as i told ms. lynch in private conversation you have to understand the reputation of this great department is being eroded the situation is not good in this country. it's got to be re-established. we're not going to allow this to become a political body that just conducts its work in haphazard political reactive ways and i think senator hatch raised one of the questions that still galls me and that is the failure to defend doma, the defensive of marriage act. that was a defenseble act and everybody that's ever been an attorney general or in such an office knows you have a duty to defend the laws passed by congress. that's the attorney general's duty. eric holder and president obama failed to do so and it was shameful and disgraceful and an abandonment of the rule of law and more and more people understand that. so i'm not happy about what's happened to my department of justice and i think they should be investigating these matters. they haven't yet contacted people in alabama and i specifically requested

in hopes ms. lynch will restore the office of legal counsel to the impartial role it used to play on the check of the president's authority. i look forward to the hearing today. now it's senator leahy's turn to give his opening statement. >> thank you, mr. chairman. this is a second day of the committee's consideration of loretta lynch to serve as our nation's attorney general. we had a long day yesterday. today we'll hear testimony from outside witnesses about ms. lynch, i would especially be interested in testimony from those who actually know her. yesterday we heard directly from her. for nearly eight hours of testimony. she testified about the values and independence she would bring to the office of the attorney general. she testified how she would make its priorities national security and public safety, but still preserve the values that we as americans, i hope all of us, hold dear. i was encouraged when republican senators on the committee agreed with me that the key question for voting for a nomi

and as i told ms. lynch privately, you got two choices. you can take the job and implement the policies or you can say, mr. president, i think what you're trying to do is improper, even illegal unconstitutional and quit or not take the job in the first place. i don't see any middle ground on any of that. and while i have the same reaction to ms. lynch's testimony that i had to sara saldana's testimony, who was a united states attorney from dallas, texas, who senator kay hutchison and i respected for -- recommended to the president for appointment who is now the director of immigration and customs enforcement, i told her the same thing. you were a prosecutor. you did an outstanding job. now you're going to be in policy position where you're going to be asked to implement policies that i disagree with and you may in fact disagree with. so you'll be left with that hobson's choice. so while i hear some of my colleagues talk about the independence of the attorney general, well, it's perhaps some independence but

ms. p lynch will restore -- ms. lynch will restore the office of legal counsel to the impartial role it used to play on the check of the president's authority. i look forward to the hearing today. now it's senator leahy's turn to give his opening statement. >> thank you, mr. chairman. this is a second day of the committee's consideration of loretta lynch to serve as our nation's attorney general. we had a long day yesterday. today we'll hear testimony from outside witnesses about ms. lynch, i would especially be interested in testimony from those who actually know her. yesterday we heard directly from her. for nearly eight hours of testimony. she testified about the values and independence she would bring to the office of the attorney general. she testified how she would make its priorities national security and public safety, but still preserve the values that we as americans, i hope all of us, hold dear. i was encouraged when republican senators on the committee agreed with me that the key question for voting for a

ms. lynch whether the attorney general has the duty to defend the constitutionality of duly enacted laws, if there are reasonable arguments to do so. you discussed this in your prepared statement and i want your comment on one specific issue that i raised. attorney general holder did not decide never to defend the constitutionality of the defense of marriage act but to stop defending its constitutionality. his own justice department lawyers had already been making reasonable amendments defending doma or this bill, and mr. holder decided to stop making them. and that is what made me say he's abandoned his duty. do you agree? >> i agree. i thought that the decision was wrong. i happen to agree with the president. i was a critical of doma. but i thought that the abandonment of the defense of doma was to the rule of law. i thought it violated a long-standing understanding with this body. you know, there's history here, as you know. you're a student of the constitution. and you know that there's alw

ms. lynch could be inheriting a department that is floundering. the question is whether she can or will go back to calm her constitutional -- calmer constitutional waters. they seek to deny every branch the power to govern alone. our system requires consent and compromise. it goes without saying that when we are politically divided as a nation as we are today, less things get done. that division is no license to go it alone as the president has suggested. you have only two choices. you can seek the can venture adversaries or you can seek to replace them . there is nothing noble about circumventing the united states congress because it means you are doing that to the constitution. any person who claims they can get the job done alone is giving the very sirens call that the framers warned us against. i have laid out examples of how this change is occurring. i have divided it between obstruction of legislative authority and the use of legislative authority. it includes the blocking of the contempt

