mr. cornyn: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent to engage in a colloquy with my colleagues, the senator from illinois and the senator from ohio and i think we're going to be joined by the senator from south dakota and perhaps others. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: mr. president before i turn to senator portman, i just want to put up a quote from one of the leaders of the antitrafficking movement, the coalition against trafficking in women who expresses my sentiments exactly my frustration over a partisan filibuster of a piece of legislation which has enjoyed broad bipartisan support and how somehow that partisanship has infected what should be a bipartisan commitment to helping the victims of human trafficking. she said senate democrats are choosing a fan tomorrow -- chiewtion a phantom problem over real victims. i think that expresses the fact and my sentiments. but i want to turn to the senator from ohio first who has been one of the leaders in this effort. he has offered

mr. cornyn: i thank -- mr. president. i express my gratitude to the senator from south dakota but we've neglected perhaps the most important person in this process and that's the senator from iowa the chairman of the judiciary committee who responded to a letter written by all 20 senators in the united states senate asking him to have a hearing on this important topic and to move this bill forward. i know we had the senator from south dakota mention senator mikulski. she came to testify along with senator ayotte from new hampshire and senator klobuchar at that hearing and talked about how really important this was to all 20 of our women senators, and how proud they were of the fact that it moved forward and it wouldn't have happened without the senator from iowa, the chairman of the judiciary committee, willing to take that challenge up and to move the bill here to the floor in such a -- in a unanimous fashion. but i would just close, mr. president, by saying that all members of the united states senate, presumably came h

mr. cornyn: mr. president, i would ask unanimous consent to engage in a colloquy. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mrs. feinstein: i would be happy to. i think we ought to discuss this. mr. cornyn: otherwise we'll have to keep addressing questions to the chair and asking permission. i'd like to have a chance to have an honest conversation with my friend. so it is clear that the senator from california that has voted for this restriction on the use of taxpayer funding for abortion previously -- correct? mrs. feinstein: not to my knowledge. let me put it that way. now, you can blame me and you can say i should have known. mr. cornyn: i'm just -- mrs. feinstein: i'm not the only one in our committee who is in this position either, who communicated with your staff and was under the impression that the bill was identical to last year. mr. cornyn: i -- mrs. feinstein: with the exception of seven pieces which is not this. the seven were detailed to us. mr. cornyn: i'm not going

mr. cornyn: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. cornyn: i would ask that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: mr. president at 11:00 thorpg, we will be having a very important vote on human trafficking and an important piece of legislation the justice for victims of trafficking act. i'm glad that this issue is finally getting the kind of ategsattention that it deserves, but i would be lying to you if i said i wasn't disappointed in the twhai this bill has become a political -- in the way in this bill has become a political football for people who want to cause the united states senate to cease to function entirely or to relitigate issues that have been resolved 40 years ago like the hyde amendment. we here in the senate have the opportunity to do a great deal of good for thousands of people, including children, who are victims of sex trafficking many of whom are young girms not even of high school age. now, on average, the typical victim of human trafficking is between the age of 1

mr. cornyn: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. cornyn: mr. president, i had a ask consent to -- i'd ask consent to speak for up to ten minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: mr. president all week we have been on an important piece of legislation called the justice for victims of trafficking act. just to remind everybody, this is a bill designed to treat child prostitutes not as the criminal but as the victim they are. obviously beneath the age of consent. and to recognize that the criminal organizations that traffic in human flesh for sale, for economic sex other reasons, that this is a real problem in our society and that so much of what happens in this trade is really nothing more, nothing less than modern-day slavery, something we thought was relegated to the history books and didn't exist in the united states of america the freest country in the world. we got here through a rather strange set of circumstances because the legislation that i introd

