nevada, mikulski, feinstein, blumenthal, casey, walsh, hirono, booker, heitkamp, boxer, nelson, durban, white house, klobuchar, reed of rhode island, and levin. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum under rule 22 be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that the filing deadline under rule 22 of the first-degree amendments to h.j. res. 124 be 2:00 this afternoon and the filing deadline for second-degree amendments be 3:30 p.m. today. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the motion to table an amendment to the joint resolution provided under the previous order be in order during the time for debate, if made during the debate the vote on the motion to table occur immediately after all debate time has been used or yielded back on h.j. res. 124. further that if a budget point of order is made the motion to waive be considered made and the vote on the motion to waive occur following the vote on the motion to invoke cloture on h.j. res. 124. the presiding officer: without

senator richard blumenthal joins me live, next.ill you help us find a new house for you and your brother? ♪ ♪ ♪ woooooah. ♪ [ male announcer ] you're not just looking for a house. you're looking for a place for your life to happen. zillow. a broader mix of energies,e world needs r life to happen. which is why we are supplying natural gas, to generate cleaner electricity, that has around 50% fewer co2 emissions than coal. and why with our partner in brazil, we are producing a biofuel made from renewable sugarcane to fuel cars. let's broaden the world's energy mix, let's go. >>> vice president joe biden is speaking out about the ray rice controversy. he tells nbc the ravens did right thing by letting him go. of course it's all over this elevator video that shows rice punching and knocking out his then fiance and now wife janay back in february. listen to joe biden. >> the first reason the nfl responded in n my view, there's so many women fans in this billion industry. so suddenly they said wait a minute, he got suspended for a couple

the blumenthal and klobuchar bills present various problems for the right of individuals to keep and bear arms for the protection against unreasonable search and seizure and due process. there's this new focus on stalking expanding to co-- non- cohabiting individuals and involving not only serious incidents of actual violence, but bullying, a wide range of other acts under the definition of harassment which can be verbal and very vague and seems to often tend to grow depending on what you regard as harassment. large numbers of people who are likely to be convicted or might be convicted of simply verbally harassing somebody might lose the right to have a firearm. the most concerning thing, i think, is the change in the temporary restraining order. the temporary restraining order would mean that the person who is alleging that they are endangered that have affile for -- after they file for this, after their mere allegation can send the police to the person that they are citing's home searching for guns or any other weapon that they find without any kind of a hearing. in other words, as

another by senator blumenthal also expands that relationship and would make those subject to temporary restraining order entered without notice to the alleged abusers of prohibited persons. a significant problem exists with the completeness of background checks under the law. it is hard to believe that expanding the universe of prohibited persons whose records will not show up when a background check is performed will reduce gun homicides. i fear that false hopes are again being raised. in many states few persons are convicted of misdemeanor stalking. in maryland, for instance, zero. were convicted of that crime last year. one in arkansas, five in new mexico. making these offenders prohibited persons will not accomplish very much, even if their records made it to the nics which is questionable assumption. these bills would expand retroactively the definition of prohibited persons but they will also make actual individuals who were allowed to own guns criminals retroactively, not by virtue of their crime but by the passing of the legislation. who is going to spend the time and the perso

senator richard blumenthal is a democrat from connecticut who called for a tougher punishment beforee before what happened today. and michelle bernard is president of the center for women and public policy. center blumenthal, as a former attorney general of your state, give us your sense of what criminality looks like. this picture looks like a serious crime to me. >> looks like a serious crime. it's an assault. domestic violence. and you're absolutely right that the punishment was in no way adequate. i protested and complained about it. and it took this gruesome footage to reach this result. shouldn't have been necessary. but it also shows how inadequate, how sadly deficient the nfl's new policy is. roger goodell has lacked the leadership to move directly to a lifetime suspension, if there is this kind of assault. if there had been even the new policy, probably a six-game suspension would have been all that would have been without this gruesome video. >> michelle, your thoughts? >> i'm stunned on watching the video over and over again. i keep wondering how anyone in the nfl could ha

