menendez: mr. president, i believe we have cleared this unanimous consent unanimous consent request, which is to set aside the pending amendment and calm my amendment number 857. the presiding officer: without objection, the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator new jersey, mr. menendez, for himself and others, proposes an aimed numbered 857 to amendment number 738. mr. menendez: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that further reading be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. menendez: let me speak to this amendment. i offer this amendment along with my distinguished colleague from georgia, senator isakson, to temporarily restore the conforming loan limits that expired -- loan limits that we had under the law that created the opportunity for these abilities to loan at these levels. they expired on september 30 of this year. and in past year extending these loan limits has usually occurred on the t-h.u.d. appropriations bills. as the subcommittee chair on housing, i ca

please welcome the honorable senator from new jersey, bob menendez. [cheers and applause] >> you know my friends government is all about making choices. and sometimes they're difficult choices. but folks, this isn't one of them. it's time to get teachers off the unemployment line and back into the classroom teaching our children! [cheers and applause] it's time to get cops off of the job beat and back on the beat patrolling our communities and creating a safer atmosphere! it's time to get the firefighters off of the job search and into the search and rescue that helps save our families at critical times! [cheers and applause] now senator mcconnell, the republican leader, opposes this bill. i was on the floor when he said it because it's a bailout he says. because he has no problem with a bailout however to big oil companies and billionaires. but he has a problem with helping working families in this country. this isn't a hand out. this is lifting up our officers, our firefighters, our teachers, our families and improving the quality of their life. i t

let me bring in senator bob menendez.of the senate foreign relations committee. senator, what are you hearing about moammar gadhafi, and what's your reaction to what appears to be his death? >> well, as it's been said, we don't have u.s. confirmed reports. we're being very cautious. i think the expectation is this is likely to be true. as someone who sponsored the no-fly zone resolution, i'm glad to see the conclusion is a new day for the libyan people. the real question, as the celebration goes on in libya, is where do we go from here? what do the libyan people ultimately end up with? the transitional national council really to move vigorously into the next phase? which is hopefully to have a country that is all inclusive in its representation and is more secular and democratic at the end of its journey. >> the conclusion about the u.s. policy in this case, and as you said, you supported it, obviously, is very positive of the no-fly zone in place. taking action in libya. letting nato take the lead here. going forward and

senator rob menendez on republicans getting desperate. from occupy wall street to occupy everywhere. but the right still doesn't get it. >> it's not -- >> dividing our nation. >> michael moore on the power and possibility of thunder from the left. plus, the chairman, ed rendell and michael steele on the gop debate in vegas. here's a question. can what happens in vegas stay in vegas for good? just wondering. >> what is going on? >> "politics nation" starts right now. >>> welcome to "politics nation." i'll al sharpton. tonight's lead. the issue is jobs. so why are washington republicans still having the wrong conversation? the president today urged republicans to put the american people first, not their own politics. >> but these members of congress, they work for you. and if they are not delivering, it's time you let them know. you've got to get on the phone or pay them a visit or write them a letter or tweet, whatever you do, and remind them to do the right thing. remind them of what's at stake here. remind them that no, we can't, is no w

senator menendez?> i have one brief question which i really want to establish more because i'm sure will have trade agreements for the future, so to mr. reif, during the mockup i and others offered anonymity requires the president to annually report on the implementation and enforcement of the colombia later action plan. i understand that this type of reporting requirements consistent with reporting requirements both in cafta and nafta, is that true? >> thank you, senator menendez. there are general reporting requirement as you know you as they are reports annually on all of our trade agreement programs in march of every year and we will do so, we do so with respective nafta, cafta. will do so with respect to these three agreements as well. spent my question was whether not specific reporting requirements in cafta and nafta that do with labor rights as part of the reporting obligation to? >> there was a specific reporting requirement in cafta that pertained to a very special part of that, that was a wh

