mr. smith: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and submit extraneous materials for the record on the topic of this special order. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. smith: mr. speaker, the purpose of tonight's special order is to celebrate our friend and colleague, ralph hall's distinguished service in congress. if there were a congressional hall of fame, tonight would be representative hall's induction as the oldest, some would say the most seasoned, voting member in the house of representatives. as members of congress, we had the distinct honor of serving the american people. each day as a representative can be both challenging and rewarding. and though we sometimes make headlines we do not always make history. that is why today is especially important. today is a day for the history books. after 32 years of service, congressman ralph hall today became the eldest member of congress to cas

mr. smith's day.r filibusters between 2009 and 2010, two years, than there were in the 1950s and 1960s and 1970s combined. do you want to know how fair the filibuster was? a strategy memo written calculated that in the new senate, the one after the '64 election, medicare would pass with 55 votes, 55. the filibuster did not even figure into lbj's planning. that all changed in recent decades. now everything gets filibustered, big things like health care reform are filibustered and small things like who gets to be nominated ambassador or sit on the national labor relations board. the problem with the filibuster in one sentence is it made the senate into something it was never intended to be, a place that requires a super majority to get anything, anything at all no matter how small or necessary done. defenders of the filibuster tend to say it is about minority rights or the constitution's preference for making hard to get anything done, and it is important to know that that is not true. yes, the founding

mr. smith's op- ed portrayed a firm that is unrecognized to us, and following its investigation concluded mr. smith appeared to be frustrated about his career and future prospects at goldman sachs." do you agree with that? > > not at all. i was actually doing very well in my career. > > other than being an author, are you working right now? > > i focused a lot of time writing the book, but what i want to do right now is i actually want to be a very vocal, loud voice for financial reform, because i think there's a real place for people from within the industry to reform wall street for the better, to make it more transparent and more sustainable and less dangerous to society. > > good to have you on the show this morning. that's greg smith, author of "why i left goldman sachs." a suggestion on the best price to buy apple stock, coming up next. apple had what was called its broadest launch ever with its mini ipad on friday hitting 34 countries. trader andrew keene of keeneonthemarket.com joins us

mr. smith: i ask unanimous consent to speak to the house for one minute. the speaker: without objection. mr. smith: it's a great honor and great privilege to welcome to this body -- the speaker: the gentleman will suspend. does the gentleman have unanimous consent request? mr. smith: yeah, ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks and i ask unanimous consent that donald m. payne jr. be permitted to take the oath of office today. his certificate of election has not arrived but there's no contest and no question has been raised with regard to his election. the speaker: without objection, so ordered. will representative-elect payne and the members of the new jersey delegation present themselves in the well of the house? and all members will rise. if the representative-elect will please raise his right hand. do you solemnly swear that you will support the united states, against enemies foreign and domestic, that you will bear true faith and allegi

jimmy stewart collapsing at the end of a 23-hour filibuster, one-man filibuster in "mr. smithto washington." now filibusters are the nonevents that gum up legislation and have almost paralyzed the united states senate. the talking filibuster like you saw in that famous jimmy stewart scene may be making a comeback. no more just hiding and having dual tracks but forcing the filibuster to go out there and filibust. democrats are pushing for the change. republicans led by, you won't be surprised like this, mitch mcconnell says it will only make the gridlock worse. senator jeff merkley of oregon supports a rule enforcing a talking filibuster. jonathan weisman is a congressional correspondent for "the new york times." senator, thank you so much for joining us tonight. i never met you, but this is quite a cause. how does it look? can you get this done on the first day of business in january? >> well, i think it has a very good possibility. senators are so frustrated with the current state of affairs that they're recognizing that there is no longer a choice, if you will, between just

mr. smith: mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to the gentleman from texas, kenny marchant. mr. merchant: mr. speaker, -- mr. marchant: mr. speaker, today we honor our friend and colleague ralph hall, for being the oldest member to cast a vote in the history of the house of representatives. i've the privilege of knowing ralph for decades, he's a dear friend and a tireless advocate for the people of the fourth district of our home state. his service to the country didn't start with his election to congress in 1980 but started long before. he answered the country's call to serb in the service in world war ii, serving in the navy as an aircraft carrier pilot from 1942 to 1945, later in his life, he served in the texas legislature from 196 to 1978. ralph, i -- to 1972. ralph, i did not have the opportunity to serve with you in the texas leng slayture, we were there at different times but you served with honor and served as senate pro tem for two years. though ralph's time in the texas legislature predated

decades ago before mr. smith left washington. today the filibuster has become the procedural weapon of choice in obstructionism, notably for the republican authority who has blocked legislation to nominations, more than 360 times. between 2009 and 2010, more filibusters were used than in the '50s, '60s and '70s combined. senate majority leader har rye reid along with his newly re-elected democratic majority are leading the push for filibuster reform. efforts supported by a coalition of progressive organizations calling itself fix the senate now. being led by the brennan center and common cause among others. joining me is the president of common cause and former six-term congressman from pennsylvania, bob edgar. we're joined by michael waldman president of the brennan center for justice. thank you for your leading this worthwhile crusade against obstructionism in the senate. congressman, let me begin with you. harry reid's reforms are pretty thin soup compared to what might be done. they say to filibuster, you have to be actually

