captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> lehrer: good evening. i'm jim lehrer. house democrats pushed through a bill extending bush-era tax cuts for the middle class. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. on the "newshour" tonight: we look at today's action, and the prospects for a deal to keep tax breaks for all americans, even the wealthy. >> lehrer: then, we excerpt today's hearing on the repeal of the military's "don't ask don't tell" policy, and get the views of senators joe lieberman and saxby chambliss. >> woodruff: from indonesia, miles o'brien reports on the science and superstition surrounding the eruption of the mount merapi volcano. >> lehrer: jeffrey brown talks to neil irwin of the "washington post" about what the federal

reserve did to stave off the financial crisis. >> woodruff: and we reprise the debate and vote to censure 80- year-old house ways and means chairman charles rangel for financial misconduct. >> i stand to say that i have made serious mistakes. >> lehrer: that's all ahead on tonight's "newshour." major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: >> well, the best companies are driven by new ideas. >> our history depends on new ideas. we spend billions on advanced technologies. >> it's all about investing in the future. >> we can find new energy-- more cleaner, safer and smarter. >> collaborating with the best in the field. >> chevron works with the smartest people at leading universities and tech companies. >> and yet, it's really basic. >> it's paying off everyday. >> i want to know what the

universe... >> looks like. >> feels like. >> from deep space. >> to a microbe. >> i can contribute to the world by pursuing my passion for science. >> it really is the key to the future. >> i want to design... >> a better solar cell. >> i want to know what's really possible. >> i want to be the first to cure cancer. >> people don't really understand why things work. >> i want to be that person that finds out why. and by the alfred p. sloan foundation. supporting science, technology, and improved economic performance and financial literacy in the 21st century. and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and...

this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: the fight over extending the bush-era tax cuts began to play out on the house floor today. democrats passed a continuation of cuts limited to the middle class. but it was mostly a symbolic move, and negotiations on a compromise continued. at times today, on the house floor, democrats and republicans sounded as if they were debating two different tax measures. >> the time has come. the smoke screen is now being lifted by this bill. you have a chance to stand up or back down for tax cuts on the middle income families of our

country. >> you know what, i've heard the rhetoric of my friends on the other side of the aisle, and as i've studied this bill i'm still looking to find where is the tax cut that they're talking about. i don't see any cuts. all i see is tax increases. >> woodruff: in fact, both sides were talking about a democratic bill to extend some of the bush-era tax cuts for families making under $250,000 a year and individuals who earn $200,000 or less. republicans, however, have demanded that the cuts be extended for all income groups, including the very wealthy. the house debate came as treasury secretary timothy geithner and white house budget director jack lew met again with negotiators for both sides, looking for a compromise. and with that in mind, incoming house speaker john boehner objected to even bringing up the

democratic bill. >> i'm trying to catch my breath so i don't refer to this... this maneuver going on today as chicken crap, all right? but this is nonsense, all right? the election was one month ago. we're 23 months from next election and political games have already started, trying to set up the next election. >> reporter: but the leader of the democratic majority, steny hoyer, insisted today's vote will actually help the process. >> now this vehicle is a vehicle i think will be used and can be used by the other body to affect consensus policy. but let us not hold hostage that on which we agree to that on which we do not agree. >> woodruff: when all was said and done the house tax cut measure passed 234 to 188.

20 democrats joined all but three republicans in voting against it. but the bill is all but certain to die in the senate, where republicans hold 42 seats enough to block it from even coming up for debate. senate republican leader mitch mcconnell: >> wasting time on votes to raise taxes won't create jobs. right now, house democrats are getting ready to send us a bill on taxes they know won't pass in the senate. >> woodruff: all this takes place as president obama is feeling more heat from liberal groups to hold his ground against extending tax cuts for the wealthy. but the very fact of private negotiations suggested the president is preparing to compromise. all he would indicate publicly, as he met with governors today,

