sincerely yours, diane feinstein, united states senator -- dianne feinstein, united states senator."plause] >> i don't know what to say. i'm so overwhelmed. it really feels good to get some recognition from the politicians and top politicians. i'm glad that i lived to see this day. [applause] and i want to thank all who have made this day possible, including all the people at the library that put this event together. thank you very much. [applause] >> now, i would like to introduce the driving force behind this program, and award- winning, internationally known storyteller, recording artist, and educator. she is a truth teller and an artist for social change. she has made it her life's work to tell history through the words of its off forgotten witnesses. zero two one-women shows -- she wrote two one-women shows. she told the true story of the 1955-1956 montgomery bus boycott through the eyes of four women. please help me welcome her. >> i guess you are wondering why i'm standing here. [inaudible] my teachers have been teaching me a lot about standing up for what is right. it was a w

today talking about someone i not only met but had the good fortune of serving with in the united states senate, john glenn. barbara murkowski is here and she will remember as i have, as a couple of new, young senators, that we were going on a congressional delegation trip led by john glenn and ted stephens. it was a wonderful trip. so to be with these two fine senators, i was so happy that i could go. i can remember many things about that trip. and i'll talk just about a couple of things. we left vienna to go to czechoslovakia and when we came to that border, the iron curtain was still down. and they stopped our train. they brought out the dogs and all the security personnel with the rifles. and they were looking around and under the train, and we were asked to get out of the train. as things calmed down a little bit, one of the soldiers looking around so no one would see what he was doing came over to john glenn quickly and said, could you give me an autograph? we then went to prague and had a meeting with some government officials there. as we were walking up the street, someone came out of

we thank the congress very much. [ applause ] >> ladies and gentlemen, the former united states senator from the state of ohio and the first american to orbit the earth, the honorable john glenn. [ applause ] >> thank you. [ applause ] >> thank you all very, very much. leaders of the house and senate, members of the congress, ladies being here todayrst, thanks to to share this very, very special occasion with us. from our founding days, americans have been motivated by curiosity about the new and the unknown, whether it was geographical exploration that pushed back the frontiers of a continent or microexploration in our laboratories. thatrearch, coupled with an eti all our cit benefit and contribute were the twin engines of progress that catapulted america into world preeminence. but there were other frontiers never before believed to be approachable. and for many, many thousands of years, people had looked up and wondered, had been curious about what was up there. we must consider ourselves among the most fortunate of all generations, for we havetime wh a reality, when we finally could

united states house. it became law. this president has had a majority in the united states senate for four years. he has had a supermajority in the united states house. well, let me restate that. he had 59% of the united states house after 2008 election. so this idea that he's complaining about the congress's inaction is pretty absurd. so let me go to the cfpb. in the president's lawyers said there's a great risk, a litigation risk on anything the cfpb does would be challenged based on constitutionality does, anything the labor relations board could be challenged based on this president's unprecedented action. you know, looking at that litigation risk and the amount of uncertainty that creates for small businesses, even big businesses and the impact it has on the economy, that is sort of the net impact of this debate we're having. now i know you're a constitutional scholar but i understand you represent folks in utah that are concerned like my constituents about jobs. this does have an impact on the american people in a real way. it is not some academic debate. but you reference the fact that the

and for that i sellerly thank you. [ applause ] >> ladies and gentlemen, the chairman of the united states senate senior senator from the state of florida, the honorable bill nelson. >> ladies and gentlemen, the -- it said in the psalms written by david as he peered up into the heavens, "the heavens declare the glory of god. the firment showeth his handy work." you think of the significance of this congressional gold medal. it has only been awarded to 100. and of those in aviation and space first, think of the wright brothers, charles lindbergh, dr. robert goddard, the father of modern rocketry, and now today's honorees. and i dare say that in future years we will be giving the same ceremony and gold medal to the first crew that will land on the planet mars. ladies and gentlemen, the dream is alive. as a matter of fact, it's a part of us. it's our character as the american people to be adventurers and explorers. and give that dream up. indeed, in the honoring of these astronauts, we foretell the future, the greatness, the discovery, the expressing of ousts as a people, pioneers, adventurers, and

are you calling upon the united states senate to pass the president's budget? >> we're absolutely calling on the united states senate to embrace as the house as well to embrace the fiscal reforms we propose in the budget, absolutely. >> are you calling upon the senate to pass the president's budget? if so, why is it reasonable for them to do that? >> can i say one thing? it is not a test of governing and legislating is not for you to end is the senate things that you know will not have bipartisan support. that's not a test of legislating, i don't think. >> i am asking about a democratic president, president obama, and this administration and you as the secretary of the treasury, are you calling upon the senate which is controlled by the democrats to vote on and pass your budget? >> as i said, absolutely we would like the senate and the house to act on the senate reforms that the president has in the budget. that's what i abudget is for. i was pointing out that you said we have done your job. i don't think that's the test of legislating in a divided country with

fairly traceable to nlfrb, the kind of injury that could fairly be redressable in court. >> do united states senators have standing to challenge the recess appointments. >> while there may be some disagreement on this of the authorities i've consulted, including those based on the supreme court decision, seems to suggest u.s. senators are likely not to have standing to bring the case in their own capacity but they certainly could in all events participate as amicus curiae. >> stare decisis when they like them initially, they don't tend to talk about the president in stare decisis as much when they don't. my concern whatever the analysis of the recess appointment clause should be the same irrespective of who the president is and what party they are in. can you talk about the historical treatment of what a recess meant and a better rule going forward. it strikes me if a person in the chair were taking a nap under the president's analysis he could make a recess appointment. or if y'all were out to lunch for a couple of hours. what's the difference between three hours and three days. what's historically

sitting in the united states senate awaiting action.f we really want to get our economy going again and put americans back to work and have no need for an economic relief package, the president ought to be pushing the democrats in the senate to move these bills. because many of them will pass with bipartisan support in the united states senate as well. listen, we've made it clear that we want network with the president on jobs. to help move our country forward. and unfortunately the white house has made clear that the president is finished with governing for the balance of his term. so we're not putting policies that not only help the economy but they've made it worse. unemployment is above 8% for three straight years. gas prices have more than doubled since the president took office. the national debt now tops $15.3 trillion. but where is his vision for,000 repair all of this? he could have outlined it in his budget submission this week. yet the president did nothing more than just kick the can down the road once again. >> the comments

congratulations. [ applause ] >> ladies and gentlemen, the republican leader of the united states senate early 1959, about six months after congress formally created the national aeronautics and space administration, a

how many republicans are there currently in the united states senate? >> 47. >> is 47 vendors a majority of the body? >> no. >> interesting. after the 2008 election i know you want a senator, but worth their 60 democrats in the united states senate? >> yes. >> if you 60th in a senators together, do they even have to speak to the other 40 senators in the elevator? >> not much. >> lushes understand historically. he had a supermajority after the 2008 election. he was able to pass this debellis through the house and through the senate and didn't get a single vote the republicans in the united states house. it became law. this president has had a majority in the united states senate for four years. he has had a majority -- a supermajority in the united states house. let me restate that. it's 59 states after the 2008 election. so this idea he complained about the congress inaction is pretty absurd. so let me go to the cfpb. now, the president's lawyers said that there is a great risk, a litigation rest that anything the cfpb delta be challenged based on the co

so the machine can't find anyone to run for senate, united states senate in 1934. you would think they could. a big democratic year. harry pulls it off, but the goes into the senate again. he's like a nobody. and nobody. and then disaster strikes. 1939, prendergast on good friday goes to the federal pen for corruption. people say, well, that's the end of harry truman now. who's going to want him to make is going to want this prendergast puppet still to remain in the united states senate? his mentor is finished. and so a c. he faces a 3-way primary. he wins. he goes to all those small towns and courthouses, masonic symbols and every other place zeno's in missouri and wows them. pulls off. it's a valuable lesson when it comes to 1948 and the democratic party is split once again. but he is back in the senate. to is the? he has been given an assignment. look into all of these military bases. defense contractor in things we're doing to win the war against hitler and tojo. are we getting the bang for the buck? are we spending our money wisely? harry truman goes around and

