senator alexander and senator cochran. and i think we have through the graciousness of senator reid and senator mcconnell time for all our colleagues. i yield to senator alexander. mr. alexander: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee is recognized. mr. alexander: mr. president, i ask my brief remarks be printed in the record following the remarks of the senator from oregon. i thank senator merkley for allowing me to go now. mark hatfield was elected to the senate in 1966. he was a distinguished class that included some prominent republicans, sort of a new wave in the republican party. in addition to governor hatfield, former two-term governor, there was charles percy of illinois, the former president of bell and howell. there was ed brock of massachusetts, the first african-american popularly elected to the united states senate. also in that republican class were cliff hanson, a prominent rancher from wyoming and a young man who was the son-in-law of the then-republican leader everett dirksen, ho

leadership in the senate. he said it would be liberating. what is it that he might not have done? >> in some ways, it will not change. i have already had two calls for mitch mcconnell this morning. instead of spending my time on leadership, i want to focus on the issues i care the most about. i would like to work with senator feinstein and senator bingaman and find a way to put out a -- place to put our nuclear waste permanent. we are closed down yucca milton. we need a permanent repository. we need to work across party lines to do that. i believe we can do that. >> we've seen bipartisan efforts in the spring and summer, most notably the gang of six trying to get a big debt deal. they got a lot of attention. 36 are supportive. they never followed through. they do not have a legislative draft of their language. they're not close to putting something on the floor for a vote. how do you go from the debate society view of what should happen to actually getting something accomplished? >> people who have not been a

so it basically complements the senate -- implements the senate language. madam president, i come to the floor today with much respect from my colleagues, chairman leahy who worked on this legislation for many years and others who have tried to work on this important legislation and move it forward. i am sure it has been challenging. and i mean no offense to my colleagues about this legislation. it's simply my perspective about where we need to go as a country and how we get there. i'm excited that we live in an information age. one of the things i count very fortunate in my life is the fact that this is the age we live in. i often think if we lived in the agrarian age, maybe i would be farming and that is also of great interest, given the state of washington's interest in agriculture. maybe i would live in the industrial age. and when new factories were being built, that would be interesting. but i love the fact, love the fact that whether you're talking about agriculture, whether you're talking about automotive, whether you're talking about health care, w

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from west virginia. mr. rockefeller: mr. president, i rise in opposition, very strong opposition to the paul amendment. the senate voted on this earlier this year and turned it down very extensively. the the federal aviation commission, the f.a.a. is taken for granted by some. they just assume there's always going to be money. everything can go on constantly. the senate has rejected this. the f.a.a. has raised very substantial concerns publicly, but more importantly, from my point of view, privately at all levels that they will have to begin compromising safety, although they will not intend to. eventually you put f.a.a. at risk. it's a very, very bad and dangerous amendment, a mischievous amendment and sthub defeated. -- and should be defeated. mrs. hutchison: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mrs. hutchison: i would just say i would urge my colleagues not to support the paul amendment on f.a.a. although i understand what he is trying to do to bring it down, this is a clean exten

byrd and senator baker ran the senate, you did not have to check with them to offer an amendment. they would just opened a bill to an amendment most of the time. they might get 150 amendments and say, let's start voting. one of them said the the senate is a place where you are supposed to be offered almost any amendment and have an unlimited amount of debate unless 60 senators cut it off. if the senator from oklahoma wants to offer a gun and minute, why can he not offer it? we can vote on it and go on to the next amendment. we have plenty of time. >> on stepping down in general, you said it would be liberating. what about being in leadership is not a leader -- liberating? >> you have to reflect the majority of your caucus. sometimes even the minority of your caucus. you have to work around -- if you are in the huddle and the quarterback calls a play and you all go to the line, you cannot have everyone running off on different place. you all run on the same play. if mcconnell says to go left, i do not come out and go right. now i am free to do what i want to do. >> you do not like

but, again, the senate has made a great bipartisan effort with senators like senator blunt and toomey and vitter, and the senators maine, other senators from the other side that have joined this effort. i am asking the house, please reconsider your position. please fund disasters now. we will figure out a way to pay for this over time. we have already made provisions for this in the negotiations that were done a month ago between the republican and house leaders. our people are depending on us to act. so, mr. president, i'm going to submit the rest of my statement for the record and, again, i urge my colleagues in the house, please reconsider your position. join the bipartisan work under way in the senate to get this job done for the people that we represent and the people of our country that are truly desperate for us to act right now. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor, and i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent

and i can want to thank senator reid, senator schumer, and senator landrieu, our house democratic colleagues who are ready to stand up. we made a very important point tonight about helping those who need help as a result of weather disasters but also standing up for people who lost their jobs and wanted to continue to make things in america. >> did you speak to us speaker boehner about what you one of the house to do? and can you briefly explain how this works and what the house has to do to get to the october 4 portion of this? >> sure. my staff has been in touch with his staff all weekend. i had conversations and shared them with senators schumer with whom we have spoken many times over the weekend. i've talked to the speaker himself, not about anything further, but we always have conversations through our staffs. your second question is pretty simple. tonight we passed a cr that functions until november 18. in case the house has the poor judgment of not coming back this weekend confirming this, we needed to pass a short-term cr until tuesday. >> you talk about accounting to help your caus

th senat senate.e who a i think i'm the one member of the senate who actually voted campaign for senator percy and a w volunteer go along with my mom when i was only 12-years-old to percy read senator percy we knew was aed focus and discipline the leader m who succeeded that nearly everything he put his mind to. he gradually it from my allnd modern and lived in her illinois, my home town. my she leader after graduating went to the university of chicago andnomics got a bachelor's degree in on economics and he joined a camera company called bell and howell. he then led bell and howell led b starting at the age of only 29ge moving the company into making mi military cameras and movie projectors and said a new oduct product called microfilm as theas leader he was one of the great engines engines of a lie and employmentoyment gw 12 grew 12 times under his 3 leadership and earnings 32 times. but as we heard at the request h of president eisenhower, heions helped write better decisionsof for america as part of the0. republican platform of 1960. chuck percy ran for governor if 1964 but he lost t

both senators, while partisan during their terms in the senate, various terms in the senate, had a reputation for reaching across the aisle, working with the other party, the opposite party, and affecting constructive legislation to help the american people. we are fortunate that steve scalise going to moderate today's discussion. steve is a senior executive producer and political editor for the c-span networks. since 1990, steven been responsible for the planning and editing of all campaign programming including presidential and congressional election. for the public affairs cable network. steve serves as one of the regular host of the "washington journal," a daily live public affairs program as well as newsmakers and other c-span programs. steve is also a member of the associate faculty here at the washington center where he teaches a course called the road to the white house. this course is a comprehensive study of american presidential politics in the age of television and the new digital media. without further ado, steve scully. [applause] >> thank you. senator dorgan, senator lott, than

senate. a senator: could we have order? mr. kerry: which is to compel a single weapons system sale by the president with respect to a complex relationship like china, taiwan and the entire presence of the united states in the area of the straits and in that region. we have never done that. moreover, the president of taiwan has said that it is entirely adequate. he feels that they will have the defensive capacity necessary under the t.r.a. in order to be able to defend themselves at the current level with the upgrade that we're providing. now, let me point out, under president bush, over eight years, we provided $12 billion to taiwan, over eight years. in three years of the obama administration, he has provided about $12 billion. three years. so it was $15 billion for bush over eight years, $12 billion by obama over three years, and the upgrade that is being provided, six billion dollars worth of upgrade of sales and weapons includes state-of-the-art avionics and weaponry, including the electr

, republican senator burr, senator graham, senator sessions, senator snowe and senator collins; and five democratic senators: senator schumer, senator stabenow, i'm one of the five, senator hagan, and senator casey. each of us has pushed for legislation dealing with the problems of currency. and the chinese have clearly gamed the system. spwaoepbt all this time -- we spent all this time, mr. president, on the budget deficit. it's certainly worth addressing in a big way. and we spent so little time on the trade deficit. the trade deficit cuts in to undermining american jobs. a recent study showed that literally hundreds of thousands, some 2.8 million jobs have been lost to china since 2001, just in a decade. two-thirds of those manufacturing jobs because of unfair trade practices in part because of the way the chinese game the system on currency. our legislation simply, says several things. one of the most important parts of this legislation is simply telling the u.s. government that it must consider on trade cases when it's doing an investigation, must consider currency manipulation by t

roberts speak first, senator portman, senator hoeven, senator blunt, and senator isakson, and it is my hope that if there is time permitting i will wrap up. senator roberts, please, as the ranking member, former chairman of the house ag committee, ranking member of the senate ag committee 25, how important are these agreements to agricultural -- agriculture and job creation this the united states? mr. roberts: madam president, i thank my colleague and dear friend nebraska for the question. in the end, the biggest consequence for inaction is the number one -- that is now facing our nation, our biggest challenge, it's called jobs. in regards to his question, the three pending trade agreements add up to $13 billion, $13 billion. in additional exports and an estimated 250,000 jobs. from the ag perspective, the three pending trade agreements represent $2.5 billion if they are ever implemented. the estimates are that the three agreements in total are expected to increase the direct exports by $129.5 million just for kansas farmers and ranchers, and an additional 1,150 jobs for our state.

