senator blumenthal? >> thank you. what is the cause of the shortage of container cars in this country? i'll ask that question to whomever or all of you, if you want to answer it. >> senator i think from our perspective, i'm not sure there is a net shortage. i think the real issue is where the empty containers are versus where the demand for the containers is. >> and what accounts for that imbalance? >> well, a lot of it has to do with the system that we have set up, the intermodal system today. we can handle over 3 million can containers at our yard, a million and a half coming in and a million and a half going out. downstate in illinois or indiana don't have that kind of capacity, therefore, they don't have the available containers to ship out. it's a market balance to some degree. i'm not sure that's fixable in the short term. building more containers is not necessarily the answer, ask i would -- and i would defer to my rail colleague to maybe defer to that. >> i don't believe there is a net shortage of containers,

chairman. >> if i may, senator blumenthal? i would emphasize the fact that graham-leech-bliley, essentially guidance it's perk story language. it says you should, you ought to, that differs quite a bit from the state laws that have a mandate and a requirement. we would favor a mandate and a requirement rather than something that's merely perk a story. >> and i was referring really to the preemption model there. >> senator cloak chaff has cheeded her time at the earlier opportunity, but -- [laughter] >> oh! >> in the great tradition of senators, that's what we're expected to do. i think actually, senator daines followed up on the question that i had but i want to ask one more time. mr. duncan, a couple of different times, has established a matrix of what might go into a reasonable standard. is there anyone on the panel who's concerned about the congress pursuing as we look at this issue a reasonable standard sort of along the lines that have been outlined or as opposed to a specific notification period? >> we talking about time

blumenthal. >> the amendment is defeated. i turned to senator schumer. >> i thank you carried i have an amendment i would like to offer. it is avonte's law. i want to thank senator cornyn and the sponsors of the legislation for including my missing children's bill in the trafficking legislation. this is not exactly about traffic thing but it is about kids. the legislation is named after

senator blumenthal. proceed. >> like senator schumer, i had planned on filing a number of amendments relating to human trafficking and the worker visa program print a want to commend him and support him on the avonte law and amendment he was going to offer. i am not going to proceed with those additional amendments i intended to do out of a desire to avoid anything that could jeopardize passage of the underlying bill. i understand you work on these important issues, the worker visa programs and the trafficking online, and i look over to doing so. i would like to offer alb 1570. >> the amendment is before us. proceed. >> i want to thank senator kirk for cosponsoring this legislation with me and also senators lee and tell us -- tillis for the leadership on this very important cause. i have been honored to serve as ranking member of the veteran affairs committee. i have seen over that time and well before as all of us have the desire of our veterans to serve our nation. the qualities that they bring to bear

senator blumenthal what factors are they looking for in this case?oses of potentially charging a hate crime, what they are seeking now is evidence of an mus bias prejudice he may have articulated based on religion, based on his possible hatred of muslims. that would be the violation of federal law that would constitute a hate crime and enable enhancement of the penalty. what practical difference would it make? probably an increased penalty but remember under north carolina law where presumably the murder charges have been made, there is a possibility of a death sentence so that's about as tough a sentence as potentially anyone could give him. >> senator, i understand that you have actually called for the protection of more categories of individuals under hate crime laws. tell me about those efforts. >> there should be in effect coverage of these kinds of hate crimes under state laws as well as federal law, the federal law is pretty comprehensive but the state laws could be improved so that they can be prosecuted in state court and i worked in connect

. >> thank you senator blumenthal. senator daines. >> thank you madam chair. while i get to represent the state of montana. and our number one industry is agriculture. it is about $5 billion just last year. and as yes know in ag, you have to be able to export. and like senator fisher, we don't have a lot of ocean front property in montana. i don't think nebraska does either. and so the supply chain becomes critically important. in fact 80% of montana's wheat is exported. nearly a billion dollars in 2013. and primarily through the west coast ports. we're very proud of our ranchers and farmers who not only feed america. they feed the world now. i heard concerns certainly about our producers in montana about the backlog we had i think of 3400 cars past due in the region. could you tell us what the current status of the rail backlog is now in montana? >> as i have responsibility for intermodal, i'd be happy to follow up with specific statistics around the backlogs. but what i can tell you is that by any measurement on a year over year basis because of the capital

