cornyn: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent to engage in a colloquy with my colleagues, the senator from illinois and the senator from ohio and i think we're going to be joined by the senator from south dakota and perhaps others. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: mr. president before i turn to senator portman, i just want to put up a quote from one of the leaders of the antitrafficking movement, the coalition against trafficking in women who expresses my sentiments exactly my frustration over a partisan filibuster of a piece of legislation which has enjoyed broad bipartisan support and how somehow that partisanship has infected what should be a bipartisan commitment to helping the victims of human trafficking. she said senate democrats are choosing a fan tomorrow -- chiewtion a phantom problem over real victims. i think that expresses the fact and my sentiments. but i want to turn to the senator from ohio first who has been one of the leaders in this effort. he has offered

cornyn: i thank -- mr. president. i express my gratitude to the senator from south dakota but we've neglected perhaps the most important person in this process and that's the senator from iowa the chairman of the judiciary committee who responded to a letter written by all 20 senators in the united states senate asking him to have a hearing on this important topic and to move this bill forward. i know we had the senator from south dakota mention senator mikulski. she came to testify along with senator ayotte from new hampshire and senator klobuchar at that hearing and talked about how really important this was to all 20 of our women senators, and how proud they were of the fact that it moved forward and it wouldn't have happened without the senator from iowa, the chairman of the judiciary committee, willing to take that challenge up and to move the bill here to the floor in such a -- in a unanimous fashion. but i would just close, mr. president, by saying that all members of the united states senate, presumably came h

the cornyn-klobuchar bill addresses the need to do moorhead on. it establishes a domestic traffic victims fund paid for through fines on persons convicted of child pornography human trafficking, child prostitution sexual exploitation and human smuggling offenses. under current law those convicted of child abuse trafficking must pay a special $100 special assessment fee. under this amendment it's increased to $5,000 for child pornography and other forms of exploitation. those go to the domestic traffic victims fund which will increase the resources for victims by $7 million a year over a five-year time frame for a total of $35 million. funding will be awarded as block grants to states and local governments under the victim-centered human trafficking deterrence block grant programs. the purpose of these grants is to develop and implement victim-centered programs that train law enforcement to rescue trafficking survivors prosecute traffickers and pornographers and help restore the lives of their innocent victims. innocence the justice for victims of

cornyn: mr. president, i would ask unanimous consent to engage in a colloquy. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mrs. feinstein: i would be happy to. i think we ought to discuss this. mr. cornyn: otherwise we'll have to keep addressing questions to the chair and asking permission. i'd like to have a chance to have an honest conversation with my friend. so it is clear that the senator from california that has voted for this restriction on the use of taxpayer funding for abortion previously -- correct? mrs. feinstein: not to my knowledge. let me put it that way. now, you can blame me and you can say i should have known. mr. cornyn: i'm just -- mrs. feinstein: i'm not the only one in our committee who is in this position either, who communicated with your staff and was under the impression that the bill was identical to last year. mr. cornyn: i -- mrs. feinstein: with the exception of seven pieces which is not this. the seven were detailed to us. mr. cornyn: i'm not going

cornyn: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. cornyn: i would ask that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: mr. president at 11:00 thorpg, we will be having a very important vote on human trafficking and an important piece of legislation the justice for victims of trafficking act. i'm glad that this issue is finally getting the kind of ategsattention that it deserves, but i would be lying to you if i said i wasn't disappointed in the twhai this bill has become a political -- in the way in this bill has become a political football for people who want to cause the united states senate to cease to function entirely or to relitigate issues that have been resolved 40 years ago like the hyde amendment. we here in the senate have the opportunity to do a great deal of good for thousands of people, including children, who are victims of sex trafficking many of whom are young girms not even of high school age. now, on average, the t

cornyn: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. cornyn: mr. president, i had a ask consent to -- i'd ask consent to speak for up to ten minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: mr. president all week we have been on an important piece of legislation called the justice for victims of trafficking act. just to remind everybody, this is a bill designed to treat child prostitutes not as the criminal but as the victim they are. obviously beneath the age of consent. and to recognize that the criminal organizations that traffic in human flesh for sale, for economic sex other reasons, that this is a real problem in our society and that so much of what happens in this trade is really nothing more, nothing less than modern-day slavery, something we thought was relegated to the history books and didn't exist in the united states of america the freest country in the world. we got here through a rather strange set of circumstances because the legislation that i introd

