senator ayotte. sen. ayotte: thank you.representing new hampshire, the northern border is pretty important to us, and i am not sure if you have been asked this question yet, but one of the directors of national intelligence, james clapper, has identified drug trafficking obviously as a major transnational organized crime, and in my state, we are seeing a large heroin epidemic, and i know a lot of that is coming across the southern border. what are the biggest issues on the northern border, and can you under -- help me to understand about the information sharing with canadian authorities? even the federal officials would be working with the canadian side. whoever is best to take that question, thanks. mr. spero: thank you. the intelligence we are developing through our ongoing criminal investigations and our closed investigations is we are seeing in precursor chemicals or heroin coming from china. it is being imported into mexico under the control of the cartels. the cartels are using the existing smuggling networks to get t

senator kelly ayotte chaired this two hour hearing. >> good afternoon and welcome. thank you all for being here. today's hearing is one in a series we're holding in preparation for this year's federal aviation administration's reauthorization effort and last week we heard from experts and stakeholders on the certification process and airport infrastructure financing. today we have the opportunity to discuss the single-most important underlying issue for any reauthorization effort and that's safety. the safety of our national airspace system and the safety of the flying public. with that i want to take a moment to recognize the family members of the victims of colgan flight 3407, which crashed near buffalo in 2009 who i understand are here in the audience today. your sustained efforts to improve safety of our skies are admirable and we appreciate you coming to this hearing today.

center kelly ayotte. also other potentials for 2016, carly fiorina, bobby jindal, donald trump, lindsey graham, john kasich, my cut, and ted cruz. day to coverage continues at the new hampshire leadership summit. joe scarborough speaking in just a few moments. a reminder, you can join in on the conversation on facebook or twitter and answer the question who do you like for 2016 and why? "boston globe" reporting on this event, republican hopefuls jockey and for voters. gathered here for a state fundraiser and cattle call cattle call. speakers used a similar theme weakness, to describe obama and hillary clinton. our live coverage continues here in new hampshire. a road to the white house coverage on c-span. >> ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats. >> we are going to begin. >> all right. everybody ready to get started again? everybody come inside. why don't we take 30 seconds to get you to move the lobby people into the room. everybody gets their pa ins? let's move everybody from the lobby back in th

gilligan. >> thank you, senator ayotte. senator cant well and members of the subcommittee for holding this hearing and focusing on an issue of national importance. your guidance has had a tangible result. the united states of america enjoys the world's safest and most efficient aviation safety system. we've been working for years to build on the trust that you've exhibited in our efforts. indeed, the united states is doing much more than just holding steady at historically low accident rates. aviation safety cannot rest on the status quo regardless of how well things are going. by establishing strong safety partnerships we're accelerating the state of aviation safety at a pace that is perhaps unrivalled in any industry. the airline safety extension act of 2010 has contributed to our progress with the support of the colgan families and at your direction we issued a final rule to prevent pilot fatigue which became effective more than a year ago. this sent a clear message that every airline must provide pilots sufficient time

ayotte: thank you chairman, thank you commissioner for being here. i wanted to ask about a situation we have in dealing with in new hampshire but i don't think new hampshire is unique in this. i received a number of complaints from my local libraries that they didn't receive the necessary tax forms and instruction booklets. in new hampshire, we happen to have a high percentage of people that actually will file by paper and historically they have been able to go to the local library and get the tax forms so that they can do their taxes. i wrote to you, originally in february, about this issue. the first response i got back, one of the primary reasons you said that these forms weren't being provided to people at their libraries in new hampshire was that the irs budget was cut. but the reality is, on taxpayer services, congress allocated the same amount of money. so why is it that irs is not able to provide the same level of customer service this year? it is not just this library issue. for us in new hampshire to have to go through the runaround that we

