>> what we've done is to gather together 300 companies, just to start with, including some of the top 50 companies in the country, companies like walmart and apple and ford and others, to say, let's establish best practices. do not screen people out of the hiring process just because they've been out of work for a long time. >> so if you're a new college or high school graduate, you're out of luck because the president's bias, you now have to wait a year and a half until you're among the long-term unemployed to get a job. you know, donna, fact is he's tryingmicks because he won't go back to really trying to help the economy grow so everybody can have a job. >> businesses have created over 8 million jobs, 2.2 million in the last year alone. i think the economy is moving. we've just got to get the republicans out of the way so we can get things moving along. let's talk about giving the american people a raise. amy, over 80% of the american

people support giving the american people a raise. $10.10 an hour. are you supportive of that initiative? and if so, what will you do to help the president get this initiative under way? >> well, this is the thing, donna, we're playing political small ball here. why don't we focus on the big issue? and that is putting people back to work. getting the economy going. i disagree with you that the economy's doing good on all these jobs. they're part-time jobs. obama care is the biggest job killer. here you're trying to increase the minimum wage. we're talking about minimums here. why don't we talk about the american dream and opportunity and, you know, put forth some policies that washington, everybody can get behind and businesses will have confidence in washington again and they'll invest in their companies and they'll create jobs? it is not the president tore federal government's responsibility to create jobs and increase the minimum wage and do all these little gimmicks

like -- >> the studies show that raising the minimum wage will boost the economy, will lift millions of americans out of poverty. >> that will cost jobs. >> what jobs will it cost? >> it will cost jobs -- >> when it will bring more people back into the workforce and give people a living wage. >> how is it going to bring more people back into the workforce increasing the minimum wage? it is going to -- we already have the highest corporate tax rate or one of them in the world, and we need to be creating incentives for businesses to come here. not for businesses to go elsewhere. not for people to get laid off from their jobs because small businesses can't afford to pay this increase in minimum wage. >> let me ask you a question. a lot of people like to argue that the tea parties have various problem, but i was fascinated today, for example, when the president went to waukesha, the governor happened to go to a minus 11-degree lacrosse wisconsin so she wasn't

at the state of the union. you had a whole series of democrats have indicated that they don't want the president to come to their state or they didn't show up when the president came to their state. for example, we have burke, udall, begich, hagen, he flew down with him then hid when he came to new orleans. aren't you seeing the beginning of the not-obama wing of the party as they try to maneuver for the election and that that further weakens him. >> i actually saw the president speaking to issues that unite democrats but also unite independents and also attracts a lot of republicans, which is economic opportunity for all americans. and i think if you look at the senate races in the past, it's not really dependent on the president's number, although i think the president did a lot of work on tuesday to shore up his numbers and the party's numbers. >> if he has all of these unifying issues, why are they trotting away from him? >> i think you'll see more and more democrats coming towards him. i think donna's arguments about the minimum wage are really

important ones. i think tuesday was really about expanding economic growth, expanding opportunity for all americans, minimum wage is an important part of that. it's an issue that divides republicans, divides very conservative members of the republican caucus against more moderate ones because i think people recognize in this economy it is unfair, it is basically unfair to work 40 hours and live in poverty. and we know -- and we know that -- we know that we have demand problem in this economy. people don't have enough income and that we need to increase that. >> but politically you think it's okay to be the lone ranger in the fifth year of your presidency? >> i don't see the president as a lone ranger. >> i want to say -- i want to say if they're all coming together to support the president, today henry waxman announced that he's retiring, he's not going to run. why are all these democrats announcing retirement? because they can't support the president.

