that's being a senator. and i'll tell you i've only been here two years, but i know enough of this process already to know that every single one of us at some point when the majority changes, when a new president is elected, at some point every single one of us is going to want to know an answer to a question to the administration or some other branch or element of government, and they're going to hold us off. they're going to give us the heisman. they're going to stiff arm us and try to push us aside and not answer the question. i would hope at that moment whether you agree with that person or not, that you would stand and defend their prerogative and their right as a representative of their state to get legitimate questions answered in a straightforward way. and so as i said earlier today when i came to the floor, this issue is about this institution as much as anything else, about the right of every single member of this body to be able to ask legitimate questions of the administration or other branches o

senator rubio, senator barrasso, senator widen, a democrat, and a body of a hundred senators. >> well, i think more will come in and i think courage ultimately attracts others, and i think that rand paul is showing a level of courage that's historic and that will be remembered for a long time. i mean, if you're a civil libertarian liberal or if you're a constitutionalist conservative, both wings have to be proud of rand paul standing up for the constitutional rights. >> greta: who likes these drones, giving the president power without any sort of a check or any sort of an authority. there's some question we'll discuss it later where it says, he talks about imminent. an imminent being defined very broadly. >> the imminent tool is nonsense. if you read carefully what the white house spokesman said, there are no practical rules here except the president or his designee. presidents don't say let me spend the next few hours studying this. they delegate to somebody who walks in and says let's kill this guy and i think most of the killings have been legitimate. but i think as a long-term pat

but in the senate, by tradition, by the rules of that body, one senator, or a minority of senators is invested with the power to stand up and block something from happening, even if the majority wants it to happen. it is a rare beast, or at least it ought to be a rare beast. a single senator or a minority of seniors effectively throwing themselves on the gears of democracy and saying i must be heard on this. you cannot go forward with this until i say my piece. and so a la "mr. smith goes to washington", a single senator may take it upon himself or herself to effectively play the hero, right, to bring all business to a halt, to bring the spotlight upon himself or upon herself, to hold the floor, speaking about whatever it is that is so important that it is worth this effort until the effort expires by necessity, because the senator can physically go on no longer. or because a supermajority of senators says enough and ends it. it is a very dramatic thing. or at least it used to be a dramatic thing. in recent years the senate changed the rules so all it took to filibuster something now

.. >> senators john mccain and lindsey graham on the senate floor talk about the filibuster. senator rand paul, who led the filibuster, questioned the ability of drone strikes on u.s. citizens on u.s. soil. this is 40 minutes. >> thank you, mr. president. i'd like to quote from this morning's editorial in "the wall street journal", entitled "rand paul's drone rant." i'd like read, for the edification of my colleagues, the editorial in "the wall street journal" this morning. a credible media outlet. the warm read, quote: give rand paul credit for theatrical timing, as the snowstorm descended on washington, the republican's kentucky old-fashioned filibuster wednesday, filled the attention void on twitter and cable tv, if only his reasoning matched the showmanship. shortly before noon, senator paul began talking filibuster against john brennan's nomination to lead the cia. a fact tick rarely used in the senate and was last seen in 2010. but senator paul said, quote, alarm, had to be sounded to the threat to americans from their own government. he promised 'ospeak, quote, until t

bless our senators. give them enough challenges to keep them humble, enough hurt to keep them humane, and enough success to make them certain they are walking with you. renew their commitment to pray not only for those with whom they agree, but also for those with whom they disagree. hear our prayers, o lord, and give us your peace. we pray in your merciful name. amen. the presiding officer: please me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the presiding officer: the clerk will read a communication to the senate. the clerk: washington, d.c., march 20, 2013. to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i hereby appoint the honorable william m. cowan, a senator from the commonwealth of massachusetts, to perform the duties of the chair. signed: patrick j. leahy, president pr

senator ipo g, mccain, senator paul. starting another one answers on benghazi. those answers have not been forthcoming. and when this filibuster in this, as it surely will, the burning confirmation will move ahead images like that of senator kerry, and there will be confirmation because the republican party will, at some point, find debris to step aside in the process. why even bother with the theatrics? >> yes. i think they have held that they could pull some of these documents out of the administration to get some answers, particularly on this question of talking points on the kinds of warnings that were provided to the white house and the others in the days before the benghazi attacks. and they, as you say, they have met with very limited success. the first-round of documents were so heavily redacted that they did not answer any questions paris seriously. we now have an idea of where the ad is to these talking points as susan rice used or made, we don't know who made them or why they were made. lou: trying to blame press secretaries for curring allowed. that

