mr. president. the presiding officer: the minority whip. mr. durbin: mr. president, several weeks ago, the house of representatives passed a bill to repeal the affordable care act and to replace it. it was passed without hearings. it was passed without an amendment process, and it was passed before the congressional budget office, provided that traditional analysis, which we count on before we take up a measure of such magnitude, that measure passed with a party-line vote. all republicans. had two republican senators voted the other way, it would not have moved forward. after it passed, the president of the united states decided to have a celebration at the white house. we saw him on television gathering the republican members of the house of representatives and celebrating the fact that this measure had passed and finally they were going to repeal the affordable care act. but then the american people took a close look and the congressional budget office issued its analysis, and it turns out that 23 million americans would lose their health insurance becaus

the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. cornyn: mr. president, let me join my friend, the senior senator from utah, the president pro tempore of the senate, in his remarks about the u.s. capitol police. all of us who work on capitol hill, all of our visitors who come here, constituents around the country, are in their debt because they literally do keep us safe and secure here on capitol hill. i do think the events this morning give rise to some additional concerns of what happens after the hill when -- off the hill when ordinarilily there might not be the sort of security measures that are necessary in place. and i think it is another wake-up call to all of us to be vigilant, to be aware of our situation, and to exercise concern for our own safety. but, of course, we do need to continue to look at what the needs of the capitol police are in terms of training and equipment and staffing to make sure they can continue to do the outstanding job that they have done yet again here this morning. it's safe to say that without the capitol polic

mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority whip. mr. cornyn: reserving the right to object. mr. president, none of these senators have read the bill. it's -- i have the floor, mr. president. the bill is 142 pages long compared to 2,700-page long obamacare bill. they can read the bill. if they have objections to the provisions, we can debate them but what they're talking about is a bill that does not exist which they have not read. i object. the presiding officer: the objection is heard. mr. schumer: mr. president? the presiding officer: minority leader. mr. schumer: would my dear colleague from texas yield for a question? the presiding officer: the senator from texas does not have the floor. you have the floor. mr. schumer: i would like to just then tell the -- my friend from texas, this is the bill. it was posted online a half-hour before we came online. and i'd ask a page to come over and bring it to my dear friend and ask him if this is the bill, which we have read. mr. cornyn: mr. preside

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. brown: i ask unanimous consent to dispense with the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. brown: thank you. i first ask unanimous consent that privileges of the floor be granted to the following members of my staff. chris burrdock, victoria king. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. brown: thank you very much, mr. president. russia remains a hostile recalcitrant power deploying its military, its cyber espionage activities, its economic tactics to harm the united states of america, to drive a wedge between us and our allies. president obama began time pose tough sanctions for russia's cyber attacks, its cyber intrusion, its illegal annexation of crimea, it's continuing aggression in ukraine and syria. congress joined in that effort by enacting two measures to tighten and broaden those sanctions. lifting or relaxing those sanctions now would only reward russia's attempts to undermine our democracy. the administration continues to exercise a policy of strateg

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from kansas. mr. moran: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. so ordered. mr. moran: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent to be able to address the senate as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. moran: mr. president, thank you very much. i joined our colleagues today at lunch and one of the conversations that i had with one of my democrat colleagues was how surprising perhaps, but certainly how pleasing it was, that today the senate in a bipartisan fashion addressed some contentious issues, issues related to sanctions in regard to iran, issues related to sanctions in regard to russia. both of those issues, because of the political climate and because of past history, could be fraught with great opportunity for partisanship to be exhibited in full force, and the conversation i had with my colleague was how surprising and, more importantly, how pleasing it is what that didn't happen. and so i want to commen

mr. president, today, mr. president, we are

mr. president? the presidinmr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from utah. mr. hatch: is there a quorum? the presiding officer: there is a quorum. mr. hatch: i ask that the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. hatch: i rise to express my deepest sympathy for the victims of this morning's shoot, including my good friend representative steve scalise. i pray that he, the congressional staff, and police officers who were injured in this horrific event can recover quickly. mr. president, today it not a day to -- today is not a day to reflect on our differences but on you are a common commitment to upholding the constitution and doing the work of the american people. this chamber is often divided on matters of policy, but in the face of tragedy, we are unewtowned as -- united as one. today we are together and together we recognize the local law enforcement officials who respond quickly and professionally to this morning's attack. each and every day police officers across this great nation risk their own well-being to ensure the safety

