the senator is recognized. mr. wicker: whether we as a senate, we as a congress, we as a federal government are going to mandate on the 38 states that don't allow these to allow them on the roads at any rate. so a yes vote would be a vote against the federal mandate. when do you get in one fell swoop an opportunity to vote, a vote that will save lives, a vote to prevent a federal mandate, a vote for small business, a vote to say $1.2 billion to $1.8 billion a year in highway maintenance and a vote supported by the overwhelming majority of the people? vote yes not to mandate this on the states. i yield to the senator from california. the presiding officer: the senator from california. mrs. feinstein: i thank the senator. mr. president, if you look at that, that is 91 feet with the twin 33's and the cab. 91 feet of truck. 38 states do not want it in their state. this bill overwhelms that. we had an amendment in the appropriations committee which would prevent that. it was a tie vote. so senator wicker and i ask you pl

of the senate? sen. simpson: it is real -- it's the sadness now, the tremendous need to go raise bucks all day and all night. these guys never know each other. ar out of here. they ought to be in detroit. , we can't bember here tonight i've got a fundraiser in detroit and bob dole would say you are paid to work in here. chemical is the human contact, the joke, the humor, back, the the intimacy of the ride on the subway or staff meeting or hearing laughter coming from his headquarters. glass ofo up for a wine because i couldn't stand the racket. [laughter] sen. dodd: it wasn't about the wine, was it? real.impson: it was very it was about intimacy. that word is a good word. it is about taking risks with your feelings. nobody talks about that anymore. goodpenness and humor, the fellowship is to risk rejection. risked any of that. he waited right in and it didn't matter. he introduced me one day and said to think this man came to the u.s. senate using his family name, just because his father was a govern

to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable tom cotton, a senator from the state of arkansas, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: orrin g.hatch, president pro tempore. mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: two federal courts have already found that the obama administration's plan to regulate the land around nearly every pothole and ditch is illegal. it's hardly a surprise. the administration's so-called waters of the u.s. regulation is a cynical and overbearing power grab dressed awkwardly as some clean water measure. it's not. many argue it actually violates the clean water act. the true aim of this massive regulatory overreach is pretty clear. after all, if you're looking for an excuse to extend the reach of the federal bureaucracy as widely and intrusively as possible, why not just issue a regulation giving bureaucrats dominion over land that has touched a pothole or a ditch or a puddle at some point. that would seem to be pretty much everything

barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: help them to remember that you are with them every moment of every day. blessed by your loving providence, may they trust you to surround our nation with the shield of your favor. give them a quiet confidence for facing the difficulties of our times. lord, make our senators instruments of your will for the healing of our nation and world. thank you for the rewards you give to those who live for you. we pray in your mighty name, amen. the president pro tempore: pleae join me in reciting the pledge f allegiance to our 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 officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: from the outset, the new senate has worked to realize a smarter and more inclusive appropriations process. that's why we passed a budget, moving past six years of inaction. that's why we passed a

mcconnell: the senate not in order. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. ority leader. mr. mcconnell: i withdraw the motion to proceed to s. 1140. the presiding officer: motion is withdrawn. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to calendar number 118, h.r. 2685. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion. the clerk: motion to proceed to h.r. 2685, an ablght making appropriations for the department of defense for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2016, as for other purposes.. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion, we the undersigned senators in in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to a close debate on the motion to proceed to proceed making appropriations for the department of defense for the fiscal year year signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent that the reading of the names be dispensed with. the presiding officer: is there objection? without object

the senator was clear about it. one item we have not talked about this afternoon is his religious faith. and he quoted from matthew 25 about the need for all of us to work to feed the hungry and house the homeless and to visit those in prison. i thought about this this past week with the visit of the pope. vicki mentioned the senator's first communion and the fact he kept a diary. that spoke to his nanny about it. i don't think vicki mentioned, he, he was given his first communion by the pope, the new pope at that time, at the vatican, so iran for my first communion, but it was not quite like that -- i remember my first communion, but it was not quite like that. [laughter] throughout the transcripts and the interviews, the senator keeps circling back to that deep religious faith, so when jim young says how do you have this thatism, i think jim meant for his personal tribulations, but also for the legislative process, he just kept saying he take great -- he took great optimism from his faith. >> you spent a lot of tim

