tive ron kind of wisconsin, chair of the new democrat coalition will discuss the group's agenda and president obama's push for new trade deals. we will look for your comments on facebook and twitter. ♪ r. good morning, everyone, this wednesday, january 28th. here are your morning headlines. senate democrats are backing away from a bi-partisan proposal to push for immediate sanctions against iran follow. at a time report from the president obama not to undercut international talks with tehran. on capitol hill, house speaker john boehner is considering legal action against president obama's immigration executive decision telling g.o.p. conference that there is not much the party can do legislatively on the nature side confirmation hearings for u.s. attorney loretta lynch local get underway at 10:00 am

eastern time. expected to be grilled by senate jured issuary members over the next two days. coverage today at 10:00 a.m. on c-span 3 and look for coverage tomorrow on c-span. this morning, we will begin with loretta lynch's nomination and what you all think the role, the priorities for the next prior to should be. . >> also, send us a tweet @c-span tweet @c-spanwj is our handle or facebook.com/c-span and send us an e-mail. journal@c-span.org. we will get to your thoughts here in just a minute. the priorities for the next attorney general. first on the phone this morning is dale clintston let's again with loretta lynch's career

path. how did she get to this point of being nominated to serve as attorney general? guest: it's really interesting. she is a long-time federal prosecutor, the daughter of a baptist preacher and a librarian and went to law school but was in private practice. didn't like it that much. it wasn't fulfilling one friday night, i believe, in 1990, she had -- she collapsed from exhaustion. she couldn't stand the job. so she went and joined the us attorney's office and really liked it being a federal prosecutor and was tapped to be bill clinton's u.s. attorney for the eastern district of new york in brooklyn in 1999. did that for a couple of years and left for private practice when george bush became president and returned. obama nominated her again in 2010. she served as u.s. attorney and she was chairwoman a co-chair of holder the current attorney general advise on or about committee. she has a deep understanding of

the justice department a low-key style that made her an idea candidate once republicans took over the senate. holder has had a tough time with congress. he is the first sitting cabinet official to be held in contempt with republicans upset he wasn't handing over documents in that fast and furious drug stein host: will she or won't she be like attorney general eric holder? guest: she will have many of the same priorities as holder. whether she is as out spoken as he is, it's too soon to tell. you never know how someone will adjust to being in the top job. right? and what they will feel like they need to say. you know let's not forget that holder made big news in 2009 when he said the us was a quote nation of cowards, on matters of race. right now, rachel tensions are high after ferguson and eric garner's death in new york which

loretta lynch's office is investigating. she hasn't talked much about those things. we did a story at bloomberg earlier this week or last week about her speeches and what you could find in her speeches. this is an issue that is very -- she is very passionate about, she cares about. a lot of her earlier speeches were kind of fiery on the topic. so i would imagine that, you know, she is either going to be kind of the low-key person she is now as u.s. attorney or maybe she is going to step out of hershel when she has the top job and is more vocal on the issues she cares about. host: what will she be asked about today from the senate judiciary committee monsters what will be some of the areas that republicans focus on, that democrats focus on? and are these areas that issue -- issues that are being left behind by attorney general eric holder guest: you know, you guys are going to cover it so i imagine you will have a long day. they are going to ask question afterq question after question

from anti-terrorism tactics, perhaps a letter to the white house about, you know, transferring, you know terror suspects from other countries to the united states for trial. they are upset about that. there are not -- a lot of republicans aren't happy about the clemency plan that obama and holder have instituted that grants clemency to low-level drug offenders. they are going through those cases right now. three, you know, immigration, you know holder and obama have taken a lot of heat for the add miles per hourstration's plan to -- that they say will fix a lot. the immigration of process while congress takes action. congress doesn't want them to do that. i mean we are going to hear about everything. host: yeah. guest: they will throw the kitchen sink at her. it will be a long long day. host: how many republicans does she need to clear the interviewed issuary schmidt in the guest: that's a good question. i imagine it's not going to

be -- it will be interesting to see how it goes today. the committee has more republicans than democrats right now because, as you know at a time republicans, she has going to need at least, i guess, three or four republicans if it's a short answer but the republicans are the majority of the committee. she is going to need some. i don't think, you know, from what people say she is not the kind of controversial pick that's going to squeak by. there will be people who vote against her because they do when they go against the president's nominees. but i think it will be -- it will either -- that's what i think about it. host: hostlike you said, we'll cover both days of these confirmation hearings. to the at 10:00 a.m. and then tomorrow our coverage over here on c-span two days, and there is the loretta lynch expected to be grilled by these senate judiciary committee members about what she would do as

attorney general. we are asking our viewers: what should the prior to private be for this next attorney general? what issues does at a time ag have to deal with? guest: man, right now we have a lot of the kind of fallouts of ferguson, the deaths of two black men and one in ferguson and one in new york that sparked a lot of unrest across the country. she has toe deal with cyber crimes. you know you have the people hanging your credit card and the chinese hackers and government agentors who are stealing your stuff. you have i mean everything. the justice department, healthcare fraud. you have -- which is, you know one of the increasingly big problems. she is going to have to -- we justify many matters that's before the president all the time. so, i think that those are probably the biggest priorities she faces but, you

know, tomorrow they could all change. so that's what's fascinating about the job. host: del quentin willber, thank you for your time. appreciate it. guest: thanks to having me on. i love your show. host: to you, what do you think the next priorities should be. you heard there from del quentin willber. there are lots of issues on the table. the president's immigration, executive, whether or not the justice department would investigate the irs targeting tea party groups. you've got civil rights. the voting act the voting rights act. you've also got issues dealing with civil rights and grand juries. the criminal justice system. it's all there. what do you think the prioritied

should be? let me show you some reaction from capitol hill on this nomination of loretta lynch patrick leahy tweeting out that on the eve of the confirmation hearings. he urges senators to focus on the record of the attorney general nomination loretta lynch. and then, david vidder said he opposing this nomination. eric holder attacked louisiana throughout his time as a lot of g. i worry loretta link might be more of a threat. he also set down with ms. lynch in his. he met with obama's ag nominee and different get any answers on executive am nest city. i am convinced we can't count on her to stop it. david vitter saying the the senator saying that this is the first step, the loretta lynch nomination is the first step in stopping president obama's executive action on immigration.

senator ben cardin said he met with the justice department loretta lynch, talked about ending rachel profiling, protecting voting rights and more. senator jack reed democrat of rhode island: she is extremely talented and well qualified -- a strong choice to lead. what do you think? rb, a republican in oregon. go ahead. caller: thank you. madam, i just don't know with this administration how much leeway people have. i have been very concerned for a real long time on the obstruction of information. and i -- you know this could go to many different controversies

that have followed this administration. and i, as an american have a very hard time entrusting what i am hearing. host: okay. so daughter worry that this the next attorney general, if it's loretta lynch, if she is confirmed by the senate, that she just can't be her own person in that role? caller call well i would be foolish if i didn't think that that was a possibility. host: okay. what do you point to as evidence? what concerns you? caller: just watching the various controversies coming down the pike and the obstruction. host: okay. all right. we will move on to dan in

asheville, north carolina. go ahead. caller: thank you, the follow-up i think that the attorney general ralt should have is to look at what's going on at the local police forces. host: okay. caller: the shootings just in the area that i have lived. i have personal friends that have been shot and killed by police for no reason and the local police get to investigate it and say that it was justified. without ever really airing out the facts of the case. so, i think that there certainly needs to be special prosecutors to look into that. host: okay.

all right. caller: the second thing, i just moved from north carolina from south carolina. and then in light of what's happened with the speaker of the house in new york, the federal government, the attorney general needs to crack down and arrest and put in jail these crooked state politicians. south carolina is absolutely rife with corruption. host: morris, what are the priorities for this next attorney attorney general? caller: i think she should start out by reminding our nation we are cowards and appoint a couple of black panthers to have patrol the polling places and stopped in for a coffee to remind them she was profiled as a child.

