mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. tphoeup tonight the -- mr. mcconnell: tonight the president of the united states will come to the capitol to give us his sense of the state of the union. this is a venerable tradition and we welcome him. yet it's hard not to feel a sense of disappointment even before tonight's speech is delivered because while we don't yet know all the specifics, we do know the goal. based on what the president's aides have been telling reporters, the goal isn't to conquer the nation's problems. it's to conquer republicans. the goal isn't to prevent gridlock, but to guarantee it. here's how "the new york times" summed up the president's election-year strategy in a recent article entitled "obama to turn up attacks on congress in campaign." here's the quote. "in terms of the president's relationship with congress in 2012, the president is no longer tied to washington, d.c." accordi

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, i want to discuss briefly a trip i took recently to a country that for much of the past 350 years is ranked among the world's most isolated and oppressed by its own government. many ofe of us wondered if thins would ever change in burma, but after my virveghts you'll pleased to say that change is clearly in the a. it appears that they've made some progress towards democracy in the past six months, made more than it has in the last decades. as one who has taken a strong interest in burma for over 20 years and assed lead author in this chamber of an annual sanctions bill aimed at encouraging the burmese government to reform, i can tell you this is welcome news. on this trirntion i had the opportunity and the privilege to meet with a woman who for over two decades has embodied the struggle for peace in her oppressed country. after aung

mr. mcconnell: mr.blican leader -- mr. mcconnell: -- we do enjoy our sports discussions. the -- of course, i always have the ultimate trump, which is the university of kentucky's won seven ncaa championships. university of louisville, two. and so my friend is always trying to catch up. and i would say that -- mr. reid: only eight more to go. mr. mcconnell: unlv has a good team this year. probably not as good as kentuc kentucky. maybe as good as louisville. but it does give us an opportunity to catch up on each other's teams every day as we -- as we head to the floor. mr. president, let me just start on a sort of sober note by saying we're all thinking of our colleague, mark kirk. it's at moments like these that we're all reminded of how fragile life is and that there are far more important things in life than politics. so we send mark and his family our prayers and our wishes for a speedy recovery. now i'd like to begin my remarks today by simply stating the obvious -- the jobs crisis we're in continues

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: let plea also add some words about -- let me also add some words about alan frumin. for those who aren't aware of what the parliamentarian does around here, he's sort of like an umpire in a ball game calling balls and strikes. it shouldn't surprise anyone to hear that we haven't always agreed on those calls, but it's not an easy job to be an u umpie for 100 senators. it isn't easy to keep up with 200 years of precedents. he never has hesitated to admit when he got something wrong. alan has a deep love for the senate and the people who make it work. from the elevator operators and the cooks to the most senior senators, he keeps up relationships with all of them. he cares a lot about this institution and he's got the service to show for it. as the majority leader indicated, alan has been here since 1974, longer than all but just a handful of us, so he's really seen it all. we'll miss his devotion and his intellect. we're glad he'll be able to spend more wife with his wife -e t

mr. mcconnell or -- to stop doing this. i feel that unless there is a cap of how much you can spend individually on a campaign or how much you can get for a person -- or excluded from the process, but there is not much we can do. we are just talking to hear our voices. i love the program, don't get me wrong. but there is nothing we can do. but you have a good morning and thank you for taking my call. host: i want to go back to a clip from jack abramoff's but event, and larry lessig, a professor, is an interviewer. we have been televising congressional hearings and in this clip mr. abramoff talk about how hearings can sometimes be used as a tool in a lobbying effort. [video clip] >> people think the house and senate hearings are like child and you have a lawyer and you get a fair hearing and everything is hunky dory. it is not. they are kangaroo courts and congress. most hearings are designed to achieve a goal that is not ever expressed. in the sense that lobbyists would push a hearing, it would be for the purpose of putting

mr. mcconnell. senator from tennessee, mr. alexander, senator from wyoming, mr. thune. senator from texas, mr. cornyn and senator from missouri, mr. blunt. the speaker: members of the escort committee will exit the chamber through the lobby doors. [inaudible conversations] >> mr. speaker. the dean of the diplomatic corps. [applause] [inaudible conversations] s. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [applause] [cheers and applause] [cheers and applause] [applause] [inaudible conversations] >> mr. speaker, the chief justice and associate justices of the supreme court. [applause] [applause] [inaudible conversations] [applause] [applause] [inaudible conversations] >> mr. speaker, the president's cabinet. [applause] [applause] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conve

mr. mcconnell. senator from tennessee, mr. alexander, senator from wyoming, mr. thune. senator from texas, mr. cornyn and senator from missouri, mr. blunt. the speaker: members of the escort committee will exit the chamber through the lobby doors. the messenger: mr. speaker, the dean of the diplomatic corps. the messenger: mr. speaker, the chief justice and associate justices of the supreme court. the messenger: mr. speaker, the president's cabinet. . . the president: thank you so much. the speaker pro tempore: members -- the speaker: members of congress, i have the privilege and distinct honor of presenting to you, the president of the united states. the president: thank you. thank you. thank you so much. thank you very much. thank you. please be seated. mr. speaker, mr. vice president, members of congress, distinguished guests, and fellow americans, last month i went to andrews air force base and welcomed home some of our last troops to serve in iraq. together we offered a final, proud salute to the colors under which more than a million of our fellow citizens fought.