i know senator durbin wants to address the senate. last april i met with workers at nav a star in springfield, ohio, building next generation military and commercial vehicles. the plant's production is up because the community and company came together, compromised between the union and employer to keep jobs and increase production. as we see it across ohio, the other end of the state, a big steelmaker in cleveland, for every one person hour, one ton of seal is produced. we've never seen that kind of productivity, my understanding anywhere else in the world. we see it at the lima tank plant, it's a story we see in piketon, we see it across ohio, where made in ohio label, made in america stamped on everything from ables to auto parts helps -- from airplanes to auto parts helps to build our country. i got a letter from david from akron. he said i'm a firefighter for the city of akron. for 11 years i put the safety of my community above mine. i'm married to a high school english teacher. when i took the job i was told my life expectancy

. >> thank you senator brown. senator hagan. >> thank you mr. chairman. we all know that the consumer financial protection bureau was a key component of the dodd-frank act and it is time to put a director in place so that the bureau can fulfill its important mission. i appreciate you coming today and i certainly do appreciate your family being here with you. for too long, americans have fallen victim to financial abuses at the hands of auditory lenders that operate with impunity outside of consumer finance laws and away from the regulatory oversight. payday lenders took advantage of people in north carolina for many years until after considerable legislation and litigation we put a stop to the practice. i am optimistic that with a confirmed director in place at the cfpb, we can start to reign in those predatory lenders in the parts of the country where they continue to prey on american families, outside the regulatory environment. offices within the bureau have already embarked on important work and once again it is time to put a director in place to supp

blunt, senator rubio, senator snowe, senator collins, senator murkowski, senator brown from massachusetts, senator heller from nevada, senator hoeven from north dakota, senator toomey from pennsylvania, and senator vitter from louisiana, many of whom have experienced disasters in their state in the past and remember those terrible days or they're experiencing them now. and they said, we don't follow the "throw the wrench in the gears principle," we're going to follow the "let's get it done principle." let's get the work done. let's move forward. let's stop fighting and let's provide immediate and robust funding to help our communities. and so they voted across party lines -- i've done that before; i've been elected now three times. i mean, you can sometimes cross party lines to do the right thing, find middle ground. so they did. they found middle ground and we came up with a $6.9 billion package. now, let me say to answer specifically the senator from arizona, who i have a lot of respect for, we did not pull this sum out of the air. this $6.th.9 billion, which is h more robust than the $

president, with the kinds of reforms that senator coats and former senator gregg and senator begich andocate now that are in line with the fundamental thinking of the bowles-simpson proposal, the reforms proposed by former president george bush and president obama's own commission directed by paul volcker. we have a chance, mr. president, now to make fundamental changes, fundamental changes that will change the direction of our economy, and i think the psychology of the american marketplace. in this debate, we can talk, for example, about the issues that are front and center with american workers. i'm certain that in those coffee shops in west virginia, one of the things that is said again and again is senator, make sure you keep the jobs here, keep them at home. we're tired of all those jobs going offshore. well, senator coats and i have a proposal that takes away the tax breaks for shipping jobs overseas and uses those dollars to create jobs here at home. red, white, and blue jobs, mr. president, jobs that pay good wages here in the united states because we changed tax policies and ma

. >> good morning, senator cardin, senator lugar, senator demint. it is with a great deal of pride and enthusiasm i come before you today to unabashedly lend my support for wendy sherman to be the undersecretary of state for political affairs. i believe secretary clinton has chosen wisely because the am bass dorn sherman because -- ambassador sherman brings to this post an exceptional background and great deal of skill. she has unique abilities she wants to put to work in the public service for our country. as you said, senator cardin, i have known wendy sherman for 25 years. i have known her as a friend, a chief of staff, and she continues to be a close advisor. i do know wendy sherman and therefore that's why i'm so clear that this would be an outstanding nomination and hope the committee confirms her. she brings competence, intelligence, and integrity. wendy will be an invaluable member of our foreign policy team advancing the global interest of our country, a safer country, a stronger economy. she is strategic -- strategic thinker, a seasoned di

