republican congressman pete sessions will talk about what is ahead for health care legislation. after that, we will get an update on elections in britain. this is "washington journal."

we want to focus on the process this morning, the process to get the health care bill signed into law. for democrats, 202-737-0002. for republicans, 202-737-0001. does the process matter? the issue came up yesterday on the fox news channel. >> i do not like to talk about process, but there are people in america that have a problem with this process. >> i have got to say you, there are a lot more people that are concerned about the fact that they might be losing their house and going bankrupt because of health care.

>> senate reconciliation, we do not know exactly what is in the bill. >> by the time the vote has taken place, not only will i know what was in it, you will know what is in it. we will be able to evaluate it by the merits. the reason that i think that this conversation winds of being frustrating did this because the focus entirely is on washington process and yes, i have said it, it is an ugly process. it was of the when republicans were in charge and when democrats were in charge. host: let's hear from you. bob, washington, republican line. caller: as a republican, i have to tell you i am nervous about this bill. if the people like this bill and

people pat, it takes away 30 million votes. the only way we're going to do anything is by doing nothing. host: sheila, good morning. caller: i do not think that the process has anything to do with what is going on up there. these things have been used forever, just a talking point for the republicans. we need to do something. i do not particularly like the senate bill. however, we have got to start somewhere. host: rick, illinois. does the process matter? the morning. caller: how you doing?

host: fine, thank you. caller: regarding health-care i am trying to figure out how it is that the entirety of government somehow figured out that people without health care want to take over the entire sector of the economy. for example, if people need food stamps, of should the federal government take over the roof restores, farms, and crops that exist? why that tell people that need health care -- people are working to get health care from the companies that they work for. for example, food stamps. if i have food stamps, i go to grocery store and use my food stamps, but the federal government should not take over all food production and

everything having to do with it. host: thank you for the point. dave, republican line, good morning. caller: first of all, this process started with the idea that we were suddenly going the of health care to people that did not have it. the simple truth is that anyone in the united states america, legally or illegally, can walk into any emergency care facility and get health care, this has never been about health care, it has been about a government takeover. it was good for america, you would not need the louisiana purchase, the cornhuskers kickback. this is a government takeover, we will wind up with health care like going to the dmv.

host: thank you for the call. if you want to join the conversation online at twitter, go there at booktv.org. or -- go there at twitter.com/c- spanwj. or you can e-mail must tell of journal@c-span.org -- e-mail us, journal@c-span.org. "extraordinary steps were taken to corral the numbers needed for passage, saving $100 billion over 10 years. there was also the unusual request for signed commitments from democratic senators that they would support a package of revisions sought by house democrats. the gop will bottle of reform in the senate.

tom coburn said "it gets here, it will pass, 51 votes plus the vice-president is an easy vote. here is what gives republicans comfort, two-thirds of those bills face procedural challenges or risk being struck down. if so much as they comma -- as a comma is changed, it will need to return to the house for a second boat." the congressional -- for a second vote. steve is joining us from ohio. good morning. caller: i think the process does matter. i follow congress daily and i have learned a lot about reconciliation and the budget

process. it is very interesting. all these people that are upset about the process, you should work to change the process. but the adult about this. these are the rules, we learned about them, if you do not like them, change them. host: "among some democrats remaining undecided, glenn nye, gerry connolly, all the republicans saying they will vote no." the next call is from alex, north carolina. caller: good morning. i hope it does pass, but my

problem is i hope we do not give the states authority. medicaid was on the state's, us -- states, especially the confederate flag. c-span is up there as well. host: i am not sure i follow your point. caller: talking about blue cross blue shield. that is why obama is having these problems. host: "politico's" front-page story, "push comes to shove. nancy pelosi has said minimize the yes votes and split some of the no boats.

dennis kucinich -- no votes. dennis kucinich made that easier when he became the first to say no to say he'd vote for the final version. but is so high you -- his ohio colleague could nullify that reversal if she trades her initial yes vote for a note." caller: we could allow states to have a manual plan. different states need different health care plans to see which work the best. the remaining states could have a senate plan. have a public option for people without insurance. people would pay the public option by withholding or sending

in a payment to state government. the payment amount would be based on the age of the person and the deductible amounts. the payment would be limited to a certain percentage loopers since -- percentage of persons, including capital gains, gifts, and inheritance. host: thank you for the call. from "the hill," a photograph of dennis kucinich as he announced his support for the health care bill. boards back -- bart stupack came out against the bill. here is -- hear comments from yesterday.

>> this is not the bill i wanted to support. even as i continue efforts until the last minute to try to modify the bill. however. after careful discussions with president obama of, speaker pelosi, a wife, and close friends, i have decided to cast a vote in favor of the legislation. if my vote is to be counted, let account now for passage of the bill. hopefully in the direction of comprehension. host: donald has this comment on twitter, "dennis kucinich was and always will be a spy was a sellout. he supported the war after

running on a peace platform." the focus is on congressman jason of myra -- altmeyer in this article from "the washington post." "for many it is the cost of reform, everyone facing intense pressure at home in the possibility that their political career could be derailed. -- fail if." robert, good morning. caller: the impression is that they're doing a good job, aboveboard, and are doing right. any impression that they're going around corners or cutting corners and might be violating the constitutional directions,

that is a big black mark on those folks. the best thing to do, like as said before, change the rules if you do not like them. first we need to change the people. host: asking you about the process, the editor of "hot line on call" is with us this morning. caller: good morning. host: will we get the story from the congressional budget office this morning? caller: that is what we are hearing. there were rumors that might have been yesterday, but today as much more likely. cbo does not give as much advance warning on this. the rules committee is where this controversial process will take place, where we are likely to have a weekend vote in

another fascinating story where democrats are hoping they have 216 votes, the number they need. host: there is a piece this morning inside of the "the washington post, more speculation that the president will have to cancel his trip. he is leaving on sunday morning instead of leaving today. caller: i would imagine that the trip would be -- i would imagine it would not begin until the final vote has taken place. president obama has been very active in speaking with members of congress, trying to cajole them to vote in favor of the legislation, i would think that the white house would want him around for any last-minute arm- twisting. host: earlier this week on c- span radio, david dwyer of california had this to say

about it. let's get your reaction. >> when nancy pelosi was handed the gavel by john maynard -- john boehner, she said it would be the most transparent congress in the history of the republic. with the fact we have had only one open rule in her entire speakership, we have gotten the opposite. while everyone says they want accountability, transparency, and open this, the notion of expanding -- expanding time and effort to find a way to avoid accountability is really troubling. host: what is he talking about? guest: the republicans have -- caller: the republicans have a good point here. nancy pelosi is hoping to allow her members from taking a vote on the said bill, including

things like the cornhuskers kickback in louisiana purchase, things that people know about. one of the reasons the bill has become so unpopular is because it has become a process story. not something people want to see. not something that the average voter wants to hear. so, instead of allowing those members to vote on the senate bill, nancy pelosi wants to allow them to vote on the reconciliation package that would fix all of those things and not necessarily vote for those controversial projects as they stand. i am not sure that that will make a lot of political sense, this is a vote for the health care package no matter what. it is not as though republicans are going to say he voted for one and not the other and it would be ok, it will be a part -- powerful argument for republicans because the process has become such a big part of

the story. all day yesterday, congressman were talking about sunshine projects, good government legislation that requires plain language, federal agencies, better methods for electronic record-keeping. here we are, talking about openness and transparency at the same time these kind of underhanded procedural tactics are taking place. republicans are going to hammer away at the process, an effective political argument for them right now. most of the headline this morning from "the new york times" is about the overall gaining votes. house republicans say they still believe they can block the bill, and if it passes it moves to the senate, where republicans are

trying to push forward their own maneuvers in blocking the bill. caller: there are serious hurdles that the bill has to go through. throughout the process, democrats have put deadlines all this, setting expectations that they would pass it by -- member august recess? that was the first one. then thanksgiving, then christmas. the ball has moved down the field in very incremental way is when democrats needed a long bomb. there are still hurdles to overcome been what is key to determining whether or not democrats get the votes they need in the house is for this momentum that people like dennis kucinich of started. we have still got a very large number of undecided democrats. opponents of health care are

counted at around 197 votes. others are even more aggressive, talking about republicans having 205-209 votes. we are still wary to make those calls, some people are saying they're not happy with the bill was written, which to me sounds like they're leaving the door wide open to supporting it once reconciliation language comes out. republicans are close to getting the votes that they need. democrats have started to get the ball rolling in their favor, they need to keep it up over the next couple of days. dennis kucinich came at it from the left, voting for the first time because it did not go far enough. it is not about those people anymore. now it is about the people that think it went too far, they must be cajoled into voting for the

bill and there is more in the middle for democrats to pick up. host: is there a member or two that you point to that if he or she votes one way or the other, that could deem where it is going? caller: [laughter] there are a couple of members the democrats are close to getting on their side. marcy captor, she is pro-life, that is her objective to the bill. if she and folks like her, people who voted in favor of this tupac amendment, if those folks stars they will vote in favor of the bill, you will see many of these other members coming around. bart gordon, he is retiring. a couple of members have announced they are retiring.

folks that voted against the bill the first time are likely to come over the second time. freshmen are key to this issue. scott murphy, first elected in a special lection in march, likely to be a key vote on this, already has signaled he is likely to vote for the bill. he has had a couple of conversations with the president. it will be a big boost to other freshmen. people like john adler, betsy markey. these people have not said how they will vote at the end. i think that we can expect a lot of pressure on them to get the democrats to 216. host: that you for being with us, we appreciate your time. caller: thanks a lot. host: "the washington times" has

a piece of news that is expected to come today, " congressional budget office feels crushed of health care requests. as the legislative gatekeepers, the analysts scoring each bill and auditors the weed out the waste and fraud cannot keep up. repeated requests from lawmakers have overwhelmed of the congressional budget office. -- office." dayton, ohio, democratic line. welcome to the program. chester, good morning.

