it is a responsibility that is visited on this chamber of the united states senate. how can we ignore gun violence in america wherever it occurs? in chicago, in washington, d.c., across this country. what are we doing as members of the united states senate? what efforts are we making to make america a safer place to live? we've run away from it, madam president. we ran away from our responsibility when it comes to an honest, conscientious discussion about gun control. some people are frightened of this issue. they think when you get near the second amendment, it's the third rail of politics and that there are gun lobby groups out there just waiting to pounce on any member who comes to the floor of this senate and talks about changing our gun laws. well, that's been the case for a long, long time. and yet, the american people, when you ask them the basics, get it. they understand that you can protect our second amendment rights to own and use firearms legally and responsibly and still put reasonable limits to keep guns out of the hands of people who will misuse them. i

the greatest honor of my life was to be united states senator and serve for all those years in the united states senate with some of the greatest, finest people i've ever known in my life. but, and i loved it. and there's always been very, very tough politics of in washington. i got there when there was still some of the old segregationist were still there, james eastland and a whole lot of other folks. but even in those days when i got there, and the politics was intense, ideological differences were real. but it never got to where it is today. it was never personal. it was never cast in the context of you are good or bad. there was a presumption that the other guy or woman you were dealing with was acting in good faith. and governor bryant, you know, both your mississippi centers -- senators act is supported when i tried to get a nomination early on, and we had come on civil rights we were a thousand miles apart. and most importantly you didn't question the other guys motive. you really went after the judgment, you know, it was like hammer and tong fighting over so many fundamental issu

durbin: the senator from alabama joins the senator from texas coming to the floor of the united states senate complaining about the state of immigration laws in america. they have in common the fact that they both voted against comprehensive immigration reform. when we had a chance in committee, which the senator from alabama and the senator from texas serve on, and on the floor to offer amendments and change the bill accordingly, both of them at the end of the day voted against comprehensive immigration reform. now, over a year later, they come and complain about the state of law when it comes to immigration in america. i can't have it both ways. he could have participated with us in changing the law in a positive fashion. they chose not to. they wanted to wait until a year later and complain about president obama not meeting his obligation. when it comes to comprehensive immigration reform, the senate met its obligation and those who voted for it did as well. it was the house of representatives that failed to call the bill. and now the senator from alabama says the reason the childre

welcome our honored guest, members of the united states house of representatives, members of the united states senate and the speaker of the united states house of representatives. ladies and gentlemen, the speaker of the united states house of representatives the honorable john boehner. >> good afternoon and welcome to the united states capitol. [ applause ] as you can see the dome is under construction. getting some repairs and there's a technical term for that canopy but the architect said we could refor it refer to it as the doughnut. on july 2nd, 1964 congress completed the most fundamental and consequential ladies and gentlemen -- legislation of our long history. the civil rights act recognizes every citizen has the right to pursue happiness without discrimination on grounds of race, color, or national origin. this was a long time coming because of dr. martin luther king, jr. and coretta scott king. we have with us many special guests. we're grateful for the presence of president johnson's daughter, linda johnson robb along with her husband former senator chuck robb. [ applause ] we're also ple

this is a debate between the republican candidates for united states senate. jack kingston, who has been the u.s. representative for george' congressional district since 1983, and david heard you -- david perdue. our panelists include bobbie of the nightly program "on the story." ben roberts is an anchor and executive producer for w alb news 10 in albany, georgia. theeric is a writer for atlanta journal-constitution. tonight's debate will consist of three rounds. if you would like more information on the rules of the debate, visit our website, atlantapressclub.org. each candidate will be asked one question by our panelists and they will have 60 seconds to answer. let's get started. the battista, you have the first question for jack kingston. >> congressman, good evening. president obama has asked for $4 billion to care for the influx of tens of thousands of children coming across the u.s. border. local nonprofits reports hundreds of those children are already here or are coming to georgia. support the president's for eight in principle? -- for aid in principle

