by the way, senator harkin is misunderstood. come back, when we come back, this guy sips and the media rips. this guy might have just slipped up. and the media ignores. uh, i'm in a timeout because apparently riding the dog like it's a small horse is frowned upon in this establishment! luckily though, ya know, i conceal this bad boy underneath my blanket just so i can get on e-trade. check my investment portfolio, research stocks... wait, why are you taking... oh, i see...solitary. just a man and his thoughts. and a smartphone... with an e-trade app. ♪ nobody knows... . hi. hi. i'm here to pick up some cacti. it should be under stephens. the verizon share everything plan for small business. get a shareable pool of data... got enough joshua trees? ... on up to 25 devices. so you can spend less time... yea, the golden barrels... managing wireless costs and technology and more time driving your business potential. looks like we're going to need to order more agaves... ah! oh! ow! ... and more bandages. that's powerful. sharble data

thanks, bill. >> thanks, senator harkin.will messiss you and we are grateful for your leadership on so many years on so many great issues. tom harkin democratic senator from iowa. >> on your radio and on current tv this is "the bill press show." [ music ] >> nine. >> this is what 27 tons of marijuana looks like. (vo) with award winning documentaries that take you inside the headlines, way inside. (vo) from the underworld, to the world of privilege. >> everyone in michael jackson's life was out to use him. (vo) no one brings you more documentaries that are real, gripping, current. (vo) current tv gets the converstion started next. >> i'm a slutty bob hope. >> you are. >> the troops love me. the sweatshirt is nice and all but i could use a golden lasso. (vo) only on current tv. >> this is "the bill press show" p. >> good morning, everybody. twelve minutes before the top of the hour here we live. >> we do it live. >> bill: twelve minutes before the top of the hour as we sear here on the "full-court press" on wednesday february

harkin and other lawmakers should consider that. host: what businesses could absorbent and what businesses cantor? caller: there are large multinationals that have large income streams that obviously could. but there are many small businesses, such as fast-food restaurants and the like, who could not possibly do it. i think that is the difference. host: i guess one would argue why penalize those for something that everybody -- that happens to everyone as far as getting sick is concerned. caller: that is fine, but in a perfect utopian world everybody would get this perk. but we do not live in a utopian world. that is the difference. businesses that can bear the cost should ethically do that and the smaller ones who cannot, they just cannot. that is the difference. host: 8 "wall street journal" stores as philadelphia is one of the places pushing for this idea. caller: that is not surprising h. host: why is that? caller: i know the political mind-set here. it is a feast of rules for democrats. host: that is of from philadelphia, pennsy

i'm tom harkin welcome to the big picture. more news today violence flared up. and these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of canada. today. welcome back. pro benedict the sixteenth announce his resignation an assault move at the start of the week he says the ill health forced him to make the decision becoming the first pope to resign in six hundred years pappas he has been plagued by scandal most notably accusations of a brawl cover up of child abuse within the catholic church and the abuse campaign that barbara doris says the pope didn't do enough to address paedophilia during his eight years in the position which means believe that he of words he showed there was filthy lucre stirred he apologized to the victims but he took no action he didn't discipline a single church official for hiding enabling children to predators for you know moving them from country to country from guys used to diocese so until he does that nothing has changed and we believe the words were just empty empty promises we have a bishop in the united states that was

let's turn to iowa senator tom harkin. senator, good to have you with us tonight. >> hey, good to be back with you, ed. >> i guess we're going to let you go home after 30 years. i don't like it, but i guess that's just the way it is. i appreciate you so much what you've done. you're a "tell it like it is" kind of guy. what needs to happen, tom, in order to stop these cuts from taking place? >> well, first of all, ed, i thought your introduction laid it out very clearly. what i want to hear from the president tomorrow night is a pro-growth, pro-jobs rebuild the middle class kind of speech. he needs to lay it on the line that we need to invest in our country and rebuilding jobs and rebuilding the middle class. now you laid out some of this stuff. when you hear the republicans talk, ed, about we got to cut this, we got to cut that, we got to cut this, it's almost like they're saying we're poor. the united states, we're poor, we're broke. the fact is, ed, we are the richest nation in the history of the world. we are the riches

