then, the future of fannie mae and freddie mac. host: in the papers this morning, "the wall street journal" arguing that appointees to the board are are constitutional. you can add to the lowest of private dinners the president has been hosting. bill clinton and hillary clinton meeting with the president. former massachusetts democrat are at a farewell ceremony for venezuelan leader hugo chavez. some members of congress are doing that osama bin laden's

son-in-law should head to guantanamo bay. tsa will allow small knives to be taken on board along with small bats. the rules go into effect in april. for the next 45 minutes we want to get your thoughts on these changes on what you can bring on board. perhaps you agree or disagree or you think other things should be brought on board as well. here is your chance to weigh in. the tsa allowing small mice and golf clubs and the likes being allowed on air plaplanes. if you want to reach out on our social media platforms -- tsa has a website that will

allow you to see what you will be able to bring on board when these rules go into affect in april. it gives you a visual of the things you can bring. you cannot bring anything with a fixed blade. the blade can not be wider than a half inch. it cannot lock. there are some other examples as well. these are the things that are now qualified as far as what you can bring on board. aside from the small knives there are some other things you can bring on. they are also allowing things like golf clubs, ski poles, lacrosse sticks, hockey sticks, and the like. the cause of the category of sports equipment. we have new worlds for knives, new rules for sports equipment. these changes are set to go into

effect in april. it is already getting some reaction from those in the flight industry. this is "abc" saying, -- that is just a reaction from delta's ceo.

for the first 45 minutes we want to get your thoughts on these changes and what you think about them. if you want to give us a call, 202-585-3880 for democrats. 202-585-3881 for republicans 202-585-3882 for independents. you can also respond to us on twitter and facebook. we will start off with glen in winter haven on the phone for are democrats offline. what do you think about the changes? caller: i think they should not happen. it seems that the rules have been relaxed. if you consider what the difference is between a small box cutter -- it is still a knife.

it doesn't matter what configuration it comes in. all you need is one incident to happen in this country. that means one plane or airline our passenger gets hijacked and it goes down or gets blown up. we go right back to 9/11. we shouldn't relax the rules because people complain. they tend to forget what happened. they say, "we're secure now." we're not. what do you do with all of these small knives at the airport? there are tons of them. maybe it is an inventory problem. what do we do with all the stuff that we collected? i think it is a bigger problem

for the airlines because what you do with all of this access? host: the flight attendants' union also weighing in, we will read that in a little bit. we will give you an example of what is going to be allowed on flights, especially when it comes to knives and the like. certain requirements -- you will see a picture on the website of what you are allowed to bring along. this is bill from the republican line in michigan. caller: a very simple comment, i think the tsa should allow each airline to make that decision for themselves. >> why not make it a policy from the tsa? caller: i think the government has been way too involved,

especially now. the board involved the more confusing it gets -- the more they get involved the more confusing it gets. the airlines actually have the people in place, the people that work in the cabins. whoever is in contact with the public while the flight is in the air should be responsible. i do not see any reason why anyone should be able to carry a weapon on board. host: there are still some that are not allowed to read some of the requirements for knives not allowed on board is that the blade as longer than 2.36 inches.

if the blade has a fixed blade or multi grip, those of the knives that are not allowed. we are getting your thoughts on these changes. here is twitter -- next up, we will hear from stanley from massachusetts on our independent line. caller: i carried two box cutters at all times to carry seat belts in cars. it is only a 38 7 inch long blade. how do you know a guy on the plane would not use these

capabilities? host: as far as allowing these types of knives on the plane, what? caller: the little ones? it is like my box cutters. they're just too big to fit in my pocket. host: so the nice to not prove a threat? caller: no. i also assume the pilot -- they have a gun in there. host: middleton is up next. it joining us from west virginia. democrats line. caller: everybody wants to talk about bringing those little lives on to the airplane. in a tin can do as much damage -- that little night is going to be no worse than somebody

carrying an 8-pin. i carry a knife in my pocket all the time. host: along with knives it is also certain types of sporting equipment. those don't prove to be a threat in your opinion? caller: they do not. they have to take our stuff. they should have the right. host: that as middleton from west virginia. stella from twitter says -- here is the news release that

features the opinion from the flight attendants coalition. "this policy reversal is against the best interest of the security of crew and passengers in the aircraft cabin and we will stop at nothing to fight it. we encourage all those who agree and wish to join our growing coalition to sign the petition. the continued ban on dangerous

objects is an integral player in aviation security and must remain in place." hamilton montana, independent line. caller: i am with that statement. i have been desensitized going through tsa. i fly air lot. they check in down in mexico. i think the stewardesses and everyone involved in the plane, they have a valid -- why not just throw your luggage in the plane? as soon as you get off the plane, if you have to have that knife put it back in your pocket. i just want to tell america something -- host: we had people calling in saying this is not a threat at all. caller: those are good people

that probably would not stab or threaten anybody on a plane. these are good people calling in tweet we have all been put under tremendous pressure here in the united states because we went to war in iraq and it was a false- flag war. it is all to take care of the oil companies. it is an abomination what has happened against all of the american people. tsa wouldn't have a job if we oidn't jhave people like george bush. host: roanoke, texas. independent line. caller: i look at it like -- if

everybody else has a weapon and you are a thing king of doing something, you are going to think twice. host: we are kind of rolling in these things and allowing them back aboard -- what is that say you as far as flight security? caller: you can look at it like the airlines are making up rates on their security systems. better searches when you get on a plane. i kind of think that with progress -- after a while you can just keep going. i carry a carry on bag when i travel for a day or two. host: if there are things you cannot bring on, dc think there

are steps that should be added to that list? caller: with the golf clubs and sticks, they are going to far. smaller items i agree with. i understand some of the liquids and all that. i think they are doing ok. you have a bad apple in every bunch. host: that is larry in roanoke, texas. this week tsa announced changes for things you can carry on. golf clubs and novelty bats are described as being allowed on. we are asking about the change in policy and what you think about it, if you are concerned about safety because of these changes. delta's ceo is concerned, the flight attendants union is concerned as well. you can weigh in. you can give us a call or write out on twitter.

the question is can you take down the aircraft, which is no. facebook.com/cspan is the facebook page. mark in new jersey on the independent line. caller: the thing that bothers me about this -- if i had it my way i would go back to pre-9/11 times. we have to take a consideration that the terrorists only had box cutters. what is the difference between a box cutter and a little knife? it is the same thing. i would also like to say that we need to be more careful. what about incoming flights from other countries? i do not think they have the security that we have here in

the united states. host: in the papers this morning, it picked up the defense secretary chuck hagel in afghanistan this morning. -- a picture of the defense secretary chuck hagel in afghanistan this morning. he looks to transfer responsibility to the central government, army, and police in afghanistan. he also acknowledged that another goal for the visit was to get a better understanding of where we are in afghanistan as the american and allied role shifts from combat. an explosion in afghanistan from about a mile from where chuck hagel is.

pennsylvania,ha democrats line -- caller: i do not think it is a good idea because i think you can make anything into a weapon. these pool sticks and golf

clubs, if you break them the appointee. they could make a weapon out of them. i do not think we should give them anything to work with. the knives have to be collapsible. you can make them stabilized if you want to. i think we should leave things the way they are. >> you may have heard some say that we have better layers of security in and outside of the airplane and maybe it is time to allow some changes to what we can bring on than what took place in the past. caller: i do not think we should get waxed. that was our problem from the beginning. we should be relaxed -- we should not be relaxed. we are changing things should not be changed. host: bill is up next from florida. he is gone. let us go to brian in pennsylvania.

democrats line -- caller: i wanted to comment on the nymknives. the sequester going into effect with the furloughs of the tsa employees, this may be more of a political statement to say we have to cut back on security. they talked about 90 minutes lines at airports. it is probably a political statement. it is not something i think we should change because it has been 11.5 years since september 11 without incident. it is just another statement of the political landscape in washington. host: you may have seen a story about someone who was allowed to bring on a fake bomb.

it is a write up that take place in the pages of "the new york post."

this is ed from spokane, washington. caller: i think it is extremely dangerous to allow anything like knives on airplanes. i can killed a 250 pound deer with a small knife. it is really stupid on their part. host: why so? caller: if i can kill a 300 pound deer with a penknife, think of what somebody can do to a human on an airplane. host: one must assume the cockpit doors are reinforced. the pilot does not intend to open the door no matter what. that goes to the larger issue of security, pen knives and the like.

a new decision by the tse will allow other things to be brought on board as well. you heard from peter king, the transportation security administrator. we are welcoming your thoughts this morning as we spend some time there. later on we will talk about the new unemployment numbers that came out guest today, 7.7%. we will talk about how millenniums are reacting to the economy. -- how millennials are reacting to the economy. we go to bill from covington, georgia on the democrats' line.

caller: if they are going to take bombs in their underwear and get away with it, we might as well have ars and bazookas. those governments do not seem to do anything right. host: gale from new jersey, republican line -- caller: i know a couple of people to wear stewardesses on 9/11. i think they are out of their mind to allow that. host: why so? caller: because if it happened before it could happen again. box cutters and 2.5 inch knives are no different. i think it is foolish. host: has security changed? caller: i do not generally fly but my daughter does on occasion. i am quite offended by that.

i worked after a friend's daughter died on 9/11. he told me his wife was talking to his daughter and his daughter started screaming into the phone. they never got anything back to bury. host: you are welcome to call in on the line that best represents you. 585-3880 for democrats. 585-3881 for republicans. 585-3882 for independents. the headline says --

if you go to the pages of " the denver post," here is the headline --

joseph from new jersey on the independent line, thank you for joining us. caller: prior to 9/11, the faa wanted to reinforce all concrete doors on all airliners in the u.s. because that would cost millions of dollars the airline lobbied congress to stop it. the terrorists were able to gain access to the cockpits. now they have spent the money, the doors are secured.