. >> reporter: tom blumenthal and hunt potter are overseeing ground breaking research. among their inspiration, the faces of children they see in photographs in the hallways. >> the best thing we could possibly do for them is to eliminate alzheimer's disease. >> reporter: blumenthal and potter will tell lawmakers in washington that to find a cure for alzheimer's, more research needs to be done into down syndrome, which is caused by an extra copy of the 21st chromosome and they say that extra copy has the gene that causes alzheimer's. >> we could add a drug[ that would prevent the -- what looks like a chain of events from starting and ending in dementia. >> reporter: how close are they to finding that drug? well, it appears pretty close. >> we discovered that people with rheumatoid arthritis make a protein, release it into the blood that seems to protect them. so the mice that are given this protein don't get alzheimer's disease and now we're starting a clinical trial to see if this protein can prevent alzheimer's disease in typical people. >> reporter: they're testing a

senator blumenthal wants it to start after two years because god forbid anybody have the same job tenrs. it is wholly unfair and ridiculous. >> wait a minute. you don't like this idea? >> i hate it. ah! it encourages people to work for the federal government. >> gotcha. wasn't quite clear where you were coming from. >> i personally like the porn incentive. >> you got porn credit. >> i went to the university of missouri and didn't have a big loan. so -- well, you know, listen, obviously one of the perks for working in of the government was the fast you had job security. now it seems like it's not just jobs, it's gold-plated pensions and really a perverse thing. i would say this -- if they got rid of everything else, maybe not the porn, but everything else and had this -- >> making a generality they're all watching porn. very few -- let's make a general statement. >> how do you know it's not a lot of them? >> generally don't indict an entire workforce. unlike you. >> the rest is true. gopt a good gig. >> i don't know about that. and what do you make of all this, ben stein? >> i remember

senator blumenthal. >> thank you, mr. chairman, and thank you for holding this hearing today and to the ranking member as well. thank you to secretary mcdonald and inspector general griffin. we're here to listen to you, not so much to talk, but even more important is that we listen to our veterans across the country who have firsthand experience beyond the inspector general reports, beyond the polling, beyond the hearings that we conduct here. i had a town hall meeting last friday night for a couple hours and welcomed the director of the hartford va regional office as well as the director of the va connected health care system to listen to our veterans, and not just about the delays, but the more fundamental gaps in care that we have right now that we are all working hard to fill. just one example, k. robert lewis, a veteran service officer from the veterans of foreign wars, shared with the audience very compellingly his understanding that many veterans with the vfw has received outstanding service, but that there is a la

blumenthal: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senior senator from connecticut is recognized. mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. in these past weeks, the nation has been shocked and horrified by a video showing ray rice, a professional football player, punching and knocking out his then-fiancee, now wife, jamay rice, and then dragging her like a sack of potatoes out of an elevator as it almost closed on her. the nation was shocked by the callous indifference and disregard for the issue of domestic violence not only by ray rice but by the nfl itself which has fumbled and failed in its reaction from the very beginning. and, indeed, i wrote to the nfl asking for stronger measures after it suspended ray rice for a mere two games. it now received the now infamous and notorious video and he was suspended indefinitely. but ray rice is only one of 85 players since the year 2000 who have been charged or cited for domestic violence and many, many more were arrested for sexual assault, drunk violence and oth

blumenthal. >>> still to come in this hour of happening now. the strange case of a cancer doctor accused of poisoning her lover. her trial is underway and our legal panel weighs in. and >> reporter: the boy was left with visible injuries and a series of text messages between peterson and his mother were gotten by a tv station and she said what happened to his head and he said she -- he -- got a whooping in the car. his lawyer says this isn't a new allegation. it was shopped around two years ago and nothing came of it. and prior to this incident, peterson apologized with the talk of abusing another child with a tree switch. he said i am not a child abuser. the team's general manager said he feels the legal process should be allowed to play out. ray rice who is suspended indefinitely and expected to file an appeal to that suspension and has until 11:59 tonight to do it. more trouble for the nfl. >>> now to the case that heather told you about a minute ago. a texas doctor accused of poisoning her lover. she arrived in court for the start of the tr

tomorrow i'm introducing with senator blumenthal of connecticut the veterans small business enhancement act. it will allow veterans who own small businesses to participate in g.s.a.'s excess federal property program. this program makes items that the federal agencies no longer need available to nonprofits and other groups who have a justifiable they'd for the property. -- need for the property. we're talking about everything from vehicles to computers, office furniture, tools, even heavy construction equipment. participants in the program can claim the items for their businesses if they demonstrate a justifiable need for the property and they agree to pay for shipping and handling. so there's no expense to the federal government. by keeping their equipment overhead low in this way, these small businesses can grow their businesses. if unclaimed, the federal property has to be disposed of by our government as excess property and that costs money. the items have to be organized in a location, photographed, cataloged and ultimately auctioned off to scrap dealers who pay just pennies on the

blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. we gather here today in this remarkable place, a symbol of freedom and democracy for the whole world, to remember the tragic, horrific, unspeakable attacks of september 11, 2001. and we remember the innocent lives that were lost. people of many different ages who worked to help the injured, brave heroes who have fought terrorism and extremism around the globe in the years since 9/11. and, of course, the victims themselves, many of them from connecticut. this day has special meaning in connecticut because it affects so directly and sadly the loved ones and families of people who sacrificed their lives as a result of that unimagineably cruel and brutal terrorist act. and we remember them with pride. we remember their grace, civility, humanity, dedication to the public good, and their love for their families. we've been striving since that terrible day to strengthen our nation, to live proudly and unashamedly, consistently with our national values of peace, tolerance and service. and thi

nominated, not personnel director nick see hogan, not greg craig who along with senator richard blumenthal had been a study of bill clinton and hillary rodham when bill cook up his mother's fried chicken to serve guests in the vietnam war. and alignment with obama had been a major be trail during the campaign. it was less than they were against marshall than they wanted one of their infested people in the profile role. we should have our person said one senior white house aide familiar with discussions on marshall, it would have been the equivalent of the roles being reversed if hillary was president and as cutting a deal, and when you think of it that way, one of us traveling with them. the process worked in such a way that by the time a job candidate reached the team he or she was on was the only immediate consideration. if obama rejected her another candidate would be lined up in the same way, a process that could take weeks or months. hopefully obama and clinton could take a primary behind them. and the only personal effect was robert kennedy poster on the wall. the two sides didn't un

richard blumenthal, jay rockefeller, beaten up for coming to office with mountains and mountains of money. on the other hand they're not susceptible to taking money or bribes or beiig influenced because they need it and they're in dire financial straits. would we be better off with wealthy politicians? byron what do you think. >> i don't think so. i don't think this was the problem at all with bob mcdonnell. the problem with bob mcdonnell by the way, who made $175,000 a year as governor, one of the highest paid governors, in the country, he and his wife bought a bunch of beach property they could not afford. they were in credit card debt up to their eyeballs and generally lived way beyond their means and engaged in the corrupt practices to get money the whole time. just a bunch of terrible, terrible decisions. we should have public servants who make $175,000, which is more than three types the house, median household income in this country and serve the public. melissa: i mean, you look at folks who go to washington poor. then they come out and they use that access to influence. they sell

we have dick blumenthal from the great state of connecticut as well as susan davis. thrilled to have you guys here. other members are here and worked on this issue for so long. a lot of people this this room have been on the frontlines in fighting assault for a long time. along with lily i want to thank the survivors and so many others around the country. lily i'm sure took strength from a community of people. some who came before her and some who were her peers who spoke out about the darkest moment of their lives. they endure pain and the fear that isolates victims of sexual assault. when they give voice to their own experiences, they are giving voice to countless others. women and men, girls and boys who suffer in silence. for those who are leading the fight, your efforts started a movement you know that as lily described, there times where the fight feels lonely and feels as if you are dredging up stuff that you would rather put behind you. we are here to say today, it's not on you. this is not your fight alone. this is on all of us. every one of us to fight camp

. >> you have richard blumenthal calling for him to resign. insurmountable credibility gap. you have a tweet from "the washington post" who says goodell remains adamant he won't resign. >> anybody who's a student of politics knows the appointing of the independent counsel is a step towards you actually getting canned. >> it's an attempt to quarantine yourself from the scandal. and so say okay, we'll hand this over to the independent -- and we saw it with christie, of course, randy masters who isn't dependent. >> let's talk about how cozy this independent counsel is going to be. robert mueller primarily under george w. bush. the two people overseeing robert mueller are john maren and art rooney, the two owners known to be the biggest backers of roger goodell. there's going to be so poor guy in the mail person. that's the person we didn't see this tape. >> absolutely. the thing i thought today, if the ap report is true, and i have no reason to think it is not true, other than it's an unnamed source, and i don't know who that person is, if it's true, they're going to try to mak

senator blumenthal? >> thank you senator chairman for holding hearing today and the ranking members as well. we are here to listen to you. not so much to talk, but even more important is the way we listened to the viet veterans across the country who have firsthand experience beyond the inspector general reports. beyond the hearings we conducted here and we had a town hall meeting. for a couple of hours, we welcomed william, the director of the hartford va regional office. the director of the va connected health care to listen to the veterans. not just about the delays, but the more fundamental gaps in care we have right now and we are all working hard. they had one example of kay robert lewis and the service office. the veterans shared with the audience. many veterans with the vfw received outstanding service and that there is a lack of providers and nurses and doctors. they have caused the delays and hindered veteran's access to care. i know the veteran's access to $5 billion to hire additional staff.

