quorum call:

the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: i ask that the calling of the quorum be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. tbras grass -- mr. grassley: the senate will recognize this month of may as national foster care month. for over 20 years national foster care month has been recognized as a time to raise awareness about the challenge of young people in foster care experience, and also to celebrate their resilience in the face of these obstacles. there are over 438,000 children in foster care nationwide. in iowa alone over 4,000 kids entered foster care in 2016 due to the opioid crisis there are more children entering foster care than many child welfare

agencies are equipped to handle. in 2016 over 92,000 kids entered foster care due to parental drug abuse. i salute all those who dedicate their time and their resources to helping these young people. this induces social workers, advocates and alumni of the foster care system who inform lawmakers and the public and fight to secure better outcomes nor these young people in care. of course, this also includes foster parents who open their homes and also their hearts to children in need. without foster parents, children unable to remain with their biological parents would have

nowhere to go. unfortunately, this is becoming a reality for children across the country as many states are experiencing a critical shortage of foster parents. in my home state of iowa, many counties are facing the shortage of foster homes causing young people to be housed in shelters instead of with families. but the solution is not simply recruiting more people to serve as foster parents. between 30% and 50% of licensed foster parents concludes to stop being foster parents after only one year of doing that. that's why this year our resolution also designates the single day of may 31 as foster

parent appreciation day. it is my hope that communities, child welfare agencies, and other organizations will use this day to recognize the sacrifices that foster parents make. those who do not choose to continue being foster parents often report that their reason is the lack of support and training at a time when foster parents are needed more than ever. it's important for communities and child welfare agencies to support foster parents and ensure that they are trained to help the kids entrusted to them. through my work on the senate caucus on foster youth, i've had the opportunity to hear firsthand what children in

foster care need. i would advise senators to take advantage of listening to that group of people that we call foster youth. they need love. they need permanency. they need stability and support. in short, all they need is a family like they often express to me, i would like to have a mom and a dad. that's why i'm pleased that congress recently passed the family first prevention services act. this legislation works to keep more families together by allowing federal reimbursement for services to families before children are put in foster care, not afterwards. these services include substance abuse treatment and in-home

parenting skill programs. and when it's truly in a child's best interest to be removed from their parents, this bill ensures that more kids will be placed with supportive families instead of in group homes. of course, there's still work to be done. far too many children still experience the trauma of neglect and abuse. and far too many youth and foster care age out without meaningful connection to a caring adult. moving forward, congress must continue to listen to the voices of foster youth, foster parents, and other advocates by working to find better solutions and secure better outcomes for youth and foster care. next, mr. president, i want to

address an issue that was brought up by the minority leader on the floor this morning. so i want to respond to the false statements, really false statements made by the misinformed minority leader this morning. and i mean really misinformed. he criticized the judiciary committee's release this morning of about 2,500 pages of information about the infamous trump tower meeting with a russian lawyer and donald trump, jr. first, he mischaracterized the release as solely a republican move. that is false. in fact, it's absolutely false. this release was done with the

support of the ranking minority member. on january 25 this year at the committee meeting where i announced my desire to release the transcripts, the ranking member publicly supported the decision. and i have three quotes. she said, quote-unquote, i'm delighted. she said she had, quote-unquote, no disagreement. she said, quote-unquote, i am very grateful for your decision to proceed. second, he accused me of deciding not to interview two participants in the meeting. this is false. in fact, it's absolutely false. i would like to have interviewed both mr. manafort and mr. kushner. an interview with mr. manafort

was scheduled the day before he was raided by the f.b.i. last summer. we meaning senator feinstein and this senator has subpoenaed mr. manafort for a committee hearing set for july 26, 2017. mr. manafort instead offered to appear voluntarily for a staff interview the day before the hearing. and the ranking member asked me to withdraw the subpoena. then the f.b.i. raided his home and mr. manafort indicated he would invoke his fifth amendment rights and then consequently declined to answer the committee's questions. however, we did review the transcript of his earlier interview with the intelligence committee. the ranking member refused to participate in a voluntary

interview when we had a chance. she said democrats on the committee objected that the scope would be focused on the trump tower meeting. for all i know, the minority leader's office objected as well. but political leadership should not be dictating bipartisan committee oversight. for mr. kushner, he refused to participate in a voluntary interview after the ranking member unilaterally and prematurely released another witness transcript. there was no consultation with me at all by the minority on that point. that's the opposite of how this senator handled this morning's transcript release. mr. kushner's attorney demanded promises of confidentiality that we could not provide.

