go from here, we heard from senator tom udall, democrat of new mexico earlier today. let's take a listen. >> this is a day for us to start thinking in congress as to what we should be doing, because the president has been pointed out, can take certain actions but it's really congress that drops the embargo and that moves towards dropping the embargo, and i think we should do that. >> i think i know the answer to this, but does congress actually act here and move the ball forward any further? >> no, congress as it is on all fronts for the president remains uncooperative and the hurdle that he can't get over. likewise with iran, he's going to need the congress to lift -- permanently lift any sanctions he's willing to roll back as part of a nuclear deal. in fact, the congress wants to go in the opposite direction, by and large, press for tougher sanctions and try to sync his nuclear talks if he can.

joining us, senator tom udall of new mexico with us, donna brazile is here, our democratic strategists with us as well. senator udall, thanks for coming in. you've hard to get alan gross out there. tell us what it was like. >> i was there a little more than a month ago with senator flake. we spent two hours with alan gross. it was an engaging conversation. my sense is his condition was getting better. it seemed like something was up. we were at the point where it really seemed that the cuban government was easing things in order to get to the point to do some behind-the-scenes negotiations. we felt very encouraged by what we saw. we didn't like the condition he was in. he'd lost a couple of teeth. his health wasn't great. but he was plugged into the rest of the world. >> you met with raul castro -- >> we didn't. rerequested that. we met with the foreign minister and other officials. at every meeting, we said, this is the time to do this. and the next period after the election until we get in a big presidential campaign -- this is the window of opportunity. >> they want these three rem

tom udall, democrat senator from new mexico and visited alan gross in cuba in prison last month. how is mr. gross's health, what was the meeting like, and what did he tell you? >> well, first of all wees released on humanitarian ground and i think it is clear he needed to be released. he wasn't doing that well in terms of his health. so that's good thing and i would just, first of all, tell the gross family i'm joyous with them on his release because i think this is a wonderful thing and i would congratulate his wife judy working for this for a very long time. this is something that is long overdue. it has needed to be done. all of the things you announced that expected that the president's going to do are important things and congress should move forward with lifting embargo. leland: do you think congress will eventually improve that? why do you think this had to be done now? >> well, there was a window here and my sense when i traveled down there and met with cuban officials and met with alan gross was that this time, before you get in the middle of a presidential campaign afte

also with senator tom udall, chris van hollen and mario diaz about a latter. don't settle for 4g lte coverage that's smaller or less reliable when only one network is america's largest and most reliable 4g lte network: verizon. with xlte, our 4g lte bandwidth has doubled in over 400 cities. and now, save without settling. get 2 lines with 10gb of data for just $110... ...or 4 lines for just $140. and get a $150 bill credit for each smartphone you switch. only on verizon. >>> time now to take a look at the morning papers. "the guardian," russian president vladimir putin vows the nation's economy will stabilize. >> he's ordering it. >> after a volatile week for the ruble. >> you know what he needs to do? let's talk to thomas really quickly. thomas you go back over the history of new york, somebody who has fought vladimir putin, stood like eye to eye with him. >> looked into his soul. >> and beat that bear with your classy -- you look what's happening to new york city, i think there needs be a gentification of russia. >> we have to see if he steps out of the way

thank you for your service. >> on thursday, senators michael bennet of call about and tom udall of new mexico hud to senator markey doe highlighting programs he worked on during his time in office. senator udall lost a bid for reelection to congressman cory gardner. from the senate floor, this is 15 minutes. >> thank you, madam president i want to take a moment today to speak about my friend, mark udall, soon going to be finishing his term. marks sister describes him as an okay politician but an extraordinary public servant. i think it's fair to say that mark could never reduce his role as a representative of the people of colorado to just politics. it's not in his dna. and this with a very heavy heart that i see him leave the united states senate, because he is my friend, but it's especially sad at a time when mark's kind of leadership and constructive engagement are exactly what this place needs. udall is named that is synonymous with the west, and mark and the collective service of the udall family for me have come to represent the very best of our western way of life. they have emb

several weeks ago senator tom udall and i traveled to havana. among other things we were interested in seeing the scope and the impact of the economic changes that the cuban government has been purr u suing. as you're no doubt aware, the cubans have loosened restrict n restrictions on private enterprise, they have expangded the use of cooperatives and they have passed a new foreign investment law. but also as you're no doubt aware, expanding the private sector is a very positive development, one that looks to be more irreversible than changes in the past. the current regime is far from having seen the light on capitalism. i was reminded of this when i took a delegation down there in, i think, 2006. and since i was head of the delegation, you always have the con dun drum, when you have meetings, official meetings, you exchange a gift with the government, and there's a gift ban, and there's issues of what you can give or trade or whatever else so you don't want to take cuff links from the capitol or things like that. so i thought, well, i'll just

and joining us now from new mexico, senator tom udall who travelled to cuba for his imprisonment, joins me now. senator, your reactions about all of the rapid, the evolving events. these have been difficult secret negotiations, some of them hosted by canada in fact over the past year. >> well, first of all, joyous about the return of alan gross. i think this is a wonderful thing for him, for his family, for his wife judy, and i just, i share a little bit of that joy today, it's something pretty special, but i think this is a historic day for relations with cuba and the united states. i believe very much that this action today will empower the cuban people, will make them freer and move us in the right direction in terms of normalizing relations between cuba and the united states. >> and by the way, we've been looking, senator, at some of the pictures that senator leahy shared, these are pictures that pat leahy and a photographer took as well and shared with us. >> he's a great photographer. he's one of the few people that can go into the white house or go any place and just shoot pictur

