i never dreamed i would be in the united states senate. growing up where i grew up, it just couldn't happen, but it did. do you know why i got in the senate, because of people like you. people believed in me when i was in the statehouse, the first republican since reconstruction. we didn't elect a republican, that's about it was back home. the rest is history. everyday day that i go to work i think old my god, how did this happen to me? it happened because other people helped me. this is a party event. there are 10 of you [indiscernible] [laughter] let me tell you what the republican party did for me. they got me on my feet and got me started. make those phone calls, had a good carbon copy or -- copier. the republican women's federation [indiscernible] when i first ran for the statehouse, we had not had a republican since 1873. at was the republican federation of women that came and did all -- [indiscernible] it was the republican coffee club which was the average age of about 89 years old man that made all the phone calls. it was a pro-lif

>>> there will be a televised sanity check tomorrow in the united states senate with a procedural vote in the afternoon on raising the debt ceiling. every republican senator is expected to fail that public sanity test. nsa tonight's last word. "11th hour with brian williams" starts now. >>> well good evening. day 259 of the biden administration the president trying to solve the mounting cry sisz that threatened to push the u.s. into chaos and the world is watching. biden and the team now have less than two weeks to figure out how to raise the nation's borrowing limit and avoid a first-ever u.s. default. and he has to do it without a republican vote because that's who the republicans are now. they insist with a straight face

first reporter that actually had i think all of five of the black candidates running for the united states senate on your show last cycle and what we're going to see is a continuing, you know, black candidates bring a type of energy to democratic politics that you don't see or we haven't seen in a long time. they're able to galvanize the

from the time i got elected united states senator. when i was vice president, i used to like to take the train home because my mom was very sick. i would come home every weekend to make sure i would take the train. and secret service, legitimately would rather be polite because it is safe read too people can get on and off. i'm getting on one on friday, and one of the senior guys on amtrak, i got to know all the conductors really well. they became my friends. i fed them at my home on christmas and during the summer. and he walks up to me and goes, joey b, and i thought the secret service was going to blow his head off. (laughter.) i swear to god. true story. i said, "no, no, he's a friend." i said, "what's up, ang?" he said, "joey, i read in the paper - i read in the paper you traveled 1,000 - 1,200,000 miles on air force planes" - because they keep meticulous tabs of it. i said, "yeah." he said, "big" - i won't say the whole thing - "big deal." (laughter.) he said, "you know how many miles you traveled on amtrak, joey?" and i said, "

from the time i got elected to the united states senator. when i was vice president i used to like to take the train home because my mom was very sick and dying. i'd come home every weekend to make sure i take the train home. i'm not criticizing them, it's safer. too many people can get on and off, except. i'm getting on one friday and then of the senior guys on amtrak, angelo, i got to know all the conductors really well. they became my friends. really. my genuine friends. i have them at my home at christmas and during the summer. he walks up to me and goes joey, baby, grab my cheek. i thought the secret service was going to blow his head off. swear to god. true tore story. what's up. he said, joey, i read in the paper, i read in the paper you travel 1,200,000 miles on air force planes. because they keep meticulous tabs. i said yeah. he said big -- won't say the whole thing. big deal. you know how many tiles myles you travel on amtrak, joey? i said no. he said the boys and i figured it out. he said you traveled two million. i think it was 1

madam president, the fight to protect our democracy is far from over in the united states senate. senate democrats have made clear that voting rights is not like other issues we deal with in this chamber. this isn't about regular old politics. it's not even just about regular policy. it's about protecting the very soul of this nation. about preserving our identity as a free people who are masters of our own destiny. republican obstruction is not a cause for throwing in the towel. as soon as next week i'm prepared to bring the john lewis voting rights advancement act here to the floor. what we saw from republicans today is not how the senate is supposed to work. this is supposed the greatest -- the world's greatest deliberative body where we debate, forge compromise, amend, and pass legislation to help the american people. that is the legacy of this great chamber. the senate needs to be restored to its rightful status as the world's greatest deliberative body. now, in the aftermath of the civil war and as the nation began the colossal work of reconstruction, america was more divide