senator blumenthal first to you?think the senate will act, i hope certainly it will act by midnight tomorrow night. i don't know whether the house will do so. but i think that going back to the campus sexual assault bill there's an example of bipartisan cooperation and listening to people. that is what congress needs to do, people want dhs to be funded and want a clean bill. they know it's a matter of our security and safety as a nation. world is more dangerous than ever before. >> senator gillibrand he doesn't sound that optimistic, do you think it's going to get done by tomorrow midnight? >> i do. these threats are serious. we just had three people arrested in brooklyn who were intent on joining isil if they weren't able to join we thwarted over a dozen terror attempts since 9/11 because of our law enforcement. we need a clean dhs bill and if we don't, it puts us at greater risk. i believe the senate will come together asenator blumenthal said. i think common sense will prevail. >> thanks to both of you so much for

i would ask unanimous consent to be added to richard blumenthal's amendment. hopefully we will complete the market today. >> without objection so ordered. >> back to the nomination. i said in the last committee meeting that i was looking at loretta lynch who is extraordinary. i spent a lot of time watching her family and her supporters in the committee meeting beaming with pride for what a remarkable job she did in the committee, what a remarkable track record she has. she was raised right. she was clearly somebody who came up with strong work ethic, she has done a great job as u.s. attorney and i would gladly confirm her for that role. the way i look at this role and i decided i will not support loretta lynch and keep in mind loretta lynch hails from north carolina. a lot of the family are proud citizens of north carolina. this is the most difficult decision i have made in 45 days in this job but i look at loretta lynch as somebody who is going to come in as the head of an organization that has 100,000 people in it. an organization that has problems with curr

thank you. >> thank you senator blumenthal. we now turn to our witnesses.h us today is miss sherry f acquire. -- maguire. mr. mallory duncan, senior vice president and general counsel of the retail federation. the chief information officer at brown university. dr. gil kleiman, president of policy. mr. doug johnson, senior vice president of risk management policy of the a ma american bankers association. >>>> thank you very much chairman moran. thank you for the opportunity to testify on this very important issue. as the largest security software company in the world our global intelligence network is made up of millions of sensors to give us the unique view of the entire internet landscape. as we all have seen, even as of this morning, the recent headlines about cyber attacks have focused mostly on data reaches. a cross spectrum of industries. 's network intrusions that result in stolen data have deep and profound impacts. for the individuals who must worry about and clean up their identities, for the organizations and systems that have been treated, and fo

member blumenthal.hanks for the opportunity to testify today on this very important issue. as the largest security software company in the world, we are made up of millions of censors that give us a unique view of the entire internet threat landscape. we all have seen, even as of this morning, the recent headlines about cyber attacks have focused mostly on data breaches across the spectrum of industries. these network intrusions that result in stolen data have deep and profound impacts. for the individuals who must worry about and clean up their identities, for the organizations whose systems have been penetrated, and for the governments just trying to establish the right notification policies as well as deter and apprehend the perpetrators. the magnitude of thefts of personally identifiable information is unprecedented. over just the past two years alone, the number of identities exposed through network breaches is approaching one billion. and those are just the ones that we know about. while many assu

senator blumenthal? >> thank you, mr. chairman. i want to follow up on a couple of questions that the chairman asked. you make the point that preemption has sometimes been narrow in our laws. in fact, that concept of narrow protection is that there should be preemption only of state laws that are inconsistent with federal laws and only to the extent of the inconsistency. and that is a quote from one of those statutes. in the health information technology for economic and clinical health act, that principle of narrow preemption has been adopted. has the experience been, with that narrow approach to preemption, that there are horrible inconsistencies or confusion that our witnesses seem to raise as a specter of avoiding preemption? >> know, senator. the concern from the state level, as you are aware assuming you guys will pass something this year, it took 10 years for congress to patch a breached notification law. to the extent that there are new threats out there or threats that specifically target a group of people, consumers in ou

