mr. graham: yes, it is. mr. mccain: our colleague from illinois who continues to quote from the constitution of the united states fails to quote from the specific addressing of this issue by the united states supreme court, specifically, the hamdan decision. is that correct? isn't it true that according to that decision, the united states supreme court, that we delegate, we ask to interpret the constitution of the united states -- and they have made many interpretations over the years -- says -- quote -- "there is no bar to this nation's holding one of its own citizens as an enemy combatant." now one would think, to the casual observer, that's exactly what the united states supreme court meant. it's fairly plain language. not really complicated. i'm not a lawyer. but how the senator from illinois quoting from inalienable rights could somehow totally disregard in every way what the united states supreme court said. they go on to say we held that -- quote -- "citizens who associate themselves with the military arm

mr. graham: it's a team effort. mr. lieberman: right. mr. graham: now, let's imagine a scenario next week where we find an al qaeda cell exists that's planning a series of attacks against the united states, and within that cell, we have some american citizens and you have people that have come here noncitizens. would you agree with me since congress has designated cooperating or collaborating with al qaeda to be a -- an act of war, that that entire cell could be held as enemy combatants and questioned by our intelligence community as to what they know about the attack in question or future attacks? mr. lieberman: well, that certainly should be the case because they have all -- we have had this circumstance in reality. they are all part of the same enemy. in the case you posit, they have all been part of the same plot to attack the american people. mr. graham: so would you agree with me that the current law is very clear that any time an american citizen joins the enemy force, they can be held as an enemy combatant? that is the law. mr. lieber

mr. graham: right. mr.levin: third, we have a waiver for triple protection to protect what you rightly are sensitive to. and that is that there be flexibility in the executive branch. all of us may say we want it done one way or another. we may presume that it be done one way or another. we may wish that it be done one way, civilian or military. some of us have different opinions of that, but that's not the point. that's not the issue. the issue is what does this bill provide. and this bill provides a reasonable amount of flexibility and does not tell the president, you must turn somebody who is suspected of being al qaeda over to the civilians at any point or to the military at any point. mr. graham: if i may just add another layer of process here, some people on our side say that's way too much. you should just throw these people he in military -- senator lieberman, my dear friend, if you left it up to joe, everybody caught is an al qaeda operative, would be thrown in military custody. they would be held

mr. graham: i promise you, i will. mr. mccain: i ask unanimous consent that senator merkley be recognized a couple minutes after the senator from south carolina. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. graham: the exchange with senator durbin is very good, the law of the land is very clear, unequivocal that an american citizen captured overseas can be held as an enemy combatant and every enemy combatant held at guantanamo bay or captured in the united states has habeas rights. the padilla case involves an individual captured in the united states, suspected of being an al qaeda operative and was held by -- for four years, appealed his case to the fourth circuit, the fourth circuit said you have a right to lawyer to prepare your habeas case but you don't have a right to a lawyer to interrupt the interrogation, you can be held as an enemy combatant and they can gather intelligence for an indefinite per. that's the law of the land and that's why the administration came over and said punk the me and carl were talking abou

mr. graham said they give him in a possible ultimatum. >> i told them i had a service dog. i said i could not go anywhere without my service dog. they told me they cannot take my service dog. >> so they gave you an ultimatum? >> they said i would have to leave my dog, but i said i was not going without my dog. >> he had to call somebody to pick up the dog. he says he would like an apology and better trading for first responders. that brings us to our water cooler question of the day. what discipline do you think should be handed out for first reponsders who separated an injured blind man from his service dog? you can share your response at wbaltv.com and on our facebook page, or send us an e-mail to watercooler@wbaltv.com. >> 6:10. 49 degrees on tv hill. black friday may not be the best way to shop if you're looking for good deals. >> accusations against the new leaders and with the new government is doing about it. >> home entertainment is about to get smaller. latest offering coming to your ipad. >> we are live at the baltimore festival of trees. >> we are dealing with so

mr. graham -- >> that wasn't the reason, no.t was just another thing to stress me out over, is all that was. >> right. but i talked to mental health. i've talked to lieutenant piper. and we're not going to make that move. you're not going to be able to house with him. we're not going to keep jumping every time you want something done or threatening us. >> i haven't asked for anything. i've been up there 21 days and haven't asked for any of that. >> i've received 12 kites from you to house with graham. lieutenant higden has received five letters from you. requesting about inmate graham. >> there's no way there was 12. i sent you more like two or three. >> irregardless. basically, you've been trying to dictate everything since i've been here -- >> ma'am, i'm not trying to. i've never been to seg here. i'm coming off eight years of antidepressants. i've received further bad news from the outside world. it's always something. it's been just a little tough for me. >> you're not unique. >> this is not something i'm used to doing here.

