senate. so i lot comes through here. if you want to get rid of common core or fix no child left behind, this is where you come. if you want to get medical miracles into a doctor's office more rapidly, you come here. if there is an opioid crisis, here. big argument over labor, here. so a lot happens here. we've got 23 members of the senate, from elizabeth warren and bernie sanders to rand paul. so if we can get a consensus here, we think the country can live with it as well. >> highlights of your chairmanship over the years? senator alexander: one emotional highlight was when i was sitting there and all 23 senators voted to report the bill fixing no child left behind. it may sound silly, but think about the elementary and secondary education. and everybody is an expert. it is like being in the university of tennessee football stadium with 100,000 people, all of whom played a little football, so they know what plates a call. that is the weight is with everything from sexual orientation to commo

senator crapoh, senator inhofe, senator alexander, the work that we did together, senator collins, i am especially grateful for the ranking members of the committees, senators brown, casey and read, the friendship and counsel have been invaluable and i want to thank the minority leader for all of his work on behalf of me. as you guys know, senator schumer never tried to put puppet strings on me. i got accused of that but he never ever tried. for that i am very grateful. whether you vote for me and i am proud of the work we did on your behalf, accomplished on your behalf, thank you for giving me the honor of serving you as your senator. to tell you what is wrong with the senate, how it operates today. you hear it whenever a senator gives a farewell address and instinctively you know it, i will offer you this, there is a book i finished reading recently, former staffer, you may remember, a book called the last great senate. every senator coming in published eight years ago, how they operate, the majority leader, howard baker is the minority leader and how they got things done for the a

on march 9, 1967, senator howard h. baker junior, the newly elected senator from tennessee, made his maiden address. st speeh on the floor of the united states senate. he spoke for too long. the republican leader of the senate, also baker's father in law, senator dirksen, walked over to congratulate him and then said, howard, occasionally you might enjoy the luxury of an unexpressed thought, which is good advice for a farewell address as well. as senator baker's legislative assistant, i was also his speechwriter for that maiden address, or at least i thought i was. he developed a bad habit of not saying what i wrote for his speech, so i asked to see him and i said do we have a problem with our relationship? he said, no, we have a perfect relationship. you write what you want to write and i will say what i want to say. i learned a couple of of other things about saying what i want to say. one came from alex haley, the author of "roots" who heard me speak once and called me aside afterwards and said may i make a suggestio

senate since 1997. the senate floor. it was about gun violence calling for bipartisanship and pragmatism and for the courage to seize the moment. and he actually quoted senator heflin saying our constitution itself came about through a series of great compromises. it was not written by ideologues who clung to their way or no. compromise and negotiation, the hallmarks of moderation aimed at achieving moderate centrist policies for our country should not be viewed as negatives. doug believed in a simple philosophy when he was here, never compromise your principles, and he certainly showed us that. but work with your colleagues, democratic or republican, to move our country forward. i remember what he said about gun safety in his maiden speech. he was hopeful we may have reached a tipping point because, quote, our men and women are awakening the conscience of america. that's something doug has done in his time in the u.s. senate. and he showed it evening before that. when as a prosecutor he brought closure to the families o

senator. tom udall has literally been a giant in public service, no one should surprised. he summed up with what drove him saying, the thing that inspired me if you had a good idea of reforming something and you really stuck to it, you could literally change the world. i'm going to miss senator udall and we're also going to miss his wife jo who i got to know well. i have a fond memory of one of the new senator's orientation, where we were tasked to the new senators in the building and giving them tips how though operate and handle the first years and how you can stay married while being a u.s. senator. i remember it fondly because mitt romney was sitting in the front row taking notes diligently and i thought maybe he didn't need our advice on this. but tom and joe jo are an incredible couple in a town where it's not easy to keep a strong and beautiful relationship. i want to thank him for on behalf of his state, the beautiful state of new mexico and thank the state for sharing their extraordin

now, here is senator jones from the floor of the u.s. senate. jones: everyone knows the old saying time flies when you're having fun. my time here is drawing to a close, but despite the difficulties, the challenges, despite, the rancor that we often see in this body as well as washington, d.c., i can honestly say i have had a lot of fun. the last three years have been amazing and i have loved being a member of this body. toas actually able accomplish a few things thanks to you, but you have been fun, you have not just been colleagues, it has really been good. by the way, your staffs have been awesome. fromw you hear that a lot constituents, maybe you don't hear it enough from other senators, your staffs have been amazing to us and i really, very much appreciate it. the minority leader said, i am a baseball fan, going into that office you will see in our reception area, all 100 baseballs i have signed. in as fun getting those, committee at the retreat that the democrats had, there were so many that had never signed a baseball and you figured out,

