mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. lankford: i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be eviscerated. the presiding officer: without objection.. lankford: mr. presin the last 24 hours, senator mcconnell has announced the senateilstill be in session in augus no i don't -- i don't know of y that loves being in washington, d.c., in august. quite frankly, it's a hot, humid, miserable place. i would much rather be back in oklahoma with other folks that i serve, getting a chance to spend some time there. the senate is in session 11 months of the year. the only month we are not in session traditionally is august. but we have a problem. the work is not getting done in the senate. and if the options are whether to be in washington, d.c., and get the work done or to be back in my state seeing the folks in my state but knowing that the legislative work is undon then the decision should be get the work done. senator mcconnell announced yesterday that in august we'll be here. we have two big issues as the reason we should be here in

mr. president. mrs. bush wrote, our government should not be in the business of warehousing children in converted box stores or making plans to place them in tent cities in the desert outside of el pass -- el paso. no, it shouldn't. these images, she wrote, are eerily reminiscent of the japanese-american internment camps of world war ii. now considered to have been one of the most shameful epides in u.s. history. we now have another one confronting us right now. that episode was shameful. at the time america was in the midst of a great world war, the second in a generation. the country had just emerged from the largest economic depression in our country's history. there was deep ant about jobs and national security. that ant manifested in what became a terrible injustice perpetrated by the united states government against japanese americans. president roosevelt's order called for the relocation of japanese americans into prison-like camps. and many governors throughout the west opposed the camps at the t

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from kansas. mr. roberts: i thank i owe an apology to many of my republican colleagues. if i could call for regular order, please. the presiding officer: the senate will be in order. mr. roberts: i owe an apology to many of my republican colleagues and hope i can get their attention. we talked about the need for a farm bill. we talked about how we're in a rough patch in agriculture and how to fix all part of the country and all regions, all crops and we have crafted a farm bill in a bipartisan way with most of the titles. i have not talked enough to stress what we have done with regards to the snap program in terms of reform. and efficiencies and solving that bonus program that was full of errors prompting the i.g. to fine several states. bear with me. i want to go over some of these -- some of this progress that i think that you'll be interested in. and i thank my colleague for his amendment. it would modify the work requirements under snap as has been indicated, require a photo i.d. with the use of a

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator connecticut. mr. murphy: i'd ask consent that i speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. murphy: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, we have begun the period of time in the year when insurance companies start to declare what their intention is with regard to rate increases, and the news is not good for american health care consumers. i'm going to be joined on the floor today by a few o my colleagues to talk about what the impact of these radical increases in premiums are going to be for our constituents. the news is not good. but it's frankly no surprise because now for a year and a half the trump administration has been waging a very deliberate assault on the american health care system, trying to sabotage it as retribution for the country not agreeing to overturn the affordable care act, which now enjoys widespread popularity across the country. and this deliberate campaign of sabotage, beginning on the first day that trump got in office with an executive or

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: i ask that the calling of the quorum be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. grassley: and to speak -- the presiding officer: the objection is heard. quorum call: mr. grassley: i ask that the calling of the quorum be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. grassley: very disastrous thing happened ten years ago right now in iowa. the whims of mother nature tested the state of iowa ten summers ago when deadly tornadoes, storms and floods caused more than $10 billion in damage to communities and homes and businesses. a lot of distress. national disasters test the medal of humanity by every measure. my iowans were tested in 2008. unfortunately, parts of iowa like mesa city are experiencing flooding once again almost ten years to the day. ten years ago 88 of our 99 counties were declared a national disaster. epic floods and e5 tornadoes ripped holes through the center of many neighborhoods. thanks to civic leadership, thanks to bootstrap mental

mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. cornyn: mr. president, i ask consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: mr. president, on friday i traveled down to the rio grande valley right along the u.s.-mexico border, expecting the front page news to be about separation of families when our immigration laws were being enforced. imagine my surprise when the front page of the newspapers in the rio grande valley were talking about the flooding in south texas. we heard that late last week more than 200 water rescues were performed in the border city of mission alone and that some areas were pounded by more than 15 inches of rain over a four-day period. cities in south texas like har lynn -- harlingen and mercedes were over. entire soccer fields were under water and county officials out surveying flood damage around the airport. this has been especially tough news because some of the coastal areas in my state that were impacted by this flood were also hit by hurricane harvey less than a

