mr. mcconnell:? the presiding officer: the senate majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate immediately proceed to calendar number 67, s. 136. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 67, s. 136 a bill to amend chapter 21 of title 5 united states code and so forth. the presiding officer: without objection, sentence will proceed to the measure. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the bill be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table, and any statements related to the bill appear at this point in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: now mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the senate be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number number 69 and 70 s. 179 and s. 994, en bloc. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will a

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to h.r. 2048. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion. the clerk: motion to proceed to calendar number 87, h.r. 2048, an act to reform the authorities of the federal government to require the production of certain business records and so forth and for other purposes. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk for the motion to proceed. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion. the clerk: cloture motion. we the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the motion to proceed to h.r. 2048, an act to reform the authorities of the federal government to require the production of certain business records and so forth and for other purposes. signed by 17 senators as follow. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent the reading of the names be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i withdraw the month

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: what is the pending business before the senate? the presiding officer: pending business is h.r. 1191 which the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 30, h.r. 1191, an act to amend the internal revenue code of 1986, and so forth and for other purposes. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the corker amendment number 1140 to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the corker amendment number 1140, to h.r. 1191, an act to aimed the internal revenue code of 1986. signed by 1 senators as follows: mr. mcconnell: i ask that the reading of the names be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: mr. president you send a cloture motion to the h.r. 1119 to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion. the clerk: cloture motion

mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: mr. president it's good to see the senate will soon be passing another important piece of bipartisan legislation. the iran nuclear agreement review act offers the best chance for our constituents through the congress they elect to weigh in on the white house negotiations with iran. and make no mistake they need to have that opportunity. the american people were led to believe that these negotiations would be about ending iran's nuclear program and and its enrichment capability. but the current interim agreement makes one thing very clear -- these talks have devolved into something else altogether. instead of ending iran's nuclear program, the interim agreement would actually bestow international blessing for iran to continue it. rather than meaningfully roll back tehran's enrichment capability and dismantle its nuclear infrastructure, the interim a

mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i think we're all aware that chairman hatch and senator wyden have been working in good faith over the last several days to set out both debate and votes on amendments from both sides of the aisle. we've had some success. the bill managers have been working together on the votes that we've had and so far we have worked to get an additional seven amendments pending. but sadly there's an objection from the other side of the aisle on getting additional amendments pending, regardless of which party offers the amendment. senator hatch and his colleague have been down here for days trying to get amendments offered, and obviously it's possible in the senate to be prevent others from getting amendments and now we've got the whole process stymied because we can't seem to get agreements for any additional amendments. i think we all know this is a body that requires at least some level of cooperation and that just hasn't been here on this bipartisan bill. so i want to point out while i

mr. mcconnell: mr. president i enter a motion to reconsider the vote. the presiding officer: the motion is entered. mr. mcconnell: mr. president i move to proceed to h.r. 1314. the presiding officer: morning business is closed. the clerk will report the motion. the clerk: motion to proceed to the consideration of h.r. 1314 an act to amend the internal revenue code of 1986 and so forth. mr. mcconnell: mr. president i ask consent that senators be permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. mr. mcconnell: mr. president the senate is not in order. the presiding officer: the senate will be in order. mr. mcconnell: well, mr. president, what we just saw here is pretty shocking. there are always limits to what can be accomplished when the american people choose divided government. but of course it doesn't mean washington shouldn't work toward bipartisan solutions that make sense for our country. trade off is a perfect opportunity to do

mr. mcconnell: now mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today it adjourn until 10:00 a.m. tuesday, may 5. follow be the prayer and pledgets, the morning hour be deemed expired the journal of proceedings be approved to date, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day. following leader remarks the senate resume consideration of the veto message to accompany s.j. res. 8. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: senators should expect a vote on the motion to proceed to the budget conference report at approximately 10:15 tomorrow morning. if there's no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until 10:00 a.m. tomorrow. provider to the end-user which is the customer. but they may have to pay fees. that was unheard-of. >> tonight at 8:00 o'clock eastern on the communicators on c-span2. tomorrow on washington jour

mr. mcconnell: i yield for a question. mr. reid: we would be happy to cooperate in passing that -- the surface transportation bill by voice. but i do say this, and i mentioned this to you off the -- away from the microphones. for those of us living in the west we can't get back here until sunday afternoon. i think it's very difficult for us to get back here on a weekday before 5:00. so i would hope on a sunday we wouldn't be expected the senate to come in session before 5:00 because we can't get here. and i -- protecting the western part of my caucus, which is pretty big i'm not going to agree to thinking unless we can come in at least after 5:00. mr. mcconnell: well, as my friend the majority leader knows, i'd be happy to work with him on that and he also knows i tried to get a short-term extension of a variety of different lengths in order not to put us in this position. but we're left with this option only. and we'll work with the democratic leader about the actual time but the law expires at midnight sunday a week. and i d

