mr. shelby: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. merkley: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator oregon. mr. merkley: i ask unanimous consent to lift the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. merkley: thank you. i am rising to share a few thoughts on the water resources development act. that is bill that has a number of water projects across america, that will in general work to make many communitie co' economies work far better. these are widely distributed across the country. they are widely needed. and it was worked out through tremendous amount of effort on the senate side and on the house side. and there are projects certainly there that i have naught for that will -- that i have fought for that will be of assistance on the colombia river and to the tribes that are affected by the dams on the columbia river, and the wifia act. so all of that is very good. but i have real concerns about a provision that was air sh dropped into the -- that was airdropped into the conference. it is

mr. sneiderman democratic attorney general here in new york last i checked hadn't been investigating the clinton foundation for example. >> no, that's true. and as shelbyaid, there are a lot of questions surrounding trump's foundation about the self-dealing, what he spent the money on. did any of it go to his campaign? did any of it go on buying portraits of himself? i think there are some real questions about the foundation and its expenditures. but on the whole he is right when he says that he has raised millions of dollars for charity. that is true. and i think if you look at overall, ed, who has the last word on this? he has got 18 million twitter followers and the media who are contesting him on twitter. don't have a fraction of that in their following. so he -- and in a sense twitter allows him to circumvent the media thought on this and just speak directly to his followers, many followers and make big declaration whether or not it's 100 percent true. >> susan makes a point about donald trump's meg ga phone. someone else who has a mega phone is barack obama, outgoing president there hasn't a recent tradition of former outgoing presidents who is n

shelby, and sara, thank you so much. >>> here's one name i didn't think i'd be talking about today. kanye west meeting with mr.mp and stopping to speak to cameras in the lobby of trump tower. hear why he was there and what they discussed. plus, we are getting word that trump's team is split on how far he should go separating himself from his company. we have that for you. and breaking news today, as syrian forces reportedly execute civilians and families, they're sending out their final messages, word of a major development inside of aleppo. you're watching cnn. oh, that's lovely... so graceful. the corkscrew spin, flawless... ...his signature move, the flying dutchman. poetry in motion. and there it is, the "baby bird". breathtaking. a sumo wrestler figure skating? surprising. what's not surprising? how much money heather saved by switching to geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. before i had the shooting, burning, pins-and-needles of diabetic nerve pain, these feet... ... kicked off a lot of high school games... ... built a life for my family... ... and liked to help others in need.

mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that the shelby-brown substitute amendment be agreed to, the bill be considered read a third time. the presiding officer: is there objection? mc-- the presiding officer: without objection. hearing no further debate, all those in favor say aye. those opposed? the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the bill, as amend is passed. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid on the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of the following calendar numbers en bloc: 675-783. -- 638. dr 68 3w. officer snrer objection? without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask that the calendar numbers be considered read en bloc and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid on the table all en bloc. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that the committee on armed services be discharged from further kings of s. 3336 and the senate proceed to its immediate consid

mr. turner: kim's direct, persistent and dedicated work has made it better in the lives many y, including counties, shelby and others. kim resolved problems across multiple issues such as veterans, social security, medicare, immigration by developing a strong and long lasting relationship with federal agencies. i made the point to stop by her office every day i saw her and thanked her for being there. but in the words of her constituents, it's probably best reported as to her impact. they have said, quote, i don't know what i would have done without you. quote, i will never forget your kindness. quote, we deeply appreciate your attention to our claim. quote, we cannot express our gratitude to you enough. quote, i appreciate your help more than words can express, and there are still good people in this world who still care and want to help. you are one of those. on behalf of your co-workers and the countless constituents you have assisted, your knowledge, compassion and efficiency will be sorely missed. thank you for representing my office in the highest standards. i hope you enjoy your retirement with you

mr. chairman. >> i want to thank the gentleman. i also want to add that i believe i told the gentleman that his favorite -- one of his favorite senators, senator shelbyma had called me and asked me to pay particular attention to this amendment which i spoke with you about and the water piece and i do appreciate your consultation on that and your ideas and thank you for your comments today. thank you very much, gentleman yields back. the gentleman from the state of washington, mr. newhouse. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. i want to thank all of you that are here to bring us testimony on the water bill two for two as far as i'm concerned this is the way it goes since i'm a freshman and i appreciate the model that you're setting forth. particularly, mr. bishop, i was interested in the comments you were making being also a representative from a western state, state of washington, where we've also experienced long periods of drought, insufficient snow pack, having very difficult time meeting our water needs for a growing population, as well as industry. so this is a particularly difficult issue and one i think that the water bill goes to good length

