murkowski: thank you, mr. president. i want to follow my friend and my colleague from minnesota here in explaining why i, too, support the employment nondiscrimination act known as enda. as she has very well articulated, the -- the notion that somehow or other discrimination of any kind against anybody should be allowed in our workplaces is -- is something that i would hope we would -- we would be able to come together on a bipartisan basis from all corners of the country and recognize this -- this is not an acceptable direction. this is not a -- a place or a process that we would endorse. as we all know, current law protects against discrimination in the workplace for many classes of individuals. many of us have been involved in working to refine these laws that -- that protect against discrimination. discrimination that affects employment practices not on the basis of one's merits or qualifications but on the sole basis of factors unrelated to an individual's work experience, such as race, ethnicity, national origin, r

murkowski: thank you, madam president. this morning in the help committee we had an opportunity to hear from the administrator of the health exchange, ms. tavenner who came before the committee to talk about where we are in the process now with the exchanges that have been set up through the affordable care act. and it was an opportunity in the five minutes that we have allocated to each of us to pose questions to speak to the situation in alaska as it relates to the exchanges. and i come to the floor this afternoon because there was so much that i as one senator had to say that you can't possibly condense into a five-minute exchange, but it did cause me to -- to want to take a moment to speak about what's happening on the ground in the state of alaska. i think it's probably not an unfair assessment to say that most of the constituents that i am hearing from are not supportive of the affordable care act, and have been very skeptical about what benefits may come to our state. we are a high-cost state, high cost when it come

murkowski: i ask unanimous consent that major kelsey williams, a u.s. army officer who is serving as a military fellow in my office, be granted floor privileges for the remainder of the session of the 113th congress. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. murkowski: i want to thank the senator from maryland, the dean of the women in the senate, and the senator from maine who have organized this portion of the debate this morning. i want to acknowledge and thank the other women of the senate who are coming here this morning to speak on an issue that we would all agree is something that must be addressed that for far too long has not seen the redress that it commands. and so we stand together unified in an effort to truly make a difference. i want to acknowledge the good work, particularly, of senators mccaskill and senators gillibrand who have really worked to raise the awareness of the issue, who have truly advanced the discussion to the point where i believe that for the first time in far too long, we will make substantive, meaningful headway wh

lisa murkowski, the republican senator from alaska makes the most compelling case. one of her academy nominees who graduated resigned her commission. she had been sexually assaulted and abused. and nobody did anything. >> that is the thing. everybody that i know in the military, friends in the military are strongly opposed to this and i understand that. the record really is that we have losost some fabulous talent in the military. female talent because they were sexually assaulted. nobody would do anything about it. there is something bad about the command structure. i am not a zealot on this. the system has failed to do what it is supposed to do. >> after vietnam there were real problems with drug abuse. the word ce down, zero tolerance. if you smoke a joint you're out. could you not do the same thing with this? >> they had serious race problems. the military said we will stop this nonsense and the military became a model for race relations after that. they are the best. they made it happen. why can't they do o this, it isa difficult socialissue. why can't they do

lisa murkowski, the republican senator from alaska makes the most compelling case. one of her academy nominees who graduated resigned her commission. she had been sexually assaulted and abused. and nobody did anything. >> that is the thing. everybody that i know in the military, my friends in the military are strongly opposed to this and i understand that. the record really is that we have lost some fabulous talent in the military. female talent because they were sexually assaulted. nobody would do anything about it. there is something bad about the command structure. i am not a zealot on this. the system has failed to do what it is supposed to do. >> after vietnam there were real problems with strug abuse. the word came down, zero tolerance. if you smoke a joint you're out. could you not do the same thing with this? >> they had serious race problems. the military said we will stop this nonsense and the military became a model for race relations after that. they are the best. they made it happen. why can't they do this, it is a difficult social issue. why can't they

. >> i would add there's bipartisan legislation with senator murkowski and senator findstein. i hope you will join us in supporting that. >> let me say thank you to our guests. go to face pook or twitter to weigh in on our fireback question. 55% of you say yes. 45% say no. >> the debate continues online at. we want to congratulate newt gingrich on his latest book, "breakout." >> join us tomorrow for another edition of "crossfire." erin burnett "outfront" starts right now. >>> "outfront" next. obama on offense. >> that will be good for business. >> the president says settle down. obama care will be good in the end. trust me. plus, another mascot controversy. >> this is the way it is. we're proud of being arabs. >>> what if smoking crack was the least of your problems? >> [ bleep ]. >> the most infamous mayor in the world caught over videotape again. let's go "outfront."

