mikulski: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from maryland. ms. mikulski: i ask ms. mikulski: mr. president i ask that the call of the quorum be vacated. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. mikulski: i now ask that the -- i ask consent the pending motion be set aside so that i may call up my motion which is at the desk. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from maryland ms. mikulski, moves that the managers on the part of the senate at the conference on the disagreeing votes -- ms. mikulski: mr. president i ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. mikulski: thank you mr. president. sorry that i didn't ask that the quorum be vacated. i was so eager to get started. because i rise to offer a motion to instruct the conferees based on a bill that i have offered for the last three congresses. that is the paycheck fairness act. what is the paycheck -- what does the paycheck fairness act do? it finishes the job that we sta

senator mikulski and i m. bennett and burr will put those in legislation and put them in our reauthorizing of the higher education act. 12 of the 59 were things the department by itself could fix. three of the top 10 were things the department by itself could fix. now these are young secretary duncan and president obama by themselves did. secretary alexander, president bush, this goes all the way back to 1965. what they found was for example vanderbilt university hired the boston consulting group to tell how much it costs vanderbilt. it's not a hospital. how much federal regulations caused vanderbilt to operate one year and it was $150 million. that is $11000 on every student's tuition, 11% of all of their money. that is a double commission said a jungle of red tape. national academy of science has said an administrator's time on investigation is 23% administrative time. billions of more dollars than with money. but as other departments of the government. this is a widely recognized problem we have billy ball

maryland has been that they big endorsement in his bid for the senate seat held by the retiring barbara mikulski. maryland bureau chief brad bell explains why prince george's county executive or sean baker is throwing her support behind him. >> i am supporting chris van hollen as the next senator for the state of maryland because he will fight for prince george's county. brad: baker without announcement surprise some, who thought he would support another person running for the seat from prince george's county for stop baker says he is and forcing the best candidate. >> i'm endorsing a person who understands prince george's county. : brad baker says that race is not his primary concern. >> i know it is in the best interest of the county and state. brad: ike leggett speaks of his history in the civil rights movement and says that van hollen shares his values. >>'s leadership on all these issues we fought for his impeccable. brad: van hollen already has a huge fundraising lead in this will make raising more campaign money easier. van hollen: i'm grateful for the incredible work these leaders do eve

barbara mikulski, maryland, 2013.politics is a noble profession. i am enormously mindful every day of my life at the greatest public honor of one's life is service in the senate. it is for me. i always think the greatest contribution i will have made will have been my children. the greatest public honor will be service in the senate representing massachusetts, the state i love, which is playing an extraordinary role in this nation. from the revolution of this country, to its members being involved in the constitutional convention, to the strong support by the abolitionists and lending slavery. the support for the suffragettes. by late leadership. by republicans and democrats. the people of massachusetts have a high standard for progress to be made by the representatives. it is one that challenges all of us each day. senator edward m kennedy. [applause] vice president biden: now that we have heard from our past let's make a pledge for our future. i invite everyone on the floor and in the gallery to please stand and joi

i also spoke with senator mikulski shortly before the event. she sends her regrets. kellye: looks like this is just getting underway. we will not be able to stay with this, but the wake of freddie gray took place today, and this is an extension. yesterday, protests started peacefully, then turned violent. and now the mayor is addressing this ongoing issue. abc 7 will stay with the media conference behind the scenes and bring you the latest as soon as we can. the coast guard is looking for five people missing after their sailboats capsize near mobile alabama. the bodies of two boaters have already been recovered. at least 50 people were put from the water after the storm moved through. >> i really thought i was going to die, actually. i was really scared. i thought the boat was going to sink in that would be the end. kellye: the authority say that one vessel hit a bridge. more than 200 people were taking part in the regatta when the storm hit. new questions over whether hackers read president obama's e-mails. "the new york times" reporting that russian hackers got a h

edwards who launched her candidacy within days of mikulski mikulski's announcement built her career asi said has earned support from national progressives. there is a number of other candidates involved but bake ear decision says his decision is rooted in the candidate that can get things done and continue to push the type of change that they're trying to see here in prince george's county. so today that announcement will be taking place at about 11:00. back to you guys in the studio.zachary, thank you. >>> a navy officer in charge of a naval base has been reassigned following a deadly shooting. the virginiian pilot reports the lieutenant was removed from the post. an investigation revealeded a series of security lapses that allowed a than to drive on the base without a reason to be there. the man shot and killed a sailor aboard the uss mann last year. security officers shot and killed the gunman. >>> the planned $5 billion natural gas pipeline flew virginia is setback. dominion transmission is withdrawing lawsuits against more than 100 property owners. those property openers refuse to

