blumenthal: thank you. have helped to lead this effort because there was any real disclosure about some of the excesses that have been so dramatically revealed over the recent past. and as a colleague in this effort, i want to thank them for their relentless courage in blowing whistle -- the whistle, quite bluntly, telling america that there was something wrong even when they couldn't reveal exactly what was wrong, saying that the american people would be outraged if they knew, if only they could be told. and that kind of bravery and strength has given energy and momentum to this debate. i am chagrined that we will not be debating and acting on it in connection with the national defense authorization act if the present circumstances prevail and amendments are limited. i do believe it is past time to be talking about enacting on these issues, to move for greater accountability and transparency, one of the amendments that i have sponsored would call for a more adversarial process to expose more of the truth b

joining me, senator blumenthal.or, what was the problem with this piece of legislation. >> the process was very simply that we rallied, as many senators could, we have more than 30 right now. a very exciting moment because it is a response to this cascading onslaught of measures that have a false pretext. they have the guise of protecting women's health care, when in fact they deny essential rights that women are guaranteed under the constitution. and there is a very real practical effect. they really deter and discourage women from seeking health care, including abortion. and they have a tremendous chilling effect on rights that women really are guaranteed under the constitution. >> you're a senator in a fairly blue state, but statewide, you're not in some gerrymander district where you can just safely vote where you want. and this is a topic that i feel that democrats have talked about a lot retorically, but not legislatively. what do you tell the voters in connecticut? >> well, first of all, chris, i've been figh

senator blumenthal, nice to see you.elcome. >> thank you, brooke. >> the rules in our nation's government and in the u.s. senate really considered sack u rusanct. we heard about this partisanship. how would you characterize what happened. >> >> it's a historic step, but it's very much in the right direction because it will enable the senate to get things done. it will promote government working as the majority of americans expect it to work. the overwhelming majority of americans expect majority rule. i came to the senate and one of my first votes was actually to abolish the filibuster, to make it history. i'm glad we now will be able to avoid a constitutional crisis. we were avoiding the duty we had to take up or down votes. >> you were saying and many of you colleagues are saying this is a step in the right direction. you're new to this position, but many say this will have a chilling effect. case in point, veteran senator john mccain had this to say. take a listen. >> i reached out to them for the past two weeks, i re

people don't know that. >> senator blumenthal, when you have the anniversary of sandy hook coming upople in your state as to why this has not been fixed, why this issue has not been addressed? >> we need to stand up and speak out against the special interests that have so confused and misrepresented the issue. they have led people to believe we want to take away people's guns. absolutely not. people have a second amendment right to guns. what i say to those families is that we will keep faith. i was there on the day of the shooting at the sandy hook fire house and i will never forget the sights and sounds of that day. parents coming out of that fire house and knowing that their loved ones would not be coming home. nor will i forget the comment that i heard today, the message that i saw from one of the loved ones of the victims who said i just saw a picture of the gun that killed my sister. so people do care. and i believe that 90% of the americans want these common sense measures and we need very simply to makework. i believe it can be done and with the help of the president and the

and thank you senator blumenthal. i think more and more people agree or should agree that we need additional transparency about government surveillance. i think if we don't, we are not going to restore public confidence. i think center franken has been able to build consensus around transparency legislation. i think that deserves praise. i am glad google and other tech companies are planning to support the bill. i think the tech industry realizes we need more than just transparency. we need something substantive in reforms. microsoft, yahoo!, apple, facebook, aol and linkedin signed a letter today supporting greater transparency. they won substantial enhancement , greatery protection oversight and accountability. read that mr. salgado i introduced a comprehensive ,urveillance reform bill bipartisan, and i appreciate these companies supporting stronger fisa work. mr. sabato, let me ask you, in you,-- legato, let me ask in just enhancing transparency, is that going to be enough to bring back confidence? if we need to do

chairman. >> thank you, senator blumenthal. not to speak for you. but i think that the way that mr. rosenzweig described the role of a constitutional advocate is very in line with what you envisioned. >> pretty much so. thank you. >> i want to thank all three of you for your testimony. and in closing i want to also thank the ranking member, senator flake, along with senator heller and chairman leahy. who lent this legislation critical support. and of course i want to thank all the witnesses, each and every one of them who appeared today. we've heard a lot of valuable testimony. there was a lot that i agreed with. there are some things that i didn't agree with. but i want to leave everyone with this thought. there is no question that the american people need more information about these programs. there's no question about that. for a democracy to work its citizens need to have at least a basic amount of information about the surveillance their own government conducts over their affairs. i think that my bill will give the american people that transparency. i'm looking forward to conti