first, a klobuchar-cornyn bill, as reported earlier this month by the judiciary committee. secondly, the cornyn-klobuchar bill also reported earlier this month by the judiciary committee but without the divisive language that limits victims' services. and third the leahy-collins-mikulski-ayotte amendment filed yesterday to protect runaway and homeless youths from trafficking. this trafficking prevention bill was reported by the judiciary committee last year with the support of senator grassley, senator cornyn, nearly all of the other judiciary committee members. it has been narrowed here at the request of republicans this year. i hope that a combination of these three bills that i do in good faith will bring us together. in response to the request of survivors, the many dedicateed people work with them to remove the unnecessary partisan provisions as a result of this impasse. they need us to find a way forward without playing politics and pass a meaningful bill. with that, mr. president i would request a number of groups and others who support this, that those letters be in

with senator cornyn on the reentry side. of the discussion and we hope that our bill will be a vehicle that can move forward and perhaps get other elements added to it as well and do a more comprehensive package. i also have a bill on comprehensive addiction recovery. that's less immediately doj's business. but we do have it in this, it's a very related issue, put it the that way. and i hope that we can get your support in working through any issues that, in the context of addiction recovery. there was a school of thought for a while that drug use was a moral failing and an evil and that the best way to get after it was to punish it in a whole variety of ways, including creating a whole raft of the consequences that ensue if you have a drug conviction that there are hundreds of these laws that have been put all over the place and i think upon more mature reflection, we've seen that treatment works. recovery works. and when somebody's on a path to recovery, you're really not helping them or anybody else by saying you can't wo

cornyn: mr. president budgets are all about priorities, and it's about living within your means and not mortgaging our children's future by overspending money that we don't have that we're going to have to ask them to repay. when it comes to priorities, i can't think of a higher priority for the federal government -- i'm not talking about state or local government. i'm talking about the federal government. i can't think of a higher priority for the federal government than national security. that was really one of the basic reasons the united states of america was originally created is for mutual defense and national security. this budget importantly helps set the course for the future security of not only this country but also the world by funding our military services. it's no secret because we see it in the headlines every day we see it on television, we see it online. we are living in an increasingly dangerous world. we would prefer that it be otherwise, but the truth is different. all we need

mccain: i thank senator cornyn for his leadership on this important issue. i want to thank senator klobuchar, who i have enjoyed working with on a related bill to stop exploitation through trafficking act which i hope will also be considered during the course of this debate. we must commit to eliminating all formed of modern-day slavery, forms of modern-day slavery and human trafficking these horrendous crimes undermine the human right of freedom. for too long we in the united states have assumed this is a president obama for others but not for ourselves. we've heard heartbreaking stories of the underground trafficking of humans but believe this was a tragedy unique to places in the world where a poor economy and weak rule of law allowed vulnerable women and children to fall into these unspeakable circumstances. this is no longer the case. reports and research have brought this crime out of the dark here at home revealing that trafficking in humans is a reality in our own states and communities. ignorance and denial are no longer options. i'm proud to suppor

senators cornyn and klobuchar for all their work. i see senator wyden is here, senator leahy is here, senator grassley is here; others who have been involved in this, they and their staffs are to be commended because this has been a argue process in my view. it is an issue a lot of us care about and why? because it affects our states and our constituents in very significant ways. last year i cofounded and now cochair the caucus on human trafficking with senator blumenthal and we've had good meetings and conferences on the hill raising the awareness of this issue. this horrible crime affects every single part of our country. in ohio, this came to my attention initially because in parts of ohio particularly in toledo there were higher incidents of prosecutions of human trafficking. a school group brought this to my attention several years ago. the more we looked into it the more we realized this affects so many of our students, particularly children, runaways, the missing. on the greatest country on the face of the earth almost 300,000