now the question becomes and i go back to hillary clinton and senator blumenthal, i don't think americansore. they are so used to be lied to and so cynical about the media. they don't trust the media at all. it's like okay, what else is new? howard, i will give you the last word. >> i just think that brian williams needs to address this furnished because when he made the apology and i give him credit for apologizing and give him credit for going into a war zone, he talked about being in the following helicopter and veterans say he was in some other helicopter company. i don't think this is going to blow over because again trust is at the heart people in our business sit in front of the camera do. >> some day remind me to tell you my experiences with general custer at the little big horn. >> right, i remember seeing you there. because i was there too. if there very exciting story. >> all right. thank you. plenty more ahead as the factor moves along this evening. bernie goldberg on how the national media is covering reaction to the jordanian pilot being burned to death by isis. laura ingrah

senator richard blumenthal says not only there is a potential for small businesses businesses to be hurts pose a safety risk. he's asked the u.s. department of justice to investigate. >> salvaged parts, inferior or counterfeit parts certainly raise safety concerns. and often those kind of parts are involved in this practice of steering. and that's why i have been concerned for years about it. and why i think the department of justice should be investigating. >> reporter: louisiana's attorney general chose to sue state farm insurance because state farm is the biggest insurer in his state. and legal filings, the company denies all the allegations, including the allegation that state farm mandates using after-market parts. state farm would not grant an interview, but sent a statement instead. it says "our customers choose where their vehicles are going to be repaired. we provide information about our select service program, while at the same time making it clear they can select which shop will do the work." state farm told us to bring our specific questions to neill ulrich with the national

and david blumenthal had to get his players out of their. >> a danger situation and then it was let's get somewhere safe. >> two nights later, a much larger than normal crowd, many wearing black and gold and proclaiming the school fsh strong. >> on monday, we made the shirts. we are trying to show people we are not going to be defined by what happen. >> one is out of the hospital. the other is still there but his family says he will recover. [buzzer] tonight on the court, it took two overtimes but this time the game to finish. frederick hung on for an emotional one-point win. >> for them to stick together, to play their game in front of their crowd for the community to band them together and win? i could not be prouder. >> and the coach there said, that showed a lot of character on his guys' part to hang on and win tonight after what happened wednesday. as far as the latest into the investigation, we checked with police tonight. they say still no arrests in this case. reporting live in frederick, i am tom roussey abc7 news. >> breaking news out of prince george is where crews are at t

senators ed markey and richard blumenthal have called on gm to reconsider. gm says they should not extend the deadline again should they in. >> they need to extend it until they fix every car. there is no reason for that not to happen. >> reporter: multiple criminal investigations continue, a federal grand jury is looking at this, the u.s. attorney's office in new york is looking at this. why not wait until all that information comes out before closing this fund? >> those investigations may punish general motors. i can't speak for those investigations. this fund is designed with the intent of company assailanting innocent victims. that's what we're doing. >> reporter: the fund pays out a minimum of $1 million for claims. feinberg is still evaluating the claims that have been submitted. that process will continue through the spring. scott, feinberg told us he expects the death toll will rise above that 51. >> pelley: jeff glor on this investigation from the beginning. jeff, thank you. an important story overseas now. the u.s. has been in a military and diplom

thank you again for being here. >> thank you, senator blumenthal. welcome to the panel today. i appreciate you taking time out of your schedules to be here at this hearing and provide the senators with more information on this very important topic. i would like to get right to it so our first witness is mr. norman baseck. he is the vice president of international sales of cargill. so welcome. >> thank you, chairman fisher and members of the committee, subcommittee, for inviting me to testify. trade maximizes the value of products u.s. farmers and ranchers produce and our employees process because we're able to sell them to the domestic and international markets where they have the most value. this creates the best opportunities for cargill, our customers, our farmer and rancher suppliers, our hard working employees, and the communities where we operate. ports are and integral part of a dependable supply clan.hain. let me outline the beef and pork supply chain i work with every day and detail challenges that occur when there are problems with product flow through the ports. car

