senator. he has been the ranking republican on the armed services committee so he knows issues not only as a veteran -- a man who served in the vietnam war -- but also as a senator who has looked closely as each of the issues that affect the department of defense. he doesn't hold a candle to anyone -- take a step back to anyone when it comes to his commitment to our military and our nation's defense. and now it's my responsibility to come to the floor of the senate and argue against an amendment that senator mccain is offering on the department of defense bill. you think to yourself, durbin, how did you get this assignment? the fact is as chairman of this appropriations subcommittee, it is my responsibility to argue the other side of the issue that senator mccain has brought to the floor. i come to this assignment brand-new, just a few weeks now since the untimely passing of our great friend and national hero, dan inouye of hawaii. and because of his passing, there were vacancies created and i

i'm a term-limited senator. i think we concentrate on republicans and democrats way too much and not on the individuals. and what they'll do and how they'll perform and whether they're going to think long term versus short term politically and i think that parties have actually hurt us in washington. because we tend to check and think in the short term on the next election rather than on what should we be doing for the country. so i don't pay any attention to that. i don't look at it. i have never been to a republican national convention in my life. i never will. i don't think that's the important structure. i think getting great people who have real experience to run for public office who aren't in line to a particular ideology but are aligned to common sense and fixing and curing the problems that are in front of us today are the most important thing. >> you're one of the most conservative members of the senate. let's look at it then as a matter of ideology and less one of party. conservatives seems to have a

senator franken and senator -- [inaudible] senator grassley and senator cornyn. is there enough people to, that, senator grassley's request u.s. circuit judge for the 8th circuit be held over. we've held over ken gonzalez before, but senator grassley has asked me to again postpone it, al brady violation, u.s. attorney office looking into the matter further. i've looked at it. i'm prepared to move forward but because of the ranking member we'll hold over another week. >> i like to add to what you said, with discussions from both senators from new mexico and i feel they understand what we're trying to get answers to and they, i, i think i have satisfied them for a while. and i don't think it is going to take very long. >> and, an attempt to hold it up for the saying of holding it up. i know you talked to the senators. i appreciate that. they both told me you did and i think following the normal commenting in this committee, i'm happy to hold over again. so, senator cornyn, you have an amendment? >> can i ask, senator lee has a statement that i would like to put in

senator rubio, senator barrasso, senator widen, a democrat, and a body of a hundred senators. >> well, i think more will come in and i think courage ultimately attracts others, and i think that rand paul is showing a level of courage that's historic and that will be remembered for a long time. i mean, if you're a civil libertarian liberal or if you're a constitutionalist conservative, both wings have to be proud of rand paul standing up for the constitutional rights. >> greta: who likes these drones, giving the president power without any sort of a check or any sort of an authority. there's some question we'll discuss it later where it says, he talks about imminent. an imminent being defined very broadly. >> the imminent tool is nonsense. if you read carefully what the white house spokesman said, there are no practical rules here except the president or his designee. presidents don't say let me spend the next few hours studying this. they delegate to somebody who walks in and says let's kill this guy and i think most of the killings have been legitimate. but i think as a long-term pat

bob byrd use teed to do on the senate floor, many members of the senate do. we need to make sure the limits placed upon the executive branch by the constitution are still upheld, otherwise the senate should not confirm mr. brennan to lead the c.i.a. so the letter from senator paul goes on to say, during are confirmation brothers prost in the select senate ebt select committee on intelligence, committee members have quite appropriately made requests similar to questions i've raised on in my previous letter to you. madam president, i agree. members of the committee did not did make -- did make appropriate requests and wanted to have those same questions answered that senator paul has been offering. and they are that you expound on your views, your views, mr. brennan, on the limits of executive power in using lethal force against united states citizens. this is against united states citizens, especially when operating on u.s. soil. and that, madam president, is the fundamental of the questions that i have been asked during telephone town halls as well as i trave