ayotte: i wanted to follow-up on an issue that someone may have already asked you about. that is the incorrect 1095-a form taken -- sent to many individuals incorrectly. do you know how he taxpayers in new hampshire received the wrong form? mr. koskinen: those forms are provided designed and filled out by cms. sen. ayotte: do you think that the people who waited a little longer -- as i understand they are being treated differently and are still on the hook for paying, if they own a larger premium, there may be a distinction between those depending on when they are filed. however the people in this country who were misled in terms of what they thought they would be receiving, how would you treat those individuals? mr. koskinen: of the 800,000, the estimate of the cms was about 50,000 involved. in terms of being misled, we had a long, informative discussion on that and i think after the transition of the first year people will understand better. when you register and apply for insurance coverage, you make an estimate of what your income will be for the year going forward. t

one is senator a yacht -- ayotte's seat. we think we know who may take aim.t may be good for concord to get her out it is not any better to send her to congress as a burden to the rest of the country. [applause] dan: let's work on getting maggie hassan out of new hampshire but not to congress. [applause] dan: we have a great senator in kelly ayotte and we have to work hard to make sure she stays in washington. [applause] dan: we have greater news to celebrate from last year. we wanted the u.s. back from carol porter. congratulations, frank guinta. [applause] dan: that was a great day. let's all work to keep her out of office and support for. -- support frank. [applause] dan: it is interesting because things are different from a year ago. congressman guinta sends me e-mails. [laughter] dan: he sends them off in a did they are good e-mails. on tax day, i had just written checks to the irs and the state of new hampshire. and income tax check to new hampshire because i own a small business. and he said in his message we need is simple fight the tax code. there's

one of those senators was new hampshire's very own senator kelly ayotte. and i'm amused the far left seems to think it's a campaign issue against kelly. kelly stood against iran getting nukes. i'd encourage them to run with that idea. that's terrific campaign issue. shortly thereafter, i went on msnbc. morning show. and they were kind of slightly upset, much like the white house. why did you sign this letter? do you regret signing this letter? this is a letter that explains that under our constitution there are two ways and two ways only something becomes a law in the united states of america. either you have a treaty signed by the president that is ratified by two thirds of the senate or you have a law that passes both houses of congress and signed into law by the president. if you do neither of those it ain't a law. now iran's foreign minister responded and said, no no, you do not understand. under international law, a head of state has the authority to bind his nation forever and in perpetuity on any issue he wishes. you know what in the nation of iran

ayotte: thank you. senator graham: would you describe china's behavior towards is -- towards its neighbors as provocative? adm. locklear: let's call it aggressive. i guess provocative would be in the eyes of the beholder. senator graham: from the as of the japanese, would you say it is provocative? adm. locklear: they would say yes. senator graham: would you say the regime on a goodie is unstable? gen. scaparrotti: no, sir. i would say they use control. we see no indicators of instability at this time. so you think we don't have to worry of much about north korea? when i say and stable, i mean unpredictable, provocative danger -- gen. scaparrotti: you willing to be provocative as well. sen. graham: so in your backyard, you've got dangers provocative, unstable with nukes in north korea, right? gen. scaparrotti: yes, sir, within short distance in the capital. sen. graham: the leader of north korea seems to be, like, nuts. i don't know how else you describe the guy, but he seems nutty to me. so under seque

[applause] senator cruz: one of those senators was new hampshire's very own senator kelly ayotte. governor walker: -- [applause] senator cruz: i am amused the far left thinks it's a campaign issue to use against kelly. good gosh, kelly stood against iran getting nukes. i would encourage them, run with that idea. that is going to be a terrific campaign issue. shortly thereafter i want on msnbc. morning joe. they were kind of slightly upset , apoplectic, much like the white house, why did you sign this letter? do you regret signing this letter? this is a letter that explained that under our constitution there are two ways that something becomes a law in the united states of america. either you have a treaty signed by the president ratified by two thirds of the senate, or you have a law that passes both houses of congress and is signed into law by the president. if you do neither of those, it ain't a law. [applause] senator cruz: now iran's foreign minister responded and said, you do not understand. under international law, a head of state has the authority to find his nation forever