harkin: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from iowa. mr. harkin: mr. president, this week is a milestone for working families across america. 20 years ago this week, president bill clinton signed into law the family and medical leave act. you know, there are many laws that we pass here in washington that most americans never have reason to know or care about. the fmla, by contrast, has changed this country in profoundly important ways. it has touched the lives of millions of working families. it's almost hard to imagine today but 20 years ago, before this landmark law, workers had to risk their jobs and their livelihoods when family needs arose. there was no national policy for maternity leave or paternity leave. new mothers were sometimes compelled to return to work just days after giving birth. or to quit jobs they would otherwise have liked to keep. there was no law allowing someone to take leave from work to care for an aging, potentially dying parent or to care for a child with a serious illness. families had to leave their loved ones in the hands

senator harkin says he is confident something will eventually be worked out in the short term, but like many others on capitol hill, he would like a long-term solution. >> right now they don't know. that is a major anxiety for these workers, and i can understand that. >> included in the military cuts here in maryland, the blue angels could be grounded over these cuts. for more information on what would be cut in maryland, go to our website, wbaltv.com. live downtown, lowell melser, wbal-tv 11 news. >> stupid bore found shot to death in baltimore city. authorities were called to my appeal your street just before midnight to find a man -- to montpelier st. there is no word on a motive or suspects. anyone with information it should call the baltimore city homicide unit. more details are emerging from investigation into the death of two people found inside a burning car in west baltimore. police identified the victim as 33-year-old alicia stricklen and 34-year-old taewon tuck. initially was reported that they died as a result of smoke inhalation and possible burns from the fire. tonight the

senator harkin had to step out. so i'm going to conclude the hearing. but several of us may have follow-up questions that we would like to ask you. if you would be kind enough to respond to them, i think you can tell from the level of interest in your comments, we will surely pay close attention. you have gotten too big assignments here [laughter] the legislation that passed in 2006 seems to have some good effects and we have gotten some good information i had about ways to meet senator harkin's goal, which is to narrow the gap between what americans are saving for retirement. for my own point of view, it seems to me that a good deal more work needs to be done on complexity, legal alleys and liabilities. this is a committee where we supposedly have very different ideological views. but i think you have heard some comments and suggestions here that rather than taking off regulations were taking off regulations, we might try a model that starts from scratch with the objective of making it easier for business enterprises and are changing country. more amer

hear or see some other part of it and realize everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm tom harkin welcome to the big picture. we are facing a lot of problems. because no one thought to drink no good school. mates when you've been part. of a local what's national boundaries in law in the local needs you might want to see l.n.g. motion will be used. you've done for artist i was fired i must fight. for right. oh and welcome to technology update while the sun and palm trees may not immediately scream winter olympics the clock behind me shows that time is ticking as russia sochi transforms itself from a sunny summertime resort into a cutting edge winter sports complex all over russia in fact the final countdown is on not so little reminders were placed. the country. the next winter olympics are fast approaching and it's time for the final push. each host country has tried to. i was transported to the great barrier reef before the. gravity. of the shape. want to make sure everything works exactly as it should. any condition and it must immediately. then forty five degrees below zero to

i played earlier and the democrats say we don't have a spending problem and steny hoyer, tom harkin,resident obama, nancy pelosi, they said the same thing, this joe biden said americans no longer are worried about the economy, here is what he said. >> they're no longer traumatized by what was a traumatizing event. that great collapse of 2008. they're no longer worried, i think about our economy being overwhelmed, either by europe at large, the eu or china somehow swallowing up here bit of innovation that exists in the world and they're no longer, i think, worried about our, our economy being overwelcomed beyond our shores. but, and i don't think there's no, there is he' very little doubt in any circles out there. about america's ability to be in a position to lead the world in the 21st century, not only in terms of our foreign policy, our incredible defense establishment, but economically. >> governor, fewer americans are working, the last quarter the economy just contracted and we've got 50 million americans on food stamps and 6 trillion in new debt. and what alternate university is

david harkin thank you ever so much.s on your study which blows the lid off all this infrastructure money proposal coming out of washington. now, california literally sitting on the solution to all these economic problems. it's called shale and shale oil and there's a lot of it, natural gas and shale. question is will the state wise up in time to actually take advantage of it? our own jane wells is live in california and she looks ready to drill, drill, drill. more than two years ago, the people of bp made a commitment to the gulf. and every day since, we've worked hard to keep it. today, the beaches and gulf are open for everyone to enjoy. we've shared what we've learned, so we can all produce energy more safely. bp's also committed to america. we support nearly two-hundred-fifty thousand jobs and invest more here than anywhere else. we're working to fuel america for generations to come. our commitment has never been stronger. [ male announcer ] to hold a patent that has changed the modern world... would define you as a

