. >> thank you, chairman carper. welcome to our witnesses. first, let me extend our deepest condolences to the families, co-workers, families, and friends to those lost on september 16. to me this isn't a political issue, this is an issue of ulls failing to do our job in a proper way when it comes to security clearances. today g.a.o. is releasing a report. it just shows some 8,400 people receive security clearances, while they had tax debts, which is a vulnerability, got security clearances. and the vast majority of those were top secret security clearances. so our process is obviously broken, not complete, and not adequate. until this year, o.p.m. did not even have the means to debarring persons or falsified background checks, worse o.p.m. irges g. recommended 22 individuals, have received no answer on 14 cases and informed the other eight will not be debarred. something is very wrong. it's unlikely a stricter clearance process would have prevented a deranged individual from committing murder. but this event should be a katjacy -- catalyst f

with that, senator carper, i thank you. >> thank you so much. i'm going to go out of order to ask senator levin who chairs the subcommittee under which this investigation has taken place and ask him just to make a statement. i will make a short statement after that. then we'll turn to our witnesses. senator levin? >> thank you very much, senator carper and first let me commend senator coburn for his leadership and his and his staff's hard work in uncovering the abuses that are the subject of today's hearing. i also want to thank senator carper for supporting this investigative effort and for having his subcommittee hold this hearing today. this investigation began at the permanent subcommittee on investigations which i chair when senator coburn was our ranking republican member and then senator mccain became our ranking republican member and that is now his position on our subcommittee. our subcommittee rules provide that the ranking minority members may initiate an inquiry. it is an unusual rule. it is a very important rule and it almost guaran

carper: mr. president, parliamentary inquiry, if i may. the presiding officer: the senator from delaware. mr. carper: mr. president, i have no objection. i can stay ten minutes, 20 minutes. i would like for dr. coburn to have a chance to finish what he is prepared to saivment i a say. mr. coburn: mr. president, i would just inquire if we have other speakers after senator carper? the presiding officer: senator, there is no apparent order of speakers. if there is no objection, the senator from oklahoma can take an additional 20 minutes. mr. coburn: well, i thank you. i will try -- i really appreciate my colleague. he's great colleague to work with. people always hear the stories about people who don't work together. i can tell you tom cobur carperi work together. he helped dig up most of this information. what i would just say is we have an opportunity to do things. i mean, we have an opportunity for democrats and republicans to come together, forge a compromise, make major changes that are necessary and absolutely required if we're going to

carper: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from delaware. mr. carper: mr. president, i ask that the roll call -- quorum call be vitiated, please. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. carper: thank you, mr. president. as many of us will recall, on october 29, 2012, super storm sandy made landfall in my part of the united states. its impact up and down the east coast were devastating and heartbreaking. new york, new jersey, parts of new england were hit particularly hard. in delaware, we did not experience the level of devastation that was inflicted on our neighbors to the north and to the east, but our state did receive significant damage. in total, there were over 200 detectives attributed to superstorm sandy. today we remem remember the lives lost and those forever impacted by this storm. as i travel through delaware during and after the storm i saw some of the massive impacts of that storm firsthand. but i saw something else as well. i saw people from all walks of life pulling together, helping one another and taking care of their neighbors. the

carper, senator coburn, members of the committee, good afternoon. my name is sarah carver. joinedember 2000 one, i the social security administration office of disability and review, called odar. over the course of my employment at the administration, i have held the position of senior case administrator, and in addition to my duties, i was elected to the position as union steward odar, andntington prior to that, i was a paralegal, where i are narrowly focused on claimants seeking social security disability benefits. i am a university graduate with a degree in legal study. to 2006, i routinely receive performance awards for the quality and production of my work in the huntington odar office. however, in 2006, those awards came to an abrupt stop when there was a new hearing office director. coincidentally, i had been voicing my concerns about what i received -- perceived as improper processing of claims at the huntington office. not only did i report my concerns to mr. hall, i also reported them to other members of the huntington management team throughout the year. these me