mr. president. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from hawaii. ms. hirono: i want to thank senator merkley of oregon for his leadership and my other colleagues who are coming to the floor this afternoon. mr. president, like so many people across the country, i have been deeply affected by what's happening on our southern border. children are being ripped away from their parents, placed into mass detention, deprived of adequate legal counsel and isolated from everyone they've ever known. millions of people are rising up as sorrow and horror over what's happening and with good reason. the president of the united states and this administration are playing games with the lives of these innocent children. and when confronted, they hide behind excuses that they're just following the law. this is just another lie from a president and an administration that have institutionalized lying to justify their unconscionable policies. there is nothing in the law that requ

mr. president. mr. president, for someone to thank senator merkley from oregon for organizing this very important session tonight. i will say this. last month attorney general jeff sessions unveiled the trump administrations new zero-tolerance policy. whether you come to this land fleeing violence, poverty or l persecution, justice isn't blind. it is now also brutal. this inhumane policy center shut her down the spine of the statue of liberty, but not that of our president. zero-tolerance really means zero refuge. zero-tolerance really means zero discretion. zero-tolerance really means zero humanity. the trump administrations minus approach to our broken immigration system takes away the ability of federal law enforcement officers to exercise any discretion that might be warranted based on the facts and circstces on the ground. in other words, zero tolerance isn't anti-immigrant dragnet, the shock effects of which we've been witnessing these past few days as children have literally been ripped from their

mr. president, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. murphy: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i come to the floor to mark a very unfortunate date. we are recognizing the two-year anniversary of the shooting at pulse nightclub on june 12 and on sunday june 17, we're going to mark the three-year anniversary of the shooting at a church in charleston. the killer in charleston murdered nine people who were attending a bible study. the killer in orlando murdered 49 people who were at a nightclub. i just came from my office meeting with one of the survivors of the pulse nightclub shooting. about 93 people are killed every day from guns. that's a mixture of suicides and homicides, accidental shootings. that means that in the 731 days since the pulse nightclub shooting, we've had somewhere around 70,000 people having been killed by guns in this country. that's a statistic that has no comparison anywhere else in the world. here in the united states we have about 20 times the number o

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. brown: i ask unanimous consent to dispense with the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. brown: thank you, mr. president. we know that americans work harder and longer than ever before and have less and less to show for it. hard work doesn't pay off the way it used to. workers in ohio have known that for a long time, that their paychecks don't stretch far enough. and this month, the state's second largest newspaper, the columbus dispatch, reported on just how bad things are for far too many ohioans. the dispatch reported a new study by the national low-income housing coalition and the coalition when homelessness and housing in ohio, that found, get this, that two out of the ten most common jobs in ohio, two out of the ten most common jobs in ohio, only two out of ten pay enough to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment. think about the number of people in fast food restaurants. think of the number of people cleaning hotel rooms. think of the number of people that a

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senar from vermont. mr. sanders: i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. sanders: mr. president, let me take this oortunity to thank my colleagues on the defense committee for their hard work in presenting this bill, but i am going to cast cast a very strong no vote on this legislation. this morning, i want to say a few words about why i am voting no, to talk about the number of ents that i have offered to this bill, and to express my veryerious concerns about our nation's bloated military budget, particularly in light of the many unmet needs we face as a nation. also, i must express a very serious objection to the fact that we are dealing with a $716 billion piece of legislation that is more than half of the disetnary budget , and yet we will in all likelihood not have a process which aows for amendments to be debated. $716 billion at a time when in louisiana, as i understand it, they are now going to be cutting food stamps for hungry children, where schools thro

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from utah. mr. lee: mr. president, i'd like to speak for just a moment about an amendment that i've offered, the due process guarantee act amendment. this is based on a bill that senator feinstein and i have introduced together and it has one purpose, to protect american citizens and lawful permanent residents on u.s. soil from being apprehended here and indefinitely detained. the presiding officer: the senate's not in order. mr. lee: in federalist number 84, alexander hamilton referred to unlawful imprisonment as one of the most formidable instruments of tiernts. if our -- tyrants. to avoid this mistake, we need to undo a decision done in 1021 in the national defense authorization act which is still in effect today. this amendment does one thing, and it's very simple. it simply says that if you are a u.s. citizen or lawful permanent resident you may not be indefinitely detained on u.s. soil without trial, without charge. the presiding officer: the senate is not in order. mr. lee: without access to a jury or