senator blunt is here and he was helpful, senator lankford, senator purdue, along with senator cane, senator king and myself and others on our side, and senator shaheen. so this, i will continue the work. i vow to you i'll somehow find a way to get this done and if i can find a way to call it the enzi reform, i'll find it the way to call it the enzi reform. i will long relationship the relationship that we had and the good work that we did together. i will long remember your 80/20 rule and maybe because i have a similar proposal and rules, maybe we'll even be able to get your phones and electronics amendment passed. so thank you to you, sir, for doing what's right, doing your best and treating others as they would want to be treated. i yield the floor. >> senator fro missouri. >> mr. esident, i feel a little guilty as the chairman of the rules comttee standing in front of the-- and between the enzi desire to get devices on the floor. i have watched in recent weeks, if you looked around on the floor you'd assumed that we'd adopted that rule, it's a pretty hard rule to enforce with all

senate floor before it opens. while they are attending the academy's created by the legislation i introduced in my maiden address 18 years ago. after that address ted kennedy without my knowing it went around and got 20 democratic cosponsors. in the house, were roger whitaker, marsha blackburn helped pass the bill where they were. the teachers who came to the floor before we open invariably go to our desks to find daniel webster's desk. they look for the kennedy brothers desk. they ask where is jefferson davis's desk. jefferson davis resigned the senate to become president of the confederacy because they heard the story the chalk mark on the desk that was imposed by union soldier when they captured washington. they are there to save the union not to destroy it. >> what would you like us to take back for being a united states senator? my reply is always the same. please suggest they look at washington dc as if it were a put screen television. on the other side democratic and republican senators strengthen national

senator blunt is here, and he hewas helpful in that regard. senator lankford, senator perdue. we have a good team along with senator kaine and senator king and myself and others on our side, senator shaheen. so this -- i are continue the work. i -- i will continue the work. i vow to you i will somehow find a way to get this done, and if i can find a way to call it the enzi reform, i will find a way to call it the enzi reform. i will long remember the relationship that we had and the good work that we did together. i will long remember your 80/20 rule. and maybe, because i have a similar proposal in rules, maybe we'll even be able to get your phones and he can tronics -- electronics amendment passed. so thank you to you, sir, for doing what's right, doing your best and treating others as they would want to be treated. i yield the floor. >> senator from missouri. >> mr. president, i feel a little guilty as the chairman of the rules committee snding in front of the -- in between the enzi desire to get the devices on the floor, i have watched in recent weeks if you looked around o

where senator schumer, senator sanders, and senator markey have tried to create an opportunity where the senate would actually come together and vote, where the senate might make a decision based on the merits of this issue rather than to keep talking around the issue. what is at stake is a substantial sum of money for families which are in the midst of a struggle of their lives. $2,000 characterized a few moments ago by my friend from texas as speaker pelosi's idea. well, i might remind him it was also donald trump's idea and still is. and the president has told us this morning that we should move on this as quickly as possible and though i don't often come to the floor to agree with the president, he's right. in this instance he's clearly right. and what will we do now? we are calling senators back together in washington from far reaches across the united states. this morning i received some e-mail and text messages from some of our colleagues hopping on airplanes at 6:00 a.m. on the west coast heading out here to face a vote. what is this vote all about? well, first it's to overri

the united states senate. he spoke for too long. the republican leader of the senate, who was also baker's father-in-law, senator everett m. dirksen, walked over to congratulate him and then said howard, occasionally you might enjoy the luxury of an unexpressed thoughts. [laughter] which is good advice for a farewell address, as well. as senator baker's legislative assistant, i was also his speechwriter for that maiden address. or at least i thought i was. he had developed a bad habit of not saying what i wrote for his speech. so, i asked to see him and i said, do we have a problem with our relationship? he said no, we have a perfect relationship. you write what you want to write and i will say what i want to say. [laughter] i learned a couple of other things about saying what i want to say. one came from alex haley, the author who heard me speak once called me aside and said man make a suggestion? if when you begin a speech speech, he would start by saying instead of making a speech let me tell you a story. s

senate republican leader mitch mcconnell gave an emotional tribute on the senate floor, recalling their friendship as young senate staffers. sen. mcconnell: mr. president, on a complete different matter, the senate revolves around people. reinvolves around peopl. one of our key duties involves the personnel we examine and confirm. there are all the dedicated staff professionals who make this place go. today it is both my great honor and regrettable task to honor someone who secured our three parts of that senatorial triple crown. the senior senator from tennessee, the chairman of the committee on health, education, labor, and pensions, lamar alexander. lamar first set foot here as a talented young staffer. decades later he appeared before us as a super-successful former governor and university president with a nomination to the cabinet. and for the past 18 years, the other 99 of us have gotten to serve along one of the most impactful senators in modern american history. i have known lamar for more than 50 years. we first met in 1969 when i was working for a freshman senator named marlo