senator mccain was outraged in the senate chamber today because he knows a thing or two about inflaming the fringe elements in the country. you see, he once had a running mate that did it all the time. mccain was joined by his tag team partner from south carolina, lindsey graham, calling out the junior senator from kentucky. >> i find the question offensive. as much as i disagree with president obama, much as i support past presidents, i do not believe that question deserves an answer. >> well, wait a second now. attorney general eric holder thinks that rand paul does deserve an answer. and he gave him one. after 13 hours of filibustering holder sent a simple 43-word response to senator paul. "it has come to my attention that you have now asked an additional question -- does the president have the authority to use a weaponized drone to kill an american not engaged in combat on american soil? and the answer to that question is no." well, rand paul said that he was satisfied with that response and there was no additional hold on john brennan's nomination. brennan was confirmed today by th

the clerk: senate kwraougs 88 -- senate resolution 88 providing for members on the part of the senate on the joint committee of printing and the joint committee of congress on the library. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. merkley: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be laid on the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. merkley: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to consideration of senate resolution 89 submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 89 designating march 25, 2013, as national cerebral palsy awareness day. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mr. merkley: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid on the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. merkley: i ask unanimous consent the senat

but senator murray and the senate budget committee will -- what senator murray and the senate budget committee will produce is a balanced approach which says yes, deficit reduction but the rye way. we -- but the right way. we need to make sure we have revenues coming in from those who can afford it. we need spending cuts and we need entitlement reform that is thoughtful, sensitive, reform that rulely makes sure that's -- really makes sure that's programs are here for generations to come. i think that america will applaud the efforts on the senate side. i think they'll have many questions to ask on the house side. and the debate begins. those of us on the appropriations committee wait for this to be completed because the budget resolution is basically our blueprint for what we can achieve during the remainder of the year for the next budget year that starts october the 1st. let me say there are a couple things that are part of the budget process that i would like to address very quukly. -- very quickly. i am very concerned about the impact of sequestration on health care. reporters ba

the senate. mr. shelby: because of both of them. thank you. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that we now proceed to a period of morning business, senators allowed to speak for up to ten minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that the call of the quorum be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent national notwithstandine adoptioning the inhofe amendment it be modified with the changes at the desk at the proper location of the substitute amendment. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent that notwithstanding adjournment or recess of the senate, the budget committee be authorized to report legislative matters on friday, march 15, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. the presiding officer:

senator, i apologize. you sort of got my dander up and that happens on occasion. >> first time ever. >> thank you. >> i ask for unanimous consent that my vote be voted as present and not by proxy. >> glad to have you back. your vote will be recorded as in erson. i will have a statement as well. senator graham. >> thank you. i would like to make the same request. i think i missed the vote , but i would like to be on record as present. i completely understand your point of view. i will vote no because of a couple of reasons. number one, the capacity of the clip, one bullet in the hands of a mentally disturbed person or a felon is one too many. there are thousands of these high-capacity clips in circulation today, but i can see a situation where an individual citizen would need more than six bullets or 10. most assaults, a third of the assaults occur by more than one perpetrator. i go back to the lady in atlanta a couple of months ago. a man broke into her home. she was at home with her twin daughters. he had

earlier this week i was joined by senator collins, senator durbin, gillibrand, and senator kirk in the introduction revised legislation to combat the straw purchasing and trafficking of firearms. others have joined us in that bill including senator clow chew char, senator king, and i'll plan when we get on it i'll offer a substitute we find the provisions with the text of the leahy-collins bill. i reach out to the senators, those discussions bore fruit. the substitute incorporates a pending bills provision, and its creation of a specific crime for straw purchasing designed to prevent criminals from using straw purchasers who can pass a background check and then hand those firearms to the criminals. straw purchasers circumvent the purpose of the background check system, and we have found many -- everything from drug gangs to others who have used guns that the gang members could not have bought but the straw purchaser has. straw purchasing is done only to get a gun in the hands of somebody who is prohibited from having one. i think we need a meaningful solution to this problem. as substi

a senator: mr. president, the senate is not in order. mr. cruz: obamacare is hurting young people, it's hurting seniors --. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senate will be in order. mr. baucus: the senate is not in order. the presiding officer: please take conversations into the lobby. mr. baucus: mr. president, the senate is not in order. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cruz: mr. president, tomorrow is the three-year anniversary of the passage of obamacare. obamacare is hurting young people, it's hurting seniors, it's hurting hispanics, it's hurting african-americans, it's hurting single moms, it's hurting the economy. it should be repealed. yesterday over 70 members of the body voted to remove one of the most pernicious taxes in obamacare, the tax on medical device providers. i happily voted for that, but i would point out that is a wealthy industry that can afford to hire lobbyists. we should be responsive not just to wealthy corporate lobbyists but to the people, the small businesses hurt by obamaca