transparency is too important to keep all of this information under wraps. we could keep it all secret for many more months while we fight over trying to force people to testify against their will but we decided to put out the voluntary testimony now for the sake of transparency. and the ranking member, as i've said to or three times, supported -- two or three times, supported that decision. third, the minority leader claimed that the release of this information was motivated by the republicans' desires to, quote, let the president and his lawyers interfere with the mueller probe and get a peek at any potential evidence. end of quote. that is false. in fact, it is absolutely false.

again, the democrats on the committee did not object to the release, and the mampging member -- the ranking member affirmatively supported it. she and her staff were fully consulted and worked cooperatively with us in preparing that release. so the claim that there was some secret plan to help one side or the other in the mueller probe is absolutely absurd. my only motivation was the same as the ranking member's. transparency for the american people on this controversy. let the people read it for themselves and draw their own conclusions. fourth, the minority leader claimed that, quote, republicans are rationed to declare their investigation complete. that is false. in fact, it is absolutely false. the minority leader should not

try to put words in my mouth. i didn't say that. anyone who knows me knows that oversight is never done and should never be done. it's our constitutional duty. now as to the trump tower meeting, congress has learned as much as we are likely to learn unless some new information comes to light. and that may happen. we have to be ready for it if it does. other committees, the press, and the special counsel are all over this as well. so there is no lack of scrutiny but there is a lack of transparency. and these 2,500 pages or so do more to give the public a picture of what happened than anyone else has done. i'd just ask my friend, the minority leader, what have you

done to answer the question our constituents may have had about the trump tower meeting? what good-faith efforts have you undertaken to give the american people transparency about the investigations relating not just to the trump presidency but presidential contenders in 2016? have you done anything to support or assist republicans to get to the bottom of questions that concern them and their constituents back home? the answer is nothing. in fact, the answer is absolutely nothing. absolutely nothing but speculation and frenzy. it's nothing but pure political frustration for losing the presidential election in 2016. it's also fundamentally misunderstands the role of congressional oversight and congressional investigations.

we don't prosecute crimes. we can't indict suspected criminals. our job is to act as a check on the executive branch. do you know who has not come to sit for long transcribed interviews before the judiciary committee staff? well, the answer to that is current or former department of justice and f.b.i. officials, not a single one. that's our job to oversee the justice department and to oversee the f.b.i. but the judiciary committee democrats have not been supportive or interested in questioning those officials that will ought to be questioned if you want investigations into political interference in the justice or f.b.i. to apply the

same way, whether you have a democrat president or a republican president. the minority leader seems to believe it's our job to waste taxpayer dollars or duplicating the intelligence committee work so he can bludgeon his political opponents. well, that's not my job. i'm going to focus on our constitutional duty to acts a check on the executive branch. i'm going to keep digging and keep fighting for answers from the justice department and from the f.b.i. we'll be having a hearing on the covecontroversies in 2016 that undermined america's faith in the objectivity of these vital institutions, the department of justice and the f.b.i. i have great faith in the inspector general appointed by president obama and the nonpartisan office he leads.

