al added by senate appropriations committee chairman daniel inouye. and the senator admitted in 2007 that the project was committed over the objections of the state department and without any hearings. a similar group, the north-south center, stopped receiving earmarks in 2001. there is that doubt that funding for the east-west center also would have gone south were it not located in the state of the senate appropriations committee chairman. one of the more egregious earmarks in the defense bill is $5 million added for the star base youth program which teaches science, technology, engineering, and math to at-risk youth in multiple locations at or near military bases around the country. since fiscal year 2001 six earmarks costing taxpayers $19 million have been directed toward star base. a february 2012 government accountability office report on program duplication and overlap found that $3 billion was spent in 13 agencies for these stem programs. eliminating the star base program would drop that number all the way down to 208. because a moratorium is

mike inouye has a look at the routes to avoid this traffic nightmare. >> first off, best option, use the ferry. mary curry says they'll double the service to handle the flow. if you need your car on either side of the bay, here are other things to consider. with doyle shut down for visitors to and from the march eep a, they will find it cut off. drivers will flow on the van ness. add to the familiar mess we call 19th avenue as well. to avoid this, head east. that lower deck through berkeley and back across richmond, san rafael. more mileage, sure, but less headache. this means more traffic for the lower deck of bay bridge, too. if you get the option to use san mateo bridge to the south, then use that san mateo bridge to the south. good luck. back to you. >> good information. thank you, mike. >>> a cabbie car jacked in the east bay. police are looking for the yellow taxi and the gunman that stole it. the taxi driver tells police he picked up three mep at the bay point b.a.r.t. station and took them to an apartment complex in antio antioch. when they arrived, they pulled a gun, robbed

i'm mike inouye. there's lots to do today in the bay. let's start it off friendly. is my friend evan. he has autism. he's also a really fun kid who will be doing comedy along with the rest of the gang at comedy sports in san jose tonight. an all-age live improv group. a portion of the ticket sales go to support him in walk now for autism speaks. that's a fund-raiser you'll hear more about in may again, i promise. >>> now as we all know, the very best improvisers are kids, so the next item is probably going to knock all the older comedians out of the game, but tonight at the firehouse art center, the keen improv festival goes on. the high school improv tournament is a competition featuring talents from local tri-valley high schools. the first place winner of the competition will be in this evening's show along be with creatures of impulse and featured in the local filment project. >>> improv is a great skill to build on. another great skill builder is legos. it will help build up your engineering skills and creativity. play well technologies and 1,000 pieces of lego

. >> student camp 2012 grand prize winner matthew shimura joining us from hawaii and senator inouye.atthew, let me begin with you. about how you came to the topic of japanese american internment camps as well as finding that part of the constitution that applies to that part of our u.s. history. >> well, i came to the topic by after learning about my great uncle john's story. and after learning about him more through my family i started researching the japanese internment through a number of books, then i became interested in the topic and that's how i chose it. >> and those that just saw your documentary could see the long list of research that you went through, articles, you went through c-span's video library. how much time did you spend on it? >> i spent through the whole project i think i spent over 100 hours doing the whole thing. by researching many books and looking like the enemy and looking up different supreme court cases and the c-span footages of the justices breyer and rehnquist and talking to eric yamamoto who represented fred karamatsu. >> were people willing to talk

mike inouye and myself will be here to guide you through it nonetheless.is that saturday forecast. rain went, thursday, clearing out quickly by friday. sun comes out, warms us back up. high pressure firmly in control saturday through monday, keeping inland highs in the 80s, guys. so the roller coaster keeps on going. >> keep riding that ride. thank you, christina. >>> imagine not being able to see your newborn baby, it is a difficult reality for many military families. >> heart breaking to think about. now hospitals are using technology to help bridge the distance. they are helping a certain soldier feel the joy of fatherhood. >> she was born ten weeks early, a fragile 2 pounds, 13 ounces. doctors say the road ahead for her looks good, but it will be a long road. >> sometimes i breakdown, but i'm trying to be strong mostly for her. all the technology now, i feel like she'll be all right. >> according to the doctors, she will likely be at st. jude's neonatal intensive care unit a couple of months. as she grows, her mother can only touch her occasionally. he

