♪ senate leaders appear to be nearing a deal to end the impasse of raising the nations that ceiling and open up the federal government and whether the house agrees remains an open question this morning. good morning everyone from washington on this october 15, 20 13, day 15 of the government shutdown. we will get your thoughts this morning on the emerging compromise on this morning's "washington journal." here are the phone lines -- or put a tweet as well your comments on facebook and e- mail us.

we will get to your thoughts in a moment but let me show you the "dallas morning news." here is a quotation from the senate majority leader coming out of negotiations -- inquirer"adelphia features mitch mcconnell on their front page. joining us on the phone is the white house for respondent, jeff mason. there is a few things on the table and it was apparently a good day yesterday and we will see if it is a good day today. the main ideas they have come up with between the two of them are

to extend the debt ceiling into mid-february which means that we would not be facing the same kind of crisis again at the end of this year. democrats really did not want to go through this again during the holidays so that is one of their main thrusts. it would reopen the government immediately and keep it open until mid-january and then it message toset up the start brokered negotiations for the budget that would hopefully and by the end of this year. those are the three main parts. as you mentioned, it still needs to get passed by the senate and then we need to see whether the house will sign up for this as well. host: when have you heard this could come for a vote for the senate? guest: i have not heard an exact timing on that. just looking at the way the week plays out is tuesday. the deadline for this is midnight wednesday night or thursday morning.

i would think they would try to get a vote as soon as possible to give it enough time to move through the house and then to get to the white house for president obama. that is one of the? someone like senator ted cruz who has been a leader on the tea party site is opposed to a lot of these things and whether he would try to ring up procedural hurdles that would keep the vote from happening. you also still have the question as to whether the tea party process in the house of representatives would agree to it as well. host: is it a done deal with the white house? guest:no, it's not a done deal with the white house but the white house is eager to get this behind them and certainly eager to avoid a default. the president made clear he is not willing to negotiate on the issues of reopening the payingent and congress the united states bills. overall, he has said he is willing to negotiate once those

things are off the table. this effort would essentially do that, it would take those things off the table and create some space and time to look at broader budget issues and spending and deficit reduction. it's likely the white house would likely support this. host: what did president obama -- if this is the deal that gets --ote and is put into law what does president obama get out of this and what does house speaker john boehner get? guest: that's a good question. the first thing the president gets is the threat of the fault removed. it is something that is hanging over him and this country. it is something he has been trying to show is not something he will negotiate. gone and it creates some

time to get to these broader deficit issues. for john boehner, it is sort of the same. he has the responsibility as the leader of the house to avoid a default and if he is able to get enough votes possibly between the majority of republicans and the democrats, which he will need in order to get this passed, then he has averted a crisis but then he would also face criticism on the tea party process. it would be interesting to see how that would play out in the coming months in terms of his leadership role and how pleased they are with him. to answer your question, the biggest thing they get is to avoid default. on top of that, we would have to what other pros and cons they suffer as well. host: it was a holiday yesterday and some of the markets were open. how did they react yesterday? does it make a difference to the markets when you get q happyuotes from the two leaders in the senate saying they have made tremendous progress? does that help the markets. guest: at this point, anytime

there is a signal of a positive positive outcome, it does help the markets. know who important to these gentlemen were who were giving happy quotes. having mitch mcconnell and harry reid indicate the possibility of a deal is high up negotiations. i think that was very well received. have also been assuming, at least recently, that a deal would come at the 11th hour. that is what has happened historically in the u.s. with these type of budget crises over the last several years. i think that's what a are seeing an open for. that said, the president has made clear that the risk is real. they will be watching to see if that rhetoric changes today and they will watch to see what kind of rhetoric comes out of the house. host: jeff mason, washington white house correspondent, thank you. guest: my pleasure. host: let's go to detroit

michigan, independent caller. caller: good morning, i want to make a comment -- the november elections are coming and the family would not vote for any incumbent, only freshman. the viewers and colors and listeners should be clear about this. downve a governmental shut -- i think they are a bunch of fickle criminals and this is affecting the unions, our pets, our children, our retirees, our mothers, our fathers, the poor, and the rich. thank you so much for taking my call. is there one party you blame more than the other? blame all of the above because they should be able to come to an agreement.

we have to open the government up. if the government is not up, everybody has to be accountable and i do not appreciate it. i have changed from a republican and went to democrat and i had to choose independent but i wish and pray that they have no party affiliation and we could just vote with no party affiliations. this is preposterous. they should be ashamed of themselves. "washingtonis a new post/abc news" poll -

william, washington, dc, democratic caller. you are on the air. caller: i have two comments. i am a democrat in the first comment i have is in reference to the deal. at the last minute, everything is turning back to what it should have been a month ago. many people have gotten hurt and by pain has been suffered the clientele -- the recipients. they will be getting back pay once the government opens up but in a sense, we have to think about the contractors. i have spoken to to contractors in the it business that deals with the agriculture department and they have put their that -- they have cut their staff almost in half because there is no work

going on to support input. johncond comment is that boehner should have taken a deal a long time ago. about his personal gains or losses or if he would be demoted from the speaker or be concerned about his and the other party affiliations and reference to keeping people employed. host: from twitter-- here is some political analysis --

politico" this morning. there is a secret meeting taking place at tortilla coast on the restaurant on the other side of capitol hill on the house side. this is from matt fuller.

bob, in oklahoma, democratic caller. caller: yes, ma'am. thank you. i think all this could have been avoided long time ago by getting their act together and agreeing to work out their problems and differences.

i don't think one person in the senate should be able to hold up everything. we need to keep the country going and the same thing in the house of representatives. 20 or 30 people should not be able to shut down the government. i think what happened in louisiana yesterday at the walmart because a machine shut believe whatcan't will happen if people don't get their social security checks or va checks, they will not believe what will happen out here. if the people not getting their checks, the poor people that on't eat, if they camp out ande representatives lawns let them pay them for a while. let's see what happens. host: you are referring to a story that is on the drudge report.

we can read a little bit of that story this morning -- beverly, red rock, oklahoma, republican caller. problem --ust have a i read in the newspaper that have of the republicans did not even read totally all the way through the obamacare. if they had read and understood what they were reading, they would have had an alternative i now to obamacare.