if they do not open the doors for any reason, unless somebody takes on a bomb, they are not going to be able to take the airplane down. it is kind of silly to debate about knives. host: that is just a from new jersey. next up, miami, democrats line -- caller: good morning. i cannot believe that we are actually talking about bringing knives on airlines in spite of what happened on 9/11. to me, it is so nonsensical. it is a common-sense decision. why are we even talking about this when the system is not even fixed? why cannot people take knives as cargo? why do we have to take on airlines? it does not make any kind of sense.

this country is backwards. i cannot believe we are even talking about this. we have so many of these decisions we need to make. it is totally ridiculous. host: we are going to talk about unemployment in the next session. did get a sense of whether you approved the decision are not. caller: i do not approve it. it makes absolutely no sense. why would you have nice on airline? it is box cutters that brought the airplanes down in 9/11. it makes absolutely no sense. host: that is marvelous from miami. here is a story from "baltimore sun," --

it says that what he is accused of is swearing allegiance to bin laden and asking others to do so on the morning of september 11 -- "the washington post" has a

photo, take a look at funeral services for hugo chavez. that funeral took place yesterday. you may have had a chance to see it on c-span last night and into today. a little bit of the ceremony took place. you should know the united states sent a delegation, including rep gregory neeson. the united states does not have an ambassador in venezuela. the rev. jesse jackson led a prayer he called upon got to build a bridge between venezuela and the obama administration. there is the video from the funeral service. if you want to see more of that in its translated form from our web site is where you can go and find that. we have about 10 minutes or so

talking about the decision of tsa to allow small knives on board starting in april. we are getting your reaction to that. adam from north carolina on the independent line -- caller: ultimately if you look at the larger scope here, what seems to be transpiring is that everybody plays "the sky is falling." because the sequester is gone is beingthe tea tsa gutted and reduced. it is going to have a dramatic affect on our safety levels. if you get people worried, you get a response. that is what i think this is about. i do not blame one side or the

other. i blame both sides. i think it is more of the games system. i also think in each instance where there has been the ability to establish a better situation over all that is more sustainable -- it is one technology has been able to proceed the common notion of manpower. i think if the tsa and our government would elect the option of allowing better technology within the terminals themselves you would not have problems like newark, new jersey. that is a horrible airport. it is preposterous. host: on the knife's decision itself, what you think? caller: i think it is not a good idea.

i think if they have a specific decision now they are going to have to come up with exactly the criteria -- in my personal opinion, and this is just my opinion, this is a slippery slope. when you open the doors to allowing many other problems to manifest that could have been very much alleviated by a simple technology introduction. and then you take care of the fact that you have all of these workers that have to be removed because of the sequestered. that is adam from new york. this is from twitter -- front page of "the wall street journal has this story," --

new york, democrats line -- caller: think the use of knives

on planes will lend itself to a bad situation. even though captains and pilots are in the cockpit, which is secure, there could always be a hostage situation created. human intuition is to help other people, especially if you are on a plane. it is probably going to cause a situation where if something were to happen it would be a hostage inside the main cabin, forcing the cap to and to open the door -- the captain to open the door. host: off twitter -- alex from southern california,

republican line -- hos caller: i think it is a disgrace and a smack in the face of what happened in 2001. these terrorists used box cutters. these knives are just as lethal. anything that can harm a human or effect the mechanics of the plate whatsoever should not be allowed on. just like assault rifles and hunting, it does not need happened. nice, as small as they are, do not need to be on a plane. if you cannot handle that then drive or take a bus. i have a son who is very fragile. he sees a knife and starts to

shake and emotionally get very upset. knives in general are still lethal. i think it is this just disgusting. host: you think this will shape or affect whether you fly in the future? caller: for the last couple of years i have tapered off on the flying. i have flown the once or twice a year versus 10 times. the shoes, belts, everything has to be taken off. technology will help that in the next five years. it has just gotten to be too crowded. host: sam off of twitter asks about private planes. an army reporter says the army

still has trouble -- another call from california on the independent line -- caller: back in the day we used to carry fingernails' files. we had divnice. my father would have the ninth set for when we were having vacations so he could cut the fish when fishing. i find it unbelievable that because of box cutters all of a sudden there is this panic of

"no knives," "no this," "no that." at some time it becomes minutia. at what level are we going? to what level are we going to create this in tropical forests of fear? -- this centripetal force of fear? a lot -- and they broke a $400 piece of luggage, pry it open, and then put in "we are sorry, this is what we had to do."

and then they put all the parts that broke into a plastic bag into my luggage. i think they have to get more control and start really bringing down the whole fear situation and making people nervous. host: north korea is back in the news. tensions building as the army bricks' contact. the right --

misery is our next caller, democrats line -- caller: i want to give to us to the lady from california who called in and basically said my position. let me say this, i am shameful. a bunch of callers calling in and talking about the small pocket knives. the people gain access to the cockpit on 911. the cockpit had secured.

these knives are not going to bring the plane down. you take a hostage on a plane right now. i have a bottle of wine and can create a sharp object. those who are willing to give up their liberty for freedom and safety do not deserve neither. this is shameful. host: a story in "the wall street journal," taking a look at suicides at gun ranges.

tracy is up next on the republican line. caller: in 2005 they allowed in screwdrivers, scissors, metal sisters with 4 inch blades. the sky has not fallen. we have had no problems. what we need to show to the

viewer is is a picture of what is allowed in, in terms of screwdrivers and knitting needles and then compare it to the small little guys that are going to be allowed on now. i think if people can see that they would have a better sense of perspective on what is going on. >> we show the guys that were going on. caller: i know you have been showing the nice. if the show the comparison of what is allowed in in terms of scissors and screwdrivers. and then compare that, it is quite remarkable. host: there is the picture from tsa. and this is what is not allowed on board. the previous picture was what you can allowed on board see book carolina, thank you for holding on. caller: i was wondering who originated the story that box cutters were on the plane in the first place.

host: i do not know offhand. caller: issues is still alive. host: the last call on this story. caller: i was looking to agree with the lady from california and missouri. my wife carries a penknife with her all the time in her handbag. we always have to have it shipped back when we go on a flight, which is kind of ridiculous. host: how much does that cost you? caller: just a few bucks but it is still kind of silly. the box cutters sure caused a lot of havoc on 9-11. no one suspected what they were going to end up doing. people cannot possibly imagine what those people would end up

doing by holding them up with those box cutters. i think it is about time we got rid of all of this scare tactic type stuff and go back to a normal life. now that we know the extreme that can happen it will never happen again. host: this is "the new york post," saying -- and this is from the business section of "the washington post" this morning, saying --

coming up on our program, the unemployment rate, 7.7%. we are on the top two chris rugaber on what that means and what it says not only about the job picture but also the future of the economy. later on, the national campus leadership council's andy maccracken. the president talked about the jobs numbers in his recent radio address. you will get a chance to see that and get the republican reaction from u.s. senators. here they are. >> our businesses have created jobs every month for three years straight.

nearly three 6.4 million jobs. new homes are being built and sold at a faster pace. we need to do everything we can to keep that momentum going. that means asking ourselves three questions every day -- how do we make america a magnet for new jobs? how do we equip more people with the skills those jobs required? and how do we make sure that your hard work leads to a decent living? that has to be our driving focus, our north star. in a time when our businesses are gaining a little bit more traction the last thing we should do is allow washington politics to get in the way. you deserve better than the same political gridlock and refusal to compromise that has taken place over the last several years. >> his plans are focused on growing government, not the economy.

he has no effective plan to create better jobs, more hiring, or rising wages. that is what is missing. apparently the federal government is perfect and requires no reform. that would explain why our senate democrats have refused to pass a legally mandated 10-year budget plan in four years. republicans passed these "no budget, no pay" measure. >> "washington journal" continues. host: he is the economics reporter here to talk about the numbers. 7.7%. caller: it was a good report. the rate is now at a four year low.

it had been stuck near 8% for six months. some of the drop did come from people dropping out of the labor force, even people who gave up looking for work or some retirees. when people are not looking for jobs they are not counted as unemployed. there were two hundred 36,000 new jobs and we now have had for months in a row of 200,000 more -- two hundred thousand or more jobs per month. it seems employers are willing to hire. they are continuing to add jobs and slowly bring down the unemployment rate. host: confidence in the economy over all -- caller: exactly. we had these tax increases that took place on january 1. people are worried about the sequester, the budget cuts that

kicked in on march 1. businesses across the country have clearly seen -- are still hiring. host: 1 of the headlines describes the labor market at a turning point. are there numbers that show that some type of turn is happening? caller: yes and no. this consistent job gains -- there is a list of of nervousness. we did in the -- we get good numbers in january and february and that it slows in the spring and summer. there are some concerns that the impacts of these government spending cuts may come in later in the year. with the rate coming down again and with these consisted job gains it does seem that this is a different level. two hundred thousand and above we have had for four months is

definitely better than we have seen since the recession ended. host: 236,000 jobs added. that brings our unemployment rate at 7.7%. our guest is here to talk about it. if you want to talk about the results from yesterday, talk about your outlook on the economy here is your chance to do so. we divided the lines regionally. 202-585-3880 if you live in the eastern and central time zones. 202-585-3881 if you live in the mountain and pacific time zones. if you are on a point -- if you are unemployed, 202-585-3883. you can tell us about your job search. tell us about your story and we

will take that into our discussion. there is a classification known as u-6. what does it mean for the economy? you have to look at those figures if you want to get a better sense of what the 7.7 figure means. we have seen an increase there since the recession ended in 2009. there are a lot of people who have had part-time jobs, maybe at retail stores, and they would like full-time work. and then you have people -- someone who has been unemployed for a year, perhaps, and they have given up looking for work. some may have gone back to school. the u-6 includes these people and gives a sense on how bad the

unemployment problem is. that is a higher number, 14.3%. it has come down. the record high was 17.4% a couple of years ago. there is definitely a pool of people not captured by the rate. host: what about the category of people that are giving up altogether because they are discouraged about their job prospects? how did a factor in? caller: most of them fall into the u-6. it captures people who are out -- work but who have not w but to have looked in the past year but not the past month. there are people who have worked

within the past year that are outside of u-6. that is a group nearly 7 million strong. they are not really included in any of the rates. host: when you look at the unemployment rate and breaks it down -- for men, 7.1%. for women 7%. for teenagers, 25.1%. whites, 6.8%. as those numbers change in the past few cycles? guest: it does tell you a lot about how it is different for different folks. there is no question about that. the african american rate has jumped around a bit.