senator mcconnell, the republican leader, says no, we shouldn't take any time to discuss the right to vote in the united statesamerica. he and many of our republican colleagues are threatening to use the age-old weapon against civil rights, the filibuster, to stop even a conversation on the floor of the united states senate about the right to vote. that would make the third time this year that senate republicans have used the filibuster to kill voting rights legislation. they filibustered the for the people act twice this year after it passed the house. they said then that they support voting rights, but not that voting rights bill. they said more compromise was needed. well, you can't reach compromise on anything until you talk about it. and we're going to have a motion to proceed to talk about voting rights on the floor of the senate tomorrow. so if they want to offer a compromise, if they want to get into a conversation or a debate, that's the moment. this empty chamber, i wonder sometimes why we leave it the way it is. this would be a great meeting hall. we could rent it out for wedding receptions and have

it was done by members of the united states senate on the republican side and on the democratic side. that bill was sent over here with almost half of the republicans in the united states senate voting for it. and your leadership is lobbying against that infrastructure bill which would help all the issues you raised. you are urging a no vote on that. and you are threatening members who are going to vote for it, maybe not very many, because they know it is a bipartisan bill. madam speaker, the whip is talking about bipartisanship. there has been so little bipartisanship. when there is bipartisanship, their members are disciplined. when there is bipartisanship on saying it wasn't a protest it was an insurrection, there was no bipartisanship on that. it was a we don't care what it was, we don't care that some people were killed, we don't really care that they were trying to stop the counting of votes for president of the united states of america. it was just a protest. that's what the president -- president trump, former president said the other day. what a bunch of huey -- hooey. there

once again sinclair was wrong. >> you do have a little more authority when it comes to the united states senate, claire mccaskill thank you very much for serena files this night, appreciate it. joining us now is sylvia gonzalez andersh, one of the members of senator sinema's veteran advisories council, who from that position in protest, she served in the air force from 1974 tonight 78, thank you very much for joining us tonight. you know, i am mystified by senator sinema, i have never seen senate behavior like this, certainly on the democratic side, i have no idea what you think about anything. you know her, you have supported her, do you understand why the senator is going off in directions that are different than what you thought she would do when she was a candidate? >> well, thank you very much for having me, no i don't understand where she's coming from, or what her plan is. >> and, what brought you to the point where you, in effect, have given up on her, have you given up on her? >> no, i'm hoping after all of this, we can come back together, because i really want to support her for reele

well, this is another instance, reverend al, where the antiquated and racist procedure in the united states senate is making it impossible to pass legislation like most democracies in the world, through majority vote legislation. that only requires 51 votes to pass in the senate. so we have had two reversals by the unelected parliamentarian who wields tremendous power in the senate, and we are coming back to the parliamentarian with one more proposal that would insure immigration reform is part of the build back better agenda. the president supports it, we have passed bills out of the house with republican votes in this congress, and we want to see those people included in provisions in the build back better that would insure that they can live out of the shadows, have a pathway to a green card, and to citizenship as well. so this is not a time to throw in the towel. this is the time to speak up for everyone. immigration reform is favored in wild numbers by the american public, regardless of whether they're democrat, independent, or republican. this is the time to act. it's been 35 years since con

fix the, senate save america, there are so many things to fix in the united states senate. resentation. under this to push, stay were a long way from getting that done. >> and the senate is going to get worse, we have to consider that, lawrence that before, along it's become, it's going to become even less representative of the country as a whole, right now we are in a moment where we need triage. and the fact, is if we don't fix this, we can kiss our democracy goodbye. certainly the debt ceiling fiasco is a part of, it i think and hope that mitch mcconnell, not for good purposes, but it is own malign ones, has given us an opportunity, a little bit of breathing room, to take that reconciliation bill, and make it, work so we have a big accomplishment, one that will include, an enormous set of things for the american public, especially for working class, and middle class, and poor people, and then we have to fix that debt ceiling blackmail once and for all, it's -- what was then an outlier party, and now an obstructionist cult. we saw that this was being used for horrible purp

