when i was first selected to the kansas house, the kansas senate, state treasury and congress there hasto the people of the great state of kansas is truly inspiring. senator dole is known for many great accomplishments, but beyond all of his accomplishments he is fondly remembered as a public servant who put others before himself. the senator has given his blood, sweat and undying passion to serve this country. it is only fitting that we award one of our nation's greatest citizens with the congressional gold medal. senator dole, as you have impacted me and inspired me to public service, you have greatly impacted so many in this nation as well as people all over the world that you've never even met. i am blessed and humbled to call you friend. there is no person i would rather see be awarded the congressional gold medal and god bless you and your family, and may we all choose to live by your example. [ applause ] >> ladies and gentlemen, united states representative from the fifth district of maryland and the democratic whip of the house the honorable steny hoyer. [ applause ] >> mr. pre

honored guests, members of the united states house of's representatives, members of the united states senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, the vice president of the united states and the president of the united states. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, the speaker of the house of representatives. the honorable paul ryan. [laughter] [applause] please be seated. good afternoon everybody. it is a privilege to welcome you to the greatest hall in washington for an even grander occasion. we will award the highest civilian honor that this body can the stove. i am honored to be joined today by president donald trump, and vice president mike pence, as well as senator elizabeth dole and second lady karen pence. i would also like to welcome all of our congressional leaders and some in a familiar faces that i see in the audience. today, it is my honor to say -1616, weuant to s awarded the congressional gold medal to the soldier, the legislator and the statesman from kansas, senator bob dole. [applause] rep. ryan: the congressional gold medal is one of our oldest traditions. since its f

all it took for you to come to be a united states senator. now is to stand together in my last word is us. he gathered the largest bipartisan group of senators to ever commit to moving forward on the dream act and immigration. the process and want to think senator mcconnell were explicitly seen today it will be a level playing field and will be open to both sides and we will mover to the issue as we characterize this morning of daca and immigration. thank you for dinner. i believe that sets stage for us toac work together. the first time in five years will have a debate on the floor of the dream act and integration. to all the dreamers watching today do not give up. i know that your life are hanging in the balance on what we do here on capitol hill and with white house. three weeks from now i hope to be joining you in the passage with you and your families in your community's of a major which will strengthen america and give you an opportunity to be part of our future. president, i yield. >> first, let me tell you how pleased i am to the peopl

when i was in the state senate, i represented part of brooklyn, new york state senate is a very tightpartisan split. i spent a lot of my time talking to colleagues from other parts of the state, new york is a big diverse state and district decide -- being able to figure out what is the unifying path for us was a huge challenge. all i can say is we can't do that alone, don't know if you are volunteering but exactly how to line up these goals and targets with your district because your district is not just your district, your district is reflected a large portion of district around the country and the work you do can help the gentleman from this side, apologize for not being able to see and that is the process. >> we are close to having to finish up or past having to finish up. >> one last question. >> i am going to have to go because i am flying to europe but when i land they will ask me does america believe in its future? what do you think? [applause] >> going to ask me can america end poverty and ensure access to everybody for healthcare and education, what do you think? [applause] >

[applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, united states senator from kansas, honorable pat roberts. . vice president, senator elizabeth dole, distinguished leaders and guests. it is both a privilege and an honor for me to be part of this ceremony for my friend, my colleague, my long-time mentor, bob dole. kansas' favorite son. you know, bob, looking around this rotunda with our nation's most senior elected officials, some, some might say there's no subject on which we could all agree. when congresswoman jenkins and i embarked on a mission last summer to make this congressional medal happen, there was just, to put it mildly, just a tad bit of division in our congress. i knew that to get the senate's attention, i needed to put a little elbow grease into cutting through the noise and the discourse. but in less than two days, two votes, two days, i had this signatures of all 100 senators. [applause] i didn't have to go to them and ask. they came to me and asked if they could sign. it takes a very special person for all 100 of us to be so enthusiastic and grateful, join in common bipartis

