it's time for us to have another vote on the floor of the united states senate. i'm not sure the outcome will be much different. but we owe it to the people of this country to continue this debate. and we owe it as fellow senators, democrats and republicans, to search for solutions. let me tell you another thing that could have helped in chicago and other cities across america. there's a term called straw purchaser. a straw purchaser is someone who will walk into a gun store, present their identification and purchase a firearm because they're legally entitled to purchase it, and then turn around and give it or sell it to someone who could not legally buy that same gun. many times it turns out to be the girlfriend who is sent in to make the purchase. well, it's time to change that law. it's time to send out an all points bulletin to the girlfriends of thugs that they're going to be sent away to prison for a long, long time for that kind of irresponsible act. straw purchasers with these guns pass them into the community, and when they do we know what happens. innoce

durbin: the senator from alabama joins the senator from texas coming to the floor of the united states senate complaining about the state of immigration laws in america. they have in common the fact that they both voted against comprehensive immigration reform. when we had a chance in committee, which the senator from alabama and the senator from texas serve on, and on the floor to offer amendments and change the bill accordingly, both of them at the end of the day voted against comprehensive immigration reform. now, over a year later, they come and complain about the state of law when it comes to immigration in america. i can't have it both ways. he could have participated with us in changing the law in a positive fashion. they chose not to. they wanted to wait until a year later and complain about president obama not meeting his obligation. when it comes to comprehensive immigration reform, the senate met its obligation and those who voted for it did as well. it was the house of representatives that failed to call the bill. and now the senator from alabama says the reason the children are c

the greatest honor of my life was to be united states senator and serve for all those years in the united states senate with some of the greatest, finest people i've ever known in my life. but, and i loved it. and there's always been very, very tough politics of in washington. i got there when there was still some of the old segregationist were still there, james eastland and a whole lot of other folks. but even in those days when i got there, and the politics was intense, ideological differences were real. but it never got to where it is today. it was never personal. it was never cast in the context of you are good or bad. there was a presumption that the other guy or woman you were dealing with was acting in good faith. and governor bryant, you know, both your mississippi centers -- senators act is supported when i tried to get a nomination early on, and we had come on civil rights we were a thousand miles apart. and most importantly you didn't question the other guys motive. you really went after the judgment, you know, it was like hammer and tong fighting over so many fundamental issu

and gentlemen, please welcome our honored guest, members of the united states house of representatives, members of the united states senate and the speaker of the united states house of representatives. ladies and gentlemen, the speaker of the united states house of representatives the honorable john boehner. >> good afternoon and welcome to the united states capitol. [ applause ] as you can see the dome is under construction. getting some repairs and there's a technical term for that canopy but the architect said we could refor it refer to it as the doughnut. on july 2nd, 1964 congress completed the most fundamental and consequential ladies and gentlemen -- legislation of our long history. the civil rights act recognizes every citizen has the right to pursue happiness without discrimination on grounds of race, color, or national origin. this was a long time coming because of dr. martin luther king, jr. and coretta scott king. we have with us many special guests. we're grateful for the presence of president johnson's daughter, linda johnson robb along with her husband former senator chuck robb. [ applause ] we're also ple

this is a debate between the republican candidates for united states senate. jack kingston, who has been the u.s. representative for george' congressional district since 1983, and david heard you -- david perdue. our panelists include bobbie of the nightly program "on the story." ben roberts is an anchor and executive producer for w alb news 10 in albany, georgia. theeric is a writer for atlanta journal-constitution. tonight's debate will consist of three rounds. if you would like more information on the rules of the debate, visit our website, atlantapressclub.org. each candidate will be asked one question by our panelists and they will have 60 seconds to answer. let's get started. the battista, you have the first question for jack kingston. >> congressman, good evening. president obama has asked for $4 billion to care for the influx of tens of thousands of children coming across the u.s. border. local nonprofits reports hundreds of those children are already here or are coming to georgia. support the president's for eight in principle? -- for aid in principle

