senator debbie stabenow. most of you know who she is, chair of the senate agricultural committee and an also important fact in light of what i'm going to read to you here, the only woman in american history to beat a sitting u.s. male senator for election. no small deal. so "dive in and start swimming." too many women who want to seek and hold public office are afraid to dive in. some think merely jumping in is corrupting. others think you have to be an insider to win. some will only enter with an invitation after someone else decides they've earned it. but when you jump in the political pool on your own and assert your right to be there whether you're fighting a righteous cause or because you want to be a political somebody, don't assume the competition will be fair. to choose another metaphor, take the hits, go back to your corner, wipe the sweat off your brow and come back swinging. barack obama is an excellent role model in this department. two years in senate, no foreign policy experience and no executiv

debbie stabenow and ron shaich. in an effort to bring attention to the plate of the hungry, he's living on $4.50 a day himself what people get in food stamp food. senator, what's eric cantor up to and why did republicans want to be such a cartoon of themselves not only looking out for the top 1% but the bottom of the 47%, in the action. >> first of all, thank you for focusing on this and for ron doing what he's doing. this is nothing but a partisan, mean spirited effort. frankly not only to attack poor children and families but to tank the whole farm bill. those of us who care about supporting farmers and conservation and jobs and nutrition understand what eric cantor is all about. just one more time trying to stop us from doing anything. and as you mentioned, i think it's important to emphasize 85% of the people who get federal assistance for food are either children, children with their parents, senior citizens, or people with disabilities like our veterans. and so we're talking about 85% being in that category an

debbie stabenow is only one of 30 women ever elected to the u.s. senate and she has been reelected twice beating an oval or in more established canada and before that she managed her husband's campaign for election to the campaigning and she said you are the one who likes campaigning and talking to people. she was an incumbent with deep roots and he had more political experience, but debbie stabenow ignored his advantages and believed in herself and her cause, keeping the local nursing home open to those who depended on it. she did not know the inertia of health care policy, nor did she know all of the ins and outs of the nursing home operation. but she knew she if she won, nursing home residents could use medicaid to pay for their bills. she knew she was young, but she knew that she could and would learn more. all of your experiences are valuable in public service utility of political science degree. so in this third excerpt i read, this is a chapter called use your connections just like the men do. >> this should not be a dealbreaker for a woman

stabenow did not know health care policy or the ins and outs of the operation but she knew if she won, and nursing home residents could use medicaid to pay their bills. stabenow knew she was young but knew she could a and would learn more hall of those experiences are valuable you don't need a political science degree. >> in the third excerpt this is a chapter use your connections just like the men do. having a family member in public office should not be a deal breaker for a woman who seeks election this could be used as a good although the mail dynasties hardly cause a raised eyebrow with the qualifications of their members but yet i see too many women who want to seek public office while praying to the fear that officials may seen the political connections off-putting and decide not to put themselves forward a and others drive down another dead end by get to the notion that women should be more pure a and then take a few digits being the insiders. as a practical matter somebody may open the door to a leadership opportunity but the woman house to move it earned a vote the floor is l

let me go back to stabenow. this whole issue of food stamps. what did you make of it when newt gingrich called the president the food stamp president? >> we all know what the codes are for that. and you talk about that all the time. i think what ron is speaking to is the best about us. it's our higher angels. it's the values we've had as americans of reaching out to help somebody whether it's a poor child. half of the people we're talking about on assistance are children. and the rest of the folks as i mentioned need some temporary help that the folks that are seniors that we ought to be respecting in their older years living only on social security and need a bit of help, put food on the table, or people with disabilities. what they're doing in the house are going to our worst nature. trying to pit people against each other. we've seen this story before. pitting everybody against each other instead of looking at the reality which is food costs are coming down, 14 million people coming off of food assistance. because the economy's improving. if