up next richard blumenthal will be here in studio a senator from connecticut. >> i know him well. the great larry king will be here. we are back in just a moment with much more requested morning joe." . >>> mica we have been talking about what senators congress people have been hearing in their districts about the war. we got a real live senator with us right now. we will ask him about it. democratic senator from connecticuted a veterans affairs and armed services committee, senator blumenthal. you sponsored an act important to the heart of veterans. >> very important because it provides government health care to prevent the 22 veterans who commit suicide every day, named after clay hunt who came back from afghanistan and took his own life. his mom testified before the veteran's affairs city they were on the ranking member and very, very powerful and movingly at the signing ceremony in eastern -- >> it was a moving ceremony thank you so much. >> and john mccain deserves credit. he worked with me in spearheading and championing. >> so many people inside and outside, john mccain, ou

sid blumenthal, your book is going to be a definitive reconstruction of the politics behind the 13th amendment and reconstruction. give us some sense of the texture of what constrained lincoln, what he was trying to achieve, and how he yind stand the 13th amendment as it actually emerged. >> the 13th amendment emerges from a political campaign. the campaign of 1864. the election campaign. by no means a certain thing. lincoln, in fact wrote a document that he sealed glued and had the members of the cabinet sign. they didn't know what was in it. what had he written? he had written that he was going to lose the election. and that he was going to do everything he could, after losing the election, to try and save the union. in the interim, when his opponent, who was not pledged to end slavery, but, in fact had agreed to a platform that was against ending slavery, would be elected. >> so this was a near-run thing. this was by no means certain. and people underestimate the degree of opposition from the democratic party during that year. in the north. not simply from the south and the confed

. >> blumenthal.at was in vietnam when he never went to vietnam, they make these stories up. i don't know what it is. >> well, look the good thing about the media today is you you can't get away with it forever because of social media, because of blog, because of other reporters. it's much more difficult to keep a lie concealed but again you've got to wonder why this one took so long to come out. tom: and he kept telling the story for years. >> now there are questions about his reporting from new orleans during katrina. but then, again, same theme, right? mishandled -- quote-unquote, mishandled by the bush administration. nobody questions what he said. tom: there's one thing for us to make a mistake in the media and report something and then have to make a correction. everybody has ebb done that. everybody has done that. this isn't a mistake -- >> no, it's an embellishment. it's a lie. tom: thank you. meantime speaking of trouble now this. big tax troubles for msnbc host al sharpton. he reportedly owe

blumenthal: thank you. mr. president, i want to begin by thanking chairman isakson for giving the clay hunt suicide prevention for american veterans act the priority that it needs and deserves, and i know that the presiding officer as a veteran understands and supports the vital mission of this legislation. i also want to thank the veterans service organization, particularly the iaba for the critical role that they have played in heightening awareness and educating the american public about the scourge that veteran suicide reflects in our society, the unacceptable 22 veterans who commit suicide every day in the greatest, strongest nation in the history of the world. our veterans all too often succumb to the invisible wounds and inner demons that come home with them, and they lack the mental health care that they need and deserve because the v.a. lacks the resources to provide that health care. i know that the v.a. is committed to do better. senator isakson and i have just returned from three hours at the v.a. w

i was standing between senator blumenthal and senator mccain.y will probably not stand on a stage together again this year. we're leading outside of washington. we're not going to wait for washington because washington has been so dysfunctional. this is grass roots power. this is mr. and mrs. smith going out. she is tough. the only thing tougher than a marine is a marine's mom. she has been so selfless and a true leader. she is what this country is all about and i think she personally has inspired people from all across the country to get involved. >> paul rieckhoff, celebrating tonight, thank you for being here. >> thank you, rachel, we appreciate it. >>> amid unimaginable grief, clay's family, jake, and his fellow veterans made it their mission to spare any more families the pain they endured. they reached out to members of congress. and they lobbied and they testified and made personal appeals. and thanks to their tireless efforts, we are particularly grateful to clay's family, for being able to transform grief into action. today i will sign

richard blumenthal, democrat from connecticut with senator john mccain "urging defensive arms for ukraine where region -- where putin's aggression continues." kelly ayotte, the public and furniture, saying "defense secretary nominee ash carter says using five to provide legal defensive weapons to ukraine. hope president listens." tweets from capitol hill on the reaction last week when things began to intensify, another discussion coming to washington this week with the plan a meeting between german leader angela merkel and the president at the white house today. and joint news conference at 11:40 a.m. eastern time and we will have live coverage on c-span. we will continue to get your thoughts on this, whether the west should on the ukrainian forces -- should arm the ukrainian forces in response to russian-backed rebels. we have about 20 minutes or so to get more of your thoughts this morning. first, joining us on the phone is the congressional reporter with "the hill" to talk about what else is happening in washington. what is on the agenda on capitol hill? we will start with the senate t