mr. graham: i will try to do it as quick as i can. okay. mr. mccain: we have had plenty -- a long time from the previous proponent of the bill. we have had ten minutes from the senator from illinois. i yield the senator from south carolina ten minutes. mr. levin: the senator from arizona will control, if this is all right with the senator, half of our time, would that be all right? the presiding officer: without objection. mr. graham: thank you. can you let me know when five minutes are passed because there are a lot of voices to be heard on this issue and i want them to be heard. i'm just one. and let me just start with my good friend from colorado. i respect you. i know what you are -- i know your concerns, i just don't agree. i can remember being told by the bush administration we don't need the detainee treatment act. everybody said we didn't need it, but they were wrong. i remember being told by the vice president's office during the bush administration it's okay to take classified evidence, show it to the jury, the finder of fact, and not

mr. graham: i will try to do it as quick as i can. okay. mr. mccain: we have had plenty -- a long time from the previous proponent of the bill. we have had ten minutes from the senator from illinois. i yield the senator from south carolina ten minutes. mr. levin: the senator from arizona will control, if this is all right with the senator, half of our time, would that be all right? the presiding officer: without objection. mr. graham: thank you. can you let me know when five minutes are passed because there are a lot of voices to be heard on this issue and i want them to be heard. i'm just one. and let me just start with my good friend from colorado. i respect you. i know what you are -- i know your concerns, i just don't agree. i can remember being told by the bush administration we don't need the detainee treatment act. everybody said we didn't need it, but they were wrong. i remember being told by the vice president's office during the bush administration it's okay to take classified evidence, show it to the jury, the finder of fact, and not

. >> and pamela said, may i follow up with you today, mrs. graham? and she so politely said, please do, pamela. and that was probably 15, 16 years ago, and the washington post is still a client today. >> tom: certainly speaks to her tenacity and her ability to connect with other powerful leaders, doesn't it? >> she does it brilliantly, and effortlessly. >> i don't know of anybody else who can meet somebody on an elevator, particularly somebody who is important as kath rip graham, and end up -- catherine graham, and end up with the business. and i think that story, motivates her team, because they know that she is out there, constantly with her creativity. developing opportunity. and so people want to be on her team, they want to be an important part of those opportunities. >> wonderful town, wonderful people, places to go, things to see, life is good in kalamazoo. >> tom: pamela believes part of that ability to relate to people quickly comes from growing up in kalamazoo, michigan. >> my older brother joel who grew up with me, he became a heart surgeo

mr. graham allen. question no. 6. >> i lead a committee of cabinet ministers specifically to family issues including the importance of early intervention. it is central to what this government is trying to achieve. we do believe if you change the chances of the least well off you have a better chance of genuinely lifting young people out of poverty and keeping them there. and take a close interest as my right hon. friend the education secretary and the chancellor in the work of the hon. gentleman and a real difference he has made in terms of prioritizing of the intervention in our country. >> can i thank all three policy leaders for their consistent support for early intervention and their generous welcome to my two reports. i ask the prime minister, early intervention with babies, children and young people a scheme for all departments in the next comprehensive spending review so not only will children be able to better their chances but government and the taxpayer will be able to reduce the costs of f

this is mrs graham i see me because most of the conversation we've run out of time fascinating discussion and expect that's what this topic many thanks to my guest today in manchester was than just any new york and thanks to our viewers for watching us here already see you next time and remember i'll stop me. still. and. one of them. will. come. home.

mr. graham: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from south carolina. mr. graham: thank you. i would like to rise in support of the statements made by senators mccain and levin. i don't have that good feeling about iraq, quite frankly. i'm not confident at all that the worst is behind us. i'm hopeful that we can withdraw our troops and nothing bad will happen in iraq. but as senator levin just described, the implications of repealing the authorization to use military force are wide, varied and uncertain. and what do you get by tpraoelg this? -- by repealing this 1234* you can go back home and said you did something that -- i don't know what you get. i really don't. i don't know what we gain as a nation by taking the contingencies of using military force off the table as we try to wind down. i just don't see the upside, quite frankly. i know the reality of what our troops face and why the department of defense would want to continue to have this authorization until we get iraq behind us. at the end of the day, 4,400 people-plus have lost their lives. thousand

