Senate Proceeding 09-09-09 on Sep 9th, 2009 :: 0:32:35 to 0:37:05
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0:32:35 to 0:32:55( Edit History Discussion )

Amy Klobuchar: senator from minnesota, and i would yield to her at this time. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from minnesota. ms. klobuchar: mr. president, i rise today to speak cass sunstein and his qualifications to be administrator for the office of information and regulatory affairs. i thank senator lieberman for his leadership.

0:32:35 to 0:37:05( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Amy Klobuchar

0:32:56 to 0:33:16( Edit History Discussion )

Amy Klobuchar: i'm going to try not to say the words oira in my remarks because it is a very difficult agency and no one is quite sure what he does. but i can tell you something, mr. president, it does something very important which is to cut through the red tape for citizens and try to get some sensible rules for this country. now, how do i know cass sunstein? well, back in the 1980's, i was privileged to have him as my law

0:33:17 to 0:33:37( Edit History Discussion )

Amy Klobuchar: professor at the university of chicago. i took his administrative law class and he was also my advisor on the law review. his career as a legal scholar was just beginning to take off he was already making a very strong impression as a teacher. and i think many of my fellow classmates felt that he was, in fact, their favorite teacher. when we first saw cass sunstein

0:33:38 to 0:34:01( Edit History Discussion )

Amy Klobuchar: in clarks he really looked like a boy in a man's suit. he was so thin but he had such enthusiasm. these were the graze whiteboards and he would always get a lot of white chalk on his black suit which he seemed completely oblivious to. but he was far from an absent-minded professor. he would race along at a mile a minute in his lectures, a

0:34:02 to 0:34:24( Edit History Discussion )

Amy Klobuchar: fountain with a never ending stream of ideas. he was never boring, which is a tough standard for law students. today, professor sunstein is one of the nation's most thoughtful and respected legal scholars with a distinguished record of accomplishments. a gduate of harvard law school, a law clerk to supreme court justice thurgood marshall, a professor at the university of chicago for 27 years, the author or coauthor of more than 15

0:34:25 to 0:34:46( Edit History Discussion )

Amy Klobuchar: books and hundreds of scholarly articles. by large margin, cass sunstein is the most cited scholar on any law faculty in the united states of america. one envious observer said, "if you look at what he's written and done, he should be 900 years old." now, wt is the concerns of his academic work? well, the overriding concern is

0:34:47 to 0:35:07( Edit History Discussion )

Amy Klobuchar: that we have smart, science-based, cost-effective, results-oriented policies to protect public health an safety, to promote energy security, to strength enour economy -- strengthen our economy and our financial system n. a recent book that professor sunstein coauthored called "nudge," he wrote that by knowing how people think, we can design rules and policies that

0:35:08 to 0:35:30( Edit History Discussion )

Amy Klobuchar: ma it easier for americ to choose what's best for themselves and their families. in other words, cass sunstein believes that the best types of rules and regulations are the ones that encourage american consumers and businesses to make good decisions without demanding that they do so. i thought a lot about his whork congress debated the -- his work when congress debated the first

0:35:31 to 0:35:51( Edit History Discussion )

Amy Klobuchar: time home buyer's tax credit which helped spur home sales after months of decline. again, if you shape policies that are easy to understand, that provide incentives, that give americans control over their fate, you get the right results that. is why it's so ops important that we confirm cass sunstein to this critical appropriate. his pragmatic approach toolicy and regulation will help our

0:35:52 to 0:36:12( Edit History Discussion )

Amy Klobuchar: federal agencie work smarter and ensure that our government works better for our citizens and for our businesses. you know, it is no surprise to me, as senator lieberman just discussed, the kind of support that cass sunstein has gathered. the "wall street journal" editorial board has been positive about his nomination, as do -- you have heard the support from the u.s. chamber of economy is, the national

0:36:13 to 0:36:33( Edit History Discussion )

Amy Klobuchar: association of -- the u.s. chamber of commerce, the national association of manufacturers, the american farm bauerry association, 13 nobel prize winners and c.boyden gray, who served as white house counsel under both president bu. while all these individuals and organizations are supportive, what they say about cass sunstein is what i've always known about him, he is a

0:36:34 to 0:36:54( Edit History Discussion )

Amy Klobuchar: pragmatist. he cares about ideas, but ultimately he cares about the right results. i have heard time and time again from the people in my state office about the red tape and regulations that citizens run into on an everyday basis with the united states government. it's time to put someone in there,

0:36:55 to 0:37:06( Edit History Discussion )

Amy Klobuchar: sees that connection, is able to connect human behavior with what those rules are and make those rules make some sense.