is a little bit of that. >> a default on our debt would have been a devastating blow to our economy at a time when we can least afford. it would have meant higher borrowing costs, higher prices, and put millions more jobs in jeopardy. that is why so many of you wrote, called comet email, and -- called, emailed, and tweeted representatives. the pressure you put on washington is one of the reasons we finally reached a reasons we finally reached a resolution in the only we could, an agreement between both parties. it is an agreement that diverts an unthinkable the fall as well as the prospect of another standoff just months from now. it would have kept because of uncertainty hanging over our economy. host: front page of "the washington times" today had this headline --

"politically, i think he did very well and will likely be reelected because it." independent scholar. your next. are you there? caller: i'm not to talk about this windfall tax on social security for state employees. i retired out of the military in 1991. i have only had one good job between the time a retired and 1999. most of the jobs i had were minimum wage. i went to work for the state of ohio in 1999 and i had to retire this past april because my health was getting bad and i could not perform my duties. when i retired, i am eligible to collect social security next year.

i found out that they can take up to 66% of my social security because i worked for the state. i paid into social security for 34 years and that is wrong for the government to single out one group of people and tax them like that. host: republican from harvest, alabama. caller: mo, thank you for your vote. i was wondering if you could comment the bit about the illegal immigration issue in the doj pursuing our state? host: the congressman has left. he was here until monocoque 30 a.m. eastern time. why is that so important to you? caller: this may not be popular opinion here, but illegal

immigrants are not always trouble. they are here to just better themselves and their families. i'm not certain that it would not be a bad idea to make them citizens if they were, in fact, free of any particular wrongdoings or unlawful activities. host: "the new york times" have the back story on how the deal came together with negotiations.

later on and talks about the negotiations finally coming through on sunday. and it says --

democratic caller from indiana, go ahead. caller: i'm like to know what makes the republicans think that the highest 2% of the rich people are entitled -- entitled -- to not taxes. -- to not pay taxes. we all pay taxes. i think republicans should try to treat the democrats in little better. they treat them like the poor relations. they say they're trying to get jobs. i think we are all going to have

to go overseas to get our jobs. to go overseas to get our jobs. i purchased seven items at the target store and everyone of them was made in china. i looked at them when i got home that is the way it is. if people would just look at the tags. host: republican from nashville, tennessee. what do you make of the debt ceiling deal? caller: at least they decided to do something besides just posturing. we definitely needed something done. give my representatives my opinion. one opinion that i really want the big 12 to consider would be taxing the rich. the people on unemployment have to pay taxes on unemployment.

making $16 million per year with no taxes makes no sense to me. if people cannot make sense of that, they need to get out. another is in is, they vote their own rates anytime they want? can you come in the last time they voted themselves a raise in the congress? host: i cannot. next caller, a boston -- augusta, georiga. andler: i'm from augusta, i'm calling in the cuts on medicaid, medicare, and social security. the plan, as i understand it, is to cut the fees to the doctors. host: if this so-called special super joint committee cannot agree, cannot come up with some recommended cuts, it would

automatically trigger cuts in domestic spending and defense spending, about $600 billion from both of those coffers, and then the payments to medicare providers could be on the table. caller: that is what i caller: that is what i understood that to be. however, 74% of the senior citizens that get social security are getting reduced benefits, not full benefits, but reduced. we have paid into this. if they are going to start paying the doctors less, that means the doctors that work for the public, like hospitals, will be leaving. they will be going into private practice. they will not accept medicare patients. so where does that leave us to go? host: in other news, the front page of "the new york times," this picture of a malnourished child in somalia.

one of the islamist resurgent groups is blocking people from fleeing the country and is setting up a containment campbell or they are presuming -- camp and imprisoning people trying to escape. the situation is growing more bleak by the david tens of thousands somali dead and tens of thousands of children on the brink of starvation. also on the faa situation, and here is "usa today." they will soon start processing tax refunds who bought tickets on a reform the 22nd when the tickets were suspended. the faa ticket tax expired july 23rd and congress did not reauthorize the faa which collects the revenue. that is from "usa today."

