of the u.s. house. and in about 45 minutes, democratic congressman dennis kucinich, then republican steve chaboot, and then joan goldwasser will talk about regulating scoring agencies. host: the house failed to pass a short-term spending bill last night, raising questions on how government will stay open and how there will be aid to victims of natural disasters. today on the hill to join deficit meeting meets today. and president obama will urge

congress to pass the american jobs act. we want to hear your opinions about the spending bill that did not passed the house last night. the question is, should disaster aid be tied to cuts? the numbers to call are on your screen. you can also e-mail us. and find us on twitter. you can also look us up on facebook and john the conversation there. let's look at a conversation from "the hill."

to get more about this, we go to the phone lines where we are joined by one of the staff riders for "the hill." >> good morning. host: when did you realize republicans did not have the votes? guest: it was not a surprise.

democrats announced that they were pulling their support and were going to urge their members to vote against the bill. the top democrat on the appropriations committee of washington state had said he would support the bill last week, almost reluctantly. that was announced that there were two democrats that would be in opposition. that was the signal early this morning that most democrats opposed the bill -- that if most democrats opposed the bill, republicans would have trouble. it seemed that the republicans at some point later did not realize they had the votes. they did not pull the boat from the floor or tell anyone. even yesterday morning eric

cantor predicted that the bill would pass the house. host: you write in your story that the defeat was a stinging loss for speaker john boehner. what was the speaker's reaction? guest: he did not have much to say. the republican leaders retreated very quickly to his office to figure out what their next move would be. as of this morning they have yet to announce what that will be. they could change the spending cuts that they used to offset some of the money for disaster aid, the $1 billion-a cut from an energy loan program. democrats objected strongly to that costs so they have to find a new offset that democrats would support or they could simply get rid of the offsetting and that would pretty much guarantee democratic

support. they are in a pickle. it seems unlikely. it is possible they could make the bill more conservative. they could cut more spending to gain republican support, but that would only escalate the collision course they are on with this and that, and senator harry reid did not like this bill to begin with. they may have to compromise more with democrats. host: how was the timing shaping up? congress will be on recess next week in their home districts. the deadline in the end of the month. guest: that's right. it seems like it's more like the end of the week, if they don't want to recess to be canceled. we expect to hear something this morning about what passes. john boehner has a press conference at 11:15 that should

provide some answers. i think it really is up to the house to decide how they want to change the bill, if they can get a bipartisan bill out of the house that would put a lot of pressure on the senate to pass that. house leaders have already advised their members that a weekend session in the house is not possible. host: tell us about the republicans who voted against it. what do they see their next move being? guest: the dispute really came down to the top spending levels. the debt limit deal that passed in august, leaders of both house parties were trying to head off the fight by agreeing to a spending level for fiscal 2012 starting on october 1. republican leaders agreed to when theyhat lev anel

drafted the bill. many conservatives did not want them to go below that level and to stick to the level that was in the house gop budget that passed earlier this year. that was a lower tax. the 48 republicans who voted against this bill, many of them wanted to stick to the lord cap rather than the number agreed to in the debt deal. -- the lower cap. host: thanks for joining us. let's look this story from "to the baltimore sun."

let's go to fairfax, virginia to hear from elaine, a democratic caller. good morning. caller: good morning. never happened before. terrible floods and an earthquake. to hold up disaster relief for the fact that the republicans want to hold it up because of the spending cuts, that is just ridiculous. i am so sick and tired of what these republicans are trying to do. basically, all they really want to do is get obama out. they have no interest in what is best for this country.

at this time when so many people are suffering because of what has happened in these different states, it is just disgusting what these republicans are doing. i hope the american public votes them out. host: bob, democratic caller in massachusetts. were you affected by the hurricane? caller: i was not affected. except the anguish i felt for the people who were. i am not a politician and yet i can feel for these people. i cannot for the life of me fathom what is going on in this country and. it i know it is politics and they talk about class warfare and this and that. i am calling on the democratic line, but right now i am just approaching this as an american. we are talking about everything is on the table and we have to cut this and cut that.

i hope the people out there are hearing what i am saying. we never hear them talking about cutting the congressional budget which by the way, the budget that shows, the parts they let us know is almost $5 billion. and then there are several billions of other dollars that are hidden in don't it's and air force budgets and traveling, all kinds of stuff. if the american public is opposed to swallow all of this stuff, taking away from people -- if the american public is supposed to swallow all of this stuff. yet their budget is not the big question. if we were to think of what they are doing, or what congress has accomplished in the last few years, they would get a zero budget. that's all i have to say. thanks for letting me go on.

host: let's hear comments from twitter. kevin is a republican, joining us from marshall, texas. good morning. caller: good morning. thank you for c-span. you after being good stewards of taxpayers' money. it has to be paid for. i think everyone is talking, well, the republicans want spending cuts. it is important to talk about what cuts. but the proposition they had was a cut in some of these green energy jobs, which today what has been going on, you have to use the money wisely. if you can cut something that kills jobs and costs taxpayers

money, and that's a good cut. most americans would like to see that go to fema. host: this story talks about how republicans want to pay for the aid. san antonio tx, ann on our republican line. caller: i agree with cutting spending to offset fema.

there is only so much money and we do have to budget. there is sufficient waste in the government that has been found. i hate to say it, because i did vote for him, but for the use of air force one and other taxpayer vehicles to transport the president, unfortunately, for his of his campaign speeches to different parts of the country is certainly one area that i realize he does pay for it, but he only pays the rate of a commercial airline free. that certainly is not how much it costs to transport on air force one by any stretch of the imagination. plus the wear and tear on the vehicle for future use for future presidents. thank you. host: let's hear from bob in arizona joining us on the

democrat line. good morning. caller: good morning. i have become a very, very strong democrat because of what the republicans always cause. they always cause a panic and then point the finger at somebody else. i am going to make a very harsh statement that is going to be true and very sincere. i would wish that all the republicans would take all the money and go jump in the ocean and this covenant would print new money and not have an accounting from any republican anymore. is that clear? host: i am not sure that would achieve? caller: it has gotten to the point where there is so much argument and people are hurting. when you see people hurting, if you are human being, you try to use your compassion. that youn't have any, either vote them out, which it

seems we are infested with foreign influence, corporate influence, and very heartless people. i don't know how i can make it more clear. host: let's go to a comment on twitter. stonington, maine, duke on the independent line. caller: good morning. i want to comment on how i feel about the cuts. we want to make all the cuts. i agree with the man from massachusetts. they have to start cutting on the congressional budget. they are not willing to cut anything for themselves. they want us to be the problem solvers and the answers to solving the problem and they don't want to be part of solving the problem one single-digit --

single bit. they don't want to alter their lifestyles at all. we own the shirts on their backs. it burns me to the core. that's all i have to say. host: robert ways in on facebook. woodbridge, virginia, kevin on the republican line. caller: good morning, i'm a first-time caller. number one, i don't believe? -- even though i am a republican and i believe in fiscal conservatism and i believe we should get our budget in order, i don't believe that support should be tied to spending cuts.

there should be a sense of mecentric -- it's all about when it comes to my party and the budget cuts. there's very little humanitarian support or compassion toward others. that is just bad. host: franklin, democratic caller reported ritchie, florida. what do you think about disaster relief being tied to cuts that is on the table right now in congress? caller: i agree with the guy from virginia. i'm a first-time caller. with fema, -- i believe i should move.

i am in florida and there's hurricane season. i would hate to be left out in the cold with the cuts in fema and wondering why i had no aid. i would hate to be in that situation. when we have a decision to make on whether we should evacuate, that is something to consider when the time comes. ost: let's look at the "washington journal" coverage of the story. north carolina, thomas is a republican caller. good morning. caller: good morning.

i think everyone is missing the point. the money they wanted to take was from what they are giving general motors more or less. why should they receive a subsidy when ford and chrysler get nothing on their vehicles? that is where the money is going. host: so you say, fair trade? caller: take the money from that and put it on disaster aid. host: all but six democrats oppose the bill because it offsets $1.5 billion, 3.6 5 billion --

host: greendale, north carolina, leo joining us on our independent line. caller: i am very liberal. i would say that with the disaster relief, they paid billions of dollars for two wars that they did not pay for. so if something unexpected comes along, if they are willing to pay for it, if they want to spend money on it and cannot find a way to pay for it, they

have always done it in the past. this is just another case of them doing hostage-taking, something that i personally resent. host: let's look at some other stories in the news. and now this headline.

and looking at where the name comes from, the twist gets its name from a fed golden oldie, a 1960's dance craze in here's another story.

why 30-year-olds should be required to have insurance. and then the counterpoint is written by congressman ron paul. he says mandates make matters worse. the texas republican says there is too much involved in government and of too much mandates. he is of course a candidate for president. should disaster aid be tied to spending cuts? call caller: the answer is no. there's a reuters poll out right now that says the congress,

their rating across the country is 12%. the president is at 43% approval rating. we have 57% that says -- 50% of the voters say all the congressmen and congresswomen should be replaced in the next election. what are they doing? they are thinking they are going to sit on their fannies and not do anything and go home and get voters to vote for them again. president clinton said yesterday at his clinton's global initiative that we should not -- there should not be any tax cuts nor should there be any increases. we need to come true and a meeting here. i have worked since i was 15. i put on my facebook page.

i actually called congressman eisler's office on monday asking about the jobs bill act, which he is our congressman for this area or district, and the man that answered the phone whose name was phil said this is a political stunt by the president. what are you doing enter the phone and giving me this nonsense when i'm 63 years old and you are telling me in san diego county that this is a political stunt? he should be offering the people more information and not playing games, i told him. i told him the president is doing his job and it's time congressmen and congresswomen get out of there and gets a new blood in the air is what we need. the president is in my home state today in ohio. i was born in southeast ohio.

our people are suffering. i am the daughter of a steelworker and a granddaughter. people are suffering. aid should not be tied to anything. what they're doing is what they did last year at this time. nothing gets done and they go home and play games with lobbyists. host: let's look at a comment from twitter. roger in dallas said this by e- mail. for a different opinion we go to bob in venice, florida.

patty, republican in jacksonville, florida. caller: i think the politicians use to volunteer their time because they love their country. i have a hard time seeing all the benefits they get while this country is in so much financial trouble. if politicians went back to the way the country used to be run and would volunteer their time, they used to love their country, then we would save a lot of money. i would like to know when we last had a politician who did not get paid. host: all right. let's go to warrenton, virginia. ed on the democrats' line. caller: good morning.