it begins with committee chairman tom carper. >> [inaudible conversations] >> the hearing will come to order. we welcome all of our guests here today. and might want to start at the outset by thinking of dr. coburn, turn 11, senator mccain, their staffs and our witnesses for the work that you have done, to bring us here to this day. i'm going to make a very brief opening statement. then yielded dr. coburn for a much longer statement and then i'll have some more things to say. i will say this. all of us know we are facing a huge budget deficit in this country. cut in half from about one point for joining to about $700 billion, still way too much. it's part of the reason why we have this government shut down its in effect even today. there are a number of things we need to continue to do to make sure that we bring down the deficit. we run this country in a fiscally responsible way. i think we have a moral imperative to do what is right, the right thing to do, particularly looking out for the least i in our society. i think also have a fiscal imperative to make sure we meeting that moral

who was not happy with sara carper? >> mr. conn spent so now mr. conn was not happy about your employ, so you say, hey, she is supposed to be working at home on these special days where she's allowed to work at home, and he said, difficult to prove that. the only way she could be disciplined is if there was a video sent to her supervisor. so eric conn said he would be willing to hire a private investigator to check, is that right? >> that's correct. >> and then you say, you told him that sounds like an idea. and then eric on give yo you a note, is that correct? >> that's correct. >> for sara's knees, did she work for you? >> sandy. >> sandie nies, did she work for you? >> at that time i wasn't the chief judge so working for me was -- >> but he did you know? >> yes. >> and so that note was for you to give to center, is that correct? >> yes. >> and you didn't? >> yes. >> and that note had a cell number or a contact in eric conn's office, and you gave it to sander, right? >> yes spent she said she would call the person when she knew that sara carver w

thank you, madam chairman. >> so we're going to turn to senator carper followed by senator baucus whojust joined us because he will be in that state. senator carper is also on the finance committee. >> we'll be looking for to making these decisions with you, madam chairman. i want to conduct a couple of you mentioned vmt, one of the user fees we should consider. before i do that though let me ask made a show of hands how many of you think that part, that mrs. should all of the solution here to making sure that our resources meet the needs come how many of you believe that, if not a gasoline tax some kind of user fee relates to motor fuel taxes is part of the solution? would you raised your hand? thank you very much. i've been interested in a while in vmt. when we considered map-21, proposed, suggested that we might create a research program to explore how we might structure of vmt fee. unfortunately, it was included in the senate bill was taken out in conference, but i would like to ask mr. lewis, maybe mr. diloreto, tell me how you think u.s. dot could help us support sort of a long-

carper, upon recommendation of counsel, i respectfully decline to answer based upon my fifth amendment rights. >> all right. is it your intention to assert her fifth amendment right to any questions that might be directed to you by the committee today? >> yes, sir. it is. >> given the fact that you intend to assert a fifth amendment right against self-incrimination to all questions asked of you today by this committee, you are excused. >> yes, sir. thank you. >> dr. bradley, you are recognized for your statement. welcome. >> thank you very much. ladies and gentlemen, my statement will be relatively short. i'm here today to tell the truth. i have nothing to hide. if the ladies and gentlemen, on the committee have read my testimony, i do understand that it seems like the biggest question regarding my performance or my relationship with mr. eric conn was the rfc's in question. when asked i would be more than happy to eliminate or talk about that, but the biggest thing you asked if i had any reaction to anything that had been said, particularly by mr. coburn, i would take exception to bein

carper: mr. president, the former governor, i want to follow on the comments we just heard from senator portman, who as he said served in two administrations. in one of them as o.m.b. director, the other as trade representative. before that a distinguished career in the u.s. house of representatives, somebody i am fortunate to serve with on the finance committee. i have a lot of respect for his intellect and for his intellectual honesty. i just want to -- before i talk about the real reason i came to the floor, i just feel compelled to say something. as former governors, mr. president, i had made tough decisions on spending, i had to make tough decisions on revenues, and not always well received by people, not always well received by people in our own party. i like to say there are three or four things we need to do to get our deficit heading -- continue to make sure it continues to head in the right direction. i don't worship at the altar of a balanced budget every single year, but what i do bel

the i ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported amendment be agreed to, the carper title amendment at the desk be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be laid on the table, with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i now ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to h. con. res. 58. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h. con. res. 58, expressing the sense of congress regarding the need for the continued availability of religious services to members of the armed forces and their families during a lapse in appropriations. the presiding officer: is thrks to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that the levin amendment to the concurrent resolution which is deck be agreed to, the congress current resolution as amenden agreed to that a levin amendment to the preamble be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completees its busines

