wyden: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. wyden: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that sean mills be given floor privileges through the rest of the day. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. wyden: mr. president, millions of americans are hurting economically. yet, so much of the debate here on the senate floor seems to be democrats and republicans fighting with each other or rehashing old arguments. it seems almost as if there is a default strategy. either pound on the other party or recycle some of the stale positions that have been repeated again and again. senator coats and i believe that none of this really does anything to help the millions of americans who are out of work

wyden: mr. president, i would ask unanimous consent that senator coats, who is on the floor, that he and i be allowed up to 15 minutes to pursue a discussion about tax reform as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. wyden: thank you, madam chair. senator coats and i have introduced bipartisan tax reform legislation. it is the first comprehensive overhaul of tax reform law in 25 years, since 1986, when then-president reagan and democrats got together and worked on a bipartisan reform that cleaned out scores of special interest tax breaks in order to hold down rates for all americans and keep progressivity. and senator coats and i, having worked also with senator gregg, i had that good fortune for a number of years; have picked up on some of what was done in 1986 by president reagan and a large group of democrats. and he and i intend in the days ahead to come to the floor of the senate and talk about some of the most offensive aspects of our totally dysfunctional ta

that well you know that's kind of collateral damage to protecting our business well for now senator wyden is the only one standing in the way let's hope that they don't you know bring him down on this one mike thanks so much for joining us tonight thanks for having me. coming up televangelist makes a shocking comparison about muslims and larry in just a moment and yesterday american south.

gauges of amendments it is a step in the right direction senator wyden is going to outspoken opponent to the protect ip act that's the one that gives the government way more power when it comes to seizing domains all in the name of piracy and congressman shape it's talked up his bill at a personal democracy forum earlier this week where he explained the law enforcement has traveled all over the fourth amendment and when he went on to say i think the american public deserves and expects a degree of personal privacy we in america don't work on a presumption of guilt about we do when it comes to all those people we lock up in guantanamo bay or a target for assassination is a broad but of the whole different story believe there are people in washington that are standing up to the ever increasing measures to strip americans of their privacy and call me silly i know the bills probably going to fail but at least it gives me some sense that maybe not every single politician out there wants to take away all your rights and give up on the constitution and that is a true glimmer of hope. now in

wyden: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senior senator from oregon. mr. wyden: mr. president, senator merkley has said it very well this morning. i had a chance to speak about michael simon yesterday, and i want to just make a few additional remarks this morning. after the retirement of senator hatfield, who we all know is still beloved by many here in the united states senate, i have had a chance to work with our former colleague, senator gordon smith, and now with senator merkley to send to both republican and democratic presidents some outstanding men and women for their consideration for the district court in oregon. today senator merkley and i send to the senate for its consideration today another outstanding individual, someone who's going to take his place with the other leaders that have been named to the district court of oregon. michael simon is one of those persons who, when you look at what kind of jurist you want to have, he meets all the essential tests. he is a thoughtful man. he is a fair man. and he's an individual who always wants to have all the f

wyden: i thank my friend. i think we're about to wrap up. the distinguished majority leader is here. i would certainly be happy to yield to him if he needs a few minutes to do the senate's business, and then senator coats and i would wrap up. the presiding officer: the majority leader. the senator is correct. mr. reid: i ask consent that the senate proceed to a period of morning business from now until 6:30 this evening with senators permitted to speak for up to ten minutes each. that at 6:30 p.m., the majority leader be recognized and this work we're going to do for this next hour and a half be for debate only. the presiding officer: without objection. the senator from oregon. mr. wyden: madam president, just to wrap up, senator coats and i are going to come to the floor in the weeks ahead to outline some of the most outlandish examples of how broken our tax system is. we thought it was appropriate to start with the alternative minimum tax because it really is the poster child for how out of whack the tax system has become in america, and i

wyden go back to item no. 4? we had asked for more information. do we have that? >> we have a new spreadsheet many of the prices are less than a penny. several in the 1 cent or 2 cent range. the out lyres are 6 cents. the award all of these papers, everybody that is here, you will get a circulation of 300,000. for better outreach to the neighborhood papers, we will make better use of the newspaper association. and there is an organization called new american media that i understand we will make use of them as well. supervisor chiu: is their recommendation on if we should move forward at this time or wait for additional conversations? >> i would recommend that you go forward now. we have the information they need unless there is more you want. >> go forward in which direction? as you recommended? >> i am a prisoner of the administrative code on what we can recommend. but based on what the committee and the board have done in the past, i would think you'd want to awarded to all of the vendors that submitted. the number of responses is small. less than half, probably

senator wyden? >> thank you. general, let me join my colleague and express my gratitude for your service. i also think that what is especially important in the director's position is that senators get the real story. they get somebody who's going to be a straight shooter and i'm convinced you're going to do that and i appreciate that. i brought with me a new issue of the foreign affairs magazine, and it talks about the arab revolt, and they have a section with a caption why no one saw it coming. and so, what i would like to do is begin by asking you what you believe is a reasonable for policymakers to respect the intelligence committee to be able to anticipate in terms of major geopolitical events, and i would like to take care of springs as something of a case study general. certainly over the last few months, the report things that we've gotten from the intelligence community has been quite good. but in december and january when the revolutions were getting started, the intelligence agencies appeared to be abou

