senate investigations. in the second of a two-part program, senate historian don ritchie tells us about the 1940s to the present day including a 1954 army-mccarthy series and the watergate investigation. >> people come into this room all the time. it is used for lunches. it is used for receptions. it is used for lectures meetings, awards ceremonies all sorts of things happen here. it is a great room. it is just a wonderful setting. immediately, people are impressed by the dimensions of the room. the wonderful carvings of the fixtures here, the great chandeliers and a history that even has a plaque on the wall and the famous events that take place in this room. i was once asked by radio correspondent to describe this room to a radio audience that couldn't see it. i said this room always reminds me of grand opera because it's a magnificent setting. when there's investigation, it usually has a large convoluted lot and everyone sits around waiting for the witness. television came along in 1947. the first televised hea

the secretary: i have been directed by the senate to inform the house that the senate has passed with an amendment h.r. 240, making appropriations for the department of homeland security for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2015, and for other purposes, in which the concurrence of the house is requested. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from kentucky is recognized. mr. rogers: madam speaker, there it is. that's the bill the senate finally passed. it's been six weeks, i said three weeks earlier, i'm corrected it's six weeks the house passed a funding bill for the homeland security department. six weeks ago. sent it to the senate purposefully early to give them plenty of time to consider and bring forward a funding bill of their own. and i have to say the majority over there tried. the democrats in the senate stopped consideration of that spending bill four different times over six weeks. in the meantime, the house had to sit here waiting for the senate, and we have been waiting six weeks until just now. finally, this more the senate has passed a bill funding the department fo

the senate did it we can. please support congresswoman roybal-allard, congresswoman lowey's motion to instruct the conferees to accept the senate bill. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the chair reminds the members to please direct your comments to the chair and not to other members. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. carter: madam speaker, about how much time do we got left? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas has 7 1/2 minutes. mr. carter: oh that's good. you got other witnesses? the speaker pro tempore: is the gentlewoman from california prepared to close? ms. roybal-allard: i'm prepared to close. mr. carter: i believe she has the right to close but i would like to say a little bit before we get there. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. carter: i'll yield to myself about as much time as i may consume. i've had a lot of school teachers shake their finger at me and tell me things, most of the times i deserved it. i've been loo

the secretary: i have been directed by the senate to inform the house that the senate has passed with an amendment h.r. 240, making appropriations for the department of homeland security for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2015, and for other purposes, in which the concurrence of the house is requested. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from kentucky is recognized. mr. rogers: madam speaker, there it is. that's the bill the senate finally passed. it's been six weeks, i said three weeks earlier, i'm corrected it's six weeks the house passed a funding bill for the homeland security department. six weeks ago. sent it to the senate purposefully early to give them plenty of time to consider and bring forwar

that the senate passed, senate 527. appointments national historical publications and records commission. signed sincerely, karen l. haas. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition 1234 mr. carter: madam speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule 12, by direction of the committee on appropriations, i move to take from the speaker's table the bill h.r. 240 with the senate amendment thereto disagree with the senate amendment, and request a conference on the disagreeing votes of the two houses. the speaker pro tempore: did the gentleman mean to cite rule 22 and not rule -- mr. carter: oh, yeah, i read it wrong. 22. sorry. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title. the clerk: h.r. 240 an act making appropriations for the department of homeland security for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2015, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized for one hour. mr. carter: madam speaker, we need to go to conference in order to move t

sent the bill to the senate. the democrats in the senate have refused to allow that bill to be brought before the senate four different times over three weeks. now who's to blame? for not funding the department of homeland security? the house has tried. the senate has refused to act until finally this morning, the senate took up a clean funding bill for homeland and passed it. and so here's where we are. the house has passed a bill. the senate now has passed a bill finally. so what do you normally do? what are the procedures of the congress when both bodies pass a bill that is different from each other? you go to conference. we've done that. that's the recommended way. that's what is in the constitution. and so the conference is necessary. but that's going to take some time. so we need some time to allow the conference to go to work and conclude this problem and work out the differences. thus, we need this temporary funding bill for the department to keep the security of the nation until tact through the departmen

