leahy: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. leahy: i have three unanimous consent requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate. they have the approval of the majority and minority leaders. i ask unanimous consent these requests be agreed to and they be printed in the record. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. leahy: mr. president i'm about to suggest the absence of a quorum, but i would ask consent that upon the lifting of the quorum that i be recognized for up to 15 minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. nelson: mr. president would the senator yield? mr. leahy: i withhold my request. of course. mr. nelson: the senator the esteemed chairman who has his leadership has brought us to this point that we're on the brink of passing a major immigration reform bill, and the senator has heard my com

but i want to say that senator leahy and senator sessions, but senator leahy particularly as the chair could not have done a better job getting the bill printed, printing all the amendments, staying here through the night, letting the members of the committee have a lot of time to debate the bill, to amend the bill, and the committee did a very, very good job. i am planning to vote for the bill. i've not kept that a secret or said anything to the contrary. of course the amendment process is important. i can't wait and see if an amendment gets on my bill that undermines some of the important principles i might have to change my mind. but i don't think that's going to happen. hopefully something can be worked out. i'm not on the committee and most of the people on this floor aren't on the committee. the committee is representative of a minority group of republicans and democrats. the majority of us don't serve on the judiciary committee. so while we were interested and worked with our friends on the committee to suggest important changes that would improve the bill or correct the bill or

leahy: mr. president, i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. mr. leahy: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: mr. president, i ask consent the call of the quorum be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. leahy: mr. president, i yield to the distinguished senator from hawaii. ms. hirono: thank you. mr. president, i rise to speak on my amendment, hirono number 1504, cosponsored by senators murray, murkowski, boxer, gillibrand, cantwell, stabenow, klobuchar, warren, baldwin, mikulski, landrieu, shaheen and leahy. i ask unanimous consent to set aside the pending amendment. mr. leahy: i would object. the presiding officer: objection is heard. ms. hirono: thank you. so noted. to continue, mr. president, the immigration bill clearly if inadvertently disadvantages women who are trying to immigrate to the united states. s. 744 reduces the opportunities for immigrants to come under the family-based

chairman le leahy and senator carper agree. this legislation will make it virtually impossible for undocumented people to work so they'll no longer have an incentive to enter illegally. this is what my two colleagues said in their letter. "we need to stop focusing our attention on the symptoms and start dealing with the underlying root causes of illegal immigration in a way that's tough, practical, and fair." that says it all, mr. president. this bill does that. but there's one thing this bill does not do and should not do. it does not and should not make the path to citizenship contingent on attaining border security goals that are impossible to measure. that would leave millions who aspire to become citizens in indefinite limbo. we've got to move past this. six years ago we tried to do something about it and the situation only got worse. this legislation is critical. mr. president, if we made those goals impossible, the legislation would be a failure. this would give opponents of citizenship both in the senate and an opportun

leahy: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: i understand the leahy amendment number 1183 is now pending, is that correct? the presiding officer: that is correct. mr. leahy: mr. president, i modify my amendment with the changes i have at the desk. the presiding officer: the senator has that right. the amendment is so modified. mr. leahy: mr. president, i yield the floor. mr. reid: i have a second-degree amendment, mr. president, it is at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: the senator from nevada, mr. reid, proposes an amendment numbered 1551, to amendment numbered 1183, as modified. mr. reid: i have an amendment to the underlying bill at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. mr. reid: mr. president, let's see here. second-degree amendment, we've taken care of that, is that right? the presiding officer: yes, sir. mr. reid: cloture motion at the desk with respect to the amendment, that's also at the desk, is tha

to the leahy amendment 1103. mr. reid: i raise a point of order against the vitter amendment that's improperly grafted to the leahy amendment. the presiding officer: the point of order is well taken. the amendment fails. mr. reid: the vitter amendment fails -- i think that's falls. the presiding officer: falls. mr. reid: madam president, i now ask consent there be a period of debate only until 6:30 this evening, with the time equally divided between the two leaders or their designees, and i be recognized at 6:30 this evening. the presiding officer: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. a senator: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from louisiana. ms. landrieu: madam president, i don't know if there is any particular order. i see other colleagues that are on the floor. i am not in a particular rush. i would be happy for them to speak. i would like to speak for five minutes as if in morning business, but i'm open to the -- okay. i thank -- i thank the senators. i know that the leadership,

leahy: mr. president, first i have six unanimous consent requests for committees to meet during today's session of the senate with the approval of the majority and minority leaders. i ask unanimous consent that the request be granted. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. leahy: mr. president, this amendment my friend from iowa would significantly delay even the initial registration process for the 11 million undocumented individuals in the country. we believe the pathway to citizenship has to be earned. it's also got to be attainable and this would further delay a process that already would take at least 13 years. bringing 11 million people out of the shadows is not only the right thing to do, it's the best thing to do to keep our country safe. we would know who is here. we could focus our resources on who poses a threat. it's also necessary. we've been pouring billions of dollars into border security in recent years. we made enormous progress in the last immigration bills in 2006 and 2

leahy: madam president, the hoeven-corker a.m. is subject to a -- amendment is subject to a budget point of order. it increases on-budget deficit over both the five and ten-year periods and exceeds the judiciary committee's alloy indication for direct spending but on-budget effects do not take into account the significant off-budget savings. and last week the nonpartisan congressional budget office concluded the bill is going to especially help us achieve nearly $1 trillion in deficit reduction. and we also have learned that the hoeven-corker amendment would significantly increase our border security and would, as the c.b.o. said, i would say to my friends from tennessee and north dakota, the amendment would reduce both illegal entry into the country and the number of people who stay in the country beyond the end of their authorized period. so when we vote on the -- waiving the point of order, i will vote to waive it because the hoeven-corker amendment and the overall amendment will spur job growth and will dramatically reduce our

leahy: thank you. the presiding officer: under the previous order, the question occurs on the gonzalez nomination. mr. leahy: i believe there is a request on the yeas and nays on this. so i request the yeas and nays. the presiding officer: is there a sufficient second? there apings to be. -- there appears to be. the clerk will call the roll. vote: s vote: vote: vote: the presiding officer: does any senator in the chamber wish to vote or change his or her vote? if not, the yeas are 89, the nays are zero and the nomination is confirmed. under the previous order, -- the majority leader. mr. reid: i ask unanimous consent we now proceed to a period of morning business and now -- from now until 20 till 7:00 and during that period of time it's my understanding there is a colloquy to be between 2010 senator brown and senator isakson that will take that 15 minutes. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: when that time is up i ask to be recognized. the presiding officer: under the previous order, th

leahy, proposes amendment numbered 1183. mr. leahy: mr. president, i ask ask consent that further reading of the amendment be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection. the senate will be in order. mr. leahy: madam president, i note that that amendment on behalf of myself and senator hatch. a senator: would the purpose yield for purposes of unanimous consent? mr. leahy: i yield. the presiding officer: the senator from rhode island. mr. reed: thank you, mr. president. july 11 less than three weeks ago. unless congress acts the need based student loans rate will double making college more expensive for more than 7 million students across the nation. therefore, i ask unanimous consent that at a time to be determined by the majority leader following consultation with the republican leader the senate proceed to the immediate consideration of calendar number 74, s. 593, the student loan affordability act, that the bill be read a third time, the stphaed -- the senate proceed to vote on passage of the bill and the motion to reconsid

leahy: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. we need order. order in the senate. mr. leahy: mr. president, the senate is still not in order. the presiding officer: please, please, senators, take your conversations outside the chamber, if needed. the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: mr. president, i wish to yield to the senator from louisiana. the presiding officer: the senator from louisiana. ms. landrieu: mr. president, i offer this amendment, this is a technical amendment. three technical but important changes to the child citizenship act of 2000. senator coats, senator blunt and senator klobuchar have helped lead the effort on this. i have explained it numerous times on the floor and i think the leaders have agreed on a voice vote. the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: mr. president, i have spoken with the distinguished ranking member, senator grassley. i understand we are able to agree to the landrieu amendment by voice vote. i ask unanimous co

leahy: mr. president -- and i would notify the assistant republican leader that i will be making a unanimous consent request in a few minutes, after my remarks, so i didn't want him to be surprised by that. you know, members representing all corners of this great nation have been working hard on amendments to improve this comprehensive immigration bill. for a week now we've been trying to negotiate a package of noncontroversial amendments to include in this legislation. my experience over the years both in the majority and the minority, whatever bill you have before the senate, when you have a list of noncontroversial amendments, they're simply agreed to by everybody and put in the managers' package so as not to take up a day voting on things that are going to pass anyway. and last week i filed a managers' package of amendments. i removed from the list the ones that had been objected to by other members. instead, though, the republican minority has taken the position that in order to even clear

