the senate of 2014 is certainly not the senate that our founding fathers envisioned, nor is it the senate that my former colleague, senator chris dodd, described in his 2010 farewell speech. let me quote just a small portion. senator dodd reminded us that the senate was designed to be different not just for the sake of variety, but because the framers believed that the senate could and should be the venue in which statesmen would lift america up to meet its unique challenges. unfortunately, the senate will never be able to play that unique role in american government, in american history until the majority leader shows greater respect for the constituents we represent and for this institution. as i said, this debate is not about procedural niceties. it's not about the prerogatives of a senator because they think they're so important. when republicans offer amendments to pending legislation, we're trying to give our constituents the voice that they are guaranteed by the constitution of the united states of america. when the majority leader refuses to let us vote on amendments and refuses t

senate. instead of a strong, independent voice at the van guard of american policy-making, what has the democratic-run senate become? a campaign studio, a late-night pusmpunchline, place where the r left gets its way and the middle class gets left behind. we saw this again yesterday when the majority leader was so determined to prevent the consideration of republican amendments that he killed every democratic senators' amendment in the process. he didn't seem to care about letting the more than 4 million people in my state have a say on one of the most important issues facing their livelihoods: coal. and i didn't seem to think that the millions of americans represented by his own democrats deserved a meaningful say on energy either, even after senate democrats from states like alaska and maine and colorado and arkansas put out press releases touting the kinds of ideas contained within their amendments. no amendments were allowed. the fact that some of these same senators are now trying to con

senate. this bill would give student loan borrowers a fair shot at managing their debt by offering them the opportunity to refinance their debt at the same low rates offered to new borrowers in the student loan program. outstanding student loans now total more than $1.2 trillion. that even means something in washington. it surpasses total credit card debt and affects 40 million americans. that's why i'm a cosponsor of the bank loan student emergency financing loan act because it is time we give students a chance to refinance their loans and find better financial footing. education is the pathway to economic opportunity. workers with higher levels of education have experienced much faster wage growth and lower unemployment rate than other workers. but the increasing level of student debt in recent years presents challenges for graduates just beginning their careers. these bright young people should be planning for their futures, not struggling financially because they worked hard to earn their

but to change the senate. and began to change america by changing the agenda in the senate, so that is where we are, but, look. i will end with this, because arthur is clearly getting nervous here. [laughter] there was that movie from 1972 called "the candidate," and youngsome of you were too to have seen it, but then it has played again, and he looked at his manager and said, what do we do now? what do we do now? if we are given the responsibility to govern, what do we do now? to for that, i really want thank you for applying your creative minds to this challenge, and we look forward to being able to advance an agenda that we think is in the best interest of our country. thanks so much. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> coming up tonight on c-span, q&a with john sopko special inspector general for afghanistan reconstruction. after that, house majority leader with eric cantor and mike scott talking about domestic issues. speakers

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: i'm going to take a few minutes on one of the nominations we have up today, the nomination of theodore chuang to be district judge for maryland. this nomination was voted out of committee on a 10-8 vote. i opposed the nomination in committee, and i would urge my colleagues today to do the same. i can't support the nomination because of the central role that mr. chuang played in the administration's persistent and steadfast stonewalling of the congressional investigation into the attack on our diplomatic mission in benghazi september 11, 2012. that attack resulted in the first murder of a sitting united states ambassador in over 30 years. three other brave americans serving their country were killed there in benghazi as well. as we all know too well, just hours after the fighting had ended, this administration in the middle of a presidential campaign at the time rushed to blame the attack on an obscure internet video. the administration denied what was already clear, that wha

senator hoeven and senator schumer are also cosponsors of this bill as well as senator coons. we've been working very hard on this for years. it has some broad support, metal theft, because it struck so many electric companies. it has struck so many consumers. it has blown up houses when people just take a simple copper piping out of a basement and then someone turns on the gas and literally people have lost lives. veterans groups, because of the -- we had one incident in minnesota, and we've seen others across the country -- this is unbelievable, but the stars on the graves that were placed there for veterans during veterans holidays have been stolen. and the beer industry is strongly behind this bill. why? because kegs are being stolen all over the country. that is just some things i'm telling you by memory, but this is a major problem. ask any power company or construction crew across the country or even operators of ice skating rinks in minnesota, where one theft of a couple thousand dollars literally cost the city of saint paul millions of dollars because once they take a

