senator reid and senator mcconnell did not create the hyper partisan senate. they inherited it, basically. they certainly have not done anything to reverse the situation. instead it has gotten worse. i think senator mcconnell really bears the special responsibility. he is the architect and the symbol of a policy of absolute obstruction. the obstruction began at the beginning of president obama's presidency. it is utterly impossible for me to conceive of senate leaders that i grew up with being as different as it can be from howard baker or any of the great leaders. i think it is contrary to the way that the senate worked when it worked at its best. the senate is supposed to be the national mediator. that is a place where the parties come together and reconcile and not inflame differences. it did not work that way at all in the past -- in a long period of time. the frustration i have the senator mcconnell is number one, he deepened the problem. he has driven the senate to a much lower point. number two, he knows better than that. if you read an interview he did

from the white house she transitioned to the united states senate with senator hawkins and senator mikulski and for the last 25 years has been a source of calm and order in my office despite the long hours and the endless to-do lists that come with working with me. i say with certainty had it not been for janice my office would not have run nearly as smoothly as it has over these years. she's always a woman of tremendous faith, and her life revolves around her family. she is married to robert lee shelton for 58 years. they have two daughters, robin and laurie nelson. she has eight children, one great grand responsible i know four of her grandchildren. shelton, who i watched, i got up every sunday sunday to see what happened to the college football game. shelton was big. he was an offensive lineman, played in the college level. he must have weighed 300 pounds of muscle. i followed shelton's little brother -- little brother -- 6'3" or 6'4", big strapping left-handed pitch, a college baseball player and two of her granddaughters that worked for me as a page, for us as a page, rebecca and holly

so senators -- senator mikulski will be here tonight. senator schumer will be here tonight. senator menendez will be here tonight to help move this, in in addition to, of course, the manager of the bill on the other side. so we hope that people will work hard to get the debate out of the way tonight so tomorrow we can vote. we have a lot of votes tomorrow. we -- i'm led to believe that there are a amendments the managers of this legislation will pass either by voice or in some other quick fashion. ms. mikulski: mr. president? mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from maryland. ms. mikulski: following up on leader reid's comments, to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, if you have these amendments, senator schumer and i would like to know that you stay here this evening to offer and debate them as you were accorded under the unanimous consent agreement. if you come up and tell senator schumer and i now, we can get an order and a sequencing and tell you when we can call you up. we'd like very -- so instead of everybody standing around, we would actually get

the senate rules? mr. johanns: mr. president, the constitution would always trump, but that's a misinterpretation of what we're dealing with here. let me play this out because i'm pretty confident i know how this is going to work if this is pursued. what will happen in january is that there will be a request for a ruling by the parliamentarian, and the parliamentarian will correctly rule that in order to change the rules, you need two-thirds of the united states senate, and then they will use the procedure of overruling our parliamentarian with a majority vote, and that will stand as the ruling for the united states senate. so very, very clearly, what you're doing is you're skirting both the constitution and the rules of the senate. now, let me, if i might, take the senator's question and just show the shocking result that we're going to end up with. do you realize, mr. president, there was a day in this body where judges weren't filibustered? we can look at supreme court judges that might be controver

senate. he was a fierce advocate and senior member of several committees and the way he conducted himself commanded respect from all who he worked with. his legacy is not only loving family that he leaves behind, it can be seen in every mile of every road, every nature preserve, every facility that makes hawaii a safer place. he fulfilled his dream of creating a better hawaii. he gave us access to the resources and facilities of the mainland states that he took for granted. tomorrow will be the first day since the allied became a state in 1959 that daniel inouye will not be representing us in congress. every child born in hawaii will learn of daniel inouye, a man who changed islands forever. i join all the people of hawaii tonight in praying for his wife, irene, is son, his daughter-in-law and stepdaughter jennifer. and his granddaughter maggie that really tickled his life, whenever i had a chance to chat with him we talked about maggie. and they brought so much delay in his life and carries

states senate. in our earlier interview is in the series, other people we have spoken to have talked about the first time they were sworn in as a member of congress. in 1959, he became the first member from hawaii. what was that like when you were first on the floor of the house of representatives? >> i have never been on the floor of the chamber, and so it was an awesome experience for me to be among a multitude of jobs and be sworn in. it was a simple ceremony. >> when they come to washington, they find a senior member usually they take them under their wing. was there anyone you look too at that time in the early days? >> there were several. one was then the chairman of the full committee, the chairman took over. and holding what to do and what to get and what to buy. the speaker of the house, on the first day, i found myself in my office all by myself just finishing. i didn't don't know where the speaker's office was. but in august it was a hot day. i got to see him, and believe it or not, the s