mr. president. could be back to the united states. i arrived back at 1:00 at the g-77 folks environment message there with the united states will be focused on growth and protecting the environment. >> good morning, mr. president. the intelligence community has never faced such a diversity of threats to our country in our lifetimes. we have men and women who are working 24/7, seven days a week to make sure that we are following this thread, working with the people and will continue to to provide you with the very best intelligence to deal with these issues. >> mr. president, it's a privilege to serve the students of this country and to work to ensure that every child has a medical opportunity to get a great education and therefore a great future. >> what an incredible honor a days to lead the department of health and human services that this pivotal time under leadership and i can't thank you enough for the privileges you've shown. seems like there is an international flair to the messages being del

mr. president. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from delaware. mr. carper: i love what the senator from minnesota just said. i'm a retired navy captain. for years we had friendly competition between the different branches of our services. i salute the folks in the army, the marines, air force and coast guard. i say navy salutes you. and we -- then i also say different uniforms, same team. different uniforms, same team. and to hear to an extent we wear different uniforms, can he really on the same team. i think the american people are anxious for us to start acting that way. i hope we hit this pause button right now on the legislation that the republicans have pulled off the floor and that we use this as an opportunity not to go our separate corners and figure out how we can do the other team in when we return here in ten days or something. i hope we will explore as some of my colleagues have suggested some ideas that we can work together. several of them already talked about how do we make the mark

mr. president. ivilege of my life is to serve as vice president to a president who is keeping his word to the american people who is bringing real change to our nation. president trump: thank you, mike. attorney general sessions: i would like to be here and celebrate this group. sure the rest of you understand, but law enforcement all across america very frustrated. they are so thrilled that we have an idea we are going to support him and walk together. theill lawfully fight to rising crime that we are seeing. you inn honor to serve that regard. you have sent to the exact right message and the responses fabulous around the country. president trump: great success 13, being thrown out and rapid numbers and they are being depleted. they will all be gone pretty sent. you are great, jeff. think you very much. alex? >> mr. president, it is my privilege to be here. i am deeply honored and i would like to thank you for your amendment to the american workers. we are very excited at the department of labor. i

mr. president. we can just wait around for the exchanges to collapse completely as our colleagues across the aisle are inclined to do or we can ask to sitting around waiting for the exchanges to collapse can't do much good for the american people if we are sitting on the bench and watching the republicans promised the american people burdens of obamacare and wero intend to keep that promise. last week senate republicans release legislation to start undoing the damage caused by obamacare for its called better care reconciliation act prince to start with our bill provides relief for individuals and in cares burdensome individual employer mandates. under our legislation americans would no longer be forced to buy insurance if they don't want or can't afford and employers would no longer be faced with the choice of reducing worker hours are not hiring more employees simply to avoid the federal government's heavy hand.ea our bill also repeals obamacare taxes. taxes have consequences and when you raise tax

the presiding officer: the senator from washington. mrs. murray: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, since the first day of this administration, i have heard from women in my home state and nationwide who are fearful of what president trump will do to their health and rights, from appointing a supreme court justice who has made clear he opposes the historic ruling in roe v. wade to trying at every turn to undermine women's access to safe, legal abortion here in the united states and abroad, to proposing a budget that would defund planned parenthood and devastate investments in women's health, i know from letters and calls and e-mails, tweets, rallies, you name it that across the country, women feel under attack because of this administration's policies and the willingness of republicans in congress to make sure they're carried out. women are worried and unfortunately they have a right to be, especially in this moment. mr. president, in a matter of days, senate republicans could bring their version of trumpcare to this floor. as many of us have said, this is the worst bill f

mr. president. the presiding officer: the minority whip. mr. durbin: mr. president, several weeks ago, the house of representatives passed a bill to repeal the affordable care act and to replace it. it was passed without hearings. it was passed without an amendment process, and it was passed before the congressional budget office, provided that traditional analysis, which we count on before we take up a measure of such magnitude, that measure passed with a party-line vote. all republicans. had two republican senators voted the other way, it would not have moved forward. after it passed, the president of the united states decided to have a celebration at the white house. we saw him on television gathering the republican members of the house of representatives and celebrating the fact that this measure had passed and finally they were going to repeal the affordable care act. but then the american people took a close look and the congressional budget office issued its analysis, and it turns out that 23 million americans would lose their health insurance becaus

