i know that senator shaheen raise and i'm sure others did as well. and the question of manufacturing, mr. timmons. i appreciate your testimony. i'm -- represent a state that has had a long and very substantial legacy and reputation for manufacturing. and we've had our challenges, as you and i have talked about. but we've had a bit of a resurgence, and i think we're, frankly, headed in the right direction in terms of being able to create or maintain manufacturing jobs. if someone -- if i were traveling across pennsylvania this august when i'm going to be home and someone grabbed me on the street and said tell me in a few words why this treaty is important for manufacturing generally, having a strategy for manufacturing, but especially for maintaining those jobs, what -- what should i say to them in a few sentences, if you can help me with that? >> well, when you're looking at the issue of rare earth materials, it is a vital component of all manufacturing processes, particularly the chemistry. you have a large preponderance of folks involved in the che

shaheen: thank you, mr. president.sed to join my colleague from pennsylvania, senator toomey, to talk about what really is an egregious oversight in the underlying marshal that we're -- farm bill that we're considering. this morning the senate is going to have the opportunity to vote on an amendment that repeal the sugar program. as senator toomey has pointed out, i submitted several amendments, one would reform the sugar program and the one that we're getting a vote on this morning is the one to actually repeal the program. i, like senator toomey, hope we will get a vote on both of those. but i certainly hope that people will vote against the tabling motion to repeal the sugar program. the underlying farm bill that we're considering reforms almost every farm program that we have. every farm group has had to sacrifice with this farm bill so that we can reform these programs. unfortunately, there is one glaring exception to these reforms, and that is the sugar program. we need to reform the sugar subsidy because it cost

so those sentiments in mind democratic senator jeanne shaheen trying to amend the senate's version of the two thousand and thirteen and the a she reposed a provision that would force the government to pay for abortions when the pregnancy is a result of a woman in uniform being raped and many of the military saw this is a sensible way to approach the consequences of a massive systemic problem take a look at this. this is just not acceptable bans on abortion coverage exist for millions of women who receive their health care through government programs but these bans under the hyde amendment allow coverage of abortions if the pregnancy is the result of or result of rape or incest federal civilian employees medicaid recipients even federal prison inmates are guaranteed affordable access to abortion in cases of rape. are that was the wrong clip but this whole thing was a commonsense provision to change that ban it even had the support of senate republicans but surprise surprise house republicans are the ones causing problems last week the army times quoted the republican staffer quote fami

shaheen: thank you, mr. president. i want to thank senator stabenow. she and aing rierchging member roberts have done amazing work to bring it bill to the floor. it is bipartisan and it is legislation that makes some significant reforms in the sugar -- in the farm programs that we've had. in new hampshire, many of the programs that are authorized in the farm bill are critical for our farmers and our rural communities as well as for the protection of our natural resources. and i hope that we do have some agreement so that we're going to be ail to actually is a full debate on this bill in the remainder of this week and in the upcoming week. as i said, this legislation really makes very needed reforms to our farm programs, and it thoaps reduce the deficit. and i think for all of that terrific reform and the wocialg that's been done, senator stab niewndz rank member roberts deserve real appreciation and thanks from this body. however, this is one glaring exception to the reforms that have been made in the bill. and that is that the bill contains no reform

it's great to have jean shaheen show. if a woman soldier gets raped, what happens to her?well, unfortunately for the over 200,000 women who are in the military serving on active duty, if they're the victims of rape or increst incest, they do not have the same right to healthcare services reproductive healthcare services as all other civilians. and as all other government employees who are covered by federal health insurance. they don't have the same rights as women in federal prisons who are victims of rape. who have access to reproductive services for safe abortion coverage that is paid for. >> joy: it sounds so outrageous for me when i first heard this. this is an unbelievable thing. who is responsible for that? why is it? why is that? >> well, it's been policy really since the 80s. women in the military are the only group that are singled out that are not covered by the hyde amendment, which provides the ability for women who are victims of rape or incest, or to be able to have access to reproductive health services, to a safe abortion that is paid for, and i think it's