congressman van hollen hit the ground running just two days after senator barbara mikulski announced her retirement last month. the montgomery county democrat has raised more than $2.5 million so far in what is expected to be a hotly contested race in 2016. rushern baker's endorsement today significant. baker is one of the most high profile african-american leaders in maryland and his backing of van hollen follows another black county endorsement ike leggett. baker supports van hollen for what he's done for the community and no better example than this one here, this community center built solely because of the support of chris van hollen. what is more vanity is who rushern -- more significant is who rushern baker is not supporting. he's not supporting the hometown candidate donna edwards would lives in oxon hill. find out why at 6:30. back to you in the studio. >> all right, delia, thank you at colmar manor this morning. >>> one last chance to hear from the candidates running for the late marion barry's ward 8 council seat. the final forum takes place today at noon. it will be held

today he endorsed congressman chris van hollen for senator barbara mikulski's seat.e upset that baker did not people a constituent interest his own county congresswoman donna edwards. baker and van holland served together in the maryland house of delegates in the 1990s. >> i regularly endorse people that i know personally that i trust personally, that i've work worked w. i think he's the type of person that's going to go in there and be the type of senator we've seen senator mikulski be. >> i've known donna edwards for over probably 15 years. i know she done a lot for the county. i would support her. i don't know why mr. baker doesn't feel he needs to support her. >> montgomery county supervisor isaiah leggitt has supported van holland. if elected edwards would be the first african-american senator from mare march. >>> a new call for help to catch the vandals who sprayed hate messages on a synagogue. >>> safety changes coming to metro a . >>> people who live in a montgomery county community are being asked to check their security cameras. detectives are hoping that s

mikulski, read, baldwin, and berkeley. langford. >> thank you. thank you for being here and thank you for the engagement. let me engagement. let me go through a couple of quick questions. there is a lot of conversation. that is not a knew conversation. in your testimony you know that starting in 2009 their is a 1300 percent increase in medicare and auditing and what is happening in the appeals process. there is obviously a problem well you are accelerating the appeals process a while to get down to some of the root causes. there have been multiple changes. what is pending right now? beyond just the appeals process, but the root cause of this. >> with regard to direct process is important to step back. we work on program integrity issues. this is something that doctor coburn and others helped us focus on. and this was put in place so that we can do the tracking. it has tracked many, many -- and returned quite a bit of money to the federal treasury in the billions of dollars. there were negative unintended consequences. the congress is but a hold o

over here at senator mikulski senator reid senator schatz involved one and senator merck way.senator langford. >> thank you senator. madam secretary thank you for being here and thanks for the engaged in on this. there is a lot of conversation about the process. in your testimony you have notes of starting in 2009 there's a 1300% increase in medicare and what's happening in the appeals process. there's obviously a problem. while while you work celebrating the appeals process i would like to get down to some of the root causes. there've been multiple changes to the process. what is pending right now to continue to reform the audit process in the days ahead we on the appeals process which we can talk about separately but the root cause. >> it's important to step back. working on program integrity issues in terms of medicare spending. this is something that dr. coburn and others helped us focus on canvas was put in place so we could do the tracking. it has tracked and return quite a bit of money to the treasury in the billions of dollars into what goes back into the trust fund. t

alison: van hollen is vying for the seat when barbara mikulski retires. brad bell shows us sch one is supporting van hollen. >> he's going to fight for prince george's county. brad: with that announcement, rushern baker surprised some who imagined his support would go to the fellow prince georgian donna edwards and her run to replace retiring senator barbara mikulski and not van hollen who is from montgomery county. baker says he's simply endorsing the best candidate. >> i'm endorsing a person that understands prince george's county. brad: as for the role race plays in his decision baker says it's not his primary concern. >> i know it's in the best interest of the county and the state. brad: montgomery county executive, a van hollen supporter as well on hand for today's announcement speaks of his history in the civil rights movement and he says van hollen shares his values. >> his leadership on all of the issues that we have fought for is impeccable. brad: for van hollen the value is immense. he has a huge fundraising lead and this will make raising more