mr. chairman. >> i want to thank the gentleman. i also want to add that i believe i told the gentleman that his favorite -- one of his favorite senators, senator shelby from the state of alabama had called me and asked me to pay particular attention to this amendment which i spoke with you about and the water piece and i do appreciate your consultation on that and your ideas and thank you for your omments today. thank you very much, gentleman yields back. the gentleman from the state of washington, mr. newhouse. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. i want to thank all of you that are here to bring us testimony on the water bill two for two as far as i'm concerned this is the way it goes since i'm a freshman and i appreciate the model that you're setting forth. particularly, mr. bishop, i was interested in the comments you were making being also a representative from a western state, state of washington, where we've also experienced long periods of drought, insufficient snow pack, having very difficult time meeting our water needs for a growing population, as well as industry. so this is a particularly difficult issue and one i think that the water b

mr. chairman. >> i want to thank the gentleman. i also want to add that i believe i told the gentleman that his favorite -- one of his favorite senators, senator shelby from the state of alabama had called me and asked me to pay particular attention to this amendment which i spoke with you about and the water piece and i do appreciate your consultation on that and your ideas and thank you for your comments today. thank you very much, gentleman yields back. the gentleman from the state of washington, mr. newhouse. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. i want to thank all of you that are here to bring us testimony on the water bill two for two as far as i'm concerned this is the way it goes since i'm a freshman and i appreciate the model that you're setting forth. particularly, mr. bishop, i was interested in the comments you were making being also a representative from a western state, state of washington, where we've also experienced long periods of drought, insufficient snow pack, having very difficult time meeting our water needs for a growing population, as well as industry. so this is a particularly difficult issue and one i think that the water

mr. speaker. >> want to thank the. >> i believe i told the gentleman that his favorite -- one of his favorite senators, senator shelby from the state of alabama had called me and asked me to may particular attention to this amendment, which i spoke with you about, and the water piece. i do appreciate your consultation on that, your ideas and thank you for your comments today. thank you very much, gentlemen. gentleman from the state of washington, mr. new house. >> thank you very much. want to thank all of you who are here to bring this testimony own the water bill. two for two. as far as i'm concerned, this is the way it goes since i'm a freshman. i appreciate the model that you're setting forth. particularly, flmpltd bishop was interested in the comments you were making in also a representative from the western state, state of washington, where we also experienced the long peshds of drought, insufficient snow pack, having very difficult time meeting our water needs for a growing population as well as industry and citizens, particularly difficult issue and one i think this -- the water bill goes to good lengths to he

mr. shelby: mr. president, i'll take a few minutes here. i rise to call up for consideration h.r. 3394, the captive act. i've long advocated for the senate to pass the captive act which passed the house by unanimous consent in july. in 2003 a group of department of defense contractors were on a counter narcotics mission in colombia when their plane crash-landed. these americans were captured by members of the revolutionary armed forces of colombia that we know as farc, which is a violent guerrilla group heavily involved in drug trafficking. my fellow alabaman, thomas janice the pilot of the plane lost his life at the hands of the terrorist on february 13, 2003. the three other americans aboard the flight were kidnapped, held hostage and tortured for more than five years until they were finally rescued by the colombia military. these heroes are now seeking justice for themselves and their families against those who have carried out unthinkable acts of violence. the captive act, mr. president, is simple. it would make it easier for all u.s. v

mr. boozman: i ask unanimous consent that the shelby-brown substitute amendment 5127 be agreed to, the bill as amended be considered read a third time. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. boozman: i know of no further debate on the measure. the presiding officer: if there is no further debate, the question is on the bill as amended. all in favor say aye. all opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the bill as amended is passed. mr. boozman: i ask unanimous consent, mr. president, that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. boozman: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of following calendar numbers en bloc. calendar number 675-6383. -- 675-683. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the measures en bloc. mr. boozman: i ask unanimous consent that the bills be considered read a third time and passed and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, all en bloc. the presiding officer: