the gentleman from alabama. mr. aderholt: i yield two minutes to the distinguished gentleman from ohio, mr. latourette, who is a member of the subcommittee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio is recognized for two minutes. mr. latourette: i thank the gentleman for yielding. and i want to add, i'm new to the appropriations committee, new to this subcommittee, and i have to tell you it's one of the most pleasant experiences i've had in 15 years in the united states congress. i would commend the chairwoman for hire diligence and oversight and commend -- for her diligence and oversight and commend the ranking member for her partner. this product is truly a bipartisan result. and unlike some of the things that goes around here, the gentlelady from florida did in fact include the minority in every decision that was made in the crafting of this bill. and i want to highlight just a couple of the things that i'm really pleased with. one is the increase in the members representational account. not that members o

bachus of alabama. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 474, the gentleman from alabama, mr. bachus, and a member posed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from alabama. mr. bachus: thank you, mr. chair. mr. chair, i think there's some issues that may divide us, but there are other issues that unite us as members. and this is a perfect example of an amendment i think that brings us all together. in fact, this amendment is co-sponsored by dennis moore, my democratic colleague from kansas. and homeland security committee chairman benny tellson was very helpful in -- thompson was very helpful in crafting this amendment. i express my appreciation to you. also the ranking member, peter king, and to the ranking member of the subcommittee, charlie dent. also to the chairman of the subcommittee, ms. sheila jackson lee. they and the homeland security committee were most helpful. mr. chairman, often as we go through the airports of america we and our constituents see members of the military passing through those airports, many of them are going to iraq an

on to fayette, alabama. today he resides in tuscaloosa. mr. kimball served in the alabama state senate for the 12th district of alabama. and he also managed b.i.g. jim fullson's gubernatorial campaign in 1940. he served in the great state of alabama. until his retirement in 1984, he owned and operated fayco, which was located in fayette, alabama, which is in the district i am privileged to represent. he served on various civic and other organizations such as lions club, the fayette chamber of commerce, the alabama road builders association, just to name a few. mr. kimball has made so many great contributions to alabama and our nation. it is an honor to pay tribute to this great alabamian and this great american. i am thankful to know mr. fuller kimball as an inspiring example to all of us. i look forward to having the benefit of his wise counsel for many years to come and i wish him a very happy birthday this saturday. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has exp

for what purpose does the gentleman from alabama rise? mr. aderholt: i claim opposition to the amendment. the chair: the gentleman from alabama is recognized for five minutes. mr. aderholt: i just want to thank the chair and ranking member for their work on this subcommittee bill. as a ranking member of one of the subcommittees on appropriations, i know that the work that goes into these bills and putting them together and i thank mr. dicks and mr. simpson for their hard work on this appropriation bill. i would like to talk a little bit about this project. it is an amendment that has been brought up tonight by mr. campbell. it's an amendment that would eliminate funding for what i believe is a worthy and historic preservation project. the funding allows the city of fort payne located in the district i represent, a relatively small town in rural alabama to proceed with this rehabilitation project of an important landmark, the fort payne coal and iron building. it should be noted, madam speaker that's correct this is included in the save americ

i would especially like to thank jill simpson, the whistleblower in alabama. i sent out an e-mail some year and a half ago asking people to call the department of justice and to call chairman conyers, head of the judiciary committee about my father's case so we could be a part of the selective prosecutor hearings. within a day -- well, actually within two hours of sending out an e-blast, i received an e-mail from joe simpson saying this is a tragedy. she made some referrals to a coup of people and the next thing you know three or four days later, i was purchasing a ticket to come up to d.c. to be a part of this selective hearings. as a result, my father's case was included in the letter to the department of justice to be investigated. i must tell you, though, the selective prosecution of democrats is just as indefensible as racial bias. judge clemon can very well tell you that there were marches and you all know that people were killed for civil rights. these are our leaders. they make laws. they chose the life of servanthood. how can the average american in t

one is gonna siegelman, former governor of alabama who came to washington. he was -- he called back and was very apologetic. he said that today's the day for one of his -- that they have new evidence, and he has to be back in alabama to meet with his attorneys. as a great many of you know, he is now free on bond under a seven year prison sentence under highly disputed corruption charges. the gist of it is that he asked a wealthy person in alabama to contribute $500,000 to an educational foundation, which politicians do all the time. he is now facing seven years in prison. he asked me to tell the audience a very important thing. he is sorry that he can't be here with you. he has this big deadline today. the important thing is that it is not about him. it is about people all around the country in similar situations. that is the message from him. let me just wrap up here by talking a little bit about the rest of the programs so that you are oriented on that. one of the keys here is, what is the role of an honest judge? an honest judge is supposed to make sure t