senator since march, march 27. it's been 103 days and counting since the democrats have had an amendment that they -- one of them have proposed offered here in the united states senate for a vote. it's so interesting, mr. president, because i look at you and see of the democrats newly elected to the senate since -- in 2012, members of your class, that entire class, not one, not a single one has had a roll call vote on one of their own amendments on the floor of the united states senate ever. it's an astonishing display of what a majority leader has done to muzzle an entire legislative body, both parties. mr. president, i will tell you, i think it's an embarrassing record. it's an embarrassing record for the majority leader and i think it's an embarrassing record for the democrats who control the united states senate to tolerate it. mr. president, i think it's important for americans to pay close attention to what -- not just what senators say when they go home but actually what happens, what they do, what they stand for, what they vote on. so i would say the next time democrats go home and tell their constituents that there they are introducing legisla

senate. we don't expand our margins in the house. we don't have a new republican united states senator from iowa, and we don't have new republican members of the house of representatives in washington. because we came just a little bit short. think about how you'll feel that morning when you wake up. make the clock radio wakes you up and you hear the news being reported about the slim losses by republicans in iowa. you wanted to lay there and think to yourself, if i had only done a little bit more. if i had only put aside some of my personal pursuits for that 110 days, and put my state first, put my country first, just for 110 days, if i'd done that, maybe we'd have had a different result. governor branstad would have had a legislature who would have been moving fully in the direction of his bid for iowa's future. maybe we would have a republican united states senate and bigger majority in the house of representatives that would pressure the president of the united states to finally start leading and acting in this country, and not being a bystander in the oval office. [

and we had a very strong representation from the united states senate and the house of representatives representing the united states. i was proud to join with senator wicker and senator harkin as well as congressman smith, congressman alderhol, congressman grienke, and congressman schiff. we represented the u.s. interests. by way of background for some of my colleagues who may not be familiar, the helsinki commission is the u.s. participation in the organization for security and cooperation in europe. this was a -- this followed up on the helsinki accords that took place in 1975 when all the countries of europe, including the soviet union, joined the united states and canada and agreed on principles. these are principles that recognize the importance of good governance, human rights, economic opportunity as well as territorial security in order to have stability within the osce participating states. and the united states has been an active participant in this process. i think we saw the value of the osce directly when russia invaded crimea and the osce mission that was there, our -- w

that may come up in the next couple of weeks in the united states senate. especially the republican governors here, this is a good time to call your republican senator and say, let us make our own decisions about our own tax base. i had a so-called conservative in washington tell me they did not trust fate to make those decisions. that is number one. that is an important tool, for you to have a sufficient tax base to make your own decisions, to avoid raising income and property taxes. that is number one. the second is the workforce it looks like. you can get things done, even in this united states senate. our committee has gotten a lot done. we have passed 20 bills. 14 signed into law. divideda very committee. all the liberal democrats here with tom harkin. we have rand paul and here with me. i remember when our former democratic governor came up and talked to me. the i came in and looked at money that came through the intoorce investment act our 13 local boards and 75 one-stop senators through 44 programs he said, i just threw my hands up and told the comm

united states. is that fair? >> senator, that's a very fair statement, yes, sir. >> thank you. >> madam secretary, if one of these children are placed with the relative in the united states, do we check the legal status of the relative? >> that's not part in terms of the legal status with regard to immigration status that's not something we do with regard to the legal status that's relevant to what we do is the safety of the child and there's a number of conditions that were guided with regard to that. >> so are we, in fact, turning children over to people who are here illegally? >> we do not know the answer to that question. but we can assume -- >> i think we should know the answer to that because the likelihood showing up for a hearing is zero if the person who is taking care of them is illegal, i doubt if they're going to bring them to deportation hearing or any other kind of hearing. so i'd like to see that changed in our law. is this problem a about of failure to pass the immigration reform or is it something else? >>

