businessman donald trump is making a political announcement this afternoon at his hotel in las vegas. earlier today media reports says he intends to endorse mitt romney for the republican presidential bid. we'll have live coverage of that event set for 3:30 eastern this afternoon. nevada's republican caucuses are this saturday. c-span will have live coverage of the results and action. saturday is a start of week long caucuses in maine. this coming tuesday colorado and minnesota will hold caucuses while missouri has a primary. later in the month arizona and michigan go to the polls on the republican presidential primary followed by washington state in early march. follow the action and c-span.org/campaign2012. c-span's road to the white

house political coverage takes you to the candidates' events. >> cast over 800 vetos. we balanced the budget every single year and kept our schools first in the nation. my leadership will end the obama era and begin a new era of american prosperity. >> there's a mess up in washington. they have created a mess. they have given us a lousy foreign policy, a lousy budget and a lousy recession. but where the wonderful thing is happening is in the grassroots. people are beginning to realize that the problem is too much government. we need more personal liberty. >> if you are prepared to do what it takes to make sure that we change direction, not just the presidency but the congress, the beaurocracy, the judges, the policies, so that the entire system gets on the right track, so that america can give our

children and grandchildren a more prosperous, safe and better future. this is how big the gap is. >> follow the candidates as they meet with voters. use our website to view from the campaign, reporters and other viewers at social media sites at c-span.org/campaign2012. members of the senate today are working on a bill to ban inside stock trading by members of congress. leaders agreed earlier today to limit amendments and hold a final vote later today. senate democratic leaders held a meeting to discuss details of the agreement.

>> thank you all for coming. we are very, very close to doing something so basic, so common sense, to begin to restore the public's trust and faith in our institution. i am very encouraged we have found more to agree with than to disagree with and we can bring this bill to the floor for a vote today. i want to change the extraordinary leadership of leader reed for putting this bill forward and having us have a chance to negotiate and look at amendments all week long. i want to thank chairman lieberman and collins for their leadership, also the leadership of my colleagues standing with me here today who have advocated to strongly for these reforms. i want to thank my colleagues across the aisle for their good faith and effort in working towards this end. we've tried to focus at the specific task at hand, closing loopholes to ensure members of

congress play by the exact same rules as everyone else is something we need to accomplish. while there's some amendments that simply do not meet this test, there are others that will make this bill stronger. i believe that the final bill will have significant teeth. this sorely needed bill will establish for the first time a clear, fiduciary responsibility to the people we serve removing any doubt that the s.e.c. and tfct are empowered to investigate cases of insider trading of nonpublic information that we have access to through our jobs. we are entrusted with a profound responsibility to the american people to look out for their best interest, not our own financial interests. let's show the people here that we have come together to do the right thing. today we're taking the first step showing them we are worthy of their trust. i urge all our colleagues to support this important bill.

>> thank you for your leadership on this issue. it's extraordinary when we start the week off with a vote of 93-2. that's unusual in the united states senate when it comes to a motion onto proceed on bipartisan support. i'm glad we're going to bring this matter to a close after 20 more amendments considered all of which announced by the majority leader on the floor. all of them may not require roll call for those looking at watches and calendars. i think what it gets down to is very basic here. some of us started in public life with people who were public servants and focused on issues of integrity. i was lucky to be with two of those people who really believed in disclosures and ethics when it came to public service. one of the most fundamental issues and values when it comes to public service is you cannot look to enrich your service because of that public service. that's what this bill addresses specifically. the information which we receive, not available to the public, cannot be used in a fashion to enrich ourselves.

that is fundamental, will be stated clearly in the effort by gillibrand and the votes we cast today. it's an important step in restoring the confidence of the american people of the united states. >> thank you i want to congratulate and tip my hat to senator gillibrand. she recognized this proposal early on as the right thing to do. she's been persistent in moving it forward. her persistence this week we've all seen. she saw this through even when it looked like it could get bogged down in a sea of amendments. some relevant, many not relevant. i think i speak for my colleagues when i say let's vote already. the president wants this bill. leader reed does, leader mcconnell at least says he does, the public does and 93 senators voted for it on monday. it's hard to think of another bill that's so noncontroversial

and yet has taken so much effort to pass. republicans have said we need to extend the bill to the administration. we agree. but then earlier this week we were stopped from quickly voting on an amendment to do that. we had republicans objecting to allowing votes on other republican amendments. and then even more worrisome you have the house, especially leader cantor being vague about whether he'll take this up when it passes the senate even if it covers the administration which was his original objection. if you didn't know better, you'd think this effort by the republicans to make never ending, so-called improvements to the bill, was really just a clever strategy to kill it. you're sooig seeing that strategy in pay cuts as well. in early january they said they learned a lesson in december and were ready to agree to a quick extension of the payroll tax.