tom udall, mark's susan, the son of stewart udall, serves as senator from new mexico, and mark udall himself. what a great person. i can remember so many things about his public service but i especially remembered last night when he lost his brother and came before our caucus lunch and talked about the love he had for that man and what that loss meant to him. it touched the heart of everyone in the room and gave us an insight into mark udall as a person. he was committed to a number of causes. his wife maggie and he have given so much time to the environment and preserving our natural heritage, but he also showed great courage when it came to his service on the senate intelligence committee. even as a new member of that committee, he stepped up for principles and values, and i'm glad he did, preserving our rights and liberties as american citizens and fully supporting the disclosure that senator feinstein made yesterday with her report. i have been in the senate now for 18 years and i have seen many come and go, but we have lost, sadly, in this departure of these members some of our

this is a subcommittee that has been chaired by the very able senator from new mexico, senator tom udall. and he's done an outstanding job. now, much has been discussed about dodd-frank, wall street bailouts, are we throwing our soul into the fires of greed, and i can appreciate the passion. and the concern because i too remember, as the presiding officer said, that grim day when the leadership in the bush administration who kept telling us fundamentals were okay, fundamentals were okay, well, there was nothing fundamental about our american values being thrown under the bus. and more than that, really we were very concerned that the entire economy of the united states of america could be at risk. now, i come from a family that are roosevelt democrats. my dear father and mother opened a small neighborhood grocery store the year that they were married in baltimore. that year was 1935. it was the height of the depression, and this young couple, second-generation immigrants, opened a business. and years later when i had the opportunity to have conversations with my father about the decision

joining me now from capitol hill is new mexico democratic senator tom udall.ybody is in unity on this. it is a good thing. on maybe what the united states is going to do going forward on this. >> you know i would, first of all, congratulate judy. this is a joyous occasion for the gross family. this is something we should all celebrate. you're right. there's a real difference of opinion here. i think it's long overdue to ease up travel restrictions, to establish regular relations with cuba. to try to do everything we can to normalize relations. i think that would be a good thing for both countries and the people of both countries. >> and, senator, how do you think that americans going to cuba when the rest of the world travels to cuba and has been doing so since january of 1959 and trading with cuba since 1959. how do you think that the simple fact of americans going to cuba not canadians, not mexicans, just americans are going to change the political discourse in that country? >> well, the americans, first of all, have an enormous impact in terms of the financ

this is a constitutional amendment introduced by senator tom udall of new mexico. he has 48 cosponsored, all democrats, a 49th democrat voted for it in the judiciary committee, and all 55 democrats currently in the senate have voted for it at least on procedural motions. those numbers are going to decline some next year, but not because any of the democrats have changed their minds. [laughter] all right, this amendment is a response to the citizens united case which held that independent expenditures could not be regulated which is a case of campaign finance law coming up head on against the rights of free speech. and particularly upsetting to the left, that corporations have the same free speech rights as slippings. this pro-- individuals. this proposed amendment would go far beyond reversing citizens united. what it says is congress or state legislatures can pass any reasonable regulation on the spending of money by individuals or organizations to influence an election. now, the crucial thing here is the evil that the supreme court has always recognized as justif

let's bring in senator tom udall, a democrat from new mexico. he was certainly working hard to secure the release of alan gross, he met with him in cuba a little over a month ago. senator thank you very much for joining us. what was it like when you went back and saw alan gross there? what did you make of his situation? >> well he wasn't in a great situation, there's no doubt about it, he had lost some teeth, his health wasn't great. and he had said he wasn't going to spend another year there. so we knew that we had to work very hard to try to get him out and we maintained a lot of ties with the administration. and talked with others and it was such a joyous day, so see him reunited with judy, his wife, and the rest of his family. it's a big thing in the life of alan gross, but it's also a big, bold step forward in the right direction. we're turning our back on a failed policy and moving forward with engagement. that's the way i think the united states works best. is engaging countries like cuba and supporting the cuban people. under this policy

tom? >> the president of france who's approval ratings are floating around 10% now. >> mark? >> yes, along with my suggestion as well, he just lost all political traction in france. >> worse politician, mark udall dale the ex-democratic senator from colorado who focused obsessively on the alleged republican war on women quote on quote. udall dale was a defender, defeated by the challenger corey gardner. worse politician. okay most defining political moment, pat? >> executive amnesty by barack obama. it is going to affect the politics of the next two years entirely in both parties, poisoned the wealth for the politics of 2015. >> eleanor? >> ferguson, staten island. i can't breathe, hands up. >> tom? >> i think the downing in that makes 17 in ukraine, which shows that they did mottle ever end. >> mark? >> i would agree with eleanor. i think that what happened in ferguson was such a traumatic event for this country. and that to me was the most important event. >> the defining political moment was vladimir putin's seizure of crimea. the single act ended the 20- year post-call war period of growing cooperation between east and west. it began a new era of rising confrontation. this is the essence of

carolina, tom harkin of iowa, mike johanns of nebraska, tim johnson of south dakota, mary landrieu of louisiana, carl levin of michigan, mark pryor of arkansas, jay rockefeller of west virginia, mark udall of colorado, and george walsh of montana. they have all worked hard, ceaselessly giving their energy and considerable time in service to their constituents, their home states and our country. and i want to thank them for their service and for their kindness to me over many, many years in so many cases. and in particular say a few words about these colleagues. mark begich and i worked together to address the challenges facing the fishing industry, which is vital to both our states, and he's continually fought to ensure access to the unique challenges facing alaskans and particularly with respect to access to v.a. health care and i salute him and wish