it's not about -- it's always going to be, to some degree, about personality, but it's really about policy and politics. >> right. >> congressman keith ellison, thank you as always. >> thanks, alex. that's all for now. i'll see you back here tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. "the ed show" starts up now. good evening, americans, and welcome to "the ed show" live from new york. let's get to work. ♪ >> as the first real test for obamacare at the polls appears to spell trouble. >> they were not the results that any of us wanted. >> trouble for democrats. in 2014. >> a big win last night in florida. >> folks, i got very good news tonight. no more commercials. >> words that i have waited months to speak -- >> don't push me, bob. now is not the time. >> some wanted to make this a referendum over the affordable

care act. >> david, you have made the law and all its problems a centerpiece of your campaign. >> congressman david jolly come on down! >> the price is wrong, [ bleep ]. >> a republican has held the seat for 43 years. >> continuing with tradition, a republican will fill the congressional seat -- >> it's about obamacare. >> a republican has held the seat for 43 years. >> i've stood here after losing some special elections. i try to put lipstick on a pig. it was still a pig. ♪ >> good to have you with us. thanks for watching. it's one of the nights i need two shows we have so much going on. i'll get it in in an hour. the media's reporting of tuesday's special election results down in florida is totally wrong, and it's almost comical. i mean, tonight we're going to set the record straight on what's happening with obamacare.

last night, a republican, guy's name david jolly, narrowly defeated a democrat alex sink, in a special election along the gulf coast, in a long time, predominantly republican district. so what? jolly won by two points. like all republicans, of course, he ran on a platform of just slamming obamacare. it's all about obamacare! you know what i say? you're damn right it is in 2014. obamacare, let's face it, if you are a republican in john boehner's house, repealing obamacare is just the reality of daily life. now, jolly ran these ads in florida saying he would replace obamacare, and he did it with some celebrity help. >> let's replace obamacare. it's a mess of broken promises. >> now, that price isn't right. >> david jolly, a conservative in the tradition of bill young. >> i'm david jolly, and i approve this message.

>> oh, no, that price is very wrong, i'd say. like every republican, jolly were most important to the people in florida 13. and that's the economy and jobs. the american people really are still asking, where are the jobs? and i would argue the president's policies are making the economy worse. top of those policies making the economy worse, obamacare. so they've held the district for 43 years, but it's a big win. it's just a big win. well, we were able to hang on, you know? we're so bad we're still hanging onto the longtime districts. there will be another obamacare

repeal vote, you can count on it. so boehner can get jolly on the record. now, this morning, the talking head show, well, they agreed with boehner. in the aftermath of this election, the media has gone, i think, off the rails. just because this guy ran on repealing obamacare and, should i say replacing it, people are calling this election a referendum on the affordable care act? >> before this election, he said, look, this is going to be about turnout. he wasn't expecting a landslide by any means, but it certainly sends a message, if not a referendum. >> underneath everything lies obamacare, and the problems with obamacare. i think -- and this notion of a referendum election, you're seeing it in the discussion, your polling data that are out there. >> we do know that the voters here rejected a view of government that's been espoused bhi our president and democrats in congress. >> why should you care about this? the district is 50/50, republicans and democrats, and it's the first time we're seeing the after effects, the

after-election effects of obamacare. if it was going well, the democrats would be soaring towards the midterm election. >> their logic is comical. give me a break. talk about a knee-jerk reaction. these guys, they need to do some research. think about what they just said. we are now five and a half months into obamacare. remember day one with the website? remember day one of obamacare, five and a half months ago? so you're telling me we've made no progress from day one to right now, the middle of march, but we're seven months away from the midterm, and this is the tea leaf we have to pay attention to, a republican district that's been held by a republican for 43 years? this is going to turn it all over? give me a break, folks. that's not even logic. now, look, this district has elected republicans for the last 31 straight years. that's right. this district has been under republican control since 1983. there have been only one democratic congressman in the district's entire history.

