display of unity between the congress and the -- the caucus and the national black conference is not a pretext because we live it out every day in the districts of this nation. most of us, our churches have had partnerships with our congressman, and they have been faithful to us. we want them to know we are proud of you. we found great joy in the service you may. you have made us proud, and we never once rejected the idea that we invested the -- invested in you and you will always deliver on our part. i live in westchester, but this is my congressman. i want you, mr. chairman, to know -- let me tell you, this was not just a ceremonial partnership. from early this morning, you saw nothing but congressman. almost all this was when the legislation was being passed

because the caucus was here. on behalf of all of the pastors of our nine denominations and independent churches because we have also opened up the call this is within mainline denominations, and we are building a movement. we are not gathered for religious or ideological purposes, even though our thinking grows out of our theology. we are gathered around education, health, social justice, and poverty. when the church comes around those issues and put aside the differences that separate our people, there's no telling the impact we could have in this country, and this election season is an important test of whether or not we are serious. mr. chairman, thank you for your leadership. [applause]

>> thank you, too, mr. chairman, and staff and all the work they put into it. now let us prepared to leave from this place. now and to him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the got our savior who alone is wise, the glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever more, and the people of god said -- >> amen. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012]

thursday, the justice department addressed florida's declaration that an estimated 2700 voters were ineligible due to their citizenship status. in a letter to florida's secretary of state, the department stated that florida's actions appeared to violate the 1965 voting rights act and the 1993 national voter registration act. earlier today, a spokesman for the secretary of state said they have a year-round obligation to insure the integrity of florida's elections and said they would respond to the justice department's concerns later this week. >> despite our nation's long tradition of extending voting rights to non-ready owners and two women, to people of color, to native americans, and to younger americans, today, a growing number of our fellow citizens are worried about the same disparities, divisions, and problems that nearly five

decades ago some thought to address. in my travels across the country, i've heard a consistent from bit of concern for citizens who for the first time in their lives now have reason to believe that we are failing to live up to one of our nation's most noble ideals and that some of the achievements that define the civil rights movement now hanged again in the balance. >> attorney general eric holder gave the keynote address at the inaugural date leaders summit on voting rights. what's the rest of his address to the summit online at the c- span video library -- watch the rest of his address. >> tomorrow on "washington journal" on tuesday's wisconsin recall election. then, we discussed the belief that most european nations are increasing taxes without significantly cutting spending,

and that is making things worse for several economies. after that, an update on the situation in syria and what if anything can be done to prevent further massacres. plus, your e-mails, phone calls, and tweets. then at each sunday evening at 7:30, now through labor day weekend, american history tv features our series "the contenders." 14 key figures who ran for president and lost but changed political history. this sunday, the great compromiser, henry clay. >> it is a clarion call to people all across whenever we are doing, whether in politics or something else, to do the right thing. he also said that in a sense, politicians need to remember the country and sacrifice for the

country. that is something we need to remember as well. >> also this weekend will feature the history of which a top as part of our visit to the largest city in kansas. american history tv this week and on c-span3. sunday on "q&a." >> the problem with walter cronkite, people see him only as the family man, which he was to everybody, but there is another side to him that wanted to be the best. he was obsessed with ratings. he is probably the fiercest competitor, and i have written about presidents and generals and cronkite's desire to be the best was very pronounced. >> best selling author douglas brinkley on his new biography on longtime cbs news anchor walter cronkite. >> yesterday, the house gaveled in to begin work on 2013

spending for the energy department and federal water projects. the bill provides $32 billion while increasing funding for the u.s. nuclear weapons stockpile and fossil fuel programs. members completed work on amendments, and next week, they will take final votes. the house returns tuesday with morning our speeches at noon eastern and legislative work at 2:00. yesterday, the house leaders came to the floor to talk about next week's agenda. this is half an hour. >> the gentleman from maryland, the democratic whip. mr. cantor: i thank the gentleman from maryland, the democratic whip, for yealeding to me. mr. speaker, on monday the house is not in session. on tuesday the house will meet at noon for morning hour and 2:00 p.m. for legislative business. votes will be postponed until 6:30 p.m. on wednesday and thursday the

