mr. wyden no. mr. schumer aye. miss stabenow. miss stabenow aye. miss cantwell no. mr. nelson. >> mr. nelson aye. mr. menendez aye. mr. carper no. mr. cardin. mr. cardin aye. mr. brown. mr. brown aye. mr. bennett. mr. bennett aye. mr. casey. mr. casey aye. mr. warner. mr. warner no. mr. chairman? >> no. >> the chairman votes no. mr. burr. mr. burr no. >> the clerk will report. >> mr. chairman, the final tally is eight ayes, 18 nays. >> the amendment is not agreed to. >> mr. chairman. >> senator brown. >> i'm down to my last two amendments, mr. chairman, you'll be glad to know. beyond that i'm not responsible for the lateness of the evening. the first amendment is number 52. first amendment's number 52. >> okay. >> and i'm not committed to doing them consecutively. senator cardin has some amendments -- i'll start with 52. this amendment says that congress should identify by a vote in finance and ways and means that an agreement has met the negotiating objectives as spelled out in fast track. certification occurs within 90 days of the president sending the agreement up. i

mr. wyden. ms. cantwell. aye,. mr. nelson. aye. mr. gerber, no by proxy. mr. brown. no. mr.bennett. aye. chairman votes no. >> the clerk will report the vote. the amendment is defeated. >> i have an amendment with regards to nicaragua. you think will have better success with the customs bill. i just hope that what senator nelson said, we would have a process to consider because i do think that we -- if we do not take these issues up, we're making a policy by neglect. this is an issue important are to our committee. i would hope we would have an opportunity as another point to consider these issues. >> senator cardin is making a good point. i will follow-up with the chairman. it is clear there ought to be a process rather than a one off situation. your suggestion for the future is a good one.>> the comments of >> could i just say i appreciate , the acceptance of my amendment with the industry is important to the economy with millions of jobs. the change in tariffs will help consumers. i am pleased it was included. >> i would like to add my thanks to senator cantwell and to yo

mr. wyden aye. mr. schumer, aye. ms. cantwell, aye. mr. nelson, aye. mr. menendez, aye. mr. carper aye. mr. carden, aye. mr. brown, aye. mr. bennett, aye. mr. casey, aye. mr. warner aye. mr. chairman, aye. >> clerk announce the vote. >> 26 ayes and zero nays. >> the amendment is granted. >> distinguished senator from oregon? >> this is amendment 70, and i'm sponsoring this amendment with my colleague senator brown. it reflects a critically important value. that is the elimination, once and for all, of forced and enden indentured labor, including child labor. you want to thank senator brown on his work on this issue and nora todd for the hard work she's put in. it's worth noting our former colleague has previously championed this issue for years. currently, u.s. law permitted the importation of goods made with indentured or forced labor if the goods are not made in the united states, in sufficient quantifytyies to meet demand. this is direct. it says there is never, never a time when forced labor is acceptable. this is 2015. there is absolutely no room in our trade policies f

senator wyden: mr. chairman, colleagues, normally i'd make an opening statement the focus of which would be to lay out the significant differences between this bill and the trade bills of the 1990's. and under normal circumstances i would detail that before the committee at this time. given the interest, however, with colleagues on the committee and engaging with our two witnesses -- and we thank them both, mr. trumka and mr. donohue. i visited with a number of the members of the chamber and the interest of my colleagues who are here to ask questions, i will fore bear any further statement at this time, mr. chairman. senator hatch: thank you, senator wyden. our first witness is thomas j. donohue, the president and c.e.o. of the u.s. chamber of commerce, the largest business organization in the world. representing the interest of more than three million businesses across various sectors and industries. he's held this position at the u.s. chamber since 1997. we've had a lot of experience working together.

mr. wyden aye. mr. schumer. no. mrs. stabenow, no. mr. nelson. aye. mr. mendez. no. mr. carper. aye. mr. cardin. aye. mr. brown. no. mr. bennett. aye. mr. casey. no. mr. warner. aye. mr. chairman. aye. chairman votes aye. >> report. >> 20 ayes six nays. >> the ayes have it and the resolution is ordered reported. ask consent the staff be granted authority to make technical, conforming and budgetary changes to all the bills reported today and without objection, it is so ordered. before we adjourn, if i could have order. if i could have order. i want to thank all of my colleagues for their participation today. and i especially want to thank senator wyden for his efforts throughout this process. we've worked very closely together and i've really appreciated it. as we noted today was a long time coming and i want to give credit for senator wyden for his leadership and willingness to reach across the aisle on these important issues. while the day didn't go off as well as i planned it we got a good debate and covered a lot of ground. believe me i recognize there are passively held beli

