i've seen you playing golf with mikey, who's now, i guess we have to call him michael. >> he still wants to be called mikey. >> just congratulations. >> thank you. >> but you just got one out of here? >> one going out of uva from the kmoers schoo commerce school. heading to new york, working in the services industry, much like his mother, he was, my wife's always had a terrific quantitative head as a cpa, and jd, he's probably following in her footsteps, i'm very proud of him. he gets trick grades. >> also a daughter? >> a daughter, university of michigan. finishing up her sophomore year i think next year and then i do have the youngest, who's 17, just -- just was alerted of his acceptance in the uva. so next year, save for my

mother-in-law, we'll be empty nesters. >> eric cantor, thanks for a great conversation. thank you so much for coming in. >> absolutely. live now to capitol hill, radio and television gallery on the house side of the capitol. we're expecting minority leader

nancy pelosi amoment ancy pelos. she'll do her weekly legislative briefing with those reporters and later will talk about a bill that just passed the house. that bill that would give small business -- a small business tax cut to businesses that employ less than 500 workers, a one-time tax break. that measure passing a few minutes ago by a vote of 235-173. we would expect that will come up. senate today working on reauthorization of the violence against women bill, also a reform of the postal service. we expect a couple of votes coming up momentarily, about 15 minutes from now on that postal reform bill, and, of course, live coverage of the senate on c-span2. president obama this afternoon in about a half hour welcoming the national champion university of alabama crimson tide to the white house to honor their 14th championship, and later on today, the president attending a campaign event right here in

washington area. associated press reporting today that the number of people seeking u.s. unemployment benefits dropped last week, but remained higher than it's been in recent weeks. the rise in applications in the past couple of weeks could signal that the job market is slowing, that according to the associated press. you can see the robot is adjusting the camera. we expect leader pelosi shortly.

again, we're waiting for minority leader nancy pelosi to come out, speak with reporters gathered here. as you can see a live picture from the u.s. capitol. the radio and television gallery. we expect leader pelosi any moment, we expect her to speak about the business just finished, a vote conducted in the house, passing, giving small business as one-time tax break for small businesses that employ less than 500 workers. although reporters on capitol hill reporting the bill's future in the senate somewhat uncertain. the senate working on reauthorization of the violence against women bill and reform of the postal service, a couple of proposal votes scheduled for about 2:15. about ten minutes from now in

the senate. our coverage of the senate on c-span2. the house always on c-span and the president late other than this afternoon, in fact, in about 20 minutes, is scheduled to welcome the national champion university of alabama crimson tide to the white house. they'll be celebrating their 14th championship.

as we wait for minority leader employees toy make her way to the podium, some calls and ehails fr s this morning'

"washington journal." >> if the election were held today, who would you vote for? 46%, obama. men, 43% obama. 49% romney. women, 49 pittsburgh steelers president b bp. 43% mitt romney. republicans 91% supporting the gop, and 88% supporting democrats for president obama and independents are breaking exactly even. 43% each, favorable ratings, president obama gets a 42%. mitt romney, 29%. unfavorable. 45% for the president and 34 for the presumptive gop nominee. do you think the candidate says what he believes most of the time or what he thinks people want to hear? president obama says what he believes. 46% agree. 51% disagree. mitt romney, 27% agree.

62% disagree. and do you think the candidate is someone you can relate to? president obama, 47% say, yes. 50% say, no. mitt romney, 34% say yes. 60% say no. those are just some of the top numbers in the new "new york times" cbs poll on the presidential race. why are you supporting your candidate? we begin with kevin in fort lauderdale. kevin, you're a president obama supporter. correct? >> caller: at this point, yeah, i have to support president obama. >> why? >> caller: well, first things first. i don't have any party affiliation. so it's not that. i mean, basically it goes out to what you were saying. listen, i'm an educator. i do financial services. i have three jobs right now. i've taken a look at romney's past record. i've looked in idaho and utah,

and even though i don't think president obama's doing a great job right now, i think he's got a grasp on what's going on and governor romney with all due respect, how can he get there? i think he's completely detached. from reality. and from the american people. i don't think he has any true connection to -- his job is strip businesses apart. he saved some but he also stripped and destroyed a lot more than he saved, and i really don't think that he has any clue what the common american man does. obama at least makes some attempt to try to understand what's going on. >> i'll leave it there, kevin and move on to texas, and mr. peterson is on the line, and you are also an obama supporter.