i would note that his campaign manager for that senate race was none other than fred vincent who would later become chief justice of the united states. it was in the senate where barkley became widely aclaimed as a first rate storyteller. many recall senator barkley saying a good story is like fine kentucky bourbon. it improves with age and if you don't use it too much, it will never hurt anyone. one contemporary described his ability as follows. his restrained postures, the fy necessary with which he takes tricks with his southern accent, his facility in corning a word if the immediately essential one is not in the dictionary, the eloquence of his eyebrows, his honest grin and gentleman and scholar contributed to his continue rate ising storytelling. now his tendency to create words to suit his needs was evidenced in an address he once gave to the national press club. barkley described senators as premadonnas, that would be true today but noted that the press ore was even more premadonna cal. in 1932 barkley was returned to the senate, the first kentucky senator to be re-elected in the 20th century. the next year he was chos

not in the united states senate. the united states senate, people head on home. people are out campaigning. how about we actually have a senator show up on this floor, more than one or two at a time, and debate these issues? how about we actually she senators stand up -- see senators stand up, debate the issues and resolve the problems? the majority leader went on television and said the border is secure. mr. president, i find that anistonnishing assertion. i recognize how from the perch of washington, d.c. it might seem that way. perhaps the d.c.-virginia border is secure. but i would invite the majority leader and by vite any member of this chamber, come to mcallen, visit the border. when i was in mcallen on saturday the border patrol agents told me the day before they had apprehended 622 people. i went to the processing center. they had 10 holding centers with 600, 700 people there. one holding room had little girls below age 14, unaccompanied. another holding room had little boys under age 14, unaccompanied. a third holding room had girls age 14-19 unaccompan

senator saying that. never experienced a less productive time in his life than right now in the united states senate. it's time for washington democrats to stop obstructing jobs and opportunity for the middle class. they need to understand that their powerful pals on the left will continue doing just fine in the obama economy. it's time to stop worrying so much about them and to start paying more attention to the vast american middle class, to the people who feel like washington hasn't been listening to them over the past few years. i'm talking about people whose wages are stagnant, people who are either unemployed or can't find work to match their skills, and people who feel the burden of outdated policies that are diminishing opportunities in the workplace, and leaving them torn between the demands of work and family. republicans are committed to doing everything we can to delivery lef and innovative -- to deliver relief and innovative new ideas to help these americans. i hope president obama and washington democrats will at some point, some point here finally join us in the effort. the presiding o

happened last month with the supreme court. >> well, it was clear that the democrats of the united states senatecourt isn't going to protect women in this country, so the democratic women of the united states senate are going to. so i'm not a legal expert. but i'll say we need to alter this law, so we can assure that women across the country no matter where they work. and we were talking about working folks earlier, no matter where they work, they have the same access to all pieces of birth control that they possibly need. they need access to health care, and that's what this law is going to attempt to do. and i certainly hope that the republicans see the wisdom ensuring that every american woman and their families have the same access to health care. >> nathan, why do you support the supreme court ruling of last week? >> thank you, chris. we supported the supreme court ruling not because we in the orthodoxed jewish community have any opposition to contraception, but we have a strong stake in -- a very strong protection of religious freedom. and especially when the government can serve an import

united states. olympia snowe, talk about an independent. a former republican senator from the state of maine, part of this group that issued this report, not colluding with the president of the united states. you look at, as senator whitehouse pointed out, all of these military generals and people from all the branches of our military who look at this as a security risk, who are looking at this and literally following the oath. they are doing what they are supposed to do. their duty, their duty to protect our country, and they see this as a threat to national security for the united states and a threat to our standing in the world and the scarce resources that we're seeing with water, not only in the united states but all across the world as a threat. this is not collusion. this is science. these are facts. and in my state, mr. president, we embrace science. we brought the world everything from the pacemaker to the post-it note. we are the home of the mayo clinic. we believe in science. and what this resolution says is it simply states the science. drafted by over 300

thank you all [ applause ] >> ladies and gentlemen, the republican leader of the united states senate we know, is the land of promise and opportunity. it's a conviction that unites all of us americans and one we repeat quite often. but for too long in this country that wasn't the case for a large segment of our population. and for nearly a century after the end of the civil war millions of african-americans continue to be consistently denied the most basic a cancer of intolerance and injustice was allowed to metastasize while many with the power to top it wasn't looking. or didn't want to. . a pastor with a booming voice and a potent message helped change all of that. pu through the power of his words and the force of his example dr. martin luther king, jr. made those who may have wanted to look away focus on what he once called the long night of racial injustice. he inspired a generation of young people to action and he confronted the defenders of segregation head on. not with violence but reason, argument and an uncavering confidence in the justness of his cause. dr. king knew that