it is my privilege to stand here on the floor of the united states senate and recognize the faithful rvice of pastor a.r. harris sr. god bless him, his family, and god bless the united states of america. and with that, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from alabama. mr. tuberville: thank you, mr. president. you know, it's no secret that i oppose president biden's tax proposal. i think it's bad policy that would undercut growth and derail american prosperity, but one of the worst parts of the president's plan is the provision requiring financial institutions to report their customers' transactions of $600 or greater to the i.r.s. that means any time an american pays a bill, makes a deposit, transfers funds, or makes a purchase of $600 or more, their bank, credit union, or financial institution would be forced to report that data to the i.r.s. opposition to this proposal is deep and bipartisan. i don't care if you're a republican, democrat, independent. no one wants the i.r.s. looking over their shoulder every time they make a financial tran

thanks to republicans in the united states senate, the united states is not allowed to hire people to be diplomats in the most important countries in the world. because neener-neener, they are republican senators and isn't it fun to screw up the u.s. government like this? president biden is going to be out there making the international case for diplomacy and the power of persuasion and i know i'm not allowed to do any of that myself in my own government, but you all should do it. and actually the embarrassing baggage for this summit about what we can't do anymore, what we're now incapable of as a country includes not just the ambassadors thing, but also some weird small stuff too. here's an example. we have been continually reporting over the weeks and months on the oddness of the fact that this guy, louis dejoy, who was put in part of the u.s. post office during the trump years, we have been reporting for weeks and months now how odd that he is still postmaster general left over from the trump years. it's odd enough just if you just look at the fact that he's currently serving as po

after a few political electoral victories he was elected for the united states senate in 1984 where he served with distinction ever since. both as majority leader and on an unfortunate occasion the minority leader but the distinction hasn't captured the impact not only on the senate but on the country. relevant to tonight's proceedings he's argued before the united states supreme court while serving as a senator. he was the lead plaintiff in the case of mcconnell versus a challenge to the mccain-feingold campaign finance legislation aware many of the arguments were adopted by the supreme court and inthe subsequent as applied to challenges. there he focused on the game. his efforts and sacrifice in pursuit of ensuring the liberties and joined in the first amendment including speech, religious liberty and the right to address would be more than enough for the history books. but there is more. much, much more but not too much more. the only thing longer is the introduction of him. the speaker has been part of dozens and dozens of judicial confirmations including 17 supreme court nominatio

point in time, but also that the build back better act will be able to be passed through the united states senate. that's what our progressives -- and i hope the president convinces them that in fact that will happen, so they'll have the confidence to vote for the infrastructure bill. >> paid family leave, which is important to all kinds of people, many people, vast majority of americans according to polls, is it out of this plan? >> well, it appears to be, but i don't know -- i can't answer that specifically, clearly one of the united states senators joe manchin has indicated he does not favor that program. let me tell you, rather than focusing what's not in the program, it is an extraordinary fulsome program in terms of child care, in terms of home care, 2.5 or 2.2 million americans who don't yet have health insurance because medicaid was not extended to them in their states, they're going to be included in the ability to get healthcare, clean energy. $555 billion or about a third of the program as i understand it is dedicated to energy, clean energy and getting us to the objectives the preside

more exciting than that with the six years that i spent in the united states senate on the armed servicest backer of a tough but reasonable foreign policy. i think it is fair to say that ronald reagan in his eight years in the white house delivered us from the cold war with honor, with great, great goodwill, so i am here today to try to repay in debt the debt of gratitude that i feel to the reagan's, the president, governor, and nancy. my wife, gayle has also experienced what it is to celebrate after the votes are counted let's put it this way, the awakening to reality that occurs when you enter the governor's office in sacramento. gayle and i are delighted to be here with you to celebrate the centennial of nancy reagan's birth. both gayle wilson and nancy reagan had the honor and the challenge of serving as first lady of california. so, what is required of first ladies? of the thousands of pages of the legislation enacted by members of the california legislature and the endless pages of regulations the fact is, there is no job description anywhere in those pages that defined the duties o