as soon as the inspector general's report is out, we will learn a lot more about what happened before and during the election from an independent and objective source that the i.g. and d.o.j. is. and we will follow up. the minority leader was right about one thing when he said this. quote, there is much left to investigate. many witnesses still to be heard. end of quote. so i agree. this is not over. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

quorum call:

a senator: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. heitkamp: mr. president, i come to the floor this afternoon to honor the incredible men and women of our nation's law enforcement agencies and to recognize the ultimate sacrifice of one of north dakota's peace officers. each year, peace officers from all over the country and from countries all over the world come to washington, d.c., to celebrate and to honor the lives of their colleagues who have lost their lives in the line of duty. i want to first recognize several law enforcement officers that lost their lives in the line of duty last year that do not always get the recognition

or the honor that they deserve, and those are our federal and tribal peace officers. they protect our homeland, they protect our borders, and in the case of tribal police, they provide safety and security in indian country in some of the most remote and difficult places in the nation. this year, eight federal law enforcement officers' names were again attached to the wall, etched in the wall. first, rickey o'donald, who is with the federal bureau of investigation. isaac morales, u.s. customs and border protection. rahilio martinez, u.s. customs and border protection. david john hoffler, u.s. department of transportation. kenneth doyle, with the u.s. marshal service. houston james largo, navajo nation. ugashon curtis wayne blackbird,

omaha nation. nathan bradford graves, fox nation. to these federal and tribal officers that we lost last year in the line of duty, may god bless you and may god bless your families. the men and women who serve as peace officers in our tribal, federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies selflessly put their own lives before the lives of those they have taken an oath to preserve and protect. i am here not only to remember those peace officers who we have lost but to thank each and every peace officer who puts on that uniform or badge every day to protect our communities. i want to briefly recognize a few law enforcement officers i have come to know well during my time in the united states senate. the southwest border sheriffs, in particular cochise county,

arizona sheriff mark daniels. yuma county sheriff leon wilmont. and megan county, sheriff buffett. they are not only outstanding law enforcement officials, but they have become great friends and great mentors and a great source of advice and consent on how we can work better here in washington, d.c., not only on the border but across agencies in law enforcement. as a former north dakota attorney general, i have always had a special relationship and appreciation for law enforcement. serving as the top law enforcement officer in my state will always be one of the most meaningful provisions and the most meaningful moments of my professional career. north dakota has the finest collection of peace officers in the country, and i would be -- and i could not be more proud than to continue to work alongside of them as their united states senator. i am here to thank each and

every one of the peace officers who selflessly serve in communities throughout north dakota, and to let you know that i just don't appreciate you during police work. i appreciate you -- during police week. i appreciate you 24/7 because i know you are protecting the people of my great state and you are doing it at great risk to you and at great sacrifice to your families. so today i come with a heavy heart. this is now the second police week in a row where i have -- that i have attended where i am memorializing a north dakota peace officer. today i am speaking of a north dakota peace officer who was killed in the line of duty, rolette county deputy colt allery. he lost his life on january 18, 2017, during a high-speed chase. colt was engaged in the chase with several of his fellow officers that evening after a

report and identification of a stolen vehicle. as the stolen vehicle was coming to a forced stop, shots were fired from the car and fired at colt as he approached. colt fell and he never got back up that evening, succumbing to his injuries, not far from the small community where he grew up. he leaves behind five beautiful young children including a stepdaughter, his fiancee alexandra, his grandparents who raised him, family, friends, and a community that misses him and still grieves at the loss. growing up in st. john's, north dakota, and as a member of the eternal mountain band of chip with a indians, colt never strayed too far from home. he made a commitment to do more than just be part of his community. he decided to serve his community as a peace officer. colt started out as a corrections officer for rolette

county, and after graduating from the north dakota law enforcement training academy, he started working as an officer with the rolette police department -- with the rolla police department. he then went to work serving his fellow tribal members as a tribal police officer on turtle mountain before he recently moved back to the rolette county sheriff's office. the loss of this fine young peace officer and young dad was felt across the entire state of north dakota. the impacts are still felt by his family, the rolette county sheriff's department, and his tribal community of turtle mountain. colt made the ultimate sacrifice in service to his state and to rolette county. he lost his life to a gunshot wound inflicted by an individual prepared to take even more lives. the brave action of this peace officer that night prevented that from happening. deputy coltallery -- colt