senator daniel inouye, thank you for your time.ost: once again, our congratulations to matthew shimura. and, to all of the studentcam entrance, even if she did not win a prize, you learned a lot by doing that, and we watched the video is. the 75 students that one are on our website. we appreciate you taking part in this, and we hope you'll learn more. one of the things the documentary does it is inspiring to think, learn, or want to know more and we would do that in the spirit of the competition, opening up our phone lines and talking more about that. of internment camps in our history. to do that with us, terumi rafferty-osaki is at american university here. he will talk to us about this time in history. that is my first question for you. is this just a snapshot in time of an unfortunate time in american history, or are there things in our society today we should draw from it? guest: there are definitely things we should draw from the time, especially with the marked notice of arab-americans, for example, and if you see a movie li

laura garcia-cannon and mike inouye helped them roll up their sleeves. laura talked with neil smith about the company's efforts. >> this is the best day of the company. it's nice to have them here with us. thank you on behalf of comcast. we love giving back to the community we work in. we love dreaming big and getting in volunteerism and funding. it's very meaningful for us to be out in the community. we expected 3,000 volunteers and got 4,200 or more. we are working on 6700 projects around the country. i love seeing the kids and families here working together. it's part of our country. it means a lot to us to give back. >> again, comcast is nbcs parent company. volunteers showed up throughout the bay area to help with republican novations inside and out. i had a chance to participate at an elementary school in west oakland. as you could have seen, but you can't. comcast folks painted the stairs. we had a chance to plant flowers and clean up the classrooms. volunteers were out in force at the shore today. the leatherback sea turtle was the focus on the s

mike inouye was on the nbc bay area float. there he is looking good.he event is a way to show off japanese culture and the diversity of the japanese american community. >>> astronomers say a loud explosion that rattled the sierra this morning was likely caused by a meteor. people who live in the tahoe area said they saw what they believed to be a meteor shower just prior to the sound around 8:30 this morning. others said they saw a fireball streak across the sky at the same time. the associated press is reporting it rattled windows and shook houses from reno to bakersfield. also a meteor streak in the south bay this morning. people saw a brilliant green streak race across the sky in a northeast direction. >>> and we're going to go right to meteorologist rob mayeda with more on what may have happened in tahoe this morning. what was going on? >> pretty interesting. first to see a fireball at 8:30 in the morning, to see it bright even with the daylight out there. we think what happened is the fireball that probably exploded in the skies just to the southe

. >> senator inouye, where were you? >> i was a senior in high school when december 7th occurred.bout a month later, i was shocked to learn that the government of the united states had decided to designate the number four c to all japanese. that simply means you are an enemy alien, not fit to put on the uniform for one thing and that we were considered to be disloyal or untrustworthy. many of us resented that. we petitioned the president of the united states and about a year after december the 7th, we got the word that the doors were open if you want to volunteer. however, we had no idea as to what was happening on the main land. we had no idea that exactly the 9066 had been issued, because i am from hawaii. the news, all of it, was censored. so you would receive daily papers with black spots and i learned about the camps after camp shelby for my training. >> shelby. mp? >> yes. >> so at that point, you are training in the u.s. military to go fight for this country and you learn of the japanese american encampmentes. what was going through your mind as a japanese-american preparin

in san jose, laura garcia and mike inouye motivated hundreds to roll up their sleeves at harry sloniker academy. >> yeah, this is the best day in the company. it's wonderful to have our partners, nbc universal, out here with us. thank you on behalf of comcast. we love giving back to the communities that we work in. we love dreaming big and giving in the form of volunteerism or technology or even funding. it's very meaningful for us to be out with the community. it's wonderful to see. we've got 57,000 people out around the country working on 650 projects. everyone's so enthused. i just love seeing all kids here and the families here working together. >> volunteers showed up at schools throughout the bay area to help with renovations inside and out. i also had the chance to participate. i was out at lafayette elementary school in west oakland and we painted stairs and we had the chance to plant beautiful flowers and clean up a bit as well. it was very nice for comcast. >>> let's check in with meteorologist ryan mayeda with a look at weather. you were helping with comcast cares as well. >>