caller: capitalism in the free market has not provided all the needs of all of the people. we need to let the government start earning the money on its own. one of the ways to do that is the government can offer malpractice insurance at a much lower rate overnight. host: thank you for the call. one of the twitter comments, " how can these democrats raised their heads"? from "the new york post" more on the interview from fox news, "seems ok by me. the president says he has no problem with the slaughter house rule as long as you get health

care legislation to his desk. even as republicans attacked the unusual process designed to get health reform over the finish line as sneaky and possibly unconstitutional. avery, good morning. caller: good morning. as long as i have been a voter, i have voted democrat. what i want to the democrats and though, if that it -- if that bill passes, i will go the very first day that i can get to the court house and i will never as

long as i live vote for democrat no matter what. i will change to a republican. host: why is that? caller: they are passing that health bill, which is not going to help nobody no way, whatsoever. if anything, it will make things worse. host: from "the new york times" in case you missed this, idaho signing a bill to prevent insurance mandates. "the governor became the first state chief executives signing a measure requiring his attorney general to sue congress if it passes health-care legislation that requires residents to purchase insurance. similar legislation is pending in other states, constitutional experts say that the move is mostly symbolic. opponents said the suits would

be frivolous and kate kelly complained about the democrat -- complained about the possible cost of the enforcement, $100,000 per year. -- $100,000 per year." tennessee, good morning. caller: these people that are so worried about process, have they thought about how close the process has become to the weight of the constitution was adopted? with people agreeing finally to pass said in leaving the bill of rights to be done later on the promise by the framers that they would take it out and work on the changes. i think that this is something that we should think of when we tried to defeat this bill just because of the process.

host: thank you for the call. if you are listening on c-span radio, 91.1 fm, nationwide on xm radio of channel 132. we welcome your calls. for democrats, 202-737-0002. for republicans, 202-737-0001. for independents, 202-628-0205. send us a twitter comment, but not if you are driving, or an e- mail, twitter.com/c-spanwj, journal@c-span.org de. talking about the health care vote, those the process matter? >> good morning, c-span, how are you? you guys do a great job. i am one of 12 new employees starting at a new business, our owner has made it clear, if the

bill does not pass, we do not get health insurance. i have three kids, i do not have health insurance. i think the the interview with a bread there on fox news, he was so rude to the president of the united states. i think that a lot of people have a lot of problems with fox about that interview. i wish that there would talk more about it. this affects us, real people. i think the process does matter. do out here that is suffering medical conditions would care about process? it just doesn't matter. as far as competition is concerned, where was the competition when newt gingrich and danny hester voted in the past, numerous times, hundreds of times, that article came out

in "the wall street journal" talking about the number of times that they used it to pass all of the legislation in the house and senate. do you care? i do not care. i just one health care. host: thank you for the call. yesterday we announced on this network an unprecedented amount of coverage available online, more than 160,000 hours. part of our new video library accessible to all of you allowing you to identify the events, speakers, topics, dates, issues, all available for free. a great educational tool as well, we hope they use it. back to your calls, health care and the process, leon, good morning.

caller: i am disgusted that help politics are going on in washington, i do not know how anyone can even live in that city. i am proud of eric cantor speaking the truth. is just unconstitutional and i wish that people would realize that. maybe we could get somewhere in the process. host: from "the baltimore sun" more on nancy pelosi. "this is nancy pelosi's moment. there is no way for the public to know what is going on behind closed doors on capitol hill this week or whether enough votes will emerge to enact health care reform. but as for baseball this to be

the high fastball over the plate, in the comfort zone. she is speaker not because of her commanding presence, oratorio skills, liberal ideology, sweeping vision, or even her magnificent seven sister district. she is speaker because of her mastery of the inside game. to obtain the votes needed to pass health care without any republican help, democrats must rein in their 40's liberals balking over the committee of the senate bill, moderates worry of the costs, abortion foes, to bring a swift finish." thomas, a newport news, virginia. good morning. you are on the air. caller: what is this draft

talking about? lack of transparency. there has been too much transparency, that is the problem. people are seeing things they have not been able to see before i of the administration. the democrats, there are reasons on both sides, get rid of your representative. if they cannot read and understand what has been said about the senate bill, they have a serious problem. host: thank you for the call. this e-mail, "as long as the bill gets passed, the process does not matter. taking over the issue of health care rather than the real need for reform of the bill is passed republicans will have a long time explaining a lot of them a

statement like that channels and will pay dearly in the next election." bardee, california, democratic line. -- haqqani, california, democratic line. caller: -- bonnie, california, democratic line. calico the majority of the people wanted a public option, we expected the government to do this. other countries enjoy a public health and are working out fine, we have a circus. i think that things are going to get worse for us. citibank, they are the rich now, we are poor after they robbed us of our money. this -- host of this twitter comment, open -- "the health-

care law will be overturned by the supreme court once signed into law based on mandating that citizens purchase private insurance." this morning from "the washington post" "i feel your pain, i was elected on the coattails of a popular democratic president. one year later the partisan gridlock ran into a vote for the democrats said would remake the country and republicans promised would bankrupt it. i was pressed on all sides, constituents oppose, president needing a victory, republicans promising my demise. i have repeatedly said that i would not vote to raise taxes, i voted my conscience and it cost me. i urge you to cast a vote that

you can be proud of next week, next year, and for years to come. given the opportunity, i would not change my vote, but then again what do i know? i was a lousy politician." pennsylvania, republican line. good morning. caller: that lady has it right. these strong arm tactics are ridiculous. they just punish people. they bring them up there and a strong arm them to get their votes. that is out the way the process is supposed to work. we both them in for what we want, and then we turn around and have to sit and listen to their strong arm and someone? do not vote for what the people want, vote our way?

then we go through the parliamentary process? this is the united states. what has parliamentary got to do with the united states? host: in a couple of minutes, congressman pete sessions will be joining us, he is heading up the campaign committee for the gop this year. we will talk health care and politics. later, will bloom in our -- earl blumenauer will be joining us. "the baltimore sun" has an article about cuts for the police and fire departments. from " new york post" "the state of new york is delaying its tax refund for a couple of weeks. gov. paterson has delayed the income tax refunds for hundreds of thousands of new yorkers for

least two weeks. the state normally limits the number paid before march 31. finally, "the new york times, a story about the detroit school district and a plan to close 45 school districts in the city. this point, "only 3% of the fourth graders were proficient in math in the last national assessment of educational progress, a test that was failed around the country. the district has 87,000 students. in 2004, more than 100 schools closed." the education secretary will be joining us next tuesday at 8:30 eastern time here on "washington journal" to talk about

education and leave no job behind. harrington, delaware, independent line. does the process matter? caller: it matters a lot, that is when the media is involved. what bothers me, in a c-span junkie, everyone complains that people will not have insurance, what did they think would happen when this passes? there's no free ride? they will have to pay for health care. i do none of you noticed in the interview yesterday, the president deflected about the $500 million taken away from medicare. he also deflected about these big payouts to oklahoma and such.

it is a shame that we are getting after each other over this and it is not right. i spent 40 years of my life working, i have two insurances. i am not relying on the government. i am sorry to say that some people have to. host: one of the votes in the house yesterday, dennis kucinich, and below that, i republican from california and the chair of the house rules committee in upstate new york, criticizing the democrats on the tactics of the bill. from our twitter page, amber says "the process does matter. barry bonds holds two all-time records, but the people do not respect cheating gear " south carolina, good morning.

caller: good morning. a couple of quick points. process does not matter. it only matters to the individuals that do not want the bill to pass. i have insurance, so the guy before me was wrong. i am concerned, i have two children in college and they both decided to the economic situation that they will go for their masters. i benefit immediately from the passing of this bill. it is a fallacy that no benefits will come four years down the road. that is incorrect. also, to say that the message is sleazy is wrong, what about tom delay? when he twisted arms to get the pharmaceutical bill passed, as

everyone forgot about that? to argue that this is not a good procedure is very hypocritical. i just do not see the validity in many of the statements being made. one final point, fox was extremely rude to the president. we would never have seen that had happened if it was george bush for dick cheney. host: a number of callers has commented on the interview that took place in the blue room yesterday, airing on "special report." here is part of the interview. >> there are a lot of these questions of talking out process. a lot of people around america have a problem with this process. you call the end of the process. >> i have got to say to you, many more people are concerned about the fact that they might be losing their house are going bankrupt because of health care.

