cornyn: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: mr. president for the reasons previously expressed by the majority leader, i object. the presiding officer: the objection is heard. mr. cornyn: mr. president? a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from maryland. mr. cardin: i'm going to make one further request in the series and that is to deal with the next nominee that would be up considering the length of time that she has been on the calendar it's the nominee paul a xinis from maryland. her nomination was made in march 2015 over a year ago. it was recommended by senator mikulski and myself after an exhaustive vetting process we go through before making recommendation to the president of the united states. she was then nominated over a year ago. she had a hearing in the judiciary committee on july of 2015. as i reported earlier, she was reported out by unanimous voice vote of the committee. in september of last year and she's pw-pbl waiting all this -- and she's been waiting all this time for action on the senate

cornyn: mr. president, i'd ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be rescinded. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: i have nine unanimous consent requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have been approved by both the majority and minority leaders. i ask unanimous consent that these requests be agreed to and be printed in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: mr. president, yesterday the -- this chamber passed a bill to reauthorize the federal aviation administration, another bipartisan accomplishment that without a doubt has returned this -- helped return this chamber to operating the way that we all, i think, believe it should function. and after that, today we were finally able to move forward with an energy bill, the energy policy modernization act. we've all been working on that legislation for sometime now, and i'm glad we got it done earlier today. but i want to give special credit to chairman murkowski, th

john cornyn said this week i think he could change the electoral map in way we haven't seen before. rob is gibelling. giggling. many are warming to the new billionaire. perhaps it is trump. his campaign is promising a gentler tone, and on thursday they released this powerful ad. first they are sour. then they're sweet. >> that's cool. >> of course we made that, but it is true. trump is like a sour patch kid, right? sour and then sweet. >> and orange. >> oh really? we didn't intend that. >> oh really? all of your writer didn't come up with that? i had to come up with that? for free? >> that was a freebie. look, rob, has he changed his tone a little bit? >> why would he bother to do that? e thinks he is on a roll. and they didn't say it would be good to change the electoral map. >> that's why you were giggling. look, there is no incentive to changerright now. he think he will be able to change later and we know that won't happen. >> why is he giving -- he is definitely attacking to the middle. >> he said on tuesday night after the five-say the -- five-state sweep, i am the presumptive

she's standing with john cornyn.hink we have to pay attention anytime we see such a line in the sand between, how many times have we seen true bipartisanship to this extent? on the other side is the executive position. that looks suspicious. to something eric said, when are we going to stop being held postage? we understand that. it's a legal concept to serve and protect serve things. it's not absolute. what is wrong with asking questions and doing further investigation? i was very dissatisfied. the answers were so narrowly tailored. >> the royal family is huge. at the higher levels, a closer ally. there might be closer ones that see eye-to-eye. >> forms of islam they support and fund terrorism. >> very quick thought, why not open up the 28 pages? we are not necessarily pass the bill to allow them -- this is one step at a time? >> there couldn't be more international signal for a rap than now. >> the president of the united states, even if every member of congress votes to pass and he that has call to whether he -- i

cornyn: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. cornyn: madam president, over this last weekend and through yesterday, large parts of central and southeast texas experienced torrential downpours. and in the houston region in particular experienced so much rain, it led to widespread flooding. i know many people have seen that on their tv screens or in the news reports or online. many will recall that last year over memorial day weekend, harris county where houston is located suffered from similar flooding. this year's rain seems to be even more widespread with some areas receiving as much as 20 inches of rain in a relatively short period of time. whole subdivisions were submerged. interstate highways were impassable. and power was knocked out affecting more than 100,000 people at one point. and tragically several people have died as a result of these floods. amidst this tragedy, texans have been quick to help one another. crews have performed more than a thousand rescues as of yesterday afternoon. even one tv reporter on location co

the cosponsor of the legislation is john cornyn of texas. senator cornyn says the 28 pages of a congressional report that allegedly outline saudi arabia's role should be declassified and made public. >> attitude is let the chips fall where they may. let's bring justice to the victims and the families of the 9/11 families and deter to the extent we can terrorist attacks on our own soil. lou: and the obama administration disagrees with the senator despite having once pledged to be the most transparent and open administration in history. >>> u.s. officials have uncovered a new drug tunnel connecting mexico to california. ventilated with electricity is the third found in march. 16 people have been arrested charged with crimes involving drugs and yes construction of that tunnel. the discovery bolstering the case for the trump claims, which he says, as president, he would straighten out forthwith. we're coming right back with much, much more, stay with us. >>> a huge hometown victory moves trump closer to the presidential nomination. >> thank you,

