led to instability in the middle east and the greatest humanitarian crisis of our time and his flawed deal with iran has paved the way for iran to acquire nuclear weapons. the president talks a good game but when it comes to his foreign-policy, they really have been toothless. we republicans in the united states senate are looking forward to working with the president that is interested in restoring american leadership in the world and strengthening america's security. >> national security is a key issue. people want the united states to be the most powerful and respected nation on earth. this is a time where the world continues to be a very dangerous place with dangerous people and deadly weapons. also around the world we see folks who consider themselves macho men leading countries. you see it in syria and russia and china.

>> the senate is back in session. we will take you there now. if we are able to we will take you back to this news conference

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a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. inhofe: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call in progress be vitiated. the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma, we are not in a quorum call, so you may proceed. mr. inhofe: thank you, mr. president. yesterday, right now the preen for this long wait -- the reason for this long wait is we're trying to get everything in place to pass a major piece of legislation, one that is quite significant. it is comparable to our transportation bill, comparable to our tsca bill on chemicals. it's one that came out of our committee, the environment and public works committee, that i'm very proud we were able to get done. yesterday, you heard me talk

about the wrda bill and why it's so important to pass now. the wrda bill being the water infrastructure bill, it gave recent real-world examples the problems our nation is facing and how this legislation could address them. today i want to remind you of the process here today. i think it is important because people are saying we don't go through the daylight very often, where everybody has a chance to participate. everybody. and so we are in that process right now. back in december of last year, senator boxer and i sent our dear colleague out to members letting you know we were going to do a wrda bill, water resources development act, in 2016. this was in december. before the introduction of our bill and the mark up in the

e.p.w. committee we sent another bill asking members about their priorities. we marked up wrda on april 28, 2016. so that means we actually worked on it for four months prior to that time taking the priorities that people were sharing with us. we then let all offices know once again that we were preparing to go to the floor with passing wrda in the senate before the august recess. that didn't happen, but my staff continued to work over the august recess with offices about the priorities. we brought a substitute amendment that was the result of that work to the full senate on september 8. that was on a thursday, i announced that we were going to close the amendments. everyone should get amendments down that could be made on the

managers' amendment by noon the next day, the next day being friday. and they did that. that amendment included over 40 provisions that were added after the committee markup. that's a lot of daylight there. finally last week i came to the floor to let all of you know that senator boxer and i needed to see your amendments by noon last friday if you wanted them to be considered in our managers' amendment. to date we have included hundreds of the wrda priorities from senate offices which are included in the substitute, and we were able to clear over 40 additional provision the this weekend. this is just from those that came in on, at noon, prior to noon on friday. so we had 40 additional provisions as a result of that. and so, you know, we hope to adopt that by voice vote today. and hopefully, i think people are pretty much in agreement that can happen now. everyone has had a chance. by the way, when we adopt

that, we can go and we can entertain other amendments. we'll work with you on those amendments. it's been a very open and collegial process and all members have had their concerns and priorities heard. we've done our best to address member priorities, and after we are on the bill, we will continue to do our best to clear germane amendments. only germane amendments. what we have in front of us is a bipartisan bill that will help us modernize our water and transportation infrastructure and keep flood protection and environmental restoration needs around the country. the problem -- the problems the wrda bill address are not state problems, are not regional problems. they are problems that face the nation as a whole. it is clear that the people are frustrated with the current political climate. passing wrda is a chance for us to start to regain the trust of the american people and prove to them that we can do our job and get things done. i often refer to the e.p.w.

committee that i chair as the committee that gets things done. and we do. so far we have been very successful. we passed the highway bill. that was a bill many people was saying you'll never pass a highway bill, a five-year bill, of that magnitude. and we did, and that hadn't been done since 1978. it ended 17 years of stagnation. then we passed the tsca bill. everyone was saying you're not going to be able to get that. that was the frank lautenberg bill he worked on for quite a number of years. we got it done. senator boxer and i do not always see eye to eye. she is one of the most liberal members of the senate. i'm one of the most conservative members of the senate. but we have shown over a period of time and time again that when we work together on an issue, we can accomplish our goal. now we have the wrda bill before us.

simply we have both worked very hard on and a bill that we are very proud of, so i'm here today to say not passing the wrda bill is not an option. there is just too much at stake. if we don't pass the wrda bill, 29 navigation flood control and environmental restoration projects will not get done. if we don't pass it, there will be no new core reforms to let local sponsors improve infrastructure at their own expense. you would think you would have a hard time getting -- pretty easy time getting something through when you're going to spend somebody else's money. but this has been difficult. now we're able to do that. we let local sponsors take and improve the infrastructure at their own expense. if we don't do this, there will be no fema assistance to states to rehabilitate unsafe dams. there will be no reforms to help committees -- communities address clean water and safe drinking water infrastructure mandates. this one's very significant to

those of us in oklahoma and any of the other smaller populated rural states because we cannot just -- the communities cannot afford the unfunded mandates. well, that's what this is all about. those mandates come from the clean water and the city drinking water infrastructure. without this, there will be no new assistance for innovative approaches to clean water and drinking water and there would be no protection for coutilities from runaway coal ash lawsuits. as i have reminded, we have gone through this process. the bill is tremendously important. it's time to do our job and do what we were sent here to do, and we have that chance now. this afternoon, we need to agree and i think we can do this by voice vote to adopt the manager's amendment, and then we can consider the amendments, any other amendments, there may not be that many. there is no reason in the world we can't pass and go through the final passage of this by noon

tomorrow. that's our effort, and we're going to try to make it happen. with that, i will suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. barrasso: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from wyoming. mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. i i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. officer without objection. mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, people all around the country know that the world is a very dangerous place. it's become more dangerous over the past 7 1/2 years and even over the course of this summer. as a member of the foreign

relations committee, i come here again to the floor because i've seen one example after another, examples of how the obama administration seems to not know what's going on when it comes to foreign policy. i believe the obama administration and specifically secretary clinton, as well as president obama, have been embarrassingly knee naive with regard to the russian reset. i think it has been awful this disastrous iran nuclear deal. this country has had an inadequate response to north korea, which led to another nuclear test just last week. the president's foreign policy should secure america's national interest and demonstrate america's leadership around the world. the question is, has the obama foreign policy done that? it really has not. look at what former president jimmy carter had to say.

he said this about president obama. he said, "i can't think of many nations in the world where we" -- we, the united states "where we have a better relationship now than we did when he took over." he went ton say, "the united states' influence and prestige and respect in the world is probably lower now than it was six or seven years ago." so you have to ask yourself, why has this happened? i think it's clear that president obama has really refused to stand up to the aggression of other countries. for more than seven year, the president has allowed and followed the advice of a foreign policy team -- and i think he's been very, very reluctant and hesitant to take threats seriously. every time the president does this, he embodies and emboldens -- he emboldens our adversaries

around the world to be more aggressive. every day that the president allows these threats to go unanswered, he's endangering america and our allies. our allies don't respect us. you are enemies no longer fear us. and let's just take a look at syria. it was five years ago that president obama called on assad to step aside -- five years ago. a few months later, secretary hillary clinton said that it was only a matter of time, she said -- almost five years ago -- before the assad regime would fall. it was his judgment. secretary of state, now running for president. well, the obama administration's policy was to wait and hope for the best. it didn't back up its words with any meaningful support for the moderate opposition in syria.

in 2012, president obama said that if assad used chemical weapons he would be crossing a red line. well, assad knew that when president obama and his team make threats like that, they are empty threats. so the very next year, assad used chemical weapons, and the president of the united states did nothing. the red line became a green light, and it remains a green light today. a common rule in terms of foreign policy and deterrence is if you make a statement, you have to back up those words with action or you will invite aggression by others, and that's the reason that our friends no longer trust us and or inmiss no -- and our enemies no longer fear us. earlier this year, the state department admitted that syria had used chlorine as a chemical

weapon systematically and reementedly. not just once, not just twice, systematically and repeatedly against the syrian people every year -- every year since that red line was drawn. it wasn't just one time in 2013. it was every year since then. did president obama secure america's national interests with his weak response in syria? did he demonstrate american leadership? he did not. well, let's move from syria to russia. although russia has been very involved in syria, let's take a look at russia. we all remember secretary of state at the time, hillary clinton, going to russia and pushing her reset button. we all remember in 2012 president obama laughed off the suggestion that russia was a serious threat to the united states. he did it darg a presidential debate -- during a presidential

debate. russia responded to the reset. the reset in terms of what russia has done -- ignored it sent troops into ukraine, sent troops into crimea, and annexed crimea and invaded eastern ukraine. president obama again d weakness in responding to a very aggressively military action by russia. when president obama shows weakness -- which is repeatedlyd the world who watch him move accordingly, and that's why russia moved. that's why we've seen vladimir putin being so aggressive in using his military to keep assad in power. recently president putin even launched airstrikes from iranian territory, from iran, against opposition forces in syria. what does this do? it props up assad. the c.i.a. director told the senate in june that assad is as

as, in the c.i.a. director's words, is in a stronger position than he was last year. the c.i.a. director says assad is in a stronger position than he was last year. hillary clinton said he's going to fall, almost five years ago. now why is syria in a stronger position? the c.i.a. director said it was the result of the russian military intervention. that's because russia knows it can act with impunity. vladimir putin knows that because he knows president obama continues to show weakness, and vladimir putin can smell the weakness. despite this, the president continues his misguided obsession in negotiating with russia, as if our two countries have the same goal in mind when it comes to syria. now what does the white house say? the white house says it's

negotiated a cease-fire with russia in syria. we've seen this before. russia makes promises. russia breaks promises. russia makes new promises. russia breaks promises. syria makes promises. syria breaks promises. syria makes other promises. syria breaks other promises. we've seen it with the chemical weapons. we've seen it with the so-called deal that wassing brokered to get the chemical weapons out of syria that secretary of state kerry boasts about as being so successful. for almost eight years this administration has been living in a cocoon of self-delusion with regard to russia. has president obama demonstrated american leadership globally? the american people want the

united states to be the most powerful and respected country on the face of the earth. it's not what they got with president obama. what about iran? the president likes to talk about his nuclear deal with iran as if he thinks it's the greatest foreign policy success of all times. he believes that this deal is paving the way for an iran without nuclear weapons, but instead it is paving the way for a nuclear armed iran. the deal means the iranian economy has begun to benefit from access to more than $100 billion in access. now we've learned that just when that deal went into effect, president obama went even further and arranged to send iran another $1.7 billion in cash. euros, swiss franks piled up on pallets. he sent $400 million as a down

payment in january and within 24 hours of sending them cash in iran, the iranians agreed to release a group of americans who they had been holding hostage. the white house said it wasn't a ransom payment to free these american hostages. they want the american people to believe it was just a coincidence in timing. well, you can bet that the iranians don't believe it's a coincidence, and actually they said it's not a coincidence. they said that it was the money for the release of the hostages. we know from experience that the iranians see hostage taking as a valid way of conducting their own foreign policy. the president plays right into their hands. they have also gotten the message that for them it can be a very profitable approach as well. president obama has been greasing the skids to get billions of dollars to iran. he's done nothing about getting

iran to get the money to u.s. victims of terrorism. who are those victims of terrorism? who are the u.s. citizens? according to the congressional research service the courts awarded more than $55 billion in damages to victims of iran's terrorism. these include the victims of the 1979 embassy hostage crisis. they include victims of the 1983 bombing of the marine barracks in lebanon, in the 1995 towers bombing in saudi arabia. has president obama done anything to secure america's national interest by letting iran think that we pay ransom for hostages? is that a demonstration of leadership? of course it's not. we all know that the world is a dangerous place and that there are countries that are headed by thugs and zealots. and when the president of the united states responds on behalf of the people of the united

states and responds with weakness and desperation, other leaders interpret that fear and see it as fear and smell the weakness every time. we're going to keep seeing this kind of aggression, mr. president, and bullying by these macho men, if you will, who run iran and syria and russia and north korea and china. these are the leaders around the world who, through the president's action, they do not respect or fear. and he has brought this on himself and the american people due to the way he is reacting and led the country. these are leaders who smell weakness. we need a foreign policy aimed at securing america's national interests and demonstrating america's leadership. under president obama, american power has declined.

respect around the world has evaporated and the obama foreign policy has been a complete failure. jimmy carter said i can't think of many nations in the world where we have a better relationship now than whee -- we did when president obama took over. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from montana. a senator: i ask unanimous consent to enter into a colloquy with my republican colleagues. the presiding officer: the senate is in a quorum call. mr. daines: i ask the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. daines: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent to enter into a colloquy with my republican colleagues. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. daines: mr. president, while i was home last weekend, i had a chance to visit the service members at malstrom air force base in great falls, montana, as well as the montana air national guard also in great falls. every time i visit them, i'm incredibly humbled by their character, their dedication, and their determination toward their mission. the airmen of malstrom bear the

great weight of standing ready with the world's most powerful weapons, employing them every day as a vital component of our nation's nuclear deterrent force. this is where approximately one-third of our nation's intercontinental ballistic missiles reside. and i have the utmost faith in the nearly 4,000 airmen at malstrom that operate, maintain, provide security for the missiles that silently sit across north central montana. from airman first class raised in butte who stands armed and ready on his first post to the senior airmen, i know these leaders will not fail our nation. however, as i speak today, my friends from across the aisle are blocking funds for these troops, for our troops and have already six times blocked consideration of the department of defense appropriations act of 2017, denying our troops the proper funding and support they deserve.

