voting against the export-import bank is a prerequisite to have their support. every person running for president stumbles over themselves to vote against it. the koch working for the american people? are you doing the dirty work for a couple of billionaire oil barons? a vet for repeal of affordable care act is a vote against american families today we -- senate democrats will vote for american families. mr. president, i want to say one word, he's not on the floor, i was hoping he would be. the senior senator from oklahoma is a very conservative republican senator. and he and i disagree on a lot

of things but i have a great respect for his courage on this legislation. i think this legislation that we're moving forward on is far from perfect but i listened to jim inhofe yesterday when he was on -- answering the president a republican always follows the president and senator inhofe i think did a fine job of spraining how important it is that we have a bill, a transportation bill. so i've said some nice things about senator boxer but it's time we said

susan: harold rogers of kentucky is the chairman of the house appropriations committee. they put out a press release saying they successfully passed all bills. we are going to talk about this with him. our two reporters will be asking questions. rachel of politico and daniel of -- daniel you are first. daniel: as we mentioned, the process seemed stalled. it has been widely reported that an amendment was brought up with democrats three amendments in , fact. can you just take us inside what happened on tuesday night through the end of that week when the interior appropriations bill was pulled from the floor? rep. rogers: the amendment that the democrats offered caused a number of our members on the republican side to declare that

they could not support the bill on final passage. the bill was removed from the floor. it is too bad because it is a great bill. the interior appropriations bill did so many good things. it held back the epa's wild rampage towards regulating everything in the country among , other things. it's a good bill. it's too bad we had to remove it from the floor, but i hope we can incorporate the provisions of that bill sometime this fall. daniel: i'm sorry. it sounds to me like the process is installed. there are no more appropriations bills. rep. rogers: leadership is trying to resolve that issue, i hope they do so we can bring the bill back to the floor, but we

will have to prepare a contingency. we will have to do something else. rachael: just a little bit more about that. how many members came -- did they come to appropriations of staff and say we need a vote on this or we can't support this bill? how many members were there? can you say where they were from? rep. rogers: i can't give you an exact number. it was substantial. rachael: more than a couple dozen? rep. rogers: i don't want to get into numbers, but it was quite a bit. it convinced me that we cannot pass the bill with their absence. rachael: you mentioned a contingency plan. talk about it next step forward. obviously you have talked for a sort of 2.0, a budget that would raise the tax on defense spending, but leadership has not publicly endorsed that idea. you have been probably the

highest-ranking public cheerleader of this idea. have a signal to you as they would be open to that later in the year? what do you think will happen and what would you like to happen? rep. rogers: number one, i do not want a long-term cr. that would mean, if we did that, that all of the work could be a -- that committees and subcommittees have done so far in perfecting the 12 bills. all of that work would go out the window. all of the riders, all of the changes in spending to these new bills to modernize current

spending, all that would be thrown out in cr. i don't want to see a long-term cr. however it looks like the probabilities are we are going to have to do at least a short-term cr. a couple of months or so, in order to allow to perfect an omnibus bill like we have done the past two years. however, the differences time is we have the sequestration caps in place. it's probably going to be impossible to get an agreement on an omnibus spending bill with the white house and both bodies on the hill. it is going to have to take probably some relief from sequestration. that means we're going to have offsets. those could come from either ways and means committee, or maybe even energy and commerce on entitlements. hopefully we would see some offsets come from those two places in order to offset the spending increases to get away from the severe caps of

sequestration. susan: can i follow up on that? you suggested that the last two years we have ended up with an omnibus bill. this was supposed to be a congress where we got back to a so-called regular order. is that even possible anymore? rep. rogers: that's a good question. you know, one of the things making it difficult is around 60% of the house has only been there since 2006. so we have had a 60% changeover, and a lot of the new members have never seen what i call regular order, and that is passing 12 individual bills, conferencing them separately with the senate, and getting the bills to the white house. most of our members have never

seen that, and they take regular order is doing crs. so we've got an education process going on. however i think members more and more, this year especially, are seeing that this is a really good way for them to be able to legislate, offering amendments on these bills on the floor. and getting their voice into the process, and then voting for the final bill. that is getting better. i still have hope that we will get to regular order one of these days. daniel: do you sometimes wish that you had earmarks back? rep. rogers: yes. daniel: do you consider that a big factor in why prior to getting rid of your marks, the process seemed a lot easier. every sense, it has been a lot harder to pass appropriations bills.