i worked o on an amendment with senator roberts that senator coons had originated with senators isakson and blunt to improve the section 181 live production incentive. portman and carter worked on energy nshes. cantwell and roberts on low-income tax credit and the list goes on and on and on. as a result, this bill has broad support. the business round table, grover norquist as well as the n.e.a. and feeding america -- broad, bipartisan support. so where are we? and i'd just like to further elaborate on what the chairman has said. we are willing to vote on amendments. now, i -- you know, i always think of my dear friend from tennessee, lamar alexander, who remembers how the place used to work -- and constantly reminds us. and that's a good thing in this body. he'd say, on most bills there would being bipartisan support in the committee. the ranking member and the chair would get together with a list of amendments, each from his or her side, and they'd come up with a list. well, we're willing to do that here. in fact, leader reid has been extremely generous. he said, we're not going to --

a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from nevada. mr. heller: thank you, madam president. on monday, may 26, our nation will pause and remember all those who paid the ultimate price while serving in the united states armed forces. memorial day is a solemn day on which we recognize these brave heroes for their valor, their courage and their commitment to our country. as we honor and remember those who died fighting for our freedom, congress must also remember that we still have a promise to fulfill to the veterans who thankfully returned home, many with visible and invisible wounds of war. our nation has a proud history of caring for its wounded and disabled service members and their families. when these men and women volunteered their services, the united states guaranteed that they'd be cared for. as a member of the senate veterans' affairs committee, i believe that that promise has not been kept. it's no secret that the department of veterans affairs is facing a significant challenge with accountability and all agents at all levels in

senior senator. >> senior senator. >> senior senator. this guy has been. does remind me of the movie with robert redford "the candidate" he runs against the big-time establishment senator, crocker jarmin with a ridiculous name. basically saying "move over, old man. your time is up." >> that's right. here i am, alison lundegran grimes, essentially saying, i'm here. i am a woman. i am something fresh and new. does feel very fresh and new. we don't often see women politicians particularly southern women politicians not since ann richards speak in that sort of frank way. i mean there was this preacherly cadence also. that she had. southern swagger. a woman who knows how to shoot a gun. when she ran for secretary of state. she had ad. she had two grandmothers talking about her life and, and sort of, a casting her background as, as a person who grew up around strong women. you are going to see her in this race. tomorrow they will release a directed camera. 60 second. she is not going to let mitch mcconnell get out there early. really try to define her as an othe

senate? he's so proud of, he is a he demanding the -- he's demanding the house pass it. if that's true, mr. salzman is correct. i would be prepared to have somebody dispute it. then he goes on to say this, and i agree with this line: "if there is --" he is talking about all stem tbrad waits now. "if there were a talent shortage, where are the market indicators? namely, wage increases?" so, mr. donahue and your friends at the chamber of commerce, you believe in the free market. why are wages down if we have a shortage of workers? why aren't wages going up? well, another businessman said recently, there are 600,000 jobs in manufacturing that are going unfilled today. this immigration bill can go a long way toward helping us fill these positions. well, great scott ... i've seen instances where thousands of people apply for just a few jobs. doesn't he know, first of all -- does he not have any interest, first of all, that our goal as policy-makers for the united states of america, should be, wait

senior senator. >> senior senator. >> senior senator. this guy has been. does remind me of the movie with robert redford "the candidate" he runs against the big-time establishment senator, crocker jarmin with a ridiculous name. basically saying "move over, old man. your time is up." >> that's right. here i am, alison lundegran grimes, essentially saying, i'm here. i am a woman. i am something fresh and new. and, when you look at that, it does feel very fresh and new. we don't often see women politicians particularly southern women politicians not since ann richards speak in that sort of frank way. i mean there was this preacherly cadence also. that she had. southern swagger. a woman who knows how to shoot a gun. when she ran for secretary of state. she had ad. she had two grandmothers talking about her life and, and sort of, a casting her background as, as a person who grew up around strong women. you are going to see her in this race. tomorrow they will release a directed camera. 60 second. she is not going to let mitch mcconnell get out there early. real

the presiding officer: the senate will be in order. the senate will please be in order. the majority leader. mr. reid: we're going to have one more vote tonight and we're going to have starting at 11:15 tomorrow, we could have up to five votes. so that's it for tonight. we yielded back the time but i ask consent that senator mccain be recognized for up to one minute. mr. mccain: thank you. the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. mccain: i'd like to mention to my colleagues with this vote, we will be making history in some respects and i think we should all be proud of the fact that this nominee, diane humetewa of the hopi tribe will be the first native american woman to be on the federal bench. i appreciate a positive vote. it's a proud moment for her, her tribe and native americans. thank you. the presiding officer: under the previous order -- is there a sufficient second? there is a sufficient second. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote: the presiding officer: are there any senators wishing to vote or to change their vote? if not, the ayes are 96, the

