the first foreign trip was with dick lugar to russia to look at nuclear facilities there. i told him how much i appreciate the work he had done and there was a direct line between that trip we took together when i was a first-year senator and the result of the vote today on the floor. this allstate to a tradition of bipartisan support for strong american leadership around the world which is a tradition that was reinforced by the fact that the new start treaty won the backing of our military and our allies abroad. in the last few weeks, we also came together across party lines to pass a package of tax cuts in unemployment insurance that will spur jobs, and growth. this package includes a payroll tax cut that means nearly every american family would get an average tax cut next year of about $1,000 delivered in their paychecks. it will make a difference for millions of students, parents, and workers and people still looking for work. it has led economists across the political spectrum to predict the economy will grow faster than they originally thought next year. in our ongoi

other republicans, like senator dick lugar, he has been in the soviet union and russia very often and knows about foreign- policy. when people like him say this is the right thing to do, they just do it and don't care much about the rest of the republican party. in the end, i think it was clever to bring other politicians like the former president bush and henry kissinger into the discussion. they did -- they support the new start treaty with russia and when they said we will support the treaty, other republican politicians, senators in the senate also supported the treaty. >> president obama has signed a law allowing gays to serve openly in the military for the first time. the new lot overturns the don't ask, don't tell policy which forced game men and women to keep quiet about their sexual orientation or face dismissal. the ban will not be lifted immediately. the president and his top military advisers determine how to implement the law. students across italy have been taking to the streets to protest university reforms treated thousands joined demonstrators in the capital and other

i just got off the phone with dick lugar and reminded and the first trip by ever took as senator was with him to russia to look at nuclear facilities there. i told him how much i appreciated the work he had done and that there was a direct line between that trip we took together when i was a first-year senator and the results of the vote today on the floor. this all speaks to a tradition of strong american leadership around the world, reinforced by the fact that the new treaty on the backing of our military and our allies abroad. in the last few weeks, we also came together across party lines to pass unemployment insurance that will spur jobs and book. the package includes a payroll tax cut that means nearly every american family will get a tax cut next year of about $1,000 delivered in their paychecks, and it will make a difference for millions of students, parents, workers, and people still looking for work. it has led economists across the political spectrum to predict that the economy will grow faster than they originally thought next year. in our ongoing struggle to perfect our

handful of the retiring republican senators they were counting on as part of this group to work with dick lugar, the ranking republican on foreign relations the lone republican champion on this for now. you hear this from a lot of republican senators, i support this treaty, but i respect senator kyl's position. that should indicate how powerful senator kyl is in the republican caucus. he is not just number two in leadership in title. if this is something he wants, he has friends, even a judd gregg says, fine, that's the way kyl wants it, i'm with him. >> the back story is the republican leadership, mitch mcconnell is the leader, jon kyl might be the leader in waiting. there is other drama. chuck, enough drama. we will have you and the complete results of the "nbc news/"wall street journal" poll. >> we are following the tax cut compromise. stay with us for breaking developments. >>> up next, who did mark zuckerberg to win man of the year. and dick stengel with the runners up. join me tomorrow with joe biden. all that tomorrow right here only on "andrea mitchell reports." naturally colorful veget

other republicans, like senator dick lugar, he has been in the soviet union and russia very often and knows about foreign- policy. when people like him say this is the right thing to do, they just do it and don't care much about the rest of the republican party. in the end, i think it was clever to bring other politicians like the former president bush and henry kissinger into the discussion. they did -- they support the new start treaty with russia and when they said we will support the treaty, other republican politicians, senators in the senate also supported the treaty. >> president obama has signed a law allowing gays to serve openly in the military for the first time. the new lot overturns the don't ask, don't tell policy which forced game men and women to keep quiet about their sexual orientation or face dismissal. the ban will not be lifted immediately. the president and his top military advisers determine how to implement the law. students across italy have been taking to the streets to protest university reforms treated thousands joined demonstrators in the capital and other

will those four or five, maybe dick lugar will join them, will they break with the party, say we've made excuses once, we're not going to do it now -- >> joe lieberman said the other day it's more important to get don't ask, don't tell done now and wait on the s.t.a.r.t. treaty. >> you'll need 66 under the constitution, two-thirds of the senate. you only need 60 to break the filibuster for don't ask, don't tell. >> politically for president obama if he's looking to, you know, gain some points with the liberal wing of the democratic party or the democratic party passing don't ask, don't tell would seem would do that more than the s.t.a.r.t. treaty. >> that's huge. if you come to the end of this lame duck session, if you look at the polls, it's interesting the rank and file liberals aren't nearly upset but if you can counter that with, i've got $300 billion of stimulus in this tax deal and also i got don't ask don't tell repealed, and this was on the heels of an election in which the republicans won 65 extraterritorialextra seats in the house, that's not the worst scenario. >> the white ho

