mr. tester: thank you mr. president. mr. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from missouri is recognized. mr. blunt: thank you for the recognition -- mr. durbin: mr. president, before my colleague begins, could i ask consent to be recognized after senator blunt? the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blunt: i thank the senator from illinois for letting me go ahead and look forward to his remarks when i'm done. the bill that i hope we get to tonight is part of the president's jobs package, and it would repeal an action taken by the congress a few years ago that i think has proven to be a harmful decision on the part of the federal government. this would repeal the 3% withholding tax which has a really dramatic impact on anybody that does business with the government. and that includes local governments. it includes state governments. it includes any one that contracts with the government. the government basically just pays 97% of the bill. the president rightly has pointed out that this is one of the things we could do

thank you, mr. president. mrs. hutchison: mr. president? mr. president, i want to thank the senator from new hampshire, on behalf of the leader. she has brought to the floor an outstanding amendment that needs to be addressed because this is an issue that is certainly one on a lot of people's minds, why would we be using our judicial system for enemy combatants. and she has articulated it so well, as the former attorney general of new hampshire, and we appreciate so much that she's brought this amendment and it's going to get a lot of support from the american people as well as members of the senate. thank you, mr. president. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader is recognized recognized.mr. rood mr. reid: we have worked very hard to move through this first tranche of appropriation bills that we have. progress is being made but not nearly enough progress. we're going to move on the -- i'm going to move in just a minute to the bryson nomination but i want everyone within the sound of my voice to understand this cann

mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: we have tried to set up a system here that's fair. now, fair is in the mind of the person that says "fair." and i understand that. but we've had an open amendment process here, and that has led because of the intransigence of the republicans into getting nothing done, nothing done. offer an amendment, there's no way to get rid of that thing. so my -- the system that we have on this bill may not be the best in the world. but under what has been going on in the senate, sometimes we do the best we can with the tools we have. and there was no way of managing this legislation other than how i've just described. you can -- people can imagine what this place would have been like had we had a simple -- anybody can offer anything they want. get the troops out of afghanistan, and on and on the one hand with all many things that people would -- and on and on with all the many things that people would have done with this legislation. so without he should, she said -- or in this instance, he

thank you, mr. president. mr. president, seeing no one seeking recognition, i would suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: resident? the presiding officer: the senator from new jersey. mr. menendez: i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. menendez: mr. president, i know we'll soon be voting on these trade agreements, but i have an issue that i think has immediacy in nature and needs to be brought up now, something i've been pursuing for some time. mr. president, we have heard f.b.i. evidence of an alleged plot by iran to assassinate a u.s. diplomat on u.s. soil. an act of terrorism that demands an immediate action of the most robust sanctions against iran. were it not for the vigilance of the american intelligence community, the f.b.i. and all of our law enforcement and intelligence agencies working together, this plot -- could have not only taken the life of saudi arabia's ambassador

thank you, mr. president. mr. durbin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: mr. president, on behalf of senator murray of washington, i ask unanimous consent to set aside pending amendments and to call up amendment number 772. the presiding officer: without objection. the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from illinois, mr. durbin, for mrs. murray, proposes amendment numbered 727 to amendment numbered 738. -- 772 to amendment numbered 738. mr. durbin: thank you, mr. president. mr. schumer: mr. president, thank you. i want to thank my colleague from illinois for letting me just take care of this matter, which is i hope will be disposed of quickly. i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of s. 1721 -- no, sorry. i ask unanimous consent that the senate proceed to a period of morning business with senators permitted to speak up to ten minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. schumer: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to the immediate

mr. grassley: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: mr. president, today the senate will vote on the nomination of stephen a. higginson to serve as u.s. circuit judge fifth circuit. this is a seat that has been deemed by our statistics as a judicial emergency. this is the 15th judicial nomination that we will confirm this month. with this vote today, we have confirmed 51 article 3 judicial nominees during this congress. 30 of those confirmations have been for judicial emergencies. despite this brisk level of activity, we continue to hear complaints, too many complaints, unjustified complaints about the lack of real progress by the senate. let me set the record straight regarding the real progress that the senate has made. and this is in regard to president obama's judicial nominees. we have taken positive action on 87% of the judicial nominations submitted before this congress. the senate has confirmed 71% of president obama's nominees since the beginning of his presidency, including two of the most important supreme court justices. we con

