senator ayotte? ms. ayotte: let me just say that this panel took on the key questions. that is, why are we doing this? i'm doing this because i believe that victims will get justice and there will be more accountability. i want to hold commanders more accountable for not only how they handle these crimes but also for that zero-tolerance policy within their unit. that's why we want them judged on this basis. but that panel looked at this issue of reporting and found that there is no evidentiary basis at this time to support a conclusion that removing senior commanders as convening authority will reduce the incidence of sexual assault, which we want them to establish that climate within their unit to do so, or increase reporting of sexual assault. and i would also say, if we want justice for victims, whatever those 93 victims where the commander said, bring the case forward, even though the j.a.g. lawyer said "no"? they wouldn't have gotten justice. so the evidence is the opposite. and what would we say to those victims? there will be more -- the evidence shows that actua

the mccaskill ayotte l. insures victims have a voice in deciding whether their cases will be prosecuted in the military or civilian justice system. indeed it requires a special victims counsel established by the defense authorization act to advise victims on the pros and cons of those new approaches. it requires the commanding officers be graded on their success or failure in creating a climate in which there is no tolerance for sexual misconduct and in which victims can come forward without fear. these additional protections in the mccaskill ayotte l. hel says -- help us answer the key question. how can we best strengthen our protections against military sexual assault and i believe we do so by empowering victims and by holding our commanders accountable. but in conclusion we threaten to weaken those protections if we undermine the authority of the very commanders who must be at the heart of the solution and powerful evidence should lead us to the conclusioconclusio n that we should not remove the authority

ayotte: yes. mr.graham: the military asession plan -- m.a.s. -- where a country gets ready to enter into nato. here's the basic. georgia would like that. i think ukraine now would like that. here's the basic tension, don't you agree, that the plurality before crimea was invaded wanted to move into the european union in ukraine? now i think clearly a majority, if you take the crimea out, not to associate with the european union and putin is saying, hell no. so the ukrainian people in the coming months are going to make a move toward the european union and alliances with nato, most likely, and the russians are going to try to stop them. and i fear the way necessity wilthey will tryto stop them iso influence the vote but try to grab some eastern cities where you'll have vocal minority russian populations saying, come here and help your fellow russian; we're being absorbed by a bunch of thugs in kiev. and senator mccain made a good point while we were talking. the theory of the case for russia is that we

intentions and we'll hear from senator dick durbin just back from ukraine and republican senator kelly ayotte who is there now. plus, our panel of experts on those stories and the other news of the week. 60 years of news because this is "face the nation." captioning sponsored by cbs >> schieffer: good morning again, there is actually some new information this morning on the search for that missing malaysian plane, new satellite images, these from the french that show objects in the same general vicinity as the earlier satellite images. the search is now focused on an area about the size of texas, some 1500 miles off the coast of perth, australia. our holly williams is in perth this morning. >> good morning, bob. there is now a massive search taking place in waters of the southern indian ocean what might be the wreckage of the airline which has been missing more than two weeks. yesterday the chinese government reel leased a blurry satellite image showing something around 70 feet by 40 feet floating in the sea off australia's west coast. that is just 80 miles from where australian satellite, on

ayotte: thank you. it would ensure that there is another level of review when a commander disagrees with the recommendation of a prosecutor to prosecute a sexual assault case, it will go up to the civilian secretary for another level of review. it will ensure that commanders are judged on their evaluations based on how the climate in their unit is for addressing sexual assault and how they handle these types of cases. it eliminates the so-called good soldier defense because even if you have been a good soldier, if you have committed sexual assault, you need to be held accountable for your actions. and so this bill will ensure that people who are perpetrators are held accountable for their actions. and it also allows important input from -- from the victims so that they can have a say whether they believe a case should be brought in a military or civilian system to be prosecuted. so this adds on the important work we have done together in the defense authorization, but it is not the end of this. we will

so i would urge that we strongly consider the provisions of senator ayotte and senator mccaskill and senator fisher have her post. but i must say that it would be detrimental in the long run, not only to those with military force, but detrimental to our common goal, which is to reduce sexual abuse within the military of the united states. if we do not do that, if we allow it to you, it will undermine our forces more than anything else. committed to that goal, i believe we should support senator mccaskill and i am pleased to do so. with akamai yield the floor. >> madam president. >> the senator from new york. >> ideal time to the senator from california to. >> thank you very much, madam president. a few, senator for your extraordinary leadership. we are here today for two things. one is to support both bills, which i believe we should, in one is an attack on the senator gillibrand belt. which for the life of me i do not understand is. i think it is important. and i'm not going to filibuster senator johanns bill because of the opportunity to bring about the change that the survivors of