proteccion civil decreto alerta roja en la zona costera del municipio de san francisco menendez, debidon causado las incesantes lluvias que continuaran por lo menos en las proximas 48 horas... muy buenas noches, las temperaturas actualmente en la capital del pais washington dc 65 grados 18 grados centigrados... tenemos cielos nublados con lloviznas dispersas y una masa de neblina que pudiera afectar a las personas que aun deben desplazarse en sus vehiculos, asi que manejen con precaucion... tambien apreciamos una alta humedad en el ambiente con 96%... quienes estan comodos en casa casi listos para dormir se preguntan hasta cuando las lluvias, pues aun se encuentra en nuestra region un sistema de baja presion que poco a poco se desplaza hacia el oceano, sin embargo todavia manhana podriamos tener lluvias en nuestra region, para ser exacto posibilidad de tormentas electricas despues de las dos de la tarde... a proposito de eso, el sistema naciional de metereologia ha anunciado alerta de inundacion en washington dc, falls church, alexandria y arlington hasta la medianoche de hoy... como ha

president, this is a second-degree amendment to the menendez amendment. the menendez amendment would expand the already dominant role of fannie mae and freddie mac in the mortgage marketplace when there is an unlimited taxpayer bailout liability toward that. my amendment would simply say, particularly if there's going to be this expansion, we should limit taxpayer liability to $200 billion and the taxpayers should definitely be paid the dividend they were promised. i think that's a very reasonable taxpayer protection. i reserve the balance of my time for the ranking member of banking. the presiding officer: the senator from alabama. mr. shelby: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent for 45 seconds on this amendment. the presiding officer: the senator from alabama. mr. shelby: mr. president, i urge my colleagues to support the vitter amendment. the amendment will limit the taxpayers' exposure to the bailout of fannie and freddie. no more blank checks. no. we've already spent $169 billion in taxpayers' dollars. $200 billion is more than enough. think about

then senator robert menendez.d he know about the threat and how will it affect america's relationship with rival iran? >>> manssor arbabsiar, a natural-sized american citizen. the homefront out front. slow r. continuously releases calcium plus d for the efficient absorption my body needs. citracal. ♪ whoa! hey! [ dog barks, growls ] ♪ whoa, watch out, little man. ♪ [ male announcer ] when you take away the worry, it's easy to enjoy the ride. hey, bud. hey, dad. [ male announcer ] introducing cadillac shield. the most comprehensive suite of owner benefits offered by any luxury auto maker in the world. luck? i don't trade on luck. i trade on fundamentals. analysis. information. i trade on tradearchitect. this is web-based trading, re-visualized. streaming, real-time quotes. earnings analysis. probability analysis: that's what opportunity looks like. it's all visual. intuitive. and it's available free, wherever the web is. this is how trade strategies are built. tradearchitect. only from td ameritrade. welcome to bet

senator menendez. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr.t to thank you personally on the effect of our sanctions policy and he told me he would and i appreciate you calling this hearing today. the thank you very much. and you call this hearing well before the incidence of the last few days, so this was obviously in response to a broader issue of our sanctions, but certainly handset being far more timely. we meet on the on the plot to assassinate the saudi ambassador to the united states and attack the embassy israel in washington d.c. a plot believed to be traced back to the highest levels of the iranian regime. the revelation of the foiled attacks, one which reportedly was to take place at a popular restaurant less than five miles from this very building points to the impact and importance of this hearing to ensure that the united states is doing all that it can to enforce existing legislation to fill the loopholes that exist in current legislation to work with our european allies and others to ensure that they step up and aggressively enf

. >> let's bring in senator menendez, a member of the committee on foreign relations to talk about that. thank you for joining us. appreciate talking to you again. let me ask you. peter keen was describing this. if it is at the highest levels as an ak of war. would you agree with that assessment? and if so, does it mean that military action needs to be on the table? >> well, obviously it didn't take place, and this is interseeded. i'm not sure that we are talking about a full engagement or an ak of war but it does allow two 2:00 things that we should do needily, go to the u.n. and get the chinese and others to engage in the full enforcement of the sanctions that u.s. passed against iran and the nuclear weapon desires and secondly it should be mufg our legislation now in the congress so that we can close those loopholes that exist in the sanction legislation and tighten the noose. >> we have worked on that in prior stories, which the loopholes are amazing they do exist. do you think it is possible, jimmy rubin was bringing in idea up that china, which is the biggest buyer of iranian rude

