mr. udall: thank you, mr. president.i want to acknowledge the leadership of my colleague from colorado and particularly underline the salient points that he madeuring his remarks. i think mostmportant to note about colorado is we are a third republican, a third democratic and a third independent in our political and electoral makeup and i think it drives u to find bipartisan solutions and bipartisan ground. and that's why we came to the floor this afternoon, was to hope -- inhe hope that our colleagues from both sides of the aisle would join us in the discussion about how we move forward, not just on lifting the debt ceiling for the reasons that senator bennet outlined, but for the reasons that we think are as follows. we will lay a new foundation for our 21st century economy. we will send a message to the markets and the business community that we're serious about dealing with our annual deficits and our long-term debt. and i think, in effect, in doing such, we will inject a healthy dose of confidence into our country,

mr. udall: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its -- are we in a quorum call, mr. president? the presiding officer: we are in a quorum call. mr. udall: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. udall: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that when the senate completes its business today, it adjourn until 1:00 p.m. on saturday, july 30. that following the prayer and pledge, the journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be deemed expired, and the time for the two leaders be reserved for their use later in the day. that following any leader remarks, the senate resume consideration of the motion to concur in the house message to accompany senate 627, the legislative vehicle for the debt limit increase and that the time from 1:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. be equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees with the majority and the republicans controlling alternating 3

mr. udall: i ask unanimous consent alternating blocks of time continue until 9:50. with the majority controlling the time until 9:20 and the republican side until 9:50 and the majority leader or a designee be recognized. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. udall: madam president, i rise tonight as i have for many weeks to call for a bipartisan solution to our deficits and debt. for us to bridge, to use a term we utilize in colorado, the mountainous divide, in order to avoid defaulting on our only gaigdz. -- obligations. bipartisanship is a familiar theme in my home state of colorado and i know coloradans agree with me that's the only way forward. my constituents have been flooding my office with calls of frustration, urging me to keep fighting for a solution to this impending debt limit crisis that we face. they know the stakes are high, madam president, and they know we've got to compromise to get something done. and as i've traveled my state over these summer months, i h

mr. udall: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from colorado is recognized. mr. udall: i'd ask unanimous consent that the quorum call being vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. udall: mr. president, i understand we're debating a specific resolution, and i'd ask unanimous consent that i be allowed to speaks if in morning business for ten minutes. fir officer without objection. -- the presiding officer: without objection. mr. udall: mr. president, i rise today to recognize nas nass sts-135 mission as the presiding officer knows, at approximately 11:30 a.m. tomorrow, space shuttle atlantis is scheduled to lift off from the kennedy space center in florida with a crew of four on board. the 12-day mission will deliver supplies, logistics and spare parts to the international space station. this will be the final mission of the space shuttle air that began just over 30 years ago. the senator from colorado may not seem like the most likely porn to come to the floor today to s

mr. udall: mr. president i'd ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. udall: mr. president i rise today to honor one of colorado's great educators and community leaders, david getches who passed away on tuesday july 5 2011, at the too-young age of 68. mr. president, this is more than a poignant moment for me. i had planned to come to the floor and discuss david getches' career and character because he was stepping down after eight very productive years as the dean of the university of colorado law school. and we all have had this terrible experience in our lives where somebody who we love and respect suddenly finds that they have a cancer that's aggressive beyond aggressive and just literally a month ago, david was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. and in the four weeks since that time and today that cancer stole him from us. but he was always upbeat. he was always someone who we looked to for enthusiasm and inspiration, and i'll be inspired

quorum call: mr. udall: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from new mexico. mr. udall: madam president, i would ask that the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. udall: thank you, madam president. i rise today as our nation honors the bravery and sacrifice of santa fe native lee row arthur petrie, an army ranger who in 2008 risked his life to save his fellow soldiers on the battlefields of afghanistan. today sergeant first class petrie will be honored for his conspicuous gallantry with our nation's highest military decoration: the medal of honor. i will be humbled to be at the white house along with sergeant first class petrie's family, friends, and fellow soldiers, as president obama honors him with the congressional medal of honor. it will be a special day for sergeant first class petrie, for his wife, his children, and his -- and all his family and for his fellow americans. as he becomes only the second living active duty service member to receive the medal of honor for actions in iring or afghanistan. -- in iraq or afgha

mr. udall: mr. president, we're in morning business? the presiding officer: we're on the motion and time allotment -- motion to proceed on h.r. 2560 and time allotted to our side. mr. udall: mr. president, i wanted to come to the floor this evening and join a number of my colleagues from both sides of the aisle who are concerned about the federal budget and our ever-increasing deficits and debt, but today i'm also speaking on behalf of the 4.5 ml coloradans who are worried that we won't have the discipline to do anything about it. they know that our great nation won't win the global economic race unless we take some responsible action here on the floor of the senate and soon, and i have to say i don't think the debate that we have been having here offers them a whole lot of solace. and i say that because instead of getting to work on the bipartisan gang of six deficit reduction plan which draws from the president's bipartisan fiscal commission headed by -- i have to say this -- two true american pat

