the vice president: the senate will come to order. the chaplain will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. eternal god, we thank you that we are more than conquerors because you love us. we praise you that today your conquering spirit has brought our beloved senator mark kirk back to work in these hallowed halls. we're grateful that nothing can separate us from your love, neither death nor life, nor heights nor depth, nor any created things. give our senators today, spiritual, intellectual, and physical revitalization, infusing them with your peace and power. bless the lawmakers who will take the oath today. fill them with your spirit so that their lives will honor you. we pray in your merciful name. amen. the vice president: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to our flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the vice president: the chair lays before the senate one certificate of appointment to fill an unexpired

live coverage now of the u.s. senate. the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. eternal god, today give our senators the second wind of your passion, power, and perseverance. fill them with the assurance of your presence. may they seek to live with the knowledge that you have chosen them to serve you and country. protect their thoughts and actions from temptation, as you control all they say and do by the power of your spirit, as their lives bring glory to your name. lord, remind them that they pass through this life but once, so that they must not take this day for granted, but live to honor you. we pray in your great name. amen. the president pro tempore: please join me in reciting the pledge of allegiance to the flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the president pro tempore: the majority leader. mr. reid: would the chair announce th

the senate sent us the bill. we're hoping the house will respect the wishes of the american public and let the representatives of those people vote up or down on that legislation. and with that, will the me turn to our leader, nancy pelosi. >> thank you very much, chairman. last night the senate -- i guess it was early this morning, the united states senate voted in an uncharacteristically strong bipartisan way, 89 votes in favor of the compromise legislation. this is -- that was historic. that legislation was sent over to the house. up until now our speaker has said when the senate acts, we will have a vote in the house. that is what he said. that is what we expect. that is what the american people deserve. so we look forward now, as we go forward in this day, to see what timing will be for a straight up or down vote on what passed 89-8 last night in the united states senate. today we had the privilege, as our chairman said, of hearing from the vice president. he talked about what's in the legislation and what l

in the senate today, the united states senate, the minority, not the majority, controls. in today's senate, american democracy is turned on its head. the minority rules; the majority is blocked. the majority has responsibility and accountability but the majority lacks the power to govern. the minority has the power but lacks accountability and responsibility. this means that the minority can block bills and prevent confirmation of officials and then turn around around blame the majority for not solving the nation's problems. the minority can block popular legislation and accuse the majority of being ineffective. i firmly believe we need to restore the tradition of majority rule to the senate. elections, i believe, should have consequences. that's why i developed my plan, as i said, almost 20 years ago to amend the standing rules to permit a decreasing majority of senators over a period of days to invoke cloture on a given matter. again, i believe it's clear in our history the senate and of the framers of the constitution, there's the story of course that's been told many t

in the early senate you can imagine the 26 senators, two from each state saying we should have the courtesy of hearing each other out to make sure we make great decisions so we get everybody's opinion on the table. that's the courtesy of not ending debate until everyone has said what they want to say. and over time the senate grew larger, became a little more difficult, but the principle was honored because when the debate had wound down, someone would ask unanimous consent to hold the vote, and generally they would would get unanimous consent and the vote would be held. it was understood that this was a simple majority body and if you were going to stand in the way of that final vote after everyone had had their say, then, in fact, you were interrupting the process by which this chamber makes decisions and helps take this country forward. and certainly at the heart of it was the understanding that the pathway favored by the most is most of the time the pathway favored by the majority. the majority is the heart of the democratic process. and we had challenges along the way. there were occas

you have to go back to the senate. ve to pass the bill, and congress can put amendments to it that the senate doesn't like. it goes back and forth. and maybe i'm just somebody who has down the safest firsthand. the easier thing would have been to do it last night. get it done with, and you could have lived with what happened. >> yeah, they should have are ripped the scab off and just done it. now they want to break this bill down in little pieces and do it over and over again, it is insanity. >> i don't know, chris christie seems more of a winner, long-term, than john boehner does. staten island, thank you both for joining us tonight. >>> coming up, secretary of state hillary clinton is out of the hospital. karen finney will join us now, on what republicans are saying on whether or not she was really ill. >>> and on the rewrite tonight, how the senate works and how it works much better than you think it does. much better than anyone tells you it does, which is exactly what it did today when everybody thought the senate