flying symbol of projects cost inflation and february according to wire gauge real senators daniel inouye and bad talker in the senate money men by wired blog and i was shocked when they sent a letter to deputy defense secretary ashton carter and said the following so we strongly urge you to examine the program and if necessary these scope the program back to the original baseline requirements so that combat troops in afghanistan benefit from this capability as soon as possible thing is that the air force doesn't seem to agree the pilot project alone cost two hundred eleven million dollars and the air force estimate of the football field size ship would cost one hundred eighty eight million per year to run and moreover the air force prefers versatile drones for surveillance and according to a report on wired's danger room today or that was according to a report in wired changes that the last one they air force ignored the senators and it placed a stop work order on this project i'll be hearing teeing the shutdown after all the blue devil block too wasn't even included. agency's twenty thi

. >>> first here's mike inouye with your community calendar. >>> this first evend is a book signing. surrounded with wine producers, the bay area we're well familiar with wine, and today i call your attention to an olive oil testing at cupertino library. she's the author of "the passionate olive." learn about oil tasting and up to 100 other things, actually exactly 100 other thing. olive oil, i love it. >>> from love to oeuf, the egg, get a head start on the pictures with the easter bunny before the line gets too hairy. in san francisco we'll have that, along with the face painting, a jumpy house or hop house, i get, and easter egg hunt, brought to you by the hate ash bury council. >>> and the sounds of the islands will fell chabot college, and i'm positive, positive, you'll be able to get something with spam in it, likely rice with chili, where on campus, and even you could win tickets to go to how. remember, bring back some chocolate macadamia nuts or a t fine. after year. feed me! saving you money -- now, that's progressive. call or click today. things fun. sometimes she lets us p

but first, here's mike inouye with a look at the weekend calendar. >>> good morning.'s lots to do "today in the bay." which comes first, the chicken or the egg? for saturday, the egg. six of them that you'll get at the botanical garden. there's a hands-on workshop there. you'll introduce kids to the joy of natural dyes. the edible workshop. now this is from the sea. for that, head across the street to the pier in san francisco for the sing-a-long. i know it is the muppets, but they are singing from 8:00 to midnight tonight aboard the ship at the maritime national historical park. bring warm clothes, your singing voice and a mug for hot cider at the monthly free event. the muppets are not included. >>> so far we have the land, we have sea, and air. santa has his sleigh, so it seems fair for the easter bunny to arrive by helicopter. today at the hillard aviation museum, just a hop off the free, go a hair to the south near the holly street exit and be set for the 10:30 arrival of the big bunny himself. stick around for the egg hunt, face painting and the jump and slide.

mike inouye, there's hope if headed to the sierra. >> that's right. westbound moving. lanes reopened, all westbound lanes reopened 15 minutes ago. we're just now seeing this shot at the toll plaza start to move. the map shows you it is slow across the bridge from 880 across the span to foster city. that means a lot of traffic going to 101. watch,t on s on the east bay. >> thanks so much. >>> we will have a look at the forecast after the break. sound a whole lot better when you put them in a taco shell instead of a pyramid. old el paso. when you gotta have mexican. this reduced sodium soup says it may help lower cholesterol, how does it work? you just have to eat it as part of your heart healthy diet. step 1. eat the soup. all those veggies and beans, that's what may help lower your cholesterol and -- well that's easy [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup. >>> welcome back. take a look at all of these people on the golden gate bridge enjoying this beautiful day. it is gorgeous in the bay. temperatures in the upper 70s. right now, we'r

host: daniel inouye, at this time, where were you?s a senior in high school, and about one month later i was shocked to learn that the government of the united states had decided to designate the number 4c to japanese citizens, which simply put means you are an enemy alien, and it meant he were not fit to put on a uniform, for one thing, as we were considered to be disloyal or not trustworthy, and many of us resented that, and we petitioned the president of the united states, and about one year after december 7, we got the word that the doors were open, if you want to volunteer, go ahead. in hawaii, 87% of the eligible men volunteered, which is a record that has not been touched since that time. however, we have no idea what was happening on the mainland, no idea that executive order 96 to six have been issued because i am from -- 9066 had been issued, because i've learned about the camps after i got to camp shelby for mice training. because i am from hawaii. all of the news was censored. you would receive papers with blank spots. i l