majority in the united states senate. a new state senate that's controlled by republicans in iowa. a bigger house majority in iowa. a bigger house republican majority in washington. [ applause ] and you're going to know, you're going to know you did it. you're going to know you did it. it wasn't the 30-second tv ads, as nice as they are. it wasn't the mail in the mailbox. it was you. because you are still the most powerful force in american politics. you talking to friends and neighbors and others who look to you as a leader. you're still the most important force in politics. and you know what? i suspect iowa understands that better than almost any other state in america. you get the fact that you're the ones who can make a difference. so let's not fall short. let's not wake up under scenario number one, with pangs of guilt and regret. let's wake up after a joyful, celebratory evening on november 4th, where we have now set a record for the longest and best-serving governor in the history of america, and his republican team

yes, we should actually be doing our job here in the united states senate, as taking good ideas from both sides and advancing a package that again hasn't gone through the traditional path of a committee process. senator hagan and i have again built this and many of our colleagues agree with us, otherwise they would not have signed on os cosponsors -- we greatly appreciate their support. but again i think it is important to get their perspectives on this initiative before we take a final vote on the bill. and i do want to be very clear, because i heard some comments this morning that republicans are somehow or another filibustering this bill. i just find that kind of stunning, i guess. the republican kfns is -- the republican conference is absolutely prepared to vote on all relevant amendments. last evening when i left, there was a list of 13 that had been filed. this morning that list has grown. it's doubled. it's probably growing as we speak. but, madam president, let's get moving on these relevant amendments, these amendments that are tied to the bill itself. we -- and i.t and it's

that may come up in the next couple of weeks in the united states senate. especially the republican governors here, this is a good time to call your republican senator and say, let us make our own decisions about our own tax base. i had a so-called conservative in washington tell me they did not trust fate to make those decisions. that is number one. that is an important tool, for you to have a sufficient tax base to make your own decisions, to avoid raising income and property taxes. that is number one. the second is the workforce it looks like. you can get things done, even in this united states senate. our committee has gotten a lot done. we have passed 20 bills. 14 signed into law. divideda very committee. all the liberal democrats here with tom harkin. we have rand paul and here with me. i remember when our former democratic governor came up and talked to me. the i came in and looked at money that came through the intoorce investment act our 13 local boards and 75 one-stop senators through 44 programs he said, i just threw my hands up and told the comm

and we had a very strong representation from the united states senate and the house of representatives representing the united states. i was proud to join with senator wicker and senator harkin as well as congressman smith, congressman alderhol, congressman grienke, and congressman schiff. we represented the u.s. interests. by way of background for some of my colleagues who may not be familiar, the helsinki commission is the u.s. participation in the organization for security and cooperation in europe. this was a -- this followed up on the helsinki accords that took place in 1975 when all the countries of europe, including the soviet union, joined the united states and canada and agreed on principles. these are principles that recognize the importance of good governance, human rights, economic opportunity as well as territorial security in order to have stability within the osce participating states. and the united states has been an active participant in this process. i think we saw the value of the osce directly when russia invaded crimea and the osce mission that was there, our -- w

united states. is that fair? >> senator, that's a very fair statement, yes, sir. >> thank you. >> madam secretary, if one of these children are placed with the relative in the united states, do we check the legal status of the relative? >> that's not part in terms of the legal status with regard to immigration status that's not something we do with regard to the legal status that's relevant to what we do is the safety of the child and there's a number of conditions that were guided with regard to that. >> so are we, in fact, turning children over to people who are here illegally? >> we do not know the answer to that question. but we can assume -- >> i think we should know the answer to that because the likelihood showing up for a hearing is zero if the person who is taking care of them is illegal, i doubt if they're going to bring them to deportation hearing or any other kind of hearing. so i'd like to see that changed in our law. is this problem a about of failure to pass the immigration reform or is it something else? >>

senator remarked he's never experienced a less productive time in his life than right now in the united states senate. that was a democratic senator saying that. never experienced a less productive time in his life than right now in the united states senate. it's time for washington democrats to stop obstructing jobs and opportunity for the middle class. they need to understand that their powerful pals on the left will continue doing just fine in the obama economy. it's time to stop worrying so much about them and to start paying more attention to the vast american middle class, to the people who feel like washington hasn't been listening to them over the past few years. i'm talking about people whose wages are stagnant, people who are either unemployed or can't find work to match their skills, and people who feel the burden of outdated policies that are diminishing opportunities in the workplace, and leaving them torn between the demands of work and family. republicans are committed to doing everything we can to delivery lef and innovative -- to deliver relief and innovative new ideas to help these

