would want to have some positive control by a human. if you're on the road going 65 miles per hour, whatever the speed limit is, you ought to be able to have that. [laughter] we have that. we can talk to you and the car will pretty much take care of itself. it will speed you up and slow you down. in a confined urban environment, i can think of the weather, light spreading out of an intersection, a dog, a puppy. i can see all sorts, maybe the plaintiff's bar would love that. the software. it is a ways off. i think it will have to be another generation before it comes.

>> let's squeeze in another question since we are in washington. what do you think the automobile industry should be at the midterm review. is it an opportunity to weaken the 54.5 standard? >> i was involved in the new café standards. i thought senior executives were not actively engaged enough. little things came up. for example, we produced trucks. hyundai didn't. i grew up in a rural area in minnesota where dual axle trucks, you needed heavy duty trucks where you haul in heavy equipment and livestock. we were serving a market that some of our competitors did not.

we wanted to bifurcate trucks and cars. level the playing field. some do not want to play in the market across the board. the second thing was if you produced 24,999 of a specific mercades or bmw, do not have to pay the guzzler tax if you have that mileage. what is mercedes and bmw need in the home markets? we have the clinical scientist versus physical sciences determining what this can do. this is some high-end thermodynamics and engineering. we asked for a mid-term review to see if the physical science kept up with the political

science. the senate just mandating this and waking up in 2022 and saying we are part of the problem. we wanted to be part of the solution. it is not an opportunity to renegotiate. i think this is a responsible industry to take and one that i was glad to see that our regulators agreed with. >> we're almost out of time. before asking one last question, i have a couple of housekeeping matters. i would like to remind you about our upcoming speakers. on december 19 we have a grammy winner and bluegrass legend and on january 9 general frank j graft, chief of the national guard. i would like to present our guests with the traditional national press club coffee mug. [laughter]

>> i do not drink coffee but i will try. >> a month from now when you are in the private sector what is the first car you will buy? >> i think i am in the private sector. [laughter] i will only buy a gm car. then i will check with my wife first. >> a politic answer. thank you. thank you for coming today. how about a round of applause? [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2013] >> i would also like to thank our national press club staff including our journalism institute and the staff for helping to organize today's

event. you can find more information about the national press club including a transcript on our website at www.press.org. thank you. we are adjourned.

>> in a few moments, the conversation with the cio resident richard trumka. later, some of yesterday's memorial service marking the 25th anniversary of the bombing of pan am flight 103. offering services, there are one set of rules. over the air, another set of rules. the marketplace has converged well be on that. -- well beyond that 80-year-old onset. >> transform an all digital businesses. the first thing i would probably

observe is the dramatic shift from hardware to software centric systems. the minute you are able to do more software rather than proprietary hardware, i think the full creativity of software engineering comes into play. >> what is the concept of a channel? we think of it being this linear thing on your remote control. how many of us really watch linear television and real-time, other than the sports activity, we have gone into this time- sharing model. we have seen the device shifting. i may be recorded in my dvr, but i want to watch in my tablet when i'm out and about. >> lawmakers, innovators, and other experts on the future of television. monday night on the committee caters on c-span2. that communicators on c-span2. next, e's mike allen sits down with afl-cio president richard from good to talk about

politics, become a, and issues important to labor unions. this is 50 minutes. [applause] >> good morning. thank you for being here. the last playbook breakfast of the year. welcome all of you. we would love to involve you on the conversation. i have my twitter machine. if you tweet your questions they will pop up here and i will ask our guest. i would like to thank the bank of america for making these conversations possible. what a year. a dozen playbook breakfast. we appreciate their support. for the last play book breakfast of the year, we are honored to

have someone who started working in the coal mines in pennsylvania for $2.96 an hour. now he is president of the afl- cio. richard trumka. [applause] thank you for coming in. thank you for being here for our last breakfast. we appreciate it. what did you do? >> you put up props, roof supports. you put crossbars across. we would put those up as you invent the mining system. we would put those up. i made half a cent a more than i do. when we first reached out to you, you weren't in town. you were deer hunting.