the secret government, the rogue network, the peak states and some of these are people like senator inouyer other people. theodore roosevelt even had something to say about this at that point. this is the phenomenon you are dealing with. michael roper said is so radical, we are going to blame it all and cheney. of course cheney is now an invalid but the event still go on. the danger of the war with iran is with us. the false flag terror events, mohammad merra and others, we could go on and on. the radical say bush and cheney could be involved in this and in retrospect we reveal this is absurd. one of the things we reveal us as time passes secrets cannot be kept. people who might have doubted the ability to control planes when promote control now you are confronted with predator drones, reaper drones, flying all over the world. they are run by global hawk technology and things like this. >> we actually have one way, way way in the back. >> hi. this is kind of for both of you but this idea that webster tarpley talks about with the able danger, doesn't the fact that in libya you have the sort

center daniel inouye admitted in 2007 that the project was created over the without any hearings. a similar group, the north, south center stop receiving your marks in 2001. there's no doubt that funding for the east-west center would have on south were not located in the state of the senate appropriations committee chairman. one of the more egregious earmarks in the defense bill, $5 million added for a program that teaches science, technology, engineering and math to at risk youth and multiple locations at or near military bases around the country. since 2001, six earmarks costing taxpayers $90 million, have been directed toward this program. a gao report found that $3 billion was spent with 13 agencies for these programs, eliminating the star race program would drop that number all the way down to 208. because the moratorium is only temporary, center pat to me and represented jeff blake, both of whom are not here today, have introduced a bipartisan earmarked elimination act which would establish a permanent ban on your marks. unfortunately, the senate rejected an amendment by a

starting to make economic sense to bring jobs back to ohio, back to michigan, bring jobs back to bill inouye and ali alatas and indiana because even if labor costs are lower, the workers are better here and when you factor in the transportation costs, a lot of times it makes sense to in stores now but that's only going to be true if we can make sure we have workers with higher skills who can manage fancier machinery than folks in other places. and all that sort of community colleges like this one. so i just had a chance to listen to four of your classmates and your little bit about how they got here and where they are headed. dr. dwayne who was at a packaging company is learning how to operate high-tech machinery. and reagan lost her job as an h.r. analyst but is now getting certified in the field of electronic medical records. david, who in addition to being a truck driver was also a marine so we know he can do the job comegys year to retrain for a higher-paying job and you just heard from bronson who was laid off two years ago and you heard what he said. he was at a dead-end in his life, a

inouye, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: followinger leader remarks we'll have an hour of morning business and at that time, when that time is up around 11:00 there will be 10 minutes -- there will be five minutes on each side for the motion to reconsider the postal reform bill. we should have a vote around 10 after 11:00 today. yesterday senate republicans rejected the idea of millionaires and billionaires should contribute their fair share to help the country prosper. republicans sent a message to millions of honest, hard-working americans who file their taxes today. it's fair for warren buffett to pay a lower tax than his secretary. that's not fair. republicans said it's fair for mitt romney to pay a lower tax rate than his cleaning lady or his chauffeur. that's not fair. they believe, my republican colleagues, it's fair for hedge fund managers and executives to pay a lower tax and this than schoolteachers and waitresses and bus drivers. but that's something that you don't have to take my word for it, mr. president.

mike inouye is here to tell us about the traffic. hopefully smooth sailing. >> smoother.ck-up. we expect that. there are a couple of accidents in the area but they are moving to the shoulder. going to the left side of your screen, that's northbound 17 and northbound 880 crossing over the freeway where northbound 880 continues on our maps. look at all this red. no earlier accidents near that interchange. there is one on great america parkway. south bay is slow, jon. >> appreciate the update. for the latest, make sure to check out nbc bay area on facebook. [ female announcer ] this is the story of sam, who made an unexpected arrival. [ woman ] he was 4 months early, weighing 1 pound, 12 ounces. [ female announcer ] fortunately, sam was born at sutter health's alta bates summit medical center. [ woman ] the staff was remarkable. they made me feel safe, trusting, cared for. [ giggles ] they saved his life. i owe all of them my son. [ female announcer ] alta bates summit medical center and sutter health -- our story is you. >>> we are back now at 8:30 on a thursday morning, 5t

