klobuchar: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. ms. klobuchar: mr. president, i ask to speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. klobuchar: mr. president, i first wanted to alert senators that we will most likely be voting somewhere around 5:30. we're still working out an agreement about yielding back time. but i thought people would like to know that. the other thing i'd like to note is to first urge my colleagues to confirm the judges before us tonight and then i'd also like to briefly say a few words about the third vote that we are going to be taking in this sequence. in just a few moments, mr. president, the senate will take another important step towards passing the america invents act. this bipartisan bill will go a long way in ensuring our country remains the world leader in entrepreneurship, research and development, and, of course, innovation. over the course of last week, every senator had an opportunity to come to the floo

we thank senator klobuchar in absentia. and we thank others. before you leave the hall, just to give one final thought, to return us to the jewish asset of what we are doing and what we are discussing, to remember and praised the work, not only of jcpa, but something reminds us of the effectiveness of the jewish people. this is how we come to a broad perspective around the country. and if there is one thing that this teaches to us and demonstrates to us is that the same principles that apply to our complex global society came from a quieter world, thousands of years ago, demonstrating an interdependent community that knew that we had to take care of each other, care of our land, care of the animals, and care of our own sense of dignity and respect for our conduct, it is is from that that a vast tradition that brings us here today to seek a better, more peaceful, more just, more secure world and makes us able to pursue that goal. thanks to our panelists. >> that was a beautiful ending, but there is one thing that everyone can do. helping us buil

we have had very inspiring and compelling presentations from senator klobuchar, and now we turn to jim woolsey. we're so pleased that you will share your expertise. we will turn this to you now. >> i was quite honored to be asked to be with you today. i spent 22 years as a washington lawyer and some time out at the cia in the clinton administration. i am honored to be invited into any polite company. [laughter] two years ago, when eugene mccarthy was working on the nomination, we have been involved in some of these things of one kind or another for a long time. that me start by -- let me start by calling attention to key distinctions. it gets blurred a lot, not by our speakers today, but i want to make it explicit. we have two the energy systems in the country. one is transportation, and it is 95% oil. we do not use anything but petroleum products, natural gas, and as such. basically, it is all oil. completely separate, electricity. it is a mixture of coal hydro, nuclear, except for. -- etc. 15% of our natural gas comes from canada, unless you he share the views of cartman's mother and

thank you, senator klobuchar. i first want to express that i appreciate senator cornyn's making transparent and plain his concerns about my nomination, and i think they are fair concerns to raise and to discuss. i think this is a robust and fair process. and it enables me an opportunity i think to clarify that in all of my academic writings, the role that i had was that of a commentator, as it were. what a scholar does him a scholar pokes and prods and critiques. a scholar doesn't make much headway in the law school by simply restating the law. and so that's why scholarship comes out of the way it does. it comes out as critical and it comes out as innovative and provocative. in fact, those are the very qualities that are rewarded in that profession. the role of the judge is very, very different. the role of the judge is fundamentally one of being faithful to the law as it is. and i think i recognize that difference in the way that i i approached scholarship, which is to say that i understand what the law is first

several members of congress have threatened investigations, including senator amy klobuchar of minnesota. >> they just had the ability to do it because they had a corner on the market. >> reporter: k.v. pharmaceuticals would not speak on camera, but in a statement to cbs news the company says it plans to give the drug away to low-income patients. on pricing the company says it will "address the concerns raised." wyatt andrews, cbs news, washington. >> hill: coming up, the u.s. nuclear plant where employees say they were told to keep quiet about their safety concerns. of rich, organic ingredients,x and miracle-gro plant food. just mix it in. and turn bad soil into great soil. helps plants grow twice as big. instead of holding 'em back, they'll leap ahead. miracle-gro garden soil. and moisture control garden soil. of getting vitamins and minerals. others will try incredible total raisin bran with 100% of the daily value of 11 essential vitamins and minerals, juicy raisins and crunchy whole grain flakes. guess it's all about what kind of crunch you like. how are you getting 100%? so i take

wanted to ask questions of the first panel senator klobuchar. >> thank you very much, mr. chairman for holding this hearing and i thank the two witnesses and the second panel but thank you, chairman lee lewis and administrator, it's great to be here with you on an important topic and i want to focus a little bit on web sites with teens and children may be because i walked into my daughter's room last night and she was webcasting with her friend and luckily they were working on their homework and the interview she is doing with senator murkowski which ensure will be devastating to senator herber rakowski, but i wanted to ask you a few questions on this, the recent wall street journal article examined 50 web sites popular with teens and children to see what tracking tools installed on a test computer. as a group used over 4,000 copies and other pieces of tracking technology that is actually 30% more than four found in a similar analysis of adult website which is rather disturbing. i think that there was more of these being used on told friends web sites. can you describe you

wanted to ask questions of the first panel senator klobuchar. >> thank you very much, mr.chairman for holding this hearing and i thank the two witnesses and the second panel but thank you, chairman lee lewis and administrator, it's great to be here with you on an important topic and i want to focus a little bit on web sites with teens and children may be because i walked into my daughter's room last night and she was webcasting with her friend and luckily they were working on their homework and the interview she is doing with senator murkowski which ensure will be devastating to senator herber rakowski, but i wanted to ask you a few questions on this, the recent wall street journal article examined 50 web sites popular with teens and children to see what tracking tools installed on a test computer. as a group used over 4,000 copies and other pieces of tracking technology that is actually 30% more than four found in a similar analysis of adult website which is rather disturbing. i think that there was more of these being used on told friends web sites. can you describe your