house will meet at 10:00 a.m. for morning hour and noon for legislative business. on friday the house will meet at 9:00 a.m. for legislative business. last votes of the week are expected no later than 3:00 p.m. mr. speaker, the house will consider a number of bills under suspension of the rules, a complete list of which will be announced by the close of business today. i expect the majority of these bills to come from the natural resources committee and i want to thank chairman doc hastings and his staff for their tireless work in assisting members on both side of the aisle with their bill to responsibly remove federal red tape that stands in the way of local economic development. members are also advised that the house will resume consideration of h.r. 5325, the energy and water development appropriations act on tuesday, our first day back next week. those wishing to offer amendments to the bill should be prepar to do so as soon as they return to washington. the house may also consider two

additional appropriations bills next week. h.r. 5855, the department of homeland security appropriations act, sponsored by representative robert aderholt, and h.r. 5882, the legislative branch appropriations act sponsored by representative andrew crenshaw. chairman al rogers and the entire appropriations committee on both sides of the aisle should be congratulated for helping to rtore the open process of allocating and prioritizing the nation's spending. finally, mr. speaker, the house will consider h.r. 436, the protect medical innovation act, a very important bill for jobs and innovation inhe medical device industry and that representative erik paulsen has sponsored. the paulsen bill will be combined with h.r. 5842, the restoring access to medication act sponsored by representative

lynn jenkins, and h.r. 1004, the medical f.s.a. improvement act sponsored by representative charles boustany. and with that i thank the gentleman and yield back. mr. hoyer: i thank the gentleman for that information, and i want to make a comment that the gentleman correctly congratulated the appropriations leadership on his side of the aisle, but i also want to observe on our side of the aisle, there has been cooperation and there has not been an effort to either delay or disassemble. that's how this should work. it has not always worked that way. i am pleased it is working. i think that is best for our institution. i think it's best for the country. so i'm pleased at that as well. i telly friend, and he knows this, according to the schedule, the house is scheduled to be in session a total of 28 days until the

august break and 41 days from now until november. in addition of those days available, of the 41, 10 are 6:30 days in which we come for an abbreviated evening session which takes half an hour to an hour to conclude afternoon debate on suspension bills. i express that concern, mr. speaker -- mr. speaker, the gallery is not in order. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is correct. the house will be in order. mr. hoyer: with the limited time we have available, mr. leader, i am very concerned, as the gentleman knows of the extraordinarily large number of very big fiscal questions that will be coming to roost at the

end of this year. my view is that we need to address those. hopefully we need to address them in a bipartisan way because if we do not address them, we will put the economy at continuing risk. the bush tax cuts, as you know, expire as of the 30th of december, 31st of december the payroll tax cut expires the 31stf december. the sustainable growth rate which we affectionately refer to as the doc fix, the alternative minimum tax, the debtimit, all come to bear at the end of the year. in addition to that, the sequester, which i think all of us believe is not the appropriate way to go, but is the way we set up to force us to take action on a comprehensive big, bold,

balanced plan. unfortunately, the supercommittee was not able to reach agreement on that. i want to say to my friend, the majority leader, i would hope that you would be urging all of us -- i will join with you in that effort urging all of us to be ready to make some tough decisions, but decisions which need to be made in order to stabilize our economy and stabilize the fiscal posture of the united states. i am hopeful that we can reach a credible, sustainable fiscal path for our country. the only way we are going to do that is if we work together in a bipartisan fashion. the gentleman and i were very successful in working on the export-import bank legislation in a bipartisan fashion in which we got over 300 votes on the floor of the house floor. the gentleman was unable to make the signing but it was signed this week. i think a very positive step

forward. i appreciated the gentleman's work on that piece of legislation, but i would like to urge the gentleman because of the extraordinarily short number odays that we have left to meet to focus on what i think some people call it a fiscal train wreck, some people call it a fiscal perfect storm, some people call it a fiscal cliff, whatever it is is will have a great impact, not only on the confidence that we can work and to make effective plans for meeting that challenge but also for getting our country on a fiscally sustainable path. i don't know if the gentleman has any comments on that but d be glad to yield to him. mr. cantor: mr. speaker, i thank the gentleman and agree with him that all of us should be very focused on the month

ahead as we approach the day which this country will by operation of law experience the largest tax increase in its history, that the sequester will be imposed, that we perhaps will face another debt ceiling vote as well as many items that the gentleman mentioned. think all of us understand the gravity of those issues. i think, mr. speaker, we've also seen in operation around here, together with the white house, the difficulties that the two sides have had in coming together on two very important issues that run thughout all of the matters that the gentleman mentioned and those two issues are health ca and taxes. and as the gentleman knows, we have put forward a solution to the health care entitlement issue which is the disproportionate cause of the unfunded liabilities of the federal budget and the