senator lee. >> let's yield to senator lee. >> ok. senator lee. and for scheduling purposes, you might -- there is a classified matter that is going to require senator grassley and i and a couple other members of the senate to be at and as a result we will recess at 11:45 subject to the call of the chair which may bring us back today or tomorrow. we'll see. but just so you know. >> i thank you, mr. chairman. just want to make a brief statement about some concerns i have about this legislation. all of us are devastated by the recent acts of violence, particularly mass violence, and every one of us would choose if we could to find any way we can to reduce incidents of violence like those. i am concerned about this legislation for a couple of reasons. number one, i would worry about giving the american people the false impression that we can fix this problem through federal legislation, especially in light of our experience with past similar measures that have proven unsuccessful in bringing an end t

senate.ngrey is one of the hot shots down in georgia the democrats are praying to run against. cecile, always nice to have you on. i don't think this is a big threat. sarah, great honor to have you on. i did know you were a democrat. i was letting you explain that to us instead because you did work at the white house when i was there. thank you. >>> rand paul brought up adolf hitler -- another phrase h adolf hitler and rape. while the logic was tortured it's a reference he's made time and time again. i have an explanation. he's a little off the loose end sometimes. >>> this is "hardball," the place for politics. but we can still help you see your big picture. with the fidelity guided portfolio summary, you choose which accounts to track and use fidelity's analytics to spot trends, gain insights, and figure out what you want to do next. all in one place. i'm meredith stoddard and i helped create the fidelity guided portfolio summary. it's one more innovative reason serious investors are choosi

we showed you the exchange, between senator cruz and senator feinstein is moment ago. senator feinstein went on television and described senator cruz as arrogant and aggressive and did feel that she was being lectured to. so the question today, was he just trying to be tough, make a point, young whippersnapper in the senate? or did he have an important legal point? did he have a valid legal point? we'll have a fair and balanced debate on that question just ahead. a new question for the white house over an unnecessary national security reversal that may waste hundreds of millions of dollars. president obama slammed the brakes on a west coast missile defense shield in 2009. now after new threats from north korea, the pentagon is rushing to beef up and that's proving to be more expensive. >> in less than two hours, chuck hagel will hold a news conference on missile defense learned that the pentagon is set to deploy 14 additional ground-based missile silos in alaska and california and bring the total number of interceptors to 44. just eight days ago, the white house tried

, i know we have senator franken, senator schumer, senator hatch, senator flake, so that amendment is accepted, and senator grassley? >> i want to speak about my objections to senator schumer's bill, and at the end of my statement i have got questions i would like to ask senator schumer. i oppose the bill. the first point goes to process. when this first was listed on the agenda, it was a listing of findings, so it was not ready for markup then. the language is now changed as the substitute implies. i do not think it is still ready for markup. we are marking it up anyway. we were told that there was such a widespread support for universal background checks that a bipartisan bill would be on its way to passage. instead, three of the four senators involved in those discussions do not endorse the bill that is now before us. i sense from senator schumer that he is hoping that that can still happen. the bill we are on is similar to a bill that senator schumer introduced in the previous congress. let's start with the big-picture problems that i find with it. first, as a witness stated at th

d senator paul.i think the -- >> original language, i suppose this was sent directly to imagine extraordinabil cileadumstance which it would be necessary and appropriate for the president to authorie at militabil use of force within te territory of the united states. >> how is -- again, has nothing to do with the methodolowaÃhere. if the united states were under attack, all the same laws that ap ovy to the president's authority apply now. whether it has to do with drones or other modes you would use to prevent a terrorist attatalk or an attack lthe a1e l harbor or any other matter. the law is the law and the constitution is the constitution. in response to the question that senator paul has asked the attorney general tt srn, i think the answer i geadehonou iszeuite categoryial and clear. the question, does the president have the authority to use a weaponnie atd thrown to kill an american not in combat on american soil. the answer to thatzeuestion is, no.inninn >> the united states patent and ichadema

