alexander: last week i said on the senate floor that serving in the united states senate is becoming like being asked to join the grand ole opry and not being allowed to sing. here's what i meant by that. take last week. the democratic leader, the distinguished majority leader, the senator from nevada, brought up unemployment compensation. how do we help unemployed americans go to work. i can't think of an issue more important to our country. all of us have ideas about how to do this. but he brought up his idea. hasn't been considered by committee. and then when he put it on the floor, he cut off amendments, he cut off -- cut off debate and cut off votes. coming up soon will be minimum wage. how to increase family incomes in america is the foremost issue facing our country. we all have ideas about that. we're elected to deal with it. we're in a long period of unemployment. we believe the economy is bad for a variety of reasons. we on this side believe it has a big, wet blanket of rules and regulations that have been increased by the obama administration. we'd like to debate that. we'd

of the senate. >> that's a self-inflicted wound. remember the president's political party controls the senate, and then they changed the rules in regard to these nominations you can't use a filibuster to block a vote whatsoever. that's politics at work. and you talk about obstructionism. that's what checks and balances are about. now it may cause people frustration that all the moving parts ought to work together, but that's the theory of our constitution. >> in the federalists, alexander hamilton wrote approval process provided in excellent check upon the spirit of favoritism of the president. when i come back i want to talk about what this really means about presidential power, to have a case like this, and also to have the president's nominations held up in the way they have been. time for us to take a short beak. this is inside story. >> every sunday night join us for exclusive... revealing... and surprising talks with the most interesting people of our time... >> parkinson's forced his wife to type his novels. >> not only was i

of the third point, what the senate has gotten in the habit of doing is to hold a pro-forma session. every three days a senator gavels the place to order and a few seconds later gavels clothes and they do that every three days exactly so that they are in session rather than in recess. that has ben and knowing to presidents 20 or 30 years by presidents nevertheless have said i guess i am out of lot. they gaveled to order it has been annoying but the state of the world. president obama though, this is unprecedented, he said that is not a real session. you say you are in session but i say you are not. i say that is not a real session but actually you are at recess thus i feel i have the power to make recess appointments that is what was going on during these particular three says appointments this is the first time a president has ever done that the first-ever recess appointment during the time of the senate itself believed it was in session. the president claims the power to decide whether the senate is in session or not to override its own judgment whether or not it is in session despi

the senate is unavailable to act. the public's need that the office be filled so that the laws can be faithfully executed is the same whether the vacancy arose the day before or the day after. >> before you -- >> you have the practice in accord with -- >> you were asked -- it was an informal understanding that they would. but there is no express agreement right they're not going to conduct business. then you lose on that part of the case? >> that is a hard case for us. i would agree with that, as does ginsberg,. -- justice in the berg. -- ginsberg. >> suppose this was the exact same no business order, but the senator got up and ask for unanimous intent to name a post office. every two days, he got up and said, unanimous consent to name a post office. the post office is named. they can do trivial business in each of the sessions. would that make a constitutional difference? >> if they did business, you wouldn't have a situation in which no business was conducted and you wouldn't meet the definition of of recess. >> that

the senate worked well. it isn't working well and what the majority leader said is, how can you have a president, be he or she republican or democratic, how can we have that president function without a team in place, a team, their team? one person can't run a country. you need a team. one senator can't run our offices. we need a team. my god, mr. president, what if we were told that we couldn't put our team together unless we had a vote but it wasn't a majority vote, it had to be a super majority? we'd never get anything done. we'd -- we'd be running in circles. it would be very difficult. so my friends sounds to me like he wants to go back to the bad ole days where we would have all of these nominees objected to, stalled. my god, it took -- i'm trying to think of how many days it took to get the administrator of the environmental protection agency up. now, my view, having been here and love this institution and love my work and enjoy my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, the senate's changed because the

