mr. blumenthal: which is what we should be doing here, and i believe that we will do it. loretta lynch has a stellar record. she served with incredible distinction during her time as united states attorney for the eastern district of new york. i suggest to my colleagues that the best way to serve the purpose of stopping trafficking is to confirm her so she can get to work on enforcing that new law. thank you madam president. the presiding officer: under the previous order the senate will proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations which the clerk will report. the clerk: nominations -- department of transportation. carlos a. monje jr. to be assistant. manson k. brown of the district of columbia to be an assistant. the presiding officer: under the previous order, there will be 30 minutes of debate equally divided in the usual form. a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from florida. mr. nelson: madam president i want to speak for the confirmation of both the nominees but first of all i want to render the courtesy to the senato

mr. blumenthal: thank you madam president. i'm honored and proud to follow my distinguished friend from florida and to join him in, first of all his observation about the "60 minutes" show but equally if not more important his views on the letter that was sent to the rulers of iran and its divisive and destructive impact on a matter that should be above partisan politics. to inject a partisan political issue into literally a matter of life and death in my view, is unfortunate and inappropriate and truly regrettable. and i want to say equally unfortunate and regrettable and inappropriate is to inject politics into law enforcement. the nomination of the chief law enforcement officer in our nation the attorney general that position truly ought to be above politics. and, in fact, as we know from the structure of our government is generally regarded to be above politics. the president of the united states has his or her legal counsel to provide advice to the president but the attorney general of the united states enforces law for t

mr. blumenthal: i further ask -- the presiding officer: the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. blumenthal: i ask the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blumenthal: thank you mr. president. i'm here for the main purpose of vigorously opposing senate joint resolution 8 and to support the national labor relation board's recent rule to modernize the process that workers use if they decide they want to form a union and bargain collectively. the new nlrb rule makes modest but highly important changes to improve the overall consistency and efficiency of the election process allowing voters to vote for or against the creation of a union in a fair and timely way. this rule is long overdue and i've seen in connecticut and in my personal experience with the nlrb how important it is. as i go around connecticut i consistently hear of problems that come in workers seeking to gain representation to form a union. it's cumber

mr. blumenthal: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. blumenthal: thank you mr. president. i ask that the pending amendments be set aside add and that i be permitted to call up amendment number 825. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. blumenthal: i ask that -- the presiding officer: the clerk report the amendment. the clerk: mr. blumenthal proposes amendment numbered 8256789 -- 8256789825. mr. blumenthal: i ask that the reading of the amendment be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. blume this amendment is on the reserve fund in section 307 to provide for medical search and research into the issues affecting women in our military, most particularly women who become veterans, which is a inequitied aspect of health care -- neglected aspect of health care in our veterans affairs health care system. it focuses on the military sexual trauma which continues to be a scourge in the military and its effects. but it also deals more generally with the need for research into post-traumatic stress and trauma

mr. chair. >> senator blumenthal. >> thank you mr. chairman could i found the remark earlier ms. swenson that you made somewhat staggering. it takes nine or 10 months to hire someone, did i hear correctly? >> unfortunately yes he did. >> so you have the funding meet in the spectrum it's necessary to set up and commonly identified that you are in fact including procedures that are ossified and completely inadequate to the task that you face. what can be changed and those procurement policies that have handicapped the government and urgent task. >> as i said senator we are working with the department of commerce and the secretary's staff to see what we can do. in addition to the federal process we have some things internal to firstnet and commerce we are looking at the cycle time of that. why is it taking two months to hire a firm to hire people? it shouldn't take that long so we are looking to see what we can do to compress that which would significantly enhance our ability to get the job done. i'm telling you we are working very hard and i would love to report back to you on the

mr. blumenthal: no. mr. mooney: no. mr. grothman: no. mr. buchanan: no. mr. van hollen: aye. mr. yarmuth: aye. mr. pascrell: in honor of my grandfather and grandmother, yes. aye. mr. ryan: aye. ms. moore: aye. ms. castor: aye. mr. mcdermott: aye. ms. lee: aye. mr. pocan: aye. mrs. dingell: aye. mr. lieu: aye. mr. norcross: aye. mr. moulton: aye. mrs. black: no. mr. palmer: no. mr. chairman. mr. price: no. mr. rokita: are there any members wishing to vote or change their vote. if not the clerk shall report. the clerk: mr. chairman, on that vote the ayes are 13 and the noes are 21. mr. rokita: the noes have it. the amendment is not agreed to. are there further amendments? mr. ryan: mr. chairman, i have an amendment at the desk. mr. rokita: this is amendment number 13. the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 13 offered by mr. ryan relating to manufacturing programs. mr. ryan: thank you, mr. chairman. mr. rokita: mr. ryan is recognized for six minutes. mr. ryan: thank you, mr. chairman. i appreciate the opportunity to offer this amendment. accelerating gro