senator kennedy was considered one of the most liberal people in the senate. i have always been considered one of the most conservative people in the senate. but we were able to work together and get 38 bills out of committee and through this body. the worst boat we ever got was 15 votes against. how did we do that? we did not try to solve the world's problems all in one bill. we took an issue at a time, and we found common ground. we found what we could agree on, and that was usually about 80% of the whole issue. 80%, that's pretty good. we worked on issues that had been around here 10, 12, 15 years without passing. coming to the floor numerous times. what we mainly had to do was sit down with the stakeholders who were intensely interested in the bill, who had been lobbying on that bill for years and years and years. we would say to them, this is what we can get. this is what we have to leave out. it was not compromise. compromise is when you give up half of what you believe in and i give up half of what i believe in, and we wind up with something that neither

kirk returning to the u.s. senate. thanks for your call and comments on the issue will this congress be any different. up next we'll have a chance for you to question two members of the senate john hoeven of north dakota and later former governor angus king inhe's independent from maine. that's coming up on c-span's "washington journal." but this weekend on c-span 2's book tv and c-span 3 american history tv, our focus is providence, rhode island. here's a review. >> the founding of providence, when you think of roger williams coming over from massachusetts and his idea of having a lively experiment and the idea of freedom and also dissent was something that is very important to the city in the state of rhode island. in fact, some of his words are believe in our state house about having a lively experiment here and having that freedom of expression and freedom of religion. being able to dissent and not necessarily agree with your leaders. one political figure that i admire is up on the mantra near patrick joseph mccarth

in the senate, or on tv. ther way you will always have our support, though, let's get this straight. anybody who think that is a man in makeup on a television desk is more important than the united states senate, doesn't understand the senate. the most junior, powerless senator is more powerful than anybody at anchor desk, more than any other kind of way in being important. the tweet to patrick, please consider lawrence o'donnell to fill kerry's massachusetts seat. ideal choice. then, weldon wendell commented, we don't need another one who is smug, self-centered, and thinks he is god to the people. stay on tv, at least there when your smugness becomes overwhelming you can turn me off. wendell, you can turn off c-span, too, don't worry, the appointment would last five months, whereupon, after the special election congressman ed markey will be sworn in as the next elected senator. how do we know he is going to win? because i said so. and by the way, the day after i said so on this program that very next day john

a measure passed early this morning in the senate. it's now being considered by the house, and senators, meanwhile, are standing by in case the house makes any changes to that proposal. otherwise, no legislative work is planned in the senate today. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. almighty god, source of strength for stressed-out emotions and strained minds, we don't pray to inform you of things you don't know or to urge you from your reluctance to help us. lord, we pray to obey your command, to arouse ourselves to action, to mitigate anxiety, to exercise faith, and to embrace your promises. thank you for using our senators, in the early morning hours of this new year, to accomplish your purposes. may the sparks from their bipartisan cooperation ignite flames of unity that will illuminate the inevitable darkness to come. lord, give our lawmakers the resiliency, resourcefulness, and resolve to accomplish your will on earth, eve

this is very much an effort on the senate and democrats and republicans and a strong vote in the senate of confidence with republicans and democrats standing up to vote for this thing improves the chances in the house. lou: we have not heard from speaker john boehner's office or eric cantor officially, but fox news has learned a representative from the house, republican has told one of our people on the hill he does not think there are enough votes in the house to pass this, and leadership, republican leadership, mitch mcconnell, even john boehner even though he is not a part of this deal are playing with fire. has there been any official word from anybody other than nancy pelosi? >> we got no official word on this. a number of house republicans who are upset with the way things have been going so we are not quite sure who's a republican member was who said that, but you have got to kind of look at leadership here or there. they will not bring a bill to the floor if they do no did not believe they have the votes to do this thing. adam: just for brevity, we want to show you the shot from

then separate from that, delinked is the senate version. dicated will have broad bipartisan support. certainly democrats likely to vote for that as well. if things are done in that sequence, there is a hope and the possibility that we will avoid the fiscal cliff before markets open in the morning. that's the good news. just in terms of reality check, he's going to have two months to start dealing with spending and to try to have all members of congress carve a real grand bargain before we hit the debt ceiling limit and with the sequester. there is time to address that. positive comment by congressman murphy. >> want you to listen to this conversation i'm about to have. one man responsible for wrangling republican votes in the house is the deputy whip. congressman who serves on both budget and appropriation committees is "outfront." congressman, good to see you again. thank you for being with us. you have been a voice of reason on this thing for some months right now. i know you don't like to bring this up and you don't like when it's brought