chairman. >> thank you, senator blumenthal. and i am a co-sponsor of your constitutional advocate. >> right. >> bill. >> senator lee. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thanks to you for being with us here today. . of the testimony that we've received today highlights the consequences of unchecked government intrusion into the private lives of citizens. and their interactions with private businesses. senator franken's bill would take important steps to increase the transparency of government requests for information. and i very much applaud those efforts. in fact, senator leahy and i have incorporated the vast majority of senator franken's provisions into our bill. s-1215. the fisa accountability privacy and protection act. which makes broader reforms to the privacy protections within the fisa program. our bill would tighten statutory authorities governing surveillance, would increase oversight and accountability, and would ensure that americans' constitutional rights under the fourth amendment are protected. the reporting provisions

and i also thank the courtesy of my friend from connecticut, senator blumenthal. i think more and more people agree or should agree that we need additional transparency about our government surveillance activities. i think if we don't we're not going to restore public confidence. i think senator franken's worked to build consensus around transparency legislation deserves praise. i'm glad google and other tech companies are lending their support to that bill. i think that the tech industry realized we need more than transparency, we need substantive reform. several of the major tech companies, i want to make shire got them all right, google, microsoft, yahoo, apple, facebook, aol, and linkedin, signed a letter to me supporting greater transparency. they want substantial enhancement to privacy protection, appropriate oversight, and accountability matters that i know mr. salgado knows that letter. i recently introduced a comprehensive surveillance reform bill, the bipartisan usa freedom act. i support -- appreciate these companies supporting stronger fisa work. mr. s

blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. i want to thank my colleague from the state of washington for her eloquence and her leadership on this issue, as i do my colleague from california. she has been steadfast and strong in support of a woman's right to make choices about reproductive rights. and she's absolutely right. we're not going away. this bill that will be introduced later today by our colleague from south carolina, as much as we may respect him, is a nonstarter because it is nonsensical and unconstitutional. this bill boose was passed by te house of representatives earlier this year, and we could not have clearer then, and we should be very clear now that it is inappropriate, unwise, unfair, and it remains so today and will be so for as long as we are he here. this bill essentially leaves any woman who needs an abortion for health reasons -- and i stress "for health reasons" after 20 weeks of a pregnancy with no options, none. and it punishes doctors with up to five years in prison for providing a service that the

a time when republicans have rolled back abortion, the bill introduced today by senator richard blumenthal and other democrats would federally protect women's ability to access abortion, by heading off state efforts to close down clinics and to otherwise impede access to what is supposed to be a constitutionally protected right. honestly despite senator blumenthal's enthusiasm on chris's show just moments ago, that bill is not assumed to go anywhere, at least as long as republicans control the house. if that bill ever does pass, though, it would be the first federal legislation to advance and protect abortion rights in this country in almost 20 years. today, the u.s. senate hosted confirmation hearings for president obama's nominee to lead the department of homeland security, former defense department top lawyer jay johnson, tomorrow, the senate will hold confirmation hearings for president obama's nominee for the federal reserve, janet yellin. both of these nominees are expected to be confirmed by the senate easily, but confirmation hearings are always fun. earlier today in southwest oreg

blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. my purpose in being here today, mr. president, is very simply to support the military justice improvement act and the very urgent need to include in its worthwhile and comprehensive provisions in the national defense authorization act for the fiscal year 2014, either by way of amendment or whatever measure may be appropriate, and to support the very eloquent remarks made by the senator from new york. she has been a steadfast and strong advocate of necessary changes in the military code of justice, and has acted as chairman of the subcommittee on personnel of the senate armed services committee to approach this issue, a very difficult issue, in strengthening the system of justice for our men and women in uniform with care and caution as well as vigor and bravery. and i know how different the views may be in this body among our colleagues, and i have listened to people on both sides of this argument very carefully before reaching my own conclusion. one statistic that strikes me as perhaps paramount in importance is the ga

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blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. i want to thank my colleague, an esteemed lawyer and prosecutor herself, for her service on the judiciary committee, her dedication to the quality of our courts and her bringing us together this afternoon to focus on a topic that i think perhaps is not uppermost on the minds of most americans, not something they worry about when they're bringing their kids to school or fixing dinner at night, but it shapes the quality of our society, it assures the rule of law, and it guarantees that the courts of our country look like the people of our country. we are here because there are too few women as judges on our federal courts. they've been denied that opportunity for so long they were denied the opportunity even to practice law. and so we're here because this situation is unacceptable. the senate cannot and should not continue to obstruct the appointment of qualified nominees in this instance, they happen to be women. and nina pillard, like patty millet, is eminently qualified. indeed, dist

