mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: reserving the right to object and i will not be objecting. this is a good step in the direction of getting the senate back to a process under which amendments are allowed and voted on by both sides. i want to particularly thank senator isakson for his hard work on this. obviously i do not object. the presiding officer: without objection. the presiding officer: the senate will be in order. the senate proceed to the hall of the house of representatives to receive a message from the president of the united states. >> as you can see, senators are beginning their walk from the senate chambers through century hall to the house side of the capitol where they'll join members of the house to hear president obama speak. a look outside the capitol, a bit of history. the shortest state of the union speech was only 1,089 words given by george washington in 1790. and william taft gave the longest state of the union in 1910, it was 27,651 words. as we head into statuary hall. knox thok. [i

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: my friend, the majority leader, was talking about the crush of nominations. of course the reason we have a crush of nominations is because of the decision of the majority to break the rules of the senate to change the rules of the senate last year which produced the inevitable entirely predictable consequence of sending an enormous number of nominations back down to the administration at the end of the session. so the decision of the majority to run roughshod over the majority has a lot of consequences, one of which is pretty clear already, that it didn't streamline the nomination process as it was sold to the majority to do. it only made it more difficult. on another matter, i'd like to say a word about unemployment insurance. the reason for the holdup should be pretty obvious at this point. republicans have a lot of good ideas on how to pay for this extension. we also have a lot of proposals for getting at the root of the problem, proposals that would make it easier for fo

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are. mr. mcconnell: i suggest the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, earlier this week president obama explained to the american people what he hopes to accomplish in the year ahead. and i think it's safe to say that despite the hype, there wasn't a whole lot in this year's state of the union that would do much to alleviate the concerns and anxieties of most americans. it wasn't anything in there that would really address the kind of dramatic wage stagnation we've seen over the past several years among the middle class or the increasingly difficult situation people find themselves in trying to find stable, good-paying jobs. there was no creative proposal for increasing mobility or opportunity for folks who need it most. even more remarkable, the president completely ignored the serious hardship that folks in kentucky and just about everywhere else in the country

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: i ask that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, let me just say in response to the colloquy we just heard, it used to be the assistant majority leader's view that, as he put it, if you don't want to fight fires, don't become a firefighter. and if you don't want to cast tough votes, don't come to the senate. obviously those days have changed, and what really happened over the last week is the refusal to have an open amendment process, the refusal to treat both sides the same, the final proposal we objected to yesterday required all the amendments to get 60 votes but final passage only 51; still does not restore the senate to the way it's form early -- formerly functioned. any member of the senate ought to be able to have a fair chance to have his or her amendment adopted. that is the way it used to operate around here. what we're seeking here is fundamental fairness and on this p

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: tonight members of both parties will welcome the president to the capitol as he lays out his plans for the coming year. we look forward to hearing what he has to say. we also look forward to hearing what congresswoman rogers has to say too. she is a leader in our party with a compelling story, someone who truly understands what it means to overcome adversity, someone who is dedicated to helping every single american realize her greatest potential. the people of washington's fifth district are lucky to have her, and so are we. as for the president's speech, this is a pivotal moment in the obama presidency. we're now entering our sixth year with president obama at the helm of our economy. the sixth year of his economic policies. and at this point we've seen just about everything in the president's toolbox. we've had a year's long clinic on the failures of liberalism, the government stimulus, the taxes, the regulations, the centralizeation, the government control. it just hasn'

mr. mcconnell: on the bill we're just discussing. mr. reid: we have been waiting for -- this is thursday -- since monday to get a proposal from the minority, from the republicans as to what they believe would be a good way to pay for this. othernothing other than whack obamacare. the answer is we're where we are now. we've tried a number of different ways on many pieces of legislation to say okay, let's have -- let's just do germane amendments. no. how about relevant amendments. no. how about a specific number of amendments and give the minority more than the majority. no, can't do that either. we want unlimited amendments on everything and as a result of that, we have the continued obstruction that has taken place in this body for five years. it's time we get back to legislating the way we used to. mr. mcconnell: is the answer to my question, i would say to the majority leader, no? mr. reid: the answer is no. mr. portman: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. portman: madam president, thank you. i wants to t

mr. mcconnell, mr. cornyn, mr. blunt. >> the members of the escort committee will exit through the chamber doors through the lobby. >> acting dean of the diplomatic orps. >> mr. speaker, the chief justice and the associate justices of the supreme court.