cornyn: mr. president, let me just suggest contrary to what the democratic leader has said, the questions i've asked about where the plan is, is not nonsense, and let me demonstrate the specific questions that i have and that i think other responsible senators are going to want answers to before we write a blank check for $1.9 billion to the administration, particularly when they have already got access, as the senator from florida said, to $589 million, which are unexpended ebola funds. so my questions that i would like to get answers to and i think we can then have a meaningful discussion and act responsiblably is what specific activities are going to be funded by the $1.9 billion plan? for example, the bill from the senator from florida provides $743 million to the center for disease control. is that for domestic activities? is it focused on puerto rico? is it for c.d.c. international activities? and if so, where? the second question i have is what are the agency's priorities. continuing with

. >> reporter: senator charles schumer, a democrat and texas senator john cornyn, a republican, are cosponsoring a bill to allow legal action against other countries when there's an attack on american soil. saudi arabia's foreign minister says if the bill passes, the arab country would sell off $750 billion of its u.s. assets, which could destabilize the u.s. economy. president obama is lobbying against the bill and against declassifying 28 pages of the 9/11 commission report. those pages reportedly contain information implicating saudi officials in the 9/11 attacks. >> i'm mad about bush. he treated them with kit gloves after 9/11. they hid the 28 pages. now president obama won't let us see them. you'll see the direct ties to the terrorist links that killed our 3,000 loved ones. >> hillary clinton said she stands with the 9/11 families. >> i support chuck schumer's bill. i think it's important to try to find out what actually did happen and if there are people or institutions or governments who should be held accountable, that should be part of the bringing to justice. >> reporter: donald trump

cornyn: mr. president, i would ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispense wd pfer without objection. mr. cornyn: mr. president, as you know, we have been back at home in our states for the last couple of weeks or traveling listening to our constituents. it was great to be back home and to spend some time talking to the people who i work for about the challenges facing our country and what we have been doing in the united states senate to try to address those. and while it's always true that people wished there would be more consensus building and more solutions offered, i would say by and large people feel like we had a pretty productive 2015, and are hoping that we can continue that sort of productivity here in the senate in 2016, even though this is as we all know a presidential election year. and yesterday was a good example of that productivity. we passed a trademark enforcement piece of legislation basically without -- it was unanimous to the best of my knowledge. all the senator

this tweet from john cornyn -- saudi arabia threatening $750 billion in u.s. assets, talk about an empty threat. guest: the one thing, especially when the world is in some financial turmoil, people want u.s. bonds. the idea they would sell 750 billion, if they did, they would sell it at a loss. one return, we would find buyers for those bonds. in their reason for doing it is supposedly not to punish the united states, it is to make it impossible for us to execute judgment from any of these lawsuits. saudi arabia is too big. we are too big or they will overlap, these two countries, and there is going to be a way to see that. hide.not run and they cannot run and hide. they are too big. we are too big. let's take a call from a democrat. good morning, congressman. i have been looking at relations between america and the middle east, from even before i was born. honestly, i feel, and you can tell me if i am wrong, i feel as though the hand we have had in pursuing and spreading democracy with the a turn majority of the people in the middle east who are very true to

texas senator john cornyn who was chilly toward trump. poin could expand the party. that sounds good. and no doubt that cruz realizes that winning indiana is crucial for him. if he doesn't, it could be the talk of never trump and contested convention no more. it will be an incredible battle, jon. >> it is fascinating to watch. >> reality tv at its finest. >>> in the democratic race drama there, too. bernie sanders laying off staffers. and he insists he will carry on to the end of the primaries but with fewer people. he has little more than three weeks from oregon primary. here's more on that from a washington newsroom. >> reporter: bernie sanders' campaign down played the play-offs. and the campaign no longer requires those staffers. in a statement sanders still has 3 300 workers. and we'll marshal our resources to win the democratic nomination. sanders will compete in the june 7th california primary and he claims to be able to win in a general election. >> the political reason is obvious. that is this campaign is getting the support of the vast majority of democrats

cornyn: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. cornyn: mr. president, after many months of discussion and debate, today we announced a bipartisan legislation to reform our criminal justice system. i have been in the senate long enough to realize that even the best ideas that don't have bipartisan support go nowhere, nowhere. the good news is this is an issue that enjoys broad bipartisan support and actually represents the marriage of two distinct parts, but the more i think about it, the more it represents a continuum in terms of the way we punish people who violate our criminal laws and how we treat them when they're in prison and how we prepare them or not for a life of re-entry into civil society. but it is an example even in the polarized political environment that our country represents today an opportunity to demonstrate that when enough people identify a problem and work together, we can actually come up with viable solutions. in a previous life, i served 13 years as a state district court judge and then as attorney general, and i have

