quorum call: quorum call: can quorum call: quorum call: quorum call: quorum call: the presiding officer: the senate majority leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask further proceedings under the quorum call be disdispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent when the senate resumes consideration of s. 178 on wednesday, april 22, senator cornyn or his designee be recognized to withdraw the pending cornyn amendment and offer amendments number 1124 and 301. i further ask that there then be one hour of debate equally divided in the usual form and that following the use or yielding back of time the senate vote on the leahy amendment number 301 followed by a vote on amendment number 1124, both with a 60-vote affirmative threshold for adoption. i further ask that if the cornyn-murray-klobuchar amendment is agreed to, the time until 2:00 p.m. be equally divided in the usual form and the senate then vote on the following amendments in the order listed and two minutes of debate equally divided before each vote. cornyn number 1127, leahy 290 brown 311 burr 1121, kirk 273 as modified, i further is ask that amendments in the preceding list be subject to a 60-vote affirmative threshold for adoption and that following disposition of these amendments there then be five minutes equally divided in the usual form followed by votes on the following amendments which have been cleared by the managers and should be adopted by voice vote. klobuchar 296 hoeven 299 as modified sullivan 279 wicker 1126 blake 29 -- flake 294 cassidy 308 portman 1128, brown 310 brown 312 heller 1122 shaheen 303. i further ask that there be no second-degrees in order to any of the amendments listed and following disposition of the shaheen amendment the committee-reported substitute as amended be agreed to, the bill as amended be read a third time and the senate proceed to a vote on passage. the presiding officer: is there objection? mr. wyden: reserving the right to object, mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. wyden: mr. president would the majority leader consider at this time modifying his request to drop the kirk amendment number 273? the presiding officer: will the majority leader so modify his request? mr. cornyn: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: mr. president as i understand the distinguished senator from oregon is asking to amend the consent request and i would reserve the right to object to that request and make the simple point that the kirk amendment targets online child exploitation and sex trafficking which is rampant and given the fact that the internet now is one of the principal tools used used, web sites like back backpage.com and on web sites like backpage.com thousands of human trafficking victims are sold into slavery. it is simply unconscionable for us to stand by and allow this to continue. what senator kirk is asking for and which i support and i believe we should do is a simple up-or-down vote on the kirk amendment. so i would reserve the right to object and ask our colleague to allow this up-or-down vote on the kirk amendment. mr. wyden: mr. president continuing,. the presiding officer: will the majority leader so modify his request? mr. mcconnell: mr. president the answer is no, but i think the senator from oregon wants to respond. mr. wyden: mr. president continuing my reservation, i don't take a back seat to anyone when it comes to fighting for the victims of sex trafficking. as the distinguished senator from texas knows, i was an original cosponsor of this legislation, and much of it is based on bills i've written and have advocated on behalf of for years, including with the distinguished senator from texas. much of this sex trafficking legislation, colleagues, is baseed on meetings and discussions i have had for years with young women who have been trafficked, law enforcement officials and community leaders, and i remember like it was yesterday mr. president how i was with the portland police on 82nd avenue in east portland where we encountered young women in their early teens who walked around with knives in their purses just hoping to survive the evening. the underlying legislation before us, in my view is going to be a very valuable tool in helping women like those that i saw in southeast portland. unfortunately, an amendment that senator kirk seeks to offer has been attached to this agreement that undermines the legal foundation of every social media platform and attacks a basic cornerstone of internet law. the kirk amendment will undermine the fight to help victims by distracting the focus of prosecutors from the pimps and the johns who prey on these young women the vague language in senator kirk's amendment would mean that any web site that hosts user-generated contact, any social media platform classified sections and e-commerce sites could face felony charges based on a vague concept of knowing and a vague concept of advertising. instead of focusing resources on going after pimps and traffickers, the kirk amendment would enable prosecutors to go after web sites millions of americans use for nonnefarious purposes chilling innovation. under current law portion their already have the ability to go after any entity that knowingly profits from sex trafficking. every minute our prosecutors are occupied going after legitimate businesses in my view is time not spent locking up the real criminals. this amendment hurts america's innovative businesses and entrepreneurs