the organization is already eyeing seats being vacated by tom harkin. >>> later today, former new york city mayor ed koch will be remembered at a funeral service here in manhattan. he died friday from congestive heart failure. >>> finally among the many topics that president obama discussed during that pregame interview yesterday was the boy scouts, whether they should be able to welcome openly gay members and leaders into the organization. president obama answered first with a simple yes before detailing his position. >> my attitude is that gays and lesbians should have access and opportunity the same way everybody else does in every institution and walk of life. you know the scouts are a great institution that are promoting young people and exposing them to, you know, to opportunities and leadership that, you know, will serve people for thee eest rest of their lives. >> that will be a spirited debate. >>> as always, let us know why you're awake. shoot us an e-mail. tweet me at mark halperin. we'll read the best responses later in the programming. >>> the longest super bowl in america

. >> senator harkin has been reelected five times. how does that fit? >> you're asking a question that goes way beyond guns. in most of these races, gun companies may be involved. gun issues are not talked about at most of our campaign events. how can it be that the state of iowa can do this? people from iowa are very open- minded. if you are a hardworking political leader and you do not take extreme positions, you have to get respected from your view. >> guns, immigration, federal debt/deficit, which of those three issues will be paramount in that senate campaign? >> unless the economy improves, it will be the economy. if it is beyond the economy, i think health care might be an issue. whatever democrat runs probably voted for it. whatever republican runs did not vote for it. i do not think guns will be a big issue unless there is a lot of administrative action taken by this president that is going to turn gun owners off. then the president could raise it to a big campaign issue. i do not think any action by congress will raise it to a big campaign iss

good morning chairman harkin, senator alexander medicus in which members of the committee.we appreciate the opportunity to be here to discuss retirement savings by american workers and to ensure committee members recognize significant retirement risks women face, particularly mccusker retirement. my name is finished hounsell, president of women's institute for secure retirement. for 17 years mentoring to help women educate policymakers understand important issues surrounding women's retirement income. our primary mission is financial education capabilities, provided by men with crucial skills to avoid poverty in retirement. the united states administration on aging upgrades the national education resource center on women in retirement planning. we commend the kitty for examining adequacy of retirement savings because this comes at a time when 61% of americans age 44 to 75 run out of assets more than that. women are on the most worried about saving their financials curating retirement and rightly so they live longer, have less retirement home, divorce with significant negati

else you hear or see some other part of it and realize that everything is all you don't know i'm tom harkin welcome to the big picture. please.

hear or see some other part of it and realize everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm tom harkin welcome to the big picture. are you really. are you one hundred percent. sure ok watch this man snowboard all through the sky scrapers law school i r t r d dot com don't miss it. do we speak your language anybody will or not a day of. school music programs and documentaries in spanish more matters to you breaking news a little tonnage of angles kidneys stories. you hear. detroit all te spanish find out more visit. all tito it's called. good luck. welcome back to cross talk for all things are considered i'm peter lavelle to remind you we're talking about syria and its neighborhood. ok i have to go back to jerusalem alone it's interesting to me that a lot of people don't like assad around the world and particularly in the region but is replacing him with what i mean then there is no agreement on what should replace him it seems to me anyway. because the saudis are not interested in democracy obviously the feeling the feeling here is that they're very. is very unhealthy and chaotic situa

hear or see some other part of it and realize everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm tom harkin welcome to the big picture. are you really. are you one hundred percent. sure ok was this man snowboard off the sky scraper moscow i r t r g dot com don't miss it. we speak your language anything about the war not a day in. the music programs and documentaries and spanish more matters to you breaking news a little tonnage of angles kidneys stories. you hear. the choice all to spanish find out more visit. feel. welcome back to cross talk for all things are considered i'm peter lavelle to remind you we're talking about syria and its neighborhood. ok i have to go back to jerusalem alone it's interesting to me that a lot of people don't like assad around the world and particularly in the region but is replacing him with what i mean then there is no agreement on what should replace him it seems to me anyway. because the saudis are not interested in democracy obviously the feeling the feeling here is that they're very. is very unhealthy and chaotic situation in syria invites troubles in in

and you hear or see some other part of it and realize everything you thought you don't know i'm tom harkin welcome to the big picture.

