under their proposal, as soon as there are no senators talking on the senate floor, the senate would move to a final vote. the problem with this idea under the previous leadership was that amendments were routinely blocked, so it would have meant that senators would have to talk nonstop to preserve their right to offer an amendment with no guarantee that they would ever get that chance. now, that is not the issue this time. we have alloyed an -- allowed an open amendment process and it is the minority party that is blocking amendments. so i would say to all the advocates of the so-called talking filibuster, if you do vote against cloture you're saying you want to debate this bill more before a vote is taken. in that case, you'd better put money where your mouth is. to all my colleagues to support the so-called talking filibuster and vote against this cloture motion. i expect to see you come down to the senate floor and talk nonstop. you can use the time then to explain to the american people why you object to moving forward with this very important bipartisan legislation to combat se

senator enzi: senator toomey. senator toomey: mr. chairman, i want to fully acknowledge the important work that senator graham and ayotte and others have done out of a very, very legitimate concern of our defense funding level. i share their concern. however, i'm also concerned that this creates a mechanism by which defense spending could be increased quite significantly without any offset. and it is my strongly held view that while we need to increase our defense spending, for the sake of the fiscal solvency of our government and our long-term viability, frankly, as a nation, we need to rein in spending and we need to offset the increases that are entirely necessary on the defense side. i'm going to reluctantly support the amendment in the form it is in now despite the fact that i really don't improve of the offset that's contemplated by the graham amendment. i appreciate senator graham and the other members on our side working with me on an amendment that i'll introduce after this which i'll speak about but hopes to ensure this dev

senate. that is the essence of what it can be, and who but ted kennedy and his family would create a full-scale replica of the senate chamber and open it to everyone? we live in a time of such great cynicism about all of our institutions, and we are cynical about government and about washington most of all. it is hard for our children to see in the noisy and too often trivial pursuits of today's politics the possibilities of our democracy, our capacity together to do big things, and this place can help change that. it can help like the fire of imagination, plant the seed of noble ambition in the mind of future generations. imagine a gaggle of schoolkids clenching tablets, turning classrooms into cloak rooms, the issues of the day and the responsibility to solve it. imagine their moral universe expanding as they hear about the momentous battle waged in that chamber and how they echo throughout today's society. great questions of war and peace , of table bargains between north and south, federa

i thank the senator from texas for his leadership on this issue, as well as the senator from iowa, senator grassley, for moving this legislation to the floor. as the senator from texas who has authored and been involved with this legislation for a really long time, knows if there was ever an issue -- ever an issue that we deal with here in the united states senate that goes beyond the line of partisan politics it's this. it's this. i mean, we're talk about untold stories of thousands of american children and adults who are sold into modern-day slavery. those stories are bone-chilling and are undeniably some of the most deplorable acts of humankind. and what the senator from texas's bill was designed to do is start attacking this issue in way that we reason for a very long time and gives law enforcement the tools in order to target these traffickers to bring them to justice provides the tools that are necessary to help restore the lives of the victims of these heinous heinous crimes. and so i would ask the senator from texas because it is interesting to me that we are where we are. i mean,

senate. [applause] >> ♪ this land is your land this land is my land from california to the new york island from the redwood forest to the gulf stream waters this land was made for you and me as i was walking that ribbon of highway i saw above me that endless skyway i saw below me that golden valley this land was made for you and me i've roamed and rambled and i followed my footsteps to the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts and all around me a voice was sounding this land was made for you and me when the sun came shining and i was strolling and the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling as the fog was lifting a voice was chanting this land was made for you and me as i went walking i saw a sign there and on the sign it said "no trespassing" but on the other side it didn't say nothing that side was made for you and me in the shadow of the steeple i saw my people by the relief office i seen my people as they stood there hungry i stood there asking is this land made for you and me? n

senator markey of massachusetts senator debbie stapp and michigan, senator jim sasser of tennessee senatory senator kay bailey hutchinson of texas, senator kay hagan of north carolina, senate majority leader tom daschle of south dakota, senator shelby white house of rhode island, senator amy klobuchar of minnesota senator carl levin of michigan, senator don ringle of michigan senator gordon smith of oregon mrs. irene noa, wife of the late senator daniel inouye of hawaii, senator chris dodd of connecticut, ms. catherine states -- stevens, wife of the late senator ted stevens of alaska, senator bob graham of florida, senator paul kirk of massachusetts, ladies and gentlemen. welcome back to the senate. [applause] please be seated. i would like to ask members including the massachusetts delegation to stand as a group and be acknowledged. thank you all for being here. please seated, and i also want to knowledge the government leaders from the commonwealth and from the city of boston that joined us today, the lieutenant governor, attorney general healy, state treasurer goldberg, state president