. >> chairman carper and ranking member coburn. i wish to state at the outset i'm here in a personal and not a official capacity. the views expressed in my testimony are mine, expressed in my personal capacity as a private citizen. this testimony, i do not present the representative the view of the social security administration or the united states government. i'm not acting as an agent or representative of the social security administration or the united states government in this activity. there is no express or implied endorsement of my views or activities. either by the social security administration or the united states government. i was asked to make that position clear to you before i testify. >> thank you. please proceed. >> i have heard a lot of full-time here today about my office. i would like to start by explaining a little bit how we changed our processes of handling cases. we recently, by we, the social security administration recently adopted an electronic business process to try and create a unified system for handl

plan chairman carper was asking his initial question of the panel ms. carver you talk a little bit about how you first became aware of this and he talked about a mass collusion and part of what you are describing was sort of what became apparent when you looked at this alj's docket and if that is the right word in the outcomes of those cases versus others. did you just sort of walk me through what stood out when you look at those reports and those comparisons? >> depending on which report you would pull up, you could get the monthly dispositions of each judge and you could see that judge daugherty would do the work of three judges as opposed to one judge. you could also look at the amount of favorable decisions that he had versus the amount of other judges. all judges pretty much in their allowance rate that his decisions on one report, you could see that they would go all the way down and all you saw was favorable, favorable, favorable. not only were you able to look at the amount he did each month but you could look at the representative then you coul

washington and george washington kearp -- carper.e went down there and embraced the tuskegee airmen but gave them the publicity that they were in this together. i forget the time but like an hour flight flying over the air space with an african-american pilot. remember, needer roosevelt got hammered for having booker t. washington in the white house. now eleanor roosevelt's niece is flying with the tuskegee airmen in the southern air space. i'll let you take on the naacp. >> eleanor had worked very closely when the defendant was being put into place to really ncourage f.d.r. to support the naacp. f.d.r. did not want to fund -- i mean, he did not want the tuskegee airmen to fly. the secretary of war said leadership is not embedded in the negro race. it was a felony to give plasma that was collected from a person of one race to the other of another race even though plasma was perfected by an african-american physician. eleanor roosevelt went down to tuskegee to force f.d.r.'s hand. she goes to the air base. they do not know she's comin

carper: dr. coburn is is a tough act to follow. i'm not going to try to do that but i'm happy to serve with him. we come from different parts of the country, different kinds of training, upbringing and careers, but we've ended up here together in the senate and for the last nine years we've had an opportunity to lead first a subcommittee on federal financial management, subcommittee of the homeland security and government affairs committee and for this year to be the leertdz, democrat and republican leaders of the committee. and i enjoy working with him, i find that we have the opportunity to do some real good, some real good for our country and i thank him for letting me be his wing man. i want to just follow on with what dr. coburn has said by asking us to think of how we spend money and would we spend it for in this government of ours. i have -- i actually have an op-ed that i read recently in our local paper in delaware i'd like to read into the record from dr. bob laskosky, the c.e.o. of christiana care system, one of the larg

carper: while, the senator is still on the floorks i just want to take a moment and -- to say to him, i think he knows this, but to say to him how much we've enjoyed getting to know him, to work with him, and to really come away with a wonderful -- not just a first impression but a lasting impression. i think goarn christie did the state of new jersey well by appointing you to serve as the interim senator. we had a similar experience with losing and elected senator. when joe biden became -- was elected to vice president and u.s. senate at the same time, and he had to choose between, will he be the senator from delaware or will he be vice president, he made the choice -- i don't know if he ever regrets it, but he made the choice to be our vice president, as we know. and the governor of our state ainterpood ted kaufman. he was succeeded by chris coons, when chris was elected a couple years ago. but we have a tradition of folks that are appointed as interim senators turn out to do an extraordinary job. i wonder if maybe tongue in cheek if maybe that's not a better approach in some cases

senator carper. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. secretary, thanks for joining us. i want to say to my colleagues i just got out of the room for a few minutes. i was watching on television in an adjoining room. i must say people watching this on tv must be frustrated, disappointed with us. some of the finest people who serve in the senate serve on this committee. that's what i wanted to be on this committee. find reasonable and principled compromise. the problem here is pretty simple. democrats need to support entitlement reform that saves money. saves these programs from the long haul and is consistent with our obligation to look out for the least of these. that's what we need to do. republicans need to embrace tax reform that provides certainty, predictability for businesses and investors but at the same time generate some revenues. we go back to those four years at the end of the clinton administration where we had balanced budgets. revenue is a percentage of gdp. writer than 20% all four years. those four years, spending as a percentage of gdp was right around 2

