she referred to mcconnell. it's the mcconnell-inhofe amendment. in fact, it came from my bill that i introduced with fred upton some time ago, a bill that's going to be voted on in the house of representatives, i think, today. so it's very appropriate that we take it up now. i might add that this amendment has been up, i think, postponed six or seven times, and i applaud the majority leader for letting us have these votes. it's very important that we do this. now, here's what i'd like to say that i think is important. people need to understand a couple of things. first of all, what this is all about. you know, we talked about, starting in 2003 -- no, starting in the 1990's when they had the kyoto convention that we were supposed to ratify, president clinton never did submit it to the senate for ratification. but nonetheless, it was one that regulated greenhouse gases. and i remember at that time i think it was the wharton school. we did an analysis. what if the united states of america were to ratify the kyoto amendment and live by its requirement

i think it is shown tremendous leadership by mitch mcconnell and their leadership team to pull us allit is the number one issue in america. i really do and i don't want a message. i want is to solve the problem in all of us want to work together to see that happen. i really appreciate again with the leadership of our party has come together to try to do that and we are reaching out to the other side to try to make sure that this happens. thank you. >> thank you senator hatch for your leadership on this and senator mcconnell and gathering all 47 republicans which i think is for important. the number one problem we face in our country is our debt. we will never ever balance or budget until we amend our constitution. it is the single most important vote we will cast. republicans need this as well as democrats. we all need a rule that we must obey. this is the single most important vote we will cast this year and i hope the other side will come and embrace the idea of fiscal sanity again. thank you. >> i get home every begin to wyoming and sit around and asked people questions, sit around

just said to mitch mcconnell just said his number one priority is stopping obama for being reelected if the economy gets better if obama's going to be reelected and i think some of it is about stopping the economy so he doesn't get well i really don't want to embrace that because i really don't want to think that people that we elected are the only one thing you can add me to get back to where it was but i think if you look at it they've said no to every job program out there and if you look at unemployment insurance just take that one if we don't do anything by november thirtieth about nine hundred thousand people are going to lose their unemployment. benefits if we don't do anything by the end of the year another two million people will stop getting unemployment insurance that they paid for by the way so they won't get it anymore and what happens we have almost three million people that will stop consuming again our economy is seventy two percent driven by consumer spending if three million people stop consuming because they don't have money and what you're going to see is a real t

following his father's footsteps glen sass and challenge his friends including the young mitch mcconnell so not. be swayed by the military industrial complex he also broke ranks with many fellow southern baptist when he marched on washington d.c. with martin luther king jr joining the call for peace and he writes interestingly glenn is known as the inspiration that led the hollywood writers of t.v. series twenty four to get jack bauer's character to stop torturing he is the author of dozens of articles and books in his newest just peacemaking ten practices for abolishing war is a must read bernd's now from pasadena california the director of the just peacemaking initiative at fuller theological seminary glenn sasson thanks so much for being with us tonight. i thanks for the great interview actually you've done some research well i want to ask you about what's going on in afghanistan we saw the recent attack by and all afghan pilot twenty year veteran of the force there seem like you know it's hard to tell the details from the reports look like the staff but we've had seven such incidents

to my colleagues harry reid and mitch mcconnell. it's funny and nice and i am honored but in truth it does represent an era and there's no to senators both past or present who didn't do more to shape that iraq than harry reid and mitch mcconnell and two. our leader, our leader today and our boxer and fighter who is out there i enjoy working with you and although our opinions naturally and that is what they should do diverge and be in different places at different times you were always forthright in your convictions stand tall, and we all at my ear that. mitch mcconnell, so many days and the center spot recently retired in the current senators would come and mitch mcconnell and i would be right behind the door because that is where the majority leader office is, and the trust, the sharing, the intimacy of human relationships, all of the interest of the country sometimes really tough and agonizing played out under the leadership of mitch mcconnell who she and i while i was majority leader or with a day in and day out, to all of my oth