happened last month with the supreme court. >> well, it was clear that the democrats of the united states senatecourt isn't going to protect women in this country, so the democratic women of the united states senate are going to. so i'm not a legal expert. but i'll say we need to alter this law, so we can assure that women across the country no matter where they work. and we were talking about working folks earlier, no matter where they work, they have the same access to all pieces of birth control that they possibly need. they need access to health care, and that's what this law is going to attempt to do. and i certainly hope that the republicans see the wisdom ensuring that every american woman and their families have the same access to health care. >> nathan, why do you support the supreme court ruling of last week? >> thank you, chris. we supported the supreme court ruling not because we in the orthodoxed jewish community have any opposition to contraception, but we have a strong stake in -- a very strong protection of religious freedom. and especially when the government can serve an import

and gentlemen, please welcome our honored guest, members of the united states house of representatives, members of the united states senate and the speaker of the united states house of representatives. ladies and gentlemen, the speaker of the united states house of representatives the honorable john boehner. >> good afternoon and welcome to the united states capitol. [ applause ] as you can see the dome is under construction. getting some repairs and there's a technical term for that canopy but the architect said we could refor it refer to it as the doughnut. on july 2nd, 1964 congress completed the most fundamental and consequential ladies and gentlemen -- legislation of our long history. the civil rights act recognizes every citizen has the right to pursue happiness without discrimination on grounds of race, color, or national origin. this was a long time coming because of dr. martin luther king, jr. and coretta scott king. we have with us many special guests. we're grateful for the presence of president johnson's daughter, linda johnson robb along with her husband former senator chuck robb. [ applause ] we're also ple

whether or not a bill supporting legislation could pass the united states senate if the republicans filibuster it, which they will, and whether it can get even a vote in the republican controlled house, which it won't. and given those political realities, is it valuable for senate democrats to push this legislation that they introduced today? will it help? and if it won't practically help this problem that was created by the supreme court, what will? hold that thought, because we have a person on hand tonight for the interview who is more than anyone who is likely to know the answer to that question, and that's next.  ni, "wow, how is there no way to tell the good from the bad?" so we gave people the power of the review. and now angie's list is revolutionizing local service again. you can easily buy and schedule services from top-rated providers. conveniently stay up to date on progress. and effortlessly turn your photos into finished projects with our snapfix app. visit angieslist.com today. ♪ >>> engraved over the supreme court are the words, and i quote, equal justice under law. it does n

the assistant republican leader, the senior texas united states senator, has authored legislation to permit any hearing process for these migrant children appears supportive of the junior senator from texas' plans. it send these children back to dangerous places without minimal concern for their health and well-being. mr. president, you wouldn't send -- if people were treating animals the way these boys and girls are being treated, you wouldn't send an animal back to this, let lien a little boy or girl. so neither of the plans put forward by the junior and senior senator from texas address the underlying issues. what is the real issue? the presiding officer has lived in south america. he's one of the few senators here who speaks fluent spanish. he's a member of the foreign relations committee. so what is the real issue? the presiding officer could tell you what the real is, if he were able to speak now. why are these children arriving at our southern border? as nobel laureate oscar arias said -- and, by the way, he was -- president of colombia, did such an overwhelmingly good job in a

maybe we would have a republican united states senate and a bigger majority in the house of representatives that would pressure the president of the united states to finally lead and act in this country and not being a bystander in the olve office. [applause] >> but we didn't do it. we came up short. we'll have that feeling of regret and those pains of guilt. scenario number two is much better. you wake up on november 5. the clock radio goes off. you hear the news reports and we are talking about a new female republican united states senator who is the difference in a republican majority in the yithes senate, a new state senate controlled by republicans in iowa, a bigger house majority in iowa, a bigger majority in washington. and you are going to know you did it. you are going to know you did it. it wasn't the tv ads, it wasn't the mail in the mailbox. it was you because you are the most powerful force in american politics. you talking to friends and neighbors and others who look to you as a leader. you are still the most important force in politics. and i suspect iowa understands that bet

