that the senate passed senate 215, that the senate passed 490, that the senate passed senate 724, that the senate passed 72245, that the senate passed senate 2249, that the senate passed 2559, that the senate passed 2692, that the senate passed without an ealt, h.r. 219. that the senate passed without an amendment h.r. 220, that the senate passed without an amendment h.r. 446, that the senate passed without an amendment h.r. 447, that the senate passed without an amendment, h.r. 951, that the senate passed without an amendment h.r. 1496, that the senate passed without an amendment h.r. 2122, that the senate passed h.r. without an amendment 2222. and that the senate passed without an amendment h.r. 3183, that the senate passed without an amendment h.r. 4301, that the senate passed without an amendment h.r. 4406, that the senate passed without an amendment h.r. 4463, that the senate passed without an amendment h.r. 4574, that the senate passed without an amendment h.r. 4646, that the senate passed without an amendment h.r. 4685, that the senate passed without an amendment, h.r. 4722, tha

or the home state senators can withhold the blue slip. senator merkley and i withheld our blue slips. we have not consented to a hearing, a markup or a debate on the floor. and the reason we have done that is because mr. bounds purposely misled the independent oregon committee that reviewed his candidacy by concealing the disturbing writings from his young adulthood. in my view, that's exactly the way the blue-slip process is supposed to work. history shows that this tradition has benefited both sides with a check on the power of the president and a moderating democratic force on the judiciary. it helps to ensure that administrations are not seating flawed nominees or extremist judges whose views are simply far from the mainstream of the lives that they have considerable power to change if confirmed. in fact, let me quote a letter from the entire senate republican conference sent to the last president at the very beginning of his term in 2009. what that means is that whole side of the chamber in 2009, every member of the senate republican

in the senate, for votes on the senate floor, like what we're talking about here, you can vote by proxy. you have to be in attendance. if senator mccain, in fact, is not able to vote, then, yes, the republicans are down a number, but remember, you know, mike pence, as the vice president, gets to break a tie and i think under the scenario you were talking about, where more than one senator on the majority side, in this case the republicans, is missing, my guess is that senator mcconnell would postpone the vote until that senator was replaced either in a special election or appointed by their state governor, and he would wait for the republicans to have a majority again. >> jim, do you recall the other question? >> well, actually, that's what it was. and i know the vice president gets to cast the vote on the legislative issue. i wasn't sure if he gets to cast the vote on a confirmation like that, but you answered that question. that's good. >> thank you, jim. let's hear from george now in washingtonville, new york. george is a republican. good morning. >> hi. you know, i really disagree,

the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate the previous order, the senate the bill includes funding for assorted independent agencies, senators are working to get agreement on a number of amendments. managers say

to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i here by appoint the honorable cindy hyde-smith, a senator from the state of mississippi, who will 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. mr. mcconnell: madam president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. mcconnell: the senate's continuing our productive summer. this week we've been focused on confirming more of the president's qualified nominees after his confirmation yesterday andrew oldham of texas will now bring his impressive credentials and years of distinguished public serves to -- service to his new role. today we are considering ryan wesley bounds to serve on the ninth circuit. each has been selected by the president and his team for their credentials and commitment to the rule of law. each has been thoroughly examined by our colleagues on the judiciary committee. ryan bounds is no exception. he's earned degrees from stanford and yale. he clerked f

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from alabama. mr. shelby: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i rise here this afternoon to urge my colleagues to invoke cloture on the substitute amendment before us. in debating this measure over the past week, we voted on several amendments. we hoped to include dozens more in the managers' package that we're working with the democrats on that continues to evolve. mr. president, we sought to achieve a fair process on this package. the bill managers have gone to great lengths to accommodate members' interests within a framework that has allowed us to make so much progress thus far in the appropriation process. i want to thank my colleagues and i want to especially thank senator leahy for working together with us in a bipartisan way. and we hope that this will be, continue to be a constructive process because it is to all of our benefit. in this light i urge my colleagues to vote yes so that we can continue to move forward on this package and build upon the momentum that we've generated thus far. m