we heard from senator cornyn saying this bill will help sex trafficking visions of victims and it truly saddens me. what did happen? did republicans insert something in the bill? did democrats not read the bill? what's the story? >> is a lot of hearsay but this is what we did know. the bill was released in early january and the so-called hyde amendment provision was in there there. it's a 68 page bill. it's not a long bill. democrats fully admit that their staffer should've read the bill. what happened was the bill was released in january. there weren't any changes that turned a bipartisan group and then i went to the judiciary committee who has jurisdiction over the issue on february 2602 weeks ago. i was at the committee hearing because this was the same hearing for attorney general nominee loretta lynch. they went through a few changes here and there in the bill is headed to the floor. all throughout this democrats say they were not aware of this provision. it is written in the bill and an obscure way so maybe to the normal eye we don't see the word hyde amendment or abortion but to

senator cornyn: this is not illusory. when i was attorney general in texas, one of my responsibility was to manage the victims fu nd. taking the penalties and the fines that are paid by the people who commit the crimes and now using this to redirect that money to pay for services to help heal the victims of that crime. i would say that is contrary to my experience and that is contrary to the truth of the mast -- vast majority of the state to have a crimes victim compensation fund in some form or another. reporter: have you had second thoughts about the letter to the iran leaders? senator cornyn: can we come back to that? reporter: [indiscernible] senator cornyn: that has been one of the problems. the super bowl in dallas a few years ago, i learned for the first time that unfortunately a lot of this crime travels with super bowls and all the activity associated with that. the fact of the matter is any of these victims not consider themselves victims it or because they are addicted to drugs or being coerced or otherwise hel

i support the rest of senator cornyn's bill. that's why i included in the comprehensive substitute amendment i filed last week. also included in my substitute is a vital component to prevent human trafficking by focusing on runaway and human youth. if we're serious about helping thoseend this heinous crime, we should expand the protections for sex trafficking victims. we should come together and protect these vulnerable kids. that's why we're here. i'm confident if we remember these children, democrats and republicans will move forward return to the bipartisan path we've always walked on this issue. one of the reasons i have that amendment i talk about prefght is one thing -- and we should prosecute those people that do this but wouldn't it be that much better for the victims if we could prevent it from happening in the first place? madam president%, i've talked about of the nightmares i still have about some of the cases i prosecuted. i was 26 and the chief prosecutor for a quarter of our state. and i look at these victims, the

cornyn: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. cornyn: tame i came here to speak on another topic. let me just inject on the keystone x.l. pipeline. ive says we want job-creating legislation. we want to facilitate the creation of new jobs in america but when it comes to voting, our friends across the aisle seem to be stuck on voting against job-creating legislation because this -- our state department has estimated that as many as 42,000 jobs would be created by the construction of the keystone x.l. pipeline. and the thing that mystifies me the most about this debate is at last count we had roughly 2.5 million miles of pipelines crisscrossing america. i've come to the floor before and i've suggested that people might want to just do a search on their laptop or on their tablet for oil and gas pipelines, and you can see a american troopmapof those pipelines and it looks like a spaghetti bowl because they are everywhere. this is the most frt and safest way to transport natural gas and crude as well. so i just remain mystified by the

. >> before i call on senator cornyn, i want to go to the agriculture committee for 15 minutes. we've got enough people here to ask questions, so would you take over according to -- till i get back? so it's my understanding, it will be cornyn, and then durbin if he comes back, and then perdue and then lee. is the way i think it works out. >> ms. yates, congratulations on your nomination. >> thank you, senator. >> and certainly have an impressive career. in public service, and have all of the qualifications to prepare you for being the deputy attorney general, and i take seriously the advice and counsel of our colleagues, senator perdue, senator isakson and their testimonials to your public service and congressman lewis, as well. i guess the biggest problem someone in your position has when they come to washington, d.c. as a prosecutor is the politics. and the ambiguity that seems to exist too often in my view about the role of the chief law enforcement officer of the united states, the attorney general, and i would include high level appointees like you. about where your loyalti

the new language which has been offered by senator cornyn of texas would send a new dangerous precedent by enabling hyde restrictions to apply to non-tax funding streams set forth in this bill. this language paves the way for political leaders in the future to interfere even more with a woman's basic personal health decisions. it sets the tone for expansion of abortion restriction for years to come. i'm upset about this provision in that it shouldn't be in this bill. this bill is not about abortion. it about human trafficking. instead, this provision has now become another opportunity for political speeches and delay. the good news is that the justice for victims of trafficking act can still be bipartisan and we have high hopes that it will be. democrats are ready to work with republicans to fix this bill and move past the partisan obstacle, which literally stopped us this week from doing anything. the substitute amendment removes the hyde restrictions from the justice for victims of trafficking act. it includes two important bipartisan pieces of legislation: the runaway and homeless yo

