one who, by the time senator helms won for the senate -- i believe it was 1972 -- senator thurmond had been in public life since 1926. that's number one. number two, based on my observations as a reporter for congressional quarterly and having written quite a bit about some of the things senator helms was involved in and the same with senator thurmond and watching him, i've always thought that senator thurmond is ideological, yes, strong views, yes, but he is primarily a legislator. this is somebody who, if he wants to get something done, listens to where the other side is. you can do business with him; you can get something done. the best example, probably, is not the meat and potatoes of this book but his work with ted kennedy and howard metzenbaum, very liberal senator from ohio, on crime legislation. senator helms, i thought, has a different reason that he's here. he is, i think, out more to represent a point of view and to hold to that; if he can attract enough people to it, so be it. if not, he is not as interested in moving to find that center. i would say a third thing, and thi

senate. and as chairman conrad has noted, medicare reform is going to have to be bipartisan. the reason i believe that is that if it's not, much like we saw with health care reform, if it's done just on a partisan vote, the side that loses, as soon as the ink is dry on the signature of the passed bill, the other side will move to undo it or repeal it or radically alter it. i say the medicare guarantee is too important for that. and that is why i, with other colleagues, with the help of the chairman, colleagues on both sides of the aisle, i've been working to get bipartisan medicare reform ready, teed up for enactment at the first possible opportunity. it's outlined on my web site, bipartisan options for reform, and i'm interested in working with every colleague here in the the -- in the senate to pursue it. here's what y -- here's what it's going to take. first and foremost it will take protecting the most vulnerable seniors, what are called the dual-eligibles, seniors who are eligible for bo

of the senate." when i talk to people now, the first thing he asked me is how did you time this so well? the book is coming out just weeks before one of the most eagerly anticipated primaries in indiana and many, many decades. and the truth is, i can pretend that this was great timing, but it is almost a total accident. i've been working on the book for a number of years and i work full-time covering congress for market is international. between working a full-time job in covering senator with a full career, this has taken a long time to write. it's coming out now an interesting time of course. the senator is involved in a very contentious, typical primary. i've got a sense of how charged the atmosphere here is. this morning i went to a coffee shop and a guy was waiting on me and we started talking about indiana politics and i mention i'd written this book on senator luke are. the first thing he said is approved lurker or anti-lugar? my response is i hope it is fair to lugar because when i try to do

if senator baucus and senator blount can agree on a bill, we can all agree on a bill. now, many pundits and experts have predicted doom and gloom which it comes to this bill. they were wrong in the past. they said it was over, it was gone. it would never happen. we'd never pass through the senate. the house wouldn't act. we'd never be here. we're here. now the ball is in our court. those of us around this table. it is our job, and we will do it. and we have the wind at our backs, because we have a senate bill map-21 that is a reform bill that received 74 votes. it protects and creating 3 million job, and a million of those came out of a program, i worked with senator inhofe and chairman mica on as well as mr. rayhall. it's an expanded program which leverages values 30-1. an additional million jobs bp so i want you all to know from the house in particular, this is this bill, map-21 a real reform bill. it consolidates 90 programs, just in the highway part alone, into 30. it eliminates earmarks. it gives states flexible. it establishes performance measures. accelerates pr

senate. with that, i yield the floor, mr. president. mr. alexander: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mr. alexander: mr. president, i want to ask consent that the senator from delaware, senator coons, and i could have a colloquy for up to 15 minutes. the senator from delaware is not yet on the floor, but i know that he's coming because i know other senators would like to speak at 2:00, i'm going to go ahead with my remarks. and then when he comes, let him go ahead with his. mr. president, each year approximately 50,000 foreign students received -- receive advanced degrees from universities in this country in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. we call that in shorthand, stem degrees -- science, technology, skwraoerbgs and math -- science, technology, engineering and mathematics. of those 50,000 students, at least 17,000 of them go home to other parts of the world. mr. president, these are some of the brightest men and women in the wo

the senator from minnesota, senator khrob kharbgs and the junior senator from pennsylvania, senator casey, have been leaders on this drug shortage issue and i applaud them. they are doing this to safeguard americans' health. every day hospitals across the country experience shortage of lifesaving f.d.a.-approved drugs and treatments. mr. president, as most senators know, my wife has been ill with cancer, and she had 20 weeks of chemotherapy. every week we were worried that that drug wouldn't be there on that monday morning at noon when she got those treatments. fortunately for us they were, but that isn't the way it is with everyone around the country. people who need these lifesaving medications have found those medicines not available, and we have to do everything we can to stop that. these shortages threaten public health and prevent patients from getting the care they need. shortage the one drug used to treat a rare form of childhood lieu leukemia, a drug that is an effective cure in 90% of those cases have put young lives at risks by not having those drugs. when i say 90% cure rate,