bipartisan daca protection, dreamer protection self that we will have that bill before the united states senate in a matter in which the majority of the senate can speak and very confident that the compromise i have been negotiated with senator graham and senator durbin, we will be able to pass a bill that will protect i the dreamers and allows them to maintain and put some in a pathway so they can have permanent citizenship f here in the united states and they know their future is america, it's the only country they know. it's an encouraging sign. i was also pleased to hear in the negotiations that took place that the legislation also provides the protection for those here in temporary protective status and president trump and some of the cases have extended dates and said this is the last extension i could expire and he has deferred, making that decision for some countries, what we know about those in temporary protective status, it's very similar to the dreamers that many no-no country but the united states as her home and it's important that we protect their status here in the united states

protection -- dreamer protection bill, that we will have that bill on the floor of the united states senate in a manner in which the majority of the senate can speak, and i'm very confident that the compromise that had been negotiated with senator graham and senator durbin, we will be able to pass that bill that would protect the dreamers. yes, it does. what it does is it allows the dreamer status to maintain and puts then in a pathway so they can have permanent citizenship here in the united states and they know that their future is america. after all, it's the only country that most know. so that is certainly very encouraging sign. i was also very pleased to hear in the negotiations that took place that that legislation would also provide the protection for those that are here in temporary protective status. president trump in some of the cases has extended dates and said this was the last extension that could expire within the next 18 months. in some cases he's deferred making that decision for some countries. what we know about those in temporary protective status, they're very similar

daca protection, dreamer protection bill that we will have a that bill on the floor of the united states senate in a manner in which the majority of the senate can speak in a very confident that the compromiser had been negotiated with senator graham and senator durbin, we will be able to pass a bill that would protect the dreamers and allow the dreamer status to maintain and puts them in a pathway so they can have permanent citizenship in the united states and they know their future is america. after all it's the only country those folks know. it's a very encouraging site. i was pleased to hear in th in the negotiation that took place that it also provides protection here in protective status. president trump's in some of the cases has extended and the last extension which could expire within the next 18 months, and some cases he deferred making that decision for some countries spread those in protective status are very similar to the dreamers and many know no country but the united states is the home. it's important that we protect their status here in the u.s. and provide them a pathway for

the united states senate that's going to be up to them. frankly, if democratic senators want to shut down the government to achieve they threaten to do. the united states senate that's going some policy objective, that's their choice. i think it will be crystal clear tend of the day who actually closed down the government for some unrelated policy name that was actually under negotiation at the time. i would again just urge my friends to benefit from our experience and sit down and keep negotiating while we keep the government opened. i think if we do that, we'll arrive at a constructive solution for the american people. i think if we don't, it's going to be a political crisis that was unprovoked and unnecessary. with that, mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oklahoma reserves his time. the gentlelady from new york. ms. slaughter: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield three minutes to the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. ja

the united states senate. now we have to stand together. my last word is this, we have gathered the largest bipartisan group of senators ever to commit to move forward on the d.r.e.a.m. act and immigration. we have a process and i want to thank senatorco mcconnell verses saying today it will be a level playing field. it will be open to both sides. we will move to the issue as you characterize it this morning of daca immigration. i t believe that sets the stage for us to work together. for the first time in five years we will have to bid on the floor of the senate on the d.r.e.a.m. act and immigration. to all the dreamers that are watching today don't give up. i know that your lives are hanging in the balance for what we do with the white house. three times three weeks and i hope to be celebrating the passage with you and your families and the communities on a measure that will strengthen america and give you an opportunity to move forward with your future. >> first let me tell you how pleased i am to the people of maryland that we are now i

i'm janet from a state senator from wisconsin. the district that i represent is the largest in its very rural and when i looked at your goals i saw something that was a reflection of what is going on not only in our state with the people of wisconsin but within our effort to get reelected and that is we have populations of people that we can't reach and we can't reach them and we overlook them. when it comes to the goals i saw those people not represented because you have no reference to connectivity, to broadband and we absolutely must say that access to information and to commerce and to the lifeblood of our nation is on the internet and until everybody has that they are not equal so i don't know if you want to put that goals in infrastructure or a quality but by god, it has to be in their. [applause] >> bravo. phenomenal. >> but second -- >> i the way, phenomenal and it was on the list and when we try to make three for each of these and fell off of the list. it's a wonderful point you're making in exactly the kind of feedback a