i think it is shown tremendous leadership by mitch mcconnell and their leadership team to pull us all together around all three of these concepts. i believe it is the number one issue in america. i really do and i don't want a message. i want is to solve the problem in all of us want to work together to see that happen. i really appreciate again with the leadership of our party has come together to try to do that and we are reaching out to the other side to try to make sure that this happens. thank you. >> thank you senator hatch for your leadership on this and senator mcconnell and gathering all 47 republicans which i think is for important. the number one problem we face in our country is our debt. we will never ever balance or budget until we amend our constitution. it is the single most important vote we will cast. republicans need this as well as democrats. we all need a rule that we must obey. this is the single most important vote we will cast this year and i hope the other side will come and embrace the idea of fiscal sanity again. thank you. >> i get home every begin to wyomi

mcconnell: madam president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: i'm going to proceed on my leader time. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: madam president, across the country this morning, americans are wondering what's going on in washington this week. they want to know why it's taking so long to fund the government. americans want to know how we got to this point, and they deserve an answer, so here goes. each year, the majority party in congress is responsible for coming up with a budget plan that explains how they're going to pay for all the things that government does. it's not just a good idea. it's the law. congress has been required to do it since 1974. well, last year, the democratic leaders in congress decided they didn't want to do it. they didn't want to have the -- didn't want to have to publicly defend their bloated spending and the debt that it's creating. so republicans had to come up with a temporary spending bill to keep the government running in the absence of any alternatives and leadership from

andy mcconnell: so are you saying that this vase actually belonged to field marshal montgomery? his parents-- his father was a minister in moville and they lived in the house. and the vase was in the house when my son-in-law's father bought it. so your son-in-law's father buys the house and this is part of the contents of the house. yes, that's part of the contents. it sat at the top of the stairs-- at the top of a spiral staircase in a hallway on a table. was it a grand house, would you describe it? it was a fairly grand house... in its own grounds. now that would make sense from a date point of view, 'cause this glass vase dates to around about 1900, maybe about 1905. so bearing in mind the age of the field marshal, - this is all making sense. - yeah. the great thing about a vase like this is that it looks different in different light. so with natural light bouncing off it, it comes alive. it's quite magical. it starts its life, as i said, at the turn of the century. it's actually austrian, because this particular piece is almost certainly made by the lurz factory. and lurz we

[unintelligible] may 14 they are having won at john mcconnell high school. >> other announcements?t a reminder. when we do in anniversary of one of our two quakes here, the personally prepared. it is an opportunity for you to go home, see whether you've of water stored, flashlights and batteries, really simple. just look on 72hours.org. i'm sure that everyone is more prepared than they think they are. just look through. it will make you feel better. is there any public comment? ok. hearing none, say this is adjourned, unless, mr. mayor -- ok. thank you for coming.

we will hear from minority whip steny hoyer and that senate mature -- minority leader mitch mcconnell, this is 10 minutes. mr. hoyer: thank you, madam speaker. i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. hoyer: madam speaker, budgets are not simply about dollars an cents. they are about values and priorities. and the debate over spending has revealed the republican priorities, in my opinion, the worst possible light. first, republicans passed a spending plan for the remainder of the fiscal year that would cripple america's ability to outinnovate, outeducate, and outbuild its competitors. that spending plan would cut billions in medical and energy research, cut out support for 20,000 research scientists, take 200,000 children out of head start, put college out of reach for millions of middle class students, and end vital infrastructure projects in 40 states. infrastructure projects would provide american jobs. a consensus of nop partisan economists has found the plan will cost us hundreds of thousands of jobs. and m

