mr. moran: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank my very good friend, judge hastings of florida, thank you very much for your service to this country, judge. and my comments, although critical, will be in no way personally critical of my very good friend from oklahoma with whom i serve on the appropriations committee, he knows my very high regard for his integrity, his judgment, his character, and i value our friendship. i rise in opposition to this rule. in the the military construction veterans part, because that's an open rule. that's not at issue. but with regard to the legislative branch. there's several amendment this is a should not be made in order, should not in my view, should not have been taken seriously but the reason i oppose it is because there's an amendment not made in order that should be discussed on the floor of this house. i offered an amendment, very modest one, to provide $25 a day to the members in the form of a housing allowance for the days we're in session. only the days we're in session. w

mr. moran: i i would ask the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. moran: i would ask to address the senate as if in morning hour. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. moran: thank you. nearly every minute someone in america develops alz phaoeurpls disease. more than -- alzheimer's disease. more than 35 million individuals worldwide. if trends continue the number of individuals diagnosed with the disease after the age of 65 is expected to double every five years while the number over 58 will triple by 2050. alzheimer's is the sixth leading cause of death in the united states and there is currently no cure and no treatment for this disease. as a nation we must remain committed to defeating one of the greatest threats to the well-being of all americans. caring for those with alzheimer's and other dementia is expected to cost $214 billion this year. $214 billion this year alone with $150 billion covered by the federal government through medicare and medicaid. a recent study outlined that the cost of care for those struggling with dementia is pro

mr. chairman. i rise in support of the moran-myth-nadler amendment. we are told by some in the majority that enemy soldiers should not have constitutional rights. but, mr. speaker, a majority concededly of those at guantanamo were never involved in a hostile act toward the united states. 86% were turned in for bounties. we don't know whether these people are enemy soldiers. some of them may be and some of them are probably not. and we don't know that they're terrorists. those facts must be determined in a fair proceeding of some sort. but at guantanamo there are no proceedings. they haven't managed to hold military trials. and we can't hold civilian trials there. so we are holding people for no purpose with no proceedings, no hearings, no opportunity essentially forever. the time to close guantanamo is now. guantanamo is a stain on our national honor. never mind the foreign policy reasons why it's poisoning our relations with foreign countries. it's instigating terrorism against it. the fact is it's wrong. we're holding 154 people at guantanamo. 77 of

. >> yes mr. moran i propose at the end of today's rate discussions one of the things i'm going to be asking for is a start of a discussion through a couple calendared items in the near future to start looking at changes to the rate structure that would bring our revenue structure in line with the expenditure structure and what that would do is increase fixed charges and probably get rid of tiers on the variable section and i think that there's a variety of benefits to that and mr. -- gave me a couple more so i think that's what we need to look at they are complicated issues and take time to resolve and that's why i want to get that discussion started as soon as we adopt these rates that we start talking in terms of what we need to do for the next set of rates. >> thank you commissioner. >> okay go easy on me. olodai, omaka -- how's that? my first a. >> good afternoon. i want to thank everyone my first time here and english is my second language so i'm here as myself i represent myself as a single mom a

mr. moran: mr. president, thank you. i would ask unanimous consent to address the senate as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. moran: mr. president, thank you. the story of kansas is one that involves many people, many jobs, much ado about caring for others. our state is a state of manufacturing workers, factory workers, teachers, people who work hard, farmers, every day to make a difference in our community, state and nation. today i want to pay tribute to one of those unsung heroes. in this case it's a businessman, a volunteer, a husband, a father who lived a full life before passing away in december of last year. alvin brensing was born and raised on a farm outside of hudson, a rural kansas town with a population of 125. after high school brinsing graduated with honors from salt city college in hutchenson. at the age of 21 started working as a bookkeeper. the kruger understood their american dream was going to be by establishing a tphrou -- flower mill. alvin was named as president

mr. moran: madam president? sphir officer the senatothe pree senator from cang cang. mr. moran: i ask that be made in order for me to offer a amendment designated 29 ^1 1. the presiding officer: snr is there objection? mr. reed: reserving my right to object, in order to get this bipartisan emergency legislation completed and benefit 2.7 million americans, i would respectfully object to my colleague's amendment. the presiding officer: objection is is heard. mr. moran: madam president, we were here last evening both you and i on this topic for consideration by the senate and the amendment that i was offering that the gentleman has objected to in my view is one of the many amendments that could be -- should be considered in this legislation, certainly should be considered by this senate. and while i'm certainly interested and willing to have a discussion about the extension of unemployment benefits, it seems to me that this senate ought to be also looking at issues that would reduce the chances th