senator thurmond is the only senator to live to the age of 100 while serving in the senate. of course, the senate wanted to pay special tribute to him. there was a large birthday festivity in here, which was a very nice occasion. the senate majority leader came to pay homage to senator thurmond. he was as hes, said subsequently, overly effusive. he praised senator thurmond's career in the senate and then he recalled in 1948, senator thurmond had run for president against harry truman. >> i want to say this about my state. when strom thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. we are proud of him. [applause] and if the rest of the country followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over these years. don ritchie: which seems a relatively mild statement except senator lott have forgotten them that had forgotten -- except senator lott had forgotten senator thurmond ran as a segregationist candidate in 1948 against president truman, who helped integrate the armed services, was unpopular in the south for that reason. as a result, there was a huge amount of pressur

the hearing. when certain senators spoke, the lights would come on. in 1972 i attended a hearing in which senator kennedy walked into the door, senator ted kennedy, and as soon as he came in and sat down the television lights came on. and as soon as he left, even though a nether senator was speaking, the lights went off. today we are used to gavel to gavel coverage. a lot more highlights become available of those hearings. the biggest hearings often take place in the senate caucus room, which is in the russell building. many of the hearings we consider to have led up to those big blockbuster hearings took place here in the dirksen building. for more hearings took place in the foreign relations room. vented the spectacular hearings they held when they moved into the caucus room. quite often the staff of these investigations work here in the dirksen room. even though the big hearings would be killer -- would be held in the russell building. one of the most important hearings the senate conducted was the investigation into watergate, with presidential can

he was the chairman of the senate finance committee. i was delighted to be on that committee, and it has to do with taxation among other things but that's the big issue in the finance committee, tax legislation. so i show up for my first day on the finance committee, and russell is presiding. and what the committee is doing is they are sitting out there program for the year ahead, and writing a letter to the budget committee, here's what our plan is for the ahead. really drafting a letter. so there's this little pause in the preceding. so i'm way down at the end of the table, and i, he had never seen me before. and i raised my hand and i said, well, mr. chairman, i have an idea. and he looked down the table and he said, oh? what is your idea? and i said, being a republican, well, i think we need a tax, we should have a tax cut. and he said, oh? how much of a tax cut? well, i had never thought about that. and so i blurted out, this is an early 1977, i said $5 billion back in those days $5 billion was something. >> host: significant, yeah.

all of the senators were in one building and all the staff were in one building. was a small unity of staff and senators that existed in the building until 1958. steadily that a on the government increased. people started writing in, social security became an issue, somebody -- became an issue. hired more staff and they had to find more places to put them. at one point the russell crammed was absolutely with people. they had people working in the attic, into the basement, bathrooms were converted into offices. people were squeezed in everywhere. it became clear by the end of the 1930's after this new deal had increase the size of the federal government, that they were going to need another building. they needed space for committees to meet. committees were partly at the capitol building, partly at the russell building. they were in large rooms but without a dais. the witnesses and staff would sit around the table. there was very limited space for the public to attend the hearings and they weren't set up for it to be televised. there are a lot of reasons why the dir

the senate? the presiding officer: the senate is considering h.r. 2029. mr. mccain: which is? the presiding officer: the milcon v.a. appropriations bill. mr. mccain: so we are now considering the milcon v.a. appropriations bill. obviously, the -- anything we do for our veterans is something that's laudable to all of us. but earlier, a very interesting vote took place here in the united states senate with the department of defense appropriations bill which funds the appropriations for the department of defense for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2016, and for other purposes, et cetera. in other words, the defense appropriations bill which provides for the training, equipment, pay, medical care, all of those vital necessities for the men and women who are serving in the military, a sufficient number of my colleagues, i believe all but one on the other side of the aisle decided to vote against moving to that legislation. i want the record to be clear. the majority, all but one of my colleagues o

-milcon bill to the senate. madam president, i have been voting for veterans ever since i've come to congress. veterans are our nation's heroes. they put their lives on the line to fight for our freedom, they made tremendous sacrifices for our country, and whether it's veterans who are still alive from world war ii, those who fought on pork chop hill during the korean war, the vietnam war at maikon delta and afghanistan. we owe our veterans a debt of gratitude, but we want to show our gratitude not only with words and yellow ribbons but deeds, and i believe that the best deed is to make sure we adequately fund the veterans administration to end the backlog for disability benefits. if you fought in the front lines, you shouldn't stand in line here to get your disability benefit, and to robustly fund veterans health care along with other benefits that this congress has so authorized. we've accomplished a lot over the years working for our veterans, and it will have a lot to do with our legislation. i wish to depend

