as i remember, it was the bush administration that signed the status -- what was it, the status force agreement. and we've known we're going to be coming out of iraq for a number of years. so to count a continued effort as we have had the last several years for the next ten years, then say we're saving it, is just phoney. which a lot of this budget is, quite frankly.

what the american people -- i'm just a simple guy from idaho. what the american people want to know is how much deficit are we going to add to our current deficit if we were to pass this blueprint this year, which i understand is $1.3 trillion, how much would it much bite be at the end of the be at the end of the ten-year cycle which i understand is still going to be around $750 billion. what would the total deficit be at the end of a ten-year cycle if we adopted the president's spending plan, point one? point two is the point that mr. garrett made. every budget i've seen except the ones proposed by this president, previously and this year, never put a target out there of when we expect the budget to be balanced. and you ought to at least present a budget which says, i don't care, 50 years from now, make it some time. but tell us when, if we adopt this spending plan, when we will achieve a balanced budget and

quit adding to the debt. the question i have is, does this administration really care about deficits? and debt? they talk a lot about it but their budgets don't reflect that. i also hear a lot of talk about simpson bowles, which i support, but you know what? this administration walk ad way from it. >> there's a lot of the once. let me try to respond and i will do it quickly, mr. chairman. first of all, i'm honored to be in the job and i'm honored to serve this president and honored to present this budget. on oco, i've made the points, it closes the back door. i think we all agree cbo is our referee -- >> what back door are you talking about? >> the deficit. the back door to more discretionary spending. second, on deficits, i don't think you want to look at this in nominal dollars. no one thinks a dollar today is worth a dollar tomorrow. i'd rather have the dollar today than tomorrow.

let's pivot to gdp -- >> nobody cares about that, they care about the dollar amount is that you are creating in deficit spending. constituents don't say, as a percentage of gdp, what is our debt going to be in ten years? they say, how much are we spending, how much are we going in debt, are we goinging greece? this plan is greece's plan. >> let him answer. >> i think what you're seeing is declining deficits in real dollars which is the right way to look at it. you're seeing debt stabilize as a percentage of gdp. we are hardly greece. if we get on the president's plan people will continue to invest. this budget achieves significant savings in the ten-year window. it is a step. it's an important step. there's more work to be done. and the president has shown his leadership and his willingness to work with congress, to achieve deficit reduction, and let's start with getting this

budget, the policies in this budget, enacted into law. that's a good -- we will achieve a good milestone by doing that. >> you do a great job of trying to defend it, but i tell you that this budget leads us to greece. at some point in time, we have to balance this budget. and i don't see this administration taking any steps to do that. yes, they make little savings here and little savings there and make phony comparisons against a baseline that they've created. and say that we're saving money, when we're not. i will tell you that the american -- >> we are not greece. >> i am fed up with this. we're not greece yet. >> we're not going to be greece. this budget achieves a sustainable level of debt as a percentage of gdp and will make sure that this country continues to be a great place to invest in. i believe in this country, i believe in our workers, i believe in our competitiveness and the president's budget supports it. >> so do i, so does everyone in here. the rhetoric -- i wish your budget matched the rhetoric you put forward. but i do appreciate you being here because you've got a tough job.

>> budget week in washington. the comments of the acting office of management and budget director jeffrey zients, questions from congressman mike simpson. he's a republican from idaho. a fellow westerner, alan simpson, no relation, from wyoming, joining us friday morning. he of course is the former co-chair of the simpson bowles commission which looked at trying to rein in the federal debt and deficit. he'll be with to us take your calls and comments. friday morning, the washington journal, heard every day at 7:00 a.m. eastern time on c-span radio. we're asking the question, is washington paying enough attention to the year to attention to the year to year deficit and the overall debt now approaching close to $16 trillion. give us a call here at c-span radio. it's our listener feedback line. here's the number. 202-626-7962. we ask that you leave a message, tell us where you're calling from, we'll use some of your comments tomorrow and friday on