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent at 1:00 p.m. today the senate proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 80, the nomination of sally yates to be deputy attorney general that there be one hour for debate, equally divided in the usual form, that upon the use or yielding back of time the senate proceed to vote without intervening action or debate on the nomination and that following disposition of the nomination, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table no further motion be in order to the nomination, that any statements related to the nomination be printed in the record, that the senate -- that the president be immediately notified of the senate's action and the senate then resume legislative session and the motion to proceed to h.r. 1314. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. mcconnell: i have seven unanimous consent requests for committees to meet during t

mr. mcconnell: so, mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today it adjourn until 3:00 p.m. montana tai, may 11. following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day. following leader remarks the senate be in a pored of morning business with senators permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: so, mr. president, senators should expect a vote in relation to s. con. res. 16 at 5:30 p.m. on monday. if there's no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order following the remarks of senators cotton and carper. the presiding officer: without objection. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. cotton: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arkansas. mr. cotton: i ask unanimous c

mr. mcconnell you have five minutes remaining. >> thank you mr. chief justice. so, several things have been cleared up. the government now does concede that the government takes legal title to the raisins. the government does -- >> all the time to the extent that we've eschewed taking total titles meaningful with respect to actual control or actual benefit. we trustees take title and but it's not for their benefit. it's for the benefit of their beneficiary. >> that's true justice sotomayor. but the taking of the -- the government is not a trustee here. and -- >> but in a form, yes. it's still good to sell the reserve raisins at the best price it can get given the limitations on the free market. >> it sells for the best price and uses the proceeds for its regulatory -- >> you only have four minutes. do you have other factual points? >> as to the factual point, calculations are not based upon us selling all of the raisins at the field price. our calculations are isbased upon being able to sell all of the raisins that the secretary has said would be the price in an

mr. mcconnell: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: this week we welcomed thousands of law enforcement officers for national police week 2015. it's a time to pay tribute to all the men and women who serve in federal state and local law enforcement all across america. and it's a good time for those of us who benefit from the shield of protection that they provide and actually that's all of us, a time for us to express our gratitude. police officers are here to rededicate themselves to the pursuit of justice and to honor fallen officers. we're proud to have them all here in washington. i want to especially recognize the many men and women who protect and serve as peace officers in kentucky. today i had the pleasure of meeting with some of kentucky's finefinest. i want to personally thank them for courageously risking their lives in service to people across the commonwealth. sadly, the occasion

mr. mcconnell? >> mr. chief justice may it please the court, thank you for being willing to hear this little case a second time. it does involve some important principles and the livelihoods of marvin and laura horne and more indirectly hundreds of small california raisin growers will be profoundly affected. this is an administrative enforcement proceeding that was brought by the department of agriculture against my clients commanding the relinquishment of funds connected to specific pieces of property namely reserve raisins. my clients appear in their capacity as handlers, but under their -- in the particular facts of this case, the economic circumstances are somewhat different than are ordinarily true in this industry because as handlers, the horns actually assumed the full financial responsibility for the raisins that were not turned over to the department of agriculture. the producers in this case were fully paid for their raisins. this is a factual finding, to be found in the judicial officer's opinio

mr. mcconnell: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: let me just say to our new colleague from oklahoma what an insightful assessment of the challenges facing our country and an extraordinary list of solutions to those challenges, not to mention reminding us all that we are the envy of the world. so i congratulate our new deeing colleague-- our new colleague from oklahoma wish him well, and thank him for his fine remarks. mr. isakson: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from georgia. mr. isakson: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: mr. mcconnell: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. under the previous order the time from 11:30 until 12:50 will be equally divided with the majority controlling the first half and the democrats controlling the second half. mr. mcconnell: madam pre