and with me, debbie stabenow. you heard that and sitting from your lofty perch from the u.s. senate, how does it look to you? what's going to happen when this resolution comes into your chamber? >> i share the concern of my house colleagues. particularly this week rather than it getting better, it's really gotten worse. it really is about a group of folks who are anarchists who just want to shut our government down. we look at global economy where everybody else is is trying to be like america. have a middle class like us. outcome pete us on education, invasion, and instead of moving forward with everybody working together to continue to improve on the economy and grow the middle class, they're taking us backwards. way back. it's like they're running towards a third world country while everybody is trying to be like us. it's a waste of time and money. i don't blame people for being sick and tired of it. in the senate, i have to say, we have seen something different happening. as you have mentioned. immigration. a farm bill. you know, if they want to cut spending, pass a farm

senator boxer, senator durbin, leahy, levin, mikulski, debbie stabenow, and the man who holds the seat of wayne morse's seat. ron wyden. he voted no on the iraq war. congress usually votes overall to authorize force when they get around to considering it, but people vote no. voting no is a thing that happens. even against the strongest possible prevailing winds. and right now in washington, there are not the strongest prevailing winds in favor of the u.s. military intervening in syria. quite the contrary. lots of different places are doing sort of informal whip counts now where they're trying to canvass members of the house and senate to get those members to say how they're going to vote. on syria, when the full house and senate have to make decision on these things. people are tracking the likely votes over the course of yesterday and today. these are unofficial tallies being done by different news organizations. the debate is not done and there are briefings that are yet to be hat, but if you at all have been watching the whip counts, the whip counts evolve over the last couple of da

the bill now heads to the senate, but senator stabenow says the house will bill not see the light of day in a senate calling it a monumental waste of time. she's negotiating with the house for an alternative to the deep cuts. let me bring in tom colicchio. chef, executive producer as well of "place the table" a documentary that examines the problem of hunger in the u.s. it's always good to see you, tom. welcome. >> thanks. >> you've been so successful in the food business and the rest of the world knows you for "top chef" but what is it about hunger and now the fight for food stamps that has you worried? >> i think chefs feel a need to feed people, whether it's people coming to a restaurant to spend money or people who need help. this $40 billion cut to the food stamp program is going to cut benefits to three to four million people who are really struggling. i really think this show that say some members of the gop just have a real indifference to the plight of people who are struggling to feed their families. >> you were telling me that you and your wife have gone out with your docu

stabenow: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i rise today to talk about the relentless assault on the poor and hungry in this country that is being waged right now in the house of representatives and too often here on the senate floor. the meltdown on wall street caused a recession in this country as we know that was worse than anything we have experienced since the great depression. eight million people, eight million americans lost their jobs. trillions of dollars in the stock market were wiped out. and with that money went the life savings of many middle-class families. many families lost their homes. small businesses closed up shop. this was an economic disaster that hit communities across this country as hard as any natural disaster that we have seen. and while wall street is doing well again these days, millions of families on main street are still waiting for their situation to improve. we are seeing new job creation, but millions of americans are still out of work. and in fact when we look at the chart on empl

stabenow: thank you. first i would ask unanimous consent that the tile for morning business with debate only be extended until 9:30 p.m., with senators permitted to speak therein for up to ten minutes each, and that the majority leader be recognized at 9:30 p.m. the presiding officer: without objection. ms. stabenow: thank you. madam president, let me speak for a moment about what we have happening here, and there's no reason for this happening. and there's absolutely no reason why, first of all, that we couldn't have worked together to put a budget in place. we months ago passed a budget in the senate and have been trying to go to a conference committee with the house so that we could work it out and have a long-term budget that continues to bring down the debt. by the way, the deficit is coming down, which is very positive. but we know we need to continue to do more in a balanced way. that could be happening. it's not happening because the same people now who are putting us in a position where in a few

there's another way that was done here in the senate under the direction of chairwoman stabenow. the bipartisan senate agriculture bill passed under her direction and the ranking member, and it saves $23 billion without forcing needy children to skip meals. in our farm bill, it does it fairly. and if it came to the house of representatives floor, it would pass overwhelmingly. but you know what, mr. president? the republican leadership won't let democrats vote. that's why they'll probably pass this very, very mean-spirited piece of legislation because only republicans will be allowed to vote on it. the house republican leadership refused to pass any gill that can garn -- any bill that can garner votes from either parties. these same reckless republicans are determined to taked route of passing a c.r.. what does that do? it funds the government. instead of doing what's necessary for the economy on firm footing, republicans are obsessed with obamacare. remember, mr. president, a law passed about four tkwraoers ago. ago -- years ago, the supreme court declared it constitutional. many

