on the senate floor. is fairly sudden emergens of the use of the term majority leader on the senate floor during kern's tenure would seem to reflect that the position by you know involved from being largely a party position into a formal institutional role. by the mid-1920s and early 1930s, the positions we know as senate majority leaders began to assume a recognizable form. but the majority and minority leaders still held little formal institutional power. the leaders' authority, such as it was, was based on recent custom, not on a rule or formal procedure. my friends, that all changed during alben barkley's tenure. most of you, i suspect, are familiar with many of the details of barkley's life. since i've covered much of that in an earlier speech, i'll provide just a grief overview on his life but focus on an overlook but very important event from early in his tenure asthma jarty leader. alben barkley was born literally, literally, in a log cabin on his father's tobacco farm in 1977 in kentucky. young al

on the senate floor. by the time he left office in 1917, use of the expression on the senate or had become a more frequent occurrence. this fairly sudden emergence of the use of majority leader during his tenure would seem to reflect that the position had by now evolved from being largely a party position into a formal institutional role. by the mid-1920's and early 1930's, the positions we know as senate majority and minority leaders began to assume a recognizable form. but the majority and minority leaders still held little formal institutional power. the leaders authority, such as it was, was based on recent custom, not on a rule or formal procedure. that all changed during alben barkley's tenure. i suspect many of you are familiar with his life. covered much of that terrain an earlier speech, i will provide just a brief overview of his life and then focus on an overlooked but very important event early in his tenure as majority leader. alben barkley was born literally in a log cabin in 1877. he had a h

barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. almighty god, unto whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidden, continue to be our refuge and strength. guide our senators. let your peace rule in their hearts. may your spirit dwell in them richly, imparting heaven's wisdom. give them steadfast hearts, which no unworthy thoughts can drag downward. and lord, bless america. make her a channel of justice, peace, and goodness to our world. we pray in your strong name. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. the president pro tempore: 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: the senate will come to order. the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington, d.c., may 8, 2018. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i he

the senator from utah. mr. lee: reserving the right to object, this is an issue on which congress needs to act. congress does in fact have authority to pass laws governing immigration and naturalization within our system. this particular unanimous consent request represents an attempt to pass a major piece of legislation without any opportunity for debate, any opportunity for input from the american people, any opportunity for amendments by individual members. if we pass it this way, we'll be cutting the american people out of the debate. we do need also to address the draws for illegal immigration. if we're going to address the needs for those who have been brought here unlawfully by no fault of their own while they were infants or minors, we need to make sure we're not going to continue to draw people in unlawfully, we're not going to continue to have people in various parts of the world sending their children here unlawfully, unaccompanied on many occasions, and being subjected to sexual assault and other abu

quorum call: the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: i ask that the calling of the quorum be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. tbras grass -- mr. grassley: the senate will recognize this month of may as national foster care month. for over 20 years national foster care month has been recognized as a time to raise awareness about the challenge of young people in foster care experience, and also to celebrate their resilience in the face of these obstacles. there are over 438,000 children in foster care nationwide. in iowa alone over 4,000 kids entered foster care in 2016 due to the opioid crisis there are more children entering foster care than many child welfare agencies are equipped to handle. in 2016 over 92,000 kids entered foster care due to parental drug abuse. i salute all those who dedicate their time and their resources to helping these young people. this induces social workers, advocates and alumni of the foster care system who inform lawmakers and the public and fight to secure better outcomes nor these

covers the house and the senate. but the three of us are more focused on the senate side of things, and it's part of the fact that we are survivors, part of the fact we are talking about crime and international affairs. because the senate had a dominant influence over both of those subjects. >> sure. because of confirmations, because of treaties, because of the way the senate was set up. >> i just want the record to show. -- the record will so note. >> our first picture is in the cabinet room. sir, if i could ask you to move over two seats so i could see -- thank you, so i could see the pictures. this is in the cabinet room, and this is what we believe to be the first partisan leadership meeting. the president had the gop event. he would have bipartisan leadership meetings, then he would have the republican leadership up. they were his party. this is a head-on shot from the cabinet room. because we studied the picture, we know there's one staff person on the far end on the right, ken ballou. but this was really an ini