i feel good about it getting through the senate. the house, the president is going to use the powers that he has. it isn't ever as good as the congress passing something, but it is going to be pretty hard and a lot of public pressure on boehner but i think the president is going to use the next four years. i think he is outpushing his agenda and he needs to go over the heads of the republicans in the senate and house to do it. i think this will be a pretty activist presidency more than it was in the first term. >> i like talking to you about stuff that i'm excited about. i really appreciate your being here. we will be right back. use your maxperks card and get a 10-ream case of officemax multiuse paper for just 4.99 after maxperks rewards. find thousands of big deals now... at officemax. looks like you're in a pickle. yeah. can you get me out of it ? just so happens i know a chap... book any flight and hotel together and get access to our free personal concierge service. any need, any question, we're on call 24/7. and save hundreds w

sproeup the senator from arizona -- the presiding officer: the senator from arizona. mr. ccain: what's the parliamentary situation? the presiding officer: the senate is considering h.r. 325. mr. mccain: and how much time do i have? the presiding officer: only democratic time is remaining. mr. mccain: well, i ask unanimous consent that i be allowed ten minutes. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. mccain: thank you. i speak in opposition to the amendment offered by my friend, the senator from kentucky, which would prohibit the sale, licensing, approval, facilitation, transfer, retransfer, delivery of any defense articles and services to the government of egypt, including f-16 aircraft and m-1 tanks. there are many problems with this amendment. i'd like to explain them. first, the amendment is not revenue-neutral. the congressional budget office does not provide an official score despite my request, but there is no way to avoid the basic fact that there are numerous costs associated with this amendment. the defense articles that the senator from kentucky

in the senate ticks by. it ticks by with no results because the system is broken. but we can fix it and make the senate work for us again. if our senators vote to end the silent filibuster and for common sense reforms. >> they have only hours to do so. unless the senate reforms the filibuster on tuesday, the minority wrecking crew remains in charge for the next two years. larry cohen, welcome. >> great being with you. >> if the democrats were back in the minority, would you be making this fight to reform the filibuster that you're making now? >> absolutely. because we believe that what a democracy means is that the american people are entitled to get discussion, debate and eventually a vote on the critical questions of the day. we haven't had that in decades in the u.s. senate. everything dies there. it doesn't get discussed and debated there as people used to believe. we need to bring back the debate in the u.s. senate. >> but if the republicans became the majority again, they might deny you the very thing y

on the senate side. we'll have coverage of that the election of the speaker happening today. craig kaplan reports that boehner was elected house speaker for the 112th in one round. the vote was 241-173 with 19 not voting. some of the color going on inside the house, chad tweeting that house members are getting their voting cards and members' pins in the speaker's lobby. about senator kirk, senator reid is tweeting that, i look forward to welcoming senator kirk back to capitol hill today. we're keeping an eye on your tweets today. our handle is @cspan. the hash tag for today, #113th at c-span.com if you'd like to take a look. >> so nice to meet you. good luck. >> good to meet you too. >> hope you don't ruin your fancy good jeans. all your jeans arer to up, huh? >> and we now you take inside the house for the last session of the 112th congress.s. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives

the senate will proceed. mrs. shaheen: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table with no intervening action or debate. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. shaheen: i ask unanimous consent that the senate now proceed to the consideration of senate resolution 19 which was submitted earlier today. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: s. res. 19, congratulating the university of alabama crimson tide for winning the 2012 bowl championship series national championship. the presiding officer: is there objection to proceeding to the measure? without objection. mrs. shaheen: i ask unanimous consent the resolution be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, and the motion to reconsider be laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. shaheen: i understand that there is a bill at the desk, and i ask for its first reading. the presiding officer: the clerk will read the title of the bill for th

the house expected to vote this hour on the senate's fiscal cliff bill. and it's not an exaggeration to say that the health of america's economy may hang in the balance right now. you're going to want to stay right here and see what happens. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer in for piers morgan. this is a real nail-biter we're watching, despite a threat by some republicans to add an amendment to the bill, an amendment that would have added over $300 billion in spending cuts and would have forced the bill back to the senate. the house is now on the verge of simply voting up or down on the senate bill as it stands. the package would increase taxes on individuals making more than $400,000 a year and couples making more than $450,000 a year. it would also extend unemployment insurance for a year for some 2 million people. and that house vote is expected to come this hour. we're watching it very closely. let's bring in our senior congressional correspondent dana bash on capitol hill. she has the very late