the thing that has changed recently -- there has been a drop in unemployment rate for those with a high-school diploma or less. that has come down recently, maybe as a result of construction jobs coming back. there is a theory that that is getting -- host: we will look at the breakdown of categories of jobs in a little bit. if you want to ask questions about the figures that came out and what they mean to you, the numbers will be on the screen to talk to our guest. we divided them regionally and for those of you who are unemployed there is a special line. 7.7% is the current unemployment rate. as you look at that figure, you

are up first from oregon. good morning. caller: i am retired air force. i finished my master's degree. i am having a very difficult time finding several employment. the jobs that they are offering are starting at $11 per hour. that is the first concern that i have. the second concern is regarding inflation as far as gasoline prices and grocery expenses. they went up substantially in oregon. my main question is -- the senate was occupied by the majority and they talked a big jobs game. clearly there has not been any legislation related to it.

i am very concerned, looking around in my community, even by local community is just devastated. there are no jobs. with a master's degree to take an $11 per hour job, i will take it but it is pretty rough. host: what is the reaction from potential employers when they look at your resonate and what you have accomplished? caller: it is pretty good but that is the going rate. that is a sign of inflation. i have extensive experience in human-resources as a director. i now have a master's in community counseling. i am trying to start a private practice but it is very difficult to do. there is no resource available.

not from the federal government, from the state. they are very real problems. i am really concerned that we have not heard anything about jobs from this administration. host: thank you for your time and input. guest: definitely you hear people struggling with the pay levels. we just have generally trailed inflation for most of the past few years. that is starting to turn around a little bit. it is getting better but there is no question that people are running into what you are running into, because there is such a high level of employment and has been high for five years now. the employers do not feel they have to offer more money. they think they have the pick of

all of these people are out of work. inflation itself is not particularly high. gas prices have gone up recently. when you have to pay levels below and not really increasing much, that makes any price increase seem that much worse. in the past couple of months, we have seen signs of things like average hourly pay in ahead of inflation for the first time. it will take some time for people to feel that they have caught up. host: with the numbers that were released, why not a bitter reaction from the white house? guest: they are cautious about two things. they do not want to seem happy when unemployment is still 7.7%. they want to highlight what they think the impact of the sequester will be. they want to keep the pressure on republicans to keep coming up with a republican -- come up with some kind of alternative.

i saw as the caller, it is interesting that we are not hearing too much more about the -- as far as the caller, it is interesting that we are not hearing to been much more about the deficit. host: is a question could shave off sir 0.57% from gdp growth in 2013 and cost the economy 1 million jobs over this year and the next. guest: i have seen estimates of 700,000 jobs. the concern is that government workers would be laid off in the defense department and elsewhere. a lot of government workers would probably take furloughs, meaning temporary base here and there without pay. that may not show up as job losses. a lot of government contractors may lose work. contractors have expressed concern that they may have to cut jobs. many economists expect that we

will see a drop. we will not be getting these 200,000 plus jobs per month was these stocks -- cuts kick in. host: what is the impact in the washington d.c. metro area as opposed to other places in the united states? guest: there will be an impact in the defense industry and in virginia. this area has done a little better over the past years with the ramp up in security and defense spending after 9/11. this area has been a little better in terms of jobs and income than the rest of the country. the washington, d.c. area may see some of the pressure of the rest of the country has seen. host: we have a line set aside for those who are unemployed. ernie, tell us your story. caller: not much of a story.

i have been unemployed for a little more than a year. i do not understand what the media is not putting more pressure on congress about passing this jobs bill, this infrastructure bill that has been there for two years already. it seems like the republicans almost do not want to see this country prosper. they have a serious problem that if they -- if we get full employment, they will not get in anymore. host: you have been unemployed a year. what did you do? caller: i was a driver. it's kind of rough. i am ok. host: have you been actively looking for work? caller: off and on. i have a little nest day. i am resting right now.

host: have you collected unemployment? caller: no, no unemployment. i just saved my money when i was a little younger. host: that is ernie from the bronx. guest: there has not been a lot of talk specifically about jobs. the administration proposed a jobs bill two years ago billernie was -- ago like ernie was saying. as many people have heard, the republicans in congress are a little more skeptical of that approach, with the focus on spending cuts and so forth. there has not been a lot of interest in that approach. republicans have their own ideas about corporate tax structures and boosting growth in that way. with the two parties at

loggerheads, neither of those ideas have made a lot of progress. host: off of twitter i will interpret what this vierer says -- viewer says. how many types of jobs with less than a $40,000 a year salary. i do not know if the labor department calculates that. guest: there are part-time jobs. a lot of the recent jobs created have been part time. there is no question about it. it is a technical issue in terms of how they calculate that. under 40,000 a year, they do not track as closely. they do attract the types of jobs and we know in general what they pay. a lot of jobs something created since the recession ended four years ago. they have been low paying, retail, restaurants, hotels, a

fair amount of temporary jobs. that is seen as a good sign because employers might hire temporary workers before they hired be permanent. no question that temporary jobs do not have been a sense and sometimes are. recently, we have seen some pickup in the types of jobs. we have seen more accounting jobs and more professional jobs and more engineering-information technology. construction jobs have turned around in the past months. host: 73,000 jobs in the professional-business services sector. in the professional sector, 38,000 jobs created according to what was released yesterday. guest: once and 50,000 construction jobs created -- 150,000 construction jobs created. we are seeing in the to more of the better paying jobs coming in right now. one of the things we saw

yesterday is not only more part- time jobs have been trading in recent months. a lot of people are taking more than one job, for better or worse. that is a sign that people are taking multiple part-time jobs. host: what about health care? guest: people always need health care. it is the aging population. it has grown all throughout the recession. that category includes high- paying and low-paying jobs. nurses, doctors, physician assistants, home health care aides and folks on the lower end. there is no question that health care has been a jobs program in a lot of ways for a decade or more. host: from houston, texas,

samuel joins us. caller: i am 24-years old. this is the first time i have ever heard of the real unemployment rate. my concern is that we are not giving this president any credit for creating jobs. whenever he creates jobs, we have to bring out real unemployment rates. i assume that has always been the case, but nobody has brought it up under previous presidents. i just wanted to get your take on that. guest: there is more attention to it now because the headline rate is high and unemployment has been a problem. we are paying more attention to all of these numbers. there has definitely been a real job creation for the past three or four years. it is probably as fast or has not been as fast as some previous recessions. there are a lot of different reasons for that, not

necessarily political. for a long time, we had a bad housing market. housing usually recovers. we had a bad housing bubble and a bust. we did not have the housing market recovery until now. it is one of those things that has been a little bit slower. he reeled unemployment rates, the u6, is only officially calculated since 1994. is a relatively new figure. it has come down at the same rate that you read about. host: the new york post has a story about another thing. people with two jobs. it shows that 340,000 workers with more than one job -- the biggest monthly gain in 16 years. seven teen 0.2 people -- 17. million people collected two paychecks. -- 17.2 million people collected

two paychecks. employers are testing the waters. guest: 7.2 million that have more than one of is definitely up. --17.2 million people have more than one job is definitely up. we are not in a new area. multiple job holders sell-off. some of that is just coming back. there is no question that more people are taking part time, multiple part-time jobs. when you mention to the employer's testing the waters, the hope would be that some of those -- employers testing the waters, the hope would be that some of those part-time jobs with become full-time jobs. caller: thank you for taking my call. i am listening to you describe the environment.

hopefully, you can tell me what it's going on in my world of i.t. host: how long have you been unemployed? caller: i have been unemployed for two and a half years. i am in my early forties. i accordingly i.t. for a good 10 plus years. with everything that is one on in congress and in the media, i do not feel good about my future. i bought a house in 2006. i have been trying to stay alive. chine not to eat out of a garbage, trying to -- trying not to eat out of the garbage in trying to keep my heat on and have some dignity.

