senator paul. senator paul: a lot of our supporters are very concerned about losing our liberties particularly in a time in which there is fear being promulgated. terrorists can't beat us in any pitched battle or military battle. they want to cause fear. we shouldn't give up our liberties. our people don't want to have a government collecting all of our phone records or credit card statements. we want to be left alone and we think there is a right to privacy that is important. we also don't think the government programs that have done bulk collection of all the phone records have made us safer or stopped any terrorist plots. we think our foreign policy ought to be one in which we defend america, that when we go to war it's the last resort that we declare war when we go to war and we don't get involved with nation building or regime change. thruste the middle east every time we tried it, some had this notion that thomas jefferson is going to win the next election over there. we wind up with chaos, t

senator grassley: senator leahy. senator leahy: mr. chairman, i assume our senate colleagues probably have to leave. i've seen the senate schedule is not the house schedule, the senate schedule is pretty busy. [laughter] i ask the senators do be excused. i do have a question for the governor. senator grassley: we can talk any time. and i look forward to continued conversation on this legislation with my colleagues. so you can stay if you want to. go ahead, ask governor shumlin your question. senator leahy: well, thank you, mr. chairman. you know, governor, you and i talked about this a lot. and i appreciate your passion. i would note for everybody here , this is not just something that governor says publicly. he's talked about a lot privately. i think -- i think it's fair to say you feel the same way i heard from police officers all over the state of vermont, it's not just a law enforcement problem. i think a lot of them certainly tell me both the federal level police, state police, local police, county, they tell me if they could get

230 senators. the reason that we did this is to show how the partisanship that has become very intense in the last two congresses developed. in other words, this was not always so. in any event, it is very interesting to take out people who have served during that 20 year period of time dion b 100 better serving there now. -- beyond the 100 that are serving there now. host: we want to bring in our viewers talking about bipartisanship with richard lugar feared democrats can call in at (202) 748-8000. republicans can call in at (202) 748-8001. and the independents can call in on (202) 748-8002. why focus on the issue bipartisanship? guest: most political scientists and most citizens think congress is not working, that things are dead in the water. at least this time we got a budget so we do not shut down the government. in essence, very little legislation is passing while the needs of the public are great as always, both home and abroad. in short, the partisanship has become so intense that is imposs

that the senate passed senate 607, senate 2422, that the senate agreed to senate concurrent resolution 28, senate concurrent resolution 29. signed, sincerely, karen l. haas. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 4 of rule 1, the following enrolled bills andp joint resolutions were signed by speaker pro tempore messer on friday, january 15, 2016. the clerk: senate 142. senate 1115. senate 1629. enate joint resolution 22. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, notwithstanding the order of the house on january 8, 2016, further consideration of the veto message and the bill h.r. 3762, is postponed until the legislative day of february 2, 2016. without objection, further proceedings on the question of assage of h.r. 3662 may be postponed through the legislative day of february 2, 2016. as though under clause 8 of rule 20. pursuant to that order, further proceedings on h.r. 3662 are postponed. the chair lays before the house a communication. the clerk:p the honorable the speaker. house of representatives, sir. this is to notify you formally pursuant to rule 8 of the rules of the h

i have next senator collins, senator baldwin, senator cassidy, and senator murphy. senator collins. >> thank you, mr. chairman. dr. hepburn, particularly in rural states like maine, patients with serious mental illness all too often lack access to the care that they need. and as i look at federal policies, at times federal policies exacerbate the problem of access. we still don't treat mental illness the same way we treat physical illness in this country from the perspective of federal reimbursement policies and programs, which is pretty stunning in this day and age. you mentioned that congress recently passed senator cardin's bipartisan bill, which i was pleased to be a co-sponsor of, which extends anhó(ms÷ demonstration project that helps address the psychiatric bed shortage that ms. blake has talked about and improve access to critical mental health care services and support. maine is one of the pilot states under that program and has already seen very promising results because federal medicaid matching payments are being allowed for free-standing psychiatric hos

