a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: i have two unanimous consent requests that i want to ask before i speak. i ask unanimous consent that privileges of the floor be granted to the following member of my staff -- francis cissna, during the penden say of the remainder of the 114th congress. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. grassley: the second one, i have one unanimous consent request for a committee to meet during today's session of the senate. it has the approval of the majority and minority leaders. i ask unanimous consent that this request be agreed to and that this request be printed in the record. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. nelson: mr. president will the kind senator from iowa yield for one thing that i would like to observe that i neglected to say? mr. grassley: i will yield. mr. nelson: thank you to the senator from iowa. you're very kind, because i think he would want to know that our former colleague senator landrieu is in the gallery in order to see the confi

so i thank the senator from illinois -- and i know we're joined by the the senator from south dakota, who is the head of our conference in the republican conference, and who i know has been very concerned about the dysfunction in this place and actually we saw this as an opportunity to start demonstrating we can actually do the people's business once again, after coming off of a very tough election, tougher for our democratic friends than it was for our side of the aisle but where voter after voter said they were sick and tired of the dysfunction here. we want to be able to show that we can actually be responsive to the needs of the most vulnerable people in our country. so i would yield the floor to the senator from south dakota for any comments he'd care to make. mr. thune: i appreciate it. i thank the senator from texas for his leadership on this issue, as well as the senator from iowa, senator grassley, for moving this legislation to the floor. as the senator from texas who has authored and been involved with this legislation for a really long time, knows if there was ever an issu

the senator from connecticut senator blumenthal and i cochair it. we meet every month and we bring people in from around the country who are experts on this issue. some are experts on child welfare, law enforcement and people who are involved in trying to stop the issue. others are the experts because unfortunately they found themselves in difficult situations. among other some have come forward and talk about how as a young girl they were taken in by a trafficker and increasingly this is true in ohio unfortunately. drug abuse is part of this so they become dependent really on the trafficker. it is to me a form of bondage because these are our young people who become addicted. in ohio it's typically heroin now and so it's keeping these young people really trapped in this dependency so the judge treatment and the drug recovery it's always a recovery from having been trafficked. this is an opportunity for us to take the information we have received to this caucus we have formed. i think the members who are involved in that caucus including the members

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

and now to live coverage of the u.s. senate. . 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. master of our hopes and dreams, who constantly works for the good of those who love you. teach us to strive to be faithful as we anticipate a long and challenging day remind us that you call us not to success but to faithfulness. give our senators and the members of their staffs wisdom to make the commitment to be true to you and to serve your purposes. let not discordant notes destroy the melody of their labors as they seek your counsel and wisdom. lord guide our great nation. help it to be a lighthouse to a dark and turbulent world. prosper the works of our hands until the kingdoms of this world become the spring board for your eternal reign. we pray in your holy 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

[laughter] 10 he loved the senate and the great senators of the past, and he loved great senators servedo be easy. it wires hard work, and as all of us who knew teddy understand, he worked hard at it, because he believed that the united states senate the power to change lives, to live in this country the live around the world. he served in the united states senate for nearly 47 years, and he noticed something during that time. when he became a senator something changed inside you. maybe not first year or the second year, maybe not even in the third year, but at some point, almost always, something happened. you started to think about more than yourself. you started to think about the country, and teddy wanted to build a place where everyone could feel the same way, a place where all of us could start thinking about our country. institute see today is a realization of that dream, and just as teddy approached politics differently he wanted to approach the institute and a completely fresh and unique way. so we have a totally hands-on, interactive visitor experience, and it is an experience.

this is not why i came to the united states senate. this is not the kind of united states senate want to serve in. this is not what my constituents the 26.9 million people i work for in texas this is not what they sent me here to do. they expect more of us. they deserve more of us. and i hope now that this initial vote has been cast, thank goodness for the four democrats who broke ranks with their leadership on that side of the aisle who decided to vote to advance this legislation. but we still need two more. we still need two more brave democrat senators who are going to defy their leadership and not follow them simply off the cliff. this is what from a practical political standpoint i don't understand. one reason why republicans are in the majority now is because frankly, the president -- the president's policies were repudiated in the last election and the people who ran for reelection as incumbent senators they didn't have a record of accomplishment they could point to. and so what they were left with is a e he referendum on the pre

