the senate. the clerk: washington d.c., november 30, 2010. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable al franken, a senator from the state of minnesota, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: daniel k. inouye, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: -- mr. dodd: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from connecticut. mr. dodd: it is a great honor this morning to have fluet to provide the hoping prayer this morning. i want to thank him immensely for his words with regard to bishop carol. a wonderful way to begin the session this morning. he's not only a priest, he's a great friend. we've known each other for 30 years, first met when i spoke at a breakfast in connecticut. years later he became my parish priest. he pwab advertised my two -- he baptized my two daughters, was a witness at my marriage to jackie. beyond being a parish priest, he's almost an extended member

senator until this race was over. well, now the senate race is finally ending. around here. >> says she's the apparent winner. >> i love nbc! >> "ap" called it, we don't count on "ap" for senate races, we only count on them for house races. but do you think that's good enough? >> apparently i can shave my beard? and then my face will become a parrot again. >> are you going to do it right now? >> we've got to do it now. i've got a date tonight with my wife. >> nbc has called lisa murkowski as the apparent winner. >> oh, mustache is apparent. mustache is the caveat. >> it's an asterisk on your face. >> it's an asterisk, i'll say. >> all right. excellent. >> okay. thanks, appreciate it. appreciate all the support. >> how you doing? how's it going? how are you? >> how you been today? >> i'm bill. very nice to meet you, how are you? >> good. >> i've got a terrible-looking beard i need to -- i'm very excited about this. i've been waiting a long time. three weeks. they had this crazy race for the senate in alaska. and so i kept on the beard until it was settled, and it

john -- senator from montana, senator john tester. each year, up to 70 million americans are sickened from foodborne illnesses. thousands of the most vulnerable, including children and the elderly, die. i don't think there's anyone who hasn't heard of the massive recall of millions of tainted eggs that sickened nearly 1,500 people. we need to find a better way to protect americans from these tragic deaths. and during the "help" committee's consideration of this bill late last year, we had the opportunity to hear from dan reagan, director of the north carolina department of agriculture and consumer services food and drug protection division, about the innovative steps that north carolina is taking to prevent and address food safety proble problems. north carolina was one of the first pilot states for the manufactured food regulatory program standards, and north carolina has a robust training program for those people dealing with food safety issues. and i am proud that north carolina is leading the way forward in trying to prevent and q

senate. there has been efforts to repeal certain most egregious earmarks. the bridge to nowhere in alaska was one of those that became more famous than others. and i have to say to my colleagues, i have seen with my own eyes -- and i say this with great regret -- the influence of money, the contributions in the shaping of legislation. and i have seen that come in the form of earmarks. one of the individuals that i admired a great deal, former member of the house of representatives, now resides in federal prison because of earmarking. another member of congress recently got out of prison. it was earmarking. i just saw that the former majority leader of the united states house of representatives was convicted in court in texas and earmarking played a major role, the system of rewards for campaign contributions was an important factor in that conviction. so for many years, i have been coming to this floor to express my frustration with this corrupt practice. it's been a lonely fight and hasn't w

senate. the verification regime will provide insight into russian forces, insight that's degrading over time without the treaty in place. we need to ratify the treaty now. for decades, our relations with the soviet union and now with russia have been stabilized and made more predictable and cooperative through arms control agreements. how can it be that now, when russia is no longer our enemy and yet not our ally, that my friends across the aisle are refusing to move forward on ratifying a modest treaty that's critical to our national security? if consideration of the treaty is delayed or blocked, it will make cooperation with russia on national security interests much more difficult, if not impossible. do you seriously believe that if you block or reject the treaty, we'll see russia's continued cooperation with international sanctions in iran? aren't you concerned that russia will reconsider its prohibition on the sale of the s-300 antiair defense missile systems to iran, as it did in septem