here in the senate. the package before the senate today contains the fiscal year 2019 appropriations bills for the subcommittees on interior, financial services, agriculture, and transportation, housing and urban development. madam president, we have not debated an interior appropriations bill on the floor of the united states senate in nearly ten years. the financial services appropriations bill has not seen floor action in several years either. why, madam president? because year after year party-line votes in committees represented the end of the line in the legislative process. yet here we are today debating both of these appropriations bills and more on the senate floor. so what changed, madam president? what changed was the mind-set of appropriators on both sides of the aisle who embraced a willingness to sacrifice partisan riders and priorities outside the committee's jurisdiction for the good of the process. together, madam president, we've committed to do what's good for the process because we wan

i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from south carolina. mr. graham: i ask unanimous consent that the senate resume legislative session and be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. graham: i ask unanimous consent that the committee on finance be discharged from further consideration of h.r. 6042 and the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 6042, an act to amend title 19 of the social security act to delay the reduction in federal medical assistance percentage for medicaid personal care services, and so forth and for other purposes. the presiding officer: without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed to consideration of the measure. mr. graham: i ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the pre

to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable thom tillis, a senator from the state of north carolina, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: orrin g. hatch, president pro tempore. mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i'd like to talk this morning about the president's well qualified nominee for the supreme court. a number of us have already met with judge kavanaugh. more senators from both sides of the aisle have meetings scheduled. by all accounts, including my own, he's a fair and thoughtful jurist with a brilliant legal mind. but some senators have a different view than their colleagues, different from the experts. here's how the junior senator from new jersey characterized this nomination with the senior senator from massachusetts right beside him and here's what he said, mr. president. we're walking through the valley of the shadow of death. you're either complicit in the evil, you're either contributing to the wrong, or you're fighting against it. t

senator schumer: ok. thank you. the empty boxes are here with you, looming large. >> brent cobb not continues to meet with senators on capitol hill -- rhett cavanagh continued to meet with senators on capitol hill. watch live on c-span. watch anytime on c-span.org or listen with the free c-span radio app. >> tonight on c-span, nasa administrator looks at the future of his agency. reviews theommittee zero tolerance policy that has separated migrant families at the u.s. mexico border. and talking about the recent documentary following immigrant children separated at the u.s. mexico border. this weekend comes the c-span cities tour takes you to mexico. we will explore the literary and along theuces banks of the rio grande saturday at noon eastern on book tv. of theng the impact manhattan project on new mexico. and the oppenheimer west. >> first to berkeley and then to caltech, then to new mexico. he changed, particularly new mexico. , hadstate that was poor very little infrastructure. put in the middle of

it seems to me the senators should have the same access the senators in this county had. >> next we have daniel goldberg and the alliance for justice. .> thank you senator schumer thank you senator feinstein and the entire democrats on the senate judiciary committee. a nationwide alliance representing 130 groups committed to justice and civil rights. j has fought a f for fair-minded judges and we thought for judges like robert bork and ryan bounce who would take this country backwards. a critical aspect of this mission is ensuring that the american people can fully willate whether a nominee uphold criminal rights and legal protections. today we are deeply concerned that the public is being prevented from seeing brett .avanaugh's entire record the senator made a unilateral decision not to request documents from kavanagh as a time as press secretary -- as secretary. but judge kavanagh himself said that role was critical. kavanagh tells us, a direct code, whether the subject was terrorism insurance, or medicare prescription drug coverage he spent a good deal of time on capitol hill, sometim

david: the senate gets the case. the house appoints its managers who serve as prosecutors on the house side - on the senate side, excuse me - in whatever proceeding they have. these days since the last 30 years or 40 years now, the senate does not convene judicial trials before the full senate but appoints a committee to hear the evidence. it's a procedure i found constitutionally infirm but failed in that argument. and then the senate does hear closing arguments and votes. brian: let's jump way ahead. andrew johnson in the house of representatives, what happened on the vote to impeach? david: it was a party line vote. the republicans voted to impeach, and the democrats did not. brian: i think i had it written down here something like 42 to 11. no, that's the senate. david: that's the senate. brian: it was 143 to 49, something very close to it. david: yes, party line vote. brian: and then what happened in the senate? david: in the senate, they had a long trial, four weeks. and he was ultimately acquitted - acquitted

i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from louisiana. mr. kennedy: mr. president, i'm almost embarrassed to talk about what i have to talk about today. we find ourselves in the united states congress once again only days away from causing a lapse in the national flood insurance program. now the majority of members of the united states senate and of the united states house of representatives understand the importance of extending this program, but sadly, some don't. you can lead some people to water but you can't make them think. without congressional action, ordinary americans -- the people who get up every day and go to work and obey the law and pay their taxes and try to do the right things by their kids -- are going to suffer. these kids work pretty hard to earn money it to cover their mortgages, to pay their insurance premiums, to put food on the table, and hopefully have a little extra when all is said and done. the united states government made a promise to these people, mr. president, these tax-paying americans, that if they pay their