senator cornyn. >> mr. chairman, we certainly won't ask you to inventory your arsenal that you maintain at your home in vermont. >> we will lose a quorum. >> before senator cornyn speaks, in response to what you said, it seems to me you're raising the question about the firepower that a person ought to have, maybe to protect their home, isn't the rule ought to be that you would have the firepower commensurate with possible aagreesors, what they might have? >> zombie assault is a different thing. go ahead, senator cornyn. >> if i may ask before going to my next amendment just ask the senator from california, what's the purpose of the exception of retired police officers in the bill? >> well, the reason for retired police officers is that generally they do maintain their weapon. they do keep their weapon. the retired police felt strongly and this is a problem for them if they're going to re-- you're going to remove weapons for them. in the crafting of the bill, we obviously made certain compromises and made c

senate. >> gingrey is one of the hot shots down in georgia the democrats are praying to run against. cecile, always nice to have you on. i don't think this is a big threat. sarah, great honor to have you on. i did know you were a democrat. i was letting you explain that to us instead because you did work at the white house when i was there. thank you. >>> rand paul brought up adolf hitler -- another phrase, adolf hitler and rape. while the logic was tortured, it's a reference he's made time and time again. i have an explanation. he's a little off the loose end sometimes. >>> this is "hardball," the place for politics. [ male announcer ] this single scoop of gain gives more freshness than a whole box of this other stuff... and that much freshness is gonna take some getting used to... [ sniffing ] yep. it's amazing what a single scoop of gain freshness can do. in the middle of the night it can be frustrating. it's hard to turn off and go back to sleep. intermezzo is the first and only prescript

there from senator corker. let me ask you: are senate democrats willing to make serious cuts, reforms to entitlements, if you get added tax revenue? and what do you think of the prospects for a grand bargain. >> chris, let me tell you, i think bob gave an honest an constructive answer. really, what he articulated is what he did in the bowles-simpson commission and i want to thank him for that, patty murray has done an extraordinarily good job and we will move to the next stage, the grand bargain stage and the president is trying to set that up, sitting down on a bipartisan basis, not eliminating medicare, as i'm afraid the paul ryan budget would do but making sure it will survive for generations to come and putting revenues on the table that are fair and will not penalize the working people across america and making sure it is a balanced approach. i think what bob corker said from his side is a basic set of principles, that both parties can rally around. >> chris: and, real specifically because i want to pin yo

, some guy named senator nelson, senator begich and senator cruz. so show your love for the committee. senator warner? >> great to see all the commission members here. one of the things that senator wicker and i and senator snowe before that worked on at some length was trying to make sure we just got a good inventory of spectrum, and another commission has been generally supportive of this. we've got to get her other colleagues and the federal government, on the dod and intel side help you get there on that because some of the most valuable commodities we have, we don't have good information about how not only private sector but much of the public sector is using the existing spectrum. relate to that aspect and gets more and more valuable, somebody who benefited from the increase in value in a prior life, we've got to make sure we get as much utilization as possible. i want to talk a little bit about interoperability and maybe start with the chairman, but any other commission would like to mention this, i understand that as a look at all of the new

senate here on c-span2. the presiding officer: the senator from oklahoma. mr. inhofe: i ask unanimous consent i be acknowledged for up to seven minutes as if in morning business. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. inhofe: thank you, madam president. we -- we've been listening to our -- our good friend from kansas concerning this contract air traffic control towers. i think of all of the -- there's no better example to use than saying -- picking up a bureaucracy and taking somebody that everybody wants, that's very inexpensive and using that to try to force people to do something that shouldn't -- that -- that should never have happened. in items of the contract air traffic control towers, this is not just a -- a rural issue. this is something that can happen all around. it happens that i have six in my state of oklahoma. up in kansas, i believe they have five. but the fact is, this is a major safety issue. and the -- with the huge, bloated bureaucracy of the -- of the f.a.a. to say that we have to close a handful of towers and let people be uncontrol

our problem in the senate is the leadership of the senate, not the members of the senate. >> i'm going to have to make that the last word. thank you all very much. to be continued and i appreciate your comments this morning. >> can you believe he could only go 13 hours? >> better shoes, that's all he needed. >> we have particular training for that, talking endlessly. >>> coming up here, the debate started by facebook executive sheryl sandberg about women and success at work. why is she a target instead of a role model? joining me, former white house press secretary dee dee myers, republican congresswoman from tennessee, marsha blackburn. senior strategist of the mccain-palin campaign, steve schmidt and columnist from the "washington post" ruth marcus. also my conversation with former governor jeb bush as well. we're coming back after this break. want younger looking eyes that say wow? with olay, here's how. new regenerist eye and lash duo. the cream smooths the look of lids... softens the look of lines. the serum instantly thickens the look of lashes. see wow! eyes in just one week wit

