mr. leahy: madam president, today is a unique day. one -- in two regards. one, a sad day, because it was just a few years ago today that our friend senator dan inouye died, one of of my closest friends, and a former president pro tempore, a senior member of this body. but it is also a good day that a year ago we saw the release of alan gross from a cuban prison where he spent five years. during that time he lost more than 150 pounds, he lost five teeth, his mother died, his mother-in-law died, a brother-in-law died, and he missed his daughter's wedding, all the time being held in this small prison. -- in cuba. i worked for years to help obtain alan gross' release and the return of the remaining members of the so-called cuban five, which are more than 15 years in u.s. prisons. scott gilbert, alan gross' lawyer, did an outstanding job. he traveled countless times to cuba to advocate on alan's behalf and u.s. officials. my foreign policy staff tim reeseer went you o down severals to boost alan gross' morale, visiting him in prison and bringing him messages. bu

mr. leahy: i ask consent the call of the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. leahy: i thank my distinguished presiding officer, my neighbor in new hampshire. i want to thank senator warren for her leadership on a matter of great importance to millions of americans. in october, the social security beneficiaries received some upsetting news. i know it was upsetting to a lot of vermonters, and i have talked with a lot of those vermonters in grocery stores and on street corners, even coming out of church on sunday. for the third time in 40 years, the social security administration announced in 2016 social security payments will not include a cost of living increase. now, unless congress acts, seniors and others who receive social security benefits will not see an additional dime in payment this year. for the nearly two-thirds of beneficiaries who depend on social security for at least half of their income and for the 24% of those where social security is a sole source of income, the news isn't just distressing, it's de

leahy. >> thank you very much mr. chairman. we have worked on this hearing together, as we have on all hearings, and i appreciate the partnership we had taking on these important antitrust matters. i want to thank each of the witnesses who have come to testify. i do not come to the hearing with a conclusion, but i do have a goal. that is to protect and foster competition. from one perspective, there has been consistent consolidation in the beer industry. over the last decade, anheuser-busch, miller, and coors has been involved in major acquisitions. today, anheuser-busch inbev, what was anheuser-busch, and sab miller account for 70% of your sales in the united states. within the remaining 30%, different phenomenon is occurring. across the country, craft brewers alliance. new competition to the united states market. in 1978, there were filled -- fewer than 50 brewers. by one recent count there are over 4100 craft brewers and the sales have grown from 1% of the beer market, to 11%. in minnesota we have more than 70, more than the

i think i will go to senator leahy so we can keep on time here. >> thank you, mr. chairman. want to follow up on a question that senator grassley asked you about the fbi being notified if somebody on a no fly list or that type of list was buying a weapon. if they buy it at a gun show where there's no reporting, you are not notified, are you? >> that's correct. >> and if they buy it on an internet sale, you are not notified, are you? >> correct. >> and if they go to a gun dealer who has to notify you, but there's not a lot you can do about it, is that correct? >> unless we find some disqualifier. under the law. if we don't find one of those things, there's nothing we can do to stop it. >> so the president's statement, somebody on a no fly list or on the watch list can go and buy weapons in the united states is correct? >> there's no prohibition connected to the no fly list, that's correct. >> thank you very much. i wanted to make sure that was clear. you talked right after you were confirmed, you spoke about the detrimental impact of sequestration, a hiring freeze on criminal

leahy: thank you, mr. chairman.winded at all, it's a subject that should be heard over and over and over again. one thing, ambassador birx, dr. dybul, the question asked on dollars, please give us -- be very honest and very direct in what some of the sequestration things would count. tim in my office who worked on this, janis, alex, far more knowledgeable in the nitty-gritty than i am. the numbers i'm seeing are devastating, devastating. and they're not anywhere near the numbers that senator graham and icon in a bipartisan way, have supported in the past. don't sugarcoat it. make it very clear. and sir elton, you talked about how much less expensive it is for prevention than care after the fact. i'm aware of that. i know pastor warren and i have talked about this before. you are mentioning about holding the quilt, when you were speaking last night. i think my dear friend i grew up with from vermont, when he was diagnosed, and he was a public figure in vermont, rest his soul, he -- when he was first diagnosed, i reme