united states of america will remain forever grateful. thank you. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen the republican leader of the united states senate, the honorable mitchonce wrote the following to his grandfather back in sweden. i feel so at home in my little ann arbor that i'm beginning to have a hard time imagining my leaving it. just over a decade later, raoul wallenberg would vanish never to be heard from again. but in a few short years in between, he found a different calling far from ann arbor. and for as long as the story of world war ii was told, people will marvel at the good this man did. between raoul wallenberg's youthful dreams of a wasn't life in america, and his eventual disappearance, he would fully and completely embrace the role that faith had handed him and through countless acts of courage and daring, he would not only earn a place in our hearts, he would earn a permanent place in the pantheon of history's great men. he would become a hero for our times and for all times. the context of wallenberg's actions as well mom. in early 1944 nazi troops in hungary began to accelerate their wicked plan to eradicate hungary's jewish populati

heart. [ applause ] >> ladies and gentlemen please remain standing as the chaplain of the united states state senatebarry black gives the benediction. >> let us pray. lord of all, we praise and honor you for using president perez as an instrument of your peace. continue to bless this leader and patriot who believes that security can be found through. may his exemplary life of patience, steadiness, perseverance inspire us to maximize possibilities for doing good in your world. bless and keep us. make your face shine upon us and be gracious to us. lift the light of your count upon us and give us your shillo. amen. >> please be seated. >> ladies and gentlemen, please remain seated for the departure of the official party. until your row is invited to depart by a representative. thank you. [ applause ] tonight business owners, activists and policy makers discuss the progress, problems and future of the legal cannabis industry. this was part of a recent event in denver characterized by organizers as the first summit of its kind. legalization of marijuana has been legal in colorado 18 months. cannabis indu

united states. olympia snowe, talk about an independent. a former republican senator from the state of maine, part of this group that issued this report, not colluding with the president of the united states. you look at, as senator whitehouse pointed out, all of these military generals and people from all the branches of our military who look at this as a security risk, who are looking at this and literally following the oath. they are doing what they are supposed to do. their duty, their duty to protect our country, and they see this as a threat to national security for the united states and a threat to our standing in the world and the scarce resources that we're seeing with water, not only in the united states but all across the world as a threat. this is not collusion. this is science. these are facts. and in my state, mr. president, we embrace science. we brought the world everything from the pacemaker to the post-it note. we are the home of the mayo clinic. we believe in science. and what this resolution says is it simply states the science. drafted by over 300

and came in second in the race for the united states senate. and has agreed to run for state treasurer, sam clovis. will be a great addition to our executive council. we have an iowa farmer who's a great secretary of agriculture, bill northy. we need to reelect bill northy. and you know, we had a great cpa state auditor, david boudon. he got elected as the only cpa running for state auditor. and he was kind of a voice in the wilderness until kim and i came along and said we're going to put the station's financial house in order. we're going to follow the recommendations of the cpa auditor. the government accounting standards board, which sets accounting standards for all state and local governments said, hey, we need a new chair for our organization, and they chose david boudon. and it pays a heck of a lot more than state auditor. so he is now chair for the next seven years, with the government accounting standards board. even though he's working in greenwich, connecticut, he's commuting from iowa because i appointed his wife as a district court

whether or not a bill supporting legislation could pass the united states senate if the republicans filibusterhich they will, and whether it can get even a vote in the republican controlled house, which it won't. and given those political realities, is it valuable for senate democrats to push this legislation that they introduced today? will it help? and if it won't practically help this problem that was created by the supreme court, what will? hold that thought, because we have a person on hand tonight for the interview who is more than anyone who is likely to know the answer to that question, and that's next. than tums smoothies assorted fruit. mmm. amazing. yeah, i get that a lot. alka seltzer heartburn reliefchews. enjoy the relief. [ cat meows ] ♪ ♪ da-da-da-da-da, bum-da, bum-da ♪ ♪ bum-da, bum-da ♪ the animals went in two by two ♪ ♪ the sheep and the frog and the kangaroo ♪ ♪ and they all went marching, marching in two by two ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] the nissan pathfinder, with intuitive four-wheel drive. an adventure worth sharing. nissan. innovation that excites. looks like we're about

i would note that his campaign manager for that senate race was none other than fred vincent who would later become chief justice of the united states. it was in the senate where barkley became widely aclaimed as a first rate storyteller. many recall senator barkley saying a good story is like fine kentucky bourbon. it improves with age and if you don't use it too much, it will never hurt anyone. one contemporary described his ability as follows. his restrained postures, the fy necessary with which he takes tricks with his southern accent, his facility in corning a word if the immediately essential one is not in the dictionary, the eloquence of his eyebrows, his honest grin and gentleman and scholar contributed to his continue rate ising storytelling. now his tendency to create words to suit his needs was evidenced in an address he once gave to the national press club. barkley described senators as premadonnas, that would be true today but noted that the press ore was even more premadonna cal. in 1932 barkley was returned to the senate, the first kentucky senator to be re-elected in the 20th century. the next year he was chosen assi

