why does that define the united states senate? it seems to me the senate was defined in the constitution where we have two senators from every state, small and large. where we're elected every six years, not every two. where the senate has certain functions on treaties, on nominations. and that the house of representatives doesn't have them. and where the constitution is very clear, there are five times when the senate must have a supermajority to act. again, i would point out that the senate will by its very nature, even under my reform proposal or that by mr. udall or mr. merkley would still operate based on unanimous consent. and each senator will continue to understand that maintaining good relationships with all senators, working hard to become experts on issues will remain the essence of what it means to be a senator. not the ability to filibuster. so to those who say we'll become more like the house, i say, no, that's not going to happen. you say well it could. well, sure it could. some future senate could wipe out all the r

that is right, today, the united states senate. know you have been told that the senate is closed for business. that is not true. harry reid got some good work done in the senate today and he got 100 votes for things that for some strange reason no one has told you anything about. >>> there is only one group the blame for the continued suffering of these innocent victims. the house majority and their speaker, john boehner. last night, politics was placed before our oath, to serve our citizens. for me, it was disappointing and disgusting to watch. >> that was new jersey's republican governor chris christie today slamming fellow republican john boehner for cancelling a vote late last night that would have provided billions of dollars in federal aid to victims of hurricane sandy. in the spotlight tonight, republicans versus republicans. republican congressman peter king of new york attacked his leader's decision earlier today. >> republicans have no trouble finding new york when it comes to raising money. and i would just say anyone fr

he became a member of the united states senate in 1987. he has served with great distinction in both houses of congress, serving his state of nevada. and today is the highest-ranking democrat in the united states senate serving as its majority leader. i would dare say, mr. president, that you and i will probably not really know anything about the town of searchlight, nevada, were it not for harry reid. harry reid has told us so many stories of his youth and his background in that tiny town and what brought him to this station in life today. i almost feel if there were a town or high school reunion i could attend it with harry and look around and recognize a lot of people there, because i've certainly heard stories about his youth and the people that had a dramatic impact on his life from the time that he was growing up in searchlight, neff. we know he came from modest circumstances. his family grew raised him in a very small home without indoor plumbing. he attended a two-room elementary school in searchlight, nevada. as a child, senator re

and i'm proud of my voting it has identified me as the second-most bipartisan senator in the united states senateas referenced by "congressional quarterly" and i was named as the least partisan senator in the united states senate by washingtonian magazine. independent and bipartisan approach provided me with an opportunity to stand with the president and the white house on three separate occasions in the past two years to see bills that i have either sponsored or played a key role in securing their passage into law. i was honored to work with many of my colleagues that are here today and many who are listening on both sides of the aisle on legislation that was signed into law to move our country forward, including banning insider trading by members of congress. i know madam president he played a key role in that as well. the higher hero veterans bill to help our veterans who are fighting for jobs giving them opportunities to be hired by employers were looking for those euros. the crowd funding legislation which will help young entrepreneurs get access to net capital and create jobs something i ho

anybody who think that is a man in makeup on a television desk is more important than the united states senatedoesn't understand the senate. the most junior, powerless senator is more powerful than anybody at anchor desk, more than any other kind of way in being important. the tweet to patrick, please consider lawrence o'donnell to fill kerry's massachusetts seat. ideal choice. then, weldon wendell commented, we don't need another one who is smug, self-centered, and thinks he is god to the people. stay on tv, at least there when your smugness becomes overwhelming you can turn me off. wendell, you can turn off c-span, too, don't worry, the appointment would last five months, whereupon, after the special election congressman ed markey will be sworn in as the next elected senator. how do we know he is going to win? because i said so. and by the way, the day after i said so on this program that very next day john kerry endorsed ed markey, okay? the crazy massachusetts law on replacing senators was written by politically corrupt and legally corrupt members of the legislature. and so it has led to s

