before he was secretary udall, he was arizona's congressman udall. decades later, as i indicated, i served with his famous brother mo udall. now we serve with secretary udall's son and his nephew tom and mark. what a great legacy, two cousins serving in the senate. and, mr. president, a lot of people don't know their first cousin was gordon smith, the senator from oregon. it is an accomplished family. as a dedicated steward to our environment, stewart udall leaves a legacy. mr. president, the house of representatives deserves the appreciation of the entire nation for what they did last n.i.h. clearly, a majority of -- last night. clearly a majority voted to affirm what the senators passed on christmas eve. tomorrow the senate will begin to put the final touches on this enormous effort. last night's vote took courage and common sense. their votes were momentous. they were historic and they were right. after a century of working and waiting, going back to the days of theodore roosevelt, reform would become the law of the land not in a matter of years,

and to share this table with senator udall.e gave, i thought, a really lucid discussion and case for the fact that the senate is not a mere way from its forces. that its force is created by inadvertent actions like leaving out the previous question motion in 1806 and the rules. and that there is a sort of constitutionally grounded case for a new senate, which he would classify as one whose membership has been changed, not completely re-elected to determine its own rules. and i think that really advances the argument very far. and scott lilly has taken our eyes away from the drama and melodrama on health reform and these other major partisan ideological battles and pointed to the problematics and the functioning of one of our legislative chambers that gets too little attention but go to the root of problems today. let me just say as i'm delighted with all of the attention being given to this. you know, there is this sense, a feel that all of government is dysfunctional. in fact, once the pundits got a hold of it, i knew it had t

the arizona native gunner in world war ii, was the senior member of the udall dynasty in this countrywas 90 years old. liz carpenter has died. she was 89. lbj said once of his fellow texan "liz would charge hell with a bucket of water." she was a trail blazing journalist hired to work for lyndon johnson. she famously wrote the 58 word speech johnson gave upon arriving back in washington after jfk's assassination in dallas. she was lady bird's press secretary, an author, political operative and women's rights advocate. she called herself, a foot washing, psalm singing total immersion democrat. she travelled the world with president johnson, asleep as a camera found her on air force one, back in the days when they still passed out free backs of old gold cigarettes onboard. she is shown here with, of all people, stewart udall back in 1965. >>> when we come back tonight -- it really might be the next best thing to being there and it is making a big difference. we've always been alike. we even both have osteoporosis. but we're active, especially when we vacation. so when i heard about recl

and you could have as senator udall reported, sliding scale. there are various things to do about that. finally, here is another radical proposal. you could read adopt the previous question motion and included in the rules of the senate and instruct parliamentarian to say which other items in senate rules and presidents must be struck to be consistent with that. that could potentially turn the senate and house and is too radical a change. final point is procedure in politics of filibuster reform. is it required as someone said, that you have to have two thirds? that is in the rules of the senate. no one disputes that. there is a contrary argument that note new legislative body can be bound by its predecessors and a majority could do it. a majority could pulled off in the beginning of the congress. but is there a majority in favor of doing that? that is the question. is partly partisan. the current minority will see this as an outrage to weaken their power. but on the other hand they are thinking democrats have many more seats in 2012. we might

stewart udall was born in st. johns, arizona, on january 21, 1920 to levi udall and louise udall. he earned an undergraduate and law degree. stewart served four years in the united states air force as gaughanner. he flew 50 missions over western europe for which he received the air medal with three oak leaf clusters. in 1954, stewart was elected to serve from arizona's second congressional district to the u.s. house of representatives. he was elected to serve four terms in congress, which he did with great distinction. in 1960 he proved instrumental in helping persuade arizona democrats to support then senator john f. kennedy during the democratic national convention. upon election in 1960, president kennedy appointed stewart udall as secretary of interior for his accomplishments under secretary -- under president kennedy and johnson made him an icon in environmental and conservation communities. achievements from secretary udall's cabinet career include the wilderness act of 1964, the wild and scenic rivers act, the expansion of the national parks system and the creation of the l