murkowski of alaska has brought to advocating for this bill as a cosponsor and for the support of debbie stabenow of michigan. the four of us have over two congresses worked tirelessly on this bill. it has a congress core are core larry in the house, i've recent testified in front of the energy committee and the finance committee. and i've been grateful for the interest of chairman ron wyden and an array of other senators from both parties. as i mentioned, mr. president, this m.l.p. parity act has the opportunity, the possibility of really being the all-of-the-above energy strategy so often talked about and to be the capital financing piece of a strategy that doesn't pick winners and losers but allows the markets to decide where to invest in the long term. it's ven yaited a great deal of interest and support, it's got hundreds of supporters coming from the private sector, from think tanks, from nonprofits and from advocacy groups. it couldn't be simpler. it is a very short bill, just a few hundred words. instead of borrowing -- barring renewable projects from being able to access limited partners

. >> senator debbie stabenow and others in the wake of newtown wanted to get legislation pushed forward and money put towards mental health crisis management because there is so much that can to be done for people out there who are hiding in the shadows. the video games don't get me started. that's a part of it. >> we talked about grant theft auto earlier. i know this drives liberals and libra libertarians crazy. i saw my friends simulate murdering people thousands of times. that's continued through the years. and it's gotten even worse. grand theft auto-5. my god after grand theft auto 2 no that's not coming in to our house again. again, of course, there are millions of people that use video games that don't do anything. after newtown, as i said -- >> if you're watching them day and night that's a warning sign. >> i know who this guy is without knowing who the guy is. >> 60 years ago under the instruction of a psychologist wrote a book called "seduction of the innocence," you know what was considered the threat of young people, comic books. every time there's a new medium, it is pointe

>> i talked to debbie stab gnaw today about -- stabenow today about that, i said, would you take this if it were in conference? she said absolutely not. senate democrats don't want to see this, they didn't like cutting food stamps from the farm bill in the first place. they don't like that this is a three-year authorization. farm bill is written as a phi-year authorization. if that goes forward, it could lead to a permanent divorce of food stamps from the farm bill. that's a policy they do not want to see. so there are many things in here that senate democrats find objectionable and you will hear house derms advancing their arguments -- democrats -- house democrats advancing their arguments on thursday. >> congress reporter for bloomberg news, thank you. >> thanks for having me. >> the bill we just heard about is expected to come up on thursday. house minority leader steny hoyer spoke earlier today about the economy and the upcoming debate over the debt ceiling and about larry somers dropping out of consideration for fed chairman. here's what he said. >> we saw larry somers withdraw h

well, the fact, is as chairwoman stabenow points out, the chair of the agriculture committee, in the next 10 years, 14 million americans will leave the "snap" program. why is that? if we don't do that. why will 14 million people leave the "sn"

here again, if you went to other states, i was talking to debbie stabenow not too long ago, and she says in michigan we're all known for manufacturing, heavy manufacturing -- and they are. but she said our second-largest industry is agriculture. and she's chairman of the ag committee. she fought very hard to get the farm bill back on track. and much to her credit, she's moved that ball further down the field than i think just about anyone else could. but another reason that i want the house to stop with this manufactured crisis and to follow the senate's lead and to pass a commonsense, comprehensive farm bill -- and i don't say that lightly. i have a lot of respect for the house. certainly they are a separate institution within this branch of government. i certainly have a lot of respect for that and their position and their role. it's critical. but they need to follow the senate's lead on this. they need to follow the senate and do what the senate has done. we're trying to be responsible. we're trying to show leadership here. we're trying to get things back on track. but, you know, when