yes, it was senator collins, senator murkowski, senator cassidy, and senator romney at the initial meeting. on the democratic side, senator manchin, senator warner, myself, and senator shaheen. our ranks changed over the several weeks when we were debating to include maggie hassan of new hampshire, angus king of maine, rob portman of ohio. for three or four weeks, we tried to write a relief bill. we did it by phone, by zoom, and through staff work that was endless. and finally tuesday of last week we were able to announce it, an $800 -- let me get this number right, $748 billion consensus bill for relief. we were unable to reach a final agreement when it came to state and local funding, as well as the question of liability. we set those aside. but we produced this $748 billion bill, much of which is included in this relief package which we're going to consider today. i want to thank my colleagues, democrats and republicans, for their patience and determination to reach that point. i really believe that we ended up opening the conversation. the leaders, thank goodness, moved in to follow on

we need senator kelly loeffler back. n the united states senate. and then there's senator macon who literally worked his way up to the top of the business world. he could have retired and relaxed but he felt a calling to serve georgia. literally he spent 40 years as one of the most successful business leaders, not just in this state, but in this country. but he stepped forward. and i can tell you firsthand, in his short term in the united states senate, he's emerged as a man of integrity, man who's fought every day for the conservative principles that make georgia great. we need senator david perdue back in washington, d.c.,! cheers and applause] crowd: david! david! david! vice president pence: so president trump and i support your two senators because of who they are. but we also are here just like you are, because of all that we did together. serving together in washington, d.c. think about it. four years ago we inherited a military that had been hollowed out by reckless budget cuts. an economy struggling to break out of the slowest recovery sin

senator kennedy used to chair that committee, working with senator enzi, senator gregg, senator hatch and others to produce a lot of legislation. he used to say that committee has a third of all the jurisdiction in the senate. maybe that's about right. doug jones was one of the newest senators. we have 23 members. he was way down at the end of the line. but i noticed he always came, and he always asked questions, and he always listened. he seemed to me to be trying to say what he believed but learn from the witnesses how to get a result. let me just mention one contribution he made that i think will stick with him and with the people of alabama and this country for a long time. that was the work we did in 201, doug jones, senator tim scott, senator bennet of colorado was on it from the beginning -- to do two things at once to help low-income americans who wanted to go to college. the first was to simplify the dreaded fafsa, the federal aid application form that 20 million americans fill out every year that's 108 questions long, about 90 of them are unnecessary. everybody agrees. and f

the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until senate stands adjourned until >> today the senate began consideration of an override of president trump's veto of an offense program of the policy bill. majority leader mitch mcconnell set the smoke for tomorrow. senator bernie sanders objected. as expected by the end of the week. democratic leader chuck schumer plan to bring about an immediate vote on the increase in stimulus checks. later mcconnell objected . is on today's debate. >> congress is returned to work this week to enact the 16th annual national defense authorization act into law. yesterday a bipartisan majority in the house voted to approve the report of this legislation. today the senate will set up final vote for tomorrow, wednesday for t the chamber to follow suit. this important adulation will be passed into law. president trump is rightly noted to the defense bill does not contain every provision that we republicans would have wanted. the company our colleagues feel the same way. but that is the case every year. and yet for 59 consecutive years and county, washingto

senator. but not me. e job different. both jobs bause you to want to see an urgent need to develop a strategyo dot with it and then try to persuade elise half of the people thatou are right. with the governor's job is more like moses . said let's go this way. in t senator's job if you want lito get somhing done is more like a parade organizer. you pick the route and you select the music and even picked the drum majorometimes the new march in the middle of the parade hope it doesn't run off of the road more than a half a dozen times on the way to where it's going to created the love the traditions of the senate. hard marble floors come the elaborate courtesies. scratching my name beside our baker on this desk drawer. lot of friendships in the senate.endships in my best friend to begin is a softball game between senator johnsontaff of texas and senator biggerstaff in the summer of 1967. when a 21 -year-old smith colleg graduate cayman to 31 base weari red shorts. he slid into 31 base . [laughter

