many investigators have one following up and pursuing investigations of crimes that are committed by lone wolf. they often find that people think to themselves that they didn't share something sooner or overhear or otherwise notice. we want people to be vigilant. i would refer you to the fbi for a more detailed rundown of the investigative law enforcement strategy that they have

successfully pursued in dozens of scores in the last couple years with a 10 with lone wolf terrorist but then i live violence. there are a number of investigative method that can be used. this is a very significant challenge and there's no one on the president's team president's team that were downplayed. >> what can you tell us about the president in the oval office talking about this scenario. they have an internet activity of people who are beginning the radicalization process. >> april, over the last couple of years, a lot of resources have been dedicated to violent extremism and the president has mandated that would mobilize resources across the federal government and work closely with state and local government to combat violent extremism.

there's a couple things that are important to our efforts. the first is we know the government is usually not the best messenger. the most effective way to rebut the radicalizing messaging from extremist organization is to have other individuals. stand up and speak out against individuals seeking to propagate a radical ideology. the other thing the u.s. government has been able to work effectively to do is to partner with technology companies, social media companies and make it harder for those of data extensions to use social media outlets to inspire people to carry out acts of violence. i've often used the analogy of the work that the government now she companies have done to stamp out the spread to stamp out

child. a similar effort underway to work with technology companies to make sure that their tools and social media outlet are used to propagate hateful ideology and inspire people to carry out acts of violence. we've been pleased at the entries for technology companies have shown working with the federal government to prevent the tools they created to freedom and communication and openness to the muse to inspire people to carry out acts of violence. the other thing we have got to do is rant that the research is dedicated to this absurd and the president has been disappointed that republicans have underfunded out countering violent extremism after and there is a substantial increase in the request included in our fiscal year 27 team budget.

i don't have to remind you that republicans just haven't refute, but they convened the traditional annual hearing to talk about the request with the president's budget director. that's the first time in 40 years that hearing hasn't occurred and it reflects a lack of seriousness on the part of republicans to doing their part to counter violent extremism. there's a role for congress to play and thus far they stepped up to the plate to fulfill their responsibility. >> people have been enjoying the night and then we hear if possible when you think of

disney world, the happy family. what do you say to the american public and people are celebrating and feeling good about themselves and a possible target, one globally as people feel comfortable. when pc to the american public in this era of lone wolf attacks? >> you are making reference to one of the asp that it is apparently linked. i can't confirm that piece of information and it certainly can't give you the context to help you understand what are investigators dan. you need to ask them about that. let me answer the spirit of your question. >> happiness moving forward. >> correct. the goal of terrorist organizations is to inspire terror in arabic guns. people -- and the american

people. that is the goal. they are attacking our way of life. the american people should take great confidence in the national security professionals that work literally around the clock to keep the country safe. they have a president of the united states who has made his number one priority protecting our homeland and our federal government extend significant resources in pursuit of that goal. that is something that should give the american people great confidence to go on with their lives and be vigilant of the fbi here recommended, but also to not give in to the aims of terrorist organizations that are seeking to come as the name would suggest, terrorize the

american people. >> you talk about the internet, youtube videos coming e-mails, discussion groups. what's the online medium? >> in this particular case? >> the fbi has indicated quite clearly that they are trying to learn as much as they can about this individuals that entity on the internet. they are doing that because it could give them greater insight into individuals who may have been involved or complicit in this heinous terrorist attack. and they also give them greater clarity about the motive. director trent that acknowledged there's still some lack of clarity about that. they are seeking to gain as much information as possible

including this individual's activities on the internet to learn as much as they can. >> my follow-up is going to be about the message of what can talk about the anti-gay, anti-american, pro-isis. >> there is so much of this debt is still being uncovered. an investigation that's barely 24 hours old. i can assure you however there is acute interest in the federal government to learn as much as possible. director comey does not know what role anti-gay may have played in targeting pulse make clothes. but what is clear is they came under attack.

in fact, our country came under attack to values that conclusion in dignity and tolerance came under direct attack and its wife so important for our country to respond as they suggest in a fashion that is united that preserves are equipped and as a country and assist ratings and making clear that we will not marginalized because of who they allow for who they are. that is not what this country is all about. we are still learning what his motives may have been. there's no question about what the response should be. >> he submitted a letter to

congress today. it gives specific numbers for american troops. and of course management numbers. you don't get numbers for the number of troops in iraq and syria to numbers 300 which is a low the current number of troops. why is there not a precise number attached to the troops in iraq? >> i don't know the answer to that question, but we can give you any day. i'm sure there's a good explanation for that. but, i'm glad you mentioned the war powers report because this is something that congress requires be provided every six months. the reason it is appropriate today is that the country considers what steps the government is taking to protect the american people, this is a pretty detailed accounting of

all of the places for national security professionals and men and women in units and are taking steps at googling to counter terrorist organizations and protect the american people around the world. this is a handy reference guide for individuals who are inquiring what united states -- but the commander-in-chief has order to protect the country. ibm might idea mike does president obama agree with her? >> well, listen in. i think the president has been quite clear about why we choose the language we choose to define our enemy. we have defined the enemy. our adversary in this war as a terrorist organization that islam and the president wants

about that and the president has been blunt about why exactly we use the terminology that we do. it is teammate chris oakley are that we are not going to give those extremist organization legitimacy of claiming legitimate islam. the president for not give into them. they want that legitimacy. they want to further this narrative that they present a war against the west. it is false, empty. it is a myth. and in fact, most of the victims of these terror-stricken asian arm fact innocent muslim men, women and children. many of our most important partners in our calendar isil password. you will recall back in late summer of 24 teams, early fall when the president or his

authorized and ordered military airstrikes against extremist target in syria that the united states is not flying alone in that mission and carry out strikes again isil targets. there were several, four, five comments links countries who are flying military jets alongside american military pilot to carry out strikes against targets. that should send a clear signal to these extremist organizations and to the world that these organizations do not represent the muslim faith. [inaudible] >> well, i would not proceed with secretary clinton had to say. >> i want to go back to what you were saying about some legislation that he said the president's not resigned. i want to be clear if there is any possibility under which he

would introduce the assault weapons ban or those on the terror watch list from the enable -- >> and other democrats in congress discussing this right now. the president is certainly interested and will be an advocate for the legislation is it considered by the united states congress. he was the president speak many times in the past and i wouldn't rule it out in the future. the president does talk about zoning target of authority and the steps to check earlier this year to prevent individuals from circumventing the background check system. there are the president has that he is is not authority, the stature of the leading political

figure in this country to make it clear that he is not going to lend political support to somebody who does not share his commitment to the pursuit of common sense gun safety legislation. >> arthur and executive actions he would take to prevent this tragedy from happening? >> i'm not aware -- sorry to cut you off. i'm unaware of any imminent announcement the president is planning to make. the president and his team are thinking through ways he could exercise his authority to make our communities safer. and the family there's no piece of lettuce mission that would prevent every act of violence, pa the president's frustration stems from the fact that there are common sense that they could take across the country that are strongly supported not just a democrat but majority of republicans that would have some

impact. it is why they won't take those steps knowing they aren't going to undermine forgot the constitutional rights of law-abiding americans. they will have a material effect of making communities safer. why would make take them? >> hillary clinton talked about focusing in on lone wolf in particular here. is that something the white house thinks is needed right now? >> listen, this is disrupt a level is plotting a terrorist attack, has been described by the president as the most difficult challenge facing our homeland security officials by the way those acts are carried

out, it's difficult to convene. it is a testament to our intelligence community and department of justice that is now fairly routine to make announcement. our law enforcement are quite skilled at doing not. but the president with bad as they are open to additional ideas that can be dedicated after this effort. i defer to the community about how they would use additional resource and whether that would be valuable. i certainly know that the countering violent extremism strategy that we have laid out does need additional resources and it would have additional resources and would be more effective in communities across the country if republicans in

congress had off funding for it. space-bar would like to see congress do in the fact that they won't even hold a hearing i think it's an indication that republicans in congress are doing their part to keep the countries they when it comes to countering violent extreme and it. >> more than the definition of funding, more about existing resources, breaking down walls and getting everyone. is that something the white house is looking at right now and recognizing dave and better sharing resources? >> innocent and they stunned the fact we are only 24 hours into it, and it's hard to tell whether there's one thing that could've been done differently that would've prevented this in the name. i'm confident our professionals are dedicated to learning is much as we possibly can about this incident, not just to better assess and determine whether or not someone else may have been involved.

there've also been interested so we can take steps to prevent incidents like this from happening again. >> the last time something like this happened on the scale of san bernardino, there is quite a public showdown over access to information, public showdown in terms of getting full access and a digital footprint of the alleged perpetrator. d.c. that is something happening in this case and has the administration gotten tools, where are we with that? >> i referred to the fbi. i don't know whether they've encountered a similar problem as they pursue this investigation, but they could tell you more about that. [inaudible] >> i'm not prepared to share any details about the investigation at this point. if the fbi determines they will share more information about

whether they have the barrier, that is something i'll talk about. >> remaining to indicate the president is still open to act on anything related -- [inaudible] >> what i was trying to indicate if the president has taken steps. i'm not aware of any imminent announcement of additional steps that can be taken, but at the same time, the president and his team are looking for ideas in the rope named to considering the new ideas of executive are ready to take steps that would make us safer. >> two dozen executive actions with the emotional appeals and all the descriptions are being totally frustrated by republican opposition to any and all after. >> the president is quite frustrated and will continue to

be a forceful public at it for steps that congress can take. >> is it just -- [inaudible] >> i will not rule out additional steps he may take, but i'm not aware of any impending announced that. common sense steps like closing the loophole that allows individuals on the no-fly list from baghdad. the president's principle here is pretty straightforward. too dangerous to walk into a gun store and buy a gun. the president hired 200 additional atf agents used more effectively force the thomas on the books. republicans in congress has not acted on that proposal even though that's what we hear from republicans who are too scared to take action on common sense gun safety legislation. find out way better enforce the

book. let's hire 200 atf agents that can do exactly that. republicans in congress have enacted on that either. >> there's a few things on the president's schedule in saudi arabia this week. >> i don't have any updates at this point, but we'll keep you posted if something like that gets added to the discussion. michel. >> we are months away from the president leaving office. on the incidents if they wanted to do something more, he done everything he can do under the law on this issue. >> what is clear is the president has taken executive actions to using as much of his authority as he can to implement commonsense measures that would make our communities safer from gun violence. i'm not going to allow that. he is a story to make additional steps that the president will

take close look at it, but the responsibility right now relies of congress and whether it's closing the note by no-fly loophole, hiring atf agents, reinstituting the assault weapons ban, passing legislation to close the background check loophole at gun shows. these are all common sense steps that would not fundamentally gut the constitutional rights of law-abiding americans would have a material impact on making our communities safer. >> to be clear, the white house was saying that as far as he could go under the law. but now you're open to more. as we got as far as he can go under the law? >> i'm not aware of any ideas that may have come across the president's desk in the future. >> i've heard many times the lone wolf being the most difficult suspect to spot.

we heard the president say that the fbi -- they make a reminder you can see all of this online axes and outdoor. we will breakaway here as the senate transport and here on the $602 billion defense authorization bill. we will hear many more speeches to the atlanta shooting massacre. a moment of silence plan in the senate as well. live coverage here on c-span2. hear our prayer, o lord. rouse your power and come. we stumble and fail without your beacon of peace to guide us. as darkness seeks the upper hand with the orlando massacre, shine

your light of hope upon our land. despite the pain and horror of this tragedy, empower us to continue to trust in your infinite mercy. hear our prayers for those who died and for those who mourn. bring healing to those who were injured. lord, give our lawmakers wisdom to understand better the causes of violence which exist in our nation and world. use them to bring comfort, hope, and peace in the midst of

insanity. help us to remember the warning of dr. martin luther king jr., when he said, we must learn to live together as brothers and sisters or we will die together as fools. we pray in your sovereign name. amen. the presiding officer: please 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.

the presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington, d.c., june 13, 2016. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable joni ernst, a senator from the state of iowa, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: orrin g. hatch, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: the senate majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that the senate now observe aempt mo of silence for the victims of the or l.a.n. a tack. the presiding officer: without objection. the senate will now observe a moment of silence for the victims of the orlando attack.

mr. mcconnell: madam president? the presiding officer: the senate majority leader. mr. mcconnell: above this capitol the american flag flies at half-staff. a symbol of national sorrow for lives taken far too soon, a symbol of national solidarity for families left behind, plunged into despair. isil claims the terrorist whose committed this horrific act is one of the "soldiers of the caliphate." our intelligence community will work to establish whether this terrorist was directed or inspired by isil. either way, i'll call hum what he really is: a coward.

a murderer who claimed-to-allegiance to a brutal -- who claimed allegiance to a brutal group that cruise fies children and beheads women. this terrorist sought to spread fear and sadness and suffering. yet, even amidst the horror, he couldn't destroy our common bonds of humanity. every act of compassion, every outstretched arm to a friend, every calming word to a strang stranger, a response to his cruel ideolog. -- ideology, a remainder of who we are as americans. let us recognize each act of heroism that night and let us never forget the debt we owe to first responders. themen men and women who rush toward danger and put their lives on the line for victims they've never met.

local law enforcement will continue working with the f.b.i. to determine the exact nature of this crime. we'll soon find out more details. we'll learn, for instance, whether this attack was isil-directed or inspired, whether this terrorist was in communication with isil in rakka or simply following tactics set forth in debek, isil's online magazine. it leads to a larger point: it's no longer an open analytical question whether the followers of isil and other islamic terrorist groups will attempt to strike us here in the west. they have. and they're going to continue to do so. we need to do what we can to fight back so we can prevent more of these atrocities. that is exactly why, for instance, the senate needs to be briefed on the president's

counter-isil campaign, understanding the president's plan with respect to isil is critical, especially given that the war in iraq and syria will outlive the life of his administration. that's why we've been asking the administration for briefings on his strategy for a very long time. i expect this now will happen very soon. we'll also be receiving a briefing on the orlando attack this wednesday. but today is a day for sorrow and remembrance. we saw the face of evil this weekend. we stand shoulder to shoulder with fellow americans this afternoon. we grieve for the victims and we say this to their families and to orlando: you're not alone. your nation is here with you.