in their minds, they were not going to accept it and that was it. thing,read the whole there are places in their that can be changed and i think obama would probably agree to them. since they have not done their homework and have just stopped their foot and said we are not doing this, i don't think the republicans even have a clue what is really going on. host: you disagree with the republican strategy on trying to dismantle or de-fund obamacare? yes, for right now. if republicans have not read something and come up with some small alternative that obama might agree on, yeah.

it's not getting anywhere. i don't think republicans have done their homework. here is a tweet -- in minnesota, independent caller. caller: thanks for taking my call. i want to explain something to that pretend to be strategic financial planners for our nation's debt. there is a serious problem with raising the debt ceiling continuously. each time our nation continues to raise the debt, what we end up having is a loss and our american value of our dollar. that will continue to occur to the point at which our nation will no longer have any value in its dollar. if you want to see a lot of people standing and screaming about their welfare checks not

their otherny of freebies not coming, you will then see it happen. these news reporters that are doing this are walking a fine line on treason against our nation and need to be held accountable. our nation is going to collapse if we do not stop the debt. it's just like any american family household. if you and i let our household go continuously into debt, that interest rate becomes so great that you can no longer pay it off. that is what is happening to our nation. host: democratic caller, new york. caller: i think we should give more to our legislators and we should ask more from them. it's an important job. i think we should forbid them to have any other job. we should raise their pay to $850,000 and give them free apartments if they made it so they spend more time in town and the free buffet and in return, the they should have to go through continuing education,

surprised the testing -- sobriety testing, not have any other job and only have two or canacation per year, 9-5 additive is not their lunch hour, they have to sit in their chamber and listen to the other speakers. if wants to be the speaker, he has to sit in the speaker's them from 9-5e and keep them on track. i think the brits in their house of commons, they are all sitting there and they take turns speaking and they listen to each other and it looks civilized. we should make it a more theseant job and give poor folks more structure to and them avoid temptation the various things they might be tempted to not do their best. host:

you are republican, what do you think about this deal emerging in the senate. ? caller: i'm not real happy with it because i feel like we are kicking the can down the road. we are not giving people any idea of how we are going to get rid of this debt. i don't understand how you can keep extending the debt to the point where we are bankrupting the country. when you grow up in a conservative family, the first thing you learn is not to spend more than you bring in. accountant.s an he told us that if you spend rid of your getting credit card. we have to live within our means. we are wasting so much money with this government. someonegive money to who is researching schrempp while running on a treadmill. who is doing this kind of mass? sooner or later it has to stop and i want to know how and i

would like to know when? when will someone stand up and put their foot down? host: let's review the details as we know them, this deal that's emerging from the senate. this is from "the washington post," featuring susan collins who was behind the compromise along with a bipartisan group of senators.

we will see how all that plays out this morning when the senate returns at 11:00 a.m. to discuss the proposal. the risk -- the senate will return at 10:00 a.m. and the will ratherlicans behind closed doors. it is not clear which body will act first but that could determine how long it takes to finalize a deal. we are getting your take on it. ohio, independent caller. caller: thank you, i have two points i would like to bring out about what's going on. first, about the affordable care act -- the expected nobody has talked about because most people are not aware of what's going on . years, politicians tried to get the elder justice act passed so they piggybacked onto the affordable care act. fails todable care act protect person in a morphine

drip under a do not resuscitate order. this has been addressed by law journals and others. it is well-known. there is an abc news video that demonstrates this problem. it's a video made by an attorney who took advantage of an 88- year-old woman and a hospital. in that case, he was indicted on criminal charges. in many cases, because things are not done properly and there is no alert mechanism created under laws like the elder to protect seniors, those suffering from stroke, in clinical studies, the people who are pushing these acts mostly

from the legal profession are not doing what needs to be done. they are passing acts that i name sound good but which don't -- there are many authorities that recognize the problems. host: matthew in alabama, democratic caller. caller: thank you, about that last caller -- i think i might have a good solution. there needs to be a lot to differentiate the difference between a lobby and a union. lobbies take money out of your checks for corporate interest for the ceo and that isolates the unions. they are wolves in sheep's clothing. i think they need to have a lot to differentiate. there is republicans and democrats that argue whether we

are a democratic or republican nation but we are a democratic nation. all states are sovereign but have votes to have representatives to meet in washington yearly to vote as a democracy. it is a democratic republic. host: on the role of unions in these negotiations coming out of the senate, "the washington post: reports -- front page of "the financial times" -

and then front page of "the new york times" features susan collins, the republican from maine and the women who are leading the ever to come up with some sort of deal.

the story next to that story -- shreveport, louisiana, republican caller -- caller: i love watching you. i don't think this is fair. i think president obama is not a

leader. i just found out about the affordable care act. i cannot afford taking care of people that want to have children because, in my plan, it is telling me i will have to pay for maternity and i am 54 years old. viewerswant to show our from mr. lawrence who responded to a republican caller earlier. jonesboro, arkansas, independent caller -- morning, it: good was going to talk about the fact that the press refuses to ask these congresspeople and the president the ultimate issue which is -- at what point are we going to address the debt?

however, i thought i would put it in a nutshell. the problem we have is, it is all about me. you can raise anybody's taxes but mine. you can cut anybody's check but mine. that is the mindset we have arrived at. everybody thinks it is all about me. when we realize this is about to of us and we may all have pay a little bit more in taxes and yes, we may receive a little bit smaller check, that is the only time that we are going to start dealing with the ultimate problem which is debt. we have to get it paid. thank you and have a great morning. host: here is a piece that was featured on brightbart's website this morning --

that is what the budget chairman told a conservative radio show on monday morning. david, in taxes, democratic caller -- caller: good morning, i have heard a couple of callers on their that have made some good sense and some people who have made some nonsense.

you just recently spoke to a gentle man that said exactly the right thing. he said that people are thinking just about me, don't raise my and, don't cut my check, it's all about just one person. our constitution, i think, says we, the people, if i'm not mistaken. yes, our debt, can be paid down but we are going to have to realize that taxes are going to have to be raised and the people who are skirting taxes and corporations are literally paying billions -- making billions of dollars are actually getting money back from the government.

in tax refunds. talked abouteman all these freebies that people get. well, social security is not a freebie. i paid into social security all my life. medicare is not a freebie. i have to pay for that as well. it seems an insult when someone says i've got mine and why don't you go someplace else if you don't like the way things are? -- that does not even come from any religious standpoint that i know of. we signed up as we, the people. host: this is a story that has

been getting play this morning from the front page of "the washington post." hasher news," usa today" this headline --

