mr. merkley: i thank very much the senator for responding to the question. thank you, mr. president. mr. blumenthal: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. blumenthal: thanks, mr. president. i'm very proud to begin a conversation on the floor with a number of my colleagues about one of the most urgent and pressing challenges that face us as a body here in washington making laws, but even more preeminently to families and students around the country who literally right now are sitting at their kitchen tables in their living rooms, in family gatherings, trying to find a path forward in financing their education, their children's education, their grandchildren's education. we must do better as a nation and we have to do better in giving a fair shot to them, to the innovators and entrepreneurs, and vintors of the future, the people who will power our economy with ideas and energy as a result of college education which is part of american dream -- the american dream, part of giving everybody in america a fair shot at that dream. i've been doing a lot of li

mr. chairman. >> senator merkley may be the first member the committee but he's front and center on energy policy and global affairs and we appreciate his expertise on the committee. two final questions. one ambassador you have talked about this several times in your answers and i'm concerned and i like to hear some of it views as well. ukraine yes but all of eastern europe and that is the saturation the russians have created with their broadcasting into the region. of course it is not an open-ended raw testing testing s of use. it's directed by the state. what should we be doing at the voice of america radio free europe to quickly increase our level of engagement in this region so that in addition to a domestically created series of social networking platforms that there is additional opportunities for multiple voices to be heard? >> senator i would argue that we should use those programs boost them into the regions but we should also take a look at the social media platforms ray there are ways that we can help to create anchors outside of the regions such that it makes it harder for the russian

mr. pope? >> chairman merkley, ranking member and members of the committee. thank you for the chance to speak about climate change. first, let me say we've always had wild weather on the southern plains. i think oklahoma native will rogers said if you don't like the weather in oklahoma, wait a minute, it will change. what's different is the frequency and strength of the weather events that we're seeing. basically our crazy weather has been put on steroids. the drought we've been suffering through the last five years is a perfect example and it's had a drastic impact on agriculture. in oklahoma alone, we've seen a reduction in the cattle herd by 13%. it's shrunk to its lowest level since 1941 and over 80% of these happened in two states, oklahoma and texas. but the effects of the drought aren't just limtd limited to ly livestock. as bad as the cotton situation is, the real story is wheat. this year's wheat harvest is expected to be the lowest since 1957. it's estimated the amount of wheat harvested in 2014 will be 40% of what was cut in 2013 and that crop was

reid of nevada, coons, blumenthal, merkley, durbin, gillibrand, cardin, nelson, feinstein, warren, harkin, hirono. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the mandatory quorum under rule 22 be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the measure. all those in favor say aye. all those opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. reid: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 736. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all those in favor say aye. all those opposed -- all those opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: leo t. sorokin of massachusetts to be united states district judge for the district of massachusetts. mr. reid: there is a cloture motion at the desk. i would ask it be reported. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion. we the undersigned senators in in accordance with the provi

mr. merkley: i ask that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. merkley: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent unanimous consent for my intern, john bosworth to have floor privileges for the balance of the day. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. merkley: i notice the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, i welcome the supreme court's decision in the noel canning case. it represents a clear, clear rebuke to the president's brazen power grab, a power grab i was proud to lead the effort against. today's decision was clear, and it was a unanimous, unanimous rebuke of the president of the united states. like my republican colleagues, i've said all along, president obama's so-called recess appointments to the nlrb in 2012 were a wholly unprecedented act of