gentleman and the president and his party have rejected our lution that has been validated by the congressional budget office as an actual fix to the deficit. but to date we've noteen any kind of proposal with the gentleman, his party, or the president coming to the table saying, this is how we could fix it. all we're hearing, mr. speaker, is we need to raise taxes and we need to raise taxes on people who have been successful. and the gentleman knows that those are the two issues, the taxes and the health care fix, that we've just had real difficulty in trying to come together and so what i would say to the gentleman, we remain ready to work with him and his colleagues on the other side of the aisle to try and produce results to the american people so we can reinject some

certainty back in the minds of the american people that the economy is going to get better. and, again, we tried to focus on issues having to do with combrothe in the private sector -- growth in the private sector. how do we speak to that small business man or woman who's having difficulty now assessing what his or her taxes are going to be? how do we speak to that working mother there when she questions whether her health care will still be available given the u certainty around the obamacare -- given the uncertainty around the obamacare bill? these are things we have been trying to work together. the gulf is so wide and fill -- and philosophically dealing with health care. we share the concern about what lies ahead. i yield back. mr. hoyer: ihank the gentlema i was not trying to make political points or rhetoric in raising the issues i did. i frankly think that this esn't get us very far, i

suggest to the majority leader, and we need to get someplace. america expects us to get someplace. many of you have indicated that revenues need to be on the table. the gentleman knows that every bipartisan commission that's dealt with this says revenues need to be on the table. they say entitlements need to be on the table. neither are easy to deal with, but they must be dealt with if we are going to be responsible stewards of this nation's finances and this nation's future. and political rhetoris not going to get us there. frankly points we all want to help small business. we believe we've helped small business very substantially and very frankly you get into the analysis, small businesses did very well during the clinton administration under policies that were in place at that point in time. but that aside, we need to deal with this, and i think a number of members on your side he indicated that they understand

that everything needs to be on the table. and that is what i think as well. i think both sides have things they don't want to deal with but americans expect us to deal with tough things and make tough decisions on behalf of them and behalf of their children, behalf of their families which leads me on small business and economic growth the highway bill. we continue to be very concerned, mr. majority leader, that we have not reaed agreement on the highway bill. the senate was able to reach an overwhelmingly bipartisan agreement on the highway bill, which is a jobs bill. i was disappointed. i hope the gentleman was disappointed that the jobs numbers that came out today, 82,000 in the private sector, lost 13,000 in the public sector, net 69,000 jobs, that does not get us to where we want to be after losing millions and millions of jobs

in the previous administration and losing a substantial number of jobs in this administration before over the last 26 months we've grown four million jobs, but the hole was very deep and we're not out of it. if you don't have a job you know we're not out of it, but i would hope that we could at least, certainly our side believing, that the highway bill is a jobs bill. ray lahood, as i pointed out in the past, your former leader in your party, chairman of a subcommittee in the appropriations committee says that it's a jobs bill, but unfortunately concludes that unfortunately that bill is not passing he believes for largely political reasons. i hope that's not the case. do you have any idea of how -- of what kind of progress we're

making on the highway bill so that that bill can come to the floor before the june 30 expiration of the highway bill? authorization. i yield to my friend. mr. caor: mr. speaker, i say to the gentleman, as he knows the house has passed its bill, the senate has passed its. conference has been appointed, and obviously we're very mindful of the expiration of the current auorizing language at law and we are prepared to make sure there is no stoppage of transportation programming and funding all the way desiring a much longer term solution to the problem. i think the problem remains, as the gentleman knows, just not enough money to address all the things that the country is experiencing in terms of the needs for roads and infrastructure repair as well as the need for expansion.