now, the media's referendum theory is terribly ridiculous. it's not based in fact or reality. and they are flat out wrong as michael of "the l.a. times" points out, obamacare, basically, if you look at the numbers, it's on a roll. it's on a roll. i know that might be hard for some people to believe, and on the heels of an election you really wanted, you have to look at the numbers. this is what's happening. let's go through the numbers. 4.2 million americans are now enrolled in obamacare. 940,000 people signed up in february alone. one estimate shows obamacare has provided health care for 13 million americans. this number includes young adults under the age of 26 who are still staying on their parents' policy. there is no doubt obamacare is gaining momentum. the law is working, and we have more numbers to prove it. the percentage of uninsured in america is falling sharply.

the last research from gallup shows it's now at 15.9%. oh, by the way, that's the lowest rate since 2008. can i buy some of that? yeah, you can. here's some more big news. health insurance costs and medical care costs fell sharply in the month of january. insurance costs fell roughly 4%. now, medical care costs fell 1%. what's that number? obamacare basically is putting money in the pockets of americans all over the country. the number crunchers at goldman sachs, and we know how liberal they are at goldman sachs over on wall street, the goldman sachs number crunchers and those in the department of commerce claim that medicaid expansion benefits amounted to $19.2 billion in january. isn't it rather hard to argue with this? isn't this a trend of where we

were and where we're going? numbers are going down. obamacare is helping the economy. of course, you wouldn't view it that way if you were a republican. all this good news on obamacare proves this guy right here -- he just can't wait to find a narrative to back up all the votes that he has taken in the house. he needs something to talk about, because the numbers aren't on his side. just remember one thing, folks. every day that goes by, and every story that unfolds around obamacare, puts the republicans and this guy on the wrong side of history, and the numbers show it. these numbers aren't going to go backwards. outside spending in this election down in florida was like this. outside political spending, $5 million by jolly. all negative ads on obamacare. why do you think they did that? because boehner needs something to back up these votes. he needs a test, he needs to be able to say something out there in front of the people that, oh,

yeah, we're right. outside spending 3.75 million. which side would you rather have outside money on that? here's the bottom line again for the democrats, and i don't think it was a perfect campaign. she is a very qualified democ t democrat. no question about it. she'd make a great congressional member. but she ran on fixing obamacare. democrats, let this be a lesson. you don't have to fix anything. the numbers are on your side. you're saving lives. you're saving money. john boehner wants to hold another vote in the house that's going to take money away from americans. is that hard to say? no. but you have to so some fortitude to say it. any democrat that runs ads and goes out there and plays in the negative narrative, well, i'm going to go to washington and fix obamacare, that's the first thing you'll say in your ad, democrats? no. we're on the right side of history. we're saving money. we're putting money in people's pockets. we're saving lives. we are headed in the right direction.

where it started five and a half months ago, and where it will be in seven months is no pressurement of whether the affordable care act is working or not. and anybody who buys into that, well, where i come from, they say that dog don't hunt. get your cell phones out. i want to know what you think. tonight's question. do republicans have the media hoodwinked on obamacare? text a for yes and b for no. you can always go to the blog at ed.msnbc.com. we'll bring you the results later on in the show. in my heart, i know that the progressive movement is going to win out in november. seven months. that's almost like an eternity in politics, and we already know that the house isn't going to do anything between now and then. boehner has said so much. so we're living in the age of obstruction. say that, democrats. do you think that's really what the american people want? for more, let me bring in michael of "the l.a. times" who followed up and wrote this piece

on obamacare. michael, good to have you here. >> you bet. in your opinion, are we going too far by saying obamacare is on a roll? >> no, i don't think so. i think the numbers are telling us that this program is doing exactly what it was intended to do. it got a slow start, an we are still seeing that in the numbers, but they are all moving in the right direction. and i would make one other point, ed, if you don't mind. i think you really put your finger on it, that, you know, you may know i wrote a book about the history of new deal, and one of the things i learned in writing that book is franklin roosevelt never, ever let his opposition -- he never let the republicans define his programs for him. he was always at the front of the parade. he always made sure that the american public knew what was at stake in every election, and i think that's one place where the democrats are really falling short, and they really have to pick up their game. >> i think that the democrats are playing into a negative