john cornyn declined to endorse him. mike lee, who has teamed up with crews in a battle in the senate, says he is not ready to endorse anyone. cruz has been called divisive but he has a lot of fans among tea party voters. he and his wife sat down with "today" and matt asked him about compromise. >> i'm happy to work with anyone democrat independent, libertarian, republican if they are shrinking the size and power of the federal government. if they are turning around the debt, if they are expanding liberty. >> cruz faces a lot of competition. we expect more household names to throw their hat in the ring in the coming weeks. behind closed doors, president obama hosted hillary clinton for a quiet lunch at the white house. the press secretary told reporters that the two had an hour-long visit. they like to catch up with their schedules permit. no details on what they talked about. >>> cloudy skies out there, another check of the radar shows not much in the way of rainfall across the area. you aren't going to need the umbrell

senator cornyn does she need to maybe, completely be transparent and hand the server over?lace and i think she needs to get this behind her unless this is going to be the subject of controversy for weeks and months on end. so i'd like to hear what she has to say. i think she needs to be fully transparent. >> let me ask you guys i start with you, senator klobuchar. talk about what you and senator cornyn were doing in a bipartisan effort to crack down on sex trafficking, which we have seen doesn't just happen on the other side of the globe, it happens all over. >> thanks so much. this is something we have been working on together for years. it is a truly bipartisan effort. we have so many authors on both sides of the aisle. this is the third criminal enterprise over the world. tracking of young girls, average age is 12 years old. we have a number of bills we have worked on together. one i'm focused on takes minnesota's model saying a 12-year-old is a victim not a criminal. get that girl help and make sure she testifies against the prerp traitor. >> what countries -- it's stun

the bill we have on the floor right now that senator cornyn and i have worked on and so many others in this chamber that will help to get some funds for the victims and for these shelters. the bill that i have that i'm leading with senator cornyn will actually help to make sure that our states get some incentive to make sure that we are handling these criminal prosecutions in a way that works that emboldens the victims so they don't go back to the pimps so they don't go back to that cycle of violence, so they actually feel that they're in a safe harbor, that they're in a safe place so that they will testify against these perpetrators the ones that are running these rings these crooks, these that are treating these young girls as chattels. that's what these bills are about. so mr. president we need a path forward. i think for the first time today we are seeing despite no agreement yet and a lot of ideas out there we're seeing a different tone. and i just want people to remember that not only will this bill involve the fund that i'm talking about but once we either join it or pass separa

i want to thank senator cornyn for his hard work on this legislation. he's been a tiecials advocate -- a tireless advocate for it. this has been a bipartisan exercise. i want to thank the 13 democratic cosponsors of the bill. it's a bill that received a hearing in the judiciary committee earlier this year, it was reported without a single negative vote. it's been thoroughly crafted which explains its bipartisan support in the senate. it also explains the long list of endorsements such as share in hope international rights for girls, the fraternal order of police and the national center for missing and exploited children among its many supporters. here's what one broad coalition backing this bill had to say about it. the justice for victims of trafficking act provides unprecedented support to domestic victims of trafficking who are too often invibles -- invisible and underserved they wrote. this legislation is vital. so i hope now that it has been brought to the floor that this bill continues to enjoy its strong record of constructive bipartisan support.

. >> jon: cornyn is basically saying, all right, democrats, (bleep) it. how about we do knotting?ere's your out, we pass the anti-sex trafficking bill with the anti-abortion language but have it adhere to the anti-abortion rules democrats have accepted for decades. is it everything democrats want? no. but it's the best they're going to get because they lost the election in the midterms and playing second fidl in the senate now so better accept it. like being playing two in mario brothers. you get to play but you have to be luwegee -- dplor fide wing man standing by as his more charismatic brother has weird interactions with the princess but if he's lucky gets to settle for a lack luster hand job from whatever this thing is. we don't know! (cheers and applause) democrats should accept it! they turned down the offer and took a different approach to pushing lynches confirmation through. >> loretta lynch, the first african-american woman nominated to be attorney general is asked to sit in the back of the bus when it comes to the senate calendar. >> jon: oh for (bleep) sake. no, she's