host: the washington times this morning has this quote: the main question is whether she is planning on being the next eric holder. >> that's come from a senate republican aide quoted to the "washington types" republican senators are eager to find out whether ms. lynch considers mr. obama's executive amnesty which aims to stead as many as 5 million illegal immigrants from deportation is within the confines of the constitution. house republicans said last month that they were exploring all leg actions to block the president's plan. senator geoff slake, an arizona republican will question ms. lynch today about operation streamline a justice department used to fasttrack prosecutions of illegal immigrants advocates say the federal government has largely let fall by the wayside. she has no ties to mr. obama's apologized at a time when the justice department is beset by criticism from conservatives and

liberals alike. liberal rights acts railed againsto. the department hasn't initiated an investigation into the irs targeting of tea party groups. jane, in new york democratic caller, what do you think the priorities should be? caller: i think we should offer statehood to some of our central american problems that are having problems say hondz you areas and balance that with an offer of statehood to the district of columbia. they could pay into the social security trust fund action help pay down our deficit and if we supervise their criminal justice system we could eliminate or reduce border disease and crime and as a is senior i am concerned about social security's vooibltty these people would love to pay into the social security trust fund. i would love to have them do that.

jefferson city independent. linda good morning to you. >> caller: thanks for c-span. i would like to address the civil rights actions that don't happen in our country. it just seems like our country is always last on everyone's list t anything. the courts are correct. the cps people are taking kids and entire families. it's like it's everyone else's country except us. you can't get help. you can't talk to a government official. trying to get in touch with one is like a maze. they transfer calls and put you to this one and put you to that 1. >> on this morning, cull

host: day 1 for ag nominee loretta lynch. tell washington should what should be the priorities for this next attorney general. today's hearing is expected to go on all day. senators expected to really really question this nominee. on hot-button issues like immigration, like executive action those sorts of issues are all on the table today. so we want you to tell washington what the priority should be for this next attorney general. by the way politico reported back in december all loretta lynch would need to clear the judiciary committee. senator john mccain senator's geoff flake and fisher have all

indicated that they would vote in favor of her nomination jesse in rosedale maryland a democratic caller go ahead. caller: caller: you have to listen through your phone, not the t.v. caller: okay. hold on. my question is: why can't she just be like herself? why like anybody else? hold a position or job. sot maybe she got her own ideas. host: what do you think her priorities should be if she becomes the next ag caller: number 1, do her job. host: sean lakeland florida,

independent. caller: good morning. host: good morning. caller: two things she needs to do. basically, the lauds are there. they are just not being enacted. i mean, the immigration after the people who employ these people if do you something that stops them from employing these people. the other is the civil rights and voting. i went to see selma and it's so odd to me that the speeches that are in the movie that is 50 years old, you know, and i am saying seem like they could be relevant if they gave those speeches right now today. the exact same things are going on. so we are really not progressing if, as you wanted to saw, civil rights and i am talking about, you know, maybe and that's everybody's rights not just black people or gay people or white people's rights. everybody's rights. you know, it's all racist here in america. so i don't understand that when you can't vote, you can't vote city commissioners and county

commissioners host: okay. caller: until that is you have a same pot like you did in ferguson where you have people controlling people that are not voting people say vote doesn't change. it does change something. we need people there. . host: hot sean, we will keep going with this, getting your thoughts on the priorities. what the priorities should be for this next attorney general. sean was just talking about the next ag needs to focus on voters' rights and civil rights. do you agree with that? some republicans wants to question her about the irs

targeting tea party groups. what would you like the senators on the judiciary committee to ask this nominee for the attorney general ram loretta lynch? we will get do more of your calls. first, other headlines, the "financial timesobama hurries to cement ties with saudis. they said the president led a hast ily assembled he often had a tense relationship over iran. amid take a look at this tweet from secretary of state john kerry. he tweeted out the delegation that was put together huddled on an airplane on their way to en

route home, from riyadh yesterday. always an honor to pull from wise coun issel out of this group that has seen so much. you have clinton's national security adviseor sandy burger senator john mccain representative elliott e engle, former secretary of state and national security add vidors for george w. bush, condoleezza rice and fran tosend. and national security advisor steven hadley and the secretary of state john kerry all huddled there discussing foreign affairs. you have to assume on that flight home from riyadh. and then i also want to share this tweet with you. this comes from the new king of saturday e arabia. he put together a twitter page. this is one of his first tweets:

a pleasure to host president barack obama. we discussed our nation's historic ties and strategic partnership to support world peace. the king putting together a twitter page. he has 1.27 million followers. 1 retweeted 240,000 times. this from the "wall street journal" about this. they say saturday e arabia's new king has the fastest growing twitter profile in the world in a country where they are trying to marry the mete orric rise of social media with tight information. freedom of ex treings is limited. finding the flowol of ideas a challenge on but the monarch e is using these platforms to get out the message it wants to send to citizens and the world at large. our question for all of you this morning. sean in lakeland florida, an independent, sean go ahead.

caller: this is still me from before. host: still hanging on the line, sean. let me move on to carl in indianapolis, democratic caller. go ahead, carl. caller: good morning,s, ghada. host: good morning. caller: i believe the probable investigation of the insane amount of money should be a focus of the attorney general in our election process. host: okay. caller: it seems to be the money is being put in to the system to self benefit more so than for the good of the country degree and the american people. caller: all right, carl. lewis in vicksburg, michigan a republican. what do you think? caller: good morning, ghada. host: good morning called called i would like to ask one question. and that is the fact that eric holder dropped the charges against the black panthers

standing in front of the voting area with a nightstick and him dropping the charnz against them and not going on those charges. thank you, ghada. host: tyrone democratic caller north carolina. what do you think the priorities should be? caller: thank got she gem nominated and do what god want her to do and be honest and fair. the next thing need to do is don't be prejudice against anyone and i will -- that call you just had while ago called and said about the black panthers and going down to ferguson and getting coffee. that was rachel. >> that's why this country is racially divided. we don't need that. we need to pull together. we are god's children. we don't belong to no certain party. we belong to god. we need to put this political stuff bind them. i was looking at you. you said republicans please call. i don't think that was fair either. we need to be fair to everybody. okay? take care and have a blessed day. bye-bye host: okay. we are welcoming democrats,

independent, everyone to call in. some days we have more of one than the other. we ask the other to dial in so we can get all of the voices. leo in lafayette, louisiana, an independent caller. leo, you are next. caller: i think that will priorities host: listen through your phone and not your t.v. okay. caller: the question that should be asked or one of the priorities host: all right. you know what i am messing this up. i am going to have to go. here we go. patricia detroit michigan democratic caller. you are on the air. caller: good morning. yes. i was calling to say that you know, i am gad that, you know gary holder, you know, he did his job, too, and like you say,

about this lady, too, who i hope that everything works well for her, of course hopefully she will do her job well and hopefully, i know that priorities do makes a difference. you have to work on things to sustained things you have to do. i pray for her. >> host: okay, patricia. ellen, what do you think? caller: good morning, c-span. i think her number 1 priority should be the voting rights issuesese. i think the investigation of the grand juries. i think she would have a very difficult time being confirmed by a republican judiciary

committee and republican senate at large because they would feel like it would be a victory for obama and i think they would rather just have the con he tension right now that they have with obama. so, i think her confirmation would be very difficult. host: alan, david vitter from louisiana said he will oppose the nomination of loretta lynch to become attorney general because he views her nomination in the first step in stopping president obama's decision on illegal immigration. the wall street journal this morning with this story, they say that loretta lynch will also likely face questions about pending decisions that have captured nationwide attention including the police killings of unarmed men such as michael brown in ferguson and eric garner in new york. the attorney general eric holder is working to put some of those matters to rest.

