mr. president, could we have order? mr. reid: order in the chambers -- the presiding officer: order in the chambers. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent all remaining votes tonight be ten minutes in duration. mr. president, we have 16 more amendments -- we have 16 more amendments that we must vote on. i would hope that people would look at those very closely. a number of them, in fact most of them could be taken by a voice vote. if you win, it doesn't matter how you win. let's get rid of these as quickly as we can. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: cloture motion. we the undersigned senators in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate do hereby move to bring to a close the debate on the motion to proceed to s. 1726, the withholding tax relief act of 2011, signed by 17 senators. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum has been waived. the question is, is it the sense of the senate that the debate on the motion to p

mr. president. mr. president, i rise today in the wake of another very sobering jobs report. unemployment remains stalled at 9.1%, 14 million americans are out of work. another nine million have been forced into part-time jobs because they simply cannot find full-time employment. these challenging economic times demand that congress and the administration put aside partisanship and work together in earnest to address the prolonged jobs crisis. many of the decisions that will come before congress in the next few months will be difficult ones, including those that must be made to restore fiscal order to our nation's books. but there are bipartisan measures that we know will create and preserve jobs now. we must work together to advance them. one such measure before us today is the free trade agreement with south korea. as president obama stated last week, this agreement will make it easier for american companies to sell their products in south korea, and provide a major boost to our exports. south korea is

mr. president. mr. president, i rise today to offer my full support for the nomination of judge cathy bissoon to serve as a u.s. district judge for the western district of pennsylvania. but before i begin, i'd like to quickly express my appreciation to my colleague, senator casey, whom i see across the chamber at this moment to thank him for his collaboration in our joint efforts to fill the vacancies on the federal bench from pennsylvania. as i think many of our colleagues would agree, the confirmation of federal judges is one of the most important constitutional functions of any member of the senate, and since i was sworn in, senator casey and i have worked together on a bipartisan basis to identify and advance qualified candidates for the federal bench. as part of this effort, i have supported president obama's three district court nominees for pennsylvania, even though they were first appointed before i was sworn into the senate. and i'm pleased that this spirit of cooperation has led to today's conf

mr. president. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized recognized.mr. rood mr. reid: we have worked very hard to move through this first tranche of appropriation bills that we have. progress is being made but not nearly enough progress. we're going to move on the -- i'm going to move in just a minute to the bryson nomination but i want everyone within the sound of my voice to understand this cannot go on forever. people sometimes are unreasonable. we cannot have votes on all these amendments that have been called up here. i would hope that everyone would understand that we -- there has to be some give and take here and we need to move through this. they need b to be cooperative wh their staffs, because when this matter is finished regarding the secretary of commerce nomination, we're going to have to make a decision as to whether we continue working on this appropriation bill. this was a noble experiment. i'm part of t. i want it to work very, very much. but it can't work without th

mr. president. mr. president, a careful objection by this member would indicate that a quorum is not present. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the presiding officer: the senator from missouri. mr. blunt: i ask unanimous consent to -- the presiding officer: the senate is in a quorum call. mr. blunt: i'm sorry. i suspend the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blunt: i ask unanimous consent to withdraw the mccain amendment 741. the presiding officer: wowjts. mr. blunt: and on behalf of senator demint, i ask consent to set aside the pending amendment and offer amendment 763 and 764 en bloc. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blunt: and -- the presiding officer: the clerk will report by number. the clerk: mr. blunt for mr. demint offers amendment numbered 763 and 764 en bloc. the presiding officermr. blunt:, mr. president, it appears there is not a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. leahy: mr. presid