and we won't back down in the face of terrorism. on one final matter, i'd like to say a few words about a cleg we lost -- a colleague we lost this past weekend. george voinovich was the oldest of six children and until his late teens an aspiring doctor. then he realized he didn't get along with the sciences. so he joined the boy scouts. the he got involved in student government. he told his friends that one day he would become mayor and governor. he was right. this is the guy voters chose to turn around cleveland after a wrenching fiscal crisis. mayor voinovich came to office with a simple motto: together we can do it. and together they did. debts were paid down, jobs were

added and slowly the buckle of the rustbelt became "come back city." his constitutions propelled him to the governor's mansion where he served two terms and then to the u.s. senate where served another two terms. here in the senate, he was at the forefront of a number of important policy debates. he was an advocate for more efficient and effective government. he was an advocate for all of the above energy approach. and this son of eastern european immigrants cited his work to help spearhead two rounds of nato expansion as one of his proudest achievements. when nato's secretary-general officially announced a decision to invite bulgaria, estonia, latvia, lithuania, romania, slovakia and slow have enia -- slo----slow have enia, "this wae

of the most thrilling days of my tenure." his career took him from columbus to washington, around the world. he kept himself guided by his catholic faith and anchored by his family. he ultimately retired to spend more time with the people who really mattered. at the top of that list was the woman who made him whole. if you don't think storey sm book romances can start at a cleveland young republicans club, then you didn't know george and janet voinovich. george and janet were best friends, political confidants, deeply in love. here in washington, you can find them central ting through the capitol to work or to st. joe's for mass. when she came to visit him at the office, george would greet her with a kiss and a hug. when the voinovichs flew back to

cleveland, which was most weekends, they would hold hands and say prayer across the aisle to prepare for takeoff. and when it was wheels down, janet would put ohio's senior senator to work on their modest home in cleveland. they purchased that house in the 1970's, in the same working-class neighborhood where george was raised. they spent the rest of their lives there together. the same house. but they never got around to installing an air conditioner. too expensive, george said. george voinovich was known for many things in his decades of public service. he was honest, he was plain-spoken, he was loyal to those who worked for him and, yes, he was frugal. janet may not have appreciated it when the heat waves hit, but these are qualities that served him well in office.

when asked about his legacy, senator voinovich said, he just wanted to know he had touched people's lives and made things better. the mark of his impact across his city and across his state are clear enough to see. there's the voinovich school of leadership in public affairs at ohio university, the voinovich trade center in columbus, the voinovich atrium at cleveland's rock 'n' roll hall of fame. and there's the george v. voinovich bridge. the bridge named for a man known for building bridges of his own went dark in his honor last night. the city of cleveland, the state of ohio, and the citizens of our country have lost an outstanding public servant. many of us have lost a good

friend. the senate marks his passing with sorrow. we will keep jane tevment and the rest of the voinovich family in our thoughts. mr. reid: madam president? the presiding officer: the democratic leader. mr. reid: before i start the remarks on the subject of the day -- one of the subjects of sf the day, as senator mcconnell has indicated, is george voinovich. avenues fine man. he died -- he was a fine man. he died yesterday morning. he was a clerk -- he was a colla friend, passed away in his home.

he was one of the most extreme public servants that i have served. his career started as ohio's assistant attorney general. from there he served as a member of the ohio house of representatives, county auditor, county commissioner, mayor of cleveland, and governor of ohio. and then in 1999 he brought his wealth of experience to the united states senate. as senator, george was well-regarded for his preparation and hard work. he was courageous. george was one of the few senate republicans to speak out against the unpaid-for bush tax cuts. he thought they were wrong -- and he questioned the strategy of the war in iraq. on both strategies, george voinovich was wrong and the other republicans were wrong. he voted to repeal don't ask, don't tell and bucked the rest of his party for voting for

background checks. again, he was right. his colleagues were wrong. today the entire senate mourns the voinovich family. i send my personal condolences to george's wife of 54 years, janet, their chairman george, betsy and peter. journal was a great senator. he will be missed by his loved ones, the people of ohio and the members of the united states. madam president, everyone is in a state of shock and sadness today following the worst mass shooting in modern american history. facts continue to develop. i've had a long conversation with the f.b.i. this morning.

but we do know this much. a shooter pledging allegiance to isil opened fire in a lgbt locality in florida killing 49 people and leaving dozens seriously injured. this is an attack of terror in every sense of the word. my heart goes out to the victims, their families, especially those that are killed and wounded, and the many first responders who are on the scene. one police officer was wounded. i hope every member of the house and senate had time for quiet reflection yesterday to ask what we could have done to prevent this tragedy. i had time to think about it. mr. president, i am -- madam president, i'm so sorry -- i'm heartsick, i'm basically sick by our inaction.

it's shameful the united states senate has done nothing -- nothing -- to stop these mass shootings. is this what we want for america? i don't think so. we want to live it in a country where someone who has once sworn allegiance to isis, walk into a store, buy a weapon and explosive and kill dozens of americans in a club or movie teeter or school? i don't think we do. is that a country where we want to live? because this is the country where we live now thanks to the national association and their cowardly supporters in congress. we proposed legislation to prevent terrorists from purchasing firearms and explosives. all but one republican voted against the feinstein amendment. that means today an f.b.i.

terrorist can walk into a gun store and legally purchase guns. it is beyond me to know how these same voters to know how they let f.b.i. suspects continue to buy weapons. how can these same republicans campaign for reelection in good conscience knowing that they voted to block every sensible bill to address gun violence? not some of them. all of them. for example, how can the junior senator from florida who all of a sudden is again interested in running for reelection, how can he speak of running for office again when he voted to let potential terrorists buy assault weapons and explosives? that is how he voted. the junior senator voted against every gun safety measure. he was quoted as saying with what happened yesterday, i might reconsider. better reconsider his gun votes.

he voted against background checks, assault weapons ban, against legislation limiting the size of ammunition clips. i ask again is this what we want for america, mass shooting after mass shooting? each attack it seems is worse than the previous one. we still have much to learn about the orlando shooting, but we know one thing for sure, congress is failing to do anything to prevent these mass killings. anything. why? because of republican obstruction, because of republican obstruction, we're doing nothing. we're failing every one of the people killed on sunday, their families, the whole state of florida, the whole country. we're failing families. we're failing everyone who has died in these mass shootings, and there are thousands of them. and those who have lost loved ones to mass shootings, thousands of them, i repeat,

injured, tens of thousands. as president obama said yesterday -- quote -- "to actively do nothing is a decision as well." and my republican colleagues have made that decision. doing nothing. it's time again we try to stop the playing of gun violence. we have a responsibility as lawmakers to do what we can to prevent these shootings, to enact commonsense reforms. nothing radical. that have proven to stop these attacks and save lives. we should start by closing the loophole that allows terrorists to legally purchase weapons and explosives. remember everybody, we voted on this. everyone in this chamber should be able to agree the suspected terrorists shouldn't have guns. is it more than common sense? i don't think so. we should do something to make background checks to ensure criminals and terrorists don't slip through the cracks. we should do something to limit the size of weapons magazines.

these clips, there is no reason for gun stores to sell these clips that are that big, magazines or drums designed for mass killing of human beings. that's why they make them. no other purpose. you don't hunt with them. our nation can no longer ignore the fact that every day innocent americans are being gunned down in cold blood. and we no longer ignore the will of the people. we shouldn't, at least. we can no longer ignore the will of the people. the overwhelming majority of voters support these proposals. according to the december poll by one of the foremost polling agencies in america, nearly 90% of americans are in favor of expanded background checks. it doesn't matter what the state you go to. this was a nationwide poll. nevada, massachusetts, iowa, it doesn't matter where you go. more than 80% of americans want to close so-called cara

loopholes, prevent people on cara watch lists from purchasing firearms. i didn't see my friend from florida behind me. of course they care as much as anyone, if not more today. yet in spite of the public's demand for action, senate republicans continue to cower, cower before the n.r.a. and the gun owners of america. the n.r.a. is bad, really bad. gun owners of america are even worse than bad. these two organizations are competing seeing just how extreme they can be in pushing for more guns and fewer protections. and i know after the statement i'm making here today, they'll send out these fund-raising calls, reid's trying to take away our guns. send us some money. these two organizations are competing to see how extreme they can be in pushing for more guns and fewer protections. congressional republicans are content just to go along.

republicans refuse to pass legislation supported by the vast majority of their own constituents. the n.r.a. and the gun owners of america mean more to them than the people they represent. you tphoeu what terrifies the -- you know what terrifies the american people? it's not the n.r.a. it's not gun owners of america. mass shootings scare the american people. innocent victims being gunned down at nightclubs, holiday parties, schools, movie theaters; that's what scares the american people. republicans need to find the backbone to stand up to groups like the n.r.a. and gun owners of america. senate republicans are stalling important mental healthing legislation because they're afraid to talk about gun safety measures. not only are they stalling but senate republicans led by the assistant republican leader are threatening to include provisions that weaken the f.b.i.'s current background

check system which isn't much to be honest with you. we need to hear more of the gun lobbyists' talking points about how more guns are the answer. more guns is the answer to what's going on in america or how hired security guards would solve our nation's scourge of gun violence. the pulse nightclub in orlando had security and there were reportedly an armed off-duty police officer on the scene but even that didn't stop that tragedy. instead of pushing for more guns maybe its time to make it harder for criminals and terrorists get guns. it is time for congress to do something to stop the mass slaughter carried out in our communities. how else can you describe it? as 50 dead people -- 49 plus the killer -- 49 dead people, is that enough to get our attention? the 50-odd that are injured; some of them will be paralyzed, is that enough to get our

attention? it's time for congress to do something, something to stop this mass slaughter that's been carried out in our communities. going forward, democrats are going to continue to support and continue to push these solutions to our nation's gun violence epidemic. and we're going to, as soon as we can, force a vote on this terror loophole. we're going to do this as soon as possible. there is no excuse for allowing suspected terrorists to buy guns. there's much we can do but not if republicans aren't serious about addressing these problems and historically it's been proven they do not care. so i hope republicans will find the courage like george voinovich to help us pass meaningful legislation to protect the american people. by the way, george voinovich was a good republican. would the chair announce the business for the rest 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 s. 2943, which the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 469, s. 2943, a bill to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2017 for military activities, the department of defense, and so forth and for other purposes. mr. nelson: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from florida. mr. nelson: madam president, i have just returned from the command center of the emergency operations center, a temporary one that has been set up in the middle of south orange avenue, very close to the pulse nightclub, not far from the hospital where so many of the victims have been taken; where

nine of the victims died in the care of the doctors, and where there are up to 50 people, some of whom are still fighting for their lives. needless to say that orlando is shocked. we didn't know that a place that sometimes is called the happiest place on earth could be one of the saddest places on earth. indeed, the mornings "orlando sentinel" the entire front page is dedicated to a statement by

the paper entitled "our community will heal." will our community heal? well certainly, in what we see with the long lines snaking around the block at the blood donation center, where it is literally going around what would be the length of two blocks, people standing in the hot sun with umbrellas to donate blood, that says something about how the community will heal. indeed, when we had our office in orlando opened on sunday, the kinds of calls of expressing

grief and shock and just unbelief along with the messages of comfort, that's been quite a contrast to the 95% of the hundreds and hundreds of calls that the orlando office has received today. 95% of those calls have been hateful. what does that say about us as a nation? will we in fact heal? what does it say about us as a nation deep inside? where have we lost the teachings

in almost all the major religions clearly in the holy scriptures of the old testament, clearly in the new testament, and also in the koran. and you'll recognize these words if i say it in the old english. do unto others as you would have them do unto you. put it in modern english: that is, to treat others as you would want to be treated. and yet what we find is that in our society today, there are folks that want to divide instead of unify, and this killer is a good example.

i've spent two days with the f.b.i. i've been on the phone. i've talked to the secretary of homeland security. i've talked to our intelligence community. it is this senator's opinion that once the dots are completely connected -- and they are being rapidly connected -- the f.b.i. is doing a great job -- they are the lead in orlando. by the way, you talk em -- you talk about something good ... what about the cooperation, the coordination -- almost seamless -- between local an state and the federal government, all represented down there in that command center, all represented as a number of us went in front of the assembled crams --

cameras. it's seamless. that's a good thing. that's unity. that's how we do things in america. and yet, as the dots are being connected, we'll find out that, yes, this shooter was isis-inspired -- and that's a whole set of issues in how are we going to protect ourselves in the future. but we're also going to find that this shooter was inspired by hatred. and we're going to find that that hatred was directed, as his father has already said in interviews, toward the gay community. and so, here again, we have

another terrible tragedy. i've had a number of calls from our fellow senators. one of those calls came from richard blumenthal. he's from connecticut, and he has reason to be sensitive about this because of the sandy hook elementary school shooting. 20 children and some six adults gunned down needlessly. maybe that was a mental case. maybe part of this one in orlando is a mental case. but it is driven by a hatred -- maybe through isis -- a hatred of america and of freedoms and of a free society being willing to be able to speak what you want without fear of persecuti

persecution. or maybe it is a hatred about a group of people. it's exactly the opposite of what is taught in all the scriptures. and so, as we heal i in orlando, it'll take a while -- you can imagine those families of the ones they've lost. you can imagine the families down at orlando health hospital right now grieving and hoping and praying that those victims fighting for their lives are going to make it. so, america, we're going to have to dig down deep and find out who we really are.

and, you know, i really know who we are. we are a character of a people that is compassionate and generous and kind and respectf respectful. we are, as americans, ladies and gentlemen. we can express ourselves, as has been the tradition on the floor of this senate. in the heat of political debate, we can sharply differ, but we can be respectful of the other fellow's point of view. that's america, and until we finally come to that conclusion and insist on thisaberrate

behavior is stopped -- until that happens, we will still be grieving. madam president, i yield the floor. a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from massachusetts. mr. markey: thank you, madam president. i rise to just echo the sentiments of the senator from florida. his state has suffered an unspeakable tragedy. it is something that, unfortunately, brings together two terrible biases, one against the lgbt community, the other a religiously-based radical attack

inspired by isis that at that nightclub all came together. and to the senator from florida and to everyone in florida, our deepest, deepest sympathies to you. it was, of course, something that was understood in massachusetts because he mentioned the tsarnaev brothers as an inspiration to him. they struck on patriot's day in 2013 in the united states. mohamed atta and the other nine were in boston when they hijacked the two planes from logan, airport. so we know that these people are out there. we know that they're hate-filled -- we know that their hate-filled message is intended to kill innocent americans. and we saw it once again, and,

unfortunately, the target was a gay nightclub in orlando, florida. but for us, i think, we have to learn from this. this man had been investigated as a terror suspect, and yet we are blocked -- the senator from florida and i and others, we are blocked from passing a law which would prevent anyone on a terrorist target watch list from buying a gun in the united states. it is not against the law. the national rifle association has enough power here on the floor of the united states senate to prohibit someone who is on a terror watchlist from

buying guns in the united states of america. we need another vote out here on that issue here in the united states senate. we need to give the protections to the american people that they know that someone on a terror watchlist cannot buy a gun in the united states of america. we also have to ban these military-style assault weapons, like the ar-15, which are the guns of choice for those who seek to inflict mass casualties on civilians. these are not weapons that belong in combat on the streets of our country. they belong in combat overseas, not in our communities. they don't belong in newtown, they don't belong in san

bernardino, they don't belong in orlando, they don't belong on our streets or in our schools or in a civilized society. but yet we cannot ban these weapons from being sold in the united states of america. we have to prevent any known or suspected terrorist from buying firearms, and we have to make it impossible for them as well to buy these assault weapons. so this is our challenge now. once again we are warned, once again we are told what the weapon of choice is, once again we know that they are going to target us if we make it easy for them to do so, to access these weapons. how many warnings do we need?