mr. cornyn: madam president would the senator yield for a question? mr. kirk: i certainly would. mr. cornyn: madam president through the chair i would just ask my friend from illinois, you have been a warrior on these issues particularly with this backpage.com and this advertisement of children and other people's trafficked as part of this modern day slavery. your amendment -- your hero act is actually included, if i'm not mistaken -- mr. kirk: it would include the save act which has already substantially passed with huge bipartisan support of the gentleman from vermont's party in the house of representatives. if you look, you will find that backpage.com is probably active in every state providing online slavery services to the public. mr. cornyn: madam president my question and point was that the save act i understand, which is the subject of the amendment that you're seeking to offer and which i hope our friends on the other side will relent and allow us to go forward debating and amending this important piece of legislation, as distinguished from the save act, which is the subject

mr. cornyn: mr. president budgets are all about priorities, and it's about living within your means and not mortgaging our children's future by overspending money that we don't have that we're going to have to ask them to repay. when it comes to priorities, i can't think of a higher priority for the federal government -- i'm not talking about state or local government. i'm talking about the federal government. i can't think of a higher priority for the federal government than national security. that was really one of the basic reasons the united states of america was originally created is for mutual defense and national security. this budget importantly helps set the course for the future security of not only this country but also the world by funding our military services. it's no secret because we see it in the headlines every day we see it on television, we see it online. we are living in an increasingly dangerous world. we would prefer that it be otherwise, but the truth is different. all we need

mr. cornyn, the senator from utah, mr. hache, the senator from wyoming mr. barrasso, the senator from mississippi, mr. wicker, the senator from tennessee, mr. corker, the senator from illinois, mr. durbin, the senator from washington, miss bury, the senator from michigan, miss stabin now, the senator from new jersey, mr. menendez, the senator from connecticut, mr. murphy. the speaker: members of the escort committee will please exit through the chamber lobby doors. >> mr. speaker, the acting dean of the diplomatic corps. >> mr. speaker, the president's cabinet. the sergeant at arms: mr. speaker, the president of the islamic republic of afghanistan. the speaker: members of congress, i have the high privilege and distinct honor of presenting to you his excellency mohammad ashraf ghani president of the islamic republic of afghanistan. president ghani: in the name of god the merciful and compassionate speaker boehner vice president biden, senate majority leader mcconnell, house majority leader mccarthy house minority leader ms. pelosi, senate minority leader, la

mr. cornyn: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: madam president i know the distinguished senator from vermont and from maine -- the presiding officer: senator, the senate is in quorum call. mr. cornyn: i apologize. i ask unanimous consent to dispense with the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: i was just going to say i know the distinguished senator from vermont and maine have been here talking about an amendment that they would hope to offer to this trafficking this antitrafficking bill. but the sad fact is no one's going to get to offer any amendments to this bill unless the democratic leader, senator reid decides that we're going to have an open amendment process, because right now there's objections that anyone setting any of the amendments for votes much less asking to set aside the pending amendment and making your amendment the pending amendment so it could be considered scheduled for a vote. and i just want to make sure our colleagues understand the rationale for this because i've had

mr. cornyn: mr. president i'd ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: i ask unanimous consent that floor privileges are granted to steve curtis, defense fellow for senator burr during the duration of the consideration of s. 178. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: mr. president i know the senator from west virginia -- will be giving her first speech in the senate here shortly and i look forward to listening to that, but i wanted to say just a few words about the legislation that we will be debating and hopefully passing this week and that is the justice for victims of trafficking act. this is without a doubt one of the most shocking and troubling issues facing our country today. it is, no exaggeration to say modern-day human slavery. at a time when we believed as a country that slavery was a part of our past, and something that we only read about in our history books. many people are under the impression tha

mr. cornyn the senator from south dakota mr. thune. >> what warren hatch is doing is welcoming the so-called escort committees. these are very important special guests who will have special roles during the course of -- members of the house and senate. these are escorts being introduced by orrin hatch from the state of utah. they have an elaborate procedure they walk through for any visiting speaker. >> that's right. this is not a joint session of congress. that's only when the president speaks. this is a joint meeting of congress. this is only the second time in history that a foreign leader has addressed the congress for his third time. the other individuals being winston churchill, the speaker of the house, john boehner gave him a bust of winston churchill in honor of his reaching this milestone reached by only one other world leader and there have been a lot of comparisons being made by republicans especially of netanyahu to churchill with not suchkomp complimentary comparisons being made. >> acting dean of the diplomatic