i should acknowledge senator inouye and the great governor of maryland, martin o'malley. [applause] >> do you want to make a toast? it is very hard when the governor is in the house and not to have them make a toast. do you want to make a toast, governor? a toast? >> [unintelligible] [applause] >> ok. hip-hip-hooray for senator barbara mikulski. [applause] >> mr. vice president, before you go, many many thanks far one, honoring me and helping celebrate this great occasion. we want to thank you for all of their public service and your great life in the united states senate. you are known for your work in foreign relations or you worked so hard to bring about world peace and being an advocate there, for your work on the judiciary committee and creating legislation to put more cops on the beat. as the architect of the violence against women legislation -- many things came out of that, including a hot line that if you felt that you were in danger, you knew the government was on your side and at your fingertips. since we passed the legislation, sponsored and created by the vic

let's look at the drive now with mike inouye. >>> look at the top of the screen coming down the eastks blend with the merge off the richmond bridge. no real alternate, that's what you have. 880 at the bottom of the screen. live northbound slow at the coliseum. 680 tough all morning. lanes open the bulk of the commute. slow southbound, continuing out of pleasanton into the south bay. >>> for the record, mike inouye, above and beyond the call of duty all day long. thank you for joining us. another local update in a half hour from now. >>> we had this, this glow about her that was just, you know, incredible. you know. and i'm -- i'm -- i'm thinking to myself, you know, she must be -- she must be doing really well, because she looked really well. >> for the first time since the passing of whitney houston her ex-husband bobby brown is speaking out, and that is what he had to say about the last time he saw whitney, about a week before her untimely death. we will hear from bobby brown in an exclusive interview wednesday, only on "today." >> hard to believe she's gone. >> yeah. >> and i got

inouye, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. reid: thank you, mr. president. america has the best, brightest and most dedicated workers in the world. all those workers need is a fair shot to succeed. but right now many workers in this country don't enjoy the same rights as the wealthy c.e.o.'s. that is a right to negotiate the terms of their employment. a new rule from the national labor relations board will remove unnecessary obstacles to workers' rights to form a union. i solidly support this rule and i urge all my colleagues to vote tomorrow against a resolution of disapproval which would strike down this commonsense rule. the new rule doesn't change or do anything to encourage unions, but it doesn't discourage them either. it just gives workers the ability to vote yes or no while minimizing the chances of intimidation and stalling. mr. president, tomorrow the senate will also vote on a number of amendments to a bipartisan postal reform bill. this important piece of legislation will safeguard more than eight million jobs of p

i should acknowledge senator inouye and the great governor of maryland, martin o'malley. [applause] >> do you want to make a toast? it is very hard when the governor is in the house and not to have them make a toast. do you want to make a toast, governor? a toast? >> [unintelligible] [applause] >> ok. hip-hip-hooray for senator barba mikulski. [applause] >> mr. vice president, before you go, many many thanks far one, honoring me and helping celebrate this great occasion. we want to thank you for all of their public service and your great life in the united states senate. you are known for your work in foreign relations or you worked so hard to bring about world peace and being an advocate there, for your work on the judiciary committee and creating legislation to put more cops on the beat. as the architect of the violence against women legislation -- many things came out of that, including a hot line that if you felt that you were in danger, you knew the government was on your side and at your fingertips. since we passed the legislation, sponsored and created by the vice-

not the least of which is the friendship that is unsurpassed between him and dan inouye.dly injured in northern italy. face been used together in a hospital in minnesota or michigan, someplace like that. [laughter] they both start with m. [laughter] .. >> i was happy to have done that one small thing for bob dole. senator baker, most of the things i know about him, come from people from nevada. paul axel cared a great deal about howard baker. they have the same kind of personalities. they were very soft-spoken, they were very good at what they did, they were not bullies, howard baker, popkin and, paul axel. i'm so grateful to have the opportunity to recognize the purpose of this. the purpose is to do whatever can be done to establish bipartisan cooperation of the senate, and i'm going to continue to do everything i can to establish that. thank you very much. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, former senate majority leader and bipartisan senator beltran for. >> on behalf of the epc, i'm pleased to be here tonight. especially after eating away from the senate. working here