cornyn: mr. president i'd ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: i ask unanimous consent that floor privileges are granted to steve curtis, defense fellow for senator burr during the duration of the consideration of s. 178. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: mr. president i know the senator from west virginia -- will be giving her first speech in the senate here shortly and i look forward to listening to that, but i wanted to say just a few words about the legislation that we will be debating and hopefully passing this week and that is the justice for victims of trafficking act. this is without a doubt one of the most shocking and troubling issues facing our country today. it is, no exaggeration to say modern-day human slavery. at a time when we believed as a country that slavery was a part of our past, and something that we only read about in our history books. many people are under the impression tha

. >> before i call on senator cornyn, i want to go to the agriculture committee for 15 minuteses. we've got enough people here to ask questions, so would you take over according to -- till i get back? so it's my understanding, it will be cornyn, and then durbin if he comes back, and then purdue and then lee. is the way i think it works out. >> ms. yates congratulations on >> thank you, senator. >> and certainly have an impressive career. in public service, and have all of the qualifications to prepare you for being the deputy attorney general, and i take seriously the advice and counsel of our colleagues, senator per due, senator isakson and their testimonials to your public service and congressman lewis, as well. i guess the biggest problem someone in your position has when they come to washington, d.c. as a prosecutor is the politics. and the ambiguity that seems to exist too often in my view about the role of the chief law enforcement officer of the united states, the attorney general, and i would include high level appointees like you. about where your loyalties lie. and you'v

texas senator john cornyn refused to officially endorse him and republican congressman peter king posted"the republican party and the american people have to be able to find a more qualified candidate for president than ted cruz. shutting down the federal government and reading dr. seuss on the senate floor are the marks of a carnival barker not the leader of the free world." ted cruz and his wife heidi will sit down for an exclusive interview on "today" later on this morning. >>> the national search is on for the little girl seen in this photo from a hurricane katrina rescue. the veteran hugging her wants to track her down. on twitter the #findkatrinakid was shared thousands of times. the air force times says the resilient girl reminded the vet that he wanted to spend his life helping people saying if i never do anything else again, that hug and that smile made it all worthwhile. >>> the latest on that downed lufthansa airliner that crashed in southern france this morning. new details are coming into nbc news as we speak. >>> plus game on. the new football rule that will keep fans in fr

. >> before i call on senator cornyn, i want to go to the agriculture committee for 15 minutes. we've got enough people here to ask questions. so would you take over according to -- till i get back? it's my understanding it will be cornyn and then durbin if he comes back and then perdue and then lee is the way i think it, whos out. >> ms. yates congratulations on your nomination. >> thank you senator. >> you certainly have an impressive career in public service and have all of the qualifications to prepare you for being the deputy attorney general. and i take seriously the advice and counsel of our colleagues senator perdue, senator isakson and their testimonials to your public service and congressman lewis as well. i guess the biggest problem, someone in your position has when they come to washington, d.c. as a line prosecutor is the politic ss and the ambiguity that seems to exist too often in my view about the role of the chief law enforcement officer of the united states, the attorney general, and i would include high-level appointees like you about where your loyalties lie.

that used to be cornyn hog bellies that is why it is called commodities futures trading commission. that is what caused the crash. during the period when though loans were paid you make the banks lend it to the poor people into protected fannie mae and freddie mac. first of all by 1994 a democrats were worried and would regulate. they said that is an interference and will not do that. we tried on several locations to pass to regulate predatory lending published administration would preempt that then the state banks would become national banks. in 2004 the house tried to pass a bill with sub-prime lending the when i became chairman 2007 ended ted of both through the committee that i chaired that said you cannot lend to people who cannot pay you back in the "wall street journal" attacked me. why suze stopping these loans? why doesn't he want the minority groups to have loans? alan greenspan 2007 looked at in the appendix before the crash to increase financial risk and home ownership to restore market outcomes. but i believe the power of the of regulator that the benefits of home owner