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: i'd like to say a word this morning about the president's state of the union speech. let me say that i think congresswoman mcmorris rogers did a great job representing our party and the people of washington state's fifth district last n.i.h. frankly, i wish the president had -- last night. frankly i wish the president laid out an agenda half as hopeful as the one she did because the state of the union address is always an important moment for our country. it's an opportunity for the two parties to come together with the president, members of the supreme court and other government officials to show a kind of unity even in the midst of the great debates that we have here every single day. it's a worthy tradition. and last night the president had a real chance to unite the nation around a forward-looking agenda. he had a huge opportunity to reach to the middle and chart a new path at a time when nearly 77% of americans say the country is either stagnant or worse off now than wh

mr. mcconnell in mog dishu. i doubt it. i offer balance, social balance and working balance and working majority in the us house of representatives. thank you. president david chiu: thanks, next speaker. >> good afternoon board of supervisors my name is rob hammond. i'm with the program of the earth and environmental group in washington dc and berkeley in district seven against fracturing e -- fracking which is a new coalition in california committed to ban fracking in california. i'm here to introduce a resolution that will be taking up after public comment on a halt on fracking. i'm looking forward to your discussion. this morning there were over 11,000 public comments. what is in congress are completely inadequate and only a ban on fracking is going to help save the water in california. as you know we are experiencing an intense drought and we need to keep a reserve on the ground. that's why your actions today is important for the people of california to tell our governor that fracking or other techniques for dirty oil s

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: on the unemployment insurance bill, there have been productive conversations between the majority leader and several members on this side, republicans have offered numerous commonsense proposals to get to a conclusion here. ideally, we have spent the past week voting on those proposals so there's really no good reason for us to be in the position that we're in right now. and let me just underscore some of the things on my side that we'd like to see in the final product. first, the senate should actually be paying for whatever it passes and not with spending cuts 11 years from now that we know aren't going to happen. it's also reasonable to expect practical progrowth job-creation measures so we can actually get people back to work. and for a solution to be reasonable, it should also respect the right of our constituents to be heard on this issue through a more open amendment process. we've got to get away from an attitude that essentially says that the views of half the ameri

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: for months the democrats who run washington have been desperate to distract from the pain of obamacare. and now if you listen to them, they think they found something that might work for them. the one thing that can actually distract folks from the misery of this law is the misery of this economic malaise they have presided over. it takes a lot of chutzpah to spend an entire presidential term modifying policies hope to benefit the little guy. but chutzpah won't solve the problem and the failed stimulus ideas we've seen democrats trot out thus far, they won't do much to improve the plight of millions of americans struggling in today's economy. to me, that's the real tragedy because a discussion about how to help americans who battle against the odds, day after day, that a a conversations we actually should be having. in fact, it's a debate republicans are having. in recent days we've seen several leading republicans talk about how to tackle poverty in the 21st century. unlike

mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the time that i use, leader time, and that of senator mcconnell not count against the half-hour that the proponents and opponents of this legislation have to speak, 15 minutes on each side. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: so the vote will drag just a little bit but it won't be much. my remarks are fairly short. so, mr. president, the senate will recess from 12:30 to 2:15 to allow for weekly caucus meetings. mr. president, over the last 45 months, america's private sector has done okay. not great, but done pretty well. eight million jobs have been created. the stock market's booming, and even the housing market is starting to show signs of life. a number of states were hit so hard with the decline of the housing market. nevada was hit the hardest. california, florida, michigan; a number of states were hit really hard. but even in those states, the housing market is turning around a little bit. not enough, but turning around. so, mr. president, it's clear that the economy is picking up steam. not enough steam but picking up steam