senator mikulski. >> mr. chairman thank you. first of all, mr. secretary, thank you for your service. the fact that your tenure has been long in the obama administration shows that you really have a real commitment to education and over the span of your tenure see what works and what doesn't. we want to thank you for your advocacy and your steadfastness. i want to associate my remarks with the senator from washington senator murray. in order to meet our needs we have to focus on lifting the caps. there's no two ways about it. i know there are colleagues who want to lift the defense caps. i don't argue that in this committee or even on the floor. but i think we've got to look at raising the caps in the domestic programs and they're intertwined. let me tell you how i see it. one county two people, three programs. one county, anne arundel county in maryland, the home of the state capital, home of the united states naval academy, the home of ft. meade the national security agency and other intel agencies. three programs impact aid, i.d.e.a., the javi

she and van hollen are both running to replace barbara mikulski who is retiring the end of her term. >>> now to washington d.c. where the campaign 2015 special election is in the homestretch. the voters in wards 4 and 8 will cast their ballots to fill the seats once held by muriel bowser in 4 and the late marion barry in 8. the folks running for his seat took part in a forum sponsored by aarp. the candidates were asked to be ready to talk affordable housing, prescription drugs, long term and home healthcare. transportation solutions for ward 8 were on the table. special election day is april 28th. the early voting kicks in april 13th. to learn where and when to cast your ballots, you can go to our website www.wusa9.com. check out the voter guide. >>> there's new information related to the murder of a lawyer at the donovan house hotel in northwest d.c. d.c. police arrested 19-year-old domonique johnson in connection with the case charging her with conspiracy. this is their second arrest. last week they charged 21-year- old jamyra gallmon. she's seen on this surveillance footage. she t

van hollen is running in the democratic primary to succeed the senator barbara mikulski. she's retiring after 40 years in congress. baker said he's known van hollen for decades and trusts his judgment and leadership. >> i'm endorsing a person that understands prince george's county. maureen: congresswoman donna edwards is the only other declared candidate in the democratic primary. other members of maryland's congressional delegation are also considering senate bids. a teachers union in maryland is urging lawmakers to reject a tax credit. the proposed credit backed by governor hogan would help businesses that support private school students. the president of the maryland senate -- rather the maryland state education association calls the break a vulture scheme. hogan initially pulled back on money for education and state employee pay to address a budget deficit. fairfax county residents got their first chance to comment on school funding at a public hearing today. supervisors are reviewing the 2016 budget passed by the school board in february. the $2.7 billion budget is

and i've said when i came to the senate it was barbara mikulski, she was it.m maryland. but now we have lots of senators and i've said and i repeat here on your show, the senate is a better place because of women. men and women are different. >> i'm so happy, gratified that we have women who lead the committees. i mean we had feinstein, head of intelligence works for environment public works. patty murray budget. she's going to label hhs. maria cantwell, small business. on and on with the women who are just so dynamic and prior to mikulski, and i can be here they weren't around. so the answer is yes. the country is ready for a woman to be president of the united states and of course the senate's ready for a woman being -- it's just a question of time until they will replace reid and schumer, there will be leaders that come from the ranks of women who serve so adequately here in the senate. >> in terms of -- i guess in terms of women and men being different and female and male Ñbsh senators vrg having different styles, you said something to my colleague john ha

he is running for the senate seat now held by barbara mikulski who is retiring. he's raised more than a million dollars for that campaign. autria: firefighters are looking for what caused a massive fire at a six-story building in los angeles. 170 firefighters swarmed to the office building as flames engulfed the top floors. crews were able to rescue a couple that was trapped inside. one firefighter was treated for nonlife threatening injuries. still ahead here on abc 7 news at noon, poisoned while on vacation. why the e.p.a. now says a delaware family may not be the only victims. jummy: new parking rules in effect this year for nationals park. what you need to know how to avoid a ticket. autria: how students in d.c. can get college credit from howard university completely free! jummy: and doug hill tracking a few storms as we get closer to the weekend. when they'll get here and if they'll impact the cherry blossom festival. his forecast next. jummy: we are following new details about that family poisoned during the spring break in the caribbean. as the family's t