mr. president there was a -- >> mr. president, there is would fox report this week that deputy attorney general rod rosenstein is pushing back and threatening to investigate the congressional investigators who just want documents. do you think that -- >> i hone that's not so, and i know they're getting documents and i purposely -- if you see what i've done with north korea, with the state department, mike pompeo, it's running so well, i have this running so well, i have purposely, because of this ridiculous witchhunt, i have said i'm going to stay away from the justice department until it's pleaded. so i wants to stay away. that doesn't mean i have to because i don't have. to i can get involved. but i don't want you beam say i'm interfering, that i'm doing anything. i think that the report yesterday, maybe more importantly than anything. it tollly exonerated me. there was two collusion. there was no obstruction. and if you read the report you'll see that. what -- [shouting] >> an your -- >> wait, wait. what you really se

mr. president. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from louisiana ned i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from hawaii. mr. schatz: i ask unanimous consent to vitiate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. under the previous order, the senate stands in recess until senate stands in recess until >> this is a live picture from hearing look at the hillary clinton e-mail investigation and campaign 2016. the justice department inspector general michael horowitz is testifying in a joint hearing with the house oversight and government reform committee and the judiciary committee. this hearing continues live today over on c-span3. if you missed any of our live coverage we will show hearing again tonight in its entirety starting at 8 p.m. eastern on c-span2. also to the senate commerce subcommittee examines cambridge analytica partnership with facebook du

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. wyden: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, and colleagues, two years ago the supreme court handed down its decision in whole women's health versus hellerstead, which held the view that the government should not be in the business of deciding what kind of health care a woman in america can or cannot receive. a number of my colleagues are going to be coming to the floor to discuss this issue. it was a crucial victory. my colleagues who have been so involved in this issue over the years, senator murray, senator blumenthal, i, as the ranking democrat on the finance committee, has done everybody i possibly could because our committee has jurisdiction over women's health with a variety of programs that are crucial for women. it's really in that context that i want to reflect on what has really happened since the supreme court handed down that crucial victory, that important win for women's health care as embodied in whole women's health versus -- hellerstead. every time the president went to the white house, they have put

mr. president, i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. >> this weekend on after words, maryland congressman john delaney, the first democrat to declare a run for the presidency in 2020 offers his vision for america in his book "the right answer, how we can unify our divided nation". he's interviewed by donna brazil, former xhar of the democratic national -- former chair of the democratic national committee. >> you have been a ebb many of congress now since -- you have been a member of congress now since 2013. you have had an opportunity to work with democrats and republicans. you also in the book call for an end to partisanship, especially partisanship that rewards division. what do you mean by that? >> i think every president should represent everyone, whether they voted for them or not. they should take a pledge to never divide us. that doesn't say why they shouldn't say why my ideas are better than the other persons ideas. or the future i am envisioning is better than the other person is. but taking to

mr. president. i ask unanimous consent that it be in order to call up amendment 2870 to amendment 2282. the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. van -- mr. van hollen: i object. the presiding officer: objection is heard. the senator from inn *eup. a senator: i heard my colleague from maryland and arkansas. therefore i object. mr. donnelly: i object. the presiding officer: objection is heard. a nator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from indiana. the presiding officer: i rise to discuss my efforts on senate armed services committee on behalf of of the people of indiana for a defense bill that supports indiana's role in our nation's defse, that protects america's security interests and defense-related jobs. mr. donnelly: before i get to that, though, i want to take a moment to acknowledge the chairman of our committee, my frnd senator john mccain. he's an american hero. i hope as he watches the senate do its bipartisan work on this year's ndaa, the john s. mccain national defens

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. lankford: i ask unanimous consent the equal be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. lankford: i ask unanimous consent the following individuals be granted floor privileges for the duration of the debate on the farm bill -- detailee tu yung hung, hannah taylor, and clara wickhoff. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. lankford: mr. president, today, wednesday, is day 83,723 since the senate first achieved quorum and started work. no grand celebration there. that's 229 years, two months, 22 days. in that time, this body has deliberated over some of the most difficult issues of our time, of each time -- slavery, war, voting rights. they have all been difficult issues that our nation has debated in this building, but lately it seems that we do less and less debate and more and more empty chamber quorum calls. for the people that watch the debate in this room watch an empty room and think where is the debate happening in the senate? now, i can assure you there is