mr. cornyn: mr. president, i would just say this conclusion that i think it's a terrible shame that your side of the aisle has decided to take this bill hostage to try to litigate something that's been the law of the land for 349 years. and -- for 39 years. and i understand that you feel passion fatlypassionately about t but why in the world would you take hostage a piece of legislation that's going to help those 100,000 children that are sex-trafficked each year? why should they suffer so you can make a why should they suffer so that you can make a point on a piece of legislation? i just don't understand that and i think it's terrible. >> let me answer a question with a question, why don't you just take it out? it's not in the house bill. then we don't have to conference it and we don't have to have another fight. we can get the amendments in the bill to strengthen the bill and we can move on and the two parties together can do something that's right for the nation. why do we do it? >> mr. president

mr. cornyn: mr. president, i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from colorado. mr. gardner: i ask the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. gardner: mr. president in 1893 cat lynn lee bates made her way up the slopes of pike's peak and wrote one of the greatest hymns poet sizing amber waves of

mr. cornyn: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. cornyn: i ask unanimous consent that on monday, march 23 at 5:30 p.m. the senate proceed to executive session to consider the following knocks, calendar number 19, that the senate then vote without intervening action or debate on the nomination, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table that no further motions be in order that any statements related to the nomination be printed in the record, the president be immediately notified of the senate's actions and the senate then resume legislative session. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. cornyn: madam president writing and passing a budget is one of the most fundamental responsibilities of any legislative body. unfortunately, it's something we haven't done here in the united states senate, the united states congress, since 2009. it is outrageous, it should be considered a scandal. but today i want to take a few minutes to discuss the budget we have before us today and how we intend

mr. cornyn: madam president tomorrow this morning the united states senate will be casting a very important vote. it will be on a piece of legislation called the justice for victims of trafficking act which has currently 12 democratic cosponsors and virtually an equal number of republican cosponsors. in other words, this is genuinely bipartisan legislation. as further evidence of its bipartisan support this bill passed unanimously out of the senate judiciary committee just in february, and it enjoys the support of more than 200 victims rights and law enforcement organizations. but as everyone in this chamber knows, senate democrats have said that they will filibuster this bipartisan legislation that's designed to provide justice to victims of trafficking because it contains a particular provision that they have voted for on a number of occasions and indeed, have chosen to cosponsor. to me, it's really unconscionable and it's shameful and more than that, it's just simply baffling to me. the reason it is so shameful is because there are children waiting for our help. the average victim in the

mr. cornyn: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. cornyn: tame i came here to speak on another topic. let me just inject on the keystone x.l. pipeline. ive says we want job-creating legislation. we want to facilitate the creation of new jobs in america but when it comes to voting, our friends across the aisle seem to be stuck on voting against job-creating legislation because this -- our state department has estimated that as many as 42,000 jobs would be created by the construction of the keystone x.l. pipeline. and the thing that mystifies me the most about this debate is at last count we had roughly 2.5 million miles of pipelines crisscrossing america. i've come to the floor before and i've suggested that people might want to just do a search on their laptop or on their tablet for oil and gas pipelines, and you can see a american troopmapof those pipelines and it looks like a spaghetti bowl because they are everywhere. this is the most frt and safest way to transport natural gas and crude as well. so i just remain mystified by the f

mr. president, we need to pass the cornyn-klobuchar legislation because crimes like human trafficking and child pornography target the most vulnerable among us in a most despicable way. i urge all of my colleagues to pass this bill to put an end to modern-day slavery and help victims get the support they need. again, i'd like to close with my request for our colleagues on both sides of the aisle that we be allowed to proceed on the bill and again reference the importance of including my amendment which ensures that all states including these that have seen recent real increase in human trafficking have access to the funds so they can truly help victims in their state and combat human trafficking in their state in con junction with local law enforcement. with that, madam president, i yield the floor. a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from louisiana. mr. vitter: thank you madam president. madam president, all this week i've come to the floor to talk about this issue of birthright citizenship and to introduce my amendment that would end that policy. i come to the