the senator from indiana. madam president, as we observe national police week, i rise to honor our fallen law enforcement officers and to discuss some of the ways we're working to make it safer for officers to do their jobs and protect our communities. mr. donnelly: together we honor and remember the lives of the law enforcement officers we lost in the line of duty. these men and women put their lives on the line to protect our neighborhoods so that a hoosier senior can safely sit on his porch and watch his grandkids play on the front yard, or to ensure that working families can go to and from their jobs in peace. they are on the front lines battling the devastating opioid epidemic that has plagued our state. our police are the ones who work with our communities and local leaders to help stem violence and to help fight crime in our neighborhoods. they are the ones putting themselves in harm's way every single day. these officers are heroes to their families they're even more. they're moms and dads, sisters and

poersch , the president of the senate majority pac. anding us is david welgel, alexi mccammond, political reporter for axios.com. let me begin with the state you must win, florida. it will reportedly be not if the most expensive of the most , expensive senate races ever. are you prepared to put up the money necessary to keep bill nelson and the senate and how , much money are we talking about? mr. poersch: if it is the most expensive, it is because governor scott is going to be writing a lot of checks. they expect the race to be competitive. i expect we will win there. i think frankly senator nelson's long-time service in the senate for florida makes him the favorite to start this race and that is where we are. it will probably take money to topple him in this environment but we have a better candidate. steve: he has considerably outspent even the past couple of months. mr. poersch: early on, governor scott spent $5.5 million in the past couple of weeks. he is notorious of spending $14 million in the last week last time he ran. we will

it seems to be a better relationship between the senate and the house. between senate democrats and the republicans. with the regard to rescissions package we are willing to look at it. the first job is for the house to pass it. >> dana: pass it. well, i hope you have a good trip back to the commonwealth of kentucky. do you know that horse, justify? >> heck of a horse, wasn't it? >> dana: beautiful. >> a wet day but fortunately my wife were not in the infield. >> dana: all right. senator mitch mcconnell, thank you. >> thank you.

i urge my colleagues in the senate to join me in supporting the v.a. mission act. i yield back my time. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from washington. mrs. murray: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i come to the floor today to bring attention to a particular provision of the bill now before the senate, a provision that would do so much to help our country fulfill its promise to our veterans, and that is to expand and strengthen the v.a.'s caregiver program. this program may not be well known outside of military family circles, but make no mistake, the caregiver program could be a game changer for the estimated 5.5 million people across this country who have put their lives on hold to care for a loved one who returned from service with illness or injury. i met one of those caregivers not too long ago in my home state of washington. tiffany smiley wears many hats. she is a mother, a wife, a nurse, and a veteran caregiver. she and her husband scotty first met back in junior high, and years later, they were married. he signed up to

the same should prove true for senator balanced win. she should get the same respect from senator mcconnell and chairman grassley that senator johnson got for the same seat from then leader reid and senator leahy, then chairman of judiciary. but, no, our republican colleagues keep changing the rules. senator johnson's right to refuse a judge from his home state, as i said, was respected by then chairma chairman lahey. was -- leahy. was defended public by guess who? mr. brennan himself. he wrote an op-ed. he was not a nominee for judge then saying johnson's right to hold the seat open should be respected. now he's here on the floor with the blue slip being ignored for the first time since i've been here. that's since 1998. how is senator baldwin's right to consult on judges for her state any less important than senator johnson's? it's mind-bending hypocrisy. it's an appalling double standard. and it's another erosion of minority rights and the tradition of comity that i know so many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle wish played