four that could result in mrs. 's lynch's i don't know firmation. others will fall to her. mr. holder is expected to announce an investigation by florida neighborhood watch volunteer george zimmerman. florida jury acquitted mr. zimmerman of second degree murder and manslaughter charges in 20s 13. but the justice department opened an investigation to determine whether mr. zimmerman violated mr. martin's civil rights. the justice department doesn't plan to charge mr. zimmerman but is yet to announce that decision. the decisions about whether to file civil rights charges in the deaths of brown and garner are unlikely to be announced before mr. holder leaves. some of the issues for the next attorney general if u.s. attorney lorettaridge is confirmed by the senate mark, an independent in california. good morning. caller: good morning.

the first thing to address and this will help all of us. let's look at the separate individual departments of our government and get corruption out of it. the two parties have had such control. everybody is playing so many favorites our forefathers didn't want pirates in on everything when we started country because inaftertabley, a certain amount of piracy is in our system. i come from a city where we have had some bad officials. i worked for a count each department and i got fired for asking them to take a look at some issues that had rachel overtones but because it makes the guy in charge look bad thing just dismissed me over ethical differences. when there are ethical differences, how do you fire somebody without discussing it. they took my report, didn't like what i had to say. let's look at our own country

and take a serious hard look because when you look at the presidential elections, there is 25% hardcore right and left host: all right, mark. in some other news this morning -- we will get back to more of your calls but first, the "washington post" with this headline: anxious cubans are heading for u.s. soil. u.s. statistics show as many on the island worry about america's longstanding benefits are in jeopardy. the coast guard intercepted 481 cubans, 117% increased from december 2013 but the boaters account for only a fraction of those attempting to reach the us. at the miami airport and ports of entry along the mexican border, the number of cubans who arrived seeking refuge jumped to 8,6241 during the last 20 months of 20s 14, a 65% increase from the previous year. the "new york times" says castro

is still cautious on relationships with the u.s. he ended sigh loans to restore diplomatic relations between the us and kwooub write nag letter that he supported a peaceful end to conflict but distrusted american politics. back to "the washington post" it this story below the fold about 529 college plans. remember in the state of the union, president obama said he wanted to tax the gains on those plans. now, the white house is dropping that. pompom said it is used by millions of americans after the white house faced mounting

criticism from lawmakers and parents. president obama deciding to drop that. washington "washington times" reporting this morning, democrats hope to capitalize on gop fumbles. they will talk strategy later this week. housecrats are feeling emboldened as they head to issues conference relishing a series of stumbles by the republican majorities and rallies around a tax the rich agenda they are convinced will score points with voters. side story, at the top, the speak ebb of the house behind closed doors with the republican conference telling them they don't have a lot of options on immigration, but they could end up joining the legal battle against mr. obama's immigration move. >>, in the "washington times" this morning. some other news for you, as we continue to talk to all of you about what the priority should be for this next attorney general. there are the phone lines on your screen. we will go to randy in

brooksville, florida. independent caller. hi, randy. caller: good morning. host: good morning. caller: what wish they would do is go back to the constitution and enforce all of our constitutional laws. that's not going to happen any more because the people are so far apart, they never agree to do anything together. >> that's really all i have to say. thank you. >> host: lisa orman beach florida, florida. hi lisa. caller: i believe the next attorney general, her priority and she sounds like a very impressive and capable woman from what i have heard about her. her priorities should be something that we all should be interested in that self regulate and are given a free pass. you look the last couple of

years whether it's north carolina, michigan the toxic spills, whether it's from pipelines or it's from just dumping and old tanks, i want this cronyism between our politicians politicians and corporations to stop. this is the something we have a stake in our en vinement. >> eli, your thoughts this morning. what should this next attorney general do when they take over this position of overseeing the justice department? what do you think? caller: thank you. well, the first step i believe the attorney general should take in overseeing the justice department ort whole justice system is first of all, stop all of the special interest groups considering the bow hemian club the sonic orders the i fm bank. these things are at this point cat lifts and lead us in the wrong direction as a nation. host: all right, eli.

bale arizona democratic caller go ahead. caller: good morning. host: good morning. caller: please pronounce my name. jenius robert. host: thank you for that. okay. caller: this is going to sound very very radical, especially in the contemporary meanttality built up over 150 years. you know all of these poor souls trying to just get by after the us and england and all of the white races have discipline issued dark races by starting with -- starting with let's say -- host: okay. caller: the black people enslaved and now the brown people mixture of a whole bufrm of races because the u.s.a. took over everything and at one time,

about a third of this country used to be mention koechlt i want to sound very very radical because did just spain against england about 700 years. host: all right. more of your phone calls coming up. the "new york times" has this front page story in many of the paibz papers this morningpot president obama seeks oil exploration off of the east coast. the obama administration moved tuesday to open up a vast coast of east coast waters. a decision that could have a profound impact on states from virginia to georgia. the new dimensions of the legacy of president obama in an announcement that outraged environmentalists and brought xwrujing cheers from the oil and gases industry the interior department you know veiled the latest part of its five-year plan in federal waters from 2017 to 2022. the plan would open up one lease sale area off of the southeast stretch of the atlantic seaboard, an area the oil

industry has long hungered to he knew plot. it would also open new portions of the gul of mention cope, which is already open to drilling. and in a move that appeased environmentalists but angered alaskan republicans, it will ban drilling portions to the arctic ocean's beaufort area. also some 2016 political news for you this morning. we will begin with actually the "new york times" front page and this is about rupert murdoch's relationship with republicans mitt romney can do no right with rupert, murdock. in a delicate and unseen campaign underway for mr. murdoch, afections in the next presidential campaign this is much clear: the front page

of "the washington post": this time around mitt romney is planning to put his faying at the forefront of any run. he is determined to re-brand himself asa authentic, warts and all, essential tral to that mission is making public what for so long he kept private. he rarely discussed religious beliefs and practices in his failed 2008 and 12, con fronting bigot tree with silence as consult amounts urged him to play down his more monism. they say although he served as governor of massachusetts and his past campaigns were based in boston he recent recently registered to vote in utah. members of his political circle said they are considering making salt lake city the cradle of mormonism his cam pair headquarters. wealthy more manned played a

central role and would leave heavily on the same network. other locations under preliminary discussion include boston and detroit where the romney family has roots and a strong political and financial network. artie in new orleans, democratic caller back to our discussion. what do you think the priorities should be for the next attorney general? >> the next attorney general should carry out responseties. the same bodies that people are skeptical about, what they are going to do with her, they returned her. the only problem this lady is going to have is that this -- these folks now are not the same people because you have a conglomerate of bigots running this country. >> you are not going to get anywhere unless you get off of this black/white thing. we all are part of one nation. everybody that calls in talk about the constitution there are

a lot of things in the constitution i have been looking for how and where in the constitution can i find where the supreme court can award a presidential campaign position to a politician, you know. and what about the other thins as far as the constitution. we can't live on something that was done 300 years ago. but not voting for ms. lynch, david is a bigot. i can say that with pride because i had contact with him when he was running in the state house. we had after-school program going. he happened to come by there one day with a news lady and we were feeding kids and had everything going. he we want back to the state and cancelled the money that were provided for those kids in the after-school program. he is a bigot. host: artie, you are on the

air. caller: my next party for the next attorney general should be -- should be upholding law, especially united states constitution some one else making border security a top priority host: aaron in vidder, texas. a couple of called but i want to share this headline: the former secretary of state hillary clinton, potential democratic contender in 016 will testify again on benghazi. bloomberg with this story that she will testify before in the select committee that's investigating benghazi from elijah cummings on that special committee. she said, i will do it, period following tuesday's hearing. that was actually from the hill.com with that story. democrats plan to continue in this next election cycle stacking the koch brothers and their spending, calling them

political villains. >> didn't work in 2014. >> that's the headline in the "washington post" on that. also the man who crashed the drone into the white house works for the intelligence agency, works for an intelligence agency. the man says he accidentally flew a drone over the white house works for the national geo spatial intelligence agency and told the secret service, he was drinking before the incident. president obama told cnn that the drone incident monday sundayscores the need for regulation of the emerging drone industry. suite journal, the federal reserve chairman janet yellen faces a hard year on easy money. her job is about to get harder after a relatively easy first year as federal reserve chairwoman. she and her fed colleagues likely are to repeat, after a two-day policy meeting, that they can be patient in deciding when to start raising short-term interest rates later this year. this piece by john hilton.r.a.th

