Joe Lieberman

I really do not think there is anything that is more important than whistleblowers because if you look around, it is very clear that whistleblowers have made a difference time and time again in terms of ferreting out serious and…

That is absolutely right. The Senator stated earlier-- and it is an important point--this is the danger we get into as we start to treat people who are terrorists as common criminals, or even uncommon criminals, which is that the criminal…

I do. There has been a lot of talk about the Constitution. The Constitution makes very clear that the primary responsibility we have in the Federal Government is to provide for the common defense, to protect the security of the American…

Yes, it does. The Senator is making a very important point. It goes back to the colloquy the Senator from New Hampshire and I had, which is, when we capture an enemy combatant, we do so for two reasons: One is to get that enemy off the…

That is the law. As the Senator has said and Chairman Levin has said several times in the debate, there may be some in the Chamber who don't like it, but that is what the U.S. Supreme Court has said very clearly.

That certainly should be the case, and we have had this circumstance in reality. They are all part of the same enemy. In the case the Senator posits, they have all been part of the same plot to attack the American people.

Well, there is no question our enemies have declared it part of the battlefield. The very official commencement of the war against Islamist terrorism, 9/11, was an attack on America's homeland, on civilians.

I would say to the leader, I am in this with the Senator from New Hampshire, so we will complete our colloquy within 10 minutes.

Again, I thank my friend from New Hampshire, but I want to go back to something I said earlier. We have described the purpose of this amendment--what I call the due process we have put into it, the mandate that it comply with existing…

I thank my friend for that clarification. It is very important. It is very critical--particularly for those who misunderstood this amendment--to understand the host of protections that the amendment puts in, both compelling compliance with…

Let me thank my friend, Senator Ayotte, for playing such a leading role in our debates on this critical issue of how our country handles detainees and gathers intelligence in our war on terrorism. I share her concerns about the potential…

Foster children, often being removed from neglectful and abusive homes, are one of the country's most vulnerable populations.

It is unacceptable to think that infants are getting drugs one year or younger.

One thing I have enjoyed about being on this Subcommittee is the wide range of topics that we investigate.

We cannot stand idly by while children's lives or health are potentially put into danger.

I hoped we could do something on this before we leave. December 14 is 2 weeks from today.

Thanks, Senator McCaskill. Thanks very much to the five of you. You have been an extraordinarily helpful panel.

I think if there was a rule crafted that mentioned insider trading specifically as part of Rule 37 on conflicts of interest, that would not be harmful.

So what you would do here is make clear in our rules that insider trading is a violation of the rules?

If somebody is only going to get a mild reprimand or a letter of admonition for having done something like this, really that does not hurt very much.

I think that the ethics rules are not clear enough, and the House Ethics Committee just 2 days ago issued guidance.

I would get it down to something like 10 days because, again, I do not think it needs to be so burdensome.

So one alternative here, I presume--and let me ask you to respond to it--is that in addition to having us file the whole form more than once a year, there could be some requirement to file amendments after stock trades of a certain amount.

I think we have gone over pretty well, and very helpfully to the Committee, what we should do in response to this problem in making clear in law unambiguously, if I may say so, that Members of Congress and our staffs are covered by insider…

Thank you, Senator McCaskill. I mentioned before you could be here that ideally we will get something drafted for which we can get a majority of the Committee before we depart in December.