i want to mention the chairman of committees that i worked on, senator crapo senator inhofe, senator alexander he was one of the first people to help me come over in the work that we did who pulled me and help me in senator collins who shared the aging committee but i'm especially grateful for the ranking members of those committees senator brown casey, murray and reed, their friendship and counsel have been invaluable and of course i want to think the minority leader for all of his work for me on behalf of me and i think as you guys know in the people of alabama, senator schumer never tried to put puppet strings on me, i know i got accused of that but he never ever tried and for that i am very grateful into the people of alabama i promise to do my best to represent each of you whether or not you voted for me i'm proud of the work that we did on your behalf and i've accomplished onis your behalf, thank you to the people for giving me the honor of starting you as my senator, finally i will resist the urge to tell you what's wrong with the senate, however, operates today, you hear it e

the united states senate language and count -- sounds compensated the average person but all that senator schumer and i are asking of thejo majority leader is a vy simple request, allow the members of the united states senate to cast a vote. if you want to vote against 2000-dollar checks for people than vote against it. senator toomey has been clear about it. i suspect he will vote against it and i respect his opinion but all that we are asking for is a vote. what is the problem? in the house over at two-thirds of the members of the body include 44 republicans voted to say that at this time of economic desperation working families deserve help and they deserve the 2000-dollar check. as senator schumer just indicated we have a very unlikely ally in president trump. nobody here will disagree with trump more time than i haven't yet here is what the leader of the republican party says. he says $2000 asap. enen on this issue the president of the united states is right. so what all of this comes down to my fellow americans is not even whether you agree with senator schumer or myself in 78% of t

successful in the house, it to the senate. the house may also try again to increase the covid stimulus checks to $2000. 2:00ouse gavels in at p.m. on c-span on tuesday. youru are watching c-span, unfiltered view of government. america's created by television companies. today, we are brought to you by these television companies that provide c-span to viewers as a public service. udallatic senator tom recently gave his farewell speech, reflecting on his decades of service in congress. last year, he announced he would not seek reelection. you, for the -- thank you for the recognition, madam president. madam president, i ask unanimous consent that the following members of my staff, nevada a -- re ney gasbetter, lisa ventinci be given floor privileges for the remainder of the 116th congress. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. udall: thank you very much, and thank you, senator schumer, for those very kind remarks earlier. as you know, i announced i wasn't running for reelection last year, and if i knew everyone was going

senate. it's been the honor of a lifetime to serve the great people of wyoming in this position for the last 24 years. i've really enjoyed being a senator. not for the title, not for the recognition and certainly not for the publicity. i love solving problems for folks in wyoming and america. i like working on legislation. it might shock those who know me, but i never intended to get into politics. while i always had great respect for those who serve in public office, it wasn't my calling when i left college. but over 50 years ago i joined the young men's leadership training group known as the j jaycees. at a convention in cody i spoke with the value of leadership in communities. and al simpson would go on to serve years in the state senate. after i gave my pitch, senator simpson did his usual fascinating and humorous speech and then took me aside and said, i don't even know what party you're in, but it's time your put your money where your mouth is on this leadership stuff and get into polit

the senate stands in recess the senate stands in recess >> you can follow live senate coverage here on c-span2. >> the latest results of vaccine trials continue to suggest our victory over the coronavirus is on the horizon. but here in washington the additional relief that would help families, , workers, schoos and small businesses crossed the finish line has been held for months while democrat leaders pursued an all or nothing approach. when the speaker of the house put forward the so-called heroes act back in may, multiple, multiple house democrats called the political start that it clearly was. when democrat said it was not focused, rushed to a vote to fast, and it doesn't help us accomplish the core mission of helping struggling people. well, after a several months wih no progress the same democrat just said a few days ago that said republicans proposal, quote, is a bill we can pass. we should negotiate that to the finish. even speaker pelosi's own members think our senate republican bill is better than hers. well, let's hope our democratic colleagues will fight let us make a law a

this is about 30 minutes. >> senator lamar alexander, we are sitting in the senate health education labor and pensions committee room. you have chaired this panel for about a third of your senate career. why this committee? sen. alexander: ted kennedy used to say there is a lot that comes through here. if you want to fix something, this is where you come. if you want to get medical miracles into the doctor's office rapidly, you come here to pass 21st century cures. the opioid crisis, here. the big argument over labor, here. a lot happens here. we have 23 members in the senate, from elizabeth warren to bernie sanders to rand paul. so, if we can get a consensus here, we figured the country can live with it as well. >> highlight your chairmanship over the years? sen. alexander: highlights? well, one emotional highlight was when i was sitting there at nd all 23 senators voted to report the bill fixing no child left behind. it may sound silly to viewers, but think about elementary and secondary education. i mean, everybody is an expert. it's like being at the university of tennessee's football

