cantwell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from washington. ms. cantwell: mr. president, before we go to votes that have been scheduled on this bill, i wanted to just take a few more minutes and mention, i mentioned some of our colleagues from the energy committee and some of their contributions. but i just want to mention a couple of other provisions that are in this underlying bill and to thank our colleagues for their hard work. senator wyden, particularly, for his focus on renewable energy technologies like marine and hydro kinetic and geothermal. these are important provisions because they're going to help us gain a foot hold in very important areas of this development. and so i thank him for his contribution. i mentioned earlier about energy storage. in committee our colleagues dealt a lot with this, but senators franken and heinrich, hirono and king all made significant contributions in what are really modernization of the grid, grid storage, as my colleague from alaska kn

i also want to thank senator cantwell, her ranking member. the two of them worked well together and i think we're on the cusp here of something very important and very much worth doing for the american people. mr. reid:? the presiding officer: the minority leader. mr. reid: mr. president, i'm very happy that we're at this point. this legislation has taken three years. it's been hard to get where we are today. we can go back -- there are a lot of hurdles that we have had to jump to get to where we are now and we can fix blame to lots of people. we're where we are and we should cape tha -- we should accept tht with glee. i'm grat tied that we're -- i'm gratified that we're able to reach this agreement. this is an important piece of legislation. is it perfect? of course not. nothing is. we're trying to work things out through compromise. this is a good opportunity for us to show that we can do that. we've tried to move this legislation for three years, and i really appreciate the patience of jeanne shaheen from new hampshire. she's worked on thi

thune: senator cantwell. senator cantwell: thank you mr. neffenger. many of us participated in a closed-door briefing that you gave us prior to the brussels attack and i thought it was a poignant briefing. even post brussels i think there probably is important to do another one of those. maybe in conjunction with homeland security, or separate, as the focus on continue.eeds to i want to ask, i come from a border state and a lot of traffic moves between the u.s. and canada. we have always held the position that we have to have incredible security. one of our border agents caught the millennial bomber on his way to the united states to blow up lax or whatever his mission was. a customs border person call that individual. we are well aware of security but we are also very aware of efficiency. we need both. we know that as a border state. the amount of slowdown. my point is that seatac is the fastest-growing hub in the country and has experienced growth rates of 7% in 2014. we have had this map for planning which was to handle 19 million passengers. last

thune: senator cantwell. cantwell: thank you mr. neffenger. many of us participated in a closed-door briefing that you gave us prior to the brussels attack and i thought it was a poignant briefing. even post brussels i think there probably is important to do another one of those. maybe in conjunction with homeland security or separate of the focus -- the focus on aviation needs to continue. i want to ask, i come from a border state and a lot of traffic moves between the u.s. and canada. we have always held the position that we have to have incredible security. caughtour border agents the millennial bomber on his way to the united states to blow up lax or whatever his mission was. a customs border person call that individual. we are well aware of security but we are also very aware of efficiency. we need both. we know that as a border state. the amount of slowdown. my point is that seatac is the fastest-growing hub in the country and has experienced 2014. rates of 7% in we have had this map for planning which was to handle 19 million passengers

senator cantwell? >> thank you mr. chairman and mr. nefger good to see you again. many of us participated in a closed door briefing that you gave us prior to the brussels attack, and i thought it was a pretty poignant briefing and post brussels there probably is important, mr. chairman, to do another one of these maybe in conjunction with homeland security or separate as the focus on aviation needs to continue. i wanted to ask you, mr. neff neffenger, i come from a border state and a lot of traffic moves between the u.s. and canada and we've always held the position that we have to have incredible security. in fact one of our border agents caught the millenial bomber on his way to come to the united states to either blow up lax or whatever his mission was, but a customs border person caught that individual. so we're very well aware of security but we're also very poignantly aware of efficiency. we need both. we need both in our system and we know that as a border state because of the amount of slowdowns. so my point is sea-tac is the fastest fwroeg hub in the count