the senator from texas for his leadership on this issue as well as the senator from iowa senator grassley for moving this legislation forward. the senator from taxes -- texas who has been involved with this legislation knows if there was ever an issue ever an issue that we deal with here in united states senate that goes beyond the line of partisan politics at this. we are talking about untold stories thousands of american children and adults who are sold into modern-day slavery. those stories are bone chilling and are undeniably some of the most deplorable acts of humankind. what the senator from texas bill was designed to do was to start attacking this issue in a way we haven't for a very long time and it gives law enforcement the tools in order to target these traffickers, to bring them to justice and it provides the tools necessary to help restore the lives of the victims of these heinous crimes. so i would ask the senator from texas because it's interesting to me that wherever we are. this is clearly a bipartisan issue, so much so that i understand when this was marked up debated and

senate. [applause] ♪ >> ♪ this land is your land this land is my land from california to the new york island from the redwood forest to the gulf stream waters this land was made for you and me as i was walking that ribbon of highway i saw above me that endless skyway i saw below me that golden valley this land was made for you and me i've roamed and rambled and i followed my footsteps to the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts and all around me a voice was sounding this land was made for you and me this land, this land this land, o this land when the sun came shining and i was strolling and the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling as the fog was lifting a voice was chanting this land was made for you and me as i went walking i saw a sign there and on the sign it said "no trespassing" but on the other side it didn't say nothing that side was made for you and me this land, this land this land, o this land this land, this land this land, o this land oh my in the shadow of the steep

senate. i expect -- certainly, geography comes into play as well as other factors. at the end of the day, the person who works the heart is, presents the best platform vision for our state and country will be the nominee. i think it will be competitive by the end of the day, the person who runs the best campaign and presents the best program and has the best qualifications will be our nominee. burgess: governor o'malley give a wonky speech yesterday in d.c. on his tenure driven in the government. i'm wondering, do you think he could offer a credible challenge to hillary clinton? senator cardin: governor o'malley, i think did the job as manager of our stay, as governor. he had a accountability system where he held agencies to have results. he had a strong vision in our state to improve education and he did. he did to improve the environment and he did to make our ever structure first class. i think you has a great record as mayor of baltimore city and governor of maryland. hillary clinton is c

senator merkley, senator sessions. i'm going to safely ask for a voice vote. >> could we get a recorded vote on this one? mr. enzi: those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. that's passed. senator king. mr. king: this is an amendment which requires the congressional budget tufse publish historic data in a projection of 110 years for tax expenditures. senator portman and senator warner are co-sponsor, i hope we doon this by voice vote. mr. enzi: opposition? those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. that's passed. senator sessions. no medicare double counting. mr. sessions: yes. the c.b.o. has said that though the conventions of accounting may suggest otherwise, taking money by cutting social security and medicare expenses and spending that on a different program cannot be counted twice and that's what we did in the ppaca passage. it's been done before on other circumstances, this is up with of the reasons we get into the long-term unfunded liability situation that we're in today. if you'd reich to know exactly how it

senator cruz: i will confess, i know both of your senators well. and listen, i will say bernie sanders, i at least respect that he admits he is a socialist. i will give him credit for candor. i actually respect someone that, as you all know, sanders ran as a socialist as a line on the ballot. i can respect someone who is candid and what they are doing much more than many of the politicians who get elected pretending to believe in commonsense conservative values and they go ahead and vote exactly the same as a socialist would vote. i love vermont, it is wonderful great i will confess there is something about the 2016 calendar that orders the timing people visit various states. [laughter] >> senator cruz, you are president crews, what are you going to do with the -- to deal with the isis threat? senator cruz: a great question. isis is the face of evil. they are crucifying christians. they are beheading children. they are using race as a rep in of war. a few months ago, i was sitting down meeting with the president of kurdistan who design -- to descri