but i had one member of the senate tell me, a sitting member of the senate, tell me that this particular senator could think of more than six other senators to over to his house for dinner. >> host: right. you speak of the collegiality, and the collegiality when i was innocent was disappearing a lot. a lot of the problems that we see now i think go back to those years. but what do you see as contributing to the dysfunction of the senate today from the collegiality of the past to the kind of combative partisanship that characterizes the institution no? >> guest: i think there are a number of component to that, but i think, i mean, one of the problems is just scheduling and the need for senators to be on the road raising money in relatively small increments. so i think that the most that a senator can raise for campaign, from an individual, is $2700 for the primary, same for the general election. meanwhile, these uncontrolled groups, individual contributors and the pacs tech achieve anything they want. the so the center who wants to define a message has to go out on the road and raise mayb

the clerk: calendar number 292, senate resolution 302, expressing the sense of the senate in support of israel and in con desmation of the palestinian -- condemnation of the palestinian terror attacks. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. ms. murkowski: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the blumenthal amendment to the resolution be agreed to, the resolution as amended be agreed to, the blumenthal amendment to the preamble be agreed to, the preamble as amended 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. ms. murkowski: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today it adjourn under the provisions of h. con. res. 92 until 3:00 p.m., monday, november 16. following the prayer and pledge the morning hour deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be read for date, further nolg leader remarks the senate be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak f

further that when the senate receives the papers the senate's action with respect to the nomination on november 19, 2015, be vitiated. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. mcconnell: i understand there is a bill at the desk due a second reading. the presiding officer: the clerk will read the title of the bill for the second time. the clerk: s. 2329, a bill to prevent the entry of extremists into the united states under the refugee program, and for other purposes. mr. mcconnell: in order to place the bill on the calendar and under the provisions of rule 14 i would object to further proceedings. the presiding officer: objection being heard, the bill will be placed on the calendar. mr. mcconnell: now, madam president, when president obama tried to push a regressive anti-middle class energy tax through a democratic-controlled congress, his own party said no. said no. undeterred, the president simply went around congress to impose similarly regressive and likely illegal power plant energy regulations anyway. he's currently trying to sell that power plant to worl

we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to wring to a close debate on the motion to proceed to calendar number 138, h.r. 2577, an act making appropriations for the departments of transportation and housing and urban development and so forth and for other purposes. signed by 17 senators as follows. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent the reading of the names be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask consent the mandatory quorum call under rule 22 be waived with respect to the cloture vote. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, i want to express what i know each of my colleagues feels today. we, the hundred men and women of the united states senate, send our sincere condol condolences e people of france. across america, the american people send condolences to the victims, the families and to the first responders. we understand the pain and the loss that accompany a terrorist attack. some feel it in the most personal way. some never come

the senate will spend most of the day working on amendments to the bill. live senate coverage now here on c-span2. the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the pastor jeff wheeler, pastor oin sioux falls, south dakota, will lead the sna the? prayer. the guest chaplain: good morning. let's pray. almighty god, we pause today to declare your matchless power and moral perfection. we're reminded that you're in control. you govern your creation with righteousness and truth. you extend mercy to the downcast and hope to the broken. may these men and women govern with the same spirit. you tell us, "righteousness elevates a nation to greatness." o god, forgive our sin, and grant righteous judgment to these leaders as they make moral and ethical decisions. please grant discernment. fill their hearts with compassion for the weak, courage in adversity, wisdom through debate and vision in the storm. may every decision be tethered to the anchor of your unchanging truth. o lord, be pleased to dwell among us today. let your presence dispel the darkness of s

the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. nern -- mrs. ernst: i'd like ting thank my friends and colleagues for supporting this effort and look forward to lively discussion on the e.p.a.'s overreach and the wotus rule. i would urge my fellow republicans and fellow democrats to consider what this overreach does that home states. just as it does in iowa, it covers 97% of our land. just encourage them to listen to their constituents carefully as we move forward on this debate and vote. again, thanks to my colleagues for supporting this effort. thank you, madam president. a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: madam president, the senate's not in order. the presiding officer: the senate shall come to order. the senate will be in order. mr. cornyn: thank you, madam president. madam president, i'd like to congratulate our friend and colleague, the senator from iowa, on this strong vote on the motion to proceed to this congressional resolution of disapproval of this overreaching regulation issued by

the transportation deal. we're proud of those senators who have supported this here in the united states senate, but we're especially proud of those house members who went to the extent of getting a discharge petition to demonstrate the 313 members of the house of representatives supported this policy. she and i are not giving up on trying to emphasize to people that we have waited way too long to get this done and now we should not wait one moment longer and we should make sure that this part of a transportation bill, while not necessarily our choice for how this gets done, finally gets over the finish line so that we can put our small businesses back to work. as my colleague said, small businesses, they're the key to her state's economy. well, they're really the key to the u.s. economy. they're 350% of all u.s. jobs are provided by small businesses. so that's why we've talked about this issue as it relates to those job providers because everybody thinks -- i read with great interest even in an editorial today that i thought represented beltway mentality -- that is, oh, the private sector will do it. well, that's t

