. >> mr. rubio? >> no. >> [inaudible] >> no. >> mr. demint? >> aye by proxy. >> mr. isaacson? >> [inaudible] >> mr. lee? >> no. >> mr. chairman? >> no. >> 5 ayes, 14 nays. >> may i be recorded at the lis a live no? >> yes, you will be recorded. >> mr. udah is doing his business in mexico and appropriately. we now turn to senator menendez. excuse me, senator lugar. the purpose of this amendment is to enhance congress's ability to conduct responsible oversight of any continued united states military operations in libya. it would require periodic reporting on the cost of operation and how these costs are being paid for. would also require periodic reporting on the impact of the ongoing operations in libya on other u.s. and nato military operations, including operations taliban and al qaeda. given that the resolution would authorize military operations that could go on for as much as a year, and could expand in scope from current operations, i believe it is important that congress had the necessary tools to conduct oversight of these issues and to know their cost. i urge members t

mr. rubio: thank you, mr. president. i have the honor of representing the great people of the state of florida, and i'm here in the senate, and today i speak for the first time on this floor on their behalf. the senate is a long ways away from where i come from, both literally and figuratively. i come from a hard-working and humble family, one that was neither wealthy nor connected, and yet i have always considered myself to be a child of privilege because growing up i was blessed with two very important things. i was raised by a strong and stable family and i was blessed to be born here in the united states of america. america began from a very powerful truth, that our rights as individuals do not come from our government. they come from our god. government's job is to protect those rights, and here this republic has done that better than any government in the history of the world. america's not perfect. it took a bloody civil war to free over four million african-americans who lived and slaved. it took another 100 year

mr. johnson: senator, i totally agree with you. senator rubio has a few words to add. mr. ubio: thank you, senator johnson. i too watched the president's lecture on television. my reaction is twofold. one is i'm disappointed. the other is i'm alarmed. first i'm disappointed because america does not have a tradition of class warfare. one of the thing that distinguishes us from the world is americans never believe you somehow have to take money from somebody else in order to be better off. on the contrary, we've always looked to advance the cause of everyone in the belief we can all be prosperous. that's the american tradition. that serves our nation well. you wouldn't know that from the speech yesterday, the rhetoric that, quite frankly, was deeply disappointing. the idea that if we raise texass -- prays taxes on millionaires and billionaires that that somehow is going to make a difference in america's debt in terms of having a real impact, is not only misleading; i think, quite frankly, it's disappointing. it's class warfare and the kind of language you'd expect from the le

mr. chairman. >> center rubio. >> could you share with us what general petraeus' recommendation was in regard to the timetable and the numbers? >> senator, i am will not be able to do that. -- i will not be able to do that, but i can tell you that the decision the president made was supported by the national security team. i think it would be totally understandable that a military commander would want as many troops for as long as he could get them, but any military commander with the level of expertise and experience general petraeus has also knows that what he wants is just part of the overall decision matrix. there are other factors at work. at the end of the day, i think the president made the right decision. you heard from colleagues here. those voices were heard within the national security apparatus. out now. out by the end of the year. then there were those who said let's wait to the end of next year. what the president decided was to get through the night fighting season, which we think should be sufficient. >> the logic behind the september 2012 date for the full surge pullback, wha

mr. garcia being here and look forward to hearing the testimony, and the steps they intend to put the economy back on track. thank you. >> thank you, senator soon. i want to call on senator rubio but i understand that you will pass. >> a statement its in the record. [applause] [laughter] >> now we will come to that moment. senator bryson i'm sorry, mr. garcia if you wish to come forward and have a seat you will get water which will be replenished, and we look forward to your testimony which is important and we will start with you, mr. bryson, when you are ready. >> chairman rockefeller, it is a great honor to come before this committee. please let me know if you can't hear me. it is an honor to come before the committee and i want to extend my personal thanks to you, senator rockefeller and the distinguished ranking member hutcheson for the time and attention that you've given to this nomination. i've got to the speeches here and i'm going to try to drop some of them because time is short and your time is more important than - so i'm going to skip some of these things. it was a pleasure to talk with all of you i was able to talk with and i might underscore that my conversation

rubio, republican from florida. it was an flent speech and i complimented him afterwards. among the things he talked about was the contribution of immigrants to the united states. mr. president, i am a first-generation american. my mother was an immigrant to this country. 100 years ago in 1911, her mother brought her at the age of 2 into this country. my mother didn't become a citizen until her mid 20's after she was married and had already had two children. she was a very proud and hard-working woman, raised a good family, i think. i'm a little bit partial. and now her son is the united states senator from illinois. this is not just my story, it's not my family's story. this is the american story. this is who we are. immigrants who came to this country and risked everything to be part of america and only ask for a chance, a chance to make this a better nation and to create a better life for them and their families. the dream act will give thousands of young people across america that chance to become part of america's future. it is the just and fair thing to do to make us a stronger nation and to keep our promise that we are going to be fair in the way we administ

rubio has graciously accepted that as part of his amendment. so i personally will support this amendment. i think it is a good one. senator lugar, i think you wanted to comment. >> mr. chairman, i am doubtful about the current value of this amendment for these reasons. the tnc is self appointed and not elected. it does not represent all of libyan society. as has been commented during our debates, we really do not know who all the rebels are. in addition, representatives of in areas -- there are legal complications to recognizing the tnc. it could have the perverse effect of absolving the current libyan regime, including compliance with u.n. security council resolutions because there would no longer be acting on behalf of the libyan state. recognition of a successor government of libya is, in my judgment, best left until the end of the conflict and not prejudge before the parameters of the successor government are resolved. for these reasons, i will oppose the amendment. >> maybe senator rubio has had the opportunity to meet with the members of the rebel government. and maybe has met with all of them and knows. i just feel very uncomfortable. i like the intent of wh

mr. rubio: i ask unanimous consent that we dispense with the quorum call and that i may speak as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. leahy: madam president, reserving the right to object, i will not object, but insofar as many were planning to be here for the 12:00 scheduled vote, would the senator from florida tell me how long he wishes to take? mr. rubio: five minutes. mr. leahy: i will not object, madam president. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. rubio: thank you, madam president. thank you, senator. over the last two weeks, we have had a deepening divide between the white house and the congress over libya. it's a clash that has been both completely avoidable and also quite frankly counterproductive. first, let me say that for the life of me i don't understand why this administration did not bring this this issue to the congress from the outset. in the early days of the libyan rebellion, the president should have come to congress and informed us