narrative, which is easy to accept and easy to communicate on the part of the republicans, running around saying that they're going to fix obamacare. we have come so far in this country since 2009 when it comes to health care, and i don't know why they're having a hard time saying it. i think that this outcome in florida actually is going to help the democrats on how to turn this thing around in the house. how significant are the health care costs going down from your research? >> well, look, the fact that goldman sachs, as you pointed out, has come up with these numbers showing that the trend line in health care costs is reversing, that is major stuff. i mean, that trend line has been going up for decades now. there's no question that the affordable care act has had a major effect on it, and it's going to continue to have an effect year after year. so i think that's very important. that's one of the points that the democrats have to keep making, that they are bending the cost curve, that they're bringing costs down, and they are making health care and

health insurance much more affordable for millions and millions of americans. you used the figure up to 13 million americans have signed up through the exchanges or have joined their paints' health care, or signed up through medicaid. this is a major change in the profile of the uninsured american. >> i predicted 5 million people will sign up by the end of this month. we're closing in on that number. you want to take a stab at it? in fact, where will we be the end of this month? where do you think -- >> i think we're going to be ahead of 5 million. we may not quite make it to 6 million, which is the current target, but it will be a lot more than it is today. i think at that point, that's going to be the numbers for 2014. but the cbo, the congressional budget office, says we're going to move into the following years, we're going to see 25 million people a year signing up for health insurance, getting access for health insurance in a way they never had before, year after year. >> michaele helsick, "l.a.

times," thank you very much. let me bring in debbie wasserman schultz of florida, also the chair of the democratic national committee. congresswoman, good to have you on. do last night's results give you any sense in your bones of what it's going to be like in november? >> no. i mean, i think if you look -- well, obviously, we would have preferred to have the outcome be different. winning is way better than losing. >> sure. >> but if you look at the special election cycles we've been through, 2006, democrats lost every special -- every competitive special election in that year, and we ultimately took the house back in 2010, we won every special election that was competitive that year, and we lost 63 seats. so, you know, greg walden, the head of the rncc last night basically said the elections are not predictive. if you look at this race very closely, you can see that -- i mean, it's a seat we haven't held in almost 60 years.

>> i know. >> and our candidate really -- i mean, she lost, but she lost by less than 3,500 votes. it's the closest we've ever come in this race. you have a special election electorate in the midterm that skews far more conservative than it will in a general election. so we're really optimistic about this seat going into november. >> so this is not a referendum on obamacare, what the media narrative out -- >> oh, no, on the contrary, actually. on the contrary, ed. in fact, the voters in florida 13 very specifically, i think, said that they don't want to repeal -- especially independents. if you look at the polling, exit polling, independents were actually opposed to jolly's message of repealing obamacare, and supported alex sink's message of if there are problems as they arise, we should fix them. >> is that a good narrative? alex sink ran on fixing obamacare. do you think that's a good plant form and a good place for the democrats to be, because it walks into the narrative that there really is something wrong with this bill. there's a heck of a lot more

good than any kind of bad. why say you're going to washington to fix it? >> i think what she said said, as many of the candidates have said, too, we should do with obamacare anytime you have a major change in something like health care -- the health care system, as problems arise, we should work together to fix them. we shouldn't be voting like we are this week for the 51st time, ed, on friday, we will vote for the 51st time to repeal or try to completely undermine the affordable care act. >> congresswoman, respectfully, they're voting 50 hn odd times to take down obamacare and your folks are on the road saying i'm going to washington to fix it. to the people, that plays into the narrative of negativity. >> we also talking about how as the "l.a. times" article, that the reporter you just had on, we have the lowest rate of uninsured in the country we've ever had, that you have 13 million americans who now have health insurance, and that didn't have it before. >> yeah, who's against that?

>> and people of lower income have insurance for the first time. young adults can stay on their parent's insurance. we're running on the benefits of the affordable care act on what we've accomplished, and we're contrasting that with republicans who say, you know what, we'll take all of that away from you, and that's their platte norm. that's why it's not a winning message for them. >> congresswoman debbie wasserman schultz, thank you. >> thank you. >> remember to answer tonight's question at the bottom of the screen, share your thoughts with us on twitter and on facebook. we want to know what you think. coming up, the big 10.10, a new push for the minimum wage hike. and later, allegations of trans-canada's dangerous construction practices as the company presses for the approval of the keystone pipeline. i'll have an interview with the transcanada whistle-blower. i go to angie's list to gauge whether or not the projects will be done in a timely fashion and within budget.

