brian: senator robert byrd spent 51 years in the senate. mark: longest-serving senator. brian: in history. mark: in history, yes. brian: so how much of robert c byrd do we have in our archive? mark: in our archive? my goodness. a lot. let's just say that. i don't know how many hours of robert c byrd we have, but he cast more votes. he's number one on the all-time voting list. you could spend -- it would be a great documentary just doing it on robert c byrd on the floor of the senate. brian: he died in 2010. is there anybody like him in the senate now? i'm not surew, there's going to be anyone like him ever again. again, he was out there reciting poetry. he knew the rules of the senate. there are some many times we were going through videotape and watching him just either waxed poetic about what the institution is supposed to do, or take on a senator who doesn't know the rules as well as he does. i'm not sure theirs in institutional us now that does that. brian: when he died he was still a united states senator at the time. kind of explain to the average person that may n

brian: senator robert byrd spent 51 years in the senate. mark: longest-serving senator. brian: in history. mark: in history, yes. brian: so how much of robert c byrd do we have in our archive? mark: in our archive? my goodness. a lot. let's just say that. i don't know how many hours of robert c byrd we have, but he cast more votes. he's number one on the all-time voting list. you could spend -- it would be a great documentary just doing it on robert c byrd on the floor of the senate. brian: he died in 2010. is there anybody like him in the senate now? mark: you know, i'm not sure there's going to be anyone like him ever again. again, he was out there reciting poetry. he knew the rules of the senate. there are some many times we were going through videotape and watching him just either waxed poetic about what the institution is supposed to do, or take on a senator who doesn't know the rules as well as he does. i'm not sure theirs in institutional us now that does that. brian: when he died he was still a united states senator at the time. kind of explain to the average per

senate. leaders on both sides of the aisle as well as the white house should be commended for their admirable and persistent cooperation and determination on this legislation. i believe the package's goals are noble. it's right to help those who have paid their debt to reenter society with the best possible chance to be productive contributors. it's right to take steps to ensure that sentences are fair and appropriately tailored to the defendant. and it's right to calibrate the way we treat those in custody based on the risk that they pose to society. but being from colorado, it's hard to think about federal criminal justice reform without thinking about the biggest problem the federal criminal law creates for colorado. the refusal to respect the will of coloradans when it comes to their decision on marijuana. that's exactly what i am trying to do is to create a debate so that we can address the conflict between state and federal law. everyday coloradans of good faith follow colorado law to a

senate. that's why he's on the senate floor right now. manu, i assume we anticipate that mitch mcconnell will be speaking first, followed by chuck schumer. is that right? >> yeah, that's typically what happens in these type of agreements about disputes. they both want to be on the same page publicly, so everybody knows exactly where each side stands. what will be interesting to see is the details they talk about and what they leave out. do they leave out how to deal with the president's demand for $5 billion in funding for his border wall, or do they suggest that there is a middle ground somewhere between what the president has been asking and what the democrats put up initially, $1.3 billion. or what was agreed on a bipartisan basis, $1.6 billion. far short from the $5 billion the president is demanding. do they get into any of these details or simply discuss a process of moving forward and trying to get to a deal ultimately on the floor of the senate. and if it's the latter, if it's just ab

as senator mccaskill leaves the senate, take a look. remember claire mccaskill and her personal brand of missouri courage. may we all try to be bridge builders, as she has been. mr. president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from kansas. mr. moran: mr. president, thank you. we all are surrounded by exceptionally dedicated young men and women who work side by side with us and really sometimes whose lead we follow on issues. our staff. and i am honored to have such a capable, dedicated, loyal staff to me, but more importantly to kansans and to americans. and today i want to take just a moment to recognize the contributions of a member of that staff: u.s. army captain mark bedren who spent last year working in my office as party united states army congressional fellowship program. before mark departs from my office and to return to the big army in the pentagon at the start of the new year, i rise to express my admiration, my appreciation to captain bedren for all the hard work and dedication in service to our nation.