"jfk in the senate." first of all, mr. shaw, with the 50th anniversary of the kennedy assassination, was it a benefit to publish your book at this time or did it hurt? >> i think it was a mixed blessing but on the one hand the book, there's a tidal wave of interest that came out on the 50th anniversary. and yet because of that there is this avalanche of books, many of which deal with the assassination. so it's a very crowded field to answer. and provoke what am i to come out at a different time but the book was ready to go am a publisher wanted to go with it now. so i feel good about it coming out now. the thing about unity, he seems the interesting at all times. is one of these characters that is just such a compelling public official, public figure that he is hot now but i think from a year from now, i'm years been out there so many unanswered questions about his presidency, about his political grip that i think is always going to be a popular person to write about. >> we don't think about him as a senator very often. giv

it's never been the rules. senators from both hardees have in the past revered and offended the rules in our nation's darkest hours. the real problem, the real problem is an attitude that views the senate as an assembly line with one partisan legislative agenda. rather than as a place to build consensus to solve national problems. we have become far too focused on making a point instead of making a difference. making a point instead of making good, stable law. we have gotten too comfortable with doing everything we do here of the prism instead of the duty and everyone suffers as a result. as i see it one of the major turning point came of the final years of the bush administration when the democratic majority held vote after vote on bills they knew wouldn't pass. now look, i'm not saying republicans have never staged showboat when we were in the majority and i'm not saying i don't enjoy a good messaging boat from time to time but you have got to wonder if that's all you are doing why you are here. it's become entirely t

to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable christopher murphy, a senator from the state of connecticut, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: patrick j. leahy, president pro tempore. mr. reid: i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: are we in a quorum call? the presiding officer: we are. mr. mcconnell: i suggest the quorum call be suspended. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mcconnell: mr. president, earlier this week president obama explained to the american people what he hopes to accomplish in the year ahead. and i think it's safe to say that despite the hype, there wasn't a whole lot in this year's state of the union that would do much to alleviate the concerns and anxieties of most americans. it wasn't anything in there that would really address the kind of dramatic wage stagnation we've seen over the past several years among the middle

the senate is unavailable to act. the public's need that the office be filled so that the laws can be faithfully executed is the same whether the vacancy arose the day before or the day after. >> before you -- >> you have the practice in accord with -- asked -- it was an informal understanding that they would. but there is no express agreement right they're not going to conduct business. then you lose on that part of the case? >> that is a hard case for us. i would agree with that, as does ginsberg,. -- justice in the berg. ginsberg. >> suppose this was the exact same no business order, but the senator got up and ask for unanimous intent to name a post office. every two days, he got up and unanimous consent to name a post office. the post office is named. they can do trivial business in each of the sessions. would that make a constitutional difference? yous if they did business, wouldn't have a situation in which no business was conducted and you wouldn't meet the definition of of recess. >> that suggests that the rule

>> has the senate -- has the theeme court ever said to senate, no, this is not a recess or you don't have or we're going to contravene your power to are?e what your own rules >> perhaps they've come close in terms of the removal cases but i believe they've addressed this. i think that's one of the reasons this case is so important. the question is driving at is, has the court ever second-guessed the senate its own rules. i think the answer is no. >> in the walter nixon case, they removal were affirmative in not doing that. very interesting question. question,e budgetary that's right, that's right. i come from arkansas, wilbur wilbur mills.r ways and means congress can have interaction with the president. if c. borden gray believed the intrasession recess appointments are unconstitutional, think maybe he6, should give back the title and treasury should call back the salary. >> he could afford it but in any event -- roger? question.sk a i have been waiting for you to ask the question i want the answer to. isfessor williams, how short too short? do you believe a lunch break is a recess?

president, would the distinguished senior senator from alabama -- with the distinguished senior senator from alabama on the floorks i would ask unanimous consent that the time until 4:45 be equally divided and controlled between senators reed of rhode island and durbin. further that the time until 5:15 -- the time from 4:45 until 5:15 be controlled by the republican leader or designee, that at 5:15 p.m., there be 15 minutes equally guided between senators mikulski or shelby or their designees, that at 5:30 p.m. today, the mandatory quorum required under rule 22 be waived, the senate proceed to vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the moat motio the ms if cloture is invoked on the notion concur with an amendment be warnings all postcloture time be yielded back and the senate proceed to vote on the motion to concur, that the motion to concur as agreed to, the senate proceed to the consideration of h. con. res. 74, that the concurrent resolution be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table. the presiding officer: is there objection? the chair hears none. without obj

there's a new history of the senate, "the american senate" written by the late neil mcneil who wrote the best book about the house of representatives and the former historian of the senate and i suspect this book is likely to become the best chronicle of this body. and it speaks of the united states senate as the one touch of authentic genius in the american political system. and it needs to be restored to that, to that position. the republican leader is absolutely right, this doesn't require a change of rules. this requires a change of behavior. some behavior on our part, on this side of the aisle, but a great deal of behavior on the part of whomever the majority leader of the united states senate is because that is the person who sets the agenda. and the debate for this year really is will this year be the end of the united states senate, which is what the distinguished majority leader said it would be if we ever changed the rules in a way that allowed the majority to cut off debate, or will it be the year in which the united states senate is restored, restored to that role of auth

