senator udall. >> thank you, madame chair for calling this hearing. i think many others have said it already, but safety is the key here, and i am going to want to hear from each of you as to how you believe we should move forward on the safety issue. i think it is not acceptable to have the kind of thing happened in the united states that happened in japan, and i hope that you are on a wavelength that you are going to move in the direction of taking seriously what this task force said. this is a task force with 139 years of experience in this area. they are substantial. they're people that really know what they're talking about. we talk about recommendations that fall into five categories. these categories seem common sense -- clarified, -- regulatory framework. you have to take a hard luck every now and then add regulatory frameworks and how they work. insuring protection -- the task force recommendation is potential enhancements to the capability to prevent or mitigate seismically-induced fires. we have seen, in new mexico, those kinds of fires and

and the version that's being offered by senator yew tall -- udall is the one that i intend to vote for. so, here we are with a plan that is not a perfect plan. it clearly avoids default. but all of us agree that what it does do is that government spending must be cut, that the public debt must be reduced. otherwise, our economy will not recover, and america will no longer be in good standing around the world. that's the bottom line. so, i often quoted, it's actually from the book of isaiah, in which the lord is speaking to the people, and he says, "come let us reason together." isn't that so true here. and was it not avoided for so long where reasonable people of goodwill -- and every one of these senators is a person of goodwill. if we can get out of our ideological rigidity and out of our momentary excessive partisanship, then as the good book says, come let us reason together. and i think that that's what we've done. when we pass this -- and it will be an overwhelming vote in about two hours -- and the president can sign it into law, then we can turn our attention back to the econom

as you know, senator udall and i have had concerns about it and have been examining it in both classified and open session and i want to thank you for the when you're handling. >> you're very welcome. >> senator conrad? >> madam chair and vice chair and members of the committee, instead of asking questions i would like to make a further statement if i could, madam chair, about this nominee. she comes from a family that i have known for 30 years. a family that was on the other side of the aisle from as i indicated before his saw there was the chief of staff and the man i defeated for the united states. yet he treated me with the greatest generosity of spirit that anybody could ask for. now i just want to say these are people of the highest of the very highest quality in every single way, the highest character. i would trust matt olsen with every penny that i've got because of the character of his family, and i know around here as all demolition derby my god when does it end? .. i put my entire reputation on the line for this nominee. that is how strongly i feel. so, i have been here 25 yea

thank you, vice chairman chambliss, senator coats, good to see you in senator wyden, senator udall come senator warner. i'm delighted to be to introduce matt olsen. his parents are from north dakota, people live in a very long time. matt's roots are deep in north dakota. he returns every chance he gets with his family, his wife and his children, elderly come and meet and will come his sister, susan, is with us as well. as i said, i've known this family for a very long time coming and they are the best that it gets. his father was the chief of staff to the man the white defeated for the united states senate. and so i know how good he really is. van passed away three years ago, but i know he's looking down with a twinkle in his eye today proud of matte and all that he has accomplished. you know, after defeating the boss for the united states senate, i came here with some trepidation of what my relationship might be like with a van and his wife, the treated me with the greatest courtesy over time the cancer indifference. the highest quality people that our state has to offer, and i believe

udall: thank you, madam president. over the past two years, our country has been struggling to recover from one of the worst economic recessions in our history. democrats have worked to pass legislation that would create jobs. it's been our top priority, but at every turn, we faced resistance from idealogues that cared more about winning political points than protecting the wealthy and doing what is right for hard-working american families. that is exactly what happened during this debt ceiling debate. instead of passing a clean extension and getting to work on our economy, we have been forced to vote on a last-minute deal to prevent the economic catastrophe that would result in default. i spent the last few weeks and months highlighting the real-life consequences of default for new mexico families. at a time when families are already dealing with extremely tight budgets. a default would mean increased costs for just about everything. from food to gas to housing to sending the kids to college. it would also jeopardize

that's exactly what happened senators voted on the bill and they passed it but ron wyden and mark udall both asked congress to reconsider because the provisions of the bill are so secretive that no details have been released however after the requests to reconsider both the attorney general and director of national intelligence have decided to keep it all a secret and that includes it one of the most contentious elements called the business record provision which allows organizations like the f.b.i. to obtain personal records and other tangible things whatever that means now sadly after dedicating months to warning the public about the secretive patriot act it's like we're going to remain out of the loop when it comes to knowing how the government is going to spy on us and how they try to justify it. all vanity fair dropped quite bombshell today after getting an exclusive interview with a cyber security expert from mcafee exposing what could be the largest concerted cyber attack in history now it turns out that for the last five years operation a shady hat as they're calling it has infi

