Every federal agency in washington feared the notoriety of being o called out doctor coburns and no report of government access known as waste book he led the fight that ended congressional earmarked better known as project spread will others created credit for getting new inprograms he took on the thankless job of trying to unravel the maze of duplicates of an overlapping programs and redundant and inefficient bureaucracy. The loan he offered requiring the gao to identify duplication within federal programs has saved our taxpayers more than 260 billion to date. I think the head of gao said it best, this law is quote the gift that keeps on giving and it will for a long time,. This effort is not just saving money it is making government more efficient and other important ways. An egregious example found as a result of duplication law is there are ten different agencies with 23 different overlapping and fragmented definitions for Sexual Violence. If we cannot even define the problem, how are we going to stop it, folks. That is why am proud to say i have joined senator ron johnsons effort to de Sexual Violence and improve Data Collection so we can address this issue, head on. Another law he authored with none other than then senator barack obama, put all federal expenditures online so the taxpayers can simply google to find out how their tax dollars are being spent. It is the greatest Government Transparency reform since the freedom of information act. The public website, usa spending. Gov, is helping keep washington accountable for however recent is spent. If you go on the website today, you can find ridiculous examples of binge buying bureaucrats who were bringing up tens of billions of dollars of lastminute unnecessary purchases at the end of the fiscal year. Splurging on unnecessary things like tons of tater tots, 4. 6 million on crab legs and lobster, and even a foosball table. When i had this outlandish spending i embraced my inner tom coburn and took action putting forward the bill to end washingtons year end use it or lose it spending spree. Folks, tom coburn was not afraid to work across the aisle to find compromise without compromising his principles or values. Theres no better example than the friendships he struck up with president w obama. The two were elected to the senate the same year they were on opposite sides of nearly every major issue during their time in washington. Yet doctor coburn would regularly call to offer encouragement to president obama and pray for him and his family. Two of them could be spotted laughing together at the state of the union address. A time when they focused too often is on what separates rather than unites us. These are relationship goals we should w all aspire to achieve with one another if we hope to tackle the unprecedented problem now facing our nation. Our hearts and prayers are with doctor coburns wife, carolyn and his daughters and grandchildren as they grieve his loss. An and while he can never be replaced, we can all take comfort knowing tom coburn has made this a better place and the legacy he left behind endures for many of hisel Staff Members as well such as Roland Foster who is now on my staff. That is the legacy he left behind endures in a crusade he champion continues. With that mr. President i will yield the floor to make college from indiana mr. President. Senator from indiana statement senator ernst thank you for that beautiful testimony to senator tom coburn birdwell i was running to set it i was often asked who my heroes were in the u. S. Senate the first thing that always came to mind doctor tom coburn. As a legislator, doctor coburn was a force of nature. As a n conservative star work who stood by his principles no matter the pressure and with whom ever would stand with him regardless of party his entire career was a profile encouraged. He believes so strongly that americas best was not held on wall street, pennsylvania avenue but on main street among the Small Business owners doctors families and workers who really keep her country going doctor coburn blastedh a path for conservative outsiders to take on washington on everything from National Debt to term limits, to our broken healthcare system. This was an inspiration for me to it lead my business and run for the senate. His bedside manner was often rough but on the tough issues like any good dr. He told people what they needed to hear not what they wanted to hear. Doctor tom coburn, the National Debt was not just a thorn in america side, it was a supreme moral failing. Senator coburn wrote that doctor know had a badge of courage understanding there is nothing commendable about spending our grandchildrens money just because we wont be at the table when the bill comes due. There is one thing that can fix washington more than any other it is strict term limits and more accountability for congress. Inspired by doctor coburn i made my pledge to only serve two terms its a fixture of my campaign and following his example by refusing to accept a congressional pension when i leave. Last year, my bill to make pensions for congress optional pass the senate putting us one step closer to getting rid of this outdated, taxpayerfunded perk altogether. No budget, no pay its ability champion in the senate was a first bill introduced after taking office. It is a simple measure. Congress does not need a paycheck until they pass a budget. I am proud to say it has now cleared Committee Thanks to the work from fellow conservative outsiders like senatorik rick scott and david perdue. As a family physician who continued to see patients, even as he served in congress doctor coburn always had a special passion for fixing our broken healthcare system. He understood better than anyone that our healthcare woes begin at a fundamentally broken system in need of transparency. More choice for patients and marketdriven reforms to make decisionmaking back into the hands of americans and their care providers. My bill to lower drug prices and ensure every patient knows what they have to pay before they pay it or introduced with invaluable input. As we all should, he recognizes that no matter how vast the distance between our position seemed to be, healthcare is and always should be a bipartisan issue where compromise is necessary to help patients. The summer01 of 18 i was honored that he came to indiana to campaign with me. I will never forget what he said to a young man from the crowd of one of our events what can i do now if i want to be a senator someday. He did not tell them to go to wall street, he did not tell him to run for office, or intern in an office coat work really hard at something for 40 years the of something to say when youer get there he ushered in the era of the outside in washington the effects of