how did you do? >> i did well. it was a tough season. i ended up taking some nice bucks. 10 points, a nice buck. >> what are you going to make? >> some sausage, jerky, steaks. >> you told me there is one meat that is tastier than deer. >> elk. >> you've taken some in your time? >> i have. >> the big issue, we have heard everyone talking about, the increasing income inequality in the country. you represent 11 and a half million working men and women. >> there are a number of things

we can do. you have the wage stagnation that could be helped. if you look back over the years, from 1946 to 1973, productivity in this country doubled, and so did wages. the interesting thing about that was that the bottom two quartiles, wages were raising faster than the people at the top. organized labor represented 35- 40% of the workforce. >> what is the figure? >> we are 12%. >> we were driving wages of the entire industry. we negotiated wages read from 73, wages have stagnated. the difference between those

figures, it is gone to the top one percent because we represent 12% of the workforce. you push for full employment. as full employment comes, it will create more demand for the middle class and allow them to be purchasing and create more jobs. >> full employment. >> four percent would be the goal to shoot for. >> what about the people who are underemployed? that is what hits me when i read stories. people who are trying to live on the jobs that they once would've thought they would get when they get out of school. people whose ambitions have been curtailed. >> they are the underreported

about people. they are unemployed. they don't work 40 hours. they do not make enough wages. more and more that is young people. people under 30 years old. more and more with women. those groups of americans are taking the price for it. it is becoming more of the trend rather than last. part-time jobs, some have a couple our time jobs to try to get by. they should be focused on the underemployment. we ignore them. in this country we talk about unemployment, we do not talk about unemployed -- underemployed people. >> you have, vice president biden uses the expression fingertip feel. you get the bureaucratic side of it. you talk to the hill all the time. you are also a politician. you were reelected as president. >> my grandfather would not be happy with you calling me a politician.

>> or a bureaucrat. >> worst yet. >> both of your grandfathers were coal miners. >> correct. both of his brothers, my uncles, and many of my cousins were coal miners. >> your son became a lawyer. what happened to him? >> he saw the errors of my way. it was a different world. the minds of that time weren't hiring. quite frankly, i wanted to make sure he had a good education and had options open to him. had he chosen to go in the mines, i would have been proud and happy. he decided that he wanted to go into law. he practices in litigation and represents workers. >> that is your consolation. >> my consolation is whatever he does that makes him happy. it would be ok by me.

he can't live in my shadow. he has to do what he wants to do. by and large, he does what he thinks. >> and has for some time. >> he was born to be a litigator, i can tell you that. >> one great story, he was two years old at the time, and he had done something. i was about to discipline him. he stood with his hands on his hips, and he told me you can't scare me, i am in the union. i thought i had gotten through at least. >> i got sidetracked. i was about to ask you, what is the biggest story of working conditions in this country for regular americans beyond the beltway the media has missed?

>> every day is a challenge to get by. those without jobs are struggling. we just did a budget deal that didn't include an extension of ui. >> that was the number one thing you wanted to talk about. why is that so important? >> to have 1.3 million people who are going to have no benefits as of december 31. the first six months of 2014, another 1.9 billion americans will be without any kind of income or support. these are long-term unemployed people. it becomes more than just -- it is not about a campaign issue. it is about feeding them.

when it comes to helping those workers, those unemployed workers, santa is not the only one making a list this time of year. we are making our own list as well. to make sure that they don't get left behind. look what happens. they get left behind. we lose gdp. we lose jobs. we lose buying power. everybody suffers. these are people that have bad luck. the plant shut down. they were laid off. i do not have an opportunity to go back to work. we really want them to make sure that they do. your question is, what is out there? it is challenging. people are struggling to find a job. those with a job are worried about losing a job. or losing benefits. those who are little older are