cornyn: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. cornyn: mr. president, i'm always impressed with the distinguished democratic whip and his eloquence. but he's telling the american people that we have to choose between being a nation of immigrants or nation of laws, and the fact is, we don't have to make that choice. we can be both. but we can't do it when you have a president who simply believes he can do an end-run around the united states constitution. and in fact according to pew, about 3.5 million people could claim the benefits of the president's unlawful executive action, receiving work permits, drivers' licences, social security numbers. and while we are a compassionate country and we are a nation of immigrants, that is not the kind of decision that the constitution gives to a single political actor, even if he is the president of the united states. so there is a right way and a wrong way, and i realize the distinguished democratic whip believes that just because they can't get what they want when they want it that the president can the

cornyn: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: mr. president, while my friends, the two senators from connecticut, are on the floor, let me just state, you know, i've been here long enough now to realize that it's hard to change things with just a speech. indeed, it's hard to change things by just voting up or down on bills. the way we actually solve problems is by trying to find consensus. i know the senator from connecticut and i have different views on the second amendment and that may be because there are different views around the country based on our experience and the culture in which we were raised. i realize in urban areas particularly in the northeast, the idea of people being raised around guns is sort of a way of life for recreation, self-defense and the like is just, it's not their experience. but in other parts of the country where the presiding officer lives, where i live, it is. and people feel very strongly about their rights under the second amendment. but there is a common ground here that i hope, that the senator f

and he had worked for jon kyl and john cornyn. cornyn was still here, of course, and kyl left and we all had great respect for jon kyl being from my neighboring state of arizona. and so i said this is kind of an unusual request since everyone knows that the two leaders, when we have a commission that we're going to staff with our selections, he and i have the right to do that, that we always pair them. a democrat, a republican and a democrat and republican. we pair them. so i said to my friend from south dakota and my friend from kentucky that that doesn't sound like the right thing to do for me. but they talked for awhile longer. my heart said do it. my head said don't. my heart won. and i relented after having made an arrangement, an agreement with them that we would go ahead and do o'riley right then. i would agree to do that provided that when the new congress convened in less than a month that we would take care of the republican -- i mean take care of the democrat -- i'm sorry, mr. president. her name is jessica rosenworcel.

the number two senate leader, john cornyn of texas had been chilly toward the billionaire, but now notes trump could expand the gop. a point trump was eager to make in the hoosier state. >> we're going to win states nobody thought were winnable as a republican and do really great. >> cruz and voters got a blunt reminder of the senator's unpopularity from former house speaker john boehner. >> lucifer in the flesh. >> cruz said boehner sleting his inner trump out and slammed him as a bought-and-paid for trump crony. >> he described donald trump as his texting and golfing buddy. donald trump gave john boehner's superpac $100,000 a few years ago. >> cruz outraged congressional leaders, he let a budget shutdown go forward in 2013. cruz argued that he offered to negotiate with boehner and got shut down. >> john boehner's response was i have no interest in talking to you. what could be having a conversation, no, i will not meet. >> kasich has pulled out of indiana to give cruz a better shot. it saves resources for cruz and kasich, whose donations have slowed as trump's momentum has grown. trump

did not come up today between the leaders, it remains on the minds of many like texas senator john cornyn, who believes even if the pages implicate the saudis notice attacks, the american people have a right to know. >> my attitude is let the chips fall where they may, let's bring just toys the victims and families of the 9/11 families and deter to the extent we can terrorist attacks on our own soil. >> now as i mentioned, that report didn't make the cut in today's two-hour-long conversation between the two leaders. instead the men focused on another pressuring issue, what to do about the growing threat from iran. defense secretary ash carter stressed despite the president's push for the iran nuclear deal, the u.s. is not pivoting towards tehr tehran. >> on iran i noted that the united states shares with our gcc partners, the view that even as the nuclear accord verifiably prevents iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, there are many more issues to be concerned with regarding iran's behavior in the region. >> a big understatement there. now there are critics, brett, who feel like the pres

senator john cornyn of texas had been chilly with trump but now says trump may be able to expand the gop. cruz and voters got a blunt reminder of the senator's unpopularity from speaker john boehner who got laughs and applause for trashing cruz. >> lucifer in the flesh. i get along with everybody. but i have never worked with a more miserable on of a [bleep]. reporter: cruz said boehner is letting his inner trump out. >> john boehner in his remarks cribbed donald trump as his texting and golfing buddy. donald trump gave john boehner's super pac $100,000 a few years ago. house conservatives let a budget shutdown go forward in 2013. cruz said he offered to negotiate with john boehner and got shot down. >> john boehner's respond was i will not have a conversation with you. case up withdrew in indiana to give cruz a better thought there. kasich and cruz's donations have slumped as trump's have grown. hillary clinton has been careful to say she'll not take bernie sanders or his voters for granted. her campaign decided they will not spend money on tv ad in self states where sanders continu