--iran

those talks are going on. on syria this morning -- reportingork times" on syria -- those are some up dates for you on what is happening in syria and other news. back to your comments this morning on this deal that is emerging out of the senate to

avoid government -- to open up the government and avoid defaulting on the nation's debt. texas, republican caller. caller: i think it's terrible and i think president obama needs to take charge. he is acting and morley, immature, and irresponsible. he and the democrats have created a society of freeloaders. the working class is tired of andng for other people bankrupting this country and we need to get together and fix the situation and stop blaming republicans and work together cuz, he's the only one with a brain. what do you want him to do? i guess we lost her. saint augustine, florida, independent caller. caller: i want to thank c-span for the great work you do

wringing government right into our living rooms. it is wonderful. my comments are regarding the debt ceiling and the inability of congress to live up to their .onstitutional authority the constitution gives them the right to make the budget and by advocating their authority -- by advocating their authority, and secretary of treasury jack lew who works for the president in the executive branch, would then have to prioritize who gets paid area. congress will have abdicated their constitutional authority back to the executive branch. radicalknow if these congress people realize that's what they are doing. it reminds me of balanced-budget arguments and the line item veto was a popular thing back then

which would have done the same thing, given the executive the authority to strike from the budget certain payments. that they of ironic are handing the purse back to the president. thank you. host: before you go, "the washington times" has this headline --

what do you think? caller: it frightens me. i am just an aging senior and of andall nest egg in a 401(k) i am very nervous about it. it's the only thing i have other than social security to supplement my income. lostlose that again, i most of my 401(k) back in 2007- 2008 and it took made this long to claw my way back up and have a small amount of money. it would be laughable to some of the millionaires how much i am depending on and that's the amount i will lose. it is kind of frightening. host: more from "the washington times" --

let's go to larry in pennsylvania, democratic caller. of the that's very much point what i was going to talk about. a month ago, i was telling friends that we will go right through this debt ceiling. the reason is just for the money. when the stock market falls, the people shorting the market are going to make a ton. made $10 million last time. you will have republicans along the peopleats -- will be making money, the wealthy will be making money again while the average joe will be losing his money on their 401(k). the last time we ran a balanced- budget was in the year 2000.

we were looking at paying down anddebt but both cheney bush decided that was not a good thing to do. " the in politics news, washington times" -- we will be watching that senate race special election on wednesday. we are talking about the senate

deal that is emerging to and the budget impasse and open the federal government and raise the debt ceiling. they are short-term deals but not short enough for house republican so we will wait and see how republicans do today when they meet behind closed doors at 9:00 a.m. senate republicans will meet at 11:00 a.m. eastern time. let's show you what he's sessions, a republican from texas had to say yesterday when cameras caught him coming out of meetings about this emerging deal. [video clip] >> we are waiting. >> do you think you are in a better place now than you were furry eight hours ago? >> no. say that we believed we could have worked with the president and the president dropped is like a hot potato. to deal with us but he wanted to deal with the centaurs.

host: congressman pete senator and is also chair of the rules committee talking to reporters. yesterday that the two senate leaders, harry reid, the majority leader, and mitch mcconnell, the majority leader were meeting and coming out of their negotiations saying they had made good progress. we will see what happens today. florida, republican caller -- caller: good morning, thank you for c-span. i have to make a little comment about the affordable care act and all of this budget negotiation. we are in trouble with our money. they passed a bill that we cannot afford. if they really want health care to be affordable and if we really have to have universal healthcare, how about everybody getting into the act from the president on down? there are probably more than 2 million people working for the federal government who will not

have to get on the plan like my children will have to. this is not fair. this is not democracy. i am very disappointed in our president. host: you might be interested in this "wall street journal" piece this morning -- about this bipartisan group of senators that started working behind the scenes to come to some sort of compromise. here is a look at the moderates that flex their muscles in "the washington post."

this is the story from "the washington times" -- timothy in georgia, independent caller. caller: how are you doing? i liked to state that i feel the republicans only want to stop entitlement programs to hurt poor people and people of color and -- in the country because of they were worried about the amount of money they waste, why do they spend billions on the star wars program is making were countries that do not attack us, getting our troops killed, sending foreign aid to countries we have just destroyed and still a spending that money to give tax breaks to companies to bring jobs or anything and that's all

i have to say. thank you. host: we will continue the conversation so keep calling him. we will talk to the former governor of minnesota and one- time presidential candidate, tim paul ente. he is now heading up the financial services roundtable so we will get his take on this deal emerging and later, ron kind will give us his thoughts on the deal. we will be right back. ♪ >> make your short video and

send it to us. see what others are counting about. before becoming first lady, lou hooper collected artifacts. among the things she collected was chinese porcelains and they tended to focus on the period and they first collected their blue and white when they were living in china. had probably the best collection in the united states of chinese porcelain. collectedndon, lou pewter. of british pewter which would have been used for various teapots and things. we have a number of them here

with the right is of nationalities and shapes and sizes. ont: watch our program www.c-span.org or see it saturday on c-span and we can send -- continue our series live at 8:00 a.m. on monday -- 8:00 p.m. on monday. >> c-span, we bring public affairs events from washington directly to you, putting you in the room at congressional hearings, white house events, briefings, and conferences in the complete gavel to gavel coverage of the u.s. house all as a public service of right industry. we are created by the cable tv industry 34 years ago and funded by your local cable or satellite provider and now you can watch us in hd. "washington journal continues." host: we are back with tim tim and the former governor

from minnesota and presidential candidate back in 2012. ask for being here. guest: i am delighted to be here. host: let me show the front page post"e washington what do you make of this emerging deal? a decisionars to be to delay ultimate decision- making. goes through, it relays the decision-making. the good news is, there will not be a default and nobody wants a default. that would be a terrible outcome for the country. there are some republicans that have said we can prioritize era debt. if we default on october 17, we can print -- prioritize era debt. guest: the federal government takes in $2.5 trillion per year and spends 3.5 trillion so you can do that for a while but eventually the money comes out.