, the grand tradition of the senate, for the rights afforded to every senator to consult on judges from their states, minority or majority, and for most of all, the traditions that have held this body together for more than two centuries and separated it from the more partisan chamber on the other end of the capitol. now, on another matter, north korea. early this morning, the three american hostages who were being held in north korea were returned home. it was great to see them come home, be back in america, back with their families. it's a wonderful thing. but the e exultation of the president and others of the greatness of north korea doing this evades me. we can't be fooled into giving the north korean regime credit for turning americans that never should have been detained in the first place. american citizens are not diplomatic bargaining chips. so while we celebrate the return of the three americans for the sake of their freedom and their families, we should not feel like we need to give kim jong-un anything in return. it is so troubling to hear president trump say that kim jong-

if not the most expensive, one of the most expensive senate races ever. are you prepared to put up the money necessary to keep bill nelson in the senate, and how much money are we talking about? mr. poersch: if it is the most expensive, it is because governor scott is going to be writing a lot of checks. they expect the race to be competitive, i expect we will win there. senator nelson's long-time service in the senate for florida makes him the favorite to start this race and that is where we are. it will probably take money to topple him in this environment and we have the better candidate. >> he has considerably outspent you in the past couple of months. mr. poersch: early on, governor scott spent $5.5 million in the past couple of weeks. he's notorious for having spent $14 million in the last several days the last time he ran. i know what we're up against financially, but for the voters in this environment, it is about more than money. we are going to have the resources we need to be able to communicate and get the senator's message across. >> with 26 d

and has been a guiding light to the united states senate. our national security policy and i just mentioned something i don't think anybody new! which is, writing the rules of the road for the internet. so it is my hope that john mccains powerful and unimpeachable views on the issue of torture and this nominees will continue to be heard today and well into the future. there is no greater voice on this subject. then john mccain and i just want him to know how grateful i am for his leadership on this and how i look forward in the days ahead to hopefully, being able to tell my grandchildren what a man of stature and public service really brought to the senate. and i hope the senators will reflect on that before they vote. throughout this nomination process, there weren't a whole lot of topics that couldn't be declassified. and i'm just going to close with the story about ms. haspel and the destruction of the videotapes. there is important information in the reports by us attorney john durham the most united states senators were not allowed to se

. >> well, the u.s. senate is about to gavel in on this wednesday morning, we expect lawmakers to react to president trump's announcement to pull the u.s. out of the iran nuclear agreement. also, today senators will wrap up debate on a u.s. appeals court judge for the 5th circuit which covers louisiana, mississippi and texas, a vote is planned at noon eastern today for that. senators voting on moving forward with another appeals court nomination for the 7th court. the senate has confirmed 15 of president trump's circuit court nominees during this congress. and now to live coverage of the u.s. senate here on c-span2. the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. eternal spirit, our strength in times of weakness, give us the power of purpose to do justly and to love mercy. save our lawmakers from self-interest and pride, making them servants of your will in give them delight in your guidance, enabling them to rec

the senate is certainly more prestigious. the house a little more rowdy. however, as we have seen in recent years, that house has seeped into the senate. guest: we can is our federa fave metaphor, the cup and the saucer. the house was the cup, the people's passion, passing legislation quickly, because they are elected every two years in much smaller districts. they represent the people's will with a much faster legislative process. the senate is the saucer, back in the day, you would pour the coffee into the saucer to cool it down. filibuster inhe the legislative process to slow the process down. it is a much more deliberative body that is supposed to look out. the cup and the saucer. host: ready for a question, livy? what is true of all revenue bills in congress. passed without the consent of the president, must be introduced by the majority party, must be introduced in the house, must originate in the senate finance committee, or must be introduced in the president's budget? caller: ok, this is a hard one, but i think i will go with c. host: you got it.

res. 52 be returned to the calendar and the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of senate bill 2853. i further ask that it be in order for ten amendments equally divided between the managers or their deg detainees and relative to the bill be -- designees and relative to the bill, and upon the use or yielding back of that time the senate vote on any pending amendments. finally, upon disposition of the amendments the bill as amended, if amended, be considered read a third time and the senate vote on passage of the bill. the presiding officer: is there objection? the senator from massachusetts. mr. markey: reserving the right to object. mr. president, senator thune's bill is problematic, both substantively and procedurally. there have been no committee hearings on his proposal and it is not ripe yet for consideration here on the senate floor, and as a result, mr. president, i object. the presiding officer: objection is heard. mr. thune: mr. president, what you just sherd an objection to -- heard is an objection to having a reasonable debate. the point that the senator from massach