senator majority whip john cornyn, who once feared his candidacy, now says trump could change the electoral map, putting states in play for republicans that have never been before. john kasich is campaigning in oregon. the alliance may be a little looser today when cruz refused to rule out campaigning in oregon. at the time, kasich's chief strategist tweeted out, quote, i can't stand liars. now he's calling him a liar. that lying ted thing. steve: on the democratic side, while bernie sanders was at perdue university, he was cutting staff. he laid off 200 workers from states which have held primaries. it's a sign that his campaign is winding down. he insists he's staying in the race until the convention to have a say in building the platform. tinsel town through march 31st. she has received more than $8 million in donations from the holed holed -- hollywood crowd. george clooney brought in 15 million. bernie sanders has raised over a million from the entertainment industry. >>> the nypd says there is more heroin on the streets than ever before. dari: the epidemic is the focus of this week's

bill pushed by chuck schumer and john cornyn would prevent saudi arabia and other countries with alleged terrorist ties claiming sovereign immunity in the u.s. this is a move that president obama says would backfire. president obama: if we open up the possibility that individuals in the united states can routinely start suing other governments, then we are opening up the united states to being continually sued by individuals in other countries. jonathan: the families of the victims also want the white house to release 28 classified pages in the 9/11 report. that may prove that the saudis were involved in the attacks. michelle: coming up on "abc7 news at 4:00" -- add pearl jam to the list of jams can carolina. find out what protests over the so-called bathroom bill are starting to cost the state. >> who gets to go on an airplane when you're old? jonathan: at least not one like this. the adventure of a lifetime. at a later age. wait until you find out how old she was when she climbed in the seat. michelle: as we head to break, a quick reminder that the phone lines are open in today's organ

significant and this bill that's in congress with bipartisan support, sponsored by chuck schumer and john cornynstice against sponsors of terrorism act, would enable 9/11 families to sue saudi arabia and bring them to federal u.s. court if there is a tie or suggestion of a tie to funding terrorism. the president says that would open up the u.s. being sued down the road. this specifically deals with funding terrorism. america doesn't fund terrorist acts. harris: my question is, why can't the president saying no, veto the bill why can't he have it both ways but then turn around say for those families, for those families we will declassify the 28 pages so the world can know what went on, trace the money, trace who had the connections? >> sure but those families want some justice. they want some retribution, want something, i think. listening to their attorneys talk about it. andrea: wouldn't he then have to act, bret? if you dig into the research this, is long-standing national security council policy which led to even further blow back on this issue but the president is not saying that. to harris'

. >> president obama and there you see senatorxd cornyn talking about a piece of calledt(çólp jÑc3jfokastake a bigger deal. white house signaling that they may veto this bill if it passes. the saudis saying they are going to have economicw3jf reper tutionw3 cushions. >>Ñi timing was really good. they knew the presidentohám going to be going to saudi arabia. we will put this on the table and ask to you deal i defend the president's from a national security standpoint rew thinks that these docu-wqm should notup &c @ be released, the 28 pages. i also think thatÑic he has somewhat of an argument about america opening up to being sued. as i understanhd it from so. narrowt( wind?.p of.w3 >> international terrorism andjf sponsoring international terrorism. >> 9/11 families havez( already been able to sue iran because iran was labeled asi] a state sponsor of terrorism. so they havet( already moved thatlpÑi ball down the road. i think that the presidentq was caught between a rock and hard place because he is going to saudi arabia and he publicÑc3 signal before he got there, that he wouldq veto the

. >> reporter: senator charles schumer, a democrat and texas senator john cornyn, a republican, are cosponsoring a bill to allow legal action against other countries when there's an attack on american soil. saudi arabia's foreign minister says if the bill passes, the arab country would sell off $750 billion of its u.s. assets, which could destabilize the u.s. economy.

