mr. booker: i pressure that very much, sir. i rise to speak against an amendment that is now pending to this bill that would block a rule that seeks to fulfill the promise of the fair housing act. this is an issue actually that's very deeply personal to me and one that really has defined my own personal history. i'd like to start by telling a story about 1969, just one year after the passage of the fair housing act, there was a couple here in washington, d.c., married with two boys that decided to move to new jersey. and in new jersey, they encountered a lot of what was called the practice called real estate steering where black couples were steered away from certain neighborhoods. they grew frustrated, realizing that they were being steered away from white neighborhoods, and they sought the help of the fair housing council. they set up an elaborate sting operation where my parents would go look at a home or this couple would go look at a home. they would then be followed by a white couple. the couple was told that the house wa

mr. booker: this is a fair and balanced rule that protects our nation's retirees and savers. it is a rule, in fact, that makes sure that amidst a retirement crisis in this country where people are having a harder and harder time making sure that after working a lifetime, they have the money they need to retire. it is bringing common sense back to that process. i officially -- firmly believe the conflict of interest rule should not be a partisan issue. that's because this rule really comes down to those fundamental ideas that really know no party bounds. again, the ideas for me are about honor and common sense. by honor i mean the idea that we are a country that believes every american deserves a fair opportunity to succeed. fairness is at the core of our nation's ideals. this idea that we are all bound to do what we can to identify and change systems that stack the deck against hard-working families that play by the rules. this body and its history has done so much to level the playing field and make sure that we have a free market and a fair market. it's because we as a nati

mr. booker's questioning. >> gentlemen, thank you very much for the ethical working out and do every day, the service you ready to a question at a grateful to you both. they were really colossal and consequential intelligence failures in our european allies about some of these horrific attacks to take place. for instance, we understand now the world a lot of gaps in the ability of eu member countries to collect information about people who traveled to fight with isis in transit, iraq and not even libya. even some of the countries themselves and we now know that belgium has got a lot of problems internally from a federal system divided by language, geography, culture. you are a different security agencies, three languages, seven parliaments and brussels has 1.2 million people. there are 19 communes, each with its own major administration. there are multiple communities that different from ours and our most of america's would find themselves as americans if you integrate into society. european muslims don't have the. there are a lot of challenges with our european allies. within the eu gene

mr. booker: this is a tremendous coalition but even more so for me as a relatively new senator. it's been one of the greatest privileges i've had in the senate to work together in such a cooperative way to bring about legislation that you really could build such a broad base of support. i really do applaud my colleagues. i applaud the chairman and the ranking member. i applaud all the members on the e.p.w. committee and others for working on a bill that really does earn in my opinion, speaking as a man from new jersey, that really does earn the right to have the name of my predecessor, frank lautenberg, on it. senator lautenberg was a giant in new jersey. he served this country with distinction. he was a veteran. he was a public servant. he actually ran a business and grew it to be a mighty one in my state and beyond. you cannot truly begin to appreciate the void that was left by him, but the great thing about it, that this champion of transportation, of infrastructure, of consumer safety, of fighting for his fellow citizens, that this champion's work where he began working in p

mr. booker: i rise today to discuss along with my friends and colleagues here on the senate floor also really what is a momentous anniversary in our country, the 62nd anniversary of the brown v. board of education decision is legacy and the work that still remains before us. i want to thank my colleagues for standing up and speaking on this anniversary and understanding that it was 62 years ago today that the supreme court unanimously affirmed that separate could never be equal, that under the law at the very least, every child born in america regardless of their -- of the color of their skin had the right to pursue equal -- pursue a quality education. the court found that separate coulding of children based on -- schooling of children based on their race was in direct violation of the 14th amendment of the constitution. the court's finding is perhaps best summarized by this excerpt from the justice warren's opinion when he said, we come then to the question presented, does segregation of children in public schools solely on the basis of race, even though the physical facilities and other tan