senator enzi: senator toomey. senator toomey: i think the senator from georgia is correct. it is unaccountable. it is unique among powerful regulators and having no accountability to congress. it has exceeded its authority because it is not subject to congressional oversight. it is outrageous they are able to operate with the budget they have in the latitude they have without having to come to congress. i think the gentleman from georgia for offering the amendment. i join them. senator enzi: senator kaine has an amendment to offer. senator kaine, i do. it has some bipartisan support. two of my colleagues, senators baldwin and portman are with me. this amendment is a deficit due to reserve fund to support legislation, encouraging more cte innovation to prepare students. i am the son of an iron worker and i run a technical school, and learned the power of cte. there is some wonderful programs around the country. 30% of jobs will require technical training. i believe both senators baldwin and portman are cosponsoring. senator enzi: i don't see any rebuttals. there is a vote in

senator cardin: first of all, i'm using senator mikulski's words. we will make sure that we maintain a democratic seat. we will have some interesting primaries in the house of representatives as well. senator mikulski has an incredible career. what a legacy she has left. there is a lot of interest in her seat. we have a great ranch. we have a great delegation of people interested in running for her seat. i think we will have a competitive primary. that could be healthy for the democratic party. we wanted to be positive and focus on the person's vision for the united states senate qualifications, and that the democratic voters nominate the best. senator mikulski and i will do everything we can to make sure that seat is held by democratic nominee. neil: do you think that it matters or that voters should take into account where in the state these various candidates may come from. that is something that always comes up in maryland politics. how much should that play into people's consideration? senator cardin: melander's geography comes into play, as we

senate.campus of the commonwealth of massachusetts capital city public research university, the university of massachusetts boston. i am so glad -- i am so glad you stopped in on such a wonderful day. it is always sunny out here on the peninsula. i'm also excited to welcome back president barack obama back to this university where he is, as a united states senator from received an honorary degree from us. we are grateful. we also thank the first lady but we are also grateful to have our vice president with us today. thank you for being here. so i guess you cannot tell that i am thrilled. i'm thrilled to be able to welcome all of you to this momentous celebration, and i am very proud to have the edward m kennedy institute on the campus of boston's public research university. now, i was thrilled -- no, i was ecstatic when senator kennedy shared with me that he wanted to locate and institute focused on the united states senate here on this campus with a vision of quality higher education made ac

the fact that he and the distinguished majority leader, senator mcconnell senator hatch, senator grassley others voted against the violence against women act, i would not ascribe to them a motive that they believe in violence against women. and even though that had a strong antisex trafficking amendment in it, i don't ascribe their vote against the bill as meaning they are against that. but we have to talk about listening to the voices of the survivors. what they are saying, though, is clear. stop playing politics with our lives. poly apolly put it this way "politics should not govern the options available to victims of sex trafficking especially when such victims have had their basic human rights takenway by criminals who had only their agendas in mind." we ought to put aside our agendas. they're asking for us to vote against this bill, thevivors are asking us to vote -- the survivors are asking us to vote against this bill because it includes unnecessary destructive partisan language. a letter signed by the alliance to end slavery and trafficking rights for girls share hope internationa

the senator from nevada. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from delaware. mr. coons: i ask unanimous consent to set aside the pending amendments and call up the following amendments en bloc, 343, 391 392 394 and 802. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. coons: i ask unanimous consent the reading of the amendments be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. coons: i come to the floor to speak about our nation's war against isis and why we must pay for it responsibly. as our armed forces continue their mission to destroy isis which is months underway we need to consider another part of our strategy paying for that war. this is not a new concept. our nation has a long history of paying for our might missions. in fact, every war since the revolutionary war to the first gulf war was paid for. through our nation's armed conflicts new revenue streams provided the resources our military needed they reminded our people we needed to contribute to the war. i fear we hav

thank you senator moran. mr. president, -- the presiding officer: the senator from ohio is recognized. mr. brown: i'm joined on the floor by senator casey just two weeks ago he and i and a half dozen other senators came to the floor in an unusual configuration, it's not something that senators do all that often we came as a group, each spoke individually about our concerns with trade promotion authority and the trans-pacific partnership both the so-called fast track and the trade agreement that's being negotiated among the u.s., canada mexico, and some pacific nations and peru, i believe, too and the nations in asia. and the concerns we have and the concerns that an increasing number of senators have about trade promotion authority about fast track they changed the name because they knew the public did not like fast track so they obscured it by coming up with some technical sounding term trade promotion authority and we see increasingly a public rising up against these trade agreements because we've watched them