you can prioritize and try to do that but treasury says we don't have the ability from a systems standpoint to program the computers that way. even if they could, they spend more than they taken and that tricked tricked is not work for very long. host: then there is the concern that people stop buying treasury bonds. this is a story from the front page of "the wall street journal." guest: it's serious business and the u.s. should not dine and dasjh. when you have a country that for every dollar it spends, they don't have $.40 of a that the federal government level -- they

overspend what they taken -- somebody has to float that debt and provide that lending capability to us. chinesecases, it's the and other foreign interests or other foreign investors and when they see the possibility of a default, they get nervous and they lack confidence in the economy has negative consequences from that. host: how do you think the markets are reacting to that headline and the fact that this is not a done deal on the house side? guest: for today, it may be a wash. you have news there is the hope of a deal and that may give the markets confidence. on the other hand, if the deal is shaky were some key leaders say this is not going to go through, then the markets will react negatively to that. from "theher headline washington times" -

who has studied this and understands what will happen, if the united states of america defaults on its debt, that would be a cataclysmic outcome for the economy and the reputation of our country and our standing in terms of international credibility. you cannot go around the world and wag your finger at places like greece or spain or italy and then they turn around and they tell us to look in the mirror. tell youat wouldceo's if our rating was downgraded again? guest: most people would say that would be terrible. financial institutions are interested in stability. ofn you have lack confidence, that destabilizes economies and the negative things that come that jesus -- that come from that. we need to not default but we

also need to listen to the message that we have to get our fiscal house in order. if this deal goes through, they kick the can down the road till february. we have to face the reality that an eighth grader can see. it is basic map that you cannot continue to spend more than you take in and that has to be fixed. host: what would the ceo's like to see for a deal? how long should this deal be? guest: they have individual views but if you took a rolling average, they would say let's not default but then let's put together a compromise in a divided government that addresses the underlying fiscal problems of the nation would cause the problem in the first place. host: let's show our viewers what you told "the new york times" when you are running for president. you're are talking to iowa voters.

does that not ring true today? guest: it rings true in this sense. the so-called extraordinary measures at that time gave the treasury certain abilities to delay. now they indicate they have exhausted all those measures. this really is the dropdead moment. it's good to have pressure because that's what forces politicians to take action in many cases. to so overreach that should cause or trigger a cataclysmic outcome. thus what could happen if the united states of america defaulted. we don't want to go there. deal part of the emerging would deny treasury secretary jack lew the use of special accounting measures to extend his are owing power past february 7. thed you as the head of

financial services roundtable advise the president to reject the proposal? guest: when you have this much money going through system that is this complicated with this many potential consequences -- it's good to measure twice and cut once it also to leave yourself some flexibility in case there is a milk out -- a miscalculation. i would not in favor of taking away every tool the treasury has. you want to leave some flexibility in that system. you want to leave yourself a little cushion. host: i democratic caller is up first -- good morning, what this is really about is from the beginning of the time this resident came into office, democrats -- republicans have already decided that no matter what, we are not going to work with this president. the sad part about this whole

thing is before the government shut down, president obama got on tv and said look, guys, we can talk about anything but consider who you are hurting with this government shut down. that's my comment. there is thek finger-pointing that goes back and forth. the bickering is what the but they expect politicians to bicker back and forth but they also expect something positive to happen and problems to get solved. and they see this gridlock, they get frustrated. for people who might say it is the republicans fault, let's remember, you can take an eighth the unitedsay, states government takes into $.5 trillion and and spend $3.7 trillion.

overspending, it is over $1 trillion per year. how long can that last? an eighth grader can tell you mathematically that will not work. continue to rack up trillion dollar deficits which gets rolled up and accumulated into the national debt. eventually, the people who provide that debt will say we have given the united states too much. the system looks shaky and we will not via anymore and the price of that debt will go up and you'll have a whole series of very negative consequences. host: what are the prospects of this deal goes through and they open up the government until january and raise the debt ceiling until february? what other prospects prospects in the meantime that they can reach a grand bargain? down andring spending possibly a tax increase? guest: i used to go to the horse track and bet on horses when i was younger and one of the

people who coach and he said if you want to see how horses are going to run, a good way is to look at the last 10 races they have run and see how they performed. if you looked at this group and these dynamics and said what is the likelihood they stem their -- you look months, at their past performance, you would probably not put a lot of money on that bet. host: guest: the sea of tranquility's point about the timeframe is the hour is late. you have a $17 trillion national date on to trillion dollars in revenues. all does not include even of the outstanding obligations of the country. many experts believe if you count the stuff not on the books, it's as much is $50 trillion or more. leverage ratio

which is reckless. we have to fix that. if you look at a pie chart of federal spending, where the money goes, medicaid, medicare, interest on the national debt -- you are already at the halfway point. at the rate at which that is growing, it will be over 3/4 within 15 years and most of the rest is defense. you have to tackle the underlying issue. host: nashville, tennessee, independent -- caller: thank you for your time. to the former governor is this -- the financial business of it all -- if you were to have each state stand on their own financially, abolish everything on the federal government except for one thing and that is to protect this nation, the only taxed tellers that go to washington are from each individual state. when it comes to social issues,

let each state stand on its own. stand on its own without having assistance from the federal government? should we go in that direct and? ction? guest: the 10th amendment to the united states constitution said those powers not expressly granted to the u.s. government go to the state. you would say the federal government should probably not andoing as much as they do the states should take a greater role. the founding fathers thought the states were the were the laboratories of democracy. these were the places where new things were supposed to be tried out and done on a smaller scale. if they worked, they could be replicated in other states. a morea of returning to state-focused approach to public policy issues has a lot of appeal for those reasons. the federal airman has usurped

so much of that over the decades and even longer that you now have this federal behemoth that permeates american life to the chagrin of many conservatives. people our saying jump into it nationally. the federal government does not run many things all that well and you should be careful about granting them control of big chunks of the economy because they tend to not run it well. they tend to overspend. the state has to balance their budgets. states have a constitutional requirement to balance their budgets. it works. i wish the federal government had a requirement like that. stop debt payments so essential services can continue. that should guide our spending.