the roll. quorum call: a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from alaska. ms. murkowski: mr. president, i request that proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. murkowski: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i thank my colleague from iowa who has led the effort this morning as we speak about the waters of the united states rule and the effort that she has led that would lead to a resolution of disapproval of this very wrongheaded rule. i also want to acknowledge the good work of my colleague from wyoming, senator barrasso, who yesterday we had an opportunity to again discuss the impact, the devastating impact of the wotus rule as we lovingly refer to it as. but an effort, a combined effort to address the concerns that so many of us have across the country about the waters of the u.s. rule that has stemmed from the e.p.a. and the army corps. this wotus rule, i think you've heard so many of us speak to, is not only an overreach. it is a significant overreach that will allow for an expansion and, i belie

the 60 votes necessary. mr. sullivan: but senator ernst has a resolution and i think it will be very important to pass. it would stop this rule from being enacted by the e.p.a., and hopefully we'll see if the president once this is put on his desk has some common sense to sign it rather than veto it. but what i wanted to talk about, i want to actually put this rule in a much broader context, to put the debate we're having here today on the waters of the u.s. rule into the broader context of actually what's happening in our country in how the e.p.a.'s waters of the u.s. rule is actually a symbol for much broader problems that i think the vast majority of americans recognize. the other night, mr. president, i went to a premiere of a short film on the trans-alaska pipeline system, what we call in alaska, taps. let me tell you a little bit about taps. it's alaska's 800-mile artery of steel that was done in the most responsible manner in terms of the environment that brings much energy to our country. when it was built, it was actually on

live coverage of the u.s. senate here on c-span2. eternal god, who formed the mountains and hills, give our senators strength for this season of challenge. provide them such wisdom courage, and integrity that they will cause justice to roll down like waters. above the noise and din of human voices, may they hear the whisper of your guidance. inspire them to do what is right, as you reveal the right to them. thank you that your love and mercy are from everlasting to everlasting. and, lord, continue to bless the people of france as they find strength in you. we pray in your mighty name. amen. the president pro tempore: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to our 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 presiding officer: under the previous order the leadership time is reserved. under the previous order the senate will now observe aempt mo of silence for the victims -- a moment of si

i yield the floor. a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from massachusetts. ms. warren: madam president, exactly three weeks ago the social security administration made a very quiet announcement. next year for just the third time since 1975, seniors who receive social security won't be getting an annual cost-of-living increase. two-thirds of seniors depend on social security for the majority of their income. for 15 million americans, social security is all that stands between them and poverty. but not one of these americans -- not one -- will see an extra dime next year. and millions of other americans whose benefits are pegged to social security, millions who receive veterans benefits, disability benefits and otherex. tough times. but not for everyone. according to most recent data from the economic policy institute, c.e.o.'s at the top 350 american companies received on average a 3.9% pay increase last year. that's a lot of money because the average c.e.o. pay at one of the top 350 american companies was

shifted to the earlier debates. senatorey graham was not included in either debate. marco rubio responded to questions this week in a town hall forum held at saint of the column in manchester new hampshire. how he would involve -- envision his ultimate houseparty with political figures. >> i am the president and ceo stan works. this is our first event of the lake of the party series. we are thrilled you could join us. the idea behind the series is about the partnership between us to bring a different aspect of the discussion to political conversation. we want to give you a chance to know senator rubio, what he is like as a person and his political policies. we really want to have you engaged throughout the course of the morning. we all want to thank bank of america. we would not be here today without them. thank you for your sponsorship. if we are on social media, we have a hash tagged. lifeofthepartynh, be sure to use that #. --hash tag. without further do, we would like to invite senator rubio to join us. [applause] sen.

in the senate, a portrait of george washington hangs over the leadership desk. the picture of abraham lincoln was done by an artist who sketched lincoln in person. on a number of paintings from his sketches during the civil war. abraham lincoln what, in 1900, 1910, would have been considered a significant as george washington would have been. so you had two significant president hanging in our chambers, with the reminder that we are connected to the united states. california being so far west and not a lot in between, the idea that we would create the look of the capital with as close to what the united states capital looked like, we were the wild west for building this huge building with a dome and columns very similar in look and style to the united states capital. this is our identity. and so you see a lot of symbolism in the rooms. in fact, the green color of the assembly and the red color of the senate stemmed from what was being used at the united states capitol during that time in their house and senate. and it actually has words that goes back to british