increasingly more say they would be okay if he became the standard-bearer, including john cornyn, whoump could be good for his ticket, even though a while back he thought trump could be an albatross. now other quarters of the republican party are seeing them shift from the never cruz moment. >> you know, you saw congressman dent there supporting john kasich. he said comparing ted cruz to lucifer is not fair to lucifer, are you surprised at the vitriol levelled at ted cruz? >> not at all. it is important to note that a couple of years ago, they conspired to bring down john boehner as speaker of the house. when you engage in political assassination, you're just asking somebody else to bring out the knife down the road. you have to keep your back to the wall if you do that. you strike a king you better kill him. >> and senator mike lee, one of only a few of cruz' fellow senators actually support him. and lee did not hold back in his defense of cruz. here is senator mike lee. >> i am appalled that john boehner would do this. i held my tongue for years on john boehner, even when i disagree

. >> reporter: the bill pushed by senator chuck schumer and senate majority whip john cornyn would prevent saudi arabia and other countries with alleged terrorists ties from claiming sovereign immunity in a u.s. court. >> the victims of terrorism in our country should be able to seek justice from people who do fund that terrorist attack. >> reporter: 9/11 family members are also urging president obama in a letter to permit the release of 28 report that many believe may have proof saudis were involved in the attacks. >> they were not complicit. >> reporter: the white house says the director of national intelligence is the one to consider those 28 pages and determine how much, if any, of those documents can be declassified. as for the 9/11 bill, if passed the white house says president obama is likely to veto. stephanie ramos for channel 7 eyewitness news. >>> well, for the first time we are hearing from a survivor of that deadly uber shooting spree that left six people dead. tie and a carruthers says she saw the accused shooter, jason dalton, pull up to her apartment. within seconds bullets

did not come up today between the leaders, it remains on the minds of many like texas senator john cornyno believes even if the pages implicate the saudis notice attacks, the american people have a right to know. >> my attitude is let the chips fall where they may, let's bring just toys the victims and families of the 9/11 families and deter to the extent we can terrorist attacks on our own soil. >> now as i mentioned, that report didn't make the cut in today's two-hour-long conversation between the two leaders. instead the men focused on another pressuring issue, what to do about the growing threat from iran. defense secretary ash carter stressed despite the president's push for the iran nuclear deal, the u.s. is not pivoting towards tehr tehran. >> on iran i noted that the united states shares with our gcc partners, the view that even as the nuclear accord verifiably prevents iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, there are many more issues to be concerned with regarding iran's behavior in the region. >> a big understatement there. now there are critics, brett, who feel like the presiden

chuck schumer and john cornyn in the senate. i'm sponsor in the house. i do believe the legislation should go forward. on issue of 28 pages, this is more of a constitutional issue. that comes in the purview of president. whether it is president obama, president trump, president cruz whether or not it is in national interest to release 28 pages. i have seen them. this comes within national security and national defense. i think president as commander-in-chief should make that decision. trish: congressman, you have read them. >> right. trish: you have read them. if you were in the president's shoes i would have them released? >> because i've read them i can't comment. if the president releases them i won't oppose it. if don't release them i won't oppose that either. it is up to the president. i feel strongly as far as the 9/11 families lawsuit against saudi arabia, again i am sponsor of the bill in the house. i've been fighting for this for several years. since terry strada, one of the leaders on this, her husband grew up in my district. i know his mother

texas republican john cornyn is the main sponsor: >> now the president seems to want to use the leverage of the 9/11 families in order to some how mollify or cure that rift that the president has created himself as result of iranian nuclear deal. i think that's entirelynt inappropriate. and as i tried to point out, we actually need to deter people from facilitating and financing terrorist attacks on our own soil. >> woodruff: both senate majority leader mitch mcconnell and house speaker paul ryan said today they still need to revieww the bill. the saudis have threatened to pull billions of dollars from the u.s. economy if it becomes law. >> sreenivasan: major parts of houston were still under water today, after widespread floodinn that's killed six people so far. school was canceled again in the nation's fourth largest city, and hundreds of people were in shelters. emergency teams worked around the clock to evacuate homes flooded by the deluge. more than a foot of rain fell monday, and a flash flood watch remained in effect. >> woodruff: the nation's largest health insurer will puln out

among those, texas senator john cornyn. >> my view let the chips fall where they may.et's bring justice to the victims of the for the 9/11 families to deter terrorist attacks on our own soil. reporter: keep in mind there has been a move congressionally we're speaking of to hold accountable foreign governments accused and later found responsible for committing acts of terror on american soil. right now that legislation appears to be on a bit of a hold or a little bit of a stall in congress. the president made it clear he would not support that. in fact he would veto it if it ever made its way to his desk. the concern among white house officials it something like that were to pass it could damage a key relationship here in the region. this is story we'll keep an eye on for you. back to you. >> kevin corke, thank you very much for the report. david. david: we have all want to see what's in there. donald trump wrapping up a rally in indianapolis. what is he doing there when five big states vote before them? we have the answer to that. >>> the fight over the republican conv