the n.r.a. really should stand for "not relevant anymore" in american politics. they should not control the agenda here on the floor of the united states senate. we should be able to ban people on the terror watchlist from buying guns. we should be able to ban these assault weapons from being sold at all inside of our country. the senate leadership should stop banning a vote here on the senate floor on ensuring that we do the research at the c.d.c. on this relationship between mental health and the use of guns within our society. the bill that i've introduced calls for $10 million a year for the next six years. we can't even get the money to

research gun violence in the united states of america. it doesn't have to be this way. we can change. we can learn these lessons. but we can't wait any longer to put those commonsense gun laws on the books. we cannot wait any longer to make our streets safer. so let us close the gun show loophole that allows anyone to go into one of these kmarts full of killing machines and buy a gun without a background check. let's close the loophole that allows com domestic abusers to y guns. let's close the loophole that allows straw purchasers to buy guns and flood our streets with them. let's repeal the protection of lawful commerce in arms act and take away the gun manufacturers' im-- immunity from civil liability. plcaa should stand for protecting lives, creating arms

accountability. not protecting these arms manufacturers from liability if these guns are used to kill innocent people in our society. so in the coming days and weeks, you can be assured that the national rifle association will be opposed to even these limited commonsense gun measures. the n.r.a. has had a stranglehold over congress for far too long. it is time to end its rein of power. it is time to end its vice-like grip over the safety and security of our young people. those in congress who do not support these commonsense measures are siding with those forces that make it easier for these massacres to happen. that is the bottom line of where we are. now is the time to stand up for the families of columbine, of newtowrntion of -- newtown, of charleston, of san bernardino

and now of orlando and all of the cities across our country which are saying, enough is enough. i was so proud on saturday to march in the boston gay pride parade. it was a joyous occasion where love and community and social justice were all celebrated with a passion and a real sense of progress. but as i awoke the next morning, i saw yet again how an individual armed with guns and fueled by extremist ideology can inflict violence and terror. but we are a nation of hope and not hatred. and after this tragedy, after this deplecial attack -- deplorable attack, let us denounce hate in all of its forms. let us stand with the lgbtq community and raise our voices with dignity and equality and love. lets say "no" to the rhetoric of hate that demonizes our friends and neighbors because of their

faith, their sexual orientation, or because of their country of origin. let us recommit to justice and moving progress forward. madam president, the american people are begging and pleading for this institution to enact common sense gun safety measures. my hope is that the senate can succeed where it has recently failed and muster the political will and courage to deliver badly needed reform of our gun laws. let us work together to do this and to help prevent yet another mass shooting in our country. madam president, i yield back the balance of my time. a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from delaware. a senator: madam president, good to see you this afternoon. this past weekend, saturday, my wife and i went up to new york city and at the invitation of one of our sons.

mr. carper: we visited the 9/11 memorial erected on the site of the world trade center. i must confess it was emotionally charging and very saddening and at the same time uplifting and inspiring. i never imagined that within the space of less than 24 hours we would see dozens of our young have their lives taken from them. i remember walking through the e 9/11. you may remember parts of the memorial and literally seeing the faces of literally 3,000 men and women and some children whose lives were snuffed out that day some 15 years ago. and every one of them had moms and dads, had grandparents, a

number of them had children, spouses, brothers, sisters, cousins, nephews, nieces, and those families struggle even today with their loss. the young man who died saturday night, sunday morning in a nightclub in orlando like those many folks who faces i saw, we saw on saturday also have moms and dad, grand mom, grand dads, grandfathers, brothers, sisters, cousins. their families are mourning today, just like others did 15 years ago. so what i want to do is preface my remarks today by reaching out to across the miles to the families who are mourning, trying to deal with their losses and let them know we want to take you in our loving embrace,

and we also want to make sure that we continue to take steps in this country to the best of our ability to ensur we reduce the likelihood that these kind of attacks are not going to occur and when they do, if they do, we're pretty prepared to deal with them. the killer, the man who took the lives of 49 people, he demonstrated what i would say an act of hatred and part of an act of terrorism but really an act of hatred. the question is what do we do about it? and some would have us close our borders, our ability to come here even a short-term basis. if you happen to be muslim, we'll keep you out. that's what isis would like to do there are 3.3 million muslims

in this country. the idea of somehow turning them against the rest of us, that's the kind of thing that's happening in parts of europe where unlike -- we are a country where we accept the people who come to our shores. we accept them. when you are a stranger in my land, did you take me and -- for us for years, for decades the answer has been yes. that doesn't mean we shouldn't test very carefully the backgrounds of the people who come here to make sure that they are who they say they are, that they're not on terrorist watch lists. we want to make sure the intelligence agencies are coordinated ndz are in close -- and are in close communication with one another. part of isis is make this a clash between the united states and the muslim population here, 3.3 million people and around the world. that's not what we should do. we should be smarter than that.

one of the things that we need to do is to continue the work that's begun from last year to -- it's said often. i'll say it again -- degrade and destroy those who would do us harm, those who are doing enormous harm trying to set up a caliphate, what we need to go is -- to do is make sure they get no further and the progress that's been made in terms of rolling them back, be taken with a help of a coalition that includes 50 nations, 60 nations, we're taking a lot of the land and retake fall ya -- fallujah. the idea is to work with the coalition and the countries that isis is trying to get a foothold in and make sure that they're not successful. it's not a game. it's one we want to make sure

they don't have a chance to get started there. if you look at the amount of money -- isis used to make a lot of money selling oil, they take over oil refineries. they sell the oil fields and sell the oil on the black market. we have greatly diminished their ability to do that, greatly diminished their ability to make money. we figured out where they're keeping their cash stored and destroyed hundreds of millions of dollars in currency that they were harboring. the number of people coming from around the world to go to that part of the world, iraq, syria, who want to be isis volunteers, greatly diminished from what it was, that from 2000 a month this time maybe last year to just a fraction of that. in the united states not that long ago, early this year, as many as six people a month were going from the u.s. to the middle east to be part of isis. they're down to maybe one per month. so one -- still one too many but

we're headed in the right direction. the people that are being radicalized here are -- by isis -- isis is not sending people here to radicalize them. isis is basically tying to do this through social media -- trying to do this through social media, use the internet. they're pretty good at it. one of the things that will make them not so effective is once we demonstrate and i think we're on our way to doing that, demonstrate isis as a losing team. and the people that are like the killer apparently are claiming credit for, in this case, killed all of our folks over the weekend, he was looking for a winning team. he was looking for a winning team. he's not a person who had a lot of wins in his life, and he wanted to be a part of a winning team. our challenge is to make sure anybody looking for a winning team or thinks they can through radicalization and the attacks and terrorism make sure you're barking up the young tree. isis is -- the wrong tree. isis is a losing team.

one of the ways we can do that is to -- along with me and a number of others on the committee of homeland security and government affairs, we've been all over this issue for years leading to the creation of the department of homeland security, we continue to stay right on this issue and we'll probably be doing that as long as any of us are in the united states senate. part of what we should be doing aside from degrading and destroying isis, one of the things we need to do is if we're smart is reach out to the muslim community in this country. in places in europe, a lot of the muslim folk, they're all segregated. they're not part of the culture. they're not welcome so much in those countries. and one of the things about us in america, we're a melting pot. we've been a melting pot forever. when i was a stranger in your land, did you take me in? for years we've been saying the answer is yes. the department of homeland security has asked for authorization to be able to create a community partnership

to reach out to the muslim communities across america, to parents, with young people, lots of young people, face the community, and make it clear that they're a part of this country, they're a part of this country. make sure that they say to their owndown people -- their own young people, don't do this, don't do what this guy did in orlando. it's not part of our religion, not part of their religion. don't go there. third thing we ought to be doing here at home is to strengthen our defenses at home. we had an active shooter situation for hours, into the wee hours of the morning of sunday morning, an active shooter situation. and it's not the first active shooter situation we've faced. they're not easy to deal with. one of the things that the department of homeland security can do, is doing, ought to be

doing more of if given resources, doing active shooter training and police, agencies all over the united states. they ever face a situation like this, they know what to do, they're able to be effective and save lives. the other thing i would mention in terms of resources, we put a fair amount of resources as the presiding officer knows toward fusion centers. some call them confusion centers but they the ability of state, local and law enforcement agencies that work with the feds to better ensure that information gathered locally works its way up the channel up through the chain of command to be shared nationally with other states and with the federal government and to make sure the congress is true to the extent that we gather useful information at the national level, international level, that we funnel it back down to individual states through fusion centers so they can action on that actionable intelligence. we need to work with energy in this regard. we need to work with a sense of

urgency and we need to make sure as we go through the appropriations process here in the senate in the days, the weeks ahead to make sure that we're putting resources, financial resources where they need to go. a number of folks have asked me in interviews yesterday and today what should we be doing about gun control? how does this relate to gun control? and the answer is, i'm not really sure how this is going to affect the way we do guns. i believe in the second amendment right. i'm sure the presiding officer is, former army colonel. ism a's retired navy captain. my dad, he was a chief petty officer in world war ii and served for a long time in the reserves after that my dad was a hunter. he come from a family of hunters and taught me to be a hunter and fisherman. one of the prowtdest -- proudest possessions i own, i have a shotgun my grandfather gave me before he died. when i us a on leave from

southeast asia, i would visit my parents in clearwater, florida and stay in the divest bedroom. in the -- in the guest bedroom. in the guest bedroom under the bed where i slept were guns. i opened up the closet in the guest bedroom and there were guns. my father was in addition to a hunter, he bought and sold guns. wee basically sell them to people that he knew and felt they were not people who were mentally unstable or people who were felons but he believed in the second amendment right. but my dad also believed in common sense. my dad also believed in common sense. and my dad is deceased now but when if he were alive and he heard people on terrorist watch lists can literally by weapons, including assault weapon, automatic weapons he would say that doesn't make any sense or if he found out we could go to a gun show and a person who is mentally unstable, has a history of mental illness, maybe somebody is a convicted felon,

they can walk into a gun show and go to the next table with someone who is not a federally registered gun dealer and purchase the same weapon, they e just been denied. in terms of what makes sense and doesn't make sense, to my dad and frankly to me, his son, those situations don't make a whole lot of sense. those are areas we ought to be able to agree on. one of my colleagues, one of our colleagues as the presiding officer knows, senator enzi from wyoming likes to talk about the 80-20 rule and it's a great rule. 80% of the stuff we agree on, 20% we don't agree on. what we should do is focus on the 80% we agree o. my hope is -- most americans get it in terms of making sure folks on terrorist watch lists don't have access to weapons. they get it and they also get the idea that the gun show loophole is something that ought to be closed as well. i want to close, if i can, mr.

mr. president by saying i think in a sense this is a test of our character as a nation. this is a test of our character as a nation. and i said earlier, our tradition has always been we welcome people from different places, in some cases people fleeing 07 press -- fleeing oppression, lack of religious opportunities and free dom. -- freedom. that's how we operate as a country. the constitution doesn't say matthew 25. we don't decide we're going to establish regionion here but matthew 25 says when i was hungry, did you feed me, when i was thirsty, did you lead me to drink, when i was a stranger in your land, did you take me in, did you take me in. i think we have a moral obligation, the least of these including those fleeing

oppression in other places, looking for an opportunity for a new life life. we have a moral obligation to welcome them but we have a moral obligation to those who live here. you have to live here to make sure as we welcome people from other places that we do so not to imperil those who arrive from other shores, from other shores. last thing i would sa -- say, mr. president -- mr. president, last thing i would say is we need the kind of leadership here in this body that seeks to really do what it says over your head, mr. president, where the presiding officer is sitting. i don't know a lot of latin, but e pluribus unum, "from many,

one." and i think those are words that i think we would be wise to remember from this day as we go forward. i think that's pretty much what i wanted to say, mr. president. and i would ask that my colleagues and i, as this week goes on, to find out as much as we can, to learn from as much as we can, to find out what went right, what went wrong, and do more of what went right. and at the end of the day, to make sure that we are true to our values on which this country is built. thank you very much, mr. president. mr. vitter: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from louisiana. mr. vitter: mr. president, first of all, let me thank our colleague for his words, and i certainly join him in mourning the horrible, tragic loss of life this weekend in orlando. certainly, i'm committed with all of our colleagues to fighting that terror wherever it exists and whoever it targets. it was absolutely horrible. mr. president, i also rise today

in support of a really important piece of bipartisan legislation that i've been working on with senator shaheen. i've introduced it to reauthorize the small business innovation, research, and small business technology transfer programs, two vital small business programs in the federal government. and we have an opportunity to accomplish this, to fully reauthorize and improve these programs in the context of this defense authorization bill that's on the floor now. and i'm very hopeful we're going to do that as part of the managers' package to that bill. now, these two programs -- the small business innovation research and the small business technology transfer programs -- are really vital, useful to the success of small businesses that are directly responsible for creating thousands -- tens of

thousands of new jobs. by funding small businesses and entrepreneurs in the critical early stages of r&d, these stages allow forms to drive the innovation sector of the economy with no technologies. very rarely have government programs had such a clear and measurable, pos tirvetion and stimulating effect on the economy. they are crucial to federal agency also as they solve many of our biggist science and technology challenges, given small, innovative firms access to r&d fund something a win-win, a win for the small business sector, just as importantly a win for the taxpayer and those agencies. these programs campus to foster innovation, to facilitate private-public partnerships, to give firms the funding they need to help 11 departments and

agencies meet their r&d needs. these programs not only create jobs but they also thread a path -- they also need to a path for commercialization, which is key to their success. these programs have been front and center in improving our nation's capacity to innovate over the course of the sbir program history, from 19 23e8 to 2014, the last year for which we have numbers, federal agencies have made more than 152,000 sbir awards, the total dollar amount awarded again out of existing r&d budgets is $42 billion. in 2014 alone, sbir gave nearly 5,500 phase 1 and phase 2 awards worth about $2.2 billion. and the s.b.a. is currently

reporting an average of 5,000 awards a year. these awards are directly responsible for some of the most popular technologies that are available to the public today. for instance, through and sbir award from the acres of we've created a technology known as lasix, originally to correct vision for pilots, but that's a widely used technology to correct vision for all americans. that was an sbir success. military armor. it's been a regular success of sbir programs. armor works has created top-of-the-line body armor plates worn by u.s. service members in the u.s. liftware spoon, which stabilizes hand tremors for patients with parkinson's disease. a clear, identifiable, important sbir success story.

hydro-mark, that decreases patient discomfort with a minimally invasive breast biopsy procedure. with the hydro-mark, a mammogram is no longer necessary. ultrasound can be used to locate the tumor. dramatically improved thousands of women's lives, again directly out of sbir. bioseal reduces lung collapse rates after lung biopsies. irobot roomba, that's something i can relate to -- it is moving around the room when i am there on the weekend -- a robotic vacuum cleaner which has sold over 10 million units. that's directly out of sbir. now, these programs we're talking about which have been so successful are set to expire september 30 of 2017. as many of my colleagues can

attest, it was a tumultuous process to complete the last reauthorization, so we're starting early now so we don't go through that tumultuous process again. back then the last reauthorization participating agencies and firms had to endure a process that took over three years and 14 short-term extensions. in a bipartisan effort with senator shaheen, we've been working for the last year to avoid all that, to do this ahead of time so we don't have all of that tom multiand uncertainty -- tumult and uncertainty which affects the program for a significant period of time. reauthorizing these programs this year will ensure stability, foster an environment of innovative entrepreneurship, avoid that uncertainty. directly, more than $2 billion annual floi the r&d funding to small business. as chair of the matter is small business committee, i've made

this a real priority of mine. senator shaheen, as ranking member, has done the same. so i want to thank all of our committee members who were solidly behind this effort and i want to thank so many other members of the senate who have been cooperative. in the context of this defense bill, we have cleared our reauthorization amendment with the senate armed services committee. i want to specifically thank senators mccain and reed for their leadership. we have cleared it with the commerce committee because agencies under the jurisdiction of commerce are involved. we have cleared it with the health committee. they have the same tangential relationship. we are the authorizing committee but some agencies involved are under their jurisdiction. we have cleared it with everyone in sight so that means we have a real opportunity to have this in the manager's package, which it

is as i speak and to pass it through the defense bill as a full reauthorization. i'm also proud to share that not only will our reauthorization direct more than $2 billion annually of federal r&d to small firms that are most likely to create jobs and commercialize their projects, it will also establish the regional s.b.r. state collaborative initiative pilot program to help low participation states attract r&d funding for their businesses. now, all of this reauthorization is a true consensus effort, and so i'm grateful to more than 50 organizations that strongly support it, the small business technology council among them, the national small business association and the defense alliance 47 more. it is a true consensus effort. they all support the effort as do the leadership of s.a.s. and

help and the commerce committee. so it's an important opportunity we shouldn't let fall through our grasp. again, i want to stress that reauthorizing this program is an effective way to meet national needs while jump-starting entrepreneurs and growing our economy and creating jobs. with that, mr. president, i urge my colleagues to support this consensus amendment, help ensure that small businesses across the country can operate with long-term certainty and stability that this amendment will provide. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor.