there are people in the senate. i know what people want to write about, what captures the headlines, but my colleagues are have profound respect because they do not want to make speeches, they want to solve urgent problems. it must be horrible to go to the united states senate and say, hey, it has been a good experience in a short two years, because we have been able to get real good things done. the states are very similar, of course. host: mississippi and jersey? cory booker: yeah, two peas in a pod. [laughter] cory booker: exactly. we came together in a way that the houston not. --house did not. we came up with a bill to fund positive train control, which will get more resources to my area, which is the busiest in rail transport, the northeast corner. it is a good compromise that move things forward. it made no headlines. host: this is a shockingly optimistic discussion. i'm concerned. [laughter] host: i have to do a little bit of 2016 presidential politics. cory booker: we will not run together. [laughter] mike

senator grassley: senator klobuchar.hen senator senator portman: i don't disagree. we have the drug monitoring incentiveized re tillis's point about mandating the state. every state will be a little different. have done cutting edge work and they should be the laboratories of democracy on this. we're helping on the prescription monitoring program. including across state lines. a great ates we have program. in southern ohio, west virginia, and kentucky have different programs you. uh don't know if someone got a trigs filled in ohio without having better intrastate. that's something that the federal governor can do. we have legislation on that. takeback he drug program is incentiveized in this legislation. so we focus on getting some of drugs off of the shelves. which governor shumlin is right.ely the final thing is having talked to hundreds of people who are ecovering, who have been addicts because of prescription drugs, i understand that issue ery, very well including the athlete i talked about earlier. but i will also tell you there's to who people i talked jumped

now, i got senator roberts, senator casey, senator burr and senator murphy. so senator roberts. mr. chairman, thank you. and thanks, also, to the ranking member for holding this hearing. everybody knows about the cost of prescription drugs. they continue to make headlines, and i truly appreciate dr. woodcock. you are an excellent witness, and thank you for your clarity and your comments. in addition to new user fees in 2012, as has been said, and the f.d.a. has proposed a gulation in 2013 regarding generic labeling that according to one estimate could increase spending on generic drugs by billions of dollars. in 2015, a proposed equality metrics program to draft guidance -- draft guidance that would require manufacturers to collect new information and also to collect and report .nformation from the c.m.o.'s the generic drug manufacturers have raised significant concerns, i think to everybody here, regarding reporting complexity, the confidentiality of data, increased information technology pending all of which would increase burdens on manufacturers and require significant efforts t

the senator from illinois area the senator from new york. the senator from washington. the senator from vermont. the senator from montana. michigan, andom the senator from minnesota. ryan: the escort will exit the chamber through the lobby doors. >> mr. speaker, the dean of the diplomatic corps. [applause] >> mr. speaker, the chief justice and associate justices of the supreme court. [applause] [gavel] [applause] sergeant-at-arms: mr. speaker, the president's cabinet. [applause] [indiscernible]

senator shelby: senator murphy? murphy: thank you very much, mr. chairman, thank you all for your candid testimony. this is a eel as if hearing on a document that i haven't seen. explore some of the inconsistencies between the interpretation of three of our and the words on the page. for your thank you advocacy in the face of unimaginable grief. i want to thank you for the holistic way. the ways in about the we can change enforcement of gun laws in order to prevent homicide. but your organization recognizes that the way in which we attack of gun violence is not simply through changing gun laws or better enforcement of gun also through increased efforts to buttress mental resources or to increase prevent y or to violence in the first place, you have a much broader agenda, don't you? absolutely. hear words like attacked and this adversarial approach, we page all be on the same looking together to agree so we can move forward. done.hing has to be and this situation is huge and broad and complex and no one law will fix it all. laws will fix it all. wil

risch, senator crapo, senator heller of nevada.y would agree + is vitally important, as we see vulnerability in our country on energy security, where we rely on others for sources of supply. we can't ever forget how important minerals are. and we don't want to go down that same road that we have been, for instance, with oil historically, as when we were talking about our critical minerals. so this is a huge issue for us. we agreed to promote the use of clean renewable hydropower, a priority for members from western states, including senator gardner, who helped lead on this, senator daines, senator cantwell, myself. we agreed to expedite the permitting of natural gas pipelines, without sacrificing any environmental review or public participation. this was an effort that was led by senator capito of west virginia. we agreed to a new program for oil and gas permitting. this was just one of many good ideas that senator hoeven of north dakota advanced. we took up a proposal from senator collins of maine to boost the efficiency within ou