systems operator for an indian health service, and one of the sad parts of the job is that he has to wyden doorways in the hospital so more and more obese people can get through with bigger and bigger and wider wheelchairs. this is another big problem in indian country. poverty, diabetes, and people who are horribly obese. he is typical of other people i met in that he was in different religions for awhile. sometimes he was trying -- he was a mormon for a little while or sent to a mormon school for some training, and then he was back and forth. many people back and forth with different religions until thigh find -- they come back to their own native religion, and he learned to be a medicine man through a woman which is pretty unusual, and he is very sought after. he never advertises. medicine people do not advertise what they do. i mean, they are not supposed to he said. people come to him, and he invited me to a three day blessing ceremony which was really one of the high points of the last decade of work, and i was the only perp there who did not speak navajo, and i found that what was s

senator wyden? >> thank you, general chair.et me join my colleague in expressing my gratitude for your service. i think what sls important in the director position is we get the straight story. i'm convinced you will be a straight shooter. i appreciate that. i brought with me a new issue of "foreign affairs" magazine. it talked about the arab revolt. it had a big caption, "why no one saw it coming." so what i would like to do is begin by asking you what you believe is reasonable for policy makers to expect the intelligence committee to be able to anticipate in terms of major geopolitical events and i would like to take it really as something of a case study. certainly over the last few months, the reporting that we have got frontline the intelligence community has been quite good but in december or january when the revolutions were getting started, the intelligence agencies appeared to be about as surprised as everybody else. in fact, the director told the committee a few months ago that the intelligence community first realize

wyden: mr. president, tomorrow the senate will vote on the confirmation of michael simon to be serve as u.s. court judge for the district of oregon. michael simon is a good and decent man, and in my home state where we have a judicial emergency by the standards of chief justice roberts, it is vitally important that michael simon be confirmed. mr. president, beginning, i want to thank chairman leahy, ranking minority member grassley, majority leader senator reid and minority leader senator mcconnell for bringing this nomination to the floor today. senator merkley and i have been proud to put forward mr. simon's name for consideration by the president. we're enthused by his subsequent nomination, and we are now hopeful that he will soon be able to continue his service to the people of oregon in this new capacity. michael simon is both a distinguished lawyer and a legal scholar with a diverse and impressive legal career, and that career includes work as a public servant, as a litigator, a pro tempo

wyden: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from oregon is recognized. mr. wyden: mr. president, i wanted to just take a few minutes to discuss the underlying legislation, the economic development administration bill, because i think with the new numbers about the american economy, the joblessness, the trends, we're all looking for ways to encourage investment in the united states, and we're looking for ways to promote new industries, new industries that will create family-wage jobs. and the economic development administration has helped to do that in my home state and in other parts of the country. and i wanted to just take a few minutes and discuss -- i see the chairman of the finance committee here and may have gotten a little bit backed up, and am going to take just a few minutes. i'm anxious to hear from the chairman of the finance committee. mr. president, the area that i want to talk about with respect to the economic development administration involves nanotechnology. this is in effect the science of small stuff. we are seeing it pay off big what whole host of

thank you, madam chair. >> thank you, senator wyden. senator?> it was reported this morning that the outlined withdraw by the president about troops coming out of southern afghanistan, where they are fighting insurgents, is this accurate? >> first of all, i do not have a clue about who those military sources are. if they know something, i do not know. i am just the commander. i literally just give guidance to the deputy chief of staff for operations, who is also dual headed as the j3 as to how to move forward on this, and they are a little bit ahead of the planning process, if i could, mr. chairman. >> if this were true, would you know it? >> i would certainly hope so. again, as i said, i cannot comment on quote military sources. i actually saw that, and i was a little bit surprised. this is similar to sources who are trying to comment about what my comments and recommendations were going to be, because that was curious because there is only one person they knew what that was going to be, and that was a four-star action officer named pretorius -

i joined senator wyden, a democrat, in a bipartisan effort for a comprehensive tax reform.ur proposal basically eliminates most of the tax expenditures that special provisions totaling almost $1 trillion, we eliminate that in a way to reduce rates, make our companies more competitive, lower individual rates, simplify the tax code. but we know that in doing so, there has to be a transition period. you just cannot yank away from the private sector or the public-private sector an economic basis on which they went forward and committed to that particular entity and product. and so all we're really asking here for is a transition process. i know there's talk about, well, you know, we might give awe vote next week on this and so forth. i don't blame senator coburn or 0 senator feinstein one bit for using a procedural rule. actually senator feinstein did not do that, did not support that. and i think deserves a second vote. i don't fault senator coburn for using procedural methods which were, you know, maybe not necessarily something of precedent here but it is possible under our