senate senate in illinois in 2004. he was struck by the fact of someone running for office who is interested in foreign policy. i think mr. obama referred to lugar very positively. when obama jumped into the stratosphere after his speech in 2004, i think senator lugar kept a much more close eye on him, and when he was elected, barack obama in 2004 -- lugar wrote him a letter and -- he was then the chairman of the foreign relations committee, and he said that you would be a good asset to this committee. he brought energy and star quality to the committee. obama joined a committee in 2005. they work together. they took a trip together. during the 2008 campaign, senator lugar endorsed john mccain, as you might expect. but he also was careful not to disparage obama. in fact, just weeks before the 2008 presidential election, he gave a very interesting foreign policy speech in which he talked about the obama and mccain approaches to foreign policy. it was a very even minded speech in which he was, praising both for certain t

and as i said senator gillibrand, senator casey and senator lehey are responsers of this. >> i'd like to assoc myslf with the rorks of senator brown and also explain why this is so urgent. in new york state alone, we have over 700,000 families who are at risk and food insecure. that means that that family may not know where the next meal comes from. we have so much need across any food pantry, every soup kitchen, they have told me there's such an increase in demand because the economy is so bad, they have a decrease in charitable giving. so they're trying to do more with less. and they said the group that is most affected by these terrible times is children. and i can not emphasize enough how important it is to give the secretary flexibility to say that these are communities that need this little extra money. this is something that can go a very long way to making sure kids do not go to bd hungry in this country. >> thank you very much. >> yeah. here is what i would say about this. the way the secretary's authority has been established to date is its authority to, it gives the secreta

senator boxer, representative mica, first i want to begin by thanking senator boxer and senator inhofenot only forgetting to build on in a very difficult congress, but for the example you have set for each and every one of us around this table. traditionally this is the most bipartisan, the most popular and the least difficult bill to get through both houses and there's a good reason for this. this bill meets our obligations to perhaps the most important parts of our economy. not only on the own terms, but because they spilled fees so many other parts of the u.s. economy. not senator boxer, i have at various long list of my most favorite and my least favorite parts of your bill, for example. but i am not going to devote my few minutes to detailing my brothers and i am not going to be to them. i am going to try to crack is what i've been preaching, especially when i say we send blame us to get added a lot out of this conference committee. this is likely to be the only jobs bill in the 112 congress that most americans would recognize as such. the bill already incorporate a kind of compro

senator boxer, representative mika, first i want to thank senator boxer and senator? inhofe for not only getting a bill done in a very difficult congress, but for the example you have set for each and every one of us around this table. traditionally this is the most bipartisan, the most popular, and the least difficult bill to get through both houses. and there's a good reason for this. this bill meets our obligation to perhaps the most parts of our economy. not only on its own terms, but because this bill feeds so many other parts of the u.s. economy. now, senator boxer, i have a very long list of my most favorite and my least favorite parts of your bill, for example. but i'm not going to devote my few minutes to detailing my druthers. and i'm not going to speak to them. i'm going to practice what i've been preaching. especially when i say we simply must get a bill out of this conference committee. this is likely to be the only jobs bill in the 112th congress that most americans would recognize as such. the bill already incorporate as ton of compromises, get ready fo

as my friend senator moynihan used to say, our friend, senator, then senator clinton and senator warner who is here, famous phrase, everyone is entitled to his own opinion. but not to his own facts. there are facts with respect to this treaty, and i look forward to this committee establishing what they are. ultimately, this issue needs to be decided by the members of the committee asking tough questions of the witnesses. and not by the outside groups. so i'm pleased that we're going to having an opportunity over the next several weeks, next couple of months to hear from multiple buttons and we begin today with our top national security leaders. they will be followed by military commanders, including those ho are in charge of our operations by top business leaders, the chamber of commerce it, others, by treaty experts and by opponents. once again, i simply ask that everybody work hard to find out what is factual and what the realties are with respect to how this works. and so with that, i would like to welcome today's distinguished witnesses. as secretary of state, hillary clinton has wo

senate. i congratulate richard mourdock on his victory. i want to see a republican in the white house. i want to see my friend ms. mcconnell have a republican majority in the senate -- mitch mcconnell had a republican majority in the senate. i hope that richard mourdock prevails in the november. i am deeply grateful for the remarkable efforts of thousands of volunteers who devoted countless hours to my campaign. the enthusiasm of good friends and loyal supporters over many months was encouraging. i think my campaign team, who made enormous personal sacrifices and never stopped working hard or seeking a path to victory. most of all, i want to thank my loving wife. [applause] i want to thank are four remarkable sons and the entire lugar family for their understanding, support, and love. my family has been indispensable to every aspect of my public service from the indianapolis school board on word. my public service is not concluded. i look forward to what can be achieved in the the senate in t