senate as if in morning business for up to five minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. isakson: mr. president, if a few moments, the united states senate will be called upon to confirm the nirmings of the honorable -- nomination of the honorable julie carnes to the court of appeals in georgia. i stand along with my colleague, senator saxby chambliss, the senior senator from georgia to commend miss carnes to the entire body as an outstanding appointment. and i want to thank the president. senator chambliss and i recommended miss carnes to the president when the openings took place on the 11th circuit court. he and with the advice of kathy rumler, his able assistant on the advisory board, brought it forward to the judiciary committee of the united states senate. i want to thank pat leahy, the senator from vermont, the chairman of that committee, and chuck grassley from iowa, the ranking member of that committee, for doing a judicious hearing, for giving all sides a chance to be heard and commending unanimously on a voice vote julie carnes to the united states senate. i'm not going to talk for a long time but i want to make

please welcome our honored guests members of the nicest house of representatives members of united states senate and the speaker of the united states house of representatives. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen the speaker of the united states house of representatives the honorable john boehner. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen good afternoon and welcome to the united states capitol. we are honored to be joined today by members of the diplomatic corps former ambassadors, representatives from the state department and the u.s. mint and leaders of the jewish community throughout our country. shortly before christmas, in 1944, raoul wallenberg did something many of us have had to do. he told his mother he wouldn't be home for christmas or home for the holidays. i will send you my best wishes for christmas by this means he wrote. i hope the peace you so long for is not so far away. at the bottom of the note he added lots of kisses to nina and her little girl. well, she of course was raoul's sister who is with us today as are several members of the family. thank you all for being here. [applause] by

senate. we don't expand our margins in the house. we don't have a new republican united states senator from iowa and don't have new republican members of the house because we came just a little bit short. think about how you'll feel that morning when you wake up. maybe the clock radio wakes you up and you hear the news about the slim losses by republicans in iowa. you want to lay there and think to yourself if i had only done a little bit more. if i had only put aside some of my personal purr suits for that 110 days and put my state first, put my country first just for 110 days. if i had done that maybe we would have a different result and terry would have a legislature who would be moving fully in the direction of his vision for iowa's future. maybe we would have a republican united states senate and a bigger majority in the house of representatives that would pressure the president of the united states to finally lead and act in this country and not being a bystander in the olve office. [applause] >> but we didn't do it. we came up short. we'll have that feeling of reg

to senator bennet, i want to express my gratitude to you for working alongside with me in the united states senate, to introduce the bill to award president peres the congressional gold medal and i know today's ceremony is particularly moving for you and your family. we're so honored to have your mother here with us today. suzanne cledgeman bennett is here with us today. she was born in poland in 1938, as nazi forces gathered at the border. she and her parents endured the that si occupation in around warsaw along with an aunt. they were the only members of the family to survive. and unfortunately, everyone else perished at the hands of the nazi. so i know how much this means to you senator bennet. thank you. i cannot think of a more deserving individual to receive the congressional gold medal than shimon peres and i want to thank the people that came to me, senator bennet and others and all that have worked on the, because this has been one of the highlights of the work that i've had been able to do in the senate and, by the way, if everything were as easy to do in the senate to get c

not only as we elect our first woman united states senator, but we will also elect the first woman to represent us in the united states house of representatives. and i am proud to say that i will be the voters in this, the second congressional district to do so. please join me in welcome chris our second congressional district candidate. who will send people backpacking for good, dr. meeks. >> i was at clinton county fair milk a cow before coming here and all the bridges were open on the way to davenport. we thank our governor for doing a great job and running our state. as you know, i'm running for congress because there was a dysfunctional mess in washington, d.c. when i was meeting with farmers in clinton county,they all say the same thing. nothing is happening in washington. it's a dysfunctional mess. and they want to know who's standing up for the little guy. i's kind of obvious, i am the little guy. there was something margaret thatcher said a long time ago. and she said if you -- you know, being powerful is like being a lady. if you have to tell'm you are, you aren't. but it al

