Good afternoon, everyone. First off, id like to thank the Clermont Institute for sponsoring this panel and for sponsoring all of its panels here at the american Political Science association, and thanks to all of you for coming to hear whether congress is still dysfunctional. I suspect you already know the answer to the question, but maybe well provide a fuller background and explanation about whats going on these days on capitol hill. Its no secret to political scientists that congress is a mess. Its no secret to the members of congress that congress is a mess. And nor is it a secret to the American People that congress is a mess. Routinely, congress polls very poorly when people are asked whether they approve of the job its doing, and this trend is bipartisan whether democrats or republicans control congress, most people assign it a failing grade. The trend is also long standing. Over the past Decade Congress has not once achieved an Approval Rating above 30 . It wasnt always this wa
The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Markey thank you madam president. Madam president , when the new Congress Opens theres a choice as to which issues we should start to work on. Would it be infrastructure jobs, clean energy jobs, minimum wage increase for all of america . No. No, that is not what the new majority decides to bring up. No. Instead, it is a canadian oil export pipeline. So next week, i am going to offer an amendment that the senate will consider that asks whether we will put Americans First or Oil Companies first whether we will keep this oil and gasoline here for americans or send it to foreign nations to help them instead . If my amendment is defeated, it will make clear that this is not an energy plan that is all of the above. It is oil above all. My amendment says that if we build the keystone Keystone Pipeline, we keep that oil here, we keep that oil here. We keep the diesel, the jet fuel the heating oil we keep it all all here. Because if we send it abroad
Today the Supreme Leader declaring as he had early on in the talks that all economic sanctions would have to be listed on the day that any agreement is signed. And of course they had also insisted that there would never be a written agreement at all. Confounded reason is certainly not limited to washington. And obviously they are playing obama for a fool. We take up tonight whether there is an Administration Time limit on this nonsense and i will be talking with general jack keane. And new reports that the state department is ready to take cuba off the u. S. State sponsors of terrorism list. Despite the fact that cuba maintains ties to countries such as north korea and continues to provide sanctuary for international terrorist. And no obama quid pro quo. Is the agenda first cuba and then i ran . We will see. Plus tonight, the mayor and the police chief of a small South Carolina city have been simply exemplary and the handling of the tragedy. The murder of one of their citizens recorded
Today the Supreme Leader declaring as he had early on in the talks that all economic sanctions would have to be listed on the day that any agreement is signed. And of course they had also insisted that there would never be a written agreement at all. Confounded reason is certainly not limited to washington. And obviously they are playing obama for a fool. We take up tonight whether there is an Administration Time limit on this nonsense and i will be talking with general jack keane. And new reports that the state department is ready to take cuba off the u. S. State sponsors of terrorism list. Despite the fact that cuba maintains ties to countries such as north korea and continues to provide sanctuary for international terrorist. And no obama quid pro quo. Is the agenda first cuba and then i ran . We will see. Plus tonight, the mayor and the police chief of a small South Carolina city have been simply exemplary and the handling of the tragedy. The murder of one of their citizens recorded
Mr. Reid i send a cloture motion to the desk. The presiding officer the clerk will report the cloture motion. The clerk cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, hereby move to bring to a close the debate on the nomination of Gerald Austin mchugh jr. Of pennsylvania to be United States district judge for the Eastern District of pennsylvania, signed by 17 senators as follows mr. Reid i ask consent the reading of the names be waived. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Reid i ask unanimous consent the quorum under rule 22 be waived. The presiding officer without objection. Mr. Reid i now move to proceed to legislative session. The presiding officer the question is on the motion. All in favor aye. Opposed no. The motion is agreed to. Mr. Reid i now move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 584. The presiding officer the question is on the motion. All in favor say aye. All