the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. sanders: thank you. mr. president, i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: the senate is not in a quorum call. the senator is recognized. mr. sanders: in that case, it doesn't have to be vitiated. mr. president, we are at a pivotal moment. if the congress does not get its act together by tomorrow there will be a government shut down. a government shut down will be extraordinarily destructive to the people of our country, millions of whom depend upon government services. it will be destructive to millions of federal employees who keep their families going with a paycheck from the government. it will be destructive to the united states armed forces, men and women who put their lives on the line to defend us. so it seems to me that we have got to do everything that we can to prevent a government shut down. now, as everybody knows, we have a republican party which controls the united states senate, republican party which controls the u.s. house of representatives, and a republican who is in

mr. president. mrs. shaheen: mr. president. mr. president, like i assume most of the rest of the members of the senate, i'm disappointed to date we have not reached a bipartisan agreement to reopen the government. i think it's important to note that there's a lot of shared frustration on both sides of the aisle about how we got here. leader mcconnell and senator graham and other republicans have expressed their exasperation at the fact that for weeks president trump hasn't stuck to a position for longer than a couple of hours and he has derailed several proposals that would have addressed the concerns that have been expressed by democrats in this body about how to move forward to keep the government open. thankfully there is also a lot of bipartisan consensus in the senate that we need to work together to fix our situation to get the government up and running again and to address some of the long-term challenges that have led to this moment. but in order to do this, we need the president and we need republican leadership to provide

mr. president. >> mr. president. >> senator from ohio. >> thank you, mr. president. senator murphy is it right, it's not just what's in the resolution that concerns a number of us, including funding for the affordable care act, a whole lot of congress have insurance paid for my taxpayers, cuts in medicaid and other repeals and parts of the affordable care act and takes away from our constituent, constituents who make, 10, 11, $12 an hour, i stood for months-- i'm a democrat, with my republican governor john kasich in fighting for that. second, it's also what's not in this bill as a number of people pointed out there's not what there ought to be for the community health centers. we know, and i know in north carolina, as in my state, there are a number of rural hospitals -- we've got two hospitals closed, announce closure in two major hospitals, one in maslin and one in dayton. and that's 140,000 people. closest hospital is 15, 20, 25 minutes away for emergency care in canton and the hospital in the middle of

mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i move to concur in the house amendment to s. 139, and i send a cloture motion to the desk. 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 motion to concur in the house amendment to s. 139, an act to implement the use of rapid d.n.a. instruments to inform decisions about pretrial release or contention and their conditions to solve and prevent violent crimes and other crimes and to exonerate the innocent, prevent d.n.a. analysis backlogs, and for other purposes, signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. mcconnell: i ask the reading of the names be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i move to concur in the house amendment to s. 139 with a further amendment. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from kentucky, mr. mcconnell, mov

mr. president, we cannot continue to kick the can down the road. we cannot continue to run a $3 trillion government on a month-by-month basis -- unfair to everybody. we have got to sit down and negotiate a serious budget agreement, and what republicans must understand is, yes, they have a 51-49 majority here in the senate, but you need 60 votes to pass this type of legislation. you need 60 votes. that means you cannot do it alone. you cannot give that means you t cannot do it alone. you cannot give the democratic congress datacomm plea and expect him to say we are going to follow you. this requires bipartisan discussionsc on the parody issue in domestic spending. they support the dreamers piece of legislation and pass forward to citizen ship. we have a strong majority of the american people. let's not kick the can down the road. they must negotiate in a bipartisan way. mr. president, constituents of mine are hearing today that there is a looming government shutdowns that by friday midnight if congress hasn't passed a speg

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from georgia. mr. perdue: thank you, mr. president. you know, as an outsideer to this process, one of the first realizations was that as i got here, things don't always move in a linear fashion from point a to point b. many times the people who are trying to move an issue from point a to point b aren't interested in getting to point b. i'd like to talk tonight about one of those issues, mr. president. i think that we have a situation here where both sides in this body -- and i dare say in the house -- pretty much want the same thing. but i'm afraid that politics have gotten involved to where we are focusing more on the differences of what we might hope for than on what we agree upon. that's a shame because not only doe put a great confusion on these issues that i'll talk about tonight, but we lose the confidence of the american people that we can even govern up here. last year this president wanted to focus on getting the economy going. he wanted to focus on energy. he wanted to focus on regulations. he wanted to focus on tax. check th