mr. mcconnell is putting forward which is to reenact the patriot act for two months, part of it it's nothe entire part that will go away on june 1st -- >> but it's the part with regard to bulk metadata collection. the usa freedom act, does it adequately address the concerns of civil rights advocates that say some of these programs that the nsa is doing impinge on privacy. >> i don't think the privacy community would say they are entirely satisfied. and the other thing to remember too, is we're talking about section 215, which was the provision that was used to gather every american's telephone record over a period of seven years with no evidence that it has been used to build any cases, so that's the main thing that people are arguing about today, but that's only a very small piece of the intelligence communities activities, and i think a lot of people are concerned, including people like senator paul and widen, that actually usa freedom doesn't go far enough and that there are all of these other authorities out there that do need to be addressed as well. >> the obama administration supp

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: today we'll continue our work on the trade legislation which is before us. i know senators on both sides are eager to offer amendments. yesterday was a good start. we voted on a few amendments. we got a half a dozen more pending, but we need to keep the ball moving. so let me again encourage members of both parties to offer those amendments that you may have. let me again encourage members to work with the bill managers to get the amendments moving. we want to process as many amendments as we can that we know we already lost a week to needless filibustering and delaying of this bill, which means one less week to have amendments considered. so we need cooperation from the leadership across the aisle to ensure we don't lose any more time. our friends on the other side seem quite eager to let everyone know how uninterested they are in obstruction these days, but you'll not find a happier guy than me if that turns out to be true. so we'll see if they demonstrate the spirit of co

mr. mcconnell: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mcminimum wage a glad the senate vote. mr. mcconnell: i'm glad the senate voted yesterday to take another step forward on important trade legislation that is before us. this bill represents an opportunity for republicans and democrats to stand together for the middle class. so i hope our friends across the aisle will allow us to seize this opportunity and i'm optimistic. we all know that trade is important for american workers and american jobs. and we all know that by passing this legislation, we can show we're serious about advancing new opportunities for bigger american paybacks -- paychecks better american jobs, and a stronger american economy. now, we want to process as many amendments as we can. the republican and democratic bill managers, senator hatch and senator wyden have done a great job managing this bill in a bipartisan spirit thus far. my hope is that with some cooperation across the aisle we can vote on some amendments today and complete our work on this trade legislati

mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader of the senate. mr. ell: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are not, sir. mr. mcconnell: i took a trip up to boston this weekend to address the kennedy institute. it was really a unique experience. i was there in a full-scale representation of the senate chamber to discuss how the real senate is beginning to get back to work. i explained how committees are working again so senators can have more of a stake in the legislative process. i explained how we're allowing more open floor debate, more amendment opportunities so senators can better represent the voices of their constituents. and i explained how we're getting the fundamentals back on track like passing a budget. that doesn't mean we've ironed out all the senate's challenges, but it does mean a new era of good feelings beckons just around the corner. and it doesn't mean an exertion of will won't be necessary every now and then, but it does mean we're beginning to open the senate back up in a way that will make shared achievement more

mr. mcconnell's home state, those d be.ng. the projects that are in the sed highway trustfo fund, those really are just used for infrastructure funding. here's an area where i think your concern should be talked about moree . we do use the highway trust fund and the federal fuel tax for a number of projects that are not so specifically related simply to rai passenger vehicle activity if you will. so rails mass transit, those ppor types of transportation activities, many ofte f those are still supported through eventually the federal fuel tax and so we can raise the question should we have a different funding mechanism for rails. should we have a different funding mechanism for mass transit. that's a conversation to be had because if you back mass transit and rails out of the federal fuel tax, that $16 billion delta drops to about $2 billion. you can't leave unfunded the pr mass transit and rails so how you fund that would be a question. on specific budgprojects that's a completely different set of the federal budget.d spend