if it's just an agreement in the united states senate that says we will craft a bill with x, y and zhat sinema and mansion say they're okay with and agree and shake hands and say that's fine. in your mind, is that binding enough to make it possible for progressives in the house to vote for the bipartisan bill? >> in my opinion, i think they better be careful. the senate is a place to get things done. the senate is set up to make sure that things move very slowly. i would be very careful about that. i believe that infrastructure bill is so important you're always hearing terms about reconciliation, all these other terms, we're talking about infrastructure, that's climate change. a lot of it. something about bridges, roads, dams, rivers, making sure the american people have progress right now. it's a lot of talk. i think that we need something specific, not something that we'll do some other time. >> you heard it here first, senator harry reid that would know. thank you for being here. appreciate your expertise. thank you very much. you heard it. pass a real thing before you agree to g

after a few local political electoral victories elected to the united states senate in 198 served with distinction ever since. both house majority leader and unfortunate occasion minority leader. capture the impact he has had not only on the senate but on our country. relevant to tonight's proceedings, he has argued before the united states supre court. while serving as a senator. was the lead plaintiff in the seminal case of mcconnell versus sec and the challenges of the campaign finance legislation. many of his arguments were eventually adopted by the supreme court and subsequent has applied chall there he focused on the long game. his effort and sacrifice in pursuit of ensuring the protections of liberties in /!2+first amendment including speech religious liberty and the rights to address once grievances would be more than enough for the history books. re more. much much more. but not too much more. [laughter] he looks at the long game. introduction of him. our speakers have been part of dozens and dozens and dozens of judicial confi nominations beginning with justice chief justice

but i don't believe that they'll get the 60 votes and in the united states senate to get it passed. but i do believe this will be the number one issue in the 2022 elections and the 2024 elections. this was the issue and 16 when trump lifted up the banner and said that he would this would be as number one issue to closing the border. ringback and building a wall, the other 16 very good republican candidates would not pick up that issue. and trump came in out of nowhere and swept the deck and, and won the nomination and then beat hillary clinton on this one issue. i believe what we're seeing this invasion on our southern border is going to be the catalyst issue. in the 20222024 elections like it was in 2016. and yet, ted, in this last way that happened just a few weeks ago when we saw the thousands that were camp out underneath the bridge . the story that got a lot of attention with this. suppose it how the horse whipping that we're having, which we've turned out to be not even true. and yet that story the next day, magically the i've returned the cameras were off and all of those peo

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that is true of literally everyone in the united states senate, on the democratic side. with the exception of two senators. so it's not accurate to refer to them as moderate, or representative. really of any faction other than a very conservative faction within the democratic party. >> i'm curious to get your thoughts because it was kind of new to a lot of the people, to a lot of people in the public, excuse me. this kind of agreement. i know it's on the senate side of this equation, what do you make of this kind of agreement that was signed between senator schumer and senator manchin, saying he would not go above 1.5 trillion. that that was his starting position. why did, we i soon you found out about at the same way we did, when it was put out there into the public. just a couple days ago. why was that held on to so secretly, and doesn't that just kind of conjure up the perception that people have about washington, that these deals are done kind of in secret, and nobody gets to know it was actually agreed upon until the very end? >> i actually don't agree with the fall

get yourself a senator that can speak like that to an issue like that on the floor of the united states senate. senator angus king, independent of maine, urging his colleagues to save the american experiment by passing the freedom to vote act. it did not pass today. it did not get a single republican vote today. democratsive cyst -- democrats insist they're not finished. president biden reached out to senate democrats ahead of the vote to express support. he sort of trying to use presidential juice on. this the white house still calling it a must pass priority. it can be done. they just to too agree to another change in filibuster rules. it would require another change in the filibuster rules so voting rights bill can pass with a simple majority. >>> joining us now is the senator from maine, senator angus king. thank you for making time to be here with us. >> thank you. it's worse today. today was a procedural vote to begin voting on the right. it wasn't about voting on the bill. they didn't want to talk about the bill. i think that really, really makes a difference, and it's -- it was -- it w