as the gentleman knows, we all are mindful of the limited resources that are available to address these needs and just trying to prioritize, and i'm hopeful that the conference committee can come to a solution prior to the expiration of the authorizing language in place right now, but, again, very mindful we don't want to allow for any shutdown of any progra at the end of this month. i yield back. mr. hoyer: i tnk the gentleman and i appreciate his observation. clearly we don't want to have the authority for the highway bill to expire without action, but i will reiterate my offer to my friend, the majority leader, and say given the bipartisan, the overwhelming bipartisan support of the bill that was -- came from the other party that if we brought that bill to the floor, i will tell

the gentleman that i think we will have the overwhelming, perhaps unanimous support which would be 190 votes on our side of the aisle for that bi because we believe it is a job bill. we believe it will grow the economy. it will put people back to work, an it will give confidence to the american peop, as we did with the export-import bank, in mview, give confidence to the american people that we can come together and move forward through reaching agreement. obviously the senate was able to do that, and they did it overwhelmingly with over half of the republican conference -- caucus voting for it. in the senate and 3/4 of the senate voting for it. i would say to my friend, i think that would be a real shot in the arm for the economy, and i agree with the gentleman. certainty is important. confidence building is important, and if we did that, in my ew, and if you could

bring half of your caucus to that vote, we would pass that bill overwhelmingly and i think it would be a very positive step for the economy, very positive step for the confidence of the american people and our enomy and put people back to work. i don't know whether the gentleman wants to comment on that further, but if he does i'll yield him. mr. cantor: thank you, mr. speaker. i'd say to the gentleman i have no further comment. mr. hoyer: lastly, if i might, the student loan interest rate, as you know, will go up at the end of the this month from 3.4% to 6.8%. . that would add additional cost to nearly a million students, some $1,000 additional cost to most students. at a time where we want to make higher education so necessary for successn our country available to as many team people as we possibly can so we can be

competitive worldwide. and from our perspective further a make it in america agenda. growing our economy and getting jobs for our people. i know that there was opposition tohat reduction when it was originally on the floor in 2007. and i know there was some opposition to it earlier this year, but i also know that i think both you and the speaker have indicated now that they support that. we passed legislation on this floor which brought that down. and there's obviously very substantial disagreement and controversy with reference to the funding source given the preventive health fund used to fund the student aid. can the gentleman tell me whether or not he believes there is a possibility for us to reach agreement on how to do this? i know the speaker said this was a, quote, phony fight.

but it is a real fight and it will have real consequence it is we don't resolve our diffences. can the gentleman comment on what he believes to be the possibility of reaching agreement with the senate on the student loan bill? i yield to my friend. mr. cantor: i thank the gentleman, mr. speaker. i would say to the gentleman that the speaker and i together wi the republican leader whip in the senate have sent a letter to the president. perhaps the gentleman has seen it, suggesting a way forward on the issue of student loans so that there will not be an expiration of the subsidy provided to students. we suggested two options to allow for a continuation of a lower rate for students to be paid for by provisions which the president has suggested that he would agree to. the two options are to limit the

length of in-school interest subsidy, and the other is to revise the medicare provider tax threshold and to phase it down so that we can actually achieve savings so that we can allow for the continuation of the subsidized rates for students who are struggling under tuition bills. these are two options that we suggest. theyre bipartisan in nature. there shouldn't be any reason why we couldn't get this done prior to the expiration of the current law. i yield back. mr. hoyer: i thank the gentleman. just for his information i would be a very strong opponent of your first option which continues to want to reduce the take-home pay of federal employees. federal employees under the plans that you he passed through this house will have already been asked to pay $105 billion in reduction in pay and

benefits, $105 billion over 10 years. $10 billion per year. your suggestion that our employees have pay reduced, effectively net take-home pay reduced. in addition, the additional proposal in your reconciliation bill which would add another $78 billion to that. $183 billion in total, or $18.3 billion per year reduction in pay and benefits for federal employees. the gentleman in his state has a lot of those federal employees. they happen to be civilian employees. i know the gentleman supported the pay raise for the military personnel, which i supported as well. the gentleman's aware that largely through my tene in the congress we have treated our civilian employees and our military employees with parity. i would hope at the gentleman

would not think that continuing to go to the federal employee as we go to no other employees -- the gentleman is not interested in asking anybody else to participate more in paying for this in terms of revenues, but your side has been continuing to propose reducing the pay and benefits of the federal employees. my view is, and i have said this publicly, that if we can reach a big bold balance deal, it's balanced, but just going to one pocket, one group of people, who , studies show, depending upon what level you are working at, many are not paid comparable to their private sector. some others are. it's not a fair, balanced way to proceed. i would hope that that option would be not on the table. i know the administration put it on the table for a larger deal,