this amendment is cosponsored by senator moran senator warner, senator mccaskill senator toomey and senator donnelly. it is modeled very much on a bill that senator klobuchar and i have introduced to increase funding for alzheimer's research. just yesterday mr. president the senate aging committee which i lead, along with senator mccaskill, held an extensive hearing on alzheimer's disease. we listened from preeminent researchers, from individuals like b. smith who unfortunately has been inflicted with early onset alzheimer's. we listened to a caregiver and from a geriatric physician from portland maine. we had testimony from the mayo clinic. we had testimony from the individual who heads the institutes on aging at the national institutes of health. and to a person, they pointed out that we are spending $226 billion a year caring for people with alzheimer's and yet we are investing less than $600 million in this disease. the experts tell us that if our investment were at the level of $2 billion a year, that we could explore the promising breakthroughs, the therapeutic targets that are needed

senate. the pittsburgh post, the senators who signed the letters should be ashamed. the salt lake tribune: cringe worthy buffoonry on the global stage is how they describe that letter. the courier journal in louisville kentucky, asked the question: has congress gone crazy when they reflected on this letter? the courier journal went on to call those who signed it, senate saboteurs. those are their words. not mine. the salt lake tribune said the foolish dangers obviously felonious attempt by the caucus of the united states senate. a kansas city star said was iran letter traiterrous or treacherous? "the los angeles times" called it insulting they said the republican senators are meddling in that irresponsibility, it is outrageous. it goes on and on. i won't read them all. it doesn't get any better. it gets worse. to think that 47 republican senators would try to preempt any senator of the united states. today in geneva switzerland former senator john kerry and secretary of state sits down at a negotiating table across from iran. on our side of the table are major allies

senator portman. >> mr. chairman, is interesting because ranking member sanders talked about world rankings and were 12 in the world on infrastructure. twelfth in the world now and our infrastructure. there's another ranking put out by the world a guinness says we are 41st in the country on our ability to get a permit for a construction project and we have bipartisan legislation to address that. senator mccaskill, senator king, myself and others to discuss solutions on tax loopholes and so on and there may be opportunities as someone discussed to include funding for infrastructure. we've also got to look at the issue and this is why the afl-cio supports our legislation and others, how we greenlight something whether at energy project oil and gas solar, it takes so long and there so many liability issues that discourage investment in america versus other places. we've got lots of testimony including a hearing last year. i hope the members concerned to look at the legislation as one way to get our infrastructu

what is beneath the decorum and dignity of the united states senate, i would say to the senator from illinois, is for him to come to this floor and use that imagery to suggest that racist tactics are being employed to delay ms. lynch's confirmation vote. such inflammatory rhetoric has no place in this body and serves no purpose other than to further divide us. perhaps my colleagues and the senator from illinois, in particular, need to be reminded of their own record when it comes to the treatment of african-american women whose nominations were before this body. in 2012, janice rogers brown, an african-american, was nominated to serve on the u.s. board of appeals for the district of columbia, a court that had never included an african-american woman judge. the senator from illinois voted to filibuster her nomination in 2003 and again in 2005, when she was finally confirmed after waiting 684 days. the senator from illinois voted against the historic nomination. i would never suggest, even with built rhetoric -- veiled rhetoric, that her race was the reason for his opposition. and he s

cain and senator king. what is in the budget already allows for both defense and nondefense and allows for any onset. i think we are party accomplished what is in this amendment. >> one of my concerns in the mark mr. chairman is the word order for national security or domestic discretionary. if the word was changed to and i would withdraw my amendment. >> we will check on that. we won't be voting immediately. >> mr. chairman, could i ask senator came a question just for clarification? i think there is widespread agreement that we want to add sequestration and need additional funding to do that. is your suggestion in fact one of the options archives to social security and medicare to fund the sequestration? >> there's a great deal and the term is mandatory spending that is not social security and medicare. i'm not talking about benefit levels. under the drug program there's a lot of revenue realized by bargaining for drugs. $500 billion tier of other mandatory outside of social security and health care. we d

i know we had the senator from south dakota senator mikulski came to testify was senator ayotte from new hampshire and senator klobuchar at the hearing and talked about how important this was to all 20 of our women senators and how proud they were of the fact that forwarded it would have happened without the senator from iowa, chairman of the judiciary committee willing to take the challenge up and move the bill floor in a unanimous fashion. i would just close mr. president by saying that all members of the united states senate presumably came here to try to do something important. .. march in place or fill up space, but presumably they spend the time away from their families they go through the rigors of political campaigns they suffer the slings and arrows of partisan politics in order to try to something -- do something good, to try to help people who cannot help themselves. and so here is a perfect opportunity to do exactly that. and we're not asking people to do anything extraordinary. certainly not asking them to do anything they haven't done before which is to vote on language

senate. building was created in honor of the late massachusetts senator and aims to educate the public about congress and encourage citizens to take a proactive role in the democratic process. >> 50 years ago, i managed the successful reelection campaign for the junior senator for massachusetts, john f. kennedy. although i certainly did not anticipate it at the time, i myself have been deeply honored to hold the same seat he had for some 46 years. during my service in the united states senate, i have often been called a liberal. and it usually was not meant to be a compliment. but i remember what my brother said about liberalism shortly before he was elected president. he said, if by "a liberal" they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without quick reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people, their health, their housing their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, their civil liberties, someone who believes we can break through the s