senator murray. senator murray: thank you very much, chairman alexander. director wood congress, thank you so much for being here. taking the time to be here and on your work on behalf of our families and communities. i'm glad we have the opportunity today to talk about the f.d.a.'s generic drug program. this is a program that is absolutely critical to helping patients get safe, affordable, high quality treatments more quickly. generic drug user fees have significantly improved the f.d.a.'s ability to keep up with the large volume of generic drug applications, and it has helped build on the important work done in hatch-waxman to both incentivize innovation and expand families' access to the best treatments and cures available. there is, of course, room for improvement. while it is certainly a big undertaking to establish this program on an aggressive timeline, i hope that going forward we can encourage more communication and efficiency. it's important to remember that both hatch-waxman and f.d.a. programs are the result of strong bipartisan work. as we mov

i would also remind the senate that we are considering senate bill 2012. this is not a house -- so we will need to table any tax amendments because we don't want to be in a situation where we have got a prevention of conference. you may have issues that you would like to bring up but if it costs money you got to have an offset and we simply can't do the tax amendments. i'm interested in that as well. i think senator cantwell and i are both in the same situation. we know that an open amendment process on an energy bill that hasn't seen floor action in a long time, it could have the effect of unthinking the hose and we know that's there are a lot of folks that have a lot of good ideas and perhaps hundreds of ideas that this bill could include, so our intent is to work just as hard as we can and as fast as we can to process as many of these bills as possible. tomorrow we expect to have a pretty busy day. hopefully by the end of the day we will have reached some consent agreement as to what votes for tomorrow would look like my hope is that we will be here flo

senator thune: well, i think that she did a really good job. i thought she was very impressive in her remarks and delivered very, very well. i think delivered a face and voice for our party that really is what we are all about, and that is growing our majority, obviously. reaching out to more people across this country. presenting ideas we think are compelling and will attract people to join our vision. we have different people have different ideas and different ways of communicating and different style and tone. i thought that she did a nice job, i think, at least of reflecting what many of us here are talking about this week. and that is pro-growth agenda for the american people. one that reaches out and tries to attract more people to our cause. >> clearly talking about what we are hearing on the campaign trail, do you share the concerns that the rhetoric on the campaign trail and will that impact your ability to keep the majority, to win back the white house? senator thune: i think in a presidential campaign the rhetoric gets hot. that's ju

senator crapo, senator risch, senator hatch, and senator kirk on the republican side. so this is truly a bipartisan amendment. i hope it will get a strong and positive vote. it is very important that america continue its innovation in the area of advanced nuclear technologies, they continue to confer immense promise, and we're seeing the promise of american innovation realized overseas where the first, for instance, traveling wave technologies are being constructed in china, not here. so we need to make sure we continue our investment. we need to make sure we're doing good regulation so that the innovation can proceed to the market, and we hope that this amendment will help move that forward. once again, senator crapo has shown great leadership by this and i'm pleased to support him. the presiding officer: question now occurs on amendment 2031 -- 3021. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote:

the senate is coming back in. they will continue consideration of the energy policy bill that would modernize the nation's electric grid. we expect this afternoon they will take up a federal court domination to be a u.s. district judge for the district of new jersey. and now live to the senate floor here on c-span2. the presiding officer: the senator from delaware. a senator: i would ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: the senate is not in a quorum call. mr. carper: then i won't ask. the presiding officer: the senator from delaware. mr. carper: mr. president, in 2014, i began coming to the senate floor almost every month. i came here to highlight some of the great work done each and every day by the great men and women who serve us in the department of homeland security. i continued that effort throughout much of last year and plan to continue coming to the senate floor every month in 2016 with a new story to share. there is simply so much good that's being done across th

senator, pursuing your agenda, do you anticipate any kind of change in the senate rules? do you think you'll pursue a change in the filibuster rules so that you can pass any of these things on your agenda? do you support that idea? do you think that's something you would pursue? senator thune: i have my own personal views about that, but i think as a conference we have people who have been studying, giving a great deal of attention to how we might make the senate work more efficiently. as this leader always says in the senate, floor time is the coin of the realm. we have a limited amount of it and how do we build more capacity in so we can get more things done so we can move individual appropriation bills? we have some folks looking at some of the rules, some of the procedures that we use in the senate. how can we get on appropriations bills? this last year we had democrats blocking every appropriation bill on the motion to proceed because they want more money. if you can't get on the bill, you can't move, can't debate it, can't amend t we are looking at those things. but