when the machine can't find anyone to run for the united states senate in 1934 -- okay. we now return to our regularly scheduled programming. [laughter] so the machine can't find anyone to run for senate, united states senate in 1934. you'd think they could. it's going to be a big democratic year. harry pulls it off. but he goes into the senate, again, he's like a nobody. a nobody. and then disaster strikes. 1939, boss prendergast on good friday goes to the federal pen for corruption, and people say, well, that's the end of harry truman now. who's going to want him? who's going to want this pendergast puppet still to remain in the united states senate, his mentor is finished. and so is he. he faces a three-way primary. and wins. he goes to all the small towns and courthouses and ma sonic temples and every other place he knows in missouri and wows 'em, pulls it off. and that's a valuable lesson when it comes to 194 and the democratic -- 1948 and the democratic party is split once again. but he's still back in the senate, but who is he? he's given an assignment. look into a

. >> greta: why doesn't he get together with his colleague, a democrat and united states senate and have a vote up or down. >> the law also says the house must produce a budget and senate must produce a budget by april 15th. we passed our budget on time. we're going pass our budget on time. "a" we think it's moral obligation but legal obligation. >> greta: there is no recourse? >> senator reid is saying he will not bring up the budget. he won't pass a budget this year as well. >> greta: why not? >> because i don't think they want to show you just the kind of tax increases this for the government they have built. i don't think they are willing to show the country how much government will cost the country because they aren't willing to cut spending. president is increasing spending in a debt crisis. >> greta: but coming up with somethinging, harry reid is stopping it. >> four years of trillion dollar deficits. >> greta: for some reason, it makes me crazy, that senator harry reid won't consider this and put this up for a vote. the administration by law has to go through this. it's never goi

helps you to focus, about whether or not i was prepared to commit to another six years in the united states senate. and particularly in the context of the times that we are in in the senate, where it's very, very difficult to resolve major issues that are so important to the future of this country. and how best could i serve, and to make voice heard. i made the decision not to run for re-election of the senate and to pursue other opportunities outside the senate that perhaps i can give voice to the frustrations that you know, exist with the political system here in washington, where it's dysfunctional, and the political paraysis has over taken the environment to the damaging of the good of the country. >> do you think that both parties contribute to the dysfunction? >> absolutely. everyone has to stand back and understand what is the essence of public service, it's all about solving problems. what are the obligations to the country and to the people we represent? it's the coming up with effective solutions, to sitting down and working with the issues and sitting around table and sorting through th

state of kansas in 2011. his commitment to this museum is based on his deep commitment to human rights. while in the senate, he called on the united states to condemn the genocide in sudan's darfur region and to ban human trafficking around the world. senator brownback sponsored the legislation to sponsor this museum. so please join me in welcoming senator brownback. >> what a great honor to be here with you. mr. president, mrs. obama, my former colleague john lewis, and other colleagues that are here. this is a momentous occasion and i'm delighted to be part of it. in kansas we have a deep sense really of our state's history and destiny. we're one of the few states in the union that was formed for a cause. and our cause was to end the barbaric practice of slavery. john brown was one of our most famous residents. the president was also a resident of kansas at one time. john brown's legacy is a mix of righteousness, violence and zealotry. but his cause was the undoing of the enormous crime of slavery. before he was executed for treason, he spoke these haunting and prescient words. i john brown am now quite certain that the crimes o

do you hear those words from the united states senate, madam speaker? do you hear those words? this was the majority leader in the united states senate speaking out, telling the president, you cannot, you cannot, you cannot make appointments without the advice and consent of the united states senate. you're trying to go around us. we will not allow it. we're afraid you are going to do it while we go home for thanksgiving. so instead of going on recess, instead of recessing the senate, we're going to stay in pro forma session, not just through thanksgiving but through the christmas holiday to make certain the president seeks our advice and consent. sounds like a speech a republican would have given, madam speaker, to make sure the president of the united states followed the constitution. but it's not. it's not. this is actually a page from the congressional record november 16, 2007, madam speaker. these are the words that then senate majority leader harry reid spoke to president bush telling president bush the law of the land is you can't do it without us unless we're in recess.