senate republicans lost seats in the senate. people outside the process might wonder if it has consequences. >> so the question is the election didn't go our way. believe me, i know what it feels like. that means we surrender our principles? whether the country intended or not. we have divided country. we have the second largest house majority we've had since world war ii, and what we believe in the divided government era we need to put up our vision. we think we owe the country a balanced budget. we think we owe the country solutions to plaguing our nation. a debt crisis on the horizon, a slow growing economy, people trapped trapped in poverty. elections have consequences. we are in the majority. the president won re-election and democrats in majority. this is our offer and vision. what you do is show the country what you believe in. the senate hasn't passed a budget in four years, despite the fact that the law requires them to do so each and every year. we are finally doing a budget. i think that's good. i'm pleased in murray

senators respond, then senator lee. i will a he not going to make a -- i'm not going to make a u.c., but that's the way we usually do it. is that -- has the senator from texas concluded his remarks? mr. cruz: i have about an additional ten minutes that i would like to guilty of but i was just -- that i would like to give. but i was just informed that the senator from utah had a scheduling issue and asked if we could show him consideration. i am being told now that -- if the senator from maryland would prefer, i'm happy to continue my remarks. ms. mikulski: and the senator from utah -- see, we all have these scheduling things. and what we want to do is make sure everybody has their say. and if the senator from utah has a statement to put into the record or wishes to return, we'd welcome him back. we in no way want to impede his ability to speak. is that all okay? mr. cruz: i think the issue has been obviated. so if i may, madam president, simply continue my remarks, and then when i'm concluded, i will yield the floor. th

paul, senator rubio, senator toomey, senator mcconnell that will redirect the $14.5 billion we spend on behalf of 11 million children, and this is the way we would do it. we would simply pin $1,300 and be their share of that money, each of those children, and let the money follow the child to the school they attend, any accredited school, public or private. now, here's the problem. in a contentious washington world this is a problem that seems to have a broad amount of agreement from the left and from the right. this $14.5 billion, which is appropriated expressly to help these 11 million children, isn't getting to them. it's ending up other places. it's distributed by a complicated federal forel la that's generally -- formula that's generally based on the number low-incom of low-income n a district and the average per-pupil expenditure in a state. here's what happens. what happens the money largely follows the teachers' salaries, and to get right to the bottom line, the children in wealthier districts are usually taught by teachers who earn higher salaries, and the children in poor d

earlier this week i was joined by senator collins, senator durbin, senator gill brand and senator kirk in the introduction of revised legislation to combat the straw purchasing and trafficking of firearms. others have joined us in that bill including senator klobuchar, senator blumenthal and senator king. and i will offer a substitute requiring the provisions with the text of the leahy-collins bill. i've reached out to other senators, those discussions bore fruit. pending bill's provisions -- [inaudible] creation of a specific crime for straw purchasing. it's designed to prevent criminals from using straw purchasers who can pass a background check and then hand those firearms to the criminals. straw purchasers circumvent the purpose of the background check system, and we have found many, everything from drug gangs to others who have used guns that the gang members could not have bought, but the straw purchaser has. straw purchasing is done only to get a gun into the hands of somebody who is prohibited from having one. i think we need a meaningful solution to this problem. our substitut

the senator. excuse me. a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. harkin: madam president, i just want to respond to my friend from alabama, he is my friend and he knows that very well. we travel together and our spouses are friends and he's a dear friend of mine. and we've worked together for going clear back to our house days. but i am disappointed that my friend opposes this amendment. i think if there is one thing that's been clear in my association with the senator from alabama through all these years is that he has been an unrelenting champion of n.i.h. research. i'm told the university of alabama, birmingham, ranks 11th in terms of n.i.h. funding. that's even who higher than the university of iowa, by the way. so my amendment as you know would put in $211 million increase for n.i.h. funding. that goes around the country. doesn't jt go to maryland, a lot of it goes around the country. so we did that. and then i would say to my friend from alabama, the negotiations last year, the senator from alabama offered an amendment during our full com

