mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from kentucky. mr. aul: i ask unanimous consent to call up amendment number 9. the presiding officer: the senate is in a quorum call. mr. paul: i ask unanimous consent that we dispense with the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. paul: i ask unanimous consent to call up amendment number 9. the presiding officer: without objection, the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from kentucky, mr. paul, proposes an amendment numbered 9. at the appropriate place -- mr. paul: i ask that the reading of the amendment be waived. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. paul: i rise today to present legislation that would stop the transfer of f-16's and abrams tanks to egypt. i think it particularly unwise to send tanks and our most sophisticated fighter planes to egypt at a time when many are saying the country may be unraveling. ironically a year ago the arab spring occurred. hundreds of thousands of people gathered in tahrir square to protest a government tha

mr. president. mr. toomey: i rise to continue this discussion about sandy. there isn't any doubt about the severity of this tragedy, about the human suffering. it is absolutely the case that the needed emergency money should have been there already. there's a real genuine need, and that need needs to be met. that's part of the reason i voted in favor of spending $24 billion which could legitimately described as the kind of emergency funding that suffering people needed. what i'm concerned about, mr. president, is i guess two things. one, the fact that some people have used the occasion of the misery that these people are suffering through to add all kinds of spending that has absolutely nothing to do with sandy. and none of it is offset. so, we've got a $1 trillion billion budget deficit -- $1.1 trillion to be precise -- and we're just adding another $60 billion right on top of that. the items that i would suggest certainly don't have much to do with sandy. $15 million for nasa repairs at the kennedy spa

mr. president. i rise today to speak in favor of a critical issue for my state, and that is much-needed wildfire relief. i want to be more specific. colorado has been in dire need of emergency watershed protection funds since fires raged in my state just six months ago. just six months ago we were in the news not only in our country but around the world because of the fires in our state. and this is an important issue, one of the most important issues confronting my state because the last fire season was the worst literally on record. and although the fires no longer burn, the threats that they pose to entire communities persist long after the final embers are extinguished. literally hundreds of thousands of coloradoans remain vulnerable to flooding and tainted water supplies in the aftermath of these fires. to people not from the west, the reason why this is an emergency may not be immediately clear, so let me explain. in my state, the height park and waldo canyon fires -- the two fires all over the

mr. president, the certificate of the vote of the state of alaska. it appears that mitt romney of the commonwealth of massachusetts received three votes for president and paul ryan received three votes for vice president. >> mr. president, the certificate of the electoral vote of the state of arizona seemed to be in regular form and authentic and it appears that mitt romney of massachusetts received 11 votes of for president and paul ryan received 11 votes for vice president. >> mr. president, the certificate of the electoral vote of the state of arkansas seems to be authentic. it appears that mitt romney of massachusetts received six votes for president and paul ryan received six vote for vice president. >> mr. president, the certificate of the electoral vote of the state of california seems to be regular in form and authentic and it appears that barack obama of the state of illinois received 55 votes for president and joe biden of the state of delaware received 55 votes for vice president. >> mr. president, the certificate of the electoral vote of t

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from georgia. mr. chambliss: mr. president, as i walked to the capitol, i hadn't intended to speak. but when i came in and started listening to senator pryor, senator levin, listened earlier in the day to senator mccain and now senator alexander, it made me want to come to the floor and just thank them for the effort they've made to hopefully make us a better working body in the next two years than we would have been otherwise preceding this agreement. when senator alexander made the remark about my predecessor, richard russer, and his statement when he came home to georgia after the rigorous debate and arduous debate that took place over the civi civil s act, it made me recognize the appreciation and respect our predecessors had for the result of the debating process. mr. isakson isakson: then as i d to senator pryor, i had a flashback to two weeks ago when a number of us attended the movie "lincoln." there was a screaming of the movie downstairs and george lucas was here. and i thought about those great scenes in th

mr. president, the certificate of arizona appears to be authentic. mitt romney received 11 votes for president and paul ryan received 11 votes for vice president. >> mr. president, the certificate of the state of arkansas seems to be regular and authentic. it appears that make romney received six votes for president and paul ryan received six votes for vice president. >> mr. president, their certificate of the state of california seems to be regular and authentic. it appears that barack obama received 55 votes for president and joe biden received 55 votes for vice president. >> mr. president, the certificate of the state of colorado seems to be regular and authentic. it appears that barack obama received nine votes for president and joe biden received nine votes for vice president. >> mr. president, the certificate of the state of connecticut seems to be regular and authentic. it appears that barack obama of the state of illinois received seven votes for president and joseph biden received seven votes for vice president. >> mr. president, the certific

