blumenthal: thank you, madam president. i'm honored to follow my colleague and friend, senator murphy, in an effort that has involved both of us, our minds, our hearts from the day that we stood together that december 14, 2012, in newtown, sandy hook. we have stood together and worked together with the families and community that have so inspired us with their strength and courage. and if i have one overriding image and message in my mind and heart, it is those families, the families most directly affected by the deaths of the 20 beautiful children and six great educators and the families in the reverberating circle of people so deeply touched and hurt and harmed by the evil on that day. and the people who exemplify the good of that day, the first responders and the firefighters and police who saw things that no human being should ever have to witness. and emerged also deeply hurt and harmed. the courage and strength of newtown in that community and the families will always inspire me. i worked on gun violence prevention fo

lee: senator blumenthal. blumenthal: thanks, mr. chairman. thank you and senator klobuchar for having this hearing on a profoundly important topic. i want to thank our witnesses for being here today, all of the divers and different viewpoints. mr. brito, thank you for making the trip from connecticut. thank you for your involvement in our community and in connecticut. i want to say that i am a nondrinker, so i have to disclose that fact right at the outset, although our four children, at various points, may have imbibed. ofave had the privilege visiting a number of our brewers in connecticut and have posted here -- and have posted -- hosted here in washington, a number of others. i am going to ask to enter the list of connecticut brewers, which is very extensive, into the record, because i am very proud of them. .et me be very blunt what we have seen over the past mammoth a trend towards beer behemoths in our market. the result has not been a happy one for many consumers. what we have seen as consumers is higher prices. whatever the complex a

lee: senator blumenthal. blumenthal: thanks, mr. chairman. thank you and senator klobuchar for having this hearing on a profoundly important topic. i want to thank our witnesses for being here today, all of the divers and different viewpoints. mr. brito, thank you for making the trip from connecticut. thank you for your involvement in our community and in connecticut. i want to say that i am a nondrinker, so i have to disclose that fact right at the outset, although our four children, at various points, may have imbibed. ofave had the privilege visiting a number of our brewers in connecticut and have posted here -- and have posted -- hosted here in washington, a number of others. i am going to ask to enter the list of connecticut brewers, which is very extensive, into the record, because i am very proud of them. .et me be very blunt what we have seen over the past mammoth a trend towards beer behemoths in our market. the result has not been a happy one for many consumers. what we have seen as consumers is higher prices. whatever the complex a

blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. i'm inspired by the very eloquent words of my colleague from new jersey and others from senator nelson of florida and particularly from senator cantwell, and thank them for their championing this cause. and i'm inspired by those words to begin with a story of my visit to puerto rico to the association headquarters of the puerto rico-aneers who visited the white house to receive the congressional medal that we in this body voted to award them because of their service to our nation. it was awarded when they visited the white house by the president of the united states. and i visited them in puerto rico to say thank you and to recognize their service. and i can tell you at the white house and in puerto rico, what i saw on their faces and heard in their voices was a patriotism every bit as deep and passionate as any i've heard anywhere in this country. puerto ricans are not only american, they are proud to be american. and we should be proud that they are american, because they're hardwor

chairman. >> thank you, senator blument l blumenthal. mr. pease, why should ab/inbev be required to divest wholesalers when it's not acquiring wholesalers let alone any assets at all let alone the united states. >> the purchase of south african breweries because they are acquiring independent ab distributors. they've acquired five in the last few months. and consolidated those into company owned distributorships that have reduced the access for my members to get to market. i think we have to keep in mind state based regulation to use a distributor for market and where abi controls that distributor, a wholly owned distributor that shuts off one of two plausible from our members. >> wholesalers for more than 100 years. this will have no impact in the u.s. and the way we go to market. we own 21 wholesalers out of a universal 500 plus abi wholesalers and it's interesting to see that despite having owned for 100 years, crafts have grown to 11% last year to saying it will get to 20% by 2020 and, more interesting, the major wholesalers that we own

blumenthal]"that's the reason the visa waiver program needs to be drastically scrutinized." i'm scott thuman reporting. 3 3 in bartisan fashion the house of representatives today voted to tighten restrictions on the visa waiver program. 3 that program lets residents of approved countries to visit the united states without a visa. among the changes if you are from an approved country, but have travelled to syria or iraq in the last 5 years you will now be *denied* the will now be 5 years you iraq in the last t tsyria or have travelled countnt, but an approved you are frorochanges if among the a visa. s stes without visit the united countries to visit the united states without a visa. among the changes if you are from an approved country, but have travelled to syria or iraq in the last 5 years you will now be *denied* the waiver.the house bill has support in the senate, but no vote has been scheduled yet. 3 3 3 taking a live look out over onana tonight our skywatch camera.our mid-december thaw continues... how long can we keep temperatures in the 50s? chad will let us know...

blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. we talk in this chamber about the threat of terrorism and many associate terrorist threats with airplanes and explosives, but we've seen in recent horrifying events in paris and san bernardino how much tragic carnage can be brought by a small number of people using firearms designed for war. assault weapon that had the purpose to kill and maim humans. no other purpose. for me and for the american people, common sense says a person too dangerous to be permitted on a plane is too dangerous to be permitted a gun. no fly, no gun. no check, no gun. and that ought to be the rule. it's a commonsense rule. whenever i talk to people in connecticut, they say to me, why didn't the senate approve .idn't the senate approve . there is no commonsense explanation. and the reason given by colleagues on the other side that there's some due process violation is nonsense. i hesitate to say it is that frivolous, but it is because, number one, there's a right to challenge the designation on the no-fly list

blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. we talk in this chamber about the threat of terrorism and many associate terrorist threats with airplanes and explosives, but we've seen in recent horrifying events in paris and san bernardino how much tragic carnage can be brought by a small number of people using firearms designed for war. assault weapon that had the purpose to kill and maim humans. no other purpose. for me and for the american people, common sense says a person too dangerous to be permitted on a plane is too dangerous to be permitted a gun. no fly, no gun. no check, no gun. and that ought to be the rule. it's a commonsense rule. whenever i talk to people in connecticut, they say to me, why didn't the senate approve that rule? there is no commonsense explanation. and the reason given by colleagues on the other side that there's some due process violation is nonsense. i hesitate to say it is that frivolous, but it is because, number one, there's a right to challenge the designation on the no-fly list through the depa

blumenthal]"that's the reason the visa waiver program needs to be drastically scrutinized." i'm scott thuman reporting. 3 3 in bipartisan fashion the house of representatives today voted to tighten restrictions on the visa waiver program. 3 that program lets residents of approved countries to visit the united states without a visa. among the changes if you are from an approved syria or iraq in the last 5 years you will now be *denied* the waiver. 3 ((rep. joseph crowley/(d) new york)) "any step we can take to help prevent a terrorist from entering the country by using that program we need to do ((rep. xavier beccerra/(d) california)) "what we a a trying to do is go after the real problems in allowing people to come into our country who mean to do us harm."((sen. jeff sessions/(r) alabama)) "we have a myriad of programs that people can come under other than just visa waiver so there is a lot to be done and we are not close to up to speed."the house bill has support in the senate, but no vote has been scheduled yet. it's been a month since chipotle closed dozens of stores in t

thank you, senator blumenthal. gentleman and ma'am, thank you for joining us. we'll begin -- i can't see the name tag, but i think it's mr. butler. please proceed. >> thank you, acting chairman moran. ranking member blumenthal and members of the committee, the american legion believes in a robust veterans health care system designed to treat those who have worn the uniform. however, in the best of circumstances, there are situations where the system cannot meet the needs of the veteran. and the veteran must seek care in the community. i am privileged to be here today and to speak on behalf of american legion, our national commander dale burnett and more than 2 million members in over 14,000 posts across the country that make up the backbone of the nation's largest wartime veterans service association. the american legion recognizes that the choice program was an emergency measure to make health care accessible to veterans where va was struggling with delivering such care. in recognition of the needs of an integrate d system to delive non-va health care when nee

in one to her adviser sidney blumenthal... clinton writes, "if mittens can't beat grinch in florid... there will be pressure on state republican or liberalize ballot access... especially in caucuses... which as we know are creatures of the parties' extremes."the email was in reference to the 20 - 12 republican presidential race. winning the iowa caucuses might make her feel differently... two months from tonight the iowa caucuses, the single most important moment in the process of electing a president. i don't say that because i'm in iowa, i say it because its just true. mike huckabee met with several supporters yesterday at "greggo's pizza" i mount ayr. it was part of his "the huck stops here" tour. the iowa department of transportation plans to open a new driver's license station in central iowa... it'll replace a dallas county licensing facility in adel that's scheduled for closure. the d - o - t operates facilities in ankeny and des moines... but a third is needed in the western suburbs because of facility... but the des m