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from new mexico. a senator: mr. president, i would ask unanimous consent to vitiate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. heinrich: the senate will be voting soon on a bill to reauthorize the fisa amendments act. most americans likely do not recognize the name of the bill, but they probably know what this bill addresses. our government surveillance of communications. as a member of the senate intelligence committee i have learned a great deal about our post-9/11 surveillance laws and how they have been implemented, and i have determined that there are reforms that need to be made to the fisa amendments act. specifically, section 702 before we renew this law. the single biggest flaw in section 702 is how it has been interpreted. the language of the law, the collection of foreign intelligence of u.s. persons reasonably believed to be located outside the united states, anticipates that incidental or accidental collection of americans' e-mails or even phone calls could occur. but under the fisa a

mr. president, thank you for happening -- having me. great job. >> mr. president, thank you for the invitation. by two compounded americans who moved to switzerland after the civil war. plants.te 77 almost everything we sell is locally made. isare excited about what going on. >> people think of nestle for candy, i read the other day that that is only 3% of your company. what is your primary products now? >> coffee, pet food. >> fantastic job you are doing. thank you so much. >> [indiscernible] you.e tiny compared to one third of the south is working in new york. some in san francisco. well, it all gone very because it seems to run smoothly. a lot of really good relationships. >> even more, what i mentioned , it is a. president very business driven approach. i think many of the issues can be much faster and more efficient. that is what we are doing. we are creating issues between business, and it to a certain extent, the next generation it to make sure that we really have a pragmatic approach and governments. >> we are honored to have you here. thank you.

mr. president. mr. president, for the past decade health policy, unfortunately, has proven to be one of the most bitterly partisan issues. it doesn't have to be this way. i want to take a few minutes to discuss some health-related issues that congress left unfinished before the holidays. providing relief from the medical device tax, reauthorizing the children's health insurance program, and funding for community health centers, and doing more to address the opioid crisis. each has strong bipartisan support and could provide help to our constituents now. first, many of us on both sides of the aisle agree on the need to provide relief from the medical device tax which went back into effect on january 1. the medical device tax is one of those issues that leaves most hoosiers scratching their heads. first adopted as part of the affordable care act, the device tax was one of the few issues that republicans and democrats agreed needed to be fixed. and in 2015, with bipartisan support, president obama enacted

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from hawaii. mr. schatz: i have one last unanimous consent request. i appreciate the participation from the senator from north carolina. 9 last request is very simple. it's the same one with a small modification that senator mack r mccaskill made on saturday night. every time we've done a shutdown -- i've been involved in one. it was the green eggs and ham affordable care act shutdown. it was the worst period of time i ever spent in the senate. sherrod brown always says no whining on the yacht. don't feel sorry for yourself for serving in the united states senate. it is a bridge. it is -- it is a privilege. it is a great job but shutdowns are miserable. but during that shutdown and during every other shutdown that i'm aware of, we always took care of our service members. and so senator mccaskill on friday night made sure that we just put that u.c. in so that we made sure that everyone who is serving in harm's way or prepared to serve in harm's way supports our military, gets paid. and frankly, i under

mr. president. today i come before my colleagues here in the senate to urge in the strongest possible terms that the republican leadership here accept its responsibility and not allow the government of the united states of america to shut down. republicans control the u.s. senate. they control the u.s. house. and a republican is in the white house. please do not shut the government down. a government shutdown will be extremely distressing and difficult for millions of people in every state in our country who utilize government services. a government shutdown will be extremely painful for millions of federal employees who depend upon their paychecks to provide for their families. and a government shutdown will make it muches more difficult -- much more difficult for the united states military, the men and women who are putting their lives on the line to defend us, to do their jobs. the american people do not want a government shutdown. i do not want a government shutdown. and i believe that most of m