, florida, white house, conrad, c the kimmage, yuval of mexico, h, in, menendez, casey, shaheen, klobuchar, carns, boxer, franken, feinstein and bingaman. >> mr. president i ask consent demand for a quorum under the ak rule 20 to be waived.nder >> without objection. the presid m i now withdraw my motion andw proceed. >> the center has that right.hen >> mr. president? when an american sits in theurch kitchen after table and sorts fs through their finances as they oftenen do, partisan politics don't figure into the equation. when the families we represent calculate their own budgets, when they add up the cost of gas and groceries, tuition in some instances, and other b necessities, they care more about the bottom lines and the l news headlines. and when a family was desperately counts the dwindlinf number of weeks before the sun and plymouth insurance runs oute that family doesn't have time to the most political points durink any given week.sc that's because when you have toc make the tough decisions that go into any budget those decisions have to be practical, not political.practical, not t

we thank senator klobuchar in absentia. and we thank others. before you leave the hall, just to give one final thought, to return us to the jewish asset of what we are doing and what we are discussing, to remember and praised the work, not only of jcpa, but something reminds us of the effectiveness of the jewish people. this is how we come to a broad perspective around the country. and if there is one thing that this teaches to us and demonstrates to us is that the same principles that apply to our complex global society came from a quieter world, thousands of years ago, demonstrating an interdependent community that knew that we had to take care of each other, care of our land, care of the animals, and care of our own sense of dignity and respect for our conduct, it is is from that that a vast tradition that brings us here today to seek a better, more peaceful, more just, more secure world and makes us able to pursue that goal. thanks to our panelists. >> that was a beautiful ending, but there is one thing that everyone can do. helping us buil

senator klobuchar. >> hello professor liu, welcome back. >> thank you. >> i think this is your secondt is. >> i remember talking with you then, and senator cornyn spoke about the five-minute rounds, you've had two hearings and made yourself available to meet with them in the their office; is that right? >> yes. >> i appreciate your flexibility about your ability to do this job. i stated the lindsey graham, you are more than qualified and what he expressed during the kagan and sotomayor, and their understanding of the law and willingness to follow the law. i wanted to go back into what you said with senator cornyn was talking about, which is the difference, your work as a scholar. i think i mentioned before that i am a graduate of the united states of chicago law school, and i have seen judge easter brook and judge hosen as professors, and thought what they said in class wasn't what guided them as a judge when they had to apply the law. could you talk again about your view of the judge differing from a role of the advocate or scholar. >> certainly, thank you, senator klobuchar. i first

i want to extend my personal thanks as well to senator klobuchar of minnesota. she was active during committee consideration and she has helped manage this legislation effort in the senate and she has been outstanding, and of course like so many times the senate's action could not have been accomplished without the hard work of many dedicated staffers and individuals and companies. i'm happy to be on the floor with aaron cooper, counsel on the senate judiciary committee who, along with bruce coen, our chief counsel, ed begala, my chief of staff have worked so hard on this. susan davies now at the white house who spent years on it before she left. but it's been almost six years since chairman smith and congressman berman introduced the first version in 2005. we have worked together, and we can -- we can get this accomplished. i -- i find my voice leaving. it has been a bit of a travel day coming back from our -- by vermont's standards, the unique snow time, and so i'm -- i'm going to soon yield the floor. i will put my -- ask consent to put my full statement in t

senator klobuchar. >> thank you, secretary lahood for your service. i know i've got people in the lobby that i'm going to see that have a road that's the danger is that the has held on through the years, but still not completed. i know there are a number of projects out there, including 14 down in southern minnesota victor. portend, so i appreciate your leadership, including the department of transportation's leadership with our 35 w. bridge. for me come the number one obligation is safety and that includes bridges like a 35 w. that went down and the ability to get funding when you have a situation like that happening. along the lines of safety, senator gillibrand at night introduced standup act to talk about teen driving in how we can have better graduated standards across the country. teen drivers are three times more likely to be in fatal accident in adults. i know you know that i also want to thank you for your leadership on this subject of distracted driving. i know there is some funding in this budget for taking on the distracted driving issue.