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time now for the trenders, social media action, always out there. and thank you so much. you can follow us on facebook.com/edshow, tweet us at @edshow. catch me on the radio monday through friday, sirius 127. noon to 3:00 p.m. my radio pod cast, the radio website at wegoted.com. thanks for getting that. the ed show media nation has decided we're reporting the top trenders voted on by you. >> happy birthday! >> the number three trender, happy birthday, internet. >> welcome. >> computer network called internet. >> the internet turns 25 years old today. >> the internet is not something that you just dump something on. it's a series of tubes. >> the series of tubes turns 25. >> it was created in 1989.

>> i took the initiative in creating the internet. >> for years, they've been saying these things would change the world. >> get the net. >> 46% said internet would be the most difficult technology to go without. >> i think this then is here to stay. >> the number two trender -- fair fight. >> when mitchell mckee learned there was no match for his dad's cancer, he practiced and prayed. >> for every match, i said, god help me win this match so i can win a state title for my dad. >> a little more than a minute in -- >> i pinned him. >> mitchell lock him to the mat. >> a minnesota teen takes the high road after losing the state championship. >> i know his dad was proud, so i went over and shook his hand, embraced him. >> the backstory is malik's own father died of a heart attack when he was younger. >> i know what he's going through. i thought it was the right thing to do. >> a moment of sportsmanship. and i said, no, this is a moment of humanity. >> today's top trender, mine the

gap. >> corporate profits are doing well. but for a lot of folks, they haven't seen a raise. >> democrats shop another minimum wage increase in congress. >> the clear majority of americans support raising the minimum wage. >> we're talking about moving people out of poverty. >> the republicans who do serve in congress don't want to vote on the minimum wage at all. >> raising the minimum wage destroys jobs. >> it's time to give america a raise. >> joining me tonight, congressman john gehrmini of california. thank you for being on with us. >> thank you. >> 7 of 10 americans support raising the minimum wage. let me be clear, this would be over three years. it's $10.10 an hour at the end of the three-year period. we're talking about, if it goes to 10.10, based on a 40-hour work week, we're talking $21,008 for an annual income. congressman, we're talking about helping the poor, are we not? >> absolutely. you want to get people off

welfare, give them a raise. you want to get the food stamps down, raise the minimum wage. if you want to provide women with an opportunity to succeed, and it's the minimum wage. all of these things are absolutely critical, ed, an we ought to do it. california has already done it. two years out, it will be 10.10. the rest of the nation ought to be following. >> and what has your state experienced from raising that minimum wage? >> economic growth. and we're going to experience when it gets to 10.10, we'll see a reduction in food stamps, we'll see a reduction in welfare. we'll see more people with more money to spend, and more economic activity. >> congressman, house democrats have filed, and we've been talking about this for several weeks, a discharge petition that was done today. are you going to be able to get any support from republicans, which is needed if you're going to get that magic number? >> i think we will. you just said 7 of 10 americans want the minimum wage to be up. well, those are republican districts as well as democratic districts. i think we will.

we're going to be near our maximum, about 190 democrats in the next couple of days. that'll put a lot of pressure on republicans and let's remember that the republicans have in the recent years actually voted across the aisle to pass some major legislation like the violence on women act. >> yeah. well, republicans are going to have to go against the leader, and that's john boehner. >> yes. >> he does not want to do this. there's no -- there's no pattern of any republican standing up to boehner and saying, you know, we're not going to do this. we're going -- we're going to help the democrats out and go with the discharge petition. you actually think there will e be -- i think, what do you need, 19, 20 republicans to get this done? >> well, something like that. but you have to beat this drum across the nation. people have to know that it's possible, that we're getting close to the number. we've also seen boehner fold on his previous pledges not to bring certain bills to the floor. i mentioned the violence against women act. that's one of about half a dozen

examples over the last two years where the american public has spoken and his caucus has had to move. now, we did it with the majority of democrats and just a handful of republicans on some very, very important laws. but it can be done. we need to make america aware that america needs a raise and it's possible, and that this minimum increase to 10.10 over three years isn't going to hurt this economy. it's actually going to significantly help. and reduce federal welfare payments. >> and hopefully, it will put upward pressure on other wages to help people in the middle class. >> absolutely. >> i want to go to the drought that you're experiencing in the state of california. climate change, of course, is a big issue in your district, in your state. where do you stand on the keystone xl pipeline? >> well, that's one part of a very, very large puzzle. i'm not sure if it's ever going to get built. that's in the hands of the president. but we do know that it is not a

