quorum call:

reid: mr. president i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be vitiated. i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to a period of morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to executive session to consider nominations 597, 598, 601, 602, 603 with the exception of colonel mark baird and colonel robert stanley ii, and 604, 605 with the exception of colonel andrew e.salas. 606 with the exception of brigadier general john k. kelk. and then 607, 608, 609, 610, 611 and all nominations on the secretary's desk in the air force and army. that the nominations be confirmed en bloc, the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid on the table, there be to intervening action or debate,

that no further nominations be in order to any of the nominations and that any related statements be printed in the record, that president obama be immediately notified of the senate's action and the senate then resume legislative session. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the at a time to be determined by me with the concurrence of senator mcconnell, the senate proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 561, that there be 20 minutes for debate equally divided in the usual form, that upon the use or yield being bacf that time, the senate proceed to vote on the nomination, the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid on the table with no intervening action or debate, that no further motions be in order, any related statements be printed in the record and the president be immediately notified of the senate's action and the senate then resume legislative session. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to calendar number 248.

the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 248, s. 1254, a bill to amend the harmful algo blooms and hypoxia research and control act of 199 1k3-1998and for other purposes. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. reid reidmr. reid:: mr. reid: mr. reid: i ask the nelson amendment be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid on the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to h. con. res. 81 and h. con. res. 82. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h. con. res. 81, providing a correction in the enrollment of s. 25. h. con. res. 82, providing a correction in the enrollment of s. 540. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection.

mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to en bloc, that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid on the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask consent the judiciary committee be discharged from further consideration of s. res. 350. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. res. 350, designating february 14, 2014, as national solidarity day for compassionate patient care. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, the committee is discharged and the senate will proceed to the measure. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the booker amendment to the resolution which is at the desk be agreed to, the resolution as amended be agreed to, the amendment to the preamble as amended be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be laid on the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask consent the senate propose to s. res. -- proceed to s. res. 358. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. res. 358,

commending the seattle seahawks for winning super bowl 48 and the 12th man for their critical support. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. reid: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid on the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to s. res. 359. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. res. 359, to constitute the majority party's membership on certain committees for the 113th congress or until their successors are chosen. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: mr. presiden mr. presm told there's a bill at the desk due for its first reading. the presiding officer: the clerk will read the title of the bill

for the first time. the clerk: s. 2024, a bill to amend chapter 1 of title 1, united states code, with regard to the definition of marriage and spouse for federal purposes and to ensure respect for state regulation of marriage. mr. reid: i ask for a second reading and the purpose of this is to place the bill on the calendar under the provisions of rule 14 but now i object to my own request. the presiding officer: objection having been heard, the bill will be read for a second time on the next legislative day. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that senator sanders be appointed as conferee to h.r. 3880, the water resources reform and development act. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that the adjournment or recess from thursday, february 13, through be monday, february 24, the majority leader, senators warner and levin, be authorized to sign duly enrolled bills or joint resolutions. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding the upcoming recess or adjournment of the senate, the president of the senate, the president pro tempore and the majority and

minority leaders be authorized to make appointments to commissions, committees, boards, conferences, or interparliamentary conferences authorized by law, by concurrent action of the two houses or by order of the senate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that the appointment at the desk be -- that it appear separately in the record as if made by the chair. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that major leslie l. somaro, united states air force officer currently serving as my defense legislative fellow this year be granted floor privileges for the duration of s. 1982, the veterans comprehensive bill. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: when the senate returns, it will address, mr. president, a number of important nominations, the comprehensive veterans bill, extension of unemployment insurance benefits, sexual assault in the military and other important matters. on unemployment insurance, i want to be very clear, mr. president. the issue is not going to go away.

we're one republican vote away from restoring this lifeline. 1.7 million americans, including 22,000 nevadans, depend on this lifeline and we're not going to let them down. i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completees its business today, it adjourn and convene in pro forma sessions on the following dates and times and the following the final pro forma serks the senate adjourn until the next session. friday, february 14, 10 245eur9 a.m., tuesday, february 17, 10:30 a.m., and friday, february 21, 10:30 a.m., and then the senate reconvene on monday at 2:00 p.m.

continuing my consent request, on monday following the prayer and pledge, the morning hour be deemed expired, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the time for the two liards had been h reserved for their use later in the day, that senator angus king be recognized to deliver washington's farewell address under the previous order, upon the conclusion of the reading, i be recognized and when the senate be in a period of morning business until 5:00 p.m. with senators permitted to speak up to ten minutes each. at are 5:00 p.m., the senate provided to the meyer nomination, with the time equally divided and controlled in the usual form prior to the vote on the meyer mom nation. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: the next vote will be monday, february 24 at 5:30 p.m. if floss further business to if floss further business to

although histories of the vietnam era war might make only passing reference to the 100 it's not because they weren't there in numbers. perhaps not as glamorous as other planes. their contribution to the war effort was irreplaceable. >> it's absolutely beautiful. it just seems so familiar to

actually sit here. >> when they put it back together again you will have to come and see it. >> absolutely. >> from my personal tie to this airplane assumes they are planet flu in vietnam this very tail number of the 226 combat missions i flew, i flew 180 missions in this airplane. it's my titanium mistress. it's what brought me home at times it probably shouldn't have when i abused it, when i did things in order to survive and punished it. it held together. it is an airplane that i have such strong feelings for. there is no way i couldn't bring it home if i could. interesting story, i had a painting done by an aviation artist to paint my airplane in this battle yard. he asked me if i knew would happen to it and i said no i didn't but he knew somebody who did. when i contacted that person and told them where it was in massachusetts and that got the ball rolling.