the president's, congressman paul ryan's, senator pat toomey's, senator paul's and senator mike lee's. we'll give democrats a choice and see if they have the courage to get behind any of these proposals or none of them, and we'll learn a lot in the process. by the end of the day, we'll know whether there is a budget that washington democrats support, and the american people will know without a doubt who is voting for solutions in this town and who isn't. they will know who has got a plan to fix the mess we're in and who doesn't. they will know who would rather spend their time criticizing others than doing the hard work of setting priorities and making choices. now, senate democrats don't want to explain how they will fix the fiscal mess we're in. they don't want to say how they will preserve and strengthen entitlements. what they really want to do is just complain about others. they are putting their desire for campaign material ahead of their responsibility to govern. the tragedy is every year they do so, the problems we face only get worse. the debt gets bigger, entitlements get cl

senator sgram running late. senator leahy is out of the senate this morning. but was kind enough to allow me to convene this hearing. and i'm sure will add a statement to the record. i'm going to open the floor to senator graham when he does arrive. for the time being because we have many colleagues here who have busy schedules of their own, i want to turn to the first panel of witnesses. at the outset, i do want to note that i invited the department of justice to participate in today's hearing, but they declined. we are honored to be joined by our colleagues from the senate and the house. in keeping with the practice of this committee, first we will hear from members of the senate, then members of the house, a practice which i loathe in the house, but now that we're running a show i'm afraid that you'll have to live with it, my house colleagues. each member will have three minutes for an opening statement. your complete statement will be included in the record. the first witness is senator cardin. former member of this committee, senate sponsor of s 1670, the

senate senate in illinois in 2004. he was struck by the fact of someone running for office who is interested in foreign policy. i think mr. obama referred to lugar very positively. when obama jumped into the stratosphere after his speech in 2004, i think senator lugar kept a much more close eye on him, and when he was elected, barack obama in 2004 -- lugar wrote him a letter and -- he was then the chairman of the foreign relations committee, and he said that you would be a good asset to this committee. he brought energy and star quality to the committee. obama joined a committee in 2005. they work together. they took a trip together. during the 2008 campaign, senator lugar endorsed john mccain, as you might expect. but he also was careful not to disparage obama. in fact, just weeks before the 2008 presidential election, he gave a very interesting foreign policy speech in which he talked about the obama and mccain approaches to foreign policy. it was a very even minded speech in which he was, praising both for certain t

senator reid and senator mcconnell. let's go back to the issue of the language because several senate republicans arguing on the floor today that adding what they're calling a use of force provision would better reflect the president's policy that all options are on the table when it comes to iran exploring nuclear weapon capability and a provision that must be included along with the economic sanctions. specifically senator lindsey graham, republican of south carolina, adding that the language would, quote, send an appropriate signal to iran but would not be intended to green light military action, instead to restate u.s. policy. here is a quote from senator graham. i just want to add one simple line that says we recognize what the president was saying that military force is also an option. and so that really is where the debate comes down. you heard earlier that senator mcconnell saying he needed more time to resolve the issue, that they agree in principle, but the back and forth continued. so the larger question whic

senator hatch? >> thank you. i don't think anyone in this room will contradict me when i say we all want to conclude this conference committee as quickly as possible in a way that puts our transportation programs on a stable and predictable footing. that ensures the strong voice for local communities in this total process. and frankly, -- frankly i'm very concerned that we move heard on this. those are us who have spent the last several years working on tax extenders and seeing the provisions that expired last year since languishing no firsthand living off the serious short-term extensions reduces our ability to think long-term. under cuts sound policymaking and of course undermines the certainty of our economic needs. i am concerned the senate passed transportation bill particularly the finance title does not put us on a sustainable and predictable path. the finance title practically amounts to a search under the couch cooushions and the approa to put it together as difficult as it was will become more difficult

vitter and senator coburn, senator johnson, senator shelby and others on flood insurance. like a lot of things that happen, this has become critical that we do something on flood insurance. it affects almost six million people, and we need to get something done on a more permanent basis. there's been a general agreement -- we don't have it in writing yet but i want to make sure the record is clear here on the floor what my intention is. is that we would have a 60-day short-term extension, and that extension there would be language for the duration of 60 days that would include in that the second-home subject that's part of the underlying bill that senator coburn has focused on. that would be for 60 days. then i would be happy to make a statement here on the floor today during the next work period that we will move to that bill, the flood insurance bill, so that we would have the opportunity to make it permanent. it's very important we do that, with the economy being such as it is, we can't in this area, and probably others, but this one, we can't have short-term extensions