i hear crazy optimistic discussions but nothing of real substance. nothing that is going to say, we will take care of our american workers. we will put people like me, who have two degrees and tons of experience that to work and do so in a dignified manner. maybe you can land to the discussion. we can talk about part-time jobs all day. when are we going to get back to putting americans to work? host: one more question about your situation. when do you think led to you losing your job in the i.t. yields? was in a job in business or a change in the fields? caller: i could not put a reason on it. the macro economic of farming in general land itself pretty deeply -- macroeconomic

environment in general lends itself pretty deeply to what i was doing. i have two or three job interviews every month that go to the final round and i get turned away. when it comes to part-time work, i get laughed at because i am overqualified. i have been told in some instances that i have never made enough money in my life. i have heard every excuse in the books -- under the sun rather. it is absolutely befuddling how i could turn unreal read the news and listen to congress debate about sure i'll things. they are not getting pp ure -- puerilke things without getting to the point. guest: we want full-time jobs

and we want to get people back to work full time. the long-term unemployed, the situation you are looking at, is definitely a problem and is huge. yesterday's report did not have too much to show in progress. there is no the two ways about it. the number of long-term unemployed people who have been out of work six months or longer did increase last month to about 4.8 million. the percentage of people left out of for that long is higher since the recession ended and is higher than in time in our recent history. there is plenty of anecdotal evidence that employers are nervous about hiring people who have been out of work. i do not want to be discouraging. it is going to be an issue even as we see some progress in the economy and see a little bit of hiring. the issue of kidding folks who have been out of work -- getting

folks who have been out of work for a year or more back to work is going to be a key challenge. it is true in every industry, including i.t. i have spoken to plenty of i.t. people in your situation and with the rapid turnover in software there are plenty of people in your industry to run into these challenges. host: our next caller is from silver spring, maryland. this is u.s. senator denise wittington. are having a meeting for those trying to find a job. we are asking if they are asking their boss for a letter of recommendation. we are trying to get you prepared for this upcoming year in reference to your job. it is going to be at the long branch community center, 8700 connie branch road on monday,

march 11. 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.. i took barbara mikulski's place and she is no longer in politics. i am going to different communities and trying to see if we can assist you in finding jobs. if you are in the job, prepare you just in case something is coming. i hope everybody comes out. my number is301-495-7799. -- is 301-495-7799. i know we will be working together to see that everyone gets into a job and that we create new jobs. host: talk about the reaction from constituents. what are you hearing from

constituents? caller: some of them did not have jobs. we had an extension last year for unemployment. i do not know if we will get that extension again. we have to be preparing ourselves. i hope each community can come and help itself to meet the community needs. this is u.s. senator denise wittington. guest: networking is a key to getting people back into the workforce. there are stories about how often people get jobs through people they know or through networking, either on social networks or in person. host: nancy michigan is up next.

-- lansing, michigan is up next. caller: i have some information to you -- for you. canada had a minimum wage of $4.25. the canadian minimum wage -- the canadian minimum wage is $10.25. a couple of things i would like to address. i have been listening on foreign radio. the ceo's and the corporate pay is being investigated, particularly in europe because the corporate pay that we have is excellent to say the least. yesterday, -- the culprit pay is exorbitant, to say the least --

corporate pay is exorbitant. in regard to the stimulus, i believe that has become a political situation. the stimulus does provide jobs. it has provided jobs in our area. republicans do not want the president to get any credit for providing any type of jobs. the people who get the stimulus -- the stimulus, they spend money. he learned stand hire somebody. it is self-evident. i am interested in finding out when our politicians will pay attention to the corporate pay

rates and different things. it is terrible when a company sent home 1000 workers, but there ceo kits a $2 million increase. guest: there are a lot of issues there. there is some evidence showing there has been an increase in income equality and in the past few years. president obama has proposed raising the minimum wage in the united states. we will see what kind of progress that makes in congress. the congress on both sides of the issue are concerned that a higher minimum wage could discourage employers from hiring. others say they have been studying it. alan krueger conducted a study with other economists showing that some states would -- with higher minimum wages that other states did not necessarily lose

jobs. that has been a debate for a long time. the stimulus is political. after president obama implemented his stimulus in 2009, some studies showed gains of 1 million or more jobs. some disagree with that. some are skeptical of the numbers or say that the money could be spent in different ways or if we had not spend the money, we would have less of a deficit than we do not. host: on either -- our line for the unemployed, this is christa. i want to talk about -- caller: i am a dentist in massachusetts. i have been unemployed for a long time. i had a business that was destroyed by the state very unfairly. someone did something to renege on an agreement for office space.

the board attacked me for that, claiming nine -- claiming i abandoned the patients. they destroyed my business. i had not harmed anyone and committing any sort of fraud. people need to understand that sometimes the government gets in the way of people being successful and puts them in a situation where they are unemployed. now i am only in massachusetts. i am not licensed in any other states like cannot move around the country to get licensed in your else. this has hardly a lot. host: as far as your practice, how large is it now if you do practice? caller: i am not practicing. the government does not do anything to help you start a business. if they destroy your business, they give you absolutely nothing. i never got a penny of unemployment benefits. i have spent down my savings just trying to survive.

host: i understand now. thank you for your input. guest: a lot of republicans in washington argued that regulation of a lot of different industries have -- has held that job growth. many republicans like to point to industries like energy, finance, and even health care and say the regulations in this area and the obama administration's health-care reform are holding that jobs reform in these areas. people on the other side point out there has been job growth in energy and health care. those concerns about regulation are definitely out there. you usually hear from republicans in congress. host: the labor department said the average work week for all 4.5 oyees went up0.1% to 3

hours. -- went up 0.15 to 34.5 hours. guest: in general, those are good signs. people may feel it reflects the fact that we are working more after the recession and companies frequently lay people off. those who remain behind had to do more work. the trend seems to show that when we have a longer workweek and companies are working people longer, the next step is to usually hire more people. working people longer means there is more business and more customers and more people spending money and there is more business. that is a good thing. the hope is that the next step is hiring. the number is getting up to the

historical norm, if i remember correctly. there is not much more. it is one to be hard for employers to get much more out of people. the next step should be more hiring. there are modest increases in pay levels. in the past year, we have seen pay go up 2.1%. that is ahead of the inflation rate, which was 1.7%. it is not big. for most of the past them years or so, the annual gains in wages were lower than the inflation rate. now that we are a little bit ahead, that is a good thing. host: from michigan, hello. caller: i would like to office -- offered the opposite side of the coin when referring to lansing, michigan. a woman talks about stimulus creating jobs and minimum wage.

i am a small business owner in lansing, michigan. the amount of businesses that were lost because of the stimulus was incredible. every block, there are at least two our three businesses that went out of businesses -- business that went -- went out of business because of the stimulus because it was a rush job. how many employees and businesses did they put out of work? nobody has ever done an inspection on that. second of all, the minimum wage. the minimum wage is only used in prescription form union wage jobs. i am tired of people saying the minimum wage should go up. it can only be put off if the business owner can afford it. it is not like you get $10 from

the government to raise the minimum wage. you have to pay it. as a small business owner, i have had to cut my pay so i can keep my employees. i am tired of union members using the minimum wage for their base to decide how much their employees can be paid. host: that is from michigan. test and we have seen small business's struggle through the risk -- not guest: we have seen small businesses struggle through the recession and into the recovery. larger companies have been the leading people adding jobs, multinational companies that have business overseas and are making things and they are doing better. they have been hiring overseas.

they have done some hiring in the united states. small businesses have been struggling more. it is usually harder for a small business to get credit. i do not know if that is something the caller has experience. there are a lot of small- business owners who have used their homes for collateral to get more loans. home values until recently have fallen steadily. that has been a problem. small businesses are not hiring as much. there are some signs recently -- one private company, adp, tries to divide up between small, medium, and large. they have seen a pickup in small-business hiring. hopefully that is a sign of things can mean better. is still the early days of that trend. host: the revisions when it comes to numbers. you can fill in the blanks. the change in non-farm payroll

in december was revised to 219,000. the change for january was revised to 119,000. guest: those are makes revisions. every month they are refi. sometimes they can be pretty big. -- every month they are refis -- revised. last month, we saw some big revisions. in general, the revisions have been hired. most of the time, when the government has revised the number is, they as -- they have revise them higher than the initial report. when the revisions are upward, it is a reflection of things can better. the reason the revisions are done is that they frequently get more information.

they get 80% of the companies they survey report in time for the first cut. they get more numbers in later. usually the numbers are from smaller companies. the fact that there is a revision up in most cases is a suggestion that maybe some of the small companies are doing better. it usually reflects new or numbers. they do not always to get the attention that the initial numbers get. host: paul is on our line for those who are unemployed. the morning. caller: good morning. i am also one of the long-term unemployed. next month will be three years. the reason people are getting second jobs is because employers do not want to hire you. some tell you the unemployed should not even apply. when i was hitting my -- for

three months, they would not hire me. how can somebody stop looking for work? i went back to school. i went for a medical assistant. i graduated and got into the mayor's program, which is a jobs program to help us with all kinds of issues. we have meetings. i just want my dignity that. i am willing and capable of working 3 i am 49 years old. i have for that two hospitals -- i am unwilling and capable of working. i am 49 years old. it is disrespectful to the people of america. sometimes i get on the bus and follow the crowds. i have two big manila envelopes of jobs i have applied to. i would never give up. host: that is called from east

orange, new jersey. he been since he was 49. how does a that into people of that age looking for work -- age factor into people looking for work. yesterday unemployment spells are almost always longer. that is what paul is experiencing. it is tough. some people wonder if age is a factor in terms of people not wanting to hire. in recent years, there has been a spike in age discrimination complaints. it gets back to what one of the earlier callers mentioned. i hear it a lot from people in this same situation. older workers, qualify, with experience. they look for a part-time job that is below their level of experience and people will not hire them because they are worried that they will not stay.

that is definitely a problem people in that age bracket experienced people -- a spread experience. it takes them long to find new jobs. host: this is the last call. the morning -- the morning. caller: i listened to someone in michigan talking about being overqualified for a job and i just heard that that bank -- that guy from new jersey. what advice do you give to people to open their own business? will they get help with lawrence for small businesses? -- loans for small businesses? guest: we have seen some fluctuation.

there is an increase in self employed people going out on their own. as far as advice, there are some signs that things are starting to change. it is a little easier to do some of these things syria there are online freelancing theory houses and things like that. it is definitely something you are seeing people turn to as it is harder for folks to find work. more and more will try to see if they can go out on their own. host: as far as the next jobs number, what happens between now and the release of that as far as the -- as far as information that comes out? we saw the results of what went into effect in the da's number. guest: it will be a few months before we see the impact of the

cuts. the number of people looking for unemployment benefits is an and canada. it can be volatile and fluctuate a lot. it has come down -- the number of people looking for unemployment benefits is a factor. the next report will be for march. most economists say we will not see the impact of the governments cuts until april or may. host: this is christopher rugaber. he is with the associated press. thank you for your time. coming up, we will talk about millennial is -- millennials. andy maccracken will join us to talk about the millennial vote issues. later, is the federal government placed - poised -- poised to get

out of the federal loan business? >> and early american wife supportive husband's career usually through entertainment. dolly was socially adept and politically savvy. she could structure into came in such a way that she could lobby for her husband under the guise of entertainment. she thought it was important to create a setting in the white house, almost like a stage for the performance of her husband and the conduct of politics and diplomacy.