senators. he treated each senator with a sense of quality even those who were in the minority and not on his side of the aisle. he was always fair. he was always you courteous and always tried to do the right thing. he was a textbook united states senator. he announced for reelection after his last election at age 85 or 86 and he won't be anal to run for that reelection now that he is gone. but he will be well remembered. not long ago he spoke at our prayer breakfast we have here. usually we vo 20 or 30 senators on that day we had 60 just to hear what he had to say. i won't repeat that because we don't talk about that in public except to say he talked about his war experiences and in a quiet way. he stood there for ten or 15 minutes and explained those experiences to those of us who never had that sort of experience, it gave us a new sense of him and increased our respect for him if that could have been possible. so i join with my colleagues to say that senator daniel inouye was a patriot. he s

, senator kyl. so i'd like to reengage in the debate regarding the supplemental for just a few minutes. and i know this day has been back and forth with personal tributes on the floor as well as the debate on hurricane -- on the supplemental for hurricane or super storm sandy. i wanted to document floor specifically as chair -- i wanted to come to the floor specifically as the chair of the homeland security subcommittee which has jurisdiction over fema. i understand the other chairs of the appropriations committee has come down, whether for the corps of engineers mitigation issues in this bill or fishery issues, the subject of senator mikulski's committee; or housing and urban development, community block grants -- that's in h.u.d. -- or transportation under the jurisdiction of senator murray's committee. i'm honored to be the chair of the homeland security appropriations committee for several years ago and am proud that some of the reforms that we've put into place were actually seeing the -- we're

committee, senator lugar's most important role in the senate has to be his leadership in the senate foreign relations committee. as a two-time chairman of this committee, he has been one of the most influential minds on foreign policy in the united states senate's history. he has worked higherlessly on policies and legislation to promote arms control, control the dismantling of nuclear arms, and address the global food crisis, among others. among his many accomplishments in the field of foreign relations, his signature piece of legislation, no doubt, will be the cooperative threat-reduction program more commonly known as nunn-lugar. when senator lugar joined the foreign relations committee in 1979, he traveled to the former soviet union on multiple occasions to gain a better understanding of how the united states could secure and dismantle weapons of mass destruction. his experiences led him to champion the landmark legislation that successfully resulted in the deactivation of nuclear warheads, making this world a safer place. to date the nunn-lugar program has deactivated more than

he treated each senator with courtesy, even the new senators. he treated each senator with a sense of equality, even those who were in the minority and not on his side of the aisle. he was always fair. he was always courteous. he always tried to do the right thing. he was a textbook united states senator. he announced for re-election after his last election election -- i don't know his exact age at the time, maybe 85, 86. he said i won't be able to run for that re-election now that he is gone but he will be well remembered. not long ago he spoke at our wednesday morning prayer brick is that we have here. usually we have 20 or 30 senators. on the day he spoke we had maybe six, maybe seven senators sitting in the window seals, standing in the back just to hear what he had to say. i will repeat what he had to say because we don't talk about what goes on there in public except to say that he talked about his war experience, and in a quiet way. he stood there for 10 or 15 minutes and explained those experiences to those of us, most of whom had never

and you're the senator from new york, along with senator schumer. i'm the senator from maryland.and we have been hit by a hurricane. we've been hit by a hurricane sandy. and i'm here to come to the floor to say, as we reflect on the life and times of senator danny inouye, we should also reflect on his work, which is to move appropriations bills in a timely way and particularly when that appropriations bill deals with the supplemental appropriations to meet the compelling human needs of our communities and our people when they have suffered a natural disaster. the clock is ticking. we've got businesses that need to restart, we have homes that need to be rebuilt. in my own state of maryland, we had a double whammy, madam president. we were, as the hurricane came forth on our coastal areas along the beloved chesapeake bay and the atlantic ocean, we were hit by the hurricane. and then up in western maryland, garrett county, called the switzerland of maryland, we were hit by a blizzard -- a blizzard. and where are we now? it's been days. the tv cameras have left, but the compelling hu

a senator: would the senator yield for a question? the presiding officer: the senator from massachusetts. mr. kerry: i've listened carefully to the senator and i understand there are colleagues on the other side of the aisle who have concerns about the united nations, and i respect that. we've had these fights before. but i'm having difficulty finding where the threat gains any reality that the senator has described. specifically, with respect to children, the senator mentioned the question of the committee being created. and sometimes committees make recommendations outside of the purview of something. well, that may be true, but when have words, i ask the senator: when have words or suggestions that have no power, that cannot be implemented, that have no access to the courts, that have no tpebgt on the law of the -- no effect on the law of the united states and cannot change the law of the united states, when has that threatened anybody in our country? mr. lee: whenever the -- mr. kerry: does the senator agree there is no power to c

