mr. mccain: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent to engage in a brief colloquy with chairman senator levin. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mccain: first of all, madam president, i would like to again thank you for the -- mr. chairman, i would like to thank you for the long years of work we have had together and that which is coming together after a long year of obstacles. i want to thank you for the spirit of bipartisanship which is a long tradition in the committee which was practiced by our predecessors. obviously, we know on occasion we have differences of views and sometimes we especially need to express those in perhaps a passionate manner, but the fact is at the end of the day, we continue to come together and work together for the good of this nation's security. and the reason why i ask senator levin is because i think our colleagues ought to understand the context of this bill. first of all, it is a new bill and it has a reduction of some $20 billion in authorization in order

mr. mccain: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. mccain: i don't want to talk too much longer. i see our dear friend from new mexico, who has been seriousness to come in this morning and debate and discuss his concerns about the bill and amendment. but i would ask the chairman, we have, as you mentioned, a large number of pending amendments, not just filed but pending. and one of them, of course, is the detainee issue. there is another paul amendment. there are several others that perhaps we could vote on on monday, as the chairman mentioned, and if any of our colleagues feel that they haven't got time to amend it, they're welcome to come now and they're welcome to come on monday, and i understand it may cause them some small inconvenience in their schedule, but if they filed a pending amendment, then -- if there is an amendment pending, then they ought to be able to adjust their schedules to come and debate it. if they aren't able to do that, we should still be able to dispose of those amendments, i say with great respect and courte

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 been working for some time to wrestle with this qu

mr. mccain: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. mccain: i thank my colleague from tennessee, who as he knows, we opbd dodd-frank -- on the dodd-frank bill had an amendment to do away with fannie and freddie over a five-year period. i think it's obvious the senator from tennessee has done a lot of homework, in-depth examination on this issue. i think the senator from tennessee would agree that what went on with fannie and freddie is really one of the worst crimes inflicted on the american people all during the 1990's into well into 2000, which led -- which was a major contributor to the housing collapse which then triggered the financial collapse which we still haven't recovered from. i wonder if the senator from tennessee would like to elaborate on that. a senator: i don't think there's any question. i know the senator from arizona, mr. president, has been a reformer all of his life. mr. corker: what we find in this body is you end up having a corporate welfare system built around many of the things we do here. as much as i hate to

mr. mccain: yes. mr. paul: my question would be under the provisions, would it be possible that an american citizen could be declared an enemy combatant and sent to guantanamo bay and detained indefinitely? mr. mccain: i think that as long as that individual, no matter who they are, if they pose a threat to the security of the united states of america should not be allowed to continue that threat. and i think that's the majority of american public opinion, especially in light of the facts that i continue to repeat to the senator from kentucky. 27% of detainees who were released got back in the fight and were responsible for the deaths of americans. we need to take every step necessary to prevent that from happening. that's for the safety and security of the men and women who are out there putting their lives on the line in our armed services. mr. president, i suggest the mr. president, i suggest the >> debate on the senate floor from earlier today. just a portion of what senators spent most the day on. wi

mr. mccain: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. mccain: briefly, i'd ask the indulgence of the senator from oregon. i would ask the senator from south carolina if he would finish -- finish the response and i'm sure it would only take him two or three minutes to finish the response. 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 do

mr. mccain: mr. president, i support the amendment, as modified, by the senator from tennessee, senator corker, who has devoted a great deal of time and effort and thought into this issue and the result is this amendment. and i would point out that it would require the secretary of defense to prepare a report on the effectiveness of coalition support fund reimbursements made to pakistan in support of coalition military operations in afghanistan. before i proceed, let me once again express my deep condolences to the families of the pakistani soldiers who were killed this weekend in a cross-border air action. all americans are deeply saddened by this tragedy and i fully support nato and u.s. military in their commitment to conduct a thorough and expeditious investigation. as my colleagues will recall, this is an important aspect of senator corker's amendment, congress has authorized and appropriated funding for coalition support fund reimbursements to pakistan since we began our military operations in