senator wyden.>> very briefly mr. chairman just two quick points. i ask unanimous consent that i be permitted to change my vote on the brown taa amendment. i've long supported the idea that the maximum amount of funding for taa was going back and forth between house and senate on this issue. i'm changing my vote won't affect the optimal but then i ask is it to be recorded as an aye on the brown laminate to increase funding.>> what does that make the vote if i can ask the clerk? >> it would make the final tally 13 ayes, 13 amex.>> the last point and i think chairman hatch -- the government's solar enforcement case was raised earlier and i think it's important to note that this is exactly the more aggressive enforcement that our country needs to see particularly as it relates to renewable energy. that's why we have the early warning system and i'll be talking with a number of you about that in the days ahead.>> thank you senator. i ask unanimous consent to change senator thune's vote realm yea an a and senator burr's book from yea an a on the white an

mr. chairman. senator wyden, thank you. mr. trumka, mr. donahue, good to see you both. mr. trumka, a lot of people accuse you and me of being against trade and protectionist and being stuck in the last century or even the one before the last century. did a.f.l. oppose this from the beginning? mr. trumka: we engaged almost five years ago, we submitted dozens and dozens, a couple hundred suggested language changes to make the agreement better. we did and still want to be able to support t.p.p., but in its current standards, it falls far short. senator brown: you could see from the amendments a number of us will offer, there will be a lot of them, mr. chairman, as you may have heard by now, that we will be offering on thursday, or wednesday, i guess, you could see that this trade agreement, the t.p.a. and t.p.p. could be improved significantly if -- if you would take two or three ideas that you have tried to constructively engage u.s.t.r. or the staff of this committee in to give me just some ideas of where we could do much better than we are doing on this. mr. trumka: with re

mr. chairman. >> thank you, senator wyden. let's have an understanding, we're not going to have any outbursts in this room. let's treat everybody with respect on both sides of these it issues. we're going to have to vote. we'll let senator grassley give his opening remarks, about three minutes. >> while i'm not sure i thought we would get to this point a month or two ago, it sure has worked out well that senator hatch and senator wyden can work together and get us to this point. trade is very important to our country and our economic future. trade promotion authority with it, we are marking it up today as an important tool in the advancement of the u.s. trade agenda. this legislation is proof congress and the administration can work together to increase economic opportunity for americans all across our 50 states. we already know and common sense dictates that 80% of the purchasing power is located outside of the united states, along with 95% of the world's consumers. as the middle class expands in regions such as asia we have

senator wyden: mr. chairman, colleagues, normally i'd make an opening statement the focus of which would be to lay out the significant differences between this bill and the trade bills of the 1990's. and under normal circumstances i would detail that before the committee at this time. given the interest, however, with colleagues on the committee and engaging with our two witnesses -- and we thank them both, mr. trumka and mr. donohue. i visited with a number of the members of the chamber and the interest of my colleagues who are here to ask questions, i will fore bear any further statement at this time, mr. chairman. senator hatch: thank you, senator wyden. our first witness is thomas j. donohue, the president and c.e.o. of the u.s. chamber of commerce, the largest business organization in the world. representing the interest of more than three million businesses across various sectors and industries. he's held this position at the u.s. chamber since 1997. we've had a lot of experience working together.

mr. chairman. >> senator wyden. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i voted for this schumer amendment and the bennett amendment because in my view neither of those amendments undermines america's ability to fight a financial crisis. i think this is an amendment that is a bridge too far. and in particular what swine me. but the last time we will be discussing this current sequestration -- sequester but to see what janet yellen has said. a progressive democrat. she is concerned about what it will mean with respect to constraining monetary policy and says that the bill is to maintain those two objectives, historical objectives. i urge my colleagues on this side of the aisle to vote no this schumer this schumer amendment made sense. i think that this is a bridge too far. >> we spent days and nights trying to get both houses together on the most important legislation of this administration this year. so this is important stuff command i have no doubt that we can handle it. you know we find. the clerk will call the roll. [roll call] [roll call] [roll call]

mr. paul glenn iii. ♪ >>> honorable ron wyden and mrs. widen. >> how are your use of chopsticks?ng in that department. yes. >> will you use the flatware. >> i always play it safe. i'll try a double threat and use both. i am obviously there's a long way to go, but the fact that we had such a thrown vote in the senate finance committee including a majority of finance democrats certainly got us off to a good start. thanks, everybody. [ inaudible ] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >>> honorable nancy pelosi and mr. pelosi. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >>> senator tom parker and mrs. parker. ♪ >>> mr. russell wilson and miss ciera harris. >> is this the right carpet here? >> i haven't been here yet so i'm excited. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ inaudible ] [ inaudible ]. >>> the honorable gregory meeks and mrs. meeks. >>> the honorable catherine russell and the honorable thomas donilon. >>> honorable paul ryan and mrs. ryan. >>> the honorable parker and mr. parker. >> your son? >> yes. >> my daughter is a senior in high school but he's a junior at georgetown so he's always my date. >> how old are you? >> 21. >> so you can direct now. >> that's wh