which were only just now beginning to be reelected. I think we can get a much better product out of d. C. With more people like him who believe come from a deep well of realworld experience. He was more than just an inspiration and other conservatives believe the private sector and shaking it business as usualat in d. C. Is one of the great senators most effective problem solvers most importantly hes the great outsider i yield the floor. Thank you madam president. At this moment americans everywhere are confronting unprecedented challenges, and certainties as we to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic in the economic implosion. Thats not all thats going on across the country theyre getting drowned out by the daily news about the pandemic. But imagine being a family farmer in the midst of this crisis. Youve already faced any number of challenges and recent years, low commodity prices, terror fours only to face the greatest health and Economic Disaster any of us have experienced in our lifetimes. And then when you thought nothing else could go wrong, Something Else does go wrong. You have to face a severe drought, 1200th farms in california do not have to imagine the situation, madam president , because they are living through it as we speak. Sometimes it is referred to as the everglades rich Agricultural Resources and exceptional populations of wildlife this basin attracts 80 of the largest overweening population of bald eagles anywhere in the lower 48 states. And it is home to some of the countries most productive salmon River Systems in the country. It is also home to 1200 family farms of different sizes encompassing some 200,000 acres of farmland. That farmland is irrigated with water from both the tributaries of the river and the lake. Those are familiar with the basin to the health of the river to the health of the lake and the economic success of the farmers in many years theres enough water to address all of these goals. But in other years, years like this year, 2020 there is not enough water to go around. So when you have a dry year with less water in the lake and river its bad for everyone. Bad for the refuge, bad for the river, bad for the lake. It is our horrific challenge for the ranchers and for our farmers. And this year in 2020 its not just a dry year, it is as difficult of a year could have imagined. Area manager of the bureau of reclamation climate based office. And our governor, kate brown put it this way back in march. Drought conditionsly arrived early and have persisted. Including reduced snowpack, reduced precipitation minimal streamflow. In other words, the perfect storm of challenges they go on to say the longterm forecast for the regions warmer thanrm normal temperatures and normalsio precipitation is been nothings in the two months he said that that has reverse that course. As of last friday, snowpack in the climate region in the reservoir the replenishes the lakesm and streams providing water for the irrigation system in the summer, was just 28 of normal. You can get some sense of how bad the drought is this year by looking at the historic numbers. This is one way of presenting it, we can see deliveries that are coming to the upper climate lake project. They are more normal years you have that of 2001 that we had the terrible drought of 2010 and here we are with this years drought deliveries forecast be essentially the same in 2001. 2001 there was a water war in oregon. Some of you may remember there is a Bucket Brigade to take water out of the canal ditch or put water in the canal that. There were protests, theres great anger and frustration. Since thenn in 2010, wed worked at partnerships between the competing constituencies for they Work Together to try to develop a plan for the region. So that when crisis hit they can be a partnership rather than conflicts. In 2010 did not end being national use like 2001. I am here tonight to say that part of that partnership was working with the federal government intensely to provideen assistance, to provide assistance to retire or disconnect the use of water rights for a given year, and to pump water out of the ground. Use groundwater which is very expensive. The Water Association says typically three toci 50000 acres of water is used to fully irrigate the basin. At the beginning of this Season Farmers were told they would get a fraction of that, maybe 140,000 feet of water. Today want to work with that in mind the got initial water into the canals by charging it and they used about 25000 of that 140,000 acrefeet. But, there is less water than even anticipated. Not enough snow and it melted too fast. Now some wondered 40000 its 80000 again, puttingga it on part with 2001 that generated so much tension and conflict and anxiety. That means that just 55000 acres feed remains and compare that to the typical 350,000 needed to fully irrigate the basin. Farmers are going to be cut off we need here in congress the basin than 1200 farmers are in deep trouble. The impacts to not just stop with them. It will be felt up and down the economy. No crops to harvest, our food chain takes a big hit. The workers are usually gharvest these crops are not going to have jobs to go to. Local business that supply things like seed, fertilizer, farm equipment, they are hit hard to. So the farmers and the community, the Economic Community need our help. And they need it now. The worst thing we can do is stand by and say in these times of trouble we are not here to help. That is why tomorrow i will be that will give flexibility and authority to utilize 10 million year that was previously authorized andhe appropriated to work with the farmers and the ranching community this money has i mentioned has already been authorized. It has already been appropriated. So why should i need to introduce a bill . The answer is a lot of bureaucratic red tape in 2018 senator wyden and i worked here along with the congressman who represented this district and we got a concept into the Water Resources act it passed it which of the oval office it had President Trump support, just after the bill is enacted lawyers it the bureau of acclamation said the sari with the light language we gave you is not quite right on further examination and we cannot release these w funds. And so, laster senator wyden and i were able to work again in partnership and july 2019t july 2019thpast language here in the senate to fix this. Well, okayt thats great except that bill did not make it through the house it never made it to the oval office. There is 10 million out there authorized previously appropriated thated needs a technical fix to help out our farmers and net and ranchers right now. I am i not saying to all of you that this will be enough help. Not in this incredibly horrific