allery's name is now etched on the wall of the peace officer memorial here in washington, d.c. he is no longer just a north dakota fallen hero. he is a national fallen hero as he is recognized with all of his fallen brothers and sisters. colt allery's name will now serve as an example, not just to north dakotans, but people from all over the country and all over the world who visit that memorial every year. as an example of the best that our state and our country has to offer, he is an example of what it means to have lived and died so that others may be safe. quite simply, an example for everyone of what it means to be an everyday hero. we must also remember the families of our peace officers that sacrifice so much, not knowing that the families of our police officers who sacrifice so much, not knowing if their loved one will return each time they walk out the door. you have sacrificed and lost so much and no words today will replace the pain of losing a

loved one. we have a proud history in north dakota of peace officers like colt serving their state and local communities with distinction. i have had the privilege and would tell you the extreme privilege over the years to work with law enforcement officials in my state that span the spectrum from highway patrol to state and local peace officers, various federal officers, and certainly our tribal police. and let me tell you again, these are some of the finest men and women i have ever met or worked with. these are men and women just like colt who would have -- could have chosen a different path. they could have chosen a path that didn't involve putting themselves in harm's way. instead, they chose to take the oath to protect and serve. they chose to selflessly put themselves in harm's way so they could make north dakota a safer place for each and every person that lives in our great state,

or even those who may be passing through. they chose to put the needs of others before their own. they chose a more difficult path to tread than most of us would ever be willing to follow. so i stand here this evening not only to celebrate the life of colt allery, but to celebrate and thank each and every peace officer working in my great state of north dakota, working across the country, and, yes, across the world. to all of our peace officers, especially those back home in north dakota, i want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for your sacrifice to your communities and the state of north dakota. i want to beg to you stay safe. i want to beg to you take care of yourselves, take care of your families and i want god to bless all of you. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the

clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

mr. sullivan: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from alaska. mr. sullivan: mr. president, i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. sullivan: mr. president, i just had a very productive and informative meeting with the nominee to be the next c.i.a. director, ms. gina haspel, and i just wanted to come down on the floor and say a few words. i was very impressed and i'm going to certainly support her when she's voted on, i believe as early as tomorrow. there's a lot of discussions about her background, first woman to lead the c.i.a., first career member of the c.i.a. that's all important, but i think what's most important is

that the american people know and this body know that she is very well-qualified, very, very impressive person who i just had the opportunity to the talk to. first of all, she's very highly decorated in her 30-plus career at the central intelligence agency. her honors, decorations include the intelligence medal of merit, presidential rank award, the donovania ward, which is one of the highest awards in the c.i.a., the george w. bush award for excellence in counterterrorism. and she's thoughtful. she's honest, and in many ways she's overcome numerous obstacles. let me just talk a little bit about her bio. one of five children, her father served in the air force, having joined at the age of 17, so she grew up on military bases, like

tens of thousands of americans, and her original goal in life was to be a soldier. told her dad she wanted to go to west point. well, at the time her father had to break the news to her that west point was not admitting women. well, i think west point lost out on that one. but what she ended up doing was in some ways a contractor for the military, 10th special forces group, and then later she realized that if she couldn't join the military, she was going to join the c.i.a. and that's what she d and she's done an outstanding job at the c.i.a. she began working at the c.i.a. in 1985 during the closing days of the cold war. she was stationed literally all over the world. in africa, for example, she recruited and handled agents, survived a coup d'etat. she worked with government partners during the first gulf

war, she ran different c.i.a. stations around the world, and then on september 11, 2001 -- let me say that again. she started with the counterterrorism center at the c.i.a. on september 11, 2001. and essentially is has spent her life since that time focusing on keeping our country safe. she became the chief of staff to the deputy director of operations and the deputy director of the national clandestine service and now she is the deputy director of the entire c.i.a., the first woman to rise from the ranks as an initial member of the agency to that title, and if confirmed, as i mentioned, she will be the first career c.i.a. official and

female to lead the agency. so really historic, really historic. but, again, more important than history, more important than these labels is she's very, very qualified. and, mr. president, one of the things that's remarkable throughout this entire debate about her -- there is he a. been a lot of debate in the -- there's been a lot of debate in the intel committee, is the members of the national security establishment, members of the committee who have come out and said, we support gina haspel. the list is extremely impressive. let me just give you a couple examples of that. john brennan, former obama administration c.i.a. director, james clapper, former obama

