think nation states are going to be reluctant to do business in america if they come from a complex part of the world if we don't modify this law because all of their assets are subject not only to being confiscated through a court process, it would no longer be a safe place to do business. and i would stress this. the same thing could happen to us in other countries. if some groups that we're helping in syria somehow want to take on saudi arabia because they don't like their government, i don't want us to be sued in saudi court and the american business assets that lie in saudi arabia be seized or attached if we didn't know that the people in question were actually going to attack saudi arabia and collaborated in that attack. mr. mccain: we have another scenario -- drone strikes.

we commit drone strikes literally everywhere in the middle east where we find there are terrorists who are capable of mounting attacks on the united states of america. they're precision strikes. but on many occasions, civilians, as collateral damage, have also been killed. i mean, those are facts. those are just facts. so what exposure are we subject to now? mr. graham: that's a really good question because the purpose of this legislation is to hold nation states responsible for aiding terrorist organizations. now, the y.p.g. kurds and the turkish could be a terrorist group. but we are now chasing terrorists all over the world. we're receiving information from one organization, taking that information and military tearizing it, using it in a lethal fashion, hitting people

we don't intend to hit. here's what would solve this problem: for liability to exist on any nation state, including the united states, the only time you can be sued is if you intended and knowingly engaged in the activity, partnering with a terrorist group or separately with the knowledge that you meant for this to happen. and if we don't have that knowing requirement, we're going to open ourselves up to a lot of heartache throughout the world. mr. mccain: and isn't it logical to say that you shouldn't hold a government of a country liable if something happened by attack from their country or by one of her to citizens, that we didn't know about? i mean, this is why i'm -- i'm confused as to why that just doesn't have a logical aspect to

it that we don't want to hold people who are not guilty liable for damages. mr. graham: that is really good question. one of the defenses -- or one of the concepts we want to introduce into the new modification is discretion decisions by nation states. the original bill said you couldn't sue a strategic decision. parntsly there are some evidence that lower-level saudi officials or people in saudi arabia provided some money, helped people get passports, helped people do this, helped people do that. we don't want to be held liable if we have a rogue employee in a consulate somewhere. it has to be that the nation state at the highest level of government to be liable for the torturous act knew or should have known. and if we don't want to be guilty by association, you don't want to be held liable as an

entire nation state because you have one part of the government doing a function that was not approved by the government as a whole. all i can say is we're making strategic decisions today. i don't know how much money we've given to the kurds and other allies in syria fighting isil. but i can tell you, some of these groups in the eyes of other people in the region are terrorists. and they have an agenda outside of fighting isil. i don't want to be liable because we helped them in the cause of fighting isil if they go do something else to harm somebody else, some other nation, unless we knew about it, because it will stop our ability to have partners. and, unfortunately, in the war on trashings you're not going to win the war if you don't make alliances and sometimes these alliances are with pretty unsavory people. saudi arabia is in the same boat we're in. and if you open up the floodgates in the united states to being able to be liable

because the activity occurred, people from your country were involved, but you don't have the requirement of saying that you knew about it and you wanted it to happen, then we're opening ourselves up to a liability all over the globe because, unlike saudi arabia, we're all over the place. we're everywhere in the philippines. i can't think of a region in the world there are not american operatives, intelligence officials or military officials, that are not somehow joined in the fight against different forms of terrorism. and all i'm asking is that we modify this law. you can bring a claim against anybody you think caused 9/11, including a country like saudi arabia. but you got to prove that the government knew about it, should have known about it and aided in the actual act. and that's not in the law. and if we don't naught in the law, it's going to and if we don't put that in the law, and everybody in fighting this law is telling us we've gone too

far. so next year senator mccain and senator graham and hoh hopefully others will make it a top priority to modify this law so that we can conduct foreign policy as nation and not put our war fighters at risk because we're not helping the 9/11 families by putting people at risk for no good reason who are out there all over the world trying to protect us. that's exactly what we've done if we don't modify this law. mr. mccain: and could i also emphasize, this is not the opinion of the senator from south carolina and myself. this is the opinion of the president of the united states. this is the opinion of the secretary of defense. this is the opinion of the secretary of state. this is the opinion of the director of the central intelligence agency. this is the opinion of the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. i've had a lot of support in my time from various issues. i cannot remember a time in the last 30 years where literally every leader in government has

come out in the strongest possible fashion not to do away with jasta but to fix it so that the united states of america itself is not put in jeopardy, as other nations adopt this same law. so, mr. president, i reiterate my request that the letter from the president of the united states, the secretary of state of the united states, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, the secretary of defense, and the director of the central intelligence agency be included in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mccain: i urge my colleagues -- i urge my colleagues to pay attention to the most respected individuals of -- in this country and pay attention to why they object, not to the entire bill but the

provisions that would, as director brennan said -- would cause the most damaging consequences would be for those u.s. government officials who dutifully work overseas on behalf of our country. the principle of sovereign immunity -- and i am quoting from the director of the c.i.a. -- "the principle of sovereign immunity protects u.s. officials every day and is rooted in reciprocity. if we fail to uphold the standard for other countries, we place our own nation's officials in danger. no country has more to lose from undermining that principle than the united states." and mr. brennan adds, "and few institutions would be at greater risk than the c.i.a." i urge my colleagues not to abolish jasta but let's fix it. let's fix it because the people we respect and admire the most

and give the responsibilities to defend this nation have unanimously argued that we need this fixed. and i fear -- i fear, i say to the president, i fear the profound consequences that may arise if we, with the best of intentions, do great, great damage to this nation and its security. mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. portman: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. portman: i thank my completion for their thoughtful and informed analysis of an important national security issue. i ask unanimous consent to speak briefly, and i thank my colleague from delaware for allowing me to do soavment. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. portman: mr. president, i rise today on a sad occasion and that's to talk about the loss of an american icon. he is a fellow ohioan. he held this seat in the united states senate. he is one of our true heroes, as

an astronaut, a fighter pilot, a successful businessperson, senator, and later someone who helped young people throughout the state of ohio throughout establishing his own school at ohio state university. i'm talking about john glenn. we lost him today at age 95, and i was watching some of the coverage on television about his career, and it focused a lot on his orbiting the earth, being the first person to orbit the ernlearthin friendship 7, a capu can see down at the air and space museum. it is not much bigger than two of these desks wedged tosmght he did something important for america at that time in a space-like competition with the soviets. he feels the one -- he was the one who succeeded. what think hear too much was about his career before him being an astronaut or what he did after that amazing feat. i want tiewk about that for a

second and say that i appreciate that my colleagues tomorrow will help me in joining to pay tribute to him through a senate resolution. but prior to him being a famous astronaut, he was a famous american hero in my mind he was a fighter pilot who signed up after pearl harbor. he flew 59 missions as a fighter pilot in world war ii. he later flew about 90 missions in korea. he was highly decorated as a fighter pilot. he broke the transcontinental flight time record as a test pilot. and then he decided to join the naught corps. he was -- astronaut corps. he was part of that griewn of friendship astronauts who came famous for having the right stuff. he had a successful career in business and then he decided he wanted to be in public service. he was elected with historic numbers in my home state of

ohio. i got to serve with him there. we worked on projects tosmght he was on the same committee as my colleague infrastructure delaware was on and both of them have chaired it, the governmental affairs committee, and he loved good government. one of his big issues was stopping unfunded federal mandates. he was the house sponsor. he was the senate sponsor. he was tenacious. an that issue not all democrats agreed with him on. yet did he what he thought was right in the name of good government. we also worked on other projects together and always i found that his focus was on his state, the people he represented, and how to make their lives better. after his senate career, he started a new project. it was called the glenn school of public affairs at the ohio state university. i had the honor of teaching there before running for the senate. i was a co-teen for four -- i was a co-teacher for four semesters. he asked me to join their advisory board. i am still on the advise rise

board for now the glenn college. last year we elevated the school to a college. this was john glenn's greatest single accomplishment in the latter years of his life was to create an institution where young people could come and be inspired to go into public service and give them the tools to be able to succeed. he loved that school and he loved those students. he chaired a board meeting only last month and he did it with humor, as he always did, and passion. wurch his -- one of his big issues he talked about last month was how he wanted to have a leadership institute to ensure that more young people could ngd the importance of government service, military service, service for your country, service greater than yourself. we lost an american icon. he was also a man who loves and loved his family. his wife annie glenn many of us know in this chamber and we love her because she is an amazing woman. for 73 years they were married.