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. inhofe: i make a point of order that amendment 2366 is not germane. the presiding officer: the point of order is well taken. the amendment falls. mr. inhofe: i make a point of order that amendment 2700 is not germane. the presiding officer: point of order is well taken. the amendment falls. mr. inhofe: i call up amendment number 2276 on behalf of senator boozman. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from oklahoma, mr. inhofe, for mr. boozman, proposes an amendment numbered 2276 to amendment number 2282 as modified to h.r. 5515. mr. inhofe: i ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reed: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. reed: i call up amendment 2885 to 2276. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from rhode island, mr. reed, proposes an amendment numbered 2885 to amendment number 2276. mr. reed: i ask consent the read

mr. president how is the meeting going so far, sir? any progress, mr. president? >> kim, will you denuclearize? >> mr. president, how is it going so far, sir? what do you think? >> very good. very, very good. excellent relationship, thank you. thank you very much. >> kim, will you denuclearize? >> mr. kim, will you give up your nuclear weapons, sir? >> i know we'll have tremendous success together. and we'll solve the problem that until this point has been unable to be solved. working together, we'll get it taken care of. thank you very much. [speaking in a foreign language] >> we will solve it. we will be successful. i look forward to working on it with you. it will be done. [speaking in a foreign language] >> thank you very much. thank you very much, thank you. thank you very much. >> thank you, let's go. >> very nice. getting a good picture, everybody so we look nice and handsome and thin? >> beautiful. >> perfect. >> thank you very much. please. >> doing great. we've have a fantastic meeting. a lot of progress. really positive. better than anybody couldave exp

mr. president -- mr.orbachev: [speaking russian] translator: we are the two nations with the greatest achievements in space exploration. mr. gorbachev: [speaking russian] translator: let us launch a project of a mission to mars together. mr. gorbachev: [indiscernible] [speaking russian] [speaking simultaneously] mr. reagan: we are, we have our scientist -- not our scientists we have our space , people looking at that right now. our schedule has been, as you know, upset and set back because of the challenger tragedy. translator: [speaking russian] mr. reagan: i can't talk and say to you exactly where we are with abilities. >> [speaking russian] >> but there will be several phases? >> [speaking russian] [laughter] mr. reagan: well -- mr. gorbachev: [speaking russian] >> we understand. >> carefully weigh before giving the -- mr. gorbachev: [speaking russian] mr. reagan: i have asked our scientific people to look into this, see if this is a possibility for us if we -- >> [speaking russian] [applause] [applaus

mr. president. are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are not in a quorum call. mr. schumer: thank you, mr. president. now americans are deeply troubled by the images and news of parents being separated from their children at the southern border. the trump administration policy of zero tolerance at the border has already resulted in 2,300 cases of forced family separation. according to homeland security statistics obtained by the associated press. the pace of separation has increased from nearly 50 to nearly 70 a day. any parent could imagine how difficult this is, how heartbreaking it is to be forcibly separated from your young son or your young daughter, looking at their faces as they wonder what is going on here. why are they taking my parents away from me? and it's heartbreaking to imagine the separation and the anxiety it produces in everybody. so let's be clear here. separating children from their parents, denying relief to victims of brutal domestic violence will not make our count

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from new mexico. mr. heinrich: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent to speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. heinrich: mr. president, i want to thank my colleague, senator tom udall and senator richard blumenthal, for joining me to visit the southwest border last week. we went to the border to seek answers and demand accountability for the very real impacts that president trump's cruel and unnecessary policy of separating children from their parents. the permanent trauma that these policies are inflicting on parents and their innocent children, many of whom are refugees fleeing violence and seeking asylum is inhumane and horrific. taking thousands of children, some as young as infants and toddlers away from their parents, and detaining them as a form of punishment or deterrence is ineffective and it is morally indefensible. after all, under the rule of law, refugees fleeing violence have a right to request asylum. as of now, only about 500 children of the over 2,000 children in