proceed to their consideration en bloc: senate res. 2737 and senate -- senate res. 2737 senate res. 261. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed en bloc. mr. udall: i ask unanimous consent the resolutions be agreed to, the preambles be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table en bloc with no intervening action or debate and any related statements be printed in the record as if read. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. udall: i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration en bloc of the following resolutions which were submitted earlier today: s. res 276, s. res 277, s. res 278, s. res 279, s. res 280 and s. res 281. the presiding officer: without objection, the senate will proceed to the resolutions en bloc. mr. udall: i ask unanimous consent the resolutions be agreed to, the preambles be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table en bloc with no intervening action or debate, and any related statements be printed in the record as if read. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. ud

the senators who will be here will be senator isakson, burr, kirk and senator enzi. will you let each of us know when we have consumed five minutes? the presiding officer: the chair will do so. mr. alexander: i thank the president. mr. president, in the world in which we live, every american's job is on the line. as every american knows, better schools mean better jobs. and schools and jobs are alike in this sense. washington can't create good jobs and washington can't create better schools, but washington can create an environment in which others can create good jobs and in which teachers and principals and students and the community can create better schools along with their parents. so a good place for washington to start is with the five pieces of legislation that we introduce today to fix the legislation known as no child left behind. no child left behind was a bipartisan effort in 2001 and 2002. president bush and democratic members of the senate and the house and republicans as well agreed on it. by 2014, the legislation said the 50 million students in our pub

i thought that senator hatch said that the senior senator from ohio, then the junior senator from ohio. was that the u.c. request? the presiding officer: no. the u.c. request was for the senator from utah, the junior senator from ohio, then the senior senator from ohio. mr. brown: okay. i didn't understand that from my conversations, but i do not object. mr. hatch: mr. president, i strongly oppose the t.a.a. amendment offered by my good friend and colleague from montana, chairman baucus. but before i get into the specifics, i think it is important to put this debate in context. for years, i have been working to ensure that our pending trade agreements with colombia, panama and south korea receive fair consideration in the united states congress. unfortunately, while i worked to get these agreements approved, other placed obstacles in the way. as a result, days, weeks and months passed. eventually, those months turned into years. now four years later, we are taking up the sixth renewal of trade adjustment assistance in the time that these job-creating trade agreements have languished. t

senator snowe, senator portman, senator blunt, senator mccaskill, senator schumer, senator brown and i have been focused specifically on stopping foreign suppliers from wandering their merchandise to a vague u.s. anti-dumping and counterveiling duty laws. these are the duties that are put in place, mr. president, to remedy the damage that unfairly traded imports causes to american producers. those foreign trade cheats, especially those from china have been found guilty of dumping their goods in our country. instead of dumping -- instead of stopping the dumping or paying the appropriate duties, the chinese goods are shipped into a country like korea where the goods get repacked into boxes that say "made in korea" in order to avoid the u.s. trade remedy laws. and all of this, mr. president, has been occurring under the sleepy eyes, the sleepy eyes of our customs agency. fortunately, with bipartisan support, the senate is positioned to act on this matter and address the issue. it will not come a minute too soon. mr. president, i was just stunned when the staff of my subcommittee on inte

senator crapo, mr. cody says this is the time, or some here in washington when the time was back in december when you're came out with your plan. now we are too close to a presidential election. there's no way to get a big deal now. >> well, first of all the closer we get to an election, particularly presidential election, the harder it gets. that's just a political fact of life. i refuse to accept the so-called political wisdom that we just have to wait until after the next election. for one thing, it's pretty much everybody on this panel has said, we don't have that long to wait. i think if we wait another 18 months, we lose a critical time. both in terms of being able to create the adequate solutions and in terms of being able to get the political momentum. secondly, the detail work has been done, not only by the commissions we talked about here but by many others. it's not a problem tried to figure out how to do a different solutions in the discretionary budget or entitlement budgets or in the tax r

a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from montana. mr. tester: on sunday this nation will pause to remember a painful day in american history. on september 11, 2001, i was glued to the radio in my pickup on a long drive back home to big sandy. it wasn't until i stopped at a billings restaurant that i finally saw on tv what i had heard about all day. the pictures were surreal. although the attacks of 9/11 weren't america's first test of uncertainty, all of us knew this nation would change forever. and the hours and days and weeks following the attacks of september 11, 2001, americans, neighbors and perfect strangers joined together to fill the streets despite their differences. they poured out their support. they redefined the united states of america. i knew then that this tkpraeut nation would over -- that this great nation would overcome. events that unite us will always make us stronger. i was reminded of that on may 2 when navy seals found and brought swift justice to osama bin laden prompting spontaneous celebrations across montana a