i would indicate to you that in my short period of time as united states senator, trying to get a regulatory environment in which community banks can lend money to credit-worthy borrowers has been a cause of mine. it seems to me that the regulatory environment in which they operate is oppressive and uncertain. so, your suggestion about appointmenting an advisory group of community bankers of lenders to advise you, i certainly don't disagree. would suggest that's valuable. i would only point out that at every opportunity in which i've had to question witnesses from the otc, the treasury department, the fdic, they've all done the same thing. they have those advisory committees, and yet the growth and regulations continue and the sense by community bankers that they're not understood still prevails. so, don't want to discourage you from doing that, but please at least from my perspective understand that that's probably not sufficient. it will depend upon your attitude and approach. and then in that regard, before you respond, our small lenders, community banks, credit unions, they need clarity.

i remember senator byrd saying time and time again that the purpose of the united states senate, morenything else, was a restraint upon the tyranny of the executive branch of government. that is our purpose as a senate. this president's executive excesses is illustrated -- are illustrated -- and they were first by the creation of more czars than the romanoffs had. we've always had some so-called czars in the white house. the drug czar, for example. but now we have three dozen of them. these czars duplicate and dilute responsibility of cabinet members. they make it harder for the elected people -- us -- to have a supervisory role over exactly what they're doing. it's not only anti-democratic, it's a poor way to manage the government. equally disturbing to me has been this administration's use of regulation and litigation to bypass the congress and the will of the people when the congress have a different point of view. for example, the president's appointees at the national labor relations board and their decision in the boeing case, which has now been apparently resolved, but which wa

and to the leaders of the united states senate, if you will follow through with this, it will pay enormous dividends for the body. and again, senator alexander and senator warner and all the others who have been in the volunteer fire department, i think this is a good moment for the senate and i'm proud to be associated with it. if it happens, it's because of what you have done, lamar. mr. alexander: madam president, before we go back to the senator from arkansas, i have a question i wanted to ask the senator from south carolina, but first i -- i'm not sure he was here. when i referred to the grand ol' opry, i have a bad habit of doing that because it's in nashville, but it's occurred to me over the last several months that there is a lot about what we do that's like the grand ol' opry. i mean, i -- i know a lot of performers of the opry, members of the opry, they sing and pick in every little bar in the south for 20 years until finally by skill and by accident they get an invitation to join the grand ol' opry. and what will they think if they joined the grand ol' opry and then they weren'

united states senator.applause] start with the man who most recently left this job and went on to become the lieutenant governor of california, gavin newsom. [applause] frank jordan, former mayor frank jordan, former police chief of the city of san francisco. [applause] and my colleague from the legislative years and mayor of sanford says go, are new and tho san francisco. [applause] now that the stage is set, it is time clearly for prayer. reverend james, please come and give us the invocation. >> the per i offer todrayer i os on behalf of the more than 800 organizations in the city of county of san francisco. many of the agencies have served the people of san francisco for over 100 years. let us pray. got we come to you and prayer for our mayor, and when we. edwin lee. -- god, we come to you in prayer. as he renews his commitment to serve as our mayor, we ask you renewal his zeal for public service. grant him good health. give him the gift of patients, care for all people, but above all, the gift of wisdo

the way we do better is for the senate to take up the 27 jobs bills in the united states sena senate. the president asked us to work with him. we have worked with him. a lot of these bills he supports and his job council supports and all of them have passed with bipartisan support in the house. so, the president really wants to get the economy moving again, really wants to improve his own chances for re-election, maybe pick up the phone and call senator reid and ask senate democrats to get off their rear ends. >> coming up "washington journal" will take your questions and comments. after that a u.n. security council meeting on the situation in syria. [captions copyright national [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012]