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mr. corker: mr. president, i rise to speak on the ndaa bill that i before us today, and i think most people know that we have been engaged in some tariff discussions with other countries through the administration. we have a trade act of 1974 and one of 1962 that hav ld out provisions as to how we would go about dealing with tariffs. in one section, section 232, there is a place where the president of the united states can declare something a national security issue, and when he does that, it keeps him from having to go through the normal processes that one goes through in dealing with tariffs. typically when the president chooses a section of that bill, the trade act, when he uses those, he has to go through a process when he decides he wants to put a tariff in place on another country. he's got to go to the i.t.c. or some other entity to show that somehow or another the united states has been harmed, and the reason -- the reason that he would be putting in place taffs. what our predent has chosen to

mr. president. this is less comprehensive childhood cancer bill passed by congress. it would not have possible if we did not have the advocates behind us. the children are the best advocates. it took three years to get there, mr. president. they can say no to you and me, but bring in little sadie to the office, they cannot say no to her and the other survivors. rearch.ll help survivorship a it will move the cause forward in the right direction. >> thank you. you are doing a great job. >> mr. president, on behalf of survivors in nevada, i am here to thank you for your work and effort. this does not happen without your leadership. i think these kids were being advocates and getting us to where we are today. thank you. >> my friend, you have been working so hard on this. >> sadie came in to see me about a congress ago. it was clear she was dedicated to this. at the time she looked different because she was atif as michael said, she is the best ambassador. i think this builds on the work of the 21st cen

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. merkley: mr. president, many members of the democratic many members of the democratic >> mr. president many members of the democratic caucus are coming to the floor to speak to the abomination of the policy of separation children from their parents as people are seeking asylum in the united states of america.en the senator from hawaii will see and then senator from washington then illinois and i yield to my colleagues. >> mr. president this senator from minnesota. >> thank you leadership and calling attention to the tragedy going on on the border advice today to join my colleagues to express my deep concern about the policy adopted by this administration to separate families that the board will but we have seen over the last few months is unacceptable and now the president has recognized publicly we should not be taking children from their parents, this should not be happening in our country. according to the department of homeland security 2242 children were separated between may 6 and tonight the

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. inhofe: mr. president, i want to kind of share what just happened here. one of

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from pennsylvania. mr. toomey: mr. president, i rise this afternoon to address the national defense authorization bill that is under consideration. we'll be probably wrapping it up this week. first i want to address an amendment that senator corker and i have filed. it is an amendment that is related to the topic at hand, which is our security, because it is an amendment that would restore to congress the authority to have the final word on the deployment of tariffs, taxes on american consumers when purchasing goods that originate overseas, tariffs that are implemented, imposed with the justification that our national security depends upon. these are often referred to as the section 232 tariffs, because that is the section of trade law that authorizes these tariffs. the short version, mr. president, is i think we ought to be having a debate and a vote on whether or not this responsibility that the constitution clearly gives to congress should be restored to congress. it's my view that it should. senator corker and i hav

mr. president. and americans needs to understand this. the sea power title recognizes this. and it positions the navy and marine corps to retain superiority over rapidly modernizing chinese and russian maritime forces. i am had a especially to say that it accelerates the naval buildup toward the statutory 350-ship navy which was signed into law as a result of the ndaa last year. the ships act, which senator hirono and i both persuaded every member of our subcommittee to cosponsor -- every republican, every democrat on the sea power subcommittee sponsored this -- we were able to add the ships act to the ndaa last yeared and have it signed by the president of the united states. the bill this year builds on what we hoped would be the result of the ships act. it authorizes $23 billion for building 11 new ships that we didn't intend to build otherwise, an increase of $1 .2 billion above the d.o.d. budget request. so the statutory language signed by the president is actually getting us there. it adds over

mr. president. could you talk about the military con sque-- consequencer north korea in they didn't follow through -- >> that's a tough thing to talk about. i don't want to be threatening. i don't want to be threatening. they understood that. and you've seen what was perhaps going to happen. and you know, seoul has 28 million people. we think we have big cities, you look at new york where it has eight million people. we think it's a big city. seoul has 28 million people. think of that. it's right next to the border. right next to the dmz. it's right there. if this would have happened, i think -- i've heard, oh, 100,000 people -- i think you could have lost 20 million people, 30 million people. this is really an honor for me to be doing this. i think, you know, potentially you could have lost, you know, 30 million, 40 million, 50 million people. the city soefl, one of the -- city of seoul, one of the biggest in the world, is right next to the border. >> you once spoke about fire and fury. that no lon

