as such, we're anxious to cooperate with anything thinking about tax reform it has to be administrative. >> they consulted with you about these tax proposals that the president is making. >> we don't have communications with the white house. >> why not? it seems you know more about it than they do. >> for all the reasons we have talked about over the last year and a half we're involved in tax administration and discussion about tax policy at the higher level of policy levels not the drafting of the statues we're not consulted. as you move forward, whatever the policy is that people are considering it has to be administered. anybody looking at reform or

simplification of the code. >> we appreciate you being here today. it's been a good hearing, in my opinion. any questions for the record shall be submitted no later than tuesday, february 10th.that's where we are this week as congress takes up the issue. the white house reporter from reuters is following all of this co. thank you for being with us. walk us through what is going on

on capitol hill. guest: they have said that they will work on language on an au ums. it is expected in this week. the president has that in the state of the union address that things are stronger when congress worked together. he has already ordered strikes in the islamic region to -- but he wants approval from congress. we have been asking when this language will be sent out when they will spell out what they want, now the answer is in the coming days. it is interesting to see what they have to spell out. they have to talk about a timeline, if they want permission to continue to fight

geographically where they want permission to do so. and how much force congress will allow him to use. whether that will include continuation of air strikes that have already occurred, and are still occurring, and whether it goes further than that to include boots on the ground. host: we are talking with jeff mason, white house reporter from reuters. we want to get your comments on this. our phone lines are open. if you are at this -- active or retired military, the line for you is (202) 748-0003. jeff mason, let me go back to what we discussed at the beginning of the program congress did give george bush that authorization to fight al qaeda. why do some feel that is irrelevant today? guest: some have articulated

that this is a different war and the different fight. president obama has been using that as justification for airstrikes already against the islamic state. it has been a long time, obviously, since that original authorization is granted. this is, at least from capitol hill and lawmaker's perspective, is different. host: this is a quote from nbc news he said, and the current crisis, the authorization does not apply. you touch on this a moment ago just how broad or narrow do you think this authority will be for the president? guest: the president has said repeatedly that he did not want to send ground troops back into

iraq. obviously, one of the main reasons he was elected in 2008 was because of his promise to and the iraq war and bring troops home. the legacy that this white house will hope -- hopefully extend to president obama is one that ended wars and not one that continued them. obviously, what is going on with the islamic state is a huge challenge this administration. part of dealing with that is getting theis authorization and showing that the united states is serious about attacking the islamic state. to answer your question specifically what i think they will do is maintain his promise to not send troops back. they will want an authorization they give them the flexibility to continue airstrikes, and possibly the flexibility to do more going forward. i think what you will see is something that is fairly limited

to what is actually already taking place now. pretty much focused on airstrikes. host: (202) 748-8000 that is online for democrats. (202) 748-8001 four republicans. as congress debates military action on isis, we want to be your thoughts, comments, and questions on that. let me tell you about another topic, angela merkel's meeting on isis. what do you expect tomorrow? guest: tomorrow i think it will be another meeting related to war. it will be the war on ukraine. the coalition, or the western allies of the united states and europe have until now been on the same page about how to handle president putin of

russia. a have imposed some very serious sanctions that have hurt the russian economy. now they are coming up to what may be a sticking point. as the war continues between the separatist and ukraine, and russia, russian forces, the question has come up now as to whether or not the united states, and maybe others, will help arm some of the ukrainians. angela merkel opposes that and many in europe oppose that as well. along with many of our allies france, and others. she has been doing some diplomacy to encourage russia to agree to a piece land. what i expect will happen on monday is she will talk to that plan -- about that plan to the president. you heard his new nominee for defense chief within the

last week, ash carter, saying he is open to that. this is a big debate right now. it will be interesting to see the two of them come to a compromise on that. it would probably be good for you 10 if the western allies are not -- puting if the western allies are not in agreement on that. host: secretary of state john kerry in europe. jeff

>> february is black history month.

this tuesday during "washington journal" we'll be in nashville. >> coming up, a senate hearing on ways to prevent the elderly from being victims of financial exploitation. then q&a. and live at 7:00 your calls and comments on "washington journal." [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015]

>> good afternoon. it is my great pleasure to call to order the very first hearing of the senate special committee on aging in the 114th congress. had the honor of being a member of this committee since my very first days in the united states senate and i am delighted to now assume the chairmanship. this is the first time that a maine senator has chaired the committee since the mid-1990s when my predecessor and good friend senator bill cohen for whom i worked for 12 years served as the committee's chair. i'm also pleased to

welcome new and returning members to this committee and onto about -- delighted that my good friend and colleague senator claire mccaskill of missouri will service the committee's ranking member. senator bill nelson, the former committee chairman, has also chosen to remain a member of this committee and he will continue to share his expertise with us. throughout its history, the aging committee has spurred congress to take action on issues important to older americans through our hearings, investigations and reports. and it has done so in a bipartisan manner. i will continue that fine tradition working closely with senator mccaskill and all of our members. this year the

committee will focus on three major issues, retirement security, biomedical research investment for diseases like alzheimer's and diabetes that disproportionately affect our seniors and financial schemes and other scams targeting older americans. today we will examine financial exploitation that harms far too many of our nation's most vulnerable seniors. this committee has brought to light many schemes that have defrauded seniors out of their hard-earned retirement savings. it is deeply troubling when a senior falls victim to one of these schemes but even more egregious is when the perpetrator is a family member a caregiver or a trusted