. >> .rachel carson, stewart udall the important interior secretary. >> and you'll do seven books in total then? >> .yeah i'm going all the way through up 'til.i don't know the exact cut-off point now but the one after that is a texas book 'cause it's gonna be about lyndon and lady bird and beautification, conservation. >> really? >> yeah. that will be after the. >> oh wow. >> .silent. >> and you intended this back when you did the tr book that it would be a part of this? >> i did. the danger you have.this book flies on its own. my publisher, harper collins, gets nervous about multiple volumes 'cause sometimes people will say, "oh my gosh i didn't get one. why would i buy two." >> well this is not exactly like lord of the rings. i mean. [laughter] >> yeah i know. it is.it's not linked that way but they worry about things like that; it's a tough book. >> yeah. >> .marketplace. but i've put a lot of narrative research and writing. >> yeah. >> i lived in homer, alaska with my wife and kids. we went up there. >> but you were not the one who lived next door to sarah palin and got banned r

udall: thank you, madam president. over the past two years, our country has been struggling to recover from one of the worst economic recessions in our history. democrats have worked to pass legislation that would create jobs. it's been our top priority, but at every turn, we faced resistance from idealogues that cared more about winning political points than protecting the wealthy and doing what is right for hard-working american families. that is exactly what happened during this debt ceiling debate. instead of passing a clean extension and getting to work on our economy, we have been forced to vote on a last-minute deal to prevent the economic catastrophe that would result in default. i spent the last few weeks and months highlighting the real-life consequences of default for new mexico families. at a time when families are already dealing with extremely tight budgets. a default would mean increased costs for just about everything. from food to gas to housing to sending the kids to college. it would also jeopardize

now senator thom udall says he's voting for the bill even though in his words it stinks to high heavenck durbin quoted shakespeare. >> at the end of the day i will vote for this measure, and obviously with a heavy heart, there are parts of it that i will struggle to explain and defend, but i can't let this american economy descend into chaos if we fail to extend the debt ceiling. >> reporter: tennessee republican senator lamar alexander says the count lee is finally taking responsibility for spending money he doesn't have. we'llee hear from the president on this at 12:15 eastern time. fox news channel will carry it live. alisyn: we will be looking forward to that. bill: are we ready to talk about winners and losers? and what do you get out of this debt deal. a terrific panel right now, mary katherine ham a fox news contributor. john fund, seniore editor. bob cusack. bob, i know you've been working this story. how does a guy like john boehner looks today. >> he looks a lot better than he did late last week when he had to pull a debt limit bill that didn't have the votes amid a rebellion

thank you. >> thank you, senator udall. senator brown? >> thank you, mr. chairman. sir, as you know, we've already met and discussed in private. ive a few follow-up questions. senator nato and i have actually planned a bill and are concerned about the evidence that taxpayers' money that was intended to be used for a transportation contract has ended up in the hands of the taliban. we want it to stop. not only are we trying to fund our own needs, i guess we're funding the taliban's needs, too. i was wondering if you could comment on that and how -- what your thoughts are about lowering the risk involved with our reliance on contractor support and the money trail that goes along with it. >> yeah, thanks, senator. i saw the same report in the media. i haven't yet had time to get the gi report and see the details. i share that thought. having approximately $5 billion a year to build the iraqi security forces, it was among my gravest concerns. i had a concern about building them, i had a concern about enabling them, integrating them with our forces, but there wasn't a da

we're going to have a vote for two different versions, and the version that's being offered by senator udall is the one that i intend to vote for, so here we are with a plan that is not a perfect plan. it clearly avoids default, but all of us agree that what it does do is that government spending must be cut, that the public debt must be reduced, otherwise our economy will not recover, and america will no longer be in good standing around the world. that's the bottom line. i often quote it. it's actually from the book of isiah in which the lord is speaking to the people, and he says, come let us reason together. suspect that so -- isn't that so true here, and was is not avoided for so long where reasonable people of good will and every one of these senators is a person of good will. if we can get out of our ideological regidty and out of our momentary excessive partisanship, then as the good book says, come, let us reason together. i think that that's what we've done, so when we pass this, and it'll be an overwhelming vote in about two hours and the president can sign it into law, then we ca

senator udall? >> thank you, madam chair. and thank you for calling this hearing. i think many others have said it already but i think safety is the key here and i'm going to want to hear from each of you as how you believe we should move forward on the safety issue. i think it's unacceptable if we have the kind of thing happen in the united states that happened in japan. and i hope that you're on a wavelength and going to move in the direction of taking seriously what this -- what this task force said. i mean, my understanding -- this is a task force with 139 years of experience in this area. they're substantial. they're people who really know what they're talking about. we talk about recommendations that fall into five categories. these categories seem very commonsense to me, clarifying the regulatory framework. i mean, you got to take a hard look every now and then at regulatory frameworks and how they work. ensuring protection. the task force recommends under that category part of a longer term review the nrc evaluate potential enhancements to the to prevent or

stop by my office any time, especially on jell-o wednesday's, and you can enter the udall zone if only for a moment. it is a happy place. it is a pleasure and an honor to be addressing a group from the young americans foundation. i am in a big fan of this foundation. i am a huge fan of ronald reagan and have been almost my entire life. my life changed when i was about 10-years old. my dad was hired by ronald reagan to be his solicitor general. that is a government official within the u.s. department of justice that represents the u.s. government before the supreme court of the united states. i became a huge ronald reagan fan before he even hired my dad. i think that was when i truly discovered might republicanness. when i was able to develop a strong love for our country and a keen interest in government. net interest has continued throughout my entire life. i suspect similar interest have drawn many of you to this foundation, which i respect and appreciate for all that it does -- patriotism, love for our country, and hope for a brighter, better tomorrow. it is also for the same reason