the united states senator visiting a facility, these are the instructions that you have signed in. >> that's what you're saying? >> that the visitors -- >> visiting congressional -- member of congress. >> don't recall saying that. what i recall -- >> let me provide you with a copy, it says see distribution. kerlikowski -- you didn't see your own memo? >> that would be me. >> okay. >> that would be me. i did issue that memo, and we have had huge numbers of -- >> am i allowed to bring a cell phone with me when i go on to a facility? >> not to take photographs. >> i'm not allowed to take photographs? >> no. >> why not? >> why am i not allowed to do that? >> the children have a right to privacy, that's why we're not having their faces shown on -- >> i may want to take a photo of something else? >> senator john mccain is very angry. he demands to know why this thomas winkowski character was disavowing knowledge of his own memo. his name is right there on the memo, gill kerlikowski. that had to have hurt a little bit, right? you're different men, i see. no, senator mccain can't take cell ph

eternal god, the source and ground of all truth, give our senators the grace of reflection that will unite the scattered forces of their souls. may life's frenetic pace not hinder them from thinking about it's meaning and its end. grant that your truth will take root within their souls, providing them with wisdom to know when to be a stain and when -- when to abstain and when to persevere. as they read your sacred scriptures, may they feel the stirring of your holy spirit. lord, bless all human hearts that today are lifted up to you. accept their prayer and praise, as you guide them on the road as you lead them on the road that leads to eternal life. we pray in your merciful name. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington, d.c., july 7, 2014. to the senate: under the provis

built for business. >>> shocking allegations against the united states senator.ffort to silence one of its sharpest critics? that's the latest twist in the scandal surrounding democratic senator robert menendez from new jersey. dana bash spoke with him exclusively today. how did it go? >> he is like many cuban americans, a very outspoken critic of the castro regime. he told me this is a problem in sweeping terms, especially on the issue of democracy. it has the makings of a spy thriller, a u.s. senator dogged by a federal corruption probe allegeding he may be the victim of a smear campaign by the cuban government. >> it should be appalling that a foreign government would be engaged in trying to affect an election and/or the position of a united states senator. >> reporter: bob menendez told cnn he wants the fbi to investigate. >> i wouldn't be surprised that the regime would do anything it can to stop me from being in a position that ultimately would impede their hopes of being able to get a different relationship with the united states. >> reporter: it's just th

senator whitehouse you deserve a lot of credit in my view about leading the effort in the united states senator if not the whole congress on this issue. thank you. >> i'm delighted now to welcome our administration witnesses. before we do, his timing is perfect. senator chris coons has joined us. the first witness is leslie caldwell. she's the head of the criminal division at the department of justice. she was confirmed on may 14th. 2014. she hassica dedicated most of h career on handling criminal cases. she served as a federal ausa in us attorney's offices in both new york and california. after her testimony, we will hear from joseph demaris who is the assistant director for the fbi's cyber division. joined as a special agent in 1988 and has held several liedership positions within the bureau serving as head and assistant director of the international operation's division and the assistant director of the new york division. he was appointed in 2012 to his current position and i have had the chance to work very closely with him and i appreciate, very much, the energy and determination t

what he's facing is the loss of the united states senate which means he would have both chambers in the hand of republicans which would make his last two years nearly impossible. if you take advantage of raising money now is the time to do it, raise money because it's an investment in the future. >> i agree. i was thinking about that earlier today, in their opinion one of the things that's hard for the president a lot of people running for office, democrats are saying could you stay out of my district and send me a check. the president is obliging. people won't remember whether he went on jimmy kimmel or not but they will remember in the long term how badly he loses in this mid-term election which six years of a presidency you usually do lose seats. the democrats are not going to be able to blame him for not raising enough money. >> the country needs a national hypnotist. they send him to the white house and hypnotize obama into thinking putin is a tea partier to provoke some kind of range. not the domestic adversaries of the republican party. >> i get that. having worked on campaigns a