in the senate. this is an hour. >> our first >> the first speaker is ira shapiro. he played important roles in foreign intelligence surveillance and the completing of the metrorail system. during the clinton administration, he served as a leading u.s. trader and earned the rank of staffman. he was described as an antidote and he promised to deliver. and he promised to deliver. cynicismote to c

the president pro tempore: the senator from hawaii. the senior senator from hawaii, senator akaka. mr. akaka: mr. president. the president pro tempore: the senator from hawaii. mr. akaka: mr. president, i rise today to welcome hawaii's new united states senator, brian schatz. brian is a leader for hawaii's present and for our future, and i welcome him with much aloha, which is with warm love. i also welcome and congratulate senator schatz's wife, linda, the children tyler and mia, and his brother and senator schatz's proud parents, dr. irwin and mrs. barbara schatz. senator schatz arrived in washington during a sad time. as we continue to mourn the loss of our champion, senator dan inouye. dan inouye will always be a legend in hawaii. we will never be -- he will never be replaced. at dan inouye's memorial service in honolulu this past weekend, i was reminded of how many people he touched in hawaii and across the country. we must honor his legacy by working together for the people of hawaii. i thank brian for volunteering for this incredible responsibility. he only learned of his ap

, senator reid. [applause] >> we just made a deal. [laughter] the vice president and i were going to meet in the morning, but we will be in session tomorrow having votes. i also apologize. we have a bill that warren rudman was well aware of. the defense authorization bill is on the floor. i may have to excuse myself and go back and leave and try to work that out. we have given john mccain a little bit of time off from the floor tonight. i will go back to see if we can speed things up a little. warren rudman was born with a fighting spirit. he learned that because of his being jewish. he fought anti-semitism. he fought it physically. that is how he learned how to be tough early on. he wrote that in his memoir. he was a boxer at syracuse university -- joe's school. he commanded an army infantry in the korean war, where he fought valiantly and was decorated for his heroism as a result of that. this shaped his views about the world. i learned in korea, he said, that war was a lousy idea. that is a direct

senator reid and senator mcconnell did not create the hyper partisan senate.herited it, basically. they certainly have not done anything to reverse the situation. instead it has gotten worse. i think senator mcconnell really bears the special responsibility. he is the architect and the symbol of a policy of absolute obstruction. the obstruction began at the beginning of president obama's presidency. at a time of absolute national economic crisis,it is utterly impossible for me to conceive of senate leaders that i grew up with being as different as it can be from howard baker or any of the great leaders. i think it is contrary to the way that the senate worked when it worked at its best. the senate is supposed to be the national mediator. that is a place where the parties come together and reconcile and not inflame differences. it did not work that way at all in the past -- in a long period of time. the frustration i have the senator mcconnell is number one, he deepened the problem. he has driven the senate to a much lower point. number two, he knows better tha

durbin: in response to the senator from michigan, the republican senate leader, senator mcconnell, has such a strong appetite for the filibuster that we have seen 386 or 387 filibusters in the last six years, and now he has decided another good idea is to propose a bill and then filibuster your own bill. i do believe that's history in the making, but that's why this appetite for the filibuster in the senate has to change. what an abuse that we can't have a majority vote on something the republicans proposed and the democrats were prepared to vote for. this would have been a true bipartisan measure. good news, maybe lead the news across america. it really is unfortunate. mr. schumer: would the minority leader yield? mr. reid: madam president? i have some business here. you will get the floor right back. madam president, i now move to proceed to calendar number 554, s. 3637. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion. the clerk: motion to proceed to the consideration of calendar number 554, s. 3637, a bill to temporarily extend the transaction account guarantee program, and

senator alexander, senator cardin, senator kyl, senator prior, and senator barasso. it is a bipartisan proposal, and we believe strongly we must reform the senate's procedures if it is going to do business more efficiently and fairly. there are many parts to our proposal, i would say the key number-one part is to give the majority leader options to overcome the filibuster and the threat of a filibuster on a motion to proceed. that has been the greatest problem around here in terms of getting to the business of working on bills. we cannot get to bills if there is a filibuster or a threat of a filibuster on a motion to proceed, which has happened dozens of times and just takes a week to overcome that threat just to get to debate the bill. we spent days and days and days trying to get a bill to the floor so it can be debated. our number one goal was to give the majority leader options to overcome that motion to filibuster to proceed, and we have two options that he has under the rules. the new options, number one, would be that there would be four amendments that would