the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. thune: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, is the senate in a quorum call? the presiding officer: it is not. mr. thune: mr. president, the beginning of a new session of congress provides a good moment to look back at the previous year and take stock of the challenges ahead. and today what i'd like to do is just take a few minutes to talk about the national security challenges facing our country and the importance of equipping our military to meet them. mr. president, by the end of the obama administration, our military was facing a serious readiness shortfall. the obama administration's failure to prioritize defense had left our armed services with manpower deficits and delayed the acquisition of 21st search tury -- century weapons and equipment. military effectiveness had been compromised by a culture of micromanagement in the obama administration that seriously hampered the ability of troops and commanders to respond to conditions on the ground in a timely fashion. but within days of his inauguration, president tru

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from maryland. mr. cardin: i would ask consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cardin: mr. president, before coming to washington today, i went to annapolis. the maryland general assembly is in session. i had a chance to meet with several of our regional delegations in the maryland general assembly, with our senators, and with our members of the house. obviously, the question that was asked the most is what's happening in regards to the federal government, what's happening in regards to the f.y. 2018 budget? will government be funded past midnight tonight? i must tell you, i was talking to both democratic and republican members of the maryland general assembly, and there was a common concern, for you see the maryland general assembly will shortly be receiving from governor hogan the f.y. 2019 budget, the f.y. 2019 budget. and a good part of any state's budget is the -- is the federal funding programs, and the state of maryland and none of our local ju

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. flake: mr. president, near the beginning of the document that made us free, our declaration of independence, thomas jefferson wrote "we hold these truths to be self-evident." so from the very beginning, our freedom has been predicated on truth. the founders were visionary in this regard, understanding well that good faith and shared facts between the governed and the government would be the very basis of this ongoing idea of america. as a distinguished former member of this body, daniel patrick moynihan of new york famously said, everyone is entitled to his own opinion but not his own facts. during this past year, i'm alarmed to say that senator moynihan's proposition has likely been tested more severely than at any time in our history. for it is that reason that i rise today to talk about the truth and the truth's relationship to democracy, for without truth and a principled fidelity to truth and the shared facts, mr. president, our

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: i thank the presiding officer. mr. president, i could not help but note that the fiscal year began in october 1 last year. four months have passed, 122 days since the start of the fiscal year. 122 days and we still don't have a budget deal that would allow us to finish the fiscal year 2018 appropriations bills. 122 days the congress has not done their job. now, recently, president trump has taken to twitter. he's accused democrats of holding up funding for our troops. well, the idea that democrats are holding up defense spending doesn't pass the laugh test. the republicans are in charge of getting appropriations bills at levels -- last july, that was seven months ago, i called for bipartisan budget negotiations like we've always done in the past. and as the vice chairman of appropriations, i put forward a proposal that would increase defense spending by $54 billion and would increase nondefense spending by an equal amount, $54 billion. basically what we did when senator murray a

mr. president. thank you for inviting me today. >> thank you. working int people the united states. so congratulations on your tax reform. for your -- >> we said it, right? we said it. way, when he says he works for stevens, he's the stevens. of but that's okay. that's a good way of saying it. go ahead. yes. work for our country, same thing. asyou're doing really well, a matter of fact. investing quite a lot into the country. have beenyou effective with the tax reform, decided to -- [inaudible] >> that's a big thing, really big. >> it is. will that be developed? >> charlotte. >> charlotte, great. that's fantastic. you, on behalf of charlotte, thank you very much, and our country. >> thank you. >> mr. president, thank you for having me. behalf of 265,000 employees across the globe, 70,000 in the you again for having us. >> great company. thank you very much. great job. >> mr. president, thank you for the invitation. nestle was cofounded by americans who moved to war.erland after the today we employ 5

mr. president, i would yield the floor and recog. mr. wyden: i ask unanimous consent to vacate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. wyden: thank you, mr. president. mr. president and colleagues, chairman hatch was on the floor a bit ago talking about the children's health insurance program, and because his remarks greatly misleading, i thought it was important, having heard my good friend -- my long-time friend -- earlier. i thought it was important to come to the floor this afternoon and set the record straight about the children's health insurance program. the fact is the chairman and i did negotiate an important children's health insurance program extension back in september, bipartisan, and i put in a lot of time both inside this congress and outside the halls of congress in order to line up bipartisan support for that effort. and we did, in fact, in the finance committee have near unanimous bipartisan support. that was months and months ago. the fact is at that point the children's health insurance program c