i don't serve in the united states senate. never served in the united states senate. never worked for anybody that served in the senate. they have rules that will allow the democrats to shut down the government if they choose to do it. i don't think they will. if they do i think they'll regret it. certainly many on my side regret some of the decisions they made in the last one of these crises. i hope we do the responsible thing in this body and count on cooler heads in the united states senate to do the same thing. i also would point out in this bill that people are going to vote no on, my friends probably in overwhelming numbers, sad to say, there is nothing in it they disagree w they don't disagree with chip re-authorization. they don't disagree with delaying taxes and the affordable care act. they don't disagree with providing additional missile defense. they tell us they want to keep the government operating. and particularly when there are negotiations under way on the matters that actually concern them. that strikes me as incredibly disingenuous or shortsighted o

>> well i work in washington, i work in the united states senate. the old joke is that every senator gets up in the morning and looks in the mirror and says good morning, mr. president and i serve with dozens of people who think that they, too, could be president some day. given the dysfunction and at times even the chaos that president trump has caused in our capitol this past year, it's easier than ever to understand why many of my colleagues think they could do a better job. in the interview with kasie, what i was trying to focus on was being positive about the bipartisan working group that spent all weekend working together to come to a stronger agreement about moving forward on daca and border skust and how my growing confidence in the republicans in that group led me to believe we really have a chance at fixing this problem. and i do think the average american, if we had a government shutdown that had lasted as long as it did in 2013, would have just been disgusted with all of us, when we do things in washington collectively that lead the avera

but one state senator is already proposing a creative workaround to save millions of californians big bucks. nbc bay area's marianne favro here to explain that proposed new law. marianne. >> reporter: well, that law would allow californians to donate money to a special state fund in order to get their deductions that they lost under the new federal plan. but critics say this is really going to be a tough sell. you don't have to drive far to find homes topping a million dollars in the bay area, which means hefty annual property tax bills. which is why president trump's new tax bill is especially painful. it limits deductions for state and local taxes. experts say people in high tax areas, especially here in california, could be on the hook to pay more because now the deduction is capped at just $10,000. >> republicans are saying, democrats always wanted richer people to pay higher taxes, that's exactly what this is doing. and democrats are saying hold on, this is really unfairly targeted at high tax states. >> reporter: but state senator kevin de leon from southern california is now pr

>> i think it's ridiculous when a united states senator is calling out an advisor to the president. this is the president's agenda. stephen miller is certainly part of that conversation, part of this process but he is advocating on behalf of the president. the things that have been laid out by this administration were dictated by the president and he is the one that wants to see these things. frankly, i think what is sad is that lindsey graham doesn't. i don't know why any united states senator wouldn't support border security, ending chain migration and ending the visa lottery system. it is almost appalling to me you have a senator that isn't stepping up and doing the right thing. we want to make a deal on daca, we want to do these things and the fact that he is not part of the conversation to help move that ball forward and is instead attacking individual members of the president's staff, i think shows the lengths at what they are going to blame people for their own failures and i think it's time they stop playing political games, come to the table, get serious on do their jobs. >

the conversation continues this afternoon on a bipartisan basis among senators in the united states senator toomey the presence challenge to accept that challenge and come up with a bipartisan measure. i don't know the position of the president of the united states. i couldn't express it after the experience we had a couple of weeksta ago. i don't know where he stands never issued anything by way of a suggestion to decent legislation. we haven't heard fromwe him so e have to do our part. we have to meet our responsibility and hopefully the house will do the same and hopefully the white house will join us in solving this problem which the president created in september of last year. i yield the floor and suggest they absence of a quorum. >> the clerk will call the roll. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] the senate finishing up work on the nomination of alex hagar to the human health is serves a signature. vote is expecte