common thing, extraordinary for them to do something like this allegedly against a sitting united states senatornate foreign relations committee? >> that's a risky operation. i would think twice about doing it, but i could see their motivations. they normally go after lower-ranking officials to frame them one way or another. a senator, that's big target. we just have to wait and see what evidence the cia has. again, i think it's plausible. >> bob baer, thanks helping us appreciate potential lly what i going on. >>> a star of social media recruiting for isis. >>> and live to tokyo bracing for a powerful typhoon. >>> and the breaking news of major escalations in fighting between israel and hamas and the growing threat of an all-out war. >>> jihadist militants including americans fighting in syria. they may be drawing inspiration and motivation from a radical cleric who lives right here in the united states. our pentagon correspondent barbara starr has been digging into this development. what are you learning? >> reporter: wolf, an american cleric of some concern to the united states at a time when

utilized the time that we've wasted here, let's look at -- let's save the last two months of the united states senate that we've been in session. the senate republicans have forced us to waste almost ten days. more than half the time that we've been in session. 236 hours in order to slow confirmation of president presit obama's nomination. 236 hours. of those 236 hours, senate republicans have used five hours to actually come to the senate floor and debate the qualifications of the nominees. the rest the time we sit as the viewing public sees in these quorum calls, but we sit hey hee and do nothing. for every hour we've debated these nominations, the republicans have wasted more time killing time. five hours out of 236 hours is time they' they've actually use. to further highlight the absurdity of their obstruction, the republicans have voted overwhelmingly to confirm most all of these same nominations they've obstructed, they've filibustered. so far this year republicans have blocked immediate confirmation of 22 nominations that they later voted unanimously to confirm. why are they blocking these no

not in the united states senate. the united states senate, people head on home. people are out campaigning. how about we actually have a senator show up on this floor, more than one or two at a time, and debate these issues? how about we actually she senators stand up -- see senators stand up, debate the issues and resolve the problems? the majority leader went on television and said the border is secure. mr. president, i find that anistonnishing assertion. i recognize how from the perch of washington, d.c. it might seem that way. perhaps the d.c.-virginia border is secure. but i would invite the majority leader and by vite any member of this chamber, come to mcallen, visit the border. when i was in mcallen on saturday the border patrol agents told me the day before they had apprehended 622 people. i went to the processing center. they had 10 holding centers with 600, 700 people there. one holding room had little girls below age 14, unaccompanied. another holding room had little boys under age 14, unaccompanied. a third holding room had girls age 14-19 unaccompan

mikulski: madam president, i rise to speak on the pending business before the united states senate. the senate's just achieved cloture on the motion to proceed to the emergency supplemental funding bill, so let me explain to the people who are watching this either in the gallery or on c-span. the senate has creaky rules. these creaky rules were to make sure that we would cool the passions that would be raging in the nation on any given time so that we could duly give consideration, that debate would be diligent and we wouldn't be gripped by the fire of the moment or the passion of the moment. and i appreciate that. but instead, what these rules now do is they take a lot of time for us to get to the meat of the matter, because what we're debating now is the motion to proceed to a legislation related to and supplementing existing funding to meet new emerging crises. the senate votes on a motion to proceed not only on the bill itself, but should we even go to the bill. so what we're debating now is should we go to the bill on the emergency supplemental funding bill? and you know what, m

majority in the united states senate. a new state senate that's controlled by republicans in iowa. a bigger house majority in iowa. a bigger house republican majority in washington. [ applause ] and you're going to know, you're going to know you did it. you're going to know you did it. it wasn't the 30-second tv ads, as nice as they are. it wasn't the mail in the mailbox. it was you. because you are still the most powerful force in american politics. you talking to friends and neighbors and others who look to you as a leader. you're still the most important force in politics. and you know what? i suspect iowa understands that better than almost any other state in america. you get the fact that you're the ones who can make a difference. so let's not fall short. let's not wake up under scenario number one, with pangs of guilt and regret. let's wake up after a joyful, celebratory evening on november 4th, where we have now set a record for the longest and best-serving governor in the history of america, and his republican team