bill to pursue a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering from the university of alabama. he began working for the university army missile command in huntsville in the late 1950's. for 27 years joe worked for the army missile command's research, development and engineering division at red stone arsenal. he and his engineering team helped develop and perfect weapons systems critical to maintaining our military edge during the cold war. this included the lance, helfar and thaad missile propulsion systems. when joe and his colleagues were working on the missile which is carried primarily by the appatch khaoe attack helicopter -- apache attack helicopter there was a problem in bad weather. a missile of this propulsion system gives off smoke plume cannot be directed if the smoke hinders the guidance system. the engineering team on which joe worked developed a smokeless propellant which enhanced the missile's accuracy. joe and his team earned the scientific and engineering award for 1980. when the helfar entered service in 19 # 4 it was intended for use against soviet tanks in a

vogel had a number of contracts with medicaid to provide medical care in the western area of alabama's -- it was alleged he had violated the state's competitive bid laws and committed other acts of fraud in connection with those contracts. he was tried, convicted. the case went to the 11th circuit court of appeals, and the circuit reversed the convictions. remarkable in itself, because the 11th circuit is no bastian of liberality. the circuit found that the indictment was defective, that the competitive bid law was not applicable, because contracts for professional services are exempted from that law, and more importantly, the circuit seriously questioned whether the evidence presented was sufficient to support convictions. now, one would have thought that the 11th circuit's decision would have ended the case. one would have had another thought coming. dr. bobo was reindicted, and according to the assistant united states attorney in charge of the case, the only difference between the substantive counts of the first and second indictments was that mr. siegelman and his legislative aide,

siegelman rather interesting because when i was in the then all democratic alabama state senate, mr. siegelman was in one section of the democratic party,

for what purpose does the gentleman from alabama rise? >> request permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman is recognized. mr. griffith: mr. speaker, i rise today to honor the memory of sergeant jeffrey allen hall. on june 1, 2009, jeffrey was killed in action in afghanistan. as north alabama mourns the sudden devastating loss, i would like to recognize staff sergeant hall and his entire family's sacrifice. jeffrey was an eight-year veteran of the united states army, earning many well-deserved awards and declarations. including two army commendation medals, the national defense service medal, a nato medal and a global war on terrorism expeditionary medal. staff sergeant hall is an inspiring example of someone we can all look up to and inspire to be like. he put the safety of all americans before his own. we can -- and the people of this nation will be forever grateful. he motivated and inspired those who were around him, and he will be greatly missed by all who knew him as we

we've got the google earth virtual alabama system in alabama which is the most invasive intrusion of privacy as far as i'm concerned in history. >> well you may want to go, frankly, to the national aclu, which has brought a lot of lawsuits on that issue. there are a number of other public interest organizations, one of which i used to work for, that is, that are interested in these kinds of issues. we, unfortunately, because of the classification restrictions, i can't say hardly anything about the specifics, but our members were quite concerned about that story, as the story itself indicated, and this has been said publicly, the intelligence committees which have primary oversight jurisdiction, have been gauged in investigations. i can say that we have contacted the nsa. we have gotten some information. we will continue to do that, but unfortunately, i can't really say much more than that, but we're concerned about it, yes. yes, ma'am? >> good morning, elliott. laverne jordan from the campaign for judicial correctness under the law. >> yes. >> our organization is more local. i'm goin

and the federal court joined them, certified back to alabama and the alabama supreme court >>reporter: their -- reaches deron decision because when it comes back the injunction remains permanent. but what happened wasn't based on reliance, it was based -- there might have been some people who would have gone out and voted if they didn't have to get 2 witnesses. i don't think that is the driving force and it would be ridiculous for me to argue that more people would have voted if they knew that in minneapolis you didn't have to get a registered voter. that is not worth arguing to anybody. >> there are other courts that think differently. i am looking -- i think it is the ninth circuit that says, even looking at griffin and roe, the pattern taken together, fraud holder stake will not render an election invalid but the court will strike down an election on substantive due process of 2 elements are present, likely reliance by voters on an established election procedure. then you have significant disenfranchisement. use a reliance by voters that there are a number of courts, will you agree

