in many ways the online persona is essentially a reflection of the off-line life. these individuals wanted for been in a police online they are fervent i in the police off-line and just offer them, no intervention -- >> about a minute left in this conversation. we will leave it here but you can see it tonight on c-span starting at eight eastern. live in a moment to capitol hill on this money as th the u.s. see is about to gavel in. we are expecting lawmakers to continue deliberations on short-term funding to keep the government operating after the second the 30th deadline. procedural vote scheduled for 5:30 p.m. eastern. live now to the senate floor here on c-span2. the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. eternal god, help us to so live

that the generations to come will know about your mighty acts. today, give our lawmakers the singularity of heart to seek, find, and follow your will so that their legacy will be exemplary. lord, guide them in the path you have created, inspiring them with the potency of your powerful presence. may they trust you in times of adversity and prosperity, knowing that they will reap a productive harvest if they persevere.

keep them from understimating the power of your great name. as you make them instruments of your peace, help us to not pray primarily in our distress and need but, rather, also in joy's fullness and in our gratitude for abundant living. and, lord, we ask for your healing for the victims of the new york city and new jersey explosions and the minnesota stabbing attacks. we pray in your merciful name. amen. the president pro tempore: pleae join me in reciting the pledge f

allegiance to our flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: to her post time

and time again, even though she is a registered democrat in a county that shifted to republican control long ago. the changes emma jean has witnessed run deeper than the office equipment and the party politics. when she was first elected, lake county along with much of the south of the united states was still suffering from the scourge of jim crow. african-americans in particular

were often denied the right to vote. and even after the civil rights legislation was passed in the 1960's, the country still needed public servants to implement the law without prejudice in order to usher in change and combat racism. and emma jean's steadfast commitment to ensuring people's right to vote helped achieve that transformation and in a way bring our nations closer to realizing the ideal of equality that we have reached and tried to reach since our founding. it's also notable that a woman, emma jean steagall, served as the first elected official and

community leader as a woman at a time when women's educational and professional opportunities were much more limited than today. after so many decades of public service, emma jean will oversee her last election day this november, but her legacy for being a committed and tireless public servant will continue to be remembered. she has used her position to benefit the community she was elected to serve. she never was elected nor used it for herself or her own interest. emma jean steagall is an example for all of us in public service. and so i am honored to share her

story and to acknowledge her accomplishments in this occasion today on the floor of the senate as emma jean steagall will conduct and is preparing for her last election as supervisor of elections. what a great public service. what a great public servant that we can honor today. mr. president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: mr. president, i would ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be rescinded. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: mr. president, over the weekend, we were reminded once begin of the threat that terrorism poses to our communities all across this country. and i know we're all grateful that the explosions that occurred in new jersey and manhattan and the knife attack in minnesota didn't hurt more people, and i'm thankful for the authorities, the law enforcement officials, the emergency medical officials and others who have responded so heroically and i'm grateful that there has already been a suspect detained in the new york and new jersey incident before he could attempt additional attacks.

this is just another reminder as if we needed more reminders of the importance of remaining vigilant to the threat of terrorism in the united states. our values and our way of life seem to be under near constant attack, certainly under constant threat. and we have a responsibility to do everything we can within our power to support and protect those affected by the evil of terrorism within our borders. last week, the senate sent a piece of legislation, an important piece of legislation from my perspective called the justice against sponsors of terrorism act to president obama for his signature, and he has until friday to act on it. i want to clarify for my colleagues exactly what's contained in this legislation because i've heard from some stories that make me think that they are -- they're being misled

by some, but also maybe just there's some confusion that i can help clear up. this legislation, the justice against sponsors of terrorism act, or sometimes called the 9/11 families bill, makes some narrow amendments to a long-standing federal statute, the foreign sovereign immunities act and the antiterrorism act. what it does provide is for americans to be able to seek recourse in a court of law from governments or people who sponsor terrorist attacks on american soil. now, you would think that that would not be particularly controversial. put another way, this bill does not allow a lawsuit to proceed against a foreign nation unless they are alleged to have been behind a terror attack here on american soil. as i said, this is pretty straightforward, which is why it passed the senate and the house unanimously. but i want to be clear what the

bill does and does not do. first of all, the legislation doesn't single out any particular country for some kind of unfair treatment. it stands for the simple proposition that americans should have recourse against those involved in terrorist attacks on our homeland, just as they do against others who commit other crimes. i have some of my colleagues say perception is reality. well, misperception is not reality. the fact of the matter is there is country mentioned in the legislation, this extension of existing law. to the extent it singles out anybody, it only singles out countries without naming any that fund terrorists who commit terrorism on our soil. now, some have suggested that this could hurt our relationship with the kingdom of saudi arabia in particular. this bill has nothing to do on its face with our strong partnership with saudi arabia, which is based on mutual

interest. the reality is that the nuclear deal struck by president obama involving the country of iran has done far much more to damage our relationship with our allies in the middle east, including the kingdom of saudi arabia. and it's caused many of our allies to question whether we are a reliable ally in areas where we do share common -- a common interest. and we know that many of our gulf state allies, including the saudis, believe that the president has not done enough to achieve his own stated goal of defeating the terrorist army of isis, which threatens saudi arabia from iraq, just across its northern border. quite to the contrary, president obama ignored the advice of his own military advisors, we know, and unwisely withdrew all combat forces from iraq in a

precipitous way before that country was ready and able to defend itself only to see isis rush in and fill the vacuum left after the departure of american leadership and ground forces. the bottom line is, this legislation should not upset our relationships with any country with which we share common interests, including the saudis, and they should not take passage of this legislation as a reason to somehow question our commitment to an alliance based on shared values and shared interests. this bill targets those who fund terrorist activity against us, plain and simple, and i should also add, all this bill does is gives victims an opportunity to have their case heard in court. it doesn't decide the merits of the case. it simply gives them an avenue for justice.

second, madam president, i want to debunk this idea that somehow the justice against state -- against sponsors of terrorism act will suddenly result in lawsuits being filed against americans by foreign governments. the reality is, this already happens. we have an entire office at the justice department, the office of foreign litigation, that defends the united states in foreign courts. as its web site explains, that litigation includes litigation arising from u.s. agency or military activities in foreign countries, which is one reason why before we pulled out all our troops from iraq, president obama and his administration should have done a better job pursuing a status of forces agreement with the can country of iraq -- with the country of iraq. but because they did not negotiate that, they decided to pull out and we've seen -- reaped the whirlwind as a

result. while likely a minority, there are cases in fact brought abroad that implicate our own overseas activity. in 2010, for example, cbs news reported on a case in pakistan in which the c.i.a. was sued for an alleged drone strike. that is matter of public record that the cbs news reported. the point is, today foreign governments allow suits against the united states from time to time, and they are defended based on international law and based on the merits of the case. that's because of their legal systems and domestic politics. our laws are sumly not consulted -- simply not consulted as a determining factor. why would a foreign country apply american law or precedent or procedure? but let me also make clear, the justice against sponsors of terrorism act makes only modest changes to current foreign

sovereign immunity laws, laws that have already been passed by the united states congress. and it's been written in a narrow manner to prevent such suits, should any reciprocal law be passed. finally, madam president, i want to remind my colleagues that this legislation was crafted and created through consensus, before the senate passed it several months ago, my colleagues and i took great care to address concerns from members on both sides of the aisle, as you would expect. working with other members, we made changes to the legislation they requested so we could keep support for this legislation and support for the families of victims strong. it then passed the senate unanimously in may. over in the house it passed without dissent. i have to say, it's hard to find any piece of legislation that can pass unanimously in the senate and in the house of representatives. it just doesn't happen very