and i want to thank our leader, senator mcconnell, for leading that effort. nearly all states have been bound for years by constitutional provision to keep spending within their means, and this amendment requires that the federal government do no less. it would cap spending and balance our budget, but it also allows an appropriate exception for times of war. at the same time, it provides a transitional pathway to implement the law and protect programs like social security and medicare for our seniors and future generations of americans. to put this into perspective, the cost of serving america's -- servicing america's debt over the next ten years over the president's proposed budget, $992 billion, is more than the entire social security deficit for the decade which is about $600 billion. in fact, fixing our debt and deficit involves not only setting priorities and cutting discretionary spending, which we're already working hard to do -- and we need to work hard to do -- but also addressing the three entitlement programs, social security, medicare, and medicai

i want to express my appreciation to my counterparts, john mcconnell. we have taught during this process on a number of occasions. as we say here on many occasions, we have a terrific relationship. we do our best to protect each caucus. we have our battles here, but he is really a pleasure to work with and i admire and appreciate him to work for the people of kentucky in this country. mr. president, this has been a long process. it has not been an easy process. both sides have had to make tough choices. but tough choices is what this job is all about. i think it is important to note, mr. president, as we said in the statement, this is historic what we have done. $78.5 billion below the budget we have been working on, that we ridersorked on, many writ --what we have done has been difficult but important for the country. there are many steps that have to take place in the future. we understand that. we musket this country's fiscal house in order. but if the american people have to make tough choices and they do it every day, so should their leaders. that

or mitch mcconnell. that is how it would shake out. we have had these problems over the years where high-profile exhibits cannot -- cannot -- came up with any number of barriers between the funding and the practitioners. you will have greater government control over content. the issue that i wanted to address, sandy, you talked about being connected to the diversity. ron, you talked about the current toxic atmosphere. you'll mentioned -- several of you have mentioned that quality journalism is happening in this country. there is no question about that. the global post and in international areas, there is quality journalism. the question to me is not whether there can be quality journalism, but how as the news media becomes increasingly atomized around the country, how can anyone get a comprehensive view of the world? it used to be that we could pick up the chronicle and hope to find at least as close to a comprehensive review as possible. no longer. they will have a couple of stories per day plus a lot of opinion pieces and a map telli

mcconnell: i ask consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: madam president, today the chairman of the house budget committee, congressman paul ryan, is releasing a serious detailed plan for getting our nation's fiscal house in order. congressman ryan's plan would put us on a path to reducing the national debt. it would strengthen the social safety net so that we can keep the promises we've made to america's seniors. it will propose a way for washington to start living within its means. and it will repeal last year's health care law which raised health care costs, lead to fewer jobs and which americans have rejected. congressman ryan is presenting a plan, in other words, to address our most pressing problems head on at a moment when the president and other democratic leaders simply refuse to do so themselves. he's doing what his constituents have sent him here to do. anybody can say that our nation's problems need to be addressed, but history will show that chairman ryan is one of those

i think it's shown tremendous leadership by mitch mcconnell and our leadership team to pose together are not all three of these concept and i believe it is the number-one issue in america. i really do, and i don't want to message, i want us to solve the problem and i did all of us want to work together to see that happen and i appreciate again the way the leadership of our party has brought us together to try to do that and we are reaching out to the other side to try to make sure that this happens. thank you. >> thank you, senator hatch and senator mcconnell and getting all 47 republicans i think is very important. the number one problem we face in our country is our debt. we will never, ever balance our budget until we amend our constitution. it is the single most important vote we will cast. republicans need this as well as democrats. we all need a rule of we must obey. this is the single most important vote we will cast this year and i hope the other side will come and embraced the idea of the fiscal sanity again. thank you. >> i get home every weekend to wyoming and sit around a

[unintelligible] may 14 they are having won at john mcconnell high school. >> other announcements?t a reminder. when we do in anniversary of one of our two quakes here, the personally prepared. it is an opportunity for you to go home, see whether you've of water stored, flashlights and batteries, really simple. just look on 72hours.org. i'm sure that everyone is more prepared than they think they are. just look through. it will make you feel better. is there any public comment? ok. hearing none, say this is adjourned, unless, mr. mayor -- ok. thank you for coming. president olague: good evening. this is a special joint hearing between the san francisco planning commission and the treasure island authority board. before i take roll, if i can just ask everyone to turn off your cell phones, any pagers, any computers, anything that may sound off during these proceedings, we would very much appreciate it. roll call for the planning commission. president christina olague. >> here. >> vice president ron miguel. >> here. >> antonini. >> here. >> borden? >> here. >> kathrin moore? >> here.