ms. lynch would be the same kind of attorney general that eric holder was. they have a specific agenda, the same as president obama. and i believe that is where it's coming from now. i hope the democrats and the republicans do not confirm her. she does have the education but as far as that goes she believes in more illegal aliens taking away from american workers. also veterans, which i am one. thank you. >> thank you, terry. john's up next in new jersey. sorry about that, john, are you there? go ahead. >> yes, i am. thank you. watching the hearings i did not get to see the whole thing from beginning to end. she seemed like a very eloquent woman in per person, forget her gender. i've been impressed with her the short time i've been watching. but some of the comments -- if she did say that illegal aliens have just as much of a right to work in this country as citizens, i have a problem with that statement. but also i would like to know what she would do about the laws that eric holder has said t

ms. lynch. as u.s. attorney for the eastern district of new york she has brought terrorists and cyber criminals to justice. she has obtained convictions against corrupt public officials in both parties. she has remained determined to protect the rights of victims. ms. lynch has worked hard to improve the relationships between law enforcement and the communities they serve. >> these are the hearings that are just getting underway. there will be friendly faces coming from the democratic side of the aisle, and less friendly voices coming from the republican side of the aisle. we're going to take a quick break and we'll be right back. >>> you are watching our continuing coverage of the confirmation hearings for loretta lynch. she has been tapped by the white house to be the nation's next attorney general. she has an impressive resume. she has prosecuted as we have been discussing many high-profile cases. john smith taking a closer look at her career. >> reporter: high school valedictorian, loretta

yesterday i asked ms. lynch if she thought it was appropriate to have the department of justice investigation into the irs targeting an abuse of power led by a major obama donor and democratic donor who has given over $6,000 to president obama and the democratic party. she said she found nothing objectionable about that, and she flat out refused to appoint a special prosecutor, much as eric holder has refused to appoint a special prosecutor. do you have faith in the impartial administration of justice with an investigation being led by a major democratic donor? >> i take so much exception to that appointment and to the way that division has conducted itself that i don't even know where to begin. i think there's an awful lot wrong with it and it is sad they are not held to account to explain their actions. >> senator, i might just mention the constitutional dimension of this particular scandal. discriminatory enforcement would have horrified the framers, and this kind of discrimination would have horrified them m

so, first ms. lynch, i read this morning that on the news you have something special from your late brother who was a navy s.e.a.l. with you today. tell us a little bit about that. >> i have with me my late brother's trident, the insignia of the navy s.e.a.l. it is something that i usually have with me in my office, but i often bring with me when i come down to the department of justice. and i had it with me here today. it ensures that i have both of my brothers with me here today. >> yeah. well having read and seen and met the seals, it's an amazingly difficult thing to achieve. and then like you, in a different way, he was defending our country in one of the best ways you can. so we really appreciate that. appreciate your thoughts about your brother. ok, now i'd like to go to the next area. this morning both you and senator sessions and i talked about a topic seems like a long time ago this morning. so i'd like to just talk a little more about that. absent appropriate authorization from d.h.s., i just

in hopes that ms. lynch will restore the office of legal counsel to the impartial role it used to play as a check on president's authority. i look forward to hearing, and now it is senator leahy's turn to give his opening statements. >> thank you mr. chairman, this is the second day of the committee's consideration of loretta lynch./ we had a long day yesterday. today we will hear testimony from outside. i am especially interested in testimony from those who actually know her. we heard directly from her for nearly eight hours of testimony. she testified about the values and independence she will bring to the office. how she would make priorities of national security as well as preserving the values that all of us hold dear. i was encouraged, and republican senators agree with me, but the key question in voting for a nominee to be attorney general is independence. some of us remember past attorney general's. he was a member of the president staff. we all had to remind them, no he is not. he is not an elected