senator lee. >> let's yield to senator lee. >> ok. senator lee. and for scheduling purposes, you might -- there is a classified matter that is going to require senator grassley and i and a couple other members of the senate to be at and as a result we will recess at 11:45 subject to the call of the chair which may bring us back today or tomorrow. we'll see. but just so you know. >> i thank you, mr. chairman. just want to make a brief statement about some concerns i have about this legislation. all of us are devastated by the recent acts of violence, particularly mass violence, and every one of us would choose if we could to find any way we can to reduce incidents of violence like those. i am concerned about this legislation for a couple of reasons. number one, i would worry about giving the american people the false impression that we can fix this problem through federal legislation, especially in light of our experience with past similar measures that have proven unsuccessful in bringing an end t

the presiding officer: the senator from delaware. a senator: mr. president, i ask the proceedings under the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. coons: partisan founders of our country committed to justice and -- the founders of our country committed to justice and fairness for all its citizens and a country that would be uniquely strong as a democracy, give us three coequal branches of our government. two of those branches dominated the national news recently as we lurch from crisis to crisis, from fiscal cliff to sequester, the back and forth between the president and congress, between the executive and the legislative branches has been the headline day after day. meanwhile, the third coequal branch, the judicial branch of our federal government, has quietly gone about its business, doing its job for the american people, providing fair hearings, equal justice under the law, the basic right to a speedy resolution to any dispute. or are they? all around this country members of the judicial branch are getting their

the senator. excuse me. a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. harkin: madam president, i just want to respond to my friend from alabama, he is my friend and he knows that very well. we travel together and our spouses are friends and he's a dear friend of mine. and we've worked together for going clear back to our house days. but i am disappointed that my friend opposes this amendment. i think if there is one thing that's been clear in my association with the senator from alabama through all these years is that he has been an unrelenting champion of n.i.h. research. i'm told the university of alabama, birmingham, ranks 11th in terms of n.i.h. funding. that's even who higher than the university of iowa, by the way. so my amendment as you know would put in $211 million increase for n.i.h. funding. that goes around the country. doesn't jt go to maryland, a lot of it goes around the country. so we did that. and then i would say to my friend from alabama, the negotiations last year, the senator from alabama offered an amendment during our full com

senators, senators john mccain and tom colbert. those senators insist they have not had time to read the 500 pages. here to discuss what lies ahead in this -- what is shaping of to be above the budget. fred barnes. first year of assessment is to two republican senators blocking will look like a piece of legislation that was wl on his way to making it through. >> it will make it through. they have until march 27 to is the money is not approved and signed by the president. the government would have test cs for while. it will happen. asking for 72 hours. at think this was not really that much of a flap given that harry reid got all whipped up about it. this is a guy who is not presented a budget in the last four years until today when they finally did. you were saying something earlier. remember, about the president coming in with his budget later. it used to be cliche. the president proposes and congress disposes. i guess that's not the case anymore. now it congress that proposes and the president of los. lou: the president is certai

senators. while the budget is the focus, a relatively small issue in dollars continues to loom large. correspondent shannon bream is at the white house. >> the administration fired back, criticism regarding the cancellation of white house tours. coming from a source not normally viewed as a critic. the editorial board of the "washington post." equated the decision to "bureaucratic hostage-taking" and said the pushback the administration is getting is a proper come uppance. >> it's a misunderstanding of the sequester. because the sequester is a law written and passed by congress that is specific about what can and can't be done. when it comes to im -- implementation. >> the white house is taking fresh criticism how sequestration impacting education funding assistance for active duty military members. marine corps today calling the cuts necessary to support semiprograms on the health, readiness of the corps. the president spent another day making rounds on capitol hill. meeting first with the sen

i'm a term-limited senator. i think we concentrate on republicans and democrats way too much and not on the individuals. and what they'll do and how they'll perform and whether they're going to think long term versus short term politically and i think that parties have actually hurt us in washington. because we tend to check and think in the short term on the next election rather than on what should we be doing for the country. so i don't pay any attention to that. i don't look at it. i have never been to a republican national convention in my life. i never will. i don't think that's the important structure. i think getting great people who have real experience to run for public office who aren't in line to a particular ideology but are aligned to common sense and fixing and curing the problems that are in front of us today are the most important thing. >> you're one of the most conservative members of the senate. let's look at it then as a matter of ideology and less one of party. conservatives seems to have a

if she becomes senator i will replace her as senator. so i become a senator from michigan one day. i like that idea. and then we turn to movie stars. ashley judd is rumored to be running for senator, mitch mcconnell's seat and republicans are sharpening their clause. today the season toral committee called her a faded hollywood star. speaking of weak candidates, and presidents, george p. bush, nephew of george w. is running for texas land commissioner. you know the guy in charge of practicing the poor oil field from greedy environmentalists and he would be charge of programs for veterans which his family has created a lot. there is an announcement he has singled out one member of his family in particular. >> you probably know her as former first lady barbara bush. to me she's just ganny. the lesson that ganny taught me the importance of public service. >> michael: if only he had taken up the family tradition of doing dog portraits. then we wouldn't have another bush with an ego too big to succeed. coming up, the president is just continuing his charm offensive. how lovely. donnie f