has done is left the senate. and this includes the internship programs he is working on. and i think there is a narrative about people who leave congress and become lobbyists and cash in. and we don't focus on that and not. so in this article i will focus on some of what we have done and that will be fun to do. and today what i'd like to talk about a senator john f. kennedy. there are some 40,000 books allegedly on jfk and you have to ask if there is a need for it another book on kennedy and i was the first threshold i had to cross. and i will explain to you why i thought it was and why i chose to write this book. and i wanted to describe what kind of senator that john f. kennedy was. and lastly wanted to go into a little bit more interesting realm and counterfactual analysis including the path that this might have taken and i will do that at the end of my remark. i was just at the end of the book and i did a lot of research and writing and i was in the final chapter and needed to put the career into context and u

it will not be brought up in the senate. example ofas a good where i think the president is going to be checked on his abuse of authority when he made recess appointments to the national labor relations board. there was a case -- there is a case before the supreme court that i think they will say that the president acted in an unconstitutional manner about one year ago. there is a case in district court now -- you mentioned fast and furious -- the house of representatives has tried to overrule the president on that by a citation against holder but when you have a contempt citation and he does not honor it, you have to go to court so when the district court in d.c. but there is a case trying to loosen those papers up that the president has stonewalled us from getting to find out all the truth about fast and furious. there are ways of doing it but they don't happen overnight. host: we solicited comments on our facebook page last night for you for your appearance this morning. i think it refers to the extension of on employment

the senators had their say. so the amendments were whittled away, some amendments, some voted, some dropped, soment r. some tabled. but about thursday, the majority leader said at the beginning of the week, we'll finish the bill this week -- people are ready to go home. then they'll begin to think more carefully whether their amendments are really that important or not. so they vote thursday night and they maybe vote friday and if they have to, they vote saturday. but most of the time, they finished their work on friday. they were not afraid, those majority leaders, who allow amendments. they were not afraid to defeat amendments. i believe that if the majority leader would allow the senate to work in this way, he wouldn't have any problem on this side of the aisle weferltse with effortp bills from coming to the floor. almost all of thees of of the ep amendments from coming to the floor have to do with is not allowing senators a say. there are no votes on reforming military sexual assaults, completing yucca mounta

most members of congress or fort but the new england senators and the seaboard senators thought that it will be harmful for some of the port cities, so they oppose it. kennedy opposes from the house. and he was not quite sure how to go. but then when he arrived in the senate he spent a lot of time thinking about it and reconsidering his opinion. and then in 1954 he decides to switch his position. and he gave one of the most important speeches of his senate career in which he said camino mmi certain this will help messages is? and not. will it hurt massachusetts? i don't know. canada is ready to go forward with it. it is going to go. we ought to be on the ground floor to actually help construct the seaway. it is in the national interest, the broad national interest to do this you way. reading from the news accounts, if kennedy supported commented that happening withheld the vote. in the support was considered a sort of pivotal issue or pivotal moment when people started to suspect, that it was going to pass. it also got kennedy some notice, the sense that he was not just a parochial se

to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable brian e. schatz, a senator from the state of hawaii, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: patrick j. leahy, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: majority leader. mr. reid: following my remarks and those of the republican leader we'll be in a period of morning business with the time until noon divided equally. the republicans will control the first 30 minutes and we'll control the second 30 minutes. at none all postcloture time on the motion to proceed to the unemployment insurance extension will expire and the senate will begin consideration of the bill. senators will be notified when votes are scheduled. mr. president, another day has passed and we still have a vast majority of republicans standing in the way of extension of unemployment benefits. some republican senators are having conversations about possible offsets for a full year extension. i've said a number of times i think we would be ill-advised to have another s

the senate quite acquiesced in this. it's controversial, and the controversy flaired up in a number of ways throughout from 1823 on. it's not quite settled in the way that might carry the day, i think. >> yes, very important question. very important case. i actually tried to make this argument a bit to the court in the mixed brief. if the court is not persuaded by its own precedent in history to avoid the partisan appointment fight, the less domesticated the per speckive of the late great bickle. he advised courts to consider the strangeness and all the issue, just the strange case that we have not seen before. he referenced the inner vulnerability, the self-doubt of an institution which is electorally responsible and has no earth to draw strength from. this is exactly that case. this is exactly the bickle extension case. our judiciary has no earth to draw strength from. stay out of the partisan mud fight of appointments. >> all right. up here. if every member were to die of a smolt heart attack, could the president use t