struggling and figuring out how are we going to get by in retirement because the 401(k) generation has been a colossal bust for most americans. it has been great for investment bankers and wall street. it hasn't done so well for others. >> one thing the media, and i am speaking broadly, what is the thing we could do to better cover the lives and realities of working people? >> talk about stagnant wages, inequality in a real sense. >> those are concepts. >> talk about someone who struggles. a 55-year-old man who just got laid off and doesn't know where he is going to go. a 22-year-old woman who came out of school at the top of her class and cannot find a job in her chosen field. show those faces. talk about the policies that could make a difference. if you talk to people on the hill they will say we have a big problem. we have a wage stagnation

problem. what are you what to do about it? that is when they get abstract. there is a number of policies we could do. instead of talking about cutting social security for instance, we should expand social security so the under 30 generation doesn't hit a train wreck. they are the lowest percentage of unemployed right now. their wages are lower than they have been. >> how could the u.s. afford to expand? >> it is nonsense. we're the richest nation on the face of the earth. we can afford to do everything we decide to do. just make it a priority. we will pay for it. deficits aren't the cause of the crisis or a bad economy. they are the result. >> what should the government do less of to pay to expand social security? >> they should do less loopholes.

for corporations and the very rich. they should do more spending on infrastructure to make us as a country more competitive as a nation, and create jobs in the process. we should be increasing the minimum wage. let's talk about that for a second. if minimum wage had kept pace with inflation, it would be $10.75. if it had kept pace with productivity, it would be $18.75. if they kept pace with wage increases of the top one percent, it will be $28 an hour. >> i think something could well happen on minimum wage next year. you look at polling. this is an issue that breaks through. what is your path to action on that?

what do you hope will happen? >> let me expand that out. there is a growing trend towards populism in this country. it is not matched in the policies. there is a trend towards it. >> we see this with the election of mayor de blasio. >> you see with the occupy movement, elizabeth warren getting elected. you see it with the way obama ran the campaign against romney. you see it with the pope being named man of the year. the policies haven't caught up with what americans believe. 80% of americans say you ought to increase the minimum wage. 70% think that social security should be increased. >> one of your hats is a lobbyist. you talk to capitol hill.

both to get information, to persuade, to inform, to have relationships. what you think could happen on minimum wage? >> i think it could be passed. here is why. it would increase a minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10, an index for inflation. it has to be indexed so we do not run into this problem. it would increase the tip wage. that is something no one talks about. the tip wage right now is $2.13 an hour. it has a been increased since 1991. by the way, three quarters of the people that work or earn tip wages are women. they get hit the hardest.

it would increase tip wages 70%. it would be a good thing. you can say, is it possible? think about this. chris christie won an election. the same electorate that elected him, by the same margin, increased the minimum wage and indexed the minimum wage in new jersey. it is a policy that is not only should happen, but will happen. and must happen for the good of the economy. >> do think this republican house would pass it? >> they will not have a choice. the growing sentiment right now. they're going to take it on the chin. they are alienating latinos and immigrants. they are alienating african- americans. they are alienating catholics by going after the pope, calling the pope a marxist. >> the speaker is catholic.

>> i loved his remark. >> speaker boehner is catholic. >> he is not the only one who speaks for the republican party. >> you have a problem. your problem is your shrinking. in 2002 -- >> my suits started looking baggy. [laughter] >> you had 13 million members in 2002. in last year, you had 11.5 million members. what do you do to get more members? >> we are doing several things. the answer to that is the same thing we have to do to make the country better. we have to change the political climate, the legislative climate, and the economic climate. >> that is all. >> we can do that before an election. we are working on it. we have to organize.

what we are doing is expanding out to talk about progressive friends. when you talk about the policies of progressive america together, we are the majority. we don't act like that. we have been allowed to be beaten in echelon. we are trying to put together a coalition of progressive people. we reached out before our convention. we stood reaching out to friends and allies. in the past, we would come up with the solution and would say join us. let's change that. first, let's sit down and all of us try to create that solution. six months before the convention, we joined with progressive friends and allies from the naacp, to the sierra club. >> women's groups?