senate, barbara mikulski who served retirement a couple of months ago. consist executive baker was also joined by the county executive from montgomery county ike leggett, also an african-american man who said van hollen's record on racial and inclusion issues is, quote, impeccable. baker again underlined today his personal relationship with van hollen that goes all the way back to his days in the maryland general assembly for this endorsement today but it's definitely raised a lot of eyebrows here in prince george's county. reporting live in colmar manor, scott broom, wusa9. >> scott, thank you. >>> at this hour, a forum is getting under way between the ward 8 d.c. council candidates at covenant baptist church on south capitol street. they're running in a special election to replace the late marion barry. this is their final meeting before early voting begins next monday. you can check out profiles of the d.c. council candidates on our wusa9 news app. election day is april 28. >>> in less than an hour, emotions -- a motions hearing begins in the case of

van hollen is running for barbara mikulski's senate seat who is retiring. he's already raised more than $1 million for his campaign. >>> to the second city that voted for a second term and a second chance. >> that is chicago mayor rahm emanuel after winning a second term after an up expectedly tough campaign. he has faced several opposition from several unions and criticism over high school brash style. in the end, he brought in 55% of the vote p. >>> 4:31 our time. and a few sprinkles to deal with out there this morning. >> let's check in with chuck bell to find out if we'll have rain all day. chuck, good morning. >> won't be an all day rain event, but it will be an all day clouds and moisture kind of a thing. most of the rain has really stacked up here in the front part of the day between now and 9:00 this morning. that doesn't mean we'll have much improvement this morning. this little area of moderate rain this is the soggy wednesday morning commute that we'll be facing. already some briefly moderate rain out here new bluemont moving into far western lou

senator mikulski and congressman cummings congressman sarbanes and others have been in touch with the mayor of baltimore steffi blake with our governor, governor hogan, with the white house, and we are taking all the steps to preserve public safety in baltimore and ensure that justice is provided in regards to the tragic death of freddie gray. i would just urge all people to exercise restraint so that we can provide the safe communities for the people of baltimore that we will rebuild from this episode and we will move forward. so madam president i just really want to thank many of my colleagues who have contacted senator mikulski and myself to express their concerns. we know that these are very, very challenging times. we just urge all citizens of baltimore to exercise restraint but to continue their passion for justice as certainly senator mikulski and i and our congressional delegation will insist upon. with that, madam president i the two fine senators were able to come up with. mr. president, on another subject, we're all saddened by p what we've witnessed unfold in the streets o

senator mikulski: they are not an urban county. so let me go on to another issue, which really was the source of great interests among many of us. we worked on a bipartisan basis to pass the child care development block grant and working with senators ex deer and burr senator harkin and myself. we passed an authorization, what you are doing to implement it and particularly where we worked so hard. surely wanted more money and more slots. could you tell us within the money to implement the ball and then than hans the quality and safety of our children. secretary burwell: so the quality and safety are a large part of the implementation and what the money is for and implementing the standards you all put in. with regard to increasing the questions of safety and quality on an an evidence based and that is part of the money and money that is in there in terms of the implementation and thank you for your leadership, there are funds, one of the other things we were asked to do is make sure that child care for unusual circumstances, parent

madam president, i wanted to thank many of my colleagues left contacted senator mikulski and myself and concerns. we know these are very challenging times and we just urge all citizens of baltimore to exercise restraint but to continue their passion for justice as we will insist upon. with that, i would suggest absence. sen. reid: a man is dead who should not be dead. freddie gray's name will not be forgotten. his death is the latest in a series of unnecessary debt of young men of color. to be clear, violence is never except both in any regard. it is never an incredible response come even to judge a duty like this. -- even to tragedy like this. this will only further damage a community that is already hurting. we should not let the violence be perpetrated by a few to become a way to refuse the underlying problem. many americans feel powerless in a system they feel is rigged against them. it is easy to feel powerless when you see the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. it is easy to feel devalued one schools in your community are failing. it is his duty -- what president oba

just last month during the budget debate, senator mikulski again gave republicans another chance. once again republicans blocked it. five times in five years republicans have blocked equal pay for women. five times in five years republicans have told their very own sisters daughters and wives and of course their grandchildren that they're not interested in fixing this unfair income disparity. that is why i say republicans own the wage gap they own it. so today as we recognize equal payday i hope my republican colleagues will come to their senses and address this injustice that hurts millions of american families. american women deserve equal pay for equal work. my daughter deserves equal pay for equal work. would the chair announce the business of the day? the presiding officer: under the previous order the leadership time is reserved. under the previous order, there will now be a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. mr. durbin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the assistant democratic leader. mr. durbin: mr. presiden