senate, 14 signed into law. that's almost as much as the whole rest of the united states senate did, and we have a very divided committee all the liberal democrats are over here with tom harkin, we've got rand paul and a lot of republicans and me over here on the right, 12-10. still, we can agree on a lot of things. we did on this. i remember when governor bretson, our former democratic governor, came up and talked to me. he said when i came in and i looked at the money that came from the work force investment act into our 13 local boards and 75 one-stop centers through 44 programs, he said i just threw my hands up, and i told the commissioner do the best you can. and i'll bet a lot of you have had that same experience. it's a lot of money. it's $10 billion. for governor haslam, it's $147 million on his number one issue which is how does he connect job skills with the jobs he's recruiting in here? so we tried to headache it easier for him -- to make it easier for him and all of you to use that hundred. we eliminated 15 programs, eliminated mandates on the size of the board compositions, restored the provisions so you ca

provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of jill a. pryor of georgia to be united states circuit judge for the 11th circuit, signed by 17 senators as follows: reid, leahy, coons, whitehouse, murray, klobuchar, cantwell, reed of rhode island, nelson, warren, udall of new mexico, hirono, blumenthal, boxer, harkin, cardin, and schumer. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum under rule 22 be waived. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. reid: i now move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion to proceed. all knows in favor say aye. all those opposed, say nay. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. and the motion is agreed to. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that following my remarks, senators couldn't, sessions, stabenow, and warble be able to speak up to five minutes each prior to the cloture vote on s. 2569, with senator coons be first recognized. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection. mr. coons: mr. president? the presiding officer: the

and the failure to do so would be a terrible for the united states senate but more importantly terrible for the veterans of our country. and one more time remind the american people how dysfunctional the united states than it is today. so what troubles me at the moment is the announcement yesterday by the majority leader that he believes it is unlikely we will resolve our differences and have a vote on a conference committee. we ought not let that be the case and we ought not adjourn for an august recess in the absence of us reaching a conclusion. don't walk away from this issue. the leadership of the senate, the leadership of this committee, individual members of this committee, individual members of the senate, it is our responsibility to complete the task that we set forth for the veterans of the united states of america. while it has been easy to criticize the department of veterans affairs, the united states senate is deserving of that same condemnation. thank you. >> senator blumenthal. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you mr. mcdonald for your willingness to undertake this very

and so i hope my colleagues here in the united states senate will make a priority of providing the necessaryunding for iron dome and to standing united, united, behind our ali and our -- our ally and our friend, israel, as they defend themselves from these attacks. mr. president, i see my colleague from texas is here and i would simply ask him if he sees what -- what role he sees united states playing in both supporting israel and in providing support for the iron dome. >> i thank my friend from south dakota. >> the senator from texas. >> and i'm pleased and saddened to stand here in support of my colleagues as we stand united in support of the nation've israel. in the last several weeks, over 2500 rockets have rained down on the nation of israel. 80% of the population has had to flee what they're doing and run to bomb shelters to hide. moms, dads, children, when the large goes off they have sometimes 10, 15 seconds to get to a bomb shelter. mr. president, i want you to imagine if the same thing were happening here in america. imagine if 80% of the country, in the last several weeks, had run

the greatest honor of my life was to be united states senator and serve for all those years in the united states senate with some of the greatest, finest people i've ever known in my life. but, and i loved it. and there's always been very, very tough politics of in washington. i got there when there was still some of the old segregationist were still there, james eastland and a whole lot of other folks. but even in those days when i got there, and the politics was intense, ideological differences were real. but it never got to where it is today. it was never personal. it was never cast in the context of you are good or bad. there was a presumption that the other guy or woman you were dealing with was acting in good faith. and governor bryant, you know, both your mississippi centers -- senators act is supported when i tried to get a nomination early on, and we had come on civil rights we were a thousand miles apart. and most importantly you didn't question the other guys motive. you really went after the judgment, you know, it was like hammer and tong fighting over so many fundamental issu