. >> i also wanted to express my appreciation to my counter part, sam mcconnell. >> i'm pleased that senator reed and i and the white house have been able to come to an agreement. >> they were touting the value of teamwork after days of dead end white house summits and dualing news conferences. >> the republicans are responsible. >> not going to roll over. >> not on our watch. no way, no how. >> tonight, two seemingly uncompromising parties found the middle ground and made the deal. >> we fought to keep the government spending down because it really will in fact help create a better environment for job creators. >> we didn't do it at this late hour for drama, we did it because it is hard to write at this point. >> it creates $38 billion in cuts to funding. the money to planned parenthood remains intact tonight but antiabortion lawmakers pushed through a provision to ban using government money for abortions in the district of columbia. there is relief nationwide tonight -- government workers will be paid and the families of frontline troops have one less thing to worry about. >> it is

beat the previous best by thirty two seconds three time without moss and there was second patrick mcconnell third make it to the sweep for kenya while in the women's events in time it broke away after fifteen miles around an unofficial time of two hours nineteen minutes and seventeen seconds ending champion and favorite should think about the second for the personal best time while another ten thirty one year old david sent edna if i get this that. and that's all this was. the. piece soon which brightened if you knew about the sun from the front stoop. these stunts don't come.

francisco fire department is just fantastic, the civic engagement, we had the annual nert training at mcconnel high school on saturday, just fantastic. my question in terms of emergencies is, what is the budget response if we do have, not if, but when we do have, you know, the potential major earthquake. thank you. >> all right. so. first of all, when i started in 1989, i was working for art agnos. when that earthquake hit, the reason why i know this place, because i was here at the marina. i was here helping. that was my first experience. i'll never forget it. it was my first year working for the city when that earthquake hit. so i have this whole thought throughout my career and as city administrator i had the privilege of working with gavin newsom and he sent me to new orleans to look at what they were doing and what failed and what they didn't do. as a result of that, we produced the very first recovery plan, not just response, but recovery plan for the city after a disaster. and since i've been mayor, all these events that have occurred, new zealand, japan with the tsunami and earthquake,

then president obama will talk about the deficit followed by senators mitch mcconnell and rand paul. rand paul. >> rick mays is the congressional letter. frank, we will start with you. >> good to see you again. you talk about your concerns about cutting the defense budget and saying that you did not think it should be cut. a few months ago we spoke about this. yesterday, now you said you are talking about cutting some things from the budget in fiscal year 2012. can you talk about what kind of cut to would like to do. if you cannot give specifics, can you speak generally? >> i do not know if there are any cuts that i would like to do. it is ludicrous to think that out of $550 million that you cannot find some savings. anyone in the pentagon has said we can cut her, her, -- here, here, and here. fighting 2 wars and now in libya, it's not a great time to be cutting the military, but i understand how bad our situation is. when i came here 18 years ago, the whole budget was $1.5 trillion an thid this year, our debt will pass that.w we have some serious problems. defense has to be part of

was working late and recorded the president as he lashed out at republicans john boehner and mitch mcconnell for trying to include social issues like abortion in the budget. >> reporter: but he saved his harshest comments for paul ryan, author of the republican budget bill. >> reporter: white house officials say the president has no regrets about anything he said. as for republicans, they're dismissing the comments as campaign talk. katie? >> couric: chip reid at the white house tonight. chip, thank you. and by the way, congressman ryan will be bob schieffer's guest this sunday on "face the nation." ryan's controversial budget plan passed the republican-controlled house today. congressional correspondent nancy cordes has more on that. >> reporter: the yeas are 235 and the nays are 193. >> reporter: all but four house republicans voted yes on a budget plan the g.o.p. claims will rescue medicare. >> it's time we got serious. >> reporter: and democrats say destroys it. >> ends medicare. throws seniors to the wolves. >> reporter: the plan, devised by house budget chair paul ryan, would cap medic