so today i'm standing here in front of my freshman colleagues imploring our friends and colleagues on the other side of the aisle to stop the political gamesmanship, let's get back to work and let's start with funding our military. we see isis expanding in places like libya and attacking western targets in paris, in belgium, even in our homeland in san bernadino and orlando. we must make sure that our military forces have the tools they need to perform their job and defend against 21st century threats. a couple of months ago, i was en route to china. on the way over, i stopped at pearl harbor and had a briefing from admiral harris, the head of pacific command and heard about the threats that are faced right now in the region, in north korea, for example. in fact, just friday morning, i met a -- i'm at a 9/11 remembrance ceremony at the

chapel at malmstrom air force base with the chaplain there. it was a very, very moving ceremony as we were remembering what happened 15 years ago. we saw the video, the images of new york and the pentagon. and that night, thursday night, as i am headed back to great falls for the friday morning remembrance ceremony, i'm seeing tweets about a 5.0 quake that occurred in north korea as they tested their fifth underground nuclear bomb, a bomb that is now starting to rival the size of what was dropped on hiroshima. whether it's spending time in alaska on the way home and hearing about the threats of russia and the aggression that we see from the russians. five weeks ago, i was in israel, firsthand hearing from the israeli leadership, the existential threat of a nuclear iran in the future, hearing

about hezbollah and how they now have over 100,000 rockets, 100,000 rockets in lebanon pointed at israel, funded in large part by the iranians. or thehams terror tunnels -- or the hamas terror tunnels that came out of gaza. there is nothing more chilling than crawling in one of those tunnels, wearing our jeans, hiking boots. it wasn't fancy. just outside of gaza there in an structural area. you could look off and see tractors tending to their fields around us, and there in israel were tunnels built by hamas, primarily funded and sponsored by the iranians where they had a very extensive electrical systems, h-vac systems, and they found, they found syringes there they were planning to kidnap israeli soldiers and drug them and take them back as hostages. then going to the syrian border

in a jeep and standing right on the border between israel and syria and glassing into isis-controlled villages three miles away. looking across the security perimeter fence and seeing a black s.u.v. my israeli escort. i said what am i looking at there? is there a black flag coming out the back? there is not. that's an al qaeda vehicle. this is why we must ensure our men and women in uniform have the resources they need to defend our nation. whether it's our nation's peace through strength strategy at montana's malmstrom air force base to our army and air national guard members who work to support our communities in times of emergency and respond to deployments overseas, montana is playing a critical role in meeting our nation's security and military needs. at malmstrom, the commander's coin that i was given a couple of years ago says this -- scaring the hell out of america's enemies since 1962. they do so because this body,

the united states senate, the united states congress, chose duty over politics. we must stand with our nearly two million members of the u.s. military who fight for us every day, and that's why we're down on the floor today fighting on behalf of them. we must stand up for those who stand up for our rights and freedoms that we enjoy and we must make sure we're ready for the 21st century threats. i'm very pleased to have some of my colleagues, senator rounds from south dakota, senator rounds was the governor of south dakota before elected to the united states senate, another freshman that i have the privilege of serving with. of course he has elsworth air force base there, the home of the b-1 lancer. and i'm grateful, senator rounds, you have come down to the floor today as a fellow freshman senator to discuss this very important issue. thanks, senator rounds. mr. rounds: thank you, senator daines. mr. president, i appreciate the opportunity to participate in

this colloquy with senator daines and senator capito who is also with us here today. i spent ten -- five -- eight years as governor of south dakota and one of the titles which you carry when you are the governor of a state is that you are also the -- the head of the national guard. you are the -- you are the chief of the national guard, and you -- you get a chance to actually work as the commander in chief with those individuals who put themselves in harm's way, and when you start out, you wonder whether this is simply just a term of art and whether or not it's simply one of those nice titles. during the time that i was governor, it was a case in which we literally were sending young men and women off to do battle for the united states of america. they were volunteering, and they were stepping up. they were leaving, hoping to come home. moms and dads were worried, and with just cause. at the same time, when they did come home, we would celebrate their safe return, but in some

cases, we also mourn with moms and dads because their loved one did not make it home. they gave everything, and yet there seems to be some miscommunication here within the senate that somehow our actions aren't -- aren't communicated in a way that harms or that is impacting what those young people who put themselves in harm's way see. think about this -- as the united states senate, you would think republicans and democrats would put some things aside. i do believe that we will eventually do that. there is nog wrong with those of us who think we should expedite the process bringing the appropriations bill to the senate. we shouldn't bring attention to the fact that's not being done today and not being done in an appropriate fashion and it's not being done in a timely fashion. that in itself sends a message to a lot of young men and women

who put themselves in harm's way and who have already committed themselves to the defense of our country. you know, it was just this last sunday we marked the 15th anniversary of the bombings that we refer to as 9/11 and they took 3,000 american lives and that occurred in new york, washington and pennsylvania. these attacks were perp trailted by terrorists -- perpetrated by terrorists whose sole goal was to terrorize american citizens that threat and risk have not gone away. number one responsibility of the federal government is the defense of our country, and unless that responsibility is fulfilled, our freedoms are in jeopardy. yet at this time we in the senate have been unable to consider legislation, i mean only consider legislation, not pass it, simply consider it in which we can bring it on to the

floor the way the founding fathers wanted and debate how to make it better. we know we will pass a defense appropriations bill, but the question of how we do it and what order we do it is important and whether or not we're prepared to come on to the floor of the senate. republicans and democrats alike, and actually discuss openly the appropriations process i think is very important. yet at this time we in the senate have not been able to even consider the legislation which funds our troops and our military operations for the upcoming year. our democrat colleagues on the other side of the aisle are refusing to even bring the department of defense appropriations act to the floor so that we can debate and amend legislation that will equip our armed forces with the tools they need to continue their missions. it's one thing if bringing it to the floor meant that it would pass with a majority vote. that's not what it means. what it means is it takes still 60 votes meaning democrats still have the opportunity if they disagree with what we finally end up with to be able to stop

it from moving forward but you have to start some place and starting with the defense appropriations bill is very appropriate. this is not a controversial bill. the senate appropriations committee unanimously approved it by a vote of 30-0 earlier this year. the department of defense appropriations act which passed the committee also adheres to the bipartisan budget agreement that was signed into law last year and it refrains from any gimmicks and other controversial measures. simply put there's no excuse for continuing to block six times now, six times to have the defense appropriations bill blocked from even being considered on the floor of the senate. the senseless obstructionism from the other side of the aisle comes at a time in which according to a recent fox news poll a record high 54% of american voters believe the united states is a less -- is less safe now than it was before the 9/11 attacks.

continuing to block any appropriations bill is ill-advised, but blocking the defense appropriations bill causes unnecessary uncertainty and endangers our national security efforts. ladies and gentlemen, one of the reasons why we created a constitution in the first place was because our founding fathers wanted to provide for the common defense and that's what this is all about. it should not be blocked from even having al debate. i would encourage our friends on the other side of the aisle to join us in recommitting ourselves to the primary purpose of government, defending our great nation from those who seek to destroy us by at least allowing us to debate the merits of the appropriations bill for the defense of our country on the floor of the senate. senator daines, i most certainly appreciate you taking the time to organize this colloquy and appreciate my other fellow

freshmen senators for stepping up because i think this is an important item that should bind us together and not separate us here within the senate. i thank you for this opportunity to express my thoughts. mr. daines: senator rounds, thank you for those thoughts. i'm struck again thinking that defense appropriation bill, as a member of the appropriations committee myself passed out of our committee by a vote of 30-0. 30-0. and yet trying to bring it down to the floor of the united states senate just to start can he beat -- debate on it, just have a discussion about this bill, we've been stopped six times in a strictly partisan vote. i'm pleased to have another senator freshman join us today, senator capito, of west virginia. senator capito is also a member of the appropriations committee, and i'm grateful, senator capito, that you're here as well. you have mclaughlin air national guard base and you proudly represent the men and women who serve with the guard.

senator capito, thank you for sharing your thoughts here today. mrs. capito: thank you, senator daines, for calling us together for what i think is a good reminder to those of you watching and in the gallery that we are deeply committed to seeing a senate that functions, a senate that exercises our opinions, that has full and open debate on this senate floor, this revaried senate -- revered senate floor. thank you, senator daines, for putting together the freshman colloquy and senator rounds. we're seat mates here sitting next to one another in this great and beautiful hall here. and it's interesting to hear everybody's different perspective on why this bill is so important. let's just recall. i am a member -- how we got here. i'm a member of the appropriations committee with senator daines. and on -- in the committee room as the president is as well, in the committee room, we debated this bill.

we did several amendment votes. we -- and in the subcommittee, many, many thoughtful decisions were made, discussions were had as to the priorities of our defense capabilities. and in the end we joined together, republicans and democrats, and passed this out of the subcommittee or out of the full committee 30-0. no opposition. now, for those of you who are watching and even for me, a freshman in our freshman class, we would think this is a -- this is about our men and women in uniform. this has come out in bipartisan fashion overwhelmingly. all 14 democrats on the committee supported this. so what has changed here? what's changed? why are the democrats now filibustering to keep the senate from even considering this legislation that was unanimous out of committee, well discussed. let's have the discussion on the floor. and yet six times as senator

rounds said, six times they've refused to let us consider this bill. why is there a strategy being put forth to keep congress from working by blocking this and all of the other appropriations bills? why are they blocking the bill that equips our troops, the ones that are fighting overseas and training at home and recruiting and those that are caring for our military families here at home? why? i don't have the answer to that question. i think the answer lies on the other side of the aisle. i haven't heard any answer that's sufficiently satisfies my curiosity or the curiosity of the american people. senator daines mentioned the mclaughlin air gawd. we have over 600 members in west virginia of our national guard. they serve in all reaches of this world. they serve on the border. they serve for flood relief all around this country whenever there's an emergency. the west virginia guard is one of the first ones called up. thousands are now on active duty

around the globe and we have over 100,000 vet rational in our state. so what kind of a message does this send to them? what are they thinking? why? why is this being blocked? we all know we live in a dangerous world. we can listen to the radio. we can listen to the discussions. we can read the news. we know how daifng rouse this world -- dangerous this world is. if we consider the state of the affairs that this administration's failed policy created, i think again that's the reason why, why is this being blocked. the russian military continues its military balancedup. in the south china sea, i just returned from a trip over memorial day to china. senator daines. and we learned there about china constructing military facilities on manmade islands. just last week, just last week north korea conducted its latest and largest nuclear test.

and if it didn't send chills down your body thinking about that, it should because they want to get the capabilities to reach our western coast. in the persian gulf they continue to harass u.s. naval ships. just yesterday, just yesterday a cease-fire in syria didn't last hours before the assad regime dropped more barrel bombs on the rebels. the instability is just remarkable. too much is at stake for us to continue to play politics that trumps our defense policy and all of the threats we face still persist. the senate has a tradition and i was in the house for 14 years, we had a that decision. this was one of the easy bills. the dodd appropriations -- the d.o.d. appropriations bill is something, we can do this because we know how important as a country our military s. our men and women in uniform. this time around should be no different. i strongly urge my colleagues on

the other side of the aisle to work with us, to show that unified support we saw in the committee but we need to show that support to our men and women in uniform, their families and our veterans. i'd like to yield the floor to my colleague from colorado. i guess i'll yield back to senator daines. you would like to say to welcome senator gardner to the discussion. he's an esteemed member of the senate foreign relations committee but he also has led us as a senate in a bipartisan way in passing important sanctions against the north korean regime. and i'm really happy to be here with my colleague from alaska as well, senator sullivan, who is a loud and clear voice in support of our military, not just from this experience but from his very enriched background in this area. i'll go back to my original question. why? why are you blocking this? why can't we give the certainty that our men and women in

uniform need, our moms and dads, our husbands and wives? why? let's have an answer to that question. let's do our jobs. let's pass this bill and senator daines, thank you again for your leadership. mr. daines: thanks, senator capito. it's a good point you made after you spent 1 years in the house. -- 14 years in the house. this is the easy bill to pass, funding our military, funding the men and women who wear the unction uniform. in the united states senate appropriations committee, there are 16 republicans and 14 democrats. and as senator capito pointed out, another appropriator, it passed 30-0 out of the senate committee on may 26. we haven't had a response from the other side is what has changed since may 26 when we passed it 30-0. senator capito, thank you for your thoughts. i want to now welcome senator sullivan, another fresh than senator from -- freshman senator from alas cacht let me tell you something special about senator

sullivan. lieutenant colonel, reserve, senator sullivan. we're grateful to his service to our nation as a marine. i'm the son of a marine. i'm standing next to a marine. thank you. senator capito and i both had a chance to visit joint base richmond el man door of twice. impressive operation and very proud as you are, those men and women who wear the uniform. senator sullivan. mr. sullivan: thank you, senator daines. i want to thank all of my colleagues on the floor today, all of the freshman class. mr. president, you're part of it. we have a great class, 12 new freshman here. we're serious about this topic as you can see. this is a critical topic not only to the senate. this is a critical topic to the country. our friends in the media, you wouldn't know that the senate minority leader, his filibustered spending for our troops six times, six times in

the last year. no one reports on it. it's a disgrace in my view. and, you know, last week we had our colleagues on the other side of the aisle, they were talking a lot about the senate doing its job. the senate doing its job. well, i think if you polled the american people and you asked them what the number one job the senate or the congress or the federal government should be doing, it would be defending this nation. it would be supporting the troops. that's the number one thing in terms of the senate doing its job that we should be focused on. now, as senator capito has so eloquently talked about, you look at where our forces are right now all over the world, 5,000 troops in iraq, 5,000.

by the way, they're in combat. the white house doesn't like to use the word "combat" but those troops are in combat and our troops in syria, brave pilots, bombing isis, terrorist groups on a daily basis. they're in combat. their families know it. we have a white house again that doesn't want to talk about combat. the press secretary won't mention the word but our forces are in combat. we had two air force carrier battle groups in the china south sea. two. an important demonstration of american resolve. we have over 1,000 troops that were just put in europe by the president to reassure our european allies with regard to russian aggression. a new headquarters stood up in poland, american headquarters.

the president ordered 8,500 troops to remain in afghanistan. these are all initiatives by the president, by our leaders in the department of defense just in the last couple of months. and many of us support these. many of us support these. and, mr. president, as you know, it's not just the real-world contingency operations, the combat that our troops are in. it's real-world training. my colleague from montana mentioned jbare in alaska. we had some training exercises, red flag, alaska, the best training exercises in the world. we had many evolutions of red flag alaska this summer. our troops training hard. so this is what the u.s. military is doing. throughout the world, throughout the country to keep our nation

safe. so what is the senate doing? more specifically, what is the minority leader doing? well, as we've talked about, we came back last week, back in session, and the first vote we took was the sixth time that the minority leader of the united states senate organize add filibuster to make sure our troops didn't get funding. six times. there's no other bill in the senate in the last year and a half that the minority leader of the united states senate has picked to filibuster more than this bill. the bill that funds our troops. senator capito asked a very good question: why? why? why? mr. president, i've been down on

the floor asking this question for months. we're freshmen. we're new to this body, but we have not heard one member of the other party come down on the floor and explain why. -- why they're filibustering the spending of our troops. not once. mr. president, this is what our troops need. they watch this, by the way. they understand what's happening. a lot of people think, oh, it's the senate. nobody understands these procedural filibusters and things. the men and women of the united states military know exactly what's happening. welcome down here and continue to fight for the funding and support of our troops and their families as long as the other side continues this filibuster. and senator capito, as i mentioned, asked a really important question: why?