often. but even with so much bipartisan, bicameral support, president obama still says he intends to veto the legislation. as i've said before, that's his prerogative, but i hope he does so soon, so that congress has the opportunity to vote to override his veto. and i hope once he does veto it, congress will quickly act. i've been reminded of a passage in henry kissinger's book called "world order" where he talks about how the west in particular often views the world as an orderly rules-based system. the problem with that, of course, is reality. the world does not all acknowledge a "rules-based" system no matter who imagines it. other countries will take actions based on what they perceive are in their own best

interests, not just because they wnts to follow a certain set of rules that somebody else made up. that will remain true for the kingdom of saudi arabia even after the act becomes law. that's why our relationship with the kingdom of saudi arabia will continue because they have been fighting terrorism on their own soil, and we know that we share other interests as well. but at the end of the day, we need to do what's right for the american people, just as other countries would do right for their own citizens. and we should not change our domestic laws because of our concerns about other countries perhaps being offended. they should have the opportunity to make their case, if they can, and nothing in this judges the

merits of the case or makes any conclusion about p whether they will be successful or not. but certainly they represent part of the american people that we work for, and they're entitled to get access to the courts for the purpose of making the case, if they can. this bill sends a clear signal to every country that the united states is not afraid to stand up and ensure that our countrymen and women have the ability to pursue justice here in our court. that is nonnegotiable, madam president. so i hope the president will act quickly. the president can string this out into next week, if he wants, but he's already said he's going to veto it, so why put the families through any more delay and ain anguish -- and anguish d uncertainty? the president should veto the legislation and then the united states senate and the united states house of representatives

should then take up a veto override vote, and i'm confident of what the outcome of that would be, based on the unanimous consent to the bill in the senate and the unanimous vote in the house of representatives. madam president, i don' i don't- i don't see any other senator interested in speaking, so i would suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

mr. mcconnell: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that at 5:00 p.m. today, the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of h.r. 5985. further, that there be 30 minutes of debate equally divided in the usual form. following the use or yielding back of time the bill be read a third time and the senate vote on passage of the bill with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. mcconnell: now, madam president, i ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule 22, the cloture motion on the motion to proceed to h.r. 5325 ripen at 2:15 p.m. on tuesday, september 20. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. mcconnell: 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 colorado. mr. gardner: madam president, i ask that the quorum call be

vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. gardner: madam president, i rise today to recognize the united states air force on the occasion of its 69th birthday. on september 18, 1947, president truman signed the national security act which established the united states air force as an independent service equal to the united states army and u.s. navy. the mission of the united states air force is to fly, fight and win in air, space and cyberspace and colorado is proud to call itself home to units that play a role in all aspects of the air force mission. although it is the youngest of the armed services, the air force has accomplished a tremendous amount, a tremendous amount in those 69 years. with the combined force strength of more than 660,000 active, reserve, national guard and civilian personnel with the united states air force, it is a force to be reckoned with. the u.s. air force's ability to maintain air superiority is evidenced by the fact that the last time an american ground troop was killed by an ordinance

delivered from an enemy aircraft was in 1953. on any given day there are more than 21,000 air force personnel deployed to 179 worldwide locations, 16,000 air men deployed to the centcom area of operations. while american air men be serve all over the world there are thousands of air men in colorado protecting our nation's interest. colorado is home to five major air force installations that includes buckley air force base, slee ver air force base, cheyenne mountain air force and the united states air force academy. buckley is home to the 460th air force wing and has space surveillance operations, space communications operations and support functions. if north korea, iran or any adversary fires a missile at the

u.s. homeland buckley would be the first to see it. buckley is also home to one of 18 bases nationwide being considered by the air force to host the next generation f-35 jets and my firm belief that it fully merits that designation as well. peterson air force base named after first lieutenant edward peterson, a colorado native, has been in operation since 1926. over its 90-plus years, peterson air force base has served a variety of operational and training missions and is currently home to the 21st space wing and air force space command as well. peterson is home to the united states northern command and the north american airspace command or norad. norad north com is responsible for protecting us from the threats we face in today's complex global security i'm -- environment. and when we reflect on what

happened in new jersey, and new york and minnesota we know efforts to protect our homeland or important. in a letter to the president several colleagues and i expressed concerns about the rapid advancement of north korea's nuclear and ballistic program. that is a direct threat to the u.s. homeland and that's what our bases in colorado are responsible for. while we in congress urge the president to take actions to counter the north korean threat, the american people rely on the hardworking men and women at norad north come to protect us from this regime. down the road from peterson air force base is shriever air force base. it provides command and control for over 170 department of defense warning, navigational and communication satellites. the global positions satellite or g.p.s. is operated by the second space operation squadron. if you successfully use your google maps it is because of the

operates at shriever. it is home to the jikspa. it consolidates efforts between the d.o.d., u.s. strategic command and intelligence community to facilitate information sharing across the national spairt enterprise. it will enhance u.s. space operations, contribute to op raichal command -- operational command and control within the department of defense and improve infrastructure in an increasingly contested space environment. since 1966, cheyenne space station in colorado has been a hub for tracking worldwide and serves as an essential component to the defense of north america and global security. cheyenne mountain is an engineering marvel that provides an electromagnetic pulse facility to protect our nation's most vital interests. many of the people around the country may know cheyenne

mountain air station as the site of matthew broderick in the movie "war games." last but not least of the major air force installations in colorado is the united states air force academy. since the 195 swearing in of its first class of cadets, the air force academy has been developing leaders of character to lead the world's best air force. the air force academy educates, trains and inspires men and women to become officers of character motivated to lead the united states air force in service to our nation. in addition to celebrating the air force's 69th birthday, i would also like to recognize that this year, 2016, is the 40th anniversary of women cadets enrolling in the united states air force academy. just as the air force leads the way as the preeminent global air power, the air force academy has been leading the way with the integration of women cadets into the cadet wing. in 1972, the air force academy issued operational plan 3672 which laid the groundwork for the arrival of its first 156

female cadets in the summer of 1976. in the preceding 40 years, women cadets and graduates have made extraordinary contributions to both the academy and to the air force. these constrictions are -- contributions are exemplified by women such as michelle johnson who in 1980 became the first woman cadet wing commander, the highest ranking cadet in the academy. then mr. in 1981, she became the first woman cadet to become a rhodes scholar. in 2013, michelle johnson became the first female superintendent of any female service academy when she became the superintendent of the united states air force academy. heather wilson who was the first female veteran to serve in congress. lieutenant general susan j. helms, the first woman graduate of the air force academy to go into space. lieutenant ross minute schulte who became the first woman graduate killed in action in

2009. these women and countless others are why the state of colorado is proud, honored and humbled to host the united states air force academy. on behalf of all cod raddance and a grateful nation, i want to wish the united states air force a happy 69th birthday. aim high, fly, fight and win. thank you, madam president. i yield the floor. and, madam president, i would note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

quorum call:

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the

senator from connecticut is recognized. a senator: thank you. i ask that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. a senator: thank you, mr. president. the presiding officer: would the senator withhold for just a moment, please. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to the consideration of h.r. 5985 which the clerk will now report. the clerk: h.r. 5985, an act to amend title 38, united states code to extend certain expiring provisions of law administered by the secretary of veterans affairs and for other purposes. the presiding officer: there will now be 30 minutes of debate equally divided in the usual form. a senator: thank you, mr. president. i see my friend and colleague the chairman of the v.a. committee here. i would yield to him to proceed