the house has to work with the senate. the senate has network with the house. we have a platform network from. madam chairman you've showed your ability to bring people together. so, you know what, i'm counting on you doing it here. don't want you to feel any pressure or anything, but you've demonstrated that and i want to be supportive. i want to see you get a bill out, get people to work and get those contractors busy and let's don't have another bridge fall somewhere because we couldn't do our work. with that i yield back and thank you for your efforts. thank you. >> thank you. i see senator schumer. senator schumer, this is your moment, sir. three minutes to you. followed by representative butler. how do i say it? >> herrera butler. >> i'm so sorry. okay. i got it now. yeah. >> chairman boxer, it's a pleasure to be here. i want to thank you for your amazing leadership on this bill. you and senator inhofe deserve real commendation for coming together on an outstanding bill in a bipartisan way. it's just what america wants. we want jobs. we want infrastructur

senator costello is not here. senator whitfield? yes, three minutes. >> maybe i will go up here. >> i think it will reach. >> go over and get it and put it in front of him. >> madam chair, we appreciate the opportunity to be of this conference. it is my great honor to be here on behalf of the energy and commerce committee with our chairman, fred upton. i think all of us are aware of the american people do not have a high regard for congress as an institution. we see approval ratings of 12% or 14%. we have an opportunity with this legislation to show the senate and house can come together and pass needed legislation to meet the many infrastructure needs of our great country. the senateware passed this legislation overwhelmingly with 76 votes. we are all aware of the house has shown overwhelmingly it does support keystone, the coal ash language. we would also like to see additional reforms on the highway bill. i think we can be successful in this conference. i think the american people would be significantly disappointed if this fell

senator boxer is not here. it is not anyone in this room but there happen to be on this conference and many members in the house, not anyone in this room constantly goes to the floor and tells about the senate and i say thank god for the united states senate particularly with the transportation bill. they set the example. and not putting issues germane to the transportation bill. transportation is the engine that put america to work. the competition is already there. the chinese $50 billion in transit and what we are trying for the first time since ronald reagan, cut the funding for transit. there are many areas we could agree on, one stop for the process that we could cut down on the amount of time for project. let me take this time to say i support amtrak 100%. twenty-nine million passengers. we need to continue to invest in it. what our country needs is a surface transportation bill that strengthens our infrastructure and as someone was talking about, walking of the walk. putting the american people to work.

senator webb and i send senator kerry and senator lugar urging to move forward and i'm grateful for your broad and searching and supportive testimony here today. when i was brandied to the senate, one of the earlier meetings i took was with the then outgoing chief of naval operations admiral gary roughen. when i asked him what is the single most important thing we could do to ep help the navy over the next decade, without hesitation, ratified the law of the sea treaty. ip was taken aback. as it turned out, admiral ruffin's estimation is shared by every living naval chief of operations, every living secretary of state and secretary of defense, supported by you today. i note that former senator warner, forman chairman of the armed services committee, former secretary of the navy is with us today and i have a copy of a letter he submitted to then chairman biden and ranking member lugar commenting on incoming chief of navalmiral rud given support of this. my concern, mr. chairman, members of the panel, is that this is the treaty that time forgot nap we are locked in a debate that is literall

senator portman and myself and senator schumer and senator grassley will be offering this amendment, and i want to thank you for your work on it as well. i encourage my colleagues to support this amendment, and i hope it will pass overwhelmingly. as members of the judiciary committee, senator grassley and senator schumer and i have been working on this, as i mentioned, for years. there have been reports from states -- every state in the country of people acting violently while under the influence of these drugs, leading to deaths or injuries to themselves and others. while taking these drugs, people can experience elevated heart rates and blood pressure, has lewis nations, seizures and extreme agitation. they are dangerous, but they are also danger to us to themselves. up in moorehead, pi moorhead, me did a forum and a group of people were sitting in the front row to support our provisions because they had lost a loved one who was taking something he considered to be synthetic mayor wasn't navment turned out to be very different, turned out to be much stronger. these are the cases an

to senator conrad, he will speak this. good news on the energy front. we're pleased about that. and a personal privilege with senator conrad to say what i said in the budget committee a little earlier about the fact that very, very sorry to see you retire. you have been extraordinary budget chair, nobody knows more about agriculture than do you sitting around here in terms of economics and numbers and how to make it work, and it's a great pleasure to work with you and we're going to continue, and just very grateful for all of your leadership over the years. senator conrad? >> well, thank the chairmanwoman very much. thank you for your extraordinary effort on this bill. you have been fully engaged, fully committed and very effective, and all of us oh you a debt of gratitude. i don't think i've of seen anybody dig in as completely as you did at a very difficult time with the special committee looming. you seized the reins of responsibility and all of us are in your debt. i also want to thank our ranking member. senator rober