this gets back to the issue of prioritizing spending. technically, some of the computers work, but there's not enough money to pay the bills very long, even if you attempted that approach. host: go to jim next, pennsylvania, republican caller. what do you think about the current strategy? he seems to be trying to have it that you can'tg try to make a stand and now -- a stand now. his strategy seems to be to do nothing and hope for something to change in the next election. host: let's get a response. your -- you cannot the

fall. that would be cataclysmic. you have to fix entitlements. in order to do that, you have to have a divided government that can agree or somebody has to win the election contest outright to prevail for the direction of the country. the country has decided we are going to have a divided and eventually they're are going to have to pick a direction to how they want to get this resolved. if they cannot compromise, it is going to have to get hammered out in the election. if you're going to have a bluff, it is embarrassing to have your bluff called. if you say we are going to plant

of the state and not an inch more, you have to meet. if your bluff gets called, it does not look good. host: that is the position republicans are in right now. guest: they want to be responsible in the end. had to give a temporary extension to these issues and it looks like if the news reports are accurate, they are going to obamacareustment in relating to income eligibility verification. , florida.onica caller: the only thing i do not agree with -- i believe the head -- i believe he is allowing the crazies on the

republican side to make a full of him. he should stand up, let them vote for it. i feel he would get a lot of credit instead of every day they are on tv saying you close up he government. it is making them look like idiots. host: referring to john boehner -- letting it come to the floor. guest: a failed vote on the house floor has consequences. you may remember one of the earlier part votes -- it was a mess. whenocess around that -- you brought one of the bills to the floor and the market failed, it brought it down. when you have a bill that triggers that kind of consequence and your counting on your nest egg and it goes down a hundred points, people say put

it on the floor and vote. that has real-world consequences if it does not go well. leader, you have to know what this does to the institution and what messages signal to the markets if it ails. -- if it fails. mitch mcconnell negotiating with harry reid will anything that passes the house at this point. if you put a bill on the floor and a fails and the stock market goes down and you are a senior citizen with an ira that that hasepending on, enormous real-world consequences for real people. you cannot throw it on the floor and say what -- and see what happens. caller: i want to ask a few

things about -- he mentioned how for who they want. we reelected obama, we want the aca. i called in because why would you not add revenue to the whole debate? , but what a home economics analogy which is you can only cut back as a household so much. you can either get a part-time job or get a better paying job. you need to add more money. why do not want to do that?

you do cut things, why are you cutting things for children, women, elderly versus military contracts, all that stuff? guest: thank you for your question. if you look at the recent activity by the president and the congress, many people and my party did not like the tax but we were able to get through the tax increases on more than one occasion. more recently through the straight out so-called bush tax cuts. it's not to say there hasn't been tax increases. on the budget, when you go to cut the budget and you look where the money is, you try to slow down spending. most of the money is in

medicare, medicaid, social security, interest on the national debt. entitlements have not been cut substantially. cut,of these program get they just give slow down. round ofthe next sequestration that takes place, and is about a $20 billion cut. there are democrats that want to avoid the cuts in the sequestration. host: rodney is next, independent caller. caller: good morning. what about is

president obama using an executive order to pay the bills instead of defaulting? i don't understand house speaker boehner 10 allow himself to be painted into a corner. the republicans will never have asther president republican long as there are radicals the way they are. thank you. relating to the executive order part of the question, a president cannot issue an executive order unless they have the authority to do it. unless there is a law that limits the president's authority, you cannot do it. people say the president could raise the debt ceiling by because the obligations

of the united states should not being questioned or undermined -- they say the president could order it. most legal scholars have said he does not have the authority to do that by himself. i do not think that would work. criticize the so-called hard right or the tea party part of the republican party there is an analog in the democratic are hard left or extreme in their views as well. there is not one side or the other having a strong view, both parties have it. host: what you make of the that have come together on this deal. ? what the will see outcome is. it seems the moderate caucus is small in number.

the energy and the political parties seems to be further to the right or left. are willinglks that to step into the fray and find common ground. they're trying to lead. i don't know if their proposal will carry, but they are trying to lead and exert leadership. that is a difficult lace to be when everyone is -- that is a to be whenlace everyone is shooting at you from different directions. senator ted cruz says i am going to find some sort of parliament to hold this up. the financial services roundtable do? do you get your ceos to call senator ted cruz to talk to him? guest: even though the payments do not come until november 1, and people say there is enough , the facting around that the deadline was set and

they missed it, i think would unsettle the markets. even as it was a technical or partial default, it would unsettle the markets. we do not want a default. that would be historically terrible for the country and america standings around the world. remember, some of the stereotype in the media is that big ceos pick up the phone and call republicans and they respond. folks that are most passionate are not interested in what the company ceos have to say. there is a little bit of an inflation and how much influence much influence these big-company ceos have. what do you think that means? what you think that means. guest: the press has the

or someone sits in an office and calls ted cruz and he folds and changes his position. pawlenty.guest, tim questions andour comments. lakota sharon, north carolina, republican. let's go to sharon, north carolina republican. caller: social security is the people's pension fund. it is not part of the general budget. supposed to be earning interest so there will be enough money for each generation as people retire or become disabled. money was borrowed from social security and that money needs to be paid back. anything less amounts to embezzlement. guest: when we talk about the

$17 trillion debt the country has, it does not include things they borrowed. no one iskeep in mind proposing to cut benefits to retirees or anyone coming up on retirement. any changes would come for future generations. 10, 20, 30be given years notice. in current law, if we do nothing and social security remains insolvent in the future, benefits get cut automatically. it is not a choice between cuts were no cuts, it is a choice between large cuts in the future with no action or taking action now to soften that impact. host: chattanooga, tennessee, democratic caller. i think that last caller stole a little bit of my social, but why is

security not being paid? long time ago, they said they would pay that money back. that has yet to happen. why would you want to take $40 billion from food aid and allow ge to pay no taxes, allow mr. ritt -- mr. mitt romney to pay less than what he is supposed to to big you give money oil companies. why is that? why would you give them money and take money from the needy? stop dealing in arms. a, send food.nd do not send jets, tanks. that is war. of the socials

security trust fund, the reason it has not been paid back is because they took the money and spent it on other things. why did that happen? politicians decided they had other priorities. you have to look at the folks that made those decisions and hold them accountable for it. in terms of food aid or other eight, we have to balance a safety net that people need. we need to encourage job growth. the way most americans pay their mortgage and get around and pay for their health insurance is to have a job. to do things that go so far to discourage job growth or and courage -- or encourage companies from starting, that is a bad thing. to have policies that encourage the private sector and

not discourage it so you stifle economic growth. someonein a world where can take out chunks of the city in seconds. you have to keep your guard up and keep your ability to defend yourself up. to say that is not important, i disagree with that. host: the washington post abc that 74% shows disapprove of the way republicans are handling these negotiations. the highest number yet. 2014is the impact on the landscape? what impact does it have in 2016. ? guest: republicans are getting at worst then democrats in the eyes of the public. the answer depends on what happens in february.

if we have a nether meltdown or false start or outcome that -- s like a false if e goes better, by next better, -- if that goes by next november, the consequences hinge insight. does this have impact on americans? a programyou rely on that is shut down, of course. that can be impactful. immediately or currently involved in one of they shrug their shoulders and say washington is dysfunctional, wake me up when it is over. for the country overall, they do not like this. in terms of direct impact on individuals, it depends on

whether you are on one of the programs that are shut down or not. host: what does it mean for the governors? what impact does the shutdown have on you? guest: it is a management problem -- you're trying to federalut if the payment is going to show up or do we run the program at half speed and hope to be reimbursed, do we have to be -- we have to lay anyone off? than?quite complicated, guest: it is sort of a math problem. host: independent caller. we talk about the deficit that we have.