-- a senator: i'll yield to you to begin. mr. blumenthal: thank you. mr. president. i'm pleased and honored to speak in support of h.r. 5985, the department of veterans expiring authorities act. we will vote on it shortly. i thank my colleagues for what i expect to be an overwhelmingly positive vote to affirm our commitment to the veterans of america that neither dysfunction or distraction of what's happening during this season of elections will prevent us from keeping the lights on in the veterans affairs department. as its name implies, this measure would maintain 27 vital ongoing programs and services

that the v.a. provides through the next year. i commend chairman miller and ranking member take -- takono in the house. we worked collaboratively with them, chairman isakson and i have met numerous times. it has been truly a cooperative and collaborative effort. this cletion authorizes an -- -- an increase in the existing v.a. caregivers program of $10 million going from $724 million to $734 million, as well as a grants program that assists homeless veterans, and provides them with support services. the bill that we vote on this evening will also give the secretary of the v.a. the exact same power as the secretary of education has with respect to title 4 in the event of a

university's sudden loss of accreditation. critically important as we've seen with i.t.t. and corinthian for-profit colleges that have abruptly closed leaving veterans stranded. and so this bill will empower the v.a. secretary to provisionally approve programs for use with the g.i. bill so that veterans may transition to another course of study. without this provision becoming law now, veterans who attend those schools like i.t.t. may find themselves in a similar, untenable, unacceptable, unfair situation. they lose education benefits, and equally troubling benefits for their housing and food allowance that they so critically need. i'm pleased we can vote on this measure tonight and send this

measure to the president's desk for signature, but the simple stark fact is this bill is simply a small downpayment, a small step in the direction that we must move and the senate must accomplish in the days that remain in this session to honor all who have served. it's just one of a series of congressional actions that are needed before we recess to ensure that for-profit schools who put their profits before a veteran's rights to an education do not hurt our veterans as their business model collapses. the senate should also pass the veterans education relief and reinstatement act that senator tillis of north carolina and i have introduced. this bill, it's bipartisan, like this bill, would grant an emergency housing stipend to

those student veterans who are adversely affected by destabilizing permanent school closures. corinthian college and more recently i.t.t. give a voice and face to this staggeringly real problem for so many veterans who are victims the exploitation by these for-profit schools. our mission of ensuring that no veteran is left behind will not be completed by the vote we take this evening. it's just a down payment. i urge my colleagues to join with me in supporting h.r. 5985 and beginning and concluding the hard work of passing other bills that have been reported out of the senate veterans affairs committee with the strong bipartisan work and collaboration partnership between the chairman, senator

isakson, and myself. i thank him for being here this evening and would be honored to yield to him now. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from georgia. mr. isakson: i'm hon soared to join him on this important day. this morning when i woke up preparing for a speech i made at the university at 11:00 this morning on constitution day, it reminded me of what an important day today is in september. senator robert byrd, a distinguished democrat and majority leader and president protempe of the senate, served many decades, amended an appropriations in 2004 to create the day as constitution day. it's a great honor for me to speak on the floor to honor our veterans on the day we honor the constitution. without our veteran there is would be no constitution. without them those who fight and defend our liberty and freedom around the world, there would be no constitution. so it's a great day to do n. i want to share exactly what senator blumenthal said.

this is a mere downpayment. it's an acknowledgment there's lots of work to be done. critically this extender bill addresses any number of programs in the v.a. that will expire the end of the fiscal year unless they're extended. most importantly homeless programs which are importantly and adaptive sports programs which are critically important. by adopting this, our homeless programs will stay in place and our adaptive sports programs will stay in place. as senator blumenthal said, should the secretary of education shut down an institution mid term, this provides help to that student who is a veteran to see to it they dwonts lose tear -- don't lose their benefit and can continue their education. we have other things yet to be done. hopefully they'll be done after we came back for the lame-duck session after the election. tonight all members of the house and the senate, all members from both parties can help us make a downpayment on constitution day to those who make our freedom and our liberty possible, the veterans of the united states america. i urge and i vote each member of the senate.

i yield back and 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 georgia. a senator: i ask the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. isakson: i have one request for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and minority leader. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. isakson: mr. president, i yield back -- the presiding officer: duly noted. it is duly noted. mr. isakson: duly noted. mr. president, i yield back the time on the pending legislation. the presiding officer: all time is yielded back. the clerk will read the title of the bill.

the clerk: h.r. 5985, an act to amend title 38, united states code to extend certain expiring provisions of law administered by the secretary of veterans affairs and for other purposes. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be a sufficient second. the clerk will now call the roll. vote:

vote:

vote:

the presiding officer: are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or change their vote? on this vote, the yeas are 89, the nays are zero. the bill is passed. the senator from i -- the senar from wyoming. mr. barrasso: i ask unanimous consent that the senate be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. the senator from ohio. mr. brown: thanks, mr. president. i ask unanimous consent to speak up to 15 minutes.

the presiding officer: without objection. mr. brown: thank you, mr. president. last year our country celebrated the 50th anniversary of the voting rights act, one of the most important pieces of legislation that was passed in the 20th century. it opened the door to millions of americans to exercise their constitutional right to vote, but this year will mark the first presidential election in a half-century without the full protection guaranteed by that landmark law. one of the worst decisions this corporate-dominated supreme court made was shelby county v. holder, which struck down a key part of the law, taking the teeth oust provisions that protect -- out of provisions that protect voters from oppression laws. since that misguided provision disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of americans. 17 states have passed new voting restriction since the shm by county provision. we know who is hurt the most by

these laws -- african-americans, latinos, young people, seniors. in north carolina before enacting wurch these larks the state legislature specifically asked for data on voting patterns by race. and once they had this data, they decided to eliminate or limit the voting methods used by african-american voters. thank it willfully the thankfully, the court struck down this -- the new provisions target african-americans with almost surgical precision. in ohio, my state, the courts have shamefully allowe allowed s like thew he is to stay on the books. last week we were dealt multiple blows. first the supreme court refused to hear an appeal on the sixth circuit's decision ending golden week created by a republican legislate tour a decade ago when voters can register and vote on the same day during the one-weecialgly voting period. in may, judge watson, a george

w. bush appointee in the sorning district in columbus, found that the law's limiting early voting and registration would disproportionately impact african-americans. judge watson did the right thing. but the ultraconservative sixth circuit ruled to overturn that ruling ending golden week. last week the supreme court nodded 4-4 because the republican majority leader won't let the senate do its job and have hearings and confirmation on judge garland. the supreme court declined to intervene. then the sixth circuit overturn add lower court ruling that had thrown out new ohio laws in proposing stricterrer requirements on absentee and provisional voters the dissent in this case captured what this is all about. he notes that during the committee debate over the law one legislator asked, should we really be making it easier for those people who take the bus after church on sunday vote to? for those people who take the

bus after church on sunday to vote? making it crystal clear exactly what they were targeting and whom they were tawrgting. judge keith continues, "democracy die behind closed doors. vote something the ultimate expression of self-government. ink stetted of making it easier for all persons unrestrained and unvettered to exercise this fundamental right to vote, legislators are making it harder. states are audaciously nullifying the right for which our an ssess terse relentlessly fought and in some stains even died. i would point out, mr. president, that even this body -- that this body and the house only about a decade ago overingly bipartisanly renewed the voting rights act in the court struck down. now one political party is digging in this opposition to that. it's no screat what these laws are about. state legislators have made it perfect clear.