mr. graham: thank you, mr. president. i rise today in support of the leahy-graham amendment that hopefully we'll vote on here soon. hopefully soon. the amendment is pretty simple. it says that the congress has decided in its wisdom to make the chief of the national guard bureau a member of the joint staff. in 1947 we reorganized our defense department and created the modern department of defense, the joint chiefs with a chairman which will provide military advice to our -- to the commander in chief, the president of the united states. the chairman is the person responsible for advising the president. but the joint chiefs are made up of the army, navy, air force, marine corps, and with this legislation, the chief of the national guard bureau will become a member. nothing more, nothing less. it doesn't provide any power to the chief of the national guard bureau in terms of commanding troops. it doesn't interfere in the relationship between the active forces, the guard or the reserves. it simply states that now is the time fo

mr. graham shear, please. >> i swear that the evidence i give is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. >> now, your full name, please. >> graham julian shear. >> you have given testimony to november 2011, the statements is truth that at the end of the statement, do you confirm the truth of that statement? >> i do. >> thank you very much. first of all, i'm going to ask you please to tell us a little bit about yourself, mr. shear. >> solicitor partner at an international law firm based in the city of london. i qualified in 1989, practiced initially commercial law, and then i became a commercial litigator, and i'm still today a commercial litigator. i have a very broad and wide ranging commercial litigation practice with an area of specialist in both sports and media work. the first major case i handled to brought me into, i suppose, close contact with the media was when i acted for robbie williams break up in 1995. during the later part of the 1990s and into or to the present day i've acted for a broad spectrum of the actors and actresses from the high profile acting world

mr. levin: i'll yield 30 seconds to senator graham. the presiding officer: the senator from south carolina. mr. graham: section 1031 is a congressional statement of authority of already existing law. it reaffirms the fact that this body believes al qaeda and affiliated groups are a military threat to the united states and they can be held under the law of war indefinitely to make sure we find out what they're up to and can be questioned in a humane manner consistent with law of war. 1032 says if you're captured on the homeland, you'll be held in military custody so we can gather intelligence. that provision can be waived if it interferes with the investigation. these are needed changes. these are changes that re -- the presiding officer: the senator's time has expired. the senator from michigan is recognized. mr. levin: mr. president, the supreme court has recently ruled the following. that there is no bar to this nation's holding one of its own citizens as an enemy combatant. this is the supreme court speaking. "a citizen no less than

mr. cain just last night. lindsey grahamone of several republican senators who sat down for dinner. mr. cain also meeting with republican house leaders today. senator, just first up. you've been through a lot of these rodeos. you were up and down in the mccain campaign a few years ago. what do you make of all this? >> i think it will pass, but herman needs to chill out. he's confident he did nothing wrong. he knows what he did. and the story will stick around for a while. try not to be angry. just tell the facts as you can remember them. they were a decade ago. it's not hurting him yet, and i don't think it will, as long as it stays inbounds of where it is today. >> around the dinner table last night, how much sometime was spent on this? >> i didn't talk to him at all about it. i got there kind of late. it was really a good dinner. we talked about foreign policy, about his campaign. you know, how do you account for his success. and it was very upbeat. very charming fella. >> when you hear him say, absolutely, emphatically no

graham. senator nelson. >> thank you, mr. chairman. you can all relax. i'm not going to try to top senator graham. but as former governor and i know there are two other former governor seated here, we have had that special unique relationship with the guard and now we have a relationship with the entire military, the total force. i suppose having called out the guard on occasions, that it gives me a special feeling of relationship with the guard, going back to my adjunct general common failing of mine who is not ending military officer and an outstanding tag. in addition since i've been in the united states senate, have had a relationship with former tag, jean but key and a kurd adjunct general, general lyons. the relationship is clearly a unique one from the standpoint that has been described by everyone so far from having the federal and state component to the relationship. it is not like any other branch of the service or any branch of the service in particular. it is unique to the guard. it would be unique if it applied to one of the other branches. n

mr. chairman. >> thank you, senator hagen. senator graham. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you, both, for testifying. this is a very important issue for the country, and i think we've had a good discussion. number one r, i completely concur with the idea that american troops should not be left behind in iraq without legal protections. it's not fair to them to say that the iraqi legal system is matured is being gracious. if an american soldier were accused anywhere in iraq, i don't think they would get a fair trial, so at the end of the day, iraq has a long way to go on the legal side, and i think a long way to go on the other side. my concern is that i've never bought into the idea that the embassy pass was -- impasse was getting the parliament to approve an immunity agreement, and just one thing. i went over with senator mccain and senator lieberman in may to talk to the prime minister about a follow on force, and i was discussing with him no american politician, republican or democrat, would accept a follow on force without legal protections, and as we talked about

