as promised, we are now joined by senator tom udall.e forefront of things really since the fire broke out on sunday. he is there at the scene. he, in fact, has been briefed over and over here. senator udall is on the phone. i really appreciate you joining me. but i want to just cut to the chase here. we know that these barrels containing plutonium waste, are they sitting out in the open? are they in these tents? or are they safe and stored away in some of these steel and concrete vaults as we heard a lab person say this afternoon? >> well, i think all of the statements that have been made are correct. but there is radioactive waste. it's waste that's been packaged over the last 11 years. the waste has been moved from this particular site to a site almost half a mile underground in salt beds down near carlsbad, new mexico. so the hazard has been going down over time. the thing you have to understand this is an area where they don't believe a fire could get to number one. the fire, as you heard the fire chief today in the press conference

up so who's standing against the people senators charles schumer harry reid frank lautenberg and tom udall of new mexico ny senator they asked three smartphone makers to pull the apps blackberry caved immediately google and apple drag their heels and wednesday apple released new guidelines for the app store absolutely contained the u.i. check points that are not published by law enforcement agencies or encourage and enable drunk driving who were tempted but are they really trying to shut this down or get away with what they can without the government getting too heavy handed you can still get the wonderful application fuzz alerts for your i phone. but as senator schumer said quote this victory will remain only have one until the existing apps are removed from the store yeah right but the people will only be truly victorious one status election or are voted out of office or hung from the capitol with one of either entrails whichever comes first anyways here's a story for all you cubicle dwellers out there your desk job is killing you according to dr david coleman cardiologist with st louis

they are here on the floor with the majority leader, harry reid, as well as senator tom udall who is coordinating their visit to the united states over the next several days. we are honored that they are here and that they are allowed to come on the floor and to witness our senate, at least in this proceeding where i will make a brief statement. the issue that i'm going to raise in the course of this evening is one that is of importance to many people around the world, certainly in the united states and certainly in the nation of mexico. ten years ago, mr. president, i introduced a bill known as the dream act. the dream act was an effort to put into law an opportunity for people, young people who were brought to the united states and are undocumented to have a chance to become legal in the united states. the first person brought to my attention was a young woman in chicago, illinois, who was korean. she came to the united states at the age of 2. she was an accomplished musician. she had been accepted at the very best music schools in america, juilliard school of music, the manhattan

provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable tom udalla senator from the state of new mexico, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: daniel k. inouye, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. reid: following leader remarks, the senate will resume consideration of s. 782, which is the economic development act. there's four hours of debate on the feinstein and mccain amendments. at about 2:00 p.m. there will be two roll call votes in relation to the feinstein and mccain amendments. each amendment will have a 60-vote threshold. mr. president, i'm happy to see republicans opening up to what democrats have been saying all along. cutting wasteful subsidies to big oil should be on the fable we're going to reduce the deficit. yesterday my friend, the senior senator from tennessee, said he would consider ending taxpayer subsidies for oil companies making record profits. i congratulate my friend, the senior senator from tennessee. democrats agree, handouts like these to compa

last spring motivated by the good work of tom udall of new mexico, the rules committee undertook and detailed an examination of the history and application of the senate rules, especially the filibuster. after six hearings and many conversations, we reached an historic point in january when something needed to be done. change happened slowly. we all know that, particularly in the u.s. senate, and sometimes it's a product of compromise and deliberation. we all know that this institution is grand and wonderful as it is, could always serve to benefit by a bit of change. today we have some of that change. is it everything we want? no, far from it, but it will make a difference in the institution's effectiveness. and i'd like for a minute to thank the chairs of our senate committees and the ranking members as well. when we first spoke of this back in january to the introduction of the bill in march, through markup and now today, the chairmen have been greatly impacted -- have impacted greatly by our efforts and we have listened to them and made changes that they have suggested which on re

provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable tom udall, a senator from the state of new mexico, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: daniel k. inouye, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. reid following any leader remarks the senate will be in a period of morning business for one hour, with the republican controlling the first half and the majority controlling the final half. following morning business, the senate will resume consideration of the economic development act. there are currently five amendments pending to the bill. mr. president, this is an important bill. this is the most important bill we've ever done? the answer is, of course not. but it is an important piece of legislation. the economic revitalization act is central. what are the central points of this legislation? the e.d.a. has helped create jobs and growth in economically hard-hit communities across this nation. the reauthorization of this important legislation will help ensure that agencies ar

provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable tom udall, a senator from the state of new mexico, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: daniel k. inouye, president pro tempore. mr. reid: i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader is recognized. mr. mcconnell: i ask that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: people in my hometown of louisville, kentucky, are still recovering this morning from a series of storms and possible tornadoes last night that inflicted considerable damage across the city, including at the historic churchill downs racetrack, home of the kentucky derby. more than 600 louisvilleians are without power early this morning after thousands lost power yesterday. the storms did their worst at churchill downs in south louisville where there were reports of funnel clouds and some barns were destroyed, sending many hor

i am pleased to have senator tom udall and other cosponsors of this bipartisan amendment. the aim of the amendment is really very simple and straightforward t would preserve the senate-confirmed status of our major's chief financial officers. i appreciate very much the thoughtful effort behind the underlying legislation that's before us today. i want to particularly commend my colleague, senator collins, who is on the floor, senator lieberman, as well as senator alexander and senator schumer for their hard work in being sure that the nomination process is streamlined. having been through the process twice myself, it can use some streamlining, and i know that they will continue in their efforts and do even more to reduce some of the barriers to public service that so many people feel. and i look forward to working with them on that. but having said that, in terms of the specific issue of chief financial officer, i think it would be a mistake to take them out of the confirmation process and a very unwise thing to do at this point in our nation's history, as we are facing suc