mr. chairman. thank you. >> before i call on senator cornyn, i want to go to the agriculture committee for 15 minuteses. we've got enough people here to ask questions, so would you take over according to -- till i get back? so it's my understanding, it will be cornyn, and then durbin if he comes back, and then purdue and then lee. is the way i think it works out. >> ms. yates congratulations on >> thank you, senator. >> and certainly have an impressive career. in public service, and have all of the qualifications to prepare you for being the deputy attorney general, and i take seriously the advice and counsel of our colleagues, senator per due, senator isakson and their testimonials to your public service and congressman lewis, as well. i guess the biggest problem someone in your position has when they come to washington, d.c. as a prosecutor is the politics. and the ambiguity that seems to exist too often in my view about the role of the chief law enforcement officer of the united states, the attorney general, and i would include high level appointees like you. about where your loyalties lie. and you'v

mr. chairman. thank you. >> before i call on senator cornyn, i want to go to the agriculture committee for 15 minutes. we've got enough people here to ask questions, so would you take over according to -- till i get back? so it's my understanding, it will be cornyn, and then durbin if he comes back, and then perdue and then lee. is the way i think it works out. >> ms. yates, congratulations on your nomination. >> thank you, senator. >> and certainly have an impressive career. in public service, and have all of the qualifications to prepare you for being the deputy attorney general, and i take seriously the advice and counsel of our colleagues, senator perdue, senator isakson and their testimonials to your public service and congressman lewis, as well. i guess the biggest problem someone in your position has when they come to washington, d.c. as a prosecutor is the politics. and the ambiguity that seems to exist too often in my view about the role of the chief law enforcement officer of the united states, the attorney general, and i would include high level appointees like you. about where your loyalti

mr. chairman. thank you. >> before i call on senator cornyn, i want to go to the agriculture committee for 15 minutes. we've got enough people here to ask questions. so would you take over according to -- till i get back? it's my understanding it will be cornyn and then durbin if he comes back and then perdue and then lee is the way i think it, whos out. >> ms. yates congratulations on your nomination. >> thank you senator. >> you certainly have an impressive career in public service and have all of the qualifications to prepare you for being the deputy attorney general. and i take seriously the advice and counsel of our colleagues senator perdue, senator isakson and their testimonials to your public service and congressman lewis as well. i guess the biggest problem, someone in your position has when they come to washington, d.c. as a line prosecutor is the politic ss and the ambiguity that seems to exist too often in my view about the role of the chief law enforcement officer of the united states, the attorney general, and i would include high-level appointees like you about where your loyalties lie.

mr. president today i rise to support the justice for victims of trafficking act and i want to commend the numerous senators, senators cornyn, klobuchar so many others who have worked so hard to move this act forward. now, i realize that there are many of us who are new to this body and i certainly am still learning my way around the procedural maze here. however, it is easy to see how frustrating this maze can be and how it keeps us from getting good things done for the people who elected us and sent us here. last year, i traveled my state alaska and one of the top concerns i heard from alaskans is that they were tired of the gridlock and they want to see a functioning government and an open process in the united states senate, so here we are on a bill that is of immense importance to the country and to alaska, a bill that has very broad bipartisan support and it comes to the floor with the promise of an open amendment process so all senators can be heard, and yet a few of my friends on the other side of the aisle are preventing us from moving forward on a bill that will protect some of the nation's most vulnerable citizen

