mr. collins: mr. speaker, by the direction of the committee on rules, i call up house resolution 688 and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house calendar number 108. resolved, lution 688, that at any time after adoption of this resolution the speaker may, pursuant to clause 2-b of rule 18, declare the house resolved into the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of the bill h.r. 4890, to impose a ban on the payment of bonuses to employees of the internal revenue service until the secretary of the treasury develops and implements a comprehensive customer service strategy. the first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. general debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on ways and means. after general debate t

mr. collins and ranking member conyers, chairman goodlatte and mr. jeffries and the sponsors of the senate bill, senators hatch and coons. the bill we are considering today represents the culmination of over two years of negotiations with various stakeholders -- 30 seconds. mr. conyers: 30 more seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. nadler: this bill represents over two years of negotiations with the various stakeholders and strong bipartisan with 164 co-sponsors in the house and 65 in the senate. this is good legislation that carefully balances the rights of defendants. the senate passed the bill 87-0 and with passage today here we can send it straight to the president's desk. i urge my colleagues to support the bill and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from virginia is recognized. mr. goodlatte: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. conyers: mr. speaker, i rec

mr. collins, for his leadership on this legislation. thank you, mr. speaker. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from indiana is recognized. mr. carson: thank you, mr. speaker. 4224, support h.r. 46 -- which designates the united states courthouse in gainesville, georgia, as the sidney oslin smith jr. federal building and united states courthouse. judge smith served as a federal district court judge in the northern district of georgia and was a world war ii veteran. judge smith graduated from harvard university and the university of georgia law school. after graduating from law school, judge smith went into private practice, as was noted, and he practiced until 1962 and was later elected as the superior court judge in georgia. in 1965, mr. speaker, judge smith was appointed as a district court judge and was later elevated to chief judge. judge smith stepped down from a federal bench in 1974, as was noted, and returned to private practice as a partner in an atlanta law firm. in

mr. schiller. >> chairman collins, ranking member mccaskill -- >> we can tell you we've seen his commentsn just a paragraph or two with interesting remarks he made. meg is in washington with more. >> that's right, kelly, we just heard mike pearson's opening statements expressing his regrets that the company made in drastically raising the price of products. he's trying to rectify that by providing discounts to hospitals and patient assistance programs. the first part of this hearing is spent dismantling that approach by valeant. a woman spoke to the press about it and valeant contacted her. we also heard from a hospital who said they are not getting these discounts. it seems like mr. collins and senator mccaskill are seeking to dismantle this. >> meg, what power -- hang on. >> thank you for the opportunity to testify and to address your questions today. i'm the ceo of pershing square capital management, an investment firm i founded in 2003. pershing square manages publicly traded fund. public pension plans universities and endowments, foundations and individuals. pershing square is highly

mr. collins: i recognize 11 young men and women from my district who attended one of our four. united states service academies provide outstanding opportunities to gain the skills necessary to serve their country. it is my time to congratulate each one of these. jake could be, tiffany, corey will be attending air force academy. jonathan will be attending the united states military academy, jaunch attending the united states merchant marine academy. and austin will be attending the naval prep pa tower school in rhode island. i thank them for the impact they will have. i would like to thank one of our interns who will be leaving us next week and all the work he has done in our office and we look forward to seeing him back in the district. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? >> permission to address the house for one minute, revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. >> i rise a gentleman who has dedicated our life to serving our na

mr. collins point on speculation it is like and hydra there are two people moving into units they want to live and probably people gaming the system the issue there is no follow-up i keep on i had zircon with my niece and a sister-in-law and we have no idea iowa's what happened to that unit it would be airbnb and lack of follow-up legislatively what can we do common sense we're doing it with the parking spaces that sarah jones proposed and monitored truly the spaces are there and that the migration measures are in place place. >> i wish the rent board we're here they'll been the board of supervisors hearing but just for clarification the numbers that were used in - were eviction notices that is the data that we are able to get from the rent board. evictions we don't know how many evictions occur aside from evictions notices or if the eviction notices are carried out one thing for sure if it is ericed out it is removed from the market and converted into condos and if they're afraid dooshdz they're removed from the rental market the omis are different the owners can move in and if at the mo