senator ayotte. >> thank you all for being here. i appreciate it. representing new hampshire northern border is pretty important to us. i am not sure if you have been asked this question yet but one of the directors of the national intelligence has identified drug trafficking. obviously a major transnational organized crime. in my state, we are seeing a heroin epidemic and a lot of that is coming over the border. what is the biggest issue on the northern order and can you help me understand how the information shared with canadian authorities because that is where my local law enforcement and state police and even federal officials to work in new hampshire would be working on the canadian side. whoever is best to take that question. >> thank you senator. with the specifics to heroin, you are right. we are cnet coming up through mexico and the intelligence we are developing in our ongoing criminal investigations is we are seeing it there precursor chemicals are heroin coming from china being imported into mexico under the control of the cartels. the

i have probably spent more time with kristin gillibrand's husband and kelly ayotte's husband. why? kelley: we always end up to be at the same table. a lot of my favorite senate spouses are male spouses. john: i will give you a prediction about the lives of the republican senators running for president, when you're at debates together, you will all be great friends. kelley: i bet we will. mark: last one -- what do you think of sarah palin? you've met her. kelley: i have a couple of different times. she campaigned for rand. i met her at the kentucky derby a couple of years ago. i admire her energy and how she got involved in the grassroots up. she ran for mayor and i admire her. john: when you were at the derby, did you put money on a horse? kelley: i always lose money at the derby. i bet like two dollars or five dollars. i pretty much steadily lose. two years ago, rand was ecstatic when everybody in the group won. he saw me cheering and asked how much i had on it and i'm like two dollars. mark: we have a big field of republican candidates this year. so far, one female -- carly

>> >> thank you chairman ayotte ranking member cantwell, members of the subcommittee. thank you for inviting me here today. i'm mark baker, president and ceo of the aircraft owners and pilots association, a not for profit individual organizationing representing over 350,000 general aviation aircraft owners and pilots. my testimony today will make three key points, first that general aviation is a national asset struggling partly as a result of poorly presentative regulatory environment. second, general aviation safety has improved significantly and can improve further if industry and government work together. third, that the general aviation is a critical juncture where regulatory changes medical reform grass-roots efforts can strengthen this important industry in 2013, general ay united nations, or ga produced $219 billion in economic output and supported 1.1 million american jobs. but ga has experienced a significant decline in recent years, losing an average of 6,000 pilots per year. at the same time, the number of single-engine piston aircraft produced in the u.s.

kelly ayotte, thad cochran, susan collins, jeff flake lindsey graham. orrin hatch, ron johnson, mark kirk, mitch mcconnell and rob portman. just one senator did not vote -- ted cruz of texas. he was on the floor today in opposition to the nomination, but he did not take part in the confirmation vote. ashley parker of "the new york times" wrote "after railing against loretta lynch, ted cruz escapes confirmation vote." "where in the world was senator ted cruz? " he voted against a procedural motion to move ahead. mr. cruz missed her final vote on thursday afternoon. the reason? he had to catch a flight to texas for previous commitments in dallas. he was the only senator to fit the vote. his team on social media and e-mail quickly pushed back against the idea that the senator was shirking his congressional responsibility. he voted against cloture. that is from ashley parker in "the new york times." we will show you a number of highlights from the debate on the senate floor leading up to the confirmation vote for loretta lynch. first, we want to show you pr

the senator kelly ayotte accepted his resignation says she is shocked and saddened. >>> governor brownhis week," he says the agriculture industry as already suffered pulling up crops and laying off workers. brown says california grows most of the country's fruit and vegetables. >>> here's a look at your monday weather. >>> showers to the east and west of the great lakes. also in new england, thunderstorms in the deep south and up to kentucky. as if they haven't had enough to deal with lately rain. rain later today in northern california to the northwest. high temperatures of 63 in new york, chicago, detroit. mid-70s, washington, atlanta, memphis them gulf host coast will hit the 80s and slightly low normal in the west. > turn to a wild scene playing t at a car wash of all places the suburbs of atlanta. police say a group of alleged car jackers are in the red minivan. one of the suspects jumps out in to that white honda trying to drive off. the car's owner hanging on to the hood of the car. a local city worker pulled his gun, opened fire, wounding the suspect in the shoulder and ending