, we had aback to 2000 surplus and a president that wanted to start two wars. to tax the people because we created two wars. in addition to that, you keep talking about the entitlements that we have. people on social security have earned that. the biggest entitlement we are going to have because of these two wars that we started, they have all of the veterans that are coming back then need help. you talk about entitlement takeaways, the type -- the entitlements we need to take ceos and our corporations that were given big tax cuts. i got your comment that you do not have any influence on the senators and the representatives, but you have the influence through your

corporations and tax funds and getting these people elected. i appreciate your comments. i have voted for republicans in the past, but i do not think i will ever vote for them again. nobody who is serious in the social security reform or entitlement reform debate is saying cut benefits for people close to eligibility. they are not talking about cutting benefits but slowing them down. i want to be clear about that. for people who say you have to raise taxes on the wealthy, the president did that. just had a round of budget negotiations were taxes on the wealthy went up and the bush tax cuts expire. corporatens pay 35% tax rate which is the highest in the developed world.

i do not know how much higher people think that should go without having it be anti- competitive for the united states. ,n terms of the defense budget increase in the defense budget is for military personnel. when you say cut the defense you want to make sure you're not reducing benefits for the people who risk their lives for our nation. health-care benefits, other benefits. in, therean suites should be no changes to social security without lifting the cap on income withholding. she is referring to the notion that you don't pay further social security taxes above and amount you make. there are some people that say that wouldcap and

generate more revenues for social security. it is not as if the president has not succeeded in raising taxes. ee has done that two or thr times during his administration. the benefits are level. to get the same benefits, people should pay the same amount. it scales up to 120. if the benefit is flat, why would you continue to stagger up the payments beyond the current level? why would you charge more for the same benefit? that is how the argument goes. host: margaret, ohio, republican. government's people are on furlough. i understand they're going to get that pay. why aren't they working if they're going to get their back

pay later. i lost my insurance at the end of this year and they told me to go shopping. i try to get into obamacare and what they said is people that are on medicare cannot qualify. is this true? question,the first congress has passed a bill that says we are going to pay you back pay. common sense would say if we're going to pay back pay, why are they not working now? this goes around in a circle and it is a technicality that once the government is shut down, they do not have the authority to authorize the employment. i think it is a technical or legal problem. if you're going to pay them anyhow, why aren't they working? common sense. issue of medicare eligibility disqualifying you for obama care i think that is accurate. are on medicare, that is

the standard program for seniors and others, we do not want to have you overlap or duplicate with obamacare. kaiser healtho to news, we have been partnering mondays, but if you g, to their website, khn.or you can find the information there. let's go to kathleen, chicago. ask thewhat i want to youesentative -- why don't , we-- we pay your salaries ask you to work for us and do us justice. entitlements,ting why don't you see how much you

on programst home for people like us, how much to spend on programs for money country to foreign countries, how much you spend on the military. we will see where this $70 trillion comes in. 7 trillion comes in. is saying cut benefits for retirees or anyone close to eligibility for benefits. where the situation program is going to run out of money in the future, even if the money is repaid to the trust fund as scheduled. we have a problem. we have to deal with the problem. it is not about being mean- spirited. under current law, if you hit the point of insolvency in social security, benefits are automatically scheduled to be up to 25%.

in current law are scheduled cuts to those programs. to soften that, you need to make changes. people forget that part. military, the fastest part of -- the fastest-growing part of the military budget is health care related benefits for the men and women who have served and are entitled to those benefits. those bills need to be paid. we live in a world where people , otherh korea, iran weaponsrying to build that could eliminate an entire american city. if you think you have problems now, that is the future you need to be mindful of as we prepare our military and fund it. those are systems you cannot

blink on and off with a light switch. cannot -- a defense system takes a decade or more to build. it is very expensive. in some cases, they need to be upgraded. tweet from one of our viewers. do a majority of americans share the same views as the tea party? guest: i think they have a lot of views on a lot of issues. if you say to the american public -- does a majority of the country feel positive about itir view on things, i think is overall unfavorable. the republican party is built of a coalition.

it is a quilt. it is a coalition. it is one part of a coalition. look at the democrat party. they have subgroups where you america wouldle look at and say that is a little odd. are the frontrunners for 2016? i know it is a little ways out, but you are here. tell, it is too early to but i will give you a list and this is just by way of example. rubio in florida, chris christie, the new jersey assick.r, john kc maybe somebody from outside. those are just some of the names. jindal fromobby

louisiana. those are some of the people that might run. host: howard, west virginia, independent color. aller. i have been hearing that they're going to cut off social in november.people no social security, no medicare. i think the senators and congress ought to give up their pay. i live one 916 dollars a month, i am disabled. that, we are not going to have anything. my 401(k) inget

case the banks go down. people are frustrated with congress. they see the bickering. they do not understand the detail. they just see that something is broken. it is understandable and you empathize with people saying they are sick of it. another tweet -- are we supposed to celebrate this deal? it is just a delay and the day of reckoning. host: what does that mean? guest: you avoid default temporarily and the markets will stabilize temporarily and then you hope for some sort of progress between now and february which becomes the new deadline. we are going to find out what the house and senate thinks. house republicans are

meeting behind closed doors. senate republicans will gather on the senate side around 11:00 a.m. but the house and the senate are in at 10:00 a.m. we will have live coverage on c- span2. linda, you're up next, republican, ohio. caller: i would like to see where our balance of power in our government is. it is lacking. i am disappointed in what they are trying to do today. they're taking the days off for the holidays. that is what they are doing. this is not fair to our country. you are not doing what is best for our country and i am disappointed. that shows the understandable frustration and anger that americans feel towards the situation. you have two dynamics.