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the president pro tempore: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i'll have more to say about the business before the senate later but at this time i'd just like to express my sincere condolences to the entire biden family in their moment of such deep and profound loss. beau biden was known to many as a dedicated public servant a loving father of two and a devoted partner to the woman he loved. hallie. i've known the vice president for many years and i.t. hard to think of anything more important to him than his faith and his family. i hope he will find comfort in the former, as he grieves such a terrible loss. the senate offers its presiding officer and every member of his family our prayers and our sympathy. now, mr. president i ask unanimous consent that the time until 5:00 p.m. be equally divided in the usual form and the senate recess at 5:00 p.m. subject to the call of the chair. the president pro tempore: without objection. mr. reid: mr. president? the president pro tempore: the minority leader. mr. reid: i join in my feelings about

mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: many of us awoke to terrible news this morning. we're still awaiting more information about what happened outside of philadelphia, but we know this tragedy will touch the lives of many. the senate sends its condolence to the victims those who were injured and their families and loved ones. we also reaffirm our gratitude to the nation's first responders. now, mr. president, on an entirely different matter, it was really quite something to watch president obama's party vote to filibuster his top domestic legislative priority yesterday. that's what we saw right here in the senate. it left pretty much everyone scratching their heads. the democratic leader made clear yesterday that he was not interested in debating -- quote -- the merits of the bill, end quote. in other words he told us that this filibuster is for political reasons only. it makes sense considering that this filibuster's all about apiecing a -- appeasing a facts-optional crowd on the left that hasn't been able to

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: the senate is now nearing completion of the bipartisan iran nuclear agreement review act. this is a bipartisan bill based on an important principle. if the american people, through the congress they elect deserve a say on one of the most important issues of our time, it would require that any agreement reached with iran be submitted to congress for review. it would be require that congress be given time to hold hearings and to take a vote to approve or disapprove of the agreement before congressional sanctions could be lifted. and it would give congress more power to rapidly impose sanctions if iran does cheat. many wish the bill was stronger. i don't disagree with them. but this is a piece of legislation worthy of our support. it offers the best chance we have to provide the american people and the congress they elect with power to weigh in on a vital issue. and we will pursue other opportunities to address iran's full spectrum campaign to increase its sphere of influence i

mr. mcconnell: mr. president i ask -- the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. ir lays before the senate the veto message to accompany s.j. res. 8. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. the clerk will report the veto message. the clerk: veto message company s.j. res. 8 a joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, united states code, of the rules submitted by the national labor relations board relating to representation case procedures. mr. mcconnell: mr. president i move to table the veto message and ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the question is on the motion to table. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote:

mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i was glad to see our democratic friends accept our path forward on trade yesterday. under our plan, the senate will avoid the poison pills that have been floated in favor of the very type of bipartisan approach we have been advocating all along. it follows the regular order. it allows senators to express themselves without endangering more american trade jobs for the people we represent. so this is good news. it's good news for bipartisanship it's good news for a new congress that's getting back to work. and it's good news for america's middle class. the people we represent deserve the kind of good jobs we could secure by knocking down unfair trade barriers. one estimate shows that trade agreements with europe and the pacific could support as many as 1.4 million additional jobs here in our country. in kentucky, they could support more than 18,000 additional jobs. but we can't get there without first passing the kind of legislation we'll vote to open debate on this afternoon

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: the house passage of the justice for victims of trafficking act represents a vital ray of hope for the countless victims of modern slavery who need our help. v.i.p.'s' groups and -- victims groups and advocates tells us this human rights legislation would provide support to domestic victims of trafficking. they urge congress to pass it. we can now say that we have passed it. we can now say that hope is on the way for the victims who suffer in the shadows. unfortunately, the victims of modern-day slavery had to wait entirely too long for help. last congress the house of representatives did its job by passing several pieces of legislation, but the senate failed to bring any trafficking legislation to the floor. as a new majority, senate republicans were determined to make this matter a priority. senator grassley promptly reported legislation out of the judiciary committee and we quickly put it on the senate floor. as we all know by now, there was an unforeseen -- to put it mil

mr. mcconnell: the senator from georgia is correct. mr. isakson: in that case i will not object but i ask unanimous consent senator coons and i be able to make a one-minute statement. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. isakson: in the committee on the act we put an amendment to ensure a review of trade practices vis-a-vis poultry and other issues important to the united states. we would have offered an amendment on the floor had it been possible without this u.c. but with this u.c. coming forward and not objecting we have gotten permission to talk to ambassador froman who has assured us an out-of-cycle review whenever necessary to review the trade practices of south africa vis-a-vis poultry and i commend him for doing that and want to memorialize it in the record. i yield to senator coons. mr. coons: i thank senator isakson of georgia and express my shared concern if we are going to proceed to a long-term renewal of the growth and opportunity act which provides duty-free access to u.s. markets to sub-saharan