>> i want to think senator corker, senator flake, senator schumer the leaders for their discussions. in my own view, the government shutdown ought not to be a part of budget negotiations anymore than chemical weapon should be part of warfare. we world elected to keep the government run for taxpayers not to shut it down. my hope is this will put us on a path towards a resolve and recognize the president's desire for increased border security which we support many democrats support as well. and we can finish our appropriations process. i would like to say a few words about what was described in a famous movie in which jimmy stewart played mr. smith goes to washington. democracies find the show, the right to talk your head off legislative filibuster. unless somebody say you just announce you're not going to run for reelection in two years so you're going to change your team. i'm not changing my tune. i asked consent to include in the record remarks i made in 2011 at the heritage foundation about the tradition of the filibuster, perhaps the best-known part of the senate. i would like to

south dakota. >> associate myself and senate - - senator isaacson and senator heller has been very active and important voice on our committee on countless issues we have a very wide jurisdiction you heard him speak his passion for veterans and everybody knows that and how hard he has worked to make life better for veterans in the state of nevada. and many which fall under the jurisdiction of the senate commerce committee i cannot think ofe, anybody that's more passionate more conscientious or hard-working and frankly rocksolid coming to the way he stands up here in the united states senate i will miss him and his staff on the senate commerce committee that his contributions will continue because he not only has great talent but tremendous character then to have more time together but to be more appreciative that no matter how tough the going was he always had a smile on his face people talked about his optimism and that's a virtue is what matters because we deal with serious issues but it's important we see the lighter side and appreciate the humor and what we do but approach it with a s

brian: senator robert byrd spent 51 years in the senate. mark: longest-serving senator. brian: in history. mark: in history, yes. brian: so how much of robert c. byrd do we have in our archive? mark: in our archive? my goodness. a lot. let's just say that. i don't actually know how many hours of robert c. byrd we have, served for 51 years, but he cast more votes. he's number one on the all-time voting list. you could spend -- it would be a great documentary just doing it on robert c. byrd on the floor of the senate. brian: he died in 2010. is there anybody like him in the senate now? mark: you know, i'm not sure there's going to be anyone like him ever again. again, he was out there reciting poetry. he knew the rules of the senate. there are so many times we were going through videotape and watching him just either wax poetic about what the institution is supposed to do, or take on a senator who doesn't know the rules as well as he does. i'm not sure there is an institutionalist now that does that. brian: 92 when he died, he was still a united states senator at the time.

to run for the senate? governor of tennessee which might be better suited to somebody with his executive background. he ran for the senate in 1994 which would be a good year with the republican to do that but he was defeated by bill frist the doctor never before involved inn politics so who are these two rookies running against each other in aki primary he spent more of his money to beat him and then to serve as majority leader of the united stateser senate but that did not slow bob down but ten minutes. so then the governor advised him to become the ceo of the state here we saw the first indications of diplomacy that we now see today in his work around the world he began to work with the democratic mayors of nashville that was just defeated in the g governor's race and then they brought the titans to nashville in tennessee which by the way play the jaguars tonight. [laughter] bob earned so much respect from the democratic legislature they tried to persuade him to run for governor as a democrat. he said no

the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until 4:00 p.m. on monday. mr. president, this is that time at the end of the congress when inevitably some of our members go on to something else and leave this body. i want to take this opportunity this morning to pay tribute to another distinguished member of the senate who's leaving us at the end of this year. senator bob corker, one of the most hardworking and frankly relentless members of this body. relentless members of this body. . >> always a man on a mission. our distinguished colleague has a long history of impressing senators howard baker, and of course, our colleague lamar alexander. with the great tennessee legacy he met that high bar and set a high himself and with that initiative some and then to dive into the fray and attacking the problem with everything he had. that limitless work ethic and that entrepreneurial drive. these things have defined bob corker since long before he was sworn in as a s senator. he started to work odd jobs at age 13 and at 25 he saved enough money to found his own constru

, senator levin, said that the senate that does not, it always changed the rules as the senate without any roles. senate in which the majority can always change the rules without following the rules, like a football game. the home team can say if you gain nine years, that's the first down. or if you make three-point shot and they need for, accounted for four. that's not the rule of law. so madame president, with these remarks and i hope the senator from delaware still here, and willing to say, i make there is remarks just to remind the country and remind the members of the senate that 61 of us have already signed a letter saying the legislative filibuster, the right to extended debate, the opportunity to talk to head off in defense of what you want. the ability to function is against the tierney of the majority.it in this fractured country as an institution that can produce consensus that is lasting and accepted by most people is the most buyable part of his body. the majority, whether in the majority and we often make that clear. if we ever do decide want to talk about it and change i

senator grassley: senator harris. senator harris: thank you. commissioner, there's been a lot of talk about the use of tear gas in november and my question is -- there have been public reports, i believe it was from chief agent rodney scott, and then you today you have -- you are conducting an internal affairs investigation, is that correct? mr. mcaleenan: it's aided by our office of professional responsibility. it's not an internal affairs investigation with the assumption of misconduct, though? mr. harris: you are -- senator harris: ok. you are investigating? mr. mcaleenan: yes. senator harris: you said in your testimony today will you approach it and then the findings with transparency, specifically, will you commit making all of your findings public and available to this committee? mr. mcaleenan: we have a process after use of force review board is complete about publishing findings from the use of force review board whether it's tactics, training, procedures that have been identified for improvement and, yes, i'll share that with the commi