mr. blumenthal: thank you mr. president. i'm pleased and honored to follow my friend from the state of wyoming. i rise to talk about exactly the same issue and to differ with him respectfully that the current law is unworkable, unpopular understand and un-ffordable. history demonstrates that it is certainly working. in the state of connecticut we know well that it is working as it was intended because we have a state-run exchange and we've cut the number of uninsured by one half while improving health quality and lowering medicaid spending and making remarkable achievements across a whole range of metrics. that same story is true of our nation as a whole whether there are state-run exchanges or federal supervised exchanges. and today's point whether it is in the supreme court or here, should be extraordinarily encouraging about the congress' approval of the affordable care act and the fact that it is working across the country. it's succeeding in delivering exactly what was intended, what the congress promised, what it's adv

but we -- but that we need to use that tool effectively. >> senator blumenthal? >> thanks, mr. chairman. at the outset i'd like to ask permission to include in the record a statement from senator patrick leahy, our colleague from vermont, in support of ms. yates' nomination. >> without objection. >> and i'd also like to include a number of letters, i referred to them earlier, from colleagues, law enforcement officials, officials in georgia, in support of that nomination. >> without objection those are included. >> thank you, mr. chairman. let me just ask you about olc opinions, ms. yates. it's been a tradition common to, i think, most recent administrations that olc opinions generally are not released, is that true? >> that's certainly my understanding, senator, yes. >> thank you. let me ask you about the bureau of prisons and mandatory minimums. my understanding is also that the policies on this issue have gone back and forth. i can remember a time when everybody was against mandatory minimums. then they were adopted by many states. my own feeling is that we really need to do

mr. chair. >> senator blumenthal. >> thank you mr. chairman could i found the remark earlier ms. swenson that you made somewhat staggering. it takes nine or 10 months to hire someone, did i hear correctly? >> unfortunately yes he did. >> so you have the funding meet in the spectrum it's necessary to set up and commonly identified that you are in fact including procedures that are ossified and completely inadequate to the task that you face. what can be changed and those procurement policies that have handicapped the government and urgent task. >> as i said senator we are working with the department of commerce and the secretary's staff to see what we can do. in addition to the federal process we have some things internal to firstnet and commerce we are looking at the cycle time of that. why is it taking two months to hire a firm to hire people? it shouldn't take that long so we are looking to see what we can do to compress that which would significantly enhance our ability to get the job done. i'm telling you we are working very hard and i would love to report back to you on the

with that, i now turn to our distinguished ranking member for today, senator blumenthal. >> thanks, mr. chairman. and thanks for conducting this hearing in such a bipartisan and gracious way. first of all, i hope at some point we're going to clarify all this stuff about bulldogs and yellow jackets. i come from a state where we have a school that has a bulldog as a mascot but i don't think you're a graduate of that school. so we welcome you anyway. and today is a very proud one for me as a former united states attorney and as a former attorney general of my state and one who, like a number of us on this committee, has a background in law enforcement, because i think you really epitomize the best of a public interest lawyer and a law enforcer fair, just, honest, as mr. lewis referred to you. and i also think that you have gained the respect of the people who are maybe the most critical judges, the folks who are on the streets, fbi agents and dea enforcers and postal inspectors and secret service who have contacted our committee and who have spoken through others to say how much they have

mr. chairman. >> senator blumenthal. >> thanks, mr. chairman.ant to shift to an area where both of you have demonstrated a lot of attentiveness and caring which is the well-being of the extraordinary men and women whom you command. and while they serve under you and afterward when they become veterans, i know that both of you have shown, indeed mr. secretary in your prior life, when you worked as undersecretary, and general dempsey, i was privileged to watch you perform at a recent event sponsored by the woodrow foundation, so i know how active you are in support of our troops and wounded warriors. and i want to focus on the connections between the d.o.d. and the va. having now seen it from the perspective of the va, the veterans administration, in my capacity as ranking member, i'm struck by the need for better information, the electronics -- health electronicses records va been a point of contention so have the drug formulary issues. there needs to be more collaboration, koortdcoordination. can you see ways we can improve the flow of informati

