mr. sanders: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from vermont is recognized. mr. sanders: mr. president, i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. sanders: mr. president, this country faces many problems, but i think if you go out on main street, if you go out to rural america, if you go to my state of vermont, what people will tell you is that the major crisis we face is that we have a massive problem with unemployment. some people will suggest to you that unemployment is 9% in this country. that's not really quite accurate. if you look at the numbers for those people who have given up looking for work, if you look at the numbers for those people who are working part time when they want to work full time, we are looking at a situation where 60% of the american people are -- 16% of the american people are unemployed or underemployed. that is 25 million americans. and what is the job of the united states congress now is to start putt

mr. sanders, proposes an amendment numbered 816 to amendment number 738. on page 87 -- mr. sanders: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the reading of the amendment be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. the senator from louisiana. ms. landrieu: mr. president, pursuant to the previous order, i now ask consent to set aside the pending amendment so i may call up amendment 781. the presiding officer: without objection, the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from louisiana, ms. landrieu, proposes an amendment numbered 781 to amendment number 738. on page 83, between lines 20 and 21, insert the following: section -- section 363 of the -- ms. landrieu: i ask unanimous consent that further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. vitter: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from louisiana. mr. vitter: i call up vitter autumn 769. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: mr. vitter proposes an amendment numbered 769 to amendment number 738. on page -- mr. vitter: mr. presi

mr. sanders: i enjoyed the remarks from my friend from missouri. unfortunately, i can't quite agree with the thrust of his statement. in my view, the current trade policies in this country are a disaster. the evidence is very clear that they have cost us many millions of jobs. and to continue that same unfettered free trade philosophy in terms of trade agreements with korea, panama and colombia makes absolutely no sense at all. when you have a policy that is failing, you change it. you don't continue it. madam president, let us be very clear, as i think most americans understand, our economy today is in a disastrous shape. our middle class is disappearing. recent statistics told us that poverty levels are at an all-time high. and the gap between the very, very rich and everybody else is growing wider. and in my view, one of the reasons -- not the only reason -- but one of the reasons for the collapse of the middle class has to do with the loss of millions of good manufacturing jobs, attributable to these disastrous trade policies. and if we are ser

mr. sanders. >> good morning, everybody. >> good morning. >> my name is sanders, my number is do 9582. i've been doing time since the early '80s. every morning you wake up, get up at 5:30, you go eat chow, you go to your job assignment, whatever. it's no fun. you know what i mean? >> how many people in here have family in prison? >> yeah, family or friends. >> i have. >> how many have brothers and sisters and family and cousins that say it's cool up in there? oh, they say it's cool up in there, huh? come join us. i feel sorry for you if you do join them. >> right now, you're in junior high. you have so many doors open for you right now, but you can voluntarily give up your freedom. some of you, at the age of 14, can end up in prison already. so that's what we're here to talk about. the program, this is what we do. we bring the prison to you guys. we don't want to see you in prison. we'd rather see you out here. sanders is here to enlighten you, let you know about the choices. don't make these certain choices that he made. >> my dad has been in and out of prison since i was, like, born.

mr. chairman. >> thank you, senator sanders. representative campbell. >> thanks, mr. chairman.me two topics i was on before. during 2008 we talked about two big to -- too big to fail but also too interconnected to fail. getting back to the european con tage on. the risk to us is due to interconnectist. i presume of our -- if they had a disorderly, i believe, as you described it, default of greece or some other thing there, is it international financial interconnectist that puts us at risk and if so, is there anything -- obviously not in the short-term, but that we ought to be think being that in the future? obviously it's frustrating to you and frustrating up here as well that here's this thing going on over which we have no control. but which could have major impact on us. >> that's part of the issue and there are provisions in the financial reform that penalize interconnectity in various ways and try to force more transparency. but beyond that, as we're seeing in the markets recently, just general pulling back, general risk aversion. we saw in 2008 an enormous impact on emerg

mr. sanders: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. sanders: let me begin by concurring with much of what pennsylvania has said. i think he is right on. and like him, i rise today in strong opposition to the unfettered free trade agreements with korea, colombia and panama. mr. president, let's be clear, one of the major reasons why the middle class in america is disappearing and why poverty is increasing and why the gap between the very wealthy and everybody else is growing wider is directly related to our disastrous, unfettered free trade policy. if the united states is to remain a major industrial power, producing real products and creating good-paying jobs, we cannot continue the failed unfettered free trade policies that have been in existence for the last 30 years. we need to develop trade policies -- i know this is a radical idea -- that work for working people and not just the c.e.o.'s of large corporations. what we must do is rebuild our manufacturing sector and once again create millions of good-paying jobs where workers are pr