i said if there's any way that we can bring that airplane in out of the cold and present it to our museum patrons in the combat form that it was that would be my goal in life and that is what we are working on. >> i think every first lady brings their unique perspective to this job. if you didn't you couldn't live through it. i think to the extent that this field is natural to me at any level and i would never have thought that living in the white house and being the first lady would feel natural, it's because i try to make it me.

i try to bring a little bit of michelle obama into this but at the same time respecting and valuing the tradition that is americas. the washington press club foundation hosted at 70th annual congressional dinner in washington d.c.. members of congress journalists and others highlighting the lighter side of capitol hill. speakers included house minority leader nancy pelosi, south dakota senator john finn u.s. representative donna edwards of maryland and arizona senator jeff flake. the event began with a presentation of the foundations

awards including one for lifetime achievement for abc news radio white house correspondent anne compton. [applause] >> thank you david and thank you so much to my friends at the washington press club foundation for the honor of being here tonight. i want to get right into our presentation of awards starting with the prestigious david lynch award for regional reporting. this is an award recognizing a daily print reporter who provides excellent coverage of congress from a regional perspective, making sure that what happens here in washington gets translated into something more akin to how real people speak. david lynch covered washington with an emphasis on congress for the buffalo news and the riff in laramie bureau which serves

daily newspapers in england, alaska and south carolina and then later he ran a one-man bureau with daily newspaper clients in iowa and nebraska. his wife deborah is here tonight so if you would give her a round of applause as she stands. [applause] she created this award and her husband's name when he passed away in 1998 and continues her great commitment to her husband's memory and his passion for regional reporting. before we announce the winner of the david lynch award i would like to recognize two honorable mentions. of the las vegas sun. [applause] and tom brennan of newsday if jacobo standup. [applause] our judges love tom's work. they said it was a terrific example of how local stories can be national.

they particularly loved his march on washington peace and they said it actually taught them a lot of new things. his work was well-written and it covered a wide variety of stories. our judges were impressed by his ability to make a story about a bird compelling and the judicial process seem relevant. congratulations to you both. [applause] the winner of this year's david lynch award is deidre of gannett [applause] is deidre could come up to the stage and as she makes her way to the stage, i should tell you this is actually her third time winning this award, pretty amazing. her ability to explain to her readers how decisions made here in washington affect them caught our judges attention yet again. they said that her work

exemplifies the spirit of this award and that she found strong local angles to important stories offering a sense of place for the region and voices from the people living in it so congratulations to deidre. [applause] >> congratulations again. >> thank you. >> next i would like to recognize someone who is very dear to the white house press corps and particularly the gals in the press corps. anne compton national correspondent for abc news radio [applause] she is this year's recipient of the washington press club foundation's lifetime achievement award.

this is for outstanding accomplishments that promote journalism as a profession and also for enhancing the role of women journalists. on 9/11 and company was the only broadcast reporter allowed to remain on air force one when president bush was unable to return to washington. and it was right after the watergate scandal that she became the first woman assigned to cover the white house on a full-time basis by a network television news organization and she was at the time one of the youngest to receive that assignment. perhaps that is why she has a soft spot for newbies and her sisters in journalism. you don't have that "back you need for your story -- you had a tough briefing? maybe it stung a little? she finds you afterward and she bucks you up.

long days, drooling travel, they are no match for anne's enthusiasm for herb be her optimism and her dedication to covering the white house. she is truly a trailblazer and she did it all while raising four children, two of whom are here along with her husband so if you would please turn your attention to our video screens. [applause] >> it was clear from an early age and go compton is comfortable in front of the camera. today she has spent four decades there are most of it at the mountaintop, the white house. compton has had a career of

firsts. >> on the senate side of bill of unusual -- >> hired after an internship in roanoke she was their first female reporter and open their richmond bureau. >> how was last night state dinner different from state dinners of the past? >> in the early 70's abc stole her away and put her at the white house, the first woman on the be and one of the youngest ever. >> sam obviously there are a lot of candidates for office. >> she has been a floor reporter at the national conventions. >> lets change the pace a little bit. >> service a panelist on two presidential debates. >> the initial $5 billion. >> covered eight residential campaigns and seven presidents. >> you sound surprised. >> i am surprised. could i ask you about race? >> she has had a front row seat to history. >> we do have anne compton who