accept and embrace good conservatives, like the log cabin republicans, good conservatives like lisa murkowski, don't you think it's time to recognize that in some ways the tide is turning, and we should be more inclusive of these values without having to change our personal opinions on them? >> well, first of all, i wouldn't agree with the premise of the question. >> okay. >> if the tide had truly turned then you wouldn't have 36 states and 70% of the american people defining it as between a man and woman. you wouldn't need the court to impose this as they did in iowa, as they did in new jersey and in california. the people of california have yet to vote -- >> so you think in ten years' time we are going to be a country that still opposes same-sex marriage and with presidents who oppose same-sex marriage? >> i can't predict the future, but i can tell you this. the same young people, the same millennials who are more inclined to support same sex marriage are also more pro-life than their parents were. >> i'm not going to argue there. you're absolutely right. >> in the '90s it became more pro l

. >> i would add there's good bipartisan legislation with senator murkowski and senator feinstein in the senate to finally resolve this waste issue. i hope you will join us in supporting that, ralph. >> let me say thanks to ralph and michael. go to facebook or twitter to weigh in on our fireback question. are you afraid to live near nuclear power plant? right now 55% of you say yes, 45% say no. >> the debate continues online at cnn.com/crossfire as well as facebook and twitter. we also want to congratulate newt gingrich on his latest book "breakout." >> from the left i'm michael schweitzer. >> on the right i'm newt gingrich. join us tomorrow night for another edition of "crossfire."

. >> i would add there's good bipartisan legislation with senator murkowski and senator feinstein in the senate to finally resolve this waste issue. i hope you will join us in supporting that, ralph. >> let me say thanks to ralph and michael. go to facebook or twitter to weigh in on our fireback question. are you afraid to live near nuclear power plant? right now 55% of you say yes, 45% say no. >> the debate continues online at cnn.com/crossfire as well as facebook and twitter. we also want to congratulate newt gingrich on his latest book "breakout." >> from the left i'm michael schweitzer. >> on the

senator murkowski, the gentlelady from alaska, has also disagreed with me on what should be the best approach on preventive health. debate, diligence without personal conflict, we then came up with some good ideas. and i say here today when i listen to our colleagues on the other side of the aisle, again with great backgrounds, and here today this is pretty historic. so if you're watching on c-span, you saw history being made. ten of us -- and there will be more later on today -- where we actually agreed. we are trying to govern the way we were elected to govern, and i'm proud of what we're going to do with the reforms that are there. i'm proud of the way we've gone about it. and if we disagree on some matters here or there, that's what debate, rigor and civility will be all about. so, mr. president, i'm going to conclude this debate for now. other women will be coming throughout the day. and we know we will be debating some other important policy goals. mr. president, i yield the floor. the presiding officer: morning business is closed. under the previous order the senate will resum

and it contains the language from my be military assault prevention act, and i thank senator murkowski for her support of this which expresses the sense of the senate the charges of rape, sexual assault or attempts to commit these offenses should be disposed of by court-martial rath rather than by administrative action. we want offenders to be convicted and punished, not just given a slap on the wrist by commanders or allowed to shrink away without a discharge. this year's ndaa also includes legislation that i introduced with senator mccaskill to add sexual assault and related charges to the list of protected communications that can be investigated by the dod inspector general. this is expanded whistleblower protection that will help insure that service members are able to report sexual assault crimes without facing retaliation. these are just a few of the provisions addressing sexual assault in this bill. we also know that this bill does so much -- i see senator murray is here -- focused on victims' rights and treating our victims with the respect that they deserve. our country is for

and then there is hope that three other republicans, hatch, murkowski and portman, may also support this bill. and if they do, that would give harry reid a filibuster proof majority to move this thing forward on monday. so, chris, do you think that will happen? >> yeah, i don't think that senator reid would have called the vote unless he knew he had the 60 votes in this instance. this is legislation that he has been holding for a while. it passed out of the senate health education labor and pensions committee earlier this summer. and he said they would bring it to the floor when he thought that they had the votes. so i think -- i mean, you've got the 60 there, and there are a couple other republicans that -- advocates have been pushing. >> congressman pocan, you're an original spokesperson of the house version but the odds of it passing in the house aren't very strong. here is texas republican louie gohmert why he opposes and take a listen. >> it also means that christian schools would be forced to hire openly homosexual individuals, and it's kind of tough to teach biblical principles in