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from wyoming. mr. enzi: i yield two minutes to the senator from arkansas. the presiding officer: the senator from arkansas. mr. cotton: i ask unanimous consent to set aside the pending amendments and call up my amendment, number 481. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from arkansas mr. cotton, proposes amendment numbered 481. at the appropriate place -- mr. cotton: i ask consent the reading of the amendment be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cotton: since its founding in 1948 israel has been a steadfast aleye in the middle east. the u.s.-israel relationship is built on mutual respect for common values including a commitment to democracy the rule of law individual liberty and ethnic and religious diversity. last week president obama and other administration officials suggested a fundamental rethinking of this alliance citing prime minister netanyahu's simple restatement of fact there can be no palestin

applause] senator collins: senator scott. senator scott, welcome. senator scott: thank you senator collins, for holding this hearing and give us an opportunity to interface with so many people who are committed to the cause and those out there in purple, thank you for your investment of time and your energy on such an incredibly important topic. i know that all of our offices have been filled with your enthusiasm and your real-life stories. i can't think of anyone here on this panel who has not been impacted personally by alzheimer's, for me alzheimer's and parkinson's and watching the challenges of your loved ones -- my grandmother passed away april 29, 2001, and just seeing the devastation, the challenges that she faced. also those who have been support systems. if you've had to -- have you been blessed with the opportunity to care for someone with alzheimer's, would you raise your hands? god bless you. and thank you. it's amazing the impact that the disease has not only on the patient but on the family and on the loved ones and it's such a powerf

you, senator. >> senator scott, you're up. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you both for being here with us and providing us insight from 1986 and how you brought together at times what seemed to be impossible. and i'll tell you that sitting here as a relatively new senator it seems relatively impossible for the two sides to culminate together as well. so your insight has been valuable to all of us. just for point of reference this is treasury two and this is treasury 1. during the years that you guys found the will to make things happen. these are about six years of the president's proposals. my first question really for both of you all is how do we find common ground when finding a serious partner towards real tax reform appears to be missing in the seriousness of the presentations and the proposals, number one, and the second part of that and the second part of that is when we've heard from our chairman and senator hatch and senator thune just talked about revenue-neutral position. revenue neutral position. when you start the conversation a

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from west virginia. mrs. capito: i rise today to discuss the justice for victims of trafficking act. i'm proud to join with my colleagues to cosponsor this important legislation and i applaud senator cornyn and senator klobuchar for putting forward this bipartisan bill. the justice for victims of trafficking act is a call to action. we've heard a lot of discussion about it on the floor here over the last several days. the horrible crime of human trafficking impacts thousands of americans, mostly women and children each year and it occurs in cities, in the suburbs and in rural towns. we cannot allow this horrendous crime to continue. last year, i hosted a forum at west virginia state university to discuss how we could help in west virginia in combating human trafficking. the event was very well attended and featured law enforcement avid cavities, academics and state lawmakers. i've also supported several bills when i was in if the house of representatives to end this crime. it is absolutely monstrous to consid

in front of senate. now, it's one thing to enter into these matters of considerable national security and try to disrupt them. it's another thing of looking at the consequences that if these negotiations don't succeed and we can stop iran having a nuclear weapon that one alternative, a very serious alternative is war. but it's another thing mr. president to make representations to a senator then that are not fulfilled. and this senator doesn't like it one bit. i want to conclude mr. president, by saying that there's been a lot of commentary about the prime minister's speech yesterday. this senator feels like that where the prime minister was arguing against negotiations that are ongoing before the negotiations are concluded, i don't think that's in the interest of the united states. i don't like that one bit. is this senator also feels that when a foreign leader comes in front of the congress, the representative of the american people for what to this senator is obvious -- political advantage in an elect

