shaheen: mr. president, i'm here today to express my strong support for repeal of the don't ask, don't tell policy. we took a significant step toward that repeal earlier today and i want to congratulate senators lieberman and collins for their strong bipartisan leadership on this issue. i was proud to be a cosponsor of this bill and i hope we will very soon send it to the president for his signature. as a number of my colleagues have already said today, it's not often that the senate gets this kind of an opportunity with a single to vote right a wrong, but we have that opportunity here today. this vote that we're going to be taking this afternoon is a historic vote. it is one for which this senate will be remembered for a very long time. this is our opportunity to fix an outdated, discriminatory and broken policy. and to strengthen america's security. the united states, our military, and our security will be better off because of this legislation. now, i completely agree with defense secretary rob

shaheen: thank you, madam president. i wanted to come down and join senator kerry and again recognize his leadership along with senator lugar's on moving the treaty ratification through the senate. and i would like to address some of the objections and concerns that are being raised by the critics of the treaty this evening. first, i want to point out that if the senate were to approve the amendment that senator mccain and senator barrasso are proposing, that that effectively kills the treaty. and i think that those people who support that amendment understand that. so that's number one. secondly, one of the issues that's been raised in a number of the estimates that evening has to do with the -- statements this evening has had to do with the concern of dual track, can the senate really deal with this issue while we have so much other business to deal with. well, i happen to think that in the senate we can deal with more than one issue at a time. i believe we can walk and chew gum at the same time. and, in fact, during c

shaheen: i'm pleased to be here on the floor to join my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to talk about the need for us to deal with our deficits and our debt in this country. i made the decision to vote for the tax cut package that we're going to be voting on this evening. i did that with some -- some sense of ambiguity because it doesn't adequately put in place a plan to address our debt in this country. and all the economists, however, that i've spoken to have indicated that this is important for us as we're looking at continuing to stimulate our economy and provide the relief that middle-class families and small businesses need. so despite the fact that there are things in it that i don't like, i'm going to support it. but i would feel a lot better about it if it contained language that all of us have talked about that says as part of doing this, once we get this economy moving again, we've also got to address the long-term debt that we face in this country. and make no mistake about it, we've got to do that both by addressing spending and by addressing tax reform. i was at a

shaheen: senator kerry, i -- the presiding officer: the senator from new hampshire. mrs. shaheen: i will speak only for about one minute and then give the rest of my time to senator feinsteo s wak to the qf the covers, as you d. i don't want to -- as you did. i don't want to speak to the technicalities that have been raised but i do want to make two points in response to senator kyl's concern about verification. you know, i think we should all be concerned about the fact that right now we have no inspectors on the ground, we have no way to verify what's going on in russia. and anything that delays that, delays our ability to get that intelligence back on the ground in russia as to the urgency of the situation. so i think that's a very important point. the other issue that he raised was relative to why do we need to do this now. the fact is, as you pointed out, we got a letter from admiral mike mull learning the chairman of the joint -- mike mullen, the chairman of the joint chiefs yesterday, that said the sooner we ratify this treaty, the better. james clap, the director

shaheen: thank you, madam president. a number of my colleagues and i are coming to the floor today to discuss critical national security interests that senator kerry has already referenced in his remarks on the floor. it's an issue that requires strong bipartisan action by the u.s. senate. that is the ratification of the new start treaty. as we enter the last weeks of the 111th congress, there's no doubt that we have some significant work remaining on a number of important priorities. but we have come to the floor today to say that national security and the threat posed by nuclear weapons also requires our urgent consideration this year. after more than 20 senate hearings, more than 31 witness, 900 questions an answers. -- and answers. nearly eight months of thorough consideration, including additional time during the august recess for the senate foreign relations committee to consider the treaty, it is now time to vote on new start. the treaty is squarely in the national security interests of the united states. it reduc

shaheen: mr. president, i'm sheer to join my colleagues who believe now is the time to ratify the new start treaty. the new start treaty is a continuation of a long history of bipartisan arms control cooperation and it is the culmination of president ronald reagan's consistent appeal, as you mentioned in your remarks earlier this afternoon, his appeal to trust but verify. -- verify when we are dealing with russia. at a time when much of america is fed up with this body's inability to work in a bipartisan fashion, i hope that we can still work across the aisle to strengthen america's national security and deal with threat that's posed by nuclear weapons. and i certainly applaud the leadership of senator kerry and senator lugar and the work that they've done on this issue heading to the senate -- heading the senate foreign relations committee. much like previous arm control treaties, including the old start treaty signed by george h.w. bush and the sort treaty signed by george w. bush -- the new sta

and that's always something many of us look to as governor shaheen, senator shaheen and soon to be governor brownback, doing it in reverse, but it does help in our deliberation that is someone has had the experience as a big-city mayor in a challenging, challenging time, mayor of cleveland and governor of ohio. perhaps a less challenging time but a challenging time nonetheless and the perspective george voinovich has brought as a chief executive coming to the senate sharing those thoughts and ideas with legislators. the second thing i think of is lake erie. if you live in northern ohio or if you live in the right places in wisconsin, minnesota, michigan, new york and pennsylvania, you think about the great lake you near. if you live in northern ohio, especially, there is an old story -- i grew up 75 miles from the lake. george grew up much closer. it is something about people who grew up within ten miles of lake erie, you can ask them which way is north and they always seem to know which direction the lake is even though they can't see it from that point. much of his career has been driven,