in 20* 2008, african-americans voted early in person at a rate more than 20 times greater than white voters. we all remember the scenes from cuyahoga county, cleveland, in 2004 when some waited as long as seven hours to vote. for hourly workers, for college students who work a third shift, parents who have to drop their children off at school and many others, early voting ensures that their voices will be heard. 2012, 10% of the electorate, 600,000 people voted early in my state. that's 600,000 voices that might not have been heard were it not for early voting. but some judges who dress in suits and lead very privileged lives with generous benefits from taxpayers have decided these voices aren't worth hearing. as judge keith said, democracies die behind closed doors. this body refuses to hold a hearing on the nominee who would have allowed the supreme court to hear the appeal in the golden week issue, an issue of real

decision. this body refuses to bring to the floor the bipartisan voting rights advancement act. in 1981 when signing an extension to the voting rights act, president reagan called the right to vote the crown jewel of american liberties. ronald reagan would have seen his political party today go in exactly opposite direction, and that's sad. mr. president, i ask that the remainder of my remarks be in a different section in the "congressional record." the presiding officer: without objection. mr. brown: thank you, mr. president. i rise today to honor seaman first class william w. welch, a native of springfield, ohio, an american hero who laid down his life for our country during the attack on pearl harbor. seaman welch was known to his family as billy. he enlisted in the navy at 17. he left during his senior year at springfield catholic central high school, so determined was he to serve his country. on december 7, 1941, welch was

stationed in the u.s.s. oklahoma, mr. president, docked at the u.s. naval base at pearl harbor. the oklahoma was the first to be hit that fateful morning by the japanese. of the more than 1,300 crew aboard, 429 perished that day. the loss of life second only to the better-known u.s.s. arizona. the ship capsized. billy welch was among the first of so many americans to make the ultimate sacrifice for our nation during world war ii. his grieving family was dealt an additional blow when their son's remains were not returned to them and they were unable to give him a burial befitting his sacrifice. it wasn't until 1943 that the navy was able to right the oklahoma and began trying to identify the remains. by then, with the technology available in the 1940's it was too late for most sailors. billy and his fellow sailors were buried as unknowns. they had rested in the national memorial cemetery of the pacific

in honolulu until last year. 2014 billy welch's nephew, michael, contacted my office. he was fighting with, for want of a better term, with the department of defense begging them to try to identify his uncle's remains with the new technology available in 2014. he was part of a movement of families and veterans trying to piece together where their loved ones were buried and get them returned home. 2015, the pentagon announced plans to exhume and attempt to identify the fallen sailors and soldiers buried in the pacific. d.o.d. began removing caskets using dental records and d.n.a. to identify the remains. in return, those fallen heroes to their families. billy welch was identified, and now with the help of dedicated staff in my office, next month he'll finally be returned to springfield and buried with full military honors in his hometown. it will be my honor to stand with seaman welch's family at

sairnt joseph's catholic church in springfield and witness this hero shown the honor and appreciation h he's deserved and his family been denied. billy and his feel low sailors may not have known the contribution they were making that day on the u.s.s. oklahoma and the future generations at home and around the world as the first to sacrifice their lives fighting tyranny in the second world war. that makes their actions all the more heroic. there is the reason we call them the greatest generation. as we lose more and more of that generation with each passing day, we see that. less than 700,000 world war ii veterans remain with us. we lose some 430 of those heroes each day. my father, a world war ii veteran, stationed in new zealand and in iran, what he called persia during world war ii, passed away in the year 2000. projects like this one are all the more important and more timely. we need to identify these sailors and soldiers now while

their loved ones are still with us and still able to pay their proper respects. we owe william welch and all those who gave their lives for our country a burial and equally importantly, a tribute that befits their service and their sacrifice. i will be honored to take part in that tribute for seaman welch next month. i notice the -- i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of h.r. 5936 which was received from the house and is at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 5936, an act to

authorize the secretary of veterans affairs to enter into certain leases at the department of veterans affairs west los angeles campus in los angeles, california, and so forth and for other purposes. the presiding officer: is there any objection toking proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. mcconnell: i know of no further debate on the bill. the presiding officer: is there any further debate? hearing none all those in favor say aye. those opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the bill is passed. mr. mcconnell: i further ask the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 572, h.r. 1475. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 572, h.r. 1475, an act to authorize a wall of remembrance as part of the korean war veterans memorial

and to allow certain private contributions to fund that wall of remembrance. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent that the committee reported amendment be agreed to, the bill as amended be read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the appointment at the desk appear separately in the record as if made. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i now ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today it adjourn until 10:00 a.m., tuesday, september . following the prayer and pledge the morning hour deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to daylight and the time for the leaders be reserved for use later in the day. following leader remarks the senate resume consideration of the motion to proceed to h.r. 5325. finally that the senate recess from 12:30 until 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly conference meetings. the presiding officer: without

objection. mr. mcconnell: if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the the presiding officer: the

>>

>> calling the of weekend bombing enact of terror and spoken news conference with the new police commissioner and fbi officials. [inaudible conversations]good a.

with me today the city council and the district attorney's office and the fbi. and extremely busy today's obviously end many people are working tirelessly and relentlessly and seamlessly in this investigation in new york city and new jersey. so today our efforts were successful thanks to the grave police officers that capture this dangerous individual right here. however in doing so we had to police officers that were injured and we wish them there best and a speedy recovery. this is an example of what

law-enforcement does every day. regardless of the risk and this started on saturday. to see the devastation and the response by the fbi and fire department and state police and for my first day on the job i was so proud of what i saw that day and how that was done together and that was impressive. with the assistant director from the fbi office giving details of the investigation but understand this case is very much active the primary focus is to identify the

person responsible for these crimes now we have the suspect in custody we can focus on other aspects. but add what the motivations may have been. so all of those with the individual to justice. but i have always been so proud to be part of the new york city police department. >> also our first responders from the very beginning performed with courage with the state and federal pardners i want to thank them all and also share a deep concern for those two officers in new jersey that they will have a speedy recovery.

a situation where we have rapidly unfolding information i'm sure there will be more in the coming days something's we cannot talk about but we will do our best what we can. also up front to received a call a few hours ago from president obama, chief ed meyer the resilience and to handle the crisis from moment, no. one had their back to business today in the president offered his congratulations to our first responders for all they had done for free have more information even then a few hours ago we have every reason to believe it was an

act of terror there is a long investigation ahead in addition because this is an ongoing investigation with any given point to find a piece of information that could very much aid our partners to be vigilant and to get that any point in time 18577t ip as with any information that you have reactivated earlier today the office of emergency management that allowed us to get information out to all new yorkers across the of bored with the extraordinary fact that we

could reach all police officers because of the technology they have as well. that is something that proved to be very helpful to put everyone on alert in a mutual way that was very helpful if this equation so be patient because there will be an ongoing investigation be vigilant and finally even knowing it is apprehended we will have a very strong and physical presence because of the united nations general assembly you'll have a visible from presence with the strategic response to heavily trained officers

officers since the subway and bags being checked bomb sniffing dogs continuing throughout the week and with a high-level of readiness from the n.y.p.d. we ask all new yorkers to continue your vigilance with law-enforcement and one to think the assistant director for the cooperation of the fbi in this manner. >> good afternoon. since the last briefing yesterday hundreds of personnel from york and new jersey and the fbi have been working around the of clock to track leads with surveillance for a ditch with sophisticated techniques and executing searches. based on evidence collection supported by other analysis we began to focus to develop

the aware about seven possible locations for surveillance. last night conducting a traffic stop in brooklyn to. it was observed by personnel to be associated with the fatality of circumstances there was a stop of the vehicle of passengers and detectives nobody in the car is under arrest. based on evidence collection searches and interviews are conducted in elisabeth new jersey additional leads were followed as well and return to the public for assistance using a more recent photo. a short time ago he was arrested in new jersey and two police officers were

injured while apprehending him and with investigative activity to ensure we completely understand the social network and for that reason i do not plan to answer specific questions about our techniques other than we directly link the devices to new york and new jersey law enforcement personnel and the contributions of the dates public have been exceptional >> [inaudible conversations] >> allied has happened over the last 40 hours from those

behind me i believe there will be a charge by the local prosecutor and while that is pending you can expect the attorney's office here to put together a comprehensive collection of allegations that makes sense we are not rushing against each other to catch thought perpetrator but we will take a lot of care and time in the manhattan district court [inaudible conversations]

>> we have no knowledge of the investigation. [inaudible conversations] >> we're not ruling anything out. absolutely not. [inaudible conversations] i will not comment on that. >> i have no indication there is a small operation around the city but the investigation is ongoing. i have no indication there is a cell operating here. >> [inaudible conversations]

>> i do not know that for a fact myself. you have to confirm that with new jersey. i don't have any information on at at all yet. [inaudible conversations] i will comment on the types of tools to said they're fabulous and exceptional and unnecessary. >> there is a lot of technology involved but also a lot of whomp police work

is a great turnaround. so that is a tremendous job. the alert system is very helpful to the police department and fbi it gets everybody involved with a shared responsibility. if we can get every would-be -- every buddying gauges is the way to go. [inaudible conversations] >> i won't comment specifically for any piece of evidence that we obtain whether pieces or fragments is viable i will leave it at that.

