the roll. quorum call: a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from nebraska. mr. johanns: i ask the quorum call be set aside. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. johanns: i ask to speak five minutes as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. johanns i'm here to recognize two -- mr. johanns: i'm here to recognize two incredible heroes from blue hills, nebraska, amidst a terrible tragedy. on september 5, an accident between a school bus and a semi trailer claimed the lives of four members of this close-knit farming community in webster county, nebraska. my thoughts and my prayers continue to be with the victims, their loved ones, and the entire blue hill community during this very, very tragic time. but through the sorrow of this terrible tragedy a story has emerged that truly epitomizes the word "hero." as one nebraska newspaper said -- and i quote -- "by the grace of god not all of the kids riding the bus home from school have been buried." but their fates could have been much different if not for two guardian angels." unquot

president, when the senate --. the presiding officer: there will be 30 minutes of debate equally divided in the usual form. mr. leahy: mr. president, we're beginning about three minutes late and i'd ask consent the time be divided in such a way the vote still starts at 5:30. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. leahy: mr. president, when the senate recessed more than a month ago, 22 judicial nominees to fill vacancies in courtrooms around the country, courtrooms that taxpayers have paid to have staffed, were left pending awaiting a senate vote. and today senate republicans agreed to vote on just one of those nominees. i commend senator harkin for working with senator grassley and the majority to get this vote on the nomination of stephanie rose of iowa and i would urge a vote on the other nominees as well without further delay. there are currently 78 judicial vacancies, judicial vacancies during the last few years have been at historically high levels. and they've remained near or above 80 for nearly the en

the senator from kentucky. mr. paul: a vote for this resolution is a vote for the concept of preemptive war. i know of no other way to interpret this resolution. the resolution states that containment will never be our policy towards iran. while i think it's unwise to say that we will contain iran, i think it's equally unwise to say we will never contain iran. we woke up one day and pakistan was a nuclear power. we woke up today and north korea was a nuclear power. india, russia, china. but if we would have announced preemptively that we weren't going to contain anyone, we would be at odds with these countries. and what would the solution be? preemptive war. announcing to the world -- the presiding officer: may we have order for the senator. mr. paul: announcing to the world as this resolution does, the containment will never be our policy is unwise. a country that vows to never contain an enemy is a country that vows always to preemptively strike. i urge a "no" vote on this resolution. the presiding officer: all ti

senators-only briefing. the presiding officer: is there an objection? mr. reid: madam president, it is my understanding that we have a couple senators who would like to speak before that. senator collins, how much time does she need? i have no problem with the senator from texas speaking. okay, that's fine. and how about senator collins? does she wish to speak? okay, i ask consent then that senator cornyn be recognized for up to 15 minutes. when he completes that the senate go into recess for one hour. the presiding officer: without objection. the presiding officer: the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: i thank the majority leader for his courte courtesy. earlier this month we received another big job report and along with it a serious disappointment. the numbers speak for themselv themselves. in august a remarkable 368,000 americans left the workforce. they gave up. bringing the labor force participation rate, as it's known, to its lowest level in more than three decades. fewer people are looking for work in amer

the senate is in a quorum call. mrs. murray: madam president, i ask unanimous consent to call off the quorum. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. murray: thank you. madam president, today marks 18 years to the day since president clinton signed the violence against women act into law, and since that day, this law has protected countless women across the country, as seen most directly by the fact that annual rates of domestic violence have dropped by more than 60%. today also marks a far more solemn day in history. today is also the 139th day of delay by the house of representatives since the senate passed an inclusive, bipartisan voaa bill. it marks 139 days since house republicans decided not to follow suit and instead pass a version of our legislation that stripped vital protections included in our senate bill, provisions that protect some of the most at-risk women in our country. it has now been 139 days since 15 senate republicans stood up to join with us to pass this legislation because they knew the histo