senate republicans go along with senator mcconnell's senator -- cynical gambit or will they push for a vote on the standalone cash act? the debate continues in washington, romeo in maple heights, ohio, republican. what do you think? caller: i think before we put all this money on our nation's credit card, we should consider a couple things. instance,, for myself, i am a 67-year-old retired, i get a pension. not one penny of my income was altered by all of this. i received a $1200 check. i cashed it. i wasn't really -- covid-19 didn't alter my life in any way financially, although my son and daughter just had covid over the holidays. they are 29 and 30 years old. thank goodness they are fine, they survived it, and we will move on, but i think they should target the money to the people who are really affected and hurt by this. thank you for listening. that what did you do with $1200, spend it or save it? caller: i spent it. i gave some of it to my children. but it wasn't necessary. the way i look at it was that $1200 was taken on my grandchildren. they will have to repay that money to

earlier today, senator chuck schumer and bernie sanders made that request on the senate floor, but majority leader mitch mcconnell objected. has mcconnell: congress returned to work this week to enact the 60th annual national defense authorization act into law. yesterday, a bipartisan super majority in the house voted to re-approve the report of this must pass legislation. today, the senate will set up a final vote for tomorrow, wednesday, for the chamber to follow suit. soon, this important legislation will be passed into law. president trump has rightly noted this year's defense bill does not contain every provision that we republicans would have wanted. i'm confident our democratic colleagues feel the same way. that is the case every year. yet, for 50 nonconsecutive years and counting, washington has put our differences aside, found common ground and passed the annual defense bill. not once in six decades has congress led his differences prevented from completing this work for our national security and men and women who wear the uniform. this year's ndaa will continue our momentum in reb

as i said the senate will not let our national security be shoved of course certainly not by senators who have spent years, laterit lead years trying to gutter america's capabilities while adversaries continue ramping up at the senate will settle this bill until we completed one way or another. now let's talk about covid-19 relief. four days ago president trump signed the second-largest rescue package in american history. the largest one was the cares act back in march. due to this pandemic and their massive response when out the national debt far larger than our entire economy for the 1st time since world war ii that we knew our people need more help so congress just passed another nearly $900 billion in emergency relief targeted to those who need it the most. a second round of payroll support to save small-business jobs, more unemployment aid and vaccine distribution money, funding for safe schools and much more. in addition to historic amounts of health at the request of president trump and his team the package includes another round of dreck checks to households. whether or not ea

as i've said the senate will not let our national security be shoved off course, certainly not by senators who have spent years, literally years trying to gut america's capabilities while our adversaries continue ramping up. the senate will stay on this important bill until we complete it one way or another. now let's talk about covid-19 relief. four days ago president trump signed the second largest rescue package in american history. the largest one was the cares act back in march. due to this pandemic and our massive response, we now have a national debt far larger than our entire economy for the first time since world war ii. but we knew our people needed more help so congress just passed another nearly $900 billion in emergency relief targeted to those who need it most. a second round of payroll support to save small business jobs, more unemployment aid, vaccine distribution money, funding for safe schools, and much more. in addition to historic amounts of targeted help at the request of president trump and his team, the package also included another round of direct checks to househol

earlier senate leaders mitch mcconnell and chuck schumer talked about the senate schedule and their parties priorities . >> the latest results of vaccine trials continue to suggest that our victory over the coronavirusis on the horizon . but here in washington the additional relief that would help families, workers, schools and small businesses across the finish line has been held up for months by democrat leaders pursuing an all or nothing approach. the speaker of the house put forward the so-called heroes act back in may , multiple house democrats called it out for the political stunt that it clearly was. one democrat said it was not focused, rushed to a vote too fast and it doesn't help us accomplish the core mission of helping struggling people. well, after several months with no progress the same democrats who said a few days en ago that senate republicans had quote, a bill we can pass. we should negotiatefat . even speaker pelosi's own members are senate republican bill is better than hers. let's hope our democratic colleagues will finally let us make law and all of the enormously imp

next we have senator casey, senator cortez masto and you can go in that order do we have senator danes? if not senator casey if present. we are in the middle of votes, so it's understandable that some of my colleagues are not currently present. senator cortez masto are you present? >> i am here, senator young, thank you. >> thank you. and lets me stay thank you to senators portman and ranking member brown for this great conversation and needed conversation and to my colleagues as well for their legislation in this space. can i-- i know we are going to talk about this later, but i'm interested in the refundable savers credit and mr. kreps. i want to address it this way. i come from nevada, we've been so hard hit, there are 60,000 fewer las vegasworkers, and the bottom line there are too many nevadans who aren't able to put away for retirement. i'm curious if we have people who spent down their retirement savings from covid. how do we help them catch up? would the savers be a way? >> i think that the refundable savers credit would help people catch up. it's effectively a support support