state democrats, and had occasion to just see backstage your terrific united states senator jeanne shaheenhoop doing an outstanding job. [ applause ] and, also, i had an occasion to listen to governor januaohn lyn. don't you think y'all have. a great governor these last eight years? [ applause ] john lynch has, has not only -- you know what a great governor he's been for new hampshire. he's one of the great governors that we have in the democratic governors organization, which i have the honor to chair this year. john lynch has done, has been really that person stepping up. he brings people together to get important things done, to create jobs, to improve education, to reduce the costs of health care and to keep new hampshire streets and neighborhoods safe. to protect the environment of this beautiful, beautiful state, and you all do have a beautiful state. i'm glad to say that i've had the pleasure of going door to door and some very picturesque places here in new hampshire, and, you know, from mt. washington to lake pinasawaki, one can just picture mitt romney driving his family -- up he

shaheen: thank you, mr. president. i rise today in strong opposition to the efforts to nullify the environmental protection agency's mercury and air toxic standards, what has been called mact in this debate. this far-reaching resolution would severely and permanently undermine the e.p.a.'s authority to protect our nation's air from harmful and dangerous pollutants. in new hampshire, we have long enjoyed bipartisan cooperation when it comes to crafting policies that ensure clean air, a strong economy and healthy citizens. we do have coal-fired power plants in new hampshire, but they have scrubbers on them to clean up the air. when i was governor, we passed a pollutant bill to address mercury and it was passed with bipartisan support. no one appreciates our clean air more than a woman named lia haught from henneker, new hampshire. leah has lived with cystic fibrosis for the past 40 years. in order to breathe, she must use a nebulizer three times a day and she must exercise daily to clear her lungs. when pollution poisons

>> and this goes to my point earlier about the shaheen portman legislation, which i think is just good stuff that helps move us towards greater conservation, greater efficiency and yet we are not able to move that through the process. we need to go to those areas where the low-hanging fruit exists, and i think we should all recognize that the greatest savings when it comes to energy is not the technology that will build out some futuristic thing that is saving the energy that we currently have. we are pretty wasteful society when it comes to us as energy consumers. i don't think that we have done near enough, and so when i speak of and all of the above policy, in my mind it's a little bit of a three-legged stool, and you have got increase domestic production in the more traditional sources. you clearly have the lake that is the future, which is your renewable energy sources, but the third leg has to be conservation and efficiency. we can do so much more, and i would like, i would like to get some of those pieces moving because i think they should be the easier pieces. unfortunately tha

thought, on this matter that said he was clinically dead and that was followed shortly by general shaheen from the supreme arm council, the armed forces which is ruling the country saying he was not dead but in a critical state and unconscious followed by reports from his lawyer again saying he wasn't dead but in a critical state. and so it appears to be that he is... his health is failing. he was moved from the a prison to a military hospital so egypt right now is watching and wait for reports for some confirmation about what÷9ñ the state of theyr former president is. >> ifill: just to be clear at this time, shortly after 6:00 p.m. eastern time here in washington there is no confirmation that he'sgñh] actuy passed away but that he is just on life support. is there any reaction on the streets in cairo? >> well, initially we were hearing cars honking in celebration and that's now slowed down a bit. at the hospital where he's being treated there doesn't seem to be much activity. this was something that the egyptians have been following for weeks now since his life sentence on june 2 and alm

and i want to thank our outstanding senator from new hampshire, jeanne shaheen. and i want to thank all of you. i know it is a little warm in here. that's okay. that's okay. it is wonderful to be back. and, you know, i just have so many good memories here in new hampshire. i sesame familiar faces and folks who were with me when people were still trying to figure out how to pronounce my name. >> we love you. >> i love you guys back. i really do. now, i am back here in new hampshire, not just because i need your help. although i do. but more importantly i'm here because your country needs your help. now, 2008 we came together to reclaim the basic bargain that built this country. the basic ideal of this country, the thing that created the largest middle class, the most prosperous nation in the history of the world, we came together because we believe that in america, your success shouldn't be determined by the circumstances of your birth. if you are willing to work hard -- [ applause ] here in the united states of america, if you're willing to work hard, you should