senate 645, senate 2322, senate 2599, senate 2827, senate 2863, senate 3461, that the senate passed with amendment h.r. 2666. the senate passed with an amendment h.r. 6227, that the senate passed without an 4032,ent, h.r. 1318, h.r. 6160, 31, h.r. appointments, cyber space commission and serious study group. signed sincerely karen l. haas. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house another communication. the clerk: the honorable, the speaker, house of representatives, sir, pursuant to the provision granted in clause 2-h of rule 2 of the u.s. house of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on december 18, 2018 at 9:14 a.m., that the senate agrees to house amendment to the bill, senate 1311, that the senate agrees to the house amendment to the bill, senate 1312, that the senate passed senate 1520, senate 1862, that the senate passed with an amendment, h.r. 2200. signed sincerely, karen l. haas. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house a communication. the clerk: the honorable, the speaker, house of repre

on c-span and the senate on c-span2. >> and the house and senate are both is scheduled to come in on saturday to work on a government funding bill. senate leadership announced that they would not take a vote until there was an agreement between them, the president, and the house of representatives. watch the house live on c-span and the senate on c-span two. voted 48-47 senate yesterday to proceed to a government funding will that includes $5.7 billion for a border wall, the dirty leader mitch mcconnell and minority leader chuck schumer outlined the weight ahead for the senate. -- outlined the way ahead for the senate. >> the yeas are 47. the nays are 47. the senate is equally divided and the vice president votes in the affirmative. here is a following message from the house. message. >> to agree to the amendment of the senate to the amendment of the senate to the bill hr 695 and act child protection act with the amendment. >> it is clear for the pending legislation with disaster relief and border security. with the republican conference with the reasonable request at the southern bo

senate. we must return to a culture of ity, compromise, and mutual respect which used to reside here. we must be the very change we want to see in the country. we must not be enemies but friends. though passion may have strained, and must not break -- it must not break our bonds of affection. the mystic chords of memory may yet swell and again be touched angels ofter our nature. these are not my words. these are the words of president lincoln. they came long ago on the eve of the civil war. lincoln's words are just as timely now as they were then. if there was ever a time to heat the better angels of our nature, i think it is now. how can we answer lincoln's call to our better angels? n the last year, i have devoted significant time and energy to answering that question. today, i wish to reflect on lincoln's appeal. our challenge is to rise above the din and divisiveness of today's politics. ands to tune out the noise tune into reason. it is to choose patients over impulse, fact or feeling. i

and then there is senator heitkamp's work in the senate. during the time we served together in the senate, i have been so impressed by senator heitkamp's ability to stand up for her priorities and her values while also working with anybody else here willing to step up to get results, particularly on issues like fighting for rural communities, standing up for our country's veterans, strengthening our nation's health care system. and, yes, reminding our colleagues that there is a northern border that needs to be secured and attended to. serving together on the homeland security and governmental affairs committee, i saw firsthand her capacity to be constructive and to find compromise. in doing so, she earned the respect and trust of her colleagues while also building a record of bipartisan accomplishments, accomplishments we all know last because of their very bipartisanship. above all, senator heitkamp was relentless in fighting for what she believed in. just ask any of the witnesses who testified before her on the homeland security and gover

the senate on c-span 2. and we most recently saw the senate in session on saturday at noon. they came in after the government had partial -- part of the government had shut down. 25% of the government. i want to show you the comments of mitch mcconnell setting up what we will see that nothing will come to the senate floor unless it is agreed to by all parties. here's some of what he had to say. >> the next scheduled session will be on the 27th of december. as i said earlier today when we opened, i'm glad that productive discussions are continuing and these negotiations produce a solution that is acceptable to all parties which means 60 votes in the senate, majority in the house and a presidential signature. at that point, we will take it up on the senate floor. senators will be notified when a vote is scheduled and in the meantime, the discussions and negotiations continue. host: and the majority leader mentioning the next session today, the 27, coming in at 4:00. the senate on c-span2, the house here on c-span. your calls next. go ahead, ann. caller: what departments in the