senate here on c-span2. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. o god, we are in your hands, and may we rejoice above all things in being so. do with us what seems good in your sight. today, show mercy to the members of this legislative body. let your sovereign hand be over them and your holy spirit ever be with them, directing all their thoughts, words, and works lord, prosper the works of their hands, enabling them in due season to reap a bountiful harvest. strengthen their hearts in your ways against temptations and make them more than conquerors in your love. we pray in your merciful name. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington, d.c, november 18, 2010. to the senate

support her cause. >> there were still some-- senator lieberman was one, senator nelson of nebraskawas another-- who still said there's merit to what the insurance industry is saying. and those were critical swing votes. >> narrator: emanuel and harry reid were now doing deals just to win over democrats. they killed the public option, pleasing senator lieberman and others. they lowered proposed taxes for medical device makers for evan bayh. the final holdout was the democrat from nebraska, former insurance executive ben nelson. >> ben nelson is one of the more conservative members of the democratic caucus in the senate, and they needed his vote, they had to have his vote. >> that meant sitting down and hammering out a deal, really giving him almost what he wanted, anything he wanted. >> the focus at the end of a bill like this is always how you're going to get those last two or three votes. and compromises are made and thrown at senators' feet in order to get them to vote. >> narrator: in nelson's case, the cost was $100 million. the costs of expanding nebraska's medicaid would be c

governor and ended up being a senator. what's the future for you in minnesota? particularly if you don't run for the rnc, are you going to run for office again? >> i don't rule it out. but i'm not looking for another office. i believe in service. that's what i have done. on the other hand, i believe in capitalism and free enterprise. i think it's okay to make money in america. i would like to make money. i have dedicated my life to public service. building an organization that is supporting folks that support conservatives, and the right philosophy. i may choose to do other things in the private side. i don't rule out public service. i think it's a noble profession and really lament the beating that the public servants have taken. some of it self imposed. the duke cunninghams and others. service is noble. if the opportunity were to present itself, i wouldn't rule it out. >> i wonder what you of course of joe miller's decision to see the murkowski's campaign. >> i understand joe's frustration. i'm listening to what joe is s

the top republican in the senate, mitch mcconnell, welcoming to town the newest republican senators who will officially take their seats when the new congress is sworn in january. republicans will still be in the minority in the senate in january, but there are more of them than there were before the elections. and top senate republican mitch mcconnell is therefore about to take on a much more highly visible and politically important role in washington, d.c. that's really important. here's why. as the lame duck congress gets to work, there's lots of reporting and speculating and negotiating about the tax cuts, right? about whether or not rich people are going to get a giant new tax cut. that has been america's front-page political issue -- actually for a few months now. it started getting debated even before the elections. but honestly, nothing's really expected to happen on the tax cuts issue legislatively until the week after thanksgiving at the earliest. what is about to happen a lot sooner than that in d.c. is a much more dramatic change from what we have been talking about for

the president's old senate seat or i should say the senate seat he used to hold now alexei giannoulias running against mark kirk the republican. we still don't know the outcome there with 87% of the precincts in. >> we don't know the outcome and alexei giannoulias was not the first choice of house. they had hoped a stronger democrat will get in there. after talking to democratic sources across town and in illinois as well, this race, although it looks razor thin right now, the democrats are not hopeful they'll be able to keep it. they think that kirk lead is going to hold potentially for the rest of the night but watching it very closely. >> ifill: a very narrow lead. >> remember giannoulias has ahead very early on in the evening. this is one of the states where the numbers depend entirely on where the votes are coming from. >> ifill: do we know where they're coming from? >> the democratic votes were dumped in very, very early. that's why i think we're seeing kirk rack up his.... >> ifill: a lot of personal investment made not only by the president but by michelle obama going into illi