but i'm going to urge that not be an option. i know that i talked to some of your side from your state who believe that's not an option that ought to be pursued. as a matter of fact wanted to vote against the milcon bill yesterday because of a provision dealing with further reducing the pay of federal employees, the net take-home pay of federal employees. i would hope that would not be an option. i would hope we could in fact reach an option so we could contain the cost of college for young people because that's not only good for them, it's good for the competitive statute of the united states of america. with respect to the reconciliation bill that you mentioned and the -- you mentioned the fact that you were dealing with the deficit, in fact as the gentleman knows, in terms of your health care provisions, they do not within

the next 20 years get the federal budget to balance in the ryan budget, so that although you are dealing with that in some respects, it goes to balance, and therefore does not, in my opinion, give the confidence and certainty that the american economy needs and that the american citizens need. i want to ask the gentleman lastly if he expects all 12 appropriation bills -- i know we are going to do the ener and water, we have already done two of our bills, whether or not he expects all 12 appropriation bills to be on the floor, considered, and completed prior to the august break? i yield to my friend. mr. cantor: i thank the gentleman. if i could, mr. speaker, point the gentlemas attention back to the student loan issue. i specifically did not offer up the option of the federal employee pay for because i do kn that we have a difference on that. so the gentleman went and

explained the differences, we understand that. that's why we are trying to avoid differences and come together where we can agree, which is why i discussed the two other provisions which are bipartisan in nature and the president said he supports which could in a responsible fashion allow us to continue the lower rate. mr. hoyer: i don't want to interrupt other than to clarify. as i understand the two options, one was the option of making additional -- in the letter i read, maybe i'm incorrect -- you can correct me. i yield back. mr. cantor: mr. speaker, there are two options. one was the federal employee pay for in and of itself would take care of -- the reduction in the size of the federal government would have taken care of the pay-for if you will for the student loan issue. the other optn was composed of two different provisions. both of which are bipartisan in

nature, the president says he supports. one of those is toimit the length of in-school interest subsidies. the other was to revise the medicaid provider tax threshold. it was those two components th comprise option two. that is my point. so there is -- mr. hoyer: i thank the gentleman for his clarification. mr. cantor: to the point -- i'm not quite sure about the note he made about our budget not balancing within the budget window, and i would say to the gentleman, we understand that, but it is a plan that we could adopt that would provide a blueprint for getting us back on track as far as managing down the debt and deficit. and my point originally was, mr. speaker, there's been no such plan, there's been no such proffer from the president or the gentleman's side of the aisle. so in order for us to move forward, we need participation from both sides. we can't just have one side providing a solution without the ability to get that solution put

into place because the gentleman's party is in control in the other body and the white house. so how do we go about trying to find commonality if there is no proper solution? that was my point, mr. speaker. there has been no solution. balanced or not, provided by the other side. i would say lastly to the gentleman inqui about the appropriations process, we certainly maintain the position we would like to see all of our bills brought to the floor, through regular order, consistent with the speaker's policy of an open debate that we have seen thus far in the appropriations bills. we had a successful completion yesterday and we are continuing in the energy and water appropriations measure today. and as we come back next week. i yield back. mr. hoyer: i thank the gentleman for that information. i want to say to the gentleman i would disagree that there's no

plan. mr. van hollen, the ranking member of the budget committee, did in fact have a plan. presented that plan. and was voted on on this floor of the house. it did not prevail, by that is a plan which frankly was a more balanced plan from our perspective, obviously the house did not agree with that, balanced plan that in fact would have reached balance, in fact, more quickly, i belie than the ryan plan. so we do have a plan. we presented that plan. we offered it on the house floor. i voted for that plan. the overwhelming majority of party on this side of the aisle voted for that plan. so there is plan. i think the gentleman's not correct in saying we haven't offered a plan. we have. the plan has not passed. the gentleman is absolutely correct on that. senate and house have not agreed on a plan. i'm not sure they are going to be able to agree on a plan. i think that's unfortunate, but

perhaps can agree on the appropriation bills. we are hopeful that the appropriation bills will be agreed upon consistent with the agreement that we felt we had at the funding levels of $1.047 trillion foriscretionary spending. the bills that have been offered are closer to that number than i think we will find as later bills come. we don't know that, but that's speculation, the senate has agreed that we ought to mark up that figure, but we haven't marked up to that figure in the appropriation bill. but if we do -- if we complete the appropriation bills, as the gentleman says he wants to do, i think would be good to do. it's the gentleman's perspective and we'll mark to 1.027 and 1.028. that's a substantial difference, the senate, republicans and democrats, have agreed to mark

