ten of the government's 73 inspector general posts are vacant. we are live this morning on capitol hill for a house oversight committee hearing on those vacancies. they're internal investigators who jobs are finding waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government. darrell isa said the obama

administration has hostility toward the inspector general community. the white house told "the washington post" they are working diligently to fill the positions. the inspectors general for the agriculture department and general services administration. when it gets under way the hearing is set to last two hours. it could be a couple minutes before it gets under way. it was a late night on capitol hill last night with the house armed services committee meeting all day long yesterday, marking up the 2013 defense authorization bill, a hearing we covered here on c-span three and across the c-span networks. they did pass a $246 billion defense authorization bill. can you find all of yesterday's markup session in our video library at c-span.org. the house itself did come in this morning about a half an hour ago. the budget sequester bill

replaces $98 billion in cuts in defense and social programs with different cuts. we spoke to a capitol hill reporter for a preview on today's debate. >> the house on thursday is expected to take up two measures aiming to avert a sequester of defense funds. we're joined by kathleen hunter with bloomberg news joining us from capitol hill. y remind us again what the sequester would do and what are the two goals of these two pieces of legislation? >> well, the sequester is a mek and of that was put in place last year in august when congress passed legislation raising the debt ceiling. as a condition of that, they agreed to put in place some automatic cuts to programs starting in january of 2013. so what's going to happen this week in the house, as you mentioned, they're going to vote on legislation that would elepgsly replace the automatic across-the-board cut with more

targeted cuts that represent what republicans would like to see us. it would spare cuts in some places and put cuts in other places. >> the house voted on and agreed on this sequester so why are they trying to avert it now? >> when they agreed to the sequester, they were hoping that the super committee would come up with a broader deficit reduction package that would help avert the sequester. the sequester was supposed to be this knife hanging offer congress to get them to come to an agreement. that didn't happen. a lot of people think if there is legislation, it may not occur until after the election. >> how much money is going to raised and what is going to be cut? what's being cut in order to save the defense fund?

>> this stems from the paul ryan budget that the house of representatives passed recallier this spring. it would take things like food stamps, different grant for block aid services, looking to put cut in programs republicans say either have wasteful spending in them now or are redid you understandant and then replace -- use that to sort of keep the cuts to the defense programs from happening. >> what are opponents likely o say in the debate and in the house and are they planning to offer an alternate plan. >> the democrats are pretty dead set against the republican propos proposal. they're saying it will help to. >> one of the prospects in the

senate if it passes the house? >> the prospects in the senate are less than not good basically. the house is the on one right now that's moving ahead. the house is the only chamber right now that's moving ahead with legislation to avoid the -- right now this is basically a house endeavor. >> kathleen hunter from bloomberg news, thanks for the update. >> thanks very much. >> and the house isnd way this morning. you can follow the debate on those bills on c-span. first vote is expected about 10:15 or 10:30. here on c-span3, we'll show you the house oversight committee hearing on vacancies in the

inspector general post. the state department has been open since january 16, 2008. president obama has yet to nominate someone for that position. interior ig position has been vacant for more than 1,150 days and the special inspector general for afghanistan reinstruction, more than 0 days. according to a vacancy tracker, which we had linked to one. >> a fairly empty room here, the only member we're seeing so far, elijah cummings, from maryland. but we'll stay live waiting for the committee to gavel in here on c-span3.

and the special inspecto

house oversight meeting this morning on inspector general vacancies across the department. later today, leon panetta and martin dempsey will brief reporters today. it's likely the secretary will get numerous questions for his call for the congress to pass the united nations law of the sea treaty. we'll have live coverage coming up at 2:00 p.m. eastern. later in the day, a consideration on u.s.-russian elections. president obama is hosting the g-8 summit at camp david next week and russian president vladimir putin is skipping the

meeting. he said he's busy assigning his cabinet. again, the house oversight committee and the hearing this morning a little bit late but they're going to be talking about the inspector general's vacancies in the u.s. government.

this is the ray burn house office building, the house oversight committee looking at vacancy at 73 inspector general posts in the government. the ranking democrat is elijah cummings of maryland. he's in the room but very few members are. we will have live coverage once it gets under way. we started on c-span on

