mr. levin: i thank the senator. mr. udall: let me say to chairman levin, not only lively, robust, but very informative. i learned a lot in the process of listening to you and to senator mccain and senator durbin and the other senators that came down about the issue. and i think that's the way the senate works best, is to have the amendments and the various provisions of the defense authorization bill be a part of a hraoeufpl and informative debate. and i thank you for that, and i yield the floor. mr. mccain: having watched the debate, been informed that the senator from new mexico now takes the position that senator levin and i do on this issue, and his next mission is to convince his colleague from colorado of the correctness of our position. mr. udall: at this point i am still listening and trying to ascertain as much as i can about the actual provisions of the defense authorization bill. but you're correct, there could be trouble in udall valley here. there might be a split. we don't see that yet, but there's a possib

mr. levin, for himself and mr. mccain proposes an amendment numbered 1092. at the end of subtitle c of title 8 add the following -- mr. levin: mr. president, i now would ask unanimous consent that further reading be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. levin: i would call for the regular order with respect to the amendment. the presiding officer: the amendment is now pending. mr. levin: is it now pending first in line? poeup it is pending -- the presiding officer: it is pending first in line. mr. levin: i thank the presiding officer. i want to make one quick comment about this amendment. this is a bipartisan amendment that addresses the massive issue created by counterfeit parts getting into the defense supply system. it is something which our staffs have investigated heavily. senator mccain and i are introducing this bipartisan amendment. we hope it has strong support in this senate, and it will address a critically important issue which we have now seen in the defense

mr. levin: mr. presiden? the presiding officer: the senator from michigan. mr. levin: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. levin: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that on thursday, november 17, senator bennet be authorized to sign duly enrolled bills or joint resolutions. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. levin: i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. levin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from michigan. mr. levin: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. levin: mr. president, i ask for regular order on the levin-mccain amendment. the presiding officer: the amendment is the regular order. it is now pending. mr. levin: i thank the presiding officer. now i ask unanimous consent that the

mr. levin: unanimous consent request -- the presiding officer: the senator prosecute michigan. mr. levin: i ask unanimous consent that the cardin amendment, number 1073 be withdrawn. that has got the apliewfl of t e approval of the sponsor of the amendment. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. sanders: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. sanders: i just wanted to vai a few words about two amendments that i have offered, both of which i think are important and both of which should be passed. mr. president, it i as you thinu know, this country has a record-breaking deficit and a $15 trillion national debt. what many people do not know is that one of the reasons that our deficit is as high as it is is because there is a significant amount of fraud from defense contractors who sell their products to the department of defense. i think the american people are very clear that when we pay a dollar for a product that goes to our military, we want to get a dollar'

mr. levin: the senator from new hampshire -- mr. mccain: mr. president the senator from new hampshire had intended to talk about her amendment and withdraw it and she may be coming. i have had a chance to notify her. there may be a couple-minute delay. so i have to suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: mr. mccain: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. mccain: request unanimous consent that further proceedings urn the quorum call dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mccain: in a exchange hi on the floor about -- and i mentioned the wonderful long people -- wonderful long island, i made a joke. i'm sorry there's at least one of my colleagues that can't take a joke and so i apologize if i offended him and hope that someday he will have a sense of humor. i yield mr. sessions: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from alabama. mr. sessions: mr. president, i've

mr. levin: mr. president, i now ask unanimous consent that the levin-mccain amendment number 1092, which is the regular order, be modified with the changes that are at the desk, that amendment addresses the issue of counterfeit parts and the department of defense supply chain. further, that the amendment as modified be agreed to, that upon disposition of the levin-mccain amendment, the senate resume consideration of the paul amendment, number 1064; that there be 30 minutes of debate equally divided in the usual form on the paul amendment; that upon the use or yielding back of time, the senate resume consideration of the landrieu amendment, number 1115; that there be up to 30 minutes of debate equally divided in the usual form on the landrieu amendment; that upon the use or yielding back of time, the senate proceed to votes in relation to the two amendments, the paul and l.a.n. draw amendments, in the following order: paul number 1064, the landrieu number 1115, that there be two minutes equally divide