a few callers back, someone mentioned about the general motors subsidies. why don't they look at these politicians who are taking all these subsidies on farm subsidies that they get? that is just money handed to them and for no reason. it is not ever reported. no one knows or ever brings up anything about all this money that they get freely. yet they can turn around and say obama is a socialist, yet they receive money from the government for free. host: all right. let's go to james, democratic caller from detroit. caller: i would like to say they shouldn't try -- tie tax cuts to their pensions. i happen to know for fact that

my pension is a whole lot smaller than my brother's and his wife. they are both federal employees. the first thing they start talking about social security. i worked 40 years and i am retired now. they start talking bout cutting it off when i first start collecting my social security. they should start looking at how big their pensions are instead of touching mind. -- mine. host: a georgia prisoner is put to death. the supreme court turned aside an appeal of a man convicted of killing a police officer. the protests draws around 1000 people. this is in georgia. troy davis convicted of killing us of and a police officer.

the u.s. supreme court declined to intervene. he was not the u.s. in may put to death on wednesday evening. in texas, white supremacist gang member lawrence brewer was put to death for the 1998 dragging death of james byrd, jr., one of the most notorious hate crimes in recent u.s. history. iran has released the american hikers. shane bauer and josh fattal, the american hikers jailed in iran on spying surcharges since 2009, where freed from prison on wednesday and flown to jordan for a reunion with family members. -- there's an op-ed nato has extended libyan rates

for another three months. and paul wolfowitz weighs in with an opinion piece saying gaddafi must still be captured, saying the this is key to the region and how he wants to see if things turn out for the libyan leader. now to mississippi, mary is a republican. caller: hello. i would like to say a comment to all the people out there who are watching tv and drinking coffee who don't have to go to work this morning. when are you going to have some compassion for all of us older people who have to get up and go to work and pay all these bills that you all are receiving? host: steve in redding,

pennsylvania. we are talking about whether disaster aid should be tied to cuts? caller: if you start with the federal government for every employee and up to $50,000, they take away 5% of their salary. over a hundred, 20%, then you take a lot of money for this country that is paid out in salary. and for anybody who is in congress, when they get extra money for being on, they should not be getting that money. in the private sector when you are on the committee in the business, if you're committed as well, you get a nice pat on the back, you don't get paid extra, because it is part of your job. that's the only idea i have to help the country as far as with the budget deficit. thanks for letting me call. host: ken writes to us from

new jersey on e-mail. cards let's go to columbia, south carolina, jesse on the republican line. caller: the best thing we need to do is cut disaster aid, but we don't need to cut disaster aid for the u.s. we need to cut disaster aid for all the countries that we give overseas. we are handing out millions every year to help honduras, brazil, and so on. people just don't see that. and cutting the deficit, if we would put welfare recipients on the same standard as unemployment, it would lower the national deficit tremendously. thank you. have a blessed day. host: duty on the democrat line in georgia -- judy.

caller: you referred to the president and his wife one time. i want to make it clear that it is the president and the first lady. all of these people who are talking about cutting the deficit, they need to realize that what they're doing is they are cutting all the money that they have been stealing on a regular basis. all of the money if they have been sending down to the poor in the educational programs and everything, all of that gets eaten up by administration and all those other types of things. all the programs given over to people sucking the life out of it and ensuring that there are no benefits from it. all the things they are talking about cutting is where all of their money is. all of those federal employees that are making all of that money, all those arty party members that have all those top positions -- all those are the party members -- are tea party

members that have all those top jobs. and there's halliburton. you need to cut out your stealing. host: another viewer says we need to cut back on overseas aid. doug weighs in on twitter -- and as bill, tennessee, sandra, republican. good morning. caller: good morning. host: should disaster aid be tied to cuts? caller: we developed a program called hands-on. we got the boy scouts and church groups to help out. it was great that we have the government as a backup, but it was most important that we took the initiative ourselves.

host: let's look at some other news mentioned about the special committee will be meeting today. it goes over the members of the committee and talks about who the top donors are to the deposition committee members. it shows from 1989 through 2011 by the political action committees, employees and members of each organization. topping the list is the club for growth. also, emily's list, --

taking a look at politics, white house hopefuls heat up. speeches and debates and balloting will continue over three days. looking at what is going on in the world of politics and elections, you can see the candidates for republican nominee face-off tonight. that is in orlando. fox news is doing this at 9:00 p.m. candidates will be facing off. sarasota, florida, sandy on our

independent line. do you think disaster aid should be tied to cost? caller: i think this whole problem is not being discussed. -- discussed properly. there's no u.s. citizen who does not want to help people in need after a disaster. everybody wants to help them. that is clear. but we are turning it into some people don't want to help and some people do and that's not what it is. it is how we fund that. the more the federal government gets involved, that is when we see the corruption or the waste. just think of it this way, the more money that is spent, being sent to washington for this kind of thing, the less money the states have and the local communities have. i don't know how many of you all are aware that the townships and counties are cutting their budgets like crazy.

a lot of this is because all of that money is being sent up to washington. so it's not a question of whether disaster relief should be provided by a government entity. the answer to that is an overwhelming yes by every single citizen. the question is which level of government should do is? -- do it? the federal government has proven to be wasteful and full of fraud and payoffs. you just mentioned the lobbyists with special committees. don't you think there is corruption there? are those the people we want spending our disaster relief money where do we want our state and local people to do be spendg eit? caller: the lady who just spoke and she said the states, all

the states are saying they don't want the federal government to do anything, they want to keep their own money. so why would we need anybody, republicans or democrats or independents going? i am 60 years old. the federal government has always sent money to the states for disasters. you have those governors and whoever else responsible for that money, just like rick perry, they took that money and paid off their debt and cannot put that money back to help people. i am tired of people calling in to say that the federal government is wasting and as fraud and abuse, when they send that money to those states. those governments are the ones that have waste, fraud, and abuse. i am a retired federal worker. i only made $39,000 and i am sick and tired of people saying that we don't pay taxes. we pay every month for our

insurance. we pay every month to the federal government. nobody is giving us anything. just because they wanted to be in the private sector and the private sector does not offer them anything, shame on them. that is all i have to say. host: joe, independent caller, philadelphia, pennsylvania. good morning caller: good morning. i am so glad i have the opportunity to speak. the biggest problems that nobody is talking about, and that is the fact that all of our jobs, the manufacturing job base has left this country and so have the federal payroll taxes, which is why the federal government is increasing taxes. in germany day for big manufacturing companies from leaving the country and still selling their product in the country. if we were to just make that move with the stroke of a pen, those jobs would not be able to

leave. it's tough to create new jobs, but there are existing jobs leaving every day. there would be more than enough money to go-around. the states would get their funding and semo would get its money, all by eliminating the fact that jobs are leaving every day. germany is one of the largest union-friendly countries in europe, yet it works. and nobody is listening. we have the greatest minds in this country, harvard graduate, university of pennsylvania, so don't tell me there's not people out there with answers. that's my comment. host: let's go to salem, new --new jersey, on the democrats' line. caller: i am calling in regard to the issue. there should not be cuts in disaster aid, because it is

needed. our president is doing as much as he can. bush did not do much. clinton did not do much. i think obama has done a lot of things he can do. in light of the stuff that has been going overseas and people getting help and they don't even want our help, why are we doing something for people overseas that don't really want are help? yet we are always doing something for them. so why are we still busybodies in other countries when we need to help our nation where it's needed, dealing with homelessness, dealing with the tragedy that happened in louisiana, different other things? there are things that still need to be done. host: let's look at a comment on facebook. and you can join the conversation there.

our handle is c-span. -- writesghts -\ / \ -- sterling, connecticut, madeleine, independent. welcome. caller: if you go your computer and a look at the foreign aid budget you can see a lot of money is being poured into afghanistan and iraq. this is not the time to cut our own foreign aid when our own american people need this money. in addition to that, perhaps we should cut back some of the pipeline support that is going through iraq, the oil pipeline. i think they will propose that to go through pakistan. i suspect we will be attacking pakistan shortly. if you look at the foreign aid budget and compare that to what our own american people, i think

we can start cutting aid to some of these countries. host: do you think that spending for disaster relief, money that goes to fema and to states and localities, should that be tied to making some of the cuts you are suggesting? caller: absolutely not. my son moved to germany and practices madison. medicine. germany continues to remain solvent, because their primary concern is their own citizens. they take care of their own first. why would we continue to pour millions of dollars into countries, primarily iraq and afghanistan. that is all tied to be building it so that we can have the oil there. perhaps we cannot cut back on

the troops going there. ge going there to rebuild, and american soldiers, but what we can cutback on is american aid. host: so you say don't try fema spending to cuts? caller: host: absolutely: in 45 minutes, a republican congressman is joining us. and now we have dennis kucinich coming up to talk about president obama. c-span competition under way for 2012, open to middle and high school student's grades 6 through 12.

we will be right back. this weekend in charlotte, north carolina. the history and literary life from the side of the 2012 democratic national convention. on c-span 2,'s banking industry.