i yield he the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from idaho. mr. crapo: thank you, mr. president. i rise to support the nomination of the honorable randal quarles to be a member of the board of governors of the federal reserve system. he was nominated with a bipartisan vote of 65-3 #. about you that term expired on february 1, 2018, and he has been serving as a member of the board in a hold-over capacity since. qimpleing mr. quarles to a new 14-year term will provide needed stability and allow for the prompt consideration of other board nominees. mr. quarles has a wealth of government and private sector experience dealing with domestic and international financial markets. in additions to his current service on the board, his government experience includes serving in multiple top posts in the treasury department. currently only three of the seven available board seats are filled and several other nominees to the board await confirmation. i have appreciated the important work caried out by mr. quarles at the board. including his role as regulatory and

just before their meeting, the senate majority leader talked about the president's nominee on the senate floor. sen. mcconnell: president trump has made a superb selection to serve as associate justice of the supreme court of the united states. judge brett kavanaugh of the d.c. circuit cou. judge kavanaugh possesses an impressive resume, outstanding legal mind, and exemplary judicial temperament. he served 12 years on the nations most consequential circuit court. he has proven to be one of the most thorough and thoughtful jurists in our country. ant record demonstrates understanding of a judge's proper role in our constitutional republic. judge kavanaugh understands that and united states of america super are not unelected legislators who we select for their personal views or policy preferences. a judge's duty is to interpret the plain meaning of our laws and our constitution according to how they are written. judges need to be unbiased. they need to treat all parties fairly. they need to approach every case with open ears and an open mind. judges decisions must turn on the facts of each

david: the senate gets the case.he house appointed managers who serve as prosecutors on the senate side in whatever proceeding they have. these days, since the last 30 or 40 years now, the senate does not convene judicial trials before the full senate, but appoints a committee to hear the evidence, a procedure i found, and then, both the senate does hear closing arguments and votes. >> let's jump way ahead. andrew johnson in the house of representatives. what happened on the vote to impeach? >> a partyline vote. republicans voted to impeach. the democrats did not. >> i had it written down something like 42-11. that is the senate. it was 143-49. >> partyline vote. >> what happened in the senate? >> in the senate, they had a long trial. four weeks. he was ultimately acquitted, acquitted is the right term, by a single vote. and they needed a two thirds majority to remove, convict him and remove him from office. or twothirds present, thirds of the total number of senators? >> two thirds present. >> and what date would th

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: i spoke yesterday about the bipartisan cooperation that's made it possible for us to return to regular appropriations process. collaboration got the four measures we're now considering through the subcommittee and full committee process thanks to the efforts of chairman shelby, senator leahy and subcommittee leaders senators murkowski, collins. bipartisan let us turn to the legislation by consent and kick off the amendment process with several votes yesterday. if we can keep it up, we'll soon take four more big steps toward our goal. funding the federal government the right way and avoiding another omnibus. yesterday i mentioned the legislation before us addresses two pressing national needs. rebuilding america's infrastructure and bolstering th

moved upate senator, the ladder and became a congressman and a senator. attention of public was at the beginning of the almost all of the congressman and senators left from the south. they all went back to their home states. tennessee did secede, although by a fairly close vote. they had a referendum and it was reasonably close. johnson refused to leave the senate. that did get attention. here was a southerner who was remaining loyal to the union. brian: what was his family like? david: as a boy? -- his father died when he was very young. he was only three or four. he didn't really grow up in the family much. he was apprenticed out at a very early age, nine or 10. he ran away from his master. he didn't like being an apprenticed. he ultimately had to come to terms with the master. he had a strong independent streak there. his own family that he made with his wife was a little bit sad. his wife in the white house never left her room. she came downstairs once for a grandchild earth day party, i think it was -- grandchild's birthday party, i think it was. he w