but in the senate, by tradition, by the rules of that body, one senator, or a minority of senators is invested with the power to stand up and block something from happening, even if the majority wants it to happen. it is a rare beast, or at least it ought to be a rare beast. a single senator or a minority of seniors effectively throwing themselves on the gears of democracy and saying i must be heard on this. you cannot go forward with this until i say my piece. and so a la "mr. smith goes to washington", a single senator may take it upon himself or herself to effectively play the hero, right, to bring all business to a halt, to bring the spotlight upon himself or upon herself, to hold the floor, speaking about whatever it is that is so important that it is worth this effort until the effort expires by necessity, because the senator can physically go on no longer. or because a supermajority of senators says enough and ends it. it is a very dramatic thing. or at least it used to be a dramatic thing. in recent years the senate changed the rules so all it took to filibuster something now

in the effort on the senate floor in support of senator paul during his almost 13-hour filibuster. what they were really -- today they were really protesting against even the context of the question that senator paul sought and eventually received an answer to from the obama administration which sort of suggested that there could be a possibility that either president obama or some future president may want to use a missile from a drone to actually kill an american citizen at a coffee shop somewhere on u.s. soil. >> well, how strong is this divide and what is the -- what's behind -- i mean, what's the key issue behind it that they're fighting over? >> well, the republican party itself has had sort of a differing opinion for a while now on national security policy. there's the wing of the party which senator paul is becoming an emerging voice on which is more skeptical of broad executive power, i would say, in this sort of regard. versus the traditional more hawkish national security voices that are the likes of senator mccain and senator graham that have been the party standard bea

daschle, senator dole can, senator baker and senator mitchell, and you're going to hear from senatortoday, and we all are attempting to show current elected leaders what civility and compromise is all about. okay, so we have some work to do. i will give a quick shameless plug. we are working together again on a cost containment and value purchasing initiative that we hope to get out by march with senator daschle, senator frist, senator.com mini and former cbo director rivlin. so let me kick off our discussion. i'm going to quickly give you ten observations, very quick ones, why the d.c. political environment makes achieving new legislative reforms really hugely challenging. and yet while health care reform will move ahead regardless of today's initial congressional gridlock. first, we have to acknowledge that political polarization and the split government dominates the budget and health care reform debates in washington. and, yes, it is true, it is worse than ever, and i think senator daschle will talk about that. the republicans are more worried about challenges from the right, so

senator mcconnell, with copies to senator mikulski and senator shelby, and we stated in one sentence, "we write to inform you of our intention to object to entering into a time agreement for floor consideration of a continuing resolution until we've had at least 72 hours to review its contents." that's -- that's what we wrote. that's what we asked for. and i would remind my colleagues again, it's a 597-page bill of over a trillion dollars that we got at 9:00 last night. is there anyone who has had time to read this entire bill of 597 pages long? and we're talking about a trillion dollars? a trillion dollars and we are holding up the united states senate over not having since 9:00 last night until 3:30 this afternoon to examine a 587-page bill, over a trillion dollars. now, and what i've already found -- what we've already found -- and we haven't finished and we hope to be finished within a few hours examining this legislation -- is the most egregious pork-barrel spending at a time of sequestration. this is -- i find it mind-boggling. you know, we spent three weeks in december on the f

the night ended with a thumbs up from senators mccain and coburn, even praise from other senators. >> just fine. great. wonderful. >> i am more optimistic just from a personal standpoint. having been in the group of eight, it's tough sledding. it's just very tough sledding. these are very difficult issues, but i do think there's a real fatigue in just going from crisis to crisis. so i think we're -- i think tonight was a good first step. >> he was very open, honest sincere, general discussion. >> you can see all across the ideologic'd lodeological spectr. lindsey graham offered some background yesterday afternoon. >> the president called senator mccain and myself a couple of weeks ago, and senator mccain was his opponent, as you all thou know, in 2008. i see the president reaching out. the dinner that was supposed to be quiet is sad that it makes news. >> he's right about that. graham's closest friends were on the list. graham also included republican senators who have a particular interest in the budget debate, so that included pat toomey. graham is the only senator up for re-electio