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let me bring in now connecticut senator richard blumenthal. sir, thank you so much for your time. >> thank you. >> the president speaking a short time ago, reacting to this decision. he points out that this is years in the making with both sides, democrats and republicans. but now you have republicans saying that they will reciprocate when they control the senate and the white house again. >> i actually think that this rule change will make the senate work better. it will enable us to get things done which is what the american people want. the democrats may some day be in the minority. but at least the government will work on doing its constitutional duty. >> senator, i have to pause you for one second. we are following breaking news here, a potentially dangerous situation in kansas where a massive 747 had landed at the wrong airport. there was great concern it would not be able to get into the air. as it is 9,000 feet or more needed for this aircraft. now we see it's been a successful takeoff, but obviously major questions as to how this mist

joining us now, richard blumenthal of con.he vote is scheduled for a few minutes from now. are you confident it passes? >> i'm very optimistic. and, in fact, confident with senator heller's support. we now have the critical number of republicans. the real battle now is probably going to be in the house. and my hope is that speaker boehner will very simply allow a vote to occur, much as he did with the violence against women act, where there was clearly support among republicans. and i believe there is enough support in the house, as there is in the senate, for this measure to be approved. and it is historic. it is important, profoundly significant to the nation, to be inclusive in banning discrimination in the workplace. >> and senator, you're right, it is a long time coming and i think a lot of people are not even aware, necessarily, this is not already in law. but speaker boehner, you mentioned speaker boehner, but he has indicated where he is on this and does not support it. aren't we right back into the same vicious cycle

blumenthal: thank you, madam president. i ask that the quorum call be vacated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blumenthal: thank you, madam president. madam president, in 2005, may of that year, the senate faced a crisis that seems very familiar and very much like the one we face today in this body. very simply, the senate was unable to approve judges which threatened to incapacitate a co-equal branch of our government, the united states judiciary, and it confronted the threat of what came to be called the nuclear option. a change in the rules that would have wrecked the collegiality and civility that has characterized this body. members of both parties recognize that the situation is untenable, and they recognize as well that the american court system was too important for the senate to simply stop approving judges. and suspend that very important constitutional responsibility on behalf of this body. at the time, 14 senators came together to find a solution. they came to be known as the gang of 14, seven repu

in england heston blumenthal. in the u.s. grant -- >> rose: these are people who have great restaurants like heston blumenthal and adrian did before he went away to study or teach or whatever he's doing. >> well he's going to reopen it as a culinary foundation where they do research in food without serving food to paying customers. which i say that's kind of what have my lab has been doing for the last five years. so in terms of guys that write cook books and do research in food without serving food i'm kind of one of those too. >> rose: yeah but do you like food because you love to eat or do you like food because it's just an interesting thing for you that you can go off and explore? >> well it's both those and one other. and so, of course i love to eat. and without a passion for eating and a passion for food you can't go very far in being a chef. you have to appreciate the subtle nuances. >> rose: do you believe that's true that most good chefs are also great eaters. >> they have to be great tasters. >> rose: they have to t

democratic senator richard blumenthal is one of the senators asking rock star for some answers and toe from hartford, connecticut. good to see you. thanks for joining us. you sent a letter to rock star inc. asking them to explain what's going on. we also tried to contact them. we were not able to connect with them. what have they told you about this toy? >> well, rock star plainly is using a toy and a ploy to pitch their products to children. that's very troubling because these products can be dangerous for children because of the high levels of caffeine and these kinds of marketing pitches aimed at children are one of the reasons why emergency room visits concerning these energy drinks are skyrocketing. and we're asking this company and all the energy drink manufacturers to stop their pitches and marketing ploys to children using toys as well as social media and celebrities and athletic stars, the whole panoply. >> parents play a role here, too. it says energy drink right on it. they should decide not to buy their kid the drink, they should decide not to buy their kid a toy that bear