the senator from delaware. mr. coons: i just wanted to join my colleague from arizona in briefly remarking on my regret that our resolution was not adopted today. it does call for the full implementation of mandatory sanctions provided for in caatsa, as discussed at some helping, but it does not call for the reckless implementation of mandatory sanctions. there are a significant range of sanctions already provided toker in this law, adopted by 98-2 in this body that have not yet been adopted. i recognize that this resolution, standing strong behind the department of justice, the intelligence community, and its ongoing investigation is, as was researchersed, is sill beneficiary a -- as was referenced, is a symbolic act. but there are moments when that is important. and i look forward to continuing to work closely with my colleague and friend from arizona to ensure that this resolution adopted, that the american people and the men and women of our federal law enforcement agencies and our intelligence community underst

a live look at the senate floor. er, mitch mcconnell, the come forward in just a moment about speak about the confirmation process regarding a supreme court nominee. the president will make the announcement tonight on his pick. when mitch mcconnell comes up, we'll come live. first, bob bianchi is here. he's a former prosecutor and defense attorney. what will this change? we know the court will change. obviously the court is going to become a court that tilts heavily to the conservative side. what can we expect will change? >> i'm glad you asked that. nobody is asking on the ground as a person in the courtroom, defending people or bringing cases will be substantial. seismic changes will occurred here with regard to police cases, criminal justice reforms. incarcerations, miranda, excuses, death penalty cases of juveniles. that's on the criminal law piece. civil rights, abortion. they have a 5-4 conservatives with kennedy on a number of issues what we'll look at is restrictions on roe. >> shepard: because justice kennedy

quorum call: a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from missouri. mr. blunt: i move the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blunt: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of house resolution 772 which was received from the house. i ask unanimous consent that the blunt substitute amendment at the desk be agreed to and that the bills amended be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: is there objection? mrs. murray: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from washington. mrs. murray: mr. president, reserving the right to object to the senator's request, families should have access to simple, straightforward information so they can make the food choices that are right for them. so i was very glad to see that after seven years of delays and foot-dragging, seven years of objections from republicans who didn't want to allow this commonsense law to be fully implem

at the time, senator stevens served on the commerce committee can senator magson from the a democrat.hington, and senator stevens obviously republican. but the senator saw something this senator stevens and they decided to work together to try issues.lve the they had gone on the international stage to try and an international convention to deal with that, but that was taking quite a long time. so they developed an innovative theram which then became magnus and stevens fisheries an management act. have the penlly signing by president jerry ford, acknowledging the passage of the fishery conservation and management act. renamed the magnus and stevens act. what it did was extended u.s. to 200 miles off the coast of the united states. fisherieseated management councils which helped manage the population to make that our fisheries remained healthy for future generations of americans. was a lifelong advocate of healthy living. school, he in high was actually a lifeguard in manhattan beach. of physical activity translated later on in life. ensureator's desire to that everyone had access to the oppor

the senate judiciary committee will hold a hearing for the nominee in the coming weeks and exactly when, i don't know and i should not know at this point. i want to emphasize a few things. one, it is inappropriate for senators to ask the nominee how eager he or she would rule on certain cases sometime in the near future or ten years from now. ttwo, it's an appropriate testimony about his personal views on the merits of supreme court precedent. the bottom line is the senators should not try to extract assurances from nominees on how they will decide particular cases in exchange for confirmation vote because how do you know down the road, one year, two years or 15 years what the case might be at that particular time. justice ginsburg made a pretty simple for everybody. during her confirmation hearing in the early 19 '90s she set the standard promising in her words, no ants, no forecast, no preview. she said this in a further long quote -- it would be wrong for me to say or to preview to this legislative chamber how i would cast my votes on questions for supreme court to be called upon to

david: the senate gets the case. house appointed managers who serve as prosecutors on the senate side in whatever proceeding they have. these days, since the last 30 or 40 years now, the senate does not convene judicial trials before the full senate, but appoints a committee to hear the evidence, a procedure i found constitutionally infirm, but failed in that argument. the senate hears closing arguments and votes. brian: let's jump way ahead. andrew johnson in the house of representatives, what happened on the vote to impeach? david: it was a party line vote. the republicans voted to impeach him, the democrats did not. brian: something like 42 to 11? david: no, that was the senate. in the senate, they had a long trial. four weeks. he was ultimately acquitted, acquitted is the right term a -- by a single vote. to a two-thirds majority to convict him and remove them from office. brian: two thirds present or total number of senators? david: present. brian: what date was he finally acquitted? david: precise date is going

so governor sheffield, from the senate happy 90th birthday. thanks for your great service to our great state and all you've done and congratulations on being our alaskan of the week. i yield the floor. i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk shall call the roll. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from florida. mr. rubio: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent take the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. rubio: if you're like me, a member of the senate in the hallways this week, i think the two questions that have come up over and over again were about the nato meeting that just transpired over the last couple of days and the upcoming meeting on monday between vladimir putin and president trump. and i had intended to come to the floor and speak about policy towards china on trade. there's a lot to cover. there was an article this morning in the associated press about how the chinese government has turned the american business class into lobbyists, basically te