"washington journal" talking about the president's statement that he now supports gay marriage. he here's some of what he had to say to robin roberts. >> over the course of several years when i talk to friends and family and neighbors, when i think about members of my own staff who are incredibly committed in monogamous relationships, same-sex relationship, who are raising kids together, when i think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained even now that don't ask/don't tell is gone because they're not able to commit themselves in a marriage, at a certain point i've just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that i think

same-sex couples should be able to get married. and the conversation continues about the president's discussion yesterday with robin roberts and his comments on same-sex marriage. that's our question for you on our facebook page, do you support or oppose same-sex marriage? you can post your vote, as lots of people have. in fact, lots of comments on that site as well throughout the day yesterday and this morning. back live to the rayburn house office building, the site where the house oversight committee meeting this morning to talk about inspectors general posts that are vacant. there's 73 posts in the government that are vacant. tonight they'll hear from the agriculture department and general services administration. darrell isa said the obama

administration has hostility toward the inspector general community. we will have this hearing live once it gets under way. while we wait, though, we're going to show you some of the conversation from this morning's "washington journal" in just a moment.

"washington journal" starting the morning asking about same-sex marriage, getting input from our viewers. we'll show you as much as we can before the oversight committee gavels in this morning's hearing. >> here's "the wall street journal," "obama backs gay marriage." "the washington post," "historic step by obama on statement-sex marriage" and here's the "new york daily news," "gay okay" on the front page there. and "usa today" this morning,

president takes sides on police call gamble and "the washington times" "obama buckles on gay marriage." and inside the wall street journal, after evolutions, obama backs gay marriage. here's a little bit of the story. polls show america's views on gay marriage are shifting faster than for many other hot button issues, 47% in favor according to a march news poll up from 41% in 2009. some 40% of americans oppose gay marriage. other surveys show similar levels of backing for same-sex marriage but some show opposition to have nearly equal support. in a recent gallup poll, 50% approved of gay marriage while 48% opposed it.

voters have enacted bans on gay marriage in a number of battle ground states that will decide the 2012 election them, among them ohio and florida. that's from morning. romney reaffirms opposition to marriage or unions for gay couples, mitt romney was in oklahoma city yesterday and here's what he had to say in response to a question from a reporter. >> i have the same view on marriage that i had when i was governor and that i expressed many times, i believe marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman. states are able to make decisions with regards to domestic partnership benefits, such as hospital visitation rights, benefits and so forth of various kinds could be determined state by state. my view is that marriage itself is a relationship between a man and a woman and that's my own preference. i know other people have differing views, this is a very tender and sensitive topic as are many social issues. but i have the same view i've had since, well, since running

for office. >> and inside "the new york post" is this article. obama evolves at last. valerie is a democrat in baltimore. you're the first voice this morning. go ahead. >> caller: good morning. i disagree with the president. but i respect his opinion. i have to ask, if you think it's okay to extend the definition of marriage to include two men or two women then it should be okay to okay polygamy. if it's okay for two men or two women, why not three men or two women and one man. and if your answer to that is to call me a name or a homo phobe then you don't have an answer. that's all i have to say. >> valerie, you're a democrat. would this affect your support for the president? >> no, sir. this is one issue. i won't agree with the president on every issue but this will not affect my support for him. >> our next call comes from a republican in trenton, new

jersey. david, good morning. >> caller: good morning. g.k. chesterson wrote famously once that mere tolerance is a virtue of men and women who no longer believe in anything. tolerance is a very easy thing to do. anybody can tolerate anything. it doesn't provide -- you don't have to take a stand on anything. let's say one thing about homosexuality that we never talk about, we role the aids quilt out once 18 while. hundreds of thousands of american men have died a very slow and painful death because of sex outside of natural law. let's not even talk about god's law. it is an abnormal way of life in the theater for years and years people were mocked on shows, guys like me, i was involved in that lifestyle starting back in the early 80s, i got into it through drugs and alcohol,

through manipulation, through recruitment. it almost destroyed my life. i turned my life around in my early 30s. it's a dark and perverted way of life. homosexuality is not just bruce and julian on the front porch courting each other walking down the aisle. it's a meat market, the gay bars, it's very transatory. it comes in and out of a man's life. don't get me wrong, there are a few percentage of people born that way. it's a biological aberration. but you wouldn't believe you know, how mechanical men can be in sexual ways. how many have died. >> so david, are you married now? >> yes, i am. see, that's what's funny about it. i remember phil donohue show years ago there was a guy on there, they mocked him and laughed at him. why would the homosexual lobby be so against people turning their life around.