>> that will be part of the investigation as we go forward. >> we're actually looking for the investigation is ongoing. nothing that indicates he was on the radar. and the allegations were recanted.

>> yes he was invited, yes we are working with him and we spoke to those folks in the community with close coordination with the state and federal government and you can see the results of this combined effort and to include the people to get to a solution. >> i do not. i do not have the information to show the path of radicalization. the first question is about a record i do not recall.

>> [inaudible conversations] >> right now we are not talking about partisan politics at this point i am very proud of the work of that fbi the way they so quickly have found their suspect i have a lot of faith how they do things right now. >> [inaudible conversations] >> at this point we are extremely grateful we can

apprehend the suspect. we are always in a state of alert as a year the number one target as far as this investigation working with the fbi, i'm a lot happier today than i was yesterday. all new yorkers should feel secure their agencies will continue to keep them safe and continue with the investigation to get everybody involved and why. >> i will add to that. first of all there is no other individual we are looking for at this point in time. second coming of vigilance is called for and is very important if anybody sees anybody unusual with the package, report immediately immediately, or find a law-enforcement officers.

the commissioner is exactly right, we're very appreciative of those who did the work to get the suspect but we want to remain vigilant. [inaudible] >> but the apprehension myself? or the fact that he survived >> [inaudible] i cannot tell you we have to build that out in new jersey most recently i have to go back to look at history i am not deposition to do that right now.

>> [inaudible] not right now. >> [inaudible] >> several questions it is a valuable tool and we think it created urgency with law-enforcement colleagues to fill in the of blanks of the positive effect to the successful apprehension there is of a tool in the future any similar situation that was appropriate and it is another example that

there was of way to reach people but this is a modern approach saying yes we will do this in the past but this was a specific danger. >> we will let the chief talk about that. >> to people who picked up the bag took the device out and took the bank we went back in looked like to gentlemen strolling seventh avenue at the time. event once they pick up the

bag they walked off with that. we will put the images out hopefully they will be identified. >> [inaudible conversations] >> right now we have a clue we need to have going forward in this investigation we will talk and see where the connections are. right now we are not actively seeking anyone. >> [inaudible] >> that will be determined once we speak to them. that is something as we go forward.

>> [inaudible] >> again with the central focus, what we know no for completely two different devices so we are only is rethinking central park. >> i will not describe that. >> [inaudible] >> five individuals from

last night are not and custody but i will not discuss their future. >> spee9. >> did the subject make any statements upon apprehension? not that i am aware of but the team is out there so that will continue as well. >> [inaudible] >> that is the world we're living in with any incident that is captured on video surveillance. as we go through the investigation and gather more video that will help us move forward with the case to nature this suspect or the subject is brought to

justice and pays the maximum price. >> [inaudible] >> with understanding the terrorism charge and a criminal investigation with the bomb going off in a crowded street is a terrifying act but whether that is an act of terrorism we have to find out who did that it is something we did not know the restage is of yesterday and why an order to meet the statutory requirements. the basic definition of terrorism on the federal

side is the use of fear of violence intimidation, or the threat to achieve political or social change. on the outside the first priority is to wonder stand who was behind it to identify that person to bring them into custody. the ability is why they did it and what was behind it and whether it was requiring us of food did it. the search conducted last night and conducted today with the suspect in custody right now. before the shooting of a police officer will be the part that brings the elements for our long and dash forward in the charge and that will be laid out in the charging documents. that is the process peace

behind your question how you get from there to terrorism. the amount of progress made in 24 hours between the work of the intelligence team, and some extraordinary work by the detective bureau with the number of people in the immediate area to explain and that out to concentric circles with all the steps to get us there. to say it would be better as part of the investigation. . .

>> how we do that is through evidence analysis and i cannot be on that. >> [inaudible question] [inaudible] [inaudible] [inaudible] >> we are bringing today's that briefing with new york's mayor

and lease official, some news about this weekend's bombings in new york and new jersey. the associated press reports the new jersey prosecutor says the man arrested in the bombings have been charged with attempted murder. that man ahmad khan rahami was arrested this morning with a shootout with police. >> c-span's washington journal, live, live every day with new some policy issues that impact to you. coming up on tuesday morning, national journal hotline editor kyle -- will talk about campaign 2016. and the chance the democrats will retake in november. the sr. fellow at manhattan institute and vicki -- vice president of the national will be on to discuss hillary clinton and donald trump's proposed childcare and family policy. watching c-span's "washington journal" live at 7:00 a.m. eastern on tuesday morning. joined the discussion.

>> at our desk this morning, we are are joined with robert of the heritage foundation. we are having a discussion of the new census bureau report, poverty and 2015. olivia 15. olivia i will start with you. that report start show the poverty rate and the total19 poverty number is now it 1999 levels. we'll go into details at that report. what you report. what you think of the biggest reasons for that drop? o >> i think the big headline as you say his improvement as a result of the economy reaching across a large area of the economic recovery. in addition to rule poverty

dropping, child poverty dropped which is something we follow a particular from about 21% to just under 20 percent. that is one in five kids. a big reason is that the economy, the economic recovery reaching a larger share of americans. there's also a lot of good news in that report about public programs. we report a about public programs. we report a company report on health insurance shows big and provement in the share of americans have health insurance. the number without is down by 4 million from last year. bl positive, then contributions of public programs like snap and the earned income tax credit keep people out of poverty. i think the one other topic which will get back to is that while there has been a very important positive impact, there there are still big disparities in poverty. child poverty remains at unacceptable high levels, young adults, america's nexten generation getting the economice benefit fully to parents and two young child is the agenda to maintain moment in. >> certainly issues will discuss this hour. robert, you studied this issue for a long time and played a key

role in crack in 1996 federal welfare reform bill. what you see is a big drivers drivers of that coming down to 13 and a half percent. >> it is clearly the economy.ut not much change in policy here. i think we need to put them in contacts it is a one-year job following seven years of extremely bad news. so overall for the last eight years the numbers here have been very bad. we actually have a higher poverty rate right now than we did before the beginning of the great recession in 2007. that's rather. that's rather remarkable. it's a onefica year drop to hava significant change you have to have jobs that occur year after year. but that really has occurred in our system. it it only occurredd in the 1950s and 60s and occurred during the period of

welfare boom in the nineties. in that. poverty among single mothers with children dropped a percentage points over four orly six years and it went down substantially on a substantial basis. here we have a one year drop but we are actually worsese off than we were when barack obama came into office. >> you talk about that one year drop and whether some groups di, better than others, urban versui rural? >> it was all really good news across the board. it was great. great. i'm very happy with that report. again, one year does not make much difference if it has been going up. actually poverty was rising during much of the obama administration. not to rising a lot, but again we are worse off now than we we were in 2007 when bush when bush was in office. that is really due to a very mediocre economic performance over the long-term. maybe maybe we have a change here, but one

year does not a party make. >> i want to discuss how we keep this from being a one-year blood. i want to invite our viewers to call him. different phone lines, different phone lines, let me just plug those if you make under $25000 per year, 202 - 748 - 800 zero. if zero. if you make 25000 - 50000 it is two oh two - some 48-2001. over is 202-748-2002.e screen if you do not catch those will keep us up on the screen for a little bit so you can start calling them. how do we keep us from becoming a one year blip? >> that's a great question. i would highlight that it is very important that the president and the policies and the broad economy have brought r us back from the depths of thew great recession. i totally agree