blumenthal: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. blumenthal: mr. president, we're on the verge of a series of votes. it also is a few days from the anniversary, the third anniversary of the hideous and horrific shootings at sandy hook. once again, the unspeakable has happened in america. the mass murder in san bernadino reminds us of the inaction by this body. congress becomes complicit, in fact has become complicit by its inaction in this mass slaughter which continues in america. and yet, listening to the debate on the floor, one would think it's business as usual. we're debating whether to repeal the affordable care act. again, how many times have we voted on that? how many times have we voted to defund planned parenthood? and yet, what we see on the floor of the senate and throughout congress is a shrug of the shoulders. it can't be done, won't be done. now is the time for action. we are past the point of platitudes and prayers. we need them. san bernadino deserves them. but prayers, thoughts, our hearts need to be matched by action. the time f

ranking member blumenthal and members of the committee. the american legion believes in a robust veterans health care system designed to treat those who have worn the uniform. however, in the best of circumstances, there are situations where the system cannot meet the needs of the veteran. and the veteran must seek care in the community. i am privileged to be here today and to speak on behalf of american legion, our national commander dale burnett and more than 2 million members in over 14,000 posts across the country that make up the backbone of the nation's largest wartime veterans association. the american legion recognizes that the choice program was an emergency measure to make health care accessible to veterans where va was struggling with care. in recognition of a system, the american legion believes va needs to develop a well-tee fined and consistent non-va coordination program that includes a patient strategy and takes their unique illnesses and injuries as well as travel and distance into consideration. the va purpose care progra

senator blumenthal says congress is effectively complicit for its inaction. complicit in these shootings. and chris murphy said, oh, god, not again. and just in october after the shooting at the community college in rose berg, oregon, after that shooting chris murphy and blumenthal both said we will try again, try again to introduce some sort of legislation. they want legislation that would expand background checks and tighten regulations for illegal gun purchases and also close any background check loopholes. they have been unsuccessful in getting any legislation through congress since sandy hook, which many folks thought would be a defining moment, enough of a defining moment that legislation would pass, but, in fact, it has not happened. and there is no indication at this point that there is any appetite on capitol hill to do this. and, david, you know, we should point out there was a poll done by -- a pugh poll in 2015 that showed a shift in the american public and showed according to that poll that fewer people support stricter gun control than folks who

blumenthal] 1:05 "that's the reason the visa waiver program needs to be drastically scrutinized. 1:11i'm scott thuman reporting the house today passed the visa wavier program which amends visa travel practices. it cracks down on visa-free travel and makes a series of other changes like requiring countries to share counter- terrorisisinformrmion and makes sure travellers are checked against interpol databases. the 14-year-old accused of killing a cedar rapids teen guilty.as part of a plea deal today, robert humbles pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter.he was originally charged with first-degree murder.police say humbles killed 15-year-ololaaron richardson this summer.humbles is now in the linn county juvenile detention center. he'll be sentenced in juvenile court and will remain in the detention center until he is 18 years old. now in the hands of the jury. jury.today during closing arguments the defense focused on cusic's mental state when he attacked his mother with a crow bar nearly nearly three years ago.cusic's l lyer denied the prosecution's claims that he *intentionally* commit

joining me now, democratic senator richard blumenthal of connecticut.ir, i appreciate your time here as we delve into this proposal. first of all, how will this work and what will it take for the governor to actually obtain that list? >> that is one of the practical obstacles that have to be overcome because the list is classified. and there are some other practical obstacles as well. essentially, the simple fact of connecticut protecting against people having guns if they're on this fly list still is at the mercy of other states that may have weaker laws, and that's the reason that we really need congress to act. there's a common-sense, sensible principle here, which is, if you're too dangerous to board a plane, you're too dangerous to buy a gun. and the challenges to the list that they contain errors or they may be flawed have to be corrected and addressed, and those are separate and distinct. but the governor is issuing an executive order, and really, at the end of the day, the solution is for there to be a national law. >> well, we've seen those eff

blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. we talk in this chamber about the threat of terrorism and many associate terrorist threats with airplanes and explosives, but we've seen in recent horrifying events in paris and san bernardino how much tragic carnage can be brought by a small number of people using firearms designed for war. assault weapon that had the purpose to kill and maim humans. no other purpose. for me and for the american people, common sense says a person too dangerous to be permitted on a plane is too dangerous to be permitted a gun. no fly, no gun. no check, no gun. and that ought to be the rule. it's a commonsense rule. whenever i talk to people in connecticut, they say to me, why didn't the senate approve that rule? there is no commonsense explanation. and the reason given by colleagues on the other side that there's some due process violation is nonsense. i hesitate to say it is that frivolous, but it is because, number one, there's a right to challenge the designation on the no-fly list through the depa