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

he spoke from the senate floor for about five minutes and was followed by a response from senator durbin. sen. mccain: i come to the floor today to address a very serious accusation leveled yesterday against republican members of this body by the democratic with -- whip, the senator from illinois. with some regret -- i do this with some regret. we have been friends for many years. we served in the house together and here, in this body, and have worked together. that is why i was so surprised and disappointed in the comments that he made yesterday on the floor of the senate, comments that were totally inappropriate and remain on the floor of the senate. my colleague from illinois said, and i quote, " republican majority leader announced he was going to hold this nomination of loretta lynch until a bill, which is pending before the senate, passes, whenever that may be." then he went on to say, "and so loretta lynch, the first african-american woman nominated to the -- to be attorney general , is asked to sit in the back of the bus when it comes to the senate calendar." that is unfair, it i

this isn't about protecting the privileges of senator casey and me the privileges of senators. this is about protecting our small companies our manufacturing companies that get obliterated when large companies move offshore. this is about protecting the workers in places like toledo and achron, ohio. this is -- akron ohio. this is about protecting jobs when plants close in jackson ohio and waverly and st. st. clairesville, school districts lay off teachers, cities lay off cops and firefighters. we've been down this road too many times in this country. it's been more than 20 years since nafta. too many plants shut down in ohio, too many shut down in pennsylvania, too many shut down in the presiding officer's state of louisiana, too many good jobs shipped abroad and replaced in they're replaced at all with low-wage jobs with few benefits. bad trade deals exacerbate the rising inequality, middle class families struggle to get by. the it's all about corporate handouts and worker sellouts. over four decades worker productivity rose 75%, wages rose 9%. what that says, since -- since 1

the roll. quorum call: a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from florida. mr. rubio: mr. president is -- are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: the senate is in a quorum call. mr. rubio: i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. rubio: i ask unanimous consent to set aside the pending amendments and call up my amendment number 423 as modified with the changes at the desk. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: the senator from florida, mr. rubio proposes amendment numbered 423 as modified. mr. rubio: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. rubio: thank you mr. president. so during this administration -- let me begin by saying i believe defense spending is the most important obligation of the federal government. that doesn't mean we throw money away or put money in places where it doesn't belong or fund projects that have no utility

the safe act has been a focus. senator from california is very concerned about how the internet has become integrated as part of the business model and some of these perpetrators of the crime. the senator from illinois may be aware some of the veterans -- >> hiring veterans to get on the internet and find some of the slave dealers online. i would say right now that with back page.com we should thread the needle carefully make sure the communications act, freedom and america does not mean you have the freedom to enslave others. with victory in civil war, which i apologize the member from texas for mentioning there is an ever expanding world of freedom here in the united states that does not include slavery empowered by the internet. >> i think the senator from illinois and i take no offense talking about the fact the south lost the civil war. i hold the senate seat. >> your statement of some times called recent uploads. >> first held by sam houston who resigned his seat as governor of texas rather than participate in secess

different than the u.s. senate. niels: i want to pivot toward foreign policy, which is one of the areas that is certainly well within your purview on the foreign relations committee. starting off with just the big picture question for democrats with the potentially looming criminal indictment that seems like it will be forthcoming against your ranking member on the committee, senator robert menendez of new jersey. you are someone who is sort of right near him in seniority. senator boxer, having the seniority, but having another full committee to deal with an epw. how much you think this will become an issue, specifically or even in general, when this has happened in the past on the republican sidee, people have had to step aside from roles. what's your take on how that my all play out? senator cardin: i think you will hear from democrats or republicans that senator menendez did and i sell job as chair of the senate foreign relations committee and has done an excellent job as ranking member. he has been able to bring