mr. kirk: with the help of senator blumenthal that would also help us find these exploiters. let me say that the amendment that i was trying to offer early this week on the save act i intended to go after backpage.com, which would be the largest provider of slavery-related services in the country, making about $30 million a year off of slavery. we really ought to be able to charge them for the costs of cleaning up the mess that they create. mr. cornyn: the senator from illinois his focus is actually where we ought to be having this focus, which is how do you take some of the profits out of this modern-day slavery and redirect it to help the victims? that's what this bill does. and it ends some of the impunity that some of these purveyors of human flesh are -- that they're reaping, the rewards they're reaping and plows it back in to help the victims. but i know the save act to be a particular focus. in talking to the senator from california senator feinstein i know she is very concerned about how the internet has become integrated as part of the business model of some of these

but we -- but that we need to use that tool effectively. >> senator blumenthal? >> thanks, mr. chairman. at the outset i'd like to ask permission to include in the record a statement from senator patrick leahy, our colleague from vermont, in support of ms. yates' nomination. >> without objection. >> and i'd also like to include a number of letters, i referred to them earlier, from colleagues, law enforcement officials, officials in georgia, in support of that nomination. >> without objection those are included. >> thank you, mr. chairman. let me just ask you about olc opinions, ms. yates. it's been a tradition common to, i think most recent administration's that olc opinions generally are not released, is that true? >> that's certainly my understanding, senator, yes. >> thank you. let me ask you about the bureau of prisons and mandatory minimums. my understanding is also that the policies on this issue have gone back and forth. i can remember a time when everybody was against mandatory minimums. then they were adopted by many states. my own feeling is that we really need to do

mr. chairman. >> senator blumenthal please. >> thanks thanks, mr. chairman. i want to shift to an area where both of you have demonstrated a lot of attentiveness and caring which is the well being of the extraordinary men and women whom you command while they serve under you and afterward when they become veterans. i know that both of you have shown in deed, mr. secretary in your prior life when you worked as undersecretary and, general dempsey, i was privileged to watch you perform at a recent event sponsored by the woodruff foundation, so i know how active you are in support of our troops and our wounded warriors. and i want to focus on the connections between the dod and the v.a. having now seen it from the perspective of the v.a., the veterans administration, in my capacity as ranking member i'm struck by the need for better information the electronic, health electronic records have been a p point of contention but so have the form lair issue, the drug formulary issue. there are a variety of areas where there needs to be simply better coordination. that i

mr. blumenthal: i want to thank my colleague from new hampshire for her work on this amendment with my office. we have successfully reached language that i think moves us forward in the right direction i also want to thank my no colleague, senator sanders for his tireless efforts on behalf of veterans, indicated by his amendment which is fully come compatible with senator ayotte's and i urge support of this amendment. the presiding officer: is there any other debate? the question is on the amendment. all in favor say aye. all those opposed. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the amendment is accepted. under the previous order there will now be two minutes of debate equally divided prior to the vote in relation to amendment number 409 offered by the senator from nebraska, mrs. fischer. mrs. fischer: thank you mr. president. this amendment i think reflects the desire for all of us to reassert and reaffirm our support for equal pay for equal work. senator mikulski spoke earlier about an amendment that i question because it ends merit pay which i think hurts workplace flexibility an

mr. chair. >> thank you, senator tillis. century blumenthal. >> i don't have any additional questions. thank you. >> great. mr. harrison, we've got two different types of royalties that end up getting paid in some circumstances. i want to establish under the concept decrees and another established under the crb, the copyright royalty board. those established under the latter as i understand them, are substantially higher than those established under the former. so you've got one set of royalties that go to those who wrote the song and another set of royalties that go to those who recorded the song. why should there be a substantial difference between these two rates? >> well, senator i think as i mentioned earlier i don't believe pandora is in the best position to value the relative contributions of the song versus the recording. i think that is probably better left to publishers and song writers and artists and labels. having said that, if you go back to the early copyright royalty board proceedings you had executives of companies that owned labels and publishers who argued that those