is optimism lawmakers will get past the political obstacles. >> i believe it will get resolved. that doesn't mean there won't be some posturing over the next several days, but i'm confident in the end people are going to recognize it's important for families who are still struggling to have some relief and it's important for our economy to make sure that money is still out there circulating at a time when we are recovering. >> woodruff: the tax cuts expire at the end of the year. so mr. obama and the congress are under enormous pressure to reach agreement before they adjourn. otherwise, tax rates will go up for all americans. late today, white house press secretary robert gibbs issued a statement calling the negotiations between secretary geithner and members of congress productive, but added they are not near a deal. >> lehrer: still to come on the "newshour," senators lieberman and chambliss on "don't ask don't tell"; the myth and science of indonesia's volcano;

the federal reserve's actions to forestall the financial crisis and the censure of congressman rangel. but first, the other news of the day. here's kwame holman in our newsroom. >> holman: first-time claims for jobless benefits ticked up last week. but the labor department reported today the four-week average was the lowest in two years. that raised hopes for tomorrow's report on november unemployment. on wall street, the dow jones industrial average gained more than 106 points to close at 11,362. the nasdaq rose nearly 30 points to close at 2,579. in iran, the government announced a number of people have been arrested in the murder of a top nuclear scientist. iranian authorities have said attackers on motorcycles stuck magnetized bombs on the cars of two scientists on monday. one was killed, the other was wounded. the regime has said the attacks were part of a campaign by israel and western countries to disrupt iran's nuclear program.

nato has reported its first fatalities in afghanistan this month. the alliance said two service members were killed today in the east and south. a third soldier died wednesday in a roadside explosion in the east. there was no immediate word on their nationalities. 55 nato troops were killed in afghanistan in november. the founder of the whistle- blowing website wikileaks faced mounting legal pressure today. the high court in sweden upheld an order to detain julian assange, over allegations of rape and other sex crimes. he's denied any wrongdoing. a worldwide search for assange intensified, just days after wikileaks released 250,000 secret u.s. diplomatic cables. the u.s. lost out today in its bid to host the soccer world cup. soccer fans around the globe watched as the sport's governing body, fifa, made the announcement in switzerland. russia was selected to host the 2018 world cup, heading off bids

from several european countries. and the persian gulf oil state of qatar beat out the u.s. and others for the 2022 tournament. qatar will be the first middle eastern nation to host the world cup. those are some of the day's major stories. now, back to jim. >> lehrer: two days after the pentagon report on "don't ask, don't tell," top defense officials make the case for change to the u.s. senate. the pentagon leaders at today's senate hearing stood firm in their view that "don't ask, don't tell" should be reversed. admiral mike mullen is chairman of the joint chiefs. >> we're an institution that values integrity and then asks other people to join us; work with us; fight with us; die with us; and lie about who they are the whole time they're in the military. that's what just doesn't make any sense to me. >> lehrer: mullen and defense secretary robert gates came armed with findings that most troops see no ill effects from ending the ban on gays serving openly in the ranks.

but they faced a nearly-united republican front of opposition led by arizona's john mccain: >> you have said that you conclude that those concerns of members of service members about deterioration in military-unit cohesion are, quote, "exaggerated." how are they exaggerated? >> well, i don't remember using the word "exaggerated" because i take those concerns very seriously. >> lehrer: mccain had said any action on repeal should await the survey results, but today he argued it asked the wrong questions-- not how should repeal be handled, but whether it should happen at all. he pointed to nearly 60% of combat troops who said allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would harm the force. and more than 12% said they'd leave the armed forces, in that case. >> if they left the-- this 12.6% of the military left earlier, that translates into 264,600 men

and women who would leave the military earlier than they had planned. do you think that's a good idea to replace 265,000 troops across the force in time of war, that we should be undertaking that challenge at this time? >> they can't just up and leave. they have enlistment contracts. the officers have contracts in terms of the amount of time they have to serve. and so it isn't like they can just say, "well, i'm out of here." >> lehrer: delaware democrat chris coons cited the example of racially integrating the armed forces. it was implemented, in part, during the korean war, despite overwhelming opposition from the military and the public. >> are there any other parallels or lessons to be learned from racial integration and from a very different period? >> these social changes in the military have not been particularly easy.

