as far as the solution, this will be obviously an issue for the united states senate. but i do think this will force pressure to continue to see more rules changes in the united states senate. reporter: specifically, marc, does the president still feel -- do you still feel -- do you feel that rule 22 should be amended or eliminated to prevent what you're describing which are national security ramifications? you have a number of positions that you are arguing are essential to the national security of the united states and you say this is something democrats are obstructing to. republicans have 51 votes. what should happen? marc: i think that the united states senate is going to continue so have internal conversations about potential rule changes. i think that's a very fair question. i want to be respectful have a white house determine what the united states senate rules should be. continuing to highlight it and recognize the level of obstruction, i think it continues to put more pressure on the senate to address this internally. reporter: are you concerned about -- are

him, representative thad cochran in the united states house and in the united states senate. so i'm just very grateful, we're all grateful for all he's done. senator cochran acknowledged in his statement about his impending retirement that health had become an issue for him, and it was time to move on. although that was -- i told reporters and i told members who asked me, i said it's a bittersweet -- it's a poignant moment for me to hear such things. these sorts of things happen, and we all face, we all face health issues at some point. alfred lord tennyson in his magnificent poem ulysses said though much is taken, much abides and though we are not in that strength which in old days moved earth and heaven, that which we are we are. one equal temper of her woke hearts made weak by time and fate but strong in will. to strive to seek, to find, and not to yield. so, mr. president, i say to my friend thad that we appreciate the fact that he has been strong in will. and though time and fate have happened to thad cochran and will happen to me and to all of us, what abides is the leg

background check, and the office of government ethics, is a nominee submitted to the united states senate. when they get to the senate they go through several additional evaluations, including meetings with staff, meetings with the members on both sides of the aisle. the nominee then undergoes a hearing and the committee then votes on the nominee to get out of that committee. at that point the nominee moves to the senate floor for full confirmation. traditionally the senate routinely con firms the administration's nominee once out of committee. it is there to respect the will of the american people and the election for an administration to fill out its roles under a new president. instead what senator schumer has done is require cloture votes to slow down the process and obstruct. at this point in the past four administrations combined, the last four administrations, the senate had conducted 17 cloture votes, combined. cloture votes in essence being a filibuster on a nominee. 17 cloture votes in the last four administrations combined at this point. today, the senate has had 79 cloture vot

we are trying to shed light on the way this town works and the way the united states senate currently is broken. we are signing that blame to senator schumer and his fellow democrats because in many cases, the fellow democrats even are saying the level of this is getting absurd. republicans don't bear any of the blame? >> i think the reality is republicans are moving forward with these votes. this is going to be obviously an issue for the united states senate, but i do think this will force pressure to continue to see more rule changes in the united states senate. >> does the president still feel -- do you still feel -- do you feel will 22 should be amended or eliminated to prevent what you are describing, which are national security ramifications? you have a number of positions you argue are essential to the security of the united states, and you say this is something democrats are obstructing. two republicans have 51 votes? what should happen? >> i think the united states senate is going to continue to have internal conversations about potential rule changes. it's a very fair questi

that's not true we got the entire united states senate backed up every single member. i don't know how unusual t it is to say zero on one side and i don't know about you but i have seen very few times. usually one or two for one reason or another no matter how uncontroversial it is but we got everybody who voted said yes. take backpage to court to assert our ability under the constitution to investigate so we took them all the way to the supreme court and we won the case. what happened after that is important to understand because there were a lot of folks aroundry the country that were trying to look at their conduct but they could use this law to protect themselves so the two things that we did that wasan very important the first resent the whole file to the department of justice for referral all the information that we have on backpage at the department of justice i amt hopeful they are using that information so they will pursue the criminal violation also with a valid gas boat of the senate we opened our files to any prosecutor or attorney general in the country. i