and stifles free speech. instead of getting tough on the sex traffickers that senator cornyn and i have sought to target all these years. so i'll close by simply saying, mr. president, i am for throwing the book at every sex trafficker and those who enable them. our country absolutely must do everything we can to prevent the next child from falling victim to these predators. in my view, the kirk amendment distracts from that goal. i hope it will not ultimately be added to this important legislation. i hope senators will vote no on the kirk amendment and with that mr. president i would withdraw my reservation to the agreement. the presiding officer: is there any objection to the request of the majority leader? without objection so ordered. mr. mcconnell: i move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 21, loretta lynch, to be attorney general. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion to proceed. all those in favor say aye. opposed say no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. mr. mcconnell: i send a cloture motion to the desk. the presiding officer: the motion is agreed to. the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, department of justice loretta e. lynch of new york to be attorney general. cloture motion, we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of loretta lynch to be attorney general signed by 17 senators as follows --. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the reading of the names be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the mandatory quorum call with respect to the cloture motion be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent the senate be in a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: i understand there's a bill at the desk and i ask for its first reading. the presiding officer: the clerk will read the title of the bill for the first time. the clerk: s. 1035 a bill to extend authority relating to roading surveillance and so forth and for other purposes. mr. mcconnell: i ask for a second reading and in order toth place the bill other than the calendar under the provisions of rule 14 i object to my own request. the presiding officer: objection having been heard the bill will be read for the second time on the next legislative day. mr. mcconnell: i ask unanimous consent when the senate completes its business today it adjourn until 9:30 a.m. wednesday, april 22, following the prayer and pledge, the journal be approved, the morning business deemed southern border the journal of proceedings be approved to date and the time for the two leaders reserved for their use later in the day. following leader remarks, the senate resume consideration of s. 178. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: so if there's no further business to come before the senate i ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. the presiding officer: the senate stands adjourned until 9:30 >> well, this morning senator mcconnell and senator reid came to the floor and talked about a deal in principle that has been struck over this antiabortion language that has held up the trafficking legislation for several weeks now since the middle of last month. they both came to the floor and praised the deal and said that that deal would allow the trafficking bill to move forward. since this morning there has been -- there was some maneuvering to try to figure out how exactly the particulars of the deal we will go forward but they came up with a resolution a resolution to the antiabortion language which has been holding it up as far. >> what is the reason that language, that high provision abortion language has stalled this bills action on the senate floor? >> the reason fundamentally is democrats contend republicans were looking to expand the scope of the amendment which banned funding for abortion in most cases except rape or incest. the democrats contend republicans are looking to expand the scope of that through this legislation. the compromise reached today creates a two-pronged funding a two-pronged funding stream for the trafficking victims where some services would be provided by taxpayer funds and then a 2nd funding stream would then come from the fines placed on the human traffickers who are can't under the legislation. and they'll be used to provide a different stream of funding of healthcare for the providers that would not be subject to the restrictions. >> who are the key senators the struck this deal? >> senator murray has been very involved on the democratic side. on the republican side senator cornyn. they both they both have been working with their colleagues, but each as a member of the leadership of their respective parties quex's everyone breathing a sigh sigh of relief, the sense that this is moving forward? is there any expected opposition once it comes to final passage? >> there certainly is broad i partisan support. there any question was with the senate until everything is completely a done deal. this trafficking legislation has sort of been creating a backlog and they load on -- a vote on the red alleges nomination, the beginning of a series of votes of any iran nuclear deal. both those things along with every other piece of legislation waiting in the hopper until after this trafficking legislation is dealt with. there is a sense this morning or today beginning this morning that reaching a compromise could help unclog that backstop but it remains to be seen how quickly things move again. >> and along