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from indiana. mr. coats: mr. president, i have been coming to the senate floor just about every day that we have been in session so far this year, and i'm going to continue to do so, and talk about what i believe is our most pressing crisis that this body faces and that our country faces, and that is the uncontrolled ru runaway federal spundzing and accumulated debt and how it is dragging our economy down and how it threatens to provoke a major economic disaster if not addressed. in previous remarks that i have made on this floor, i tried to make the point that if we fail to get federal spending under control in the short term, our economy will remain and continue to remain in the doldrums because of this cloud of economic uncertainty that hangs over and vestors business people and consumers. but i don't want my colleagues to just take my word for it. a host of experts, men tarts, business people -- commentators, business people around investors around the country and around the world, people from both sides of th

mr. president. uished guests, and fellow citizens: each time we gather to gnawing rate a president, we bear witness to the enduring strength of our constitution. we affirm the promise of our democracy. we recall what binds this nation together is not the colors of our skin or the tenets of our faith, or the or begins of our names -- or begins of our names. what makes us exceptional, what makes us american, is our allegiance to an idea articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago. we told these truths to be self-evident, that all men men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. today we continue a never-ended journey to bridge the meaning of those words with the realities of our time. for history tells us that while these truths may be self-evident. they've never been self-executing. that while freedom is a gift from god, it must be secured by his people here on earth. [

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from oregon is recognized. mr. merkley: mr. president, i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. merkley: i thank you, mr. president. i ask unanimous consent the period for morning business for debate be extended until 6:00 p.m., with senators permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. merkley: thank you, mr. president, and i note the absence of a quorum. quorum call: mr. merkley: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from oregon is recognized. mr. merkley: thank you, mr. president. i ask that the qrl be -- quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. merkley: thank you, mr. president. i want to first address the bill that we passed in the early hours this morning. it is a very unusual thing to be passing a bill in the early hours, certainly on the first day of the year, and this bill had a lot in it. this is a fiscal cliff bill. there are a number of reasons that

mr. president? the president pro tempore: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: after any statement by the majority leader, i'd ask consent to be recognized in morning business. the president pro tempore: without objection. mr. durbin: it is my understanding the majority leader is going to yield the floor to me at this moment. the president pro tempore: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: mr. president, the state of nevada was admitted to the union in 1864. since 1864 there have been 25 senators in its 148-year history. today harry mason reid becomes the longest-serving member of congress in the history of the state of nevada. senator reid was elected to the u.s. house of representatives the same year that i was elected, in 1982, and became a member of the house in 1983. he became a member of the united states senate in 1987. he has served with great distinction in both houses of congress, serving his state of nevada. and today is the highest-ranking democrat in the united states senate serving as its majority leader. i would dare say, mr. president, th

mr. president? the president pro tempore: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: i want to thank my good friend, the majority leader, for his kind words and thank everyone for their patience and their counsel throughout this process. i also want to thank the vice president for recognizing the importance of preventing this tax hike on the american people and stepping up to play a crucial role in getting us there. it shouldn't have taken us this long to come to an agreement, and this shouldn't be the model for how we do things around here, but i appreciate the vice president's willingness to get this done for the country. i know i can speak for my entire conference when i say we don't think taxes should be going up on anyone, but we all knew that if we did nothing, they would be going up on everyone today. we weren't going to let that happen. each of us could spend the rest of the week discussing what a perfect solution would have looked like, but the end result would have been the largest tax increase in american history. the president wanted tack increas

mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican whip. mr. cornyn: mr. president, the latest economic report came out yesterday and it showed the economy of the united states actually shrank in the last quarter of 2012 with u.s. exports plunging 5.7%. you heard me correctly, the me and getting -- is going more slowly -- growing more slowly, in fact, contracting rather than growing. this news is a sobering reminder that we're still experiencing the weakest economic recovery and the longest period of high unemployment since the great depression. and it has very human consequences. millions of americans are out of work or they're working part time when they wish they could work full time to provide for their families. but we can't create more jobs in this economy unless the economy grows. we must never accept slow growth and high unemployment as the new normal. as i said, these are not just economic concerns, these are human concerns. when millions of people are unable to get full-time jobs, the social and psychological effects can be devastating for individ

mr. president. [cheers and applause] [fanfare sounds] ♪ [playing "presidential march"] [cannons firing] [cheers and applause] >> it is my great honor to present the 44th president of these united states, barack obama. [cheers and applause] [crowd chanting "obama"] >> thank you. thank you. my fellow citizens, i stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. i thank president bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition. 44 americans have now taken the presidential oath. the words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. yet, every so often, the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. at these moments, america has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we the people have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to

mr. president? >> thank you very much, mr. president, for your warm welcome and for appearing with us during our talks in the blair house. the president and i discussed today in great detail all the relevant issues between the two countries. i was happy to see that we have made progress on some of the important issues for afghanistan. concerning afghan sovereignty, we agreed on the complete return of detention centers and detainees to afghan sovereignty and that this will be implemented soon enough on my return to afghanistan. we also discussed all aspects of transition to afghan government and security. i am very happy to hear from the president as we also discussed it earlier that in the spring this year the afghan forces will be fully responsible for providing security and protection to the afghan people and that the international forces will be no longer president in afghan villages, that the task will be that of the afghan forces to provide for the afghan people in security and protection. that we also agreed on the steps

mr. president, the certificate of the state of alabama seems to be authentic and it appears that mr. romney received nine votes for president and paul ryan received nine votes or vice president. >> mr. president, the certificate of the state of alaska seems to be authentic. it appears that mr. romney received three votes for president and paul ryan received three votes for vice president. >> mr. president, the certificate of arizona appears to be authentic. mr. romney received 11 votes for president and paul ryan received 11 votes for vice president. >> mr. president, the certificate of the state of arkansas seems to be regular and authentic. it appears that make romney received six votes for president and paul ryan received six votes for vice president. >> mr. president, their certificate of the state of california seems to be regular and authentic. it appears that barack obama received 55 votes for president and joe biden received 55 votes for vice president. >> mr. president, the certificate of the state of colorado seems to be regular and authentic. it appears that barack obama re

mr. president. f you disagree with the senate, if you're afraid you're about to nominate somebody who the senate won't like, well, then you -- you better get somebody the senate will approve or else you're not going to get that nominee. the president said, no, i'm going to do it my way so i'll just try to change this resource -- recess appointment and do it in a way that's more extreme than had ever been done before. i want to hasten to add that -- that there's no excuse here that if the president hadn't acted in this way, there -- the senate might have held up the nomination for too long. of course, the senate has that right, if it chose to. but in this case, the nomination only arrived two or three weeks before the president made his appointment. so we've got a straight-outset of facts here, says the court. according to the constitution, the appointment may only be made during the recess between annual sessions and it was not. and, second, it may only be made to a vacancy that occurred during the r

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new jersey. mr. menendez: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. menendez: mr. president, i rise to encourage the senate to seek quick action on the sandy relief package that has been long overdue. i know that the majority leader is committed to bringing it to the floor as soon as we can get some type of agreement with the other side of the aisle, and i hope that agreement can come quickly because a recovery that is delayed, as this already has been significantly delayed, is a recovery that very likely can fail. and we cannot afford for one of the biggest engines of the national economy, which is the northeast, to fail in its recovery not only for the sake of the northeast but for the entire country. and i appreciate the majority leader's steadfast commitment to provide that relief as quickly as possible here in the senate. but time is awasting. we're already here on wednesday and i am concerned that we will lose another week before we,