mr. collins comments the other example that was not mentioned the removal of embarcadero freeway with 35ercent housing solution all of the factors will be take into consideration an important opportunities for the city because this is where all the rail infrastructure comes together and the land use and density are greatest in that part of city. >> excellent and the one late the comment with respect to a second transbay connection i mean, i think that state might not be something we need right now but any of us it commute across the bay we're at our breaking point and at some point we'll get to the place we need to figure that and i will hope that as you're going through the alternatives thinking of a way to make sure the one that is suitable for this connection. >> you're right may not be needed today but were planning for thirty years we have to figure it now so thank you. >> i'll be 101 by then john. >> you'll ride for free (laughter) two things i'd like to say mr. pilpal was not wrong about the agreement of the transbay joint powers authority board that lands my understanding refresh

. >> senator collins -- >> if you had an opportunity to vote for mr. garland, would you consider voting for him or would you vote for him? >> would i in fact -- >> would you vote for him if you had the opportunity ? >> it's premature for me to reach that conclusion. whenever there has been a nominee to the supreme court, i always wait until after the public hearings are held before reaching a decision. that's only prudent, because after public hearings, you have a far better sense of the nominee. we covered a lot of ground in our hour-long meeting. but obviously, public hearings with many senators posing questions allows for far more in-depth review of the qualifications, decisions, philosophy of the nominee. >> how disappointed are you at the stance of no hearing stance? >> in my time in the senate, i have always found that whether it's legislation, nominations or treaties, that we are best served by following the regular order that produces better bills, it makes sure that nominees are fully vetted and that, to me, is the way that we should proceed.

collins: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator maine. ms. collins: mr. president, i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mrs. gillibrand: mr. president? i ask unanimous consent to vitiate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. gillibrand: thank you. mr. president, after another whole year, a very unfortunate milestone has once again arrived. today is equal payday. this is the day in 2016 when the average working woman after all last year and the first three months of this year, finally earns as much money as the average man did only during last year. so if you started the clock in 2015 the average woman had to work an extra 103 days to earn the same amount of money as a man. imagine two people who were both hired at a company. they both work hard, they have the same amount of experience, psalm amount of qualifications -- same amount of qualifications but they have one very important difference: one of those workers is a man and the other is a woman. as a result, they w

mr. speaker. i rise to honor the life and legacy of a dear friend, john collins. john was a man of unwavering courage and dedication to our community and our country. at a very young age, john answered the patriotic call to join our proud marine corps where he served for 23 years. during that time john fought in the korean war and was promoted on the battlefield from sergeant to lieutenant. in 1971 after retiring from the military as a major, john moved to florida where he began another successful career with the miami-dade police department, where he served 26 years. john was dedicated to his wife, mary, a good friend, with whom he celebrated 50 years of marriage this past september. and he loved their three sons and seven grandsons, three of whom continue john's legacy of service in our military. john collins stayed engaged in good causes in our community, joining the veterans committee in his hometown of miami lakes. may god bless and keep john collins in his bosom and may his memory live forever in the hearts of those he knew. semper fi. thank you so much, mr.

mr. trump. congressman chris collins. thank you very much.e. >>> and making a good argument why new york is so important. a metaphor effect of issues here reflecting what's going on around the around and a lot of delegates. you can only take so much from the pundits and politicians. this comes down to you. the real people. the voters. what matters most? what's influencing you? what's bothering you? we speak to this good-looking, res lute and yet some undecided new yorkers, when we come back. they'll always be our babies. so there will be things to keep us up at night. will they find happiness? reach their potential. stay safe. fall in love. but tonight johnson's can help with a bedtime routine clinically proven to help them fall asleep faster. and stay asleep longer. there will be things to keep us up. but tonight, we sleep. when systems can help sense your surroundings. and when cameras change your perspective. that's the more human side of engineering. experience what a lincoln can do for you at the lincoln spring collection event. your cho

mr. president. [applause] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ senator susan collins news conference on meeting