senator paul. the presiding officer: the senator from kentucky. mr. paul: thank you, senator coons, for inviting me both figuratively and literally across the aisle to join you on this side. i'm glad to be here today. and for introducing me to this prize that sandy greenberg has brought forward to end blindness. i'm an eye surgeon. i have also done research in glaucoma. i have been a long-time member of lion's club international whose primary research and primary goal is the prevention of blindness. one of the heroes to the lion's eye movement and to our work worldwide on blindness has been helen keller who at the age of 19 months lost not only her vision but her hearing. in 1925, she came to the lion's club international with this mandate, and this is part of her speech from that day. she wrote -- "you have heard how, through a little word dropped from the fingers of another, a ray of light from another soul touched the darkness of my mind and i found myself, found the world, found god. it is because my teacher learned about me and broke through the

other senators. he has a deep, extensive [background in the senate. starting with james and moving on down. >> thank you. good afternoon. please, bear with me, i'm slowly, but surely, getting my voice back. seems like you are on the front end of losing your voice or back end of gaining it back. i thought what i would do this morning a start off with two quotes, which i think, help us frame the discussion that i think we'll have, and at least my comments, and i'll briefly lay out a way to view this issue discussed today, a question of obstruction in the senate. the first quote is from a guy namedded william who wrote a book called "the art of political manipulation," a professor of politics i believe, and in the book, he said it is true people win politically because they induced other people to join them; right? that's how we think about politics. you convince and persuade other people to join you, you have a vote, and you win. he says winners reduced by more than attraction and persuasion, but win b

and i know it was difficult for every senator to watch, including the senators who shamed the senate by what they knew was the wrong vote. if you are one of the millions of men who have used androgel 1%, there's big news. presenting androgel 1.62%. both are used to treat men with low testosterone. androgel 1.62% is from the makers of the number one prescribed testosterone replacement therapy. it raises your testosterone levels, and... is concentrated, so you could use less gel. and with androgel 1.62%, you can save on your monthly prescription. [ male announcer ] dosing and application sites between these products differ. women and children should avoid contact with application sites. discontinue androgel and call your doctor if you see unexpected signs of early puberty in a child, or, signs in a woman which may include changes in body hair or a large increase in acne, possibly due to accidental exposure. men with breast cancer or who have or might have prostate cancer, and women who are, or may become pregnant or are breast feeding should not use androgel. serious side effects inclu

senate. as all of you know who are serving here in the senate, this country is being run by people in their 20's and 30's who get us so busy that they're having to follow us to meetings to tell us where we're going and what we'll be talking about. but it's incredible to see that these young people, particularly those that i've served with, have such a passion for our country and freedom, and they're willing to put it all on the baseline to make a difference here -- on the line to make a difference here. they feel like my family, but it's encouraging to see them move to other offices and taking their ideas and that courage to other places on the hill. i want to add my thanks to all the hill staff, you folks sitting around the front here and those who have worked with us. i know sometimes we've pressed the envelope a little bit on things that we were trying to get done, and i've seen a lot of very intelligent, active and engaged staff all across the hill, both democrat and republican, and i'm v

senate. and i thought . >> what was the instance that caused him to sob? >> the fact that we came an agreement. we were going to vote for the extraordinary circumstance to give judicial appointees nominees an up or down vote rather than have to go the filibuster or the vote of sixty vote which was what was happening. it was dpiflt to get sixty votes. at times it was difficult to get sixty votes to tell what day it was or whether it was night or day. we built the log jam and the process that within the senate, we proved that we could work together. that habit didn't prove to work to perpetuity, but certainly for that period of time there was a willingness to cooperate and work together. the likes of which we haven't seen since . >> harry reid announced an interest change with the filibuster rules. do you support the change? >> we have to do something. you can't have sixty vote threshold on virtually everything and get something done. that is a process that is i think an -- as far as i'm concer

senate. the presiding officer: please take your offer sayings out of the senate chambers. the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: madam president, i'd like to continue the difficult task of saying goodbye to senators who won't be with us in the next congress. and sadly, that includes senator scott brown of massachusetts. senator brown came to us already something of a political legend, and in just a few short years he leaves behind an outsized legacy. we all remember how scott rose to national prominence in the election literally heard round the world. after the death of senator kennedy, there was an open seat in massachusetts, and a special election to fill it. and few people even entertained the thought of a republican winning. and for good reason. few states are as synonymous with political liberalism, democrats outnumber republicans in the state 3-1, and the entire congressional delegation is composed of democrats. but supported by his wife gale and their daughters along with some key early

