mr. coons: thank you, senator rubio. mr. nelson: would the senator yield just for a moment for a compliment? mr. coons: certainly, i yield to the senator from florida. mr. nelson: i just want to compliment my colleague from florida. as i gave a number of interviews yesterday on his initiatives with regard to comprehensive immigration, not to speak of the issue at hand, more about the specialized necessity of visas, but in overall comprehensive immigration which i certainly favor and have voted for in the past, and a huge step was taken because of the initiative of a number of courageous senators among whom i would include my colleague from florida. thank you. mr. coons: thank you, senator nelson. if i might, mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from delaware. mr. coons: i join the senator from florida in thanking and recognizing the junior senator from florida, senator rubio, for his great work on the issues of job creation and innovation through start-up 2.0 and other bills we have worked on together but also t

now eight days later -- >> all right, mr. rubioave you have a seat in this chair here. >> -- rubio must face the disciplinary board, who will decide whether or not to give him further sanctions for the assault. >> mr. rubio, how do you plead? >> no contest. >> you do not wish to plead your case whatsoever? >> i didn't do it. that's it. can you tell me who wrote that report, what officers were in there? >> officer martinez wrote the report. captain barabas also followed up on it. >> so he went and saw this? >> are you going to let me finish what i said? >> go ahead. >> as the hearing continues, rubio asks several technical questions about the report and questions the credibility of the disciplinary board itself. >> okay. what other -- >> i'm going to conclude what you're saying because you're just running around in circles right now. >> [ bleep ]. >> do you have any questions or concerns -- >> [ bleep ] your hearing. that's what i feel like. go ahead and give me the 30 days lockdown. >> go ahead. we're done. well, you know what? we'

mr. rubio says, he would want to see a comprehensive package of bills, maybe four or five, as opposed to one omnibus, move through congress con currently. he says other experience with comprehensive reform, obama care, the recent debt deal, shows how bad policy easily sneaks into big bills. it would also offer a tempting big target for opponents. does he have a point? >> look, i'm not a member of congress. i can't tell you that -- that four different pieces of legislation is the wrong way to go. i have tell you this, that they have to include the pillars that i mentioned. we've got to -- we can't divide families any longer. you know, the 11 million undocumented have 5 million innocent children and 2 million children who are dreamers. we can't have a piecemeal approach whether it's five bill or big bills that says we're just going to do one or two of them and not do the rest. so what i can tell you is this. we need comprehensive reform. we can't -- we've got to have a pathway for citizenship. ye

mr. rubio's plan, a pathway to citizenship with stages, is new for him.r the senate in 2010, he denounced amnesty for immigrants without papers. his position now labels not with standing represents a shift. it also requires guts. mr. rubio one of just three hispanics in the senate has made clear he is willing to lead. the question in the coming months is whether his party's main stream in congress, in state capitals, can be coaxed toward moderation. what does senator rubio do about his colleagues over in the house of representatives? >> well, he is a key player and he is willing to work in coalition. i mean, right now in washington that is the key issue. are you willing to get over that one single threshold of working in coalition? do you think that the house is ever going to pass an immigration bill or do they do what they've been doing on most things and wait for the senate? >> i think those things can be true. i think they can wait for the senate but then they move on immigration. i think, you know, of all of the issues where it seems like a republican

mr. rubio: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from florida. mr. rubio: let me begin by thanking the senior senator from florida a few moments ago made some very kind remarks about me and i appreciate them very much. let me say you're the best python hunter in the senate. those who don't know what i'm talking about can look it up in your newspaper accounts a few weeks ago in the everglades. thank you for your kind words. madam president, i heard a lot of discussion today on the floor. we were talking about the stem visas and the need to reform that process. i want to take a step back and talk about the immigration issue in general. there's been a lot of conversation about that here on the floor of the senate, certainly out in the american public. this is a contentious issue, and i think it's clearly important to understand where we stand today, what it is that's happening, what it is that's not happening and the way forward in that regard. i hope i can do that if under ten minutes this afternoon. let me begin by saying something that i think unifies