do you have any clans to endorse anyone in the senate race? do you have any sort of advice or guidance for the people who might be thinking that seat about how to avoid a situation where the democratic party fractures? senator cardin: first of all, i'm using senator mikulski's words. we will make sure that we maintain a democratic seat. we will have some interesting primaries in the house of representatives as well. senator mikulski has an incredible career. what a legacy she has left. there is a lot of interest in her seat. we have a great ranch. we have a great delegation of people interested in running for her seat. i think we will have a competitive primary. that could be healthy for the democratic party. we wanted to be positive and focus on the person's vision for the united states senate qualifications, and that the democratic voters nominate the best. senator mikulski and i will do everything we can to make sure that seat is held by democratic nominee. neil: do you think that it matters or that voters should take into account where in t

i support the rest of senator cornyn's bill. that's why i included in the comprehensive substitute amendment i filed last week. also included in my substitute is a vital component to prevent human trafficking by focusing on runaway and human youth. if we're serious about helping thoseend this heinous crime, we should expand the protections for sex trafficking victims. we should come together and protect these vulnerable kids. that's why we're here. i'm confident if we remember these children, democrats and republicans will move forward return to the bipartisan path we've always walked on this issue. one of the reasons i have that amendment i talk about prefght is one thing -- and we should prosecute those people that do this but wouldn't it be that much better for the victims if we could prevent it from happening in the first place? madam president%, i've talked about of the nightmares i still have about some of the cases i prosecuted. i was 26 and the chief prosecutor for a quarter of our state. and i look at these victims, the

by the united states senate. she has served with great distinction as the u.s. attorney for the eastern district. i had a chance to visit with her last january and talk to her firsthand about her vision to be attorney general of the united states. she is extremely impressive, very well qualified and has the right values to be the attorney general of the united states. let me give you a few examples. all of us are concerned about equal justice to the law. well ms. lynch has learned that through her own personal commitments at harvard law school she was a member of the legal aid bureau helping people otherwise would not afford access to our legal system. she has a lopping history of prosecuting terrorists, sex traffickers, corrupt politicians and dangerous gangs. she has been endorsed by a wide variety of law enforcement agencies and individuals. put it this way -- i haven't heard anyone question her qualifications. i haven't heard anyone question why she should not be confirmed to be the next attorney general of th

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

the united states senate. nt building was designed by renowned architect rafael vinoly and constructed by lee kennedy and associates. the dynamic exhibits inside were brought to life by the incomparable ed schlossberg and his design team efi. [applause] we are grateful to all of them for all of their work, to create this incredible project and bring it to life. for so many of us and many people have been involved in this journey to get here today we are very grateful. but for me, this journey is intensely personal. i grew up three miles from here on donner avenue, and let me tell you, when i was growing up, this area was a forbidden place. it was a landfill that fascinated children and frightened parents. who could have imagined that this landfill where we played as kids would become the home of a world-class university, a gleaming presidential library, and the wonderful state archives? and now, the newest jewel in that crown come the beautiful institute that you see behind me. you will hear a lot today about t

i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from california. mrs. boxer: mr. president, our republican colleagues say they're here fighting for women. if that were the case, then they wouldn't have snuck into this bill a provision that hurts women, all right? and that's not just me saying it. it's a story in "the washington post" and i ask unanimous consent to place it into the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. boxer: in early january email reviewed by the post, a republican judiciary committee staffer sent a democratic staffer a summary of previous changes in seven bullet points. guess what. they left out the change they made to women's reproductive health. now, i've been around here a long time and i thought there was trust in this body. but don't stand up here and say it's a phantom problem when "the washington post" confirms it. they have the email that proves this change was made and was not told to the democrats on the committee. if it had been told to the democrats on the committee we would have worked this out. and yo

the roll. quorum call: quorum call: a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mrs. ernst: i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. ernst: as we begin this week with the serious and necessary discussions about the budget i rise today to talk about something that is very personal to me, something that is incredibly close to my heart. the service and sacrifice of our nation's finest men and women those that safe in our armed forces. and as the budget process moves forward, we must ensure that our national security needs are met and that our veterans can receive the much-needed care and assistance they deserve. you see growing up on a farm in rural southwest iowa, my parents instilled in my sister, my brother and me the importance of hard work, service, and sacrifice. in the summer between my freshman and sophomore years at iowa state university, i was very fortunate to attend an agricultural exchange in ukraine when it was still part of the former soviet union. the iowa students and i lived on a collective

