ms. whitehouse from the department of emergency management. i understand that we're at this 90% level, which should be proud of. however, when i went out to visit the department of emergency management i heard that the overtime is killing them. the workers there and so how are we able to keep this level of excellence, not depending on so much overtime? >> yes, absolutely. i totally understand and i agree and i feel like the department is actually having a pretty similar situation to the sheriff's department where they're not at their budgeted and funding staffing level. i do anticipate their budget and funding staffing level might change this year. we've been working with the department as hard as we can to figure how we can get them on as fast as possible. as you can imagine, they have extensive training requirements for bringing people to a job like that. so there are limitations on how many people that the department can bring on each year. but i know brad is here from the department if you'd like to have some more specifics so i'll hand it

ms. prior: yes. that to me retraumatizes the victim. senator whitehouse: all other things being equal, getting the law enforcement team engaged with the victim rapidly, if not immediately is a value worth pursuing. ms. prior: it is. and that starts with relationships. senator whitehouse: and making sure that support is properly trauma-informed and proven discipline of the domestic violence prosecutions is necessary to make it successful. ms. prior: absolutely. senator whitehouse: i think we're all in agreement. ms. dyering you've been nodding. ms. dyer: i do think the domestic violence field paved the way for creating these coordinated community responcheses and dragging people to the table initially and then everyone staying voluntarily after. i think it serves as a best practice for similar situations such as swault on campus, trafficking, i think it serves as a good model. senator whitehouse: thank you. senator feinstein: senator klobuchar. senator clobe which are: i only your -- heard your testimony, ms. nguyen. i spoke earlier with ms. sullivan about

. >> senator whitehouse. >> ms. as a rusullivan, thank y your work in this air. i'd like to talk about campus sexual assault and domestic violence. i'm a little bit like you, i have been in the law enforcement field for a while and have actually witnessed the transformation in police response to domestic violence cases, which used to be, frankly, pretty grim. but it's now much more alert, aware, attentive, trauma informed and successful. and the result is that around the country domestic violence groups like day one in rhode island and others work very closely with police departments to make sure that evidence is preserved, to make sure that the witnesses are getting their best opportunities to tell their story, and to make sure that the police are involved early and in a respectful way so that you're not losing evidence and other opportunities to ultimately make a successful case against the offender. so that, i think, has been a huge law enforcement success story, and it's built, i think, in many places, terrific relationships. then you get onto college campuse

ms. baldwin: mr. president, i rise to join and thank senator whitehouse for his ongoing commitment to giving a voice to the issue of climate change and the threat it poses to our country and frankly our world. senator whitehouse has provided real moral leadership on this issue, and i want to express my gratitude for his unrelenting focus. mr. president, let there be no doubt -- climate change is real. the question is not whether it's happening but how we will address it. are we going to do all that we can to leave the next generation a safer and healthier world? as my friend from rhode island has impressed upon us with due urgency week in and week out, climate change will be tremendously costly to our economy and to our very way of life, and the longer we wait to act, the more costly these impacts will be. mr. president, the state of wisconsin has been a proud home to environmental leaders who have worked to pass on a stronger environment to future generations. i think of aldo leopold, i think of john muir, i think of senator gay lord nelson, -- gaylord nelson, the founder of earth day. as the senator

ms. hassan: i rise to discuss the devastating effects of climate change in my home state and across the country. i want to commend our colleague, senator whitehouse, who has been a fierce advocate for this issue. and as of yesterday he had taken to the floor 200 times to call on congress to wake up and protect our environment. mr. president, i am proud to represent a state whose beautiful natural resources strengthen our economy, create jobs, and support our high quality of life. but we are already seeing the real impacts of climate change in new hampshire, impacts with major consequences. last year the national climate assessment report reinforced what has long been clear -- human activity is the driving force behind our changing climate, and the united states is experiencing more extreme weather events, including dangerous heat, heavier rainfall and more flooding, and larger wildfires as a result, threatening both our long-term economic growth and the well-being of our citizens. many people in new hampshire, particularly on our seacoast, are concerned about what these stronger and more frequent storms will mean for their families, their homes,

whitehouse. >> thank you, madam chair. welcome all of you and thank you for your service and testimony. i appreciate very much. you are here i think for my, my questions to ms. sullivan. i wanted to follow-up with you on that issue of -- if you assume that law enforcement is properly trained, trauma informed, and operating at the best practices level, when is the best time to first engage law enforcement after an incident of sexual assault or domestic violence is reported? >> i think sooner rather than later. i think that assuming that they are trauma informed, having the interactions she is going to be helpful for the victim. obviously, she is allowed to have a counselor with her. a support group or network around her. but i think that the first interaction with law enforcement is going to make or break the victims ability to feel comfortable going into the system. that is why trauma informed care for first responders is so crucial. that one moment in time, that spotlight into the moment is going to make or break our ability to say i am in or i am not. it is such a crucial, crucial interception of time. i think sooner then rather than later it helps place

ms. klobuchar: mr. president, i rise tonight to join my colleagues to address the need to immediately respond to russians' interference. i'd like to thank senator whitehouse for bringing us together. this evening many of my colleagues have spoken about how russian aggression affects americans and our allies across the world. some have discussed the need for sanctions to deter russia and the fact that the administration has not yet imposed sanctions, the same sanctions that were passed by the senate 98-2 and 419-3 in the house of representatives. those were the additional sanctions that were directly related to the interference in the elections and what we saw take place over the last year. they sit -- they sit dormant. others talked about special counsel mueller's investigation and the fact that it must move forward without interference. nearly a dozen senators have come to the floor to highlight the need to stand up against russia. i am here to safeguard the most fundamental part of our democracy, and that is the united states elections. i heard today the prime minister of sweden address our nation, standing next to the president, and he was asked a ques