but here's another important question for my colleagues: i serve on the armed services committee. i serve on the veterans' affairs committee. i know these are great, bipartisan committees, members of both bodies, very patriotic, very supportive of the military. but why are my colleagues on the other side of the aisle following the senate minority leader? why are they following his lead in the filibuster? i really, really wish one of them -- just one -- would come down and explain to the american people why six times -- six times -- in the last year and a half the minority leader has filibustered spending for our troops and my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have followed him, because if you polled this question back in any state where you're from, regardless of party, democrat or republican, the american people would say, fund the troops. the american people would say,

bring to the floor at least have a debate the bill that passed the appropriations committee unanimously. the american people would say, they're doing their job; u.s. senate, time to do your job. fund the troops. support the troops. it's remarkable that we're still debating this, mr. president. and we're going to keep raising this and maybe the media will focus on it. but i again want to commend my colleague, senator daines, for leading this colloquy, which is so important for the people of the united states to understand what's really happening on the floor of this important body. senator daines. mr. daines: colonel of the u.s. marine corps sullivan, thank you. i appreciate those comments. what he is saying "no" to is over 1.2 million active duty,

over 18,000 reserve military. they're saying "no" to almost 10,000 troops engaged in combat in afghanistan and the additional military in harm's way in places like iraq, syria, and other places around the globe. you've been hearing from freshman senators from the republican party here today in this colloquy. we have another freshman from oklahoma. i'm very honored and grateful to serve with senator lankford of oklahoma, the home of tinker air force base. senator lankford, thank you for sharing your thoughts today. mr. lankford: glad to be able to be a parlt of this colloquy and -- a part of this colloquy. and not just tinker but multiple major bases in oklahoma. and it is extremely important that we continue to maintain a strong national defense. by a march of 54% to 31%, americans believe that president obama's flawed iran deal has made the united states less safe. this is a major issue for all americans. people want to know that they're

kept safe. that their government is actually engaged. it is the primary responsibility of the federal government to deal with national defense, regardless of party. people want to live in safe neighborhoods. regardless of party, they want their families to grow up in a world that is as safe as it can possibly be. but in case anyone has missed the obvious, there are a lot of very bad people around the world that hate our freedom, that hate our values, and that hate american leadership. and when america is strong, our deterrent stays strong, and it stays clear. the last thing that we want is thugs and dictators and terrorists around the world challenging us. assuming that we're weak. that leads to the loss of american life and leads to instability around the world. but this administration and the decisions that they have made have made us weaker as a nation. and have demonstrated to us as a

nation that we are not as strong as we once were and that leads to that great instability. one of those areas where it it leads to greater instability is when this congress stumbles in its support for our military. six times in 18 months that our democratic colleagues have filibustered the defense appropriations bill, which should be the easiest of all the appropriation ease bills to be able to walk through. i serve on the appropriations committee. i was there when all the debate was happening in committee. we passed it unanimously out of committee. yet when this comes to this floor, it gets filibustered. you see, the basic rules of the senate are, as this body knows extremely well, you have to have three-fifths of the body to open debate on a bill. now, it just passed by a simple majority, but we have to have 60 people of the 100 year agree to start it. and as long as the other side decides, no, i don't want to debate this issue, then we're literally stuck and can't even

open up debate on something as basic and should be as nonpartisan as defense appropriations. so what are we facing right now when all this is happening? well, we face a very unstable world that has become more unstable, as i mentioned before, by some of the attitudes and actions of the administration. the president's fail tour to enforce his own red line in syria has led to instability in the middle east, as no one knows where the lines are for anyone. in making a statement like they won't use chemical weapons when every year since 2013 the syrian government has used chlorine gas on its own people, and our administration has responded with, well, that's not crossing the red line because chlorine was exempted from this deal. that they couldn't use other chemical weapons, but they could gas their own people with chlorine makes absolutely no

sense to anyone. the syrians have continued to use chlorine gas on their people year after year mocking the president's red line and diminishes american leadership around the world. in russia, as they continue to be on the move, in their own cyber attacks into ukraine, into the crimea, their leadership in syria -- the latest cease-fire in fact that secretary kerry and president obama just negotiated with russia favors russia's position, retaining assad as leadership, giving russia time to be able to rearm, in fact sitting down with russia now and having to agree with russia on places where we would have attacks puts russia clearly in the lead of what's happening in syria. it's fascinating for me to think, just four years ago the

president of the united states mocked mitt romney as he talked about russia as a major threat. president obama flippantly laughed and said to mitt romney, hey, the 1980's are calling you. we don't have a cold war with the soviets anymore. somehow, i don't think anyone would say that now, as everyone sees russia on the move. nowrnlg korea continues -- north korea continues to test missiles and nuclear weapons. china continues its aggression through territorial expansion in the south china sea. cyberterrorism continues to increase from areas all around the world. isis is expanding its reach around the world and what it calls its provinces. the administration continues to say the territory of isis is decreasing but also quietly saying, but their expansion around the world is increasing. this is an unstable time anden -- and an unstable see sondes it is a moment that we should all

engage on some of the most basic things, like national defense. and that this body should be able to sit down and have an open debate on national defense and how that would actually happen. do i dare need to remind us about what iran has done in just the past year, helping organize a coup in yes, ma'a yemen, detag baran as much as they can, engaging and propping up syria, partnering with russia to be able to launch attacks with russian launchers leaving from iran to be able to go in and a tax deduction. all of this they -- to go in and do attacks. all of this they continue to do as this government struggles with funding our government. the president of the united states sent $1.7 billion in cash to the iranian government. so it is the ultimate irony, the

ultimate irony that at the time the president and our democratic colleagues don't want to fund the united states military, they sent three planeloads full of cash to the iranian military so they could operate theirs. this is why we stand here as freshmen and say, this may be normal senate process, but it makes no sense to the american people. how planefuls of cash can be sent to the iranian military and they're not spending here. as the president looks out his front window, let me just give you some perspective. as the president looks out his front window of the white house, he sees the washington monument directly in front of him. $1.7 billion in $1 would be the equivalent of 1,097 washington

monuments stacked up. 1,097 washington monuments stocked up is $1.7 billion. that's what we just shipped to iran. why do we think this is important? because we believe national security is important. and protecting america is important. and a flippant conversation years ago by secretary clinton saying that assad's time is almost done -- five years ago -- and the president's red line and the failure to be ail to fund our military on -- and the failure to be able to fund our military on time demonstrates we need to be more serious about national security. this is the issue the american people want us to deal with, and this is the one we need to deal with. with that i appreciate senator daines' and your leadership on this. thank you for being able to join in this conversation on the senate floor on something

extremely important to all of us. mr. daines: senator lankford, thank you for those thoughts. as freshmen who are new to the united states senate, we are scratching our heads like the american people are. as this institution, our friends across the aisle, are holding up funding our troops. as senator lankford said, at the same time the president is shipping $1.7 billion of foreign currency -- because he couldn't do it in u.s. cn did i -- to the iranians. i'm glad to be joined by senator gardner of colorado. senator gardner is a dear friend, great colleague, member of the foreign relations committee as well. senator gardner, thank you for joining us on this important top to -- topic. mr. gardner: i thank you for inviting me to talk about a bill addressing defense spending. thank you very much for the opportunity to join our freshman colleagues, new members of the senate all elected in 2014 to

come to the floor and have this conversation, this colloquy, to be joined by the senator from oklahoma, who speaks so clearly on why our nation would allow a policy to send $1.7 billion in currency to iran but not fund our troops. think about what the senator from oklahoma said. he said it so well, that our nation's policy is to pay off iran before we pay our troops. the senator from alaska, who i commend for his courage in standing up on the front lines of freedom for this country, in service for our country. we thank him for that service. he he spoke eloquently on the floor where he spoke about six times this senate has blocked through the use of a procedural motion funding for our men and women in uniform. six times over the past year and a half.

now this isn't a bill that people have come to the floor and are outraged about. they're opposed to it, they want something different. that's not what we're talking about here. we're talking about a piece of legislation to fund our men and women in uniform that passed 30- 0 out of the appropriations committee. 16 republicans, 14 democrats, no opposition, 30-0, to fund our troops. that can't move forward because of tactics of obstruction. tactics of obstruction that changed this body in 2014 because the american people were sick and tired of it, watching the 113th congress fail to do its job, fail to vote on important legislation. and so over the past year and a half we passed bipartisan transportation bills. we passed bipartisan education bills. we've passed bipartisan human trafficking bills. we have changed the way this

congress is working to actually achieve things together. but somehow there was a dictate that came down that we would stop working together now because they're blocking funding for our troops. when did we go from having the ability to accomplish things together to we're going to stop everything? and people talk to us on the floor about why they object to this legislation? have we heard statements in opposition to funding our troops? have we heard alternate proposals about funding our troops? no. the bottom line is a partisan minority -- a partisan minority is blocking the funding of our troops. why? because they can, i guess they decided. because they were told to do so. because they refused to break

ranks with the grip of a leadership office that has said block the funding of our troops. tell the american people that. explain to the american people why you're opposed to funding our troops. let me tell you why i'm here from colorado. i'm here from colorado because we have the ninth largest active duty military population in the country. out of 50 states. 12th largest combined active and reserve enforce population in colorado, home to nearly 35,000 active duty service members, more than 5,000 department of defense civilians. these numbers don't include all the family members, the contract employees that directly depend on the passage of this legislation. 3,000 d.o.d. contracts in colorado which make the defense industry in colorado the third-largest basic industry in our state. el paso county, colorado,

population center of the state of colorado, it's the only county in the nation that's home to five military bases. fort carson, the united states air force academy, peterson air force base, slee ver air force base, cheyenne mountain air force station, army strategic missile command, space and cyber command. together these five bases employ approximately 60,000 people, nearly $6 billion to the local economy. and yet a bill that passed $30,000 that would have addressed the need this nation -- a bill that would have passed 30-0 that would have fixed this crisis that we are facing in terms of funding our troops is being filibustered, being blocked, being held up for partisan reasons. strategic reasons, tactical reasons. you know, this isn't a time where our military is sitting back at home just guarding the

homeland from within the 50 states. this is a time when men and women across this country are standing on guard engaged in combat today around the globe. this is a nation whose military is standing guard in south korea watching a mad man in north korea detonate nuclear bombs not because he just thinks they're fun to show off, but because he wants to use them against the united states and our allies. and yet, a partisan minority wishes to block this legislation that funds those people on that line in south korea protecting the united states and our allies. we had a chance to visit with the secretary of state today to talk about what's taking place in syria, what's taking place in saudi arabia, what's taking place in iran, iraq, and throughout the middle east. a bill that passed 30-0 that

would fund those efforts, our troops, defense of this country, the security of our homeland, our men and women in uniform is being blocked, and the bill hasn't changed. our colleague from west virginia, senator shelley moore capito talked about how nothing changed of this bill passing out of the appropriations committee and today standing here before our colleagues. nothing changed, yet the individuals who voted in favor of the bill are standing in the way of the bill moving forward refusing to debate. if they have a difference of opinion, if they think there needs to be an amendment, think something needs to be changed in the bill, stand forward and talk about it. instead they're blocking it using politics and strategic reasoning to keep this bill from coming to the floor. this bill isn't about strategy of political tactics or strategies of political maneuvering.

it's about funding our men and women in uniform. it's good for our country, 1.2 million service members, a much-needed and much-deserved pay raise for our military personnel. it funds u.s. north com headquartered in colorado, protecting the u.s. homeland from threats like north korea. the joint interagency interoperation center that protects critical infrastructure. in colorado this bill funds it. the european reassurance initiative that helps allies stabilize the threat of a resurgent russia is funded in this legislation. legislation that passed 30-0 out of committee but somehow is being stopped and held up and blocked by the partisan dissent. funds are a major military installations in colorado, 170,000 jobs, related jobs in colorado. prevents moving guantanamo bay

detainee terrorists to americans' backyards, something all coloradoans are worried about. i've talked to many of you, many of my colleagues on the floor before about what's happening in colorado and the possibilities that this detention facility, guantanamo bay, could be unilaterally shut down by the president. and instead of having terrorists located offshore, they would be onshore and put in colorado. this bill would keep that from happening. it had the bipartisan support out of the appropriations committee but is now being blocked. why is such a bipartisan bill, such an important bill that will serve so well our men and women in uniform, that was put together p by listening to senior military leaders who are true subject experts on the subject matter. vice chief of staff of the army general daniel allen said we must have predictable and sustained if you funding to dele

readiness combatants require. marine general john paxton jr. testified the strain on our personnel and equipment are showing in many areas particularly aviation, communications and intelligence. earlier this year general goldfine chief of staff of the air force said the current air force is one of the smallest and least ready in its history. 201s bill puts us on the path to address the concerns of these military leaders. the bottom line, preventing this bill from moving forward jeopardizes the ability of our military to effectively, efficiently and safely do their job and keep our country safe. it's an honor to serve with my colleague from alaska who served this country and our military, to serve with joni ernst, our senator from iowa who served this country; tom cotton, senator from arkansas who served this country; and so many others. let's listen to them and their

leadership and pass the bill and do what's right for this country. not listen to the narrowest of partisan voices. i thank the senator from montana for this opportunity to join in colloquy. daines -- senator daines:thank you for coming to the floor today and making their voices heard here speaking on behalf of them on the floor of the united states senate. to wrap up, we've had six, six new republican freshmen speaking today in this colloquy. these are fresh eyes and fresh voices here looking at what's going on in washington, d.c. and saying it is broken. it's very simple, we must make sure our military forces have the tools they need to perform their job, because i can tell you one thing. our enemies, they're not waiting around for senate democrats to fund our military, to make it a fair fight.

maybe we should do this. maybe we should stop funding congress until we fund the military. i wonder if that would wake up this institution. why don't we put congressional pay in limbo. why don't we see somebody filibuster congressional pay. i think we should. we should forfeit our paychecks until we fund the u.s. military. the bottom line, the world is a dangerous place, the defense of our country lies on properly and promptly funding the department of defense. how can this institution, how can our friends across the aisle continue to stand here and say no to our u.s. military when so much is at stake? when the u.s. house, the u.s. house has passed this bipartisan bill. the appropriations committee of the united states senate passed it 30-0. 16 republicans joining 14 democrats on a 30-0 vote on defense appropriation. we must say yes to our military who fight for us every day, who stand up, protect our rights

and our freedoms that we enjoy every day. madam president, i yield back my time.