>> we do not know exactly what is in the phipps bill. >> by the time it has taken place, i will know, you know, everyone will be able to evaluate in on the merits. here is the thing, the reason i think this conversation ends up being in a frustrating is because the focus, entirely, is on washington process. yet i have said it is an ugly process. it was ugly when republicans were in charge and when democrats were in charge. host: does the process matter? that is a portion of the interview yesterday with the president on the fox news channel. one of the twitter comments, "people are hungry for those that vote on principle within the limits of the constitution,

like dr. paul, reelected with 80% of the vote." the president is scheduled to leave on sunday morning, postponing his trip to glom. "the president's travel plans drawing criticism. there are always so many last minute details to attend to -- passing major health care legislation -- some worry that the president might be making a mistake by traveling overseas next week when his yearlong push for health-care overhaul could get a final vote in the senate. congressman gerry connolly said that the timing was ill and bought -- televised, that they needed all hands on deck. the president will be leaving on sunday for the five day excursion to indonesia, guam, and australia. one top democratic aide said that conversations between the

white house and lawmakers about his departure had been tense. -- have been tense." joe, good morning. caller: we are supposed to have a representative government, that gets lost in this, with so many people voting against something, that should be clear to the representatives that are supposed to represent the interests, maybe we need to change things a little bit. that is probably where the discussion on process comes to a point. as for the use of the so-called four rule and other things, it is important that each rule not be used for legislation as big as this. use it for legislation that is covered by broader majorities

orpine are smaller in consequence. host: "this comment from the interview from -- host: this comment from the interview -- this comment on the interview, "president obama was arrogant, dishonest, generally condescending." "catholic nuns blessed with a health care reform bill yesterday, dennis kucinich declared he would back it up. shoring up support of the left, even though progressives think is too weak. they want to see what the number crunching is all about and making sure that the senate will accept whatever fixes the house makes. the president pledged that any

unfairness would be repaired. david joins us from florida. good morning. caller: it does matter. people do not look at what is going to do people. doctors do not take medicaid all the time either, overburdening the emergency room again, which is true. they may support only 20% of the physicians. 80% of the physicians that i knew tell run a plot -- a practice like the one in illinois. you send people to chicago, even if the vote passes, people are getting health insurance that does not cover the cost. they will still have to go to the emergency room for health care. host: one of the comments, "many

of the callers that think obama was mistreated, go back to the msm interviews with bush." congressman pete sessions will be with us in a couple of minutes to take your calls about the process and politics behind health care. that is "washington journal close vote for this thursday, we will be right back. ♪ >> mark sullivan testifies today about the secret service potential budget for 2011 with

live coverage of seized and 3:00 -- at -- live coverage on c-span at an o'clock. they live hearing at 2:30 key -- to acquire 30 from the postal service on c-span 3. >> lawmakers are making the final push, you can makwhat alle action here on c-span. take us where we go with our online hub and follow the links. iphone users have the latest with the c-span radio application. >> congressional quarterly rise this morning that the target date for house for action has been pushed back.

"making fixes to the senate measure, without accompanying congressional budget cost estimates, the next stage in the process, once that happens, is possible help for action later in the week." this weekend on "book tv" and drew lewis talks about the civil rights groups of the student nonviolent coalition committee. steve forbes disagrees that americans are questioning capitalism. the former assistant education secretary talks about why too much testing is causing the death of the american school system. find the entire schedule at bo

oktv.org. >> "washington journal" continues. host: our guest this morning is pete sessions, thank you so much for joining us. we expect to hear from the congressional budget office this morning, what do you think we will learn? guest: that there will still be a lot of taxation of small business, we will still see $500 billion worth of cuts to seniors. i think that we will still see the senate language that we know is the point of the louisiana purchase, the gatorade, each being specific areas to help certain states against all of the others. i think that it will be a tough vote for members of the house of representatives. we have got to remember, this

plan has lots of taxes, start three years from now, and is expected to lose more jobs for the country because of the money being placed on small business. this is a heavy lift. "the only republic -- host: "the president asked this republican to take a fresh look at the language in the health care bill, will he support it"? guest: he is in a position where he recognizes that the process moving forward is not know it -- not one where he knows what the final outcome will be. certainly this that language is not the kind of bill he can support, from his perspective. i believe that the house bill will never become law. he would be a no vote.

host: you and others have been critical, but this process has been used by other speakers, including new gingrich. guest: you are correct, but it was after they had gone before the senate and move farther along. there was never a session where there was a senate bill in the house bill brought them and said that whenever those guys are doing and the other side, we will just say that is good enough for us. the bill must and should, the way that i understand it, be brought to the house where we can stay on the floor with the actual bill that was prepared by the rules committee. that is the correct way to do this. the american people will be the arbiters of this, the ones saying that you were not straightforward.

it is not open, not honest, and not the way to do business. host: do democrats have the votes for this bill? guest: they must be pretty darn close. that is why the american people are flooding the switchboards at not only offices, but other areas as well. host: is that your hearing? guest: "will call" is saying that senior members -- "to roll call" is saying that senior members of the democrats are calling for it to happen on sunday. that is a very important point. the republican party would like to be seen by the american people, and we would like to have the process making it clear

why we are fighting so hard. when it is clear that there are backroom deals going on, it makes us fight differently in the rules committee. 3:00 in the morning, no experts to understand the context or even give testimony, we need to make sure that the democratic party and the president's or forthright about providing the entire context of the bill and how it would play out, including what economists would think. to do otherwise is a disservice, not just the process. host: as always, we welcome your phone calls. the numbers are at the bottom of your screen. you can also send us an e-mail, journal@c-span.org. let me ask you a hypothetical.

this bill passes the house of representatives and goes to the senate, senate republicans have said they will use their own maneuvers to block the bill. what tools do they have? guest: the tools that i wouldn't vision that would come into play, the american people saying once again -- what is in this package? it is not clear to me what the house would make it look like to be in the senate bill something that could pass and sending it done. i think that what will happen is that senate republicans will invoke the american people as a part of the process. if they stand up to talk about reconciliation, i think they can stop the bill. i think of the pressure from the states is overwhelming about the things we were talking about.

these are bad deals for the american people. host: with all due respect, we keep hearing cornhuskers' kickback, use of the talking points, what are you referring to? guest: nebraska and only nebraska will see its full medicare costs paid for. host: the president said the that would be taken out of the bell. guest: we will find out. we do not know, exactly, what is in the bill. the louisiana purchase gives funds only to louisiana. 800,000 seniors, shielded from the cuts to the medicare advantage. these are very specifically carved out things for people in states where unless you're senator was willing to cave in

and negotiate, your statement added. that is not my idea. and i do not think it is the american people's idea, off of the right way to do a health care bill. host: oklahoma, good morning. hough caller: -- caller: did yor vote for the demon plan in congress? have you ever wrote a reconciliation before bella what about 2001? host: have you voted for that before? guest: i believe that i have, as bills have been through the house and through the senate as they go through the process of conference, there have been

times i've voted for it. anyone here who is talking about this process should recognize and understand that we are talking about the bill that will be -- the largest public works bill in congress in our generation. we need to be forthright about what is in the bill. we need to be able to stand on the floor and talk about it. host: scott, georgia. republican line. good morning. caller: good morning, congressman, c-span. we heard someone mention the talking points, cornhuskers' kickback, all of that. one thing i have not heard the republicans you lies is a bit more sheer logic on supply and demand, putting up the question of how are we going to treat, and how is the medical system going to handle, so many more

people coming into the system with at the same number of doctors without gridlock? everyone knows to get a doctor's appointment, it can be two, three, four weeks sometimes. i read this morning that walgreen's is not accepting medicaid patients anymore. they are cutting back. how is this going to address that? just because you have in short -- insurance, if someone will not treat you, it does no good. like having an hmo in an area where there is no one to accept it. host: thank you for the call. guest: this caller is correct. we have learned a lot that came out of massachusetts. in massachusetts they do not have enough physicians, primary care physicians, to be able to

handle and take care of these patients. .

some of the struggles that have taken place. host: the point, how could any bill be passed when neither house has read the bill and it is to be amended after being passed? guest: that is as well put as we have seen. we need to be straight about

what we are passing and what the impact would be. let's get straight to it. the rules committee will let an opportunity sometime probably friday or saturday. it will be live on c-span. we will find out what the democrats are actually going to do. will the bill be there or will it be a deeming motion? just a simple procedure on the floor. trillions of dollars worth of spending and a great impact on the success or failure of this country moving forward. host: will it be a marathon session for republicans? will our crews be working overnight? guest: i think your guys will be getting overtime this weekend. members have an opportunity to

come to the rules committee and speak about what they are doing. i would anticipate all 100 and -- 178 members will be there. host: our next call is from chattanooga, tennessee. democrats line. caller: good morning. how're you doing? guest: good morning. caller: everybody got together and voted to this man to be president, why -- what did we vote for him for? guest: that is probably a very good question. i think what the president failed to do was to talk with the american people about what it would take. to lose 5 million jobs in the process of trying to provide

health care, to not have some 20 million americans that will not be covered when this bill has moved forward and to see the extravaganza that will take place where governments are taking certain things away from state, i think it is a big risk. what the president did say is that we needed to make progress on health care. when you actually put pen to paper and you try to get the votes, it becomes another matter. host: you are talking about a bill when you do not know what is in the bill. b. straight up about that. guest: let's talk about that. the first vote will be the ruling. i imagine that we will be there.

the first vote will be do we want to read the bill? will it be read? if you firm -- if you are for moving forward, the substance does not matter, you will do everything to help barack obama, then the answer will be yes. i believe it is a serious issue. host: north carolina. caller: insurance is nothing but extortion. they made over $12 billion in profits. this supports the ama in the pharmaceuticals. we needed to get back to the root of the problem to fix this.

disease is caused by chemicals in the air, water, and chemicals that we take in from pharmaceuticals. they are not properly disposed of. we need to consider the amount of some sugar and salt that is in our food. all of these things contribute to a healthy bodies. if people consider their bodies as machines -- we do not need to support these industries if the republicans continue to support corporations over people, the country is going down the tube. they should be ashamed just as much as the democrats did. we need to get back down to the basics. what is best for the american people. host: thanks for calling.

guest: there was talk about a corporation or employers and will find themselves probably doing very well from a perspective that they already received health care on a pre- tax bases. it is small business that republicans are fighting so diligently for. most small businesses are able to give a health care on a pre- tax basis for their employees. if every person can decide their own doctor and move forward as they choose to, then i think the gentleman would find that we have made health care better. if restart with the presumption that the industry that is out there only worst in the best interest of themselves, i am not sure that is correct.

a lot of people invest a lot of money to make sure that we have the very best health care in the world. it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy where if we want to have a better system, we can get that. it will cost a little bit of money. the question is if the consumer or the government would benefit from that. i want the consumer to get the best deal. host: one person says you and the rest of the republicans only care about saying no. they refuse to work with this president. guest: perhaps that is a good point. i think this writer would want to know that republicans did try to engage the president in baltimore. republicans did show up and had a loss of ideas. as you deal with the ideas -- had a lot of ideas.