senator cole, senator nelson, senators luger and brown. our gaggle will be here next.ou need to know it, who is soup of the day. at least it's a shiny one, shrimp and corn chowder, it's different. i love me some corn chowder. shrimp in it ? it i don't know. >>> we get to watch our chicken out on facebook. p . ...so as you can see, geico's customer satisfaction is at 97%. mmmm tasty. and cut! very good. people are always asking me how we make these geico adverts. so we're taking you behind the scenes. this coffee cup, for example, is computer animated. it's not real. geico's customer satisfaction is quite real though. this computer-animated coffee tastes dreadful. geico. 15 minutes could save you 15 % or more on car insurance. someone get me a latte will ya, please? >>> daily flash back, it was this day in 2004, when an iraqi journalist threw his shoes at president bush during a press conference in baghdad. >>> president obama meeting with susan rice today, 24 hours after she with drew her name from consideration of secretary of state and avoid a bitter confirmation pro

it often is senators senators get sworn in.looking back during the fighting 2005 at the republican nuclear option, senator reid repeatedly meant to announce breaking the rules, changing the rules. if a 26, 2005, senator reid said i would never consider breaking the rules to change the rules. this is exactly what senate majority leader harry reid is trying to do today. we been the case against the nuclear option enabled 21, 2005 for people to suggest he can break the rules to change that will send american. the only way you can change the rule in this body as a rule that says to break a filibuster still require 67 votes. you can't do that with 60. you certainly can't do with 51. i agree in 2005 that the promised the senate majority leader now, harry b. sections are against the consent of our founders. on april 13, 2005, senator barack obama argued removing the filibuster would cause their partisanship garrity said the american people want less partisanship in this town but everyone in this chamber knows that the majority chooses

howard fineman on what senator kerry calls one of the saddest days in the senate. share your thoughts with us on facebook and on twitter. we're coming right back. [ fema] think you need to go to a department store counter for a professional cleansing device? join the counter revolution and switch to olay pro-x. get cleansing results as effective as a $200 system. guaranteed or your money back. olay pro-x. guaranteed or your money back. when you take a closer look... ...at the best schools in the world... ...you see they all have something very interesting in common. they have teachers... ...with a deeper knowledge of their subjects. as a result, their students achieve at a higher level. let's develop more stars in education. let's invest in our teachers... ...so they can inspire our students. let's solve this. this reduced sodium soup says it may help lower cholesterol, how does it work? you just have to eat it as part of your heart healthy diet. step 1. eat the soup. all those veggies and beans, that's what may help lower your cholesterol and -- well that's easy [

senators, welcome back to fox news sunday. >> thank you. >> good morning. >> chris: senator graham, aple of days ago you said you thought we were going to go over the fiscal cliff and now we are in the midst of a lot of last-ditch bargaining between the senate leaders, reid and mcconnell, what are the chances for a small deal in the next, less than 48 hours to avoid the cliff. >> exceedingly good. i think people don't want to go over the cliff, if we can avoid it. i think, whatever we accomplish, political victory to the president, hats off to him, he stood his ground and will get tax increases, maybe not 250 but upper income americans and the sad news is we have accomplished little, in terms of not becoming greece, that bill will not affect the debt situation and it will be a a political victory for the president and i hope we have courage of our convictions, when it comes to raise the debt ceiling to fight what we believe as republicans. hats off to the president, he won. >> chris: quick follow-up, before we turn to senator feinstein, you said you don't think your conservative colle

the case can be made that no senator did more to keep the democrats in the majority in the sena senatem demint. they may have decide thad they needed him safely tucked away out of politics if they are going to have any chance of getting a good return on the money that they continue to invest in republican campaigns. south carolina governor will now appoint his successor until 2014 when the state will hold an election for that seat. >> are the democrats going to miss him? >> i don't think so. i think he will kind a way to be a thorn in everybody's side. >> john, who are the front-runners now to be appointed to that seat? >> well, i ent think you are going to be one of the front-runners. >> i don't have a strong connection to the state. i'm no stephen colbert who does have a strong connection to that seat. the two top front-runners will come back to her in a minute. the front-runners are tim scott and mark mulvanney and tim scott would be by most calculations the real front run arer there. he is african-american and would become the only senator if he were appointed to that job for a par