solution to energy independence. it is not a solution to climate change. we have to take other steps. we have to move aggressively to reduce carbon fuels, and that happens to be a carbon fuel issue. so we need all of the other things that we have to do. we've got to get wind and solar and, frankly, nuclear, all of these things have to come online. we have to move away from petroleum, and most importantly, coal. >> so you would advise the president to say no to the pipeline? >> i think that's probably the right decision to make. it's going to be a tough one. you have canada banging on our door demanding access to the ports. they're talking about, well, if you don't let us go there, we'll go off to the pacific northwest, which would be even a more serious environmental issue for that part of the world. but what we've got to do is to move away from petroleum products. we've got to move away from coal. we can. we will. natural gas is an interim piece. it's very important. natural gas, yes.

>> congressman, great to have you on. thanks, john. >> thank you. coming up, millions of americans have voiced their opinion on the keystone xl pipeline. we'll hear from a transcanada whistle-blower who says the project is more dangerous than we think. plus, an american institution under attack again. president obama green lights new cuts to the united states postal service. what? that's in his budget? i'm taking your questions next, ask ed live. ♪

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believe you can't let pride get in the way of information and knowledge. and i think if you do, you're on a slippery slope. i know a lot more about the keystone xl pipeline today than i did two months ago, and i'm glad i do. research does work. our next question is from kordell. he wants to know, how do you handle so much hate and anguish directed at you, meaning me, by many of the right-wing talkers out there? oh, come on! they don't hate me. it's just all a show, right? actually, i could care less, because i just giggle every time i catch another fish. there's a lot more coming up on "the ed show." stay with us. i'm mandy drury with the cnbc market wrap. stocks ending mixed with little change. the dow falling 11 points after sliding as much as 91 earlier in the session. the s&p flat. and the nasdaq gaining just 16

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welcome back to "the ed show." the 11th hour. it is approaching for the proposed keystone xl pipeline. transcanada is making an aggressive push for approval. now, the calgary-based company submitted a 35-page filing with the state department. the company claims keystone xl is the safest and most environmentally sound way to transport canadian oil to the gulf coast refineries.

transcanada's arguments were released tuesday and filed with hundreds of thousands of other comments during the government public comment period, which, of course, ended on friday. the canadian national energy board has been looking into transcanada's safety record after a former employee raised concerns back in late 2012. evan vokes was the third whistle-blower on transcanada. he alleges they were using substandard welding practices and not inspecting the pipelines. he was a pipeline engineer. it was his job to make sure the company complied with court orders. at a hearing on the keystone xl pipeline back in april, he spoke candidly. >> transcanada operated a culture of intimidation and coercion to meet its construction objectives when weld acceptance impacted construction schedule. >> the "toronto star" reports the canadian national energy board found transcanada

noncompliant in four areas. the report says transcanada has taken action to correct these issues. we reached out to transcanada about the allegations. here's what they said. mr. vokes has said many things, and when he raised concerns, we took them seriously. most of the items were already identified through normal review processes and steps were taken to address them, especially the ones of immediate concern. we also put action plans in place to improve processes for the future. transcanada has had to adhere to an accepted code of pipeline construction set by the american society of mechanical engineers. straying from the adopted code is not only illegal, it can compromise the integrity of a pipeline which could end catastrophe. evan vokes, former employ eee a engineer, joins us.