we should do what the senate majority leader had to say before the vote, but here is also what senateinority leader of mitch mcconnell had to say earlier this morning. >> each of us could spend the rest of the week discussing what a perfect solution would have looked like, but the end result would have been the largest tax increase in american history. the president wanted tax increases, but thanks to this imperfect agreement, 99% of my constituents will not be hit by those hikes. it took an imperfect solution to prevent our constituents from the very real financial pain, but in my view, it was worth the effort. as i said, this should not be the model for how we do things around here, but i think we can say and we have done some good for the country. we have done some good for the country. we have taken care of the revenue side of this debate. host: senator mitch mcconnell this morning about this book. the senate approved the measure 89-8. and most of the house or a vote could happen as early as this afternoon. they will be in around noon eastern time. keeper channel here for our cove

, the current senate, will pass it? e to say, it seems very low. i think the vote tonight that house republicans have is a vote to kill this bill or not. if you're voting yes on the amended bill, if that gets to the floor, then you're voting to kill the legislation and end these fiscal cliff negotiations. because as boehner seems to have pointed out from the reporting that dana has been doing in the conference, he was suggesting to his conference that if we vote for an amended version, it's highly unlikely that the senate is going to pick that up. >> let's say they come up with an amended version of this bill, right? no democrats, maybe one or two, but basically no democrats are going to vote in favor. you need 217 republicans. will there be 217 republicans who will vote for this -- >> that is the mystery for today. i wish i knew the answer to that. they're not going to bring it to the floor unless they have the votes. the boehner deal, if he finds he has 217 votes tonight, by going one by one to his members -- if he's g

the senate will soon act. now i hope for america that the speaker will help -- will allow the full house of ruth as additives to vote on this bipartisan legislation. -- to allow the full house to vote on this bipartisan legislation. >> i thank everyone for their patience and counsel throughout this process. i also want to thank the vice president for recognizing the importance of preventing this taxinsurance. i'm hike on the american people and stepping up to play a crucial role in getting us there. it should not have taken us this long to come to an agreement, and this should not be the model for how we do things are around here, but i appreciate the vice president's willingness to get this done for the country. i know i can speak for my entire conference when i say i do not think taxes should be going up on anyone. but we all knew that if we did nothing, they would be going up on everyone today. we were not going to let that happen. each of us could spend the rest of the week discussing what a perfect solutio

the senate has gone home. they did a bipartisan thing. think if this does not pass the house, then we're going into the new congress. >> all right. thank you so much. i appreciate your time. e.j. dionne. >> good to be with you. >> happy new year to you. >> thank you. >>> stay with msnbc throughout the day for the latest on the fiscal cliff negotiations. again, the bipartisan bill 89-8 coming from the senate. that was passed at 2:00 this morning. it does not look good right now when it comes to the house. we had heard from the number two republican, eric cantor, that he cannot support it as-is and we also have heard from our own luke russert that based on what one member told him, 40 members from the gop conference stood up and spoke. 37 of those 40 were against the senate bill that came over 89-8. now, if it does get amended as we have just been discussing with mike viqueira and e.j. dionne, the question is will the senate take that up. we are hearing right now they will not. we'll continue to cover this issue for you. the fiscal cliff neg

the senate bill is now over there. are deciding whether they will amend the bill and send it back or have an up-or-down vote in the house, on the fiscal cliff legislation. this is as markets in asia are set to open in 45 minutes. the u.s. markets tomorrow morning. we will keep an eye on the development on the hill. checking international headlines now, more than 60 people were killed in the ivory coast when new year's eve celebration turned to panic stampede. rescue workers incident said it took place over fireworks display and injuried 200 people. the death toll is expected to rise. gunmen ambush a van killing five female teachers and health workers in pakistan. the teachers were on the way home working from primary school for girls. the attack was a reminder of the risk to women and essential kateors. and aide workers from the islamic militants who opposed their work in that country. there were more than just fireworks lighting up the sky over iran with the new year's. the country has been spending the last few days