mr. mcconnell is doing something wrong in the set. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oregon. mr. blumenauer: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from ohio, mr. kucinich. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio is recognized for two minutes. mr. kucinich: i thank the gentleman from oregon. on its surface the resolution seems to make sense about making sure we pass a budget, and that's of national importance. i think that all of us who are here understand the underlying politics that have made it very difficult to bring a budget forward. and of course budgets are all about priorities. what are our nation's priorities? when we get to the point of passing a budget, here's what we ought to be telling the american people. that the middle class will be protected. that the social safety net will be protected. that social security will be protected. that benefits will not be cut. that the cap will be lifted. that there be no privatization. that medicare will be protected. that will there will be a fix so doctors can get a fa

and the michigan mcconnell tomorrow, and the state of the union address. and that's it for now, mr. bill o'reilly is on deck, i'll see you tomorrow from washington. >> the o'riley factor is on tonight. >> i'm prepared to take this straight at the president and the ehe leet media one of the key issues is the the growing anti-religious bigotry. >> and newt gingrich hot on trashing of the media, now going after anti-religious people. will that help his campaign? bernie goldberg has some thoughts. if you believe that line, that the newt gingrich is the outsider, that will shake things up in washington and then i guess you'll believe that bill clinton didn't inhale. and mitt romney trying to get tougher because his campaign is sinking. and we'll tell if the governor can matcho up. >> we're not choosing a talk show host, we're talking somebody who will lead the free world. >> ♪ and the rocket's red glare ♪ >> what song is steven tyler singing? walk this way, steven right off the field. >> bill: caution, you're about to enter the no spin zone. "the factor" begins right now. hi, i'm bill o'

mr. president. you are not -- >> senate minority leader mitch mcconnell calls it a sharp departure from a long standingout the new consumer financial protection bureau. in july, the president nominated richard cordray to run it. in december, senate republicans blocked cordray's nomination. then, senators went out of town, but made sure the president could not make a recess appointment. instead, they kept the senate in what's called pro forma session. every three days, a senator shows up, hits the gavel, stands around, then hits the gavel again, then leaves. it's like a virtual congress. president obama decided to challenge the practice. >> i think all of you should run up to capitol hill, check out the house and senate and see if you can find a single member of congress and then tell me on this working day for most americans whether or not congress is in session. >> white house counsel tells cnn -- and the administration believes for all practical purposes, the senate is in recess. but is the president flip-flopping? when he was a senator, he opposed president bush's recess appointment of john bolton t

mr. speaker, the president of the united states. >> tuesday night, president obama delivers his state of the union address. live coverage begins at 8:00 p.m. eastern, including the president's speech, republican response by mitch mcconnell and your phone calls. on c-span to watch the president's speech along with tweets from members of congress. throughout the night, go online for live video. add your comments using facebook or twitter at c-span.org. >> arizona rep gabrielle giffords has announced she will resign from congress this week to concentrate on recovering from wounds she suffered from an assassination attempt a little over one year ago. the democratic congress would made the announcement on her website. here are her remarks. >> arizona is my home. always will be. a lot has happened over the past year. we cannot change that. but i know on the issues we've fought for, we can change things for the better. jobs, border security. veterans. we can do so much more by working together. i do not remember much from that horrible day. but i will never forget the trust you placed in me to be your voice. thank you for your prayers and for giving me time to recover. i have more work to do on my recovery. so, to do what is b

mcconnell threw this jab at the legendary investor saying this. well, with with regard to the tax rate, if he is feeling guilty about it, why doesn't he just send in a check? mrffett says, that is okay. he wants republicans in congress match him dollar for dollar on donations of his money back to the u.s. treasury. republican ron johnson is on the senate budget committee as well as senate appropriations committee. he joins me now. good morning, senator. good to have you here today. >> good morning, martha. thanks for having me on. martha: what do you think of warren buffett's proposal? >> i can only speak for myself, i like millions of other small to millions biz people report income through personal income tax and pay personal knack tax rates, when you add state and local government is 50%. when bush tax cuts expire, if we allow them to expire, with obamacare that marginal tax rate will be pushed up above 50%. people working hard to build a good life for their families, small to medium-sized business people, don't have luxury of people like warren buffett sitting back blaming capital against. i don't know how long it is been whether warren buffett whether he