to think about this senate. they usually go find a desk of the senator from alaska if they are an alaska teacher or the senator from tennessee or daniel webster's desk or jefferson davis' desk, and they stop for a moment and think about our country in a special way. those teachers' purpose is better teaching, and the purpose of the academy is more learning of key events, key persons, key ideas and key documents that shape the institutions and the democratic heritage of the united states. so if i were teaching about september 11, these are some of the issues i would ask my students to consider. number one, is september 11 the worst thing that ever happened to the united states? of course the answer is no. but i'm surprised by the number of people who say yes. it saddens me to realize that those who make such statements were never properly taught about american history. many doubted that we would win the revolutionary war. the british sacked washington and burned the white house to the ground in the war of 1812. i

senators made it clear. enforcement actions are com beer smit, untimely, and it's very difficult to reach the right result through an anti-trust case. it was clear listening to senator lee or the other senators that they didn't want regulation. they said, no, no, no, regulation is not the right way to go. even mr. cleland said it's not the right way to go. if there's a need for something, based on what the witnesses said, google should police itself. i think they are doing an admirable job of policing itself, but is there something more because of consumer command and google's recognition that consumer is king, they'll find the way to correct their systems so consumers are best served. >> host: it sounds like you take him at his word saying google is run on a set of principles like solving the problems the consumer has. should federal regulators take a for-profit company at its word they are acting rightly especially when you consider google has been found to have violated consumer's privacy by the federal t

senate. it was voted down 97-0. every democrat and every republican voted against his budget. this health care bill, needs to be repealed. there is over 3,000 companies right now that are on waivers because they can not do business with this health care bill. president obama said that his policies would necessarily make energy costs go through the ceiling and they have. go make it energy costs through the ceiling and they have. when he came into office, gasoline was a $80 cents a gallon. now it is $3.50 a gallon. -- when he came into office, gasoline was $1.80 a gallon. now is $3.50 a gallon. we are losing business is overseas every day. guest: gas was $4 a down one president bush was in office. you can -- gas was $4 a gallon when president bush was in office. you can play games with gas prices. i think it is silly. in terms of small businesses and health care, there is the survey of businesses for decades. they asked about the major obstacles. overwhelmingly they say is demand. one of the ch

blunt, senator brown, senator coats, senator collins, senator heller and senator snowe.hese six senators voted yes to move forward to try to find a way to find the political will to provide funding for disaster victims now and not wait but send them a powerful and strong and clear and unambiguous signal that the united states senate and the united states congress hear their cries, and we know of their anxiousness and distress, and we will respond and will fight about how to pay for this later, not now. what they need to hear from us now is that help is on the way. what they need to hear is the fund will be replenished. what they need to hear, mayors and county commissioners and governors, republicans and democrats, from governor christy christy -- christie in new jersey to governor mcdonald who have given their support for funding disasters now, what they need to do is not worry about us. they have got enough to worry about. they have got roads to rebuild and neighborhoods to rebuild and rivers to get back in their banks. i heard today from senator schumer that in one of

senator mccaskill and senator webb testified before the senate homeland security committee.ommittee released a report from a finding as much as $60 billion of waste and fraud -- their report on friday, finding as much as $60 billion in waste and fraud. >> good afternoon. the hearing will come to order. se, our colleague, senator mccaskill and senator webb. i'm going to put my whole statement in the record and just draw briefly from it in deference to senator collins who has an appropriations meeting she has to go to and to our two colleagues. the commission on wartime contracting was created by legislation sponsored by senator claire mccaskill and senator jim webb to investigate our reconstruction efforts in iraq and afghanistan. last month the commission issued its final, and i would say to me, very disturbing report. because it says that at least 31 billion and maybe as much as $60 billion have been squandered in waste, fraud and abuse in iraq and afghanistan over the past ten years. and those are, obviously, 31 to 60 billion taxpayer dollars. i supported the wars in iraq

one on the amendment offered by the senator from utah, senator hatch; and the other by the senator from minnesota. i would like to explain in a few minutes why i think it's advisable for the senate not to adopt those two amendments. let me first address the amendment offered by my good friend from utah, senator hatch. there are a lot of people looking for work. today about 14 million americans are looking for work. more than 6 million have been out of work for about six months or at least six months. these americans looking to put in a good day's work, looking to provide for their family. at the same time many employers can't find enough skilled workers to fill the jobs that are open. it's very difficult because employers need people with specialized people. this is becoming more and more true with each passing year. they need workers who are good at math. they need workers who are good with their hands, trained in high-tech machinery. the bottom line is employers need an educated and skilled work force. trade adjustment assistance can help bridge this gap. trade adjustment assistance c