the reality is we had serious racial problems within the services at least through the end of the vietnam war. it's been a number of years since we have admitted women into the armed forces. and the reality is, as everybody on this committee knows, we have a continuing problem with sexual assault. so these are human beings we're dealing with. and i think the report is honest in saying that there will be some disruption. >> lehrer: the defense officials warned of still greater disruption if the federal courts beat congress to the punch. there have already been some rulings invalidating "don't ask, don't tell." >> i worry that unpredictable actions in the court could strike down the law at any time, precluding the orderly implementation plan we believe is necessary to mitigate risk. i also have no expectation that challenges to our national security are going to diminish in the near future, such that a

more convenient time will appear. >> lehrer: but mississippi republican roger wicker insisted again that what really matters is what the troops think. he pressed the point that they should be asked if they want the policy repealed. >> on the one hand, the president has made a decision; therefore, we didn't take a full survey of military attitudes. and then on the other hand, we're saying although this is really technically a legislative decision, the court is closing in on you, and so you really don't have much choice there. >> you know, i didn't spend a career in the military, but i've read a lot of history. and i can't think of a single precedent in american history of doing a referendum of the american armed forces on a policy issue. are you going to ask them if they want 15-month tours? are you going to ask them if they want to be part of the surge in iraq? that's not the way our civilian- led military has ever worked in our entire history.

the "should" question needs to be decided by the congress or the courts, as far as i'm concerned. i think, in effect, doing a referendum of the service, of the members of the armed forces, on a policy matter is a very dangerous path. >> lehrer: tomorrow, the armed services committee hears from leaders of the individual services. they've been more critical of repealing "don't ask, don't tell." now to two members of the armed services committee. independent democrat joe lieberman of connecticut-- he's a co-sponsor of repeal legislation. and republican saxby chambliss of georgia, who opposes it. gentlemen, welcome. senator lieberman, is it basically a civil rights issue for you? >> it's a civil rights issue, but it's also a national security issue. i mean, it's a civil rights issue because we make a basic promise to this country that you're going to be judged not by who you are-- your race, your gender, religion, et cetera, or

sexual orientation-- but how you do the job. and "don't ask, don't tell" has resulted in 14,000 people in our military being tossed out over the last 17 years, not because they were inadequate soldiers, not because they violated the military code of conduct, but simply because of their sexual orientation. that's wrong. and as a matter of civil rights, it ought to be changed. but i can tell you that if i felt that changing this policy would compromise our national security in any way, i wouldn't be for it. in fact, when you think about it tossing out 14,000 people willing to put their lives on the line to protect our security and freedom-- including a lot of people who have specialized skills-- that was bad for our military and think about all the others who may be gay or lesbian who want to volunteer and enlist in the services have the skills and the courage to really serve our country and don't come in because they don't want to live a lie or live with the fear that

somebody's going to out them and they're going to be tossed out of the military. so i think it's good civil rights policy and really good for our national security. >> lehrer: senator saxby, you don't think it would be good for national security, is that right? >> that's exactly right, jim. this policy has been in effect for going on 18 years now. >> lehrer: chambliss, i'm sorry. >> we have an awful lot of members of every branch of the military, jim, who are gay and lesbian. they have served under this policy, they have served with distinction, with honor, and with great valor. and it's worked. and we have 42,000 discharges in the marine corps last year. 78 of those were under this "don't ask, don't tell" policy. here we're going to make a major change and a shift in the way the military does business because of 78 marines? i don't think that's the way that the military should operate. so we've got a policy that does

work. it's a policy that, you know, a lot of people don't like, and i understand that. but it has worked and when a majority of the members of the military say they are opposed to repealing "don't ask, don't tell"-- as this survey does say-- then i think it's wrong to repeal that policy at this time in the middle of two conflicts especially. >> lehrer: you heard, of course, what secretary gates and admiral mullen said, but particularly secretary gates said on the issue of asking the troops what they think about a major policy issue. you simply disagree with the secretary, is that right, senator? >> well, i do. i think if you're going to make a change of this nature... i mean, joe's absolutely right that this is not a civil rights issue, it truly is a national security issue. he and i agree on that. and this survey itself, if you're talking to somebody sitting behind the desk that's a member of the united states air