these two senators, so much for the senate.> it was really quite extraordinary. i have to tell you, on my radio show today, the support was across the spectrum, not just conservatives and republicans, but obama voters. i literally had a socialist, a self-described socialist to was a cheerleader for what was being done yesterday. it was a great american moment. these guys are just not on the train. i was also shocked to see john mccain going after they chained find a common which was to my dog, one of his more humorous moments. and you have to take into account that he is filibustering here, so he is stretching, telling stories. he is talking for 12 hours and 52 minutes. give him a little psycho in custody is talking about here. lou: especially when you are chatting with the president of the united states as he is working on constitutional civil liberties. to attack and seems to be beyond venal as a part of these two senators. >> i would like to say a word about the legal matters at issue here. that is, the real problem here is

there from senator corker. let me he ask you. are senate democrats willing to make serious cuts, reforms to entitlements if you get added tax revenue and what are the prospects tor for a grand bar ? >> what he articulated is what we did in the bowles simpson commission and what we have done since. we said let's put everything on the table and i want to thank bob be for saying that. we have to, of course, pass the budget resolution in the senate. patty murray has done an extraordinarily good job and then move to the next stage and that is the grand bargain stage. both sides sitting down on a bipartisan basis not eliminating medicare as emhe afraid the paul ryan budget would do but making sure it survives for generations to come. putting revenues on the table that are fair and won't penalize the working people across america and making sure it is a balanced approach. i think what bob corker just said from his side is a basic principles that both parties can rally around. >> chris: and real specifically because i

senator paul ended his filibuster, quote, i would go for another 12 hours to break strom thurmond africa but i have discovered there are some limits to filibustering and i have to take care of one of those in a few minutes here. and i have been involved in a few years, what have learned from filibusters' is this. to succeed you need strong convictions but also a strong bladder. it is obvious senator paul has both. >> yesterday the junior senator from kentucky took to the senate floor to exercise his rights as an individual senator in pursuit of an answer from the attorney general concerning the rights of u.s. citizens. the filibuster was extended, heartfelt and important and i wish to say a few words in reaction to that effort. and as well on the nomination of john brennan to the director of the central intelligence agency. the question he raised was entirely appropriate and should already have been answered by the obama administration. i wish to state for the record and to correct any misimpressi

and the awkward ride coming shortly after senator mccain took the senate floor and chastised senator on that elevator. and is anything ever that awkward happen to you? go to greta wire and tell us. and today senator pat toomey sending support to senator rand paul, for next time. he posted a picture of the milky way bars he sent senator paul. and yesterday senator paul was spotted eating milky ways duri during the speech. and justin bieber fainted during back stage at a concert and given oxygen and finished the concert before going to the hospital and moments ago bieber tweeted getting better and thanks for everyone for pulling me through. figuring out what happened, thanks for the love. and posting a picture of himself in the hospital. it looks like he's doing much better. and "the view" is leading one of the leading ladies. joy behar departing the view and contract will not be reviewed. her departure will leave barbara walters as the large original member of ""the view." they have been on the show since the 1997 premier. finally, a washington d.c. weather man taking heat for predict

that's being a senator. and i'll tell you i've only been here two years, but i know enough of this process already to know that every single one of us at some point when the majority changes, when a new president is elected, at some point every single one of us is going to want to know an answer to a question to the administration or some other branch or element of government, and they're going to hold us off. they're going to give us the heisman. they're going to stiff arm us and try to push us aside and not answer the question. i would hope at that moment whether you agree with that person or not, that you would stand and defend their prerogative and their right as a representative of their state to get legitimate questions answered in a straightforward way. and so as i said earlier today when i came to the floor, this issue is about this institution as much as anything else, about the right of every single member of this body to be able to ask legitimate questions of the administration or other branches o

senator ipo g, mccain, senator paul. starting another one answers on benghazi. answers have not been forthcoming. and when this filibuster in this, as it surely will, the burning confirmation will move ahead images like that of senator kerry, and there will be confirmation because the republican party will, at some point, find debris to step aside in the process. why even bother with the theatrics? >> yes. i think they have held that they could pull some of these documents out of t administration to get some answers, particularly onhis question of talking points on the kinds of warnings that were provided to the white house and the others in the days before the benghazi attacks. and they, as you say, they have met with very limited success. the first-round of documents were so heavily redacted that they did not answer any questions paris seriously. we now hav an idea of where the ad is to these talking points as susan rice used or made, we don't know who made them or why they were made. lou: trying to blame press secretaries for curring allowed. that is a little