what he's facing is the loss of the united states senate which means he would have both chambers in the hand of republicans which would make his last two years nearly impossible. if you take advantage of raising money now is the time to do it, raise money because it's an investment in the future. >> i agree. i was thinking about that earlier today, in their opinion one of the things that's hard for the president a lot of people running for office, democrats are saying could you stay out of my district and send me a check. the president is obliging. people won't remember whether he went on jimmy kimmel or not but they will remember in the long term how badly he loses in this mid-term election which six years of a presidency you usually do lose seats. the democrats are not going to be able to blame him for not raising enough money. >> the country needs a national hypnotist. they send him to the white house and hypnotize obama into thinking putin is a tea partier to provoke some kind of range. not the domestic adversaries of the republican party. >> i get that. having worked on campaigns a

so i am pleased that in a bipartisan fashion, unanimous in nature, the united states senate is on record supporting the state of israel in this conflict, understanding their justification for defending themselves, and that there is no moral equivalency here. to my israeli friends and allies, we wish you well. i expect that you will continue to defend yourselves against a terrorist organization. to the palestinians who have formed a unity government, you need to break away from hamas. there will never be peace until you marginalize the terrorist organization called hamas, until you reject what they stand for and the way they have behaved. and finally, to those who wish for israel to give land up and withdraw from territories, please remember, that's exactly what israel did in gaza. they withdrew all their forces, and what have they dpot nonreturn? tens of thousands of rockets. so those who are push ago peace plan in the mideast between the palestinians and israelis, i hope you'll remember security for israel has to be the centerpiece of any peace dealment andeal.and how can youe when one

and the failure to do so would be a terrible for the united states senate but more importantly terrible for the veterans of our country. and one more time remind the american people how dysfunctional the united states than it is today. so what troubles me at the moment is the announcement yesterday by the majority leader that he believes it is unlikely we will resolve our differences and have a vote on a conference committee. we ought not let that be the case and we ought not adjourn for an august recess in the absence of us reaching a conclusion. don't walk away from this issue. the leadership of the senate, the leadership of this committee, individual members of this committee, individual members of the senate, it is our responsibility to complete the task that we set forth for the veterans of the united states of america. while it has been easy to criticize the department of veterans affairs, the united states senate is deserving of that same condemnation. thank you. >> senator blumenthal. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you mr. mcdonald for your willingness to undertake this very

it looks like you can get things done even in this united states senate. ur committee's gotten a lot done. we've passed 20 bills, 18, link, were passed by the senate, 14 signed into law. that's almost as much as the whole rest of the united states senate did, and we have a very divided committee. all the liberal democrats are over here with tom harkin, we've got rand paul and a lot of republicans and me over here on the right, 12-10. still, we can agree on a lot of things. we did on this. i remember when governor bretson, our former democratic governor, came up and talked to me. he said when i came in and i looked at the money that came from the work force investment act into our 13 local boards and 75 one-stop centers through 44 programs, he said i just threw my hands up, and i told the commissioner do the best you can. and i'll bet a lot of you have had that same experience. it's a lot of money. it's $10 billion. for governor haslam, it's $147 million on his number one issue which is how does he connect job skills with the jobs he's recruiting in here? so

it looks like you can get things done even in this united states senate. our committee has gotten a lot done. we have past 20 bills, 18 were passed by the senate, 14 signed into law. that's almost as much as the whole rest of the united states senate did and we have a divided committee. all the liberal democrats over with tom harkin. you've got rand paul india on the right. still we can agree on a lot of things. we get on this. i remember when our former democratic governor came up and talk to me. he said when i came in and i look at the money that came to the workforce investment act, into our 13 local boards, 75, one stop centers, he said i just threw my hands up and i told the commissioner, do the best you can. i'll bet a lot of you have had that same experience. it's a lot of money. it's $10 billion. but governor haslam, $147 million on his number one issues which is how does he connect job skills with the job seekers. so we tried to make it easy for him and all of you to use that money. we a limited 50 programs, eliminate mandates on the size of the bo