senator dianne feinstein about the constitution and the second amendment senator feinstein known for her efforts to curb gun violence in america was on the san francisco board of supervisors the equal of a city council when friends san francisco marriage george months most coney and city supervisor harvey milk were assassinated feinstein found mosconi body lying in a pool of blood and had to feel through his old hole riddled body to check for a pulse senator feinstein was also the first to arrive in milks office after his assassination and again made efforts to revive him even though he was already dead these tragic efforts informed a feinstein about america's gun problem and led her to propose an assault weapons ban in one thousand nine hundred six that ban was adopted by the house the senate and signed into law by bill clinton unfortunately the original assault weapons ban expired after ten years and george w. bush republicans chose not to renew it so in the wake of the newtown tragedy senator feinstein introduced a new assault weapons ban and yesterday the senate judiciary committ

first one the senate passed in four years. no republicans though voted for this senate measure. in fact, four democrats voted against it. mark pryor of kansas, kay hagan, north carolina, mark begich, alaska, max baucus, montana, all are red state democrats. they're up for re-election in 2014. so given that, is a budget compromise unlikely? >> well, alex, i think we're a ways off from that, but this is really the opening rounds. if this were a baseball game, we'd still be in the first inning. but it is important that we did this because contrary to popular belief, it's not the budget, it's the budget resolution and as you said in your opening, it's nonbinding, but it does kind of set the table for what senate democrats have put on the table, a balanced plan. has a lot of cutting and has revenue so we can invest in priorities and it focuses on job creation. but republicans in the house have their version, and now you have two starkly different approaches, but that's how you have to start the discussion. so i think it's important we did this. it was a lot of work to get to this poi

in the senate. so we owe you. we owe you big. [ applause ] and by the way, if you ever want a partner to get anything important done, call nancy pelosi. call nancy pelosi. [ applause ] and steny hoyer and congressman moore and my old buddy -- i hope i'm not leaving anybody out here. but, you know, you know, my old buddy john conyers. [ applause ] i'm sure i'm leaving someone out for which i apologize. we all know we have a lot more to do but we'll continue to make progress and one of the reasons to continue to make progress is we're going to have for at least three more years the president of the united states, my friend, barack obama. [ applause ] >> thank you! thank you, everybody! thank you. well, please, everybody, have have a seat. have a seat. i want to thank all of you for being here. i want to thank secretary salazar. my great friend, for letting us in to the building. make sure everybody, you know, pick up their stray soda cans and stuff. afterwards. i want to thank attorney general holder for joining us.

they preferred more senate democrats over senate republicans. senate democrats are in control. the public also preferred house democrats over house republicans and yet house republicans remain in control. why? because in 2010 when they redrew the district seeds, they created for themselves very safe and often very skewed districts. so i think when they go home, particularly in the far right, in fact, are hearing from constituents the same echo chamber cut spending, cut spending, cut spending. because they are relatively they can have this fight with relatively little cost to themselves in the 2014 midterm. >> when you poll republicans, when you break the republicans out of the poll and ask them do you think we should raise taxes as part of a reducing the budget, do you think we should raise taxes on the wealthy or cut medicare or social security, they say raise taxes. something is going to me house republicans are further to the right of their constituents. second, they seem unafraid. of these polls. typically, politicians are afraid of having a lot of people disagree with them

next in order -- senator cowan is next in order, followed by the senator from new hampshire, senator ayotte. >> thank you for your appearance and testimony today. my first couple of questions are to you, mr. kepler. thank you for coming in. i hope you did not mind me referring to you having a platinum system in place. a couple of things. i wonder if you would tell me if you agree. it has been said that 85% of our critical infrastructure is owned by the private sector. if that is the case, would you agree that if the owners of that critical infrastructure fail to harden their systems, and we are subject to a cyber attack, that disruption or destruction of those systems could carry catastrophic consequence not just to private industry, but to governmental sectors? do you agree with that? >> yes. >> there has been a lot of talk, and i think a lot of agreement, that there is a need for more and better information sharing, and issues surrounding that. do you think -- are you satisfied, from your perspective -- you look at these issues not just for dow, but for private industry as a whole.