his little kids, they virtually grew up from the crib until now together. annie glenn was at his side constantly. that relationship, their partnership is an example for my wife jane and me and for all of us here in this chamber. earlier this year, mr. president, my staff and i had a retreat in ohio. we brought all of our d.c. staffed and ohio staff together to talk about how to better serve our constituents, how to define the mission, and i asked john glenn to come address that group. what a treevmen treat. our staff had the opportunity to sit and talk to john glenn about his career, but more importantly, to talk about his passion for public service and the mission he gave us was one of honor and respect and decency for our constituents and to serve the people. that was his life. john glenn's life story touches our hearts today, and his life story also is part of american history.

i yield back. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from delaware. mr. carper: i just want to thank our colleague from ohio for recalling the memory of the life of john glenn and his wife annie. i was privileged to know him. i am an ohio state graduate, rotc, retired navy captain and huge admirer of john glenn and his bride. one of my fondest memories of him was at an ohio state football game a few years ago. at half time, as the senator from ohio knows, one of the big attractions of the high school football games at half time is script ohio where the band spells out the word o-h-i-o, and usually one of the tuba players kind of dances around for a while and dots the i. fans are used to that happening. on this particular occasion, no

tuba came forward to dot the i, but john glenn and annie went on the field and dotted the i, to the amazement and delight of 1,000-some fans -- 100,000-some fans. later i was up in the press box. maybe my friend from ohio was there as well. what a joyous memory of that. then we ran for president -- he ran for president briefly, too. i was pleased to support him. he didn't stay in the race for long. i thought he was a great marine, great pilot, great astronaut, great senator, and would have been a great leader for our country. last thing i would say is this. i don't know who said this. alan simpson, former senator from -- not the late senator. former senator from wyoming. he used to say about integrity, if you have it, nothing else matters. if you don't have it, nothing else matters. when i look up the word integrity in the dictionary, and

courage as well, you see john glenn's picture. john glenn's picture. thank you for your kind, wonderful words about john glenn. and thanks for letting me say a few words as well. mr. president, i have been coming to the floor, as the senator from ohio knows, for months, a couple years, actually. i come maybe once a month. the presiding officer and i served together with senator portman on a committee called governmental skeet and homeland affairs. part of our job was to do with homeland security. i started doing something a couple of years ago. instead of coming to the floor to talk about some controversy or things we disagree on with our colleagues across the aisle, i came to the floor for a different purpose. i came to the floor really in order to say thank you, thank you to some of the 220-some thousand men and women who are worth of the department of homeland security who work hard to help secure our country, make us safer in many ways.

over the past four years, i have been privileged to serve with our presiding officer and a number of others, senator portman and others, as the senior democrat on the homeland security and governmental affairs committee, first as chairman and then a couple of years ago with tom coburn from oklahoma as our ranking member, and the last two years as ranking member of the committee while ron johnson has been our chairman. i am incredibly proud of the fact that our committee is filled with hardworking men and women, democrats and republicans who have worked across the party lines to bolster our national security, to help agencies and programs across government to work better. we have followed what i call the three c's -- communicate, compromise, collaborate. and those are the things we do in delaware on our committee. i'm happy to report that the three c's hold forth as well. serving as the senior democrat on the committee has truly been one of the great honors of my 16

years in the senate. during my time as chairman and ranking member, i have met literally thousands of department of homeland security employees. i have seen the exceptional wor they do 240 -- i was going to say 240 hours a day. 24 hours a day, seven days a week across our country and even around the world. i'm pictured here with some of them. they do extraordinary things that some of us don't even know about. what we do is every week come to the floor. people do great work. but since my first speech on this -- on this front a couple of years ago, i have come to the floor almost every month the senate has been in session just to say thanks to a lot of deserving individuals, to teams, even entire agencies at the department of homeland security who are doing extraordinary work quietly, behind the scenes, without a lot of attention to enable the department to carry out its vital missions.

actually, its many vital missions. and to everyone who has lobbied to share their stories with our colleagues here in congress and the american people, i want to say one more time thank you so much. and to all those folks at d.h.s., i haven't had an opportunity to talk about the agency i may have missed, i want you to know that the work that you do every day makes a real difference and is truly genuinely appreciated. while some of your accomplishments are hard to measure, they are nonetheless important. they are reflected in lives saved, tragedies prevented and a sense of security that americans feel as they go about their day. across the department of homeland security, there is so much good work going on each and every day that if i stood here every day for the next two years, i would leave no shortage of remarkable public servants -- have no shortage of remarkable public servants to highlight. as some of you may recall, mr. president, the department of

homeland security employees, as i said earlier, over 220,000 people -- in fact, closer to about 240,000 americans doing everything from securing our cyber network from cyber attacks to guarding our ports of entry to helping communities recover from natural disasters. their mission is one of the most diverse and challenging i think of any agency, any department in the federal government. the diversity of the employees i've highlighted these past many months is the best illustration of the challenges facing the department of homeland security every day and facing our country every day. last month, i highlighted the united states secret service officer, an officer named cody hughes who patrols the white house grounds as a uniformed secret service officer. and also special agent kate jarrell who protects americans from cyber criminals and financial schemes that are designed to cheat americans out of their hard-earned dollars. in january, this january, i

highlighted a fellow named milo booth who serves as the federal emergency management agency's tribal affairs officer, ensuring our native american communities are prepared for natural disasters, too. and in september, i thanked tito hernandez who travels around the country, this country, and he does that about nine months out of the year in the aftermath of natural disasters to coordinate the support for state and local officials as they work through some of the most trying situations. last year, last july, july 2015, i spoke of the department of homeland security science and technology directorate and the state-of-the-art research work being done by dr. michelle colby and john macatee who are researching how to protect us against, among other things, emerging diseases such as avian flu and foot-and-mouth disease while helping the department to develop the technologies of tomorrow. this past july, i thanked

lieutenant commander tianna garrett and ingrid hope with the office of health affairs for their work in preparing our border agents, doctors, medical professionals and first responders for the emerging threats posed by the zika virus. from the domestic nuclear detection office which tracks radiological materials across our country to the national intiewrt and integration center which monitors intiewrt attacks and coordinates private security efforts with the private sector, the department of homeland security is truly remarkable in its ability to work together as one cohesive unit to achieve its common mission. while it hasn't always been easy for the department of homeland security has matured by leaps and bounds to become more than the sum of its parts in the 14 years since its creation. the department remains the youngest cabinet level agency in the federal government. it's also the third largest agency in our federal government, behind only the

department of defense and the department of veterans' affairs. it was created by bringing together more than 22 different federal agencies -- let me say that again -- 22, glommed together a dozen or so years ago into one big department, d.h.s. the sheer scope of the extraordinary challenge the d.h.s. and its employees face means that leadership across the department is vital to the success of that organization, as it is to any other organizations, but especially something this large and unwieldy. i've always said that the key to success for any organization, no matter what size, is leadership, just like integrity, if if you've got it, nothing else matters. if you don't have it, nothing else matters. thankfully, the department of homeland security has been blessed with enlightened, committed leaders since its creation. i for one cannot begin to say enough about the leadership shown these past three years by d.h.s. secretary jeh johnson, pictured here on my left. soon after being sworn in, secretary johnson immediately made clear that his highest

priority would be management reform. he called it unity of effort initiative, intended to promote the coordination and cohesion throughout the department. he also focused on employee engagement and the department's hiring practices and wanting to make sure that the good work of the department was not going unnoticed. through his steady leadership, d.h.s. has begun to slowly but surely turn kind of like an aircraft carrier in the navy, improving morale by 2% across the department last year alone, first increase in the department in i think some six years. we're happy to see them bottom out and the improvement of the morale of the department is heading in the right direction. again, jeh johnson and his team deserve a lot of credit for that. and i think frankly so does our committee, the department of homeland security committee and the good work that we have done to try to put -- make sure that there is a good leadership team in place at d.h.s. and that we need to convey clearly our gratitude to those men and women who work there, 240,000 of them.