the presiding officer: the senator from alabama. mr. sessions: i thank senator kyl for his leadership on this committee. he's one of the senate's great lawyers. i appreciate his insights, as we all do. i would just note i think this rush is ill-advised. in truth, the white house was determined to get the nominee's questionnaire to the senate in a hurry, and there are a number of cameras and crews and press releases that went out when boxes were delivered. but in many ways the questionnaire was incomplete. the result, i think, of that kind of rush. the nominee failed to provide sufficient details that were required by the questionnaire. for example, the judge did not include her troubling recommendation to the puerto rican appeal defense fund to lobby against a new york state law that would have reinstated the death penalty. and it had quite a bit of intemperate rhetoric in it. after that was noted, she admitted she failed to and got that document in. but i suggest perhaps if somebody hadn't been aware of that omission, maybe we would no

the presiding officer: the senator from alabama. mr. sessions: mr. president, i thank senator mcconnell for his leadership in so many ways but particularly his concern that he has shown repeatedly on the united states judiciary. he's a member of the judiciary committee and he takes these issues seriously and i think it's important that we all do so. i have to say i'm disappointed this morning that we learned from media reports -- i did -- that the chairman of the judiciary committee, senator leahy, announced we would begin the hearings july 13 on judge sotomayor. i believe that's too early. i don't believe it's necessary. it's far more important we do this matter right than we do it quick. when the announcement was made president obama said that the time we should look to is october 1 when the new supreme court term starts. and i think that always was an achievable goal something i said i believe we could achieve and do in a right way. so the question is, can we get all this done in this rush-rush fashion? it will be the shortest confir

let in the due process area, you rely on the case from alabama. what the court talks about there, and i think this is consistent with other due process cases as well is voter reliance. the concern that the boater would help the hate differently had the voter known to the rules were changed after the game was played as you say. that seems to be the driving principle. i am just wondering if you could articulate how that principle of a voter reliance placed out in this case. >> if i might respectfully disagree, i do not think the reliance issue is the driving issue. in a row against alabama, it had been between two witnesses on each absentee ballot. when they got into a recount, and this was a high election for the chief justice, when they got into the weekend, the circuit court started opening and counting ballots where there were no witnesses. they went over into the federal court in said, and you cannot do this. it has changed. it is not the same system anymore. the federal court went to the 11th circuit. the alabama supreme court had a decision.

. >> well, the ncaa has placed alabama's football program and 1550 of the school's athletic teams onee years probation for major violations due to free use of textbooks. the football team had 201 student-athletes in the 16 sports who were involved in the infraction. >> i think the university of alabama did a great job demonstrating institution al integrity in the way this was handled internally. and i'll be happy for the players we have in the program. the future vision of the program that this is not going to affect their future there, nor the players that we're recruiting. those are probably the three things that i feel, you know, right now. >> >> the ncaa used words like impermissible benefits to explain the situation. it should be point out that the athletes who received the free textbooks themselves did not acquire other textbooks in order to make a profit. the ncaa also found alabama guilty of failing to monitor the situation. >> nascar is suspending brian barry, the crew chief for driver brendan gong indefinitely for a rule violation in saturday's nationwide series race in nas

leahy: when i met with the distinguished senator from alabama last week, i suggested that it would be within the time frame of other judges, in-- other justices including justice roberts, i suggested that we have the hearing the week we cameack from our week-long break at the fourth of july. he had expressed, and i'll let him speak for himself, some concern about that -- that week after. and so i said, ok, we'll put it a week later. now, he, obviously, wanted to speak with his leadership. i said, that's fine. i had originally intended to speak about it on friday. but i understood that the republican leader had sent a letter to the majority leader, the majority leader told me, about that. they're well aware of the date. there was never a question on what date i intended to start. i had known that for some time. and this morning i had -- i told him i would do that. i told the president, advised him and advised judge sotomayor. the fact of the matter is the -- we're not doing something that we -- we have tens of thousands of pages just days before the -- before the hearing. we've got all

host: birmingham, alabama on our democrats line. caller: yes, back when i was going to school, we had a three month school vacation. you probably went to school nine months out of the year. look at how you came back. what would you want to punish children not to have any fun and get fat in front of a computer. you're not having any activities year round? that is no fun. everyone is going to say, it could have been worse. i graduated from school in the 1967. we have ph.d.'s and others who have graduated from a small school. , alabama. host: what kind of things did you doer 0er -- do over the summer? caller: we went on vacation. i would visit my relatives in selma, alabama. we had activities, baseball, softball. you just cleared your mind of all your school activities so you would be fresh and don't mind going to school, you liked it, you enjoyed it. guest: the research shows, and this goes back to 1906. there are over 30 empirical studies that show young people are at risk of experiencing setbacks when they're not engaged in construc