senator mccain was outraged in the senate chamber today because he knows a thing or two about inflaming the fringe elements in the country. you see, he once had a running mate that did it all the time. mccain was joined by his tag team partner from south carolina, lindsey graham, calling out the junior senator from kentucky. >> i find the question offensive. as much as i disagree with president obama, much as i support past presidents, i do not believe that question deserves an answer. >> well, wait a second now. attorney general eric holder thinks that rand paul does deserve an answer. and he gave him one. after 13 hours of filibustering holder sent a simple 43-word response to senator paul. "it has come to my attention that you have now asked an additional question -- does the president have the authority to use a weaponized drone to kill an american not engaged in combat on american soil? and the answer to that question is no." well, rand paul said that he was satisfied with that response and there was no additional hold on john brennan's nomination. brennan was confirmed today by th

the senate takes up ratification and through those senators, the entire senate can have a role. i'd also -- i want want to mention briefly to my colleagues that the national security briefing working group is perhaps unique among senate tphaougss in that -- institutions in that it is purely bipartisan. it is actually composed of an equal number of senators from each side of the aisle. its decisions and actions are not controlled by the majority party. they are arrived at entirely through bipartisan agreement, something that we could use more of around here. the bipartisan nature of the group, which is central to its function and its crucial role in helping the senate fulfill its constitutional treaty role, is something that we should support and continue. and we expect that these, there is going to be some additional preliminary negotiations and discussions about those negotiations this year, and it is very, very important that this national security working group continue to have the ability to pave the way for negotiations which can be fruitful. and again, as i yield the floor

paul, senator rubio, senator toomey, senator mcconnell that will redirect the $14.5 billion we spend on behalf of 11 million children, and this is the way we would do it. we would simply pin $1,300 and be their share of that money, each of those children, and let the money follow the child to the school they attend, any accredited school, public or private. now, here's the problem. in a contentious washington world this is a problem that seems to have a broad amount of agreement from the left and from the right. this $14.5 billion, which is appropriated expressly to help these 11 million children, isn't getting to them. it's ending up other places. it's distributed by a complicated federal forel la that's generally -- formula that's generally based on the number low-incom of low-income n a district and the average per-pupil expenditure in a state. here's what happens. what happens the money largely follows the teachers' salaries, and to get right to the bottom line, the children in wealthier districts are usually taught by teachers who earn higher salaries, and the children in poor d

senator. he has been the ranking republican on the armed services committee so he knows issues not only as a veteran -- a man who served in the vietnam war -- but also as a senator who has looked closely as each of the issues that affect the department of defense. he doesn't hold a candle to anyone -- take a step back to anyone when it comes to his commitment to our military and our nation's defense. and now it's my responsibility to come to the floor of the senate and argue against an amendment that senator mccain is offering on the department of defense bill. you think to yourself, durbin, how did you get this assignment? the fact is as chairman of this appropriations subcommittee, it is my responsibility to argue the other side of the issue that senator mccain has brought to the floor. i come to this assignment brand-new, just a few weeks now since the untimely passing of our great friend and national hero, dan inouye of hawaii. and because of his passing, there were vacancies created and i

senator mcconnell, with copies to senator mikulski and senator shelby, and we stated in one sentence, "we write to inform you of our intention to object to entering into a time agreement for floor consideration of a continuing resolution until we've had at least 72 hours to review its contents." that's -- that's what we wrote. that's what we asked for. and i would remind my colleagues again, it's a 597-page bill of over a trillion dollars that we got at 9:00 last night. is there anyone who has had time to read this entire bill of 597 pages long? and we're talking about a trillion dollars? a trillion dollars and we are holding up the united states senate over not having since 9:00 last night until 3:30 this afternoon to examine a 587-page bill, over a trillion dollars. now, and what i've already found -- what we've already found -- and we haven't finished and we hope to be finished within a few hours examining this legislation -- is the most egregious pork-barrel spending at a time of sequestration. this is -- i find it mind-boggling. you know, we spent three weeks in december on the f

in this consultation with senator stevan as office -- senator stevan now -- senator e.abenow's offic it will have significant reductions. >> my last question on the subject, getting back to the $23 billion, it appears to me to come from commodity programs and crop insurance. is that accurate? if that is accurate, is there any savings in conservation and nutrition assumed by the chairwoman's mark? >> i have to get back to you on the specifics on how the $23 billion is broken down. i believe it is all in one function at this moment. >> could you tell us if there's any savings from -- i know there are save frgs farm programs or commondy programs and crop insurance. is there any save frgs crop nutrition -- savings from crop nutrition? >> i do not want to get into a debate with staff members. your questions -- i just want to make clear i don't want to get into a long debate. >> she and i have no differences. >> let me clarify because the senator has important questions. in asking him that we do our job in the agriculture committee rather than doing farm bill amendments here. i support his