as you deal with the ideas, we should not miss characterize those ideas or claim that it has been included in the bill. republicans do want to play a part in making health care better. we believe there are some good ideas that could be done that the entire congress would agree to probably on a 50-page bill. we understood and fell those common elements would be where we should move forward. we should not move forward were small business will be taxed and a lot of millions of jobs would be lost. what is in the bill so bad that they are trying to hide from the american people? host: how many days away from the mid-term election? guest: i am not sure. host: we want to show one of the ads on the air.

we will be back after this. >> is this political career on life-support? she said she would be bipartisan. now she is full tank 90% with nancy pelosi -- now she is voting 90% with nancy pelosi. only 38% of arizona support the obama plant. the national republican congressional committee is responsible for this advertising. host: is your response to that bad? people guest: come to -- guest: i believe this healthcare plan is a big issue in arizona. i believe the way that nancy pelosi is running this and bringing bills forward is not in the best interest of the american people. we will hold them accountable.

host: your predictions on the mid-term elections? guest: i believe republicans can win back the majority. i believe these 40 seats we are after will turn the tide for this country, and we will find ourselves in a better position. i think republicans worked very well with bill clinton. i think we made him and the country a lot better. we believe we can work better. we do not think that a slam dunk process where the democrats have overwhelming control on the house, the senate, the presidency -- i do not believe they have performed to the level of satisfaction for the american people. i believe their results, we should hold them accountable for unemployment, it is management -- we are not competitive in the

world regarding jobs. i think people will vote republican in the majority in november. host: mark is joining us from michigan on the republican line. good morning. caller: good morning. it is a privilege to speak with you this morning. i have a couple of points. one has to do with the louisiana purchase. i was watching an interview yesterday. he referred to the louisiana purchase being necessary because of the natural disaster hurricane katrina. he brought up an earthquake in hawaii. it happened a couple of hundred of years ago. that being said, he also said he did not know what was in the bill. that really concerns me saying

that he campaign that no piece of legislation would cross his desk without him reading it. i just saw an interview with the treasurer of massachusetts same it is on the verge of bankruptcy in massachusetts. host: 1 said he would not allow his residence to be penalized. guest: there are a lot of points. reading the bill should be imported. host: have you read it? guest: i have not seen it yet. we have understood a lot of what

is in one bill. we have an understanding about big taxation. the american people also want to have their member of congress come back and talk to them. that is what we did last august. many republicans and some democrats went back to the american people and they held the pages up of the bill the they had seen. that will happen this time also. the american people will find in this bill the things they like and the things they do not like. when there are high side issues, every member needs to understand them. his point about massachusetts is true. it is in a very difficult circumstance. there is a system that does not

create opportunity for a better health-care system. it diminishes what people have been promised, because it does not deliver it. it is non-sustainable. something that is non- sustainable is not something we should be kidding. we should understand that from the model of massachusetts. -- -- we should not be getting. we should understand that from the model of massachusetts. host: our next caller. caller: i will try to be as quick as i can. i help american people understand. the president does not run the country, it is congress. we had george bush for eight years the did everything he wanted to do because the republicans gave him the lead late. one of the bad things he did was the patriot act. he looked through everybody's identity which is against the

constitution. we may not have this problem if he had not done certain things. guest: i think the president's need to work with congress to pass laws. the patriot act came as a result of 9/11. i think congress needed to end a think we still need to know more about the threats that are in place from our country. we are trying to figure out who is in charge in washington, d.c. the scope of this bill creates on the agency's, 100 new agencies. the question comes, how do you

put it all together? there are over 120,000 new jobs created in washington, d.c. last year. we ran a $200 billion deficit last month alone to empower washington, d.c. as opposed to people back home that have jobs and provide these services where people can come in contact with them. that is a mistake. it is a mistake to empower a bigger government. a smaller bill is one that is better understood. host: what are your predictions this week and beyond? guest: if they say they will get the votes, i believe the president is persuasive and very powerful and has lots of opportunities to twist arms. long-term, i believe the american people will see the

process and see the outcome. i believe republicans will have a big year this november. host: he is a member of the rules committee and represents the 32nd district in texas. we will take a short break. more on health care. we have more breaking news on c- span radio. >> president obama signed the jobs bill into law today, one day after congress voted to approve the measure. it gives companies that hire unemployed workers a tax break. some estimates say it could generate a quarter of a million jobs by the end of the year. secretary of state hillary clinton is in moscow with talks on nuclear arms control and other security issues and separately with top

international diplomats with bringing israel and palestinians back to peace talks. she would take in part of a meeting tomorrow with the u.s., russia, united nations, and the european union. the associated press reports that bank regulators received taxpayer funded bonuses before the financial crisis in the boom years. a reporter for superior work by ignoring signs that the financial system was on the verge of a meltdown. the payments detailed in payrolls data were released under the freedom of information act. today in california, lawmakers consider what is believed to be the nation's most far reaching smoking ban in state parks. in an effort to get cigarette butts off beaches and reduce the threat of wildfires. the state prison as lighting up throughout its entire park system as the california bill proposes. those are some of the latest

headlines aussies in radio. >> lawmakers are making the final push to get health care legislation to the president's desk. you can follow the latest from the white house and capitol hill on the oldonly network that covers this gavel-to-gavel on c- span. you can also see what house and senate members are saying via twitter. cracks the health care measure cleared the budget committee on monday. the target date for house floor action has been pushed back. fixes will be made to the senate measure. without a cost estimate -- the release of the bill is imminent. once that happens, it will committee meeting and possible

floor action on the house later in the week. >>"washington journal" continues. host: good morning and thanks for joining us. guest: i think we are in the homestretch with the health care in the house. i suspect that over the course of the next few hours, it will be clear that the votes are there. we will have the bill on one for 72 hours. hopefully we will vote this weekend and be able to move on. >host: do you like the bill? guest: compared to where we are now, i think over 1000 people will go bankrupt for health- related reasons with health insurance.

we are finding health care increasingly affordable -- and affordable for small businesses and individuals get skyrocketing premiums. this is a significant advance going forward. is it perfect? a note. it is not -- no. it does not have a lot of provisions that i would like. but it is a very important advance, and i will vote for it. host: republicans says it does not bring down health-care costs. guest: is not true. i find a great irony that republicans are concerned about a mandate. the massachusetts plan that they talked about and is supported by senator brown and is very popular with the people in massachusetts, that came from a

republican governor. the republican ideas that came up in 1993 and 1994 in the debate with clinton -- this is a way that you are able to make sure that you get the coverage that is necessary. it is a mandate that people can get out of paying a modest fee. if a balanced program that insures it will be affordable for 30 million people and will stabilize a system that is failing. it troubles me to hear pete say this is the best health-care system in the world. americans get sick more often. they get well later. they die sooner. and we pay more than any other industrialized country. some americans including congressman sessions and may have access to the best health care in the world, but not every

american. the results were america as a whole is mediocre and expensive. we have to fix that. host: why can't democrats and republicans work on this together? guest: go back to what republican leader john gainor said a year ago. he said his paper -- people or not. to be legislators but communicators. -- his people were not going to be legislators but communicators. this is a republican concept. it has worked for them. they gave no support to the economic recovery package. they made a decision, and i tried with bipartisan efforts like the end of life care which republicans supported. they turned around and dashed when sarah palin called it a death panel, which was a judge

to the lie of the year. there was a conscious decision not to legislate, but to debate. he was very honest about it last march. i do not think it is the -- in the best interest of the american public. i do not think it will stand up. host: good morning jeff. caller: good morning. thanks for having me on. i have watched this process for over a year now. it has gotten heated up the last six months. i know how many pages are in the bill. i watched c-span and other networks. it is 200 and some pages. i have looked at the bill on line. i have seen bits and pieces of it online. that is all you can find.

not in one thing i have heard a report i have heard, i have va insurance. i want to make this point. if this bill goes into effect, am i going to lose that because i have a mandate through some other insurance company? how come none of the things being addressed about the hospital's charging so much money for nurses to give you a hard test and stuff? none of it covers that. neither republicans or democrats have been clear about that. the problem is not only the insurance company, it is also the administration in the hospitals. they are making up the difference for the money they use when the insurance pays for it.