passed it in the senate. died in the house. we passed a farm bill, senator stabenow of michigan, senator roberts of kansas, bipartisan farm bill that gave us a good architecture for the future of farm programs and reduced the deficit by $23 billion, passed it on a bipartisan basis in the senate. died in the house of representatives. the tea party faction in the house will not allow it to go forward. senator reid also made the point. what was the first amendment, the first republican amendment on the transportation bill? think about this for a second. the first republican a.m. on the transportatiothe -- the first rn bill, they wouldn't let us move forward to that bill unless we would let them consider an amendment which would reduce the opportunity for women across america to have access to family planning. on the transportation bill? and they are arguing that we're finding ways to slow down the senate? well, the blunt amendment was defeated but it's an indication of political gamesmanship that's gone on at the expense of importa

that's the way i saw it. senator joe lieberman caucuses with the democrats said he was -- quote -- "disappointed by the party's refusal to confront the issue, saying i don't think the democrats will offer their own budget and i'm disappointed in that. senator pryor said we've had three years with president obama and we're not able to get a budget resolution passed. it gets worse. not only have our democratic colleagues failed to do their duty, but they savagely attacked the house for producing a budget and laying out a plan. here's what senator conrad said today. senator conrad's a good friend, but give me a break, senator conrad. this is what he says: "the house plan fails any moral test of government." he said the house plan failed the moral test. and he said that several times and repeated it. so these comments are outrageous really. they're knack rat. but -- they're inaccurate. but they are also hypocritical. i ask what is the morality of the majority party in this senate that has violated the law purposely and d

this matters in this race, control of the senate. >> i am the second most bipartisan united states senatoru imagine 100 professor of warrens down there raising taxes. she said, you did not build this on your own. it was the roads and bridges we put forth to get your goods to market. that lack of trying to work together. every member of our delegation right here is 90% and above. professor warren is to the left of that. she would vote with her party 100% of the time. she has said, i do not know what i disagree with my party on. >> i think it is clear. this race is about whose side you stand on. senator dodd has made it clear with his votes. -- senator brown has made it clear with his votes. at the end of each day, this race may be for control of the senate. senator brown cannot have it both ways. he is raising money for republicans around saying, give me money and i win. it means the republicans can take control of the u.s. senate. >> we are out of time. thank you very much. thank you for joining us on wbz. watch wbz news for a complete wrapup. do not forget to go to the polls on november 6

a plane carrying senator edward m. kennedy to thed tonight. senator kennedy was reportedly seriously injured. there were two other occupants on the plane and were trapped in the wreck. >> we're not sure whether the senator birch bayh was with him or not. the two senators stayed in washington to vote with him this afternoon. >> i felt tremendous impact of the crash, was conscious of sliding along the ground very briefly. and then there was complete silence. and senator bayh called my name a few times but i couldn't hear him. >> i went back and this time he sort of mumbled and i got a hold of him. >> he pulled me out of the plane and my legs fell to the ground. >> doctors said today he's probably not paralyzed and will probably make a complete recovery. two other men, the plane's pilot and senator kennedy's aide and close friend, edward moss, died after the crash. >> i always mourned the loss of my friend, ed moss. and birch bayh saved my life and got me out of the plane because it could have caught on fire. >> mr. president. >> my fri

of controlling the senate. month. a 40-point jump. thank you, mitt romney. now you know why scott brown was racing back to try to be a senator for one more day in washington, d.c., instead of competing for his senate seat at home. where the latest poll says president obama is leading mitt romney by 28 points. democratic congressman barney frank of massachusetts joins us next for "the interview." stay with us. >>> professor warren claimed that she was a native american, a person of color. as you can see, she's not. that being said, she checked the box, and she had an opportunity actually to make a decision throughout her career when she applied to penn and harvard, she checked the box claiming she's a native american. and clearly she's not. that being said, i don't know, and neither do the viewers know whether, in fact, she got ahead as a result of that checking of the box. >> when i was growing up, these were the stories i knew about my heritage. i believed my mother and my father and my aunts and my uncles and