reporter: prosecutors have charged gonzalez with aggravated assault and claimed she did it when blumenthalhis long-time girlfriend over her. >> i'm in a relationship. this suspect good. if together, we could not do this. she goes, that's your problem, not mine. >> reporter: the 43-year-old has pleaded not guilty. when court resumes monday, dr. blumenschein will be back on the stand as the jury hears phone calls he secretly taped with his former lover. for "good morning america," ryan owens, abc news, houston. >> this is a fascinating case we'll continue to watch right here on "gma." >>> let's get another look at the overnight headlines with mr. ron claiborne. i like the mister. it injects a nice formality. >> i appreciate it. >> you're welcome. >> mr. harris. thank you. >> and misses. and the miss. >> all of you. >> i'm confused. >> good morning to all of you. and sara. good morning, everyone. >>> the huge security breach at the white house. secret service agents say omar gonzalez came sprinting over the fence friday evening, covered about 200 feet in seconds, making his way to the drivewa

. >> you have richard blumenthal calling for him to resign. insurmountable credibility gap. you have a tweet from t"the washington post" who says goodell remains adamant he won't resign. >> anybody who's a student of politics knows the appointing of the independent counsel is a step towards you actually getting canned. >> it's an attempt to quarantine yourself from the scandal. and so say okay, we'll hand this over to the independent -- and we saw it with christie, of course, randy masters who isn't dependent. >> let's talk about how cozy this independent counsel is going to be. robert mueller primarily under george w. bush. the two people overseeing robert mueller are john maren and art rooney, the two owners known to be the biggest backers of roger goodell. there's going to be so poor guy in the mail person. that's the person we didn't see this tape. >> absolutely. the thing i thought today, if the ap report is true, and i have no reason to think it is not true, other than it's an unnamed source, and i don't know who that person is, if it's true, they're going to try to ma

senator richard blumenthal in the mix.ator sheldon whitehouse, kirsten and senator claire mccaskill. >> claire mccaskill that would be a giant middle finger to hillary clinton if she is. >> whoever it is will end up being most horrible person in the world. >> they have to bring back janet reno. >> treat the nominee fairly? and with integrity. >> we have to -- move along. ding-dong. notable lawmakers including two dozen democrats up for re-election and questioning rightly so, constitutionality of launching airstrikes in syria without a congressional vote. one of the president's former advisors, if the president was in congress he would have asked for a vote too. just because they're shacking up together, that doesn't mean couples are getting married. what is holding them back from tying the knot? we'll discuss. ♪ i'm mom at the playground and the dog park. the kids get trail mix, and you get a delicious milo's kitchen chicken meatball. i wish you liked my cooking that much. milo's kitchen. made in the usa with chicken or be

. >> senator blumenthal. >> thank you very much. let me ask judge mccaffery. you said earlier that judges have to find a level playing field when an abuse victim requests a tro. do you believe that judges to provide that level playing field, or do they hand out tros casually and willy-nilly? >> one, alters i'm aware of take this very strictly. especially when it comes to victims. we have been on the leading edge, the cutting edge of protecting women that have gone through these types of traumatizing events. and again as i said earlier, to us it is far, far more than just handguns, long guns. to us it is all domestic violence or and yes, judges do take it seriously. we have a police department now that we call directive 90 that make sure that our police officers fill out a specific form, fill out, not only fill out the fall of one all domestic abuse allegations. and the bottom line is, it is one of our most, other than child abuse, special victims abuse, it's one of our most important criminal investigations. so yes. the short answer is a taken very seriously.