mr. president, i object. mr. corker: madam president. the presiding officer: objection is heard. the senator from tennessee. mr. corker: madam president, i don't even know where to start. the senator from ohio is a friend of mine. we came in together at the same time. he's written books on labor and trade, and i respect the fact that he knows a great deal about the topic the we served together on the banking committee, and i respect him. much of what he just said was focused on china. i've never heard of a trade policy where you have a country like china who is, in fact, dumping steel around the world because it's in their interest. i've never heard after trade policy where you punish your friends in order to get at someone who's doing something to you. so we're punishing canada and mexico, we're fortunate to live in the neighborhood that we live in to have neighbors like we have. we're punishing our european allies who have been with us for centuries in order to get it -- to get at china. it makes no sense. as a matter of fact, i haven't heard a person who's gone to the white hou

mr. president? president reagan: no. >> why not? >> are you happy?> [speaking foreign language] >> eliminating chemical weapons, producing our dependency -- we discussed that with the president. >> [speaking foreign language] >> just like space men seem to be routine, your visits seem to become regular. >> [speaking foreign language] two nations with the greatest achievements in space exploration. a mission project together. >> [speaking foreign language] president reagan: we have our space people looking at that right now. our schedule has been upset and set back because of the challenger tragedy. i can't talk to you and say exactly where we are. >> [speaking foreign language] [laughter] president reagan: i have asked our scientific people to look into this, see if this is a possibility for us. >> [applause] >> [applause] >> [speaking foreign language] >> [applause] >> [speaking foreign language] >> esteemed mr. president, esteemed mrs. reagan, ladies and gentlemen, comrades. >> [speaking foreign language] translator: we are approaching the end of t

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mr. corker: i'm going to make a few comments here. i want to thank senator inhofe for working with me. i realize there's a lot happeng here. know he's conducting to the best of his ability the progression of this bill. jus leaveat that. mr. president, i was asked to find a solution to this blue slip issue, and i found one that's used as customarily as waking up in the morning and drinking a cup of coffee. it happens all the time. this in no way has any effect on our ability to pass the ndaa in a timely fashion. but i am in no way countering the person who just spoke. i'm not, and he knows i'm not. i am going to speak to a larger issue. but before i do it, i want to point out the ndaa usually passes each year in november or december. it usually doesn't pass in june. so even if there were something that needed to be worked out, we would be way ahead of schedule in dealing with this as we are between now and august. but, mr. president, i

mr. president, you alone can fix it. in fact, the president alone can fix it with this flick of a pen by signing a presidential order to end the agonizing screams of small children who have been separated from their parents. mr. president, i will lend you my pen, any pen, you can fix it yourself so we are here today to say mr. president, you should and you must fix this problem. if you don't want to change this group policy, at least admit it is your decision. laming others falsely is cheap, easy and dishonest. it's just a cheap way out. it's unbecoming of any president. in 2015 president trump told nbc we are going to keep the family together. we have to keep the families together. according to the news reports the president is not pleased with the images of these children being kept in cages. president trump, if you are truly ashamed of what's happening at the border, get your team together and undo this shameful policy immediately which you can do with the flick of a pen. there's no need for legislation. there's no nee

mr. president, i would yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. inhofe: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: mr. durbin: mr. president? officer the assistant democratic leader. mr. durbin: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be suspended. officer without objection. mr. durbin: mr. president, when i was a senior in college at georgetown university, i received a chance opportunity that literally changed my life. paul douglas, the great senator from my home state of illinois, hired me on as an intern in his office here in the united states senate. i was just a kid from east st. louis, illinois, the son of an immigrant mother, who was suddenly surrounded by senators debating some of the most profound questions in our nation's history. i used to come to the floor of the senate -- i couldn't enter the floor. let me back up and say, i used to come to the gallery of the senate as a student and observe the proceedings of the senate, never dreaming there would be a day when