did that in a day or two and i don't have the kind of staff that my good friend the senator from alabama has. he should have it. he's the ranking minority. so it's very easy given the number of staff, given the public record, given that there's no litigation or discussion about executive privilege as there was with both judge alito -- judge -- nominee alito and nominee roberts, that a month, seems to me, to be ample time, and the chairman in his wisdom, which i will defer, gave more than a month before the day of the nomination. mr. sessions: will the senator yield for one question? mr. schumer: i will happy to yield to my colleague. mr. sessions: i know that the senator raised the question of doing for this nominee as for the others, if this goes forward as planned, it would be 48 day

she was a woman who worked at a tire manufacturing plant in alabama if i'm not many. she spent a lifetime working there. her name was lily ledbetter and lily rose through the management ranks and was very happy with the assignment she was given at this plant. she worked side-by-side, shoulder to shoulder with many male employees. it wasn't until lily announced her retirement that one of the employees came to her and said, lily, you know, for many years now you've been paid less than the man you were working next to even though you had the same job title and the same job assignment. this company was paying less to women doing the same job as men. and she thought that was unfair after a lifetime of work that she wouldn't receive equal pay for equal work and so she filed a lawsuit under a federal law asking that she be compensated for this discrimination against her, the reduction in pay which she had faced and the requirement reduction which she faced as a result of it. it was a well-known law that she filed her case under giving each american the right to allege discri

host: birmingham, alabama. tom on our line for democrats. . if they don't have activities, and are studying year-round, that's no fun and they will get fat in front of the television, and then everyone will say, oh, well, that system doesn't work. well, i graduated from school in the '60's, 1967, and we had ph.d.'s, we have directors at my school, a small school in brighton, alabama. host: what kind of things did you doer 0er -- do over the summer? caller: we went on vacation. i would visit my relatives in selma, alabama. we had activities, baseball, softball. you just cleared your mind of all your school activities so you would be fresh and don't mind going to school, you liked it, you enjoyed it. guest: the research shows, and this goes back to 1906. there are over 30 empirical studies that show young people are at risk of experiencing setbacks when they're not engaged in constructive activities and for many parents and many families they are able to turn on a faucet of opportunities for those trips, enrichment, reading, all of those kinds o

wasserman schultz, and the gentleman from alabama, mr. aderholt, will each control 30 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from florida. ms. wasserman schultz: thank you, madam speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h.r. 2198. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentlelady will suspend. house will come to order. members please bring their conversations off the floor. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from florida. ms. wasserman schultz: i yield myself such time as i may consume. madam speaker and mens, i'm -- and members, i'm proud to present the legislative branch appropriations bill to the house. the jurisdiction of this bill is incredibly important. we as members have responsibility not just for the institution, but for the staff that work for this institution and to preserve the facilities that help support this institution. we have endeavored to do that responsibly and i believe we have accomplished that goal. it has been an incred

so the senator from alabama came leer and said, you know, we don't need judges with empathy. well, that word has been stretched in many different directions. but if empathy means that we don't need judges who understand the reality of the workplace, if empathy means that we would say to lilly ledbetter, sorry, you missed it girl, you had six months to file that lawsuit from the first act of discrimination, the first paycheck, you missed it and you're out of luck, if empathy would say that is not a fair or just result, i want judges with empackage, to know thempathy and i wantthem to foli don't want them to sit high and mighty in the black robes so far above the real world that they cannot see justice if it bit them. i think that's what empathy brings. someone who is at least in touch with the real world. for the last several two books, i guess, the nominee of president obama for the supreme court, sonia sotomayor has been meeting with the members of the united states senate. she had appear unfortunate mishap and broke her mishap at laguardia airport so i allowed her to use my