john cornyn told me in february that trump could be an albatross to down ticket republicans.n i asked him about that yesterday, he said trump could expand the map, perhaps could win the majority. we'll be fine, he said. similarly mark sanford two supports ted cruz said we're getting around to the fact that donald trump could be the nominee. earlier today on "new day" tom coburn, a big time trump critic, sounded more open to the idea of trump being the nominee. >> i think he's going to be the nominee. it seems obvious to me at this time. it's going to be pretty hard to stop him, and what i would say, he's probably wearing on people where they're starting to see something besides superlatives and starting to see some substance, and so i think it's something that we're going to see over time. >> now, i should caution there are still a lot of folks in that never trump movement including lindsey graham of south carolina who said the republicans would be creamed if donald trump becomes the nominee but clearly there's a split on capitol hill and some folks are starting to embrace th

we also have the support of the republican whip, john cornyn of texas, and sheldon whitehouse of rhode island. what is it about this bill that can bring together people that are so different -- liberals, conservatives, democrats, republicans? it is a common belief that we bring to this that at this moment in history we need to take an honest look at the incarceration policy in america. you see, the united states of america has 5% of the world's population, 25% of the world's prisoners. over the last 35 years, we have increased the number of federal prisoners by anywhere from 800% to 900%. our federal prisoners we're building as fast as you can imagine and they're dramatically overcrowded and it raises the obvious question: are we safer? if we spend $30,000 a year to incarcerate a person, take them off the streets and away from their family, are we safer because of it? well, in some cases, we clearly r our first obligation is public safety. if someone is a threatening, deadly, violent criminal, they ought to be taken off the streets as long as they are a menace or danger to society. but

senators cornyn, vitter, portman, wicker, have been leaders on the issue and their work is greatly appreciated. currently america's trade and economy are being hampered because many cargo planes from other countries are prohibited from flying into u.s. airports because they've not been upgraded to newer types of technology. some aircraft of what are called stage two. these aircraft are phased out following the passage of the airport noise and capacity act of 1990 which mandated the phaseout for stage two aircraft over 75,000 pounds. i've browsed an amendment that would per -- introduced an amendment that would permit flightflight for interest of ree flights of stage two aircraft over 75,000 pounds. one of these airports that meets the criteria is the acadia regional airport in new ie beer ya, louisiana. this airport is located in a heavy industrial complex and surrounded by agriculture land. the regional airport has an advantage over other types of airports because it is surrounded by land use compatible with airport operations. additionally, it is situated near the port of iberia which is hom

obviously senator cornyn and i will add a significant bill last year on this issue to make -- give our law enforcement some better tools to be able to go after these perpetrators. this is really a continuation of that work. there is another important safety priermt a concerned this bill doe does not address. i have filed an amendment with senators moran and inhofe to clarify that the oklahoma city aircraft registry office provides essential services and should remain open during a government shutdown. you might wonder why the senator from minnesota is concerned about the oklahoma city aircraft registry office. well, that is because every aircraft that is sold domestically, exported or imported to the united states, must be registered and obtain f.a.a. approval. these registrations are vital to the safety of our national airspace system and they are all processed by the oklahoma city aircraft registry office. in addition to the safety risks from closing the registry office -- and this is what occurred during the shutdown -- we saw that it had a devastating economic impact. the kim a tal

cornyn -- senator garden. >> let me thank all of our witnesses for the work they do every day on behalf of human rights. malinowski, i want to ask you a couple of questions. the russian media has been actively engaged to try to rewrite history as to what the tragic arrest, torture and death of -- has used itsation inherent authority to grant certain types of sanctions against those who perpetrated those crimes in russia and has also used the authority under the law that was passed. can you comment as to the basis for imposing those sanctions as it relates to the allegations that have been made by the russian press? >> one thing i have learned that our sanctions rims in this job is for our the bar lawyers, our investigators, the folks who determine whether a particular individual needs -- meets the criteria that congress has laid out for application of a particular sanction, and i can tell you in the -- in this case, we rely on multiple sources of information in making these determinations. is reviewed by many people in the unit since governments who have to be confident the information

senate majority whip john cornyn, the number two republicans in the senate, in february told me thatalbatross to down ticket republicans. now, yesterday when i asked him what impact trump would have down ticket, he said, well, trump could be a good thing. co- he could expand the electoral map. maybe this would be good for the party, don't worry about it, i think we will be okay. bob corker, who is very close to mitch mcconnell, said trump gave a very good speech on foreign policy and he said he thinks it's a good thing trump scares world leaders. mark sanford, republican congressman, said that we're all starting to get around to the idea that donald trump will very likely be the party's nominee. in oregon today on new day, tom coburn, former republican senator, also seemed open to the idea. >> i think he's going to be the nominee. it seems obvious to me at this time. it's going to be pretty hard to stop him, and what i would say is he's probably wearing on people where they're starting to see something besides superlatives and starting to see some substance. >> reporter: i should cau