chairman. >> thank you, senator blumenthal. senator murray. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. griffin, i was really deeply disturbed to read your findings about how many cases of suicide and veterans with serious mental health problems were affected by delays in care and substandard care. many facilities in my home state of washington are facing staffing problems and long wait times for mental health care. i just wanted to say, if hospitals in washington state are on your list of facilities for further investigation, i really hope your team looks very closely at the mental health care problems like they have done in phoenix. i want to ask you, the phoenix report really criticizes vha's resistance to change. both your report and the white house review found serious cultural and ethical failings across the system. what do you think the va should be doing to make these kinds of system-wide changes? >> i think you have to hold people accountable when they ignore directives on how to do business. i think after a while people will begin to toe the line rather quickly when they reali

. >> i want to bring in connecticut senator richard blumenthal among those criticizing roger goodell.speech from the president later today and other issues facing the country. you believe it's important enough your choice should be heard on this. what do you believe needs to happen from your shrank point as a senator? >> the nfl needs to stiffen and strengthen its rules that punish domestic violence the brazen domestic violence but knew about it before the video. it's important whether roger goodell seen it or should have seen it is virnltly a two game suspension. and the new policy a six game us. -- stronger action but remember most incidents of miles do not involve video. they're behind closed doors. they involve marks and bruises and injuries that often are explained away and often involved blaming the victim happened here. the victim put in a position apologi apologizing. the ravens tweeted it, in effect, exonerating rice. as important, also, as what the nfl does is what prosecutors should be. and i say that as a former prosecutor. i was attorney general of the state of connecticu

joining us now, connecticut senator richard blumenthal, who has worked on issues of domestic violences the attorney general in connecticut and in the senate and "usa today's" christine brennan is an abc news contributor. she interviewed roger goodell this week, but, senator, i want to start with you. that was such a moving piece. you heard those astonishing figures. how do you change the attitudes about this? how do you get more cases prosecuted? >> as a former prosecutor, martha, i know how difficult these cases are, and this ray rice incident could really be a turning point because this exception where we have a video, mostly this crime, it is a crime occurs behind closed doors surrounded by stigma, shame, secrecy could be a real opportunity that we need to seize from congress and from the nfl to do more. >> christine, i assume you agree with that. >> oh, i do. i think this is a watershed moment. it could be, martha, especially if the nfl move as head on this and as we know, sports takes us to these national conversations, something horrible, so terrible as this could end up having

one democratic senator wants to make it better, richard blumenthal says if you go to work for the governmentloans back, quote, teachers, police officers, public health works and other public servants should be applauded for their service and not drowned in debt to pay for degrees many such jobs require. in other words, you get to become part of the largest democratic constituency and in exchange for that the taxpayers pay off their student loans. >> aren't they already making 6% to 7% for comparable jobs in the private sector. >> they can never be fired and all they have to do is keep voting democratic. it's a good deal. talk about awarding the constituency. who has to pay for it? you! those who don't work for the government. >> that's the best way to buy votes. >> what are your thoughts on the three stories? go to our facebook page. there's a poll up there and we'll read your responses throughout the show this morning. >>> some other stories making stories this sunday. a family of five with three children found dead inside a utah home. cops say a relative was unable to contact the family an

--enator of connecticut riceor blumenthal said ray firing is not enough and that maybe the nfl shouldm congress on this. what message does it send it to a young boy who might aspire to be an nfl player, to know that the consequences for smoking a joint is more consequential than rendering your wife or girlfriend unconscious? that workplaces, not just the nfl, ought to have some code of conduct for their employees. especially something as visible as the nfl. should be congress give nfl extra scrutiny on this? i am not sure that congress ought to do anything. seennk the nfl -- we have it is very capable of creating a code of conduct that is ofmiserate with the status the organization, with the kinds of salaries that these men render. if they can have a policy , theying use of drugs know what the local laws are. i think they ought to respect the laws on domestic violence. he should not have been playing a game the day after rendering his wife unconscious. do anot think we need to congressional eye for them to realize that is just tone deaf. host: you think companies should be able to fir

senator blumenthal. >> thank you, mr. holding this hearing today and to the ranking member as well. thank you to secretary mcdonald and inspector general griffin. we're here to listen to you, not so much to talk, but even more important is that we listen to our veterans across the country who have firsthand experience beyond the inspector general reports, beyond the polling, beyond the hearings that we conduct here. i had a town hall