. >> senator begich? >> chairman, thank you very much. i actually want to follow the ranking member's line and then i have a couple other questions on housing over all. but, you know, what are the permanent results? let me describe -- if this was a man is a pro-government, the stimulus, the 300 billion or so, shy of that was in for the capital prevoyance debt financing like any other local government like i did as the mayor we would build a road, the money would be spent. that's correct, you're absolutely right, but here this the results. there's the road, economic development occurs. i will give you an example of the stimulus money, and i am glad we are getting more of this debate because i agree with a ranking member the money is gone but here's a result can tell you from alaska. i can't tell you from alabama or other states but i can tell you from alaska we build a hospital to be completed in alaska to employ 170 additional people, provide quality health care making a more livable community in the area

senate. that is pretty improbable. it. don't ever limit yourself. >> when you first ran for office, senator dorgan, how old were you? >> i have a very unusual story. i have been a state what elected officer since 1926. -- since age 26. i story was in some ways worn from tragedy. an incumbent officeholder, a young, brilliant man had just been elected. people and went to harvard law school. he came back and ran for office in north dakota and one. -- and won. dakota. did. -- he asked me to come back, and i did. about a year-and-a-half later, he took his own life, a tragic situation. six weeks after that, the governor called me down to his office and i was 26 years old. he said i would like you to fill the unexpired term. i ran, i ran, and i ran again. i ran for reelection, ran for the house, ran for the senate. i ran 12 times statewide and after a 30 year career, i decided to do some other things. i would not trade the experience. has been a wonderful privilege. >> i came to the city at 26 to be

the most press senator brown has done in the time he's been a senator has been to promote his glossy autobiography. that's been the most of the press he's gotten. when he has been forced to weigh in on national political issues, it has sometimes been a little weird in the sense that it has been hard to follow his positions sometimes. he doesn't always seem to have a great grasp of either the policy issues he is talking about or in some cases, which is the weird part of it, he does not have a good grasp of what his own position is on those issues. take, for example, the paul ryan republican kill medicare budget. when the paul ryan budget was heading toward a vote in the senate in may, senator brown told an odd wreaudience in massachusetts, quote, the leaders will bring forward paul ryan's budget and i will vote for it. i will vote for it. that's what he said. a few days after saying that, staffers for senator brown explained that that statement, i will vote for it, was not in fact a statement about how the senator would vote on that legislation. it was just a statement that he would v

nor have our senate democratic colleagues here in the senate. the house proposed a sound budget plan that would reduce spending over the next ten years and change the debt trajectory of america. we spend almost $8 trillion here in the congress since the senate democratic majority has passed a budget. 861 days. in fact the lewis and clarke expedition lasted 861 days. we passed that now without having a budget. that is a do-nothing record. it just is, at a time of national crisis we have a failure of leadership in the senate and in the presidency, in my opinion. president obama has never once looked the american people in the eye and told them the bitter truth about the economic dangers we're facing and how much work must be done to get us back on a sound, secure path. it's hard to ask people to sacrifice, it's hard to ask the american public to make tough choices if the president, our leader, will not affirm that we need to make these choices because it's a serious threat to america. admiral mullen, the chairman of the joint chiefs, has stated th

thank you, senators reid, hoyer, pelosi, and senator durbin. today we had a bipartisan vote to defeat the house bill, 59-36 -- it was not close. now is the time to work towards a fair and reasonable solution to fund disaster relief and avoid an unnecessary and destructive government shut down. the majority leader has said he's willing to meet with house and senate leadership this weekend. we hope that speaker boehner and senator mcconnell will take him up on the offer to negotiate a solution. our position is let's talk over the weekend. their position is you take it or leave it. their approach failed on the senate floor this morning, and it's time for them to change their strategy. we have a failed safe on monday. it's a bill to keep the government funded at levels that the house and senate democratting negotiated, and in a good faith compromise, it con tapes the same exact amount of disaster relief funding that the house republicans supported. the last thing we want to do is under fund fema in a year of record disasters, especially after passi

what then, senator alexander? >> well, that's up to senator reid, senator mcconnell and others but let's be clear about this. we spent all week talking about this with senator reid saying we had to have $7 billion. when nobody certified that much damage, then on friday the republicans said, okay, let's vote today. let's not wait over the weekend so puts it off until monday. i don't like this business of sitting around blaming each other over such small potatoes. what we really ought to be doing is spending time to see if we can get $4 trillion in debt reduction. senator warner, chambliss and others have rounded up 37 senators equally divided by party who agree we should do that. we'd like our super committee to succeed. if we could do that, we could begin to get the economy in better shape and gain some confidence in the country. >> senator warner, back to the sort of larger question rather than the inner workings of this bill. and that is secretary geithner actually put it this week, he talked about how our globa