mr. mcconnell: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i thank my good friend from oregon and want to congratulate both the senator from oregon and the chairman of the finance committee senator hatch, for moving this important legislation forward. thursday's vote to open this git -- to open this debate on trade was a really important day for this country. it brought mulled-class families -- it brought middle-class families one step closer to the jobs our economy needs. it took a lot of work to get us this far. it is going to take a lot more of that kind of work to bring these american jobs over the finish line. cooperation from both sides of the aisle will be critical to doing so. for instance, we were ready to be in session on friday to get more of our work done on trade and allow senators from both parties the chance to offer amendments. all the unnecessary delaying and filibustering we've seen has left us with less time for debate and amendments on this bill -- less time for debates and amendments on this bill. it cost the se

mr. mcconnell: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: the senate will have the opportunity this afternoon to open the legislative process for a broad 21st century american trade agenda. let me remind senators that the vote we're taking today is not a vote to approve or disapprove of trade promotion authority. in fact, the bill we'll be voting to proceed to is simply a place holder that will allow us to open a broad debate on trade that our country very much needs. voting yes to open debate on the 21st century american trade agenda offers every member of this body the chance to stand up for american workers american farmers, american entrepreneurs and american manufacturers. it's a chance to stand with americans for economic growth, opportunity and good jobs. selling products stamped made in america to the many customers who live beyond our borders is key. that's true across our entire country. it's true in my home state of kentucky. we know that kentucky already boasts more than half a million jobs related to trade. we know tha

mr. mcconnell: mr.nt this morning i restated my commitment to working with senators in a serious way to move our country ahead on trade and the economy of the 21st century. sdhat weeed >> moving our country ahead on trade and economy in the 21st century. we need to allow debate to begin and our colleagues across the aisle need to stop blocking us from doing so. that is the view from our side the view from the white house and the view of serious people across the political spectrum. ever. the stated my commitment. serious and bipartisan does not mean agreeing to impossible guarantees or swallowing poison pills but it means pursuing reasonable options designed to get a good policy result in the end. that is why i have agreed to keep my parties significant concession that t pa mta on the table and are considering other policies and why have underlined my commitment to an open amendment process once we get on the bill. of course, our friends across the aisle now also want a path forward on all four of the t

mr. mcconnell agrees. mr. reed has half a point. both of the bills will otherwise expire at the end of may and holding trade hostage to them would be sheer strong-arm politics. that's "the washington post" with that this morning. and then also want to share with you the front page of the "houston chronicle" below the fold. this story today, texas climbed high before falling hard. former u.s. house speaker jim wright a towering speaker who resigned amid scandal died wednesday and says in fort worth the city he represented in congress for more than 34 years. he was 92 years old embodyying a by gone era right wield of power at the pinnacle of politics until he was taken down by ethics charges and a book deal and outside income. c-span interviewed jimal wright on his book, here's some of that interview. [video clip] . >> i have been very successful in -- making peace factions of -- but a failure in making peace among factions of congress. my bipartisan approach in foreign policy. we won, i prevailed. in what i thought was my duty. but i

mr. mcconnell: for the information of all senators, we are using postcloture debate time now. no senator has to speak if he or she chooses not to. [laughter] any senator who speaks will be limited to one hour. so this can go on as long as senators want to or as short a time as senators prefer provided no one is seeking recognition. but if anyone does seek recognition they're limited to one hour, at which point the chair puts the question. so i can't tell you with specificity when the vote will occur but it will occur when no one is seeking recognition. once this bill is concluded later this evening under the regular order the cloture motions on the two fisa bills will ripen an hour after we convene tomorrow which could be as early as 1:00 a.m. tonight. so just to reiterate if no senators are seeking recognition , we would move to a vote shortly. if any senator seeks recognition they're limited to one hour. at the end of that, if no other senator is seeking recognition we'll put the question and start the vote. so, mr. president, i know of no other debate on this bill. mr. merk

mr. mcconnell: now madam president, since the unlawful leaks of n.s.a. programs opponents of our counterterrorism program have painted a distorted picture of how these programs are conducted and overseen by exploiting the fact that our intelligence community cannot discuss classified activities. so what you have here is an effort to characterize our n.s.a. programs and the officials who conduct them cannot discuss the classified activities so they're clearly at a disadvantage. since september the 11th, 2001 fisa has been critically important in keeping us safe here in america. according to the c.i.a., had these authorities been in place more than a decade ago, they would likely -- likely -- have prevented 9/11. not only have these tools kept us safe there has not been a single incident -- not one -- of intentional abuse of them. the n.s.a. is overseen by the executive legislative and judicial branches of our government. they're not running rogue out there. the n.s.a. is overseen by the legislative, executive and judicial branches of our government. the e