mr. udall: madam president? i ask unanimous consent that the time for debate under the previous order be extended until 7:00 p.m. with all other provisions of the previous order remaining in effect. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. udall: madam president, i'd ask unanimous consent that i be able to speak for 15 minutes as if in morning business and then senator coons be allowed to speak as if in morning business for ten minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. udall: madam president, i rise today -- let me start over, madam president. i believe we may be in a situation where we're exchanging speeches, one side or the other. can i withdraw my unanimous consent to approve senator coons? the presiding officer: consent is vitiated. mr. udall: all right, madam president, thank you. i came to the floor to deliver a speech on the debt ceiling and all the activity surrounding the need to increase our debt ceiling, but i took time to listen to senator mccain while i was here.

mr. udall: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. udall: mr. president, i come to the floor today as i think many of my colleagues have to speak to the topic at hand, which is the debt ceiling debate that we're having here in the congress of the united states, and i've got to tell you, i think americans across the country are looking at us today with disbelief, anxiety and i think rightly anger. they awoke this morning hoping to find that cooler heads had prevailed and that all of us here were working together on a plan that keeps our country from default and our economy from a looming collapse, and instead the headlines read that the speaker of the house was again refusing to negotiate and that he is in fact delaying action in the house because of republican upheaval against his own plan. i have to say even if the house of representatives passed a bill preventing default this evening, within hours, we would still be pushi

senator udall. >> mr. chairman, thank you for your presence and i want to associate myself with the remarks of my colleague on the results of your service and acknowledge the families that are here and wonder americans. if you could turn to you, i know you are going to have some challenges. you've got a leadership record that's exemple re. let me turn to the success that you had and we are in anbar in iraq. you reached out to an operation that was hostile and worked with them to turn their focus to al qaeda and the elements of terrorism that had really created enormous chaos. and in the process, the coin doctrine was validated. i don't want to imply that the two countries are alike. but could you talk about the primary lessons that we learned in anbar and how we are going to apply those lessons in afghanistan? >> senator, much of what was accomplished in the anbar providence, needless to say, much of it was accomplished on the shoulders of the sacrifice of many terrific soldiers and marines and sailors and

senator udall. >> mr. chairman, thank you for your presence and i want to associate myself with the remarks of my colleague on the results of your service and acknowledge the families that are here and wonder americans. if you could turn to you, i know you are going to have some challenges. you've got a leadership record that's exemple re. let me turn to the success that you had and we are in anbar in iraq. you reached out to an operation that was hostile and worked with them to turn their focus to al qaeda and the elements of terrorism that had really created enormous chaos. and in the process, the coin doctrine was validated. i don't want to imply that the two countries are alike. but could you talk about the primary lessons that we learned in anbar and how we are going to apply those lessons in afghanistan? >> senator, much of what was accomplished in the anbar providence, needless to say, much of it was accomplished on the shoders of the sacrifice of mny terrific soldiers and marines and sailors and ai

udall. senator brown? >> thank you, mr. chairman. sir, as you know, we've already met and discussed in private. ive a few follow-up questions. senator nato and i have actually planned a bill and are concerned about the evidence that taxpayers' money that was intended to be used for a transportation contract has ended up in the hands of the taliban. we want it to stop. not only are we trying to fund our own needs, i guess we're funding the taliban's needs, too. i was wondering if you could comment on that and how -- what your thoughts are about lowering the risk involved with our reliance on contractor support and the money trail that goes along with it. >> yeah, thanks, senator. i saw the same report in the media. i haven't yet had time to get the gi report and see the details. i share that thought. having approximately $5 billion a year to build the iraqi security forces, it was among my gravest concerns. i had a concern about building them, i had a concern about enabling them, integrating them with our forces, but there wasn't a da

udall. senator brown? >> thank you, mr. chairman. sir, as you know, we've already met and discussed in private. ive a few follow-up questions. senator nato and i have actually planned a bill and are concerned about the evidence that taxpayers' money that was intended to be used for a transportation contract has ended up in the hands of the taliban. we want it to stop. not only are we trying to fund our own needs, i guess we're funding the taliban's needs, too. i was wondering if you could comment on that and how -- what your thoughts are about lowering the risk involved with our reliance on contractor support and the money trail that goes along with it. >> yeah, thanks, senator. i saw the same report in the media. i haven't yet had time to get the gi report and see the details. i share that thought. having approximately $5 billion a year to build the iraqi security forces, it was among my gravest concerns. i had a concern about building them, i had a concern about enabling them, integrating them with our forces, but there wasn't a da