leahy. >> thank you very much mr. chairman. we have worked on this hearing together, as we have on all hearings, and i appreciate the partnership we had taking on these important antitrust matters. i want to thank each of the witnesses who have come to testify. i do not come to the hearing with a conclusion, but i do have a goal. that is to protect and foster competition. from one perspective, there has been consistent consolidation in the beer industry. over the last decade, anheuser-busch, miller, and coors has been involved in major acquisitions. today, anheuser-busch inbev, what was anheuser-busch, and sab miller account for 70% of your sales in the united states. within the remaining 30%, different phenomenon is occurring. across the country, craft brewers alliance. new competition to the united states market. in 1978, there were filled -- fewer than 50 brewers. by one recent count there are over 4100 craft brewers and the sales have grown from 1% of the beer market, to 11%. in minnesota we have more than 70, more than the

leahy. >> thank you very much mr. chairman. we have worked on this hearing together, as we have on all hearings, and i appreciate the partnership we had taking on these important antitrust matters. i want to thank each of the witnesses who have come to testify. i do not come to the hearing with a conclusion, but i do have a goal. that is to protect and foster competition. from one perspective, there has been consistent consolidation in the beer industry. over the last decade, anheuser-busch, miller, and coors has been involved in major acquisitions. today, anheuser-busch inbev, what was anheuser-busch, and sab

mr. ceresney, during an exchange with senator leahy in a senate hearing on this topic, you said with regard to phone calls you're not seeking authority that criminals have that civil agencies do not. you're essentially seeking more authority than the criminals have. isn't that contradictory? >> i don't think we're seeking more authority than the criminals have. >> what are you seeking? >> i'm sorry? >> then what are you seeking? i'll give you a chance to clarify that. >> what we're seeking is the ability to obtain e-mails after we try to obtain them from an individual subscriber by going to the court and allowing the subscriber to raise whatever objections they have before the court. >> like i said, it's interesting that some of the testimony that's been giving here, i think it's very concerning from some issues of anecdotal evidence and real evidence and discussions, especially on the sec side, when you're giving, you know, your own report saying you're doing more than you've ever done this, yet without this, by choice or decision, however you want to do it. mr. calabrese, one last questio

i think i will go to senator leahy so we can keep on time here. >> thank you, mr. chairman. want to follow up on a question that senator grassley asked you about the fbi being notified if somebody on a no fly list or that type of list was buying a weapon. if they buy it at a gun show where there's no reporting, you are not notified, are you? >> that's correct. >> and if they buy it on an internet sale, you are not notified, are you? >> correct. >> and if they go to a gun dealer who has to notify you, but there's not a lot you can do about it is that correct? >> unless we find some disqualifier. under the law. if we don't find one of those things, there's nothing we can do to stop it. >> so the president's statement somebody on a no fly list or on the watch list can go and buy weapons in the united states is correct? >> there's no prohibition connected to the no fly list that's correct. >> thank you very much. i wanted to make sure that was clear. you talked right after you were confirmed, you spoke about the detrimental impact of sequestration, a hiring freeze on criminal an

i think i will go to senator leahy so we can keep on time. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i want to follow up on a question that senator grassley asked you. it is about the fbi be notified wasomebody on a no-fly list by 11. if they buy it at a gun show for there is no reporting, you're not going to find it are you? mr. comey: that is correct. at gun dealer,it there is not an awful at you can do about it? mr. comey: not unless we find some disqualifier. the president -- statement -- thatresident's statement anyone can my a gun on a no-fly list is correct wester? right after you confirmed, you anded about sequestration counterterrorism. i agree with what you said. still in theyou're process of trying to replace all the agents? mr. comey: correct. we are trying to dig into that hole. you to hire them, train them, -- i don'tuestration to put words into your mouth, that is that having a long-term affect on the fbi possibility to fight terrorism? mr. comey: yes. >> will be the impact if the fbi cannot come to an agreement of bill.nibus agreement mr. comey: if we return to the im