leahy: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: mr. president, again i thank the majority leader. i have heard some talk tonight from some saying they wish there would be votes. i finally have given unhanding a long list to the republican side of amendments we are prepared to vote on, both republican and democratic amendments. each time that was rejected. most of them were amendments with no controversy, republican and democratic alike; would have been accepted. and i think back to the debate we had in the senate judiciary committee where we actually voted on amendments. we brought up 140 or so. all but two or three passed with bipartisan votes. a couple dozen of about 40 republican amendments passed with bipartisan votes. and yet when it came here on the floor of the senate, my friends on the other side, time and time again, object to bringing up amendments that would pass unanimously, both republicans and democrats. i suppose we're -- in one case we have some who don't want any immigration bill and others are probably waiting for a c

senator leahy who i respect has a bill to say let's put it in the civilian side. that's a bridge too far. senator gillibrand's proposal in this bill is the moderate step. to make sure that women move forward. the problem here is there's been 26,000 sexual assaults in the military estimated. only 15% of the women are disclosing what's going on. the number one reason as senator gillibrand mentioned in the hearing today was because they're afraid of the chain of command. by keeping it separate from the chain of command and within the judge advocate system let them decide what cases to bring on these felony cases. chris, if its a comment in formation, something that was not right or a sergeant says, hey, good looking. that's not a trial. that should be a reprimand what's called nonjudicial punishment in article 15. under gillibrand's bill, that stays within the chain of command. but these felony cases -- >> i'm with you because look, i keep thinking when i look at these numbers, i think about the worst prison movies i've ever seen. you know, shawshank redemption and s

leahy: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent that at 11:30 a.m. wednesday, june 26, all postcloture time on the leahy amendment number 1183 as modified be considered expired, that the pending amendment number 1151 be withdrawn, that if a budget point of order is raised against an amendment or bill during consideration of the leahy amendment number 1183 as modified and the applicable motion to waive is made, at 11:30 a.m. the senate then proceed to vote on the motion to waive the budget point of order. if the point of order is waived the senate proceed to vote on the leahy amendment number 1183 as modified. that upon the disposition of the leahy amendment, the senate proceed to the vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the committee-reported substitute as amended. and if cloture is invoked it be considered as if cloture had been invoked at 1:00 a.m., wednesday, june 26. and finally the majority leader be recognized following the cloture vote if cloture is invoked. the presiding officer: is the

senator leahy who i respect has a bill to say let's put it in the civilian side. that's a bridge too far. senator gillibrand's proposal in this bill issed m the moderate . there's been 26,000 sexual assaults in the military estimated. only 15% of the women are disclosing what's going on. the number one reason as senator gillibrand mentioned in the hearing today was because they're afraid of the chain of command. by keeping it separate from the chain of command and within the judge advocate system let them decide what cases to bring on these felony cases. chris, if its a comment in formation, something that was not right or a sergeant says, hey, good looking. that's not a trial. that should be a reprimand what's called nonjudicial punishment in article 15. under gil brand's bill that stays within the chain of command. but these felony cases. >> i'm with you because look, i keep thinking when i look at these numbers, i think about the worst prison movies i've ever seen. you know, shawshank redemption and stuff like that where you've got rape. these cases are astound

leahy: mr. president, this legislation has been pending on the floor since the beginning of last week. we actually should have started disposing of amendments during the first week the bill was on the senate floor, but we have seen objection after objection of those who are opposed, and they are very much in the minority, to this legislation, the objection to proceeding to comprehensive immigration reform, that cost us several days, to show that the minority finally ended that filibuster so we could proceed to the bill. 84 senators voted to proceed. now, i realize we would rather not have any votes one way or the other. it allows you to go home and say whether somebody is for or against it, yes, i'm working on that because i voted maybe. well, is there any wonder why we are in such a low level of approval in the american people's eyes, the whole congress? they expect us to vote yes or no. sometimes you have to vote for something unpopular. we're elected to six-year terms. we're supposed to do th