dedicate senator richard blumenthal tweeted out some pictures as she walked along the stratford parade. here's a look at what other members are doing today. the arizona congressman says he's exciting -- excited to go to the bridgestone center opening today. roy blunt said he will be at rennes waterfield trucking in munro city to talk about obama administration's costly regulation. keith ellison is speaking at a calm -- at a conference today saying great public transportation means faster travel and less pollution. republican, the iowa evan her and his opponent took to the stage for a one-hour debate. was the second of a series of three debates focused on economic austerity and job creation. we will show you that debate in a moment, but first some of the political ads the candidates are running. ago, 114,000 iowans were out of work. unemployment was the highest in 25 years. the state budget was 900 billion dollars -- $900 million in debt will stop today, we have a budget surplus will stop 140,000 new jobs will stop governor branstad is just getting started. >> he is honest, he is compas

senator blumenthal. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you to both secretary hague.and senator dempsey for, again, being with us and for your explanation and very forthright testimony here today and in the past both privately and publicly to members of this senate. i want to say to you first, secretary hagel, how much i appreciate the decision you made recently to change the department of defense policy on reviewing other than honorable discharges for veterans suffering at the time of their discharge from post-traumatic stress and most especially my thanks to you on behalf of the 80,000 vietnam era veterans who will benefit by that policy change to give them liberal consideration as they apply to the discharge review boards. these veterans who suffered at the time of their discharge from post-traumatic stress often received less than honorable discharges because of the injuries that they suffered in combat, at war. and they've lived with the stigma and the black mark on their records for decades. many of them became homeless and jobless as a result. and i want to tha

senator clare mccasskill here missouristat grit state of blumenthal and congress woman susan davis. thrilled to have you guys here. [applause] also want to thank the other members of congress who are here on this issue so hard for so long. a lot of the people in this room on the frontlines in fighting sectionle with assault for a-- sexual assault long time. and i wasn't to thank all of the survivors who are here today and the country.round [applause]

george blumenthal is set to make more than $383,000. the salary increases came after finance executives together the regents that academic quality is in jeopardy because of years of budget short falls. >>> 7:22. a social media message that's kind of freaked out some college students. coming up in 20 minutes, the message from isis terrorists terrorists and the particular timing of the message that was so alarming. >> there is still unrest. there is massive, i mean, it did not feel safe. >> the crisis in kabul. up next, dramatic stories of survival as stranded people from the bay area return home. i'm a doctor of internal medicine with something terrible to admit. i treated thousands of patients, risked their lives, while high on prescription drugs. i was an addict. i'm recovered now, but an estimated 500,000 medical professionals are still out there, abusing drugs or alcohol. police, airline pilots, bus drivers... they're randomly tested for drugs and alcohol... but not us doctors. you can change that: vote yes on proposition 46. your li

senator blumenthal. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you to both secretary hague.and senator dempsey for, again, being with us and for your explanation and very forthright testimony here today and in the past both privately and publicly to members of this senate. i want to say to you first, secretary hagel, how much i appreciate the decision you made recently to change the department of defense policy on reviewing other than honorable discharges for veterans suffering at the time of their discharge from post-traumatic stress and most especially my thanks to you on behalf of the 80,000 vietnam era veterans who will benefit by that policy change to give them liberal consideration as they apply to the discharge review boards. these veterans who suffered at the time of their discharge from post-traumatic stress often received less than honorable discharges because of the injuries that they suffered in combat, at war. and they've lived with the stigma and the black mark on their records for decades. many of them became homeless and jobless as a result. and i want to tha

senator clare mccasskill here missouristat grit state of blumenthal and congress woman susan davis. thrilled to have you guys here. [applause] also want to thank the other members of congress who are here on this issue so hard for so long. a lot of the people in this room on the frontlines in fighting sectionle with assault for a-- sexual assault long time. and i wasn't to thank all of the survivors who are here today and the country.round [applause] i'm sure took community of a before,of some who came some who are here peers who were courage tomon the speak out about the darkest moment of their lives. endure pain and the fear that too often isolates victims assault. when they give voice to their own experiences they are giving to countless others, women and men, boys and girls still suffer in silence. to the survivors who are loading sexual assaultst efforts haveour helped to start a movement. i know that as lily described are times where the fight ifls lonely and it feels as you are dredging up stuff that you would rather put behind you. are here to say today it is not on you. fig

i want to bring in richard blumenthal to try to reform the nfl. the first question has to be, do you believe roger goodell should continue as the commissioner of the league? >> if the recent reports are true that roger goodell and the nfl had the videotape of what happened inside that elevator, then his kred about is really shot. and he has to go for the sake of the nfl and the fans. but the question is really broader than roger goodell. the question is what the nfl is going to do about domestic violence, whoever is the commissioner. >> you say if it's proven that essentially he has lied and that -- or that the video was in house and he did not see it. why does it take that? why is that not that already his credibility is shot in handling a number of cases now? why does it take that in. >> the recent reports of that video point to his perhaps irreparable credibility gap. the question about the video is more what did he know and when did he know it and did he lie. that's a matter of credibility. the nfl team owners will have to decide whether he ca