so the united states senate is in israel's camp in a bipartisan fashion. i yield the floor. i notice the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: would the gentleman -- would the senator withhold? would you withhold your request? mr. graham: i am sorry. i withdraw my request. mr. rubio: are we in quorum? the presiding officer: we are not. mr. rubio: i ask to speak in morning business for 15 minutes. the presiding officer: without objection, the senator from l ifful is recognized. mr. rubio: thank you, mr. president. i want to continue 0en this topic. of course in the last few hours we've now had word of the potential for some ground operations now occurring in gaza, and this is addressed to those who are watching and will watch this message in florida about what's happening. i know the world has become a messy place in the last few hours. we have an incident that occurred over the skies of ukraine with a malaysian aircraft and we don't know all the details of what occurred there. that may further complicate our view of the world in this chamber over the next few weeks. bu

i spoke on the senate floor prior to the passage of that legislation which passed 93-0, indicated how it is so disturbing to me to come to the united states senate. i'm in my first term and we do nothing to solve the problems of the american people because the senate does not function. we don't have bills on the senate floor, we don't offer amendments, committees don't do their work, there's not oversight. if we can't come together on an issue related to veterans, this of all issues that we face at this point in time ought to be one that we can resolved, and the failure to do so would be terrible for the united states senate, but more importantly terrible for the veterans of our country, and one more time remember the-mile-an-hour people how dysfunctional the senate is today. so what troubles me at the moment is the announcement yesterday by the majority leader that he believes it's unlikely we're going to resolve our differences and have a vote on a conference committee. we ought not let that be the case, and we ought not adjourn for an august recess in the absence of us reaching a conclusion. don't walk away from this issue. the

and the failure to do so would be a terrible for the united states senate but more importantly terrible for the veterans of our country. theone more time remind american people how dysfunctional the united states than it is today. so what troubles me at the moment is the announcement yesterday by the majority leader that he believes it is unlikely we will resolve our differences and have a vote on a conference committee. we ought not let that be the case and we ought not adjourn for an august recess in the absence of us reaching a conclusion. don't walk away from this issue. the leadership of the senate, the leadership of this committee, individual members of this committee, individual members of the senate, it is our responsibility to complete the task that we set forth for the veterans of the united states of america. while it has been easy to criticize the department of s, the unitedir states senate is deserving of that same condemnation. thank you. >> senator blumenthal. thank you, mr. chairman. thank you mr. mcdonald for your willingness to undertake this very serious and challengi

>> senator, united states congress and the united states senate has oversight authority. has legislative authority. you are free to decide what action you think is appropriate for any executive branch decisions by any administration. and i understand those prerogatives quite clearly. and i will commit to you that you will not be surprised by reading in the newspapers, decisions or judgments that we have made that we'll keep you completely informed about what we're doing in those noesh yagss as we have throughout these last six months. >> thank you. i naomi time is up and i think the world understands that is zero commitment. it's not in keeping with what secretary kerry said on april 8th. and i know the goalposts keep moving and i think you can continue this hearing as evidence of why so many of us have the concerns we have. again, we wish you well. >> senator? >> thank you, mr. chairman. hit the let me thank both of our individuals with us today for your continued service to our country. these are extremely challenges issues. >> going back to the negotiations in the orig

we got a broken united states senate, in my view. but having said that, we got a chaps, i think, to take a -- we got a chance, i think, to take a step in the right direction. to position this chamber to sit down at a later point and negotiate with our friends, republicans and democrat alike, in the other chamber and perhaps produce toward the end of this year some good and permanent changes in the tax code that if an agreement is reached i suspect we could have overwhelming bipartisan support for. so we are just at that point in the process where we need to develop and put forth our proposals. we hope our counterparts in the united states senate do the same thing and that we can sit down and, again, find common ground in between. we've done that on some occasions before. if we'll just operate the way our procedures are set up, i'm confident we can do it again. with that, mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the chair will receive a message. the messeng

