evanina's confirmation. and mr. president, i would now ask unanimous consent that the statements of four organizatio organizations, true advocates of whistle-blower rights at this crucial time, be included in the record at this point. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. wyden: mr. president, it is currently open season on whistle-blowers under the trump administration. donald trump and those around him have made it clear that anyone who speaks up about waste, fraud, abuse, or law breaking can be punishedful you are a whistle-blower under the trump administration. donald trump himself and his echo chamber will publicly call you a liar. they will threaten to make your name public, even at the cost of your physical security. they will prevent your complaints from getting to the congress. and they will fire the inspectors general who investigate your complaints. now more than ever courageous whistle-blowers deserve leaders who are going to protect them, defend them, and vigorously advocate

evanina's confirmation. and mr. president, i would now ask unanimous consent that the statements of four organizatio organizations, true advocates of whistle-blower rights at this crucial time, be included in the record at this point. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. wyden: mr. president, it is currently open season on whistle-blowers under the trump administration. donald trump and those around him have made it clear that anyone who speaks up about waste, fraud, abuse, or law breaking can be punishedful you are a whistle-blower under the trump administration. donald trump himself and his echo chamber will publicly call you a liar. they will threaten to make your name public, even at the cost of your physical security. they will prevent your complaints from getting to the congress. and they will fire the inspectors general who investigate your complaints. now more than ever courageous whistle-blowers deserve leaders who are going to protect them, defend them, and vigorously advocate

we need bill evanina confirmed in this position, so i look forward to mr. evanina's confirmation today so that he can continue addressing the many important counterintelligence and security challenges facing our nation. mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from colorado. mr. gardner: thank you, mr. president. early last december or at least sometime later last year, people in wuhan, china, began showing symptoms of what was at that time an unidentifiable respiratory disease in increasing numbers. we now know the virus as covid-19 and it has completely uphelded our life in the united states and around the globe. this virus has infected over 3.5 million people around the world and killed tragically over 86,000 people in the united states and that includes over 900 incredible and great coloradans, my home state. we certainly mourn with those families who have lost loved ones and we'll keep fighting for a path forward as we get through this together. i want to commend in the strongest terms possible our frontline workers, whether it's been our firs

the senate is back to consider the nomination of william evanina to be head of the intel and national security center. >> television changed since c-span began 41 years ago, but our mission continues to provide an unfiltered view of government. already we've brought you primary election coverage, the impeachment process and now the response to the coronavirus. you can watch, listen on-line for part of the app. through our social media feeds. c-span created by private industry. america's cable television company, as a public service, and brought to you today by your television provider. >> the senate returned monday after extending the spring recess because of the coronavirus pandemic. next, remarks by senate leaders on the impact the virus is having on their states and the rest of the country. >> let us pray, oh god of our salvation, deliver us from fear, your might and majesty continue to bring us peace in spite of the challenges we face. lord, we can meet these challenges with your power that transcends human understanding. when you whisper dangers

evanina of pennsylvania to be director of the national counter intelligence and security center. mr. mcconnell: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: mr. schumer: madam president. the presiding officer: the minority leader is recognized. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: well, thank you, madam president. now, the republican leader has called the senate back into session during a time when there are significant risks to the health of members of this chamber and the staff who make this place function. now, this is a time of national emergency. we should be working to provide our country with the relief and support it so direly needs, but this is only the second day of business since leader mcconnell called the senate back into session, and there will be no votes here on the floor. not one vote. and so far, there is no plan, no plan at all to consider covid-related legislation on the floor in the near future. if we're goi

want to remind congressman ratcliffe and the intelligence community the hold i placed on william evanina for general counsel. i did that two years ago. i placed that hold in my capacity as chairman of the judiciary committee. i've explained in detail many times before why i placed a hold on him, and i'm not going to bother explaining it again other than to mention that deputy attorney general rosenstein agreed to give me the documents, and he never did. in turn, general rosenstein blamed director coats, who then blamed rosenstein. you've heard it before. all of my colleagues have. whether you have a republican or democrat administration, it's your typical bureaucrat blame game. thanks to acting director grenell and attorney general barr, the blame game has ended. but importantly, especially for future administrations and for congressman ratcliffe, i want to make very clear that the judiciary committee's jurisdiction extends to intelligence community. since the authorization resolution that created the senate select committee on intelligence, the senate explicitly reserved for other stand

today we'll confirm william evanina to lead the national counterintelligence and security center as our nation grapples with challenges at home, it is important that a complement of skilled professionals keep watch on our foes, adversaries and competitors. he will be the first senate confirmed director of the cnsc. he is the senior most expert in counterintelligence. he has served three decades as a special agent with the f.b.i. as chief of the c.i.a.'s counterespionage group and one of the principal advisors to the director of the national intelligence. his long professional experience has given him al well-trained eye and he's made clear he's been focused on the most severe espionage threats facing our country today. china's insidious efforts to steal our industrial, governmental, technological and political secrets and russia's continuing efforts to meddle in our democracy. so we have a qualified professional who is tailored made for an important job. our colleagues on the intelligence committee report him out on a unanimous bipartisan basis, twice. the vice chairman senator warner s

evanina of pennsylvania to be director. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the cloture motion. the clerk: cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of william r. evanina of pennsylvania to be director of the national counterintelligence and security center signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent the mandatory quorum call be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to legislative session for a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent appointments at the desk appear separately in the record as if made by the chair. the presiding officer: without ob

in relation to the evanina nomination. finally if confirmed the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table and the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: if there is no further business to come before the senate, i ask it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the the presiding officer: the >> i think that my mother did it decent job at homeschooling. by the time i came along she had seven kids and the farm. i never took an exam. there was never anything like a lecture. >> i had many experiences on talking on the phone that finally i felt -- growing through my e-mail or social media feed. i don't need to do that. it's just right there that does fall into it. we cannot multitask but we multitask these tasks very rapidly. this is why i think that we need to ask the question how do we strengthen more importantly the quality.