mr. president! mr. president! mr. president! how is it going! is the weather good? is it fantastic? mr. u doing? come on. >> they won't let me. >> they won't let you? yeah! all right! yes! yes! i'm done! >> a chance for al roker to feel good about himself for a change. he's been offered the job of starting white house correspondent. that's how it played out today on pennsylvania avenue. by the way, for a lot of you, we're going to continue with a second half hour of special coverage on this inauguration day here in washington. if your station isn't airing our second half hour of coverage, we'll also be streaming it live on the web, nbcnightlynews.com. for us and for now, however, that is our broadcast on a monday night. thank you for being here with us. i'm brian williams. see you in new york tomorrow night. good night. >>> right now 6:00, president obama making history yet again and it was shared online. the age-old event gets a social spin. >>> and a high stakes robbery at an east bay car dealership. you that they managed to pull off the rip-off. >> the harbaugh brothers will be battli

mr. vice president, come up here and talk to us. hey, mr. vice president. i don't think he wants to talk. >> i think he cannot hear you is probably -- >> yeah, hey, mr. vice president. mr. vice president. he's happy. i think he was waving to kate. he was definitely not waving to me. >> i don't like to brag. very special day. >> barack obama is -- has made his last passage. who knows. joe biden may be back. >> what do you think? >> i think if it were up to joe biden, he'd be back. i think -- he's older than -- he would be older than ronald reagan when he ran for president the first time. he looks in great shape. nobody likes it better. >> he's doing a little rope line over there. you see some young kids. he decides that he's going to improvise a little bit. he's right down -- right below us over here in our area. >> just what the secret service do not want to hear, the vice president is improvising. >> yeah, this is -- you see, he's a natural born politician. >> this is joe biden in his element. he's a little different than all those parades in wilmington, de

mr. president, mr. president! mr. president! mr. president! mr. president scham >> stephen: tonight, the historic second inaugural of vice-president biden. then, america gets the flu. the ratings for "the price is right" have never been higher. and i'll discuss obama's second term with editor for the atlantic, ta-nehisi coates. which one of us will be black? the answer may surprise you. [ laughter ] atari filed for bankruptcy today but they're thinking about just taking it out, blowing on it, and seeing if it'll work again. [ laughter ] this is "the colbert report." ["the colbert report" theme music captioning sponsored by comedy central playing] [cheers and applause] welcome to the show, everybody. [chowd chanting see it fen] thank you so much. thank you, ladies and gentlemen. [cheers and applause] welcome to tonight's simulcast. good to have you with us. [ laughter ] folks, as a broadcaster, it's my sacred responsibility to bring you the latest information that i watched on some other cable tv network. [ laughter ] [ laughter ] but frankly, today

the vice president: the majority leader. mr. reid: i note the absence of a quorum and ask the clerk to call the roll. the vice president: the absence of a quorum having been suggested, the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the vice president: a quorum is present. the majority leader. mr. reid: can we have order, please. the vice president: may we have order in the senate. the majority leader. mr. reid: mr. president, we -- i have a number of housekeeping matters i need to take care of with senator mcconnell. senators are welcome to stay but i know there are a lot of things going on today, receptions and things of that nature. i think we're going to -- we're not going to have speeches tod today. we'll have plenty of time to do that at a subsequent time. but with -- and i doubt that we'll have any votes. there may be a need for one roll call vote later on. we'll see what happens after the house takes action today. but i hope that's not the case. so having said that. people are welcome to stay or to leave. i have a resolution a

the presiding officer: without objection. mr. pryor: i ask unanimous consent the title amendment with respect to h.r. 8 which is at the desk be agreed to. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. pryor: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. pryor: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of h.r. 6586 which is at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 6586, an act to extend the application of certain space launch liability provisions through 2014. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. pryor: i further ask that the nelson-hutchison substitute amendment which is at the desk be agreed to, the bill as amended be read a third time and passed, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate, and that any s