leahy: madam president, at 5:30 today, the senate is going to vote on the modification to the leahy amendment, which is the package put together by senators hoeven and corker. and the distinguished senior senator from new york, who has led the so-called gang of eight in putting together this bill is on the floor and has just spoken, as has the -- or will, i believe, the distinguished majority whip, who is on the floor. now, i indicated on friday when i spoke about this, this is not the amendment i would have drafted. i think every one of us if we drafted the bill, each one would draft it differently. but republicans demanded these aggressive border measures to secure their support for the overall legislation, and while it means spending an enormous amount of money because their amendment will increase republican support by spending this money for this historic comprehensive legislation, i will support it. ultimately, the comprehensive legislation is the most important thing. i appreciate that this package includes a provision senator murray and i have worked on that takes an important step to

leahy: mr. president? if the senator would be happy to yield on that point -- mr. reid: yes, i would be happy to. mr. leahy: i was privileged in my capacity as president pro tempore, to speak to the graduating class of pages, the group of pages graduating just ahead of the distinguished group we have here now. and there had been discussion about immigration coming up, and then the distinguished republican leader spoke and at great length went on to the pages about how these important issues must have 60 votes on everything, must have 60 votes on amendments and so forth. and i'm sure the distinguished thor from kentucky would confirm that that's what he said. certainly there were 100-and-some-odd people in the room that heard him say it. and here we've offered the distinguished majority leader -- the distinguished majority leader has offered to have three republican votes and two votes by democratic senators, all under exactly the same rule, the rule that senator mcconnell proposed. now, we've ta

that's what leahy is reminding them of. we're over you. if you're committing crimes, we're going to prosecute you. it's amazing they can commit crimes and not get prosecuted. >> if we're not going to get the gillibrand change but we don't want status quo, you have the opportunity in this strict military command structure to say, listen, generals and colonels, if this happens, this is going to have serious repercussions in your career. you have the ability in this system to if you have the will at the top in the secretary of defense and president, to say you've got to do this and you're done. >> they tossed this overboard last friday. they sent it out without any fanfare on a friday night. they throughout the major overhaul like the area around japan for not enforcing sexual assault. that was a signal to everybody. >> they will deal with it. kelly, john mccain had a powerful statement a few weeks ago that he could no longer during the hearings, there was a family that said can you guarantee the safety of our daughter as she enters the armed

we're working with senator leahy, working with senator grassley. just so people understand how hopefully if they are not convinced now sincere i am about,this i want my colleagues to know i am removing my amendments from this list. there will be no landrieu amendments on this list. this is not an attempt to get landrieu amendments passed. as important as i think, i've been very fortunate, i've at least gotten one amendment for adopted kids in the bill, i'm not complaining, it's the way it goes. but i don't want people to think that i am trying to get a unanimous consent on my amendments. so i'm taking miementdz off the list. it will not be circulated. the list that will be circulated is by leaders, both republicans and democrats, that have a -- could i have order, please. the presiding officer: the senate will be in order. the senator from louisiana. ms. landrieu: the list that will be circulated as democratic and sponsor -- republican sponsor, cleared by senator grassley and senator leahy. they will work with their individual members to see if the

he was pressed on that by senator leahy. he said it was parts of other programs that really helped to thwart them. there is a another program called prism which has to do with the government getting into private internet use. he talked about how that led the government to know about a plot to blow up new york subways. said that wasn't the only way they were able to stop that. that was the initial way they found out about it. it was very clear that the senators from the most conservative to the most liberal said that is well and good but they are concerned that the web of data that the government is collecting may, down the road, not be used for good. there's a slippery slope when it comes to civil liberties. >> we are about to have that conversation on that slippery slope. going back to your point which was the initial headline the fact that general alexander, the nsa director saying dozens of attacks have been thwarted. he was asked for a specific number, he did not give one. do you know why no number? >> he was very clear

leahy: mr. president? the presiding officer: objection is heard. mr. leahy: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from montana has the floor. mr. leahy: does the senator from montana yield for one minute? the presiding officer: without objection. mr. leahy: mr. president, i think of myself as one of the calmest people around here, but a lot of facts and numbers have been tossed around here. i think let's get a few in perspective. when this bill was before the judiciary committee, there were 300 amendments filed, 300. we put them online, every single person saw a week and a half before what the amendments were. we then brought them up. i'd bring up one from one party, then one from another. we did this day after day after day, into the night until people said we have no more amendments that we want to bring up. we adopted around 140 of those amendments. all but three of them with republican and democratic votes. to say nobody's had a chance to amend this, we had nearly 140 amendments