today in lack of access and in waiting times, and it would be terrible on the part of the united states senate, the u.s. house of representatives if we fail to reach an agreement to conclude this work. i spoke on the senate floor prior to the passage of that legislation which passed 93-0, indicated how it is so disturbing to me to come to the united states senate. i'm in my first term and we do nothing to solve the problems of the american people because the senate does not function. we don't have bills on the senate floor, we don't offer amendments, committees don't do their work, there's not oversight. if we can't come together on an issue related to veterans, this of all issues that we face at this point in time ought to be one that we can resolved, and the failure to do so would be terrible for the united states senate, but more importantly terrible for the veterans of our country, and one more time remember the-mile-an-hour people how dysfunctional the senate is today. so what troubles me at the moment is the announcement yesterday by the majority leader that he believes it's unlikely we'

united states of america will remain forever grateful. thank you. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, the republican leader of the united states senate, the honorablech mcconnell. [applause] >> as a young architecture student in michigan, raoul wallenberg once wrote the following to his grandfather back in sweden. "i feel so at home in my little ann arbor that i'm beginning to have a hard time imagining my leaving it." just over a decade later, raoul wallenberg would vanish, never to be heard from again. in a few short years in between, he found a different calling far from ann arbor. for as long as the story of world war ii is told, people will marvel at the good this man did. between raoul wallenberg's youthful dreams of a pleasant life in america and his eventual disappearance, he would fully and completely embrace the role that fate had handed him. through countless acts of courage and daring he would not only earn a place in our hearts, he would earn a permanent waste -- place in the pantheon of history's great men. he would become a hero for our times. and for all times. the context of raoul wallenberg's actions is well-known. in early 1944,

the greatest honor of my life was to be united states senator and serve for all those years in the unitedtates senate with some of the greatest, finest people i've ever known in my life. but, and i loved it. and there's always been very, very tough politics of in washington. i got there when there was still some of the old segregationist were still there, james eastland and a whole lot of other folks. but even in those days when i got there, and the politics was intense, ideological differences were real. but it never got to where it is today. it was never personal. it was never cast in the context of you are good or bad. there was a presumption that the other guy or woman you were dealing with was acting in good faith. and governor bryant, you know, both your mississippi centers -- senators act is supported when i tried to get a nomination early on, and we had come on civil rights we were a thousand miles apart. and most importantly you didn't question the other guys motive. you really went after the judgment, you know, it was like hammer and tong fighting over so many fundamental issues

and the failure to do so would be a terrible for the united states senate but more importantly terrible for the veterans of our country. theone more time remind american people how dysfunctional the united states than it is today. so what troubles me at the moment is the announcement yesterday by the majority leader that he believes it is unlikely we will resolve our differences and have a vote on a conference committee. we ought not let that be the case and we ought not adjourn for an august recess in the absence of us reaching a conclusion. don't walk away from this issue. the leadership of the senate, the leadership of this committee, individual members of this committee, individual members of the senate, it is our responsibility to complete the task that we set forth for the veterans of the united states of america. while it has been easy to criticize the department of s, the unitedir states senate is deserving of that same condemnation. thank you. >> senator blumenthal. thank you, mr. chairman. thank you mr. mcdonald for your willingness to undertake this very serious and challengi

that, i believe is the view of the united states senate in a bipartisan fashion.today republicans take the floor to clearly state where we stand in this conflict. we stand with israel's right to defend itself against a terrorist organization called hamas. we stand with the palestinian people's legitimate aspirations to have a better life. but until that day comes we're going to be firmly in the israeli camp to defend themselves because what would we do as a nation if a neighboring nation dug tunnels under our border for the express purpose of kidnapping and killing our citizens? what would america do if one rocket came from a neighboring nation fired indiscriminately to kill american citizens? we would respond in the most aggressive fashion and we'd have every right to do so. as the minority leader stated, there is no moral equivalency here. israel tells you they're going a tack. israel calls you before the attack. israel gives you notice about an impending attack. hamas secretly fires rockets carrying less where they land. their hope is it hits a kindergarten. th

we got a broken united states senate, in my view. but having said that, we got a chaps, i think, to take a -- we got a chance, i think, to take a step in the right direction. to position this chamber to sit down at a later point and negotiate with our friends, republicans and democrat alike, in the other chamber and perhaps produce toward the end of this year some good and permanent changes in the tax code that if an agreement is reached i suspect we could have overwhelming bipartisan support for. so we are just at that point in the process where we need to develop and put forth our proposals. we hope our counterparts in the united states senate do the same thing and that we can sit down and, again, find common ground in between. we've done that on some occasions before. if we'll just operate the way our procedures are set up, i'm confident we can do it again. with that, mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the chair will receive a message. the messeng