. >> and there's the senate majority leader this thursday, mitch mcconnell, he joins us live right now. mrader thank you for joining us this morning. this is president's top legislation, this trade policy. you appear to be his pointman in the senate what is it going to take to get >> we'll pass it later this week. the president has done an excellent job on this. i point out to my members who are somewhat squeamish by giving the president a power on any issue, given his expansive view, on his powers on so many other issues that is a trade promotion authority not just for president obama but for the next president as well, this is a six-year trade promotion authority bill that will give the next president an opportunity to enter into additional trade agreements with other countries around the world. we know america is a big winner when we lower barriers to our products abroad, it also has a foreign policy and defense component. a lot of the counties in asia pprehensive about not only chinese economic domination but potential chinese military domination. they would like to get closer to us an

mr. haskell: what you're saying, that mcconnell's life is organized around five senators who are up for reelection in 2016. if the senate looks dysfunctional in some way, that does not help keep the majority. there is the political incentive structure, really. mr. sides: there have been a couple articles recently that argued the congressional capacity is in decline. the article talked about congressmen being lobotomized, because you have seen a reduction in the number of staff. there is a companion piece by a former crs staffer who argued that crs has suffered in some respects in terms of the number of resources it has in the number of staff it has. i wanted to get your sense of whether you guys saw that as true and the tenor of these articles is that it is problematic, but where do you guys come down on the policymaking capacity that congress has right now? ms. shogan: we're happy at crs. the appropriations committee continued to fund us. we're happy to come into our jobs as we enjoy our jobs and working through congress. it is addressed in part in the evolving congress. we have one chapter on le

mr. riendeau also led by government and committee affairs for the kfc corporation. i think everybody understands who that is answered as a legislative assistant for senator majority leader -- let's see, that would be mitch mcconnell, isn't it? >> i can't remember spent can't remember? thank you. we look forward to your testimony. mr. richard goff of the office of child nutrition on west virginia and their department of education is next. mr. goff joins joins us today on the other west virginia department of education what he has served as executive director of the office of child nutrition back since 2005. he is 26 years of experience with the west virginia department of education completing work with a child and adult care food program. in his current role the overseas development of policies and programs administration related to all child nutrition programs. welcome. i look forward to your testimony and earnings. business in the jones of the only thing unified school district to 33. a special happy to introduce to the committee misjudges serve as a business management coordinator for food service at the l.a. the public schools in kansas. she has worked for the only the public school food service for 20 years.

mcconnell. it is my pleasure to introduce mrs. victoria reggie kennedy. we know her well in massachusetts. [applause] >> i think all has been said but you do know that she is a founding president of the institute and we would not be here without her energy, determination and her vision for making this place that will inspire a next generation of leaders. mrs. kennedy. [applause] mrs. kennedy: thank you so much for those warm words. it is so great to be with all of you and i would be remiss if i did not say a warm word of welcome to senator paul kerr, thank you for being here. also, our founding chair is here. [applause] thank you so much. good afternoon and happy mother's day to all of you. it is my great pleasure to welcome you to the edward m kennedy institute for the united states senate. this institute was created to educate the public about the important role of the united states senate and our government. to encourage participatory democracy, invigorate civil discourse, and inspire a new generation of leaders. this afternoon, with our esteemed inaugural speaker, for our get to the po

interaction there has been between the white house and leader mcconnell and whether the president has scheduled talks this week on the trade issue? mrrnest: i can tell you the president has been engaged on this and continues to being gauged in making the case to democrats and republicans about the wisdom of pursuing this approach. those efforts have continued this week, but i don't have any details to share with you. reporter: including phone calls? mr. earnest: including conversations with members of congress yes. reporter: benjamin netanyahu is facing a deadline to form a government. it looks like he may. will the white house invite him here for a meeting given all of the drama around the array talks after he forms a government -- iran talks after he forms a government? mr. earnest: the president did not envision a meeting with mr. netanyahu prior to the completion of a government. the president was also clear that would have no impact on the deep cooperation between our two countries. we know the support the united states provides to israel is critical to the safety and well-being of their people. that is a venture in which we ar