is able to provide this on a report of what she has seen. >> under the icy surface of the potomac you can see the top of the fuselage. >> anne compton is on the phone from nebraska. we don't want to lose her her. can you hear me? >> yes, peter i can. >> what are you doing in nebraska? >> you president bush is here at the home of the strategic command. >> anne was one of five reporters allowed to stay with president bush on 9/11, the only broadcast reporter. >> we new one of the most trusted and respected journalists was on air force one and we all were light on that reporting about what the president was doing to keep america safe. >> you have told us in bits and pieces as the day has gone along so why do you talk for a spell. >> the most striking thing about today. >> anne is the most proud of

what she has done off-camera. mentoring younger women like o'donnell and raising four children. >> anne compton has proven for decades that you can be incredibly successful at your job and still be the most incredible mother. >> mr. president i take it that the tax return -- >> anne's place in history is remarkable. sitting in the front row at the white house and questioning so many presidents in so many press secretaries and i think earned the respect and trust of so many people. anne is the first one there and usually the last one to leave, one of the hardest working journalists i know. >> i will take anything you want to throw at me. ..

[applause] >> thank you. thank you. [applause] >> i have never seen most of you . those of us carry a little swiss army knife with our tools senate, things like curiosity and credibility and carriage and wait too much self confidence. i have to tell you, what strikes me tonight is the honor to stand here with so many of a

generation of women who not only have that tool kit, but they have the lock of good timing. i did come along at a time when they gates really opened. the society opened to women moving into the mainstream. to sit here with so many speakers and members of congress i am part of a generation's that really surged ahead. i am incredibly grateful. i am also grateful that i have worked with and for some incredible women, including robins paul, and absolutely wonderful woman. [applause] and all of us tonight need to come all of us here need to reach that hand down to the next generation who are coming into a world of journalism. it is a lot different than we

knew. we need to bring them forward, and i think you so much for this incredible honor. thank you. [applause] [applause] >> our next speaker once took off her shoes to tell jokes at this dinner, and i really hope that she does it again begin she wears a very nice use and i could use another pair. house minority leader nancy pelosi. [applause] >> this is a wonderful night. so many happy memories. that's collect some this evening first, i just want to say to the people from the lead a vaccine may be here, you do not have to check any of my facts on what i have to say tonight. i bring greetings from the congress of the united states to

this very special occasion. there is so much to be proud of. thank you for the well -- warm and mrs. opening this program. and graduating phi beta kappa from berkeley, a university of california at berkeley. and i mention that because it is one of the places in america where my conservative credentials are very recognized. [laughter] and if you notice, but rihanna and her cnn colleagues and jumping up and hurrying to the door, you know one thing is for sure, justin beaver is on the move. i'm so proud of and compton for so much. and and abc, tv, radio, broadcasting. proudly she is the recipient of tonight's washington press club foundation lifetime achievement

award. the bigger price for and maybe it she convinced jay carney to shave his beard. one of the many people congratulating end tonight is her husband bill, a physician. very glad to hear that under obamacare she can keep the doctor that she has. [laughter] [applause] end to deidre, congratulations to you and the net on receiving the award. how wonderful. as you know, ken allen's usa today. i understand they are also working on a newspaper for people who are not staying in hotels. [laughter] always a pleasure to share the day as with my good friend, the distinguished democratic danny

white ear of maryland. [applause] we are both happy to be here with our colleague, chairwoman kathy mcmorris rogers. we are so proud of her as well. [applause] kathy is here to offer rebuttals arrived remarks. that is likely, rand paul, clayton among others. i am so glad that we are joined. as you know, the senator is an avid runner, so much so that he has been called the fastest man in congress. although i am not sure that is a complement, but nonetheless -- [laughter] i don't know what the competition is there. [laughter] john, i know that south dakota is famous for being the home to mount rushmore, but just because you are stonefaced at the state of the union addresses not mean you're going up there.

[laughter] one of tonight's keynote speakers, my dear friend, a colleague of mine, chairwoman mcmorris rogers, congressman don edwards of maryland. so proud of her. [applause] some of you may remember that donna was photographed. speaker banner at the congressional women's softball game. yes. but the real news is that the speaker was at the baseball game because, as you know and everybody knows, there is no crying in baseball. [laughter] and while we are added to ma let's hear it for the women's softball game. [applause] don't we let that? [applause] after donna concludes our remarks we will hear from one of our former house colleagues.

we are so proud of it senator jeff blake. he has a large number of family members here today. welcome to washington. [applause] they didn't all applaud you. [laughter] i know you have more family, you're from a family of 11 children. imagine. is that not beautiful? jeff is from snowflake, ariz. which actually receives very little snow. that is why it is like the republican health care plan, very little health care. [laughter] and some of you may know that jeff once spent a week alone in a desert on a desert island talking to nobody, doing nothing it was perfect preparation for a republican in the united states senate. [laughter] just last week the american people heard president obama deliver his state of the union

address. it was powerful. it was moving. it was inspiring. after listening to the president's speech, though, it sounds as if he is going to change the song is played when he walks into the room from hail to the chief to with your thoughts you. in the bottom of fancier? this state of the union gives a whole new meaning to president lincoln's ," a house divided will not stand. in fact, it will not even a slap . one thing i mess about being speaker is getting to sit next to vice-president joe biden for one hour without him saying one word. [laughter] just kidding. just kidding. before the state of the union there and been a lot of talk about the republican party strategy to oppose the president -- the president.