and how the south was created and american popular culture. and learn about the relationship between independent bookstores and publishers. and on c-span 3, james polk's birthplace. a discussion with a charlotte civil-rights leader on his experiences during the 1960's lunch counter sit-in's. and visit the gold mine where gold was first discovered in america. in charlotte, north carolina, this weekend on c-span 2 and c- span3. >> in my opinion, i think the balance of academic freedom have just been pushed too far. >> in the faculty lounges, she says entitlement needs to go. >> there are professors of cooking and professors of nutritional studies who have

tenure now. a professor who is telling the party lines as we need to have someone with tenure and security studies so they can talk about immigration, because it is controversial. and that and other reasons why you not able to get a college education you paid for, sunday night on c-span. >> the joint chiefs of staff have agreed to remove the question regarding one's sexual orientation from future versions of the list and application and it will not be asked in the interim. >> this mweek marked the end of "don't ask, don't tell", which kept openly gay and lesbian service members from openly serving in the military. follow the history of "don't ask, don't tell" online,

archived and surgical at the c- span video library. >> the c-span networks, we provide coverage of politics, public affairs, nonfiction books, and american history. look for congress to continue with federal spending into november, including sending critics funding for recent natural disasters. keep tabs on the deposition committee as they formally the plan to lower the debt. and follow the president to candidates as they campaigned across the country. it's all available on television, radio, online, and social media sites. search, watch, and share any of our programs online anytime. we are live on the road with our c-span digital bus and local content vehicle. it's washington your way, the c- span networks, created by cable and provided as a public service. >> ""washington journal" continues. >host: we are joined by

congressman dennis kucinich on a conversation about progressives. you are part of the reform committee. as a job creation tool, has the obama administration those investments been worth it to you in this sector? guest: investments sometimes take a while to get a return. i had a much more aggressive approach to getting nasa involved with nasa being an incubator of green technology, then license itself to the public sector to create millions of new jobs. so many different energy technologies that we could take a new direction with. it will be interesting to see what happens in the hearing today. been a lot of concern. your committee is thinking about stepping in and doing its

own investigation. there was an investigation in the spring. the republican chairman has said he's thinking about doing an investigation. guest: if you have a half billion dollar loan that goes south, you should look at it. then't want to prejudge testimony. i want to listen to the testimony and ask questions. but as far as a green energy approach, if we don't move toward green energy, then we are trapped by oil. we are either going to plunder the earth, increase pollution, have more wars, or we will make a transition towards a greener and cleaner economy and create jobs doing it. but right now we are in a row at -- a rut caused by an addiction to oil. a few years ago wall street was

cautioning investors not to go green, to stay with oil and nuclear and coal, which are all problematic in terms of the incremental impact. so it's time -- whatever happens in this hearing, we cannot let it be the basis for trying to wreck all of the worthy enterprises that are out there and that are trying to take america and this economy in the direction that is more sustainable. host: we are talking to dennis kucinich, a democrat from ohio, a member of the oversight and government committee and the education and work force committee as well. if you would like to join the conversation, give us a call. if you are outside the united states, a different number. we have heard reports last night

about republican members of the oversight committee including chairman issa, who sent letters advocating green energy in their district. guest: i would hope most members on both sides of the aisle would be in favor of transitioning our economy away from oil dependency and towards lowering the cost of utility rates, lowering the amount of pollution to have a favorable impact on the global climate. we should be united on this because we are all affected by the environmental impact of pollution, which comes from the burning of hydrocarbons. host: the criticism on green energy, it does not surprise you? guest: congress has a right to inspect what happened with this half billion dollar loan. we should ask questions. but i think that most members realize that we cannot let the

foibles over a single loan deter us from engaging in a concerted effort to move our economy in a direction that is more sustainable and more financially independent. and so, we really should not let this hearing frame the debate over whether or not we use green energy. that would be ridiculous. host: one of the green energy projects that has been under criticism is the loan program for alternative energy vehicles, which has been the subject of some of the cuts republicans want to make for disaster aid funding. how is this going to play out? this was an article from today. guest: the american people have a right to expect that within our political system and there are democrats and republicans and they will find a way to settle differences and keep the

country going forward. it is not an extravagant expectations. we are supposed to do it. are there real differences? yes, there are, but we have to find a way to work toward -- work through those differences. there are big issues at stake. talking about a government shutdown in washington. there are 6.5 million americans on the verge of losing their homes. 14 million americans out of work. there are millions of young people who will not have a chance to go to college because their families don't have the resources any more. and elderly people word about social security. we have to start focusing on the practical applications for people and be careful that the skirmishes and political battles on capitol hill do not become the endgame. behalf to keep our eye on the bigger picture, which includes ending the war is once and for all.

i am hopeful that there will be a way to work out the differences. host: you say a big part of that is getting people back to work. what you make of the president's plan to get people back to work and his deficit reduction plan? guest: let's look at the deficit reduction plan first. $1.1 trillion is due drawdown the troops. at the same time, we hear reports that the united states may be in afghanistan through 2024, that there's a real push inside washington to stay in iraq, but the policy will drive the numbers. 10 years ago -- i have an analysis of a joint resolution on iraq that i gave the members of congress 10 years ago that stated there was no reason to go to war in iraq. joseph stieglitz, a well-known

economist has said we spent over $3 trillion on the iraq war. get out of iraq and then we would have credibility on the numbers in the budget. that's a big part of the deficit-reduction. on the jobs side, 14 million unemployed, it's good that the president will spend $140 billion on infrastructure, i believe. we need shovel-ready project. we need to get people to work now. i don't know how much that will be immediately in the pipeline. keep in mind there was a $500 million or billion dollars transportation bill that could not get the administration's approval when congressman oberstar was in congress. we need something on the scale of what he proposed two years ago to get america back to work. i introduced a bill yesterday in

the house of representatives that is aimed at creating millions of new jobs by taking a different approach with our monetary policy that would enable the government at once to finally regain its constitutional presence to be able to invest in our own country and not keep having to depend on the banks who are strangling the american economy. host: on the republican line, bill from alexandria, virginia. go ahead, bill. are you there? now to the independent line, ed from washington, indiana. caller: good morning. mr. kucinich, i wish i lived in a district where i could vote for you. i agree with almost everything you stand for and what you do. guest: thank you.

caller: i will tell you, the fact that we don't have the pipeline for natural gas along our interstate systems, it burns me up. we and the united states has no energy policy. i do not know what we have been doing since the first arab embargo back in the 1970's. i sat in line for hours and we're still doing that. it is like nobody is home. i wish you had more ability to do things and get things straightened out. host: what can you do? guest: we need an american energy policy and we need to invest in the transition and our

economy away from resources that would ruin the environment. decorates a cost on individuals in terms of their own personal health. the air that we breathe it gets polluted by certain energy sources. we need a new manufacturing policy. we need a new trade policy where we cancel -- we cancel all of our trade agreements. they are contingent on workers' rights, on cuban rights, -- on human rights, protection on the air and water. we need a different monetary policy. the big banks in this country to

another banks internationally. the caller is correct that there's something wrong in america that is not being addressed. look at this in a broadway. -- look at this in a broad way. host: what kind of poverty programs argue in support of? guest: jobs is a solution. we need to get america back to work. we have the need act that would put the fed and the treasury so it would not have the ability to be able to give $1.2 trillion to banks. this financial game would not be

and in the game. they gave back the power to create the jobs. why she would be borrowing money from banks when the constitution of the united states -- we ought to invest in our own country. we should not have to go to china to invest in america. there should not be any level of unemployment here. i have the bill anin -- host: it would dismantle the federal reserve. guest: it would create a separate monetary system. this is not about eliminating the bond market. it is a way of creating good

jobs and reducing the federal deficit and having the dollar be a stable currency. but the fed right now is out of control. they stood on the sidelines while a bubble was building. when it collapsed, they went to the taxpayer and said, bail us out. we still have banks that are not loaning money. they are standing by it -- they are accelerating the number of foreclosures so that they can clear up the housing market to set the stage for another boom- bust cycle. i reject that. we should have had mortgage modification. we need to save american homes. give people a chance of they can make their mortgage payments and

send their children to school. the government has been letting a central bank play games with other banks. mergers and acquisitions. the hell with main street. these banks are running the country for their own benefit. host: let's get some comments. caller: i believe in green energy. i have been looking into geothermal. one of the things that i learned is that the cost of drilling for geothermal, in makes it cost prohibitive. that is one area where the government can inject some money and go into the geothermal

business and drove these holes and the lines for the company's and making a more affordable for the average homeowner to put in a geothermal system and get people off propane and possibly natural-gas. gas. thank you for letting me speak this morning. guest: i appreciate the caller's interest. we need to have a search for alternatives. i'm not a scientist. i see all these earthquakes that occur. we had an extraordinary earthquake last month. i wondered how much of that drilling, that fracking that takes place has an impact on mother earth.

can you do that and this without any geological impact? i am not sure of that. i would like to see more science. think about oil as helping to lubricate various strata inside the earth. if you start to get rid of your fluids, you start to get creaky in your own body. we're messing with mother earth in a way that nature never intended. i have some concerns about the environmental impact about this drilling. host: felix is a democrat. caller: good morning. how are you on this wonderful day? host: it is good to hear from you. caller: when you need us, we are

there within a few hours. if you'll allow me like you do republicans. mr. kucinich come get your pen out and write, if you will. the payroll records for the employment records for the department of labor for 1939 until the end of bush 41. obama these quick statistics -- allow me these quick statistics. he created more jobs than bush 41 or eisenhower. 2.1 million during his term in office. increase payroll by 9.2%. six republican presidents -- five democratic republicans --

the democrats outperformed -- felix.we're losing you, guest: we should be focusing on job creation, wealth creation. we should not have the low of poverty. listen to these figures. 120 million americans have no wealth. 13,004 under households have -- this is a systemic problem were the wealth in america it is getting into fewer and fewer hands. the middle class -- there was a report that says a third of the young people born into the

middle class are going to fall out the bottom. if you don't have jobs or education, that's a problem. host: you have made comments that the president could be moved in the right direction. guest: i have said that and i stand by that. when the president is trying to create jobs, we should support that effort. the scale of job creation that is needed to bring unemployment down to a point where the country is not in critical condition economically. the scale has to be much larger. we need the scale of a new deal that would put millions back to work. some in the administration would say that the american recovery act helped.

it did help. we helped put teachers back to work, helped subsidize budgets of other governments for police and fire. that is very important. where is the money coming from? why should the government have to borrow money from banks? banks are giving us a hard time. are the banks running america? they engaged in mergers and acquisitions. the central bank put more money for foreign banks -- how about taking care of this country? the government helps bring the private sector back. we're not doing enough right now. host: we have a tweet.

are democrats wimps? guest: from my perspective, i can maintain -- it doesn't require that i run against him. it's important to challenge the president's policies to help direct a direction that would put people back to work and what protect our basic industries. the administration has been promoting trade agreements. we have to stop the direction that we're going. i think the president has the capacity to do would. whether or not the economic advisers will give them the best

set of options is another question. host: we have a headline in after the president'sagraphso speech. guest: these labels do not mean much -- liberal, conservative. tell me what you stand for. the idea of being back in sync -- i want to see the results. get people back to work. end these wars. think of all the money we spent on war. we're spending money on the wars. if we redirect the money, we would not be in this mess that we are in.

let's bring our troops back. we should be invoicing these countries for our military being there. strengthening our economy. america should not be in the difficulty it is in today. we need a shift away from the status quo on trade policy, monetary policy, defense, war, energy, job creation. america is still can do, but we have to take a different direction to do it. dennise're speaking with kucinich. watson, are you there? hello? guest: great onions. host: don from ohio.