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from montana. mr. daines: mr. president, the atrocity that occurred this past weekend in orlando, florida, was an attack on every american, and my deepest condolences are with the victims and the families of this appalling attack. i'm grateful for our law enforcement and the first responders who bravely put their lives on the line to save others. this attack, the deadliest in american history since 9/11, was carried out by a gunman who

pledged allegiance to isis. there are 49 families who received phone calls this weekend that you hope you never receive. there are 49 families who are arranging for funerals this week. they never dreamed they would be put in this position. the tragedy, the sorrow, the mothers, the fathers, the aunts, the uncles, the brothers, the sisters, the grandparents, the cousins, friends who will all be attending funerals this week. additionally, there are 48 families dealing with family members who are injured, some gravely who are fighting for their lives as i speak. now, montana is a long ways away from orlando, but i can tell you last night across our state there were vigils in great falls, montana, helena,

missoula, bozeman, butte and wilings. we -- and billings. we stand united with orlando. this threat of isis is continuing to grow each and every day. we need a strong strategy to destroy the growing threat of islamic extremism, islamic extremism on our soil as well. president obama, what is that strategy? we need to go after aggressively radical jihadists who seek to destroy our way of life and disturb the peace in our communities. the senseless hate of isis and radical islam will not defeat us, but rather strengthen our resolve and commitment to freedom. we need to remember this was an act of terror on american soil,

and this is a threat we face from radical islam and isis. and the worst response would be to politicize this and use this tragedy to restrict our constitutional rights and freedoms. we cannot allow dangerous terrorists to hide in our communities. we need to seek them out and ensure they aren't able to inflict harm on our neighbors, our friends and our families. may god comfort those who have been profoundly affected by this tragedy and may god protect our men and women who are defending our country both here and abroad every day. we are a strong nation, and together we will protect our country, we will ensure victory over the terrorists that want to take away our very way of life here in america.

mr. president, i yield back my time. the presiding officer: the senator from montana. a senator: i ask that a fellow in my office be granted floor privileges for the remainder of this congress. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. tester: i'd like to associate myself with the remarks of the junior senator from montana. i appreciate him coming to the floor today. i rise today also, since i first heard of the horrible news about the senseless act of terrorism in orlando, the victims, the partners, and the families have been the center of my thoughts and prayers. the thoughts and prayers are not enough. it was long past time for the senate to come together and have a conversation about whap steps need -- what steps need to be taken to put an end to this violence and hatred. we cannot continue to be crippled by inaction. the senate needs to come

together to strengthen our national security. after the attacks like orlando, we hear folks say never again, but actions really do speak louder than words. it's time that we work together to try to prevent these senseless acts of terror and violence. that conversation begins with our national security and what needs to be done to keep our families and our communities safe. there are actions we can do right now to bolster our national security, and there is no question we must pass legislation that keeps guns out of the hands of terrorists. we absolutely do need to secure our borders. and we need to continue to crack down on insider threats by reforming our security clearance process. intolerance and hate have no place in this country. and as elected leaders we have a responsibility to ensure that every american can live their life each day free from fear.

mr. president, this nation has made a promise to the men and women who have served in our armed forces. these folks answered the call to duty and they made selfless sacrifices to protect our freedoms we all enjoy. these heroes stood up for us and now it's time for the senate to stand up for them. two years ago when reports surfaced that veterans were dying while waiting to receive care at the v.a., the senate acted swiftly and we passed legislation to build the capacity of the v.a. to better meet the needs of veterans now and into the future. also included in that bill was the veterans choice program which allowed more veterans to seek care in their own community when they were unable to get timely care from the v.a. unfortunately, the choice program is broken. you heard this from veterans and community leaders, veterans service organizations, from republicans and from democrats. the intent of the choice program was a good one, to get veterans

care more quickly. but the rollout has been disastrous causing far too many veterans to wait even longer for an appointment. but because of the leadership of chairman isakson and ranking member blumenthal, the veterans' affairs committee came together in may and approved the veterans first act, which includes provisions that i and senator burr have offered to fix the choice program. it also includes critical provisions to hold the v.a. accountable, increase veterans access to care both inside and outside the v.a. and better deliver on the commitment this nation has made to the folks who have served. but since this bill was unanimously passed out of committee back on may 16, it has fell victim to politics as usual. in a combination of anonymous holds and the majority leader's decision not to bring it to the floor has put this bipartisan piece of legislation, this good piece of legislation for our veterans in limbo.

and now there are only 21 days left until the senate is set to recess for nearly two months. i am concerned that the clock is running out and that this bipartisan bill will fall victim to the senate's inaction. we cannot let business as usual here in washington, d.c. derail critically needed reforms. veterans will not and should not accept excuses for the senate not acting. this is a good bill. it's a bill that gives the v.a. the flexibility to work directly with community providers to connect veterans to the care they need so that the v.a. does not need to work through a middle man. this bill also provides the budget flexibility necessary to ensure veterans are routed to care in a manner that makes the most sense for them. and it imposes stricter rules to ensure that the v.a. is reimbursing community providers in a more timely manner.

it also includes critical provisions that help others to ensure the v.a. is more quickly to fill vacancy measures at v. facilities. that is why today i'm calling on the senate to the put politics aside, put personal agendas aside and get this bill to the floor for debate for an up-and-down vote. the millions of veterans who are still being forced to wait more than 30 days to schedule an appointment deserve that vote. the veterans who are still kept in long wait lists deserve that vote. and the folks who have sacrificed so much to protect and defend this country deserve that vote. mr. president, i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: i ask consent the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: early in the morning this past -p sunday the

worst mass shooting in america's history took place. 49 people were killed, 53 more wounded at the pulse nightclub in orlando, florida. we don't know all the details, but we know this was an act of terror and it was an act of hate and it was directed at the lgbt community. i want to begin by expressing my condolences to the victims, their families and loved ones and to the city of orlando. i want to thank the first responders who ran toward the sound of gunfire, who literally risked their lives to save the lives of others. i want to express my support and solidarity with the lgbt community in orlando and throughout the nation. many of the patrons at the pulse nightclub were members of that community. they were simply enjoying a fun night out at an establishment that welcomed them. june is pride month. it's a month where we should take pride in the advances we've made toward equality for lgbt americans since stonewalling in 1969.

the lgbt movement has come a long way in protecting america's right to love the person they love. and yet this weekend's shooting is a sobering reminder that this community still remains a target of vicious hatred. as we mourn those we lost in orlando, we must not lose our pride in what the lgbt movement has accomplished. we must stand in solidarity with our fellow lgbt americans who will not let the hate of a few overcome the love of an entire community. the shooter who perpetrated this horrific attack has been identified as a 29-year-old u.s. citizen who was living in st. lucie county, florida. the shooter reportedly entered the nightclub at about 2:00 a.m. on sunday morning armed with an ar-15 assault rifle and a handgun. he opened fire on the patrons and engaged in a shootout with an off-duty orlando police officer who was working security at the nightclub. the shooter apparently held a number of hostages in the

nightclub for several hours until swat teams swarmed the building, killing the gunman at about 5:00 a.m. reportedly the shooter called 9/11 to pledge allegiance to isis even while the attack was under way. we do not yet know when and how this gunman may have been radicalized. reportedly, he had been the subject of at least two f.b.i. investigations in recent years regarding possible ties to terrorist groups. the shooter reportedly bought the two guns he used on sunday within the last several days. he was able to buy these guns legally, despite the past investigations into his potential terrorist ties. now, let's be clear in america. our laws currently allow dangerous people to buy guns. that has to change. i respect the second amendment to our constitution. that amendment protects the responsible use of guns for

lawful purposes, but the supreme court has made it clear that it is constitutional to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. our lawmakers are simply not doing enough to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. right now, the f.b.i. cannot stop a known or suspected terrorist from walking into a gun shop and walking out with an ar-15, an assault weapon. the g.a.o. found that between four and 2014, -- between 2004 and 2014, suspected terrorists bought guns lawly at least 2,043 times from american gun dealers. what are we thinking? yet last december when the senate took up this measure, we failed on the floor of the senate to pass legislation to close this terror gap loophole. the gap remains open. and we have failed to close the gaping loopholes in our own

background check system that allow terrorists, criminals and others to get guns without a background check from gun shows or over the internet. why do we make it so easy for people that we suspect of being involved in terrorism to buy guns, assault weapons, military-style guns? last december, this senate failed again to pass manchin-toomey, a bill that would close many of these loopholes. this was a bipartisan bill, and yet we couldn't pass it on the floor of the senate. we know our weak gun laws make us vulnerable, but we have not acted to strengthen them. in fact, almost every week we see efforts in congress to further weaken gun laws in america. hundreds of men, women and children are shot every day in america. on average, 91 of those victims die. it is an epidemic of gun violence that has devastated families and communities in every state, and no community has been hit harder than the

city of chicago, a city i'm honored to represent and the city i love, the city where this past weekend 44 people were shot, seven of them fatally. more than 1,650 people have been shot so far this year in chicago, with at least 282 victims dying from their wounds. the tragedy of orlando is that it all happened in a few hours. the tragedy of gun violence in chicago is that it happens almost every day. across the nation, we have seen americans gunned down in nightclubs, elementary schools, churches, temples, movie theaters, health care clinics, malls, colleges, and our homes and our neighborhoods. we need to wake up and act to reduce this violence. thoughts and prayers are important, but not sufficient. we need votes and laws to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people.

can't we agree on that? the responsibility lies right here. we have that responsibility and that opportunity. this weekend's act of hate and terror in orlando has been condemned by americans of all backgrounds and all faiths, and orlando has received an extraordinary outpouring of support and solidarity from all across the united states and around the world. we do stand united against isis and its efforts to promote mass shooting and an act of terror, and we stand in support of the lgbt community, the latest target of this terrorist attack. this solidarity is important. our efforts to defeat isis and keep america safe from hate and terror are strengthened when our nation and the world stand united. we must not let the actions of a hateful few divide us and prevent us from working together to combat this evil. we also must not let this act of hate and terror lead to hostility against the muslim

community in america. the american muslim community has stood with all americans in condemning sunday's mass shooting. american muslim leaders immediately spoke out and condemned the attack. muslim floridians donated blood and money to help the victims and survivors. in the coming days, there will be those who say we should respond to this attack by discriminating against innocent american muslims and immigrants, but the solution to hate is not more hate. it is unity. in orlando, they understand this. in a news conference after the shooting, a representative of equality florida recognized that unity between the lgbt and muslim communities, stating that his organization -- quote -- "stands in solidarity with the muslim and islamic community and in opposition to the intolerance , discrimination and hate crimes that both of our communities experience." that was a state by a representative of equality florida about muslims in florida

itself. it is unfortunate that the presumptive republican presidential nominee donald trump does not understand this. in response to the orlando attack, mr. trump wasted no time calling again for a ban on all muslims immigrating to the united states. general michael hayden is no softy, no liberal. he was director of the c.i.a. and the national security agency under president george w. bush. here is what general hayden said of mr. trump's response to the attack, and i quote -- "prejudiced, simplistic and frankly inaccurate." general hayden has pointed out that banning all muslim immigration would not make us safer. it actually helps isis recruit those who hate the united states. as we mourn those we've lost, we must also roll up our sleeves and get to work. we must pursue smart, commonsense reforms to keep dangerous, hateful people from getting their hands on dangerous

weapons. america just suffered its deadliest mass shooting event in history, worse than san bernadino, worse than newton, -- newtown, worse than virginia tech. if there ever was a time for congress to do its job and keep guns out of dangerous hands, this is it. mr. president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from georgia. mr. isakson: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent to address the senate as if in morning business and to divide my remarks in the record at the appropriate indication. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. isakson: mr. president, first and foremost, i want to send my heartfelt sympathy to the -- those who lost loved ones in orlando, florida, and orange county yesterday in a tragic event. i want to press my great appreciation to the people of orlando who volunteered their blood and their families and their homes and their houses to help support those victims, to the e.m.t.'s who rushed into harm's way to save lives, and they did save lives. for the hospital trauma teams that did an amazing job of

responding instantaneously to a tragedy beyond anybody's comprehension. we are very sad in america today by the terrible attack that took place and those who would perpetrate it. i for one am going to roll up my sleeves and work to see to it wherever radical islamic terrorism is, i want to root it out and destroy it. you cannot accept or tolerate what happened yesterday. we must redouble our effort to follow it wherever it leads us and to wipe it out and eradicate it, and i as one senator promise to do that. now i would like the record to indicate a division of my remarks. mr. president, i'm one of those guys that is usually very supportive of going to cloture and motions to proceed on just about anything because i think the senate is the most deliberative body in the world and we ought to do that, but tomorrow shortly after 11:00, i am going to vote a no on the motion to proceed to go to commerce, justice, science. i want to memorialize why on the floor of the senate tonight so everybody is clear and understands. there is language, reported language in the commerce, justice, science portion of the appropriations bill that

directly interjects this congress, this senate and the united states house of representatives into a tristate water compact misunderstanding between the state of georgia, alabama and florida that has gone on for 27 years. now, i know that's of no interest to the chair in indiana nor to the gentleman who just preceded me from chicago, illinois, nor anybody else, but what is of interest to you would be any time the congress decided to inject its nose into your business, and tomorrow that bill if it goes to the motion to proceed, brings it to the floor will be injecting 100 senators into the issue between six. that's not the right way to do it. in fact, the tristate water compact which has been off and on in negotiations for 26 years is at its closest point of being finally decided in a court of law. the judge and special master has just recently notified us they will hear the final case on the tristate water compact in georgia, alabama and florida this november. so the issue is going to be resolved. we have no place as a senate or as a congress to inject ourselves into a case that's

pending litigation in the courts between states on issues that are purely theirs, except for the fact that over the years for nefarious reasons and unbe pleasant reasons sometimes, congress has from time to time thwarted water control manuals, thwarted the corps of engineers from doing its job, all over litigation of the a.c.f. and a.c. basins in georgia, florida and alabama. i want to bring a resolution, i want all the states to have an adequate supply of water. i want us to be cooperative and work together. i want us to do it the right way. the right way is to not interject ourselves at the last minute in an appropriations bill with nefarious language that can't be touched that's in the report language, but instead to pull that language out as i will try to do with an amendment on the floor, and if i'm unsuccessful, try to do an amendment that counteracts that language to see to it that congress does not stick its nose into a place it doesn't belong. i like to be cooperative, i like to move forward. i don't want to slow down progress but i was sent here to represent 10.4 million people in the state of georgia.