mcconnell: my good friend mentioned henry clay. he would have approved very much of the bill that the house will be sending over later today, and the abortion provision that my good friend, the majority leader, refers to is one the democratic leaders have previously supported. it's a measure that's been previously in appropriations bills and a measure that's previously been signed by the president. so obviously that's not what this measure is about. as the majority leader indicated, the talks are continuing, but two positions that have emerged are very clear. throughout this debate, republicans have consistently said that we prefer a bipartisan agreement that keeps the government running and provides critical funding and certainty for our troops. this is exactly what we've been working toward all along. and that is exactly what the bill the house republicans are expected to pass today will do. importantly, this bill will also include a modest reduction in washington spending, a reduction well within the range that even democratic l

mcconnell: i ask that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: yesterday president obama outline what had he is describing as a responsible approach to our nation's fiscal problems. and my initial response to that characterization that with all due respect, mr. president -- with all due respect -- the american people are not inclined to take advice on fiscal responsibility from an administration whose unprecedented borrowing and spending has done so much to create a mess that we're in. after two years of adding trillions to the debt and ignoring our nation's looming fiscal nightmare, the president may be right in thinking that the politically expedient thing to do is to point the finger at others, but the truly responsible thing would be to admit that his own two-year experiment in big government has been an unmitigated disaster for the economy and itself a major, major driver of our debt, and that his -- his -- inaction on the latter is the primary reason others have been forced to step fo

five more senators, including republican leader mitch mcconnell, are traveling through south korea, india and afghanistan. >> no one would run an organization like this. if the board of directors of a large company that's going broke took off to a trip to china for two weeks, the shareholders would be outraged and they'd demand they all be replaced. >> reporter: a glimpse at the congressional calendar shows why it's been so hard for members to get things done. of the 78 weekdays since january, the house has been in session only 44 days, the senate only 40 days-- an attendance rating just over 50%. and it hasn't gone unnoticed. americans approval of congress plunged to 16% in the latest cbs news poll, down five points in just one month. >> hello, los angeles! ( cheers and applause ) >> reporter: the president's also been out of town, raising millions for re-election in california. while he was there, he directed the justice department to target fraud in gasoline pricing, but oil experts say it's just a gesture, unlikely to make much difference. >> i see him kind of hitting around the edges

can't do it mcconnell it's magic probably playing back seat recording they're more adult for they pumped have not been that here that i said nothing in the campaign i'm going to change that now you hear oh you for that will destroy. the right for. the job it's really. sort of republicans just blow their shot at real life and twenty two all that after only four months in office by adopting this radical platform that they're the party that's going to privatized medicare i mean what what ninety year old is going to walk into an insurance company and say here's my seven thousand dollars mount your please take care of me had three heart attacks construction i need a pacemaker you know that's not going to affect ninety year olds this is not going to go into effect tomorrow in effect nine year old you don't think they are the ninety someday you are talking about a nine year old right now this is going to be taking a fact over a course of years reforming it is going to be very grass twenty and thirty and forty year olds who she really post oh yes you know i guess so but you know they're not they

mcconnell: i ask consent that a quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: all across the country this morning americans are struggling and they're not getting much in the way of help or hope from washington. those who are unemployed or eager to hire are frustrated by a mountain of burdensome new rules and regulations democrats have imposed on them in the last two years, and the by the uncertainty that comes with every proposal to create another one, they're shoblgd at a white house which doesn't even try to balance its checkbook would repeatedly propose to raise taxes and more and more they're worried about the consequences of our debt and the president's reluctance to do anything about it. but even more upsetting to many americans is the white house's repeated attempts to seem as if it's doing something about these things when it isn't. that's just what the president has sought to do in talking about the need to reform entitlements and lower the debt but refusing to lift a finger to do either. and th