do you have a question for the congressman? caller: i have a question on social security. guest: our things in greenville -- how are things in greenville? caller: pretty good. why are they attacking social security? they throw it out there that is in trouble. everybody has to work and would not be a problem. why are we given breaks to people working, which takes money out of social security? i was talking about being president.

as many as $1 spent to one for president. the people work for us -- you people work for us. if people -- we give some much point that you can run for president and that is all you get, it would take out the corporations that are involved, it would take out the millionaires and billionaires. everybody will be treated the same. host: that is a lot of questions. guest: 3 questions. social security is rock-solid for many years to come. the talk about the public confidence in social security is aimed at trying to open the door for wall street to be able to gain access to social security's assets and turn it

into a private pension plan. that would deprive americans who are in that system of the full benefits for which they have a right to expect. you raise the point that tax breaks -- the money is not paid into the social security trust fund. you're right. that is a problem. it could have an adverse affect long-term on social security's finance. how we finance presidential elections or federal elections. right now our country is like an option - auction. if you have public financing of elections, you of control. -- you would have control.

when the founders constructive this country, they could not imagine the kind of wealth that would be involved. this is one of the reasons why the c-span program is so great because the people have an idea of what is going on. they know the corporations are running the government and corporate money rules. the citizens united case is one example about how we've gotten away from our mission. they can use their money to influence the outcome of elections. host: you want to create the monetary authority, a policy creation of money through lending against deposits. host: another provision was the

monetary division. guest: we don't have to have any poverty. we can guarantee that people can support their families if they fall on tough times. host: is that with this provision does? guest: that is exactly right. host: how much money are we talking? guest: what ever we need. host: you'll be willing to give whatever? guest: there will be a monetary authority, management. you want to decide how much money goes into the economy, but what does it go for? i think the republicans are concerned about this. instead of looking at the when the federal

reserve was created, this was supposed to have something to do with having a moderating effect to create jobs. the fed is famous for looking the other way while the banks were determining our assets and exposing the american economy in 2008. host: this is from "the financial times" today, a warning not to do another stimulus. guest: i am proposing a broad change that would regain control of our country from wall street and the banks. this is a question of a democracy. you cannot have a political democracy if you don't have a -- more americans losing their

homes, with retirement security in jeopardy, we have to get control of the monetary power in order for us to be able to move the economy for in the interest of the american people. look at china. we have to borrow money to keep our economy going and something is wrong. my bill is a step, a dramatic step in the direction of getting control of our economy and being in a position where we can help incentivize jobs in the private sector. i'm not for the government usurping the private sector. i want to see the government provide capital so that the private sector -- does the government have a role in incentivizing growth in the economy? i think there is.

host: jim is a republican from california. caller: good morning. my comment -- it is obvious to me that the majority of republican leaders such as james demint and eric cantor, mitch mcconnell, and john boehner truly hates our president. most americans can see that. i wanted to ask about congressman joe walsh. would you please, sir, please -- host: we will move on to the democratic line from detroit, michigan, eldin. caller: good morning.

i'm right with you on everything. it doesn't seem like republicans and democrats are on the same page as far as putting this country back to work. republicans are fighting, just fighting everything. no, no, no. i'm interested in -- as far as the lobbyists and wall street, they have a stranglehold on the house and senate that nobody can get on the same page. everybody is hurting bad, exactly like you have said. guest: the short answer to your question about lobbyists, the answer is yes, unfortunately. c-span wentnews,

down the list of all of the corporations who have made contributions the would affect the work of the supercommittee. unfortunately -- linda give you an example -- let me give you an example. are you a basketball fan? imagine five players to one. i think it was like five lobbyists -- host: giving a full-court press? guest: to walk up the steps of the capital just to be able to vote. it was like it was gone wild. we have a country, a judgment

call about 10 minutes ago, he is right -- a judgment call to and about 10 minutes ago. we need to end this system, where decisions often go to the highest contributor, or the interest that contributes the most. we have to get back our country. host: david in atlanta. caller: i keep hearing the economy. the root word of the economy is eco. a lake need certain things to survive. as a country, we need to be self-sufficient. make what we buy, buy what we

make. these are generational jobs, lifelong jobs. we should not allow corporations to talk about lobbyists. constituents should be the andle -- the ceo's lobbyists, they need to deal with the president. he is the ceo of the country. host: a steady response. guest: the caller made a plea for self-sufficiency. he is right. we are losing our self- sufficiency. i am opposed to the world trade organization because the basis for the participation is that we cannot pass laws in this

country that say we want an america first steel policy, only with steel made in america. i heard of a bridge on the west coast being produced by another country. why can we create the jobs here to help our people have the jobs, send their children to school, be able to tell the health care that they need, be able to provide for their retirement security. this is were the lack of control in our economy -- underwritten by multinational corporations who don't want to have to do with retirement benefits and who do not care about health care benefits. we have to get control of our

economy again. wto.apfta, america has to be able to make things here ,bu, buy things hern a grand scale. host: are you in for the toughest election of your life? it looks like you'll be in a battle with a colleague. guest: she is a fine lady, a good public servants. the with the lines were drawn, they give the advantage to the cleveland area, 54% of the democratic vote comes from my old districts. 34% comes from my friend's district. this that advantage mean the election is easy -- does that

advantage mean the election is easy? by no means. i will say that she is my friend and i did not draw the lines. a district as my political based in cleveland. that was not my decision. host: you have about one under $49,000 -- $149,000 in the bank, almost twice what she had. guest: we try to raise money. host: your need to defeat a fellow incumbent -- guest: i'm not going to go there. i am hopeful -- this is my friend.

i know in politics is so dog eat dog. i cannot look at it that way. republicans may have given me a advantage.agenmn i'm not happy about that. i will not same thing to diminish the fine public service that she gives to this country. host: ron paul mentioned he thought you might be a good fit for a cabinet. your thoughts on those comments. guest: we have worked together to try to stop the wars. democrat, republican, or independent, people are paying more attention to presidential candidates who are saying to stop these foreign

misadventures. that is what ron paul said. we agree on the danger of fed policy. we challenged the fed's policy and tried to -- and made a call for transparency. so ron paul is a great american. he is someone that deserves consideration for the things he says. on the international policy side, he has been right. host: would you say he is the republican candidate you agree with most? guest: ron paul and i have worked together on trying to keep america out of wars. $3 trillion is the cost of the war in iraq. the because of the war in

afghanistan is over half a trillion dollars. think if people listen to ron paul and myself about these wars and if they spend money to rebuild our an american economy. we would not be worried about whether the government is going to shut down or about unemployment. we would have america thriving. we cannot keep pursuing this policy of trying to tell everybody else what to day and forget to take care of things back at home. host: there have been reports that gaddafi tried to reach out to you in the final days of his regime before tripoli fell. can you tell us about that? guest: both sides were reaching out to me. i oppose the war in libya. it was a constitutional question about whether any

president has the right to take this country into war without following a articleone one, section 8. we're in it for over a billion dollars. we were told it will last days and now to be looking at the first anniversary of the war in libya. so people of the libyan government reached out to me to try to see if i would be willing to communicate to the administration their desire for a peaceful resolution, and to take a different approach than the gaddafi government had taken. i thought that was worth listening to. i thought it was important to bring people together on both sides. it is important we find a way to resolve conflict instead of believing that the ultimate

solution to a conflict is going to be a gun. it seldom is. host: we have to leave it ther e. up next, we have steve chabot talking about the vote on palestinian statehood. you can follow us on twitter. go to twitter.com/cspanwj and hit follow. now a news update from c-span radio. >> and update on presidential politics. a new survey finds florida republicans prefer preparing by a slight margin over mitt romney -- prefer rick perry. the new poll has a margin of error of 5.1% percentage points.

the president has to all alive today to talk about his new jobs proposal. he is set to speak from a bridge that links ohio and kentucky. states ofthe homes john boehner and mitch mcconnell. the white house says that is not -- there are a record number of young adults moving in with their parents, delaying marriage, buying fewer homes, and raising kids out of wedlock. the report said to be released today. those of some of the headlines on c-span radio. -- the white house says that is not a coincidence. ♪

>> spend this weekend in charlotte, north carolina, with book tv and american history tv. the life from the democratic national convention. on both tv, the banking industry of charlotte with wrrich rothacker. and karen cox. also a visit to park wrote booroad books. birthplace.polk's a discussion with charles jones during the lunch counter citizen sit-in. book tv and american history tv

in charlotte, north carolina. this weekend on c-span2 and c- span3. >> the bounds of academic freedom have been pushed too far. >> 10 years job for life in talbot mentality needs to go. >> there are professors of nutritional studies who have tenure now. when pressed, a professor who was towing the party line will say, we need someone to have tenure and security so they can talk about immigration, even though it is controversial. >> that and other reasons why you walk of the college education you pay for. some denied on c-span some q&a." >> the joint chiefs of staff

have agreed to remove the question regarding one's sexual orientation. it will not be asked in the interim. >> this week marks the end of don't ask don't tell. more than 14,000 discharged service members can apply for reinstatement. fall the history of don't ask don't tell online at the c-span video library. >> "washington journal" continues. host: steve chabot joins us. guest: good to be with you. host: how the congress way and on this? -- weigh in on this?

guest: we have worked with foreign leaders. it is an interesting week in new york. we want the palestinians to have a state. we want to have two states, israel and a palestinian state, side by side living in peace. unfortunately, the palestinians seem bound to circumvent the process. the leeway you'll have a real state where you have the peace and security for both is the parties themselves. palestinians and the resuisraels to negotiate in good faith. i am concerned that they're trying to circumvent the process and whether they go to the security council in which president obama has made quite clear that the united states will veto that effort if it comes up to a vote.