force and they have somebody in their office who is gay or lesbian, it's not a big deal to them. and i understand that. but when you look at the results of this survey and you have 60% to 65% of the men and women who... men who are in combat in either the united states army or the united states marine corps saying this is going to have a negative impact on performance and morale in their units, that's the type of discussion that this survey does bring forward in a way that tells me this is not the time to do this. it's not right. >> lehrer: senator lieberman, you read the survey results differently? >> i do. and it's quite important, i think. because there's a difference here between those in the combat units in the army and the marine corps who are not serving with gay and lesbian colleagues in their units who are concerned

about the impact it would have on their military effectiveness and on the cohesion of the unit. those numbers are the ones that saxby has mentioned. but to me, the most heartening numbers were that 84% of the marines in combat and 89% of the combat army who say they know they have a gay or lesbian soldier, sailor, marine corps, et cetera, in their unit say it hasn't been a problem. so i understand we're dealing with a lot of concern, it's an awkward situation, it's something a lot of people have not confronted in their lives, but the reality is that once it happens and troops are serving with gay and lesbian troops, then it's not a problem. and it's not a problem for the same reason integration of african americans and women have not been a problem, because ultimately the military is just a great institution, committed to a higher cause, which is our national security and freedom. and they don't care about who

you are so long as you're... how you do your job. so long as you're a good soldier. and i'm confident exactly the way in which members of the american military would greet their gay and lesbian fellow troops when this is repealed. >> lehrer: senator chambliss, what about the other issue secretary gates and admiral mullen raised which is the courts are going to do... probably going to do this anyhow and that would be very disruptive. at least if the congress of the united states does this, it can be done in a gradual way and an orderly way and he prefers it that way. why do you disagree with that? >> well, because i don't know that the courts are going to do that. this is not the first time this issue has come before the appellate courts in this country. it certainly has been years since it's been an issue before the courts, but they've consistently upheld the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. are we in a different era today? sure. but the laws that are in place

today were in place when those decisions were made years ago. so i'm pretty confident that we've got good lawyers in the military justice system that are well prepared to argue the case and ultimately this case probably will go to the supreme court. if it stays in the judicial system. and i'm confident of that and confident of our position on this. >> lehrer: back to the senate. the immediate business that you all have before you. why is it, senator chambliss-- and i want to ask you the same thing, senator lieberman-- that this thing has fallen strictly along party lines? what is it, the difference between democrats and republicans on don't ask don'tel that is so rigid between the two parties? senator chambliss first. >> i don't know that i can specifically say, jim, why it's democrat/republican issue, but certainly you are right.

i don't think by any means there's any difference in morality or whatever level you try to look at this on between democrats and republicans. but this just happens to be something that we feel very strongly about, the constituency that comes from the gay community i think historically is democratic and that may be part of it. i don't know. although i've got a lot of friends who are members of the gay community and they're good people and we have good working relationships as well as good friendships. so it's not a republican issue to me. joe's exactly right in my mind. it's an issue of national security. it just happens to be one where republicans and democrats disagree. >> lehrer: how do you read that, senator lieberman? >> well, i think it's really... first off, it's not totally a partisan split. senator susan collins of maine, republican, voted for the repeal of don't ask don't tell in our arms services committee. senator scott brown voted for the bill with the repeal in it,

although he hasn't said how he'd vote on a repeal separately. i think there are other republicans who have indicated an openness to this. but it's unfortunate. i think it may reflect how partisan the place is become because this isn't a partisan issue. it's not really even a liberal or conservative issue. on the civil rights part of it, it's basic american value of equal opportunity and on the national security side, people... you might have a difference of opinion, but it shouldn't break on party lines. i want to say-- with all respect to my republican colleagues here-- that my sense of this is that out among the american people, registered republicans are more open to... protecting people from being discriminated against based on their sexual orientation than seems to be the case among our republican colleagues here in the senate on this particular issue. all the public opinion polling around the country shows very large majorities in favor of repealing "don't ask, don't tell" because it makes good