being a change agent in the federal government can oftentimes be a difficult but i'm confident secretary johnson's dedication, his perseverance will make a lasting impact on the agency's greatest assets, its dedicated employees. to secretary johnson, to his family, i just want to say thank you for your extraordinary service. every american says thanks for your leadership and your tireless efforts. thank you, jeh. until recently, secretary johnson's right-hand man was a fellow named alejandro majorkas, a native of cuba. i like to call him ale. so do knows other people. he recently stepped down as deputy of the department of homeland security. that's the number two slot there. but for seven -- 17 years, he was working tirelessly to help the security of our nation and improve the operations of the department before he became deputy secretary. in that role, he was

instrumental in strengthening the department's cybersecurity policies as well as developing critical immigration programs that cut down on fraud and helped promote economic growth. ale is a dedicated and thoughtful leader. his impact on the department will continue to be felt for years to come. in streamlined d.h.s. operations that allow employees to spend less time on paperwork and more time on protecting americans. when ale left the department a month or two ago to return to the practice of law, the department's under secretary for management, a fellow named russ dio, rhymes with rio, steps in to fill his shoes. russ has proved to be an effective leader also. with a strong but quiet misdemeanor, he is not afraid to make tough decisions. while russ has been responsible for overseeing the department's efforts to get -- get the department off of g.a.o.'s high-risk list -- high risk is something that the g.a.o. puts out every other year.

it's a high risk list of wasting money, taxpayer money. d.h.s. along with a lot of other agencies have been on it for quite a while. russ has made it very clear, along with the support of jeh johnson and ale, they want to get off that list as best they can. one of the greatest accomplishments is overseeing employee satisfaction for each and every component. i think they got a clean audit. the department of defense has been around since the 1940's has never gotten a clean financial audit. the department of homeland security is setting a great example. gotten a clean financial audit. i like to say if you can't manage your finances, how do you expect to be able to manage a whole department? that's just one aspect of the improvements being made. with this information, secretary johnson and his leadership team across the department can have every single d.h.s. employee how

are we doing, how can we help, what can we do better? another d.h.s. leader who we all admire for his leadership and steady hand during some of those challenging times is the administrator of fema, federal emergency management agency. his name is craig fugate, from florida. for the last eight years, administrator fugate has admirably led federal response efforts through numerous disasters including super storm sandy which hit the east coast, including my own state of delaware. throughout his tenure, craig has used his whole community approach to strengthen our national resiliency and help millions of americans get back on their feet after a disaster. and i know that i speak for countless americans when i can say craig, thank you for your dedication and mission of fema, for your years of service to our country and the leadership you have provided for a very, very good team across america. at the transportation security

administration, affectionately called t.s.a., retired coast guard vice admiral peter neffenger has helped his agency respond quickly and effectively to a short surge in airline travel and navigate some of the busiest travel days in american history. last month, over the course of just seven days, seven days, t.s.a. helped 16.5 million americans travel safely to visit family and friends over the thanksgiving holiday. his continued efforts to innovate while ensuring uniform training for all t.s.a. officers, we call them t.s.o.'s have streamlined security and screening at airports without compromising passenger security. millions of americans who travel through airports each week are safe thanks to neffenger's service and the men and women he

leads. when i travel through airport security i thank them and tell them who i am and tell them how much we appreciate the work we do. when you see people doing a good job and you're going through the airport, take a minute and thank these folks, these men and women. it goes a long way. they have a real tough job. over the course of the thanksgiving weekend you've got 16.5 million people trying to get through security, actually get to the airport, get packed up, their families, whatever, in their vehicles, a cab, an an uber or something and try to get to the airport. get to a place to park, get through security, get on a plane, make their plane. and the folks at t.s.a., their job is to make sure that nobody doing something has malintent gets through security. you have all these people trying to get through as fast as they can, get on their plane, get going and you have folks at t.s.a. trying to make sure nothing tragic happens in the

meantime. that's a tough job. it is a tough job. and i would urge you to give them a little bit of love and thank them for what they do from time to time. at the transportation security agency, -- every time i speak on the floor about t.s.a., i encourage people to say thank you, and i've just done it one more time. our nation is truly fortunate to have the department of homeland security that we have today. the men i mentioned are the tip of the iceberg when it comes to truly great public services at the home of d.h.s. there are many more. a number of them are charged with organizations that work behind the scenes quietly accomplishing their missions so the rest of us can go about our lives every day uninterrupted. that's something called national protection programs directorate. the under secretary susan st. --

spaulding. her team includes deputy secretary phyllis schnapp. she is from georgia tech. she is a dynamo. she left the private sector making a lot of money to serve her country and help lead the country's cybersecurity efforts. at the secret service we have a director there, a fellow named joe clancy. he protects dozens of officials through the recent election season. over to the office of health affairs, the chief medical director leads some of the best and brightest in the world. the science and technology director reggie brothers has helped make smart investments

for research and development for d.h.s. to all of you and your agencies a big thank you. mr. president, these are just a few of the incredible leaders at the department of homeland security. just a few. so many more who deserve our thanks for steady leadership, leaders like sarah saldana who leads immigration and customers enforcement known as i.c.e. gail kerkowsky, leon rodriguez, the director of -- i call him leon red bone. the director of u.s. citizenship and immigration services. then we have the commandant of the u.s. coast guard, admiral paul zumka, who everyone calls understandably admiral z. we say a very big thank you to all of you fog -- for your service.

after four years at in the homed security and governmental affairs committee, having met thousands of d.h.s. employees i believe our country is in many ways more secure today than it was yesterday. however, giving the evolving nature of the threats we face, this is not the time, to spike football, this is not the time to become complacent. we need to remain vigilant, continue to work smarter, continue to work harder. with that thought in mind, mr. president, i'm going to close by expressing the gratitude of all americans and the presiding officer, to everyone at the department of homeland security, we want to wish you and your families a very merry christmas, a joyous holiday as well as a peaceful new year for all of us. keep up the good work. we're proud of you. stay safe. god bless you all. with that, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president from

south dakota. --. the presiding officer: the senator from south dakota. mr. rounds: i would ask to speak in morning business for ten minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. rounds: i would like to speak in terms of the members of the armed forces and to remind the people of america that we're free and we will be able to enjoy a very precious holiday season coming up because of the men and women that wear that uniform on the front lines. it is their families who are making the sacrifice as they are away from home. we should keep all of them in our prayers and remember to say thank you to those families for the sacrifice that they made and thank you to the men and women on the front lines who keep us safe. with that, mr. president, as a member of the senate armed services committee, i'm pleased that we came together once again to pass the national defense authorization act, a vital piece of legislation. it is a testament to the leadership of the chairman and ranking members in the house and

the senate that members on both sides of the aisle have continued to work together to pass the ndaa again this year. i thank them for their leadership. it is important to continue this 55-year-plus tradition of passing the ndaa to show our troops and their families that they have our full support. like years past, this year's ndaa includes policies to support our wounded warriors, our troops, and their families. it also provides our military with the tools needed to combat our enemies around the globe. however, it is also the most significant defense reform legislation in decades. an example is the significant provisions to reform how the department of defense acquires new weapons. given that the number-one responsibility of the federal government is the defense of our nation to keep americans safe, it is reassuring that congress has continued to pass the ndaa every year for over half a century. to many americans and even

members of congress, the most visible manifestation of our ndaa is our combat vehicles, ships and combat aircraft that have, with our outstanding service members, made our armed forces second to none. less visible are things like training, maintenance and adequate munitions, without which success on the battlefield would be in doubt. i am pleased that this year's ndaa adequately authorizes funds for the d.o.d.'s operations and maintenance account which provides the dollars for these vital but less visible functions. the ndaa also stops the department of defense's proposed drawdown of an additional 15,000 soldiers, 2,000 americans and approximately 4,000 air men for the fiscal year 2017. additionally, it addresses munitions shortfalls and provides funds for depot maintenance and facilities sustainment. importantly, it does not require women to register for the selective service and does

not contain tricare prescription drug co-pay increases, both of which have been a concern to me and to many other south dakotans. i am pleased it includes a number of provisions which i offered to address the serious cyber threat our nation faces. one of those provisions requires the president to define when an act in cyberspace requires a military response. another requires training for d.o.d. hiring officials on how to use the special authorities congress gave them to expedite the hiring of cybersecurity professionals and pay these civilian employees more than what is normally authorized for civil service. i'm also pleased that the conference report includes my mental health measure requiring the department of defense to more carefully monitor prescriptions dispensed at military treatment facilities for the treatment of ptsd. i join my colleagues in urging the president to continue the decades-long tradition of signing the ndaa into law.