and france have been pushing other allies to increase the military pressure on mcconnell could have a head of the meeting a specially formed contact group on libya called cricket afy to step. down and let the people terminate their own future meanwhile the u.s. is training anti-government activists from the middle east and north africa on how to spread democracy with the help of technology but it's not easy guy nature can reports it could be a hidden agenda. the u.s. is providing high tech help with the innovations for anti-government activists in a number of countries throughout the world one of the latest developments is the panic button according to the state department the application can be uploaded on activists cell phones should they be detained the software instantly raises the contact book in their phones and sends a warning alert signal to other activists sounds great one push of a button and it's all gone probably mungo's thanking the u.s. government for the quick knowledge you are going to be drug dealers and terrorists but american officials of course claim the best of in

they will hear from mitch mcconnell.this is 10 minutes. >> while washington was immersed in the budget debate, the -- worst possible light. first, republicans passed a spending plan for the remainder of the fiscal year that would cripple america's ability to outinnovate, outeducate, and outbuild its competitors. that spending plan would cut billions in medical and energy research, cut out support for 20,000 research scientists, take 200,000 children out of head start, put college out of reach for millions of middle class students, and end vital infrastructure projects in 40 states. infrastructure projects would provide american jobs. a consensus of nop partisan economists has found the plan will cost us hundreds of thousands of jobs. and mark zandi, who advised john mccain when he was running for president on economics, moody analytics chief economist and advisor to senator mccain said it would cost almost 7 00,000 jobs. in addition to these skewed priorities, republicans are insisting that any bill, any bill to keep the

senators who voted most frequently to raise the debt ceiling are all republicans number one is mitch mcconnell. but it's a problem this time i mean you know eleven million eleven trillion of this fourteen trillion dollar debt was run up there under republican presidents you sure and you know how washington works just as well and as i know probably better than i know how washington works and washington doesn't work until they have a deadline and so i don't think it's so bad i don't think anyone seriously thinks that they're not going to raise the debt ceiling i think i think gets the political game of chicken but i think the bill that ours are all going to do with yes you're going to go up yes there are those are inherent when you look i think i think when it comes down to you're setting a deadline that's good because otherwise it won't do anything with the deadline look at the government shut the near government shutdown they didn't do anything until they had a dead giveaway had accomplished something i think i understand. what i think there was a serious admission here. admitted that she vote

mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr.ll: amidst all the other business we'll be facing this week, i'd like to note a well come development in the war on -- a welcome development in the war on terror. for the last two years, the obama administration has actively sought to bring the 9/11 plotters into our communities for civilian trials, a completely horrible idea. that rightly drew overwhelmingly bipartisan opposition from the american people and from their elected representatives here in congress. today the administration is announcing that it has changed course. the administration, incredibly enough, today is announcing it has changed course. and that khalid sheikh mohammed and the others who plotted these terrible attacks, today the administration is announce tag it changed course and that khalid sheikh mohammed and the others who plotted these attacks will be tried in military commissions at guantanamo bay, rather than at a civilian court in new york or some other u.s. stivment i remember autumn of our discussions on t

mcconnell: i ask consent that a quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, just a brief observation about the vote that we just had. i would say to our colleague, the senator from kentucky, senator paul, the issue of the american effort in libya is a legitimate discussion for debate, i think a legitimate issue for debate, that's a debate we need to have, and i will be talking to the majority leader about the appropriate time to do that. a number of senators are talking among themselves on a bipartisan basis about what kind of resolution would be appropriate, and certainly the senate speaking on this issue is something we need to do in the very near future. i yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: quorum call: quorum call: mr. harkin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. harkin: mr. president mr. president, i ask further further proceedings be dispensed with. many repub