mr. president, the certificate of the electoral vote of the state of iowa seems to be regular in form and authentic. it appears therefrom that barack obama of the state of illinois received six votes for president and joseph biden of the state of delaware received six votes for vice president. >> mr. president, the certificate of the electoral vote of the state of kansas seems to be regular in form in authentic and it appears that mitt romney of the commonwealth of massachusetts received six votes for president and paul ryan of the state of wisconsin received six votes for vice president. >> mr. president, the certificate of the electoral vote of the commonwealth of kentucky seems to be regular in form and authentic and it appears there from that mitt romney of the commonwealth of massachusetts received eight votes for president and paul ryan of the state of wisconsin received eight votes for vice president. >> mr. president, the certificate of the electoral vote of the state of louisiana seems to be regular in form and authentic. it appears therefrom that mitt romney of the commonwealth

mr. president. >> i am sorry. i could not hear you. >> cubs then, mr. president. -- fan, mr. esident. >> go to the next guy, let's see if we can find a white sox fan. cubs fan.om >> terrible. >> hi, cubs fan/. go, cubs. >> i am from chicago, illinois. and i may -- i am a sox fan. >> finally, about time. >> good morning, mr. president. i want to say hi to my family at home. and i am a cubs fan. >> well, sgt. major, we may be outnumbered, us white sox fans, but whether you're a white sox, cubs, or cardinals, we got some folks probably from scott air force base or something down in metro east. no matter were you are from, we are all grateful to you for your outstanding service, you make us proud, and we are going to do everything we can to make your work go smoother, and you need to know that every single american, regardless of party, regardless of what their politics are, support you, and will always support you. thank you so much. [applause] >> sir, right here. >> thank you everybody, and i will see you either back home or out where you guys are. thank you. and we salute you.

mr. president! mr. president! >> mr. president! how are you doing? >> did the cheerleading overshadow the reporting? >> the american people deserve to know answers. >> the "new york times" four are out at state department after scathing report on benghazi attacks. not true. >> had i been president at the time i would have relieved you of your post. >> hillary clinton finally answering questions about the benghazi attacks. >> putting on quite a performance for lawmakers and the press. real emotion or just an act? the woman who ignited the petraeus sex scandal takes her story to the press. is it too late or did the media take the bait? notre dame's all star linebacker manti te'o gives katie couric the straight scoop on the fake girlfriend hoax. prince harry get hammered by the media for giving the facts. >> we fought when we have to. take a life to save a life. >> on the panel this week daily beast and "u.s.a. today" columnist kirsten powers. syndicated columnist call thomas, jim pinkerton contributing editor the american conservative magazine investig

mr. president. i sincerely hope, pledge, beseech that that individual will [indiscernible] and do the right thing. thank you. >> president: thank you very much. let's hear from this next speaker. if there are any of the members of the public who wish to speak please sign up on the right-hand side. >> ladies and gentlemen, san francisco and the world. i'm here to congratulate a great friend of mine; we have agreed and disagreed; ms. london breed, supervisor breed. queen b. she is here in the city. we are getting ready to bring history. we have a new breed of black leadership, i'm sure to let you know as a self-proclaimed czar of outmigration. we are going to make it happen. years ago i had some doubts. i also want to thank ross the boss, we are going to try to wring some stability back. right now it is still silly. the no i am the only african american media head. i don't know who to go to to record my history? my name is ace. i am on this case. don't get mad at me. ladies and gentlemen, my name is a

mr. president.geant first class david wood. i'm out of monument, colorado, third infantry division, falcon brigade, task force lighthorse. thank you very much for having us here at your party. congratulations. >> good evening, mr. president. the operations superintendent, the 807th expeditionary operation support squadron, and the world's greatest air force. i want to say congratulations on tonight, and you guys have a blessed evening. >> mr. president, we're honored to be able to join you tonight, and we've got one more thing for all of you there. >> for all of you there, we know it's tough being away from your families. we know the incredible sacrifices and challenges that you meet every single day. but i can tell you that you've got a room full of patriots here. [ cheering ] and although i've got to admit that they're a little spiffied up right now, their heart and soul, their dedication, their sense of duty is at one with every single one of the folks who are in kandahar right now. and i want yo