a technique made famous in the classic movie "mr. smithashington and expresses his intention to late dore something." (laughter) now, harry reid's doing this because he claims republicans are abusing the filibuster. >> i have faced 386 filibusters. >> stephen: 386 filibusters during harry reid's six years as majority leader. and given how little congress works, some of that has to be mitch mcconnell stopping by harry reid's family dinner to block passage of the mashed potato. (laughter) but i say so what? that's just politics. and mitch mcconnell is warning it could get worse. >> if the majority chooses to end the filibuster, if they choose to change the rules and put an end to democratic debate then the fighting, the bitterness, and the gridlock will only get worse. in the name of efficiency they would prevent the very possibility of compromise and threaten to make the disputes of the past few years look like mere pillow fights. >> stephen: he's right. to me they already look like pillow fights. i'm pretty sure joe lieberman's jowls are m

it is like jimmy stewart in "mr. smith goes to washington. it is also a fun movie to watch, it closed. >> truman becomes president. he was weighing in over his head. -- he was way in over his head in kansas city. boss prendergast was asked why they chose trimming to run for the senate. he said wanted to show the world that i could take -- that a well-oiled machine could take an office boy and have him elected to the senate. he was so far over his head when he became vice president and the president, he had a recurring nightmare that the secret service would tell him that result was dead. he knew that he was not up for it. -- that roosevelt was dead. he knew that he was not up for it. he is clearly not capable. he tells everybody he meets with for the first two weeks that it is a terrible mistake, that he is not big enough, not smart enough, that somebody else should really become president. they told them he had to bulk up and at least believe that he could be present for everybody would lose faith. unfortunately, he makes the wrong decision

mr. smith did not elaborate on what prompted the change only describing an investigation involving student safety. no further details are available. >>> tonight there is huge anticipation about some key testimony tomorrow in the deadly attack on benghazi that killed u.s. ambassador chris stevens and three others. >>> david petraeus will testify one week after he resigned after news of an extramarital affair. >>> now the blame game over benghazi. >> we must learn the lesson and fix the problem. >> it's time to fess up. >> outrage over the september 11 attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi. >> this administration including the president himself has intentionally misinformed, read that, lied to the american people in the after math of this tragedy. >> confusing accounts of what happened and security warnings that were ignored republican panel members accuse the administration of a cover up. >> they have tried to cover themselves a number of times. >> they slam them for playing politics. >> the

mr. smith, planter questioned me several times about our calculations and so i went back to him several time and made sure that we were right on. the crux of the matter has to do with what constitutes of the removal of a wall and what i understand and what i have been led to understand by the planning department is that if the wood framing is he remaining in tact. then that wall is not demolish and had when you have a building that is the aim of this one you are not going to be able to meet the current seismic code with those foundations because you cannot put anchor bolts into the foundation that wand the bolt that we are retired to have now and i would like to persistent out the drawings that mr. williams was showing included interior partition and is that is clearly not part of the san francisco planning department criteria for demolition it has do with interior walls and the vertical surfaces. so ... the other thing that were the to point out is that there is also not really a way to meet b

. >> thank you, mr. smith. is there any other public comment?seeing none, public comment is now closed. we can move on to our consent calendar. >> we will move into your special calendar. item 7 is a presentation of the transportation bay by architects. >> and it has been some years since we brought the design to you. and now that the towers approvals are now in place i thought that it would be appropriate for the board to hear an update from the architect of the transit tower fred clark and give you and show you the latest design. >> or at proved design. >> great. >> good morning, directors. it is a great pleasure to be here, we have made an enormous amount of progress and let me just characterize what you are going to see this morning as conceptual design in nature. we really have not quite started the full fledged design process. that is waiting for obvious reasons for various approvals. but we have engaged in an extraordinary successful collar collaboration with the san francisco planning department staff and so the design that you are going

the chair now recognizes mr. smith. >> thank you very much. i want to thank our panelists for their wonderful insight and incisive testimony. one of the issues that mr. badesch raises is the increased federal response to the needs of adults living with autism. i think that is echoed by other panelists. we have not done even a small amount of what we need to be doing to address that issue. i need to focus on older parents -- i think they have few parallels. i have known many autistic families and there is a burden that they carry that is so grossly under appreciated. so many of them do it with such grace and such dignity. great courage -- i think we need to recognize that. what i'm finding, and we all find, is that many of those parents who have older children who are autistic and are no longer children, are adults, are facing a fear they may soon pass on what happens to their child and even the inability to deal with a young man who has strength. i hosted chuck close's daughter, who wrote a wonderful book going through her life. that is one con