thank you, mr. president. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mr. alexander: mr. president, are we in morning business? the presiding officer: we are. mr. alexander: thank you, mr. president. i'm delighted the senator from colorado is in the chair when i speak because i want to speak on a subject about which he is the foremost expert in this chamber, at least in day-to-day operations, and that is of school systems, and i think he will appreciate and understand what i am about to say in ways that many people will not. yesterday, yesterday, i had a telephone conversation with a member of the editorial board of a prominent newspaper in this country who asked me this question. she said senator alexander, how could you and the national education association possibly be together on the teacher evaluation question? how can you justify that? and then she said and when has the n.e.a. ever done anything to encourage the evaluation of schoolteachers? that's a good question. both questions are good question

mr. corker: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from tennessee. mr. corker: mr. president, i rise to talk a little bit about the conversation we just had on the floor. there's no question in the state of tennessee and all across our country, i think the biggest item on anybody's mind is our economy and people having jobs in each of our states. mr. president, i still believe that the very best thing we can do to create a sound economy in this country is for the deficit committee to do the things that it needs to do in november and december and for us to show the american people that we have the ability to deal with the big structural issues that our country faces. i believe that with all my heart. i don't think there is a business in our country today that is looking for some sugary stimulus bill that will be here and gone and leaving us with lots of debt and increased taxes down the road. i believe that. and i guess, mr. president, i'm disappointed that again we're in a situation just like we were last thursday night where we're really not here to solve problems,

mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. schumer: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new york. mr. schumer: thank you, mr. president. and i am -- my main purpose here is to address the china currency bill, particularly in regards to the remarks of speaker boehner and chairman bernanke. but there are two other points i wish to make on previous speakers' comments. first, senator webs's amendment. it is a very important amendment what. it says, of course, is that in cases where commercial technologies are developed with the support of u.s. taxpayers, it prohibits companies from transferring the techmology to countries that force proprietary transfer as a country of doing business. we've seen this over and over again. china, which doesn't play fair up and down the line, they basically get away with economic murder. one of their techniques is to say to big american companies, we'll allow you to sell a ton of stuff to us, you'll make lots of money, but in return you must give us your proprietary technologies, basically your family jew

mr. president, i yield the floor. ms. ayotte: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new hampshire. ms. ayotte: mr. president, i rise in response to my esteemed colleague from colorado's comments about my amendment, 753. and i would say this first: my amendment does not provide immunity to terrorists. what my amendment does is treats terrorists as they should be. we're at war, and under the laws of war traditionally, we have tried people in military commissions, military tribunal, and those individuals that my colleague from colorado cited, including the umar farouk abdulmutallab could be held accountable in a military commission because our priority has to be when we are at war to gather intelligence, to protect our country, and not where we should prosecute in our article 3 courts, which i have great confidence in -- i served as attorney general of our state and believe very much in our article 3 court system. but our article 3 court system is not where terrorists should be tried whom we are at war with. and in light of the re

the presiding officer: without objection. mr. brown: mr. president, this chamber considered trade measures this week for the first time in about four years. first and most importantly the bipartisan currency measure passed by an overwhelming majority, 63-35. this action on china's currency is long overdue. this legislation, i was the prime sponsor of it, the major cosponsors, we had cosponsors in both political parties, lindsey graham of south carolina, republican, chuck schumer of new york, debbie stab know of -- stabenow, alimpia snowe from maine, susan palestinian from maine, bob casey, democrat from pennsylvania. this was a strong bipartisan bill. my junior senator, rob portman, republican are from ohio, former trade ambassador, trade representative under president bush supported the legislation and basically works this way: that we know the kind of job loss in places, in duluth, minnesota or toledo, ohio, where because china cheats, pure and simple they cheat, they depreciate or underappreciate their currency, making it a weaker renmin