rep. rogers: more importantly, i think the congress by the constitution controls the purse strings of the government. supposedly. but that presumes even pass appropriations bills in order to exercise that power of the purse. we have not been able to do that , so the bureaucracies in the executive branch have had free will to spend. so congress has punted the ball down to the executive branch and the bureaucracies decide what they spend and don't spend. that is not the way it was supposed to be. congress is supposed be the watchdog over the executive branch to ferret out abuse. that is my concept of what we should be doing. part of that is with your earmarks. nobody knows better than me, being from my part of the

country, because i spend my time there. i live there. my staff is there. we work on cases all the time. i know what needs to be done there that are than any bureaucracy downtown, 600 miles from it. i think earmarks are very good. daniel: we are heading into an election year. any cr, i would assume would get us through september of that year, just a month before people go to the ballots. can you talk about some of the challenges with a high-profile election going on? rep. rogers: it certainly makes it more difficult, no doubt about it. the issues we are dealing with in these bills are issues that are being dealt with in the political campaigns out there, one way or the other. so it does make it difficult to gain a majority of support for a particular position. you mentioned that a cr would last until next september.

rachael: not if he has anything to say about it. rep. rogers: it's an omnibus. a continuing resolution just simply says, we are going to keep things going as they are. no changes, no moderations, no increases, no decreases, just doing what you are doing now. that is a continuing resolution. no changes in the law. on the other hand, an omnibus spending bill, an appropriation spending bill, aggregates all 12 bills into a single big blob. but in that instrument you are probably hoping to incorporate

all of the riders and the changes in spending you have passed in these individual bills up to that point. you package that, and fund the entire government for the entire year with the changes that are necessary. for example, on the dod budget a cr would continue spending for programs that are no longer in being. but dod would be required to spend money for that. on the other hand, they need money for this new gizmo or whatever it may be -- no money for that. it's dangerous in that respect. but an omnibus appropriations bill is what i hope and trust that we will finally come up with. as opposed to a continuing resolution. rachael: has leadership given you any sort of assurances that all the work you put in be to these 12 appropriation bills -- i think the senate today is finishing their final appropriations bill in committee. have there been any private assurances that this is not

going to let this go out the window? rep. rogers: the leadership is determined to either pass these bills individually or past an omnibus that has most of these bills and it. they have been very good about that. daniel: have you been in any meetings -- or been aware of any meetings about the confederate flag issue? because that is the issue that is holding this up. rep. rogers: i have not myself. i think leadership has. daniel: you are from a state that was not really in the confederacy -- where do you personally stand on this? how do you personally feel about the confederate flag, and whether or not people should be able to display it in cemeteries and so on? rep. rogers: i don't want to see anything that raises hatred or bias. so the -- i will leave that

decision to leadership. and others. rachael: you mentioned policy riders earlier in this conversation. these appropriation bills have been jampacked with all kinds of riders. these have been red meat issues for the conservative states. a lot of times when democrats republicans sit down to negotiate, those riders fall off. but i'm wondering now that you control both chambers, are there certain riders you think you'll be able to keep on? sanctuary cities, the irs, gun issues, planned parenthood is a big one that is popping right now -- money for planned parenthood? any of those that you think you'll really fight to keep on? rep. rogers: i will fight to keep all of the riders that the house has passed. that's my job. i will be seeking to include all of those riders in the final package.

the senate will obviously have their pets. that is the way this place operates, you get together in a conference and work it out. rachael: realistically though, president obama is going to veto certain policy riders, a lot of them actually. are there any that you guys are actually willing to lay down the marker on and say, we are not moving? rep. rogers: all of them. you mentioned the senate passing their 12th bill through committee, today i think. rachael: right. rep. rogers: that is the first time since, i think it's been eight years, thereabouts, says since that has happened. when both bodies, full committees has passed all 12 , bills. that is coming along way from where we were sometime ago. and two, we are talking about an omnibus spending bill that the

president has to sign. we are going to have to listen to the white house's position on some of these matters. so it will have to be an agreement, finally between the two bodies on the hill and the white house. as it has been now for these last two years, three years. we've got to get all of those parties together at some point in time. daniel: you said the committee has got all the bills passed for the first time in several years, and yet you must be somewhat susan: frustrated with your leadership that they cannot get that final step done? rep. rogers: i'm frustrated that we can't get these bills always through. however, leadership has been very, very helpful in arranging time on the floor to bring these bills up. giving us generous amount of time. lobbying the members to vote for the bills.