. >> the u.s. senate is about to gavel into session, working on the nomination for the head of the justice department's criminal justice division with a confirmation vote set for 2 p.m. eastern. before that at noon, senators will vote on going to conference with the house on several 2019 federal spending bills, including energy and water, veterans affairs and military construction and the legislative branch. we could also hear more reaction to the president's nomination of brett kavanaugh to the supreme court. and now to live coverage of the u.s. senate here on c-span2. . the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. o god, most holy, wise, and powerful, you are the governor of the universe. keep our lawmakers this day in health of body, soundness of mind, and purity of heart. infuse them with a spirit of courage that comes from believing that their times are in your hand. lord, strengthen them to labor for t

of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable cindy-hyde-smith, a senator from the state of mississippi, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: orrin g. hatch, presidet pro tempore. mr. mcconnell: madam president. the presiding officer: majority leader. mr. mcconnell: president trump has made a superb selection to serve as associate justice of the supreme court of the united states. judge brett kavanaugh of the d.c. circuit. judge kavanaugh poe owe sess an -- possesses an impressive resume, an outstanding legal mind, and an exemplary judicial temperament. he served 12 years on the nation's most consequential circuit court. during that tenure he's proven to be one of the most thoughtful jurists in our country. and importantly, that record demonstrates an understanding of a judge's proper role in our constitutional republic. judge kavanaugh understands that in the united states of america, judges are not -- not -- unelected super legislators whom we select for their personal views or policy preferences. a judge's duty is to interpret the plain meaning of our

the presiding officer: the senator from >> i am from louisiana. mr. president, hr 5895 is a simple six month extension of the national -- program currently set to expire july 31, 2018. in about two weeks. the same timeline this motion was passed by the senate a few weeks ago by unanimous during consideration of the bill. the national flood insurance program ensures properties -- insuring over 5 million homes and businesses and $1.2 trillion in assets. if it is not extended, people will not be able to renew or purchase new flood insurance policies and more people would be without flood insurance during peak hurricane season. given -- this is to the moment. given the theories of emergency supplemental's of -- appropriation bills the senate has passed, and exploration of -- puts the u.s. taxpayer in these very vulnerable positions of funding more uninsured -- and emergency supplemental appropriations legislation. >> i think senators -- and brown for their work -- a bipartisan long-term reauthorization which ideally includes commonsense reform providing fo

the presiding officer: the senator from washington. mrs. murray: madam president, i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. murray: thank you. madam president, i want to start today by sharing a story that is very personal to me and that has informed my work and my values ever since it happened. when i was in college, a friend of mine -- we were close and lived together in the dorms -- went out on a date. she was raped, she got pregnant. she didn't know where to get a safe abortion, and she wasn't wealthy, so she knew she couldn't afford it either. the botched procedure she ended up having left her at a very young age unable to bear children. i saw my friend hurt and frightened, alone and unable to get the care she needed because someone else's beliefs mattered more under our laws than her health and her future. that impacted me a lotters and it stayed with me until this day. let me tell you a few other stories. this is a story of a woman who i met just a few weeks allege -- weeks ago.

the senate has an equal role. you can't fulfill that role without getting a window into the nominee thinking. >> let's get the phone numbers on. we have separate lines for democrats. we are trying to get a feel for withrocess of confirmation hearings, preparation for this with our guest to work for a number of years on the senate judiciary. and worked directly in several of these cases. here is one of the photos. washington times. all smiles here. kavanaugh and the vice president. here is sound of brett kavanaugh visiting with chuck grassley. >> i had a pleasant conversation he and ie kavanaugh have not interacted a lot in our lifetime. getting acquainted with him again is important. jurist on theted court he said so on. outstanding opinions that i think are going to be torn through by every lawyer on our committee. going to have a thorough process. hopefully we get it done quickly. it is going to be thorough and done right. we have to do what we can to accommodate everybody's interests. , his record itself. this i

