mr. lautenberg: madam president, i ask that further calling of the roll be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. lautenberg: madam president, i have eight unanimous consent requests for committees to meet during today's session of the snavment they have the approval of the majority and the minority leaders, and i ask unanimous consent that these requests be agreed to and that these requests be printed in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. lautenberg: madam president, i come to the floor today because we dare not stand here while a menace threatens children across our country. with too many untested toxic chemicals present in everyday consumer products, products intended for children's use, like baby bottles and nursery furniture, contain -- many of them contain toxic chemicals that have never been tested for human safety. these chemicals should be tested in industry laboratories, not in our children's bodies. and it's time to update law to protect them. this chart shows some of the moms, many who travel long distances with sign

mr. lautenberg: mr. president, one thing we know is that a budget isn't just a collection of numbers, it's an expression of principles and priorities and direction. while i have the floor, i will take a moment to say to our friend and colleague from north dakota, who's been one of the strongest chiefs of the budget committee -- i sat on the budget committee for a long time -- and i think it's fair to say, republican or democrat, the senator from north dakota, senator conrad, deserves the thanks and respect from everybody here for the detail, for the arduous task that he followed to make sure that the budgets were clear. and no matter how often the challenges came, senator conrad would stand up and give the background and difficult the details that got him to a point of view. and we're grateful, and we'll certainly miss his presence here. mr. president, the budget the republicans have comes forward that confirms their true priorities. i had a good business career, mr. president, before coming to the senat

mr. lautenberg: mr. president, today -- the presiding officer: the senator is advised that the senate is in a quorum call. mr. lautenberg: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that calling of the roll be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. lautenberg: i thank you, mr. president. we arrive here at a moment when we once again have a chance to view the differences in thought and perspective are exhibited in this institution at this moment in this institution. today we're talking about college education. we're talking about preparation of young people, people to get an education, go to college. for generations, affordable college education has been an essential tool for providing opportunity and building a strong society. now, i know from personal experience that government plays a critical role in making hire education possible. i served in world war ii, and when i joined the army, there was no prospect for me to go to college. i was 18 when i enlisted and when i finished my army

now senator lautenberg. >> thanks, mr. chairman. chairman janikowski. if we look at today's "new york times" it talks about the hacking case, and the head of the rupert murdoch british newspaper empire was formally charged on tuesday, along with their husband or for perverting the course of justice if the phone hacking situation that's going on. and i'm looking into that, because it bolsters the case that i want to make with you. there is evidence that news corporation has been volled in a broad range of misconduct reaching the highest levels of the new york based company, and involving acts in the u.k. and the u.s. now, if we look at the list here and we see these are senior people from the company from newscorp they applied for license in 2007. despite this long list, the fcc is not announced any plans for proactive investigation into whether or not newscorp holds the broadcast license in the u.s. and i address this to each one of you. what does it take for the fcc to begin an investigation. >> obviously we have important responsibilities under the la

lautenberg. we have a number of people -- >> thanks, mr. chairman. >> it is over 5. senator rubio. >> i will be brief. the first question, you wrote a piece in february titled you and threat to internet freedom. you were talking about the international telecommunication -- all of you are interested in that process. give us an update where we stand on that issue and what will the commission will play in that regard? >> the commission plays a supporting role as technical advisor to the state department. i understand through private and public information that the state department will announce ahead of the u.s. delegation and negotiate next month some time. this comes at a crucial time as some crucial meetings will take place internationally later in june leading towards treaty negotiation in december. it is of utmost importance that the united states cultivates allies throughout the world and especially the developing world which would be devastated by international regulation. >> the commission anticipates supporting role putting out recommendations to the state depa

mr. lautenberg: mr. president, i rise to join with my colleagues on this side to urge our colleagues on the other side of the aisle to move quickly to confirm highly qualified judicial nominees. they passed review by the judicial committee, they have passed all kinds of scrutiny. and, mr. president, we are on the verge of serious economic improvement. as that takes place, we have got a lot of parts to keep moving. we must do everything we can to fill the needs of positions that can help directly and indirectly to resolve dte problems, to find for country, to be able to find work, stay in their homes, provide their children with health care and education. we have to cooperate on all fronts to accelerate the pace of the recovery that we see ahead of us. one of the places that both sides benefit from is to keep our justice system moving efficiently. people need to know that they can get disputes resolved, hopefully quickly, but heard and decided upon. one of the things that looms large is the trial of those

mr. a lautenberg: about six or seven minutes at most. mr. harkin: is there any time remaining on the burr amendment? the presiding officer: no. there is no time remaining on the burr amendment. mr. harkin: i yield six minutes off the bill to the senator from new jersey. madam president, let me revise that. take six minutes off of the mccain amendment on our side for the senator from new jersey. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. lautenberg: i thank the senator from iowa. and, madam president, i rise to speak against the amendment, 2107, the one that talks about pharmaceutical product, medicines. we -- we know how important the prescription medicines are and improving health in this country and the need to make sure that those drugs are safe and affordable. prescription drugs have brought great advances in health outcomes. just look at how much longer people are living. over the past century, life expectancy increased from 49 years to 77 years and that's over -- since the past century, great improvements made. we know that benefici