sanders. >> yes, thank you, mr. chairman. this is sanders title 1. >> senator is recognized for amendment number 1. >> thank you. this is a pretty simple, modest amendment which i hope is not too controversial. i think everybody in the congress is deeply concerned about the high level of dropouts that we see in our school systems. approximately 30% of our children drop out. among african-american kids, 50%. latino kids, the number is even higher than that. and i know that in this bill there are various tools that we are developing to try to address that issue. all that this amendment does is give us a little bit more information about the number of kids who are dropping out. as i understand it, what the bill says is we will keep track of kids from grade nine on, kids who enter high school drop out, we now know who those kids are. the problem is there are kids who leave elementary school, graduate from the eighth grade who never go into the ninth grade. so all that this amendment does is say that states should keep track of tho

sanders? >> thank you very much, mr. chairman. i also agreed with you and senator murkowski about the need to address problems early on. i'm offering titles one and ii, amendment number two and title minor amendment 1 and they are both related to the same issue which is the issue of highly qualified teachers. sanders number two? >> sanders number two title i and ii and amendment 1 in title ix. >> pass that out, please. senator sanders. go ahead and explain it. >> thank you mr. chairman. let me begin by mentioning that these amendments have the support of 82 separate organizations around the country, mr. chairman. including some of the most important civil rights organizations fighting for the rights of low-income students, minority students and students with disabilities, and i would like to enter as part of the record that entire list. but among those organizations, and there are many of them, the naacp, naacp educational fund, the american association of people with disabilities, the national association of state directors of sp

mr. chairman. let me say that i think senator sanders has identified the central issue that we face in the country when it comes to education. and that is how we are going to attract and retain the people we need to the schools and classrooms and how we are going to do it in a way that the kids -- that all kids know they are going to have an excellent teacher and compelling classroom. i think that getting there is going to be beyond what this committee can do. our school districts do it. getting there will require some day to abandon a model in the labor market distributed against women and relied on not discrimination to subsidize their public schools is done. thank goodness we don't live in the labor market anymore. but the results of earlier today with the traditional approach to teacher training, to the way we pay teachers, to how we inspire teachers to try to retain teachers is among other things driving 50% of the people out of the profession the first five years. in part for the reasons the senator mentioned commotions they are not well supported when they go into the classroom. they don't

mr. chairman, my name is dr. anthony sanders, i'm is professor of finance at the george mason university. the fixed rate mortgage occupies a central in the u.s. housing system. more than 90% of mortgage originations. the frm is a consumer-friendly instruments. it offers payment stability. if rates rise, the bard benefits -- these consumer benefits have costs. the prepayment option creates significant costs. if rates rise -- to compensate for this risk, lenders in corporate a premium that all borrowers pay regardless about whether they benefit from might refinance or not -- from a refinance or not. the adjustable-rate mortgage also has consumer friendly benefits. banks will originate and hold 30-year fixed mortgages even without the government guarantee, is like they have done in previous years. this baby a short-term effect because freddie mac, fannie mae fha have cornered the mortgage market. the only country in the world was subject high concentrate -- most countries have shorter maturity -- the u.s. home ownership rate is com

mr. show" with bob and david, to the best comedy in the history of television, "the larry sanders show."she did squeeze in episodes of "seinfeld" in the middle of the "larry sanders" run. i met janine gerafalo when we cast her in "the west wing" in 2005. there was no sympathy involved. she was our first choice for the new role we were writing in the series. the only question was, would janine gerafalo accept our offer? we were lucky. she did. she made every line we wrote for her better on the screen than it was on the page. after her run on "the west wing" it was certainly not out of sympathy that rush limbaugh's favorite tv creator and executive producer, joel sirnow, cast janine gerafalo on "24" as an american protecting fbi agent. janine gerafalo will always have a special place reserved for her in andrew breitbart's profanity laced standup act because janine gerafalo was right, right about the most important question that has faced this country in the 21st century. the question that gripped this country like no other could in 2003. does saddam hussein have weapons of mass destruction

sanders? >> thank you. thank you very much, mr. chairman. let me mention i also agree with you and senator about the need to address problems early on. i'm offering titles 1-rbgs and 2-rbgs, amendment two, and title 9, amendment one, and i'd like to address both now both related to the same issue, which is the issue of highly qualified teachers. >> sanders number two? >> sanders number two in titles 1 and 2, and amendment one in title nine. >> passed out, please. oh, okay. >> senator is recognized. go ahead and explain it. >> okay, thank you, mr. chairman. let me begin by mentioning that these amendments have the support of 82 separate organizations around the country, mr. chairman, including some of the most important civil rights organizations who are fighting for the rights of low income students, minority students, and studentses with disabilities, and i'd like to 13wr as part of the -- enter as part of the record, that entire list, but among those organizations, and there's many much them, are the naacp, the naacp legal defense and educ

sanders. another touchdown plunge. skins up, 24-10. >> he came in, played a great game. jay throws a more direct ball. basically came and played a great job. mr. d.c. he's the man on the town. >> reporter: the scenario turns into a nightmare. reggie white again with a blind side hit. this time, he comes up with the ball and the big man can move. check him out. he rolls 70 yards after three quarters and a touchdown. we are tied at 24. this day belonged to doug. on the kick off, griffin brings it in. cuts right through the middle of the mayhem. breaks left. sets up the skins on the eagle 39 yard line to end the third quarter. next play. doug does it. a perfect toss to art monk. it's a 39 yard hook up and the skins go up 31-24 before the defense seals the deal. charles man bringing down cunningham and the eagles hopes of a comeback. skins win it, 34-24. >> once the coaches evaluate the situation, jake went down. doug comes in. this is not a team that is rebuilding. this is a team reloading. we trying to go to super bowl. >> they didn't just go to super bowl xxii, they won super bowl xxii. a record setting performance. one of the greatest memorie