while we champion this year's bill, the most significant defense reform legislation in decades, we must also extend our view beyond fiscal year 2017. for the past two years i've served as a member of the senate armed services committee bearing witness to potential challenges that could threaten our national security if we do not address them now, including arbitrary budget caps. these arbitrary budget caps have forced the kind of false choices that are potentially so devastating for our armed forces. in particular, we must avoid the false choice of paying for readiness while assuming risk for modernization or vice versa. the american people expect us to adequately defend america next year and for every year to come. job one in that regard is to remove the arbitrary budget caps and the threat of sequestration. only by doing so can congress

fulfill its number-one responsibility: keeping americans safe. in closing, i think chairman mccain, ranking member reed and my armed service committee colleagues and all of our staff for the great legislation we had the honor to vote for today. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today it adjourn until 10:00 a.m., friday, december 9. following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour 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. finally that following leader remarks the senate resume consideration of house message to being a company h.r. 2028. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the the the presiding officer: the the

>> the senate has passed the 2017 defense programs which includes war funding and pay raises. the bill now goes to the president. on the senate agenda is the continuing resolution that was passed by the house today, current governing funding runs out tomorrow. former u.s. senator an astronaut, john glenn has died. in 1962 he became the third u.s. astronaut to go into space and the first to orbit the earth. after he left the space program he ran for the u.s. senate seat in ohio and served senate seat in ohio and served in that office for 24 years. he was an unsuccessful candidate for president in 1984 and he returned to space in 1998 at age 77, above the space shuttle discovery. john space shuttle discovery. john glenn was the last survivor of the original mercury seven

astronauts. he and his wife annie were married for 73 years. they have two children, john glenn glenn was 95. ohio senator rob portman issued a statement on the death of john glenn that set apart, john and annie have been a model for jane and me, we, we send our condolences to annie in the glen family at this difficult time. several other senators pay tribute to their colleague after the news was announced. >> mr. president, i rise today on a sad occasion, and that's to talk about the loss of an american icon. he is a fellow ohioan, he he held the seat in the united asto states senate, he is one of our true heroes as an astronaut, fighter pilot, successfulishing business person, senator and later someone who helped young people throughout the state of ohio to establishing his own

school at ohio state university. i'm talking about john glenn. we lost them today at age 95. th i was watching some of the coverage on television about his career and it focused a lot on his orbiting the earth, being the first% over the earth in friendship seven. you can see that here in the space museum it's not much bigger than to these desks together, somehow he wedged himself and it did something heroic and important to america at that time in the space competition with the soviets he was the one that succeeded. what i didn't hear hear too much was about his career before being a famous astronaut and that amazing flight that ended up with them addressing the joint session ofk congress. or what he did after that amazing feat. i want to talk about that for a second. and say that i appreciate that my colleagues tomorrow will help me adjoining to pay tribute toim him through senate resolution. prior to him being a famous astronaut he was a famous american hero in my mind because he was a fighter pilot that

signed up after pearl harbor, the 75th anniversary anniversary which we celebrated this week.he heflew 59 missions as a fighter pilot. he later flew about 90 missions. he was highly decorated as a fire pilot. he is a test pilot and broke the transcontinental flight time record as a test pilot and then he decided to join astronaut core and he was part of that group of a friendship astronauts who became famous later as being called the right stuff. ohio he then had a successful career in business and decided gila public service and wanted to be in the united states senate. he won election to the senate was reelected with historic numbers in my home state of ohio. i got to serve with him during part of his time there was in the house, he was in the senate, we worked on projects together. he was on the same committee as mcculloch from delaware was on and both of them have chaired it government of affairs and he loved the government. not

one of his big issues was stopping unfunded mandates and m was the house sponsor on the republican side, he was a democrat sponsor and we ended ui in the risk item rose garden for a ceremony. he was tenacious. on an issue that not all democrats agreed with him on but he did what he thought he was right in the name of good government. we worked on other projects together and always i found that his focus was on his state, the people he represented it and how to make their lives better. after after the his career he started a new project called the -- school of public affairs at ohio state university. o i have the honor of teaching there for a few years i was a co-teacher for four different courses and got to know john in a different way. yes me to join the advisory board that i did join in i'm still on for the glen college, last year we elevated the school to a college. this is john glenn's greatest single accomplishment in the latter years of his life was to create an institution where loved

inspired to go into public service and given the tools to succeed. he loved that school and he loved the students.ays he chaired a board meeting last month and he did it with humor as he always did and passion. one of the big issues he talked about last month with how he wanted to have a leadership institute to ensure more young people could understand the importance of government service which he thought was a noble undertaking, military service, service greater service greater than yourself. we lost an american icon. he was also a a man who loves ad loved his family. his wife, annie glenn minney of us know the chamber and we lovee her because she's an amazing woman in her own right. for 73 years they needed were married a new each other virtually from the time there young kids. annie was by her side constantly in their partnership is anr example for my wife jean and me and for us in the chamber.

earlier this year, mr. president my staff and i had a retreat in ohio. we brought the d.c. staff in ohio staff together to talk what constituents and to define the mission and i asked john glennnn to come and address that group.o what a treat. peopl our staff had the opportunity to sit and talk to john glenn about his career, but more important to talk about his passion for public service in the mission that he gave us was one of honor and respect and decency for our constituents and to serve the i people, that was his life. john glenn's life story touches or hurts today and his life story also is part of american history.aware. i'll back. >> the senator from delaware. >> i want to thank our colleagues from ohio for privi

recalling the memory in life of john glenn and his wife annie. i was a privilege to know him i was at ohio state graduate and a huge admirer of john glenn. when my finest memories of him o was at ohio state football game a few years ago and at halftime one of the the big attractionssc at halftime is the script oh i/o and usually they dance around and that's why. i, john glenn and annie were on the field then off the field that in the eye for the amazing and delight of a hundred some thousand fans.ress

i'm not sure, maybe my friend from ohio was there as well, but but what a joyous memory that was. and then when he ran for president in 82 is pleased to support him, he didn't sit stay in the race for long but he was a great marine, great pilot a great senator and a great leader for our country. blessing out say is alan simpsos former senator from wyoming used to say about integrity, if you haven't nothing else matters, if you don't have it nothing elseaa matters.john if you look up the word integrity in the dictionary, courage as as well you will see john glenn's pitcher. thank you for your kind and our wonderful comments about john glenn.ill b >> our country lost an american

hero, colonel colonel john glenn, senator john glenn, i'll be back at a later date to deliver more formal tribute but i want to share some initial thoughts as i along with my wife connie and so many of my ohioans mourn for john glenn and join so many people around the country that loved him and cared for him and respected him. spend one of the great let blessings in my life to get to know john and to count him in annie as mentor and friends. we remember remember a few short w years ago in the 50thaw anniversary of his flight into space the night before we had dinner with john and annie, connie, i, john, and annie and his children david, and len and his daughter-in-law, david's w wife and how interesting wed loved him the first time i met

john glenn, 1969 it was colonel glenn then long before he was elected to the senate he spoke to an eagle scout in mansfield, ohio. only a few short weeks earlier i i was awarded an eagle scout i got to meet him and his words inspired us, they stayed with me as i look for ways to serve community and country, 38 years later john rented me the honor of walking me down this centeree i'll when senators are sworn in, any term they serve they are accompanied by often a senator from their state or former senator, whomever that said elector that senator seem to be sworn in chooses and i chose to walk down with my friend and former senator at that point,