mr. president. >> minority whip. president, several weeks ago the house of representatives passed a bill to repeal the affordable care act and replace it. it was passed without hearings, without amendment process, and before the cbo provided the traditional analysis which we count on before we take up a measure of such magnitude. that measure passed with a partyline vote of all republicans -- two republican senators voted the other way, it would not have moved forward -- after it passed the president of the united states had a -- at a celebration at the white house. representatives and celebrating that the measure had passed. the american people took a close look and the congressional budget office issued its analysis. it turns out that 23 million americans would lose their health insurance because of this republican measure that passed the house of representatives. it turns out there would be a dramatic increase in health insurance premiums for people between the ages of 50 and 64. ,t turned out that in my state and

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from wyoming. mr. barrasso: mr. president, i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. barrasso: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i come to the floor today, having returned from the weekend in wyoming, talking to people as a physician, talking to former patients of mine. and what i see is that the pain of obamacare is continuing to worsen around the country for men, women, families, people who have been living under the obama health care law for a number of years now. and this is an important day when insurance companies have to come up with the filings and the plans on what they plan to do for next year with regard to plans that meet the obamacare mandate. so very soon millions of people will find out if they're going to be able to buy an insurance plan in their own communities regardless of the cost. we've seen that the blue cross-blue shield group in maryland has proposed rate increases up to 58% for next year in the state of maryland. this is after they went up 24

the presiding officer: without objection. mr. tillis: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of senate resolution 187 submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 187, congratulating and honoring fairme accelerator national laboratory on 50 years of ground breaking discovery. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. tillis: thank you, mr. president. i further ask that the resolution be agreed to, that the preamble be agreed to, that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. tillis: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 9:30 a.m. thursday, june 8. further, that molg the prayer and the pledge, the morning business be deemed expired, the journal -- -- the journal of proceedings be a

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from georgia. mr. perdue: mr. president, i rise tonight to remind -- the presiding officer: senator -- mr. perdue: i apologize. i would ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. perdue: thank you. mr. president, we have 50 work days in the united states senate before the end of this fiscal year, 50 days. that does not include the five weeks that we will be gone during the august state work weeks. and i rise tonight to talk about what happens september 30. september 230 is the end of -- september 30 is the end of the fiscal year. that means we have to have the federal government funded for fiscal year 2018 which starts october 1 of this year. like most years, as a matter of fact like every year since 1980, the federal government will probably not be funded by the end of this fiscal year in the manner that it was supposed to be according to the law that was done in 1974, the budget act of 1974. in the last 43 years, the federal government has only been funded four times accor

mr. president. was there any discussion about the visa waiver program for romania? will there be a time frame for including this country in this program? president trump: we didn't discuss it, but it would be something we will discuss, mr. president. president iohannis: i mentioned this issue and i also mentioned it during other meetings because this is important for us. it's important for romanians that want to come to the united states. you see, more and more people come, president trump, from romania to the united states. some come as tourists. some come for business. those who come for business should be encouraged. the matter of visa waiver would be probably important to discuss and we all hope that we will advance on this. president trump: look at those hands up. do you have this in romania? i don't know. if i could only sell that. if i could only sell it. who would like to ask? should i take one of the killer networks that treat me so badly with fake news? go ahead, john. be fair, john. oh, ab

the presiding officer: we have. mr. durbin: then i ask unanimous consent to speak in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: mr. president, today is the fifth anniversary of the third air of the childhood arrivals program known as daca. daca provides temporary legal status to immigrant students who arrive in the united states as children and infants, if they register with the government, pay a fee and pass a criminal background check. the program is based on the dream act, a piece of legislation which i introduced 16 years ago, in 2001. that legislation gave undocumented students who grew up in this country a chance to earn a path to legal status and citizenship. these young people have come to be known as dreamers, what used to be a word reserved for rock 'n' roll groups is now a word that has become part of our common language to describe an immigration challenge and opportunity. these dreamers came to the united states as children. they are american in every way, except for their legal