senator cantwell. >> thank you, mr. chairman. and mr. neffenger, good to see you again and many of us participated in a closed door briefing that you gave us prior to the brussels attack and i thought it was a pretty poignant briefing and i think even post brussels i think probably is important, mr. chairman, to do another one of those maybe in conjunction with homeland security or separate as the focus on aviation needs to continue. i wanted to ask you, mr. neffenger. i come from a border state and a lot of traffic moves between the u.s. and canada. we've always held the position that we have to have incredible security. one of our border agents caught the millennial bomber when he was on the way to come to the united states to either blow up l.a.x. or whatever his mission was. but a customs border person caught that individual. so we are very well aware of security but we're also very poignantly aware of efficiency. we need both. we need both in our system. and we know that as a border state because the amount of slow down, so my point

cantwell. sen.r. wilshusen: -- cantwell: i wanted to ask any of the commissioners, when of the issues i think all government faces is the shortage of highly skilled i.t. personnel. we previously had support that would allow you to streamline the pay in authority and reduce -- so you could get the skill lowly you need. i understand this legislative authority has expired and we need to re-legislate that. so that you can have the critical pay. how much is this affecting us in getting the workforce that we need at the irs. mr. koskinen: it is a significant challenge for us. we have only 13 or 14 people left. there were 40 slots. 10 our senior i.t. people working on cyber security. by this time next year they will all be gone. replacing them is challenging. although a lot of people want to come to the irs, putting people through the normal -- i.t. people are in great demand and putting them through the hiring process, we like you but we need you to wait 3-6 months. our people are being recruited every day.

angela came to the committee being pulled out of another place at the request of senator cantwell and came to us in a way that has been extraordinary with her guidance, and i greatly appreciate her work. i'd like to recognize the other member, the members of the minority energy committee staff as well: sam faller, who has been around since time immemorial guiding us. rebecca bonner, benjamin drake, rich click, spencer gray, soraya ham, faye matthew, scott mckee, brian petite, mauri stanley, stephanie mcgoldrick. this is kind of list of emmy award winners in my book, but as good as our teams are, we need help here on the floor. and the folks on the floor staff have been fabulous and extraordinary, and we thank them for their efforts. laura dove and gary, thank you for what you have done. the other members of the republican floor staff: robert duncan, chris tuck, mary elizabeth taylor, meghan and tony hanigan. great people to work with and we appreciate their guidance. we had great work from the senate office, as well as the folks on the budget committee, the folks on senate leg. counci

senator murkowski and senator cantwell never gave up even when passage of this bill seemed impossibleve been impressed by their efforts just as i've been impressed by what this broad bipartisan energy bill can achieve for our country. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the democratic leader. mr. reid: mr. president, i agree with the republican leader, the energy bill is a good bill. as i said yesterday, it's just three years behind time. we've tried many, many times to move forward on that. there were filibusters that took place by the republicans and we were unable to get it done. but he's right, senator cantwell and senator murkowski never gave up and they worked through lots of problems. i wish we could have taken care of flint in the process. that held things up for a little while, but not long. and we're still looking at ways to take care of the people of flint who have been really damaged by bad government. so we're glad that flint is going to be -- will come up in the near future and we have, we think, ways of getting that done, maybe with some of the appropriation

cantwell: i know my colleague, the chairwoman of the committee from alaska would probably like to closedebate. i would like to take a few minutes before that vote this morning to again thank all our colleagues for their diligent consideration of this legislation. we will be passing the first energy bill since 2007, an energy bill that will be the first one in nine years. it's a modernization of our energy system that is so desperately needed because it focuses on cleaner, more efficient, more renewable sources of energy, more cost effective for the consumer. it does this by modernizing the grid, making investments and advanced storage technology, smart buildings, composite materials and vehicle batteries. it improves cyber security and helps plan for the work force that we need for tomorrow. so i thank my colleagues for making sure that this legislation passes. i want to say that yesterday we improved this legislation by the lands package that was included, including the basin project in the state of washington and the save act which will help homeowners recognize the involvements this