we're going live to the senate now, president obama will be giving his fifth state of the union address to a joint session of congress. and senators are gathering to walk as a body over to the house for the speech. here's what we're going to see, senators will line up in the chamber, then walk through statutory hall on the way to the house side of the capitol. president obama will begin his remarks at about 9 eastern, and then after the speech here on c-span2, we'll have reaction from members of congress and in statuary hall. we'll also have the president's remarks on c-span where we'll get viewer reaction. now live to the senate chamber where harry reid, the majority leader, is speaking. the following amendments be agreed to, hagan 2702, rubio 2704, king 2705, blunt 2698, and the amended text be considered as original text for the purpose of further amendment. the only other amendments in order be the following -- reed of rhode island, 2703; coburn, 2697; merkley, 2709; heller, 2700; whitehouse, 2706; toomey, 2707, which is a substitute; and gillibrand, 2708. that no second-degree amen

and the roman senate. he understood the special and crucial role the senate fulfills in our constitutional republic. the senate is where the great issues of our time are supposed to be examined, reviewed and discussed before the whole nation in public, yet in the last few years, we have witnessed the dramatic erosion of senators' rights and the dismantling of open process. we fund the government through massive omnibus bills. this is the bill that's before us now, 1,583 pages stacked up here before us. and that no one really has a chance to read or evaluate or analyze. senators are stripped of their rights to offer amendments. we won't have amendments. bills are rushed through under threat of panic, crisis or shutdown. pass it today or the government shuts down. secret deals rule the day. work is done outside the public and millions of americans are essentially robbed of their ability to participate in the process by interesting what their -- examining what their senators do. under the tenure of majority le

the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate previous order, the senate >> so the senate is taking a break for the weekly party lunches. last hour lawmakers voted to move ahead on a work extending unemployment for three months for the long-term jobless. "the hill" has a story about it today. in a 60-37 vote the senate ended debate on a motion to consider the bill. 60 votes are required to move forward. gop senators susan collins, kelly a ayote, rob portman, dan coates, joined dean heller vote with democrats. they objected to the $6.4 billion cost of the three month extension is not offset with spending cuts. senate minority leader mitch mcconnell said his party could accept extending benefits that go to people that exhausted state benefits only if they were paid for. many would like to see them extended without adding to the national debt, mr. mcconnell said on the senate floor. you can read the story at thehill.com. senators return from the party lunch as the two 15 eastern. we have live coverage on c-span2. we have set up a facebook page related to the senate work on un

to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable edward j. markey, a senator from the commonwealth of massachusetts, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: patrick j. leahy, president pro tempore. mr. reid: i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. reid: mr. president, i would ask unanimous consent that the call of the quorum be terminated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i move to proceed to calendar number 26. -- calendar number 266. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. 1846, a bill to delay the implementation of certain provisions of the biggert-waters flood insurance reform act of 2012 and for other purposes. mr. reid: mr. president, on this issue, we have a bipartisan coalition that badly wants to get this done, and so we're going to do everything we can to move afford on this. at this stage, the republicans have not cleared the proposed consent agreement. i've indicated to the republican leader t

senate on c-span2. . the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. eternal spirit, today teach our lawmakers to do things your way, embracing your precepts and walking in your path. remind them that the narrow and difficult road less traveled leads to life and few find it. as our senators receive guidance from you and follow your leading, replace anxiety with calm, confusion with clarity, and despair with hope. may your peace become the hallmark of your labors as you keep them focused on the priorities that reflect your kingdom. we pray in your wonderful name. amen. the president pro tempore: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the president pro tempore: the majority leader. mr. reid: i move to proceed to calendar number 266. the president pro tempore: the clerk will report. the clerk: motion

the roll. quorum call: quorum call: a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. merkley: thank you, mr. president. i rise to address the homeowners flood insurance affordability act. the presiding officer: excuse me. the senate is in a quorum call. mr. merkley: thank you, mr. president. i ask the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. merkley: thank you. mr. president, i have come to the floor to talk about the homeowners flood insurance affordability act. this bill is a bill that is designed to fix the damage that has been done by the biggert-waters act, and this damage is extensive. this bill would freeze dramatic rate hikes, and these rate hikes have several impacts. we have, of course, the impact on families that currently have flood insurance that will be paying much higher levels than they bargained for when they bought their home and may not be able to afford those much higher levels, raising questions about their ability to stay in those homes. we have the impact on commercial enterprises and the fact that now that they ar