president, i ask consent that senators warner, udall, tom udall, and mark udall and shaheen and senator merkley be allowed to engage in a colloquy for up to 25 minutes. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. a senator: mr. president? mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from virginia is recognized. mr. warner: mr. president, as we approach the end of this long journey, or at least the end of the first step of this long journey, i and a number of my other freshmen colleagues are going to come down one more time to the floor to engage in a conversation for a few moments about what this health care bill will mean to our constituents and to the people of the united states. i'm going to talk about some of the causes of how we got here and some of the consequences of what would happen if we don't act and at the end i'm going to add some comments about how we make sure that we implement this bill in appropriate fashion. recognizing that the hour is late and colleagues have got other items, i'd like to, first of all, ask my good friend, the senator from illinois, sen

there will be a response from senator udall. we will then open it up to the audience for questions and comments. i can see several of you. several of you are an expert on this topic. i will call on a couple of you that i know our experts. he has the best book on procedures. he is prepared to ask a question. let go to scott lilly. >> thank you. for only about four of the 31 years and worked on the hill was i on the senate payroll. it was the depiction of the senate that i read as a teenager that really got me interested in politics and public service for them in college, i read about centers in the world. i thought it was a great book on american government. that raised my esteem for the body. i do not come at this as a bitter house staffer who is angry at the guys on the other side of the hill. i have great regard for due the senate should not be the house. it should be the leavening force. it should be a force for more measured consideration of the events and policies. i have been in situations more than a few times during my c

. >>> and former secretary stuart udall has died. he was a pioneer of the environmental movement, who expanded the national park system. he served as a congressman from arizona. later headed the interior department under presidents kennedy and johnson. helping win passage of major environmental laws. udall was 90 years of age. >>> and hundreds of people in iceland have been evacuated from their homes because of an erupting volcano. a glacier next to the volcano has authorities concerned that melting ice could cause flooding. three flights from the u.s. to iceland were diverted to boston. >>> and a new jersey teenager was arrested for allegedly making a controversial racial remark over the public address system at a walmart store. police say a week ago, a 16-year-old boy announced, quote, attention walmart customers, all black people leave the store now. he could face up to a year in a juvenile detention center. >>> and finally, it wouldn't be march madness without, of course, big upsets. kansas, the overall top team in the ncaa tourn

new mexico democratic senator tom udall wants to change senate rules. hebert is that in this two-hour discussion, hosted by the center for american progress action fund. >> good morning, everyone. i am jim thurber, i'm the director of the center for congressional presidential studies at american university. this is a joint forum with the center for american progress, and i want to say at the very beginning before we get into the program, all of us are saddened i senator reed's wives accident, injury of her daughter. his wife is in serious condition. if you didn't know. they were rear-ended yesterday at 1:00 by a tractor-trailer on interstate 95. they're both in the hospital right now, and a moment of silence i think would be good. to send good thoughts to the read family. it's my pleasure to, yet again, work with scott lilly in the center for american progress. this is the 30th anniversary of our center. it happens to be the 30th anniversary at c-span, and we've had over 204 runs in 30 years. and c-span has covered many of them, but they usually cover s

there will be a response from senator udall and myself. we will then open it up to the audience for questions and comments. i know several of you are experts on this topic. i will call on a couple of you that i know our experts. someone in the back is hiding who has the best book on procedures. walter, be prepared for questions. we will get to you later. let's go to scott lilly. >> i was only on the senate payroll for about four years. i read a book is a teenager that got me interested in politics and public service generally. in college, a red "u.s. senators and their world." i still think it is one of the great books on government. i do not come at this as an embittered house staffer. i have great regard. the senate should not be the house. it should be the force for more measured consideration of the events and policies. i have been in situations more than a few times during my career in congress where i saw the senate make a valuable contribution by slowing down the pace we were moving on issues that have not been as carefully thought

senator udall. >> thank you, chairman rockefeller. am wondering about the chart published in the "new york times." in 2004, you had this huge spike in what are being reported as crashes and complaints. 126 toyota drivers experienced a crash and later filed eight complaints -- a complaint. all other manufacturers were on the chart, either flat or going down in terms of complaints. it took us five years to actually do something significant in this case. and you had another spike in 2007, and here you can see this very, very dramatic spike in 2009. so my question to both secretary lahood and administrator strickland is when you look at this problem, and secretary lahood, you have some independence from this because you are new to it, when you looked in your testimony and mention all of these complaints that come in, it seems to me you should have something in your database that when you get a spike like this, i mean, this just stands out, it alerts people that there is something wrong here, something going on, and immediately and activit