members of the senate. as we go on in this debate, hopefully this is a bill that can move forward and pass the senate and the house and move on. the language seems to be fixed and this is one way to do it. it will protect those experiencing mental illnesses. i will turn it over to senator flake. >> i appreciate the opportunity to come out in support of this legislation. in arizona, gabby giffords and mark kelly came to talk about some of the problems with the background check system. there are more than 120,000 mental-health records that have been adjudicated that the state level. those are not part of the nics system. there is this piece of legislation and other things we can do that will allow individuals authorities to determine who is incapable and should not be in a position to get a weapon. i appreciate the time that has gone into this, particularly by the primary sponsors. >> thank you, jeff. >> after the shootings in connecticut, i spent a lot of time with people in arkansas asking them about gun is

>> thank you, senator. in my work for mobile oil, there was manly not offshore, but certainly arctic development. i appreciated at that time how much it was on the leading edge of technology. i know that the last thing you would want as senator from the state of alaska is any kind of situation like we experienced in the gulf with the deep water horizon, but in fact, we talked about this a bit in your office, so i think what is most important as we, we explore these resources, and i think it is appropriate to explore them, is to do so in a safe and responsible way, and to work with the industry partners, as i believe is the kiss ton the sales that have gone forward, so the industry partners can bring the best science available and explore the resources in a way that you representing alaska and myself is confirmed for this position can assure that we're not putting the ecological system at risk, yet we are supporting the desire that we discuss to continue to keep the alaska pipeline full. >> i appreciate that

the senate takes up ratification and through those senators, the entire senate can have a role. i'd also -- i want want to mention briefly to my colleagues that the national security briefing working group is perhaps unique among senate tphaougss in that -- institutions in that it is purely bipartisan. it is actually composed of an equal number of senators from each side of the aisle. its decisions and actions are not controlled by the majority party. they are arrived at entirely through bipartisan agreement, something that we could use more of around here. the bipartisan nature of the group, which is central to its function and its crucial role in helping the senate fulfill its constitutional treaty role, is something that we should support and continue. and we expect that these, there is going to be some additional preliminary negotiations and discussions about those negotiations this year, and it is very, very important that this national security working group continue to have the ability to pave the way for negotiations which can be fruitful. and again, as i yield the floor

the presiding officer: the senator from -- the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: to the senator's point, last point, i'm reading from a letter -- a letter dated march the 4th from the attorney general to senator pa paul, where he says -- and i quote -- "the question you have posed is entirely hypothetical, unlikely to occur, and one would hope that no president will ever have to confront." but he goes on to say, in response to senator paul's question, "it is entirely" -- or "it is possible, i suppose, to imagine an extraordinary circumstance in which it would be necessary and appropriate under the constitution and applicable laws of the united states for the president to authorize the military to use lethal force within the territory of the united states." in other words, to the senator's point, on one hand he said it would be a hypothetical question, unlikely to occur and one we hope no president would ever have to confront, and then on the other hand he said, it is possible to imagine a scenario under which it would happen. so appearing to say -- to be -

we'll go to senator johnson, senator warner. >> thank you. i want to try to understand your $1.85 trillion in deficit reduction against some base line. i believe we're talking about the c.b.o. base line. that has been published. if you write a few numbers down here i would appreciate it. the chairman's mark is $46.4 in -- >> yes. >>baseline is $32 trillion. let's figure out the difference. war spending. how much of the 46 is war spending? we have $75 billion and i thought you said $200 billion. how much more spending is in the chairman's mark? >> [talking over each other] >> we will rounded to $200 billion to keep it simple. the cbo baseline is $1 trillion. so we are going to have to adjust the baseline by about $800 billion. apple's apples. is there any sandy -- >> only 2013. >> that is $300 billion. we would have to lower at another $300 billion for comparison. in terms of interest, the base line is $200 billion more in interest expense, correct? that is correct, so we are looking at apples to apples. we totaled about $1.30 trillion that we