>> waxman's seat i think is going to be pretty safe. i don't know if l.a. -- >> they cannot defend these policies. they're running from this economy, they're running from obama care. >> there are republicans who decide to step down, republicans would be in a position to be a leader in the house if they are able to -- >> does anyone want that job, i wouldn't. >> with all due respect, i think you're seeing the republicans moderate their language in the caucus states, talking about immigration reform and shying away from the fight on the debt ceiling, a fight that the tea party strongly pushed them to make, which was a disaster for them politically and they're not going to do it again. >> but i wanted to get back to your point about the minimum wage because there was a study about i the chicago reserve that stated if you increased the minimum wage to $9, $10. it will boost the economy by 48 million the next year. that means more consumer spending and that means more jobs will be created. let me ask you a question because i listened to all the tea party and the republican responses. you know, they had four

rebuttals including one in spanish and i listened to that one as well. let me show you what senator mike lee, who i believe you heard his rebuttal. he had a lot of things that he stated that he agrees with in terms of the president. look at these proposals. tax reform, investment in higher education, jobs training. is the real reason you can't get behind president obama is that you don't like president obama but i like these policies? because president obama is talking about tax reform and job training. >> this is the thing is that he has been nothing but a divider. when you talk about the minimum wage in extending unemployment benefits, in immigration, his legacy, at this point, he's concerned about his legacy because obama care has been an abysmal failure. and so he wants to push through immigration reform. the state of the union was nothing more than a fluffy campaign speech with buzz words. >> all the things that you --

>> here's the thing. >> but you agree with the president on these issues. job training. we all agree that will help the american people. >> yes. >> tax reform that will help the american people. investment in higher education, that will help. why not just support those policies and forget about the next election? >> well, first of all, i'm not going to forget about the next election and i don't thing many people are because there's no one that's created more gridlock in washington than harry reid. the republicans need to take back the senate so we can get some things passed and send them to the president. let's take back the senate. no matter what the house pass, harry reid doesn't bring to it the floor. donna, this is the thing. every american should be concerned about that. and the reason why is because they work for us. we elect them. we're their employers. >> do you real the bill that he passed this spring -- >> harry reid does not even bring it to the floor for a debate much less an up or down vote. that's not doing the business of the american people. >> look, there's no question that harry reid, just like john boehner, will not bring votes to

the floor, bills to the floor unless they have the votes. did you hear what the republicans passed this week? >> the farm bill. >> no. yeah, they passed that, but also the abortion bill. is that a priority to the american people? why not pass job training and things that help grow the economy and get people back to work. >> let me stay on harry reid for a second. >> your favorite democrat. >> well, just because the point that i think you've just been making, harry reid announced he's going to block the president's request for fast track negotiating ability, and so not only do you have the democrats who are running for re-election running from the president, you have the senate majority leader saying you ain't going to get this. isn't that a further decay of the presidency? >> i think senator reid has been a stalwart champion of the president's agenda and also has been a very effective leader on behalf of the democrats. i would say the democrats can also look at a bunch of issue, immigration reform is a perfect example of it was passed, passed

the senate, bipartisan, very strong bipartisan support. a lot of republicans supported that bill. and have we even had a hearing in the house yet? that's an issue. i mean, there hasn't been significant action of any -- there's not been a single bill that's been to the floor. >> why do we need to pass a new immigration law when this administration will not enforce the laws that we have right now? >> we're about to get on board. next we have more from president obama's exclusive interview with cnn's jake tapper. i'll ask my tea party friend if she feels like her fellow republicans are selling her out. stay tuned. [ male announcer ] here's a question for you:

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welcome back.