it's time for the senate to be the senate again. the presiding officer: under the previous order -- mr. mcconnell: i still have the floor, mr. president. finally, mr. president, on an entirely different matter, i want to speak today about a brave young u.s. army soldier from my home state of kentucky who was lost in battle. sergeant jeremy r. summers of brooksville, kentucky, perished on july 14, 2011, from wounds suffered when the enemy attacked his unit with small arms fire in the paktika province of afghanistan. he was 27 years old. for his service in uniform, sergeant summers received many awards, medals and decorations, including the bronze star medal, the purple heart medal, two army commendation medals, the army achievement medal, the army good conduct medal, the national defense service medal. the afghanistan campaign medal with bronze service star, the global war on terrorism expeditionary medal, the global war on terrorism service medal, the korean defense service medal, the army service ribbon, three overseas service ribb

senator mitchell of maine, three times, senator lott, 11 times, senator daschle, one time, and senator frist, 15 times. and yet time after time again, some 85 times, this majority leader has decided he will decide that the senate doesn't variety, that the people of mississippi and the people of north dakota don't have a right for their senator to come up and offer an idea and let it rise or fall based on whether it is good policy or not. this is an outrage that the people of the united states need to understand. when past majorities, when entrusted with protecting this institution, recognized that the gag rule should be used sparin sparingly. it's current abuse undermines the senate's ability to address pressing national issues and to carry on the tradition of debate that has always defined this body. that can really not be -- not be denied. senator robert byrd, who i've alluded to earlier, called the senate "the last bastion of minority rights." that was true during democrat majorities, when senator byrd was the majority leader. sadly, it is not the case any longer. the "wall street j

senator from florida. you want to take a minute or two and i'll take a minute or two? >> that is fine with me. i just want to close with this point. >> the senator from florida. >> thank you madam president. a bunch of other issues were raised about the cost of the war in iraq and how could we aren't spending the money for the veterans. i think that's a debate that should be adding continued to be had in this country and who there are plenty of other places in the budget to find it. we should work to find that money to make sure the cost is not an issue but right now the central debate here on the issue of what's happening at the va has not centered around the fact that the koskinen away. the central debate in the president the other day in his press conference that he held the central focus is on the management of the operations of this agency and critical to the effectiveness of any agency the ability to hold people accountable including by taking away their jobs. think about this for a moment. the argum

senator schumer, the senator from new york, a democrat. senator hatch who is a senior member of the judiciary committee, senator grassley from iowa who is the ranking republican on the judiciary committee. we were in a pretty good place yesterday where we thought as a result of hard negotiations and good bipartisan work that we were going to be in a position for the chairman of the judiciary committee to mark up and to vote on a patent reform bill in the senate judiciary committee this morning. only to be told last night that the majority leader basically killed that bill before it could even be acted on in the judiciary committee. so this is the third time in three weeks that the majority leader has basically been responsible for killing good bipartisan legislation. the energy efficiency bill, the tax extenders bill and now the patent reform bill. it is the majority leader's imperial leadership where he is not just the floor leader for his party, he's not just the traffic cop for the senate, but he's the one who wants to pick and choose w

you look at what senate democrats, you pointed to the senate democrats. do you foresee fights on equal pay, minimum wage? presidenthere at the and democrats talking about? >> i do not. i think senator mikulski goes way back with harry reid ma being intimidated him a little. she can be scary. forhas a guarantee of some time. she wants to do it the old-fashioned way, have amendments. the type of amendments he talked about are not germane under senate rule. it is a matter of having the chair ruled them out of order. fore will be a 10 tatian some of the bomb throwers, particularly on the republican side of the aisle to take it vantage of the opportunity to amend the bills. -- advantage of the opportunity to a mamend the bill. there's this discontent because they shut down the house and there's this filibuster. he gives them the opportunity to let the system work. who knows how it will turn out. >> on the republican side, it you asked about the funding of the affordable care act. do the fights come up again? that.ould probably expect yes. do not discount the f