they don't seem to be moving quickly at all. many of the house republicans this morning started debating the provision that has nothing to do with the payroll tax cut and is a way to kill the bill. what the heck is going on here? they don't seem to be moving quickly at all. that's the problem. the republicans seem like they want to kick the can down the road on the stock act and want to run out the clock on the tax cuts to the middle class. haven't they learned their lesson? their obstruction which they did more artfully last year, is now becoming clear to the public. their idea of blocking bills with no fingerprints on them is go gone. everything sees what they are doing. if they actually support these proposals, they should start showing it. >> let me add congratulations to

senator gillibrand for her persistence in getting it to this point and leader reed working to this point where we're going to be able to pass this bill. everybody i talk to are surprised this isn't already law. we all know members of congress shouldn't play by their own rules. as senate democrats this bill was introduced as a simple straightforward bill to conserve the trust of those we represent. it's the kind of legislation that should have taken an hour. we're here today to finally get it done. i'm glad because i was beginning to think i was waking up on groundhog's day again and again, the same thing senator schumer talked about, things debated, not relevant, merely a point of obstruction because some kind of feeling if we don't do anything it benefits somebody. we're on the right step. we really hope it sets us on the path to get bills passed out of

congress that really reflect the needs of american people, putting people back to work, creating jobs and getting this economy back on track again. >> senator gillibrand when she brad law, this was her expertise, senate securities. she's the right person to do this. i admire what she's done and how it was accomplished. i also want to throw a bouquet to senator lieberman and senator collins. they have done good work on this legislation. i admire that very much. we're going to have now -- we're going to finish this sometime this evening. we now need to get back to working on jobs for the american people. that's why monday we're going to vote on the fa bill creating hundreds of thousands of jobs. we're going to move thereafter the highway bill. we're told that will save 1.8

million and great hundreds of thousands of other jobs. the american people know the only way to solve the unemployment crisis we have in america today is to create jobs. with all due respect to my friends on the other side of the capital, the republicans in the house, what they are doing is not creating jobs. they are doing legislation hard to comprehend. all these things deal with the environment, looking at regulations that would certainly make our water less safe, air less pure and food less edible. i would hope we can get back to working on a bipartisan basis has shown here in the senate we can get things done for the american people.

we need to do this certainly more rapidly than we have. we've made progress but not nearly enough. i'll take questions. >> senator reed? >> yes. >> republicans this morning introduced a bill that would replace 1.2 trillion sequester, a portion of which the 2013 portion of the sequester is paid for by a freeze in the pay of federal work and 5% reduction in the works force through attrition. i wonder what you make of that particular proposal? >> i believe that an agreement is an agreement. i believe a handshake is a handshake. here we have more than a handshake. we have a law now in place in our country that tells how we're going to deal with domestic spending. we should keep their word. that's what the american people expect them to do and what i expect them to do. it's a loss leader.

it's unfair they are doing this. >> can you assess the payroll tax, are you concerned about not meeting that -- >> senator schumer touched on this in his statement to each of y you. he's absolutely right. we hear statements of support. oh, yes, we want to do the payroll tax. we want to do unemployment. we want to take care of medicare. as it relates to payments to doctors. but i want to see some action not before you folks, i want to see them in the conference committee. i'm going to be as patient as i need to be. i hope to move forward with something they are saying publicly they want to happen. i want everyone put on notice we are not going to walk away from this without vs serious votes.

if they aren't willing to do something on a bipartisan basis we'll do something to move the bill forward. we cannot let the economy go into -- to be hurt. we have people out there in nevada and around the country who are desperate for these checks they get from their unemployment benefits. of course we have seniors who are very, very adverse to losing their doctors. also everyone should understand we have tax extenders extremely important to also maintaining the economy that has been doing quite well. in short, hope they get their work done. if not, some legislation they will have to vote on. >> democrats will have their own bill. >> i hope it can be a bipartisan bill but there will be votes. >> senator, do you hold out any hope for a deal on defense sit reduction to replace the sequester? is a grand bargain possible by the end of the year or is that

not possible in an election year? >> i have someone standing next to me someone who devoted months of her life, every waking minute trying to come up with the grand bargain. when it came down to having the richest people in america pay a tiny fraction of the second million dollars they make, the answer was always no. so we're available for doing something to reduce the deficit but the american people say and we agree with them, if we're going to have some sacrifice around here, let's do it on a fair basis. i repeat as i say all the time because it's so true, the rich are getting richer, the poor getting poorer and middle class being squeezed. if people want to do something about the deficit on the republican side, let them go to their rich friends and say you're going to have to give a tiny bit. >> senator gillibrand, what amendments are going on the bill you've accepted.