to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i herebyappoint the honorable tom udall, a senator from the state of new mexico, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: daniel k. inouye, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. reid: i move to proceed to calendar number 499, s. 3521. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: motion to proceed to calendar number 499, s. 3521, a bill to amend the internal revenue code of 1986 to extend certain expiring provisions. mr. reid: mr. president, i yield to my friend from connecticut. the presiding officer: the senator from vermont is recognized. mr. reid: vermont, vermont, vermont, vermont. i know the difference. mr. sanders: i thank the majority leader for yielding. mr. president, i am delighted that father marcel rainville has offered the opening prayer for the u.s. senate this morning, and i thank him very much for joining us in doing so. father rainville is a native of vermont. he is a distinguished member of

of controlling the senate. e month. a 40-point jump. thank you, mitt romney. now you know why scott brown was racing back to try to be a senator for one more day in washington, d.c., instead of competing for his senate seat at home. where the latest poll says president obama is leading mitt romney by 28 points. democratic congressman barney frank of massachusetts joins us next for "the interview." stay with us. [ horse neighs ] look! she wears the scarlet markings! [ man ] out! your kind is not welcome here! nor your odd predilections! miracle whip is tangy and sweet, not odd. [ man ] it's evil! if you'd try it, you'd know. she speaketh the truth! [ crowd gasps ] [ woman ] reverend? ♪ can i have some? ♪ to compete on the global stage. what we need are people prepared for the careers of our new economy. by 2025 we could have 20 million jobs without enough college graduates to fill them. that's why at devry university, we're teaming up with companies like cisco to help make sure everyone's ready with the know how

of the senate finance committee? because that's the real test of whether or not you want to reform the tax code. if i recall, you voted for it and i voted against it. there's a very big difference. the presiding officer: the senator's time has expired. the senator from washington. mrs. murray: thank you, madam president. i might remind all the senators we are on the floor on a very important bill. i want to thank senator bill nelson for his leadership and passion in making sure our veterans get back to work at the time they have a 20%-plus unemployment rate and his work on the bill as we move to this point. madam president, i have been listening to the debate on this bill. what i've heard are some pretty weak arguments against the merits of this legislation. i've heard we haven't held hearings on the employment or on the provisions in this legislation. the senators that spoke may not have known they're not on our committee but we have had hearings last year and this year and on this bill. veterans groups and v.a. at m

to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable richard blumenthal, a senator from the state of connecticut, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: daniel k. inouye, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader smed. mr. reid: i had move to proceed to calendar number 504. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: motion to proceed to calendar number 504, s. 3525, a bill to protect and enhance opportunities for recreational hunting, fish, and shooting and for other purposes. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: the next hour will be equally divided between the two leader leaders who are their designees. thas i think we should know andi will be happy to restate it, the next roll call vote will occur at about 1:00 a.m. this morning, an hour after we come in. i'm, of course, hopeful that we can work something out to complete our work. either do it all tonight, tomorrow, or if that doesn't work out, as you kn

of controlling the senate. month. a 40-point jump. thank you, mitt romney. now you know why scott brown was racing back to try to be a senator for one more day in washington, d.c., instead of competing for his senate seat at home. where the latest poll says president obama is leading mitt romney by 28 points. democratic congressman barney frank of massachusetts joins us next for "the interview." stay with us. i didn't think it was anything. i had pain in my abdomen... it just wouldn't go away. i was spotting, but i had already gone through menopause. these symptoms may be nothing... but they could be early warning signs of a gynecologic cancer, such as cervical, ovarian, or uterine cancer. feeling bloated for no reason. that's what i remember. seeing my doctor probably saved my life. warning signs are not the same for everyone. if you think something's wrong... see your doctor. ask about gynecologic cancer. and get the inside knowledge. and those well grounded. for what's around this corner... and the next. ther