senate republicans lost seats in the senate. people outside the process might wonder if it has consequences. >> so the question is the election didn't go our way. believe me, i know what it feels like. that means we surrender our principles? whether the country intended or not. we have divided country. we have the second largest house majority we've had since world war ii, and what we believe in the divided government era we need to put up our vision. we think we owe the country a balanced budget. we think we owe the country solutions to plaguing our nation. a debt crisis on the horizon, a slow growing economy, people trapped trapped in poverty. elections have consequences. we are in the majority. the president won re-election and democrats in majority. this is our offer and vision. what you do is show the country what you believe in. the senate hasn't passed a budget in four years, despite the fact that the law requires them to do so each and every year. we are finally doing a budget. i think that's good. i'm pleased in murray

members of the senate. as we go on in this debate, hopefully this is a bill that can move forward and pass the senate and the house and move on. the language seems to be fixed and this is one way to do it. it will protect those experiencing mental illnesses. i will turn it over to senator flake. >> i appreciate the opportunity to come out in support of this legislation. in arizona, gabby giffords and mark kelly came to talk about some of the problems with the background check system. there are more than 120,000 mental-health records that have been adjudicated that the state level. those are not part of the nics system. there is this piece of legislation and other things we can do that will allow individuals authorities to determine who is incapable and should not be in a position to get a weapon. i appreciate the time that has gone into this, particularly by the primary sponsors. >> thank you, jeff. >> after the shootings in connecticut, i spent a lot of time with people in arkansas asking them about gun is

we showed you the exchange, between senator cruz and senator feinstein is moment ago. senator feinstein went on television and described senator cruz as arrogant and aggressive and did feel that she was being lectured to. so the question today, was he just trying to be tough, make a point, young whippersnapper in the senate? or did he have an important legal point? did he have a valid legal point? we'll have a fair and balanced debate on that question just ahead. a new question for the white house over an unnecessary national security reversal that may waste hundreds of millions of dollars. president obama slammed the brakes on a west coast missile defense shield in 2009. now after new threats from north korea, the pentagon is rushing to beef up and that's proving to be more expensive. >> in less than two hours, chuck hagel will hold a news conference on missile defense learned that the pentagon is set to deploy 14 additional ground-based missile silos in alaska and california and bring the total number of interceptors to 44. just eight days ago, the white house tried

the rules of the senate say senators can be recognized to speak as long as they wish. can't be forced to cede the floor or interrupted without consent. the senator holding the longest record? south carolina senator strom thurmond spoke for more than i24 hours. >> tries the system so much. we want to make sure we arrest, convict and execute the right perp. we have trials. so we think it is important that we have trials. ♪ tens of thousands of dollars on their 401(k) to hidden fees. is that what you're looking for, like a hidden fee in your giant mom bag? maybe i have them... oh that's right i don't because i rolled my account over to e-trade where... woah. okay... they don't have hidden fees... hey fern. the junkrawer? why would they... is that my gerbil? you said he moved to a tiny farm. that's it, i'm running away. no, no you can't come! [ male announcer ] e-trade. less for us. more for you. exciting and would always come max and pto my rescue.ookstore but as time passed, i started to notice max just wasn't himself. and i knew he'd feel better if he lost a little we

senator rand paul is still talking on the senate floor he's been going strong for the past eight hours now the chairman's of filibuster cia nominee john brennan and protect americans from potential drone strikes on u.s. soil. plus there is a threat to our national defense that's closer than you'd think the military is struggling with out of shape recruits as the ranks of eligible soldiers continue to fit coming up we'll get the skinny on the efforts to drop those pounds. it's wednesday march six eight pm here in washington d.c. i'm liz wahl and you're watching our t.v. . well tonight venezuelans began their seven days of mourning following the death of their president hugo chavez this is a live picture from caracas where hundreds of mourners are gathered and many others are watching this historic event live on venezuelan state t.v. chavez died yesterday after losing his long battle with cancer he was fifteen years old earlier in the day chavez his body arrived at the day to go on a military academy that's the live picture you see here all this is where his body will lie in state for th

senators cast their votes on the senate floor brenna received sixty three yes votes and thirty four no boats and to no one surprise kentucky senator rand paul was among the no votes and we'll keep you updated on this as we learn more of this of course comes just after senator rand paul's historic filibuster it ended at twelve forty this morning after the senator talked and talked for almost thirteen hours well from the very beginning he said he would speak until he could speak no more and that is exactly what he did the old fashioned filibuster was aimed at blocking the nomination of john brennan as head of the cia well now that senator paul has people talking what happens next to correspondent margaret howell is at the capitol now. margaret so what kind of a response is he getting there on the capitol. well you know liz there certainly has been some fallout from senator paul's filibuster on members of his own party aren't taking to crime leads to it so what he what he has been deemed you know his behavior and this filibuster even john mccain calling it an offensive and insulting behav