. >> tuesday majority whip john cornyn and judiciary committee ranking member patrick leahy discuss the human trafficking bill that's been on the senate floor for debate. and anti-human trafficking bill passed the senate judiciary committee in late february without opposition. the senate democrats oppose language in it that would prohibit money from being spent on abortions. here's the exchange from the senate floor. >> yesterday the democratic leader senator reed told us that democrats and republicans could finally agree on one thing. and that is wheeled focused on the partisan politics and the ideology that so often devices but we ought to focus on the victims of human trafficking. largely middle school aged girls who are bought and sold like commodities. i came out here yesterday and said i believe that we are all created in the image of god. and it is a sin, it is a very personification of evil for people to treat the same human beings as if they were things. and that's what the scourge of human trafficking is all about. and so i was very glad to see finally we seem to be chipping a

the justice for victims of trafficking act and i want to commend the numerous senators, senators cornyn, klobuchar so many others who have worked so hard to move this act forward. now, i realize that there are many of us who are new to this body and i certainly am still learning my way around the procedural maze here. however, it is easy to see how frustrating this maze can be and how it keeps us from getting good things done for the people who elected us and sent us here. last year, i traveled my state alaska and one of the top concerns i heard from alaskans is that they were tired of the gridlock and they want to see a functioning government and an open process in the united states senate, so here we are on a bill that is of immense importance to the country and to alaska, a bill that has very broad bipartisan support and it comes to the floor with the promise of an open amendment process so all senators can be heard, and yet a few of my friends on the other side of the aisle are preventing us from moving forward on a bill that will protect some of the nation's most vulnerable citizen

leading republicans acknowledge that abortion politics -- gentlemen senator john cornyn said quote, this bill is being hijacked and used to debate something it doesn't have anything to do about and that is the subject of abortion. ... orrin hatch said -- quote -- "i can't believe the senate has become so political that we would raise that issue at this time on this bill." the solution is so simple. take the abortion language out of the bill. the bill dealing with human trafficking is going to pass. if we don't do it now we'll do it. it's something that is imperative that we get done. but it should not be dealt with in relation to abortion. take the abortion language out of the bill. republican senators have a choice to legislate or hijack the debate. they want to get something done; they just need to take abortion politics out of this bill. they want to leave abortion politics in the bill, the republicans will only continue this session's record of dysfunction. now, mr. president, this is the second day that my friend, the republican leader, has come to the floor and quoted something i s

senator cornyn's justice for victims of trafficking act also aids these victims by establishing a special fund that will provide them more of the resources they need to repair their shattered lives. senator cornyn's bill also imposes severe penalties on traffickers including heavier fines than the justice department -- that the justice department will direct toward victim compensation. i strongly support both of these bills and i'm grateful for my colleagues' enormous efforts in building a coalition to combat this scourge. mr. president, human trafficking is a complex problem and solving it requires a multifront approach. it is a problem of both supply and demand. in addition to passing this legislation, we must also address the problem of demand. the prevalence of human trafficking is a moral stain on our country and we can never eradicate this evil if we are only addressing part of the problem. through stricter enforcement of objectobscenity laws, we can decrease demand for sex trafficking. there is an undeniable link between illegal adult obscenity and sex trafficking and i have long b

[indiscernible conversations] announcer: senator john cornyn among the arrivals at tonight's gridiron dinner at the renaissance hotel in washington, d.c. our c-span camera in the lobby watching some of the arrivals for tonight's white-tie dinner. a few moments ago we saw andrea mitchell of nbc news and alan greenspan, the former fed chair, arriving. we continue to show you the sights and sounds in the lobby of the renaissance hotel. we won't be able to go inside the dinner itself. there is cal thomas. we won't be able to go inside the dinner itself. it is closed to cameras. some of those attending tonight and speaking, president obama and two governors, scott walker of wisconsin and terry mcauliffe of virginia, have been invited tonight. the gridiron club is an elite group of editors, reporters, bureau chiefs, who work in the d.c. area. only 65 members of the organization. it is in its 130th year. this is the 130th year for the dinner. new inductees this year include "usa today" chief congressional reporter susan davis also "wall street journal" deputy bureau chief neo-king -- neil ki