leahy: mr. president, i want to applaud the senior senator from illinois for his statement, and i will say publicly on the floor of the senate what i have said to him privately, what i have said to him in our leadership meetings and what i have said to him in our caucus, caucuses that he is a champion of the dream act. that act when it finally passes, i think these dreamers will have a better life because of it, but there would be one person they can thank. it would be senator dick durbin of illinois, because from the time i have known him -- and it's been years -- this has been front foremost over and over again, i just want to state my admiration for the senator in doing that. the presiding officer: morning business is closed. under the previous orders, the senate will resume consideration of s. 744, which the clerk will report. the clerk: calendar number 80, s. 744, a bill to provide for comprehensive immigration reform, and for other purposes. mr. leahy: mr. president? the presiding officer:

so chairman leahy conducted a fair markup. no one disputes that, so i commend the gang of eight for allowing the bill to get to the judiciary committee and for getting us to this proposal on the floor and that democrats received as well as republicans. our goal now is to pass estrada's legislation possible with as many votes as possible a standing trigger principles. then await what the house is going to do. the speaker has said he wants a bill that would allow the democrats to vote. that is really good as. in the house for the last two congresses there is very few opportunities for the speaker would only allow to pass what the majority of the majority. that means on the republicans. if they don't have enough republican votes, i'm very pleased the speaker would say that. it is important that we understand the procedure reviews for 230 plus years in this body to pass something here, pasadena house i got a conference work out differences. so i understand we have a long road before us and more work will be necessary to get this b

leahy: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: mr. president, i was here earlier on this as had been the distinguished presiding officer and now we have another distinguished presiding officer. madam president, it is good to see you here as a member of the senate judiciary committee. and as the presiding officer knows, the senate judiciary committee held lengthy and extensive public markup sessions with the board of security and economic opportunity and immigration and modernization act, s. 744. we worked late into the evenings. we also started pretty early in the morning. we debated the bill. we considered hundreds of amendments. but the public saw our consideration firsthand. we streamed everything we did on the internet, and it was broadcast on television. to call the proposed amendments republican and democratic alike, we put them on our web site, we updateed the committee's web site to include adopted amendments in real time. i heard from people all over the country that they felt they actually had involvement in what we were doi

leahy. mr. leahy: madam president, this amendment is very simple and it sets up a pilot program for real ultra high-speed internet in rural areas. we're going to have this in urban areas. all we're saying is let rural areas and every single senator represents a rural area somewhere in their state. allow rural areas to compete with urban areas for jobs, for education, for medical care. this -- the ultra high-speed internet service pilot is narrow in scope, carefully drafted. i know it's supported by the distinguished chair and the distinguished ranking member, has the potential of bringing, as i said earlier, innovation of the silicon valley to the up irvalley, in vermont, to rural areas across the country. it's almost what we had to argue about rural electricity back before i was born, whether rural areas would be the same as urban areas. this makes it possible. i'd urge its passage. ms. stabenow: madam president, i would urge a "yes" vote on the leahy amendment. the presiding officer: the quest

leahy: madam president? the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: mr. president, a couple of things. we've been talking about the schedule and all. we are moving forward. the time has started now on this vote. it is obvious that a majority, a very large majority, bipartisan majority of the senate will support an immigration bill. i know there have been proposals for amendments. i'm not going to make a proposal. i'll leave that for the leader. but there have been efforts to get a finite number of both republican and democratic amendments that we can vote on. most under normal circumstances would probably be accepted by voice vote. i would hope we can do that because i think that we could be able to complete this immigration bill in enough time so our, especially our staffs which will have a great deal of work to do putting it together, staffs on both sides who work long hours even after the rest of us leave, that maybe they can actually have some time with their families and prepare for the celebration, celebrating this great nation next week. mr. presid

leahy: all the time. and i appreciated working with him. we were able to pretty well decide when matters would come up and make sure that both republicans and democrats had a chance to bring up all their amendments, and we adopted 141 or so amendments, including second-degree amendments. and all but one or two of them were bipartisan votes. so i appreciate what he said, and i enjoyed working with him on that. i'll have more to say at another time about his hamid but i just -- amendment but i'd just note that for the past several days senators have been discussing the immigration bill. i'm glad the senate's now turned to actually considering. we've had a lot of talk about getting to it, including of course the time spent in the judiciary committee. i intend to file a handful of amendments to the bill today. i would encourage others to do the same so we can get to work without further delay. the bipartisan immigration bill is a measure of the senators who come together to pass -- we should send to the house the best bill we can. and i think t