>> thank you, mr. president? >> certainly -- we did not come here to say we accept this and rejected that. we are ready to take on all the commitments here in this council and to except and into -- and implement on this occasion. we express our gratitude to you for accepting us as partners but you will find that we are amongst the countries of the world's most committed to human guides, pluralism, and democracy. >> mr. president, we know conclude the questions to mr. on behalf of the assembly, may i thank you, mr. president, most warmly for your communication and the answer is you have given to the questions. thank you so much. [applause] we will have the next public setting at 3:00 this afternoon with the agenda that was approved monday. this meeting is adjourned. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] [no audio] [no audio] [no audio] [no audio] >> sunday on c-span, " newsmakers, "with buck mckeown on possible moves to reduce debt. road to

thank you, mr. president. mr. kohl: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from wisconsin. mr. kohl: i appreciate the amendment by senator collins. i understand her concerns about how it may affect producers in her state. this issue does relate to child health so we need to be careful about what we dovment i think we've made good progress. i hope that we'll be able soon to have language where we can come to an agreement. mr. president, i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: mr. blunt: i ask to suspend the quorum. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. blunt: i want to join senator kohl in thanking senator collins for the amendment. i think it is a good addition to the bill. i also think we had a good exchanges of ideas on the floor yesterday and would note that we've received a number of amendments to the bill. and i encourage my colleagues to offer amendments that they feel would improve the bill that is in front of them. senator kohl and i believe this is a

mr. menendez: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from new jersey. mr. menendez: i want to thank my distinguished colleague from maryland and the bill manager here, and i whao*epl get to a point -- i hope we'll get to a point where we can vote on this amendment. i appreciate senator isakson joining me and particularly his expertise. if we look to the voice of reason as well as experience here, senator isakson's shroeubs a winner. -- voice should be a winner. i yield the floor. the presiding officer: the senator from utah. mr. lee: i recommit. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: senator utah, lee, tphaoufs -- -- the presiding officer: without objection. mr. lee: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from utah. mr. lee: i stand on behalf of this motion to recommit. what we're looking at here with h.r. 2112 is a measure that actually spends more in each of these areas than what we spent in fiscal year 2011. now, we are in dire economic circumstances in this country. we're currently spending at a rate roughly $1.5 trillion an

so i now yield the floor, mr. president. mr. brown: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. brown: thank you, mr. president. i, first of all, thank the senator from snowe for her leadership on this currency legislation. it's time has come. she's been a real leader on this for months and months and months and phaopbgtsd years for that -- and months and years for that matter. i so appreciate her work. i think pure and simple, this is the most important bipartisan jobs bill that the senate's passed since i've been a member of the senate in my four and a half years. senator snowe has been here a good bit longer time and has been a member of the finance committee that understands how china gamed the system. ms. -- senator snowe and i combined with senator schumer and senator graham in their legislation, also senator stabenow, a democrat from michigan, senator sessions, a republican from alabama, both senators from north carolina, senator burr, a republican, and nor hagan, a democrat, joined by senator casey and the other maine sen

mr. reid: mr. president, mr. president. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the senate will now proceed to consideration of h.r. 2112, which the clerk will now report. the clerk: calendar number 155, h.r. 2112, an act making appropriations for agriculture, rural development, food and drug administration, and related agencies and so forth and for other purposes. mr. reid: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: senator kohl will be here momentarily, but until the managers of the bill are ready to proceed, i will on behalf of senator webb call up his amendment which is at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. reid, for mr. webb, proposes an amendment numbered 750. at the appropriate place -- mr. reid: mr. president, i would ask further reading of the amendment be waived. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: notwithstanding the previous action ju

mr. president, i do yield the floor. mr. burr: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from north carolina is recognized. mr. burr: i appreciate the recognition and say to my colleagues there are a lot of blanket statements that have been made about one's level of participation. i have negotiated with the chairman of this committee for nine months on the reauthorization of our emergency preparedness and biodefense in this country. i know what negotiations are. i know what supplies is. i know what commitment of time is. i got this bill last friday. i will find out where it went online or which copy went online. my staff got this bill last friday. yes, we have read it. we have read it, put together eight amendments. not as voluminous as senator rand paul, but he gets that ability, just like he gets the ability to be heard. the minority's only leverage in the institution is to have an opportunity to offer amendments and to debate them. i hear what you're saying, but based upon the time frame that you said, and you don't get the privilege