then speaker said that the house will be a brick wall if obama tries to act unilaterally. that is an audit strategy, voluntarily putting himself between a rock and hard place. [laughter] i'm having a good time. [laughter] i don't want you to laugh too much because it will come out of my time. the republicans are worried about their candidates are running against women. in fact, the speaker has said that some of the members are not as sensitive as they ought to be, especially when they are talking to women. if the speaker is looking for sensitive man, i can introduce into some of my constituents and san francisco. [laughter] i have high hopes -- speaking of san francisco, i have high hopes that the 49ers would win the nfc

championship game. i really did. but when they lost to the seahawks are lost my bed to my colleague from washington state. they won sourdough bread. i would have one salmon. and the folks at ms nbc that only barack obama could multiplied the lows and the fishes. [laughter] on a more serious note -- [laughter] all of us here share a fundamental belief in the value and importance of strong, driving. i particularly loves this dinner, rarely ever and i missed it because it is the women's national press club. now they have a man as president of the club. is that great? [laughter] congratulations.

[laughter] i have always maintained that of all of the freedoms in the first amendment's the freedom of the press is the most important safeguard of our democracy. and i think all of you for the role that you play in that. i congratulate and thank so washington press club foundation which is originally the women's national press club. your work, your lead, your advocacy on behalf of the nation's capital and across the nation as guardian of our democracy. thank you and goodnight. [applause] in next another lawmaker who also wears the union shields -- i mean cowboy boots most of the time republican conference chairman, senator john tune.

[applause] >> thank you. thank you all very much. it is great to be with you this evening. by the way, being the fastest man in congress he once told me is like being the best server in king sons. it is and i still have the does not mean a whole lot. the have been coming off and on since i was first elected in 97 or as some people around here marked time cover john bain is life. [laughter] it has been a busy day already because the senate where a lot does not happen, we were on retreat today, republicans and democrats had their respective retreats. i am told that the democrats broke out into an argument at their retreat over who had to have the president's come in and campaign for them in their state this year.

i was told that market drew the short straw and that he and said there was a village in northern alaska where you really needed despite the turnout if the president could come and visit. in fact, evidently it's a place where you can see russia. [laughter] so i am excited tonight to hear from jeff. he is my colleague in the united states senate. i did not know he was funny. [laughter] i knew he was one of the most -- actually the most beautiful person in washington according to the airlift. in fact to you know, when scott brown led congress the united states and it lost its hong kong, but fortunately jeff is stepping into that role which is a good thing because schuler was

feeling really pressured. [laughter] so let me just get off of the stage by saying thank-you to all of you. congratulations to all who were honored tonight, received awards special congratulations to and put a lifetime achievement award what a wonderful career. and to deidre for the david lynch award. and we appreciate so much. i know it is not often that politicians get up and say nice things about the press, but you really do have an important job to do, and they're is a reason why the freedom of the press is in the first amendment. it does help keep us and our elected officials accountable and begs for a strong democracy, preserves and protects our freedom. thank you for what you and congratulations to all the awardees. thank you. [applause]

>> here in a few minutes we will get to the main course of our entertainment. you know, this is the first of the dinners that we will be doing through this washington dinner season, special because it was founded to insure that women -- founded by organization to raise red women have an equal place in the newsroom, but also because a congressman had volunteered to provide security force this year which is the first time it has happened. if you see michael grimm, just make sure you tell and thank you but seriously, just thank you. twitter.com/booktv asking follow-up questions. [laughter] and i cover the white house. one of the buzz your stories that we have seen, have you seen this one, of whitehouse where members of the american public are petitioning president obama to deport justin bieber. fans over there. but the president obama's says

if he was going to deport anyone back to candidate has to be takers. [laughter] and we here, you know, that center crews is getting along better with members of his own party. politicos just reported that. there is no possibility that is an exaggeration at all. [laughter] have you heard the good news lately for chris christie? desperately in need of some. he has actually been invited to advise the u.s. ski team. they think that he is so good at going downhill fast. [laughter] of course the scandal that he has been dealing with has a lot of people wondering if ultimately he will run for president in 2016, but as chris christie himself was saying, we will close down that bridge when we come to it. [laughter]

center que hay in here tonight. we told their president obama would not be. get to see you. but he really wanted to be here. he really did, but every time started to get dressed bill o'reilly interested in. this is not really a friendly town for the president, president obama, not a friendly town for smokers in general. cbs will be banning tobacco and all of their stores. you have a group of democrats that is pushing to stop the smoking of e-cigarettes in d.c. soon if you want to smoke legally in this town is just going to have to let it join. [laughter] we have also got congressman corey gardner here from colorado in the audience. just got back from a cheetah's run. [laughter] so sorry about your broncos. i know it was a rough game on

sunday. it was pretty hard to watch. they started the super bowl with a safety, interception, and a fumble or as head coach kathleen sibila is said to my thought they did great. [laughter] and did you see the red hot chili peppers play the halftime show? for late to my guess we should say because they're learning today that they were pretending to play their guitars. apparently is big news when guys fecit. [laughter] conclusion -- [applause] oh, wait, i was not so opposed to say that. with that i would like you to please welcome congresswomen donna edwards. i have seen her play softball. she will take up members of her own party to prevent them from getting on base.