nelson of florida, white a package coming udall off new mexico, hagan, menendez, casey, shaheen, klobucharrvin, boxer, franken, feinstein and bingaman.en, >> mr. president, i ask unanimous consent of the quoruma under the rule 20 to be waived. >> i now withdraw my motion to mrreid: proceed. de the senator has that right.ri >> mr. president, when an american family sits in the tabe kitchen at the table and sorts s through their finances as they , often do, partisan politics pols don't fit into the equation. fas when the families we represent calculate their own budgets, they have the cost of gas and groceries, tuition in some r instances and other necessitiest they care more t about the bottm lines and the news headlines. da when a family dispute recountsng the dwindling number of weeks before its the unemploymentks insurance runs out, the familynt doesn't have time to keep track of which side scored the most political points during anyho given week. that's because when you have tol make the tough decisions to go into any budget, those decisions have to be practical, not political. the have

>> sure, and we brought a very important antitrust case because senator klobuchar boarded up at a hearinga year ago, involving a drug for children with heart defects. we are a very bipartisan agency. commissioners have all sorts of ideas about what we should be doing, and it is channeled into our investigation and enforcement efforts. >> $21 million in civil penalties -- about $80 million in civil penalties you collect over the year. where does the money go? >> back into treasury, and often we try to get redress for consumers. one of the ways we try to obtain in the financial reform legislation it is the ability to get civil penalties for violation of our unfair or deceptive acts or practices authority. it did not make it into the final legislation. it was something caspar weinberger supported when he was the ftc share in the 19 7/8. -- when he was the ftc share in the 1970's. >> probably the most effective way to protect the consumer would be to give them a mechanism to protect themselves. you talked about the icon where you can elect whether your information can be shared or not. we kno

we've had so far two inspiring and compelling presentations, from the rabbi and senator klobuchar. we'll now turn this to jim woolsey. we're so pleased you will join us to share your expertise. we'll turn this to you now. thank you. >> thank you. well, i was quite honored to be asked to be with you today. but to tell you the truth, since i spent 22 years as a washington lawyer and then some time out at the cia and clinton administration, i'm actually honored to be invited into any polite company. one or two years ago when a gentleman named gene mccarthy was running for the democratic nomination we were working on the campaign under the guidance of the great howard lowenstein. we've been involved in some of these things for a long time. let me tart by calling some attention to a key distinction. it gets blurred a lot. it was not by our first two speakers today but i want to make it specific. we have two basic big energy systems in the country. one is transportation. it is 95 plus percent oil. we basically don't use anything else except petroleum products and natural gas. basically i

nevada, inouye, nelson of florida, whitehouse, conrad, begich, udall of new mexico, casey, shaheen, klobuchar, cardin, boxer, franken, feinstein and bingeham. mr. reid: i ask that the mandatory quorum call under rule 22 be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i now withdraw my potion to -- my motion to proceed. the presiding officer: the senator has that right. mr. reid: mr. president, when an american family sits in the churchillen at their table and sorts through their finances, as they often do, partisan politics don't figure into that equation. when the families we represent calculate their own budgets when they add up the cost of gas and groceries, tuition in some instances, and other necessities, they care more about the bottomlines than news headlines. when a family desperately counts the dwindling number of weeks when the unemployment insurance runs out, that family doesn't have time to keep track of who scored the political points. when you have to make the tough decisions going into any budget those decisions have to be practical, not political. we often tell

nevada, inouye, nelson of florida, whitehouse, conrad, begich, udall of new mexico, casey, shaheen, klobuchar, cardin, boxer, franken, feinstein and bingeham. mr. reid: i ask that the mandatory quoru call under rule 22 be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i now withdraw my potion to -- my motion to proceed. the presiding officer: the senator has that right. mr. reid: mr. president, when an american family sits in the churchillen at their table and sorts through their finances, as they often do, partisan polits don't figure into that equation. when the families we represent calculate their own budgets when they add up the cost of gas and groceries, tuition in some instances, and other necessits, they care more about the bottomlines than news headlines. when a family desperately counts the dwindling number of weeks when the unemployment insurance runs out, that famil doesn't have time to keep track of who scored the political points. when you have to make the tough decisions going into any budget those decisions have to be practical, not political. we often tell oursel

klobuchar: thank you. we've heard also on the floor that there is, as senator hatch mentioned, strong support throughout the senate for this change. in fact, commerce secretary locke emphasizes that support in a column appearing in "the hill" newspaper today. he states -- quote -- "patent reform adopts the first-to-invent to file standard as opposed to the current first-to-invent -- first-to-inventory file standard as opposed to the current first-to-invent system. the virs toi first-to-inventor e standard puts people on a level playing field. i couldn't agre agree more. investors and stakeholders across the spectrum support this important transition. and i just want to mention one other thing here about this system. with the current first-to-invent system, mr. president, when two patents are filed around the same time for the same invention, it also creates problems. it means the applicants must go through an arduous and expensive process called an interference to determine which applicant will be awarded