i appreciate your time. what motivated you to come forward in the manner that you did? >> what motivated me to come forward in the manner i did, i had gone through the hierarchy of transcanada. i worked with a manager who tried to intimidate and coerce all the time, and so i went and worked up my way up through the engineering department, and finally the invitation from russ girling, when he said he was disappointed with the pipeline, and i sent him an e-mail that detailed what the problem was, regardless of what transcanada's position is, the fact of the matter is there was ample opportunity to make these changes. because these changes directly affected my job. >> and why do you think the company didn't make those changes? >> it was obvious, the schedule was and costs were far more important things to accomplish with the project than the actual

quality. there was no real quality assurance department. there was no mandate for projects to follow that. they can say what they want. my documentation shows that they didn't. >> they had no quality assurance guidelines within the company? >> well, they can make the argument that there were some basic rules there, but we would do things, like we would send out -- we would have ncrs that go unanswered, yet the pipeline was in service. severe material problems. this is all happening -- my department was very important in the construction of pine lines. we handled materials, welding, coating, all the essential things for a problem for a pipeline were handled in my department. and the thing i was pushing for years and years and years was inspection. so to have transcanada say there was no problem is completely false. >> so they say that the safest and most environmentally safe way to transport canadian oil to

the gulf coast and into the refineries, into the refineries, do you agree with that? is that the safest way to move oil? >> oh, by far, pipelining is the safest way to move oil. there is no doubt in my mind that it is the safest way to move oil. but, you know, when you have a company that has managed to blow up two brand-new pipelines in the last couple of years, i think there's a severe problem with the management of the company. >> and do you think that -- how would you classify their work? i mean, if i were to say they're doing the pipeline on the cheap, this is their m.o., and all they care about is bottom line and getting through the project? >> it comes down to the individual project manager, and we've had some project managers that have delivered some of the best pipelines in the world bar none, and some of the projects that have delivered the worst pipelines i've ever seen. >> so what are your main concerns about the keystone xl pipeline? >> i'm not in a position where i have the knowledge to make a

judgment whether it's good or bad for the environment or anything like that. what i do know is that with t the -- with the regulatory oversight that we have on both production and with the pipeline, basically there is no essential control of the process. and, for instance, they can blow a huge hole in mcmurray, and with 250 tons of tnt, take out a couple acres of land and nobody says a word. transcanada can blow up a pipeline in the united states and say it was unavoidable, and yet we have a mandatory quality assurance program and they hit the pipe four times. it's like nobody's watching, or if they're watching, they don't say anything. when i worked there, if you found something, you were encouraged not to say something. >> i was in nebraska and spoke with the folks who are being affected by this. they describe transcanada as heavy-handed. would you go along with that? >> i would go beyond heavy-handed.

certainly, even complying with current legislation, transcanada can't be bothered to complete the information requests in accordance with the law either. >> well, keystone one had 14 leaks in its first year. is it percentage-wise, can we expect leaks on the keystone xl? >> some construction techniques used on the original keystone pipeline, femsa had issued caution not to use the techniques. the solution was actually invented at nova gas trunk lines and regardless of the fact that we invented the technology and methodology, we went ahead and used what they didn't advise us to do. so it's only a matter of time. >> they do pipelines on the cheap, fair enough? >> on average, yes, i would say they do pipelines on the cheap. not always, but on average. >> okay, on average. and describe the intimidation that you had to put up with.

>> i think we went and had an industry expert that went and solved an argument for us about whether or not we could see the welds on byes and pipeline, and he went and agreed that we couldn't see the roots of the welds, and he wrote a memo that said nobody from transcanada should be signing off on the pipeline, and i wrote an e-mail saying we should tell femsa. i think that's fairly important. we had a little meeting after that, and let's just say i didn't come out on the top of that meeting. and so, then you find little notes in the records about how -- how that you're unwilling to accept other people's point of view, when really it's compliance with the regulations and codes we were supposed to be doing. it wasn't my opinion. it's what we were supposed to do. we can't listen to the industry experts. >> yeah. finally, mr. vokes, do you think the american people can trust transcanada? >> you know, this is very personal, because, you know, i

live next to pipelines and don't have relatives that live next to pipelines. and i understand completely that they haven't behaved very well, and i believe that the oil pipelines are important for alberta. but i really don't think that the duty of care for people of land being taken away from them has been achieved. >> okay. evan vokes, i appreciate your time on "the ed show." thank you so much. former engineer for transcanada. coming up, darrell issa's attack on the united states postal service gains a new ally. what the latest budget cuts really mean. up so we're up early. up late. thinking up game-changing ideas, like this: dozens of tax free zones across new york state. move here. expand here. or start a new business here... and pay no taxes for 10 years. with new jobs, new opportunities and a new tax free plan. there's only one way for your business to go.