senator boxer: thank you. senator inhofe: thank you, senator boxer. senator rounds. senator rounds: thank you, mr. chairman. during the time we were on the campaign trail this last year and i am new to the committee and process, one of the items we talked about a lot was the anticipated cost to the average american family with regard to an increase in their costs for electric rates. the u.s. chamber of commerce , last summer, estimated the average cost to the average american family would be approximately $1400 more per year in their electric rates. i was curious, mr. parfitt. a recent statistic that comes in the case of my state, south dakota. that our electric rates would increase probably about 20% or more as a result of the clean power plan. this is significantly more than 8.8 cents per kilowatt hour that we pay now. compliance costs could well exceed $50 per ton of carbon. what impacts will this have on ratepayers in wyoming and in surrounding states? i know people in south dakota receive power from wyoming. wyoming supplies power because of your location to the

the senator from ohio. the senate will come to order. the senate will come to order. mr. portman: mr. president? this is a very simple amendment. it's a deficit-neutral reserve fund to help the most vulnerable kids among us to have better coordinated care under medicaid. it allows health care providers to deliver health care services to medically complex kids through models that coordinate care between providers resulting in better care but also lower cost. including helping with regard to a problem -- the presiding officer: the senate will please come to order. mr. portman: mr. president these children are complex medical conditions make up about 6% of the children who get health care under medicaid, but it is about 40% of the cost of pediatric care under medicaid. so this is an opportunity for us on a bipartisan basis i know to be able to help these kids to get the necessary care they need and actually allow the medicaid system to realize some savings through efficiencies like reduced emergency room stays hospitalization and other procedures. i urge all my colleagues to

the senior senator from minnesota, senator klobuchar and the senior senator from oregon senator wyden. they have been great partners in this fight not just this year but for many years and there are many others. another great partner has been the junior senator from illinois senator kirk, who has worked for years to get antitrafficking legislation to the floor. he's introduced a bill called the here act which authorizes a program to recruit wounded injured and returning veterans and provides them with training and high-tech computer forensics and law enforcement skills to help fight child exploitation. i also want to acknowledge the great contribution of the junior senator from ohio, senator portman, who has a bill called the bringing missing children home act which improves the way cases of missing children are handled, strengthening law enforcement reporting and response procedures. both the here act and the -- the hero act and the bringing missing children home act have been incorporated into the underlying bill, and i want to thank both of them for their efforts and willingness to

senator whitehouse and senator corker are in meetings. we should be just a few seconds out of voting. i will call on senator murray for her 30 seconds on the sequestration. >> it takes the current cbo projection to allow us to be able to replace sequestration for today. it is responsible. we could face serious consequences without this amendment. >> i raise the issue that i thought there was an increase in taxes and spending. it does say increasing federal revenues. we will be taking advantage of the baseline changes by the time that week it to conference. that will be the normal time for doing that, since we just got them. i would ask that you vote no. >> mr. grassley? >> it has been defeated. next amendment on oil spill. >> this is a taxpayer amendment to say that if you have an oil spill, that the oil companies a should be paying for that, the cleanup. the trust fund should have those types of spills covered by companies paying into it. we eliminate tax benefits that apply when there is a settlement or judgment because of oil spills, a

tom cotton of arkansas and signed by 46 other republican senators and signed by the senate majority letter. joining me now to continue the look at the letter and what such a gesture means in international negotiations, bruce gendleson, former senior advisor to the u.s. state department during the first obama administration and fred flight, formerly on the staff of the house intelligence committee during the george w. bush and obama administrations. regardless of its legality and there are many people throwing plenty of cold water on the idea that this was illegal to do, is it a good idea? >> it's good to be here. it's an excellent idea. this was an active leadership our elected representatives, senators can't do anything about this agreement because it's not a treaty. they see an agreement that this administration is cooking up that will be extremely destabilizing to the middle east, will pave the way to an iranian nuclear weapon and they're doing what they can to kill the negotiations, kill this deal, and force the administration and the european allies to start over with a more re

thank you. >> thank you for having me. >> senator, good to see you. >> "speaking spanish" >> senator, very nice to meet you. [laughter] >> thank you. >> very good. >> small world. >> very small. thank you. >> good morning. >> big fan. >> thank you. >> which way? this went? >> thank you. thank you so much. >> read here? >> right here. >> good to see you again. >> the purpose of why we are here today, of course, is to hear from the junior senator in that very warm state of florida marco rubio. we truly had hoped that the senator might bring some of that florida weather with him, but unfortunately, we are stuck with the new england cold and the snow. the senator is someone that you may know is a son of cuban immigrants. he was born and raised in miami. he started his career in public service in the late 1990's. not long after earning a law degree from the university of miami. the senator has served as a city commissioner with miami before being elected to the florida house of representatives and was elected speaker. as someone who learned in the legislature myself, do know that in just a