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from alabama is recognized for two minutes. mr. rogers: thank you. i offer my reluctant support to the consumer assistance to recycle and save act. all of us have witnessed the devastation witnessed by the automotive sector. in my home state of alabama, as well as other states, workers have lost their jobs or had their hours cut. many hardworking dealers have simply had to be forced to close their doors. to stimulate the auto sector we must work to stimulate credit markets and restore consumer confidence. that's why i recently introduced my bill the consumer auto relief act. unlike the bill we're considering today my bill would help all sectors of the automotive industry. in addition to helping families, the bill will help incentivize lenders to finances new vehicles. the -- to finance new vehicles. unfortunately, my bill's wasn't on the floor today. nonetheless, despite m reservations about h.r. 2751, i believe passing it is better than doing nothing. but not by much. i offer my support for the bill and i urge its passage. i yield

the governor of alabama has expressed major concerns with this idea, as well as labor unions. they have some expensive health benefits that they negotiated, and they could be touched by this. there is some concern also by the obama white house that may violate the pledge to not raise taxes on people making under two hundred $50,000. as far as a pot of money, where you'll find savings. that is where you find it. what could happen in this bill that is yet to be released is the taxes are increased for those who are making a fair amount of money. we have not seen legislative language on that. it will be a tax increase. host: about the timetable here, there is a lot that the administration get -- wants to get done. they have an energy bill. where does health-care rank in priorities? guest: it is very high. they do support climate change, but health care is number one on their domestic agenda. they want to get judge sotomayor through. some democrats, including paul the gala said if they get health care done today said it will be a huge banner year for democrats in the white house. i

a tragedy in the willingham family, and josh left the ball club this morning to go back to alabama.'ll check in with byron shortly. pena, disoab rift, burrell. that ball is going to leave the yard, way out of here. almost to the scoreboard. and pena's 20th of the year gets tampa bay on the board here. he becomes only the fifth player in the major leagues with 20 home runs. >> rob: this is going to be a 95-mile an hour fastball down and in, it's supposed to be down and away. that's what happens to those pitches when you throw them down and in to a lefty. you throw that hard, you're going to give up home runs. shake it off, come right back. attack the strike zone some more. >> bob: the rays have hit their 82nd home run, starting the day third in the american league behind the 99 of the yankees and the 90 of the rangers. ben zobrist, the second baseman. and the count's even 1-1. very late swing again, deflecting off catcher -- nieves. >> rob: carlos one of the first strikeouts of the night. he struck out the side in the first inning after an error, then a walk. struck out longoria, pen

the alabama christian movement.ned he was talking to people and trying to get them interested in a voter registration campaign. you know, it's too dangerous, too risky. in 1965 he's able to get a couple of people to go down with him. he serves eventually as the chairperson of the buckled movement organization for human rights and as the chair person of the freedom organization, the independent political party was the valid symbol of the black panther. off in 1970 he is actually elected as the first african american. and the book talks about that trajectory of a black politics from that moment forward. the movement does not happen without him, or at least it does not happen in the way that it does without him. >> did the amount county freedom organization have success? >> no. >> why not. >> for a couple reasons. in the the november election they run in seven african american candidates for local office. all are defeated by a couple hundred votes for a myriad of reasons. one was intimidation. ballot fraud. sending peo

do cows get over here from alabama through the gulf? what happened? >> rob: you only need one. >> bob: the high pitch count of the year, 120 at home may 16th against cleveland. he pitched only 6 innings that night. bard, a good take. great at-bat with two outs to get aboard and get anderson hernandez to the plate. walk number 4 by garza who has only given up two hit since the 2nd inning and it looks like he is done. so the nats will take the pitcher that is the second toughest to hit in the american league and get him out of the game after two outs in the 6th inning. like to have verizon fios. these are your widgets, they let you put whatever you're watching down here, while you check out local traffic, weather, even your news up there. i've got a news flash you're out of mayo. how did you get in here? door was open. you'd have tons of ways for you to search for content: by actor, director, any word at all. what about chicken? chicken's fine. any word. no i mean do you have any chicken? i want to eat some chicken. one of the coolest things you can do

the senator from alabama says that we do not need a judge with empathy. this has been stretched in different directions. if this does not mean that we need a judge who understands the reality of the workplace, and we tell her that she has six months to file the lawsuit, if empathy would say, that is not a fair or just a result, i want to have a judge with empathy, who knows the practical impact of the decisions that they make, and i want for them to be fair. i do not want them to be so far above the will world that they could not see justice if it bit them. we need someone in touch with this real world. for the last few weeks, the nominee of barack obama, sonia sotomayor, has been meeting with members of the united states senate, she had a mishap and broke her ankle. i was allowing her to use my conference room, with centers coming in to meet her. she says she has six more, she may break a record with meeting face-to-face with more of them. she is doing her best to answer any questions that they have. i told the president he has made an extraordinary choi