the roll. quorum call: a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from north carolina. mr. tillis: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. tillis: thank you mr. president. mr. president, i come here today to stand in support of senate resolution 8. my friend and colleague from tennessee, i thank him for bringing this to the floor. and disapproving a rule that the national labor relations board has set forth that basically creates what are called ambush elections. and that's for forming a labor union. the concern that i have with this legislation is that it's just another what i consider to be example of the hyperpartisan environment that we find the national labor relations board over the past several years. it's advancing a pro-union agenda. it's a policy that's not necessary, particularly in light of the fact that some 70 union elections with the current -- 70% of union elections with the current policy are successful. i guess that the national labor relations board is not satisfied with winning 70% of the ti

rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close on s. 1785 a bill to provide for the justice for victims of trafficking signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. mcconnell: i ask the reading of the names be dispense with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask the mandatory quorum calls with respect to these motions be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask the first-degree filing deadline be at 5:30 p.m. finally, i ask the senate be in around a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from west virginia. mrs. capito: i rise today to discuss the justice for victims of trafficking act. i'm proud to join with my colleagues to cosponsor this important legislation and i applaud senator cornyn and senator klobuchar for putting forward this bipartisan bill. the justice for victims of trafficking act is a call to action. we've heard a lot of discussion about it on the floor here over

and now live to the senate floor. . 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, superintendent of the universe, thank you that you give us the gift of forgiveness. in spite of our shortcomings you continue to bury our mistakes in the sea of forgetfulness. help us to respond with loving gratitude for your generous mercies. today, use our lawmakers to advance your kingdom. lord enable them to contribute to the well being of our nation and world. help them to remember as they labor they are either making a deposit or a withdrawal. may all the deliberations on this high hill of our nation's life begin continue and end with you. 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. mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding offic

we want to know your opinion of the u.s. senate, the institution of the senate. hink it is the world's greatest deliberative body, as it has been called. that was used in a column from "roll call." will hear from kenneth. caller: i agree with the last caller. republicans are not doing anything. not passing any bills. the senate has the opportunity to be the greatest deliberative body, of course. but what are they doing? they are with the people with big money. i have a question for you. how much money has been spent on trying to repeal obamacare? host: i don't know the number off the top of my head, but i'm sure you have an opinion on it. caller: too much. as far as democrats not conceding the loss. of course we are not conceding the loss. president obama one two elections, and the republicans shut down the government. to have people forgotten about that? how much money was lost during that time. host: dori is up next from missoula montana. caller: big for taking my call. i deftly feel that our senate is no longer the greatest deliberative body. you asked one call

that includes several members of the u.s. senate, members who signed the letter to the iranian leadership to warn them that the president of the united states does not have the last word in the country's foreign agreements. what's the political calculation here? to deny the president a win in foreign affairs, to weaken him over the next two years in his dealings with the rest of the world? our guests are still with me. fred, i guess that list would include if you believe what you read in the papers, rand paul of kentucky, marco rubio of florida, maybe lindsey graham of south carolina, are they going to apologize or run on their willingness to sign this letter? >> i think they're going to run on the letter. you know, i want a nuclear deal with iran. i think they do too. but we want a good deal that stops iran from getting a nuclear weapon. that gets rid of its heavy water plant and other things and i think that's the message they'll say on the campaign trail. >> do you really think that's in the cards, telling a country that it simpl