to the higher number. can thgentleman comment on whether or not at the end the day we'll be able to get agreement on what the agreement we thought we had in the budget control act? i yield to my friend. mr. cantor: mr. speaker, i just say to the gentleman, i have discussed this before in the colloquy, and i would suggest turning attention to the senate that hasn't even begun considering appropriations bills to even -- to suggest that we would come to an agreement with the senate. i think the senate's got to really start to do >> both chambers of congress return the session next week. the senate gavels in at 2:00 p.m. on monday to discuss legislation that penalizes employer who does -- employers who discriminate based on

gender. all of the senate live on c- span2. the house returns for legislative work on tuesday at 2:00 p.m. eastern on the agenda next week completing final votes on spending for the energy department and federal water projects. also possible -- more spending bills related to the homeland security department and legislative branch. the house is live on c-span. >> riding is a transactional process. it assumes reading. -- writing is a transactional process. if you have written a really wonderful novel, then one of the parts of the process is that you want readers to be enriched by it. you have to go out everything at your disposal to do that. >> author and pulitzer prize- winning novelist anna quindlen talks about her policies on

writing and life. her latest rumination on life is "lots of candles, plenty of take -- cake." starting at noon eastern on c- span2. >> in his weekly address, president obama talked about the future of the u.s. economy and ways to create jobs, focusing on the importance of creating jobs for veterans, speaking at a manufacturing facility in minneapolis. following an with the republican response is texas senator john corning, speaking about u.s. tax policy and job creation -- texas senator john cornyn. ." >> i'm aware of honeywell's mfg. wasilla is in minnesota where i just announced a step that will make it easier for companies to hire returning service members with the skills our country needs right now, another of our efforts to make sure no american who fights for this country abroad has to fight for a job when they come home.

that is like -- that is why businesses like honeywell are answering our challenge to hire 100,000 post-9/11 veterans and their spouses by the end of next year. it is why i have selected the government to hire 200,000 veterans so far. because our country needs their talent and because millions of americans are still looking for a job here right now, this country is still fighting our way back from the worst economic crisis since the great depression. the economy is growing again, but not as fast as we would like. businesses have created almost 4.3 million new jobs over the last 27 months, but as we have learned in this week's jobs report, we are not created them fast enough. just like last year at this time, our economy faces serious head winds. gas prices are starting to come down again, but when they spiked over the last few months, it hit people's wallets pretty hard. the crisis in europe's economy is casting a shadow on our own. all of this makes it even more challenging to fully recover and

lay the foundation for an economy that is built to last, but from the moment we first took action to prevent another depression, we knew the road to recovery would not be easy. we knew it would take time, that there would be ups and downs along the way, but we also knew that if we were willing to act wisely and boldly and together, if we were willing to keep at it and never quit, we would come back stronger. nothing has shaken my faith in that belief. we will come back stronger. we do that better days ahead, and it is because of you. i place my bets on american workers and american businesses any day of the week. you are the reason our automotive industry has come roaring back, the reason manufacturing is hiring at its fastest pace since the 1990's. you work hard and play by the rules. you deserve leaders who will do the same, who will do whatever it takes to fight for the middle class and grow this economy faster. because while we cannot fully

control everything that happens in other parts of the world, there are plenty of things we can control here at home, plenty of steps we can take right now to continue to create jobs and grow this economy. i sent congress a jobs bill last september full of the kinds of bipartisan ideas that would have put our fellow americans back to work and help to reinforce our economy against those outside shots and send them a plan that would have reduced the deficit by $4 trillion in a way that is balanced, that pays for the job- creating investments we need by cutting unnecessary spending and asking the wealthiest americans to pay a little more in taxes. since then, congress has only passed a few parts of that jobs bill, like a bill that allows congress to keep a little more of your paychecks every week, -- that allows americans to keep a little more of your paycheck every week, and that is important. congress needs to act now. there's no excuse for that, not once a many people are still

looking for work, not when so many people are still struggling to pay the bills. my message to congress is -- let's get to work. right now congress should pass a bill to help states even more layoffs so we can put thousands of teachers and firefighters and police officers back on the job. congress should have passed a bill a long time ago to put thousands of construction workers back on the job rebuilding our roads and bridges and roadways. instead of just talking a good game about job creators, congress should give small business owners a tax break for hiring more workers and hearing -- paying them higher wages. let's get all that done. congress should give every responsible home or the opportunity to save an average of $3,000 a year by refinancing their mortgage. next week, there is a vote in congress on a bill that would give working women the tools they need to demand equal pay for equal work, injuring paycheck fairness for women should be a no-brainer, and the need to pass that bill.