she entered congress but of being in the democratic incumbent by -- that she once worked for. imagine what she will do if you not math at your jokes. congressman. >> waiting for a video. >> previously. >> i wish you had just been honest with me. >> i really don't know how many other ways i can tell you this. i am not having an affair, now with anyone else. why you keep calling me? >> tell me to back off. >> back off? back up from who. my relationship district professional, and even above wanted to there not enough hours in the date permitted do my job, spend time with you and keep up

with my drinking, and you think have time for another affair? >> i trusted you. >> i have never given a reason not to trust me. ♪ [laughter] >> did you see it? >> it is not even meet. your paranoia is eating you alive. ♪ i need to take this. you need to get a grip on it. good night. ♪ >> we have been found out. there is a picture. that did not fool anyone. when the tear do damage control. i can fix this.

stop sobbing. in such a turnoff. [applause] [applause] >> thank you so much. as you can tell it is great to be here with you this evening. you can see i am a huge scandal fan. i get this sultry voice just for that. i don't get a lot of free time. so i have actually been bins what -- been watching scandal to get ready for season three. so much fun to watch even now you and i both know that it is completely unrealistic. the fact is, if you want to do are realistic video about watching -- washington all you need is to props. you need a keyboard and a chip that can type benghazi benghazi benghazi over and over again. and if you don't believe me, as hillary.

listen, you know, i have been really trying to be very serious and glad to see all of my colleagues from the house actually here in the house this evening. and i am surprised to see some many of my friends from the other side of the aisle. i mean, i did not realize, jeff, that you guys actually had faced apollo's rebuttals to the state of the union. cathy, did you finish your? you know, tonight we get the privilege of being here with so many of our friends, republican friends, my friends from the republican study group to my friends, jim cliburn back there from the black caucus. my friends from the progressive caucus. i think i saw bernie sanders sarah out there someplace. but i wanted to get is of very special shot out this evening. now, come on. help me. i want to give that special shout out to nancy pelosi and all of my sisters in the libya

caucus. hollow. [applause] and i thought i saw -- i'm really not -- jeff, is he here this evening? out there someplace. look, sugar, if you are out there are will be you had the after party, but you're buying drinks and i'm not taking any free stuff. you know, as we have been in congress we tried to put our differences aside, you know, just for one night. we like to get dressed up and have a little fun. all of your dressed up. you see my address. take a look at it. you know, it is a really special thing that i actually got it. a marine macdonald clothing. she got my j.c. penney, and i got her oscar de la renta. it looks good on me, don't you think. and i said to bob macdonald because he kept telling me.

then i realized that his good friend, lonnie williams, was out wandering the streets of alexandria just handing out rolex watches and designer evening gowns. he was really trying to satisfy all of the neediest people in northern virginia. you know, i have to tell you, i actually thought that mitt romney $10,000 on that particular deal, but he was not taking it. all seriousness, i want to get to the bottom of this, and i am sure that we will get all the bottom of that tall virginian scandal, and i know that i saw the chairman has set out there because i am pretty clear he will call a benghazi hearing in just about a day or two. congress is actually broken. i know it is pretty funny. i'm having fun. congress is broken. if you all agree with that. these to be fixed.

and if you have seen our numbers -- i'm not talking about the democratic numbers. jeff comanches in the republican numbers? you guys aren't like 9 percent. i'm pretty clear that pot has been legalized in two states, you guys would be zero about now . you know, i always say to everybody, and jeff knows this because we have been good friends. we have to put our differences aside. we have to come together, and all of the shenanigans. oh, jeff, the problem with the word shenanigans' a spelling bee s-h-e-n-a-i-g-n-s. shenanigans. got it now? yap. well, we do have to put our differences aside. we have to stop all of this. port jeff. and they asked me to do this, i

thought, well, i was a little bit nervous. i was uncomfortable. and then i found out that it was against this guy. i thought, if i can't improve my haunts against a guy named flake then i'm not slake. you know, jeff, actually won a spelling bee when i was in, like a muppet trade. this is really bad. so sorry about that. i actually like jeff blake. we traveled together to cuba years ago. he knows that i have pictures of him. apparently he likes to show myself from the waist up and more all the time. and i did not use any of those pictures deceiving because we are like family. we are colleagues. and just like family sometimes

we get a little tired of each other. isn't that right, center, we get a little tired of each other, but it does not matter because there are times and we still find time to work together. and when i say together, i mean in a commercial kind of worry. you know what i'm saying. right about midnight we do the negotiation dense. then we fled with a little bit of compromise. and then suddenly the entire room gets all fuzzy and morphs into this creepy carnival kind of thing. and then just when we are finally going to seal the deal, the see alice deal, we end up in separate bathtubs. [laughter]