. -- ayott. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i want to thank both of you for your service and leadership and also thank your families for the sacrifices they've made. admiral locklear, i want to follow up on the question that my colleague, senator shaheen, asked you with regard to the submarine capabilities of our country and i believe you said that you are an advocate for greater capabilities for our attack submarine fleet, if that's right? >> that's correct. >> certainly you talked about the importance of the virginia class submarine and particularly with our capability in the asia-pacific region. one question i wanted to ask you is, what percentage of your combatant commander requirements for attack submarines are being met? >> let me provide you an offline exact percentage but they're not all being met. >> they're not all being met. in fact last year i think it was about 50% in terms of combatant commander requirement requests for attack submarines, so i would appreciate an update on that, but my sense is, it's probably not

. > i'm going to call on senator ayotte to clear up something and then senator blumenthal. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i want to correct the record. i had received the wrong numbers so i suggested that the president's priorities, because there was an increase in defense -- nondefense spending versus defense spending with regard to 14, fiscal year 14 to 15, that is not correct. and in fact it's the reverse. there is a 1% reduction for defense and a 3.4% reduction for nondefense, so to the extent i suggested that their priorities were reverse to the president, that was incorrect based on the numbers. and i wanted to correct the record for that and any misimpression given as a result of that. >> senator, thank you very much. >> thank you so much, senator ayotte. senator blumenthal. >> thank you, mr. chairman. let me begin by joining my colleagues in thanking you, mr. secretary, general dempsey, and mr. hale for your extraordinary service and your focus on this strategic priorities, which i believe are the right ones for this nation, for example, on the need for additional submarines at the

co-sponsor kelly ayotte says the bill will create zero toll lance and make commanders take full accountability for their units. later this morning, the bill's author will talk about the reforms here on "morning joe". >>> a new poll shows deepening political toll of the george washington bridge scandal for chris christie. his approval ratings has evaporated by 20 points. while 54% still call him a strong leader, that's his lowest score since taking office. there are also reverberations if iowa where christie's potential presidential bid would begin. a poll shows 57% of iowans disapprove of how he's hammndle the scandal. today it will be determined whether former staffers have as to hand over documents under subpoena. in a "new york times" piece, it claims christie wielded port authority for his own gain. the paper reports pieces of the september 11th wreckage were used as politically motivated gifts to 20 new jersey mayors whose endorsements he wanted to secure. quote, the authority became a means to reward or higher friends, punish adversaries and a bank to be used mr. christie south to avoid

you, senator ayotte. senator kaine. it is good to see you again. if i was in an airplane out of atlantic, the 101st could take care of you quite adequately. as you look across a broad range of commercial assets that transc om employees across the globe, what are the greatest risks and m toerabilities to transco execute its responsibilities and how about the more ability of -- the vulnerability of commercial attacks?to cyber >> there are two things that worry me the most. we havet is -- once completed whatever retrograde operation happens in afghanistan, whether we have a residual force or no force remaining behind, the demand surface and air will diminish significantly. we have seen nearly a 50% reduction in requirement for sustainment cargo in afghanistan. that has an implication for our , sealift, airlift, as well as surface and for our commercial partners whose networks we access to make that entire distribution network work. that decline in requirement, a return to a more stable has some negative implications across the enterprise. we are study

. >> senator ayotte, we were just going to call it to a close. i think the vote has been called. we will give you a few minutes here if director burwell is willing to stay. >> happy to, madam chairman. >> thank you, director burwell. thank you for the last minute run-in. we've had, as you know, a lot of hearings going on at once today, so very much appreciate that. i guess what i wanted to ask you about this, the president's budget request seeks to improve the impact of federal investments in s.t.e.m. which is, obviously, an important issue that we care about. and so we've had this outstanding gao report out there that has talked about the overlapping and duplication in s.t.e.m. programs and, essentially, found that 83% of them are overlapping. also reporting that there was inconsistent in figuring out which ones work best and what are the measurement of those. so are you incorporating that in these budget requests, and are you planning to actually take up some of these gao reports that, unfortunately, have too many have been sitting on the shelf? because it seems to me that's so