. >> jeanne shaheen, thank you. >>> coming up, julian assange gives new meaning to the serm term house arrest. >>> the spending bill that got hijacked in the senate. send me your thoughts on twitter at mitchell reports. this is andrea mitchell reports only on msnbc. my doctor said most calcium supplements... aren't absorbed properly unless taken with food. he recommended citracal. it's different -- it's calcium citrate, so it can be absorbed with or without food. also available in small, easy-to-swallow petites. citracal.  and word is people really love got our claims service.ffice gecko: 'specially the auto repair xpress. repairs are fast and they're guaranteed for as long as you own your car. boss: hey, that's great! is this your phone? gecko: yeah, 'course. boss: but...where do you put...i mean how do you...carry... waitress: here you go. boss: thanks! gecko: no, no i got it, sir. anncr: geico. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. but my allergies put me in a fog. so now, i'm claritin clear! claritin works great on all my allergies like dust, mold, pollen, or

some of them grab middle class or poverty, one was an immigrant shaheen akaka if it's an interesting contrast who had absolutely entitled up bringing you describe as the gentleman at harvard so i guess what does it say of the men who were self-made very ambitious as you said, very driven but what does that say about fdr and about the times that these were the men he sort of hand-picked and was involved in? what does that say? >> guest: roosevelt was called by his contemporaries a traitor to his class and people usually think what is meant by that is just the idea he wanted to restrict wall street when lots of his classmates were on wall street. he wanted to raise taxes when lots of his contemporaries were rich, and that's true but there's more to it than that. it's also that roosevelt was most comfortable not with people from boarding school and fancy colleges that he grew up with, but actually with people more colorful, more interesting and frankly very often were completely self made and he was the opposite of self-made. he was probably the most elite young person in america. his c

sen i will also acknowledge senatort jeanne shaheen for her keen interest in southeast europe. we traveled together to the s region in februaryhe this year o a cartoon that she is picked up the mantle on our mission e totd ensure the door of nato and ates i european union membership remains open to all states in key, i believe, to our national security. i've also champion the cause of monitoring and combatingooperatn anti-semitism, making it aur priority within the organization for security and cooperation inr itrope and our stateess departmw the progress that's been made to the use could not have happened without the leadership of senator ben cardin, congressman chris smith and the lateongr congressman tom lantos. p of theas highlights of my careel with the passage of the globalhe anti-semitism bill, which created a special envoy that the state department to monitor and. combat global anti-semitism.ipai these are just a few examples ot great bipartisan work going on in the senate, but much of thesf time this is blurred because of the media's addiction to conflict.the bip even

shaheen: i'm pleased to be here on the floor to join my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to talk about the need for us to deal with our deficits and our debt in this country. i made the decision to vote for the tax cut package that we're going to be voting on this evening. i did that with some -- some sense of ambiguity because it doesn't adequately put in place a plan to address our debt in this country. and all the economists, however, that i've spoken to have indicated that this is important for us as we're looking at continuing to stimulate our economy and provide the relief that middle-class families and small businesses need. so despite the fact that there are things in it that i don't like, i'm going to support it. but i would feel a lot better about it if it contained language that all of us have talked about that says as part of doing this, once we get this economy moving again, we've also got to address the long-term debt that we face in this country. and make no mistake about it, we've got to do that both by addressing spending and by addressing tax reform. i was at a

shaheen: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator new hampshire. mrs. shaheen: i am they're talk about the situation in which we find ourselves, where millions of american families and small businesses on january 1 are going to see tax increase because the bush tax cuts are set to expire. but before i talk to that issue i heard my colleague from south dakota speaking, and i think it is important to -- to point out the differences of opinion in some of his remarks. because he didn't -- he talked about how great things were in the previous decade, in the early years of this decade. but he neglected to point out why we were in the situation that we're in with this recession. because the financial meltdown, the recession that began in 200 and 2008 really is the result o so many of the policies of the previous bush administration. and, unfortunately, if -- if those tax cuts that everybody i talking about were going to create so many jobs, we've had them for ten years, and i want to know where the jobs are. i've got a lot of people in new hampshire who are un

nevada, gillibrand, schumer, casey, murray, franken, bingaman, cardin, inouye, bennet of colorado, shaheen, menendez, boxer, lautenberg, dodd and durbin. mr. reid: mr. president, regarding the h.r. 847, the zagroda legislation, have we stated that motion and have i asked that the reading of the names be waived? the presiding officer: the motion has been state and the names have been read. mr. reid: mr. president, i now ask unanimous consent that the cloture vote on the motion to proceed to calendar number 662, s. 3991 our upon the conclusion of the impeachment proceedings and the senate resume legislative session. and that the senate then resume the motion to proceed to calendar number 662 and the mandatory quorum required under rule 22 as it relates to all these matters and i filed cloture on be waived. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. reid: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the senate resume consideration of the articles of impeachment against judge g. thomas porteous -- let's try this again. his name is