senate, one of the highest honors in the senate. and he's chaired three senate class a committees during his tenure in the senate. the finance committee, which he is curmt -- currently the chairman. the judiciary committee, the committee on health, education, and labor and pensions. some of his major accomplish ments, these are just a few, include passage of the historic pro-growth middle-class tax reform, the most significant tax reform in a generation. confirmation right here in the senate of conservative judges to the federal bench, hundreds and hundreds, including, mr. president, playing an instrumental role in the confirmation of supreme court justices scalia, antonin scalia, clarence thomas, samuel alley at -- samuel alito and brett kavanaugh. scores of district and circuit court judges. one of senator hatch's particular noteworthy achievements among others on the judiciary committee is the religious freedom restoration act of 1993, a bill he cosponsored, authored and cosponsored with the late senator ted kennedy. landmark leg

senate floor. we must respect each other again in an atmosphere of shared facts and shared values, comity, and good faith. we must argue our positions fervently and never be afraid to compromise. we must assume the best of our fellow man and always look for the good. i think it's significant that those words resonated both with the senator from delaware and with me. and i'm sure with many others. senator jeff flake always gave his best, and he always helped us find the good. i join my colleagues in wishing him, cheryl, and his family well and in expecting many more contributions from this leader of many gifts and determined principles. thank you, mr.

i was on the staff of senator bill cohen who joined the senate in 1979 just two years after senator hatch, and i saw from the start as the staffer of serving senator hatch that this gentleman from utah was brilliant, kind and devoted to his duty to serve others. they've placed careful consideration and compromise above partisan politics time and again. during my first year in the senate to the tax reform law that strengthened the economy. i remember my freshman year in the senate when senator hatch came to see me in my office and she told me about the plan to expand health insurance for the underserved children of our country. he said he was offering the bill with ted kennedy and i thought that was a surprising .combination. but then i learned that it was not. but he would work together with his colleagues on both sides of the aisle to accomplished the goal that he said and he invited me to be one of the early cosponsors of this bill and i was so flattered that the senior member of the united states senate would come to me and invite me to join in cosponsoring such a significant that has

this talks about senator dole's career in the senate in the 1980's. in the 1984 he becomes the republican leader, republicans are in the majority. a wonderful letter from longtime friend senator inouye of hawaii. they would back together a long time, patience together after they were injured in world war ii. there is a great story where senator inouye says to bob ole, why didn't you just get that thing cut off, like i did. so the two soldiers bonded together and discussed great plans for themselves, and they said, we will see you in washington, see who gets there first. inoyuye actually got there first and sent him a telegram saying, i am here. where are you, bob? here we have president ronald reagan signing social security amendments into law. in 1981, social security was in crisis and senator dole and other folks worked together on the greenspan commission. >> that will take care of a lot of the mail received from people saying, if members of congress aren't covered, how can you understand the problem? members of congress and the social security adm

including senator mcconnell, senator shelby, senator rubio, senator -- they were all for it. this is a bipartisan, compromise proposal. now, if they can't go for that, the proposal that they signed off on and negotiated because president trump is pounding the table in an irrational way, there's a second option. democrats have also offered to pass the six bipartisan appropriations bills and a continuing resolution for the department of homeland security. that continuing resolution doesn't resolve this issue but continues to fund the homeland security department. we think that continuing resolution should be for a year. both options -- both options would receive 60 votes in the senate and in the house and would get us home in time for the christmas holiday, which i know many people want to do. i've heard that from many of my republican friends. as i said, either option would keep the government funded over christmas, because we don't want to see the government shut down over christmas, even though president trump seems to brag that he wants one. the only way -- the one and only

from alaska, the senate for washington, the senator from montana and others. equal footing. with equal representation in the senate. the one type of institutional amendment that is presumptively unconstitutional. you can't modify the equal representation of the senate. that's what makes this place unique. each state is represented equally as i will defend my state, the state of utah, to my dying breath of fungicide. breathing and holding e an election certificate i will defend it. now, my distinguished friend and colleague for whom ife have gret affection and respect has just pointed out that the people of colorado might be disappointed about this water measure that was in there, or this or that of the provision of colorado. do they havee reason to be concerned? you bet. to those people in colorado have objection to the idea that utah might be treated equally with or wyoming? i think not. most people in america will look at a state that is that a couple million acres of emolument declared, that just wants to be treated the same way as alaska and wyoming and sa

republican controlled senate is considering a bill by senators from both sides of the aisle and we have a chance to do something. congress should make this bipartisan legislation a fitting ending to this year. for all of the cynicism and skept vichl what congress can achieve. we can prove as soon as tam with one of the changes in our nation, that we can do the job