pushing the process as rapidly as we could. and we finished six of the bills on the floor, on the house side. and the interior bill was practically done when it was interrupted. so almost seven of the 12 bills we were able to carry through the house. the senate of course has not been able to carry any of those to the floor over there, because the democrats have said they will not support any bill that is at sequester ed levels. which these bills are of course. it begs the question about what we do about dealing with the sequestration caps. that is going to have to come after consideration is given to the ways and means committee not to mention the regular house and senate leadership. rachael: who will take the lead on this? last time it was ryan murray. they have obviously moved on

from their budget position. any thought as to who the person is will be the first to strike a who deal? rep. rogers: that will come from leadership. it requires a coverage of more than just the appropriations process. we can do the spending part. we cannot do the funding that is required, the increases that are required to reduce the sequestration caps. that has to come from another committee or from leadership. so leadership in due course of time, they will be the judge of that. they will take appropriate action. susan: we have eight minutes left. daniel: next year is your term limit. it will be your last year as chairman. will you seek a waiver to stay longer? rep. rogers: leadership will decide those types of things. daniel: you have to ask first for them to decide. is that something that you are considering? rep. rogers: not really.

daniel: what would you do if you are not chairman anymore? would you still run for reelection? rep. rogers: sure. sure. sure. susan: rachel? rachael: i would like to hear more about what you think of going to happen. is the short-term cr going to be one month, is a going to be two months? if they do a stopgap transportation bill for the highways for just a couple of months, how do you see all of this wrapping together? or would you like to be totally separate issue? rep. rogers: of course, my focus is on appropriations and doing an omnibus bill. what leadership does with his other issues and when they do it is obviously up to leadership. i will gladly let that be their decision. rachael: if it was up to you how short would a short-term cr

be? rep. rogers: there is no magic number. in the past i think we have done about two months. we wound up doing an omnibus bill this past year in december, and i guess the one before it the same way. so, that is in the ballpark. rachael: are you pretty confident that leadership will do some sort of budget deal? rep. rogers: that remains to be seen. i can't tell you that. daniel: we talked about the presidential election a little bit. 16 candidates now. have you ever seen a field like this before? rep. rogers: no. it's like a flock of geese. [laughter] and we are not done yet. rachael: are you worried about what it will do to the appropriation process? rep. rogers: not really. i don't think there is a direct connection between what goes on out there and our committee. rachael: it could push people

further to the right who don't want to raise spending levels? rep. rogers: it could. we could get some impact like that. daniel: do you think the appropriations process could have an impact on what the candidates talk about? for example, if people bring up social issue riders that could bubble up to the campaign. have you had any discussions with leadership or have you had , any conversations about how did stop throwing candidates off message next year through the appropriations process? rep. rogers: no. that is something that would not work, number one. daniel: why not? rep. rogers: well, we can't convince people to not do something that they are determined to do in the house. so it's a free will place. susan: since we have segued into presidential politics, i wanted to get your thoughts on how the presidential candidates are

doing on the trail. senator paul? rep. rogers: i can only speak for him in kentucky. he is very popular in kentucky. as you know he is running for , reelection next year as well in the senate race in kentucky. he is doing well. i don't know about his national campaign. i have not been a part of that. susan: what do you think it will take for any of these candidates to rise above what you call a flock of geese? rep. rogers: that's the $64,000 question. they are on their own and doing things to gain attention. i don't profess to be able to predict what might come next in that free-for-all. susan: at this point, is mr. trump good for the party? rep. rogers: no he's not. susan: in what way? rep. rogers: he is just too bombastic. i don't argue with him on the

merits of what he is talking about, but he needs to tone it down. he needs to be a little bit more regular. daniel: do you have a golden goose, if you will, among the flock? [applause] rachael: rand paul from your home state? rep. rogers: he is my home state senator. susan: three minutes left. final questions from you both? rachael: you had a very good personal relationships with senator mcconnell. you guys have been friends going back decades. rep. rogers: 71. rachael: are you using a personal relationship with him to try to lobby for a budget deal? to try to lobby to increase spending? as we said, right now we have not seen them publicly come out and endorse that idea. rep. rogers: of course i have had conversations with him.