>> first lady and dolly madison, wife of the fourth president, james madison. monday at 9 eastern on c-span and c-span 3. >> the united states patent and trademark office is one of the few federal agencies that is actually designated to exist in the constitution. patents and trademarks are a fairly modern invention. the first half and -- patents were royal grants given to inventors for a monopoly on their inventions. they were popular in england and continental europe. the constitution takes it one step further. this is for useful inventions. from the beginning, novelty was a key aspect of the patent office's role.

each model has a tag with it. each of the tax is kind on by a piece of red ribbon. this little piece of red ribbon is one of the supposedly a originations of the phrase "red tape." it is hard to tell this was originally red ribbon that each one of these was tied on. it wasn't until the attack was tied on and the patent was approved that you would cut through all of the red tape. originally, that meant -- patent models were supposed to show the operation of an item. each of these models working with a full-scale version would work. >> tour the national inventors's, fame and museum on american artifacts on c-span 3. >> "washington journal"

continues. host: joining us now is andy maccracken, the executive director,the national campus leadership council. we are here to talk about millennial voters. purse tell us about your organization. guest: the national campus leadership council works to amplify the level of student influence nationwide and in communities around colleges. host: with that in mind, we are using the term millennial, how you define a millennial voter? guest: you could look at academic studies the issue -- that define it as those born after 1982. we look at the college population. a lot of leadership is coming from young people and it is trying to tap into our college

leaders and folks who are elected by their peers on college campuses. host: how much of a response have you have from those on capitol hill to concerns of that age group? guest: it depends on the issue. one of the major issues we work with and a primary concern of students around the country is called the portability and the student debt that we have. when we worked on the issue in the past, last summer, engines rates were scheduled to double on july 1. -- interest rates were scheduled to double on july 1. we went with 280 student body presidents around the country. we sent an open letter to the president and to members of congress and try to drive the message in the media. we were able to have a part in those rates stay low for another

year. host: as far as meetings on capitol hill amongst the age group you are talking about, talk about what you do to make your voice heard and the reaction you have gotten personally from meeting with those in and around the washington, d.c. area. guest: what we are able to bring to the table is that we have developed a relationship with the student leaders around the country. we have been able to let those conversations inform the perspective that we try to share on the hill or at the white house. there is a strong reception from people who want to hear about the issues young people are facing. people want to hear what is happening on the ground level from the campus as we work with.

host: our guest to talk about the millennium vote, andy maccracken from the national campus leadership council. if you want to talk about millennial voters and getting them into the political process, the number is 202-737-0002 for republicans. 202-737-0002 for democrats and 202-628-0205 four independents. we have a line especially for college students. we talked about the unemployment rate going down to 7.7%. talk about that rate in relation to the people you represent. and it -- guest: the and apply a rate for

young people is well over two times the national rate. we are looking at the unemployment rate for young people. what are the the percussions and what are the economic issues? -- what are the repercussions and what are the economic issues. we are facing enormous challenges as young people coming out of college and young people who are outside of school. host: utah to the government and those who represent the government -- you talk to the government and those who represent the government. what about those on the academic side and pay for college and things like that? guest: we have been working with campuses on an individual level and trying to find out about ideas and initiatives to reduce the cost of college as well as trying to figure out how we can connect to two leaders on

a statewide level to work with legislators to make sure we are not raising tuition or cutting investment. over the last 10 years, we have seen investments at the state level dropped by 20% for higher education. it is no surprise that the cost of college at public institutions has gone up by 66%. when you look at those issues, everyone has skin in the game. families with affordable education for their kids and students to not want all of the student loan debt. employers are a crucial stakeholder in the issue. they want a well-educated work force. they won strong consumers who are coming out of school. -- they want strong consumers who are coming out of school. students are able to make some big life decisions like purchasing a home or buying a car. everyone has a role to play in

making college more affordable. parts of the challenge is that the problems become so enormous that there is $1 trillion in outstanding student debt in the country. the economy is the 16th largest in the world. we are working with student leaders to try to connect them with business leaders and academics and policy makers to make sure we are able to solve this in a comprehensive way. host: how has the obama administration done to resolve some of these issues? guest: they have done a good job. a lot of it has been driven by student gains in student leadership. we have seen expansion of health programs. we have seen programs that sometimes are not well known among student communities like public-service loan forgiveness or repayment plans that are designed to help students who are in a lot of debt better manage those payments when they

come out of school. he national campus leadership council is working with resources that are available to try to connect the information out there about these programs to better educate college campuses and college leaders to become more financially literate when it comes to financing your college education. host: you talk about economic issues. we have a viewer on twitter that says many millennia voters were uninspired until they heard the gop proposals when it came to women's rights, gay marriage, voting. guest: there are plenty of pools and organizations that work on where our generation falls on social issues. young people did come out to vote. we saw this whole narrative going into the election that young people are apathetic, young people do not matter in this election. more mellenials voted and senior

citizens. it is a strong demonstration of the power that students had in 2012. it replicates what happened in 2000 -- 2008. host: online learning is going to burst the economic and academic bubble. talk about the future of education as it goes online. guest: there are a lot of interesting innovations coming around in terms of technology. outside of the national campus leadership council, i am able to work at american university. how do we create a 21st century education.

online education is going to be a crucial component of trying to make college more affordable and more accessible to folks outside of the normal world of academia. an interesting project i heard about yesterday was taking place with a student body president yesterday at the missouri university of science and technology. he is working on an initiative to combine co-op experiences with long-term, full-time employment while students are going to school and combine it with online education so that the students are able to get rid of their credits as they are working, but be paid to go to school and learn in an interactive and hands on sort of way. host: another education question. what do you want the government to do to fix the decision you freely make yourself? guest: one of the major

challenges with student loan debt is that we have seen the cost of college is rising. more concerning is the level of state investment. it has been declining dramatically over the last decade. when we are talking of a student debt, it is absolutely in the public interest to make sure it does not overburden some. i do not think anybody is saying we should eliminate the need for educational loans. there are folks coming out of school with debt that you cannot get out of and you cannot discharge it in bankruptcy. it has an effect on your ability to go out and buy a home or buy a car or start a family. we have seen studies on that. home ownership is at a 30-year low for people under the age of 35. we contribute that to student debt. it is in the public interest to start looking at how we can

address the drivers of education and make sure we are making a strategic investment, spending sparked money -- smart money to make sure colleges affordable and accessible and to mitigate student debt for students coming out of school, graduating, and trying to find jobs. host: our first call is on our democratic line. caller: i appreciate your leadership abilities, young man. can you address the issue of propaganda on the campuses with the 18 year-old. in high school starting to vote and getting active online an enrollment through high school and college. they are not getting a real view and a real scope of the issues. they are being hustled in to vote. they are excited about that, but they are not having a real depth of knowledge on what the issues are and how they are voting.

could you talk about that a little bit on the campuses? what do you think about taking the age to 21 to attend -- to vote and with parental involvement at 21 and over and not 18? guest: you raise a wonderful person and. in making sure voters are educated and go into people's -- you may a wonderful -- jma -- make a wonderful point in making sure voters are educated. we wanted to make sure voter outreach programs that you mentioned on campuses are trying to inform voters in a more comprehensive way so that it is not just, you are a warm body,

we need you in the polls and we need you to pull this lever. here are the issues and here is what it should be important to you. students matter electoral it. they are getting in case because of the magnitude of the issues we are facing. that is probably the largest motivating factor. we see how the decisions in washington and state capitals around the country are directly impacting our lives. we have been able to work with student leaders around campus to make sure we are educating students on those issues and that it is not just a matter of trying to sway folks to one side or the other, that they are making decisions in their own best interests. host: we have a line for college students if you want to weigh in on this issue. our next call is from larry on our independent line.

caller: i have a question about the pay scale for college professors and if that contributed to the inordinate amount of student college debt. guest: speaking of the salary of college professors as cost drivers, i think the issues areas with different institutions. that is why we have been trying to approach the issue on a community by community basis to make sure student leaders on an individual campus are able to assess the issues at their own school and figure out ways to bring in key stakeholder is what it is demonstrators or faculty or business leaders in the community -- stakeholders whether it is administrators or faculty or business leaders in the community. in virginia, there was a study done four years ago that found

that every dollar the state average and invest in higher education, it comes back as $1.39 in tax revenue and $13 in gdp. we look at how we make those investments and there are a lot of areas to figure out where universities can cut costs. as well as making sure that our public institutions and colleges in general and financial aid programs are well funded so we are investing in the next generation. host: on our democratic line, carrie. , bank i want to say how proud we are. i want to know if you think -- caller: first, i want to say how proud we are. i want to know if you think the future generation will stay involved the way they are now.