here is a story from "the washington times." that is a topic will -- we will be talking about tomorrow. also, the fbi reveals that threats against edward kennedy continued long after the assassination of his brothers. at one. , at the future owner of the new york yankees had to hire security guards for the massachusetts democrats. brandon, south bend, indiana, your thoughts on the debt deal? caller: good morning, greta. what i would like to comment on it is what the democrats talked about what went to raise taxes on higher-income groups. i am not opposed to that, but first, i think we need to go through the tax code and revise it. there are several loopholes and

it is broken, in my opinion. we need to fix that. then we can go forward and tried to see what we can do about revenue increases. the problem we really have, i think, is the spending in this country. the republicans have pointed out that we raised taxes and would not even cover the interest over the next 10 years. we have to do something about the spending. i can guarantee that if congress raised revenue, if the democrats were in control, they would spend every penny of it and we would be in the same situation we are in right now. >> we're leaving "washington journal" at this point going to the white house rose garden, where we're expecting president obecause many in just a couple of moments to make comments about the jut come of the debt ceiling vote in the senate. the vote outcome, 74-26 in favor of the debt ceiling agreement that vote happening

just moments ago. here's how the vote broke down, 28 republicans, 48 republicans. vermont senator sanders is one who voted against the agreement. here's the president. >> good afternoon, everybody. congress has now approved a compromise to reduce the deficit and aert -- and avert a default that would have devastated our economy. it was a long and contentious debate and i want to thank the american people for keeping up pressure on their elected officials to put politics aside and work together for the good of the country this compromise guarantees more than $2 trillion in deficit reduction. it's an important first step to ensuring that as a nation we live within our means.

yet it also allows us to keep making key investments in education and lead to new jobs, and assures we're not cutting too abruptly while the economy is still fragile. this is, however, just the first step. this compromise requires that both parties work together on a larger plan to cut the deficit which is important for the long-term health of our economy. since you can't close the deficit with just spending cuts, we'll need a balanced approach. where everything is on the table. yes, that means making some adjustments to protect health care programs like medicare so they're there for future generations. it also means reforming our tax code so the wealthiest americans and corporations pay their fair share and it means getting rid of taxpayer subsidies to oil companies and tax loopholes that help billionaires pay a lower tax

rate than teachers and nurses. i've said it before and i will say it again. we can't balance the budget on the backs of the people who have borne the biggest brunt of this recession. we can't make it tougher for young people to go to college or ask seniors to pay more for health care or ask scientists to give up on promising medical research because we couldn't close a tax shelter for the most fortunate among us. everyone has to chip in. that's only fair. that's the principle i'll be fighting for in the next phase of this process. and in the coming months, i'll continue also to fight for what the american people care midwest about, new jobs, higher wages, and faster economic growth. washington has been absorbed in this debate about deficits, people across the country are asking, what can we do to help the father looking for work? what are we going to do for the single mom seeing her hours cut

back at the hospital? what will we do to make it easier for businesses to put out that "now hiring" sign. that's part of the reason people are so frustrated with what's going on in this town. in the last few months, the economy has had to absorb an earthquake in japan, the economic head winds coming from europe, the arab spring and the rise in oil prices, all of which have been very challenging for the recovery. but these are things we couldn't control. our economy didn't need washington to come along with a manufactured crisis to make things worse. that was in our hands. it's pretty likely that the uncertainty surrounding the raising of the debt ceiling for both businesses and consumers has been unsettling and one more impediment to the full ke -- recovery we need and it's something we could have avoided

entirely. voters may have chosen divided government but they didn't vote for dysfunctional government. they want us to solve problems and get this economy growing and adding jobs. and while deficit reduction is part of that agenda, it is not the whole agenda. growing the economy isn't just about cutting spending, it's not about rolling back regulations to protect our air and water and keep our people safe. that's not how we're going to get past this recession. we're going to have to do more than that. that's why when congress gets back from recess, i'll urge home to immediately take some steps, bipartisan, common sense steps, that will make a difference. that will create a climate where businesses can hire, where folks have more money in their pockets to spend, where people who are out of work can find good jobs. we need to begin by extending