opportunities ground -- act and my colleagues blumenthal markey cantwell shocks and marquis for supporting the sector. working together i know we can do better. no we can't ensure that women who want to pursue s.t.e.m. careers can do so in a supportive environment without fearing harassment. on equal pay day we are reminded of how far we have to go to achieve equality and encourage my colleagues to support the paycheck fairness act, the s.t.e.m. opportunities act and other legislation that would help close the gender gap in our workforce. i yield the floor. >> mr. president. i want to thank the senator from wife for her leadership on this issue and i will be yielding the floor to the lead sponsor of today's effort. our nation is built on the belief that anyone that works hard should have the opportunity to achieve the american dream yet there are women across this country who are doing the same job as their male colleagues and being paid less. that's why today on national equal pay day i stand before my fellow senators to renew our efforts to ensure equal pay for equal work. 50 years after

stem opportunities act and my colleagues, senators peters, marie gillibrand, bloomenthal, markey, cantwell and merkley for supporting this effort. working together i know we can do better. i know we can assure that women who want to pursue stem careers can do so in a supportive environment without fearing harassment. on equal payday we are reminded of how far we have to go to achieve equality and i urge my colleagues to support the paycheck fairness act, the stem opportunities act, and other legislation that would help close the gender gap in our work force. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the assistant democratic leader. a senator: i want to thank the senator from high for her leadership on this issue. i will be yielding the floor to the lead sponsor of today's effort. mr. durbin: our nation is built on the belief that anyone that works hard should have the opportunity to achieve the american dream. yet there are women across this country who are doing the same job as their male colleagues and being paid less. that's why today on national equal payday,

i also appreciate the work of ranking member nelson and ranking member cantwell in working with them to advance it. after seven hearings and nearly 60 amendments accepted the bill passed the commerce committee by voice vote. on the floor the bill managers continued listening and working with senators from both sides to process more amendments that members thought would make all this good bill even stronger. for instance, they worked to include a number of additional security measures in an amendment that earned bipartisan support. that amendment aims to enhance inspections and vetting of airport workers to improve security for international flights arriving in u.s. airports and to help ensure perimeter security is reviewed. in addition to these important security provisions, we accepted an amendment from senator heinrich to shore up security in prescreening zones which could be particularly vulnerable to attacks. we also adopted an amendment from senators toomey and casey that addresses the security of cockpit doors. i appreciate these and other senators who put forth ideas to make t

president, as i've noted, ranking member nelson, senators ayotte and cantwell deserve high praise for their collaboration on this legislation. senator nelson in particular has been a real partner in the effort, and i want to express my sincere thanks to him and to his talented staff. i also want to acknowledge the important contributions of finance committee chairman hatch and ranking member wyden and their staffs without the finance committee provisions that they provided for revenue and expenditure authority, we would not have an f.a.a. bill. i also want to thank leader mcconnell as lead liaison to the commerce committee scott rabb and leader reid for helping us get this bill passed. i appreciate the senators and staff members who worked with us so we could include so many amendments here on the floor. finally, mr. president, it goes without saying, i want to thank my own staff for their great work on this bill. especially nick rossi, adrian arnakas, bailey edwards, michael reynolds, susan gillan, jackie keshan, rebecca sydell, andrew tim, frederick him, and lauren hammer. long hour

and since then i've been trying, along with colleagues klobuchar and cantwell and others, to change this. now let's look at what captain sullenberger has said about this issue. he said it about our bill -- quote -- "you wouldn't want your surgeon operating on you after only five hours of sleep. or your passenger pilot flying the airplane after only five hours of sleep. and you certainly wouldn't want a cargo pilot wouldn't -- flying a large plane over your house at 3:00 a.m. on five hours of sleep, trying to find the airport and land." they're flying up to 16 hours without rest. so what we say in our amendment is simple. we want parity. we want the same periods of flying time for both pilots. now you say, well, senator boxer, have there been any accidents? yes. since 1990 there have been 14 u.s. cargo p plane crashes involving fatigue, including a ups crash in birmingham, alabama, that killed two crew members. the ntsb cited pilot fatigue as a factor. let's listen to the pilot conversation which was retrieved after the plane crash. let's hear what those pilots who were exhausted said to