by golly, i'm going to do it. if somebody is trying to inject themselves beyond the appropriate place, i will do everything i can to stop them. the way i will start that tomorrow is vote no on the motion to proceed to go to the commerce, justice, science bill. i yield back my time and note 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 pennsylvania. a senator: mr. president, i'd ask consent to vitiate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. a senator: and also i would ask consent to speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. a senator: mr. president, thank you very much. mr. casey: i rise this afternoon

to talk about the horror of orlando, and i know so many members of the senate on both sides of the oil have been thinking about those who lost their lives and talking about this horror that once again has impacted everyone from one end of america to the other. i won't speak for a long time, tonight, other than to say which i think is plainly evident from even the evidence that we have right now at this point in the investigation that this was first an act of terror and it was also an act of hate. i think both are -- both are significant because of the impact they have on our country over time. there's i think a strong belief that the first thing that we

must do is to express not just condolence but solidarity with the people of orlando, the people of florida, and to do what we can to help them and to help those communities and to help those families who lost so much in such a short time frame. with 50 dead at last count and more than 50 injured. there will be some who say beyond that there's not much that we can do, that we shouldn't change the laws, that we should just stay where we are now and not change the laws. i don't agree with that and i won't dwell on a long list tonight, about i hope, i hope at some point we can begin to reengage on a number of issues and at least have a debate, a full debate and also a series of votes on a couple of measures which i think are common sense.

these are ones that we voted on probably most recently in 2013 and i was hoping we would vote on them after that. one of them is a ban on military style weapons. i think that would be appropriate to at least debate it and vote on t. i would vote in -- on it. i would vote in favor. some would not. certain a limit on the size of the clips of the magazines to put it plainly, how many bullets should one person have in their possession or as part of their -- part of the weapon at any one time? should someone be allowed to go into any kind of establishment and start shooting and thereby release rounds and rounds of ammunition, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of bulle bullets, should that be permitted to anyone, any time, anywhere? i don't think so. certainly if someone is on the

terror watch list and we've deemed them so dangerous that we have labeled them a terrorist or potential terrorist and they're on the watch list so they can't get on an airplane, certainly that person should not have a weapon. that seems to make sense. if they're too dangerous to get on a plane because of their tendency to commit acts of violence or engage in terror, they shouldn't be able to have a firearm as well. i think that would make sense to have a debate and vote on that number four would be background checks. that was one measure where there was a lot of consensus or substantial bipartisan support, but it didn't pass in 2013. i hope we could have another vote on that. there's no reason why if you -- if you're not willing to -- or you're not able, i should say, to get through a background check because of a variety of

reasons, because of a criminal record or otherwise, you have to is yourself should someone with a criminal record have access to a firearm? i'll add one more today, mr. president, just to -- because it's new and it's an issue we haven't talked a lot about. and that's a bill that i'm -- we just introduced today, the hate crimes prevention act. that would be a new proposal to do what some states have done already. i think it's essential to add this to the other pieces of legislation that have been talked about and some i just itemized. this bill would, first of all, define what a misdemeanor hate crime is because the intent of the bill is to say if you're convicted of a misdemeanor hate crime, you shouldn't have access to a firearm. this category of misdemeanors

would be those under federal, state, or trival law that are found to be motivated at least in part by hate or bias against the victims' race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. so in essence eight of what some would call to use more legal jargon the protected classes. so that would be -- that's how we would define a misdemeanor hate crime. so this bill if upon passage would keep firearms out of the hands of those convicted of misdemeanor hate crimes. it would prohibit the purchase, possession, or shipment of a firearm by anyone convicted of a misdemeanor or hate crime. so that's the basics of the bill. part of the reason for this and it doesn't have direct application obviously to what

happened in orlando, it might upon further investigation, but part of the reason for this there's been a rise in not only in hate crimes but in hate groups across the country. hundreds more just in the last couple of years and literally thousands more if not more hate crimes committed. so there among many things we've got to do. i also think in addition to taking the steps on common sense gun measures, we've got to make sure that law enforcement has the resources it needs to take on the challenge of not just criminal activity but increasi increasingly almost terroristic activity within our communities, the so-called lone wolf terrorists, the homegrown terrorists, the individual self-radicalized which it seems to be part of the horror of orlando. we've got to make sure that if the law enforcement

professionals tell us they need more money in the cops program, we should appropriate more money. if the law enforcement professionals say please fund that program that's worked so many years, the justice assistance grants, we need more appropriations, we should make sure they have those appropriations. if you're tough on law enforcement, that's nice to say. it's better to prove it by how you vote. finally, of course, we have to continue to focus on -- to focus on what is a major component, of course, of orlando and san bernardino and so many other places, and that is violent extremism in communities across the country. we have to make sure that we're working with local law enforcement and federal authorities not only to give them the resources they need but to be able to coordinate and do our best to unearth plots before

they transpire and to be able to take this fight directly to a terrorist, many of whom are in our midst here in the united states. so we have a lot to do. it's not simply a question of what we do on a series of commence gun -- common sense gun measures. it's also a question of what we're going to do on our law enforcement and to work as hard as we can in a bipartisan way to debate and to vote on measures that will keep our country safe and protect our homeland. and unfortunately what we're seeing more and more is the rise of these individuals who are, as i mentioned before, self-radicalized and sometimes categorized also as lone wolves. we have to make sure that we're doing everything possible to identify them, to apprehend them

and to make sure that we're thwarting these plots ahead of time. it may not work in every instance, but we have to take every measure possible. part of that i think is doing what i hope we can do as a matter of preventative steps, and that's to say if someone is engaging in hate and taking action against others, even if it only rises to the level of a misdemeanor, they shouldn't have access to a firearm. we want to nip this in the bud, stop it long before that hate continues and develops into the kind of hate that leads to a much greater and more lethal attack on americans. so, mr. president, i would with that yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader of the senate. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to executive session to consider the following nomination, calendar number 487 only, with no other executive business in order. the presiding officer: without objection. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, department of defense, jennifer m. o'connor of maryland to be general counsel. mr. mcconnell: i know of no further debate on the nomination. the presiding officer: hearing no further debate, all those in favor say aye. those opposed. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the nomination is confirmed. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent

the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, the president be immediately notified of the senate's action, the senate then resume legislative session. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask the chair lay before the senate a message from the house to accompany s. 2276. the presiding officer: the chair lays before the senate a message from the house of representatives which the clerk will report. the clerk: resolved, that the bill from the senate s. 7226, entitled an act to amend title 49 united states code to provide enhanced safety and pipeline transportation and for other purposes do pass with an amendment. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate concur in the house amendment. 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. tomorrow, tuesday, june 14. following the prayer and pledge, the morning business be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date,

the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day. finally, that following leader remarks, the senate resume consideration of s. 2943 with the time until 11:00 a.m. equally divided between the two managers or their designees. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: so if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer:

>> >> of the senate's main change. not as an institution the becoming more e fisher body because the televised proceedings. >> the proceedings are broadcast hall to the nation for the first time not that we have operated in secret in town now millions of americans have sat in the galleries to observed debates during their visits to washington. but today they could witness those proceedings in their own homes.

>> and senators have been acting on the stage where in the galleries sawhorse and by our -- am i our perception we have enlarged the gallery is pushing up the walls to include all of the american people who wish to watch. >> land mines may at some point whole way but we need

to support that and people more whole and more want to have broad band capability. >> the sec backs up to give companies money to build up their broadband. when that is a big part. it will become an even bigger part of that.

be sure to watch "washington journal".

>> now the remarks through the military branches including the drug trafficking and immigration issues. [inaudible conversations] good morning. hydric the international security program here which are partners of the u.s. naval institute we are happy to bring you maritime security dialogue and we are especially happy to be inviting to speak to the commandants of the u.s. coast guard. the end as they were kind

enough to come here about 17 months ago so this is a great update on everything that has happened in the meantime which has been significant as you may know, admiral husband extensive operational expense prior to the coast guard with the pacific and atlantic when and was beyond scene coordinator for the deep water horizon hospital and directed more than 47,000 responders in more than 20 aircraft with the largest oil spill in u.s. history. so we can agree that national experience and homeland security experience necessary for any commandants when the coast guard. before we begin a one to go through safety procedures we

have doors behind us and behind me that leads to the back for normal safety precautions and i will be here to direct you if a fire alarm goes off. also into thank eight hour sponsors the key to both of them to make this possible and no over to the admiral. >> it is good to see so many familiar faces. it is a somber week. let's face it. 49 at the last count i know there are families mourning and so we are mindful the threats that face us on a day-to-day basis to those of the threats of real is looking at with co-starred as well. but first when i came into

this job just over two years ago, we put out my direction some say let me wait six months to see what is going on that i will provide my corrections. realize i only have four years you don't have six months to wait so one date number one i put up my direction the first piece of that was service to nation and first of all, strategy houston drive the budget. for nearly two vendor to assad years we look at here is our budget what do we do with it? ha we we're doing what was left but not to our unique authorities and on a global scale. not just here at the homeland but worldwide as well. so also intelligence trading operation as a member of the national intelligence

community 14 years but it is driving we do not operate for risk-based decision making and historically we will try to fill those to recognize some of those are pretty healthy. looking at the international history's hall of enforcement we had them how compliance where aged over 95 percent on any given day we have intelligence that was ultimately destined for the united states that leads over 75 percent as a surgeon would get that external environment was looking at a series of strategies together but i can look to

put out a five-year strategic socio-economic influences for what happening in the european union have better struggling economically with the rising selfie statia many nations -- southeast asia that we are trying to build the coast guard because they are the most and transix direct from human traffic meanwhile in with natural disasters i felt that the agenda was hijacked but many a maritime nation is in the world cannot duplicate what is

ever united states navy. so my plug for that as well we recognize the discretionary budgets and there is a change in the administration. as he looked out over the next five years where do our authorities resonate globally? and one of those is the strategy for the western hemisphere that year we had 68,000 unaccompanied minors from honduras and el salvador leading those in the hands of the human trafficker for safe arrival in united states so as the

chairman of the introduction committee i went down with a number of principles here of the tribunal regions and through panama as well. probably the most sobering accounts is from el salvador that parents are taking their kids out of school to be coopted your beef'' -- forced to join and this is a country that has 40 percent unemployment 50% poverty and out of a higher education so i ask honduras storer guatemalans of one year ago that was the most violent

nation in the world for 10,100,000 but the problem is when the drugs arrive the first thing we lose is rule of law i cannot stay on law-enforcement enough to police this activity but then to address the security environment it is like money falling from the sky and 75 percent is getting through it you can do that you can mask the impact so driving and how we manage risk where and the transit zone of the western hemisphere and the national

intelligence community just like any a zero or fbi so last year we removed 700 smugglers into custody the prosecution rate is 90% in honduras it is 2% so you don't have to be a math wizard to figure out the investment so over the last year they removed over 200 metric tons and we recently moved over 400 metric tons it isn't just the volume but for regional stability silex

that the strategy the navy is and must be deployed for the pacific and mediterranean and there is a significant one in the hemisphere right now but those underdoing the lion share of the enforcement activity so they double down and it is no big secret with that you saw of 300 percent increase and i was up there last year and conservative estimates 13 percent of the

world's oil or natural gas $1 trillion worth of minerals reside there probably is them profitable to exploit that but it will stay that way forever but use the reserve of the united states. in with that traditional 200-mile that is twice the area of the state of california but to see those other nations doing scientific research to populate in the very same area as well you'll be part of the nation and that is a ratified we see more and more human activity through

the bering strait and in the area 5% of the arctic now not that long ago there on the chart in shackles on the endurance was a man's resilience but now you have the cruise ship activity in the very same waters today is still has the international ice patrol started 104 years ago so if we have any event or a cruise ship these are not icebreaking crew ships so

just the past week i met with all of the other countries but this is one area of open dialogue so had really afraid that strategic environment? what if you have the wailes bill? for them to have the capacity to deal with those challenges. and then to communicate with each other the made awareness of what is happening.

you might say with the other persian up i know the price per passenger 512 book that it is a lot. in this is a business you may want to get in on this. it also looking at what is happening primary to touch his rotation i was on long beach earlier this year it looked like something out of "star wars".

but the is vehicles are moving containers and in fact, there using liquefied natural gas. but there using the gps signal across the tarmac but they realize if there is the obstruction and they have results in now with his battery packaged to go to the charging station. .