john glenn. he john's kindness, he had a humility and kindness unusual and perhaps in this business and perhaps somebody of his level of accomplishment, his kindness, intelligence, courage, we know about that in his commitment to service set an example that her country needs today more than ever. his legacy will live on, not just to the pages of the history book, it will live on through the american scene americans he inspired, whether was a passion for exploration that led him to join nasa, a dedication to country that called him to the armed forces, a desire to make the world a better place place that led him to public service. general live in the hearts of everyone he knew and loved including his beloved wife, annie and his wonderful joh children, when and david. i spoke with annie and john on their 73rd wedding anniversary. annie told me the story that i knew they knew each other in

grade school, they dated beginning i don't know exactly when. i asked annie if they wanted to marry in high school and she said yes but her parents said they couldn't do it because it wouldn't last so they waited until after pearl harbor when i believe jan john was 20 and annie was 21 and they were married for 73 plus years. ohio in the united states lost a great light today but that pales in comparison to what he gave over the 95 years on earth. i hope my colleagues will join me in sending out our love and prayers to john's family during this difficult time during the-- holidays. harry i heard john glenn stories even today when the ceremony unveiling the portrait of democrat leader harry reid took place in the russell building and a number of formerf colleagues of johnson came up tn me and they had just heard of

his the death that happen mid afternoon today. so i thank them for their memories and remembrances. >> it is my said duty to announce the passing of john glenn. john glenn was one of the original seven astronauts of this country, all of them were characterized as having thehem, right stuff and if you knew any of them, that was certainly true. john glenn was not only a a pioneering astronaut it was the first class gentleman and also a devoted husband and father. he leaves behind annie, his beloved who i was stood with him

who ventured the eyes unknown cosmos. it was unknown. because john was the first to go into orbit as the american. he paved the way for all of the rest of us. now, at his passing america is in the planning and developing of the rockets that will take us, human species, all of the way to mars john glenn was the pioneer, he was the one who paved the way. >> thank you mr. president you'll the floor. >> sumac i have consent to the distinguishing senator from florida. >> without objection. >> i was a little bit delayed

getting to the floor this afternoon because i was in tears, literally when i heard the news about john. i think of my last long conversation with them just a few weeks ago, i would say more on the floor about him but i came to the senate with him so i enjoyed traveling with him in the innominate mini and they would say there's colonel glenn. wasn't senator glenn, is colonel len. the time i remember the most was when we went back to the farmhouse in vermont from flying

around in landing and taking off and landing on another one, we went to a convention where everybody said there's colonel glenn and some bald guy with him. and that was me of course. we went there, flew back i saw annie traveling around. john landed the plane missed if crossed when and there's pontoons in and out on it he had to bring it inside ways. i didn't worry, it was john. glenn. then he turned to me with a big link and he says, i've never been so frightened flying anything in my life. but i don't think john ever got frightened at anything but my

heart nearly stopped. i appreciate my friend from iowa yielding to do this but john was one of the best people i ever served with an eye speak what it was like coming here is a brand-new senator i came here and was sworn in with john glenn >> now oklahoma senator james langford talks about a recent report on government spending from today's "washington journal" this is about 35 minutes. >> sumac we are back at this smyrna here to talk about wasteful spending in washington

the federal deficit by the way for 2016, 587,000,000,000, 587 billion, the federal debtebo more than 19 trillion. that equals about $165,000 perto america household according to the report, 247,000,000,000 in wasteful spending as inefficient regulations. joining us from capitol hill is joining us fromm capitol hill is the author offo: that report, the federal fumble, senator langford of oklahoma, republican., republican. thank you for being here. let's talk about, is the wasteful spending this year that you outline, any worse than other years, is it getting worse or better? spee-02 i don't think it's getting worse or better think were trying to identify ways to eliminate debt but it's kind of whack a mole when youin have this much of federal

spending. what we try to identifies 100 examples, not an exhaustive list by any means of types of waste or types of areas where government is not fulfilling its responsibility.e so we can start looking for. systemic issues and work on how to fix those things. >> your title 100 ways that the government dropped the ball, what stands out to you? >> guest: there's a few things. when you you deal with either grants or federal regulator agency not fulfilling its task are areas where the gao has put out accountability reports and it not been fulfilled, those those are some of the highlights that we walk through. like a great that was a 2,000,000 dollars study to look at climate change in china and how it affects the giant panda, it's one thing to be a look at climate change and another to do a chinese study on it or haveols million dollars digging graves in iceland from the eccentric to the 12th-century or a grant from the nah that study children ages 5 - 8 and if they'll eat food that has been sneezed on. all of those those things stand out as issues that we look at say why

did this grant get approved? how does this affect and help the federal taxpayer in the united states or whether it be the office of personnel management when we believe they dropped the ball because it takes months for federal employees just to be able to get into their retirement. they announced their retirement with plenty of time, they work through the process of getting retirement for most americans in the private sector when they retire their benefits pick up immediately, in the federal government could take half a year or more which puts federal retirees at a disadvantage.s is the s so it's clearly an error where the federal government is dropping the ball. >> host: this is the second time you've done this report, why do you do that and doesn't have an impact? thi >> guest: why we do it is too

racy attention to the american people, it's my concern during the presidential election and during the last year, fewer people are actually talking about debt and deficit, seems to be a back burner issue. i'm trying to remind people that this is a major issue this is a major issue that we have to address as americans. nineteen and a half trillion dollars in debt in the country and as he mentioned half 1,000,000,000,000 dollars in overspending this one year alone, this is certainly an issue. people seem to say let's focus on other issues, let's do more infrastructure spending a more spending in other areas trying to remind everyone that the clock is ticking on a very ticking on a very predictable debt bomb that is coming. doesn't make a difference? yes. agencies will come to us will try to identify and work with her colleagues and work with solutions with the issues that we10 bring up our commitment is every single one of them we bring up as a problem but we also bring a solution as to how to solve the so that nobody gets the feeling that this is unsolvable. all of these things are solvable. we bring up our solution and encourage our colleagues to say if you have

other solutions bring them home it's try to admit this is a problem and work towards a solution. >> we invite our callers to ask about the report. senator, does this continuing resolution that could likely pass in the house and could be brought up in the senate on friday, is that continuing downd the road toward a debt bomb? spee-02 it is. that's the problem with continuing resolution. a lot of these terms get thrown around to many of your viewers are extremely well educated on the issues but a continuing resolution is nothing different than taking last years appropriation bills just changing the date on it moving it over to the issue. it doesn't address theories of overspending or surgically going of overspending were surgically going to change things like an appropriations bill does.

an appropriations bill goes line by line, agency by agency and allocates funding. says you have to stop here and increase here. a continuing resolution orro cer just take the last year, moves it to this year, regardless of the things that are been discovered there were problems in the last year or regardless of new priorities that we mayy have for the coming year. it is a problem, while it keeps a government open at dozens of the long-term issue. >> how do you plan to vote. if you feel strongly to do this report and look at month a conversation about debt and deficits to continue, why not continue to hold up this continuing resolution or are you planning to do? spee-02 i will vote against the continuing resolution for those reasons that identify. i'm on the appropriations committee. we did all 12 bills in the process, most were most are very bipartisan and some passed unanimously off committee and then a filibuster on the floor not been able to get to the for forcing us to get to a continuing resolution at the end. wally keeps the government openr it doesn't turn the help the

long-term problems. >> we do anything to help stop the progress of a continuing resolution getting past and senate question. >> guest: no. were at the lewis moment. we. we negotiate to the last moment and the alternative is a long-term government shutdown and that does not save us money. it it costs us more money than it saves. going through the process of going through the shutdown andey then to reopen again. talk about physical responsibility it's better to keep it open and going then to do the open and shut th2 which in the long-term we have to resolve this. this is theti 20th year in a role that role that we've had a continuing resolution. 1974 when the budget act wastoo rent the push was to create a process that was transparent.