process in place for e individul eliminating that expenditure cash in the united states., in a senator wyden a democrat and aax bipartisan effort for comprehensivem. tax reform and s proposal basically eliminates the tax expenditures with special provisions totaling tmost a trillion dollars.way we eliminate that in a way that reduces reads comics companies more competitive, lowering th tax individual rates, simplify the tax code. t but we know that in doing so there has to be a transition aom period.vate sector you cannot yank away from the private sector or the public private-sector hist an economict basis on which they look forward and committed to that particular entity and product. tnsition on the transition process andu there's talk about well we might give you a vote next week for ferc.ator >> i don't blame senator coburn or feinstein won bid for using d procedural rule. senator feinstein did not do that and did not support that.t. and i think deserves a second vote.l i don't fault senator coburn for using procedural methods which would mean not necessarilypo something pessin that it i

i note akaka and blumenthal and levin and inouye, sanders, shaheen, senator whitehouse and senator wyden, and i imagine many more will join us. i encourage my colleagues to support fundamental fairness, single point of contact and the foreclosure dual track and have a third-party review so homeowners have a chance, like mr. colette, to stay in their homes. thank you, madam president. mr. levin: madam president? madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. mccain: i ask unanimous consent to set aside the pending amendment and call up amendments 411 and 412. the presiding officer: is there objection? a senator: i reserve the right to object. mr. merkley: i reserve the right to object. the presiding officer: the consent request is pending. mr. mccain: madam president, i would is it ask unanimous consent to call up both amendments. it's my understanding that amendments are allowed. if there's some amendments that are not allowed, i think we ought to understand that. i understand the strength of the ethanol lobby, but there was an agreement that amendments that would

i don't know how many of you have balanced yourself on beams holding wyden sails when the wind blows, it's scarry. you can become mary poppins with a tool belt. [laughter] that day was one of the greatest in my life. when i was holding the last sheet of pliewood, i looked down to where i was handing them to the guy in the room below. he wasn't there. i couldn't drop the plywood because it would cause trouble. i was in pickle for sure. then i heard the sounds of rapid hammering and laughter as two of the carpenters niled the edges of my boots to the rafters i was standing on. to be clear, i was wearing the boots at the time. [laughter] they double and triple knotted my laces as i struggled to balance and hanging on to the wood. the crew left for lunch laughing hysterically. it took me awhile to maneuver the sheet of mywood a place where i can tack it flat and i cut off my laces and lower myself to the floor below because they took the ladder i used to climb up there. [laughter] it took a long time to pry my boots lose and find twine to replace the laces enough to wear them again. the c

wyden: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. wyden: i ask unanimous consent to vacate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. wyden: mr. president, i would ask unanimous consent to yield back the remainder of the time, and i would ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: without objection. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the question is on the nomination of michael h. simon to be united states district judge. the clerk will call the roll. vote:

wyden: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from oregon. mr. wyden: i ask unanimous consent to vacate the quorum call. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. wyden: mr. president, i would ask unanimous consent to yield back the remainder of the time, and i would ask for the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: without objection. is there a sufficient second? there appears to be. the question is on the nomination of michael h. simon to be united states district judge. the clerk will call the roll. vote: vote: vote: vote: the aries 6 4, the nays are 356789 the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, the senate stphapbdz recess until when they return they will begin two hours of debate on the nomination of leon panetta to be the new defense secretary. the final vote will be set at 4:15 later today. until the senate returns we'll show you mr. panetta's hearing before the senate armed services committee. he addressed a number of issues including withdrawal of troops in

one was the abolition of secret holds which some senators in this body, such as senator wyden, senator grassley have been advocating for years, more than a decade. that was done. it resulted in the legislation that we passed yesterday which abolishes -- which helps the senate exercise its constitutional duty to advise and consent by doing a better job of deciding which nominations do not deserve advise and consent. so we eliminated the requirement for advise and consent on 169 positions of the 1,400 that now require advise and consent. most of those were part-time advisory boards; didn't need that. we eliminated nearly 3,000 advise and consent requirements on public health officers and such people. they're very valuable federal employees, but we were confirming them in boxes. no senator knew who he or she was confirming. and that trivializes the whole constitutional duty of advise and consent which is in the constitution of the united states in article 2, section 2. another reform that we are making and will proceed with is reducing the phenomenon of innocent until nominated, which i'v

from missouri, and democratic senator from missouri and a democratic senator from oregon, chairman wyden of the finance committee subcommittee to begin to enforce -- enforce customs duties and make sure that companies -- that companies and countries that evade these customs duties could no longer evade them. those are the kinds of things we should be doing. prowl krugman who has -- paul krugman said if you want a trade policy that has employment, you have to -- a counterveiling duty on chinese exporting would be job creating here, a deal with south korea would not be. mr. president, this comes from somebody who -- a noble prize winning economist, somebody who is -- has been in the past supportive of these free trade agreements believing that they have created jobs. he realizes, korea won't create jobs, beginning to enforce trade laws is the way to go. i would close with this, some years ago president bush said that for every billion dollar trade surplus or every billion dollar trade deficit a country has, that translates into 13,000 jobs. so, in other words, if we have a trade deficit wi