i mean, i'm just talking about budgets. and i'm talking about, you know, like negotiations on debt ceilings and stuff like that. we are family. like a family we also like to make a little time for fun. so very recently i decided in the spirit of bipartisanship that i was going to travel to egypt with the house tolerance carcass. was a delegation that included my buddy michele bachmann and my shuffleboard team made, the league homer and steve king. my invisible friend, steve stockman. it and you can imagine what an end venture that was. i mean, it was like being on a reality show, muslim big brother had. just me. i was there. at the just like on big brother stephen, michele, and louis actually created this really

weird confession room video. have you all seen this? i mean, it was crazy. and i thought, well, was a crazy or was it just a covert operation to make us think that the entire region was stable? it works. i think recently it was fun to travel with these folks because you learn a lot about people when you are with them. and the road trip really was a blast. my family chair, the egypt in the venture went on just a little bit too long. really it was my own fault because if i had done even a little bit of research i would have found that if he spent more than five days with members of the tea party caucus pretty soon you develop a condition, and it is known as stockman syndrome.

and it had you ever heard of this? you can find it on wednesday in the. she can find it right now. but you actually develop it after you spend several days in very close proximity to steve stockman. all the sudden you find yourself actually falling in love with john corning. nothing wrong without because those are your people, but it was really bad for me. jeff and i have been fighting really hard because once i developed stockman sender my wanted to do something about it. you guys are complaining in writing that we don't work across the aisle. i decided that we wanted to make sure that we would fight hard

for stockman syndrome to be fully covered under obamacare. we wanted to make sure that every single american has access to up three border control. now, let me take that in. work with it a little bit. on this same trip, and this was the longest trip in my entire life, he told me how bullish are was to take this trip. they thought i was foolish. and so there i was with michele bachmann. i discovered that we had something in common. we decided that we were both really big fans of be heading. when she sent me this portrait

that she had made over christmas . it was an immodest to the show. like i said, taking in. he can see them. it is a little odd. i did not really want to tell my girlfriend -- and i'm looking at her, i did not want to tell our that in this economy flaunting your wealth like that is of little bit tone deaf, but i mean it is true that they make more than most people do, and she is showing it all over this little portrait she said to me. and so, you know, i think when i came here this evening -- and i was not certain that i wanted to be here, one of the things that is very true, we value the

foundation. we are here because of you, the role you played keeping us honest. and i truly have come to value your treat seeking, a political analysis, amazing courage when you're a trend by members of congress with dismemberment. i wanted to make a commitment see you. i know it is the kind of promise the chip is going to make as well. that is that i will never answer all of your questions ever, but i also will never put you over a balcony either. and so i wanted thank you for inviting me this evening. it has been fined. it has been challenging. i have loved seeing all of you. those are my friends clapping.

i just want to say thank you so much to the entire washington press club foundation for all you do to elevate women and expanding opportunity. i want to thank you for including me and my friend for being such a special republican friend. the entire team that revolution, i could not have done this without them. thank you very much. [applause] >> as you already know our next speaker went on another survival trip on a deserted island this past year. prove that even members of congress will take extraordinary measures to get away from members of congress. senator jeff blake.

>> thank you all very much. it is great to be here. a great show. what a great event. congratulations. thank you for being here. you have heard a lot about rabaul. i have heard that rumor and paul was actually going to get over a bottle but then the organizers remember that most of you already have access to the expedia. [laughter] it would not be needed. that finding that last year at this event you had adjacency come from utah which tells me that i might have actually found an audience that appreciates good mormon humor. mitt romney might have killed your taste for it. we mormons are known for our

tireless outreach efforts. that is how i view my role tonight. best of all i am already inside. there is no door the you can slam. if i could just have a minute of your time. [laughter] so sharing their experiences, it's comforting to see nancy pelosi year as well. i was getting nervous. i went to nancy and said what can i do. with that is in-like wisdom she said embrace the flaw. [laughter] speaking of congressman don edwards -- [laughter] that was not. that was not. that was not.

i just hope that down and does not have higher political ambitions because we all know that, warns a community organization in the background just does not lead anywhere. what he may not know his daughter used to work for nasa and actually once proposed that we establish a national park. a true story. i have to tell you, i think that is a big mistake. republicans would get blamed for closing. i have to confess, i was worried about not being funny. i sent a note to a friend and i could end up being the only feature speakers here tonight. he wrote a note back saying there was a traffic jam. keep it real. chris christie.

i've often wondered what the reaction would be a president obama was at the heart of the scandal. i can just see the new york times headline now. brilliant obama traffic slowdown plant saved countless lives per high-speed accidents. admitted. it would be. you are kind to have me year. i have no illusions that hire some big washington a lister or anyone's first choice, but a few of you can look for to the gridiron dinner next month, the correspondents' dinner after that. for some of us this season ends tonight. this is all we have got. [laughter] speaking of the gridiron dinner, ted cruises headlining that a fair. i hope the organizers had procured the room for 21 hours.