the senate, senator harkin, senator lamar alexander, and finally my close partner and cohort who is here with me today, senator johnny isakson from georgia. madam president, none of us got everything we wanted in the bill we introduced this morning, but all of us got legislation that we believe in. it is a bill that will help our workers. it will help our businesses. and the economy for years to covmencome. madam president, i am as strong of a supporter of our federal workforce development programs as anyone. i have seen firsthand in my home state of washington workers who were laid off, who were able to get new training and new skills and new jobs. and i've seen so many of our washington state businesses from aerospace companies to design firms who were able to access workers with new skills. but the fact is we have been relying on federal workforce development programs that were written in the 1990's. and with millions of new jobs that will require pos postsecony education and advance skills in the coming years, we will fall behind in the world if we do not modernize our workforce deve

senators schumer and roberts built on the good work of another bipartisan duo, senator moran and senator coons and improved the research and development credit to make it available to those start-ups out there in garages who have a dream. the research and development credit is essentially the premier part of this legislation because we so need those innovation-driven jobs. and here we had four senators, two of them were democrats, two of them were republicans, in effect coming together to significantly improve the research and development credit to ensure that it was available to even more of the start-ups, even more of those innovators, the ones just getting out of the gate. we know -- mr. president, we know a lot of our big businesses started that way, the microsofts and the intels and others. next, senator cardin and senator portman add an important provision to help the long-term unemployed. we all understand that the nature of those who are unemployed has changed significantly in recent years. we have many more who are long-term unemployed americans, and we had two senators -- by th

now live to the senate floor on c-span2. senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. god of grace and glory, descend upon us today. make capitol hill a place that honors your name, as our lawmakers depend on your might and power to keep america strong. lord, help our senators to remember that laudable progress comes not by might or power but through your spirit. give them the wisdom to seek your guidance for every critical decision, as you infuse them with the courage to obey your commands. as they seek to do what is best for america, be for them a shield and sure defense. may they ask the right questions as they labor to keep liberty's lamp. burn bright. we pray in your sacred name. amen. the presiding officer: thank you, chaplain black. would everyone 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 presi

president, i recognize -- i note on the floor the presence of senator moran and senator cornyn and senator warren. could i enter into a consent as to the sequence of speaking? and i'd ask that after i have spoken that senator warren be recognized next on the democratic side. and i'd ask which republican senator would like to be included and in what order? mr. cornyn: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. cornyn: if the distinguished majority whip, responding to his question through the chair, it would help if we could alternate between the sides, if that's acceptable. mr. durbin: who would be first on your side? mr. cornyn: my understand the senator from kansas, senator moran, would be first, then go to the democratic side, then back to me and back to your side. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. durbin: thank you. mr. cornyn: thank you. mr. durbin: mr. president, i was going to ask for a specific time for each but i'm going to try to be brief and yield more time to my colleagues because i'm sure they'll be inspiring. i would like to just say that the is

followed by senate floor speeches from senator john mccain and senator lindsey graham. >> joining us, senator john hogan, republican of north hoeven,-- john republican of north dakota. -- joining us -- week, the keystone xl pipeline. your 57 vote, how do you get to 60? >> it is a challenge because the democratic leader in the senate and the white house are pushing back hard. i have got a build -- a bill that proves the project. we updated it. for that6 sponsors legislation. i have maybe a couple more, but getting to 60 is going to be a real challenge because of a hard push from the white house. >> if it passes in the senate, what does this do for the state department and the white house in its decision? approve thed project under the clause in the constitution, which gives congress the authority to commerceor to oversee with foreign nations. we have done the research and found out congress has the authority to approve the project . we approve it congressionally rather than having the president approve it. >> how much pressure is the chair of the energy committee facing. -- facing? you

i see my colleague senator isakson, senator toomey, senator bennett has had a great interest in this. medicare in 2014 is dramatically different than medicare when the program began in 1965. it is largely about cancer and diabetes and stroke and heart disease and all timers. -- alzheimers. the senior breaks their ankle, and we certainly hope that doesn't happen, that is something like 15% of medicare all about chronic disease. i would be interested in your thoughts about how medicare can step up and address this extraordinary challenge, because this is really going to be what medicare is all about. i'm very appreciative of my colleague from georgia. he and i have introduced a bill which my colleague senator isakson appropriately named the better care, lower-cost act. in another body have been supportive of as well, and as i mentioned, senator toomey, senator bennett, a number of senators have interest in this. what is your take on the next step to take on the premier challenge for medicare in the years ahead? >> the issue of chronic disease is one that i think cuts across the entire d