mr. chair. >> thank you. next up is senator blumenthal. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i found a remark earlier that you made somewhat staggering. that it takes nine to ten months to hire someone? did i hear correctly? >> unfortunately, yes, you did. >> so you have the funding you need. >> correct. >> and you have the spectrum that's necessary. >> correct. >> the two essential components that have been commonly identified but you are in effect i don't think it's too strong a word to say handicap even crippled by procurement procedures including hiring procedures that essentially are os fied and inurgent to the task you have faced. you have used the word urgent to describe it. i think all of us would agree. what can be changed in those procurement policies, which have so handicapped other branches of government as well in urgent tasks particularly in the hiring area. >> z as i said, senator, we're working with department of commerce and the secretary staff to see what we can do. in addition to just the federal process i think we have some things internal. we are looking

mr. chair. >> thank you senator tillis. senator blumenthal. >> i don't have any additional questions, thank you. >> mr. harrison. we have got two different types of royalties that end up getting paid in some circumstances. i want to establish under the consent decrees and another established under the crv under the copyright royalty board. those established under the latter as i understand them are substantially higher than those established under the former so you have got one set of royalties that go to those that wrote the song and another set of royalties they go to those who recorded this song. why should there be a substantial difference between these two rates? >> well senator i think as i mentioned earlier i don't believe tandoor is in the best position to value the relative contributions of the song versus the recording. i think that's probably better left to publishers and songwriters and artists and labels. having said that you now if you go back to the early copyright proceedings what you had was executives of companies that owned

mr. chair and senator blumenthal. it's been a privilege. >> coming up next, live on c-span your calls and comments on washington journal. then "newsmakers" with iowa and new hampshire gop chairs. then, a hearing with secret service director joseph clancy. >> tonight on "q and a" erik larson on his new book, "dead weight. mr. larson: the question gets complicated when you ask why was the ship allowed to enter the irish sea without the detailed warning that could have been provided. this has led to some very interesting speculation as to whether this chip was -- ship was set up for an attack by churchill or someone from the admiralty. it's interesting. i found no smoking memo. leave me, i would have found a smoking memo if it exists. there is nothing from churchill to jackie fisher, or someone else, letting the ship going to the irish sea. nothing like that. >> tonight at 8:00 eastern ann's and pacific. this morning, "usa today" investigative reporter, steve riley, talks about the nation's power grid. and, steve nardizz

mr. chairman. >> thank you. to senator from nebraska next up senator blumenthal. >> thank you mr. chairman. i found a remark earlier, miss swensen, that you made, somewhat staggering. that it takes nine to ten months to hire someone? did i hear correctly? >> unfortunately yes, you did. >> so you have the funding you need. >> correct. >> you have the spectrum that is necessary. >> correct. >> the two essential components that have been commonly identified. but you are in effect -- i don't think it's to strong a word to say -- handicapped, even crippled by procurement procedures including hiring protest procedures that are completely inadequate to the urgent task that you face and you have used the word urgent to describe it. i think all of us would agree. what can be changed in those procurement policies which have so handicapped other branches government as well in similarly urgent tasks particularly in the hiring area. >> as i said we're working with department of commerce and the secretary's staff to see what we can do. in addition to just the federal process, i think we have some things

mr. xharnlgs i look forward to working with you on the rethoers of the fcc. i hope some of these ideas, both myself and the commissioner mentioned, could be put forth and worked into. >> senator blumenthal. >> thanks, mr. chairman. thanks for working in such a bipartisan way on this hearing and on the bills that we'll be considering related to these issues. first of all, thanks to all of you for being here today. chairman wheeler i appreciated your remark about the wild and crazy krooez of the wild and crazy commissioners who might follow the present occupants of those offices. i want to assure you nobody ever asked us about the wild and crazy senator. i'm not going to go any farther with that. i want to express my strong support for the fcc's open internet order. this decision was unequivocal, emphatic in its effect. it was a victory for consumers and innovators. that's all too rare in washington these days. and i know that it will be challenged in the courts. and i want to commit to you that i would be pleased to lead whatever amicus efforts may be necessary to support it. i believe there will be a lot of support by such involvement by my colleagues. and i believe it is strongly groun