senator graham things it will have a substantial majority in the united states senate as well. that, i think, is the first step to creating some degree of confidence. democrats are for security at the borders. i want to state that emphatically. there is not a democrat that is not for having secure borders. there are obviously differences, however, mr. president, on how you affect that. you just indicated that yourself. you indicated this would be a first step, and then we continue to talk as we are talking today about how we best secure the border. there are differences of opinion within your party, and within our party. so i would urge that we move protecting the daca -protected individuals. young people. on the dos come as you pointed out in one of your statements, who are productive parts of our community, that we protect them and get that done. isrybody around the table for security, and the issue is what can to be how do we best effect that border security? asi would urge us to move -- senator durbin has urged us to move -- on the daca students. the speaker today, but mayb

which was bipartisan, a bipartisan majority in the united states senate, a majority, bipartisan, five democrats joined republicans here in the senate on a resolution to keep the government open and functioning and to keep it from shutting down. so we got bipartisan support in the senate for that, majority support, the house of representatives, the president all on record. the only thing right now that is preventing us from opening up the government and getting back to where we are discussing and debating those issues and to extending health insurance coverage to nine million children in this country, the only thing standing in the way of that is the senate democrats. and so i'm hopeful that this evening when that time comes to vote that we will have a sufficient number of democrats here in the senate that will join with republicans. we had a bipartisan majority, as i said, friday night on the vote, but we didn't have the 60-vote threshold that's necessary to keep the government from shutting down. now it's going to take 60 votes to open it back up. i'm hoping that there will be

former state senator, assemlyman and supervisor had announced in may he would run for mayor. pledges to shake things up with bigger, broader approach to some of the city's problems. >> homelessness affordability is not unique to san francisco. it's statewide challenge. we need to work with regional partners to identify the needed revenue sources. >> london breed also mentions -- issues as priority. native san franciscan, raised in poverty and personally moved by plight of those on the streets. as acting mayor, been actively working on this. >> began the process of clearing out tent encampments because a public health issue. providing alternatives, access to shelter system, which we've increased, providing access to navigation centers. >> angela alioto is familiar face and name to many san franciscans, daughter of mayor, run for office twice. >> something that propelled you to run? >> the tents. absolutely. what a disgrace, what a shame. homeless situation is such a crisis, obvious reason for me to run. passion of mine as you know. >> supervisor jane kim is fighting for afford

president, i ask you to read rule 19. >> for the information of senators, rule 19 paragraph 4 states, if any senator in speaking or otherwise in the opinion of the presiding officer transgresses the rules of the senate, the presiding officer shall either on his own motion or at the request of any other senator call him to order and when a senator shall be called to order he shall take his seat and will not proceed without leave of the senate, which if granted be upon motion he be allowed to proceed in order, which motion shall be determined without debate. any senator directed by the providing officer to take his seat may appeal from the ruling of the chair, which appeal shall be open to debate. >> mr. president. >> senator from ohio. >> does that mean that what i said, that senator mcconnell didn't have lobbyists in his office writing legislation, is that what rule 19 means and what the presiding officer is discussing with the parliamentarian or what my friend in north carolina is alleging? alleging? >> the senator-- the chair is merely reminding all senators of the rule. >> thank yo

of 19 to 22a group united states senators trying to find a pathway forward. senator schumer and o'connell had a meeting. we do not know how that went. i think there are not that many reasons to be overly optimistic. there is a pathway out of this. we can get out of this mess. i think a lot of us understand, having served in the legislature level -- we understand how insane this is. we understand that we work very hard. i am looking at all of you and thinking about how difficult it was to arrive. whoetting, for the moment, has a temporary or long-term partisan advantage in light of this shutdown. we all know that shutdowns make this institution weaker. we all know that shutdowns make senators weaker. we do not fight tooth and nail to go through that awful process. nobody necessarily looks forward to it. to do not go through that diminish the body in which you serve. by thisdiminished process. done more harm to the readiness of the military than the combined impact of spending cap and nine of the last 10 years, operating under cr. crs forever. purpose of the --

states government. the senate is passing hits plan because it would change its house plan and have to go to the house. the united states government now shut down because this measure failed to pass at midnight fr friday, reopened at the end of the day. if it passes 60 days to end the debate, then it will be sent to the house, then the white house. some motivating words from democrat chuck schumer, then the majority leader mitch mcconnell, and dick durbin speaking on the politics of that. he has been shepherding the d.r.e.a.m.ers act for some time. some will be angry thinking the democrats blinked too soon, thinking the democrats didn't get as much commitment on legislation. we're watching a lot of politics play oucht. i want to bring in dana bash who has covered the senate for quite some time. dana, the democrats saying we got what we needed, a commitment to debate in the senate, but there is no reason to think that if they pass a daca bill, an immigration bill in the senate, there is no guarantee that anything li