mr. president. [applause] mr. president will you give an apology for the statement yesterdaysome >> -- oh, boy. [inaudible conversations] mr. president are you a racist? mr. president will you respond to experience -- >> no. mr. president about are are you a racist? >> the national action network held its annual martin luther king day breakfast yesterday morning in washington, d.c. we'll hear from reverend al sharpton martin luther can king the thiferred and browser dmbt national committee chair tom res and american federation of teachers president randy qien garten.

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. lankford: i ask unanimous consent to viscerate the quorum. the presiding officer: the senate not in a quorum call. mr. lankford: mr. president, i want to get a chance to address an ongoing conversation that's going on in washington, d.c., right now and will be over the next 36 hours. as unusual as this may sound with all the drama that's happening here, just outside this building there are tens of thousands ofeople, most of them students, that are gathering in washington, d.c., preparing for something called the march for life. this has happened for decades now. for students and adults that come from all over the country to be able to come to washington, d.c., to quietly speak for those who cannot speak for themselves -- children still in the womb, to be able to speak out for the protection of life. it is an interesting conversation that has a tremendous amount of science and a tremendous amount of faith and a tremendous amount of heat around it. as some individuals don't want to discu

mr. president. as requested, i would like to brief the security council on ongoing developments in the islamic republic of iran and the agenda item on the situation in the middle east. as this is the first public meeting of the security council in 2018, i would like, on behalf of the department of political affairs, to congratulate the six new elected members of the council on the assumption of their important responsibilities. i also wish the security council a successful year. mr. president, the protests in the islamic republic of iran started on 28 december 2017 when hundreds of iranians gathered in a largely peaceful manner in the country's second-largest city, chanting slogans against hardship. over the following days protests occurred in other cities and urban areas, as well as many rural areas. some of the slogans also expressed disappointment at the or limited change in social -- at the slow or limited change in social sectors and political freedoms and criticized what demonstrators decried a

mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the ma mr. cardin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from maryland. mr. cardin: thank you, mr. president. first let me tell you how pleased i am, the people of maryland, that we are now in the process of ending this government shutdown. a government shutdown does not benefit anyone. it certainly doesn't benefit the federal workers who live in maryland and the federal workers around the nation. the uncertainty that a shutdown brings, those that are exempted are asked to work without knowing when they will get a paycheck. those that are on furlough don't know whether they'll ever get a paycheck or not. it's not in the interest of our federal workforce. it's certainly not in the interest of federal contractors who depend upon contracts that have been put on suspension. it's not in the interest of the public who depend upon governmental services and it ends up costing taxpayers more money. mr. president, i'm pleased to see that we're on a path to end this shutdown, to get government back up and a path forw

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mrs. ernst: i would ask we vitiate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. the presiding officer: if no one yields time, the time shall be charged equally. mr. tillis: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from north carolina. mr. tillis: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i'm here today to talk about the vote we'll be taking up later this afternoon. it's the pain-capable unborn protection act. we'll be considering it later today. i want to thank senator graham and my fellow cosponsors on the bill. i think it's a very important bill and i think it's a balanced bill, a bill that has the support of the vast majority of the american citizens, and it would put us consistent with all but only seven other nations in terms of restricting an abortion to a limited number of exceptions after 20 weeks. those exceptions are the threat of the life to the mother, someone who may have been raped or someone who has been the victim of incest. this is a balanced bill. it'

mr. president. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, i -- the presiding officer: the majority leader has the floor. mr. schumer: go ahead. mr. mcconnell: i move to concur in the house amendment to 195 with a further amendment. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from kentucky, mr. mcconnell, moves to concur in the house amendment to the senate amendment to h.r. 195 with an amendment numbered 1903. mr. mcconnell: i ask the reading be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask for the yeas and nays on the motion to concur with amendments. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the yeas and nays are ordered. mr. mcconnell: i have a second-degree amendment at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from kentucky, mr. mcconnell, proposes an amendment numbered 1904 to amendment numbered 1903. mr. mcconnell: i ask the reading be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcc

mr. president. [laughter] >> thank you. president trump: so i want to thank everybody, really you have done incredible work, incredible jobs. these are some of the great companies of the world. many of the great companies of the world. and congratulations. and now we'll talk. and thank you very much. appreciate it. thank you very much. thank you all very much. [overlapping questions] >> thank you. >> thank you very much, everybody. announcer: tuesday night, president trump gives his first state of the union address. join us. the state of the union speech live at 9:00 p.m., following, fromemocratic response commerce men joe kennedy. we will hear your reaction and comments from members of congress. c-span.night, live on listen live on the free c-span radio app. available live or on-demand on your desktop, phone, or tablet at c-span.org. q&a,ncer: tonight on katrina l -- catriona perry. then the world economic forum on the future of the mideast. ♪ announcer: this week on "q&a," a former washington correspondent rte,ur te -- ire

mr. president, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota -- i'm sorry. wisconsin. he told me minnesota. ms. baldwin: i'm proud to be a wisconsin senator. mr. president, washington is broken. washington isn't working for wisconsin or minnesota or the rest of america, for that reason. and i rise today to call on all my senate colleagues, democrats and republicans, to fix it. i think it's very important for all of us to be honest with the american people and shoot straight with how we got to this point where we are today, amidst a government shutdown. at the end of september, nearly four months ago, the republican majority missed a major deadline, a deadline to pass a budget for america and its government and appropriations bills that fund the government for the year. republicans have the power of the majority here in the united states senate, in the house of representatives, and the presidency. yet, the republican leadership has failed, failed to put together a budget for america and its govern

mr. president? the presiding officer: majority whip. mr. cornyn: mr. president, is the senate in a quorum call? the presiding officer: the senate is indeed in a quorum call. mr. cornyn: i'd ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: mr. president, last week the house voted to reauthorize for a period of six years section 702 of the foreign intelligence surveillance act, a vital tool in tracking foreign terrorists abroad. and yesterday we had a very important vote, last night actually, a cloture vote in this chamber which allowed us to proceed to a final vote on this legislation perhaps as early as tomorrow morning. congress enacted section 702 in 2008 in direct response to the enduring threats that our country posed -- threats to the country posed by radical islamic extremism and the ever expanding use of the internet and social media by terrorists and foreign operatives. the law authorizes the attorney general of the united states and the director of national intelligence to condu

mr. president. i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: mr. thune: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: i would ask thak unanimous consent that notwithstanding rule 22, the senate vote to invoke cloture on the powell nomination. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. 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 jerome h. powell to be chairman of the board of governors of the federal reserve system, signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the scwe is, is it the sense of the senate that debate on the nomination of jerome h. powell

mr. president, did you -- >> mr. president, are you a racist? mr. president, will you respond to the questions about the statement? >> no. >> i'm talking to you. >> mr. president, are awe racist? >> tonight at 6:45 and 8:45 on c-span, interview with house speaker paul ryan. >> i mean we have a, we have a challenge in that they have a razor-thin majority over in the senate and it is extremely hard to pass big things like this. what i regret the most that the fact we have yet to reach bipartisan consensus on comprehensive entitlement reform when all of us know this is necessary to get our debt and deficit under control. you literally can not tax our way out of entitlement problems we have with the influx of baby boomers. i'm glad we have very excited that we have done this but at the end of the day we'll have to get bipartisan support to fix our entitlement programs. if we do nothing, social goes broke, people get they're benefits cut. we don't want to see that. medicare is on borrowed money 50%. we don't want that either. these are important programs

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from kansas. mr. moran: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. moran: i ask unanimous consent that i be able to address the senate as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. moran: thank you, mr. president. on tuesday of this week, i regained my previous-held seat on the senate banking committee, a committee i served on from 2011 until the beginning of this congress. while this committee sometimes goes under the radar for many americans, the oversight it conducts and the issues it considers under its substantial jurisdiction is of great consequence to america and to the american people. the owners and employees of institutions have experienced success when their communities experience success. what i'm saying here is that how we lend money matters to every kind of person every day, and so what we have across kansas in many instances is a difficulty in really hard times. what i want to talk about is community. t