>> yes. 75-80 different groups. we talk about problems and solutions. we decided to open up the labor movement, to bring them in. we form strategic partnerships with those. that is changing the economic climate, the political climate. >> it used to be the if you are going to organize, you could go to a factory or to mine. you cannot do that anymore. one of the most fascinating things i have been researching in this conversation is the concept of fragmented workplaces. car washers, cabdrivers in la and new york. these are people who don't work in any concentrated location.

how do you reach them? >> there are other groups. i should correct you on one thing. you can still organize a mine or a factory. we also do domestic workers. >> home care is huge and growing. >> we go at it very labor intensive. go and talk to them and find out their needs. bring them together and start to develop issues to work together. it is very labor intensive. we have been successful at it. 27,000 taxicab drivers in new york city. domestic workers from los angeles to michigan to ohio. car wash workers in new york and the west coast. we are organizing. >> you are seeing other signs of people getting interested. you are seeing fast food workers

that are fed up with minimum wage and the bad treatment they get starting to come together and demand better wages. walmart workers, thousands across the country coming together to try and change the walmart model, which quite frankly drives the low-wage model in the country. >> a lot of what you have been talking about is developing friends and allies as opposed to formal news paying members. a formal membership probably peaked? >> i think we are on the rise. we have more members this year than we had two years ago. we re-affiliated the labor. we re-affiliated, we have more members than we did a couple of years ago. the question is, is it enough? is it enough to do the changes?

change the economy, change the legislative environment? the answer is no. we decided we have to reach out to progressive groups because all of us will have a difficult time. the entrenched power that exists in the political system through money and with the elites because of their connections, interconnections with one another, it will be difficult for all of us coming together. that is the goal. that is the direction we are heading in. bring progressive people together. start educating about the economy. not just our members. nonunion members. start talking to candidates at the lower level. educate them on the economy. make sure that they understand how the economy works and how it doesn't work.

then, make them understand the models that are out there. >> a couple of twitter questions coming in. how would you ease the transition from a coal and natural gas economy to a renewable economy? >> you have to look at the time that it happens. coal still produces about 50% of the energy in the country. fossil fuel fuels every corner that is out there. you're not going to be able to shut them down overnight, nor should you. the transition is to focus on people. let me give you an example of a way i grew up. i grew up in a small mining town. the town was built around that mine. when it went down, the town went down. there were mines like that everywhere.

there was a cotton mill in north carolina, or clothing mill in maine or massachusetts. you go through that transition. it wasn't all at once. we have to focus on the people, and transitioning them. not just giving them a fancy burial, but giving them away and the community a way to grow back into the economy and succeed. the transition has to look at the transition of the people and the community getting back to some kind of help so you don't just pull the plug on them and say, you are on your own. let this town or community die. >> another twitter question. should unions get an obamacare exception? >> whenever they have built the first automobile, it wasn't a

perfect automobile. when we started playing baseball, it wasn't the perfect game. it has evolved. obamacare is a good start. good things in it, unintended consequences that do need to be looked at and changed. we need to build on it. we made some classic mistakes. first, we exempted the pharmaceutical industry and said that medicare couldn't use its buying power to drive down prices. that needs to change. we jettison the public options so there wasn't the competition we needed to keep prices down. we made mistakes with the exchanges. we made mistakes with the system. >> a lot of mistakes. >> sure it was. it is a good start. everybody agrees that what we had wasn't working. a health-care system that didn't

provide good results but spent twice as much as any other nation in the world was not a system we ought to be saying let's go back to it. we needed the change. we needed to evolve. when we first did social security, there were problems like this. when we first did medicare and medicaid, there were problems just like this. we need to, if we had a congress that actually cared about america rather than creating issues, and having an issue to run against obamacare or for obamacare, we would fix the system. >> the affordable care act is an unusual problem as you know. almost any bill, you can go on make corrections. everyone is afraid to reopen the affordable care act.

we are stuck with a bill that needs even technical corrections to it. >> to get back to your original question, should we be exempt? it has had unintended consequences that jeopardize the existence of health and retirement funds that have been the backbone of the country. >> what exemption? >> we should have it tweaked so if you have an existing plan that covers five hundred thousand people, you ought to be a continuing. >> are you getting grief about that now from members who can't keep their doctors?