mr. levin: i'll yield and -- we'll do one of your folks. mr. mccain: i ask unanimous consent to yield two minutes to the senator from new hampshire, followed by the time from senator levin for the senator from connecticut and then what time i have remaining for the senator from georgia. the presiding officer: without objection, the senator from new hampshire. ms. ayotte: thank you, mr. president. i first of all want to thank chairman levin and ranking member mccain and remind everyone that this particular amendment addressing the detainee provisions passed overwhelmingly on a bipartisan basis from the armed services committee. and the reason that we addressed this issue was because we heard witness after witness in a series of months before the armed services committee from our department of defense tell us for example when i asked the commander of africa command saying he'd need lawyerly help on how to answer what to do with a member of al qaeda who was captured in africa. this is an area that

mr. levin: mr. president, first i ask unanimous consent to add senators akaka, chambliss, blawmle that, gillibrand, ben nelson, stabenow, and udall udall -- senator mark udall as cosponsors of amendment number 1032 which is the pending levin-mccain amendment on counterfeit parts. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. levin: secondly, mr. president, we are going to move now i believe to the conference report. but i do want to remind folks of -- our colleagues of what senator mccain said which is we will be here tomorrow morning and we are here to try to clear amendments. we want to be able to give our colleagues as much opportunity as possible to debate and to clear amendments. but we've got to move this bill. we're not going to be given a whole week after we come back to get this bill adopted, hopefully. the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. mccain: the pending -- what's the pending business before the senate? the presiding officer: s. 1867 is still pending. mr. mccain: the ame

mr. levin and the senator from arizona,mr. mccain, or their designees. mr. mccain: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. mccain: madam president, i suggest we suspend the proceedings on the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mccain: i'd like to say to my colleagues that we have been waiting approval of a manager's package of amendments that have been cleared by both sides. it is not a manager's package. it's simply a group of amendments that have been proposed by members on both sides of the aisle, approved, no one has objected, and yet there are objections to moving forward with the -- with these amendments in a package. there are important amendments by members on both sides, and i would urge my colleagues to -- who would object to moving forward with these -- this package of amendments which have been agreed to by both sides and there has been no objection voiced to them individually, that i would like

mr. levin, each will control 20 minutes. and the chair now recognizes the gentleman from michigan, mr. camp. mr. camp: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. camp: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. camp: i come to the floor today in support of permanently repealing the onerous job-killing 3% withholding law. during house action last month, this legislation garnered more than 400 votes for repeal and passed, as amended, with an overwhelming 95 votes in the senate last week. the legislation which has been championed by ways and means health subcommittee chairman, wally herger, and our democrat colleague, earl blumenauer, is supported by president obama, and makes clear that when we work together we can find bipartisan solutions

mr. levin: mr. president, i would just ask unanimous consent to call up the following amendments. the first four on behalf of senator jack reed, 1148, 1204, and 1294. ander amendment 1293, levin amendment, 1296, boxer amendment, 1292, a menendez amendment, and that we return to the regular order. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. reid: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: reno, nevada, is a beautiful place. it's right below the great lake tahoe, the beautiful sierra nevada mountains. it's really a picturesque, beautiful place. i was very troubled this morning to wake up and find that reno, nevada, is in trouble because of a devastating fire. we have about more than 500 acres that have been burned. we have a number of homes that have been des tried. the problem we have is because of these beautiful sierra nevada mountains, we get winds that are -- mr. president, could we have order in the senate? the presiding officer: the senate will come to or

mr. levin: we have approximately a half-hour on each side. i'm wondering how much senator graham needs. mr. graham: ten minutes. is that too much? five minutes? mr. levin: we have seven speakers on this side. try for eight minutes? 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

mr. levin: i would now ask unanimous consent that the time between now and 12:15 be equally divided between myself, working with senator mccain in opposition to the udall amendment, and controlled by senator udall. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. levin: i understand under the pending u.c. that senator udall is now to be recognized to offer his amendment. the presiding officer: the senator is correct. under the previous order, the senator from colorado is recognized. mr. udall: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from colorado. mr. udall: i rise to speak in favor of amendment number 1107. first let me say that i know how hard chairman levin and ranking member mccain have worked to craft a defense authorization act that provides our armed forces with the equipment, the services, and the support that they need to keep us safe. and i want to thank also my colleagues from the armed services committee, a number of whom i see on the floor here this morning, for their dilige