the presiding officer: senator. mr. harkin: madam president, i ask further proceedings under the quorum call be dispensed with. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. harkin: madam president, on january 29 in 2009, president obama signed the lily ledbetter fair pay act. the critical law, legislation signed into law by president obama after his first election, reversed the outrageous supreme court decision in ledbetter and made clear a worker like ledbetter who had not earned a raise for years still had recourse to challenge her wage discrimination. today we celebrate the enactment of this important law, but at the same time we must recognize it was only a first step. we need to do much more to ensure all workers in our society are paid fairly for their work and are not shortchanged because of their gender, race or other personal characteristic. that is why four years after enactment of the lilly ledbetter fair pay act, i am proud to introduce once again the fair pay act, a bill i have introduced in eve

, we're only 2 2 0 minutes away, but the goal is to vote in the senate on the deal they have come up and schumer and many other senators have eamericai emerged anticipate having many democrat votes at all. many coming outside of their own meeting anticipate that they are sort of going to hold their nose and vote for this milissa, something in this bill for everyone to hate. and the question remains now, assuming sometime before dawn, the senate does vote, after we have technically gonory the fiscal cliff, what will happen in the house of representatives, we've seen leaders jointly say as promised they will consider the senate product. what comes out of senate, but they are not committing to putting that bill on the floor. they are leaving open the possibility that they could amend it, and then send it back to the senate and who knows how long that process will take. they say they will give it time, give the house of representatives review it. let the american people review it. mitch mcconnell, who after all won't cut the deal if he thinks john boehner won't put this on the floor and p

with the greatest of ease. senator hagel's hearings begin next week. he has been, perhaps, the most controversial. if he had not been nominated and somebody well qualified and less controversial had been put in place, someone like michelle flournoy or ash carter, then, of course, we would all be paying attention to mr. brennan who is the nominee to be director of central intelligence and who has himself a history of some controversy on both the left and the right, ironically. so if we could just talk about what the implications of this are, and i'm going to try and put these two questions together, actually. and to digress and explain this question a little better, many of us who work in foreign policy studied history because that's what draws you in. and in the old days, polysci was a field that wasn't exactly as embraced as it is now. and for those of us who did history remember all these inconsequential and uninteresting countries whether it was of czechoslovakia or malis of the time were the precursors to larger ba

the senate is close to a deal to reforming the filibuster. and we of course are waiting for the start of the nomination hearing for john kerry to be secretary of state. senator kerry is going before the committee that right now he chairs. foreign relations. and he'll be introduced by senators john mccain, by elizabeth warren and the current secretary of state, hillary clinton. it's expected to be very different than the fiery hearing yesterday in that very same room where secretary clinton made a passionate defense to republican senators aggressive questioning about what happened in benghazi. >> the fact is we had four dead americans. was it because of a protest or was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided they would go kill some americans? what difference at this point does it make? it's our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again, senator. >> i want to bring in ron, national correspondent and editorial director, and michael crowley, times deputy washington bureau chi

, the democratic members of the u.s. senate who will have to vote on this and get it over the finish line. some of those members, as dana has been reporting, are going to be unhappy with elements of this deal, and will have many questions for him that he's going to have to explain to them. he's been a 35-year veteran of the senate, so he knows how to talk them off the cliff, quite literally, in this case, and get them onboard to get this over the finish line. he did it during the debt talks. he helped negotiate this deal with senate minority leader mitch mcconnell, but senato harry reid was very involved in all this, and the hold up for the last six some hours this evening, the republican leader, senate minority leader, mitch mcconnell, and the white house had fundamentally come to an agreement on principle, and there was this stall in the talks for the last hours tonight. it was because democratic leader harry reid was refusing to give in on some points that were very important to the democrats. and so he's won some concession

when republicans in the house refuse to do anything on gun control democrats in the senate could pass legislation to keep weapons of war out of the hands of the mentally ill democrats need a legislative agenda to run on in two thousand and fourteen in two years to break the republican majority in the house that's why they need to begin compiling a resume of progressive legislation passed in the senate. but they can then sell to the american people the next election. and the only way they'll be able to do that is to ditch the filibuster in its current form. these are the stakes heading into the new legislative session when you sign it such as an old boxer and an antagonist of the las vegas mob harry reid knows how to fight it's now time for him to take that same fight to the republican minority in the senate and give the american people what they want the senate is listening to and actually passing legislation for the middle class if harry reid throws in with merkley warren and udall in the democrats' prospects to twenty fourteen get a lot brighter and if he doesn't already know it you