"washington today." 202-626-7962. >> more "washington today" in just a minute. first, other news. on wall street the dow fell 97. nasdaq down 16. s&p down 7. federal officials plan to kill a private company's plans to start a national high-speed wireless broadband network after concluding it would in some places jam personal navigation and other gps devices. the federal communications commission said it's going to seek public comment on revoking light squared's permit after a federal agency that coordinates wireless signals, the national telecommunications information administration, concluded there's no way to mitigate potential interference. a state department official says iran and russia are providing weapons to syria that could be used against anti-government protesters. the state department's assistant secretary for international security and nonproliferation,

thomas countryman, told reporters today iranian weapons shipments are a matter of deep concern for the administration. he declined to provide specifics but the type of weapons provided to syria by either iran or russian. bashar al assad ordered a referendum on the new constitution that would allow political parties other than his ruling baath party. the center piece of reforms, he has promised to ease the crisis even as the syrian military continued besieging rebellious areas in that country. in politics, wisconsin governor scott walker facing a recall orchestrated by democrats for his attempted curb union rights has given president obama a friendly tarmac welcome in milwaukee. after air force one landed and the president deplaned the governor presented him with a milwaukee brewers jersey that bore the number 1 and the president's name. this greeting was drawing some attention given the fact that there has been some democratic antipathy toward walker and that

tense exchange the president had last month in arizona with governor jan brewer. in a recent fund-raising letter walker said 75ing a recall election would deliver "a devastating blow" to the president's re-election. but governor walker did cancel a planned appearance with the president at a milwaukee factory, the master lock factory. a spokesman for the governor saying that governor walker is still recovering from a nasty case of the flu. in new jersey, governor chris christie is defending his decision to have flags lowered to half staff on saturday for the late singer whitney houston. some criticism partly related to her history of substance abuse. governor christie says he rejects the idea that whitney houston, a new jersey native, forfeited the good things that she did in her life because of that substance abuse. back in a minute with more "washington today." on "q and a" this weekend, charles evans jr. and victor

denoble. evans is the producer and director of a documentary which features former philip morris research scientist victor demobile. the film chronicles denoble's unexpected discovery of an ingredient in tobacco, when coupled with nicotine, makes cigarettes more addictive. they'll talk about the company's efforts to keep the information private. charles evans jr. and victor denoble on "q and a" this weekend here on c-span radio. we welcome you back to "washington today" here on c-span radio. kathleen sebelius testifying on behalf of the president and his budget plan for 2013. taking questions from among others senator orrin hatch, a republican from utah, member of the senate finance committee, and of course a lot of attention on last friday's announcement of a modification which allows religiously affiliated employers to shift contraceptive costs to insurance companies, part of the

compromise or accommodation as the white house put it but still getting sharp questions from members of congress. senator hatch, who is up for re-election this year, posing questions to hhs secretary kathleen sebelius. >> in his statement on friday addressing the supposed compromise on this mandate, president obama said, quote, from the very beginning of this process i spoke directly to various catholic officials, unquote. now prior to friday, february 10th, did you consult with any individual catholic bishop or the u.s. conference of catholic bishops approximate this so-called compromise? >> i did not speak to the catholic bishops. >> okay. that's all i want to know. to your knowledge, prior to february 10th, did anyone in the administration consult with any individual catholic bishop or the usccb about that so-called compromise, to your knowledge? >> i know that the president has spoken to the bishops on several occasions, yes. >> was it about that so-called compromise? >> i --

>> you don't know, okay. >> i don't know. >> are you aware of any consultation prior to friday, february 10th, by anyone in the administration, the president's re-election campaign or the democratic national committee, with any person affiliated with planned parenthood, naral, or aclu about the so-called compromise? >> again, senator, i know numerous conversations were had with religious leaders, with employers, with insurers, with -- >> with these groups as well? >> pardon me? >> with these groups as well? >> i assume some of those groups were talked to, i really have no idea when you ask if anybody in the acceleration talked to anyone, i -- >> okay. i wrote you last july that your proposed contraceptive mandate would be an affront to the natural rights to life, religious liberty, and personal conscience. i know for the record that your response to my letter completely ignored this issue. last october, 27 senators joined me in writing you again, asking for any analysis requested or obtained by hhs regarding these

religious liberty issues. the response from your department completely ignored our request. there were 27 of us who asked for it. the president's chief of staff and press secretary have since claimed this mandate is consistent with the first amendment and the final ruling issued last friday states that it is consistent with the first amendment and the religious freedom restoration act which is the bill that i brought to congress. let me ask you again, did hhs conduct or request any analysis of the constitutional or statutory religious freedom -- or the statutory religious freedom issues? >> senator, i think -- >> if you know. >> -- what you heard was the president talk about two important principles. the availability of preventive -- >> no, my question was -- >> women and religious freedom -- >> my question is a simple question. did you or anybody at hhs conduct or request any analysis of the constitutional or statutory religious freedom issues? that's a simple question. >> we certainly had our legal department look at a whole host