we can't veto in the security council -- we can veto it in the security council. there would be able to upgrade their status from an observer entity to an observer state. they are not getting the state that they seek. the people themselves, the israelis and the palestinians come should be negotiating face to face. they ought not to circumvent the process. host: where's the harm? could this be a step to sitting down the discussions and could this be a good-faith effort? guest: why with the palestinians negotiate in good faith? israel has been trying to get the land for peace for a long time. it has been a long and

frustrating process. while with the palestinians negotiate in good faith if they could go around the process and get with a want at the u.n.? and gethe problem -- what they want at the u.n.? they can get with it one at the u.n. host: let's look at president obama's role in this. this is from "the wall street journal." "there can be no shortcuts to peace." what do you think of the president's stance? guest: i think the president is right, and as a republic, i

don't always agree with the president . i think they should have been more outspoken and more forceful early on in the process. if they had done so, they could have had this off at the pasts, so to speak, and maybe the palestinians would not have chosen to move forward, but that's water under the bridge at this point. i would commend the president at this point for taking this stand and for the towing, if that's what it takes. if that's the towivetoing, what it takes. i think the administration is at the right place and will take direct action, but maybe they are all low late on this and should have been more forceful

early on. host: lesser presidents speaking hear the-- let's president speaking yesterday. >> if the were that easy, it would have been accomplished by now. the israelis and palestinians ultimately will live side by side. they must reach agreement on issues that divide them, on refugees and jerusalem. the jewish people have forced a historic state. israel deserves recognition. friends of the palestinians to them no favors by ignoring this truth, just as friends of israel must recognize the need to pursue a two-state solution. host: president obama speaking

at the u.n. yesterday. guest: i agree with the president's sentiments. if we had not sent mixed messages early on in our support for israel and our insistence that the palestinians negotiate and that they cannot go to the united nations and try to circumvent the process as they are doing now, we might have been able to head this off earlier. at this point is too late and the only option the united states now has to is to veto if it ends up in the security council. then we will get some nicotine feedback to the united states from others around the world. that probably could have been avoided. i support the president. host: republicans steve chabot

from ohio. here are the numbers to call to join the conversation. host: let's look at it recent story from "the new york times." what is your involvement in the interaction with him? tell us about the experience of knowing that he recently came to congress and was welcomed warmly. guest: he gave a tremendous speech some months back. i met with him in israel and i have met with him many times over the years.

i am impressed with prime minister netanyahu. i think that he is the right leader that they need at this critical time in their history. they need to be strong. he is a strong leader. they need to convince the people to go along with compromises. kind of like nixon going to china. i like to say president obama lead on issues like medicare and medicaid because it will take a democratic president to tackle some of these issues which need to be addressed. if you have a republican president, it's easy to demagogue and say republicans don't care about seniors, and that's not true.

the prime minister is the right person at the right time. these are challenging times. the israelis feel unsettled right now. relationships with egypt, for example. there were about the muslim brotherhood. that is why it's so unfortunate that you see the palestinians now going around the process, going to the u.n., when you have is real feeling vulnerable right now. it is not the right time for them to be doing what they are doing. host: let's go to the phones. caller: good morning. the palestinians have not received results from the united states in the past several years. the united states has not been able to get the israelis to stop

building settlements. i think it is reasonable that the palestinians with you support of the rest of the world would go to the u.n. and that should make a difference. guest: i appreciate the comment. i think the united states is trying to push the party. we cannot put a lot of pressure on israel alone. it has to be on both parties to negotiate. unfortunately the palestinians have taken a number of steps recently which are not particularly helpful. the palestinian authority came to a reconciliation with the hamas. hamas controls the gaza strip

right now. they have been unhelpful. i think if you look at what their leader said when president obama and the united states got osama bin laden, the person who was behind the killing of a profit 3000 americans -- not just americans on 9/11. we got obama -- host: bin laden. guest: what does the leader of hamas say? he condemned the united states for killing of osama bin laden and calling bin laden a holy warrior. this is an organization that we part of the palestinian authority that is now going to the u.n.

the israelis are going to trust that mind set? i think not. host: jim asks us on twitter. guest: i think there is some truth in that. i would not necessarily with those that vote against this in the enemy category forever. it is some indication of who we can rely on and we cannot. the u.n. in many ways has become an organization -- it was held in honor and respect and we could trust the u.n. nowadays the clout of the u.n. and the integrity of the organization is in question. all you have to do is look to the human rights council, a

human-rights organization and you have countries like cuba and the muammar gaddafi libya -- hopefully the new libya will be a better libya. syria and china, some of the worst human-rights abuses in the world are on the u.n. human- rights council. it makes no sense at all. an organization that has high goals when it was founded some years ago is not held in the same repute that once was. host: 20 joins us from the republican line from rhode island -- tony joins us. caller: i am a proud ron paul supporter. israel has been a lot harder than palestine. let on.ou then you let

they are not some little country hiding. they have enough nukes to take care of themselves. you have a general electric and others and that is not going to change. a lot of us are going to be changing the neocon attitude that we need to be around the world. the previous caller hit it right on the head. guest: thank you. i know ron paul very well. i don't agree with him on his international affair policies. i agree with him on the domestic stuff.

israel is our strongest ally in the middle east. it is a nation that is a democracy and that they are not right and everything and we need to work with israel to make sure they are moving in the right direction as well. but i think all the money they are a force for good in the region -- by think they are a force for good in the region. they are not suppressing their own people. i think the united states chess israeli relationship has been a positive one -- i think the united states-is really a relationship has been a positive one. i think we should be there for this country that the been there over the years. host: headline in "the

washington post." us take a listen to the comments made by the israeli prime minister netanyahu after the president gave his speech at the u.n. yesterday. >> the palestinians deserve a state by state that has to make peace with israel. their attempt to shortcut this process, that attempts to give membership in the united nations, state membership will not succeed. i think the palestinians want to achieve a state with the international community, but they're not prepared to give peace to israel in return. my hope is that there will be other leaders in the world, responsible leaders that will opposed as ever to shortcut

peace negotiations and to avoid them. i think avoiding these negotiations is bad for israel and bad for the palestinians and bad for peace. host: net to note met with president obama yesterday -- netanyahu met with president obama yesterday. newspapers are reporting that net to narrow welcomed president obama -- newspapers are reporting that netanyahu wellcome's president obama's speech. guest: there has been a rift between president obama and prime minister netanyahu. there were a number of stores that the obama administration had dissed the prime minister at the white house and that they were given short shrift here and there.

we are two important countries. friends kenaf instances where things don't go the way we look like -- friends can have instances. we do want, they do what also like the two state solution, and its real-estate and a palestinian state living side by side in peace -- an israeli state and a palestinian state living side by side. to be able to trade back-and- forth, not having a fenced to separate the two entities. trade will be good for both countries. but this circumvention of the setup process for negotiations by allow the palestinians to go

to the u.n. and get a unilateral state or unilateral enhancement of their status at the u.n. is the wrong way to go. if the palestinians are successful in doing this, you're rewarding bad behavior and you'll get more bad behavior. you'll get the prefusal by the palestinians because they think they'll get their way by going to the u.n., where they will have the arab bloc that will vote with them on virtually every issue. other countries that tend to vote against the u.s. in the un will vote that way. they have a lot of oil. it is not going to happen. you what i have a palestinian state doubly recognized by the united states that will matter

us to have the two countries working together. i think the will only happen but it will not happen this way. host: a democratic caller. caller: good morning. there's been rhetoric, many pundits and your colleagues -- i like to point out that the average soldier makes $30,000 per -- $38,000 per year. you're calling our soldiers freeloaders and i do not appreciate that. i think you need to stop this type of talk. guest: i am not sure what insist you're talking about. i would not use that technology -- that terminology. our veterans deserve our respect. they put their lives on the line

for us. i wore the uniform for this country. medical care -- our veterans should be taking care of. they have earned it. people in this country do taken vanished of the system, who are on some relief lager that they should be on and some people are living off the sweat of others. we want people to be successful based on personal initiative and not just become wards of the state. we have people that are disabled and need the government's help. people able to support themselves should do so to the greatest degree possible. our veterans deserve our support and get it and need to.

host: steve chabot congressman represent ohio's first district. he is in his eighth term he is the chairman of the middle east and south asia subcommittee on foreign affairs and we are focusing on the u.n. this week but we can also ask the congressman other questions about what is going on within washington. let us hear from anna, republican from lakeland, florida. caller: good morning. guest: good morning. caller: my question and comment -- does anybody know how all of the -- how they ended up occupying palestine? everybody needs to look to britain as to why they allowed the arabs to occupy it back in

the 1930's and this is how the palestinians now claim palestine, that originally belonged to the jews. that is my question and comment. guest: it depends on how far one goes back. you are refering to colonial times basically. and great britain and germany and france and other nations, and the united states to some degree, but much less so, exercised the power all over the world in the 19th and the early 20th-century. and you had colonization of a whole range of areas including the middle east. >> were redrawn. we see it throughout africa. going along historic tribal lines, countries that don't make any sense were thrown together. we see that in iraq with the sunni and shia fighting back and forth. you could go back to colonial times, and of course, we could

go back even further thousands of years to biblical times where the jews were and where other people's work. it -- where the peoples were. but we are where we are now and both sides feel very strongly where they are at. and ultimately i think the answer is the parties themselves sitting down in good faith putting all the cards on the table, deciding what makes sense, and then ultimately having a peace agreement everybody can live with. they came pretty close at the end of president bill clinton's administration, and arafat was the leader of the palestinians at the time. alternately my understanding is that arafat pulled out of the last minute and would not go along with it and was getting virtually everything they wanted. since then we have not been that close again and unfortunately i

don't think going to the u.n. will solve the problem. host: monty weighs in on twitter -- sharing a different opinion. let's look at american opinions generally on getting a palestinian state. we have numbers here . numbers herepew research poll. -- a recent pew research poll. does this show a contradiction in u.s. policy? guest: i think it shows how they ask a question. you gotta polling that shows just about everything you want to get. i would have difficulty answering the question. if somebody says do you want a palestinian state. yes, i do, but i wanted to be negotiated between the peoples themselves, the israelis and palestinians. the united states and others can have a role in it, but circumventing the process, going

to the u.n. and doing it unilaterally, that i would oppose. and i think if you ask the question that way and explain it completely you might get a different answer than the poll. host: also this poll showing that the public in america sympathize more with the israelis and palestinians. 40% say they sympathize war -- more with israel and just 10% sympathize more with the palestinians and 21% supplies with neither side and the rest express no opinion. guest: in some ways the tables would sound inconsistent. if you are considering the israelis are 40 to 10 with the palestinians and then on the other way two to for a palestinian state. host: patrick, independent line. welcome to the program. caller: i am originally from south africa.

i grew up in south africa in the 1980's and i have been in the united states for 12 years. i am a black south africans. i am not a u.s. citizen. we were fighting the same struggles the palestinians are fighting. unfortunately for us, the president in the white house and the 1980's was ronald reagan. he was very hostile to our cause. he went to berlin and said mr. gorbachev, tear down this wall and then he turned his back on us, openly supporting the apartheid regime during his policy of construction -- constructive engagement. we see the same thing with the republican party. historical you have always been hostile to freedom movements around the world. historically. 1960's and the civil rights movement, their presidential candidate voted against the civil rights act, barry goldwater, and now -- and now they are trying to claim credit for it.