teamed up with emily's list to help elect the first out signature in the history of the united states. -- senate history of the united states. the partnership between emily's list and victory fund was like nothing we had done before. we made history. when tammy baldwin was elected in madison, wisconsin that glass ceiling shattered. it was amazing. the first woman senator in the history of wisconsin. i hope you can imagine what her victory meant to gay and lesbian americans, especially to young people. i am enemy because i know she removed barriers for all of us. [applause] >> hello. i served as the granite state along with our democratic senator and our democratic congresswoman. it is fair to say that all of us and answer to the name even our other united states senator is a woman. that means new hampshire is the first state in our country's history to be represented in congress and the governor's office entirely by women. that is not happen by accident. it happened because thousands of years workedany y hand-in-hand to get women elected. it is because emily's list helped me when i was in the st

i am a united states senator tammy baldwin and i am emily.se] please join me in welcoming my friends and an extraordinary leader whose tireless work led to the election of women across our nation be president of emily's list. [applause] >> thank you so much. thank you to our national co- chair and our coast and sponsors and a special thank you is your council members. it is always great to see so many good friends, especially when we have so much to celebrate together. look around. this is what making history looks like. it is a senate with 21 men, -- women, including the first women senators from massachusetts and hawaii. it is 16 new pro-choice democratic women in congress. it is the first openly gay senator the first asian american woman senator. the first congress women who served in combat. we have three new women under the age of 40. it is a congress with no alan west, no joe walsh, and no todd akin. we have fought so hard. we have one so much. we have come so far i am so proud as a woman and as an american. make no mistake. we are not

the united states senate, while we're talking about it, the united states senate set a record today. also, there is a huge development in one of the wars in our world. also, we have a very important chart that imitates life that may undue the agita you felt this morn. if you are against women against violence act, what does that mean you are for? we have a lot coming up this hour. please stay with us. [ lane ] are you growing old waiting for your wrinkle cream to work? neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair has the fastest retinol formula. to visibly reduce fine lines and wrinkles in just one week. >>> map time! >>> map time! here is the part of the world where more than anywhere else you need to be looking at a map to understand what's going on there in the news on any given day. for reference, here is where our current war is. that's afghanistan. now, the eight and a half yearlong war that we just finished up, that was here. oh, what's that one big country right in between our two wars? that would be iran, and we know why the u.s. feels antsy about iran. this shows in part why iran feels

but just two years later he was elected to the united states senate. served in the senate for five terms. he's had -- he's always been an unflinching advocate for veterans. he helped found the vietnam veterans for america. he's helped to secure treatment for service members dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder. he's deserved six years in the senate intelligence committee and 28 years on the foreign relations committee. he's been a leading advocate of doing something about global climate change. senator kerry has convened eight major hearings and round tables on the one hand climate change since taking the gavel as chair of the foreign relations committee, replacing vice president biden. it was in the early 1990's that senator kerry's brilliant mind and exceptional dedication came to my attention. i had the good fortune of being chosen by leader mitchell to be a member of the collect select e on p.o.w.-mia. it was the believe of many that there were live americans either in cambodia, laos, many in vietnam. we hadn't done as much as many people th

it struck me, i have twice as many daughters as there were women in the united states senate. today with the service of twenty women, including massachusetts' new junior senator, this is a stronger, smarter, place. more representative of our belief that out of many we're one. more capable of fulfilling the vision carried from washington to webster to our current president that we are stronger nation when our leadership reflects our population. we have made huge strides on turning the page on gay rights. in 1993, i testified before stromb thur mom around service committee pushing to lift the ban on gays serving in the mill fair. i ran in to a whirl of misperceptions. i thought i was on a saturday night live skit. today at last, that policy is gone forever. and we are a country that honors the commitment of all willing to fight and die for our country. we have gone from senate that passed doma over my objections that welcomed the first openly gay senator. there are good changes that are taking place for our senator and country. we have more work to do. this place needs more women