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from maine. ms. collins: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent to set aside the pending amendment and i call up my amendment number 804. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from maine, ms. collins, proposes amendment numbered 804 to amendment numbered 738. ms. collins: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that further reading of the amendment be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. collins: mr. president, i understand this amendment has been cleared on both sides, and i ask for its adoption. the presiding officer: is there further debate on the amendment? if not, all in favor first say aye. all opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the amendment is agreed to. ms. collins: mr. president, i move to reconsider and lay it on the table. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. collins: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the following senators be added as cosponsors of this version of the amendment: senator udall, senator

mr. president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from alabama. mr. sessions: i was going to call up an amendment and make some remarks. is there some procedural matter or something that the senator would be interested in doing before that? if not, i would plan to go forward. i just thought maybe he wanted to comment on senator pryor's prior comments or something. a senator: mr. president, i have another set of comments i would like to make on a pending amendment, but i don't know where we are in the order here. mr. mikulski: you want to offer an amendment? mr. udall: i wish to comment and rise in opposition to an amendment that's already been offered. mr. sessions: i guess i have the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from alabama has the floor. ms. mikulski: as manager, i'm seeking clarification. mr. sessions: i will yield to the senator for a question. ms. mikulski: does the senator wish to comment on the moran amendment? mr. udall: i wish to comment on amendment number 753 which was offered by the junior senator from new hampshire. ms. miku

mr. president, mr. president. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate will now proceed to consideration of h.r. 2112, which the clerk will now report. the clerk: calendar number 155, h.r. 2112, an act making appropriations for agriculture, rural development, food and drug administration, and related agencies and so forth and for other purposes. mr. reid: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: senator kohl will be here momentarily, but until the managers of the bill are ready to proceed, i will on behalf of senator webb call up his amendment which is at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. reid, for mr. webb, proposes an amendment numbered 750. at the appropriate place -- mr. reid: mr. president, i would ask further reading of the amendment be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: notwithstanding the previous action jus

mr. president. mr. paul: i'm asking to yield for a question. the presiding officer: the senator from iowa has the floor. mr. harkin: again, i recognize the senator wants to, let's do this in a logical, again, orderly manner. people want to be here to speak, i think the senator from colorado made some good points. i was yielding to him for a question. i would yield if the senator from minnesota has a question. then the senator from kentucky has every right to speak. the presiding officer: the senator from north carolina. mr. burr: under the current structure, how long before a member on this side can be recognized? the presiding officer: a senator cannot be recognized until the floor is relinquished. mr. burr: i thank the chair and i yield back. mr. harkin: i would yield to the senator from minnesota for a question. the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. mr. franken: thank you, mr. chairman, for allowing me to ask a question. i just really want to know, because i've only been here two-plus yea

mr. president. he presiding officer: the majority whip is recognized. mr. durbin: following leader remarks, the senate will resume consideration of h.r. 2112. at noon there will be three health care votes. the first will be on the confirmation of heather higginbottom to be deputy director of the office of management and budget. the filing deadline for first-degree amendments to the substitute amendment and h.r. 2112 is 1:00 p.m. today. there will be another series of up to four roll call votes at approximately 2:00 p.m. in relation to additional amendments to the bill. further roll call votes are expected during today's session in order to complete action on the bill. we also hope to vote on the confirmation of the nomination of john bryson to be commerce secretary as well today. additionally, cloture was filed on the motions to proceed to s. 1723 and s. 1726, and if no agreement is reached, those cloture votes will occur on friday. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: under the previous

mr. president? the presiding officer: the distinguished majority leader. mr. reid: thank you, mr. president. i have the rare opportunity today to introduce and say a few words about the gest chaplain. -- about the guest chaplain. reverend chaney has just delivered, as usual, an eloquent invocation. reverend chaney is originally from south carolina, but for the last two years has led his flock at the second baptist church in las vegas, one of the older, extremely well-established, large churches in las vegas, nevada. he's a man who's involved in the community, very, very deeply. he serves on the board of the urban league and the naacp, but in addition to his service in the spiritual line, he's also served as a patriot in our nation's armed services. he has served in the navy for four years, as has our chaplain, barry black, both naval officers, and recently retired as chaplain of the united states air force reserve at necessarily is air force base. i've met with reverend chaney under very unique circumstances on a number of occasions. he's wonderful human being. he is one of those r