wandered into a room on criminal justice, there was cory booker sitting beside mike lee and john cornyn, you had democrats and republicans. i thought first, this is a bipartisan issue. the other thing that jumped out at me is some of the data that was introduced there. for someone who is engaged in education reform. this is a sister issue. >> if we want to close down the highway from education to prison, we have to start with our education system. we need to apply the same sorts of data to education. and get kids particularly in black and hispanic communities that aren't graduating from high school. the large percentages of people primarily from the black community that if you didn't graduate from prison -- i'm sorry, if you didn't graduate from high school, your likelihood of being in prison right now is over 30% and if you didn't graduate from high school, your likelihood of being in prison at some point is over 60%. taking in total, looking at reforming the criminal justice system, we also need to look at the education system and really think about how do we bring back the civility a

as such i've introduced legislation in concert with senator cornyn pushing for india's entrance into apec what do you see as the obstacles to that getting done? >> first, we welcome india's interest in joining apec. we welcome and i've said this directly to my indian counterparts talking to them how they see apec fitting into their own thinking about their economy, about trade and the evolution they would make. i suspect we will have those conversations going forward. i also very much agree with the larger proposition, that you cite about the importance of india. and in particular, the importance of trying to deepen and expand our own trade relationship with india and its own relations in the area. i think a few things in terms of obstacles, first of all the other members would have to agree. i'm consensus-based organization. the other thing i'll tell you and i think you know, this is a consideration as well. we want to make sure that as countries join organizations like apec, that they are going to work to productively, cooperatively uphold rules and standards and to be productive p

. >> hey there, erica, it's a very interesting bill that was announced last year by john cornyn and chucklican, one a democrat. essentially what the bill says is that the families of terrorist victims killed on american soil should have the ability to sue foreign governments if they had a direct role with the terrorist attack that happened here on american soil. and that void is dead. the reason why this bill is getting so much attention is because of those 28 pages you discussed missing from the 9/11 commission report. they're not missing, they're classified, that a lot of folks have said shows the direct involvement between the saudi arabian government and 15 of the 19 hijackers who are actually saudi who took down the world trade center. so what's interesting, though, with this bill is that schumer, who's very much in line to become the next leader of the democrats here in the senate, is going mano a mano with the white house because it's very popular back in new york. what's interesting, though, specifically more than anything, this gets at the question of sovereignty. and what the hi

texas senator john cornyn says they should see the light of day. >> let the chips fall where they may and bring justice to the victims and 9/11 families, deter to the extent we can terrorist attacks on our own soil. reporter: storyline we'll be following during our time here in the kingdom. martha? martha: thank you very much. bill: ted cruz meanwhile back here at home vowing to carry on in his campaign. >> the people in state after state have made it clear. they cry out for a new path. this is the year of the outsider. bill: he did not pick up a single delegate last night, what is his plan as of today? martha: what about the general election? will last night's winners be the two who face off in november? what the exit polls are saying about that matchup. bill: a look at where each candidate stands in their path to the nomination after last night's results. stay tuned for all of that in a moment. first though, donald trump, from again, last night, the trump tower in new york. >> even though we're leading by a lot and we can't be caught, it is impossible to catch us, nobody should take

john cornyn i am in trade -- john: i am intrigued.ou think it main lesson would be in respect to japan, europe's futures and many other places? jurrien: that there is a limit. if you asked all the central bank chiefs, maybe that should of been a question to the panel last night, as to what really keeps them awake at night, it is that it takes more and more aggressive policy that used to be unthinkable to get less and less results, right? financial crisis, monetary policy in the stock markets were positively correlated so the central bank would raise rates because the economy was stronger and the stock market would do well in the central bank would raise rates too much and the cycle would roll over. now, it is the opposite and central banks have to get more and more aggressive to keep rings up. that is non-us, that is a different story because the u.s. economy is on better footing because we took it first in terms of this sold debt bubble back in 2008 so this is a non-us story for the most part. terms of the limits of central bank mone