mr. president. james salusky.ongratulations on tonight and have a blessed evening. >> mr. president, we're honored to be able to join you tonight, and we've got one more thing for all of you there. >> listen, to all of you who are there, we know it's tough being away from your families. we know the incredible sacrifices and challenges that you meet every single day. but i can tell you that you've got a room full of patriots here. and although i've got to admit that they're a little spiffied up right now, their heart and soul, their dedication, their sense of duty, is at one with every single one of the folks who are in kandahar right now, and i want you to know that when i was standing on the steps of the capitol today, looking out over close to a million people, the single biggest cheer that i always get, and today was no different at my inauguration, was when i spoke about the extraordinary men and women in uniform that preserve our freedom and keep our country strong. [ cheers and applause ] so know that every

mr. president and members of the commission. i want to make a couple of points first of all, your staff has been helpful and cooperative in terms of our review and looking at what the project entails and where the program stands and some of our questions, i think you put much more simply mr. president when you said do you have enough money can you find it all and the answer to that question is what we would like brought back in the tabular form so we can all see had a and be assures and your second question is is it going to go to 117 toward one 17 or what? and that is right is there going to be enough for contingency and is this project and the contingency is nowcy on this project and those are the question that you saw see in the recommendation and is then some recommendations also with respect to schedule and i think one of the most important one there is meeting the level of service goals if this is the one project of all the wsip project that go along and all of the other activities including the activity not managed by lab

mr. president. i do not object to it. mr. reid: mr. president, i would finally say it's not as if the senator from oklahoma is asking to not do -- he's not asking that the actual amount of dollars be lessened. he's just saying that they should be rearranged differently. so i appreciate his goodwill on this legislation. we need to get this bill to the president. so it's my intention at the end of the use or yielding back to time to move to table these amendments and the vitter motion. we expect to have one vote prior to the senate recessing for caucus meetings and the remaining votes after the meetings. i stkpres my appreciate -- express my appreciation to the senator from oklahoma. i know how he feels about the military and he wants to try to relieve the pain in some way. the presiding officer: without objection, the request is agreed to. mr. reid: i ask consent the judiciary committee be discharged from s. res. 13 and now we proceed to that matter here in the senate. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resol

mr. president, mr. es and gentlemen. -- the late alex haley, the author of "roots, "lived by thesethe late lived his life by these six words, find the good and praise it. today we praise the american tradition of transferring or reaffirming the immense power and the inauguration of the president of the united states. we do this in a peaceful and orderly way. there is no insurrection. this is a moment when millions stop and watch. a moment most of us always will remember. ours a moment's that is most conspicuous and enduring symbol of the american democracy. how remarkable that this has survive for so long. and such a complex country, when so much power is at stake. this freedom to vote for our leaders. and the restraint to respect the results. last year a tour guide told me at mount vernon that our first president, and george washington once posed this question, what is most experiment? in washington answered his own question. in this way -- not the election of the first president but the election of its

mr. harkin: madam president? the presiding officer: senator. mr. harkin: madam president, i ask further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. harkin: madam president, on january 29 in 2009, president obama signed the lily ledbetter fair pay act. the critical law, legislation signed into law by president obama after his first election, reversed the outrageous supreme court decision in ledbetter and made clear a worker like ledbetter who had not earned a raise for years still had recourse to challenge her wage discrimination. today we celebrate the enactment of this important law, but at the same time we must recognize it was only a first step. we need to do much more to ensure all workers in our society are paid fairly for their work and are not shortchanged because of their gender, race or other personal characteristic. that is why four years after enactment of the lilly ledbetter fair pay act, i am proud to introduce once again the fair pay act, a bill i have introduced in eve

mr. president and dr. ul family, i now rise to toast the vice president of the united states and my former colleague and my friend, joe biden. mr. vice president, you have been an extraordinary leader of this nation and a true partner to our president these past four years. you play many roles, advisor, advocate, implementer, persuader, strategist and most important of all, friend. we're confident this unique partnership between you and our great president will only grow stronger and more productive over the next four years. mr. vice president, on the surface we don't share a common ancestry, but on a deeper level we do share a common story. an american story. of achieving our dreams thanks to the sacrifice of our immigrant forebearers. as you embark on your well-deserved second term in the spirit of those who came before us and on behalf of all americans we offer you all our support and warmest wishes and we say to you -- [speaking foreign languages] -- and cheers to our great vice president. >> mr. presid