our problem in the senate is the leadership of the senate, not the members of the senate. >> i'm going have to make that the last word. thank you all very much. to be continued, and i appreciate your comments this morning. >> can you believe he could only go 13 hours? >> better shoes, that's all he needed. >> we have particular training for that, talking endlessly. >>> coming up here, the debate started by facebook executive sheryl sandberg about women and success at work. why is she a target instead of a role model? joining me, former white house press secretary dee dee myers, republican congresswoman from tennessee, marsha blackburn. senior strategist of the mccain/palin back in 2008, steve schmidt and columnist from "the washington post" ruth marcus. also my conversation with former governor jeb bush as well. we're coming back after this break. ♪ who's that lady? ♪ who's that lady? ♪ sexy lady ♪ who's that lady? [ female announcer ] swiffer sweeper's electrostatic dry cloths attract and lock dirt, dust, and hair on contact to clean 50% more than a broom. it's a difference you can fe

senate floor. maybe some people want to talk about what passed the house yesterday, the ryan republican budget. but everyone should understand that this time will run out at the latest tomorrow at 7:00 at night, at the latest. it would seem to me that the two managers could work toward reducing that time somewhat, but if they don't, it doesn't matter. we are going to be here until we finish this budget. if we're in all night friday, we'll be in all night friday. i have spoken to senator murray. she was willing to be in all night last night, she is willing to be in all night tonight, she is willing to be in all night friday night until we finish this. so we're going to move forward and finish this budget. we are now on another subject, mr. president. three years ago, this coming saturday was a historic time in this country and in the world, actually, because the affordable care act passed. it was a cold winter night when it passed, very, very cold. it was the greatest single step in generations to h

obama and 11 other gop senators.us to number six on the countdown. president obama's new charm offensive. let's bring back our gaggle sara taylor fagen and chris kofinias. after a campaign he didn't make nice with the republicans. do you think it bears any fruit? >> it can. depends on how much each side is willing to give. the thing about washington, sometimes difficult for people outside of washington to understand, it is a relationship business. >> even amongst, i mean, even amongst the top, elite of the people, being the president and the leaders of either the republican party or the democratic party. and the better they know each other, the better they can find maybe some common ground. the more they don't know each other, the more difficult it is. >> sara, you spent timen the political director of the white house. people think of it as pure party, but it's not pure party. >> i would argue he needed to have done it earlier in his first term and the fact that we're talking about it probably means that it's less ef

senators. the problem is that doesn't exist and that's why it's so important that immigration reform deal with a widespread number of issues. not just what to do with the 11 million people that are here illegally, but also how to stop others from coming and how to create a system by which people can try to come to this country without feeling that the only way is to risk their lives and jump an 18-foot fence. >> jose, always good to see you, my friend. >> let me braing david and manu back in. let me play this clip. >> one of the sad things about this is most of the people who jump over the fence are doing this because they want a better life. i understand that. >> it's sad. a dose of reality as well. i'm wondering, david, how kc confident the white house is feeling about all of this. >> i think they're feeling good. the president is letting the senate gang of eight go forward with what they can do. but they're watching. the issue of of the business and labor unions not agreeing on a guest worke

the rules of the senate say senators can be recognized to speak as long as they wish. be forced to cede the floor or interrupted without consent. the senator holding the longest record? south carolina senator strom thurmond spoke for more than i24 hours. >> tries the system so much. we want to make sure we arrest, convict and execute the right perp. we have trials. so we think it is important that we have trials. ♪ tens of thousands of dollars on their 401(k) to hidden fees. is that what you're looking for, like a hidden fee in your giant mom bag? maybe i have them... oh that's right i don't because i rolled my account over to e-trade where... woah. okay... they don't have hidden fees... hey fern. the junkrawer? why would they... is that my gerbil? you said he moved to a tiny farm. that's it, i'm running away. no, no you can't come! [ male announcer ] e-trade. less for us. more for you. exciting and would always come max and pto my rescue.ookstore but as time passed, i started to notice max just wasn't himself. and i knew he'd feel better if he lost a little weight. so