follows: baucus, lieberman, rockefeller, dorgan, kerry, whitehouse, pryor, casey, durbin, warner, shaheen, nelson of nebraska, bayh, dodd, conrad, webb, nelson of florida and klobuchar. mr. reid: i move to send it to the finance committee with instruction to report back with the following amendment. mr. reid: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. reid, moves to refer the house message to the senate committee on finance with instructions to report back forth with with an amendment numbered 4755. mr. reid: i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the yeas and nays are ordered. mr. reid: i have an amendment to my instructions that is at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. reid, proposes an amendment numbered 4756 to the instructions to the motion to refer h.r. 4853. mr. reid: on that, mr. president, i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the yeas and nays are ordered. mr. reid: i have

of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable jenne shaheen a senator from the state of new hampshire, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: daniel k. inouye, president pro tempore. mr. reid: madam president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: we'll continue on the tax bill, h.r. 4853. postcloture time will expire tonight at 12:30 a.m. the senate will recess from 12:30 to 2:15 today for weekly caucus luncheons. we also have a number of senators organized today to give their final speeches. we look forward to hearing from senator bond at 11:30 today to deliver his farewell speech. senator judd gregg will deliver his speech at 2:15 p.m. senator harkin will be speaking at 3:15 p.m. for up to 45 minutes. senator kirk will deliver his maiden speech at 5:00 p.m. today. senators will be notified when any votes are scheduled. i have spoken to the republican leader and we're going to try to work this out so we don't have to be in until 12:30 today and can move to other matters. we will keep senators advised as to what the exact

to senate resolution 458, senators mccaskill, hatch, klobuchar, whitehouse, udall of new mexico, shaheen, kaufman, barrasso, demint, johanns, risch and wicker to perform the duties provided for by rule xi of the senate's impeachment rules. under the leadership of its chairman, the senator from missour, mrs. mccaskill, and its vice chairman, the senator from utah, mr. hatch, the committee heard five days of testimony between september 13 and september 21. during that time the committee heard from 26 witnesses, 14 who were called by the house of representatives and 12 witnesses who were called by judge porteous. the committee also conducted pretrial depositions of four witnesses and admitted into evidence the testimony of a number of witnesses, including judge porteous, who had testified in prior proceedings, more than 300 factual stipulations, and hundreds of exhibits. mr. president, the senate is indebted to all of the members of this committee, who so conscientiously discharged their responsibility in this important constitutional matter. in addition to the committee's leadership, i wou

leader is going to do his statement now, and so i understand that, but i do ask on behalf of senator shaheen that roger tomin, a fellow in her office, be permitted floor privileges during the consideration of the start treaty and any votes relate to go that matter. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: madam president? provided the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: madam president, i want the american people to see something. this is the -- this is the bill that the majority would have us pass, this omnibus appropriations bill. 2,000 pages long. and i think the american people should think back to this time a year ago, last december, when the democrats did the very same thing. at that point, it was a 2,700-page health care bill, because, frankly, they didn't want us to see what was in it. only afterward did we find out -- only afterward did we find out about the cornhusker kickback, the louisiana purchase and all the rest. and this is early familiar to anyone who remembers the health care debate. we have even got snow in the forecast, which is reminiscent of last year. las

shaheen: mr. president, i'm honored to be here on the floor today to join senator mcconnell and my other colleagues in recognizing the service that senator judd gregg has provided to the people of this country and for us, importantly, to the people of new hampshire. i've had the good fortune to know senator gregg since i first got elected to public office. in the new hampshire tradition, you learn to work together with people on both sides of the aisle for what's in the best interest of new hampshire and senator gregg has been a fine example of that tradition. i've enjoyed working with him over the years and his presence here in the chamber and the senate halls will be missed both by me and as we've already heard by the rest of our colleagues and i think as senator gregg was giving his remarks, the number of senators who were here to say good-bye shows the respect and the -- how much he will be missed by all of our colleagues. throughout my own public life, rival always appreciated the the civil -

shaheen: mr. president, i think most of us believe that we should not play partisan politics when it comes to nuclear weapons. but in a speech this morning at the heritage foundation, my colleagues -- our colleague, senator jim demint, claimed that the new start treaty weakens our national security. now, i like our colleague from south carolina, jim demint. he's been the ranking member on the european affairs subcommittee of the senate foreign relations committee, which i have chaired for the last two years, and we've worked very well together. but on this issue, he is just wrong. nearly the entire foreign policy and national security establishment, democrats and republicans alike, completely disagrees with him. senator demint is arguing that this treaty somehow weakens our national security and limits our strategic options. that argument has little basis in reality and is opposed by every living former republican secretary of state, five former secretaries of defense, seven former commanders of o