time senator helms won for the senate -- i believe it was 1972 -- senator thurmond hadn in public life since 1926. that's number one. number two, based on my observations as a reporter for congressional quarterly and having written quite a bit about some of the things senator helms was involved in and the same with senator thurmond and watching him, i've always thought that senator thurmond is ideological, yes, strong views yes, but he is primarily a legislator. this is somebody who, if he wants to get something done, listens to where the other side is. you can do business with him; you can get something done. the best example, probably, is not the meat and potatoes of this book but his work with ted kennedy and howard metzenbaum, very liberal senator from ohio on crime legislation. senator helms, i thought, has a different reason that he's here. he is, i think, out more to represent a point of view and to hold to that; if he can attract enough people to it, so be it. if not, he is not as interested in moving to find that center. i would say a third thing, and this has

that's how we do our work in the senate. but despite the best efforts of republicans to provide that opportunity for debate by proceeding to this bill, to move forward, we're met with "no"'s from the other side of the aisle. in essence we're being filibustered a tactic that was decried as obstructionist in the previous congress. in case my friends on the other side think this is going unnoticed, they could check the headlines. look no further than an article from ann. "democrats block funding for d.h.s. to protect obama immigration orders." or "the washington times," "democrats filibuster d.h.s. funding bill. block g.o.p. amnesty debate." mr. president, these headlines speak to a central flaw in the arguments of those who say we need a d.h.s. bill but then vote against this senate proceeding to that very bill. so on the one hand they're saying, we need a bill, but they won't go to the funding bill that is here before us and that's exactly what we're voting and trying to do is to proceed to the d.h.s. funding bill, with an ame

live now to the u.s. senate. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. we have thought, o god, of your loving kindness. you have blessed our nation far more than we deserve. you have provided us with a goodly land of spacious skies and golden waves of grain. you have helped us create a durable government of, by, and for the people. you have protected us through wars and rumors of war. may our lawmakers show their gratitude for your loving kindness by being responsible stewards of your generous gifts. give them the wisdom to refuse -- protect the fragile gift of freedom. lord unite them in their commitment to do what is required to keep america one nation controlled by your sovereignty with liberty and justice for all. we pray in your great name. amen. the president pro tempore: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the president pro

guest: the senate is expected to pass the bill today. he could take of the clean bill and it would pass -- he could take up the clean bill and it would pass easily. it would be an easy task. he would break the rule and the conservatives would revolt. or, they could pass a short-term continuing resolution and buy themselves some more debate time for the house to take up the clean bill. we do not know how long it will take. we do not know how long a continuing resolution will take. another factor here is that benjamin netanyahu said to come in on tuesday and speak, there is a huge fight in congress over homeland purity. there is enough controversy surrounding his speech. this debate is going on at the same time and it would look bad on republican leadership. host: we could be heading into a weekend session for congress. guest: there has been talk of that. house majority leader said to keep your schedule flexible. we might be doing it over the weekend. that would depend on a couple of things. if someone in the senate wanted to hold up the s

let's cure this disease and we call on the senate to pass the resolution that senator collins and i are proposing. thank you mr. president. i yield the floor. i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: the presiding officer: the senator from alabama. mr. sessions: mr. president i would ask that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. sessions: mr. president i always try to be accurate in what i say here, maybe having been trained before federal judges for almost 15 years practicing law, if you said something out of the way you got hammered for it. my friend and really a good friend and colleague the democratic whip, senator durbin earlier today came down to the floor and said mr. president, i've been trying to understand what is holding up the funding for the department of homeland security, close quote. so i would ask my colleague senator durbin, have you ever heard of a filibuster? what about the filibuster you're leading to block the bill that funds homeland security? i mean,

and the senator is unable to pass a bill that will fund the agency and pass in his senate. john fury is with me, as is brad miller 5-term congressman in carolina, john, didn't it look like the cavalry coming in when the federal district court judge in the broader district of texas said sorry, stop this in its tracks. can't do it. couldn't congress have said this is in the court, let's fund homeland security. seems like a nice exit ramp, that we can drive off and get away from the traffic jam. congress is a big ship. it takes a long time for it to move from its forward momentum, which is to go towards the crisis, which was almost inevitable given what happened last year, where there was a big, big legislation and all the preparation bills, and except for the dhs part, there was a lot of animosity chords the leadership then. you almost had to have a come to jesus moment, where they almost had to get to a situation where they had the crisis to get everyone to express their anger. the other part of this is there's an education process, and a bunch of new members that didn't work