president, i've listened carefully to the statement of my colleague, senator sessions, from alabama, who is the ranking republican on the senate judiciary committee. he is charged with a special the senate judiciary committee. he is charged with a special responsibility at this moment in retirement of supreme court justice david souter and the vacancy that's been created, the senate judiciary committee has the responsibility to work with the president to fill that vacancy. i'm honored to be a member of that committee. and to be facing the third va it is rare in one's public political life to have a chance to voice the partial goal in the selection of one supreme court justice. to have the chance to be involved in three or larger is quite an amazing responsibility. we see the world somewhat differently. i would say to him that i would quarrel with the notion that our laws are so clear that a judge given a set of facts could only draw one conclusion. what we find often is well- trained attorneys who become judges can look at the same law and the same facts and reach different conclusio

he's a guy from alabama that was a great football player committed to go to the university of alabama. didn't think he was going to wait or the second round. lastings, i'm hoping lastings is going to just break out and he was a big part of the future of this organization. last year. everybody thought he was going to be something special. and he got hurt and a little bit of discipline problem. see what happens. >> how about the subway series up in new york. the yankees against the mets tonight, top of the third, no score. nick swisher, solo homer off redding. top of the 6th, now 2-0 a couple of runners on. jorge posada with a three-run shot. the yankees up 5-0, that is the final. in atlanta, red sox and the braves, top of the first, vazquez strikes out david ortiz swinging to end the inning. tim wakefield in the top of the first. bottom of the third, still scoreless, wake feel getting hernandez looking on a called strike three. boston shutting out atlanta, that final is 1-0. now, let's go to manny acta brought to you by verizon wireless talking about tonight's' loss to the orioles. >>

. >> i want to thank my good friend from alabama for his observations about this nomination. he and i have been involved in a number of these confirmation proceedings over the years. there is -- i think in every one of them, there is a sense of fairness that can be reached on a bipartisan basis so that the nominee is adequately veted appropriately, an that is what the senator from alabama is looking for here as we go forward on the judiciary are ry committee. frankly, i was surprised to learn that the majority had decided unilaterally basically that the schedule would involve hearings beginning on that specific date, july 13, at that senator sessions referred to. during the senate's consideration and it is not a rubber stamp, not a rubber stamp, and how it was more important to do it right than to do it fast. now, if that was the standard, i would suggest to our colleagues just a few years ago, why would it not be a good standard today. if that was the standard when their republicans were in the majority? in the senate, why would it not be a good standard when the democrats w

and i think the distinguished senator from alabama has explained it quite adequately. the senate has to look at judge sotomayor's entire record to evaluate her judicial philosophy, including her speeches as well as the cases. now her second amendment decisions, minimized around confined to the scope and vie thety, and even after the sprinkler invaded the truck, individual rights and preexisting rights. the right to keep and bear arms is not a fundamental right and did so when it was not necessary to decide the case before her. this appears to be an approach, focused on politically correct results rather than just additional, process. other circuits looking at the issue is the distinguished member from alabama gave it much more attention and analysis. judge sotomayor, around they did -- you know, they did not address the unnecessary issues. and yet, i'll just put it this way. i wish sotomayor had been similarly restrained on some of these issues. these are among some of the most important issues and questions her record raises and which must be eardsed that we're hearin

with that, let me turn to my colleague from alabama for any opening comments. colleague from alabama for any opening comments and then hearing from the witnesses. >> thank you, mr. chairman. when detroit three came before this committee to ask u.s. takes pairs for bailout money, they cited the financial crisis as the reason for their troubles. the financial crisis was certainly a reason but it was by no means the only reason these companies were failing. although structural and managerial problems in the companies were decades in the making, they managed to convince congress in the last administration that bankruptcy, the normal course for companies in their condition at that time was not an option. even if it came with government financing. this was a few months ago. instead, they said they just needed some cash to make it through until the economy returned to normal and consumers starting buying cars again. combined the two firms received then $24 billion. these initial billions, howeve, were not enough to prevent the inevitable from happening. both chrysler

the presiding officer: the senator from alabama. mr. sessions: madam president, i thank senator mcconnell for his thoughtful comments. he's a lawyer who studied these issues and cares about them deeply. i value your comments. i do think that, as you know, senator mcconnell, while you're here, that once a nominee achieves the supreme court, they do have a lifetime appointment. and these values and preferences are principles that they operate on go with them. it's up to us, i think you would agree, to make sure that the values and principles that they bring to the supreme court would be consistent with the rule of law. and i appreciate -- mr. mcconnell: if the senator from alabama would yield, i just want to commend him for his outstanding leadership on this most important nomination and his consistent insistence that we be able to have enough time to do the job, to read the cases, read the law review articles and to g ready for a meaningful hearing for one of the most important jobs in america. i think he's done a superb job, and i just