i urge my colleagues to support the amendment that senator leahy and i senator heitkamp, senator ayotte senator murkowski and senator baldwin are offering today. it is so important mr. president. and again, i want to especially thank senator heitkamp for all of her advocacy. she has done tremendous work, and i am very happy to yield the floor to her. thank you mr. president. ms. heitkamp: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from north dakota. ms. heitkamp: i want to add my voice to all of the accolades that have been expressed today to senator cornyn and senator klobuchar for giving a voice to the most -- the victims of the most horrific crime that occurs in our country, and those are the victims of human trafficking. without their hard work, without their advocacy, we would not be debating this on the floor of the united states senate. and so it is, it is so important to acknowledge that work and to advance the cause by working together. today i want to speak to amendment 290 which is the collins-leahy runaway and homeless youth amendment. and i want to thank senator coll

did you hear kelly ayotte? she's right about iran.l for ult i wouldn't let kell -- john kerry buy me a car the barack obama has never even run an -- a lemonade stand and his world view is inconsistent with america's role in the world. september 10, 2001, the day before 9/11, we didn't have one soldier in afghanistan, we didn't have one pun -- penny of foreign aid going to afghanistan, we didn't even have an embassy in afghanistan. they attacked us anyway. to the people taking this stage and telling you, just leave them alone, stay away from those people, don't get involved well, that won't work because they're not going to leave you alone. how many of you believe this is a religious war? you could close gitmo tomorrow and it wouldn't matter. you could throw israel under the bus even more than israel is doing and it wouldn't matter. they don't want one thing. they want your way of life. the nazis wanted a master race. these people want a master religion and they're trying to purify your own -- their own religion and destroy yours. any

ayotte: do you think that is how they are advancing their icbm program, with advice from north korea? adm. locklear: i wouldn't discount that as a possibility. sen. ayotte: in addition to that , you have also noted that north korea continues to procure for its nuclear and ballistics missiles program, from the region and a network of individuals in the region. as you know, that violates un security council resolution 1718 in terms of the ability of member states to directly or indirectly supply to north korea these kinds of materials. obviously, there are many you resolutions that apply to iran as well. as i look at that testimony, what more can we do to isolate north korea in terms of those that are supplying the country things that we don't want them to have and are against u.n. resolutions? and who do we need to

i was kind of hoping senator ayotte wanted to come here and offer some questions. if she does not get here in time, let me first of all offer you all the opportunity to make a final point. this is something that senator carper has done. i have learned from it. certainly if i was a witness, i would be going, i want to make this point, so this is your opportunity. if senator ayotte, we will go to her, but if she does not, we will close the session. chief fisher: thank you for the opportunity. it was brought up in terms of effectiveness in what our office reports versus what may have been in the recent past articulated specifically. i know there have been a lot of questions, and for the sake of brevity, let me just say this. one, i have seen what was mentioned in terms of a host of things, the effectiveness rate. what the policy is based on presumably what i have directed to the workforce in the field, among other things. let me state for the record that none of that is based on truth. it is true, however, that mr. cabrera is entitled to his opinion. he is not, howeve

so you can see senator dianne feinstein there you can see senator franken and ayotte.you remember harry reid has to wear sunglasses because of the eye injury he had. he is in the senate today. harry reid is there as he wears the sunglasses as he has to do everywhere. he is wearing the sunglasses on the senate floor. and then look what happens rand paul coming swaggering and pops on his shade and sticks his hand out to harry reid. he leaves him standing there for a second, but boom bipartisan fist bump, sticks on the shade. and harry reid looks at him like, oh fist bump. the way we know it was a bit of a tense moment is because of senator elizabeth warren, that is her in the blue suit there. look how she reacts, she is talking and sees rand paul coming in, and moves like hey, do i need to get in there? are you guys seeing this? i love the body language, i love c-span every single day. and senator elizabeth warren is here for the interview tonight to talk about not the rand paul fist bump but if she wants to i wouldn't stop her. that is still ahead, stay with us. sunday