last three weeks then i have on any other item over the last few times i have been in the united states senate. here is what is going on. as a part of what the president is proposing with his reckless tax and spending bill, he wants to give $80 billion of additional money to the internal revenue service. janet yellen wants to use that money, the secretary of treasury to hire a whole new army of irs agents. she said she wants those agents to have access to your personal bank account. your checking accounts. to the point where she said that any check you would write or any deposit you would make for anything above $600 would have to be reported to the irs. the goal is to squeeze more money out of hard-working taxpayers and they want to use that money that they squeeze out of hard-working taxpayers to pay for their big government socialist agenda. number one, this is an invasion of privacy, of american citizens. number two, it turns bankers and credit unions into the fecteau irs agents and they don't want any part of it there. this is the topic that came up repeatedly when i was at grocery stores

president for a person what to say before my colleagues i know he's got a packed day, and the united states senate i found a friend, offend a mentor and a leader on issues of justice. the incredible friend i have an center from illinois has been leading on issues from immigration reform and fighting for dreamers all the way on the democratic for the passage of the first step acts. i never forget him inviting me to the white house in my earliest days but then president obama, centering me on that table i had just gotten here. hehe then was talking about the issues. issues of mass incarceration, racial discrimination and incarceration. and this, what i rise to talk about my colleague has been dealing with for 35 years. he gave important history. it was a bipartisan issue, 35 years ago in the senate and the house of representatives, voted to pass the antidrug abuse act of 1986. the president signed into law that year. he said very specifically, one of the things it did was create a massive sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. the built made it so 5 grams of crack cocaine. the same m

unregulated and this goes to the fact that chuck grassley and a lot of old members of the united states senatees congress really don't though what facebook is or how it works or operates but somebody has to stop them from polluting our culture and being a part of tearing apart democracy. i understand individual responsibility but facebook goes one step further. they actually age you in prom gating hate, which then causes deaths that we see throughout the country. i just have facebook so my mother can look at pictures and stay connected with her grandchildren. that's why most people had it. there are other people out there who are using it for sinister reasons to tear apart democracy and again, i don't think you can separate mark zuckerberg from sheryl sandberg. they don't care. >> thank you, gentlemen. appreciate it. >>> president biden in jersey today as we say up here. in new jersey trying to get the state's democratic governor reelected and making promises about the build back better plan, a plan democrats still haven't agreed on. how much you'll need, and build a straightforward plan to ge

that is something that i know leadership wants to do, including leadership over in the united states senate at the top of the food chain over at the white house, the president of the united states himself. i don't want to speculate too much further because there's a lot that still needs to be negotiated, but thankfully due to the work of progressives yesterday we have gotten manchin and sinema finally to the negotiating table, and that is a huge victory for the american people. >> congressman, i'm sure you're eager to go back to your district and tell folks at da vinci's pizza that you delivered something. i'm saying that because i grew up down the street there but you know that. keep us posted. >> will do. >>> merckx promising new details on the first pill that will treat the deadly virus. it's a sunny day. nah, a stormy day. ♪ ♪ we see a close up of the grille ...an overhead shot. she drives hands free along the coast. make it palm springs. cadillac is going electric. if you want to be bold, you have to go off - script. experience the all-electric cadillac lyric. this... is what freedom s

we have a chance to pick up a majority in the united states senate. izona has two democratic senators. i am going to arizona monday to look at the border. we need to stop these people in 2022 so we can win in 2024. [applause] i am not going to ask the other question. we have a lot of people who would be darn good candidates. mike pompeo would be a heck of a candidate. the bottom line is you have the governor of florida. [applause] 2024 won't matter if we screw up in 2022. do you agree with that? we have to stop this train. we've got to make sure we slow down the socialist agenda and we keep the senate intact. i told you what they have done. tell me that -- let me tell you what they would do if they could. if you don't want to give money after this, that i have screwed up big time. if they have the ability, the district of columbia would be a state, puerto rico would be a state. there would be 13 members on the supreme court, not nine. the electoral college be abolished. hr one, allowing ballot harvesting would be the law of the land. we have got to man