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from georgia. mr. perdue: mr. president, i rise today to talk about a train wreck that is coming to our country right before our very eyes. yesterday the federal reserve for the fourth time in the last year and a half increased the federal discount rate by one-quarter point. one-quarter point. that's a rounding era in most people's imaginations and yet i think it's a very impactful number. that's the fourth increase in the last year and a half that amounts to 100 basis points or one percentage point, one full percentage point increase and a discount rate. with a $20 trillion debt that equates to about $200 billion of new interest that we will be required to pay out of the revenue that we get off the backs of working men and women in america. the $20 trillion debt, i've risen on this floor to talk about a lot. but as we see what's happening now, we see the reality of what's being -- has been predicted over the last few years, and that is as we start talking about growth and the economy, you see demand for capital an

mr. president. mr. president, i have come to the floor this afternoon to mark the 40th anniversary of the first oil moving through the trans-alaska pipeline system. in alaska we call it taps. this is an 8 huj-mile -- 800-mile-long engineering marvel that runs from the north slope of alaska to tide water in bel deldeze. it's a long history. this afternoon in the interest of time i will abbreviate the history, but i do want to start the story of our pipeline in the late 1960's. believe it or not, this was a pretty bleak moment for oil exploration in alaska. and despite great promise, many companies had given up on exploration on the north slope by some account at that point in time there were at least 14 dry holes that had been drilled before arco and humble oil company decided that they were going to sink just one last well. and it was actually an arco executive who described it more as a decision not to cancel a well that was already scheduled rather than to go ahead. but that well crudo bay state number

mr. president. i'm a general partner with a venture capital firm and we look forward to playing our role in helping drive jobs in the united states specifically through i.o.t. and new industrial technologies. president trump thank you very much. >> good morning mr. president, i'm barry, founding partner with a large early stage venture capital firm and we have created tens of thousands of jobs. president trump very large. he is very large. [laughter] thank you for being here. >> i'm steve case, 32 years ago, 3% of people were online and only on line one hour a week. after that merger you referenced, i moved on and i started a venture capital company. and trying to get more capital and finding more entrepreneurs and looked to the data. add all of them up, they got 15% of venture capital. when people have been left behind. we need to get more investors focusing on the investors to make sure we level the playing field so everybody does have a shot at the american dream. president trump steve really was

mr. president. mr. president, i come to the floor like many of my colleagues, shocked at the republican majority's brazen, secretive effort to pass a bill that would hurt millions of americans. now, i have served in public office for more than four decades, and never once in my 45 years as a mayor, a state legislator, a congressman, or a senator has it been so hard to understand the motivations of an opposing party. what kind of problems are republicans trying to solve with legislation that raises premiums, reduces coverage, decimates medicaid, and increases costs for everyone? certainly not any of the concerns i've heard back at home in new jersey. never has someone come up to me at the local diner to say that their premiums are too low or that medicaid covers too many children or that cancer patients don't pay enough out-of-pocket. there's only one place in america where these bad ideas have any traction, and that's behind closed doors here in washington where 13 republican men are working on a secre

mr. president. thank you for the opportunity today to spend the time and both learn and contribute to i think one of the most important dialogues which is modernizing our government with the latest technology so that the people of america can benefit from it. so i think the first thing i took away was how important an agenda it is to modernize technology. the second thing is it's best for our to skill the people of the united states for the jobs of the future. technology will play a role both in the creation of the the jobs and the skills. and lastly, i will say we also need to increase american competitiveness. and the two things the government can and has done is responding in big research. after all, all the technology we have today is it started in the government and the research institutions you funded as well as the enlightened immigration policy. of course i'm a beneficiary of that, and i hope that we continue to be able to sort of really make sure the american competitiveness is what helps u