kelly ayotte and i have found things on the national security agenda along with making sure that parentsautistic kids in the military get benefits they need. we found common ground. in the sexual assault bill, 17 out of 20 women wanted reform. i have great hope for all to sidelines. >> gisele ruiz started her career 20 years ago as a management trainee at walmart. her story is about opportunity. >> i learned about walmart while i was going to college at santa clara university. i learned about the story. what brought me to walmart was the company's values. why i have stayed with walmart over the years -- walmart has afforded me opportunities to do the things that i love. i do love retail in-store operations. it has afforded me opportunities to do things that stretched me and grew me. in that case, i have been able to take on real estate and worked in human resources. i have worked in different functional areas of the company. my story is not unique. there are hundreds of other stories. you come to work for walmart and you find wonderful opportunities that are absolutely real. they are doa

chairman. >> senator ayotte? >> i want to thank both of you for your service and leadership. >> you are an advocate for greater capabilities and that is right. and there is an importance of the virginia class submarine particularly with our capability and one question i wanted to ask you and what provisions are being met? >> and terms of the combatant requirement request for tax summaries, i would appreciate an update on that but my sense is that it's probably not much better and may not be better but will lower. so i look forward to those numbers. then we have this retiring in coming years and we have these attacks the marines in 2013 compared to if we go forward with a low of 42 in 2029. so we are seeing a diminishing trajectory despite the fact that i'm very glad that there was the inclusion of two virginia class submarines. and there are current predictions for tax summaries. if we are rebalancing to the asia pacific region as we have heard today, it is an environment dominated by that maritime presence. and

call on senator kelly ayotte. >> thank you. received the wrong #protected the president's priorities because there was an increase in defense -- nondefense spending versus defense spending with regard to 14 -- 14 to 15, that is not correct. it is there a verse. there is a one percent reduction for defense and to 3.4 reduction for non-defense. to the sick just -- the extent i suggested their priorities were anyrsed and encourage and impression that was given by that. >> let me begin by joining my colleagues and thanking you, mr. secretary, general dempsey, and mr. hale for your extraordinary service and your focus on this -- the strategic priorities which i believe are the right ones for this nation. on example, for the need additional submarines at the rate of two per year in production, for the focus on air superiority and the joint strike fighter, and the concentration of the needs to keep the national guard and reservists strong. man whoo focus on one happens to be a resident of connecticut. who enlisted in the u.s. marine t

we will hear from senator ayotte in just a moment.raine orders its troops out of crimea as russia seizes a naval base. about yourng thoughts on an eight to ukraine. independent line from gaithersburg. first of all, very few people are mentioning [indiscernible] gave the third largest nuclear arsenal in the world. russia made it into. it should not be an option. [indiscernible] lots of people are saying it's russia and ukraine's business. people who fought with blood, fox with lives for their democracy against a extremely corrupt government. don't want to be under russian influence. please do not talk about issues as if ukrainians don't exist. my family was participating in it and people were giving out their last money from food and supplies. coming at their own expense. it simply shameful. what should congress be doing at this time? i think they should give financial aid. the united states gives huge amount of money over the course of these 20 years. host: marcus from st. paul, minnesota on our democrats line. hello. caller: good mor

just by way of example, things that members of congress can do , in november, senator kelly ayotte and i wrote a letter to chuck hagel. we said that the safety of u.s. citizens, military and civilian personnel, should be paramount. even the recent state of ied attacks just over the last several weeks, i can appreciate how hard a task this is. even as we draw down the military presence, we must take greater precautions. the letter that senator ayotte and i sent called for a plan for a continued civilian mission and oversight of u.s. assistance programs that makes clear that america will stand with the afghan look to prevent afghanistan from reverting to the type of oppressive, violent taliban rule that served as a fertile breeding ground for al qaeda. this engagement, our letter continues, should continue training for the afghan national security forces and maintain investments in vital centers such as education and health. i'm not reading the whole letter, but giving a sense of some of the priorities we outlined. that is kind of the broad perspective i have on the way forward, even as