senator. i'm the former chairman and longest serving member on at least the republican side of the senate judiciary committee, i think leahy probably has me by a few months. i've seen a lot of judicial nominees in my time. in fact, i participated in the confirmation of more than half of article 3 judges who have ever served. a lot has changed during my time in office. i wish i could say that the confirmation process has improved, or at least stayed about the same, but it hasn't. it's declined. precipitously. the judicial confirmation process, simply put, is a mess. it hasn't always been this way. both sides used to work together. or at the very least used to try to treat each other's nominees fairly. the delay tactics that have become so commonplace used to be pretty rare. here's an amazing fact. one that's almost impossible to believe given the current state of things. before justice breyer was confirmed, he was justice breyer on the u.s. court of appeals for the 1st circuit. he was nominated

that the senate passed senate 7. that the senate passed senate 194 . that the senate passed senate 2276. that the senate passed senate 2343. that the senate passed senate 2597. that the senate passed senate 3119. that the senate passed without an amendment h.r. 315. that the senate passed with an amendment h.r. 2454. that the senate passed with an amendment h.r. 5075. appointmentses, cyber space solarium commission. with best wishes, i am, signed sincerely, karen l. haas. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 12-of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess until approximately 3:30 p.m. today. >> when the new house -- congress take office in january, it'll have the youngest, most diverse class in history. watch live on c-span starting january 3. >> up next, a supreme court oral argument in the case gamble vs. the united states, at issue is whether someone can be trind different charges by a state government and the federal government for the same crime. the case was brought by an alabama man trieded on state and federal charges for being a fe

senator. mr. sullivan: it's very appropriate that you should be the one passing it since it's named after you. you have a lifetime of tremendous service to the united states of america. the president pro tempore: you're a great man. i appreciate it. i'm not so sure i'm the one that should have been here. i didn't realize that was going to happen this morning but i'm very honored and honored by the senator from alaska and my other fellow senators in the united states senate. mr. sullivan: i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the president pro tempore: the senator from florida knell mr. president? -- florida? mr. nelson: mr. president, i would add my congratulations. the president pro tempore: thank you so much. mr. nelson: it's my understanding, mr. president, i'll seek the floor later. it's my understanding that senator schumer wants to speak. and then i will seek recogniti recognition. . mr. schumer: mr. president. the presiding officer: the democratic whip -- democratic leader. mr. schum

i was on the staff of senator bill cohen, who joined the senate in 1979, just two years after senator hatch, and i saw from the start, as a staffer observing senator hatch, that this gentleman from utah was brilliant, he was kind, and he was devoted to his duty to serve others. he truly is one who leads by example. senator hatch has placed careful consideration and compromise above partisan politics time and again. from the landmark legislation to create the state children's health insurance program during my very first year in the senate to the recent tax reform law to strengthen our economy and grow jobs, i've had the great pleasure to work with this remarkable leader. in fact, i remember my freshman year in the senate when senator hatch came to see me in my office, and he told me about his plan to expand health insurance for the underserved children of our country. and he said that he was offering the bill with ted kennedy, and i thought, well, that's a surprising combination. but then i learned that it was not; that he would work together with his colleagues on both sides of the a

durbin and senator grassley, senator lee, senator booker, colleagues in the house of represent tifs, those -- representatives, those in the white house that worked so tirelessly over the years to achieve this result. this is a remarkable achievement for the people of this country. i have worked as most people in this body know for a number of years as both a prosecutor and as a defense lawyer. and in that capacity, i've been -- i've seen firsthand the problems in a system of justice that seems to have gotten out of whack, that has incarcerated so, so many people, more than just about any civilized country in the world. and yielding very little results. and so what i see is an effort of republicans and democrats coming together. madam president, when i ran for this office last year, i talked consistently about a country and a state of alabama that had more in common than we have to divide us. i talked more about reaching across the aisle, having dialogues instead of mon lookings. this -- instead of monologues. this bill is the perfect example of that and i hope the people of america s

he is a senator who i agree with many issues, the senator from utah, on. clearly he is one of the most passionate members on safeguarding constitutional prerogatives, but on this case, i simply disagree with him and the other senators, whose views i view as way too restrictive on the commander and chief -- commander in chief's ability to control our military. accept even the refueling of aircraft in allied countries, not even occurring in a war zone, needs congressional authority, either through the war powers act or article 2, we would severely limit the executive branch's ability to interact in national crisis and safeguard our global national security issues. i believe it is a workable president, the notion that refueling allied aircraft constitutes hostility. it is a stretch of the term. skeptical ofeen the attempt to remove presidential authority on our military operations once those operations have gone. -- have begun. for example, we had a debate on military operations and the authorities of our military to operate in afghanistan, which i believe se