it is a big cost to the industry. literally millions, cost roughly 1,000,000 dollars a day to rent, lease a mobile drill unit but when we look at lost productivity time, obviously the cost goes up as well. so so industry is keenly attuned to operating in the cyber domain. evening even something as a fundamental is replacing apart, how do you know there is not malware in that part as well. so we so we have reached out to the maritime organization and held town halls and normally industry does not want to be regulated, yet they realize that to change behavior it may require a regulatory regime, best practices of how this industry is to set stay ahead of cyber threats of today. on the financial sector, about 95 plus% of our financial sector is a behind a bona fide firewall in protecting very sensitive

information. maritime plus transportation system is about 25 percent.%. about 90% of our global trade moves by sea. it is a very vulnerable segment of our economic prosperity, but more partly our economic security and with that our national security. another area i am looking at is within the energy sector. when we wrote this energy policy, oil at that time was going at $100 per barrel. another day a new tank barge was entering the mississippi river. in fact, we saw a 50 fold increase in barge traffic. we saw what happened just one week ago when a train derailed, very strong light winds, very vulnerable substance but there is also a heavy heavy end to this as well. it's about the same specific gravity is water as those wider areas leadoff and that things

into the water. something to be mindful of, earlier this year we had record flooding in the interior of the united states which means you have high river conditions, so there is a big difference pushing a barge in downriver upriver. when you are going down river, like going down skyline parkway with a double semite with no breaks. it is very difficult to stop these things and we have seen a number of bridge collisions. most of these were grain barges, but when that sing sing gets into the water intakes, we need to make sure we are ready to respond to those scenarios as well. at the end of the day, we need to keep that inland highway of ours open and robust, at the, at the same time we inspect all of these barges, we are producing lng in record levels and are just starting to produce lng into the global market right now. there's a lot of

competition out there, i think we'll see a sub ply glut of lng in the meantime the united states sits on the highest volume of natural gas than any other country in the world. huge, huge economic potential there. and why that's important to me is that we regulate, so it it gets back to our regulatory roles. also our inspection regimes. if i am not turning the next generation to be in front of industry rather than liking it, then we will become an impediment and not a facilitator of this commerce as well. we are paying paying very close attention to that. the next piece of that, we are investing in the coast guard like never before. up there you will see a couple of pictures if i have the right one queued up, and i do, we are building, we just awarded the second phase of our fast response cutters, it's 154 feet in length. just doing duty in the streets

of florida today. on several occasions we probably invaded a mass migration from cuba because we have enough ships out there to stop them and interdicting most of those folks are trying to find a better life life here in the united states. somebody else, shouldn't we be sending these ships out to the mediterranean, there's always an opportunity cost if you do that. if you do that, we have a migration problem, a maritime migration challenge here in the united states as well. so we go to the aid of the e.u. and then risk our borders, are maritime borders expose. that is that is the trade-off risk-based decisions that we have to make. we look at that as well. we are also missionaries aim 14c27j fixed wing aircraft. these we acquired at no cost from the u.s. air force, they are missionaries in those. they help in our isr capability. this year, we were awarded materials for our national security cutter, our program of record was eight, but there was funding to go ahead and build a

ninth one of these as well. as they is there work for nine cutters, absolutely. in fact this last year two of our national security cutters, stratton came back a little less than one year ago with 32 metro tons of cocaine on it. that is enough to literally fill this room to the ceiling with pure cocaine. the bird taught do not do quite as well, they fill this room about three quarters of the way to the ceiling. but they interdicted three self-propelled, semi-subversive bowls subversive bowls which normally find these is through intelligence. that is where this whole of government comes into play and it's the ability to these platforms to level intelligence so that we can position those with the greatest threats may exist as well. so we are building those out as well. at the end of this fiscal year, we will a word final design for

what will be the largest acquisition and coast guard history. that is our offshore patrol cutter. you can see the three bidders that we have up there, we have shipyard, eastern shipbuilding, and then we also have iron works fine for that and we'll make that decision by the end of the fiscal year. 2525 ships in that program of record. which, as i said it will be the largest acquisition and coast guard history. great dynamic c keeping capabilities as we look at where we may be operating over the next 40 plus years. we'll have an emphasis on affordability. affordability becomes becomes the operative word for this program of record. finally on the upper left what you see is a posturing statement within this administration and within this senate appropriations bill going forward and it would look at investing in heavy icebreakers.

this is a dialogue is a dialogue we have had for the past 15 years, we have already put out over four months ago what you need a heavy icebreaker to do. so we consulted with navy, the the department of commerce, there are a lot of stakeholders that have equities if you're going to build a heavy icebreaker does it meet the whole of the government. we have are ready hired acquisition personnel so we can get a jumpstart if we have an appropriation to move forward, and that we held an open house with industry. we held 12 years ago when there's $3 million and are heavy icebreaking budget and guess what, i've had three, count them three people that expressed an interest in heavy icebreakers. they said if you are serious you would be showing real money. now when i hosted that there is

a mark of a $150 million at that point in time for 17 and we had nearly 300 interested parties, including international international in terms of heavy icebreaker. so there's tremendous interest in that recapitalization effort as well. it is great that we are recapitalizing the coast guard, modernizing, modernizing it, it is never before, and its many services will probably testify to at a budget hearing is that you can usually do one of three things. you can modernize, you can build and restore readiness, or you can build for structure. but rarely do. but rarely do you get to do all three at the same time. we are modernizing, our readiness, we do not have a force in garrison so the fact that the coast guard operates 24 by seven, i do not have to worry about a forcing garrison and getting them ready to deploy because they are all ready to play. our readiness levels have been sustained at a pretty high

level. we are gradually growing back some of our for structure as well. that takes me to our final strategy probably the most apart when i put out his argument capital strategy. how do you manage talent in a 21st century? so before i do that i spent some time in silicon valley, how does google, how does tesla, how does microsoft, how to the others, how do they manage their telling they said well we like to hire vitamins and i said no you don't need to hire my workforce way for me, thank you, but no thanks. right now about 25% of americans, male, female between the ages of 17 and 24, meet the bare minimum requirements to serve in the united states military. we are service going for that top ten percent, not the bottom ten percent. i'm sure all my 10%. i'm sure all my service chief counterparts would say the exact same thing. well that is is who silicon valley is going after as well. at a point in time when we're seen in the energy sector, and

the cyber domain, even in the airline industry, there is a a hiring boom taking place around us right now so we are doing a great job recruiting people. were doing a great job recruiting diversity. the class of 2020 will arrive at our coast guard academy in two weeks. that class will be 40% winning and one third underrepresented minorities. the mirror image the classes of 19 and 18. in fact are coast guard academy today is the most diverse it is ever been across every spectrum of our demographic than it has ever been in our coast guard history. i'm very proud of that. build it, they will come, they will we needed that critical mass and they are there. then i look out ten years and when i look out out ten years, we lose roughly 50% of our female officers out of a given year. why is is that? for losing about 50% of our

underrepresented minority officers out of a given year group, and why's that? can you be merry, have a family? have this challenging positions and do it all and still serve our nation? we are nearly 50% of the woman in our service are married to other servicemembers, not just coast guard. so how coast guard. so how do you manage that dual-career track? so we are very interested in what is happening across the river, over at the pentagon and start looking at future force of the 21st century. so we are very engaged and that as well. but we are very specialized coast guard, we are no longer the jack of all trades. master of some. and you saw the movie the finest hour still going out even though his has been washed off, but we probably want something besides apple today. but that is a very skill set operating those breaking bars and we have mates who do that better than anybody else. so i need to start specializing within some of our specialties across the coast guard. cyber

cyber is a specialty. inspection regimes is a specialty. diving, hazmat hazmat response, that is a specialty. so acquisition, legal profession, you need all of these to make this coast guard machine tick. too many times members the more junior members feel like they are in the less favored community within the coast guard. it does not matter if you drive a ship, fix the ship, or provide intelligence to a ship, or provide isr for a ship or prosecute a case that was made by a ship, we by a ship, we need all of that, we needed altogether. it is a table with many legs and we need to specialize across our domain, cross the many specialties that we have quite honestly been a jack of all trades but not a master of the critical feel that we need to master into the 21st century. again, i cannot be more pleased with the talent i see coming into the coast guard. i was at a recruiting office in

boston and i gave to ocs oldest officers joining the coast guard. they had the graduation a week and half ago, instead of putting stars on the shoulder board, the coast guard shield and i think the cnl and i said i said thank you for your service, welcome to the team. now, this really threw me for a shock. i i was at a convention three weeks ago and we had a static display there with one of our e3's and there in the work uniform demonstrating one of our small boat, she was assigned to a station in washington on the potomac river. i asked her what did you do before you came in the coast guard? i'm in the course, what you do in the air force? well force? well i attended the air force academy, will win to delete? while i left after i graduated five years and i picked up my masters degree and i resigned my commission as a captain in the air force so that i could be in e3 in the night states coast guard because i want to be a

rescue swimmer. when you talk about talent in your service, do not judge anybody by how much stuff they have, how many ribbons, how many how many stripes, whatever, just engage in a conversation and you'll be amazed at the talent that is in our midst. so what am i doing to train, read taine -- retain that talent? that's what we need to be focused on going forward. i know we have time for open mic, question and answer their some folks that are going to stop me out there. i can tell that are ready. i would like it to open it up to any questions or comments that you may have. again, i want to thank csi s for allowing me to be here this morning. thank you so much. [applause].

>> verse we'll chat a little in an open it up. i'm really pleased that you ended there on the human capital peace because i was really struck going through the charts before hand in your conversation about just the incredible amount of continuity and change that the coast guard is experiencing. then two and upon the people piece of it, the kind the kind of workforce you need to deal with that. i wonder if you can speak from omission perspective. you speak of everything from the arctic and we'll talk will talk about several of these, trafficking, fishery, general regulation law enforcement, port security, and about the need to be operating with international partners, industry harness, interagency partners, interservice partners. that to me speaks for just a wealth of agility that you require out of your workforce. can you talk talk a little bit about how you grow the leadership skills whether that

is the same as it's always been or is there something shifting and how you approach that? >> one, we have have tremendous talent that is out there, but they are much better informed and gone are the days were you on the information. i think back to when i was captain of ships and you get the message board and there is only a select few people that sign off on that. i doubt we do that anymore because pretty much everyone on the ship knows what is happening around the world today. i will give you an example. i was actually in memphis tennessee untran, tennessee not that long ago. it is called the coast guard cutter kankakee, they kankakee, they maintain the navigation on the lower mississippi river and i asked the junior most person, she has been on the coast guard all of six months. if you don't know what they do on an inland river tender, we have six aides on the banks of the mississippi river and vegetation goes over them, so so if you're pushing a barge and you cannot see there's a possibility you may want to go out. so these crews push their barge

in and go out there with chainsaws and weed whackers, there's snakes underneath that piling, it is not what you think you'd join the coast guard to do. if you have been in the coast guard for all of six months and i said what what you do the coast guard question which she said, i facilitate the movement of over half 1,000,000,000,000 dollars of commerce so that they can get on the mississippi river. she doesn't talk about the bee stings, the fire ants, the snakes, she talks about what her mission is in a much grander scale. i think if you talk to anyone of our folks that are out there, they connect themselves to something much bigger than themselves. if you look at what the nasa model was back in the 60s, that man is no different than the person at nassau, what are you doing, i'm putting a man on the moon. you'll find that very much where you go in our service. but there's so much more information readily available to

people as well. >> you also touched on resources , the resource picture for the coast guard looks may be better than normal. i don't want to overstate it. i'm sure you would like more, but you have made comments in the past using the jaws line about you needed your boat, we need a bigger coast guard, how do you feel about the resource picture now that fy 17 budget request is it, you mention several of the new major investment streams underway, the growth of the structure and the readiness picture, what most challenges you at this point in executing all that? >> i am pleased with the acquisition budget. on the other side we have our operations and maintenance, what it cost to do operations and people, under that portfolio as well. we are not keeping pace, will affect were not keeping pace with budget control at funding levels. we are funded below that level

to sustain our operation. so it is great that we're modernizing, the sustained sustaining pieces abut challenging for me and i need to be able to demonstrate how critical that is. let's face face it, i've been to enough commissioning ceremonies now, more that i have it decommissioning ceremonies, that's a good thing, more burst than funerals. so it is a great gala event and that is where the real expenses of that platform stick and because now you want to for the next 40 years. so now you need to operate and maintain for the next 40 years to include the sellers of the crew, the maintenance that goes with all of that as well. so that is really going to be the next piece. when you talk about jaws juergen need a bigger boat and a bigger coast guard. so let's go back to 1988 and in

almost every presidential election cycle since 1988 there has been a rather significant hurricane, i caught the perfect storm. in the height. in the height of a presidential election cycle, you now have a storm and let's face it, it will invite scrutiny over how that response goes. now we'll have a hurricane and hurricane and nothing else, i know the coast guard is ready for that. we just finished up an exercise last week in the pacific northwest called cascade rising. the cascadia subduction zone and with that you don't get that advance notice that you're going to have a traveler, you're going to have a synonymy, and you're gonna have tens of thousands of brutalities that impact critical infrastructure. but if i'm to to events at the same time, i am as i would say out of work. as we are currently resource for a relatively benign environment but when you look at overseas threats and natural disasters exasperating that as well, were going to need a bigger coast guard going forward.

>> you mentioned the european migration crisis and i think the united states has pledged that it would attempt to assist and provide, in particular to provide a vessel, does that impact you directly? a talk about the trade-off, how does that manifest in terms of the trade-off. >> i'm pleased that we've had a dialogue and a vice president who is now confirmed in is an o10 in the coast guard to be the coast guard with greece, with turkey, looking at their challenges and where there might be u.s. coast guard equities. so we have had those dialogues, there is no immediate request for us to disband her coast guard presence here at send those ships to the meta-training, but we do bring a lot of subject matter expert and that is mass migration. so we

have had those dialogues and we'll see if that manifest themselves into a request for u.s. coast guard augmentation. it is very vexing and quite honestly it is going to be a persistent problem as we now see sub sahara, arguably migrants who are refugees entering into this diaspora that is flooding the european continent. >> and just to be clear, if you had to rush right away if there were requests from the president, a migration crisis with for instance one of your cutters, what be the operational impacts for you in the immediate? >> unfortunately i do not have a ghostly that's tied up somewhere ready to be activated which would mean we would have to pull a resource away from doing frontline operations today and put that operational elements at risk. we have a significant migration flow coming up from primarily from cuba but also from haiti as well. two weeks ago we came across

with 11 cuban migrants on it. right right as we arrived, all 11 of them drank a bottle of bleach, they passed it out among themselves. and suffering very ill effects, we are able to stabilize them, but that is the act of desperation that these migrants were expected to be medevac to to a u.s. hospital and therefore be feet dry. so they realize that the coast guard is there to stop them and will take these acts of desperation just to gain access to the united states. but if the coast guard is not there in the numbers that we are today than it is a free pass. we need to be ready so that if we do reposition the coast guard we need to be able to answer what are we doing to protect our maritime boundaries as well. at the end of the day, we can't do both. >> of let me ask one more question than open it to the audience. tell tell me a little bit about how you see the arctic

environment evolving in terms of the actors and what their motivations might be and how the coast guard plays into that question work. >> my initial concern for the arctic is really the indigenous inhabitants of the arctic. i was there last summer and a week before i arrived they had what we call a category one hurricane. normally there would be a sea ice barrier that would prevent any build up a season any coastal erosion. the nearest ice was nearly 400 miles away. so. so you can imagine you have 18 or 20-foot -- washington on barrel alaskan in the middle of the storm there's earthmoving equipment trying to establish a berm made out of -- so you don't have seawater in and any nearly source of fresh water. they came and probably within the length of her twice the length of this room of losing their only source of fresh water. your scene that

across the northern latitudes were we have these indigenous inhabitants. their seeing their way of life change. these are nations onto themselves. so how do we reestablish those nations? i was look at the arctic as the canary in the coal mine for rising ocean temperatures and its impact and just to demonstrate that further i will take a delegation to in august, will head out to the largest glacier, which is moving at the rate of about 8 miles per year into the atlantic ocean. now i cannot fathom why it's doing that, but i can certainly observe what is happening and if you are to look at a complete meltdown of the ice seals of greenland, were talking about 2s not going to happen overnight, but if that does happen, what are we doing to prepare for a rise in sea level? we just rebuilt station sandy hook following hurricane sandy.