i want to thank senator sanders and mccain, stabenow, and bingaman for being co-authors of it along with me. mr president, the amendment is very simple. it would give all americans another avenue to get safe, cheaper prescription drugs by allowing the reimportation of prescription drugs for personal use only from canada only. again, it's very modest and very restricted, mr. president. we're just talking about canada. we're just talking about, of course, f.d.a.-approved prescription drugs. we're just talking about small quantities for personal use, not big quantities, not wholesalers, not folks in that business. we're specifically excluding biological -- biolodgics, things on the controlled, dangerous substances schedule. so it is a very modest, straightforward, limited amendment but it would still be real in terms of the relief it would give americans, particularly seniors, who are so often under the crunch, another opportunity for safe, cheaper prescription drugs. in its form as i've described, mr. president, this is nearly identical to a bipartisan vitter amendment that was passed in the last

sanders number 816, and landrieu number 781. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. mr.est the absence of a quorum, time is divided equally to both sides. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered, the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. kohl: madam president, i ask that the quorum call being rescinded. the presiding officer: the senator from wisconsin, without objection. mr. kohl: i request the yeas and nays ond the cornyn amendment. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote:

mr. fenton as president and ceo of afinity federal credit union on behalf of the national association of the federal credit unions. dr. anthony sanders is a professor of finance at george mason university school of management dr. paul willen is a senior economist and policy adviser for the federal reserve bank in boston. and finally, we have dr. susan woodward, the president of the econometrics and former chief economist at the sec and prior to that, hud. ms. bowdler, you may proceed with your testimony. >> thank you and good morning and thank you for having me. i'm the director of the building policy project at the national council of la raza. my project promotes fair market to obtain assets and build wealth they can share with their children. i hope that today's hearing will shed light on a critical issue, the importance of the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. without this flexible financing tool homeownership would become a luxury of the affluent. we urge congress not to abandon their commitment to provide a path to home ownership which has long been the cornerstone of the middle class wealth. this morning i will provide an overview o

mr. sanders: i enjoyed the remarks from my friend from missouri. unfortunately, i can't quite agree with the thrust of his statement. in my view, the current trade policies in this country are a disaster. the evidence is very clear that they have cost us many millions of jobs. and to continue that same unfettered free trade philosophy in terms of trade agreements with korea, panama and colombia makes absolutely no sense at all. when you have a policy that is failing, you change it. you don't continue it. madam president, let us be very clear, as i think most americans understand, our economy today is in a disastrous shape. our middle class is disappearing. recent statistics told us that poverty levels are at an all-time high. and the gap between the very, very rich and everybody else is growing wider. and in my view, one of the reasons -- not the only reason -- but one of the reasons for the collapse of the middle class has to do with the loss of millions of good manufacturing jobs, attributable to these disastrous trade policies. and if we are ser

mr. president, by ask that this agreement be modified to make sure that senator baucus has 20 minutes and that senator bruin has one hour. -- brown has one hour. and senator sanders has one hour. the presiding officer: could the majority leader please claire fi which senator brown? mr. reid: and if the republicans wish additional time they can do that. it's brown of ohio. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i'm sorry about that. mr. president, i have just spoken to -- mr. president, just so everyone understands, there has been some discussion that we had in my caucus on tuesday and i just spoke to the -- with the house and i've been given -- i've given a guarantee from the speaker that the trade adjustment assistance bill will pass next week with these matters. i ask unanimous consent that on tuesday, october 11, 2011 at 5:30 p.m. the senate proceed to executive session to consider calendar 250, two minutes for debate, that upon the use or yielding back of that time senate proceed to vote with no intervening action or debate on calendar number 250. the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid on the payable with no intervening action or de

sanders for cosponsoring the amendment. i urge a yes vote for my colleagues when this comes forward for a voice vote in a few minutes. mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the 60 affirmative vote requirement under the previous requirement for brown amendment as modified be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. the senator from utah. mr. hatch: mr. president, on behalf of myself and 2 cosponsors both republicans and democrats, i ask unanimous consent that the current matter be set aside and senate amendment 875 be called up. a senator: mr. president, object. mr. the presiding officer: objection is heard. mr. hatch: i understand there is an agreement regarding disposition of amendments already in place but i believe this amendment deserves consideration and a vote. it is a noncontroversial matter as far as i'm concerned. it would simply make permanent ten separate appropriations riders relating to firearms. the house s. bill did the same thing but they've been taken out of the senate substitute amendment. each of these riders has been in place a long time, some more than 30 years. these clarifying prov