the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. rounds: i ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. rounds: i know of no further debate on the bill. the presiding officer: if there is no further debate, the question is on passage of the bill. all in favor say aye. all opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the bill is passed. mr. rounds: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the motion -- that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. rounds: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 416, s. 2850. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 416, s. 2850, a bill to amend the white mountain apache tribe water rights quantification act of 2010, and so forth. the presiding officer: without objection. the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. rounds: i ask unanimous consent th

the d.c. circuit court of appeals. senator cornyn himself said then of judge kavanaugh, and i quote, he is currently staff secretary to president bush, a job whose title belies the very serious and important responsibilities that that individual performs. senator hatch, also a colleague, and a very distinguished member of this judiciary k, said of judge kavanaugh, "his background as staff secretary may prove to be particularly good judicial training." but for me, the best indication of how important his role as staff secretary to president bush, not just as counsel, but as staff secretary was, comes rom judge kavanaugh himself. "when people ask me which of my prior experiences has been most useful to me as a judge, i tell them that all of them have been useful, and i certainly draw on all of them, but i also do not hesitate to say that my 5 1/2 years in the white house and my three years as staff secretary for president bush were the most interesting and, in many ways, the most instructive." i read that sentence again, but not

you were listening to the senator. ard from mcconnell and schumer coming out of the policy lunches. what do you think is happening on the hill, as this nomination gets under way? >> well, democrats are concerned about this, because you're looking at going from a 5-4 court to maybe 6-3 court. you look at some of the things that chuck schumer was referring to there, concerned about gay rights, concerned about healthcare issues, labor issues. that's a big worry for democrats. so far most republicans are onboard. listen to republican senator jeff flake. >> district court judge for 12 years, you have a long paper trail. it's taking a while to get the papers together. nothing stands out. as an obstacle. he's a solid pick. >> any comment on the democrat u.k. attack of him thus far? >> well, a lot of those were made before the selection was made there. >> that's the concern from many senators, especially on the democratic side of the aisle, they want to slow it up, they have a lot of paperwork to go through. i spoke evenings te

in the senate we saw a 51-48 vote. and votes to confirm assistant attorneys general are usually not that close. they are usually bipartisan because he is usually a recognized professional. this is the first time we saw the senate confirm someone to that job who has never been a federal prosecutor or a local prosecutor and, in fact, has never appeared as a lawyer in federal court, has never tried a case in federal court. that was a uniquely trumpian appointment, the likes of which we have not seen before. and the house of representatives of today, we saw something with elements of something we have seen before. former speaker of the house got in trouble late in his career because of his days as a high school wrestling coaches. he bought the silence of a man who said he was sexually abused by dennis in those days when he was a coach. today another wrestling coach is in trouble in the house of representatives. congress jim jordan is trying to convince the house of representatives and his constituents in ohio that the wrest

ever seen in the senate's modern history. that same divided senate voted 97-2 to in effect rebuke the president of the united states today. here is what provoked the senate to act today. >> they're going, will president trump be prepared, you know, president putin is kgb and this and that. you know what? putin's fine. he's fine. we're all fine. we're people. >> putin's fine. democratic senator jack reid of rhode island didn't like hearing that. >> and let's be clear. president putin is not, quote unquote, fine. as weechrecently reaffirmed by senate select committee on intelligence on which i sit president putin directed an attack on our 2016 elections with the intent of undermining public confidence in our democratic process. >> that is just some of what pr senator reid said when he rose on the senate floor today to introduce language to be attached to a defense authorization bill. senator reid is the senior democrat on the armed services committee. so that means he is the democrats' floor manager on this bill. and it was in t

in the senate, they have not been even fully implemented. we want to make sure that they are not weakened in any way at all as some on the house republican side may be attempting to do. second and probably most importantly, our republican colleagues need to immediately join us in demanding open and public testimony from the president's national security team that was in helsinki and any others who might be privy to what happened. we are worried about what the president said publicly. are more worried about what the president said in those two hours when the president was alone with mr. putin. does anyone believe he was tougher on putin in secret then he was publicly? why did he not want anyone else in the room if he was so confident to stand and live to public scrutiny? we need these people to come. tary pompeo.e there is talk that we may, but we need coats, ambassador huntsman, and many others. it's too important to get the full story out in front of the american senate and the american people. where are the notes from that meeting, the cont