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 to move to adopt those shortly before the quorum call at -- excuse me, the vote on cloture at 11:00. and if

mr. mccain: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. mccain: i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mccain: i yield back the balance of my time. the presiding officer: all time is yielded back. under the previous order the question occurs on amendment number -- under the previous order, the question occurs on amendment number 1064 offered by the senator from kentucky, mr. paul. the yeas and nays have been ordered. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote: vote: the presiding officer: are there any senators in the chamber wishing to vote or change their vote? if not, on this vote, the yeas are 30, the nays are 67. under the previous order, requiring 60 votes for the adoption of this amendment, the amendment is not agreed to. the majority leader. the senate will be in order. the majority leader. mr. reid:. mr. reid: the vote of this morning, tomorrow we're going to have a vote around 11:00 on cloture on this bill and we'll work with the managers to see how they're going to work t

mr. mccain: yes. mr. paul: my question would be under the provisions, would it be possible that an american citizen could be declared an enemy combatant and sent to guantanamo bay and detained indefinitely? mr. mccain: i think that as long as that individual, no matter who they are, if they pose a threat to the security of the united states of america should not be allowed to continue that threat. and i think that's the majority of american public opinion, especially in light of the facts that i continue to repeat to the senator from kentucky. 27% of detainees who were released got back in the fight and were responsible for the deaths of americans. we need to take every step necessary to prevent that from happening. that's for the safety and security of the men and women who are out there putting their lives on the line in our armed services. mr. president, i suggest the absence of correct. under the previous order, the senator from colorado is recognized. mr. udall: mr. president? the presiding officer:

mr. mccain: mr. president, i yield -- i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: ms. collins: mr. president? the presiding officer: the snoer from maine. ms. collins: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that proceedings under the call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. icle km thank you, mr. president. president. ms. collins: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the senator from delaware, mr. coons, the presiding officer, be added as a cosponsor of senate amendment 1155 to the pending bill, senate 1867. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. collins: thank you, mr. president. -- for cosponsoring the amendment. mr. president -- mr. president, earlier today the chairman and the ranking minority member of the senate armed services committee came to the senate floor and asked for members to come forth with their amendments. i want to speak on my amendments as well as the underlying bill today, but i want to begin by commending senator

mr. mccain mccain: mccain: liker medicare advantage program. mr. barrasso: which has an advantage, because it coordinates care, it has a number of things that are important. but i believe this is the reason that just last week in the kaiser poll, the number of individuals who have a very favorable view of the overall health care law has dropped to 12%, an all-time low. the number of people who think now that this health care law will -- that they will personally be better off under the health care law is only 18%, an all-time low. the number of people in the country who think that the country as a whole will be better off due to the health care law stands at 28%, an all-time low. so the american people realize that we need truth, honesty in budgeting. and i know my colleague from the budget committee is working on that, has an op-ed that i read, has a proposal, working on that. that's what the american people want. they want some honesty in budgeting, not the kind of politics and bu gimmicks and tricks -- and budget gimmicks and tricks that we see

. >> reporter: mrs. mccain sent letters and medical documents to the airline as proof of the disease and her inability to travel. she says it has done little to help her cause. now as she undergoes chemotherapy, she is hoping the airline will make an exception for her and refund the money. now she is left with memories of a trip hoping she will one day have a chance to do it again. >> i would love nothing more than to do it again. i hope that before i die i get to sit on a beach. that's all i want. >> until now there's still no refund for the mccain family for the tickets. >>> can wall street build on monday's gain? the dow lost some ground in the final hour of trading but still finished in positive territory. the dow is up 33. nasdaq is down 12. >>> let's go to new york right now where alexis christoforous has tonight's updates. >> the parent company of american airlines is filing for bankruptcy. they've been saddled with rising debt. shares plunged 80% in the news but the airline assures passengers the bankru

