mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection, the senator from connecticut is recognized. mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. i would like to join others of my colleagues in thanking and commending the majority leader, senator reid, for his tireless and relentless work in extraordinarily difficult circumstances. he has been a model for me as a new member of the senate in leading this body, and many of my other democratic colleagues in the leadership, and some of our republican colleagues as well -- senator johnny isakson, for example, of georgia who spoke to this chamber yesterday morning and who demonstrated his determination, as others on the other side of the aisle have done to work together in reaching an agreement. as the majority leader said just moments ago, the word of the day must be "cooperation" and "compromise." it is the word that we are hearing from countless americans and my fellow citizens of connecticut day after day. we want

mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. i don't need to tell anyone in this chamber -- the presiding officer: the senate is in a quorum call. mr. blumenthal: may i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blumenthal: thank you, mr. president. i don't need to tell anyone in this chamber that our nation is at a crossroads. we are at a crossroads. we have said for many months we would be at this point, and now we are here. for months we have said that we will need to make tough choices and difficult decisions, and now we are at that very point when we need to make those tough choices and difficult decisions to rein in the debt and the deficit and to put our fiscal house in order, even as we raise the debt ceiling. now, this decision is difficult and tough and excruciating for us, but they are hardly different than what american families are doing all around this country and in connecticut, because i've seen them and i've heard from them, and so have you in this chamber. families that

blumenthal. >> thank you mr. chairman and i want to begin by thanking each of you for your extraordinary service to our nation and thank you your families as well, who share in the sacrifice you have made. i know some of them are here today and i would just like to assure them that we share in the gratitude and the country for their as well as your service. general odierno you have talked very eloquently about your caring and attention to all of our warriors, our wounded warriors and those who are serving now in theater. most especially, to the need for better care when it comes to brain injury, post-traumatic stress and i understand from your testimony and our conversations that you will continue to seek to upgrade and improve the kind of care that the military provides to those warriors. am i correct in that -- assumption? >> absolutely, senator. >> and safaris particularly the problem of suicide, which you again have spoken to very eloquently and powerfully in your written testimony and i was very impressed by

blumenthal. >> thank you: mr. chairman. i want to join in expressing my thanks for not aeration for your great service to the country, the extraordinary sacrifice and services that the men and women who serve under you and your family and look forward to your confirmation encoding. i want to pursue the line of questioning that senator hagan began on the assumption that the packet danny's are not cooperative because they have not proven cooperatives in the past. what additional measures can we take to destroy the source says of ammonium nitrate that has proved so absolutely and horrifically distract kids to the men and women is there our armed forces in afghanistan? general alan, i'd like respectfully to ask you to begin a month at merrill mcraven, if you can follow through with what you expect to happen. >> senator, that an important question. the posturing of our intelligence gathering apparatus, capabilities, isr capabilities, posturing potentially a special operators on the western side of the border to detect infiltrati

mr. jones. >> thank you, senator petraeus too cementer blumenthal, you have additional questions? a couple of quick questions, and thank you, mr. jones for your service in the marine corps as a prosecutor in the department of justice focusing again on the mortgage foreclosure issue. i wonder if he can tell us, neither to the to either mr. etkin or mr. jones whether the signing practices that were uncovered some months, 80 a year ago or more have given rise to any criminal investigations and prosecutions. >> you're correct i think it came to light in late september and increasingly into october of last year. what is commonly referred to as the signing also there's more to it than just that in the foreclosure documentation issues. as you know, the task force i think this is a benefit as the u.s. attorney jones said there are certain things that will outlive the taskforce. one that i'm most proud of and i think is necessary to affect enforcement of the national level is great synergy between states and federal law enforcement authorities. in my experience it is not something we've alw

blumenthal. >> thank you: mr. chairman. i want to join in expressing my thanks for not aeration for your great service to the country, the extraordinary sacrifice and services that the men and women who serve under you and your family and look forward to your confirmation encoding. i want to pursue the line of questioning that senator hagan began on the assumption that the packet danny's are not cooperative because they have not proven cooperatives in the past. what additional measures can we take to destroy the sourcesays of ammonium nitrate that has proved so absolutely and horrifically distract kids to the men and women is there our armed forces in afghanistan? general alan, i'd like respectfully to k you to begin a month at merrill mcraven, if you can follow through with what you expect to happen. >> senator, that an important questi. the posturing of our intelligence gathering apparatus, capabilities, isr capabilities, posturing potentially a special operators on the western side of the border to detect infiltration of

levin, harkin, cardin, schumer, durbin, leahy, warner, murray, coons, blumenthal, brown of ohio, conrad, begich, kerry, stabenow. mr. reid: mr. president, i have a second-degree amendment which is at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. reid, proposes an amendment numbered 590 to amendment numbered 589. mr. reid: i have a motion to refer the house message to the budget committee with instructions to report back forthwith with an amendment. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. reid, moves to refer the house message to the senate budget committee with instructions to report back forthwith with an amendment numbered 591. mr. reid: ask for the yeas and nays on that motion. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be a sufficient second. the yeas and nays will be ordered. mr. reid: now, mr. president, i have an amendment to my that is also at the desk. -- to my instructions that is also at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. r

appoint the honorable richard blumenthal, a senator from the state of connecticut, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: daniel k. inouye, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: following leader remarks, the senate will resume consideration the motion to proceed to the bill h.r. 2560. the time until 10:00 a.m. will be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. at 10:00 a.m. i will be recognized to make a motion to table the motion to proceed. therefore, senators should expect a roll call vote at approximately 10:00 a.m. to accommodate senators on both sides on what will take a little longer than usual. this, i say to you, mr. president, and to everyone at the sound of my voice, this is an effort to move this piece of legislation off the floor. it's interfering with the negotiations between the white house and the house of representatives, and it is without merit, this legislation. this is a motion to table. it is a vote on this bill. and we on this side of the aisle are going to look at every vote cast. we feel comfortable where we are on this issue, an

grateful that senators blumenthal sherrod brown franken, boxer and gillibrand have sponsored with me in joining on the resolution and i invite all my colleagues to do the same. mr. president, the conrad budget proves that we need not attack medicare and social security to deal with our deficit. his budget is living proof that there is reason to attack medicare and social security to get through our deficit situations. that attack on medicare and social security is a willful and unnecessary act by the republicans. well rhode islanders in increasing numbers have been writing to me urging me to continue fighting to preserve these retirement programs, to preserve this infrastructure of american freedom. time is running short and americans are counting on their elected representatives to do the right thing. well, it is time to do the right thing. let me close by reading a piece from an editorial in the "economist" magazine." the economist "magazine is a very conservative publication. and it is very much in the favor of free markets. i would say by and large it is a republican journal. here is what "the economist" says about the situation we are in now. "the sticking

mr. chairman. >> thank you very much. our next witness is senator -- next one to question -- >> i hope not a witness. i would yield to senator durbin. >> gentleman. senator durbin. senator blumenthal, former attorney general of connecticut, go ahead. >> thank you for your leadership and senator feinstein's and other members of the committee who joined in this cause and thank you to all of the witnesses who are here today, particularly to mr. sorbo from the town of berlin, connecticut. it's a small town. there are those of us who love it. and i want to say at the very outset my thanks to you, all of you for giving a voice to some abstract and seemingly complicated principles of constitutional law and basic liberties and rights. you've given a face and a voice in terms of practical consequences of the respect for marriage act and i regard this hearing as really historic day for our nation. nations like people are judged by their capacity for growth and i think today marks another step in the growth of our nation and the progression toward recognizing some principles that go to the very core of what makes our nation the greatest in the history of the world. so i thank you, all of you