and i just want to add that what became our most important civic action program you have the cornyn in the wooded her can to death because he would try to be kidding but the combined action program made serving in vietnam more worthwhile then if i had survived a soul to work of the infantry unit. i feel good about my service but it left me with a sense that things were unfinished and i had no closure. . . >> i said, i'm not going to make it through this. so to my surprise when i'm on the freedom boat going home, and i decided that i'm going to live a good life in honor of those guys that don't get to live that good life because they didn't make it back. so no, i didn't expect to be a writer, didn't expect to be anything really and it's like bob says, i didn't know what i was doing itch didn't know how i got there. i mean, my book reflects that. i also dope see this -- quick aside. these two guys, bob and bob tim, they were the real marines and -- i lived in a privileged place as a corpsman very special place with the marine corps but these guys they earned their eagle globe and anchor

cornyn: i ask unanimous consent that on monday, march 23 at 5:30 p.m. the senate proceed to executive session to consider the following knocks, calendar number 19, that the senate then vote without intervening action or debate on the nomination, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table that no further motions be in order that any statements related to the nomination be printed in the record, the president be immediately notified of the senate's actions and the senate then resume legislative session. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. cornyn: madam president writing and passing a budget is one of the most fundamental responsibilities of any legislative body. unfortunately, it's something we haven't done here in the united states senate, the united states congress, since 2009. it is outrageous, it should be considered a scandal. but today i want to take a few minutes to discuss the budget we have before us today and how we intend to discharge our responsibilities to the american people in the 114th

john cornyn declined to endorse him.nator mike leigh who teamed up with cruz said he's not ready to endorse anyone. however, cruz will likely get big tea party support. later this morning on the "today" show cruz and his wife heidi will give their first interview since announcing their bid exclusively on the "today" show. you can see it after news 4 today. >>> i'm richard jordan. d.c. police looking for a missing girl. a 13-year-old girl that has not been seen since last night. this is her photograph shawnetta paige was last seen about 9:00 p.m. last night. she was wearing gray pants, a black hooded sweat shirt, she has braids to her waist. if you have seen her lately d.c. police want to hear from you. they're trying to locate her now. >>> thank you. >>> this morning family members are remembering their loved one killed in a hit and run. he attended buoy state university. he was killed friday morning on the baltimore, washington parkway. cell phone video shows the scene here. witnesses told police a driver hit his car an

cornyn, the senator from utah, mr. hache, the senator from wyoming mr. barrasso, the senator from mississippi, mr. wicker, the senator from tennessee, mr. corker, the senator from illinois, mr. durbin, the senator from washington, miss bury, the senator from michigan, miss stabin now, the senator from new jersey, mr. menendez, the senator from connecticut, mr. murphy. the speaker: members of the escort committee will please exit through the chamber lobby doors. >> mr. speaker, the acting dean of the diplomatic corps. >> mr. speaker, the president's cabinet. the sergeant at arms: mr. speaker, the president of the islamic republic of afghanistan. the speaker: members of congress, i have the high privilege and distinct honor of presenting to you his excellency mohammad ashraf ghani president of the islamic republic of afghanistan. president ghani: in the name of god the merciful and compassionate speaker boehner vice president biden, senate majority leader mcconnell, house majority leader mccarthy house minority leader ms. pelosi, senate minority leader, la

john cornyn declined to endorse him.h senator mike leigh who teamed up with cruz said he's not ready to endorse anyone. however, cruz will likely get big tea party support. he could make a splash if he wins the texas primary. he faces a huge potential roster of gop candidates. we expect big names to jump into the race in the coming weeks. later this morning on the "today" show cruz and his wife heidi will give their first interview since announcing their bid exclusively on the "today" show. you can see it after news 4 today. >>> yet another twist in the political career of virginia delegate joseph morrissey. he may be in hot water for moving outside his district. he moved for a senate bid, however, the virginia constitution said he must live in the district to stay in office as a state delegate. or as he tells the washington post, he intends to keep his seat. this could reenergize officers who want him out. he recently resigned after a sex scandal and changed his mind and won the seat back in a special election. at the t

let's turn to anna cornyn live in hong kong. of thousands of people line the streets in the pouring rain to bid farewell to lee kuan yew. how do you think they will remember him? >> i think the outpouring of love, respect and admiration is something that singporians feel. tens of thousands line the 15 kilometers route from the house where his body has been lying in state to the university where the state funeral was held. it finished up just under an hour ago. his body has been taken to a crematorium where he will be creigh nated. lee kuan yew is the man who founded the country. he took it from a third world country to a first world country and made it the most prosperous in the world. it has one of the highest pay in the world. they are educated, they are worldly, they are very wealthy and they have lee kuan yew to thank for that. this is a man who is considered to be a visionary, not just by singporians but people around the world. when he died monday at the age of 91, tributes were flying in from barack obama, a giant of hist