with robert that going for therk is now crucial. to keep the momentum going i would say there several things to do.ec they're both building on succes and going in additional direction. first, first, what we have seen over the last years is that a big public program likedv food assistant, the earned income tax credit, have have really done their job.b. the private economy has taking a long time to improve the circumstances of low-wage workers. when you look at what is going on for children and their parents right now it is still about low-wage work. both low wages and also to few hours. you see a lot of people still working part-time who want to be working full-time. we need both policies that affect things like their scheduling and minimum wage thao is happening in a lot of states and localities. we also need investments and good jobs. we you will hear a lot of conversations about infrastructure that is about that. we need a big investment

investment in childcare. that is a big issue right now. it affects parents ability to work in children's ability to succeed. we need to focus on some other things, fill in some gaps in the safety nets. earned income tax credit, helped low income mothers and parents a lot, it does not help the parents without kids a lot. or adults without kids. we also focus on affordability of higher education. right now to get to good job you need at least some kind of post secondary credential. that is a kind of thing that we need to do to build on success in cuba going. >> do you agree? >> not exactly. i think it is important to first of all understand what these numbers say and what they don't say.y. they are very misleading.4,000 these are pretty welfare numbers. the welfare state is not counted here. so if a if a family receives 12 or $14000 per year in the earned income tax credit, that is not counted asit income. last year for families with children we spent $221 billion

in cash food and housing. that is twice what is needed to eliminate all poverty in the united states.t the census bureau counted only one tenth of that as income for purposes of poverty. if you accurately count all of the benefits they are getting than the poverty rate is cut by two thirds. t you rarely ever see those numbers. then we get these confusingst pitches like look how much poverty we have got. we need to spend more and welfare. but that is not counted. you counted. you can't possibly have any effect. >> the poverty threshold from the census bureau in 2015 for an individual is a 12,000 dollars per year for two people. 15,000 dollars per year for three people, 19,000 dollars per three people, $19000 per year for family four. $24000 per year and 29,000

dollars per year is the official poverty thresholds from the official report. you say those numbers are not including a lot of things that these individuals are getting. >> pretty much the whole welfare state is cut out of the numbers. when you add the welfare state and, what we need to do is basically have a systemeed to d that combines the individual's effort to support themselves with the welfare state that complements and reinforces. the welfare state generally does not do that. for example if for exampl if you take a single mother with two kids who is earning the federal minimum wage, most mothers mothers are more than that, but she only gets her earnings about 14,000 dollars per year. she is way below the poverty level but she is also going to get $7500 in cash from the tax credit system, she is going to system, she is going to get food stamps, she's going tot get medicaid, and when you add those things together her income

is actually well up over 30,000 dollars per year. even putting the medical assistance aside she is more than 25% above the poverty level. but that is not reflected in these numbers. >> the argument numbers. >> the argument that poverty is overstated in the united states. >> this is a very accurate measure for measuring poverty without welfare. ty2/3. when you count welfare the actual poverty rate is cut by about two thirds. the question deliver poverty policies how do we put together a welfare system that does not displace people's effort to support themselves, but complements and brings those efforts together with the welfare state to make people better off. >> the fact that the census bureau doesn't calculate the number with and without they called the supplemental poverty measure. that shows about the same pageant this year. about the same total good news. the rate for children goes from a littleos over 19% to about 16% when you count those programs, so firm one in five to one and

six. the overall rate goes up a little when you count those programs. the reason for that is that if you're going to count benefits people get from the texas and you also have to count what they pay and low income workers pay payroll taxes plus other things the census has to do to make it accurate.ly it is not true that they had the information. it is out there. the two things i would headline, the first is that i totally agree with what i think robert is saying which is that it is a huge success of public policy.y. the earned income tax credit and nutrition assistant enable a low income mother to both have ann incentive to work and to stabilize her family better than she would alone.with a what i think is not in his example of a mother with a couple of kids working full-time is that it is a dream for most single moms to be able to work full-time. you have to be able to pay for child care to do that. that is an enormous it expense, typically typically the same as housing. we have programs to support childcare and then increasingly low-wage work has a problems

with being able to work a full-time. so people get far too few hours. so the system helps a lot but there remain gaps to fix entirely. >> poverty in the united states is our discussion. olivia's with the center for law and social5, policy, robert is with the heritage foundation. both have been on our program before. ready for your calls. jesse is in michigan on the line for in michigan on the line for those that make under $25000 per year. go ahead. [inaudible] i retired in 1979, i was making $9.95 per hour. thousand 1979. now people are may be i may be making ten or $11 per hour. all.

so that's not poverty is not justice and true at all. you ask a senior citizen trying to live on six or $700 per month. u.s. them. >> we have that same comment last week when these numbers first came out and were talking about them. robert this concern from people people that they do not believe the numbers, theyt: are not seen poverty going down. >> there clearly are people who are still in hardship. also i would suffice with what he said, among lower skilled workers wages have been flat for about 40 years.at that is a real problem. the reality is that when you look at this broad population where we're seeing over 40 million people are poor, we also have data on what those people are like. the typical household among the

consensus identify nets poor has cable tv, air-conditioning, computer, internet, andph automobile, a cell phone, and if you ask them where you hungry at any point during the year, 96% of these poor parents will say our parents were our children were not hungry one day of the year. that is government data. that doesn't mean these families are walking on easy street. they are struggling but they are struggling to pay the cable tv bill and the air-conditioning ii the computer bill. and to keep their car runningve and thinks, it is very different than the normal image that we project about poverty. that is very important. if we are to back up to the larger issue though what we o really have seen really since the beginning of the war on is the decline of the american's ability of low income americans to support themselves above the poverty threshold without reliance on welfare. that is particularly true for families with children.

since that was lyndon johnson's original goal on third world poverty to make family self-sufficient so they did not need welfare and we have had a complete disaster for 50 years. >> so i will let you respond. income in the united states also part of this report i was released last week. we put the numbers out there. household income in household income in $201,556,515 a year, that's an increase of two percent. it's it's the first annual increase in median household income since 2007. maryland and the district of columbia had the highest median household income. mississippi with income. mississippi with the median household income about $40593wa per year had the lowest.

>> i just want to say to just say, think about two things are true. one is that somewhat more people have been reached by the economy than last year. that's a good news. the second thing that you're highlighting which is absolutely true is that there is a long way to go. i think your point about wages say no isee particularly important. earlier some local communities and states have been passing minimum wage increases, that needs to happen at the federal level. in addition to wages, as i mentioned as i mentioned earlier, a big problem with struggling parents and individuals is scheduling, hours. for example people getting eight hours this week, 15 the next, wanted to work full-time, wanting to, wanting to put together low-wage jobs but notes getting enough security for their hours to do it. those are big issues to address. i. i think there is more to say about the kinds of damage that poverty and low income do. i expect to see that in your daily life. you know a lot from the research now about the consequences, particularly for children growing up in families where their food is constantly scarce and people are stressed

out about it all of the time. warehousing is overwhelmingly expensive and low-income people are moving, they, they are doubled up, there is a victory,, sometimes homeless. and where the adults in the family are constantly under stress trying to juggle work and caring for kids. both things are true.those maki >> those who make over $100,000 a year we have a collar. >> reporter: morning. it is only take me 20 years 20 years to get you have on c-span's morning show. >> you have your time now. >> reporter: it is truly amazing. i wanted to comment that perhaps the reason the poverty level has dropped below i can't remembernt what the amount was in 2015 is ob because it could have taken eight years of the obama