the clerk: the senator from illinois mr. kirk, proposes amendment numbered 277 -- shaheen 2772, and heller amendment number 2766. the presiding officer: question occurs on the amendments en bloc. if there is no further debate, all those in favor say aye. those opposed nay. the amendments are adopted. mr. kirk: mr. president, ask unanimous consent that the senate be with a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blumenthal: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. i want to thank senators kirk and tester for their bipartisan leadership on a measure that is vastly improved since the vote that we had on a similar measure very recently, and i know this topic is very close to the heart of the presiding officer, and i want to thank him for his leadership as chairman of the committee on veterans' affairs. truly a tremendous challenge that we are working step by ste

vote in the senate. he has no vote. and now in his case, he's not even an elected senator. >> exactly. >> but in the case of the speaker and in the case of all presidents, these are rules of order that predate our nation at the constitutional convention. george washington was elected president of the convention. with that he lost his vote, although he was a delegate from virginia, he was elected by virginians to come to attend the convention. he can no longer vote, and he can no longer take sides. the role of the president of any convention he presides, he does not participate. thank you. >> this is a role that supersedes the -- >> i'm sorry? >> is this rule of order something that supersedes the constitution which does not forbid him to vote? >> well, it has, it -- the constitution gives each of these branches of government certain leeway in determining their rules of how they're going to fulfill their obligations to the american people and to the nation. and one way to do it is to keep order, not to pul

durbin: i thank the senator from hawaii. last week the senior senator from arizona came to the floor and said it was durbin's speeches that brought down corinthian. correction: brought down correspondent ridgecorinthian was their own malfeasance. they were under investigation by 20 different attorney generals for fraud and deception. they were also under investigation by the securities and exchange commission and the department of justice. it was their malfeasance that brought them down. as senator schatz has indicates the victims students and taxpayers. in this colloquy, i would like to yield to senator carper. mr. carper: i want to thank the senator for really sort of inviting us down to have this conversation. it is great to be with our colleague from hawaii, as well. before senator durbin i came to the house of representatives together in 1982. i'd been a state treasurer before that. before that i was a p-3 aircraft mission commanderrer. served in southeast asia. in 1968 the p-38 four-engine aircraft tracked snr submarine

it's like the vice president who was president of the senate. he cannot vote in the senate. has no vote and now in his case, he's not even an elected senator, but in the case of the speaker and in the case of all presidents, these are rules of order that predate our nation at the constitutional convention. george washington was elected parking president and elected by virginians and could not longer vote or take sides. that's the role of the president of any convention he presides, he does not participate. >> thank you. >> does the rule -- >> i'm sorry? well, it has -- the constitution gives each of these branches a government, certain leeway in determining their rules of how they're going to fulfill their obligations to the american people and to the nation and one way to do it is to keep order, not to shoot each other. you to get along somewhere and you need someone to maintain order because, remember, as i said when henry clay went into the house of representatives for the first time it was betlum and hi participated in several duals and was nearly killed. yes, ma'am. >> c

the presiding officer: the senator montana. mr. tester: i will defer my remarks until the chairman of the v.a. milcon appropriations subcommittee comes. until that time comes, i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the presiding officer: the senator from montana. mr. tester: i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. tester: thank you, madam president. senator kirk, it will be sometime before he gets here, so i do want to give my remarks for the purpose of other folks that would like it talk to this bill. madam president, i rise today along with senator kirk to usher the legislation through this chamber, the v.a.-milcon aeption pros bill legislation, through this chamber as quickly as possible. i do want to thank senator kick for his work on this bill. as i said last week when we began debating the v.a.-mill appropriations bill, this legislation has huge significance. it marks a good-faith effort on behalf of this body to move fo

even by his colleagues in the senate. ople are not speaking out against him. >> should be interesting to poll the establishment republicans. it you had to pick, who would you pick? >> up on capitol hill, john, stand out week for a freshman republican lawmaker. martha mcsally is a retired air force colonel. essentially held gabrielle giffords seat. she gave the saturday morning radio address saying the u.s. needs to be more force fful wit the military mite in the middle east. gop aids tell it seems to me he had a stand out week behind closed doors. using her military experience she was walking her colleagues through the details of what a military response might look like. for a party in desperate need of younger and female faces and voices, especially on the house side, she stands out and many believe she has quite a future ahead of her. >> we talked on this show a few weeks ago how november was a crucial month for jeb bush. his advisors on his campaign and super pac by the end of november you would see signs of their big t