guest: that is a wonderful question, carrie. because of the magnitude of the issues we are talking about now, we do not have another choice. we have seen strong student leadership forming over the last few years. the national campus leadership council is working with a nonpartisan group of student leaders. state capitols and communities and what happens affects young people. anything that affects young people in an economic way effects earned long-term economy as a country. -- affects our long-term economy as a country. young people are looking at how we can do better. we need more engagement. it needs to be sustained in engagement. as our generation is moving out of school and graduating from college and moving into the workforce and try to find a job, we are still taking an active

role in trying to improve our situation, not just for our own future finances, but recognizing it has a strong impact on the economy long term. hopefully, we will set something up for the generation after. host: our guest is the executive director of the national campus leadership council. how did you get involved in politics? guest: i got involved back in high school, if you can believe it. during the 2006 midterms, i got involved with trying to get young people to vote. i got hooked from there. i came out to school in d.c.. i was a student body president myself. my experience at american university here down the road in d.c. was recognizing that there are so many issues that have a direct impact on us and he strongly issue rose from students to really make sure that our leaders are thinking

-- they have strong leadership roles and really we need to make sure that students matter. we need to make sure that young people are well represented on a national level and that they are strongly engaged in their own communities. host: how many members in your organization? guest: we have 300 campuses, 292 campus is that we work with. over the last year with high turnover in student leadership positions, we work with 450 student body presses -- president's overall. host: -- stood in body presidents overal.

caller: they passed a bill that cut bill grants -- pell grants and limited to current students. my grand ended. i was wondering if there is any hope of getting pell grants back to the limits the use to be or may be giving students more pell grant options so they do not have to take out as many student loans and have such a the debt. guest: that is a guest: that is a good point to raise. there have been a lot of challenges making sure the financial aid programs are well- funded and making an impact for students like yourself that want to succeed and get into school,

work hard and graduate and get a job without taking on too much debt. moving forward, there are many opportunities as long as young people are engaged in the debate. there are opportunities to make sure these programs are being done as well as possible and as effectively as possible. we have had to tweak the programs as the leaders negotiate budgets. there have been compromises along the way. there is opportunity when we're talking about the overall financial system and a way to reform it to be more beneficial to students and easier to navigate. i think there's opportunity to make sure pell is well-funded and covers as many students who need it. the new america foundation, they

have a great program the research is higher education. they came out with a proposal recently and suggested pell be considered an entitlement. that is an intriguing idea worth conversation from the country as we move forward with our financial aid system. host: john says encouraging any group to vote is counterproductive. the disinterested and uninformed should stay home. guest: you should tell that to the millions of voters that came out to the polls as a young people. that to the point before was made aware of the first collars, young people are not uninformed and apathetic. they have been paying attention. even on issues that are not directly in potful on college campuses -- impactful on college

campuses like the deficit and fiscal cliff, in july of 2011, 150 student body presidents urged bipartisan action on the debt ceiling. that was in 2011. it was not even an election year. we see young leaders in well- informed on these issues and making sure their communities are well-informed as well. when we look at the voter turnout this past november, it reflects that level of engagement. our job is to make sure the young voters are well-informed based on community wide priorities. host: we saw student leaders on capitol hill. how often are those meetings taking place? what is your role in organizing or facilitating that? guest: over the last 15 months

that the national leadership council has been around and assessing how much engagement already takes place. there is a fair amount of engagement that already happens. this past week, the student body president of the university of the illinois got to meet his representative. are our meetings that take place. -- there are meetings that take place. they are going to the hill and meeting with their representatives. as the national campus leadership council, we want to promote those opportunities and make sure our young leaders are having legitimate opportunities to engage in a conversation with their leaders and lawmakers, the young people are well- represented and our issues are better understood in washington.

host: we have about 15 more minutes with our guest. ellen is on the republican line from new york. caller: they are trying to push through another -- to legalize millions of illegal aliens in this country. of those illegal aliens, there will be in number -- the number of people that would be eligible for college. mexicans have the smallest amount of in a moment in our colleges. if they become legal through affirmative action, what will happen to the youngest siblings of the college students that are in college mel where students in high school like my grandson? when he is applying to college,

will he lose places in colleges and be replaced by people who are illegal? guest: there is a supreme court case we're waiting to hear about called fisher v. texas about affirmative action. i will be curious to hear what the justices say. this is a major conversation taking place in washington right now and will continue to be large conversation. we make -- we plan to make sure young people are engaged in it. the council has not been incredibly active on immigration reform yet. i can tell you there are different efforts at the state level and campus level to make sure we're educating the folks in the country and making sure

we are keeping the world's best minds in america so they can start new businesses here and employ american workers. the university of nebraska, for the last five years they have gone to the state capital to abdicate that their version of the tremont -- version of the dream act be sustained so that their classmates can stay in school. from a morereform-based perspective, indiana happens to have the second-largest international population in the country because of the strong engineering program. they are working on an effort to make sure we are keeping these billion-from around the world in

america by doing a green card expansion. that is something they are looking at. where could -- we are keeping a close look at what is happening and will be using those leaders and making sure students are well-encased in the national conversation right now. host: this is off of twitter. do you believe pop culture is an important tool? guest: i do not think it hurts to have something cool that is also a informative. looking at the nature of our generation, we're more connected, more service- oriented, more entrepreneurial. i think that is because of creativity. we are attracted to information in different ways. anyway we can get information out there, whether it is

watching programs like this or having a viral video that is informative, as long as we're educating folks on a large scale and making sure steve leaders are driving information through their communities, i think our generation will continue to be well-informed and have a strong role in decision making at the state level and hopefully a larger role in washington. host: where do you go for news and information? guest: i have cnn, the website or different news alerts on my phone. twitter is becoming an interesting news source. it aggravates a lot of what reporters are writing about. -- it aggregates a lot of

reporters are writing about. that is not unique to myself. more folks are looking to their peers through social media to find out what is happening. they are following up on line to get the information they need. host: is the school newspaper part of your news gathering? guest: i still grab "the express" every morning on the metro. it is a brief version of "the washington post." i still like having a physical part copy in my hand. the wider question is how we're getting information and educating ourselves and the folks around us as young people and making sure we are leveraging technology and different avenues of information to better inform policymakers in the opinion leaders about issues and people

are facing. that is something we are focusing on at the national campus leadership council. host: the next caller is from maryland. go ahead. caller: i have heard about the program. i will test it is true. i was at the university of maryland in 2007. i am a low income students. i received a pell grant for up to 16 semesters or eight years that you could be receiving the program. i received a letter in the mail last year saying you can only be to six years up because of the budget control act. i switched my majors. right now, i am seeing a lot of students take the bare minimum number of crosses -- classes.

they do not want to take the hard classes because it ruins your gpa. they are shopping around for the easiest professors and courses to get out of the best possible gpa. it has become a business of grain through college courses. it is really sad. i have taken so many interesting courses all over the map like biology, chemistry, and history. talking about the illegal aliens, i have taken physics and organic chemistry where my graduate t.a. could barely understand the english questions they were being asked. they could not find anyone else that could do the physics, engineering, and math so they were the only people available. guest: we work closely with the

university of maryland. i encourage you to reach out to your student body president to figure out individual solutions. looking at the situation right now with pell, i think there are opportunities to make sure the program is being used as well as possible. there are things individual campuses can do to make sure students are able to access resources. at penn state right now, their student body president has been working closely with the administration and financial aid office to get an assessment and create a database of difference scholarship opportunities and resources available to students as they tried to navigate student finances. making sure we're able to educate students on different opportunities available to them outside of federal financial aid. i think it can be an important

step to increase the value of what you are paying for at a certain school. host: mark is from virginia on the democrats' line. caller: the issue of the young man is discussing was addressed over 200 years ago by james madison. he said whenever a youth is ascertained to business talents -- to possess tallis, he should be carried forward at the public expense. i cannot think of a better investment than educating our youth. guest: i cannot agree with you more. there is a lot of wisdom from how we have dealt with higher education in the past. if you look at the land grant fact grantact -- act that expanded institutions in the west, if you look at the gi bill, that brought access to new

people around the country. people coming back from war were able to be part of the education system and drive the economy moving forward. when we invest in higher education -- i know there is a lot of discussion in washington that we need less spending. we also need smart spending. education is one of the smartest investment you can make. you can look at the statistics that showed it. in virginia, every dollar invested in higher education comes out in new tax revenue and $13 of gdp in the community. those are smart investments. i cannot predict james madison was thinking about specifically. we can see the public by you in making sure our students are well educated. host: we hear from one more mark in virginia. caller: when you put smart spending in the programs in the same sense, it is a misnomer.

when you put the government into anything, do you think this adds to the cost overall? i will give my loan for $20,000. that brings the cost together. the last caller hit it on the head. if you cannot afford it, it is easy money so you will follow through with it and come up with these big loans. guest: one of the biggest issues they are touching on right now is due loan debt. i do not know if you saw an article that cannot recently. i think it was in "the wall street journal" this past week talking about how young people are very debt-adverse. a lot of it is driven by fear looking at the impact of student lending and borrowing.

i do not think students are taking free money because they have to pay its arab with interest later on. making sure when governments are investing in higher education and our young people, we see the return on investment publicly. we see it can generate new tax revenue and create more public dollars for a stronger return on investment. host: andy maccracken from the national campus leadership council, we appreciate your time. our last segment will deal with home ownership in the united states. we will hear from professor rossi fannie mae and freddie mac. that discussion as "washington

journal" continues. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> navy seals, the alamo, the environment, and journalism. panels and discussions from the tucson festival of books starting today at noon eastern. at 4:00, what animals contessa's about -- can teach us about health and healing. panels and authors like this

weekend on c-span2. >> one of the things an early american wife was taught to do, she supported her husband's career, usually through entertaining. dolly was socially adept and politically savvy. she could structure her entertainment in a way to lobby for her husband under the guise of entertaining. she thought it was very important to create a setting in the white house, almost like a stage for the performance of her husband and the conduct of politics and diplomacy. >> first lady dolley madison, we will follow her journey into the woman that history remembers. we will include your calls, comments, and tweets on monday at 9:00 eastern.