let's listen to mr. rubioor a moment. >> i have been tough on this issue, and border security, but it is getting better. the stats show it is getting better, and i think that they have a handle on it now, and i think that your program is fair, and so i want you and president obama to get on the phone and get this thing before it turns into a bloody mess. >> well, that is marco rubio talking, but who we saw speaking there is bill o'reilly, and let's move forward. sop apparently bill o'reilly and myself can sit together and get it done. is there going to be bipartisan support to get this issue through? >> yes. and remember the last time the voices in the tv world and the radio world were far right and you have to kill it. and now folks say, you have to get it done. and the u.s. chamber of commerce is working with labor to make it happen. we are going to make it happen, and marco rubio is talking about things that we have been talking about over 10 years, and the republicans are coming forward to say what america

what scope for compromise do you see issue with republicans like mr. rubio? and do you accept the contention that there is a risk of large numbers of illegal immigrants if that sort of a linkage isn't in place? >> let me say a couple things. first of all, the president's commitment to and seriousness about enforcement of our borders and advise against illegal immigration is demonstrated by the record. and that is a fact that was echoed in comments by senator mccain. we have made significant progress in order enforcement and the president is committed. you heard him talk yesterday that one of the four pillars of this comprehensive approach is to continue the progress we've made in border enforcement. so that's an important point to know when we talk about this. the president believes that made this clear yesterday that we have to have a spread of the comprehensive immigration reform, a clear path to citizenship. one that includes fines and fees, background checks, all the criteria necessary and then you get to go to the end of the line, but there has to be a c

i think that colleagues and turn it over to senator rubio. >> mr. president. >> senator from florida. >> let the record reflect to did not mean to offend hockey fans. the florida panthers and the lightning tampa bay area won the stanley cup, so we like hockey, too, although you can play it outdoors in florida. in any event, the point is well taken that we want the best and brightest. the one point i want to make, the one thing i picked up on in general and the last 24 to 48 hours is how important it is inaccurate information reached the american people about what it is for working on and not working on. immigration is a complicated thing. i hear a lot of discussion about immigration and all have more to say later today. immigration is a complicated process. it's important for people to understand what we're trying to do and what it is not. that's true for the entire issue of immigration. to that man, i want to issue a public challenge to the companies who in the past have gotten engaged in the public discourse in the public debate on issues that inv

mr. boehner, too, i don't think he can carry the ball for the entire party. >> paul: talking younger people, marco rubio, florida senator, and take the lead on immigration, others on tax policy. do you agree with that idea get out of the smoke-filled room? >> oh, absolutely. the president's shown he's not negotiating in good faith in those rooms and what he's done is basically made deals and then as the republicans got closer and closer, he pulled the football away and you know, they can't go on like this. i think it's very important that they, going forward, don't let themselves be set up as nearly obstructionist. you know, he's going to try to say this they are going to damage the faith and credit of the u.s. government by threatening default and that that's going to harm everybody. he's going to really try to make them to be the villains and i think they have to turn this around and demonstrate to the american people that the spending is just not something that can go on. i mean, you know, there's simple charts you can put up this that show what happened to the numbers. they led the debate in decembe

including florida senator marco rubio, who issued a statement that said, in part, president obama is again using his power by imposing his policies via executive fiat. mr. obama pleaded with americans to confront congress directly. >> ask them what's more important. doing whatever it takes to get a "a" grade from the gun lobby or giving parents some peace of mind when they drop their child off for first grade. >> reporter: he even show cased children who have written him since newtown. >> she said, "i know that laws have to be passed by congress, but i beg you to try very hard." [ light laughter ] julie, i will try very hard. >> reporter: chuck todd, nbc news, the white house. >>> this is john yang in chicago where residents deal with gun violence virtually every day. last year, there were more than 510 murders, more than the number of u.s. troops killed in afghanistan. 86% of the homicides involved a gun. in one chicago interview, nothing president obama did would change that. >> i believe chicago already has very strict gun laws and we have, like, one of the highest crime rates in the country. so how is this going to solve anything? >> reporter: the