the senate received the as a reminderthe senate received the, nomination from the president on february 13, 2013. approximately one month later, on march 12, 2013 the committee held a hearing to consider mr. cordray's nomination and voted the nominee out of committee one week later, on similarly, the march 19. senate received ms. kraninger's official nomination from the president on june 20, 2018. approximately one month later we are holding this hearing. she has provided all of the paperwork that the banking committee requires. the purpose of these hearings is to provide all senators of this committee the opportunity to ask of this nominee, who will be under oath. i intend to ask ms. kraninger, who will be under oath about her policy at omb. other senators will be given a similar opportunity and follow up with questions for the record as we traditionally do. , i take the senate's constitutional authority seriously and am confident that ms. kraninger will be as have our vetted , previous nominees for this committee to provide a recommendation to the full senate on this nomination. as a

the clerk: the senator from kansas, mr. moran, proposes amendment numbered 3433 to amendment numbered 3399. mr. moran: i ask consent the reading be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. moran: mr. president, before i make remarks on this amendment, i would like to express my gratitude to my colleagues from new mexico, and senator reed, the ranking member, and senator collins, the chair, the appropriate appropriations subcommittee for working so closely with me and my colleagues in regard to rail service, the southwest chief from chicago to los angeles that transports people through kansas and through colorado and new mexico. we have had a bipartisan effort from those three states, the senators from those three states in making certain that that service continues into the future, and i'm very grateful for the support, and i would ask my colleagues, as the other senators have, to support the amendment, the one i am now -- not the one i am about now to speak. i rise now to urge my colleagues to support my amendm

it's consistent with the standard here in the senate. some have said, well, we have a midterm election coming up, maybe we ought to defer filling the vacancy, but in 2010, i would note that just like this year, leading up to a midterm election, senate democrats confirmed president obama's nominee to the court, elena kagan. so there is plenty of precedent for moving expeditiously, thoroughly, not recklessly, but in a focused fashion to confirm this nomination once vetted and once voted on. it's no secret that judge kavanaugh will help decide cases that will be important in the life of our nation. that's the role of the supreme court. and it's already clear from his previous experience that he has plenty of preparation, both character democratically and work experience -- academically and work experience and life experience that have prepared him to do exactly that. he's demonstrated the intellectual capacity that we would expect of a supreme court justice and has demonstrated over the years a rigorous understanding of the law. he's demonst

why is the senate intelligence committee releasing this information now? >>> conspiracies and attacks. the president heads into the fourth of july holiday by launching new fireworks on twitter from harley davidson to iran, who he's targeting tonight. >>> and survival. the rescue of a dozen trapped boys could take months as crews scrambling to form an escape plan. will the boys be forced to make a dangerous dive to save their own lives? >>> we want to welcome our guests in the united states and around the world. wolf blitzer is off tonight. i'm jim acosta and you're in "the situation room." >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. >>> and we are following breaking news in the scandal-plagued epa chief, scott pruitt. how he brazenly angled for a promotion and potentially tried to insert himself in the russia investigation. cnn has learned that scott pruitt directly asked president trump to fire attorney general jeff sessions and temporarily name him as attorney general instead. this hour, i'll talk with congressman mike quigley, a member of the house intellig

i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: thank you, madam president. i want to visit with my colleagues for the same reason that senator durbin about 15 minutes ago spoke to my colleagues about the high price of pharmaceutical drugs and maybe at least one little thing we can do to help moderate that price, or at least inform the public accordingly in a better way than we have so far. every american within earshot of a television has heard ads for prescription drugs. almost every night as i watch television i see something along that line. these ads promise patient relief from nearly every medical problem. and informing the public is an important thing for us to do in many areas. the pharmaceutical companies want you to know that their drug is on the market to help you, and they want you to talk to your doctor about the newest drugs. as many of my colleagues know, i'm an outspoken supporter for transparency. i hope it's one of my tributes i bring to the united states senate. from the physician payment sunshine law to