. >> let's bring in senator menendez, a member of the committee on foreign relations to talk about that. thank you for joining us. appreciate talking to you again. let me ask you. peter keen was describing this. if it is at the highest levels as an ak of war. would you agree with that assessment? and if so, does it mean that military action needs to be on the table? >> well, obviously it didn't take place, and this is interseeded. i'm not sure that we are talking about a full engagement or an ak of war but it does allow two 2:00 things that we should do needily, go to the u.n. and get the chinese and others to engage in the full enforcement of the sanctions that u.s. passed against iran and the nuclear weapon desires and secondly it should be mufg our legislation now in the congress so that we can close those loopholes that exist in the sanction legislation and tighten the noose. >> we have worked on that in prior stories, which the loopholes are amazing they do exist. do you think it is possible, jimmy rubin was bringing in idea up that china, which is the biggest buyer of iranian rude

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senator menendez has an amendment which deals with this responsibly. it pays for it. it doesn't add to the deficit. and that's where the objection comes in from the republican side of the aisle, because he pays for it by asking those making over a million dollars a year to pay about .5% more in taxes, and the republicans say no way. we cannot ask the wealthiest people in america to pay one penny more. now, that to me is hard to explain. why we would want to deny our children a quality education, lay off teachers, make our streets a little less safe with fewer police and run the risk of fewer firefighters because we don't want to ask people making over a million dollars a year to pay .5% more on their taxes. people who are making over 20 -- $20,000 a week, we are asking them to pay .5% to save the jobs of teachers, firefighters and police. it's interesting to me, mr. president, because when president bush offered his jobs bill years ago, with payroll tax cuts and cuts for businesses, these same senators that are criticizing president obama's version of the bill were vo

as senator menendez described earlier, legislation to perfect -- i think we would welcome. the question is, as always, you know, will this enhance our ability to pursue the objectives we are pursuing and i think we are very much willing to work with congress to perfect the overall sanctions. >> thank you and i thank all of you for your efforts. >> senator tester. >> thank you is your chairman and i want to echo the statements by many of the folks here. thank you free work. very much appreciated. you have got a very difficult job for thank you for what you do. we have heard folks talk about investments in the oilfields, from foreign companies to -- we have heard wendy talk about the fact you have had conversations with foreign governments about making sure that whatever sanctions out there are real. i want to talk about a little bit closer to home. and, just tell me if i have got good or bad information here, but recently i heard one of america's largest companies, coke industries, was in the business of supporting iran through energy development. if they are doing it there

. >> senator menendez, thank you for your time. >> thank you. >>> when we come back, where does libya and the world go from here? [ bell rings ] distracted [ female announcer ] once you taste new fiber one 80 calories... ...with its sweet honey taste, 40% daily value of fiber... ...and 80 calories per serving... ...you may want to tell a few friends. ♪ or all of them. ♪ i'll go get my bowl. [ female announcer ] new fiber one 80 calories. yes, you can actually love breakfast. ♪ >>> you have won your revolution and now we will be your partner as you provide a future that provides freedom, opportunity, and freedom. >> president obama's message today for the libyan people. joining me is nick kristoff. we've spoken many times in the last ten months about the arab spring uprising. where does this fit in the demise of moammar gadhafi? >> this is a huge milestone. some of the other arab revolutions haven't gone so well. you look at syria and nigeria and even egypt is pretty messing. this, i think, is going to end the opposition to the new libyan government and it's going to send a powerful me