and 22 years in the senate. y colleagues, first i thank the leadership on both sides for this opportunity to give the pat roberts adios amigos speech. as a fourth generation kansan, my great grandfathers on both sides of the roberts-patrick family, were pioneer newspaper editors who came to kansas as crusading abolitionists. to say i believe fourth generation printer's ink would be very close to the truth. the main influence that drew me to public service was my dad, wes roberts, who was a newspaper man and soon journalism led to politics. he served as chief of staff and advisor for several kansas governors becoming the state republican chairman. in 1952, my dad was asked to head up the citizens for ike campaign which was a genuine army of volunteers made up of legions of veterans, women's groups and republicans who wanted a candidate who could win, plus they really liked ike. at 16, at my dad's tow, i was a sergeant at arms at the 1962 convention back when the conventions actually chose the nominee for presiden

senator frank was a great mentor. he said there are no self-made men or women in public office, it is your friends and family who make you what you are. he taught me a great lesson. your true friends stand behind you when taking the bows and beside you when taking the boos. i worked for 12 years for the newly elected congress from the big district as chief of staff. keith sabelius was a wonderful man he was on the interior committee and had improvements and restoration of our national parks. upon keith's retirement, a group encouraged me to run. thought about it, talked to frankie. frankie simply stayed, well, this is what you always wanted to do. let's do it. so for nine months with no paycheck or health insurance and limited savings with three young children, dodge city became our home. most sane candidates would not attempt to go door-to-door in a district larger than most states. however, with with a lot of help, we won a tough primary and not so tough general election. the first -- the first of 24 straight victor

senator reid, senator iofe and others. you were getting pressure, not from me or susan collins. they've been up here for 20 years and for 20 years the dollars and the sentence had prevented that from becoming a reality. we fought on that because we knew what we were doing was right that you couldt put a pricen the duty that we owed to the men and women of the armed services and their families.ie i will never forget that day that included the elimination of the tax and the gallery was a large group that had been up here for 2 years plus to try to get that done and had never been able to reach the goal and on that day, we did it. susan and i get a lot of credit but it was this body with help from the folks in the hou that made it happen and that is one of the memorable. days on the floor, swearing in day was unbelievable, simply an explosion of emotions. as a united states senato senate 37 years after i left the floor as a young staffer, my mtor to take the oath of office for his seatt was justemarkable, circle of life i hope that you all recognize by now the freshman class of 201

the senators. we usually can't get a vote with that many to say the sunrises in the east. the majority gave us time to bring those votes up and debate them and vote them. i will have more comments to make. i don't question the good intentions of any senator here. but what i'm saying is, we could have done this in june, we could have done it in july, we could have done it in august, we could have done it in september, we could have done it in november. and to now complain, well, up to the last few days, we've got to change everything and now let's pledge instead that we'll follow regular order in the coming days. yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from wisconsin. mrjohnson: mr. president, i appreciate the comments of the senator from vermont. i think what senator lee and i was talking about is opposed to the way it used to be, when we got here in 20, the appropriations process was completely broken and it is still broken. it has been a bipartisan failure. i

that the senate passed senate 2429. that the senate agrees to the house of representatives' amendment to senate amendment to the bill h.r. 1520. that the senate agreed to without objection amendment house concurrent resolution 128. that the senate passed without amendment h.r. 3250. that the senate passed without amendment h.r. 5126. that the senate passed without amendment h.r. 5472. with best wishes, i am, signed sincerely, cheryl l. johnson. the speaker pro tempore: -- the clerk: the honorable speaker, house of representatives, madam. pursuant to permission granted in clause 2-h of rule 2 of the rules of the u.s. house of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on december 22, 2020, at 11:39 a.m. that the senate agrees to the house of representatives' amendment to the senate amendment to the bill h.r. 133. that the senate agreeed to without amendment house concurrent resolution 127. that the senate passed with an amendment h.r. 3153. that the senate passed without am

it passed the senate unanimously. we agreed that there was a problem, we found common ground on a solution. that's still possible in the senate. but i didn't come here to just list accomplishments. you can check my twitter feed if you want to see more of that . gei do want to share some final thoughts on challenges our nationfaces before i leave the senate . i believe that for all of us here, public service is a calling. it certainly is for me. in my life i've had the privilege of learning from many dedicated service. one of them was senator john mccain. senator mccain was a friend to me and a friend to my family. when john first came to the house, my uncle moe , they uncle know, six foot five took him under his wing. john did the same for me and we worked together on issues like campaign-finance reform, native american issues and others. john often said to me, we did disagree in politics but not in life. that's remember that. we disagree in politics but not in life. my great-grandfather else phil st. john's, small fa