senate. they took the day off yesterday for meetings. they start with an hour and a half of general speeches and consider motions to move ahead on a couple of bills dealing with gender paid differences. the food and drug administration oversight of food safety. live coverage of the u.s. senate on abdulmutallab. c-span2. rule their hearts without a rival guiding their thoughts, words, and works. take possession of their hearts and order their steps by the power of your loving providence. we pray in your sacred name. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington, d.c, november 17, 2010. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate,

senate. fox news proyects the democrats do indeed clicked control. state of hawaii democrats held the seat. the republican turn over and former fox contractor john kesack wins and state of carolina. nicky haley defeats vincent shaheen . state of wisconsin. fox news project russ feingold lost the race to ron johnson and feingold campaigned on his support for health care overhaul . he lost his seat. state of democrat. barbara boxer holds on her seat and defeated carlie fiorina. she spent more than 140 million of her own dollars to try to win the seat and goes down in defeat. nevada, one of the most important races it looks like we will not have a result at this moment. a motorist in southeast las vegas ran into a transformer and knocked out power x. nevadans will not release until everyone has a chance to vote. the numbers on your screen reflect 19 percent of the vote for the senate seat of the senate majoritiy leader harry reidi am shepard smith. the news starts now. >> it is a political drama

. >> thank you, senator thune. senator web? >> i would like to congratulate both of you for being selected for these responsibilities. i have no doubt that both of these commands will be in excellent hands. general keller's interesting review yesterday as we discussed, my father send a good bit of his air force career in vandenberg and it brought back a lot of memories of really amazing work that his generational cohort did in terms of pioneering these programs that have matured into the discussion we are having today and a lot of people don't realize the jeopardy this country was in in the 1950s after the soviet union had gotten ahead of us with the sputnik program. the discussions we are having and the issues we're facing a are a direct impact from the quality of work that generation put into this. having grown a good part of my life on those two bases i wish you the best. general -- general ham, have had a discussion here about the dot study on the don't ask don't tell issue and i asked the chairman of the subcommittee how m

senator jones says, i'm senator, mr. president. i've thought hard about and it i am just just not going to be able to support that bivment oh, there's probably a little pause in the phone and the president say, you know, senator, i know that replacing that bridge in your capital city is real important to you. it would be a real shame if your state missed out when the executive intranch setting its priorities for next year. now, senator jones, would you like to reconsider how you're going to vote on that bill? that's executive-branch earmarking. and again, it makes no difference if the president is a democratic or republican. it is a matter of respecting the constitution and preserving -- preserving the constitutional prerogatives of the legislative branch. some people say, well, harkin, why do you night so hard for these earmarks? senator udall says it's 1.5% of total federal spending. i fight so hard because the constitution gives that power to the legislative branch. we should protect the constitutional prerogatives of the legisl

a senator: mr.ing officer: the senator from pennsylvania. mr. specter: mr. president, i have sought recognition principally to urge my colleagues to ratify the start treaty with russia. i ask consent at the outset that the text of a memorandum from senator jon kyl and senator bob corker to republican members dated november 24, 2010, regarding progress in defining nuclear modernization requirements, ask consent that that be included at the conclusion of my statement. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. specter: i urge my colleagues to move ahead with the prompt ratification of this treaty. i have long been interested in the relationship between the united states and the soviet union, predecessor to russia, on the issue of arms control, going back to my college days as a student of international relations. and one of the first items which attracted my concern on election to the senate was a saturday speech made by then-president reagan, where he said essentially that the united states had su

to pick up 10 senate seats. they have ten seats now held by democrats. thus far they've picked up three. they haven't had a big, big win yet that was not in the polling cards thus far. there are still several to go in the next hour or two or even before. if they are projected we've got, of course, pennsylvania and illinois. mark, the colorado race that was just very well explained by ms. burly from colorado public radio. that race is interesting how both candidates changesed their messages from one, you know, for their own reasons and as a result, boom, they are neck and neck. it's all ground game now? >> it is. it's a real shootout. i think there's been more outside money spent in colorado than any other state in the union. >> lehrer: that's what she said. >> wall to wall. absolutely right. the thing that is fascinating, the point i think that is key is that, again, the tea party, ken buck with their choice against jane norton who was an establishment choice former lieutenant governor, sort of a middle of the r