else you hear or see some other part of it and realize everything you thought you don't know i'm tom harkin welcome to the big picture. mission free critique a should free in-store charge is free. range three. three stooges free. download free loading video for your media projects a free media to r.t. dot com. also joining us here. in moscow there is father tom all in egypt where the government is struggling to contain street violence president mohamed morsi has sport forward parliamentary elections to april twenty second was the opposition leaders calling for a boycott of the vote and the protests going on for weeks with the opposition accusing the president of hijacking the revolution and backtracking on reform promises and salties bell true reports the on rest has often been accompanied by claims of widespread police abuse and torture. in his hometown of tanta the big game of the point south twelve local you have renamed to street after his son mohammed a twenty eight year old activist allegedly tortured to death by security forces two weeks ago after protesting on tahrir square. when th

or see some other part of it and realized everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm tom harkin welcome to the big picture. more news today violence is once again flared up. in these are the images cold world has been seeing from the streets of canada. giant corporations are old today . wow. wow you're watching r.c. welcome back internees a religious schools are spreading through asked the nation following the revolution two years ago some parents have no problem with their kids getting down to the nuts and bolts of islam at an earlier very early stage but others fear such occasion is only planting the seeds of future extremism ati's reno going to score points. tunisia's learned some tough lessons in the wake of its revolt but now the report card for what's going on in its schools is facing examination in the school in one of the poorest districts of the tunisian capital children come to learn about the qur'an and the way of life of true muslims religious education was banned under the old regime but it's making a comeback in a big way the rise of islam islam has led to an incre

hear or see some other part of it and realize everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm tom harkin welcome to the big show. hello and welcome to cross talk we're all things are considered i'm peter lavelle drones and orwellian skies this is what worries many opponents of aerial surveillance of society does the use of drones make citizen safer what about the issues of privacy and civil liberties could armed drone soon one day be part of our everyday life and who profits from these intrusive ice in the sky. to cross drone surveillance i'm joined by medea benjamin in washington she is a co-founder of code pink and author of drone warfare also in washington we have ray mcgovern he is a co-founder of veteran intelligence professionals for sanity and to endow us we cross to christopher jencks he is director of the criminal justice clinic and assistant professor of law at s.m.u. deadman school of law or at folks in effect that means you can jump in anytime you want but if i go to you first in washington when i read orwell's one thousand nine hundred four i didn't see drones in it but i th

suffering a tough test by mother nature of home owners in parts of new york which were hit hardest by harkin sunday are in for an unfortunate surprise from the serious talks authorities. on all see dot com while some believe there's a feeling sad about the pope's decision to plant his vatican biogs these ukrainian girls were only too demoing to to hear the news on stage the celebration powers as most famous child. is today. these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of canada. trying to corporations rule the day. i know most week long manhunt for an ex l.a. cop and a murder suspect with a one million dollar prize on his head appears to be. a remote woodland cabin where christopher dorner was believed to be hiding and was burnt out and assures out charred remains of a human body were discovered inside dorner is accused of and banking on a killing spree after vowing to avenge his sacking in two thousand and eight it was believed to have already taken the lives of three people including a police officer. and also in our world updates this hour at least gun might have been k

harkins goal which is to narrow the gap between what americans ought to be saving for retirement and what they do say for retirement. for my own point of view it seems to me a good deal more work needs to be done on complexity legalese and liability and that this is a committee where we supposedly have very different ideological views but i think we have heard some comments suggestion here that rather than taking off regulations and approaching it by taking off regulations come cut we might try a model that starts from scratch with the objective of making it easier for business enterprises in our changing country, where apparently more americans are going to be independent contractors and not full-time employees. may be part-time employees. how do we make it easier for employers of any kind to offer savings and to do it in a way that closes the gap that senator or can call this hearing about. i think you very much for coming and i look forward to hearing back from you and i suspect you will be hearing from several of us with requests. the hearing is adjourned. [inaudible conversation

take a look at tom harkin's hearings. i could go on for a long time -- and tom could, too -- about the schools across america that are exploiting students. we owe it to the students to tell them the truth. we owe it to their parents and we beg teachers and high school counselors and others who really care about young people, look long and hard at these for-profit schools before you recommend them-to-a student. i encourage all my colleagues to take a look at legislation that tom harkin and i have introduced. we're trying to drop the federal subsidy to these for-profit schools just a bit. it is going to be hard to do. they are pretty powerful here in washington. but if we're doing our job to protect families and students across america for following the president's lead from the state of the union address to make sure that we're sensitive to student loans, student indebted in that we hold colleges and other training institutions accountable for what they are doing to and for students, it's time for us to turn the page and j