. >>> i want to bring in democratic senator richard blumenthal of connecticut. sir, it's good to have you with me and you voted in favor of the nuclear option. we've got dana milbank writing a scathing op-ed titled "the democrats naked power grab." he wrote if congress wasn't broken before, it certainly is now. what reid did was take the chamber of congress that still functioned at a modest level and turned ed ied it into a clone other that functions not at all. they turned the senate into the house. sir, do you agree with that and do you feel there is a right to have this reaction, especially when we look at the tape from 2005 when we had senator hillary clinton, we had joe biden, we had the senator then barack obama saying that this was a terrible thing that the republicans could do and now here we are less than a decade later and the democrats have done it? >> harry reid's leadership here, the majority leader's intervention was fundamentally and profoundly necessary and important because right now the senate has not been working on judicial nominations and ex

blumenthal. i'm cosponsor of your constitutional advocate. >> right. thank you. >> senator lee. >> thank you, mr. chairman. >> thanks to you being here with us today. much of the testimony that we've received today highlight the consequences of and interaction with -- senator franken bill take important step to increase the transparency for government ask for information. i applaud those efforts. in fact senator leahy and i incorporated the vast majority of senator franken's provisions in to our bill as s1215 the fisa accountability preace act. the governorring surveillance would increase oversight and accountability and ensure that american's constitutional right under the fourth amendment are protected. it's time we start requiring a little more sunlight. is your support a direct result of formerly covert collection program having become public or do you think that nationwide aggregate disclosure are inherently beneficial and should be sought out? i think the answer to that is are a good thing

ranking member flake, senator blumenthal, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss this very important issue of how best to inform the public about sensitive intelligence activities consistent with the needs of national security. i want to say that i appreciate the support that you have shown for the intelligence community over the last few months many their activities. the unauthorized disclosures have led to a public dialogue about activities particularly those conducted under the surveillance act. it's critical to ensure that dialogue is grounded in fact rather han misconceptions. it's important to help the public understand how the intelligence community uses the legal authorities that congress has provided it to gather foreign intelligence and the vigorous oversight of those activities to ensure that they come ply with the law. as you know, the president directed the intelligence community to make as much information as possible about certain intelligence programs that were the subject of those unauthorized disclosures available to the public consistent

connecticut senator richard blumenthal. what do you expect this report to reveal that isn't already known? >> this report will be a very factual, straightforward recitation of facts that reveal the immensity and monstrosity of this tragedy again. and i hope create some additional momentum for gun violence prevention. >> reporter: in the past year, many school districts nationwide have beefed up security. but federal efforts to establish background checks for firearm purchases that could limit access for the mentally ill have gone nowhere. >> i think that school security has to be improved. that will be a lesson of the report. and, of course, longer term mental health initiatives what could have been done to reach adam lanza before he committed this horrific act. >> reporter: dylan hockley's mother, nicole, told scott pelley one thing will never be known. >> i would love to know why. but i think that's a question that is never going to be answered and i don't expect that to be in the police report. we'll never know what went

i had the privilege of listening to my colleagues, senator hirono and senator blumenthal who have been addressing this issue of sexual assault in the military, and both of them said so persuasively and articulately that our military justice system is broken because the sense of trust that a man or woman who is serving in the military today who is subject to rape and sexual assault has been broken not just between them and the assailant in their unit, but between them and their commanders, that in fact that trust that the commander will have their back, that they will have these crimes be investigated and their perpetrators will be brought to justice has been broken. even general amos, commandant of the marines, said so. he said, i can see why a female marine might not report a case of sexual assault. they don't trust us. she doesn't trust the chain of command. this is our challenge, and we have to reform the system because these are some of the best men and women in the world that make our military as strong as it is. but we are subjecting them to not only these great acts of violence,

blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. i want to, first of all, thank the chairman of the armed services committee and the ranking member, senator levin and senator inhofe, for the leadership they've provided to this body and to our nation in fashioning a bill, the national defense authorization act for fiscal year 2014, that truly serves our national security and preserves and enhances our national defense. and i want to thank my colleague, senator mccaskill, for the leadership that she has provided along with others like senator reed and senator gillibrand, all who have focused on the issues that are raised by the military justice improvement act, the need to reform and strengthen our system of prosecuting and providing justice to the survivors of sexual assault. i have joined with senator gillibrand in supporting the military justice improvement act because i think it embodies the kind of major reform that is necessary to provide enhanced confidence and trust in this system of military justice. major change that is need