mr. president,. y wife and my delegation. it is always a great pleasure visiting this great country. i would also like to convey the warm greetings from your friends back in korea, mr. president and madam first lady. the journey of our alliance began 60 years ago, a journey that brought together two peoples from different sides of the pacific. what brought us together more than anything was the value that all of us here hold so dear, freedom. [speaking in native tongue] [speaking in native tongue] [speaking in native tongue] [speaking in native tongue] [speaking in native tongue] [speaking in native tongue] >> translator: yesterday, i pictured at the korean war memorial just a short distance away from here. there i was able to pay my respects to the 37,000 american soldiers who fought and died defending this value. it is written on a wall at that memorial that these american soldiers quote, serve the call to defend the country they never knew, and a people they never met, unquote. a simple yet poignan

mr. president? the presiding officer: the distinguished senior senator from utah. mr. hatch: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be rescinded. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. hatch: thank you, mr. president. as we discuss our relationship with china, it strikes me that we're ignore a lot of the most critical issues impacting u.s. competitiveness in regard to china; namely, china's inadequate protection of u.s. intellectual property, or what i call i.p. let's remember that i.p. is our nation's number-one export. american i.p. yuns pins the knowledge -- underpins the knowledge comirks providing our workers with a significant competitive advantage. in short, i.p. equals jobs for american workers. it's that simple. studies have shown that the i.p.-incentive industries employ more than 19 million workers, create higher-paying jobs across all skill levels, and support more than 60% of total u.s. exports. that's why throughout my service here, i've endeavored to ensure that u.s. innovators and content creators are able to operate in an environment in whi

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from alabama -- mississippi, i'm sorry. mr. wicker: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. wicker: and i ask unanimous consent to speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. wicker: i rise this evening to call attention to the disturbing developments in sudan and the newly created nation of south sudan. i fear the ongoing violence there risks undermining the progress that has been made for lasting peace after decades of civil war and bloodshed. it has been indeed a historic year for the people of south sudan. almost three months ago on july 9, south sudan was formally recognized as a sovereign nation, becoming africa's 54th state. an overwhelming 98.8% of south sudanese voters chose independence from the central government of sudan in the referendum held this january. for the millions of people whose lifetimes have known only war, the hope

mr. president, to recommend mr. higginson to president obama to be considered for this nomination to this important post. and i'm pleased to be joined by my colleague from louisiana that also supports this nomination and supports this confirmation. i'd like to take just a moment to share with some of my colleagues a few highlights of mr. higginson's background and resume. he has been well prepared for this position. he has resided in new orleans with his wife, colette, with their three children: christopher, katie and n oel. prior to that he began with a degree from harvard graduating summa cum laude. after graduating, he went on to earn a masters in philosophy, which is unusual but very welcomed in this field from cambridge university. he went, mr. president, as a harvard scholar. with degrees from two very prestigious institutions, he decideed to pursue his j.d. from yale law school where he graduated three years later. he earned the extraordinary distinction of being both editor-in-chief of the yale law review and

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from virginia. mr. webb: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. webb: i ask unanimous consent to be allowed to speak for ten minutes and following my remarks that senator barrasso be allowed to speak. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. webb: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i would like to speak for a few minutes today about an amendment that i introduced that in my view gets to the heart of some of the more troubling chinese trade policies that are threatening the economic security and the long-term competitiveness of our country. it's well-known that many foreign companies, many american companies, operating in china are required to transfer their intellectual property and proprietary technology to china as prerequits for -- prerequisite for doing business in that country. despite ainsurances from -- despite assurances from chinese leadership earlier this year that this was no longer -- quote -- "official chinese p