i understand completely what dick lugar and john mccain and others were expressing, which is a view that some folks in the military still have and i think that's why many of us felt it was so important for the congress to do it because if the courts did it, then there wouldn't be this capacity that dick just referred to that allows secretary gates and the military to decide how they're going to implement it. >> well, another big struggle is the s.t.a.r.t. treaty, the new s.t.a.r.t. treaty, nuclear treaty between the united states and russia and i know you've been furiously lobbying to get this done. do you believe that there will be a vote, that it will pass? >> i believe it will pass and i believe there will be a vote. >> and you, senator lugar, will your members, the republicans in the senate have enough numbers to pass this? two-thirds of the senate has to vote on it. >> several republicans will support it and i join the chairman in believing that there are the votes there. the problem is really getting to that final vote. >> but the chairman, senator kerry, says it will happen early

it was republican lisa murkowski, i was scott brown and d dick lugar.one of the five was among the 57 who supported ending the ban last thursday. so if you do your math, it's pretty simple. only three of the five would need to switch. there's another issues, that being the calendar. the lame duck session could run out of time, could they not? is there any guarantee that they could get a vote into this thing by the end of the year? >> there's no guarantee and that's an excellent question. as a friend of mike says it's beginning to look a lot like last christmas when the senate stayed way late to vote on health care and part of the unknown here is the timetable. so right now working on the side of those who want to repeal "don't ask, don't tell," there's a lot of momentum. if it passes the house, the white house wants it passed. secretary gates has called to pass it. it's lieberman and another who have the bipartisan credentials. it's why it seems likely it will get through. they say you did some of the phases. they say they have 60 votes to pass it. so a

thoughts on the matter and to commend senator kerry and his staff, senator clinton, secretary gates, dick lugar, his staff and others who have been a part of this. ten long months of debate, discussion, we're finally able to move forward on this national security issue. the senate hearings, the foreign relations, had 20 hearings, madam president, on this treaty. it's been analyzed and debated for over a year now. senator kerry and lugar and their staffs have worked in good faith to address all the concerns on both sides of the aisle. the facts and issues are clear to everyone, and i think it's time for us to support this agreement. i want to commend president obama and secretary clinton, as i mentioned earlier, the national security teams for negotiating this vitally important treaty with our russian counterparts and for their efforts in providing the senate with extensive information these past ten months. now, as a member of the foreign relations committee, madam president, i recall last summer senator kerry deferring to several of our colleagues who asked not to even vote in the committee on

>> i think maybe dick lugar wants to speak to that. under our constitution, the united states senate has the responsibility for dealing with the treaty. the duly sworn senators all considered this treaty. i congratulate those that are elected this year, but they are not senators. they are not senators until next year. they had nothing to do with the evolution of this treaty. they have not been to one hearing or one briefing. they do not know anything about the in depth details that the senate was charged with responsibility of doing this year. we did that. it was entirely, completely, and only appropriate that this senate be the one that dealt with its own work for this year. and there will be things in the future that the next congress can deal with. moreover, 2/3 of the united states senate was not up for election. and that 2/3 into a large degree has spoken in this treaty. so the fact you have an election does not suddenly derail the responsibility of the senate. there is only one reason this to the not donep prior election or the s

doing my research on the treaty and the work that dick lugar and others have done on nonproliferation, i came upon what is known as the lugar document. i would like to read it because it answers the question i just raised about a loose nuke getting in the hands of a rogue terrorist. "every nation that has weapons and materials of mass destruction must account for what it has, spend its own money or obtain international technical and financial resources to safely secure what it has and pledge that no other nation sell or cause will be allowed to access its use." that is as clearly and succinctly you can state the future fear that all of us have for this country of what might happen with nuclear weapons. so, in closing my remarks, i went through interviews with sam nunn, listened to the chairman and the ranking member, listened to the testimony, read the documentation which everybody else can read, in the secure briefing room, cainldz to the conclusion that verification is better than no verification at all. transparency is what prevents things like 9/11 from ever happening again. you c

i can tell there are three for sure -- dick lugar, scott brown, and bob corker. it will need six more republicans after that. there are universe of republicans who are there, considering voting, yes, but it is not yet guaranteed that it is going to happen. one of the factors, quite frankly, according to what republicans will tell you, is that they might be inclined to support the treaty on its merits, but they do not appreciate the way it has been done and they do not think it is a problem to let it go into next year if necessary. host: of the house is also returning today. they were not hero of the weekend, like the senate. they are here to do what? guest: they are here to confirm the government's spending bill. before they left for the weekend, they approved a spending bill that of the government to stay open for business until late today and the senate followed suit. they're back in town to approve of government spending bill into next year. once that is done -- they might end up doing something next. there is a 9-11 health care funding bill for first responde