>> no, it was a bill passed in the united states senate, 89-8. tell me when you had that on a measure as controversial as this. i hope we don't have a re-enactment of that where the republicans in the house painted themselves in the extreme of not wanting to find compromise an a solution. let's be optimistic. let us all, as mr. hoyer and others have said, that they decide in favor of the country as we go forward. the issue of whether we have an up or down vote shouldn't be a question -- there shouldn't be a question. we were told when this -- we would not have any legislative -- legislation on the floor until or unless the senate acted. when they d we would have a vote. so we want to have that vote. we look forward to what the timing is on that. this is all about time. it's about time we brought this to the floor. as mr. hoyer mentioned, it's only been a matter of a couple of months since the election, eight weeks. in that period of time we've been pushed to even into a new year. it's long overdue for us to have this solution go forward and remov

the united states senate, while we're talking about it, the united states senate set a record today. also, there is a huge development in one of the wars in our world. also, we have a very important chart that imitates life that may undue the agita you felt this morn. if you are against women against violence act, what does that mean you are for? we have a lot coming up this hour. please stay with us. nobody said an all-in-one had to be bulky. or that you had to print from your desk. at least, nobody said it to us. introducing the business smart inkjet all-in-one series from brother. easy to use. it's the ultimate combination of speed, small size, and low-cost printing. capella university understands nurses are dealing with a than wider range of issues. and there are ever-changing regulations. when you see these challenges, do you want to back away or take charge? with a degree in the field of healthcare or nursing from capella university, you'll have the knowledge to advance your career while making a difference in the lives of patients. let's get started at capella.edu. wears off.

certain southeast asian country in less pleasant circumstances than we're accustomed to in the united states senate. while i have always respected and honored senator kerry's service in vietnam, my respect for john as a senator and my support for his nomination today originated in a very different experience. although that experience, too, concerned the country and the war, he and i were privileged to serve in, it did not require marshal valor. on the contrary, it required at least on senator kerry's part and considerably less so on mine, extraordinary diplomatic skills. the administrations of president reagan and george herbert walker bush had pursued limited engagement with the government of vietnam with the purpose of vietnam answering questions about the feats of many americans listed as pows and mias. that was led by a man we respect enormously, john vesey, who continued as the president's special emissary to vietnam and president clinton's administration. by the early '90s, i think both john and i had come to the view that it would be better for our country to have a relationship with vietnam

the united states senate, while we're talking about it, the united states senate set a record today. also, there is a huge development in one of the wars in our world. also, we have a very important chart that imitates life that may undue the agita you felt this morn. if you are against women against violence act, what does that mean you are for? we have a lot coming up this hour. please stay with us. a hybrid? most are just no fun to drive. now, here's one that will make you feel alive. meet the five-passenger ford c-max hybrid. c-max says ha. c-max says wheeee. which is what you get, don't you see? cause c-max has lots more horsepower than prius v, a hybrid that c-max also bests in mpg. say hi to the all-new 47 combined mpg c-max hybrid. wears off. [ female announcer ] stop searching and start repairing. eucerin professional repair moisturizes while actually repairing very dry skin. the end of trial and error has arrived. try a free sample at eucerinus.com. here at the hutchison household. but one dark stormy evening... she needed a good meal and a good family. so we gave her purin

that can be summed up by something he said back in two thousand and six he said quote i mean united states senator not an israeli center senator i mean united states senator i support israel but my first interest is i take an oath of office to the constitution of the united states not to a president not to a party not to israel if i go run for senate in israel i'll do that now critics have called this statement an insulting anti jewish slur and over the weekend several republican lawmakers went on the record with their concern over the prospect of a secretary of defense hagel has long severed his ties with the republican party this is and in your face nomination by the president to all of us who are supportive of israel president seems bound and determined to proceed down this path despite the fact that he calls record is very very troubling on the nation of israel now in terms of this quote anti israel stance and was accused of holding here he's been here he is speaking on this very issue back in two thousand and six united states will remain committed to defending israel our relationship with is

. >>> richard mourdock wanted very badly to become a member of the united states senate. he beat out dick lugar to become the republican senate nominee in indiana. he got himself a democratic opponent that everybody seemed to think that he would beat handily. and then richard mourdock said this. >> life is that gift from god, and i think even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that god intended to happen. >> if you become pregnant from being raped, that is something god intended to happen. that was sort of the end of richard mourdock. we went on the lose a senate race that he really should have one. and now the new senator from indiana is a democrat, joe donnelly. richard mourdock's view that the government should force rape victims to give birth to their rapist child because god intervened to make sure that certain rapes resulted in the impregnating of the rape victim, that fantastic theology was in the end too much for the residents of indiana to accept. there was also todd akin from the great state of missouri who was chosen by rep