mr. president, mr. vice president. all the governors around the table represent different populations, different geography, politics, they all share this crisis, the crisis next door. bills are being passed overwhelmingly bipartisan, allocate $6 billion for opioid funding. there's on top of the grants, that's on top of the act, they are giving the resources that we need, but also giving the respect also that is necessary also to help those in need destigmatize. many americans tell us mr. president that we're not punishing the drug traffickers enough and we're punishing the addicts too much. through our leadership, we are reversing that. the new ads are being broadcast in everybody's states and territories right now. the first ads we have partnered with the, the first ads we have partnered with the ad council, 75 year history and truth initiative also the bipartisan bills will get much needed relief. your three prong approach to this, prevention education including 30% reduction in prescriptions over the next three year

mr president. colleagues i thank you mr president for convening this important meeting in the spawns. to the urgent request to resume the tenth emergency special session of the general assembly to address the severe protection crisis that continues to be phased by the palestinian people under israeli occupation in the occupied palestinian territory including east jerusalem and particularly at this time in the besieged blockaded gaza strip we appreciate the seriousness with which this request has been carried forth upon the initiative of the arab group and all i see and are deeply grateful to all the countries supporting this principle effort including by co-sponsorship of the draft resolution that is now before the assembly this initiative represents a genuine effort to address the recent escalation of violence and worsening conditions on the ground and it is firmly based on the belief that by and by unfolding shared responsibilities in line with the charter international law and relevant you under

mr. president, esteemed mrs.eagan, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, comrades. >> [speaking russian] translator: we are approaching the end of the meeting between the leaders of the soviet union and the united states of america, the fourth such meeting in three years. the visits of the united states president to our country is drawing to a close. mr. gorbachev: [speaking russian] translator: the president and i have summed up the results of a dialogue between our two countries at the highest level. we have discussed both the immediate and longer-term prospects for soviet-u.s. relations. >> [speaking russian] translator: we have signed documents which record what has been achieved and provide guidelines for the future. >> [speaking russian] translator: among them, a historic place will belong to the ratification documents for the treaty on shorter range and intermediate missiles. mr. gorbachev: [speaking russian] translator: the exchange a few minutes ago of the instruments of ratification means that the era of

the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: madam president, members of both parties, and, i believe, the vast majority of americans remain concerned about the trump administration's zero tolerance policy that's resulted in thousands of families separated at the border. anyone who has seen the photos, heard the audio of small children alone and afraid crying out for their parents cannot help but feel horror and disgust by what's going on. that's not america. that's not the america we know and love and generations before us have known and loved. clearly, no one should be allowed into this country who doesn't meet the legal requirements, but we have an adjudication process that in the past did not require the separation of parents from their children. the trump administration has decided, of its own will and volition, to take a crueler, more callous, and indeed more expensive and time-consuming approach. as a bipartisan group of former u.s. attorneys wrote yesterday, quote, the zero tolerance policy is a radical departure

mr. president. i just -- i know i speak for the president when i express the gratitude of this administration for the support of the members of the senate and house gathered around here you have delivered for the men people own national security, rebuilding the military, tax cuts and regulatory reform and rebuilding the economy what the president reiterated again yesterday and every day from seeking this office; we have a crisis of illegal immigration. and as president made clear, we don't want families to be separated. we don't want children taken away from parents. but right now, under the law, and we sait with the lawmakers, we have two choices before us. don't prosecute people who come into the country illegally or prostituecute them and then y have to be separated from their children what i want to be clear about is we're calling on these lawmakers, mr. president, not just this solve this problem in a way that affirms our commitment to law and order and compassion and we can do and proposals in

mr. president. >> how are you? >> welcome to the country. i hope you enjoyed our food. >> beautiful country. i did. >> i just wanted to find out, you describe this as a process. what is the next step. on-going dialogue? >> we're getting together next week to go into the details. secretary pompeo, next week with john bolton, the entire team to go over the details and get this stuff done. we want to get it done, he wants to get it done. we're also working very much with south korea, working with japan. we're working with china. to a lesser extent, but we're working with china. >> coming back to singapore? >> i would come back gladly. your prime minister was fantastic. we were with him yesterday, he has done a great job, very welcoming. probably made a difference actually. great place. thank you very much. yes, ma'am. >> thank you, mr. president. what was it about that first interaction with chairman kim that made you decide not to walk away after you said you would know within the first minute if he wa

mr. president first thank you for your leadership. i think probably all of us around think defense is the number one priority in the number one bill. i think i am sitting next to the key to getting defense. as republicans defense is number one and quite honestly the democrats health and human services and education are number one. the whole job of the senate is duly moved them some out together and that by the way is two-thirds discretionary spending in the united states. i think that so we should do. >> we can work better with the democrats if they can work with us and we will see we can do. the whole campaign is based aroundhe wor resist and ours is based around getting things done. the reason i am so happy is if you look at omnibus we all hated in one way but really and another way was a miracle. after years have been hearing about her military. when will we need a stronger military then now? .. >> and we pay for the doctor for our great veterans. it is less expensive. people standing in line so long that literally they have a mino