goes on to say that: mike in rockford, illinois an independent caller. good morning. what are the next priorities for this attorney general? caller: off putting our laws if they are not going to help us with this invasion of millions of people, if you are not going to help us with our borders, they should allow the american people to do it. she should allow the -- enforce our borders and she should make each state form a militia. if they are not going to protect

us we should product ourselves. host: this confirmation hearing gets understandway today, 10:00 a.m. eastern time. we will have coverage on c-span 3 today. there is going to be two days of these nomination hearings. we will have coverage of the second day but today c-span 3, if you are interested in watching. coming up next we are going to talk with pennsylvania congressman charlie dept to talk about the role of moderate republicans and the role of moderates in the democratic party with wisconsin con congressman ron kind, chairman of the new democrat coalition, but first, holocaust survivors, heads of state and several hundred gathered tuesday in po lapped to mark the 7th anniversary of the liberation of the auschwitz concentration camp. [video clip.] >> we must teach our children tolerance and understanding,

both at home and in school. we must make clear that hate is never right and love is never wrong [applause.] when i think of auschwitz as i often do,ty consider what should be my faith in mankind without

hesitation. the righteous gentiles who saved juice' lives in the holocaust -- jews' lives in this holocaust in which the endangered their own life and that of the family. to save the life of a stranger. gentiles just a few against millions showed the world that will indifference is unfortunate and they cherish to make moral choices in accordance with their choices. host: roman kept there, an

auschwitz survivor speaking yesterday at the event in poland to mark the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the auschwitz concentration camp. go to our website, c-span.org. joining us charles dent talking about the role of mod rats in the parties. the headlines yesterday we saw in the washington times about the trouble within the republican party and then this headline, democrats hoping to capital eyes on the fumbles. guest: let's face it. it's been a pretty rocky start for us. you know the first few weeks, we had a speaker election that didn't go the way a lot of us wanted to. second week got bogged down on deporting children. distills week reportable rape and incest of minors. week 4, the border security bill

has been pulled for the moment. so i guess what i would say to you is that, you know, there are 218 votes for the speaker. so what that means is going forward, i think in both the house and probably in the senate, we are going to have to put forward proposals that will enjoy some level of bi-partisan support, specifically i could get down to issues like transportation possibly tax reform, certainly cyber security or areas where i think there can be some fairly good collaboration and i think that's where we are going to have to go forward. host: what about what the president talked about at the state of the union address? anything there that you think republicans should agree to guest: cyber security i think there is potential for agreement. the president also talked about the need for an authorization for the use of military force. it's interesting the president said that a few months ago, he could use the existing authorizations. now, he says he wants a new authorization. i think it's incumbent upon the

president to tell congress exactly what he wants. i think there are some areas of collaboration there potentially. one thing has to happen. we need to do a better job of managing expectations on all sides. the president is out there talking about free community college. you know we have folks on my side of the aisle, you know, who i don't quite understand what the limits of the u.s. senate are, want to send over messaging bills that have no chance of passing the senate. i think we have to get back down to reality and figure out what problems we can actually some and and the football solve them. i think that's really a big challenge for the leadership here as well as the president. manage expectations better. host: let me get your reaction to the "60 minutes" interview that mcmitch mccome and john boehner did where they are asked about president obama's proposals. take a look. [video clip.] >> from the president's state of the union address, let me ask you: dead or alive? raise taxes on the wealthy?

>> why would you want to raise taxes on people. >> i take that as dead? >> dead. real dead. >> make community college free of charge. dead or alive. >> we have added more debt during the obama years than all of the presidents from george washington down to george bush and giving away free tuition strikes me as something we can't afford. >> i will put that down as dead as well. increasing the federal minimum wage. >> bad idea. dead. >> it's a bad idea. i have had to every kind of rotten job getting through school, and i wouldn't have had a chance at half those jobs if the federal government imposed. if you take the bottom rungs off of the economic ladder. >> dead or alive, tripling the child care tax credit for working families. >> we are all for helping working-class families around america. i think we will take a look at this when he sends his budget up. something that could be looked

at in the overall context of simplifying our tax code and bringing rates down for everyone. host: what do you think? guest: community college, minimum wage and it may be tax reform. the truth is the child tax credit i am happy to work with the president on that but we should deal with it as part of a broader tax reform. community colleges, as he mentioned, i want to help people get access to college but the president's proposal just makes community college an entitlement i am paying two tuitions right now. i don't think the government should pay the tuition of my kids at a community college or bill gates' kids. i think we have to have a serious question. why don't we talk about expanding telegrams. let's made make this need-based not just an entitlement.

there is some opportunity on tax reform. a child tax credit if that's how he wants to proceed let's look at it. many republicans when george bush was president supported expanding the child tax credit from 500 to $1,000. the president wants to triple it. let's have that conversation. host: prior as you said would it require some democratic support that republicans want to get through and manage expectations? how many for the president to get some proposals by this congress it would take some moderate republicans. how many had are there? guest: people use the term mott moderate. practical, pragmatic. there are plenty mirrors in our conference who want to solve problems. i would say it's well over half of the members who want to solve problems. ideologically, they may vary the

minimum issue was mentioned on "60 minutes." i supported the last minimum wage increase i can support a periodic adjustment but as republicans, i think what we ought to do is maybe tie that to a repeal of the medical device tax or keystone xl pipeline. maybe we sweeten it but do it on our terms. >> rishz members of congress who have the capacity to get to yes. that's really, i think, the bigger challenge. we have tosh creative. we have to do something on transportation a sustainable bill. there might be ways we can marry up things we want as part of that type of infrastructure package. >> what do you make of the news that some of your colleagues formed a freedom caucus. gop conservatives announce a new freedom caucus to split from the

republican study committee after complaints it had become too cozy with leadership? guest: members of congress are free to join any group they want to create. it's clear that some members within, i will say the more conservative end of our party are dissatisfied with the republican study committee leadership, feel they are too pragmatic. representative flores is a good man, trying to work to solve sol problems and more who are hard-edged ideologically don't like, you know, him trying to make certain accommodations specifically. >> seems to be the issue. if 9 or 10 members want to join a group, that's congress. >> happens all the time. it happens every day. it's fine as far as i am concerned. host: talking with congressman charlie dent on the military construction and veterans affairs subcommittee, the chair of that committee. republican of pennsylvania. we will go do barbara in hickory, north carolina democratic. you are up first for the

congressman. go ahead. caller: i have a question that concerns the attorney general, also. talking about that drone they flew into the white house yard the secret agent. host: uh-huh. guest: if i flew one in there, would they lock me up? host: okay. guest: i am aware a drone somehow landed on the white house property. i am not familiar with what she is talking about, the drinking. host: this is from u.s.a. today. i shared it with the viewers before you came on. >> that's that the man who says he accidentally flew the drone over the white house works for the national geo spatial intelligence agency told the secret service he had -- he was drinking before the incident. he was off duty. they say here that the man has not been suspended from his job and reported for work on tuesday. host: guest: he was not doing it as part of his job, recreational and he had been drinking?

well, you know, look. i am concerned that there was a breach at the whitehouse grounds. >> that's the main issue that i am concerned with. it appears this was not a threat to the white house, but, still, the white house grounds were breached. it's raised a new area of concern for all of us a new threat that potentially these drones -- i don't know what our -- i don't know what the secret servicesh service's defenses for to white house with respect to drones. if thisgo could get close to the white house, i suspect others who had bad intent could do something similar. so this just opens up a new can of worms for us to deal with. host: you think more regulation is needed for these drones? guest: i think it's an emerging area from a national security perspective as well as commercial. you hear about amazon and other mainly companies wanting, you know, to use drone technology to help, you know, deliver pangages or for any other number of uses.