this is to fill the vacant senate seat by barbara mikulski. a lot of eyes and ears on this. van hollen and baker go back more than 20 years to the time that they had in the maryland houts house of delegates in the early 1990s. baker says those experiences weigh heavily in this decision. he had edwards has gained a lot of report from national log sieves. if edwards or any other affairen can american wins this race, they will make history in the state of maryland. baker says his decision is rooted in the best candidate that he feels can provide leadership and get things done specifically if folks in prince george's county. back to you in the studio. >> zachary, thank you. >>> if you live in prince george's county executive baker is also proposing several tax increases. according to the "washington post," county businesses are opposing the plan here. the paper says some business leaders are even going as far as writing up an alternative tax plan. property taxes are among the taxes that could increase by as much as 15% there. >>> 6:33 now. new information now. a federal judge is

they are both running to fill the seat left by retiring senator barbara mikulski. edwards represents a lot of prince george's county. >>> i'm angie goff at the live desk. an american soldier is dead after an afghan soldier opens fire on troops in afghanistan. now, the attacker was shot and killed but two other americans were also wounded. now, this happened in the city of jalalabad, as u.s. delegation that included the ambassador to afghanistan. michael mckinley were leaving the governor's compound. no one in that specific group was hurt knop word. no word on a motive. back to you. >> thanks angie. >>> today, transportation leaders from across the region will meet to set up a commission to oversee metro safety. this follows metro underground emergency that killed one woman at l'enfant plaza in january. representatives from the district maryland and virginia meet at noon. many called for an independent safety commission for several years. now the commission is a step closer to becoming reality. >>> and right now two unrelated power outage updates for you. the most r

senate seat vacated by the retiring barbara mikulski. >> or do i spend my time raising hell? >> reporter: the longest serving woman in u.s. congress history. lots of women here would like to see the arc of history continue with another woman in the senate. >> because females rule. >> i thought definitely he would go with edwards. >> reporter: many others would like to see more history with the first african american to be an american senator. that would make donna edwards the easy doris. for baker to make, but the county -- endorsement for baker to make, but the county executive specially close to van hollen. >> the ranking member on the budget committee is a very important thing for us in the state and county. i know he'll do the same thing on the senate side. it was an easy decision in this respect that i don't know him as a name, a congressman. i know him personally and i know the working relationship. >> reporter: montgomery county executive ike leggett backed baker up today saying van hollen's record on diversity is beyond question. the edwards campaign released a statem

. >> and there's a statement from the weinstein family thanking you and senator mikulski and other others saying unfortunately the assistance we received -- we hope recent months will finally prompt the u.s. government to take responsibilities for hostages and their families. does she have a point? >> mrs. weinstein is a strong individual. what she's gone through no one should have to go through. our prayers are with her. i hope we can learn from this episode and how to keep americans working abroad safer. i think we have to have a strategy to prevent this from happening in the first place. if a future hostage is taken how we're going to respond as a nation to protect american citizens serving their country a are broad. we must do a better job for safety of those working overseas. >> and briefly -- i know you've got to go -- we confirmed these were signature strikes. there was no targeting of anyone if in al qaeda specifically. did we have -- obviously we had bad intelligence. what about the reaction reporting on how this mistake was made? >> andrea that's why i asked for a full report fr

he's weighing a run for senator barbara mikulski's seat. congressman chris van on hollen and congressman donna edwards have already declared for that race. >>> tim kaine will meet students on a robotics term in leesburg and the final stop at a bilingual culinary job training program in arlington. today's local events are part after five-day tour he's on to talk about trade and economic development. >>> it's 6:28. we want to take a look outside. it doesn't look so bad. allyson isn't sphon for the -- responsible for the rain. she's just accurate in forecasting. >> doesn't sound like a good one. >> it's not too bad. it's just hard to beat yesterday. yesterday was so great. >> those april showers bring? >> mayflowers. >> hopefully cherry blossoms. that's what my dad told me. >> we're still on target to get to the peak of cherry blossoms. good news for the weekend. we are going to see a lot of sunshine. it will be a little cooler than yesterday but we are in store for a good one. here's what we're looking at to start off your monday for your tue

person that's going to go in there and really be the type of senator we've seen senator muste ror mikulskiif we believe the candidates are good candidates and you believe somebody else across the line is, then let's line up the resumes and see how they match up. >> reporter: edwards' spokesman says donna edwards was not interested in commenting on this on camera directly, but he did release this statement say pg the voters of prince george's county have elected donna time and again because she gets results for working families. we were speaking with women here at this shopping center to get their response to all of this. you heard what those voters had to say. reporting live tracee wilkins back to you. >>> there's new backlash about a plan that could impact thousands of students and their schools in maryland. the president of the maryland state education association is urging lawmakers to reject that $5 million tax credit bill. governor larry hogan supports it. it would allow businesses to get tax breaks for supporting private and public schools. but opponents worry that only the private s