to have a bill that senator grassley and i have worked on with senator lee and senator booker, i mean, that tells a story in and of itself, the four leaders on this legislation, but then to consider the fact that president trump has endorsed it, that vice president pence has come to the republican conference lunch saying he's behind it and urging the republican caucus to support it as well really speaks to the political bipartisanship that we rarely, if ever, have seen in washington. the groups that are behind it are equally amazing. to have the support on an important justice reform bill by the fraternal order of police is a great start and then to have the leading criminals prosecutors association join with the police really tells you that on the law enforcement side we have the major leaguers. then on the other side, incredibly, we have the america civil liberties union supporting this and most of the major self-rights organizations. i think we really struck a good point here where we have worked and compromised for five or six years to reach this moment. it's possible that as earl

senate. senator nelson lost his bid for fourth term to his state's governor, republican rick scott. this is 30 minutes. sen. nelson: this is my farewell speech and i thought it would do well to think back to the very first speech that i gave on the floor. my maiden speech. my maiden speech was about a couple of months after the first time being sworn in. i had waited, back then -- this is 18 years ago -- it was appropriate for freshmen senators to wait a while. don't speak up right away. so i waited two or three months until it felt like it was the appropriate time and i remember, there was nobody out here. it was an empty chamber and in the course of this speech and i picked a topic of the day. i think we were trying to balance the budget at the time, something that 18 years later we're still trying to do. and then, in the course of the speech, i mentioned that it was my maiden speech. nobody out here except the presiding officer. all of a sudden those doors swing open right there. and then

senator. at one point it looked like another kind of stardom might be more probable, and i'm not just talking about the successful law practice he set aside to run for office. we all know about orrin's musical talent and his contributions to the recording industry. and i'm told that just a few years before orrin's first campaign in 1976, the lawyer and family man was moonlighting as band manager for a groundbreaking mormon folk group called the free agency. well, it's fortunate for all of us that this free agent felt called to bring his talents here to washington. here is a famous story from that first campaign back in 1976. think about this. orrin had no political experience. a stranger running for office. but he had this sense that public service was his mission. perhaps he was thinking of his beloved big brother jesse who gave his life in world war ii when orrin was just 10. he started asking around. did his friends and family think he had a shot at a senate seat? few liked his chances in t

just last night we saw the broadest possible coalition of senators, from senator booker and senator lee to senator durbin and senator graham and senator grassley come to this floor and lead a successful final vote on criminal justice reform. if we can do that, overcoming decades of divisive politics on race in criminal justice, why can't we do this? this cannot wait. the moment to act is now. the american people deserve an explanation as to why we can't act on this most important point. before i yield the floor to my colleague from new jersey, i want to conclude with just a few words about my colleague and my friend, jeff flake. when we look back at the history of this time with the hindsight of history, it is my hope, it is my belief that senator flake will be recognized as someone who put country over party at a moment when it mattered. and he follows a long line of republicans whose mettle has been tested by the turmoil of their times -- wendell wilke, the republicans' nominee for president who agreed to support president roosevelt's controversial aid to send aid to britain at a cont

to have a bill that senator grassley and i have worked on senator lee and senator booker, i mean, that tells a story in and of itself, four leaders on this legislation. the thing to consider the fact president trump has endorsed it, vice president pence has come to the republican conference lunch saying he is behind it and urging the republican caucus to support it as well really speaks to the political bipartisanship that we rarely ever have seen in washington. the groups that are behind are equally amazing. to have the support on important criminal justice reform bill of the fraternal order of police is a great starting point as far as i'm concerned and then to have the leading prosecutors, the l leading criminal prosecutors association join with the police really tells you that on the law enforcement side we have the major leaguers. then on the other side, incredibly, we have the american civil liberties union supporting this and most of major civil rights organizations. i think we've really struck a good point here where we have worked and compromised for five or six years to reach

senator from connecticut. i come to the floor today to join my colleagues in support of the underlying

take a tour inside the senate chamber, the old senate chamber, and other exclusive locations. next, farewell speeches from three senators who are leaving congress. we hear first from missouri senator claire mccaskill, who lost her reelection bid. she is followed by arizona republican jeff flake being about his retirement, after that nevada republican dean heller says goodbye to his colleagues and it reflects on his time in congress. sen. mccaskill: it probably won't surprise my colleagues to know that i don't like much the idea of a farewell speech. farewell speech. i haven't spent a great deal of time contemplating it over the years i have been here. i'm not a big fan of the concept. but i want to respect the tradition, especially since i have witnessed so many senate traditions crumble over the last 12 years. so i will do my best to get through this without breaking up a traditional farewell speech in the united states senate is full of accomplishments and thanks. i'm going to skip half of that. i'm extremely proud of my body of work over 34 years of public service, but it i