it's my sincere privilege, especially to have senator inouye and lautenberg, both veterans of the war, as cosponsors too. as the raiders gather this week, these five men will honor other heroes. and this is what's even, perhaps, as interesting as the first part. the chinese citizens who cared for, protected, and enabled them to survive in a foreign land, a very foreign land to these american men. a chinese delegation's coming to dayton for the reunion. among the delegation is a man whose father helped carry injured raiders to safety and even nursed one raider to health i would be certain that they couldn't talk to each other in a common language. they had never seen anybody like the other one, yet one, a chinese, helped this american airman. it's only fitting we recognize this week's anniversary and commend the five living members of the -- and the 75 deceased members of the doolittle raiders for their heroism on that day. it's fitting to honor the chinese for their compassion they showed the american raiders they encountered. this is a humble attempt to show our gratitude. the valor,

inouye, president pro tempore.the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to s. 1925 which the clerk will report. the clerk: motion to proceed to calendar number 312, s. 1925, a bill to reauthorize the violence against women act of 1994. mr. reid: i would yield to my friend from rhode island. the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island is recognized. mr. whitehouse: i thank the majority leader for that courtesy. i'll only take a moment to recognize and welcome reverend rebecca spencer who shared with us the prayer that began the senate's session this morning. she has been the pastor of central congregational church in providence, rhode island since 1988, it was my congregation for the years that i lived in providence, my wife and i renewed our vows under her care. she is a wonderful and thoughtful preacher from the pulpit, her church has perhaps the best musical and choral program,

inouye, president pro tempore. mr. reid: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: the senate is considering a motion to proceed to s. 1925, violence against women reauthorization act. republicans will control the first half-hour. the majority the second half-hour this morning. the republicans will also control the time from 11:30 to 12:30 today. the majority will control the time from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. at 2:00 p.m. the senate will resume consideration of the postal reform bill. there will be several roll call votes, six to eight votes, at that time in order to complete the bill. madam president, i am very, very gratified about the work that's been done for the last many months which will culminate today in the passing of this postal bill. it's been extremely difficult. lots of people worked on this, and it's been a bipartisan effort. and it's going to be something that is going to send to the house a message that we can do big things. it's an important piece of legislation, one of the biggest we have dealt with

the other thing is dan inouye, the senator from hawaii, many years ago talked about the true power is not our politicians, it is a shadow government, the new world order. host: who do you plan on voting for tomorrow? caller: ron paul, because he is the only one in the republican field that i feel is telling the truth. he has talked about the federal reserve and foreign policy. he is the only one that is addressing the real problems. it is militarism, constant aggression. i am a republican. what i want to do is change the policy. i want peace on this planet and i want some consideration given to other nations as well as the environment. i am horrified when i hear republicans talk about the environment and how ignorant they are about it. it is insulting. host: thanks. guest: this caller speaks to the passion i was talking about a few minutes ago that we hear from ron paul supporters. this is -- the real question going forward is whether this is going to be a passion that is outside the republican party or if some way the party can figure out a way to bring those people into the fold and

inouye, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. under the previous order, the senate will resume consideration of the motion to -- mr. reid: mr. president? mr. president? mr. president? would you recognize me, please? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: mr. president, the senate is now considering the motion to proceed to s. 1925, the violence against women reauthorization act. at 10:30 this morning the senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to s.j. res. 36 which is a resolution of disapproval regarding the nlrb election rule. the time until 12:30 today will be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. the senate will recess from 12:50 today to 2:15 p.m. to allow for the weekly caucus meetings. at 2:15 there will be a roll call vote on the motion to proceed to s.j. res. 36. if that motion is defeated, there will be several votes following it in order to complete action on the postal

inouye, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: following leader remarks, the senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to s. 1925, the violence against women. the majority will control the first 30 minutes, the republicans the final 30 minutes. filing deadline for first-degree amendments to the postal reform bill is 1:00 this afternoon. i really hope that we can work an agreement out on the postal reform bill. i spoke to senator lieberman last night, the chairman of the committee, and he is hopeful as i am that we can move forward on this legislation. it's a shame if we can't. as we speak, there is more than half a million men and women working for the postal service, 25% of them are returned veterans, and we have 30,000 post offices around the country. we have about eight million people that depend on the post office for their jobs. so to think that we can't move forward on this and be really untoward, something we really, really need to get done. and i'm hopeful that we can get that done. there's -- people