. >>> former interior secretary stewart udall died today of natural causes.r department established protection of public lands and helped push through key legislation to help protect endangered species. >>> president obama makes his final argumentle argument to push democrats into the health care yes column. >> after a year of debate, after every argument has been made by just about everybody, we're 24 hours away. >> 24 hours away. will it work? was it enough? just a day before that big vote? >>> jackqui jeras, developing weather news wharksz do you have? >> snow across the southern plains, we'll start out with fargo, north dakota where the red river continues to rise, expect it to crest tomorrow afternoon below record levels but well above major flood stage, the dikes and sandbags are holding that river back and hopfully they'll stay that way. in oklahoma city, snow has been coming down for most of the day today. patricia smith sent us these beautiful temperatures but she says the roads are extremely slick. you'll see the rain coming down from oklahoma city

the kennedy administration and the father of democratic senator of tom udahl in new mexico and mark udall of colorado. and he died surrounded by family members in santa fe, 90 years old. it was michigan meet out day yesterday, but didn't stop the meat lovers gathering near the state capitol building. >> eat meat m-e-a-t. >> they are enthusiastic. >> meat. >> meat cheerleader. >> okay. >> the cheerleaders in the rain. meat lovers chow down on burgers, hotdogs and other meats in defiance of meat out day. >> yeah. >> by governor jennifer granholm urging citizens not to eat meat for the sake of health, but protesters say meat is good for you. >> m-e-a-t! >> meat is nutrition, pork is nutritious, turkey and lamb are all nutritious. >> i like meat. >> after the backlash, governor granholm also declared yesterday michigan agriculture day. >> nobody grilled corn dogs. >> i don't know, you are the champion corner dog. >> i've got props for sports today. because my four-year-old daughter could not for the life of her figure out why the name cinderella kept coming up when daddy was watching basketba

host: stewart udall passed away. mr. udall served three terms in the u.s.house are representatives as a democrat from arizona. president kennedy tapped him for the top job at the interior department. he started his credo, saying nature will take precedence over the needs of modern man. he was 90 years old. born into a mormon family. liz carpenter, a journalist and a feminist and an aide to lyndon johnson. the first press secretary for first lady lady byrd johnson. what you think of the health care bill? good morning. caller: -- what about the bill and paul ryan had gone back and ask, as you did on c-span earlier, the cbo re-worked it on the docket? they said it would wipe the deficit. the 16,000 additional personnel they will hire at the irs. if there are no taxes included for the american people, why do have that many people? it is hypocritical. they know that is going to happen. the american people need to get a hold of their representatives and tell them how they feel. this is completely ridiculous. people do not believe they are going to have a tax incr

there are efforts by senator udall to change the rule. rule 22 on the cloture vote.let's put it into the context of the perception of the american people on the institution of congress and many problems facing the institution. this is one problem facing the institution. we have holds that clogged the legislative work and confirming legislative branch officials couldn't do we have a lack of true deliberation and debate in the senate. there is a breakdown frequently. there is an excessive use of earmarks. there is a debate as to whether they are excessive or not. sometimes these become a crutch to act on significant policy issues that cannot be acted by the of the risers. sometimes the tendency to have government by continuing resolution. there is the abuse of the conference committee. the only met recently. there is a lack of civility with the american people. there is a lack of true bipartisanship. that is controversial because some people think that we don't need bipartisanship. some of this comes from the polarization of congress where there are less and less moder