kelly ayotte in 2010 barely got out of her primary.ablishment candidate, the moderate then she got this last-minute sarah palin endorsement and beat back these conservative challengers. he's got bob smith, former new york senator from new hampshire, very conservative candidate, who by the way is the last guy to try to run for the senate in another state like scott brown did. he's in this primary. the primary is not a fore gone conclusion for scott brown. >> no, it's not. bob smith did crazy before crazy was in vogue, you know, back -- >> right. he was marginalized in the senate. today he might be celebrated. >> no, no, he would definitely be in the mainstream right now. >> right. >> but theoretically. but that's a big name. there are probably a lot of new hampshire republicans who would just like to have anybody other than bob smith there. i don't think the primary is his primary challenge. i think that the, you know, new hampshire is not the same live free or die conservative state that it used to be. a lot of bedroom community for ma

you, senator ayotte. senator kaine. it is good to see you again. if i was in an airplane out of atlantic, the 101st could take care of you quite adequately. as you look across a broad range of commercial assets that transc om employees across the globe, what are the greatest risks and m toerabilities to transco execute its responsibilities and how about the more ability of -- the vulnerability of commercial attacks?to cyber >> there are two things that worry me the most. we havet is -- once completed whatever retrograde operation happens in afghanistan, whether we have a residual force or no force remaining behind, the demand surface and air will diminish significantly. we have seen nearly a 50% reduction in requirement for sustainment cargo in afghanistan. that has an implication for our , sealift, airlift, as well as surface and for our commercial partners whose networks we access to make that entire distribution network work. that decline in requirement, a return to a more stable has some negative implications across the enterprise. we are study

one of the things i was a concern to me, probably to senators king and ayotte at a very parochial level, is that he talked about the u.s. shipbuilding industrial base as being under pressure. looked at the projected population of expert withard employees, those 30 or more years of experience, it is expected that -- it is expected to decline roughly by 40% by 2018. so i wonder if you could talk about how concerned you are ar?ut this, admiral lockley yo what sets are being put in place in terms of attracting a new workforce to replace the folks who will be retiring? especially given the challenges ,f budget cuts and uncertainty how you expect we will address this coming challenge. when i was a young officer on board one of my first shift, i was an engineer. i happened to be in a u.s. shipyard at that time having a shift worked on. we opened up the main engines of this ship and the guy sitting next to me was a shipyard worker probably about my age. he was showing me the inside of this engine. let me, come down and show you something. inside the engine he had welded his name when he was a y

kelly ayotte says the afghan people need to be told. she did warn that american forces would not stay on after the withdrawal if president karzai delays signing a security pact. >> it's time for us to be clear about what the united states of america's commitment will be as a follow-up to 2014 and beyond to the people of afghanistan. now, that support is contingent on the president signing the bilateral security agreement. >> now, australia's prime minister says there are new and credible leads in the search for the missing malkin flight. they have detected debris in the southern indian ocean. it's not clear what those objects are, but the area they were seen is is the focus of the focus. france says it too has satellite images showing potential objects of interest floating within the search area about 25 kilometers southwest of perth. >> over the last 24 hours, there have been three significant developments. new satellite imagery, new chinese satellite imagery does seem to suggest at least one large object down there consistent with the

she picked a number of candidates fisher nebraska, kelly ayotte in new hampshire. ted cruz she backed him in 2012. she wants to play that roll roll -- role again in 2016. sway them towards rand paul or ted cruze. the speech was dripping with is that correct and sarcasm. it doesn't seem like she herself has any political ambitions of her own. >> what do you think is the state of the republican party? >> well, if you are talking republican party in terms of the 2014 midterm elections, i think they are looking pretty good. certainly going to keep the house. have a lot of senate seats where they look like they may take them back from democrats. 2016 is still an unknown for the republican party. look at sarah palin, she can fire up a crowd like nobody else, probably on either side of the aisle. does that translate into a presidential campaign? probably not. so who feels that void? who on the republican party can rally the what party and compete against somebody is like hillary clinton who if she ones will suck up a lot of oxygen. >> this is a party that can be in a lot

meeting, they had a press con fres with some very strong langs was used including some from kelly ayott and a member of the armed services committee who said when she returns to washington, she will be carrying a message that the united states should beef up its support for the ukrainian armed forces. >> we can provide military assistance, not only humanitarian assistance, but assistance that can involve small arms, communications, equipment, basic fuel issues that we need uniform issues, things that the ukrainian military will need as it rebuilds the damage that was done by president yanukovych. >> this also comes on a day when the four-star u.s. general, f l phillip breed love has been making some statements about what nato is seeing with russian forces along the ukrainian border. nato believes the size and scale and readiness of the russian army on that border is so significant that if it wanted to, it could roll through mainland ukraine all the way out to the western border where there is already a russian base in a pro-ethnic russian community there in a place called transnester. a