mr. president. my colleague, senator graham of south carolina, and i have introduced a bill that congresswoman zoe loft congressmen introduced in the house earlier this year, that would give service members the flexibility to wait until after their deployments have concluded in order to conduct these in-person interviews. which measure, mr. president, passed the house of representatives 426-0. it is my hope it will also pass this senate unanimously tonight. mr. president, we are blessed in this nation to be served by volunteers, by men and women who stand up and go to the other side of the world to serve us in the interest of freedom. the two bills i've spoken of here on the floor today are things that we can and should do together across the aisle to advance their interests in having the enjoyment of liberty for which they've sacrificed so much. thank you. and with that, i yield the floor. mr. inhofe: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. inhofe: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that at the conclusion of the remarks of the senator from west virginia, senator manchi

mr. halperin will join us live from rochester, michigan to help us break down the debate. >>> penn state legendary football coach joe paterno and the university president, graham spainer have been fired by the university's board of trustees effective immediately. it comes after former assistant, jerry sandusky charged with molesting eight boys over the course of 15 years. some of the abuse reportedly occurring on the grounds of campus in fabel facilities. last night, the vice president of penn state's board of trustees spoke about the decision. >> i would hope that everyone would agree that what we're doing is what we believe in our best judgment is in the best long-term interest of the university which is much larger than athletic programs. >> surma confirmed the decision to fire paterno by the board of trustees was unanimous and in fact done over the telephone. according to reports, paterno received an envelope at his home, 15 minutes before the trustees made their announcement. containing a phone number to call and on the other line he was told by a board member that he was relieved of his duties after 46 years. with his wife by his side, he spoke to a grou

mr. gore. defense has been stout. willis forces a fumble. redskins had three turnovers. next play, alex smith hits bruce miller out of the backfield. touchdown. his first. skips haven't scored in more than 59 minutes. graham gets them on the board with the 59 yarder. the skins put it to eight but vernon davis recovers the onside kick. the 49ers, a 19-11 victory. >> the last two games haven't been pretty, but we still managed to come out with a win, and that's what it's all about. when you turn on the film, you see guys playing hard-nosed football. >> mike: that's what alan stayed. today, my money was on the raiders but the raiders got tebowed. he threw 0 couple of t.d. passes, this one on the way to decker. ran for 118. 7-3 broncos in the first in the second, check out this by palmer. threading the needle. outstanding catch by reese. the receiver turned fullback. raiders up 17-7 at the half. palmer strikes again in the third. raiders up 10. broncos answer with ten straight to tie and it then the backbreaker in the fourth. eddie royal on the punt return, is gone. horrible tackling all day by the raiders. denver up 7, and willis mcgahee with the nail in the coffin. denver ran wild for 297. broncos, 24 unans

mr. president. that would be amendment 1179, amendment 1230, -- excuse me. amendment 1179 is on behalf of senator graham. amendment 1230 is on behalf of senator mccain. on behalf of senator heller, i would offer amendment 1137, related to the u.s. embassy in israel. also, for senator heller, amendment 1138, related to the repatriation of u.s. military remains from libya. for senator mccain, amendment 1247, related to further restrictions on the use of defense funds on guam. for senator mccain, amendment 1246, related to a commission for u.s. military force structure in the pacific. for senator mccain, amendment 1229, related to a cybersecurity agreement between the department of defense and department of homeland security. for senator mccain, amendment 1230 as modified related to the annual adjustment in enrollment fees for tricare prime. for senator mccain, amendment 1249, related to cost-plus contracting. this is also an amendment that i'm cosponsoring. for senator mccain, amendment 1071, related to the oversight of the evolved, expandable launch vehicle. for senator mccain, amendment 1220, related to

graham, you have been waiting patiently. then senator schumer and senator cornyn. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. attorney general, i want to congratulate you and all of those risking their lives on the war on terror and fighting crime. it is a very serious and substantial -- very serious and substantial tactical successes and i think it is appropriate we acknowledge the hard work that has gone in to keeping the country safe. from a strategic point of view, i think we are coming to some crossroads as a nation about what we need to be doing in the future. it i embrace trying to find a new confinement facility other than guantanamo bay. senator mccain did when he ran for president. senator obama, president was. but i have come to conclude -- and i may not be the best vote counter in the world -- we are not going to close did know -- gitmo anytime soon. in brussels i think you stated to the european parliament that we have an election in november of 2012. we will be pressing for the closure of the facility between now and then -- being gitmo -- and after the election we will seek to close it as well