i had occasion to see backstage your terrific united states senator, jeanne shaheen, who is doing an outstanding job. also, i had occasion to listen to governor john lance. don't you think you have a great governor these last eight years? john lynch has not only -- you know what a great governor he has been for new hampshire. he is a great governor in the democratic governors organization, which i have the honor to chair this year. he has been that person brings people together to get important things done, to create jobs, to improve education, to reduce the cost of health care, to keep streets and neighborhoods safe, to protect the environment of this beautiful state. you do have a beautiful state. i am glad to say that i have had the pleasure of going door to door in some very picturesque places in new hampshire. mount washington to be waters of portsmouth, one can just picture mitt romney driving his family -- [laughter] up here to one of his many homespun. children in the back of the station wagon. dog tied firmly to the roof of the car. [applause] as the dogwood a test, -- dog w

the measure that senator shaheen and portman have been working for a couple years now passed through the committee in a bipartisan basis. it's pretty smart, but when we are talking that had really can make with deficiencies in conservation, this is a good bill. and we are not able to get the attention and even for some thing like that. so it is an issue of competing priority and not putting it is high up on the list as many of us would like. >> you have the microphone. let's find someone over here to pick up the microphone. okay, you get the microphone while you're asking the question. >> i appreciate what you said about looking up all of the above in again about different options. one actually listen to what you're saying, is still focused on domestic oil production, franking annealing so much negative renewable energy was saying he didn't feel a stimulus that affect events they hope. so i guess i am just wondering how you would balance the idea of all of the above in but were you see renewable energy kind of fitting into that whole equation >> nmma comments were very truncated in v

in support of the shaheen amendment which i cosponsored in the senate armed services committee markup, today i wrote a letter to house majority leadership expressing my concern for this issue and asking that it be addressed immediately. the senate armed services committee recently considered and passed the national defense authorization act for f.y. 2013, and it awaits full consideration of the senate. as we all know, our troops need the tools and resources to complete their mission. it's imperative that it gets brought up right away. as a member of the committee, i join with members of both sides of the aisle in supporting this amendment which would ensure that women who serve in our armed forces and their families are provided access to abortion services in cases of rape or incest. sadly, sexual assault of women service members has been recently exposed as far more prevalent than anyone previously thought. as a matter of fact, the pentagon believes such crimes are vastly underreported. and there's evidence that there are as many as 19,000 assaults committed every year. that's approx

that's coming again from general shaheen.rmed forces. >> let's be cautious obviously on a sensitive subject like this. i want to bring in middle east scholar on the phone from new york right now. we're getting some conflicting information from the state-run news agency in egypt saying he's clinically dead. hosni mubarak, you just heard the top general just say that's not necessarily true. he's obviously in bad, bad shape. but not necessarily clinically dead. what's your reaction to all of this? >> you know, wolf, i think your cnn colleagues have it about right. we should be skeptical. at the risk of being someone reverent in the face of this news item, there's a great expression i like. and it asks the following question, when you're told that someone is dead, you say is he dead and buried or just dead? i think we are in the middle of this kind of situation. mubarak has been ill for a very long time. mubarak did not want to go to prison. right out of the trial he thought he would be going back to the hospital. instead he was

shaheen: i'm pleased to join our colleague and leader on so many issues that affect women and familiestoday to join her and our other colleagues who will be coming to the floor to talk about something that's a real matter of fundamental importance for our country. workers should have equal access to every opportunity that will help them put food on the table, extend their children to school, and save for retirement. unfortunately, here we are in 2012 and still millions of american women lose nearly a quarter of their potential earnings to pay discrimination. almost 50 years after the landmark equal pay act banned wage discrimination based on gender, women in our country continue to be paid just over over 3/4 of what their male counterparts receive for performing the exact same work. every day that this wage gap exists is a further injustice to current workers like my daughters, and to future members of the work force like my granddaughters and so many other granddaughters of members of this body. pay discrimination doesn't just hurt employees. it endangers the families that depend on t