i wish him well. the filibuster reverences' to dr. susan star wars, i can't help but wonder if he is used up all his comedic material. as you heard, was born and raised in the town of snowflake arizona. and now we were thinking. the name is taken from my ancestors. talk about a sheltered childhood. i grew up not knowing netflix was determined disparagement. none of us made in part to five nobody made fun of us. a true story. i was introduced to a fellow that i was from snowflake. he knew somebody from snowflake but could not pull up the name. i finally said, is his death late. he said, no, he seems perfectly normal to me.

it has been downhill from there. the name has come in handy. my first campaign slogan was simply another flag for congress . but you may have heard today that sandra taluca has decided not to run for congress. alloy's wanted to be a fluke flake. at that would be pretty good. i mentioned that i am a mormon. coffee, tea, tobacco, gambling. that's my family out there. the sober ones. i told a fellow senator once that i had a friend who would soon be celebrating a birthday. he said hal. [laughter] and by wife, cheryl this year. [applause]

cheryl and i have five children. among mormons that can be summed up in three words. in fact families are so big fleeces. yet all heard. popularity and members of congress is down to blood relatives. well, with five kids, ostensibly 7,691st cousins and my father sat alone, i'm going to ride that part of what i can. let me tell you, growing up in northern arizona was not all fun and games. i grew up on her ranch. in an accident early on i lost the end of my index finger. democrats have been trying to help out. they have been giving me the

finger for years. it is just the wrong one. but prior to my election to the house i ran the goldwater institute in arizona. now, our mission was to call republicans back if only they would listen. ideas that once commanded majorities in seven of 50 states. we did it once, and we can do it again. [laughter] you know, frankly i like my democratic colleagues, and i find a lot to admire in president obama. hear me out. i respect a man with a vision to see things that others simply cannot. the evidence of economic recovery. the benefits of losing over 2 million jobs, the humility of john kerry. the genius of joe biden. but here in the senate as you

know they say once the lower the bar for just about everything, i suddenly feel a heck of a lot younger. my hair looks fuller. i have gone from being a mediocre athlete to an all-star. my jokes are a lot funnier. i am testing that premise tonight. but the best evidence of lowering the bar was mentioned. i topped the list of washington's 50 most beautiful people. the interviews and research conducted by the newspaper, and journalism at its finest. empirical, fact based, pulitzer stuff. [laughter] the center hit it just right. we all more or less know what dominance in the field means. scott brown has left town. i should be clear that there were others in congress equally deserving. charms and special categories. elizabeth warren was singled out

as capitol hill's mouth press -- breathtaking cherokee indian. and we are all thinking mitch mcconnell for keeping the washington the quotient exactly where it is. by schering ashley judd out of the senate race. thank you. well, good luck. who is up, who is down. it is also show anyway. that is why the few years ago, as you heard, was a member of the house i set out on a lonely odyssey they may have read about. for weeks i lived on the far-flung pacific marshall islands. cold, sand, and john breaux, a completely uninhabitable. so remote there is not even acorn able to register democrats there. let me just reiterate, this is

not some metaphorical hike on the appalachian trail either. [laughter] from which i have to tell you that i did not appreciate the huffington post headline when i returned, flake goes on island vacation. that's just out of line, you know. but for me it was of waite said trade in the dog eat dog atmosphere for they even at this year. i was actually surprised by the similarities between congress. on the boat ride to the island that has torn the islanders have market tell if the fish that i planned said spear and he would be poisonous. the answer was not comforting, but it was eerily familiar. he said, i might have to a passage to find out what is senate.

[laughter] like as said, not very comforting. but upon my return i made the mistake of releasing a photo where i happened to be shirtless. i've won't be doing that again, believe me. each time i do my twitter feed lots of and some guy named carlos danger gets royalties. [laughter] so here i am back in washington. a junior senator from arizona just one step away from my lifelong dream, to be senior senator from arizona. there is just one guy left in my way. i have been trying to find out how to get him, you know, a gentle push. but just how do you put the old

pack out to pasture? [laughter] how do you cut loose and loose cannon? why can't we get along with a gang of seven? now, john is not one to take hands. and decided to raise the retirement issue with a little more direction. give him a dose of his own straight talk. so i talked to mccain in the senate. right between the geriatric pull live and the map room. [laughter] just to help you get your bearings, that is just beyond the counter with the senate approving, broke cream, are "although, fix a dent, cone's soaking in blue bar aside. i kid you not. i told him, hey, look, my

friend, we can do this the hard way or the easy way. suddenly i got the feeling that he had heard those words before. something told me to back off a little. so i ask mccain if he would get least consider removing his need from my throat. so i guess i just have to accept my lot in life and my lowly perch in the senate. there are, after all, worse things than being a senior senator with that six year in the most exclusive club in the world. agate to associate ragged to play even a minor role in the best system of government ever established, one that somehow, some how withstands the daily struggles of those who serve in it. appreciate the work including those like ben hoffman who keep this town far more honest than

it would otherwise be. as been a pleasure to be with you all. thank you for having me here tonight. [applause] >> all right. please stick around for the after dinner reception sponsored by the hill and have a great night. [applause] [inaudible conversations] ." [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations]