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: yesterday i said there were a number of things that the president could announce in his north carolina speech that would draw bipartisan support and actually boost the economy. one of the things i'm particularly disappointed he didn't push, at least push harder, is trade. as i said, this is one of the brightest areas of his economic agenda. but if we as a nation don't act quickly and decisively, then the world is going to pass us -- literally pass us right by. we're going to miss opportunities to benefit economically, to open foreign markets to american goods, and to america's political and cultural influence. and when you look at the rest of the developed world of europe, canada, australia, they're practically falling all over themselves to negotiate more and better opportunities while we basically sat on our hands, a consequence of the president's inability to persuade his own party, his own party, to expand trade-related jobs. so we need to catch up, but we can't do that

mr. mcconnell: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: the senate is not in a quorum call. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, over the past several years, those of us who are fortunate enough to serve here have engaged in many fierce debates. some have been forced upon us by external events, including a searing financial crisis, while others were brought about by an unapol jetally liberal president who promised dramatic change and who has worked very hard to follow through on that pledge. in some cases, even in the face of legal obstacles and widespread public opposition. so change has indeed come. despite the daily drumbeat of headlines about gridlock and dysfunction in washington, the truth is an activist president and a democratic controlled senate have managed to check off an awful lot of items on their wish list one way or another. and yet just as important as what they did, my colleagues, is how they did it. because that's also been at the heart of so many of the fights we've had around here over the past few years. now, these conflicts haven't stemmed have personal grievances

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: yesterday the majority leader rejected my offer for both sides to offer amendments to the unemployment insurance bill. the way things used to work around here, we had a bill called up and we had amendments. this is sadly typical of the way things are these days here in this institution. if the majority leader just accepted my offer, we could actually be debating and amending this bill instead of wasting time. and how does the majority leader expect to achieve consensus when one side doesn't have the chance to offer any input at all? that's the way the senate used to operate. look, if the majority leader wants this bill to pass the senate, then it's a pretty good likelihood he's going to have to find a way to pay for it. and i'll be offering one idea on that front. that is paying for a longer extension by tkropgt mandate that forces -- dropping the mandate that forces americans to buy insurance they don't want. but if you don't like that idea, there are others. one is a bipar

mr. mcconnell's attorneys are out of town. it hasn't been delayed formally. but it's possible that the former governor of virginia and his wife will walk into court to be formally indicted and arraigned. >> part of the case is the feds are alleging that the mcdonnells have a lot of credit card debt and they had -- do you know anything about that? >> essentially what they're arguing is that this was on the up and up. why did so much of the money, these gifts go through family members and not be documented in the regular way that these things would be disclosed in the record. he's the state's former attorney general, he knows the laws well, and he says he hasn't broken them and perhaps the laws need to be rewritten. >>> miller wants to weigh in on nfl players mouthing off. hey linda! what are you guys doing? having some fiber! with new phillips' fiber good gummies. they're fruity delicious! just two gummies have 4 grams of fiber! to help support gularity! i want some... [ woman ] hop on over! [ marge ] fiber the fun way, from phillips'. [ woman ] hop on over! m

mr. mcconnell had to say. >> i think that's terrific news. when he hears the president's remarks today, he will hear the president say the same. he looks forward to good ideas coming from members of congress on both sides of the aisle. he has always said he is open to new and fresh ideas, figuring how to grow our economy, protect and expand the middle class, provide those opportunities into the middle class. he is very optimistic about our future. and he believes if we can work on both sides of the aisle in congress, as he has done with state and local elected officials across our country, mayors and governors and state legislators have come together. so they have acted. his challenge to congress is let's find that common ground. i think if leader mcconnell fulfills his pledge that he just made that he we will be able to move our country forward together working with congress. >> and it would make sense because the american people are there. recent polls show 91% consider job creation a priority. 63% say universal pre-k is a priority. 59% wan