>> a list of -- >> no, which ones are you agreeing with? >> we'll have 20 to vote on. >> which ones will pass? we'll wait and see. >> sorry. i don't know. >> some of them were put together very quickly. yes, last question. >> senator schumer, you said you would agree with an amendment to expand insider trading regulations to executive branch employees. >> yes, part of the amendments. it was offered by republicans. we accept that. we think that's the right thing to do. we certainly don't want to have the house make and excuse that they are not going to pass this bill because it doesn't cover both ends of pennsylvania avenue. it should. >> cover all federal employees. >> will cover the executive branch. >> thanks, everybody. >> thank you.

businessman donald trump is making a political noupsment this afternoon at his hotel in las vegas. earlier today media reports say he intends to endorse mitt romney for the republican presidential bid. we'll have live coverage for that event at 3:30 this afternoon. nevada's caucuses this saturday. c-span will have results. saturday is the start of caucuses in maine. this coming tuesday colorado and minnesota will hold caucuses while missouri has a primary. later in the month arizona and michigan go to the polls on the

republican presidential primary followed by washington state in early march. follow the action at c-span.org/campaign2012. >> we as explorers of literature, readers of literature, we have a responsibility. for those of you discovering the creation of literature you have a responsibility, do you not? can you create anything you want in the world that you create in literature reflecting history or not and feel comfortable in that creation or must you precensure yourself to decide i can't offend anybody. >> this weekend from lectures in history professor foster on the n-word's place in literature saturday night at 8:00 eastern. also on american history tv, he changed the reading habits of americans. look at the influence of "time" incorporated founder editor of "time," fortune and life magazine 7:30.

sunday at 5:00 p.m. january 1901 the oil boom hits. the lucas gusher makes texas a leading oil state. visit boom towns wealthy homes and infamous streets of beaumont, texas, this weekend on c-span3. congressional lawmakers continue their investigation into the mf global collapse. this morning the house financial services subcommittee on oversight and investigations held a hearing. among those testifying the company's current and foreign risk officers. this is about 2 hours and 15 minutes. >> the committee will come to order. we'll have opening statements and previously agreed it would be 10 minutes to each side. also mr. grim and mr. royce

joined us today. while they aren't member of a subcommittee they are members of the full committee, ask if members could join us and participate in the hearing. good morning, this is our second hearing on the collapse of mf global. the purposes of these hearings is really to try to find out exactly what happened, why a very old company ended up in bankruptcy where creditors and shareholders and unfortunately customers lost money. we may have additional hearings. this investigation continues. one of the things we hope to accomplish from this series of hearings and from the investigation we've been conducting is to then publish a report to kind of give a time line and also some findings of

how these customers lost their money, how a company that was allowed to slip through the regulatory groups, them being knowledgeable of some of the problems going on. we're going to hear from people today inside the organization and hear today from people outside the organization. rating agencies. we have mr. stockman and mr. roseman here today who were risk officers inside the organization. again, the bottom line here is trying to figure out what happened. what we will sense, and what we've seen in our problems we've had in the marketplace, there are those who said if we'd have had dodd/frank in place or this regulation in place or had this, one of the things that happens is people just to conclusions

and try to overreact to that. what we want to do is get to the bottom of what happens here and make a finding. one of the things i think we've seen when we look back in the 2008 crisis, a lot of people said it was the fact we had lack of regulation. truth of the matter is had we taken time to ascertain exactly what happened, we would have found 2008 happened not because we didn't have enough regulations but in many cases regulators not doing their jobs, market behavior that was not acceptable. so the purpose of this hearing and the hearings we've had in the past, again, get to the bottom of that. i look forward to hearing from our witnesses today. with that i would yield to my good friend, ranking member of the committee. >> thank you. thank you for the witnesses coming today.