, senator cantwell. they've done an extraordinary job. not surprisingly, they are extraordinary members of this body. i want to compliment them on what they've done not just on this but other efforts. i have joined senator cantwell as a cosponsor of her bill that goes much further than the current bill on the senate floor to modernize electrical infrastructure and promote renewable energy. to both senators, let me extend my thanks and commendation. one area that needs further focus as we move forward is the issue of energy storage. i am glad to be working with my colleague from colorado, senator heller, on amendments that support morning business efficient use of energy storage research at the department of energy and encourage energy storage usage at public utilities. advances in energy storage, advances in batteries and sometimes it is the same thing, can help improving the reliability, resiliency and flexibility of the grid as well as reduce the potential for future rate increases, saving us all money

senator mawr of -- murray was spectacular on education senator boxer was good on highways and senator feinstein was good on highway security. obviously having the cooperation on the other side is essential. that's the way you get good results in the senate. >> thanks for watching c-span's congress year in review 2015. the house and senate are back for pro forma session january 4th. the house begins legislative work january 5th and the senate back january 11th. >> "washington journal" is next on c-span. we'll be taking your phone calls. then this morning, interviews from the washington ideas forum including commerce secretary penny and collin powell. a look at the challenges reporters face covering the middle east. coming up on "washington journal," a look the new year ahead. we'll discuss some of the challenges and priorities for congress in 2016 and talk about the november elections and domestic and international issues. you can join the conversation by phone, facebook or twitter. host: good morning and happy new year. it's friday january 1, 2016. the want "washington journal" is tur

senator peters will talk about two decisions, i will, i want to thank senator schumer and reed, all of those in our caucus. we have 100% of support of people saying what can we do to help. when we put help. when we put together the amendment we had technical expertise from every part of our caucus in terms of ranking members and committees as well as the white house. we are very grateful for the quick response in helping us. let me go through the first two parts. bottom line, these pipes have got to be fixed or replaced. the governor asked in a letter to the president that there be emergency appropriations, emergency designation that would allow the $800 million that he believe is needed to fix this to be provided. we are proposing that we come up with basically half of the dollars and matched dollar for dollar with an emergency appropriation of up to $400 million that would match dollar for dollar what the state spends as well. this could be done as quickly as possible. the second thing is that we know there's long-term damage. it is so heartbreaking to talk to moms and dads, and kids

a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from arkansas. mr. cotton: this past saturday, january 9, was law enforcement appreciation day, a day set aside to honor the men and women who work in law enforcement, keeping our communities safe and enforcing the rule of law which underpins any free and just society. recently, we've heard a great deal about controversies and scrutiny surrounding law enforcement in many parts of our country. it's easy to be distracted by these stories, but it is important to remember that many are inaccurate and even the true ones a the -- are the exception, not the rule. the rule of officers like little rock police officer sean booker. on estate, officer bocker spent his law enforcement security day and night off working as a security guard at a local restaurant. during his shift, three armed men entered the restaurant and pointed a gun at an employee in an attempted robbery. the officer's law enforcement instincts kicked in. he called dispatch. he confronted the suspects who consequently shot him in the shoulder. he

ayotte, senator shaheen, senator portman, then the governor. proceed, please. >> thank you, chairman grassley, ranking member leahy, members of this committee. i am so pleased that you're having this hearing today because this is the most urgent public health and safety crisis facing my home state of new hampshire. having served as the attorney general of our state, i can assure you, i have never seen anything like this in terms of the epidemic that we are facing. so the timing of this hearing could not be more important. i'm very honored to be here with my colleagues, senator shaheen. in the fall we held a hearing, a field hearing, of the homeland security committee and heard from people in new hampshire, but we also heard from the director of the office of national drug policy who's been a very strong partner with new hampshire. so i appreciate the work that senator shaheen and i have done together on this issue for our state. i'm very honored to be here with governor shumlin who's had such a keen focus on this issue. finally, i want to thank