i talked to senator kelly ayotte one of the most popular republicans in the state, she said it's the most wide open field she's ever seen. i've talked to ted cruz supporters there's a draft ben carson committee here people around here interested in jeb, some people said they were impressed with chris christie yesterday when he talked about reform in the state, so you really are seeing republicans of every stripe here. this is definitely a representative mix of the gop in the state. >> thank you, benjy. we should note mike huckabee tweeted out the former governor will make an announcement about his 2016 decision today. we'll see what happens there. >>> developing now, an ohio man is under arrest, accused of traveling overseas to train with terror groups and returning home to carry out acts on americans in uniform. we'll have the latest on that case. >>> plus -- >> i'm in the news sweetheart. i'm going to [ bleep ] sue this place. >> an espn reporter suspended for a week after caught on camera going on a hateful rant against a tow company employee. she's now apologizing on twitter and

and then senator ayotte. >> i would also like to commend chairman enzi and chairman price for their hard work on this. this is a rare moment. it shouldn't be, but it is. i really take the position of the glass half full as to the class path empty as senator whitehouse said. he mentioned a number of areas of bipartisanship breaking out in the senate as a good thing. the senate's market of the budget has an awful lot of areas of agreement. either them or amendments offered. as we pass out some handouts here i am going to do some unusual in this budget conference opening statement. i will start looking at the numbers. congressman rokita and should the fact that we have fiscal choices and we really want to solve problems as opposed to just demagogue issues. the way you solve problems as there is a first step you have today. you have to admit you have one. you have to properly define it. the budget process is really centered around a 10 year budget window. that is not the problem. it is a problem, but it isn't the problem. we have a 30 year demographic problem in on a bipartisan basis, the co

you can see senator al franken, senator kelly ayotte. but watch this part.is senator harry reid, with the arrow there. and you remember now that harry reid has to wear sunglasses, even indoors, because of the eye injury he got while he was working out on new year's day, he had to wear the sunglasses even talking to me last week. he's in the senate today, harry reid is there, he is wearing his sunglasses, has he has to do everywhere. he's wearing his sunglasses on the senate floor. and rand paul comes swaggering up to the front of the senate and pops on his shades and sticks his hand out at harry reid, and harry reid leaves him hanging there for a second, but then, boom bipartisan fist bump. look. puts on the shades and sticks his hand out and harry reid looks at him, oh, fist bump. there's this moment where you're not sure what's going to happen like, if that's going to be a fight or what. the way we know it was a bit of a tense moment because of senator elizabeth warren. that's her in the purple/blue thing here. look how she reacts. she's talking to debbie

boston marathon bombing, a whole clutch of republican senators, john mccain, lindsey graham, kelly ayottehey came out and said even though dzhokhar tsarnaev was a u.s. citizen committed this crime in the u.s., should be designated an enemy combatant. those republican senators demanded he be denied a defense attorney and be held indefinitely in detention to gather intelligence. they demanded that he be shipped off to some detainee prison somewhere, or guantanamo bay. they said, quote, the least of our worries is a criminal trial, which will likely be held years from now. the obama administration are rejected their demands, the obama administration decided that would not be an option. he is a u.s. citizen. our u.s. justice system can handle a case like this. today after 11 hours of deliberations over two days, the federal jury convened to hear this case in massachusetts. found dzhokhar tsarnaev guilty of all 30 of the charges against him, including 17 of those 30 charges which would make him eligible for the death penalty. had dzhokhar tsarnaev been brought to guantanamo, who knows if he wo