. >> senator menendez, thank you for your time. >> thank you. >>> when we come back, where does libya and the world go from here? [ male announcer ] robitussin, advil, clorox disinfecting wipes and...a digital recorder. i'm finally feeling better. good honey, you turn into such a little whiner when you're sick. no i don't. [ bawk! ] honey, i'm sick. i can't reach the remote. that sounds nothing like me. [ beep ] honey, i'm sick. i can't reach the remote. that kind of does. [ male announcer ] get low prices every day on everything to prepare for cold and flu season. we're so confident in our low prices, we back 'em with our ad match guarantee. save money. live better. walmart. we back 'em with our ad match guarantee. [ bedistracted driving. ♪ [ disco ] it accounts for 25% of car crashes. and it's why the best agents help safe drivers get a lower rate. - exactly. - oh! [ announcer ] we are insurance. ♪ we are farmers bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ >>> you have won your revolution and now we will be your partner as you provide a future that provides freedom, opportunity, and freedom. >> p

as senator menendez described it earlier -- legislation [unintelligible] we would welcome. the question as always is will this enhance our ability to pursue the objective we are pursuing? we're very much willing to work with congress to perfect the overall sanctions regime. >> thank you and thank all of you for your efforts. >> i want to echo the stables but many of the votes by thanking you for your work. -- i want to record the statements by many of you here in thank you for your work. we heard people talk about investments in oil fields from foreign companies. we heard you talk you have had conversations with foreign governments. i want to talk a little bit about closer to home. tell me if i've got good or bad information. i heard one of our largest coca-cola,, c was promoting business in iran. by time you can manipulate loopholes and be able to do this, that is a concern. --koch industries. there is a concern that american companies would exploit loopholes in give iran the tools to be more powerful player in the world. we don't want to see that happen. that is more of a

. >> senator menendez. >> thank you, charme. i will ask the secretary to work with me and hopefully the chairman will be lenient sim since i'm one of the prime sponsors of the legislation here. in terms of the conciseness of your answer. there is a lot of ground i want to cover. is it fair to say that sanctions have hurt iran significantly? >> yes, it has. >> so then sanctions work. that is the point i want to first drive here, that sanctions work. the reality is that we have never seen an administration, republican or democratic that has said please give me a sanctions law. they have always said, no, we would rather have the flexibility. i hope my colleague understands that with 76 co-sponsors no administration has ever appealed to the congress to give them sanctions law, but the fact is, sanctions work. in that regard, madam secretary, i listened to your statement very carefully. i must say that when you say american policy regarding iran remains unambiguous. iran's nuclear capacity is one of the greatest concerns we face. tha

menendez: mr. president, i know we'll soon be voting on these trade agreements, but i have an issue that i think has immediacy in nature and needs to be brought up now, something i've been pursuing for some time. mr. president, we have heard f.b.i. evidence of an alleged plot by iran to assassinate a u.s. diplomat on u.s. soil. an act of terrorism that demands an immediate action of the most robust sanctions against iran. were it not for the vigilance of the american intelligence community, the f.b.i. and all of our law enforcement and intelligence agencies working together, this plot -- could have not only taken the life of saudi arabia's ambassador to the united states but potentially hundreds of innocent americans here in washington. think of the mack i don't see very wellannism -- machiavelli ism, what that would mean in terms of lives lost and the inevitable response it would provoke from the saudis and the united states. in the coming weeks we will hear the exact details of this incredible pl

. >> senator menendez, thank you for your time. >> thank you. >>> when we come back, where does libya and the world go from here? [ bell rings ] distracted driving. it accounts for 25% of car crashes. - ♪ [ dance ] - music, cell phones, food-- the list goes on. this is why safe driving is so important. - correct. - and it's why the best agents... help safe drivers get a lower rate. - oh! - exactly. ♪ another dream but always you ♪ whoa! ♪ it's like a vision-- [ tires squeal ] ♪ [ resumes ] [ man announcing ] we are insurance. ♪ we are farmers bum-pa-dum, bum-bum-bum-bum ♪ yup... it's our annual deal-o-rama! show me the carfax. yeah... show me the carfax. but it's deal-o-rama. just show me the carfax. [ sighs ] before you buy a used car, get a carfax vehicle history report. see accidents and service reported to carfax and a price based on the car's history. ask your dealer or go to carfax.com. just say, show me the carfax. will be giving away passafree copies.com. of the alcoholism & addiction cure. to get yours, go to ssagesmalibubook.com. >>> you have won your revolution and now we w