tax cuts for middle class families so you have more money in your paychecks next year. if you've got more money in your paycheck, you're more likely to spend it. that means small businesses and medium sized businesses and large businesses will all have more customers. that means they'll be this a better position to hire. while we're at it, we need to make sure that millions of workers who are still pounding the pavement looking for jobs to support their families are not denied needed unemployment benefits. through patent reform we can cut the red tape that stop taos many inventors and entrepreneurs from quickly having new ideas to help business. i want congress to pass a set of trade deals, deals we already negotiated, that will help displaced workers looking for new jobs and allow our countries to sell products in asia and south america, products that are stamped with the words "made in america."

we also need to give more tuvents to all those construction workers out there who lost their jobs when the housing boom went bust. we could put them to work right now by giving loans to private companies that want to repair our roads, our bridges, and our airports. rebuilding our infrastructure. we have workers who need jobs and a country that needs rebuilding. an infrastructure bank would help us put them together. while we're on the topic of infrastructure, there's another stalemate in congress right now involving our aviation industry which has staaled airport construction projects around the country and put the jobs of tens of thousands of construction workers and others at risk. because of politics. it's another washington-inflicted wound on america and congress needs to break that impasse now. hopefully before the senate adjourned so these folks can get back to work. so these are some of the things we could be doing right now.

there's no reason for congress not to send me those bills so i can sign them into law right away, as soon as they get back from recess. both parties share party in washington. and beth -- and both parties need to take responsibility for improving this economy. it's not a democratic responsibility or a republican responsibility, it is our collective responsibility as americans. bill discussing additional ideas in the weeks ahead to help companies hire, invest, and expand. so we've seen in the past few days that washington has the ability to focus when there's a timer ticking down and when there's a looming disaster. it shouldn't take the risk of default, the risk of economic catastrophe, get folks in this town to work together and do their jobs because there's already a quiet crisis going on in the lives of a lot of families in a lot of

communities all across the country. they're looking for work and they have been for a while. or they're making do with fewer hours or fewer customers or they're just trying to make ends meet that ought to compel washington to cooperate. that uth to compel washington to compromise. and it ought to compel washington to act. that ought to be enough to get all of us in this town to do the job we were sent here to do. we've got to do everything in our power to grow this economy and put america back to work. that's what i intend to do and i'm looking forward to working with congress to make it happen. thanks very much, everybody. >> president obama and the --

in the white house rose garden this afternoon remarking on the 74-26 vote in the senate moments ago improve -- approving the measure increasing the nation's debt limit. the house passed the bill yesterday, 269-161. the president focusing on the bipartisan compromise needed to reach agreement on the bill and a jobs agenda. he's expected to sign the debt agreementfood. a lot of events related to the agreement in the senate on the debt ceiling. we are going to bring those things to you. we'll hear from house minority leader nancy pelosi in a few moments, senate republicans scheduled to speak at 2:00 p.m. eastern. right now, comments from senate democrats from just a short time ago.

>> the debate was long, it wasn't easy. for weeks the american people have watched and wondered if congress could get its job done. we got it done and brought our economy back from the brink of disaster. in the end, the two sides came together. neither side got what they wanted, each side laments some things we had to give up, but that's the way it is. it's that way because that's how our system works and that's what compromise is all about. it was a bipartisan compromise. it wasn't the right wing cap, cut, and -- whatever it is over there. that was not bipartisan. it's nothing that we could agree to, the short-term was a disaster for america. this agreement cuts the deficit by $1 trillion and lays the