ms. lynch. hope you're ready to continue. >> thank you senator. >> according to the seniority arrangements we are doing, senator cruz of texas is next. >> thank you, mr. chairman. good afternoon, ms. lynch. >> good afternoon, senator. >> congratulations on your nomination. congratulations to your family who i know are justifiably proud of you for being nominated. >> thank you, sir. >> i'll note a number of my friends and colleagues who practice law in new york have reached out to me with words of praise for you. describing your tenure as u.s. attorney there and that of a no nonsense prosecutor and as a u.s. attorney who honored and respected the law. and so for that i congratulate you. you began your remarks by describing how with new attorneys in your office you remind them that they take an oath not to the attorney general but to the constitution. that same thing is true for the attorney general of the united states. and i have long expressed my very deep concerns with the conduct of the curr

ms. lynch, i'm going to ask you three questions. the first is on expiring provisions of the foreign intelligence surveillance act, which will come to this committee before june of this year and also before the intelligence committee on which i serve. a question about office of legal counsel opinions and a question on the state secrets act. let me begin with fisa. the three provisions that will expire on june 1 are first the roving wiretap authority. this provision enables the government to maintain surveillance on a target when he or she switches phone numbers or e-mail addresses without seeking a new court order. the second is the lone wolf authority, which enables the government to conduct surveillance of a non-united states person engaged in international terrorism without demonstrating that they are affiliated with a particular international terrorist group, such as isis or al qaeda. and the third is the business records authority, which carries with it section 215 of the national security

ms. lynch, welcome to the committee and congratulations on your nomination. i look forward to working with you on a considerable number of issues as we go forward. since there has been a significant amount of commentary about the president's immigration measures, the ranking member has asked me to put into the record letters from law enforcement leaders in ohio, utah iowa, indiana and wisconsin supporting the president's policies and saying -- concluding, while the executive reforms improve a broken immigration system, they can achieve only a fraction of what can be accomplished by broad congressional action. we continue to recognize that what our broken system truly needs is a permanent legislative solution and urge congress to enact comprehensive immigration reform legislation. there is a similar letter from the member organizations of the national task force and sexual and domestic violence and a similar statement, for the record of stan marek of texas, the president and c.e.o. of the marek

ms. lynch. appreciated hearing your life story, appreciated the meeting we had in my office a few months ago as well. i brought something up there and i'll brick it up again with regard to the border situation in arizona. we have had obviously ongoing problems with the border, we share a large border with mexico, but there have been some considerable successes. one of the successes in the last several years has been in the so-called yuma sector where we've seen apprehensions go from about 140,000 in fiscal year 2005 to about 6,000 last year. so considerable success. that contrasts with tucson sector which has seen a drop, i think because of the economy, we've seen a drop anyway, but not nearly as significant. there were about 87,000 apprehensions in the tucson sector. one of the things that i think just about everybody attributes the success in the yuma sector to is something called operation streamlined and it allows so-called consequences program to be implemented where first-time crossers ar

ms. lynch, do you agree with what president obama said then that the american people have a right to be angry at the i.r.s. targeting citizens for their political views? >> senator my view is that political views or bias have no place in the way in which not only the department of justice, but all agencies carry out their duties. and certainly when people hear of something that raises that issue, i can understand their concerns. >> in the nearly two years that have transpired, the individual who led the i.r.s. office in question, ms. lois learner, has testified twice before congress and has pleaded the fifth. which, as you are well aware, means she raised her hand and said, if i answer your questions, it means i may incriminate myself in criminal conduct. in the nearly two years since that time has transpired, not a single person has been indicted. in the nearly two years since that time has transpired, many of the victims of the illegal targets have yet to be interviewed. and in the nearly two

these witnesses didn't know much about ms. lynch, but they were chock-full of opinions about president obama and our current attorney general eric holder. >> i want to spend some time critiquing outgoing attorney general holder's tenure. >> if you want to cross this with perfectly ac -- you will be attacked and punished. >> trickle-down tyranny endorsed by the current administration and rigorously enforced by the department of justice. >> the enkrendary rhetoric created a pathway for a false narrative that became the rallying cry for cop haters across america. >> we get it they're not fans of the obama administration but this hearing was about loretta lynch. check out what happened when they were asked if she could be confirmed as attorney general? >> those who oppose her, abattorney general, please raise their hand. let the record show no hands were raised. >> yep, none of them oppose her. so why were they called in to testify? one democratic senator had a pretty good idea. >> i regret that this hearing and this solemn occasion has