. >> senator robert menendez on the president's big push. as the occupy wall street protests spread, republicans vote against the man who would police wall street for consumers. congressman brad miller on the grand old party of wall street. deep in the heart of tennessee, republicans voter i.d. laws are taking away a 96-year-old woman's right to vote. dorothy cooper is here tonight to tell her story. "politics nation" starts right now. >>> welcome to "politics nation." i'm al sharpton. night's lead, president obama put republicans on notice. he is running on his jobs plan. earlier today he held a news conference to promote the plan, and slammed republicans for doing nothing to boost the economy. people need help right now. this is not a game, this is not the time for the usual political gridlock. will congress do something? if they do something, sick run against a do-nothing congress. if congress does nothing, then it's not a matter of me running against them, i think the american people will run them out of town. >> the american people will

and alicia menendez and david brody joins us. great to see you.lly crazy. peter, let me started with you on the legal aspect. he kept saying that my questions were legallyer relevant but a legal point of view. he hasn't had any student that has filed a complaint. he represents nobody. we are talking about a private thauvt can do whatever it wants? >> monica, i'm willing to admit to the bar. there is no standing as you pointed out. if they have no student who are making a complaint, all they have is a lawyer who seems to turn catholic university into a pinata. frankly i'm sick and tired of christian institutions and especially catholic institutions becoming victimized by nonsensical suits like this. catholic university is known as one of the most inclusive universities and welcomed universities for muslim students in the world. go on youtube. look it up. >>> absolutely. alicia is here they have 122 students basically on the record we are fine here. we have not beef with the institution. we can worship the way we want. there are five islamic centers

king and see what he thinks of the act of terror, is it an act of war or not and we will talk to menendeze u.s. case is. that is on "up front" next. >>> other stories we are following. we have the 360 bulletin. >>> as expected the senate did not pass president obama's jobs bill. 49 senators voted against it leaving democrats ten votes short of moving the bill forward. u.s. attorney general eric holder says he will comply with subpoenas when they are issued by the congressional committee investigating operation fast and furious. they will reportedly cover justice department personnel and communications about the failed gun running operation. >>> occupy wall street took its message up town with the backing of several union groups. new york's financial districts to the upper east side. some of the cities won't -- including several well known media and financial executives. >>> one way to bolster tourism

robert men menendez, tom keen, all join us talk about who knew what, when, how high up this went andspy novel angle. best-selling author alex berrenson on "out front." >> next, here we're watching that vote on the floor of the united states senate. a critical vote on the democratic jobs plan. we'll see how that one goes. >>> what do the occupy wall street protesters want? why did the nation's mayors decide they needed an emergency conference call to plot strategy? ♪ [ cellphone rings ] cut! [ monica ] i have a small part in a big movie. i thought we'd be on location for 3 days, it's been 3 weeks. so, i used my citi simplicity card to pick up a few things. and i don't have to worry about a late fee. which is good... no! bigger! bigger! [ monica ] ...because i don't think we're going anywhere for a while. [ male announcer ] write your story with the new citi simplicity card. no late fees. no penalty rate. no worries. get started at citisimplicity.com. ford fusion has now been named. the most dependable midsize car by jd power and associates. we go to kimberly. any thoughts on this news

. >> joining me now, robert menendez of new jersey. as a member of the senate committee on foreign relations, senator, good to have you with us tonight. i know you've worked awful hard on this over the years trying to bring closure for all the families in the wake of this tragic bombing which has haunted the united states for years. what are you hearing today from victims? from victims' families? >> i think overwhelmingly, there is a sense of a measure of justice here. we have always thought that gadhafi was the one who ordered the bombing of pan am 103 where 270 lives were lost, including 34 from my home state of new jersey. and the reality is that we always knew that al megrahi could not have acted alone. and it is obvious that he was so important to gadhafi that he used all of his leverage on an oil deal to get him back into libya. so this is a measure of justice. but i still want to close a very final chapter and make sure that the transitional national committee that is the interim government continues to give us access to all the