i have respect for senator blumenthal. i listened to him.t know how you thread the needle of not undermining the president and secretary kerry and push for more sanctions at a time like this. these people have not -- this administration, they're not patsies, they're not doves. they're not naive. they are pushing for as much accountability as possible. they don't want them to get away with anything, so the idea we need hard-liners in the senate to make sure they don't do i don't know what is a little -- it is a little bit disconcerting this morning. >> you guys cover capitol hill, you know probably the temperature down there. what do you think is going to -- listen to blumenthal, the tweet from cornyn, graham, schumer what is the reaction to this. >> how harry reid reacts. if he falls in line with the white house and if they can get schumer to back off a little bit of the criticism, then that essentially ends this. he's not going to bring a bill forward that has sanctions or anything that is going to undermine the white house. if he comes out

john dial and from awfnts austi, texas, mark blumenthal. the editor in chief of herbal gram and herb clip. shocking acclimation. they use dna testing on 44 products from 12 supplement companies. 60% of the samples they found contained plants not on the ingredient list, and a third of the ones that had the main ingredient had contaminants and fillers not on the label. are these are indicative of the entire industry? >> this is the state-of-the-art study done at the university of gwelph, canada. these are the top scientists in the world on this. i know mark is going to dispute this but he is on scientific very thin ice to do so. what's so strike going this study is that it merely reaffirms what a dozen odor studies have said. the fda says 70% of the herbal companies are not in compliance with good manufacturing process. they are not as rampant as this but that's argue how bad is acceptable. the problems are deep. consumers who are buying these products are not getting what they think they're getting but there's a big piern irony here. not onl

>> senator blumenthal, my apologies. >> alex. >> this was awesome. i have to come back and do it seriously. the weekend stars and you can be the honorary weekend. >> trey, that was, we have never seen a start to the show as impressive. you were on a tear in that first round. >> sorry. >> i had to get one. anyway, we will be here next woke. another battle for the ages on "up against the clock." i want to thank our network staffs for joining us. we will be back with the show. [ male announcer ] if you're a rinse user, . >> they are supposed to be the huge turning points in the presidential election, the game changers. you heard that term once or twice, maybe 12,000 times. in 2012, we had a few of them. there was mitt romneys debate and bill clinton's grand slam of a convention speech. you remember those big moments. there were a lot of moments treated as big moments when they happened, looking back, we can clearly see where lesser moments were noun moments. they were fake game changers. when these events or non-events happened, they were all too aftern

blumenthal: thank you, madam president. i ask that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blumenthal: thank you, madam president. i am here today to talk about the syria sanctions enforcement act of 2013 which i'm very proud to introduce today with bipartisan support, joined by my colleagues senators ayotte, cornyn and casey. this bill is really a comprehensive effort to update our existing system of sanctions and to reflect the reality that president bashar al-assad and his murderous regime continue to engage in a horrible civil war against the syrian people. this bill builds on long-standing sanctions against syria begun in 2004 to deal with that government's policy supporting terrorism, continuing its occupation of lebanon, pursuing weapons of mass destruction, and missile programs and undermining the united states and international efforts to stabilize iraq. following events in syria beginning in 2011, march of 2011, a series of executive orders have been issued to address the ongoing v

the transparency amendment that we have filed today with senator mikulski that we have senator blumenthal in the chair because he has been an integral part of the reform effort. i also appreciate what the distinguished senator from colorado has said about chairman leahy. we have had a real partnership with him on working on these issues for a long, long time. we were thrilled that chairman leahy went on our bill, and we went on his bill because it illustrates the need to try to make common cause around these issues, and as the senator from colorado has said, we're talking about bipartisan approaches here that do help promote reform agenda. and as the senator from colorado noted, it would be pretty hard to have a full debate on this legislation about surveillance reform, and suffice it to say there are differing views here in the united states senate with respect to surveillance. the senator from colorado and i support a comprehensive overhaul, particularly as it relates to the collection of millions and millions of phone records on law-abiding americans. it has come to be known as met met

and this has long been the fight of senator richard blumenthal who joins me now.llenge to get insurance companies to treat mental and physical illnesses similarly? >> this battle really has gone on for too long. the regulations are long overdue. the reason is that the insurance companies simply have refused to provide the kind of coverage that people need and deserve. we're talking about regulations that are probably the most single important step towards stopping gun violence since the newtown tragedy here in connecticut and regulations that will guarantee access to mental health care for our veterans coming home with the invisible wounds of war, the signature wounds of this war, posttraumatic stress and traumatic brain injury. and they're costly to cover, which is perhaps the major reason why the insurance companies have refused to do so on their own. >> you mentioned gun violence. we are sadly coming up on a year since the sandy hook shooting. i can't even believe it's been a year. the state's attorney, as you know, trying to block those 911 calls from that day