senator. [applause] >> the majority. senator mcconnell: as the democratic leader pointed out, 15,000thndeed his vote. it means he has taken the sixth largest number of votes in senate history. it means he has taken more votes than any other senator from his date, and vermont has been sending senators here since the late 1700s. that's not the only thing that sets him apart from every other serve in the senate. he was the first democrat elected to serve from vermont. unfortunately, that is a habit that has continued. [applause] [laughter] i think we can safely assume he is first batman fan going to fanboy to serve, no doubt the first deadhead. we are happy to recognize his 15,000th vote. >> could i have one minute to speak to that? >> without objection. to commemorate my friend forecasting his 15,000 votes. senator leahy has been a stalwart part of this body since joining the senate. later, he continues to serve the state with great passion and convention. he has been a good friend as we work together and leading the senate

in the senate, it was two for your terms. in 2012, the voters made a decision again and term limits were changed. many attempts were made, but all were voted down. 2012, the voters decided each legislator could serve a total of 12 years in either house. had twoingly enough, we significant us and the members here in california prior to term limits. one of them served 15 years as speaker. the speaker of the assembly is elected by the members. a gentleman named willie brown, who was raised by a single mom in texas, begin influential in politics and a strong african american political figure in california. he was here for quite a while and served for 15 years before term limits. he had to term out. he went on to be mayor of san francisco. a former speaker who had a lot of power for nine years as a committee hearing room named after him. john burton who was pro tem of the senate also has a hearing room named after him. but it was his brother philip from theo first went simile straight to congress representing the bay area. two legi

the senate bill is not much better. everyone wants a long-term bill for liability and planning but that still the preferable option if we allow flatter minimum funding. that's a for five-year bill and a higher funding that would be a better -- i'm proud of the program was created in the house bill which provides dedicated funding for large-scale multilevel projects that are critical for our regional and national economy. their there are number of transit issues that must be addressed if to support the final package that the amendment offered on the house floor eliminates the high density apportionment under transit section 53 port he ignored to provide more funding programs. i would like to note although the amendment passed by voice vote it is not without controversy. section 5340 provides critical funding for communities all around transit dependent states cutting section 5340 whatever stray transit service not only in new york and syracuse but also in places like aberdeen maryland new hampshire and allentown pennsylva

kaine, welcome to the program. senator kaine: fernando, good to be with you again fernando: thank you, sir. if you could, in this incredible time that we' re living after the paris attacks, how should people be thinking? what' s your advice to americans? senator kaine: wow, you know, first i think my primary feeling when it all happens is feeling back for our young people. i have a niece who lives in paris this semester and i just started to think about of our young people who' ve grown up with this as kind of a norm. for me this still seems like a dramatic aberration, but my children all are post 9/11 kids. so it' s been war, it' s been terrorist incidents, it' s been this shootings at community colleges, and i started to think about what it is for 20 somethings to believe this is the norm. i think we' re being tested, but we shouldn' t become something different than what our values fernando: but there' s something that is very near and dear to you that is changing our values at least on a constitutional t we' re at war

the hearing record will remain open for two weeks. during this time senatorswill be asked to cement any questions for the record upon receipt we asked the witnesses to submit their written answers to the committee as soon as possible. thank you all again for being here today. this hearing is adjourned. [inaudible conversation] and out [inaudible] >> is really prime minister benjamin netanyahu is set to meet with president obama tomorrow at the white house. this'll be his first trip back to washington since march when he addressed a joint meeting of congress about the iran nuclear agreement while negotiations were taking place. the prime minister in the president did not meet during that visit. tomorrow's meeting expected to focus on u.s.-israel relations and security in the middle east. a joint news conference is not scheduled but if either the president or the prime minister speak to the minute -- media, we will have it right here on c-span. >> about whom will you next right -- write? there is only one if i wrote a second biography. i did write the book. >> i

anin the senate, she was the leader of the senate ladies bible study and the u.s. chapter of the red cross. she was a confidant and pillar of many friends in -- on both sides of the aisle, including elizabeth dole, erma byrd, and lynda johnson robb. politically, she was a close friend of ronald and nancy reagan. in 1976, she took the unusual step of campaigning tirelessly across the state of north carolina in support of then-governor reagan's insurgent presidential candidacy. the governor carried the north carolina primary against a sitting president, in no small part due to the work of dot helms. two years ago the governor awarded dorothy helms the order of the long-leaf pine. fittingly, the governor honored her with the official north carolina state toast. here's to the loondz d land of the longleaf pine, the summerland where the sun does should i, where the wheat does shining and the strong grow great, here's to the down-home old north state, where the strong grow great. dot helms and north carolina are one in the same. for her family and friends and a grateful