after senator graham, then senator schumer and senator cornyn. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. attorney general, i want to congratulate you and all of those risking their lives on the war on terror and fighting crime. it is a very serious and substantial -- very serious and substantial tactical successes against a very vicious enemy, and i think it is appropriate we acknowledge the hard work that has gone in to keeping the country safe. from a strategic point of view, i think we are coming to some crossroads as a nation about what we need to be doing in the future. it i embrace trying to find a new confinement facility other than guantanamo bay. senator mccain did when he ran for president. senator obama, president was. -- president bush. but i have come to conclude -- and i may not be the best vote counter in the world -- we are not going to close did know -- gitmo anytime soon. in brussels i think you stated to the european parliament that we have an election in november of 2012. we will be pressing for the closure of the facility between now and then -- being gitmo -- and af

mr. president -- >> senator from michigan. >> we have approximately a half hour on each side, i'm wondering howho much senator graham needs. >> ten minutes? is that too much? five minutes? >> you can do five minutes.o >> seven. [laughter] >> we have, i think, seven speakers on this side. try to do eight people? >> i'll try to be as quick as i can. >> [inaudible] >> okay. we have had plenty of just a long time from the sponsor of the bill, we've had -- we're going to have ten minutes from the senator from illinois, i yield to the senator from south carolina ten minutes. >> the senator from arizona will control, if this is all right fo with the senator, half of our time. would that be all right? t >> without objection. >> thank you. can you let me know when fiveobe minutes has passed?than because there are a lot ofhen voices to be heard on this issue, and i want them to be heard. i'm just one.be and let me just start with my good friend from colorado. respect due, i know youru concerns, i just don't agree. i can remember being told by th. bush administration we don'tsh need the detainee treatment act. everybody said we didn't

and phil graham once said that ours is one job where you can never admit to having learned anything. ours is one job where you can never admit to having learned anything. well, mr. speaker, i believe that i have learned something i'd like to take just a few minutes to explain why it is that i come to the conclusion that i had. i said at the outset that i believed in 1995 when i cast that vote, january of 1995, in favor of the balanced budget amendment to the constitution, that it was the only way that we would be able to achieve a balanced budget. i was wrong. two short years later we balanced the federal budget. we balanced the federal budget and that went on for several years. it went on until 2001. my friend was talking about the fact that we had two wars. we've got to remember, we've got to remember it took literally billions and billions of dollars to deal with national security issues like establishing the department of homeland security and many other things that were very, very costly. but what i found, mr. speaker, is that we were able to balance the federal budget without touching that inspired document, the u.s. constitution. now, james madison, jame

and phil graham once said that ours is one job where you can never admit to having learned anything. ours is one job where you can never admit to having learned anything. well, mr. speaker, i believe that i have learned something i'd like to take just a few minutes to explain why it is that i come to the conclusion that i had. i said at the outset that i believed in 1995 when i cast that vote, january of 1995, in favor of the balanced budget amendment to the constitution, that it was the only way that we would be able to achieve a balanced budget. i was wrong. two short years later we balanced the federal budget. we balanced the federal budget and that went on for several years. it went on until 2001. my friend was talking about the fact that we had two wars. we've got to remember, we've got to remember it took literally billions and billions of dollars to deal with national security issues like establishing the department of homeland security and many other things that were very, very costly. but what i found, mr. speaker, is that we were able to balance the federal budget without touching that inspired document, the u.s. constitution. now, james madison, jame

mr. graham: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from south carolina. mr. graham: i'd like to thank senator mccain and senator levin for organizing this debate on a way that we maybe can get closure tonight. the chairman and ranking member have been helpful pushing forward an amendment where we have 71 cosponsors, to senator leahy, it's been a privilege and a joy working with you on this. we had 1 members of the senate -- 71 members of the senate sign on to the legislation. it's simple. it says the chief of the national guard bureau will now be a member of the joint chiefs. what does that mean in the real world? it means that the citizen soldier's voice will be heard at the highest levels of our government. after 1947 we reorganized the defense department, became the modern defense department with the joint chiefs wroo we have representatives from the marine corps, the air force, the army, the navy and now the citizen soldier. why is it important? after 9/11 the guard's role in defending this nation has changed substantially. the guard and reserves but parti