senator blumenthal? >> thanks, mr. chairman. would like to pursue the question i raised in my opening remarks about protecting consumers and patients. what will be in place to assure that protection? >> that's an excellent point. what we are proposing in the plan is the first step to get to consumer protection is to actually have the necessary information on the providers in the network, their performance so that we can make sure that consumers or patients have the information they need to make important decisions. right now that's actually critically missing. we might have local information at the medical center level. regionally and nationally, we don't have the necessitata to determine the quality of care or the health care utilization. >> where do you get that data? >> that's exactly what we're asking for in some of the $421 million in phase one, to build a network where we can gain that sort of information. >> and what kinds of mechanisms will you put in place to assure that there's education of those patient patients? and,

ayotte, senator baldwin, senator collins, senator casey, senator johnson, senator portman, senator blumenthal are some of the senators who've eloquently made their case on the floor of the senate. they came and argued the merits of the perkins loan program. most of their arguments relied on the use of these loans by students to provide financing up to a student's full cost of attendance to meet a gap in funding that's above their direct federal loan limits for the very neediest students, or they argued it was an important resource for students in urgent circumstances such as when the student's parent loses a job. i listened to these senators. many i've listened to -- i've listened to university presidents and others who have talked with me about it. as a result, today i come here with what i believe is a fair compromise, cosponsored by the senators that i mentioned, to address the specific issues raised. we propose a two-year extension of the perkins loan program while we work on a long-term solution for simplifying the student aid program. this extension will give us time to move forward on

chairman. >> thank you, senator blumenthal. mr. pease, why should ab/inbev be required to divest wholesalers when it's not acquiring wholesalers let alone any assets at all let alone the united states. >> you're referring to abi's not acquiring any distributors through the purchase of south african breweries? >> right. >> because they are acquiring independent ab distributors currently. they've acquired five in the last few months. and consolidated those into company owned distributorships that have reduced the access for my members to get to market. i think we have to keep in mind state based regulation to use a distributor for market and where abi controls that distributor, a wholly owned distributor that shuts off one of two plausible paths to market for my members. >> what's your response? >> we've owned wholesalers for more than 100 years. this will have no impact in the u.s. and the way we go to market. we own 21 wholesalers out of a universal 500 plus abi wholesalers, and it's interesting to see that despite having owned for

blumenthal clinton writes, ""if mittens can't beat grinch in florida, there will be pressure on state republican parties to reopen or liberalize ballot access especially in the caucuses, which as we know are creatures of the parties' extremes." the email was in reference to the 20-12 republican presidential race. you might remember clinton lost the iowa caucuses to barack obama in 20-08. winning the iowa caucuses might make her feel differently... two months from tonight the iowa caucuses, the single most important moment in the process of electing a president. i don't say that because i'm in iowa, i say it because its just true. governor mike huckabee met with several supporters today at greggo's pizza in mount ayr. it was part of his "the huck stops here" tour. former florida governor jeb bush is also in iowa... he hosted a town hall meeting this afternoon in waterloo. polls have bush running a distant sixth in iowa... but is about a potential running mate. presidential candidate should i be elected president, i would have my vice president... i think she will be a great partner, i

>> acting chairman moran, ranking member blumenthal. on behalf of iraq and afghanistan veterans of america and our 425,000 members and supporters, thank you for the opportunity to share our views with you today at the hearing consolidating non-v.a. care programs. i ava is proud to have testified before this committee recommending the need for consolidation and care for veterans enrolled in v.a. health care and we applaud congress for requiring v.a. to put forward a plan. we also want to recognize senior leaders at v.a. who are still with us here today for acknowledging the need for consolidation and providing an approach and process that was inclusi inclusive, transparent and veterancentric. last year as if much-needed veterans access to choice and accountability act was implemented it became apparent to our members across the country the new role was confusing and added to pre-existing v.a. programs decided to provide care in the community, according ing ting the reason they didn't utilize choice because they didn't know how. 28% of ou

i'm not sure in senator blumenthal's case whether there was any problem with the locals cooperating or not. you have to be sure why didn't somebody pick this up and deport this person. that's all i'm saying to you. we've seen this.that we've seen that criminal deportations have dropped 58% over a few years, while all others have been dropping too, but you said this is our priority.hers hav they dropped roughly 90,000, more than half, while your ping budget has gone up.han so people are not happy about ho this. we want some productivity. let me ask you one final question. this i think gets to the heart f of some of the issues we have here and the frustrations that we have here. the president has issued two executive amnesties in 2012 andh 2014 under both these programs, illegal immigrants, people are undocumented in the country improperly, can obtain work permits, photo i.d.'s, social security numbers. let's say we have an open job e. for a forklift operator in alabama, and it pays $15 an hour. two applicants apply. the first is an american two apl citizen. the second applicant entered