senator paul: tell your friends. senator paul: this is my wife kelly. senator paul: you want a picture? ready? there you go. senator paul: this is my wife kelly. [indiscernible. ] senator paul: only fiscal conservative in the race. republicans want too many military spending and democrats want domestic spending. i'm the one who would downplay it. hello. this is my wife kelly. very nice to meet you. thank you very much. >> where are you from? got some great friends in new york. we have come done here. senator paul: this is my wife kelly. [laughter] >> working hard for you. >> good luck. > thank you. senator paul: rand paul. very nice to meet you. >> nice to meet you, rand paul. senator paul: nice to meet you. >> how are you? senator paul: rand paul, good to see you. > thank you very much. >> thanks, senator. >> nice to see you. >> i'm on the team now fficially. [indiscernible] senator paul: which one. >> i know you have a million things to do that day. senator paul: how many people are making phone calls in iowa last week. we had 100 people. indiscernibl

texas senator ted cruz. florida senator marco rubio. and neurosurgeon dr. ben carson. former florida governor jeb bush. new jersey governor chris christie. ohio governor john kasich. and kentucky senator rand paul. apparently, several people are from kentucky. and now, 30 seconds for each l follow up are response after the first two-minute are response. and if you go over, you will be hearing this one. >> and the double is the one that we want. pleasing. and we have a crowd of 1,600 here, a while they have a agrto listen to candidates and lis ent intent ly, they are very -- listen intently, they are very excited to be here. am i right? >> well, let's get started. senator cruz, before we get to the issues, let's address the elephant not in the room tonight. donald trump has chosen not to attend this evening's presidential debate, and what message do you think that sends to the voters of iowa? >> well, megyn, let me say to the outset of the men and women of iowa, thank you for the incredible hospitality this year. by monday, you will have welcomed me in all 99 county, an

that the senate passed, with an amendment, h.r. 4188. that the senate passed senate 1115. that the senate agreed to without amendment house concurrent resolution 104. appointment, united states-chinese economic security review commission. with best wishes, i am, signed, sincerely, karen l. haas. the honorable the speaker, house of representatives, sir. pursuant to the permission granted in clause 2-h of rule 2 of the rules of the u.s. house of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on december 18, 2015, at 5:19 p.m. that the senate passed senate 1893. with best wishes, i am, signed sincerely, karen l. haas. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 4 of rule 1, the following enrolled bill was signed by the speaker on friday, december 18, 2015. kelly: h.r. 2029, making appropriations for military construction, the department of veterans' affairs and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2016, and for other purposes. and by speaker pro tempore upton on tuesday, december 22, 2015, h.r. 1321 and senate 2

senator -- >> that was to senator sande. i wasn't clear, i apologize. >> okay. i just wanted to add in the previous question, i voted against the usa patriot act for many of the reasons that governor o'malley mentioned. but it is not only the government that we have to worry about, it is prooeft corporations. you would all be amazed or maybe not t out the amount of information, private companies and the government has in terms of the websites that you access, you are this very moment, and it is very clear to me that public policy has not caught up with the explosion of technology. so yes, , have to work with silicon valley to make sure that we do not allow isis to transmit -- >> but in terms of lone wolves, the threat -- >> what we have gogoto do there is among other things, asives i was just saying, have silicon valley help us to make su that information transmitted through the internet and other ways by isis is in fact discovered, but i do believe we can do that without violating the constitutional a a privacy rights of the american people. >> we have to go --

senators since 1993. you can join the conversation on facebook and twitter. ♪ president obama is back at the white house this morning after two weeks in hawaii with his family. he vows to get right back to work. he is meeting with loretta lynch this morning, talking about gun issues. we may see some executive action in that area soon. on capitol hill the senate remains out for another week but the u.s. house will be in session. they will get back to work tomorrow and we expect midweek they will take a vote to repeal parts of the health care law and to fund planned parenthood for one year. oregon, as we take a look at some photos this morning from the oregonian newspaper's website, all eyes are on the militia standoff in that state says one headline. another says that these armed protesters are aiming to stay on this refuge area indefinitely. others are calling it an unpredictable new chapter in the wars over federal land-use in the west. the standoff at the national wildlife refuge. (202) 748-8000 if you