>> aye. >> senator nelson? >> aye. >> senator brown? >> aye. >> senator casey? >> aye by proxy. >> senator clobichar? >> aye. >> senator bennett? >> aye. >> senator gillibrand? >> no. >> chairwoman stabenow? >> aye. >> the total tally of senators present is 12 ayes, four nos. >> a majority of the committee being present and having voted in the affirmative, the committee print is ordered and reported to the senate as mae amended. without objection let me say the committee counsel is authorized to make technical and conforming changes consistent with the actions of the committee, and i want to thank everyone again for -- >> madam chair, point of order -- >> yes? >> i think there were five nos. >> yeah. one was by -- >> will the clerk repeat the final tall? >> sure. the total tally -- >> four present. one by proxy. >> i'm sorry, thank you, madam chair. >> let me say in conclusion again, this is a very historic day to have not only the major reforms we have but over $23 billion in deficit reduction. i don't know another committee that's worked together in a bipartis

also, when you lose a bet it -- a veteran senator, like senator lugar, are you losing that influence that really helps maintain this aura that is serious, legislative, that have changed things? >> when someone leaves, you always lose certain skill sets and talents. in the case of senator lugar, a great experience. i worked closely with him on keystone as we were crafting the legislation. you also gain something from the new members that bring in a new >> -- a new perspective, experience of what ever they were doing in their state working with the people come and new and fresh ideas, energy enthusiasm. that is true not only in congress but a business organization or anything that you do. that is always the case. good leadership recognizes that we have a point of view but works to empower us in terms of getting things done. ultimately, at the end of the day, recognizing that we serve the american people and have a responsibility to get things done. >> turning back to keystone for a moment. this is fueling the domestic oil production that the president himself has rhetorically, at least

a senator: the senator deserves the right to be heard. mr. lee: i remind my colleagues of the old adage that you can make excuses or can you make progress but you cannot make both, at least not simultaneously. our current course is unsustainable. maintaining the status quo will inevitably impair our ability to fund everything from defense to entitlements, and so sticking to this course isn't the solution. it can't be the solution. if followed as a solution, it will have an impact that will prove devastating on america's most vulnerable populations. it's for exactly that reason that i have proposed this budget, a budget that balances within five years, a budget that simplifies the tax code, a budget that puts health care decisions back into the hands of individual families, individuals themselves and their doctors where those decisions properly belong. we don't have much time. we have got to get this done. i urge my colleagues to support this budget. thank you, mr. president. mr. reid: mr. president, could we have order, please? the presiding

senator joha in. ns. i think they're still talking about that issue, if t i'm not mistaken. >> i think -- your staff just agreed to this language? >> i don't think so. i think they're still working on it. >> okay. then we'll delay it. >> we'll put it aside and come back to it. >> thank you very much. not other than the -- if there are no further amendments, we will hold the title open for the one amendment that is being worked on. if that can be worked out and we will proceed to title 11, crop insurance. and let me just say at the beginning, we have every hearing, every meeting we have had with farmers we have heard loudly and clearly that crop insurance is the post important tool for risk management and i'm very proud of the fact that this bill strengthens and improves coverage for all commodities. underserved crops like fruits and vegetables as well without making budget cuts to crop insurance title. i want to thank senator roberts for his ongoing leadership and advocacy for this area. did you want to s

the senate is operating in the best traditions of the yours senate. people have their say. people get to vote. higher's my say: bring your amendments to the floor. i respect your ideological posmghts i respect the idea that the free market is where we want toasmg but i'm asking my colleagues not to put american businesses at risk at a time when our economy is on its knees. do not destroy this bank at a time when competitor nations are doubling the size of theirs. i yield the floor. ms. cantwell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the snoer from washington. ms. cantwell: thank you, mr. president. i appreciate my colleague from south carolina coming down to talk about this important tool for u.s. manufacturers ans why it i--and why it is important is state and why we need to get on the impis of passing this house legislation that was a compromise and involved many people. and as my colleague from south carolina stated, a very robust vote out of the u.s. house of representatives. i'd also like to say a few words about my colleague's amendment, senator corker. i'll trust wit

now, working with senators barrasso, senator heller, senator sessions and others, we introduced s. 2245. we called that the preserve the waters of the united states act. a bill that stops the e.p.a. from finalizing the guidance and from using the guidance to make decisions about the scope of the clean water act or to turn it into a rule. the house has also acted with chairman and ranking members of the transportation infrastructure and agriculture committees, introduced a bipartisan h.r. 4965. i applaud mr. mica and mr. rahall in this bipartisan effort, mr. lucas and mr. peterson, mr. gibbs for their actions. these bills do not change or roll back any current protections under the clean water act. they simply stop the e.p.a. and the corps of engineers from moving forward and making these unprecedented regulatory changes through a guidance document. the e.p.a. needs to withdraw this guidance document immediately if it wishes to make changes to the clean water act, it should go through a complete and proper rule-making process under the administrative procedures act. that's why it's there