senator carl levin, senator tom carper, myself, senator mccain and several others.. it's to preserve our disability payments by not paying disability to people who aren't disabled. >> well, that's obviously going to be what the important prospect is, right? we want to make sure we protect the most vulnerable. that's what that program is all about. >> that's right. >> senator, thank you so much. i know you have important business there. i wish more of it was going on right now. i appreciate you coming on "new day." look forward to seeing you again. >> you bet. >> all right. over to you. >>> new this morning, the obama administration is preparing to suspend some of the military aid to egypt. the country has been thrown into turmoil ever since the military coup that toppled mohammed mors in july. we have a live report from washington this morning. what are we hearing, jim? there is talk that this is new? >> right. this is a significant decision affecting one of the most significant relationships for the u.s. and middle east. the white house says an announcement is comi

senator carper. >> mr. secretary, thanks for joining us. i just stepped out of the room for a few minutes. i was watching the hearing on television in an adjoining room. and i must say people watching this on tv must be frustrated, disappointed with us. some of the finest people who serve in the senate serve on this committee. that's why i wanted to be on this committee, thoughtful democrats and republicans, pragmatic, find the middle, reasonable, principled compromise. >> they're doing our best to take a live mix of democrats and republicans because viewers want parody on that front, jim. >> do they want us in a hush golf voice in ooh, looks like netflix -- >> we have to pay some bills and we want to do them before the opening bell in about four minutes. we'll take a quick break and get you that bell in just a moment. [ male announcer ] once, there was a man who found a magic seashell. it told him what was happening on the trading floor in real time. ♪ the shell brought him great fame. ♪ but then, one day, he noticed that everybody could h

now, i want to build on what senator carper has been talking about because i think it's so important.probably i was sitting in the first time this happened and most of you know i'm new to the senate, new to these procedures, and senator murray, who's chair of the budget committee, came out and she asked to appoint a budget conference committee. i -- i know this process fairly well. you know, we get the big targets and then they get passed down to the appropriators who then build the budget within those guidelines. and senator from texas stood up and objected. and i thought, why would you object to the appointment of a conference committee with the house and with representative ryan, who has been a staunch conservative and a staunch proponent of targets that i would think that the senator from texas agreed to? and -- and there was this long back-and-forth, and senator murray sat down and that was the end of it. and i was perplexed. i thought, well, when do we get to vote on this conference committee? when do we get to, you know, kind of tell her it's okay, because i doubt there's a who

he was joined by fellow republican senators john barrasso susan collins johnny isaacson and tom carperoldt conversations [inaudible conversations] senators have also been tweeting about the shutdown. carl levin said the senate has voted three times to open the government. it's time for the house to bring to a vote. >> today marks the third day of the republican government shutdown. it could be over in hours if the republicans would just take yes for an answer. yesterday afternoon 100 members of congress and others who backed up what we were doing stood on the steps of the capitol and spoke out to the speaker telling him to allow a vote on what means nothing to the american people to allow a vote to keep the government open. on two separate occasions yesterday on the floor he proposed the motion to keep the government open by accepting the senate bill. i remind you let the senate bill contained is the number 96 is the number the house republicans opposed. i am on both occasions, every democrat voted to keep the government opened, swallowing the 986 even though it was a figure that we ha

coons, heinrich, murray, sanders, shaheen, cardin, franken, brown, harkin, reed of rhode island, carper, whitehouse, nelson and schumer. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the mandatory quorum under rule 22 be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i now move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. all opposed nay. the ayes appear to have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. reid: i now move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 327. the presiding officer: the question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. all opposed, nay. all in favor say aye. all opposed say nay. the ayes appear to have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. reid: there is another cloture motion at the desk. i ask that it be reported. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the nomination. the clerk: nomination, patricia ann millett of virginia to be united states circuit judge for the district of columbia circuit. mr. reid: madam president, i ask unanimous consent that reading of the names be waived. the pre