lisa murkowski, kelly ayotte. and we built from there. there a few good men too. i want to make sure. >> john mccain. >> and john mccain, joe machin. there were several people who helped out as well. but we started meeting day after day and perhaps more important than the fact women lead the way. the fact it was truly bipartisan. we had seven republicans, six democrats, and my independent colleague from maine angus king. not a member of leadership, which i think might have been significant. leadership kind of came in -- the point we came together and basic framework we agreed on was basically what they did. we would have done a few things differently. there would have been some nice add on. we were ready to announce our agreement. they worked with us. we were talking to them. it wasn't like we were off on our own. i think the the bigger thing is on the issue of the women and the leadership. there's our group but also is a fact that susan lead the way on the senate pass. debby stab stabenow is leading. and it passed with big bipartisan support. boxer was to be get

the needs of the american people with the exception of senators lisa murkowski and susan collins every single republican senator voted to filibuster the nomination arguing we should not fill an existing vacancy because suddenly they are concerned about the need for these existing judgeships. oh come on. that doesn't pass the giggle test. we know it's just a pretext for two reasons. first they had no such concerns about the unique case of the d.c. circuit when a republican was in the white house nominating judges to the ninth, tenth and 11th seed. as i said the seat that john roberts was unanimously confirmed to when there was a lower caseload and now when we have a superbly qualified woman suddenly she has to be filibustered. then they said, but we are doing this to save money. oh come on, give me a break. these are the same keep all who shut down our federal government , costs billions of dollars, sent back a recovering economy and the needless shutdown of our government would have paid these federal courts for years. so the don't. just say okay we don't want women on this court. be h

we have been able, working with my colleague, senator murkowski from alaska, to propose -- we haven't brought it through the subcommittee and the full committee, but to propose a mark that would respond to the real needs of this country in terms of sewer construction, in terms of many programs that are vital to the economic vie at of every american community. -- vitality of every american community. on the other side the house is talking about a cutting of $1.65 billion, more than 75%. it just deaf states the -- deaf states the programs. 97,000 jiewr jobs and these are the kind of construction jobs, high-paying jobs that allow families to stay above water and allow communities to prosper because those workers that are putting in those infrastructure projects are also going to local supermarkets, to local restaurants, paying the fees and dues to the little league teams and they're doing the things that we expect every family should be able to do and we hope every family can do. in the transportation bill, for example, we were able to maintain our promise to fund transit, airport highwa

there's a three-way primary, and for everything the democrats tell you about joe miller the beat lisa murkowski in 2010, i don't think he's a big factor. the primary is between the lieutenant governor and a guy named dan sullivan who just left state government to make this race to the open seat in iowa, which is a story unto itself, senator landrieu in louisiana, she's got a tough race. the estate has become more republican. the open seat in michigan as surprising as a little bit. today is a lot more competitive than we would have believed. the republican side, former secretary of state has done a good job of clearing the republican field and she is going to face gary peters, congressman from the detroit area. finally, kay hagan in north carolina. you remember, kay hagan won this seat in 2008 by beating elizabeth dole, are a bit more accurate others but the dole lost the seat and kay hagan was a beneficiary. so she's going to have a race if republicans get the candidate they need. they have a primary but there's a clear front runner in the seed for the house. of these five seats, i suspect that

lisa murkowski, and kelly, and a few good men, too, i want to make sure that they -- >> senator mccain. >> and john mccain, mark curt, joe mansion, joe donnelly, but we started meeting day after day, and perhaps more important than the fact the women led the way, was the fact it was truly bipartisan. we had seven republicans, six democrats, and my independent colleague from maine, angus king. and not a member of leadership, which i think might have been significant also. >> in fact leadership kind of came in and swooped in and -- >> well -- >> don't want to revisit that all. >> the point was that we came together and the basic framework we agreed on was basically what they did. we would have done a few things differently, some nice addons if i do say so. but we were ready to announce our agreement, and they worked with us. we were talking to them. we weren't off on our own. the bigger thing about women in leadership. there's our group and the fact that susan led the way on the reform bill in the senate. debby stabenow is leading the farm bill and that passed with bipartisan support. ba

murkowski: madam president, yesterday morning i was pleased to be able to come to the floor of the united states senate, join with a good strong handful of women on both sides of the aisle to express our joint commitment, really i think the commitment of every member of this body to address the scourge of sexual assault, sexual misconduct within the military. i think it was a good way to start off the debate yesterday on the issue of sexual assault within the military, recognizing that we are coming to different places in terms of how we deal with these very important issues. but ultimately the goal of each of us is the same. the goal is that we make right for those who are serving our nation and when it comes to instances of sexual assault, military sexual trauma, sexual harassment, that really there is no place in our military for this. so it was a good way, again, to start the debate on these very important topics. we use different terminology when we're discussing the issue of military sexual assault, how we define what we're seeking to eradicate i think is important. we've used the m