you can get yourself out of pornography and out of addiction and homosexuality. you can turn away from it. maybe i wasn't born that way. maybe there are people who are. i'm not saying there aren't. i have met many good gay couples. >> so all that said, david, are you against gay marriage then? >> of course. and most homosexuals probably are themselves. only one or two million homosexuals in the country out of 310 million people. with economy the way it is, with this country in the way it is, for us to be embroiled in this conversation when millions are out of work and so many problems is really insane. >> we're going to move on to nick in new york city. a democrat. hi, nick. >> we'll leave washington journal at this point and head back to capitol hill now for a house oversight committee hearing on inspector general posts that are vacant. this is live coverage on c-span 3. >> this is a hearing in which we're not talking about any

particular problem that's occurred in the recent or not recent past. we're talking about an ongoing question of the independence, the value of inspector generals and where this committee should go in strengthening the 12,000 men and women, $2 billion budget that ultimately protects the taxpayers. so, with that i'm going to make a special request. recognizing that votes will interrupt this hearing and make it probably impossible for us to get through two panels. i'm going to make a request. request that we be able to consolidate under one panel. in order to do that i'm going to ask unanimous consent here on the dias that all members agree not to get into areas that would create an inherent conflict between a transparency or sunlight individual, such as prince george's ogo, and the office of manage and budget. do i hear objections?

hearing none, could we please consolidate this so we can get through one panel. if anyone objects to questioning as somehow creating a conflict i will rule on it. but my intention is that i believe every one of the panel and everyone on both sides of the dias wants this hearing to accomplish the same fact finding. so if the staff would get that done while we do the opening statement. >> the oversight committee exists to secure two fundamental principles. first, americans have a right to know the money washington takes from them is well spent. and second, americans deserve an efficient effective government that works for them. our duty on the oversight and government reform committee is protect these rights. our solemn responsibility is hold government accountable to taxpayers because taxpayers have a right to know what they get from their government. we will work tirelessly in

partnership with citizen watchdogs to deliver the facts to the american people and bring genuine reform to the federal bureaucracy. this is our mission. in 1978, the position of inspector general was established to promote efficiency and ensure that a threshold of accountability was integrated government wide. i myself saw the inspector generals far before that when in the military where their role for generations was critical. commanders do the best they can, but commanders need watchdogs at all levels, independent watchdogs. the ig's are america's front line of oversight in the executive branch. fiscal year 2009 alone their audits and investigations identified over 43 billion in potential savings, having a

robust group of permanent inspector generals at the federal agencies is the best way to protect taxpayers from waste, fraud, and abuse. the obama administration has often proclaimed its commitment to transparency and accountability. that's why it's so troubling, and i remember that his predecessor had similar situations and i want to note that, that the president has allowed vacancies at early ig offices to linger for months and in some cases years. even more disturbing is the administration's willingness to demonstrate a pattern of, at times, of hostility toward some members of the inspector general community. that is not to say that that has not happened with past administrations. one of the president's first actions on the i.g. front was to remove i.g. gerald waltman from his post at the corporation for national and community service.

we on this side of the aisle objected to it and continue to feel that this was inappropriate. however, that is not the issue for today. the issue for today is, in fact, how do we find something regardless of who's in the white house that satisfies first, the american people's right to know and right to be protected from waste. second, strengthens the relationship between this committee and our counterparts in the senate in being able to count on the inspector generals as our conduit into the executive branch. we can all have discussions about this administration and we have had plenty and will have more. but i think when we look at exposing taxpayer loss and waste, we cannot look at any one administration. we have often on a bipartisan basis lauded the success of tracking the stimulus fund spending. doesn't mean we agree to the stimulus bill itself, but it means that in