and then senator ayotte. senator johnson: i would like to commend senator and the and senator price for their hard work on this. this is a where moment. it should not be, but it is. i guess i would rather take the position of the glass half-full as opposed to the glass half-empty as senator whitehouse said. he mentioned a number of areas of bipartisanship, and that is a good thing, and quite honestly in the senate markup, there are a lot of agreements. five of them are amendments i offered. for time as we pass out some handouts year, because i'm going to do some thing the little unusual in this budget conference, and i am going to start looking at some numbers and, the congressman mentioned that we have difficult choices. and we really want to solve problems as opposed to just demagogue issues, and the way you saw problems is there is a first step you have to take. you have to admit you have one. you have to define it. and i realize our budget process is really a 10 year budget window, but that is not the pro

got a serious challenge in ohio would want to take this issue away from the democrats or that kelly ayotte in new hampshire would want to do the same thing. you know just as the republican presidential candidates need this to whip up the base there are others there who are actually looking at the broader electorate and not just looking at the primary electorate, and they're realizing that voting against the first african-american woman to be the attorney general after a half a year delay would probably be a good idea to just let it go through at that point. >> you know congresswoman, when president obama nominated loretta lynch, she made a promise to the american people. listen to this. >> sure. >> if i have the honor of being confirmed by the senate i will wake up every morning with the protection of the american people my first thought. and i will work every day to safeguard our citizens our liberties, our rights and this great nation which has given so much to me and my family. >> congresswoman, what do you think a lor retrot lynch justice department will look like? >> i think a loretta

i was hoping senator ayotte wanted to come here and offer some questions. let me first offer all of you the opportunity to headache a final point you know. this is something senator carper has done, i learned from it. if i was a witness i'd be sitting here going i want to make this point. here is your opportunity headache that final point if senator ayotte gets her we'll finish with her. >> thank you for the consideration and obviously the opportunity to be here today. it was brought up a couple of times this morning alluding to some of the effectiveness of reporting in terms of what my office reports versus what may have been in the recent past art lated specifically by mr. caretta. for the sake of brevity let me say this one i have seen what mr. caretta mentioned in terms of a host of things the effectiveness rate, what he is hearing, what the policy is based on presumably what i have directed to the work force in the field among other things. let me state for the record that none of that is based on truth. it is true however, that mr. cabrera is entitled

senator cardin myself so many others on the committee, people like lindsey graham john mccain, kelly ayotte people have been pushing for for some time is our ability on behalf of the american to make sure that this is transparent, that we see it that iran is accountable, and that we have the ability to enforce this. >> senator corker i want to turn to domestic politics. the president on friday was his most forthright you might even say angry, when discussing the continuing delays in approving the nomination of loretta lynch, nomination for attorney general. i just want to play a brief clip of the president's sound on friday. have a listen. >> it's gone too far. enough. enough. call loretta lynch for a vote and get her confirmed and put her in place. let her do her job. this is embarrassing. >> we have seen its senate at its most bipartisan this week with regards to the iran bill. in your view is the president right? is this embarrassing? >> and i'm having difficulty hearing you. you're talking about loretta lynch? >> talking about loretta lynch. we were quoting the president, who called tem

ayotte: thank you mr. president. mr.president, before i speak on the pending legislation, i would like to take a few moments to recognize the exceptional service and the extraordinary life of rockingham county high sheriff michael downing of salem, new hampshire. he's someone who passed away recently following a battle with cancer. he's a personal friend. and when i served as attorney general of the state of new hampshire, i admired so much his public service in our state legislature, both as a member of the house of representatives and the state senate. his incredible service to law enforcement both not only as sheriff but also in the state police. sheriff downing was a knowledgeable, respected compassionate public safety professional. he was a problem solver. he was an incredible member of the community. and he was one of a kind. everyone who interacted with mike downing came away feeling better about themselves and feeling that they really had met someone who wanted to make a difference in the lives of people in new h