. >> and ms. lynch needs to convince three republicans on this panel to support her to get her name advanced to the entire senate tony. it does look likely despite some republican resistence and concerns she's still too much like eric holder. she got through a marathon six hours of questioning today but it's not over for this senate panel because tomorrow they'll hear from witnesses both for ms. lynch and some who have concerns and serious complaints against the justice department. tomorrow will be much more about political theater. don't expect that to change the outcome of the hearing process. >> libby casey on capitol hill for us. libby thank you. one challenge facing the next attorney general is the possible use of excessive force by police nationwide. the justice department also delivered a scathing report on cleave's police department, but more than a month after the findings became public, bisi onile-ere has the story. >> reporter: the mayor of cleveland reluctant to talk to us. >> i've contacted

he also set down with ms. lynch in his.e met with obama's ag nominee and different get any answers on executive am nest city. i am convinced we can't count on her to stop it. david vitter saying the the senator saying that this is the first step, the loretta lynch nomination is the first step in stopping president obama's executive action on immigration. senator ben cardin said he met with the justice department loretta lynch, talked about ending rachel profiling, protecting voting rights and more. senator jack reed democrat of rhode island: she is extremely talented and well qualified -- a strong choice to lead. what do you think? rb, a republican in oregon. go ahead. caller: thank you. madam, i just don't know with this administration how much leeway people have. i have been very concerned for a real long time on the obstruction of information. and i -- you know this could go to many different controversies that have followed this administration. and i, as an american have a very hard time entrusting what i am hearing. ho

ms. lynch welcome. >> thank you. >> appreciate the service you have given in this country. it's important to hear what you understand your role and duty will be. do you agree that when the constitutionality of the law is challenged the attorney general has a duty to defend that law? >> senator i believe that one of the first and foremost duties is to defend the laws as passed by this body. >> okay. i would like you to answer these questions. i'm trying to get through a number of them. i think you can answer most yes or no if you can. if you are confirmed will you commit to enforce and defend the laws and the constitution of the united states regardless of your views on them in any manner? >> absolutely sir. >> thank you. the justice department made reasonable arguments that the defense of marriage act is constitutional, but then the attorney general chose to stop making those arguments because of his personal views, and then cast doubt about others who make the same commitment as you do today.

as a republican, i really thought ms. lynchas an outstanding spokesperson for you know, the office in which she's applying for. just underneath all of that, you can see where she's almost bound to have to rule, especially on this hot button immigration thing. we just can't allow it. she's unfortunately going to come down on the same side as the president, i feel, on it. whether she feels obligated to -- and as long as they can squeak through and find a legal way to say it's appropriate then that's what i feel she's going to do. it's such a shame. she was a class act. i just feel like she is unfortunately going to rule in just about whichever way he decides to go. host: did you watch almost eight hours of the hearing? caller: i watched about six. it doesn't say much for what i do all day. i had to be home yesterday. i enjoyed it. most people were fair, you know what i mean. there were a couple of people that made some stats at her. --stabs at her. i watched just about all of her, and most people treated her with respect. host: w

as ms. lynch suggested. what say you?> well, we don't have enough jobs for the american people here today. when i ask her about competition, what if two people go to apply for a truck driver's job and one is unemployed american and one is illegal immigrant just last week given legal status by the president of the united states -- unlawfully given that status, and they compete and he loses that job? we've got to ask ourselves who it is this government is representing. are we representing the interests of american who is are hurting today effectively who are having a difficult time of having jobs whose wages are down? and i think that this administration and her statement really opened up and showed what they really believe about this. they're as committed to finding jobs for illegal people in our country today as they are people who are here lawfully. >> she ultimately tried to couch it by saying well, we want everyone to seek employment. but we do have in place a legal framework that requires employers to not hire people