[applause] and i want to thank our outstanding senator from new hampshire, jeanne shaheen. [applause] and i want to thank all of you. [applause] i know it's a little warm in here. [laughter] that's okay. that's okay. it is wonderful to be back. and i just have so many good memories here in new hampshire, and i see some familiar faces and folks who were with me when people were still figuring out how to pronounce my name. [laughter.] >> we love you! >> i love you guys back. i really do. [applause] now, i am back here in new hampshire not just because i need your help -- although i do. but more importantly, i'm here because your country needs your help. in 2008, we came together to reclaim the basic bargain that built this country -- the basic ideal of this country, the thing that created the largest middle class, the most prosperous nation in the history of the world. we came together because we believe that in america, your success shouldn't be determined by the circumstances of your birth. [applause] here in the united states of america, if you are willing to work hard, yo

keen -- gene shaheen is doing a nice job. don't you all think you have had a nice governor? [applause] john lynch, you know what a great governor he has been for new hampshire. john lynch has been that person stepping up. he brings people together to get important things done, to create jobs, to improve education, to reduce the cost of health care, to keep new hampshire is streets and neighborhoods safe, to protect the environment of this beautiful, beautiful state. you will, too, have a beautiful state. i'm glad to say that i have had the pleasure of going door-to- door in some very picturesque places here in new hampshire. you know, from mount washington to lake winnipesaukee, from the waters of portsmouth to the great north woods, one can just picture mitt romney driving his family -- [laughter] up here to one of his many homes. [laughter] children in the back of the station reagan. [laughter] -- station wagon. [laughter] dog tied for lee to the roof of the car. -- dog tied firmly to the roof of the car. [laughter] and the dog would admit that mitt happens. [laughter] [ap

shaheen: i'm pleased to join our colleague and leader on so many issues that affect women and families senator mikulski. i am here today to join her and our other colleagues who will be coming to the floor to talk about something that's a real matter of fundamental importance for our country. workers should have equal access to every opportunity that will help them put food on the table, extend their children to school, and save for retirement. unfortunately, here we are in 2012 and still millions of american women lose nearly a quarter of their potential earnings to pay discrimination. almost 50 years after the landmark equal pay act banned wage discrimination based on gender, women in our country continue to be paid just over over 3/4 of what their male counterparts receive for performing the exact same work. every day that this wage gap exists is a further injustice to current workers like my daughters, and to future members of the work force like my granddaughters and so many other granddaughters of members of this body. pay discrimination doesn't just hurt employees. it endangers

programs we need to protect american producers, and i encourage all of my colleagues to oppose the shaheen amendment. thank you, mr. president, and i yield the floor. mr. crapo: i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. reid: mr. president? i ask unanimous consent the call of the quorum be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i now withdraw my motion to proceed to s. 1940. the presiding officer: the motion is withdrawn. mr. reid: it's my understanding we're now on s. 3240, is that right, and a motion to recommit with secondary amendment number 2393 is now pending, is that right? the presiding officer: the senator is correct. the clerk will report the bill. the clerk: calendar number 415, s. 3240, a bill to reauthorize agricultural programs through 2017, and for other purposes. mr. reid: i now move to table amendment numbered 2393 and i ask for the yeas and nays on that motion to table. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote: the pr

what we have seen in those other countries, in vietnam, shaheen and some of the other asian countries, their wage levels have come up, and our wage levels in this country pretty much remain the same. as a result, the inducement for companies here, particularly manufacturing companies offshore, the manufacturing operations are diminished from where they were a couple of years ago. those are all, i think, encouraging factors. again, to lay the groundwork for a sustained economic recovery if our friends from europe can work their way through, navigate their way through their problems in places like greece and spain. but it's not all bad news. it's not all bad news. in the near term, what should we do? again, number one, not talk ourselves back into a recession. number two, prepare to hit a home run. i'm a guy who likes baseball a lot. we need to hit a home run. i don't think we're going to hit a home run here in this chamber, in this building, in this city maybe before the election, but the best thing in my view that we could do for the economy is to -- to adopt a bipartisan deficit redu