mr. ceresney, during an exchange with senator leahy in a senate hearing on this topic, you said with regard phone calls you're not seeking authority that criminals have that civil agencies do not. you're essentially seeking more authority than the criminals have. isn't that contradictory? >> i don't think we're seeking more authority than the criminals have. >> what are you seeking? >> i'm sorry? >> then what are you seeking? i'll give you a chance to clarify that. >> what we're seeking is the ability to obtain e-mails after we try to obtain them from an individual

leahy. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you.we've work on this hearing together as we have on all hearings and i appreciate the partnership we have in taking on these important anti trust matters. i also want to thank each of the witnesses who have come today to testify. i do not come to this hearing with the conclusion, but i do have a goal and that is to protect and foster competition. from one perspective, there has been consistent consolidation in the beer industry. over the last decade, anheuser-busch, miller and coors all have been involved in major accusations. today, anheuser-busch and sab miller account for 70% of beer sales in the united states. within the remaining 30%, a different phenomenon is occurring. across the country, craft brewers have brought new competition to the united states beer market. in 1978, there were fewer than 507 brewers in the united states, but one recent count there are currently over 4,100 craft brewers, and their sales have grown from 1% of the beer market to 11% in the last 20 years. in mi

mr. olson: we are very careful about how we spend our money and what we spend it on. in regards the military assistance it is subjected to a very strict leahy amendment vetting process. we continue to raise the issues, the question of the haqqanis, and the doctor. at every occasion. >> unless they think that you are willing, under some circumstances, to recommend zero, you will not achieve our objectives. the biggest weathervane is the physician that help us get osama bin laden. then, to say that we should ignore the fact that they have that doctor in prison, begs the question if the aid that we get them is warranted. >> i will return to points that i made in my opening statement. including the legislation authored by myself and eliot engel on targeting hezbollah. there are several cosponsors here, like mr. sherman. if i could return to some of the points that i made, i hope that with this observation about the schools in pakistan. there are 600 of these iron concerned about that over the years we have tried to convince the government to shut down. they are funded primarily by the gulf states, individuals and families in the gulf states, th

mr. leahy: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: mr. president, i hate to say this about my good friend from kentucky, but this is a bumper sticker kind of amendment. it says to keep us secure, it would stop even tourists from visiting this country for at least 30 days. it would say if you have a relative who is dying in this country, you have got to call up and say look, don't die for at least 30 days because i can't come over and say goodbye to you. some -- our -- probably our closest ally in the middle east, jordan, it stops us from issuing visas there. it doesn't -- it doesn't make us safer. it kills our tourist industry. it damages our economy. but most importantly, it makes the rest of the world look like we're cowering in our shoes. i don't want to do that, so i -- i raise a point of order that the pending amendment violates section 314-b-1-c of the congressional budget act of 1974. mr. paul: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from kentucky.

mr. leahy: i thank my distinguished presiding officer, my neighbor in new hampshire. i want to thank senator warren for her leadership on a matter of great importance to millions of americans. in october, the social security beneficiaries received some upsetting news. i know it was upsetting to a lot of vermonters, and i have talked with a lot of those vermonters in grocery stores and on street corners, even coming out of church on sunday. for the third time in 40 years, the social security administration announced in 2016 social security payments will not include a cost of living increase. now, unless congress acts, seniors and others who receive social security benefits will not see an additional dime in payment this year. for the nearly two-thirds of beneficiaries who depend on social security for at least half of their income and for the 24% of those where social security is a sole source of income, the news isn't just distressing, it's devastating. i certainly am not going to take the time here, but i can tell so many stories of vermonters who told me and i share