the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be terminated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that at 4:00 p.m. monday, october 17, the senate proceed to the consideration of calendar number 155, h.r. 2112. that's the agriculture act for fiscal year 2012. that the committee amendment be withdrawn, the chairman of the appropriations committee for his designee be recognized to offer amendment number 738 which consists of the text of the withdrawn amendment of division a, the text of s. 1572, calendar number 170, division b, and the text of s. 1596, calendar number 177 as division c. provided further that h.r. 2596 as reported by the house and actually by the house appropriations committee and division c of amendment 738 be deemed house passed text to h.r. 2112 for purposes of rule 16. finally, that amendment number 738 for the purposes of paragraph 1, rule 16, be considered with a committee amendment. the presiding officer: without object

mr. president, i yield the floor. e presiding officer: under the previous order, the leadership time is reserved. under the previous order, the senate will be in a period of morning business until 5:30 with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes. mr. corker: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mr. corker: mr. president, i rise to talk a little bit about the conversation we just had on the floor. there's no question in the state of tennessee and all across our country, i think the biggest item on anybody's mind is our economy and people having jobs in each of our states. mr. president, i still believe that the very best thing we can do to create a sound economy in this country is for the deficit committee to do the things that it needs to do in november and december and for us to show the american people that we have the ability to deal with the big structural issues that our country faces. i believe that with all my heart. i don't think there is a business in our country

mr. president? the presiding officer: majority leader. mr. reid: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: yes, we are. reid scried that be vitiated. officer without objection. reid rioted call for consideration of amendment 750. the amendment be modified with the changes at the desk many. the presiding officer: the amendment is pending and will be so modified. mr. reid: i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. reid: i ask that the quorum call be terminated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask that the senate return to amendment number 775. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: >> the senator from montana. -- the presiding officer: the senator from montana. mr. baucus: i ask unanimous consent further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. baucus: a native american expression on the circle of life offers insight int

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. f the quorum be will confirm six more of the president's judicial nominees. four of these vacancies have been deemed to be judicial emergencies. with these votes, we will have confirmed over 44% of the president's judicial nominees that have been submitted by the president during this congress, and 66% of all of his judicial nominees. as i have stated, the confirmation of executive and judicial appointments is one of the highest responsibilities of the senate. it is a duty that we all take seriously. it is not, as some have suggested, a pro forma process. we're not here to merely rubber stamp the president's nominees. sometimes this process takes a little time. it is the senate's right and duty to review thoroughly the records, qualifications, and temperament of nominees. above all, the process is to be treated with respect and with dignity. this is important for the nominees, for the senate, and for public confidence in our constitutional process. so i was disturbed to read recent new

mr. president, and i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from washington. mrs. murray: i ask unanimous consent the following members of my staff be granted floor privileges for today's session, ellie zepnik, zach mallen and erin shotts. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. nur, mrs. murray: i ask unanimous consent these requests be agreed to and printed in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. murray: i ask unanimous consent to speak for morning business for 12 minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. murray: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, as every one of our colleagues knows, so much of what we do here depends really on the hard work and commitment of the dedicated staffers who toil behind the scenes on behalf of us and the constituents we represent. so i wanted to take a few minutes here today to recognize a member of my own staff who has been with me for many years through good times and bad, and whose work ethic and competence, intelligence, and passion for public service is truly deserving of admiration

mr. president. mr. president, i just want to update my colleagues on an amendment that senator udall of colorado and i, along with several of our colleagues filed and debated last night. this is the amendment that would

mr. president and madame first lady, my visit to washington, d.c. this time is especially special because before you were the president of the united states of america, you are a very close friend of mine. this is how i consider you as well as the first ladies of his visit is very, very special for all of us. >> [speaking korean] >> ladies and gentleman, the president just spoke about the korean a motion that we call chung in korean. president obama knows that deep inside his heart he understands the essence of what we call chung. it can be inspected landed many different assets but one aspect is an individual that is humble and very strong inside. i think president obama and exemplifies this trait of what we call chung and that is what we have a special tie that we feel whenever i think about president obama. >> [speaking lorean] >> ladies and gentlemen, i'm a very honest guy. [laughter] so what i say, i really mean it. >> speaking korean] >> and also, mr. president, i must thank you for one thing -- you have spoken so highly of the outstanding edu

mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from alabama. mr. sessions: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. sessions: i'd like to speak a few moments on the nomination of alison nathan to be united states district court judge for the southern district of new york. this is a highly important position, one of the more prestigious courts in the country that handles some of the nation's most complex cases, and it's my observation having practiced over 15 years full time trying cases before federal judges 25 the office is of extreme importance and you need good judgment, good experience, good integrity, proven stability before you give a person a lifetime appointment for such an office. it's just an important matter. and i vote for -- overwhelmingly a vote for the nominees of the president, i believe in giving the president deference to -- in those nominations, but i do believe we need to hold the presidents accountable and to scrutinize the nominations in a fair way, and to not

mr. president? >> mr. have had a request from the president on multiple occasions to vote on what he calls his jobs bill and to vote on it now. just to count again, 1-12 timespr es the president has asked us over the last few weeks to vote on what he calls his jobs bill people took now. he's if he wants an extensive debate about it and he's saying he wants a vote might and i want to disabuse the notion that they propos are unwilling to vote on this. we are more than happy to vote t on it. understand why my friend theng majority leader may have some reservations not going forward of criti on this.qu i've read a number of critiques in this legislation by democratic senators in one partvenhough of it or another. but look even though there's bipartisan opposition to the president's jobs proposalin k bipartisan opposition to it i entitled think that he is entitled to a we vote.e able i'm sorry there appears we wille that not be able to achieve this bothed for over the president as repetitious the asked for over

mr. president, i would yield the floor. >> the senator from maine. you, in 19! , mr. president.f mr. ident, i raced today int the wake of another veryempl sobering jobs report.t unemployment remains stalled at 9.1%. 14 million americans are out ofn work. another 9 million have been forced into part-time jobs because they simply cannot find full-time employment. these challenging economic timee demand that congress and the administration put aside togher partisanship and work togethers in earnest to address the prolonged jobs crisis. many of the decisions that willl before congress in the next few months will be including those that must beiscl made to orestore fiscal order o our nation's books.crea but there are bipartisan measures that we know will create and preserve jobs now.k we must work together to advancs them. one such measure before us today is the free trade agreement with south korea.ill as president obama stated last week, this agreement the make it easier for american companies to sell their products in south korea and provide a major boost to our experts.seveh south kore

mr. president, we know conclude the questions to mr. on behalf of the assembly, may i thank you, mr. president, most warmly for your communication and the answer is you have given to the questions. thank you so much. [applause] we will have the next public setting at 3:00 this afternoon with the agenda that was approved monday. this meeting is adjourned. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] [no audio] [no audio] [no audio] [no audio] >> sunday on c-span, " newsmakers, "with buck mckeown on possible moves to reduce debt. road to the white house, presidential candidate michelle bachmann will be in new hampshire for a town hall meeting. as part of her three-day campaign tour, live at 3:30 eastern on c-span. >> during deliberations, the only people allowed in the supreme court peace conference room are the nine justices. who gets the door? >> my first for second conference, i was paying very close attention to the discussion. i failed to hear the knock on the door. billy brennan on my left and the justice on the r

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new hampshire. mrs. shaheen: i ask unanimous consent to rescind the quorum call call. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. ayotte: and i ask unanimous consent to speak as if in morning business for 15 minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. ayotte: thank you very much. mr. president, i rise today to address the majority leader's refusal to bring the defense authorization bill to the floor. on monday senator reid came to the floor and acknowledged the importance of bringing the defense authorization bill forward, aepbd said -- quote -- "it is vital that we get to this bill and pass it." i couldn't agree more. that's why it's nothing short of outrageous that the majority leader is blocking this important bill from being debated and passed by the senate based on misguided objections that the administration has raised to a bipartisan provision in the defense authorization which addresses how we detain and treat terrorists who are captured under the law of war. the american people and o