this is something that just makes sense, and i appreciate the support of senators murkowski and cantwell and all of my colleagues who support it, including this legislation in this bipartisan energy package. while i was pleased to see this commonsense measure included, i continue to be frustrated and disappointed that this body has held up an up-or-down vote on a bipartisan package authored by senator stabenow and i to help the people of flint, michigan. flint is still in crisis mode, as families still do not have safe, reliable water flowing from their taps. senator stabenow and i will continue pursuing all paths to fight for the assistance that the people of flint deserve. we will not give up. we remain fully committed to delivering flint families the assistance they need to be able to use their tap water for beiging, cooking -- bathing,ingg could -- bathing, cooking, without the fear that it will harm them. i urge my colleagues to continue working with us to pass this package through the senate as soon as possible. the people of flint cannot wait any longer. mr. president, i suggest t

want to give special credit to chairman murkowski, the bill manager, and her counterpart, senator cantwell, for their incredible patience and diligence in dealing with this legislation that's been stuck on this senate floor for some time. senator murkowski, in particular, didn't shy away from addressing some of the most difficult challenges head-on, and needless to say, her hard work finally paid off earlier today. this legislation is important to the country because it helps update our energy policies and helps america produce more energy, use it more efficiently and save money in the process. one of the most significant portions of that legislation was streamlining the approval process for liquefied natural gas exports. this is really an example of how our energy future has been transformed so dramatically. you may recall, years ago there were these terminals being built around the country on the shorelines that were going to be the recipient of natural gas produced in some other part of the world and then brought to the united states. but thanks to modern drilling technology and the use

committee i had the honor of chairing in the past, senator murkowski and the ranking member senator cantwell are committed to working on this issue, and i wanted to once again reaffirm my commitment, and i know senator crapo shares this view, to work with them to find a solution to filed fire funding that can pass in this congress. i certainly have some ideas and i'm very interested in welcoming my colleagues' ideas and have for some time. for example, mr. president, last year in the summer, it was pretty clear, pretty clear that it was going to be a tough fire season. so what i and others essentially sought to do was to find a way to get our colleagues working together to try to find some common ground and get this resolved. well, we couldn't quite get it done. so we're going to now be at this day in, day out, week in, week out. senator crapo and i working with our colleagues and their staff on the energy and natural resources committee and on the budget committee and members from the other body to find a solution that works for all sides of the issue. and we saw last summer that this was g

i also want to thank the ranking member counterpart, senator nelson and senator cantwell for their efforts to advance this legislation. so let's continue that bipartisan progress today and move the f.a.a. reauthorization and airport security bill across the finish line. it's a win for passengers. it's a win for national security. it's another example of common sense legislating under a leadership that's getting the senate back to work. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senate minority leader. mr. reid: i really have to smile when i hear the republican leader -- he says it almost every day day -- the senate is back to work speech. some republicans show only half the time for work and want a raise. they go through the motions but they feel they do their job. they fail to fund opioid legislation. they fail to do anything about the water in flint, michigan. they fail to fix the renewable tax credit. they fail to address the zika virus and on and on. republicans used to talk all the time about meeting deadlines and budget resolutions but this year they aren't doing one. even d

want to thank the chair and ranking member of the energy committee, senator murkowski and senator cantwell for working with us and for so many colleagues who are now bipartisan cosponsors on a bill with senator peters and i, and i want to thank senator inhofe as chair of e.p.w. and ranking member senator boxer and so many people who have come together to support this effort, not only for flint, but we now are seeing headlines across the country about other areas where lead poisoning in water is a serious issue, and we have all kinds of communities with water infrastructure needs. so we have put together a proposal, we have a bipartisan proposal. we are ready to move forward. we need a vote on this proposal. and as people in this building know, we have one senator from utah, the junior senator, holding us up from being able to get that vote. now, we have spent weeks now, mr. president, weeks trying to find a way to get beyond this objection, and we thought we had an agreement and then the bar just keeps changing. this isn't a game. this is not a game. this is real people, and we're trying t