bob byrd use teed to do on the senate floor, many members of the senate do. we need to make sure the limits placed upon the executive branch by the constitution are still upheld, otherwise the senate should not confirm mr. brennan to lead the c.i.a. so the letter from senator paul goes on to say, during are confirmation brothers prost in the select senate ebt select committee on intelligence, committee members have quite appropriately made requests similar to questions i've raised on in my previous letter to you. madam president, i agree. members of the committee did not did make -- did make appropriate requests and wanted to have those same questions answered that senator paul has been offering. and they are that you expound on your views, your views, mr. brennan, on the limits of executive power in using lethal force against united states citizens. this is against united states citizens, especially when operating on u.s. soil. and that, madam president, is the fundamental of the questions that i have been asked during telephone town halls as well as i trave

senator ipo g, mccain, senator paul. starting another one answers on benghazi. those answers have not been forthcoming. and when this filibuster in this, as it surely will, the burning confirmation will move ahead images like that of senator kerry, and there will be confirmation because the republican party will, at some point, find debris to step aside in the process. why even bother with the theatrics? >> yes. i think they have held that they could pull some of these documents out of t administration to get some answers, particularly onhis question of talking points on the kinds of warnings that were provided to the white house and the others in the days before the benghazi attacks. and they, as you say, they have met with very limited success. the first-round of documents were so heavily redacted that they did not answer any questions paris seriously. we now hav an idea of where the ad is to these talking points as susan rice used or made, we don't know who made them or why they were made. lou: trying to blame press secretaries for curring allowed. that is a

in the effort on the senate floor in support of senator paul during his almost 13-hour filibuster. and what they were really -- today they were really protesting against even the context of the question that senator paul sought and eventually received an answer to from the obama administration which sort of suggested that there could be a possibility that either president obama or some future president may want to use a missile from a drone to actually kill an american citizen at a coffee shop somewhere on u.s. soil. >> well, how strong is this divide and what is the -- what's behind -- i mean, what's the key issue behind it that they're fighting over? >> well, the republican party itself has had sort of a differing opinion for a while now on national security policy. there's the wing of the party which senator paul is becoming an emerging voice on which is more skeptical of broad executive power, i would say, in this sort of regard. versus the traditional more hawkish national security voices that are the likes of senator mccain and senator graham that have been the party standard

the fireworks involved a california senator. >> i walked in. i saw people shocked. i looked body that has been shot with these weapons. >> now kpix5's joe vazquez is in the newsroom with details with the emotional exchange. >> senator dianne feinstein who proposed the assault weapons ban and she has taken heat from republicans. today, when a tea party senator who just been elected a few months ago started in, she decided she had enough of that. >> it seems to me that a lot of this should begin as our foundational document. >> the drama begins with freshman senator of texas, telling california senator feinstein a weapons ban is unconstitutional. >> and the second amendment provides that the right of the people to keep and bare arms will not be infringed. >> senator, i've been on this committee for twenty years. i was a mayor for nine years. i walked in, i saw people shot. >> feinstein is referring to the fact that back in 1978, she was one of the first to find mayor and harvey milk after they were assassinated at san francisco city hall. >> you know, it's fine you wa

but senator murray and the senate budget committee will -- what senator murray and the senate budget committee will produce is a balanced approach which says yes, deficit reduction but the rye way. we -- but the right way. we need to make sure we have revenues coming in from those who can afford it. we need spending cuts and we need entitlement reform that is thoughtful, sensitive, reform that rulely makes sure that's -- really makes sure that's programs are here for generations to come. i think that america will applaud the efforts on the senate side. i think they'll have many questions to ask on the house side. and the debate begins. those of us on the appropriations committee wait for this to be completed because the budget resolution is basically our blueprint for what we can achieve during the remainder of the year for the next budget year that starts october the 1st. let me say there are a couple things that are part of the budget process that i would like to address very quukly. -- very quickly. i am very concerned about the impact of sequestration on health care. reporters ba

senator, how are you? >> very good, good to be with you, sean. >> sean: does that mean you're running? >> i can tell it you it was invigorating and it was exciting probably 2000 young kids in the audience and standing and chanting and if you want to find some energy for the conservative movement, you see it it there. at cpac, it's one of the biggest convocations of young people you'll see all year long. >> sean: you took a different tact than some of the other speakers and i found myself in agreement with you, and that is the republican party needs to get tougher. ill h'll be honest, i was surprised when john boehner said he trusted obama. he has been duplicitous and trying to get boehner fired. why would he say he trusts him? >> there are a lot of things we believe in and shouldn't give up on and some of the things i was talking about, i think, attracts people from both the left and right and that's supporting your right to trial by jury, your right to be innocent until proven guilty, these are such time-