administration to accomplish it. >> i think i would basically agree with that. that we have had eight years of extremely lackluster performance. really poverty was poverty was going up a little bit during much of that. we were supposed to be an economic recovery. when you look over that eight-year time frame this is the only good news we have seen, so it is a very dismal time. again we have higher poverty today than we did when george bush was president, not much of a recovery when you have that. this is one year good news but it is counteracted by seven years of particularly bad news. >> i think what i would say as the president came into office with the deepest recession since the great depression, prevented it from turning into the great depression and then worked withh and often hostile congress not

only to ease the effects of that immediate recession but also to accomplish some other things. so with the report shows is not only the success in terms ofof poverty, but other improvements that could very directly linked to public policy. i will highlight health insurance, the affordable care act, the fact that only 9% of americans are now without health insurance. that is the lowestlo on insurer care ever. the report also looks at how that relates to policy by looking at states that have taken advantage of the full array of opportunities and that is called the medicaid expansion. and those that have taken advantage of the policy have done better for their services in terms of healthth insurance. you can see the policy in that report. >> going to explain to viewersrs what is the center for law and social policy? >> sure. it is is a nonpartisan antipoverty organization that works to promote policy at the

federal and state level. we worked at both levels that help to reduce poverty and improve the lives of low-income people. i somewhat much of my career both leading public programs and working in research. >> robert you want to do it. age? >> it is a think tank that promotes free markets and strong values in society. what what it do is try to promote a welfare state that promotes work and marriage as the keys to self-sufficiency and well-being. while supporting those things for those that need it. i do do not believe that and thusly handing out more money in the welfare system is actually helping anybody. >> if you make under $25000 a year, julian california. >> caller: good morning. there isn't one of these problems are talking about that doesn't exist and cannot be getting rid of if we just had people in charge of our leadership who showed a

natural sense of integrity. i've lived under that life for most of my life and a veteran that has been betrayed. i've been betrayed by my nation whether or not the rest of you want to recognize it or not. you're not. you're being betrayed by the two parties to and it doesn't matter how good the person in charge are involved is, as long as they blanked to either one of these two parties they've sold us out. let me say this, for all for all of you smart intellectual college individuals out there, why can't can't you see what i see? that is there is not one of our problems that cannot be rectified, corrected him a better by just voting a third party into office because the other two parties sold us out.t please, take this message to heart.25 yea 40% of you homeless veterans, 25 years ago is 30%. these two parties couldn't rectify the people we claim to

honor all of the time when some of us can even get paper time in service let alone to what happened afterwards. >> thank you for your call.ndids richard you want to talk about the policy proposals of various presidential candidates and what might be most effective here? >> i do think one area that is very important we talked about stagnant wages for low skilled workers. one of the major reasons we have had stagnant workers for low skill workers for decades is the massive influx of low skill immigrant labor that has driven those wages down. in many cases it has driven people out of the labor marke'mo altogether. with that is a very important issue. if you bring more and more people and who, for example are immigrants without high school degree they compete with the least advantage, least skilled american workers. wages go down substantially for that group.ge some of them leave the labor force entirely, that's a disaster.

there is really no gain that anyone gets from this. we should should be using the immigration system to be doing this. >> what about a policy proposal from a presidential presidential candidate that might be most impactful? >> where nonpartisan organization so i will not refer to the presidential candidates but i will identify some that is come from president obama. i would highlight president obama made a very strong proposal on childcare the 2017 budget which the congress did not take up which would have made sure that low-income parents could get help paying for child care which contributes both to children doing better and to parents economic stability. >> if i could just back this up. if you look at child poverty all the way back to 1950, all the way back to the korean war, to the present time child poverty dropped really only during the 50s and 60s.

then it has remained constant and then a chopped in the 1990s due to the strong economy and welfare reform. for example the poverty rate among single parents at the time dropped from around 40% to -- i believe in part because of the welfare reform. otherwise all all we do is spend money and basically have welfare replace it wages to a considerablele degree. what we need to do and i think it is a problem that both parties have unlearned the lessons of welfare reform under the clinton presidency that whan we had there was a requirement that w that at least a portion of the single mother should work in exchange for the benefits they got. when we did that we had dramatic, long-term drops and poverty. much larger than what we're talking about here today. and that today.

and that went on year after year. surges in employment, not because we were taking welfare away but because we were sayinga in order to get welfare you have to also take steps to help yourself. that works really well for the beneficiary, both parties have sort of walked away from that. >> let's bring in another caller on a line who make between 51,000 dollars and 100,000 dollars per year. turned on your tv and go ahead with your comments. >> you have to stick by your phone. we'll go to another waiting in connecticut. those making under under $25000 per year, good morning. >> caller: thank you. i'm make way under 25,000 dollars $5000 because i had to go out once disability because of a packrobm problem. and it was not diagnosed.

i really struggle but i am doing better because they know what is wrong with me and i am getting some therapy for it. but i agree that we need to continue on this progress. i don't get a single foodstamp and what has helped me is they have this qmb program, quality medicare beneficiary program that was started, it may not have anything to do with president obama but it was started around the time that they offered to us. since he's been in office but it's a medicare program and very quickly i don't have to pay my premium every month and now they

have come out, the state of connecticut they have come out with a dental program. this is the first offered under medicare. in fact it is dental through important to me because i need a lot of dental work. and now i have like 61 credits toward a naturalist degree now that i'm getting help for my back and will be able to have the dental care. i can do something to supplement my income and finish my degree. honestly, you need to do something in this country, i follow politics every day and i agree with agree with the lady and she says she is nonpartisan. you need to do something, people

keep in these other republicans, they keep using redistribution of wealth and they are not for p any program that will help people. >> thank you for sharing your story. i want olivia you were shaking your head, can you talk more about the qnb. >> what i wanted to highlight, for small thank you for your comments and your commitment to going back to school and returning to work. i wanted to comment that the importance of healthcare and access to health care in order to be able to work is a really central lesson from the research. link the that's one of the reasons why the program matter so much. i wanted to underline that. i. i want to take a moment to link that back to the point that the

conversation a moment to go about one specific welfare program which is called temporary assistance for needy families which is often when people talk about welfare reform what they mean. i implemented that program originally in the clinton administration and then studied it. but i would say is unfortunatel when you look today it barely exists. it has not been successful in the way that the supplemental nutritional budget to a large de assistance program has been.gr that is for many reasons. one big one is that it was a dollar amount at the beginning. at the beginning it did what i was saying, it provided more money for child care assistance, more money for states to spend on work support and now states are not spending it on and need those things, their balance and need those things, their balance in other parts of their budget for a large degree.fior so i would highlight that the evidence we have from researchers and fits much what you said. health, . . that offer them decent wages and hours. olivia golden was the assistant secretary for children and families of the u.s. department of health and human services from 1993 to 2001.

guest: two different roles during that time. guest: if i can of his eyes at heritage foundation is also a nonpartisan organization, but it very interesting. if you go back all the way to 1970, the only >> >> feel the way a fell substantially was during welfare reform but that was a feeling that was a failure ina drop where poverty goes down and it drops down at 30%. that is because the welfare recipients are required to work in exchange for benefits were increased and poverty went down. ninety% with the individuals wok to be prepared for work but

most of the welfare statework r. does not have that type of work requirement that is why we can spend and spend. >> for those that make over $100,000 a year. >> i would like to think fee-for-service i am highly educated and make it just over 100,000 i completely agree both parties that can solve the problem and choose not to go but that is whyestabl the establishment they are not going to help the working class spec i will

not comment is vr nonpartisan but one other element with a higher education that contributed but one of the entrusting thing is is that barrick ispa a very broad research agreement to get a good job today indeed their credentials beyond high-school.s -- another pet barrett is another way that holds people back young people and adults calling back-to-school facing enormous barriers not just tuition for that more than half with the secondary education today so we think part of that solution is to

get that education for. >> a programming note today paul ryan is that the economic club of new york today at 12:30 p.m. to talk about how to create opportunities for the next generation we will hear thath. lives here on c-span. makes making 25,000 and $50,000 the year winds. >> for i agree with the young lady but elections have consequences for everything they tried to dovery th everything they did it is just a big waste of time

then to talk about how bad things are. further th they do nothing to further and i understa i understand how politics go , when you see part of that has done absolutely nothing but then they have the nerve to turnaround how things are?host: for hundreds of thousands of jobs of months if? >> those that have done badly by abandoning us policies but if you go back when richard nixon was, president the way it dropped was right after the gulf form to be signed by bill clinton to be denounced by

ms. golden as a bad policy.ic all the other policies to spend more money to create more dependence to displace work and marriage and with welfare and to supportit themselves talk without reliance on welfare that has s got worse we want to have a generous system again give son is making even done minimum-wage with additional benefits with the food stamps to supplement wageshoul'n and that is the good choice but we shin is not giving handouts without requiring the able-bodied recipients to engage in constructive

behavior to make them more self-sufficient then poverty goes down but to oppose will form under bill clinton but then traneight work free will versus them without actually benefiting the pour because those are living on a welfare check with social margins in fact, low income families today are working at high income levels and