so i've come here to the senate floor to talk about these individual senators. today i'm going to talk about senator herb kohl. herb kohl had to overcome adversity to become a united states senator. the history of herb kohl and his family overwhelmed me. he's a humble man. he doesn't talk much. i was stunned the other day, i guess it was last week, we had a guest rabbi, rabbi kohl from canada. it doesn't mean much hearing that name because it is a fairly common name. but after he finished, herb kohl, a man of humility, gave us a little bit of his background which we never heard before. senator kohl's cousin, rabbi kohl served as guest chaplain and he offered invocation to the senate. after the benediction, herb kohl, the senior senator from wisconsin, shared the family history. herb kohl's father, max, and rabbi kohl's father jack were brothers. during world war 1, when max and jack were teenagers, the brothers were captured by the russian military, jailed, and forced to march more than 150 miles with little food, no proper clothing and the constant threat of ph

senator kennedy, senator humphrey, senator church, and senator inouye. and i proceeded to write letters and seek to see if i could get an internship with any of my home state senators or any of those four. and i didn't -- i didn't succeed outside my state, i did get an internship with senator hatfield which changed the course of my life. but when i was elected to the u.s. senate, senator hatfield asked me to bring colleagues to his -- greetings to his colleagues who served with him, particularly senator inouye because senator hatfield had chaired appropriations and senator inouye was chairing appropriations. and that was a tremendous introduction because it led to one of my first conversations when i came to the u.s. senate was with senator dan inouye. he showed me his spectacular view down the mall looking towards the washington monument and said, any time you want to come and use the balcony, you should -- you should come and use it. it's one of the best places in washington. and shared the -- the joy he took in just the beauty of -- of that space. and

senator schumer and senator corker thank you both.e'll watch for any sign of progress on the fiscal cliff or continued stalemate. thanks again, gentlemen. >> next. the u.s. draws a red line for syria's president assad. we'll the bloody civil war in sir i wouldn't took a por more ominous turn with the assad regime might use chemical weapons against rebel forces. joining us, embassador michael oren. there's a report in the sunday times of london that israel has spotters on the ground in syria. what is your latest intelligence about assad preparing possibly getting ready to use chemical weapons. is he still mixing the gas we saw signs of this week or have the warnings from the president and secretary of state hillary clinton scared him off? >> we're watching the situation carefully. it's not new to us, syria has a varied, deep chemical weapons program, geographically dispersed. were the weapons to pass into the wrong hands that would be a game-changer. >> at this point any signs as to whether he's continuing to mix the gas or whether he

senate. this is "special report." this is "special report." ♪ ♪ good evening >> good evening. i'm bret baier. much of the public debate focuses on taxes. democrat want to raise them on high earners. republicans don't. but there is another part of the equation that gets less attention. that is spending cuts. chief white house correspondent ed henry looks in to that tonight. >> reporter: pulling on the heart strings as if he were back on the campaign trail, president obama visited middle class family in virginia. >> a couple of thousand dollars means a couple months' rent for this family. >> once again, he was trying to frame the battle oaf the fiscal cliff as being all about taxes. with no mention of spending cuts. >> i'm not going to sign any package that somehow prevents the top rates from going up for folks at the top 2%. but i do remain optimistic that we can get something done that is good for families like this one. that is good for the american economy. >> republicans believe the reason

, both senators dole, senator bob dole and senator elizabeth dole. you referred to justin darts -- justin dart's widow and his hat was there. you and i saw him wearing that hat the day the disability legislation was signed into law on the white house lawn. in fact, i have a photograph i took of you standing there. mr. president, i've had the privilege of serving in this body every day that tom harkin has been here. nobody has spoken out more eloquently than -- about the need for the disabled than senator harkin has. i know how he learned sign language this he could communicate with his brother. i've seen him with members of the disabled community. he is loved and he is respected. this was not the senate's finest day. it was not "profiles in courage" to see what happened. i'm glad to see you mentioned the veterans, as though any of them would stand for something that would take over many our country. many of them lost limbs fighting for our country, fighting for the security of this country, and they represent people who died fighting for this country

overnight we heard that brian chats will be the new senator replacing longtime senator daniel inouye. >>> tim scott cause picked to replace retiring senator demint. >>> and one that still needs to be decided t. massachusetts will have a special especs to replace john kerry. actor ben affleck is no longer in the mix. he took his name out of the running there. >>> a busy day, given it's a thursday as we watched the senate get back to work and hopefully cobble something together. brian schatz will be sworn in today. he tweeted just had a nice conversation brief chat with the president this morning. was schatz the best choice? >> it seems like it. he's very family to hawaiians, and most importantly he's a democrat. clearly in the context of senator unoway's passing, it seems only appropriate. he's going to support the president's 'enda, one would think as a united states senator, you would be reporting the agenda of your constituents, which may be in line with the president -- i'm not trying to say it's not, but my point is it seems appropriate. >>> all threw of us you are aware of what i