loyal conservatives or tea party types saying if not us, who, if not now, when. if we do not try to create a dramatic moment, it never gets addressed. they're trying to say we are willing to fall on our sword to the progress to stop runaway spending train. on the other hand, you have the president who is proud of a legacy accomplishment in the affordable care act. those two things collide. in a divided government where you have equal balance of powers , one side is not going to prevail. that is why the public is going to have to pick a direction or sort this out in the next election. they are frozen, they are paralyzed from doing anything bold or dramatic. gloria, port washington,

maryland, democratic caller. caller: thank you for taking my call. i am concerned about the fact that we have a conversation not govern. it is proving that over and over again. what i would like to say to i am saying this as a blind african-american, 76- year-old, no one will give me a , i volunteer. we will always be the land of the free, the home of the brave. we will never -- in spite of that idiot waving a marine corps flag next to the confederate -- we will always be the land of the free, the home of the brave.

we will not allow ourselves to land of the the fascists, the home of the bully. we have an election coming up. i am an associate pastor. we have a chance to vote these idiots out and send them home. send the tea party home. there is a whole and healthy glob of racism stirred in there. to leave iting there. we are running out of time. guest: the history is the free and most phosphorus -- most prosperous in the world. we are going to continue to do well and thrive. it is not always pretty, that we should be hopeful and optimistic. both parties have passionate subgroups that feel strongly.

democratothers on the parties that have equally strong views about their positions. it is not one side or the other. both have very strong views about their relative positions. the gerrymandering point that was raised by the scholar or the earlier one is significant. 400 or so of the 435 areressional districts premade. electionse of these in the congressional districts are predetermined. andcan come to washington not pay attention to what is going on in the middle. they're just paying attention to what is going on on the right or left. that is how you get this polarization. getting congressional district lines that are more fairly drawn would be helpful.

it will not solve the whole problem, but it would be helpful. host: governor pawlenty is now the ceo of financial services roundtable. thank you for your time. this conversation continues. we will cross the political aisle and talk to ron kind of wisconsin. adultstudy finds that score below average on worldwide literacy and mathematics tests. >> the associated press reporting that international stock markets perked up to date -- perked up today. the prevailing view in markets appears to be that a deal will be agreed to between rubble can -- the twin republicans -- between republicans.

inotiators are meeting geneva for talks aimed at curbing nuclear ambitions. meeting, the foreign minister said he hopes iran and the west would be able to work out a roadmap toward a final resolution by tomorrow. the two-day talks bring together iran's representatives with those from the p5 plus 1. president obama takes time out from negotiations with congress to award the nation's highest honor on a former army captain. he is being held for bravery during combat in afghanistan in

2009. c-span is covering the event. you can watch it on our website, c-span.org. those are some of the latest headlines on c-span radio. >> i never ask a negative question. it is insulting to the person you want to talk to and it creates a bad impression about what you are doing. you are asking for someone's time because you need information that will lead you to a better understanding of your subject. sometimes you get negative information when you do not want it. i remember calling a woman to ask about a senate wives luncheon in honor of the first lady. "i know why you are calling. you want me to repeat those nasty things that nancy reagan was telling us yesterday about

."rbara bush was hownted to find out much the senate wives raised for mrs. reagan's drug abuse funds. i got more than i asked for and i used every single word. kelley will sit down for your calls and comments on sunday, november 3, on booktv's in depth. christina sommers and mark levin. see what others are saying and post your own comments. find out more at booktv.org/bookclub.

-- washington journal continues. is seen the headlines in -- youer this morning have seen the headlines in the -- what domorning you make of it? guest: hope springs internal. this has not been democracies finest hour. we have to open up the government. we have to pay our bills as we are expected to. we need to begin conversations to get our fiscal house in order. if we can do those things, that would help restore business and consumer confidence. our focus should be creating jobs rather than the shutdown

and stalemate that we are getting. details ofabout the the deal. republicans want to include a favor to the labor unions by 63 perng or delaying a 2015. tax until do you agree with that? senator mcconnell is going to meet with his conference. it may be remiss sure to focus on the specific elements right now, but the idea of getting the government open until next year again, raising the debt ceiling until mid february buys us some time. longer-term budget projectors and what we can do to bring that under control. we cannot leap from crisis to crisis and have government buy

short-term measures. wondering whether or not we are going to face another government shutdown or defaulting on our financial responsibilities for the first time in our history. that would be catastrophic for the u.s. economy. in the papers today about this moderate group in the senate. 12 senators who drafted this deal from the middle for the metal. what have you been doing behind the scenes as a moderate democrat? guest: we read able to get a to startn group talking and meeting with each other regularly and start coming up with solutions to find a pathway out of the stalemate and offering that to our leadership on both sides. this is what the american people expect us to do -- not be afraid

to enter the same room together and listen to each other and see if there is common ground and a path forward to make government unction -- government function more efficiently. we will continue to talk throughout this crisis, but we will continue to have to meet on the longer-term budget challenges that we are facing. by the is driven political extreme, you are going to get more of this performance that we have had the last couple of weeks. come together, build up the trust and learn how we can walk together before we can start running again. host: canada passed the house? -- can it pass the house? those the question is --

speaker boehner -- does speaker boehner bring the vote before the house? we will wait and see what the details are. it is going to depend on the speaker who controls the floor schedule and what he allows up for consideration and how long it takes. the clock is ticking. october 17 is two days away. that is when we run out of the ability to pay our bills and could fall into default. the consequences could cascade creek quickly. that is the real question -- will the speaker pick up with the senate may be able to do. up or downe -- an vote. we have been asking for the

opportunity to get the government up and running again. it is not going to be the perfectly clean bill that most democrats have been demanding. sell themuntil you -- until you get the perfect bill around here. host: one thing that you and charlie dent want is to repeal the medical device tax that is included in the affordable care act. that does not seem to be on the table anymore. year, 79rlier this senators voted to repeal the device tax. it is a bad policy. it will hurt start of manufacturing companies in this country. those businesses that rely on innovation to be successful, they need more capital. they will discover the next great thing that will lead to more cost savings in the health care system.