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from new jersey. mr. menendez: mr. president, i come to the floor to voice my concerns about the nomination of alex azar to lead the u.s. department of health and human services. the american people deserve a secretary of health and human services who actually believes in the agency's work and mission, which is to help america's families, children, and seniors lead healthier and more productive lives. nothing in mr. azar's record gives me any reason to believe he will do anything other than advance the trump administration's mission to take health care coverage away from millions of americans and leave everyone else with higher costs. instead of working to help more families get the care they need, i fear he will devote most of his time to imposing a harmful right-wing ideology on patients, on women, and families. mr. azar will continue the tmp administration's reckless assault on the reproductive righ of women. he'll support the far right's relentless war on science and evidence-based health policy. and he will put the

our republican president, mr. trump, told the republican-led congress to get to work on a daca fix, and i say today to the republican leadership, let's do it. let us do it now. that is what president trump asked you to do. listen to him and let us do it. not next month, not in march but right now as part of the budget agreement. people are working on this issue now. we can come to a consensus. we can pass the dream act if there is a political will to do it. and let us also be very clear, despite what some have said, this is an urgent matter which must be addressed now. since president trump rescinded the daca program in september, more than 15,000 dreamers have already lost their daca status and are now subject to deportation. each day the congress does not act, 122 people lose their daca protections. 851 people each and every week. this is a matter of urgency, and we have got to act accordingly. but i want to assure my republican colleagues that not only is this the right thing to do from a moral perspective, from

the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. flake: mr. president, on friday, i voted with many of my colleagues here not to accept the -- the deal that was offered at that time, the four-year -- i'm sorry, the c.r. to go for four weeks. i felt that that was unnecessarily long. and also i voted against it because i felt like a lot of my democratic colleagues and some of my republican colleagues, that we need to deal with this situation on immigration, and that we shouldn't wait for the white house to indicate its preference. i felt that we could have an agreement to move forward, so i voted against the proposal at that time. in the intervening time, we have worked with the majority leader to, one, have a shorter time frame which has now been offered, that of february 8. that's longer than i would like, but it's shorter than a four-week c.r. also, we have an agreement that the majority leader has just announced that if an agreement on immigration has not been reached by that time, that the majority leader, using his discretion and his author

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from indiana. mr. donnelly: mr. president, my colleagues and i are on the senate floor tonight on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of americans whose pensions are at serious risk. for generations, there has been an expectation in our country that if you work hard and earn a pension, that pension will be there in retirement. unfortunately, that promise is now in question. due to corporate bankruptcies, the financial crisis and underfunding, among other reasons, some of the largest pension funds in this country are at risk of insolvency, potentially leaving retirees with pennies on the dollar. i know firsthand the value of a pension. my late father-in-law was a teamster. his pension allowed him to help support his family, and it provided him with the dignity of a decent retirement. hundreds of thousands of americans who go to sleep tonight uncertain about their financial security. i met these retirees. i stood with them at rallies. i've attended their meetings. just ten days ago back home in indiana, i joined roughl

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. portman: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: the presiding officer: the senator from south dakota. the senate is in a quorum call. mr. thune: i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: i ask that later this evening that we have a vote that allows us to open the government back up and recommence the negotiations on immigration and a whole range of other issues that are currently of concern to members here and i think of concern, fairly, to the american people. so i hope that we will have the 60 votes that are necessary to do that when we have that vote later today. in fact, what we'll be voting on later today has been modified from what was originally sent over to the house, which was a four-week continuing resolution. this, i believe, will be a three-week continuing resolution, modified at the request of some democrats here in the senate. but i hope that we ca

mr. president? >> near there beginning of the document that made us free, our declaration of independence, thomas jefferson wrote we hold these truths to be self-evident. so from the very beginning, our freedom has been predicated on truth. the founders were visionary in this regard, understanding while the good faith and shared fax between the governed and the government would be the very basis of this ongoing idea of america. as the distinguished former member of this body, daniel patrick moynihan of new york's famously said everyone is entitled to his own opinion but not his own facts. during this past year i'm alarmed to say that senator moynihan opposition has likely been tested more severely than in time in our history. for it is that reason that i rise today to talk about the truth and the truths relationship to democracy. for without truth in a principled fidelity of truth and the shared fax, mr. president, our democracy will not last. 2017 was a year which saw the truth objective come empir