states senate. host: is there discord in the state party from the progressive or moderate wing? the media'sems favorite topic is to talk about the discord in the california democratic party. in our convention, nearly 5000 people were there, and it was an incredible place to be. the amount of energy, the amount of positivity that was there -- all the lead in stories about how much discord there was going to be -- and there was not any discord. people battled over which candidate they supported, that we were in tents in engaging and getting ready for this election season. we believe california is a blue beacon of hope. we can elect democrats from one end to the other. we have figured out how to make it work here in california, and we are going to help our brothers and sisters in neighboring states to help them have those same successes, because we have the luxury of doing that. host: eric bauman is a registered nurse and he spent -- guest: let me back up one second. that is not to dismiss the fact tha

as i represent all of them in the united states senate. i leave the senate with the confidence because of this effort to live up to these expectations that our enduring constitution guard our country -- guards our country from human error. it empowers our citizens to achieve greatness and to protect the common interests -- military, domestic -- a reviewing o by the president of departments, including number one national defense. it's an opportunity to empower our citizens, to join in the discussions at hearings. in these opportunities, our defense -- empoweredness of our military is a beacon of freedom throughout the country, and liberty for the world. and i'm optimistic about the future of our great nation and in the united states senate role that has been discharged and discussed here today. and i'm optimistic about the future success of our efforts to protect the security, to health, to the guarantees of the bill of rights of the united states. every day an issue comes to the u.s. senate to consider, to discuss, and i am honored to have

and we got the entire united states senate to back us up. every single member. now i don't know how unusual it is in this day and age to have zero on one side of the ledger and united states senate. but i don't know about you senator portman but i've seen it have you few times usually one or two that hang out there for some reason or another no matter how uncontroversial a piece of legislation is. but in this instance we've got everybody. everybody who voted said yes. let's take back page to court and assert our able under the constitutionti to investigate ad the lay to investigate. and so we took them all the way to the supreme court and by won that case. and what happen haded after that is really important for people to understand. because there were lots of folks around the country that were trying to get back pages conduct,ac but they were able to use this law to protect themselves. and so there's two things we can did that were very important for prosecutors after our investigation, the first thing we did was we sent the whole filehe over the department of

him, representative thad cochran in the united states house and in the united states senate. so i'm just very grateful, we're all grateful for all he's done. senator cochran acknowledged in his statement about his impending retirement that health had become an issue for him, and it was time to move on. although that was -- i told reporters and i told members who asked me, i said it's a bittersweet -- it's a poignant moment for me to hear such things. these sorts of things happen, and we all face, we all face health issues at some point. alfred lord tennyson in his magnificent poem ulysses said though much is taken, much abides and though we are not in that strength which in old days moved earth and heaven, that which we are we are. one equal temper of her woke hearts made weak by time and fate but strong in will. to strive to seek, to find, and not to yield. so, mr. president, i say to my friend thad that we appreciate the fact that he has been strong in will. and though time and fate have happened to thad cochran and will happen to me and to all of us, what abides is the leg

and we got the entire united states senate to back us up. every single member. now i don't know how unusual it is in this day and age to have zero on one side of the ledger in the united states senate. but i don't know about you, senator portman, but i've seen it very few times. there's usually one or two that hang out there for some reason or another, no matter how uncontroversial a piece of legislation is. but in this instance we got everybody. everybody who voted said yes, let's take backpage to court and assert our ability under the constitution to investigate, and the law to investigate. and so we took them all the way to the supreme court, and we won that case. and the, what happened after that is really important for people to understand because there were lots of folks around the country that were trying to get at backpage's conduct, but they are able to use this law to protect themselves. and so there's two things we did that were very important for prosecutors and to our investigation. the first thing we did was we sent the whole file over to the depar

states senate. when they get to the senate, they go through several additional evaluations including meetings with staff, meeting with members on both sides of the aisle. the nominee undergoes a hearing. the committee votes on the nominee to get out of that committee. at that point, the nominee moves to the senate floor for full confirmation. traditionally the senate routinely confirms the administration's nominee once out of committee. it's there to respect the will of the american people for the administration to fill out its roles under a new president. instead, what senator schumer has done is to require votes to essentially slow down to process and to obstruct. at this point in the past four administrations combined, the last four administrations, the senate has conducted 17 cloture votes combined. that in essence being a filibuster on a nominee. 17 cloture votes combined. today the senate has had 79 cloture votes in the first year. 17 versus 79 in the first four months of our administration. t