states senate, ought to can resolve, and the failure to do so would be a the united states senate, but more importantly terrible for the veterans of our country. one more time remind the american people how dysfunctional the united states today.is and so what troubles me at the moment is the announcement yesterday by the majority leader that he believes it's unlikely that we're going to resolve our on arences and have a vote conference committee. and we ought not let that be the case. ought not ajern for an august recess in the absence of reaching a conclusion. don't walk away from this issue, senate,ership of the leadership of this committee, individual members of the it our responsibility to see that we accomplish the out for and tot benefit the veterans of the states. while it's been easy to criticize the department of veterans affairs for their veterans, if we don't reach a conclusion on this legislation, the united states of that sameerving condemnation. thank you, mr. chairman. >> senator blumenthal. andhank you, mr. chairman thank you mr. mcdonald for your willingness to un

senate majority leader harry reid and mitch mcconnell. house speaker john boehner as well. this is about one hour. >> ladies and gentlemen, welcome our honored guests, members of the united states of the house of representatives, the house and senate, and the speaker. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, the speaker of the united states house of representatives, the honorable john boehner. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon and welcome to the united states capitol. we are honored to be joined today by members of the diplomatic corps, former ambassadors, representatives of the state department and u.s. mint. and leaders of the u.s. jewish community throughout the country. , intly before christmas 1944, raoul wallenberg did something that many of us had to do. he told his mother he would not be home for christmas. i must send you my best wishes for christmas, he wrote. i hope the peace so long for is not far away. addedttom of the note, he , lots of kisses to nina and her little girl. sister. brought will she is with this along with several members of the family. thank you for being here. [applause] by the time he sent that letter, raoul wallenberg had saved more live

[applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, united states senator from new york, the honorable kirsten gillibrand. [applause] >> today we are proud to honor raoul wallenberg with the nation's highest civilian award, the congressional gold medal of honor. during world war ii, raoul wallenberg chose to leave his life of ease in sweden for a diplomatic assignment in hungry, hungary, which was an allie of nazy germany. his assignment was a result of a recruitment of oss to save the remaining hungarian jews from the holocaust. in this effort, mr. raoul wallenberg exceeded beyond all reasonable expectations. he provided swedish passports to thousands of jews. literally made the difference between life and death. mr. raoul wallenberg raised the swedish flag and protected by diplomatic immunity. within these buildings, he housed, protected, and saved almost 100,000 precious lives. mr. raoul wallenberg's bravery and will to act as an example to all of us. raoul wallenberg once climbed onto the roof of a train with jews departing for auschwitz, handing protective passports through the doors amidst threats

res. 496 as a further mark of respect to the memory of the late senator alan john dixon, former united states senator from the state of illinois. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until 10:00 a.m. tomorrow and does so as a further mark of respect to the memory of the late senator the memory of the late senator >> the internet content i think we'll agree should remain free of regulation especially by the fcc's regulation but susan crawford has said it's like confusing the conversation for the sidewalk. of course you want the conversation to be free and unregulated on line great they have always made sure the communications pathway is failed so today we have a regulated phone system or at least the of the regulated phone system. they do make sure communications pathway is open, affordable available nondiscriminatory in there for everybody to be used. >> it's crucial to think about whether those platforms remain open the way they have historically. the internet has grown up as a network where anyone can communicate, anyone can be on line. a tiny company can get access to

senate side? >> guest:. i don't know. i am never confidant when i try to predict what the united states senate will do. but it will help those trying to make sure we have a constitutional structure when dealing with nsa surveillance. it will help them prevail knowing the house overwhelmingly 3-1 believes in the constitution. whether it is the usa freedom act or whatnot they will have to figure out but i am hopefully we will have a constitutional structure. i did an e-mail to my e-mail list asking them what do you think about this? this is the right thing because it is unconstitutional to do without a warrant. it was huge. 87% said you need a warrant. the american people, i believe, think the constitution matters and i hope the senators do. >> host: you work in a bipartisan bases? >> guest: i do. if you don't agree with someone hundred percent of the time that is no excuse for working with them on something you do. if you look at congressman massy and i we were the co-sponsors. we don't agree on many but we did on this and worked together with other democrats. it is people who could agree on the need fo