c.i.a. director and director of national intelligence, senator saxby chambliss, former senate intelligence committee vice chair, representative porter goss, house intelligence committee chairman, general michael hayden, former bush administration c.i.a. administrator, senator bob kerrey, democrat senator of nebraska who was on the senate intelligence committee and was the vice chairman, henry kissinger, former secretary of state, mike mcconnell, former obama administration director of national intelligence, admiral william mcriven, former commander socom, michael morrell, acting and deputy c.i.a. director, michael mukas mukasey, former bush administration attorney general, leon panetta, former obama administration c.i.a. director and secretary of defense, mike

rogers, republican congressman, former house intel committee chairman, george shultz, incredible statesman, former secretary of state under president reagan, and george tenet, former clinton and bush c.i.a. director. now, mr. president, that is impressive. that is an impressive list. that is the who's who -- democrat and republican -- of who's been in charge of our intelligence services over the last two to three decades -- decades -- and they're all supporting ms. haspel. so she's qualified. she has the support of everybody. what i want to do, mr. president, is talk briefly on essentially where the nomination has focused on. and like in washington, a lot of times you can have an issue that comes up, everybody focuses on it and you miss the broader

picture. the broader picture is she's very well-qualified and has the confidence literally of every senior official in the intelligence agencies that she's served under. but where the focus has been in many ways it's been consumed by her role, which was a very low-level role, in what became known as the enhanced interrogation program that the c.i.a. enacted after 9/11. and, mr. president, it's hard not to say that in the discussion of this and seeing what some of my completion have said and former members of the -- of my colleagues have said and former members of the house and senate, there seems to be a lot of am niece shah going on here. i think it's important to bring us back to the day that ms. haspel started the c.i.a.'s counterintelligence center.

september 11 oh, 2001. for those of us who remember, a very frightening time in our country, almost 3,000 americans murdered, almost 8,000 wounded, and in washington, d.c. -- i wasn't here then, but in washington, d.c., whether it was the president or members of congress, there was one demand for the c.i.a. -- find out who did this. find out who was responsible, and make sure they don't do it again. find out who did this, find out who was responsible, and do everything in your power to make sure the united states of america and our citizens don't get attacked again. that was the number-one focus from all the leaders, all the elected leaders in federal government to the c.i.a. -- protect us, find out where the next attack is coming, and don't let us get hit again.

so, mr. president, what ended up happening during this period in u.s. history -- and a lot of people forget about it; a lot of people forget how scared we were. very few people predicted that we weren't going to get hit again. in fact, everybody thought we were. maybe with a weapon of mass destruction. is that during the course of this time the c.i.a. started a program when they started capturing terrorists who they thought had information of what was called enhanced interrogation techniques. now, there was a lot of worry about getting hit again. and i won't go through all the examples, but there are examples of members of the intel committee in the senate, members of the intel committee in the house who were briefed on exactly what the c.i.a. was doing, exactly what they were doing with these enhanced

interrogation techniques, and that's where the amnesia comes in. you see some members say, whoa, whthat was horrible. there are reports that many members said, do more, find out who did this. so that was the order that the c.i.a., the members of our clandestine services were given. and there are numerous quotes from this time. let me give you one from former senator nelson, john d. rockefeller, west virginia, was the ranking member on the senate intel committee in 2003 on cnn's late edition, he was talking about how we had captured cal lid sheikh mohammed, k.s.m., as he was known, known to be the mastered mind of 9/11, and it

was very clear that senator rockefeller was saying, make sure we get as much info as we can from this guy. here's what he said. happily we don't know where he is, meaning he was off-sight, not in the country. he's in safe keeping under american protections. he's being grilled by us. i'm sure we'll be proper with him, but i'm sure we'll be very, very tough with him. there are presidential memorandums that prescribe how to allow certain measures to be taken but we have to be careful. on the other hand, he does have the information. this is still senator rockefeller talking. getting that information will save lives. we have no business not getting that information. this is the vice chairman of the intel committee a year and a half after 9/11 saying get it, press it. so the c.i.a. used these techniques, mr. president, but here's the important thing. at the time they were told to go