but senator in half insured a -- senator inhoff issued a pretty strong warning to republicans say, look, we have this bill and we worked very hard on it. it has a two-year extension. and the house republicans, either whom are freshmen and are against government spending, they are coming together with the rest of their conference. how do those two things reconcile themselves? how do senate republicans help house republicans in this process? that way these drafts can be created in the projects started. >> we all want to move the highway bill. but this is an important part of getting it passed through both the senate and house. if you look at the bill itself, it is primarily the bill that was put together in the senate so the provisions that the house added, one of which is keystone, are important in terms of getting it through the house. the senator's comments were very good in that he said, look, we want to get a highway bill done, which i absolutely agree with, very important, but, at the same time, he thinks keystone should be and will be part of it because it is important infrastructu

nowhe senate side, we're down to 3 minutes per senator. the five minutes had to do with the chairman. we still have a couple of chairman on the house side to hear from. we have senator durbin for three minutes and rep hall for five minutes. senator? >> thank you. i had a great five-minute speech. it is great to be in the conference committee. i asked my staff what happened to the last public transportation bill in the house. you will remember this, congressman young. it past 412-9. this time, the house could not pass a transportation bill. how could a measure so easy to pass a few years ago be so hard now? we eliminated congressionally directed spending so members could pick important projects in their states eliminating 500 little engines that pulled the spill across the finish line. we had a bipartisan bill the last time it came up. this time, i am afraid it is not. that created problems. there were a lot of people in the house that wanted to add baggage to the strain. we have heard about it already. the keystone pipeline and said. we ca

excuse me, senator roberts? did senator casey have an amendment? i don't see senator casey at this point. i think we're fine. so thank you very much. if there are no amendments in this title, then title ten is closed. now we'll move on to title seven, which is research extension and related measures and i'm sure senator roberts is going to speak to this as well, that we're very pleased with a tremendous amount of work we have done, we have heard from pardon me farmers, we have heard from all of you, we all know how important agriculture research is and this title continues. the critical research initiatives we have had in place, but also adds a new nonprofit research foundation with dollars in it to bring public and private dollars together to support cutting edge research, was pleased to join with senator roberts in doing this. also senator thune and i have worked on this issue as well on another tax bill. i appreciate our work on this. and senator roberts, do you want to speak on this? >> i think in the interest of time, let me just agree with yo

senate. on weeknights watch key public policy events every weekend the latest nonfiction authors and books on booktv. you can see past programs and get our schedules at our website and you can join in the conversation on social media sites. >> tomorrow morning, "washington journal" takes a look at the government's role and forecasting and researching tornadoes. our guess is piques bots who wrote an article in the christian science monitor entitled inside the funnel. we know more than ever about twisters. he will take your phone calls tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. eastern. >> today mitt romney returned to iowa for the first time since the states republican caucuses in january. campaigning in des moines, he called the national debt america's nightmare. this is just over 20 minutes. >> thank you. a warm welcome. thank you for the introduction. governor, good to see you here. we have a wonderful presence in this room and i appreciate the chance to see you again. it's good to be back in iowa. so m

>> thank you, senator. in addition to the reform as you mentioned there are some issues with increasing the maximum coverage limits. currently the coverage leverett on the home is for full of the elite of love lost hundred $50,000. that is increasingly becoming a problem and issue as we see the higher values and homes again. as well, we are looking at business interruption. it's important to know that there is a study called for in the bill that talks about business coverage within the commercial sector. we see if it's very valuable as well. islamic in addition you heard testimony on the previous panel of the folks that were placed in areas that in fact were not in the flood plain. some of the things that would have been in the streamlining would be the ability for folks who were not in the flood plain areas that were charged in those areas would have an opportunity to come back and get reimbursed because of the flood plain appeal on an expense basis to the nfip. that would help us that have either been mis

as i recognize senator inhofe may i just say, mention to senator ritsch. we want to work closely with senators inhofe and other whose may have questions or reserveations about this, to specifically adopt in the resolution of ratification appropriate reservations and/or understandings and declarations, and we're working on some of them now, and i think as this hearing process goes on and things are flushed out where there may be those issues, we're ready to work with you to do that. senator inhofe. >> thank you, mr. chairman, and also thank you for our conversation we had on the floor a couple days ago where you did agree to hold a hearing with those who are in opposition to the ratification of the law of the sea treaty, which i am. so i appreciate that very much, and i remember so well back

minority senators can control the outcome of the senate.he senate was set up to represent states and have proportional representation. states like new york and california are disenfranchised by the filibuster. 14% of the population represented by 40 small state senators can block all the legislation by using a filibuster. we have to give back to work the house and -- the senate is representative of the broader issues of the state. majority rule is the core values of democracy. host: joe is a democrat in atlanta. caller: how about you, bob? ut-out.d to give a sho anothery'all took down republican millionaire. he is already getting death threats. host: what you talking about taking down a republican? caller: they took down a republican yesterday. they said they will do everything they can do. even death threats, i guess. guest: i do not have an answer for you. i am prepared to say that george has been helpful in the lawsuit against the filibuster. a distinguished lawyer has won many prizes and is it the heart of this federal lawsuit. the hero