we have senator rubio. senator cruz, and senator santorum.nd on the democratic side, bernie sanders is here today and hillary is coming tomorrow. so it's heating up.p >> county polls be so wrong though when the polls have is such a commanding lead for trump? i mean, if we are sort of neck and neck within the margin of error a few more points. when you hear these points 20 points up. they would have to be a huge >> well, you know, that's a strong lead. i guess that has got to prove that it's real and if he doesn't prove its real in iowa and he doesn't prove it's real in new hampshire, he has got real trouble. i can tell you today in the couple of blends shops i was in, the talk was really about mark mark levin going aftr trump for not being a real conservative and for trump's accusations against cruz. so, there is a lot of conversation, there is a lot of volatility. people are still not yet hardened in their positions. so, i don't think anybody ought bet the ranch on those numbers. >> well, governor christie new hampshire union leader. but, go

senate sachs? >> i think that the rest of the banking industry overall, as you said, the consumer financial protection bureau, which is a regulator that has turned over $11 billion to over 25 million americans who have been scammed by their financial companies. and he has been called by dodd/frank to make the system safer and more transer parent. and he said that we should completely repeal that compared to obamacare finance, and it completely neglects the fact that there should be more regulation on wall street and not less, and that polling is consistent across democrats and republicans. >> but is that just association al paul ryan? there are probably a lot of senators with that same profile, and gaining that support because they already hold that position, rather than holding that position in order to gain the support. >> the campaign legal center in the voting in texas, they did not know that the candidate out there bashing goldman sachs and telling the story on the campaign trail, he didn't li

quorum call: a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from georgia. mr. isakson: mr. president, i rise today -- the presiding officer: the senate is in a quorum call. mr. isakson: i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. isakson: mr. president, i rise on january the 20th, 2016,on the floor of the united states senate to acknowledge that today is the 35th anniversary of the return of 53 americans by the iranian government to the shores of the united states of america after their captivity for 444 days in iran. as the members of the senate will remember, they were the employees of the united states embassy in tehran who were brutally attacked, sent through mock executions, subjected to beatings, sunged to brainwashing, subjected to torture. and for 444 days they were out of communication with their loved ones, with our country. fortunately we successfully negotiated their release and on january 20 of 1980 -- 1981, they were released back to the united states. but that release included the execution o

>> senator daschle and senator bob, thank love, thank you for joining me to talk about your new book as was described in the the opening segment. as i travel around the country and you watch the current affairs show, which i don't watch many these days, many people on sides of the aisle think there is a crisis point. however, people can say the house needs to be burned down but you actually know how to build it back and you all have been in the stomach of the beast and have had to navigate the different he goes you deal with on both sides of the aisle and so as we unfold here today and evil through this process, what we say at the outset that usually when i am on some show, i'm sitting in your chair to answer the questions. bear with me as we unravel this or peel the onion and as i went to the book i saw so many interesting things about how the data to a better chemistry into civility and how do we get things done in washington. so let me ask you at the outset, starting with you, why write about? >> guest: we write the book in part because we love the institution and want to see it c

senator?nt t >> i'll let you think the senators but this issue when it comes to the children of flint or the children ofg o america with lead poisoning with elevated lead levels, i believe that hundreds of years ago to say a great band of robbers.ome so today when that comes to whe government when you don't take action to prevent this from happening to have robbed a child of their future but also basic justice. every child the matter where they live should have a right to expect clean water is not asking too much of their government. tha it causes a lot of us to examine what is happening in our own state.ur o from communities in pennsylvania by good reporting and data.a so here is one number to consider which is a nationwide number.vel 4 million households have children living in them that they're being exposed to high levels of lead. so we have a lot of work to do. maybe not without water problem are living inone communities with lead paint but that number has gone down. back in the mid-70s i