hi, mr. peterson. >> caller: hi. >> how are you, mr. and mrs. peterson. >> couldn't get through. >> all the lines are full. >> caller: that's a good thing. we'll break away from this portion of this morning's "washington journal" and take you like to capitol hill with minority leader nancy pelosi. >> -- good to see all of you as this session comes to an end this week. this week the republican policies have run into criticism from some of their friends, their traditional allies, for the triple threat that they pose to the economy. former reagan economic adviser bruce babbitt, bartlett, former reagan economic adviser bruce bartlett says the republican tax giveaway to the rich and famous will, "do nothing whatsoever to increase employment and should not be taken seriously." the "wall street journal," their good friend, call it is a gimmick and a ploy saying their

proposal would lead to misinvestment and other economic distortions. and the u.s. conference of bishops says the republican budget doesn't meet their moral criteria. they say in their statement, government and other institutions have a shared responsibility to promote the common good of all especially ordinary workers and families who struggle to live in dignity in economic and -- and difficult economic times. and just solutions, however, must require shared sacrifice by all, including raising adequate revenues. on tuesday, the republicans voted to deem and pass their budget, the same budget that the bishops have said doesn't meet moral criteria. to end the medicare guarantee,

making seniors pay more to get less so they can give a tax cut of nearly $400,000 to people making more than $1 million a year. doesn't meet moral criteria. think of it. they're saying to seniors, we're going to end the medicare guarantee and as we do that, we're going to make you pay $6,400 more each year to get less in terms of benefits, and we're going to give $400,000 tax cut to the wealth yet in our country. those making over $400,000 a year. this is a bill that does not reduce the deficit does not create jobs in fact loses jobs. a budget that does reflect our nation's values and a balanced approach to reduce the deficit, and that is what we have. we know there have to be some cuts in investments. we know there has to be investments in growth and the

entrepreneurial spirit of america, and we know there has to be revenues. today again, this is -- this is part of the triple threat, back to that small bill. today house republicans voted to give another giveaway to -- all under the same frame. give them credit. then are consistent, and they stick with the guy that brought them to the dance. that's the wealthiest people in america. the bill doesn't require the creation of jobs. it does not require that. companies can use the benefit to send jobs overseas. increases the deficit by $46 billion, in one year alone. left to their own devices in keeping their tax cuts in place, they remain in power it means it's a half trillion dollars over ten years, how you usually mesh are the impact of revenue. of a revenue bill.

dlivs tax cuts to the wealthiest americans. 56% of this tax giveaway goes to the top 3% earners. in our country. it gives an average of $58,800 -- $58,800, to the 125,000 millionaires. they don't have to create one job. they can create them overseas. democratic alternative, we had an alternative on the floor today. that would help small businesses hire and grow. it is accelerated depreciation enjoyed bipartisan support every time it comes up. allows company to deduct 100% of the cost of capital on the first year of new investment, in machinery and equipment. as i say, other versions of this same measure created hundreds of thousands of jobs. we really were out to create jobs, and in a fiscally sound way. we could simply have gone that

route. again, this week, today we brought up the buffett rule for a vote saying that you -- that people making over $1 million a year should not be getting these additional tax cuts. democrats voted yes, in stark contrast to republicans voting no. we got to take care of those people making over $1 million as their top priority. you know that the senate republicans blocked that same vote from even coming up on the senate side. on another subject, but related, yesterday house administration democrats held a forum on the need to create a new politics free of special interest money. i call it a forum, because we were not allowed to call it a hearing, the republicans would not allow a hearing on disclose. they did not allow the camera system of the room to be used to transmit the proceedings from

the forum to the rest of the world. they -- we think that this is about transparency. disclose. stand by your ad. if you're so proud of what you are doing with your effective political action, then let the world know who's paying for this ad. not by the end of the year or the end of the month, but by the end of the ad, in realtime. we have to do it as candidates. they should have to do it as contributors. we have a clear agenda in this regard. disclose, reform the system, reducing the role of money in campaigns, and amend the constitution to rid it of this ability for special interests to use secret, unlimited, huge amounts of money going to campaigns. i think one of the presenters yesterday said it was -- unleashed a president ter that

was oozing slime into the political system, and that, indeed, is not an exaggeration. our founders had an idea. it was called democracy. it said the elections are determined by the people. the voice and the vote of the people. not by bank rolls of the privileged few. the supreme court decision flies in the face of our founders' vision, and we want to reverse it. so with that, i'd be pleased to take any question us may have. >> leader pelosi, there's more fallout now from the secret service scandal in colombia. it's looking like there may be more secret service agents that may have to resign as a result of this scandal. what yorur reaction to the scandal and who should be held responsible with what happened to the secret service and with the military folks involved as well? >> first and foremost it's about the protection of the president

of the united states and the vice president. those of secret service is charged with protecting. it's a stunning thing. it's actually disgusting. there has to be an investigation to see how this could have happened, and those responsible should have to pay a price. but as with all of these things, there are many people in the secret service who do their jobs, responsibly and we can't paint everyone with the same brush, but nonetheless, those people who are responsible have brought disgrace and it's disgusting. >> just a follow-up on that question. some of your colleagues have expressed concern about the cultural issues. do you think this prostitution scandal is indicative of culture at the secret service, that -- this kind of behavior? >> i have absolutely no idea. i was stun and disgusted by it. i was very surprised to hear what it is. so i hope that is not the case,