a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from colorado is recognized. mr. gardner: thank you, madam president. moments ago i joined a group of my colleagues from the freshman class to talk about the importance of passage of the defense appropriations bill. six members of that class came to speak about the need to pass a bipartisan bill that passed 30-0 out of the appropriations committee. 16 republicans, 14 democrats,

unanimous. the american people who are engaged in this debate know the arguments on each side. but that's only one side because it was 30-0. there is no opposition, but yet this bill has been held up by a filibuster six times over the past year and a half. so, madam president, i come to the floor on behalf of my colleagues who are so engaged in this to ask unanimous consent that following the disposition of h.r. 5325, the senate proceed to h.r. 5293, the defense appropriations bill. the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. durbin: madam president, reserving the right to object. the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: first, let me thank my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. i know that they are conscientious and committed to our national defense and security and to the men and women that make it possible. i have listened to their speeches on the floor and but for some political auntil sees, i would say that i would agree

with their motives to make sure that we adequately and promptly fund the defense of our country. there is no question about it. secondly, i might say that i know a little bit about this bill. i am the ranking democrat on the defense appropriations committee. in the previous congress, i served as chairman of the defense appropriations committee. i'm lucky because i have by my side republican senator, thad cochran of mississippi who currently chairs the committee. i can tell you that from start to finish, thad cochran, republican, and dick durbin, democrat, have agreed on this bill and what's included in this bill. we have worked it out to the satisfaction not only of our own staff and people we work with but of the pentagon as well, that we have put together a very good, solid, defensible bill. and the point that you made demonstrates that.

when it was called in the full appropriations committee, it was unanimous, unanimous support. so within the four corners of the bill, there is no controversy. the only question before us now is when it will be called for passage, and i take to heart your effort along with your colleagues today to suggest that we should do this sooner rather than later. i might try to explain for a moment, if you will allow me, why the feeling is that we can't do it at this moment in time. this is the biggest single discretionary spending bill in our nation's budget. 60% of the federal budget flows through this bill to support the department of defense and intelligence activities, so it is the monster of the midway, we would say in chicago. it is the most important bill in size at least when it comes to our appropriations, but it is not the only bill. as the senator knows, there are

11 other appropriations bills, and what we are trying to do, and i believe we will achieve this, is an agreement on the entire budget. when we reached a budget agreement with president obama and the republican leaders in congress, we said that we were going to fund the -- any increases in the department of defense, we're going to match them with increases in nondefense spending, and that has been basically the rule of the road from the start, and so there is a reluctance to allow one bill, the department of defense appropriation bill, to jump out ahead of others until we have this global agreement on the budget. now, the senator makes a good point with his colleagues. what's more important than the defense of this nation? what's more important than national security? and the honest answer is, no, there is nothing more important. isn't that the first line, provide for the common defense in terms of our responsibility? but there are important things as well that are in the nondefense budget.

i'm sure the senator from colorado would be the first to stand up and say we need to adequately fund the federal bureau of investigation. they worked night and day to keep america safe. they're not included in this defense bill. they're in another appropriation bill, still unresolved. i think the senator would probably agree with me. the department of homeland security. this is a very important agency when it comes to safety in our airports, our families getting on airplanes, people crossing our border. the appropriation for that department is not included in this bill. so the point i'm trying to make is when it comes to the security of this nation is not just the department of defense. it is primarily and initially that department. and what we need to do is make sure we have adequately funded the entire budget of this country. can we do it? yes, we can and we must. the short-term spending bill, the continuing resolution that we've done before many, many times, democrats and republicans, won't disadvantage the department of defense, and by the second week in december,

i believe in good faith we can work out our differences and come up with spending bills across the board for every agency. medical research, food inspection, things that everyone counts on. but to jump ahead and say we'll just take the biggest appropriation bill and put it aside here, we'll go ahead and finish that one, as the gentleman suggests with his unanimous consent request, really doesn't take into consideration we have an obligation across the government to do our job, not just with one bill but with all of the appropriation bills. i believe in this bill, i have voted for this bill, i worked on this bill. as much time as my colleague may have put in research in preparing for his floor speech, i will match it with the time that i have put in this bill to make sure it's written right, but i want to make certain that it's passed and a budget that is fair to this country that is done in a way -- a bipartisan way that we'll all be proud of. not just the men and women in uniform, but everyone in the united states who is served by our efforts. so for that reason, at this moment, i will object to the

request that's made. the presiding officer: objection is heard. mr. gardner: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from colorado. mr. gardner: i thank you, madam president. thank you to my colleague from illinois. we'll continue to work on this issue until we pass this bill, this important appropriation bill. you'll hear from our colleagues across the country but particularly those who were just elected in 2014. madam president, i would just ask at this time unanimous consent that my military fellow actually be granted floor privileges for the remainder of the congress. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered.

the presiding officer: the senator from colorado. mr. gardner: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from arkansas. a senator: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. a senator: today i would like to recognize sheila as this week's arkansan of the week for her education and service to arkansas veterans. when most people choose to retire, they often seek a life of rest and relaxation but not sheila. mr. cotton: when she retired she chose a different path honoring those who serve or have served in the united states military.

sheila honors our veterans and our soldiers in many ways. almost too many to mention here today. for years she stood in the patriot guard flag line at every iltaker funeral in arkansas no matter the distance from her hometown. every time troops leave for deployment or return home from a tour, sheila is there to meet them with cookies, flags and a big smile on her face. sheila is active in the arkansas freedom fund, a nonprofit organization that supports members of the military, veterans and their families through rehabilitative recreational outdoor activities. she often helps plan events for this wonderful organization as well but her activities don't end there. sheila also makes an extra effort to support the veterans who need it most. she collects clothing and personal hygiene items for homeless veterans in arkansas. she volunteers with the no veteran dies alone program at the veterans hospital in little rock where she sits by the bedsides of veterans who aren't

able to have family or loved ones by their side in their final hours. her time with them provides comfort and relief to these men and women when they need it most. and to those of you in little rock, next week stop by the national p.o.w. recognition day reception in the state capitol rotunda. sheila was instrumental in organizing that wonderful event. sheila's dedication to our armed forces and veterans is inspiring. as a former soldier i can tell you people like sheila help make military service more meaningful. their impact on the lives of veterans cannot be overstated. i'm honored to recognize sheila as this week's arkansan of the week. and join all arkansans in thanking her for supporting our veterans and urge everyone to join in her efforts. madam president, i yield the floor and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll.

quorum call:

quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator delaware. mr. coons: is the senate current any a quorum call? the presiding officer: the senate is currently in a quorum call. mr. coons: i ask that proceedings under the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. coons: i come to the floor today to ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to executive session to consider the following four -- five nominations, calendar number 27, calendar number 28, calendar number 29, calendar number 30, and calendar number 31. and that the senate proceed to vote without intervening action or debate on the nominations, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid on the table, with no intervening action or debate, that no further motions be in order to the nominations and any statemented be printed in the record, the president being notified and the senate then resume legislative session. the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. cotton: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arkansas.

mr. cotton: reserving the right to object -- because i have objected to the confirmation of these judges before and the reason still stands. there's little evidence that the court of federal claims needs them of according to the latest public statistics it the court's caseload is down 49% from 2011 and 66% if you go back to 2007. i understand that some say these numbers are skewed by a flood of relatively simple cases related to vaccine claims that has begun to ebb in recent years. feign we remove those vaccine claims from the statistics, the court's caseload has still dropped. the number of non-vaccine cases dpropped 1,427 in 2014 to 1,404 in 20156789 that latest number is 010% lower than it was in 2013, and 39% lower than it was in 2507. i respectfully remind my colleagues that the 16 active judges authorized in statute for the court of federal claims is not a minimum number. it is a maximum number.

that number was stet in 1982. an increase in the six judges that were previously authorized. perhaps it's time to revisit that number again 34 years later. i would also like to note that an auxiliary of senior nonactive yudges is riebl for the court to hear case. these senior judges receive a full salary whether or not they hear cases on the condition that they be available to work when called. they are the most experienced judges we have for these types of cases and i am heartened know that a number of them have been recalled to assist the court since i called for that action last year. that's much better use of taxpayer dollars than confirming extra judges who will receive additional full-time salaries, office space, and staff. i also note that my office has discussed the caseload. court of federal claims, the white house numbers since the beginning of the year. in good faith my office told the white house if it provided a statistic cal case showing a need for more active judges i would consider lifting some of of the holds. on thursday last week the white house provided some statistics

drawn from unpublished caseload data for 20916 fiscal year year. the data will -- were not comprehensive or broken down in a gran ualready a fashion. they did not show there is a clear case adding more judges. according to the white house statistics, the number of non-vaccine cases filed this year is down. the number of complicated contract bid protests filed has dropped. and the total number of pending engine vaccine cases has remained largely flat. there will be more discussion between my office angz the white house about this data but at this time i have yet to receive compelling data showing a judicial emergency on the court of federal claims. i've focused so far on the obstacles to closely guard the use of taxpayer dollars on judges we may not need but i would be remiss if i did not highlight the unique role and vast power of the court of federal claims. it has nationwide jurisdiction over all claims for money damages against the united states government, from taps tax

disputes to government contract protests, to eminent domain takings. this court's jurisdiction isn't limited to the district of columbia or to private litigants but deals with government abuses of the rights of arc yarntion and citizens of every state -- of arkansasians and citizens of every disait in the union. this is a serious court. the senate should be serious. the president's nominations should not be rubber-stamped. we need to look hard at the workload of the court. right now those demands appear to be adequately met. i must therefore object. the presiding officer: objection is heard. mr. coons: mr. president, if i might, on the question of the court of federal claims, it today currently has just ten active judges, although authorized to have 16. and the five nominees whom i have brought to the floor todd and asked for unanimous consent for them to proceed, these five nominees were first nominated in april or may of 2014 and have

waited pour than two years for their conversation here by the senate. no one has raised an objection to their qukses and each of them has twice now unanimously been approved by the senate judiciary committee without concerns being raised or advanced about either their qualifications for the needs to fill these judicial vacancies. with fewer active judges, cases have piled up at the court of federal claims, which is often called the people's court for its role in hearing cases brought by citizens and businesses against the federal government. from 2012 to 2015 the number of pending general jurisdiction cases per active judge has nearly doubled jumping from 20e7 about 130? just three years. the court has also seen an increase in bid protest cases, sonl of the most complex and resource-intensive cases heard by this court. and in my view, these delays harm the citizens and businesses that are waiting to have their cases decided. delays also can come as

significant cost to the government, which pays a greater interest once judgments are fine aolly rendered. as my colleague has commented, it is true that senior status judges are helping this overburdened court but their efforts are i want willed by statute. they cannot work more than 90 days per year. last i do not remember i called for the same five judges to be confirmed by unanimous consent. last year one of my colleagues also objected and argued that the number pending cases has actually decreased and additional judges are are not needed. this is only the case if one counts cases referred to special masters. special masterings have significantly reduced the caseload in recent years but these cases are not significant contributors to the workload of the court of federal claims and its judges. we have received letters from the chief judge of the federal court of claims and the past president of the u.s. court of federal claims bar association urging our swift action on these nominees. the court of federal claims is in need of the service of these candidates whose experience and

qualifications are beyond question. if i might, mr. president, i want to briefly highlight a few of these nominees and their background. one of the nominees is jerry summers who spent their career in service to our nation, a decade in the department of justice as a federal prosecutor and a civil division frill attorney but an extensive background of military service. she re250eurd from the air force reserves having spent two decades in the military serving as a judge advocate. another of the pending nominees, armando bonilla spent two decades in the department of justice, hired out of law school directly into the d.o.j.'s program and has risen to become the associate attorney general in the department. he wroob the first hispanic judge to hold a seat on this court and was strongly endorsed. last, thomas halkowski, a respected partner at one of the preeminent law firms in the

nation and he practices in wilmington, delaware. he's former department of justice attorney with eight years of experience in the environment and natural resources division and would bring the court a wealth of experience. all five of these pending nominees to the court of federal claims are qualified candidates who have languished for two years on the senate calendar. they represent part of a pattern of obstruction extending all the way up to our country's highest courter, the supreme court. i believe it is time we come together in a bipartisan fashion to do our job, confirm these five nominees to these judicial vacancies and allow them to get to work serving our nation on the court of federal claims. thank you, mr. president. with that, i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: would the senator withhold the request. mr. inhofe: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. inhofe: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the following amendment be called up: inhofe-boxer 5042, as modified with the changes at the

desk. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: the senator from oklahoma, mr. inhofe -- mr. inhofe: i ask unanimous consent that the reading be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. inhofe: i know of no further debate on this amendment. the presiding officer: if there's no further debate, the question on the amendment is on amendment -- the question on the amendment is on amendment -- the question is on amendment 5042 as modified. all those in favor say aye. all those opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the amendment as modified is agreed to. amendment number 5042 as modified has been agreed to. amendment number 4980 falls. mr. inhofe: before i make a very, very brief comment, i ask unanimous consent that the senate be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak up to ten minutes each.

the presiding officer: without objection. mr. inhofe: mr. president, this is a very significant piece of legislation, what we just now moved forward is the managers' amendment. senator boxer and i are the managers and want to, first of all, compliment her in working very hard with us and our staff. i mean, they really did a drill on this thing. it's a major bill. you know, we were going to have this -- we were supposed to have a wrda bill, water resources development act, every two years but we went to a seven-year period from 2007 to 2014 and now we're back on schedule. i'm happy to say we are on schedule now, get this passed tomorrow and stay on a two-year schedule. senator boxer did a great job, it was great team work and we moved a long ways. i yield. mrs. boxer: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from california. mrs. boxer: i want to say senator inhofe, i know he has a hectic schedule. what a pleasure it is to work

with you and your staff. alex and r. jason and ted and others. we have a lot of disagreements on a lot of issues, but we set those aside. it's exciting to get something done for the people. for example, in this managers' package, we have a new chiefs report in pennsylvania, a critical restoration program in oregon and washington, funding for restoration of the great lakes, a wide variety of other policy recommendations that come from all over the country from all of our colleagues. i not only want to thank senator inhofe, my chairman -- who is my chairman -- but also my staff and senator inhofe's staff. in particular bettinna fourier and jason allbright from my staff. this has not been easy to get

everyone together to get unanimous consent agreed to. i want to thank the floor staff trish and gary on our side because i made them a little crazy during this process, and they actually allowed me to do that. but it does take a lot of push and pull to get a bill like this done. and so what i'd like to do for the next few minutes -- i know senator murkowski will speak following me -- i just want to talk about why we have worked so hard and why it is critical that we pass this bill this week s. 2848, the water resources development act, which we call wrda. wrda 2016. we need to repair our nation's aging infrastructure. we need to grow our economy and create jobs. i think that's where the sweet spot is across the aisle. we have an infrastructure crisis in our country. it's not me saying it. it's the american society of civil engineers. they're democrats.