a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senior senator from florida. mr. nelson: madam president, i want to call to the attention of the senate the fact that there is a --. the presiding officer: the senate will be in order. the senior senator from florida. mr. nelson: thank you, madam president. there is a three-dimensional film that i had the pleasure of seeing at the air and space museum theater about one of the largest and, obviously, most successful military invasions in the history of the planet, and that was 70 years ago on june 6, 1944, what is known as d-day. the film is narrated by tom brokaw. he was a natural because he is well known for having written the book "the greatest generation" about the people who fought in world war ii. and the timeliness of this film, a documentary, the timeliness of it is that as we go from one generation to the next, the stories that were told by their grandfathers and their great grandfathers to their children are not necessarily being told to the next and younger generation. and what this film captivates in 3-d i

i see my colleague senator isakson, senator toomey, senator bennett has had a great interest in this. medicare in 2014 is dramatically different than medicare when the program began in 1965. it is largely about cancer and diabetes and stroke and heart disease and all timers. -- alzheimers. the senior breaks their ankle, and we certainly hope that doesn't happen, that is something like 15% of medicare all about chronic disease. i would be interested in your thoughts about how medicare can step up and address this extraordinary challenge, because this is really going to be what medicare is all about. i'm very appreciative of my colleague from georgia. he and i have introduced a bill which my colleague senator isakson appropriately named the better care, lower-cost act. in another body have been supportive of as well, and as i mentioned, senator toomey, senator bennett, a number of senators have interest in this. what is your take on the next step to take on the premier challenge for medicare in the years ahead? >> the issue of chronic disease is one that i think cuts across the entire d

senator enzi and i and senator alexander, senator heitkamp. we had 29 cosponsors of this bill. who sat down and said let's pass it. we passed it, we sent it to the house of representatives, and nothing has happened. nothing. there have been some statements made over there and i hope that those statements lead to action. but it's time for them to pick up this bill and this responsibility. if they've got a better approach, let's see it. let's work on it. leapts do it on a bipartisan basis. let's come up with an approach that works. i cannot tell you, mr. president, how many different businesses have come through my door from series roebuck down to basic -- sears roebuck down to basic mom and pop businesses, and will said what are we going to do about the the house of representatives? i we've waited a year, i don't want to wait longer. in an election year it will be almost impossible to do it. i hope we can get this done. it's going to mean that local businesses that are important and the backbone of our community will have the resources they need because the sales will take place

. >> thank you, senator. senator isaacson. >> ms. burwell, good morning. >> good morning zpl as you know from our conversations the last couple of days, there's no challenge that i have before me as a united states senator more important, including your confirmation, that gave the savannah harbor project in my state. senator chambliss worked for 16 years to go through all the steps at noaa, epa, omb, corps of engineers, fish & wildlife to get every approval we could get including getting the vice president to join us on the docks in savannah and make his famous quote that we were going to get it done come hell or high water. i'm not one that kills the messenger. but on a sunday night right before the budget came out you delivered the news to senator chambliss and i that we weren't going to be able to move forward based on a plan we thought through conversations with others, not with you, that we included the right language in the appropriation bill to move the savannah harbor expansion program forward. at the last minute we got the b

on the energy bill in the senate seven years ago, the last time the senate dealt with energy, every senator could have every amendment they wanted on anything they wanted to talk about, because that was the senate. one of the prices, one of the prices you paid for that six-year term was you might have to vote on some things you'd rather not vote on. now we have the six-year term, but the leader of the majority doesn't want us to vote on things that the majority may not want to vote on, and there are probably people in the minority that don't want to vote either. not voting is a pretty safe thing apparently politically but it's not the best thing for the country. so i'd like to see a real debate on energy. and one of the things i'd like to see is the amendment that i've offered to this bill to have a point of order to be sure that at least 60 senators would have to approve a carbon tax. i offered a similar amendment to the budget last year, in 2013, and 53 of my colleagues, 52 of my colleagues agreed with me for a majority vote of 53 that said, no, we don't want to have a carbon tax. and if

i want to thank senator mccain. [ applause ] >> i want to thank senator mccain and senator manchin for their kind words. and i'm honored to be introduced by such extraordinary public servants. i'm especially grateful for my husband, steven, and our children. for their tremendous support. and while my parents can't be with us here today, i also want to recognize them for instilling within me the enduring value of public service. as a second generation greek immigrant, i was raised to be thankful for the tremendous opportunities that this great nation provides. and to appreciate the responsibilities that come with them. throughout my childhood in hinton, west virginia, my father, an op tromtist and small businessman and my mother, a teacher, set a great example for me and my sister. through their engagement in service through our community and our church. it is that example that's an important part of why i sit here today. whether in the public or private sector, working across a wide range of issues, i focus my work on three things. building strong relationships, building strong teams,