appoints the following senators as members of the committee of the part of the senate to escort the president of the united states into the house chambers. the senator from kentucky mr. mcconnell. the senator from texas mr. cornyn. the senator from utah times utah mr. hatch. the senator from south dakota mr. thune. the senator from wyoming mr. brosseau or the senator from missouri mr. blunt. the senator from colorado mr. gardiner. the senator from new york mr. schumer to the senator from washington mrs. murray. the senator from michigan miss stabenow. the senator from minnesota miss klobuchar. the senator from west virginia mr. manchin and the senator from wisconsin ms. baldwin. the members of the oscar committee will exit the chamber stood the lobby doors. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations

two thirds in the united states senate. that's the reality of negotiating in good faith and getting something you can sign. the second reality is the march 5 date that's coming up, because if we don't do some good faith and make progress and get a bill on the floor of ourunited states senate, leader is either going to have to bring up the house bill that some of us have introduced in the united states senate, and we're going to have a vote on it. and those people that don't want kidste to legalize daca are going to have to explain why they haven't wanted to protect the vulnerable people that we are all here talking about. we're talking about everything except doing something for the daca kids. i would vote for a path to citizenship, which isn't very easy for me, but i would do it just as an effort. there are certain things we have to guarantee that we're going to do. president trump: i believe you will be brought up as far as what we are talking about is some point. it's an incentive for people to do a good job. that whole

state senator dodd says the measure would build on the state's transitional kindergarten program whichut into place in 20-10. the first hearing on the bill is expected in march. ( james ) the takata air bag recall is getting bigger... now... toyota is recalling 600-thousand additional cars in order to replace defective and potentially deadly takata air bag inflators. some of the cars included in the recall..... are the toyota corolla... matrix... 4- runner... the yaris and the sienna. the affected cars were made in 2009... 2010 and 2013. seven lexus models were also affected. at least 20 people have died worldwide... and more than 280 others have been hurt by the faulty airbag ( james ) coming up on the kron 4 morning news... one cigarette is all it takes. but a disturbing study on addiction does have one silver lining. ( james ) plus... microsoft has a problem... that it's ánot fixing. why the company says it's repair is making the issue worse. and here's a live look outside... bay bridge i've seen wonders all around the world but what i see here never ceases to amaze me: change. i se

which was bipartisan, a bipartisan majority in the united states senate, a majority, bipartisan, five democrats joined republicans here in the senate on a resolution to keep the government open and functioning and to keep it from shutting down. so we got bipartisan support in the senate for that, majority support, the house of representatives, the president all on record. the only thing right now that is preventing us from opening up the government and getting back to where we are discussing and debating those issues and to extending health insurance coverage to nine million children in this country, the only thing standing in the way of that is the senate democrats. and so i'm hopeful that this evening when that time comes to vote that we will have a sufficient number of democrats here in the senate that will join with republicans. we had a bipartisan majority, as i said, friday night on the vote, but we didn't have the 60-vote threshold that's necessary to keep the government from shutting down. now it's going to take 60 votes to open it back up. i'm hoping that there will be

but i also think that i would encourage him to actually consult with home state senators. because one thing we haven't talked about is that one other erosion of the kind of breaks that the senate can apply involves the prenomination consultation with home state senators. it sounds super wanky, but lawyers in this room understand how important it is that the home state senators have a say. merit selection committees in many states, in wisconsin, there has been one in effect for decades. and i don't think this white house counsel has any concept of why that's a good idea, why the home state senators should have any say at all, why there should be a merit selection process that weeds out the chronys and corruption and people that have extreme records of bias. and also make sure that those local commissions put a premium on diversity. and diversity based on that district or that circuit. so, for example, in the 8th circuit we have terrible diversity, for example in that circuit. and i know many in this room has been trying to work on that because there is such a lack of diversi