mr. levin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from michigan. mr. levin: mr. president, i see that senator webb son the floorks and i know that he is going to be making some remarks in a few moments, and i would just urge other colleagues of ours to do the same thing. tbher a period now where debate is -- we are in a period now where debate is in order on any of the amendments, whether they are pending or not pendin pendi, whether they have been filed and not made pending. this is an opportunity that's going to end hopefully wednesday morning when we vote cloture. we must get this bill passed. it is critically important to our men and women in uniform. and they deserve to have a defense authorization bill passed. so i would urge colleagues who have amendments that they have filed to come to the floor this afternoon to debate their amendments. and i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from virginia. mr. webb: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that marcus suley of be

mr. levin: madam president, i have a unanimous consent request. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: madam president, i would hope that everyone just listened to and watch the exemplary way of ridding ourselves of some of these amendments. we have two more amendments. it would be great if we didn't have to vote on those. i think that the explanation given by the two senators is an indication that progress can be made, even without a vote. mr. levin: madam president? the presiding officer: is noter from michigan. mr. levin: i had he ask unanimous consent that a statement of mine relative to the crapo amendment be inserted in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. there are two minutes evenly divided -- or maybe not. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that the amendment just called is not ripe for debate here. i would ask consent that we move to the coburn amendment. the presiding officer: without objection. the senator from oklahoma. mr. coburn: madam president, this is a straightforward amendment on a program that fai

mr. levin: mr. president, on behalf of the senate armed services committee, i'm pleased to bring s. 1867, the national defense authorization act for fiscal year 2012, to the senate floor. the armed services committee approved the bill by a unanimous 26-0 vote. this is the 50th consecutive year that our committee has reported a defense authorization act. every previous bill has been enacted into law. i want to thank all the members and the staff of the senate armed services committee for the commitment that they've shown to the best interests of our men and women in uniform as we have developed this legislation. every year we take on tough issues and we work through them on a bipartisan basis, consistent with the traditions of our committee. i want to particularly thank senator mccain, our ranking minority member, for his strong support throughout the process. the unanimous committee vote in favor of this legislation would not have been possible without his cooperation and support. we were delayed in

host: if you have comments about this peace or some of the comments that mr. levinas made, give us a call the democratic line, 202-737-0001. on the republican line, 202-737- 0002. for the independents, 202-628- 0205. outside the u.s., 202-628-0184. let's give people some practical examples that you think fit into the system. when it came to mind is regulation in need of scrutiny, adding a political element to the end of the regulatory system. does this fit into your theory? guest: i think so. this has to do with the growing power of the regulatory agency. decisions that are government will have enormous implications for the way we live are made not by our elected represent as directly but by agencies that are in part independent even from the executive. these agencies make importance complicated decisions that turn out not to be sufficient it answerable to congress. part of what congress is trying to do is to bring the largest of those decisions under some kind of control by our constitutional system. host: jerry is on the independent line from minnesota. good morni

mr. levin: mr. hastings has indicated that if we turn down the previous question we will bring up h.r. 639. this is a fact. china's currency manipulation is hurting u.s. businesses and workers. according to a recent study imports from china account for 25% to 50% of the manufacturing jobs we have lost over the past decade. that's one million to two million jobs in our trade deficit to china continues to grow. the important factor in this picture is currency manipulation. american manufacturers are forced to compete against an estimated 25% discount on imports from china due to that manipulation. that's on top of china's massive subsidies and other policies. dr. fred burkeson, who heads the peterson institute, says elimination of china's undervalued currency would create a million jobs mainly in manufacturing. and that manipulation is by far the largest protectionist measure adopted by any country since the second world war, probably in all history. meanwhile, the chinese government is pushing produc