former senator... he already served earlier in the united states senate from indiana. and here now are... we will keep these going, these overview totals going as they come in. both in the senate races, the house races and the governor's races as we come up. here now are mark shields and david brooks. mark, is there a philosophy difference on the table here tonight? i mean, are people voting because they are... they want... or is it about a specific thing they want changed? are they being driven by a philosophy or being driven mostly by facts on their ground? >> well, i think there's always a philosophical element to every election, jim. people have a predisposition for one party and what that party's priorities are. but i think this is a reality- based election. i think this is an election that people voted for the democrats in 2008 that promised first of all a change. the way washington worksçózv tt hasn't happened. but more importantly to people their own lives are not better. the economy is not better. >> lehrer: that affects liberals as well as conservatives. >>

senate race. the ap has already called the race for senator murkowski. though joe miller has not given up the fight. senator murkowski will be joining news a minute to go on the record. former vice president dan quayle will also be here. but first newt gingrich joins us live. first where are you, sir? >> i'm in cedar rapids, iowa at the barnes & noble. >> greta: the news from the state of alaska. what do you make of that? senator murkowski a write-in candidate. >> a great personal achievement. i think hates been 56 years since anyone has won a write-in vote for the u.s. senate. remarkable personal achievement. helped by key mistakes on the part of joe mill lawyer. nonetheless, she had the courage to won. she put together the organization, she took advantage of his mistakes. if ap is right and she does up as the winner, this has to be seen as a personal achievement that people have to respect for her courage and the fact that the people of alaska were prepared to write had her name in. >> greta: what about the role of the he party in alaska for this race?

let's take a look at some of these senate races. to the battle for the senate.t is still under way and polls are still open in the west. the republicans need to pick up 10 democratic seats to reach a 51-seat majority. so far, cbs news estimates they have picked up three. in arkansas, republican john bozeman ousted democrat blanche lincoln. indiana, dan coats who served in the senate in the 1990's is going back taking the seat of evan bayh. john hoeven, taking the seat of byron dorgan who is retiring. the tight battle between senate majority leader harry reid and sharron angle. we predict marco rubio the winner of a three-way race with independent charlie crist and democrat kendrick meek. richard blumenthal over republican linda mcmahon. christopher coons defeats christine o'donnell who made the ad saying she wasn't a witch. in in ohio, rob portman defeats lee fisher. bob, there is a possibility the republican could control the senate. >> reporter: if there is good news for the democrats tonight it is probably they will hold onto the senate. mitch mcconnell, who

he is now our senator elect. he is our senator. i think we all ought to wish him well as he tries to do right by our state and we should be helpful in that regard. [applause] i just told him on the phone that if he finds issues were weekend together move the commonwealth forward and better the lives of people hurting right now, in this democrat is at his disposal. i want him and his family to know that. [applause] i have to stop now and thank my remarkable family, my parents, my siblings who put up with a lot during this campaign and my wonderful and losin-laws, my sty campaign manager, betsy dexter your energy is irrepressible. richard jenkins, from what bill nicdylan nichols, my ag staff. i love you all very much. [applause] i want to thank jefferson county. jefferson county has jack's back and i appreciate it. [cheers and applause] i want to thank a very special kentucky woman, ms. lewellen. she is quite simply the best professional i have ever been around. [applause] i want to thank the people that were there with us at the ini