i recently joined a senator cantwell and other senators in writing a letter to president obama, detailing the number of steps in administration could do to do that. one of these would to be expand the worldwide application of the additional protocol which provides the iaea with enhanced inspection rights, including the right to inspect the country's entire fuel cycle, and to conduct environment disabling beyond declared facilities. iran signed its additional protocol agreement with the iaea in 2003, and under the jcpoa, it has agreed to implement it fully. what steps is the in administration taking to encourage all parties to sign and implement additional protocol agreements with the iaea? mr. shannon: thank you for the point on the additional protocol and the iaea. by iran toent provisionally apply the additional protocols and ultimately to accept fully the additional protocol is in the world of nonproliferation, a huge deal. and indicates that the iaea will have enhanced capabilities to measure and track iranian compliance, not only with the jcpoa, but broadly within mbt. this is a huge

gardner, 3460; thune, 3512; heinrich, 3482, as modified; thune, 3462; schumer, 3483; thune, 3463; cantwell, 3490. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. thune: i call up the gardner amendment number 3460. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from south dakota, mr. thune, for mrn amendment numbered 3462, amendment numbered 3464. mr. thune: i ask the reading be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: i call up amendment number 3512. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from south dakota, mr. thune, proposes amendment numbered 3512 to amendment numbered 3464. mr. thune: i ask unanimous consent the reading be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the senate be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of

cantwell. wanted to ask any of the commissioners, when of the issues i think all government faces is the shortage of highly skilled i.t. personnel. support that had would allow you to streamline the pay in authority and reduce -- so you could get the skill lowly you need. i understand this legislative authority has expired and we need to re-legislate that. so that you can have the critical pay. how much is this affecting us in getting the workforce that we need at the irs. >> it is a significant challenge for us. we have only 13 or 14 people left. there were 40 slots. i.t. peopler working on cyber security. by this time next year they will all be gone. replacing them is challenging. although a lot of people want to come to the irs, putting people through the normal -- i.t. people are in great demand and putting them through the hiring we like you but we need you to wait 3-6 months. our people are being recruited every day. saying that we really like you and we would like you to come, sit still

cantwell: yes, when women are discriminated against, it costs them and their families. that's what this issue is. it's a family issue. women are bread winners, too. women today still earn only 79 cents for every dollar paid to a man and this means less food on the table or clothing for their children or insurance premiums. and so what we need to do is make sure we're listening to these stories and acting. one student or one constituent of mine talked about when she was a student, a woman from olympia when she said i was in college in 1993 and i was working at a restaurant. the job enabled me to pay my way through school with no student loans. but a young man several years younger than me with less experience was making a larger wage. when i found out about this, i politely asked the owner why he was making more money. the owner was caught off guard and gave me no reason whatsoever. in fact, the thing that really stuck in my craw, she said, was the fact that the young man said that he had the job so he could support a gaming habit. she said on the other hand, i had no ot

aviation, senator ayotte held numerous briefings and hearings on the issue with her colleague senator cantwell. while many in this chamber are focusing on the issue of now, the bill before us is the product of many months of work by members of the commerce committee and their staffs. let's continue working together in a similar spirit now while the commerce committee has produced a product that merits this chamber's consideration, i'm sure they would acknowledge they don't have a monopoly on good ideas. i hope we can have an efficient amendment process where members bring their best ideas to the floor. let's pass another significant piece of legislation for the american people. now, on another matter, a few years ago, president obama gave a speech in miami where he said the following about immigration immigration -- "i know that some wish that i could just bypass congress and change the law by myself, but that's not how democracy works. that was the president in miami a couple of years ago. he's right. that's not how it works. it wasn't enough to keep him from overreach of ignoring the law and

i recently joined a senator cantwell and other senators in writing a letter to president obama, detailing the number of steps in administration could do to do that. one of these would to be expand the worldwide application of the additional protocol which provides the iaea with enhanced inspection rights, including the right to inspect the country's entire fuel cycle, and to conduct environment disabling beyond declared facilities. iran signed its additional protocol agreement with the iaea in 2003, and under the jcpoa, it has agreed to implement it fully. what steps is the in administration taking to encourage all parties to sign and implement additional protocol agreements with the iaea? mr. shannon: thank you for the point on the additional protocol and the iaea. the commitment by iran to provisionally apply the additional protocols and ultimately to accept fully the additional protocol is in the world of nonproliferation, a huge deal. and indicates that the iaea will have enhanced capabilities to measure and track iranian compliance, not only with the jcpoa, but broadly within mbt. th