daschle, senator dole can, senator baker and senator mitchell, and you're going to hear from senator daschle later today, and we all are attempting to show current elected leaders what civility and compromise is all about. okay, so we have some work to do. i will give a quick shameless plug. we are working together again on a cost containment and value purchasing initiative that we hope to get out by march with senator daschle, senator frist, senator.com mini and former cbo director rivlin. so let me kick off our discussion. i'm going to quickly give you ten observations, very quick ones, why the d.c. political environment makes achieving new legislative reforms really hugely challenging. and yet while health care reform will move ahead regardless of today's initial congressional gridlock. first, we have to acknowledge that political polarization and the split government dominates the budget and health care reform debates in washington. and, yes, it is true, it is worse than ever, and i think senator daschle will talk about that. the republicans are more worried about challenges from

senator, welcome to you. i would be remiss if i mentioned a special dated yesterday, 40 years ago that you and your military brothers were released from vietnamese prison. you don't make much of that kind of stuff yourself, but man, oh, man what you went through then. i couldn't believe it's been 40 years. how do you feel? >> i feel like the most fortunate man i ever heard of. i went through such a great deal of experiences then. i've been able to serve the country nonstop since. i've been the nominee of the republican party. it always intrigues me when they say mccain is angry. look, i get angry when i see injustice and i get angry when i see pork that we're going to talk about. i'm so happy to be in the arena and happy to be able to serve, i can't tell you how grateful i am to serve this country, maybe not always the best but i sure am happy about it. >> neil: senator, this whole issue relates to something i want to bring up with you first and foremost. your service to the country and 40th anniversary of si

harry reid is the leader of that senate, the mark prior senate, not the david prior senate. harry reid is the leader of the senate where nine of the ten republicans who voted for the 1993 assault weapons ban are no longer senators. harry reid's job is to figure out the right strategy for bringing gun legislation to the senate floor. it is the hardest job in the senate, and it is misnamed. his title should not be majority leader. it should be majority strategist or majority scheduler. because no senator ever has to follow the majority leader. and in today's senate, no senator ever will follow the majority leader. democrat or republican. if there is a re-election risk involved. and so the majority strategist, harry reid, had a choice. put the assault weapons ban in the bill, going to the floor, and watch as the first amendment offered on the floor would be an amendment to strip out the assault weapons ban, or bring the bill to the floor without the assault weapons ban and watch dianne feinstein offer it as an amendment just like she did last time and harry reid is making the s

so now senator paul is delaying the cia director vote by the full senate. in a letter to senator paul, the attorney general eric holder did not rule out droning americans in america. without arrests or charges or lawyers or judges. just point and fire from the sky, dead. senator paul calls that an abomination. >> i will speak until i can no longer speak. i will speak as long as it takes until the alarm is sounded from coast to coast. that our constitution is important. that your rights to trial by jury are precious, that no american should be killed by a drone on american soil without first being charged with a crime, without first being found to be guilty by a court. >> shepard: john brennan wrote senator paul insisting the cia does not kill americans on u.s. soil. mike emanuel is on capitol fox on live top story top story. it's delayed. >> he realizes there are likely 60 votes for john brennan's confirmation. so a senator cannot stop the nomination but can certainly slam on the brakes. though it appears that hunger and fatigue are kicking in. >> the cente

there from senator corker. let me he ask you. are senate democrats willing to make serious cuts, reforms to entitlements if you get added tax revenue and what are the prospects tor for a grand bar ? >> what he articulated is what we did in the bowles simpson commission and what we have done since. we said let's put everything on the table and i want to thank bob be for saying that. we have to, of course, pass the budget resolution in the senate. patty murray has done an extraordinarily good job and then move to the next stage and that is the grand bargain stage. both sides sitting down on a bipartisan basis not eliminating medicare as emhe afraid the paul ryan budget would do but making sure it survives for generations to come. putting revenues on the table that are fair and won't penalize the working people across america and making sure it is a balanced approach. i think what bob corker just said from his side is a basic principles that both parties can rally around. >> chris: and real specifically because i

senator udall and senator collins and senator heinrich are all ones that share that view as well. and in doing that, we recognize that we have a responsibility and that ultimately it's up to american voters to decide whether congress is fulfilling its obligation to conduct vigorous oversight of the executive branch's actions and activities. so let me then turn to the question that has received most of the attention today and is really about what i'd like to explore for a moment or two with my colleague from kentucky. the president has also said, and i was encouraged by a number of his comments, including the state of the union address, that with respect to counter terror efforts, no one should take his word for it, that the administration is doing things the right way. and as part of that, he said he was going to engage the american people in a discussion of these kinds of issues. and when it comes to continuing the public debate about the rules for conducting targeted killings, there are a number of questions that need to be explored and one that i will address to senator paul in