mr. murphy: thank you, senator blumenthal. i want to thank you for your work on the judiciary committee leading this fight to try to make sure that law enforcement has what it needs to protect this country. again, i spoke to this broader conversation about how you protect this country from domestic terrorist attacks. i think there are a lot of people who want to drill it down to only one silo of conversation. as i remarked at the beginning, some people want to make this just about the fight in the middle east. some people want to make this just about surveillance. other people want to make this just about gun laws. it's not any of those things. it's about a combination of efforts. so we have to admit that this fight against isis and against al qaeda in the areas in which they have large amount of control, that is an ongoing fight. and that is not going to be concluded tomorrow or next week or the month after. we think we're making dramatic progress but it's going to take us awhile. and as i remarked at the outset, it also mean

mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. i have a question which i will previoupreviouspreface. i thank him for his leadership. we have worked as a team on this issue of gun violence prevention and the fight against terrorism abroad and at home. and i want to thank our other colleagues who will be part of this effort. it is very much a team effort that we bring to the floor today involving our friend and distinguished colleague from new jersey, senator booker, senator feinstein who has worked so hard on this legislation before we arrived here, our colleague senator durbin who is with us now, senator schumer, so many of us who feel so deeply ch and i think for -- deeply, and i think for senator murphy and myself, the deeply emotional experience of orlando evoked the images and sounds and sights of newtown on that tragic day when both of us were there and witnessed the aftermath of 20 beautiful children and six great educators gunned down senselessly, needlessly in an act of unimaginable and unspeakable horror. this effort is more than about just words. this chamber is filled with

mr. blumenthal: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. i want to thanks, first of all, the chairman of the veterans affairs committee, senator isakson of georgia to say that he has been a leader, is certainly an understatement. he has devoted countless hours to forging a coalition in the best tradition of the united states senate, a bipartisan coalition that enabled us to bring together republicans and democrats unanimously on the veterans affairs committee and approving the veterans first bill for consideration by this body. my reason for being here today is to say to our colleagues we must move forward. we must seize this opportunity no matter which side of the aisle we may sit on to move this bill forward and keep faith with our veterans and leave no veteran behind and make sure that we honor their service by fulfilling our obligation to do our job. our job now is to make sure that we pass the veterans first bill. i have listened with interest to some of my colleagues' comment on a decision by the a

mr. blumenthal: mr. president, i strongly agree with colleagues who have supported effective, real measures to confront the spreading toll that dak is taking around the world and soon will take in even greater number and magnitude in this country. but we need effective solutions that we'll provide funding for research, eradication of mosquitoes, education of the public without harmful restrictions that prevent women from seeking family planning services. that in fact help to prevent the spread of zika. nowhere is the threat of zika greater than in puerto rico. that island has been particularly hard hit, and in fact the spreading financial crisis is combining with the spreading epidemic of zika to create a true humanitarian crisis. that crisis will only be aggravated and deepened by a failure to deal effectively with the financial default that faces the island in just a few days from now. on july 1, $2 billion of loans will come due, and puerto rico simply lacks the resources to pay those debts. it is ins

mr. murphy: there's not, senator blumenthal through the chair. that's the reason why we posited these to because we know they're noncontroversial in the american public. they enjoy broad bipartisan support. i would yield to the gentleman from new jersey, senator menendez for a question without losing my right to the floor. mr. menendez: i want to thank my colleague for yielding for a question. i want to thank him and my colleague from new jersey, senator booker, and also senator blumenthal for galvanizing the sentiment that has existed for some time among many of us that enough is enough, that it's outrageous that it took another mass shooting to bring us to this moment in the united states senate. you know, on sunday morning i woke up as did the nation heart broken by the news that 49 human beings were killed in another senseless act of violence. 49 people who were at a dance club celebrating pride week. by the way, most of them overwhelmingly latino. 49 americans celebrating in an environment that they felt safe and in an instant their lives we