and i just want to say i came to the united states senate almost 12 years ago. and i've got nine, nine months left of my term. i saw votes back home. i -- couldn't imagine serving more than two terms yet it has been an incredible privilege to be here and what i ran, i ran are concerned about our nations fiscal issues and ran on the combination of progrowth tax reform and entitlement reform and doing what the tremendous deficit that our country has, and really thought we would do something about it. we have the financial crisis that took place about back in 2007, 2008, 2009 it was building in o occur inned 8 and dealt with much of it in '09 and i remember talking to people arranged our country then might just about the financial crisis about but about t the tremendous sceft that our nation was creating. and -- will still hope fling in my first term that we would rise to the occasion and a actually deal with the fiscal issue that is going to haunt these young people who were our pages sitting before me. weef have 21 trillion this debt today and over 100 trillion d

i am not a witch, she said, and i flew right off to the united states senate. sorry. unlike the donald i'm actually the beneficiary of a witch hunt. and it's funny. nuthat i think about it there actually were people back then who said that's as crazy as the republican party will ever get. all this talk about witches, though, gives me an idea. i think we should give the president who doth protest so much, his own witch test. if you drown him in indictments and he sink, he's innocent. you know, i last spoke at this dinner back in 2011, and since then i've gradually settled into the united states senate. i once dreamed of being a giant of the senate, but now i seem to have become one of the senior center swdwarves of the senate. i'm also a lawyer of the divinity school where i studied ethics. if you do, don't and paul manafort to convert the file from pdf to word. speaking of divinity, i also lead the senate's weekly breakfast and i cochaired the national breakfast last year. that event got some news coverage when president trump prayed for arnold shwarzenegger's apprent

i am running for the united states senate 2018, massachusetts, whohoo. but let me actually make an underlineing point on this one. >> that is we can't be a party that says, oh, we're paying attention about what happens every four years. i know there is a lot of anxiety, particularly on the democratic side about how we are going to deal with donald trump in 2020. but right now, this week, united states senate is talking about a bill that will roll back protections. we've bought the the dreamers. we've bought the the tax bill that's gone through. we're still fighting to provide health care for everyone. we've now, we should be having a gun debate on the floor of the united states senate. it's not only about the election in 2018 where i think we do need to be laser focused. but it's about the fights every single day. >> i take it as a no? >> that's where i'm focused. >> i take it as a no you are not pledging to serve your term if you win the election. >> i told you, i have no intention of running for the president of the united states. >> i don't mean to pi

there's been no vote in the united states senate on those military activities. there is a loose connection to al qaeda which was referenced in the invasion of afghanistan as a rationalization for going after this terrorist operation now being found in yemen. but there's more to that war in yemen than just the presence of al qaeda. there is an ongoing surrogate battle between saudi arabia and iran and the united states is engaged. i believe we're engaged because of our friendship with saudi arabia. some have argued because we sold them the planes that we're now refueling, at the very least we ought to bring this case to the american people. that is our constitutional responsibility. and that's why this vote this afternoon is important. because we took an oath, each of us, when we became senators to uphold the constitution of the united states against enemies foreign and domestic. and that constitution says that the people of the united states, the ones i represent in illinois, the ones that are represented in oregon or in texas are going to have a voice in this d

we are debating for their commitment to elevating this debate in the united states senate. i agree that this is an important debate with significant implications. as the representatives of the american people we must serve as an effective check of the executive branch and protect the security of the united states