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senate majority leader. mr. mcconnell: one million americans and counting will be starting 2018 with more money in their pockets thanks to tax reform. special bonuses are on the way for employees all across a range of industries. businesses throughout america are taking advantage of more competitive tax rates and passing the savings along to their workers. as a result, employees at companies at visa and at&t to turning point brands in louisville, kentucky, are seeing results. for working parents in kentucky and all across the nation, it these bonuses and other permanent changes will make a big difference in family budgets. of course in just weeks even more families will see the benefits of tax reform hit their paychecks. lower tax rates will mean less money withheld for the i.r.s. and more take-home pay for hardworking americans. i'm proud of the way that the tax reform will benefit america's farmers and ranchers. later today president trump is going to be sp

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from north carolina. mr. tillis: mr. president, is the senate in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are. mr. tillis: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. tillis: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, most people watching tv or watching c-span know we're at a very important place here. we're in a position where midnight tomorrow night if congress doesn't act, we shut down the government. and what does shutting down the government mean? it means a lot of things. it means that there are going to be a number of employees that are wondering when they get their next paycheck or whether or not they'll get repaid depending on whether or not we make a decision to pay them for time worked. it means people who have desperately needed services may be wondering where to get those services. for no other reason, if the money is there, is the distraction going to slow down services for a number of people who rely on the federal government for their safety net. th

mr. president -- >> democrat leader. >> mr. president, i simply would like to read a statement from dana w. white, spokesperson for the pentagon. quote, we have been worki under a continuing resolution for three years now. our current cr expires 19 january. this is c wasteful and destructive. we need a fully-funded fiscal year '18 budget or face ramifications on our military. the leader wants to move the very cr the pentagon objects to even without a 60-vote margin. i strenuously object. >> mr. president? >> objection is heard. majority leader. >> i sent a cloture motion to the desk on the motion to concur. >> clerk will report the cloture motion. >> cloture motion. we c undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions rule 22 of standing rules of the senate do hereby to move bring to close on motion to debate to concur house amendment to the senate amendment to hr 195 signed by 17 senator as follows. >>g reading of names be dispend with? >> without objection. >> i move to concur on the house amendment to hr 195. >> reserv

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from arkansas. mr. boozman: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to legislative session and be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from arkansas. mr. boozman: thank you, mr. president. tonight in the state of the union address, president trump will discuss the importance of infrastructure investment. this is an important conversation for the administration to lead because our nation's infrastructure is in need of an overhaul. having the support of the administration provides us tremendous opportunity to revamp the way we prioritize and fund our nation's infrastructure. as a member of the senate environment and public works committee, i understand the importance of infrastructure investment. since i came to congress, i have been a constant advocate for increased investment, particularly for our nation's water resources. last congress

mr. president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from mississippi. mr. wicker: mr. president, as we all know, our government is now in its second full day of a shutdown. public opinion is swinging against what is happening, and as that occurs, it has been interesting to me to see that the talking points have changed on the part of congressional democrats. we've just seen an example of that here on the senate floor. but let's first look at a few uncontested facts. our government has been operating since september 30 of last year under a series of continuing resolutions, c.r.'s. in other words, congress has passed a series of temporary funding bills instead ever enacting aopenings pros -- instead of enacting aopenings pros. there's plenty of blame to go around. but it is generally considered better than allowing a funding lapse and the government to shut down. we heard about jennings and pentagon officials -- with each heard about jennings and pentagon officials decrying the practice of continuing resolutions. i can assure you, mr. president, and i can assure my collea