can i go through the list. senator tom coburn used to bring me a big packet every year. e is so much waste. what we are worried about funding the government and trying to get more money or take it out of different programs is -- i mean, is anyone doing any sort of accounting to figure out how much do we really need? >> yes. the house for five years in a row has passed a budget that cuts trillions of dollars of spending out of the federal government that balances the budget and pays down the debt. for the first time now, since we have been having these big budget problems, the senat budget. here's the problem. we don't have a president who is interested in passing this budget. the agreement i mentioned with the military that's what we call discretionary spending. all of these programs we have talked about we have passed now five years in a row a balanced budget plan to do. this you have to have a president who is willing to sign it we have are not had that. >> are you telling me a bulk of this waste would'p@&c @&c@ disappear. and forcing government agencies to prioritize b

the senate is scheduled to hold a vote today at 5:30 p.m. ris forobama is in a united nations summit, whose goal is to reduce a global treaty to reduce climate change. putting the spotlight on the u.s. and its role in the world when it comes to cutting greenhouse gas omissions. for the first 45 minutes this morning on the "washington journal," we open our phones to hear your message for the president at the outset of this highly anticipated u.n. climate change gathering. democrats call call (202) 748-8000. republicans, call (202) 748-8001 . independents, call (202) 748-8002. if you're outside the u.s., it is (202) 748-8003. catch up with us on social media , on twitter, facebook, or e-mail us at journal@c-span.org. we begin with newspapers from around the world. here's the china daily's front page this morning. toys for crucial push on omissions. poised for crucial push on omissions. that's the front page of the indian express this morning. over to the front page, of the irish times this morning. ireland faces pressure over omissions is the h

how do you get things through the senate? and how do you force obama either to sign or veto them in such a way that it strengthens you for 16. ryan's great goal has to be to help the republicans win the presidency, keep the senate, and then have an amazing first six months of 2017. he has the ability, i think, to do that. >> what do you think will be top on his agenda? a lot of business people, economically minded people i've spoken with want to see tax reform. do you think we will see tax reform actually materialize in, for example, the first year of the next president's term? >> i think that could happen. i'll give you something that is sitting on the table that donald trump talked about and the people really undervalue. which could be a very clean shot and if it was organized right, you have enormous pressure to pass it. that is the fact that there is somewhere between 2 1/2 and $4 trillion tied up overseas because the american tax code for businesses is so high that it punishes businesses to bring the money home. now, if y

then finally talk about the u.s. senate because this kind of -- this is the undercard to use the term everybody is using these days. but i think the senate is going to be a very, very, very close fight for majority status and one that i know a lot of people in washington are going to be watching very closely and care very much about. but let's get down to it. in terms of why is this such an unusual election and what are the weird things that are making this such a highly combustible sort of -- a gumbo of different factors that are -- though that's actually the southern part of the state. not where we are. the eastern most suburb of allas. of why this is such an odd election. i would argue that the five factors are first, ideology. second, economic anxiety. third, populism. fourth, culture of values wars that we have going on in this country. and finally, this anger, pervasive anger at politics, at politicians, and at washington. so first let's talk about the ideology for a second. i don't think there's any question that the

we don't have that in the senate bill. ee times instead of 500 so it is compromised at $105 million. bin and penalties for the safety defect with the general motors ignition system that company, a $35 million. that doesn't seem to be reasonable. there is one other provision that provides in-house will sweep the liability protections for all suppliers are with regard to the engaged dc-8 guidelines. we think there should be determined by lot not congress through nhtsa. i certainly support the efforts of the top 4s you try to bring us together on the highway bill. >> you are now recognized as >> to make this an open bipartisan process we're making sure those pierides we thought were important to stay in the bill. the house bill as far as safety improved by rail we go beyond the final rule of the dot flammable liquids the thermal begin and require all legacy lockhart cars to be phased out directory -- retrofitted with the provision those that are remaining on rails and require the top of hitting protections to minimize adverse

of the senate, shall notify the members of the senate to reassemble at such place and time as he may dez egg nate if, in his opinion, the peculiar interest shall warrant it. bmbing, after reassembling pursuant to subsection a, when to the senate adjourns on a motion offered pursuant to this subsection by its majority leader of his designee, the senate shall again stand adjourned pursuant to the first section of this concurrent resolution. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the concurrent resolution is agreed to and the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition? mr. wood al: i ask unanimous consent that when the house adjourned today on a motion pursuant to this order it adjourn to meet on monday, november 9, 2015, unless it has sooner received a message from the senate in which case the senate shazz stand adjourned purr sune to that con current resolution. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. under the speaker's announced policy of january 6, 2015, the chair recognizes the gentleman from