[laughter] but i want to say that senator nelson and i, with great support from senator boozman and senator rockefeller have been relentless in assuring that america's place in space would be continued, and i couldn't ask for better partners and senator rockefeller, senator nelson and senator boozman on our side. they have backed us up all the way, and i would also mention because we are going this week to the appropriations process senator mikulski also has brought in 100%. she and i are the chairman and ranking member on the appropriate appropriations committee. we are going to march up tomorrow, and we are going to do what i think everyone will applaud, and that is to assure america's rightful place in both science and space exploration. thank you. >> we get double the pleasure because she's not only on the senate commerce committee, she's also the ranking on the cjes appropriations committee. we want to hear from the other members of congress to react congresswoman eddie bernice johnson is the ranking member of the house science committee. >> thank you -- [inaudible] there is. thank you

senate in 1978. every senate employee becomes familiar with that office early in their tenure because that is the office in charge of the senate payroll. as well as everything relating to an employee's compensation, payroll deductions, retirement, life and health insurance and other benefits. the disbursing office used to be located in the capitol when tim started. in fact, it was located in s. 233, which is now part of the republican leader's office. during tim's early years on the job, staffers and senators alike would line up in the hallways on payday to receive their paychecks. maybe that is how tim became legendary for never forgetting a face or a name for so many members of this very large senate family and always having a kind word for every one of them. the disbursing office moved in 1980 when my predecessor, howard baker, expanded the republican leader's suite of offices. that's how tim and his co-workers now ended up with their familiar location on the first floor of the hart building. tim

what we have tried to put together on the senate side, senator schumer, senator reid, senator murray and myself, is illegitimate, reasonable compromise, funding the -- is a legitimate, reasonable we have goneu -- halfway. that is a true bipartisan effort, i hope we can bring our senate republicans around to defeat the john boehner art and stand with us in a bipartisan fashion on monday -- the boehner approach and stand with us on a bipartisan fashion on monday. >> thank you very much, senator schumer. senator schumer and i came to congress at the same time. i am pleased to join senator reid, senator dorgan and senator schumer in urging our republican colleagues -- senator reid, senator byrd bourbon, and senator schumer in urging our republican colleagues to reach compromise. we had at debate on the house floor. republicans and democrats rose, particularly some very compelling statement from a republican from pennsylvania and a republican from mississippi, talking about people have been ravaged by floods and tornadoes in particular. there are people ravaged by hurricanes and fire and

vote no >> thank you, senator. state senator, nina turner and chris redfern. on "the ed show" on msnbc, let's talk to the heroes, the firefighters. stay with us. we'll be right back as a manager, my team counts on me to stay focused. so i take one a day men's 50+ advantage. it's the only complete multivitamin with ginkgo to support memory and concentration. plus vitamin d to help maintain healthy blood pressure. [ bat cracks ] that's a hit. one a day men's. your finances can't manage themselves. but that doesn't mean they won't try. bring all your finances together with the help of the one person who can. a certified financial planner professional. cfp. let's make a plan. try smart balance buttery spread. it's heart-healthier than butter. with omega-3s. 64% less saturated fat. and clinically proven to help support healthy cholesterol. ♪ put a little love in your heart ♪ >>> let me tell you, folks. let me tell you what this fight is all about and how intense this fight is in this country. tonight, when i open this broadcast here in columbus, ohio, i talked abou

>> for the senate. >> for the senate, yes. okay.lexander, good to talk to you this morning. >> thank you, chuck. >>> president obama has a day of arm-twisting ahead of him. live pictures here of the general assembly, where the president will speak shortly. we'll have live coverage of that, as well. and also, we're going to go to the u.n. for a live look at what's going on with the palestinian push to try to get recognition from the u.n. >>> plus, it's tough to now try doing it twice. that's what senator dianne feinstein and other democrats are going to have to do after they were wiped out by an embezzler. how will it impact the 2012 race? but first today's trivia question. what country is a member of the united nations? tweet me at chuck todd or "the daily rundown." the first correct answer will get you a follow wednesday from us. the answer coming up on "the daily rundown." (announcer) everything you need to stay balanced on long trips. residence inn. ♪ [ multiple sounds making melodic tune ] ♪ [ male announcer ] at northrop grumma

let me turn to senator grassley and then senator blue men tall and senator cloy by char -- klobuchar. senator grassley. >> i probably won't have a chance to ask all of you questions because i can only stay for one round, but i appreciate and i'll submit some questions for answer in writing. i'll start with ms. monaco. i sent a letter to the department of justice requesting information about the monday prosecution agreement entered into with the islamic investment of the gulf limited. i think it was an unusual move when the department issued a no press release about this agreement. the agreement was the conclusion of an investigation that had moved around the department from national security division to the criminal division's terrorism financing section, to the tax division, as of today i haven't had a response to the letter because -- i just kind of expect answers to my letters. maybe it's a little soon to get them so i'm going to ask you. but i hope we can get answers because i want to make sure that the department's not trying to hide something. the silence on this issue of not is