mr. president. i yield back. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that patrick flanagan, an intern in senator kennedy's office be granted floor privileges for the remainder of the day. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cassidy: mr. president, i yield back. note my colleague from louisiana to my right. a senator: thank you, mr. president. thank you, senator cassidy. we came back from the memorial day recess. mr. kennedy: and i wanted to not only reflect on that but also reflect on our anniversary of d-day and the days that -- the day, rather, that our allies invaded france in 1944. and in doing so today, mr. president, i'd like to speak and pay tribute to all of those including but not limited to americans, but especially americans who risk their lives to defend our freedoms. and in particular, mr. president, i come today to recognize a special group of dedicated soldiers. you probably haven't heard of them but they're referred to as the ghost army. the ghost army. this is a unit that served in world war

mr. president? mr. president, i join my colleagues here from the finance committee, and although i don't want to admit it, it was 10 years ago that we had this discussion in the finance committee. my colleague from maryland and from delaware and from oregon. and i think what people don't realize -- even the presiding -- the president knows that we spent a lot of time talking about health care. this was not a, let's have a few meetings and let's roll how the a bill. there was a very, very long period. in fact, the president knows that in fact our side got a lot of heat for a lot of dialogue that happened with them. and our colleague from maine, at the time, a lot of heat for the dialogue with her. and there was a period of time, about six or seven months, where every single day i went to at least one thing in the discussion of the health care policy. at least one thing every day for, like, six months. that wasn't even the markup, that wasn't even the meetings. that wasn't -- that was just a time period wh

mr. president, minority whip beckman mr. president, several weeks ago the house of representatives passed a bill to repeal the affordable care act and replace it it was passed without hearings it was passed without an amended process. and it was passed for the congressional budget office provided that traditional analysis which john before we take up a major of suchine magnitude. voted vote, two republican senators voted the other way and it would not have before. after a past president of the united states decided to have a celebration at the white house and we saw him on television, gathering the republican members of the house of representatives and celebrating the fact that this measure had passed andnd finally to repeal the affordable care act but then the american people took a close look at thet compressional budget office issued its analysis. it turns out that 23 million americans would lose their health insurance because of this republican major past the house of representatives. it turns out is well there be a drama

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. whitehouse: mr. president, mace i ask unanimous consent that the -- mr. president, may i ask unanimous consent that the pending quorum be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. whitehouse: thank you, mr. president. donald trump has decided to withdraw the united states from the paris agreement on climate change. this is a decision that may prove to be one of the worst foreign policy blunders in our nation's history. there is no denying the mounting threat of climate change. we observe rising seas, warming global temperatures, and melting glaciers and ice sheets. yet the president cast aside an historic global agreement forged through american leadership. americans now ask what to do next. for individual citizens, my answer is simple: take action. join an environmental group. support science and scientists. organize in your community. many americans have been publicly pledging to meet the goals of the paris agreement through movements like the "i am still in pledge." every action, big an

mr. president. mr. president, i rise today to join my colleagues to speak about the need to ensure that the policies that we make in this chamber work for and support rural america. senator stabenow, heitkamp and myself are all from the midwest, the heartland, and we represent the people who are truly in the middle of this country, the middle of the country economically, the middle of the country politically, and often middle-income and people who need representatives who are focused on what matters to them. each year, mr. president, i visit all 87 counties in my state, and i hear a lot. i hear about dads who can't be sure that their sons or daughters will have the support that they need to take over the family farm when the time comes. small business owners who can't get a broadband connection. moms who can't figure out how to pay for their kids' prescription when the costs double. manufacturers who can't fine workers to fill the jobs. rural america has felt left behind. the poverty rate in their areas

mr. president. president iohannis: i mentioned this issue and i also mentioned it during other meetings because this is important for us. it's important for romanians that want to come to the united states. you see, more and more people come, president trump, from romania to the united states. some come as tourists. some come for business. those that come for business should be encouraged. the matter of visa waiver would be probably important to we will nd we all hope advance on this. president trump: look at those hands up. do you have this in romania? if i could only sell that. if i could only sell it. should i take one of the killer networks that treat me so badly with fake news? go ahead, john. remember how nice you used to be before i ran. always a nice man. reporter: let me go back to james comey's testimony. he did say under oath that you told him to let the flynn -- you said you hoped the flynn investigation -- lb president trump: i didn't say that. reporter: so he lied about that? president