mr. president, mr. his life by these six words. find the good and praise it. today we praise the american tradition of transferring or reaffirming immense power in the inauguration of the president of the united states. we do this in a peaceful, orderly way. there is no mob. no coup, no insurrection. this is a moment when millions stop and watch. a moment most of us always will remember. it is a moment that is our most conspicuous and enduring symbol of the american democracy. how remarkable that this has survived for so long in such a complex country when so much power is at stake. this freedom to vote for our leaders, and the restraint to respect the results. last year at mount vernon a tour guide told me that our first president, george washington, once posed this question. what is most important, washington asked, of this grand experiment, the united states? and then washington answered his own question in this way. not the election of the first president but the election of its second t.t.ident. the

mr. president, mr. sident, may god bless you all your days. all this we pray in your most holy name. amen. in singingjoin us forcing nam the national anthem. please remit main at your place while the party exes the platform. o say can you see by the dawn's early light, what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming, whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight, o'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming? and the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there; o say does that star-spangled banner yet wave, o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? ♪ ♪ >> all set? alright i am proclaiming goodwill toward men. >> amen. >> here wo go. i am setting up a few nominations which i know will be viewed with grace. charles hagal for defense. of virginia. there you go. thank you very much everybody. i can get you one. this is a nice one. that is yours . >> you are watching the live coverage of the 2013 i

mr. president. i'm honored by your trust and your confidence in me and not unmindful of the immense responsibilities that go with it. i want to also acknowledge my wife lillybeth, my son allen, and our son who is in chicago today, we hope, back attending his first day of classes at de paul university. to my friend leon panetta, thank you for your extraordinary service to our country. over so many years in so many capacities. you are one of the premier public servants of our time. to follow you at the department of defense will be a most challenging task, but i will try to live up to the standards that you, bob gates, and others have set for this job and this nation. let me also express my deep appreciation and congratulations to my friend john brennan and to also acknowledge the president's confidence and trust in john brennan. thank you, john, for your service and for what you will continue to do for our country. to mike morrell, who i have gotten to know over the years, not just serving on the sen

mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. i would ask that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. i am here to speak first and very personally in support of the nomination of senator kerry to be our next secretary of state. there is a time when the man and the moment come together in a profoundly historic way, and senator kerry coming to be secretary of state of the united states is the man coming together with a truly historic moment when his leadership can be pivotal in shaping america's role in the world, as a leader for human rights, as well as the use of its extraordinary strategic power for peace. there is also a time when the woman and a moment come together and that has been so for hillary clinton, who has done such extraordinary work, incomparable in its transforming america's role in world history, and i believe that just as she has met the challenges and guided american foreign policy and led the dedicated men and women of our foreign

mr. president members of the commission. our chancing with bawsca i have a few items to report first of all, on the heals of your bonding success we are about to have bonding success we have received a double a minus rating on our bonds -- thank you next week i'll fly too new york and talk to loan buyers and ring the bell and we anticipate the save's very much the along the same line as yours thank you for your support and your staff support on that item. wet a meeting last thursday night the new chair of our board is ireneconel and the new vice chair is rando from city of bris obtain and they do city work with the city of bris obtain as well and we have a board policy committee it's our one standing committee and there will be new members appointment to that i suspect and some carry over with respect to our board meeting we had two items of interest one related to item 11 on calaveras dam and the other one is on the agreement and i'll withhold my comment until we get to that. >> we are ready to move to the public items? or

mr. president. you know, i just want to -- i think i made this point when i was questioning the appellant about how important it is to understand that this appeal is not an appeal on the merits, that is not what this board does. the mta board directors was entrusted by the voters to make these policy decisions. and that's where a lot of the arguments were raised tonight in opposition to this project are i'm sure were directed at the mta board of directors and that was the appropriate forum. this is about ceqa. and one can love or hate this project, but this is about our application of ceqa. and i do believe that if we were to require an eir tonight, we would be setting a significant precedent for future efforts to do all sorts of different projects to improve safety on our streets, whether you're -- because if you require an eir to remove net 55 parking spots what about adding net 55 parking spots what about taking a surface parking lot and -- a building there and remove those parking spots would th