, senator senator kyle. under theearlybird rule, we turn to senator durbin. senator durbin: jay bybee confirmed to the seat on the a year and a half later we learned he authored the infamous torture memo. in the memo, he claimed the president has the right to ignore the law that makes torture crime and narrowly defined torture as abuse later,e learned he had authored the infamous torture memo when he headed the office of justice of legal counsel. it may torture a legal crime and they really described it as pain that causes organ failure or death. the torture memo or similar memos at time of his nomination. kavanaugh: no, sir, i was not aware of it until 2004. sen. durbin: should it have nominee?ied him as a mr. kavanaugh: senator, i do not think i can talk about whether someone should have or should not have been nominated. urbin: we do not have trials that can be taken to a jury verdict because there are none to have to try to determine what your values are. senator schumer asked you a series of questions related to

the question is for the house and senate, working with the president, do anything about it? senator rubio and van hollen have chosen to try to do something about it. we're all eventually going to be in the history books. president trump said today that he believed our electoral infrastructure needs to be made more secure. not just electoral infrastructure, energy, our natural services were under threat and not just from russia. so, i want to look forward. i heard senator mcconnell today that he'd like to find some bipartisan legislation that could come forth sooner rather than later and try to harden infrastructure for the 2018 election. the bottom line here is that we all owe it to every voter in the country and all of those who are serving in the intelligence community and the military to secure our election the best we can. so i'm hoping that we'll become team america just for a few minutes. i'm not asking my democrat friends to give president trump a pass. i'm not asking my republican colleagues to stop fighting for our agenda. i'm asking both parties to calm down and foc

the good senator for connectic connecticut. >> thank you very much. i come to the floor today to talk for just a few quick moment about what the stakes are as we begin this debate over a new swing vote on the united states supreme court. they can take away our healthcare if you have a history of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, cerebral palsy, lupus, epilepsy, parkinson's, the list tes on and on. the reason for this is the new priority for those that oppose the affordable care act and the protections that are built in it for americans who are sick or been sick their new strategy is to use the court system and the means to try to invalidate. it's the way that republicans said they supported during the debate over the affordable care act. it's texas versus the united states and it is broad interest because of the exceptional. the trump administration decided to weigh in on behalf of the petitioners abandoning the traditional role of the executive to defend the statute traditionally an executive will defend the statute regardless of whether they support i

kavanaugh, and the first place. senator specter has already given us an overview that had quite an effect. we also heard testimony of two excellent court judges for home he clerked. judge kaczynski of the night circuit and judge stapleton of the third circuit kurt of appeals. these are people with impeccable reputations. not only did you distinguish yourself as a clerk onto appellate courts but you also served as a clerk on the supreme court in had an academic career that was pretty impressive as well. you have a series of impressive jobs in both the executive and private sector. you are a talented appellate advocate. let me just say my time is running out but in addition to your three judicial workshops, you worked in the solicitor general's office, the department of justice with ken starr, and of course with the office of course counsel and of nobody should judge you as an attorney for having worked at something as unpleasant as that. attorneys work on unpleasant manners in many way and you would be a pretty doggone poor

the presiding officer: the senator from utah. mr. hatch: madam president, i rise today to discuss the confirmation process for judge brett kavanaugh. by any honest measure, president trump's nominee judge kavanaugh is exceptionally well qualified to serve on the supreme court. when he was nominated to the d.c. circuit, he already had stellar credentials, keen intellect and impressive knowledge of the law. he was confirmed on the d.c. circuit court in 2006 following years of democratic obstruction. he has worked closely on that court for a decade. his record never ceases to impress. a nominee with -- should receive bipartisan support. over the years i have seen the deterioration of the judicial process. when justice kennedy announced his retirement, i knew democrats would again play politics with the supreme court. it's what they've done for more than three decades, and it's a matter of great concern to me. faced with an imminently qualified nominee, democrats are casting about looking for something, really anything to stop judge kavan

similarly, the senate received ms. kraninger's official nomination from the president on june 20, 2018. approximately one month later, we are holding this hearing. she has provided all of the paperwork that the banking committee requires. the purpose of these hearings is to provide all senators of this committee the opportunity to ask any questions of this nominee who will be under oath. i intend to ask ms. kraninger, who will be under oath, about her role in developing policy at the omb. other senators will be given the similar opportunity to question ms. kraninger and also follow up with questions for the record as we traditionally do. i take the senate's constitutional authority seriously and am confident that ms. kraninger will be sufficiently vetted as have our previous nominees. for this committee to provide a recommendation to the full senate on this nomination. as a separate matter, many of us have experienced frustration with the bureau in previous years. in april 2016, former bureau director testified before t