senator shaheen was on the senate floor september 18 saying great, we'll give senator vitter his vote. i have no problem with that. senator portman, september 19, the same thing. quote -- "my understanding is that there has been a general agreement to have a vote on the vitter amendment. that is something i have heard on the floor from leadership." close quote. well, as we all know, that agreement never materialized, was never honored, i have never gotten that vote. it's now six months later, and i am simply asking for a full debate and fair up-or-down vote on this important issue. look, it's a free country. people don't have to agree with me, but let's have a vote. we voted yesterday on something that we have voted and revoted on multiple times at the majority leader's insistence. i'm asking for one vote on this important issue that the american people care about. we voted and revoted on things multiple times. i'm asking for one clear vote on this issue. after the majority leader agreed to a vote on this amendment that i never got in september, a couple months later when i was revisi

but the senator who's now -- he's retired -- and i worked -- a republican senator, the senator from oklahoma, we worked to change that so that the train system would not be the old, dladilapidated trains. now all the people coming from the hart and the other buildin buildings, they're in this beautiful, enclosed trains that you can wheel a wheelchair in there without any effort whatsoever. so that's wonderful. but the person that's still there making sure that people who travel from the old senate office building, as it was called when i was here -- now it's called the russell building -- they still have this old train, and there's darryl, always there, so nice, greets everybody that comes on those trains. so we all recognize him when we go into -- trying to get from here to the russell building. 41 years he's operated the underground trains that run between the capitol and the senate office building. mr. president, he has a smile that is just -- that just covers his whole face. he has a voice that's infectious. you can hear him, and he laughs, and we'll all miss that. so i join my colleague

. >> senator graham. senator harono. >> i got back in the nick of time. i thank you for your service, of course. i join my colleagues in saying we need to get rid of sequestration because it's done so many damage to readiness and other aspects of the military. i'm with my colleagues who are going to commit ourselves to getting rid of sequestration. i have a question for general amos. regarding the commissaries because the commissaries, that is a -- something that our service people understand. their families go to the commissaries. they know what the price differentials are. general amos, you said we should force deca to be more efficient rather than raising prices so the differential becomes so much less. i'm completely in agreement with you. does that mean that you know of examples or perhaps any of the other chiefs, do you have examples of where commissaries need to find efficiencies? what is inefficient that they're doing that they should just address right away in your view? >> senator, first of all, you've got -- you're absolutely correct on what ou

but senator shaheen and senator portman are just not the thrown-in-the-towel type of senators and in effect, they doubled down and went back to work on some of the most challenging issues. so at that point after the fortunate setback of last september, they in effect doubled down and worked to bring an even broader range of members and stakeholders together here in the senate to form a consensus, make this bill even better, improve the array of commonsense approaches taken to promote energy efficiency, and increase the chance of the best possible energy efficiency bill becoming law. and i'd like to highlight at this point just how challenging this work was and how pleased i was that the senate was able to get together. at that point, mr. president, one of the most challenging issues dealt with the question of the then existing requirements that new federal buildings be designed to phase out their use of fossil fuel -- fossil fuel generated energy by 2030. and this is important for a variety of reasons. of course, the federal government is a major property owner in our country, one, a

the senator from florida is right. it passed with very strong support in the house, and in my view, a similar bill containing some of the salient provisions in the house will pass the senate. but it is important that that bill be discussed. and i will tell you, madam president, that one of the concerns that i have is i do not want to see the v.a. politicized. it is one thing to say -- which i agree with -- that if a hospital administrator is incompetent, the secretary should be able to get rid of that administrator without a whole lot of paperwork. i agree with that. it is another thing to say that if a new administration comes in, whether it is a democratic or republican, that somebody sitting in the secretary's office can say, i want to get rid of 20 or 30 or 50 hospital administrators because we have other people that we have in there, and we can just get rid of them, and they don't have a rate to defending themselves. i -- and they don't have a right to defend themselves. i worry about that. so clearly we have to d