senate gavels in momentarily. flags across the capital and across the nation after the death of former president george h.w. bush. the senate considering measures to authorize that he lives dated the u.s. capitol rotunda and to authorize his coffin be held on the lincoln catapult years after the death of abraham lincoln. this is why the senate coverage on c-span2. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. eternal god, we trust you. lead us in the paths that bring glory to your name. point us to the right road, guiding us with your truth so that we will honor you with our lives. give our lawmakers gratitude for the work they do each day and for the opportunities to make a positive impact upon our nation and world. increase in their hearts the qualities of love, knowledge, and obedience, enabling our senators to grow daily in your likeness. and, lord, we praise you for the life and legacy of a gentle statesman, president george herbert walker bush. we pray in your sove

he is interviewed by matt murray. >> senator mitch mcconnell, the majority leader of the senate, it is good to have you with us. >> [ applause ] >> thank you very much for being here with us. >> went to be with you. >> we have a lot to talk about. we had a panel but before we talk about policy and politics, obviously one of these unusual weeks in washington as it turns out with a presidential funeral. tell us a little bit about what went through your mind when you heard that president bush had passed away and how you are thinking about him this week? >> he was a great role model for the whole country. and i thought it was great for the country to celebrate him again. as we all know, he kept his mouth shut and stayed out of other president's businesses. we had a chance to relive an extraordinary life. nobody led a more extraordinary life than he did. it was a great celebration and a chance for the public to witness the greatest generation . he was the greatest of the greatest generation. it is safe to say that. we all admired him. i have been interested in the stories of reporters and o

and looking back at remarks from the senate earlier today. >> azor 47 nazar 47 the senate being equally divided the vice president votes to lay before the house the following message. >> to agree to the amendment of the senate to the amendment of the senate to the bill hr 695 and act child protection act with the amendment. >> it is clear for the pending legislation with disaster relief and border security. with the republican conference with the reasonable request at the southern border. and then to complete the remaining appropriation bills however since any solution requires 60 votes in the senate is clear from the beginning that two things are necessary and as a result the senate has proceeded in order to preserve maximum flexibility for a productive conversation between the white house and our democratic colleagues. s i hope senate democrats work with the white house to pass both houses of congress and receive the presidents signature so when the agreement is reached it will receive a a vote here on the senate floor i moved to concur with the house amendment to the senate amendment

i spoke about the shooting on the senate floor last june and the senate unanimously adopted senate resolution 575 which i authored and cosponsored by members of the senate. it salutes the careers of the members of the shooting. honors the survivors of the attack and families of the victims and pledges to continue support for their recovery, thanks law enforcement officers and other emergency first responders for their heroic actions and reaffirms the commitment of the senate to defending the first amendment of the constitution of the united states. wendi winters was among the five "capital gazette" employees killed in the june 28 shooting. according to eyewitness accounts from survivors, wendi armed herself with the closest weapons at hand, her trash and recycling bins, and charged the shooter shouting for him to stop. it is believed that wendi's action distracted the shooter enough to enable coworkers toes cape. we think as violence against reports as something that happens in war zones but not in the united states of america. all around the world reporters worked to gather facts, ask questi

senate. so you can imagine that is nothing -- nothing i said was memorable but it was certainly memorable to this senator that all of a sudden i would be treated to the corporate knowledge of one of th the lie - one of the lions of the senate in looking back at the history of this body. i want you to know that i'm a florida boy. my family came to florida from denmark in 1829. for those of you from the northeast, so many people come to florida from the northeast. well, my great, grea great-grandfather was a sailor, a teenager on a sailing ship, and he ended up in new york in a barroom brawl. he was frightened that he was going to be arrested. so he ran to hide. he ran down to the wharf. he hid in a ship. and the ship cast off for port st. joe, florida, in 1829. so, you see, my family came to florida from new york also. five generations. another side -- on the other side of the family, i have a deed signed by woodrow wilson in 1917 to my grandparents after they had worked the land for the requi