these are addressed to -- i know this is not about you, lisa murkowski, but about representation for the people of alaska. address this. they're asking me to help them out because they can't afford the affordable care act. and so i go through each of these, and whether it's the folks in petersburg who are a 25-year-old male, nonsmoker who had a $10,000 deductible, and he was paying $102 a month. now he is going to have to pay $281 with a $6,300 deductible. 35-year-old male nonsmoker paying $135 a month now has to pay $640. a 63-year-old male smoker paying $500 as of january paying $827. we go through these stories. these stories are people that we represent, whether it's tom or linda or teresa or chris or ma mark. they're saying, i thought what was coming our way with health care reform was reform that was going to increase my access and decrease my cost. frustration with the web site is one thing, madam president, and i am hopeful that we get on the other side of that very, very soon. the people of alaska are -- they're done holding their breath on this. they're basically saying, ca

candidate who won the republican primary in the last election but lost to a write-in campaign for lisa murkowski. also north carolina democrat kay hagan. won her first term in 2011 but likely to face a tougher challenger. >>> we're going to get a quick check on the markets, take a look at what's going on. dow would open up about 44 points higher, s&p up four points and nasdaq up over 12 points. >>> obama care to the ongoing budget battle, the chaos on capitol hill continues. joining us to talk about these stories and more is haley barbour. he's also founding partner of bgr group. and governor, it's great to have you here today. >> thank you, becky, glad to be back. >> what do you think, you shake your head, scratch your head? >> well, for governors who get paid to do things, you know, it really is concerning that washington's just constipated. there's nothing else you can say about it. the president doesn't lead, the republicans, i thought, really did themselves a lot of damage. the democrats are not interested in working together. i mean, there's nothing to recommend it right now, except for re

senator kirk, along with senators hatch and murkowski, led republican support for this bill during its consideration by the help committee. i also want to acknowledge the work of the chairman of the committee, tom harkin, in bringing this bill to the floor. other senators who helped to improve this bill include senators portman, ayotte, heller, hatch, and mccain in their effort to draft strong antiretaliation language. their ability, which was adopted unanimously, improves this bill by strengthening the protections for religious institutions that are legitimately exempted under enda. and i would like to thank each of those senators and others, such as senator flake, for their willingness to work with the sponsors and cosponsors of this legislation. senator toomey also has worked hard. mr. president, all americans deserve a fair opportunity to pursue the american dream. enda is simply about the fundamental right to work and to be judged according to one's abilities, qualifications, and job performance. much of corporate america has already voluntarily embraced lgbt protections because t

with the exception of senators lisa murkowski and susan collins, every single republican senator voted to filibuster patricia millett's nomination, arguing that she should not fill existing vacancies because suddenly they're concerned about the need for these existing judgeships. oh, come on. that doesn't pass the giggle test. we know it's just a pretext for two reasons. first, they had no such concerns about the unique case of the d.c. circuit when a republican was in the white house and nominating judges to the ninth and the tenth and the 11th seat. in fact, they filibustered as i said, the seat that john roberts was unanimously confirmed to when it was a lower caseload and now when we have a superbly qualified woman, suddenly she has to be filibustered. and then they said but we're doing this to save money. oh, come on. give me a break. these are the same people who shut down our federal government, caused -- cost billions of dollars, sent back our recovering economy, the needless shutdown of our government would have paid for all these federal courts for years. so don't -- don't, j

ayotte, blumenthal, blunt, donnelly, fisher, gillibrand, graham, hire row knee, mccain, mccaskill, murkowski, shaheen, tester and warner. thiwonderful. and this amendment that we have written is going to reform what we call the article 32 process. in the military when there is a sexual asawment an assault and n is made to move forward with the trial, there is first a pretrial. that's called the article 32 process. it is the equivalent of a pretrial hearing. and even though there is supposed to be a rape shield law in place, it doesn't work. what's happening is these article 32 proceedings have become their own trials. an opportunity for the defense to -- the defense counsel to harass and intimidate sexual assault victims. in fact, according to the d.o.d., 30% of sexual assault victims who originally agreed to help prosecute their offenders change their minds before the trial, because they know and they told us, they are revictimmized by the process. so let me tell you -- and i'd ask unanimous consent to place my entire statement in the record, if i might, mr. president. the presiding officer