ms. collins: mr. president the senator from texas who has a fine legal mind, served on the supreme court in texas is exactly right. ms. collins: and moreover, i'd like to read to you what president obama himself said about the very point that the senator from texas said about the oath that we held up our hands and took when we were sworn into this body, and that the president took when he became president. here's what the president said in july 2011 -- "i swore an oath to uphold the laws on the books. now i know some people want me to bypass congress and to change the laws on my own but that's not how our system works. that's not how our democracy functions. that's not how our constitution is written." mr. president, president obama had it exactly right when he stated that reality. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: the senator has been very patient with me. if i could just ask two final questions. given the 22 different public statements that the president of the united states

ms. collins: mr. collins: thank you mr. president. mr. president, three weeks ago i came to the senate floor to speak on an amendment which i had hoped would provide a framework that would accomplish three goals. first, to provide funding for the department of homeland security so that it could perform its vital mission of protecting the people of our country. second to put the senate on record as opposing the president's extraordinarily broad immigration actions issued by executive order last november in 2014. and third to ensure that individuals who were brought to this country as children and to qualify for treatment under the june 2012 executive order on delayed action on childhood arrivals the so-called dreamers that senator durbin has just spoken of could continue to benefit under that program. i'm very pleased that it looks like we are moving forward on a bill to fully fund the department of homeland security. we had a very strong vote on that yesterday and indeed, mr. president, i have not hea

ms. collins: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from maine. ms. collins: thank you madam president. madam president, this morning we have the opportunity to accomplish two important goals. first, we can pass legislation that will fully fund the department of homeland security so that it can perform its vital mission. second we have the opportunity to stand up for our constitutional system of separation of powers. now, madam president i support and voted for comprehensive immigration reform, but the president's overreach usurps the role of congress and undermines our constitutional system of checks and balances. madam president, the failure of the president -- the failure of congress to pass a law to the president's liking cannot become an excuse for the president to usurp the powers of the executive branch. the president knows that he lacks the authority to write the law. he has said so 22 times on 22 different occasions. now, allow me to describe my bill very briefly. specifically it does four things -- first it bars the administration from using

ms. collins didn't correct it in her column. now, what do you think? >> well, i was surprised by.his was a pretty glaring error bill. basically what she said was. she was using the governor had said something about megan sampson is using her as an example of the damage that unions can do to careers or whatever. and she -- and he said in there did the governor, that she had been teach -- named teacher of the year. well, in fact, she had been named teacher of the year by the state. she had been named best first year english teacher by some outside group. the governor had made what i consider to be kind of a minor error. she takes him to task for that. and then she goes on to say that megan sampson lost her job because of budget cuts that walker had put through. well, those budget cuts went into effect before he became governor. it was a glaring error and a bad error. the "new york times" published on the web site a correction two days later, no correction appeared in the newspaper for six days. >> wow. >> now, and it has been customary, bill, as i'm sure you will remember this all t

ms. collins: mr. president? the presiding officer: the chair recognizes the senator from maine. ms. collins: thank you mr. president. mr. president, in light of the eloquent remarks from the assistant democratic leader, who is my friend, i hope he will listen carefully to the proposal that i'm about to outline. mr. president, in just over three weeks the law that funds the department of homeland security will expire, jeopardizing the department's ability to carry out its critical mission: legislation to provide funding to the department throughout the ermder of this fiscal year has passed the house and is awaiting action in the senate but progress has stalled. the democrats have blocked it from even being considered because it is not a "clean" bill. on my side of the aisle house republicans have insisted that provisions remain in the bill directing the administration to spend no funds implementing a series of president deption -- presidential orders issued over the past few years. the senate has held two votes this week to try to begin debate on this bill, both of which have failed o

ms. collins: mr. president, we have to face the facts that if we do not invest in alzheimer's research, at the levels that the experts tell us is necessary to develop effective treatments for this disease, perhaps a means of prevention or eventually a cure, this disease is going to continue to cause untold suffering, not only for its victims but for its families. ms. collins: and it will bankrupt america's health care system. i urge our colleagues to join us as cosponsors, and i want in particular to recognize my partner in this effort, the senator from minnesota senator klobuchar. the home of the may owe -- mayo clinic is in her state and she has been stalwart in supporting the efforts to increase funding for alzheimer's research. with that, mr. president i'm very pleased to yield to my partner, senator klobuchar. ms. klobuchar: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. ms. klobuchar: mr. president i come to the senate floor today to join my friend and colleague from maine sen

ms. collins: mr. president. mr.resident, i am familiar with the provision that the senator from texas refers to, and i kept it included in the bill that we will be voting on at some point and that is it seems to me that if you have been convicted -- if you are a convicted sex offender, why do we want you in this country? and the irony is, mr. president that just this week, the senate judiciary committee held a hearing on sex trafficking and why would we want you in this country and the irony is, be mr. president that just this week the senate judiciary committee held the hearing on trafficking and we have heard heartbreaking stories of very young girls who've been abused by men who have been taken from state to state, coerced into prostitution and i don't want those individuals that come from another country to be allowed to stay here and all 20 of the women request -- they have bills that deal with this kind of human trafficking. so, we are trying to send a message that these individuals should be a high priority f