. >> alicia menendez, robert traynham. thank you.rful weekend. >> thank you. >> if you still have an iphone 4, you're already out of date. the new phone has tons of new features that apple customers are going to love. even apple co-founder steve wozniak lined up to get his this morning to pay tribute to steve jobs after his death. >> i'm in line to get a phone for my wife. i have two coming to my house that's preordered. >> cnbc's expert jon fortt joins us live. sit dazzling or sit as some fear a dud? >> reporter: well, it's definitely not a dud. they've already got a million preorders. folks definitely want it. it's got a duo core chip and a camera. that's saying something. they improved the sensor, they've got better lenses on it. that's great. but the biggest feature on this is new voice control. let's see if i will work for me out on the loud street. areally any good indian places nearby? >> sorry. i don't understand. >> a little bit too loud. aisle try again. >> is it going to rain today? >> yes, it's likely to rain today. >> an

the amendment -- my amendment is cosponsored by senator sanders, menendez, gillibrand, blumenthal and leahy. and i thank them for their support. any area that received a federal declaration -- disaster declaration this year would be eligible to compete for this disaster relief. including areas in 48 states so far this year. and i want to be clear. natural disasters devastate local economies, causing damage -- damages that can linger for years. fema reimburses local government homeowners for repairs in the immediate aftermath of a storm, but e.d.a. grants are needed to help communities get back on track for recovery and economic revitalization in the wake of a major -- in the wake of a major disaster. communities use these disaster relief funds to repair damaged public infrastructure such as sewer and drinking water systems, and states use the e.d.a. grants to create and coordinate efficient disaster response and recovery plans. additionally, local governments and nonprofits can lend e.d.a. disaster relief funds to businesses to help our private sector to rebuild and to grow. congress

solo necesito una ayuda por eso yo he tocado las puertas del senador robert menendez para quÉde prontohanik, laura... pero para decirse hasta de lo peor que usted se pueda imaginar. porque eso es lo que hacen. >> la semana pasada se tiraron durÍsimo y hoy en unvisiÓn vamos a ver quÉ estÁ sucediendo con todos ellos. pero no es lo Único que pasa en este lugar.. >> no es lo Único que pasa! esta noche en unvisiÓn vamos a ver un supuesto complot que se estÁ desarrollando en la casa estudio. >> las cÁmaras están captando el momento enue george, shakira... >> vamos a tratade escuchar a ver si podemos entender de quÉ estÁn haando ellos. >> estÁn armando grupos, es lo que yo entiendo. >> lo tÁ diciendo en su dominicano. >> a mÍ cuando de verdad... tÚ quieres asum un papel y no te toca. >> yo voy a decir que fui yo. >>o lo veÍa en la noche lo que tÚ decÍas que se echo la lpa... yo no le creo. >> rque no lo es. >> el productor mira lo que les dice. >> hasta que no aparezca... >> le quitÓ dos puntos a shanik. >> ella decidiÓ. >> yo sÉ que no eres tÚ dijo... >> yo traje el telÉfono a esta casa, no

is a bill that i introduced a couple of weeks ago along with senators leahy, gillibrand, men ne menendez frn and klobuchar. it is called the s.s.i. extension of 2011. the has just held a voice vote and passed this bill and i believe that's because it is a truly worthy piece of legislation tsm accomplishes three incredibly important objectives at the same time. first, the bill ensures that approximately 5,600 disabled refugees will not lose their life-sustaining benefits that are their only safety net protecting them from homelessness, illness and other effects of extreme poverty. many of the disabled refugees of this bill are people who aided american troops overseas in iraq and afghanistan and have risked their lives for american causes, for the american cause. others are victims of torture, or human trafficking. the bill continues the bush administration policy of making sure that this vulnerable group does not lose its only lifeline to stay afloat. but unlike past legislation, the second fact about the bill is that it's fully paid for. it's paid for by imposing a $30 fee on individual