mr. president this amendment is based on legislation that senator blumenthal and i introduced in the last congress to close a major loophole in the current corporate tax law by putting an end to unlimited tax write-offs for performance-based executive pay. in 1993 congress limited the deduct act of executive -- deductibility of executive pay to $1 million with the exception for performance-based compensation. but over the last two decades corporations have made the exception the rule and the we've seen increasingly more pay designated as performance even in some cases where the company is not doing very well for the shareholders. it's been estimated that between 2007-2010, $121.5 billion of executive pay has been deducted and roughly 55% of that is being deemed executive performance-based compensation. business and shareholders should establish the pay of their officers and directors and employees but the taxpayers shouldn't be subsidizing excessive pay for corporations. i urge a "yes" vote. it will save us $50 billion over 10 years. mr. enzi: mr. president? the presiding officer: the sen

blumenthal. senator markey. >> thank you mr. chairman very much. may i ask you, mr. chairman, did the fcc follow the processes used by both democrat and republican commissions when crafting these latest net neutrality rules? >> yes, sir. >> yeah. these are tough decisions. it's a process though. and out of the process came a decision. >> that i agree with. i think that's a historically correct decision. but i don't think there should be a question whether or not you use the process that allowed all voices to be heard and the final vote 3-2, 3-2 is based upon the totality of everything that all five of you had the opportunity to hear. 3-2. >> the process gave everyone the ability to be able to hear what they needed to hear. and i think you made just the right decision. and i think you made the right decision looking at the whole history of the fcc and what you've done for our country. back in the 1970s, you know the ceo of sprint and mci came into my office and they had less than one-half of one-half of one-half of 1% of the market and they wanted the fcc to change th

mr. chair and senator blumenthal. it's been a privilege. meeting adjourned. thank you. >> president obama welcomes ashraf danny at the white house today for talks with president obama. blair house is where foreign dignitaries stay and they are expected to discuss foreign troop levels in afghanistan. >> after that white house meeting they are expected to talk with reporters at about 2:20 eastern. we'll have live coverage as the president holds a news conference with the afghan president. after that briefing we'll take you live to the senate commerce committee on the aviation safety and security holding a hearing on domestic drones on how it is impacted safety and privacy. and tomorrow we'll be live as jeh johnson testifies before the house committee on homeland security on his budget request for 2016. the department asking for about a 9% increase with the largest increase in immigration, technology, prisons and local grants. >>> here are some of our featured programs for this weekend on the c-span networks. on book tv, saturday at 10:00 p.m. eastern offer afte

mr. chairman i will yield back my nine seconds. >> that's very thoughtful. senator blumenthal you have an extra nine seconds. >> thank you mr. chairman. i want to begin by thanking all three of you for your extraordinary service to our nation and admiral greenert particularly my personal thanks to you for your numerous visits to connecticut in your strong advocacy of our navy strength particularly when it comes to submarines. i know all of us on this committee and the american people join me in gratitude to you. i want to ask a question about submarines. the virginia model which i think is really critically important to the virginia class submarines that we are going to be procuring and as you know the virginia module add significantly to the number of tomahawks. i think it's 76%. .. >> >> and what is the timetable to make that determination? >> to make sure the staff knows how it is coming along. >> keep us informed. >> let me move to any issue that concerns all of you with the impact of post-traumatic stress for men and women in uniform general i know you have been very cogn

with that, i now turn to our distinguished ranking member for today, senator blumenthal. >> thanks, mr. chairman. and thanks for conducting this hearing in such a bipartisan and gracious way. first of all, i hope at some point we're going to clarify all this stuff about bulldogs and yellow jackets, and, i come from a state where we have a school that has a bulldog as a mascot but i don't think you're from that school. we welcome you anyway and today is a very proud one for me as a former united states attorney, and as a former attorney general of my state and one who like a number of us on this committee has a background in law enforcement, because i think you really epitomize the best of a public interest lawyer, and a law enforcer, fair, just, honest, as mr. lewis referred to you. and i also think that you have gained the respect of the people who are maybe the most critical judges, the folks who are on the streets, fbi agents, and dea enforcers, and postal inspectors, and secret service who have contacted our committee and who have spoken through others to say how much they have res