donna mercado kim / (d) hawaii state senate:"before rolling something like this out, did we have a plan?"rep. james tokioka / (d) hawaii state house:"why couldn't it have been done sooner to alert everybody it was a false alarm and we're sorry?"gov. david ige / (d) hawaii:"clearly the 38 minutes to resend the second cell message was much too long, we definitely know that more needs to be done in order to make sure that everyone regardless of where they are understands what actions need to be taken should an alert be sounded." the most heated exchange of the day came between two lawmakers...chairman gregg takayama limited members to one question at a time...and blocked republican representative gene ward from asking a follow up question... rep. gene ward / (r) hawaii state house:"this is national issue and you're not being reasonable. give me one more question."lawmakers also asked if the military should be responsible for these kinds of alerts...since they're the ones who detect incoming threats...but the governor

any conversation about that is not going to go anywhere in the united states senate. if we think we'll divide one side versus the other that's not going to happen on this issue. >> chain migration has taken a very big hit over the last six months. people, for instance, the man on the west side highway that killed the people and so badly wound wounded. they don't say that arms are off and legs are off. one person lost two legs. nobody talks about that. eight died but they don't talk about the 12 people that have no legs, no arms. i'm talking about everybody. i really believe that when you talk about the subject that we're all mentioning right now, i think they had -- how many people came in, 22 to 24 people came in through him, he was a killer. he's a guy who ran over many people. eight died. ten to 12 are really badly injured. so i really think that a lot of people are going to agree with us now on that subject. i don't see it ads a big -- >> 70% of americans want the immigration policy to be the family -- the nuclear family and the workers, 70%. >> chain migration ha

>> just last week, state senator bob wieckowski introduced new legislation to reduce the parking fees associated with in-law units, although he faces early operation. >>> preparing for a major immigration sweep in the bay area. how california is reportedly being targeted for its status as a sanctuary state. >>> the new tax law brings a big boost to wineries, but could it make your wine cheaper? i'm hillary von in napa valley with the latest, coming up.

states. the presiding officer: the senator from hawaii. mr. schatz: here's the state of play. there's a group of 19 to 22 united states senator, a bipartisan group trying to find a pathway forward, senators schumer and mcconnell had a meeting. we don't know exactly how that went. there are some reasons to be encouraged. i think there are not that many reasons to be overly optimistic, but there is a path way out of this. we can get out of this mess about -- i think a lot of understand who have served at the legislative and county level as well, we understand how insane it is to do this, and we understand how hard it is to get to the united states senate and i look at all of you and how difficult it was to arrive at the world's greatest deliberative body and forgetting for a moment someone's calculus who has a long-term or part-time advantage because of this. shutdowns make this institution weaker, and shutdowns make senators weaker. we don't fight tooth and nail and go through the process -- there are some joyful moments in a campaign, but no one necessarily looks forward to it

and donnelly and klobuchar and heitkamp have been stalwart voices for men and women in their states, senator man china china -- senator manchin for the miners in west virginia and others across the country. we come to the floor tonight to urge our republican colleagues to join us in doing something to shore up pension plans for millions of americans, millions of middle-class workers in this country, teamsters and carpenters, they put their money into plans year after year. they knew they wouldn't be rich when they retired but they thought they could live a life of decency. they offered 401(k) salary increases. they said give me a lower raise but put money in that pension. these people earned these pensions. they are the backbone of america. but now after all their hard work and all their savings, several multiyear pension plans are at risk of failure through no fault of the worker. families in my state and across the country could see their retirement savings slashed, teamsters, miners, carpenters, food service workers are at risk of losing security through no fault of their own. they weren'

state senator -- a state senator. is trying to stop that introducing a bill to protect homeowners. ve to talk about the bill. senator., good to have you with us. >> good to be here. >> how widespread is this insurance problem in northern and southern california? >> we are seeing that after these disasters insurance companies abandon the communities. what we want to do is make sure we are hearing these issues in northern california but in the entire state. that is the reality, given the fact that these fires have decimated the state. >> those that may have no issues but live in an area that might be considered dangerous, their premiums are going up as well, right?>> exactly. what we are seeing is that insurance companies are abandoning customers and what ends up happening is folks can no longer ensure their home and go to a secondary market that does not have the protection and regulations for the current insurance rate in the state. >> senator, we have heard in some cases, insurance companies are gouging their customers. do you have any hard numbers on how much a premium is and what