prince george's county county council are backing congresswoman donna edwards running for barbara mikulski's seat. congressman chris van hollen is also running for the seat. he's been endorsed by the entire county council and one prince george's county member. the biggest surprise was that prince george's county executive rushern baker also endorsed van hollen and not edwards who livers in the county. >>> the national park service has a new plan to get younger people to visit the jefferson memorial. you are looking live now at the jefferson this morning. a new interactive kiosk is being installed today where visitors can share their stories about their favorite national parks. it's part of the park service's find your park campaign. the goal is to encourage people to learn about the hundreds of national parks across the country. >>> 6:36. we want to congratulate roxann manley from bowie, maryland. you are our facebook fan of the day. she says, i can't start my day without wusa9 and i can't sleep when i've missed wusa9 at 11:00 p.m. >> that is impressive. roxonn, a little thank you there from

. >> when you think it was almost double away with, we have to thank maryland senator barbara mikulski for her love of space and keeping hub him alive as well. >>> -- hubble alive as well. >>> prince george's county recognizes its teacher of the year. >> why some n.f.l. players say the concussion settlement is not enough. >> we are starting off chilly. temperatures are into the 30s, near 40 as you head to college park and d.c. but factor in the wind, it feels below freezing. also i'm talking about rain for the weekend. keep it right here. your full fo >>> 6:17. we're talking about a double whammy, at least for part of the weekend. umbrella and jacket? >>it's not that bad. it will be cool. the sun returns so that will make it feel a little bit better. a little bit of patchy fog first thing tomorrow morning. not too widespread and we are tracking a little rain for saturday into sunday. we are looking at temperatures staying below average for a while. take a look at how we're starting off on your michael & son's camera. it is going to be a gorgeous looking day with the sun returning. anot

. >>> maryland senator barbara mikulski and local baltimore leaders say they welcome the justice department opening a criminal investigation into the death of 25-year-old freddie gray. he's the man who suffered a fatal spinal injury while in baltimore city police custody. >> they're opening that investigation into whether police violated freddie gray's civil rights back on april 12 during his arrest. delia goncalves has been following this all morning long. where do we stand in this case? >> reporter: folks in west baltimore and beyond are demanding answers and the d.o.j. promises to deliver those answers in their investigation. they officially announced just yesterday. but they have been looking into police policy in baltimore city since october. residents telling them this is a state of emergency. >> reporter: like all of america, the justice department was watching this disturbing cell phone video and now the d.o.j. is investigating the arrest and death of baltimore's freddie gray. >> we want answers, justice. we want them to be charged. >> reporter: police released the names of the offi

nine members of the prince george's county council say they support her as she runs for barbara mikulski's seat. edwards represents parts of prince george's and anne arundel counties. she and representative chris van holland are both vying for the democratic nomination. >>> a judge is refusing to stop a virginia woman's college from closing the doors. sweet briar announced it was closing last month. yesterday, a judge refused to stand in the way but he did issue an injunction. it forbids the college from spending charitable contributions on the closure for 60 days an appeal is expected by opponents. >>> you may soon be able to buy a beer at the university of maryland during sporting events. the university is considering allowing alcohol during football season. the idea stemmed from the student proposal. under the plan only a certain number of drinks could be purchased at a time and sales would stop before the end of the football or the basketball game. the university preside has the final say on whether or not to allow the plan. >>> if you're planning to go to nats games tonight, it's blac

. >> senator mikulski. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. we welcome secretary burwell. before i go to my questions to her, mr. chairman i'd like to bring to your attention and the committee's attention that a very dedicated staff member of this committee for 13 years who has worked for senator harkin then worked for me, was also respected by senator specter will be leaving. adrian hall lock who has worked for the committee for 13 years will be leaving the go to the executive branch -- actually leaving the go to nih, not for a clinical trial but to again help dr. collins. i would like the committee really, to give adrian a round of applause. [ applause ] >> and i will say thank you, thank you to the committee. >> madam secretary i'm glad to see you. so many of the great federal assets of hhs is in maryland nih, fda, cms, just to name the big three. they have a tremendous impact on our economy, the jobs they provide and the jobs they stimulate. we could not have the robust biotech community we have in maryland without you. so we'll, of course, be talking about those issue