mr. president, the president -- not you, mr. president, but the president -- has given us a jobs bill that isn't perfect, but it's a start. the majority leader has said that the senate might consider the president's package eventually. really? eventually. we're in a financial emergency. we're going to talk about creating jobs eventually. well, let's be honest with those that sent us here. the current proposal from the president isn't going to pass either chamber if it relies entirely on tax increases to pay for it. i know it. you know it. so, when we bring it up, are we going to try to make it better? are we going to try to pass it? so i urge the majority leader to bring the jobs bill to the floor, a jobs bill to the floor that can actually get 60 votes and also have a chance in passing in the house. what would they look like? well, they'd look like parts of the president's proposal that actually have bipartisan support and can help our fellow americans immediately. we should take the things that everybody agrees on and bring the

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from hawaii. mr. inouye: mr. president, i -- mr.ka: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from hawaii. mr. akaka: mr. president, i rise today to introduce the stand against violence and empower native women, save native women act. i would like to thank the quoa sponsors of my -- the cosponsors of my bill, my good friends, senators inouye, murray, udall of new mexico, begich, franken, johnson of south dakota, baucus, tester, and bingaman. mr. president, native women across the country suffer from severe threats to their safety. according to a safety study by the department of justice, two in five girls and women in native communities will suffer domestic violence, and one in three will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime. can you imagine looking through the loving eyes of your daughter, sister or mother and know that one of them will probably be abused in their lifetime? this is the terrible reality of life for native women and their families across the country. it is an epidemic. it is unacceptable. and we must stand

mr. president, all members are present. supervisor chiu: thank you. ladies and gentlemen, could you please join me in the pledge of allegiance? supervisor chiu: madam clerk, are there any communications? >> there are no communications. supervisor chiu: let's go to our consent agenda. >> items 1 will have 22 come price the concept agenda. these items will be acted on by a single roll call vote. supervisor chiu: i understand our deputy city attorney would like us to receiver out item number one. are there any other items to receiver out? >> item 8, please. supervisor chiu: if we could take a roll call vote on its 1-2 without 1 and 8. >> campos, eye. chiu eye. chu eye. cohen eye. elsbernd eye. farrell aye. kim aye. mar aye. mirkarimi aye. wiener aye. avalos aye. there are 11 ayes. supervisor chiu: those ordinances are finally passed. item 1. >> ordinance amending the strnls administrative code to create a recreation and parks gift fund. update the medicare emergency relief fund, changing thed administering agency. >> supervisor chiu: i under we have a sm

mr president last week a major and long awaited event happened in politics at the united russia convention you suggested that lead him or putin should run for president what was the primary motive behind your decision usually presidents see korea elections you're a politician and politicians are ambitious people what was your ambition in making his decisions. but you have an embittered limit yet my biggest ambition is to be useful to my country and my people this may sound a bit pretentious but it's true unless you have this ambition you shouldn't go into politics but you should focus on something else instead of politics or government service we both belong to the same political force. putin and dmitri medvedev were nominated for the presidency first him then me under the current model of power by the united russia party yeah putin was number one on the united russia slate and yours truly is this time. so we really represent the same political force we belong to the same political force and the views of very close so sharing the same views should we compete against each other thing. shoul

mr. president. first briefly to follow an ad if i may. on the iran's alleged terror plot, do you have knowledge or do you believe that the nation's supreme leader and president have knowledge of the plot? and if so, do not see that as an act of war? and if i could turn to the economy, yesterday in a campaign video you said that you will force congress to take up individual pieces of the american jobs act. which pieces of july to see take up first? givens of our you been unable to do an up or down vote on the entire bill and that new employment filings are not following, why not sit down with members of congress to see if you can't reach compromise on something that could pass now create jobs quickly? >> okay. first of all on the iranian issue, the attorney general has put forward the facts with respect to the case. and i'm going to let him comment on the details of those facts. but we can say is that they're individuals in the everyday government who are aware of this plot. and had it not been for the tin in intelligence work of our intell