the senators will be respected. we will not make an attempt to rein controversy out of a constitution that expects demand and approves a great debate about the problems confronting the country. in a common refrain from democrats as republicans blocked bills before ever coming to the floor. what they fail to mention, of course, is that often we have done is because we have been shut out of the process word has been made pretty clear that they don't need an amendment. which is in all likelihood part of what we are talking about. we already knew that it was shaping up to be a partisan exercise and would not have any meaningful input at all. and is a good for our constituents? doesn't lead to a better product? all it leads to is a lot more acrimony. and so if republicans had just won the white house and had a 60 vote majority in the senate, we would be tempted to empty this out as well. but you cannot spend two years in senior outbox and then complaining about this. give the other side a say. it has never been the rules,

the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. brown: i always appreciate the comments of senator murkowski, who is always thoughtful and works across the aisle as well as as anyone here. i appreciate the wo worveg worke dis. dis-- the work that she does. i join with senator merkley to mark the 50th anniversary of u.s. surgeon general dr. terry's groundbreaking report on the dangers of smoking. the report concluded something that was almost revolutionary at its time, and was revolution near in its impact. it said smoke is a health hazard of significant importance to warrant appropriate action. we know how or views have changed about smoking. but we also know one other thing. 400,000 people every year die from smoking-related illnesses. you know what that says, mr. president? that says that the tobacco companies have to find 400,000 new customers every year, and the people they had tried to seduce into smoking are not people my age, they are eight pages' age or even younger than the pages of this body. those are the people that they

the senator from texas. mr. cornyn: is the majority leader aware there are 24 republican amendments on file, almost all of which deal with the underlying bill and attempt either to improve work force education and training, provide other reforms to the unemployment compensation system or otherwise help the economy recover so that people don't have to depend on unemployment insurance, they can get a job. are you aware there are those amendments and those ideas on this side of the aisle? the presiding officer: the the majority leader. mr. reid: i don't know the exact number but there are always a lot of proposed amendments around. what i would say is this: rather than continually denigrating our economy, our president and frankly, i believe our country i think we should have more constructive things around here. for example, we had today a conversation for an hour and a half with chairman bernanke. he's going to be there until the first of next month. and it was a very good discussion and he talked about the vibe r

nelson: would the senator yield, madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from florida. mr. nelson: i just want to take this opportunity, madam president, to thank the two senators present right the there. in america's space program that potentially was on a downward slope, the two of you-all have crafted a budget and appropriation that will keep us with a very robust american space program, including the first "a" in nasa, which is aeronautics. from science to the new big rocket, its cap actual, orion, to the commercial, -- capsule, orion, to the commercial, to the unmanned space program exploring the heavens, you-all have got it right and i wanted to take this opportunity to express my profound thanks that on the authorization that we built on starting three years ago, you-all are continuing the dream. thank you very much. ms. mikulski: well, i thank the gentleman from florida. it's just wonderful for both my colleague, senator shelby, and i to -- you're an astronaut senator. and to come from an astronaut senator to say, we think you're doing the job right, means a lot

and of the senator talk to bit about it. the u.s. producers take great pride in providing healthy and safe products. u.s. exported five and a half billion dollars in beef sales across the glow this past year. i am concerned about the u.s. beef industry, as a new york continuing to face what is an unscientific trade barrier with china. in 2003 china banned all u.s. beef exports after the discovery of bse positive cal in the state of washington. prior to 2003 the net estes was china's largest beef supplier. china's continued ban on u.s. beef imports has allowed australia to take our place as a leading foreign beef supplier to china by value. in 2011 uni both signed a letter along with 36 senators to the secretary of agriculture and to the u.s. trade representative on the need to take steps to eliminate these unscientific trade barriers to u.s. beef exports. recently there have been articles indicating that china may ease restrictions on imports of u.s. beef, but we don't have details or tie line. i believe this issue needs to be raised