sense in terms of equal opportunity and national security. >> lehrer: senators, we have to leave it there. thank you both very much. >> thank you, jim. thank you. >> woodruff: next, how science, mysticism and superstition all play a role in indonesia's reaction to a deadly volcano. hundreds of people were forced to flee this week from the fallout of the country's most volatile volcano, which began erupting anew in october. "newshour" science correspondent miles o'brien has the story from indonesia. >> reporter: near the summit of indonesia's most active volcano, the once lush terrain is now a memory buried beneath a landslide of newly minted rock and soil. for many people in yogyakarta, mt. merapi-- the mountain of fire that looms over the city, has become a macabre-- otherworldly destination for a sunday ride.

for thousands of volcano refugees, it is quite simply, home. or, at least it as. no one is certain when, or if, they will ever return. the only home and farm ranto utomo has ever known used to be here. "everything is destroyed totally destroyed," he told me. "no house, no cow, our village is totally destroyed." it was the worst eruption here in 140 years. it began on october 26, when merapi blew its top shooting lava, hot gas, boulders and ash down the mountainside at the speed of a jet airplane-- a scalding hot, lightning fast landslide scientists call a pyroclastic flow. take a look at this. this gives you a sense of the force, the devastation that is created by one of these pyroclastic flows. it came down this way. gas heated to 1,800 degrees fahrenheit. huge boulders the size of houses

moving at 450 miles an hour. this is what's left of the town of kaliadem. about three dozen people decided to stay. they didn't have a chance. they were there despite evacuation orders from the man known only as surono, indonesia's chief volcanologist, arguably the busiest practitioner of that profession in the world. at a command center in the city, he watched seismographs connected to instruments that encircle the volcano. they were telling an unambiguous story of impending disaster. the magma beneath merapi's crusty lava dome was on the move causing swarms of intense tremors. merapi was warming up for an epic performance. >> bum, bum, bum. bum, bum, bum like mozart, you know. >> reporter: it was clear to surono the crescendo would be discordant and historic. so you knew it was going to be a big one? >> yes, yes, so i call every three hour to the local government-- okay, quick, quick,

quick, quick to evacuate the people. >> reporter: did they listen? >> yes, yes. >> reporter: with one notable exception-- another respected man with one name maridjan refused to leave, insisting there was no danger. his words carried weight because he was the so-called gatekeeper of the volcano. in the world of javanese mysticism, the gatekeeper protects the people of yogyakarta by communicating with the spirit of the volcano grandfather merapi. >> he's not like a malevolent he is a very powerful deity who is really behind the fertility of this land. >> reporter: bernard adeney risakotta is a professor of the social scientific study of religion in yogyakarta. >> for javanese, central java, merapi is the most holy place in... it's like the center of the universe. >> reporter: maridjan earned huge credibility and nationwide

fame in 2006, when he defied another eruption prediction and remained on merapi. instead of an eruption, there was an earthquake and before long he was endorsing an energy drink. but this time, maridjan was no match for the pyroclastic flow. his death has shocked the javanese and frankly bolstered surono's credibility. many here are now calling him the new gatekeeper. people have superstitions though right? >> yes, but merapi logic is more sure than superstition. i believe the merapi logic not believe the voodoo something like that. >> reporter: merapi has killed more than 300 during this eruption and is currently the most menacing of 129 active volcanoes across the indonesian archipelago. another java volcano mount bromo is also in the midst of a big eruption. the islands of indonesia formed at the boundary between tectonic plates of the earth's crust,

part of the ring of fire, as it is known. it goes all the way around the pacific and is home to three quarters of the worlds volcanoes and 90% of the earthquakes. here in indonesia, the indo australian plate is crashing into the eurasian plate. as one plate moves beneath the other into the earth's mantle, it changes the pressure and adds ocean water making the mantle melt. this is what feeds volcanoes and earthquakes and no place more so than indonesia. >> so, really, its a test bed of the horrors the volcanoes can be. sumatra and java is it. >> reporter: geologist and author simon winchester wrote the book "krakatoa-- the day the world exploded." the eruption of the krakotoa volcano in java in 1883 killed at least 40,000 and is considered the loudest noise ever heard in recorded history. at the time many javanese