. >> i'm a united states senator. not an israeli senator. i'm a united states senator. i support israel. but my first interest is i take an oath of office to the constitution of the united states, not to a president, not to a party, not to israel. in 1988 he called james hormelthen president bill clinton's choice "openly aggressively gay." saying his sexual orientation would be an inhibiting factor. hagel has since apologized for that comment last month saying those remarks were insensitive. but outgoing congressman barney frank blasted him last night in a statement, "i cannot think of any other minority group in the u.s. today where such a negative statement and action made in 1988 would not be an obstacle to a major presidential appointment." t t the two have remained close since. the president has used that alliance as part of his sales pitch for hagel. >> i've served with chuck hagel, i know him. he is a patriot. >> senator jack reid who was also on that 2008 trip is expected to be, to do much of the leg work in the senate to get hagel's nomination over the finish l

very clever and from time to time corrupt democrats in the massachusetts legislature saw a united states senateeat slipping away from them in 2004, so they rewrote the law to hold on to it. mitt romney was governor, and john kerry was on his way to resigning his senate seat, which meant a republican governor would get to appoint a new senator. so to get them from appointing a new senator, the democrats in the massachusetts legislature rewrote the law, so that for the first time in history the governor could no longer appoint somebody to a suddenly open senate seat. there would have to be a special election. but then, john kerry didn't resign his senate seat, because 60 thousand people, or maybe we just should call them 60,000 recorded votes went the wrong way in 2004. and then the democrats were stuck with this law when ted kennedy got sick, very sick. when senator kennedy slipped into his final days in the senate, the massachusetts legislature rewrote the law again, because now they had a democratic governor. they thought it would look wicked bad if they just switched back to the way it was so

i am a united states senator tammy baldwin and i am emily.please join me in welcoming my friends and an extraordinary leader whose tireless work led to the election of women across our nation be president of emily's list. [applause] ["girl on fire"] >> thank you so much. thank you to our national co- chair and our coast and sponsors and a special thank you is your council members. it is always great to see so many good friends, especially when we have so much to celebrate together. look around. this is what making history looks like. it is a senate with 21 men, including the first women senators from massachusetts and hawaii. it is 16 new pro-choice democratic women in congress. it is the first openly gay senator the first asian american woman senator. the first congress women who served in combat. we have three new women under the age of 40. it is a congress with no alan west, no joe walsh, and no todd akin. [applause] we have fought so hard. we have one so much. we have come so far i am so proud as a woman and as an american. make no mistak

senator cowan will join the recently appointed south carolina senator tim scott in the united states senate they will be the first two african-americans to serve in the senate at the same time. governor patrick explained why he chose mr. cowan for the senate today. >> he has been a valued ally to me, and the people of the commonwealth. in every step he has brought perspective, wisdom, sound judgment and clarity of purpose. >> and lieutenant governor tim maury added this. >> he is cool, tom brady, george clooney, james bond, the president have nothing on mo. >> really? i'll let you be the judge. >> there is no greater calling than to be able to go and serve the people of massachusetts, to give back to a state that has given so much to me. >> barney frank, who made public his desire to be the appointed senator and was the only person the governor could have appointed who could start the job at full speed and full effectiveness on friday released this statement. i know mr. cowan is committed to working hard and in socially fair and economically efficient manner towards resolving pending budget

i'm a united states senator, i'm not an israeli senator." hagel also opposed the nomination of james hormel as ambassador to luxembourg in 1998 because hormel was openly gay. "i think it's an inhibiting factor to be openly aggressively gay like hormel."pe he recently apologized callinggr the remarks insensitive. president obama did not spend a lot of time in the united states senator. he forged a relationship on candor and trust with hagel partially during trips to iraq and afghanistan. the president today said he'ds t always been impressed with willing to go against hagel's'd wisdom.ress hagel said he if he's confirmedst he'll do just that. >> pelley: what about the man nominated to be director of central intelligence, general brennan? will he have an easier time? >> reporter: probably an easier time. wi he's been the number one advisor for the president dealing with every terrorist plot-- real, imagined, large and small-- for w four years at the obama white house. 25 year veteran from the c.i.a., up from the ranks, substantial experience,