senator udall. >> thank you, chairman rockefeller.hes and complaints. 126 toyota drivers experienced a crash and later filed eight complaints -- a complaint. all other manufacturers were on the chart, either flat or going down in terms of complaints. it took us five years to actually do something significant in this case. and you had another spike in 2007, and here you can see this very, very dramatic spike in 2009. so my question to both secretary lahood and administrator strickland is when you look at this problem, and secretary lahood, you have some independence from this because you are new to it, when you looked in your testimony and mention all of these complaints that come in, it seems to me you should have something in your database that when you get a spike like this, i mean, this just stands out, it alerts people that there is something wrong here, something going on, and immediately and activity started that would have gotten to the bottom of this a lot longer. mr. strickland, let me ask you, you know, there is one big watc

udall: thank you, mr. president. before i speak to the top take brought me to the floor tonight, i want to acknowledge the president's remarks on the situation with lehman brothers and others on -- on wall street. i know that the senator's on a mission and nothing would make him happier, nor me happier, if the story of lehman brothers is a stories that told for the last time much less written. -- written for the last time. and i listened with great interest to the narrative that's now unfolding with that interest is also a sense of horror and outrage and anger that the senator carries. a crime is a crime as pointed out whether it's $500 from a cash register or literally the billions of dollars -- in fact, the trillions of dollars of net worth we've seen lost from the americans -- american families. so i want to commend the presiding officer for his leadership and i think you put it well when you pointed out if you're too big to exist -- excuse me, if you're too big to exist too bad. never again should this happen. so

provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable tom udall, a senator from the state of new mexico, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: robert c. byrd, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. reid: following leader remarks, the senate will resume consideration of the hire act. there will be 10 minutes for debate equally divided and controlled between senators gregg and schumer or their designees. we expect senator gregg to make a budget point of order with respect to the bill. at approximately 9:45, the senate will proceed to a series of roll call votes. on h.r. 2547. the senate will resume consideration of the f.a.a. reauthorization. the senate will decrease from 12:30 to 2:00 p.m. for a special disement caucus. when the senate reconvenes at 2:00 p.m., there will be a live quorum. the senate will consideration articles of impeachment of judge g. david portious of new orleans, louisiana. senators will be sworn & then senators are required to sign the book. consideration of amendments on the

senator udall. >> thank you, chairman rockefeller.ondering about the chart published in the "new york times." in 2004, you had this huge spike in what are being reported as crashes and complaints. 126 toyota drivers experienced a crash and later filed eight complaints -- a complaint. all other manufacturers were on the chart, either flat or going down in terms of complaints. it took us five years to actually do something significant in this case. and you had another spike in 2007, and here you can see this very, very dramatic spike in 2009. so my question to both secretary lahood and administrator strickland is when you look at this problem, and secretary lahood, you have some independence from this because you are new to it, when you looked in your testimony and mention all of these complaints that come in, it seems to me you should have something in your database that when you get a spike like this, i mean, this just stands out, it alerts people that there is something wrong here, something going on, and immediately and activity sta

to take place in the senate to fix what some say is a dysfunctional system, including senator tom udall who has been looking at some old books from the former senate and a son who made it a 60-vote filibuster rather than 67-minute. >> i was a page back in the 1960's and 1970's. filibusters were rarely used. it was not used every day like it is now. you have dozens of filibusters over everything from nominations to routine bills. >> you do not even have filibusters. they ought to make the republicans filibuster, make them stand there and fill the time, make the public see what is involved. >> or a least make them stay, don't let them go home and play golf. and martin is right, let the public see what is going on. now it is all done on paper. >> sarah palin [inaudible] in nevada with several thousands and attendance, depending on which estimates you are looking at. what did she need from the republican party? >> many of the new people coming into the party, she is kind of then icon in that. even after she had been nominated for vice president, she electrified the republican base which bee

provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable tom udall, a senator from the state of new mexico, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: robert c. byrd, presidet pro tempore. the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. reid: mr. president, we're going to move directly to the bill. if senator mcconnell, of course, wishes to speak, he has that right. we're going to move to h.r. 4213, the tax extenders act. last night we were able to reach an agreement on the next amendments in order. those amendments will be offered soon, and i hope that we'll be able to reach agreements to vote in relation to the pending amendments. mr. president, we're going to offer one, senator murray, senator sanders will offer one, and then there will be two republican amendments. now, mr. president, we have to clear the decks. there will be no more amendments until we make some arrangement to dispose of what has already been laid down. we have three of these, four more, that means seven amendments, so -- as i repeat, there will be two democratic

one of the things -- madam speaker, if i could use -- funded as part of this program is the mo udall legacy bus door. it was a 54-day bus tour promoted by the national park service. you can see their logo all the way around here as well as the public of interior to promote sustainability in biodiesel buses. according to the kids, it was a wonderful 54-day trip. however, most of them said how grateful it was was they visited microbureys, especially biodiversified microbrewry. i don't know how successful this tour was. i don't drink anything harder that are dr pepper so i will ask to see if they're visiting to all the bars they had in the cities in which me went on this particular trip really was worthwhile in making that particular kind of evaluation. nice trip. there's nothing wrongdoing this if they do it on their own dime and not the government's dime. the national park service, which will be in charge of the oversite of this does not have -- oversight of this does not have a great record in this. in 2007 the i.g. in the department of interior came up with just in one park service

spirit of the original activity with a single currency and the the master treaty based on the adr udalled to countries overspend and to stay within minutes. so on one hand it last on fiscal rectitude with than it designed to bail-out who was not doing anything on the fiscal front. there probably eight bailing out some countries but nothing like this. >> fairfield new jersey we're talking about the global financial markets. >> caller: peter, paying attention to what you are saying, i would like to know why you speak with a disdain about the victims of the fraud that was perpetuated by the people you admire so much? the same people who raided our savings, homes, are the same people now going after small countries. you don't see anything wrong with that you speak with irony and a stain and should be ashamed of yourself to seven he is referring to goldman sachs being investigated with their relationship with greece? >> guest: rightly so. you can believe in financial markets and free markets and still want to see goldman sachs be investigated for what it did for greece. that bank, if it was

provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable tom udall, a senator from the state of new mexico, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: robert c. byrd, presidet pro tempore. rei mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized. mr. reid: following leader remarks, the senate will turn to a period of morning business until 2:00 p.m. this afternoon. senators during this time will be allowed to speak for up to ten minutes. the majority will control the first 30 minutes, republicans will control the next 30 minutes. at 2:00 p.m., the senate will resume consideration of h.r. 4213, the tax extenders legislation under an agreement reached last night, all postcloture debate time will be yielded back and the substitute amendment will be agreed to. the senate will then proceed to a cloture vote on the underlying bill. if cloture is invoked, all postcloture debate time will be yielded back and the senate will then proceed to vote on passage of the bill as amended. we continue to work on an agreement to begin consideration o

. >> thank you, senator udall. >> thanks to both of of you for your service to our country.s you wind down these 37 years, i know it has been a long time since your commission in 1972. what great leadership. what selfless service you have provided to our country. you are certainly a model to the next generation of leaders in every branch of our service. thanks for your commitment. thanks for your service. personally, thanks for your friendship over the years. you have been a great asset to me as we have travelled through any number of issues. we appreciate you very much. we are not going to let you retire debt, general fraser. -- we are not going to let you retire yet, general fraser. in terms of southcom operations -- we sustain those partnerships through the western hemisphere institute for security cooperation. i was pleased to see both of you comment on that in your opening statements as well as your written statement. i am pleased to serve on the board, and i have seen first hand the value of the training whisec produces. how does it help you carry out your mission? wha

