mr. isakson: how much time is left? the presiding officer: approximately 2 1/2 minutes. mr. isakson: let me give you the closing and leave out the juicy parts for later on. the story that should be read about this appropriations bill is we are not letting our veterans down. we are uplifting them. we're seeing to it the problems we have had seen i am straited -- illustrated are being fixed. the v.a. are a work in progress. there will still be problems but not because of lack of attitude and funding. we're going to do what our veterans did for us. we're going to stand ground, take the hill, hold the hill and see to it that those who fought and died for the united states of america are rewarded not only for themselves with their health care but retired benefits and thaird loved ones as well. i commend senator tester for what he's done and all the other members of the committee and i yield back the balance of the time to the distinguished senator of montana who can call me johnny any time he wants to. mr. tester: thank you, senator. madam chair? the presiding officer: the senator

mr. isakson: mr. president, i would ask unanimous consent to recognize the senator from montana, senator daines, followed by senator whitehouse, followed by senator isakson. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. daines: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from montana. mr. daines: today the senate came a few votes shy of passing legislation to protect farmers, ranchers, and small business owners from major new costs and regulatory burdens, and i appreciate the bipartisan support demonstrated today by four key senate democrats. i've got to say i'm disappointed that others chose instead to put loyalty to president obama before the concerns of their constituents, the concerns of those people they represent. because montanans know that this power grab has more to do with controlling montana's land use decisions than ensuring access to clean water like the clean water act intended. this is an ill-conceived rule that provides the e.p.a. unprecedented power to regulat

mr. president, i would ask consent that the isakson amendment be agreed to, the committee reported substitute as amended be agreed to, the bill as amended be read a third time and passed, the title amendment be agreed to and that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. murkowski: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the committee on commerce, science and transportation be discharged from further consideration of h.r. 2262 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 2262, abact to facilitate a progrowth environment for developing commercial space, industry, and so forth and for other purposes. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? if not, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed. ms. murkowski: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the cruz substitute amendment at the desk be agreed to, the bill as amended be read a third time and passed and the motions to reconsider be considered made

mr. murray. the next four senators or burr, whitehouse, isakson, and warren. >> thank you, mr. chairman. as you know the animal rule was finalized on october 27th this year after significant and in my opinion inexcusable delay given the importance of the rule. i'm pleased that the rule has been finalized as it will provide more certainty for those developing countermeasures to protect the american people in the event of a public health emergency whether it is natural or the result of a manmade attack. how would medical countermeasures be prioritized within the agency and how would you ensure the fda is advancing the development and review of these products towards the goal of a timely approval? >> thank you for that question. i'm amazed at the attention and intensity you all have today given the fact we're all worried about the issue that bringing up. it can be manmade or something that's totally unanticipated, for example with an infection. i was pleased to be able to get the guidance out from the animal rule, which you had requested, but it's going to take a concerted effort not just b

mr. chairman. i'm concerned about that. i look forward to talking to you more about that. thank you. >> thank you, senator murray. the next four senators are burr, white house, isakson, and warren. senator burr. >> thank you, mr. chairman. dr. califf. as you know the rule was after significant and in my opinion those working to develop medical counter measures to protect the american people in the event of a public health emergency, whether it's natural or manmade attack on our country. if confirmed how would medical counter measures be prioritized within the agency and how would you ensure that the fda is advancing the development and review of these products towards the goal of a timely approval? >> senator burr, thank you for that question. i'm amazed at the attention and intensity you all have today given the fact that we're all worried about the issue that you're bringing up. it can be either manmade or something unanticipated, like an infection. we're committed to working on this. i was pleased to get the guidance out for the rule which you had requested, but it's going to take a concerted effort not just by the fda but as happened with the ebola crisis, which

mr. chairman. >> thank you for the time you and senator cassidy are spending on this issue. we have isakson, warren, scott. senator isaacson. >> thank you. senator kazcassidy and are work together and we know mental health is a crisis we are working with. i'm not a physician nor am i a technical person, but it appears to me in the emergency room practices there's a golden hour. it's that time the accident takes place from the time the person is treated and you can save a life if someone is in an accident. it's the same golden minute with suicide. they need to have access to a person to talk to. and if there isn't one, we have lack of access to get them to an appointment and to get them to a place to at least talk to a professional. am i right about that or wrong about that, mr. macrae? >> i would defer to my colleague, but i would say absolutely. the other piece is that early intervention is important when talking about suicide. we have had much success in terms of doing screening again in the primary care setting where you are actually able to identify children, in particular, adolescents

isakson, paul, collins, murkowski, kirk, scott, hatch, roberts, cassidy, murray, mikulski, sanders, casey, franken, bennet, whitehouse, baldwin, murphy, and warren. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: pursuant to the previous order, the ask that the senate proceed to the consideration of h.r. 2577. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate will proceed to the consideration of h.r. 2577, which the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 138, h.r. 258 77, an act making appropriations for the departments of transportation and housing and urban development and so forth and for other purposes. ms. collins: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator maine. ms. collins: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported amendment be withdrawn. the presiding officer: is there objection? a senator: reserving the right to object. i understand we're moving to consideration of the transportation and h.u.d. appropriations bill. is that correct, mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator is correct. mr. wicker: and reserving the right to object just for point of clarification, i am under the assumption th