mr moran said quote i think the american people should know that members of congress are underpaid now before you can braid said how stupid this and we should take a closer look at how a really stupid to bed first about the rest of the current approval rating of just eighteen percent in a recent gallup poll so basically no one's happy with the job they're doing. she had to be the first indicated that he was coming for the eu. that's probably why the house voted to read out in the first place because most congress members realized it looked pretty bad to give themselves a raise a break now. on our continent already make more than average nuclear engineer nurses dentists and find this in the us according to the bureau of labor statistics. i'm pretty sure those are pretty important one thing i'm just not putting a lot of people are around like a condescending including congressman moran if you take a look at this track record and got to guide you as you can see he co sponsored a whopping four hundred and nine bills and resolutions. thirteen of the zone. that is exactly the bureau forecast

mr. moran: i rise to strike the last word. mr. speaker, the amendment before us reflects concerns that congress has had over senior executives at the department of veterans affairs receiving performance bonuses when v.a. hospital standards were not up to par and when we continue to see a backlog of disability claims. i share those concerns that v.a. truly does not into -- need to tackle. but recent actions taken by this congress, through the good work of the milcon appropriations subcommittee, and the veterans' administration, have in fact improved the operational efficiency of those hospitals and reduced the backlog. the v.a. has also instituted much greater transparency in the process of awarding bonuses for its senior executives. in fact, the v.a. has centralized senior executive award decisions, they've added an additional level of review in crucial of those awards and the v.a. has significantly reduced the value of those awards compared to prior years. most importantly, the secretary has already demonstrated his willingness t

mr. moran: madam president, thank you. it is april fools day but it feels like groundhog day because we're here considering an extension of unemployment benefits for the millions of americans who have been out of work for months and some of them even years. mr. moran: while assistance for those without work serves an important purpose in helping americans transition, we are failing to address the underlying and more important issue, how do we grow the economy and create jobs for all of our citizens? a growing economy creates new opportunities for americans to find meaningful work and for meaningful work comes an opportunity for americans to improve their economic security and advance up that economic ladder. it's one of the reasons that senator wyden and i started the economic mobility caucus. we wanted to study the facts and explore policy improvements that could make a difference to increase the likelihood that all americans can do just that. improve their standard of living and move up that

mr. moran's remarks before the committee, he did not ask his colleagues to do a roll call votes, which wouldput them on the record for voting for or against the amendment which i'm sure many of them appreciated. host: let's go to your phone calls. jo from new bern, north carolina, good morning. caller: good morning. thank you very much for having me. our senators and congressmen are some of the most corrupt people in this nation, and their salaries of $174,000 is just the beginning. the lobbyists give them money and gifts. they go on vacation without having to pay for anything. why don't these members give some of the money back to the community and give it to the government, with our deficit being so incredibly high? host: thank you joe, we will get a response. kellie lunney. guest: many members of congress do deliver a portion of their salaries to charity like many americans do. as far as the remarks about lobbyist are concerned, there are rules that prevent members of congress from profiting from those relationships, and there have been reforms particularly over the last few years to stop

and senator harkin and now senator moran from kansas are particularly interested in it and it's an honor to be a part of it and i wish gallaudet a happy 150th birthday. mr. president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. mccain: i want to thank the senator from ohio for his service on really one of the really remarkable experiences one could have at gallaudet university. wonderful loving, caring people who make us all proud of their success, and i thank him for his involvement. i also thank him for honoring our heroes today of long ago and far away when the united states was in great jeopardy. mr. president, i rise today to bring attention to the navy's littoral expwat combat ship. it's a troubled major defense acquisition program if not properly addressed will join a list of failed procurements at the department of defense. from the 13 arduous years that l.c.s. has been in development we've learned yet again an important costly, basic lesson. if we don't know what we really want when we procure a weapons system, we're likely not to get -- not to like what we get. if we get anything. in this case the navy's poor planni

amendment number 5 by mr. moran of virginia. and an amendment by mr. blumenauer of oregon. the chair will reduce to two minutes any time for electronic vote after the first vote in this series. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on amendment number 5 offered by the gentleman from virginia, mr. moran. on which further proceedings were postponed and the noes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 5 printed in the congressional record offered by mr. moran of virginia. the chair: a recorded vote having been requested, those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a 15-minute vote. [closed captioning provided by hbo, inc.] [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial

mr. moran: and, mr. president, i ask for unanimous consent to speak to the senate as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. moran: mr. president, thank you very much. in kansas there's a company called coke industries that is an important part of our state, its economy, and many, several thousand, kansans work there. and unfortunately in the political discourse of our country, koch industries, its owners are often subject to attack. and i happened to be republican colleague the "wall street journal" this morning and i noticed a column, an opinion piece written by the chairman of the board of koch industries, charles g. koch and i wanted to share that with my colleagues today. it seems to me that the things that are outlined in mr. koch's opinion piece, while not everyone would agree with, they're certainly within the wide mainstream of american thought and certainly reflect opinions that are worthy of debate and discussion in our country and here on the senate floor. we al