mr. blumenthal: thank you, senator murphy. i join in thanking all the staff who have worked over this day and into the night and now into the next day at great personal sacrifice and at great benefit to the united states senate, and i want to thank my colleague, senator booker, for his he will acquiescence, his perseverance and dedication to this cause and of course senator murphy for his courage and strength in this cause that brings us here today, tonight, tomorrow and in the days ahead because this experience is, as he has said, only the next step, and this legislation is only the next step. we have talked a lot in great and some of it very powerful and compelling terms about what's at stake here. certainly the reason that we're here has to do with the deadliest mass shooting in the history of the united states. but the numbers are important. numbers are cold, hard and stark. 49 people were killed in that single attack in orlando, but in an ordinary day in america, dozens of people are shot without any notice. it's not a he

mr. blumenthal, for up to ten minutes. the presiding officer: is there objection? there objection? j. majority and minority leaders birthday and i move they be approved. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. isakson: mr. president, i find it unbelievable that today the united states senate said no to pregnant moms and veterans. the vote earlier to deny cloture on the v.a. milcon legislation and the zika virus is to say to pregnant moms in america we don't think the case of the zika virus is that important. you're going to have to run the risk yourself. and say to our van

mr. chair. >> senator blumenthal. >> welcome to the committee, mr. secretary. and i want to just agree with one of my colleagues that serving as united states attorney is probably the best job there is. next to serving as state attorney general. and i want to commend you for the extraordinary work you've done in your present position. also your exemplary record of public service and many other positions in the federal government. and thank you for emphasizing the very outset of your testimony, the increasing threat of isis inspired and supported terrorism around the world, including the threat in this country and public spaces and events. as we approach the july 4 weekend, the need for caution in many of our communities, and heightened vigilance and greater resources to agencies like yours that protect us in the face of the threat. and i know with great regret that the administration proposed budget for 2017 and its slashes funding for many transportation security related programs, all too often in this place as well as in the administration. we fail to match r

mr. blumenthal. thank you for your active participation in the committee and your interest in these issues. >> with an apparent lack of enforcement, the problems in this program have been persistent and prevalent. rife, the seem to be evidence is overwhelming. i want to ask to be inserted in to the record a couple of documents, one from the national recruitment working group, a coalition of civil rights groups. letter.ve submitted a we have asked of these letters be included in the record. the evidence shows that some employers have attempted to recruit american workers. they can commit wages and our violations. all of these abuses fly in the face of what the h-2b program is intended to do. they will help american businesses grow and thrive when there is no america to do with the job. cosigned with seven of my colleagues that would improve the program and serve its intended purpose. the obama administration has been thwarted by opposition in the senate. those rules have failed to have the full impact

mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. i have a question which i will previoupreviouspreface. i thank him for his leadership. we have worked as a team on this issue of gun violence prevention and the fight against terrorism abroad and at home. and i want to thank our other colleagues who will be part of this effort. it is very much a team effort that we bring to the floor today involving our friend and distinguished colleague from new jersey, senator booker, senator feinstein who has worked so hard on this legislation before we arrived here, our colleague senator durbin who is with us now, senator schumer, so many of us who feel so deeply ch and i think for -- deeply, and i think for senator murphy and myself, the deeply emotional experience of orlando evoked the images and sounds and sights of newtown on that tragic day when both of us were there and witnessed the aftermath of 20 beautiful children and six great educators gunned down senselessly, needlessly in an act of unimaginable and unspeakable horror. this effort is more than about just words. this chamber is filled with

mr. blumenthal: mr. president, i am pleased to follow my colleague and friend from new hampshire who served as attorney general of her state during part of the time that i served as attorney general in the state of connecticut, and we have in this body common ground in seeking more effective law enforcement solutions to all of the wh horrr and unspeakable violence that has so plagued our nation in recent years. but i cannot help but remark that we would not be having this debate but for an effort last week. in fact, a filibuster that took the floor under the leadership of my great colleague and friend, senator murphy, supported by senator booker and myself, and then by tens of other senators to make sure that we debate and that we vote. because our feeling was that there should be no business as usual on this appropriations bill, as important as it might be in the wake of the terrorist, extremist horror in orlando. we demanded action because america is demanding action. and we have been deluged before to