officers have gotten their pink slips in the last 18 months. 30,000 vacancies, allocated spots, senator menendezchief of camden. he lost half of his force. half of his force. crime has gone through the roof. i was out in your home state. you asked me to go out to flint, michigan. they cut their force in half. murder has doubled in the last year. 7,000 of your guys. 7,000 by the end of this year will have been laid off with more layoffs coming. those of you know it is not really the fault of your mayor or your governor. some are more sympathetic than others, but the bottom is they don't have the money for this god awful mess we are in. so folks, class sizes are going up. elimination of vital programs. high schools out in grand rapids are eliminating computer programming and all the things that these kids need and want. that these kids need and want. it is the

. >> senator menendez. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i appreciate the witnesses being here. i certainly appreciate mr. fenton from new jersey who is well-known as an expert in the financial industry and our home state as well as miss bowdler who has worked for la raza has been extraordinary. i am concerned that there is a universe of borrowers who, in fact, can be responsible borrowers. but at the end of the day without the guarantee of a 30-year fixed mortgage ends up eliminating the opportunity for them to be a responsible borrower. basically gets them out of the market. i noticed that, you know, even though there are those who argue that in the private sector alone will do this that we haven't really seen much securitization at all of jumbo mortgages in this marketplace. so the private sector has them come in as of now. to provide the opportunity to do that. so if we do not have an evidentiary set of circumstances under the most probably propitious opportunity for the private sector to come in and they have failed to come in to accomplish it, then how is it we expect indi

. >> senator menendez. >> thank you, madame chair. dr. mcfaul, and enthused by your nomination for the post not only have you been a scholar of the region, but you also lent your expertise and time to several organizations such as ndi and freedom rights but promote the substance of democracy and supporting indigenous efforts to grow democracy and expand civil society and enhance respect for human rights is something i feel passionately about and i am sure if you are confirmed he will continue to hold those views as the u.s. ambassador of russia. now, i do have a line of questioning that is important to me and i just want to reflect for a moment on -- before you answer the last question you're yearning for academic freedom, and i would just say as i sit in the past two other nominees that have come before the committee that if you are confirmed he will take an oath of office and that is to the constitution of the united states that means a constituted government that is both the executive and the legislative branch and while the president

on top of that, we have the menendez bipartisan legislation to close loopholes in the sanctions, already cosponsored by 76 senators. this is a tough time of partisanship in washington. you don't get bipartisan issues like this that often. i am surprised that having known about this plot since june, the administration hasn't already put forward action, but i would urge them to do so. this was not a multilateral attack by a collection of countries on the united states, and therefore i don't think we should wait for multilateral approval before the united states acts against the iranian revolutionary guard corps and the highest levels of the iranian government. we should designate the full list of comprehensive abusers of human rights the way the e.u. has done. we should exclude any financial institution from the united states that does business with the central bank of iran, and we should make sure that in the case of high-level iranian officials that have plotted an attack potentially involving dozens of american deaths right here in the capital city of the united states, there should be

and menendez, 857. and further, that a motion to recommit from senator lee be in order, and if offered, the motion be set aside and the senate return to the consideration of the pending amendments. the presiding officer: is there an objection? without objection, so ordered. ms. mikulski: mr. president, this means this is now the order in which we would like to proceed. these are the amendments that both sides agree should be offered in this tranche or this cluster. so we say to the senators who now have these amendments get ready to come to the floor. as i understand, senator kelly ayotte will be here to offer her amendment which will be really important, and then what we would like to do is alternate on both sides of the aisle. the gentlelady from new hampshire will offer her amendment. we would hope then there would be a democrat, and we'll go back and forth to be able to do that. if a senator is not here, we'll move on to the people who are here. we have 16 amendments, and we would like to finish the