senator reid. senator reid: thank you. we face a complex range of security challenges from across the globe. our witnesses views and assessments of challenges are critical to the work of the committee. last week i traveled to pakistan, afghanistan, and iraq and had the opportunity to meet with the leaders in those countries but also with civilians and uniformed personnel who are so ably and courageously serving the united states. in iraq, our military command stressed that despite the setbacks that extremists have suffered, isis remains capable militarily, and continues to consolidate its power in the region, including through the coercion of local populations. coalition air strikes have enabled local security forces including kurdish peshmerga and the iraqi government's newly established militias, many of them shia, to begin to gain ground from isis. concerns remain about when iraq security forces are ready to launch counteroffenses to maintain mosul. and about iran's growing influence in iraq. i look forward to witness v

senator shelby: senator murphy. senator murphy: i wanted to follow up on some of the questions regarding the work that atf is doing surrounding -- following on the law enforcement officers protection act. this was just for the committee's regulation, a peace of legislation that was passed in 1986 why a 421-1 margin, passed by unanimous consent in the senate, and president reagan set upon signing at that there are certain forms of ammunition that have no legitimate sporting, recreation, or self-defense use. there has always been tricky work to try to stay true to the act's intentions of stopping criminals from killing law enforcement officers with specifically dangerous type of weapons, while also preserving the right of sports men and hunters to enjoy their pastime. but i just wanted to first thank the atf -- you mentioned in your prepared testimony for the maney -- the amazing work around the sandy hook surety. i was in that firehouse hours after the shooting took place and i had a law enforcement officer who was s

it's all there from the senate well and senators' desk. his widow, vicky was a driving force behind this. >> ted kennedy was certainly a joyous democrat. he loved his party. he was a man of strong belief. but he always listened. and looked for that negative common ground that could move an issue forward. >> schieffer: in the historic senate room where he crafted so much of the legislation that became law we gathered four of his long time colleagues. democratic senator barbara mikulski. former senator chris dodd, olympia snowe and john mccain. and we asked them how he managed to do it. >> he dedicated his life to the institution and there by being able become one of the most effective members of the united states senn at. i might add probably greatest antagonist i ever had on the floor of the senate. >> schieffer: yet you were friends. >> we had some of the great bouts, yet i remember one time we had a huge fight that two freshmen had begun we drove them from the floor and afterwards walking off the floor he put his arm around me. we did a

the senate against senator vandenberg a place of high honors reserve for only a few senate leaders, just a few steps from here in the united states capitol. i hope my colleagues will lead here and take heed of his words now. you said we cannot drift to victory, we must have maximum united efforts on all fronts. and we must deserve, we must deserve continued united effort of our own people. politics must stop at the water's edge. i yield above floor. >> minority leader. >> how much time is remaining on the democrats' side? >> five minutes. >> let me commend my colleague senator nelson of florida and senator stabenow for their statements. senator nelson spoke for many of us. on both sides of the aisle who feel this letter sent by 47 senators undermines the efforts of the president of the united states to avoid a nuclear iran and avoid a military response. i particularly thank my colleague senator stabenow for recalling that moment in history which many students of the senate knows was something that made a difference in the foreign policy of the united states of america for 70 years seldom

, he was asked to head up a group of senators to select the outstanding senators. daniel webster was selected. taft was selected. taft, daniel webster -- in the last year or two another committee was set up to select and take on two other panels. senator wagner was selected for the democrats. that reception hall, just a few feet off the where people are debating in the united states senate the issues of war and peace, accessible, and elegant, and a place where people can interact with their elected representatives. a very special building room in a very special building. >> besides from what we have talked about already, what family members do you have in these pictures? senator kennedy: my sister kathleen. she was married to billy harding 10, a kernel in the coldstream guards and a parachutist. he parachuted into belgium. he was unfortunately killed after they were on the ground. this is a picture of my brother joe, a navy pilot in world war ii. this is a young picture just before he went into the united states navy. >> how much do you remember of joe? senator ken

senator purdue? senator purdue,: while republicans may differ about vc fud and making them a part of the appropriation process should a nonpartisan issue.