what is happened is we've only four times for the budget process has happened correctly. so if your viewers feel like every year we get into the same budget slide it's because every year before since 1974 we been in a budget fight like this. we have to create a better process. there's a small group of usce that's not the last year led by mike in the budget committee and the senate, david from georgia and, david from george and others to be able to step in and say how do we actually solve the budget issues by creating a process that actually works. currently this process does not work. sometimes they have to admit that we have to get a better process. >> in addition to that you are the author of this report federal fumbles and the independent journal review put together the most bizarre thinga from your report. one being gas station tofu, regulations that require gasva stations to provide healthy food like tofu and shrimp. medieval smells is number three and then ruling under the influence of social security administration reports and one administrative law judge

routinely assaulted a female employee and was intoxicated in doing so. the report stating back to 2011 work north and he continue to issue ruling. leave the ruling.done leave the dolphins alone isit w number five, the rule was proposed in 2016 that will prevent americans from swimming with dolphins, number six on independent journals list is the war on christmas has they have a christmas board to strategize effective ways to encourage americans to buy big pine trees. so let's get to calls, tracy and california's independent, your first. >> caller: good morning, thankng thank you for taking my call as a taxpayer i'm concerned about the government not being a good steward over the money i give them every year to run the

government. so question is how do you plan on working with the incoming administration to scale back on regulation, cut the wasteful spending and number two, how can a citizen get involved with efforts of what you're doing right now to help conggovernment not have more wasteful spending? spee-02 that's a terrific question. any citizen can call in and be member of congress or the senator to be able to identify an area wasteful spending and they reported. the staff can stop work into the process if you're in the government agency any individual 's protected to be his colleagues inspector general of their agency to say i see a problem with wasteful spending. i often have federal employees that are within the brock or see that will say to me, i know where there's millions of dollars of waste, so we will take that will start running the research and no start work inter

process to identify that. people should be engaged in their own government. throws what this administration is doing, very encouraged as you may know there's a book called the plum book, it's all the political jobs across all of america, there's over 3000 of them online if you want to see them or you can google plum book had to be able to see it. the the administration incoming and i've heard some say before filling the jobs and looking for what jobs are open and what jobs they can fill their asking hard questions, should that job exist at all? these are political appointeese and often put into positions within the federal government and their put into that spot.iet the question is, is there a nee. for that job at all. that tells me they're beginning to think through his the areas we can create efficiencies and they will have to work through the process and answer the question, what should the federal government do. if they do that they should do it very well very efficiently. there's some things the federal government should a two, states,

cities, communities, businesses and individual family should do. we have to find a way to not do the things were not supposed to do but do the things we are supposed to do very efficiently. >> host: and his next from new york, republican. >> caller: hello. >> host: good morning you're on the air. >> caller: good morning i have two questions, one is about opm, you have said that there ispe waste, well one waste as i've been trying to call office of personal management for over a a week now and they take the phone off the hook so you cannot get through. now through. now for people like me who don't have a cell phone or computer, how are you supposed to talk to anyone? my second thing is about social security. that was a slap in the face whes fruit 2017 they're giving 0.7.73% when millionaires and billionaires can get money. so can you answer those two questions?y look >> guest: the cost of living index what happens or social security every year. they they look at the cost of living and

they look at different product the consumer use and evaluate. that's been a statue a prolonged time. you're right, it's a very flat economy and very littleci growth in what's called the gross to messick product over the last several years, there have been multiple years there has been no increase in the social security benefits. this year very tiny, a one third of one percentage point of an increase. that space on thed. growth of the economy and that reminds us that the economy is not growing fast at all right now, if at all. the first question that you had is about the office of personal management is one of the areas that we had. they are test to handle some of this for every employee but when you retire there your point of contact, back to your own federal government for retirement answering questions and benefits in all of that. they have been insanely inefficient over the course of the last several years they're

built on a paper system. there's not a consistent process when you retire from the agency to get that consistent information it takes months to get benefits to start or to get a good answer to a question i would encourage you to go to your house member senator and let them know that you're having trouble getting through and see if they can call the government desk and see if they can help you work through this. >> david, from maryland a democrat. >> caller: hello. i don't want to take too much of your time i know you're very w busy, i'm watching c-span, wasteful federal spending on concern because i'm on social security disability, wondering how this is going to affect social security and social security disability. >> so long term effect for social security disability is an area that has to be addressed by congress, you go back to decades

ago, to peroneal and ronald h reagan worked a long-term deal 30 years out on the horizon to make sure they could stabilize social security, that needs toay occur again, we have about 25 years before we reach a point were social security is absolving. it doesn't mean that it's bankrupt it means there's not enough money to cover what's there. right now we should there. right now we should be lookingri on the ford horizon and say what can we do to stabilize social security and to make sure it continues to function as it was designed to function. the disability issues issues is a different issue.so we have a tremendous number of people who have applied for social security disability that do not qualify fee qualify. social security disability has a process of so many appeals and that literally there more appeals in the social security disability program than it is for most people and death row. it's an endless set of appeals,i often an initial denial in the long paperwork trail.

attorneys are involved and it's an inefficient system. people on social security disability that apply for it are the most vulnerable people in the country. there should be a safety net under them but that should be provided for the people that qualify not people who don't qualify and it's rare i don't run into someone that says i know someone down the street that works on the side for cash that's getting social security disability that's also getting some of my money from social security but is also working on the side and obviously there able to works there just choosing to file for benefits to supplement. that's not what the programs to sign for it. it was designed in law for individuals who cannot work anywhere in the economy and need a safety net.on that has to be reformed. >> host: i want your reaction to president-elect donald trump choosing scott pruett to head up

the epa. what can you tell us about him? >> scott has been a friend for years, he's a terrific human being, person most people would enjoy sitting down with and having a conversation with meeting he's a great guy but also passionate law and order guy. his frustration is the entirenga attorney general has been working to say if the law says this than everyone has to follow the law, if everyone wants to make a change in the law that we can do that and he'll help enforce that but his challenge over and over again has been there's a role for the federal thvernment to do, they they need to do it well but they don't need to do something that is not in the law. of heard people over the last 12 or 16 hours since the announcement came a better w challenging scott same his anti-environmental but that's not true. in oklahoma we have we wind power, we have great electricity and better companies , we have solar, gas, coal, oil, we truly are all the above state. scott has been consistent at protecting all of the energy sources out there. he also believes the federal government should not try to create law out of regulation. they should follow the law and

regulation should follow that will not the regulation to reinterpret some old law and a new novel way that nobody had considered. i think you'll be a terrific administrator for the epa. >> host: will have to get senate confirmation, do you expect that will happen? >> guest: i expect it will be contentious. anytime we deal with the epa is a contentious issue in the congress and across the united states. so many companies have been driven out of business because of actions of the epa, a lot of people have lost their jobs because of overregulation from the epa, this will be a big issue for a lot of people has their challenge not only climate change issue but issues of employment trying to determine how to walk that line. that's an issue for congress. as congress debates and has debated historically there's a line to draw historically there's a line to draw between protecting the environment and protecting

employment. that is something scott pruitt will be tasked with. >> host: what about president-elect trumps other choices or potential choices? do any of those give you positive so why? >> guest: i don't know if they give me pause, were learning a lot more about these individuals.prth he's had a solid group of people, we look at from hhs, he's a physician, physician, numb member of congress somebodp who has talked to a lot of constituents across georgia and with healthcare in general and what's called the senior for medicare and medicaid services, cms he's very familiar with those issues and there's been a lot of problems in hospitals. for instance in my stay, and the hospitals in my state, not single one is doing better one after obama care than before. they were all promised to walke in with insurance, fewer

payments that are charity payments and uncollectible debt. for every sigel hospital in my state they have a higher amount of uncollected debt and a higher the higher charity right off now. a lot of hospitals are very vulnerable. those of the type of issues that you hear were world stories. l beink doctor tom price will be a terrific a leader.will m they're very smart, very engaged, and other law and order guy who will make sure cia continues to follow the law integrate to service internationally. a lot of good pics i have seen i will watch those rollout. >> host: and independent callers on the air. >> caller: thank you for bringing this issue up, my question is, what happened to the balanced budget amendments? are state legislatures, their number one job is to balance the budgets. for the past 16 years there has been unlimited spending that has been enabled by the federal reserves lower interest interest rate, i would just like to hear you explain what is going on. we