in all likelihood, senator leahy is going to vote for the bill. democratic leaders if they can ove the bill to the right, who will likely be upset, but who will still back the bill. host: congressman gutierrez at the hill saturday at a conference exprepressed optimism that they have 218 votes. we know 218 is a passable number in the house. what's the reality over there? >> the preelt is, if you talk -- the reality is, and i have talked to a fair amount of conservatives in the house, they are not for the vote. certainly senator boehner will not bring the bill to the house floor. we have a lot of senators more worried about a primary challenge than a general election. some of these guys have already started to get primary challenges. so the house is going to move very different legislation. now, relatively noncontroversial legislation, and then it is going to get in conference. that's where the rubber hits the road. the problem is that the house, the big sticking point is the path way to zip -- citizenship. the house does not agree with it. speaker

senator leahy taking his bill off the table. >> a judge in new york stopped the deportation of a man who was northeastward his partner just moments after the decision came out, so i don't think this has any huge impact on the immigration reform measure going through congress but the fact that leahy's amendment is off table clears what some republicans thought was a poison pill that would have gone into the estimate bill. >> conservatives are not backing off. they will re-introduce a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. ted huelskamp is this like repealing obama care 37 times, largely symbolic >> you're seeing conservatives pushing this but you're not seeing the republican leadership in either house or senate rushing to embrace this. they see the public polls and opinion shift thoechk forth and saying look this is more of a states issue than a fed issue. there will be a contingent within congress pushing this but i don't think you'll see a ground swell of support and aggressive effort to support it. >>> coming up we're expecting more testimony from that key witness in the geo

the question is whether leahy brings it up on the floor. if you want to understand the momentum, this is perhaps all you need to know. american crossroads and the seiu are on the same side. cross roads released a print ad yesterday and seiu's campaign out today with republicans, law enforcement officials, veterans, small business owners and undocumented immigrants talking about why congress needs top pas the legislation. >> i'm a registered republican. >> congress needs to do their job. >> congress needs to grow up. stop fighting with each other and work together. >> our immigration system is broken. >> democratic senate majority leader reid said he wants a final vote on the bill before the senate recesses for the fourth of july holiday. >>> the price of privacy. ron paul says edward snowden has done, quote, a great service to the american people. >>> plus, do too many people have too much access to classified documents? what other information does snowden have to share? >>> riot police in istanbul are cracking down on protesters and the pr

to say this on the floor. >> to the leahy amendment before us. reads like a christmas wish list for halliburton. >> that's right. and get this. while we pour money, fencing, armed agents on to the border, while we gear it up with all sorts of high-tech surveillance activities. while we arm it and make sure it's one of the most militarized places in this country, the task force charged with oversight for this increasingly militarized stretch of our country will not have subpoena power. it's just a paper commission. now, it may be that the amendment with all its pork barrel spending and punitive measures is an acceptable price to pay for a path to citizenship for 11 million people, but let's not lose sight of what's happening here. every time republicans get a chance to, they are making this bill less humane, more expensive, and worse for our country. and this thing hasn't even hit the house yet. just wait until louie gohmert and his gang get their hands on it. we'll be right back with #click3. but your erectile dysfunction - it could be a question

leahy: mr. president, when the senate judiciary committee held lengthy and extensive markup sessions to consider the border security, economic opportunity, and immigration modernization act, or is $744, the bill before us, we worked late into the evening debating the bill. we actually considered hundreds of amendments. but what was interesting and what we heard the most about was the fact that the public was able to witness our consideration firsthand. they saw all our proceedings extremed live on the committee's web site. it was broadcast on c-span. in fact, about a week and a half before markup began, we had made available on our web site proposed amendments, and there were hundreds of them. and then as we made changes or there were developments, we reported it in realtime. i know that it's made a difference because i was receiving e-mails and calls from all over the country from people watching it, whether they agreed or disagreed on a particular matter. they said how much it meant to them to