that includes senator rand paul and also senator bernie sanders. bernie sanders has indicated that his problems with the national defense bill, something that he didn't support anyway, but he's trying to leverage that for an up or down vote on a $2,000 direct stimulus check that is also in the senate's purview now as well. another thing that senator mcconnell just said which was very interesting to me is that the senate would begin focusing on the three issues most important to the president, on section 230, the stimulus bill, and voter fraud, which he calls voter fraud, anyway. so we're going to be watching how mcconnell deals with that, andrea. >> and senator schumer, leigh ann, is now on the floor saying that there is support for the senate on the stimulus bill, he wants to push that forward as a standalone bill. let's listen. >> the defense bill and the $2,000 checks before we go home. we will start the process on overriding the president's veto of the defense bill tomorrow. today, at the end of my remarks, i will ask the senate's consent to ta

senate here on c-span2. the presiding officer: the senator from colorado. mr. gardner: thank you, madam president. thank you to the people of colorado for this incredible honor you've lent to me these last six years to serve you in the united states senate. thank you to my fame jamie, mom and dad and lisa who supported me this last decade of service with your love and sacrifice through missed ball games and lost teeth,

president, on behalf of senator senator and myself, i know that senator schumer and senator durbin have spoken on the floored and others have and many have expressed their condolences through our office to the family. we just want to express our appreciation. a senator: van hollen said, i had the honor or the challenge to follow senator sarbanes in this body. i have his seat in the senate. when i was sworn in almost 149 years ago, senator sarbanes escorted me to take the oath of office. mr. cardin: as i mentioned earlier, he is an inspiration to all of us. i want to thank our colleagues for the tributes they've paid to an outstanding marylander, an outstanding american, and he'll be missed by all. with that, i yield the floor. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. portman: mr. president, i understand we're in a quorum call. i'd ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. portman: i'm here on the floor today to talk aga

georgia senators meat for their only debate ahead of the runoff for the u.s. senate. it's being held at the atlanta press club. they have already debated each other once in -- along with several other candidates before the november election. ♪ >> good evening and welcome. i am russ spencer. and you are watching the atlanta press club debate series. we are broadcasting from the studio of the georgia public broadcasting in atlanta, and we welcome viewers from across the state and the country. this is the run-off debate for u.s. senate to fill the seat held by georgia senator kelly loeffler. let's meet the candidates. in alphabetical order, republican candidate kelly loeffler, appointed to the senate in january 2020 to replace retiring georgia senator johnny isakson. she is part owner of the atlanta dream. the democrat candidate, raphael warnock, is the senior pastor at ebenezer baptist church in atlanta. the church where martin luther king jr. was pastor. let's meet our panel. greg bluestein is a political reporter with "the atlanta journal-constitution." lisa rayam,

senate at noon today. we expect majority leader mitch mcconnell could give the first indications of what he plans to do about the fact that the house overwhelmingly passed $2,000 stimulus checks. there are now five republican senators, including david perdue and kelly loeffler, both running for re-election in state of georgia january 5th that say they now support the proposal. we know that josh hawley and lindsey graham support this proposal. what is mcconnell going to do? one of the hardest, most difficult parts of this for the majority leader is the fact there are still a large number of conservatives, fiscal conservatives in the conference who are lukewarm on the president's proposal, and putting something on the floor that divides your conference is never a great idea when you're the majority leader. we are watching at noon to see whether or not mcconnell gives any indication of where he goes from here. you can also expect that senator chuck schumer, top democrat, will try to get unanimous consent agre

whatever life after the senate takes her, whatever life after the senate takes her i am confident our colleague will continue to be the most enthusiastic advocate for her state, for its people, its prosperity, and its natural wonders. that includes all theur interesting creatures that she and her four-legged wingmen boomer beat when they're out hiking at trails. no, i'm pretty certain martha mcsally is not through fighting yet. so martha, on behalf of not just the senate but the nation, thank you so much for your service to our country, in uniform and here in the senate. we wish you all the best in the bright days to come. >> now, madam president yesterday i mention the several big-ticket items left on the congressional agenda before the end of the year. over the next few weeks the city was passed an appropriations bill to keep the government funded that we must ask the annual defense bill, a piece of legislation that congress has passed every year for nearly 600 years in a row. at the top priority as well is a major covid relief bill. we are in a moment of genuine national catastroph