these two accomplishments would not have happened without the bipartisan leadership of dick lugar and joe biden on the senate foreign relations committee and the help of joe lieberman and susan collins on the homeland security and government affairs committee. i pray that the bipartisanship that i have witnessed and enjoyed in both foreign relations and homeland securities will continue. i must also acknowledge senator jeanne shaheen for her keen interest in southeast europe. we traveled together to the region in february of this year, and i'm heartened that she has picked up the mantle on our mission to ensure the door of nato and european union membership remains open to all states in the western balkans, which is key, i believe, to our national security. i've also championed the cause of monitoring and combating antisemitism, making it a priority within the organization for security and cooperation in europe and our state department. the progress that's been made over the years could not have happened without the leadership of senator ben cardin, congressman chris smith and the lat

they are going after dick lugar, for goodness sakes, so they will go after oren hatch, of all people. >> look at this last election. blanche lincoln in arkansas, $11 million spent against her because she was not there for some test votes. that was a clear message to moderate democrats that if you are not there down the line, this is what will happen to you. look at bob bennett from utah. look at my castle. -- look at mike castle. he is a statement. he would have won that election with 20%, but he did not get through his primary. that is where a group like this serves a real purpose. >> exactly. [applause] >> a comes down to the crippling debt that we carry. most people understand that we cannot carry the kind of debt we are carrying and the nation. my grandfather was an immigrant with a fourth grade and immigration. but he was worldly in his overview if you will. he would always say if you are inclined to want to help people, keep yourself strong. i said, what do you mean? he said i do not just mean strong physically and mentally but financially. he would show me an example. he said h

i spoke to dick lugar about this recently. how did things look? we were going back-and-forth. i good indiana, i am there for three weeks, no one asks me about start, no one asks me about nuclear weapons. i talked my colleagues in the senate and they said the senate is not interested. i think, and i applaud very much the film as a way to try to raise consciousness, but i still do not think it has broken through sufficiently. i think it is one that requires a lot more imagination. it is so exciting for someone like you to be taking a really serious interest in raising consciousness. >> we screen the film at the cannes film festival among a variety of locations. and no friend of mine was there, george lucas. -- an old friend of mine was there. i was tapping in his experience of how we could insurer -- ensure to get this the amount and circulated. his responses one that reflects the believe 7 number of different experts which is that it is non -- the belief of a number of different experts which that it is not the belief that a bomb off, it is just a question of land. his comment

it was introduced by dick durbin and richard lugar.re are ten sitting senators right now who are republicans who have supported this bill in the past. it's been around for ten years. will they do the right thing tomorrow, i don't know. i hope some here's what we do know, they can pass on this issue, but the issue isn't going away. at the end of the day it's going the take democrats and republicans to solve it. >> reporter: and if it doesn't happen this year, prospects in the future even tougher with a republican majority in the house. is there some prospect of a compromise? >> i don't see any legislation coming up in the next congress or the next two years, so 2013 would be the soonest anything like this would come. >> i worry that this issue is going to fall like many issues that need to be solved, but it's going to get caught up in the gridlock of washington. i think senate will have smart and sober debate on this next year. i'm not so sure on the house of representatives based on who will be taking charge of the judiciary committee.

, is there anyone more respected on what we should be doing to protect this nation than senator dick lugar? and they are holding this treaty hostage to protect millionaires. has it come to that? they now are willing to risk national security, the security of this nation because they refuse to allow us to stop the extra big tax bonuses to millionaires and billionaires. can you imagine what would have happened to somebody in my party that had the nerve to stand up in the face of our allies, our military, bipartisan support, everyone from pat buchanan to colin powell, that has said to the american people this start treaty is necessary? and they're saying, well, if you don't give us a tax break for millionaires by monday, we're going to go home. really? i just -- it takes your breath away. it just takes your breath away. so i -- i -- i have some unanimous consent motions i will make also today, but i really want that to sink in. every goal post they've put up on the start treaty, we have reached and then they've moved it. we have no verification of nuclear weapons in russia right now and we ha

lugar. on fox news sunday, guests include senate majority whip dick durbin and senator john kyl, the senate majority whip. also bob mcdonnell. at 3:00 p.m., state of the union. they will have senate majority leader mitch mcconnell and the president of the national association of letter carriers. at 4:00 p.m., is face the nation from cbs. the guests include armed services committee chairman carl levin and republican senator lindsey graham. also republican senator jeff sessions and democratic senator amy klobuchar. these are brought to you as a public service. the re-airs begin at noon. listen to all the talk shows on cspan radio 9 on a0.1 in the 90.1 in the-90 on.on washington area. >> we provide coverage of politics, public affairs, nonfiction books, and american history. it is available on television, radio, online, and on social media networking sites. find our contact any time through our video library. we take cspan on the road with our digitalbus-mobile content of vehicles. this is washington your way, the cspan networks available in more than 1 million homes, created by cable and prov