>> i don't know how you would say you have to pay more right now. >> you were saying under the affordable care act there are are not going to be higher deductibles? >> i didn't say that. you said already. it hasn't kicked in. they can be paying anything already. a lot of them are. we are looking at examples of where we need to make changes. our health care plan gets treated unfairly in this. here is how. you raised this, so i will give you a full answer. if you are eligible for a subsidy, you get paid the subsidy. we said don't pay the subsidy to the worker, pay it to the fund that covers them, that helps them out. if somebody says, here's $3000,

go buy health care, or buy shoes for the kids, some of them are going to buy shoes for the kids instead of health care. if you are a minimum wage worker having a tough time, and someone says, here is $3000. go buy health care. don't buy shoes for the kids. i bet you will buy shoes for the kids. our employers pay into the trust fund. in order to get the subsidy, those low-wage workers have to come out of the trust fund, and they are deemed as not having health care for all their employees, so they have got to pay a penalty. on top of that you pay $63, even though we got the same plan we always had. there are unintended consequences that benefit insurance companies. am i getting grief about that? sure. do i want to see obamacare scrapped? absolutely not. baseball is not the same game it was in 1800. the model t is not the same. we are able to push the hill to make the improvements because

the system in this country is broken. we paid twice as much as any nation, and we are worse off. it has to be fixed. >> what kind of grief do you get? >> you dummy. your typical stuff. they used to call me fat. since i lost weight, they don't call me fat anymore. they just call me dumb. >> how much did you lose? >> probably about 30. >> what did you do? >> exercise. my dad was a coal minor. he spent 44 years in the mine. one day i was proud of myself

because i lost some weight. i had been working out really hard and i said, dad, what do you think? he said, you haven't looked behind you lately. >> this is amazing. you went to college and law school while you were working in a mine. >> first i started working the midnight shift in the mine. i went to school in the daytime. then i did a six-month plan where i went to school for six months and went to the mine for six months. the union sent me to college. my workers sent me to law school, and i worked about six months. then i got out of law school, went to work in the legal

department of mine workers, worked there several years, and the guy i helped elect, he and i had a significant philosophical agreement, and i resigned and went back to work in the mine. i worked full-time, did a little pro bono. i never charged anybody for anything. i did some adoptions and things to help out people in the community and ran for office and got elected and ran for president and got elected. >> union contracts are done behind closed doors. you took a more confrontational approach. the first time i covered you was in virginia. >> to an extent a strike can be good. it was over health care. >> we saw a little of your style there. >> i did what i had to do to

protect retired workers and widows. that is what the strike was over. they actually believed our active members wouldn't support of retirees and widows. they totally miscalculated. i tried to explain. they wouldn't listen. they were going to do away with health care. we couldn't allow that to happen. the industry depended upon the plan would have lost their health care. we took a hard line and said, you are not going to do that. it was a 15 month strike.

we engaged in peaceful civil disobedience. it was a very confrontational strike that ended up making worldwide news. everybody in europe knew. even in russia people knew. we had tremendous support. in the state of virginia it was one of the most conservative states in the union at the time, may still be. 94% of the populace in virginia supported us in saying we should be able to maintain health care. >> let's look ahead. what do you think are the chances the democrats take the house in 2014? >> 2014 isn't like 2006 when the democrats made major gains or 2010 when republicans made major

gains. 2014 is an opportunity. the trend right now is towards populism, but populism can't be a bumper sticker in october and expect the democrats to win, because it is not automatic for them. the republicans are shooting themselves in the foot, but the democrats are not capitalizing. they haven't capitalized anywhere near where they should, so if they take on issues like unemployment insurance, increasing social security, minimum wage, infrastructure, and they actually fight for them, not just so we can have an issue in october, then i think they can ultimately make