the senate is in recess subject to the call of the chair earlier today the senate passing a spending bill from the homeland security department. it passed on a vote of 68-31 and funds dhs until september 30 and does not include the integration executive order language that the president opposed. but the senate earlier today voted to not move forward on a separate bill that would be fun to the presidents integration executive order. meanwhile, the house is working this afternoon on a bill that would tenderly find the department of homeland security for three weeks if it passes in the house it would need to come back over to the senate for its consideration to the senate now in recess awaiting the action in the u.s. house. at the whitethe white house indicated the president would sign the three week extension for the dhs funding. again the senate is in recess subject to the call of the chair to read we will continue when the senate reconvenes. yesterday the director of the national intelligence james clapper gave the senate armed services committee has assessment of the state of global

the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: the senator has been very patient with me. if i could just ask two final questions. given the 22 different public statements that the president of the united states has himself said about his lack of authority to do what he did in november of 2014 given the reservations publicly expressed and reported by a number of members on that side of the aisle about what the president has done and given the fact that there are 11 democratic senators who come from states that filed a lawsuit to block the president's executive action, can you understand why that the democratic minority would try to block your amendment which would put all senators on record as to whether they agree with the president when he said that 22 times whether they agree with the court that issued the preliminary injunction and whether they agree with their own states that participated in this litigation to block the implementation of this unlawful order. can you think of any reason why they would try to block or de

the senate has been in recess for the past hour or so. members are awaiting more updates on homeland security spending bill. no votes are currently scheduled for today as we reported a few moments ago senate democrats have agreed to a gop plan to fund the homeland security department without the immigration provisions that are opposed by president obama. again the senate back in just a few moments here live on c-span2. the senator from michigan. ms. stabenow: thank you very much mr. president. mr. president, i want to commend both of our leaders leader mcconnell and leader reid, for coming to the floor and agreeing to a path forward to fully fund homeland security. and i want to speak for a moment about how critical this is and how it really, if we cannot get the house of representatives to agree, if they are not willing to move forward and support this path, we have actually not one shutdown but a possibility of two different kinds of shutdowns that happen within three days. we're talking about three days left the funding for the departme

the presiding officer: the senator from pennsylvania. mr. casey: madam president i rise to speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. casey: thank you madam president. madam president, as i have since every -- every year since 2007, i rise today to commemorate black history month. this year, we're privileged to recognize dean joanne a.epps, the dean of the temple university school of law. dean epps is a woman who has made significant contributions to the commonwealth of pennsylvania and the nation by promoting opportunity and diversity throughout our legal institutions. joanne's life and career have been a testament to hard work and following your dreams. her achievements are substantial and she has worked to inspire others to fulfill their dreams while advancing the cause of social justice to ensure that everyone everyone has the opportunity to reach their full potential. today, i'm proud to honor joanne epps as a leader in law and in education and highlight some of the ways in which she has demonstrated t

you get this through the senate. and between the two of us we're going to put out a bill that for a generation of americans will look like a pinnacle. god i appreciated it. what he was saying, with the ways and means committee chairman is saying write this bill in the senate, ways and means doesn't say very often. we continued our meetings through friday, and then we had a public meeting friday afternoon and i said to everybody, we're done. and we're not going to meet this weekend. by this time, the hallway is packed with lobbyists we have speakers out there. committee we're done. we're not meeting at all this weekend. cheers in his office. and then i said to the core group, but we will meet tomorrow. bill had already planned, went to kentucky that night for a speech cansinged the kentucky derby and came back to be with us the next day. on that saturday the seven of us met all day, from about 8:30 to around 4:30 or 5:00 in the afternoon, and that tied up all the last of the things we needed. joint tax needed a couple

the senator from maine the senior senator from maine has offered a bill to address this subject, but as much as i respect her and count her as a friend, it falls short of protecting the dreamers who are here in this country under daca. and i have to just say that as you learn the stories of those who are protected by the president's executive order you wonder what are the republicans thinking? i've tried to tell these stories in light of individuals not statistics and here's one i want to tell you today about a man -- young man who came to america when he was 9 years old from thailand. his name is jimaroot nu. he was brought here at the age of 9 from thailand by his parents. he grew up in san francisco. he said i -- quote -- forced myself to read mystery novels, dictionary in hand, in order to expand my vocabulary one word at a time to learn english. i mispronounced words and even in the face of ridicule, until i mastered the english language. that's amazing. those stories happened many times in the past, but it's incredible to think of a 9-year-old facing that ridicule, but learning