. >> senator ayotte. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i want to thank both of you for your service to our country and to your families as well for their support and sacrifices. let me just start, general selva. with regard to dod's air refueling capability, how important is it to our military capabilities and our national security? >> senator, the capacity of air mobility command to operate at the u.s. transcom's be asked to provide refueling around the world is critical to be able to move our forces to the places they need to be when they need to be there. the air force as you probably heard over months and years talks about global vigilance, global reach and global power. tankers are what make us global. >> and i'm really pleased, we, the air refueling wing, the new hampshire air national guard as you know has been chosen as the top air national guard unit to receive the new tankers, the kc 46 a. i want you to know what we had a very positive public hearing for the basing of the kc 46 a last week in new hampshire. i want to ask you, in

a bill introduced by republican senator kelly ayotte, and democratic senator mark warner.a glimmer of hope in washington where it's difficult to find bipartisanship. but when it comes to the future this debunks the idea from nancy pelosi that the cupboard is dry and puts republicans' backs against the wall when they don't want to pay for what the vote for. >> i think these reports are put on a big shelf, probably a very high shelf, and nothing comes of it. >> this is how the government creates jobs, neil. they have someone writing these reports and then people report on the reports, and so they're clearly not used in terms of being -- the ones irrelevant. for example, the peacekeeping process in kosovo is still produced every year by the state department. that is something that is no longer relevant. i'm not sure what the cat and dog fur, who is in charge of that. i think we can probably cut back on reports in that aspect and also cut back on federal employees and their pensions as well. >> you know, it is interesting, one thing to sort of cut down on these reports, but to

confirmation hearing and one of the things that was a concern to me, i think probably at enators king and ayotte, a very parochial level, is he talked about the u.s. ship building industrial base is being under pressure. and as we have looked at the projected population of expert ship yard employees, those with 30 or more years of experience, it's expected to decline by roughly 40% from -- by 2018. and so i wonder if you could talk about how concerned you are about this, admiral locklear. what steps are being put in place to address attracting a new work force to replace the folks who will be retiring and especially given the challenges , budget cuts and uncertainty how you expect we will address this coming challenge. >> when i was a young officer onboard one of my first ships, i was an engineering officer and i happened to be in a ship yard, a u.s. ship yard at that time, having the ship worked on. and we opened up the main engines of the ship and the guy that was sitting next to me was a ship yard worker probably about my age and he was showing me the inside of this engine. and he said, come

i'd also like to recognize some of my other colleagues, senator coats, senator ayotte, who, though not cosponsors on this bill today, were instrumental in these negotiations from the beginning. i understand their concerns and i also share their desire to see additional reforms to these programs. regardless, i am grateful for their contribution over the past few months. i would also like to thank senator isakson and senator hoeven for their input and am appreciative of their efforts throughout the process. though it hasn't always been easy, this process has truly been a collaborative effort at every level. fortunately, i believe we've -- that we've reached a compromise that will garner enough support in the senate to help 1.3 million unemployed americans get back on their feet as they look for work in the toughest job market in decades. this bill is a responsible, fully paid-for, temporary extension of unemployment insurance benefits that expired in december. it addresses concern that any further extensions ought to be paid for. madam president, it's our economy -- as our economy recove

this morning, you had democrat dirk durbin and kelly ayotte saying we should be sending small arms tohe ukraine. that's a step past where i think most senators are, most republicans are in the house as well. so it's unclear as to what's going to happen, whether or not they're going to strip out these imf provision that's in the senate bill and agree with what the house wants to do, which is essentially an aid package of $1 billion. again, this was something that was considered before we've heard what's happened lately on the ground there and this idea that this is a real slippery slope in terms of what russia's intentions are. >> obviously the trip is now very much overshadowed by events in ukraine and russia. but i think one of the highlights of the trip or one of the -- i think most anticipated moments -- >> the pope. >> the president's meeting with the pope. >> yes, this is going to be great. i'm hoping they're going to get some selfies out of it. so we'll see. >> that's a good challenge to issue. we want to see a selfie, man. >> that's right. the pope and president obama very much