mr. blumenthal's book will be just outside, along with a signing. you feedback is personality.sit itate at printers row litfest.org to complete a survey. have a fantastic day. [inaudible conversations] >> you have been listennen to sidney blumenthal talk about his book on lincoln. more from chicago lift in just a few minutes. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> i enjoyed the book. >> thank you very much. >> you can just sign your name. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> are you here for a little while? >> i'm gone tomorrow. >> good to see you. >> yes. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> jefferson davis -- here's -- lincoln is a lawyer, and he is refuting point-by-point. the way lincoln does it. and that's sort of the hidden subtext of the second inaugural. kind of interesting. >> i look forward to reading it. always. ad to win. sometimes he l

mr. murphy: senator blumenthal, i don't think there is any more i can offer in an answer. you are both correct that it is both ironic and outrageous. i would yield to the senator from maryland for a question without losing my right to the floor. mr. cardin: mr. president, through the chair, i would like to inquire to my friend from connecticut the relationship here between the tragedies we've seen far too often in this country, most recently in orlando, but as senator murphy and senator blumenthal know all too well, newtown and virginia tech and the list goes on and on. the work that we have done in order to protect our homeland from radicalization, i would like to ask you that you have been one of the leaders on the senate foreign relations committee, senator merkley, and you have worked very hard to make sure that we have the very best intelligence information to keep our country safe, to support law enforcement against terrorists so that we do everything we can to make sure we identify those who could commit terrorist actions and take law enforcement action against thos

mr. blumenthal, recognize you. >> thank you. >> you slipped in quietly there. >> thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you for your active participation in the committee and your interest in these issues. >> thank you. i want to begin where senator tillis ended, with the apparent lack of enforcement. the problems in this program have been persistent and prevalent. the abuses seem to be rife. the evidence is overwhelming. i want to ask to be inserted in the record a couple of documents. one from the international labor recruiting -- recruitment working group, a coalition of anti-trafficking, labor and civil rights groups. which have it? ed submitter a letter and the afl-cio ask that these letters be included into the record if there's no objection. >> they'll be made part of the record. >> thank you. the evidence shows that some employers swear falsely that they've attempted to recruit american workers for these positions. others actively avoid hiring americans at no cost. still others commit wage and hour violations and subject foreign workers to inhumane conditions. all of these ab

mr. blumenthal. thank you for your active participation in the committee and your interest in these issues. >> with an apparent lack of enforcement, the problems in this program have been persistent and prevalent. rife, the seem to be evidence is overwhelming. i want to ask to be inserted in to the record a couple of documents, one from the national recruitment working group, a coalition of civil rights groups. letter.ve submitted a we have asked of these letters be included in the record. the evidence shows that some employers have attempted to recruit american workers. they can commit wages and our violations. all of these abuses fly in the face of what the h-2b program is intended to do. they will help american businesses grow and thrive when there is no america to do with the job. cosigned with seven of my colleagues that would improve the program and serve its intended purpose. the obama administration has been thwarted by opposition in the senate. those rules have failed to have the full impact

mr. murphy: i thank the senator and i want to thank senator booker and senator blumenthal for being here from the very beginning. this has been myrrh miraculous s own regard not to be -- to just be able to spend time with you but have the majority of the caucus come to the floor and express support for our determination to move forward this debate, to at the very least get votes, but really try to bring consensus around this issue. and senator booker, i don't think i'm breaking confidences to share that both he and i spoke at our meeting yesterday of democrats in which senator booker shared an immensely powerful series of stories about his experience as mayor of a grief-torn city, his direct personal intersection with friends, with neighbors who had lost their life. i know how deeply personally affected he has been. and i guess i tell you why i am doing this as a means of telling you why senator blumenthal and i are doing this, and i tell it through a prism of a story that just awful, awful series of days following the shootings in sandy hook. senator blumenthal and i went through the fi