i believe this will open up areas of regulation. the f.a.a. is going to have to look at this closely with drones flying around. how would that affect, you know commercial and general aviation hear about flocks of geese get into sequences. could the same thing happen with drones if they were all over the place. it will require further review and study. host: mike in is it bagla, pennsylvania? caller: yeah. i am a republican. host: okay. caller: my comment is now that the republicans have an upper hand on the last two days of this eastern storm that they got wrong, totally wrong, people along the east coast everything was shut down. businesses lost money. people lost work over this. we are sitting here in somerset

pennsylvania. we have 15 inches on the ground. >> that's typical wichitaer. the kids had a two-hour delay. they went to school today. but we have a district on mountainous hilly roads. they have the roads nowed and everything. but if they can't predict a storm, how do they predict something five years, 10 years, 50 years, 100 years out if they can't get it right. host: okay. caller: they shut the coal companies down around here nobody is working. everybody is unemployed now. this is ridiculous. host: congressman? guest: i can't defend the prognostications of the we think in recent days. i can tell you that much. i can tell you my son was disappointed. he only had a two-hour delay. he was expecting a full day off. they didn't get it right. you mentioned collier from

summerset county. this administration has been trying to shut down coal as a source of electric generation and made it difficult. my my congressional district is south of the anthrocite system. this is not helpful because i think it's going to affect the reliability of the electric grid. a lot of conversions made to natural gas. gas is cheap. but, you know, we still are going to need coal as the base load source of electricity host: cynthia in georgia. what's the name of your town? caller: my question that i have is, you talk about you going -- you want some depth increase to the credit. a lot of families who receive

credit typically who can receive the credit have zeroed outed because filing jointly, you have a couple of kids. depending upon a lot of your income you won't receive the full credit because you want to increase it for middle class but a lot of the middle class will be receiving the credit. they are starting to become above it and they still don't receive it. so are you going to expand as far as the dollar amount as far as how much a family makes when you say middle class, if a husband and wife both work are you going to expand their economic standards to 75,000?

host: i will have the congressman weigh in...

guest: you do visa reform, and the balance of the people here unlawfully. so i think we have to go through this on a step-by-step basis. host: so the republican party during some -- joined some legal action against the president? guest: i think lawsuits are probably a more appropriate base right now. i have not checked the numbers lately, but is a high number who have issued legislation against

the president recent action on legislation. i say let the governor's fight this battle, particularly border state governors. host: it was pulled from consideration. there have been some in your party who want it to be beefed up, when it comes to interior enforcement. tell our viewers what is going on. guest: ok, there is an internal debate. they have jurisdiction over the border. interior enforcement is really the jurisdiction of the judiciary committee, and typically -- my own view is we should deal with border security on its own, and then deal with interior enforcement in the next bill. and that should be tied to visa reform. i know that there are some members right now who said that this measure does not go far enough, but i think it is a pretty good bill. i said if we cannot pass the border security bill as is, well then let's take -- he has also

passed a bill out of his party last year -- we can always pass that bill, too. i would prefer we do a separate bill on interior enforcement and fisa reform together, then you do the board security as a standalone. host: we're talking with representative charles dent. he has served on the appropriations committee, also on ethics. chairman of the ethics committee. and cochair of the tuesdays group, which is a group of republicans dedicated to promoting fiscal responsibility fiscal independence, and a strong national defense. so we are talking with him about several issues before this congress. we will go to check next in freeport, pennsylvania. a democratic caller. caller: good morning. i watch the show quite

frequently, and last time you made the comment that when fracking water was processed, it would be cleaner than drinking water. so i was wondering if you would be willing to drink a gallon of water that has been cleaned up echo -- clean up? guest: much of that crack -- frack water has been returned to a drinking water standard. that is what have been told. i have no reason to display for a have told me. thank you for the call. host: another caller from pennsylvania. caller: hi, how are you doing today? i was at the pennsylvania reception and i just wanted to comment that the republican leadership continues in the path of moderation -- pulling these

conservative those because they do not have enough of against -that was a whitewash because they couldn't pass whatever bill. - it is about time that people in the party stand up and fight or those of us who are true conservatives are not going to show up and vote. that is why we didn't vote for me -- for mitt romney. host: congressman trolley you're in a group with republicans who pushed to stop that bill. guest: let me be very clear, the issue with a bill that the gentleman was this.

it was an abortion bill dealing with no abortions after 20 weeks. the exceptions were that rates -- rates were not reported. well, if you're 18 or 19 rolled -- 18 or 19 years old, and to our victim of interest, why are we not allowed the exception. insist is incensed. rape is rape. was going to tell a rape v-- who is going to tell a woman who has been raped that she should report to the police. because we know that half the rapes in this country go unreported. many of the women in the

republican conference --many of whom are pro-life had very concerns -- very many concerns. with respect to the bill, no funding for abortion is currently the law. no funding for -- we passed it on a more permanent basis. that is something the house republicans said when they ran in 2010. that is what we said we would do. so i think there was promised with that legislation and that is why it was pulled from consideration. host: here's a quote from the president of the pro-life group about this delay on this bill, saying - i believe in political retribution, otherwise you might as well close up shop. are you concerned? guest: i have been in congress now 10 years and i'm used to people making threats. that is just the reality that we

deal with. i don't lose sleep over it. if i lost sleep over every time some we threatened me about a position i wanted to take, i would never get any sleep. from my perspective, i think it is better when the republican party tries to avoid some of these hotly contested social issues because that distracts us from broader economic messages. particularly, i want to do with the economy, jobs, growth, you know, energy security, national security. i believe that the room -- the public largely agrees with the party on those issues. i think they only distract from these broader messages. host: fort myers, florida. your next. caller: yes, i would just like to ask if you think that increasing the international aid

budget can help improve national security? and kenny get bipartisan support in the long run? guest: thank you for that question. we have a national secretive policy that is largely diplomacy, defense and budget. now we are dealing with sequestration right now, defense has taken some big cuts in the state department, as well as in the development programs. so i have been supportive of our global development issues, particularly the emergency -- emergence program where we try to prioritize our aid and get better results. i will tell you that our aid budgets have been cut. and so our job right now is to try and make sure we can get funding to those areas in greatest need. we are dealing with sequestration. i cannot guarantee that that

budget is going to increase because i cannot honestly say that it won't. but i will tell you that it is a critical piece to our national security effort, particularly in prices -- places like sub-saharan africa. organizations like the gates foundation, for example, they are doing a lot of work down there. we have put a fair amount of effort in. it helps lead to political security. when there's more political security, than what we often see is -- you know, economies can grow, be less violent -- host: aisles want to get your viewpoint on this changes to military preventions are proposed. and this comes from a special mission. it is expected to call for the creation of a new 401(k) type

retirement system as part of the overhaul of the existing pentagon pension plan. guest: well, i will at least take a look at it. i expect that oppose a will only ever applied to new folks entering the military. but again, i think that is going to be a pretty high hurdle, to be very candid. the program is party well established and i think it will be hard to make changes to that. host: more from "the wall street journal," one of 10 sweeping recommendations from the panel set to unveil thursday when it releases a 300 page report and to serve as a road map for the president, congress, and pentagon as they try to ensure that military benefits do not overwhelm the budget. guest: we do know that salary personnel, benefit costs have

exploded. it has exploded so significantly that it seems that come in all honesty, it is a affecting our overall readiness. and so this is an issue that congress is going to have to address at some point. in fact, remember we talked about making adjustments for some younger military retirees who were injured. that greater quite a bit of country seek. that came from the pentagon. our pentagon is asking estimate those changes. in that conversation is going to have to happen sooner or later of how we add us -- we just salaries -- host: and health care. guest: and i want to include health care under those costs. absolutely. we have to be got hundred this

works we can have our economy respond the way we wanted to. host: james, a democratic color. good morning to you. james, you're on the air. james, one less call for you for congressman charlie dent. nope. west palm beach, florida. a republican. hi, dennis. caller: good morning. i just want to say that congressman that i'm not very happy with his comments here today. he made a comment that we want to more or less table the social value issues. so i'm just going to say a couple of things and then i will hang up really quick. what does it mean to be a moderate in the republican party? does that mean to throw aside all the social values? number two, what were the three legs that the -- that president

reagan set for the republican party? i'm wondering if we can win another presidential election if we came get rid of what he refers to as the right. you have a big demographic problem, but the biggest demographic in the united states of america is people who claim to be christians. you are the party that says that you used up all their christian values. instead of getting smart and turned to go after the christians, you're going to throw them all overboard because you are simply chasing the money. i do not understand how you ever think you're going to win in 2016 if you do that. people are fed up with you claiming that you stand for traditional family values, and then doing nothing about it. host: ok, dennis, let's have the congressman respond. guest: i believe that our party should embrace people of faith.