that foreign policy was delegated, much of it, to the united states senate that we're abdicating our role and that we as united states senate should send a clear and unequivocal message to egypt. so i will continue to argue that despite much opposition to have a vote on this to send a signal to egypt that we will not tolerate the detention of u.s. citizens. thank you, mr. president. and i yield back the remainder of my time. >> the senate coming back into session in under an hour, 2:15 eastern. we'll have that here on c-span2, of course. we're live at the state department waiting to hear from secretary of state hillary clinton and vice president biden. they're hosting a luncheon for chinese vice president xi jinping and we expect it to get underway shortly. yesterday the white house unveiled the fiscal year 2013, $3.8 trillion budget proposal. we covered a number of budget hearings today on the c-span networks, most of them senate hearings and this morning we were joined by house member kevin brady who's chairman of the -- vice chairman of the joint economic committee. he's also on th

you were voting for any wa. >> it when dounlt when i was in the united states senate. >>> romney holdssizeable lead over santorum in arizona in recent polls. santorum hold as slight lead over rom in in michigan. both states hold their primaries next tuesday. >>> happening today, president obama will visit florida to talk quickly rising gasoline prices. the gallon of gas has spiked 27 cents nationwide and it could affect the president's hope for re-election. aaron gilchrist joins us with more on that. >>> today president obama will unveil a strategy to ease some of that pain. a lot riding on how the president handles the situation between now and november. the last five times prices spiked, an incumbent lost to the white house. here's where gas prices stand right now. you ee paying the most in dchlt krchlt. the average is 362 in maryland and virginia continues to be the cheap shot at ". >>> the white house is calls it the all of the above approach. basically looking to several different slukss to the growing problem. they include increasing domestic oishlgs developing ail tern energy co

when you elect a liberal president, when you elect a liberal supermajority in the united states senate, you get a liberal each journey to -- attorney general like eric holder. so the best way to get a new attorney general is to get a new president and to get a new senate majority, which we will, with your help in 2012. thank you and god bless all of you. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> [inaudible] >> my name is michelle. >> i believe in limited government. >> i believe in free market. >> free market. >> and personal responsibility. >> of unprintable, not party. >> i vote on principles. >> not party. >> i vote on principles. >> i vote on the bindles, not party. >> i want a responsible government. >> i want a responsible government. >> responsibility. >> i want responsibility. >> i am the tea party. >> i am the tea party. >> i am the tea party. >> i am. >> are you the tea party? a visit isupporttheteaparty.com. >> the screen is slightly lower. it is about an inch -- ♪ >> ♪ the cars got gasoline

romney ran for the united states senate. in 1994. i won and he lost. it's not that governor romney didn't want to be senator romney. he tried to be senator romney but he ran as a very liberal republican in massachusetts who had just become a republican and he lost. and he lost badly in a year where republicans had the one of the biggest election sweeps in history. it's when republican revolution occurred. governor romney had a great career in the sector but we're not running for the ceo of the country. we're running for someone who can lead this country, someone who has an understanding of what's necessary to get the jobs created and has the wisdom of when the role of government should be involved and not. and on those issues, governor romney, mr. outsider, was for government takeover in health care, was for government takeover of the private sector of the wall street bailout, and was for the government takeover of industry and energy with the cap in trade. so mr. private sector was mr. big government when he was out there ru

. >> folks, president of the united states is selling the economic security of this country down the river right now. >> senator, you believe this president of the united states is picking iran over israel, that he is sacrificing a decades-long alliance with israel to make friends with iran? isn't that loud crouse? >> well, no. look at his actions, john. look at his actions with the secretary of defense comes out and says that israel is planning an attack on iran, this is our closest ally in the region. and the secretary of defense goes out and divulges information, sensitive information about what israel's plans are, then wreaks scorn on them and invites the skrorn of the rest of the world in that that is somehow what a friend does? and then at the same time as i said before the president who fought tooth and nail against putting sangs on iran and only ca pit lated at the end. this is a president who is not standing by our allies, it's trying to appease, trying to find a way to allow clearly to allow iran to get this nuclear weapon. he's doing absolutely nothing in a consequential way to make sure they don't g