. >> [speaking korean] >> mr. president, madam first lady, ladies and gentlemen -- a relationship between our two countries began one of the 30 years ago. 60 years ago, our mutual defense treaty began what is considered to be one of the strongest military and political alliances that the world has ever known of course, we are here today to celebrate our journey of the last 60 years, one that has been marked by triumphs and sometimes particles -- but always full of hope. we are gathered here to reaffirm our friendship and renew our common commitment toward our shared goals. i know that our relationship will grow strong and become more mature and complete. >> [speaking korean] >> mr. president, as we talked about over last few days, we have many, many challenges that are facing us as a nation and as a member of the international community. we do not know when or what form or how it is going to strike us. there is a lot of uncertainty out there but i believe in our friendship because if we are faced with challenges,

thank you, mr. president. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senior senator from virginia is recognized. mr. webb: thank you, mr. president. i would like to spend some time addressing the amendment which i have introduced and will be voted later on this morning or early this afternoon which would establish a national commission to address the issue of criminal justice in our country. and i'd like to begin by thanking the senior senator from maryland for her comments earlier this morning and her strong support of this legislation. also to thank the majority leader, and i believe a majority of our democratic caucus who cosponsored this legislation in the last session, and to emphasize that this is -- this is a bill that was put together over a period of 4 1/2 years. it is not so much politics as it is leadership in terms of how we address the issue of criminal justice in the united states. we had the support last year, we continue to have support, i believe, the cosponsorship on the republican side, of senator graham. l

quorum call: mr. hatch: mr. president? the presiding officer: the distinguished senior senator from utah. mr. hatch: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be rescinded. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. hatch: thank you, mr. president. as we discuss our relationship with china, it strikes me that we're ignore a lot of the most critical issues impacting u.s. competitiveness in regard to china; namely, china's inadequate protection of u.s. intellectual property, or what i call i.p. let's remember that i.p. is our nation's number-one export. american i.p. yuns pins the knowledge -- underpins the knowledge comirks providing our workers with a significant competitive advantage. in short, i.p. equals jobs for american workers. it's that simple. studies have shown that the i.p.-incentive industries employ more than 19 million workers, create higher-paying jobs across all skill levels, and support more than 60% of total u.s. exports. that's why throughout my service here, i've endeavored to ensure that u.s. inno

mr. reid: mr. president. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: i now ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to a period of morning business, senators be allowed to speak for up to ten minutes each during that time. the presiding officer: without objection. a senator: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. kirk: i ask unanimous consent to proceed as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. kirk: mr. president, with regard to our policy towards iran and the recent revelation of a potential attack involving not just foreign embassies and ambassadors but americans, potentially senators being killed by a plot hatched by the eye rainian revolutionary guard, there should be consequences, not just concerns expressed from the administration. we have witnessed a growing aggressiveness by the iranian regime towards the united states and towards their own people. for example, recently, an iranian actress who appeared uncovered in an australian film was then sentenced to 90 lashes for her so-c

and with that, mr. president, i would yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the junior senator from nevada is recognized. mr. heller: thank you very much, mr. president. i rise today to address the economy as it affects my hometown, my home state of nevada. this recession has hit my home state of nevada harder than it's hit any other state in the country. my state has the unfortunate distinction of leading the nation in unemployment, foreclosure, and bankruptcy. as we discuss yet another stimulus this week, i hear from my friends on the other side of the aisle their claim that their priorities are jobs, jobs, jobs. and i have one question about their economic policies. is this working? mr. president, in january of 2009, president obama was inaugurated as president of the united states. democrats controlled both houses , both the house and the senate. and nevada's unemployment rate at that time was 9.4%. the next month stimulus was passed. supporters claimed, they claimed that the national unemployment level would not rise above 8% if we

mr. hatch: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from utah. mr. hatch: i've enjoyed the remarks of my distinguished friend from new york. as we begin the debate today on the important issue of exchange rate misalignment it is an important debate though i seriously question its timing. let's step back for a moment. at the end of last month the u.s. senate approved legislation renewing and expanding trade adjustment assistance. we need to be clear about what this program is, a big governmenten spending program of dubious value but one that is important to proox president obama's union allies. given the, this country's spending program is top trade priority. so much so that he was even willing to abandon our allies in colombia, panama and south korea unless he secured this additional spending. to get more government spending for big labor, the president was willing to hold up the three free trade agreements with colombia, panama and south korea everyone negotiation will grow this economy and create jobs. i was happy to chat with the trade representat