>> i'm waiting for the senate to act. he president's overreach on immigration. senate democrats have stood in the way for three weeks over a bill that should have been debated and passed. until the senate does something, we're in a wait and see mode. >> reporter: what about -- obviously you know the way your caucus feels. are you concerned about a rebellion if you would go that way? >> you haven't spoken to mcconnell for three weeks. why is that? >> our staff speaks back and forth. senator mcconnell has a big job to do and so do i. our staffs have been talking back and forth. at the end of the day the senate has to act. i've made it clear over the last couple weeks we're waiting for the senate to act. >> what do you think of the merits of the plan? >> i'm waiting for the senate to pass a bill. there's a lot -- i don't know what the senate is capable of passing. until i see what they're going to pass no decision has been made on the house. >> is congress going to avoid a shutdown? i'm waiting for the senate to act. the hous

presiding officer: the senator from delaware. mr. koons: i come to the floor this evening to speak about the impending shutdown this week for the federal department of homeland security. mr. president, at a time when the folks i hear from in delaware and i suspect all the members in this chamber what they are hearing from -- as we return from a week spent in our home states, is concerns about our national security, whether it's the heinous acts of isis abroad or the real threats of the weather and recent weather-related events here at home a central concern all of us should share in the senate here tonight is about keeping our country and our constituents safe. yet, shutting down the whole department of homeland security later this week would show a reckless disregard for our national security by the republican leader and some of the hard-line conservatives who are sadly setting this agenda. in my view,way don't need to be here. democrats and republicans working together on the appropriation committee negotiated a strong bipartisan ho

the presiding officer: the senator from delaware. mr. carper: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. carper: thank you mr. president. well mr. president congress says here we do a lot of oversight, oversight that's focused on what is going right and also what is going wrong in our government. there's a lot of each actually. that oversight is critically important work. sometimes overlooked but critically important. i think it's also important to stop and recognize where things are going right from time to time and people that are doing the right thing. following in the footsteps of one of our former colleagues here -- i don't think the presiding officer had a chance to work with him but ted kaufman served here for two years. he succeeded joe biden and went off to do some other job. i think vice president maybe that's what he is. and then before senator chris coons was elected two years later, ted kaufman was our senator. great guy. used to be senator joe biden's chief of s

america is watching the senate. le on our part to fund the department of homeland security. the issue of immigration funding is not available for the president to spend. that funding has been suspended by the federal judge. until the appeal comes back, this is a great umbrella for us to be able to fund the department of homeland security and file the motion to conference with the senate and so that we can sit down and come up with a bill the america people will support. and let's not forget, you talked about it earlier, you're going to israel. we have prime minister benjamin netanyahu coming next week, monday and tuesday. and the level of security threat in this country will be at an all-time high. there are imminents all over aimed at this nation over day. we have to be responsible. this is a responsible approach to getting where the american people want, which is let's have a continued conversation with the senate. and if the leader of the senate doesn't bring down that motion and allow a vote on a conference commi

six years in the senate. i think we have a real breakdown in terms of how we manage the most difficult and complicated bureaucracy in the world, the federal government. host: is america stronger or weaker? guest: i think clearly since 9/11 we've become more adept in terms of protecting ourselves from issues of the types of things that happened on 9/11 international terrorism i think our people have done very good out in the areas where those who wish us harm train and prepare. we i think are pretty much on top of issues like cyber warfare and these types of things. but what we have lacked since the end of the cold war is a clearly articulated doctrine that determines when we use military force, when we decide to put large numbers of people on the ground and keep them there, and i think we're still struggling with that. i think you can see that from the results of the arab spring. the situation in libya has been characaterized frequently by benghazi by what happened in benghazi, but the real story on libya -- a