predators and negligent companies in the financial sector, outside who last week became a united states senatornator elizabeth warren said beginning in 2008, the federal government poured billions into aig to save it from bankruptcy. their debts nearly crashed our entire economy. the taxpayers across the country saved aig from ruin, and it would be outrageous for them to sue the federal government because they think the deal was not good enough. they have a stealth bailout, propping up aig. aig should thank american taxpayers for their help, not biting the hand that helped them in a crisis. and as satisfying as the comment is for its smack down nature, it didn't just happen because of an act of god. the meltdown was caused by the recklessness of aig and other companies on wall street that played fast and loose with the rules, and now would prefer even fewer rules to regulate their actions, because their actions are always so responsible. senator warren's opponent in the recent election was scott brown, who was the top beneficiary of the donations in the senate. but scott brown lost, and lost to

these are fine additions to the united states senate. and senator klobuchar and senator coons on the senate judiciary committee and one of the most knowledgeable senators we have an immigration policy and as you can see, it's terrific reader and many other ways. we send a strong message that both sides can come by just one of our country's most urgent economic needs. yesterday, eight of our colleagues and build a framework for nation's immigration system. i commend them for their willingness to work in a bipartisan way to reform our immigration laws. it's very much needed. one of the leaders is around senator rubio as well as senator schumer and senator mccain and others as well but i hate to not mention, but you get the point. similarly, the work of senators klobuchar, rubio, coons and i have done in the chi-squared was no easy task and represents negotiations with interested stakeholders and garnered as you can see widespread industry support. i hope that our language to reform the high skilled immigration system is considered by this b

go like a pro. >>> my intention is to run for united states senate, but it is still at the preliminarypen that should happen. the focus right now, frankly for all of new jersey should be the two senators supporting them in the fiscal cliff negotiation sandy relief debt ceiling. we should be supporting frank lautenberg, and bob menendez, and me, i have a job to do here in new york. >> and in the latest poll, 42% of the voters say they would vote for cory booker, 20% would vote for current senator frank lautenberg. and 60% of all new jersey voters polled have a favorable view of booker, compared to 5% who have a favorable view of lautenberg. and he is here, cory booker. first of all, mayor, i have to thank you for getting me here tonight. i was scheduled on a flight to jfk. they had mechanical difficulties, i went across the airport, went to a place called newark, new jersey, which it turns out has an airport with lights and everything. and you can land at night in new jersey. who knew? did you do that? >> i had nothing to do with that. but i appreciate you -- putting praise on one of am

even our other united states senator is a woman. means the hampshire is the first state in our country's history to be represented in congress and in the governor's office entirely by women. [applause] that did not happen by accident. it happened because thousands of women over many, many years worked hand in hand with emily's list and worked hard to get women elected. it happened because emily's liz tells me when i was in the state senate. i even hired a stopper to help manage my campaign. thank you for a superb campaign. it happens because we all turned out the women vote and they voted in overwhelming numbers for democratic candidates across the country. [applause] i have a big job in front of me, but i know i'm not alone. there are a lot of emily's in my life and i am so glad that my daughter and my son have been able to see what we can accomplish when we work together. in our family, we are all emily's. thank you. [applause] >> i'm kathleen sibelius. [applause] i have worked with emily's list for a very long time. first i was a

the united states house has repeatedly passed budgets. the senateefused to even bring one up in committee or on the floor for over two years now. and so they passed a -- they've said they're raising the debt limit for about three months but they have declared that the senate doesn't get paid until we have a budget. well, there's no punishment in the bill. i was a former federal prosecutor for almost 15 years and try -- know how to read a code. has no penalty. says says congress -- said the senate should bring up a budget, it should complete that budget process in committee by april 1 and then the full senate should take it up and it should be completed by april 15 in the senate. it's given priority, 50 hours of debate, unlimited virtually amendments, an opportunity to really debate the financial condition of america. and that's why it hasn't happened. senator reid, the democratic leader for the last several years has said it's foolish to have a budget. what he meant was, it's foolish politically. because when you bring up a budget, this is a tough t