i also want to say i spoke to senator mikulski shortly before coming here to this event who sends her and also sends her support. at this difficult time. i want to take a moment to thank our baltimore city police department as well as law enforcement officers from partner agentcyies around the state for their professionalism as they work to keep order in the city and facilitate a peaceful demonstration. i'd like to speak briefly about what we experienced yesterday. last night, we saw a small group of agitators turning what was otherwise a peaceful demonstration into violent disruptions downtown. and in west baltimore. ultimately about 34 people were arrested and unfortunately, six baltimore officers suffered minor injuries. meanwhile, we saw multiple store fronts vandalized while other property was damaged along the downtown area. as i said last night, this is something that is unacceptable to me and it is something that is unacceptable to everyone who lives in and loves our city. i got so many calls and messages last night, this morning, from people who certainly express their frustr

senator mikulski and congressman cummings congressman sarbanes and others have been in touch with the mayor of baltimore steffi blake with our governor, governor hogan, with the white house, and we are taking all the steps to preserve public safety in baltimore and ensure that justice is provided in regards to the tragic death of freddie gray. i would just urge all people to exercise restraint so that we can provide the safe communities for the people of baltimore that we will rebuild from this episode and we will move forward. so madam president i just really want to thank many of my colleagues who have contacted senator mikulski and myself to express their concerns. we know that these are very, very challenging times. we just urge all citizens of baltimore to exercise restraint but to continue their passion for justice as certainly senator mikulski and i and our congressional delegation will insist upon. with that, madam president i would suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. cardin: madam president. the presiding offi

the prince georges county executivendorsed the montgomery county candidate for senator barbara mikulski'seat congressman chris van hollen. a blackout that kind of made us realize something in charles county controls downtown d.c. which is interesting. teachers in fairfax county say i should move over to arlington and make another $20,000. i can't afford to teach the wealthiest counties. baker endorsing van hollen. throw it out there on the table. >> i throughout it mattered. and in terms of what it looked like they hold a press conference where sharon baker is standing there, county chair council executive from montgomery county is standing there. he's got two of the big counties right there saying we're behind him. now, i do understand it's early, and we do know front-runners can stumble along the way. but van hollen is building up backers. he's building up a war chest, and he definitely at this point looks like the candidate to beat. will voters follow baker? don't know. for van hollen looks good. >> some people are critical that you're supporting the white guy and not supporting donna

senator mikulski: -- >> i think you have hit it right on the head. the challenge is going to be congress is the problem. congress is pointing fingers at the secretary say you did not promote the choice act. i think he needs the flex ability of transfer both directions depending where the veteran demand is. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman and thank you for taking time with us today. we have probably -- let me just add another wrinkle as you are thinking about how to implement this in a way that works and i agree with senator tester. you are going to have to prove you have extended the reach of the choice program before you are going to get the ability to transfer money. let me add another way in which that may happen. it was largely meaningless in the state of connecticut. when it moved to 40 miles by way of car travel, that help, but it ignored one reality in connecticut, which is probably not exclusive to connecticut. the 40 mile car ride review into new york city which is a route veterans are not going to make. but because they are 40 miles aw

he is currently in the process for running for barbara mikulski's seat.ndpoint, what's happening here in baltimore. >> thomas first and foremost our hearts and prayers have gone out to the people of baltimore during this very difficult time. i've been in touch to let them know we stand with them in the quest for justice and in the quest for peace and stand by and ready to provide any help and assistance that we can at this time and then as you've indicated we also need to use this as a moment. once we get to the bottom of what happened in a transparent way and hold people accountable, we need to have a conversation and we need to have action to begin to address the underlying issues here that led to the tragedy in baltimore city but also tragedies we've seen elsewhere around the country. >> this is a coast to coast issue and this morning in new york hillary clinton gave a speech on criminal justice reform in america and certainly condemned the violence in baltimore and called for the use of body cameras. take a listen. >> there's something wrong when a th