lugar who's the leading foreign policy expert in senator kyl's republican party denounce senator kyl for what he did today and you had harry reid the senate majority leader the leader of the democrats in the senate but still controls the senate so there's plenty of time to consider this treaty and he was making it a top priority so this battle is just beginning obama has. how to bring the tree to the floor of the senate this year i think he's going to make it but i just wonder if words aren't enough right because we've heard so much about this so much about the importance of this treaty if you look at hillary clinton john kerry you know lugar if you look at joe biden even they all talk about how this is so important for our nation's national security but that's the exact same argument that you hear all the lies coming from from people on the right from the john bolton's the john hughes of the world from the heritage foundation's mailers that are saying that this is a threat to our national security so i just wonder if maybe we should stop using that word if there is a just a more you

because it would apply to the entire senate. we'll have a debate about whether or not we want to apply something only to republicans and not to democrats. as you can see, it's a lot more complicated than it appears. >> schieffer: but i mean if it was for everybody, if it was for all members of all parties, let's just stop earmarks-- you would be for that or again it? >> i would be willing to consider it. the problem is it doesn't save any money. it's an argument about discretion. what we really need to do, bob, is to concentrate on reducing spending and reducing debt. this debate doesn't save any money, which is why it's kind of exasperating to go some of us who really want to cut spending and get the federal government's discretionary accounts under control. >> let's talk about another way to save some money. house republicans, and i think several other republicans this morning, are saying on television that they realize you can't repeal health care reform immediately. but they say, in the meantime, what they would like to do i

lieberman, senator collins, senator coburn and senator grassley to introduce legislation to give better hiring authority. at that time, general fields had been the cigar for more than seven months and cigar hadn't completed in the original audit or investigative work. this raised serious concerns about the effectiveness at protecting against waste fraud and abuse in afghanistan. even though cigar received additional money and new hiring authorities in the summer of 2009, the organization did not improve. cigar continued to have difficulty in recruiting adequate experienced staff. we learned cigar performed only one contract audit prior to december, 2,009 while devoting time and resources to review subjects outside of its mission like a 2009 review of the role of women in afghanistan elections. we were particularly concerned that cigar was failing to establish the priorities for its work and so in december of 2009 senator collins, senator coburn and i asked the president to conduct a thorough review of cigar in july 2010 the inspector for efficiency abbreviated completed their review. th

[inaudible] >> i think that both senator kerry and senator lugar are experts at dealing with their senate colleagues. i had the privilege as you know to serve with them for eight years. they both believe that this must be done in the lame duck. the administration will stand with them. will do whatever it takes, literally around the clock, to reach out, to answer questions, to have discussions because we really -- this is not an issue that can afford to be postponed. we think once we take that message with the urgency that you heard from the three of us, we will get the votes and we will pass this treaty. thank you. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> house democrats have been meeting in caucus room in the capitol attempting to agree on the new leaders of the 112th congress. this has been going on for several hours now. we have heard just moments ago that members agreed 150-43 that current house speaker nancy pelosi will be the new house minority leader in the next session. this from the a.p. today the closed d

senator brady did not vote to cut his on pay.e need to do this without cutting education, health care, our police, or veterans. >> you approve of the borrowing plan, correct? >> i approve. it was approved by the legislature because we do have to pay the payment. we cannot do like the new jersey model who just skips out on a payment. that is not responsible. >> what is the alternative? if you do not borrow in order to short the pension, what does one do? put us in a whole. we have to live within our means. >> what happens if we do not make the payment? >> we leave a bigger hole. when gov. quinn does not understand that whether you are here or borrow against the pension that you are still and getting children and grandchildren in our state. we need a governor with a backbone who is willing to balance the budget in a fair way. gov. quinn's budget last year targeted three areas -- classrooms spending by over $1 billion, 33% of public safety, and i have said that we will barely deal with all areas of state government. the waste, fraud