we followed along with joanne ayotte, an inspector with the arizona state board of cosmetology. >> just here to do a routine inspection today. >> reporter: some like this one, clean. others not so much. >> this one has been used over and over again. it would have to be discarded. >> i'm seeing a loft grime in here. >> reporter: and the pedicure tub in this salon, downright nasty! >> if the client came in contact with this, germs could be transferred if they open pores that cut into skin. >> reporter: that salon had multiple violations, but the inspector doesn't have the authority to shut them down. this salon owner, who says he has since cleaned up his act, will probably get a $250 fine. >> so many salons they just get slapped on the wrist by our state, they get fined and then they just start up again. >> reporter: athena wants everyone to know that there are also good nail salons out there too, and has a bit of advice, don't be fooled by the sticker price. are you safer in a five-star salon that charges five-times the price? >> absolutely not. dirty knows no prejudice. it's everywhere.

senators ayotte, schatz, bernie sanders but i wonder if you did whether not you support this clarification in the religious exemption clause? >> i haven't read the language, but i will take a stroll look at it and they do know that it passed yesterday but i haven't read the built. built. >> will you get back to us with your opinion? thank you to the second question has to do with the administrations change in, or hhs is changing how you're handling the appeals process for medicare providers. the office of medicare hearings and appeals has recently taken the unprecedented and unorthodox step in no longer accepting medicare appeals for processing at the admission of law judge level. obviously, unconcerned about the current health care providers and current seniors who could be denied reimbursement, what effect that will have downstream, if you will, if they are not allowed their due process. and, of course, if we press forward the implications of the affordable care act, if we set the precedent that they just said will not allow for due process for current medicare recipients, one would denn

senator ayotte. >> thank you, mr. chairman.i want to thank you both for being here and your extraordinary service to the country. thank you, general alexander. you've done a wonderful job and it had to serve during challenging times. thank you for service in your service as well, admiral haney. images follow up on the iranian threat. admiral haney, when dni clapper came before this committee last year, he said that the iranians were working on two systems, icbm systems that would give them the capability of hitting the united states of america by 2015. where are we on that threat in terms of pyrenean icbm programs and the threat of hitting the united states? >> i would really want to address that question in a classified forum to get to derail details necessary to answer that question. the prediction, the assessment of 2015 remains are my understanding. >> so dni authors public assessment last year 2015 still stands at this point from your understanding? i understand you don't want to get into the details of that in this settin

republican senator kelly ayotte said the white house is trying to protect vulnerable democrats not consumers. >> if you look at the timing of it, it's designed to delay until right after the 2014 elections, and we already know what happened when people started to receive cancellation notices last time. >> reporter: news of the extension comes just three weeks before another critical obamacare deadline march 31st, the last day to sign up through an insurance exchange. last month, the vice president warned that enrollment goals may not be met. >> initially we talked about why the end of this period having 7 million people lined up. we may not get to seven, but we're going to get to five or six, and that's a hell of a start. >> reporter: now congressional republicans, of course have been trying to repeal obamacare. they've done it, like, nearly 50 times, tried to. the irony, of course, for all into the water. >> they realized there was another child still stuck signed the vehicle. >> the kids are screaming there's a baby there's a baby. i get back to the van and by this time a cup p lifeguards

i heard on the sunday shows, republican senator ayotte and democratic senator durbin talked about the need for sleeping bags, small-arms fire and things like that that the ukrainians simply don't have. so that's why i'm pleased that we've been able to come to a tentative agreement to vote on this measure thursday. i would have preferred to have included, as i already indicated, international monetary provisions in this bill. these provisions would provide additional funds for the fragile ukrainian economy. my republican colleagues, for reasons unrelated to the ukraine were ready to kill the bill over the i.m.f. issue. we're ready to move forward on the bipartisan senate foreign relations bill without the i.m.f. language. let me take a brief minute to extend my appreciation. i think i speak for the entire senate, for the hard work that has allowed us to get where we are. chairman menendez, ranking member corker, they have worked very well together on legislation generally but on this specifically. and senator mccain, a longtime leader on national security issues, has been very articula