and i appreciate. >> if the senator from alabama would yield? i commend him for his outstanding leadership on this nomination and his consistent statement that we would have time to read the job, read the cases, read the articles and get ready for meaningful hearing for one of the most important jobs in america. i think he's done a superb job and i want to thank him for his effort. >> thank you, senator mcconnell. i would note that only nine legislative days between now and the time the hearing starts. so we are definitely in a position where it's going to be difficult to be as prepared as we would like to be when this hearing starts. and we still don't have some of the material we need also. my staff and i have been working hard, madam president, to survey the writings and records of judge sotomayor. certainly the constitutional duty of the senate to consent to the president's nomination is a very serious one. in recent years we've seen judicial opinions to the judge's personal preferences than to the law. it's caused quite a bit of heartburn t

decided that the second amendment is a personal right and i think the distinguished senator from alabama has explained it quite adequately. the seventh has to look at judge sotomayor's entire record and to evaluate her judicial philosophy including her speeches as well as the cases. now her second amendment decisions appear to have unnecessarily minimized and confine the scope and vitality of the second amendment constitutional right. it even after the supreme court in heller case in not only on an individual right to keep and bear arms but a pre-existing of fundamental right. judge sotomayor continue to say the right is not a fundamental right and is so when it was not necessary to decide the case before her. and this appears to be an approach focused on politically correct results rather than on the judicial the correct process. in other circuits looking at the issue as the distinguished senator from alabama give much more attention and analysis then did judge sotomayor, and they did not address it unnecessary issues were. and yet i will put it this way, i wish judge sotomayor had been

flag vessels, the mass alabama and liberty sun both of which were carrying u.s. food aid were attacked by somali pie lats. the attack against the alabama left the american captain hostage to the pirates. he was freed only the decisive intervention of u.s. military forces. incidents of piracy in the horn of africa region are increasing. according to the intentional maritime bureau in 2008, there were 111 actual and attempted somali pirate attacks resulting in the hydrogenings -- hijacks of 42 vessels. by mid may of this year, there had already been 114 actual and attempted somali pirate attacks resulting in 29 successful hijacks. nonetheless despite the obvious threat to the united states mariners, department of defense has been inexpleckably reluctant to directly secure u.s. flag vessels transiting the horn of africa region. even when they are carrying government-owned cargos. while i have no doubt that our military would respond immediately if another u.s. flag vessel is attacked, the timeliness of their response could be hindered if navy assets are far from the

before turning to my colleague from alabama, i would like to address what i regard to be a false look over stakeholders. some critics have decried rather the restructuring plan as a win fall to auto workers. they point to an arrangement in which creditors are being asked to forgive debt for a smaller stake in the company than being offered to the employee healthcare trust known as viba. in the case of the gm proposal, for example, bond holders will be asked to forgive $27 billion in debt in exchange for equity in the company. they are being offered 10% equity plus the option to acquire an additional 15% later on. the viba on the other hand will forgive half of its $20 billion this debt in exchange for acquiring 17.5% of gm's common stock and 2.5 billion and the 2.5 billion there are note. but as i'm sure our witnesses can explain the debt forgiveness and equity stakes do not reflect the extent of the auto workers concessions. indeed, the companies have announced tens of thousands of layoffs as a result of the restructuring. retirees are being told they will lose 30% of their health be

one of the poorest counties, not only in alabama, but the state as a whole. .. and opposition on the african-american side of people looking at him as a political boss and contesting saying what happened to the freedom of politics that you were so instrumental in the and so it's the decisions he makes, and then in 1994 he leaves the sheriff's office and becomes the probate judge, stays in office until 2000 and hands off to his son, john, jr., who remains probate judge today and that we just passed away recently just three years ago in 1996 but his legacy remains politically not only the movement but politically through his son as probate judge. >> "bloody lowndes" civil rights and black power in alabama's black belt, hasan kwame jeffries. what is your day job? >> guest: assistant at ohio state university. african american history, civil rights movement, black power and also in u.s. history. >> host: and this is your first book? published by new york press. >> guest: absolutely. >> rick steves author travel guide for europe and many european countries talks about