of legal issues -- >> did you ask the justice department? >> i did not, no, sir. >> that's all i want to get. my time is up. >> just part of the exchange earlier with senator orrin hatch, republican of utah, member of the finance committee, ask hhs secretary kathleen sebelius who also today announced the affordable care account provided approximately 54 million americans with at least one new free preventative service this past year through private health insurance plans, also announcing an estimated 32.5 million people with medicare received at least one free preventive benefit in 2011 including the wellness visit since the health care bill was enacted into law last year. read more by logging on to marketwatch.com which posted the story. this is "washington today" on c-span radio. news today about a change at the world bank. some speculating hillary clinton would be interested in the

position. u robert zellig announcing he is stepping down. is hillary clinton interested in going to the world bank in the drudge report posting a story saying she is interested. this announcement from the state department. >> i was hoping you could give an updated answer to a question you've been asked about of and that is whether secretary clinton has any interest in the position of world bank president. >> the secretary has addressed this issue many times since last year. she has said this is not happening. her view has not changed. >> and can you say with certainty whether any discussions have taken place between secretary clinton and the white house, specifically president obama, about this position over the course of the past year? >> i can't speak to that but i think the secretary's been very clear about her view with regard to this and that hasn't changed. >> have you checked with her today? >> i have.

>> and that has not changed, what she said back in -- last july in zambia is still operative? >> correct. >> okay. >> the comments of victoria nuland. a lot of rumors in washington today that hillary clinton was interested in stepping down to take over as the new head of the world bank this summer. but as you heard from the state department spokesperson, that is not the case. well, let's go back to the story that we talked about last month and the headline from the "new york times" is the tensions rise between the u.s. and egypt. the egyptian government barring the exit of six americans, one of whom is the son of ray lahood, sam lahood. he is the director of a nonprofit, nongovernment agency that is working in egypt. as a way to remind you what the "new york times" wrote about on january the 28th, building tensions between the u.s. and egypt flashed in the open when cairo confirmed that it had barred at least a half dozen americans from leaving the country and the obama administration threatening

explicitly to withhold annual aid to the egyptian military. ray lahood, who was on capitol hill discussing the transportation department budget, was asked about all this and the status of his son, sam. questions from senator conrad of north dakota and jeff sessions of alabama. >> i want to welcome everyone to the senate budget committee this morning. our hearing today will focus on the president's transportation budget requests. our witness is the secretary of transportation, ray lahood. this is secretary lahood's third appearance before the budget committee. we're delighted that he could be with us this morning. before we begin, mr. secretary, i want to note my thoughts are with your son sam lahood. most of us i think know that sam is one of the 16 american nongovernmental organization workers currently banned from leaving egypt. sam is with the international republican institute. one of my constituents, stacy

hogg from fargo, is all also among those barred from leaving. stacy is with the international democratic institute. both the ira, iri, and mdi were created by congress to foster and strengthen democratic institutions around the world. the fact that egypt has taken this action is beyond the pale. it is completely unacceptable. these young people are doing important work. work that is supported directly by the congress of the united states to support constitutional governments, to support democracy. there could be no higher calling. and for the egyptian government, egyptian authorities, to trump up these really farcical charges -- i was on the phone with stacy the day before yesterday, just after they

received the formal charges. as she read them to me. they are farcical. i don't know any better way to put it. so i just wanted to say to you, mr. secretary, i've reached out to the egyptian ambassador to express my concern about these absurd charges. i urge the egyptian leaders to drop them against stacy, against sam, and all of their colleagues. we will be taking additional steps in the days ahead to register our very serious concern about these actions that are absolutely outside the boundaries of the relationships between countries that respect each other. so i wanted to begin that way. now i want to turn my attention -- >> anything you want to say? >> yes. mr. secretary, it's a very

troubling matter. your son and the others that are held there in egypt, to try to help egypt, to help them and work with the people. and it's deeply distressing that we have a nation that i have supported relationships with, believed it's been good for egypt and the united states. we want to see egypt prosper and do well. and they have had some traditions of freedom and liberty in egypt. and to see this happen now is very distressing. and i've been briefed on this subject just yesterday. and i take it very seriously. if i have the opportunity, and maybe i will in the days to come, to raise it in different forums, i'll be looking forward

to doing so. i take it very seriously. it's personal because it's your son and we know and respect and like you. but it's also a matter of national interest to the united states, that our young people, officially part of our government institutions, being detained like this is not acceptable. we just have to make that clear that we will not accept it. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you, senator sessions. >> thank you, senator sessions, for your very clear statement as well. we hope people are listening and they understand how seriously we take this. i graduated from high school from an american air force base next door in tripoli so i've lived in that part of the world for several years and i know senator sessions may be traveling to that region in the days ahead. i hope that in a combined effort, we can send a clear message of what's acceptable