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>> the context here is that we in the modern-day as someone who counsels accepted sense of mission and resignation to the situation. and that is always struck me. it is sort of a theory that does not end up in a sense. we know he was the most prestigious man in the south and the told. but we know that the south did not simply submit to the political will of the north, seveners index confederates began very quickly to contest the northern understanding of the meaning of the war and the peace in northern plans for reconstruction, political means and through extralegal means and violent means. what i found is that in the eyes of confederates lee was not a symbol of submission but a symbol of a kind of on vowed pride and a kind of measured defiance. >> rethinking grant and lee at appomattox saturday night at

2:00 eastern and sunday morning at 11:00, part of a 3-state presidents day weekend on american history tv. >> here they are coming in, closing in on me. i am still thinking debate. when i went through survival school they taught us that the people who capture you are probably the least trained to capture pows and maintain them. so you best time to escape is right in. i thought, okay, these are rookies. i pulled up my 38 combat masterpiece, two rounds of tracer. i went like this, get away, get back to beat and then i fired a round of that tracer right of their head. they did not flinch. they just raised their rifles like this. one of them rescinding his pocket and pulled out a little pointy talky which is like a little comic book that some of them carry in their pocket.

it enshrines on one side and vietnamese phonetics and the other. the drying shed and capturing an american pilot, is in a fallen pilot on compares u.s. hands up. this one guy said so brenda, night. surrender, no die. hands of. so here i am facing about nine long guns staring at me. i decide that is probably the best advice i was going to get that day. >> former air force pilot and vietnam pow lee ellis some unedited:00 on c-span today. >> the senate passed a bill suspending the debt ceiling through march of 2015. to get some perspective on the capitol hill reporter. the congressional reporter with real clear politics joining us. after a dramatic vote in the

u.s. senate a clean bill to lift the debt ceiling for a year is now headed to president obama's desk. >> well, what made a dramatic was we knew that eventually the bill would probably pass, but in the senate, unlike the house, there are procedural rules requiring a 60-vote threshold to move just on passage. and sometimes they can work out a deal where it just requires a majority vote, but ted crews, a republican in the senate, boys to against using that threshold, moving for a 60-boat to move on the bill. that would require at least five republican senators to put their next -- next on the line on a bill that is political earful. so it is dramatic in a way that we did not know how many and which senators and the republican side would vote to move forward with this bill. and what was most surprising to

us was that minority leader mitch mcconnell who was in a reelection fight and facing a primary challenge was one of those who voted to proceed with this bill. he, of course, is the leader of the republicans in the senate. and the house speaker earlier this week to the same thing. >> what did the do to get the votes needed to pass? >> well, they talked about it during their conference meeting earlier today on the set aside. and basically mcconnell and a couple of other republican leaders and republican senators decided to a voice support for moving forward with the bill which, you know, gave over the 60-vote majority threshold that they needed. so the vote on the cloture motion was 67 votes, 12 republicans voting to proceed.

the final bill, final passage was on party lines, all democrats voting to support raising the debt ceiling, all republicans voting against it. >> standing next to mcconnell on the floor, mccain and others who switched their votes to yes shedding some cover for the gop leader. what reaction has there been to senator mcconnell is yes what? >> well, the reaction was a little bit of surprise, but also, you know, this is something that does and typically should do. the politics of the midterm election year, especially for mitch mcconnell and especially since control of the senate is at stake republicans have a chance to take control of the senate. this move was kind of surprising, as it is kind of

politically -- can be politically harmful. so it was remarkable to watch a handful of other republican senators joined with the leader to provide them some cover as well. i would just point out, you know, for clarification that this was a motion to proceed with the bill. all of these senators ended up voting against final passage. but that procedural vote is key in getting this over the finish line. >> with the house passing the debt ceiling bill first and now the senate, what does this mean for the influence of conservatives in both of those chambers? >> conservative outside groups are vocal in their opposition. local in the past and have been pushing the speaker to attach something to the debt ceiling that addresses the debt. but the house speaker exhausted all different kinds of options, policy additions to this bill

and decided that going with the clean bill would be the best for the party considering that they took a big hit during the government shut down and in previous bells over the debt ceiling to kind of get this issue behind them and focus on items that unite the party, mainly jobs in the economy and opposition to the health care reform bill. conservative outside groups will continue to voice opposition, criticized the speaker for this move, but what is in the chamber itself, there does not seem to be wide opposition to, you know, the way things pan out from conservatives. in other words, we're not seeing conservatives rise up in revolt against the speaker or against the minority leader as we have seen during debates in the past. >> the congressional reporter. thank you. >> thank you. >> watch our program on first lady michele obama saturday at

7:00 p.m. eastern. and live monday night we conclude our series with a 2-hour special program for martha washington to michele obama. >> financial resources to the merits as well as managerial skills makes mount vernon a successful operation. .. is right from the beginning.

she becomes much more active in her role after 1921 when franklin roosevelt contracted polio. she would encourage franklin roosevelt to continue with his political ambitions.