senator warren joined us. and smart buildings really will help us manage our energy loads better, particularly focusing on lighting, heating, cooling systems, and communications between buildings, and we heard from the department of energy that smart buildings really could be a game changer for the efficiency discussion. so i thank my colleague from alaska for working with me on that provision. d.o.e. has estimated that smart buildings can result in a 30% additional efficiency in the way buildings are operated when they realize the full potential of these technologies. so you can imagine, if you're an dry and you're trying to be -- if you're an industry and you're trying to be competitive, what that's going to mean to have that level of efficiency. every se sector is focusing on w to be carpet any of an international market and i would say one of the reasons we have some of these -- what are now server farms in washington state -- that is, storage data facilities -- is because we have cheap electricity. so whe

senators will continue to work on an energy policy bill from alaska senator lisa murkowski and senator maria cantwell of washington state. their legislation would require upgrades to the nation's electric grid, speedup permitting for natural gas exports, improve energy efficiency standards for commercial and federal buildings, and permanently extend a fund to provide state and local government money to conserve land or recreation. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. loving god, your providence guides our going out and comng in, and we praise your great name. today, help our lawmakers to exercise that cool judgment that is worth far more than a thousand hasty words. remind them that soft answers turn away anger and that humility precedes honor. as they work to do what is best for our nation and world, use their lips to provide more light than heat, as their words build up instead of tearing down. may the words of their mouths and the meditations of their hearts glorify you. and, lord, bless the faithful members of our fall page class

senate.today lawmakers will debate the nomination of a federal appeals court judge in philadelphia. a confirmation vote scheduled for 5:30 eastern time. . the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. almighty and everlasting god, the creator of new beginnings, thank you for your constant love and for the opportunity to learn from each other. as we turn to a new chapter in our labors, illuminate the path of our lawmakers with your holy light. may your sacred word provide them with a lamp and light in this world's darkness, keeping them from the detours that lead to ruin. give them a humility that seeks first to understand instead of striving to be understood. lord, guide us all with your powerful hand until the kingdoms of this world acknowledge your sovereignty and might. we pray in your holy name. amen. the president pro tempore: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the fl

welcome back to "fox news sunday," senator. >> thank you. thanks for having me back. >>> let's start with breaking news, some good news, that is iowa's biggest newspaper, "the des moines register" endorsed you saying -- senator marco rubio has the potential to chart a new direction for the party and perhaps the nation with his message of restoring the american dream. how big of a deal is that for you in iowa? >> i feel it's affirmation that our campaign is a serious campaign about solving the problems. look, barack obama has done incredible damage to the united states over the last seven years. so our next president does need to be someone who is frustrated about that, but it also has to be someone who knows exactly what to do to undo this damage. my whole campaign has been build built on that, on a fundamental promise. if we do what needs to be done, i believe this country can be greater than it's ever been and i believe our children can be the freest and most prosperous americans that have ever lived. that's what our campaign is bullet on.

what i did working in the senate, where i crossed the aisle often, working even with the senator fromrolina, lindsey graham, to get tricare for national guardsmen and women. and it's what i did as secretary of state on numerous occasions, and most particularly, rounding up two-thirds votes in order to pass a treaty that lowered the nuclear weapons in both russia and the united states. so i know it's hard. but i also know you've got to work at it every single day. i look out here, i see a lot of my friends from the congress. and i know that they work at it every single day. because maybe you can't only find a little sliver of common ground to cooperate with someone from the other party, but who knows, if you're successful there, maybe you can build even more. that's what i would do. >> senator sanders, a response? >> a couple of years ago when we understood that veterans were not getting the quality care they needed in a timely manner, i worked with folks like john mccain and others to pass the most comprehensive veterans health care legislation in modern history. but let me rephrase y

senator cassidy, senator murphy have introduced legislation and senator murray and i are working with them. we hope to bring a combination of those recommendations to the full committee. not everything the senate might want to do is in our jurisdiction, so we are working with senator blunt, who with senator murray runs the health appropriations subcommittee on ideas senator blunt has proposed and we are working with senator cornyn on issues the judiciary committee is considering. we want to move promptly to take the things in our jurisdiction and have them ready for the floor and working with the other committees so the leader can bring them to the floor if he chooses to do that. the reason there is such interest in the mental health crisis today is that one in five adults had a mental health condition than the past year according to the mental health services administration. that's nearly 10 million adults with disorders like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression that interferes with a major life activity. 60% of adults did not receive mental health services in 2014. only h