have a confirmation hearing and one of the things that was a concern one of the things that senator ayotte had at a very parochial level, was talking about the industrial base is being under pressure and as we have looked at the projected population of expert shipyard employees, there is with 30 or more years of experience and so i wonder it if you could talk about how concerned you are about this, admiral locklear and what steps are being put in place to address attracting a new workforce with the folks that will be retiring and especially given the challenges of budget cuts and this includes how we expect we will address the coming challenge. >> he was showing me the inside of his engine gradation porker. and he said i want show you something. and i had good visibility with that kind of a continuity and i believe that our industrial base is under pressure particularly as our shipbuilding industry shrinks and we don't do a lot of commercial shipbuilding in this country. so we have really a national treasure and the national asked that that has to be looked at from this perspective out the

senator ayotte. >> thank you to you and your family for their support and sacrifices. general selva, with regard to dods air refueling capability, how fortunate our national security? >> senator, the capacity of air mobility command to operate at u.s. transcome speed to provide refueling around the world is critical to be able to move our forces to places they need to be. the air force, as you have probably heard over months and years, talks about global vigilance, global reach, and global power. tankers make us global. >> i'm really pleased, we -- that the 157th air refueling wing appeased -- the new hampshire air national guard is the top air national guard unit to receive the new tankers, the kg46-a. we had vary positive public hearing for the basing of the ck46-a last week in new hampshire. so i wanted to ask you, in your role as commander of'm -- to be air mobility command what is your assessment of the refueling wing, how they performed and how important is the guard in all of this capability as we go forward? >> senator, the 157th has a exteriored heritage in th

bob schieffer will interview mitt romney, kelly ayotte and dick durbin democrat of illinois. >>> man was arrested after he allegedly rammed his car through the front of a base in florida. he ran from his car forcing the base to go on lockdown last night. he was captured a short time later. police did not say why he crashed through the gate. >>> arson investigators will resume their investigation today to determine the cause of a fire that killed four people at a new jersey hotel. eight others were injured. some of the 40 staying at the hotel have lost their homes to superstorm sandy. >>> the affordable care act also known as obamacare became law four years ago. the deadline to sign up is march 31st, just nine days away. the original goal was to have 7 million americans on the role by then. john dickerson joins us from the washington bureau with a look at where we stand. good morning. >> good morning, anthony. >> first of all, what are we going to know on the 31st? >> we're going to know from the administration -- we'll have to third quarter word for it -- how many people have envol.

we will hear from republicans, tom coburn and kelly ayotte. as well as patty murray. this is about 40 minutes. >> something significant happened. i am from oklahoma. david green and his wife started a group called hobby lobby by making picture frames in their garage. with the profits they made, it was his faith and practice in his day-to-day decisions that led him and his family to build a successful nationwide company. over the years, the business has grown. 602 stores now with plans to expand. they have an annual revenue of upwards of $2.5 billion. david has had success despite the countercultural way. all of the retail stores closed at 8 p.m. each night and all day on sunday so will use spend time with their families. by thes is appreciated some 16,000 employees who are paid above the minimum wage. benefitbby generous plan includes an on-site clinic and eligibility to enroll in medical, dental, and prescription drug lands tom and long-term disability and long-term insurance in a 401(k) plan. this is something that they have done long before obamacare came along. at

. >>> and senator kelly ayotte is set to campaign with minority senate leader mitch mcconnell in kentuckymcconnell is facing a tough reelection challenge there. >>> here we go. let's get this out of the way. what did you come here to plug? >> first of all, i think it's fair to say that i wouldn't be with you here today if i didn't have something to plug. have you heard of the affordable care act? >> yeah, heard about that. that's the thing that doesn't work? >> that, as many of you know by now, president obama made an apersons on the spoof talk show with zach, the show is "between two ferns". it went viral. trying to convince young americans to enroll in the nation's health care plan before the deadline of march 31st. those who miss the deadline will face a penalty. but do you even know how much? let me bring in the president of enroll america, a nonpartisan group with the aim of signing up people for the nation's new health care law. hello. you tell me, are there numbers you can point to to suggest that the white house is going to hit their stated goal of having 40% of the enrollees be t

ayotte: thank you, madam president. i come to the floor today to talk about a very important case that our united states supreme court heard arguments on this morning that goes to the very core of our nation's foundation, the future of religious freedom in the united states. as americans, we cherish our religious liberty. it lies at the heart of who we are as a people and we know that we must always guard against threats to our religious freedom that is enshrined in the first amendment of the constitution. that is why i'm here on the floor today to join my colleagues, senator blunt, senator coburn in speaking in support of the constitutional rights that all americans have under the first amendment, which guarantees the right of freedom, of conscience and religious liberty. and here's what's at stake. americans should not be forced to give up their religious freedom or their rights of conscience simply because they want to open a family business. american families should not be forced into choosing between their family b