it's on shifting sand, with the expectation that it will still be there and functioning 100 years from now. so if i start looking long-term at my coastal infrastructure and where i'm going going to invest coast guard, i better be keeping time and change, rising sea level, and very much of the forefront as well. so the arctic is where a lot of this is taking place. the first people to witness this art indigenous inhabitants. >> let me open it to the audience and see if we can take questions. the microphone is coming, please identify yourself and your affiliation if you have one. >> i megan megan myers, on the coast guard reporter at navy time. i wanted to ask what are some of your biggest personnel wins over the last couple of years and what you have on the docket for the next couple? >> personnel wins, very pleased with our leadership program that we have for all of our enlisted personnel and i give it great credit for our petty officer of

the coast guard so we have from the most junior level to the most senior level our enlisted workforce eight leadership continuum going all the way to the e9 in the coast guard. we we are still catching up in that regard when it comes to our officer leadership development programs and that is a question of capacity. the area i am immensely pleased with, we have a diversity and inclusion strategic plan as well, so we are finally catching up to reflect the demographics of this nation within our workforce in the coast guard. i have taken a personal effort, i have been out this last year to seven minority serving institutions, when i go there i do not go by myself. some of does not want to see

some old guy like me, why would i want to join the coast guard. so i bring in a very diverse delegation with me. we meet with the president of the universities, with the faculty, and the students. faculty, and the students. they get to see a diverse coast guard on the opportunities available to them. it's been a great recruiting tool for us as well. to the point where if i was trying to get into the united states coast guard today, i would be standing outside that wall watching the core of cadets preyed on that field, but i would be okay in the coast guard, every one of those folks in that parade field are going to be phenomenal. >> we have another question. >> hello i am president of a global peace presence, thank you for a great speech. my question is the state department has been_in the explaining the complexity of its relation with russia. i like you just a little bit about the experience of the

people who are working with russia over arctic issues, what are some of their issues, what it is their negotiating style and if you talked about any other kind of encounters that you have with the russian naval fleets or their equivalent to the coast guard, that would be helpful as well. >> i'll say this, i have spent the better part of three hours just one on one interacting with my russian counterpart because when canada hosted the arctic coast guard forum their parliament would not allow russia at the table. since russia did not show up, nor, nor did norway, finland, sweden, denmark, so basically we never got off the launching pad. but we have talked to them and they compartmentalize. they compartmentalized through ukrainian crimea. and some of the military to military action, so, so this is the federal border service of the russian federation, their principal

comes to meet with me, so we can talk about the arctic in holistic terms, safety of life at sea, all of us are challenged if we see an aggressive offshore drilling campaign in the arctic, what is the technology that we can bring to bear to mitigate the effect of an oil spill in a very pristine environment? we also recognize that a lot of our scientific research, some of that has been compartmentalized as well. it would not be to our collective advantage, even, even if it was something as germane as fisheries, do we see fish stocks start to move further north? and then do we see fishing going north to attract those as well? i would say it is measured, it is compartmentalize, and it is strictly focused on the arctic but at the end of the day it is productive. we are now working on information exchange, basically the internet, where all eight members of the arctic at the

principal level can interact with that one another. so say you have an event in the arctic, and maybe and maybe it is our icebreaker and for whatever reason we get buzzed by a russian aircraft, i can reach out to mike counterpart and say what is up with this? the other service chiefs do not have that luxury. then you have to fill that void in the absence of transparency and it remains very opaque. i would categorize the arctic among all of the other nations is transparent. they really gravitate towards a coast guard led approach to the arctic versus a military lead, even though we recognize we are in arm service, or unique as a coast guard. they recognize the coast guard aspect of diplomacy in working with arctic issue. >> just last week it was reported a new icebreaker, you have in your budget to develop

an icebreaker but is going to take some time and how should we in the audience think about this new icebreaker from the russians? we look at it as ship counts. the russians have 41 and we have to. we start looking at that as mutual assured destruction. and its missile count. so the purpose of the arctic coast guard is how do we leverage the collective resources of all of the arctic a coast guard's and the result of a contingency? were putting together what i call a heat map. this is using ais information which everyone has access to. it's 11 of the concentrations of greatest human activity up in the arctic and in all likelihood, it's probably where the greatest likelihood of a mishap at sea as well. so we will do a tabletop exercise this year and we will do a full-scale exercise next year doing a massive rescue at sea. in fact, were not even waiting until next year, we will do one in august.

we have norway and canada will participate in that as well. we will have 250 role players has displaced passengers. and and what we can't replicate is how do you replicate the 24 hour -- cycle. and that's really the next thing that you need to do is i use the malaysian aircraft of who's in charge and recognizing there's going to be a lot of scrutiny. you need to establish a relationship with survivors, all survivors, all of the nuances that go into a response. too many times we deal with the tactful level and often lose sight of the fact that we will be dealing with national command authority's and on a global scale if you have a titanic like event in the modern era today. >> i'm going to group the final two questions because were running low on time. so the gentleman on the end. >> i'm jim weekly.

on the great lakes were focused on the domestic ice mission and so i have two questions. with with all the acquisitions you have going on in the 140 rehab program which were a big fan of, do you do you have the strength to continue to do that in the second question is do you see the domestic ice as developing your bench strength in your future icebreaker skippers for the mission. >> and if you just hold will ask one more question. >> i think you for your presentation, on behalf of the knee nation and navy our thoughts and prayers to all those were affected in florida over the weekend. as you deal with this. my question on china in particular but other nations that are not arctic nations and their increasing interest in the arctic reason region. does i can because when a concern at all? >> take the first one, under the great lakes were granted a reprieve in this year with the

light i season. it allowed us to buy had some of the maintenance we're doing on some of the hundred 40-foot icebreakers. we will have to recapitalize those. do we bring in another great lake icebreaker? i can't squeeze i can't squeeze that into my acquisition budget today, if i were to prioritize my icebreaking needs, the the immediate one is the heavy icebreaker. i would need topline relief before we could address a great lake icebreaker. i will be in ottawa on the fifth and july to look to see where is canada, as you know we have a memorandum of agreement with the candida so for whatever reason we don't have the capacity, we can look to canada to provide assistance to the united states and that works reciprocally. if they are deficient. so we need to look at this within the next five or ten years. we are buying some service for those 140-foot icebreakers foot icebreakers but that is a service life extension.

it does not get us out of debt. also look at at what's happening with weather patterns in the arctic. as the water and then the air warms, the jet stream instead of being a straight line, it meanders. when it meanders it brings the frigid air we call the polar vortex which is a new household term. but they scream across the great lakes and then you get years like we have had and 14 and 15, severe winters, heavy icing. so i will not assume that everything is going to warm up and will have no ice left in the great lakes. it's an investment we need to be prepared to make as well. finally i will be up there in a couple weeks to see it from the wheelhouse. so thank you for that question. if i go back to the second question on china and their role as an observer on the arctic

council but also they will soon launch a second medium icebreaker, it's the same issue i have with transparency. when i see where where they're doing scientific research, it happens to coincide where we have an extended continental shelf, and thinking long term know china views this as a global commons, i'm not as concerned when i see an icebreaker doing researcher but if i see a mobile officer or drilling unit now moving up there, houston, we have a problem. so i do not know what the long range plan is, what is china's vision for an arctic strategy beyond the global commons a word are those lines drawn and will it encroach upon the interests of the united states? i cannot answer that question so i will have does so that causes me great concern. >> thank you so much for your

time today for your incredible leadership of the coast guard. you make the coast guard so my most fascinating workplace in the world and i'm sure it is. [applause]. [inaudible] >> tonight on the communicators, christopher christopher shelton, president of the communication workers of america discusses the union's recent 45 day strike against verizon. he also covers the cwa's anti-trans pacific partnership position on train as well as the interest on high-speed internet and broadband expansion. he's joined by david jefferson. >> landline and the boys world may at some point go away but you need to broadband. people, more and more want to

have her broadband capability and all over the united states it's a big fight. the fcc is backing up giving companies money to build out broadband in rural communities. my members do broadband and that is a big part of what we do. i think it is going to become a bigger part of what we do. >> watch the communicators tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern on c-span2. >> earlier today, president obama met with fbi director james call me on this past weekend's mass shooting in orlando florida. it left 49 victims dead. after the meeting, the president spoke to reporters in the president spoke to reporters in the oval office for about 15 minutes. >> i just had the opportunity to get the latest briefing from fbi director call me, as well as deputy attorney general yates and the rest of my national

security team about the tragedy that took place in orlando. they are going to be doing a more extensive briefing around noon, it's a little bit afternoon at fbi headquarters. i will allow them to go into all the details but i thought it was important for you to hear directly from me. first of all, our hearts go out to the families of those who had been killed. our prayers goes to those have been wounded. this has a devastating effect on all americans. it is one that is particularly painful for the people of orlando but i think we all recognize that this could have happened anywhere in this country. we fail enormous solidarity and grief on behalf of the families that have been affected. the fact that it took place at a

club frequented by the lgbt community, i think it is also relevant, we're still looking at all the motivations of the killer, but it is a reminder that regardless of race, religion, faith, or sexual orientation, we are all americans. and we need to be looking after each other. we need to be protecting each other at all times. with respect to the killer, there have been a lot of reporting being done and it's important to emphasize that we are still in the preliminary stages of the investigation. there is a lot more that we need to learn. the one thing that we can say is that this is being treated as a terrorist investigation. it appears the shooter was inspired by various extremist

information that was disseminated over the internet. all of those materials are currently being searched, exploited, so we'll have a better sense of a pathway that the killer took in making a decision to launch this attack. as a director comay will indicate at this stage, we see no clear evidence that he was directed externally. it does appear that at the last minute he announced allegiance to isil. but there's no evidence so far that he was in fact directed. and there is no direct evidence that he was part of larger plots. in that sense it appears to be similar to what we saw in san bernardino, but we don't yet

know and this is part of what is going to be important in terms of the investigation. as far as we can tell right now this is certainly an example of the kind of homegrown extremism that all of us have been so concerned about for a very long time. it also appears that he was able to obtain these weapons legally because he did not have a criminal record that would in some ways that prohibit him from purchasing these weapons. it appears that one of those weapons he was able to just carry out of the store, an assault rifle. a handgun, a glock that had a lot of clips in it. and you were required to wait for three days under florida

law. it does does indicate the degree that it was not difficult for him to maintain these obtain these kinds of weapons. mr. comay will talk about there has been some investigation of him in the past but the fbi followed the procedures as they are supposed to and they did a proper job. at the end of the day, this is something that we are going to have to grapple with and making sure that even as we go after isil and other extremist organizations overseas, even as we hit their leadership, even even as we go after their infrastructure, even as we take key personnel off the field, even as we disrupt external thought plots, one of the biggest challenges will have is this kind of propaganda and

perversions of islam that you see generated on the internet and the capacity for that to seep into the minds of troubled individuals or weak individuals. and seeing them motivated to take actions against people in the united states and elsewhere in the world that are tragic. so countering this extremist ideology is increasingly going to be just as important as making sure that we are disrupting more expensive engineered from the outside. >> are also going to have to make sure that we think about the risks of we are willing to take by the lax and how we make

very powerful firearms available to people in this country. this is something something that i've talked about for very long time. my concern is that we start getting into what is happened in the past which is an either or debates. and the suggestion is, either we think about something like terrorism and we ignore problems with easy access to firearms, or it's all about firearms and we ignore the role, the very real role that organizations like iso had in generating extremist views inside this country. it's not an either or, it's both. we have to go after the terrorist organizations and hit them hard. we have have to counter extremist. but we also have to make sure that it is not easy for somebody to decide that they want to harm people in this country to be able to obtain weapons.

my hope is over the next days and weeks that we are being sober about how we approach this problem, that we examine the facts, that were determined by our investigation but we also look at how we can best tackle what is going to be a very challenging problem. not just here in this country but around the world. again my final point is to extend our deepest sympathies to the families of those who are affected. to send our prayers to those who are surviving and who are in hospitals right now and family members are hoping they get better very soon. in the meantime, you can anticipate sometime around noon that director comay and the

deputy d attorney general yates will provide you with a more thorough briefing. we do not yet know motivations. but here's what we do know. organizations like isil, or organizations like al qaeda, or those who have perverted islam and created these radical, a nihilistic, vicious organizations, one of the groups they target are gays and lesbians because they believe that they do not abide by their attitudes toward sexuality. that we also also know that these are organizations that think it's fine to take women captive and

enslave and rape them. there clearly are connections between the attitudes of an organization like this and the attitudes towards tolerance and a belief that all people are treated equally regardless of sexual orientation orientation. >> women being empowered is threatening to them. so yes, i'm sure we will find there are connections regardless of the motivations of this killer, there are connections between this vicious bankrupt ideology and general attitudes toward gays and lesbians. unfortunately that is something

the lgbt community is subject to, not just by isil but by a lot of groups that purport to speak around the world. >> [inaudible question] >> i think you know what i think about it. the fact that we make it this a challenging for law-enforcement, for example to even get alerted that somebody that they are watching has purchased a gun and if they do get alerted sometimes it is hard for them to stop them from getting a gun, it is crazy.

it is a problem. i think we have to do some soul-searching. but again, the danger ends up being the usual, political political debate, the nra, the gun-control folks say that obama doesn't want to talk about terrorism. if you talk about terrorism and then people say wire to you looking at issues of gun control. the point is, if we have self radicalized individuals in this country and they are going to be very difficult, oftentimes defined ahead of time. and how easy it is for them to obtain weapons is in some cases

going to make a difference whether or not they will be able to carry out attacks like this or not. we make it very easy for individuals who are troubled, or disturbed, or want to engage in violent acts to get very powerful weapons, very quickly. that's a problem. it's a problem regardless of the motivation. it's a problem for a young man who can walk into a church in south carolina and murder nine people who offered to play with them -- and pray with him. it's a problem when a young man on campus decides to shoot people because he feels disrespected. it is certainly a problem when we have organizations like isil or al qaeda who are actively trying to promote violence, and

they are doing so very effectively over the internet. we know at some point out of 300 milli-people million people there are going to be some individuals who find, for for whatever reason, that kind of horrible propaganda enticing. if that happens in that person can get a weapon, that is a problem. >> just a reminder, if you missed any of the president's comments you can see them again later tonight after the house adjourns on c-span. here's a look at another prime time programming. at 8:30 p.m. eastern on c-span two, remarks from vice chief of staff of the army general daniel allen on declining troop levels and reduce funding. on c-span three, the on c-span three, the chicago form on global cities looks at world urbanization and current

politics running climate change. >> c-span's "washington journal", live everyday with the news and policy issues that impact you. coming up on tuesday morning, three members of congress will join us to discuss the massive shootings in orlando over the weekend. democratic california representative, ranking member of the intelligence committee and the cia talks about the role of u.s. intelligence today and in the future. then, the chair of the homeland security subcommittee on oversight and management efficiency, pennsylvania representative, scott parry on domestic terrorism issue. and tom harper of delaware, member of the homeland security and government affairs committee discusses threats to u.s. security. be sure to watch c-span's "washington journal", beginning lab at 7:00 a.m. eastern on tuesday morning. join the discussion.