mr. mcconnell. you have a white house-backed bill that would extend long-term unemployment benefits.ill they get 60 votes they need on this. big story. we're live on capitol hill. bill: we're live in las vegas for adam housley. what is up, adam? >> reporter: ces bigger than ever, after getting smaller for five years, this year larger than it has ever been. we have a camera that will stream video as you ski or head out on your bicycle. everything health monitors. this is from arcos. this monitors the heart rate. how about this? it follows the path you put it on. in this case it is following fox. martha: back with a fox news alert. we're moments away now from a vote in the senate on a bill that would impact more than a million americans. it would be a three-month extension of long-term unemployment benefits. the outcome of this vote could lay the framework for the democrats 2014 platform. chief congressional correspondent mike emanuel live on this story for us on capitol hill. senate majority leader harry reid needs five republicans to pass this test vote. looks like he will get there,

mr. mcconnell said on the senate floor. you can read the story at thehill.com. senators return from the party lunch as the two 15 eastern. we have live coverage on c-span2. we have set up a facebook page related to the senate work on unemployment benefits. go to facebook .com/cspan. before the vote, senate leaders came to the floor to talk about the pending vote. >> mr. president, over the past several days, we have seen a number of stories about how democrats plan to spend the year gearing up for november elections by making an issue out of economic hardships faced by americans. in other words, instead of working on reforms that would actually help people overcome the challenges so many of them face in this economy democrats plan to exploit those folks for political gain. it is really pretty amazing when you think about it. we are now in the sixth year, sixth year of the obama administration. we all know thmie stockwe markes been doing great. so the richest among us are doing just fine. but what about the poor? what about working class folks? what about folks w

mr. president we have great affection for him and his family and this is one thing that senator mcconnell and i have in common. mr. president this afternoon the republican leader came to the floor to complain about the minority's ability to offer amendments. on this occasion often amendments are on a three-month extension. the legislation is now before this party. but you know it's interesting, during the republican leader's remarks there wasn't a word uttered about jobs, about unemployment compensation or the economy. not a word. so it's very clear what went on here today with my republican colleagues. remember the republican leader came here and a republican leader sat here with him. it's impossible for my republican colleagues to explain to the american people the callous opposition to the plight of 1.3 million americans, about 20,000 of them living in nevada. to various fine senators on a bipartisan basis have this legislation before this body. jack reed of rhode island who is tied with nevada for the highest unemployment in the country and the other senator is my friend republican se

. >> filing a brief in the case, kentucky republican senate minority leader mitch mcconnell, mr. it is great to see you today. quite a thing to not only see justice scalia and alita coming down on president obama's side, but even some of the more liberal justices on the bench raising serious questions on whether or not the president has overreached in a real way here, your thoughts on what you saw. >> yeah, i would be surprised if the president doesn't lose. as shannon pointed out the president can make recess appointments. the question was, were we in recess? and we said we were not in recess, and the president said in effect, i get to decide when you're in recess. and one of the justices made that point today. i don't think they're going to be persuaded the president, the head of the executive branch gets to determine for the legislative branch when we're in session. we know when we were in recess, we were not in recess, he decided to declare us in recess and make the appointments anyway. >> the democrats came up with the idea of these pro forma sessions, and then when the repu

mr. mcconnell: i would just observe, mr. president, that what i'm hoping for here is an open amendment process. we have an amendment tree filled and it remains my hope that we will be able through these discussions that we've had to get to something closer to what we have been accustomed to in the past with a relatively open amendment process. so under those circumstances, i don't -- and in the hope that by tomorrow we end up with a more fair process, i am happy to go along with what the majority leader is suggesting. mr. reid: mr. president, i would then ask unanimous consent that we proceed now to legislative session and get out of executive session. when i finish my remarks and the republican leader finishes his remarks, i would ask that we go back into executive session. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i then, mr. president, ask unanimous consent that the vote on the motion to invoke cloture on amendment number 2631 occur at 2:30 p.m. tomorrow. further, that the vote on the motion to invoke cloture on

mr. republican. he's endorsed mcconnell down in kentucky. even the tea party activists who don't like mcconnell are trying to defeat him. trying to avoid a fight with christie and meeting with karl rove, which i never thought would happen for him. he's trying to figure out how do i fill this void. i don't see it happening. it's more likely to be someone like scott walker but he's trying to do and that's smart. >> the other comment he made was on the war on women, i think he was trying to defend the comments or talk about the comments that huckabee had made. he basically said women have already won because -- and he cited all these places where women have made progress, but it risked sounding very condescending and sounding like there's no problem. again women voters are going to be very critical to this republican party. >> you know, republicans have made the case that they are now taking an effort to train candidates running for congress through the national republican congressional committee and the senate through the national senatorial c