drought year. We may well need significantly more but at least this first step should be taken right away and that is the bill i will be introducing tomorrow with the full support again of my partners in this effort farmers and ranchers need help. And they need it now. This is not a silver ebola, but it is something easily within our reach. Lets do the simple things that are within our reach. Money that has been authorized, money that has been appropriated money that hit a glitch so lets fix it and get help right now to idle land and the public water to provide assistance. Colleagues of my who helped so much in 2010 when i came to this floor under similar circumstances and we gave you an animus consent for this bill. Congressman walden came down the hallway to vouch for the issues we were facing so we were here in bipartisan representation of the challenges of addressing the challenges thatg are ranchers and farmers face. That is what will do again. We are asking for each and every Member Support that we get this done and we get it done quickly. Thank you so much, mr. President. I yield the floor and note the absence of a quorum. Jon ward is joining us with yahoo news to talk about the yahoo with the convention what is the status of the democratic and Republican Convention . The status of both conventions as they are very much up in the air democrats averting move theres from july to august. The democrats are little more forthcoming about the reality veryt likely as it could largely be virtual with some in a little in person there still talk about the convention in charlotte as its full speed ahead they have not deviated from the comments that mcdaniel made in april, but people ive spoken to pretty high up in the Republican Party acknowledged privately that given the fact major sports and other Mass Gatherings are not going to be back to full capacity, the ability to gather tens of thousands of people in one place by even late summer they acknowledged that Republican Convention is likely going to be largely virtual bike the democrats are looking to as well part. There be some sort of in person component to these conventions, what precautions are they taking . I think the precautions are the same that you are seeing society wise the basic practices think the primary sofocus it of the component is those things, hygiene practices along with probably testing that they can deploy that amount of testing may beat the o testing they have will be the people they can gather in charlotte and milwaukee. I think just limiting the number people there will be big as well limiting the amount of people who have the travel inandout of those two cities as well. Remind everyone that happens at these conventions what businesses can be conducted and can it be done virtually . That is a great question gets to why we have conventions anymore in the first place because quite frankly since the 70s conventions have been sort of outdated. I primary it really became the way by which partners chose their nominee. Before 68 or up until 68 it was really the place for the parties gathered to deliberate and choose their nominee. Has mostlyhen it been a tv show. And so the real order of business theres a few but the main one is the roll call vote for the delegates are chosen by the primary system than basically vote in favor of the nominee. Now the nominee has to have a majority ofno the delegates he saw that in 2016 some attempts by antitrust forces included men at the Republican Convention to deny trauma the majority of the delegates. The last time we really saw any drama at a convention prior to that was probably 1980 they tried to take the nomination from jimmy carter. The answer to your question, the delegates can choose their nominee or vote on their nominee remotely if they vote to change the rule to do that in fact the democrats just last week held a rules committee meeting, Virtual Meeting and voted to allow themselves the flexibility to do that. Can really see a situation where something that blowing up the old model going to a new more suited for people coming up to a podium and speaking that could be the result of what we see here. Could we see joe biden except the nomination via zoom . I dont think the party is knows how exactly thats going to happen. I dont think a big moment like accepting the nomination will be stagedn in such a way as to minimize it. Think they to stage those a way that really magnifies it and draws in an audience. The biggest thing with these conventions now are as a Public Relations opportunity for each party and their nominee. I think maybe they do it in the Convention Hall in milwaukee and charlotte. But maybe they do it completely somewhere else. We talked to one democratic digital strategist suggested having biden except it in front of the grand canyon ort something dramatic like that. It will be mostly streams and videotaped and sent out through that and probably not in front of a large crowd. So if youre asking about if they would do it that way maybe. Tbut will not be from his library noted saying . [laughter] so whatho is the Economic Impact on these cities, milwaukee and charlotte . No doubt will be less than it would have been just like a lot of things very sad time think thats part of why each party wants to do as much as they can. Think they will probably try to still stay in the Convention Center to follow through on their contracts which were placed along time ago to use these arenas i think they will try to bring as much commerce to these cities but it will be very much smaller than it would have been if you had all whole convention o with tens of thousands of people coming. You can follow his reporting if you go to news. Yahoo. Com or on twitter yahoo news. Thank you we appreciate it. after that debate from todays senate says it. Cspan has unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the Supreme Court in Public Policy events from the president ial primary through the impeachment process and now the federal response to the coronavirus. You can watch all of these bands Public Affairs programming on television, online or lives and under free radio app and be a part of the digital conversation through cspan daily was a Digital Program or through our social media feed. Cspan created by American Cable Television company in both Public Service and brought to you today your television provider. Joining us on the communicators is andrew marantz, a writer for the new yorker magazine also the author of the book antisocial and, andrew, thank you for joining us. Guest absolutely. Thank you for joining us. Host the book grew out of reporting you do for the new yorker, and explain that work at an outlet to the genesis of the book. Guest around 2014, 2015 i was writing for the new yorker