groundwork for much more in the near future. we look forward to work on the committee to make sure that millionaires and billionaires and corporate jet owners and people with yachts who get tax benefits, oil companies who get huge tax subsidies, that's in the mix of what goes on. that's what this is going to be about. we need to do more for families. the number one job we have as a congress must be creating jobs for the american people. we -- there are a number of things we're going to do. senator schumer will address that in a few minutes as to the jobs agenda we have. today we made sure america will pay its bills. now it's time to make sure that all americans can pay theirs. senator durbin? >> with this vote, 74-26, we have averted a crisis. america has avoided defaulting for the first time in our history on our national debt. the fears and concerns of americans across the board were

considered by this congress and as a result we've come together on a bipartisan basis. i did not vote for this with a great deal of enthusiasm because the down payment on the deficit included in this bill comes primarily from working families and those struggling in america. if we are going to have true deficit reduction and address this debt, we have to put everything on the table and bring everyone to the table for shared sacrifice. the joint committee has a particular responsibility here, called on together another $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion in savings. let us make sure when we do it we do it in a fair and just manner for all people. when we return senator schumer will spell out that we address the number one issue in america, creating good-paying jobs here in america for the people who are struggling in this country. >> now washington, the nation

and the world can breathe a sigh of relief. the horrible crisis that would have occurred if we defaulted, the likelihood of a recession if we defaulted has been averted. but we have a lot more work to do. a lot more work to do. the bill, which had things as leader reid and and leader durbin mentioned, had a lot of things we didn't like. it had some things we liked, particularly making sure that no benefits in medicare, social security, and medicaid were cut. but it's now time for congress to get back to our regularly scheduled programming and that means jobs. >> remarks from senate democratic leaders on the debt ceiling agreement this morning. we're going to hear from house minority leader nancy pelosi. she's come to the radio and tv gallery to talk about it. >> we talked about the

democrats, the necessity of democrats to save the day yesterday, pulling our country back from the brink of default. it was a bitter pill for us to swallow but we did. we saved medicare, medicaid and social security. you'll be hearing more about that. yesterday we crossed a bridge. enough talk about the debt. we have to talk about jobs. every time i've meat with you -- i've met with you, we started the session with how many days it has been since the republicans have been in office. today it's 210 and we haven't seen any legislation yet that has created jobs. in fact, we've seen legislation which has cost nearly two million jobs. more than ,000 jobs a day would be lost if the republicans' legislation were signed into law. we see in addition to that hold up on the infrastructure bill

and on f.a.a. which we're hoping will be resolved today. we'll be hear manager about that from my colleague. jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs. you cannot say it enough. i really like what willie nelson said, or at least he was quoted as saying, the american people are more concerned about a ceiling over their head than raising the debt ceiling. we know we need to do both. i was pleased to hear the president talk about jobs and infrastructure, to talk about how we create jobs to meet the needs of the american people. some of his suggestions have strong support in our caucus, whether it's infrastructure, rebuilding our country, whether it is make it in america, he cede made in america, steny, mr. hoyer will talk to us about make it in america, and when he talked about the f.a.a. bill which we'll talk more about now. everybody has been intensely

involved in this discussion on debt. the american people's top priority is the creation of jobs. we have crossed the grid from that important discussion, interesting that it was something that the republicans did not have the votes to pass, we remind members that they took the step to pull us from the brink of default even though they did not, were not happy about the legislation but what was good about it was it's over and now it's time to talk about jobs and a person who has been a leader in beating a drum for make it in america, our distinguished whip, mr. hoyer. >> thank you, madam leader. let me suggest at the outset that talking about jobs is talking about the debt. the only way we're going to successfully deal with debt is to create jobs and economic growth in america. we know that.

but eight months on the job, no jobs bill for the american people. that is the negligent record of the republican majority. democrats have focused on our make it in america plan because america's innovation, invention, and manufacturing creates middle class jobs and is essential to the growth of our whole economy. on our agenda as you know, among a long list on our agenda, is a, a manufacturing strackture -- strategy, our competitors through the the world all have manufacturing strategies. and we need our own effective game plan to outproduce, outinnovate, outbuild, and yes, outinvest our come ps