mr. chairman. >> thank you senator blumenthal. >> thank you. >> senator coops. >> i wanted to follow up on this idea that the ideology is a trigger to violence and how aggressively or actively we should be going after an ideology rather than actions based on an ideology that mr. mccarthy suggested, and mr. mccarthy, i may have misunderstood but i thought i heard you say that the expansion. first amendment in cases during the 1960s to protect radical ideas was a mistake. is that correct? >> i did say that, yes. >> then let me just -- if i could, mr. cohen -- >> duo you want to -- duo you want me to explain what i meant by it? >> very concisely, if you would. >> sure. they carved out an exception for the advocacy of ideology that calls for the violent overthrow of the united states as if there were a firm difference between advocating and inciting it which i think has been much more difficult to apply than perhaps they thought. >> mr. cohen, you've dedicated most of your life to the pursuit of finding and closing down those who engage it, not just dangerous ideology but actions against other

senator blumenthal: mr. goodman, you had your hand up. think that one of the claims presented to the museum, they will take it to the legal department. the legal department will give the advice that this is not a claim that could be successful in court. then the museum feels that their main duty is to the collection, to preserve their collection. and since there is no viable legal claim, they feel already hesitant to even review the claim. if the here act would remove that obstacle and would allow the leaders of the museum to hear a legal advice which would be, yes, this is a valid claim and you may lose it in court, then they would be much more willing to sit down and reach a fair and reasonable resolution. senator blumenthal: i have one more question for mr. goodman and aim mirren. and beingur story very familiar with the story told in the movie, i take it that, in neither of these cases was there any kind of delay, which is the purpose of the statute of limitations, to prevent, in other words, delay in making claims are taking advantag

blumenthal: thanks, mr. chairman. i want to pursue the line of questioning that senator nelson raised. and begin by saying, i think the american public would be aghast and appalled that recalls have not been extended to cars on lots right now. cars that they are buying that in effect are subject to the same safety defects as the cars under recall. or to put it differently that they're buying defective cars simply because they haven't been told they're under recall. and if there is a need to change the law or start an education campaign, i say this to you, mr. secretary, because i know your heart's in the right place, and i respect immensely the higher standard of safety and diligence that you brought to the department of transportation during your tenure there. shouldn't the consent order be amended again right away or other tools used to stop the sale of these cars with these potentially deadly safety defects? sec. foxx: well, we did have a bit of this colloquy before. i don't believe we have the authority to do that

mr. goodman. >> thank you, chairman cruz, senator blumenthal, all the members of the committee. i'm grateful for this opportunity to testify in support of the holocaust expropriated art recovery act. for the last 20 years i have dedicated my life to recovering my grandfather's art collection lost between 1940 and 1945. he was murdered in april 1944. but it was not until 1994 when my father died and i inherited his response that i became aware of my father's solitary and largely unsuccessful quest to regain his own father's dispersed collection. my father never shared with me what he was doing. it was probably too painful. my father did survive the war in britain, although badly wounded during the war. as soon as victory was e declared, he returned to the netherlands only to find his parents gone and the family home stripped bare. in addition, almost all my grandfather's letters, documents, photos concerning the art collection had been destroyed by the nazis. his library was also shipped to germany. my father's only recourse was to try to sketch from memory. the government's affe

blumenthal: thanks, mr. chairman. i want to pursue the line of questioning that senator nelson raised. and begin by saying, i think the american public would be aghast and appalled that recalls have not been extended to cars on lots right now. cars that they are buying that in effect are subject to the same safety defects as the cars under recall. or to put it differently that they're buying defective cars imply because they haven't been told they're under recall. and if there is a need to change the law or start an education campaign, i say this to you, mr. secretary, because i know your heart's in the right place, and i respect immensely the higher standard of safety and diligence that you brought to the department of transportation during your tenure there. shouldn't the consent order be amended again right away or other tools used to stop the sale of these cars with these potentially deadly safety defects? sec. foxx: well, we did have a bit of this colloquy before. i don't believe we have the authority to do that.