the presiding officer: without objection. mr. brown: thank you, mr. president. i appreciate -- appreciate the presiding officer's comments earlier in support of the currency exchange rate oversight act of 2011. the presiding officer and i both democrats joined by five republicans and three other democrats, were the prime sponsors of the currency exchange rate oversight act of 2011. it passed last -- the motion to proceed -- we have rules in the senate that are sometimes a bit unpen trafnlt but the motion to proceed passed last night with 79 votes out of 98. so there's clear interest in this body debating one of the most important jobs bills that we've seen in front of us in our five years in the senate. almost five years in the senate. i think i've never seen a bill passed that was this -- i've not seen in my time here a jobs bill passed this overwhelmingly, this bipartisanly that was this important for putting people back to work. and let me sort of expand on that. first of all this currency exchange rate oversight act of then has broad support from business an

thank you, mr. president. could create problems for businesses malae hearing none the potential effect of lightsquared's plan to build a multibillion-dollar high-speed wireless network. earlier this year tests showed its original network proposal would cost gps service witnesses from the aviation industry's say they continue to be concerned that the network could interfere with gps accuracy which they rely on. this house small business committee is about 90 minutes. o >> we bring this hearing toriane thank all the witnesses for being here today to this important hearing i know some of you travel a ways and i ing appreciate you being here. today we will hear about how l ghtsquared's proposals would a impact the ability of small business to access the global positioning system, gps. small businesses rely on inaccurate gps signal for the day-to-day operations and potential severely handicap or in a pair the businesses. providing wireless broadband coverage to 260 million to americans and urban kennon knees urba b

mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. brown: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. brown: thank you, mr. president. i'd like to speak in opposition to these three pending free trade agreements. the bills look like they are about this size. these are -- these are the actual implementing of the three free trade agreements, but one of the bills, and not the largest one, the one in fact of the three countries we are passing -- we are probably today passing trade agreements with, colombia -- colombia, south korea and panama, the smallest by far in terms of its economy is panama, and this is the agreement, this is the trade agreement with panama. now, i remember all these conservative talk radio people saying have you read the bill, have you read the bill, have you read the bill? every time it's a bill they don't agree with, they ask have you read the bill. this isn't just to eliminate the tariffs that we have with the republic of panama. if these agreements were about eliminating tariffs with labor standards -- and i know

with that, mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. durbin: mr. president. the presiding officer: the senator from illinois. mr. durbin: mr. president, i want to thank my colleague from new jersey for this amendment. it's an amendment that's critically important to new jersey, to alaska, and to the state of illinois, because the menendez-casey amendment in my state means that 14,500 teachers, firefighters and policemen will stay on the job. if the menendez amendment, which is part of president obama's jobs package, does not pass, these people will be out of work. there will be more kids in the classroom, talented teachers will be laid off. there will be fewer cops on the beat in small towns and large, and firefighters will have to cut back in terms of their ranks, and we need their protection and we can't let that happen. senator menendez has an amendment which deals with this responsibly. it pays for it. it doesn't add to the deficit. and that's where the objection comes in from the republican side of the aisle, because he pays for it by asking those making

thank you very much mean to you mr president thank you. even the. shuttle and the sacred. magic is the essence of life. whether it is a protest prayer. or a shamanistic which. crossroads of two religious. faith is strong there it is hard. to be so much brighter if you never sung from funds to. stance on t.v. dot com. we'll. bring you the latest in science and technology from around. we've got the future covered. abroad. we here because of our cash outs that. god promised them this million belongs to us . we'll if they are still going to be thinking. and goal chosen people will not believe that god is real estate say look at this that is this for you guys this guy this is for you. this is the. reason my then. cut. the emission free the sacred station three the structures free. arrangements free risk free. free. the old steam launch the solid video for your media projects and free media. tom. the a. lists . the same. length on. the i. download the official ulti allocation the i pod touch from the i.q. saps just such a life on the. city of london monks all season long cold co

supervisor campos: thank you, mr. president. first, let me say that i don't knwo that -- know that having this discussion in open session in terms of the viability, i will be voting against it. i appreciate the reasoning behind it. i think it is important for us to address what the supreme court has decided to. it takes into consideration some of the policy reasons why we have public financing. >> i look forward to having that discussion and conversation as the matter goes forward. i want to thank supervisor kim and her staff for trying to serve -- comply with the supreme court ruling and taking into account some of the decisions that everything has to be taken into consideration in a way that is responsible. my colleagues indicated the need for us to come forward the proposal as an alternative, and i appreciate the fact that supervisor kim has done that. supervisor mar: thank you. i wanted to thank mark from the city attorney's office for the great advice he's given us. i support the efforts of supervisors elsbernd and farrell.