. >> reporter: texas senator john cornyn introduced the bill and says it has widespread support and would have a major impact. for the first time ber going to be going after the people that on the demand side and cause them to have to pay penalties and types which will then be turned around and be redirected to help the victims heal and get on with their lives. >> let's fix the problem. let's remove this offending language. >> reporter: democrats had joined republicans in unanimous support of the bill in committee but are now fighting to strip out hyde amendment language that blocks the use of taxpayer dollars for abortion. republicans call this a phantom objection, noting that democrats had two months to read it. >> senate democrats either failed to read the pill or again playing partisan politics and political theatrics with an important issue. . ing that needs to be completed, finished and the only bay this it is going to happen the portion language should go out of the bill. >> reporter: senate majority leader mitch mcconnell says it is shocking democrats are blocking a bill designed

even john cornyn is not in his corner. >> so heidi, who do the right-wing talkers of america -- who are this guy? >> a lot of them will get behind this guy because they weren't happy with jeb bush or mitt romney because they weren't conservative enough. we're disgusted with the republicans in general who have become rhinos certainly in the state of nevada. we're tired of conservatives who claim to be conservative and then go the other way. ted cruz is not going to appeal to everybody, but a lot of americans really don't know who he is yet. they're not paying attention to national politics. as they get to know him more maybe they'll respect him and feel like he is a better change than jeb bush. >> where does rand paul fit in all this? they're kind of in the same fraternity aren't they? >> ted cruz ends up as rand paul's right. he'll have the annoyed angry voters. rand paul will probably have some of the voters just to the left of them. they are still ultraconservative. they're just not quite as mad. i will say you underestimate ted cruz at your own peril. three years ago, nobody on the p

senators durbin and lee are trying to fix federal drug sentencing law, and senator cornyn and whitehousema talked about how democrats and republicans realize we have to address this together. >> there is an increasing realization on the left but also on the right politically, that what we're doing is counterproductive. either from a libertarian perspective, the way we treat nonviolent crimes is problematic. from a fiscal perspective, it's breaking the banker we're all response for at least finding a solution to this. i think awareness is increasing in part because violent crime has gone down in a lot of big cities. people are more open to having a decision about this. >> our criminal justice system is broken and is going to take leaders from all sides, to get out of the their comfort zone and do what is right for all of their stids. the real test of leadership is not what you do with an environment and a crowd that you're comfortable with. it's when you have to bend and really stretch and do something hard that we know you're a leader of the highest magnitude. >>> thanks for watching. i'

with senator cornyn on the reentry side. of the discussion and we hope that our bill will be a vehicle that can move forward and perhaps get other elements added to it as well and do a more comprehensive package. i also have a bill on comprehensive addiction recovery. that's less immediately doj's business. but we do have it in this, it's a very related issue, put it the that way. and i hope that we can get your support in working through any issues that come u up in the context of addiction recovery. there was a school of thought for a while that drug use was a moral failing and an evil and that the best way to get after it was to punish it in a whole variety of ways, includeing creating a whole raft of the consequences that ensue if you have a drug conviction that there are hundreds of these laws that have been put all over the place and i think upon more mature reflection, we've seen that treatment works. recovery works. and when somebody's on a path to recovery, you're really not helping them or anybody else by saying yo

so maybe cornyn has to come up with somebody. aaron schock who resigned this week amid a congressional probe into the use of federal tax money. there's a preliminary ininquiry into schock which could thread charges. schock shardly the first politician from the land of lincoln to be under investigation. his allegations may not crack the top five of corruption in illinois. quick snapshot of illinois politicians who ended up behind bars. four governors, one currently serving time back-to-back governors, john stanton. we got jesse jackson jr. he replaced somebody who was also behind bars. aaron schock here if he done end up in prison he's not even in the sweet 16 of corruption in illinois. >> illinois has become the new louisiana for your stereotypical stand for corruption. >> this scamming of mileage stuff, what are they thinking? this seems petty. >> hubris is a sad thing and i want erupts all over the place including business and politics. but it seems to me in this case it's a sad story. and rather than mock him feel very sad tha