mr. levin i'm looking for to reading your article. seems to hike the constitution whenever sports there's respective agendas. very constrained by their public and said is today regarding obama's policies would have been valid during the bush demonstration on issues like wiretapping and torture and unfounded unauthorized military involvement around the world. i have started paying attention to the presidential candidate ron paul. the "national review" has written some about him, mostly as a fringe candidate with views for the constitution that are labeled as a throwback or obsolete. he appears to be gaining in the polls in the subject of more google searches on other candidates. seems like the media is attempting to stifle his meshes and that could be described as more firmly based in the constitution and the other candidates. deeply that this is because of an anti-constitutional agenda or if you could just speak on that as a writer of really appreciate it. >> guest: ron paul has been a member of congress for many years and has been a

as mr. levin mentioned, estimates are a million to 1.5 jobs, 1.5% g.d.p. it's something that we should all be passionate about. this is about standing up for the american people. this is about standing up for the american manufacturer. the speaker said this could be dangerous. ask folks in the tire industry. ask folks in the steel tubing agency who watched chinese unfair trade practices put them in jeopardy and put their people out of work. this is something about you have to stand up. you have to take a stance. 62% are co-sponsors of this bill. i urge defeat of the previous question. it does not defeat the underlying bill so we can talk about jobs and this bill, h.r. 639. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas. mr. sessions: we are here talking about capital formation. we're here talking about entrepreneurial spirit catching up with ideas to go to make job creation and then for the jobs to be here in america. and that's what this bill is about today. it is about a bipartisan attempt, republicans and democrats working together through regular or

mr. levin: mr. hastings has indicated that if we turn down the previous question we will bring up h.r. 639. this is a fact. china's currency manipulation is hurting u.s. businesses and workers. according to a recent study imports from china account for 25% to 50% of the manufacturing jobs we have lost over the past decade. that's one million to two million jobs in our trade deficit to china continues to grow. the important factor in this picture is currency manipulation. american manufacturers are forced to compete against an estimated 25% discount on imports from china due to that manipulation. that's on top of china's massive subsidies and other policies. dr. fred burkeson, who heads the peterson institute, says elimination of china's undervalued currency would create a million jobs mainly in manufacturing. and that manipulation is by far the largest protectionist measure adopted by any country since the second world war, probably in all history. meanwhile, the chinese government is pushing produc

mr. levin: i ask unanimous consent to call off the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. morning business is closed. under the previous order the senate will resume consideration of the motion to proceed to s. 7691 which the clerk will report. the clerk: a bill to put workers back on the job while rebuilding and modernizing america. . the presiding officer: the senator from michigan. mr. levin: madam president, the rebuild america jobs act addresses two of our most fundamental responsibilities. first, the need to respond to the urgent jobs crisis, secondly, the duty to create the physical framework for economic growth now and into the future. there should be no debate about our duty to fulfill those two responsibilities and yet once again we're in a situation where the refusal of our republican colleagues to compromise even on consideration of measures that they've supported in the past prevents us from acting on behalf of the american people. i am encouraged by reports that pe

mr. levin: more than 400 unemployed americans have shared their story with us in the last two weeks. here they are. they illustrate in no uncertain terms of the urgent need for congress to extend federal unemployment insurance through 2012. without action, two million americans will lose their benefits by february as shown in this chart. two million americans like phil from clinton township. he wrote to us with a resolve common among the stories we have received, and i quote. i am by no means unintelligent. i am by no means lazy. and i am by no means giving up. without unemployment benefits, i will not be able to pay my bills, including my cell phone, so i may receive calls from potential employers and finding something to eat will become increasingly difficult. congress has never allowed the federal program to expire with the unemployment rate as high as it remains today. we must not start now. we must act now. . the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan rise?