knowing about the taxpayer managers package before senators. that is today's senate. solving the toughest problems will not happen without tough votes. we can talk about the toughest problems. we can visit about them. we can argue. we can campaign that we are not going to solve them without tough votes. wasirst year in the senate 2007. we voted on 306 amendments in 2007. on 36.ar, we voted that is remarkable. if we do is broken and not have the strength to look in the mirror and fix it, the american people are growing -- cynical andw more ansomething crazy like elect american tv star president. say we cannot change the world. we are like the house. people are writing legislation. a few people are making the decision. we have to throw off the shackles of careful, open the doors of debate, reclaim the power of members and committees and realized that looking the other way and hoping everything will work out later his fullest. sakes, vote on amendments. know that i love this place and you, almost all of you. you have filled my life with interesting work and unforgettable

daines: madam president, i ask that the senate be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. daines: i ask unanimous consent that the majority leader and the junior senator from montana be authorized to sign duly enrolled bills on friday, december 21. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. daines: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 12 noon saturday, december it 2. further -- december 22, further following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, and -- and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day finally, the senate resume the house mess yablg to accompany h.r. 695. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. daines: if there's no further business to come before the senate, i ask that it stand aunderunder the previous order. the presiding officer: the the presiding officer: the >> you can let us know what they think and w

that is a non-starter in the senate. absent some movement, absent a deal, the government goes dark midnight tonight. here's sarah sanders, she echoing the president trying to pin the blame on democrats for an impending shutdown. take a look. >> the fact that senate democrats would put that on the line for political purposes, that's a sad, sad moment. i think it's a sad day in america. >> but here's the thing, kasie. democrats have been consistent all along that they want no parts of a donald trump border wall. they see it as a political issue for donald trump, not a viable policy issue. so we'll have to see how this shakes out, how this meeting goes that's happening now before this tentative senate vote scheduled for noon eastern. >> geoff, is there any indication that the president might be open to some sort of bill that's different from what the house passed last night, a lesser amount of money, a different kind of situation or is that off the table at this point? >> reporter: there are moderate voices within his admin

senator, thank you for your time. with daver interview brat who lost his reelection bid in november. nationalme on to the .tage by defeating eric cantor how do you do that? >> it is not all clear. people and iof

senator rubio, senator cardin, senator young, senator sullivan, senator perdue, senator graham, senator coons, senator kaine, senator peters, senator wicker, all cosponsors of this bill, perfectly bipartisan. and i also want to thank representatives mccarthy and hoyer and neil and rios and castro and soho for their help as well. it is not only indicative of the level of bipartisanship in congress but also on u.s.-asia policy. this bill would not have been possible without them and it would not have been possible without, again, the wonderful staffs that we are blessed to have working on these issues who spent many long hours for advocating on many key american interests and values in this legislation. this bill represents a generational policy to enhance leadership in the indo-pacific and is a demonstrate of a free and open region as the rules-based international order. mark appleton worked to partner with you. i'm pleased that the gardner-markey legislation will pass today and i look forward to it being sent on it the president's desk. i thank you, mr. president, and, again, i thank se

brown: i might thank senator tester, senator isakson, senator gillibrand and senator blumenthal. mr. president, senator tester is right. this is the cost of war. but it's pretty simple. if you were exposed to poison while serving our country, you deserve the benefits you earned, no exception. my office holds roundtables with veterans all over the state. we've held more -- more than a dozen over the past several months. we hear ohio veteran after ohio veteran raise this issue time and time again. joe benedict from cleveland talked about how important these benefits are to veterans like him. last week, i met with mike cavinnis, another blue water navy veteran from cambridge, ohio. 71 years old. drove four hours from his home in eastern ohio to get here. he talked to members of congress of what a burden this senseless policy is for so many veterans who he knows who have already sacrificed for this country. he urges us to put politics aside. that's what senator tester and senator gillibrand and senator isakson have asked us to do. we introduced last year the blue water navy vietnam v

she lost a bitterly fought senate race in november against senator-elect sinema. she was appointed days after jon kyl announced he would resign from the senate on december 31st. mcsalley will serve out the remaining two years of senator mccain's term which expires january of 2021 and will face a special election for a full six-year term in 2020. here's a look at governor ducey earlier today talking with martha mcsalley. >> good morning. i want to begin by offering my sincere thanks to senator jon kyl. when we stood here just a few months ago it was in a very challenging time for both arizona and our country. congress had a full workload to get through and arizona was just coming off a very difficult week following the death of senator john mccain. arizona needed someone who could hit the ground running and represent our state with experience and confidence, and that's exactly what jon kyl did. over the last few months, senator kyl has served with the same integrity and statesmanship that marked his 26 years in congress. he didn't have to return to the united state