the staff is just an extension of the senators. they have the rights and privileges the senators have and that was established by mike when he read on the floor of the senate depending on the papers of one of his staffers. >> right here. >> thank you. my name is david. november 26th 2014 just recently i read an article in the new york daily news, entitled hating from healers. it was about a clinic set-up in melrose bronx for transgender people who are terrorized to get medical help and these doctors have setup this clinic just for them so that is a good development. and the article did not say what they were terrorized of but i think if you were to find that clinic and ask those doctors what their patients are telling them you might get a lead on torture in new york city because i have experienced it. i take two medications and the side effects of them are that i am about 1 % transgender. >> we should be clear this has nothing to do with anything going on domestically in the united states this is only overseas. >> over here? >> yes,

not the senior senator. his view is, as i've heard him say, that what the president did on immigration is so awful that we should shut down the department of homeland security as a way of forcing the president to go along with what the senator from, junior senator from texas wants. now, when are our leagues going to learn, on the other side of the aisle? they followed senator cruz a year and a half ago when he wanted to shut down the government over obamacare. they actually did shut down the government for a few weeks and were so widely excoriated by all americans, or just about all americans, they backed off. but they haven't learned. they are following the junior senator from texas, senator cruz into a cul-de-sac at best and over a cliff at worst. we are happy to debate homeland security but not with a gun to our head or the president's head. not to say if you don't do it my way, i'm going to shut down the government. the vast majority of americans democratic independent republican north east, south west, d

it's about national security through our country. 62 votes in the senate. i partisan majorities. all the states are on board. most american people are on board. last three years, poll after poll shows that 65 and 70% of the american people support this project. you have the congress on board and bipartisan majority. is good because just like iran and venezuela. look at what it means to our consumers. a year ago it was a dollar higher. it is a tax cut in the consumer's pocket. when we ask the american people where do you want the energy produced, will who do you want to be the energy leader in the world, the answer is pretty clear. a want to work with our closest ally. when the president says no to investment and producing more energy in this country, no to the very infrastructure we need to move that energy around our country safely, and it is not just canada. the home state of north dakota and montana, the domestic order for the benefit of our consumers. it puts them right back in the saddle. we would have less energy security. the state is on board, the american people are on bo

i am sorry the senate is a dysfunctional. times are the president created this mess but i won't add to it. i will vote for this lady because i know she is qualified. thank you. >> senator taylor. >> thank you for your leadership on this committee in going through this process. i can't help but go back to restate what i said earlier. there has been a lot of discussion of how this has gone on 100 days. i have been a senator for 45 days and a few fast--covers week as an organizing week this includes recess, holidays and weekends. it seems to me it is consistent with most others. not sure why we have to go there in the discussion but i have been here for 45 days and this confirmation process is within that time on flow. back in the north carolina house when i would go into a caucus meeting we would tell everybody that has already been said don't say it again. i was prepared to be brief in my comments. i will come back to the nomination. first of 5 like to thank john cornyn for the bipartisan support for the justice trafficking act

i yield the floor. a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. ms. klobuchar: madam president i come to the floor today to join my colleagues to call for an end to any political games that are being played with this bill to fund the department of homeland security. i want to thank senator shaheen and senator mikulski for their leadership on this issue. they'vent dued legislation that i'm -- they've introduced legislation that i'm proud to cosponsor that provides the critical resources the department of homeland security needs today and the remainder of 2015. the issue of funding the department of homeland security has become particularly important to my state. it is important to every state. new hampshire cares a lot about the coast guard and many of the other agencies involved in security. in minnesota we've actually had active recruiting first from he will -- el shabab that recruited young men to go to somalia and fight to become suicide bombers. we had 18 federal indictments that came out of that. half of those people have already been convicte

as i pointed out last week during the senate debate on the keystone xl pipeline senator durbin spoke very sincerely in support of the process. we did not all agree that the keystone pipeline bill should be passed but we had an open amendment process that allowed everyone to express they're.of view and get votes on amendments up or down before concluding that peace of legislation of course this was something that i think the most notable part of was we had more votes in the united states senate during the three weeks we were on the keystone xl pipeline than all of last year. it it was amazing to me to see that the democratic the senate minority worked so hard to marshal they're caucus together to block debate on this $40 billion appropriation bill to fund the department of homeland security. especially especially considering the promise of the senate from illinois to continue to work with us to foster an open debate process and an open opportunity on both sides of the aisle to offer good ideas and put them up for a vote. it was also amazing to see this outcome considering what so many