>> i think senator mikulski's amendment went way to far. >> so there's still lawsuits just not unlimitedo say, it was great for trial attorneys, not that great for the american people. >> let's check in with business for the bell now with cnbc's sarah eisen. sara, what are investors looking for on wall street this week? >> two biggies, mika that would be earnings and economic data. and the reason it will be so important this week is because we're still in wall street trying to answer the question what happened in the first three months of the year. we knew that economic databasally ground to a halt. our economy ground to a halt, that improvement we were seeing in the labor market with jobs also slowed down so the question going forward is was it just a really brutal winter weather problem? and some other temporary issues like port congestion or is there something deeper going on in the economy? this week will be a big one. it kicks off in full on tuesday. that's when we start hearing from the big banks, j.p. morgan chase and wells fargo. of course we'll want to see what lending looked li

and senator mikulski, congressman delaney and i have frequently met with the family over the years to try to put a spotlight at the appropriate time dealing with a hostage situation. it's very difficult to deal with a hostage situation when it's not a government that's holding a person, and it makes it much more complicated. but i do think in addition to doing everything we can to keep our americans safe, who go to these countries on our behalf using diplomacy basically and development assistance for a more stable country we've got to do everything we can to keep them safe, and we have to recognize the risk factors. in circumstances like this, we have to have strategies to do everything we possibly can to bring these people back home safely and i know we all share that but then we have to make the world a little bit safer and that's what this review statute is all about because i do believe it does give us a better opportunity to get the right agreement from iran that would prevent it from becoming a nuclear weapon power which is a game changer for the security in that region. let me

mikulski: mr. president, i have an alternative and far more comprehensive approach than the gentlelady from nebraska just offered. though i respect her and her advocacy for women the mikulski amendment in the well would really take this, finish the job we started with lilly ledbetter. yes, it would deal with the harassment on the job issue if you deal -- if you ask for information, which the fischer amendment only dealt with. my amendment would go farther several steps farther. number two, it would provide punitive damages for women who have been wrongly denied equal pay for several years. and number two, it also eliminates these false reasons that people give for not paying equal pay for equal work. the mikulski amendment is more comprehensive, more robust and will really finish the job close the loopholes that big corporations have had for years. so i really -- if you like fischer, you're going to be crazy about the mikulski amendment. go all the way not just part of the way. i yield back my time

first, it includes the leahy leahy-collins-mikulski-ayotte amendment to protect run away and homeless youth from trafficking. secondly it includes the klobuchar-cornyn bill as reported last month by the judiciary committee. the safe harbor bill encourages states to treat victims of trafficking as victims and not as oftentimes they're treated as criminals. finally it includes the cornyn-klobuchar bill s. 178, but without the divisive language that limits victims' services that has held us up so long. my amendment really came about as a response to the request of survives, but also the dedicated people who work with them, people who actually see this day by day for whom it's not a theoretical thing but it's an actual day-by-day crises and they've urged to remove the harmful provision that stalled this bill for weeks. now, congress has a long history of passing legislation to address human trafficking. we did it in the leahy-crapo bill on violence against women act. and we consistently have done so without abortion politics being in the discussion. my amendment is trying to return us to

mikulski equal pay for equal pay. murray eliminate sequestration. followed by stabenow's medicare cuts. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. sanders: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. sanders: mr. president as i have indicated on many occasions, i think this republican budget is, frankly a disaster. it causes severe harm to some of the most vulnerable people in this country. it throws 27 million people off of health insurance. it forces elderly people to pay more for prescription drugs. it cuts $90 billion in mandatory pell grants at a time when young people are struggling to be able to afford to go to college and pell grants are one of the significant ways that they are able to go to college. $90 billion is cut. it cuts head start significantly, such that 110,000 fewer young children will be able to enroll in head start. it cuts title 1 education program money directed to schools with low-income kids, the schools that need the help the most. at a time when so many of our families are st

democratic side we have both senator reid, senator whitehouse senator hirono, senator shaheen senator mikulski senator brown senator stabenow senator leahy senator bennet senator booker, and i could mention many of my clean colleagues who have joined me in the past in the repeal of the therapy cap that have -- are expressing interest to help in this regard. i hope i'll have their support on this amendment. let's get it done. i think it's important for medicare beneficiaries to know that they're not at risk of losing the opportunity for their physician to treat them under the medicare system. if we don't take care of the s.g.r. problem that's a real, real concern of medicare beneficiaries as to whether their physicians will be available for them. the same thing is true with the therapy caps. let's remove this uncertainty. let's get it fixed. we have the opportunity do that. so i would urge my colleagues to support my effort that's supported by aarp and many of the other outside groups. let's vote for the s.g.r. bill but also vote for the amendment that i will offer with senator vitter that will