mr. carper: thank you, mr. president. in the wake of 9/11, congress took a fresh -- i want to walk back in time a little bit of how we actually got here today. but in the wake of 9/11, congress took a fresh look at some of our nation's vulnerabilities and realized that our country's chemical facilities is a part of our industry the presiding officer knows a lot about, but realized that our country's chemical facilities could be potential targets for terrorist attacks. so we created the chemical facility standards program to better protect -- to better protect high-risk chemical facilities from those looking to do us harm. my legislation is not perfect but my -- my reaction is not perfect but the prime authors of that were i believe senator collins from maine and possibly senator lieberman from connecticut, the senior democrat, senior republican on the homeland security committee at that time. the program that was created, i believe -- i hope i'm not mistaken but i believe with their guidance and leadership, at that time,

mr. carper: mr. president, i was happy to welcome back our colleagues this week from thanksgiving and come back to work. a lot of stuff needs to be done. we have energy and maybe some fresh ideas. but i hope my colleagues were able to get home for thanksgiving and spend time with their families. i'd like to say the thing i like about -- thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. people ask why? it has my favorite f words. they're family, faith, friends, food, fun, football among others. it's -- what's not to like about that, especially football that was played in columbus, ohio, on saturday afternoon. but i hope all americans were able to enjoy some combination of those things over the holiday weekend. mr. president, you may be likely and many across -- you may be like me and many across the country who took the long weekend to unplug a bit by turning off our phone, maybe turning off cable news, too, so we reconnect with loved ones. while many americans were recharging, enjoying a good meal with family and

senator carper: how important do you think it is? mr. vitello: people have to have expectations that their property and safety is well cared for in those locations and then you have to have economic opportunity and hope in those locations as well. senator carper: mr. chairman, we have had a lot of interest in that part of the world and because of our leadership with the committee, one time or the other. and we are asked to spend a ole lot of money on the wall and it makes sense in a few places. when you are looking at colombia, it has turned the country turned around and same thing could happen in the northern triangle. last question i have, concern, not appear to think through the consequences of president trump's family separation policy. when president trump appears to what may to implement be legally questionable immigration policies without making us any safer. if confirmed, how would you avoid repeating the errors in judgment in planning to allow the family separation policy to occur and we don't have a lot of time but the question

mr. chairman. >> after significant but effective arm twisting, senator carpenter has agreed to let you know -- >> senator carper is indeed gracious. appreciate it, thank you. mr. vitiello, in december of 2017, i.c.e. issued a directive that reversed a policy that existed before which presumed pregnant women should not be detained. my question -- and i've asked this before of other, and i have not received a response. since i.c.e. issued this directive, how many pregnant women have been detained by i.c.e. custody? >> it's important to know all females of age are tested. sometimes we're not always aware until they're already in i.c.e. custody. within 12 hours of them coming in they're tested. once we're aware of, they're referred for care immediately. >> sir, my question is very specif specific. since i.c.e. issued this directive in december of last year, how many pregnant women to your knowledge have been detained in i.c.e. custody? >> let me take that back and get a precise answer. >> when will i get you that answer? i've asked it before. >> we can get you that by the end of the day. >> appreciate that. i'd lik

carper. he has the approval of the ranking democrat on the subcommittee, senator whitehouse. and so it's time that mr. ryder, who who is consistently named one of the finest lawyers in femme miss -- he has been -- in femme physical, he has been recognized as among the 101 best lawyers in tennessee and listed in best lawyers since 1987. in other words, he is a well-qualified, noncontroversial nominee who is needed by the people of our region to select a successor to bill johnson, the c.e.o. the other nominees have been confirmed, the people -- the nominees from alabama were confirmed. the nominee from kentucky was confirmed. but not the nominee from tennessee. so i'm taking the step today of coming to the floor to ask that he be confirmed by consent. i can think of no reason why he would not be. i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the consideration of executive calendar 856, the nomination of john ryder to be a member of the board of directors of the tennessee valley authority, that the senate vote on the nomination with no intervening action or debate and that if of canned the motion t

senator carper was playing an important -- paying very close attention to this issue, as it has impacted our shore lines for many years. finally, i want to recognize my friend and gentleman from florida, mr. dunn. while initially members from many states had introduced legislation updating maps for their individual states, it became clear that one bill that would update all the maps across the country would be most effective and efficient way to accomplish our goals. when i came to congress, i made a promise to the people of delaware to work with other members, not based on the letter that was next to their name. but rather by finding members with common interests, common challenges and those who were willing to work to find common solutions and i am proud to have found a partner for this bill in mr. dunn. from the coast of delaware to florida, to louisiana, hawaii, the virgin islands, we all have a common interest in maintaining the natural beauty of our great country. and while development is crucial to the continued economic growth in our country, we recognize that not every place is appropriate for development. we should not only acknowledge the wisdom of the 97th united states congr

om carper holding on to his seat in the date of delaware challenged by robert eyelet and againhe polls have just closed but because it's expected that mr. artlet with a not going to be posing a significant allenge they feel comfortable giving that seat toa toper. another hold for the democrats in the state of maryland. ben cardini wnning his fourth term re-elected to a fourth term in the senate fighting off aal nge by republican tony campbell. and as i said in these other calls that that's a state that it was not held in any suspension. here in massachusetts, though, you have a hold forepublicans. charlie baker very popularth governor i state of massachusetts. he's being declared the winner just as the pol close challenge from democrat jay gonzales but again the folks doing the projections feel comfortable giving that one toba charlier. so far it's a hold in all these seats as you see it is in the state ofns penvania. projecting that bob casey is winning re-election that is a democrat in pennsylvania. that's a state we're ching for a number of really interesting house races because they've shaken up the i map pennsylvania. we're going

mr. carper: mr. president, i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. carper: thank you, mr. president. i start off by saying it's good to see you. good to be back. hope you had a good break and we have serious business to do. we closed out before we took our recess around election time, we closed out by passing by a 99-1 vote here, unanimous vote in the senate, a major water infrastructure bill that we worked on with a number of our colleagues and back here today to do some more good work. i'm grateful to everyone who has had a part in it. i rise in support of the coast guard reauthorization bill and urge our colleagues to vote yes on the pending cloture motion and on final passage of this legislation tomorrow. ensuring that our coast guard comprised of nearly 95,000 men and women across our country have the resources to do their important work is incredibly important. the coast guard steaked at the behest of treasury secretary alexander hamilton who's known more recently for the musical but he was actually