ms. shaw. >> thank you senator. chairman collins franky membership haskell members of the committee on judith shah securities administrator and cochair of the main council for elder abuse prevention. i'm also the president-elect of the north american securities administrators association although i am not testifying before the committee in that capacity today. i am honored to discuss one of the most serious problems facing our elderly financial exploitation and to present one approach currently and use in maine. addressing senior financial exploitation is difficult but critical. many in our elderly population are vulnerable due to social isolation and distance from family and other support networks. the days of americans growing growing old and communities surrounded by generations of family members are fading. what do we know about this population? we know that older adults are often targets of financial fraud scams and exploitation in part because they have tangible assets including homes and pension streams that are attracted to

ms. shaw. >> thank you senator. chairman collinsy membership haskell members of the committee on judith shah securities administrator and cochair of the main council for elder abuse prevention. i'm also the president-elect of the north american securities administrators association although i am not testifying before the committee in that capacity today. i am honored to discuss one of the most serious problems facing our elderly financial exploitation and to present one approach currently and use in maine. addressing senior financial exploitation is difficult but critical. many in our elderly population are vulnerable due to social isolation and distance from family and other support networks. the days of americans growing growing old and communities surrounded by generations of family members are fading. what do we know about this population? we know that older adults are often targets of financial fraud scams and exploitation in part because they have tangible assets including homes and pension streams that are attracted to scam a

collins: we reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from new york is recognized. ms. slaughter: may i inquire if my colleague has any further speakers? i'm ready to close if he does not. mr. collins: we have no more speakers at this time. ms. slaughter: thank you. i shall close, mr. speaker. this intraparty dysfunction governing from crisis to crisis and self-inflicted wounds must come to an end. our nation's very security is at stake and the american people crying out for stability for certainty and for responsible government. let's give them that. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment in the record along with extraneous material immediately prior to the vote on the previous question. mr. speaker, i urge my colleagues to vote no. to defeat the previous question, vote no on the underlying rule, and underlying bill. and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady from new york yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from georgia is recognized. mr. collins: thank you, mr. speak

ms. kaptur: thank you mr. speaker. i rise to give reassurance and hope to sandy collins and the family of the mayor of toledo, mike collins, who yesterday was involved in a very serious automotive accident. he apparently had a heart attack while he was driving after trying to prepare the city crews for the snowfall that was about to come a level three snowfall. and then there was an heroic act that saved his life, though he's in critical condition, at the university of toledo medical center. a woman named evelyn johnson mother of eight children, a grandmother of five, saw his s.u.v. that had crashed into this telephone pole and she stopped her car on her way to work and she and another man, a good samaritan who came along had to pry him out of the car. it was still running, he still had his foot on the gas, but he was completely unconscience and she and the other gentleman administered c.p.r. at the direction of the 911 crews in the city of toledo. i am so proud of my hometown and the love and the care and the preparedness that they demonstrated to care for our mayor. we pray to god that he will fully recover and that his

ms. foxx: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield five minutes to the gentleman from georgia, mr. collins. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia is recognized for five minutes. mr. collins: thank you, mr. speaker. i appreciate that and i thank my good friend from north carolina who has already been stated on the floor is powering through today, standing strong for the values that i think really would not be expressed any differently except to say mr. speaker, that there is critical national interest here. . as we talk about these bills, yes it is -- sort of a groundhog day, i'll get to that in a moment seemingly because it seems like every time we from the republican side of the aisle want to talk about jobs and kitchen tables and making better improvements for life and getting rid of regulatory burden that would help or put controls on government, we are accused of wanting to spoil the environment, kill trees, make flowers not bloom. whatever it may be, but the issue that's groundhog's day. if people want a true groundhog day analogy, here it is. when we want to put constrai

ms. ayotte," and it is instantly recognizable. kathie has been calling the roll for quite a while. she became the first woman to ever call roll in the senate. in 1999 with senator collins in the chair kathie became a member of the first all-female team to preside over this body. and in 2009 she became the senate's first female legislative clerk. so kathie alvarez has been making a lot of history since she first arrived here in 1984. and you'll notice, madam president, that every female floor staffer is paying tribute to her today. they're each wearing something with kathie's favorite design: animal print. along with the love of cajun food s.a.r.torial distinction is one thing that louisianans become known for a passion for perfection is another. kathie has maintain add laser-like focus for three decades. that's good news for the senate, because we rely on her and the american people rely on her to ensure that every bill, every amendment, and every message from the house is processed perfectly. that's a lot of pressure. so you can't blame kathie for wanting to retire. i know she's looking forward to spending more time with her husband john and i know that kathie wants t