blumenthal. >> thank you, mr. chairman, and thank you for enabling us to participate. we learned quite a bit actually. >> so i gathered. thank you. and the reason is that we have a very distinguished panel, and thank you for having this hearing, and thank you all for being here today. i don't need anybody here that during emergencies, local resources are strained and communities depend on the sport of outside organizations in addition to first responders, the united way, the red cross, all kinds of organizations that play a vital role in protecting property and restoring and maintaining the health and safety of individuals. one example, when connecticut's shoreline was ravaged recently by superstorm sandy, disaster relief organizations mobilized quickly. they helped displace families. they provided them with food and shelter, at the nonprofit united way of connecticut supports the states 211, a 24/7 health and human services information and referral helpline which plays a critical role in the kinds of emergencies that we encountered in superstorm sandy, and other disas

blumenthal. >> thank you, mr. chairman, and thank you for enabling us to participate. >> we learned quite a bit, actually. >> so i gathered. thank you. and the reason is we have a very distinguished panel. and thank you for having this hearing and thank you all for being here today. i don't need to tell anybody here that during emergencies, local resources are strained and communities depend on the support of outside organizations in addition to first responders, the united way, the red cross, all kinds of organizations that play a vital role in protecting property and restoring and maintaining the health and safety of individuals. one example, when connecticut's shoreline was ravaged recently by superstorm sandy, disaster relief organizations mobilized quickly. they helped displaced families. they provided them with food and shelter. and the non-profit united way of connecticut supports the state's 211, a 24/7 health and human services information and referral help line, which plays a critical role in the kinds o

senator blumenthal. >> thanks, mr. chairman. i want to pursue the line of questioning that senator nelson raised and begin by saying i think the american public would be aghast and appalled that recalls have not been extended to cars on lots right now that they are buying that in effect are subject to the same safety defects as the cars under recall or to put it differently that they're buying defective cars simply because they haven't been told they're under recall. and if there is a need to change the law or start an education campaign i say this to you, mr. secretary, because i know your heart's in the right place, and i respect immensely the higher standard of safety and diligence that you brought to the department of transportation during your tenure there. shouldn't the consent order be amended again right away or other tools used to stop the sale of these cars with these potentially deadly safety defects? >> well we did have a bit of this colloquy before. i don't believe we have the authority to do that. >> why not? >> be

mrs. clinton along with her primary lynch minh sidney blumenthal struck out at these women, legitimate claims her husband of sexual harassment, a abuse and so on. >> and made the statement earlier in the year, women who are abused have a right to be believed, except in the case of those that make allegations against her husband, and there are so many, you can understand maybe one instance, two instances of people maybe going after a public figure, but when there's that much smoke and i've interviewed them, they all have credibility to me. doesn't there have to be fire? >> yes. mrs. clinton has a lot of challenges and problems but one of her biggest issues is her hypocrisy. and yet with the women closest to her husband, arguably, in many ways consensual and some not, she sought to destroy those women and ruin their lives. this is a track record that she should be held to account. by the way, trump is the first really big conservative, or big republican to tell the truth about mrs. clinton and her husband. >> monica, thank you for joining us. we appreciate it. joining us now is columnist, autho