mr. president, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from massachusetts. mr. kerry: mr. president, thank you. mr. president, i would ask how is time being divided now? is it divided? the presiding officer: the senator has up to one hour under cloture. mr. kerry: mr. president, i yield myself such time as i'll use under the one hour. i won't use all of that by any means. mr. president, this is obviously an issue that's more complicated than the debate here may have indicated at all moments, at least. and i think that there are complicated and long-standing frustrations that have built up in a lot of senators and a lot of people in america that bring us here to this moment on the floor. as chairman of the foreign relations committee, i have a reluctance to see us engage in an effort thaepbg can put -- effort that i think can put other efforts at risk in certain ways. but on the other hand, i have voted to allow and help this legislation to reach the point of postcloture because i think it's an important

which you know we mr president you're the only person at the top of the united russia federalists how much are you personally going to be involved in campaigns. who else or what else will united russia u.s. for its complain and do you expect tough competition tearing the skin pain it is that no one is accusing that indeed i am of the top of the united russia list which the party asked me to do this and it's a serious choice for me at the same time let me remind you that i am still president i have a lot of responsibilities both domestically and internationally person actually are not going to take a vacation and i will not occupy myself with any special campaign activities i will be performing my duties of the same time i'm sure there will be tough competition competition will be tough but hopefully proper and we have the necessary legal mechanisms to ensure that. and. speaking of society mr president elect he quit his dismissal or the united russia convention all of that didn't go down well with the russian goes here as an active internet user do you feel any pressure from the global

mr. president come as a say in america, we both married up. [laughter] [speaking korean] [speaking korean] [speaking korean] >> and so, i want to propose a toast. to our friends, president lee and first lady can and to their delegation, most of all to the enduring alliance between our nations a partnership with just the heart that will never be broken. [speaking korean] [speaking korean] [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] [applause] [applause] [speaking korean] [speaking korean] >> translator: first of all, mr. president and madam first lady can distinguish guys, please allow me to thank you from the bottom of my heart for this warm reception extended to me, my wife and i delegation. thank you area match. [speaking korean] [speaking korean] >> translator: mr. president, madam first lady, my visit to washington d.c. this tends especially special because before you are the president are the president of the united states of america, you're a very close friend of mine and this is how i can tutor you madam first lady so that is ve

for example, mr. president, the president -- not you, mr. president, but the president -- has given us a jobs bill that isn't perfect, but it's a start. the majority leader has said that the senate might consider the president's package eventually. really? eventually. we're in a financial emergency. we're going to talk about creating jobs eventually. well, let's be honest with those that sent us here. the current proposal from the president isn't going to pass either chamber if it relies entirely on tax increases to pay for it. i know it. you know it. so, when we bring it up, are we going to try to make it better? are we going to try to pass it? so i urge the majority leader to bring the jobs bill to the floor, a jobs bill to the floor that can actually get 60 votes and also have a chance in passing in the house. what would they look like? well, they'd look like parts of the president's proposal that actually have bipartisan support and can help our fellow americans immediately. we should take the things that everybody agrees on and bring th

supervisor campos: thank you, mr. president. i don't want to belabor the point and repeat what has been said. i want to thank supervisor kim and her staff and all the community members who have been working on this for quite some time. it has been a long time coming, and i know there's a lot of excitement around this, and i think this really shows how a community working closely with government can really move something very positive forward. i also want to thank my staff for their work in making this happen and look forward to continuing to work with supervisor kim, supervisor wiener and his office. again, thank you to the community for coming together around this very important project. supervisor chiu: supervisor avalos? supervisor avalos: thank you. i would just like to echo the comments of all of our colleagues who have spoken. i want to reiterate a congratulations to the community for the work they have done on this. this is actually the second park that was established in the mission district. there was another on 23rd an