it is very unfortunate. listening to rick perry two days ago made my stomach turn. and that guy wants to be president of the united states. unfortunate. it sickens me. it is unfortunate. host: let us get the thoughts from our guests. congressman, one of the things the caller may be talking about is gov. rick perry of using the pat -- president of a policy of appeasement the other day when it comes to the palestinians. guest: relative to that, i can't necessarily speak for the presidential candidates. you will see a lot of rhetoric that it on both sides and the people have to ultimately see through that and make an informed decision. but what the gentleman said about the republican party being against civil rights around the world or in the united states is just not true. if you look at the voting rights act, the civil rights act here in the united states, for example, it was democrats who overwhelmingly voted against the passage. many more republicans voted for passage of the civil rights act

and the democrats did. so, it is just not true. and we have of faults that are more active in civil rights issues in the republican party and the democratic party on a individual basis. but it is just not true historical lead to say republicans and some way are against freedom around the world. i mean, look at how many -- under president bush, for example, you had a number of examples of muslims the zero ultimately benefit it. they wander saddam hussein and now they essentially -- they were under saddam hussein and now have a chance for freedom. in afghanistan you had a very oppressive taliban regime where women could not exit their homes without an adult male relative to go with them or they would be beaten, they could not go to school. now you have at least a chance for freedom and afghanistan. and a whole range of other examples like that. i just don't think it is true at all to say that republicans are

against freedom around the world. or in the united states. not true. host: what do you make of gov. rick perry's comments accusing the president of appeasement? guest: in some cases there is campaign rhetoric. i have not reached a decision relative to what kennedy i will support. host: is that language appropriate. do you villages the right word in? we are talking about the president speaking to the general assembly urged the supporters of a two-state solution reach out. guest: it is not terminology i personally would use. however, in a campaign, it is quite common for candidates on both sides to use more heated rhetoric when you are in the heat of battle and he is in the defeat of the battle with mitt romney and michele bachmann and others and i think it is to be expected. look at some of the rhetoric we saw between president obama and hillary clinton in the campaign last time. host: speaking election battles, our guest congressman steve

chabot lost in 2008 but won it again this past fall. a talk about the change in luck and what do you see the reclaiming of your seat signal to you as an elected official and looking for what it means for the republicans coming in to the majority? guest: i lost in that 2008 -- i have a swing district. a leadingent's -- democratic district. president obama carried my district over john mccain by 11% and that is the year i nearly lost and then president obama's policies -- whether it was the stimulus package or whether it was the health care bill, which meant we for to as obamacare, or the additional regulations in the dodd-frank bill, people just were not satisfied the president that the policies were taking us in the right direction. so there was a huge reaction to that. and a lot of republicans were elected this past time and i

happen to be one of them. which was sort of similar to what happened when i first went back in 1994. i came in with the so-called revolution -- newt gingrich, campaign for america. i happened to the board at that time and republicans had not held the house in 40 years so i came in with the first congress republicans lead in my lifetime. we lost it and i lost in 2008 and now we are back in control at least in the house. but republicans cannot control the government. we control the house. and did not even that necessarily. if you look at the vote yesterday where this cr failed. but the democrats still control the senate and they control the presidency obviously and the whole federal bureaucracy. so, we have divided government. and sometimes it does -- particularly when two parties have it, because there is a lot of strife and finger-pointing. and i think the public is really sick of that. what the public really wants, i

think, is they want republicans and democrats not just to talk about working together but actually do it. that is what we ought to be doing. it i am still hopeful we will see some of that but you do not see a whole lot of it. host: congressman steve chabot represents ohio posit first district, on but foreign affairs committee and also sits on judiciary and small business. he came in this year as a type of freshmen, but was given his status back in the ranks. guest: and we had a huge class of new members of congress, so i attended all the events with a freshman, the orientation and everything else. if a lot of being successful in congress is relationships. both across the party lines and otherwise. i tried to be an active member of this freshman class even though i am kind of an old freshman, been up around the block a few times, and tried to give advice to new members when a program. host: republican line. danny is in paris, louisiana.

caller: good morning, can you hear me? i want to speak to this representative that you have in front of you about mankind. we sophisticated animals have developed ways to kill millions of people in seconds, instead of wielding the sword where you could only tell people that you see. the palestinians and israelis and all the palace -- countries around is route 8 each other. you can't stop hate. unfortunately this nut that runs and ran right now was even feared by the ayatollah khomeini. these individuals are developing nuclear weapons and the already said what they want to do to the west and israel. israel has had the cape -- i am former military and i dealt with a nuclear weapons. israel has had the capability to destroy all of their neighbors in a matter of minutes since the late 1970's.

a you are going to let this guy in iran support hamas and other terrorist organizations whose the seoul meeting is -- in life is to destroy every is really not only in israel but on the face of the earth. it is a planned policy. iran is going to have to be dealt with. host: let us get a response from the guest. guest: i think the gentleman raises one of the more important issues in the middle east and that is iran and the fact that ahmadinejad, the leader, has stated quite clearly that his goal is to wipe israel off the face of the earth. not only does he not recognize israel as a country but he wants to wipe them off the earth and that is why he wants nuclear weapons and they are determined to get them. now, the united states and our allies have had sanctions and we have tried to put pressure on iran for years now to back off the bank of this program, but they are continuing to include more and more centrifuges and

getting the materials that are necessary and within probably a few short years they are likely to become a nuclear nation. with that mind-set, when it to wipe israel off the face of the earth, it has to be dealt with. the only way to deal with the non-militarily is to have our allies that up and it essentially blockade iran with a very, very tough sanctions. unfortunately it china and russia in particular has been supporting the efforts to do that. if we are not able to deal with it through sanctions, i think there is a reasonably good chance you will see military action sometime in the near future to take out those weapons -- whether it is of the israelis or the israelis and the united states or other allies. as iran gets nuclear weapons, i think peace in that area will be very short and the potential for the use of nuclear-weapons is there and it has to be dealt with.

host: the iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad will be speaking today at the united nations are around noon the this afternoon. also at the u.n., the british prime minister david cameron speaks, and we will also hear from the turkish prime minister. our guests, congressman chabot, it is involved in formulations issues. one day we have not talked about but what we would like to touch on is the vote in congress. yesterday the house did not vote to keep funding the government passed the end of this month. you are going on a recess next week times with the jewish holiday. where are things? is there a potential for a government shutdown? guest: i don't think so. this was sort of a bump in the road, someone unexpected. i don't want to get rid of political but i have to say honestly i think harry reid over in the senate has been playing politics on this issue. it has to do with fema funding an emergency funding which we all want to fund. the question is at what level

and can we move money around to keep the spending down somewhat. our debt is so huge now that there are a lot of conservatives especially in the house that are serious about getting the spending under control. unfortunately, yesterday, the continuing resolution, the bill that keeps government functioning temporarily of of the next several weeks went down in flames -- i voted for it, not to send it down in flames. the last thing you need will we've got this economy as unstable as it is and so many people out to work is a further negative a jolt to the economy say washington is out of control and cannot get their act together. i think we do need to keep the government functioning. i also agree we need to restrain the senate -- spending levels. there are some who felt we need to restrain them this second and harry reid once to spend more and that is the divided government i talk about. sometimes it is kind of ugly. host: a quick follow-up -- "of

the hill" phrases it this way, a loss for house speaker john boehner. what is the political fallout? guest: i think it is temporary. i think in the next couple of days you will see a compromise reached. but it is one more story that is not particularly helpful. i don't know what it will do to the stock market today. but i think it is just temporary and we will get it resolved. but we do have to deal with the long-term issues, which is spending and getting the economy moving again and getting americans back to work. when we have unemployment of over 9%, completely unacceptable. host: congressman steve chabot, thank you for being with us this morning. coming up next, we will talk about consumer credit and how the government is dealing with oversight of that. first, a news update from c-span radio. >> jobless numbers in this hour show the number of people applying for unemployment benefits fell last week, though

the decline is not enough to signal improvement in the job market. more on the global economy from reuters. and reports that britain that a leading shares were sharply lower across the board after the u.s. federal reserve said the u.s. economy faces "significant downside risk." the fed also acting to stimulate the economy with a new measure dubbed operation twist -- the purchase of long-term treasury securities to lure bargain rates. futures are down nearly 200 -- 270 points. turning to afghanistan and iraq, the u.s. beginning to withdraw troops over concern about pakistan that it expected ties with militants continues. the situation expected to come up today, but first for leon panetta after becoming secretary of defense. joining him at the witness table is outgoing joint chiefs chairman. they are also expected to discuss possible cuts in defense

spending potentially approaching $1 trillion. c-span will cover the hearing. those are some of the latest headlines on c-span radio. >> william jennings bryan, one of the best known speakers of the time and the first politician to campaign from the backs of railroad cars and automobiles. he ran for president three times and lost but the changed political history. he is one of the 14 men featured in our new weekly series, "the contenders." live from his home in lincoln, nebraska, friday at 8:00 p.m. eastern. watch our live coverage of the national book festival this weekend on book tv. saturday highlights include eugene robinson on black america, and isabelle wilkerson on african-american migration. and sunday, american spy master

wild bill donovan. david mccullough on the greater journey, americans in paris. look for our entire national book festival schedule and call- ins at booktv.org. >> of the joint chiefs of staff agreed to remove the record -- question regarding one's sexual orientation on future versions of the enlistment application and will not be asked in the engine room. >> this week marked the end of the policy that kept -- that kept of the league gay and lesbian personnel serving in the military. at service members can apply for reinstatement. follow the history of "don't ask, don't tell" online at the c-span video library. >> "washington journal" continues. host: joan goldwasser is a senior reporter at complete

years -- kick earlier is the finest magazine. people will look of the credit scores, they want to make a purchase or are concerned about their credit. tell us about what they find out and how it could be different than what a company might find out? guest: there are numerous credit scores. we always think about the credit score but it is not true. the company that created the first credit score has actually a number of credit score as they sell to lenders. in addition, the credit bureaus have their own credit scores. you never know which credit score of the particular lender is going to be using. and there is no way of knowing whether there is that much resemblance to the when you get when you go online and purchase one. host: why would there be a concern? let's say you see a score of 720 and the financing you want to