what we have talked about is paying for. contributing to the deficit. that is the discussion around here. main outcome of the crisis is to suspend the monocle -- the medical device tax, washington will prove that making the deficit worse remains its basis for bipartisan agreement. group and i have been talking about suggestions about how to pay for. we are not contributing to deficit at the end of the day. that is a breakthrough, having those types of discussions. between a distinction those pre-revenue companies and the larger companies. the pre-revenue companies are being taxed before they are in their first dollar.

that is going to make it difficult for them to survive. policy wise, there's a reason there is bipartisan support for looking at the device tax. i supported the affordable care act. i did not do it because i believed it was a perfect bill. we need to learn what is working, what is not working, make fixes, changes along the way. that is the ultimate way reform is going to work. we are going to have to make adjustments along the way. host: let's hear from sandy, gaithersburg, maryland. i have a question about obama care. democrat representative from ohio, marcia fudge, she said because they wanted to change

obama care, they were going to d away with the medicare prescription plan for seniors. have you heard anything about that? guest: i have not heard about repealing that program. what they have been talking about is the opportunity to repeal the affordable care act and get rid of it in its entirety or defund it, which accomplishes the same thing. that is where the president drew a strong line on. we can talk about changes in reform, but let's not go back to where we have people becoming uninsured, health care and expandingt the budget deficits. it is health care spending that is the main driver of spending at all levels.

any conversation about fiscal responsibility comes back to what we can do working together rising health-care costs and making sure that it is more affordable to all americans. that is what we should be striving for. randy, republican, ohio. i would like to see the president and the republicans and democrats live on what the american people have to live on. maybe they would stop their bickering. they look like a bunch of kids fighting over something. you know that you voted partyline on the health care. if it is good for business, it is good for the people in congress and senate.

why is it not good for the people to have a years'delay? why can't they do it that way? guest: congress would function homer if more members went and listen to the people that they were representing. when i hear questions like i here today -- that would go a long way to bridge the gap that has existed in washington for too long. delay --dent didn't the president did delay the reporting requirement for big businesses reporting health care coverage for their workers. saying they cannot do the reporting, they were saying we know little bit of time -- we need a little bit of time to upgrade our software. the president said we will give

you more time to upgrade your systems, but 95% of them are already providing health care coverage for their workers. that is the goal of the affordable care act. as delaying the one year for individuals -- the goal is to get all americans with affordable and quality health care. peopleg that would delay being able to attain health care coverage. one significant health care issue away from a national ruin. host: sticking to the affordable care act, democrats wanted a delay until 2016. the unions do not like this.

it was requested by unions who object to pay more through their own health policies. that logic does not make it a good idea. if the delay is not paid for in some way, it could force some insurers to raise premiums and make coverage less affordable. without another source of money, the proposal should not be included in the final package. do you think this helps get rid of that? it is not just unions calling for it, it is also large companies that are self funded. putting this on the backs of unions is a mistake here. it is a one-year delay. it is not a repeal. there would be no deficit impact on it. is not a complete repeal, it is about a one-year dope -- a

one-year delay. what the senate may ultimately agree to. we may be getting a little ahead of ourselves in that conversation. we might want to wait and see what the details are and zero in on that. as we told our viewers, house republican meeting momentarily. the senate republicans are going to meet at 11:00 a.m. we will wait and watch and see what they have to say about the emerging deal. guest: the democratic caucus will be meeting at 9:00 a.m. our bipartisan group is staying in contact and discussing various proposals. it's hard to negotiate these deals in front of cameras and microphones. this will allow congress to meet and talk to each other to see what we come up with. host: and, pennsylvania, independent caller. the superrich and the

have taken the tax laws to benefit themselves and i would a thousand us take random tax returns, no names, of the rich and superrich and even what kind ofto see tax breaks they got over the last 30 years. if you add that up, i guarantee whatuld be 30 times welfare and medicare and social security is costing us. they want to take money from these programs when they are avoiding paying taxes they need to pay. i feel that everybody in congress should be drug and alcohol tested. they work for us. thear that many have duis,

capital reeks of alcohol when you walk into it. onhink some of them are drugs and alcohol by some of the comments that i see. a monstrosity on our hands with the tax code. we are long overdue in reforming something that is not working. leaving our businesses less competitive in this environment. we have a lot of work to do to find a solution to simplify the tax code and make it fair. we want to help our businesses be more competitive in this global environment. many of my republican colleagues want to reform without any cost savings that could help reduce deficits in future years. that is something i think will

be necessary to reach the grand bargain. i am a former prosecutor and i tend to adhere to the fourth amendment. you need probable cause before you start doing searches and seizures against our person and property. there should be a case of probable cause before we start randomly testing for drug or out all use. president made a mistake drawing his redline on delaying the mandate. democrats are going to pay for that and 2014. guest: i did not believe that health-care care reform is going to be easy. i did not think it was going to happen seamlessly or painlessly. so thatto move forward we know what is working and what is not working and have the ability to make changes along the way. let's wait and see how this plays out. host: we are talking with ron kind. chairman of the new

democrat coalition. karen, virginia beach, democratic caller. such a volatile topic this morning, but i would like to know -- there is more than sufficient evidence that building seven was brought down toh explosives on 9/11 arrant a new investigative -- new investigation. why is congress ignoring the victims family members? myst: that is out of wheelhouse. i have not focused my attention on the allegation that is out there. from what i have seen from the evidence -- this seems conclusive to me. it is time for us to move on. we can keep revisiting the episode, but you will not find support on capitol hill to waste a lot of time going down that path again.

host: mike, republican. caller: good morning. a couple of comments. federal employee and -- federal employees being laid off -- do you know what a signature loan is? guest: i think so. the irony is congress has passed legislation to give retroactive pay to the furloughed workers. it doesn't make sense. let's bring them back to work. theyare frustrated that cannot go back to work. they are being forced to take signature loans or scramble in order to pay their bills. it is unfair to them. i see the work that they do. , professionalated employees, trying to do the best job they can. this is another blemish congress has to wear. you seem like a

reasonable man, so i will try to be a white. -- try to be polite. i find it very frustrating to watch democrats get on the floor and using words to words to dese , jihadist,fellows terrorists, extremists, radicals. --n they called those names republicans those names, they are calling american citizens those names. i am tired of being called a racist or radical or extremist. it is childish. i think they ought to be reminded that king george about the original tea party, were extremists. there is no respect for the opinion of people who disagree