>> no, it was a bill that was passed in the united states senate 89-8. tell me when you've had that on a measure as controversial as this. >> they had problems with that one almost to the number. >> right, well i hope that we don't have a re-enactment of that where the republicans in the house painted themselves in the extreme of not wanting to find compromise in a solution. but let's be optimistic. let us all as mr. hoyer and others have said hope they decide in favor of the country as we go forward, but the issue whether we have an up or down vote shouldn't even be a question. there shouldn't even be a question. we were told we would not have any legislative -- legislation on the floor until and unless the senate acted, and when they did we would have a vote. and so we want to have that vote. we look forward to what the timing is on that. and this is all about time. it is about time that we brought this to the floor. as mr. hoyer mentioned it has only been a matter of a couple of months since the election, eight weeks. and in that period of time we hav

and the other thing is, you know, -- you know, i'm as frustrated with the united states senate as anybody on this committee. but i think it is a little bit disingenuous to say, lay the entire blame for where we are at the feet of the united states senate. over the last year when speaker boehner and the president were close to an agreement, the speaker walked away because members in your own conference did not want to compromise. it would have been better to approach this in a bipartisan way. to engage in leadership of your party and i engage our leadership to go through a committee process, where you did have a bipartisan -- you mentioned this was mr. cooper's idea. i looked up the bill, the bill you are basing this on and mr. cooper didn't mention the debt ceiling and another bill, said if we default on our debts, congressional pay is the last thing that gets resolved. so this is different than that. i go on record, i don't believe we should be politicizing and happy we aren't going to default immediately because we are going to kick the can down the road. but i'm tired by governing by g

overwhelmingly, the united states senate passed some relief.cannot remember the last time we had a very serious storm, tornado, fire, flood, but we did not act. this congress is apparently leaving town without responding to that emergency. -- not one one of us of us in this congress that could not be in the same position. i live on a coastal state. whether you live in the midwest or the far west, whether you live in the south or the store the north for the west, you could be and your citizens could be and your neighbors could be confronted by a natural disaster or, for that matter, a man-made disaster. and our fellow citizens will expect us to respond as united states senate has responded. it was my belief and assurance was given to me that not not 100% and the gentleman who give it to me with -- give it to me was not the one who made this decision. i am greatly disappointed. they should be deeply disappointed and angry that this congress would adjourn without addressing the pain of our fellow citizens. i have been to new york. i walked the bea

>> guest: to think about 20 women in the united states senate, we've never had 20 women in the united states senate. it is a great benchmark to hit. i'd like to see 50, so it got erased to go. what this means is we are adding diversity the debate and we believe at emily's list that when we have an equal number of women in at the decision-making table of our nation, and quite frankly our corporate boardroom that will end up with policies best for communities. so these women are bringing different perspectives on issues, not just women's issues in health care, but economics, education, climate change, the environment. i think you see a lot of different opinions and thoughts and ideas of how to get sun and how we find compromise in the united states senate. >> host: how did that play out in the number of leadership roles in congress? >> guest: is a great place to be. we have a new number and then in the senate serving as chairs of committees. in fact, senator barbara mikulski is the first woman to serve as the chair of the powerful appropriations committee and how that would change dynam

you had a bipartisan compromise vote in the united states senate. 89 out of 100 senators, republicans and democrats together for the good of the country and to avoid the fiscal cliff, passing this agreement. now you have the situation in the house right now where we the democrats have asked for an up- or-down vote on that bipartisan compromise bill, and so far the word we're getting is we're not going to have that opportunity. that is a clear signal that republicans in the house are taking us right over the fiscal cliff. i wished the entire republican caucus was as reasonable as the colleague of mine and friend who is standing right next to me who is a very conservative republican, but a very practical common sense republican. if his colleagues would listen to him, we would be in decent shape here. right now the problem in the republican caucus and the house is compromise has become a dirty word. as you indicated, there are things in this bill that i don't like. there are things in this bill that i don't like. but i recognize that none of us get to have things 100% of our way. and the