mr. mccain or mr. cain, rather, to explain the situation, at least to the satisfaction of his loyalists? that's where we start tonight. then, the obama re-election campaign is trying to right those voting wrongs. they have launched a counteroffensive against those new laws passed by republicans that make it harder for people to vote. and more evidence president obama may finally have the wind at his back politically. he's calling out congress and invoking ronald reagan and it's working. his approval ratings are up, and he tops romney, cain and perry in a new quinnipiac poll. there's still a year to go, but it looks like the republicans may be blowing their chance perhaps to beat this president. and it shouldn't come as a surprise. remember this? >> and it's like live free or die. victory or death. bring it. >> well, rick perry is about the only person in the country who thinks his bizarre speech friday went well. that's in the sideshow tonight. let me finish with the importance of a young president lea

mr. mccain acted inappropriately. >> bret: now let me say that kurt anderson has given politico a quote saying he didn't know about this before the story ran. he has great respect for herman cain and his character. i would never speak ill of him on the record or off the record. that is true today and it's not going to change. you say that is a lie? >> it's an outrage. as i said before, rick perry needs to apologize to herman cain and frankly to america. >> bret: another veteran pollster with the, used to be with the national restaurant association chris wilson. he is now working with the super pac that supports the texas governor's bid. he is on the record detailing what he says is another incident of sexual harassment. another allegation. >> again, the perry campaign needs to apologize to herman cain and his family. and america for this despicable action. politico, too. politico won't release any documentation. or will they even admit they spoke to these two women. why? because they have nothing and cited unnamed sources. chris wilson put out a quote saying i had nothing to do with leaking th

mr. chairman. >> thank you, senator mccain. e.t's start with mr. sharp ordinarily, we would start with a gao witness, but we will start today with a very descriptive part. you have an investigation that you undertook, so we will start with mr. sharpe. >> mr. chairman, mr. mccain, members of the committee, first, i want to thank you for allowing me to come in and testify. this is a big problem obviously and a big focus of our job. my company's job is to authenticate, sores, and supply parts to the defense and aerospace industry. we take this quite seriously, and i will explain to you exactly what i saw while i was in the city of shenzhen and then in another city as well as some of the counterfeits we're seeing out there today. in july 2008, i had an opportunity while traveling in to the city of hong kong on business to go into a nearby city of shenzhen, and the reason i wanted to go in was to visit the marketplace that has been mentioned here, that was referenced on the screen. i had an interpreter go with me. we walked to 3 marketplace for the day,

mccain. let us start with mr. sharp. ordinarily we would call on the g a o witness first but today we will start with a vivid description of the problem and mr. hillman, you can give us a gao investigation that you undertook. we will start with mr. sharp. >> mr. chairman, senator mccain and members of this committee i want to thank you for allowing me to provide this testimony. the issues with counterfeit parts in the department of defense is a big problem, in big focus of our job. my company's job is to authenticate, source and supply parts to the aerospace industry. we take this seriously. unexplained to you what exactly are saw when i was in the city of shenzhen and the counterfeits that were seen out there today. in july of 2008 i had an opportunity when traveling into the city of hong kong on business to go into the nearby city of shenyang. the reason i went in was to visit the marketplace that has been mentioned here on the screen. i had an interpreter go with me. we walked through the marketplace for the day and w

mr. mccain: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senior senator from alabama is recognized. mr. shelbyshelby: mr. presidenti think a lot of people mean well but often misguided when they say we're going to regulate this sector of the economy, we're going to regulate this and that. but the market, mr. president, as you well know, the market is the driving force in our economy. not just in the united states but worldwide. and it's going to be the market that will decide what we do as far as job creation for our people everywhere. and the internet, as an example, i believe, of, gosh, let's don't overregulate, it let it grow, let it do its job and it will. i associate myself with the remarks of the senator from mississippi and also the senator from texas. mr. president, i also would like to speak about some commonsense steps that congress can take right now to help our struggling economy. at a time when job growth is stagnant, congress needs to lift the regulatory burden that is stifling capital formation. the senate has before it several bills that would help private businesses rai