that -- blumenthal. >> i want to follow on a couple of questions that the chairman asks. you make the point that pre empings has sometimes been narrow. if there should be state and then and only to the extent of the inconsistency and that's a coat in grown. help information technology for economic and clinic health also known as high-tech. that prince pm of narrow preemption has been adopted sbfmenter and had his experience been with last now we are to work in fusion that are witnesses to raise as the spector of avoiding department. . the concern from the state level is you're aware is that -- it took taut pill. it took 10 years for congress to pass the bridge notification law. and to the extent that there are new thruss i out there. . . we node toe be able to respond or there's a rapidly. we have not seen significant problems where states must restain. preemption is nar row. in fact, i think it works beth that way. because r. state resources go to some of the smaller issues. >> mr. duncan it's probable by the failure of details to take responsibility for the consumers. s

you talking about hillary clinton, blumenthal. i believe we just need to learn how to forgive people that we make mistakes, in the height of energy, and sometimes we overlook things, but i think we just need to move, forgive, and move on. host: from the blaze this morning, "claim made on cnn challenge by pilot called into question." "a retired army officer claimed he was the pilot commanding brian williams' helicopter. jake tapper interview to the pilot who claimed he piloted the helicopter. he said they were not hit by an rpg but took small arms fire. hours later, a former army pilot challenge to that claim in 'the new york post,' contending that he was in fact the pilot in command of the flight that carried brine lames into iraq in march 2003. the account was further called into question by report in 'the new york times.' reporter later tweeted that for soldiers completely dispute krell's claim that he was the pilot." this is from fox news -- "report raises questions about brian williams' katrina experience claims." "it is calle

[applause] >> dick blumenthal we're grateful for your efforts. representative jeff miller. my home girl from the chicago area tammy duckworth. couldn't be prouder of her. [applause] >> and tim waltz, thank you so much for the great work. [applause] >> just to be clear about the bipartisanship here this is one of those areas where we can't have an argument. now, clay's parents are texas republicans. that's not just run of the mill republican. and they worked with this entire spectrum conservatives, liberals and that's just a reminder of what we can accomplish when we take a break from you know the partisan bickering that so often dominates this town and focus on what really matters to the american people. i wish i had gotten a chance to know clay. but in a way i feel that i do because there are a lot of incredible men and women all across this country who, like clay just love their country and want to serve. michelle and i have had a chance to meet so many of them. it's such an incredible privilege. i think of the soldiers i sat down with at fort bliss a few years ago, and t

dick blumenthal we're grateful for your service. tammy duckworth, couldn't be prouder of her. and kim walsh, thanks so much for the great work. and just to be clear about the bipartisanship here this is one of those area where is we can't have an argument, clay's parents are texas republicans. and i'm not -- i mean that's not just run of the mill republicans. and they worked with this entire spectrum of conservatives liberals and that's just a reminder of what we can accomplish when we take a break from, you know, the partisan bickering that so often dominate this is town and focus on what really matters to the american people. i wish i had gotten a chance to know clay. but in a way, i feel that i do. because there are a lot of incredible men and women all across this country, who, like clay, just love their country and want to serve. michelle and i have had a chance to meet so many of them and such an incredible privilege, i think the soldiers i sat down with at ft. bliss a few years ago and said they are prude tooud to serve, but the problems they face like post-traumatic st