leader in the senate, nevada senator harry reid canceled scheduled senate business due to foggy weathernators cannot fly in to cast their votes. however t senate stayed open so senators could make speeches on subjects of their choosing. now before we proceed, this is senator ben nelson. a democrat from nebraska. senator nelson is retiring this year. he decided not to seek a third term. in most way we think about ben nelson is the conservative end of his party, the democratic party. on a more obvious level ben nelson is a cosmetic rival. the siller mane man is king. and that's all you need to know to understand what happened on the floor of the senate yesterday. >> i think if the truth were known, many, many senators would be very envious, as i am, and i would think the presiding officer, the hair of ben nelson's. >> the subject of harry reid's choosing, senator nelson's impressive hair, and there's almost no way we can improve on the ode to the nelson mane. so enjoy. >> one of the things we learn as little kids and as we get older, it's something we also must adhere to, and that's not b

senators, thanks to both of you for coming in. let's go to both of you, senator mccain first. i know you were angry at the tone of the president's comments today, but give us your sense. are you going to vote for this legislation, assuming there's a deal? >> if there's a deal, obviously. if it does not have at least a delay in implementation of sequestration, which the secretary of defense has said will be devastating to national security, then i probably cannot vote for that, unless that's included in the deal. >> if it's a two or three-month delay, sequestration going into effect, in other words, those billions of dollars in defense cuts that are supposed to go into effect right away, if it's delayed for two or three months, is that good enough to get your vote tonight? >> i think i would have to see the rest of the package obviously, wolf. i want to support anything that would avert what's going to happen if we don't act. but at the same time, i can't vote for something that i think -- and i agree with the secretary of defense and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff t

howard fineman on what senator kerry calls one of the saddest days in the senate. share your thoughts with us on facebook and on twitter. we're coming right back. >>> welcome back to "the ed show." republicans say it will hurt business if we raise revenues. but business leaders are telling nancy pelosi a different story. more now on my interview with the democratic leader in the house. >> we put a graph on tv last night. corporate profits through the roof, wages down over the last ten years. there's a real separation there. what are the ceos saying when they come on capitol hill? >> overall, that's what we're hearing from them. they understand revenue has to be part of it. that doesn't address the disparity you talked about. but in ferms of what they say about this, i don't even remember one of them saying we did k not touch revenues. i don't know why they haven't convinced our republican colleagues that everybody recognizes if you want growth, you need to have investments, but. you have to establish your priorities carefully and you must have revenue to make that

senator schumer and senator corker thank you both. we'll watch for any sign of progress on the fiscal cliff or continued stalemate.

let me call on senator vitter. i thank you for sitting in for senator snowe.e brings a tremendous amount of experience to the issue and recognize him for a short opening statement. and we're joining -- joined by senator blooming that and senator men den knees. i'm looking forward to the comments and personal experience with the constituents in the situation. senator vitter. >> thank you to all of our witnesses. i want to make three points briefly. first of all, i want to, again, express my sympathy for and support of all the victims of hurricane sandy. this was a horrible, devastating disaster wiping out homes and businesses and livelihoods. and it has a very tragic human face, and we always need to keep that in mind. so i'm certainly supportive of acting quickly in terms of help and aid that is gone directly, e immediately, help thoughts victims. we also need do that in a thoughtful and responsive and responsible way with the american taxpayer in mind. we can do both of those things. i certainly support that. secondly, on the sba side, i think there is good n

i'm sure that senator kerry will be easily confirmed from the senate.nk he is a good and decent person. i probably disagree with him on most every issue, but many terms of being a good person, i'm sure he will be confirmed, but we have as to go on benghazi. >> your committees have said you want to hear from hillary clinton? >> absolutely. she was the person in charge. we have four dead americans. we have -- think about it. in a 60-day period a group said there are more than two dozen systemic failures. they offered 60 recommendations. what in the world has been going on over there to have so many problems? >> let's talk about gun control because the national rifle association has responded, and basically said let's stop the bad guys with guns with good guys with guns or good teachers with guns and more guns. how do you respond to those who say that more guns are not the answer? >> well, you know, guns aren't necessarily for everyone. i happen to be a conceal carry permit holder. i have a glok, a shotgun. there are some schools that will find a solution