but i'm proid to be represented by senator patty murray and maria cantwell who are prepared to move forward and do their job and vote. washingtonians should be proud of their leadership. if only the senate majority would also do their job and allow the senate to function, then we could ensure that the court is able to reach decisions that will produce the necessary precedent we need to resolve many matters going forward. you know, someday, i hope someone from the 10th congressional district of washington state is nominated to the highest court in our land. and i fear, i fear a kid from tacoma known for resolving disputes on the playground or a teenager in olympia showing a talent for judging policy debates or a law student from shelton with their nose in administrative law textbook, i fear they are seeing all of this play out and thinking, why would i want to devote my career and life to the judicial process only to be denied consideration . om a stubborn senate but worst of all, with this inaction, the senate is basically erasing the line and they're creating a new level of gridlock. and a

want to thank the energy committee chair, as senator murkowski, and the ranking member, senator cantwell, for working to advance this legislation. it's important for our country. it will help americans save more energy, produce more energy and pay less for energy. and to paraphrase senator murkowski, it's another example of how the senate is back to, would. let's continue that work today. the republican-led senate has made important strides to get the legislative process functioning again. we know the impact that can have on restoring the appropriations process. we also know that cooperation is going to be important as we move forward. so it was good to see our democratic colleagues yesterday recently pledge cooperation in the appropriations process wroegt that -- writing that this -- quote -- "is a win-win opportunity and we should seize it together." i've been pleased to see the headway by the appropriations committee. the committee held dozens of hearings so far and this morning members will mark up two more of the 12 funding bills and adding to the two the committee has already repor

aviation subcommittee chair, senator ayotte, and their counterparts, senator nelson and senator cantwellto move this important bill forward. there are several good security measures included in the bill, like increased efforts to prevent cybersecurity risks and efforts to help better prepare us whep it comes to communicable diseases. but these senators didn't stop there. they worked to include additional safety measures in an amendment that passed by a bipartisan majority. here's what we know the amendment will do. it will help prevent the inside threat of terrorism by enhancing inspections and vetting of airport employees. it will require review of perimeter security. it will improve various efforts to secure international flights coming into our airports. in addition to these steps designed to ramp up security, we also adopted an amendment from senator heinrich that would increase security in prescreening areas which could be vulnerable to terror attacks. senator toomey and casey worked hard to get the senator to address the security of cockpit doors. these amendments put forth by repu

of the committee's aviation panel, as well as that of democratic counterpart senator nelson and cantwell. the f.a.a. reauthorization act has been a bipartisan effort from the very start. let's keep working together in the same spirit today. i would urge colleagues to work with the bill managers to process amendments if they have them. now, on another matter, mr. president, president obama will fly to chicago where he will try and convince americans that despite his own actions while in the senate to deny a supreme court nominee a vote, the constitution somehow now -- now -- requires the senate to have a vote on his nominee no matter what and thereby deny the american people a voice in the future of the supreme court. in the words of "washington post" fact-checker, he'll be telling supporters a politically convenient fairy tale. that's "the washington post." i'm sure he'll gloss over fact that the decision about filling this pivotal seat could impact our country for decades, that it could affect the most dramatically cherished constitutional rights lining those contain -- like those conta

senator cantwell. >> i thank the senator for his work on this issue. i wanted to ask any of the commissioners one of the issues that i think all government faces is the shortage of highly skilled i.t. personnel and we previously had some port that would allow you to stream line the paying authority and reduce -- you could get the skill level that you need. my understanding is, though, that this legislation authority has expired and we need to relegislate that streamlined authority so that you can have the critical pay. so how much is this affecting us in getting the work force that we need at the irs? >> well, it's a significant challenge for us. we have only 13 or 14 people left -- there were 40 slots, we never used more than 34 of the 13 or 14 left ten are senior i.t. people working on cyber security, online services. by this time next year they will all be gone. replacing them is very challenging for us. first it's the irs although a lot of people want to come to us because we have interesting challenges but putting people through the normal i.t. pe