but they are the leader and they will make their decisions based on a great number of factors. i am prepared to wait them out and give them the time that they need to make the decision. daniel: we are about a week away from the august recess. when you come back you will have a month or so to figure something out. when do the discussions need to start happening? rep. rogers: it's being discussed now. when we come back after the august break, i think there is only like six legislative for -- full days left before the end of the fiscal year. so we don't have a lot of time. we will have to move fairly rapidly in september. daniel: that being said, are you planning to spend a lot of time here in august? rep. rogers: we will be looking under every rock in these bills to see what we can find in terms of savings. we will try to clear the

underbrush so that when we do have a conference with the senate we will have a lot of , stuff already done. so yes, it is going to take a busy august. rachael: as for looking forward say you guys do get a budget deal this year, do you guys have a list of priorities? the nih, i know you talk about nasa a lot? not so much the epa, given call -- coal country where you are from. what sort of priorities do you think republicans will want to press up? susan: you have 30 seconds mr. chairman. rep. rogers: i can't speculate on what that would be. everyone has a different idea. we will get together and pick out the ones we think we can be

successful with. susan: well, looking under rocks and clearing brush is at least provides a metaphor for you in august. thank you for being here with us this week. representative rogers of kentucky. he was a guest on newsmakers this week. we are back after our conversation with our two reporters. rachel and daniel. it sounds like what we heard was the frustration of divided government. we have a republican controlled house and senate that has put -- pastpassed 12 appropriations bill this year, but a white house that does not agree with priorities, and democrats who are flexing their muscles. where does this all go do you think? rachael: i think this opens up more questions than answers. obviously rogers is quick to say we have done our work. we have passed all these bills out of committee. they don't want to do a cr. they don't just want to continue

government spending to go the way it has been going. but how they bridge this divide between gridlock on capitol hill, where senate democrats are not allowing any over creations built on the floor, and house democrats want to talk about the confederate flag. republicans want to stay away from that is much as possible. how do they bridge this big divide where they cannot even bring up appropriations bills on the floor and getting to some sort of deal where they can pass spending bills that actually scrutinize spending? it is unclear how they are going to get there. susan: of course an additional important player is the white house. the president has indicated his interest in seeing sequestration cap's being lifted. daniel: the only way out of this would have to be some kind of deal like the chairman signaled. we have sort of started to hear rumblings about people starting to take it seriously. you mentioned there is some discussion going on, although i think they are in the nascent stage. we will see what happens. they also have the debt ceiling. the highway bill. this is all been pushed off.

what we might be left with is some kind of big furball of legislation that gets all dealt with at the same time in one broad stroke. it's exactly what they said they wouldn't do, what they been trying to avoid but at this , point let's be realistic. it seems like the only way to get out of all these ben sasse themselves. rachael: it seems like he is also waiting at this point. he is waiting to find out what leadership is going to do in terms of a budget deal. republicans have been saying since the beginning of the year, a lot of moderate centrist republicans have been saying that they also support a deal. they would raise the spending caps to relieve sequestration that is hurting a lot of the agencies. leadership has not publicly come out to endorse it. he has not said that they have privately told him if they are going to do something. i personally was wondering if maybe they did not come out to support this to sort of increase their bargaining power with the white house -- as pressure builds and they get closer to a

deadline. but he said that privately, he is still trying to figure out where they are going to go with this. susan: who does the pressure built for? is it the public that would see the republicans as holding out? rachael: i think it does help republicans because with their more conservative base right now, they can't come out and say we want to do a budget deal. we are just going to say absolutely no way, if you can kick the can down the road a little bit further we really can't be responsible for a shutdown and actually works in leadership's favor. daniel: they want to do anything they can to avoid shutdown especially heading into the election. susan: sorry to interrupt, both

sides want to avoid it? daniel: republicans. they have been promising that they are going to govern to avoid exactly that kind of shutdown. and the polls have shown that that they get blamed for this more than democrats do. certainly, they control both houses of congress, they would have no way of explaining why it isn't their fault. the other thing is, i think they have in the house particularly 30 members to 70 members who are probably never going to vote for something like a debt ceiling increase, or a spending increase, or a tax increase. so they immediately have to go negotiate with democrats before they do any kind of deal. that does hurt their negotiating position. susan: who, or which group, has the greatest leverage right now? daniel: probably the president. rachael: yeah. daniel: he's got his lines in the sand. he seems to be completely unburdened by never having to run for reelection again. he would have the upper hand in that. but he does not have to deal with the minutia of all this.