would give you all an fm budgeting for the past 16 years and eight years art deficit will be $1 trillion. >> guest: you should give congress enough on this it's been incredibly difficult issue

that doesn't seem to be obvious to congress. in state legislatures like my state of 48 other states they have a constitutional requirement, literally their legislature cannot quite a session until they balance the budget, so it is a focus, they have to get to hard decisions and therefore so that spot. legislatures will only do hard things when they're forced to do hard things. the forcing mechanism for state legislators state constitutional requirement. there is no such requirement on the federal government to balance their budget. so there is no forcing mechanism to get there. and congress will only do its job when they have to do their job and it's creating those forcing mechanisms. québec to 9495 there's a push to do a balanced budget amendment at that time, that passed with two thirds necessary in the house, balanced budget amendment at that time, that passed with two thirds necessary in house, went to the senate and failed by one vote in the senate. if that would've passed in 1995 we would have a balance budget right now because i was part of that group that came into the luse we brought up thatt se l same it is a great frustration others many people that believe with the president a few years ago bill clinton newt gingrich still talk about balancing the budget in their time. in a a bipartisan way. is there anyway we can agree on the goal or to have a balanced

budget. at that time he said no. i don't believe we should have a balance budget, we should overspend to stimulate the economy and eventually it will all catch up. my concern is that you cannot keep overspending and assume it will not catch up onol us. interest rates will rise and will create a larger issue. this is something we have to address. >> host: will go to missouri, go ahead with your question or, for the senator. >> caller: i have a question, how can we balance the budgetch and keep giving the reach people tax cuts and why isn't the money in these accounts, those secret accounts overseas that have trillions of dollars in it on top of the money that is overseas that they're not paying taxes on. >> guest: that's a great question. >> caller: what you think the american people out here so frustrated. the poor people are suffering

and the rich keep getting richer.n. >> host: okay beverly spit. >> guest: you brought up the second part about tax issues ine american money parked overseas it's entirely accurate. there's about two chilly dollars of american money from american companies that they also do business overseas which we want companies to do, we want people in america to do business all over the world. the problem is with the tax code if they make money overseas in their overseas operation they are double taxed him but bring that money back. companies based in america that do business overseas when they make money overseas they leave that money overseas rather than bring it back, that is to trillion dollars parked overseas that could come home but won't based on a tax policy. it's one of the issues that has to be addressed. not. not only the complexity of the tax policy but it encourages

companies to move overseas for their operation rather than encouraging here. i will often often talked about characteristic approach. it's often the government will say they'll be done them with a stick to say that you have to come back to operations. the other is to ask why would a company want to move overseas and then look for the carrot to bring that money back, that brings jobs, income, reduction in the deficit. it's important to balance out that policy and get that right. >> host: speaking of tax policy, dean baker writes in a piece entitled the republican deficit hawks abandon their religion and he rates in here thatnald trump president-elect, donald trump is talking about substantial increases in spending and ave large cut in revenue according to analysis of the policy center his plan will reduce revenue by more than nine trillion. it would add 800,000,000,000 to hundred billion to the annual deficit when it takes effect

with the increase over time. goes on to say you think the republican caucus would want to do's oppose it. he writes there's an important difference between the origin of the trunk deficit in the deficit the republicans fought under president obama. while the cuts under the targeted program that benefited large segments of the population , more than half a mr. trumps to the rich is part of the population. what is your reaction from what you're hearing? spee-02 as individuals as individuals know anytime you talk about tax reform no one group brings the tax reform proposal gets push on the way through. president-elect trump will bring up his ideas, paul ryan andd mitch mcconnell will bring ideas from house and sign it, what's

coming from the senate and the ways and means of the house, all those individuals will work together to form the real tax plan. when you talk about what was set on the campaign trail and a proposal, those proposal, those are proposals, a set of ideas, but get has to the legislative process will score it and get hard numbers that everyone can agree on rather than one economist than another. then will be able have a public debate. the focus though is thatbate. simplifying it where it encourages businesses rather than discourage, encourage people to be able to make their own money and save their money rather than laypeople with no money as individuals and you have to be a find a process that that will work for all americans. that will be up there and will be a debate but anybody who looks at a specific plan those are not the final plans, this is the starting point of negotiations. >> host: muscular paul or milo, republican. >> caller: hello senator, things are been on this morning, my question is regarding the department of education, the

budget last year i believe was t about $77 billion and i think education should be left up to the states, what is your opinion about that? >> guest: the department of education really is a place that take state money and they put in these ideas and distribute ite back to the state.it was state should make that decision constitutionally.ot liste it's not listed for a reason because states and local areas would not be able to lead out education. while there is a responsibility with the federal government and the education for tribal members that's a constitutional issue, the preponderance of education needs to be left back to the state. i'd hope hope this is an area where there'll be encouragement

to be able to turn out of dc. i tell you last year we passed a bill called every student succeeds, it repealed the no child left behind mandates that a better washington, d.c. for 15 years. was a set of mandates created were d.c. was becoming the national school board to try to tell every school district and state how to do education, we turn that back in a bipartisan way. president obama signed it in the wall street journal called at the first time in 20 years that power has left washington. it was a turning out of the legislation priorities. the other issues have to follow that to make sure that we can actually manage the spending bye managing the priorities folks seem on the responsibility. >> host: now to ohio a democrat. >> caller: i have two things i want to mention. one, you're talking about the tax money left overseas, all these companies that went overseas to invest they got a tax break from the united states

through the investment most of the time low-interest loans from our government in order to do the investment,'s they're not getting text twice, they're just paying the tax first time because they never paid it in the perst place. the problem, the people that make the laws today, including yourself have never saw hard day in your life and you say well i have come but no you haven't, you have worked and went to school and from school you went to work again there's people out here without jobs for years at a time. they don't know where the next dollars coming from. they gett food stamps and they cut him off because they been on for six months. unemployment is cut off because it's been for six months. thank congress refused to pass a jobs bill for the last six years to help the poor people. once the poor people realize they are on the same people than the whole thing would change. we vote againstted her own self-interest just likew just what happened now with trumpet office. i have nothing against him at all.

because the media, all of thosee different things allowed him to get into office and that our system works. i do have a concern with people that have never suffered it in their life to determine that people on social security don't deserve a raise. the spouse of the social security recipients gets a meager amount because one pers'n worked in the other didn't.to ts so it's not conducive to the small person in this country. >> host: thank you james will have the senator jump in. >> guest: that's a fair question >> guest: if we were able to sit down and talk face-to-face i could walk you through mild personal history. i spent most my time working two jobs for long time. before i was ever in n po . . ics was a way to serve people, just like doing in ministry.

been families -- i had a tough upbringing. walk through and work when my mom was working and work for my brother and i >> >> and the targets of the security is to provide a safety net to help people not fall into extreme poverty that they cannot survive this some way tuesday we don't want anyonee to not have any place to sleep community groups arenonpro non-profit sort churches also provide assistance as well as the federal government. that is over short periods of time with transition that social security was designed to be a safety net but the

original design is something could supplement that that is a supplemental nutrition program. and that is to help them. also to set a precedent across the country.ea >> you can read the report to the yankee for your time this morning.