when is the government going to say, this is it. people need to see this bill. i will donate money for you guys to put it on the tv screen for a couple of hours so people can read what is in this bill. nobody, and republican or democrat has been clear. guest: your caller benefits from government-provided health care, entirely. that is what they have in britain. that is what we have a for veterans. it actually works better for americans as a whole. nobody is changing their program at all. he is correct. there are real problems in terms of cost shifts and there are some areas where costs are running away. one of the things we are working on is to reform medicare which

is currently on an unsustainable path. that is the area that is the biggest long-term financial problem for the federal government's which continues to reward of volume over value. there will be many provisions in the legislation to try to focus on better quality care preventing read missions to hospitals that are unnecessary. there will be an opportunity for people to read the bill. they will find that most of the bill is identical to what passed the house in november or the senate idecember. it will be available 72 hours before it is voted upon. host: wayne from missouri on the

republican line. good morning. caller: the health-care bill makes no sense. you look at this man and can tell he is a liberal. they are sucking the soul of this country. host: how so? caller: let's do some history. . ronald reagan said the democrats would ruin the country within 20 years. we are on the back five of this. they are trying to push this panic's health care bill through. this is it. when they did this and now ben

bernanke wants to get into every community banks. that is what liberals are doing. guest: the program that is being advanced is going to have primary reliance on the private sector. people will be able to continue as they are now to select their own doctor. there will be some rules of the road. people in congress are looking at bank regulation because they see gaps. you cannot rely on the private sector. some of our republican friends, look at how that worked out. we almost drove the economy over a cliff. mr. greenspan says he was wrong

to not set had more controls. you need supervision over these controls -- over these programs. this is a part of our economy. many people do not have health insurance. people who do have insurance are finding that their premiums are going up, there copays are going incomup. it covers less and they have more of a battle to get it. many people i represent will go bankrupt this year from health- related deaths. many of them have insurance. that does not happen anyplace else in the world. look at the ratings of our life expectancy or how many children died before they reach the age of one. the united states hits the top

of the list. it is not in the top 10. we are down in the 40th world rankings. for the privilege, we are paying more than anybody else in the world. it is about $1 trillion at sure that we pay every year more than the people we are competing with economically. we cannot go on that way. i supported a public plan. host: remember when obama was going to give us that option with a public plan? another lie. guest: we tried to give them a public plan in the legislation that we had passing the house. i would rather have more choice, because in most areas, there is not competition with health

insurance companies. we will have a national exchange. will you have reform or will you hold up for something that because of the arcane rules of the senate, with the majority does not rule, he will bring the whole thing crashing down? most of us that support a public plan will continue fighting for that. we are not willing to let the rest of this bill go by the wayside. we have never gone this far in health reform in our country's history. it has passed both chambers. we are in the home stretch. it is not the final answer. we will be working on this for years to come. we may have years of driving businesses out -- more people

bankrupt or uninsured and more strain on doctors and hospitals -- that is not very good. host: he is a former member of the portland city council. he served on the house of representatives in oregon. he is finished and the u.s. house since 1996. healthcare is a topic on average winter page. -- on our twitter page. please explain the bicycle p in. guest: i read everywhere in washington, d.c. the bicycle is a symbol of something we can agree on in washington, d.c. inland we are making policy changes to make it safer for children to ride their bikes up to school and for people to travel safely.

half the trips in this country are a 20 minute trip on a bike. we want to make that easier. it is fun and makes people come together. host: what kind of bicycle did you have? guest: i have seven or eight. it is a sensitive issue at home. i have three in washington. i am writing a model -- riding a model named after my home town. i write it rain or shine except for that bad blizzard. host: next caller. caller: thanks for coming on c- span and answering our questions. i saw a report about medicare

fraud. i wonder if there will be a look at fraud. we are laying off policemen and stuff. is it a good idea to have them address this issue? guest: this is something that is deeply troubling in terms of the people that are in the system. it is one of the reforms that we need to have. we have seen the department of justice has been moving forward. i will give some credit -- this started towards the end of the bush administration.

it has been expanded under the obama administration. we have provisions to further strengthen the fight against medicare fraud. having more accountability is important. we should be doing that because this. it is in the health-care bill. both the bush administration and the obama administration have stepped up enforcement efforts and they are recovering hundreds of millions of dollars that should not have been killed in the way that it was. host: one person says great to see a bike advocate in congress. caller: i like to ask him a few questions. you have to pass a bill that as a mandatory by in for health care. virginia passed a law stating they will not allow their

citizens to be forced to do that. why would you vote for a bill that as a constitutional charge against it? this is going to the supreme court. guest: virginia had a loss saying that they were not going to obey integration for their schools. ultimately, the federal government prevailed. states can do all sorts of goofy things if they want in terms of not obeying civil rights or environmental laws. some states have done that. there is little question that this is within the purview of what the federal government can do under the commerce clause. this was a concept that came from right wing think it taketan they were coming up with alternatives from clinton's health-care plan.

senators were saying this was a good idea in the past and it was in their proposal. lots of things can go to the supreme court. i do not think this will pass. this is something that virginia has tried in the past with things like having integrated schools. it did not work then, and i do not think it will work now. caller: second why would you vote for a bill that is going to be constitutionally challenged guest? guest: anything can be challenged. as a county commissioner, i got sued by inmates who said they should not be in the county

jail. anybody can file a suit in this country. that is their right. just because they file a suit does not mean that you stop the progress of government because somebody does not like environmental protection that we will not protect the environment. i think it is very clear. caller: john f. kennedy said asked not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country. why is it important for the federal government to tell everybody they need health care. why can't it be what john f. kennedy said. i am sick of my country telling me what i have to do for myself. guest: we have a balance today. there are certain products and people feel they should be able

to burn fuels that have too much pollution. we balance. we make decisions in the best interests of society overall. there are changes that are going to take place in energy. we are proposing a system that will cover 30 million more people. more importantly, it will make important changes to stop the practice of denying coverage because of pre-existing conditions. there is a whole systemic effort that is long overdue that some states have done incrementally like massachusetts which is quite popular there and is supported by the new senator brown. this is providing a system that actually will provide coverage for more people. the mandate does that mean you have to. it means there will be a modest financial penalty if you do not.

we encourage more people to do it. it will provide a floor for everybody. people will not have to have insurance if they do not want to. they will not have to go to doctors if they do not want to. most american people want to have better outcomes like they have in most industrial countries. they do not want to pay $1 trillion more for the privilege of mediocre results. they do not want to go bankrupt because of health costs. they do not want to be denied because of pre-existing conditions. this is something that the vast majority of the american people will benefit from. i think they will be quite supportive once they see it. host: what happens if the vote comes on saturday or sunday? guest: i do not know what is coming through the rules committee at this point. there is a certain irony that my

republican friends are willing about the use of reconciliation, which they have used repeatedly. the dean and has, i have seen used on several occasions always by republicans. part of the problem is because of the arcane rules of the senate and reconciliation, it is not clear, it is not possible for us do have one piece on the floor that both chambers voted on at the same time. host: if you vote on sunday, it goes back to the senate? guest: they will deal with their own reconciliation. it is because of the rules of the senate, how does interpretative, it may go to the president for signature.

it will be separate legislation. i have not seen what is there. host: if this bill passes the house and goes to the senate, when it could it be signed into law by the president? guest: i anticipate that it would not be for a couple of weeks. i do not think the senate will act before the recess. host: we have a guest from las vegas. caller: the rhetoric never changes. when he talks about massachusetts, they are broke. they get money from the federal government to keep that help system alive. they lost plenty of people that they are covering.

let's get to pre-existing conditions. i want to know when a person now -- i have cancer. i go to the insurance company. if you pass the bill, i go to the company's available. i say, you cannot deny me insurance. i want health insurance for my cancer. what is it going to cost me? they will say, it does not kick in for a couple of years. you can buy it now. if you have leukemia, how much does that cost? guest: if he does not have insurance now, and he goes to a health insurance company with cancer, he cannot get insurance. if he has insurance, and he has

a serious, expensive condition, he may have a cap on how much that insurance policy will pay over a lifetime. under this legislation, he will not be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition and there will be no cap. he will have an opportunity for the first time to go in for an exchange. in most places of around the country in metropolitan areas, it is dominated by one or two companies. this legislation will give him more choices, less cost, no lifetime cap. if he gets health insurance from a company that goes out of business or stops giving him health insurance, insurance companies cannot deny him

coverage for a pre-existing condition. this is a pretty good deal if he has a serious, life-threatening illness like cancer. host: louisiana, democrats line. caller: if he is denied coverage for pre-existing conditions, the insurance company will be fined. i like what you're saying. -- it seems like you are getting your mojo back. democrats are improving. this is a base model. we may have a public plan some day.

i note democrats were very scared. now they are coming back around. guest: with all due respect, i have been advocating the same points and having the same session set homes and meeting with health care professionals. we have had telephone town halls. i have been in public places same the same thing sorel -- things threw out. people have been shouting louder. people want to stop conversations. the most boisterous session i had was with people from other side of the spectrum. one was a conservative icon.

we had a big meeting on health care. i had people from the other side trying to disrupt the meeting because it did not have a single payer system. that is ironic. some of the opposition -- a number of people who are opposed to the legislation now think it does not go far enough. they want a single payer, or they want a public auction. i think the overwhelming majority of the american people either supports the legislation we have now or would like something that would be more ambitious. host: many are responding to ronnie's point of view. maybe somebody will decide for him since his coverage will be paying bills until he is dead. guest: that is ironic. we are putting in place

protections for the health system. right now, who is making the decisions for running. -- for runninonni? -- ronnie? who did they think of making the decisions now? we will have in place protections so there are standards. there is not going to be a bureaucrat in an insurance company. there are some states that had a very weak regulation of insurance. they do not have strong consumer protections. they allow flimsy items to be sold and consumers get cheated. now there is an effort to have a system that provides protections

across the board and not have it rationed by some mid-level bureaucrat who is trying to deny somebody's insurance claim. look at how the system works now. host: thanks very much for joining us. coming up in about 40 minutes, a new survey out today on the u.s. postal service and plans to eliminate the service on saturdays. a survey is saying that many would be ok with not being able to mail as a way to keep the postal service operational. we will talk more about that in 40 minutes. next, we will preview the upcoming elections scheduled for early may in great britain. that is coming up on board "the

washington journal" on this thursday, march 18. ♪ ♪ >> this week, lawmakers are making the final push to get health care legislation to the president's desk. you can follow the latest on the white house and capitol hill on the only network that covers this gavel-to-gavel, on c-span. you can also stay updated on c- span.org. he can get the latest with the c-span application if you have an iphone. >> the target date for house floor action has been pushed back. they will make fixes to the

senate measure. a leadership aide said that a rules committee meeting in possible house for action later on in the week. >> this weekend on c-span2's "book tv," the economic crisis has left some americans questioning the value of capitalism. one person disagrees on how capitalism can save as. he is steve forbes. and why to image testing is causing the death of the american school system. >>"washington journal" continues. host: albert guest is here with

us. -- our guest is here with us. what is this all about? guest: it is about a general election, which we still have not set a date. it is about how party leaders will get a count in the country -- will get out in the country. one has been seen as a grouch and a conventional gun. -- guy. they say gordon brown will be seen sitting on a sofa having a cup of tea. they hope it will humanize him and played to his strengths as being a very traditional leader. host: how unified and strong is the party? guest: the labor party got rid

of tony blair and replace them with gordon brown. there is not an open -- if you look at the opinion polls, they will lose power. what we're already beginning to hear is tony blair is almost a dirty word. he may have gotten too close to president bush. he did not deliver on the labor principles of government. host: he was the longest serving prime minister guest. guest: it is ironic.

people get tired. the strain on any party of governments trying to appeal to the middle ground means that the activist feels a little bit left out. he was their most successful leader by far. host: margaret thatcher stayed in power until 1981. her successor succeeded her and that party serve another term. guest: exactly. they were a round for 18 years. the hope would be that gordon brown would win the election in

his own right and server for another four or five years. but many are wondering how long he would stay if he wins. what is different this time around ismajor was still an unknown quantity. he had not been on the political scene through the margaret thatcher years. he had a certain amount of positive things going for him. we can point to some of the same definitive victories in afghanistan. host: there were some moments when gordon brown could give made a call, but he did not. why? guest: they say he bottles is. he lost his coverage.