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for workers, less regulation on manufacturing could have deadly consequences. >> take a lot of care with this equipment, which is very important. you have a defect in a pipe, you put it into a defect on a pipe and put it in service it could fail in a well. that could jeopardize people's lives, environment and health of that business. >> we will have more from american steel all next week here on "the ed show." ♪

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welcome back to "the ed show". this is a story for the folks who take a shower after work. president obama's budget shows his refusal to stand up for the united states postal service. for years thamerican institutio has faced threats. the enhancement act forced the agency to prepay 75 years worth of future health care costs for retires over the course of ten years. no other business is held to that standard. this is draining resources in a big way. republicans like darryl issa work to avage the profit and hack away services all in favor of privatization. the majority of americans see six day as not essential. >> i'm concerned about the post

office going to lose $10 million. a lot saying we will do a bailout. we can't keep doing that. >> before 1963 there were no unions so there were no union contracts with postal workers. going back to the constitution you would be able to right size the post office in days, not decades. >> issa isn't talking about right sizing. he is talking about completely destroying the postal service. the post master general doesn't want to fight back. he is the wrong guy for the job. he supports the plan to end saturday delivery. the plan to slash services, unfortunately, has one more ally. that would be president obama if you read his budget. not only has the white house endorsed ending letter delivery on saturday, the obama administration's 2015 budget goes a step further. the budgets ends package delivery in addition to letter

saturday delivery. limiting the postal service is not a solution but a step to destroy postal service and open the do for privatization which doesn't do small businesses in this country a bit of good. joining me now the president of the postal union. i want you to comment on president obama's budget. what do you read? how do you read that? >> well, let me first thank you for having me on the show to talk about something so near and dear to something in this country, the u.s. postal service. i want to put it into context. the postal service should not be part of the budget. the postal service runs on zero tax dollars, funded by the revenue of the users. therefore it has no business being in the budget of the white house at all. given what the white house has said, we would expect and hope for much more from any of our

public servants, any politician from either party. the white house budget talks about slowing down mail delivery and diminishing mail delivery. we should talking about the opposite. that is what we should expect from the white house. >> darryl issa says the majority of americans support the suspension of six-day delivery, that it will not have much impact. what is your response to that? >> that isn't true. the poll that said many americans support the elimination of six-day service were asked a question, would you do that in order to still have and in order to save your postal service. and in answer to that question, many people in the country said, of course, yes. but that was a false question. and, in fact, now the postal service in some areas has shown they can go to seven-day mail service which is a better way

than five day. you open the door to five-day, it becomes four-day. part of the budget calls for slowing down the mail and does not fix the pre-funded mandate that you talked about in your open. >> i don't see how president obama doesn't get that or the democrats don't get that. some of them do. to put it in a budget to reduce services. no americans are calling for reduction of services and no tax dollars are going to this. what would the end of saturday delivery do to the postal service? >> it would kill a lot of service for the people of this country, many people do expect mail on saturday, many businesses expect mail on saturday. many people expect their medicines on saturday. but it also is a job killer. so if the white house wants to talk about living wage jobs, if the white house wants to talk

about narrowing the gap on income inequality, there is no better way to do that than defend good living wage jobs. the post office has a history of providing good living wage jobs. the service would service. once we go to five-day delivery the spigot is open. this needs to be stopped. all four posting unions are for enhancing postal service, defending six-day mail service, defending good service standards so people get their mail on time during the day, not at night. the next day, first class mail rather than two and three and four days later. and the post office has the capability, if they were to do the right thing, to do that. i want to raise one other thing. there is a lot of good debate around providing financial services to 68 million adults who are in the country that the white house could get behind and politicians could get behind and

say this is a great way that the people of this country can be better served by the trusted united states postal services. >> great to have you with us tonight. i appreciate your time. we will stay on the story and try to change the thinking of the white house on this one. that's the ed show. politics nation starts right now. good evening, rev. >> thanks to you for tuning in. tonight's lead, the gop's poor logic. congressman paul riyan has been trying to pass himself off as the republican expert on solving poverty. today he made an offensive new claim saying the real problem is an inner city culture of not working. >> we have got this tailspin of culture in our inner cities in particular of men not working and just generations of men not even thinking about working or learning the value and the