to the senate: under the provisions of rule 1, paragraph 3, of the standing rules of the senate, i herebyppoint the honorable heidi heitkamp, a senator from the state of north dakota, to perform the duties of the chai. signed: patrick j. leahy, president pro tempore. the presiding officer: the majority leader. mr. reid: following leader remarks, the senate will be in a period of morning business for two hours. the majority will control the first hark the republicans the second half. at 2:30 today, senator kerry will be recognize the to deliver his farewell remarks. we hope to complete action on the debt limit negotiation -- debt limit legislation very soon. i'm told that s. 177 is at the desk and due for a second reading. is that correct, madam president in. the presiding officer: that is correct. the clerk will read the title of the bill for the second time. the clerk: s. 177, a bill to repeal the patient protection and affordable care act and the health care and education reconciliation act of 2010 entirely. mr. reid: madam president, i would to be any further proceedings with respect t

the senate sent us a bill. we are hoping the house will respect the wishes of the american public and let the representatives of those people vote up or down on that legislation. and with that let me turn now to our leader, nancy pelosi. >> thank you very much. last night the senate -- well, i guess it was early this morning, the united states senate voted in an uncharacteristically in a very bipartisan way 89 votes in favor of the compromise legislation. that was historic. that legislation was sent over to the house. up until now our speaker has said when the senate acts we will have a vote in the house. that is what he said. that is what we expect. that is what the american people deserve. so we look forward now as we go forward in this day to see what the timing will be for a straight up or down vote on what passed 89-8 last night in the united states senate. today we had the privilege, as our chairman has said, from hearing from the vice president. he talked about what's in the legislation and what lies ahea

first they may try to make some changes to the deal the senate cut with the white house late last night. but senate democrats say there is no time for that we actually already went over the cliff at midnight officially. that means that every american's paycheck is about to shrink. huge spending cuts are about to take effect automatically. the senate bill delays those cuts and prevents tax hikes on families making under $450,000 a year. lots of house republicans say they won't support the senate's bill without more spending cuts. we have team fox coverage. ed henry is live at the white house. but, first to mike emanuel live on capitol hill. so, mike, where do things stand now? >> well, rick, on the house floor as we speak right now, they are counting votes. they are seeing if there are 218 voted in the house of representatives to essentially decide to go forward with adding spending cut amendments to the senate-passed bill to essentially see if there is enough support to pass the house. if they have that, they say they will go forward with a risky strategy of ending a spending cut amendm

the ball. tonight, my message to senator harry reid. plus the american people are getting ripped off by a congress that just isn't working. congressman rick nolan, there 30 years ago. he is back now and he can't believe the difference. he is wondering, are we getting paid for this? >>> is it really an admission of guilt if you don't show any remorse? >> it did not even feel wrong? >> no. it's scary. >> did you feel bad about it? >> no. even scarier. >> psychologist dr. jeffrey gardere on lance armstrong's bizarre performance last night. >> good to have you with us tonight, folks. thanks for watching. republicans surrendered today in one of his biggest fights. president obama warned republicans about taking the debt ceiling hostage. it looks like they heard the message. >> the financial well-being of the american people is not leverage to be used. the full faith and credit of the united states of america is not a bargaining chip. and they better choose quickly because time is rung short. >> republicans made their choice during a gop retre

that's the senate. how different might things be when it comes to the house or do we even have an idea? >> reporter: e we don't have an idea yet. just the fact that the leadership is not definitively saying there will be a vote today. they are saying there won't be decisions after house republicans have a meeting at 1:00. so in about two hours. it really is unclear. but you're right. the hope going into the senate vote was if there was a big enough majority that it would give momentum to this to make it hard for house republicans to vote against. look at where republicans in the senate voted. 40 voted yes. that's a high percentage of just republicans. and we heard from republican senators coming out saying some of the most conservative saying you're not going to get everything you want. saying come on, colleagues in the house, let's vote. one of the dynamics that's long standing is the house doesn't like to be told what to do by the senate. i think that isn't necessarily going to sway many house republic