senator paul. lot of our supporters are very concerned about losing our liberties, particularly where there is a time where fears being promulgated. terrorists wanted -- want to call it fear and terror come of we shouldn't let it cause us to be verbal. our people don't want the government collecting our phone records for all our credit card statements. tothink there is a right privacy that is important. we think our foreign policies can be one. we go off the last resort, not the first resort. get involved don't with nationbuilding or regime change. someghout the middle east, have this naive notion that thomas jefferson is going to win the next election over there. -- the radical rise of islam. our people on to question our foreign policy. has the intervention worked? has it made us safer? think the resounding answer is it hasn't. we need to try a new foreign policy. on the phoneis with columbia, kentucky. >> i want to thank what he has done for the people. they shouldn't be all over the world. we c

members of the senate also and a key committee kicked around a new possibility that could help senators meet requirements set by governor haley. jack kuenzie was at today's committee meetings. dawndy and judi---senate president pro tem hugh leatherman says passing a transporation repair package is the senate's and the state's number one priority. leatherman and other members of the senate finance committee say they're trying to build momentum---today meeting to further define what needs to be in their version of the roads bill. the senate is looking at a 12 cent a gallon gas tax increase---more than the ten cents in the house version. and in order to meet the three requirements specified by the governor---dot reform and a corresponding tax cut to offset the gas tax hike, there has been a proposal to reduce personal income taxes by more than $300 million, increase some tax credits and also cut corporate taxes. we also heard senators kicking around the idea of trimming down "if we can come together on a different verison of tax relief that can generate i don't know 18 or 19 strong votes o

chairman. >> thank you, senator. i have senator roberts and senator casey. and senator murphy. so senator roberts. >> you are an excellent witness. thank you for your clarity and comments. in addition to the new user fees, regarding generic labeling. they are spending on generic drugs by billions of dollars, in 2015, you proposed a quality metrics program through draft guidance. that would require manufacturers to collect new information. they collect and report information from the cmos. the generic drug manufacturers have raised concerns for everybody regarding the competition of data increased information technology and require the significant efforts to resolve. if the reports are to be required and ensure high quality generic drugs, i would pause here and say this is the first time that my house career would propose more rule making. rule making rather than a guidance at where there is no responsibility to look at the impact on small business. they can't respond to comments at which to me seems to be very personalit important. >> what we issued in quality metrics, the requ

senator booker. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from delaware. mr. coons: mr. president, are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are not. mr. coons: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent to engage in a colloquy with a number of my members. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. coons: mr. president, today i come to the floor to speak about the ongoing challenges that we face in our relationship with iran, about some of the benefits that we've seen through the jcpoa, the joint comprehensive agreement on the nuclear program that iran has now significantly setback, and some of the challenges that we face going forward. mr. president, we'll hear from a number of my colleagues in the 45 minutes to come and i'm grateful that they are coming to the floor to talk about the balance, what it is we can recognize about the progress we've made under the jcpoa and what there is that remains to be done and remains as a challenge. there are some who believe that having reached so-called implementation day means that we have settled our scores with

now, i've got senator roberts, senator casey, senator burr and senator murphy. so senator roberts. >> mr. chairman, thank you. and thanks also to the ranking member for holding this hearing. everybody knows about the cost of prescription drugs. they continue to make headlines. and i truly appreciate dr. woodcock, you are an excellent witness and thank you for your clarity and your comments. in addition to new user fees in 2012 as has been said, the fda has proposed a regulation in 2013 regarding generic labeling that according to one estimate could increase spending on generic drugs by billions of dollars. in 2015, you proposed a quality metrics program to draft guidance, draft guidance, that would require manufacturers to collect new information and also to collect and report information from the cmos. the generic drug manufacturers have raised significant concerns, i think to everybody here, regarding reporting complexity, the confidentiality of data, increased information technology spending, all of which would increase the burdens on the manufacturers and re