believed it was a sign the gods were angry with dutch colonial rule. >> there was rebellion in 1888 with krakatoa being the watchword and local muslims drove out or began the process of driving out the tch who eventually left leaving in their wake what is now the most populous islamic country on earth, the republic of indonesia. so, one can say that the successful rise of islam and the expulsion of dutch colonialists was triggered by a volcanic eruption. >> reporter: certainly much has changed since krakatoa, but in the 30 years surono has been at it, the science of volcanology has improved dramatically. besides seismometers, a well monitored volcano like merapi is outfitted with lasers that can measure the movement of the lava dome. when an eruption is imminent it will expand like a balloon before bursting. but knowing precisely when that may happen that is still beyond the reach of science. so it's a science but is some

respects, it's inexact, isn't it? >> yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah. inexact i think not exactly. ( laughs ) >> reporter: you cannot tell me what time and day, right? >> yes, yes, this is right. >> reporter: this is what people want right? >> yeah, yeah. >> reporter: so how good are the predictions these days? >> reasonably good. we like to use the word forecast. >> reporter: that's volcanologist john eichelberger of the u.s. geological survey. i sat down with him before i left for java to learn the state of the volcanlogy art. it turns out they are looking for data more and more in space. g.p.s. and radar satellites now provide much more precise information on the movement of lava domes and weather satellites help monitor and track ash plumes and gases as they spread. scientists are also experimenting with drones that can fly though a smoldering volcano to sniff for sulfur dioxide, a sure fire signature of an eruption. but even with all this, eichelberger says it is still

harder than predicting forecasting the weather. >> it's not like saying that hurricane will be here, two days from now. >> reporter: the question now is when will merapi be done erupting. no one knows the answer for sure. while we were up there as a matter of fact, we were told to evacuate in a hurry. there was some concern more lava was on the way. we didn't waste time getting away from the summit. it must be difficult to know when to say it's over? >> yes, the same... the same problem when merapi will erupt, the same problem. it might be not more difficult to downgrade it. >> reporter: for the mystics of java, surono's data is of little concern.

damardjati supadjar sees the fiery result of shifting plates and a dead gatekeeper as a clear message from the gods. are the spirits unhappy? are there evil spirits? >> yeah, yeah, yeah. there is also a warning. we have got a spiritual revolution. >> reporter: there is little talk of this among refugees at the soccer stadium. their worries have come home, because they cannot. you lived on a volcano. did you ever this about this happening? "i never thought about that," she said. "never thought it would happen this big to destroy our village, our homes." if the people here under the stands in this stadium had listened to the gatekeeper marijan, they very likely wouldn't be here today, and yet look at this, a little piece of irony. this is a shrine to the gatekeeper, lots of paintings done by the kids here. and look at this, another piece

of irony, in spite of all that's happened, i love merapi. >> reporter: if it were me i would be crying. not you, how come? "you don't have to cry," he said. "if everyone's crying, it would become a flood. i feel very calm because the cow and the house and everything. allah lent it to me so now he is taking it back and that is ok as long as allah gives me health happiness and patience. i will start again." indonesia is famous for its many tongues. here in java, it seems, they speak the languages of religion, mythology and science all at once. it sounds like a jumble of contradictions, but apparently it works. the proof may be in this most unlikely smile. >> lehrer: now, new details on the federal reserve's emergency measures during the financial crisis. jeffrey brown has the story.