politics and, later part of a summit of new hampshire republicans, including remarks by senator kelly ayotte and donald trump. the state department general testified at a senate hearing about the department's efficiency and effectiveness. his office has begun an inquiry into former secretary of state hillary clinton's use of a personal e-mail server. georgia senator david perdue chairs on the summit. this is an hour. >>> both of us are in order so we'll proceed. this hearing of the subcommittee on state department and usaid management international operations and bilateral international development. i'd like to begin by welcoming our witness inspector general of the state department and broadcasting board of governor steve lenick. i understand you changed your schedule to be here today and we look forward to your testimony. the oig is dedicated to assessing the state department's programs and making recommendations to strengthen its integrity and accountability. as such, the oig is dedicated to detecting and preventing waste, fraud, abuse and mismanagement. today's hearing will be an importa

ayotte: fillations, mr. speaker -- those are affiliations, mr. speaker, and apparently the left wants to ensure, the far left wants to ensure that american consumers are stripped of their economic liberties to make choices for themselves, to be able to get discounts when products are put together. i don't understand it. we are trying to ensure that low and moderate income americans have convenience, that they have choice, that they have lower prices. the truth in lending act will apply should apply. we have to protect consumers against fraud and deception, but we've got to quit protecting consumers right out of their homes. so, again, i want to thank the gentleman, mr. huizenga from michigan, for doing everything he can to help this segment of our american population. so often we hear the left and far left talk about affordable housing. once again something they recognize in theory. it's just not anything they want to support in practice. . this is an affordable housing bill. this is an affordable housing bill. consumers will have choice under th

[applause] senator cruz: one of those senators was new hampshire's very own senator kelly ayotte. governor walker: -- [applause] senator cruz: i am amused the far left thinks it's a campaign issue to use against kelly. good gosh, kelly stood against iran getting nukes. i would encourage them, run with that idea. that is going to be a terrific campaign issue. shortly thereafter i want on msnbc. morning joe. they were kind of slightly upset , apoplectic, much like the white house, why did you sign this letter? do you regret signing this letter? this is a letter that explained that under our constitution there are two ways that something becomes a law in the united states of america. either you have a treaty signed by the president ratified by two thirds of the senate, or you have a law that passes both houses of congress and is signed into law by the president. if you do neither of those, it ain't a law. [applause] senator cruz: now iran's foreign minister responded and said, you do not understand. under international law, a head of state has the authority to find his nation forever

i want to thank senators kirk, leahy, shaheen murray, boxer coons, markey, isakson ayotte and reed from rhode island for cosponsoring my resolution. i want to thank the march of dimes, the american academy of pediatrics the rotary club end results for supporting the resolution. but today's america's place as world leader in cutting-edge biomedical research is at risk. we no longer invest as we should in basic scientific research. from 2003-2012 the united states' investment in n.i.h. research didn't even keep up with inflation and the number of research grants awarded by the national institutes of health has declined every year for the past ten years. mr. president, this is shameful. it is shameful in a great nation like the united states where we've seen achievements like a polio vaccine for us to walk away from medical research. a decade ago 30% of qualified n.i.h. grant proposals were funded. today it's half that. 15%. the lowest rate in americans' modern history. dr. francis collins who directs the national institutes of health told me that inadequate funding of basic medical resear

kelly ayotte thad cochran, susan collins -- the only senator who did not pass the vote, texas and ted cruz. we will take a look at some of the remarks from earlier today on the lynch nomination and then will open the phones for your calls come get your opinion before the final confirmation vote these remarks were before the final confirmation vote and we begin with senator cruz. >> mr. president, today i rise to talk about what has come to define the obama administration, which is a consistent pattern of lawlessness the disrespect the constitution, the disrespect of the congress, the disrespect of the people of the united states. in any administration under any president, a person charged with being the chief law enforcement officer is the attorney general. i've been blessed to work in the is department of justice, and there is a long tradition, a bipartisan tradition of attorneys general remaining faithful to the law and to the constitution, and setting aside partisan considerations of politics. unfortunately that tradition has not been honored during the obama presidency. attorney g