we hear from ms. lynch live at 10:00 a.m. eastern.thursday the committee hears from other witnesses about the nomination of ms. lynch at 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. she would a position from 1999 to 2001. ms. lynch is a graduate of harvard university and is 55 years old. >>> this sun, dr. frances jenson on the discovery of the teenage brain. >> they can't reason and cause and effect of actions are not clear to them. their frontal lobe is not readily accessible. the connections can't be made as quickly for split second decision making. a lot of hormones are changing a lot in in the body of the young men and women. the brain hasn't seen these yet in life until you hit teenage years. the brain is trying to learn how to respond to these new hormones that are rolling around and actually locking on the receptor receptors receptors. they're trying to, it's sort of trial and error. i think this contributes to this very roller coaster kind of experience that we watch as parents. >>> members focused on the transpacific partnership which is be

ms. lynch, i'm going to ask you three questions. the first is on expiring provisions of the foreign intelligence surveillance act, which will come to this committee before june of this year and also before the intelligence committee on which i serve. a question about office of legal counsel opinions and a question on the state secrets act. let me begin with fisa. the three provisions that will expire on june 1 are first the roving wiretap authority. this provision enables the government to maintain surveillance on a target when he or she switches phone numbers or e-mail addresses without seeking a new court order. the second is the lone wolf authority, which enables the government to conduct surveillance of a non-united states person engaged in international terrorism without demonstrating that they are affiliated with a particular international terrorist group, such as isis or al qaeda. and the third is the business records authority, which carries with it section 215 of the national security administration. this enables the govern

ms. lynch is a graduate of harvard university and is 55 years old. oregon governor john kitzhaber was inaugurated. he served governor for eight years from 1995 to 2003 and returned to the position four years ago. in his inaugural address, governor kitzhaber talked about robert f. kennedy's 1968 presidential campaign inspired him to public service. this is 20 minutes. >> thank you very much there are a lot of people i could recognize and deserve recognition. i want to briefly recognize my two sisters who have come here today, and, of course, my son logan. i also want to thank general from the oregon national guard and rich evans, the superintendent of the state police. and all our first responders for everything they do to keep us safe. i expect a lot of you have tonight is game on your mind. some of you might even wish you had tickets. i certainly wish i had. but it is amazing how this game has managed to unite the state. i saw a guy on friday in full blown front-on beaver regalia. black sneakers, orange pants black shirt, orange jacket, black hat wi

ms. loretta lynch. [ applause ] >> thank you, everyone. and thank you, first of all, mr. president, for that kind introduction. but most importantly, thank you, also, for your faith in me. in asking me to succeed an attorney general whom i admire, and to lead the department that i love. now no one gets to this place, this room, this podium, this moment by themselves. i also must thank attorney general eric holder for your support and your friendship over the years, as well as by leading by example, and always, always pushing this department to live up to its name. and i want to thank chairman he leahy, senior officials of the department of justice, and members of the cabinet, for being here today. to my colleagues in the u.s. attorney community and throughout the department, on whose strength and wisdom i lean every day, thank all of you, as well, for your support, both now, and in all the work that we have ahead. and to my beloved office, the eastern district of new york, my professional home. you have twice now given me the privilege of being able to serve you, and to f

. >> now, senator leahy is correct, that's what ms. lynch did.o here's the tip of the day, it shouldn't matter what party or ideology a person is aligned with. senator leahy's a very liberal man. if a person, an american or anybody else, does something noble, everyone should acknowledge it. if we all did that america would be a better place. that is it for us tonight. please check out the fox news factor website different from billoreilly.com. also like you to spout off about "the factor" from anywhere in the world. o'reilly@foxnews.com. name and town if you wish to opine. word of the day one of my favorite words do not be a poltroon when writing to "the factor." tomorrow we have a special super bowl "watters' world," which i understand is off the chart. so look for that on friday's "the factor." again, thanks for watching us tonight. ms. megyn is next. i'm bill o'reilly. the spin stops here cause we're definitely looking out for you. >>> breaking tonight, u.s. officials now confirming to fox news that at least one of five taliban killers recentl