>> thank you senator. we are all facing those challenges will. we have articulated so that within the budget guidelines as articulated by the president, the priority for us of course are the five mission areas that we should see as essential to the homeland security, preventing another terrorist attack such as we saw in 9/11 where that is the job one we do it every day. we will continue to prioritize that within our budgetary dhaka lines. securing the borders again, we have achieved a significant progress in securing our border, and we will continue to emphasize that enforcing the immigration law conveying the innovation as well building our cyber capacity is essential, developing cybersecurity for the nation and building a nation's resilience as well to face of risks and hazards. we will continue to prioritize these. we will also continue to prioritize the integration of the department and the management of the department. there are some on this committee i am proud to say have never suggested that someho

vote no >> thank you, senator. state senator, nina turner and chris redfern.ow" on msnbc, let's talk to the heroes, the firefighters. stay with us. we'll be right back. have i got a surprise for you! [ barks ] yeah, it's new beneful healthy fiesta. gotta love the protein for muscles-- whoo-hoo! and omega-rich nutrition for that shiny coat. ever think healthy could taste so good? [ woman announcing ] new beneful healthy fiesta. a living, breathing intelligence that is helping business rethink how to do business. in here, inventory can be taught to learn. ♪ in here, machines have a voice... ♪ [ male announcer ] in here, medical history follows you... even when you're away from home. it's the at&t network -- a network of possibilities, creating and integrating solutions, helping business, and the world...work. rethink possible. >>> let me tell you, folks. let me tell you what this fight is all about and how intense this fight is in this country. tonight, when i open this broadcast here in columbus, ohio, i talked about 9/11, i talked about these heroes. you know

. >> senator?> thank you mr. chairman and it's a very special thing for us to be in the house and to see these most palatial quarters. in the senate we market a much humbler way, just like you to know that. >> may i quote you? >> you may but i am pleased to have the kennedys meet together for the first time since the 2002 joint inquiry into the attacks of september 11th. i also congratulate you on the house passage of the fy 12 intelligence authorization bill. thank you for the cooperation that has enabled us to pre-conference the legislation. i look forward to senate action and enactment of the ford st intelligence bill after a six year hiatus. i'd also like to welcome our witnesses, director clapper and director general petraeus. i think you for being here. i believe important and substantial progress has been made in united states intelligence collection and analysis in the past ten years. we are often asked the question are we safer today? the answer we believe is an unqualified yes. this is no

senator ensign quit before the senate ethics committee reported on the affair. that report said senator ensign may have violated the law when his parents wrote a check for $96,000 to the husband's staffer of the wife's staffer he had been seeing. after the ensign resignation, republican resignation dean heller was appointed to fill his seat. he represented the second district as a member of congress. that led briefly to the exciting prospect that republican sharron angle might run for the newly open house seat to replace heller. she didn't get a chance at it. through wrangling in court, the republican party won the right to name their candidate for that seat without a primary. the nevada republican primary, nevada republican party, surprise, named nevada republican party chairman mark amaday. national republicans spent $600,000 trying to hold this district in the republican column. it has only ever been held by a republican. on top of the official republican party money, karl rove's conservative pac american cross roads kicked in another quarter million bucks to

in august, senator grassley and i introduced senate bill 1483, the incorporation of transparency amountmong enforcement assistance act would require disclosure of beneficial ownership for a nation and the company formation progress. the treasury department was supported announce the following. that would substantially advance the administration's fundamental availability and information about companies create in the united states and they went on such legislation is critical to the global financial system in strategic markets reviews. so we went to first of all think the treasury department for that support and we're wondering from you, secretary napolitano whether or not department of homeland security takes the same supportive position we need to know for law-enforcement purposes, just for law-enforcement purposes, the beneficial owners of corporations are in order to prevent terrorists and other malfeasance from this using shell corporations launder money or for their nefarious purposes. >> yes, we reported. >> i would hope, mr. chairman, we can take up this bill again. he had on the