we do embrace people of faith. christians jewish, anything. we welcome them into the party. i think that is very, very important. and i don't think anybody is talking about -- i am not talking about anybody of faith to take a backseat. what i'm simply suggesting is that some of these very divisive cultural issues -- and lise has -- life has changed a lot since president reagan, but i will be very candid about that. it has shifted. you talk about the three leg is still, i hear you. but here we are, in 2015, and i just have often felt that there's really no point in taking up some of these very divisive social issues if they really have no chance of becoming law. if they are not going to go anywhere in senate to simply make a statement. i don't forget really helps us in terms of moving forward on issues that many americans want us to advance. right now, people are very concerned about the economy.

they are very concerned about the fragility of this economy. wages are stagnant. that is what they are worried about. we have international threats that we must confront. energy, self-sufficiency, other issues. i'm not saying that we shouldn't ever deal with those issues, i'm saying that we should try to solve the problems we can. and that is where i think we need to focus right now. host: let me throw this into the mix because the caller is talking about 2016, republicans running, can they run on faith and traditional family values. well today, in the "washington post" you have this headline. they are backing lg bt legal protection. this appears in the same day that they report that mitt romney, if he runs, will put the mormon faith at the forefront. guest: well, i was not aware of what the mormon church has just announced. look, in america greta, i think

we all -- we should all oppose discrimination. and we have legislation right now to end discrimination based on sexual in the -- sexual orientation. and i support that. it is a great institution. i have said many other people -- i guess the previous caller talked about people of faith as if there some kind of monolith. i don't believe that they are. you have churches that have different views on some of these very contentious social issues so it is really hard for anyone person to speak on behalf of people of all faith. i'm a regular church a tender, topo. i respect people go to different churches. host: congressman charlie dent. he is the chair of the military

veterans appropriations committee. and the culture of the tuesday group. we appreciate your time, sir. guest: thank you, greta. host: coming up next, we talk about the role of moderate democrats with representative ron kind. we'll be right back. >> this sunday, you're a scientist -- euro scientists --

neuro scientists on the effects of damage to the frontal lobe. >> the frontal lobes are not at the ready. they are not as readily accessible. the connections cannot be made as quickly for a split-second decision-making. also, don't forget that a lot of the hormones are changing a lot in the body of young men and women. and the brain hasn't seen these yet in life, until you hit teenage years. so the brain is trying to learn how to respond to these new hormones that are rolling around and actually locking onto receptors that send out signals of different types. it is sort of trial and error. i think that this contributes to this very roller coaster kind of experience that we watch as parents. >> sunday night at 8:00

eastern and pacific. >> "washington journal" continues. host: we are back with ron kind the democratic chair of wisconsin. what is a new democrat? guest: good morning, greta. they are more responsible democrats are to and we meet every week to 10 understand the complexities of the global economy. what we focus on to make sure that our businesses, large and small, can be more competitive. and how can we work on policies that strengthen and grow the middle class. we're just trying to find a path forward and try to find that common ground between the parties to try and strengthen this economy grote with a shared prosperity agenda. one that is based on innovation, engineering, science technology so we can remain the most innovative and competitive country in the world. charlie on just before me, we have had many opportunities to

work together to get something done. we need more of that these days. host: what you think there are some areas of compromise? guest: think of the infrastructure. we know we have to do it, and we know we need good paying jobs right now. let's start rebuilding america. we need to find a reliable, sustainable funding source to do it. the society of civil engineers came out and say that we are about $1.2 trillion short to upgrade our infrastructure. this is the groundwork delaying long-term economic prosperity. tax reform -- i think there is great recognition here in washington that we have an antiquated tax code, too complicated, and it is leaving us in a less competitive position globally. there may be some ways to make it more fair and more competitive. i would hope we can finally start to come together for

containment measures on the health care system. one of the great cost are is that families face, businesses there is more we can do working together to assure we are getting better quality and value for health care dollars that we are spending. and also makes a that everyone has access to affordable, quality health care. host: with that lead to some sort of fix, if you will, to the president health care law? guest: you have to learn what is working and what is not working, and make adjustments along the way. the by -- we need to move to a more value based reimbursement system rather the one that is currently based on the volume of care that is rendered. right now, health-care providers get paid based on how many tests and procedures they do. that is bank corrupting us. if you're going to be serious about fiscal responsibility, you

have to be serious about exploring real practical solutions to rising health care costs. host: headline this morning democrats hoping to capitalize on gop fumbles. they start by saying house democrats are feeling emboldened as they head to their annual issues conference. relishing a series of stumbles by the republican majorities in congress, and rallying around a populous tax the rich agenda that they are convinced will score points with voters. hoping to continue what president obama talked about in his state of the union, calling it a liberal agenda. do you think democrats should produce a liberal agenda? guest: i think we need to find practical solutions to the problems that families are strength -- are facing. what we need to do to ensure that there are good paying jobs that you can actually raise a family on here in the united

states again? another area would be the possibility of a trade agenda, too, that start to level the playing field for our businesses and family so that they can compete in the global economy. that will spur our operations. i hope the time for campaigning has passed, and it is time for governing. apparently both parties still want to throughout their firebombs and play that out until hopefully some more sensibility sets in a little bit later this year and we can focus on things with her is common agreement. host: with politics around the corner, it seems like 2016 - -everybody is already talking about it. does that overshadow what democrats are doing? and is there a division within the party between the elizabeth warren wing and the clinton wing of the party? guest: obviously both parties have serious discussions taking place. there is a major discussion going on with republican party

and what direction they should go in. but these are how the conversations i think we need to have. i also do not subscribe to the school that one party has all the right answers. we have to be listening to each other and try to rebuild some bonds of trust so that you can understand the other person across the table from you. i have found trout the years that when you slow down and listen to each other, it is amazing how much common ground can be have. host: high, and. caller: goodi am fire, military retired. there is such a small percentage of people joining the military today, and after serving four years in the military myself, i understand there is only such a small percentage of only such a small percentage of them who actually go on for 40 years. even in the report, it brings out that there put in a 401(k) because there is such a small percentage that retire in 20

i'm wondering why we are trying to focus in on such a small percentage of people that cost so much to our government? i cannot figure that out. 1% of what? guest: first of all, thanks for the question. your obviously referring to that new report coming out this week about possible adjustment when it comes to personal spending in the defense budget. listen, i'm from the school of we need to take care of our veterans. they stepped up, they served our country, they deserve those promises that were made to them. and there are other areas in the pentagon budget that we should be looking to for further cost savings before we start tried to do it on the backs of our military personnel. we have weapons systems in the pipeline that our $300 billion over budget because of change orders, contract modifications. we ought to be doing more to protect our veterans.

we have force restructuring that has to happen overseas in light of the threat we face right now. there are areas in the budget for the pentagon that we should be scrubbing very hard first. host: we go to larry next in tuscaloosa, alabama. larry, good morning to you. you are on the air with representative ron kind, the chair of the new democratic coalition. he also serves on the ways and means committee. go ahead. caller: yes, ma'am. i would like to agree with you about the veterans, and also have a question that pertains to health care. but i would like to ask the people out there that if you have a choice to pay for the veterans who are retired or who are disabled, would you have a choice to pay for active veterans out there.