>> brown: the word >> brown: the word unprecedented was heard often here and elsewhere in discussing the actions by the fed back in 2008, as financial markets threatened to seize up and panic spread. yesterday we learned a great deal more about the breadth of those moves, as the fed released new data on its emergency programs that, combined, exceeded $3 trillion. among the many new disclosures? the extent to which emergency aid went not just to wall street firms, but to foreign banks in the form of short-term loans-- and to many non-bank companies. and the number of instances when major firms like goldman sachs, morgan stanley and citigroup borrowed from the fed-- in some cases more than 200 times. neil irwin has been covering the fed for the "washington post" and he joins us now. >> thanks. >> brown: the first thing that jumps out is we knew this was big but we didn't quite know how big, right? >> exactly. we knew there were many billions of dollars lent during the dark

days of the financial crisis in 2008/2009, the question was who was getting the money. we know the answer now is almost everybody. name a big bank, a big firm, it's on this list. >> brown: and the fed was compelled to... nobody was lending, flight so the fed was doing what is this >> what happened the financial markets shut down, the financial system was in disarray and at risk of complete collapse and the fed said, you know, we're going to step in and be the lender of last resort. we won't lend just to banks or their normal counterparties but anybody who needs money, whether it's commercial paper market-- which is a form of sherpl lending-- large industrial companies, general electric is on the list. so it was a full-scale effort to try and pump money into the economy. >> brown: when you start, just as an example, you start with the financial institutions, the banks, wall street, we knew they were getting money, of course. but what we see here is going back and back and back and back and back. does that suggest that some banks were closer to the brink than we thought at the time? >> i think it does. what you sigh is the large investment banks banks, morgan

stanley, goldman sachs, especially after the failure of lehman brothers, they were borrowing billions and billions from the federal reserve. they were rolling over these loans every night and that's clearly them concluded that was their best access to cash and it's unclear what would have happened if they had not had the backstop. >> brown: and the wide range of american businesses you just mentioned. fill in that picture a little bit because it goes way beyond what i think we knew at the time. >> it does. the fed created this program to support the commercial paper market. that's the short term i.o.u.s the companies use to pay for inventory and their payrolls. >> brown: the basic stuff. to pay their employees. >> exactly. so you see names on that list that are household name companies, general electric, harley-davidson, toyota, verizon. there's a good chance they accessed one or more of these facilities. >> brown: then there's the foreign banks, foreign institutions. >> a lot of the big global banks have u.s. subsidiaries and affiliates that were able to access this money. that's controversial. if you see u.b.s. the swiss bank or barclay's, the british bank,

taking advantage of u.s. taxpayer resources that's controversial but there was a lot of that borrowing by european and asian banks. >> brown: a lot of it controversial, you say, but not known at the time. >> yeah, i think it was noted they were eligible but the extent of that lending and the degree to which major european banks were depending on the federal reserve in the fall of 2008, that's a surprise. >> brown: all of this was released against the will, i think we can say, of the fed, right? under the new regulations. and there was an immediate response. tell us about what... why did they not want this out and what happened when it came snout >> well, what they sphere if they release too much information about who's getting their emergency loans that people in another... in a future crisis won't take advantage of those programs. the idea is to try and pump money into the economy. if people are afraid there will be a stigma attached they might not participate. that said, this was as you say part of the dodd/frank legislation passed over the summer. part of regulatory reform. bernie sanders, the senator from vermont had it inserted and.... >> brown: he was one of the ones who spoke out quickly. >> very much so. he points out the international

issues of international banks benefiting and just the sheer scope of this lending that happened without a lot of oversight at the time. we now have a great deal of insight into what this lending was. at the time it was a black box, kind of a mystery. >> brown: now, $3.3 trillion or so. when you put it all together, the emergency bailout funds, where do things stand now in the fed says it's not going to lose any of that money? >> that's right. all these programs were break even and most of them made money. so the taxpayer did not end up losing money. we're not on the hook, you and me. that said, it was exposing the tax payer to a lot of risk. they were taking... they were propping up companies that many of which might have failed otherwise and so the taxpayer definitely puts money at risk in order to make that happen. >> brown: of course it comes at this time when the fed is again under the spotlight, right? with this new attempt to pump up the economy. so there's a lot of people looking carefully at what is traditionally a very secretive institution. >> that's right. they made this move just last month to try and pump up the economy through buying $600

billion worth of bonds. they've come under fire for that. this was a different era during the crisis. this was lender of last resort stuff as opposed to ordinary monetary policy. that said, they're under scrutiny. >> brown: neil irwin of the "washington post," thanks very much. >> thanks, jeff. >> lehrer: this is pledge week on public television. we'll be back in seven minutes with a look at some of the emergency measures the federal reserve took during the recession. this short break allows your public television s