in one to her adviser sidney blumenthal... clinton writes, "if mittens can't beat grinch in florid... there will be pressure on state republican parties to reopen or liberalize ballot access... as we know are creatures of the parties' extremes."the email was in reference to the 20 - 12 republican presidential race. winning the iowa caucuses might make her feel differently... two months from tonight the iowa caucuses, the single most important moment in the process of electing a president. i don't say that because i'm in iowa, i say it because its just true. mike huckabee met with supporters yesterday at "greggo's pizza" in mount ayr. it was part of his "the huck stops here" tour... which continues today. he starts the day in denison... at cronk's cafe. then he travels to onawa.. for a stop at the veterans memorial museum. an iowa senator running for congress is getting blasted for his views on border security... mark chelgren says immigrant felons who try to re-enter america illegally should be executed. the comments were publ

blumenthal: it very simply asks that the administration -- quote -- "take action to correct the overly constrained implementation of the helms amendment, which serves as a critical barrier to safe abortion, particularly impacting women and girls fleeing confli conflict." and it asks the administration to recognize that american foreign aid can be used to fund safe abortions, even in the cases of rape, incest, or life endangerment. that's a very simple principle. and preventing our foreign aid funds for being used for that purpose not only denies critical assistance to the yazidi girls and women but also overly constrains the assistance of this great nation to the victims of terror and horror abroad. today the united states senate will pass resolution 310, and i have joined in supporting it. i am deeply disappointed that the administration essentially has denied any even consideration of a change in policy. this action does not mean that the united states should be complacent regarding the dismal state of protection for the yazidi girls and women. the amendments that i offered were reje

senator blumenthal. >> thanks, mr. chairman. i would like to pursue the question i raised during my opening remarks, about protecting consumers and patients. what kinds of mechanisms and standards will be in place to ensure that protection? >> so i think that's an excellent point. what we are proposing in the plan is,inb the first step to to consumer protection is to actually have the necessary information on the providers in the network, their performance, so we can make sure that consumers have the information they need to make important decisions. right now that's critically missing. we might have local information at the medical center level, but regionally and nationally we don't have the necessary data to determine the quality of care or the healthcare utilization -- >> where do you get that data? >> that's exactly what we're asking for for some of the 421 million in phase i, to build that information and analytics. >> what kinds of mechanisms will you put in place to ensure there's education of those patients? and number

. >> thank you, senator blumenthal we have an excellent line of questioning. i remember our former colleague proposing legislation both when he was a republican and a democrat, i believe. his proposal was that we stop admitting any government officials other than the ambassador and it is an essential part of immigration system worldwide, the nation's work together. so it cannot be accepted that the nation refuses to take that criminals that have left their country after they have been convicted. that is a part of this. we have the ability to push back. so i with bank and i would appreciate it if you would consider the gentleman suggestiosuggestio n, legislation if it's needed, and i believe frankly do you have plenty of power to move the needle on this anyway. finally this is a long-term problem and it's costing us hundreds of millions of dollars. >> yes, sir. we have time and effort to go forward with this. and i think it's something that we need to fix and i appreciate you raising it. >> mr. chairman if i could just add that we make these points is a longtim

for the next 20 minutes, i be given four minutes, senator shaheen, four minutes, senator bloom blumenthal, four minutes, senator feinstein, four minutes and senator murphy four minutes concluding in a unanimous consent request. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: thank you, madam president. now, like so many americans, my thoughts are with the family and friends of those affected by the act of terror in san bernardino last week. our hearts go out to the victims and to their families. and as we learn more the suspects, it's becoming clear that san bernardino will serve as a sad but also a shocking reminder of what needs to be done to address what has become known as the terror gap. so, madam president, i rise today in support -- to support that most commonsense proposal to bar individuals on the terrorist watch list from being able to legally get a gun. the g.a.o. found between 2004 and 2014, suspected terrorists attempted to exploit this loophole. now, people say, well, this never happens. listen to this. they tried to purchase guns, those on the terror watch list, 2,23

just like senator blumenthal's example. when a person comes in and commits a murder and has no roots in this country, you ought to be sure he is deported. the law gives you that authority. that is your responsibility. you just can't sit here in this office and pretend that you don't control events. you have to assert yourself and make sure this country take back these people. you have to make sure your officers are on top of these cities that are not cooperating. you have to be sure, why didn't somebody pick this up and deport this person? we've seen that criminal deportations have dropped 58% over a few years, while all others have been dropping too. he said this is not --they have dropped roughly 90,000, more than half. while your budget has gone up. people are not happy about this. we want-- let me ask you this is a final question. heart of somehe issues and the frustrations that we have. the president has issued 2 executive amnesties in 2012 and 2014. under both of these programs, obtain immigrants can work permits, pho