the presiding officer: the motion is entered. mr. reid: mr. president i move to ask -- ask i ask unanimous consent we proceed to morning business senators permitted to speak for up to five minutes each. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent the senate proceed to calendar number 290 and be in executive session. and that the nomination be confirmed, the motion to reconsider be considered made, laid on the table, no intervening action or debate and any statements appear in the record as if read. and the president be immediately notified of the senate's action. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. reid: mr. president i understand there's a bill at the desk due for its first reading. the presiding officer: the clerk will read the bill for the first time. the clerk: h.r. 2681, an act to provide additional time for the add minimum strayer of the environmental protection agency to issue achievable standards for cement manufacturing facilities and for other purposes. mr. reid: i ask for a secon

said mr president if the years goes ahead with using its veto to block the palestinian between u.n. undershot and there have been attempts to prevent the voting in the senate if the u.s. suspends aid to glisten in little ship as it's rumored what will be your response. i'm aware of the speculation over this is spent in of the us aid but so far i've not received any official notice on that so i can't comment on it either in a positive or negative way we don't know if it's happened already or not we'll be able to issue a comment only when we get official confirmation as for the right of veto we knew in advance and we were officially notified that washington will use its veto joining the voting in our bid it's clear that the us as the dominant world power wants to extend its support to israel but what concerns us most is that the us wants to force all the countries that took part in the general assembly big and small like your particular the members of the u.n. security council to vote against palestinian membership in the un this is the key concern for us all the member states of the

said mr president if the u.s. goes ahead with easing speech to block the palestinian between u.n. undershot and there have been attempts to prevent a vote in the sunshine if the u.s. suspends aid to the girls to illiterate ship as it's rumored what will be your response. i'm aware of the speculation over the suspension of the us aid but so far i've not received any official notice on that so i can't comment on it either in a positive or negative way we don't know if it's happened already or not we'll be able to issue a comment only when we get official confirmation as for the right of veto we knew in advance and we were officially notified that washington will use its veto joining the voting in our bid it's clear that the us as the dominant world power wants to extend its support to israel but what concerns us most is that the us wants to force all the countries that took part in the general assembly big and small alike in particular the members of the u.n. security council to vote against palestinian membership in the un this is the key concern for us all the member states of the

president, i -- mr. akaka: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from hawaii. mr. akaka: mr. president, i rise today to introduce the stand against violence and empower native women, save native women act. i would like to thank the quoa sponsors of my -- the cosponsors of my bill, my good friends, senators inouye, murray, udall of new mexico, begich, franken, johnson of south dakota, baucus, tester, and bingaman. mr. president, native women across the country suffer from severe threats to their safety. according to a safety study by the department of justice, two in five girls and women in native communities will suffer domestic violence, and one in three will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime. can you imagine looking through the loving eyes of your daughter, sister or mother and know that one of them will probably be abused in their lifetime? this is the terrible reality of life for native women and their families across the country. it is an epidemic. it is unacceptable. and we must stand against it. this is why i'm introducing the save native women act. mo

mr. baucus: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from montana. mr. baucus: mr. president, i think it is a great day. it's -- it shows america is moving forward, forward-leaning, forward-looking. i want to thank the countries with whom we've reached these agreements. they, too, are so encouraged. and i hope it is a good model that we can pursue in the future. in that vein, i would like to thank some members of my staff, beginning with my chief trade person, amber coddle, mike smart, tom quick, chelsie thomas, gabriel addler, sarah babcock, and i want to very much thank my staff that works for my good friend and colleague, senator hatch, beginning with especially with h everett eisenstadt. they've been a real team. and i believe very strongly that not much is accomplished in this team if we try to go it alone, if do you it by yourself. rather, much is accomplished with team work and working together. i just -- i thank very much my team and i very much thank the team from senator hatch. i see everett over there nodding his head. he knows teamwork really works. i th