. >> senator collins -- >> if you had an opportunity to vote for mr. garland, would you consider voting for him or would you vote for him? >> would i in fact -- >> would you vote for him if you had the opportunity ? >> it's premature for me to reach that conclusion. whenever there has been a nominee to the supreme court, i always wait until after the public hearings are held before reaching a decision. that's only prudent, because after public hearings, you have a far better sense of the nominee. we covered a lot of ground in our hour-long meeting. but obviously, public hearings with many senators posing questions allows for far more in-depth review of the qualifications, decisions, philosophy of the nominee. >> how disappointed are you at the stance of no hearing stance? >> in my time in the senate, i have always found that whether it's legislation, nominations or treaties, that we are best served by following the regular order that produces better bills, it makes sure that nominees are fully vetted and that, to me, is the way that we should proceed.

collins: the big change was in the attitudes of the people who testified from valeant, three people including mroposed all of these individuals and interviewed them at great length, reviewed hundreds of thousands of pages of documents, we did not hear any expressions of regret. now, i'm glad they have changed their attitude and are now conceding that the price, the outrageous price tags were not justified. there is one really interesting study that was done when valeant was looking to acquire these two parts, medications. that if theysaid increase the price by 60%, they can more than recoup their investment and be very profitable. but they did not do that. instead they increase the price by over 320% in one case and over 700% in another. it's hard to conclude anything other than pure greed being at work here. lisa: senator susan collins, thank you. earnings and deals stealing the spotlight today. there's a lot of it going on in the health care space. our senior market correspondent, julie hyman, has the spider sectors report. julie: more than $40 billion announced, the preponderance of them is i

mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the following amendments be called up and reported by number: wyden number 3499, as poddified, collins number 3508, tester number 3505. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. the clerk will report. by number. the clerk: the senator from south dakota, mr. thune, proposes for other senators amendments number 3499 as modified, 350 and 3505. mr. thune: i also ask unanimous consent that the senate now vote on these amendments as well as the heller amendment 3495 and the casey-toomey amendment number 3458 as modified, en bloc. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. thune: i know of no further debate on these amendments. the presiding officer: is there further debate? if not, all in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the amendments are agreed to en bloc. mr. thune: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes eemp. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: mr. president, i furthe

mr. lopez sanchez to question him. to search him. to do certain things short of arresting him. >> after listening to arguments judge collins denied the motion to dismiss saying he agreed with prosecutors that there was enough probable cause to arrest lopez sanchez. that police relied on witness accounts and cell phone image where citizens actually pointed out the suspect to officers. >> police armed with cell phone photo of lopez sanchez arrested him block away from pier 14 where the shooting happened. now that the question of the arrest has been resolved by the court lopez sanchez lawyers will focus on the defense that the shooting was an accident. during the preliminary hearing former crime lab chief testified that the bullet hit the ground. ricocheted and then hit kate steinly. >> we are not aware of any other case in the history of san francisco involving a ricochet being the basis for a murder charge. >> more hearings are scheduled before the trial begins. vic lee, abc 7 news. >> embarcadero might not survive the next big earthquake that's according to newly released rovrment issue is with the century old sea wall that you are l

mr. president, the biggest mistake you ever made upon coming to power in 2000 was letting it be known that you liked phil collins music. the british rocker. and he looked at me kinda weird. but i said, no, because that information was disseminated and it reinforced this image, this mythology that was building in the west that because he was an of that will molgs, non-traditional path to power, because he spent 18 months in london, studying ophthalmology. >> his father hadn't trained him the way his brother trained. >> he had several years after basil, although he was being groomed even though they deny it. he was supposed to be this modernizer and reformer, because of this unusual background. what people don't understand and what a lot of us have been saying for years is that, he's a child of the arab israeli conflict, the superpower cold war, leb anonlebanon, and hafa more than 18 months in london, phil collins music and other things from the west. so there was this image that was totally inconsistent with reality and the reality of the syrian system. so when the expectations were not met, certainly in the west