with that announcement about the trafficking law, the announcement from the majority leader, in the next couple of days the senate will vote on the loretta lynch's lynch nomination. they reach a deal to allow a confirmation vote tied into the traffic do? >> exactly. he would not turn to the nomination until after the trafficking bill had been completed. he said he would as soon as the trafficking bill was completed. so basically that is the next thing that will come up. loretta lynch has enough support to be confirmed the support of at least 51 senators and so she will be can's firmed. confirmed. the question is when. both sides have been dug in on there position with democrats calling for a vote as soon as possible and saying it is absurd she has not been voted on yet and republicans saying we will vote on her as soon as we get this agreement. essentially trying to use loretta lynch as leverage in this debate over the abortion language in the trafficking legislation. >> your article bloomberg .com points out the president nominated for november the 8th. eric holder has been filling in. 51 senators, enough support. is there still the case? fifty-one including five republicans? >> i will definitely be the case. i heard i heard some rumblings that there may be additional republican support. we see this often when a nominee or piece of legislation has enough support to make it over that is essential hurdle essential hurdle which is 51 votes in this case. sometimes you see a slew of other members coming on board. no one wants to be the deciding vote in favor of the opposing party's nominee or piece of legislation, but once it reaches that threshold you see people jump on board. i heard rumblings she might get as many as 60 votes but i think that would be unlikely. >> kathleen hunter, reporter at bloomberg news. thank you for the update. >> thank you so much. >> coming up tonight on c-span2 da secretary robert mcdonald testifies about the 2016 va budget. the supreme court ruled in the case regarding police traffic stops and later debate on that human trafficking bill. >> veterans affairs secretary robert mcdonald testified on capitol hill about the 2016 veterans affairs budget request. $168.8 billion including funding to expand care to veterans and to transform the va into a customer centric department. this is one hour 50 minutes. >> a vietnam veteran in the marine and presented himself , went to see the head of our cardiology. and he did not want him to be in his win loss record referred him to the floor and there he expired of a heart attack. want to make sure that kind of thing never happens to our veterans that we have competent, strong administration of our people. i have raised this issue multiple times. behind that is the story of the cardiologist who witnessed this whole thing. out right now practice. let me -- i no you have a ten minute opening, mr. secretary. >> thank you, chairman kirk. i'm sorry. >> thanks. thank you mr. chairman. i have a brief opening statement and then we will get after it. i want to thank the chairman for his leadership on the subcommittee and want to welcome after one, undersecretary clancy, and mr. danny pummill. it is good to see you. thank you for coming to montana. a great informative trip and i hope you feel the same way. i hope we can work closely to address the concerns and issues raised during our trip and some of the issues that will be raised today. i have been impressed by your leadership, mr. sec., leadership, mr. secretary, candidness, willingness to accept responsibility and confront tough issues. an agency that is under siege everyday. you everyday. you experience that everyday. several scandals have shaken the confidence of the va created mistrust with some veterans and created mistrust with some republic. republic. restoring that is one of your chief tasks and i no you know that but a lot of that responsibility also falls on our shoulders and it is critical we provide you with the tools you need to get the job done. i firmly believe we need to hold accountable those who have abused their authority for personal gain and appropriately recognize him upon the dedication of the vast majority of employees who come to work every day with the singular goal of helping every veteran whose lives they touch dedicating all of our time to pummeling the va for past failures is not a recipe for reform or success command our veterans deserve more. at the at the end of the day, we are in this together. america's veterans are entitled to a healthcare system and benefits program far superior to any government or private sector benefits and for good reason the model of providing direct health care and benefits to our nation's veterans is something our veterans have come to rely on in this something that congress as enshrined in law we each have a responsibility here to sustain this model of service. the va most reform and improve its delivery of services to veterans command congress is to step up and fulfill the responsibility to fully fund the model of service the veterans of come to expect and demand. i want to thank you for being -- for coming before the subcommittee and look forward to your testimony. thank you. >> chairman, ranking member, members of members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to discuss va 2016 and 2017 advanced appropriation request and budget. we appreciate your steadfast support for veterans and the assistance of veterans service organizations. as va