. >>> new york senator chuck schumer and connecticut senator richard blumenthal are calling on the governmentto invest more money for railroad crossing safety measures. earlier this month six people were killed and 15 injured when a train crashed into a car at a railroad crossing just outside of new york city. the two lawmakers plan to introduce a bill a little later on this month. >>> many businesses are advertising presidents' day sales. what are the best bargains? we'll tell you what the experts say you should shop for today. that's coming up. >>> we're tracking snow that's going to come tonight. how much will you get? we'll have a look in my full forecast coming up. >>> dangerous cold is gripping our area. this is a live look toward society hill and old city. the extreme cold is going to be followed by some snow. that will arrive this evening. nbc 10 first alert chief meteorologist glenn "hurricane" schwartz will be back in just a few minutes. he will have the full forecast. prices at the pumps are jumping again. have you noticed it? the national average has increased every day for nearly

on capitol hill today, senator richard blumenthal took aim at the insurer. >> it is not only breath taking but mind bending in its extent and central impact and potentially heartbreaking for consumers who may be affected. >> anthem runs insurance programs in 12 states. its attack follows others during the last 18 months at retailers such as target and home depot. cyber security expert says big companies can no longer be complacent about protecting data. >> what more can be done to stop it, through whatever reasons, whether it's complacency or won't happen to me. it continues to happen. >> anthem found out about the breach last week. last night, it issued this statement from its president saying in part, i know you expect us to protect your information. we will continue to do everything in our power to make our systems and security processes better and more secure. and hope that we can earn back your trust and confidence in anthem. the company says it will offer its customers one year of credit monitoring. >> the f.b.i. is also investigating weather the personal information of the beneficia

ask thank you senator blumenthal.come back to the committee. >> thanks to you and senator mccaskill for having a searing and beginning on such a profoundly important note. i saw this problem when i was a state attorney general in connecticut, sought to stop it and well here continued to work on cases of constituents who were affected. one very notably, robert montana, a marine world war ii veteran who was brutally abused financially by his children in a sense not unlike your situation and as a result of his experience i sponsored in the 112th congress the robert mann exportation protection for elder of contact which increases the federal penalties for fraud as well as exportation, federal penalties because i believe it is federal jurisdiction, improved ability for the government to collect statistical data because i agree with many of you provided resources for the federal government to give to the state for training technical assistance, pilot assistance pilot grant programs in developing best practices, the kind of

as for senator blumenthal he is renewing his request with the department of justice to open up a federal investigation to find out if this steering and the use of used auto parts is widespread enough to warrant a federal investigation. suzanne? >> all right. thank you, drew. >>> next hour, cnn news room starts right now. >>> you're in the cnn news room. i'm suzanne malveaux in for poppy harlow. looks like isis has some military weapons, american weapons, not just a few scattered ones but we're talking about a lot now. this humvee american a tracked armored personnel carry for american. these automatic weapons rows and rows of them american. this video was released by isis in the past 24 hours. we don't know when it was shot. looks like iraq. but that has not been confirmed yet by the u.s. military. now, isis fighters they overran a make military outpost earlier this month where iraqi troops were supplied with u.s. weapons and vehicles. well there's between 1,000 and 2,000 isis fighters right now in the iraqi city of mosul. biggest city in iraq after baghdad. u.s. military officials this

senator blumenthal, welcome back to the committee. >> thank you chair collins and thanks to you and senator mccaskill for having this hearing and beginning on such a profoundly important note. i saw this problem for many years when i was state attorney general in connecticut sought to stop it. and while here continued to encounter it in cases of constituents who were affected by it. one, very notably robert veteran who was brutally abused financially by his children in a sense not unlike your situation miss marshall. and as a result of his experience i sponsored in the 112th congress the robert montava exploitation protection for elder adults act which increases the federal penalties for fraud directed at senior citizens, as well as exploitation. federal penalties because i believe there is federal jurisdiction. improved ability for the government to collect statistical data because i agree with many of you that there's too little factual and evidence based information about it. and provided resources to the federal government to give to the states for training technical assistance, pilot g

richard blumenthal, who iszg4ew- senator now was the attorney general then called me and encouraged me to file. we filed second. we had a long, dragged-out battle. but when the federal government and other states joined in, we moved quickly toward settlement. >> >> woodruff: lynn stout, how much were these companies getting out of this, not just standard & poor's, but the companies producing these mortgage-backed securities? >> well, it was, in fact a relatively new line of business for the ratings agencies. rating these mortgage-backed securities. it wasn't necessarily the majority of their business but it was a very profitable sector. obviously they were trying to grow it. >> woodruff: but money was being made is the point. >> oh, yeah. no they were definitely making money, especially in the short term. in the long term it look like it's going to cost them far more. the settlement, depending on how you calculate it is going to amount to either one or twice the annual profits of mcgraw hill financial, which is the parent company of s&p. >> woodruff: i want to ask you th about that in