in fact, over 30 jobs bills sitting in the senate. the inaction has been on the senate. so mr. speaker, with the gentleman's question about the farm bill, i in fact just came out of a meeting with one of his members to talk about the farm bill. we're trying to look for ways forward. yes, there can be a possibility that we act again on the issue of the disaster and the drought. as the gentleman rightly said, we passed the drought relief bill sitting over in the senate, again, inaction. the gentleman indicates the reason for opposition to that bill. there's nothing in the bill that is controversial. it's the fact that some who insist on having something else in the bill didn't have it. well, one thing we know is we're all for allowing the relief is the farmers. why can't we get that done? why can't we finally decide, you know, there are some areas of disagreement and we realize that reasonable people do and certainly in election season sort of emphasizes that, unfortunately. but we also know the things in common. addressing the drought issue is we do have in common. we passed out

the senate, republicans in the house.so you are going to have naturally a lot of frustrating moments because of that simple fact. there is a division in the country about what we do with all these things. there is not a consensus that we can -- that can be reflected in the house. and so it is frustrating. but i tried to keep my calm, and i try to apply some sense of logic to what we do. >> has the thought ever occurred to you to say, i've served my role here, it is time to walk away? >> oh, no. i don't walk away from a challenge. >> on that note, the approval rating you have had in the entire years of service, you have spent so much time in this institution, how do you reconcile the outlook toward constitution and the institution as well? >> well, i think if you had taken a poll back in thomas jefferson's time and earlier in the country's time, you would have been able to say that the congress even then was a football to kick. that has not changed. nor will it change. the summit has always been a source of ridicule by the

the presiding officer: the senator from utah. mr. hatch: i ask that the quorum callening be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. hatch: i rise today to speak to an issue that threatens the very viability of the united states senate. last july the obama administration used the flimsiest of arguments, granted themselves the authority to waive federal welfare work requirements. and whether or not what they, the obama administration intends to accomplish with these waivers is good welfare policy has been the subject of robust debate. i'm not here to argue the merits or lack thereof of the underlying welfare policy goals of the obama administration. what i am here to do is to make a plea to my fellow senators, as senators we simply cannot let this action stand. if we fail to stand together as senators in defense of our constitutional duty to be the ones to draft legislation, we might as well pack up our bags and go home, because we will have opened the door for this administration and future administrations to unil

the production tax credit. senatorny. we hope when you visit us in vermont you'll see it. they are a cutting edge company, they are an extraordinary company. and we're very proud of the work that they have done and are doing and are cognizant of the problems they're facing today, the layoffs that they have had to experience because congress has not passed the production tax credit. mr. president, as you know, this important incentive, the production tax credit, moves us forward in a direction that we must go in terms of producing safe, sustainable energy by providing 2.2 cents per kilowatt hour incentive for wind energy produced. mr. president, let's be very clear, and i think a lot of people perhaps in congress and certainly all over the country don't fully grasp this. i think some people still think that wind is some kind of cute fringe technology which is not very significant here in the united states of america. so let us be very clear, wind accounts for 35% of all new electric-generating capacity installed in our

the senator from mississippi. mr. wicker: let me say from the outset that this senate is -- and this nation are profoundly fortunate to have had the services of senator orrin hatch for decades and decades. the speech that he just delivered to this body was profound in so many ways and true in so many ways. it was made at 10 minutes until 6:00 on a friday night when perhaps americans are looking elsewhere, but just so much of what the senator said is absolutely the truth, and our country needs to hear it, and i appreciate him coming and delivering it in such a talented way. mr. hatch: if the senator would yield, i want to thank my friend and colleague. i really appreciate it. i enjoy serving with him, as i do with everybody in this body. mr. sessions: senator wicker just talked a fair minute about this. what do you think? wouldn't it be great to have the chairman of the finance committee named senator orrin hatch? mr. wicker: he well, -- well, it would be, it would be. i think with the leadership of people like senator