is in the words of somebody who spoke to so much better than i ever could in someone that you and mr. levinm. it must be 54, protected and handed on for them to do the same or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the united states for men who are free. thank you very much. [cheers and applause] ♪ ♪ ♪ >> once again, ladies and gentlemen, the president of americans for prosperity foundation, tim phillips. ♪ >> wow, ann, such a quiet retiree and lady. and thank you for those words. for quick amount spent on the summit will be wrapped up. breakout sessions begin one floor down. at 3:15, they're a wide number of sessions in your program. send you with issues training. we have spent a major gene, amazing trainers in this breakout sessions and make you in a more effective at this for freedom. they will be a book signing directly outside on this level with john fund for his new book. and then tonight, for asp zone fill curb imports and credible new book, democracy tonight, which i think you want to look at. and also dinesh

mr. chairman. >> ok, thank you. senator levin, i believe, h passed, and we will go to senator akaka for an amendment. >> olike to offer akaka 5. it is an amendment on medicare. i would like to come back to workers' compensation oanother time, but not now. now i would like to turn to health care. >> ok. e crux my amendment is to strike the provisions -- >> my memo is to strike the provisions requiring workers to enroll in medicare parts "a" and "b" if they are eligible and replacing their current plan with a not yet negotiated plan. i understand the post office estimates it will save $15 billion from theserosions, but as far as i know, they have not provided anything to support that particular claim. opm, which is much more extensive health care experience, does not believe this will save. believes it will incur further cross. additionally, this will shift costs to the medicare program, which has serious financial chalnges already. for this reason, mr. chairman, the finance committee staff supports this amendment. the provisions i

mr. president?setor >> the center has three and a half minutes remaining. >> i yield the floor.. levin: ye >> how much time is remaining on both sides?the priding of >> the senatorfi from arizona hs just over fiveiv minutes. from and the senator from coloradoins his eight minutes.mr. udl: mr. p >> the senatorre from colorado. >> i want to clarify for the wao record before i recognize i senator webb for five minutesthe that some here have claimed thes supreme court decision upheldiou the u.s. citizens captured of sh the united states. it did no such thing. he was captured in afghanistan,d not the united states, and the justice o'connor who offered tht opinion was very careful to say that the decision was limitedo - to, fought against the united states taliban. and of quote.mptant to i think it's important to be encluded as the record. m let me recognize and yield to senator webb for five minutes. >> senatorbb from virginia. >> thank you mr. president. i would like to say that i believe i've been the senator a from colorado has a good point here and i say that as someone a who is a stron

mr. johnson. general dempsey. >> thank you chairman levin and senator inhofe. i want to point out before you begin i appreciate the spirit of family metaphor used for this. i do want to make a point that as we have talked about this, craig mckinley has been in the room in every instance, so everything we have done to try to talk about this among ourselves has been done with the chief of the national guard hero present. and so i thank you for the opportunity to continue that discussion here today. i would also like to thank my colleagues at the table. we share a bond of trust with each other and with a nation that will be sustained regardless of how we answer the question before us today. let me be clear on both -- on i'm both an admirer and advocate for the national guard. our entire reserve component makes an indispensable contribution to our national security. throughout our nation's history and circling the decades since 9/11 we have depended on our citizen soldiers and airmen to help defend us, our allies and our interests. at home and abroad the national g

mr. chairman, i will not ask for a roll-call vote. >> i think it is bipartisan. >> i will not ask for 1. preference as a junior member -- >> i would ask for a roll call. >> senator levin. >> aye. >> senator akaka. >> aye. [laughter] >> senator mccaskill. >> aye by proxy. >> senator begich. >> aye. >> senator coburn. >> aye by proxy. >> i tried to warn everybody. [laughter] >> senator paul. >> no instruction. >> senator lieberman. >> aye. >> mr. chairman, the yays are 9, the nays are 0. on this vote, the yays are 12, the nays are 4, and the amendment is agreed to. >> lunch break was mentioned earlier. do we want to try to move an amendment or two? do you have any other amendments? >> i have no other amendments. >> i just am thinking about who is here. senator levin i believe has been passed. we will go to senator akaka for another amendment at this time. which were number would you like to call up? >> i would like to offer akaka number five. it is an amendment on medicare. i would like to come back to workers' compensation another time but not now. so i would like to turn to health care. my amendment strikes the provisions requiring postal retirees to enroll in medicar