>> we are joined by a the the democratic representative from california talk about the upin president-elect financial interest there is an update this morning on the president-elect previous earlier comments that he would turn over business operations that he would not divested there is aor difference. the president-elect formally turning over the operation responsibility for his morning real-estate company to him is to adult sons and he refuses to divest according to those of bin briefed on us discussions it is not finalized but what is talked about. >> this is a problem.ever had we have never at at

president like this. i think in his last week is moving in that direction so i will take a bad his word.for windows investments. >> and he said he owns real estate you cannot just so that often is more difficult than that and he owns that all over the world's bin nike new that these are the conditions when he decided to rent for president. did we need to see if he is being consistent. >> host: have you gotten a response? >> guest: we ask for that and a letter in the democratic side.

he also said it in his last week the impact on the nation that that is more important than his personal holdings.control and why is that important to be justines over control? offic >> i am a small business person have been elected local government and the legislature over 30 years and as best as it can be and in the president-elect case and with the global financial empire to make sure when he makes the decision it is not to make more money for himself.the pres-

so he does not have belied the of confidence in terms of his trustworthiness that he will divest himself. so we will see how he handles this. >> host: what does it mean to divest? >> guest: to be one full arm's-length of removal. to set aside the holdings is interesting. >> there is some of reporting now considered by the trump family the eldest daughter were also taken a leave of absence from the trump organization that she is exploring a move to washington with her husband

as yet undetermined role to advise his father a lot to be an advocate in which a personal interest like child-care before separating from her father's business also how to disentangle from her licensing brands for apparel and looking to appoint a president for the day-to-day operations. is there a concern of hisss sudden and line and doddered sizing him? >> the devil is in the details for the lawyers to decide the rural -- there will be a difference off opinion but this is tricky and complicated.

but i do think he has to meet the love letter of the law? so it is very clear to be complicated and he will be accused and a more forthright he is and the better for him and the country. >> absolutely.sh that was one of the shocking thing is and he said he would. brother was an audit or explanation on his part, he should show the american public is taxes every year. >> host: was specifically policy decision is there a conflict of interest?

>> guest: it is because it is so unusual to be all over the globe.flict and their so intensive. to be ceo of the of corporation the pairing is the importance and is the clear arm's length? >> there is several things to say about this on twittered to say i will hold the major news conference in c new york city with mymb children december 15th to discuss the fact that will be leaving my business fully to focus on running the country to make america a great again although not mandated to do so in a way will i have a conflict of interest to say legal

documents are drafted that takes me out of the area and he would be his business in total. >> that would be good. this is a reagan situation un trust and then verify. it is because of his holdings i will take command his word to assume he will do that. we need to ensure that the. details. >> host: the office of government ethics that help with the transition to let the know where the athletics six laws and guidelines had a reaction to say to handover control budget deal the way to resolve these

complexes to divest. good call we are delighted that is the right decision but then your times said the next day he never said he would. >> there is another challenge that there is contradiction both by him so in this case but to have a courier concise letter of lovelock.comp and our role is to be sure that they comply. >> host: be will take some questions. >> so from mayan disbanding

-- from my understanding it is like franchising all over the of world his wealth must have increased tenfold by what has just happened and that this is totally different. in light of those if you say it is time to do the right thing point that this is the discussion to give up though whole life work to serve the government for four years? >> we all give up what we gain a lot as a wonderful job with the state and local and federal level.

i you enjoy the work but when you ride you know, that. >> caller: but this somebody actually explain bell laws he is breaking quick so does he divest himself to see go back to his original name? >> that is interesting this is not my opinion both of constitution and court cases with the office of ethicsof are working with the president-elect and his and uh constitution and case law but the but that is the trump name how you separate that i don't know but you could consider it is a

double-edged sword that is the case with the troubled brand that is from the statutory requirements that you want to do the right thing and also with president-elect and, president of the united states. >> i do see donald trump trying to separate but i want to know to bring jobs

back here to the states but you need to make an investment because when the people come out of povertyrybody and to focus on spending to reap the rewards. >> ed is a great question as well sometimes you have to spend money to make money and as research has told the sec have spent a lot of time in this area in the of legislature.

evening california and to find those jobs and then manufacturing overseas in is coming back but not bringing new jobs because of robotics and technology has taken those. it is a complex area up. up ou we all have to roll up our sleeves and find out how to lessen the pain because your job is part of your identity and yourself fourth including california where businesses have moved bin they go into despair with the health issues of drug and alcohol abuse and suicide and of course, it is one of the biggest issues

and we have to address this.cial we can just said the warrant is change backed withnd urgency they are just left to wait to see what happens but your question for me is optimum. >> host: undemocratic to from virginia go-ahead. >> caller: good morning. happy holidays. the question from the republican sen congress they do with every one to we will y trust you want your business dealings but isn't that also going to pose a potential problem because he said he will not cut social security

and they can all say thereou are shady dealings over there so sign mobley tell you so couldn't this be dangerous quick. >> in this tremendously dangerous. not just wall street and business as up proud bank for what they did toio incentivized their staff and when i was in denver to be yes social ethics and holly's reinstate that and

we talked about this yesterday this issue that is important to him. econo in did is important for trump as president-elect and a business owner.ivate and in the private sector and to the degree that he is the private sector figure it is the rubio opportunity to change these institutions. >> host: talking to a california democratic representative desaulnier elected 2014 serving hiss second term with the 11th congressional district.

>> caller: good morning. i mean node disrespect what about wells fargo and what happened? as with those bogus accounts nobody went to jail. talk about separation of the government with the clinton foundation that should be prosecuted hillary isun running around with the state department with the clinton foundation. talk about bush and cheney. we have the back oil company and halliburton everybody in congress is tied to a business so shutdown and do a knotted to get rid of everybody that has ties to

the government. >> guest: i agree with everything that you said. wells fargo should be held criminally responsible in there is a car about to pursue criminal investigations to close that loophole. so i absolutely agree that government is opposed to big business. when you use words like everybody there is an exception but again you head down the important point they have to have that confidence in the businesswhen y institutions if you want to buy a car but unfortunately too many businesses have done a risk assessment that people have been prosecuted

for much less for it is the damage on wall street for those thomas's given nor expected so there should be transparency between the relationship and all special interest. >> they save the rnc will hold the christmas party at the international hotel that to g.o.p. sources confirmed that it is more exclusive celebratory to those enjoyed in that day are leveraging that political power for private gain.ti >> and with his concern even

if you could find that position is just should not thve been. i get there are people with the president elected do think it is a huge mistake to separate the properties and the upper and but if i were in the republican organization that would be very careful. >> host: why is it the reform committee should be looking into this? why this committee? >> guest: that is part of the oversight committee. i enjoy being non uh committee and again when i

was in the local government in prison politics comment to oversee the running of the county in the bipartisan position that is the premium responsibility of a government agency. that is the upper view of where we should have the hearings.h parties wo and that both parties and to free in-store confidence. >> good morning but did bloomberg so off all of his interest with the media

empire as mayor of york? them looking at an article in the eddy york times wher but did is the policy family sell-off for interest when she was in office? cal but actually they make laws to exempt them. i think it is the owl will hypocritical for his holdings when all love the politicians have him have the same thing now you urges looking for something to attack. >> guest: i just cautionways e that there is always exceptions. i can only speak as there is no legal challenge and fed

it is all that week f although he should be held to a higher standard but also all this has to be done with the infrastructure and as you say we have exemptions but in my case to the state legislature i did not want to have any conflicts. it is difficult to do but it is worth it and we knows the rules in diane in agreement. and did misha the kitchen to that. >> to report that donald trump has learned something

from bloomberg party did that pet evening gave the effort to only be part fall's successful his cue from his ownership stake after this and friends spirit but the main business for fraying but city group and morgan chase and others that our up for contracts and tax abatement.n you can find that story on cnn. good morning. >> caller: i do agree the same standards should apply to everyone. a it doesn't leniency policy

should get the pass as people attack donald trump. >> host: now we will move to another call. >> caller: good morning. to hear >> host: i apologize if this impossible to hear you please call back you are breaking up good morning. >> caller: good morning. i am calling because donald trump and his potential conflict of interest and the financial situation. because it does not seem as if we can hold him accountable to get his taxes there is nothing that we can

really do from what i am hearing.. . . it would require candidates of major parties to actually in the process of the campaign have bear the olds legally required the boats their tax returns. unfortunately it probably won't get out. this is a democratic bill and republicans so far have not allowed at any hearing. therein lies part of our problem.

we just finished with -- and particularly if you are going to be elected president. we have a sacred trust to restore confidence in american from thatand the government. anything we do that takes away that trust we should be held to a high standard. josé we will hear from president-elect donald trump when he continues his thank you tour across the country. he will be in iowa for a victory rally there at 8:00 p.m. eastern time. we will cover that on c-span, c-span.org and you can listen on the c-span radio app. clinton in texas, independence good morning. >> caller:hey good morning how are you all today? >> host: doing fine, thanks. >> caller:i'm calling to make a comment about donald trump selection of his cabinet and i keep talking about finance and stuff and yet he put a fellow in