jim: talk about the most interesting senate races, in my opinion, the one that will be the premiere senate race will be the man who sat in this chair a few minutes ago, senator flake of arizona. i think what you're going to see at the end, assumes she wins a primary, congresswoman martha mcsally and congresswoman sinema running for that seat. mike: a democratic house member and republican, both women running against each other. jim: both very capable. both excellent fundraisers. both excellent politicians and very capable legislators. martha mcsally is the first woman to ever fly a combat mission for the united states air force. and she's the first woman ever to command a squadron. combat squadron for the air force. so that's a pretty good profile for arizona. arizona isn't what it was for republicans several years ago but it's still arizona. republicans are still going to have a slight edge there. i think that profile for her fits the state beautifully. kirsten sinema has actually when she was in the state legislature her coming to washington was a wild eyed liberal with her image. she's

the roll. quorum call: a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cruz: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. cruz: madam president, i have five requests for committees to meet today during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and the minority leaders. the presiding officer: duly noted. mr. cruz: madam president, i rise today to give thanks and celebration for the united states' embassy established in the city of jerusalem and for the continued safety and security of the jewish people in israel and across the world. almost exactly 70 years ago, israel's founding father, david bengerrian, brought together people in the jewish people's council at a tel aviv museum to declare the founding of the state of israel. 11 minutes later, president harry s. truman courageously recognized the state of israel, over the objection of many of his advisors and the state department. and the fates of our two countries have been intertwined ever since. until this week when

option and changed the senate forever, changing the rules of the senate as it relates to nominations with a near majority. that, in effect, eviscerated the blue slip's possibility being used as a veto because now there was no way that a minority could block and support and confirm that blue slip. again, harry reid's precedent changing the rules of the senate, which is 51 votes, changing it so only a majority vote would confirm a judge has pretty well rendered the blue slip moot from being able to block a judge. so the blue slip, from my standpoint, should be used just as the advice and consent of one senator expressing opinion on a judge of their state. that is a general history of the blue slip. i'd like to address specifically the comments made around this particular circuit court vacancy and my role in it. because i think there's been a -- been an awful lot of distortions. let me correct the record. this vacancy of the circuit is the longest in history. it has dragged on for a variety of reasons, but let me give you the history. in january 17, 2010, judge evans retired from the sev

what are the most interesting senate races that you're looking at in the country right now? pick one or two. and are there any sleeper senate races that are out there that maybe aren't on people's radar screens right now? my homestate of new jersey, some folks are saying that the republican bob hugan may have a chance against bob menendez. other folks in texas are saying congressman o'rourke may have a shot at beating ted cruz. that would really upend the conventional wisdom in both cases. are there any other sleepers like that you're looking at? mr. ellis: actually, to talk about the most interesting senate race in my opinion i , think the one that will be the premier senate race is the replacement for the man who was in this chair just a few minutes ago senator flake in arizona, , because i think what you are going to see at the win, assuming she wins the republican primary, is congresswoman martha mcsally and congresswoman kyrsten sinema running for that seat. and martha mcfaul he is -- mr. ferguson: so a democratic and republican house member, both women, running against

. >> president of the senate majority pack. we have national political reporter for the washington post forpolitical reporter axis.com. are you prepared to put up the money necessary to keep the bill nelson in the senate? how much money are we talking about? >> it is the most expensive. governor scott will be writing a lot of checks. i expect we will win. longon'ssenator service for florida makes him the favorite in this race. it will take money to topple him in this environment. but we've got the better candidate. >> he has considerably outspent you. spent $5.5 million in a week. spentnotorious for having $14 million in the last seven days the last time he ran. but it's about more than money. >> are you worried their resources are taken away from other states to win for the democrats? having raised more money then senate republican challengers, morearty committees has money. re-think we will have the resources necessary. it is a big map. you have to make decisions on this map. but collectively, i think we will have the resource

the senator from kentucky. mr. paul: this year there will be no budget presented by the republicans or the democrats. i think that's a bad idea. i think the government should have a budget, should have a document that says how we're going to to spend our money. i think it is particularly important because we're incurring so much d you may remember that republicans campaigned against enormous spend by president obama and trillion-dollar annual deficits. now we're faced with enormous spending and trillion-dollar annual deficits from republicans. i think it is important that we have a discussion over this. do we have too much debt? now, some will say, well, i have debt for my house, and that's not bad. the country that is a lot of debt that they borrow against capital expenditures, things that don't expire. i think there's some truth to that. so you can have a manageable amount of debt, particularly it's against something that you're borrowing that doesn't go away. but if you're borrowing money for the grocery store or