mr. chairman. >> thank you very much, senator mccain. secretary panetta. >> thank you, mr. chairman. senator mccain, distinguished members of the committee. thank you, as always, for your continuing support for our men and women in uniform and for their families. we deeply appreciate the support we get from you. i appreciate the opportunity to describe our strategy in iraq and to do so alongside general dempsey. who has overseen so many critical efforts of the iraq campaign, from its outset in 2003 -- i think general dempsey has been deployed multiple time0s that area, served in key positions both here in washington, and at sin come in tampa and has a pretty good feel for the situation in iraq. it's helpful as always to recall the objective here in regards to iraq. in february of 2009, president obama, and before president obama, president bush -- i heard him say this directly to the iraq study group -- laid out a clear and achievable goal that was shared by the american and iraqi people, and that was simply an iraq that is sovereign, stable, and self-reliant. in the words of presiden

mr. mccain: mr. president, i'd like to speak about an issue that i and most americans i believe find extremely krublg and one that -- troubling and one that i've been seek to have properly addressed for many years now. mainly the outright corruption and blatant abuse of the american taxpayer that's been taking place at the hands of fannie mae and freddie mac for decades. since they were placed in conservatorship in 2008, the two government-sponsored enterprises, g.s.e.'s, i.e., supported by the t-pbs, have -- by the taxpayers have soaked the american taxpayers for tpr* bailouts. this morning it is reported freddie mac is requesting an additional $6 billion to continue their so far, in my view, failed efforts. i quote from the associated press government-controlled mortgage giant freddie mac requested $6 billion in additional aid after posting a wider loss in the third quarter. tprepld said -- freddie mac said it costs $6 billion in the july-september quarter. that compares with a loss of $4 billion i

mr. chairman psp mix before, senator mccain. senator lieberman. >> thank you, mr. psychiatry and general chairman for being here. so, i add my voice has one cool also felt during the time of the status of forces agreement between the u.s. and iraq based on conversations that i had with leaders in both countries that the expectations was that a visible force would remain at the expiration of so far at the end of this year, 2011. and the reason was cleared and they would have to be negotiated between the two sovereign nations. the reason that was from our point of view we have invested so much blood and treasure and the success of a coterie, unexpected success in iraq that it wouldn't make sense to just pick up and leave unless we felt the country, that the iraqis were totally prepared to protect the security in the progress they've made. which incidentally my opinion hasn't always been great for them and transformation within their history but also throughout the middle east. personally, i think that the site of the iraqis pulling at saddam hussein and down showing

mr. chairman and staff for the many hours of long hard work and i look forward to hearing from the witnesses. thank you. >> thank you senator mccain. let's start with mr. sharp. ordinarily, we would probably call on the gao when this first. i think we are going to start with the problem. give us a vivid description of the problem. you can give us a gao investigation that you undertook. >> mr. chairman, senator mccain, members of this committee, i want to thank you for letting me come in and provide this testimony. the issues with counterfeit parts in the department of defense is a big problem, obviously, it is a big focus of our job. my company's dropped is to authenticate, source, and supply parts to the defense and aerospace industry. we take this seriously. i will explain what i saw while i was in china, as well as the counterfeits we are saying out there today. in july, 2008, i had an opportunity while traveling into the city of hong kong on business to go into the nearby city of shen zen. i wanted to visit the marketplace that has been mentioned here. i had an interpreter go with me. we walked through the marketplace. while i

mr. chairman. >> thank you, senator mccain. secretary panetta. >> thank you, mr. chairman, senator mccain, distinguished members of the committee. thank you, as always, for your continued support for our men and women in uniform and for their families. we deeply appreciate the support we get from all of you that helps those that put their lives on the line. i appreciate the opportunity to describe our strategy in iraq and to do so alongside general dempsey. will has overseen so many critical efforts of the iraq campaign from its outset in 2003. general dempsey has been deployed multiple times to that area, served in key positions both in washington and at centcom in tampa and has a pretty good feel for the situation in iraq. it is helpful, as always, to recall the objectives here with regards to iraq. in february 2009, president obama and before president obama, president bush, i heard him say this directly to the rat study group -- laid out a clear and achievable goal that was shared by the american and iraqi people, and that was simply an iraq that a sovereign, s