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from wyoming. mr. barrasso: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. barrasso: mr. president, i come to the floor today as the pain of obamacare around the country continues to worsen. the health care crisis continues to grow. obamacare is collapsing basically more and more every day. people in every state of this union have seen their health care costs skyrocket, happening everywhere around the country. we must do something to help the american people who are suffering under the heavyweight that obamacare has placed on their lives. i was in a hospital this past weekend in casper, wyoming, my hometown and talked with doctors, talked with nurses, talked with patients. what i hear at home in wyoming is that there is an urgent need to do something about the high costs and the limited choices under the obama health care law. we're having discussions right now about the very best way to do that, mr. president. you know, whatever we come up with,

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senate majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the motion to reconsider with respect to the svinicki nomination be considered made and laid upon the table and the president be immediately notified of the the senate's action. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate be in a period of morning business for debate only and with senators permitted to speak therein. the presiding officer: without objection. the senator from hawaii. ms. hirono: mr. president, we are all one diagnosis away from having a serious illness. lots of us believe getting a serious illness is something ha happens to other people. i was one of them. my moment of reckoning came two months ago. my doctor told me i have kidney cancer. it's a moment everyone dreads. thankfully, i was -- i have health insurance. no one should have to worry about whether they can afford the health care that one day might save their life. health care is personal and it's a right, not a

the presiding officer: we are in a quorum call. mr. thune: i'd like to ask that the quorum call be suspend. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. thune: mr. president, an article that obamacare rates could skyrocket. another says there is a premium hike. from the "washington examiner," c.m.s., 47 counties won't have obamacare coverage in 2018. from bloomberg, anthem to leave obamacare markets in indiana and washington, from "the washington free beacon "last insurer in delaware asks for rate hike of 23.6%." these headlines should be shocking -- an 87% increase, 47 counties without an insurer, but they are not. insurers leaving the market, lack of coverage, that's par for the course for obamacare. unfortunately, mr. president, too many americans have gotten used to those type of headlines of -- letlines -- headlines. i have lost count. behind these stories are tens of thousands of struggling americans, americans who can no longer afford the obamacare premiums, americans who are losing their health care plan again, americans who ar

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from massachusetts. mr. markey: mr. president, i would like to thank my friend and colleague, senator hirono, for her words and her willingness to share how this bill could impact the millions of americans with preexisting conditions. and i along with everyone else in this chamber wish her the best and speedy recovery so that she can continue to fight for the people of hawaii and the people of the united states. after weeks of secret meetings, senate republicans released their health care legislation last week, and in many ways it is even worse than expected. it's no wonder the senate republicans kept this legislative malpractice hidden behind closed doors. for working families and the elderly, for the disabled, for those suffering from opioid addiction, this legislation is a death sentence. this bill takes a ma chet ee -- machete to medicaid. it abandons people with preexisting conditions. it punishes grandma and grandpa who live in a nursing home, including 25,000 seniors in massachusetts nursing homes who are on medic

the presiding officer: the senator from pennsylvania. mr. casey: madam president, this past friday when i was back in pennsylvania, i had the opportunity to meet a family that i've referred to very often on the floor, the simpson family.and their son is on the you a tism spectrum. i have talked -- you a -- autism. we have the beginnings of a debate of what will be in the senate bill if one emerges and i think if -- if we're going to be up front about what happens to families and individuals like roan, it would be important to know what happens to a family that has a loved one with a disability in context with both the senate bill emerging and the house bill. on behalf of roan and those who have a loved one with a disability, i ask unanimous consent that no motion to proceed to calendar no. 120, h.r. 1628, the american health care act, be in order until the bill is jointly referred to the committee on finance and the committee on health, education, labor, and pensions. the presiding officer: is there objection? objection is heard. ms. klobucha

mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to executive session for the consideration of executive calendar 120 through 152 and all nominations in the air force, army, marines, and navy with the exception of colonel delarigs, that the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, that no further motions be in order, any statements related to the nomination be printed in the record, the president be immediately notified of the senate's action, and the senate then resume legislative session. the presiding officer: the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to 10 minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent that w