mrs. clinton along with her primary lynch minh sidney blumenthal struck out at these women, legitimate claims against her husband of sexual harassment, a abuse and so on. >> and made the statement earlier in the year, women who are abused have a right to be believed, except in the case of those that make allegations against her husband, and there are so many, you can understand maybe one instance, two instances of people maybe going after a public figure, but when there's that much smoke and i've interviewed them, they all have credibility to me. doesn't there have to be fire? >> yes. mrs. clinton has a lot of challenges and problems but one of her biggest issues is her hypocrisy. you see it in the treatment of women by her us a and of course by herself. look, she pioneered this idea that as the first woman president, or as a female secretary of state, a female senator, that she was going to be the voice for women and girls around the world, and as first lady, actually, sean, remember she gave that famous speech in beijing, china, talking about women's rights being human rights and yet with t

senator blumenthal: thank you, mr. chairman and the ranking member for having this important hearing. i had your job in connecticut for four and a half years, and it is the best job in the world -- >> yes, it is. maybe onlymenthal: second to being attorney general in the state, but one of the things i did was to actually try drug cases as a united states lessons froming my the then u.s. attorney from the southern district of new york bob fiske a number of the cases we did with the da. i was grateful and amaze but -- and amazed the wife the extreme eric urgent heroism of the dea agents. granted thate for walk into situations where gunfire is as likely as somebody opening the door area they often operate in hostile environments where they are held accountable, but no one else is. i just want to thank all of the law enforcement agents -- federal, state, local, who do this work, because it is challenging and demanding and they are on the lines. but of course, we are not going arrest or jail our way out of this crisis. , yo

mr. goodman. >> thank you, chairman cruz, senator blumenthal, senator tillis, all the members of the committee. i am grateful for this opportunity to testify in support of the holocaust expropriated art recovery act. my name is simon goodman and for the last 20 years i've dedicated my life to recovering my grandfathers art collection lost between 1940-1945. fritz was murdered in apri april 1944. but it was not until 1994 when my father died and i inherited his correspondent that i became aware of my father's solitary, and largely unsuccessful, quest to regain his own father's dispersed collection. my father never shared with me what he was doing. it was probably too painful. my father did survive obviously the war in britain. although badly wounded during the war. as soon as it was declared he returned to the netherlands only to find his parents gone and the family home stretch there. in addition almost all my grandfathers letters, documents, photos concerning the art collection of been destroyed by the nazis. his library was also shipped to germany. my father's only recourse was to try to ske

mr. chairman, senator cruz, blumenthal and introducing this bipartisan legislation. thank you very much. >> thank you, ambassador lauder. dame mirren? you have to press the red button on you to turn the microphone on. >> i'm helen mirren and i'm a actor who protrayortrayed the wn gold. i'll explain a little bit. this is the true story of a woman who overcame enormous odds and righted a wrong that had stood for decades. 60 years after fleeing vienna during the nazi era, ms. altman who was by then an elderly jewish woman began a many years long journey to reclaim family possessions seized by the nazis, among them was a famous painting. which was a painting of her aunt. so the fight to reclaim what was rightfully hers was forced her to fight the austrian establishment and to take her case to the u.s. supreme court. on a more personal level, maria had to confront those terrible memories of her -- the end of her family life in vienna, returning to the country she'd been forced to flee by the nazis and reliving the pain of having everything she held dear being ripped away

author sidney blumenthal discusses his book. mr. earnest: you will have an opportunity to hear more from the president on tuesday at the conclusion of the counterisil meeting that he will convene. we aren't going to take a lot of questions. you want to start. reporter: the president's decision to allow efforts against the taliban in afghanistan, we are focusing on the taliban there and al qaeda and other extremist groups, the president will be more likely to approve more than 5,500 troops to invade? mr. earnest: it does not and for a variety of reasons i will explain. i would encourage you to not try to interpret anything about a future potential decision on troop numbers with the new authorities that have been given to our forces who are in afghanistan. let me explain to you why. the mission that our men and women in afghanistan have been iven and then conducting since 2015 is not any different today than it was yesterday. this mission is focused on two things. one is carrying out counterterrorism operations to protect the american