>> the senate is out for the night. but earlier, members continued work on the 2017 defense authorization bill. that legislation authorizes it 602 billion. it blocks obama from closing one tanimoto bay and requires women to register for the draft. will see a final draft on tuesday. also earlier, several senators came to the floor to speak about this past weekend's masses shooting in orlando, orlando, florida. we'll begin with a moment of silence, remembering the victims following by comments mitch mcconnell and harry reid.sk unas >> of the senate majority leadef

>> we now observe a moment of silence for the victims of the orlando attack. >> without objection. the senate will now observe a moment of silence for the victims of the orlando attack. >> [silence]ll: >> madam president,. >> senate majority leader. >> above this v-uppercase-letter american flag flies at half staff. a symbol of national sorrow for the lives taken far too soon. the symbol of national solidarity for families left behind, plunged into despair.

isil supplies the terrorist is one of the quote soldiers of the caliphate. our intelligence community will work to establish whether this terrorist was directed or inspired by isil. either way, i will call him what he really is, a coward. a murderer. brutal he claimed allegiant to a brutal group crucified as children be heads women. this terrorist sought to spread fear and sadness, and sufferingy yet, even admits to the horror, he cannot he cannot destroy our common bond of humanity. word every act of compassion, every outstretched arm to a friend, every combing word to a stranger

, a response to hisolog. cruel ideology. a reminder of who we are asecoge americans. let us recognize each act of heroism that night and let us never forget the debt we oh 21st responders. the men and women who rush to danger and their lives on the continue met.inue local law enforcement will continue working with the fbi to determine the exact nature of this crime. we'll soon find out more details, wheeler for instance whether this attack was isil directed, or inspired. whether this terrorist this terrorist was in communication with isil in rocca, or simply following tactics set forth.e i sold online magazine. it leads to a larger point. it is no longer a question

whether the followers of isil and other islamic groups will attempt to strike us here in the west, they have. they will continue to do so. we need to do it we can to fight back so that we can prevent more of these atrocities. that is exactly exactly why, for instance the senate needs to be briefed on the president's counter isil campaign. understanding his plan with respect to isil is critical. especially given the the war in iraq and syria will outlive the life of his administration. that is why we have been asking the administration for briefings ont a strategy for a very long time. i expect this now will happen very soon. we will also be receiving a briefing on the orlando attack this wednesday. but today is a day for sorrow and remembrance.

we saw the face of evil this weekend. we stand shoulder to shoulder with fellow americans this victs afternoon. we grieve the victims, and weu' say this to their families and to orlando, you are not alone, your nation is here with you, and we will not back down in the face of terrorism. colleague one final matter, i would like to say a few words about a colleague we lost this past weekend. george was one of the oldest of six children and until his late teens, and inspiring doctor. j then he realized he did not get along with the scientists so he joined the boy scouts and got involved in student government and told his friends that one

day he would become mayor and governor, he was right.leveland this is the guy voters chose cleveland after a wrenchinget crisis. he came to to office with a simple motto, together we can do it and together, they did. debts were paid down, jobs were added and slowly the buckle of the rustbelt became comeback city. his success propelled him to the governor's mansion where he was in the u.s. senate where he served another two terms. here in the senate, he was at the forefront at a number of important policy debates. he was an advocate for more a efficient and effective government, he was an advocate for all of the above energy and

the side of eastern european immigrants cited his work to spearhead two rounds of nato expansion as one of his proudest achievements. when nato secretary-general officially announced the decision to invite lithuania slovakia, and others he recalled that this was truly one of the most thrilling days of my tenure as a senator, george said. the senator had a storied career that took him to columbus, cleveland, to washington and around the world. all world. all along he kept himself guided by his catholic faith and anchored by his family. he ultimately retired to spend more time with the people who really matters. at the top of that list was a woman who made him whole. if you do not think storybook romances can start at a cleveland young republicans club, then then you do not know george and janet.

george and janet were best friends, they were politicalhe confidence, they were deeply in love. st. here in washington, you can buy menstrual into the capital foren work or saint joe's for mass. when janet came to visit the office george would greet her with a kiss and a hug and they flew back to cleveland which was most weekends. they would hold hands and say a prayer prayer across the aisle to prepare for senator t and when it was wheels down, janet would give ohio sr. i senator to work on their modestn home in cleveland. they purchased the house in the 1970s and in the same working-class neighborhood that george was raised. they spent the rest of their lives there together, the same. house, but they never got around to installing an air conditioner. too expensive george said.

george was known for many things in his decades of public service. he was honest, he wasnd, plainspoken, he was loyal to those who work for him and yes, he was frugal. janet may not have appreciated it when the heat waves hit but these are qualities that served him well in office. when asked about his legacy, the senator said he just wanted to know that he touched people lives and make things better. the mark of his impact across the city and across the state are clear not to see, there is the school of leadership affairs at ohio university. the board of itch atrium at cleveland's rock and roll hall of fame. and there is that george the.

[inaudible] bridge. for a man name for building bridges of his own, it went dark in his honor last night. the city of cleveland, the statv of ohio, and the citizens of our country have lost an outstanding friend. many of us have lost a good friend. the senate marks his passing was sorrow, we'll keep janet and the rest of his family in our thoughts. >> no one. >> man i'm president. rema >> leader. >> before i start the remarks on

the subject of the day, one of the subjects of the day as senator mcconnell and has c indicated is it about george. he was a fine fine man.n. he was a colleague, friend, he passed away at his home in cleveland that the senator talked about. he is one of the most public servants with whom i have served. started his service began 53 years ago and he was with the house of representatives, county auditor, mayor of cleveland and governor of ohio, and in 1999 he brought to the united states senate. and senator george was well known for hard work. george was

one of the few senate republicans to speak up against the unpaid bush tax cuts. he thought they were wrong and he questioned the strategy of the war in iraq what she thought was wrong.at on both instances george voinobich was right and the other republicans were wrong. he bucked the rest of the party on background check in again, he was right, and his colleagues were wrong. the entire senate mourns the voinobich family. they said that he had seven sen grandchildren george voinovich was a great senator.

>> madam president everyone is in a status shock and sadness today it is one of the worst mass shooting in modern history. facts continue to develop. we do know this much, he a pledged allegiance to isis and kill 49 people and leaving dozens seriously injured. this was an accident of terror in every sense of the word. to the it was an attack on the lgbt community in all of american.any our heart goes out to the victims and families, especially those that were killed and hope wounded. have

we had time for quiet reflection yesterday. to ask what could have done to prevent this tragedy i had time to think about it, madam president, am so sorry, i am heartsick, i'm basically sick br inaction. shamefully the united states senate has done nothing, nothing to stop these mass shootings. is this what we want for america? i do not think so. we don't want to live in a country were someone who can just walk into a store with assault weapons and murder dozens of americans, i don't to is that a country where we want to live?to because this is the country

where we live now thanks to the national rifle association and are coward supporters in congre. washington. it was a propose legislation to prevent fbi terrorists from print purchasing firearms. all all but one voted against the feinstein amendment. today someone can walk into the gun store and legally purchase assault weapons and explosives. it is beyond me how these can go home knowing they voted to let them continue to buy assault weapons.. they had expanded background t checks, how can we say to republicans cannot for reelection in good conscious. t not some of them, all of them. for example how can the senator from florida who all of a suddef

is again running for reelection, how can we speak of running for let potential terrorists buy assault weapons and explosives question rex that is how he voted.r he was quoted saying what happened he might reconsider. he voted against background checks, assault weapons ban, gets legislation. i asked him, is is this what wen want for america?he mass shooting after mass shooting, each an attack that seems is worse than the previou, one? if so much to learn about the orlando shooting but we know one thing for sure, congress has failed to do anything to prevent these mass shootings. anything. why, because of republican obstruction. because of republican of the obstruction we did nothing. we

are feeling every one of the people killed on sunday, theirei families, the whole state of florida. the entire country.am we are family lean with families, where feeling everyons who has died in these mass shootings, there are thousands of them. those who have who have lost loved ones to mass shootings. thousands of them. tens of thousands or, as president obama said yesterday,s quote to do nothing is a decision as well. in in my republican colleagues have madep that decision, doing nothing. it is time again we try to stop the plague of gun violence. we have responsibility of lawmakers to do what we can to prevent the t shootings. to have commonsense reforms, nothing radical, that are proven to stop these attacks and save lives. we start by. we start by closing the loopholes that a louse terrace to legally purchase weapons and

explosives. remember we voted on this. everyone in this chamber is it more than common sense? i don't thing so. we should do something on make background checks so that terror suspects and criminals do not go through the cracks. we should do something about these clips, there's no reason that gun stores to sell theseig clips that are that big, making that magazines that are designed for mass killings. you don't hunt with them. our nation can no longer ignore the fact that every day innocent americans are being gunned down in cold blood. we no longer ignore the will of the people. we shouldn't at least. we can no longer ignore the role of the people. the overwhelming majority voters majority of voters support these proposals. according to a december poll

nearly 90% of americans are in favor of expanded background checks. it doesn't doesn't matter what state you go to, that was a nationwide poll.re yu nevada, massachusetts, iowa, doesn't matter where you go. more than 80% of americans want yet of course these people care as much as everybody does in america today. the demand fraction, senate republicans continue to cower before the nra in the gun owners of america. the nra is bad, gun laws of how america these two organizations are competing to see how extreme they can be pushing for more guns of your protections. i know that the statement making here that they will send out

these fundraising trying to take away our guns, send us the money.ns and these two organizations are competing to see how extreme they can be to push for more demos.slation sup republicans are so terrified of the extreme right that they choose to pass legislation putting the vast majority of their constituents, the nra and gun owners of america, and thee people they represent. you know it terrifies american people? it's not the nra, it's not the gun owners of america, mass shootings scare american people. innocent victims being gunned down at nightclubs, holy places, schools, movie theaters, that's what scares the american peoplee

republicans need to find the backbone to stand up to the nra and gun owners of america. senate republicans are starting to put mental health legislation because they're afraid to talk sena not only are they stalling but senate republicans lured by the system are. [inaudible] and we can more would be speaking volumes. we need to hear more of the gun lobby's talking points about how more guns is the answer, how security guns would help with gun violence.y a reported armed off-duty officer on the scene, even that did not prevent this tragedy. instead of pushing for more guns, it's time to make it harder for terrorists and h criminals to get guns. it's time for congress to do

something to stop the mass slaughter in our communities. how else can we describe it? there's 50 dead people, 49 plus that e a killer. is that enough to get our attention? fifty are injured, some will be paralyzed. is that enough to get our attention? it is time for congress to do something, something to stop this massive slaughter that is c being carried out in our communities. to our going to support and continue to push the solutions until the gun violence is an epidemic. we're willing to come as soon ao we can, we can do this as soon as possible. there's no excuse for for suspected terrorists to buy guns. as much as we can do but not of republicans are not

serious about addressing these problems.d and it has been proven they do not care. so i hope you find the courage through george voinovich to help us pass meaningful legislation to protect meaningful people. by the way george voinovich was a good republican.e >> under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. under the previous order the senate will resume consideration of as a 2943 which the clerkca will report. >> number 469 as 2943, a bill to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2017 for military activities, the 17 for military activities, the department of defense and so further purposesm >> matter president. >> the senator from florida. rer >> matter president, i have just returned from the command center

of the emergency operations center, a temporary temporary one that has been set up in the middle of south orange avenue, very close to the pulse the nightclub. not far from the hospital where so many of the victims have been taken, where nine of the victims died in the care of the doctors, and where there are up to 50 people, some of whom are still fighting for their lives. needless to say, orlando is didt shocked. place we didn't know that a place that sometimes is called the happiest

place on could be one of the saddest places on earth. indeed, the morning orlando sentinel, the entire front paget is dedicated to a statement by " the paper entitled, our community will heal. will our community heal? we'll certainly in what we see with the long lines sneaking around the black of the bloods donation center where it is

literally going around what would be the length of two blocks, people standing in the hot sun with umbrellas to donate blood, that says something about how the community will heal. indeed, when we had our office in orlando opened on sunday the kinds of calls overexpressing of belief, along with the messages, of comfort, that has been quitef a contrast to the 95% of the hundreds and hundreds of callsiv that the orlando office has received today. 95% of those calls have been ha

hateful. what does that say about us as a nation?t will we in fact heal? deep what does it say about us as a nation deep inside, where have we lost the teachings in almost all the major religions clearly in the holy scriptures of the old testament. of the new testament, and also in the koran. and you will recognize these words if i say it in the old english. do onto others as you would have them do unto you. english put it in modern english, that

is to treat others as you would want to be treated. that yet, what we found is that in our society today, there are folks that want to divide and study unify. this killer is a good example. i have spent two days with the fbi, i have been been on theec phone, i have talked to theit secretary of homeland security, i have talked to her opini intelligence community, it is the dots are completely connected and they are being rapidly connected, the fbi is doing a great job, they are the lead in orlando. by the way, you talk talk about something good, what about the

cooperation, the coordination, almost seamless between local th and state and the federal governments. all represented down there in that command center, all represented as a number of us went in front of the assembled cameras. it is seamless.hi that is a good thing. that is unity. that is how we do things in america. and yet, as the dots are being connected, we will find out that yes, this shooter was ice and inspired and that is a whole see of issues and how are we going to protects ourselves in the

future but we will also that this shooter was inspired by hat hatred. i we will find that hatred was directed as his father had, towd already said in interviews. . . . . so, here again, we have another terrible tragedy. i've had a number of calls from our fellow senators. one of those calls came from richard blumenthal. he's from connecticut, and he has reason to be sensitive about this because of the sandy hook this because of the sandy hook because of the sandy hook elementary school shooting. 20 children and some six adults gunned down needlessly. maybe that was a mental case.

maybe part of this one in orlando is a mental case but it is driven by a hatred, and maybe through isis, a hatred of america and of freedoms and of a free society eating willing to be able to speak what you want without fear of persecution orf maybe it is a hatred about a group of people. it's exactly the opposite of what is taught in all the scriptures. and so as we heal in orlando, it will take it while. you can imagine those families of the ones they have lost. you can imagine the families

down at orlando health hospital right now grieving and hoping and praying that those victims fighting for their lives are going to make it. so america we are going to have to dig down deep and find out who we really are and you know i really know who we are. respect we are a character of a people who is compassionate andnd generous and kind and respectful we are as americans, we are ladies and gentlemen. we can express ourselves as has been the tradition on the floor of the senate in the heat of political debate we can sharply

differ, but we can be respectful of the other fellow's point of view. that is america and until we finally come to that conclusion, and insist on this aberrant behavior is stopped, until that happens we will still be grieving. madam president i yield the floor. those were times were just some of the remarks by senator schumer earlier today. the chamber is out for the night that times but members returned tuesday at 10:00 a.m. eastern to continue work on the 2017 transauthorization bill.