pelosi, steny hoyer, and top harkin, all prominent democrats have all said, "we don't have a spending problem in this country." they think what's wrong with our country is we tax too little. well, most americans watching today, bob, don't think we have a trillion-dollar deficit for four consecutive years because we taxes too little. they know it's because we spend too much. >> schieffer: but isn't what you're saying, governor, what people say is wrong with washington. here we go again. governor barbour says it's all the fault of the democrats will and the president says it's all the fault of the republicans and i want to know where there is some ground rathe 22 sides could get together and get something done. is there such a place? >> you're going to see on the sequester-- i believe you're correct the sequester will go into effect. >> schieffer: you do think? >> i do, and there are a lot of republicans that don't like parts of it, but they understand we've come to a point where we've got to take action about spending. and the democrats say the real answer is to have 50% more tax incre

hear or see some other part of it and realize everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm tom harkin welcome to the big picture. more news today violence is once again flared up. these are the images for world has been seeing from the streets of canada. the giant corporations are all today. the captain of here will this week saw days of strikes in spain as tens of thousands of teachers and students voiced our anger over education cuts but the government seems on a move by the crowds and says it is committed to belt tightening measures as it struggles to dig the country out of its debt hole now the message from the people of spain was echoed on the streets of ireland where thousands united in a massive show of anger against severe austerity measures tough cuts were implemented to please ireland's creditors the country's been relying on a joint e.u. international monetary fund loan since two thousand and ten. angry crowds have been spoiling the mood of leaders as they celebrate a historic budget deal cutting the blocks spending for the first time ever now it was sealed out after hours

hear or see some other part of it and realize everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm tom harkin welcome to the big picture. i had her hand. in it. and. thank. him her. and. clean i. live. her mother live. the speed. her. live whistling. luck good luck missile good luck. mum. just see a look at. her. son i'm a little. slim live. live .

suffering a top ten by mother nature of homeowners in parts of new york which were hit hardest by harkin sunday are in for an unfortunate surprise from the serious talks authorities. on all seem dot com while some believe is that feeling sad about the pope's decision to plant is vatican biogs these ukrainian girls were only two didn't mind to hear the news on stage the celebration times as most famous try. to dave. these are the images the world has been seeing from the streets of canada. for each and throughout the day. i know most week long manhunt for an egg l.a. cop and a murder suspect with a one million dollar price on his head appears to be of on this after a remote woodland cabin where christopher dorner was believed to be hiding and was burnt out and assures out charred remains of a human body were discovered inside dorner is accused of embarking on a killing spree after vying to avenge his sacking in two thousand and eight it was believed to have already taken the lives of three people including a police officer. and also in our world updates this hour at least nineteen gun mig

i reached out to senator harkin and you the last few weeks expressing my desire that we have a good committee operation. i congratulate you on your chairmanship, and delighted to hear your suggestion, perhaps more than a suggestion that we're going to operate under regular order. i've been asked what i like the on this committee and i answer yes, it is a great committee and i look forward to your tenacity to see that we do that and i look forward to working with y you. >> thank you. >> first of all, in that regard i look forward to the hearings in which we get to the point in which we are talking about the appropriations process, the budget is passed and we don't our work. i look forward addressing the issues of spending in a long-term setting rather than a matter of a few months in which sequestration will apply. i need to start, madam secretary, as you as you might expect. i don't think in the two plus years that i've been a member of this committee for the homeland security committee or the subcommittee on homeland security that we ever had you in front of us, and you and i have not talked

before the roll goes into effect sometime next year but one of its main supporters iowa senator tom harkin said quote the u.s.d.a. is proposed nutrition standards are a critical step in closing that loophole and ensuring that our schools are places that nurture not just the minds of american children but their bodies as well. but is that the case or is this the nanny state run amok well joining me now is j.d. to chile managing editor at reason magazine and reason dot com j.d. welcome to the show. thanks and thanks for having me on so i see this we have a really serious obesity problem in america we've got thirty five percent of adults are obese across our economy about one hundred forty seven billion dollars in health care costs i see this is a pretty reasonable step the government is taking to kind of fix this problem what do you think. the money is good instantiations i think in this case good intentions there are almost literally biting off more than they can share in this case sure is there a problem splintery there certainly is healthy they don't exercise enough lead the world things