>> "washington journal" continues. host: clifford rossi is here. we're here to talk about the role of fannie mae and freddie mac in the washington area, also known in the housing industry. could you explain those organizations? guest: they have been around since the depression era. they are not lenders. they will take in loans from lenders. they put their guarantee of credit loss. the package them into mortgage- backed securities. those securities are sold off into the secondary market for investors. pension funds, life insurance companies, a variety of different investors. they are sold off and provide liquidity and stability to the housing finance system.

host: i write a mortgage check every month. why should i care? guest: they provide a lower cost of financing then you would have in the absence of them. host: what happened as a result of the house in bubble? guest: everybody had a role to play in this one. with the advent of other lenders coming in and securitizing their own mortgages during the housing boom, but the market share of fannie mae and freddie mac -- it cut the market share of fannie mae and freddie mac to the point they started taking on riskier mortgages. the rest is history. host: the government took them over in what year? guest: in 2008, they put them into conservatorship. right now, we are out about $150 billion in terms of taxpayer losses sustained by both entities.

host: this week, there was an announcement about restructuring. what does that mean as far as the future of these organizations? guest: the federal finance agency announced they were going to take the first step to create a new entity that would be a sharing ownership between both of these. it is to set up the foundation, the securitization platform, the nuts and bolts around how these securities are packaged and distributed to wall street. the chassis of the car is what they're talking about developing. it starts the process of unwinding both of these gse's with a go forward type of entity.

host: they may not exist anymore? guest: that is correct. host: what does that mean for a homeowner? guest: we are not soon going to see both of these agencies go out of business. we cannot afford to have that happen. over the next few years, we will start to move toward some other form of public guarantor. there are a lot of different options on the table. the treasury announced one a year-and-a-half or so. we will probably have some entity yet to be determined that will provide some of that guarantee we currently have. host: our guest is with us to talk about the future of these organizations, the announcement this week, the role that these organizations play. if you have questions, here is

how you can call. we have the line for democrats, the line for republicans, and the line for independents. you can send us a tweet and e- mail. as far as capitol hill, what do democrats and republicans feel about these organizations? guest: those on the gop side would like to see more private capital involved and less government guarantee. that will go toward discussions there have been around reform in the federal housing administration. if you are speaking with democrats, i think everybody is on board for some form of private capital to come back into the system. right now with nine out of every 10 new mortgages having the

stamp of the federal government, that is not the way to go. we have to find a way to bring private capital back into these markets and have less of a taxpayer burden. not complete removal of the federal government, but talking of. host: there was an op-ed piece about the announcement this week. maybe you can expand on it. he says this. the system may sound reasonable but is seriously flawed. guest: peter is talking about the fact that we have over subsidized housing in general.

we have provided an implicit subsidy. it has put the taxpayer too much on the hook. i understand where he is coming from. i would argue there is a role for a catastrophic guarantee. all i believe if you pull the federal government out of the marketplace, if you will not have the type of robust and liquid market you need to provide stable housing finance to the american public. host: why is that? guest: you need to be able to package these securities and sell them to investors. if you do not have that, a lot of banks will hold the assets in their portfolios. there is not enough capital on bank ballot sheets to provide all of the financing american homeowners need. host: from twitter, should the same punishment be brought against both equally?

guest: if you ask people at those agencies, you will get the answer that there has been a form of punishment. they are in conservatorship. they will eventually be wound down. the sins of the past committed at these agencies and banks have started to be taken into consideration by regulators. host: the numbers are on the screen. if you have called us in the last 30 days, please hold off on doing so. pick a line that represents you. kim, you are up first on the line for democrats. caller: this is the first, have called c-span. i am wondering what to do with the $25,000 my broker invested in fannie mae in 2007. i have been sitting on it thinking the stock will be sold

or be valuable again. i am thinking about selling it and taking the $25,000 loss. guest: i do not dispense investment advice. i would not have anybody do that based on my opinion. at this point given where i think both hagencies will wind up, it is probably a fair bet the agency will not come back and be privately capitalized or publicly capitalized going forward. i think we will see some change in the structure of both entities. that is probably still a couple of years off. that is my best guess. host: people may think of these as government agencies. there is a partnership between the public and private market. how does that balance?

how do you keep the balance? guest: when they put them in conservatorship in 2008, the die was cast for a shareholder. they realized they might be wiped out. by being able to take these agencies over, they were able to stabilise housing at a critical moment during the financial crisis. the shareholders unfortunately has suffered along with everything else in this situation. host: leslie, on the republican line, are you there? caller: i want to ask your guest about the fact that fannie mae and freddie mac [indiscernible] billion dollars. most of the big banks have paid

their money back, even aig. we own fannie and freddie, a lot of general motors. you say there will not be private money for housing. how does canada have a higher home ownership and the united states -- in the united states and their government does not have a federal program for their loans in canada? thank you very much. guest: those are excellent questions. one of the things to realize about canada is if you were to go up there and try to get a mortgage, one thing that is notable about the difference in their market is the absence of a fixed rate fully amortizing mortgage. that is largely because of the lack of the secondary market to be able to provide the securitization we were talking about earlier. in the united states, the fixed-

rate mortgage has been the bread and butter product for decades. that is one important difference. you are right. the taxpayers have for the bill for about $150 billion for freddie and fannie in terms of credit losses sustained by the agencies. from the standpoint of recovery, these entities, i do not believe will be the go forward entities we will see in a fully revitalized secondary market for mortgages. host: a story that talks about canada's situation says the most common is a five-year loan. guest: it is a much more burdensome type of product than what we get here. when you stretch the payments over 30 years, that is a much more manageable product to have.

one thing to keep in mind is that home ownership is comparable. they have a high homeownership rate. the composition of their mortgages and the cost of financing it is different from what we see down here. host: noel is on the line from silver spring. caller: how much would it cost to go from 90% to 100%? singapore has higher home ownership and their mortgages are a smaller share of gdp. they have a government financed housing system that uses social security as a source of capital rather than having private lenders being the prime rate mortgage provider which the government as a backstop. why can we not do that here? guest: there are different ways we can deal with this.

they're interesting things going on in mexico with the way that they provide housing finance, among others. there are many good ideas. if you are thinking about the core mortgage product in the united states, it would be something like the fixed-rate 30-year amortized mortgage. having private capital with a federal catastrophic guarantee in the most severe cases where everybody else has been wiped out is probably the most effective way to provide stability. one thing we need to keep in mind is that we need to have a stable level of financing in this country. we have to have low price and cost associated with homeownership. i think the securitization market is the way to do that. host: bipartisan policy center did a study on frannie and freddie. they said if we want to change

the way we're doing things, it would be the elimination of the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. guest: that is correct. it goes back to what i was saying earlier. if you look anywhere else in the world, this is almost unique to us. by taking out some form of guarantee, taking out the secondary market with very much impede the type of product we're used to in this country. host: as a culture of home ownership, which could not adapt -- we could not adapt? guest: it would be a big change to take on the five-year adjustable-rate mortgage.

in five years, do you refinance? how do you find additional financing to get back into it? we're struggling now getting our homeowners refinanced who are currently under water. host: the next call is on the line for democrats. caller: i have a question related to the house in problem and a comment. everybody is taking a lot of sacrifices with foreclosures and other businesses. why have not the realtors' made a sacrifice with their fees? they have not taking -- taken any reductions on their fees structure. they helped to create the housing problem in the over- priced houses in the early 2,000's and got everything up so high there was nowhere to go. why can the government not regulate their fees more?

guest: that is a good question. we do see activity by the new agency, the consumer financial protection bureau, that has taken steps to improve protection for homeowners around real-estate practices. there have been some measures taken. to the extent of regulating the fees directly like sales commissions, i am not sure that is something they have taken on in a big way. host: jane is from illinois on the republican line. caller: good morning. i love your show. i hold a brokerage account. i have had it since 2003. it paid me 5.50.

it is not due until 2032. it was for $20,000. on my last statement, my principal is being returned to me. every month, they return the about $562. my term is not due until 2032. 5.5% was pretty good. how can they read in this before the date is due? -- how can they redeem this before the date is due? i was intending to hold it until 2032. i am getting about $1,000 a year on that. guest: what is happening is the interest in the jennie mae bond, mortgage borrowers are paying back principal and

interest on an ongoing basis to you as an investor at that rate. recall that the pass-through rate. in some cases as brewers are refinancing their loan because they can get into lower paying loans, if you will receive back the timely payment of principal and interest on your loan. in some cases, you may see you get your principal back each month because there are probably more borrowers that have prepaid the mortgages. host: who is in charge of oversight? guest: the federal housing finance agency. host: tell us about their leader and his role. guest: ed demarco is the acting director of the fhfa. the obama administration put up the candidate the gop did not

want to endorse. ed demarco has been on debt since that time acting as the director of the agency. i think he is doing a great job. in the absence of having a housing policy of backing, it is just like the sequester. we cannot bridge the gap. the fhfa has been trying to move the ball forward to get something done. it has been over four years since both agencies went into conservatorship. not a lot has been done. host: you used to work for both? guest: i used to work for fannie mae and freddie mac. i left many matt -- freddie mac at the end of 2003. it would have been at the