vice president and the senate minority leader. -8. the republican-controlled house left well before midnight last night, so they will have to take up the measure later this morning. here's how the two senate leaders summed up their night. >> i'm disappointed that we weren't able to make the grand bargain as we tried to do for so long. but we tried. >> so it took an imperfect solution to prevent our constituents from a very real financial pain. but in my view, it was worth the effort. >> so here's what the senate plan means for you. bush-era tax cuts extended for people earning less than $400,000 a year. and couples earning less than $450,000. unemployment benefits extended for a year for 2 million americans. and a permanent adjustment for inflation to that alternative minimum tax. now if you're wondering about spending cuts, lawmakers are punting. they'll fight about those over the next couple of months. can't wait for more drama from d.c. >> it's not nothing but ali says it's puny. still, brianna keilar joins us live now from wash

the bill has to come from the senate to go to the house.then react to it and that is really the question mark about how that is going to happen. here is how this deal looks like it is shaping up from what we are getting from reporters and producers all over washington, the white house and up on capitol hill. income taxes for individuals making more than $400,000 a year and families making more than $450,000 a year. an increase to 39.6%. previously that was at 35%. payroll tax, a small cut in the social security tax for all earners will be allowed to expire. the alternative minimum tax, a permanent patch, permanent patch. it is called the amt. it would affect about 30 million taxpayers next year. that would be a permanent fix that usually congress has to do annually. dividends and capital gains taxed at 20% for individuals making at least $400,000 and families at $450,000. unemployment benefits long-term unemployed will be extended through the end of 2013. those benefits were set to expire on friday. the estate tax, there was back and forth

the senate is in a quorum call. mr. cornyn: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be rescinded. the presiding officer: without objection, so ordered. mr. cornyn: mr. president, in 2008 a prominent democratic politician said that adding $4 trillion to the national debt was -- quote -- "irresponsible and unpatriotic." in 2009 this same politician said -- quote -- "i refuse to leave our children with a debt they cannot repay." we cannot simply spend as we please. close quote. and again in 2010 this same individual said -- quote -- "it keeps me awake at night looking at all that red ink." and then in 2011, he echoed the statements of the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, admiral mike mullen, when he said -- quote -- "the greatest threat -- the greatest long-term threat to america's national security is america's debt." and then finally, in 2012 this same politician said he was running for reelection -- quote -- "to pay down our debt in a way that's balanced and responsible." well, you might have guessed who this

amend it, send it back to the senate. and that would sort of prolong the process of going back and forth. and also yes, you mentioned the spending cuts being deferred, but only for two months, john. two months. that means we'll be hanging out a lot talking about some of the stuff we've been talking about now you for months, as it is. >> that's right this is just the beginning. we've been talking a lot about the republican conference and whether speaker boehner can get the votes he needs or any votes at all. what's going on on the democratic side? nancy pelosi had her democratic grip. she won't get unanimous support, will she? >> that's to be seen. it's very possible there will be a number of democrats who are not happy with this and there may be some who do not vote for it on the left. that's entirely possible. but nancy pelosi is on a phone call with president obama and harry reid and she signed off on this, so she has a pretty good sense of where her caucus is, will be getting a lot of democratic support. when you look a

cowan will join the recently appointed south carolina senator tim scott in the united states first two african-americans to serve in the senate at the same time. governor patrick explained why he chose mr. cowan for the senate today. >> he has been a valued ally to me, and the people of the commonwealth. in every step he has brought perspective, wisdom, sound judgment and clarity of purpose. >> and lieutenant governor tim maury added this. >> he is cool, tom brady, george clooney, james bond, the president have nothing on mo. >> really? i'll let you be the judge. >> there is no greater calling than to be able to go and serve the people of massachusetts, to give back to a state that has given so much to me. >> barney frank, who made public his desire to be the appointed senator and was the only person the governor could have appointed who could start the job at full speed and full effectiveness on friday released this statement. i know mr. cowan is committed to working hard and in socially fair and economically efficient

the senate of theirs. so the frustration that is expressed in this legislation is the fact that our federal government has gone without a budget for almost four years. it is that the senate -- yes, your party is in control of the budget -- the senate has chosen not -- >> we are talking about raising the debt limit here. we are not talking about the budget. >> that's what this legislation does. >> all right. you've done that. >> and this legislation is authored by a democrat here in the house. >> the fact of the matter is that there has been no regular order on this, and we've gotten used to -- we went through plan b. there was no regular order on that and you know how that turned out. you remember -- >> are you talking about the fiscal cliff? >> on the fiscal cliff. >> there are other plan b's but i understand -- >> there are a lot of plan b's. i just want to know which one you are talking about. >> let me reiterate that we would be more than happy to join in your process here. maybe even give you a great i