all of senator brooke.id not grow up desiring to be a united states senator if you were born in the district of columbia in 1919. not if you lived in one of the district's african-american communities. not if you went to our segregated public schools and graduated from dunbar high school. the senator's class of 1936 is in the church today. and from howard university. not even if you became a world war ii hero and won the bronze star, reading your segregated unit on an enemy bunker. certainly not if your hometown had no elected government, much less senators. he was nurtured in a loving, closely net, aspiring african-american community in the district of columbia. it did not groom him to think of himself as a public official. senator brooke owed much to a childhood spent in our city, where children were raised to believe segregation did not for a moment mean you were inferior. but the man that became a natural politician, charismatic, charming, brilliant, and utterly approachable, invented himself and went o

i thank senator booker, senator whitehouse, and senator flake who have joined us in this discussion today. the smarter sentencing act mr. president, is a truly bipartisan/bicameral effort that brings support from across the political spectrum. excessive mandatory minimums do not make us safer. the last 30 years have shown us that they're applied unevenly and that they leave a gaping hole in the communities they impact most heavily. now we as a society have to pick up the tab. we must decide if we will continue to pay the high fiscal cost and the high social cost that mandatory minimums impose. it's important for us to remember that these costs do have many manifestations. sometimes in this body, sometimes in this town we tend to focus only on the fiscal price tag only on the price tag that can be expressed in raw numbers but doing that allows us to ignore too often the high human costs. the families, the communities that have lost brothers and sons and fathers and uncles and nephews. people who could be back in their communities contributing meaningfully to their success who are instead s

senator from california senator feinstein senator coons senator wyden senator klobuchar and the other side. on our side we've had a lot of great effort by senator portman, senator kirk, among others. the truth is senator collins has certainly made important contributions but i want to particularly recognize the contribution of the senator from california senator feinstein. we added a second title a title 2 in the legislation entitled combating human trafficking and senator feinstein was the person who made that major contribution to this effort. my point is that this has really been as i said at the beginning, this has been a bipartisan collaborative effort, something we don't see enough of here in washington, d.c. untainted by politics and ideology where we actually try to do some good for people who needed our help the most. so senator feinstein contributed much of the meat of title 2 including amendments to the runaway and homeless youth act a response to victims of child trafficking provision, creating an interagency task force on child trafficking primary prevention and requiring

even senators are awe struck by ted kennedy's senate chamber.ou are hard-pressed to know if that is the real thing or the fake thing. the purpose of this place is to act as basically a model senate. to have kids from all over the country go there and pretend to be senators, to stand in a full-scale model and debate and argue the big issues of the day, and unlike the actual senate, the thing that happens after the debate is there's a vote -- the purpose of this place is to act as basically a model senate. to have kids from all over the country go there and pretend to be senators, to stand in a full-scale model and debate and argue the big issues of the day, and unlike the actual senate, the thing that happens after the debate is there's a vote -- weird! >> who but ted kennedy and his family would create a full-scale replica of the senate chamber? and open it to everyone. we live in a time of such great cynicism about all our institutions. and we are cynical about government and about washington most of all. it's hard for our children to see in th

senator cardin: senator mikulski.body sort of looks to her as the person that blazes the trail, that has done everything, and i am being serious. she has really been the role model for everyone to follow, so when there is a tough issue, people look to barbara mikulski. phil: what do people not understand about her? senator cardin: she cares about these issues and is a street fighter, and what they do not know is how seriously she takes these issues. i have had intimate conversations with her about national issues and wildly -- national security issues and why we need to be concerned about issues that may not be popular. she is deeply concerned. mark: first time playing senators and snow white's posse, you did well. and we did not give you dopey. senator cardin: i would have taken that. i would have taken the hit or -- the hit for the whole team. mark: senator, thank you. you are nice to play, and we we will be back with more fun. ♪ phil: john kasich is back to south carolina and new hampshire next month. as always, ch

senate here on c-span2. the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. today's opening prayer will be offered by our guest reverend adam briddell associate pastor of the asbury united methodist church right here in washington d.c. the guest chaplain:let us pray. holy god,you are a stronghold for the oppressed. a fortress in times of trouble. the heavens are the work of your fingers. you established the moon and the stars. who are we, that you care for us? who are we, that you promise us grace, and mercy. may your greatness humble us. may your light transform us. may your love inspire us. inspire us to great acts of mercy, kindness, and justice. inspire us to love you, and love our neighbor. inspire us to labor for the sake of your kingdom, to sacrifice for the least and the lost. today, may we be found faithful to you. this we pray in your merciful name. amen. the president pro tempore: thank you reverend. we appreciate that. please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america a