democrats, including patrick leahy of vermont, objected. it was part of the debate on an immigration bill authored by the so-called "gang of eight" senators. >> the group of eight, say they're open to improving the bill. well, my amendment, now before the senate, does just that. my amendment improves the trigger that jump starts the legalization program. it ensures that the border is secure before one person gets legal status under this act. >> i will oppose efforts that impose unrealistic, excessively costly, overly rigid, inhumane or ineffective border security measures. and i will oppose efforts to modify the triggers in ways that could unduly delay or prevent the earned legalization path we've waited too long already. >> holman: currently the bill calls for improvements to the border fence and other triggers before immigrants are granted new status. in moscow, as many as 15,000 protesters marched today to denounce russian president putin. the demonstrators, including opposition leaders, criticized putin for authoritarian rule and demand

the leahy proposal on gun trafficking and strengthening on that. it's far easier to get people to bolster than it is to admit they were wrong. this is politics, think about it, we need to get something done here, not just talked about, that's hardball for now. thanks for being with us. "all in with chris hayes" starts now. >>> good evening from new york, i'm chris hayes and thank you for joining us. tonight on "all in." our first guest is a journalist who should be prosecuted for breaking the nsa surveillance story. that at least the opinion of one prominent u.s. congressman. glenn greenwald of the guardian joins me in a moment. i don't remember agreeing to any of this when i clicked okay to those facebook terms of service. how do the giant tech companies at the heart of the nsa revelations recover from this. we'll discuss that coming up. >>> during an extremely contentious house hearing today. one republican came this cross to going full todd aiken. republican male legislators talking about breaking again. we'll give you the grizzly details. we be

leahy, president pro tempore. mr. reid: mr. president? the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: following leader remarks -- and today we'll hear from senator mcconnell first -- the senate will resume the motion to proceed to the comprehensive immigration legislation. the tile unti time until 12:30 e equally divided between the proponents and opponents of this legislation. the senate will recess from 12:30 to 2:15. at 2:15 there will be a vote to invoke cloture on the legislation. at 4:00 there will be a vote on adoption to proceed. and we can begin consideration of that legislation. mr. mcconnell: mr. president? the presiding officer: the republican leader. mr. mcconnell: at any given type in our nation's history, lawmakers have been faced with many pressing challenges, some by their very nature demand immediate action. others suml simile build over t. so forcing action on them includes some combination of foresight and persuasion. the great challenge of our own day, in my view, is figuring out how to reform government programs that are growing so big so fast unless w.

senators leahy, schumer, durbin, menendez and then it. third and final announcement is today's clerks last day as assistant press secretary and he is heading over to the department of homeland security, heading back where he will be the assistant secretary for public affairs at the department of homeland security. fancy title, but i hope you feel the same way we do that he's been an essential element of this office and has helped usa's help us. what i'll take your questions. >> 93,000 people have been confirmed killed in syria. we've all heard from the white house that she condemned the violent, that she won aside to government must provide nonlethal assistance to rebels. none of that is called the violence they are. can you tell us a little bit about whether there is frustration by the president and the white house is you haven't been able to do more and the president is considering, not just on the table has a broad array of options, but one is actually considering it is his next to. >> the president and every member of his national sec

to say this on the floor. >> to the leahy amendment before us. reads like a christmas wish list for halliburton. >> that's right. and get this. while we pour money, fencing, armed agents on to the border, while we gear it up with all sorts of high-tech surveillance activities. while we arm it and make sure it's one of the most militarized places in this country, the task force charged with oversight for this increasingly militarized stretch of our country will not have subpoena power. it's just a paper commission. now, it may be that the amendment with all its pork barrel spending and punitive measures is an acceptable price to pay for a path to citizenship for 11 million people, but let's not lose sight of what's happening here. every time republicans get a chance to, they are making this bill less humane, more expensive, and worse for our country. and this thing hasn't even hit the house yet. just wait until louie gohmert and his gang get their hands on it. we'll be right back wi with #click3. she knows you like no one else. and you wouldn't ha