burt, senator kyle said the same. he particularly pointed to modernization so, there wasn't enough time to resolve the thorny issue there's. first of all, what what's he talking about? and secondly, does he have a point? >> okay. really two or three quick points. first of all, jim suggests in a way that if it went into a lame duck session that the treaty really hasn't been examined carefulfully. and it clearly has. there have been over 20 briefings of the congress, the senate on the treaty. there have been over 900 questions answered. in fact, this treaty has undergone as much examination as the treaty i helped negotiate in 1991. and it's interesting that senator kyle is focusing on nuclear modernization, rather than potential pit falls in the treaty itself. because i think most of the arguments against the treaty are essentially bogus. what senator kyle is focusing on is the question of whether or not we are spending enough on our nuclear weapons complex to keep it safe, reliable, secure and effective. and here i thi

oklahoma republican senator inhofe is joining us now. welcome, senator. >>guest: you better tell them's i start i am the most scbive member because why want them to get confused as to where i am coming from. >> we will note that. i give you credit because when you come out and say you are against a ban on earmark most of america thinks earmarks are simply unnecessary spending. detail your position on this. >>guest: when the house did it, the house made a definition, they came out with a definition of "earmark," caused clause 6, rule 21 of the house of representatives and defined them as appropriations or all authorizations. in other words, these guys cannot aappropriate or authorize. and the constitution says we are supposed to authorize and be doing the spending. it is very clear. >> you mean congress? >>guest: the house and the senate f we don't do it, the president does it. when you eliminate an earmark you do not save a nickel. this is very important people understand this. i am on the armed services committee and the president has his budget and says

. >> but, democrats retain control of the senate, with the senate majority leader fending off a vicious tea party challenge. >> you made possible what many called impossible. >>> this is the "cbs morning news" for wednesday, november 3rd, 2010. good morning, everybody. thanks for joining us. i'm betty nguyen. >>> frustrated and frightened american voters handed democrats and president obama's agenda a stunning defeat. in two years feelings of hope and change were replaced by anger and disillusionenment. republicans seized control of the house while democrats barely retain control of the senate. some of the most powerful democratic members were defeated. when all is said and done, republicans will have picked up at least 58 seats in the house. their biggest house gains since 1938. ohio's john boehner in line to replace nancy pelosi as speaker says the people's voice has been heard. >> the people's priorities will be our priorities. and the people's agenda will be our agenda. this is our pledge to america, and this is our pledge to you. >> early this morning, president obama called boehne

senate to do their job. let me just say that i talk with a number of senators on the other side of the aisle and we discussed the outstanding issues. there is no substitute for agreement on the treaty. what separates apparently with a sense of moving forward is money out 10 years in the future. the president has put $80 billion on the table for modernization and an additional 4.1 billion to meet the request of senator kyl. either way, the chairman of the appropriations committee, the secretary of state, we are committed to modernization. next year, the house of representatives would be run by the republicans. we would hope that the republican leader would get agreement on a republican on the house with what will move forward. we stand ready to negotiate. we have two weeks. we will be out of here on the thing as giving break and we stand ready to work on any day during that time. we have at least two weeks before this goes before the senate. the door should not remain open if we can find the good faith to neg

youç will have fewer democrati senators and supporters in the next senate.t get it done? >> it's not how many senators will vote on it. we think on the merits and on the substance it will pass. but the problem is next year we have to start all over again, because we start with a new senate. so we end up doing another 18 hearings and things like that. >> what's the downside? >> frankly, as the president said, this is a national security perspective imperative because of the relationship with russia. we have reset the relationship. we have moved forward. but we are using russia to help supply our troops in afghanistan. they were very, very helpful with what we think are very significant sanctions against the iranians, and we have a big agenda with the russians. new start is the first piece of it. if we can't get that ratified it's difficult to move forward. >> in terms of the argument this is going to weaken us on missile defense -- >> i was the chairman of forces on the house services committee. we did missile defense. we're spending $10 billion this year. th