reauthorization of the program through, so the real question for senator mcconnell do you take the legislation or do you let the program expire? mr. vitka: i want to highlight the first time i read about this was a reuters report, and it detailed and i will ask patrick to explain it and bob to comment, but to present the severe dissonance that exists in terms of what this is. nancy described it as phoning up investigations and said she'd never heard it anything like it. and senior dea officials called it decades old, a bedrock concept. and nancy was a judge, by the way. patrick? mr. toomey: to describe what we see in some of the criminal cases we litigate and articles described, and articles have expounded on especially to the dea's program and recent disclosure of bulk collection of phone calls in and out of the u.s., parallel construction is an effort to construct a parallel source for certain evidence in investigations. it often occurs in certain senses. where we see it or believe it happened, where investigators obtain information using one authority, which is potentially controversial or novel or legally untested in the cour

the break through came after senate majority leader mitch mcconnell had a separate bill. a measure mr. obama could hurt the trade deal itself. they'll move forward on that as early as today and increase into next week. the path in the house is less clear and the speaker of the house who supports the deal has said the white house needs to provide at least 50 notes from the 188 democratic house lawmakers to help pass the maker. more than 150 democrats came out in opposition to the deal. and then in washington today, president obama will continue with his gulf summit at camp david. he's meeting with six countries. it says obama had planned to meet with the king of saudi arabia but the monarch decided to send deputies instead to the summit with the president and we'll have coverage of the summit at 5:00 p.m. eastern time and the president will be talking to the press after meeting with the leaders there. and the "new york times" reports that the saudis are promising to match iran's nuclear capabiliti. the summit is in part to get these gulf region countries on board with whatever the coun

reauthorization of the program through, so the real question for senator mcconnell to take the legislation or do you let the program expire. mr. vitka: i want to highlight this was a reuters report, and it detailed an

mcconnell, wouldn't it? >> i can't remember. >> can't remember? all right. thank you for being here today. we look forward to your testimony. mr. richard goff of the office of child nutrition from west virginia and their department of education is next. mr. goff joins us on behalf of the west virginia department of education where he's served as executive director at the office of child -- since 2005. he has 26 years of experience with the west virginia department of education, including work with the child and adult care food program. and in his current role he oversees development and policies administration related to all child nutrition programs. welcome, i look forward to your testimony, sir, and your insight. ms. cindy jones. i'm especially happy to introduce to the committee ms. jones who serves as the business management coordinator for food service in kansas. she has worked for the olathe public school ss food programs for 20 years. starting at 17 as i recall. she serves as the public policy and legislation committee chair in the school nutrition association of kansas and has served as vice president and president. dr.

mr. riendeau led a government and community affairs for the kfc corporation. i think everybody understands who that is and served as the legislative assistant for senate majority leader -- that would be mitch mcconnell, wouldn't it? >> i can't remember. >> you can't remember? all right. thank you for being here today. we look forward to your testimony. mr. richard goth of the office of child nutrition from west virginia and their department of education is next. mr. goff joins us on behalf of the west virginia department of education where he has served as executive director in the office of child nutrition back since -- pardon me, 2005. he has 26 years of experience with the west virginia department of education, including work with the child and adult care food program. in his current role he oversees development of policies and program administration related to all child nutrition programs. i look forward to your testimony, sir, and your insight. miss cindy jones of the unified school district 233. i'm especially happy to introduce to the committee ms. jones who serves as the business management coordinator for food service at the public schools in kansas. she has worked for oletha public schools

senator mitch mcconnell, the republican leader in the senate took to the floor this morning and did two interesting things. he basically threw president obama's words back at him saying, mrt last year you were saying this program is successful and incredibleiness. now you are looking to get rid of it what gives? he also said we are not ready for a transition yet. there is a move afoot to give us an extra transition period so the nsa can move to private holdings of the phone data so to speak. the big question is will that succeed? will we have this transition period so the nsa can set up a new program?nnell says if we end the program right now as this house bill calls for, we are not ready for that next step. that major debate is how much transition time do you give? can the administration get up and ready for a world which the data isn't held by the government, but instead held by private phone companies? >> it's complicated. what is going to happen? are they going to pass this? >> it's a good question. they are in the middle of discussing that. they'll pass something. i doubt they let all the powers expire because there are other powers that would expire everybody agree