beginning of some of the real housing boom. i think this may be surprising to many of your viewers. the time i was up freddie mac, it has strong credit discipline. our underwriting guidelines were very robust at that time. over the course of the next several years as other large banks became prominent in creating their own securities, it eroded the share of fannie mae and freddie mac. that is when you started to see the erosion have been in their own credit standards. host: the changing of the company, is this a radical move for the industry? guest: any move that signals there will be a change is noteworthy. i think that is what you saw last week. by announcing they were going to create -- even if just for the

underlying process, it is noteworthy you are taking pieces of entities and putting them together into one new entertainment -- into one new entity. host: does the obama administration have input on how this will play out? guest: it is an independent agency. i am sure the others were informed as they began to have deliberations. host: the next call is from louisiana on the independent line. caller: nothing illustrates the disconnect between washington and the way it treats its insiders and public. when you put political hacks in charge of something like fannie mae and freddie mac and then start paying them a bonus, i

think franklin to about $125 million. it was under his stewardship of the whole thing went to pot. i was in real estate at a time as an agent. everybody from the ground up knew that this was insane at people were getting housing and producing paper that did not mean anything. so far, no one has gone to jail for hijacking $1 trillion of the public's money. thank you. guest: it is true. one thing i would say about this, there was a lot of aggressive risk taking and and stupid things being done at many of our large banks, mortgage companies, and saving and loans, and the gse. you are right. nobody has gone to jail. it has to do with the nature of what was going on. you had this happening on the

systemic basis. this was not an isolated situation we have seen in the past where one bank has done something really bad. you had culpability across the spectrum, in my opinion. you had culpability on the basis of the regulatory regime that was asleep at the switch for not regulating effectively enough. you have the banks overly aggressive in a lot of risk taking. you have all the other components of the real estate mortgage system in contributing to this. it really is a systemic-wide problem. it makes it so difficult to see material action taken place. host: consumer and makes this statement about how it back in the day young married couples might live with parents to save money. guest: i think that was clearly

the case in the years leading up to the crisis. host: ken asks what is being done to curb the bloated salaries. in 2011, compensation for 11 senior staff was to hundred $45 million. guest: you are talking about both agencies. the fhfa has been visiting the compensation levels at the executive level. they made some material changes. they are still getting paid well relatively speaking. but nowhere near the amounts being paid out before each one when into conservatorship. host: portland, cici, go ahead. caller: can you talk about them before the crisis? it seems they did a lot to help

everyday people get into homes. it seems once we allow the private banks to take over, they will do what private industry does. you will see less home ownership and more rules and regulations favoring the banks rather than the people. private industry wants access to that money so they can do what they do. it is not that they can do it better. i think they just want access to the money fannie and freddie where getting out -- were getting at and the average consumer will suffer. guest: that is a great question. both fannie mae and freddie mac did an extraordinary well at promoting home ownership and using the government guarantee in all the years leading up to the crisis. you are absolutely right. they did do a lot of good. the question we have to answer is how much subsidy we want to

give to housing. we have not answered that question deliberately. that is part of the deliberation we have now. we have had three different mortgage markets. we have had a fully government guaranteed market, the federal housing administration market. we have the quasi--government market, fannie mae and freddie mac. we have the private securities market. all three have run into problems. the fund is technically under water in terms of coverage. we have seen what happened with fannie mae and freddie mac. we have seen what has happened with the banks. it makes it difficult to figure out the right road going forward. why will agree -- i will agree that a lot of people forget that for many years, the fannie mae and freddie mac models worked well. it worked well because the way in which we underwrote loans, we

strayed from that significantly. that was the problem. host: what is the ideal? is it a hybrid of the three? is there something that might work as a model? guest: absolutely. what you see in a bipartisan study is what i have written about extensively. we will go to having a public corporation, not unlike the fdic, that provides a credit stamp only under serious or catastrophic conditions. that is after private investors have been taken out when the government would step in. i think that is the more suitable outcome. it is not to have an explicit federal guarantee. i think we have too much subsidy in this case. i agree with peter.

that is where we're likely to head. host: david is on the republican line from illinois. caller: now that the obama administration has overtaxed the working poor, you cannot blame it on freddie mac or any institution except the government by taking so much money out of people's checks every week. how are the ones struggling going to pay their mortgages? guest: fundamentally, they are linked to a certain extent. how the general economy goes is how people will be able to fare with respect to paying their mortgage payments. to the extent we continue to see improvement around employment rates and growth in the economy, it will help people meet the obligations they

currently have. fannie and freddie have been doing quite a bit of work to help modify borrowers and help those underwater to refinance their loans to lower levels. host: laura asks if there is a plan for gse's going forward. guest: there has been legislation introduced. at the end of today, it has gone nowhere. in some cases, congress is distracted with the fiscal issues. it will probably not be this year we see meaningful reform. i know the administration, this has not been the real focus for them. they put out a paper that laid out three broad options with no sort of definitive focus on one that would look like.

the time is starting to come. the housing market is starting to recover slowly. we're seeing signs of recovery. both of these agencies are paying back profits to the government as opposed to incurring losses. i think the momentum is slowly starting to come about and people are having more of a conversation about this. i think we are a couple of years away from seen in a couple -- from seeing meaningful change. host: are the banks starting to lend more? guest: there has been some easing on some of this. that is due to capital been deployed. uncertainties in the marketplace have been reduced. we're seeing capital coming back in from the banking sector. host: houston, texas, on the independent line. caller: i would like to make a comment to the gentleman that

said the obama administration was taking more money in taxes. that is not correct. i do have a fannie mae loan. i have had it for 10 years. i have never missed a payment. i am getting offers from different financial institutions wanting me to refinance my loan. right now, my interest rate is far lower than the financial institutions are willing to finance by loan for. my quandary is understand the interest charge is based on how the economy is doing. i am in a quandary as to whether i should try to refinance at a

higher rate or wait and see whether the economy is going to pick up or whatever. i will take my answer off of the line. thank you. guest: that is another good question. sitting in an adjustable rate mortgages. you have with interest rates at historic lows, you might consider to refinance the mortgage, locked into interest rates that are lower today. they may be a little bit higher because you right now have a low interest-rate because of the adjustable-rate mortgage. long term, it may benefit you in the event interest rates start to go back up again. if you listen to what the federal reserve is saying and what other folks believe, at some point interest rates will likely go up. that would be a way for you to lock in the low rates for a very

long time. host: is there any evidence that owning a house is beneficial for most americans? guest: that is the $64,000 question. in the old days, you would put a down payment and benefit from the improvement in home prices of about 3% every year. that is only keeping up with inflation. fundamentally, decades ago, a home used to be looked upon more as a home and not a house as an investment. we strayed from that with mcmansions and refinancing. i think going forward, i refer to it as a back to the future environment. we're going to go back to the basic prudent underwriting

standards that should have been in place even during the boom years. i think the mines that people will have towards the house as a home will start to come back and not looking at it as much as a piggy bank but more where you live. host: is there more transparency in the home buying market now? guest: there is. in the years leading up to the crisis, there was a lot of predatory lending practices going on. with improvements in disclosures, it is helping the borrower to understand what is a very difficult process. host: here is lamonte on the democrats' line. caller: i have been thinking about the housing market. i have wondered why we have not made changes to help people pay for homes.

as you said, a house is not a home. one way to do this is to allow people to use their pre-tax money they would put in the stock market to use that money to pay off their homes quicker. they could pay off a $300,000 house in 10 years. i will take my answer off the line. thank you for taking that into consideration. guest: another good question. there are a variety of ways you could allow homeowners to reduce their debt burdens in a systematic fashion. that would be one. these are topics that some point have to gel first. that is not one i have seen put out there for wide discussion. host: in the larger discussions

on capitol hill about tax reform, we have heard about possibly eliminating deductions like mortgage interest. do you see that going anywhere? guest: that is almost a sacred cows. if you look at the tax code and who can take advantage of the deductions, why should we be giving a tax deduction to some guy that has a yacht just because it has a bathroom? because he can live there, he can deduct it. that seems wrong. there is a need for its poor people -- there is a need for it for people of moderate income. for those higher up the food chain on an income basis, i think you could start to ratchet that down. host: the last caller is from hawaii on the republican line. caller: a purchased by home in 1988 under the fannie mae

program which we call hula mae here. through the years, i was able to refinance my home and buy a home for my first daughter. i have a second daughter. last year, i paid off my home. i paid off my loan ahead of time. my concern is when i went to the finance and development corporation to look into helping my second daughter, i noticed they had chinese-begin realtors , korean-speaking realtors. is the government funding these programs to purchase homes for americans? do you have to be an american citizen? are they going to start opening it to non-americans?

it makes the competition really tough, especially in hawaii. we're in the middle of the pacific. we have people coming from foreign countries. what is your response on the? guest: in this case, these are still citizen-focused programs. there are a lot of folks that have become citizens that are dual language. having folks able to take the questions and answer them in the native language may be more efficient for them. i think that is more likely what you are seeing. host: what is important to watch over the next few days and months when it comes to these agencies? guest: by would follow what is going on with fhfa. it is at the core of what is happening with fannie mae and freddie mac. one of the things to keep a close eye on this year is they will be trying out a lot of different ways to structure

loans and parse of the credit risk among different investors. that is a key component of getting the market back on its feet with private capital. host: clifford rossi, 84 the -- thank you for your time. tomorrow, peter cook and rachel smolkin. joseph henchman will join us to talk about analysis they did of what the average resident pays in state and local taxes. at 9:00, we will talk about john kerry announcing the u.s. will provide aid to the syrian opposition. we will take a look at the papers and take your phone calls as well. that is "washington journal" for tomorrow.

we will see you then. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> today on c-span, and remarks from the public committee conference. the senators and then vice- president biden. then israel's prime minister, benjamin netanyahu. [applause] >> good morning. it is great to be with you.