live to the senate floor on c-span2. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. lord of salvation, sometimes we're tempted to doubt your promises and to feel cynical about the chaos in our world. when these feelings come, help us to remember your great deeds in our nation's history, recalling the many victories you have already helped us win. continue to lead our lawmakers, like a shepherd, in green pastures and beside still waters. nourish their spirit with the food of your wisdom, soothing their doubts and calming their fears. give them indefatigable courage for the living of these challenging days, using them as instruments to share hope and encouragement to our nation and world. and, lord, we thank you today for the life and legacy of ambassador chris stevens. we pray in your great name. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which

the senate did not even take up the budget.hink the majority of the senate voted against the balanced budget amendment to the constitution. so we have divided government. when you have divided government, you do not have a consensus. when you do not have instances, you do not get a lot done. host: the inspector general of the justice department out with his 471-page report, looking at the fast & furious operation. the "new york times" says it included the deputy assistant attorney general who was supposed to be aware of what was happening and was not fully informed of everything that was going on. and your colleague, representative cummings from maryland, had this to say before the house oversight committee. [video clip] >> i also want to commend the attorney general. i have lost count of how many times he has testified on this issue. but he has remained even-handed, respectful, and always true to the critical mission of the department he leaves. he requested this investigation, and he has already put numerous reforms in place.

the senator from utah. mr. hatch: madam president, i appreciate my colleague's remarks, much of which i agree with. that still doesn't negate the fact that the administration has acted unilaterally, as the executive branch, to usurp powers of the legislative branch. that's the issue here. it's a very, very important issue. it's the responsibility of the congress, not the president, to give the states flexibility with regard to the work requirement, and the congress is pretty explicit on that. g.a.o. has reported today that even though states had requested a -- or inquired about waivers, no administration, not the clinton administration, not the bush administration, not the obama administration believe they have waiver authority. that is until july 12 when h.h.s. did this. and i think they know that they are wrong on this. well, the latest g.a.o. report details how whenever states requested tanf waivers in the past, h.h.s. responded that no such authority exists. between 2000 and 2009 during the clinton, bush and

the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. id for mrs. murray proposes amendment number 2489. mr. reid: i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. there is. the yeas and nays are ordered. mr. reid: i have now, mr. president, a first-degree perfecting amendment at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. reid proposes amendment numbered 2808 to amendment number 2789. mr. reid: on that i ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. there is. the yeas and nays are ordered. mr. reid: i now have a second-degree amendment at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. reid, proposes amendment number 2809 to amendment number 2808. mr. reid: i have a cloture motion to the substitute amendment. it is at the desk. the clerk: we the undersigned senators in accordance with provisions of null

that is the choice of two different americas. it seems to me what a senator should be doing is taking the common sense that you and i know that is here in missouri and taking that to washington instead of dragging all of this stuff from washington and dumping it on to the state of missouri and killing jobs, destroying the economy, and crushing the american dream. that is what this election is really about. it is not about words. it is about two different voting records that are the exact opposite. when you vote 98% of the time with obama and tell us you are a regular middle of the road, that takes a lot of guts. i have to give her credit for that. >> to what extent should the, still a matter? matter?ll >> i think he opened the view to how he thinks for missourians. they say a lot about how he views things, and that is where the need to pay attention. i believe a rape victim should be allowed to have emergency contraception in order to avoid pregnancy. todd akin does not. i believe his view is extreme and out of the mainstream for most missourians. he wants to

good appearance at the convention in charlotte. senator scott brown is feeling the weight of the mitt romney anchor and is struggling to try to break and hold and serve against warren. i think he's pretty much going to be a one and done. >> eliot: sam, any one of those three? two word answer? >> tester could pull it out. warren definitely. >> eliot: okay. all right. political reporter joe williams and sam seder host of ring of fire and the majority report, many thanks to both of you. >> my pleasure. >> eliot: chunk of planet earth vanishing in the last days of arctic ice. (vo)answer: pour disaronno into a flute glass and top with prosecco. brought to you by disaronno. be originale. >> eliot: it was the end of an era for discrimination. now where is the supposed downside we were warned about? the parade of horribles promised by john mccain and the family research council? soldiers were going to flee the service by the hundreds of thousands. troop unity would unravel. recruitment numbers would drops by thousands. well, none of it happened. r