mr. president. i thank my colleagues. i know these conversations are continuing as we work to find a path forward. i thank senator cornyn for the work that we have done together and i look forward to getting this done. thank you mr. president. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? mr. rubio: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from florida. mr. rubio: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that i be recognized to speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. so ordered. mr. rubio: let me again just by acknowledging the work that the sponsors of this human trafficking bill are doing. trafficking is a sanitized way to discuss this issue. it's actually slavery and i'm glad that term is finding its its way into the lexicon of how this is discussed. it's not just the sex trafficking and slavery it's also the labor trafficking which is a major problem in this country as well. so i do hope we can find a way forward on this because it's an extraordinarily important issue one that has taken far too long to pay attention to. it's not just something that happens around the world. i

mrs. capito: i rise today to discuss the justice for victims of trafficking act. i'm proud to join with my colleagues to cosponsor this important legislation and i applaud senator cornyn and senator klobuchar for putting forward this bipartisan bill. the justice for victims of trafficking act is a call to action. we've heard a lot of discussion about it on the floor here over the last several days. the horrible crime of human trafficking impacts thousands of americans, mostly women and children each year and it occurs in cities, in the suburbs and in rural towns. we cannot allow this horrendous crime to continue. last year, i hosted a forum at west virginia state university to discuss how we could help in west virginia in combating human trafficking. the event was very well attended and featured law enforcement avid cavities, academics and state lawmakers. i've also supported several bills when i was in if the house of representatives to end this crime. it is absolutely monstrous to consider the sexual exploitation of a human being especially a child. we must stand up for those voices who have been silenced and say no more. while in large numbers trafficking occurs in

mr. president, i.c. the president of the senate judicial before so i will yield the floor. >> tuesday majority whip john cornyn and judiciary committee ranking member patrick leahy discuss the human trafficking bill that's been on the senate floor for debate. and anti-human trafficking bill passed the senate judiciary committee in late february without opposition. the senate democrats oppose language in it that would prohibit money from being spent on abortions. here's the exchange from the senate floor. >> yesterday the democratic leader senator reed told us that democrats and republicans could finally agree on one thing. and that is wheeled focused on the partisan politics and the ideology that so often devices but we ought to focus on the victims of human trafficking. largely middle school aged girls who are bought and sold like commodities. i came out here yesterday and said i believe that we are all created in the image of god. and it is a sin, it is a very personification of evil for people to treat the same human beings as if they were things. and that's what the scourge of human trafficking is all abou

mrs. yates for being here. i enjoyed the visit we had and i know one of the the things that senator cornyn asked you about that the two of us have been working on is the trafficking issue and i know he asked you about some of the border issues and i went down with cindy mccain on this issue of trafficking and had a very good visit about that last year, but i thought i'd ask you what you have done in the northern district of georgia to address human trafficking in your former job and how you see it going forward, dmesically, with the department of justice. >> as we've talked about some here this morning, human trafficking is one of the most pressing criminal justice issues that we're facing in the department and in our country right now. when i became u.s. attorney five years ago, i highlighted as as an area to prioritize. we were one of the first offices in the country to form an act team, which is a task force. federal agentcyies as well as state and local prosecutors, to go after as aggressively as we could, the traffickers and those assisting them with these young women and children. as important as aggress

mr. cornyn: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: mr. president on behalf of the senator from illinois we're offering an alternative to the sanders amendment that failed earlier today, the sanders amendment called for a substantial increase the minimum wage, an action that the congressional budget office has told us could kill up to a million jobs. the kirk amendment takes a different approach. it reaffirms the ability of the individual states to raise the minimum wage above the federal level but only if they choose to do so of their own volition. it also calls for policies that would result in higher wages for all americans pro-growth tax relief and the elimination of mandates bike those of obamacare. i urge my colleagues to support the kirk amendment. the presiding officer: the senator from 0 the senator from vermont. mr. sanders: frankly, i don't quite understand this amendment. this is what it says -- and i quote -- "this amendment would create a deficit neutral fund to reaffirm can raise the minimum wage while relieving mandates." s