mr. president. it's the leadership, look, you might like john boehner, most americans don't know who he is. all right? marco rubio will be on this program tomorrow. a rising star. but doesn't have nearly the status of president obama or the bully pulpit and the press certainly not going to give rubio a break. everything is going the pet's way. i think that's how he feels. that he has got the momentum and he is going to squash the republicans now once and for all during his term. look i think you are right in identifying the two factors. there is one fundamental difference between those two factors, the media, the press, the intellectuals, academia, hollywood, they are always left. they always were. they always will be. that's the sunrising in the east. you have got to live with it despite that we erected a reagan and bush and then a second bush. but the other factor is not constant that's where i think you have got it wrong. you were arguing earlier in the show there was some kind of structural change in the country liberals have a that is simply a function of the fact that the democrats have just won the preside

republican senator marco rubio says the newt town shooting gave mr.ical footing he needed to take on gun rights in america. here is with bill o'reilly on the factor last night. >> i think this is what he wanted to do with his entire political career. he uses opportunity to do it and use every rhetorical device to do it. >> does he think banning assault weapons will stop mass murder? >> i think he believes that. the president doesn't have guts to say it doesn't believe in the second amendment. the second amendment is in the constitution. i didn't write the constitution. neither did you. neither did he. if he doesn't want the second amendment to be in the constitution have the guts to admit that. bill: there is lot of reaction. monica crowley, radio talk show host, doug cone, former advisor to president bill clinton. morning to both of you. what do you think about what senator rubio said about the president and second amendment. >> there is lot of wariness and caution on the republican side. they are worried this may be the beginning of a fall on assaul

mr. president. >> senator coons. >> thank you for those kind words, senator hatch, and i wanted to follow up from senator rubio'snalogy on the sports because i did notice he mentioned basketball and baseball, but not hockey. and as you know minnesota is the state of hockey. in fact, we just a very happy that the nhl is back playing again and that our team, the wild, is going. i look at some of the numbers senator rubio was talking about, and, in fact, significant number of our players on our professional hockey team come from of the country but as you know there's a lot of canadian hockey but and there are place all over the world in all of these sports. and you wonder, why is that? with all the talk about immigration backlogs and the visa shortages, you wonder how all these great athletes are contributing to our teams. the answer is, is there is no cap on visas to athletes. again, there is no limit on how many athletes can come over and play on our sports teams. as a result athletes from across the globe can compete here and we have the best sports leagues in the world. why shouldn't we apply the same principle

mr. jim vandehei. jim, good morning. >> morning. how are you? >> doing all right. you're taking a look at marco rubiohe's been front and center on this immigration question. you say there may be some potential trouble for him. it is a fraught issue. what's the problem? >> you know, we were talking on the show the other day about rush limbaugh and the interview he had and how much pressure rush and some of the conservatives would put on marco rubio not to embrace comprehensive immigration reform. rich lawry who's the editor of "national review," which is one of the most if not the most influential publication on the right has a column on "politico" this morning where he takes rubio to task and says that the bill that he has endorsed or the framework that he has endorsed is a bad bill, is a bad approach. he's saying it's amnesty, it's granting benefits to people who broke laws. and they're part of the conservative movement that's leading the charge against it. and it just shows the pressure that's going to be on these republicans who want to evolve on the immigration issue but are always very responsiv

i think senator rubio's doing a great service by raising these issues and addressing it. i think our colleagues here at this meeting, i met this morning with mr. trumka who runs the afl-cio. he and i actually talk a lot. i believe we ought to just move forward on all of the arrangements so that the hill and, will develop an understanding about all these issues and fen finally -- and then finally decide whether they'll do it in one, two or three pieces. and that is the least of our worries. the fact is that they do it. and for us, we'll continue to talk about a comprehensive bill. >> okay. barrett? >> um, first of all, i'm delighted that senator rubio is helping folks on the republican side of the aisle take the issue of immigration reform as seriously as he's taking it. so he is providing leadership on that, and we're appreciative of that. i think it's great to see movement on both sides of the aisle on this. whether or not it's a comprehensive bill or whether it's done in individual pieces, i think, is to be determined by leadership in the house and the senate in consul talkings with the president -- consultation with the president. i don't