mcconnell, murase, ms. wynns, fewer, ms. weigh and mr. logan.e in the pledge of allegiance. >> pledge of allegiance. >> approval of board minutes. we are voting on the regular meeting minutes of

mcconnell, murase, ms. wynns, fewer, ms. weigh and mr. logan. please join me in the pledge of allegiance. >> pledge of allegiance. >> approval of board minutes. we are voting on the regular meeting minutes of january 4, 2014. roll call vote. ms. weigh, logan, murase, mcdonnell, ms. wynns and miss fewer. thank you. >> item b. presentations total to the board of education. superintendant. >> good evening. our superintendant sends his regrets. he's out of state given some weather changes he is unable to make it here this evening or trying to make his way to san francisco. today nearly 150 sf students partook in a health care assimilation in the way that science and technology and principles apply. each team participated in exploring and research and spent time with educators and other assimilations. they were able to gain insight to career opportunities and talent to improve health care stimulation. students of stark elementary are taking to the streets to promote peace in the world as of martin luther king jr. junior day as they prepare to march a

mcconnell. this is 20 minutes. >> mr. president, the republican leader in i do not agree on everything. but we do agree on some things in the one thing that no one can dispute that we agree on and that is our love of baseball. we both love baseball and we have an opportunity when we go home to turn on the tv and watch a few winnings of baseball. for some this is a slow opportunity to watch this. but we have talked about baseball and we have a great affection for it. and the reason i mention that is today we have a great baseball hero, one of the greatest of all time to be conducted in the baseball hall of fame. he is an extremely nice man and a man of humility and i have gone out to dinner with him and his lovely wife a few times and i know his brother well who is also a professional baseball player. and he's the first to talk about averages. i am not a great athlete. but one of the best of all-time, he started his career with the chicago cubs and he went on to win 355 professional major league baseball games in four consecutive awards. today he received almost 90%, which is the second-

mitch mcconnell said in a written statement, quote, mr. president, no more stalling, no more excuses. please pick up that pen you have been talking so much about and make this happen. the american petroleum institute's cindy shield noted the project had been under way for several years when the administration put it on hold. >> we may be looking at six years. every other pipeline project similar in nature has been approved in two years or less. so this has just become about politics. >> earlier this month, the president heard from leaders of 18 groups who oppose the pipeline and said his all of the above policy is fundamentally at odds with his goal of cutting carbon pollution. it forces his spokesman to defend him. >> we have reduced carbon in the country under the president through the historic emissions standards that have been set and other steps that have been taken, and will be taken. >> the president says he'll consider the impact on global warming as part of the decision to build the pipeline, though the report suggests without a s

a statement from mitch mcconnell that came out this afternoon. mr.ore stalling and excuses. pick up that pen you have been talking so much about and make this happen. americans need jobs. americans need these jobs. now that this impact statement is out, can you rest assures that republicans will be putting more pressure to approve the project. >> thank you very much. >> now to utah. school gave a very troubling punishment against students and their parents who could be to blame. staffers at an elementary school snapped away lunches from dozens of the kids. their meal counts were too low. now they are under fire for doing this. some parents say their kids were brought to tears. miguel marquez is following the story for us today. we should say, miguel, some of these kids are low income. apparently some of the kids are victims of bad accounting to have all the money on their cards on that given day. their parents didn't know their accounts were zero. >> this is akin to the school bully saying hey, kid, give me your lunch money and the bully is the schoo