i hope it is not in 2017, but my question pertaining to health care. since the governor here in alabama -- we have millions of folks in alabama who have no insurance. every 15th is the deadline to have insurance. i would like to know from you if the person who does not have insurance never entered get it to be disabled, and not pregnant and the state to opt out-- where can they get some interns from so they won't be penalized come february the 15th? i'm going to hang up to hear your answer. can you pass a bill to help some of these poor people who do not have health insurance? guest: thank you, larry, for that question. i think it has been unfortunate

that we have had so many governors around the country opting out from the expansion of medicaid that was offered to them, including my own state of wisconsin. if you're going topped out, then what is plan b? with different course to they want to take? they want to present a proposal here to h h s? let's discuss that. but leaving so many low income and families behind, i do not think is practical. host: an independent color. hi, robert. caller: good morning. i hope you do not cut me off and let me get my points across. first of all, i might disabled vietnam veteran. i saw some veterans being physically and mentally abused at a va hospital in maryland, and when i reported that to my congressman, i became the

laughing ball against this kind of abuse. but, you know, i really feel sorry for that congressman who was before you because he is trying to do the right thing but he is trying to preach to too many people. this country matters to me because i fought for it. and when i read the first chapter, i see how he described the deterioration of the roman empire. and i'm seeing the same thing happened a my country. the whole thing that i want to do -- i have seen president obama's poll ratings go up again because he is beginning to stand for something. until we get back to the point where we stand for what made this country great, we are going to continue to deteriorate.

guest: robert, thank you. and thank you for your service to our country. we have an issue with are the asus the nationwide right now. shortly after the report, i come along with 16 other members of congress, was calling for the bottom-up review of the v.a. medical system and see what fixes need to be made. i have my own situation back home in wisconsin with a v.a. medical center that is being investigated now with the appropriate use of pain medication and a possible culture of some intubation and coercion at that v.a. center. we need to be able to recognize what isn't working and go forward with some fixes to make sure that our veterans are receiving the care that they earn and deserve. again, the new dams have been -- dems have been working on new prosperity. we are not leaving anybody behind. one of the concerns we have is the underinvestment in human

capital in this country. the opportunity for going on to higher education is becoming more difficult for students. we need to update our job training programs. we need to continue to move forward on broadband expansion so no community is left behind. we mention infrastructure investment, too, that needs to take place. that could lift a lot of families in a time of need right now. most of these are issues we have been focusing on, trying to have conversations with the other side to see if there is common ground. host: you also mention trade earlier. i want to get your reaction to earlier this month when she was joined by consumer safety advocates to talk about these trade deals. here's what she had to say in her stance. [video clip] >> it can compromise the quality of the food we eat.

they can raise the prices that we pay for medicine. they can attack our environmental regulations, we can our financial regulations, stop our government from supporting american businesses, and they do nothing to stop the injustice of currency manipulation. this coalition exists because trade deals affect everybody. we need to be able to scrutinize these deals, page by page, line by line, word by word. you remember the mantra. have you read the bill? read the bill. and we need to read this bill just as we were to with any other piece of legislation. let alone legislation with such far-reaching applications. under this, all we get is an upper down vote on each trade deal. that is simply not acceptable. it is the opposite of our constitutional duty as members

of congress. i, for one, and my colleagues here are not going to stand for it. american workers have suffered great harm under nafta and other deals like it. their representatives must be able to consider carefully the consequences of future deals. host: your reaction to what she had to say. she is leading the charge against, if you will, or challenging these trade deals. guest: there is a lot to agree with. we need a new negotiating stance differing from past trade agreements. but we also need a proactive trade agenda that is going to work for american workers and our businesses. that is why come in the course of negotiations, the demonstration is trying to court international labor in the body of the agreement. fully enforceable again he thing else. so we can let standards upwards like we are.

i encourage members of congress including her and others, to be engaged in trade negotiations. the team that has been negotiating this are on capitol hill all the time. they go through different chapters of what is being discussed. it is up to each member of congress to be personally engaged in that effort, but the truth is we are going to be trading in the global economy -- what we need to be working on is getting rules of trade done right so it levels the playing field. host: yesterday, i capitol hill, michael is testifying. his testimony frequently interrupted by protesters in that committee room. and, as you were just saying, the administration has set up a war room on capitol hill to talk to democrats -- those in the president's party -- about any

sort of trade deal. are they doing a good job? guest: it is not a war room, it is an education room. host: it was touted as a war room. guest: but that is what we need. we need them to work together with the president so they know what the concerns are, the people we represent. the truth is democratic, of the 20 nations we already have a bilateral trade agreement with we are running trade surpluses with those countries and manufacturing, agriculture services. it is the countries we don't have trade agreements with that gets us into trouble. it then becomes a race to the bottom, and we cannot compete in that environment. so we face one of three choices here. we could have a global trading system with no rules that are come with china's rules, or with our rules. i would like to see us at the table negotiating the best rules that make sense for our economy our families, our businesses. rather than turning our back on an opportunity of establishing

global trading rules ourselves. guest: sherry is next. an independent to there. caller: yes, i have two quick questions. the first one is i want to know what he thinks of when our president is spending more time campaigning been working with congress for the senate, how are things ever going to get done echo -- done? and my second question is -- using excuses in this election, he speaks with the prime minister when he is afraid that the prime minister might get reelected and he would rather have somebody less effective that he can bully. host: could you hear that last part? guest: i think so. there has been a bad breakdown of the communication skills of the leadership of both parties.

from the white house and congress, and even within congress. we need our leaders and our parties to enter the same room and have honest conversation together. a lot of that communication has broken down. when that breaks down, the trust breaks down, too. and that is what has made life a little bit more difficult to work with here in washington. as regard -- and her guards to the promised her of israel joining the discussions, we welcome here -- him. that is going to continue. there has been a lot of serious issues in the region right now. you have the ongoing negotiations in regards to iran's nuclear program. we cannot afford a nuclear arms race in the middle east and what that may ultimately lead to. those negotiations are ongoing. and of the other nations participating, they are cautioning congress right now not to take precipitous actions that has the potential to cut off those negotiations, and

giving a run the green light then to develop their uranium enrichment program. so these are things are going to have to continue to talk to the administration about as we move forward. we will see what the prime minister has to say. host: on the negotiations with iran, this is the "washington times" this morning. they have pulled back from iran sanctions. they backed away from a bipartisan push for immediate sanctions on iran, vowing to president obama's call. the shift, announced tuesday by senator robin and does of new jersey -- rob menendez -- on whether iran was honoring promises to put its program on hold. we go on to john in montgomery alabama. an independent.

caller: good morning, miss greta. how are you? host: good morning. caller: i'm a retired veteran. i want to know how is it that i was being paid 50% of my base pay when i was retired, and i'm being taxed? i just don't understand why i am entitled to 50%, yet i have to pay tax on it. i am a disabled veteran, i do not work. i'm barely making ends meet. i am unable to work. i have never understood that. i served my country. i am 62 years old. if i had to serve again, i was so again. i just don't understand. thank you, and i appreciate you all. guest: thank you john. and thank you again for your service. hopefully, with the release of the report coming out, we will

be able to dive down much deeper in terms of how these programs are working. and if they are leaving too many of our veterans behind. so this may be an opportunity to have this wider conversation that i think has been long overdue. i come back to the fact that there's a lot of spending in the pentagon that is unaccounted for. it is literally in an audible agency at the federal level. leaders keep telling congress to stop appropriate in money because it does not help, it is not needed to help deal with the proms we have today. yet every year, the congress continues to appropriate money on these old cold war relics that costs a lot of money. so i would like to see more focus in that area of the pentagon spending, rather than looking to the personal cost that we incur. host: referring to report that is to be released thursday, the headline today is that the