>> the senator from north dakota. >> mr. president, i'd like to thank my colleagues both from alabama and from maine for coming down to the floor and saying let's do the work of the senate, let's advance to this department of homeland security bill, let's offer amendments, let's have the debate let's fund department. but let's make sure that we do it in the right way is. the right way. and where we protect the checks and balances built into this government by our forefathers. mr. president, for the last few days i've come to the floor for the importance to voting yes on the motion to proceed to the department of homeland security appropriations bill for 2015. h.r. 240. i wish that weren't the case. i'd hoped that by now we would be much closer to passing a funding bill for the department that the senate would have proceeded to the dhs appropriations bill and that we could begin the process of debate, of considering amendments and of developing consensus, of getting our work done. yet here we are on the third day just trying t

in fact, the staff is just an extension of the senators. at they do, they have the rights and privileges of the senators themselves and that is established by mike ravel when he read on the floor of the senate the pentagon papers one of his staffers. .. i have -- i take two medications and the side effects of them are that i am about 1% transgender so maybe the torture i have experienced is that what i have never had any indication why. >> we should be clear that this has nothing to do with anything going on domestically in the united states. >> over here. >> a quick question. first of all thank you. why did you take on this project? >> well basically we felt that this was a really a really really essential document that we felt would if not get lost really get insufficient notice if it were just to live and breathe as a pdf and poorly formatted book. i think this crowd is a testament to the accuracy of that assumption. i am not a blind optimist but i do believe a document that exists in the book has a much longer lifespan than it does in bo

so what is happening now in the senate colleagues? our democratic colleagues now unanimously, it appears are blocking even moving to the bill that funds homeland security. so i ask with all sincerity how can it be said that the republicans are failing to fund the operation making sure that we are, have a strong border security? how can it be made a statement by the president of the united states? i just think we need to keep talking about that. we should not allow this modern-age politicians to go to the american people with false stories about what's really happening. democratic members of this senate are systematically blocking the bill that we would like to see come to the floor that fully funds homeland security and they have been given the right sass senator mcconnell has repeatedly stated -- which senator reid never did -- they have been given the right to offer any amendments that they'd like that are relevant and germane to the bill. so i just would say this is a most serious thing with me, and i believe the american people nee

this is the house and the senate. both the democratic and republican control. happens all -- it's a bipartisan tradition. particularly on an election year. you do see more work in a nonelection year, but you also see legislative stalemates like we're seeing right now. >> host: phil now in fort mccoy, florida. democrat. hi phil. >> caller: yes. >> host: yes, sir. >> caller: my biggest question is we have to, as americans we have to wait 18 years before we vote. why don't they have to wait 18 years before they vote when they become americans? >> host: any response? >> guest: no, i'm not quite sure what the caller is referring to. i don't know if he's referring to the immigration system when people come into the country -- >> host: sounds like he is. >> guest: i think he is. i think that, you know, when someone becomes a citizen they're afforded the right under the constitution to vote. >> host: our guest has written for "the hill" newspaper, has written for "congressional quarterly," now with politico all of them covering the hill and politics and legislation. he

let's see what the senate can do. >> what if the department of homeland security funding runs out? >> senate democrats should be to blame very simply. >> you're prepared to let that happen? >> certainly. the house has acted. we've done our job. >> this speaks to a bigger issue. when republicans took over congress, you talked about you were going to show how to govern. and yet we're more than a month in and the only major piece of legislation the republican congress has passed and sent to the president is the keystone pipeline legislation which he's already said he's going to veto. even the conservative editorial page of "the wall street journal" says this is no way to run a congressional majority. >> chris, the president's already signed several bills into law. just yesterday he signed the clay hunt suicide prevention act that would help get more services to our veterans that we're losing at the rate of 22 a day. the keystone pipeline's been done. the house has passed -- >> well, he passed it, but he's not going to sign it. >> chris the house has passed several dozen bills already.