buy a home through or the credit card company that you want to get more money with, they see a difference for. why would that be a problem? guest: two ways. of the credit score you are seeing is lower, you might be discouraged and assume you cannot get the rate you want and you might go to a lender you know will be offering higher rates. that what you are penalized. and if the credit score is that you see are hired, you are going to be disappointed. that also will affect your decision and terms of mortgage or a car loan. you just aren't getting the same information the lender has a front of him. host: how do credit scoring agencies calculate the credit score? guest: a number of members. the first -- a number of measures. the first thing you have to have is one account -- credit cards, mortgage, or a loan, in existence for six months. if you only have that it is not

a lot of information and you will not get a high credit score because part of the other thing that they look at is a mix of credit and credit utilization, how much of the credit you are using. if you only have one account you are probably using all of your credit. how long your credit history it is something else. so, if you are new to this business, you obviously don't get the benefit of a long credit history because you haven't been paying these bills regularly for a long time. host: people talk about how their credit can damage their chances of getting a car loan, getting approved for a mortgage. what can one do if one has a low credit score? guest: first of all, you can make sure you don't keep spending, that you actually don't run up higher credit card bills, because that will hurt your credit utilization. if it is at all possible, you only want to use about 30% of

your available credit at any one time. you also have to make sure you pay on time. and use -- shouldn't open new charge accounts or get new credit cards right before you are applying for credit because you -- if you have to many inquiries it will hurt your credit score. host: talking to joan goldwasser. to join the conversation, call -- the new consumer financial protection board, what is its role? guest: part of what it is going to be doing is figuring out what the difference is between those credit score is that people are getting themselves and what the lenders are doing. they are going to be doing a study on this. they will look at a large number of people's records, anonymously, of course, and see actually what the difference is

between using all of the information about these individuals, finding out what the difference is between the credit score they receive and the credit score a lender users -- uses. basically the bureau is a consumer advocate. it is there to speak out for the consumer. make the rules and regulations easier to decipher. host: let's look at a recent report to congress from the consumer financial protection bureau. this is looking at exactly what you are talking about. it says -- when a consumer purchases a score from one of these companies, it is likely the concern -- credit score the consumer receives is not the one purchased and used from a lender from home but they apply for a loan. it is an educational score not used for lenders. the differences can be for other reasons and it goes on to say it can cause a lot of problems. how will it tackle this? they can study it but then what

do they do? guest: i don't know. they might issue regulations that there has to be a greater correlation. i think probably what they will do will depend on what they actually find out when they do the study. host: this is something that has been talked about for quite awhile. one article showed that the reliance on lenders looking at credit scores is actually a relatively recent phenomenon. it has not been happening all that long, to really judge from these agencies what somebody's credit score is and go from there. guest: the first credit scores were created i think in the 1950's and i think they were much more arcane and now they have become ubiquitous. you can go online and there are numerous ways in which you can purchase a credit score or there are certain websites that will even let you get a free credit score, which is an educational tool, basically a way of figuring out how am i doing.

host: let's go to the phones. first is jefferson, texas. john, democrat. good morning. caller: good morning. i would like to ask the lady about the consumer credit bureau, why they do not help the consumer. all they held is a company or -- all they help is a company or something like that. they do not help individuals. i have personally called on two different occasions, and i have been told that they do not work with individuals, that they only work with companies and co-ops. guest: it is not completely true. if they do have a new consumer complaint for on their web site, 8800 number, so if you

have a credit card complete and you have difficulty getting it resolved with your credit card issuer, you can contact them and they will forward the complaint and try to see that it gets resolved. if it is a complaint that has become common, that they start seeing a lot of people with similar issues, they will do an investigation and presumably put the weight of the bureau behind getting to the credit card issuers or whoever the party is at fault to try to resolve the complaints and a timely fashion. host: st. petersburg, florida. don, republican. caller: good morning. how're you doing today? i would like to say good morning to c-span and america. and i have one question. i would like to know whose idea it was on the cost of living calculation to drop the food and

energy from that calculation that resulted in almost three years of the aged in this country, people in social security, not getting -- people on social security not getting a raise. with the election coming up, i would like to know whose idea it was. please, this is the third time i have called c-span on this question and i have not yet gotten an answer. i don't want any generalities. i don't want any political speak and i don't want any doubletalk. all i want is who is responsible. host: while we have joan goldwasser here, do you have any questions about credit for her? caller: no. guest: this is not my area of expertise. i assume it is the bureau of labor statistics because they are the ones who create the consumer index, the cpi, which

is used to measure inflation so i would assume it was their machinations that changed in this. but we did not have much inflation -- inflation recently and that is why people are not getting colas, but i am not an expert on the actual creation of that index. host: when you get a preapproved credit card offered in the mail reporting shows it may not be as good a deal as it first appears. this is a story from "the new york daily news." you might realize the rate is several percentage points higher than advertised or you can be turned down completely because the advertised rates are for consumers with the best credit history. guest: it is true. you always have to look at the fine print, unfortunately. and you will see in many cases they will list a range of rates and they will save, if you do

not qualify you will receive a rate that is higher than the advertised rate. host: new regulations from the federal reserve are actually changing the rules on that, though. guest: once you receive an offer, but obviously then you will have to keep the credit card and they cannot raise your right for a year if it is a new credit card. you are entitled to retain the credit card rate for a year for a new card. not if you already have a card, however. then your rate can be raised at any time. host: arkansas. mike on the independent line give caller: let me say this first of all, go hogs. they will kill alabama this weekend. of the consumer credit agency, the progressive consent -- insurance company did a study and came up with the idea of the lower your credit score the

worst driver you are, therefore all of these the book got laid off, they suddenly pay more for car insurance is simply because the credit score dropped. that is a fact. progressive insurance company did that study and all the other insurance companies came on board. the governor, insurance commissioner of the state allowed that. call your governor and say this is not working. i am not a worst driver tomorrow than today because i lost my home. what does it have to do with my driving? guest: that is true. credit scores have become a good tool that measures almost anything. people might find that their credit score is being used even when they are applying for a job. it has become as ubiquitous 3- digit number and it is not totally clear obviously that it makes that much difference in whether you are qualified for a particular job or whether you are a better driver.

it was only designed to see whether you were likely to pay your debts back and on time. host: what are the laws surrounding that? is there any boundary on who can access your credit and how they can apply it? guest: lenders can pretty much access your credit score at will. you probably couldn't be turned down for a job specifically because of the credit score but they decide you could not be inappropriate person through some other way. host: let's go to long island, new york. democrat. caller: good morning. i wanted to address the issue of secrecy around the credit score. for instance, if you have a credit score of 650 or 700, there is no way for you to find out exactly how that score was derived, what is in it. and how you can i disagree with

its or argue against certain evaluations made about it. i have an issue where i have a credit score of 670. i have a mortgage. i have credit cards. i have never been delinquent, never been late, i have never gone over my limit, etc., etc. i am 59 years old. however, when i tried to protest my credit score, i couldn't. there is no mechanism to find out why you have a particular score or what is involved in making up that score. as i would like you to comment specifically on that, and i would like to hear your opinions about how this consumer agency might change that so that people would be able to have access to why their scores are what they are and they can do something about them.

right now -- what is the word? you get my point. guest: as you know, everyone is entitled to a free credit report every 12 months from each of the free credit bureaus and you go to annualcreditreport.com and that will give you the raw data and you can see what the lenders are seeing when they apply this data to make up your score. you can also determine obviously if there is any incorrect information. it is certainly worth your while it there is any incorrect information to write to the credit bureau and get it deleted because it can change your score. in terms of actually knowing how what a specific lender or fico or the credit bureau create your own score -- they are private companies and it is proprietary

information. you can go online to myfico.com and you can give the percentage weighting for each category that they use but they will not tell you specifically why your score was 650 or 600 or 700 rather than what you think it should be. i seriously doubt if the consumer financial protection bureau will be able to change that since these are private companies that are selling this information. but you are going to be seeing a lot more of your report. if you are turned down for credit now, if you receive a different rate of interest than the one you applied for, you will now be entitled to receive a copy of your actual credit score, this for the lender use, so you will be able to see it. and you might then have a conversation not -- with that

particular lender and say i don't understand why my score is this, and this is why i actually am a much better credit risk than the score might indicate. and you might be able to -- perhaps it could change the number a little bit. host: a recent story looking at credit.com, of the story of a woman whose credits or fell and she needed it to be just one point higher to qualify for a mortgage through the department of veterans affairs and she was desperately trying to figure brought how she could raise her credit by one point in a matter of days. have you heard people and counseling credit scores -- you took us through examples of ways you can work on an proving your credit but those are investments and to not happen overnight. guest: it is a really hard to raise your score overnight. the only way you might be able to do it is if you get a copy of your credit report, which is something you should get every

year anyway, and you see something that is wrong. obviously if there is incorrect information it will change your store and you should be able to get it corrected pretty quickly. otherwise it takes longer to build up a good payment history and show you are a good consumer. host: i wanted to talk to don -- he wanted to know about cola. we have the commissioner of the bureau of labor and statistics and maybe he can answer your question, don. independent caller from homestead, florida. caller: we have a credit report, a credit report score and there is a mistake. 30 days later it is corrected. then it comes back again. example is -- my son, he has a

credit to report. he has a house on his credit report which supposedly was purchased when he was not even born. we tried to make a correction to it and it keeps coming back. what can we do and what is your agency capable of doing in support of that? guest: that is the kind of problem that is incredibly frustrating for consumers and i do sympathize. obviously you should keep bothering the credit bureau and right to the cpfb and see if this is the kind of issue that they will start working on. there is -- they are a brand new agency but they want to try to help consumers and if they see a lot of similar complaints, they will do their own investigation and they will probably issue regulations that will hopefully force the credit bureaus to be a little more

responsive and to make sure that these errors get cleaned up. and also the credit bureau get to their information from other sources, and the process of making sure that all of this gets put into people's files, it obviously does not work smoothly. host: but it can have a big impact. guest: for sure. guest: if he was looking for a car loan or a credit card, it could impact his experience. joan goldwasser, a senior reporter from kiplinger's personal finance magazine. let us go to naples, florida. steve on the republicans line. good morning. caller: hello? how are you today? i have a different kind of question. i walked on my credit cards seven and a half years ago. i owe the american express 28,000, i will be set about