the top democrat in the senate. somebody who had been seen as, perhaps, the most vulnerable democrat in congress, has won here in nevada. defying the republican wave that has swept so much of the rest o. the country. he defeated sharron angle. and he defeated her pretty soundly. did it, in part, by just rolling a relentlessly negative campaign. a campaign at times quite ugly. portraying sharron angle, who is a real tea party hero, as somebody who was way outside the mainstream. and now, harry reid wakes up to another reality, which is he is the majority leader. but he goes back to a senate majority that is a much smaller majority. a majority, nonetheless. and it is a victory that he will certainly take. back to you, vinita and rob. >> jon thanks. >>> in the 37 races for governor across the nation, republicans won at least 10 statehouses held by democrats. >> and one democrat who bucked the trend was 72-year-old jerry brown in california. brown defeated republican meg whitman, who spent $160 million of her own fortun

senate. what about governor races? frpblgt they are critical to the n.e. afp n.e.a. in maryland we have governor o'malley who has been a huge champion for public education, students and teachers. in ohio we have governor strickland another big advocate for public education. governors races across the country from california to colorado to florida and texas. these races are going to be critical. education is funded 93% at state and local level so whoever is in the state house will have a huge amount of decision making. host: is there an approach or idea among the governors running for re-election or the new candidates that excites the n.e.a. particularly? guest: when we look at the ones that we are supporting, we know that they understand class size. we may hear from people at the local level and they are under tremendous pressure with state budgets falling and federal government not being able to fund some of the programs they are under pressure to fund them. they talk about early childhood e

that's the condition on which senator lugar and senator collins are voting, offering their repeal votesif you've got a fair and open amendment process and got the schedule they've got set up for the lame duck process, can all of this it happen before christmas? >> that's a good question. if you look at it the way -- the way senator majority leader harry reid and the things he's laid out that he wants to ç accomplish in this lame duck process, it's hard to see how that happens unless they stay in it through christmas, new year's and february. it's a very ambitious list. bringing a bill to the floor doesn't necessarily mean it's going to happen quickly. the defense authorization bill is a huge bill, hundreds of pages. even when there's nothing controversial in it, it could take a week, two weeks, maybe three weeks. is there political will between democrats and republicans to shorten it down or move through it quickly? that remains an open question. what about the bush tax cuts and the calendar gets smaller and smaller each time you add another provision that you want to vote on. will he

next senator rockefeller, then senator hatch. senator rockefeller. >> thank you, mr. chairman. dr. berwick, i would like to ask three quick questions in a row. >> he's going to recognize. he's not going to make a statement. >> i revise my comments. i certainly don't want you to punt, senator rockefeller, i did enough of that in the intelligence committee. i'm suffering from c.m.s.-induced paranoia so i'm going to have to leave. i hope you can feed that as we go further. did the chairman indicate to the ranking member we will have an opportunity, we'll try to have an opportunity to talk to dr. berwick before thanksgiving? >> we should sometime. i did not say when. >> sometime. ok. >> and good faith reasonable -- >> i think the obvious statement by the senator from iowa and my ranking member five minutes obviously i can't do this because i have other obligations i have to leave. and i apologize for that. i would hope we would have an opportunity to do that. i'd like then to ask unanimous consent to submit some questions for the record. >> no objection. >> thank you, dr. berwick, for

senate races. you're looking at the latest race, boozeman over the incumbent blanche lincoln in the arkansas senate race. as we run through the list that we know of at this hour including georgia, indiana, the first gop pickup of the night in the senate race there. a former senator returning to the u.s. senate. kentucky, rand paul, son of congressman ron paul. and the tea party candidate going to the u.s. senate from kentucky. leahy, of vermont, his seventh term. ohio, portman, the former congressman and budget director going to the u.s. senate for the republicans. alabama, shelby, going back to the u.s. senate. in delaware, the democrat coons turns away christine o'donnell in a celebrated race there. in florida, a 39-year-old cuban american will represent the u.s. senate for the republicans. maryland, the veteran barbara mikulski going back. and in oklahoma, the doctor, senator coburn going back to the u.s. senate. in north carolina, race just decided in the past few minutes. the results now in. b