in the "crossfire" tonight, neera tanden and amy kremer. president obama has decided to get new -- he's just as sick of the job that congress is doing as the rest of us. in his exclusive interview with cnn's jake tapper today the president went out of his way to explain why. >> the house republicans in particular have had difficulty rallying around any agenda much less mine. and in that kind of environment what i don't want is the american people to think that the only way for us to make big change is through legislation. we've all got to work together to continue to provide opportunity for the next generation. >> the president's pen already has the house republicans rolling over. they're suddenly talking about compromise on everything from immigration to the debt limit. mr. president, keep on writing and the republicans will keep rolling over. amy, i mean, look, with 65% of the american people disapproving

of the tea party, the house republicans now running away from the tea party, are you afraid that the house republicans will throw you under the bus and abandon their principles? >> well, i mean the movement is absolutely concerned about what they're doing. it's more big government, big spending, and you know, with this immigration thing, what's going to -- they're doing it because they think they need votes. that's what -- i mean, the speaker hasn't said why they're doing it. the speaker has to come out and explain to us why they're all of a sudden doing this. marco rubio, god bless him, i praise him for being part of the process in the senate. at least we had our guys in there when they were trying to crack the legislation, unlike obama where it was done behind closed doors and there was no input. even after it passed through the senate, marco rubio said this is not the time to do this because we have a president that's not going to follow the law anyway. he can't be trusted. and marco rubio has said at this

point he doesn't think we need to do this, they can do it piecemeal. they're going to lose their base and when they lose their base, they will not win. >> will you run third party candidates against them in november? >> i mean, we're not running any third party candidates, but there are going to be primary challenges, i mean, leading up to november. not only in the senate but in the house. >> let me ask you something. because the president's whole point about the executive pen, i'm fascinated. because first of all -- >> aren't you a strong believer in executive order? >> that's clear. i was going to say that in a very serious way. presidents sloks th s as long a operate within the law, in his first five years as president ronald reagan signed 53% more executive orders than barack obama. if -- you know, doesn't it sort

of bother liberals that it took five years for obama to figure out how much authority he has. literally if he has the authority to do it today, why didn't he have the authority to do it five years ago? >> i think there's a distinction between executive orders and executive action. the president is taking a wide variety of steps now. obviously, in the first couple of years, he was passing legislation. and then there was a lot of focus on implementing legislation, but i think -- i'm glad that you and i can unite between -- behind the president having strong executive action to answer the country's -- >> let me give you an illustration, this is sort of fun. the president announces with great, you know, fanfare, he is signing minimum wage for federal contracts which will come into effect in 2015, et cetera, et cetera, the total number of people -- it's a nice symbol. but it doesn't change very much. the things the epa does that changes a lot. that's a different issue. but just strikes me that he has

no new authority today that he didn't have the day he was sworn in back in his first term. and so if he suddenly finds 23 really good things to do, if i were a liberal, i'd be asking the question, so why didn't you do those? >> i actually thick the way the president suspects approaching it is the right way. to say look, i called for an increase last year, he wants congress to act in this way. unfortunately he's tried very hard and they're not acting. he's taking the right approach which is to say just because the congress is dysfunctional doesn't mean i'm ceding my authority as president. i'm going to make change where i can, improve the lives of the american people wheric. obviously better to pass legislation on a federal minimum wage or minimum wage for everyone, but if they don't act, he should. >> i agree he should act. the house republicans are meeting right now right across the bay bridge. >> right. >> you have an opportunity to tell john boehner, you know,

just what you think of this new approach to immigration, what would you tell john boehner? >> well, first of all, let me be clear that tea party express specifically, we've not focused on immigration, it's not one of our issues because it's an issue that divides people. we want to focus on the economy alone and bring people together and obama care. that's what galvanized the movement. but the movement is against this. many, many people are against it. and i don't understand why on earth house leadership would go and all of a sudden kick conservatives and play right into the hands of harry reid and barack obama. why? when every american is concerned about jobs and the economy and obama care right now, why are you going to pivot to this issue? ted cruz put out a great statement on this today -- >> right, i think the point is actually passing immigration reform is an economic issue. it's one that will improve our economy. actually, this congressional budget office said it will reduce the deficit, it will help