acknowledgment to somebody who knows a little bit about service, senator john mccain. [ applause ] dick blumenthal we're grateful for your efforts. representative jeff miller. my home girl from the chicago area tammy duckworth. couldn't be prouder of her. [ applause ] and tim walsh, thank you so much for the great work. [ applause ] and just to be clear about the bipartisan here, this is one of those areas where we can't have an argument. now, clay's parents are texas republicans. i mean, that's just not run of the mill republican. and they worked with, you know this entire spectrum conservatives, liberals and that's just a reminder of what we can accomplish when we take a break from the partisan bickering that so often dominates this town and focus on what really matters to the american people. i wish i'd gotten a chance to know clay but in a way, i feel that i do because there are a lot of incredible men and women all across this country who, like clay just love their country and want to serve. michelle and i have had a chance to meet so many of them. such an incredible privilege. i think of the

now, senator blumenthal is renewing his request for a national investigation.ce company. >> all right. drew griffin, thanks so much. e house back on her feet. ohhhh. okay veggies you're cool. mayo, corn dogs you are so out of here! ahh... 'cause i'm reworking the menu. keeping her healthy and you on your toes. the complete balanced nutrition of great tasting ensure. 24 vitamins and minerals antioxidants and 9 grams of protein. i see you cupcake. uh oh the #1 doctor recommended brand. ensure. nutrition in charge! there's nothing more romantic than a spontaneous moment. so why pause to take a pill? and why stop what you're doing to find a bathroom? with cialis for daily use, you don't have to plan around either. it's the only daily tablet approved to treat erectile dysfunction so you can be ready anytime the moment is right. plus cialis treats the frustrating urinary symptoms of bph, like needing to go frequently, day or night. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medicines, and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take cialis if

blumenthal: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr.blumenthal: i begin by thanking the chairman of the veterans' affairs committee senator isakson and really giving him immeasurable credit for his courage and his fortitude in addressing this bill that he could have allowed to languish on the agenda of the veterans' affairs committee. in fact, he made it the very first agenda item. the very first issue that wee would confront -- that we would confront on the veterans' affairs committee at our very first meeting. and it passed unanimously through the veterans' affairs committee because of his leadership and i really mean his leadership, in making it happen. so on behalf of the veterans of america, he deserves due credit, and so do my colleagues on the veterans' affairs committee senator boozman senator sanders who championed this bill along with senator burr during the last session i was pleased to argue for it on the floor here in the closing days of the session, and unfortunately it failed to pass. there is no reason to look back and t

and i remember ralph blumenthal a reporter for "the new york times," once described to me the evolution of a particular story. he said that an editor came up to him one day and said why don't you go out and find out who owns chinese restaurants in new york. and he said, what do you mean? he said, well, who owns chinese restaurants? go out and take a couple of weeks and find out what the ownership is, who owns them? so ralph went out and he said he spent a couple of weeks eating very well -- [laughter] and he came back, and he discovered that chinese restaurants are owned mostly by chinese people. [laughter] well, you know, gay, when you began writing about "the bridge" and you didn't know what the name of it was at the time, how did you get that assignment, or how did you volunteer for it, or how did you get stuck with it? what did you think when you first began writing those articles about a neighborhood in brooklyn that suddenly found 800 homes or businesses were being displaced by a bridge that it didn't want? >> i was i was given an assignment to cover the protesting residents of th

. >> senator blumenthal. >> thanks mr. chip in. and i want to join my colleagues and thank you general campbell for ordinary service to our nation over many years and are dedicated and diligent work in afghanistan over a number of tours and following the very worthwhile work done by your predecessors there, and i want to cover some of the points that you and i discussed a little bit yesterday when you were kind enough to visit my office. first of all on the relationship with afghanistan, they have been a source of the improvised explosive device is ieds, the so ravaged our troops in such large numbers. and yesterday enduring that we had with ambassador cunningham and former ambassador crocker the indicated that i say more precisely, or ambassador cunningham indicated that ied continue to be a problem in afghanistan. in your view, do you agree with this assessment to say they are a continuing military threat to the afghanistan forces as well as our own? >> sure, thank you for the question. i think ieds have become the weapon of choi