--enator of connecticut riceor blumenthal said ray firing is not enough and that maybe the nfl shouldet some special scrutiny from congress on this. what message does it send it to a young boy who might aspire to be an nfl player, to know that the consequences for smoking a joint is more consequential than rendering your wife or girlfriend unconscious? that workplaces, not just the nfl, ought to have some code of conduct for their employees. especially something as visible as the nfl. should be congress give nfl extra scrutiny on this? i am not sure that congress ought to do anything. seennk the nfl -- we have it is very capable of creating a code of conduct that is ofmiserate with the status the organization, with the kinds of salaries that these men render. if they can have a policy , theying use of drugs know what the local laws are. i think they ought to respect the laws on domestic violence. he should not have been playing a game the day after rendering his wife unconscious. do anot think we need to congressional eye for them to realize that is just tone deaf. host: you think com

senator blumenthal? >> thank you, mr. chairman, and thanks again to all of our witnesses here today. i know in response to senator tester's question, inspector general griffin, you mentioned individual cases will be turned over to prosecutors if criminal violations are found. is that correct? >> that is correct. >> and they will be turned over on an individual basis? >> right, because they are in every judicial districts. >> and they involve different facts? >> right. >> and who will make the decision? >> when we have evidence of potential criminality, is our job to take it to the assistant u.s. attorney for the u.s. attorney in that district, present the facts, and they make the determination whether or not it rises to the level of the types of things that they are presently involved with prosecutions of. >> in effect, the prosecutors will be making those decisions, just a they would be doing with any investigative agency, whether it be the fbi or drug enforcement administration? >> correct. fornd what is the timing begi

host: senator richard blumenthal. sending out a tweet saying -- we are taking thoughts on that via the phone lines as well. what do you think about congressional interest in all this? caller: not one person has mentioned anything about the women. this is a situation between couples. why did she marry him? i find it troubling. that is why congress should not be involved. i think it is truly a domestic situation. host: joann is from indiana. call, i feel like this has definitely nothing to do with congress. this is a policymaking problem indiana fell. they should at least deal with this as if they were dealing with a drug person or an alcoholic person. he made a mistake, he should be going to some kind of counseling. of behavior in public, , shouldr who you are not be tolerated. this has nothing to do with them. this has nothing to do with policies.al they fractured the law. intoxication that public intoxication, falling in and elevate -- public intoxication, falling in an elevator. they both need counseling. host, lloy

senator blumenthal. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you to both secretary hague. senator dempsey for, again, being with us and for your explanation and very forthright testimony here today and in the past both privately and publicly to members of this senate. i want to say to you first, secretary hagel, how much i appreciate the decision you made recently to change the department of defense policy on reviewing other than honorable discharges for veterans suffering at the time of their discharge from post-traumatic stress and most especially my thanks to you on behalf of the 80,000 vietnam era veterans who will benefit by that policy change to give them liberal consideration as they apply to the discharge review boards. these veterans who suffered at the time of their discharge from post-traumatic stress often received less than honorable discharges because of the injuries that they suffered in combat, at war. and they've lived with the stigma and the black mark on their records for decades. many of them became homeless and jobless as a result. and i want to thank

--enator of connecticut riceor blumenthal said ray firing is not enough and that maybe the nfl should get some special scrutiny from congress on this. what message does it send it to a young boy who might aspire to be an nfl player, to know that the consequences for smoking a joint is more consequential than rendering your wife or girlfriend unconscious? that workplaces, not just the nfl, ought to have some code of conduct for their employees. especially something as visible as the nfl. should be congress give nfl extra scrutiny on this? i am not sure that congress ought to do anything. seennk the nfl -- we have it is very capable of creating a code of conduct that is ofmiserate with the status the organization, with the kinds of salaries that these men render. if they can have a policy , theying use of drugs know what the local laws are. i think they ought to respect the laws on domestic violence. he should not have been playing a game the day after rendering his wife unconscious. do anot think we need to congressional eye for them to realize that is just tone deaf. host: you think c