mr. president. i was absent at the tail end of the discussion because we had a for alarm fire in the district. i apologize that i wasn't here for the complete betting through the chair. i would ask the general cons ole a couple questions. >> good afternoon, special counsel. supervisor mirkarimi: i understand the aim of what supervisor supervisor farrell -- what supervisor farrell and elsbernd are doing. i am one of the early sponsors of public financing for the mayoral campaigns. it is a time that we design that legislation, we did so based on a certain level, a trigger level of expenditure in matching donations. if we were to reassess what that level would look like, the 1.475, theoretically adjust the level higher up, what would you suggest as part of that process? is that an automatic disqualification? is that something that doesn't necessarily assist in the arguments that are trying to correct what doesn't need to be corrected? >> it would not have that much effect. the concern that i have is th

mr. president, by saying this. the country is in the midst of the worst economic crisis since the 1930's, millions of americans have seen a decline in their standard of living, the gap between the rich and everybody else is going wider. that is the reality of the american economy today. one of the reasons for the collapse of the middle class is the loss of millions and millions of good-paying manufacturing jobs. and one of the key reasons -- not the only reason but one of the key reasons that we are losing millions of manufacturing jobs are disastrous trade policies designed, designed to allow american corporations to shut down here, move to low-wage countries, hire people there, pennies an hour, bring their products back. that is a policy, i suppose you can say that has worked if you're the c.e.o. of a large corporation. you make a lot more money paying people 50 cents snow shower than $20 an hour. you make a lot more money working in a country where there are no environmental standards rather than a country where

mr. president. you have the floor. applause] >> in the name of god and compassion and muslims, your excellency, president of the parliament of the assembly of the council of europe, ladies and gentlemen, distinguished members of the assembly, peace be upon you. it honors me to be with you here today in this august assembly to address you, elected representatives of the nations of your of and the living conscience of the people. in bodying the values of freedom, justice, and human dignity. i have come from palestine, a land of peace where the monotheistic religions have always coexisted. i have come to you bearing a message of peace from the people whose roots go deep in the land over thousands of years as a homeland and continues despite the pain and suffering. the epic journey towards the noble goal of freedom and independence. ladies and gentlemen. two weeks ago, as president of the state of palestine and chairman of the executive committee of the palestine liberation organization, a representative of the palestinian

mr. president. before i get to my question, do we assume by how you're talking about the bill in the senate that you are okay with the change in how to pay for it, the surtax, 5.6% surtax on millionaires? >> we've always said we would be open to a variety of ways to pay for it. we put forward what we thought was a solid approach to paying for the jobs bill itself. keep in mind, though, that what i've always said is that not only do we have to pay for the jobs bill, but we also still have to do more in order to reduce the debt and the deficit. so the approach that the senate is taking, i'm comfortable with. in order to deal with the jobs bill. we're still going to need to reform this tax code to make sure that we're closing loopholes, closing special interest tax breaks, making sure that the very simple principle, what we call the buffett rule, which is that millionaires and billionaires aren't paying lower tax rates than ordinary families, that that's in place. so there's going to be more work to do

mr. president, it comes downo-this: re g to this. ater this afternoon it's goingrnoon. it w to be a vote on president obama'obs obama's jobs proposal. and he has spoken to it clearly in a joint session of congress and has taken hiers case to thed p american people and has includednse provisions which the republicans suppo havert historically supported, and i am afraid you're going to walk away from this. the republican approach to this is to do nothing.rom absolutely nothing. protect billionaires' from tax a increases and don't give president obama a victory. will i tell you this is not a victory for president obama. across am it's a victory for unemployed would people across america that wehing but to something specific come h something directav something theurable impt in would have a measurable impact in creating jobs.ubled i am troubled that theth republican approach as senator mcconnell described it is one of just say no to bid that is the republican answer to the one weakness of our economy. h hee talks about the tax hike is inc