mr. herman cain next. >>> plus senator john mccain is blistering mad. so mad he was pounding the podium on the senate floor. we went to see him to find out more. [ male annouer ] juice drink too watery? ♪ feel the power my young friend. mmm! [ male announcer ] for unsurpassed fru and veggie nutrition... v8 v-fusion. could've had a v8. congratulations. congralations. today, the city of charlotte can use verizon technology to inspire binesses to conserve energy and monitor costs. making communities greener... congratulations. ... and buildings as valuable to the bottom line... whoa ! ... as the people inside them. congratulations. because when you add verizon to your company, you don't just add, you multiply. ♪ discover something new... verizon. if something is simply the color of gold, is it really worth more? we don't think so. chase sapphire preferred is a card of a different color. that's because you always get two times the points on travel, from taxis to trains, airfare to hotels, and all kinds of dining... from fast food to fine dining. and that's

mccain? >> just briefly, mr. chairman. i don't know how you expected the iraqis to agree when we couldn't give them a number, and that was not just the case in may. we came back, kept asking the president's national security adviser and others, what is our proposal, and we never had one until it got dob to, i guess, 5,000 or 3,000. i mean, history will show secretary pa net that that -- panetta they were willing to negotiate in may, and we wouldn't give them a hard number both as far as numbers are concerned and missions are concerned, so it's hard to understand how anyone would believe that they were reluctant to negotiate when we wouldn't give them a number to negotiate from, but history will provide that, and i'm sure we will have further spirited exchanges on this issue in the future, but i also wanted to thank you for the letter that you wrote to me and senator graham. i think it put -- it crystallizes the challenges that our nation would face if we had senator collins -- quester. but your letter is hope is read by ev

mr. obama defeated john mccain in 2008, he did it with significant support from white americans.election showed that obama won 43% of white voters. that was the largest share of white support in a two-man race since 1976. among young voters, white ones, he did even better, getti intit of their support. if he wants a second term, he's got to win back support from white americans in the coming months. meanwhile, our new poll shows results that could spell trouble for president obama. he gets a 46% approval rating with 56% saying they disapprove. when you compare that, president obama ranks only above carter and ford. and they both lost their re-election bids. most incumbents who win re-election have an approval rating of 50% a year out. finally, the poll shows 54% of the crucial independent voters disapprove of the job president obama's doing. he has his work cut out for him if he's going to get a second term come next november. can president obama win re-election if almost two-thirds of whites are opposed to the job he's doing? go to cnn.com/caffertyfile. post a comment on my blog

mr. chairman. i want to thank the committee for passing the amendment. senator mccainalked about the fact that when he has public meetings people talk about the post office. if you are in a small town and you have a public meeting, i guarantee you it will be the first issue that comes up. with the 10-mile issues that the senator brought up, it is an issue that people have talked to me about. post office closures are really going to close a lot of communities. i want to express my appreciation to senator moran for offering the amendment. the amendment i want to take up now has to do with executive compensation. i want to thank the senators for joining me in offering this amendment. it restricts the pay of the postmaster general has the same for a member of congress. $104,000 a year. -- $174,000 a year. the 2006 reform bill allow the postal board of governors to set salary as the same rate as the vice-president and allowed the postmaster as many as a dozen senior executives to receive bonuses up to 20% of their base pay. the postmaster general could earn $276,840 per yea

mr. levin: so the regular order, the levin-mccain amendment. is that correct? the presiding officer: that is correct. the senator from alabama. mr. sessions: thank you, mr. president. i would ask for unanimous consent to allow commander mike moore, my defense legislative fellow, floor privileges through the time passage of s. 1867, the national defense authorization act. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. sessions: i would just say how much i've appreciated commander moore's contributions to our effort to preserve and protect and defend this country, and he is going to be returning to the full naval service before too much longer and it has been a great asset to have him on board. i do believe that the defense authorization bill has been moved and the kind -- in the way that more legislation needs to be handled in the congress, and i am confident that is in large part due to the leadership of senator levin, who is a professional, skilled lawyer who knows the big picture and the small details of the legislation. it's been a pleasure to work with him ov