i flew right off to the united states senate. [laughter] unlike the donald, i am actually a beneficiary of a witch hunt. [laughter] it's funny now that i think about it, they're actually where people who said, that is as crazy as the republican party will ever get. all of this talk about witches isthmian idea. i think we should give the president, who doff protest too much, his own multi--- monty python test. if you drown him in indictments and he sued the he thinks, he is innocent. i last spoke at this dinner in 2011. since then, i have gradually settled into the united states on it. i once dreamed of being a giant of the senate. now icing to have become one of the senior centers seven dwarves of the senate. sleepy, dopey, gassy, grumpy, you get to guess which one i am. i am a lawyer who actually also has a degree from divinity school where i studied ethics. that is kind of like superman getting a degree in kryptonite. my thesis was an actual rewrite of the 10 commandments. it was called, thou shalt not. but if you do, don't ask

frequently, we ask what's wrong in the united states senate, why can't you seem to get anything done even though we all have common purpose here, and that is to protect the image in public, to defend the meche mac in pubd help the american public be prosperous. equally, my response is many times it's a lack of leadership. it's a lack of willingness to actually sit down, , listen, prepare a product that can get results. that hasn't been our problem with senator crapo. he has been there personally every step along the way, not delegating to step in working with us one o on one, maybe sometimes four on one, feels a little gang up on but i think it was their odds for him i might say. but i also know that this would not be here without the leadership of the senator crapo in the banking committee, a committee that has a reputation historically for being notoriously bipartisan. .. to listen and to work with all of us. so what are we celebrating today? we haven't quite got it over the finish line, but certainly having the vote that we just had a couple of hours ago which is a broad bipartisa

states senate. and so i don't think that it's any mistake when you look at the five primary sponsors of this bill, the five of us who wrote this bill, that most of us are from predominantly rural states. i think we understand the needs of those living in our states and the needs of those living in our rural communities. when you look at an opportunity to fix regulation and to respond to concerns that people have, one of the constant arguments that i get when i come home is there is no longer any common sense in washington, d.c. they don't understand where we live. they don't understand who we are. they don't understand that we live in communities and that we support and protect each other. instead, they write one regulation that's supposed to be one size fits all. well, that's certainly not what this is. this is an attempt to write a bill that would give direction to the federal regulators so that small banks could be treated as small banks and large banks could continue to be regulated and treated

when i was the united states senator. i was in the first congressional delegation that arrived in afghanistan. and late january, 2002, after our invasion. and, so i have been back, many, many times. either as the the united states senator, or secretary of defense. and i can tell you, it's the military of our country, who has had to bear the brunt. casualties, wounded. back and back and back. and it's like, any other conflict like this. it is complicated. it has many facets and dynamics. the military can't fix it. the military has a role in it, of course. but only some kind of strategic, diplomatic, objective, can work our way through this. is it going to be perfect? no. but, but our situation there afghan situation is very bad. and it is getting worse. do we think, truly that we can fix this by, so-called win, in afghanistan? i was in one of those wars. in strevietnam. that we were going to win. we didn't win. you don't win these kind of things. it's up to the people, it's up to the other voices there. we can help, we can

for their commitment to elevating this debate in the united states senate. i agree with my colleagues that this is an important debate with significant implications and as elected representatives of the american people we must serve as effective check on the executive branch, fulfill our commitment to protect the national security interests of the united states and be responsive to our constituents. this is about how we best leverage the tools in our national security toolbox

you've got the entire united states senate in front of you. the whole world is watching. here you are presenting a case to impeach the president of the united states. >> for the next 3 days, the managers made their case to the jury of senators and the chief justice of the supreme court, but the legislative branch was not one big, happy family. one unsettled matter still caused intense friction between the two houses of congress. >> prosecutors pressed their request to call witnesses later in this trial. >> the senate limited the amount and type of evidence that we could even present. >> not only does the president's claim strain all boundaries of common sense, it is directly in conflict with monica lewinsky's detailed and corroborated accounts of their relationship. >> i was utterly, physically exhausted. we had been going on 1 and 2 and 3 hours' sleep. among the other things the senate did to jack us around was, we'd be in trial all day, and they would not tell us until that evening what they expected to hear the next day. so we couldn't even prepare the trial. >> the wh