members of congress say we will udall and then they kick the can down the road but that can is being kicked right at our children and grandchildren. >> host: so the iraq war began in 2003, $80,900,000,000,000 later, however, that have been funded in practice. >> guest: the amendment allows for an exception in time of war and an exception when there is a supermajority votes, 60 percent growth in time of national emergency. so the issue there would be was that the time of war since there was no declaration of war -- i would argue there would have had to have been a declaration of war under those circumstances. had this bounce budget amendment been in the fact and with regard to the severe economic downturn of last year the congress could have by supermajority, that's one year when the budget wouldn't be in balance. but quite frankly over the last 50 years the budget has been balanced four times, those in the late 1990's when we had a republican congress and democratic presidents. and i think most americans think that should be the other way around although in the last 50 years there mi

udall: thank you, mr. president. i rise along with my colleagues this morning to draw attention to the growing dysfunction exacted on this institution's ability to confirm both judicial and executive branch nominees. now, mr. president, having served five terms in the united states house of representatives, i've come to expect a certain amount of political revelry and combat. and while i was honored to serve in the house and i've got fond memories of the often-raucous debates there, i had high expectations that the united states senate would truly be a place of deliberation and bipartisan good will. of late, however, it seems, though, that the worst political gamesmanship has infiltrated the united states senate. perhaps the proverb that the grass is always greener on the other side applies here, but i do have to tell you, mr. president, i think that the level of gridlock that we faced in the last year is unprecedented. we've seen roadblock after roadblock as we've tried to exercise one of the most basic functions of

udall: mr. president, i rise today to speak on behalf of the millions of americans who know our nation is desperately in need of health care reform. traveling across colorado this past year, a common theme surfaced as i spoke with families, health care providers and businesses alike. they all want a health care system that tackles costs, improves quality and puts their needs first. and i have heard like i know the presiding officer has in his home state of delaware, just too many stories of coloradans who have paid a lifetime of health care premiums in order to provide for their family, all to have an insurance company drop their coverage because a wife or a husband or a child became ill. visiting with health care providers themselves, i have heard about the waste and abuse in our system. they have all pleaded with me to have commonsense reforms that get them back to the business that they thought they were entering years ago, the business of caring for their fellow americans beset by illness an

udall was one of those men. among his legacy items would include not only a great family, but a great colleague here in the united states senate, his son, senator tom udall of new mexico. we should honor his service, note his passing and remember his inspiration. his leadership made america a better place. his legacy and conservation will serve generations to come. we need more like stewart mr. p. i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from west virginia. mr. rockefeller: mr. president i ask unanimous consent that the order of the quorum call be rescinded. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. rockefeller: mr. president, as we conclude this debate on the re-authorization of the federal aviation administration, i want to thank my colleagues for their hard work on this bill and i want to do so with some specificity. first i want to thank senator kay bailey hutchison, the ranking member

senator udall. >> thank you, chairman rockefeller.am wondering about the chart published in the "new york times." in 2004, you had this huge spike in what are being reported as crashes and complaints. 126 toyota drivers experienced a crash and later filed eight complaints -- a complaint. all other manufacturers were on the chart, either flat or going down in terms of complaints. it took us five years to actually do something significant in this case. and you had another spike in 2007, and here you can see this very, very dramatic spike in 2009. so my question to both secretary lahood and administrator strickland is when you look at this problem, and secretary lahood, you have some independence from this because you are new to it, when you looked in your testimony and mention all of these complaints that come in, it seems to me you should have something in your database that when you get a spike like this, i mean, this just stands out, it alerts people that there is something wrong here, something going on, and immediately and activity

president the following colleagues -- chairman lieberman, chairman levin senator gillibrand, senator udall, senator wyden in introducing legislation to repeal the military don't ask don't tell policy. a policy which is discriminatory outdated, and detrimental to our national security. let us start by addressing every serviceman and woman to those who have served in our armed forces in the past. let's give them a big shout out and a big thank you mr. president. this nation honors the service and sacrifice of all of our veterans and those who are still serving today. let me say that the day of serving in silence their days are numbered. this legislation will recognize that every soldier sailor, airman and marine is equal to every other warrior so that no one will be forced to lie about who they are if they wish to serve this country. now i know that there are some who believe that this is too big a change, that it isn't right we need to wait. to them, i would say that the -- it did boil down to basic fairness mr. president. i would remind them that the united states military has made policy