and basically, it seems to the man on the street and to the united states and to me, this particular united states senatorlames. and american leadership has been absent there. >> that fred hyatt column in yesterday's "washington post" the headline "an experiment gone wrong." senator wicker joins us for the next 25 minutes or so. we'll start with bill in danville, illinois. good morning. >> caller: good morning. senator, my thoughts on this, every time they take this money and go to congress for the v.a., they want to cut back on the veterans' disability benefits. what's your thought on that? >> well i would be opposed to that. and that's not part of this legislation. >> caller: thank you. >> so let me give you that assurance. >> and edgar, louisiana, on our line for our democrats, torre, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, senator. here in louisiana it's taken a long time for our v.a. hospital to be built. but i can say something about v.a. here, especially with the outpatient clinic here in st. john's parish, we have one of the best here. basically the scheduling, they don't take too much precedence

they the suit of the united states senate in a bipartisan fashion.oday runs take the floor to clearly state where we stand in this conflict. we stand with israel's right to defend itself against the terrorist organization called hamas. what would we do as nation if a neighboring nation dug thumbs under our border for the express purpose of kidnapping and killing our citizens. what would america do if one rocket came from a neighboring nation, fired indiscriminately to kill american citizens. we would respond in the most aggressive fashion and whoa have every ruth to do so. israel gives notice of the impending attacks. hamas secretly fire rocketed and their hope is it hits a kindergarten. that's their desire and the only reason they haven't been successful is because of the iron dome program which is a company will be operation between united states and israel for men years. there's discussion about appropriating additional dollars for iron dome. that discussion needs to turn into a reality. we don't need to marry it up with controversial topics. isra

496 as a further mark of respect to the memory of the late senator alan john dixon, former united states senator from the state of illinois. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until 10:00 a.m. tomorrow and does so as a further mark of respect to the memory of the late senator the memory of the late senator >> the internet content i think we'll agree should remain free of regulation especially by the fcc's regulation but susan crawford has said it's like confusing the conversation for the sidewalk. of course you want the conversation to be free and unregulated on line great they have always made sure the communications pathway is failed so today we have a regulated phone system or at least the of the regulated phone system. they do make sure communications pathway is open, affordable available nondiscriminatory in there for everybody to be used. >> it's crucial to think about whether those platforms remain open the way they have historically. the internet has grown up as a network where anyone can communicate, anyone can be on line. a tiny company can get access to the network and

senate majority leader harry reid and mitch mcconnell. house speaker john boehner as well. this is about one hour. >> ladies and gentlemen, welcome our honored guests, members of the united states of the house of representatives, the house and senate, and the speaker. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, the speaker of the united states house of representatives, the honorable john boehner. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon and welcome to the united states capitol. we are honored to be joined today by members of the diplomatic corps, former ambassadors, representatives of the state department and u.s. mint. and leaders of the u.s. jewish community throughout the country. , intly before christmas 1944, raoul wallenberg did something that many of us had to do. he told his mother he would not be home for christmas. i must send you my best wishes for christmas, he wrote. i hope the peace so long for is not far away. addedttom of the note, he , lots of kisses to nina and her little girl. sister. brought will she is with this along with several members of the family. thank you for being here. [applause] by the time he sent that letter, raoul wallenberg had saved more live

i've been a member of congress both in the house and the united states senate and my entire time as a member of congress i've served on either the house or senate veterans' affairs committee. and over that time, i've worked with nine secretaries of the department of veterans affairs. today i'm here to add my support and ask for the confirmation of who i believe will be the next secretary of the department of veterans affairs, mr. bob mcdonald. i had believed, i do believe that change at the department of veterans affairs was necessary, had made that clear that we needed to change the leadership at the top and believe that this change is a good thing for the department. the management of the department but most importantly for the veterans who the department is to serve. i also know that a change in the leadership of the department of veterans affairs in and of itself is insufficient to solve the problems that our veterans are facing in access to health care and in the long time that our veterans are required to wait to receive their benefits. i have met with mr. mcdonald in my office.