right now, congress also needs to extend tax credits for clean energy manufacturers that are set to expire at the end of the year so we do not walk away from 40,000 good jobs that are being created. it is long past time for congress to end the tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas and use that money to cover moving expenses for companies that are bringing jobs back to america. it is not lost on anybody that this is an election year, but we have got responsibilities that are bigger than any election. we have got responsibilities to you. with so many people struggling to get by, now is not the time to play politics. now is not the time for congress to sit on its hands. the american people expect their leaders to work hard no matter what your it is. that is what i intend to do. i expect aircraft and republicans to join me. >> hello. i am texas senator john cornyn.

as the 2012 election campaign heats up, rather than hope and change, president obama has opted for fear and envy. meanwhile, millions of american workers remain unemployed, and our biggest national problems loom large one of the leadership americans deserve. gimmicks will not solve those problems. january will bring us the largest tax increase in american history unless congress acts. some have called it tax-mag eddon. make no mistake. every single working american will see his or her taxes go up january 1 absent action. family budgets will be squeezed tighter appear disposable income will shrink, and many jobs will be destroyed. this would be a body blow for our economy, and it could easily push us back into a recession. everyone knows that, including the president, who seems to prefer campaigning to governing, demonstrating a disappointing

unwillingness to lead. since president obama took office, millions of households across the country have seen their incomes shrink, while the cost of health care, food, and gasoline have greatly increased. yet, the president still seems to think that there's nothing wrong with our economy that a tax increase on job creators will not solve. the resulting uncertainty over federal taxes has been deeply harmful to our economic recovery. after all, if you are a business owner, why would you hire new employees or make substantial investments in you not know what your tax rates will be on january 1? why would you expect the economy to improve when president obama has repeatedly indicated his belief that the problem is not the federal government spends too much but that taxes are too low? raising taxes is the last thing we should do amid the weakest economic recovery since world war ii. unfortunately, even if we avoid the full tax-mageddon scenario,

president obama's new health care law includes a new surtax that will help -- hampered investment, which is the lifeblood of private-sector job creation. i would remind president in 2010, 47 house democrats signed a letter that said, cash and raising taxes on capital gains and dividends could discourage individuals and businesses from saving and investing." that was true in 2010, and it is true in 2012. the good news is that we now have an emerging bipartisan consensus on tax reform. the bad news is that president obama is missing in action. the bipartisan consensus is simple -- we should lower the rates and broaden the base. that would make our tax system more logical, more efficient, and more conducive to strong economic growth. but we will not get real tax

reform until we get real presidential leadership. the time for action is now. the longer president obama dithers, the greater the harm to our economy. republicans have made clear our position -- we are eager to prevent the largest tax increase in american history, and we do not see any reason for delay. we sincerely hope the president will work with us to save jobs, protect family incomes, and strengthen the economy. that is what most americans want, and that is what they deserve. thank you. >> tonight, remarks from donald trump at the north carolina republican party convention, criticizing the leadership of president obama and again raising the issue of his birthplace. he also focused on why he believes u.s. economic potential is being marginalized by countries like china. he has endorsed mitt romney for president and recently hosted a campaign fund-raiser for him in las vegas. you can watch donald trump plaza

comments tonight from greensboro at 10:25 eastern on c-span. >> each sunday evening at 7:30 now through labor day weekend, american history teachers our series "the contenders." 14 key political figures who ran for president and lost but changed political history. this sunday, the great compromiser, henry clay. >> his famous comment, "i would rather be right than be president," was like a clarion call to people all over the country to do the right thing. he also said that in a sense, politicians needed to remember the country and sacrifice for the country. >> also this weekend, we will feature the history of wichita as part of our visit to the largest city in kansas. this weekend on c-span3. >> sunday on "q&a" -- >> sunday on "q&a" -- >>