mr. president, the biggest president you made upon come to power in 2007 was letting it be known that you like phil collins music, the british rocker. he looked at me weird. i said, because that information was disseminated and reinforced this mythology that was building in the west, that because he was an ophthalmologist, nontraditional path to power, spent 18 months in london -- amy: his father had not trained him to be a dictator, the way his older brothers were. david: he was being groomed, although they deny it. he was supposed to be this modernized reformer that was going to make peace with israel and the u.s. because of this unusual background. what people did not understand and what a lot of people have been saying for years, he is a child of the arab-israeli conflict, he is a child of the -- that is what change his worldview more than 18 months in london, phil collins, and the technological plays of the west. that was this image totally inconsistent with reality, and the reality of the syrian system, when these expectations were not met in the west, therefore the disappointment was that much great

mr. polis: i thank the gentleman. i believe our startup communities will be strengthened, startup ecosystems like the ones that i'm proud to say exist in towns like fort collins and bowleder in my district can be made more -- bolder in my district can be made -- boulder can be made more diverse by this law, and those in the room can expand opportunity beyond people who are already millionaires and billionaires. i urge my colleagues to vote yes and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from california is recognized. ms. waters: i continue to reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman continues to reserve. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. hensarling: mr. speaker, we have no further speakers and i believe we have the right to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california is recognized. ms. waters: thank you very much. mr. speaker, and members, we've heard a lot of conversation from the opposite side of the aisle about what the s.e.c. has done or has not done. as a matter of fact, it was represented that the s.e.c.

collins. how likely is it this primary season will end in a contested convention in cleveland? >> well, you know, wolf, none of us know for sure where we're headed. but i do know mr9th is going to win, if not all of the delegates in new york, pretty much all of them. his support here is just through the roof. pick up 95 delegates here. he's going to do extraordinarily well in pennsylvania, new jersey. he does have a road to 1,237. it's going to be a tough road. but, you know, i think right now he's got the team put together. he's made a few changes. i think he's pivoting, if you will, to making sure he does get to 1,237. only time will tell. >> in order to get all 95 delegates in new york state, he's got to get more than 50%. plus, he's got to win in every congressional district. what i hear you saying, you think that's doable? >> oh, there's no question it's doable. you know, some of the other statements the other candidates have made does not exactly endear them to new yorkers. we tend to be a group of pretty independent minded individuals, and, you don't like it when someone takes a backhanded slap at you. but i'd say he has a very, very good chance to win all

mr. ackman at his word. he promised that he would bring the board together today to discuss the drug pricing, and i am very pleased that our hearing has had that effect. >> senator collinsning right after the hearings last night. >>> coming up, breaking economic news. first read on first quarter gdp might not be a great print. minutes away. >>> coming up, going for growth, breaking economic news. first read on the first quarter gdp numbers. and instant market reaction. steve liesman standing by. handing it over to joe and kelly. "squawk" returns in just a moment. >>> welcome back. just seconds away from the first read on the nation's first quarter gdp and the weekly jobless claims. futures under pressure after the bank of japan didn't deliver the stimulus or actions many were expecting. dow poised to open lower, 129. right to the numbers. see how they move markets with rick santelli. >> first look at first quarter gdp. always a biggie. we were looking for up .7. survey says up .5. this is where it was hovering with atlanta for a while. upgraded a bit on numbers like a smaller trade deficit. but of course, that follows the 1.4, which is unrevised. and it is the smallest

collins of maine has recommended for offshore wind research. within the priorities in the bill, we've already put $80 million, and this would add $15 million more, which may not seem like much, mr. president, but here is my question. i wonder if the american taxpayers wouldn't think that $32 billion is enough to spend on giant wind mills? $32 billion. that's the amount that the congressional research service has said that congress has spent of taxpayers' money to subsidize wealthy people so they can build giant wind turbines across america. of that money has been spent from 1992 through 2016 this year. it was started out as an effort to help wind turbines get started in 1992, and it's been renewed ten times. you would think this is a mature industry. in fact, the previous energy secretary said it was. what do we get for this $23 billion? $23 billion? 4% of our electricity in the united states is introduced by wind turbines. this is a country that uses 25% of all the electricity in the world. we spent $23 billion for 4% of our electricity. 37% of all the subsidies, all the spending we have for energy, different forms of energy produces 4% of the electricity. mr. president, the p