senator lugar's most important role in the senate has to be his leadership of the senate foreign relations committee. as a two-time chairman of this committee, he has been one of the most influential minds on foreign policy in the united states senate history. he has worked tirelessly on policies and legislation to promote arms control, control and dismantle nuclear arms and address the global food crisis among others. among his many accomplishments in the field of foreign relations, the signature piece of legislation no doubt will be the cooperative threat reduction program more commonly known as done lucre. senator lugar joined the foreign relations committee 1979. he traveled to the former soviet union on multiple occasions to gain a better understanding of how the united states could be cured and dismantle weapons of mass destruction. his experiences led him to champion the landmark legislation that successfully resulted in the deactivation of nuclear warheads, making this world a safer place. to date, the nunn lugar program has yet intimate than 7000 nuclear warheads that were once ai

i've watched senator feinstein in intelligence, and senator levin and senator mccain. it can happen. we can make it happen. we have to make it happen. but i'll close with this: i served in the house for 10 years. i served with incredible members, and one of them was tip o'neill, and he was the speaker. and tip o'neill had a certain magic about him, but the magic was that he understood how to get things done because he didn't consider himself speaker of the democrats; he considered himself speaker of the house. and he knew the magic was 218. that was the number. he'd come over to me and every member when there was a tough vote and he'd say, well, barbara, can you be with me on this one? and i'd say, gee, mr. speaker, i don't think so. it's not good for my district. i really don't think i can. and he would say to me, well, you know what? if that's how you feel about it i understand. if i need you, i'll come back to you. and then he'd go do the same thing and pick up some republicans on the other side. and he'd get the magic of 1218 e magic of 218 and it would be done. ri

senator toomey is right. the reason we are in the situation, the last minute negotiation behind closed doors if that continues is because harry reid hasn't passed a budget. that would get reconciled with the house budget and that would set the whole frame work of how the committee structure would go to work and start debating issues in public so the american people could actually see what the issues were that we are grappling with and weigh in this terms of public opinion in terms of what we need to do to save social security and medicare for future generations. we would be in a far better position. that is not the case because president obama doesn't propose serious budgets. >> sean: senator toomey, how is this going to work because speaker boehner tried to pass a plan b. the president in the meeting today is insisting on raising taxes on small business and individuals over $250,000. but yet he wants to work through the senate. how how does this get through the house when they couldn't get it with a million

the late senator byrd once said about the design of the senate, he said this, "the senate was intended to be a forum for open and free debate and for the protection of political minorities. long the senate retains the power to amend and the -- as long as the senate retains the power to amend and the power of unlimited debate, the liberties of the people will remain secure." when senator biden, our vice president, was a senator, part of this chamber, he said, in defense of the filibuster, "at its core, the filibuster is not about stopping a nominee or a bill, it's about compromise and moderation." in 2005, when republicans controlled the senate and our president, president obama, was then a senator, he said, "if the majority chooses to end the filibuster, if they choose to change the rules and put an end to democratic debate, then the fighting and bitterness and the gridlock will only get worse." i think this statement applies today. i'm tired of the fighting and the bitterness and the gridlock. the american people do not want to see even more partisanship bickering in washington, d.c.

senate. and the president has promised to veto it if it somehow got to him. in a 52-second, well it was a press conference but he didn't take questions so we'll call it a media availability, boehner dared the president to reject the backup plan that prevents tax hikes on those making less than $1 million. >> the president will have a decision to make. he can call on senate democrats to pass that bill or he can be responsible for the largest tax increase in american history. >> and though boehner intended to put a bill on the floor that only dealt with the tax issue, republican leaders had to change course yesterday after they discovered they did not have the votes for a stand alone bill. now republicans will also vote to replace automatic defense cuts, half of the so-called sequester, with domestic spending cuts. and then cut an additional $200 billion over ten years. without that sweetener, boehner was in danger of losing some of his spending hawks if you will. and other republican members w

senator bayh, obviously we don't know what is your sense? no filibuster in the senate.ou heard what lindsey graham said and do republicans pass whatever it is that the senate agrees to? >> i think the odds are some what better than 50/50, chris, that we get a minimal deal in the senate. not one that solves our debt problem as you pointed out earlier and this is all just a prequel to going over this again around the first of march over the debt ceiling. the real question is in the house of representatives and will it be enough of a compromise that enough republicans can vote for it to get that through the house. i put that at 50/50. >> chris: byron i think the most we can say or will be able to say if congress passes something is that they were able to stop the crisis that they created in the first place. but they will have done nothing, i mean it is really quite astonishing, to deal with the debt problem which is what the whole crisis was supposed to be about. and in fact if you extend the bush tax cuts for 98-99% of americans and have just the small automatic spending