84% with high-level of work for mothers and children with the wages to be too low c's many of those parents cannot snap and fooet. with medicaid and health insurance with the earned income-tax credit all research suggest to help people stabilize their lives and fortunately there are some exceptions to that but has unfortunately shrunk the value but they are working.

is the of full-time work with decent wages. >> there is a paradox of all the families are working than they had enough from work and welfare to be above the poverty line. even just a the minimum-wage so there is some contradiction. >> to go back and forth on this issue the dealers are having this conversation on twitter.overburdened with havino >> is overburdened with the increased number of non workers with a set amount of time knowledge it is generational. and you can join our conversation and now we have

the caller on the of line spee14 good morning would interesting conversation. homelessness was 9300 in los angeles 2013 now is it is over 14,000 homelessness. and in los angeles the area where i live, you see increased homelessness was just a few blocks away and the house cisco at $800,000ng can you a magic and homelessness in the area go for where the houses go overyou seew $800,000 and?om also black women are panhandling this was never before seen and it is the back for illegal immigration to discuss that interrelated ness that interconnectedness between illegal immigration

and the impact of the labor force of black america so these policies from the last 30 or 40 or 50 years of not working because our citizens should not be homeless so to piggyback, the veteran said i don't agree with those callers that the policiesfor amt the system is not working for american citizens. >> q word nodding your head. >> what you have to understand that of the child of the illegal immigrant they get welfare benefits but more importantly, the surge of illegal immigrants country. are employed in this country

that do not have aly high-school degree and i absolutely agree that that surge but as the calleril

mentioned those that a children of documented immigrants of a core portion of america is future. that is up problem. but one mention of the of homelessness. then enormous issue i am

glad that you highlighted housing is very expensive and one of the ways when it affects children particularly and that essentially the most common h. in a shelter. >> the line for those making under $25,000 per year go ahead. >> good morning spee14 i bring up the fact when the democratic party runs the country but that is a fact. >> we go downhill. that anti-union president no question.o

about and then went down at 9%. everybody brings every some reasoges up. but for some reason the republican party cannot figure that out. fifth so when you go to votete if you want to change do that overnight boat democratic this that simple. >>. >> caller: on the line for those to make 25,000 and $50,000 per year. >> thank you for the last call.. it' spend the money on tax cuts thea and then the heritage foundation?give me a brea with the republican party to

not pass any jobs bills, you confirmed was by the republican party and is not going to do anything for us. there is no academic literature with large numbers of illegal without a high-school degree all the studies indicate it reduces the of wages that this a disaster the only exceptionand is among legal immigrantser what

that wages go down now matter what you say.what we nee rather than u.s. citizens to have a strong economy that is the main force by which we create jobs to have a system where we don't suppress of wages of disadvantaged workers and we want to have a welfare system if you want a job and still cannot make enough, be want to help keep your system of welfare to complement your efforts to piggyback on top of. but the problem is with welfare reform, we've reformed only one of 80 programs they don't have work requirements basically

pulling the welfare recipients. >> for those making overer $100,000 a year. >> with no tax cuts for the rich but half of the people who work to pay federales taxes there are a lot of other people who don't pay no income tax. i make more than $100,000 i could make 200 or 300,000 but the property-tax is and the social security taxes and the federal tax i would bring home half of that. with the great law perpetrated on the american

people the social security system everybody paid san -- will pay and so they essentials receiving aid benefit of the social security benefit perhapsio never being paid in but those that the higher endears op maybe they pay 50 years at the top rate then they get the benefit of $29,000 ahe year somebody although laura and -- lauren and bb pays one-third the richer person pays 100 times more that is not a net from the bottom but wealth transfer systemes that is my commentk >> thank-you for your thoughts.

in terms of payroll taxes you're absolutely right. people who get be heard in come one of the ways that itk works is to provide the work incentives that you can get the supplement and be secured to work your way up so that is important from myce perspective which is also the incentive for people to work more one of the gaps it doesn't much for people without children including a father but you had so low-wage job. but one other point is hard

for you and the community that you live in to do all the things you want to do the one to encourage everybody who was watching and trying to raise kids what that means. with the specifics of our error circumstances and wanting to work mark -- work more evicted once then act risk of that again and in addition to get a credential it is very hard work with the inadequate hours in to it will

be enabled those workers to do better. >> we have another caller of the alliance spee14 won the the things i have been noticing is raising minimum wages. i have a legal immigrant i believe that is an issue that needs to be under control. to raid the minimum-wage it is how much to bring home the money that you make if they pay $20 an hour but

then you have got no place so things to be considered with the regulation of commerce to small businesses imo >> is important to recognizele l what people make some people say she is a single mother making the federal minimum-wage dennis making less than $14,000 per year how can she survive? but in reality she will get another 10,000 or $11,000 of cash through earned income-tax credit snap of credit san free lunch thing and pakistan with medicaid

together she has a dense, over $30,000 a year. that is a lot but to raise a of minimum-wage to price her added the market which is an absolute disaster to basically take any parent $1,500 the year they willco have the family and, above the of poverty level we need to make sure we have more jobs or takes those that don't work at all to get housing benefits we want to assist you to prepare for work or community service in exchange for those benefits are

and the kids will be better off unfortunately the left opposes that. >> spee14 i have to disagree from the heritage foundation. but the fact is thefo immigrants are not responsible and i spent time in europe when to invest what of the engineers for those don't have the jobs

but those illegal immigrants that they are not responsible. >> i will lead agree that investing in jobs for those that succeed is important to invest in higher education i completely agree that immigrants and their children are part of thehe future we need to make sureave g that they're able to succeed with crow rate research with the programs like snap and medicaid to raise kids to be

more successful to continue the momentum. >> there is little or no evidence to suggest giving people more welfare to break families apart that the welfare system does to increase the number of single parents at 35 percent today. those are disasters and that is what is implicated in that to give them a welfare check these are bad things we're undermining wages due to the massive inflow with the welfare state that rewards people not to work and if they get married iton penalizes them those are bad

things that welfare should be helping people rather than make them dependent. >> thanks for your time and this morning.

>> we all want to get back to making america strong and great again. [applause] . . the the >> taking place at the university of las vegas on october 19th. live coverage on c-span2.

listen free on the live app or watch live any time on demand at c-span.org. >> tonight on c-span2, the "the communicators" looks at the use of social media by extremist groups like isis. then the debate for new york's 19th congressional district. after that rand paul and chris murphy on u.s. policy in the middle east. and later, mike ensy talks about proposed changes to the budget process. >> c-span, created by america's cable television company and brought to you as a public service by your cable or satellite provider. >> host: this is the "the communicators" on c-span. this week a discussion on the issue of the radicalizati o