, i want to say that you and senator inhoff have done a wonderful job on the senate size. i have certainly worked with congressman micah and congressman rayhall on our faa bill. and that was a huge accomplishment. so i do think that we can work this bill out. and i do think it's important that we come to terms where everyone will know that they have won something for america and for the interest that we all have. as senator rockefeller has mentioned, we have come to a complete consensus for our part of this comprehensive bill. senator rockefeller went through a few of those. i would like to point out a few of those. the motor coach safety act will bring minimum reasonable safety standards to inner city busses. it does not deal with intracity busses or transit systems, but the busses that go across state lines particularly those that are hired by groups, church groups or elder groups, have had a notoriously bad record and this cannot continue. our bill is pretty modest. it requires seat belts to be in these busses that are offered for hire. i would think that would be a min

and we have presented, senator brown, senator harkin and myself and senator harry reid not only a responsible way to pay for it, but we why have underscored and highlighted what is an egregious loophole, a tax shelter, have very clever ploy to avoid paying taxes on your wages through the mechanism of the subchapter s corporation magically converting them into dividends. well, i think we can accomplish two important public policy goals in this legislation. keeping interest rates on student loans at the current level, helping families send their children to school, and closing a glaring loophole, a tax dodge in our tax system. and with that, mr. president, i would yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. reed: i notice the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call:

to the senate chamber. they counted the steps, and they told him 45 steps. and he'd be back in the senate. and he said the day is going to come -- and i'm sure it will be soon -- when he will walk those steps. and there will be many, myself included, from both sides of the aisle cheering his return to the united states senate. so for mark, his family, his doctors, medical staff and all, thank you for this battle. thank you for your efforts, on behalf of our state. we look forward to your early return. mark and i have a joint town meeting, republican and democrat, every thursday morning. and the people sit there politely when we discuss issues and love it whaoe disagree because we do it without getting angry with one another. he'll be back soon not only with those meetings but also covering the state of illinois as an effective, engaged united states senator. mr. president, i would like to make the following request on floor privileges. mr. reid or his designee on behalf of senator cornyn. mr. president, i a

harkin and senator enzi, chairman leahy, senator grassley and senator feinstein for their leadershipnd enzi particularly for getting us in this package and senator portman for working with us on this amendment. now, on the issue of eduardo savrin. last week, senator casey and i introduced the expatriate bill. it is a bill that makes sure that people that renounce their citizenship for tax purposes don't escape what they owe and can come back without repaying all they avoided paying this great country. it's a modest proposal made in response to the regrettable effort by a person named eduardo savrin, who renounced his american citizenship to avoid paying even the historically low level of 15% on capital gains for the several billions in windfall profit he is set to receive from the facebook i.p.o. now, mr. savrin is no longer involved in the day-to-day running of the company and it bears mentioning that the current active leadership of facebook is comprised of responsible corporate citizens who meet all their responsibilities and obligations and proudly maintain their american citizen

a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from louisiana. mr. vitter: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i now call up the vitter amendment number 2103, which is at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from louisiana, mr. vitter, proposes amendment numbered 2103. mr. vitter: i ask unanimous consent to waive the reading. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. vitter: this amendment is born of a real frustration that a lot of folks have faced over the last few years, particularly in my state of louisiana. as, you know, mr. president, we've had a rough time, particularly following the the b.p. disaster. first there was the environmental disaster which was a real shock to our system and our ecology, but second, and even perhaps more lasting impact, there was the economic hit that was magnified enormously when the obama administration in my opinion overreacted and instituted a full-blown moratorium on production -- drilling, rather

chairman. >> thank you very much, senator. senator risch. >> thank you, mr. chairman.secretary clinton, in your opening statement, you addressed the p. who oppose the ratification of the treaty and particularly spoke to the ideology and the philosophical opposition some people have to pay us. and i hope you weren't scoffing at us. i am one of those that fall into the category because i have some deep-seated reservations on that he says. indeed, most wars we have fought that fight over ideology and philosophy. indeed our country was founded on that because we had a difference with great britain over that. i would consider that important. get this down even narrower, my problem is this sovereignty. there is 280 pages here. as you read it, there's some good stuff in here. if we give up one scintilla of sovereignty that this country has thought, blood for an given up our treasure in the best that america has, i can't vote for her. i want to talk about a couple of those as we can. he defended his not being in here that requires if you look a article xxii the signatories to