. >> with the u.s. senaten recess all week for presidents' day, a tv in prime time continues on wednesday night. starting at 8:00 p.m. eastern, michael pillsbury, author of the open "hundred your power" and a journalist about the air of spring. once upon a revolution, and the egyptian story. george freeman wrote flashpoints, the emerging crisis in europe. >> c-span2 provides live coverage of the u.s. senate floor proceedings and key public policy events for 15 years the only channel committed to nonfiction books and authors. like us on facebook and follow some. reporter: . >> mark krotov published the book "the senate intelligence committee report on torture." they talk about the decision that is commonly known as the torture report. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> i am rick macarthur, the publisher of "harpers magazine." how many subscribers here? and i am delighted to welcome local hopefully be an endless series of collaboration between the culture and "harpers." but culture is a proud

the senate democrats are blocking the ability to even debate the bill. senator mcconnell has offered them the opportunity to offer amendments. it's their turn. that's the way the system work. that's the way the constitution spells it out. so the house has done its job, we've spoken. if the senate doesn't like it they'll have to produce something that fits their institution. >> i understand that there are two sides to the argument, but here is the bottom line, the deadline is less than two weeks from now, and the fact is that you and congress will be out on recess for the next week. can you promise the american people with the terror threat only growing that you're not going to allow funding for the department of homeland security to run out? >> the house has acted. we've done our job. senate democrats are the ones putting us in this precarious position. and it's up to senate democrats to get their act together. >> all i can ask -- i'll ask it again. >> chris, chris one more time. the house has done its job under the constitution. it's time for the senate

there are currently 20 women in the senate. website looked at senate productivity over the last seven years, and they found, to their surprise, that the women of the senate are just better at their jobs in terms of the sheer number of bills introduced the women on average were more productive. they introduced more bills than the men did. women senators had a greater percentage of their bills passed out of committee. of those passed out of committee, a greater percentage were enacted into law. just in terms of turning bills into law women, over the last seven years, have done it better than men in washington. according to the data women are better at cutting bipartisan deals. the average female senator co-sponsored 171 bills with a member oh of the opposite party, a much higher number than the average number for men. and by the way, women are better at convincing their senators to co-sponsor their bills, as well. and you know you often hear this from women in the senate. you often hear women in the senate say if there were only

you get this through the senate. and between the two of us we're going to put out a bill that for a generation of americans will look like a pinnacle. god i appreciated it. what he was saying, with the ways and means committee chairman is saying write this bill in the senate, ways and means doesn't say very often. we continued our meetings through friday, and then we had a public meeting friday afternoon and i said to everybody, we're done. and we're not going to meet this weekend. by this time, the hallway is packed with lobbyists, we have speakers out there. committee we're done. we're not meeting at all this weekend. cheers in his office. and then i said, to the core group, but we will meet tomorrow. bill had already planned, went to kentucky that night for a speech, cansinged the kentucky derby and came back to be with us the next day. on that saturday the seven of us met all day, from about 8:30 to around 4:30 or 5:00 in the afternoon, and that tied up all the last of the things we needed. joint tax needed a coup

caller: the senator said this is a revenue bill. y with a tie a revenue bill to a bill for immigration? it is not generally a revenue bill. why wouldn't the republicans come up with a viable bill instead of waiting until now when the homeland security is up for refunding entiat to that bill? guest: that is a great set of questions. it is normal for appropriations bills to have different policy riders in them. they have all sorts of ways to designate how money will be spent. when you say money will not be spent for something, you are directing the flow of the world government. it is how congress does its job. this is a priority, this is not a priority in spending. at this point all of homeland security is fully funded and has been fully funded. the stamen an executive action especially right now when the courts have said, no they can't do it, and the congress is actually saying the president can't do that. it is a normal part of the process. as far as the immigration bill, everyone knows the senate got together to establish the bill.