senator cantwell? >> thank you, mr. chairman. i thank the senator for his work on this issue. i wanted to ask you any of the commissioners, one of the issues that i think all government faces is the shortage of highly skilled i.t. i.t. personnel and previously had support that would allow you toe streamline the pay and authority and reduce -- you could get the skill level that you need. my understanding is, though, that this legislation authority has expired and we need to relegislate that streamlined authority so that you can have the critical pay. so how much is this affecting us in getting the workforce that we need at the irs? >> it's a significant challenge for us. we have only 13 or 14 people left. it's a -- there were 40 slots. we never used more than 34, of the 13 or 14 left ten are senior i.t. people working on cybersecurity online. by this time next year they'll be gone. replacing them is challenging for us. it's theist, although a lot of people want to come to us because of the interesting challenges, but putting -- high level i.t. people are through great demand an

cantwell: mr. president, i call up this amendment and offer it because the issue is making sure that those who work in the air transportation system are safe and secure. this is an important issue to the men and women who work not just at sea tack airport and are part of the delivery system of making sure that air transportation goes safely but they are an integral part of air transportation at every airport in the united states of america. this issue is something that's been considered in the house of representatives as part of the transportation package as well, and it's part of what we think should be in this package in the united states senate. that is to make sure that those who are part of the delivery system, that those ticket counter agents, those agents who are aiding and assisting in getting passengers through the terminals and on to planes and at the gate assisting as many of the challenging days go by of delivering good air transportation service, what's happened is that these individua

modified, inhofe 3492 as modified, flake 3526, cotton 3535, nelson 3621, booker 3620, nelson 3633, cantwell 3534, white house 3623, and cochran 3567. the presiding officer: without objection thune mr. president, -- the presiding officer: the clerk will report the amendments by number. the clerk: the senator from south dakota proposes amendments en bloc numbered 3476 as modified, 3492 as modified, 3500, 3526, 3535, 3621, 3620, 3633, 3534, 3623, and 3567. mr. thune: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate now vote on these amendments as well as the bennet number 3524 as modified with the changes at the desk, all en bloc. the presiding officer: without objection. thune i know of no further debate on these amendments. the presiding officer: if there's no further debate, the question on the amendments en bloc. all those in favor say aye. all those opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the amendments are agreed to en bloc thune mr. president, if there's no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order.

florida, senator bill nelson and our aviation subcommittee leaders senators kelly ayotte and maria cantwell. the bill that we can vote on today has been described in "the washington post," and i quote, as one of the most passenger-friendly f.a.a. reauthorization bills in a generation -- end quote. even more importantly, this bill includes strong new security measures that address the threat that isis and other terrorist groups pose to airline passengers. as a comprehensive bill addressing needs in cybersecurity, the aircraft design approval process, undue regulatory burdens on noncommercial pilots, airport infrastructure, rural air service, lithium battery safety, mental health screening for pilots, communicable disease preparedness, drone safety and many other important issues. this bill helps the economic who relies on our air transportation system, and, mr. president, we shouldn't let them down. a vote yes on the motion to end debate allows us to move forward and to get these reforms going forward by agreeing to ultimately vote on them, to vote on passage of this bill. again, i want to t

and did to get that cantwell collins bill and i am fully supportive but what else do we need to do? and to have those machine capabilities. can i would assume with the role of the coast guard that dogs have played a significant role. do you think but i do have concerns about this you do the coalition of constant input and then to focus on those first questions. >> we are going to do local trading. so we will address that but to be very challenging summer season with as many new hires as we can into the system to ensure we're working as much as we can so that is working with the airlines. >> 84 that. >> and with that capacity of the trading centers in seconds with respect to seattle i will be out there next week meeting with the airport director and local officials as well to let get the issues are have been trying to do this with each of the major airports around the country. with people trading and technology by interested the way we do acquisitions i think there are things we can do to make sure that happens a retreating i want to build up that academy out to. >> are you for more