this is another series in this particular issue. i don't know who made conclusions about what happened here at mf global. i haven't met any thoughtful person that knows much about it that has. everyone i know including myself and colleagues on this side simply asking for questions. me, as a supporter of dodd/frank, i have no idea whether dodd/frank could have or should have addressed this issue. there's simply not enough knowledge on the table yet. for all i know it might be simple basic criminalality. for all i know it might be excessive risk. i don't know yet. i haven't talked to anybody that has drawn a conclusion yet. i'm here to learn, if you want the truth. not to draw conclusions. i didn't come today or the last hearing or probably the next hearing we have in the not too distant future with those conclusions. that's why i'm here. i have lots of different questions. i still fear we may be ahead of the curve, which is a good thing. we'll probably have a whole lot

of questions as we did last time that can't be answered. it's important to ask them, continue there investigation to see not just in this instance, as i have said before and will continue to say, it's always bad for a company to lose a billion dollars. it's a bad thing. really, if there's a criminal aspect to it, somebody misappropriated funds, that's not what congress does, that's justice department, s.e.c., other people. what we're here for is to see if this particular case represents a threat to the system, whether others are doing, whether there is a hole in regulation, if there's a need for enforcement, regulation. that's what i'm trying to ascertain. hopefully today we'll take a few more steps to do that. with that i yield back. >> thank you. now the vice-chairman of the committee mr. fitzpatrick is recognized for 1 1/2 minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i believe this issue requires our specific attention because there were actually many failures that have been exposed. monday them failure of the ceo

and board to heed warnings of their own internal risk managers. also i believe was a clear failure on the major credit rating agencies to identify the massive risk mf global this taken on. the reason why these particular failures warrant the attention of congress it affects their constituents money. i have an e-mail from a constituent this morning with a substantial amount of missing funds. the three largest credit agencies will remain major market movers. it's not a coincidence when moody's downgraded mf global and s&p issued the warning mf global collapsed. of course it was the risky bets that caused their collapse not the warnings but it hastened the result. i expect to argue the trouble in mf were identified as soon as possible. and the fact their situation was so precarious validated the

bankrupt actions of the agencies. however there's a demonstrable pattern of this happening again and again. enron, lehman, world com which caused major market disruptions. bad company and bad securities are being rated favorably right up until the minute the house of cards collapses. if we can avoid these bankrupt shocks to the system, our financial system will be sounder and investors will be more confidence. when a situation like mf global occurs it is our responsibility to examine how it happened. carefully consider reforms and most importantly make sure it doesn't happen again. mr. chairman again i appreciate your facilitating this hearing. i yield back. >> i thank the gentleman. now, mr. royce is recognized for 1 1/2 minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. this is three months now after the initial hearing and still we've got most of the questions unanswered in terms of what

happened to the $1.2 billion in customer funds. i think the most pressing public policy left unaddressed in all of this is, of course, the breach in segregated customer funds. i guess the shocking part is the rules have been around 75 years. according to the regulatory community they are not rules difficult to understand. not rules particularly difficult to enforce. they are the foundation of the cftc's customer protection regime. so that one question is how did the cftc fail in its most basic task here. despite what some have said and might say again today, i'll just give this perspective from the cftc commissioner. he said the perception mf global happened because of lack of regulation is mistaken. both our governing statute, the

community exchange act, and our regulations require an intermediate area, require mf global to segregate future customer funds. there have also been called for coverage in swap mark. again, i think this will be a mistake. expanding the safety net to the vast market would be workable and compound moral hazard problem already present throughout much of our financial sector. it does appear, however, several steps can and should be taken. the focus must be on improving market discipline and ensure the most basic regulatory functions are met by these agencies. i thank you, chairman, for holding this hearing. >> i thank you. mr. graham recognized for one minute. >> thank you, chairman. i have a little bit of a different perspective on this. there's no question that customer funds being transferred, i think it speaks for itself.

never should have happened, period. the law is clear. but on top of that, it's further compounded by one of the biggest travesties in market history. who made a decision to allow this bankruptcy to be a cipa bankruptcy and not under the commodities bankruptcy applause. what we did was someone stole their money and then those customers who had their money stolen just got hit even worse, because the bankruptcy laws are going to work against them. that is one of the biggest travesties definitely in market history and undermines the entire u.s. markets, certainly commodities and futures. with that i yield back. >> thank you, gentlemen. i believe that's remind members their opening statements will be made a part of the