and senator sessions from alabama, joined several other hundred members of family and friends as a 21-gun salute and "taps" was played for the united states air force lieutenant clon, mark e. straten ii. the somber silence of the gravesites were broken with this tribute. colonel straten was trained as a navigator on an air force k.c. 135. in his honor, one of thighs massive aircraft flew low and slow over arlington cemetery, over the flag-draped coffin of one of air force's finest. i gave his life helping the afghan people to know dignity of a life lived in freedom. he was assigned to the joint staff at the pentagon here in washington, d.c., and he served as the commander of the pan share provincial reconstruction team in afghanistan. on may 26, 2009, mark died at bagram air field of wounds that he sustained from an improvised explosive device, what we call an i.e.d. mark had strong texas ties. he graduated from texas a&m university in december of 1991 with a degree in political science. and while at texas a&m he was a member of squadron 1 of the corps of cadets. he has numerous air f

was glad, and during oral argument i sat in his courtroom and for the first i've heard rovers as alabama, a case which i'm quite familiar with, uttered as part of the closing argument. now, whatever notice is required of a claim of a due process violation it clear he must come before the contest and close their case in argument. >> council, let me switch subjects here a little bit. the equal protection and due process claims, what standard do we look to in reviewing those claims? >> i believe, your honor, correctly identified if you look at both the federal constitutional law and state constitutional law that absent a case that involves a burden on a suspect classification which is kind of a separate type of equal protection or due process claim. there is no allegation in this case that we have a burden, or even intention or a burden on suspect classifications that absent intentional or purposeful discrimination, or arbitrary treatment that is so extraordinary that it undermines the fundamental fairness. then there is no violation. >> council, that isn't the standard that we applied in e

let's go one more student from birmingham alabama. goerss at. >> i am from okoboji sparer like i was and i was wondering how obama's new plan will alleviate overcrowding of emergency rooms. >> guest: our emergency rams are struggling and their overcrowded and by the way there is probably overtreatment. don't ever look your bill when you come out of an emergency room because he will find lots of expenses that you might not have to have. it is an area of great litigation costs and malpractice issues and that they clearly to have to address the problems in emergency rooms that all and in general people need help, healthcare whether they have insurance care or not will go to emergency res. we certainly have seen an increase stress on the health system in massachusetts, who has had a mandatory program so that everybody is covered, so i think that what we have to do is back off and divide your question into two parts. one is let's see what we can do but emergency rooms. they should not have to deal with some of the lesser problems we have t

franks: i'll yield the gentleman from alabama, mr. griffith, one minute. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. griffith: madam chair, congressman franks, i appreciate this difficult situation. i believe that as the budget was formed and the decisions were made, north korea was not as aggressive, nor was iran. i stand in support of the franks amendment. i share the speaker's concern, madam chair's concern, that accountability needs to be increased but in this time of increasing threat, i would prefer that we err on the side of the franks amendment even if we must attach certain conditions to it in conference, but i would urge our members to support it. i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman from alabama yields back. the gentlewoman from california. mrs. tauscher: i'd like to yield two minutes to mr. langevin. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. langevin: i thank the gentlelady for yielding. mr. speaker, i urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment. chairman skeleton and chairwoman tauscher

the presiding officer: the senator from alabama. a senator: i would ask that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. a senatormr. sessions: the nomif a new justice to the supreme court of the united states brings to our minds a core question both for the senate and the american people, than is what is the proper role of a federal judge in our republic? answering this question is not simply an academic task. it's fundamental to what we will be doing here. how the american people and their representatives and their senators, the ones who have been delegated that responsibility, answer this question impacts not only the future of our judiciary, but i think future of our legal system and the american experience, really. i would just say that from traveling the world as part of the armed services committee, i'm more convinced than ever before that the glory of our american experience, our liberty and our prosperity is based on the fact that we have a legal system you can count on. and when you go to p

on the bridge in selma, alabama, john lewis was attacked by state troopers with his fellow civil rights members. this is known as bloody sunday. this was a catalyst and america woke up to the face of segregation, and congress passed the voting rights act, within a few months. this provides equal access regardless of race, and will not be undermined by discriminatory practices. there is a battle to get this through. for three years, republicans and democrats in the senate and the house of representatives came together to authorize this. we had 20 hearings and an overwhelming vote, president george w. bush had a major signing ceremony, and now we have to worry about whether the supreme court will undermine this. i said to john lewis after we were walking out, i said, it is wonderful that we have this. he said it is wonderful not just for african-americans, but hispanics and poor whites and all of the people that the power structure may want to keep from voting. when they consider the nomination this summer, think about the impact that justices have over freedom and value. from the south s