mr. donahue, mr. gerard represent and do, i really would like to know for a fact why it enhances a company's ability to make claims when they can easily make it through any other country that they operate in. i would really like to know that. if you would send that to me, i would appreciate it. again, i ask these questions with great respect. >> can i take a moment? i want to add, senator, if i could, just for a minute. first of all, you know how much i appreciate the due diligence you do on this stuff, and i really am grateful to you for taking the time and looking at this without all the external influences and kind of working through it, but let me just say to you, with respect to the dispute resolution, and we'll get this for the record. you've asked it of mr. mcadam, but we'll also have our own counsel add in which is important, and we can spend some time with you on it, you cannot -- only a country has access to dispute resolution, not an individual company. so it's irrelevant that they may have

mr. donahue? >> senator, if we don't join this treaty, we may find people doing that without the protection, but they may be the russians, they may be the chinese and they may be on our extended outer continental shelf. obviously the arctic is more available than it was before because of the thinning of the ice while it's thickening on the south pole. you know there's all this stuff going on, but people are making plans and claims to establish themself in the arctic, and as jack indicated we're on the outside looking in with all sorts of power, but, as you know, in your job, most of the -- most of the most powerful things we can do we can't do or we shouldn't do, and i think the benefits of making this fundamental adjustment, taking a seat at the table with a lot of strength to protect our interests at least gives us a reason to do whatever steps we need to take to help this country. i don't think you'll see a lot of american firms -- you can get a permission from the federal government, and this

mr. donahue. >> good afternoon. i am also here to support the nomination. while he was on economic and workforce development, and i did not necessarily appreciate all his actions or decisions, but i appreciate his rational decision making. i urge that you push forward his appointment. >> thank you, mr. brennan. >> i would like to speak in support of the nomination. as a member of the board of appeals, he hit the ground running in a way that is rarely seen. he came to that scene with a profound understanding of the function of government agencies and what they could and could not achieve, and that is knowledge and death he will bring forward to the planning commission. it will be of great loss. i am looking forward to a commissioner to take that seat, but he would be an exceptional commissioner gregory >> thank you -- he would be an exceptional commissioner. >> thank you. >> he would make an excellent commissioner. he understands complex issues, and i asked you to move this forward for the full board. >> thank you, mr. o'connor. >> ♪ i really hoping that you

mr. donahue, who i know well and certainly have worked closely with, your comment regarding the veto on the climate issue is categorically incorrect, and i would like for the record for your legal person to give us an opinion to that correct -- to that statement because i don't think that's correct and i know that you're here and you don't know every word of the treaty as i don't. but i think you're mixing apples with oranges. and on the issue of the climate issue, we do not have a veto process in place for our own country. so if you could have your legal folks tell me differently as part of the official record or tell me that i'm right, i'll greatly appreciate it. i think you're very wrong on that. >> well, senator, it wouldn't be the first time i'm wrong. >> yeah. >> but i'm very enthusiastic, and not here on behalf of anybody else as the senator indicated. i was the one that was pushing him to do this. i would be very happy to have our legal guys do that. i think they're probably very involved the next 24 hours or so on what just came out of the supreme court, but by early next week we'l

mr. don a year-- donahue. >> i have to leave in a few minutes. my daughter is starting contractions. i have got to get out of here. good >> congratulations. >> it is always great to be here for a long time. a very smart commo, very knowledgeable man. life congratulations, and thank you for being here. >> i got a call but commands support for mr. antonini, and watching him on television, i find him very fair. being on the planning commission, there's a lot of hard work. i have been to meetings and seen him, and i thought he was very fair. >> thank you. >> i am here to support his appointment to the planning commission. gooit does not seem like four ys now, but i think he is the hardest working commissioner out of all the commissions in san francisco, and i

mr. president, tom donahue, head of the chamber of commerce, is my friend. he really is. but i'm terribly disappointed in the chamber of commerce. we started out with having a requirement that business and private sector would be required to do certain things -- things. senator lieberman and collins backed off from that. now it's kind of a voluntary deal. it's much weaker than i think it should be, but why in the world would they oppose that. they meaning the chamber of commerce which has sucked in most all the republicans on this. that is really unfortunate. so, mr. president, on behalf of senator lieberman and collins and others, i call up amendment numbered 2731, which is at the desk, i ask that it be reported. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. reid, for mr. lieberman and others proposes amendment numbered 2731. mr. reid: i ask for the yeas and nays on that amendment. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the yeas and nays are ordered. mr. reid: thank you, mr. president. on behalf o