never been the rules. senators from both parties have in the past revered and defended the rules during our nation's darkest hours. the real problem, the real problem is an attitude that use the senate as an assembly line for one parties partisan legislative agenda. rather than as a place to build consensus to solve national problems. we have become part to focus on making a point instead of making a difference. making a point instead of making a good, stable law. we've gotten too comfortable with doing everything we do here through the prism of the next election instead of the prism of duty, and everyone suffers as a result. as i said, a major turning point came during the final years of the bush administration. when the democratic majority help -- held a vote after vote on bills then you wouldn't have. now look, i'm not saying republicans have never staged a show boat when we were in the majority. i'm not saying i don't even enjoy a good message and vote from time to time, but you've got to wonder if that's all y

live coverage of the u.s. senate on c-span2. the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. and the chaplain, retired admiral barry black. will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. out of the depths we lift our hearts to you, o god, waiting for your providence to prevail more than they that watch for sunrise. guide our senators to find hope in your presence as they trust the unstoppable cycle of seedtime and harvest. lord, give our lawmakers such reverence for you that they will stand for right although the heavens fall. may they delight in any work they do for you and tire of any rest that is apart from you. create in them clean hearts, which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside. may they wait for the power of your spirit, working through their faith, to do more than they can ask or imagine. we pray in your great name. amen. the president pro tempore: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to our flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for

the question is, is it the sense of the senate that the debate on senate bill 1845, a bill to provide for the extension of certain unemployment benefits, and for other purposes shall be brought to a close? the yeas and nays are mandatory under the rule. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote: vote: the presiding officer: on this vote the yeas are 55, the nays are 45. three-fifths of the senators duly chosen and sworn not having voted in if affirmative, the motion is not agreed to. mr. reid: i enter a motion to reconsider the vote by which cloture was not invoked on s. 1845. the presiding officer: the motion is entered. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i appreciate very much my colleague, the senator from -- the junior senator from nevada voting with us on this, voting with himself, he's a cosponsor of this. he and jack reed have done dmirrably good work for the senate and for the country. everyone should notice on the first matter we tried to invoke cloture on i did not move to -- a motion to reconsider. i did on this one. this is a thre

the senate got something done. i also want to comment on what the president of the senate said earlier with regard to the retirement provisions in the budget as it relates to our veterans. the military retirement issue was one that i had great concerns about and when i voted for the budget, it was my understanding that that would be resolved. the gentleman from connecticut has a proposal that he's supporting tonight from our colleague from new hampshire. i'm supporting a proposal as well from another colleague from new hampshire and how we pay for this i know is the subject of some debate. but we need to resolve this. i think it's unfair for a couple reasons. one is i think it singles out our military at a time when there are so many other ways in which we need to address our overspending in this country and i think it is not just for us to simply single out military retirees. i believe that that is not consistent with the promise that we have made them. and i believe that it is changing the rules in midstream in ef

the day. live senate coverage now here on c-span2. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. gracious and changeless god, the creator of heavenly lights, your mercies sustain us. today, use our senators to accomplish your will, making them faithful under trials and resolute when facing the difficult. lord, even in sorrowing seasons, motivate them to be transformed by your liberating grace. empower them to do the best that they are capable of, bringing a harvest of courage, compassion, and service. give them the wisdom to place their ultimate trust in you. we pray in your holy name. amen. the presiding officer: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to our flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington d.c., january 8, 2014. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1

the senate will be in order. senators will remove their confirmations from the well, from the chamber. mr. merkley: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. merkley: madam president, in a moment i will ask unanimous consent to withdraw this amendment of i think there is a better way to tackle this particular issue, but i'm going to use this moment to note for my colleagues that i appreciate all the senators who have come to me to say they share the outrage at the exploitative pricing of insurance on our home owns. this drives homeowners into foreclosure, which is not good for the ohm owners, communities or the u.s. government because we ensure the vast bulk of these mortgages. therefore, if you're going to be responsible from an accounting sense for the investment of the u.s. taxpayer -- the presiding officer: the senate will be in order. mr. merkley: -- this needs to be addressed. so, madam president, i ask unanimous consent to withdraw my amendment 2709, as modified. the presiding off

to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable brian schatz, a senator from the state of hawaii, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: patrick j. leahy, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i move to road to calendar number 24, the flood insurance legislation. the presiding officer: the clerk will report the motion. the clerk: motion to proceed to s. 1926, a bill to dplai the implementation of certain provisions of the biggert-waters flood insurance reform act of 2012 and to reform the national association of registered agents and brokers, and for other purposes. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: on this issue alone, we have been trying for months to move this afford. on our side we have heard constantly, persistently, always senator landrieu indicating how important this is to her state and to our country. so i would hope that we can finally have a pathway afford on this today, with a consent a