they're republicans. they're independents. they're north, south, east and west. they came together and said our infrastructure is a d-plus. a d-plus. we just have to move forward. also we need to make sure that the corps, the army corps, when they write a chiefs report has the go-ahead from congress. we don't have any more ability as members to say this is an earmark. we don't do that. what we must do is look at the corps reports and give them the authority to move ahead if we feel that the corps report is in the best interest of our people. we have over $14 billion for 30 chiefs reports in 19 states, and these projects, you ask what do they do? they increase navigation. they're flood risk management. they're coastal storm damage reduction. they're ecosystem restoration. and as far as navigation is

concerned, we know that we authorize important projects to maintain vital navigation routes for commerce in the movement of goods and our bill builds on the reforms to the harbor maintenance trust fund. so we're just going to show a few charts. this is the port of charleston. if you look at these containers, they look small in this photo. each one of these is just enormous. what we know is you can't move goods to and from the country, our economy stalls. so that is critical. we extend permanently prioritization for donor in energy transfer ports, emerging harbors and great lake ports. we allow additional ports to qawx -- qualify for these funds and make clear the corps can maintain harbor of refuge. the bill authorizes nine chief reports in nine states that will allow investment in the central

port and waterway projects, including the deepening of that charleston harbor in south carolina. it does no good to have these ships try to get in. if you need to dredge the waterway, you better have authorization to do it. we widen and deepen navigation channels in port everglades in florida to address safety issues and congestion. we construct new locks in pennsylvania and three of the oldest locks and dams on the ohio river system. these aging locks were built in the 1920's and the 1930's. we have got to address the aging infrastructure, and this is what you see the workers doing. our ports and waterways which are essential to the u.s. economy moved 2.3 billion tons of goods in 2014 and wrda 2016 will provide major economic benefits that will keep us competitive in the global marketplace.

we also deal with storms and floods. now we've seen these storms and floods just expanding exponentially. we are stunned when we see our beautiful citizens looking at everything they possessed being lost in a flood. and it's billions of dollars of damage. it's loss of life. we've seen communities wiped out. this is a scene from louisiana. this bill will save lives by helping to rebuild critical levee systems around the country including levees to protect the capital of my state and surrounding communities. sacramento is in desperate need of flood control. we've done it year after year, and we're very hopeful that the work we put into it will make sure that we don't see a katrina happening anywhere in my state or any other place. this bill authorizes $8 billion

for 17 flood control and storm damage projects in 13 states, including a project to build levees and flood control structures to reduce flood risk in san antonio, texas. i have we have a picture of the flooding there. look at this. we just have got to rebuild our infrastructure to protect against floods. we also have a project to rebuild aging levees in manhattan, in kansas that protect public and private structures valued at $1 billion. and projects to protect coastal communities in south carolina, in florida, north carolina, new jersey and louisiana. wrda also establishes a new program at fema to fund the repair of high-hazard dams that present a public safety threat. these hazardous dams are threatening numerous communities across the nation, and wrda 2016 will make those communities

safer. and the bill authorizes more than $3 billion for projects to restore critical ecosystems like the florida everglades. wrda 2016 updates existing programs and creates new initiatives to advance the restoration of some of the nation's most iconic ecosystems such as the great lakes, long island sound, the delaware river, the chesapeake bay, columbia river and puget sound. and wrda response to the serious challenges many of our communities are facing, while we have horrific flooding, we also have horrific droughts special in the west. this was all predicted by scientists who said watch out, climate change is coming. and we've seen terrible fires, terrible flooding, terrible droughts, more extreme weather all over. that was predicted. so what we want to make sure of

is that we can make sure we can improve operation of our dams and reservoirs to increase water supplies and better preserve existing water resources. i have special excitement regarding the dealing of drought because the bills on my legislation, the water in the twenty first act, as i call it w-21, to provide essential support for the development of innovative water technology such as desalination and water recycling. i had the opportunity to visit a desal plant in california, the only one operating. it's pretty remarkable. it isn't cheap. it's a public-private partnership. but when you need water, you need water. so absolutely we have to look at the ways to utilize energy in a smart way and move toward desp

desp -- desal and look towards water recharging. the bill allows states the use of incentives through the state revolving fund. it establishes a new innovative water technology grant program and it reauthorizes successful existing programs such as the water desalination act. it also deals with flint, michigan, and i am so grateful to everyone on both sides who allowed us to finally address flint, michigan. i want to show you what they dealt with with this corrosive piping. because the state changed the way they got their water, they started to draw from highly polluted water. and this is what it did to the pipes. the lead contamination in flint, we know all about it. but it's not only in flint.

it's in other cities across the country that are dealing with aging lead pipes, such as jackson, michigan; sebring, ohio; and durham, north carolina. when the american people turn on their faucets, they shouldn't be scared of what's going to come out. yet the american water works association estimates that as many as 22 million people live in homes that receive water from lead surface lines. this bill begins the much-needed work to ensure safe, reliable drinking water for every american. it provides $100 million in state revolving fund loans and grants for communities who have a declared drinking water emergency. it provides more than $700 million in loans under the water infrastructure finance and innovation act which we call wifia. we have a program in transportation that my friend

and chair, mr. president, you're very familiar with called tifia, which you and i worked on together to save it. wifia works the same way. if a local government has revenues, they can use those to pay back the federal government for practically interest-free loans and complete a project far faster. so this wifia is very exciting for me because i'm leaving here, and i would like to leave behind a way for communities to access help this way. it's not a give-away. it just says to a community, if you're willing to help yourself, the federal government can front the money. you can rebuild your infrastructure much quicker. and when it comes to crumbling infrastructure, we don't have a minute to waste. so the wrda bill helps those communities dealing with the horrible effects of lead poisoning by investing in public health programs to help families deal with the impacts.

the bill changes the law to require that communities are quickly notified if high lead levels are found in drinking water. the worst thing is to ignore that and then have some child all of a sudden have learning disabilities. you don't know why. you've done everything right, and your child is suffering. we want to say the minute there is too much lead in the water, parents, you are going to know about it and you could protect your child because the one way to protect a child -- get rid of their exposure to lead. whether it's in the fair, whether it's in the water, whether it's in a product. you know that for sure. now in closing, i'm going to talk about a few things for my great state because we have 40 million people there, and we have so much congestion and we have so many problems. we also have so many assets. mostly our people and we have so much beauty in that state, but

i'm going to talk about a few things we did. first we authorized a critical project to revitalize the los angeles river. yes, there is a river in los angeles. everyone kinds of looks at me and says you have got to be kidding. no, there is. but it's been totally -- the whole area has been neglected. now, finally after working with the community, and, boy, this took effort on everyone's part. the city, the county, senator feinstein, myself, the members of congress, everybody worked together, the chamber of commerce, the unions, everybody. we got a great plan for how we're going to revitalize the river and make it just a beautiful place to go and stimulate economic development. our bill also authorizes a project to restore wetlands and improve flood protection in san francisco bay. one of the most iconic photos i could show you, the golden gate bridge, but we need to improve

flood protection. we're going to have the rising sea levels, and i'll tell you one of the great ways to get a hold of that issue is to restore wetlands because then when the floods come, it slows up, it slows up the flow and takes the nutrients that will otherwise go into the bay. so we know whether we're dealing with lake tahoe that i'll talk about in a minute or san francisco bay, you want to make sure that you can have your flood protection working so that these wetlands will hold the water and hold the nutrients back. we will rebuild levees that protect, i told you, sacramento, which is a critical area, and we have an amazing and important program to provide critical habitat and improve air quality near the salton sea. i don't have time to go into explaining what the salton sea is, but it is one of the largest man made lakes known.

and it's drying up because of the drought. and what happened is because the farmers would take their extra water and dump it into the salton sea, there is a lot of harmful toxins from the pesticides in there. so as the sea dries up, the sand holds all this toxin, and when the wind blows, it carries these toxins and these chemicals into the lungs of the people who live around this gorgeous area. and it was once a thriving area, but it's changed. it also is the landing place for about 400 different species of beautiful waterfowl that rest there on the pacific flyway. so it's been neglected. we need to make sure that where the sea is drying out, we can have pockets where there is wetlands, where there is restoration and we're working together with the state, and i'm

excited about the fact that this bill will authorize the use of local people, nonprofit people, city councils, supervisors, state and federal government will now be able to work together and water districts on common projects to save the salton sea. this is a tough one, and i'm going to be leaving here knowing that this isn't fixed, and i don't like that, that i won't be here to fix it, but i'm leaving it to everybody. that includes you, mr. president. you will be here a while. you have to keep your eye on the salton sea because it's disappearing and we have to fix it. finally, this bill invests in the restoration of the jewel of the sierra, lake tahoe. oh, this is something. i was just out there with senator feinstein, senator reid and governor brown. it's quite a special place.

it's actually -- it's a treasure. california shares it with nevada. it's home to more than 290 species of wildlife. it lures three million visitors every year. but it's got real problems. the same type of problems i talked about with the bay. nutrients flowing into the sea, the warmer temperatures of lake tahoe mean that we have algae growing, we have got problems with clarity, and it's -- it needs our attention. we have done a great job over the last 20 years when president clinton came out and we had bipartisan support then and we now have bipartisan support from senators reid and heller, myself, senator feinstein to continue making sure that lake tahoe thrives. so the words that everybody waits for when a senator makes a speech. in conclusion, wrda 2016 is

truly a bipartisan bill which benefits every region of this great country. it will invest in our nation's water infrastructure, create jobs in the construction industry, it will protect people from flooding, it will enable commerce to move through our ports, it will encourage innovative financing through withia, and it will begin the hard work of preparing for and responding to extreme weather. the bill is supported by 90 organizations. we'll just give you a sample. representing business, labor, local government, ports, environmental conservation groups and faith communities. so just as an example, the california state coastal conservancy, the coalition for delaware river, the congregation of st. joseph, association of water agencies. we're going to put this all in the record with your permission, mr. chairman.

the lake carriers association, the michigan environmental council, green faith, friends committee on national legislation, franciscan action network. and one more chart. nature abounds, u.s. chamber of commerce, u.s. conference of mayors, u.s. great lakes shipping association, upper mississippi river basin. you can just tell from just the few i read what an amazing coalition we have. we can do this. i have just a fabulous committee that i am the ranking member of, fabulous on my side, wonderful on the republican side. we really care about getting things done, and i hope we'll have a fabulous vote on this final passage and that the house will take up our bill and pass it and not go back to square one and start arguing. this, i say to my friends from the house, through this

opportunity i have on the floor, this is an example of bipartisanship. this is an example of good governance. this is an example that you should follow because we avoided the fights, we have worked together, we worked it out. let's get it done, let's get it to the president's desk, let's not wait for a lame duck. there's no reason. people should be able to know we did something good for them. we did something great for them. and this bill while i'm sure it isn't 100% perfect in anybody's eyes is very solid, very strong, very good. i hope we'll pass it with the biggest vote we can and the house can take it up. thank you so much for your patience, mr. president, and i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from alaska. ms. murkowski: mr. president, i want to thank and acknowledge the work of the senator from california, as well as the

chairman of the environment and public works committee, the work that they have done not only on this wrda bill but on previous matters relating to our water resources and our infrastructure, our highway bill. this has been a collaboration that has been recognized in the senate. i think sometimes we joke that sometimes you have some polar opposites in the senate on certain issues, but when there is a desire and a will to create something, to create legislation, make good things happen, that good will really rises to the surface, and i think we have seen that play out with our colleagues from california and from oklahoma. mrs. boxer: i would like to comment through the chair to my friend. the presiding officer: the senator from california. mrs. boxer: i would like to thank you, senator, because you are also an example, you and senator twelve a team that is working together -- senator

cantwell a team that is working together through the toughest issues. people ask all the time how do you do it with someone who is a polar opposite in so many other areas? well, you have to find that sweet spot, and you never know if you're going to be able to do it. but if there is goodwill and also respect, you can do it. we found it in our committee and you found it in yours. i want to thank you because in my work you have always been there and very helpful and supportive. i thank you very much. ms. murkowski: i thank the senator from california and do recognize that the tough issues come to us. if they were easy, they wouldn't be here. and so it's our job to kind of thread that needle. we have certainly done that. i know you mentioned the people of flint being happy at a resolve here. it's not just the people of flint and the communities that you have named in california. i can tell you that when we

successfully pass this, the people in the small communities of craig and the seward and little dimede and those looking for this infrastructure, that is very small, very small communities to have an economy because they now have a port, a harbor, some infrastructure that they can rely on. so when we think that we're not making a difference, all we need to do is look to measures like this -- this wrda bill. so i commend my colleague. for working with me, working with senator sullivan, including many of the priorities that we had tried to advance on behalf of the good people of alaska. and as we consider this bill -- and i'm pleased that we have moved forward with this manager's amendment, i want to speak to an amendment that is not part of a manager's package, and it's not an amendment that i will call up and ask for

consideration but it is an issue that i have presented to members on the floor in the past, and i wanted to take just a few minutes this evening to -- to bring about again discussions about another community, a community in alaska, a community that is in crisis. we've heard a lot about communities in crisis, whether it's flint, michigan, whether it's those communities that have suffered the flooding in louisiana, but i have a community in alaska, a little small community of less than a thousand people by the name of king cove. and king cove remains at risk not because of flooding, not because of a failed water system but really because of a decision that was made by our own government, a heartless decision made by the federal government. king cove's problem is not

contamination in its drinking water supply. it's something far more fundamental, and it's something that virtually all of our communities, whether you are in colorado or california, we take these things for granted. and what the people in king cove are asking for is a very simple road, a reliable access to medical emergency transportation. they simply want to be able to reach proper care in time in the event of an injury or an illness. so for those who aren't familiar with the small community of king cove, it's a remote fishing community. it's about 625 air miles southwest of anchorage. it's near the alaska peninsula. 85% of the residents there are alaska natives. many are aleute and members of the federally recognized agadux tribe. 80% of our communities in alaska are not connected by road, but

king cove can only be reached by boat or by airplane. often that's a challenge. the community is kind of nestled in this spit of land, and it's surrounded on one side by ocean and on the other by high volcanic mountains. and this is an area that isn't known for its weather. it gets really high winds, huge storms, dense fog all the way to the ground. king cove does have a gravel airstrip that it can access and the small planes that fly in and out there regularly grapple with low visibility, very, very strong turbulence that -- that comes down off the mountains, forces the planes down. you have got gale force crosswinds. it is not a place for beginner pilots. i shouldn't even say that because it makes it sound too light. these are very serious flying conditions, but that's how you get in and out. now, i did mention it's accessible by boat, but if it's -- if it's stormy in the

air, it's also stormy on the water. local mariners are facing the same conditions, plus you add in 12 to 14-foot seas to contend with. now, most of the time you're saying i'm not going to travel when the weather is that foul, but there are times when you have to travel, when a medical emergency occurs that is beyond the capacity or the capability of the local clinic there, because keep in mind this is a very small town, this is a very small clinic. you don't have a doctor that can just get in a car and provide services. we don't have a doctor there. we have a physician's assistant. we may have doctors come in occasionally, but you don't have the medical care that you need if you have severe trauma or if if you're a woman in labor, if you have any kind of a serious illness, king cove clinic just simply cannot provide the level of service and care that you need. what do you do? the first step is to transport those who are sick and injured

to the nearby community of cold bay. cold bay is host to a 10,000-foot all weather runway, one of the longest runways we have in the state. it was built after world war ii. it's almost always open because they don't have the same weather conditions. it's only 30 miles from where you are in king cove. so really the challenge here for people who need to get out quickly is not getting from cold bay to anchorage, the 625 air miles but from king cove to cold bay, the 30 miles, the toughest part of the journey there. having seen this firsthand, i know that the people who live there in king cove, the natives who live there, the best answer, really the only answer is to do what virtually every other community would do and that's build this short connector road.