>> the senator from vermont. >> mr. president i listen very carefully to my good friend from texas, and we worked together on many pieces of legislation over the years. in fact, i hoped we could have done this trafficking bill up during the last congress, as he knows. unfortunately there were objections raised we couldn't. i hope we are not going to get into a question when we compare apples to oranges and forget what we are supposed to be doing it. the distinguished senator is, on the one hand during the debate on the affordable care act according to him i will take him for his word, that this language was in there and every democrat voted for it which meant ever republican republicans voted against it. if you're going to use, and if you're going to follow this argument that the language in the affordable care act was voted on for by democrats is voted against by republicans. i'm not suggesting that they don't care about the hyde amendment because they voted against it according to the senator from texas. but let's have

the senate of homeland security is live at 4:00 p.m. eastern on >> tonight commissioner on the recent net neutrality ruling. municipal broadband and subsidized phone program lifeline. >> what i am proposing we do is overhaul lifeline program may get, making concurrent and in sync with the information age. challenge of those providers to give a more to their consumers. the opportunities to bond out have been more for the rest of us. get to the providers out of the certification of business. that has been the number one problem we have been seeing with headlines, it is a vulnerability that we need to plug. >> tonight on "the communicator's" on c-span 2. >> earlier tonight, ted cruz spoke at the lincoln-reagan dinner in lincoln, new hampshire. new hampshire traditionally holds the first presidential primary in the nation. [applause] senator cruz: well, thank you very much for coming out. god bless the great state of new hampshire. [applause] senator cruz: i have spent all of the last week in washington d.c. it is great to be back in america

giving that through both the house and the senate. has gone to the president and now we have, in that case, where the president vetoed the bill, a clear difference where the unified republican congress has shown where we stand on america's energy independence, and job creation compared to where the president and his party stand. we're going to have a veto override vote, and hope to add more democrats to our vote totals. but we have opportunities to work together, we like the apartment that are than this -- the environment in this congress better than the last congress. we think the bills will at least get a look at whether or not they can be passed out of the senate given thatt constraint of the senate rules. >> what constitutional amendments do you try to plan to move through your committee on the floor? are you looking into if enough states have issued a call to an article five convention? >> as a matter of fact, in the house rules at the beginning of this congress, we passed a rule change that set up an informal process of the hous

the chairs of the senate armed services committee the chairs of the senate intelligence committee, the chair of the senate foreign relations committee at that time all opposed president bush's invasion of iraq, but none of them penned a letter to saddam hussein. i do not have to wonder what senator vandenberg would have thought about all this, because he told us. he told us 70 years ago in this very room when explaining how partisanship and division would undermine our efforts in europe. senator vandenberg said, "it must mean one for all and all for one. and it will mean this unless somewhere in this grand alliance this stupid and sinister folly of ulterior ambition shall invite the enemy to postpone our victory through our own rivalries and our own confusion." and so, mr. president i urge my colleagues to hear the words of the republican senator from michigan arthur vandenberg. i urge them to stop the politics at the water's edge. we are talking about the possibility of a nuclear iran. we all agree that must not happen. we all agree that must not happen. we all agree that must not hap

i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from indiana. mr. coats: mr. president last month i came to the floor to launch what i called the waste of the week. we looked at how we spend the taxpayers' dollars and we all know that the biggest issue over the past several years now sort of fading into the ether and not being talked about very much is the fact that the government continues to spend the taxpayers' money in reckless ways not balancing our budget, going deeply into deficit spending every year, borrowing to cover the cost and increasing our debt limit from a staggering number when we came here, when i came here after the election of 2010 to a number that today is $18 trillion-plus and growing. my purpose to come to the floor was to highlight some examples of some of this waste but if i could step back for a moment and say this follows numerous efforts, many in a bipartisan way, to deal with a larger issue -- and that is dealing with our debt and deficit in a way that we can put a budget proposal together to get us out of this mess and s

the side-by-side. senator: first of all, i'm not asking to vote against the ayotte amendment but i'm offering something i believe is a much stronger commitment to protecting our military readiness at a time of tremendous threat. senator stabenow: i think we have to have priorities and determine where revenue is coming from so it's not just a typical deficit reserve fund but we are identifying the ways we are going to strengthen our civilian work force. so i am tying that to an amendment, provision of mine that will prevent companies from getting tax benefits and ending tax loopholes for inversions. we tried to do something that if you pick up and move to another country that taxpayers don't have to pay for the move or workers don't have to pay for the move. at minimum, we ought to be doing that, but there are so many ways in which i think the public is offended. we are all offended that the tax code is allowing loopholes. let's close those and put that money to good use and i would suggest protecting our milit