this is beneath the united states senate of america. i agree with the senator from florida. mrs. boxer: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from california. mrs. boxer: do we have that unanimous consent request vote? the presiding officer: the unanimous consent request is pending. mrsis is there objection to the request? without objection, so ordered. mrs. boxer: in p? the presiding officer: the snoer from california. mrs. boxer: i rise because i want to point out to the people of this country, who may be watching this proceeding, that what's happened here tonight on the senate floor is just ridiculous, and i think, you know, senator nelson, bill nelson, who just -- you know, i think he was restrained frankly. i know him. he is a very close friend. he was restrained in his comments. one senator is stopping us from being able to ensure that justice is done, getting a great judge on the beth. and it is -- getting a great judge on the bench. it is sad. it is a bipartisan nominee. it goes beyond this. in addition to holding up the senate and wasting time here, because

as a community organizer and the state senate, as a united states senator, he has dedicated himself to ensuring the dream is realized and in this campaign he has inspired so many to become involved in the democratic process and invested in our common future. now when i started this race i intended to win back the white house and make sure we have a president who puts our country back on the path to peace, prosperity and progress. and that's exactly what we're going to do by ensuring that barack obama walks through the doors of the oval office on january 20, 2009. now i understand -- i understand that we all know this has been a tough fight but the democratic party is a family. and now it's time to restore the ties that bind us together and to come together around the ideals we share, the values we cherish and the country we love. we may have started on separate journeys but today our paths have merged and we're all heading toward the same destination. united and more ready than ever, to win in november and to turn our country around because so much is at stake. we all want an economy t

. >> government sides of the economy went down when i was in the united states senate.ernor romney suggested raising taxes on the occupy wall street rhetoric. >> reporter: ron paul is siding with romney running tv ads falling santorum fake. >> because he's a fake. >> reporter: issue number two, birth control and president obama requiring church affiliated organizations to okay birth control distribution. >> i don't think we have seen in the history of this country the kind of attack on religious conscientious, religious freedom, religious tolerance than we have 2013 in barack obama. >> what we are seeing is a problem in our culture. >> i think the immorale it's creates the problem of wanting to use the pill. >> reporter: newt gingrich fought to get heard. >> it is possible to modernize the federal government and cut taxes and develop energy simultaneously. >> reporter: he's not contending arizona or michigan. that's where romney and santorum have their showdown tuesday. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. >>> syrian military forces have stepped up their attacks

. >>> had he not been a catholic bishop, he probably would have been a united states senator or corporate or the host of a late night tv talk show. >> archbishop timothy dolan has a new job, one that could put him in line to be the next pope. [ engine revs ] what makes us number one in motorcycle insurance? we love bikes. we love riders. and most of all, we love to ride. perfect hair every time. leading the pack in motorcycle insurance. now, that's progressive. call or click today. >>> this weekend new york's archbishop will join an organization that's been around for nearly 1,000 years. archbishop timothy dolan will be elevated to the catholic church's college of cardinals. that not only means he decides who becomes the next post but possibly puts him in line for the job. brooke baldwin has this profile. >> thanks, everybody. >> reporter: new york archbishop timothy dolan is getting a big promotion this weekend in rome. he's being elevated to the college of cardinals at the vatican. >> you become eligible to vote for the next pope. in many cases he also informally a candidate to be the n

>> well, one of the things about the united states senate that i think the american people realized is that it takes 50 not 60 votes to pass something. there has been republican opposition to anything the democrats have tried to do. it's a challenge in the united states senate to pass legislation when there is not that willingness to work together. congress didn't do a great job last year. it drove right to the edge of the cliff on occasion after occasion. a lot of that was because of the extreme, you know, conservative approach taken by house republicans. the positions that ended up tying the congress in knots came out of the house, the tea party wing in the house. >> can you explain to americans how the government funds itself when there's no budget? >> last year, one of the things that was part of the budget agreement was agreeing to the overall levels of funding for two years. congress will be able to continue to do its business. it would be better to do it in the context of an overall budget. the president tomorrow will present a budget that does $4 trillion of deficit reduction i