maybe her friend sidney blumenthal gave us the information used on the video and other sources. but cat, this is a woman we have seen, that is not only incompetent because she could not protect our embassy, but leading up to this ignored multiple request from her friend for additional security. she wasn't able to do her job and incomptent at best. we didn't show up that night. the blood of four americans is on her hands and she went and covered it up and blamed it on a video and allocated millions to pakistan to take out apology ads based on a lie. she is a liar who is incompetent. >> the debates are on friday and saturday because she says bizarre things. remember when she said wall street failed because of 9/11? i can they do whatever they can to make sure she has the least amount of scrutiny because there is so many skeletons in the closet. >> you look at something like this and you see she is being called out by the new york city times and others and you wonder how much longer can the clinton lying machine going on and when does it end? >> donald trump has a way of defending

blumenthal tweeting in 30,000 tragic deaths every year and now san bernardino. congress is effectively complicit for its inaction. so as soon as the first 9-1-1 call went out nearby hospitals went got ready to treat the rush of patients that could be coming. >> it's a triage situation that boston hospitals have so much experience. with fox 25's kathryn burcham is live outside mass general now with more. kathryn? >> reporter: they said they are constantly updating their mass casualty protocol. but the head here of emergency responders tells me the grim truth is that with each and every event like this one, they get better at responding. you certainly hope for the best but you start preparing for the worst. >> reporter: for dr. paul biddinger that day was april 15th, 2013, when the bombs that went off along the boston marathon sent bleeding injured people his emergency room it. >> was very challenging because we had a lot of different pieces of information coming in from the scene but we didn't really know exactly what had happened. >> reporter: experts say that r

. >> richard blumenthal also agreed, joining the critique.says congress is effectively complicit for its inaction. twitter follows are wondering if any new gun legislation will make its way through congress. >> the rest of the world are also concerned about gun control in the u.s. thanks to these google pages from around the world. we can see the top questions other countries are asking about the u.s. take a look at this. the british are asking why do americans love guns? in france, why did americans enter into the first world war? in ireland, why do americans love guns? canadians also asking the same questions, why do americans love guns? >> according to "the washington post," searches from brainard >>> our next chance of rain late monday into tuesday. a high likelihood that tuesday could be pretty soggy with rain from start to finish. you want to stick with storm team 4 as we continue to track and update the forecast. our normal high about 50 degrees. look at this weekend, 55 on saturday, 57 on sunday. a good weekend to hang the christmas l

senator blumenthal and i go and meet with the leadership to see what they're doing and share with them the frustration we have in the house and senate about things that aren't going right, but share with them the joy we have about the things they're doing to improve. next we're we have a consolidation of v.a. and non-v.a. benefits to make sure they get care from physicians. we're going to imriewferg the transitioning of veterans -- that's the biggest problem we have. active duty members who leave service and go to veteran service fall in a black hole. there is no interoppose a rability of health care records. floss transition and handoff. we're going do improve the experience of women veterans including protecting women of sexual trauma. we're going to combat veterans homelessness and make the goal of the president to get it to zero. we've already reduced it by a third. we're going to ensure access to mental health so no veteran doesn't have immediate access to counseling. on that point i want to commend the veterans administration for the hotline,s suicide prevention hotline which the

today connecticut's democratic senator richard blumenthal says the inaction of congress is partly to blame for the continued gun violence. >>> more tolls coming to a commute near you. adam tuss breaking down the proposed changes. >>> why he left his post. army sergeant bowe bergdahl opens up in a popular podcast. >>> how the movie "the martian" wound up in the comedy category. we are going live to southern >>> right now at 4:15, a somber day in montgomery county. hundreds of men and women in blue came out to salute fallen officer noah leotta. he died after being struck by a suspected drunk driver a week ago. >>> u.s. army sergeant bowe bergdahl opening up today for the first time. we're hearing from bergdahl about his mysterious disappearance any dramatic rescue in afghanistan. what he hopes to show in a new podcast. >>> more protests today in chicago. this time a group of medical students staged a so-called die-in to protest police abuse. >> 16 shots and s ans and a co. >>> the students marched to city hall this morning and then laid down on the sidewalk. the die-in lasted 16 minute