moves from a serious crises we have a critical opportunity. we tend to take full advantage of it to make va a model agency and customer experience comparable to the best private sector businesses. currently 11 and 42 million veterans are registered, enrolled, or use at least one benefit or service. the cost of fulfilling obligations grows over time because veterans demands for services and benefits continue to increase. in 2014 40 years after the war ended 22 percent of vietnam veterans were receiving service-connected disability benefits. we expect that percentage to continue to increase. from 1960 until the year 2000 2,000 the percentage of veterans receiving compensation was about eight and a half percent. in the last 14 years that is more than double to 19 percent. in 2009 the va completed 980,000 claims. fiscal year 2017, we project we 2017, we project who will complete over 1.4 million claims 47% increase. there has been a huge been a huge growth in the number of medical issues and claims. that is 115 percent increase over just a years. from 1950 to 1995 the average degree of disability amongst veterans was 30 percent. since 2,000 the average degree of disability has risen to 47.7 percent. while the total number of veterans is declining the number of those seeking care and benefits is increasing due to more than a decade a decade of war agent orange related claims, and unlimited claims appeal process, increased claims issues far greater survival rates of the wounded and more sophisticated medical treatment. it is important to understand why. the most important consideration is an aging veteran population. 40 population. forty years ago 2.2 million veterans were 65 years old or older. that is seven and a half percent of the population. we now serve an older population with a greater demand for care and more chronic conditions. as the military downsizes those choosing va will continue to rise. we are listening hard to what veterans, congress, employees, and vs owes tell us, driving us to a historic departmentwide transformation changing the va culture, making veterans the center of everything we do. we call it my va focusing on five of objectives to revolutionize culture and focus on veterans outcomes rather than internal metrics first, improving the veteran experience so that every veteran has a seamless integrated, and responsive customer service experience every single time. second, improving employee experience by limiting barriers to customer service and focusing on our people and culture to better serve veterans. third, improving our internal support services. fourth, establishing a culture of continuous improvement to identify and correct problems and replicate solutions health facilities. last enhancing strategic partnerships. we can do this by our self. the 1st step in achieving this goal. in the past va had nine disjointed deep -- disjointed geographic organization structures. our new framework as one national structure with five districts outlining the disparate organizational boundaries. veterans will see one rather than multiple, disconnected organizations. last, ensuring sound stewardship. we will integrate management improvement systems to ensure operational efficiency but when he congressional help. the a can be a sound stewardship resources with our current portfolio investments. no business would carry such a portfolio. it's time to close underutilize facilities. more than 1,300 facilities are more than 70 years old. 336 buildings vacant. that's 10.5 million square feet of empty space crossing about $24 million annually. we can use these funds to hire 150 registered nurses per year or support 41,900 days of racing -- nursing home care for veterans. please help us do the right thing. my reforms will take time but they will enable us to provide benefits and services. it allows us to continue transforming. requests $168.8 billion, 73.5 billion and 95.3 billion in mandatory funds. a discretionary request a discretionary request increase of $5.2 billion above the 2015 enacted level to continue serving a growing number of veterans seeking care benefits the research required you don't know how many veterans we use the act for non- va care or how much it will cost. our estimates range from $4 billion to 13 billion on the high-end. approximately doubled the number of veterans eligible for care under the act we propose funding the cost by requesting funds from the act well it contributed to problems decisions made years ago brought us to this. in my opinion the significant increase in the cost of the project results from four factors. first, not locking down design early in the process 2nd some design aspects without a cost. increasing the construction cost in the denver market premiums paid to contractors for perceived risks due to problems with the project. they will be approved by me prior to submission the congress. third,. third, institutionalizing project review board similar to what the corps of engineers district offices use. conducting preconstruction reviews of major projects. integrating medical equipment planners and to the construction project team from concept to activation. those measures will help us in the future but won't finish denver. after analysis we inform the community the total estimated cost of the facility would be $1.73 million an authorization increase of $930 million in additional funding of 830 million. we were -- we believe requesting funds is the best approach when the difficult