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. inhofe: mr. president, i want to kind of share what just happened here. one of the things -- and i've been at this for a long time. over in the house when we had our ndaa, and i'm fully aware and everybody in here knows that and everybody in here knows that when we had her in daa and i'm totally aware and everybody here knows that the past y does for 7 consecutive years. one of the things that i really don't like about the procedure is one person, any one person democrat or republican was just objected to and caused us to l put this off for period of time and two not unlikely the desire of all s could come up and ultimately deny the members from offering their amendments whether they are germane are not germane. i want to say how much i appreciate the fact that senator reed and i and our committees worked closely together and made a decision that we want to have an open amendment process. we have had discussion of this in our committee. everyone agrees t with this. this could havet the effect of u

mr. president, you alone can fix it. alone canhe president penit with the stroke of a by signing in order to end the screens a small children -- screams of small children. mr. president, i will lend you my pen. any pen. you can fix it yourself. -- hereere today say today to say you must fix this. if you do not want to change the cruel policy, at least admit it is your decision. blaming others falsely is cheap, easy, and dishonest. it is unbecoming of any president. in 2015, president trump told " we are going to keep the families together. we have to keep the families together.: " president trump, if you are truly ashamed of what is happening at the border, get your team together and undo the shameful policy immediately, which you can do with a stroke of the pen. there is no need for legislation or anything else. you can do it. mr. president, you started it. you can stop it. plain and simple. if the president is ashamed of what is happening at the border come a he can change it. border, he-- at the can change it. if he do

mr. president. mr. president, the joint statement does not talk about verifiable or irreversible denuclearization. is that a concession on the part of the united states? >> no, not at all. if you look at it, it said we are -- let's see here. it will be gone. i don't think you can be any more plain. issues of the establishment of the dprk relations building. we talk about the guarantees and we talk about unwavering commitment to the complete denuclearization of the korean peninsula. this is the document that we just signed. >> did you discuss with chairman kim methods to verify with the united states or international organizations that process? >> yes, we did. it will be verified. we will be verifying. >> how will that be achieved? >> it will be achieved by having a lot of people there. as we develop a certain trust. we think we have done that. secretary pompeo has been really doing a fantastic job. his staff and everybody. as we do that, we will have a lot of people there and working with them. this is c

mr. president. mr. president, this joint statement does not talk about verifiable or irreversible denuclearization. is that a concession on the part of the united states? >> not at all because if you look at it, it said we are going to -- let's see here. it will be gone. i don't think you can be any more plain than what we're asking, issues related to the new dprk/u.s. relations. we talk about unwavering commitment to the complete denuclearization of the korean peninsula. this is the docunt we just signed. >> reporter: did you discuss with chairman kim methods to verify either with the united states or international organizations that very process? >> yes, we did. >> reporter: do you have a timetable in mind? >> we have a timetable in mind. it will be verified. >> reporter: how will it be achieved? >> we're going to have a lot of people there. secretary pompeo has been doing a fantastic job, his staff, everybody. as we do that we'll have a lot of people there and be working with them on a lot of other th

mr. president -- >> mr. president, there was a fox news report this week that the deputy attorney general rod rosenstein is pushing back and threatening to investigate the congressional investigators who just want documents. you think that -- >> well, i hope that's not so. and i know they're getting documents. if you see what i've done with north korea and with the state department, mike pompeo, it's running so well. i have this running so well. i have purposely, because of this ridiculous witch hunt, i have said i'm going to stay away from the justice department until it's completed. so i've wanted to stay away. that doesn't mean i have to. but i don't want you people to say i'm interfering. that i'm doing anything. i think that the report yesterday may be more importantly than anything, it totally exonerates me. there was no collusion. there was no obstruction. and if you read the report, you'll see that. really -- excuse me, wait, wait. what you really see is you'll see bias against me and millions and ten