keep in mind we're talking about a distance of 30 miles between the two communities but it's not even 30 miles i'm talking about. what we're seeking is a short, about 10 to 11 miles gravel, one lane, noncommercial use road. that's what we're talking about here. that's all were needed to connect two existing roads. there's one that runs out of king cove and one out of cold bay. we need to link these two communities to finally and fully protect the health and safety of nearly a thousand alaskans. so what we need is a so-mile one lane gravel noncommercial use road. you would say well, so do it. why haven't you built the road? and the reason is we cannot secure permission from our own federal government because and here's the catch here. because it would cross a small

sliver of the icen beck national wildlife refuge that was designated back in the 1980's as federal wilderness. they failed to consult with the native people who were in king cove at the time but that designation was put in place. so we've been working through this for a period of years, actually a period of decades. we thought we had this resolved back in 2009. we overwhelmingly passed a lands bill through this chamber that was signed into law by this president and it gave the department of interior the ability to approve a road for king cove. and what it was was a land exchange and quite honestly it was an unbelievable deal. alaskans offered a roughly 300-1 land exchange, a 300-1 land exchange in the federal government's favor so the people of king cove said we need 206

acres for a road corridor and we're willing to exchange along with the state of alaska 61,000 acres of our state lands and of our native lands. let me repeat that. the lands that were conveyed to the natives upon settlement of their native land claims, they were willing to give up, give back to the federal government so that they could get a small 206-acre corridor so between the native lands and the state lands, a 300-1 land exchange was offered up. pretty sweet deal. but against all odds the secretary of the interior rejected that offer. she did this on the day before christmas eve back in 2013. i think she was hoping that no one was going to pay attention but she decided genschery stemming these -- against cherry stemming these 206 acres.

this is .07% of the refuge, because she said that somebody needs to speak up for the birds. someone needs to speak up and represent the water fowl. and she decided that protecting the people of king cove while expanding the isenbeck receive niewj by tens of thousands of acres was somehow not worth it. to this detail, years later, i still struggle with how she could come to that decision. it was a horrible decision. it would -- it was cruel and cold hearted. the people cared about these lands and stewarded them for thousands of years. it was baffling. it's not as if there are no roads out in this area. since world war ii, we have had roads out in this area. the birds have flownl. they -- flown.

they have used it as their feeding sites but it's not as if this is this protected, pristine area. fish and wildlife service brags on its website that local water fowl hunting is world famous and spectacular. come on out. you want to be a sportsman, come out. go hunt on the refuge here but you can't have this ten-mile one-lane gravel noncommercial use road there because someone has to watch out for the birds. the decision reflects a double standard. when you think about refuges in other parts of the country, we've got roads through our refuges throughout the country, whether florida, maryland, texas, louisiana, north carolina, arizona, montana, missouri, illinois, new mexico, washington, nevada. this is nts the first time you would have a small narrow road through a refuge area but it's

also ignorant. it's ignorant of the fact that human lives have been lost in king cove as medevacs were attempted to be carried out in bad weather. we've had a total of 19 people who have died since 1980 either in plane crashes or because they simply couldn't -- they didn't last before they could be taken out. the interior department's decision was cynical. it devastated the people of king cove who really finally thought help is on the way. but it shattered the trust responsibility that the federal government is supposed to have to our native people. and it's left -- it has left these people in the same situation that they've been in for decades now. they're at the mercy of the elements. they have potential to suffer needless pain, perhaps even death if they should have a medical emergency. people have said to me, there's lots of places in alaska where it's tough to get in and out of,

that weather shuts you down, you're not connected by road, and so why is king cove so different, so special? it's not that they're so different or so special but it's that there is an easier answer that's right there. in many communities there is not. "-- owe there is not an easier answer. again we're talking about a small connector road that could be the answer here. but it's been nearly a thousand days since sec secretary jewel decided to wash her hands of this issue. she promised the local residents that she was going to figure out a way to help them gain reliable transportation to cold bay but instead of working towards a real solution, she has decided to just run the clock out. we have seen no engagement with local residents, no budget request, no administrative action, just one topical study of alternatives and this is one

of alternatives that have been examined before and rejected before as unworkable. as chairman of the natural resources committee, i held an oversight hearing earlier this year. as the presiding officer you had an opportunity to hear from the residents of king cove to talk about what they have gone through, the anguish this has caused their community. we heard about king cove's decades long fight for a life saving road from its mayor and from the spokeswoman of the ogadoks tribe. we heard strong support for the road from alaska's lieutenant governor, a member of the democratic party, an alaskan native and from the national congress of american indians. we also heard some really unsettling things. we heard about the valium dispenser at the local medical clinic where many of the residents who have such anxiety

and stress about flying because of the hazards of flying out of this little strip that they are -- they're given two pills out of these dispensaries, one for the flight out of king cove and one for when you return. we also heard from a retired coast guard commander who led a mission to locate a plane crash that killed four individuals, including a fisherman who was being medevaced out because of an amputated foot. and the commander told us about the horror of finding these bodies still upright, belted into their seats with limbs that were frozen and could not be untangled, a memory that you just don't ever forget. king cove has now had a total of 51 more medevacs, 51 more medevacs since secretary jewel's decision in december of 2013 when she rejected this road.

our u.s. coast guard has carried out 17 of those medevacs risking their own crews to rescue those in need. and we thank them for that. but that is not the coast guard's mission. but they are there when called. those patients that have been medevaced have been individuals in terrible pain and trauma. we had one man who dislocated both hips when a 600-pound crab pot fell on him. we had elderly residents with internal breeding or sepsis or apparent heart attacks. we had an intants -- infant baby boy struggling to breathe. just this past month we think, oh, summertime, august, good weather. this was a bad month for king cove. no fewer than four medevacs have been carried out. one was an elderly woman who arrived at the medical clinic with a hip fracture and she

needed to be medevaced to anchorage but had to wait for more than 40 hours because the heavy fog that was on the ground just would not lift. so that's what's happening in king cove without a life saving road and i know, mr. president, that king cove, alaska, is a long way from where we are here. many in this chamber, most in this chamber will never go there. most people in america will never go there but as remote as they are, as small as this community is, i would remind my colleagues that this is still an american community. these are americans. these are people who deserve to have our help and it's our job to help assist them and they're not asking for much. so, mr. president, i will tell you we should not let this

continue. the people of king cove are suffering and it is entirely within our power to protect them. my amendment and what i have offered in legislation and amendments is an opportunity after decades of waiting and delay and frustration and pain to finally authorize a short one-lane gravel noncommercial use road. but as i mentioned, i'm not going to be raising my amendment to vote on the wrda bill but i do want the senate to understand. it is well past time to help the good people of king cove. we need to ensure that they have reliable access to emergency medical transportation, and we need to do it this year so that we can put an end to the dangers, an end to the ant, an end -- anxiety, an end to the

suffering that this community is enduring and enduring because of a decision by our own federal government. and with that, mr. president, i thank you and i yield the floor. and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from colorado. mr. gardner: i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: wowfnlt. mr. gardner: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the consideration of h. con. res. 131 which is at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: house concurrent resolution 131 authorizing the use of the capitol grounds for the district of columbia special olympics law enforcement torch run. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. gardner: i ask unanimous consent the concurrent resolution be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid on the table, with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. gardner: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the consideration of calendar number 574, s. res. 485.

the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 574, s. res. 485, to encourage the government of the democratic republic of the congo to abide by constitutional provisions and so forth. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. gardner: i ask unanimous consent the amendment to the resolution be agreed to, the resolution as amended be agreed to, the amendment to the preamble be agreed to, the preamble as amended be agreed to and the title amendment be agreed toontd the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid on the table, with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. gardner: i ask that the senate proceed to the consideration of s. res. 557 submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 57, designating september 2016 as school bus safety month. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. gardner: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to

reconsider be considered made and laid on the table, with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. gardner: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the consideration of s. res. 558 submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 558, honoring the memory and legacy of the 12 louisiana citizens and one texas citizen who lost their lives due to the tragic flooding in the state of luges lewis in august 2 -- state of louisiana in august 2016. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. gardner: i ask that the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid on the table, with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. gardner: i understand there is a bill desk and i ask for its first reading. the presiding officer: the clerk will read the title. the clerk: s. 3318, a bill to amend the consumer financial protection act of 2010 to subject the bureau of consumer financial protection to the regular appropriations process

and for other purposes. mr. gardner: i now ask for a second reading and in order to place the bill under the calendar under the provisions of rule 14, i object to my own request. the presiding officer: objection is heard. the bill will be read for the second time on the next legislative day. mr. gardner: i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:30 a.m. wednesday, september 14. following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day. further, that following leader remarks, the senate be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein until 11:00 a.m. further, the democrats control the time from 10:00 until 10:30 a.m. and the majority control from 10:30 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. further, following mow morning business, the senate resume consideration of s. 2848. all postcloture time with respect to amendment 4979 expire at the 2:45 tomorrow. finally, that if cloture on

s. 2848 as amended, if amended, is invoked, the time count as if cloture was invoked at 1:00 a.m. wednesday, september 14. the presiding officer: snroks -- is there objection? without objection. mr. gardner: if there is no further goims before the senate, i ask that is it stand journeyed i ask that is it stand journeyed >> senators continued work today on a water resources development bill. that measure authorizes army corps of engineers projects on flood control and hurricane damage while also providing state loan funds to flint michigan and other cities with excess lead levels in their drinking water. a final passage vote is expected tomorrow. the chamber could next work on how senate compromise an energy modernization bill. lawmakers could turn to 2017

government spending. the current funding set to expire in september thirtieth. followed the senate. follow the senate live on c-span2 and members couple back good >> good morning give us an update as of our is where the senator currently stands in his primary? >> so they basically one basic challenger nothing to lose. the reformer state senator who served in the 19 nineties, he has been trying to hit her from the right, particularly the particularly the libertarianbe side of her idea. trump has been fully embraced and has one big here in the primary in february. so there's a very complicated relationship with donald trump. very critical of him and very critical of her. he has endorsed or about a month ago in this race. making it very making it very clear which is the reality here. senator is expected to win and

win big but to look nationally which we expect erwin to win tonight it may indicate she has problems with her base. we are about eight weeks ago from a very major contest and a general election with the state democratic said thing government. >> so looking past today's primary, what is the strategy for both kelly ayotte and her challenger? challenger >> hurt challenger, maggie does does not have a primary t challenger today. both is to appeal to the voters in new hampshire make about 30% of the state's voters. what is interesting is the grid that people are talking about in new hampshire is totally different than what folks are talking about another states.ouat the overall issue here, there's no debate about this in this opiate or drug crisis it's stil

developing over 400 or four deaths are expected to happen which is the second biggest per capita in the country, only, only behind north dakota. it has been in the grips.anan for both of these candidates, chance for them to show that they both passed legislation by working with the other party on an important issue. what's interesting though is hos they compromise on that. they make the drug crisis a political issue. >> as far as the campaigns are concerned, is there an effort to tie senator ayotte to donald trump and the governor to hillary clinton? how successful are those? >> this is such a expensive race in state history.gh-profile it features one of the most high profile race in u.s. history among two women, a sitting sitting senator versus a sitting governor. but then mr. question caught of a donald trump and hillary clinton.

new hampshire is a swing state. and these candidates are also deeply unpopular. johnson does better in new hampshire than any other state in the country according to the nbc poll. you found, people are squeamish about how they feel about thee presidential nominees and republicans are hitting maggie trant for on her association with hillary clinton. and then there's also an ad tying ayotte to tron. >> you're stirring the boston globe today takes a look at what donald trump stands to lose in the primary. can you give us a synopsis? >> a sickly donald trump has taken on an number of the establishment. clearly it is working for him. in the primary season you may remember a momenr just a month a month ago when he gave an interview with the washington post where he questioned whether or not marco

rubio, john mccain, paul ryan,sw and kelly ayotte should survive. their own primary challenges. today we are 444 here. this would be 0 - 4 for donald trump in terms of questioninghe. republicans for reelection. >> and then reports on the boston globe on matters of politics, boston globe.com is the website. thank you for your time and telling us about the primary today. >> thank you for having me. >> c-span, "washington journal", live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. coming up on wednesday morning, south dakota republican senator mike arounds will join us to talk about the congressional funding debate just before the september 30 budget deadline. efforts to fight the zika virus and the latest in campaign 2016. then, texas democratic congressman will discuss recent

changes to the veterans affairs accountability first a bill. after that, gideon rose, for an affairs editor will look at how the military is adapted to the changing battlefield. watch c-span's washington journal, beginning live at 7:00 a.m. eastern on wednesday morning. join the discussion. >> this weekend on american history tv on c-span three, saturday evening at 6:00 p.m. eastern,. >> in any war, and any time, weapons and dictate tactics. you have probably heard that the civil war was fought with modern weapons and antiquated tactics. that is not quite true. the civil war is actually an evolutionary war as both weapons and the men who employed those weapons learned different methods to fight with.

>> author david powell talks about military theories, battle tactics and information during the civil war. then at nine, michael niebuhr talks about his book, -- about the 1945 meeting of harry truman, winston churchill, and joseph stalin to negotiate the end of world war ii and the reconstruction of europe. >> the states of europe did not interact in enough. so the power power of europe became a zero-sum game. the way to solve the problem under this viewpoint was to merge europe together, create a european union and the phrase is already out there. so that france, germany, russia, poland, do not see events on the continent as a zero-sum game. >> on sunday night at 8:00 p.m. eastern,. >> the idea that american presidents have always gotten the very best health care available in whatever air they lived. well, want to tell you this is a charming method and problems began almost immediately with george washington.