but the big difference you saw from the mr. smithin the old days there was a penalty associated with exercising this right. today you have this powerful obstruction, and you don't have much of a check on it. >> all right, ari, thank you for that. and stand by while i bring in the rest of our brain trust. perry bacon is political editor for the grio and msnbc contributor and peter suitorman is the senior editor at reason magazine. thanks, guys for joining me. >> thank you. >> it's the boys club today. to lead the charge for filibuster reform, writing, quote, voters want political leaders who are willing to break the partisan gridlock. they want fewer closed door roadblocks and more votes on legislation that could improve their lives. she says she is joined by all incoming democratic senators. so perry, this question is for you. is this an idea whose time has come? >> i think it has. you have seen that harry reid, who is a long-time senator and traditionally someone who likes the senate rules as they have been, he has opposed filibuste

. >> pelley: mrs. smith told us that some of the stuff she lost includes all of her christmas presents, which she had already purchased. in new york city, just getting around has been a challenge. two tunnels that were flooded remain closed to traffic. and in lower manhattan, no power means the traffic lights are out. you might understand why new yorkers are getting a little fed up. jim axelrod is there tonight. jim. >> reporter: well, scott, this water-filled tunnel behind me is just one of the many challenges sandy has left for new yorkers who are facing a transportation nightmare. on this road into new york city, gasoline may be hard to find, but frustration summer is not. >> get in front of me! get in front of me! if it makes you happy. >> reporter: supply isn't the problem. it's the power blackouts that are keeping pumps from operating. >> move it! move it! >> reporter: aaa says just a third of stations are open in new jersey and long island. this line was three hours long. >> worth the wait. >> reporte

. >> reporter: jimmy stewart's mr. smithn. >> reporter: were you jimmy stewart? >> no. reporter: were you wide-eyed coming in thinking i can make a difference? >> i couldn't find it, no. i couldn't find the bathroom here. >> reporter: but he did have a mr. smith moment of his own this year. >> if not now, when? if not this, what? >> reporter: when he cosponsored a tough love budget plan with a democratic colleague that would slash spending and raise taxes. it looked like a winner at first. wait. just to clarify. you had more than 100 members who said we support you. >> absolutely. we had 100 members show up at a press conference endorsing the plan. we had 100 members sign a letter saying this was the way to go, that we needed to get the big deal. >> reporter: what happened to them? >> i have to tell you what happened. what happened is is the horses on the left and the right began flooding their offices with emails and phone calls and faxes. that makes people nervous. and so that number shall rank and shall rank. >> reporter:

used to be an argument that we would pay attention to and that is as you sit in that chamber and mr smith as you take seven hundred thousand dollars from an industry that you know is corrupt an industry that you're taking money from that you they clearly understand at this point just like bill mckibben has done great work on this he says look what do we know about the industry now we know they know the climate change is real and that in and if we don't do something now then we for generations to come we've destroyed the planet that's criminal tom that's not just negligent that's criminal so tom smith so excuse me representative smith has has agreed basically to do business with criminals for the right price so children don't seem to matter the next generation doesn't seem to matter what with a character like smith well this is this is sort of like the tobacco industry knowing since the forty's maybe the thirty's that their product was killing people and yet funding phony science to cover that up for decades i believe you were part of the group that brought them down on this is there or is

woods and mr. smith and mr. door at this, wouldn't we give the answer? is there no honor anymore in this administration? lure lawyer why is this so difficult to lay out for the american people. they have the time line and email traffic. they are not looking for the ark of the covenant here. they have the hard data. so, why the delay? i mean, we know because there within was an election this week. do you really think you are going to get any answers or is this going to be never ending quest for answers that never come. >> our responsibility in congress and chairman issa always starts our meetings with the same mission statement, look. the american people have the right to know. and we have the responsibility to find out for them. listen, for us to let one of the most shameful incidents in our country's history go by unanswered and to let these folks who have died, these patriots, young patriots that have given their life for this country and to somehow let the importance of an election stand in the way of the truth and honesty, this is so unamerican. this

we almost got through without mentioning mr. smith goes to washington, but i just blew it sorry. eleanor smith thank you so much. joe williams you'll stay with us, and we'll have a little bit of fun. coming from, the sports metaphors >>i jump out of my skin at people when i'm upset. >> why do we need a straw poll? i'll take a logical look at the situation. we're just getting started on a monday night. stick around. get irresistibly clean and fresh carpets in your home with resolve deep clean powder. the moist powder removes three times more dirt than vacuuming alone while neutralizing odors for a clean you can see, smell and really enjoy. don't just vacuum clean. resolve clean. right by those who gave their lives to for this country nearly 70 years ago. >> you're back inside the war room. i'm michael shureer. john mccain has been leading a republican attack on u.n. ambassador susan rice. they claim rice who might be the next secretary of state purposely misled the american public about the attack in benghazi. that led to four americans including am bass door, dead. he realized th