his reclaim america has spent for tom cotton in arkansas running for senate and for senator kelly ayotte in new hampshire. bobby jindal already been to new york city this year four times to raise money. >> now you have semi prepared on your list. what do you mean and who is in that category? >> semi prepared is people who are gearing up but haven't built as much of a structure as marco rubio has. these are probably the most visible on tv, senator rand paul of kentucky and senator ted cruz of texas. rand paul has worked in iowa before and he has a great message, he's trying to reach beyond the republican base, aiming at mill ennialmillennialo surf off his dad, ron paul. and ted cruz of texas has visited the early states a good bit but doesn't have as much of a formal structure as rubio. >> and finally least prepared and maybe most talked about topping this list is jeb bush. >> and jeb bush can afford to wait. by just making a few calls, as he's done, by sending the signals that he clearly is tallahassee based on joe's reporting, he can get people who would support him to wait. as one pers

cosponsor kelly ayotte commanders take full responsibility for their units before passed in the housemember of the armed services committee and author of that bill, senator claire mccaskill. great to have you back on the show, senator. >> thanks, guys. >> >> congratulations on getting at least through one portion. tell us exactly how -- because there is concern, of course, if you don't take it completely out of the chain of command that there won't be proper accountability. how is this going to work to protect men and women from this issue? >> well, we have now passed with this passage yesterday, 35 major sweeping reforms as it relates to sexual assault in the military. we have now created the most victim friendly organization in the world. i mean, victims have their own lawyers and they have their own power. commanders have been stripped of much of their power. but there was an honest policy difference as to whether or not taking commanders completely out was going to help victims or hurt victims. when you look at the facts, when you get away from some of the arguments that are based

we had senator durbin on a sunday show, senator ayotte on a sunday show speaking together that this country needs our help, and without this money, the help that we give will be a pat on the back, not really much help. so i'm very grateful to have the support of democrats and republicans that is bipartisan to move this aid package forward this evening. i hope that the obstruction will stop. i'm hopeful and somewhat confident that this legislation will receive the strong bipartisan support that it deserves. mr. president, on another topic, i, like all senators, get lots and lots of letters and emails and phone calls each month. some write, some call, pleading for additional unemployment benefits, because they have been out of work and they can't find a job. the sad part about that, mr. president, most of them are not kids. i mean that not in a negative sense. they are not young men and women. many of them are trying to find a job. they are in their 50's and 60's, they can't find work because they have been laid off because of the recession, the depression, whatever we want to call it, and th

senate unanimously passed a wide-reaching measure authored by senators claire mccaskill and kelly ayotte. >> if you've commit sexual assault, you need to be held accountable for your actions. >> but the bill provides less protection for military assault victims than many wanted and still may not make it through the house. >> i frankly think the agreement that was struck in the house, in the defense authorization bill strikes the correct balance. and so i don't, frankly, see any reason at this point for any further action to be taken. >> there's no indication that general sinclair is totally off the hook. he pleaded guilty to several other charges. no matter the sentence, the victims will claim that the military justice system has failed them again. natalie. >> jim, thank you. >>> palestinian leader mahmoud abbas will be at the white house today for a critical meeting with president obama. on the agenda, the progress in the palestinian peace negotiations. the obama administration is backing off that april 29th deadline for a deal. instead, it is looking to build the framework for negotiat

mccaskill: i yield three minutes to the senator from new hampshire, senator ayotte. the presiding officer: the senator from new hampshire. ms. ayotte: i thank the senator from missouri and the senator from new york for her passion in this important gate. let's not forget the work we've already done on this in the defense authorization including having attorney, taking commanders out of overturning victims, making retaliation a crime. we've bun important things but why are we here today? so here's the issue -- will more victims -- will more cases be prosecuted if we take it out of the chain of command? actually no. there would be 93 cases under the current situation that wouldn't have been brought where commanders actually made a different decision. what about about those victims and those victims having their day in court? i want more victims to have their day in court. what about the issue as we think about it, why are we doing this, our -- some of our allies did it, we looked at that issue and what our allies, they haven't seen any greater reporting. there is no ev