>> richard levinson on myths surrounding presidents and their health. he will talk about how doctors have sometimes contributed to a presidents death or save them from dying without public knowledge. for our complete american history tv schedule, go to c-span.org. >> for campaign 2016 c-span continues on the road to the white house. >> we are going to get things done, big things, big things, that is who we are as americans. >> we will have one great american future, our potential is unlimited. >> ahead, live coverage of the presidential and vice presidential debates on c-span. the. the c-span radio app, and c-span.org. monday september 26 is the first presidential debate live from new york. then on tuesday, october 4 vice president joe candidates debate at longwood university in virginia. on sunday, october 9 washington

university in st. louis host the second presidential debate. leading up to the third and final debate between hillary clinton and donald trump. taken place at the university of nevada, las vegas on october nineteenth. live coverage of the presidential and vice presidential debates, on c-span. listen live on the free c-span radio app, or watch it live or app, or watch it live or anytime on demand at c-span.org. >> earlier today following their party lunch, senator republican leaders spoke to reporters at the capitol. they talked about vice presidential candidate, mike pence's visit mike pence's visit to the health and negotiations over funding the government for 2017. we begin with comments from majority leader, mitch mcconnell. >> good afternoon everyone. as you know we had governor pence at the senatorial committee today. we had a good meeting with him, a rather extensive

question-and-answer session with our members. i think i can pretty pretty safely say that everybody felt good about the pence election when it was announced i felt even better about it today. it it was a very good meeting. with regard to the senate floor will try to wrap up the word of the bill tomorrow. discussions continue on the continuing resolution on the various parts of that, that you are all hearing discussion about. nothing has been closed out yet but we hope to get the closure sometime very soon and move forward with that bill. less night the senate sent to the present the justice against the sponsors of terrorism act which passed by unanimous consent in the senate, it passed by unanimous vote of the house

of representatives last friday. this is a straightforward amendment to this foreign sovereign immunity act which would allow for the families of those who lost loved ones, or those injured in the 9/11 attacks to seek recourse in a court of law for their losses. the president has previously said that he intends to veto this legislation. i hope you will rethink that. but rather than leave the families dangling for ten days, i hope if he does it veto, he does it promptly so the senate in the house can take up a vote on a veto override which i am confident we will do. so i would hope the president would keep those families first and foremost in his mind in deciding what he does now with this legislation. >> one of the issues that i think people care the most about in this country particularly as we head into an election season, is national security. a record number of americans,

54% in a survey said that they believe that we are less safe now than we were before 9/11. if you look at the last eight years of the obama presidency, it is no wonder. presidents early withdrawal from iraq against the advice of his commanders has paved the way for isis. if you look at the red line, it was not forced in syria, it has lead to instability in the middle east. the greatest humanitarian crisis of our time, and he has flawed a deal with iran and has paved the way for iran to acquire nuclear weapons. the president talks a good game, but when it comes to his foreign policy and national security policies they really have been toothless. we, republicans of the united states senate are looking for to working with the president that is interested in restoring america's leadership in the world and strengthening america's security.

>> national security is a key issue. people want the united states to be the most powerful and respected nation on earth. this is at a time when the world continues to be a very dangerous place. we have dangerous people with deadly weapons. also around the world you see these folks, many of them consider themselves the macho man leading countries and you see it in syria, russia, china, north korea, and you see it in iran. so the possible role of deterrence is that if you make a statement you have to keep it. the president did not do that. which is why in all of these other countries, the president and not feared, he is not respected, and they can smell the weakness. around the world we are no longer trusted by our friends, we are not feared by our enemies. you can see it in russia with the field reset which allowed vladimir putin to go into ukraine and take crimea. you can see it in iran where that they're going to get at some point in the future a

nuclear weapon. yet they continue to cheat on the arrangement and the president refuses to enforce it. you see it with a redline in syria where once of the redline was passed it became a green light and why in syria they are continue to use chemical weapons on the people that live there. and isis, isis continues to spread like a cancer around around the world. when it comes to foreign policy, you think about things in your opposition, you think about their capacity as well as their intent, and they think about that with us and they know our capacity and they know with the president not having the intent to act and being resistant to acting, that invites aggression by these aggressive leaders from the world. >> senator brazeau and soon are correct. the national security making america safer, making americans safer is really going

to be an issue over the next two months. we have not had a strategy out of this obama, clinton administration with regard to isis. don't take my word for it, these are the words of the administration cia director who said that we have been unsuccessful in addressing the capability of isis to wreak terror on us and the rest of the world. there is not a place on the face of the earth where we have a better relationship today that we had eight years ago. that is not roger wicker speaking, that is former president jimmy carter speaking. so, we only have to look at prominent democrats who concede that sadly this has been a miserable eight years, of the lack of success and the lack of progress in the area of keeping americans safe and secure.

>> will there be spending offsets? >> we are not in a position to negotiate this with you, but you you know the various component parts of the discussion. they are ongoing. we had a chance to talk about it with the president and it democratic leadership at the house and spent in speaker ryan yesterday afternoon. i think we're making good progress toward resolving all of the moving parts and ultimately we will move a cr that addresses zika and other matters. [inaudible] >> we will you know how we work out these various subparts when we do. [inaudible]

not on. >> they want the senate republicans to still be in the majority sharon wanted to do anything they could to communicate and to be helpful. [inaudible] >> let me say one thing for so i don't expect hillary clinton to be elected and second we have made it very clear that a nomination for the supreme court by this president will not be filled this year. >> we are continuing to work for her to reach an overall agreement on the various parts of this that you all would like for me to discuss.

when we reach an agreement we will let you know. >> thank you. >> senate democrats also spoke to reporters after their weekly lunch gathering. they discussed the current research, funded the government passed september thirtieth, and the, and the presidential campaign between hillary clinton and donald trump. we start with comments from minority leader, harry reid. >> i am very cautiously optimistic about finally getting something done to fight the zika epidemic and of course funding the government. at this stage in negotiations everyone should understand, we have only had talks. nothing in writing, zero in writing. the discussion has gone on for a

week, we do not have an offer in writing. we thought we had something last friday, but what student the way? the old famous planned parenthood. they cannot. they cannot move forward without doing something there. that's not positive. it's long past time we get something serious from them about zika virus. remember, it has been 200 days, 200 days since the president first mentioned the seriousness of this. 19000 people in the united states have been infected with this virus which is devastating to first while women of childbearing age, but that is not the case. it affects both sexes.

it is a very, very devastating devastating virus. we do not know really how to handle it yet. instead of acting on zika, there has been a big stall. they wasted time on repeated attacks on planned parenthood, i repeat, 2 million women went to planned parenthood last year. they went to get healthcare. and now the fear of zika virus, they refuse to negotiate a bipartisan banality to the zika. they had to throw in find the confederate flag, veterans health care, it is really somewhat distressing. to think of the pain and

suffering that they have caused to people who are afraid. the one thing that is clear, republicans have done nothing, nothing for the middle class. we have not been able to do the things that need to be done for american middle class, however, in spite of all of this the policies of obama administration with obstacles thrown every step of the way, we said we would raise middle-class incomes and we have done it in spite of them. you census data shows that last year household income grew at the fastest rate on record, ever. party rates fell the fastest of many decades. the uninsured rate continue to fall. this is real progress driven by

the obama administration. we need to build on that. if we got a little a little help from the republicans think what would help with this country economically. of course course we need to do more. background checks, keep guns out of the hands of terrorists and criminals, and cause of broken campaign system, you have all heard me talk about that, climate change is here, we had a report by senator shots today about what is happening in the ocean. i would invite all of you to get this month's national geographic and look at the devastating pictures of how the ocean is warming in places and we have these great big sea animals dying. on the beach it showed pictures of hundreds and hundreds, and reaching thousands of sea otters

who are dead on the beach. starved to death. so, there's so much to do. republicans have refused to do any of these things. trump yesterday denied climate change. republicans here in the senate adhere to the trump policies of denying everything, and they have not even try. and that is what they will be remembered for. senator -- for profit schools it has been a long boy. >> i'm not going to cry. but i will tell you, this latest development with itt tech is further evidence that the for-profit college and university industry is causing great damage to students and families across the united states and ultimately,

ultimately the american taxpayers are holding the bag. in this case we estimate taxpayers will lose up to 1,000,000,000 dollars because of the bankruptcy of itt tech. a similar amount was lost with the corinthian schools. when will congress step up as part of higher ed reform and do something about this industry? it is long overdue. specifically on this issue it has been over four months since we voted on the floor. senator murray reached a bipartisan of zika public health crisis. we put 1,100,000,000 dollars of a table, not what the president asked for but a serious amount of money to start working on averting these affections as well as developing a vaccine. for months have passed and the republican leadership months have passed and the republican leadership in the house and the senate have failed to send the president 1 penny to deal with this crisis. this is an outrage. they waste their time in the house of representatives on impeachment

resolution on the commissioner of the irs instead of focusing on the real issues that america is facing. dealing with college affordability, dealing with the zika fighters, they waste all of this time on hearings on the commissioner of the irs instead of having a hearing on merrick garland, the president's nominee to fill the vacancy on the supreme court. so eyes mitch mcconnell racing for the exit? why does he want to get out of town as fast as you can? because frankly frankly it has become embarrassing for him to try to explain why his republican majority in the house and senate is failing to respond to the very real issues facing this country. feeling to pass the appropriation bills, failing to pass the money necessary to fight the zika crisis, dealing with the vacancy a mess of cream court, making certain that we are moving forward as a nation when it comes to college affordability. it is this failure that has him racing toward the exit pray

before he leaves will like him to check a few boxes. first and foremost a clean zika bill. get rid of the pedicle messed that was created in the house of representatives and give us a bill that will save the lives and spare children from these terrible birth defects we are seen. >> like my colleagues, i was was thrilled to see the new statistics on middle-class income growth issue today. growing middle-class incomes, helping families who are struggling to make it to the middle-class is is the number one issue that faces our country. republicans have talked the talk on the middle class, democrats have walked the walk. we put in place strong policies that have lifted people up after property, stretch the middle-class paycheck. we know there is a lot more to do and we are committed to doing it. what are republicans in congress doing? are they helping with zika? no. what are they doing? are they help in the middle class? no. they are carrying water for the koch brothers and other special interests. instead of focusing on jobs and the economy they are wasting time on a partisan witch hunt to

impeach the irs commissioner that will not succeed. it is not what the american people want, it is not what they deserve, we have real emergencies in this country. the republican congress needs to do it's a job and address them. >> our message in today's pretty simple. it is a message we have been delivering for a very long time and it is what families in my home state of washington across the country are saying as well. we want republican leaders to do their job. we want them to let us into ours. we want congress to finally get back to work for the middle class, not just the special interest groups. we are in the final weeks before the selection but it is not too late to make progress on some key issues. you heard about a few of them just now and i want want to focus on this one again. the growing zika crisis. it has been so frustrating that

for months and months republican leaders have been unwilling, or unable to get this done. as of the virus is spread more and more women and families were impacted, as a democrat sat at the table ready to finish this bill, republicans refused to act. they played partisan games, played partisan games, they attacked planned parenthood and women's health, and they spent the entire summer recess refusing to come back to address a crisis. now, republicans are saying they are ready to wrap this up and i hope i hope that is true. it should not to be difficult. it should not be just one more partisan fight. we should have done this long ago, republicans, republicans need to put their money where their mouth is and work with us to get this done. in other words, they, they need to do their job. >> i hear a voice. >> not yours. [laughter] >> a number polls over the weekend have -- with elections.

[inaudible] >> first of all, i personally feel very comfortable that we are going to have a democratic majority leader. he is from new york. we feel very comfortable where we are. we did it in our contest, we feel comfortable where we are. the democratic senator have stepped up in bed helpful doing everything they need to do. so even though we are watching the coca brothers try to buy america, we feel comfortable they are not going to be able to buy the senate. i personally again feel very comfortable. i do not care what the polls

show. we know they do not work. i note nevada as well as i know anyplace in the world, one that's an understatement. trump is going to lose nevada. joe heck is going to lose the senate race because of his being a pawn for donald trump. he was asked a couple of days ago, do you feel comfortable with trump's finger on the nuclear button? oh yes, of course i do. trump comes with his family to las vegas and was asked, the face of a dreamers -- you heard me talk about her. she came across the river, the rio grande and the rosary beads and a doll in her arms with her mom. she is only known nevada as her home. and i sat there and i believe it. she is more of a nevada and by far than hack who move there

somewhat late in life. >> to hope that president obama vetoes the jack stud built -- that 9/11 saudi arabia bill. if so would you vote to override his veto? >> we had a wonderful disc russian in the congress today. -- a wonderful discussion. i'm not going to go into what i feel about saudi arabia and much detail. i will just say they are not one of my favorite countries. i support senator schumer with his bill in the senate and i support that legislation. >> can you be more specific about zika funding? >> we don't know. we are waiting. no one has negotiated with republicans more than patty murray.

you could put a gun to her head right now she cannot tell you what they are trying to come up with. we do not know. we. we thought there was some light on friday as mentioned earlier, roy blunt got waylaid on his way to explaining the bill by those who feel planned parenthood should continue being a victim. so we do not know. we are waiting for something on paper. as senator murray said, let them give us something we will take a look will take a look at it. we don't have anything to look at now. [inaudible] >> if we can find a way to legislate we are going to do that. whether it is on water or whatever. but there's only so much we can take. there's only so many times we can turn the other cheek. it is up to them to figure a way

to fund the government. they have close the government before and as you saw on the wall street shirt journal, there be an urge to do it again. we'll do everything we can to be reasonable but again we can only be reasonable as long as we have to be. >> this past week hasn't been great for hillary clinton in the campaign. why are you so confident you're going to take back senate given the stumble she has had? >> listen, chuck schumer hasn't had pneumonia, okay. she has pneumonia. she is well, it's curable, nobody denies nobody denies that. she is off the campaign trail for a few days. she probably needed to rest anyway. you folks have magnified the problems she has it. take a look at this character who is running for president.

he complains out her health. what is he do? you 70 years old, he is not slim and trim. he brags about eating fast food every day. look at day. look at his help a little bit. also you have all the unfair to hillary. she submitted a multiple page report from a good dr. talking about what medicine she is on and it's thorough. she has now been having pneumonia she will submit more. look at donald trump's medical records medical records are nonexistent just like his cheating people on his contributions to charities and i can imagine, i cannot imagine you folks not being a little inquisitive about what he has to to cheat people in atlantic city

and everybody else. look at his tax returns. you're letting him get away with the fact that there is an audit. everybody has everybody has said there's nothing wrong with having an audit and you can still locate her tax returns. i just think she has been treated unfairly. she is going to win in nevada. she is going to be the next president of the united states and we're going to have a democratic senate. [inaudible] >> the senate is out for the night but earlier today members continued work on a water resources development bill. the measure authorizes armored corporate engineer projects on flood control and hurricane damage while also providing state loan funds to flint, michigan and other cities with access lead levels. the final passage about is expected to. the chamber connects work at it how senate compromise on an energy

modernization bill. lawmakers could turn to 2017 government spending with current funding set to expire on september thirtieth. follow senate live on c-span to win members cable back in wednesday on 9:30 a.m. eastern. >> c-span's "washington journal", live everyday with news and policy issues that impact you. coming up on wednesday morning, south dakota republican senator mike rounds will join us to talk about the congressional funding debate just before the september 30 budget deadline. efforts to fight the zika virus and the latest in campaign 2016. then, texas democratic congressman will discuss recent changes to the veterans affairs accountability first bill. after that, gideon rose, foreign affairs editor will look at how the military is adapting to the changing battlefields. be sure to watch c-span's

"washington journal". during the discussion. earlier today obama campaigned for hillary clinton in pennsylvania. he spoke about her political achievements and said there has never been anyone more qualified to serve as the nations commander-in-chief. this is a 40 minutes. >> [applause]. [applause]. [inaudible] nonoaud. [inaudible]

[inaudible] >> hello philly [applause]. [applause]. >> hello philadelphia [applause]. >> it is good to be back in philly. could everybody please give patrick a big round of applause for that great introduction? [applause]. it is good to be back on the campaign trail.