i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from nevada. ms. kor cortez -- ms. cortez-masto: net neutrality has leveled the playing field for every american consumer, allowing everyone to access and enjoy an open internet. thanks to the internet provided by schools and public libraries, students have been able to utilize information available online to enhance their education or help them do their homework. i have heard from librarians and library administrators from all across nevada expressing their concerns about the direct negative impact net neutrality's repeal would have on nevadans. they told me repealing net neutrality would hurt essential services. according to pugh resource centers, say that libraries are more likely to be young, black, female, and lower income. now, in nevada i know that students who don't have access to internet at home now go to the library to do their homework. nevadans applying for jobs currently use the internet in public libraries to connect with employers to send resumes and job applications. many nevadans use

. >> we leave this now as the u.s. senate is about to gavel back into session after their weekly party lunches. ow be ten hours oe equally divided in the usual form. the senator from washington. mrs. murray: thank you, mr. president. i have come to the floor to oppose the nomination of general mitchell zais. i'm opposing this nomination because those who work at the top of the accident of education -- the department of education should be committed to its top priority, which is helping educate our next generation of students. they should not be focused on demonizing teachers or public schools in the federal government's role in public education, and they should not be promoting their extreme ideological agendas at the expense of our students. we do need a department of education with a positive vision for our neighborhood public schools that believes that everyone has the right to a high quality public education no matter where they live or how they learn or how much money their parents make. that is what millions of parents

you're watching live coverage of the senate here on c-span2. the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. almighty god, our faithful father and friend, take and use our lawmakers for your glory. fill them with your wisdom, enabling them to make tough decisions with complete confidence in your guidance. keep their lives unstained by any word or action that is urge worthy of their best. lord, give them clarity and understanding so that their labors will be acceptable to you. may they maintain the fidelity of those to whom much has been given and from whom much will be required. we pray in your sacred 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. mr. mcconnell: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leade

to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable dean heller, a senator from the state of nevada, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: orrin g. hatch, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. morning business is closed. under the previous order, the senate will proceed to executive session to consider the following nominations. the clerk will report. the clerk: nominations, federal deposit insurance corporation, elaine -- jelena mcwilliams to be chairperson of the board of directors. jelena mcwilliams to be a member of the board of directors. mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: majority leader. mr. mcconnell: we're in the mid midst of quite a productive week. yesterday this body did its part in fulfilling an important promise to our nation's veterans. we passed the v.a. mission act by a wide bipartisan margin. having already passed the house, this truly landmark bill will now head to the white house where the president will

the presiding officer: the senator from arkansas. mr. cotton: the director of the central intelligence agency is not as old an office as others in the cabinet. the director's job is to provide the critical information on which the president's national security decisns

president, i would yield the floor to the senator from the state of missouri. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from missouri. mr. blunt: mr. president, i want to join my colleagues from georgia and also join senator hoeven in mentioning the incredible leadership that senator isakson has placed on veterans and their -- the way we deal with veterans' concerns and we honor their service. the senator from north dakota just mentioned that monday, of course, memorial day. on memorial day in 1983, president reagan said, quote, i don't have to tell you how fragile this precious gift of freedom is. every time we hear, watch, or read the news, we are reminded that liberty is a rare commodity in this world. president reagan's words from 35 years ago are every bit as significant today as they were then. the willingness to pay the price for freedom by every soldier, sailor, airman, marine, person in the coast guard, the national guard, the reserves, we honor their willingness to do that on memorial day. this is a good time also for us to discuss the things that