thank you very much mean to you mr president thank you. even the. shuttle and the sacred. magic is the essence of life. whether it is a protest prayer. or a shamanistic which. crossroads of two religious. faith is strong there it is hard. to be so much brighter if you never sung from funds to. stance on t.v. dot com. we'll. bring you the latest in science and technology from around. we've got the future covered. abroad. we here because of our cash outs that. god promised them this million belongs to us . we'll if they are still going to be thinking. and goal chosen people will not believe that god is real estate say look at this that is this for you guys this guy this is for you. this is the. reason my then. cut. the emission free the sacred station three the structures free. arrangements free risk free. free. the old steam launch the solid video for your media projects and free media. tom. the a. lists . the same. length on. the i. download the official ulti allocation the i pod touch from the i.q. saps just such a life on the. city of london monks all season long cold co

said mr president if the u.s. goes ahead with easing speech to block the palestinian between u.n. undershot and there have been attempts to prevent a vote in the sunshine if the u.s. suspends aid to the girls to illiterate ship as it's rumored what will be your response. i'm aware of the speculation over the suspension of the us aid but so far i've not received any official notice on that so i can't comment on it either in a positive or negative way we don't know if it's happened already or not we'll be able to issue a comment only when we get official confirmation as for the right of veto we knew in advance and we were officially notified that washington will use its veto joining the voting in our bid it's clear that the us as the dominant world power wants to extend its support to israel but what concerns us most is that the us wants to force all the countries that took part in the general assembly big and small alike in particular the members of the u.n. security council to vote against palestinian membership in the un this is the key concern for us all the member states of the

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from montana. mr. baucus: mr. president, i think it is a great day. it's -- it shows america is moving forward, forward-leaning, forward-looking. i want to thank the countries with whom we've reached these agreements. they, too, are so encouraged. and i hope it is a good model that we can pursue in the future. in that vein, i would like to thank some members of my staff, beginning with my chief trade person, amber coddle, mike smart, tom quick, chelsie thomas, gabriel addler, sarah babcock, and i want to very much thank my staff that works for my good friend and colleague, senator hatch, beginning with especially with h everett eisenstadt. they've been a real team. and i believe very strongly that not much is accomplished in this team if we try to go it alone, if do you it by yourself. rather, much is accomplished with team work and working together. i just -- i thank very much my team and i very much thank the team from senator hatch. i see everett over there nodding his head. he knows teamwork really works. i tha

mr. president. before i get to my question, do we assume by how you are talking about the bill in the senate that you are okay with the change and how to pay for it, the surtax, the 5.6% surtax on millionaires? >> we always said that we would be open to a variety of ways to pay for it. we put forward what we thought was a solid approach to paying for the jobs bill itself. keep in mind, though, that what i have always said is that not only do we have to pay for the jobs bill but we also still have to do more in order to reduce the debt and deficit. so the approach that the senate is taking i'm comfortable with in order to deal with the jobs bill, we are still going to need to reform the tax code to make sure that we are closing loopholes, closing special interest tax breaks, and making sure that the very simple principle p, the buffett rule, millionaires and billionaires are not paying lower taxes than ordinary families. there will be more work to doing with respect to making our tax system fair and

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from alabama. mr. sessions: mr. president, i ask that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. sessions: mr. president, time has been set aside for the heather higginbottom nomination. i had not intended to speak on that tonight but it's been suggested we might get started on that. i'll share my remarks tonight for the record, and hopefully we can have a good discussion of it further tomorrow. the constitution makes it very clear that it is the president who nominates, that confirmation does not occur, however, without the consent of the senate. in federalist 76 alexander hamilton wrote quo tkwoe what purpose then to require the cooperation of the senate? i answer that the necessity of their concurrence would have a powerful though in general silent operation, it would be an excellent check up on a spirit of favoritism in the president and would tend greatly to prevent the appointment of unfit characters from prejudice, from family connection, from personal attachment or from a