-- courage. after he took over from tony blair in 2007, most new leaders are honeymooning in their opinion polls. he could have called an election there. many think he could have won. some say it would of been a gamble after just three months. the british electorate tends to get upset if they are asked to vote unnecessarily. it may have been seen as opportunistic. if you put 100 labor activist

in a room, 99 but little did he should have gone back in there. host: the welcome your phone calls and your twitter comments and e-mail questions. below are the numbers you can call. when will we hear more about this? guest: we do not have a constitutional amendment saying that we have to have our elections at a certain time. you left up to five years before you can call an election. we're getting right up to the line, tactically. it is june. there are some local elections, council elections scheduled for early may.

he may want to maximize voting efforts. we would hear about that around the end of april. it is all very uncertain. the one thing we do know about the election campaign is it will be like no other. the leaders are having presidential-style debates. host: when will they take place in what will the format be? guest: it will take place over a three-week time frame. it will be the 29th of april. the 15th of april. it will be very intense. we have a third party which has been getting about 20% of the votes.

three leaders will square off. i know on c-span, people watch things very closely. . guest: they do the equivalent of a congressional election of choosing his representative in your district, and our job, the person who has the most members

of parliament becomes the prime minister. but when you look at the analysis of why people vote, you see that the nature of the leader end the party are very much factors. they need to sell themselves nationally as well as locally. host: we will get to the calls in just a moment. you can also join the conversation on line at twitter.com/wj. how has margaret thatcher been these days? guest: she is well into her 80s and she no longer does extended public speeches. there are occasions which we have seen where her mind tends to wonder a bit like a lot of old ladies. but she has to -- to wonder a

bit bulike a lot of old ladies. but she has good days and bad days. she likes to be out there seen supporting the military and the conservative party. and david cameron goes to see her. i would say she is for real -- frail. host: winston churchill passed away recently, the grandson of former prime minister winston churchill. did he leave beyond any political legacy? guest: he was half american as well and spent a lot of years after he left parliament mainly in the united states. host: his mother being pamela harriman. guest: exactly. i think he did leave a legacy

behind. he flirted with some causes, but was someone who put public- service, a duty to country for most. but he was always trying to look to the reputation of his grandfather, especially having the same name. and there was a bit of the -- when he sold the papers to the nation, there were a lot of people that felt that they should have been given rather than sold. guest: who is david cameron for the lot of our viewers and what does he represent? host: according to opinion polls he might very well be the next prime minister. he is the leader of the conservative party.

he is 43 years old. he has a very privileged background. he went to the back -- the best private schools, oxford university, even college -- eaton college. he has sought to have the conservative party is seen as more pro-environment, pro-public health. that appears to have done the conservative party a lot of good in the opinion polls. although, as always happens of when you get into election, things are a bit more uncertain now. host: sounds a lot more like tony blair 15 years ago. oguest: there was a time that he couldn't -- he describes himself as the conservative tony blair.

the difference, of course, is that the nation having gone through the blair experience of falling in love, and as david cameron says, they are not going to fall in love twice. host: adam boulton is our guest. becky is joining us from beavercreek, ohio. caller: i appreciate being able to watch the parliamentary debates on c-span. i really liked your system that your leader is on the floor with representatives. they have conversations and arguments. i like it. i wanted to ask about the top issues. could you define the top issues for the voters? you know, what they are really concerned about. and how does the iraq, you know, the unnecessary and immoral invasion of iraq by the u.s. and

the u.k. and play into your elections? and i have a friend who has been in iraq, since before the invasion and many times since. there were reports about of a grave in 2003. she says conditions in iraq are far worse than before we illegally invaded. how does that play into your elections? and does "sky news" play into anything about how of things are displayed? guest: i have to say, as here, really, the number-one issue in britain in this election is the economy. we were hit very badly by the credit crunch. we have probably more of a level

of indebtedness then you're being -- than most european countries. david cameron has suggested that we make cuts in the past, but when we get specific he tends to get more unpopular. the two wars in iraq and afghanistan are actually very much on our agenda, firstly, because we have 10,000 troops -- a lot less than the u.s., but for a relatively small country, the largest -- second-largest contribution of afghanistan. and for soldiers being killed almost every day, that brings it into people's minds. we are currently having a public inquiry of it equivalent to an -- a congressional hearing into the conduct and consequences of

the iraq war. those issues that you mentioned are very much in the forefront of the media discussion at the moment. all parties actually support the military involvement in afghanistan called a major parties. the third party, the liberal democrats, did not support the war in iraq. that is something that defines them, but if you're watching open quote prime minister's questions" yesterday -- if you were watching "prime minister's questions" yesterday, you would have seen it was a tight spot for gordon brown. military spending went up while he was chancellor of government spending. when you account for inflation, that means real cuts in several years. that is not a message that you want to get across to the voters of this very difficult time. host: and if you miss it yesterday, we do "prime minister's questions" every

sunday evening. but we will be airing the debates because the house of commons will be in recess during the month of april. guest: it is great that you're willing to carry them. one of the ironies is, you're used choosing the guys take each other on while our guys are sitting, but the strange thing is that in the primaries, they have not yet met. host: next call on the republican line in california. caller: winston churchill spoke for britain during world war ii ended not give up on democracy. ithere was a reason to pull scattered across britain and

many said they believe that tony blair should be sworn in. dieterle britain's hard-earned dollars should go to him? -- do you believe britain's hard-earned dollar should go to him? guest: despite his political success, he has become a pretty unpopular figure at home. that is one of the reasons he seems to spend so much of his time traveling the world. obviously, he is more popular at the moment, ironically, primarily in the united states than in britain. host: is that because of the war? guest: almost exclusively because of the war. the case that was made for going to work, weapons of mass destruction, was false. and britain didn't not -- did not really think of its involvement.

and the very unsuccessful military mission we had in southern iraq around basra, which of course, was taken over by the u.s. and the iraqis -- all of that wahas left a bad taste. and win people see tony blair all run the world having stood down as prime minister and because the british are seen as more tightfisted than other nations, people resent that he is now a multi millionaire. host: can you explain the relationship between gordon brown and tony blair? guest: i think it was really a religion but mutual the put- dependents. tony blair came into politics with -- mutual dependence. attorney blair came into politics with less experience. -- tony blair came into politics

with less experience. it were both reformers. they wanted to move toward a centrist policies. and for many years there was an assumption amongst them that the boss in the group, the leader in the group was gordon brown. but at the time that the vacancy came open to lead the labor party following the death of john smith -- host: a seven vacancy -- a seven vacancy. guest: a sudden vacancy. tony blair had successfully led a campaign. it was obvious to any journalist looking on that the best leader that labor could choose for electability was tony blair. gordon brown, in spite of his personal friendship, in spite of agreeing to serve under tony blair, was never totally

reconciled to that decision. gordon brown basically persuaded himself and a large section of the labor party that -- that tony blair was basically keeping the chair warm until such time that gordon brown should become the leader. and of course, what happened was that tony blair kept winning elections and not stepping down and gordon brown got more and more frustrated and a private comments about tony blair became more and more poisonous to the point that suddenly gordon brown participated in a move against tony blair, a critic of the over the invasion of lebanon, which led to him stepping down of of the. host: nick leggett represents what in these events? guest: he is the leader of the centrist party. most of their policies involve high taxation and greater state

provision. he represents the alternative. in a sense, in britain, class bound politics on the one hand being the conservative party and the old trade unions being the liberal party has broken down as industrialization has taken place. and the democratic party are the alternative cedras hoping to get votes from those who are hoping -- the alterative centrists open to get votes from those who are disillusioned. it is similar to ross perot. it could affect the overall vote for the other candidates. host: the three debates could be seen -- can be seen on this network and we will show you

more as the process unfolds with the election, you think, happening in early may. guest: may 6. host: david your on the line from connecticut with mr. boulton. caller: i spent the spring over there visiting my daughter. what a beautiful place that is. if we had to come home to rest up. and the tube is unbelievably beautiful. it works like clockwork. here's what i wanted to say. it appears to me that blair gives a total free pass in the united states, particularly at yale where i work. years ago he would have been pilloried for joining up with bush on this war, but now he gets a free pass. also gone david cameron -- also,