it is sitting at the desk in the united states senate. it is a bill passed by the house saying that we mcgrath will raise -- we democrats will raise the debt limit. that is the way to proceed. >> reconciliation or raising the debt ceiling? which position? >> i'm not going to cross that bridge until we have to get there. >> regarding your build back better agenda, senator manchin -- senator cinema says she is negotiating with the white house. what is her ticket? is it between 1.5 million and 3.5 million? >> i'm not going to negotiate in public. >> how was what the republicans are doing now different from when you opposed raising the debt limit? >> because we weren't calling for a filibuster. it was a straight up and down vote. >> you talked about how you have a 48 democratic votes now. in the other two have been pressured over the weekend by activists. joe manchin had people on kayaks show up to his boat. senator cinema last night was chased into arrestor. -- chased into a restroom. do you think those tactics are crossing the line? >> i do

chris forward -- carried forward his father's mantle in the united states senate. it to fight for all american children and families, passing the first child care act we've seen in this country since world war two, passing the family and medical leave act. chris railed against policies that militarized our relationships in latin america and argued to instead recognize and invest in the people of our hemisphere. he spoke out when he saw the legacy of justice that his father had fought for in nuremberg being wrapped in the excesses of a war on terror. and he helped to create this center, growing it over the years from an archival repository for the truth into a leading center for the study and promotion of human rights at home and abroad, into a widely respected academic institution, training the next generation of human rights defenders and passing the torch to those of you who will carry the fight on into the future and the for the truth. so, as we rededicate the dodd center for human rights to honor the legacies of both father and son, let's also dedicate it to th

memory. >> got yourself a senator who can speak like that tanisha like that on the floor of the united states senate. senator angus king urging his senate colleagues to essentially save our democracy, to save the american experiment, my passing the freedom to vote act. and did not pass today, it did not get a single republican vote today. democrats insist they are not finished, president biden reportedly reached out to express the support he's trying to use presidential juice on this, the white house is still calling in a must pass priority. senator schumer keeps saying on this, failure is not an option, it can be done. it would just need all 50 democrats to agree to another change in the filibuster rules, i have been several in recent years. it would require changing the filibuster rules. so voting rights bill can pass with a simple majority. even very pro filibuster -- have come out of this idea now on this issue. is it going to happen? joining us now is the independent senator from maine, senator angus king. angus king, thank you for joining us tonight. i know it's been a long day. >> rachel it's

it is sitting in the united states senate where democrats have the votes ready to pass it. the only way to eliminate the uncertainty and risk that will harm american families and our economy. let us vote and end the mass. -- end the mess. we have to get this done. we must get this done. it is playing russian roulette to play these games. we can do it this week. get out of the way and let us pass it. thank you. >> senator mitch mcconnell says he sent a letter to you explaining this to you. have you received that letter and how dire do you believe this is? pres. biden: i did get a letter 10 minutes before i walked in here. i read it. i plan on talking to mitch about it. he and i have been down this road once before when i was vice president. i hope we can have some honest conversation about what he is proposing. i think the easiest way to do this, and if the republicans would not use the filibuster, would be to let us vote on what is already in the senate right now, passed by the house, to raise the debt limit. we could do that in the next several days. >> you've often touted

but joe biden does not have a vote in the united states senate. he noolds the support of joe manchin, who is steadfast against any changes to the filibuster rules, worry that would change the tradition of the senate, trample on minority rights, could harm the democrats if they fall back in the my joe torre. and kyrsten sinema and other moderates are opposed to changing the filibuster rules. there is positive discussion for folk who is want those changes but does not mean it will actually happen here. he indicated he didn't want to push on that because he didn't want to alienate some key votes such as manchin and sinema as he's trying to court them for the larger economic agenda. perhaps there will be more discussion about this in the weeks ahead. but as it mounts to legislative achievement, highly uncertain, especially on those two issues at this moment. >> fascinating. great to see you guys. thank you very much. >>> coming up for us, new data from pfizer on the effectiveness of its vaccine on younger children as the fda is weighing recommending sh