. >>> next to immigration where senator leahy is trying again to aed g add gay rights, he wants to allow a way for foreign spouses of gay americans to become permanent residents. >>> and tuesday while the senate was preparing to vote on the immigration bill, one member thought it might be nice to say a word or two in spanish. [ speaking foreign language ] >> virginia's tim kaine became the first senator to deliver an entire floor speech in spanish. >>> and michele bachmann is still fund-raising despite a decision against seeking re-election. the tea party favorite writes president obama and democrats will do, say or spend whatever it takes to defeat her. >>> and that's your morning's dish of scrambled politics. >>> turning how to our weather forecast, we're joined by bill karins. good morning. >> dangerous day unfortunately. and tomorrow, too. looks like we'll probably have a couple million dollars worth of damage with winds, could deal with a couple tornadoes. so first we want for show you the horrible pictures of the fire in colorado no surprise yesterday, 100 degrees in denver. it was

general keith alexander told vermont senator patrick leahy, the two classified programs recently revealed by leaks are essential for u.s. security. >> it's dozens of terrorist events that these have helped prevent. >> dozens of them proved crucial, critical, is that right? dozens? >> for both here and abroad. >> reporter: alexander pointed specifically to the disruptive 2009 plot to bomb new york city subways, intercepted e-mails with an overseas al qaeda bomb maker quickly led investigators to najibullah zazi. in hong kong, former n.s.a. contractor edward snowden, who has admitted outing the n.s.a. programs, today revealed another secret. while the united states has accused china of relentless cyber attacks, it snowden accused the u.s. of doing the same thing with major hacking operations with hundreds of targets in china and hong kong. in an interview published by the south china morning post: an interview published by the south china morning post: snowden has been in hiding since monday, but said he had no plans to leave the country. the country. now, that's an obvious signal that snow

some democrats like vermont's patrick leahy said the bill reads like a christmas wish list for outside firms. >> i'm sure there are federal contracting firms, high fiving at the prospect of all the spending demanded. >> but opposition from democrats was muted and the president endorsed the kprirms in his weekly radio address. >> but it's consistent with the principles that i and others have laid out for common sense reform. >> republican moss normally balk say this is different because it would be paid for by fines charged to undocumented workers who, if the reform bill becomes law, will now be allowed to seek citizenship. >> all of us agree that we have to pay a fine. that's not a problem. >> 25-year-old louis aguilar crossed with his family 17 years ago. the congressional budget office estimates that if louis and the nation's roughly 11 million illegal immigrants are granted legal status the government will raise an additional $459 billion in new tax revenue. >> we have shown that we're every part of america as somebody who was born here. the only part is that we are not american is

leahy: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from vermont. mr. leahy: mr. president, i'm encouraged that later today the senate will vote on four amendments in the immigration bill. i hope it's an indication bill that the senate is going to begin considering amendments in an orderly and efficient way. i would encourage senators to file their amendments, come to the floor, and offer them. i i share the majority leader's wish to make progress on this important legislation. we know the immigration system is sorely in need of reform and now's the time to do it. last week, we should have disposed of several amendments to the bill before us but in the senate, progress requires cooperation. instead of going forward and actually having senators take positions, vote up or down, we had objection after objection from the opponents of this legislation, who put the senate in the unenviable position of having the public see us as voting maybe. we know why people get discouraged with congress. they don't realize it's a small number of people blocking any voting. they expe

leahy: mr. president, on behalf of senators man chip, pryor and reed, i ask that manchin 1268, pry improper number 1298, and reed of rhode island number 1224 amendments be called up. officer without objection, the clerk will report. the presiding officer: without objection, the clerk will report. the clerk: mr. leahy proposes amendments en bloc as follows: iring's manchin 1268, pryor 1298, reed of rhode island 1224. mr. leahy: mr. president, i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. grassley: i ask that the calling of the quorm be suspended. officer without objection. mr. grassley: yesterday we had the good fortune of receiving the congressional budget office cost estimate of the immigration bill before the senate, and i'd like to mention two findings from the c.b.o. report. it will say the bill will drive down wages for legal american workers. the c.b.o. estimates the bill would drive do

turn, i would look at, particularly the judiciary committee in both the house and the senate, where leahy and feinstein is, if they make noise, then perhaps holder could be under pressure. >> paul: more bradley dealing with the president, as jason said, attorney generals have been lightning rods for many administrations and they kind of even like president -- presidents like the idea that holder might be taking all of the attacks so that they aren't on obama. how vulnerable is the president when you think about all the benghazi, irs, and the media scandals to all of this? >> well, i think he's vulnerable in the sense that there is no lift in the obama presidency right now. it's not getting better. i don't think it can get particularly worse. but he wanted to get better so he could take back the house, gain those 17 seats in the house, push his agenda in the congress and congress has is becoming to a great extent, alienated from this white house. republicans are complaining after the charm offensive, they haven't heard from him. we're getting a flat line presidency. it may not be so good f