blumenthal. >> thank you, and thank you for you and the ranking member for having this important hearing. mr. hartunian, i had your job in connecticut for four and a half years and it is the best job in the world. scombl >> yes, it is. >> maybe only second to being continue general of the state but one of the things i did was actually try drug cases as united states attorney taking my lessons from the then u.s. attorney in the southern district of new york kyle fits. a number of the cases i tried we did with the d.e.a. i was grateful and amazed by the extraordinary courage and heroism of the d.e.a. agents. people take for granted that the d.e.a. agents walk into situations where gunfire is as likely as somebody opening the door. they often operate in hostile environments where they are held accountable but no one else is. i just want to thank you all of the law enforcement agents, federal, state, local, who do this work because it is challenging and demanding and they are on the front lines. but of course, we are not going to arrest or jail our way out of this crisis. mr. botticelli, you have

blumenthal and senator booker are joining me is we've had enough. we've had enough of these shootings, enough of this talk. we think it's time for action and time for action now. mr. manchin: i want to thank the senator for answering the questions we've had the floor to senator booker. mr. booker: senator murphy, i want to thank you very much for what i think has been one of the more remarkable exhibitions of grit and toughness. you have not only been on your feet, not only have not left the floor to use the facilities, but you have stood in the saddle and have been for this entire time, as your colleagues have flowed through this chamber, you have been answering question after question after question after question on a topic that you are passionate about, on a topic that you feel deeply and personally. and i just want to thank you for your leadership because it's captured the attention of our nation. this filibuster right here -- i know a little bit about social media. this filibuster right here has been the focus, trending on twitter, the focus of facebook. it has created a media attention on a problem because in a sense you're giving hope. your very intention

mr. murphy: i thank the senator and i want to thank senator booker and senator blumenthal for being here from the very beginning. this has been myrrh miraculous s own regard not to be -- to just be able to spend time with you but have the majority of the caucus come to the floor and express support for our determination to move forward this debate, to at the very least get votes, but really try to bring consensus around this issue. and senator booker, i don't think i'm breaking confidences to share that both he and i spoke at our meeting yesterday of democrats in which senator booker shared an immensely powerful series of stories about his experience as mayor of a grief-torn city, his direct personal intersection with friends, with neighbors who had lost their l

mrs. clinton and her long time aide cheryl mills were in fact destroyed, bill. bill: what are we learning about the confidante, sidney blumenthalporter: blumenthal is a central figure in emails. you recall he testified on he benghazi select committee for seven hours because he was prolific writer of emails and policy advice even though he was banned by the obama white house from officially joining clinton's team at state department. with more than 2100 classified emails and 22 at top secret level, blumenthal told fox news he didn't need security clearance nor did he have one. >> well i was not, i was here friend and i had no security clearance, nor did i seek it, nor did anyone anyone send me anything that was classified. so i had no access to, nor did i send or receive any classified material. reporter: of course the classification issue and what was classified at the time is at the heart of the fbi probe. blumenthal also told fox news he is confident that the fbi director james comey will issue a statement that the bureau found no evidence intent to move classified information outside secure government networks. that this was

mr. president. i want to thank my colleagues on the veterans' affairs committee for their work on the veterans first act. i just left this committee where chairman isakson and senator blumenthalre in their typical bipartisan way working together with the v.a. to improve veterans health care and i'm appreciative of that. they will be on the floor later this afternoon to urge the senate to move quickly on this legislation. this comprehensive bipartisan will bring vets and their families k expanded benefits that will ensure the v.a. has the resources to provide veterans with the highest quality of care. no veteran should place -- should face exploitation by for-profit colleges, inadequate care or life on the street. we address all these issues with this bill. this bill will expand educational opportunities for veterans and their families including my constituent melissa twine. ms. twine is an air force veteran from bat taeuf i can't, east of cincinnati in clairmont county. her husband, captain twine died serving our country in the air force. the frye scholarship provides g.i. benefits. however, when congress extended the benefits to spouses and the veterans access choice and acc