cornyn: the distinguished majority whip. the presiding officer: mr. cornyn: i fear in the senate we sometimes get bogged down in the minutia and the process, and we don't talk a lot about the why. we talk about the how, but we don't talk about the why. i want to speak for a couple of minutes about why it's so important that we pass the regular appropriation bills and to put what we are trying to do here in a larger context. our colleagues will remember that last year we were unable to pass the 12 regular appropriation bills because our democratic colleagues filibustered those pieces of legislation in order to force a negotiation to raise the spending caps on discretionary spending. now, i regret that. i wish it hadn't happen, but it did and there is not much we could do about it. but in the process, what happened is we ended up having to pass a year-end -- a fiscal year end omnibus appropriation bill that lacked in any basic transparency and frankly there were -- it was about a trillion dollar-plus spending, and i think most people's reaction is why d

recently, several of my colleagues led by senators cornyn and shaheen, sent a letter to the armed services committee and the defense appropriations committee in both the house and the senate. their letter was clear -- the need for f-35's in today's environment is crucial. therefore, the committees of jurisdiction should not follow the president's budget reduction plan but should maintain the problem -- or the program of record. i realize the frustrations that many of my colleagues have with the department of defense's acquisition process. during the first two decades of the f-35 journey, the program office experienced its fair share the setbacks, broken promises, missteps and faulty leadership decisions, decisions made by both by government leaders and industry partners. even from within the pentagon itself we have heard the title of -- quote -- "acquisition mal malpractice" bestowed on the program after the highest levels -- time and again my much esteemed colleague, the distinguished senator from minnesota has pointed out the shortfalls and missteps. i echo his frustrations and stress th

this tweet from john cornyn -- saudi arabia threatening $750 billion in u.s.ets, talk about an empty threat. guest: the one thing, especially when the world is in some financial turmoil, people want u.s. bonds. the idea they would sell 750 billion, if they did, they would sell it at a loss. one return, we would find buyers for those bonds. in their reason for doing it is supposedly not to punish the united states, it is to make it impossible for us to execute judgment from any of these lawsuits. saudi arabia is too big. we are too big or they will overlap, these two countries, and there is going to be a way to see that. hide.not run and they cannot run and hide. they are too big. we are too big. let's take a call from a democrat. good morning, congressman. i have been looking at relations between america and the middle east, from even before i was born. honestly, i feel, and you can tell me if i am wrong, i feel as though the hand we have had in pursuing and spreading democracy with the a turn majority of the people in the middle east who are very true to thei

senator cornyn has been amazing and of texas. texas set the gold standard back in 2007 for reform.he grand idea for our organization, which is the coalition.artisan if you can get these organizations, these eight organizations from the far left to the far right that rarely agree on anything to work together on criminal justice reform, we could show lawmakers across the country and the federal level that you can do this also. i think we are seeing real success at the federal over and would love to talk about our success. host: will talk about that. what is the senate proposal and how is it different were the same from the house proposal? reforms for your lower-level nonviolent offenders and then there is backend reforms that allow for earned credit for inmates that participate in reduction programs. the house site is a bit different. -- chairmanatte is goodlatte is living and over criminalization bill. there is a reentry bill, which we think is great. for does not get enough attention at the federal level. most of the focus is on senate reform. proposals are comprehensive. they are

you've got a bipartisan group of senators led by senator cornyn and senator schumer that are pushingent people from suing other nations. for example, the 9/11 families for suing saudi arabia, for playing a role they believe in the killing of 3,000 americans on 9/11, 2001. hillary clinton and bernie sanders weighed in. do you support the president who says i don't want to see this rule go forward, kill it in congress, or do you support the families and these two senators? listen. >> i don't really know about that, george. i'll have to look into it. i'm not able to take a position. >> it's been around for several years. >> well, i know -- i know there's been an issue about it for quite some time. >> how do you intend to vote as a senator? >> well i need more information before i can give you a decision. you're asking me to give you a decision about a situation and a piece of legislation that i am not familiar with at this point. and i've got to have more information on that. so you've got to get some information before you can render, i think, a sensible decision. >> do you buy those a

also passed the freedom of information improvement act, foia for short, a bill authored by senators cornyn and leahy. that i worked to move through the committee process t codifies a presumption of openness for government agencies to follow when they respond to requests for government records via the freedom of of information act in passing the foia improvement arctic the senate is helping to change the culture in government through openness and transparency. in february, the judiciary committee reported out the bipartisan justice against sponsors of terrorism act by a vote of 19-0. the bill, which has now been signed into law, holds sponsors of terrorism accountable by preventing them from invoking sovereign immunity in cases involving attacks within the united states. it also allows civil suits to be filed against foreign entities that have aided or abetted terrorists. the committee has worked to protect children and families by passing bills such as the amy and vickie no child left behind pornography victims restitution improvement act and the adoptive family relief act. the amy and vic