senator nelson, senators ayotte, cantwell and i have been leading oversight of airport security problems relating to airport and airline workers abusing their secure area access badges. this oversight led our committee to approve bipartisan legislation, senate bill 2361, the airport security enhancement and oversight act, to tighten the vetting of airport workers with ties to terrorists and serious criminal behavior that should disqualify them from accessing sensitive airport areas. just in the past few weeks, a number of badged aviation industry workers have been caught in the act of helping criminal organizations. on march 18, a flight attendant abandoned a suitcase with 68 pounds of cocaine after she was confronted by transportation security officers in california. in florida on march 26, an airline gate agent was arrested with a backpack containing $282,400 in cash that he intended to hand off to an associate. as we work to address the threat of an aviation insider helping terrorists, criminals who break laws for financial gain and those with histories of violence are a really good p

we recognize the ranking member, senator nelson, and cantwell, and committee members from both sides for their contributions as well. the bipartisan f.a.a. reauthorization act will support american jobs and help american manufacturing. it will improve safety in the skies and security in our airports. it contains commonsense reforms for passengers, too. in fact, a consumer columnist for "the washington post" dubbed it -- quote -- "one of the most passenger-friendly federal aviation administration reauthorization bills in a generation." for instance, to the extent an airline charges fees for things like baggage or cancellations or changes, this bill will help ensure that they provide it in a clear standard format people can actually understand. it will allow passengers to get refunds for services they purchase but don't receive, like if they've been charged a bag fee and the bag doesn't make it. it will give passengers more peace of mind when they travel directing the f.a.a. toupdate the contents of on-board emergency medical kits and it maintain rural access in states like kentucky. t

partner on the commerce committee, ranking member bill neglectson as well -- nelson as well as senator cantwell who lead our aviation subcommittee for their work on the federal aviation reauthorization act. i look forward to the ensuing debate on this bill. and i urge at the end of that debate my colleagues to move forward, to pass this legislation because it's important for america's economy and for the safety of our traveling public. mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. nelson: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from florida. mr. nelson: mr. president, i think the chairman, senator thune, has pointed out that what we have tried to exhibit is the way the senate is supposed to work in a bipartisan way to forge consensus in order to be able to govern. and the subject matter, the f.a.a., aviation, is one that we shouldn't dillydally around and indeed some of the very serious consequences that are facing the national aviation system, we take them head-on. and i want the chairman to know how much i appreciate the spirit with which we have worked not only on this issue but the many i

administration reauthorization act of 2016, which i along with my colleagues, senators nelson, ayotte and cantwell, introduced and we marked up in front of our committee. this legislation before us today includes the most passenger- friendly provisions, the most significant aviation safety reforms and the most comprehensive aviation security enhancements of any f.a.a. reauthorization in recent history. this bill helps passengers and americans who use the national airspace for many different transportation needs. for example, since the last reauthorization of the federal aviation administration in 2012, the use of drones has increased dramatically. according to its most recent aerospace forecast, the f.a.a. estimates that annual sales of both commercial and hobby unmanned aircraft could be $2.5 million in 2016, a number they estimate may increase to seven million units annually by 2020. but the f.a.a. has an outdated legislative framework being used to shape the use of this rapidly growing technology for both hoists and commercial operators. this is slowing down innovations in advancement and safet

thune's work with the aviation subcommittee chair senator ayotte as well as senators nelson and cantwell to move an amendment designed to keep passengers safer and to help deter terrorism at airports on u.s. soil. the amendment will help shore up security measures for international flights coming into the u.s. as well as improve vetting and inspections of airport employees. i'd also like to recognize senator heinrich for his work to improve provisions that will increase security measures in prescreening airport zones and expand preparation for active shooter events. this f.a.a. reauthorization legislation will do more for security than any other in years. it will do more for passengers than any others in years as well. don't take m word for it. a consumer columnist for "the washington post" labeled it -- quote -- "one of the most passenger-federal federal aviation administration bills tphal generation." it includes a number of consumer-friendly provisions like fee disclosures and refunds for lost bags or services paid for, but not received. and does so without imposing choice-limiting re