and the senate did pass a farm bill. can my colleague tell me why we don't have the farm bill on the floor during all of this period of time? we could at least do that in light of the disaster relief that took place. mr. woodall: if the gentleman would yield. i'd say that i regret i'm not high enough up the chain to know all the strategic decisions but i will tell you that the bill that came out of the senate is a sad two-year bill that provides absolutely no certainty to any of the farmers in my district. it spends more and provides less certainty and the farmers in my district say, rob, we need a farm bill but why can't do you it right? and i know my colleague would agree with me. mr. hastings: two years rather than five-year bills from, because the five-year proposal is what the chair of the agriculture committee, yours and my colleague, mr. lucas, is seeking to offer. but i don't want to get us caught in the weeds. let me go ahead and yield two minutes to the distinguished gentleman from ohio, my friend, mr. kucinich.

the budget saw in the senate and died. -- sat in the senate and died. that is the reason i am running for the senate. the senate cannot get anything done. it is the fed's rule of law that we are supposed to have a budget every year. i do not think the debt ceiling increase and another 10%, the sequestration of defense, is not an excuse to do and what the law says. >> i agree with the congressmen that the proposal had some good ideas. we need to work off that framework. that was the framework the president and john boehner are working on when they got in the agreement last summer prior to his passing a budget into law. they were going to try to move $4 trillion of debts off the books. the tea party shut it down. we are working on a bipartisan basis in the senate every day to try to cobble together a plan that will reduce 4-$5 trillion of debt. i am part of that grou we need to reduce mortgage interest. i do not believe anybody buys a second, because of the mortgage interest deduction. we should look at whether we should take a haircut on charitable deduc

[the senate is observing a moment of silence] [the senate is observing a moment of silence] [the senate is observing a moment of silence] mrs. gillibrand: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new york. mrs. gillibrand: i stand here today with my colleagues to observe one minute of silence on the first day of session since the passage of the 40th anniversary of the 1972 munich olympic terrorist attack which killed 11 athletes and coaches from the israeli olympic team. prior to the extraordinary summer games in london where so many of our athletes excelled and made our country so proud, the senate passed a bipartisan resolution that i authored with senator rubio. with this resolution, which was supported by more than 30 of our colleagues, the senate called on the international olympics committee to hold a moment of silence in london to honor these 11 slain israeli olympians. it's regrettable that they chose not to. today, here in the senate, in this body, we right that wrong. the munich tragedy was an outrageous attack against innocent athletes and against the unifying s

wisconsin congresswoman tammy baldwin run for the senate. have a question. >> yes, you came to the congress the same year as paul ryan. and you have profound political ditches. and tell us what on a personal level what perm quality of his do you admire? >> we are friends. we actually came in in the same year and traveled and commute back and for the between wisconsin and dc together and we have managed to disagree without being disagreeable. we have sharp differences on the issues. but probably the untold story in the toxic partisan political times there still are friendships and there still are opportunities to look for reaching across the aisle to get things done for the people. and sometimes on wisconsin issues, we've teamed up. >> if that is the case why is it so hard to get the two parties to work together? >> well, i think there is a lot of reasons. but i do think some of it is that we tend to focus on the sensational on the conflict. and we have trouble telling the story of when things do happen. it's rare and this is the most toxic i'