mr. portman: i would also ask unanimous consent, madam president, that senator mcconnell or his designee be recognized from 2:00 to 2:45 this afternoon. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. portman: madam president, i rise today to address the question that's currently before the body here and that's whether we should extend the emergency unemployment insurance for millions of americans who are still unable to find work. this is in addition to the 26 weeks that's provided in most states. some a little more, some a little less. and the question is whether we extend this again, as we have done several times since the great recession. the question is, should we extend it and, if so, how should we extend it? should we pay for it? should there be some training or other requirements attached to it so that it works better? it's a good debate to have. i came on the floor yesterday to say, let's have a full debate on this issue. it's one of great importance to folks who are unemployed. it's also important to our nation as a whole that we deal with this issue to encourage economic growth,

this morning, senate minority leader mitch mcconnell said there will be no deal until the president gives up something major. mr obama's advisors say that is not going to happen. it was just last october when the government shut down for 17 days because the two sides could not agree. >>> congress is back in session tomorrow. >> that's too late for a lot of americans. an estimated 1.6 million people lost their unemployment benefits and were unable to pay for basics. kimberly hawket has more. >> when meth eat a mckinley lost her job, she had to move in with her sister while she searched with work. it was manageable because the u.s. government was paying mckinley a monthly allowance to cover some expenses. in december, her unemployment insurance check simply stopped. >> congress just cut it. went on vacation, went on recess, and while they are enjoying their lives, the american people are suffering. >> despite some of the worst long-term unemployment numbers in a half sent re, the u.s. congress let benefits for the long-term unemployed run out. for years, those benefits were automatically renewed until december. m

mr. chairman. i want to thank you and senator mcconnell ski for holding this historic hearing today.we help but think would not have had this discussion and the changes you have been able to develop to make us more secure. i can only think about the discussions that we are having about exports where we were going to import a couple of years ago. that part of this will play into this. i think you have put it so succinctly that basically a sweet spot. i can only think 150 years ago, but what the coal -- what the making thery did steel that made the ships and the industrial revolution. so many people have forgotten about. and what they are still depending on from the state and where we would happen if we would have some that product out of the market. there is a balance to be had, and i think we are able to find that. i would like to introduce that into the statement for more details. i think all of you for what you have done and contributed. for holding this meeting. i read a book called "breakout." it is about pioneers of the future and truly is one and goes into the epic battle that

mr. chairman, good morning to you, sir. >> thank you, good morning, chuck. >> well, let me pick up on the mitch mcconnell comments. >> sure he's obviously facing his own primary. he put emphasis on the electable candidates. one of the things that jumped out at me, a resolution passed in the winter meeting, abortion, a voice vote, we don't have a roll call, but the idea unanimously accepted, was it said this, the rnc urges all republican pro-life candidates, consultants, and other republican national committees to reject a strategy of silence on the abortion issue when candidates are attacked with war on women rhetoric. i looked at this, and immediately i'm thinking, how does scott -- how does the republican party welcome a scott brown running for the u.s. senate in new hampshire, a pro-choice republican? >> well, if you read the resolution, chuck, it says pro-life republicans that are getting pounded by rhetoric should respond aggressively. so it wouldn't pertain to scott brown. >> do you believe pro-choice republicans are welcomed in your party? this resolution -- >> sure. >> -- by passing a resolution like this, it does

mcconnell. somebody raised the question how will he know when he is president? somebody said he will know when the butler comes in tomorrow and says mr. president your coffee is ready somebody said when the secret service shows up to its core you down i said he will know when he gets the intelligence report and the magnitude of the office and the responsibility he has to keep every american safe. i don't think anybody in a matter how long is prepared for that. if you look back to jfk in the early days with the bay of pigs. and they're still struggling of course, this documentary is that with his presidency is a stalwart for progress. what we don't know is how it will be because it is all that has been said to be to do with a dangerous situation and to have more self-confidence but by then he was beginning to sort people out. but with the obama case we will look in their rearview mirror. for become a presidential power is fascinating and unfathomable because it is so situational. we don't know what will happen moment to moment. >> talked-about education in that arena and what do rethink the historical obligations is to try to educate