and the president of the united states, 25 members of the house and senate sitting around the cabinet table said, are we agreed that we're going it to solve the daca issue first? not a single member demurred. not a single member said no. not a single one, mr. speaker. yet we can't get that bill to the floor. and the majority leader says, we're bringing up a bill that will create jobs. i'm for doing that. and frankly, if we do that the week after, or the week after that, frankly, i don't know the bills well enough to be speaking about them with much depth of information about how they were voted on in committee, but my incling is -- inc.ling -- inkling is, the majority of the democrats, may well have voted against them. most of the bills coming out of committee are pretty partisan. we didn't discuss the three bills that i brought up, the majority leader didn't mention them. they have bipartisan support on two. and one, the chairman of the committee admits does not have the votes on this floor. he would get no democratic votes and he would lose a substantial number of republican votes.

i mentioned 68 united states snorts are supporting it. -- 68 united states senators are sporting it. it's got support around the country. all the groups are focused on this issue how to avoid women and children from getting caught in this web of human trafficking and then how to help them when they get out to provide for the important recovery efforts needed from the trauma of this. those groups are strongly supportive. law enforcement has been terrific. the fraternal order of police stepped up and r strongly supported this legislation, and so have all the other law enforcement groups represented here in washington through their national offices. we appreciate their help. we appreciate the fact that parents have been willing to come forward and tell these difficult stories, as was the case with kubiki pride, as was the case with ambrose and her daughter. they told their stories from their heart in order to get congress to wake up and do the right thing. we now need to do that. this legislation is now before this body. we expect to have a vote next week on it. we need to do all we can

states senate. mark: and it's confounding, because in the republic, you have to wonder how you undo this, how do you unravel this? i get this calls on the radio all the time. what do we do? what do we do? i'm not sure what we do. we can talk about electing the right people. we think we do elect the right people. we have the tea party revolution, majorities now in the house and the senate. republican president. and it's my understanding this spending bill, even in percentage increases is the largest in modern history, is that right? . >> yes. and look, it's the nature of governments. it's the nature of human beings, as they accumulate power to want to accumulate more power. when they have access to the ability to do something, it's their tendency to do it. if they can. the only way we're going to change this is to make this process, this formula, this barbaric mechanism for funding a $4 trillion government, will no longer work. they do not want them to vote for a measure that's the result of this kin

you need to have 60 votes in the united states senate. there's 51 republicans. frankly over here, obviously they'll take both democratic and republican votes. there is a great deal of give and take in this particular process. at the end of the day we got a bipartisan bill that both the chairman and the ranking member brought before us last night. again, as i mentioned earlier, from the republican standpoint, you're probably most pleased with the defense number. that's something we wanted and the administration wanted. in the nondefense area, there's many, many things that both sides agree on that is important for the national well-being. a $3 billion increase at the national institute of health. largest increase in a generation. substantially more money on opioids, a crisis we know affects all of our districts. $3 billion this year. $3 billion next year. over a number of subcommittee jurisdictions. substantial increase in early childhood education and childcare. something, again, that people on both sides of the aisle feel strongly about. lots of money for menta

for the annual united states senate youth program. meeting with them an the may flour hotel where they shared their thoughts about government and poll tick. >> it is unfair that women's and children's lives hang in the balance because our congress cannot find a solution t. is a humans rights issue. >> climate change, we are -- it is a travesty. every country in the world recognized the impacts of climate change and taken steps to address it and currently we have not stayed on course with the other countries. >> we are the richest nation in the world, yet we have citizens who go bankrupt trying to cover basic healthcare costs and that's an outrage and we should be ashamed. >> sunday night, at 8:00 eastern on c-span's q and a. >>> "american history tv" at fords theater in washington, d.c. for the 21st annual symposium hosted by the abraham lincoln institute and ford's theater society. next, walter stahr, author of "stanton: lincoln's war secretary." he talked about the role edward stanton played after lincoln's assassination, overseeing