so mr president if the u.s. goes ahead with easing a total blogger palestinian bid and your numbers ship and there have been attempts to prevent a vote in the sense of if the u.s. suspends aid to the palestinian leadership as it's rumored what will be tourist holds. i'm aware of the speculation over suspension of the us aid but so far i've not received any official notice on that so i can't comment on it either in a positive or negative way we don't know if it's happened already on. not we'll be able to issue a comment only when we get official confirmation as for the right of veto we knew in advance and we were officially notified that washington will use its veto joining the voting in our bid it's clear that the u.s. as the dominant world power wants to extend its support to israel what concerns us most is that the u.s. wants to force all the countries that took part in the general assembly big and small alike in particular the members of the u.n. security council to vote against palestinian membership in the

okay. >> thank you, mr. president. following up on the question about solyndra. the guarantee loan program you talked about was giving out $38 billion in guaranteed loans and promised to save or create 65,000 jobs, green jobs, clean energy. and there have been reports -- that actually only 3500 new jobs have been created in that industry. why is that industry -- has that industry been so slow to on to responding? what do you see forward as it goes forward to respond? >> i think that what has been true historically is that businesses that rely on new technologies, a lot of times it is going to take a while before they get takeoff. and there are a lot of up front investments that have to be made and research and capital and so forth. lot of barriers for companies that are trying to break in. keep in mind clean energy companies are competing against traditional energy companies. and, you know, traditional energy is still cheaper in a lot of ways. the problem is that it is running out. it is polluting. and we know that dem

mr president some say the latest steps you have taken. in the settlement process the u.s. welcoming in decision making in this region has been shattered and the palestinian issue is now open to approach international discussion how do you comment on that having to thread undermine the plans. we took to the floor at the un general assembly to declare that we are a state in fact an occupied state they say we must first hold negotiations but sweet don't see why the two things i mean the palestinian bid for un membership and the talks on a peaceful settlement cannot go on in parallel session to the un will mean the recognition of palestine is a country in a state of occupation that will make our position absolutely clear we are an occupied country that seeks to hold negotiations on all the issues including an end to the armed confrontation with israel believe this is the right way to move forward of course provided that the other side has a genuine. designed to go the right way. so that. you know historic speech has resonated to melissa and society but hamas has expressed a di

mr president you have said several times the channel is going to run for another term in office is it possible that public opinion might force your position to change after you know given your historic speech. to taking part in presidential elections is not a matter of popularity. i have the people support today but that might change tomorrow and i've said before that i will not run for another term another politician whom we shall all support might come into the spotlight he will gain the popularity and the love of the people in order that will be a result of his work and his achievement for my parts i will not change my position i've decided i don't i will not run for another term in office today tomorrow or in the future to thank you very much for the interview mr president thank you. even the. sacred. magic is the life. whether it is a prayer. or a shamanistic make your. crossroads of religion. safe and strong the spirit is high. more news today violence is once again flared up. these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of canada. shining operation. we hear i

>> thank you, mr. president. before i get to my question, do we assume by how you're talking about the bill in the senate that you are okay with the change in how to pay for it, the surtax, 5.6% surtax on millionaires? >> we've always said we would be open to a variety of ways to pay for it. we put forward what we thought was a solid approach to paying for the jobs bill itself. keep in mind, though, that what i've always said is that not only do we have to pay for the jobs bill, but we also still have to do more in order to reduce the debt and the deficit. so the approach that the senate is taking, i'm comfortable with. in order to deal with the jobs bill. we're still going to need to reform this tax code to make sure that we're closing loopholes, closing special interest tax breaks, making sure that the very simple principle, what we call the buffett rule, which is that millionaires and billionaires aren't paying lower tax rates than ordinary families, that that's in place. so there's going to be more work to do

collins: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i rise today in the wake of another very sobering jobs report. unemployment remains stalled at 9.1%, 14 million americans are out of work. another nine million have been forced into part-time jobs because they simply cannot find full-time employment. these challenging economic times demand that congress and the administration put aside partisanship and work together in earnest to address the prolonged jobs crisis. many of the decisions that will come before congress in the next few months will be difficult ones, including those that must be made to restore fiscal order to our nation's books. but there are bipartisan measures that we know will create and preserve jobs now. we must work together to advance them. one such measure before us today is the free trade agreement with south korea. as president obama stated last week, this agreement will make it easier for american companies to sell their products in south korea, and provide a major boost to our exports. south korea i