. >> if i may, senator blumenthal, i would emphasize the fact that this is essentially guidance. it says you should, you ought to, something like that. that differs quite a bit from the state laws that have a mandate and a requirement. we would favor a mandate and a requirement rather than something that's merely suggesting. >> i was referring really to the preemption model there. >> senator klobuchar has exceeded her time at the earlier opportunity. [laughter] >> but any concluding comments? >> in the great tradition of senators that's what we're expected to do. i think actually, snore daines followed up on the question that i had but i want to ask one more time. mr. duncan, a couple different times, has established a matrix of what might go into a reasonable standard. is there anyone on the panel who's concerned about the congress pursuing, as we look at this issue, a reasonable standard sort of along the lines that have been outlined or as opposed to a specific notification period? >> are we talking about time frame? >> we are. nobody has a problem? nobody is proposing that we

sydney blumenthal, my old friend and colleague at "the new republic" many years ago. is a former assistant and senior adviser to president bill clinton, senior adviser to hillary rodham clinton currently advisor to the clinton foundation. he's the author of -- well, he's one of the most distinguished political journalists of his generation and has just done better historical writing than anyone of his generation. he's the author of several books. this year "a self-made man" will be released. this is his first book in a trilogy on abraham lincoln. and he is just riveting on the political context that shaped lincoln and his thinking. dr. alan gelzo is henry r. loose professor of civil war era and director of civil war era studies at get tees berg college. redeemer president which won the lincoln prize in 2000 the end of slavery in america which won the lincoln prize for 2005, and lincoln and douglass the debates that defined america, which onwon the abraham lincoln institute prize for 2008. his most recent book is abraham lincoln as a man of ideas. dr. luke cat morrell

leahy: i'm also pleased that senators shaheen gardner blumenthal have joined this effort with senator lee and myself. i commend them because we do have an opportunity this year to make progress on bipartisan, commonsense legislation to protect the privacy of americans' email and update our laws to keep pace with technology. the last congress, the senate judiciary committee unanimously supported this bill, republicans and democrats alike. you continue the hard work of building a broad bipartisan coalition in support of this bill. now is the time to act swiftly to bring our privacy protections into the digital age and i will continue to work with senator lee and senator cornyn and senator shaheen senator merkley, senator gardner and senator blumenthal on this because, one i'm proud to have them as cosponsors, but i'm also proud that we're doing the right thing. mr. president, i would ask my full statement be made prior to the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. leahy: with that, i would yield the floor and suggest -- i yield the floor. mr. cornyn: mr. president. the pr

. >> senator blumenthal. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you for your long-standing and extraordinarily valuable service to our nation. >> thank you, senator. >> i'm prepared to overlook you desserting the kennedy school at harvard to go to stanford and i hope you'll let us know if your back requires you to stand up or take a break. >> i'm fine thank you for the consideration. >> i'll take it out of my time. i want to begin with a couple of questions and i hope i won't cover the ground you've already covered. from the conversations we've had, i assume that you will continue to back the current full support for two submarines a year in the construction of our virginia class submarines and the ongoing r & d and other programs necessary for the ohio class. >> i will because under" c" superiority is one of our advantages. >> we need to be on a war footing because we need to be prepared and ready and the surveillance and intelligence functionses as well as the deterrent capability are essential to our national defense, am i correct? >> abs

senator richard blumenthal just spoke about the hack in that senate hearing. >> it's not only breathtakingtial impact and potentially heartbreaking for consumers who may be affected not only birthdays, addresses, e-mail and employment information but also social security numbers and income data were taken from anthem. >> anthem says it is contacting current and former customers. the internet as a public utility regulating vaccinations and argentina's president once again under fire. let's zoom through some of today's top stories. today the chair of the fcc will propose to regulate the internet like a public utility. the new rules would allow the fcc to oversee the internet and mobile carriers more like traditional telephone service and would ban internet service providers from offering fast lanes for a price and prohibit the blocking and slowing of content. you can expect challenges from the major providers and wireless carriers as well as a new debate in congress. >>> number of measles cases has increased to 99 in california. public health officials in that state say two-thirds were infec