at this rate the united states senate would take 11 1/2 years to confirm our nominees. 11 1/2 years to confirm our nominees. let me give you one more example of the comparison historically. in the first entire term of the george h.w. bush administration, his entire four years, he faced one cloture vote. in the entire four years of the clinton administration, he faced ten cloture votes. under the george w. bush administration, the entire first term he faced four cloture votes. barack obama faced 17 in his first entire four years. we have faced 79 in our first 14 months. that adds up to 32 combined in the entire first four years of those administrations relative to 79 in our first less than year and a half. >> pat pazella -- >> we're listening to marc short. we're really awawaiting to see sarah sanders come back and answer more questions today. we'll take a break. waiting for her. back in a moment. internet providers promise business owners a lot. let's see who delivers more. comcast business offers fast gig-speeds across our network. at&t doesn't. we offer more complete reliability with

douglas for a seat in united states senate. during the campaign famous linco lincoln/douglas debates. douglas repeated claimed that lincoln was an abolitionist. lincoln responded in part by declaring, i have always hated slavery i think as much as any abolitionist. but unlike the great majority of abolitionist, lincoln rejected social and political racial equality. he declared i immediate emancipation to be impossible. after losing the 1858 election, lincoln -- lincoln's expression in 1859 of anti-slavery sentiment continued to fall short of abolitionists standards. therefore it is not surprising that listen con's reaction to john brown's october 1859 raid under federal arsenal at virginia diverged from that of abolitionist. following brown's execution, r garza son wished success to the south. in a february 1860 speech, lincoln pledged that the republican party would let slavery alone in the states where it exist. in april, 1860 the democratic party split in two. northern democrats nominated steven average douglas for president

for the annual united states senate youth program. we met with them at the historic mayflower hotel where they shared their thoughts about government and politics. >> and i'm really passionate about daca. it is unfair that 700,000 men, women and children's lives hang in the balance because our congress cannot find a solution. it is not a democratic issue, it's not a republican issue, it's a human rights issue. >> an issue as important as climate change, the notion that we are the only country in the world not in the paris climate cords is a travesty. everyone around the country has demonstrated and taken steps to address it and we have not stayed on course with other countries. >> we are the richest nation in the world, yet we have citizens who go bankrupt trying to cover basic health care costs, and i think that is an outrage and that we should be ashamed. >> sunday night at 8:00 eastern on c-span's "q & a." >>> american history tv was recently at ford's theatre in washington, d.c. next a panel featuring the symposium speakers discus

60 votes to pass anything and we have a bill that can pass the united states senate and where looking at making some modifications, but i would expect major changes from what the bill looks at today. shery: one of the things you had to compromise on is the consumer protection financial bureau, how will it rest in the future? we have a president who understands that cfpb doesn't work correctly, and it has to do with the person in charge. until we have the votes to restrict what the cfpb dos, we had a man in charge on a temporary basis to understands that. the focus is not relating people out of business or penalizing business, but be innovative. right now we think we have some breathing room, but in the meantime there's going to be emphasis on making modifications of cfpb in the future. this is one democrats have a difficult time addressing and they catch a lot of heat on the far left. rather than losing a bill, we agree to modify cfpb because we have folks in charge right now who understand as we do that they do more damage than good with their regulatory attitude that they have had o

but what have we accomplished in the united states senate since then? nothing. and the threat is only growing. we have an entire industry whose whole business model is predicated on profiting on americans' most sensitive information. they are collecting it, storing it, selling it, and in many instances losing it in data breaches. consumers don't even know who these companies are. they live in the shadows of our economy. consumers rarely have any direct contact or business relationship with a data broker. yet, they know merely everything about you. that's not just social security numbers. detailed credit histories, addresses, driver's license numbers. that's information on what you read, what music you listen to, your children, and your medical history. in today's economy, you, the american consumer, are the commodity that is bought and sold on the open market, and right now you have no rights. data brokers are collecting and sharing america's personal information without your knowledge, without your consent. right now american consumers are completely powerless.