[applause]. now, i understand i am not, i know i'm not the first person from the white house to come to philly this week. some some of you may have seen joe biden at the eagles game [applause]. he told me, barack you have to get on the -- wagon we have hope in philly. and i explained, i am a bears fan. and we play philly next monday night so i have to stick with my team, but i am going to go to philly and scout out what all of the fuss is about. i also i'm here because you have some of the best public servants in america. they they work their hearts out every day for you. [applause]. you have senator bob casey, your

outstanding governor tom is here. your wonderful mayor, jim kenney is here [applause]. and your outstanding members of house of representatives member, bob brady is in the house. [applause]. your candidate for the united states senate, this is a special woman she is going to do a great job, katie begins is here. [applause]. and your candidate for attorney general, an old friend of mine, someone who is with me early on, josh schapiro. give josh josh a big round of applause. [applause]. now, i love you too, but we have some business to do here. we have some business to do.

this is going to be one of the last times i visit philly as president. so my first order of business is to say thank you for all of the support you have given me all of these years. [applause]. i've got incredible memories from here in philly, most recently the democratic national convention. [applause]. i cannot be prouder of the leaders that we have nominated to take my place. even though i have run my last campaign, i am going to work as hard as i can this fall to elect hillary clinton as our next president of the united states of america. [applause].

now and election season you'll often hear crazy stuff but i have to say this year this year we are a little more crazy than usual. having said that, after almost two terms as your president, i am here to tell you i am more optimistic over future that i have ever been. [applause]. because i have seen in america that for all of the challenges, all of the noise of the politics, it still has a capacity to to come together do great things. you think about it. we fought our way back from the worst recession. we turned around a declining economy. we helped helped our auto industry set new records.

our business created 15 million new jobs. we doubled our production of clean energy, made marriage equality a reality in all 50 states. [applause]. we brought more of our troops home to their families. we delivered justice to osama bin laden [applause]. through diplomacy rather than war, we shut down iran's nuclear program. [applause]. we opened up a new chapter the people of cuba. we brought nearly 200 nations together around to a climate agreement that could save this planet for our kids and our grandkids. that is what we have done. [applause]. on so many measures america is stronger and more prosperous than when we started out. in fact, some of you may have saw there was a new report out

just today showing that last year across every, every race in america, incomes rose in the poverty rate fell. [applause]. in fact, the typical household income of americans rose by $2800 which is the single biggest one year increase on record. [applause]. we lifted 3.5 million people out of poverty, that is the largest one year drop in poverty since 1968. [applause]. the uninsured rate is the lowest it has been since they kept record. the pay gap between men and women shrank to the lowest level ever.

[applause]. so let's face it, republicans don't like to hear good news right now, but it is important to understand this is a big deal. more americans are working, more have have health insurance, incomes are rising, poverty is falling and gases $2 per gallon. [applause]. thank you for reminding me. [applause]. so the steps we have been taking over these years are paying off. we have shown that progress is possible. of course none of this was easy.

we knew all along that change is not going to be quick. we knew that we would not meet all of our challenges in one term or even more presidency. but we are here today because we know we have more work to do for every worker still needs a good job. for every worker who still need to raise her decent retirement. for every child who still needs a world-class education as a ladder out of poverty. for every family who has not cell prognoses past eight years. we have more more work to do. we know that. the choice that you make, that we make, just eight weeks from today will determine the direction of this country for a long time. i have already said this, this is not the usual choice between party and policy left and right. this is more fundamental. this is a fundamental choice of who we are as a people. this is the choice of who the

very meaning of america. [applause]. democrats and republicans, we have always had our differences. there's nothing wrong with that, that is how the country moves forward. we have debates, different ideas, compete, different ideas, compete, we see what is going to make us work, but what we have seen from the other side of the selection, this is that abraham lincoln's republican party. this is isn't even a division of freedom that ronald reagan talked about. this is a dark, pessimistic vision. of a country where we turn against each other. we turn away from the rest of the world. they are not offering serious solutions. they're just blaming and are full of anger and hate.

and that is not the america we know. that is not the america i know. [applause]. the america i know is full of courage and optimism and generosity, and ingenuity and innovation. [applause]. yes we have real concerns only worry about paying the bills and protecting her kids. we were about caring for a sick parent, lord knows we get frustrated about washington and all of the gridlock. we worry about racial division, there are pockets of america that are never fully recovered from the factories close and down. their parents who are worrying about whether their kids are to have the same opportunities they had. but look, i have traveled in every state that i have see more than everything, all that is

good and right about america. i see people people working hard. i see folks starting businesses. i see teachers digging in their own pockets to buy school materials and teaching kids. [applause]. i see men and women in uniform serving their country. making incredible sacrifices. i see engineers inventing new staff and doctors coming up with new cures and most of all i see this younger generation that is so full of energy and ideas. [applause]. . . >> this. >> that is the american a

that i know. that is the american lead the you know, and believe then. and there's just one candidate in this race for that has devoted her life to building that america. a mother and grandmother would do anything to help our children if. a leader with the real plans to break down barriers and blasted through glass ceilings of the opportunity for every single american american, hillary clinton. checkup. [cheers and applause] [chanting] [chanting] and. >> can i just say i am really into electing hillary

clinton. but this is not need going through the of motions. i really, really want to elect hillary clinton. [applause] sometimes people are surprised because they remember how you had a tough fight eight years ago. and it was tough because hillary is tough. i thought had the race won. [laughter] was about to celebrate king and i looked and she is right there. [laughter] whole when i got whooped in pennsylvania. you made up for that n november. [laughter]

she was not sure at first and ultimately she knew what was at stake was bigger than i was in that, is what for four years i had a front row seat i watched your intelligence, judgment, a situation room where she argues in favor of bin ladeb and open up diplomacy 40 partnerships, a democracy, reduce the nuclear threat. she works hard, tirelessly again and again i don't know how the time she has lapped the world she has went around a lot of times because she has never stop for what she is fighting for to make sure everybody has a same opportunities as her daughter and granddaughter in your kids.

i can tell you philadelphia nobody fully understands the demands of my job of the president until you sit behind that desk. i did not understand it before. using q do. [chanting] [chanting] i appreciate that. but i am not gone yet. [laughter] i appeal more minds. [cheers and applause] >> buy what you come to realize in this job anybody can pop off and a tweet and everybody is a credit. that doesn't mean you know

what it is like to manage a global crisis or send a group of young people to war knowing that some of them will not come back. but you can't come to an understanding of what it is like to be part of those decisions she knows what it means for working families and small business owners making policy in la white house she will keep for cool and treats everybody retrospect no matter how daunting the odds and mess with her she does not quit. she does not quit. she does not quit. that is the hillary that i know at is why i want to get her elected.

i believe there has never bad name and/or woman more qualified and how larry clinton -- hillary clinton to serve as our president. [applause] actually she has plans to address she brought to you on the campaign trail and to help workers share in company stock and preschool so they get a good start without taking on a mountain of debt. and i know these days that they are there and they've made sense and they add that. donald trump and. [booing]

>> don't do that. and vote. i need you to vote. let's talk about mr. trump. he calls himself a business guy. but america as a lot of women who succeeded without hiding tax returns or leaving a trail of workers who did not get paid. people feeling like they got cheated. i keep on reading the analysis this is the guy that you want to be champion

the working people? with the spending seven years on this earth showing no concern for working people. you one intend to be your champion? tuesday as far away as we could and now he is the champion. he would not let you on the golf course now he is your champion? you should vote for trump also vote for toomey.

[booing] >> but to pay your bills raise the economy and if that is what you are looking for then this should not be close. higher wages, better benefits of tax code stronger regulations, then you should be voting for hillary clinton. [cheers and applause] but you are concerned who will keep your family safe safe, and then the choice is clear. i just came from overseas. talk to the other leaders they don't understand. [laughter] hillary's work with intelligence teams with the

temperament and the experience with that scenario and see to it that the troops finish the job to defeat isil the right way without resorting to torture or banning entire religions from our country. [cheers and applause] [chanting] and then you have the donald. on russian state television and to curry favor with vladimir putin.

[booing] he loves this guy. think about the republican party. [laughter] he used to be opposed to russia and fighting for freedom and democracy. and now the nominee is out there praising a guide to say he is a strong leader because and controls the of press and puts the economy into a long recession. think about this. event to have the 82% polling.

who had 90%? if you control the of media at. and you jailed dissidents that is what happens. naysay do you support the guy? you say yes. i love him. but think about the fact that is the donald trump will model. we have to do business with russia but i don't go around to say that is my role model. to see that as a shining city on the hill. he is not offering any real policies.

and is betting if peace cares enough people he could win this election. [booing] i believe in americans don't look for rules. and with those ideals and philadelphia. that we the people control a more perfect union and believe in democracy. we don't believe that one person will do that for us but what we can do together. and it is frustrating to persuade and work with people to form coalitions

and that is what hillary clinton understands berger she has been through it. in a big and diverse country like this one it does not work if we demonize each other and call each other names. she knows that love tromps -- trumps hate. [applause] you have to compromise even when you are 100 percent right. and then we have to listen to one another and fight for the principles. these days it lends itself to those ideas we get impatient.

we don't want to compromise. but i promise you progress does have been. but all those people up there who did that have health care or that marine who served his country. [applause] here is the thing. they will be okay. then your knees one time. ben day little better. ems. find someone. i love you.

bended your knees. laugh laugh you have to want it. not just on election day but all the days in between. we can close that the quality gap. everybody has the shot not just those that the top berger you have to helper by voting for democrats. [applause] we have to hold everybody accountable to get the job done. to work with a police with the laws and practices.

to fix the of broken immigration system. and to see immigrants. criminals and rapist. you are the same reason to work and study and contribute. this is not something a wall can contain. we can keep making progress against climate change this month with the hottest on record this is not somebody's imagination. is a problem but understand it is real.

but also the single moms. the call miners -- coal miners and hillary has plans to do that. if you don't think that the remember if they have refused to do their job then with the nomination to the supreme court. [cheers and applause] even though i nominated and somebody with more judicial experience they want to see donald trump to see the world as he does. flu will that person be? everything makes monumental decisions. with the woman's right to choose and your right to vote. [applause]

my most important messages we cannot take this for granted. there are serious issues and stake parker behind all of frivolous stuff. but now let me make a comment about that. i sure get frustrated with the way the campaign is going i will tell the truth. in the back i am telling you the truth. deal mind? if i event for a second? [applause] you don't grade the

presidency on a curved. this is serious business when nbc people talk about transparency anybody who has released a decade's worth of tax returns but the other candidate if it is the one who refuses to release any end all. [booing] you want a debate of foundations and charities one candidate family foundation has saved countless lives around the world. [applause] one person took the money

people gave them bought a six-foot tall painting of a himself. at least he did not go for the 10-foot version laugh laugh but you want to debate to was more fit to be president? won kennedy has traveled to more countries than any secretary of state ever more qualifications and anyone who has run for the job in any way shape or form to be commander in chief. [applause] so somehow as things go on our standards for normal has

changed. so what used to be considered but because he says that over and over i was opposed to the war in iraq. so the bottom line that we cannot afford to treat this like a reality show. [applause] to backlight eric is equivalent to.

you have to do your homework and what you are talking about. even when things don't go your way. even when they are not popular or take years to pay off. stick then get the job done as the senator or secretary of state and guess she has the share of critics with the caricature of the right and left. of everything you can imagine. and to more scrutiny would

is more unfair criticism and doesn't complain about it. that is what happens when you're under the of microscope for four years. what sets hillary apart she keeps on going. and doesn't stop fighting for us. [applause] we are restless country with the new shiny things. we taken for granted sometimes truth.

of the young people who are here you don't remember all the work all the things she has had to overcome. because of her efforts but he is a need to remember and understand if you are serious about the controversy, and then you have to be with her. you cannot leave her by herself. get in there with her. because she has been around a long time.

do you know what? this is not reality tv. tomography is not a spectator sport. you do not tweet in your vote. not yes he will but yes we can. yes we can. yes, we can. [chanting] t6 we can bring about real change and progress and the time has come for me to pass the baton but i know hillary clinton will take that and finish the race and that is why i am fired up and ready to go. i need you to join me. [cheers and applause] i need you to work for hillary as you did for me.

[applause] not condors. make phone calls. talk to your friends. knock on doors. including your web republican friends. registered to vote. get the people to go to the polls. if your willing to do that with me hillary clinton the next president of the united states. we will continue on this journey with dave more fair and just america loving america. brighter america. that is what we are fighting for. that is why i need you. let's get busy. let's get to work. check clap god bless you

philadelphia. god bless the united states of america at. [cheers and applause] ♪ [cheers and applause] ♪

[cheers and applause] ♪ . .

to the changing the battlefields. be sure to watch it, and, wednesday morning, join the discussion. note c-span 2, a hearing on preventing online ticket scalping, an effort to prevent voting machines from hacking. and, negotiations leading up to the exit from the u e.u. >> hamilton, it's 90 minutes.