mr. hoeven: madam president i ask that the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. hoeven: madam president i rise today to speak in support of the justice for victims of trafficking act legislation that has been drafted and introduced by my good friend, senator john cornyn of texas senator amy klobuchar of minnesota. the bill helps survivors of trafficking and child pornography and aids law enforcement in discouraging demand for these serious crimes. this is a bill i originally introduced in 2013, and i was a cosponsor of that bill, and i am also an original cosponsor of this bipartisan legislation whichway introduced earlier this year because it is very important legislation that we pass it. it's important because it not only compensates victims of human trafficking and other crimes of exploitation for their injuries but also provides resources to help law enforcement prevent such crimes in the future by targeting demand. the need for this bill is real and it's troubling. every year across america children and adults ar

mr. hoeven: mr. president i thank the -- our colleague from west virginia for his tremendous leadership. i know that that will continue. he is right on. if we don't win the battle today, we will win the war because we'll find another bill to attach this legislation to. but the thing is we ought to just pass iten its merits -- pass it on its merits. let me turn now to the head of the injuring committee somebody who truly is committed to an all-of-the-above energy approach. and demonstrates that leadership on an all-of-the-approach every day. that's why she speaks on this issue with -- in a way that really everyone should listen to whether you think it should be phos l fuels renewables, traditional energy. that is senator who has supported all of these. i think she has great credibility on this issue. i would turn to my colleague from alaska. ms. murkowski: i thank my friend and colleague from north dakota for your leadership. you have been dogged, not only as we have advanced this measure through the

mr. hoeven: mr.ding officer: without objection. i'm sorry. is there objection? mr. durbin: mr. president i understood the time was equally divided between now and 10:30. is there sufficient time for the republican side to use 20 minutes? the presiding officer: the time would be 18 minutes on each side. mr. durbin: thank you mr. president. i have no objection to the use of that time if that's how the senators choose to use it. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. hoeven: i would like to thank the senator from illinois. mr. president, i am here this morning to engage in a colloquy with the good senator from south carolina. we will be joined by the senator from new hampshire the senator from kentucky and perhaps the senator from arizona. the purpose of the colloquy is to welcome prime minister netanyahu this morning, who is to be speaking in front of congress and to talk about why it is so important that he is joining us today. in a few moments, we are going to hear remarks from the israeli pri

mr. hoeven: i'd ask for 30 seconds to wrap up. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. hoeven: i'd like to thank my colleague from south carolina and new hampshire. this is a bipartisan effort to join with the administration and on a matter of this importance i believe congress must be involved. so again we would appeal to our colleagues on the other side of the aisle to join with us in this effort and i will conclude by saying we look forward very much to having the prime minister speak to us this morning. thank you mr. president. the presiding officer: for the information of the senate the chair makes the following announcement. the president pro tem of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives pursuant to the provisions of section 201-a-2 of the congressional budget act of 1974 have appointed dr. homer keith hall as director of the budget office effective april 1, 2015 for the term expiring january 3, 2019. the assistant democratic leader. mr. durbin: at 11:00 this morning there will be a historic joint session of congress. it doesn't make history tha

mr. hoeven: mr. president i thank the -- our colleague from west virginia for his tremendous leadership. i know that that will continue. he is right on. if we don't win the battle today, we will win the war because we'll find another bill to attach this legislation to. but the thing is we ought to just pass iten its merits -- pass it on its merits. let me turn now to the head of the injuring committee somebody who truly is committed to an all-of-the-above energy approach. and demonstrates that leadership on an all-of-the-approach every day. that's why she speaks on this issue with -- in a way that really everyone should listen to whether you think it should be phos l fuels renewables, traditional energy. that is senator who has supported all of these. i think she has great credibility on this issue. i would turn to my colleague from alaska. ms. murkowski: i thank my friend and colleague from north dakota for your leadership. you have been dogged, not only as we have advanced this measure through the

mr. hoeven: mr. president i ask for consent to speak for up to ten minutes on house bill 240. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. hoeven: mr. president this afternoon we'll vote now on whether or not to go to conference on house bill 240. so for senators that want to return to regular order, this is their chance. i mean, regular order is the opportunity to offer to debate and to vote on amendments, and we established that on earlier legislation that as a majority party we're willing to return to regular order and offer an open amendment process. so part of establishing that regular order process is, as i say, the opportunity to offer amendments to have the debate and to vote, and it's that process that should and has historically produced the best legislation, not only here in the senate but in the house and in this congress on behalf of the american people. another part of regular order though is conference committees. when the house passes a bill and the senate passes a bill a