let's listen to ms. lynch few things have pained me more than the recent reports of tension and division between law enforcement and the communities we serve. if confirmed as attorney general, one of my key priorities would be to work to strengthen the vital relationships between our courageous law enforcement personnel and all of the communities we serve. >> of course we heard that other sound bite of the gentleman who got up and accused eric holder of somehow fostering anti-police rhetoric. how could loretta lynch attempt to move things forward in a way that would not alienate the law enforcement officers that are, you know, work with the department of justice? >> one of the things she said immediately following the clip we just heard was that one of the key powers of the department of justice is the grant program, the money that they give to police jurisdictions all over this country. and, you know, we have maintained the legal defense fund that this is a powerful tool that the federal government has to act

attorney eric holder and ron davis has shown leadership and ms. lynch will provide that leadership once she is confirmed as attorney general. i am honored to serve thank glad to be joined on this panel for two outstanding leaders for our organization in respective cities. an initial discussion of what we could learn from ferguson we discuss this further at the mayor and police chief meeting was the 20th anniversary of the cops program in little rock arkansas and the meeting was attended by president clinton in a possible to the generous support of the cops office. following the little rock meeting to be chaired by a wilson charged a group to develop a set of recommendations intended to improve policing in america all laugh you were present is the co-chair commissioner ramsey in those seated to my left. our group is harder work to finalize the recommendations at the conference in a couple of weeks. so we will give you a confidential preview. [laughter] we want to present it for the first time next week the six areas are building police community trust th

i found a quote i would like to talk about in a minute, a quote from a speech given by ms. lynch about a year ago in which she made the following statement that caught my attention because it raises some alarm bells. it says, 50 years after the march on washington, 50 years after the civil rights movement, we stand in this country at a time when we see people trying to take back so much of what dr. king fought for. we stand in this country, and people try and take over the statehouse and reverse the goals that have been made in voting in this country, but i'm proud to tell you that the department of justice has looked at these laws and looked at what is happening in the deep south and in my home state of north carolina, has brought lawsuits against those fight -- voting rights changes. close quote. when i read this, i became concerned. i was wondering what was she was talking about, what laws were out there, what legacy of the civil rights era that was trying to be overturned. ms. engelbrecht can you guess as to what she might have been talking about, referring specifically to he

and immediately following washington journal the second day of the conformation hearing of ms. lynch wednesday, she answered questions about her role as attorney general and civil rights issues as well. here is a look at her testimony: >> the challenge i think people have when they come to washington, d.c. and they assume jobs that have political implications is that they sort of forget their basic moral in the law and become politicians masquerading like a law enforcement officer. and that is a real challenge. it has been a challenge for democrats and republicans as well. but i am concerned -- let niasia ellis -- me say you are not erin holder, are you? >> no i am mot. >> no one is suggesting you are but attorney general holder's record is on our mind. and when the attorney general refers to himself as the president's wingman, suggesting he doesn't exercise independent legal judgment as the chief law enforcement officer for the coapt country. you would not expect us to be a political arm for attorney general? >> you would be willing to tell your friends, no if in your judgment the l

pursuanto ause 12-aru 1rk the chair declares the house in recess subject to here is a little bit about ms. lynch. since 2010, she has served as attorney general for the eastern district of new york. she previously held the position from 1999-2001, nominated by president bill clinton. president obama nominated her to succeed as error -- to succeed eric holder. she would be the second woman and second african-american to hold office. she is a graduate of hard to it -- harvard university. she is 55 years old. you can see our confirmation hearing before the senate wednesday morning at 10:00 eastern. tonight on the communicators"" said charlie reclassifying broadband and other issues a thing that communications network in 20 15. >> i believe the bipartisan network has served us pretty well with the clinton fcc in 1998 that decided the infirm -- internet would be information service. it was chairman of both political parties, chairman kennard, martin, who recommended the slight touch regulation was the best way to incentivize broadband deployment. so i stand with members of both parties, the sec and c