, we want to work closely with senators, senator inhofe and others, who may have questions about this, or reservations about it, to specifically adopt in the resolution of ratification, appropriate reservations and/or understanding and declarations and we're working on some of them now. and i think as this hearing process goes on and things are fleshed out where there may be those issues, we're ready to work with you to do that. senator inhofe? >> thank you, mr. chairman. and also, thank you for our conversation with had on the floor a couple of days ago, where you did agree to hold a hearing with those who are in opposition to the ratification of the law of the sea treatmenty, which i am. and so i appreciate that very much. i remember back in 2004 when this committee passed out the ratification, i believe it was 16-0, unanimous mous, we looked it, at that time, still today, i'm a senior member of both the armed services committee and the environmental public works committee, so we had hearings. in these hearings, we had it witnesses that totally changed this around. i really believe

senator? be a party leader? u.s. senators are elected to legislate. the way the entire senate was devised, where every two years there's some churn and it always reflects where the country is at that time and the country shift as lot, why be a u.s. senator? why not simply start a pac, become the party chairman, do something to elect the chairman, rather than do what you say here, you're not going to be legislating if you can't get your way. >> i have a very unusual background. i spent 31 years in the business sector, in the mining industry. i've had the privilege of working six years as state treasure under our great governor. the positions you just mentioned don't give you the opportunity to win someone offer to your point of view. we're going to be involved with a national argument, trying to get more and more people to realize it would be a good thing if we roll back the size of government. it would be a good thing if we gave individuals more freedom. it would be a great thing if we roll ba

do we have any amendments from senators? >> thank you, madam chairwoman, i would like to call up bennett amendment number one. before i discuss this amendment, i just want to say that i think you and the ranking member have done terrific work on this title. it's been a great privilege to work with you on it and i thank you for accepting two of the amendments that i filed to the conservation file. the management package is bennett number two, with focus on water quality issues, and amendment number four to increase funding for the voluntary public access program. it provides volunteer access for our sportsmen and women and it gives them an opportunity to hunt and fish and contribute to our local economy. thank you for working with me to accept these amendments. the amendment that's before the committee now that i will withdraw, will address an issue particular to the west. and i want to thank my fellow westerner senator backus from montana as a co-sponsor on this amendment. i have heard from proconservation groups who have co

senator? >> thank you, mr. chairman. senator -- excuse me, secretary clinton. in your opening statement, you addressed the people who oppose the rat if i case of the treaty and particularly spoke to the ideology and the philosophical opposition that some people have to this. and i hope you weren't scoffing at us. i'm one of those that fall into that category, because i have some deep-seeded reservations on that basis. in deed, most wars have been fought over ideology and philosophy. indeed, our country was founded on that because we had a difference with great britain over that. so i consider that an important point. and to get this down even narrower, my problem is with sovereignty. there's 288 pages here. and as you read it, there's some good stuff in here. but if we give up one scintilla of sovereignty that this country has fought, has bleld for, has ginn up our treasure and the best that america has, i can't vote for it. i want to talk about that and focus on it if we can. first of all, with all due respect, you defended the opposition -- or, you challenged

the chairman of the senate commerce committee, senator jay rockefeller, had this to say. >> these are huge nominations, and they have vast effect on the future of our country. for better or for worse. i think it's hard to overstate the importance of the federal communications commission and its reach. >> host: well, here to discuss the nominations and the confirmations of the two new fcc commissioners are two very well known be technology reporters, cecilia kang with "the washington post," amy schatz with "the wall street journal." amy schatz, senator rockefeller seemed to hit this really hard, that this was very important and that these nominations were important. what was his goal with that? >> guest: well, jessica has worked for him for the past five years, so i think he had a vested interest in this in a way that most senate commerce committee chairmen don't. they really want to have five people at this commission because it's a hot harder to find consensus when you've only got three bodies there. when you're looking at doing mergers, you'd like to have five people in there. this

chairman. >> thank you, senator. i think it's an appropriate moment to place in the record a letter from the commander of the united states northern command, general jacoby. and senator lugar and myself and -- the commander states, nation security is dependent on cooperative partnerships and peaceful opening of arctic waters is in the interest of the community of arctic nations. the united states is the only arctic nation that is not in the convention. consequently, the nation risks being excluded from strategic discussions for advancing the convention with our maritime partners and for resolving sovereignty and national resource issues. fuel sure defense and civil support scenarios will require closely coordinated multinational military operation lgs to include the formation of coalition task forces. our nation's asession to the convention will set the conditions for partnership and cooperation. it goes on, says, further things, but i place that in the record. senator demint? >> thank you mr. chairman. and thank you