inouye, president pro tempore. mr. reid: i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mrs. hutchison: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from texas is recognized. mrs. hutchison: mr. president, it's my pleasure to ask unanimous that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. under the previous order, the hraoefrbd. under the previous order -- the leadership time is reserved. under the previous order, the senate will resume s. 1925, which the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 1925, a bill to reauthorize the violence against women act. the presiding officer: the senator from texas is recognized. mrs. hutchison: mr. president, it is my pleasure to be able to introduce joel osteen, the pastor of lakewood church in houston, texas. he is a native texan and attended oral roberts university in tulsa, oklahoma. for 17 years, pastor osteen worked behind the scenes for his father john who founded lakewood church in 1959. in 1999, his father passed away, and pastor osteen acce

mike inouye has the information. >> accident 101, north and southbound, same area, both clearing fromo mountain view, passing by 237. 101, 880 an accident. northbound 280 at 85, still on the shoulder. live look at 880 past the coliseum. volunteer builds here. marla, back to you. >>> for the latest traffic and news updates, check us on facebook, search nbc bay area. we'll be back at 8:56. >>> we're back now, 8:30 on a tuesday morning. the 17th day of april, 2012. we're taking a look at a big crowd that's gathered on rockefeller plaza, some women who are standing tall. >> savannah tall. >> excuse me, i've got to go with my ladies. >> outen the plaza, i'm matt lauer -- >> did you know they were going to be here? >> no! we didn't plan it. but i think we have a connection. >> my people. >> my people! >> out on the plaza i'm matt lauer along with savannah guthrie. savannah is here while ann is taking some time off this week. we've got natalie here and al, as well. and if you are looking for a great place to go on your next vacation, conde nast traveler is out with their list of the hottest

inouye, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: as millions of americans prepare to file income tax returns the senate will consider one of the basic unfair provisions of the tax code. today, the wealthiest 1% of the stakes home the highest share of the income since the early 20's, the roaring 20's. while their bank accounts have firestone, their tax bills have become smaller. the wealthiest americans pay the lowest tax rate in more than five decades, the rich pay less than they have for more than 50 years. this unfair system has turned the gap between the richest few into a gulf, not a gap. they've seen their incomes stroct scroct by almost 300%. for the rest of americans they haven'tth kept pe with the price of a modest home, college or a secure retirement. times are tough for many middle-class he families but millionaires and billionaires aren't sharing the painor the sacrifices, not one bit. last year there were 7,000 millionaires who didn't pay a single penny in federal income taxes. 7,000 millionaires didn't pay a s

the other thing is dan inouye, the senator from hawaii, many years ago talked about the true power isur politicians, it is a shadow government, the new world order. host: who do you plan on voting for tomorrow? caller: ron paul, because he is the only one in the republican field that i feel is telling the truth. he has talked about the federal reserve and foreign policy. he is the only one that is addressing the real problems. it is militarism, constant aggression. i am a republican. what i want to do is change the policy. i want peace on this planet and i want some consideration given to other nations as well as the environment. i am horrified when i hear republicans talk about the environment and how ignorant they are about it. it is insulting. host: thanks. guest: this caller speaks to the passion i was talking about a few minutes ago that we hear from ron paul supporters. this is -- the real question going forward is whether this is going to be a passion that is outside the republican party or if some way the party can figure out a way to bring those people into the fold and make

what went wrong and why it is equally important to look to the future, i want to thank the tsa's inouye acting administrator -- gsa's new acting administrator for being here today and testifying. he called me shortly after taking the job, assured me as one would expect that he did not know everything, knew there was a problem, and would work diligently to fix it. that is all we can ask from the dais, is that when mistakes are made, there were remedied, corrective action is taken, and it be done in a professional wake with an understanding that the bureaucracy is in fact neither republican nor democratic, that every administration faces these problems, and that solutions will not come by pointing fingers to this administration, the last administration, or the next administration. wasteful spending is a problem that transcends multiple administrations, it is incumbent upon the present administration to change the culture as best they can on their watch and lead to the next administration a better one than they inherited. with that, i recognize mr. cummings for his opening statement. >> th