report will have 15 sleeping recommendations. and one of them will be to create a 401(k) type military retirement system. this is a commission that was put together by the white house looking for ways to revamp white house -- revamp military benefits. we will go to michael in greensboro, north carolina. michael. caller: good morning. how are you all this morning? i am also a retired veteran and i think that one of the problems that we have -- we need to get rid of that use it or lose it. it was 1977 and we had the thing of if you don't use it by october, the could take that away, plus whatever else you had. i think that if you get rid of that policy -- this is killing us. host: yes, michael, let's have the congressmen weigh in on that. guest: i hope it is something

that congress can look at. we are starting to address a lot of these health care savings programs now, where if you don't depleted in one year k -- one year, you can roll over all or some of it. host: referring to the pentagon sort of culture. if you don't use the money that you got appropriate a from capitol hill, you'll get it next to her. guest: and, again, the pentagon does heat some requests as to what they want funded. one of the air is that i think needs greater scrutiny other weapon systems that they, the pentagon, are admitting that they do not want, cannot use doesn't help enforce readiness or what a troops need in the field. so i think in working on a system -- that may be the only political path forward to be all in it together. to make a commission recommending what weapons

programs congress needs to shutdown and stop a programming money for. host: we go to terry in michigan. a democratic caller. caller: yes, i have three comments to make. number one the social security disability -- the republicans don't want to transfer no money from the regular social security to make up the difference is of the shortfall. they are holding up, i believe because they want the president to give in on the keystone pipeline and other things that they have. and number two is - republicans barred just -- they're making what may mitt romney said about

47% come true. they will say anything in the world to republicans to get to win elections. but that autopsy they did? i bet they didn't find a heart in the chest. thank you ray much. guest: thank you for those questions. obviously, we do have an issue with the social security trust fund. congress has a responsibility to address it, but as you pointed out as the republicans did in the budget rule -- they wrote it off from the disability proportion. therefore, almost forcing the hand for people with cut from disabilities. i think we need to become for moving for to make sure that those are qualified and needed to are being taken care of. we also should be taking this as an opportunity to take a look at how people are qualifying for disability. whether that system is working as intended, or whether industry tightened up, as well as.

one of the new items that the democratic coalition has been working on is a new democratic agenda. how do we allow the american people to have greater import and feet back -- input and feedback on the types of programs they are receiving? we have a new program out there allowing instant customer service review. why we doing that with the federal government, as well as? to provide some constructive feedback or criticism at the federal government so we can hear directly from the people on what changes need to be made to them to make sure we are maximizing the resources that we do have. again, it is an item that i think could garner some bipartisan support.

host: we will go to maryland. dave. caller: good morning. it seems like us retired military are getting to you pretty heavy this morning. guest: keep coming. caller: i am retired. i served from 1955 to 1977. i am wondering wondering -- i'm thinking i'm now on tri-care for life. and i'm just wondering if that is in jeopardy and anyway? number two is, and this may seem naive, but for tax goes up the vacation, what about putting everybody with the standard deduction? it seems to be like that whole thing would go a very long ways. host: david, you're breaking up so i will have the congressmen

respond. guest: david, thank you so much for your service. i do not foresee tri-care being in any jeopardy. obviously, we are trying to figure out ways to better improve the quality of care at a better price for our veterans, too. (202) 748-8000 for it is a major issue -- too, but the program itself is on very solid ground. as far as just having everyone go to a standard induction, it sounds like your almost every getting some type of simple fight flat tax that might --- simplified flat tax. we ought to look at all proposals out there and see what might make sense. because right now, it is just riddled with too many special interest loopholes, so-called tax expenditures. it is hard for me to go home and explain to many small businesses why they are paying a higher effective tax rate than most

fortune 500 companies, yet that is true. the fortune 500 companies are able to hire lobbyists here in washington dc, but get their tax cuts. it is something we have to be focused on. host: president obama and the white house decided to drop its bid to taxing gains in 529 college plans. guest: a lot of families have been invested in the 529 expecting that the capital gains could be withdrawn tax-free. so long as it applied for education purposes. but i think there has been some merit to what the president is alluded to. and that is we need to do a better job of means testing all the programs. the 529 plans are also available to the millionaires and billionaires around the country who are able to afford education anyway.

i think the idea of means testing these programs is something that congress ought to be interested in. host: do know what the statistics are on this 529 plan? who is using this program? guest: clearly from the administrations data, the vestment geordie of families are earning over $200,000 per year. chances are they were going to be saving or in a better position to begin with, even without this tax break that they're getting right now. so that, and i think there are whole list of other entitlement programs that have been created that we ought to do a better job of means testing. those who needs the assistant -- assistance get it. host: do think that could be a part of any tax reform bill that comes together? guest: well, we will see. i'm introducing new legislation this week that

would allow some of the money in the 529 plan to be used for computer expenses. that has become a tool for higher learning education. looking at that and making some tweaks make sense, but overall i think for the federal buffett ridding -- federal budgeting purposes, we need to do better means testing. host: a republican caller from oklahoma. go ahead. caller: yes, i have a couple of points, but i certainly agree with the last caller about the civil fight tax. it is out of hand. i think it is probably 100 years old. and all the things that have been added, nobody understands it. but the second thing i wanted to say is under nancy pelosi, one representative made a statement

that they had to read the bills line by line, word for word. under nancy pelosi, you had to pass the bill before you can see what was in it. so i just thought -- i just found that amusing that she was interested now in reading the bills before they were passed. host: ok, let's have the congressmen respond. guest: it is the congress' responsibility to understand how the words will impact the people. a myth has been crated throughout america that somehow those who supported obamacare didn't even read it. that is patently false. we didn't only read it, we did a read through together line by line, section by section. questions were asked, answers were given. and that is ideally how you would like to see the congress function to i think that would

choose focusing on is in the course of these trade negotiations is that memos are being engaged. so that we can provide greater directions on what the objectives should really be. because ultimately it will come back to congress for an up-and-down vote. i think it is better for the administration to work up front with the congress so that there are not surprises at the end of the negotiations. but again, we have a transpacific partnership that is being negotiated. between the spheres of the global academy, that is two thirds of the global market pace. why wouldn't we want to be at the table to set the table for the rest of the countries, including china that ultimately is going to want into these trade agreements. this is the time to elevate standards up that we do not have to compete against china in a race to the bottom. host: what you think it does for u.s. jobs?

guest: right now, the u.s. demonstration has just released a report that so far what is being the go should with the transportation -- i cautioned that is not a completed agreement. those of the 12 nations around the pacific rim, that happened to be the fastest-growing populations in the world. it is not a done deal. japan still, i think, has to grant greater market access. unfortunately, our northern neighbor, canada, has been hiding behind japan. so, it is not done. there are still some major items that we need -- that we lack agreement on. and we will find out whether we can get to a successful agreement that make sense for the american consumer. host: west point, mississippi. well you.

the house is coming in early today. they are starting their legislative session and not :00 a.m. eastern time. we just have a couple minutes left. caller: i would just like to say thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak. my main thing is that i'm a 28 year veteran, and i just want to know, you know, there is a lot of stuff going on and concerns about our retirement. the last thing i would like to say is with this health care. why is it that every time the republicans have an issue on the table, they always talk about obamacare? thank you so much for giving me this opportunity. guest: william, first of all let me assure you that i cannot imagine a congress disrupting the retirement benefits of the

veterans in retirement. that is why we are waiting for thursday and this new commission report to come out and see what recommendations they are making when it comes to cost in the pentagon. i hope that someday we get to a safe place politically where the parties can talk reasonably with one another about the reforms and the changes that have to be made within the health care system to ensure that all americans have access to quality, affordable health care in their lives. i assume that is a shared goal that we all have. and there are different ideas from both parties that we ought to be working on together. so far, it has been difficult to have that conversation because it has all been about obamacare. i asked the gentleman what specifically he didn't like, and he honestly answered it was the obama of the obamacare that he didn't like. until we can move beyond that part, it will be difficult to have this conversations. host: congressman ron kind,

appreciate your time. come back again. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.] the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the chair lays before the house a communication from the speaker. the clerk: the speaker's room washington, d.c.,