to the senate. -- the democrats to the senate. they were able to prevail because of this coalition. they have 19% with voters of color. this is where the picture starts to come more closely into focus. there are 24 states in america that will have 19% voters of color. though states are overwhelmingly in the south and southwest. texas areeorgia in the new battleground. they will take the legs out of the machine to make it nearly impossible for a republican to win the white house. georgia lost only six percentage points. bidder presents a great opportunity for the pickup. these 24 states have 300 one electoral votes. the 218 magic number for majority. these states have the power to elect the next president insecure congress. jesse jackson used to say the hands that one -- once picked cotton's in leather can now pick signatures. >> i know truthfully that every would problem in america be better if more people could read, write and comprehend. we would not have these children who are committing crimes. t

run in the senate. i started in the house of representatives back in 1980, i was part of a minority for four straight terms. there majority rules. it you're in a minority, you don't have a whole lot of authority. maybe at that time we held the white house under ronald reagan and he the ability to go above a congress, which did not support him. but went to the american people and through their efforts many changed their minds in the majority party and supported the policies of president reagan. when i came to the senate in 1989, was asked what was the difference between the house and the senate. i said the difference is like going legislative heaven. from any senator majority or minority had the opportunity to offer an amendment. to offer an alternative. to offer a substitute. to participate in the effort to pass better legislation. senator george mitchell, the democrat leader honored that. and it was honored throughout my term in the united states senate. i was then gone for 12 years and came back. i tho

the presiding officer: the senator from nebraska. mrs. fischer: i would ask that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection, the quorum call be suspended. mrs. fischer: thank you. may i speak in morning business. the presiding officer: the senator has the floor. mrs. fischer: thank you very much. mr. president, i rise today to rise on behalf of 18,000 nebraskans who have contacted me to express their concerns with the negative impacts of obamacare. rather than addressing these problems in last night's state of the union address, the president doubled down on his failed policy. the president had his chance to speak, and now i believe it's time for my constituents to have their voices heard. the law, mr. president, is hurting my constituents. it is hurting middle-class families. we knonow know that millions of millions of middle-class families have lost their health insurance. many who have enrolled in the exchange have been forced into plans that don't meet their families' needs. these plans often cost more, but it

to change the rules of the senate. is it not the case that 215 of president barack obama's judges have been confirmed and only two have been defeated? >> mr. president, during the time we have been a country and i don't know exactly how long, more than 230 years. there have been 23 district court nominees filibustered, 23. 20 of them have been during the five years of the obama administration and that example is throughout the government. so mr. president. [laughter] the american people know what is taking place in this body. you can try to paint a picture that things are just fine and all we are doing is wanting a little bit of debate. there has been stalling and obstruction. now, i just can't imagine how my republican colleagues can justify what they have done but they do and i accept that but i'm also mr. president, we have an issue before this body again they're trying to avert the attention. the issue before this body is whether long-term unemployment and an extension of their benefits. as we speak there are people

to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable christopher s. murphy, a senator from the state of connecticut, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: patrick j. leahy, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i move to proceed to calendar number 294. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: motion to proceed to calendar number 294, s. 1926, a bill to delay the implementation of certain proefbgs provisions of the biggert-waters flood insurance act of 2012. mr. reid: mr. president, 5:30 today there will be a roll call vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to the flood insurance bill. i'm told that s. 1950 is at the desk due for second reading. the presiding officer: the clerk will read the title of the bill for the second time. the clerk: 1950, a bill to improve the provision of medical services and benefits to veterans and for other purposes. mr. reid: i would object to any further proceedings with respect

i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. whitehouse: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent to speak for probably 15 minutes as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. whitehouse: mr. president, this is the 56th time, the 56th consecutive week that we have been in session in the senate that i have come to the floor to sound an alarm about carbon pollution and the harm it is causing to our oceans and to our coastal communities. the 56th time. and, frankly, i'm getting a little sick of it. i'm getting sick of the republican party being completely the tool of the polluters, i'm sick of the phony denial and of not getting anything done. and i'm sick of what it's going to say about american democracy --. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. mr. whitehouse: i'm sick about what it's going to say about american democracy if we keep failing at this. but i'm going to keep pounding away because it is so vital to my ocean state. we are a little state with a lot of coast. and our sea leve