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

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

not only i believe the senator voted for the bill in committee and cosponsored it, the senator voted for that legislation in the consolidated appropriation act of 2014. this is the same or similar language to what was contained in the affordable care act contained in defense authorization bills and contained in literally every appropriation bill since 1976. so here's what i would love to have my friend and the senator from explain to me. why is it that it all of a sudden becomes objectionable on this legislation when you care and i care so passionately about getting help for these victims that this is the reason to derail the legislation? mrs. feinstein: because of what this legislation is. this legislation is the raping and the misconduct sexually with young girls girls 14, 15, and 16. what if they're impregnated? should they be entitled to be able to go and get an abortion? does this body really want them to be forced to bear somebody's child? and so this offers the opportunity for some funding. these aren't wealthy girls. they don't live in beverly hills or hyde park or any of thes

the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. sanders: when we look at budgets, we look essentially at two things. for a start we look at what the budget actually does because it is a set of priorities, and we look at what the budget does not do. any sensible group of people, whether it is a family, whether it's local government, state government, whether it's a business, people sit around the table and say okay, these are our needs, this is what we have got to address or this is no longer relevant or this is wasteful and we've got to get rid of it. that's what a budget process is about. and when you examine the republican budget, it almost seems that they turn that equation upside-down and that they do everything that we should not be doing and they don't do what we should be doing. the overall reality of america that most people understand is the middle class of this country for the last 40 years has been shrinking. yes, we are in a lot better shape today than we were when president bush left office, but really unemployment is 1

the roll. quorum call: a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from florida. mr. nelson: mr. president i ask consent that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. nelson: thank you mr. president. mr. president, i want to speak on a number of things. i rise in support of the nominations of christopher a. hart to be chairman and tho dinh-zarr to be board member of the national transportation safety board. the national transportation safety board helps keep all of us safe. and when a terrible crash happens, we watch on television or read about the crash and wonder what happened, but it's the national transportation safety board that steps in during those first moments. they get in, preserve evidence to sift through the debris and then to figure out what went wrong. and they play a difficult role. they must put aside all differences between jurisdictions, politics and partisanship just to get the job done. and in the last month alone the board has launched investigations into a ship collision in texas a plane veering off the run way in n

that's the nature of the senate and the house. and the bill unanimously passed the senate and the house being signed into law by the president. this fair sentencing act reduced the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. now, the smarter sentencing act the bill that we're considering today, addresses this again. it would allow some inmates who were sentenced before the fair sentencing act to petition for the sentence reductions that this law put in place in 2010. so this provision would not automatically reduce a single sentence of anyone serving under the old 100-1 standard. but it would allow federal judges and prosecutors to conduct a case-by-case singular individual review as to whether the individual should have their sentence reduced. responding to our decreased reliance on prisons the smarterer sentencing act would allow the justice department to report to congress on how the cost savings would be used to prevent recidivism. let's respond to statements made about the smarter sentencing act. one of our colleag

there's even a little mini filibuster. >> the senate votes the conservative way. >> the senate does. the fix isn't in for the liberal side here? >> the whole notion here is to have no bias one way or the other and to really have a free and open debate. >> well you had the most liberal voting record in the senate in 2005 and you're still called -- i don't know if that's a compliment or not, the liberal lion of the senate. >> well, my view is that programs change but our values don't change. the institute is nonpartisan. >> reporter: your husband was purely partisan. >> he was the proudest democrat there was but the great thing about teddy was he always listed sened to the other side and worked so well with the other side. >> reporter: the hope is, visitors will leave the institute and inspire to give back to their communities and to demand washington do its job better. i talked with mrs. kennedy in a recreation of his senate office, complete with some of the original mementoes that meant the most to him, such as this letter from his mother rose. >> she says she had watched him on a par

bills is that the house bill nullifies president obama's executive actions on immigration, and the senate democrats want that provision simply stripped out of the house bill. snoerd, for the democrats in the senate there is nothing to negotiate in conference. >> i've been very clear for days now that we will not go to conference. the majority knows that. the speaker of the house knows that. senate democrats will not support going to conference because it will be counter-productive. >> the senate's refusal now to go to conference makes it at least theoretically possible for democrats in the house of representatives to employ an obscure house rule to force the senate bill to come to a vote in the house. republican congressman steve king of iowa who voted against