haspel corrected one of the senior senators on the panel today, senator dianne feinstein, by confirming that there were 92 videotapes of the interrogation of one detainee. this detainee is the mastermind behind the uss cole attack in the gulf of aiden that is considered the seminole attack before 9/11. but on this issue of the destruction of the videotapes, what amounts to destroying evidence was not enough for a lot of the democrats. here is senator martin heinrich. >> why couldn't the agency simply digitized that video and then blacked out the faces of any agents in those videos? why actually destroy the videotapes? doesn't that feel like a coverup? >> i'm just not a technical person. >> it's not that complicated. >> well, i don't -- senator, i don't know if that was considered or not. >> one of the main complaints from democrats about the haspel nomination is that there are a lot of records that remain classified. and they can only see them. they want them declassified so the public can make an independent assessment. what we heard in one exchange from senator king he thinks haspel o

whoever is the next senator in the state of arizona? what advice would you have for that person in working with the senate and working with president trump? >> don't ask me for advice. i couldn't navigate it myself. >> you have had a combative relationship with the president but maybe that gives you insight. >> it is a minefield out there for any candidate who seeks some kind of independence. and who seeks to be elected or reelected. and in the case of arizona, it is clear. this is the president's party. the republican party is the president's party. and despite approval ratings in the 30s and 40s -- if you uphold republican primary voters, he is out there, big time. and what has changed as well -- if you used a poll -- and most times, the most important issue if you ask voters to look in primary voters, the most important thing, they would say the economy, or jobs -- and those like immigration or maybe a social issue. now, the number one response is -- the most important issue is, are you with the president? among republican primary vo

>> the senator of massachusetts. >> reserving the right to object. senator things bill is problematic both substantively and procedurally. there have been no committee hearings on his proposal. it is not right yet for consideration here on the senate floor. as a result, i am checked. >> objection is heard. >> mr. president, what you heard is an objection to having a reasonable debate and to the point the senator from massachusetts may, clearly the unanimous consent request asked for, call for an opportunity to have amendments considered by both sides of this discussion. what that tells me is this is not about serious legislating comments about the political theater associated with a congressional resolution of disapproval, which has no future, is going nowhere does nothing to address the underlying problem that needs to be addressed. for the record, i will point out that we did attempt to bring up a serious piece of legislation. one that provides consumer protection that banned blocking lawful content, that bans throttling of lawful content, the very

at the end of the day, the house and senate farm bill does need to go to conference. it will be interesting to see whether that version can get back to the house because you know, the senate has, the chairman has said he is not interested in doing a large overhaul of snap because it would be extremely challenging to get 60 votes for something. that he's not interested in doing a large overhaul. be challenging to get 60 votes for something like that. o that begs the question, if conway is having support getting trouble for this version which is the most conservative it will be can he get a more moderate ersion through the house once it's conferenced. of course, democrats will probably have to come on-board and his oint relationship on the committee has been sour throughout the process. a lot of questions about how before, and also, what of the white house is. trump to as asked tweet the bill. catherine, we'll keep following you on twitter and website, thanks so much. thanks, stephani. copyright national cable satellite corp 2018] [captioning performed by the national ca

the american people have spoken, the senate has spoken. speaker ryan should listen and bring the net neutrality c.r.a. to the floor of the house. now, on another subject, the one-year anniversary of robert mueller. one year ago, former f.b.i. director robert mueller was appointed to lead the f.b.i.'s investigation into russian interference in the 2016 election. of course the investigation began long before that. according to the "new york times," it began in the middle of 2016 as a result of information we received from the australian ambassador who told the f.b.i. that russian intelligence was working to share information with the trump campaign. at that time, we heard a lot about the f.b.i.'s investigation of hillary clinton's e-mails, but remarkably we heard nothing about this other investigation. now we know that one of those two investigations is much more serious than the other one. we also know that if it was a witch-hunt, as the president seems to think it was, if they were out to get them, they certainly would have leaked informati

and what i've seen during my time here is that at its best the senate can be and actually should be the conscience of the nation. so as we move to vote on the nomination of gina haspel, with very little debate and gaping holes in her record, i fear the senate's failing to fulfill its basic duty to provide advice and informed consent to her nomination. remember, we're supposed to advise and consent. and worst yet, we're failing in our duty to serve as the nation's conscience. now much of what is publicly known about ms. haspel's role in the c.i.a. is disturbing. to begin with -- and i've listened to senators on both sides -- i don't question ms. haspel's commitment to our country or to our national security. that, i think she's established. but what i question is her judgment and her fidelity to the core value of our nation. all -- that all people have is certain inalienable rights. and underlying these inalienable rights is our belief in the dignity of human beings, a dignity that's incompatible with the inhumane practices like torture. torture should never be part of the america -- of