and we will present to the senate. i will make sure that she has a chance to go over this what the republicans and basically go over all the detail and there will be five amendments on each side. but there is going to have to be a few other things and i will lay that out in the senate agreement. but i think that the really good news is that we are going to start having more amendments. as you know, and you may not know, but the caucus understands totally that when people start talking endlessly about process and the right offense about process, and on the other side you have 1.4 million people who are desperate for some help, those that are trying to help the 1.4 million people understand. so we are going to continue our conversation this afternoon. we need to remember the urgency of this matter. we have lots of people who are desperate for help. i have gone over a number of those on the floor today and in days past. and it has become so stark. you understand that out of the 300 richest people in the world we have 67 in

so we passed more than 160 bills that linger in the senate. he challenge that we do and this is what i bring up making policy in the world of politics, the house and that's a lot of legislation but you have a senate that has a fear of may be losing a majority. so you have a senate leader that doesn't want to put a lot o of s members that could be vulnerable in tough races, up on any vote. so you did not commitments and deny bringing something up. that's difficult for the president if he wants to accomplish legislation as well. it's not the biggest challenge to deal with in the house. is biggest challenge is what the senate and can he get members within his own party or the leader in the senate to say yes, i'm going to bring that up and we will have a round of amendments and some will be tough votes because that is not the nature the senate wants to go. the senate doesn't want anything to happen. >> you are saying a lot of house bills are stuck in the senate, ma some of these things are things president obama talk about. one thing he talked, the

so the federalists used the senate, among other things, and the nature of the senate to persuade the antifederalists to support the constitution. and if we had had direct election of senators in the original constitution, there the would not be an original constitution. the states would not have ratified it. furthermore, who do the senators represent? it's the most bizarre body man has ever created. there's two from every states, we get that, that was to balance the large states and the small states, but you have situations now where senators voted for, say, obamacare in states where the governor and the attorney general fought obamacare in court. and the state legislatures are trying to protect their citizens from obama. it's very bizarre. the senate today really is an odd construct. so the purpose of the senate was to empower the state legislatures and the federal law making process, not to have another ability to vote. >> host: recent rule changes in the senate to limit the filibuster, do you agree with those? >> guest: no. i think in the case of harry reid and the democrats in th

it is legislation that i introduced higher in the senate. -- introduced higher in the here senate. shouldn't the president offer the same delay to families and individuals. it is a simple issue of fairness. what's the score? $30 million a third -- prohibit those who are eligible for unemployment insurance from claiming social security disability benefits. under the law, you must be able to work to qualify for unemployment benefits. yet some people claiming unemployment benefits are also claiming social security disability benefits. you can't make some of this stuff up. savings: roughly $6 billion, maybe more. and that, if you want to support this bill, would be a pay-for. so whether it is a pay-for or whether it is necessary policy changes to make the program more effective, including -- and i would suggest, including a number of efforts that have been proposed by my colleagues in terms of better connecting the unemployed with those who are seeking -- with the employers. i can't tell you how many employers i've talked to in indiana that say i have jobs. and i've talked to others who

but of course the senate is the one that sets the schedule, stephanie. they go into a pro forma session, the fact is do they actually need to be here in person or about a technicality. >> it is a fascinating case, libby casey, thanks. residents in some parts of west virginia can open their taps again. the state is liftings water restrictions for designated areas, thursday's chemical spill left 300,000 people without tap water. governor earl tomblin made the announcement after the contamination levels had fallen. >> the do not use order has been lifted in some areas. >> jonathan has the word from the area. >> use their tap water zone by zone, they really don't want the system to be overrun so they're notifying customers when they can use their water again. now we do know the process involves them flushing out their pipes for about 20 minutes. the governor told us today the government has been testing over 200 samples and they now pleat federal standards. the company responsible for the chemical spill, freedom industries, investigators want to know how it

let's take back the senate. no matter what the house pass, harry reid doesn't bring to it the floor. donna, this is the thing. every american should be concerned about that. and the reason why is because they work for us. we elect them. we're their employers. >> do you real the bill that he passed this spring -- >> harry reid does not even bring it to the floor for a debate much less an up or down vote. that's not doing the business of the american people. >> look, there's no question that harry reid, just like john boehner, will not bring votes to the floor, bills to the floor unless they have the votes. did you hear what the republicans passed this week? >> the farm bill. >> no. yeah, they passed that, but also the abortion bill. is that a priority to the american people? why not pass job training and things that help grow the economy and get people back to work. >> let me stay on harry reid for a second. >> your favorite democrat. >> well, just because the point that i think you've just been making, harry reid