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from idaho. mr. crapo: i ask unanimous consent to speak for five minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. crapo: thank you, mr. president. i rise today in support of ms. sigal man delker to be under secretary for terrorism and financial crimes. members of the banking committee were moved by her heartfelt story of her parents' escape from the holocaust. as her father proudly sat behind her, she explained to the committee how as holocaust survivors who narrowly avoided death, her parents raised her to never take for granted our safety, security, or freedom. it was this that motivated ms. mandelker to public service where she had a successful career at the departments of justice and homeland security before joining the private sector. like many americans, she was compelled to action following 9/11 and joined to serve in justices counter terrorism and national security missions. it was obvious that she would be a strong leader to defend our nation against terrorism and illicit finance threat

mr. president. was there any discussion about the visa waiver program for romania? this very timeframe for including this country in this program? president trump: yes, we didn't discuss it, but it would be something we will discuss, mr. president. president iohannis: i mentioned this issue and i also mentioned it during other meetings because this is important for us. it's important for romanians who want to come to the united states. you see, more and more people come, president trump, from romania to the united states. some come as tourists. some come for business. and those that come for business should be encouraged. so the matter of visa waiver would be probably important to discuss, and we all hope we will advance on this. >> mr. president? >> mr. president? president trump: look at those hands up. do you have this in romania? if i could only sell that. if i could only sell it. -- >> mr.ent >> president question mark president trump: should i take one of the killer networks that treat me so ba

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from washington. mrs. murray: mr. president, democrats come to the floor this evening as a voice for the people that we represent to fight back against republican plans to jam trumpcare through this senate, increase health care costs, and hurt families across the country. because republican leaders may hope nobody pays attention, they can hope they can go into these secret rooms and cut secret deals and come out with a trumpcare bill that they can jam through before anybody notices. we're not growing to allow that to happen. we are here. we're going to fight back and i can only hope that just a few republicans decide to listen to their constituents, reverse course, and work with us to improve health care instead of standing with president trump to destroy it. mr. president, i want to start by talking about a constituent of mine whose story i heard and whose voice and perspective should be a part of this debate. her name is lisa. she's from spokane in my home state of washington. lisa served our country in the navy for

mr. president? >> gentleman from massachusetts. >> thank you, mr. president. mr. ent, whenr i was home in massachusetts this weekend, i constantly had i people coming p to me asking me about the secret republican health care bill. what was in it? how was it going to affect their families? because, to use donald trump'sre word, they're afraid that it's goingg to increase premiums, and that would be mean, that it's going to make it possible for insurers to deny coverage forou pre-existing conditions, and that would be mean. that it would create an age tax for older americans. that would beea mean.ut that it would cut medicaid coverage or if grandma is and grandpa to get a nursing home bed iff they had alzheimer's. that would be mean. and so the question that kept coming to me all weekend recurring was is this secret bill really meant to cut all of the funding that goes for the poor, the sick, the elderly, the disabled so they can give tax breaks to the wealthiest people in america? can we get that out that people can see that?ai and they also said to me that they did

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. whitehouse: thank you, mr. president. are we presently in a quorum call? the presiding officer: yes. mr. whitehouse: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. whitehouse: thank you very much, mr. president. as you know, i come weekly to the senate whenever we're in session to give my "time to wake up" speech, talking about climate change and quite often talking about the climate denial campaign that prevents us from taking action, and quite often talking about the campaign finance problems in our country that make climate denial effective. here in congress, it is not hard to connect the dots from campaign finance to climate denial. the supreme court republican majority's disastrous citizens united decision was requested by the fossil fuel industry, and the fossil fuel industry took instant advantage of it, almost like they saw it coming. the industry and its front gro

mr. president, mrs.gan, federal chancellor, ladies and thelet' , and brandenburg gate become the of an open door through which free ideas flourish. --s addition of the future which was your message, mr. president, to berlin on your first visit to echo the todayent of the berlin -- i welcome you and mrs. reagan. i do so on behalf of berliners in both parts of our city, welcome to berlin. [applause] [cheers] mr. president, you have, on the 750thion of our anniversary celebration. you have come as a good friend and reliable partner. you have come to a dynamic city, a city which looks to the future with us to -- mr. president, we berliners owe our liberty and security above all to the commitment of the united states of america. together with great britain and rants, your country -- and france, your country provided the basis for reliability of our city. you shared with us the historical obligations and the vision of a free and undivided berlin, and a free and undivided germany. [applause] place, history is -