david cameron seems as if he has adopted a politician's stance. the is like a foppish pc guy. -- he is like a foppish pc guy. i wish you would comment on anything and everything i have just said. guest: the metro is pretty good here in washington d.c., too, if we're talking about mass transportation. yeah, it is interesting, tony blair. of course, he is a deal as part of his religious foundation. -- at yale as part of his religious foundation. one of the paradoxes is the difference between united states and much of the world is that much of the world, by religion and faith is very central to politics and of the debt is widely respected. and in britain, people are

still skeptical and entered going is on the decline. it has to be said that certainly, -- and churchgoing is on the decline. it has to be said that tony blair has put a lot of emphasis on his christianity and has now converted to the roman catholic church. that is something that people find god in britain, but the central to a lot of politics in this country. host: you mentioned the reprinting of the conservative party. he comes -- -- the reprinting of the conservative party. david cameron, does he come from this process? guest: he makes it no secret that he was very impressed by the way attorney blair won the elections. for example, just for a similar thing, tony blair replaced the

logo of the labor party, you know, the party symbol. cameron has done the exact same thing with the conservative party. david cameron likes to be seen wearing a necktie or in shirtsleeves, the same thing that tony blair like to do to indicate a vigorous young man waiting to take over. and the real thing he is offering is a generational change. he is about 15 years younger than the gordon brown. basically, they say gordon brown is tired, angry, the past. i am the fresh, bicycle riding -- in the press he has been seen riding his bicycle to work. a new generation, that is the message he is trying to get across. host: our next caller is prendo from georgia. caller: i would like to say to

the callers calling in from c- span calling in about george bush and tony blair and his war. i think they ought to put themselves in the shoes of the iraqi people. don't they think that these people are better off with hossein gone -- with the saddam hussein gone, his son's gone? how many people did this man murder? millions of people. these people are free now for the first time in over 40 years. it is going to take them a while ito get used to the freedom we have had all of our lives. host: thank you brenda. guest: this is an argument that is going to go on for generations now. and tony blair always made it relativist argument, which some people found it difficult, that britain and america could not intervene to stop all of the

wrongs in the world. the way you could intervene, he felt it was the right thing to do. many people thought that was not necessarily an intellectually coherent position to occupy. but certainly, as the war recede in iraq to a certain extent -- although, there's still much carnage there -- maybe in five or 10 years' time, then the important thing will be whether iraq has established a -- has reestablished itself as a democratic model in the middle east or whether it has reverted to something not very inspiring. if it is the latter case, then a lot of people will think hundreds of thousands of people and thousands of u.s. troops have died unnecessarily. the jury is still out, but it is an awkward situation for tony blair's legacy. host: the debates are in april and the other two will be? guest: the bbc is doing the last

debate and the local stations will do the one before that. the things that they will have -- the first one will be on domestic affairs. the second one, which i am doing and you will be able to see on c-span will be covering international affairs. and the final debate is going to be on the economy. host: will be carrying all three of those debates. robert on the air with adam boulton of "sky news" in great britain. caller: how do you like your health care system? and the other question is, how many people did we killed? i know that saddam usain killed a lot of people, but her many people did we kill to get rid of

him? guest: i would like dress with his perception of the health care system is in britain. -- robert like to ask him what his perception of the of your system is in britain. people feel that they do not have to worry about growing old or growing sick, that it will not cross them anything and that they believe the level of treatment they will get, by and large, is pretty successful. that does not mean there is not a lot of groaning about it. that does not mean there is not a lot of debate about whether the country can't afford -- can afford providing health care that is being provided. and over here, the general view of the american health system is that it is terrible, tens of millions of people do not have health care or left to die or

bankrupted. and the british, if you look at it, the majority of americans seem to be pretty comfortable with healthcare. i will not tell people what they should think. it is a very sensitive issue. what i would say is that your debate about health care here under the obama administration is now being watched very carefully by the rest of the world because i think they do see it as the litmus test of the strength of president obama, whether he is actually going to manage to be a transformative president if he can deliver in his own backyard on this important piece of legislation, or conversely, if he receives a setback at this stage i think people will be shocked, but will certainly see it as a great sign a witness in this

administration. host: euro is coming under a lot of questions. in the short term, the european countries will give a loan to greece, but in the long term, it will not be able to be part of the european union. guest: britain stayed out of the bureau -- but euro. the problem with theeur euro coe on around here, you except that there are issues in different parts of the country with welfare. that is a normal way to run a currency. the problem with the bureau is

that you have 15 nation states in it. there is no common taxation, no financial transfers between rich and france paying for poor romania, or whatever you want to call it. when national finances come under pressure, it is very difficult to see how to hold the roles together. the development appears to be saying that germany, which was always in favor of politically -- always in favor politically of the euro, but also worried about giving up the torchmark and having a weak currency. -- the deutsche mark and having a weak currency. but the door is now open for germany withdrawing from the euro, but of course, the consequences of that would be historic.

host: our next call from california, leeland on the independent line. caller: adam, thank you for your wonderful presentation. i have to remit to being a fan of british coulter and so forth. -- admit to being a fan of british culture and so forth. my question goes to iraq and the end of world war one. there is a thought in literary quotes, world war i has never ended. it is the equivalent of being in the middle of the hundred year'' war. if you are in the middle of the hundred years' war, how'd you know you are in the middle of it? the division in the middle east, which is primarily english and

french colonialism, and once again, i love england. and adam, you are wonderful, but the problem is this legacy that america has had to pay for the end result now that we are in the 21st century. host: how would you respond to that? guest: obviously, if history is a continual rather than a fresh start and it is certainly true that after the second world war -- we can go back to the first world war, but that is really a story of colonialism. the story of the 21st century was to america taking over global influence from the former imperial powers, particularly britain and france, and something that presidents were quite over ibarra. they felt the europeans had enjoyed colonialism and the privileges of taking goods and services from the rest of the

world for too long. but i think there are changes. touching on what we were saying about tony blair and religion, there is, as we saw in that 9/11 and elsewhere, a religious and politically driven movement in some elements of islam. certainly, we have a large -- a large muslim community in britain and a very small minority of them are attracted to the small, fundamental approach to politics, and that is the problem which we are dealing with that led to 9/11 and the invasions of afghanistan and iraq. i think it is fair to say that, really, britain, america, western europe are all in the

same box with that. if you look at the ideology of iran or the ideology of al qaeda, they are simply opposed to the western way of life. that is not a question of, one, america and taking responsibility for a problem that burden created or the other way round. it is just a statement -- a problem that britain created or the other way around. it is just a statement of fact. host: adam boulton has spent more than two decades at "sky news." he is a graduate of oxford, also johns hopkins here in the u.s.. has reported live from almost every continent. all but one. guest: i have not been to enter to go. have you been? host: know i have not. -- no, i have not.

let's go to the next call. caller: it amazes me, you know, the woman that just called from georgia tried to bring home the point that we went to a rack to save the people. black people -- when to iraq to save the people. but people used to be enslaved in this country and no one had to come over here and free the black people. we stood upo and fraudfought. if you want of the, you have to put your foot forward, and that is what the black people did. if you want freedom, you have to for your own selves. guest: there is a lot of truth in that. the problem with iraq is that it was a voluntary war, a war of

choice that george of the bush and tony blair decided they would involve -- george w. bush and to enabler decided they would involve saddam hussein. -- and tony blair and decided they would involve saddam hussein. people will be divided for a very long time whether it was right to go to war with the consequence of more than 2000 american soldiers being killed and british soldiers being killed, and at best estimates, 100,000 to 200,000 iraqis. i think that is why this argument will go on for a very long time in britain, we have alwayalready withdrawn our forc. host: i'm not asking who is going to win the election and obviously campaigns make a

difference and a lot can happen in the next five weeks. i will ask you what you expect to happen in the course of this campaign and what you are looking for and how this will unfold. guest: in america, you can look back on an election and you can say, the american people or the british people felt it was time for change. orszag you can say that some did not want to take the gamble of a change. -- or you can say that some did not want to treat thetake the ge of a change. in my own view, at i think there is a mood for change. there are a lot of the vagaries in the system, which make it difficult for david cameron to get elected majority.

and these debates have never happened on scenes -- on c-span before. in the end, people will look and see those leaders in a way they have not seen them before. they will compare them and maybe they will decide that david cameron is a bit of a calo, a slick salesman. maybe they will decide the gordon brown is a bully. that will be the factor in this election that we have never had before. host: thank you very much for your perspective. will be covering these debates from the three events in april. there is a new gallup poll on the postal service. in britain, you get five days or six days of delivery? guest: 6 days of delivery, but

it is going down one day. host: this survey says that most are ok with five day's mail, eliminating saturday service. the we will ask you about that, for those of you who support or oppose the idea. the postmaster general is testifying today before a senate committee. but first, a news update. >> just in, but a congressional -- the congressional budget office has determined the house reform plan will cost $940 billion over 10 years, but will trim the deficit by $130 billion in the first 10 years and more in the second 10 years. steny lawyer says those deficit numbers should help ease the numbers -- the worries of deficit hawks. jobless numbers in show the newly laid-off workers seeking benefits fell slightly last week.

cia director leon panetta in an interview with the "wall street journal" confirms a drone strike last week killed a top al qaeda trainer suspected to be involved in december's suicide bombing that killed seven cia officers at and afghanistan base. director panetta says the drone attack against the al qaeda members cents to two important signals, number one, that we will not hesitate to go after them wherever they try to hide, and number two, that we are continuing to target their leadership. officials in kazakhstan says the u.s. plans to build a $5 million military base for training troops in fighting local terrorism. the training base, complete with barracks, dining hall, class rooms and an assault course already hosts a base that is used by washington as a regional hub for afghanistan.

and those are some of the latest headlines on c-span radio. >> "washington journal" continues. host: how you feel about your postal service and what would you think if the saturday mail was eliminated as a way to save money? that is one of the issues that will, today before a senate committee. the buzz buster general will testify about the future of the postal service. -- the postmaster general will testify about the future of the postal service. the numbers are on the screen. mr. potter previewing some of what people will likely talk about today before the national press club early next month. -- earlier last month.