do this, and it was reviewed by the justice department and said this is legal. you are allowed to use these techniques to try to get additional information. this is legal. go do this. you're the government of the -- the government of the united states is telling you you have the authority to do it. it's legal. that is undisputed. as a matter of fact, the enhancement interrogation techniques were actually developed at our military training facilities that we have in different parts of the country called survival evasion resistance and escape schools, seer schools. that's where the techniques were developed. there is another reason why people at the time thought this could be legal, because these interrogation techniques and training are actually usedden -- used on our own military. members of the military for

years had been going to seer school and they underwent these interrogations. they underwent waterboarding for our own citizens. as a u.s. marine, as a recon marine. i went to the school and these techniques were applied to me, including waterboarding. so the c.i.a. was told make sure this doesn't happen. the members of congress are briefed. intel committee members like senator rockefeller are saying do more. the justice department comes out and says this is all legal, go do it. make sure we're not attacked again. oh, by the way, you're using techniques that we use on our marines and soldiers. and that's what they did. gina haspel was not high up. she had nothing to do with this. she was a gs-15 when this was

going on. and yet, my colleagues who are looking for reasons to vote against her are using this as an episode, saying well, because she was involved at a low level, we're going to vote against her. think about that, mr. president. members of the clandestine service going out and risking their lives, being told to do something by their government, being told it's legal to do something by their government, being encouraged by members of this body and the house to go do it, and now that one of them has risen through the ranks with a stellar career, we're going to have members who come to the

floor and say, no, we're going to consider her not qualified because she was a gs-15, didn't design the program, during this very, very difficult, challenging time in american history. if you don't think that breeds cynicism or if you don't think that breeds distrust between the congress and the intelligence services, well, it does. it does. mr. president, i even had a friend of mine, i got recalled to active duty for a year and a half, at the end of 2004, we were staff officers to the cent.com commander. we were in the middle east for most of that time. he actually predicted this was going to happen to me, a long time ago.

so i don't think it's appropriate for my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to somehow use this against ms. haspel. low level, told to go do it. congress was aware. some members said even do more. legally justified. use it at seer school with our military, and now we're going to hold that against this very well-qualified nominee. now, let me just add something, because i know it's part of the discussion. in retrospect, over time many members look back on that period and say maybe we shouldn't have done that. maybe these enhanced interrogation techniques aren't legal. maybe that is a bad reflection

on our country. and so there was a debate on this, and that's fine. that's the way it should be. as a matter of fact, one of the senators i have the most respect for in this entire body, senator mccain, who knows a lot about torture and a lot about interrogation and has been a hero and well respected, he led that debate on the senate floor. you know what, these enhancement interrogation techniques, waterboarding, this isn't what we should be doing as a country. so let's clarify this. yes, a previous administration said this was legal. we do it to our own soldiers and marines and navy seals. but we're going to look at a higher value on what we believe is right and what americans should be doing or should not be

doing. so we actually had a debate in 2016 on this floor as part of the national defense authorization act where senator mccain led an effort with an amendment that said here on out the techniques at our c.i.a. operatives should be able to use should be approved are only those in the army field manual. those are okay, not the rest of what happened in terms of the enhanced interrogation techniques. and then this body passed that. as a matter of fact, i voted for the mccain amendment out of respect and appreciation and the arguments that john mccain was making. we clarified the law, and in many ways, mr. president, that's how the system is supposed to work.