significant gains in october. it is not automatic. i think the american public are frustrated and angry with both parties. one of the two parties is going to have to show they have a path forward that represents and benefits the average joe and jane and not just the people at the top. >> i hear what you say about the message and the issues. what are the mechanics? >> they have to bring the issues forward and actually fight for them. >> how do you want them to do that? >> in legislation. talk is cheap. don't just talk the talk. walk the walk. bill.fight for it. hold people

put forward the bill. fight for it. hold people accountable. i got to tell you, it is unconscionable that the people in the capital left town and 1.3 million people are going to be out in the cold on december 31. >> do you worry republicans will take the senate? >> at the current rate, i don't worry about that. these guys are taking their legs off at the knees. democrats aren't even capitalizing on it. i wish they would. >> let's say there is a democratic majority in the house and senate. would you push for the nuclear option on legislation. >> on the house side? look, i think you got a normal process you normally go through.

when somebody becomes obstructionist i think you have to do something. look at what has happened. on the senate side these guys have filibustered in the last year more than the 30 years before that. take the three judges in the d c circuit. nina bullard, exemplary. we are going to do something on taxes. three judges they just filibustered. that has got to stop. it has got to stop some way. i hope it stops at the ballot box. i hope the american people say, we have had enough about this. you care more about the political issue than you do about this country. they get a rules change on

appointments. at this point the president is five years in. we have more vacancies than any other president before him. he can't even get normal people appointed. that is part of the strategy. if you want to make government look bad, don't put more people in. it is part of the strategy. we have to break through it. >> we will bring you a microphone. i want to ask if you know the mayor elect of new york. >> i do. >> what is he like? what did you think about his election? >> i am excited by his election. i think he will make a progressive mayor.

i think he will stand up for the average worker. he will do all that stuff but more. he will focus on the little guy more than perhaps his predecessors. >> he started as a real underdog. what do you make of his victory? what does it tell you about the times? >> populism works. if it is your message and what you believe in, it is what most americans believe in. >> what should other democrats learn from his election? >> they should learn populism is a very powerful tool, and it is aligned with the major thinking of the american people. when you talk to them, and you

support a raise to the minimum wage, all that stuff the american people agree on. do you think trade has been good? 77% of americans think they are bad, yet policy will continue the same trade agreements, not because democracy works. if democracy worked they would be completely gone. here is the real issue. what happens after they run on populism? president obama ran a populist campaign in many ways against mitt romney. >> you are disappointed in president obama? >> you have to continue and fight for these policies after election day. that is why people are so frustrated. talk is cheap. you have to walk the walk. i think he will follow through. we are going to try to make sure more politicians follow through.

>> you feel president obama hasn't? >> do i think president obama could have done more? yes, but let's look at the playing field he has been dealt. it's not like he has a utopian playing field, and we have a house and senate saying, let's work together. they have done everything they can to stymie what he stood for. they defy the will of the american people. what kind of democracy is it when you defy the will of the people you're there to represent? whether it is minimum wage, social security, infrastructure, job creation, immigration reform, trade policy, the minorities support those, yet the minority position prevails

because of a system awash with money. >> do we have a question? >> good morning. i with alliance for justice. you spend a lot of time talking about the damage done by congress. what kind of harm do you think has been done to everyday americans by the supreme court? >> i think the supreme court has done lasting damage to the system of democracy. this supreme court equates money with free speech. let's think about it. do you actually believe washington and jefferson were sitting around the table one day and jefferson says, you know, george, i have twice as much money as you. therefore, i should have twice as much free speech as you? i can't fathom that, yet this

supreme court has been very fond and accommodating to corporate america. they have done lasting damage to the system. under their rules, you can hardly regulate the flow of money in the political system. it is difficult to see away without a constitutional change, so they have done lasting damage to it, and i hope we will see some change. do i think that is going to happen? i am not going to bet the ranch on it. >> good morning. my name is mark. i am an executive director of teaching. in an era where it would seem union membership would grow very fast, it is not. what is the mentality that is holding it