he's not a member of the united states senate. president trump did not shut down the government. and now senate democrats are reeling because the president has said while the government is shut down, he's not going to negotiate a change of our immigration laws that our democratic colleagues, and, frankly, many republicans like me would like to see changed, relative to the deferred action on childhood arrival, or daca, young adults. so it seems to me that our democratic colleagues have literally, well, figuratively let's say, shot themselves in the foot, reloaded, and shot themselves in the other foot. and now they expect president trump to somehow rescue them out of this boxed canyon. i i know i'm mixing my metaphors here, but this an situation they find themselves in. they shut down the government, and now they're hurting the very people that they shut down the government to help. because there's no negotiations going on on a solution that we would all like to try to achieve. so this is really surreal. you know, the old saying everybody is entitled to their opinion, but you're no

it's ready to be brought to the floor of the united states senate. it's ready to be passed into law. for senator mcconnell to say he doesn't know anything about it, i'm sorry, but we have been very open about what's included in there. he knows it's a product of long and hard bipartisan work. i'd like to address another aspect of what he has said about these so-called illegal immigrants. last night, late last night, after using that term, i noticed the gallery was filled over here with young people who appeared to be at first glance here to watch the debate on the dream act, the debate on daca. after the meeting of the senate, i invited them into my office. there were about 40 of them. they were from all across the united states but primarily from the state of oregon who came all the way out here to try to see if this senate was going to meet president trump's challenge and produce an alternative. it turns out most of them were protected by daca, the executive order that is being abolished by president trump. one of them said to me i am skipping my fir

addition to that, what we just saw, what you just told us about, you wonder, houmd of these united states senators, especially people like tom cotton, how many united states members of the congress, house of representatives, how many of them have ever been to a citizenship ceremony? and watch people literally in tears, of joy, becoming united states citizens? >> make the cheap point here, which is that i would take any panel of recent african or mexican immigrants, put them in a room and give them a civics test against the president of the united states. and i know which side i would be betting on in that battle. the more important thing here is the politics of this. reince priebus, back at the beginning of the 2016 cycle when he was at the rnc did this report that said the republican party is on a path to irrelevance if it can't get right with the rising sectors of the american electorate. donald trump comes along and threw cold water in the face of reince priebus and everybody else who believed that and

according to state senator scott wiener's office... the bill was inspired by the san francisco lactation ordinance that was passed back in june. ( darya ) the u-s senate has blocked a bill that would have banned most abortions after 20 weeks. the

that's what we need this sunday in the united states senate. we need to get our family together, democrats, republican, and independents. that's what's missing at this point. because when i listened to the speech by senator cornyn, i do respect him. there are so many things we agree on. there are so many things that we understand to be priorities. and i want to also set the record straight. there were some words said about senator schumer's opening remarks. the reason senator schumer continues to refer to the trump shutdown is because at last friday, senator schumer was invited by the president to come for lunch. this was before the critical vote on the continuing resolution, the funding of our government. and this really was the first opportunity for senator schumer and the president face to face to try to reach an agreement. and the good news reported back to me by senator schumer afterwards, there was an understanding of what we were going to do on a myriad of issues, including the controversial issue of immigration and dreamers and daca and

this will not effect the balance of power in the united states senate in anyst likely a republican will replace orrin hatch from the state of utah. so this doesn't sort of change the overall landscape in terms of the democrat battle to take over the majority from republicans in 2018. but it is important. this is a senate institution. obviously, the longest serving republican member, but as orrin hatch noted in his announcement video that he's going to retire, every single sitting justice on the united states supreme court has gotten there with orrin hatch playing a role in getting them there. this is somebody who for 40 years has been part of shaping so much american policy, both on the judiciary and in some of his social policy work that he did with his friend the late ted kennedy. so orrin hatch has certainly left a mark on the united states senate and on the country at large. and now he's ready to step down, which will certainly create a really really compelling drama if indeed mitt romney does get into this race and comes to the united states senate as som