i want to go to capitol hill and bring in connecticut democratic senator richard blumenthal.easure to see you. >> good to see you, jose. thank you. >> your colleague, senator ted cruz, spoke on the shooting just in the last hour. let's listen to what he had to say. >> this horrific murder underscores that we are at a time of war. whether or not the current administration realizes it or is willing to acknowledge it, our enemies are at war with us. and i believe this nation needs a wartime president to defend it. >> senator, do you believe that we are in a time of war here at home? >> well, the war involves isis and isil and a part of the globe far away, but it certainly has ramifications at home in terms of the threat here. to say that we are at war at home is a question that really depends on the facts and circumstances. there are a lot of unknowns about the san bernardino shooting. in fact, more unknowns than there are answers. and so to draw these kinds of sweeping, vast conclusions on the basis of this hideous and horrific murder i think is somewhat hazardous, but we do kn

senator blumenthal said that congress is complicit in the shootings, because it has done nothing to rein in the shootings, and nancy pelosi issued a statement, saying that gun violence is a crisis of epidemic proportions in our nation, and congres: so some democrats bringing this back to the whole issue that we're focused on, trying to close some of these loopholes and pass some laws to reduce some of these mass shootings. >> all right, lisa, lisa stark for us, and let's get to it jennifer london in san bernardino, and she has the very latest for us. >> tony, we understand from a producer who is about two miles away from where the police are, she's seeing a large police presence, and the swat team is described as being out in full force, and they were surrounding a group of small homes, going door-to-door with guns drawn, maybe 15 minutes ago, they congregated at a white church in the neighborhood and started to fan out in the neighborhood. again, guns drawn, going door-to-door, searching these houses. >> all right, jennifer, we're looking at these pictures now. and the police at one cor

chairman. >> thank you, senator blumenthal. mr. pease, why should ab/inbev be required to divest wholesalers when it's not acquiring wholesalers let alone any assets at all let alone the united states. >> the purchase of south african breweries because they are acquiring independent ab distributors. they've acquired five in the last few months. and consolidated those into company owned distributorships that have reduced the access for my members to get to market. i think we have to keep in mind state based regulation to use a distributor for market and where abi controls that distributor, a wholly owned distributor that shuts off one of two plausible from our members. >> what's your response? >> we've owned wholesalers for more than 100 neyears. this will have no impact in the u.s. and the way we go to market. we own 21 wholesalers out of a universal 500 plus abi wholesalers and it's interesting to see that despite having owned for 100 years, crafts have grown to 11% last year to saying it will get to 20% by 2020 and, more interest

. >> senator blumenthal, then senator koonz. if you can stand me for seven more minutes, i have a second round of questions. >> thanks, mr. chairman. and thank you, director comey, for your excellent work and your great service to our country. thank you to your family. and most of the especially to your wife, patrice, who has done so much for the children of connecticut, and now for others around our country. i've just come from -- >> from iowa, too. >> thank you, mr. chairman, for that correction. i've just come from a hearing at the armed services committee, where secretary carter was testifying. and i want to first make the point that we often thank our men and women in uniform, which i do readily and repeatedly, and i do again now, but i also want to thank the very brave men and women who work under your command and enforce our laws and keep us safe, as well as law enforcement men and women around the country, police at every level, and are in a sense also at war. in fact secretary carter said, and i'm quoting, talking about

of e-mails that were released earlier this week went from hillary clinton to her friend sidney blumenthaled about mitt romney and newt gingrich, mentioned the caucus system had people who were often brought to the extremes. why this is interesting is that this was a similar comment that got howard dean in a lot of hot water in early 2004 right before iowa caucuses. one of many episodes that came to his downfall in that democratic contest. it's important to note there is a big difference between dean's position back then which was a very competitive race and hillary's where she is still leading bernie sanders by a comfortable margin. >> mark, thank you so much. we'll talk to you tomorrow with another round of interesting poll numbers, i'm sure. >>> coming up, after a record number of terrorism related arrests in the u.s. this year, a new report looks at how hundreds of isis ambassadors, as they are called, many of them women, are actively recruiting new members here in the u.s. but more on this investigation coming up next. redid you say 97?97! yes. you know, that reminds me of geico's 97%

. >> senator blumenthal. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you for your service, mr. secretary, general, thank you for being here. i just come from a vote on the floor but before that a hearing of the judiciary committee where fbi director comey was testifying about many subjects related closely to the subject matter of your testimony, even though the geography may be different, the threat is the same. and clearly, the strategy for confronting that threat of terror has to be coordinated and targeted to what poses the danger to our nation. and my feeling is, i agree with you, reality is, we are at war. that's the stark, irrefutable reality and more needs to be done. more aggressively, more intensely, and more effectively in using our special operators, advising local forces. supplying and equiping them, providing them with intelligence, intercepting communications of our adversaries and cutting off the flow of money which is their lifeblood. and and the pace of our present activities seems inadequate. now, we may differ on that point and you have more on the ground kno