senate is floor time and the minority or really, any single senator has the ability to slow down your floor time and that's, i think, one of the challenges. every nomination, if it is contested and the time is dragged all the way out, is time that you're not spent doing other legislative business like getting bills passed along the way. yeah, whether you have 59 or 60 votes in the senate as we had in 2009, certainly affects who you put up versus if you have, as the biden team has, 48 or 50. that makes a big, big difference. >> sara, do you want to add to that? >> yeah, you know, i agree that there's a -- the game has totally changed. we're going 0 to see a lot closer votes because of the polarization that we're experiencing in the country. but the most important thing a nominee or a president-elect can do for his nominees, his or her nominees, you know, is to put forth people that are immensely qualified, you know? there are people, you know, that exist like collon powell, still, and the partisan places that we all find ourselves being shocked by sometimes, how rough this time can be,

wednesday, december 9, and does so as a further mark of respect to the late paul spyros sarbanes, former senator from maryland. >> gobbling out for the day today lawmakers worked on judicial executive nominations are expected to vote on government funding. when the senate returns watch live coverage on c-span2. >> you are watching c-span2 your unfiltered view of government. created by america's television company as a public service and brought to you today by your television provider. >> our colleagues in the uniteds states senate put an impressive bunch. it always makes it a challenge to pay adequate tribute when one leaves our ranks. but even by the high standards of this place the course charted by the senator whom i o have to send up this morning stands out. the senior senator from wyoming has accomplished enough in one career to fill two, from physics access to military service to local government, state politics to the united states senate where he's built a remarkably productive legislative record. his career began in a small town in fact it was so small when mike and his wife diane arri

senate and only

president, as you know, most senators wear their senate pin here, indicating that they're a senator, proud to wear that. the years i've known senator roberts, he either wears his pin, but sometimes and usually he actually wears the eagle globe and anchor showing -- and i think he's got one on right now -- showing where so much of his loyalty lies, with the united states marine corps. so i know that the marines are certainly going to miss senator roberts. i'm certainly going to miss senator roberts. you know, just like in his remarks today, he's a man of great wit, great stories, and i have had the honor to hear so many of these stories, and a lot of these stories of course for me involved alaska and the late great senator ted stevens, who was also a very close friend of pat's and the seat in which i'm honored to hold here in the united states senate. and i learned so much from these stories that i heard from senator roberts. most important, mr. president, he has been a great example for me and so many other senators. a statesman, a marine, an optimist. you heard it in his remarks tod

senator. raphael warnock: my question is pretty simple. yes or no senator loeffler. did donald trump lose the election? kelly loeffler: you know, president trump has every right to use every legal recourse available. in our own state we've seen time and again, we have investigations that need to be completed. in fact we run to audits and those audits discovered thousands of ballots are crossed several counties here in georgia that were not counted. i called for his signature audit, we need to hold folks accountable in these investigations to make sure they move forward quickly because everything is at stake on january 5 for the future of our country. if the democrats win they will defund the police, they will keep our country locked down, they want more lockdowns, they will raise your taxes in the middle the pandemic and they will continue to keep the borders open and support taxpayer funding for illegal immigrant healthcare. and they will defund our military by 25%. my opponent radical libera

senate. the atlanta press club and georgia public broadcasting are hosting the event. ♪ ♪ >> good evening and welcome. i am russ spencer. and you are watching the atlanta press club debate series. from theoadcasting student of georgia public broadcasting in atlanta and we welcome viewers from across the state and the country. this is the run-up debate for u.s. senate to fill the seat held by georgia senator kelly loeffler. let's meet the candidates. order,abetical republican candidate kelly loeffler, pointed to the senate in january 2020 to replace retiring georgia senator johnny isakson. she is part owner of the atlanta dream. the democrat candidate raphael warnock is the senior pastor at ebenezer baptist church in atlanta. the church where martin luther king jr. was pastor. let's meet our panel. greg bluestein is a political reporter with "the atlanta journal-constitution." rayam -- the debate will be divided into three rounds and candidates will have 60 seconds to answer question and 3

. >> the senate now taking a break for their weekly party lunches. when they return it to: 15 eastern senators will vote to confirm stephen schwartz to be a judge for the us court of federal claims and nathan bennington become a member of the federal communications commission. lawmakers are working on legislation passed this friday at midnight deadline. when the senate comes back 2:15 eastern we will have live coverage here on c-span2. >> they are an impressive bunch.not only facing the challenge to pay adequate tribute when one leaves our ranks. but even by the house standards of this place, the coursecharted by the senator who i have to send off this morning stand . the senior senator from wyoming has accomplished enough in one career to fill two. he's glided from business success to military service to local government to state politics to theunited states senate where he's built a remarkably productive legislative record . mike's prolific career began in a small town. in fact he wyoming was so small that when mike and his wifearrived and set up a