mr. heinrich: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new mexico. mr. heinrich: mr. president, i will ask unanimous consent to speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. heinrich: thank you, mr. president. thank you, mr. president, for the opportunity to address this chamber today. mr. president, i am a strong believer that innovation is what america does best, that ban boundless wonder abc news curiosity can lead to revolutionary discoveries. that diligence an optimism can break down barriers. the presiding officer: there will be or. -- there will be order. mr. heinrich: mr. president, i am a believer that technology abc news, more importantly, the scientific method are how we can best meet many of our 21st century challenges. abc news this is indea time of great challenge for our nation. there's no question that it's easier to legislate in a time of peace abc news prosperity than in a time of economic recovery and global conflict. but americans, mr.

mr. heinrich: i'd like to take a few minutes to speak about the nomination of ken etd gonzalez to be a federal district judge for the district of new mexico. ken, as he's known back home to many of us, is truly a standout nominee. i wish i could take credit for his nomination, but that credit belongs to our former u.s. senator, jeff bing amanman and to our -- bingaman and to tom udall. i thank both of them for putting forward such a great candidate for this position and i'm very pleased to be here today to support him. ken has a long and distinguished record of public service including more than a decade of service in our military. ken has served as the u.s. attorney for new mexico since april of 2010, and his elevation to lead that office followed more than a decade of service there as an assistant u.s. attorney. i'd like to highlight at least one of his many accomplishments that i find particularly important. i think ken's efforts as u.s. attorney demonstrate not only his character intlect but the dedication that he has to serving his home state. and to making it a better place for all our r

mr. heinrich: mr. president, fixing the immigration system is an urgent priority. as a son of an immigrant myself i understand how important this is for families across the country and in my home state of new mexico. i know how hard immigrants work in this country, how much they believe in america, how much they're willing to give back to this nation. new mexico's remarkable spirit is rooted in our diversity, our history and our culture, which is always been enriched by our immigrant communities and family members. at the same time the laws that govern our country's immigration system are antiquated and ineffective. i'm encouraged that we're finally making progress towards a solution and finding some common ground on this critical issue. we need a solution that includes a visa system that meets the needs of our economy, a tough but fair path to earned citizenship for the estimated 11 million people in our country who are undocumented, and a plan that ensures the security of our borders. our broken immigration system does not match the realities of our nation's econ

heinrich? >> thank you very much mr. chairman. i've always thought mr. heinrich was a particularly wonderful guy. he is also my mentee. i think that is the reason he wanted to do it. he is looking for something. thank you very much. quickly on hydraulic fracking. it's a big deal because 90% of fewer wells will be for act on public lands and ohio frankly doesn't have a lot of public land however we do a lot of fracking and we have been doing it for years. we have good regulations and we think some of the best in the country. we have no documented cases of groundwater contamination we are part of that. i would raise the point on average it takes 307 days to get needed permits on federal land and this is one reason i've been working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle on permitting reform. we we are now 17th in the world based on the imf metrics for the use of doing business with regard to holding something. it affects everybody. energy developers for major capital projects whether it's oil and gas or whether it is wind or solar. they are facing the s

we can get you in before the break because of the thoughtfulness of senator heinrich. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i was not heinrich was a thoughtful guy and now it's proven. he's also my men to you. i can't go into detail because your time is too precious, but it's really the reason he's willing to do it. he's looking for something. thank you. quickly on hydraulic fracturing, i know you came up at the role for control of my aunts and thank you for your it's a big deal because 90% will be on public lands in ohio frankly does not a lot of public lands. however, we been doing it for about 50 years and we have some good regulation that are some of the best in the country. we have documented cases of marcotte of the and so i would just raise the point on average it takes 307 days to get permits on federal lands and this is one reason i've been working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle and permitting the warm and we are now 17th in the world based on the imf metrics for the ease of doing business with regard to building something. it affects everybody. energy developers seeking app

heinrich. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. i've always thought heinrich was a thoughtful guy, and now it's proven. [laughter] also my men tee in the ways that we have a mentor/mentee relationship here. i can't go into detail, but i think that's the reason he's willing to do it. [laughter] thank you, martin. quickly on hydraulic fracking, i know you've come up with this rule for federally-controlled lands, and thank you for your testimony on that. it's a big deal, because as you know about 90% is on public lands. i would just, you know, ohio, frankly, doesn't have a lot of public lands. however, we do a lot of fracking, and we've been doing it for about 50 years, and we have some good regulations. we think we're some of the best in the country. we have no documented cases of groundwater contamination. we're proud of that. so i would just raise the point that on average it takes 307 days to get grids on federal lands, and this is one reason i've been working with colleagues from both sides of the aisle on permitting reform. and w

mr. chairman. senator heinrich will be next. just because i think colleagues are trying to figure their schedule, what we will do is we'll get as many colleagues in, central address, so she'll be next before 10:15. but when the votes start at 10:15 we will break, it is that those votes being done at 11:00. senator franken, we will come back and senator murkowski. we will just keep going and senator landrieu will be next, and after senator landrieu will be senator risch. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman to i apologize. i had to step up for another meeting. oken, secretary jewell, and thank you so much for taking one of their first trips down to the gulf coast to understand your off the coast of louisiana at one of our offshore oil and gas rigs. we really appreciate you reconnecting with that important industry and resource for our nation, based on your experience come in your, earlier in your career. i wanted to bring it to issues and have questions just on two issues. first is the request in the budget for the land and water