in the middle, democratic senator claire mccaskill. at the end, libertarian candidate jonathan dine. let me also introduce to you today our panel of journalist who will be joining me and asking questions today of the candidates. we have a student at the university of missouri, we have bill miller of the washington missourian and jeff fox of the independent examiner. now let me briefly go over the rules of our debate today. the candidates drew numbers in advance to determine their speaking order. they will each have two minutes for an opening statement. candidates will have the 90 seconds to answer each question with a 45 second rebuttal at the option of the moderator. i will ask the first question and then our panelist will take turns asking questions. at the end of the debate, candidates will have two minutes for closing debates. for the members of the audience, we ask you to silence your phone and hold your applause. let's get started. we're read for our opening statements a congressman akin you're first. >> thank you all very much fo

scott brown is the republican sweetheart in the most expensive senate race in the country. he's a sitting united states senator. and he is attacking his opponent on her ethnic background. the date, 2012. can you believe it? let's turn to boston city council member, eyanna pressley. great to have you with us tonight. appreciate your time. how damaging is this to senator brown's campaign? >> it needs to be very damaging. this, actually, i don't consider this to be race baiting, there's nothing coy, codified or couched about this. it's just outright racist. but it is consistent with scott brown. he has been running scared. this is a tactic. elizabeth warren has consistently campaigned on the facts and scott brown has consistently, personally attacked. and now his staff, and it's important to underscore that, these are not just overzealous supporters. these are people who taxpayers pay their salary, who are on his payroll, who are supposed to be advising him on policy, advocating for constituents. all eyes are on massachusetts with this senate race, and this is a very sad commen

the presiding officer: the senator from florida. mr. nelson: i ask consent we can lift the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. nelson: mr. president, i want to go ahead on this veterans job corps bill. i had anticipated that i would be speaking after the chairman of the committee, senator murr murray, but i'll take the liberty of going ahead and then with her comments coming as the chairman of the committee, which would normally it be the reverse. and i thank senator murray for her leadership in all of these veterans' issues, but particularly the issue of unemployment among veterans when they come home from the war, and especially among veterans that are age 24 and less, the unemployment figure is even higher. now, it's, i think, appropriate on this particular day, september 11, 11 years ago today the fact that those terroristsjl airliners, causing the crash at the world trade center, at the pentagon, and in a field in pennsylvania. what was happening also that morning with a that police officers -- was that police

the senator... yeah. here is the sad part. that picture was taken last year.nd some of his colleagues felt that the proposed methods of paying for this bill imposing penalties on medicare providers who have been delinquent on taxes was a less than solid fiscal foundation. just out of curiosity, i'm just spit balling here, how did we pay for the actual wars that made these individuals veterans who now need jobs? >> engaging in accounting gimmicks over the years leaving big ticket items like war spending out of official budgets. >> jon: oh, right! by not paying for them! (laughter) at all! we didn't even put the wars on lay away and pay them down a little bit at a time. only taking the wars home when we were done with them. of course! we could have funded it, that would have been wrong for america. obviously senator coburn was not in the senate when the war began but i'm sure the minute he got there he brought the fiscal integrity he is famous for to even the supplement war funding bills. >> the congress has taken a vacation while we haven't passed the supplemen

no more votes today. >> the senator from minnesota. >> thank you. that is -- that is too bad. >> you've got to be kidding. this senate race is already the most expensive political campaign in massachusetts history. in the race for the white house, we're getting new poll numbers out from three key battleground states. according to the nbc news/"wall street journal"/marist poll he has reached the 50% threshold in all three states. president obama leads governor romney, 50-44. in colorado, it's the same, 50-44 and in iowa it's 50/42. president obama won all three of these states in 2008. >>> the day after mitt romney sat down with the spanish language tv network univision, yesterday it was the president's turn and president obama told the hispanic audience his biggest failure of his first four years was not passing comprehensive immigration reform. he also attacked his opponent over his secretly videotaped private fund-raiser's comments and the republicans' comments about 47% of americans. >> when you express an attitude that half the country considers