lawmakers and contractors are really not happy about this one in fact senator susan collins mitch mcconnell and twenty five of their republican colleagues have already written a letter to the president asking him to please reconsider and their complaint is that this is going to insert politics into a selection process that's supposed to be fair but our politics already there discuss this with me is founder of voters for peace and executive director of cumhal america kevin thanks so much for being on the show tonight here tell me first of all if you're with me here if you think about how many factories there are around the country the fact then that consistence work at these factories and that plays in our politics are very much already involved when it comes to government contracts and i think this will actually take the politics out of it more because it will bring transparency people see what the truth is what they will see the real playing field and will create a more even playing field if you will know what the what the story is and the fact that the contractors and their colleagues in

mcconnell: mr. president, the american people have heard a lot of excuses over the past few days as to why it is that we're standing at a potential government shutdown here in washington. now, our good friends on the other side of the aisle are saying it's over social issues. this plays nicely into a political strategy they decided on to distract people from their own fiscal recklessness. republicans say the holdup is over the need to reduce washington spending. democrats, including the president, would rather see the government shut down than to allow a reduction in the size and scope of washington that is perfectly reasonable by any objective standard. those are the competeing messages, and generally speaking, people will probably agree with the party they tend to vote for. but whichever side you come down on, whichever side you come down on, two things are not in dispute in this debate. first, that the whole reason we're in this mess is that democrats abdicated their responsibility to keep the go

necessarily that they're getting phone calls in the middle of the night from john boehner or mitch mcconnell telling them what to do but they don't need to. we have three political bridges

and he was immediately told by powerful senators who control his budget-- mitch mcconnell of kentuckyand robert byrd of west virginia-- "oh, no, you're not. we'll cut your budget if you try to tamper with our baby." it's as if tony soprano had a seat in the senate. if this congress can't even clean up the most egregious polluter in its own backyard, how can they deal with the problem across the entire united states? >> smith: but in 2008, there was a new push on capitol hill to rein in carbon emissions. >> sir, i started by members... >> ...that were highly controversial in the energy committee. >> smith: senator john warner had drafted legislation, along with senator joe lieberman, to mandate a 60% cut in greenhouse gases by mid-century. >> well, we have a prodigious task. >> smith: and while how the industry does that is unclear, the bill's authors are betting on it. is there a future for coal? >> there's got to be a future for coal in the us. it's too important to us. and again, i think once you create this law, this mandate, the coal industry and a lot of others are going to figur

mcconnell: i ask consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: as the senate gets back to work this week, it's worth noting that a seed change has taken place in washington over the past few weefntle just two months ago the president proposed a vision of government thaig noard the fiscal crisis virtually everyone else in the country knows we need to address. and democrats in congress proposed that rather than cutting washington spending we instead raise taxes on oil and gas companies who, as we know, would pass it along to american consumers in the form of higher gas prices at a time when gas prices are double what they were a mere two years ago. in other words, it wasn't that long ago that both the white house and democratic leaders here in congress were doing everything he could they could to ignore the nation's $14 trillion debt and to preserve the massive growth in government that they presided over over the last couple of years. but at some point in the past fee few weeks democrats in

mcconnell: mr.just want to congratulate our new senator from wisconsin, a very important addition to our conference and to the senate, a man who's actually run a business. actually employed people and created welt an opportunity -- wealth and opportunity in his state and our country. having someone in the senate who knows how to do that at this critical moment is absolutely essential and i congratulate the new junior senator from wisconsin. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the snoir senator from wyoming -- the senior senate from wyoming. mr. enzi: it's nice to have the additional help with numbers. it will make a tremendous difference. he has had the business experience and the accounting experience and really understands that a lot of things to us in the senate look pretty senate, -- simple but to the person working on the ground looks very different. he's good at expressing himself and particularly good with numbers so i congratulate him on his maiden speech. the presiding officer:

ready-made containment systems and advanced plans and how to deploy such systems is what allowed the mcconnell well to float for 87 days. last summer, the major oil and gas companies announced the formation of a marine well contained in companies whose mission was to develop such a capability and make available to the community of the border operators. subsequently, the helix will contain and pronounced their intention to build a separate containment system with similar capabilities. we encouraged both but endorsed neither. from october through mid february, we had numerous meetings with the containment companies and with individual operators who acknowledged that they understood no deep water permits could be issued until those capabilities had been developed, tested, and reviewed. unfortunately, that simple truth failed to make much impression on those alleging a defect a moratorium. it would have been a rational and irresponsible to resume deepwater drilling before bible containment systems were available. in mid february, both helix and the mwcc said the systems were ready to operate. the

mitch mcconnell used to present his colleagues with the polling data on what happens if you try to fiddlel-- medicare and people did not like it. and so they walked in knowing this. i mean they are getting pushback because they are going to eventually be cutting some benefits. and people don't like that. to me the story, though, and we have all seen the polls for decades on the unpopularity of this sort of thing. to me the story is how relatively ununpopular it is. >> say that again. >> how relatively you know, unpopular it is. so for example, polling is mixed but there was a gallup poll that had support for the ryan plan over the obama plan. interestingly highest support monk seniors and lowest support among people in their --. and in other polls you ask people without do you trust on budget issues. the republicans are either advantage or equal. and so to me the surprise is not that there is protest. that was bound to happen but there is a rising awareness that whatever you one thin thinks of the ryan planness you can't go on with the benefit you have and we have to do some adjusting. i'

i also want to express my appreciation to my counterpart, chairman mcconnell. we have talked during this process on a number of occasions. we have as we say here, on many occasions it turned out to be we have a terrific relationship. we do our best to protect each caucus and we have our battles here, but he is a pleasure to work with and i admire and appreciate his effort. this has been a long process. it has not been an easy process. both sides have had to make tough choices. but tough choices are what this job is all about. i think it is important to note, mr. president, as we said in this statement, this is historic what we have done. $7.5 billion from the 2011 budget we have been working off of. it has been difficult but important for the country. we all agree that there are many cuts that have to take place in the future. we understand that. we must get this country's fiscal house in order. yet, this is our responsibility, all 100 of us. and 435 members of the house. we reached an agreement to cut spending to keep the country running. we have agreed to an

and he's going to be up against john boehner wsh, mitch mcconnell, well known to us, well known to this, not known to the american public. >> but is there a megaphone for people like michelle bach mann and others in the tea party who are shouting from the rooftops? are they getting so much play that that can trump what the white house would like to be an agreement? >> i don't think so. she gets a lot of publicity. she has a lot to say. she says it in an interesting way. part of it is a little like gawking at the car wreck for the media but i think the republican elders will convince the tea party people we have two more important fights. one is on the debt limit which is already $14.3 trillion. president obama wants to raise it. two, reforming which is usually a synonym for cutting entitlements medicare, medicaid and social security. why use up our powder now? keep our powder dry for those two much more important fights. >> but doesn't john boehner always want to avoid a debt ceiling crisis, which could be a much larger crisis for america -- for the economy and stop the recovery? >> he

is so involved in the politics and i got to listen to the republicans grandstanding, boehner and mcconnellones that make sense are mccain and kerry and they were presidential candidates. they realize what this is about. we must go in quickly. we do not stay. they must go. once they're gone we get out. i get insulted when i hear people say what's going to follow gadhafi? it can't be any worse. it's been 40 years. so i'm not concerned what follows him. he has to go if there is any a second term. >> bert, you're concerned for the libyan people and your generosity in saying the main thing is they be protected gave me chills frankly given what you've been through over the last 22 years. it's always a pleasure as i said to see you and i'm sure we'll talk again as we watch how this all plays out. thank you for coming in so late. >> thanks, chris. >> straight ahead final thoughts for richard and i. stay with us. this was me, best ribs in nelson county, but i wasn't winning any ribbons managing my diabetes. it was so complicated. there was a lot of information out there. but it was frustrating tryi