>> customers have come very strongly face-to-face through surveys that we have conducted and others at about a 70% rate that says take a day of delivery, and control your prices. do not hit us with big price increases. at the same time, make sure that we provide the saturday post office. listening to customers, we put a plan together. our plan calls for six to five days. saturday was selected because it is the lowest volume date, has the least effect on business, and we have also committed to keeping post offices open and access to post office boxes. we will keep our payments running and so present and an olli mail that comes through will keep the same levels that we have expected in the past.

host: john potter, the postmaster general will be testifying today. james has this comment on the twitter page. eliminate saturdays and wednesdays. doug has joined us from new york. caller: good morning. not only do i support eliminating saturday, but i will go along with what they just said by twitter page about wednesday also. i think that four days a week would be plenty sufficient because if we go back 100 years when they were riding horses, i mean, we get mail and such a pace across the country with planes and that sort of thing, i do not think it is such a big deal to get your mail in three days as opposed to two days. host: our next caller is

opposing eliminating a day from the post -- from the mail service. why? caller: because i feel that people use other shipping and what not. we have people who still rely on the postal service. that is like saying, are you going to eliminate newspapers because people go on line and read the newspaper? there are still people who read newspapers. host: from "usa today" and this is based on a survey that they conducted in conjunction with the gallup organization.

mary has this twitter, and saying, why does the private sector -- why has the private sector garden government subsidies -- our next caller from north carolina, do you support it? caller: i wonder why they cannot profit on a wednesday. i am an independent retailer.

i sell online -- on-line and by ship through the post office in a rural area. at ups charges me an extra fee to ship. it does not make sense for me to do that, so i use the post office almost exclusively. i am in a small town. i know my of office employees very well. i wonder why not drop wednesday rather than saturday. saturday is one of two days when my items are not shipping and getting to customers. i am worried that it would result in a drop in sales. that people would just go to the mall. host: thank you for that comment. wayne is joining us from texas. we will go to diane next. caller: how are you, steve? host: think you, good.

caller: i oppose this. for one thing, we live in a small community in the mountain west, 3000 citizens. right now, we have shorter hours as it is. eliminating saturday would impose, probably -- we do not have anything. we have just the bare minimum. and to have mail and to have the service and be able to mail it out at low cost, we have a hard workers here. they give us personal service. the we have ups and fedex, but ups and fedex is not getting our mail out and does not come anywhere near a comparison in price or even personal detail. host: what part of the state are

you? caller: it is in san diego county, east of san diego about 50 to 60 miles. we are at 4,500 feet. this used to be an old gold rush town 100 and something years ago. host: one thing on the poll was that more and more americans are using the internet to communicate and pay bills. but what about you? caller: i do use it for some and not others. it just depends. i might send a bill at a certain time and i may not want it debited out of my account at a certain time. i do use the internet for maybe

40% or 50%. host: john potter, who was part of a panel discussion and a presentation of the national press club earlier this year outlining some of the details, again, that we will hear later today at the senate committee. it live coverage3 on coverage beginning at -- live coverage on c-span3 beginning at 2:03 p.m. today. >> fiscal 2010, we expect volume at about 166 billion pieces. that means that one in five pieces has disappeared. as a result, the cost of delivering the piece of -- a piece of mail has risen. car system is designed to serve

a much larger volume of mail. -- our system is designed to serve a much larger volume of mail. we project that the postal service could lose approximately $7 billion. this has caused us to rethink everything we're doing. when i meet with other ceos as i have been doing in recent months, i am always ask this question, who is at fault? quite frankly, no one is at fault. the simple fact is that technology has altered did the economic environment and workplace. technology has made obsolete many aspects of the u.s. business model. host: john potter speaking at the national press club earlier this year and details coming out today as he testifies along with other postal officials. live coverage on c-span3. tracie on twitter says --

gerald, opposed to the idea. you live in elmira, new york. why? caller: the same basic problem, the postal service has been operating in billions of dollars in the red for years and years. discontinuing saturday delivery is not going to change anything. they are still going to be operating in the red. it is the same story. let's take revenge on a hard- working, taxpaying american people rather than trying to fix our system. host: dwane supports the idea of eliminating five days a week. joining us from garland, texas. why? caller: i wish they would reconsider and doing it -- and

do it on a wednesday or thursday. the reason i say that is that we have a problem as a retailer that can only work in the evening and on saturdays. we wind up going to ups or another service. or fedex or whoever to do our delivery. i would hope that it would be mid day instead of a saturday. host: james parker makes this point -- our next caller from huntington, new york. we're asking about the elimination of saturday mail. what do you think? caller: i feel that

[unintelligible] you get less time to send your mailing out. too bad they do not have somebody there that could ask about what about if they decide to close postal offices because i rent a post office box because of my living conditions. i'm renting a room here in a house. host: ok, thanks for the call. john in daytona, fla., you oppose eliminating saturday delivery. why? caller: of course, i do not know what their thinking at headquarters. it was going to carry double the mail on monday? somebody at headquarters?

host: what about the idea of maybe note mail delivery on a wednesday? caller: that is probably easier because it will be easier on the carriers. but the main problem is of management. do you know what peugeot it did? they remove 100 of the top executives and that is what needs to be done at the postal service. host: gary has this comment, but my mail is mostly junk mail or periodicals. we will come back to more of your phone calls in just a moment, but one other developing story we have been talking about is the cbo numbers. the politico is now reporting that the numbers have come out. according to the cbo, the health reform plan being put forth by the democrats will cost $940 billion over 10 years. it will also trim the deficit by $130 billion in the first 10

years, and $1.2 trillion in the second years -- 10 years. we're joined by the editor. what are these numbers telling you? guest: this is nothing but good news for democrats. most of the people that have held out their votes as a far have done so because they're worried about costs. most of the people who have made abortion their primary concern have already made their positions relatively clear on this bill. now, with this argument that the cbo is making, that they can reduce costs by so much, i think we will see momentum on the democratic side. there are a couple of members that have already scheduled

announcements for various times this morning announcing how they are going to vote. i think is going to be hard for any democrat in washington d.c. to walk up to a microphone and say i'm going to vote against this thing. i think we're going to see a cascade of undecided voters announcing they will vote in favor of the senate version. today could be the data nancy pelosi gets the to wonder 16 votes. host: the vote could take place when? guest: none of us will be watching any basketball on sunday because we will be up on capitol hill counting the votes. it looks like sunday is going to be the day. they still live yet to post it. we are getting this rumor from democratic sources up on capitol hill. democrats will then start the 72 hour clock if it is posted today. host: can you explain to our

audience how the congressional budget office scores, how it comes up with a price tag for this bill? guest: that is a part of d.c. that has eluded me so far. it is a very powerful organization that crunches of the budget numbers. everybody who becomes a director of the cbo is set for life because they are probably pretty smart people. host: but is this a partisan number or non-partisan? guest: the director of the cbo is picked by congressional leadership, but they are not a democratic appointee at the moment. rather, they are not a democratic partisan at the moment, but of course, republicans will say that these numbers are skewed by democrats. director dreman darth is well respected by both is up -- both sides of the aisle.

host: house republican leader within the last couple of minutes telling reporters on capitol hill that it is is time to start over on the health care bill. will that happen? guest: no, that will not happen. that has been what the republicans have wanted from the beginning. it has been great for them to talk about health care, mainly because it has been so mismanaged. they have been saying they want to start over primarily because the -- most americans do agree that the current system is broken. democrats and republicans to agree on some things, ford's tempo, banning the elimination of insurance -- for example, banning the elimination of insurance for pre-existing conditions, or the waste and fraud and abuse. they're likely to include republican ideas on reducing waste, fraud, and abuse.

there are a few things that everyone agrees on. of course, democrats and republicans are quite far apart on major parts of this bill because -- of this bill. republicans want to keep talking about it as possible. -- as long as possible. host: we are talking with the editor of hot line on call. read wilson, thank you for the update on that debate. let's get back to the numbers in case you have just tuned in. then we will get more of your reaction to saturday mail delivery, -- delivery, whether that's true be eliminated. the estimate is that the plan would cost about $940 billion over the next 10 years. it would trim the federal deficit by $130 billion in the

first 10 years and the estimate is that it would cut the deficit $1.2 trillion in the second 10 years. steny lawyer is saying that these numbers should ease the worries -- steny hoyer is saying that these numbers should ease the worries over supporting the bill. as we have been saying, look for extensive coverage on this network over the next few days and a vote possible -- not definite, but possible -- on sunday. back to saturday delivery. the should be eliminated or supported? caller: i definitely oppose it. the government is opposed to things for people that we cannot do for ourselves. we pay all of these people to do something in the congress, in the army. mail delivery is something that's should be continued. there are many people, particularly in rural areas, who

do not have access to the other services. host: would you pay more? right now is 44 cents for a first-class stamp. the would you pay more? caller: considering that a first-class stamp will go to hawaii or almost any place in the world except european places, it would not be a problem for most people. also, the government gives far too many paid holidays, days off. the male does not come on government holidays -- mail does not come on government holidays. host: this twitter carme, and - the same principle applies to

transit rate hikes. next, and from peggy. caller: i am opposed to cutting saturday delivery. you had a previous caller who was right about management. he said peugeot got rid of all lot of top management and they are doing well now. also, the postal service used to be a service and was not allowed to make a profit. now it has turned into a big business just like any other, and that is why it is spiraling down. the male moves the seven days a week. it is processed seven days a week. monday is a heavy mail day for merrill -- four mail carriers. after a monday holiday, tuesdays after a monday holiday, tuesdays will be killers for them