behavior and what's completely unacceptable. it is completely unacceptable they be detaining young people who are there to try to help the people of egypt. >> in a town that is so often divided by partisan politics, senator kent conrad, a democrat, senator jeff sessions, a republican, speaking very personally to the transportation secretary, ray lahood, one of a half dozen individuals being held in egypt, including ray lahood's son sam. he works for a nongovernment organization that is trying to help the people of egypt. and you heard the statements from the senators expressing their frustration at the egyptian military for holding americans. again, the threat from the obama administration to withhold funds until those americans are returned. here in washington americans looking for the future of u.s. relations with china, the associated press writing about this as the chinese vice president jinping toeing the line by the man who is set to succeed the communist party chief this fall and ultimately become the next president of

china but who's making what the ap is calling a grand u.s. state-like visit here in washington. it's not officially a state visit but has many of the trappings. as we saw yesterday with the president, president obama, welcoming vice president xi at the white house. also a 19-gun salute at the pentagon and a series of meetings and high-level luncheons. following this two-day swing the vice president of china will be heading to iowa where in 1985, as a 31-year-old county-level official, he learned about crops and livestock practices. but today another high-level luncheon sponsored by the u.s./china business council, and somebody who knows a lot about china, secretary of state henry kissinger, was instrumental in opening the door to china 40 years ago this month, welcomed the vice president of china and talked about u.s./china relations. >> we americans tend to think that every problem has its

solution. and every solution can be achieved in a quick period of time. the chinese believe that every resolution is the beginning of a new set of problems. and therefore, they're engaged in an endless process that will never end. but can always move forward. mr. vice president, you are here at a crucial moment. a moment as significant as the early opening in our relations was. both countries are undergoing domestic transformations. both countries have to deal with a global economy.

both countries have to be concerned with the spread of nuclear weapons. both countries face challenges that have never existed before, like environment, climate, energy on a global basis. and both countries face a unique new challenge. for people like myself who taught international relations, we were brought up on the notion of sovereignty. and of conflict between nations. and of the inevidentability of

competition leading to disagreements. but we live in a new world. it's the beginning of a process by which our two countries deep in their relationship a new manner. we can prove to the world that history will move us not through the conflict of societies, but through their reconciliations. >> 89-year-old henry kissinger played a key role as a national security adviser and secretary of state in opening the doors to china. this month, of course, marking the 40th anniversary of that iconic moment as richard nixon walking through the great wall of china and toasting chairman

mau in beijing celebrating the opening relations between our nations. there are a number of stories related to this anniversary especially on the washington post and new york times website. let's turn to politics. martin writing that rick santorum may be leading in polls but you wouldn't know by talking to mitt romney's prominent backers. two weeks before the state of michigan, exuding confidence that he'll not only win, but win easily and half of santorum's move in the process. santorum is ahead in michigan. and he is ahead in ohio as well. ohio one of a number of states with supertuesday primaries on march 6th. states we're keeping an eye on. much more on it next week as congress recesses and we turn our attention to the primaries in michigan and arizona on february 28th. meanwhile, the democrats gearing up for the convention that will take place labor day weekend,

charlotte, north carolina. and the announcement from the dnc of its chair, the mayor of los angeles. >> i'm los angeles mayor antonio villaraigosa and i'm honored to be chair of the convention. this convention we're making changes. i know about making changes. since i was in high school, i brought together coalitions to make a difference. to make sure we got a fair chance at an education, the american dream. i learned back then if i wanted things to be different that i had to speak out. now i want you to speak out. go to demconvention.com today and tell us how to make this a more open and accessible convention. how we can make this your convention. let's do something different this year.

let's build a convention that brings us together, that strengthens the nation and creates opportunity for all americans. >> the mayor of los angeles. he will serve as the chair of the democratic national convention which will gather in early september in charlotte, north carolina. c-span will be there. but a lot to talk about between now and then. including primaries in states including michigan where we saw a number of new ads out today from restore our future, that is the so-called super-pac aligned with mitt romney. >> how did rick santorum actually vote? santorum voted to raise the debt limit five times and for millions in wasteful projects including the bridge to nowhere. cosponsored 51 bills to increase spending and zero to cut spending. santorum even voted to raise his own pay and joined hillary clinton to let convicted felons vote.

rick santorum, big spender. washington insider. i'm rick santorum and i approved this message. >> romney's spiraling at rick santorum. romney and his super-pac has attacked fellow republicans. why? because romney's trying to hide from his big government romney care and his support for job killing cap and trade. in the end, mitt romney's ugly attacks are going to backfire. >> the latest from team romney and team santorum. campaign ads now on the air in michigan. millions expected to be spent in this state. it is a must-win state. and santorum campaign sensing the possibility of victory 13 days before the primary in ig