mr. chairman. >> thank you. senator wyden. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i want to thank you and chairman price of whom i've enjoyed working with in the past and i think colleagues still have that opportunity. the reason i feel so strongly about that is in the senate as part of the budget debate i was able to win 73 votes for tax reform being built around tax relief for middle-class america. middle-class americans who have had stagnant wages for years and years. 73 colleagues voted for making bipartisan tax reform. i know we can do it and i look forward to working with my colleagues of that objective. when i look at the budget the overall budget my sense is they just don't pass over all in the provision on middle-class tax relief in the senate hearing you don't pass the fairness for america's middle class. they won't do enough to help oregonians for people across this country. it won't do enough to help them climb the ladder of economic opportunity. i hope you will do more on a bipartisan basis. that is the measure that congress uses for every policy and d

mr. chairman. >> do the senators have any questions regarding this mark? let me recognize senator wyden for any comments. >> just quickly mr. chairman, this doubles job training, this expands taa to service workers which is extraordinarily important given the shifts in the global economy. most importantly this is a six-year extension of a program that otherwise expires later this year. this is something that has always been done as part of trade legislation, to stand up for the workers. that's why i hope all colleagues will support it. >> okay. i'll be happy to recognize any other senators who have any questions about the mark. >> mr. chairman? i do. >> yes senator? >> i don't have a question, but i -- i did want to have a brief opening statement. so if it's appropriate now, i'd be happy. if not, i'll -- >> that would be fine. go ahead. >> before you do, does anybody have any other statement about the mark itself? >> mr. chairman? >> you do, bill? >> i have a question. >> can you wait until after his statement? >> mr. chairman, i had a question on this bill. >> you do? >> yes. what's be

mr. chairman. >> to the senators have questions regarding this mark? i recognize senator wyden. >> just very quickly, mr. chairman this expands taa to service workers which is extraordinarily important most. most importantly, this is a six-year extension on programs that otherwise expire later this year, something that has always been done standing up for the workers. >> okay. happy to recognize any other senators that have questions >> mr. chairman. >> i do. >> i don't have a question but i did want a brief opening statement. if it is if it is appropriate i would be happy to do that. >> go right ahead. >> before you do does anyone have any other statement? >> mr. chairman. >> mr. chairman. >> you do. >> can you wait until after he makes a statement? >> i had a question on this bill. >> you do. >> yes. >> what has been the interaction with the community on this? they do the job training information. they have covered quite a few of these areas. >> well, performance measurements that we believe senator ryan put into the bill. it was an agreement between distinguished ranking mem

mr. chairman, thank you. my time is up. senator enzi: next congressman diaz-balart, followed by senator wyden, followed by congressman moore. >> thank you much, mr. chairman. i'm going to follow-up with what senator sessions was just mentioning. he is absolutely right. the world is a much more dangerous place. i don't think it's been this dangerous since potentially the late 1970's. you mentioned how this is a rare occasion. matter of fact, the fact that we have a conference committee, the house passes a budget, the senate passes a budget that's how we are supposed to do a business, i was tempted to take a selfie at the beginning. it's a rare thing. it's a really rare occasion so i want to congratulate chairman enzi and senator price for doing the job the american people sent us to do. just a reminder to all of us that as senator sessions mentioned, look, our safety, the security and safety of the american people, is frankly our biggest responsibility as the federal government. today our nation and our allies and interest around the world frankly are being threatened whether to radical islamic terrorist in certain parts of

i'd now like to recognize senator wyden for any markingsremark remarks he'd like to make. >> mr.chairman, thank you. i want to say to my democratic colleague that i could go down right down the road and single out each of one of them and we would be here until breakfast time. i want to make a few points before we get off to this discussion. over the next decade and a half the global middle class is going to balloon by more than 2 billion people. and they are going to be spending an awful lot of money. they're going to buy computers they're going to buy cars, they're going to buy medical products agricultural goods, engineering services and more. the reason i think this is such a crucial topic is i want those billions of people to buy those products that are designed and built by oregonian and american workers and get those workers high-skill, high-wage jobs in a tough global economy. if we're going to do that it is going to take a fresh trade policy. the president put it very well in the state of the union when he said and i quote here, past trade deals have not always lived up t

mr. wyden: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. wyden: mr. president i rise in opposition to this amendment. today the medicare program is a seize for volume system. the underlying bill junks this and turns the lights out on business as usual. the underlying bill says what the future -- a senator: can we have order. mr. wyden: the underlying bill says that the future will be about rewarding value and good-quality care for our medicare patients. the cotton amendment embraces the outdated status quo and says that there is no need to coordinate care no need to pay for value no need to pay for quality for our medicare patients. i urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment. the presiding officer: the question is on the amendment. mr. cotton: i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote: the presiding officer: are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or change their vote? if not, on this vote, the yeas are 11, the nays are 89. the amendm