blumenthal. >> thank you mr. chairman thank you for working in a bipartisan way on this hearing of the bills that we will be considering relating to these issues. first of all thanks to all of you for being here today. chairman wheeler i appreciate your remarks about the wild and crazy ceos in the wild and crazy commissioners who might follow the present occupants of those offices. i want to assure you no one ever asks us about the wild and crazy senators that may follow up. i'm not going to go any farther with that. i want to express my strong support for the fcc's open internet order. this decision was unequivocal, emphatic and ethical and its effect. it was a victory for consumers and innovators. that's all too rare in washington these days and i know it will be challenged in the courts and i want to commit to you that i would be pleased to lead whatever amicus efforts may be necessary to support it. i believe there'll be a lot of support for such involvement by my colleagues and i believe it is strongly found

mr. chairman i'll yield back my nine seconds. >> that's very thoughtful. senator blumenthal, you have an extra nine seconds. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i want to begin by thanking all three of you for your extraordinary service to our nation. admiral greenert, particularly my personal thanks to you for your numerous visits to. connecticut and your strong advocacy of our navy strength particularly when it comes to submarines. i know that all of us on this committee and the american people join me in gratitude to you. i want to ask a question about submarines. the "virginia" payload model which i think is really critically important to the "virginia" class submarines that we're going to be procuring and, as you know the "virginia" payload module adds significantly to the number of tomahawks that can be prepared. i think it is 76%. which will be especially important at a time when the number of boats in our fleet diminishes to minimum or below minimum strength. so i am wondering whether there is the possibility that that acquisition program -- i know that the "virginia" payloa

mr. carter: true, but necessary. senator blumenthal: thank you, general. senator ayotte: i want to thank the chair and thank all of you for what you do for the country, and, secretary carter, i want to thank you very much for so quickly into after your confirmation of following through and meeting with the -- to hear their perspective on the air support on friday and for including me in that meeting. i appreciate your commitment to review the air force's decision on the a10 and appreciate your willingness to do that. so thank you very much. i wanted to follow up on the issue of ukraine on a different topic, and that is the issue of u.s. intelligence sharing, because there were reports recently in "the wall street journal" that really troubled me about what we are doing to help the ukrainians in terms of their defense, the information we can share with them to be able to minimize their casualties and defend the territory. and in that article, basically what it said is images are being degraded to avoid provoking russia and that what it was doing in terms of

blumenthal. >> thank you, senator lee. i have a question for mr. dowdle. in your testimony he talked about i think both the value of the consent decree get a and about the harm that would because if composure than publishers could withdraw from some of the rights without withdrawing all of their rights. you didn't address i don't believe the two changes that ascap and bmi have proposed to the content decrease bundling of additional rights, and arbitration. could you give us your view of those proposals because yes senator blumenthal. thank you. i gave the figure out of the room, i didn't address arbitration. arbitration is a poor is even a second choice, a very poor second choice to the system that we have now for these reasons. with an arbitrator you don't know who you're going to end up with whether even to know anything about the industry. and what you do know with the rate court that we have is that these courts have deep experience and a lot of history with these consent decrees. they understand the underlying dynamic that is going on. that's first. s

mr. blumenthal: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. blumenthal: thank you mr. president. this amendment helps to keep faith with our veterans and to make sure that we leave no veteran behind by reflecting and responding to their voices. and the message they've given us about the need for more and better health care relating to postpost-traumatic stress, treatment for military sexual trauma and the improvement of delivery of health care for them around the country. it also improves the job and training and rehabilitation -- the presiding officer: the senate will be in order. mr. blumenthal: -- job training and rehabilitation programs for our veterans and makes sure, among other provisions that there is greater accountability more funds in support for the inspector general of the v.a. so that we avoid the kinds of gaps and egregious shortcomings that we've seen in this past year and also improve the choice program that this congress passed. i urge my colleagues to join me in this bipartisan amendment. i thank senator moran and senator bal

mr. blumenthal: mr. president i want to thank my colleague from georgia for his leadership on this issue. he and i have cosponsored a bill that achieves this goal but this amendment is vitally important to advance public awareness and make our colleagues more aware of the importance of this very significant issue and i want to thank him for his leadership and courage. thank you. the presiding officer: the question is on the amendment. all in favor say aye. all those opposed no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the amendment is agreed to. there are now two minutes of debate prior to a vote on the stabenow amendment number 1072. the senator from michigan. ms. stabenow: thank you mr. president. i rise to ask the -- support for the stabenow-cantwell amendment. this addresses the cuts in the budget to medicare. medicare is a universal health care program as we know, and it's really a great american success story. everybody believes that. it protects americans from having their life savings wip