mcconnell, as john boehner gavels the house to order. the president is in the holding room at this moment. let's take a listen to speaker boehner. >> the gentleman from virginia, mregon, mr. walden. the gentleman from oklahoma, mr. langford. the gentle woman from kansas, miss jenkins. gentlewoman from north carolina, miss fox. gentlewoman from california, miss pelosi. gentleman from south carolina, mr. clyburn. the gentleman from california, mr. becerra. >> speaker boehner announcing the escort committee. that is the members of congress who have been selected to be in the ceremonial training, if it were, in front of the president as he enders the chamber. of course, there's tremendous competition for that august designation. and that's now the vice president of the united states, joe biden who will be sitting in that chair in his role as the presiding officer over the united states senate. he is announcing the senate entrance committee. also sought after positions. because this is camera time for the folks at home for anyone, particularly in a tight re-election race, or who wants the folks at home to know they are a big shot in washington, d.c. and who does not w

mr. president, what they have to know, among other things things -- each of us can be pretty -- what's the right word? demanding, i don't know if that's the right word, but we all -- senator mcconnell and i -- these podiums are here all the time, but we're the only two, so when a senator comes to speak, they need a podium. but they have to get the right podium, and the pages have to know when a senator wants to speak what podium they get. is it going to be a little one, middle sized, half middle sized or big one. anyway, they have to know that. they have a big chart up there to make sure they don't make mistakes. they make sure we have water. i don't like warm water, i like cold water, i don't like ice. i learned from the page the other day we all have our demands for water, sparkling, half sparkling, half regular, half tap. so, mr. president, i am so grateful that they took the time to leave their homes to come here to go to school. to be students at the united states senate. mr. president, finally, we're going to have a vote when we come back on flood insurance. menendez, landrieu, isakson worked on this long and hard. landrieu has been -- what's the right word -- persistent, and

mr. boehner, thank you to him. >> keep hope alive, chris. i love where you're coming from. one of the things to watch is how mitch mcconnell'sucky primary ends up affecting national policy. republicans are terrified of that low prime rate and fight for the right. whether they continue to stand up will be an open question to watch in this coming year. >> that's one of the big races to watch. >> 100%. >> thank you, john. >> happy new year. >>> coming up on "new day," can you guess what the number one new year'sç resolution is? you don't have to guess. we have the answer and tips on how to keep it. >>> and bet you can't guess what our resolutions are. here are the hints of mine. it involves time and expanding my cultural knowledge. e, often . [ rattling ] that's one smart board. what else does it do -- reverse gravity? [ chuckles ] split atoms? [ whoooosh! ] hey, how is that atom-splitting thing going? [ rattling ] [ electronic whistling ] oh! [ zap! ] a smarter way to shop around. now, that's progressive. call or click today. just by talking to a helmet. it grabbed the patient's record before we even picked him up. it found o

mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: reserving the right to object. we've now been on this bill a week. a week. no amendments have been allowed. it is pretty clear that the majority leader is not interested in having an open amendment process. and of course the consent that's just been offered requires that all of the republican amendments be at a 60-vote threshold and that the final passage be at 51. in other words, guaranteed to fix the result in such a way that doesn't give the minority a fair chance. i mean, who is to say a number of our amendments might be appealing to members on the democratic side. that's probably why the majority leader wants it to be at 60 because he's afraid they may pass. so this is obviously, this has obviously been fixed to guarantee that you get no outcome. our members who voted to get on the bill, who are anxious to try to improve the bill and find a way to get to yes on final passage have also found this agreement to

mr. mcconnell: the majority leader brings up the secretary of defense frequently. was the secretary of defense defeated or confirmed? mr. reid: no, he was only delayed while we had two wars going on in this country. mr. mcconnell: has a member of a president's cabinet every been defeated in the history of the senate? mr. reid: mr. president, no -- in fact what has happened, and we find this with the judges, they sphawl stall for weeks, months and sometimes years. when the vote comes it's pretty good but in the meantime they've done damage to this institution and our country by stalling and making it so the president of the united states has a very difficult time doing his job because he doesn't have his people there when he needs them. mr. mcconnell: i would ask my friend from -- the majority leader, is what he finds offensive the fact that there are debates about these matters? since none of these members are being defeated, what is the issue here? i'm having a hard time understanding. is it the fact that there's controversy, that there's debate? is he also suggest