senator mike lee on your screen now law enforcement and other witnesses testifying today following ms. lynch as appearance for over 7 hours before the committee yesterday. you can watch the entire hearing tonight. it will reair at 8:00 eastern time on c-span. >>> transportation second tear anthony fox told the senate environment and public works committee yes that the may highway trust fund expiration is a bigger crisis than most people realize. the committee also look to transportation infrastructure funding. the governors of alabama and vermont also have remarks with state-level perspectives on the issue. >> the meeting will come to order. i say to my friend the rankin rankining member, that the whole side back there is oklahoma. i came in last night and they were having a dinner -- i thought two or three people -- i knew gary ridley would be there. and i looked over, and they're all familiar faces there. so, you know, we have this concern -- there's a lot of things about what the government is really supposed to be doing, and quite often -- the reason i got on the committees i did 20 year

hearings will begin for ms. lynch in late january or february. and mr. mccain said mr.arter's hearing could occur in february which is the earliest time his health could allow it. mr. carter had back surgery last month. that is from "the wall street journal" this morning. back to your calls. buzz, a republican in pennsylvania. good morning to you. caller: stop laying him. -- playing him. that gives me the heebie-jeebies. i have a lot of confidence in republican leadership. they will be fighting an uphill battle, and fighting the liberal media and democrats all the way. a prime example is begin a millbank column that you referenced earlier, as well as -- the dana milbank's column that you referenced earlier, as well as, i don't know if anyone is watching what is happening on the keystone pipeline in the house. just watch that and it will tell you everything you need to know. republicans, i think it guy is -- the guys name is carver. he was just spot on. every time he was asked a question, he answered it with a smile on his face and fullback -- full facts. he shot down ev

ms. loretta lynch. [ applause ] >> thank you everyone. and thank you, first of all mr. president for that kind introduction. but most importantly, thank you, also, for your faith in me. in asking me to succeed an attorney general whom i admire, and to lead the department that i love. now no one gets to this place, this room this podium, this moment by themselves. i also must thank attorney general eric holder for your support and your friendship over the years, as well as by leading by example, and always always pushing this department to live up to its name. and i want to thank chairman lairty, senior officials of the department of justice, and members of the cabinet, for being here today. to my colleagues in the u.s. attorney community and throughout the department on whose strength and wisdom i lean every day, thank all of you, as well, for your support, both now, and in all the work that we have ahead. and to my beloved office, the eastern district of new york, my professional home. you have twice now given me the privilege of being able to serve you, and to focus o

ms. lynch is the u.s. attorney for the eastern district of new york. she was first nominated by former president clinton for the seat in 1999. she left the office in 2001 to be a partner at a law firm and she was renominated by president obama in 2010 for the district seat. if confirmed as attorney general by the senate she'd be the first african-american woman to hold the post. loretta lynch graduated from harvard law school in 1984. >> c-span 2 providing live coverage of the u.s. senate floor proceedings and key public policy events. and every weekend, booktv. now for 15 years the only television network devoted to nonfiction books and authors. c-span2, created by the cable tv industry and brought to you as a public service by your local cable or satellite provider. watch us in hd, like us on facebook and follow us on twitter. >> the senate's expected back in about 15 minutes returning from party lunches and later this week a retreat. today continuing work on the bill to authorize the construction of the keystone xl oil pipeline. until then we'll tak

ms. waters: i yield five minutes to the distinguished chairman from -- the distinguished gentleman from massachusetts, mr. lynch. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. lynch: i thank the gentlelady for yielding and for her great work on this issue. mr. speaker mr. speaker, i rise in strong opposition -- mr. speaker, i rise in strong opposition to this bill. i served on the financial services committee during the 2008 financial crisis and i had an opportunity to witness the harmful impact that lack of regulation had on hard working families around our nation at a total cost of more than $22 trillion according to the government accountability office. my constituents and many of yours lost their homes their jobs and their retirement savings during that period. many pension funds today continue to suffer and are on the brink of clatches because of the reckless policies that were observed during that time by many of our major banks. while i voted against the bailout of the wall street banks who were rewarded with bonuses as a result of the bailout i did have the honor of helping to assist in r