challenging time, a lot of turmoil. yes, these operatives are pushing the envelope but it was legal. we take a step back and say maybe that shouldn't be what we should be doing going forward, and we change the system. through debate on the floor here led by senator mccain. let me end by saying here's how it's not supposed to work, mr. president. we have a very dangerous situation like we had after 9/11. we ask our best and brightest to risk their lives to defend this country, to do really tough operations all around the world. we go tell them to do things. this body is briefed on it. we tell them it's legal. and then later we said, you know

what, now we're going to hold that against you. not only is that unfair, but if we continue doing that, how hard do you think it's going to be to get the top people in our country to want to join the c.i.a. or the special forces, or the military? go do this. protect your nation. it's legal. and 10 or 15 years later say, no, maybe it wasn't. so i want to thank ms. haspel for wanting to serve her country at the highest levels, for her example, and all the other members of the c.i.a. and clandestine services who have been on the front lines protecting this nation. and i certainly hope my colleagues who are looking at that period in history, looking to hold it against her recognize the broader context. not only was she asked and the other members of the agency asked to do that kind of work, but they were told it was

important to protect the country and it was legal. so i certainly hope my colleagues, when her nomination comes to the floor tomorrow, keep this all in mind. look at her broad qualifications and vote for her to be the next c.i.a. director. i yield the floor. mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that following leader remarks on thursday, may 17, senator paul or his designee be recognized to make a motion to proceed to s. con res. 36. further, that there be up to 90 minutes of debate on the motion with 45 minutes under the control of senator paul or his

designee and 45 minutes under the control of the democratic leader or his designee. finally, that following the use or yielding back of that time the senate vote in relation to the motion. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to executive session for the consideration of the following nomination: executive calendar 829, that the nomination be confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, president be immediately notified of the senate's action, that no further motions be in order and that any statements relating to the nomination appear in the record. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate resume legislative session for a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i understand there's a bill at the desk that is due a second reading. the presiding officer: the clerk will read for the second time. the clerk: s. 2850, a bill to amend the white mountain apache tribe water rights

quantification act of 2010 to clarify the use of amounts in the wmat settlement fund. mr. mcconnell: in order to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule 14 i would object to further proceeding. the presiding officer: objection having been heard the bill will be placed on the calendar. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 395, s. 2349. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 395, s. 2349, a bill to direct the director of the office of management and budget to establish an interagency working group, and so forth and for other purposes. the presiding officer: without objection the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the committee on the judiciary be discharged from further consideration of h.r.

3249 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 3249, an act to authorize the project safe neighborhoods grants program and for other purposes. the presiding officer: without objection the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the cornyn substitute amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to, the bill as amended be considered read a third time. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i know of no further debate on the bill. the presiding officer: the question is on passage of the bill as amended. all in favor say aye. all opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the bill as amended is passed. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the committee on veterans' affairs be discharged from further consideration of

h.r. 2772 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 2772, an act to amend title 38, united states code to provide for requirements relating to the reassignment of department of veterans affairs senior executive employees. the presiding officer: without objection the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the tillis substitute amendment at the desk be considered and agreed to, the bill considered read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the committee on veterans' affairs be discharged from further consideration of h.r. 3562 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 3562, an act to amend title 38 united states code to authorize the secretary

of veterans affairs to if you are finish assistance for adaptations tpof residents of rehabilitation programs, and so forth and for other purposes. the presiding officer: without objection the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the p the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that the committee on rules be discharged from further consideration of h.r. 4009 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 4009, an act to authorize the board of regents of the smithsonian institution to design essential parking and so forth. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the bill be considered read a third time and passed the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of

h. con. res. 112 which was received from the house. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: house concurrent resolution 112, authorizing the use of emancipation hall for the event to celebrate the birthday of king ka maya maya the first. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate now proceed to the en bloc consideration of the following senate resolutions which were submitted earlier today, s. res. 512, 513, and 154 -- 514. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, the senate will move to the resolutions en bloc. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the resolutions be agreed to, preambles be agreed

to and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table all en bloc. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: now, mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:30 a.m., thursday, may 17, further, following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day, and morning business be closed. finally, i ask that following leader remarks senator paul be recognized under the previous order. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: so if there's nor further business to -- no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjournedhe

sides. mr. schumer: madam president. the presiding officer: the democratic leader. mr. schumer: thank you, madam president. as the minority, we typically cannot move legislation on the floor without the consent of the majority leader. but under the rules governing congressional review, any group of 30 senators can petition to discharge a c.r.a., a congressional review act, from the committee and bring it up to the floor subject to majority vote. that's what senator markey has just done with the c.r.a. on net neutrality, and the vote that just