. >> thank you, senator, blumenthal, that was a very excellent line of questioning. former colleague, senator specter, proposed legislation that dealt with china but other countries and both when he was a republican and democrat, i believe, and his proposal was that we stopped a mitting first -- we stopped a mitting any government officials other than the ambassador as long as they refuse to take back people. we've -- we could cut off aid. it's an essential part of immigration system worldwide that nations work together so it can not be accepted that a nation refuses to take back criminals that have left their country after they've been convicted. and if they refuse to do that we have the ability to push back. so i would think, i would appreciate if you would consider as senator blumenthal suggested legislation if that's needed and i believe, frankly, that you have plenty of powers that could move the needle on this anyway and finally this is a long-term problem and it's costing us hundreds of millions of dollars, wouldn't you agree, ms. saldana? >> yes, sir, and it

richard blumenthal"we certainly have a vulnerability to the 45 million stolen, lost or forged passports around the world."sen. jeff sessions"i don't think we have any confnfence that we can identify bogus passports effectively."thousands of phony paports have circulated in the middle east for years.but the ones of most concern are not fakes. [steve emerson ipt]"these are real passports, they pass all the credential and biometric tests."how did terrorists get there hands om real passports? [emerson]"there were probably ararnd 7 cities considered consular cities that issued passports ad in those cities they had tens of thousands of passports that fell into rebel hands."3 steven emerson with the investigative project on terrorism says government sources have told him there's no way to gurantee the true identity of people coming out of syria with passports in hand a a lawmakers have the e same imprereion. [sen. the visa waiver program needs to be drastically scrutinized." thuman reporting. 3 in bipartisan fashion the house of representatives voted to tighten restrictions on the visa waiver

. >> senator blumenthal. >> thank you mr. chairman. thank you for your service mr. secretary, general, and thank you for being here. i have just come from a vote on the floor. but before that a hearing of the judiciary committee where f.b.i. director combie was testifying about many subjects related closely to the subject matter of your testimony even though the geography may be different the threat is the same. clearly the strategy for confronting that threat of terror has to be coordinated and targeted to what poses the danger to our nation. and my feeling is i agree with you the reality is we are at war. that is the stark irrefutureable reality. and more needs to be done. more aggressively. more intensely. and more effectively in using our special operators, advising local forces, supplying and eye quipping them, providing them with intelligence, intercepting our ication of adversaries. and cutting off the flow of money, which is their life blood. nd the pace of our present activities seems inadequate. now, we may differ on that point and you have more on the gro

she sent this to blumenthal who didn't have a secured server and doesn't have a national security clearingion at amount of e-mailing. >> sid's dirty tricks when they ran against each other in 2008 said there is no way i will hire this guy. neil: is that it right there? >> yes, it is. she failed to keep national secure secrets. the question is not only the evidence to prosecute her, is there the will to prosecute her in this justice department. neil: you remind me, the fbi can recommend action, he alone can't prove it. he goes to the justice department says i think there's enough here. what do you do? >> we want you to take this to a grand jury, the justice department could say no, for policy reasons we're not going to do that. in my opinion if that happens, you'll see copy of proposed indictment leaked, evidence leaked and resignations on the part of certain fbi agents. she is in the hands of a very, very sophisticated team of fbi agents who are not interested in politics. this is the same team that took down general david petraeus for far less than the evidence they have here. neil: he ha

unanimous consent that for the next 20 minutes, i be given 4 minutes, senator sheen 4 minutes, senator blumenthal 4 minutes, senator murphy 4 minutes, concluding in a unanimous consent request. >> without objection. rep. schumer: thank you madam president. like so many americans, my thoughts are with those affected by the attacks in san bernardino. our hearts go out to the victims and families. as we learn more about the suspects, it's becoming clear that san bernadino will serve as i said, but also a shocking reminder. sad, buterve as a shocking reminder of what needs to be done at was being called the terror gap. i rise today in support of that most common sense proposal to bar individuals on the terrorist watch list from being able to legally get a gun. 14, gao found between 2004-20 suspected terrorists attempted to exploit this loophole. people say, well, this never happens. listen to this. they tried to purchase guns, 2223 times and succeeded in 94% of those. madam president, it is absolute insanity that this is not already a restriction that we have in place, given what happened in san bern