mr. whitehouse: i thank the presiding officer. and if there is no further business regarding these treaties, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from kansas. 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

mr. whitehouse: are we presently in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are. mr. whitehouse: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. whitehouse: thank you very much. i'm now here for the 64th time to ask my colleagues to wake up to the threat of climate change. it was actually, madam president, almost exactly two years ago, april of 2012, that i began speaking here every week on the floor that the senate is in session. i have tried to make a compelling case for my colleagues. first and foremost i have relied on the overwhelming scientific evidence and the near unanimity of the scientific community. 97% of climate scientists agree that the increase of carbon dioxide in our sphere due to human activities is driving unprecedented changes. and, of course, they are changes that americans see all about them in their lives now. now, if 97 doctors told you that you needed surgery, who among us in our right minds would heed the advice of the three doctors who said they were unsure that we can delay the treatment?

mr. whitehouse: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. whitehouse: madam president, i'm here now for the 63rd 3rd consecutive week we've been in session to ask my colleagues to finally wake up to the threat of climate change. the evidence mounts of unprecedented and changeous changes from the latest -- and dangerous changes. from the latest inte intergovernmental report to the report from the academy for the advancement of science. congress continues to sleepwalk, lulled by special interest influence and polluter propaganda. the influence and propagandaer spread through an apratt us of -- apparatus of denial. this apparatus is big and

mr. whitehouse: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. whitehouse: i understand that the time is controlled now by the republicans. when senator hoeven comes, i'll yield the floor to him. but in the meantime i wanted to thank senator nelson for his leadership in this area. let the record reflect that although rhode island may call itself the ocean state, florida has its fair share of coastline as well. and the effect on florida's coasts are very significant. because time is short and because i see that senator hoeven has arrived, and because senator nelson is a modest individual who would not want to brag on himself, let me say one thing and then i'll come back later and discuss my easter southern climate tour at greater length. the miami herald is a very significant newspaper in florida, and it attended and reacted to the commerce committee hearing that senator nelson led in his home state, and i just want to read two short sections. it opened by saying this: "for south floridians the topics of climate change and rising sea levels are no

, schumer, durbin, casey, coons, rockefeller, levin, cantwell, nelson, whitehouse, murphy, murray, udall of new mexico and king. mr. reid: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the mandatory quorum under rule 22 be waived. without objection. mr. reid: might have to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in faye say aye. all -- all in favor say aye. opposed nay. the motion carries. mr. reid: i now move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 587. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. opposed nay. the ayes have it. the motion is agreed to and the the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: manish s. s. shah of illinois to be united states district judge. mr. reid: i send a cloture motion to the desk, mr. president. 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 hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of manish s. s. shahf illinois to be united states dis

mr. kaine: madam president, i rise to talk a little bit today about the affordable care act and its benefits to america's women. i want to thank senators murphy, boxer and whitehouse who have organized a few of us to come to the floor today. they will be on the floor later this afternoon. but with so much discussion in the news about the recent completion of the march enrollment period, over seven million people enrolled in the affordable care through the exchanges, i feel like it's a good time to look at some of the benefits of the act but also where there is more work to do. madam president, i know you have been very focused on the -- where there is more work to do, and i applaud you for that. i'll talk about some of those issues as well. but first, let me just start with a couple of virginia stories because we hear stories from our constituents about the affordable care act. we have a 27-year-old woman in charlottesville who was diagnosed with uterine cancer. before the a.c.a., her previous insurance plan refused to cover her surgery because cancer was a preexisting condition, but she is now enrolled in a health plan under the a.c.a. and her doctor and hospital

mr. thomas has he signs his book and chats with guest. and this weekend on booktv, this year's national bloack writers conference. and sunday at two, strengthening communities and a panel on publishing. >> the whitehouse announced two executive orders on equal pay. >> good afternoon, and welcome. i am the executive vice president for policy at american progress. we are excited you decided to join us on the discussion against combating pay discrimination. tomorrow is equal pay day and we need to take the time to recognize we have not done everything we need to do in terms of ensuring more "ecstatic nation: confidence, crisis, and compromise, 1848-187 equitand. equal pay isn't just a woman's issue. it is a family issue. families increasingly rely on women's wages to make ends meet. between 1967 and 2010, the percentage of mothers who brought home a quarter of the earning rose from less than a third at 28% to nearly 2/3rds. today we have betsey stevenson who serves as a council of economic advisers and is the leading market on policy. she has focused work on how different public policies affect the labor market and women's and families. we are partnering with the summit on working family issues. we are h

warren, reed of rhode island, durbin, cardin, carper, coons, nelson, franken, gillibrand, whitehouse, casey, sanders. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum under rule 22 be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: mr. president, following my remarks and those of the republican leader, if any, the senate will be in morning business until 5:30 today, the time equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or her designees. at 5:30 there will be up to four roll call votes. first, confirmation of the friedland nomination, the next a cloture vote on the weil nomination, stob administrator of the wage and hour division of the department of labor, and a confirmation vote on the weil nomination. finally, a vote onccompanying mr. regan, assistant secretary of housing and urban development. today as we convene, i call to the senate's attention today is the commemoration of the holocaust. the holocaust was the systematic genocide of 6 million jews and countless others carried out by adolf hitler and his minions. today is holocaust remembrance today, a reminder that