you have a great senator in kelly ayotte, someone i have worked with, and she is phenomenal. you must send her back. and i hope we will do everything we can to see that happens. so running for president is a decision that one makes after a lot of thought, prayer, and consideration. i spent the time thinking about it. what i concluded is one important thing, and i want to share with you tonight. i believe with all of my heart we are on the verge of another american century. i believe america's greatest days are around the corner. that is the reason that compelled me to run. if we do certain things, our children will be the most prosperous that have ever lived. that is important. it is important to remember where we are. about 200 years ago, the turn of the century, america was still largely an undeveloped country. the rest of the world was industrializing. america was still trying to find its bearings. a generation of america leadership decided in that transition they would embrace, they were going to embrace the industrial revolution. it was disrupted. it moved millions of pe

[applause] one of those senators was new hampshire's very own senator kelly ayotte. i am amused the far left thinks it's a campaign issue to use against kelly. kelly stood against iran getting nukes. i would encourage them, run with that idea. this is going to be a terrific campaign issue. shortly thereafter, i went on msnbc. morning show. they were kind of slightly upset , apoplectic, like the white house, why did you sign this letter? do you regret signing this letter? mind you, this is a letter that explained that under our constitution there are two ways that something becomes a law in the united states of america. you have a treaty signed by the president ratified by two thirds of the senate, or you have a law that passes both houses of congress and is signed into law by the president. if you do neither of those, it ain't a law. [applause] iran's foreign minister responded and said, you do not understand. under international law, a head of state has the authority to bind his nation in perpetuity on any issue he wishes. if someone in iran disagrees with the edict

at the national level and in cooperation with our members in the house and the senate like kelly ayotte, who does such a good job for you here. we can do this. [ applause ] maybe it's not the answer you wanted but it's the answer you got. >> this is the last question we have about two minutes left. >> i'll do it without the microphone. sir, how do you feel -- >> no! you have two minutes. >> thank you, it's on. sir, how do you feel -- well, congress has the power to levy taxes, we all agree on that but how do you feel about unelected, unnamed epa bureaucrats having the power to levy taxes on the american public and businesses via fossil fuel regulatory taxes? >> yes well that's a softball question obviously. in this we all concur. the epa is out of control. they have no concept of what they're doing to the extremeness of their ideas and they should not have the power to levy regulations on people that cause businesses to have to spend that kind of money, because the message that we have to give, ladies and gentlemen, from now on, is that we are determined to grow the economy back again.

senator ayotte from hm hm. you're welcome as well. it's all part and parcel of the same problem.we're glad to see you mr. chairman. i do want to welcome the witnesses. thank you for your very thoughtful testimony. it is the tradition of the committee to swear in witnesses. if you'll rise and raise your right hand. do you swear the testimony you would give before this committee would be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god. >> i do. >> thank you. by the way we do have votes starting at 10:45. i asked you to keep the five minutes. we have good attendance by our commiter. first is michael j. fisher. he joined june 1987 and served in numerous services and sectors since then. deputy chief patrol agent, assistant chief patrol agent in the tucson sector. mr. fisher. >> thank you mr. chairman. ranking member carper and members of the kplit tee. it is indeed a privilege to appear today on behalf of the united states border patrol to discuss our strategy to secure the northern border. our approach supports u.s. customs and border protections over our themes

here is some of that summit, beginning with new hampshire senator kelly ayotte. we will also hear from real estate mowingal donald trump and george pataki and jim gilmore. this is an hour and a half. [ applause ] >> thank you all. thank you. i want to thank dan ennis for that more than kind introduction. i have to say it is wonderful to see all of you here today. i see so many friends in this room and to those of you that aren't from new hampshire, welcome to the live free or die state. we take our politics very very seriously and it is just a great day to see such a turnout for the first ever first in the nation national republican leadership summit. and it is an honor see my colleague, congressman begin tee here, thanks for your work and for being a great partner. i also want to thank all of you who made this possible. but the leader of our party, jennifer horn, for her steady, faithful leadership, for the hard work she has done to bring this summit together today, and i am so glad to have her leadership for the republican party. yes, thank you to jennifer. i a