of the senate finance committee? because that's the real test of whether or not you want to reform the tax code. if i recall, you voted for it if i recall, you voted for it .. unfortunately, they are supposed to be these fears what starts looking out for fraud and abuse, the magic words written into the statute. what they're supposed to be doing has really become more often dislike any other governmental agency, their number one concern, things about their budget, how to preserve their budget. very worried about class and with management, worried about too much interaction with congress. it was very leave very much a goal on gets along type of key -- attitude. i kept hearing over and over again there were three different types, a lap dog who would presumably curl up on the lack of management. a watchdog which was in between, and a junkyard dog. and i think ultimately when i was going to the confirmation process and was told by senator raucous who was the head of the fire at -- finance committee which oversaw one of my

romney has been dropping in the polls, so have been republican senate candidates. just month, just during the calendar month of september, the focus at real clear politics have moved three races further out of republican race. the wisconsin senate race, which they had considered a republican-leaning race is now considered a toss-up between tommy thompson and tammy baldwin. both ohio and michigan, which previously had been rated by real clear politics as toss-ups, those have both been moved. both ohio and michigan have been moved into the leans democratic column. after mostly running neck and neck for months, polling out of virginia this week shows democrat tim kaine seven points ahead of george allen, although that's not that -- that's not the right -- that's not -- never mind. there we go. after months of polling, mostly behind republican senator scott brown in massachusetts, elizabeth warren is up by five points in the latest poll out there this week. it's the fourth straight poll showing her in the lead. and in connecticut, after briefly ceding the polls, mcmahon

we can move america forward with a strong democratic majority in the senate, and together we can moveith barack obama in the whitehouse. [cheers and applause] >> harry reid of nevada. we're now joined by the reverend jesse jackson who.ç >> good to be with you in north carolina. the new south. >> we heard a lot last week from the republicans very critical of barack obama and we just heard from senator reid very critical of mitt romney. is that going to be enough from this democratic convention. >> we now barack obama inherited a loss of 4 million jobs. a war that was the wrong war and now a 4 million jobs, swinging in the right direction. very extensive war in iraq has now come to an end. a step in the right direction. the automobile industry was gone, it's number one again. working in ohio it's in the right direction. >> woodruff: my point is what we heard from senator reid is criticism of mitt romney. is that going to be enough. >> no. they are benefiting from it. the americans whose health was covered now, the message is more healthcare and the message that an unnecessary war has

we passed the senate bipartisanly. it would level the playing field. o put pressure on john boehner. i asked 20 of my senate colleagues to sign a letter after the bill is passed the senate last year to sign a letter this week. we sent to boehner to ask him to move on it. people can come to my web site, sherrodbrown.com and help with us that grassroots effort to get that bill of legislation scheduled. if it goes to the house, they'll pass it. the president will sign it. >> bill: sherrodbrown.com is the web site. senator sherrod brown our guest. senator, "washington post" this morning, i have the article in front of me. the headline is u.s. chamber of commerce launches ads targeting main independent and democrats in montana and ohio. this is headed -- targeted right at you senator sherrod brown from the u.s. chamber. >> this could have been a front page -- two months ago. the chamber -- up to $18 million in television ads which doesn't count radio. i just went by an electronic billboard blaming me for high gas prices here in cleveland. it is the oil indus

lady bird in the center and in the senator from texas on the left. in the front is a secret service man named rufus yarborough. johnson's cars in the motorcade of thousands of books have been written about the assassination. they concentrate on what happened to jack kennedy. not one went into detail in what i considered an adequate way, substantial detail about what was happening to lyndon johnson. what was happening from his point of view. the assassination had never been told from johnson's point of view. it came to me when i was doing this book that we have to do that. how do you do that? first you interview people who are still alive. john connolly himself is very helpful to me. he had this great ranch in south texas with a stable reporter horses. used to come to the guest house where i would say very early in the morning, 5:30 or 6:00 and sit on the top railing of the fence watching them exercise and he would tell me -- he answered almost every question i asked about johnson's career, took me through the assassination in great detail. one of the