we have a new soldier because peter and levine, president of the yankees and mrs.signed him up, man. he's a new recruit for the army. >> we'll have some people freaking out in new york. >> he's the very best. >> you might have some angry new yorkers because of that. talk about how important it is -- >> they should be freaking out because he's a great, great player. that's why he's here, he's a yankee and he's a great american. >> yeah, absolutely. undersecretary, before we go and nick, if you could weigh in on this as well, what's the sentiment of the troops around this thanksgiving holiday? we know most of them are going to be home for christmas. what is sentiment? how difficult is it to be away from their families and how happy are they they'll be home soon? >> he'll tell you because we took him to the most remote areas of this country. tell them, nick. >> i'm not going to lie, i wouldn't say i wasn't a little scared at times. that's what makes u.s.a. the greatest country in the world. we have the greatest armed forces in the world and i'll tell you what, from a

mr. chairman. >> would you like a roll call vote? >> yes. >> the clerk will call the roll on amendment number 1. senator levin, senator akaka, senator carper, senator pryor, senator landrieu, senator er, skill, senator tests, senator:, senator coburn, senator brown, senator mccain, senator johnston, senator gore, senator paul, centre moran, senator lieberman. mr. chairman, on the both of those press t comehe yeas are 5 and the nays are 8. on this of those ,the yeas are 5 and the nays are 11 and the amendment is not agreed to. of those here, let me indicate that next we will go to senator johnson and then senator mccaskill, then senator paul, that senatetester, all of whom have amendments pending. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i would like to offer johnson amendment number 1. like my colleague from kansas, i am new to this process. as i studied the issue, there is an eye-popping chart the that the gao studied laying out the postal service. when you total up to 2020, it ends up being a lot of money. if we experience those kind of deficits, the taxpayers will be on the hook for this. that governs my votes in this

mr. johnson. general dempsey? >> thank you, chairman levin, senator inhofe. before we begin, i appreciate the spirit of the family metaphor used for this. i do want to make a point, as we have talked about this, craig mckinley has been in the room in every instance. so everything we have done to try to talk about this among ourselves has been done with the chief of the national guard bureau present. so i think for the opportunity to continue that discussion here with you today. i would also like to thank my colleagues at the table. we share a bond of trust with each other and with the nation that will be sustained, regardless of how we answer the question before us today. let me be clear, i am both an admirer and advocate for the national guard. our entire reserve component makes an indispensable contribution to our national security. threat our nation's history, certainly in the decade before 9/11, we depended on our citizens soldiers and airmen to defend us, our allies, and interests. home and abroad, national guard search with courage, discipline, skill, a

mr. chairman. >> lots of talk about spending and the deficit on tomorrow "mornings "washington journal -- on tomorrow morning's "washington journal." in our magazine spotlight series, yuval levin about the political philosophy underpinning liberalism. >> for those who say that we are rushing this issue of civil rights, i say to them, we are 172 years late. for those who say that this civil rights program is an infringement on states rights, i say this. the time has arrived in america for the democratic party to get out of the shadows of state's rights and to what forthrightly into the great sunshine of human rights. >> hubert humphrey spoke those words nearly 20 years before championing the 1964 civil rights bill into law. the two-term mayor of minneapolis and long term senator was vice-president under lyndon johnson, and later ran for president in 1968 and lost. we will look in his influence on american politics this week on the c-span series, "the contenders." that is life friday at 8:00 p.m. eastern. >> the supreme court has said that it will consider legal challenges for the federal health-care law and made the decision to hear 5.5 hours of oral argument in the case. c-spa

mr. levin: mr. president, i, ask there a quorum call on? the presiding officer: yes, there is. mr. levin: ask further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection ferlt mr. levin: mr. president, now pursuant to that unanimous consent order that was just entered, i now would call up the menendez-kirk amendment number 1414. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from michigan, mr. levin, for mr. menendez and mr. kirk, proposes amendment numbered 1414. mr. levin: and now i, mr. president, that amendment now i guess would return to the position that it has under the unanimous consent agreement that was just entered into; is that correct? the presiding officer: the senator just called up -- it's pending at this time. does the senator wish to return to the regular order? mr. levin: now, what is the regular order now that we're going back to it? the presiding officer: the regular order is the senator's amendment, 1092. mr.