mr. president, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota -- i'm sorry. wisconsin. he told me minnesota. ms. baldwin: i'm proud to be a wisconsin senator. mr. president, washington is broken. washington isn't working for wisconsin or minnesota or the rest of america, for that reason. and i rise today to call on all my senate colleagues, democrats and republicans, to fix it. i think it's very important for all of us to be honest with the american people and shoot straight with how we got to this point where we are today, amidst a government shutdown. at the end of september, nearly four months ago,

mr. president. you meet us halfway. the time for political posturing is running short. bipartisan groups of senators and congressmen are fervently working towards a deal. president trump ought to get on board or congress will move forward without it. -- without him. now, on one other issue, mr. president. this is really in my craw. "the new york times" reported that one of the fastest growing chinese car companies is plotting their way to sell cars in america. according to the "times," buy pursuing a partnership with fiat chrysler, the chinese-owned state -- the chinese state-owned company g.a.c. automobiles hopes to enter the u.s. market through the back door. it would be the first chinese carmaker to sell in the u.s. if they were to do so, they would face a 2.5% tariff here in the u.s. meanwhile, if the u.s. automakers sold cars in china, they would face a 25% tariff, ten times higher, and would have to compete with state-owned businesses and unfair regulations. so while china prevents u.s. automak

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from hawaii. mr. schatz: i have one last unanimous consent request. i appreciate the participation from the senator from north carolina. 9 last request is very simple. it's the same one with a small modification that senator mack r mccaskill made on saturday night. every time we've done a shutdown -- i've been involved in one. it was the green eggs and ham affordable care act shutdown. it was the worst period of time i ever spent in the senate. sherrod brown always says no whining on the yacht. don't feel sorry for yourself for serving in the united states senate. it is a bridge. it is -- it is a privilege. it is a great job but shutdowns are miserable. but during that shutdown and during every other shutdown that i'm aware of, we always took care of our service members. and so senator mccaskill on friday night made sure that we just put that u.c. in so that we made sure that everyone who is serving in harm's way or prepared to serve in harm's way supports our military, gets paid. and frankly, i under

the presiding officer: we are. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent that fourth proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: well, here we are. here we are. day one of the senate democrats' government shutdown. we did everything we could to stop them, put forward a noncontroversial bill that contains nothing. nothing. they even claim to object to it. if we continue funding for the federal government and secure the future of the state children's health insurance program for the vulnerable families that rely on it. the bill passed the house. the president said he would sign it. a bipartisan majority of democrats and republicans voted for it. the votes were there. the president was ready. the solution to this manufactured crisis was inches away. but then the democratic leader took the extraordinary step of filibustering this legislation, preventing it from passing, and plunging the country into this totally avoidable mess. house of representatives, the president, and

mr. president, i object. the presiding officer: the objection is heard. a senator: mr. chairman? the presiding officer: the senator from maryland. mr. cardin: mr. president, i take this time, i'm going to ask unanimous consent request concerning our federal workforce and the reason for doing this is that we've gone through shutdowns before. it's been our view that our federal workforce should receive their pay. that's been a bipartisan effort after each of the shutdowns. i could tell you our federal workforce is concerned. they're concerned as to those who are on furlough whether they will receive tear paychecks when government opens -- their paychecks when government opens up again. i was pleased to see a comment come out of the white house where the white house says they support the pay for our federal workforce. i think it's important that we give them that assurance. i understand there is disagreement as to what has happened to date and how we're going to reopen government. but let's not make our federal workforce have anxiety where they should not have it. our federal workfor

mr. president. that will be the objective, as you stated providing daca , protection and securing our border. thank you for the invitation. president trump: thank you. >> mr. president thank you very , much for having us down here. i agree with tom cotton that the american public is very frustrated with us.president tr. one of the reasons they're frustrated with us because we continue to couple things on which we have large agreement with things which we do not a great. -- with things on which we do not agree. this is a perfect example of that. 86% of the american people in the most recent poll are for one of the reasons they're frustrated with us because we ensuring, as you have said, not providing for daca protected kids to go to a place that they don't know, they didn't grow up in and it's not their home. they're americans. they don't have a piece of paper that says that they are americans, but they are americans. and it aims to me, mr. president, but if we're going to move ahead in a constructive