to clarify, senator mccain, this would authorize -- >> mr. chairman, could i interrupt? is it possible for me to speak out of order? we are doing markup on the transportation bill and i need to go vote. >> go right ahead. >> let me remind my friends what i said earlier. ,hee the auto industry com postal service is a neighbor is similar situation. they need to be able to right- si. while we share their goals, the way that we get there is different. i understand that from the legislation it would allow for of labor contract negotiations. it also sets up a blacklist for closing post office locations. we have been strong supporters over the years, but we do not need a brac-like structured to figure out how to close post offices and other stores. we do not need them to decide they do not need a 50 dawson doar post -- $50,000 post office. here is what we need to do. we nd to come up with savings, of roughly $20 billion a year, for the postal service. if you have not figured out the tools here, the flexibility we provide, if you have not gotten there within two years, you can g

. >> senator mccain's campaign actually said and i quote, if we keep talking about the economy, we're going to lose. >> reporter: mr. obama's campaign called the romney ad deceitful and dishonest. but romney's camp issued this defense. then candidate obama criticized his opponent for not wanting to talk about the economy. today president obama and his campaign are afraid to talk about the economy. despite it's size, new hampshire could be pivotal in a close general election. the president won it in 2008. but polls show romney, who owns a house in the state, and served as governor in nearby massachusetts, is leading obama in new hampshire by as much as ten points. before romney can actually take on the president, he still has a tough primary battle. and right now, some polls show him running second to newt gingrich. as the polls have shifted, occupy wall street protesters have targeted the candidate. today it was mr. obama's turn. republican candidates have a chance to reshuffle the deck once again tonight. they face off in their 11th debate. one of the key topics will be foreign policy. that's a topic that some of

mr. chairman. i want to thank the committee for passing the amendment. senator mccain talked about the fact that when he has public meetings people talk about the post office. if you are in a small town and you have a public meeting, i guarantee you it will be the first issue that comes up. with the 10-mile issues that the senator brought up, it is an issue that people have talked to me about. post office closures are really going to close a lot of communities. i want to express my appreciation to senator moran for offering the amendment. the amendment i want to take up now has to do with executive compensation. i want to thank the senators for joining me in offering this amendment. it restricts the pay of the postmaster general has the same for a member of congress. $104,000 a year. the 2006 reform bill allow the postal board of governors to set salary as the same rate as the vice-president and allowed the postmaster as many as a dozen senior executives to receive bonuses up to 20% of their base pay. the postmaster general could earn $276,840 per year. this will take

mccain/palin campaign in 2008. he's now an msnbc political analyst. mr. schmidt, thank you very much for joining us tonight. >> hi, rachel, great to be with you. >> how is it possible mr. gingrich can be the beneficiary of voters being turned off by adultery allegations? >> well, i think republican voters have reached a conclusion that herman cain simply can't win this race. that he's not a viable candidate against president obama. if you talk to actual republican voters, distinct from republican operatives, the first thing that they say about the prospect of a gingrich nomination is, wow, we would love to see the debates between newt gingrich and barack obama. and gingrich has risen up as perry has fallen away. as cain has fallen down. and he has risen on the basis of his debate performances, but now that i think as he moves into the head of the field, there's going to be a serious vetting that takes place of speaker gingrich. i think that all of his past history is going to be at the forefront of the race and you have all manner of issues like the fanni

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 pending amendments -- i withdraw that, mr. president. i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. levin: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to that the senate proceed to calendar number 232, h.r. 1039. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 232, h.r. 1039, an act to protect the safety of judges by extending the authority of the judicial conference, and so forth and for other purposes. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate proceeds to the measure. mr. levin: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the committee-reported amendment be agreed to, the bill as amended be read a third time and passed, the motion to reconsider be lai