back, and how do you intend on battling it? >> you don't have to take my word for this. there is an international study, and they think the labor laws in this country are woeful. you have significant intimidation. there are between 25000 and 30,000 workers who get fired illegally each year for trying to organize. think about it. you are in a job. you want to organize because you think you aren't getting enough benefits. you want to organize so you have a voice. i want to get back to the

positive reasons. they call you into an meeting. you have to sit in a room like this. i get to tell you what i am going to do if you organize. i am going to move this plant to china if you organize. then they fire people, a couple of ringleaders. they put heads on the wall, and everybody goes, these guys are serious. >> tell us the positive reasons. >> if you look at institutions that have empowered workers by giving them more say on a job, those systems are longest lasting and most effective when there is a union, because when you come together, when an employer and group of people come together, if you are of relatively equal power, you make good decisions. my kid comes to me and says, i want a bicycle. i say no and walk off.

the same day my wife comes to me and says, i want a new car. i say, let's sit down and talk about it. i like to think we are a relatively equal power. that's what happens. you make better decisions when you are of relatively equal power. the union give that to workers. look at what ford has done. look at the coal industry. i joined together with a guy in alabama, and we put together a system that empowered workers. productivity went up. the number of injuries went down. that's one of the great reasons for having a union. it allows workers to actually

achieve fullest capability. >> i am going to sneak in one more twitter question. what does it mean that three industrial unions have come out against tpp, tia? will you follow suit, and when will you decide? >> it's not done yet. i want to look at what is in there. everybody knows it hasn't worked. most economists say the model is lower wages for middle-class workers. we ought to look at the different model. can it be amended? can we get a different type of system and a different model? i hope so. if it is modeled after nafta, it is a failed model, so we will

oppose it. i hope for the sake of the country it changes, and i hope for american workers we get it right for a change. >> you have one other problem. steelers are six and eight. >> it is breaking my heart. i was out hunting, and i looked at the sun. it was just below the trees, and i thought, we have a lot in common. it is the same with the steelers. i think they need to change systems. they kind of had bad luck, but if they are zero and 12, i am still a steelers fan. >> i want to thank the bank of america, your colleagues for this fantastic series, thank all

of you, thank our politico for making this possible. happy holidays, and i want to thank you for a fantastic conversation. [applause] >> on the next washington

journal, we will discuss the federal decision last week to revise the bond buying program. then, advice for preparing your 2014 federal taxes come and the new taxes taking effect next year. washington journal, life 7 a.m. eastern on -- c-span. as 2013 wraps up we are here in the west front of the u.s. capitol to tell you about our c- span your review series. and look at five important issues we've covered over the last year. immigration laws, tuesday, senate filibuster rule changes. and as they surveillance on wednesday. thursday, it is gun laws. and on friday, went up the week with a look at the u.s. budget and government shutdown. that all starts monday at 8 a.m.

eastern on c-span. >> coming up next on c-span, newsmakers. and then some of yesterday's memorial service at arlington national cemetery marking the 25th anniversary -- anniversary of pan am flight 103. and then a discussion on the situation in north korea, and the president of having executed his local -- u n ncle. things for very much -- thanks very much for being with us. senior congressional energyondent, covering environmental issues put together with the with us. back to the white house, and the headlights of the washington post is that they

urged the obama administration to bypass congress. what do you hear? >> i think that is old news, no new news. that is what has been going on for several years, essentially since the 2010 congressional election. i think that has been their whole strategy on environmental policy, and a bunch of other things since republican to the house in 2010. it is a little hard for me to imagine how they can double down on that. i think they are there already. i can imagine that continuing to >> what is your biggest concern? >> it is what it is now, which is that the obama administration in many cases in environmental action and others as going beyond his constitutional authority, going beyond their role in terms of executive action. i think that should be a very