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

wouldn't it be of to the committees to decide? senator enzi: the committee. yes. >> it could be discretionary spending. it could be nondiscretionary spending. it could be either one. senator enzi: whatever the committees choose. >> the basic principle here, senator white house has raised, we think the solution to many problems is not just cutting. we think there are huge loopholes for corporations, and you have to look at spending as well. some amendments, it is a reasonable amendment. i don't know i can support if you are asking to fund it by cutting. if you would do deficit neutral it would make the difference. >> the language i am using, from senator -- the chairman of the senate committee on the budget may revise the allocations of a committee in this resolution. it doesn't look like it is the decision of the committee. it is the decision of the budget committee chairman and the definition of this term would be of significance. >> mr. chairman. >> to be clear on this. all that says, the committees are authorizing the decision and the chairman is the one wh

it is beneath that the decarlo dignity in the united states senate. this woman deserves fairness she seeks to leave the department of justice in the united states senate should be just in its treatment of her nomination. to think that we would jeopardize her opportunity to serve this nation and to make history is fundamentally unfair. >> i come to the floor today to address a very serious accusation leveled yesterday against republican members of this body by the democratic with the senator illinois. i do with some regret -- the senator illinois and i have been friends for many years served in a house together and here in this body of work together. that is why i was so surprised and disappointed in the comments he made yesterday on the floor senate comments that are totally inappropriate to be made on the floor of the senate. my colleague illinois said and i quote from the majority leader announced that are going to hold this nomination lynch until the bill which is pending before the senate passes, whatever that may be. then then he went on to say, a

blumenthal: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of senate resolution 95 submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 95 designating march 3 2015 as world wildlife day. mr. blumenthal: i further ask -- the presiding officer: the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. blumenthal: i ask the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blumenthal: thank you mr. president. i'm here for the main purpose of vigorously opposing senate joint resolution 8 and to support the national labor relation board's recent rule to modernize the process that workers use if they decide they want to form a union and bargain collectively. the new nlrb rule makes modest but highly important changes to improve the overall consistency and efficiency of the election process allowing voters to vote for or against the creation of a union in a fair and timely

the senator is recognized. mr. cotton: madam president this week we will debate the budget a key part is the military budget, the one part of our government where the strategy and threats must drive the budget, not vice versa. the greatest threat to our national security is a nuclear-armed iran, and this man, ayatollah khomeini, the supreme leader of iran. last week marked the beginning of the persian new year. we were treated to speeches by president obama and iran's prime leader. i have to say that president obama'spresidentobama's speech was ill-advised. he spoke to the iranian people directly. let's be clear about one thing. iranians who speak up tend to disappear into secret prisons or wind up hanging from cranes by the neck. worse, by acting as if public opinion matters to the ayatollah ayatollahs, president obama is treating iran as if it were a legitimate democracy. no president should legitimate such a regime which only emboldens the dictator and undermines the iranian people struggling. today i want to foc

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, canceled 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 cou

the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: i have a unanimous consent request from the leaders. i ask unanimous consent that the senate be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. grassley: i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from pennsylvania. mr. casey: thank you mr. president. mr. president, i ask consent to speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: the senate is in morchlt morning business. mr. casey: thank you mr. president. i rise today to talk about the nomination that will be before the entire senate next week, the nomination of loretta lynch to be the attorney general of the united states of america and to urge all of my senate colleagues to quickly confirm united states attorney lynch to this position. loretta lynch has dedicated much of her life, many, many years of her life, to public service serving twice as the united states to enfor to attorney for the eastern distric