resolution before the senate. mr. president, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. merkley: i ask unanimous consent that my intern be allowed to have privileges of the floor for the balance of the day? the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. merkley: we have watched in 2017, last year, a series of battles related to the very fundamental vision of our constitution, whether we're going to do the people's work or going to be a senate run by the most powerful and privileged in america? there's no question how that came out. it was the powerful and the privileged. three major things happened in 2017. the first was a health bill designed to destroy health care for some 30 million americans thereby also affecting everybody else by rising the cost of health care and putting our rural health care clinics and our rural hospitals out of business. that was a bill for the powerful and the privileged and against the people. then we had the tax bill, a bill that borrows a trillion and a half dollars from

the filibuster is a senate rule, and those rules can be changed by the majority party. this is what i would look for on multiple or even a choice question -- be careful when i say "according to the constitution" vs. "according to politics." know what is in the u.s. constitution and what is not. know the difference between formal and informal powers. the filibuster is truly a game changer in the united states senate, and it by cloture, and virtually every bill must receive a cloture for it to move forward. guest: do not to that, mr. is right, you should probably know about the tells of the legislative process because the senate still uses the filibuster, and the senate process is slower, whereas the house process is imperatively much quicker, and it is designed that way. you have closed world of a thin rulese -- you have closed debate in the house. but on the appointment process, the senate has power of confirming presidential appointments, we know the filibuster has greatly been diminished in using to slow down both appointment of the federal department, the cabinet, an

the house passes and appropriations bill in the senate can bring the bill up for a 51 vote in the senatechanism to actually pass appropriations in the fiscal year. neil: don't hold your breath. it would be nice, but don't hold your breath. an incredible blog jam. congressman, good seeing you again. we are down about 240 points right now. nothing to do is that the congressman is saying. still waiting to find out what's happening in meeting with senators did is making a bid to change roles and indications are they're probably not inclined to do so. what that means for the republican agenda for the remaining of the year. two words, not much. more after this. like medication and medical conditions. biotène provides immediate, long lasting relief from dry mouth symptoms. it is clinically proven to soothe and moisturize a dry mouth. plus, it freshens breath. biotène. immediate and long lasting dry mouth symptom relief. . . . [fbi agent] you're a brave man, mr. stevens. your testimony will save lives. mr. stevens? this is your new name. this is your new house. and a perfectly inconspicuous suv.

as the first female u.s. senatorssachusetts. >> you took on the powerful wall street banks and special interests and you let them know you want a senator who will be out there fighting for the middle class all of the time. >> she came to washington with a lot of expectation. she was the only democrat to defeat an incumbent in that year's election. >> you will well and faithfully discharge the duties -- >> she dives into the debates on student loan debt and social security and wall street reform, from her perch on the senate banking committee. >> tell me the last few types times you have taken the biggest financial institutions on wall street to a trial. anybody? >> i would like to offer -- >> i can 100% draw a line between the person that was pushing me on that first day in the first class of law school and the person that i see today pushing witnesses. >> i want to ask a question. >> she scares the hell out of wall street. let me tell you why. she's smarter than any wall street banker and she's tougher than any nfl

you can watch the house live on c-span and the senate on c-span two. for more information on the week ahead, we spoke with a capitol hill reporter. >> we are joined by jeremy dillon, who is energy and environmental reporter with cq roll call. the house set to take up legislation on the yucca mountain nuclear waste storage site in the coming week. give us a short and condensed version of this issue that goes back many, many years, if not decades. what is the situation in the yucca mountains? jeremy: this is a big bill's tackling nuclear waste. in the 1980's, it was established that yucca mountain would be the place with the nation's commercial nuclear waste would be. that was going along behind schedule for the next couple of years. when the obama administration came into power, they decided to cancel the project because of harsh, local opposition to it. that has kind of stalled it since about 2010. with the new trump administration and the republicans in power in the house and senate, people are seeing this as the renaissance for yucca mountain. it is f