mr. chairman. >> thank you, senator. >> i'll defer to senator udall. >> are you sure? actually, go ahead. >> thank you, senator bluesman and senator rockefeller, thank you went again. you are staring us in the right direction in terms of consumer protection and focusing on this and i very much appreciate the fact that you have an attorney general. i know that senator ayotte was very aggressive interstate and i know the both of you are very aggressive in terms of stopping these kinds of scams. and we very much appreciate your presence because they think you bring a very important perspectives. and i understand from your testimonies that almost all consumers who were crammed were unaware of the charges and did not want to use the uppercase services. i think you both recommend the prohibition of third-party churches to landline phones. the other concern that i have and when we get the innovation in the uses and have the self is going is looking at cell phones in looking at what's happening there. and i wonder, do you have any recommendations on how to prevent in which we

senator udall cox >> thank you mr. chairman. good morning, gentlemen. thank you for your service and willingness to take on additional responsibility. if i might indulged in a bit of personal commentary, admiral winnefeld, it's been terrific to have you in colorado heading north. you are going to be missed, but you are going to add enormously capable voice and presence to the joint chiefs, and you will always have a home in colorado. i hope you know that. general odierno, we have a nominal presence with the army at fort carson. as you know, we are really proud of our soldiers. we are looking for to the arrival of the combat aviation brigade, and i also wanted to point out that the general perkins who is deployed right now but along with general dod who has taken his place and colonel mclaughlin of the army has been very well represented. you and i talked about the canyon situation, and i know that we are committed to working with you and the committee to see if we could put that issue to rest. general fraser, i don't know you as well but i'm reminded of

udall. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i'll be brief. my impression when i was in khartoum as far as their view of the -- of darfur was they were pretty much content to fight a surrogate war in darfur, because it was far enough removed from khartoum, they didn't feel any real pressure to do so. you made an interesting comment. the j.e.m. and sla are watching and what's happening there. because of it's proximity geographically, if the north continues the alleged or apparent atrocities that we've had some evidence of from satellites and others, that changes that paradigm a lot and runs a greater risk of a new war in the north, does it not? >> that's exactly the risk. and it's exactly the one that the government needs to avoid. they don't want a war in the north. they complain about what they think is an attempt to create an new, as they say a new cpa between the southern part of sudan and the rest of it. but the fact is if they don't address those basic political issues in southern kordofan and blue nile and darfur, et cetera, they will ha

johnson of south dakota, kirk, durbin, hagan, bennet, warner, kerry, bingaman, udall of colorado, murray, leahy and whitehouse. mr. johnson: i ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum under rule 22 be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. johnson: i ask unanimous consent that all time be yielded back. the presiding officer: without objection. the question is -- by unanimous consent the -- the clerk will report the motion to invoke cloture. the clerk: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate hereby move to bring to a close the debate on the motion to waive the points of order under section 303 of the congressional budget act of 1974 for h.r. 2055, any amendments thereto and motions thereon. the presiding officer: by unanimous consent, the mandatory quorum call has been waived. the question is is it the sense of the senate that debate on the motion to waive the points of order under section 303 of the congressional budget act for h.r. 2055 and any amendments or motions thereto shall be brought to a close. the yeas and nays

mr. tran. >> thank you, senator. senator boozman. >> i will defer to senator udall with your permission. >> you sure -- >> go ahead. >> thank you, senator and chairman rockefeller, thank you very much once again. you are steering us in the right direction in terms of consumer protection focusing on this hearing and i very much appreciate it and the fact that you have a attorney general and assistant attorney general. i know that the senator was aggressive and her state and the both of you are aggressive in terms of stopping these kind of scams and we appreciate your presence today because you bring a very important perspective in mind as and from your testimony that almost all consumers who were crammed were unaware of the charges and did not want or use the advertised services and i think you both recommend the prohibition of third party charges to land line phones. the other concern that all i have, and i -- when we get the innovation and the new uses and we have the cellphone going it's looking at the cell phones and what's happening there. and i wondered do you have any recommendations on how to prevent a problem

mr. wechsler for that. i appreciate it. would you go ahead, please? >> thank you very much, chairman feinstein, co-chairman grassley and senator udall. i'll be very brief because i know you have my written statement for the record. first of all, i do want to thank you for all the support that this caucus gives to our counter narcotics efforts in afghanistan and truly around the world. i do -- there is a long way that we have to go on a lot of the issues that you discussed. and you have framed the challenges that we confront very well. but i do want to explain just for a moment if i could some of the real important progress that we have made relatively recently, just picking up on some of the comments that tommy made right at the end. in the last couple of years, we have really fundamentally reorganized our counter narcotics efforts from a department of defense perspective along the four key elements of strategy. policy, our organizational structure, our resources and our leadership. and those are the pieces that you have to have in place in order to have a real effect. we have moved sharply from a policy that previously limited in th