virginia state senate seat. that's an insane amount of money. s mccabe is also directly tied like so many others to the dossier. and during recent testimony on capitol hill mccabe conflicted statements from previous witnesses and also claimed not to know when he found out the clintons and theun dnc funded the dossier. and, according to reports mccabe is expected to retire next year with a big fat taxpayer pension. does any of this matter to you in the liberal mainstream media or do you just like to fail and be wrong every day? you know, are you supporting all these people? you are supporting that conduct?nd you are supporting that political bias? you don't see a conflict of interest? do you really think that this isn't corruption at the highest level? you know, these criticisms we are making are facts. they are not about institutions. they are about the violation of constitutional rights and the abuse of power at the top levels of our government. this is serious. and we have been right. you have beenn wrong.

that's the way i like to work in the united states senate. and my view is that's the way about 90 of the 100 senators would like to see this resolved, sooner rather than later. i thank the president. i yield the floor. mr. durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the democratic leader. mr. durbin: let me thank my colleague from tennessee. he's my friend. we worked on a lot of things together. i respect him very much. we've done good things in areas like medical research and other areas. thank you for coming to the floor. let me say at the outset, you and i are of the same mind when it comes to the future of the united states senate. we have seen better days in this chamber. in the past year, i don't believe we've had one honest, open debate with amendments on the floor, not one. maybe got close on a couple, but not like we remember it. when it was an open process and members brought their best ideas to the floor and the senate decided things, debated and decided things. we've lost that. i tell new democratic colleagues, god, you would hav

piece ofis a blue paper and it is sent to the two home state senators. those two senators decide and sign off -- either approve or disapprove. whether they approve or not determined whether they would move forth. there have been exceptions. different chairman have had different interpretations. role.nate has a two prong it is supposed to protect the home state senators. it has been abused. i'm not saying the blue slip solves all problems. northern carolina is an example of republicans are using the openslip to keep that seat for a decade. having that role make sure there of governments that have a check on the third. why chairman grassley would want that to happen given that he has served in the institution for so long, i think it is a function of long-term thinking. any senator should understand that eroding the blue-chip -- bl erode theirr will power. it is short-term thinking but i think long-term it is going to reduce the check on the executive. sharon: when we see an 11th -- kristen: when we see an 11th hour attempt to change the slip --it hasue been

president all the immigrants , serving in the united states senate right now, i would like nothing better for us to get to comprehensive immigration reform. what i'm hearing around the table right now is a commitment to resolving the daca situation, because there is a sense of urgency. now, you have put it out there that you want $18 billion for a wall or else there will be no daca. is that still your position? president trump: yes, in fact i would build it for less. somebody said $42 billion. this is like the aircraft carrier. started off at $1.5 billion and now at $18 billion. no, we can do it for less. we can do a great job, a great wall, but you need the wall. and i'm now getting involved. i like to build under budget, ok. i like to build under budget, ahead of schedule. there's no reason for 7 years also. i heard the other day, please, don't do that to me. [laughter] president trump: seven years to build a wall! we can build a wall in one year. and we can build it for much less money than what they're talking about. and any excess funds, and we'll have a lot, whether it's, it's still

applause] [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, please remain standing as the chaplain of the united states senate dr. berry black gives the benediction. >> let us pray. eternal lord god, the giver of every good and perfect gift, we thank you for the gift of senator robert j. dole. a hero and an exemplary role model for patriotism, service, justice and freedom. lord, we're grateful for the beauty of his life that continues to bring light to darkness, joy to sadness, pardon to injury and hope to despair. may his magnanimous living challenge us all to see you more clearly, love you more dearly and to follow you more nearly each day. lord, bless and keep senator bob dole and his precious elizabeth in all of their going out and coming in, keep them without stumbling or slipping and one day may they both hear you say well-done, good and fateful servants enter into the joys of your lord. we pray this in your great name, amen. >> please be seated. ladies and gentlemen, please remain at your seats for the departure of the official party and until your row is invited to depart by a visitor services represe