harkin: we're now on the east of the so-called sequester. tomorrow federal agencies will begin making $85 billion in arbitrary destructive budget cuts, cuts that economists tell us will damage our fragile economy and cost nearl nearly oe million jobs. madam president, this is a shame, and it's shameful. this is yet another self-flicted wound to our economy. and it's completely unnecessary. for months president obama and democrats in congress have urged republicans to join with us in negotianegotiating a balanced pe -- a balanced package -- of spending cuts and riff knew increases to -- and revenue increases to head off this sequester. regrettably, we have run up against the same old response from our republican colleagues. obstruction, obstruction, obstruction. an adamant refusal to compromise. they reject the very idea of a balanced approach, insisting that all deficit reduction must come exclusively from cuts to spending and investment, and since they have not gotten their way, they are now willing to allow all the destructive impacts of t

open facebook at tom underscore our open our blogs message boards a telephone comment line at tom harkin dot com and don't forget democracy is not a spectator sport it requires your participation get out there get active tell your it see them. i never knew adam lanza in person but i was in the same high school as that he was younger than me just a little bit younger. i always thought he was different i always into something funny he rarely talks and you know he was a shy kid. i don't know anyone who was friends with him i also don't know of anyone who's particularly mean to the what i do know is that it was very clear that this person was not like everybody else. can imagine the level of mental illness that would be present to murder children. america's you know so when you go on this there would be an american behind every tree with a gun. i think for kids growing up in this environment is good for them at an early age to least see the gun and respected because they need to know what kind of damage you can do. this is our first task as a society. keeping our children safe. this is how w

see some other part of it and realize that everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm tom harkin welcome to the big picture.

hear or see some other part of it and realize everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm tom harkin welcome to the big picture. download the official publication to you so choose your language stream quality and enjoy your favorite. if you're away from your television well it just doesn't matter how would your mobile device if you could watch your t.v. anytime anywhere. potentially deadly blizzard taking aim for the northeast it's expected to hit stunning in a few hours from new york to maine we have team coverage of the storm. but will why. it is the very heavy snow moving into boston proper earlier today it was very sticky you can see it start to become much more patrie down the line there's still a lot of snow out here place for snowball fight. piece and it is jennifer.

see some other part of it and realize that everything you thought you knew you don't know i'm tom harkin welcomes the big. news today. again flared up. these are the images. of canada. trying to rule the day. all. over the. world.

that is something senator harkin and i all agree on. i use it to help create a teacher evaluation plan for tennessee and the secretary can say yes you can or no you can't. what has happened though is the secretary is using this waiver authority that has gone much broader than that. it's become a sort of washington version of the old game children used to play called mother may i we used to play in tennessee that played around the country. you say mother may i and then she says you may do this and if you do the right thing you get to do it and you are out of the game so this is an example the state might say mother may i create teacher evaluation system and instead of saying yes or no, the secretary says you may but only if you wash your hands and practice the piano and do your home or to the plan at the kitchen and regard you might say that is not what i asked to do that's what you have to do if you want to go out and play. it's turned into a conditional waiver. the psychiatry basically grabbing cannot grabbing that's not the right word

thank you, madame chair. >> thank you very much, senator harkin. your longstanding reputation for passion and persistence in the area of social justice is well known and well appreciated. i would like to turn this to senator collins who is also the ranking member of the subcommittee and comes to us as a former ranking member on homeland security. we look forward to your questions. >> thank you very much, madam chairman. it is very difficult to follow the eloquence of my colleague from iowa. the fact is however, i believe we do have a spending problem and the $16.40 trillion debt is ample evidence of that. and i see that as one who supported the increasing taxes on our highest earners. the fact is, there is plenty of blame to go around for the crisis we find ourselves in but there can be no doubt that these indiscriminate cuts represent an utter failure to set priorities. and we simply cannot allow sequestration to go into effect. if we do so, we might as well just pack up and go home. having across-e the-board cuts, what is the point of our being h

people like tom harkin senator who voted against it last time with obama because of guessworker. the whole thing went out the window. each side has to figure out how to compromise. it's the failures of the past that may push this forward to a win this time and get some reform done. >> how do you think this is going to play into 2016. marco rubio is someone who is talked about as being a candidate for president on the republican side. he has publicly said he believes the future of the republican party lies in immigration reform. if you look at the changing demographics do republicans have any other choice but to go for some sort of immigration reform if they want to have any kind of hope if 2016 if not 2014. >> republicans are going to be best off voting for the right bill. if you take for example attitudes in latino community in border security this idea of border security first has a great deal of resonance in the latino community. particularly here in the state of texas where the latino communities along the border know how important it is to get the border secured. it will ben