>> woodruff: we misspoke about our final segment tonight. it's about the house punishing one of its longest-serving members, 20-term representative charles rangel from new york. congressman rangel was the first sitting member to face censure in nearly 30 years. it's the most serious penalty the house can mete out short of expulsion. the ethics committee recommended censure after convicting the veteran new york democrat of fund-raising and financial misdeeds that violated house rules. the committee's chairwoman-- california democrat sow lofgren-- made the case on the

house floor today. >> in making its recommendation, the committee considered the aggregation of representative rangel's misconduct. the committee concluded that his violations occurred on a continuous and prolonged basis and were more serious in character, merit ago strong congressional response rebuking his behavior. for violations related to the payment of taxes, the committee considered not only the amount of taxes he failed to pay over many years but the fact that he served at various times in highly visible and influential positions as both chairman and ranking member of the ways and means committee. it brought discredit to the house when this member-- with great responsibility for tax policy-- did not fully pay his taxes for many years. >> woodruff: then it was rangel's turn. he defended his 40-year house career and insisted he never intended to do anything wrong. >> i stand to say that i have made serious mistakes. i asked for fairness none of the

presidents of the history of this great country has anyone ever suffered the humiliation of a censure when the record is abundantly clear and never challenged that in those two years of investigations which i called for counsel and the committee found no evidence at all of corruption. found no evidence of self-enrichment. found no evidence that there was intention on my part to evade my responsibility, whether in taxes or whether in financial disclosures. and there's absolutely no excuse for my omission for my responsibility to obey those rules.

i take full credit for the responsibility of that. i brought it on myself. but i still believe that this body has to be guided by fairness. >> woodruff: other members, including new york republican peter king, tried but fell short in a bid to give rang al lesser punishment. >> let us apply the same standard of justice to charlie rangel that has been applied to everyone else and which all of us would want applied to ourselves. with that i respectfully urge a vote against censure. >> on this resolution, the yays are 333, the nays are 79. >> woodruff: instead, the recommendation of censure passed by a wide margin. >> will the gentleman from new york mr. rangel kindly appear in the well? >> woodruff: rangel then stood before his peers in the well of the house floor as speaker nancy

pelosi formally read the public condemnation. >> the house is resolved the representative charles rangel of new york be censured. the representative charles b. rangel forthwith present himself in the well of the house for the pronouncement of censure. that representative charles b. rangel be censured with the public reading of this resolution by the speaker. and that representative rangel finds the solution to the appropriate taxing authoritys of the u.s. treasury for any unpaid estimated taxes outline in exhibit 066 on income received from this property in dominican republic and provide proof of payment to the committee. >> woodruff: congressman rangel is 80 years old. he won reelection to his 21st term last month. >> lehrer: again, the other major developments of the day: house democrats passed an extension of tax cuts for the middle class. republicans insisted they would block action in the senate-- unless the cuts are extended for

all taxpayers. and top defense officials told the senate armed services committee it's time to end the ban on gays serving openly in the military. >> lehrer: and to kwame holman in our newsroom, for what's on the "newshour" online. kwame? >> holman: on our science page, hari sreenivasan debriefs miles o'brien about volcanoes, and his reporting trip to indonesia. find answers to your questions about our story on the hijacking of internet traffic by a chinese telecom firm; and on "art beat," jeff talks to the director of the national portrait gallery about why the museum removed a piece of video art. all that and more is on our website, newshour.pbs.org. judy? >> woodruff: and that's the "newshour" for tonight. i'm judy woodruff. >> lehrer: and i'm jim lehrer. we'll see you online. and again here tomorrow evening with david brooks and ruth marcus, among others. thank you and good night.

major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by:

>> and by the bill and melinda gates foundation. dedicated to the idea that all people deserve the chance to live a healthy productive life. and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions

captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org