create jobs in the country and i think that people can look at immigration reform through a divisive lens or see it as something that's actually helpful to everyone in this economy. and if you look at the -- talk about the election. >> i think the republican party will have a very hard time in 2016 and into the future if it has a, you know, an attitude that is not welcoming on immigration reform. in some ways, if they follow you, maybe it won't work as well. >> because the adverse may also be true. if the democratic party loses the chance to pass immigration, you get into a whole different environment why are so many latinos unemployed? why is the economy so bad? why is there so little opportunity? >> i think they may look at the republican party and have an answer for that. >> so, let me start with stay with immigration a second. because i do think there is a good chance that the republicans in the house are going to do something much more intelligent

than the senate bill, which is a huge conglomerate bill that marco rubio having -- >> might call that gymnastics. >> what happens if the house republicans pass a series of six to eight bills, each of them solid, each of them a building block starting with control of the border methodically moving through. now, at that point, do liberals say, boy, this is real progress and here's a sign the legislative system's working and we ought to try to find a way to get a signature. or, do they say, boy, we really need to -- >> a few legislative days, i would hope they would pass a comprehensive bill. we have been talking about immigration reform for several years. >> we do need immigration reform because our current immigration system is not working. we do need immigration reform. the problem is amnesty. i want to clarify that. there are many people out there who support immigration reform.

amnesty is the issue here. and, you know, bill bennett, i believe, talked about a simulation. we need people that, people need to be able to speak english and understand our constitution and our federal government and they need to have, need a job skills to cut. >> many already paying tax and participating in the economy. >> stay here, next the final question for both of our guests. we also want you at home to weigh in today's fireback question. do you think congress will pass immigration reform this year? tweet yes or no using #crossfire. we'll have the results after the break. it says here that a woman's sex drive

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we're back. now, it's time for the final question. >> amy, you're from georgia. as you know, everybody is suffering down there because of the weather. but also they're suffering because they think government failed to do its job. does this incident show that we actually need the government even more to help us in times like this? >> well, i mean, we're talking about state government there. and the power should be in the hands of the state government and the people where it belongs and not the federal government. but they clearly failed. and they weren't prepared and i mean i think our governor owned up to it today. i don't think it will ever happen again. but there are times when government is needed and this is one of those times that they should have done something about it. >> i actually think had the

right kind of honesty and the right kind of candor and they clearly blew it and they admitted it and they have to learn from it. i have to ask you a questio. >> sure. >> if you look at the numbers, which we're not sure they're going to put up, i believe. the state of the union viewership has dropped from 52 million in 2009 to 33 million this year. if you take the trend line, his last state of the union slightly slower than duck dynasty. does it worry you that the president is gradually losing the ability to attract people to listen to his speech? >> i sense a theme here with you, ne you. >> i think the president rallied democrats and i wish more and more people tuned in to the state of the union. i think an issue with newscast and people in general and people are fragmented in their news

watching but a lot of people got what he said in social media and other venues. i think this is something that needs to be -- >> i don't often fully understand the way liberals think. you don't mind that a number of senators are now dising the president and running away and you don't mind apparently that according to the morning reports that many are dumping out of the house and say we can't win the house, let's put all our money into the senate. >> going into the senate. i think that's a good things to keep control of the senate. what's the argument there, exactly? >> he's very popular. >> let me say, thank you to neera and to amy kramer. go to facebook or twitter to weigh in on our fireback question. do you think congress will pass immigration reform this year? right now 34% of you say yes. 66% say no. the debate continues online at cnn.com/crossfire, as well as on facebook and twitter. >> from the left i'm donna

brazille. >> from the right i'm newt gingrich. join us again tomorrow for another edition of "crossfire." "erin burnett outfront" starts right now. next, breaking news. guilty in a shocking verdict an italian appeals court has just convicted amanda knox of murder. live to florence for the latest. a huge question tonight. will the united states extradite knox to italy to serve decades in jail? plus, cnn holds the georgia governor accountable for his bungling of the storm that paralyzed atlanta. how did this happen? what was justin bieber on the night police stopped him for drag racing. the toxicology is out and let's go "outfront."