the congressman who represented newtown. joining us now is not only connecticut senator chris murphy but actually the entire senate delegation from the state of connecticut, senator murphy joined tonight by his colleague senator richard blumenthal, who you saw speak just before him. gentlemen, i really appreciate you both being here tonight. thank you so much for your time. >> thank you. >> thank you. >> senator blumenthal, let me start with you. you said today that this is going to be a hard fight, that nobody should think this is going to be easy. given how hard you think this is going to be, what do you think is the best way to fight for it? >> the best way to fight for it is to recall those images that senator murphy and i recounted today. the images of parents emerging from that firehouse, the community grappling with that grief, the slaughter that is wracked upon america by these assault weapons and the high-capacity magazines, and the need for banning them. and mobilizing and galvanizing support to overcome the nra and other entrenched interests, which no doubt, no question will fight them, make no mistake, there will

i feel good about it getting through the senate. it doesn't get through the house, the president is going to use the powers that he has. it isn't ever as good as the congress passing something, but it is going to be pretty hard and a lot of public pressure on boehner but i think the president is going to use the next four years. i think he is outpushing his agenda and he needs to go over the heads of the republicans in the senate and house to do it. i think this will be a pretty activist presidency more than it >>> ready for a good news story? >> the only reason anybody goes to congress is to be in congress. and to fight with people in congress so that people will give them more money so that they can stay in congress. but that dysfunction that we should see today shouldn't be seen as normal. back to 2000, still a lot of pointless showboating. we got a payoff. it was about apes. the chimpanzee act created for those chimps used in research. lots of bipartisan support. 41 republican are co sponsors. it passed and bill clinton signed i

senator. or, if say barney frank should be the appointed senator or someone else should be the appointed senatoryou know, maybe i could work something out with barney frank. if i become a temporary senator maybe he can become a temporary host of a 10:00 p.m. program on msnbc. ever. nurses are dealing with a wider range of issues. and there are ever-changing regulations. when you see these challenges, do you want to back away or take charge? with a degree in the field of healthcare or nursing from capella university, you'll have the knowledge to advance your career while making a difference in the lives of patients. let's get started at capella.edu. ...so as you can see, geico's customer satisfaction is at 97%. mmmm tasty. and cut! very good. people are always asking me how we make these geico adverts. so we're taking you behind the scenes. this coffee cup, for example, is computer animated. it's not real. geico's customer satisfaction is quite real though. this computer-animated coffee tastes dreadful. geico. 15 minutes could save you 15 % or more on car insurance. someone get me a latte will ya

senator mccain there are republicans in the house and senate who threatened to derail the bill. senator cruz came out against it yesterday. how damaging would it be to the republican party if that occurs? >> senator schumer presenting to -- it's going to be a tough fight but the american public opinion has shifted dramatically since 2007. poll after poll shows that the majority of the american people and a significant majority of the american people believe there should be a path to citizenship as long as they pay a fine, back-taxes -- >> why is it going to be so tough? >> the things that are necessary in order to achieve citizenship including being behind those who came to this country legally. that caveat is a huge caveat and changes those numbers dramatically. that is why we are focusing on that part of this issue as well. whoever's up post to it is now looking at public opinion polls that are very different in my view than they were in 2007. >> senator mccain if this goes down what will be the consequences to the republican party? >> i think the trend will continue of a lack

the senate. >> let me ask you, sir. do you think tonight there will be a senate vote on some kind of deal? >> well, i think there should be very late tonight or early in the a.m., even if this gets enacted in the next couple day, it's all going to be retroactive to january 1st. but the very point of it is when you have a deal of this nature you need to get it passed before you start having all the interest groups start finding out everything they think is wrong with it and giving people excuses not to support it. >> of course, no plan can go into effect without being passed in the house there is a concern that house republicans might stall that process. here is kansas republican tim huelskamp on cnn earlier tonight. >> near as we can tell it increases taxes on certain americans and it would probably increase spending as well. and there might be a debt ceiling part of that as well. and it doesn't anything about entitlement reform, which is the problem. i think it would probably be the typical washi