happened in the senate. you're impassioned and angry i think it's fair to say. my question is why do republican senators think they will pay no political cost for that vote yesterday? >> you know, i don't know why anyone, frankly, would be voting against the minimum wage. and there are multiple ways you can look at this. but the way i think about this is i can think of 14 million reasons to raise the minimum wage. and that's the number of children whose economic fortunes would be lifted if the minimum wage moved to $10.10 an hour. children who would have more, who would be in homes that are more secure. a million adults that would be lifted out of poverty if we raised the minimum wage. and you would think that republicans would be interested in this because the more self-sufficient people can be then the less money that all of the taxpayers have to spend on supplements, on medicaid, on food stamps. this is about people who work full-time, who are out there really busting their tails trying to support themsel

senator republican saxby chambliss. on the democratic side the race is less crowded and competitive with michelle nunn, the daughter of sam nunn, the clear favorite. georgia is one of two states democrats the have a good chance at taking back a senate seat. it will greatly determine how good after chance they have a. poll conduct ed earlier this month by "the atlanta journal constitution" stated michelle nunn leads all of the five main republican u.s. senate hope itfuls in a ballot test though the strongest republican battles nunn to a near tie. in other words all goes according to plan for democrats if nunn gets the right opponent. let's keep in mind who will be selecting the right opponent tonight. this is what the math looks like. around 10 million people in the peach state. about one-fifth of them will vote in tonight's contest. with none of the the gop candidates likely to reach the vote needed to avoid a run-off, the top two vote getters could finish with 25% of the vote each which means around 600,000 people will

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new jersey. mr. menendez: reserving the right to object to senator paul's request to discharge s. 2265, the committee. this legislation that senator paul has been referring to has not been considered by the committee. i mean, it was just introduced in the last day or so, i think. as chairman of the senate foreign relations committee and on behalf of the republican ranking member, senator corker, who had to depart to return back to tennessee but otherwise would have joined me in making remarks, i come to the floor to express our opposition to an effort to circumvent the normal legislative process and deprive the members of our committee the opportunity to decide whether to take up this legislation, the authorization to provide or cut u.s. assistance to the palestinian authority is clearly in the per view of the senate foreign relations committee, and it should have its members decide if it is appropriate to be fully and openly considered by the committee. the bill is a blunt force instrument that woul

house and senate. and of course they're well known to this audience for many reasons but particularly as the architects of the sweeping financial reform bill that bears their name, the dodd-frank wall street reform and consumer protection act or dodd-frank. so today we have dodd-frank on dodd-frank which is a real treat i think for me in particular, having worked so closely with both senator dodd and congressman frank in enacting this legislation which is truly historic. chris dodd is a former senator from the neighboring state of connecticut and he was the chairman of the senate committee on banking, housing and urban affairs, all through the crisis. the year leading up to the crisis and then through the passage of dodd-frank. and barney frank is the former congressman from this great state of massachusetts and the chairman -- former chairman of the house financial services committee so you know them well for dodd-frank. but also as chairman of the banking committees and house financial services commi

thank you, senator ayotte. senator hagan. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. chairman, i wanted to open just wanting to express my thanks to general amos, commandant amos, for his incredible leadership over the marines, as well as your wife bonnie for all she has enjoyed and been through over these so many years. but thank you for your steadfast dedication to our marine corps, to our country and to the state of north carolina. >> thank you, senator. i'll pass that on to bonnie. >> please. we certainly face difficult decisions in fiscal year '15, as we all know and have been discussing. it's something this committee will be closely examining in the weeks. in head, however, we also face the return of sequestration in fiscal year '16 and beyond. north carolina, as all of you know, has one of the largest military footprints in our nation so i'm particularly concerned about the effect that it would have on our service members. and i am committed to finding a balanced solution that's going to put an end to sequestration in future years. my question, general amos, wi

senate in february of 2007. a few days later, i had my first public event where i took questions from folks, and this is at a coffee shop in st. james, minnesota, in the southwest corner of our state in the first district. the first question i got was from a woman asking if i believe there should be term limits, and from the way she asked it, i knew she thought there should be term limits. i thought great, my very first question and i don't agree with the person who is asking it. so i said no, i don't believe in term limits, and let me tell you why. jim oberstar. jim has been a congressman from the eighth district for 33 years now, and he is chairman of the house transportation committee, and he knows more about transportation than anybody else in the country. and everybody in the coffee shop, including the woman, kind of went yeah, they nodded, yeah, that makes sense. jim was a walking advertisement against term limits. he was the consummate public servant. it was -- it was all because he was a man who sought k