this is live coverage of the senate here on c-span2. 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. holy god, you make the clouds your chariot and walk upon the wind. we see your works in the rising of the sun and in its setting. for the beauty of the earth and the glory of the skies, we give you praise. today make our lawmakers heirs of peace, demonstrating that they are your children as they strive to do your work on earth. may they take pleasure in doing your will, knowing that, by so doing, they are fulfilling your purposes in our world. lord, you are never far from us, but often we are far from you, so show us your ways and teach us your paths. thank you that your mercy is from everlasting to everlasting upon those who come to you with reverence. may your glory endure forever. we pray in your great name. amen. the president pro tempore: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag o

united states senate we stand in the well of the senate chamber and publicly take an oath to uphold and defend the constitution of the united states. i know we all take that seriously as we should. this is not just another government document. it is really the inspiration of this government and its still governs our actions to this day. yet if we do this document with honesty, we know that it was fatally flawed from the start. it got the issue of slavery wrong in addition to some other issues. it got the issue of race wrong. and since the days when a document was drafted and signed, we have struggled as a nation to right that wrong. it has taken a long long time. we properly celebrate those moments of history where we finally moved beyond the error of the constitution on race and really move on a new path. we celebrate that day 152 years ago when a republican president of the united states abraham lincoln, issued an executive order, an executive order, the emancipation proclamation which freed 3 million slaves in america. it is proper that we celebrat

of there is no further business i ask the senate adjourn under the previous order. >> the senate is injured until 2:00 p.m. on monday. -- adjourned until 2:00 p.m. on monday. we're still waiting to see if the house will come back tonight is still in recess but members will return you can watch on our companion network. the senate returns on monday with live coverage on c-span2. water experts discuss a challenge several areas in the hearing but a house subcommittee. within a praxis to funding and regulatory compliance were some of the issues addressed during the 90 minute hearing. [inaudible conversations] i'm calling the hearing to order in recognizing with sulfur opening statement. focusing on challenges the role water system i congratulate and think of a ranking member and the vice chairman to raise the profile before the subcommittee. according to the census bureau 27% of u.s. population lives in rural areas. it pushes for 70% and as someone who represents communities and small town of rule america i am glad we have bipartisan interest to tackle this subject. under the safe drinking wate

earlier today, the senate did the job. they voted 68-31 on approving a long-term clean dhs funding bill, a standalone bill. house speaker john boehner is not doing his job. he can't get everybody on board. he bowed to tea party pressure again. whatever happened to these up or down votes that the republicans have always been squealing about? earlier today, democratic leader nancy pelosi slammed the house speaker. >> the security of our country is our first responsibility to protect and defend. there's enough uncertainty in the world without injecting more uncertainty as to when and how we're going to fund our homeland security. i'm just saying to the speaker, get a grip. get a grip, mr. speaker. get a grip on the responsibility that we have. get a grip on the legislative possibilities that are here. he can bring his three-week bill to the floor and the senate bill to the floor, let members vote on both send them both forward. >> all so easy to get done isn't it? if this bill fails tonight, they may stick around and come up

the dr. and senators. prior, children suffered regularly from serious illnesses, like measles, polio diphtheria, and, in fact even , bacterial meningitis. the development and widespread use of vaccines has led to a reduction or ratification of these once common childhood illnesses. because of the success of vaccines, i have never seen a case of polio, diphtheria or , tetanus in my 30 years of practice in pediatric infectious diseases. in the teaching session i held last week with 20 pediatric residents in training, i asked if any of them had the measles. none of them had. however, as we have seen from the current measles outbreak and continued outbreaks of whooping cough or pertussis around the country, we are witnessing a reemergence of vaccine preventable diseases in the united states. unfortunately, my residents are going to get a chance to see the measles. pediatricians are concerned that the reemergence of disease is a signal that bigger outbreaks are yet to come. most of the cases in the current measl

boehner has to assess what happens in the senate. on the republican side in the house that prefer a cr because they can continue to fight the president on a month by month basis, if they fund the department on a couple of months cr they can go back pressure the president again on immigration, particularly with the court battle separate court battle with the president if it doesn't go as expected. boehner will have pressure to do that. if boehner can't get votes for a clean bill in the house, they may ultimately fall back on a stop gap spending bill. that's certainly a fall back position. things are very fluid right now. they almost change hour by hour. right now, the betting is that probably there will be some resolution to avert a shutdown in the coming days. >> read part of what was in your recent article, several house republicans and top aides told politico a misstep by boehner in this skirmish could i am peril his speaker ship. is that where things are? >> boehner is certainly aware of pressure from his right flank, which is why