mr. cornyn: there are about 200 different law enforcement and victims' rights organizations, including the one that i the chart i mentioned earlier, the coalition against trafficking in women. this is one of those rare subjects where people have genuinely come together in revulsion to this terrible crime but also in an attempt to try to do something meaningful to address it. mr. mcconnell: what i want to say to those groups is we're going to stay on this bill until we pass it. i've offered the minority an opportunity to have an up-or-down vote to take out the provision they suddenly discovered is offensive to them even after having it in the bill for two months. even the most casual observer would have to conclude the minority has gone to great lengths to prevent the senate from even doing business on things that are overwhelmingly supported. i'll say this to everybody out there who cares about this bill, we're going to stay on it until we finish it. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the question is on the hart nomination. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the cler

mr. cornyn: i would ask unanimous consent the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cornyn: madam president, we spend a lot of time, as you would expect, in a legislative body talking about the technical aspects of legislation and the procedure that we use to consider it and pass it, a subject which perhaps many of us enjoy but which probably turns the public -- puts a glaze in their eyes and bores them, because they don't see the relevance of it. we talk about motions to proceed and cloture and filibusters but what's important here in the senate are -- is the subject matter of the legislation that we apply this procedure or these rules to, and this week in the senate, we will be undertaking a very very important subject and that is how to protect our fellow citizens, many of them children, who are waiting out -- waiting out their -- needing our help and waiting to be rescued and these are children that are being trafficked in the commercial sex and forced labor trade, not over there not necessarily just in some other cou

mr. cornyn: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: mr. president i rise today to commemorate a very special day in history particularly in texas history a i did that inspires pride and gratitude in the hearts of all the people who call texas shoal. i rise today to commemorate texas independence day. i will in a moment read a letter written 179 years ago from behind the walls of an old spanish mission called the alamo in my hometown, santonio written by william barrett travis. in doing so i carry on a transition started by the late senator john tower who represented texas in this body for two decades. this transition was upheld by his successor senator phil gramm, and by his successor kay bailey hutchison after him. it is a tremendous honor that the privilege has fallen to me. on february 24, 1836, with his position under siege an outnumbered -- and outnumbered nearly 10-1 by the forces of antonio lopez desantana travis penned the following letter -- "fellow citizens and come patriots. i'm besieged by a thousand or more by the mexicans und

cornyn's whip office. after five days of consideration and 50 hours of debate, our budget resolution, truly everything that can be said has probably been said by everybody who can say it. but, mr. president, i don't think anybody has said this yet: i want to thank the people that voted for the final passage of s. con. resolution 11 for the fiscal year 2016 budget resolution and we now move on to conferencing. mr. whitehouse: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. whitehouse: the ranking member of the budget committee is not on the floor so let me take the opportunity on behalf of the democratic members of the budget committee to express appreciation to our chairman. we obviously disagree on the substance of this budget, as votes reflect. indeed we think it is an awful budget. but we are -- i think i speak for all of us when i say how impressed we have been by the calm and civil and courteous and patient manner in which the chain h'schairman has led us through the issue. and i would like to join him on behalf of the democrats on the budget committee in thanking all of the relevant staff the parliamentary staff the committee staff the floor staf

mr. president. i rise this afternoon to speak on s. 178, the justice for victims of trafficking act and the toomey-manchin amendment number 291 to that bill. first of all i want to thank senator cornyn for bringing this bill to the senate floor. it's a bipartisan bill. it's an extremely important bill. and i.t. been awfully frustrate -- and it's been awfully frustrating that we can't even get on to this bill. especially hard to understand is the fact that this is a bipartisan bill, had 10 democratic cosponsors, another three democrats who voted for it in the senate judiciary committee. this shouldn't even be controversial. and i.t. particularly disturb -- and it's particularly disturbing because when you think about what we're trying to address with senator cornyn's bill, it's awfully important. i mean what could be more despicable than what we're trying to go after here: trafficking in human beings. this is a form of modern-day slavery is what it is and some of the most despicable people in the world take the most vulnerable people in our society and they turn them into essentially slaves in the sex industry. i mean, it's as appalling as thargs and it happens and it happens in ever