mr. wyden: mr. president would the majority leader consider at this time modifying his request to drop the kirk amendment number 273? the presiding officer: will the majority leader so modify his request? mr. cornyn: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: mr. president as i understand the distinguished senator from oregon is asking to amend the consent request and i would reserve the right to object to that request and make the simple point that the kirk amendment targets online child exploitation and sex trafficking which is rampant and given the fact that the internet now is one of the principal tools used used, web sites like back backpage.com and on web sites like backpage.com thousands of human trafficking victims are sold into slavery. it is simply unconscionable for us to stand by and allow this to continue. what senator kirk is asking for and which i support and i believe we should do is a simple up-or-down vote on the kirk amendment. so i would reserve the

mr. wyden: mr. president? i'll be very brief. colleagues i think tonight is a milestone for the medicare program, a lifeline for millions of older people. that's because tonight the senate is voting to retire the outdated inefficiency rewarding, commonsense-defined medicare reimbursement system. senator hatch noted it has been bipartisan. it has long been bipartisan. i think this is an important night for the senate. and it is going to be long-remembered. i yield back. mr. hatch: mr. president scwi for the yeas and nays. -- i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the questions is on passage of h.r. 2. the clerk will call the roll. vote: . the presiding officer: are there any senators in the chamber wishing to change their vote? if not the yeas are 92. the nays are 8. and the bill is passed. mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: what is the pending business? the presiding officer: the cle

blumenthal: madam president, it is my hope that soon the senate will start voting -- mr. wyden: voting on legislation that in one fell swoop will improve health care for millions of americans. and this discussion should start with a medicare milestone. that milestone is abolishing once and for all the outdated, inefficiency rewarding commonsense defying system of paying physicians under the medicare program. as my colleague from new hampshire knows what i'm talking about in the technical lingo of health care is the s.g.r., the sustainable growth rate. it is a horrendously flawed formula for paying doctors and providers who treat our medicare patients. and yet despite this very sour pedigree, it has dominated much of the discussion about medicare since 1997. now, i wish we had put this flawed reimbursement system in the dust bin of history last year as some of my colleagues know i had sought to do that along with the support of others. but i think now we have reached the point on a bipartisan basis where we have a chance for seniors and their providers to cross the victory line

mr. president any member of congress who is concerned about a lack of transparency in trade negotiations should be a cosponsor of the hatch- hatch-wyden-ryan t.p.a. bill. currency the last concern i'll talk about today mr. president deals with currency manipulate. specifically i've heard from colleagues that our t.p.a. bill should include stronger enforceable standards to prevent our trading partners from engaging in currency manipulation. now make no mistake, i think currency manipulation is a serious issue. like my colleagues, i am worried that the currency policies of a number of countries including some of our trade partners, continue to have negative consequences on u.s. businesses and workers and i believe congress should carefully consider ways to address this issue. that's why for the first time our t.p.a. bill includes a negotiating objective intended to address currency manipulation. and while i understand that some of my colleagues would like that provision to be stronger, this is a very complex issue. many have expressed valid concerns that by requiring our trade agreements to contain enforceable currency provisions, we wo

portman toomey, johnson, ayotte, wicker, corker, perdue sanders murray, wyden stabenow whitehouse, warner, merkley baldwin mccain. mr. enzi: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from wyoming. mr. enzi: i ask unanimous consent that the senate be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. enzi: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to executive session at 2:00 p.m. on thursday, april 16, to consider the following nominations. calendar number 1 and calendar number 51. that the senate vote without intervening action or debate on the nominations the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table that no further motions be in order that any statements related to the nominations be printed in the record, the president be immediately notified of the senate's actions and the senate then resume legislative session. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. enzi: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today it adjourn until 10:00 a.m. th

mr. speaker, under the leadership of senator cornyn and senator wyden, the senate has unanimously passed the bipartisan justice for victims of trafficking act. this bill will help stop modern day slavery here in america. the house has passed a similar bill under the sponsorship of carolyn maloney and myself. we've acknowledged the international human trafficking for years. now we acknowledge and put sufficient resources behind the fight against the buying and selling of human beings here. this slavery in america is not going to be tolerated. the bill penalizes traffickers and buyers. mr. speaker, buyers have escaped the long arm of the law for too long. the bill also treats trafficking victims as victims and not criminals. we can no longer deny the scourge of rape and abuse of our children. i strongly encourage the house leadership to immediately bring up the senate compromise justice for victims of trafficking act for a vote. victims are people too, and let it be known that america's kids are not for sale and won't be to anyone who sells or bice them on the marketplace of slavery and th