mrs. america, the time has come to do something about it. this is just one piece of it. it should be the easiest piece has senator blumenthal and senator mercy murphy and senator book book or know well. it deals with potential terrorists. the potential person that is going to go in and create a massive act of violence. this is not a safer world than it was when we began. it is a much more dangerous world. my hope is when this comes up for a vote, which i think will likely be next tuesday, we, we will have the votes to defeat it i just can't tell you how strongly i feel about being able to stand with this group of senators, particular particularly those who are willing to go down there and spend 15 hours on the floor of the united states senate. mr. and mrs. california, please hear us. we are trying to do the right thing. now, i would like to introduce a relative newcomer, but somebody that cares deeply and represents a great steak and that senator baldwin. >> i have seldom been at a press conference where i have seen so many in the audience including the media wiping where tears and holding back tears. it bears repeating th

. >> thank you very much, i had a hint that senators blumenthal" bashar might might be on their way. >> thank you mr. chairman and thank you for enabling us to participate. we learned quite a bit. the reason is, we have a very distinguished panel and thank you for having this hearing and thank you for all being here today. i don't need to tell anybody here that during emergency, local resources are strained and communities depend on the support of outside organizations in addition to first responders and the united way and the red cross and all kinds of organizations that play a vital role in protecting property and restoring the maintaining the health and safety of individuals one example is when super storm sandy hit they mobilized quickly and helped displace family and provided them with food and shelter in the nonprofit united way of connecticut supports the state. : >> as to what entities will be able to use first that. i'm i'm concerned about that fact, in fact according to the statute, for all public safety entity shall have access but it is not clear what that term means. all public safety e

blumenthal for joining me in introducing this bipartisan piece of legislation. and i hope the senate judiciary committee will mark this up soon and the full chamber will consider it soon. separately, mr. president, as we continue our work on the defense authorization bill, i just want to talk for a moment about how important that is. yesterday i spent some time talking about the threat, threats not only to our troops overseas who are in harm's way but those of us here at home are experiencing as a result of a more diversified array of threats than we've ever seen in the last -- certainly in the last 50 years. i say 50 years, that's because the director of national intelligence james clapper has served in the intelligence community for about 50 years and that's what he said. we have a more diverse array of threats today than he has seen in his whole 50-year career. and that includes, of course, here at home. because it's not just people traveling from the middle east to the united states or people coming from the united states over to the middle east training and then coming back. it's also about homegrown terrorists, people who are inspired by the use of social media and essentially

mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. i ask that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. the amendment that i offered, blumenthal 4255, will not be made pending, but i want to emphasize the importance of the amendment and hope that i can work with my colleagues on the substance of it because it is so profoundly important to fairness in the workplace and protection of american workers. my friend and colleague, the senator from washington, patty murray, has spoken on this issue within the last few minutes, and i join her in supporting the critical executive order issued by the president called the fair pay a safe workplaces executive order. this effort requires companies doing business by the federal government to disclose whether they violated any of the 14 long-standing labor laws protecting american workers included in this executive order. there's no requirement to disclose a mere allegation or a claim of a violation of one of those laws. rather, the

blumenthal. and i would retain the time for the debate on our side. mr. grassley: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: before i speak, i ask unanimous consent that i be permitted to speak for up to 20 minutes to be followed by senators nelson and murphy for 5 minutes each. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. grassley: mr. president, would you please tell me when i've used 17 minutes, and then i want to reserve 3 minutes for the senator from pennsylvania to follow me with his 37 minutes. the presiding officer: the chair will do so. mr. grassley: i want to express my unwavering support for those who were killed or wounded in orlando and for their families, friends and loved ones and community members. this terrorist attack represents a great tragedy and an affront to our way of life and very existence as americans. i will do all i can as chairman of the judiciary committee to support and give the f.b.i. the tools the f.b.i. needs to investigate the circumstances of this attack by a radical islamist terrorist. all a