senator. >> let me ask you about another part of your record. he supported legislation that would require doctors to report the number of abortions they perform. would you tell us why you supported that legislation? dot you k it would you tell us why you supported that legislation? don't you think it was ella devised? >> let me respond this way. the legislation you refer to was and dynamic made on the floor of the house of representatives. it was not an amendment i drafted, not an imminent i was familiar with. it came up on the floor of the house in the routine of handling this is of legislature for that day. i supported the measures like that and including that because those issues were important to the people that i represented. my constituents as a state legislator were 38,000 citizens in one county in southeast georgia for the first two years i served. the district grew larger than that but that district is a very conservative and a very pro-life constituency. i believed it was the obligat

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. flake: there has been a great deal of talk lately about earmarks. some members are even talking about bringing them back. now, i -- i grew up earmarking. i grew up on a ranch where we earmarked cattle. that's where earmarking gets its name. i didn't think much of the practice then. we already had a brand on the critter. an earmark seemed to be redundant. and after a while, we didn't do it anymore. then i got here to congress, first in the house and now in the senate, and i had hoped not to be earmarking anymore, but when i got to the house, i found that the practice was not just prolific but rampant. so i come here today after hearing that some people want to bring the practice back after we had the moratorium placed a couple of years ago, and urge caution. let me explain a few reasons why. one colleague recently lamented the absence of earmarks saying earmarks are the glue that helps legislation get passed. i would say that's a little more accurate to say that earmarks usually repres

i want to thank senator mccain. [ applau >>se i want to thank senator mccain and senator mansion for their kind word and i am honored to be introduced by such extraordinary public servants. i am grateful for my husband and children for the support and i want to recognize my parents for instilling in me the israel of public service. as a second generation greek immigrant, i was raised to be thankful for the opportunities this nation provide and appreciate the responsibilities that come with them. throughout my childhood, my father was a doctor and a small business man and my mom was a teach sk teacher and set a great example in me. it is that example that is part of why i sit here. whether in the public or private sector i focus by work on building strong relationships, building strong teams, and delivering results. in my roll as omb director i worked with members of this committee and other toes return the budget process to regular order and drive toward progress on the issues we all care deeply about. if confirmed, i look forward to working alongside the remarkable men and women of

signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is: is it the sense of the senate that the debate on the nomination of james alan soto of arizona to be the united states district judge for the district of arizona, shall be brought to a close? the yeas and the nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote: vote: the presiding officer: are there any senators wishing to vote or wishing to change their vote? if not, on this vote, the vote is 61 in the affirmative. 35 in the negative. the motion is agreed to. cloture having been invoked, the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: james alan soto of arizona to be united states district judge for the district of arizona. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate will proceed to the consideration of the following nominations which the clerk will report. the clerk: department of state, helen meagher la lime of the district of columbia to

how do you feel about the senate? >> i feel we're going to keep the senate. >> you do? >> yeah. you look at the four key races. alaska, arkansas, louisiana, north carolina where we have incumbents in red states. they're ahead in each one. even kay hagen is ahead by two, but she's had $12 million of unanswered commercials against her. and she hasn't even begun to put on her positives or go after her opponent whoever it's going to be negatives. so i think if you look -- this is how it always is. nationally it looks better for republicans right now. mainly because middle class incomes are declining. what we talked about here. and the public is sour. >> all right. >> but state by state looks much better for us. we will keep the senate. >> texas governor rick perry -- i want you to stay for this one -- has been mentioned among potential 2016 contenders. >> good luck. >> is being candid about -- my god. senator schumer. >> last time i checked, he's not on any rolls in republican primaries. rick perry is just fine. he talked about his disappointing bid for 2012. but he also suggested t

the senator from florida is right. it passed with very strong support in the house, and in my view, a similar bill containing some of the salient provisions in the house will pass the senate. but it is important that that bill be discussed. and i will tell you, madam president, that one of the concerns that i have is i do not want to see the v.a. politicized. it is one thing to say -- which i agree with -- that if a hospital administrator is incompetent, the secretary should be able to get rid of that administrator without a whole lot of paperwork. i agree with that. it is another thing to say that if a new administration comes in, whether it is a democratic or republican, that somebody sitting in the secretary's office can say, i want to get rid of 20 or 30 or 50 hospital administrators because we have other people that we have in there, and we can just get rid of them, and they don't have a rate to defending themselves. i -- and they don't have a right to defend themselves. i worry about that. so clearly we have to d