the feedback. thank you. >> senator klobuchar. >> thank you so much. innesota is a big part of the culture of the state and economy employing 40,000 people in the forest industry. 9.7 billion. it is what my grandpa did so it is near and dear to my heart. budget transfers prevented the fuel reduction burning 165 acres and this worked to protect forest from wild fires and surrounding communities. you talked about the communities and water infrastructure is impacted and destroyed by wild fires. how have agencies had to adapt procedures to accommodate the wild fire risk? >> they have done their best but it is hard. larger communities have been able to interconnect with neighboring agencies and utilities and created or established multiple watershed sources for their water. that is cost prohibitive. >> what role can private forest landowners play in restoring health? >> i speak to the private landowner but it is a public effort. interestingly, this ultimately gets back to the budget. if they invest in local programs the forest program has it will mitigate th

that the senate agreed to senate joint resolution 22. with best wishes i am, signed sincerely, karen l. haas. the honorable the speaker, house of representatives, sir. pursuant to the permission granted in clause 2-h of rule 2 of the rules of the u.s. house of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on november 6, 2015, at 9:38 a.m. that the senate agreed to senate concurrent resolution 24. that the senate agreed to relative to the death of fred thompson senate resolution 309. that the senate agreed to without objection amendment house concurrent resolution 92. with best wishes i am, signed sincerely, karen l. haas. the honorable the speaker, house of representatives. sir, pursuant to the permission granted in clause 2-h of rule 2 of the rules of the u.s. house of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on november 10, 2015, at 11:20 a.m. that the senate passed senate 1004. with best wishes, i am, signed sincerely, karen lst haas. -- l. h

the senate has to approve the measure friday. there have been 600 raids here in france since saturday. targeting islamic extremists. but the prime minister says the nation face as long and permanent threat. another official says we can't cry victory over terrorism after the death of abaaoud. the situation is far more complex than one bad guy. >> rick leventhal, thank you. >>> the fbi will maintain its heightened posture here in the u.s. through the holiday season. a law enforcement source tells fox news the bureau continues to urge vigilance among its 56 field offices and 100 joint terrorism task forces. expect heightened physical security at highly populated public areas, as well as unseen measures such as stepped-up surveillance and intelligence gathering. the head of the fbi says it is precautionary for now. >> we are not aware of any credible threat here of a paris type attack. and we have seen no connection at all, between the paris attackers and the united states. counterterrorism is what you pay us to do. tell us what you

the house of representatives and the senate. and just as we were given the opportunity to debate and amend these bills, taking into account concerns from our constituents and interested stake hold the senate should also be given the opportunity. i'm also concerned that with the other amendments and their potential negative effect on this set of bills, for example, representative young, has an amendment that would require rule making in the highway bill to include a list of information upon which it is based including data, scientific and economic studies, and cost benefitage cease and identify how the public can access such information online. what this means is that the securities and exchange commission, in conducting its rule making, under chairman hensarling's amendment would face this additional administrative hurdle including the then-sounding cost benefit analysis. however, cost benefit analysis is a tool that's been used by the industry and the opposite side of the aisle both in agencies and in the courts and in congress

the house at 325, senate at 342. the no worsening scenario, that is if we want to be -- our system on to the next generation and no worse condition than it is today, we need 400 billion a year. there's one way we could get there. that is take the existing funds and reduce the terms of the bill to five or four years, get more robust enforcement, put people to work and move some of these good policies forward. i hope the conference committee will consider that. i would also hope that the committee will include the language in the house bill which allows for any future revenues dedicated to transportation to flow through the policies of this bill with no further action required by congress so that should a future congress find in some way additional revenues, that those revenues can be put to work nearly immediately. there are many policy issues that are still outstanding. the staff is doing a tremendous job in narrowing differences between the house bill. and i expect that we can meet the rather ambitious schedule you p

the republicans in control of the senate at the time. >> i will say this. the senate is remarkable, has very, very little information on what's going on, on the specifics of the nomination side. one assumes they didn't there's a handful of members in an off-line conversation but they keep at it purely member level. you never hear about after the fact. i have no idea. >> my answer to that is no, that there was a. and scalia did not appreciate it. i think that, you know, either he would've taken it. now i think he would say and he has said that he enjoys the role he has on the court. it allows them to be the scalia. in his drinking he can be outrageous on the bench but no. what's interesting, another interesting question you think to some of your points is everything has to kind of lineup he certainly. it's like getting struck by lightning, getting a nomination to the court. everything has to like a. test and asked to be in the right, who's to going to get that nomination depends on republicans or democrats control of the city. fasten the question is if rehnq