senator stabenow from the state state oof michigan just held a s conditions. over 60% of the policies in america today do not offer maternal benefits for the baby and mother. over 60%. the obamacare provision requires every policy in america to protect new moms and their babies, every policy. senator cruz and the tea party republicans would repeal that provision. let me tell whales it includes. d. what else it includes. we say that faff young son or daughter frern out of college looking for a job and can't find one or only part-time one or one that doesn't offer benefits, you can keep your son or daughter on your family health insurance plan up to age 26. that's peace of mind for a lost parents. my wife and i have been through that raising our kids. senator cruz and the tea party republicans would abolish and repeal that protection for family coverage. i'll also tell you that today across america they are announcing the marketplace insurance plans under obamacare. in my state, i.t. bee it's beend that the rates for families, for health insurance, are 25% below

well, the fact, is as chairwoman stabenow points out, the chair of the agriculture committee, in the next 10 years, 14 million americans will leave the "snap" program. why is that? if we don't do that. why will 14 million people leave the "snap" program? because they'll getting better paying jobs because they don't want to be on the "snap" program. most people, they get food staches, would rather not -- stamps, would rather not. they'd rather have enough food on the table and have enough purchasing money to go to the grocery store and buy food with their own money so they can bring that food home and serve their children. that's what most people want to do. i spoke to a woman in hamilton, ohio, some -- some time ago who told me that the first early in the month she would take her son, her 9-year-old son occasionally would take him to mcdonald's or fast food restaurants, maybe once the first week in the month. the second week she could serve him, maybe serve him hamburgers, serve him meat. the third week of the month she began to scrape. this woman had a full-time job, volunteered, ta

the chairperson of the committee, senator stabenow, also obviously weighed in. and we did the farm bill in two and a half days. that was a record. first -- first amendment on the farm bill was the senator from kentucky's amendment dealing with pakistan and saying no more aid to pakistan until they free that doctor that was very helpful to our intelligence community with regard to what happened with osama bin laden. what did that have to do with the farm bill? nothing. rand paul came to me and said, do you think we can get this amendment? and i think, yup. we've got an open rule. 73 amendments were considered. 73 this last farm bill about ten, probably less than that. senator thune had very key amendments. senator johanns had very key amendments. senator grassley had key amendments. and myself, the former chairman of the house ag committee, the former ranking member, i had some key amendments. all of the senior members on the agriculture committee, all of husband crinte contributed to tt process. we were locked out. sorry, it's over. no amendments. what's that al

asking support for the exlendings in mental health care act, senate 264, ably cosponsored by senators stabenow and blunt. focusing on mental health and combining those measures with other commonsense, sensible gun violence prevention measures is the way to forge a consensus we need and move from those 55 votes to the 61 that we need for passage of a gun violence prevention measure that can make us proud, that can make america better and safer, that can make us as americans a better nation to leave for generations to come. as we celebrate -- or commemorate, i should say, celebrate the lives lost but commemorate the horrific, unspeakable tragedy of newtown, we should take heart from the courage and resilience of those families and their loved ones, and from the newtown community that will be visiting the capitol again, their resoluteness and steadfastness should inspire us to do better and ask more of ourselves and make america a better nation. thank you, mr. president. i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from wyoming. mr. enzi: mr. president, i want t

great work was done by senator stabenow, chair of the ag committee, along with her ranking member and senators from both sides of the aisle. the ag committee did significant work to reform american farm policy. like moving away from commodity subsidies and toward crop insurance. that alone would have saved taxpayers $23 billion, and we all hear that's important, we need to reduce our spending and make our programs more effective. this was a great bipartisan bill. it would have modernized our agriculture policies, strengthened programs that help farmers, ranchers and small business owners and created jobs. house republicans won't negotiate with us on that bill either. they passed a bill that guts the nutrition assistance program, food stamps, cuts it by $40 billion but won't work with us on a full farm bill. the current law also expires at the end of the month, and if we don't pass a modernizing farm bill by the end of this year, our nation's ag policies will revert to those of the 1940's. if it sounds familiar, it's because we were in the exact same position on the farm bill last year