mr. wechsler for that. i appreciate it. would you go ahead, please? >> thank you very much, chairman feinstein, co-chairman grassley and senator udall. i'll be very brief because i know you have my written statement for the record. first of all, i do want to thank you for all the support that this caucus gives to our counter narcotics efforts in afghanistan and truly around the world. i do -- there is a long way that we have to go on a lot of the issues that you discussed. and you have framed the challenges that we confront very well. but i do want to explain just for a moment if i could some of the real important progress that we have made relatively recently, just picking up on some of the comments that tommy made right at the end. in the last couple of years, we have really fundamentally reorganized our counter narcotics efforts from a department of defense perspective along the four key elements of strategy. policy, our organizational structure, our resources and our leadership. and those are the pieces that you have to have in place in order to have a real effect. we have moved sharply from a policy that previously limited in th

i hereby appoint the honorable tom udall, a senator from the state of new mexico, to perform the duties f the chair. signed: daniel k. inouye, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader recognized. mr. reid: following leader remarks, the senate will be in a period of morning business for one hour. the majority will control the first half, the republicans will control the second half. following morning business, i will be recognized. mr. president, h.r. 1938 is due for a second reading i'm told. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 1938, an act to direct the president to expedite the consideration and approval of the construction and operation of the keystone xl oil pipeline, and for other purposes. mr. reid: mr. president, i would object to any further proceedings at this time on this legislation. the presiding officer: objection having been heard, the bill will be placed on the calendar. mr. reid: i now ask unanimous consent on behalf of senator bingaman that his interns shannon simpson, brook jordi and tray dubrey be granted floor privileges during today's business. the presid

mr. chairman, welcome. >> thank you, chairman feinstein. thank you, vice chairman chambliss, senator coats, good to see you in senator wyden, senator udall come senator warner. i'm delighted to be to introduce matt olsen. his parents are from north dakota, people live in a very long time. matt's roots are deep in north dakota. he returns every chance he gets with his family, his wife and his children, elderly come and meet and will come his sister, susan, is with us as well. as i said, i've known this family for a very long time coming and they are the best that it gets. his father was the chief of staff to the man the white defeated for the united states senate. and so i know how good he really is. van passed away three years ago, but i know he's looking down with a twinkle in his eye today proud of matte and all that he has accomplished. you know, after defeating the boss for the united states senate, i came here with some trepidation of what my relationship might be like with a van and his wife, the treated me with the greatest courtesy over time the cancer indifference. the highest quality people that our state has to offer, and i believe

hereby appoint the honorable tom udall, a senator from the state of new mexico, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: daniel k. inouye, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. reid: following leader remarks, the senate will resume the motion to proceed to s. 1323, which is a bill to express the sense of the senate on shared sacrifice in the resulting budget deficit, with the time until 10:00 a.m. this morning equally divided and controlled between the two leaders or their designees. at 10:00 a.m. there will be a vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to s. 1323. this could be the only vote of the day although there may be procedural matters that may arise. today the senate is calling on millionaires and billionaires to contribute to this country's effort to reduce our deficit. the poor, middle-class children and seniors have already been asked to make sacrifices to put our fiscal house in order. this legislation would reaffirm the senate's commitment to ensure the extremely wealthy are asked to make sacrifices. this principle that all americans should

hereby appoint the honorable tom udall, a senator from the state of new mexico, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: daniel k. inouye, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. reid: following any leader remarks, the senate will be in a period of morning business until 3:30 this afternoon. following that morning business, the senate will resume consideration of of the military construction-veterans affairs and related agencies appropriation bill. at 5: p.m., the senate will vote -- i'm sorry, will go to executive session to consider the nomination of j. paul oetken and at 5:30 there there be a roll call vote on confirmation of that nomination. h.r. 2018 is at the desk ask due for a second reading, i'm told. the presiding officer: the clerk will read the title of the bill for the second time. the clerk: h.r. 2018, an act to amend the federal water pollution control act to preserve the authority of each state to make determinations relating to the state's water quality standards and for other purposes. mr. reid: in order to object to any further proceedings, mr. president, with

mr. chairman, may i be recorded as a live no? >> yes, you'll be so recorded. >> thank you. >> and let me just behalf of senator udall he is in new mexico where they had the terrible fires, and he was down there last night and was not able to get back in time, but he is doing his business there and appropriately. we now turn to senator menendez who i think -- say again? oh, excuse me, senator lugar? >> thank you very much. >> i apologize. >> it's 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 costs of the operations and how these costs are being paid for. it would also require periodic reporting on the impact of the ongoing operations in libya on other u.s. and nato military operations including operations against the taliban and al-qaeda in afghanistan. reporting on these issues is not provided for in the kerry-mccain resolution. 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 u.s. operations, i believe it's important t