20,000, mastercard 20,000 -- and i have not worked since. i wonder if you could explain how this works out. they have been calling me for seven years and never answered the phone. host: how you think this works out? caller: i am told they sell the debt to somebody, say it is $10,000 and a seller for $7,000, and the guy, if he cannot get a hold of you, he sells it for $5,000. then someone says begin may $5,000 right now. immediately charging 30% -- and i owe them about $73,000 which would double every three years basically, so i owe them a quarter of a million dollars or something like that hypothetically. i just quit calling. host: did you have a game plan? caller: no, i am 63 years old and i started on social security

last year and my house is ok, i guess. but i have been trying to find a job and i cannot find a job. host: let us hear from joan goldwasser. guest: at a certain point, all of those credit card issues will disappear from your credit report. if you have a mortgage, you still have a credit report. but for the interim, it will show that all of those credit cards were not paid as promised. i can't think of the exact wording. but it will say they were not paid on time and you were in default. if you were in bankruptcy -- if you had applied for bankruptcy, it stays on your record for seven years to 10 years, and then they disappear. your issue would be you would probably have trouble getting a credit card right now obviously. if you don't need one, it will not be a problem for you. but you are right, essentially

those companies will probably stop calling you because you never replied and they will just -- and the original issuer, bank or the credit card company wrote off your debt long ago so they sort of have whites you off their books and they don't care so much about you anymore. host: 1 viewer on twitter -- is there a danger in not having a rotating credit where you have your loans and you are using your credit card when it comes to your credit score? guest: he is not a bad credit risk. he has what is called a thin file which means there is almost no information on him because he does not have any loans any does not have any credit cards, so there is nothing to show that he was paying his bills on a regular basis as agreed. for somebody like that, it might be wise to get a credit card. if you don't have to use it very much. just once a month or even every few months.

a charge something. and it doesn't have to be a lot of money. but whenever it is, you pay at off, and it will build up a file that will be there so he will have some kind of information's to show. host: young people can get in a catch-22 because they can't get a credit card because they have been credits, they are not on the record yet as being able to pay off their bills on time. they can't get a credit card and start the cycle. guest: although student loans get reported, so college students do have loans so those will get reported. and experian purchased the company that also gets reports from certain property management companies, so if you pay your rent on time, that will go into your credit card file. so they are trying to figure out a way to take care of young people or people entering the credit markets so

that they can about with them. host:, a viewer sharing on e- mail -- she says she is locked out basically of actually fixing things. guest: well, there are laws -- they do have to reply. at the fair credit reporting act has a very specific set of instructions that have to be followed by the credit bureau in terms of how long they have to reply and what happens in that process. for the consumer it can be a lengthy, involve the process. but you do have certain regulations. and you can always complain to the federal trade commission, the consumer financial protection bureau, if you are not getting a response. you just have to be a very proactive consumer.

host: trenton, new jersey. joel, independent line. caller: good morning. i have not checked my credit report for years and i went to annualcreditreport.com and they ask you multiple choice questions to verify who you are. a lot of the questions i could not answer because they were asking me -- you've got a mortgage at this bank here, the list at like four, and i have not had a mortgage. and they ask me, you lived on the street, and never lived on the street. i could not pass the test in order to get the verification. so, they would not give me my credit report. guest: there is an 800 number -- caller: then there was automated talk. it would recognize my voice. i am at a new residence so they

did not recognize that. how do i get a copy of my report? guest: i would contact my credit bureaus -- the credit bureaus it sells individually. there should be a way -- i would have to look specifically -- but there must be some way that you could contact -- annualcreditreport.com set up by the three credit bureaus and i know some of the answers are not relevant that there should be some way you could finally get verified. i can look specifically and contact you if you want to get your information directly to me at kiplinger -- jgoldwasser @kiplinger.com, because everybody by law is entitled to their credit report and you are no exception.

host: someone ask you to repeat the web site -- guest: to get your credit report is www. annualcreditreport.com. you will not get a free credit report then, but you will -- free credit score -- but you will get a copy of your free credit report and you will be offered an opportunity to purchase your credit score at the same time. you will -- can do this for each of the three major credit bureaus or you can break it up and do one every four months so you split along the 12 months of the year. host: let us talk about the history of fico. this is the company that creates the credit scoring model. how did it start? guest: they started way back in the 1950's, and they used some kind of statistical analysis and created this model that was supposed to predict how well --

how likely you were to pay your bills on time. what a good risk you were -- whether you were going to pay or whether you were not going to pay. and they started to sell this model to mortgage companies, banks, anybody who would buy a copy. host: it was founded by an engineer and a mathematician to help department stores and gas station chains to decide when to extend house credit cards to customers. it really took off in the 1990's when fannie mae and freddie mac, that form the backbone of the mortgage industry, decided to use that court in their computer programs to help decide which consumers qualify for mortgages. -- qualify for mortgages bought and sold by the company. guest: one way you walk into a department store, and they say would you like a discount price signing up, and they get an

instant score and they decide you qualify and we will give you a credit card today. host: columbia, maryland. sherry, democratic caller. caller: good morning. i have a few questions about credit -- sometimes if there is an advertisement by the bank and i will look at it, i will ask them if i can open an account id is 0 interest for 12 or so many months, but they say it you have to many credit inquiries, like you say, it really dings your credit score. when should you not have somebody check your credit score so you are not affected by it? would it also be for mortgage companies if you are trying to refinance, or just these banks that want to open an account for you or a department store? should you just totally avoid that? number two -- my fico score is

maybe 100 points or 125 points different from the credit score as i get that i purchased. that is incredibly confusing. my fico is 725 and the scores i purchase is probably 100 points higher your. i think it is so wrong to confuse people that way. these credit reporting agencies should give you the fico scores, especially when you are purchasing it. i would like to know about these dings because people need not to take advantage of people check your credit because they can be affected by it because it is so critical. guest: that is true. if you are applying for a mortgage you have certain leeway. you can go out and shop for a mortgage and talk to a number of lenders, each of whom will check your credit score, but it gets and bundled together and it is

only considered to be one inquiry if it was within a relatively short period of time. that is not usually an issue for people. host: the same thing for apartment hunting? any bundling, a series of checks that are related? guest: particularly true for mortgages. but that would work. however, obviously, if you were going to be applied for a mortgage don't go out and apply for five credit cards. it will hurt your credit score. those inquiries are not good. preapproved offers will generally not hurt your credit score is because those are called soft inquiries because they were initiated by the credit-card company. in general, if you want a new credit card, fine. but don't do it or don't apply for a bunch of them if you know you are going to be applying for a loan in the very near future. host: on twitter --

talk about the difference between the actual spot -- score versus the report? guest: less for is a 3-digit number and the fico score is between 300 and 850 and some of the other scores have slightly different numbering systems. they are sold. there are new regulations that went into effect this summer meeting you will actually receive a copy of the three- digit number if you are turned down for credit or you receive credit on less favorable terms than you applied. you will see the score that was actually used by the particular lender. but numerous companies now have made a business of creating credit scores. even fico -- as i say, there is not just one fico score. they have been in business a fairly long time and over the years they have created difference scores and a keep refining the score.

in particular lender could either decide to update the new score or could decide my business model is such that my computer systems are working just fine with what we have and i don't want to update. so, that one lender will use of the score from three years ago and the other will use the newest sport. two different lenders will be getting a slightly different score. host: peoria, illinois. independent line. caller: what you should be expressing to people is that the concept of credit cards is a sucker's bet and people should not use them. and a revolving credit is what gets people. it draws them in. we live in an over indulgent society and once they hope you, you are had. i am 58 -- a poor chap from naples, florida, he just thought

it would go away. i have never been in debt. i never had credit cards. i never will. i don't understand how people can be easily drawn. my own 23-year-old bounced a check when she was 19 and it just about kill me because i never bounced a check. the disconnect with people today about how easily they use credit cards is something i will never understand. i understand it, but i just don't get it because you don't want to be the age of that gent and be like he is with nothing, because it is a terrible place to be. please, the message should be -- use them when you need them, pay them off. don't revolve them because that is when they hope you. guest: i would agree with you completely. credit cards should be a useful tool for you, but it should not be the master of your life. and many people are switching to debit cards for that reason because then you are basically limited by the amount of money that you have in your checking account.

many young people use a debit card rather than a credit card today. host: does it boosts your credit? guest: unfortunately, debit card use does not get reported so it will not help your credit. it will not heard it, but it would not give you the good credit score at all. host: donna is asking on twitter is a short sale lowers her score. she says she has no credit problems that she is concerned about that. guest: it will probably go on her credit report as, you know, some way of saying not sold upon as agreed. probably some indication that the sale price of her home was not what it was -- or, the mortgage payment was not paid as agreed, i am assuming. host: mention them credit report, would it lower the score -- if it is mentioned on

the credit report, would it lower the score? generally -- guest: generally it was -- would lowest score but usually the three months to six months. even something like a bankruptcy, obvious -- often the damage, by the time you apply for bankruptcy your credit score does not go down much because the factors that impelled you to actually go bankrupt have been what has been lowering your credit score -- you have not been paying your bills on time, your mortgage -- so your credit score is probably already down as much as it would go, and as all of these negative factors become older and older your credit score start creeping up again. host: john is in port charlotte, florida, on the republican line. good morning. caller: over the last probably 10 years, the only inquiries i have had my credit report is for the car insurance.

two years ago i started to get inquiries on the three credit companies. i found out somebody stole my identity and then they bought a membership on the internet with an illegal credit card. they had 15 hits. i am wondering is why when they saw all the hits for the inquiries, that they did not throw a flag up to start with. guest: sometimes people are lucky and a credit-card issuer will call and say, did you just call -- go out and buy, whatever the purchase was. sometimes it gets ignored. there is no rhyme or reason as to why some companies are a little bit better at catching it. i am sorry for what i am sure has been an ordeal getting all of the negative information off of your credit report. it can take a long time and a lot of effort to do that.

host: seattle, washington. lisa, democrats' line could caller: i just wanted to ask about the german who called from florida -- gentleman who called from florida. you were telling him when something drops off of your score -- i am wondering what happens to your score when things drop off like that, all those hundred thousand dollar credit card debt that he had? and i also wanted to ask you, when you find something on your credit and it says, like he was saying, you can make a settlement offer, how does that affect your score, to settle something and not -- would ever it was? guest: when things drop off, your credit score will start rising because the negative information is not there anymore. when you make a settlement, partly it will depend exactly how it was reported. if it is rte