shaheen: thank you, mr. president. actually, mr. president, i'm not here to play the blame game. i am here to talk about a place where we in the senate have found real bipartisan consensus and it's an issue that is critical i think to us in the state of new hampshire and to all of the senators here. because in 23 days, our countr country's surface transportation programs are going to shut down unless congress can come to an agreement on critical legislation. nearly three months ago, 74 senators voted to pass a measure that would reauthorize these programs through the end of fiscal year 2013, providing much-needed certainty to our states and to private industry. and here in this chamber, senators from vastly different ideologies were able to lay aside those differences and to come up with bipartisan ways to pay for this bill, to streamline federal programs and to make our transportation investments more efficient. so that we spend leses on less n overhead, more on roads and bridges and transportation projects. now, this process wasn't easy, as everyone remembers. it required compr

we have a bill, the measure that senators shaheen and portman have been working on a bipartisan basis. it is a pretty -- it is pretty small. what we are talking about had where we can make with the efficiency is, this is a good bill. we are not able to get the attention for something like that. i think it is an issue of competing priorities and not putting it as high on the list as many of us would like. >> you have the microphone. let's find somebody over here. ok. you get the microphone mile you ask the question. >> i appreciate what you said about looking at all of the above and thinking about different options. when i listen to what you were saying it was focused on domestic production, and the only real mention of renewable energy is you did not feel the stimulus was as affected as they had hoped. i am curious how you would balance all of the above and where you see renewable energy fitting into that. >> given my comments or truncated amber if i have a couple of examples. the examples i chose to use what you picked up on. i am a a huge advocate for renewal bowl energy of all kind

shaheen: thank you, madam president. i'm pleased to join my colleague from pennsylvania in supporting his amendment. this is the last opportunity for a bipartisan amendment to reform sugar subsidies that are costing consumers $3.5 billion a year and losing 20,000 jobs a year in this country. this amendment maintains the current sugar program but it rolls back the additional subsidies that were provided to sugar in the 2008 farm bill. mr. toomey: i thank the senator from new hampshire. let me point out that this amendment is such a modest reform, it lowers the price support on raw sugar, for instance, from 18.75 cents a pound all the way down to 18 cents per pound. this is an amendment that will save consumers money, it will save taxpayers money, and most importantly it will save jobs as the department of commerce has pointed out for every job saved by the sugar program, three jobs are lost. it's a modest amendment that simply restores us to the policy prior to 2008. mrs. to be: madam president -- ms. stabenow: madam pres

shaheen: i'm pleased to join our colleague and leader on so many issues that affect women and families, senator mikulski. i am here today to join her and our other colleagues who will be coming to the floor to talk about something that's a real matter of fundamental importance for our country. workers should have equal access to every opportunity that will help them put food on the table, extend their children to school, and save for retirement. unfortunately, here we are in 2012 and still millions of american women lose nearly a quarter of their potential earnings to pay discrimination. almost 50 years after the landmark equal pay act banned wage discrimination based on gender, women in our country continue to be paid just over over 3/4 of what their male counterparts receive for performing the exact same work. every day that this wage gap exists is a further injustice to current workers like my daughters, and to future members of the work force like my granddaughters and so many other granddaughters of members of this body. pay discrimination doesn't just hurt employees. it endangers

the presiding officer was the distinguished senator from new hampshire, former governor, senator shaheen, now replaced by the equally distinguished senator from delaware, senator coons. but i'd say this, mr. president, the current federal safety net provides no protection for dairy farmers from this roller coaster price volatility. so let me say again. these are the roller coaster prices in the dairy industry. these are the swings that impacted our producers and consumers. and finally, with a current federal safety net that provides no protection for dairy farmers from this roller coaster price volatility, now we will have some protection that this bill will be passed and signed into law. the 2009 dairy crisis brought plummeting milk prices, but at the same time it brought sky-high feed costs, and that combined to devastate dairy farmers in ways that many were unable to recover from, many had to close down. let us stop that roller coaster. let's give stability to the hard-working men and women of our dairy farms. and one reason we're able to do this in this bill, dairy farmers came toget