first, on a personal level, many of our colleagues were casting their final vote as united states senators, those who were leaving the senate gathered in the well here, and we wished them the best. but it was also a moment of high emotion because i can't think of another vote in recent time that the american people followed so closely. i couldn't sit down on an airplane or in restaurant in chicago without having somebody come up to me and say, what's going to happen in they were very concerned, as they should have been, because the so-called fiscal cliff is a threat to our economic recovery and one that i believe finally mobilized on a bipartisan basis the majority necessary to pass this measure in the senate. the president showed extraordinary leadership on this matter. i know that he was personally invested in it, thought about it long and hard, left his family vacation, which he looks forward to and even more so after the campaign, to come back to washington and try to put together a solution to this fiscal crisis. he was success if l in the senatings and i hope he will be in the house

fact that now for the first time in our history practically every bill that comes before the united states senateequires a supermajority of 60 votes in order to pass. that did not get fixed today. it got changed. but it doesn't seem to have been fixed. joining us now is democratic senator sherrod brown of ohio. senator brown, thank you for being here. i appreciate your being willing to talk to us about this. >> sure. of course. >> am i wrong to think that there's not going to be a big change to what we've come to accept as normal, which is republicans requiring a 60-vote supermajority on everything in the senate? >> i think you were generally right. i think that there will be -- i mean, the steps -- we didn't do as much as many of us wanted to do. i think it's small progress. i think it will -- the senate will be -- will work a little better than it did. won't move we've sent the bill over and bills and some bills that would move the country forward that have died there even though they could have a majority. so we are going to keep the pressure on in the senate. this time it was in writing if th

public we can duplicate a strong bipartisan vote that was achieved in the united states senate. why is that important? because the american people told us in the election that they wanted us to work together. they have their differences, too. they understand this agreement. they also understand compromise. that is what this legislation represents. the previous speaker said he was voting for the bill for what was not in it. that is an interesting approach. we can judge be legislation we vote on for what is in it, or vote against it for what is not in it. at some point you strike a balance. you balance the equities -- where you come out in terms of making a choice? i hope the choice the american people will make tonight will reflect the well and keep the call of the american people to work together and follow the lead of the senate with a strong bipartisan support. what do they want us to do? what are the priorities? they want us to create jobs. they want us to grow the economy. they want us to invest in education. they want us to reduce the deficit. if they want us to strengthen

united states are taken care of. we are not trying to stand in the way. even the united states senate, senate majority leader has said, great job, house. thank you very much. we can work with this bill. we can work with you. members of my party have said, we think this is a responsible way to begin the process to avoid having to make difficult decisions at the very end. laid out a process. yesterday the gentleman from wisconsin, our young leader, paul ryan, chairman of the house budget committee, was asked in testimony, will you produce your end of the bargain that is in here? will you take care of your part with the knowledge that we are counting on that? the senate has said they think their part of the bargain, whether they pass this bill or not, they can step up to the responsibility. those leaders have said yes. we think we can. it's not perfect. by golly, i'm not sure what perfect is any more because perfect may not get passed in this house. but the fair and proper way to handle things where the american people have confidence in what we are doing, the markets have confidence in

united states. i am confident that senator kerry's legacy of fighting for democracy, human rights and global peace will continue as he assumes his new responsibilities as the secretary of state for the united states of america. i urge my colleagues to support his nomination. i really thank chairman menendez for bringing this nomination to the floor so quickly and thank senator corker for accommodating it. it's important that president obama has his security team in place as quickly as possible, and i am proud that the senate will be doing its share of its work by voting on this nomination later today. with that, madam president, i would suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the presiding officer: the senator from new jersey. mr. menendez: i ask the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. menendez: madam president, i ask unanimous consent, which has been agreed to by the republican side as well, that any time spent during debate time in a quorum call be equally charged against both sides. the presiding officer: w