>> i am not running for the president of the united states, i am running for the united states senate, 2018, massachusetts, whoo hoo. i am in this fight to retain my senate seat in 2018. that's where i'm focused, that's where i'm staying focused. >> no pledge, though, on the six years? >> i am not running for president. >> whoo hoo. i didn't know folks in massachusetts said wouhoo hoo. we begin the hour with new presidential tweets and one that speaks volumes. the president is retreating about guns and gun violence. the president who lectured just days ago that people are afraid of the nra, they retracted the nra wishes. also missing, any big white house rollout. the memo was distributed sunday night. the president is tweeting today but no event on the schedule, no effort to use the traditional bully pulpit. instead this pair of tweets. strong improvement of background checks will be fully backed by white house. legislation moving forward. bump stocks will soon be out. highly trained expert teachers will be allowed to conceal carry, subject to state law. armed guards okay. deterrent.

we're big boys and girls here in the united states senate. when we take a stand, we ought to admit it. what the democrats are doing is they're blocking a 40% rate decrease for one single reason. one single reason. the president of the united states supports it, the speaker supports it, the majority leader supports it, we're ready to put it in the bill, and they say no. now let's look down the road to october. all the insurance companies will announce their rates for 2019 and we'll be looking ahead to 2020 and 2021. rates will be going up instead of going down. the farmer, the self-employed person, the songwriter, they're going to be saying how am i going to be able to afford this? nothing is more important to americans than health care. nothing is more frightening to americans than the prospect of not being able to afford to buy health care. and that, mr. president, is what we're doing here. what we're doing here. i'm greatly disappointed by this. i've spent hundreds of hours on this since september. i've had, we had a piece of legislation in

by saudi arabia, then members of the united states senate should have the courage to vote for u.s. participation in that war. nothing more complicated than that. you want to come to the floor of the senate, make the case, why do you think it is good public policy for usol to be involved n that civil war in yemen, come to the floor and oppose our resolution. but what i hope very much that we will not see today is the tabling of this motion, and the refusal by members of the senate to vote up or down as to whether or not we wish to continue aiding saudi arabia in this humanitarian disaster. if you believe, as i do, that we should not get sucked into the civil war, which is already cost so much human suffering, please vote against tabling the motion to this charge and vote with us on final passage. if you believe that the united states should continue to assist saudi arabia in this war, i urge you to have the courage to tell your constituents that that is your decision and why you have made that decision when you vote against final passage. in other words, if you support the war, have

, to his beloved country, and to the united states senate. he will be missed here in the senate. now, mr. president, i'm pleased to say that the four congressional leaders have reached an agreement on the omnibus spending bill. that's now public. it didn't happen until last night. it took a long time. painstaking weeks of negotiations. more than a few of which went past the midnight hour. before i go further, i want to thank leader mcconnell, speaker ryan, and their staffs, leader pelosi and her team, chairman cochran, vice chairman leahy and the appropriations committee staff and many others for all the hard work that went into this bill. now, it certainly doesn't have everything democrats want, and it contains a few things democrats aren't thrilled about. the same is true of our republican friends. that is true of all compromises. if each of us stood on our hind legs and said if i get everything i wanted, i'm voting no, we would be totally paralyzed. that happens far too often in this body. but somehow on this appropriations bill, this omni

states senate or whether it is the memorandum of understanding in the $38 billion, largest amount ever put into israel's security. at the same time things have come very polarized and so the way i would suggest and your leaders know this and you know this better than anyone to try to do everything. your republican reach out to democrats. if you're a democrat, reach out to republicans. getting youth involved and seizing on some of those issues that israel and this community has long stood up for whether it's a taking on climate change. whether it's immigration reform. whether it is standing up for refugees. these are issues that the jewish community has been uniquely active on. i think those are issues that areappealing to young people. so many of them don't know that history. that's why i appreciate how aipac has reached out in that way. the last thing i say about this is it's just as you do, it's finding friends that maybe you didn't know were friends before. with senator mccain and senator graham. we spent, not this last new year's eve but the one before that. we were in the baltics,