but only an investigation will demonstrate that. i -- i hope. i hope is such a bad word. i hope it's just -- i hope, when i say a bad word, i mean in regard to this. i hope it is limited to what we see in the press now and not indicative of something else. but it's hard to understand how such a thing could happen. >> was it -- >> do you think -- you've been -- have you actually been briefed on the scandal and do you think that all 11 of the agents should -- submit their resignation or be fired? >> i haven't been briefed, but i don't see how those who were involved in this should be able to continue in their work. >> foreign policy -- [ inaudible ] panetta and -- testifying on syria this morning before the -- >> they did. >> and the [ inaudible ] he said that he would get, his term, congressional approval, was there to be intervention.

do you feel that the administration is communicating properly with the hill about potential, anything having to do with syria and based on what happened with libya last year, the congress, do you think they're fully in the loop and didn't get the time to sign off to continue -- [ inaudible ]. >> well, i don't subscribe to the latter. i think that the president -- this thing was happening in realtime. it wasn't as if this was something we were planning to do six months down the road and now let's talk about it for a while. this was happening. the administration -- i'm talking about libya. yeah. i don't subscribe to your characterization. there may have been some who may have wanted more, but the conversations that i was involved in were pretty extensive in terms of those who participated, the kinds of questions and -- the presentation that was there, and i think the president did the right thing. in terms of syria, i think that

the -- the amount of information, and i would not be completely aware of all that has been conveyed to congress, it's probably what is appropriate as for as intentions and we have no intention to have boots on the ground. what we would like to see is an end to the violence there and to have that be an international initiative, and an opportunity for medical supplies and the rest, humanitarian assistance, to be provided there. that is something i think that we can do. it's very hard to figure out what would be the right solution and the right outcome in syria and what boots on the ground would do one way or another, but i don't -- i'd have to go ask them, do you have any intentions that we don't know about? in terms of what i know about their intentions i think they're communication with congress has been appropriate. >> leader pelosi -- >> earlier today majority leader

cantor was talking about tax reform at an event, and one of the thing hess said, if you got over 45% of the people that doan pay income taxes in the country, the question, should they have something in the game? should they even have a dollar in the game on income taxes? the notion of robbing the base. what's your reaction to that? >> is he deciding that pay roll taxes are not taxes? is that what i should assume from your question? >> he is talking about people who don't pay income taxes, yes. >> they do pay taxes. they pay pay roll taxes and this is a tactic that the other side uses to make it sound as if these people are not paying taxes. they are paying taxes. they do have skin in the game, and i think that that should be respected. i wish they would earn more so they can pay more and that's what we're about, the creation of good, paying jobs in our country. that contribute to our

international competitiveness to keep america number one. the a, b, cs, bet right back to them. make it in america. stop the erosion of our manufacturing, industrial and technological base. not to be protected, but to be self-reliant. build america's infrastructure, b. and you see the stolen game played with the transportation bill. build it, build america with products made in america, and create good paying jobs and that way not only in the construction but in the resulting flow of commerce, people to and from work that will revitalize our economy, and, krc. community. the sense of community. what are the solutions that work in particular communities to grow their economies? and to create jobs? i would add to that, disclose. because you're never going to change the policy unless you change the politics. as long as big money rules, you're going to have tax cuts

for the rich, as the mantra of the republican party in washington, d.c. >> i wanted to ask you about comments that speaker boehner said yesterday at the same podium. he said that the president has been awol since labor day, lacks the courage to correct the economy getting to do a state where the deficit's handled. when you hear that, what is your reactions? >> you're asking me about feelings or thinkings? you just want to know what i want to say. a response. it was interesting -- i didn't see that press conference, but i did hear that, comments that the speaker made to charlie rose similar to what you just said, and the fact is, this president has been so respectful of the republicans in congress.

he has given them every opportunity for the executive and the legislative branch to work together. to have a solution that has bipartisan support. he's been criticized by some for taking the time that it takes to find out that they're never going to give him a break. which is a compromise. one thing i do know, with absolute certainty, president obama was in agreement with the grand bargain that the two of them negotiated last summer. when he asked us, the democrats in congress, can you support us going down a path that has not as much revenue as we want but has the balance, that has cuts that are painful but some

revenue as far as assuming the repeal of the bush tax cuts? we said, go for it. that would be our recommendation. the president didn't need our recommendation. he knew where he was on it, but i think it was important for him to know that we're with him, as we had said all along, we're for a grand bargain. you can do many things, and difficult choices that are there, if you also have revenue. and i know that the president agreed with that, and that the republicans walked away. they're trying to revise history now, but it just ain't so. you have people who came into office and the first thing toe do was wanted to shut down government. so they didn't want to fund planned parenthood. then we get to the summer, and they want to default on the full faith and credit of the united states of america. walked away from the grand