and senate hernandez -- senator endez as well. i want to reiterate what dick and harry had said. the middle class is hurting. that is the lesson of this election. the average it'll -- middle income, the most salient fact or statistic of the last decade is that even from 2001-2007 and continuing into the recession, median income decline for the first time in america in a decade. that means people do not have good paying jobs or when they do, stretching that middle-class paycheck is very hard. our job is to focus on the middle-class like a laser, to create those paying jobs, to help them stretch that paycheck, and there are lots of places where we can talk common ground with our republican colleagues to do just that. they will believe a little more on the tax cutting side, we will believe a little more on helping with public works and education and things like that. but we can come to common ground and we want to come to common ground for the future of this country. if the pie stops growing for a long period of time, we do not have the america that we know. and nobody wants that. t

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from oregon is recognized. a senator: mr. president, the senate has come back to a full-throated debate about the comparative benefits of the tax policies of george w. bush and barack obama. we turn on our capable tv these days and hour after hour there is a great deal of analysis of which approach is better on one factor or another. mr. wyden: and i want to take just a few minutes today to point out that i think that debate misses the point. because either of those tax approaches of george w. bush or president obama in my view would anchor our country to an insanely complicated job killing, thoroughly discredited tax system. and i think what is important is that the senate begin work moving towards a tax system that can create, as i've put up here and will walk the senate through, at least two million new jobs per year. the fact is, mr. president, in this discussion comparing the george w. bush policies and the policies of president obama

late this afternoon, oklahoma senator inhof took to the floor of the senate for a warning for republican as making the case depending how the earmarks are defined and how it plays out, it's possible that the republicans could see obama type budget pass and not have the old type of legislative tools to hold them under control. they could be stuck with it without the ability to throw in the earmarks. >> bret: much more on this with the panel. thank you. one issue both sides agree must be addressed, expiring tax cuts. basically, a giant tax increase. the first of the new year. but white house correspondent mike emanuel reports there is a big gap between the parties on what should be done. >> reporter: aboard air force one before landing in asia, president obama reiterated the the argument against bush tax cut for hiring americans. >> boost the economy. >> reporter: earlier his senior advisor david axelrod spoke what the white house wants lame duck congress to do about the tax cut. >> we have to extend the middle class tax cuts. we have to do that. do it permanently and give people security

senate. that is the process by which it will happen. does rand paul say that i am going to filibuster against this? until he gets some sort of agreement to have some sort of budget reform or some sort of deficit-cutting bill passed something, but that is unknowable. that is the process by which it will happen. >> it will pass by a majority but the president will not want to brag about it passing. [unintelligible] ] that is not when happened. we need to help people get a sort of -- this is just that. the need to raise the debt ceiling is the legacy of our past fiscal irresponsibility. it is a bipartisan and as to be done. but the repercussions of not doing and are extremely destructive to the country. it is a duty that i do not want. but -- if you're going ask me do something that is and savory, in order set of books right on your past spendthriftyness, i need an expression and result from you that things will change going forward. for them to be hard in bargaining s, it is perfectly responsib

senate race.his is the first time she faced serious opposition in her intent to keep her senate seat. >> and the race against former hp, ceo has been contentious, to say the least. her win means the u.s. senate will stay under democratic control. here are the numbers, 48% of the vote going for barbara boxer, the declared projected winner in this race. >> laura anthony is in l.a. where the boxer campaign is watching the returns. >> that's right. and within the past couple minutes we got the high sign from the boxer campaign. the senator is about to come out here any moment. but she has been up in a hotel suite here at the hotel we believe in hollywood watching the returns with her family, with her husband and her two grown children and her grandchildren. we were told by somebody close to the campaign that what has been happening here is they have been waiting for carly fiorina to concede. that hasn't been happening. i think at the moment barbara boxer is about to come out. let's teak a look. in any